Lost boys • Will Byers

2

Charlie Burton's POV

When he walked into the house that night, Charlie thought it was odd that it was dead silent. Usually Danny would be watching tv or talking to his friends on the radio.

"Dan?" He called. Perhaps he wasn't home yet. Maybe his game was running late. There was no response. "Danny?" He called again. Nothing.

"Hmm... I thought mom said you'd be home." He mumbled to himself.

Picking up the phone, he peeked out the window, wondering where his brother could've gone. He dialed the Wheeler's number, sort of hoping Nancy would answer. They were good friends.

"Hello?" He swore under his breath. Of all the people in that house, Ted Wheeler had to answer. Holding any kind of conversation with that man was impossible.

"Hi Mr. Wheeler. This is Charlie Burton. My brother— Danny— is friends with your son." Mr. Wheeler only grumbled in response. "I just wanted to ask if the boys are still at your house. Danny isn't home yet." The phone went quiet, then a moment later a woman spoke. "Hello?" Mrs. Wheeler. "Hi Mrs. Wheeler!"

"Charlie! Is there a problem?" She asked, her voice full of concern. "I just wanted to know if my brother was still there. He was supposed to be home by now."

All of a sudden, Charlie heard a shriek and a high pitched laugh from the open window. He assumed it was the neighbors seeing as they had two teenage daughters. When he looked, he found that his brother had fallen off his bike and was now laughing at himself. Another figure, who he assumed was Will Byers, was crouched down next to him.

"Nevermind, I guess he took the long way home." He said into the phone. "Oh! Well have a nice night then, Charlie. And tell Danny he left his hat here. I'll have Michael bring it to school tomorrow." She told him. "Alright I'll tell him. Goodnight, Mrs. Wheeler." And with that, he hung up.

He frowned looking out the window again. He didn't want Danny getting hurt and from what it looked like, his relationship with the Byers boy could only result in it. He could tell that they were more than friends— or at least they wanted to be. Everyone knew.

Everyone except them.

Charlie sighed and shook his head, the ghost of a smile on his face. He walked into his room— his and Danny's room. Danny had covered the room in his geeky movie posters. Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and of course, his favorite movie: E.T.

Because of Danny's nerdiness, Charlie could never have girls in his room (not that they wanted to be in there anyway).

He laid down on his bed and shut his eyes. Soon enough, he drifted off to sleep. He was able to rest easy knowing that Danny was safe and would be home at any moment.

What he didn't know was that the wound Danny had got would attract a lot more than just their concerned mother. In fact, at that very moment, him and Will Byers were huddled together in the shed, fending off whatever horror was lurking around Hawkins— just waiting for food.