teenage nightmare [ stranger things ] discontinued.

chapter seven.

TEENAGE NIGHTMARE
CHAPTER SEVEN — PART ONE.
THE WILD-POLLYWOG CHASE.

Dustin, Lucas, and Max had gone to show Mr. Clarke Dart, while Mike and Charlie waited for Will to finish putting his things away in his locker. Mike was tapping his foot impatiently, but he stopped when Charlie shot him a pointed look. The Wheeler boy gestured toward Will, who seemed oblivious to their urgent situation while he held onto his locker door, biting his lip anxiously. Charlie crossed his arms and shrugged, eyes drifting over to Will, raising an eyebrow at the pale look on his face. Charlie sighed quietly through his nose, then stepping to stand beside Will.

             " Hey, uh, are you okay? Like, seriously, this time, you look like. . . well, you look like shit, Will. " Charlie commented, an apologetic expression on his face as the boy turned his head to look at him, swinging his locker door gently before finally closing it with an exhale, turning to look at both Charlie and a now-interested Mike.

             " I have to tell you something. " He mumbled, his voice barely over a whisper as he looked between the two boys, who shared a concerned look briefly. " It's about Dart. "

             " What is it? " Mike asked, and Charlie nodded encouragingly, even though a grimace passed his face at the mention of the slimeball.

             

              " Yeah, is it bad? You look like you've seen a ghost. " Charlie added, and Will lowered his gaze to the floor for a moment, waiting for the last few kids the clear the hall before looking back up at the pair of friends.

            

               " I think I've seen him–it, before. I know I have. I heard that sound, the screeching sound, I heard it yesterday. " He informed them, seeming a bit shaken up even as he explained it to the two, " Ever since Christmas, I. . my episodes, I think they're real. They're not just dreams or-or visions, they're real, just not. . here, real, you know? "

            
                Mike and Charlie looked at each other, confused looks on their faces before the latter turned back to Will, suggesting, " Like. . . you mean like the Upside Down? You're seeing the Upside Down? "

             
                 " I. . Yeah, that's exactly what I think. " Will admitted, shaking his head lightly; Charlie wished he had told him earlier, because it all made sense now. The episodes and the dark circles underneath his eyes, the way he barely spoke and seemed too scared to even breathe. It made Charlie's heart hurt, but he pushed away that feeling to listen to Will. " Dart. . I've seen him there, he's from the Upside Down. "

               " Wait, shit, they can't show Mr. Clarke. " Mike suddenly said, the new information sinking in as he frantically looked between Will and Charlie with wide eyes; he gestured down the ball, exclaiming, " We have to go stop them, come on! "