Alone - a Stranger Things imagine (from Instagram)

Alone

Your POV:

You pull your Scooby Doo pajamas over your head and walk down the stairs. You sit down in front of your television and plug in your Atari, smiling at the familiar tinkling of the games starting up.

Your mother walks into the living room just then, and scowls at you. "Y/n, its time for bed. Turn that thing off!"

You turn around and slump your shoulders. "Aw mom! I did all my homework! Dad said I could play Adventure if I finished my homework!" You put on your most disappointed expression.

Your mother sighs. "Brad!"

"Yes I said that." Your father calls from the other room. "Come on, Lynda. It's a Friday night. Let the kid have some fun."

She sighs again and shakes her head, but gives you a submissive smile. "All right, all right. But turn it off before 10. I don't want you playing all night."

You pump your fist. "Yes! Thanks mom!" You proceed to select your favorite game, Adventure: I maze game of finding the missing keys to the dark tower and rescue the magical chalice that has been stolen, all the while trying not to get eaten by the dragons that stand guard throughout the mazes. You've been playing this game ever since Christmas, when you got the Atari. So you're at the highest level, which includes some extra monsters to avoid, plus extra keys tp find. You're so captured by the game, that you're startled when there's a quiet rap coming from somewhere outside. You glance up at the clock - midnight. Mom and dad must've gone to bed.

You slowly raise your eyes to look out the window. At first you see nothing, given the rain was making everything outside not very visible. But just as you're about to peel your eyes away, a small hand reaches up and pounds its knuckles on the glass of your window.

You're a bit nervous, but you're surprised at the lack of panic surrounding you. Slowly, you get up from your place on the floor and walk towards the window.

You squint through the pouring rain, and don't see anything. But you lower your vision down towards the ground, and you see a huddled figure sitting up against your house - their tiny arms wrapping around their scrawny legs, a soaking wet hospital gown clinging to their body. Without thinking, you mimic this mysterious person's original actions and rap on the window.

The person's entire body flinches, and they duck their head. But after a moment, they lift their head to look up at you, and your eyes meet. You suddenly see how scared, cold, and alone this person seems. And how young they are. Perhaps barely your own junior-high age. Cautiously, you give them a small smile and a wave. Their unblinking eyes continue to stare up at you, like a baby rabbit looking at a wolf.

Seeing the water coming down, and the shivers shaking the person's body, you have an overwhelming urge to invite them in. You leave your place at the window and walk to the front door, unbolting the lock and swinging it open.

Thunder rattles your house, and you see the person flinch again, but this time they don't look away from you. You wave again from your place on your front steps, this time in beckoning. "Come in! You look freezing!" Again, they make no move to do anything.

You look at their skinny appearance, and wonder when it was the last time they ate a full meal. Having an idea, you quickly run to your kitchen fridge and remove some leftover waffles from breakfast that morning. You run back to the open door, and you're relieved to see that the person is still there. You rip off an edge of a waffle and put it in your mouth. "Mmm. Yummy." You hold out the plate, careful not to get it wet. "Want some?"

You see their eyes light up, and they instinctively lock their lips. You nod, breaking off another piece. "Eggos. My mom made them for me this morning. They're really good. You should come get some." You set the plate down just outside your door. "If you're hungry, come and get 'em." You give them one last reassuring smile, then walk around the corner.

You wait, peeking around the wall to see what the person will do. It takes a while, and you almost give up, when sure enough, you see a figure approach the plate of waffles and begin tasting. Small nibbles at first, then nibbles turn to bites, then bites turn to stuffing the entire waffle in their mouth at once. You almost laugh at the way they eat, almost as if they're afraid it'll be taken away if they don't finish in time. The, when the last of the waffles were gone, they begin to seem interested in entering your house. They breathe in deeply, their eyes dancing around the room nervously. But when they notice the warmth radiating from your house, they step inside, rubbing their arms and shuffling their feet, closing the door behind them.

You step around the corner slowly, careful not to startle them. The person's eyes widen when they see you, but they don't run away. You smile, "Hi!"

They seem unsure what to do. Again, a shiver shakes their body, disturbing their stony stillness.

"Oh! Are you cold?" You instantly feel bad about not offering anything to help. Quickly, you grab a long blanket from off your couch. You hold it out to them. "Here."

They stare at the blanket for a long moment, then slowly takes it and wraps it around their shoulders.

You smile proudly. "All right. Now, how about you come downstairs with me, and we can get you some dry clothes!" You re-lock the door, then beckon them to follow you down to your basement. "Come on!"

Once you'd gotten them down the stairs, you sit them down on an overstuffed chair so you could go get them some clothes from the laundry room. You return with a plain grey t-shirt, black sweatpants, and some of your dad's really warm wool socks. "Now," you say, setting everything down in front of them. "I'm not really sure, since you've got such short hair, but by looking at your face, I think I've figured out you're a girl." You smile, holding out your hand. "I'm Y/n! Nice to meet you. What's your name?"

They, now she, flinches away from your hand, then looks up at you nervously.

"Huh." You drop your hand. "You don't talk much, do you?" You shrug. "That's okay. Sometimes I don't talk much either. I'm shy. I care what people think, and that scares me. I want them to like me, but I think that sometimes I'd rather be quiet than to be not liked." She doesn't say anything, but by looking at her eyes, you feel as if she understands you. You hold out your stack of clothes. "Here. You should change." After she takes the stack, you guide her to the other room. "Ok. You change in here. I'll keep my back turned." As you walk away, you feel a tight grip on your arm. You turn around, and you see her eyes growing wide, afraid.

"Its okay. I'm not leaving. I'll be right over here, ok?" You exaggerate the nodding of your head, hoping she might understand that. She seems to, and drops her grip on your arm.

Once she's changed, you bring her to your special hiding place underneath the stairs. There's a sheet covering the entrance, and a sleeping bag rolled out on the floor. "You can stay here tonight, ok? You walk in and sit down, then pat the spot next to you. "Come. Sit with me."

She slowly enters your space and sits next to you, a little farther away than where you asked her to. "You know, I've got a friend who I'll bet would love to meet you tomorrow! His name is Mike. I'll bet he could let you sleep in his fort tomorrow night! But for now, you'll need to sleep here. I also have some friends named Dustin and Lucas. They're cool. They'll wanna meet you, too."

You notice the unease in her expression, and you realize you don't want to leave her alone. You ponder this, then come up with a solution. "See that over there?" You point through a break in the sheet door. "That's a couch. That's where I'm gonna sleep tonight. I don't want you to be scared, so I'll stay and protect you." You give her a smile. "It seems like you don't have anywhere to go, do you? No home, no family, no friends. I'm gonna be your friend, ok?" You exaggerate your nod again, and this time she mimics you, wagging her head up and down a few times. You giggle. "Good! You're learning!" You walk through the sheet and lay down on the couch, pulling the girl's blanket over you. You see her looking at you from your space, and you give her a smile. "You know, I'm so happy that you came here. I hope that we can be best friends. Night night!"

As you close your eyes, you hear a whisper back. "Night night Y/n."