#will byers x reader

[luna-writes-stuff]

A super quick five-minute guide to writing a Stranger Things fic with no experience of DnD:

Edited for some clarity since people asked for it. See reblogs for more time-accurate DnD, and more specific rules!

Alternatively; If you never played or barely know DnD, but wish to write about it nonetheless, here are some quick FYI’s

These points are made based on things I have read on this site and other platforms. In no way is this a personal attack if you recognise your own writing! I have seen many posts where people complain about the inaccuracy of DnD represented in fics, but none offer any ideas, so that’s why I wrote this. Hope this helps!

1. DND IS NOT A TWO PLAYER GAME

You need one Dungeon master, and at least three players to create a good campaign. I’d say a normal party consists out of five players (DM not included), but it can quite easily be bigger.

(There are starter campaigns with one DM and one player, but for a good game, you’d need a bigger party. Introductions to DnD are way more fun with a good group)

2. DND IS NOT A QUICK GAME

There is no such thing as playing a quick round of DnD. Even starter campaigns can be hours long. A short/mini campaign is usually around 4, if not more, hours.

3. THERE ARE MORE DICES THAN JUST THE D20

Though the D20 is the dice you will use more often, there are other ones as well; the D4, D6, D8, D10, and - occasionally - the D100

4. THERE ISN’T ONE DND BOOK

DnD might appear as a fun role playing game, but there is a lot of effort that goes into it. With that counting the books. Players usually only need the Player’s Handbook, which contains information about how to play and how to make a character. Vice versa does the DM have a Dungeon Master’s guide, which introduces them to the game and how to direct it. Aside from that, there are a lot of other books containing different worlds, campaigns, creatures, characters, monsters etc. etc.

5. YOU CANNOT MAKE YOUR OWN DND HANDBOOK

Bouncing back on point 4, as there are many books, there are also many pages. A book isn’t easily studied, and is usually only used as a reference, and not something you have to know by heart. It is incredibly difficult to memorise every little detail of only one book. Aside from that, there are many many rules and restrictions bound to certain worlds and characters, so creating your own book, 9 out of 10 times would not make sense. It doesn’t make it impossible, but it is highly unlikely. Also, the DM will often times pitch in on which races and classes to use for certain campaigns, so creating your own species often won’t get you very far.

6. NOT ALL DND CAMPAIGNS HAVE A MAP AND MINIATURES

In season 4, we see Eddie’s campaign, with it a map and miniatures of creatures (under which Vecna), but this doesn’t occur as often as you think. Starter campaigns or other well known campaigns do contain maps, and miniatures of both the characters and creatures, but this is only because most of those campaigns don’t actually allow you to make your own character. A campaign self-written, or a campaign taken from a book about a certain world often times do not have anything, save from some drawings of your surroundings. There will be a lot of times you’ll have to imagine your character standing in a certain spot.

7. WRITING A CAMPAIGN IS DIFFICULT AND ISN’T WRITTEN IN A DAY

Extending some information; writing campaigns are a pain in the ass. As a first time DM, you will not write your own campaign. Unless you are really committed and already have some experience as a player…. If you have played often, writing a campaign is possible, but it takes weeks, if not months. A lot of info and rules and restrictions and creatures etc. etc. are involved in the process. Besides that, you’ll have to help your players out with their characters to fit to your world, while not revealing too much. You cannot write a campaign in a night.

8. CREATING A CHARACTER TAKES A LONG TIME

Like writing a campaign, a character also takes time. If you are really dedicated, you might have one in an hour, but if you want to properly study every race, class and background, you’ll be stuck in the books for a while. And that’s not even with counting characteristics, alliances, backstory, mannerisms, bonds, relations…. And then you’ll have to actually get in character. It takes time.

(As said, some people can create characters quickly, but this is with experience. More often than not, if you want to write a good character, you’ll be busy for quite a while)

9. EVERYTHING RELIES ON THE DUNGEON MASTER

As a player, you can’t change the story. You can’t make things up. Everything, and I mean everything, goes by the Dungeon Master first. You can’t propose things, you can’t ignore things. Dungeon Masters spent a lot of time working on campaigns, even the ones that have already been written. They know what happens, they decide. There is no second voice.

(Yes, players are able to interact with the story. It wouldn’t be DnD if you couldn’t, but the DM knows what happens, and the players - or the characters - do not. You could ignore creatures or buildings. Smart? Meh.)

Hope this helped! If not, feel free to ask or leave a suggestion!

[simping-overload]

𝚌𝚞𝚍𝚍𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚊𝚠𝚔𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚐𝚑 𝚋𝚘𝚢𝚜

𝚊/𝚗: 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚍𝚘 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚍𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗! 𝙰𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚖𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚢♡

𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚜: 𝚓𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚢𝚎𝚛𝚜, 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚢𝚎𝚛𝚜, 𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚎, 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚝𝚘𝚗, 𝚎𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚎 𝚖𝚞𝚗𝚜𝚘𝚗

𝚝𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚍𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚋𝚢 @vecnacurse [x]

𝚏𝚎𝚖/𝚏𝚎𝚖 𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍,(𝚜𝚑𝚎/𝚑𝚎𝚛)(𝚜𝚑𝚎/𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢) 𝚍𝚘 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝚖𝚎 & 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚢 𝙼𝙻𝙼, 𝙽𝙱𝙼𝙻𝙼, 𝚎𝚝𝚌 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚜, 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚒'𝚖 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞♡

𝚓𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 lives for a good cuddle, hes a total cuddle bug it doesn't matter if he's big or little spoon or whatever position yalls are in he is content with whatever. However his favorite cuddles is probably when he's high as a kite curled into you arms, he is in heaven

𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 is the definition of "hold me pls", for him being held makes him feel safe and secure in any position involving him in your arms, doesn't matter if it's you spooning him or him curled up again your chest with your arms wrapped around him. he just feels so happy & safe

𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚢 surprisingly enough loves being held, being the little spoon for him it's a great source of comfort, especially after any fights with his dad. he usually is laying on your chest or tummy as you watch a movie and run your fingers through his hair.

𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎 likes when you facing each other, legs intertwine and wrapped up in each other's arms, he likes he can pretty much have access to your lips wherever he wants a kiss or two vice versa, has a weird habit of just staring at you, admiring you thinking about how grateful he is to have you

𝚎𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚎 loves cuddling doesn't matter the position or place he's down to cuddle pretty much anywhere. though he loves curling up in your arms, and if you run your hand(s) through his hair he's out like a light he's just so content and happy, if he happens to be high he will cling onto like an octopus and not let go at all

[skyfallslayer]

Should We Stay or Should We Go? || Masterlist

-A ST Rewrite Feat. Steve Harrington x Henderson!OFC-

Main Masterlist || OC Fan Art || Spotify Playlist

🎲Summary: On the night of November 6th, 1983, Stephanie Henderson decided to take her little brother’s friend, Will, back home. However… they never arrive. Now, Dustin, Mike and Lucas, and soon the exception of the girl’s ex-best friend, Steve, must band together to find out what happened. Meanwhile, Steph and Will must fight for their survival in this nightmarish version of Hawkins, Indiana.

🎲Pairings: Will x Platonic!OFC; Dustin x Sister!OC; Slow burn! Steve x Henderson!OFC (Ex-bestfriends to Lovers); Slow burn! Byler

🎲Rating: Teen-Mature

🎲Warnings: At the beginning of each chapter.

🎲Word Count: 10,392 (So far)

🎲Start Date: 3/6/24

🎲 End Date: N/A

🎲 A/N: No Idea what possessed me to write this, but i saw everyone else doing something similar and I said to myself... "Hey, why not?". This can be read as reader-insert if like since OC's hair/eye color will only be mention here and there.

|| INDEX ||

Season One:

Prologue: The Pinky Promise

Chapter 1: The Vanishing of Will Byers & Stephanie Henderson

Chapter 2: The Weirdo On Maple Street

Chapter 3: Holly, Jolly Shotgun

Chapter 4: The Bodies

Chapter 5: The Flea & The Acrobat

Chapter 6: The Monster

Chapter 7: The Bathtub & The Sacrifice

Chapter 8: The Upside Down

-Taglist is Open-

@ladygrey03 @poppet05 @tooearlyforthis @lovesfics @lordzzz

@mirkwoodshewolf @sadbitchfangirl @olivewisp

@emsownuniverse @unspecifiedvisitor @smaryamsstuff

[r0b1ns]

STRANGER THINGS - CUDDLING HEADCANONS

YOUNG TEENS

characters: will byers, Lucas Sinclair, eleven/Jane, max Mayfield, Dustin Henderson, mike Wheeler

TW: none

Word count: 450

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

WILL BYERS

-oh he is totally the little spoon

-he really likes when you cuddle him from behind

-you're so warm and it feels so nice

-will play with your hand a lot

-at first he's a little awkward

-he'll try to always say something

-but eventually he stops and just enjoys your presence

-one of his favorite positions is facing each other and his nose touches your chest/neck

-he absolutely melts when you rub his hair

-he'll fall asleep right there and than

-when you're not alone, he's more reserved

-he'll still hold your hand and be close to you

-touching your legs together

-but nothing more

-he's too embarrassed

LUCAS SINCLAIR

-when you first suggested cuddling, he was so excited

-and of course nervous

-he wrapped a hand around your shoulder and you put your head on his

-he was smiling the whole time

-with time he became used to it

-but it's still his favorite part of the day

-sometimes when he's tired he'll fall asleep on you and you'll have to hold him

-he likes to put his head on your legs when you're watching TV, or simply just talking

-he absolutely ADORES hugging and squeezing you from behind

-with your beck pressed to his chest

-you really like playing with his hands and tracing his palm lines

-one time when he fell asleep on you his friends walked in on you, and joked about it for a month

MAX MAYFIELD

-if you were good friends before you started dating, there were already cuddles

-tho not so intimate

-you'd lay on her bed, your arm around her shoulder

-or watching TV and she lays her head on your shoulder

-if you weren't good friends the cuddles will come later in the relationship

-when she trusts you more

-she'll never admit to anyone, but she likes being cuddled by you

-but she doesn't like when you're hugging her too tight

-she likes to breath, and be able to move

-she doesn't move much, but if you do, she'll say you're "annoying"

-obviously she's joking

-she doesn't really like being the big spoon

-she just likes to feel safe in your arms

ELEVEN/JANE

-she didn't really understand the point of cuddling

-so she never initiated anything

-but one time you were watching a movie on her bed

-hopper fell asleep on the couch

-so you wrapped an arm around her

-she really liked the feeling

-from than on she always wanted to cuddle

-she felt so safe and comfortable

-she didn't initiate at first, and always waited for you to do something

-but eventually she grew more comfortable with physical touch

-now every time you're sitting or laying next to each other she moves closer to you

-and you wrap a hand around her

-later on she would lay on your chest and listen to your heartbeat

DUSTIN HENDERSON

-ok he HATES being the little spoon

-he just likes to hold you

-he feels like he's protecting you

-he always holds your hand

-he likes to talk about the D&D companies

-he's cuddling you and describing EVER DETAIL of it

-you can't complain

-he's so excited and it warms your heart

-his cat often joins you two

-if you fall asleep he decides to sleep too

-cause what's the point of just sitting there not doing anything cause he doesn't want you to wake up

MIKE WHEELER

-he's TALL

-always wraps his limbs all around you

-he likes to talk a lot

-and complain about D&D

-he doesn't enjoy being the little spoon

-he much more prefers to hold you

-if it's him hugging you from behind, or you laying on his chest

-when you fall asleep he likes to play with your hair (if you have any) so he won't get bored

-or just trace your features

-if he has access to your beck he always does the little man with his two fingers

-and he pretends he's doing parkour or something cool

-you like having conversations with him

-not looking at each other, and just saying your thoughts out loud

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

!gifs are not mine!

[arriansarchive]

HI:D can I request a Will Byers (Season 4?) Like they just came back from Cali to Hawkins and he saw how much change one of his best friend's (the male reader) went through, like taller and deeper voice and stuff. And basically just all fluff cause my boy Will deserves love 😔 thaaanks<3

Will Byers/Tall!Male!Reader

UGH I LOVE THIS SO MUCH

I guess since we knew Will that we're part of the party so I just did that

Will does deserve all the fluff I agree heavily

I did basically the entire scene of the time where the pizza van comes to the Wheelers (sorry if it's a different house it's been a second since I've watch season 4)

And okay I didn't remember the exact dialogue and like hell I'm searching up the entire script, so ur gonna have to deal with noncanon dialogue

I'm actually really proud of this sooo happy days yes yes?

OKAY THANK YOU THIS IS SUCH A GOOD PROMPT UR AMAZING

Summary: Look above my little silly notes

Your eyes drooped slightly as the boxes seemed to pile up in front of you. You were beginning to get tired of boxes. Literally.

Steve tried to talk to you a few times, but you didn't really answer with enough worthwhile effort to keep him interested.

You felt a light tap on your shoulder. "Hey, Y/N, are you okay?" You turned around to see Dustin talking to you for what seemed like the millionth time. "You seem a little off."

"I'm just stressed and getting kind of annoyed that no one can see or understand that." You grunted, lifting a particularly heavy box in your arms.

He got a defeated look on his face as he was probably asked to do this by some other idiot trying to snoop, but you brushed it off with a shake of your head.

You wondered who would actually be okay about something like this. You got told Max was in a coma, Eddie's probably dead as well. It seemed stupid to you that everyone was acting like nothing happened.

Karen Wheeler looked over your shoulder and said something nobody was expecting. "Did someone order a pizza?"

Eyebrows were raised and furrowed as people looked back from their boxes. What looked like a pizza van was ripping down the street at a fast pace.

It came to skirting stop, and one of the doors flew open. You were more confused then you liked to admit; did anyone order a pizza?

Your eyes widened from their previously sleepy state whenever you saw Eleven, Will, Jonathan, a random guy you didn't know, and Mike step out of the side door.

The gaze that was originally fixed on the guy you didn't know switched immediately to Will. He's been your best friend for years, and you had missed him very much.

He met your awed stare with a giant, warm grin. A grin that you had longed for ever since he left a year ago. Phonecalls weren't enough to satisfy you.

"Will!" You called out, a smile matching his present on your face.

"Y/N!" He sounded relieved, but his eyes were red and a little puffy.

Will pulled you into a tight hug whenever he got close enough. You felt sparks light up in your stomach, and it felt like they were going to leak over into your mouth and out.

He was warm. It felt like being wrapped in safeness itself.

You had met Will around two years old; your two mother's were good friends throughout highschool and adulthood.

He soon introduced Mike to you, and everyone got along well. Lucas and Dustin came along later. Everything was good for a while.

Will looked up at you, seemingly in surprise. His eyebrows were up high, and his mouth was open wide.

"How did you get so tall in just a year?" He asked with shock.

As if your eyes were deceiving you before you realized that Will was quite a bit shorter than you now. He smiled up at you happily.

"I guess I didn't notice." You mumbled.

He giggled and it made your heart race a little faster. "Your voice is deeper too!"

You smiled widely at him, digging your head down into the crook of his neck. "Damn, I've missed you so much, Will."

"I've missed you too."

You hugged for a while longer before pulling away. He offered to help you with your boxes, and you gladly accepted the help, momentarily forgetting the peril you all were in.

[nofoundboy]

Will Byers x female reader

That's it. That's the joke.

[some1kissme]

unrequited

pairing: will byers x male!reader

fandom: stranger things

summary: y/n gets his biggest secret revealed at rink-o-mania. on his birthday. and will sucks at roller skating.

word count: 1.7k

warnings: homophobia, being outed, use of the word queer, bullying, mediocre writing, kissing

category: hurt/comfort, angst, fluff, angst with a happy ending

a/n- wrote this on wattpad, sorry for the weird spacing . also if u could not tell, angela is readers step-sis. im ngl this kinda is NOT my best writing but whatevs. it’s corny but i love corny shit.

“Is anyone else coming to your party?”

Y/N laughed as he lead the two siblings into rink-o-mania. "No Jane, you and Will are my only friends.”

They got their roller skates and moved to an empty bench to put them on. "Not even your step-sister?" Will questioned as he helped Jane untie the tangled laces on her skates.

"No way would she come, even if i invited her. Angela is the spawn of the devil. And plus, she's still mad at me because I didn't cover for her when she snuck out."

Y/N double knotted his laces and stood up, holding his hands out for his friends to take. "Shall we?"

They both laughed, letting him pull them into the roller-skating rink.

Eleven let go of his hand, doing a spin and smiling as she was cheered on.

"Oh my god! Y/N!!" Will held on to his hand tighter as Y/N started to go faster. He skating backwards, pulling Will along.

"If I fall, your coming down with me." Will warned, trying his hardest to keep his balance. He was too busy looking at his feet to see the look of pure adoration on Y/N's face.

Y/N made a particularly sharp turn to avoid a little girl, causing Will to loose his balance. "Shit!" He fell backwards with a thump, pulling Y/N right down with him.

He fell right on top of Will, quickly adjusting his weight as to not crush his friend. Y/N climbed off of him, redfaced. He couldn't even stand up due to how hard he was laughing.

"Shit! That's not funny!" Will himself could barely speak through his laughter.

Y/N pushed himself up off the dirty floor, wiping his hands on his jeans before offering a hand to Will.

Will took his hand, only to be pulled up with much more force than he was expecting. Losing his balance once again, he fell forward.

Y/N caught him, planting his hands on his biceps to steady him. Will blushed at their close proximity, averting his eyes from Y/N's teasing gaze. "Jeez Will, you didn't tell me how bad you were at this?"

Will scoffed in disbelief. "Hey! Neither of those times were my fault-"

"Y/N!" He was interrupted by eleven. She sped over to them, using the wall to stop herself. "I thought you said Angela would not be coming?" She pointed over to the DJ booth. Y/N followed her gaze.

Angela stood there with her gang, a sickening smile on her face. She held a small book to her chest. Y/N recognized it almost immediately.

"No..... no this is not happening right now."

The DJ stepped out of the booth, allowing Angela to take his spot. The music abruptly stopped, and all heads turned to her.

"Y/N, what's wrong?"

Y/N ignored his friends calling out for him as he skated towards the exit of the rink. He pushed through the crowd of people who had stopped, waiting for Angela to speak.

"It's my brothers birthday today! Everyone say 'Happy Birthday Y/N.'"

He had reached the exit to the rink, only to be stopped by two of angela's friends. Their taunting smirks didn't help the overwhelming dread inside of him. Y/N tried to push past them, but couldn't get enough leverage with the skates on.

"Since we are celebrating Y/N today, I thought it would be best if everyone knew who this snitch really is." Angela spoke slowly and mockingly, as if she speaking to a child.

Y/N practically ripped his skates off, and jumped over the small wall that separated the rink from the walking area. He could hear Eleven and Will hot on his trail.

Angela opened the small notebook in front of her. "So, I have his diary here. I learned a lot about Y/N from reading this! Reading two whole pages about his pathetic unrequited love for Will Byers really gave me some insight on his personality." She flipped through the pages until she landed on one from a few weeks ago. "Here! This is another favorite of mine.."

Angela's voice was drowned out by the roar of the crowd of teenagers in front of her.

Y/N rushed to the DJ booth, pleading for Angela to stop. "Why are you doing this?" He tried to snatch his diary out of her hands, but he was pulled backwards, slamming into a hard chest.

"What do you think your doing, queer?"

His heart beat rapidly in his chest as blood began to rush to his face. "I'm- I'm not. i'm not gay."

Angela's loud cackle made Y/N wince. "I have all the proof right here!" She jumped down from the DJ booth, and began to skate towards the rink. "C'mon y/n! Everyone wants to see!" She handed the diary to a group of boys reaching out for it.

Tears welled up in his eyes as his breathing became uneven. Clammy hands clawed at his throat, trying to gasp for air he couldn’t get.

"Your boyfriend is over there, Byers!"

Y/N's blood ran cold as he heard the familiar name. Not being able to bare will seeing him like this, he ran.

He burst out of the front door of rink-o-mania, wincing under the harsh sunlight. The California heat dried up the tears streaming down his cheeks. Not paying any mind to the fact that he was outside in only his socks, Y/N ran to his truck. It was a beat up pick-up that his dad had gotten him for his 16th birthday.

He jumped in the backseat and slammed the door, blasting the AC as he tried to catch his breath. His vision was blurred by tears, so he couldn't drive away even if he wanted too. Being a year older and having his license meant that Y/N drove Eleven and Will around everywhere. Including rink-o-mania. No matter how much he wanted to go home, he couldn't strand them there.

Y/N banged his fists against the seat in front of him in anger, cursing his stupidity. "Damn it! Why would I write it? Shit... I'm such an idiot." He muttered to himself.

Y/N hid in his car for the next 30 minutes, his legs splayed across the backseat in a pathetic attempt to get comfortable. Eventually the panic attack had ceased, and he was able to breathe and see clearly. He was hiding from everyone who had witnessed Angela cruelly outing him, but more importantly he was hiding from Will.

His feelings for Will are the most important secret Y/N had ever kept. He could bare hiding away his feelings and his identity, if it meant keeping Will in his life. But now it was all ruined.

Self-hatred swarmed his mind like a hive of angry bees. Y/N wanted nothing more than to just like girls. To be normal.

He cursed himself for wondering more about what Jane and Will might think, rather than his own safety. Y/N doubted Jane even knew what 'gay' meant. But Jane wasn't the one that Y/N was really worried about. it was Will.

A small voice of reason in the back of his head spoke. He knew Will would never shame him for who he was. But what would he think about his feelings for him? Y/N's love for him being requited was not a genuine possibility that ever crossed his mind.

Y/N was startled out of his thoughts by a knock on the window opposite of his seat. His heart rate sky-rocked at the sight Will. He was standing there, eyes swimming with tears. He held Y/N's shoes in his hand, silently pleading him to unlock the door.

Y/N shook his head, tears threatening to spill again.

Will didn't take no for an answer, he only knocked harder. "Y/N please just open the door. I just want to talk." His voice was muffled, but Y/N could hear it cracking as he began to cry.

Y/N looked up quickly, clearly alarmed by his crying. He reached over to unlock the door and then sunk back into his seat, moving his legs so that Will would have room to sit. He stared out the window, refusing to meet Will's gaze as he climbed into the car.

Will grabbed his shoulders and forced Y/N to face him. "Hey..." He pulled him into a tight hug, allowing Y/N to cry into his shoulder. They sat in the backseat of Y/N's pickup, both crying and hugging. He felt relieved to have some sort of comfort. Y/N knew that realistically Will would never treat him cruelly, but he couldn’t help the anxiety engulfing his mind at the thought of it.

"I'm sorry." Y/N muttered into his shirt.

Will pulled away from the hug to look at his tear-stained face. "What are you apologizing for?"

Y/N averted his eyes, cheeks heating up in embarrassment and shame. "What Angela said in front of everybody. About me... and you." He pulled away from Will completely, bracing himself for a gentle rejection.

"Don't be sorry for that. Please.... Y/N look at me." His eyes met Will's without even a second thought. He grabbed Y/N's face in his hands. "Don't be sorry. I know I'm not."

Y/N's eyes widened in shock. He refused to believe what was practically being spelled out for him. "What do you mean?" He struggled to get the words out, trying to choke back another sob.

In a moment of bravery, will's lips met Y/N's. The initial shock wore off quickly, and Y/N eagerly responded to the kiss. His hands gripped Will's shirt, gently pulling him closer.

They pulled away to catch their breaths, but Y/N didn't waste a second before chasing after his lips. He pulled Will down by the back of his neck and connected their lips once again. He squeezed his shoulder affectionately, urging Will to climb onto his lap.

Will indulged his silent request, moving to straddle Y/N's hips. They pulled away, chests heaving and lips swollen.

"Your 'pathetic' love for Will Byers is definitely not unrequited." Will stared down at y/n, an adoring smile on his face.

"I'm glad to know."

[bagerfluff]

Sweater

Set in season three or four - Will Byers x Male reader

Prompt - Stealing/borrowing Clothes

‘Were the fuck is my sweater’ Y/n thought as he looked in his closet for his sweater. He meant to meet up with his boyfriend but he couldn't without his sweater. It was the beginning of December so it wasn’t really cold but he still needed it. It was his favorite sweater, it was yellow with light gray accents.

Y/n could wear his hoodie, but he had worn it for the past week, and he didn’t feel like freezing. Y/n already looked in his closet, around his room, and in the laundry, but he couldn't find it anywhere. “What the fuck” Y/n said out loud as he closed the closet and looked around his room once more.

As he looked around the room, Y/n glanced at the clock that hung above his door and realized that if he kept looking for his sweater, he would be late. Y/n’s eyes widened, and he quickly grabbed a hoodie that was resting on his desk chair and left. “Bye G/n” Y/n yelled as he popped on his shoes and ran up the door.

As soon as Y/n got out the door, he ran over to his bike, got on it, and rode off to the park. That place he and Will agreed to meet. Y/n loved riding his bike. The feeling of the wind blowing through his h/l h/c hair, the adrenaline that came from riding as fast as he could so he could see his boyfriend.

Y/n smiled at the thought of seeing his boyfriend. They had only been dating for a couple of months, but those months had been the best months of Y/n’s life. Will was the sweetest boy he had ever met. Y/n found everything about the boy cute, to his bowl cut, warm brown eyes, short stature, and short shorts.

Y/n was so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn’t realized that he had arrived at the park. Y/n got off his bike and ran to the swing set where Will said he would be. As soon as the swing set and Will got in Y/n’s sight, his jaw dropped because of what he saw. Will was sitting on one of the swings, lightly swinging back and forth.

His shorts were switched out for some pants, and he was wearing a beanie that made him ten times cuter. But what really caught Y/n’s attention was what he was wearing on the top part of his body. It was a sweater, his sweater. The same sweater that he had ‘lost’. The same sweater that was yellow with light gray accents.

It was big on Will, so it fell over his waist a bit and covered his hands, but holy shit Will looked adorable. Y/n smiled as he walked over to Will. “Hey love” He said as he was close enough. Will jumped a bit and looked over to his left, smiling as he saw his boyfriend.

“Hey” Will said softly. Y/n leaned on the frame of the swing set, and his loving smile turned to one of the teases. “Is that my sweater” Y/n asked, but it didn’t really sound like a question. Will’s face turned red, and he looked down at the ground.

“No” he said so quietly that Y/n almost didn’t hear him. “Really” Y/n said teasingly as he walked in front of Will, who had stopped moving, and clasped his hands on the swings chains over Will’s. Y/n now was looking down at Will with a sly smile.

“Because that looks like the sweater I was looking for”. At that, Will looked up at Y/n. “sorry” he started looking down at the ground again. “You left it at my house a couple of days ago and I wanted to wear it”. Y/n smiled at Will, a smile now full of love. “It’s fine love” Y/n said as he took one of his hands off the chain and used it to tilt Will’s head up.

“You can always wear my clothes, but only if you always look this cute in them” Y/n said right before kissing Will. And it was true. Will could always wear Y/n’s clothes, especially if he looked cute in them.

[spicysooop]

‘ burning brighter than the stars ’

pairing : will byers x male reader

genre : fluff?

warning : very sexy reader (LMFAOO), cussing

summary : will is upset. upset that he’s alone at rink-o-mania as a mere third wheel, on his birthday, too. well, until he runs into his best friend from school who happened to be hanging out there. perfect timing, because, well, he’s found himself gaining very .. unusual, weird feelings around the guy.

this is my first blog, it won’t be the best 💀💀 if you liked this, please reblog :( it’d be much appreciated

FEM ALIGNED READERS, DNI

Will hated this. So, so much.

After Mike, one of his closest and oldest friends, came to California to visit, it’s been the same as him not being there at all. Or, just an extremely bitter, opposite replica of what he’d thought would happen when the two met. He thought that they’d talk like they used to, have a bunch of fun, and include everybody. And, well, it seemed like he was wrong. Because all Mike wanted to do was kiss and hang out with El.

And; it was no shit annoying.

Watching the two skate, holding hands and doing cheesy couple stuff, his face bored the semblance of a sad grimace. Why’d they even invite him? No, how could they invite him to this place but forget it was his birthday? He was expecting something better. A lot better. But, maybe he just didn’t deserve something better.

Will continued, glancing down at the pair of skates he was wearing that were rolling constantly against the hard ground. Fuck. These dumb, useless thoughts..

He couldn’t even manage to hear the sound of roller-skating moving progressively closer and closer to him until it was blurring up his mind like white noise. He looked around. There was skating all around him, and yeah, the noises were pretty damn loud, not to mention the awkward music playing in the background, but.. it was just — it was like the sound was directed towards him.

And it was.

Narrowing his eyes, Will turned his head to see a classmate, and, a rather close friend, skating beside him with a grin. It was you. And, well, his heart was thumping out of place. Butterflies roamed around his heard for what felt like forever, tying knots throughout his body worryingly. He almost forgot how angelic you were. Appearing to him in a faint, cool light.

You weren’t exactly wearing anything special, just a pullover black sweater with high-waist, baggy jeans, and still..

God, you were so—..

He can’t explain. He can’t fucking explain in words.

If you didn’t stray away from everybody at school, you know, keeping everybody at arm’s length with your icy demeanor, he promptly considers, you’d be popular as hell. You probably wouldn’t even have the time to hang out with a dweeb like him.

Why do you even hang out with him, anyways?

“Hey, Byers. ‘Ya here alone? I’d assume Jane was here with you, but I don’t know where she is.” You spoke, glancing around. Only then was it he realized that he was skating pretty slow, and that the two had already been went off together. Of course, what was he expecting.

“Oh— hey,” He spoke, saying your name softly before continuing. “Jane is here, but.. uh, she’s with somebody. So I guess I’m practically alone. It’s.. embarrassing, I know.” He sighed, shaking his head disappointingly.

“Oh. Shit, alright.” You spoke, softer this time. Raising your hand up, you ruffled his hair — and, well; he can definitely feel the small plumpness of the rings circling your fingers. Oh god..

“So, ‘ya don’t mind me just.. hanging out with you? We’re both pretty damn lonely, ‘yeah?” You grinned, removing your hand off of his head and reaching it out, causing Will to look at you in a weird way. Skating together, holding hands?

Now; he doesn’t know what your sexuality is. And, well, he’s kind of aware of his, but, skating together whilst holding hands was .. risky, for two guys. Of course, he was sure that somebody as kind as you wouldn’t mind. You’re pretty damn dense. But, it was the ‘80s. Nobody would take this lightly unless you reassured you were just very close friends.

But, he doesn’t think he can deny when it comes to you. Softly whispering your name, he stood silent for a while before taking your hand and glancing around, making sure nobody was looking. “..Yeah. I don’t mind.”

And, with that, you two begin to skate together. And, he swears he’s never been this excited for an outing.

“Seem’s like you’re really enjoying this, hotshot. Should’ve came up to you earlier, ‘yeah?” You smiled lopsidedly, and he just smiled and nodded. He was a little anxious about people looking, but that gloomy feeling was soon replaced with something completely opposite after seeing the soft, reassuring look plastered all over your face.

He was so glad.

[m0chaminx]

Will Byers | Second Kiss, But Not The Last

Part One

Part two to First Last Kiss

*•.¸♡Request : none

*•.¸♡Prompt : none

*•.¸♡𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 : mentions of violence

*•.¸♡Paring : Will Byers x GN!reader

*•.¸♡𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮 : Finally, after nearly a year- you're reunited with Will

*•.¸♡words : 900+

You clutched the book tight in your hand, but not hard enough to damage the cover or any of the pages. It had been almost a year since you saw Will. You kept in contact, you would send the occasional letters, but you got caught up in school and your after school job so you opped for extra money from babysitting and gardening and then calling him every second Sunday.

Mike knocked his shoulder against yours, motioning for you to grab your stuff. You reached up and grabbed your bag, following him off the plane. You had made it to California, your stomach swirling with anxiety at seeing Will again. You looked over Mike's shoulder seeing Will, El, Jonathan and, by your guess, one of Jonathan's friends in the seats.

El waved to Mike and they rushed to each other. You smiled at Will before running at him, throwing your arms around his shoulders. Will wrapped his arms around your waist resting his head on yours.

Once you stepped back you hit his shoulder. "You little shit you got taller," You snarked, smiling up at him.

"No I think you just got shorter," Will shot back with a goofy smile. "Oh I uh, I made you something." Will held out a dark brown canvas paper, a lighter cream string tied around the middle. "But maybe wait until we get home, it's kinda big and there's a lot of people here."

You smiled and nodded, running your fingers over the top. "I didn't do something so creative, but I got that book you wanted by… Alice what's her face," You laughed as you forgot the author's name and handed Will the book. Will smiled, scoffing in disbelief, smiling at the Blue bow you tied around it. Will turned the little tag over in his hand.

To Will, love from Y/N

"Y/N," El called, smiling happily at you. You spun around to her giving her a hug as Mike and Will finally said hi.

"Hey El," You smiled pulling back. "Look at how long your hair is," You noted, brushing at El's bangs. You took your hands back, shoving them in your jacket's denim pockets.

"You Y/N right?" Jonathan's friend interrupted with a question, gesturing at you. You stuttered slightly but nodded anyway.

"Oh yeah, Y/N/N this is Argyle," Will introduced. "Jonathan's friend." You smiled and nodded.

"Hi," You greeted and smiled.

"Sweet to finally meet you man," Argyle said with a dopey smile.

"Good to meet you too," You said maintaining your smile.

"Shall we go?" Mike asked, guessing out of the airport. The others nodded to Argyle and Jonathan, leading you all out. Will looked over at you, before sliding his hand into yous. You smiled, laughing quietly to yourself before lacing your fingers together.

SOMETIME LATER

"She'll be alright," You assured with a nod, referring to El hitting Anglia in the face with a roller skate. Will knelt next to you, helping you set up a bed in his room. "She is tough."

"Yeah, but Mike's being kinda a dick about it," Will sighed fluffing out a dark blue pillow before dropping it with the others.

"Well, Mike has always been 'kind of a dick'," You laughed softly, moving to sit on Will's bed. "Can I look at the painting now?" You nodded to the rolled canvas that rested on Will's desk, a mess of acrylic and watercolours mixed around.

"Oh shit, yeah," Will cursed, wiping his hands on his jeans before grabbing the painting, knocking a few tubes of paint off. Will held it out to you, like he did before at the airport. You took it, slowly uniting the slightly frayed string. Will sat next to you, your shoulders touching. "It's not much but, I don't know…" Will shrugged, watching your fingers move across the canvas.

You unrolled the painting, a smile already forming on your face. It was a landscape of hued blues and greens of a stream; pink, purple and red flower shapes lining one side of the reflective river. Lime and forest green trees took up most of the space on the left side of the page, orange and pink sunset sky with white clouds took up the rest of the space; except, for the two figures holding hands that stood in the trees.

"I tried to make it look like us," Will explained pointing to the figures, nervously bouncing his leg. "I don't know how well I succeeded." You laughed softly, leaning over and resting your head on his shoulder. Will moved his arm, resting it on your shoulders, rubbing shapes with his fingers on your shoulder.

"I love it," You whispered with a love sick smile. You titled your head up, slowly taking Will's hand that rested in his lap, rubbing your thumb across his knuckles. "I love you." Will smiled down at you, just as lovesick. Will squeezing his hand in yours.

"Can I kiss you?" Will whispered, eyes flicking across your face. You pushed yourself up, placing Will's painting carefully to the side before spinning back to him.

"Absolutely," You confirmed with a smile and a quiet giggle. Will reached his hand out, holding your cheek and bringing your face to his. You rested one hand on his leg for support, the other gripping at his flannel shirt. Your lips danced together, losing yourself in each other.

Once you pulled back, equally out of breath as each other, Will huffed with a smile. "God I've missed you," Will whispered, before pulling you back to him. You smiled against his lips, sliding the hand that rested on his shirt up to his neck.

ﾟ°☆Page navigation

[pariahsparadise]

stay | w. b.

nav. | m.list

request: could you write any fluff with will byers hehe

word count: 0.8k

author’s note: absolutely i can. but it will definitely have undertones of angst lolol. i wrote this really fast and it's so short, i'm sorry. i finished vol 1. the day it came out so stranger things has totally infested my mind. dw tho, THIS FIC DOES NOT HAVE STRANGER THINGS 4 SPOILERS!

pairings: will byers x gn!reader

warnings: uh will has a nightmare? not proofread. it's angsty but mostly fluff. i think

The gasps were what roused you from your spot on the floor.

You sat up straight, heart beating wildly at the sound of a distant scream, but one you managed to place immediately. Will. It took a beat for you to adjust to your surroundings before you remembered that you were in California, visiting your friend. Currently, you were in the Byers’ living room, sleeping on a mattress because you refused to let Will give up his own bed. 

Stumbling to your feet, you tried to make your way towards his room, the lack of light confusing you even more, as you were already in an unfamiliar setting, but you found your way there. Groping around for the door handle, you pushed the door open and walked in.

Your heart stuttered at the sight in front of you, Byers caught in a state between sleep and consciousness, thrashing around in his own bed. His blanket was strewn on the floor, his legs flinching in a way that told you that he must have kicked it off. His breaths were unnaturally fast and his eyelids fluttered, each twitch dragging a cut along your own heart. Dropping to your knees at the side of his head, you reached for his shoulders, gently but firmly shaking him awake.

“Will, hey, Will? Wake up, it’s just a nightmare, wake up please.” You shook him harder and he startled, hands shooting out to grab a hold of you. His eyes wild and distraught, they ran over your face a few times before recognition kicked in, and his grip on you relaxed. His shoulders still shuddering, he half dragged you onto the bed, and you let him drape your frame over his, his head finding solace in the place where your shoulder met your neck.

You could feel his warm breaths against your skin, still oddly paced, so you moved your hand to smooth over his back soothingly. “It was just a nightmare,” you reassured Will softly, thumb tracing circles over his nightshirt, “You’re safe now.”

“Right,” he murmured into your skin, and you shifted a little so your legs tangled together. Normally, the proximity between you two would have you blushing, but the only thing mattered to you at the moment was the welfare of your friend.

You kept murmuring kind affirmations to Will, some of which you weren’t sure were exactly true, but you wished you could make them so. The two of you lapsed into a quiet, uneasy silence, before you broke it, having to say something.

“You didn’t tell me you were still having nightmares.”

“I didn’t want to worry you,” Will said, pulling away from your neck so his words were clear. You couldn’t help but yearn for him to return, to feel the accidental brush of his hot lips on your skin when he spoke, but there was no time for that right now.

“So you lied?”

“I didn’t lie, exactly-”

“It was a lie by omission and you know it, Byers.”

He sighed quietly, the pads of his fingers gently sweeping from your shoulder to your hand, the movement rendering you speechless. What were you even talking about, again?

“I’m sorry,” you distantly heard Will say, but you couldn’t focus on it, because his treacherous, tantalising hand was making its journey back up your arm. 

In that moment, you wanted nothing more than to kiss him. 

The thought freaked you out, and you scrambled out of his arms, feet finding the awaiting cold floor with a grimace. 

“Right, okay, I forgive you,” you stumbled over the words, hating yourself, because how could you even think about making a move on your friend, especially after an episode of such emotional distress? It was a manipulative, nasty thing to even consider, and you wanted to get out of his sight, “I’m going to go back to bed, then. Sorry.” 

“Wait, no, what?” You heard a rustle, and then felt Will’s hand on your wrist, holding you back. “Stay, please.”

You shook your head no, and Will’s frown deepened, his hand tugging you gently to the bed again. “Stay,” he repeated, firmer this time.

Your mind raced through potential excuses, settling on the first one that seemed most plausible. “Joyce,” you blurted, “Joyce wouldn’t be okay with us sharing the bed. Right?”

“Nonsense,” Will shot you down immediately, “She actually hates that you’re sleeping on the floor, makes her feel bad. She’d be fine. Unless,” he said, and you could see the anxiety growing in his eyes, “Unless it’s you who wouldn’t be fine with sharing. I’m sorry, you can go. I’m sorry I woke you up, it-”

“It wasn’t your fault,” you spoke up immediately, “So quit apologising. It’s fine, really.”

“So you’ll stay, then?” he said, flashing you a small smile, and just like that, you were a goner. 

“Yeah,” you said quietly, imprinting the image of his growing smile into your brain, “Yeah, I’ll stay.”

[m-mintyq]

stolen sweaters

pairing : Will Byers x gn!reader, no pronouns mentioned

word count : 1.09 k

summary : you stole one of Will’s sweater sometime in the summer of ‘85. you only told him some time before he was moving, but he said you could keep it. Later when we go to California you bring it with you, which leads to a bittersweet nostalgia conversation because you put it on once you all got back after the trip to Rink-O-Mania.

warnings? : just fluff & mutual pining :]. very minimal swearing

a/n : I wrote this as a shifting scenario, so there's a mention of a birthday- so just pretend your birthday is before march. you may also pretend that it's a super late gift if your birthday is after march :') plus I'm taking this as my opportunity to insert my headcanon that Will helps Joyce around the house with tasks and stuff.

this is also my first time publishing something like this so be kind lol <3

“Is that my sweater?” Will said as he walked into his bedroom, checking on you.

“Sure is…I hope you don’t mind that I kept it this long.” you said, sliding your suitcase back away and sitting to face your friend.

“No, no, not at all…More surprised that you still have it” He said sitting by his desk, fiddling with his hands to distract from the awkwardness.

It’s not that it was awkward talking to each other, it’s just that there was some kind of tension in the room making both of you a bit nervous.

“Well I can’t really just throw it away, plus it’s a really nice sweater.” You remarked. True, you couldn’t throw away a sweater that didn’t even really belong to you and you would’ve felt awful throwing it away even if it was yours. And the sweater really was nice, it was comfortable, not like those itchy Christmas sweaters your grandparents would get you, but more like the ones that were warm, comfortable, had that old knitted look & feel all without itching.

“Doesn’t smell like you anymore tho.” You half-whispered without thinking as you began to fiddle with the sleeves.

“What?”

“Uhh..It doesn’t smell like you anymore. I remember finally wearing it after you’d moved because it was too hard to even put it on once you left and noting that it smelt like you.” finally looking up from each others distractions your eyes met, both wanting to break away because you had problems making eye contact, but the want to stay in the moment just made it feel like time froze.

“You…you know what I smell like?” It would’ve sounded creepy in any other context but it was nice in this one. While thoughts of worry and wanting to go back and shut up ran through your head, all Will could think about is how his heart got warmer at the idea of you longing for him and wearing the old sweater to feel closer to him.

“It- It sounds weird and creepy I- I know but-”

“No…I, I think it’s kind of sweet.” you were kindly cut off before you could dig yourself a hole even deeper.

“Soooo…you still got some on you for the sweater?” chuckling, you were referring to the scent of the sweater, as if Will just carried around a bottle of it.

“I- what do you want me to do with it- rub it on me?” he said giggling in-between words as he got up out of the chair, going to sit on the floor opposite you.

“I don't know! Whatever works I guess…Or I could just steal a new one.” joining in the laughing, you switched into a more comfortable position since sitting on your knees was proving to not be as nice as imagined.

“mmmh…I might have a nice one somewhere-” Will responded now shuffling closer to his wardrobe, opening a half empty drawer.

“No I wasn’t actually serious- I mean I can’t take ANOTHER sweater—”

“I’m fine with giving you one—”

“No Will I can’t, I already feel bad for having kept this one.” still set on not taking any more of your ‘friends’ clothes, your tone got firmer, a bit too firm for your liking but you had a trouble regulating your tone, plus it was too late to rephrase now.

Both of you paused for a moment, the silence letting you slip into overthinking, questioning whether you said something wrong- maybe you did say it too harshly? fuck did you make it too awkward? you probably sound stupid…what if you did something? does-

“What if…youuu…gave me back the old sweater…and I give you a new one?” Will prompted, pulling out a similar style sweater. “It should be practically the same.”

Pulled from your thoughts your eyes ran over the object in his hands, Wills eyes examining your expression from your peripherals. “You sure? It was really just a silly comment you don't have to.”

“But I want to. Take it as a late birthday gift”

“But you sent me a gift—”

“Doesn't matter, take it. Besides, sweaters look good on you.” Taking the sweater into your hands and examining it, you felt a flash of heat on your face, but hoping it wasn't too noticeable you sent your friend a smile.

Pulling Will into a hug, you dropped the sweater in your lap so you have both hands free. “Thank you.” Though this made you blush even more, to your dismay, you didn't really care, more focused on your ‘friend’ at the moment.

Will on the other side, though calm on the outside, was yelling on the inside. All positive of course.

It took him by surprise when you pulled him in, him having been so focused on your expression and reaction to the ‘gift’

Both of you just kind of sat there, not wanting to let go. It was kind of nice, feeling the warmth and comfort of each other, but with more time passing the tension of awkwardness grew too much to ignore. Conveniently, both of you awkwardly parted at the same time, not really knowing what else to do other than continue to sit in silence for a moment longer.

“So uhh…”

“Yeah I’m gonna just…put this away and…”

“I..I’ll see you, in the kitchen?” Will said half-stumbling to his feet and then to the door.

“Yeah..Yeah I’ll be there in a sec.” hurrying you pulled your backpack closer to you, zipped it open & carefully put it inside, avoiding the other things already in there. Putting the bag aside again, you got to your feet and hurried after Will.

You noticed Jonathan and Argyle sitting at the table, Murray and Joyce setting the table, while Mike and Jane nowhere in sight for now. Finally your eyes caught Will, speed-walking from kitchen to dining room, carrying plates, glasses, cutlery back and forth. Didn’t he leave his room like…just a minute ago?

You slipped into a chair next to Jonathan, him shooting you a dopey smile before turning back to Argyle. Soon enough the table was filled with food, Mike and Jane sulking in their seats, Will contently sitting opposite you, and Joyce running her last task before coming to sit down.

“Is that Will’s old sweater?” she said sitting down.

“Mom—” Will spoke out of embarrassment, already begun to poke at his food.

“Uhhh- yeah, it is.” You half-willingly responded, pointing your eyes down in your plate.

“Hm…It looks nice on you.”

[maximoff-pan]

I know this is random but I was reading your why do fools preview of your steve fic (which I love and can't wait for more of), and I was wondering if you could write a blurb about will byers coming out to the reader? I feel like with her being so close to jonathan and the byers family, it would be such a pivotal moment 💕

oh my goodness this idea warms my heart, of course I can — I also would love more requests in this universe before I post the next part (if anyone has some

pairing: will byers x fem!(platonic)reader

set in the why do fools universe (read here) — eventually steve harrington x fem!reader

word count: 600+

“I think I like Mike.”

The implication is clear; right as the words pass quietly through his lips, you understand what he means. But almost like he thinks there’s no way you could possibly get it, he feels the urge to clarify. Because in his mind, why would you ever understand? “More than–” he struggles with it. This is much harder than he thought it would be.

Except as he glances towards you, your eyes locking steadily, he knows he doesn’t need to say any more. 

“More than a friend.” You finish delicately. And there’s no judgement in your tone, only love.

Will nods. This has to be one of the scariest things he’s ever done: admitting how he really feels. “I’ve never…” he trails, trying to form the right words, “you’re the only one I’ve told.” 

And you can’t quite describe it, the warmth that spreads through your chest. It’s almost surreal, thinking about how much he must trust you…enough to be the first person he feels he can talk about this with. Initially, it catches you by surprise. What could you have possibly done to deserve this kind of trust? But in your heart, you know why.

The love you hold for Will Byers is unconditional; he’s the little brother you never had. The little brother you didn’t ask for, but who fell into your life and changed it for the better. Of course, with that came Dustin, Mike, and Lucas, (and later El and Max), as well as an interesting friendship with the one and only Steve Harrington, but you suppose, everything had worked out for the best. 

“C’mere.” You gesture to him, arms outstretched and a soft smile gracing your features. “You know I love you right? No matter what?”

You can feel him nearly collapse into you, feeling as he releases a breath of relief. He’s crying, his tears a combination of fear and happiness. They wrack through him in intense waves, and yet paradoxically, his demeanor remains as delicate and fragile as you remember it being. Ethereal. 

It brings you peace knowing that he feels safe with you. Because as much as you adore each of the kids equally, (and while you hate to admit it), Will has always been the one you gravitated towards. Something about his timid nature drew you in. From the moment your friend Jonathan introduced you to his little brother, you knew how special he was. With his gentle brown gaze and shaggy bowl cut, he exuded pure innocence. 

The first thing you remember about him was how reserved he seemed. Minimal words were spoken in those early months. Until he started to open up. Regardless, he was always a bit of a scared kid, a kid who didn’t have a fair shot right from the jump.

Maybe you just got that. And unlike others in his life, you refused to give up on him, or Jonathan.

“Oh Will.” He’s clinging on to you now, grip tight as he shakes like a leaf. “I’ll always be here for you. I promise.”

He breathes heavily, beginning to apologize profusely. “I’m sorry.” He murmurs. “I was just so scared.”

“Never be sorry for your emotions.” 

He pulls back from you, calmer now, allowing you to get a good look at him.

"Never apologize for being who you are." You tell him. "Not to me, not to your brother — not to anyone. You hear me?"

Your tone is delicate, but Will knows just how serious you are. He nods, unable to find the words to thank you, unable to describe the feeling of warmth that has spread through his entire body.

You are a safe haven. You always have been. You always will be.

Will knows what it's like to feel accepted by you, to be loved by you. And he never wants that to change.

"Thank you." He clings to you still.

It's silent and left unsaid, but in your mind you think, always.

I will always be here for you.

[skyfallslayer]

Should We Stay or Should We Go? || Chapter One

-A ST Rewrite Feat. Steve Harrington x Henderson!OFC-

Main Masterlist || Series Masterlist

🎲Summary: On the night of November 6th, 1983, Stephanie Henderson decided to walk her little brother’s friend, Will, back home. However… they never arrive. Now, Dustin, Mike and Lucas, and soon the exception of the girl’s ex-best friend, Steve, must band together to find out what happened. Meanwhile, Steph and Will must fight for their survival in this nightmarish version of Hawkins, Indiana.

🎲Chapter Summary: On his way home from a friend’s house, young Will and his best friend’s sister, Stephanie, sees something terrifying. Nearby, their loved ones start worrying hysterically, all while Steve hears some unsettling news.

🎲Pairings: Will x Platonic!OFC; Dustin x Sister!OC; Slow burn! Steve x Henderson!OFC (Ex-bestfriends to Lovers); Slow burn! Byler

🎲Rating: Teen-Mature

🎲Word Count: 9,471

🎲Date: 3/12

🎲Warnings: Angst; Swearing; Implied Broken Friendship; Racist Comment; Talks of Kidnapping; Car Crash; Mental Strain/Breaking Down; Implying to Sex; Lying; Suicide Comment; Homophobic Comment/Calling A Person A Derogatory Word; Implied Death; Steve's 'Asshole Era. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

(And let me know if I missed anything)

🎲A/N: Here we go folks. The official rewrite of episode one. Can't say it's perfect, might be a little messy, but think of it as it setting the whole plot up. Anyway, stay safe, and enjoy!

“It was a seven.” The words fell from his lips that would predestine this night. On the chilly night of November 6th, 1983, the small group of friends had gotten together to play their weekly game of DnD that was cut long short for being on a school night. Two of the boys had rode off on their bikes, away from the host’s house as the young brunette told his friend the truth.

The boy of the house, Mike Wheeler, turned his head, confusion on his face. “Huh?”

“The roll, it was a seven.” The brunette, Will Byers, replies, a frown on his face. “The Demogorgon, it got me.” He kicks the stand off and starts riding. “See you tomorrow.”

As his words lingered in the air, the garage lights flickered on and off that was forgotten with a shrug. 

Young Will catches up quickly with the other boys, Lucas Sinclair and Dustin Henderson. The wind in their eyes and smiles on their faces, they continued to ride for many blocks, slowly coming unwind.

“Good night, ladies.” Lucas teased as he broke from the group for his driveway.

“Kiss your mom ‘night for me.” Dustin quips back, before facing the other boy. “Race you back to my place? Winner gets whatever my sister brings home this time.”

Will’s eyes light up from that. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Dustin says, not expecting for his opponent to take off immediately. 

“Hey! Hey! I didn’t say ‘go’! Get back here!” But as he says that, he knows there was no stopping his friend. “I’m gonna kill you!”

Will chuckled and shouted, “Bring it to school tomorrow!”

Dustin hits the breaks, out of breath and frustrated as he replies, “Son of a bitch…” Meanwhile, his friend pretended he didn’t hear that as he rode down the street they dubbed ‘Mirkwood’.

Yes, he lived the farthest away from… anything really; His friends’ houses, his school, the nearby strip mall, pretty much everything that was ‘useful’, But he didn’t mind it. As long as his family was happy with their place he could go along with it.

So Will continued to ride, in his own head that was causing him to ignore when his headlight flickered off and on until his bike chain magically came apart. 

The boy gasped and swerved in a jagged line, worriedness on his features as he used his feet to forcefully come to a complete halt. Stopping along the side of the road, he looked down, trying to figure out what the problem was. While doing so, he didn’t even notice a car had slowed and rolled its window down.

“Will?” The person in the vehicle said, catching him by surprise. 

He was met with a familiar face, the fair skin, freckled nose, and dark curls tied back in a small pony was a girl he practically grew up with. Ironically, she was the older sister of the boy he raced, Stephanie Henderson.

“Steph?” He said, still shocked as he watched her get out. Those bright blue eyes of hers trailed to his only transportation and frowned.

“What happened to your bike?” 

“Uh, chain broke. I think.” Will says, looking at it again, and then back at her. “You’re coming home late.”

“You’ll understand when you have a job and a crappy boss.” She smiles, softly. “Come on. Put your bike in the car and I’ll drive you.”

“What?” He looks at her in disbelief. “Are you sure? You came that direction.”

“You know I don’t mind. Besides, it’s quicker and safer than walking. Plus I’m sure your brother and mother would appreciate it.” She says, opening the back door.

“But what about your mom?”

“I called her already and told her that I’ll be a little late.” She gestures to the car. “Come on.” He smiles and puts the bike in before hopping in the passenger seat. She even spoils him by handing him a paper brown bag. “Cinnamon bun?”

His eyes light up. “Actually, Dustin betted me that if I beat him in a race back to his house I can have whatever you bring.”

“Then I guess they’re all yours.” She turns the car around. “So how was your campaign?”

“It was good until the end.” He takes a bite of the pastry. “I ended up getting beaten by the Demogorgon.”

“Remind me what that is again?”

“He’s a two headed demon prince. Very evil.”

“I see.”

Another bite and a small hum. “You should try playing it.”

She raises an eyebrow. “You think?”

“Yeah, it’ll be fun!” Now he was like a kid in a candy store. “You can be… our mage! A druid, or maybe even a ranger.”

She chuckles quietly. “I… have no idea what any of that even means. But uh… I’ll give it a shot. What’s the worst that can happen? I hate it?”

“Or you get eaten by a Demogorgon.”

“That’s true.” Steph agreed, and continued their light conversation until something strange started to happen. She watches as her headlights suddenly start to flicker. “What the?”

“Look out!” Will yelled, and her eyes snapped back up just in time to spot the bizarre looking figure in the road. 

She gasps and veers off the road, foot slamming into the brakes as it rolled down and down into the woods, crashing into a tree. Now, it wasn’t that bad of a hit, more like a little thump, but still. A crash is a crash.

Stephanie lets out a pant, tiling her baseball cap back up to look worriedly towards her passenger. “Shit! You okay?”

“Uh…” He nods, a little shaken up, but looking unharmed. “Yeah. I’m good.”

Another pant and she looks around. “Who that fuck was that?!” She snaps, upset. “Who the fuck stands in the middle of the road at nine o’clock at night?!”

But as she was having her meltdown, Will was staring at the side mirror and paled. “Steph?” He says, terrified.

“What?”

“I think he’s coming.”

“What?” She followed his eyes to the mirror before turning around. Standing behind them a few feet away was the figure who made her heart sink at its unnaturally long arms, and fingers coming at a point. Now she starts pales. “That’s not a person.”

“Huh?”

She starts fiddling with the door. “Get out of– Get out of the car, now!”

Once they were both out, she snags him by the wrist and pulls him along, running as fast as they could, a few miles down, all the way back to what their destination was. As soon as they stepped a foot inside the Byers home, the family’s dog, Chester, started barking defensively as she told the boy to lock the door.

“Mom? Jonathan? Mom?!” He replies after finishing the task, but alas it seems like they were the only ones home.

“Ms. Byers?!” Steph yells out, biting her lip. “Shit.” She runs for the phone as he looks out a window and sees the figure approaching the house. She tries dialing 911, but all she receives on the other end is static. “What the fuck?!”

“It’s unlocking the chain!” Will yells, backing away as she takes a look. Sure enough, they watched the chain on the door slide itself across the track as the other locks started to turn (What in the fresh hell is going on?!).

“Come on!” She pulls him away, thinking the only thing they can do is protect themselves now. 

They both run into the shed in the back, Will remembering what his mother had told him if something to this degree started happening, and begins loading the shotgun on the wall. 

“Is that all you got?” She asked, searching around for anything else she could use.

“Y-Yeah.” He mutters, and frantically points the weapon at the door, trembling as the girl stood behind him, hands over his and shielding his body protectively.

“If that thing comes in, shoot it. I’ll hold you steady so you don’t fall back.” She says, and he nods (His body subconsciously pressing into hers out of fear and comfort).

But the next few moments were tedtious, hearing that thing growling, which got louder and louder, until it sounded like it was right next to them. Steph, who felt the wind get knocked out of her, was the first to turn around, eyes widened as she kept the boy behind her, feeling him clench her jacket. 

“What the fuck are you?!” She screamed, the growling turning into screeching. 

Then the light in the shed gets brighter and brighter– Until everything suddenly stops.

Then…

.

.

.

There was no one left.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

As soon as the sun touched his face, the boy reached over and shut his alarm clock off before it could even ring. Groaning and stretching, he was feeling extremely exhausted after being up so late (But last night was so fun, it was totally worth it!). Grinning a toothless grin, Dustin rolled out of bed, his clothes in hand as he strolls to the end of the hall for the bathroom. However–

He lets out a sigh and throws his head back at the door being closed. “Oh, my god. Phanie! I told you I needed to use the bathroom first on school days.” Seriously, how many times has he told his sister this? He doesn’t get a reply, and bangs on the door. “Phanie!! Are you listening?”

And on the last knock, to his surprise, the door creaked open. Being cautious, he poked his head inside finding the light was off and the room was unoccupied. 

“Huh.” He said, looking around again. “Okay…” He quickly gets ready for the day, fixing his curls so his hat stays on, before adventuring back out. “Goodbye, sleepyhead!”

And once again, Dustin was shocked to find that now his sister’s room was unoccupied as well. The only thing present was their cat, Mews, who was curled up in a ball on the still perfectly made bed… with everything on it still looking the same in place.

What the? He thought, before heading for the kitchen where his mother was listening to the news.

// -And that’s it for News Center this morning. Thanks for joining us. Let’s hand off now to Liz at the news desk //

// All right, thank you, Donna. Turning now to local news, we’re getting reports of surges and power outages all across the county. Last night, hundreds of homes in East Hawkins were affected, leaving many residents in the dark. The cause of the outage is still unknown. We reached out to Roane County Water and Electric, and a spokesperson says that they are confident power will be restored to all remaining homes within the next– //

“Hey, mom, have you seen Stephanie?” He asked, ignoring the fact his mother was making him his favorite breakfast meal.

“Stephanie?” His mother, Claudia, asked as she slid him a plate. “No, I haven’t.”

“She’s not in her room.” He replies, taking a seat, thinking. “Did you see her come home last night?”

“Well, she did call me saying that she was going to be late, but I’ll admit, I dozed off before I heard her come in.” She notices her son’s worried expression, and smiles. “Oh, don’t worry, Dusty-buns. I’m sure she had to just pick up a friend for school. I can drive you.”

“No, I can bike, I just…” He trails off, not really hungry anymore. We always eat together.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Meanwhile, in another household. Joyce Byers was rummaging around her living room for her keys, cursing under her breath after every failed attempt.

“Where the hell are they?” She sighs. “Jonathan?”

“Check the couch!” Her oldest child said from the kitchen.

“Ugh, I did.” She moves the cushions around again, finally spotting them. “Oh, got them.” She smiles and comes over to give him a pat on the shoulder. “Okay, sweetie, I will see you tonight.”

“Yeah, see you later.” He says, finishing up the eggs.

“Where’s Will?”

“Oh, I didn’t get him up yet. He’s probably still sleeping.”

Joyce sighs, already leaving the room. “Jonathan, you have to make sure he’s up!”

“Mom, I’m making breakfast.”

“I told you this a thousand times. Will!” She claps her hands. “Come on, honey. It’s time to get up.” She pushes open his door only to find that his bed was empty. “He came home last night, right?”

Jonathan’s heart sank as he faced his mother. “He’s not in his room?

“Did he come home or not?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“No. I-I got home late. I was working.”

She gives her son ‘the look’. “You were working?”

“Eric asked if I could cover. I said yeah. I just thought we could use the extra cash.”

“Jonathan, we’ve talked about this.”

He frowns, looking away. “I know…”

“You can’t take shifts when I’m working.” She says, wheels turning in her head at where he could be.

“Mom, it’s not a big deal.” He makes eye contact again. “Look, he was at the Wheelers’ all day. I’m sure he just stayed over.”

“I can’t believe you.” She says, already grabbing the phone. “I can’t believe you sometimes.” She starts dialing the phone number she knows by heart and waits.

[ ‘Hello?’ ]

“Hi, Karen. It’s Joyce.”

[ ‘Oh, Joyce, hi.’ ]

Before Joyce could ask, she hears a ruckus in the background.

[ ‘Quiet!’ ]

“Was that Will I heard back there?” She asked, hopefully.

[ ‘Will? No, no, no, it’s just Mike.’ ]

“Will didn’t spend the night?”

[ ‘No, he left here a little bit after 8:00. Why? He’s not home?’] 

Joyce tries to keep the panic off her face as she replies, “Um, you know what? I think he just left early for... for school. Thank you so much.”

[ ‘Okay.’ ]

“Bye.”

[ ‘Bye.’ ]

Joyce hangs up the phone, exchanging concerned glances with her eldest child.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Three out of the four boys rode to school that morning, chattering away about a certain person that’ll only end in sadness. Frowning as they slowed down to their usual bike rack that laid empty before them.

“That’s weird. I don’t see him.” Mike said, noticing the absent bike. Did he park somewhere else this time?

“I’m telling you, his mom’s right.” Lucas said, trying to be the reasonable one. “He probably just went to class early again. You know he’s always paranoid that Gursky’s gonna give him another pop quiz.”

“That’s true.”

“Yeah… pop quiz...” Dustin mumbled, being completely distant from the group. 

Lucas sighs, rolling his eyes. “Dude, you still worried about your sister?” 

“Well, yeah! I mean, why was she not home? We always eat breakfast with each other, how could she just skip out on it?”

“She’s sixteen, you know? You’re just overreacting. I’m sure Steph is fine.”

“I don’t man, this ain’t like her.”

“Dustin–”

“Step right up, ladies and gentlemen!” A bully, named Troy, announced as he came over with another boy. “Step right up and get your tickets for the freak show.” He smirks. “Who do you think would make more money in a freak show?” He pushes Lucas first. “Midnight–” Then Mike. “Frogface–” Then Dustin. “Or Toothless?”

The other bully, James, looks pensive for a moment before making his decision with a point. “I’d go with Toothless.”

Dustin’s cheeks flush out of embarrassment. “I told you a million times, my teeth are coming in. It’s called cleidocranial dysplasia.”

“‘I told you a million times’.” James mocks, and laughs. 

“Do the arm thing.” Troy pressures, as Dustin takes a small step back.

“Do it, freak!” Deciding to just comply, Dustin cracks his arms with his collar bone, making him and Troy groan and recoil. “God, it gets me every time.”

Then the two of them push through the boys as they leave for class; The trio sending them a death glare.

“Assholes.” Luca scoffed.

“I think it’s kinda cool.” Mike said, trying to cheer Dustin up. “It’s like you have superpowers or something. Like Mr. Fantastic.”

Dustin chuckles. “Yeah, except I can’t fight evil with it.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Meanwhile, in the high school next door, Mike’s older sister was hustling inside, books in hand, acting all flustered. It especially didn’t help when her friend came over, grinning like the Chester Cat.

“So, did he call? The ginger girl, Barb, asked all giggly.

The sister, Nancy, shushes her looking around. “Keep your voice down.”

She nudges her with her elbow. “Did he?”

“I told you, it’s not like that.” Nancy blushes harder when Barb gave her a look. “Okay, I mean, yes, he likes me, but not like that. We just made out a couple times.

Barb raises an eyebrow. “‘We just made out a couple times’. Nance, seriously, you’re gonna be so cool now, it’s ridiculous.”

“No, I’m not.” She shakes her head while unlocking her locker.

“You better still hang out with me, that’s all I’m saying. If you become friends with Tommy H. or Carol–”

“Oh, that’s gross!”

“I’m just saying, you better still be friends with me. I heard that the King pushed a close friend out of his circle when he took the throne and–”

“Okay, I’m telling you, it was a one-time... two-time thing.”

She opens her locker, finding a note that read: MEET ME IN BATHROOM -STEVE.

Barb’s expression grew. “You were saying?”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Before you know it, Nancy is having a make out session with the highschool’s King, Steve “The Hair” Harrington. The cocky bad boy that every girl fawns over, and the physic that every guy envies. If you wanted any kind of popularity while running around this place, you had to make a guarantee that he would be in your corner.

“Steve.” Nancy croaked in between kisses, making him hum. “I have to go.”

“In a minute.” He mumbled, nibbling at her neck as the school bell rings.

“Steve–” She nudged her way out from him. “I really, like seriously, I have to go.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Let’s…” He snags her bag, keeping her in place for a second. “Come on, let’s do something tonight, yeah?”

“No, I can’t. I have to study for Kaminsky’s test.”

“Oh, come on. What’s your GPA again? 3.999–”

“Kaminsky’s tests are impossible.”

“Well, then, just let me help.” He said, smirking.

She rolls her eyes with a smile. “You failed chem.”

“C-minus.”

“Well, in that case–”

“So I’ll be over around, say, like, 8:00?”

“Are you crazy?” Nancy shakes her head. “My mom would not–”

“I’ll climb through your window.” He insisted, all pumped up at the idea. “She won’t even know I’m there. I’m stealthy, like a ninja.”

“You are crazy.” She says, taking her bag back and starts leaving. 

“Wait, wait, wait. Just…” He steps in front of her. “Okay, forget about that. We can just– We can just, like, chill in my car. We can find a nice quiet place to park, and–”

“Steve, I have to study. I’m not kidding.”

“Well, why do you think I want it to be nice and quiet?”

That got her to crack another smile. “You’re an idiot, Steve Harrington.” She replies, stepping around him. “Meet me at Dearborn and Maple at 8:00. To study.”

The school bell rings again, leaving behind a very satisfied teen.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Alright, class, I’ll be your sub for today.” The man explains, writing his name on the board. “I’m Mr. Dunwoody. If you have any questions, please refrain before I take attendance.” He ignores as some of the ‘cool kids’ snickered under their breaths and chuck paper balls around. “Uh, Barkley?”

“Here.”

“Brown?”

“Here.”

“Byers?” No reply. “Jonathan Byers?” He scopes the room, the seat in the back corner was absent. “No Byers. M’kay, uh, Davidson?”

“Present.”

“Evans?”

“Here.”

“Eubank?”

“Here.”

“Henderson.” No reply, he looks around – Yet another seat in the back unattended (And certain eyes following). “Henderson? Is a… Stephanie Henderson in?” His gaze shifts with the class’ and frowns. “No, okay. Uh, Harrington?” Silence. “Harrington?”

Steve blinks and faces forward, snapping out of his trace. “Uh, present.”

“‘Kay, uh–” He started shooting off more names, but the teenager wasn’t honestly listening. Something about that empty space (the space that seemed so far away now) didn’t sit right with him. And the gossiping in the background wasn’t helping his troubled mind either.

“Maybe grunge girl finally got the hint.” 

“Oh, yeah. For sure.” 

“Do you think the pressure made her drop out?”

“Drop out?” A laugh. “Maybe she took a dive off the overpass.”

“Guess we’ll have to check the news later for that!”

They laughed under their breaths and Steve’s hands started subconsciously squeezing his crossed arms. This shouldn’t bother him. It’s not like they’re–

He didn’t even realize he was turning around to say something if it was for Tommy’s hand snagging his shoulder. It, and he’s not sure if he can admit, hurt in a way he can’t describe. They both locked eyes, and Tommy shook his head ‘no’ just as the substitute finished calling out names, starting the soulless class.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

As usual the town’s head sheriff was strolling into his job late and looking like he’d been hit by truck after truck. His five o’clock shadow was strong and so were the bags under his eyes; Jim Hopper walks in with a lit cigarette in his hand, the receptionist amazed by his appearance.

“Good of you to show.” She said, as he passed by and gave a small nod to the other officers present.

“Oh, hey, morning, Flo. Morning, everybody.” He says, heading for the small kitchenette to pour himself some coffee.

“Hey, Chief.” Powell greeted with a grin.

“Damn! You look like hell, Chief.” Callahan replies, looking up from his game of cards.

“Oh, yeah?” Hopper spares him a look.

“Yeah.”

“Well, I looked better than your wife when I left her this morning.” His response made his brothers bust a gut as the elderly woman came over, trying to get his attention.

“While you were drinking or sleeping, or whatever it is you deemed so necessary on Monday morning, Phil Larson called. Said some kids are stealing the gnomes out of his garden again.” Flo explains, as he tries not to roll his eyes (or maybe he did?).

“Oh, those garden gnomes again.” He sighs, and picks up a donut too. “Well, I’ll tell you what, I’m gonna get right on that.”

Flo keeps a straight face, used to his antics by now. “On a more pressing matter, Joyce Byers can’t find her son this morning.”

He hums after taking a bite of the pastry. “Okay, I’m gonna get on that.” He starts walking away. “Just give me a minute.”

“Joyce is very upset.” She pushes, as he shakes his head.

“Well, Flo– Flo, we’ve discussed this. Mornings are for coffee and contemplation.”

“Chief, she’s already in your–”

“Coffee and contemplation, Flo!” He shouts as he leaves the room, and, due to not paying attention, is surprised to see Ms. Byers already waiting in his office. His jaw clenched. “Okay… Missing? I’ve been told.”

“Yes, missing!” Joyce says, watching him sit down and start typewriting a file out for her boy. Worriedly she waits for him to finish, even smoking bud after bud to calm the jitters. “I have been waiting here over an hour, Hopper.”

“And I apologize.” He says, trying to calm her.

“I’m going out of my mind!”

“Look, boy his age, he’s probably just playing hooky, okay?”

She shakes her head. “No, not my Will. He’s not like that– He wouldn’t do that.”

“Well, you never know.” He suggests, a little smirk growing on his lips. “I mean, my mom thought I was on the debate team, when really I was just screwing Chrissy Carpenter in the back of my dad’s Oldsmobile, so–”

“Look, he’s not like you, Hopper. He’s not like me. He’s not like most.” She explains, her face saddening. “He has a couple of friends, but, you know, the kids, they’re mean. They make fun of him. They call him names. They laugh at him, his clothes–”

“His clothes?” Hopper’s eyebrows shoot up. “What’s wrong with his clothes?”

“I don’t know. Does that matter?”

“Maybe.”

Joyce inhales deeply. “Look, he’s... He’s a sensitive kid. Lonnie…” God she could punch that man right now. “Lonnie used to say he was queer. Called him a fag.”

Another eyebrow raise. “Is he?”

“He’s missing! Is what he is.” 

“When was the last time you heard from Lonnie?”

“Uh, last I heard, he was in Indianapolis. That was about a year ago. But he has nothing to do with this.”

“Why don’t you give me his number?”

“You know, Hopper, he has nothing to do with this. Trust me.”

Hopper’s body straightens, hands coming to rest on his desk to make sure she was listening. “Joyce, 99 out of 100 times, kid goes missing, the kid is with a parent or relative.”

Her eyes widened. “What about the other time?”

He blinks. “What?”

“You said, ‘99 out of 100’. What about the other time, the one?”

“Joyce.”

“The one!”

Hopper tries to deescalate again. “Joyce, this is Hawkins, okay? You wanna know the worst thing that’s ever happened here in the four years I’ve been working here?” He could hold back a small smile. “Do you wanna know the worst thing? It was when an owl attacked Eleanor Gillespie’s head because it thought that her hair was a nest.”

Joyce sighs. “Okay, fine. I will call Lonnie. He will talk to me before he talks to–”

“What, a pig?”

“A cop! Just find my son, Hop. Find him!”

And then came a knock on the doorframe, which happened to be Flo who looked apologetic this time.

“Chief, I’m sorry, I have another hectic parent. A Ms. Claudia Henderson is here to see you.”

“What?” Hopper said, and just before he could blink, a blonde woman came stumbling in, all nervous just like someone else in present.

“Hopper, I’m sorry if you’re busy, but–”

“Claudia?” Joyce said, standing up with surprise. 

“Joyce?” Claudia’s face washes over with relief upon seeing her. “What brings you here?”

“It’s Will, I can’t find him.” She says, missing the way the other woman’s face lost all color. “And apparently he didn’t go to school either.”

“Well, what a coincidence. I can’t find my daughter, either.”

And then all eyes are now on the police Chief who was dumbfounded this was all happening at once. After a moment, he sighed and pulled Will’s form out of the typewriter before sliding in a new piece of paper.

“Alright.” He gestures to the chair. “Let’s hear your story.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

And then that’s how the police chief found himself at a middle school. His first “suspects” in this case was Will’s inner circle of friends. But what he wasn’t expecting while sitting in the principal’s office was the trio to be talking over one another frantically.

“Okay, okay, okay.” Hopper says, waving for them to stop which they did. “One at a time, all right?” He points to Mike. “You. You said he takes what?”

“Mirkwood.” Mike said, confusing him.

“Mirkwood?”

“Yeah.”

Hopper sighs, looking at his partner. “Have you ever heard of Mirkwood?”

“I have not.” Callahan shakes his head. “That sounds made up to me.”

“No, it’s from Lord of the Rings.” Lucas says, offended.

“Well, The Hobbit.” Dustin pushes as his friend rolls his eyes.

“Who cares?”

“He asked!”

“‘He asked’!” Lucas mocked which started their bickering again.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Hopper yells, getting to stop once more. “What’d I just say? One at a damn time.” He points to Mike again. “You.”

“Mirkwood, it’s a real road. It’s just the name that’s made up. It’s where Cornwallis and Kerley meet.” Mike explains, giving the Chief a picture now.

“Yeah, all right, I think I know that.”

“We can show you, if you want.” The boy replies, his friends agreeing with him immediately. 

Hopper shakes his head. “I said that I know it!”

“We can help look.” Mike pleads.

“Yeah.” Dustin encouraged.

“No.” The boys try to protest, but he shuts it down again. “No. After school, you are all to go home. Immediately. That means no biking around looking for your friend, no investigating, no nonsense. This isn’t some Lord of the Rings book.”

“The Hobbit.” Dustin mumbles, quietly.

“Shut up!” Lucas said, elbowing him.

“Hey!”

“Stop it!” Hopper snaps, while standing up. “Do I make myself clear?” He gets no answer. “Do I make myself clear?”

Mike nods. “Yes, sir.”

“Good.” He faces the principal. “Sir, thank you for your time.”

“Wait!” Dustin cuts in, and makes the man groan.

“What?”

“What about my sister? You mentioned her earlier. What about her?”

“Kid, listen, your sister’s sixteen, and to be honest, I believe a teenager playing hooky more than your friend Will. Okay?” Hopper tried to leave again, but the kid wasn’t letting up.

“But Stephanie’s not like that! I mean, yeah, she doesn’t necessarily like school, but she always studies hard to get good grades. She’s a good noodle.” Dustin frowns worriedly. “Trust me, she would never skip school. I mean… did you even check the parking lot to see if her car was there? Or the mall that she works at?”

I guess… the kid did have a point, Hopper will admit that one. He locks eyes with his partner who shrugs.

“I mean, we might as well kill two birds with one stone while we’re here.” Callahan says, truthfully.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Hopper sighs. “Okay. So Dustin, did your sister have any… friends we could talk to?” Then they got quiet, looking amongst themselves. “What? No? She didn’t? Or–?”

“Well, not really.” Dustin admits, bittersweet. “I mean, she probably hangs out with us more than anything at this point.”

“I mean, she’s friends with that douchebag Steve.” Lucas said, upset.

“Was friends. Not anymore.” Mike clarifies.

“Was a friend?” Hopper asked, skeptical. “What happened?”

“Not sure. They were inseparable until one day they just… weren’t.” Dustin replies, which was the truth. He remembers seeing Steve around a few times as he grew up, but then one day his sister stopped going out and didn’t even mention him anymore. Then before he knew it, he witnessed first hand the boy’s ‘asshole’ attitude (Makes him glad that she wasn’t around him anymore).

“Okay, then. What’s his name?”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Steve Harrington.” 

Steve stopped himself from getting into his BMW to look who was calling him out. To his shock he found two police officers in his presence, and immediately felt sick.

“Um, can I help you, officers?” He asked, paying no heed to the passing stares from other students.

“I’m officer Hopper, this is my partner Callahan. We just want to ask you a few questions.” Hopper explains, as the teenager nods.

“Am I in trouble?”

“No, son. As long as you comply.”

“Okay.”

“Alright then, do you know a girl by the name of Stephanie Henderson?”

His heart sank again like earlier. “Stephanie?” Steve asked, his throat feeling tight (Why was his throat closing up?).

“Yeah. We were told by her brother that you guys used to be friends. Is that true?”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“Have you spoken to her recently? Seen her?” Hopper asked, getting a shake of his head.

“Seen her? Yeah, I mean I see her everyday, we’re in the same classes, but I didn’t see her today.” Steve shifts his weight around on his feet. “As for talking, I haven’t spoken to her in years.”

“So you haven’t had any real contact with her?”

“No, sir.” Steve watches the two adults exchange glances which pique his interest. “May I ask what’s going on with her? Is she in trouble?”

“Not necessarily trouble, I would say. Her mom came down by the station earlier and reported her missing, saying she didn’t see her in the morning and when they called the school she wasn’t there.”

“If I’m being honest, son, she’s a teenager, she probably just wanted some time alone.” Callahan replies, with a half shrug. “Besides, everyone knows her mother’s a bit… out there. She tends to overreact.”

“There’s nothing for you to worry about, Mr. Harrington. We appreciate your time.” Hopper replies, bidding him a farewell as he begins to leave (but this wasn’t sitting right with the boy’s stomach).

“She never misses her classes though.” Steve blurts out, getting their attention. “Even now, even if we aren’t friends, I notice she never misses school. It’s completely out of her character.”

It really is though. Steve waited until the officers processed his comment, before nodding.

“Noted.” Was all Hopper said and they left, leaving him high and dry, wondering what was truly going on. He was so stuck in his head he didn’t even notice Tommy and Carol making their way towards him.

“Oooh, looks like someone’s in trouble.” Tommy coos, with a grin.

“What did you do, Harrington? Slash Tammy Thompson’s tires finally?” Carol asked, making herself laugh.

But Steve didn’t find this funny, instead his attention was turned back to climbing in the passenger seat. “I gotta go home.”

“What?” Tommy said, caught off guard.

“I gotta go home.”

“What? But you said we were going to the movies?”

“Maybe tomorrow I–” He couldn’t even think straight. “I’m sorry. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He shuts his car door as his name is being called, and quickly pulls away.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Along the Mirkwood road, the three officers were paneling out, surveying the area. Everyone was shouting Will’s name, except Hopper who nerves were shooting through the roof; So much so, he had to stop and pop a pill. These kinds of situations, especially evolving children, were hard for him to deal with. It reminded him too much of his own–

Wait a minute. Were his eyes deceiving him? Does actually see this or was this another one of his episodes? 

But after triple checking, he finally calls the others forward. “Hey! I think I got something.”

He steps off the room, jogging a few feet into the woods. If it wasn’t for the daylight, he surely would have missed a huge clue that was being covered by a few shrubs and ankle deep piles of autumn leaves. Smashed into one of the sweet gum trees was a car, windshield cracked and lightly powdered in stray branches.

“I don’t remember hearing anything about crashes this morning.” Powell said, confused as he examined it. 

Hopper’s keen eyes also caught something lying in the backseat and pulled it out. He frowns, his nerves spiking again. “This is Will’s bike.”

“His bike?” Powell asked, suspicious now. “You don’t think this was uh… a kidnapping?”

“It’s possible. But it doesn’t explain why the kidnapper would crash and abandon the car. Then leave evidence of the child behind.”

“Now, what a second.” Callahan said, perking up. “This is a 1975 Tan Ford Granada, the same car that Ms. Henderson said her daughter drives.”

Hopper’s eyes widen as he sets the bike down. “She also said that her daughter had a Journey keychain.” He opens the driver door, and sure enough, still in the dead ignition, there was a little band keychain dangling off her car key. “Shit.” He locks eyes with his partners. “Which way is the mall?”

Powell pointed in the direction that he feared the most. It was in the same direction the Byers’ house was. Now it was starting to make sense. 

“What are you thinking, Chief?” 

Hopper frowns. “Well, if you look at the bike, the chain’s broken. My guess, Stephanie was driving by and saw him on the side of the road, and offered him a ride home.”

“Then how do you explain the car being off road?”

He sighs, dreading for the answer (both in a good and a bad way). “I’m not sure.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Saying Joyce Byers was livid was probably not a strong enough word after being hung up on so many times. Why, out of the times she actually needed to talk to her ex-husband, he doesn’t answer the phone?! She could pull all her hair out from that man. No wonder they were divorced since he frustrates her so–

“Mom?” Jonathan said, standing up from the couch (He was currently making missing child signs for his brother).

“What?” 

“Cops.” Sure enough, they saw many cop cars pull up, including a tow truck with a car none of them recognize. 

“Is that his bike?” Joyce said, worriedly once she was outside. “And who’s car is that?”

“We found this in Stephanie Henderson’s car.” Hopper replies, sitting the bike down. 

“Stephanie’s car?” Jonathan said, surprised. Well, I guess he shouldn’t be that surprise, ‘cause although they’re not exactly friends as one thinks they might be, given the situation, he knows her enough that she’s the type of girl to give you the shirt off her back if you need it.

“Our best guess right now is that she saw him on the side of the road and offered to drive him back. It makes sense since her mother told us Stephanie called to let her know she’ll be running late from work. And given the time stamp Will’s friends provided us, them crossing paths match up.”

“But that still doesn’t explain everything!” Joyce says, trying to piece this together. “Where did you find her car?”

He sighs quietly. “Down off the road, into the forest.” He starts walking away, motioning for his men to follow him. “Split up, fellas.” He said, once they were inside.

“Did it have any blood on it? Or– or what was the condition of the car? Did it slide off the road?” Joyce asked as she followed him around. “And why are you here instead of looking?”

“Well, he had a key to the house, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So maybe he came home. Maybe they both came home.”

Joyce scoffs, stepping in front of him. “You think I didn’t check my own house?”

“I’m not saying that.” He says, eyes trailing away upon catching something else. “Has this always been here?” He walked over and pointed to an indent in the wall.

“What? I don’t know. Probably. I mean, I have two boys. Look at this place.”

He suddenly opens the door to the backyard, the doorknob trailing directly to the spot of the mini hole. “You’re not sure?” He’s about to question it some more when the dog suddenly starts barking. He heads outside, finding Chester angrily staring down the shed. “Hey, what’s up with this guy, huh?”

“Nothing, he’s probably just hungry.” Joyce said, after following him out. She sighs and drags the dog by the collar. “Come on.”

But as they left, Hopper’s gaze was focused on the shed. Why was the dog so wound up from that place? Treading carefully, he goes inside, flipping the lightswitch on that buzzed lightly above. His eyes scaled the room, immediately noticing something. His fingers wrapped around the box full of shotgun shells, realizing it was half empty.

Empty? He thought, setting it down and heading for where the weapon would be stored. But the two hooks screwed into the wall were bare, and to a shock, when his fingers brushed where it should be, the light suddenly shut itself off.

Out of instinct his hand latched around a flashlight nearby, turning it on. He turned the light towards the door, wondering if someone was just screwing with him but… no one. 

Okay… not creepy at all. He trailed it around, looking closely, nothing making him want to stand on his toes until he decided to turn around. That’s when he saw the back half of the shed was a mess, shelves torn off, boxes and objects thrown everywhere, some even being crushed under some kind of weight. Even the hair on the back of his neck stood up when he swears he could hear someone growling.

His heart was beating in his ears as he crouched down, looking around for anything. (Un)Luckily enough, there was no kid laying emotionless in the pile. He frowns, wondering what scared the boy so much that he went to grab a gun. And then–

Something shiny caught his eye.

He reached out and picked it up, a gold chain unraveled, showing off a heart shaped pendant with two initials carved into it. 

S.H.

“Shit.” Hopper whispered, horrified.

“Hey!”

He shot to his feet, turning around to face his brother in blue. “Jesus!”

“What are you, deaf? I’ve been calling you.” Callahan said, before noticing how ill his boss looked. “What’s going on?”

“Fuck…” Hopper mumbled and started racing back outside.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Chief?”

“Listen, I want you to call Flo. I want to get a search party together, all right? All the volunteers she can muster. Bring flashlights, too.”

“Chief?” Callahan stops him before he goes back into the house. “Hey, you think we got a problem here?”

“I don’t think, I know.” Hopper shows off the necklace. “We’re going to the Henderson’s house.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Dustin watches with fear as the officers explain the situation on hand about his older sister. His mom of course was hysterical, giving the professionals a challenge to get answers out of her. 

“Oh, who could have hurt my baby? And poor Will too.” Claudia sobbed into her handkerchief. “She’s always so kind to others, of course she would have offered him a ride.”

“Ma’am, I know you’re upset, and we’re sending a search party out as soon as possible. But I just need you to confirm that this is your daughter’s, then we can make this one big old case.” Hoppy explains, trying not to be snappy with his words. “Now–” He shows off the necklace. “Is this your daughter’s?”

Dustin’s eyebrows shot up through the roof. “She still wears that?!” He said, shocking both himself and the officer.

“What?”

“Y-Yes.” Claudia said, nodding. “That’s hers.”

“Thank you.” Hopper says, placing it in her palm. He spins his heels around to Powell. “Let’s go. We got two missing people we’re looking for.” 

“Please find her.” She begged, getting his attention once more. “I can’t lose my only daughter.” But all she gets is a sad nod from him as he leaves, watching as all the cars pull off her driveway in a hurry. She sighs and then gasps when felt her son take the necklace away from her, studying it intensely. “Dusty, why were you so surprised she still wears it?”

“Don’t you remember who gave this to her?” He asked, slightly sour.

“Well, no.”

He sighs, and starts leaving the room. “It’s nothing.” 

And it should stay that way.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Meanwhile, later in the day, a heated discussion was going on at the Wheeler’s house over a nice homemade dinner.

“We should be out there right now. We should be helping look for him.” Mike said for the millionth time tonight, extremely close to igniting the fuse in his own mother.

“We’ve been over this, Mike.” Karen said, drawing her attention away from her toddler. “The chief says–”

“I don’t care what the chief said.”

“Michael!”

“We have to do something! Will can be in danger.”

“More reason to stay put.”

“Mom!”

“End of discussion.” She snapped, silencing her son. But when one bird stops chirping, another one decides to start a tune.

“So me and Barbara are gonna study at her house tonight. That’s cool, right?” Nancy says, not an ask, but that of course gets shot down too.

“No, not cool.”

“What? Why not?”

“Why do you think? Am I speaking Chinese in this house? Until we know Will is okay, no one leaves.”

“This is such bullshit.” Nancy replies, dropping her fork.

“Language.” Ted chimes in, still munching on his food.

“So we’re under house arrest? Just because Mike’s friend got lost on the way home from–”

“Wait, this is Will’s fault?” Mike spat, sending daggers at his sister.

“Nancy, take that back.” Karen warned, as Holly started to get teary eyed.

“No!” Nancy scoffed.

“You’re just pissed off ‘cause you wanna hang out with Steve.” Mike quips, sending the whole room into silence. He swallows when he realizes he messed up (and how his sister looked like she was going to kill him).

“Steve?” Her father asked, finally tuning back in.

“Who is Steve?” Her mother asked, as her son decided to just roll with it anyway.

“Her new boyfriend.”

“You are such a douchebag, Mike!” Nancy yells, throwing the chair back and marching out of the room.

“Language!” Ted says, as Karen sighs.

“Nancy, come back. Come back!” She shakes her head, and cups her youngest cheek. “It’s okay. It’s okay, Holly.” She holds up her sippy cup. “Here, have some juice, okay?”

“You see, Michael? You see what happens?”

“What happens when what?” Mike snaps again, still in disbelief. “I’m the only one acting normal here! I’m the only one that cares about Will!”

“That is really unfair, son. We care.” And now his words drove his son away from the dinner table.

“Mike!” Karen yells after him too.

“Let him go.” Ted encourages, as his wife picks up their child.

“I hope you’re enjoying your chicken, Ted.” She says, then leaves herself.

“What did I do?” He notices he is truly alone now. “What’d I do?”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Dustin was sitting on his bed, holding his sister’s necklace in his palm. It was a gold color chain with a dark red heart shaped guitar pick. It even had her initials scratched into it. Such a beautiful and expensive gift. However, he still wonders why she even still wears it. Especially since it was gifted by none of other then–

[ ‘Dustin, do you copy? It’s Lucas.’ ]

He perked up from the voice of his friend coming through on his walkie, and scrambled off the bed to his desk. “Lucas. What’s up?”

[ ‘Mike just called me. Says he wants to go out looking for Will.’ ]

“Looking for Will?” He gasps at how perfect this was. “We can look for Phanie too!”

[ ‘Steph? You mean she hasn’t come home yet?’ ]

“No! That’s what I’ve been saying!” Why don’t his friends listen to him sometimes? “So she’s out there, we have to go find her as well!”

[ ‘I mean, we can. But we’re biking over where Will was last���’ ]

“Oh, no. I got that! But…” Dustin frowns. “Wait. You didn’t hear?”

[ ‘Hear what?’ ]

“Oh, my god– Okay! Well, long story short, my sister wasn’t playing hooky like everyone thought.”

[ ‘What do you mean?’ ]

“According to the police, Phanie apparently gave Will a ride home before somewhere along the way, her car ended up in the woods. They found his bike in her car, and even found her necklace at his home. So, Lucas, my sister was with Will! It’s not just Will who’s missing! My sister is too! Together!”

He thought might have exploded his friend’s brain after the long silence he was given.

[ ‘Oh shit…’ ]

“Yeah!”

[ ‘We have to tell Mike this when we meet up. Don’t worry, man, we’ll find her too.’ ]

“And I have faith in us.” Dustin peeks outside his door. “My mom’s watching her shows right now to keep herself distracted. So we have a few hours.”

[ ‘Perfect. See you in ten.’ ]

“See you in ten.” He puts down the antenna, clenching the necklace in his palm. “Don’t worry, sis, we’re going to find you too.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

[ ‘I’m sorry.’ ]

He heard her apologize for the millionth time while over the phone. He can imagine her cute little face full of irritation (was that reason to be in love with a person?). 

[ ‘My… dumb mother has me under house arrest until morning.’ ]

“Don’t sweat it, Nance.” He said, leaning against the wall while they talked. “You know… I could always be sneaky like a ninja and–”

[ ‘No, Steve. You know what my parents would do if they caught you?’ ]

He hums. “Um, congratulate me?”

[ ‘Steve.’ ]

Steve laughs. “Alright, alright. I’m joking. Uh–” He runs a hand through his locks. “We could… study over the phone?”

That was a good idea.

Right?

Her silence was making him worry. “Um, Nancy?”

[ ‘Sorry. I was thinking. It’s a tempting offer but… risky. I don’t want my parents eavesdropping.’ ]

“Do they tend to eavesdrop?”

[ ‘Steve!’ ]

“Alright, I’ll stop.”

[ ‘We’ll just see each other tomorrow.’ ]

“Of course we will.” He smiles. “As long as uh… the search for that Byers boy isn’t still going on. Heard they’re grabbing everyone in town.”

[ ‘Yeah. Well, it’s not just for him, l mean they’re looking for the Henderson girl too.’ ]

And there it is again.

The horrible, aching feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“S-Stephanie?” The air got trapped in his lungs (Why was it so hard to breathe?). “I thought Will just went missing?” It was just him, right? There’s no way she went missing too. And at the same time no less. “Right, Nancy?”

[ ‘No. From what it sounds like on the news I just overheard, she gave him a ride home, but her car was found abandoned with his bike in it. So… as of now, we have two people missing.’ ]

Stephanie’s really missing? Once again he’s asking himself that it shouldn’t hurt this much, right? It’s not like they’ve been acquitted in years, so–

[ ‘Steve? You there?’ ]

“Uh, um, N-Nancy I… I think I hear my parents. I… I-I got to go.” He said, slurring his words and could practically feel the strange look she was probably giving him right now.

[ ‘You okay?’ ]

“Y-Yeah. I’m… I’m good, I– I think it’s time for dinner.”

[ ‘Isn’t it kind of late for dinner now?’ ]

“Oh, you know, we Harringtons like to have it late. So, uh, pfff– I’ll see you at school tomorrow. Have fun studying.”

[ ‘Steve–’ ]

He hangs up the phone before she questions him anymore.

It just doesn’t make sense. They’re not friends any more so…

.

.

.

Why does it hurt so much?

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

The rain was coming down like a monsoon. Thunder was starting to rumble, lightning was lingering around waiting to strike. Speaking of waiting… The Byers were on their couch, rummaging through photos that touched their emotions.

“Jonathan, wow. You took these?” Joyce asked, amazed by them. “These are great.” She got her son to crack a smile. “Wow, they really are.” Then came the sniffles again. “I-I know I haven’t been there for you. I’ve been working so hard and… I-I just feel bad. I don’t even barely know what’s going on with you. All right? I am so sorry about that.” And then the sobs started coming from her child. “Hey, what is it? What is it, honey?”

He shakes his head. “Nothing.”

“Tell me. Tell me.” Joyce urges, rubbing his forearm. “Come on. You can–”

“No. It’s just…” Jonathan’s blank expression broke. “I s-should’ve been there for him.”

“No. Oh, no. You can’t do that to yourself.” She shakes her own head and gives him a gentle squeeze. “This was not your fault. Do you hear me? He is… close. I know it. I-I feel it in my heart.” She clenches the left side of her chest. “You just have to… You have to trust me on this, okay?”

He nods while leaning into his mother’s touch. “Yeah.”

“Oh, look at this.” She says, picking one where it was just Will and his cute smile. “Look at this one.” It makes them both quietly laugh. “I mean, that’s it, right?”

“Yeah. That’s it.” He smiles sadly. “W-We should… see if Ms. Henderson had any photos of Stephanie. Maybe we can make a poster together.”

Then her whole world gets thrown around when she hears breathing. “Will?” She chokes, eyes widening. “Will? It’s Will!”

“That’s a good idea.” And the phone rings and she shoots off the couch. She prays and prays it’s good news as she yanks the phone off the receiver. “Hello?” She answers, which happened to be nothing but static.

“Hello? Lonnie? Hopper? Who is this?”

Jonathan was by her side in a split second. “Mom, it’s Will?”

“Who is this?!” Joyce screamed when growling came on the other side. “What have you done to my boy? Give me back my son!” And whoever was truly on the other side, replied by shocking her with electricity. She shrieked and threw the phone away, her son picking it up right after.

“Hello? Hello, who is this?” Jonathan asked, the silence making him furiously hit the phone box. “Hello? Who is this?” He finally hangs up, turning towards his hysterical mother. “Mom, who was it? Who was it, Mom?”

“It was him.” She sobbed, as she was taken in his arms.

“Look at me, was it Will?”

“Yes!”

“What did he say?” Jonathan choked, as his mother reached for the phone, hoping they were still connected.

“He just breathed. He just breathed.”

“And was someone else there?”

“I–”

“Mom, who was there? Who was it?”

“It was him…” She wraps her arms around him, knees almost buckling at the emotional exhaustion. “I know it was his breathing. I know it was his breathing.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Meanwhile, in the deep depths of the forest, drenched head to toe, the trio was shouting until their lungs hurt, hoping to find any one of their loved ones. 

“Will!” 

“Stephanie!”

“Byers! Henderson!”

“Anyone?!”

Lucas sighs. “Guys, I’m starting to feel like this is hopeless.” 

“Don’t be a big sissy.” Dustin says, getting ‘the look’.

“I’m just being realistic, man.”

“Well, stop being realistic! My sister and Will are missing, and they’re fine.” They have to be. He doesn’t know what he’ll do if they’re–

“Maybe…”

“Lucas!” Mike scolded, getting a shrug.

“What?” Lucas snapped. “I’m just saying. I mean, did any of you ever think Will and Steph went missing because they ran into something bad? And we happened to be going to the exact same spot where they were last seen? And we have no weapons or anything?”

“So?!” Dustin scoffed. “If it was any of us in their place, my sister and Will would be busting their asses trying to find us!”

“Really? How would you know that?”

“I just do!”

“Shut up!” Mike yells, facing them. Their jaws closed and he shushed them quietly. “Shut up and listen.” And then there was a faint sound of rustling. “Do you guys hear that?”

And then the rustling got louder and louder, the boys spinning on their heels and waving their flashlights around for any signs of life. Just as thunder roared and the spotlights moved to another side, that’s when they were practically blinding a person.

Although it was not Will or Stephanie.

It was another child, barefoot and in a shirt that was practically a dress.

Staring in amazed and confusion, the boys weren’t sure what to say except,

“What the hell?”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| THE NIGHT BEFORE ||

The lights flickered back on with an audible gasp. 

She heaved the strange tasting air into her lungs, eyes adjusting to the bright world before it completely went dim, like an eclipse was happening just overhead. Before she could question where she was, she felt someone tug on her jacket and gasp themself.

Stephanie whipped her body around, catching the sight of the young boy who was now having a bit of coughing fit. “Will?” She says, taking the boy by his shoulders, relieved to see him.

“S-Steph?” He choked, taking a moment to look around with his big cocoa eyes. “What just happened?”

Well that was the million dollar question. What actually happened?

She takes a moment to finally look around herself, realizing they were in the… same spot? Yeah… the same spot. They were still inside the shed, still holding the shotgun, but the only difference was no… what can you even call that thing they encountered?

“We’re still in the shed. But it’s…” Will crinkled his button nose at the sight. “Gross.”

Steph swallows, blue orbs landing on the door. “Stay behind me.” She lets herself push open the shed door slowly, heart beating like crazy as she luckily met with no scary creature. She shivered at the sudden drop in temperature. “Jesus, It’s freezing.”

The outside world seemed to be encased in a blue hue, the places around seemed to be tangled with vines and covered in something sticky. There was also a white powder that looked like snow, raining down from the dark skies above. A sky that didn’t even have moonlight like it did a few minutes ago.

Holy shit… She thought, before feeling around her head, worriedly. She then locked eyes with him and asked, “Did you hit your head when we crashed?” He shakes his head, fueling her emotions. So they weren’t dreaming or having a concussion. So what even is this place? 

Where the hell are we? And in the distance…

A creature snarled…

.

.

.

While waiting for his orders from his master beyond.

(TBC)

A/N: 😬🤭🫣

-Taglist is Open-

@ladygrey03 @poppet05 @tooearlyforthis @lovesfics @lordzzz

@mirkwoodshewolf @sadbitchfangirl

[lluvin]

For the idiotic straights in denial, Will is canonically gay whether it’s stated or not in the show, context clues aren’t hard to catch.

To the fanfic writers still writing shit with a fem reader x will, stop being weird.

To my fellow gays, 🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾.

[thetargaryenbride]

Nail To The Coffin - S4 - Chapter 7

Warnings: a little blood and gore

Pairing: Steve Harrington x f!Byers!Reader

Word Count: 6234

𝐀𝐍: 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮/𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦. ^^

𝐀𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐟 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐎𝐎𝐂 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵! 🖤 🥀

Masterlist || Chapter 6 || Chapter 8

Your heart was thumping loudly and the fear and anxiety were making it harder for you to keep the oxygen trapped in your lungs. It wanted to break free and you knew you had to hurry before you got overwhelmed and hit by a panic attack because if it happened underwater, you were surely going to suffer quite the consequences. 

Thankfully, the red glowing portal was getting closer and closer, and before long you were breaking through it and crawling out on the other side, gasping for air. 

It took you a moment to gather your bearings as you sputtered and tried to stand up, only for something to tackle you on the ground. You managed to catch it instinctively and keep it at enough distance. It screeched in your face and you could only describe it as a mutated bat. 

“Y/N!” yelled Steve as you struggled to keep the creature at bay and you turned your head to look at where the sound had come from, noticing your boyfriend on the ground not too far from you, battling to keep the bats away just like you. 

Your eyes widened when you saw that one of the monsters had wrapped its tail around his throat and he couldn’t swat away the others because he was too busy keeping the tail from choking him.

And just like that, something switched in you. It’s like someone snapped their fingers and you were overtaken by hot rage, determination, and protectiveness. 

The bat you had been holding with your hands and preventing from biting your face off you decided to tuck closer to your body instead and squash it against your chest in order to immobilize it. You were able to roll around and squish it even more underneath you, putting the whole weight of your body on top of it. Your eyes searched the ground frantically and glimmered with delight when you noticed a big rock nearby. You reached out, arm stretching so much you were surprised it didn’t pop, and grazed it with your fingers, managing to shift it a bit until you were able to grab it. You didn’t hesitate to crack open the head of the wriggling creature with it. 

When you made sure it was dead, and you were finally free, getting on all fours and regaining proper movement, you could finally focus on your struggling boyfriend. And when you saw that the bats had managed to tear through his flesh, you saw red. 

You leaped forward and grabbed one of them by the tail, pulling it away from Steve as you stood up. Planting your feet on the ground so the monster couldn’t jerk you around too much, you let out an angry shout and whirled, slamming it against a boulder with such force that it fell dead in an instant. 

At that very moment, another monster flew towards you with such velocity that it sent you hurtling back on the ground, and much like the one holding Steve down, it wrapped its tail around your wrist and began flying which resulted in you being dragged because it couldn’t lift you off the ground, you were much heavier after all, but you supposed its goal was to prevent you from standing up and fighting so wriggling you around and not allowing you to wrench free or reach it was enough for it. And truthfully, even if you tried reaching with your free hand, the jerking movements were preventing you from properly grabbing its tail or reaching into your back pocket where you held a pocket knife. It didn’t help that a friend of it joined and all but latched itself onto your leg, sinking its claws and teeth in your flesh, causing you to yell in pain, anger, and helplessness. 

You didn’t even register Steve calling out your name when you got dragged right past him until you felt something grab your ankle and you looked down, only to see that Steve had grabbed you, his arm stretched painfully. He was going to dislocate his shoulder if he kept his hold on you but you could see in his eyes that he didn’t care. All he wanted was to help you even though it was harming him in the process. 

Thanks to him halting the jerking movements, to a point, you were able to finally reach your pocket knife. With a quick press of the small button, the blade sprung out of its lair, and with a swift swing, you sliced through the thinnest part of the tail and cut it off. The bat screeched in pain and flew off, allowing you to move once again. 

You completely ignored the one latched onto your thigh, biting you, and stood up, limping your way to your boyfriend and grabbing the bat that had its tail wrapped around his neck. The moment you took hold of the creature, an oar entered your periphery vision and you trailed it as it smashed the other bat that was biting Steve’s side. Your head snapped to look at the person, surprised to see it was Eddie and behind him, Nancy and Robin were standing up after crawling through the portal, looking just as angry and menacing as the boy. 

You let out a hiss when the bat bit you on the face and let go instinctively, hand flying to nurse the aching spot on your cheek. The girls immediately took your place as one pinned the tail to the ground and the other began hitting it but just then, more of them came in. One latched onto Nancy’s back and another attacked Eddie. Thankfully, he was able to hit it with the oar and it flew against a boulder, falling dead. But Nancy didn’t have that luck and Robin had to rush to help her get it off her back. 

In the meantime, you were about to return to Steve and help him but he somehow managed to find a way to wriggle out of the bat’s tail. He grabbed it and scuffled his way into standing up while the creature tried to fly off and jerked him around, but when he finally did stand up, he let out an angry shout and slammed it against the ground once, twice, thrice, even after it had died. 

Meanwhile, Eddie noticed the pocked knife you had dropped and grabbed it, hurrying to your side and stabbing the creature in the head, causing it to finally let go of your thigh and fall dead at your feet. 

All five of you wheezed, lungs burning for oxygen, bodies aching all over as every muscle, joint, and ligament stung from overexertion. But God, was it satisfying and worth it after you saw the dead bats on the ground and the others flying away. 

“Jesus H. Christ!” exclaimed Eddie as he threw the broken oar and it clattered against the rocks.

“Steve,” you breathed out as you limped towards him and grabbed his face in your hands, looking him over. “Are you alright? Does it hurt? Fuck, of course, it does! My God, we need to patch you up,” you rambled as you saw the scarred tissue on his neck, then your eyes moved down to inspect his torso but he lifted your chin before they could. You looked at him in bewilderment that only doubled when you saw the tender smile he was giving you and the only thought that was running through your head was that you had to treat his wounds and get the hell out of this place. 

“Hey,” he spoke softly. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m okay. Take a breath,” he guided you and you listened, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly. “It’s just a couple of bites. I’ve had worse,” he tried to calm you down and you shut your eyes, head lulling forward, and he mirrored you so your foreheads touched. 

“Uh, do you guys think these bats have, like, rabies?” sounded Robin’s concerned voice and you looked at her weirdly, not moving away from Steve’s touch.  

“What?”

“It’s just that rabies are, like, my number one greatest fear and I think we should get you two to a doctor really soon, because once symptoms set in, it’s too late. You’re already dead,” she pointed out shakily and there was silence for a moment until it was interrupted by the sound of multiple screeching bats in the distance. 

“Guys, we gotta get outta here,” commented Eddie frantically as you turned to look at the coming monsters but before you could even take a step towards the gate, they were already landing around it, creating a barrier between you and it, and screeching defensively. 

“Okay, there’s not that many,” said Steve hopefully. “We can take ‘em.”

But just as he spoke, you saw a whole swarm in the distance of what was probably hundreds of bats flying towards you. 

“Ooh, I think that plan just crashed and burned,” you whispered.

“The woods,” pointed Nancy. “C’mon!” 

Steve grabbed you by the hand and didn’t hesitate to start running, almost making you stumble, and all of you prayed that you’d make it in time to hide. 

“C’mon,” gasped your boyfriend as he dragged you behind him and you tried your best to keep up. 

Thankfully, you managed to reach Skull Rock before the swarm of bats reached you and used it as shelter, hiding under the looming rocks while the creatures were flying somewhere above your location, unable to come down in the woods and get to you.

In the end, they gave up and left you alone. 

“That was close,” commented Eddie after he and Robin left the protectiveness of the rocks and stared off in the distance as if they could spot the retreating creatures. 

“Yeah.”

“Shit,” let out your boyfriend as he stumbled right after standing up, his hand flying to use the stone wall as support so he wouldn’t fall down. It was clear he was exhausted and it was more so because he was wounded, not because he fought a demo-bat and ran a long distance. Your boy was tough. But he wasn’t invincible.  

“Steve!?” you exclaimed worriedly as you ran to his side and grabbed him by the arms to steady him before slowly lowering him to sit on a rock. “Jesus!”

“I’m fine. I’m fine.”

“Nuh-uh, don’t play this game with me. I know when you’re, in fact, not fine. You’re losing blood,” you spoke shakily as you hurried to take your bag off your back and rummage through it. You always carried your bag and ever since the first incident with the Demogorgon, you always packed it with all necessities like a bottle of clean water, bandages, disinfectant, and more. 

“Alright, doc,” he let out a huff and smiled brokenly and you shook your head at him. 

“Here, let me clean this,” you murmured as you unclasped the bottle of water and poured some over his wounds, making him hiss when you ran a cloth over them to wipe blood and debris, and he had to grit his teeth when afterward you dabbed some disinfectant onto them. “There, there. We’re almost done,” you spared a moment so he could catch his breath before you began bandaging his lower torso. The bandages were quite damp because some water managed to get in your usually tightly shut leather bag but that wasn’t that big of a problem. 

“You were brilliant out there,” he uttered out a compliment and you smiled, hands still working on him. “The way you took down not one but two of these assholes,” he shook his head in amazement and pride. “And you were going to take out a third if you hadn’t gotten distracted.”

“Perhaps,” you let out a breathy chuckle and he watched you with admiration for a while before he lifted his hand, placed it on your cheek, and let his fingers gently stroke your skin and the scratch it now donned thanks to the little monster. “You were just as amazing. You were able to keep three of those sons of bitches at bay and in the end smashed one of them. You even risked asphyxiation and getting more hurt in order to help me which is something I’m deeply thankful for,” you finished tying the bandages and finally looked him in the eyes properly, giving him a proud, grateful smile. “You never cease to amaze me,” you chuckled and his smile grew before you brushed some fallen strands away from his face and leaned to place a long, tender kiss on his forehead. He shut his eyes and savored the feeling, his arms running up and down your back and bringing you closer so he could hug you, his head resting on your shoulder.

“I got so scared when you got pulled under,” you whispered against his hair and he hummed. “My heart almost burst,” you confessed and his hold on you tightened. 

“And you jumped right after me. You didn’t waste a second. Silly girl,” he pulled away to look at you, expression full of distress and eyes full of restless concern gazed into yours. “You could’ve gotten in serious trouble. Not like we’re not deep enough in shit already but it could’ve been worse. What if Vecna had-”

“I would never abandon you,” you interrupted him steadfastly. “I don’t care about the possibilities. They are just ‘what-ifs’ that I couldn’t care less about. When it comes to priorities, you’re first. So I’ll risk anything to come to you when you need me most. Besides,” the smile bloomed once again. “It’s always better when we’re together. It’s like…there’s hope in the air. Like we can do anything.”

“Touche,” was the only thing he could say before he motioned for you to give him your bag and you furrowed your eyebrows but did so either way. 

“What do you need?”

“I need…to stop you from bleeding out,” he pointed out and you finally looked down at your thigh, noticing the leaking blood. 

Only now, when the adrenaline was leaving your system after you got to a shelter and made sure Steve was safe and tended to, did you actually pay attention to the way you were feeling faint. In fact, you’ve been feeling dazed since you finished tying the bandages around Steve and fell into his embrace. You just realized it now because this feeling was increasing by the minute. 

“I think it might have punctured the-the, uh, the fermal artery or something,” he rushed to expand the tear in your jeans that the bat had made and pour some water to clean the blood, only for more to come out of the small wound and it was concerning and irritating as hell. 

“You mean to say the femoral artery,” you grunted when he began wrapping up your tight and he nodded. 

“Y-yeah, that’s what I meant.”

“Oh, leave the name, I’m proud that you know its location and significance,” you chuckled through grit teeth and he let out an awkward smile. 

He, in fact, did not know the name or the location. He just knew that the blood wouldn’t stop leaking, followed where it was coming from, and had some vague remnants of biology knowledge run in his brain and alert him. Ever since you began dating he’s been studying some things in his free time for the sole purpose of impressing you but he never seemed to remember stuff accurately and he would often get distracted. Studying and memorizing paragraphs of dry information wasn’t exactly his forte but he still tried his best. 

“We should get out of here as fast as possible and get you to a hospital,” intervened Nancy with a worried look and you waved her off. 

“It’s okay, Nance. It’s not a big puncture wound or tear. All it needs is some tight bandages to stop the blood loss, some rest to replenish the one I already lost, and I’ll be fine,” you explained. “Although, my leg is sort of numb right now. It’s gonna take a couple of hours before I can use it normally,” you groaned.  

“And since when did you become such an expert?” Robin lifted an eyebrow and you shrugged.

“Since all the people in my life and I began getting hurt every year…on more than one occasion.”

“Fair point.”

“I can’t believe that we’re actually here,” wheezed Eddie from the top of a rock. “After everything that I’ve heard about this place. Feels like a fever dream.”

“Enjoying the vacay?” you teased and he rolled his eyes. 

“So, uh…this place is like Hawkins, but with monsters and nasty shit?” asked Robin.

“Pretty much,” you groaned as Nancy helped you stand up and steadied you, wrapping an arm around your waist and holding your hand with her free one. 

Eddie was about to head down in order to help Steve but when he almost stepped on a vine, you and Nancy shouted out at the same time.

“Watch out for the vines!” 

“Uh, right, it’s a hive mind,” the boy shot his hands in the air and smiled wobbly. “If you step on a vine, you step on Vecna, right? Sorry,” he apologized and proceeded to carefully get down before he went to Steve and helped him get up. “I got ya, big boy.”

“Thanks, man. Y/N/N, you good?” asked your boyfriend and you gave him a thumbs up.

“Nance has got me.” 

“A-and what do I do? T-to help?” asked Robin and you smiled at her.

��You can be our eyes and help us navigate better so we don’t…step on Vecna,” you turned to send Eddie a look and lift your eyebrow and he stuck his tongue out at you.  

“Alright, give me your flashlights. I shall be your lighthouse in this wild sea of monsters,” she proclaimed dramatically and all of you snorted. 

“Hold on…we’re all set to go and all…but where are we going… exactly?” questioned Steve.

“Well, uhm, if the Upside Down is the same as Hawkins, that means everything from our world is still here, right? Except people,” pointed out Robin. “So, theoretically, we could go to the police station and steal guns and grenades and whatever we need to blow up those bat things that are guarding the gate,” she waved her hand. 

“Yeah, I highly doubt the Hawkins PD has grenades, Robin,” sighed Steve. “But guns, yeah, sure.”

“No, hold on…we don’t have to go all the way downtown for guns,” interfered Nancy. “I have guns in my bedroom and my house isn’t far from here.”

“You,” pointed Eddie. “Nancy Wheeler, have guns, plural…in your bedroom?”

“I had no choice but to learn and start using them since I got dragged into the whole… monster-hunting thing,” she shrugged and you chuckled. 

“Ah, we used to call it monster hunting back then, didn’t we? Good old times,” you winked at her and she smiled. 

“She-” Steve thrust his finger in her direction. “-almost shot me with one of those.”

“Knowing what you were like back then, you probably deserved it,” you snorted and Steve’s jaw fell to the ground in astoundment.

“Here you go,” interrupted Eddie as he took off his denim vest and handed it to Steve. “For your modesty, dude.”

“Thanks, man,” they high-fived casually and you smiled warmly at the way they were getting along. Their bond has strengthened so much since their first meeting and you were so happy to see them being this close. 

But suddenly, sinister growling echoed throughout the very atmosphere and the ground beneath shook so badly that all of you lost balance and fell down. You could even hear the sound of stone cracking which was accompanied by the screeching of the mutated bats. 

“Yeah, so, guns seem like a pretty good idea to me,” gulped Eddie from his position on the ground, petrified. 

“Yeah, me too,” agreed Robin as she and everyone else slowly got back on your feet.

“Well, I gotta say that was quite macabre,” you cleared your throat as you gripped Nancy for support, using her as a crutch. “And not in a good way,” you drawled and the girl hummed in agreement before you began walking.

“Macabre?” echoed Steve and Eddie as they looked at you confoundedly and then at each other. 

“It’s just another word for ‘creepy’, dinguses. Enrichen your dictionaries some more,” snorted Robin before she turned on the flashlight and followed after you and Nancy.

“Must’ve skipped that literature class,” groaned Steve quietly, embarrassed, and Eddie patted him on the back. 

“But at least you got the ‘biology knowledge’, don’t you, king Stevie,” winked Eddie mischievously and Steve gave him an ‘are you serious right now?’ look.

Needless to say, you eventually found your way out of the woods and reached the Wheelers’ house. 

“Well, this looks cozy,” commented Robin. “But you really need a maid, Wheeler.” 

“C’mon…I don’t wanna stay here longer than I have to,” she said before she turned to face you, her arms still holding you and helping you walk, or rather hobble, due to you still being unable to fully use your leg because of the blood loss and circulation that needed to get better. “Will you be okay if I let go?” she asked and you nodded. 

“I’ll be fine, no problem.”

“Hey, I can take over. It’s okay,” intervened Steve as he came to your side and took Nancy’s place. “I’m feeling much better, don’t worry about it,” he reassured you once he saw your concerned, questioning stare and you sighed, accepting his help.

But while the others began climbing the stairs quickly, you and Steve took it a bit slower, causing you to linger more in the room which in turn allowed you to hear a faint, familiar voice. 

“Do you hear what I’m hearing?” asked the boy and you nodded.

“I think I do…I can only hope it’s what I think it is but we’ll come back to check on it later. Now let’s go to the others.”

Steve quickly grabbed you by the waist and lifted you slightly off the ground, making you let out a soft squeal before he hurriedly climbed the stairs and let you down again.

“Well, that took me off guard,” you huffed and he chuckled before you entered Nancy’s room, only to find her and the others staring dumbly at a shoebox. “What is it?” you asked and the girl turned to face you, full of confusion. 

“I don’t understand…”

“Maybe you left them somewhere else?” offered Eddie while you and Steve got closer to the trio and peeked over Robin’s shoulder, noticing that the box was occupied by a pair of pointy heels and there were no guns in sight. 

“There’s a six-year-old in the house,” she snapped. “I know where I keep my guns. And also…I threw these away years ago.”

“Uh, Nance,” Steve drew her attention and she looked at him, only to see him stare at something in utter bewilderment and unrest, making her follow his gaze and notice a couple of oddly familiar papers that weren’t supposed to be here.

“These are from sophomore chemistry,” she whispered as she read through them and your eyes widened while hers looked around the room frantically. “This…This wallpaper, this is old wallpaper and old posters,” she pointed at the wall in front of her and your breath hitched as you began putting two and two together. “And this mirror!? This went to a yard sale. And you…you’re not supposed to be here,” she muttered as she grabbed a stuffed animal from her bed. “No, I gave you to cousin Johanna two years ago!”   

You let out a shaky sigh, hands running over your face. You began forming a theory the moment Nancy began spouting about the heels and the chemistry papers but you didn’t want it to be true because if it was, it would make the situation much more complicated. Maybe not for now but in the near future. 

And then your eyes landed on a small calendar with a pinned date - November 6, 1983. 

The papers, the mirror, the stuffed animal, the posters - they were all supposed to be here. They were all exactly where they belonged. 

You weren’t. 

“Great, so not only do we not have guns now, but we’re stuck in a world that’s not even on the same timeline as ours,” rambled Robin with a slight tremble to her tone and you sighed as you held onto Steve who had lifted you once again so you could climb down the stairs faster.

“Add that to the list of things we have yet to figure out about The Upside Down and its lovely residents,” you quipped as you motioned for Steve to set you down and once he did, you looked around and tried to concentrate on the faint voice you had heard. “But for now, can we focus on something else? I think that someone is speaking.”

“Someone is speaking?”

“Yeah, before we joined you guys in the room, we heard the echo of voices-”

“It’s Dustin!” exclaimed Steve and you did a double-take at how fast he was at recognizing the voice. “Dustin! Can you hear me!?” screamed the boy as he paced around the room. “Dustin!? Hello? He-Hello!?” 

“Steve,” you called out with a deadpanned expression and he halted. “He’s not going to hear you,” you shook your head and everyone furrowed their eyebrows. 

“I am soo lost right now,” drawled Eddie. 

“Look, when you’re in the Upside Down, you can hear the people on the other side but they can’t hear you,” you explained as you limped towards the big chandelier. “Will used to communicate with Mom through the lights and that one time when I came here to look for him, I found out how he did it and used it to communicate with Nancy and Jonathan…only they weren’t there to see it.”

“I’m sorry,” mouthed Nancy and you gave her an ‘it’s ok’ look. 

“So, we can hear Dustin and the others now? Because they’re in the house in our world?” asked Eddie and you nodded. “But we can only communicate through…lights?”

“Do you see those particles?” you asked as you outstretched your arm, wishing to make contact with the amber current. “I think that this is an electric charge.”

“A what?” interrupted Eddie and you sighed, hands dropping down to your side.

“Electric charge is a physical characteristic of matter that causes a force to develop when it is in close proximity to other electrically charged matter,” you gesticulated as you explained. “Electric charge can be positive or negative. Objects with the same charge are subject to a force that repels them from each other, and those with a different charge - to a force that attracts them to each other. An electric charge creates an electromagnetic field and the electromagnetic field can be defined as light since it propagates at the speed of light,” you crossed your arms as your gaze shifted from the baffled expressions of your friends to the particles floating around the chandelier and every other source of light. “I believe that the electromagnetic field of our world has formed a connection to the one of this world. Perhaps they collided and intertwined when Eleven opened the gate and this world began bleeding into ours. Perhaps the force of the field grew and it became more corporeal,” you reached out once again. “In fact, it became tangible enough that you’re able to touch and manipulate it,” your hand finally made the contact you wished for and the whole chandelier began glowing. 

“Whoa!” exclaimed Eddie and Robin at once and Nancy shook her head with an amazed smile. 

“Have I ever said that you’re absolutely brilliant!?” proclaimed Steve as he rushed to your side and grabbed you by the arms, shaking you just a tad bit. He was so giddy he reminded you of an excited puppy. “You’re brilliant, baby! Amazing!” he planted a bit too-aggressive kiss on your temple and you chuckled. 

“Thank you, but now back on track,” you focused your attention back on the chandelier and everyone joined you, surrounding it. “Let’s send them a signal,” you suggested and everyone cautiously raised their arms and made contact with the field, making the chandelier beam even stronger. It was a rather pleasant tingling sensation. 

“It…tickles,” commented Steve with a smile and you hummed. 

“It kinda feels good,” added Robin and Eddie shot her a teasing look. 

“Hey, you said you followed Vecna through lights, right?” you heard Erica’s voice and concluded that she most probably had seen the flickering lights you were causing. “‘Cause I think he’s here.” 

“Oh, no, they’re gonna think we’re Vecna or-or some other monster,” groaned Steve, and Nancy bit her lip.

“Does anyone know Morse Code?” she asked and you nodded.

“A bit, yes. I began learning after Will got flayed.”

“Then let’s send them a message.” 

After you sent a confirmation to Dustin and the others, they told you to meet them back in Nancy’s room and that they’d bring something through which you could talk normally. 

“What is it gonna be? An Ouija board?” snorted Robin and everyone shared a short laugh while making your way to the room. 

True to Dustin’s word, not long after you saw glowy particles appear over Nancy’s bed that were sort of lined in a way that represented a square. 

“That must be Holly’s Lite-Brite,” let out Nancy in amazement and you smiled. 

“Of course, he’ll always think of a way.” 

“Write something,” urged you Steve and you traced your finger over the light.

HI

“Hi!”

“Hey!” greeted Lucas and Erica simultaneously. 

“That worked!” exclaimed Dustin and all of you relaxed and filled with joy.

“Yes! Yes!” shouted Eddie and thrust his fist victoriously. “Hi!” 

“Okay,” you let out a puff of air as you shifted a bit and made yourself more comfortable. “S…T…U…C…K,” you wrote next. 

“Stuck!?” 

“Mhm.”

“Yes, yes we are!” 

“They’re stuck in the Upside Down!” clarified Lucas.

“Uh, you can’t get back through Watergate?” asked Dustin.  

“What the hell’s Watergate?” Steve’s eyebrows furrowed and Robin shot him a look.

“‘Cause it’s in the water and it’s a gate.”

“Oh…that’s cute.”

“I wish we could,” you chirped as you wrote, “GUARDED”. 

“Okay, uh, Watergate’s guarded. Listen, we think we have a theory that can help with that!” comforted you the boy and all of you let out sighs of relief. 

“Genius child,” uttered Robin. 

“We think Watergate isn’t the only gate. That there’s a gate at every murder site!” he disclosed and you shut your eyes as you resisted the urge to smack yourself. 

“Fucking hell,” you grit out. “Of course, there’d be a gate at every murder site. Like, the one at Lover’s Lake didn’t just appear out of thin air. It opened right after Patrick died,” you threw your hand in the air before you dropped it back onto the bed. “Dustin is a genius for figuring it out this quick. Back then, the Demogorgon would come into our world to hunt. It opened gates at different sites where it hunted. When creatures from the other world impacted ours they always left traces. The only difference now is that those traces - the gates - aren’t just temporary like the ones made by the Demogorgon, but rather, they linger, and there’s a high chance that they might become permanent if we don’t deal with Vecna soon,” you finished uneasily and the others groaned.

“Great. That’s the only thing Hawkins is missing right now. Gates that monsters can pass through easily,” blurted out Robin and you rubbed your temple. 

“Well then, let’s not wait for the grass to grow,” stated Steve. “Let’s go.”

“Go where exactly?” Eddie looked at him questioningly. 

“The trailer park is the closest murder site, is it not?” 

“Uh, yeah, I think so. Seven miles from here, I think,” nodded the boy. 

“Great!” 

“Nancy? Uh, I know your house here is, like, weirdly, creepily frozen in time and shit, but haven’t you always had bikes?” inquired Robin, and the girl nodded. “Then let’s go get them.” 

“You go prepare the bikes, I’ll just wrap it up here, tell the others where to meet up, and I’ll join you,” you motioned for them to go and they agreed, quickly leaving the room. Steve was the only one who stayed to wait for you. “Okay, so… M…E…E…T… U…S… A…T E…D…D…I…E…’S”

There had only been four bikes at Nancy’s but since you couldn’t use your leg efficiently, you wouldn’t have been able to ride one alone anyways, so you just got on Steve’s and let him do the job. 

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at our final destination. I hope you enjoyed the tour through Upside Down Resort,” proclaimed Eddie dramatically and you couldn’t help but smile at his efforts to diffuse the tension and fear. 

“Why thank you,” answered Steve. “We did enjoy the sight-seeing of this jewel of a place, right honey?” he turned to look at you and you snorted, hand rubbing the side of your forehead. 

“Oh, absolutely.”

All of you got off the bikes and rushed inside the trailer, bodies chilling to the bone when you saw the gleaming portal. 

“This is where Chrissy died,” muttered Eddie, and you gulped, shoulders sagging. “Like, right where she died.” You didn’t even want to imagine her death or how utterly terrified she was, yet your mind pictured everything so vividly that it made you feel nauseous. 

“I think there’s something in there,” pointed Robin, and you got a bit closer to the gate, noticing that there was in fact something on the other side, seemingly poking the membrane. 

“If that’s not Dustin and the others, it’d be quite concerning,” you cringed when the membrane got pierced and fortunately for everyone, it was indeed Dustin and the others greeting you on the other side. 

And they were all upside down too. 

“No way,” uttered Steve as you got closer to the hole in the ceiling, and relief washed over you when you saw their grinning faces. You finally had a way out and all you could think about was going home, showering, and sleeping for hours. 

“Hi there!” laughed Dustin as he and the others waved and you mirrored them.

“Hi!”

“Hey!”

“Holy shit, this is trippy,” uttered Robin, and you chuckled raspily.

“Indeed.”

After that, Lucas and Max proceeded to bring a mattress and placed it right under the gate.

“Those stains are, uh,” drawled Eddie as he shifted awkwardly. “I don’t know what those stains are.”

“Mhmm,” Robin shot him a knowing look accompanied by a smug smirk and he cleared his throat. 

“Not quite sure how these physics work,” sighed Dustin as he fumbled with the sheets in his hands. But, uh…here goes nothing,” he exclaimed as he threw them up and half of them got sucked in by the gate, falling through and dangling in front of you. “And if my theory is correct,” grinned the boy as he let go but they didn’t budge. “Huh. Abracadabra!”

“Holy shit!”

“Alright, pull on it! See if it holds!” instructed Dustin and Robin let out a puff of air before she grabbed it and pulled with all her might. 

“This is the craziest shit I’ve ever seen in my life. And I’ve seen some crazy shit,” exclaimed Erica. 

Robin was the first to go. She climbed, went through the opening, and fell on the mattress on the other side. 

“Ladies first,” Steve motioned with his hand. “Besides, we gotta help Y/N climb, cuz that leg-” he shook his head and tightened his lips instead of finishing the sentence and Nancy nodded before she began climbing, and soon after she was plopping onto the mattress on the other side. 

“Well, I suggest we, uh, grab a chair,” described Eddie with mild gesticulation. “Put it here, then one of us climbs on it, and then the other will lift Y/N and hand her over so he can push her through the gate,” he finished with a nod as if he was proud he came up with such an idea.

“Sure,” shrugged Steve. “Sounds like a plan. Get ready, Y/N,” he said as he turned to face you but his eyes widened the moment they landed on you. “Y/N?” 

Your own eyes had rolled to the back of your head and had turned pale blue in color. Your body was unmoving and never mind how much he called and shook you, you wouldn’t wake up. 

Up until now, you’ve only dealt with vivid hallucinations, lucid dreams, and limbo states that Vecna haunted just for his own sick pleasure. You always ended up snapping out of them, or rather he always let you go.

But now he had taken it all a step further. 

Now, he had taken over your mind completely and this time around, only music was going to save your soul. 

“Y/N!” 

Henry could only chuckle internally at the desperate shouts of Steve and Eddie echoing throughout the Upside Down. It brought him such immense pleasure. They would have to deal with your absence of mind for a while. You were his now.

And he had so much to show you. 

Tags: @anxiousbeech @ashstorm24 @leireggsworld @burns-in-the-sun @ooenjoythesilenceoo @we-out-here-simping