Just Friends - Byler

XXI

"You can't lie though!" Her words shook with fear. She was just told to stop asking but something was holding onto her, she needed to know. She cared for Will so much, she loved her brother. He heart ached as Will turned his head to look at her.

He didn't look like himself. He looked sick, his eyes were pale like something took over his body. The worst part was, he looked vaguely familiar to her. The pale blue faded from his eyes as quick as it appeared. His eyes softened and his mouth dropped back into its same frown.

Joyce pulled into the driveway quickly and rushed out of the car. "You two have been fighting non-stop so either you figure things out or we're not going back to Hawkins!" Her voice sounded tired and angry. She was stressed. "Especially you, Will!" She looked at him with pity, but quickly turned away to unlock the front door.

Will bit his lip to hold in his tears, he wasn't going to feel bad for himself. "We need to go back, mom." His voice croaked.

"Will, I get you miss your friends but-"Joyce threw her keys on the kitchen counter in annoyance.

"They'll die without me!" He yelled, he never yelled..."sorry-" He attempted to apologize but thought it'd be better if he left overall. The door opened and closed with a flick of his hand, he was gone. He walked down the driveway, not sure where he was going.

This wasn't Hawkins. He couldn't walk to Mikes, he couldn't go to the arcade and drown himself in video games with Dustin and Max, he couldn't hang out at the basketball court with Lucas, watching him play. He couldn't go over to the video store to complain to Robin about the stupid things Mike would do. He had no one. He was an even bigger outcast in Lenora than Hawkins. In all the time he's been away from Hawkins, he never thought he would ever miss it this much.

It sounded crazy how he missed the way he felt in Hawkins. He could walk over to Dustin's and rewatch Ghostbusters till they got bored. He could bike over to the arcade and play Dig Dug all afternoon trying to beat Max's high score with Lucas, they never could. The tears fell harder and hotter, streaming down his cheekbones. He's never wanted to cry more. Hell, he even missed how completely shitty he felt while possessed.

He missed the warmth that overtook him after feeling nothing but cold the past week or two. He never realized how much he could miss the way people treated him when something was wrong. The way he wasn't left out, the way Mike comforted him when he cried about how sick he felt.

It was like memories that weren't his, Mike was there and he was holding his hand, telling him everything would be okay and saying, 'I'm here, it's okay.'

Will kept walking till he recognized where he finally was. He turned a corner and made it to the playground. It was desert, no child playing on the swings or sliding down a large tube-slide was seen in sight.

The playground, Will felt, was like a safe place. No matter where he was, Lenora or Hawkins. A playground always made him feel home. Somehow.

He sat on one of the old swings and the bars that held it creaked. His feet kicked at the sharp wood chips underneath. The wind grew harsh around Will, wood chips flew in a circular motion around him. Almost as if he was the one causing this.

•••

"Oh, thank God!" Eleven flung her arms around Will when he walked into the door. "I think you broke mom..." She panned her head over to Joyce who was sitting on the couch, staring. She only looked up to see Will walking up the stairs.

She threw her head into her hands. "Will, you know I didn't mean what I said!" She sobbed out. He winced at how he was making his mom feel. She didn't deserve the way he was treating her and he knew this. His body rejected turning back, he wished he could, he wanted to tell his mom he was sorry and that he didn't mean to hurt her by walking out.

Everything felt so stressful. He laid down in his bed and closed his eyes. He drifted off into a sleep, his chest ached and his head pounded.

Time Written: January 24, 2023 5:02PM
Word Count: 787

A/N:
After a long while, I'm back. Never trust me again when I say I'll permanently be back 💀 I even lied to myself.