Within a matter of seconds, Will had gone from completely chilled, fingertips flushing a vicious pink from the direct contact with the snow, to enveloped in a warmth he never wanted to be released from. At the sound of someone calling his name, Will hadn't bothered to move for several seconds as though he expected the voice to just go away. He thought maybe he was imagining things, the panic that was coursing through the blood in his veins causing him to hear voices he knew very well were not there. But as the crunch of footsteps grew closer, what had been a slow tread quickly picking up into a light footed jog, Will knew he couldn't have just been hearing things. As Will pressed a hand deeper into the snow to push himself up onto his hands and knees, he nearly jumped out of his skin as a hand grabbed at his shoulder, drawing him back into an embrace that gave his frigid nerves only a second to relax.
The familiar scent of pine and cinnamon greeted Will's senses like an old friend, and even if only for a moment, he felt calm. Drawing back from the embrace just as quickly as they'd entered, the being spoke.
"Will? Are you okay?"
Through the familiar ring the voice held, it dawned on Will just who was standing behind him. In the moment, he had nearly reached up to slap at whatever was grabbing him, throat prepared to let out a childish shriek. Will twisted around and fell back onto his butt for only a moment, ignoring the snow that sent chills up through his light coloured jeans as he gazed up into the familiar set of chocolate brown eyes staring concernedly down at him.
Will's vision, black dots framing his sight like the view was somewhat picturesque, settled on the boy in front of him, the pounding heart beat inside of his ears beginning to slow, or pick up? He wasn't exactly sure. He knew he should feel a bit embarrassed for the predicament he appeared to be in, but in that moment, Will was soothed by the sight of him.
Blue had one hand on his left knee, half covering what Will imagined was a tear in the knee of his corduroy pants from extensive wear, or being a bit too careless while out biking. His hair was tucked behind his ears hastily, not keeping well as the dampness from the snowflakes falling down upon them brought a subtle curl out in the boy's hair. He was wrapped up inside a warm looking tartan winter coat, crouched down slightly so that he could look Will directly in the face as he surveyed him like a concerned mother, hand still clamped onto the boy's shoulder.
As Will stared directly back into Blue's face, he could have sworn the freckles on his cheeks had gotten darker from the cool air. It took Will only a brief moment to realize he had been holding his breath, tears still dotting his cheeks relentlessly.
"I'm oka—" Will had begun to respond, his voice a raw croak like he'd been suffering a sore throat for weeks. He knew it was only from crying all that morning, and that only made him more embarrassed. He imagined he must have been lit up like Times Square at that point. Before he had a chance to finish his reassurance, Blue's grip on his shoulder eased.
"Your face."
Will's gaze tore away from Blue the moment he saw the boy's eyes change, the light that seemed to dance around his gaze shifting to something of brief anger, even hurt. For a moment, Will had thought with great surprise, Blue had looked like he might cry. His thin jaw squared as he tensed, staring directly into Will's face as his eyes danced across the soft bruises that tinted Will's cheeks. Will had opened his mouth once more to assure Blue that he was, however untrue the statement was, okay, and that he would be entirely fine as long as they got back to Blue's home and into about 30 layers of blankets.
"I—"
Before Will could continue his sentence once more, he was choked off by the sudden touch of warm fingertips against his upper lip. He didn't have the heart to wince from the subtle flicker of pain, practically able to feel his face flooding with a hot, pink blush.
Why? He was almost sure it was from the embarrassment of Blue seeing his bruises, seeing the physical manifestation of his loss to Troy. His dotted vision had grown subtler until he could see clearly once more, but his heart still hammered in his chest to no end. Blue touched the small cut that grazed Will's upper lip, his eyes filled with a bitter fire that Will couldn't imagine ever resting upon the boy's face. It was an aged look, a look of a distressed parent or a seasoned being, not a look that seemed like it would belong on the face of any thirteen-year-old boy, let alone his best friend.
"Come on. Let's go home."
Blue's fingers had dropped from Will's lips just as quickly as he had touched them, and the boy let his hand fall to his side only briefly before offering it out to help Will up to his feet. Not daring to say no, Will reached a hand out and grabbed onto Blue, steadying himself as the boy pulled him up to a stand. Though his cheeks were already damp enough, Will wiped at them with frozen, wet hands, at least deciding to fake an explanation as to why his cheeks weren't dry before he could be questioned about it. Will took no time in trailing after Blue, almost reaching out to grab onto him for safety but deciding to keep his hands firmly at his sides.
"You, uh... you should see the other guy" Will spoke slowly, an attempt at making light of his appearance falling short as he built the courage once more to look up at Blue, taking note of the steely look in the boy's dark eyes as he gazed forward through the trees. He seemed to know exactly where he was going, lowering his head and letting his eyelids droop as he kicked a patch of snow in front of them, a tiny curl drifting down from the weakly kept back bunches behind his ears. He seemed to consider the snow at his feet for a moment before peering over the collar of his jacket at Will.
He hadn't realized he'd been staring until he felt the need to shoot his eyes away.
"Do I need to ask who did that to you?" Blue spoke quietly, as though his words were meant for Will to hear and Will only. Will watched in subdued silence as he could see Blue's breath drift upwards from behind the collar of his jacket, dissipating into the breeze as snowflakes flew in a barrage against their coats. He held an air about him that Will hadn't seen before, at least that he could remember: a quiet sense of anger or betrayal that Will knew he couldn't blame himself for. It wasn't the act of having these bruises tainting his skin, but rather the situation that had given him his battle wounds. Will pressed the tips of his fingers into the palms of his hands as though this would help warm them up quicker, averting his eyes down as he considered his response.
"Do I need to tell you?" Will offered as he watched his boots sink only slightly into the building snow that traced the direction they were walking in. Part of him wondered if he was really that wrapped up in making sure he didn't slip or fall again, or if he was just avoiding any sort of eye contact that might give him away. Thinking about the experience, even as brief as it had been, made Will's heart begin to kick into overdrive once more, and he actively had to drive the thoughts out of his mind to keep himself from going into a state of panic all over again.
From beside him, as he stared down into the blinding white sheet they were traipsing through, Will heard Blue let out a sigh. Peering over at Blue, his eyes barely peeking over the top of the collar of his jacket, Will noticed that he had his fists balled up as well.
Likely for entirely different reasons.
"It was Troy. You don't have to tell me."
"Do I have to tell you not to worry about it?" Will responded briefly almost under his breath, half expecting the look he received from Blue as he spoke, a dazed look full of disagreement. He kept his eyes fixed on Blue still, as though he was standing face to face with an angry bull and he had to keep his ground. Only this angry bull wasn't all that angry, and in some way, Will knew how to keep him calm. At least, he thought he would. He could practically hear Blue's protest before it came pouring out of his mouth in rapid succession.
The boy laughed out loud.
"You're kidding me, right?" Blue exhaled through a disbelieving chuckle, his cheeks lifting and giving away the amused smile on his face even if it was hidden behind his coat. This expression quickly dropped as he noticed Will's un-phased stare. He looked, for a moment, as though he'd just been slapped across the face.
"Right? I mean you've seen your face, right?" Blue continued, his tone a bit more pressing as his pace began to slow. Will winced only slightly at the idea that he was stopping to talk, and, though he hated to do so, Will slowed a bit to keep a steady walk next to him.
"I've seen my face plenty in the past few hours" Will replied quietly, almost embarrassed. Blue didn't seem to notice, unable to rip his eyes off of Will just in case the boy decided to crack a smile, to reveal he had been joking. He truly wasn't. Absentmindedly, Will reached up and touched his cheek where he remembered the dark bruise underneath his eye to be, dropping his hand back to his side as if he was disappointed.
"Well, you can't expect me not to say something" Blue urged, turning his pace, as sluggish as it had been, to a stop. Will dwindled a moment, as though if he kept walking he might be able to convince Blue to walk with him, but as he noticed no movement from the taller boy, he, too, stopped and turned back to face his friend.
"I'm not expecting; I'm asking" Will exhaled in a subtly tired tone, watching the disbelief on Blue's face gradually dissipate, his lips thinning as he pursed them. He was clearly unimpressed and he wasn't afraid to show it. He seemed to take note of the fact that Will wasn't backing down however, and he was the first to break the unspoken staring contest they seemed to be having. Blue's gaze dropped to the ground like a scolded child, kicking a patch of snow in front of him with the toe of his winter boot. He didn't say anything, prompting Will to expel the silence between them once more.
"Please?"
From the soft pleading sound of Will's voice, Blue's attention seemed to be caught once more as he looked back upwards to his friend. His face held an air of surprise and mixed disappointment, but, with a passive huff and a breezy plume of breath escaping his lips, Blue began walking once more, dropping his eyes to the ground again as he caught up to Will. Will felt almost triumphant, for no exact reason that seemed logical: he had talked down the 'bull' without having to break out any tears. To him, that seemed like a success.
"You know, I really shouldn't be listening to a kid who runs around in the woods shouting out colours" Blue mused under his breath, catching a sharp look from Will that was far from aggressive. Blue had a subdued smile on his lips, small and contained as though he was trying to hide it. Seemingly contagious, a slow flush rose to Will's cheeks as he couldn't contain his own tiny grin, giving Blue's arm a soft punch as he shook his head.
"Yeah, well, I wouldn't have to be so creative if you would just tell me" Will retorted, aiming for the statement to be lighthearted but finding that it fell a little bit too true, hanging in the air between the boys and causing them both to fall into a thick silence for much too long.
Will could practically feel Blue turning away, like a turtle sliding back into it's shell. He hadn't meant for his statement to come out so harsh, but in a way, what other way could he have said it all while keeping truth interlaced between his words? For a few moments, the only sound between the two was several chilled sniffles before Blue spoke up, cutting the silence like a blade through thin air.
"You'll figure it out" Blue responded in a quiet voice, his eyes averted down to the ground as he seemed to be struggling with something in his hands. Reaching up momentarily and pulling his collar down, the only thing protecting his cheeks from the harsh cold, Will peered down at Blue's hands.
He was peeling off his gloves, plumes of steam rising from his warmed fingertips.
"W—what are you doing? You're gonna get cold!" Will scolded his friend as he stared down at his hands. The sky had begun to grow truly dark at this point, and Will practically had to squint to see Blue's hands well enough in the dark. The dark haired boy turned his attention back to Will, never really making eye contact however.
Stuffing his glove into the open pocket of his jacket, Blue glanced downwards and, when Will had went to follow, he felt a sudden warmth inside the palm of his hand, unidentifiable for a moment before his hand heated up a bit, but it made him instinctively want to pull away. It was only when Will felt fingers flex against his own that he understood what Blue had done.
"I'll be fine, I've had gloves this whole time" Blue explained passively as he clutched Will's hand tightly in his own, his skin almost hot in comparison to Will's. No matter how tightly Blue seemed to clutch his hand in attempt to trap the heat between their palms as they carried on towards the path, Will still felt frozen, the subtle glow of man made lights lighting up the home stretch a little ways up the path.
His entire body felt like he was made of stone, chilly and still the way a sculpture sits in a museum, for no other reason than to be ogled. As he slowly intertwined his own fingers with Blue's, accepting the embrace as they walked, Will could practically feel the violent shade of red that was probably tinting his cheeks.
Blue was just being a good friend, Will thought. And yet still, something about the embrace felt holy to him, felt comforting like a warm bed or a bowl of hot soup on a late winter morning. Something about the simple way Blue hadn't hesitated when he'd grabbed onto him, the way he hadn't been worried if someone was looking stuck to Will. He hated that some part of him seemed to be so different from Blue in this way, how he felt (but didn't act on) the need to whip his head around and make sure that nobody could see them. Why? He couldn't say, he just felt it. It was an ancient feeling, one that, even if Will couldn't prove it, felt like it had been ingrained in his brain a long time ago. Nobody, more specifically boys, held hands with other boys.
Well, except Will Byers. Clearly.
Through the anxiety, through the worry of being caught doing something so innocent like it was a crime, Will did feel safe there with Blue, even as they approached the neighbourhood where deep down he knew their hands would never meet again. In the woods, it felt like nobody could hurt them. Not Troy, not any of the other bullies that littered Hawkins Middle; nobody.
They were untouchable, between the trees, and in those brief moments of comfort, Will was happy.
"Do you want another blanket? Anything?"
Seated on the floor of Blue's carpeted basement, Will Byers was practically drifting in a sea of comforters and hand made quilts that he was sure Blue's grandmother had intended to be used, but smelled most definitely like the bottom of a Tupperware container that hadn't been opened in years. He was practically cocooned, layers of soft pinks and oranges wrapped around his shoulders as he leaned back against the couch. The external chill that harassed his skin had long since subsided, but a deep rooted cold still remained, feeling as though it had practically settled into Will's bones as the boy shivered.
Will was intent on savouring every bit of heat that he could get from the blankets before he had to leave the sanctuary that was Blue's basement and head back out into the cold. He had given Joyce a phone call when they had gotten home, doing his best to avoid the concerned questions she was asking about his 'odd day at school' and promising that he would explain it all when he saw her in an hour from then. Oh he could already imagine the shriek she might let out when she saw his face, and Will was most definitely not looking forward to having to explain himself. But for the time being, he was comfortable there, looking up towards where Blue's voice had rung from.
From the top of the stairs, Blue clutched the raw wooden railing as he peered down at Will. He'd abandoned his coat upstairs when they had arrived 20 minutes before, adorned in a plain, dark blue sweatshirt and dark brown khaki pants. The sight of the boy without any sort of coat, even inside his home, made Will feel even colder.
"I'm fine. Well..." Will said as an amused laugh escaped his throat, turning his gaze away from the boy and back down into the pile of blankets he was nestled inside. His thin, pale fingers clutched at the different fabrics that surrounded him, and he leaned back a bit more into the couch as he relaxed.
"Can you... can you just bring me some paper? And a pencil or pen or something, please?" Will asked meekly as he twisted around to look back up at Blue once more. Gripping a piece of one of his comforters in his hand, Will raised it as though he was holding a trophy up to show the boy. "We've got enough to make a huge blanket fort, plus. I think I'm gonna be alright" Will said as a thin smile slid it's way onto his lips.
He dropped the blanket back into his lap, taking note of the way Blue's eyes seemed to catch as Will has responded. He could practically see a cartoon-ey glimmer in the boy's eyes before he simply nodded, darting back up the remaining stairs like a bat out of hell. Will cocked his head sideways, only for a moment as he turned back towards the TV stand that sat in front of him. Behind the thin glass doors that popped open if you gave them a slight press were a couple rows of VHS tapes, nothing too extreme collection-wise but enough to have a nice movie night if you really wanted. Will sat there with a slight lean for a few minutes, admiring the colours that were printed on the cases.
It had only seemed like a few seconds before Will heard youthful footsteps puttering down the hallway above him, and, just as quickly as he'd recognized that Blue was coming back, he was already halfway down the stairs. Will reached out and touched the glass barrier between him and the tapes quietly before Blue padded across the carpet floor towards Will and flopped down next to him. As Will turned to look at Blue, the boy released his arms which had been cradled in front of him, a plethora of string Christmas lights, pens and markers and a roll of thin twine spilling out into Will's lap.
"What's all this?" Will asked curiously, intrigued by the random compilation of items that Blue had presented to him. As Will lifted his head to look his friend in the face, he was taken aback by the sheer giddiness that seemed to radiate from him. Wrapping a finger around the end of the lights and climbing to his feet once more, Blue trailed off towards the nearest power outlet, dragging the lights gradually out of Will's lap like some kind of electrical snake. As he plugged them into the socket, they lit up beautifully across the floor, like dim and slightly flickering stars across the dark carpet. Turning back towards Will, Blue clapped his hands together as though he'd just made a great accomplishment.
"Well?" Will urged through a startled laugh, watching Blue in tender awe.
"Well" Blue repeated as he attempted to covet a large grin, staring back into Will's eyes with determination.
"We're going to make a fort."
In less than ten minutes, the dimly lit basement that had only been illuminated by the corner lamp that sat above their couch had been transformed into some type of sanctuary. The dull yellow glow of the lamp had been exchanged for that of string Christmas lights, framing the opening of the blanket fort that had been draped up and around the television and circled right back across the top of the couch. The excess from the strand laid strewn across the carpet floor towards the plug in like it had been abandoned. If one were to take a closer look inside the opening of the blanket fort, through the darkness that the string lights couldn't touch, they would be able to see two pairs of socked feet pressed up against the bottom of the television stand.
They had plenty of blankets, more than the two of them had expected, and even after the forts creation, Will Byers was still double wrapped in two toasty comforters, leaning against the chesterfield as he fumbled around for his markers. His hand blindly patted the area around him until his fingers brushed the cylindrical plastic shape of his writing utensils, and he snatched them up. It was only then, after a couple minutes of getting themselves settled, that Will realized through Blue's careful preparation, he had forgotten something.
"Hey, Blue?"
Turning away from the opening of the blanket fort and looking inwards at the boy, Will paused briefly as he observed Blue. He was leaning into the couch a bit, arm propped up on the exposed cushion, head nestled into the crook of his elbow with his face turned towards Will, a sleepy gaze resting in his eyes. Tucked inwards like this, Blue almost seemed smaller than he really was, even delicate in his slightly too large sweatshirt that seemed to be enveloping him in a sea of fabric. Lifting his head lazily, Blue's eyebrows raised in silent response.
Clutching the pens in his grasp, Will did his best to ignore the heavy thudding inside of his chest as he offered his hand out.
"I—I'm sorry, I just need some paper or something to draw on" Will mumbled softly as though he was a bit embarrassed. He didn't want to make Blue get up, especially when he seemed to be so content on the inside of the fort, but his hands were itching to have something to do.
Blue leaned forward a bit, a couple of wavy strands of hair drifting in front of his face as he did so. His eyes almost seemed to flutter shut briefly, but he righted himself as if they hadn't, looking upwards at Will and giving him a nod in understanding. Without hesitation, Blue dropped his gaze once more and slid his fingers into the wrist of his sweater, pulling his sleeve all the way up to his elbow and turning to the other side to do the same.
Scooting up next to Will until they were hip to hip, not without giving the smaller boy's stomach a good, metaphorical twist, Blue reached out and rested his exposed forearm on Will's kneecap, shooting him a curious look.
"How's this?" Blue said as a slow smile crept up onto his lips. Will stared down at the pale arm that was laid in offering before him for several seconds before his gaze flickered upwards at Blue, entertained by the stupidity and simultaneous creativity of the idea.
"Yeah, anything is fine" Will muttered with an airy laugh as he uncapped one of his markers, shifting a bit back so that the lights could illuminate Blue's arm better. Doing his best to move without hesitation, Will leaned in a bit more towards Blue and began tracing a thin line over his exposed skin. "Besides. You're as pale as a sheet of paper anyways" Will chided with a warm laugh, averting his eyes as Blue let out a low scoff.
"Yeah, yeah. Draw something cool" Blue responded with a slight shake of his head, watching as Will got to work on drawing what appeared to be a few tiny planets dotting the clean skin of his wrist. Will kept his eyes trained on his work for the most part, though he found himself stealing a couple glances up at Blue when he thought the boy wasn't looking.
"This is a lot of power you put in my hands. I could draw something stupid if I want" Will said in an almost sing-song like whisper as a mischievous smile crept onto his lips. His eyes darted upwards and to his surprise, Blue was staring right back at him, a look of curiosity, or intrigue maybe, playing on his face. "I guess" Blue whispered back with a small grin, turning his gaze back down to his arm with Will in quick succession.
"If I tell you a good story, will you promise not to draw something weird on me?" Blue suggested in a calm tone as his head moved just slightly in the corner of Will's eyes.
Will knew that Blue was looking at his face, waiting for a response, and Will could practically feel his heart slipping down into his stomach. He could very well pull his arm away and risk an abstract slash of dark blue if he really didn't want to be drawn on. Will knew he was just playing games, and even if he wasn't planning on drawing anything that wouldn't look nice against Blue's skin, Will slowly gave him a nod.
"Yeah. Of course."
Will kept his gaze on Blue as the boy's face seemed to light up. He slid in a bit closer to the couch so that he could lay his head down once more, seemingly making sure that he didn't disturb Will's artistic efforts in the process. Resting his right cheek in the crook of his elbow once more and peering up at Will, Blue inhaled deeply and held for only a second before exhaling just as fully.
"So there was this kid..." Blue began slowly, as though he was figuring his words out as he went. "We'll... we'll call him Mark. Now Mark was just a little kid. He was getting ready for his first day at kindergarten, and he just couldn't get over how anxious he was" Blue carried on, his words picking up speed as he settled into the concept a little bit more.
Will continued to trace solid lines across the tender flesh of Blue's exposed inner forearm, stealing glances over at the boy every now and then.
"His mom dropped him off at school on his first day, and she said 'Mark'..." Blue's voice hitched as he went up a slight octave, causing Will's brows to raise as he glanced over towards his friend. Blue had a stupid smile on his face as though he was trying not to laugh.
"Gimme a break, I'm not Mel Blanc" Blue muttered under his breath, and as he did so, Will could have sworn he saw a subtle darkening in the boy's cheeks. Will could practically feel his own face mimicking the blush that rose in Blue's face, and when he turned to look up at him, Will shot his gaze back down towards Blue's arm.
"No, continue. It's fine" Will assured him with a faint smile, practically hyper focusing on the tiny scene he had begun on Blue's forearm. After a brief moment of silence, the story continued.
"Anyways, she says 'Mark... I know you're nervous, honey, but you're going to have so much fun. Maybe you'll even make a friend'. But Mark didn't have any friends. Which is probably why he was so scared. He probably felt pretty alone" Blue said as a brief sigh escaped his lips, tucking his head a bit more into the crease in his elbow as he watched Will draw. Will's pace had slowed just slightly as he began focusing a bit more on Blue's voice.
"Mark spends the whole first half of time there just being nervous and too scared to talk to anyone. He didn't really know what to do, you see. Not only didn't he have any friends, he'd never had one" Blue murmured, and the fingertips that were resting against Will's knee flexed a bit as Blue began to absently run his finger across the fabric. His voice had become that of a true storyteller, knowing when to emphasize words and pauses effectively. Will had become entranced by this.
"When it was time to go outside and play, Mark wanted nothing more than to go swing by himself. But when he got to the swing set, he saw another little boy there who was, like Mark, all alone. The little boy didn't seem to be too upset about being alone, though" Blue spoke gently now, and when Will took a moment after returning to his drawings to peer over at Blue, his face lit up like a Christmas tree, seeing that Blue had let his eyes fall shut.
"So Mark went over to him, and he sat down on the swing next to the little boy. And with every bit of courage in his tiny body, he turned to the little boy who had been all by himself, and he asked" Blue paused, a small smile spreading across his lips.
"He asked the boy if he wanted to be his friend."
"And what did he say?" Will asked in an honestly curious voice, watching Blue's face for only a second more before he forced himself to return to the drawing in front of him. Faint, jagged lines of grass and gravel dotted Blue's arm, and as Will waited for Blue's response, he began drawing the metal structure of a swing set to accompany the scenery. Did that count as weird? Well, maybe. Some part of Will knew that Blue didn't really care at that point.
"Oh, he said yes" Blue assured Will as though it was obvious, a slow smile crossing his lips. "He said yes."
"Kids?"
Will nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of Blue's mother calling down the stairs to them. He hadn't even heard her open the basement door. "Yeah, mom?" Blue calls lightly, his eyes flickering open as he raised his head like a kid caught napping in the middle of a lecture. "Joyce is here for you, Will, honey. You almost ready?"
"Y-yeah... just a moment!" Will calls up to Karen, exhaling forcefully as though he was just getting over the slight scare he'd been given. Blue had gone quiet, observing what he could see of the drawing from the dark part of the fort. Will capped the marker quietly, peering across Blue's arm and into the boy's face. He could have stayed in that fort forever, letting Blue tell him stories, even mundane ones, while he drew and drew and took comfort in the glowing multi-coloured hue the lights gave off. But he knew nothing like that could last forever.
"That seems like a pretty average story. No space ships or aliens or anything that comes to take the boy away? No adventure?" Will practically whined as he made no effort to move from where he was. Blue stared at him for a moment, blinking a couple times before he laid his head back down against his arm. An almost melancholic smile crossed his face, his eyes landing upon the stray lights left at the entrance of their fort.
"No adventure. But the way I read it, meeting that little boy was the best thing Mark had ever done" Blue whispered in response, and in some odd way, Will noticed the faint blur between fiction and non.