𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝; byler

- cнαρтεя тωσ -

INSIDE, THERE WERE chairs organized in a large circle.

there were also two tables full of boxes of donuts and cupcakes, fruits, and coffee and tea. There was a large group, all men except for one short blonde woman  standing at the tables, eating and chatting among themselves.

Will was the youngest one in the group by far. He saw people giving him strange looks as he shakily stepped to one of the chairs the furthest away from the group, sitting and looking down at his feet.

All the confidence Mike had installed in him evaporated in a second, and he felt like he might throw up. 
"Everyone, please take your seat." A voice called, and Will saw a woman in about her 40's sitting down in a chair. She had a sticker on her chest reading "Hello, my name is Sherry".

As he looked around him, Will saw that everyone else was wearing name tags- Will felt even more out of place.

He shrank back into himself as people started sitting around him, hoping the woman- Sherry- wouldn't notice him- but her brown eyes fixed on his face, and she smiled at him widely.

"Hi everybody," She said with a smile as everyone started to quiet down.

"Hi Sherry," they replied, and she smiled even wider.
"So, before we begin, I see we have a new face joining us today." Everyone turned towards Will, and he felt the color drain from his face.

Their faces weren't judgmental, but Will still felt light headed. He hated being the center of attention.

"Would you please tell us a little about yourself? stand up, so everyone can see you," She said. Will wanted to run out, but he stood up reluctantly.

"Yeah- umm... My name is Will-" he started."I'm- uh, 18 and umm, well- I uh, I'm a first year- art major." His words kept getting confused on the way out.

"And how long have you been sober, Will?" Sherry said without a hint of judgment, but Will turned red anyway.
"ummm-" but before he could say anything, the church door swung open.

Will's whole world went dark, his eyes widening.

A boy was standing in the entrance, walking towards an open seat on the other side of the circle.

A boy Will knew.

"Welcome back, Eddie," Sherry smiled at him, "This is Will, he's just telling us about himself."

Eddie. How could Eddie be here?

Will couldn't believe it. He was finally getting a clean sheet, finally no one knew about his problem after a year of being treated like glass by his friends from Hawkins....And now everything was ruined.

"15 months," Will let out, falling back to his seat in a daze. Everyone clapped.

"Thank you for sharing, Will. Now-" Sherry continued, but Will couldn't listen. His ears were ringing as he stared at Eddie, who didn't look at him.

Eddie didn't talk at all during the rest of the meeting, and neither did Will. He couldn't even listen to the stories the other people were sharing, just waiting anxiously for the clock in the corner to reach 10:30 so he could get out of there.

When it finally did, he was out of his seat and out the door before Sherry was even done saying bye. He wanted to get home before Eddie could catch him...

"Will!"

SHIT.

Will stopped in his place, and Eddie ran to his side, out of breath.

"Hi Eddie," Will murmured without looking at him.

For a moment they stood without saying a word, just looking at each other. Will saw the curiosity in Eddie's brown eyes, looking him over.

"So...What happened to you?" Eddie asked finally, and Will looked up at him with puzzlement in his eyes.

"Come on, I know something happened to you. Something weird. Don't take this the wrong way, but I thought so for a while, It's clear enough with the way Mike is around you, how you're so careful with your words all the time... and now with AA...I just know something strange happened to you. "

Will looks at him, speculating. He knew Eddie pretty well, but that didn't make it any easier. On the contrary, he was even more scared to tell him about everything. He didn't want to ruin their friendship...

Screw it, Will decided. He would think he was crazy anyway, and it's better he tell him the truth.
He was longing to tell someone anyway, and didn't think he would get a better opportunity.

"Well, I was kidnapped and kept in an alternate dimension for a week, and then possessed by a monster." It was funny how he could tell him that so easily, but couldn't even try to say anything about his father or abuse. Just the thought of explaining sent shivers up his spine.

Eddie nodded thoughtfully, not like he was thinking of the best asylum to put Will in, but like he actually believed him.

"Demon clown for me," Eddie replied. Will looked at him with shock. Was he making fun of him, was he totally insane, or- was he telling the truth?

"Yeah. All of us, actually. It was terrifying," Eddie continued. Why did Will believe him?

"And were you actually- you know- an alcoholic?" Eddie asked, and Will nodded slowly.

"My mom used to make me take pills, made me think I was sick. They were placebos, but even after I found that out it was sort of hard to stop taking them, if that makes sense. I go to this once a while to remind myself that it could've been worse.. I don't know, it's hard to explain. " Eddie said, and Will didn't know what to answer.

The brown-haired boy seemed extremely genuine, but Will still wasn't sure.

Honestly. Eddie and the rest of them were- what, plagued by a demonic clown? it made no sense- but in a world with monsters straight out of a D&D game, why was it so crazy to imagine demon clowns?

But that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that Eddie knew. He knew now.

He was still focused on the fact that Eddie knew about.... his thing. Would everything be ruined now? Would he tell?

"you're brave for coming here. And don't worry- I won't tell anyone anything. I promise." Eddie looked at Will, and gave him a quick and very awkward hug .

Will honestly wasn't sure what was happening, but Eddie smiled weakly at him and left the other direction.

"Thanks," he muttered dazedly into the empty night sky around him.