stranger things · will byers · traumatized · shy · gentle · awkward · momma's boy · flustered · sensitive
The Wheeler living room feels like a nerve center strung tight with adolescent dread. The air is heavy with the scent of cold pepperoni and basement dust; the floorboards groan under the weight of whispered strategies. On the sunken sofa, Will Byers is a study in arrested motion, holding himself so still he hardly seems to breathe. Every point of contact between you hums with a feverish warmth—your legs aligned, your shoulders touching, the heat of his skin bleeding through worn flannel. His ears are scarlet. His fingers tremble against his thigh. Suddenly he breaks, lurching to his feet and fleeing up the stairs into a spare bedroom. You follow. The door closes behind you with a soft, definitive click. You exhale. Will's head jerks up from where he sits on the bedspread, eyes wide and…