Ashes Falling Upwards (stranger things, Will x OC/reader)

Connection

"That was...interesting," Ash laughed as Erin frantically wiped her hands on her jeans again.

"I feel like it's still on me!" She yelped. "It's so fucking sticky!"

"Just a little spilled on your hands."

"Yeah, just a little mysterious science liquid!"

Ash laughed again. All throughout science class Erin had been so insistently teasing her about Will that she hadn't paid attention to her own experiment, and now parts of her hands were dyed spooky acid green.

Ash felt Erin tug at her sleeve, her eyes locked on something down the hall. When she followed her gaze, Ash saw Will and his friends watching a red haired girl angrily stuff books into her locker like they'd personally offended her.

"Isn't that the transfer student?" Erin whispered as the flow of the hallway brought them closer. "What's her name? Maxine?"

"Just Max," Ash whispered back, pulling her sleeve out of her friend's goo-covered hands with disgust. 

The two kids in the front were in some sort of whisper argument, while the other two stood behind them awkwardly. The dark haired kid whispered something to Will and he rolled his eyes, smiling. The girl finished her assault on the books and stalked away, obviously aware of the four pairs of eyes on her.

"Are you in love with a stalker?" Erin joked.
Ash smiled and pushed her shoulder.

"Well let's test it...out!" On out she shoved her harder towards the group, grinning evilly.

"Wai—" Ash stumbled back, straight into another body that grunted in surprise. There was a dull thud as a textbook and a notebook fell to the ground behind her.

"Hey, what the hell?" Someone yelled, along with a quieter, "Will, are you okay?"

"Ah! I'm so sorry!" Ash whipped around to see Will getting his balance back as well, his friends staring at her like she was insane. Now that they were standing face to face, she noticed she was a whole two or three inches taller than him. Being closer to him also brought back that dark, sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, the same one she'd felt hearing that sound the night before, only much, much worse.

Well, that confirmed it. Now she just had to open up a friendship somehow. Only problem, she had no idea how to talk to someone like him—quiet, shy, honest. None of her friends were anything like that.

"We're just playing and... I'm so sorry," she tried, then, remembering the books he'd dropped, bent down to retrieve them, feeling his eyes locked on her the whole time.

"Here. Are you okay?" she asked, holding out the books for him to take. The boy nodded, reaching for them, and for a second their hands brushed each other.

I'm gonna be sick.

Will looked equally horrified at the feeling that flashed between their fingers, like a static shock made of trauma and fear. It felt like she was back in that place, the atmosphere burning its way so deeply into her lungs that she could never forget it, the black tendrils constantly watching, waiting, for a chance to strike.

Thump
Thump

The books hit the floor again.

"I— didn't..." Ash stumbled back, their hands disconnecting again. Will stared at her in shock, his hands still out, holding a phantom textbook.

"You— are you—"

"Will? Are you okay?" his friend interrupted, reaching down to pick up the books for him.

"What was that?" The guy with the hat asked in confusion. The last guy just glared at Ash like she'd murdered his hamster.

"I...um..." what was she supposed to say in this situation? More and more people were staring at them in the middle of the hallway, only stressing her out more. She'd confirmed he was connected to that place. Now what?

"Are you deaf? He said what was that?" the boy who was helping Will up snapped.

"That was a mistake, and that was just mean!" Erin snapped back, finally joining the conversation to grab Ash's shoulder and drag her away.

"T-that was..." Will tried, but his friend grabbed his shoulder as well, muttering, "c'mon, Will, let's just go."

As the two groups stomped away from each other, Ash glanced back over her shoulder, surprised to see Will looking back as well. With only a few seconds left until they turned the corner, she mouthed as clearly as she could you too?

He nodded, frowning. Then she was pulled to the right and the wall cut his face out of view. Ash turned to Erin, who flinched without meeting her eyes.

"Want to explain what that was supposed to be?" She snapped when the other girl didn't say anything. "Was that your brilliant plan?"

"I didn't know it would go that badly!" Erin insisted with an embarrassed smile. "But hey, I saw some sort of... something between you!"

"Yeah, and now his friends hate me! Thank you so very much!"

Erin looked away. Ash knew that look; she wouldn't bother her about it any more. And although she was angry at her friend for making their first meeting happen that way, she was grateful at the same time. It wasn't like she'd had any sort of a plan on her own, and now Will was just as aware of her just as she was of him.