Heartbreak Story - Byler

II - The Snow, It was Falling

As usual, I was playing Dungeon Master but this time I lacked my usual verve and enthusiasm. Max was watching us intently in a slight envious fascination. Lucas told her she could join this campaign if she wanted to, we'd planned to play with Will and we were a player short anyway. A huge smile became plastered on her face and her eyes widened with joy as she reached for Will's character, her fingers had almost grasped Will the Wise when her eyes caught mine and she saw the look of sheer horror on my face that I didn't even know I was pulling. She quickly retreated her hand and said she'd rather just watch. Guilt ripped into my body but I couldn't bring myself to tell her it was okay and that she could play so I just stayed silent.

Even two years after I first met her, Max was still walking on eggshells around me and would never do anything to jeopardise our fragile friendship. She was a true member of the party now, our 'Zoomer' as she liked to be called and she was great, really. She was funny, she was a badass, she made Lucas happy, she was one of the strongest people I've ever met (other than my Will, of course) and she cared about us all so much. She even saved us from her psychopathic step-brother, Billy, when she was 13 and he has never bothered us, nor Steve ever since. Yet it was true she could never win with me. I started off being bitter towards her because I thought she was trying to take Eleven's place in the party but by the time I realised there was more than enough space for two new people, she'd started befriending Will and the two of them were extremely close now. They have inside jokes that I don't understand, she stays at his house more than a few times a week when her home situation gets too hard and there are times when Will blows off plans with me to hang out with her so I guess you could say I was resentful towards her because I was jealous. This damn jealousy of mine was bound to get me into trouble someday.

El was lounging on the couch next to Max, the two of them were friends now but there was always some friction between them due to their history. Eleven was never interested in D&D so her gaze was focused on the window and the snow that had gently begun to fall from the sky. El loved the way it seemed to dance in the slight breeze and found beauty in the intricately detailed patterns and shapes of each delicate flake. These were the kind of things the rest of us wouldn't notice and take for granted but El had a fondness for the little things in life, likely as a result of being locked up for so long.

Lucas was mad at me for not letting Max play and he kept throwing me dirty looks that were making me uncomfortable. The tension between us was fierce and Dustin kept trying to break it by cracking shitty jokes to us. "How many kids with powers does it take to change a lightbulb?"

"I don't care, Dustin."

"Eleven, hahahaha you get it?"

"Leave."

"Are you shitting me? That was a good one."

"Dustin, please just stop."

All round, the campaign was not the most exciting one to date and the atmosphere in the basement was strained. My mind drifted from the game and I began to wonder what Will was doing right this second. Was he having fun on his date? Was Alex treating him well? I hoped so, that boy deserved the world and he'd been through far too much shit to be unhappy whilst with his first love. I'd never let him be unhappy if we were together, I knew that. Every action I could take would be to put him first, I'd give him whatever he wanted and I'd be there for him within half a second when he had the nightmares that still attack his dreams and hold him captive almost every night. I needed him, I needed to be there for him but he hadn't needed me for a long time and I guess I should just have moved on with my life. Started dating some other girl or guy but I wouldn't let myself. My brain kept just screaming "What if?"

Footsteps began to echo on the stairs heading downwards to meet us. My heart skipped a beat when I wondered whether or not it could be Will, giving up on his date and realising he needed to be here with his friends. With me. However, of course, it was not Will.