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Everything had changed the night of July 4th, 1985.
Max Mayfield lost her douchebag stepbrother, Billy Hargrove.
Eleven had lost her adoptive father, Chief Hopper.
The Byers family and El had to move away to California.
And Ian lost his sister, just as they were starting fresh and on good-ish terms. Even if deep down he had hated Alexandra, he couldn't help but feel empty. He wanted a big sister in his life, it was what he had always dreamed of, to live like a somewhat normal family. Just as they began to rekindle, it ended with ill fate.
That chance, that hope of a normal relationship with his sister, was stolen from him that night.
He slowly detached from everyone like Max had. First it was the Wheelers, then his own friends. The only person left was Mike, but the most words he even heard from Ian nowadays were small responses to questions. He wasn't sure if he refused to speak or if he didn't have the energy to, drained by emotion.
Ian Forbes, within the span of eight months, had become reserved and quiet unlike his normal fun, sort of loud self. He was just.. there. He spent his days with his Walkman at his hip, listening to The Cranberries. Most of the time it was Ode To My Family or Dreaming My Dreams that would be replayed over and over again as he roamed the halls and didn't pay attention in class.
Like Max, Ian was forced to talk to the school counselor, Ms. Kelley. It was hard to open up about trauma when he couldn't actually talk about what happened, it was stuff about monsters and superheroes. People would think he was insane. He normally stayed quiet, he'd answer a few questions, but start to zone out from thinking about watching his sister die in front of him, in his arms. It was too much. He'd rather escape to a fantasy world where The Cranberries kept him safe in Mike's arms, in his basement, with the rest of the party at his side.
As of March 21st, 1986, he decided he would open up a bit about his health recently to Ms. Kelley. He wasn't sure why. Maybe all her attempts of convincing him it'd be worth trying to get the weight off his shoulders finally got to him.
"I've been having.. nightmares" Ian quietly speaks, fidgeting with his fingers. "And nosebleeds, and like.. headaches."
He wore a long sleeved white shirt under a black Ozzy Osbourne t-shirt, paired with baggy light blue jeans, and typical black Converse. His headphones rested around his neck, his Walkman paused while he talked to the student counselor sitting across from him. The cassette player sits in his lap, which he fidgets with, opening it, flipping the cassette around, pressing buttons that never lead to play.
Ms. Kelley scribbles some notes on a piece of lined paper that she kept in a tabbed folder for Ian in her drawer, noting off the symptoms.
"What are these nightmares about, Ian?" she wonders aloud.
