Bound By Shadows 3 | Will Byers x Reader (Fem)

~ 1 ~

Almost summer.

The alarm clock blared at 7:30 am.

Die.

I groaned, buried my face in the pillow, and didn't even bother reaching over. My fingers twitched, the air humming faintly before the clock lifted and flew into the wall with a satisfying crack.

BANG

Silence. Bliss.

I smiled smugly to myself, tucked deeper into the covers and sighed.

Two more days. Just two more until summer break. My escape into heat, sleep-ins, late nights and ice cream. The season I could breathe in. Warmth like fire on my skin. My element. My happy place.

And, of course, the Harrington parents— technically my parents now too, I guess — had picked this week to vanish on another one of their endless 'business trips.' Translation: Marissa trailing Richard across the country because she's convinced he was cheating, and Richard pretending to be offended while secretly relieved.

Which meant one thing:

Steve Harrington, full-time brother, part-time overbearing dad.

I groaned again, curling deeper into my blankets. The sunlight through the blinds painted sharp lines across the floor, the air already too warm for anyone but me.

I didn't want to move. I didn't want to go to school. Pretending to be normal was exhausting. Pretending I wasn't hopelessly tangled up over a certain someone was worse.

Will.

Seven months since the Snowball. Seven months of stolen glances, quiet moments, and nothing more. No label. No big move. Just... us. Still best friends. Still circling around something we couldn't quite name.

I wasn't going to chase him down about it. But every time he looked at me — really looked at me — I felt like we were solving some puzzle only we understood. And I wasn't about to let him miss the clues.

I rifled through my dresser, muttering under my breath. The perfect outfit was a science: casual but cute, effortless but intentional. Somewhere between 'I rolled out of bed like this' and 'I spent forty minutes picking this shirt.'

Things were different now. We were all different. Max had grown taller, El's hair brushed her shoulders, even Dustin looked like he was finally edging into 'not tiny anymore.' The boys had hit puberty like a freight train. Their voices deeper, grown taller, faces sharper, less baby fat clinging to their cheeks.

And Will?

God.

He wasn't "cute" anymore — puberty had hit, and it showed. He'd shot up taller, enough that I actually had to tilt my head back to look at him now. His hair was a little longer, his face sharper with new lines that hadn't been there before, and his smile made my stomach ache in the best way. He was still quiet, still thoughtful, but there was this new, subtle confidence in the way he carried himself that short-circuited me completely.

I yanked on my favourite fitted tee — black, soft, tight, slightly cropped — paired with denim shorts and my scuffed white converse's. By the time I reached the bathroom, toothbrush in hand, I heard it.

"Y/N!" Steve's voice boomed from downstairs. "Let's go! You're gonna make me late for my first shift!"

I grinned. Five.. four... three—

"Y/N Harrington, I swear to god—"

"I'M COMING," I yelled back, flicking on the bathroom light.

"You always say that right before you waste another twenty minutes!"