Thinking about this AU of mine where Henry - in an attempt to torture the kid in the nearest house to Hawkins lab - accidentally becomes an imaginary friend of sorts for Steve.
Granted, he's a bad imaginary friend.
Henry tries to gain a foothold in Steve's mind at too young an age. It doesn’t have the infrastructure needed for him to do real damage so he's basically relegated to bad thoughts and nightmares.
Steve kinda takes it in stride.
He likes the company even if it's imaginary.
Through Steve, Henry knows the exact age where he can be his most destructive. He also finds out that if he spends enough time in one's mind, the mind will build a defense against him so he still can't hurt Steve.
And then suddenly.
He's gone.
Little Eleven banished him to another world and locked the door behind him, and suddenly. It's quiet in Steve's head.
He's thirteen and for the first time, there is no bad voice in the back of his head.
It's so sudden and so quiet that it's almost devastating.
He can't even tell anyone why.
@damndarrenineedacigarettenow compiling it all together like that is just Steve Harrington and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad formative years. The kid is going through it.
Steve: *falls off roof, world goes black*
Henry: *yeeted so violent back into himself that he nearly falls over*
El: ?????
