𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐔𝐄! ✽ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻

45

𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐕𝐄'𝐒 𝐁𝐎𝐃𝐘 had called for him to bust down the door and rescue sherrie. he noticed the flickering lights in the house. he could hear will's howling as clear as day. he knew in his heart that dani was closer and closer to her own breaking point with each scream. she wasn't as strong as she pretended to be, and yet it was one of the many things he loved about her. and he knew that, despite this, she hated being rescued, by him especially; "quit trying to be the hero, steve! you don't always have to save me!", her pleads playing on a loop in his mind. he flicked off the sweat that coated his hairline and resumed his pacing.

sheridan breathed a sigh of relief as will finally surrendered to joyce. his breathing was heavy and quiet. the byers woman sat on the chair in front of him. "do you know what march 22nd is?" he had never let any of them forget. it was the one day a year that dani would let will wake her up at six in the morning, so they could all split his celebratory stack of waffles. "it's your birthday. your birthday," joyce answered. his brows turned upward and his gaze softened. "when you turned eight, i gave you that huge box of crayons. do you remember that? it was... 120 colors... and all your friends, they got you star wars toys, but all you wanted to do was draw with all your new colors." a tear fell onto dani's cheek, which she hastily wiped away. "and you drew this big spaceship, but it wasn't from a movie. i-it was your spaceship. a rainbow ship is what you called it. and you-you must've used every color in the box... i took that with me, to melvald's, and i put it up, and i told everyone who came in, 'my son drew this.' and you were so embarrassed. but i was so proud. i was so, so proud."

jonathan's breathing grew louder in the silence. "do you remember the day dad left?" will's head turned in the direction of his siblings. his eyes followed jonathan as he stepped forward, bending his knees at the side of the chair next to their mother. "we stayed up all night, building castle byers... just the way you drew it. and it took so long because you were so bad at hammering." a chuckle heaved from sherrie's chest. "you'd miss the nail every time." she remembered that night vividly, despite how long ago it had occurred. she took the initiative in snagging some stray planks from the lumber yard just so will would shut up. but she had never seen him smile so big. "and then it started raining, but we stayed out there anyway. we were all sick for like a week after that. but we just had to finish it, didn't we? we just had to..."

"there was one time," sheridan began as she sauntered towards will, "mom was out at work. it was a slow weekend, none of the boys were home. you had gone digging in my closet, and found my bowie boots: the bright blue ones? with the silver stars on them? i had hundreds of pairs just like 'em but those... those were your favorite. y-you would always try and get me to wear them around the house, but i didn't want to, so you decided to take matters into your own hands. jonathan and i were making grilled cheeses and it was like the shot heard 'round the world and it came from my bedroom. so we ran in there to see what the hell it was, and we found you, at the end of my bed, on the floor, with the bowie boots. and when we took them off, your ankle was the size of china," she continued, making a circle with her open hands. jonathan and mike giggled as joyce's mouth fell open in astonishment. hopper had to look away in order to successfully avoid throwing himself into a fit of laughter. "s-so jonathan and i had to eat all the popsicles in the freezer to use the sticks under your bandages. and when mom came home, you had to put ten socks on your other foot so it wouldn't be as noticeable. and she never found out... at least until just now," sherrie shrugged.

the small outpost had been engulfed in silence, until mike wheeler stepped forward. sheridan noticed the tear on his cheek. "do you remember the day we met?" will's turned to meet his gaze, but mike felt as though he couldn't look him in the eye; he was sharing such a private moment with a complete stranger, the creature that was continuously taking over his best friend's body. "it was... it was the first day of kindergarten. i knew nobody. i had no friends, and..." his breath hitched as more tears spilled over the edge of his eyes. tears began to well in dani's eyes as she watched and listened to him. "i just felt... so alone, and so scared, but..." he tilted his head up to look at will. "i saw you on the swings a-and you were alone, too. you were just swinging by yourself. and i just walked up to you and... i asked. i asked if you wanted to be my friend. and you said yes. you said yes." mike paused. "it was the best thing i've ever done." his final sentence nearly threw sherrie into a fit of sobs. she could tell that will wanted to cry too. his lips quivered and his eyes had glossed over.

"will, baby," joyce whispered as she placed a gentle hand on his knee. his eyes directed towards her. "if you're in there, just please... please talk to us." will's eyes squinted. his face contorted with his shivers. "please, honey, please, can you do that for me? please. i love you so much."

the youngest byers child's face looked as though he were bawling, begging for help, but nothing had left his mouth. but suddenly, his expression dropped. his brows went flat, and his brown eyes wide open. "let me go." everyone in the room had collectively sighed. their attempts at rescuing will through their intimate stories had proved useless.

as dani buried her damp face in her hands, she noticed a faint tapping sound. it was rapid and consistent. she glanced up from just beyond her fingertips to notice will rapping his fingers against the leg of the chair. her brows dipped in confusion. she lightly smacked hopper's shoulder, and once she had garnered his attention, she motioned silently toward her brother. his face mirrored the girl's. jim's eyes guided themselves down his arms and eventually towards his fingers, as well as the pattern that they were drumming.

✽