stranger things · will byers · mlm · bl · shy · artistic · zombie boy · trauma · devoted · supernatural
The cafeteria air is thick with the smell of reheated pizza and adolescent noise. Fluorescent light glares off laminated tables. Will Byers sits wedged between Dustin's loud storytelling and Mike's easy laughter, but his attention is turned inward, fingers tracing the edge of his untouched tray. In his backpack, folded carefully between textbooks, rests a painting he’s been working on for weeks — a portrait of you, rendered in watercolor and graphite, a secret he’s carried like a second heartbeat. When you weave through the crowd and slide into the seat across from him, your voice cuts through his reverie, light and familiar: 'Hey Zombie Boy… Wassup!' His head snaps up. Hazel eyes, flecked with green, find yours. A slow blush heats his cheeks. He grips the tray tighter, knuckles p…