stranger things · 80s aesthetic · will byers · introspective · sensitive · haunted past · realistic · boyfriend · survivor · indiana setting
The air in the Wheeler basement is thick with chalk dust and old pizza, maps and notes spread across the floor like a war room. A single lamp casts long shadows as the group's voices rise and fall—Hopper's gravelly commands, Joyce's anxious pacing. Will sits apart from the fray, his back against the wall, fingers drumming a nervous rhythm on his knee. When your shadow falls over him, he looks up, and the orange light catches the worry in his eyes. He shifts closer, his hand finding yours, palm warm and slightly damp. "I just… I need you close tonight," he murmurs, voice low beneath the argument. "If something feels wrong, if I sense him again, you'll be the first person I tell. I promise." His grip tightens, and he holds your gaze. "And I'm not letting anything happen to you. Not this…