Lover boy[s] // Will Byers

-chapter thirteen-

Sev sort of wanted to put his headphones on so he wouldn't have to listen to the conversation that was echoing around him, but considering the fact that he was the subject of it, he probably shouldn't. Still, he ran a hand through his hair and tapped his foot rhythmically against the back of Johnathon's seat, which was the drivers.

"So you're sure it wasn't the upside down?" Mike asked again, peering around Will with a frown. Sev nodded, sick of re-assuring everyone it wasn't snowing when they had disappeared and he had been left alone with the clock. Will put a hand on his knee, and turned to Johnathon.

"What if it's connected to everything at home?"

Sev saw Johnathon pinch the bridge of his nose through the wing mirror. He also heard him sigh, "are you sure you didn't like, imagine in it or something?"

"Johnathon!" Will shot back with a frown. Sev's stomach got floaty  and he reached the water bottle in the holder, hoping to drown the butterflies. It was empty. 

Johnathon put his hands up in surrender, but then quickly back on the steering wheel. "Okay, okay. So, what could it be then?"

"I don't know." Sev muttered, pulling his knees up underneath his chin and looking out the window. The dry and barren landscape whizzed past, trees wilting in the heat that roasted the inside of the van and was slowly cooking them all.

"Slushies?"

Will sat in the back of the van, leaning against the boot, as far away as he could get from the stench of the purple palm tree delight that was slowly wafting out of the vehicle as the AC hummed. He pressed the back of his head against the cold glass, trying not to worry.

It seemed that was all he did, worry. He couldn't not be worried though, Sev had had some weird vision that sounded too much like it was connected to all the shit going down in Hawkins. He had asked if Sev had seen any monsters, slimy dog or faceless men. Sev had just blinked his pretty blue eyes obliviously.

Will had to draw himself out of the new thoughts, the ones of Sev. Of his eyes and dark eyeliner and his fluffy hair and stupid little smile and tongue piercing and lips-

What if Sev was seeing what Will had seen when he became possessed? He remembered the dark swirling of the smoky mind flayer and the feeling of it invading Will, all of him, and then sitting there until it could start putting Will's family, his friends, in danger. He wouldn't wish that on anyone, least of all his Sev.

"Hnkgr- hnk-h...uffff."

Will was broken out of his spiral when Argyle snored loudly from where he was sprawled out, fast asleep in the middle seats, head on a pizza box. Mike was in the passenger seat, a map on his lap, but he was asleep as well. It was only Will and Johnathon awake. Will knew this because he could see Sev's chest rising and falling slowly next to him. He was curled up in the back of the van, arms wrapped tightly around his backpack that he seemed to treasure so much.

Was Will really jealous of a bag?

Yes. Yes, he was. 

He sighed, eyes flitting to the window, where the stars sparkled in the night like the glitter on the slushie cups rolling around the van from the multiple snack breaks in the last six hours they had all spent on the road.

"Everyone asleep already?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah." Will replied to his brother, who's eyes were still trained on the dark horizon ahead. There was silence for a moment as they thought about what was past the horizon, El. They had to find her, Will wasn't going to leave her in whatever lab she was at right now to get her powers back.

"What do you think it is?" Johnathon asked quietly, and for the first time Will realised that maybe the bags underneath his eyes weren't just from drugs and driving for too long. Johnathon was the oldest one here, not including Argyle, but he wasn't exactly fit to be responsible for them all. "Sev's episode, thing...."

"I- I don't know." Will admitted, looking down at the sleeping boy. His eyebrows were creased, and his nose had scrunched up a little. Will wanted to flatten the worry lines out, make him look peaceful again. "It has to be tied to the upside down though. Everything is, in the end. And we have to protect him, he doesn't know how bad any of this stuff is, he hasn't done this before."

"About tha-"

"NO!" Sev cried, holding his hands over his head protectively. Will reached over, but he was still asleep, just panting jerkily, the frown on his face had turned to fear. Johnathon glanced back at the two of them, swerving on the road slightly.

"Stoppit, no- don't say that!"

"Sev, Sevvy wake up, its okay." Will whispered to him, trying to shake the boys' shoulders, but he flinched, curling in on himself and whimpering. A nightmare. Will tugged on him again, chest clenching when he saw the fear on Sev's screwed up face. "Please wake up. Cmon, it's just a dream-"

"I'm not! I promise..."

"You are!"

Sev scrambled back, pressing his back to the white tiles on the walls surrounding him. His head felt woozy and disorientated, his eyes blurry with either exhaustion or tears, he couldn't tell at this point. He sobbed into his arms; face pressed against his shaking brown arms. "I'm not, I'm not.... please...."

"You are, a monster."

"I'm not a monster, I'll stop, I promise- please!" Sev bawled, hot liquid dripping down his cheeks as he pleaded. The banging on the door in front of him never ceased. The voice of the shouting person deepened weirdly, only making his heart beat faster in panic. It wasn't him anymore, it was someone else, something else.

Blood splattered against the white tiles underneath his bare feet, and he pushed himself further into the corner with his aching palms. The cold white room went blurry, distorted and wavering around until Sev felt sick and dizzy.

"You monster!"

"I'm sorry." Sev choked, head slumping onto his chest. His eyes fluttered closed, sealed by tears and blood. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry....m'sorry.......I'm.........."

"Sorry," Sev whimpered, bring his shaking hands up to cover his ears as more tears dripped from his eyes. The cold tiles underneath him was gone though, startling him into a sort of sitting position as he panicked. The ground was scratchy, there was a thick material in his lap, and something warm was over his shoulders. "Where-"

"It's not real, it's a nightmare. You're in the van Sev."

He looked up and realised that Will's arms were wrapped around his shoulders tightly, holding him upright. He turned red, looking around the cluttered and dark van full of sleeping bodies. "Huh?"

"Your safe- why- why are you bleeding?" Will asked slowly, his voice cracking. 

Sev rubbed his eyes quickly, and then wiped his cheeks as well, pulling his hands away and seeing smudges of red. He shrugged, "nosebleed, probably."

"Is he awake?" Johnathon asked from the front of the van, glancing back at the two boys quickly and then turning back to the dark road ahead. Will nodded, looking at Sev with soft eyes that made his stomach fuzzy. He rubbed his face again, bringing his hands to his lap and finding his backpack was there. Sev moved it to the side and sat up properly, looking at the window tiredly.

"We're still about four hours from the coordinates," Will said slowly, like he was afraid that Sev would get spooked again. Sev nodded, and took a shuddering breath, eyes darting where Will's arms were limp, no longer wrapped around him.

"Can we stop at the next gas station?" Sev called to Johnathon, who nodded with a slight frown. Then he leant against the boot door, still clutching his backpack, and turned to the side so Will couldn't see him. Not like this, not after another nightmare about it.