Joey Hopper//Will Byers

The flea and the acrobat: Part 1

We all sit on the tan couch in Mike's basement. I'm starting to find it strange that my dad hasn't contacted me yet all day. Heck, I didn't even see him in the morning when I woke up. This would usually concern me but right now I have a lot more stranger things going on in my life. I've been called many things, but I've never been called a liar. I'm definitely not going to start being one now. I have to tell the party.....everything.

"Hey, guys." I say in a quiet voice.

"What was Will saying?" Mike asks, not hearing me. "Like home-"

"Guys-"

"But dark?" He continues.

"And empty." Lucas pops in.

I take a breath before I say louder, "guys-"

"Empty and cold," Dustin says. "Wait, did he say empty and cold?"

"GUYS!" I shout, standing up.

They all instantly turn their heads towards me, waiting to hear what I have to say. No backing out of this one I suppose.

"I-I haven't been telling you guys everything."

"What do you mean, Joe?" Lucas asks, raising an eyebrow.

"You know how I told you guys I saw Will? How weird things have been going on with me?" I say, nervously twirling a strand of hair in between my fingers.

"Well, yeah." Mike responds. "You said they were just dreams."

"At first," I continue, "at first that's what I thought. But then it started happening when I was... awake."

"Wait, like visions!" Dustin exclaims with a smile on his face.

I sigh. "Kinda, but it was like I was really there with Will. I thought that I was just going crazy but then you went to my house this morning, to come get me and I wasn't there-"

"You were in the upside down." Mike concludes, starting to catch on.

"Yeah." I respond, looking at my dirty white sneakers.

"Wait, wait, wait." Lucas interrupts. "How is that even possible?"

"I-" I stood there staring into Lucas's eyes for a long time.

After a few seconds I think he's understood, I don't know.

"Just finish your story." Dustin blurts in, trying to break the awkward silence that has fallen over us.

I hesitantly nod. "Okay, so it started out as just being able to see Will, but then I started seeing these...memories. From before my dad adopted me."

"Wait, wouldn't you have only been a toddler?" Mike asks, "how could you remember that?"

"Well that's the thing," I start. "I didn't remember any of it. It was like I was in this...I don't know, a lab? Like a science lab."

At this El perks up for the first time in this conversation.

"Bad people," she says with concern on her face.

"Yeah there were-there were bad people." I say, a realization coming over me....Eleven knows what I'm talking about.

Lucas looks between us. "Well as weird as that all is, and don't get me wrong, that's definitely weird...couldn't this have all waited until after we found Will?"

I stare at them all knowing exactly what I need to say, but am I actually ready for this? Mabey if I keep it all in my head it will eventually just disappear? No. It would come out at some point, and if I can use this to our advantage, if I could use these...powers to get back Will. Then I have too.