1983, Hawkins Regulus Arcturus Black had been born into one of the wealthiest families in Hawkins—wealthier even than that arrogant Steve Harrington’s family. Regulus only knew that his parents funded some experiments at the Hawkins Lab, but they outright refused to say anything more about it. Honestly, he hadn’t cared all that much either.

Maybe, just maybe, the year after finishing high school, while still waiting on his college acceptance letter, he had started to wonder about the kind of experiments his family was financing. More specifically, after you had literally appeared out of nowhere in his backyard.

His parents were on vacation in California, and he’d just ordered some fast food because he didn’t feel like cooking. Exactly one minute after the delivery guy had handed him his food, he saw the silhouette of someone running from the woods to the backyard. At first, he thought it was a burglar, but it was just you. He wasn’t sure if that was a good sign.

You were wearing a white lab coat, your hair was shaved almost to the scalp, there was a tattoo of the number thirteen on your wrist, and from the two minutes he had spent with you, he’d already figured out that wherever you’d come from, they hadn’t taught you what privacy was. Either you didn’t want to talk, or your vocabulary was painfully limited. And you looked absolutely devastated.

Regulus watched as you devoured the cheeseburger he’d ordered for himself like you were afraid you’d drop dead of hunger at any moment. “Hey, easy. You’re gonna choke,” he said gently, carefully pulling the cheeseburger out of your hands. His touch was surprisingly soft as he tried not to scare you. It was obvious you were still hungry. “Here’s the deal: I’ll give you the burger back if you answer a couple of questions, alright? Let’s start with something simple. I’m Regulus. And you are?”