𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐘 𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑 | mileven au.

NINE...

CHAPTER NINE
"THE MISTAKES WE MADE!"

guilt was not even close to the right word to describe the feeling that enclosed will byers as his feet dangled off of his bed. his older friend rambled about the adventures of princess leia and luke skywalker, but he was far too upset to listen. at the pit of his stomach, strong tension and regret swirled around him and overwhelmed his senses with remorse as his counterpart paused the television, having the ability to see right through his small smiles.

her eyes followed his sadly, switching the television off with the click of the remote and leaving a static screen in place. will's eyebrows rose, turning his head to face her as he placed his cheek in his hand.

"why did you turn it off?" he asked, pulling a fleece blanket over his head and cushioning his face into the warmth of the fabric. one of robin's eyebrows quirked upwards, placing her chin in her hand.

"because i can tell something's up with you." she replied simply, throwing the remote onto a chair in the corner of her bedroom. she proceeded to switch positions and flop onto her back, her eyes now staring at the popcorn-styled ceiling above. will mimicked her movements, his eyelids drooping.

"i did something bad." he admitted, his voice wobbling as that awful feeling of dread filled his senses once again. he had spent that entire night pondering his quick decision to contact the local police station while he knew he should've been enjoying his movie marathon with his best friend. his mouth dropped slightly as she laughed loudly, holding her stomach through gasped breaths as she struggled to breathe through her giggles.

"oh shit, did you accidentally step on an ant or something?" she chuckled while throwing her head back through her snorts, running her fingers through her wild locks of dirty blonde hair that fell loosely at her shoulders.

"i think i ruined eleanor hopper's life." he confessed in a hushed tone, gulping heavily as he felt tears brim in the corners of his chocolate eyes. robin's demeanor instantly dulled with concern, turning over to face her friend.

"what do you mean?" she asked cautiously, resting her head on her forearm. he sighed, his face showing very clearly that he would feel guilty for even saying the words aloud. he squeezed his eyes shut, folding his hands across his pajamas. the reflection of the moon peeked through robin's light green curtains, illuminating his gloomy expression.

"mike and i... we found out that her mom hit her. and not just once, a lot. i-i came up with the idea to tell chief hopper about it. so yeah, i basically ruined her life." he explained shortly, trying to keep the details of the situation as latent as possible. robin pursed her lips together, holding onto will's hand kindly before speaking.

"you did not ruin her life. you did exactly what you should've done. she may not realize it now, but you both saved her. do you understand? you both saved her," she sympathized with him as he smiled softly, whispering a meek thank you as removed her hand from his and wrapped it around his shoulder instead. she stretched to grab the remote, getting it in her grip after a few moments.

"now lets travel back to the adventures of the empire strikes back, also known as the best star wars movie of all time." she smirked, will chuckling quietly as he blinked away his tears.

—

the girl with tear-stained cheeks awoke to the sunlight that snuck through the window and beamed onto her skin, creating gold tones across her tanned cheeks as she snuggled closer into an unknown source of comfort.