Just for ref this is how Will's cast looks
September 2nd, 2003
11:59 AM
Hawkins High, Hawkins, California
'Hey, little buddy, I will be home around six tonight. I couldn't get out of work,' Jonathan texted me this morning. He was freaking out and finally got our parents to give me my phone back so he could talk to me.
'Can you get Nance to send me Steve's number? I need to get out of Fort Byers, and I want him to vouch for me to get a job somewhere in the mall.' I texted him back.
"So, who fucked you up the snatch? Was it before camp?" Max asked, and I sighed. I didn't want to discuss this.
"No, totally not. Will was with me constantly," Dustin said as we approached the picnic table outside the cafeteria where Eddie, Gareth, and Doug were seated.
"Which reminds me, How did the campaign go?" I asked
"It didn't, you helped me so much. We waited for you," Dustin said, and Eddie winked at me. "Now, are you gonna tell us whose dick you rode or not,"
"No," I snapped, "And how do you know they didn't ride my dick," I said, and everyone looked at each other before obnoxiously laughing at me.
"Come on, I told you when I lost my virginity," Max smiled.
"I did, too," Lucas smirked.
"I got a letter before the accident," I blurted out to change the subject. I was going to bring it and plant it down in the middle of the table... but it suggests that I am intersex and I trust my friends.
"From your pen pal in Indiana?" Dustin asked and shook my head.
"Was it from your Nana?" Lucas seconded, saying I would probably show them later since they knew about my situation.
"No, one that was anonymous and told me that I was a pussy and could disappear without a trace," I rolled my eyes.
"Woah... like, was it threatening?" Eddie asked.
"No, it was cruel but not threatening,"
"Was that what made you... you know?" Gareth asked, and suddenly, I wasn't in the mood to talk to my friends. Dustin helped by changing the subject a little to take some heat off of me... finally.
I saw Mike walking up on the outside Cafeteria stage. It looked like it was all set up for some school spirit shit... and that was the last thing that I wanted to see right now. I don't have spirit or school spirit to cheer. I did see Billy out of the corner of my eye, so I looked over at him. He was doing all but fucking me with his stare.
"Hey, Hello! Can I get everyone's attention?" Mike said, tapping on the microphone. I was surprised at Mike's popularity, he was just as popular as Billy, and the rest of us were on the opposite spectrum.
They were doing this to get people's spirits up so they could sign up for football tryouts. Mike told some of the other football teams to drag Billy up onto the stage before he asked for more volunteers.
"Oh look, Zombie Boy is raising his hand!" Angela called out, and I quickly shook my head.
Everyone looked at me and laughed. I was about to yell, 'It's just the cast!' but something came over me. Maybe it was my wanting to get away from my friends or my spontaneous backbone, but I got out of my seat and walked up onto the stage, but not before my friends all grabbed after me.
"Will, I know you didn't raise your hand. You don't have to do this," Mike said, covering the Mike. This was the longest he had looked into my eyes without chickening out.
"I walked up here, didn't I?" I said, and Mike raised an eyebrow, "Everyone looking might as well give them a show," I took my spot on stage. I looked to the side to see Billy playing to the crowd but giving me a look.
"Thats so punk rock," Eddie cackled from the table. He then raised his hand, though I knew he was doing this to help me.
Angela volunteered, came onto the stage, and stood by me. I assumed this was a team effort because he asked for four volunteers. That was confirmed when Mike redirected her to take a spot by Billy and told Eddie to stand by me.
"Alright, let's get this game started. Will you spin the wheel?" Mike gestured for me to spin the wheel, and so I did, wishing it wouldn't land on something embarrassing like 'Truth or Dare,' 'Spill the Beans,' or 'Underwear Outerwear.' It landed on 'clothes swap'.
At least I got Eddie and not Angela as a team partner. I was about to back down before some of the football team brought up a tarp hot glued to a couple of PVC pipes in a makeshift rattan screen.
"Okay, so you will be given one minute to strip off your clothes and swap with your partner. You can only help yourself, and as soon as you get dressed, you come out here. The first team out wins a fifty-dollar gift card to the Starcourt Food Court!" Mike said before confetti was popped out of the stage. "It's on!"
I don't know what made Eddie and I want to win. Maybe it was my chance to beat Angela, and Eddie wanted to beat Billy. By the time I had my shirt off, I had forgotten about my binder. Eddie had raised an eyebrow and looked at me, confused, as if he was already in his boxers. Better him than Angela. We were safely secured, and a building behind us blocked anyone's view.
"You need help, bud?" Eddie asked me, partly because I looked him in the eye and said I would neuter him if he said anything else.
"I Can't help remembering..." I said, wedging off my shirt fully. My shorts were a different story, as I just had to unbutton them and wriggle them off. "Go on, I'm good," I said, and Eddie nodded as he walked out a millisecond before Billy.
I was the dead weight, but I could outsmart this stupid game. The fastest way I could put on Eddie's clothes was to put on his jeans as a shirt and his shirt as jeans. I made sure to cover my binder before going out.
"And we have our winners!" Mike smiled and held up my free arm. I looked to the side and saw Angela coming out. I smiled at her as she realized that she had lost. I looked at Eddie and finally saw how he looked in my clothes. "Oh my god, you look like you're wearing children's clothes," I laughed.
"You look like you're wearing a giant's outfit," Eddie cackled.
"Go on, swap back clothes. I'll make sure Angela doesn't fuck around," Mike patted me on the small of the back, sending us back behind the tarp.
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9:10 PM
TW: Domestic Violence
149 Coastline Road, Hawkins, California
"Okay, everyone, just calm down," Jonathan said, holding Nancy's hand. He hadn't even gotten back for a couple of hours now, and Dad was already a menace.
"Do not speak to me in that tone, William," Dad snapped.
"You are not listening to me!" I screamed, and that's when Mom walked into the house, coming home from work.
"Woah-woah-woah, what is going on!" She snapped at my father.
"Do we need to take you out of school for the semester?" Dad asked me, and I widened my eyes, shaking my head. It had occurred to them that I had been given a hard time. It didn't sway their judgment when I told them I stood up for myself before the school.
It was all so annoying and hypocritical. Dad has never been in my life like he should have been. He hadn't even made an effort to be in my life before I went off into
"Dad, I told you that I am fine! I didn't try to kill myself, so stop acting like your a good dad and go back to fucking whores on the side of the road," I snapped back at him. His face fell, and his eyes went dark. The next thing I knew, I was getting punched in the face.
I came back to when I was on my bed, "I'm locking your door. Jonathan has it all under control," Nancy said, and I looked to the doorway. My father was trying to get to me, and Jonathan was pinning him to the ground.
"Stay," Nancy said before locking my door and slamming it behind her. This has happened before. Dad was an animal... they would probably end up locking themselves in the master bedroom and calling the police. It's just even more stigma for me.
At first, I thought he was trying to repair our relationship, but he wanted control. I grabbed the phone from the charger. Before I moved in, my room was a dining room, so there were French doors, which were easy to sneak out of. I did forget about the hall window extending to the gate from the backyard leading out to the front. I looked to the right to make eye contact with Jonathan.
Everything about this cast made me look derpy, such as crying, running, walking, sitting, and crossing my arms. I could only cross one arm.
"Hey," I flinched when a car halted to a squelch beside me, "Will, Are you okay?" Mike stepped out of the car.
"Y-Yeah... I am fine," I sniffled and hid my face. Nancy ran out of the house and saw her brother before pointing at me and running back inside.
"Then why do you look like you saw a kitten in a blender?" Mike said, and that only made me sob harder, "Oh... no, that was supposed to be a joke,"
"Yeah, well, it was shit," I sniffled, and he put an arm around my waist, guiding me to his passenger seat. It was easier for me to get in than the other cars because we didn't have to worry about my cast fitting in his convertible. "Are you done spazzing out?"
"What?"
"You have been staring at me and almost giving yourself whiplash all day. Am I that pathetic you don't even want to be seen looking at me?" I said, and he sighed, ensuring I was in before shutting the door. "What are you even doing on this side of the neighborhood?" I asked when he got into the driver's seat.
"Will," he said, turning around and pulling into my driveway, "I was taking home a freshman who drank too much at a party." He put it in park, put a hand on my knee, leaned over the console, and looked me in the eyes. "you are not pathetic. I don't care if people know we are friends,"
"Then why have you been so squirrelly?" I asked and closed his eyes.
"Because... when I heard about what happened, I couldn't stop crying," Mike said, and I raised an eyebrow. I just... I couldn't help but wonder if you would be happier if I never ditched—" Mike said, and I don't know what came over me. I kissed him.
"Shit! Sorry," I cried and reached for the door, but he locked it. I tried to unlock it, but it kept locking the door whenever I tried to open it. "I didn't try to kill myself. It was an accident, today has been one of the shittiest days of my life, and my father is a complete asshole," I was spiraling.
My brain knew this, but I couldn't stop my body. "I look like I should be in a mental hospital, I lost my virginity to a fucking asshole, and I just kissed someone with a girlfriend," I said, and he pulled me into a hug.
I wonder if I overestimated my father's punch or if it was too dark for him to notice my black eye. "It's okay, you're going through so much right now," He said, and the cops pulled up on the highway. "What the hell is going on?" He asked as it was like a swat team was going in my house... but I didn't have the energy to explain, so I just rested my head on his shoulder.
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