After that night the sleeping arrangements in the Hopper household had changed. Hopper graciously offered James his room in exchange for the couch, but One quickly realized Hopper's ulterior motives that night. When the last light had extinguished in the cabin and Hopper's snores were cutting through the silence, One slowly creaked open her door and peeked out into the dark living room.

Across the living room One could make out the partial shadowy outline of James standing in his own doorway, peering back at her. His eyes glanced down at a sleeping Hopper before quietly waving her over. One carefully tiptoed across the floorboards, intent on making it to her destination without waking the sleeping dragon on the couch.

One tried to time her footfalls with Hopper's snores and was doing remarkably well until she unknowingly stepped on a string that ran across the floor and tied to a book on the shelf to her right. One flinched as the book clattered to the floor, its booming echo cascading through the cabin.

"Nice try. Back to bed," Hopper grumbled as he turned over on the couch.

"Did you set up a trip wire?" One asked incredulously before huffing and turning back towards her room. She caught James' sad glance before she shut her door and retreated to her own bed.

They weren't going to do anything. One had just wanted a chance to talk to James in private. During the daytime with Hopper and Eleven at her every turn, it was hard to catch a moment alone with her newfound old friend. And especially now, with the recent awkwardness that had arisen between the two regarding Steve, it was imperative that she sort things out and get back on good footing.

Laying in bed and staring up at the ceiling, One considered another attempt to see James with a portal but ultimately determined that the whirring would be too loud and that the light might leak under her door. And who knew what other tricks Hopper might have up his sleeve. She'd just have to try again the next night, and be weary of any other traps that Hopper might set.

The next few nights were also a bust; Hopper was prepared for One's every move. If she wasn't so irritated that Hopper was blocking her from James with antiquated ideas about what a boy and a girl might do alone in a bedroom together, she would actually be impressed. One thought that living in the Upside Down for eight years had prepared her for anything, but apparently nothing could prepare her for Hopper.

On the third night One had a bit more luck. She removed the plastic cup Hopper had balanced on top of her door before it clattered to the ground, tiptoed over not one, but three of Hopper's makeshift trip wires, and masterfully avoided the stuffed bear with a squeaker in its stomach before reaching James' door. James hadn't been waiting for her in the doorframe like he had previous nights, and One presumed that he had given up.

Eyelids tightly wired shut, One clenched her teeth as she slowly turned the knob and pushed it open. A misplaced snore from Hopper sent One's heart beating even faster, but after a moment of silence and another deep breath she realized that she had successfully made it.

"James?" One whispered as she peered her head around the door frame into Hopper's room. She strained her eyes to see through the darkness and found an alarming surprise when they finally adjusted: James was gone.

One jerked her head back in shock and just barely missed stepping on the squeaky bear behind her. Her sudden movement caused Hopper to stir on the couch and One bolted back to her room with a speed and agility she hadn't used in a long time. Her door latched just in time for Hopper to sit upright from the couch and look around wildly.

"Stay. In. Your. Rooms," Hopper barked before returning to his deep slumber.

One pressed her back against the door as she tried to catch her breath and figure out where the hell James had gotten off to. He hadn't been in the bathroom...she had spotted the open bathroom door on her brief journey to visit James. One tried to envision the layout of Hopper's room that she had seen before she had to bolt but the darkness made it difficult. She didn't recall seeing any open windows...But where else could he be?

One bit her lip as she struggled with what to do next. Should she go looking for him? Was he in trouble? Was he hurt? What if Brenner's grip on him was so strong that James had gone to rescue him? She had no idea where to look and whether she even needed to. What if he had just needed a breath of fresh air and was out for a nightly walk? It was hard to tell how much to over- or underreact. This wasn't the Upside Down.

One decided to risk it and open a portal to check Hopper's room one more time. Something within her told her to keep the portal small so she focused her energy on opening a tiny whirring circle big enough for her eye to peek through. The portal appeared in the corner of Hopper's room and thankfully the light the portal produced made it a little easier to make out the scene before her.

A sound drew One's eye to the bed and she was both concerned and relieved to see James' huddled mass stretched out under the covers. One had to take a moment to process what she was seeing. She had sworn that the room had been empty...Had she truly missed him or was he hiding something from her? She resolved to trade the boggling in her mind for sleep and decided to instead find a quiet moment tomorrow to ask him. There had to be an explanation.

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The lights in the Byers household slowly shut off one-by-one until the last golden glow came from Will's room. Before heading to bed herself, Joyce peeked her head in to see what was keeping him up. When she quietly creaked open the door, she saw Will sitting in bed with his nose pressed so far into a comic book that she could only see half of his face. A warm smile swept over Joyce's features and for a moment she stood there silently, watching her son find happiness in the pages before him.

"Good book?" Joyce asked at last, startling Will from his comic. She tried to hold back a chuckle when Will nearly shot to the ceiling but she didn't succeed.

"Sorry mom, I didn't realize what time it was," Will apologized after he had gotten over the initial shock of her presence. He set his comic book aside on his nightstand as Joyce tucked him under his covers.

"My little bookworm," Joyce smiled and kissed his forehead. She turned to leave his room but stopped just before she reached the door. "Now get some sleep, okay?"

"Good night, mom," Will smiled back as Joyce flipped the light switch off and softly shut the door. The golden glow of Will's night light illuminated his sleepy features as he drifted off into the darkness. And with the darkness, came monsters.

Will would have been scared if he wasn't so used to it. There wasn't a night he could remember when he didn't have a nightmare. They varied slightly from night to night but the theme remained the same: Will was trapped in the Upside Down. Tonight's nightmare, however, felt different from the rest, although he couldn't put his finger on why...

Black weeds choked the ground of the Upside Down and slowly snaked up Will's legs until he was unable to move. Frozen in this plant prison, the only thing Will could feel was the beating of his heart. Unidentifiable sounds continuously echoed around him and filled his soul with dread. Were they getting closer?

A fierce wind swarmed from behind Will, blasting his hair in his face and making it impossible to see what was coming. Will felt his mouth instantly go dry and fill with a stale taste that overwhelmed the rest of his senses. The wind continued to blow around him until it swelled before his eyes to create the outline of large monstrous being with several long limbs that burrowed into the earth.

The Mind Flayer.

Will's entire body shivered from head to toe as the overwhelming power of the Mind Flayer weighed down on him. Not even the weeds that had now wound around his chest could stop his intense shaking. Will's mouth opened in a soundless scream as one of the Mind Flayer's many limbs spiralled down upon him like a tornado and consumed him whole.

Will found his voice in the real world when he awoke to the sound of himself screaming. He shot up straight in his bed with a wide-eyed look and heavy breaths. After he had calmed his racing heart, a tingle creeping across the back of his neck compelled him to turn and look out the window and he was startled by what he saw.

Somebody was standing under the lamp post beyond his driveway, their silhouette a menacing contrast beneath the flickering, yellow glow. Blink, bliiiiink, blink. Blink, blink, bliiiiink. Bliiiiink, blink. Will strained his eyes to get a better look but his focus was interrupted by the creaking of his door and his mom's worried voice.

"Will, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Joyce asked from his doorway, flipping on the light switch and nearly blinding Will.

"Yeah, mom, I'm fine," Will assured her. "I'm sorry I woke you up."

"Was it another nightmare?" Joyce asked as she readjusted her robe. Will just shook his head yes. All the screaming had made his throat scratchy. "If you want I can sleep in here with you. I'll grab some pillows and blankets and sleep on the floor. It will be like a slumber party!"

Will watched Joyce's eyes light up and found it hard not to smile. "I'll be okay, mom. I promise."

Joyce gave Will a knowing smile in response before she flipped the switch off and shut the door behind her, leaving Will in the soft glow of his night light once more. Will immediately turned to look out the window at the figure but was surprised to find an empty street before him. The light of the lamp post had returned to a solid, steady glow.

Will rubbed his eyes in an attempt to rid the image from his sleepy mind. It had to have been a hallucination...He hadn't been getting a lot of sleep lately due to the nightmares and it was probably messing with his brain. Will laid his weary head back down onto his pillow and settled his body into the the blankets but there was one thing he just couldn't shake as he closed his eyes for the rest of the night...the figure had almost looked like someone he knew...their outline reminded him of...

James.

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