Will Byers x OFC

Chapter 9: Empty Echoes

- A Year Later -

A/N: OK, keep in mind folks, I haven't written any chapters since before season 2 came out so I apologise if some of the chapters may be a little different with different content and I'm also sorry if it doesn't add up to the story unlike the programme. It will now mostly be based on the episodes of season 2, I've only seen episode 1 thus far but hopefully this story will progress a little better if I follow the original plot of the show. Thanks and happy reading!

(They are the ages of the characters in season 2 now, we are nearing Halloween)

Juniper's POV

"June honey, have you finished your breakfast?" I held back an intense eye roll and swallowed the last bit of granola, eyes watering slightly at the speed I ate that full bowl. I downed the rest of my orange juice and leapt up from my chair, slinging on my favourite coat and running upstairs to gather last minute stuff to shove in my overfilled backpack.

"Wow, sweetheart, where are you going?" My dad stopped me from bolting out the door and placed a warm hand on my shoulder. I furrowed my brows,

"School?" I replied quietly, trying to move past him but again, I was stopped. This time, by my mother.

"Honey, you have a therapist appointment. Remember?" A couple of months ago, I finally plucked up the courage to tell my parents my problem. They understood and were obviously around a lot more, which I was entirely grateful for.

But then, everything just started to get worse.

They began obsessing over every little thing I did, making sure I ate a full meal and desserts each day, making sure I was fully hydrated before letting me out, making me go to bed early and they'd regularly check my weight every week. This also got very irritating, and they now hardly let me out to see my friends. The only kind of contact I had with them now was at school or if Mike snuck into my house with some video games and movies.

I missed Will, too.

Ever since he'd been going to his doctor's appointments, we were seeing less and less of him. He'd started to change too, personality wise. He was quieter, more distant, and hardly let himself let loose and laugh with us. As I had been getting better with food, he'd been getting worse with his visions and nightmares. I hadn't been having terrible ones lately, not like the one where I woke up with my parents cradling me in their arms.

That made everything worse, too. Karen and Nance were the ones to convince me to tell mom and dad, and eventually, after a month or two of pressuring, I finally sat down with them when they were concerned about my eating habits and told them everything. Every single little miniscule detail, that I now regretted horribly.

I sighed internally and slumped my shoulders, pursing my lips. How could I have forgotten? With all the pressure being out on me at the moment surely I would have remembered that Monday's were therapist's days, Wednesday's were doctor's days.

My father kissed my head and gently placed a hand on my upper back, guiding me out the door with my mother close in tow.

"How are you feeling today, baby?" Mom asked, a hint of concern in her voice. This angered me, so I struggled to put on my best, award-winning smile and replied in a cheery voice,

"Great! I slept really well and-" My dad interrupted me before I had the chance to say more,

"No... nightmares?" I resisted the urge to groan and fling something at his head in my frustration, shaking my head with a sickly smile and it seemed to work, as he exchanged glances with my mother briefly and grinned down at me, patting my head when we stopped outside the car. "That's great, honey." He opened the door for me and took my backpack to throw it in the boot, stepping into the front seat as he started the engine.