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OLIVIA WAS AN only child so speaking to kids was something she learned while being on this Earth for eighteen, very very close to nineteenth years on this Earth. Although, Will Byers wasn't really a kid. Sure, he was about to be a freshman in high school while Olivia just graduated, but he wasn't a kid. He didn't scream or yell, he didn't spend much time outside his own house, and he respected Olivia. She found this last fact the most shocking.
When Joyce had wandered to the police station that day and begged her to help watch her kid for a few hours while she picked up a last minute shift at the convenient store, she expected she'd be picking spit wads from her hair. Instead, he explained how to play Dungeons and Dragons and told Olivia she was "really cool for someone so pretty", which she took as the highest form of flattery.
Olivia was happy Joyce hired her as his official babysitter, although she asked Olivia to tell Will she was house sitting instead, because she liked Will. She liked that he always started his bowl of fruit with her, even if she knew he was hungry. She liked that he would watch The Blue Lagoon with her whenever it was on cable and even wrapped her up when she fell asleep on the couch. She thought Will Byer was the best kid she could babysit.
So when Will wandered around the corner of the living room while Olivia was attempting to figure out the Wheel of Fortune puzzle, Olivia happily turned off the T.V. and twisted her body around him.
"You know, I bet if I went on Wheel of Fortune I could totally win. I'm so good with word puzzles," Olivia shrugged, a twinkle in her eye that made Will smile brightly.
"I know, you went through those books my mom got you so fast and it's only been two weeks," and that's when she noticed his nail beds. He had destroyed them, chipping away at the skin as if it was paper.
"What's up?"
"I was wondering," his eyes wandered across the room, "would you drive me to the mall? I could bike there but last time I fell and my leg still hurts."
From what Olivia had remembered, the fall was minor at best and Will hadn't complained when he showed her Castle Byers this morning, but she wasn't going to say anything. She wouldn't mind a trip to the mall, she'd might as well get used to the town since she wasn't going anywhere anything soon.
"Yeah of course," Olivia quickly toppled off the couch and slipped on her nasty white sneakers. Her keys, which everyone warned her were way too heavy for the truck, were in her hands and she was pulling Will out the house before he could back-out.
"So, what's at the mall?"
"I'm supposed to see a movie with my friends, the ones I've been talking about," Olivia knew of the infamous friends.
She had yet to meet The Party, but she felt as if she'd known them since she was born. Will loved his friends, it was the first thing Olivia learned about the sweetheart that was Will Byers. His friends were everything to him and he always defended them. Always.
