Worlds Turned Upside Down: Will Byers x Reader

Chapter Ten: A Breaking Point

(Y/N) had smashed the window with the plank she'd ripped from the wall. Will was shaken from his stupor and turned to her. She looked to him pleadingly and, once again, climbed from the window, after she'd gotten the hint that Will would follow.
They hissed as glass pressed deeply back into the wounds that were freshly created the day before. Wait. Does day even exist here?
Will hurled himself from the window frame and stumbled to the ground, just catching himself before falling onto the earth below him. He turned his head rapidly towards the window, waiting for the Demogorgan's monstrous figure to fill that spot. But, it never did.
He heard it rush forwards while he raced towards the window. Will had sworn that it had him in it's grasp.
(Y/N) was equally as confused as Will. Why hadn't they been mauled? Then, after a few painfully anticlimactic moments, the children realized that the monster had run away. It was so close to catching them, yet it ran away. Maybe it found a bigger prey?

♥︎

(Y/N) and Will reentered the house hesitantly. They now sit on "Will's bed". They have nowhere else to go. The house feels somewhat safe, that's where the monster currently doesn't reside. But, then again, they never feel fully safe here, in this world.
(Y/N) and Will sit directly next to each other on the end of the stiff, grimy mattress. Their expressions are almost completely robbed of emotion. The only feeling they show reflects in the grimaces earned from the retraction of the glass shards from their flesh.
The children are void of much hope. Their last encounter was too close. Way too close. They have been scared so badly that their emotions seem to have frozen solid. Neither of the two have spoken a word since the confrontation. Their mother's cries echoing softly throughout the house hasn't helped the children's gloomy states.
(Y/N) feels weird. It's almost as if a twisted anger seethes inside of her. She's angry that she's here. (Y/N) lightly pulls another shard of glass from her forearm. She's angry that this is all happening. Another shard plucked away. She's angry that she was taken from her family. Another tugged out. Taken from her friends. torn out. Taken from her town. Yanked out. She's hurting. Ripping out. Her heart is sinking.
Tears start to rapidly blur (Y/N)'s vision. They flow down her pale, discolored cheeks, drip down to her chin, and dribble down her neck. All of the pent up rage she's ever felt leaks from her pores. Every injustice done to her. Every regret. Every argument she's ever had. All of the malice she holds clogs her brain. Her muscles tighten and her hands clamp down into bitter, trembling fists. Blood drizzles out of the small lacerations left from the glass. Her throat feels as if it's swelling up to an enormous size. (Y/N)'s hatred transforms into pure anguish and heartache. A whimper slips from her mouth and her brittle heart crumbles.
Will had been captivated by his own grief. He hadn't noticed the beginning stage of his friend's current breakdown. He had attentively snapped his head towards (Y/N) as her elbow knocked into his, still raw, forearm. She had been roughly tugging out the glass in her arm. So horridly rough. The blood had stained her fingertips which had created smears on her delicate flesh. Will had drawn back at the sight of this. In that moment, (Y/N) seemed to have no remorse for herself. Her eyes were far away, deep in focus. Her lips were pulled over her teeth in a grimace. Her breathing had quickened it's pace and her chest rose and fell abnormally. Just as she tore the last shard from her arm, she gasped involuntarily and her face scrunched up, creating an image of utter sorrow. Her eyes forced themselves shut as to keep tears locked inside but it was ineffective. The girl let out a muffled whimper and cries rose up through her mouth which had been curled shut as to not release much noise. She groaned once more before parting her lips to breath.
(Y/N) feels claustrophobia settling in. The air is thick and each breath is starting to hurt her lungs rather than relieve them. She gains a sensation of dizziness and opens her eyes in an attempt to stable herself. Her eyes flutter open, trying to get past the pool of salty tears. (Y/N) gasps again, remembering how awful this place really is. She rubs her eyes feverishly yet the tears continue to fall. (Y/N) lets out a series of whimpers and heaves as a cloudy shield blankets her mind. Her head feels as if it weighs a hundred pounds and she rests it on her knees.
This misery transmits to Will's mind as he watches his friend breakdown. He too starts to turn red. Tears roll from the sockets of his eyes. Will intertwines his hands within his hair and collapses into himself. His hands move from his hair to his stomach and he embraces himself protectively.
Harsh cries escape both children. Angry, forceful sounds that seem to bring a tidal wave of anguish along with them. (Y/N) can barely think straight. She stomps her foot down onto the floor a few times. Agitation strangles her thoughts. The children don't notice one another's meltdowns as their brains float out of focus.
(Y/N) gives one more embittered stomp and her foot goes straight through the floorboard causing a horrid snap to emit from below.
The childrens' stomachs leap along with their bodies. They quiet down and their eyes dart to the space where the noise had come from. They both stare at the splintered board simultaneously. Will uses his eyes to trace from the board up (Y/N)'s leg. He observes her blood-spotted arms and her startled expression.
(Y/N) has been fixated on the spot where her foot collided with the floor. Her eyes slowly flicker up to Will's face which had been absorbing every detail of her current state. (Y/N) is quite disheveled as well as himself. The life has been nearly drained from both children. Their minds lack much thought. Their appearances are in disarray. However, the two gain back enough self-consciousness to understand that in this moment, they truly need to hold onto their sanity in order for the other to remain safe.
If it were not for one another's presence, the two believe that they may have completely lost hope and possibly would have gone insane. (Y/N) and Will stare at each other for a few long seconds. Taking in every aspect of the other.
Will feels a rush. A rush of confidence. A rush of it's-now-or-never. He knew that it was possible for them to die at any second. So, why not try and make each one count?
(Y/N) is taken aback as Will's face comes alarmingly close to hers. He leans forward softly pecking her cheek with his lips. He draws back quickly, waiting in anticipation for her reaction.
For a moment, (Y/N) forgets how to think. She looks into the distance past Will with shock filling her eyes. Her skin tingles where Will had planted his kiss. Was this confirmation that he actually liked her too?
Will's body is wracked with nerves. He can't tell if the expression on (Y/N)'s face is positive or negative. His veins start to flood with regret. He feels as though he might start to cry again with fear of rejection. (Y/N) targets her gaze back on Will. Both have stoic expressions until the corners of (Y/N)'s lips start to stretch upwards. Her smile forms into a full on toothless grin that reaches her eyes and causes them to glitter with glee.
This grin brings Will great relief and he bashfully returns it. (Y/N) is so overjoyed she feels as though she may shed tears. Which is what she does.
Will is concerned once again that he did something wrong and he prepares to apologize. That is until (Y/N) throws her arms around his neck and nuzzles her face into the crook of Will's neck. He can feel her salty tears smudge against his now semi-warm skin.
Will returns the embrace, placing his arms around her upper back. He places his head on top of her's, feeling her, no longer soft but slimy, hair against his cheek. He doesn't care about the texture of her hair, he's just glad she's here with him.
The children both have some sort of inclination to ask, "What is this? What does this mean? What are we?" But they're young. To them, something as trivial as labels don't matter in this situation. All they know is that their hearts burn with passion and their stomachs are butterfly-filled. Nothing can steal this moment from them. Not even that stupid, brute of a monster.
The air is still filled with the far away echoes of Joyce Byers, "It's me. Just talk to me. Talk to me," she stammers. Will and (Y/N) try and forget the helplessness that they're overflowing with. They can't actually talk to their families, and it's another level of pain to experience when you hear then cry out and cannot cry back.
"Mom?" Jonathan's voice reverberates. Will looks around, wishing so dearly to see his big brother again. (Y/N) rubs her face against Will's shoulder trying to stimulate warmth.
"Jonathan! C-come here. Come here."
"Mom, what is this?"
Joyce calls out to Jonathan a few more times. Jonathan lets out confused words of concern. "What's going on?"

♥︎

"It's Will. It's Will and (Y/N), they're trying to talk to us," Joyce sits on the edge of Will's bed, rocking back and forth. Her eyes are bugged out and her mind is distanced. She hadn't slept all night.
Mrs. (L/N) lies curled up on Will's bed, she'd fallen asleep an hour ago. The adrenaline had worn down after a while and she couldn't keep herself awake. Mrs. (L/N) wasn't one to stay up all night. Maybe she had pulled an all-nighter once or twice in her college days, but that was never her style.
"They're trying to talk to you?" Jonathan's tone is sarcastic and full of disapproval.
Joyce's breath is trembling, she turns to Jonathan, "Yes, through...through the lights,"
Jonathan is worried by his mother's current state of mind. She glistens with sweat and tears, the bags under her eyes are sagging from their sockets. "Mom—"
"I know. I know," Joyce puts her hand up gesturing to Jonathan, showing him she knows what he's going to say, that this is crazy. That she is crazy. "Just...just watch."

♥︎

"Will...your brother's here. Can you show him what you showed, me baby?" Will makes sure he has a secure grip on (Y/N) when he leans forward to lightly touch a shadeless lamp's bulb. (Y/N) shifts her position so that she can watch him complete this action. She sniffles and Will looks down at her, she rests her head upon his shoulder, her legs are wrapped around his hips. Will sits cross-crossed and (Y/N) sits between his legs. They embrace the forms of one another. This would have been extremely awkward to do a few days before, but one of the only upsides of trauma is that it can bring people together. For these two it definitely has.
Will leans back again and waits for his brother's response.
A gasp rings throughout the house, "Did you see that?"
"It's the electricity, Mom. It-it's acting up," (Y/N) and Will hadn't expected Jonathan to believe Joyce, but they really hoped he did. They needed another one who believed, that way they have more of a chance of being rescued.
"No."
"It's the same thing that fried the phone!" Will's lip quivers. He desperately wants Jonathan to be there for him. Like he's always been.

♥︎

"No, it is not the electricity Jonathan! Something is going on here!" Joyce doesn't have much patience, "Yesterday the wall—"
"What? What about the wall?" Jonathan is annoyed. He's fed up with his mother's fantasies.
"I don't know! I don't know!" (Y/N)'s mother rustles awake, the shouting has ripped her from her slumber.
"Mom, first the lights, then the wall?" Their argument has become heated and radiates aggravation.
"I just know that Will and (Y/N) are here!"
"No, Mom," Jonathan is on the verge of tears. His mother's deteriorating mind sinks his heart.
Joyce rises from her position, "Maybe if I got more lamps—"
"No, Mom," Jonathan stands along with his mother and cups her face in his hands, "You don't need more lamps! You need to stop this, okay! They are just lost."
"Jonathan," Mrs. (L/N) had been waiting idly by, not sure if she should interject. "Jonathan, I-I saw it too—"
Jonathan turns a doubtful eye to Mrs. (L/N) "People are looking for them, and they're going to find them."
"The lights and the wall it happened," (Y/N)'s mother's voice is calm and restored because of the rest she'd just had.
"This isn't helping. Neither of you need to do anything, everything is under control," Jonathan brings his mother to sit again.
She complies with his words and puts on a mask of tranquility.

♥︎

"Jonathan," Will gives a broken call as his brother's presence exits the room. (Y/N) caresses his arm. She leans against Will's chest, wanting to comfort him, but also craving his warmth. Will whimpers into (Y/N)'s shoulder and tears resume their descent from his eyes. The two wallow in their grief once again.

♥︎

"Will?" Joyce calls. She hasn't lost hope. Not in the slightest. The world has a way of normalizing anything unordinary. Not this time. Joyce Byers is going to find her son and his friend. However, she isn't going to find them here on the face of this earth. She's going to find them somewhere distant and evil and tenebrous.

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First off, I am so sorry for the late update! I was held up with school and didn't have time to write the chapter in time! The updating schedule will be the same as it usually is, every other weekend. Okay and second, thank you so much for 100+ reads♡ It means a lot to me that you all appreciate my work and I'm so happy to be able to add some imagination into your day! Thank you for the votes as well! Have a fantastic week ~WoodCeiling :)

*THE CHARACTERS, THEME, AND SOME DIALOGUE BELONG TO STRANGER THINGS AND THE DUFFER BROTHERS*