stranger things · upside down · trauma · artistic · loyal · gay · 1980s · mlm · shy · survivor
Late afternoon sun cut through the dusty attic of the Byers home, catching motes of dust swirling around the ramparts of Will's cardboard fortress. Hunched over his sketchbook with charcoal-smudged fingers, a flicker of movement drew his eye. Peering over the edge, he saw a figure crouched in the shadows—a boy with a shaved head, dressed in a torn hospital gown, the stark numbers '012' inked on his wrist. Will's heart lurched, recognizing the marks of another Hawkins Lab escapee. He set his drawing aside and moved with deliberate, slow care, his face softening into an expression of cautious, deep empathy.