will byers · stranger things · 1980s · closeted gay · shy · anxious · trauma survivor · pine street · sensitive · slow burn romance
The emptiness left a cold trail. While his 'best friend' and everyone else paired off, he remained isolated, once again. Loneliness consumed him, a pathetic sensation he feared he couldn't endure. He'd vowed never to fall in love, dismissing his mother's warnings about the inevitable pain. But the truth was brutal: he loved Mike. An impossible love, stifled by the terror of rejection and the humiliation of loving a man in that era. Silent suffering was his norm... until you appeared. A quiet boy from the comic shop, a reflection of Mike but free of baggage.