𝐂𝐎𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐂 || Will Byers x Gender Neutral!Reader [✓]

━ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 - 𝐏𝟐 ━

"This is, uh... this is him. This is Will. Uh, you may have seen him on... on the news."

Terry only looked at the missing poster for a moment before returning her gaze to the TV, all the while Hopper staring confusedly at the exchange.

"What's wrong with her?"

The other Ives sister stood shaking her head and shrugged her shoulders.

"I told you, you're wasting your time."

||𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐕||

'This isn't right. Lucas should be with us.'

In that moment my brother seems to read my mind.

"This is weird without Lucas."

The three of us were biking across town. We figured we would most likely find El somewhere around Mirkwood so that's where we are headed now.

Dustin and Mike were behind me. The two were keeping up a conversation as we all kept a steady but comfortable pace. I wasn't in the most chatty mood at the moment. I was currently trying to concentrate my nerves into the task at hand and keep moving forward, making sure not to lose the boys of course.

Thankfully, the two of them seemed to understand I needed my space at the moment.

"He should've shaken my hand." I hear Mike say.

"He's just jealous."

"What are you talking about?"

I hear my brother sigh before speaking.

"Sometimes, your total obliviousness just blows my mind."

There's a small pause before he continues.

"He's your best friend, right?"

"Yeah... I mean, I don't know."

"It's fine. I get it."

"We didn't get here until the fourth grade. He had the advantage of living next door. But none of that matters. What matters is that he is your best friend. And then this girl shows up and starts living in your basement and all you ever want to do is pay attention to her."

"That's not true."

"Yes, it is. And you know it. And he knows it. But no one ever says anything until you both start punching and yelling at each other like goblins with intelligence scores of zero."

I can't help but smile and roll my eyes slightly.

"Now everything's weird." He finished.

"He's not my best friend."

I hear Dustin laugh.

"Yeah, right."

"I mean, he is, but so are you guys. And so is Will."

"Can't have more than one best friend." Dustin stated almost sadly.

"Says who?"

"Says logic."

"Well, I call bull on your logic, because you're my best friend, too. That includes you, Y/n."

I spare a moment to look over my shoulder and make eye contact with him. I give a warm smile.

"Thanks, Mikey. I know I speak for Dustin as well when I say that you mean a lot to us." I look to my brother and we seem to silently agree with one another.

I make sure to keep an eye on the road as I bike forward, occasionally making eye contact with him as I speak. "And I promise, we are gonna find El, and then we are gonna talk some sense into Lucas. Cause I'll be damned if I lose another one of you."

The three of us smile at each other and I return my attention to the road. For one brief moment in time we feel almost... at peace. It's only been a week since Will's disappearance, but it's felt like years. It's refreshing, for once, even if it's only for a few short moments; we are just three kids without a care in the world. Of course, deep down, we know that is far from the truth.

The looming sense of stress and concern is only confirmed when we find ourselves across the street from Bradley's Big Buy convenience store.

I slam on the brakes and my tires squeal against the pavement when I spot the commotion outside the store. Mike and Dustin brake on either side of me.

"Woah." Mike breathes.

By the looks of it, it was robbed. But everybody seemed to be fine. The only evidence of a robbery was the shattered glass of the closed automatic doors and the policemen taking statements from witnesses of course.

"You don't think..." Dustin begins.

"Uh... definitely."

Unlike me, the boys are eager enough to trek on and they simultaneously start back on the road. I took a minute to catch my breath staring lost in thought.

Knowing I better catch up now, I stand up, propping my weight on each of the peddles of my bike and begin peddling, easily catching up to boys.

However, I can't seem to shake the feeling that I was being watched at this very moment.