stranger things imagines.

till death do us part: will byers.

{request for: -ARI3L <33}
[does not follow s4 plot completely]

"you get three guesses."
will feels the softened hands of y/n l/n place themselves over his eyes and turn his world dark.
"i wonder who it could be."
he hears a soft laugh escape from y/n's lips at this.
he's amusing her by pretending like this question is one of difficulty;
as if he could not recognize y/n from her breaths alone.
will byers has spent days and nights tracing over
y/n's existence in his mind,
dreaming about her because he cannot get enough.
he paints with the colors of her irises,
with the color she favors depending on the day.
he draws mountains in the same curve as her lips,
circles the moon as wide as her wondrous eyes.
will byers would know y/n l/n blind.
"must be gods angel, with a voice like that."
y/n let's out a flustered laugh then leans over to plant a kiss against will's cheek.
here,
he is met with a wave of her perfume that favors the scent of sweet serenity.
"don't butter me up now. we've got a long night ahead of us."
"i was hoping you'd forget,"
will says with a sigh.
he makes a show of resting his tired head on the table as though he's mere seconds away from collapsing.
y/n rolls her eyes at his antics while she sits next to him.
"i didn't."
"you never forget anything, do you?"
y/n shakes her head.
"not if i can help it."
a smile grows against will's lips.
this allows the girl seconds to admire her lover. eyelashes that caress his cheekbone with each fluttering blink,
freckles that dot his skin from angels kisses,
creases beneath his eyes that much resemble breathtaking constellations.
y/n could study him for hours and tell of the many things she admires about will,
but she'll wait until her head hits the pillow to dream of such things.
for now,
she must push these thoughts aside and focus on readying will for his big test tomorrow morning.
leave it to the boys to prepare last minute.
luckily,
y/n specializes in last minute studying.
she moves the hair out of will's eyes in a moment of pure affection then caresses his cheek.
will leans into her embrace and feels the strength he once lacked find way to his bones again.
"you ready to start?"
will picks his head back up and presses a soft kiss to y/n's shoulder in means of gentle appreciation.
"yes. i'm ready."

the hours are long and tedious,
and will thinks his brain might malfunction and quit on him entirely should he see another math equation.
but luckily,
y/n senses will's exhaustion and offers him a break.
he rests his head into her lap and becomes soothed under the steady motions of her hands combing through his hair.
"what is your greatest hope?"
y/n asks in that gentle voice of hers.
she knows if she gives will a second to spare,
he'll fall asleep without hesitation.
"ugh. any more questions and i might combust, y/n."
she laughs with him until he settles to answer,
"just to become something great. whatever that means? i don't know. i just want to get out of this town."
"yeah? well, i have no doubt you'll make it."
will opens his eyes to bask in y/n's glory.
"you'll be with me. i hope you know i'd never leave you behind."
y/n leans forward with a soft smile and lays her lips to his in a sensible fashion,
but loving enough that will can feel it in every crevice of his being.
"and your greatest fear?"
she asks when she pulls away,
grinning softly.
"...can i be cliche?"
y/n nods her head.
"please do."
"losing you."
she raises an eyebrow at this in inquiry,
but doesn't let her hands stop from soothing him.
"what makes you think you ever would, love?"
will falls rather somber at the question.
there's infliction in his eyes at whatever it is he's thinking about,
but y/n doesn't press.
she waits in the silence until he's ready to speak.
"i don't know. i know how short life can be...and how cruel. i just hope i never have to feel what it's like to lose you. or-or that you don't ever have to cry for me."
y/n rests her forehead to will's then gives it a soft kiss.
"you worry too much for your own good, you know that? i'm going no where."
will gives her a close lipped smile then decorates her face in tiny, quick kisses that send her into a fit of laughter.
the once grim spell has been broken and is replaced with bubbling laughter that only increases the longer they're in each other's company.
then when y/n finds the glint in will's eye has returned,
she gifts his lips one last kiss and says,
"alright, alright! back to studying, byers. i won't let you fail this test."
will knows this to be true.
y/n has never failed him before and she surely won't start now.
he hopes he's done the same for her.
he'd do anything for her,
even in death.
***
will passed the test of course and the day was spent in his celebration.
y/n has always been the one to make a great deal of will's achievements.
for a boy who was once rarely appreciated,
he smiles as though he is undeserving but being so cared for makes him bright with elation.
he does the very same for y/n when the times prove to be necessary.
but he is a man in love,
everyday is one of celebration for his bewitching lover.
today, in his honor, y/n has brought together the entirety of his friend group with heaps of foods, desserts, and his favorite:
a dungeons and dragons campaign.
will knows the girl never really understood the game or how to play it,
but she tries her hardest for will's sake.
he falls in love with her all over again when he remembers these things.
"oh, come on, dustin! stop your yawning and roll,"
y/n says as she leans over dustin's shoulder.
"i've been busy all day,"
dustin defends,
playfully swatting her away.
she snickers at their sibling-like banter.
"well, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to celebrate will's big day."
"yay! he passed a test. call the president."
sarcasm is thick in dustin's voice,
but even that isn't enough to put a damper on his fun in this game of fantasy.
y/n comes back to will's side and eases a plate towards him full of fruit.
he takes it with a thanks and a kiss of appreciation.
"thank you for doing this. but you didn't have to, you know? the test wasn't that big of a deal."
y/n waves her hand through the air to dismiss his claim.
"are you kidding? you worked hard for that grade. you deserve to be celebrated."
she links her arm with his and leans her head against his shoulder.
he, too, leans over to rest his head to hers.
it's perfect peace to be here with will and all their friends,
enjoying fun and one another's company.
then a ringing begins in her ears so loudly,
she flinches away in hopes it'll disappear.
but it only seems to increase the longer she stays still,
becoming so shattering that she fears her head will implode on itself.
"y/n? y/n!"
the girl circles back to reality but the scene before her has changed drastically.
in what felt like seconds,
she has somehow ended up sprawled out on the floor with her head propped up against will's knee.
and though the ringing itself is gone,
the reminder of it is left ingrained around the edges of her skull;
throbbing and tender.
"what happened?"
she asks in her strongest voice.
will sighs a sigh of relief and brings y/n in for a careful hug.
"i don't know. i don't know. you just...passed out."
the faces circling her are all worried and just waiting for her to faint again.
how embarrassing.
y/n sits up against the protest of her body and groans when she's met with a piercing pain in her temple.
"maybe we should get you home,"
steve offers with that fraternal tone,
clasping y/n's hand to ease her upright.
she shrugs everyone off once she's standing and forces her best smile.
"i'm fine! i just...my blood sugar dropped or something. but i'm fine."
she finds will to see his eyes are clouded over with that worry she warns him so much about.
she has to force her aching limbs to reach out for him.
"i'm sorry, love. i didn't mean to ruin your event."
"you didn't, y/n. not at all. i just want to make sure you're okay."
"i promise i'm fine. can we just please move on?"
will knows just what y/n looks like when her blood sugar has dropped.
he's seen it many times in the summer when her stomach was empty and the heat was too much to bare.
how her skin slicked with sweat brought attention to her lessening color and how if she didn't get something with sugar in her system soon,
she would faint.
but what had just happened...
it wasn't what y/n claimed it to be.
it had been so sudden;
one minute she's resting on his arm,
the next she's falling off the chair and onto the ground with cries of pain leaving her lips.
he had never seen that before.
and even though y/n sits beside him again,
hands shaking from whatever it was that just happened,
will says nothing.
he only quietly ensures she's eating.
then when the night is over and the shock has finally worn off,
the pair walk home hand in hand.
"are you sure you're okay?"
"yes, will. you know how i am. i get so busy preparing, i forget to eat."
will sighs because he knows something is wrong,
but getting y/n to admit that would be trying to move a mountain.
even through her stubbornness,
y/n is afraid.
deep down in the quietest parts of herself,
she'd afraid that what has happened is something she will never have an answer for.
how abrupt and scary it was and having no explanation for it somehow makes it worse.
but worrying will would not benefit her.
so until she figures this out,
she'll keep it silent.
will stops at y/n's front door but can't seem to let go of her hand.
there's an unexplained amount of fear unfurling itself in his gut;
he worries if he lets her go,
something out of his control will happen.
"will?"
the silence extends between them for seconds longer before he blurts,
"let me stay with you tonight."
y/n laughs rather nervously.
"will, that's a bad idea. believe me, you don't want to experience mornings at the l/n house."
when will doesn't say anything,
y/n reads the worrisome expression etched onto his face;
drawn up eyebrows,
bottom lip pulled into his teeth,
eyes cloudy.
"will...please don't."
"what? i can't help but to worry about you, y/n. i won't be shamed for caring."
"nobody is shaming you. i just...i don't want to deal with all the theatrics! i fainted. that's it."
will shakes his head in fervent dispute.
"you know that's not what happened, y/n."
"what do you think happened then, will?"
his arms swing down by his side as he thinks of all the possibilities.
then it becomes too much too fast.
"please. just let me stay with you and then i'll never bring it up again."
how could y/n possibly say no to those brown eyes of compassion?
"fine. but swear to god, will, you'll forget about it as soon as we wake up."
"cross my heart."
will rushes to y/n's side and is soon escorted through her window into the bedroom.
despite it all,
y/n is glad will is here.
things always feel easier to handle with him around,
like everything must have a solution.
"i'm sorry if i upset you, y/n."
"you didn't upset me,"
y/n says with an easing smile to reassure him.
"i know you mean well. i'm glad you want to sleep over. it's been a while, hasn't it?"
she wraps her arms around his torso and rests her head against his chest.
will brings his loving hands to her waist and lets his lips rest against her temple.
"you don't know how much you mean to me, y/n. words can't express it enough."
"trust me, love, i know. i feel it everyday."
will smiles at this notion then prepares for bed.
y/n has kept a drawer of his stuff for times like these.
and in wills bedroom,
there's a designated drawer with y/n's name on it for the days that blend into nights.
and as soon as they're comfortable,
y/n falls into bed wrapped in will's arms and feels more content than she ever has before.
but still...
something is wrong.
whatever happened today wasn't an isolated incident.
y/n just doesn't know when it'll happen again.
and that, alone, is enough to keep her up all night in panic.
but instead of doing that,
she'll wallow away in will's arms and hope to dream up a solution.
if will taught her anything,
it's that every mystery has an answer.
she holds onto will a little tighter at this.
please, god, just give me an answer.
***
will knew it.
will knew that something was wrong with y/n,
ever since that night.
even in her sleep,
she had been mumbling incoherent sentences and thrashing around like it was much too hot.
and that might've been within reason,
except y/n's room is exceptionally freezing at all times.
it's only gotten worse since.
her fainting spells have increased;
will has had to keep an overbearing eye on her throughout the day and has resorted to keeping small sweets in his bag so that if, and when, she does pass out,
will can rush to her side and bring her back to life.
on top of that,
her eyes are beginning to darken as though sleep is something she has become unfamiliar with.
whatever it is that's haunting y/n,
she won't tell will about.
mostly because she doesn't even know herself.
she can't make sense of her nightmares that leave her awake in the deadened hours of the night,
in a cold sweat with raw vocal chords from crying.
she can't understand why this ringing in her head is becoming so intense that her body's only way of dealing with it is to completely shut down.
she doesn't know it's going to happen until it's too late;
until she wakes up with will hovering over her in panic.
the rest of the friend group has been moved by will's urgency to find y/n care,
so they all tiptoe around her and constantly ask if she's feeling okay.
she answers with the nod of her head every time,
but truth be told?
god, i've never felt worse.
y/n's also beginning to lose her patience.
whether it's because of this illness or because of her friends suffocation,
she doesn't know.
but she finds herself snapping and growing irritated at the smallest things:
a door slamming too hard,
the sounds of footsteps being too loud,
voices being too overwhelming,
she can't seem to be able to breathe the same.
today is no different.
y/n buries her head into her hands as the ache behind her eyes worsens in this boisterous cafeteria.
when will arrives and finds his usual seat next to her,
he reaches out for her hand to hold.
y/n doesn't think when she rips her hand away.
then when she notices will's face,
how full of hurt he is,
she softens up and hurries to apologize.
"i'm sorry...that was uncalled for."
"did i do something?"
y/n shakes her head.
"no, i'm just overwhelmed."
"okay...talk to me. let me help you."
she begins stabbing her school food with the cheaply made plastic fork.
"sorry to break it to you, will, but there's not an answer for everything."
"i'm not saying i'll solve it for you, i'm only asking to help."
y/n slams her frustrated fist against the table when she yells through clenched teeth,
"god, leave me alone! i don't need your help."
immediately,
the shame rolls through her,
relentless and stifling.
the eyes of her friends bare into her and nearly leave singe marks into her being.
what have i done?
"oh, god, will,"
y/n says as she brings her shaky hands to her lips that have become her greatest enemy.
"i'm so sorry. i don't know what's wrong with me, i-"
"y/n,"
will interjects.
"your nose. it's bleeding."
she touches just above her lip to see crimson red left against the pad of her finger as proof.
she gasps and reaches out for the napkins lucas has offered and holds them tight to her nose.
will soon inches towards her and tilts her head up so that the bleeding may stop,
then he goes to hold the tissues for her.
how gentle he is.
even through her cruelty,
will has found a way to care for her still.
she doesn't deserve him.
sick or not,
nobody deserves what y/n has been putting will through.
without saying another word,
y/n gets up from her seat and rushes off,
leaving will behind in a stunned silence.
she is embarrassed and ashamed.
it must be a brain tumor.
it has to be.
she thinks,
almost like that could ever excuse her awful behavior.
y/n doesn't stop walking or thinking until a hand on her shoulder forces her to turn around.
"oh, max,"
y/n whispers through trembling lips.
then she falls limp into her best friends arms and cries as quietly as her body will allow.
"i don't know what's wrong with me."
"nothings wrong with you,"
max reassures in her kindest tone.
"i'm sick. i've got to be."
"then come on...let's get you checked out."