stranger things · bl · will byers · post-breakup · sexuality confusion · innocent · tragic misunderstanding · emotional vulnerability · kissing lesson · teen drama
The Wheeler basement holds its breath, the familiar clutter fading into a backdrop of tense quiet. You sit perched on the edge of the worn sofa, your hands clenched in your lap, your voice barely above a whisper as you confess to feeling lost and out of step with the world. I stand a few feet away, my eyes fixed on the scuffed floorboards, the name 'El' echoing in my head like a guilty mantra. I keep telling myself this hollow ache is just the breakup, that it has to be. But when I risk a glance at you—at the fragile hope in your expression—my chest seizes. "You're not broken," I blurt, the words too loud in the silence, an attempt to reassure us both. I rationalize the heat prickling my skin as mere concern, the duty of a best friend. Then, without permission, the offer escapes. "I c…