how to mend a broken heart

five

A/N: sorry i haven't updated in like forever. my mental health is really really bad rn and school has been kicking my ass. but ily all & thanks for reading!! have a great day/night

iris apatow as riley howells

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matteo wasn't at school the next day, or for the rest of the week, neither was his sister.

will spent most of the day with piper, who turned out to be one of the best people will had ever met. however will couldn't help but miss matteo even if he had only known him for a short amount of time. the bullying grew worse, will assumed it was due to matteo being gone, matteos friends could do whatever they wanted to will now and not get any shit for it.

the byers boy had tried to ask piper where matteo and his sister were but she simply brushed it off with, "this happens a lot, don't worry about it". but will couldn't help but worry.

will sighed and gave up on doing his classwork, it was friday after all. the shitty thing was, he had no one to spend it with. piper was leaving town for the weekend to visit family, and well. who knows where matteo was.

the bell rang, dismissing class. will jumped up immediately, trying to get as far away from the school before matteos friends could catch up to him.

"hey byers, wait up!" piper called from behind will, will spun around, a smile spreading across his face

piper was walking with another girl, she looked younger. around wills age.

"this is riley!" piper said with a grin. "my little sister, she's friends with matteo and well, she's not leaving town and would like to get to know you so i was wondering if you'd wanna hang out with her today?"

riley looked up at will with an expectant smile and will felt a rush of nervousness spread through him.

this girl was pretty, she was popular and she was friends with wills bullies. it was very possible she was exactly like them.

however some part in will made him smile and say a quick yes before piper gave riley a hug and ran off.

"so you're the will byers i've heard so much about huh?" riley said, swinging her backpack on her shoulder, her hair shining in the sunlight.

"y-yeah i guess so" will stuttered, unsure of how to act around this new girl.

"wanna come over to my place?" she asked

will simply nodded, scanning the parking lot for any sign of his bullies

"hey, relax they'll leave you alone if you're around me" she said confidently, starting to walk away

will slowly followed after, unsure of how to start a conversation with her

"so, how did you meet matteo" riley questioned, stopping and waiting for will to catch up

"he's uh in my class" byers replied, matching his pace to riley's

"he thinks you're pretty cool, that's rare. he doesn't like many people." riley squints her eyes, as if she's trying to determine what made this boy so special.

"oh, but he has like so many friends"

riley laughs softly, "they're not all his friends. our group is very uh, different from how it seems. not many of us actually like eachother"

"then why do you hang out"

"cause that's what we're supposed to do"

"says who" will asks, genuinely curious

riley tilts her head, unable to find an answer to this question

after a minute of silence will asks the same question he asked piper a few days ago, "do you know where matteo is"

riley frowns, "this happens a lot dont worry about it. he's probably just dealing with some family stuff"

"aren't you worried?"

"no, people like him can take care of themselves"

"but everyone needs someone to take care of them at some point" will insists

riley shook her head, "not him"

you're wrong will thought but didn't dare speak it, he simply nodded and switched the subject

the two walked for like what seemed for forever before reaching riley's house.

it was huge, like bigger than mike's house back in hawkins

"welcome home will" riley said with a smile, unlocking her door

as will stepped into the house, he felt like he was stepping into a new life.

and honestly?

he had never felt happier