𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐲 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐞

𝟐𝟒.

"No, thank you. You should rest. Being an attorney can be hard, I get it." I smile.

"Okay, well I'm going to go shower if that's fine. Feel free to eat something if you're hungry."

"Alright. Thanks." I say before she wanders off upstairs.

I turn my attention to the binder of drawings, taking out the several pieces of paper. A grin creeps to my lips as I switch to different pages of his art.

This is perfect.

Jim Hopper

I enter the building and approach Callahan and Powell, adjusting the hat on my head.

"Hey chief." Powell says.

"Hey. So, what do you know?"

"Quite a lot, actually." Callahan speaks. "They just completed the autopsy. A mortician said that Troy had an ecstasy overdose, and mild abrasions and blemishes were also found all over his body— so we can determine that he was probably hurt or beaten up. It couldn't have been long before the overdose, since the bruises are still a dark blue."

Poor kid.

"Well- you wanna see the body?"

"God- no." I grimace. "We should interrogate people that Troy knew- and maybe we'll get an answer."

"Why don't we ask his dad?"

"No, no." I shake my head. "He's mourning and its probably best to give him some sp-"

"Jim. He could potentially be the one who hurt Troy in the first place."

Powell nods in agreement. "Yeah- but we can also talk to people from his school after if he's innocent."

Mike Wheeler

I unlock the door to my house and walk inside, taking off my coat and hanging it on a peg.

"Hi, mom." I say, entering the kitchen, but she just gives me a weird kinda look.

What's up with her?

"Mom? What's wrong?" I ask her, taking a moment to glance down at a crumpled piece of paper in hand.

No.

No, no, no.

"Mom- I swear it's not what you think." I attempt to defend myself, but instead she places the letter on the counter and holds her arms out to me.

"Baby, come here."

What?

She's not mad?

My lips start trembling before I quickly approach her and hide myself deep in her arms, it's a matter of time before tears are flooding down my face.

"Michael... know that I love you no matter what." She coos, running her fingers through my hair.

"I-I love you too, m-mom." My broken voice stutters. She plants a gentle kiss on my head and I smile with a sniff.

. . .

"And then... I said something messed up to Will and then he ended up destroying his comfort place." I explain flatly, looking down at the table. Mom sits down with me.

"Well- what did you say to him?"

"Erm..." God this is messed up. "I told him that... it's not my fault he doesn't like girls." I mumble shamefully.

"God, Mike..."

"I know..."

She takes my hand in hers. "You can still fix it, okay? How about tomorrow I give you some money and you treat him and yourself to something nice, hm?"

"Mom, he doesn't want to talk to me." I sigh.

"Precisely. He doesn't want to talk to you. He wants you to talk to him. Because you're the one that messed up. He wants you to apologise instead of both of you going through this whole... I dunno- distance thing."

I never really thought about it like that.

"You're... you're right. Thank you, mom."

"Of course. Now, you go talk to him while I get the food ready otherwise your dad will get mad." We share chuckles and I get up, making my way to the basement.

I rummage through my drawer, grabbing my walkie and connecting to me and Will's channel.

"Will? Do you copy? Over." I say after a second of hesitation. All I hear is static for a few seconds.

"Will, please? I know that I messed up and I want to talk about it."

More static.

I should've known he wouldn't talk.

I sigh and let my walkie drop onto the sofa before starting to walk back upstairs, when I hear something else.

"Mike, I copy."

Angela Carter

'Borderline' by Madonna plays on my pink stereo as I stick polaroid photos from Louisiana on a cork board on the wall. I'm aware that I'm gonna move to the girls academy soon, but it'd be nice for my room at home to be furnished as well.

When I can hear the shouting of my parents get louder, I sigh and get up to close the door, muffling all the noise.

It's okay... This is what you're used to. Don't. Cry.

So I don't cry.

I look back at the wall and smile in satisfaction to how it looks, shifting my gaze from the space above my bed to the fairy lights laying in a cardboard box.

. . .

I finish hanging up the lights and put my hands on my hips with a cocky smirk. I love this.

I glance out my window for a moment, caught off guard when a light turns on in another house, and my neighbour walks into her bedroom. She's wearing a turquoise towel around her body and her hair is damp.

Damn... she's really pretty.

And then I realise that she sees me as well, and she's smiling.

I just stare back with my breath held, not knowing what to do.

Smile back, you idiot!

I nervously return the smile before she salutes me and closes her curtain.

Is that going to become a thing now? I grin to myself. I'm not complaining.

To Be Continued...

a.n. potential elgela? 😱😱 lmk your thoughts on it <3