Lost boys • Will Byers

Summer 1984 part 1

June 1984
Charlie's POV

At the beginning of that summer, Charlie spent most of his time lying alone in bed.

Steve was back with Nancy and hadn't answered any of his calls. The two of them hadn't even spoken since April, leaving him lonely and bored.

Al had taken over the house, and his mom was rarely home, working late in the night and sleeping when she got back.

Danny had been off with Will whenever possible and Charlie got the sense he didn't want to be around if he didn't have to. He couldn't blame him though. His mom and Al were happy together, but it only took one off comment for one to scream at the other.

He liked to turn his music up whenever that happened.

Besides music, he'd also learned that drinking when his parents were away helped to numb the pain. He also learned that he liked watching reality tv and game shows late at night when nothing else was on.

These were bad habits, but he'd indulged in nothing truly as addictive as Caleb Francis.

Danny's POV

Although he was back from the Upside Down, it didn't really feel like it.

Mike was clearly still upset with what happened to El and it was hard to play D&D with someone who left ten times throughout the campaign to fumble with his radio.

To make matters worse, the boys didn't even really care about the game anymore. They were far more interested in the girls who biked past their houses than some 'nerd game'.

It was frustrating. He wanted to enjoy summer, not be bored the whole time...

So, he and Will began hanging out alone.

"Hey, I got this new set the other day and it's pretty cool," Will said, pulling out a box of colored pencils from his bag.

They were sitting outside on the porch, drawing pictures.

"Woah! Those are like, the fancy kind!"

Will had the expensive colored pencils that Danny always sighed about whenever he passed them in stores. They were good quality, the kind that floated around the art room and were stolen frequently.

"Can I use them?" Danny asked shyly. "Of course," Will answered, handing him the pack. "You can be the first one to use them."

Danny opened the package and picked up the purple shade to begin coloring in his dragon.

"That's a really good drawing," Will said, leaning over him to glance at his sheet. "Thanks!" Danny beamed.

Two figures came up towards the front door. Danny paid no mind, focusing more on his picture.

"Danny, are you crazy? Dad's home."

Danny's eyes widened and he scooted away from Will quickly, face red.

They'd had the conversation before, him and Charlie, about not looking too close with your friends. He resented it. He'd been so close with Will and of course Charlie had to ruin it.

Not that it was entirely his fault... it was their father who had the problem.

Charlie was walking into the house with someone new he'd never seen before. He looked a little uncomfortable with what had just happened.

"Sorry bout that," Charlie muttered to him.

"What was that about?" Will asked once they'd gone inside.