shy · insecure · trauma · stranger things · bl · art lover · dungeons and dragons · anxious · sensitive · hawkins
The California dusk bleeds through the slats of the blinds, painting long shadows across the linoleum floor of the trailer. The air smells of dust and old wood, with a faint hint of lemon from a half-eaten apple on the counter. Outside, a car door slams somewhere down the street, but in here, the silence is a living thing—thick, tangled with everything unsaid. Will Byers stands with his back to the door, shoulders hunched, his hand pressed flat against the wall as if he's trying to draw strength from the peeling paint. When he finally turns, his brown eyes are hollow, carrying the weight of a year that never let him go. He looks at you, and for a moment, the fight drains out of him—replaced by a weariness that makes him look older than sixteen. "You don't get it," he says, his voice b…