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Theodore got off the bus like he usually did and walked to the entrance of the school. He leaned against the bike rack and waited. This had been another routine adapted between Theodore and Will. Theodore would wait for Will and walk him to his first hour, sometimes even to Will's other classes, if he thought he wouldn't be late.
It didn't take Will long to get to the school in Ms. Joyce's car. He watched as Will got out of his mother's car and waved at her as she drove off. Will turned around, and they smiled at each other as they walked toward each other. "How are you?" Theodore asked as they began walking to the entrance.
"Good, thanks," Will replied. "You know, I found the perfect place for the bear you gave me." Will had been stressing over trying to find the "perfect" place for the bear because he thought he should put that much effort into an inanimate object. Theodore didn't really understand it, but didn't question it.
"Yeah?" Theodore implored.
"Yeah."
They made it to Will's locker, and he went through it, but the first thing he grabbed wasn't a book, it was a note. A very insulting note. Theodore quickly took the note from Will's hand, but the damage was already done. Will had that look on his face, the kicked-puppy look. "You know not to listen to these, right?" Theodore asked.
Will nodded, but he wasn't looking at him. The bell rang and Will quickly put the rest of his things in his locker and walked off. He didn't even bother to shut his locker, so Theodore did. Theodore watched as Will walked away for a few moments, wishing he had better comforting skills.
Theodore couldn't stop thinking about his last encounter with Will all morning. He didn't understand the reason people were like this. He also just didn't know how he would talk about this. The other boy clearly had some things going through his head and Theodore wanted to know what. But he had yet to confront Will about it for fear of making the other boy uncomfortable, so now all he could do was wait.
He walked through the halls of the school and down the stairs to the back of it. The boys usually met up near the batter boxes on the baseball field. Per usual, Will began to explain what they were doing: "We're trying to find who broke Dustin's Dig Dug score."
"We know who," Dustin countered, "it's her," pointing at the said girl. She had admirable red hair and amazing skating skills.
Theodore walked closer to the group. "You've talked to her?" He asked.
"Well, not exactly–"
Dustin was promptly cut off by Michael. "No, they haven't," Michael told him. "We're all just standing here–"
"Stalking her?" Theodore suggested.
Lucas and Dustin's necks turned so fast that Theodore was nearly sure they had gotten whiplash. "We're not stalking!" They shouted.
"It's a little like stalking," Will commented.
Dustin scoffed and turned to look back at the girl, only to find she wasn't there. "Shit, I've lost the target," Dustin muttered.
Each of the boys looked around for a moment until Will found her. The boys watched as she walked up the steps that led back into the school and threw something away. Now, officially acting like stalkers, the boys ran to find what she had thrown away. Dustin practically puts his whole body into the trashcan trying to find it. The rest of them covered him, waving at the few girls that passed (Theodore excluded).
Eventually, Dustin got the trash, and it was opened. "'Stop spying on me, creeps.'" It read.
"Well, shit," Dustin muttered. Theodore raised his eyebrows.
"William Byers." A voice called, causing each of the boys to turn around. "Your mother's here." Will walked ahead, and the boys waved at him (Theodore included) as they watched him go.
The boys quickly went to a corner of the school so they could see Will off. "Do you guys think he's okay?" Dustin questioned.
"He's always weird when he has to go in," Lucas remarked.
"I don't know," Michael answered. "He's quiet today."
"He's always quiet," Lucas assured him.
Theodore didn't know how to feel because Michael was right. There was definitely something up with Will and Theodore really wanted to know what.
Even after school, the thoughts of Will didn't escape him. Theodore just couldn't help but be worried. Will had been acting really off.
Theodore unlocked the door to his house and went inside, locking it behind him. His sisters sat at the table working on a puzzle for whatever reason. "Hi, Theo!" Kelly greeted and Casey opted for waving at him. "Come help us, please!"
He did as such, walking over to them and sitting on the seat at Kelly's left. The puzzle didn't have that many pieces, and with the three of them, it was finished quickly. The puzzle picture ended up being of the Eiffel Tower. After they were all finished, they headed off to do their own things. Kelly was watching tv, Casey making dinner, and Theodore calling Will like he did every night.
After the first ring, Joyce answered. "Hello?"
"Hi, Ms. Byers."
"Theodore, it's nice of you to call." She commented, even though Theodore called every day. "How are you?"
"I'm fine. Thank you for asking. Is Will home?" Theodore questioned.
"He is. Let me get him for you, sweetie," Joyce told him and Theodore could just about hear the smile in her voice.
Theodore was left to bask in the noises of his house, but all he really heard was the tv. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long. He and Will talked endlessly about their days. Their conversation went on and on just because they wanted to talk to each other. But as they talked, Theodore couldn't help but feel, for lack of a better word, odd. As if Will wasn't being completely truthful with him.
He didn't say anything about it because he had no idea what to say. So, he just vowed to talk to someone who would.
After their call, it didn't take long for dinner to be finished. So, now the three siblings sat at the table, eating their spaghetti. Now was clearly the best time, so Theodore asked his question. "Casey, how do you get someone to trust you?"
Casey looked up from her spaghetti and out of the corner of his eye, he could see Kelly tilting her head to the right. "Oh - uh, why the sudden question?" Casey implored.
Theodore shifted in his seat and looked over at her, only to make eye contact. "There's no reason." He told her.
The teenage girl raised a brow. "You should try being more honest with them, first." She informed him. "And, obviously, if you're questioning if they're saying what they mean, then you should make them more comfortable by always meaning what you say and be more open."
"How do I be open?" Theodore questioned.
"It's kinda like how you are with us. You can freely ask questions and show us how you feel. You should do that with the person. Soon, they should be able to do it back, but don't expect it right away. Do you understand?"
Theodore nodded. "You got this, brother. I'm sure whoever it is you're trying to talk to will trust you in a heartbeat!" Kelly exclaimed. He sure hoped he did.
