𝐈'𝐋𝐋 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄 | ᴍᴀx ᴍᴀʏꜰɪᴇʟᴅ x ᴏᴄ

ɹuoɟ

꧁꧂

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜰᴏᴜʀ: ᴡᴇ'ʀᴇ ɴᴏᴛ ɢᴏɪɴɢ ʙᴀᴄᴋ

"JESUS." Joyce shouted from the living area, now in pieces. "Have you seen them?" Was it a normal day in the Byers house if we didn't lose something? No.

"Trust me, we're looking, Mom." I told her, going through the kitchen drawers.

"Yeah, we're... we're looking." Will says, looking through his school bag.

"A-HA!" We all turned our heads to Bob. "Found 'em!" He jangled the keys in his hand as he walked towards Mom, triumphant. "Hiding under some jeans, sneaky little buggers."

"Is this seriously how we just spent half of the morning?" I asked with a laugh, while Mom kissed him on the cheek and praised Bob's never-ending list of skills.

"Can you take Will and Park to school today? I cannot be late again." Joyce says to Johnathan.

Meanwhile, Johnathan's lovely priorities came into action. "He's staying over now?" He asked her quietly, making me smirk as I put my jacket on.

"Can you just take them, please?" She repeated the question to our brother more sternly this time.

"I can take them." Bob says suddenly, everyone looking over at him.

"Will you make sure they get in okay?" Mom checked with him.

"Yeah, of course." Bob smiled sweetly at us. "What do you guys say? Wanna go for a ride in the Bobmobile?" He asks.

Will nervously looked at Mom while I smiled at him sweetly, nodding. "Of course."

⊹˚˖⁺

Music played on Bob's car radio before he looked at Will next to him. "Was that one of you two I heard milling around last night, or was that a ghost?" I shook my head when he looked at me in the mirror and he then glanced back at Will.

"Yeah." He says quietly. "Me, probably."

Bob nodded, glancing at him before back at the road. "Another nightmare?" He asked my twin.

"Uh... no." Will says quickly, too quickly.

"Did I ever tell you about Mr. Baldo?" The man asks after a moment of silence in the car.

"Mr... Baldo?" I questioned, confused.

"Yeah." The man smiled. "I was a little younger than you guys, standing in line for the Ferris wheel at the Roane County fair." Will was beginning to show interest, turning his body towards Bob as he listened to the man's story. He already understood the man. "And suddenly, I feel this fat white glove tap me on the shoulder. I spin around, and there he is." Part of me wanted to tell Bob to keep his eyes on the road, but I too was invested. "Mr. Baldo. 'Hey, kiddo, would you like a balloon?'." Both me and Will smiled at his impression.

"Go ahead, laugh. It's funny. It wasn't funny back then; I can tell you that." He told us. "I couldn't get him out of my head. Every night, he would come to me in my dreams. I got so bad that I made my mom stay in the room with me until I could fall asleep every night."

"Really?" My brother asked quietly.

"Really." Bob said. "It went on like that for months... And then one day, the nightmare suddenly stopped." The two of us made eye contact, invested in Bob's story. "Wanna know how?"

"How...?" Will asked, not knowing what else to say.

"Well, I fell asleep... and just like always, Mr. Baldo came to me. Only this time, I didn't run." Bob had caught Will's attention now. Fully. "This time, I stood my ground. I just looked at Mr. Baldo in his stupid face, and I said 'Go away. Go away!' Just like that, he was gone." I know to Will, that sounded great. If that it was as easy as that for the boy, he was certain going to take it. But me? I was too unsure. "Never saw him again. Easy-peasy, right?" He asks Will.