Evermore.

Five.

"Hey, Toni? Earth to Toni? You in there?"

"Hmm." She murmured, looking up, finding she had stopped while going through her locker. "What?"

"You good?" Steve wondered.

"I'm thinking about something Will said to me, the night that... y'know." She shrugged. "He said 'the demogorgan got me, I lost'."

"But that's just a game thing, right?"

"It looks like home, but it's cold and dark." She continued.

"What?" She suddenly began digging through her locker with haste, pulling out a book the boys gave her with the rules and details of their game.

"Vale of Shadows." She muttered, stopping at a page and tracing the words with her finger. "A dark reflection of our world, a place of decay and death, right next to you and you don't even see it..."

"What are you talking about?"

"I can't tell you that."

"I thought we didn't keep secrets from each other."

"You're gonna think I'm crazy."

"I already think that. Next excuse."

"You won't believe me."

"I always believe you, even if your lying, and you get me in trouble. What else?" She released a sigh, holding the book to her chest.

"Alright, I'll tell you. But we're gonna have to skip class, so-"

"Wait, what about the funeral?"

"Oh, crap." She hissed. "Okay... uh, come by later and I'll explain it to you then, but I really have to go like right now or I'm gonna be so late."

"Yeah, okay."

"See you." She smiled, taking off down the hallways.

"Yeah." He sighed, feeling he could do nothing but watch her go.

-----

"You look so handsome." She smiled, straightening out the collar on Dustins shirt before he could climb out of the car.

"I don't wanna do this." He said. "Will's alive, he's-"

"I know that. And you know that. But you are one of his closest friends, you're like brothers, all of you. And a lot of people still think he's dead, and it's not gonna look good if you don't show up." She told him. "He's out there somewhere, but until then, people need to think he's gone. So be sad, or I'll give you something be sad about." She said with a smile and he nodded. They both climbed out of her car, and Toni brushed her hands down her dress before approaching the grave.

-----

"It is to my understanding that Joyce has selected someone, an important person in her son's life, that she would like to say a few things before we close." The preacher said. "Antoinette Henderson."

"What?" Toni breathed, looking to Joyce, who gave her a teary smile. "Okay." She shrugged, approaching the preacher. "Umm... gosh, where to start. It's hard to believe that one little kid could have such an impact on the world around him. There so much I wanna say, so much that I'd love to tell him. Things like 'I'm proud of you' and 'It's gonna suck without you'. And it breaks my heart that I'm not gonna get that opportunity again. I'm never gonna see you poke your head through my door and say goodbye before you head off home or... I'm never gonna get to see your face light up when you get your hands on those little marshmallows you love. But what hurts more than anything is that... how over time, I'm gonna hear your name less and less. There's gonna be no more stories about you on your bike or... falling off your bike or casting spells with sticks. I know that the world has been so unkind to you, and people around you haven't always accepted you for the person that you wanna be, and I hope that your gonna find peace, because you know what... out of everyone I know, all of the people I've ever met... you're the most deserving of happiness. Rest well, little guy." She sniffed, getting herself out of everyone's eyesight. Joyce embraced her for a moment, and Toni felt how shakey she was just from this single touch. She then looked back towards the coffin, not daring to move. She was surprised to find Lonnie Byers in town, even if he was burying his son. However, Toni still reached out and took Johnathans hand. She felt him give it a slight squeeze, and she saw him exhale deeply. Everyone around her was in mouring, and she had to remember that her grievances meant nothing to someone who was saying goodbye to their younger brother. Toni couldn't imagine it. She didn't want to imagine it. She just wanted it to be over. She wanted Will to come home.