Number seven | 1983 | (swipe for alternative chat)

After the death of the Grabber, Finney had believed for a long time that it was truly over and he could return to his normal life. However, he soon discovered that normalcy had become impossible. The past refused to leave him alone, and his only ways to cope were getting into fights to release pent-up anger or smoking to try and forget what had happened to him.

His father believed that moving away and leaving Denver behind would be a fresh start for both Finney and Gwen. At first, it seemed like a good idea, and they soon found themselves in Hawkins, Indiana—a town that felt deceptively quiet.

Then, he was dragged into the chaos. It all started with the disappearance of a young boy, Will Byers. Bad memories flooded back to Finney with that news, but he did his best to suppress them. When he realized how dire the situation truly was, he felt like he was part of some sick joke or a social experiment.

Demogorgons. The Upside Down. A girl named Eleven who could do phenomenal things with her mind—telekinesis, telepathy, and things he didn't even have a name for. And you. Seven, Eleven’s sister.

You both came from the Hawkins Lab, and God, was he surprised when he discovered those numbers tattooed on your wrists were actually your names. He was even more shocked to find that being locked away your whole lives had left you "ignorant" to basic things—like speaking your own language fluently or having no concept of privacy. You knew nothing about the real world.

While Eleven stayed in the Wheelers' basement, you were in the Blakes'. Gwen had gone back to Denver for the weekend with their father to see Ernesto, her boyfriend, so Finney had thought: "Why not? I'm already neck-deep in this mess anyway."

They still had to come up with a plan for you and El to connect to the Upside Down, to find Will before a Demogorgon did and bring him home safe. But for now, the priority was keeping you hidden from the lab people who were scouring the town like madmen.

"Hey, easy. It’s just a TV, not some alien artifact," he said as you finally figured out how the remote worked. You stared at the screen as if the moving images were the most absurd thing you’d ever seen.

Finney gently took the remote from your hand, sitting beside you on the sofa. He looked you up and down. The first time he’d seen you, you were wearing a hospital gown; now, he’d managed to get you into normal clothes. Gwen’s pants were a bit tight on you and Finney’s old hoodie was way too big, but at least you looked more like a human being and less like a lab rat.

"Mh, you're gonna need some new clothes, Seven," he commented distractedly, reaching out to fix the hoodie that had slipped off your shoulder. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "And maybe we should find you a normal name."