𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐲 ⟿ s. harrington

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐱

I DON'T DO NORMAL !

☀︎

MIKE HAD FELT MORE THAN ACCOMPLISHED SAVING ALEX THAT HE HAD HEADED RIGHT TO WILL'S ROOM TO TEST HIS LUCK ON HIM NOW. In the living room, it was quiet between Joyce and Alex. Joyce had many questions that she knew were too soon to ask right away. Alex had only been getting back on her feet and was still searching for the right words.

Alex's eyes wandered around the room, taking in the pictures that had been taped to the walls and floors. The Byers house had become a chaotic mess and she had missed it entirely. As she made her way around the room, she had ran a finger along one of the tunnels, unsure if they were real or all in her head.

Joyce had stood in the middle of the living room, pulling her sweater tighter around her as she followed Alex's every movement. She was fearful that there was a chance to lose her again when it was the last thing they needed. "Alex, I need you to tell me the truth... When you went to the Upside Down, did something happen?" Joyce asked, sitting down where Mike once sat.

Alex's hand fell down to her side as she stopped in front of the window. She looked over to Joyce and gave her a small nod.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Alex hesitated for a moment as she turned back towards the window. The sky was still blue and the clouds were the only thing covering the sky, but she knew it wasn't true. He was always there and he was always watching. "I'm afraid he'll get angry," she said gently.

Alex didn't need to see Joyce to know that she was worried. Joyce had seen her like a daughter and to know that she couldn't help Alex was only going to hurt the more she knew what was going on. Yet Alex knew that Joyce would never leave her side and would take on the world to protect the children she had managed to rope into her family.

Alex's eyes had fallen down to her hands to avoid both Joyce and looking out the window. Her face had scrunched up in pain as it had hurt her to even talk about what she felt and what had been going on in her mind. Joyce was the first, and the only person that would know and that hurt worse to know it had to be her. "He listens and he watches..." Alex struggled to get the words out as she pressed her thumb hard against her scar from just last year. "And he talks to me and tells me he's the only one who'll be here for me and..." She paused for a moment as she shook her head. "I feel so alone."

"He actually talks to you," Joyce whispered. "Why didn't you come to me earlier? Does Jonathan know?"

Alex dropped her hands to her side as she turned to Joyce. Tears had been in her eyes, but they never fell. "I couldn't go to anyone. I was scared and he was always there. I can barely find it in myself to think about anything else but him. And Jonathan's just trying to be normal for once, it's the least I could do."

"I don't do normal," Joyce said softly as she made her way towards Alex. Holding out each of her hands, she showed her a warm smile to show her it was okay to take her hands. Alex was hesitant at first. It had all felt wrong to be so trusting after all this time holding it in, but she trusted her own gut for once and took Joyce's hands. "Have you seen my house? This is as normal as it gets here," Joyce laughed quietly.

For once tonight, Alex had felt the corners of her mouth turn up. "I'm really sorry for all of this. I came here for Will and, uh, well I guess I gave your house a makeover."

"It needed a new touch to it," she chuckled. Joyce had just been glad to see Alex grow more comfortable as they spoke. But then a deep frown had replaced Alex's smile as she let go of Joyce's hands. "I came here to talk to Will. I wanted him to be okay."

Joyce had let out a small breath of air. There was no comfort that would follow her words. Will was far from okay and there seemed to be nothing that would change that. "We need more answers. Everything is just all over the place and- and I feel like I'm in the dark here."

"I might have some, but I can't say they're incredibly helpful," Alex offered up. "This thing is smart and he's not scared of us. Not scared of anything. And he wants to kill everyone but he can't because he's stuck there, in the Upside Down."

"But he's connected to you two."

"Yeah, but he doesn't just want a connection. He wants it all. He wants a host and he wants the perfect one. He needs options and his options are limited. He said something about three hosts but Will and I are what's left. Because," Alex pursed her lips together as she gave a small shrug. "Barb died and we didn't. He wants the strongest. He's like some virus. Using our bodies... using our energy, life source... our minds. He's trying to live through us, turn us into something like him."

"That's why you two get angry, get cold. All of that is because you feel what he feels? You're becoming him basically. But if he's one being... how can he live within two of you?"

Alex spoke with a fake laugh, "That's because he can't. He's deciding who's the better host. Who's the strongest and the most manipulated." She let out a soft breath of air as she took a seat on the couch. "It sounds ridiculous, but I need him to like me more. I want it."

"Whatever this thing is saying to you..."

"It's not just because of that," she whispered. The moment Joyce had took a seat beside her, Alex had turned to her, laying her hand on her knee. "He likes Will more than me and I... I couldn't live with myself if it decided to take Will as his host when it could've been me. I would be back to normal, or as normal as it gets after this, and he'd leave me. I guess I would take whatever happens all for Will."

A sad smile had came to Joyce's face as she leaned into Alex and wrapped her in her arms. "Thank you," was all that she could manage. She was more than grateful for Alex putting herself through hell just for the sake of her son.