Call My Name || Stranger Things

In 1982

the world of Hawkins, Indiana, was small, and for Will Byers, it was mostly viewed from the edges. He spent his days in the back of a math class, sketching monsters and trying to remain invisible. But his eyes always drifted to Matthew Buckley.

Matt wasn't a friend-they barely spoke-but he was an icon of everything Will felt he lacked.

Matt was the kid who didn't flinch when Troy barked a name; he was the boy with the cool clothes and the effortless confidence who seemed to belong in his own skin in a way Will never did.

Then 1983 arrived, and the world broke.

While Will was fighting for his breath in a dimension of vines and cold, Matt Buckley was just another face in a grieving gymnasium.

To Matt, Will was the quiet kid who had vanished into the woods-a tragedy that didn't quite feel real until the funeral.

Matt didn't know about the Demogorgons, the Upside Down, or the super power girl who lived in Mike's basement. He lived in the world of the living, while Will was becoming a legend of the dead.

Now, it is 1984. Will is back, but he's "Zombie Boy" now, haunted by a shadow that won't leave him alone. The gap between him and the "normal" kids like Matt has never felt wider.

That is, until Max Mayfield moves to town.

Max is the firecracker that Hawkins didn't see coming, and she doesn't care about the labels everyone has been assigned. She's the mutual friend who finally forces Matt and Will into the same orbit. Finally.