WARNING: DO NOT ENGAGE [stranger things] [1/2]

XIII - (Don't Fear) The Reaper

"Love of two is one

Here but now they're gone

Came the last night of sadness

And it was clear she couldn't go on"

•

Rosemary Stark does not cry.

She yells, and screams, and she rips things apart. She will fight tooth and nail, and not shed a single tear towards her cause while she does so. And until this point, she wasn't even upset. And god, she should have been. Maybe if she'd let herself be upset for the boy who she used to help babysit, the boy she used to play board games with and all, it wouldn't hit her so hard.

But she didn't let herself be upset.

So it does hit her hard.

She's driving home, and slows when she comes across a boy walking along the side of the road. Now, who on earth would be so stupid as to do that when Will Byers went missing only a couple days prior? She rolled down her window, and with the lights from her car she realised who it was.

"Mike?" She asked. He was already looking at her, the car having obviously brought his attention, and he looked more then upset as he slowed to a stop. Rosemarys concern didn't falter as she got out of the car to walk around to him. "Mike, what on earth are you doing out here?"

"Will." He barely muttered, but Rosemary heard him well enough. "I was looking for Will." Rosemary sighed, and looked around. She tried to look for a sign of one of his friends, because surely he wouldn't do it alone, but came to a loss. "I'll give you a ride home, yeah?" He nods wordlessly and she ushers him into the car while she flattens down the backseats to fit his bike into the back. She can hear him fiddling with the radio, but he makes no effort to speak or explain himself further. At least, not until she's in the car.

"Sing us a song, you're the piano man, sing us a song tonight,"

Mike stops fiddling with the radio as Rosemary starts the car again, instead moving to look around her car. He wasn't in it often, and every time he was Nancy was there to tell him off for being a snoop. Rosemary didn't mind all that much. She would laugh at the way he sniffed the air if it wasn't for the situation, and he started tapping on her packet of cigarettes at some point. It was like he knew he needed to talk about it, but he didn't know how to. Either way, Rosemary didn't push it.

"Will's dead." Rosemary nearly slammed on the breaks at his bluntness, but forced herself to keep on driving like normal. She nearly choked on her next question, but kept her tone calm. He didn't need panic.

"Did you..."

"No." He shook his head. "We didn't find him. But we saw them.... we saw them pulling his body out. Of the quarry."

"Out of the quarry." Rosemary muttered, nodding. She wasn't good with people. She didn't know how to comfort Mike, what to say to try and make things better. She could try, and of course she would, but she knew whatever she said wouldn't help make it right. "I'm sorry, Bud." She said.

"If she hadn't lied..." Mike muttered bitterly.

Rosemary furrowed her eyebrows, looking over at him momentarily. It was like he was talking to himself more than her, but she couldn't help but question him. "If who hadn't lied?" She asked.

Mike jumped slightly, hand moving away from the console where he had been tapping on her cigarettes. "Nobody." He shook his head, looking out of the window as they turned onto Maple Street. "Nobody." Rosemary hummed in discontent at his answer but didn't question it. He didn't speak anymore, only giving a short 'thank you' and wrapping his arms around her middle in a brief but tight hug when they got out of her car.

She didn't look to see him go inside. As soon as he passed her she made her way into her own house, ignoring Susanitas questioning as she darted upstairs. She closed her door heavily behind her, leaning on it when everything sunk in.

"Rosie? Are you okay?" Susanita called from downstairs.

Rosemarys back slid down the door and she let a choked sob escape, hand soon clamping over her mouth as she reached the floor. Okay would be almost insulting at this point.