Dark Crush-Byler

Will Byers has always lived in the quiet spaces-between words, between glances, between feelings he doesn't know how to name. Ever since they were kids, Mike Wheeler has been his constant: his protector, his anchor, the one person who makes the world feel less terrifying.

But some feelings don't stay hidden forever.

As Hawkins grows darker and the past refuses to stay buried, Will finds himself struggling with a crush he never meant to have-and one he's terrified to admit. Every shared look feels heavier. Every late-night conversation lingers longer than it should. And the closer danger creeps in, the harder it becomes to ignore what his heart has been trying to say all along.

Dark Crush is a quiet, emotional slow burn about friendship, fear, and realizing that sometimes the scariest monsters aren't from the Upside Down-but from loving someone you think you can never have.