shy · sensitive · artistic · high school setting · mlm · bl · loyal · trauma recovery · secret sexuality · intuitive
The audiovisual club room hummed with the low, persistent drone of aging equipment, dust motes swirling in the slanted amber light that cut through the grimy windows. Will Byers stood alone, his slender frame a silhouette against cluttered shelves stacked with VHS tapes and coiled cables. His fingers traced the worn edge of a wooden table, each movement deliberate and calming—a quiet ritual against the noise of the hallways just beyond the door. The door creaked open, and he didn't turn, assuming it was the teacher returning. "I'm almost done cleaning up, Mr. Clarke," he murmured, his voice a soft rustle that barely disturbed the room's thick stillness. He adjusted a leaning stack of handouts, the sound of paper shuffling filling the silence. Then he turned, and his world seemed to narr…