byler | oneshots

Staring

TW(?)// Lots of angst

——

Will Byers stared often.

He stared at the landscape that passed by during car rides or bus rides to school. He stared at the stars trying to count the few that were visible in the night sky. He stared at his exams hoping that maybe the answer would come to him if he looked hard enough. He stared at Mike Wheeler who was too pretty to not look at.

Will Byers liked to stare. He liked to observe. He liked to look. He liked the reminder of life.

The only thing he did not like to stare at was his arm. When he stares at his arm his stomach drops and it causes an uncomfortable feeling from the pit that forms. When he stares at his arm, the guilt runs up through his stomach up to his throat and it catches itself there, creating a lump. When Will Byers stares at his arm, it reminds him of death.

So while he liked to stare, he couldn't bear the sight of his purpling arm. He didn't like seeing the iv tube lodged into the pudgy skin. He didn't like the shuttering feeling of death they brought. Seeing the lumps hurt more than it felt having them.

Will Byers was staring again like so many times before. He stared until his eyes became unfocused and his head felt dizzy. He stared until it stung so badly that tears poured out. He stared until shame trapped him like a bubble.

Will Byers liked to stare, but he was starting to hate when others stared at him

He hated when his teachers stared at him in class burning through his skull, sending him looks of sympathy and pity. He hated when Jonathan stared at him when he saw him for the first time in the mornings and for the last at nights. He hated when his mom stared at him trying to look into his soul and figure out if anything had changed that day. He hated how his mom stared so hard when her eyes finally locked in on the purple. He hated that when his mom saw the purple she took him to the hospital where the doctors would stare too.

He hated being stared at. He hated being observed. He hated being the center of attention.

So when Mike Wheeler wasn't immediately informed about the illness Will had been diagnosed with, he saw this as a chance. As a chance to not be treated differently, and to not be stared at anymore than what was normal. He wanted someone focusing on him and him only but not because he was the sick kid. Because he was a kid. A kid that someone liked.

So this led to Will Byers and Mike Wheeler becoming friends. Best friends. They did everything together and nothing apart. You would often find them claiming that they are each other's person. If either boy was sick you best believe the other was the first one knocking on their door when school was out with a stack of homework that they completed for their absence. When either was sad you can only imagine how quick the other was there, throwing on their favorite VHS and feeding them popcorn as they vented. If a parent allowed a friend to be invited over, for dinner, a sleepover, or a regular hang out. They were each other's go to person. Mike and Will were inseparable, and everyone knew it. Nobody could split the boys apart and nobody wanted to. A friendship like the one they shared only comes once in a lifetime if you're lucky. The only issue being that no one told Michael Wheeler that a lifetime was so short.

——

"Hey Will." Mike called, lightly knocking on the door of the Byers residence.

As the door swung open he was met by the glossy eyes of Jonathan Byers wearing a grim expression and a scowl at the sight of Mike. Jonathan sniffled as he ran his sleeve over the wet in his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something but no words came out. Instead, a lump slotted itself inside his throat as he simply scrunched his eyes shut and stepped aside for the Wheeler boy to come in.