syzygy ♠ stranger things

21.0

"Rise up this mornin', smiled with the rising sun. Three little birds, pitch by my doorstep. Singin' sweet songs, of melodies pure and true- saying, this is my message to you."

-

On our walk home, I kept my back to the way we were headed and started conversation to keep things from getting awkward without Lucas. 

"Where did you go, El?" 

She shrugged, looking behind her towards the woods. "There."

"You slept in the cold in the woods?" Dustin asked in shock. 

"Well, we did find her in it, she must have slept there before," Mike added with uncertainty. "Have you, El?"

Another shrug. 

"I've slept in the woods once,"I noted, barely keeping myself standing when my foot slipped on a rock. "It was the worst experience of my life."

"Why?" Dustin chortled. "There's literally monsters in there. And before that, there are bears and shit."

I felt a smile creep on my face at the thought. "Will and I spent an afternoon there- you really think Jade would let me go in there at night, let alone sleep in it?"

"What's this?" I asked as we came to a small fort in the woods. In yellow paint on the top were the words 'Castle Byers', then 'All friends welcome' and 'Home of Will the Wise'. 

"I made it with Jonathan, the day my dad left." He opened the flap, but before we walked he waved them with pride. "These are my old sheets." 

"Hm," I raised my eyebrows as we crawled inside. "Will, this is awesome!" 

There was a small place just a level off the floor, covered in blankets, and drawings taped to the wall beside it. A table rested inside, with a microscope and other tools scattered on it's surface. Small containers of mildly preserved food sat in a crate beside the makeshift bed, and a lamp was on the opposite side. He gestured for me to sit on the sleeping bag, so I did, still gazing around the castle in awe.

"It took some time, but I'm really proud of it!" He beamed. 

I grinned back, gently pushing his shoulder. "You should be."

"I have comics under the bed, a flashlight, and when I'm here I also like having my walkie there too." He pulled out a selection of Marvel comics and handed me one with Thor on the front. "I thought you'd like it, so I decided to show you."

"Will, this is so amazing."I turned the comic over and set it down on the covers between us. "I'm really glad you showed me, it seems like something I'd write or draw or something. Speak of-" I pulled my notebook from my bag. "I brought some things to read."

"Awesome!" 

I flipped to my most recent page and cleared my throat. 

"You can leap

Over twig

After twig

But you will never know

Where you're running to

Have you ever wondered?

Asked

Questioned it?

We are like fish in a stream 

Swim against the tide