will's ailment

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

 A shaken-up Joyce escorted Alina and Will to the car, rubbing her son's shoulder. Gabe watched as the three of them headed towards it, all of their faces saying different things—Joyce's was relief, that her son had recovered from whatever had happened to him in the field (was it PTSD from the time he was lost in the woods?), Alina's was still terrified, streaked with tears (she'd burst into relieved sobs when Will had finally responded) and Will's... Will almost seemed calm. He was a little pale, but other than that... he didn't look traumatized or anything, like Gabe expected him to. No, for Will it was like nothing had happened at all.

"Okay, that totally freaked me out," said Max, her skateboard under her arm as she watched the three make their way towards the car. Joyce was still rubbing Will's shoulder, and Alina had moved away slightly, her head bent. Max turned to the others. They were all standing on the steps leading into the school, watching the three leave. "Did that not freak you guys out?"

"Two episodes in two days," said Lucas, his brow furrowed. Unlike the others, though, his eyes were not strictly locked on Will. No, Gabriel could tell that he kept glancing to Alina. He had a crush on the girl, Gabe realized. And he wasn't very subtle about it. But for some reason, Alina didn't seem to know. Perhaps it was because of his obsession with Max that begun on their first day here.

"It's getting worse," said Mike.

"You think it's True Sight?" Lucas suggested, causing Dustin and Mike's eyes to lock onto his. Gabe watched as Mike shook his head a fraction of an inch, and realization ran through him. This was one of the things they had talked about inside the AV Room, when he and Max had both been kicked out.

"What's True Sight?" Max asked, exchanging a confused glance with Gabe.

"It's nothing," said Lucas quickly, noticing their eyes on him. But Gabe wasn't convinced. He listened to the car engine rumble as it pulled out of Hawkins Middle, taking Will and Alina, who he could see staring out of the window, away. And then Gabe spoke.

"We know it's not nothing. We know you guys were talking about 'dangerous' things in the AV Room, and that True Sight was probably one of those topics. But like, seriously, if you want us to be your friends, you need to stop hiding things from us. Maybe you should just tell us what happened to Will. What really happened, because after that scene, I'm beginning to get confused. I don't think that getting lost in the woods is enough to give you visions like that. Also, about Dart. We were gonna show him to Mr. Clarke, and—" he stopped talking. Shit. He was rambling again. Letting that motor mouth of his run on and on and on until people zoned out. Gabe ducked his head, warmth coming to his cheeks, and cleared his throat. "I mean, you should just tell us the truth."

Dustin swallowed. "We want to tell you guys, believe us, we do. But we can't. This... this isn't something we can tell anyone. We're not leaving you out on purpose, we actually just can't. I'm sorry."

"You can't tell us," repeated Max slowly. "Who's stopping you?"

"I—"

"Oh, wait, nobody is," said Max. She rolled her eyes, beginning to head down the stairs. Once she reached the bottom, she put her skateboard down and hopped on. "I'll help you guys look for Dart tomorrow," she said. "But I've gotta run. My stepbrother's probably already left by now." And before anyone could respond, Max had hopped on her skateboard and pushed off, gliding away from the others.

"Well, that went well," Lucas muttered.

"I've got to go, too," said Gabe awkwardly, feeling increasingly uncomfortable in the presence of these three people. He didn't know if Mike or Dustin liked him or not, and although Lucas had talked to him before class had started this morning—just about Halloween and what had gone down last night (apparently Will had had an 'episode' then, too) that didn't really mean much. But Gabe did know that he, Alina and Lucas were three of the only black kids in the school, so they did have to look out for each other. He just didn't know how he felt about Lucas quite yet.

"Bye, Gabe," said Mike, and then Gabe made his way down the steps of the school towards his bike. As he hopped on, he turned once, looking back at the three other boys. They were still standing on the steps, gazing at the spot where Will had been.

And then Gabe's eyes moved to where the car had been. Will. The boy seemed so sweet, and so innocent. What was going on with him? And for that matter, what was going on with Alina? She had acted strange on the field, too. It was like she was seeing something that the others could not see. But... Gabe had no idea what.

The Alina Fairgrieves in question was currently sitting at the dining room table at home, a steaming mug of tea in front of her, undrunk. She watched the steam curl out of the mug and thought to bring it to her lips, but her tongue seemed to refuse everything. It rubbed against her teeth like sandpaper and she curled it in, listening quietly as Joyce asked Will to recount what happened. She didn't tell either of them that she'd seen... well, she'd seen something on the field. But she didn't know if it was real or not.

"I don't remember," Will said after a moment. There was tea in front of him, too, courtesy of Alina, who'd wanted something to do when she'd entered, but he didn't drink it either. He just stared at the wall and scratched Skywalker, who was curled up in his lap. He didn't seem like the Will she'd talked to earlier today. It was almost like he'd been replaced with a different person.

Joyce let out a sigh, leaning forward. "I need you to try."

Will licked his lips nervously. "I...I was on the field and... and then it...it all just went blank, and... and then you were there."

Joyce shook her head. "Will, I need you to tell me the truth."

Alina finally brought the mug of tea to her lips, forcing herself to drink. Her body accepted the liquid with difficulty, but once it went down, she felt worlds better. She needed to tell them. She needed to tell them what she'd seen on the field. She needed to tell them about the shadow she'd seen stretching over her, about how its legs had whirled around, about how she'd heard whimpers coming inside. She needed to tell them that she feared that something was wrong with her.

But she couldn't.

"I am," Will protested, causing Joyce to sigh again. After a second, Joyce stood up, grabbing a piece of paper and placing it in front of them. It was crudely done, made of scribbled crayon lines, but it formed a shape. A shape that Alina now knew very well. A shape that had made it in both her dreams and her reality. It was the shape of the shadow creature.

"This shape," Joyce said, "I saw it on the video tape from Halloween night. It's the same shape as... as your drawing."

"What drawing?" Alina asked, leaning forward, but Joyce was still focused on Will. Alina breathed out a sigh and reached over to pet Skywalker, who had leaped off Will's lap and onto hers. The feeling of her hand against his fur was strangely comforting, and as she did so, she could almost pretend what she'd seen was a strange, vivid dream. Almost. Because she knew she couldn't deny that something was up. That she'd seen it.

"These episodes that you're having," said Joyce, still speaking to Will, "I think Dr. Owens is wrong. I think they're real. But... but I can't help you if I don't know what's going on. So, you have to talk to me. Please. No more secrets, okay?" Will looked up at Joyce, and, his face still abnormally pale, he nodded. Joyce breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay. Did... did you see this thing again, on the field?"

Will nodded. "Yes."

So it wasn't just her. It was another strange comfort to know that she wasn't the only one to be having these experiences, but it didn't explain why. If Will had True Sight because he was exposed to the Upside Down, then why did she? Was it... was it because of her abilities? A theory began to form in her head at that newfound realization. What if, even though she didn't have her energy anymore, other abilities had stayed? What if one of them was to see into the Upside Down?

It made a lot more sense now.

Joyce was still questioning Will. "What... what is it?" she sounded scared, and although Alina had been temporarily relieved from her newfound theory, reality crushed her again. There still was a giant monster out there in the sky. And Will and her had seen it yet again.

Will looked to Alina. His eyes were rimmed with unshed tears. "I don't know," he choked out, just above a whisper. "It's almost more like a... a feeling."

A feeling? Alina turned this new idea over in her head. A feeling. She recalled when she'd seen into the Upside Down, which she was now sure what it was. Every single time, she'd felt terror lance through her. She'd thought it was just because of the new surroundings, but what if it was because of this monster? And... at the arcade. She'd felt the same feeling then, too. What if Will had seen it then, too?

"Like the one you had that night at the... the arcade?" Joyce asked, confirming it for her. With shaking hands, Alina brought the mug to her lips again, but she was trembling so much that a couple drops splashed onto the table. Quickly, she wiped them away.

Will nodded again. "Yes," he repeated. His face was red, his eyes screwed up as he tried to resist the flow of tears coming out of them. Alina immediately reached over and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Will didn't shrug it away.

"What does it want?" Joyce asked.

"I don't know," said Will slowly. "It came for me, and... And I tried. I tried to make it go away." The tears really were spilling out now. "But it got me, mom!"

"Well, what does that mean?" Joyce asked, and Alina wondered how she could be so calm about this, before realizing she was probably also freaking out, just not on the outside. She had to stay strong for her son.

"I felt it...everywhere. Everywhere. And I still feel it." He really was sobbing now, and the sound of it made Alina's heart lurch. She hated that she couldn't do anything for him. "I just want this to be over."

Joyce pulled Will into a hug, stroking his hair. "It's okay," she soothed him. "It's okay. Hey. Listen. Look. Look at me." She cupped the side of her son's face, and Alina marveled at how natural the gesture was. It was one she thought Linda might have done when she was little, and she hadn't learned to hate her daughter yet. "I will never, ever let anything bad happen to you ever again. Whatever's going on in you, we're gonna fix it. I will fix it. I promise. I'm here."

Alina rose, taking her tea with her as Joyce clutched Will. Skywalker followed her into her bedroom, where she sat down on the top bunk of her bed, taking out her walkie-talkie. She didn't know what to do. She didn't want to interrupt on Joyce and Will's time, so she decided to do what she always did. She called Lucas. She'd tell him her theory.

"Lucas?" she asked, lying back on her bed, staring up at the white ceiling above her. "Lucas, do you copy? It's, uh, it's me."

It was almost a minute before Lucas responded. "Hey, Al. Sorry, Erica was being annoying. I copy. Is Will okay? Over?"

"No," said Alina. "No, he's not. And... and I don't know what to do. We all thought it was over when El killed the Demogorgon, but..." she took a deep breath. "You know how I've been seeing into the Upside Down? Or what I thought was the Upside Down? Well, I saw into it on the field. I think it's real."

"You... you did? For longer than a few seconds this time?"

"Yeah. It was a minute or two this time. I think it has something to do with my abilities. I know my energy's gone, but what if I had something else, too? I mean, El could use telekinesis but also find people. What if my other skill is True Sight, like Will?"

"Then you can help him, Alina. Please, Al, don't be afraid. We're going to get through this, I promise. We're going to find Dart, and we'll fix Will, and that will be that. Okay? Over."

"Okay," Alina whispered, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "It's just... I'm scared, Lucas. I'm so scared. I've been having these headaches recently, and every time I see into the Upside Down I get this feeling that goes through me. I'm just—I just want this to be over."

"Alina, I promise everything will be okay." Lucas's voice sounded so comforting over the walkie-talkie, and Alina closed her eyes, pretending he was there with her. "We're a team, and we'll get through this together, okay?"

"Okay." Alina sat up. "Thank you, Lucas. You really helped me."

"Of course. I'll always be here for you, Al. You're my best friend. But I've, uh, I've got to go. Erica's bugging me. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

And ignoring the sinking her stomach did when Lucas said the word 'best friend', Alina nodded. "Okay. Bye, Lucas. See you tomorrow."

"See you. Over and out."

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

a/n: gabe is finally speaking up!! honestly, this situation kind of sucks because obviously, it's gonna hurt if you're excluded from everything, but it's not like the others want to drag them into this whole upside down business, which is why this makes for a good conflict, lol. nobody is really at fault.

what do you think is happening between alina and lucas? gabe certainly seems to think he has a crush on her, but is he reading too far into things? 

'till next time!