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

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Luckily Mike's house wasn't too far from where they were, so it was only a fifteen or twenty minute walk to reach it. By the time they got there Will had calmed down enough to walk on his own, but he still looked terrified.

Ash felt sick. It was the feeling that had drawn her to Will but it was also the feeling that was currently making her want to run and pass out at the same time. It emanated from him like a dark veil, but it seemed to only be hovering around him. It wasn't like it was part of him. Not yet. But it was certainly trying its best, that was clear from the earlier incident.

So that's what one of his episodes looks like. No wonder he's so scared of them. He's right, too. I've never had anything like that, only dreams. His situation is a lot more dire than mine.

They finally reached their destination, a two story white and brick house. Once they'd entered, taken off their shoes and settled down, Will and Mike on the sofa, Ash on the chair, Will started talking.

"It's like... like I'm stuck."

"Where?" Ash leaned closer.

"Like, stuck in the Upside Down?" Mike asked.
"No." Will sighed. "You know on a—a view-master when it gets, like..."

"Caught between two slides?" Mike finished.

"Yeah, yeah, like that."

"So half of you is here and half is in the Upside Down?" Ash asked.

Will shook his head. "It's less like I'm stuck in both places and more...both places are stuck in me."

"Creepy."

He scoffed. "I know. But that's not all. There was this noise, coming from everywhere. Like a weird, chittering—"

"Chittering? Did it sound like a frog choking on pond scum?" The example was to lighten the mood some, but if she was right, then she'd heard that sound too. Outside her house.

He blinked. "I've never heard that specifically, but I think... yeah, I think it would've sounded like that." He paused for a moment, then frowned and asked, "why?"

"Because I heard a sound exactly like that in my neighborhood."

"So what does that mean?" Mike worried.

"It means what if Will's not the only thing that's part of both worlds? What if other things can cross over too, and they're here now?"

"I hope not," Will murmured. "Because I saw something else in there." He turned to Ash and whispered, "A huge shadow in the sky, looming over me. A thing made of black smoke."

"The shadow monster."

"Yeah."

"Woah, woah, woah, slow down!" Mike yelped. "Shadow monster? W-what shadow monster? And why did you tell her but not me?"

"Because I've seen it too," Ash interrupted Will as he was about to reply. "But only in one dream."

Mike looked back and forth between them, then sighed, flopping back into the couch. "So why's it going after Will and not you?" He looked at Ash, "have you had any dreams with it after that one?"

"Nope, nothing."

"I have that dream every night now." Will got to his feet, his entire body still trembling. "Maybe it couldn't get what it wanted from you, but it can care l get what it wants from me. Maybe that's why you only had one dream and mine are getting worse and worse." He spun to face her chair. "In your dream, did you feel like it was testing you? Like it wanted something?"

Uh oh, we're going down a road I really wish we weren't on.

"Y-yeah. But it couldn't get it." She stared at Will. "But it can get it from you?"

"That's what I'm thinking."

"So—so what, it's just gonna keep coming after Will until it gets what it wants?" Mike asked worriedly.

"Yeah?" She shook her head. "I'm sorry I don't have a better answer. But I think I can help."

She put a hand out, palm first, towards Will, as if against a glass wall. There it was, that feeling. Fighting, fighting, fighting, it was still struggling against him, even if he wasn't currently aware of it.

"I can feel it. Will doesn't understand it, he doesn't know how to put it into words. But maybe I can. Maybe, because I'm not dealing with fighting it, I can help him deal with it."

"Maybe?" Mike snapped suddenly. "Maybe's not good enough! You said you could help!"

"I already did!" She insisted. "I pulled him out of the Upside Down just now!"

Mike looked to Will, who nodded. "I think she's right. It was like the moment we made contact I felt the barrier between our world and I could cross over easily. Before, I had no idea his to get back. But it...did something to you, didn't it?" He directed at Ash.

Here comes the worry I don't deserve again.

"I think it just...became aware of my presence?" She tried. "It hates me cause I can't give it what it wants but I can still get back into that place sometimes."

"Well great, it hates one of us and wants to do... something to the other," Mike sighed.

"Both of you just—" Will asked, "just please don't tell the others. They wouldn't understand."

"Eleven would," Mike murmured softly.

"She would?" Will asked.

"Yeah."

"Eleven." Ash sat back down carefully. "Who was she? Really?"

"Well, she had super powers." Mike smiled wistfully. "She could do things with her mind; lock doors, flip cars."

Flip cars?

"And she was really sweet. She'd been through so much when we found her in the woods, but she still helped us, and even saved our lives a few times. She was amazing."

"She sounds amazing."

He nodded, then his expression hardened like he realized what he was doing.

"She's gone now, but sometimes I feel like I still see her. Or hear her. But—" he wiped a hand on his knee, looking the other way. "It's stupid, I know."

"Hey, if she could flip cars with her mind then I'm sure she could survive... whatever happened to her."

"Demogorgon."

"Ah."

"It's just... sometimes I feel like I'm going crazy."

"Me too." Will agreed.

"Well then, if we're both going crazy then we'll go crazy together, right?" Mike concluded.
Will smiled gratefully at his friend, and Mike smiled back.

Yeah, I'm jealous.