FLASHBACK or present

CONTEXT/PURPOSE: while the party unites with Jonathan and Nancy, Y/n recalls an instance she had unintentionally healed someone other than herself, leading her to realize the extent of her healing abilities. it was meant to go with the song, Brand New Key by Melanie :)

SETTING: Hawkins Roller Derby, late June 1985 - one month before SUZIE, DO YOU COPY?

REASON FOR CUT: I just had too many ideas for this and ultimately it led to me getting stuck. It was intended to be a way to sneak in a date for Will and you anyway and it made more sense if the rest of the party wasn't there. I begrudgingly made the setting change from derby to Henderson's Driveway/Street for convenience of Will's injury

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"You're falling behind~!"  I laugh.

My smile widens when I hear Will's voice behind me, wavering every once in a while as he undoubtedly clutches the wall of the roller rink.

"You're going too fast! How are you- woah! - not falling?"

"Years of practice," I answer, slinking back into a glide and letting myself return to Will's side with a smile. "My mom used to take me and Dustin all the time, you know this."

He barely spared any chances to look at me and away from his feet. I couldn't help but chuckle as every once in a while, his feet would start running in place before he caught his balance with the wall and my arm I had held out to him.

"Here," I smiled, hooking his left arm around my waist and gestured for his right arm. "now grab the rail,"

He reluctantly did so, and my stomach fluttered when he did. It only grew worse when his face turned pink but it had helped. His balance gotten a slightly better. Of course, it hadn't lasted long.

"Arms length, Byers!" Came a perturbed, slightly teasing voice zooming past us.

Will's widened eyes jumped to Dustin skating past us, throwing a warning glare at Will. The poor boy was scarlet and was back to tripping.

"Don't listen to him," I ease, catching him long before he could fall. "You know how he gets. Besides, we won't have to put up with in a few days. At least for a while."

"Oh, yeah," Will said, eyes trained on his feet as he took a few cautious glides. "Camp Know Where, right?"

"Yep. Then it's you and me... Well," I pause, and the two of us look across the rink to spot Max pulling a wobbling Lucas along with a laugh. Dustin rounded them again, sending them a smug smirk. Max seemed to be holding her own but it was clear she more used to wheels with a board. "kind of." I laugh, looking back to Will.

He smiled back at me before wobbling on his feet like a baby deer trying not to fall.

"Thanks," he muttered when I helped him steady.

I shrug, faking a sigh. "You just owe me, now,"

"Oh, is that right?" He asked with a growing smile.

"Yeah, that's--"

"-On your left, lovebirds!"

We both looked up as we felt a light breeze hit our backs as Dustin glid by, and I threw my brother a glare. He knew what he was doing. And he knew just as much as Will and I that he was leaving and we'd get a break. There was no doubt in my mind he was doing his brotherly duty and squeezing in as much teasing as he could get before he left.

"Don't push it, Dustin,"

"Or what?" He asks, sounding amused.

"Or I'll push you back, Dusty,"

"I rode my bicycle past your window last night,"

Version 2:

CONTEXT: see above.

SETTING: henderson driveway,
TIME: see above

REASON FOR CUT: this is an older vibe i've idealized for cosmic since its early development in 2018, but over the years i've admittedly been evolving away from. and then a brilliant writer friend of mine, dumdumsun reached out to me with her own wonderful ideas for a story with similar vibes. i didnt want to seem like i was copying and frankly, would prefer to see her own take on a roller vibe. i might give it another, deviated go depending on what they do in s4 but for now, this remains in the deleted scenes 😆 please go check my friends work, she's simply amazing! <3

||𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐕||

- 𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗛𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 -

"You're falling behind~!" I laugh, careful to watch my footing on the concrete beneath my feet.

My smile widens when I hear Will's voice behind me, wavering every once in a while as he undoubtedly scrambles for balance.

"You're going too fast! How are you- woah my gosh! - not falling?"

"Years of practice," I answer, slinking back into a glide and letting myself return to Will's side with a smile. "My mom used to take me and Dustin all the time, you know this."

He barely spared any chances to look at me and away from his feet. I couldn't help but chuckle as every once in a while, his feet would start running in place before he caught his balance with a wobble and my arm I had held out to him.

"Here," I smiled, hooking his left arm around my waist.

He reluctantly complied, and my stomach fluttered when he did. It only grew worse when his face turned pink but it looked like it was helping; his balance had gotten slightly better. Of course, it hadn't lasted long.

We had been gliding for a few feet or so before a yelp jumped up my throat when I felt myself being pulled to the ground. Will had, for the most part, cushioned my fall: his left arm lay squished in between my shoulder blades and the concrete, the wind knocked right out of my lungs.

I winced up at the sun, sucking in a harsh breath at the mild road rash I felt blooming on my forearm and the pebbles digging into my palm. Beside me, Will groaned in pain.

"...ow."

I looked over at him to see his eyes screwed shut in a painful wince, and the muffled sound of small rumbling brought me to the sight of the wheels on his skates that were still rolling.

"You alright?"

His eyes peeled open, blinking up at the sun a little dazed. He looked over at me with a crooked smile, and laughed a little after seeming to think about it for a moment. "Yeah. You?"

"Peachy," I said.

For a moment, neither of us moved. We just layed there, not saying anything as we looked at one another.

And simultaneously, smiles crept onto both of our faces as laughter slipped past our lips.

"Come on," I chuckled, sitting up, and he did the same.

I was back on my feet in no time, laughter still threatening to spill out as I held my hand out to Will - still ass first in the street and his skates still twirling a little. As he attempted to place himself back on the balance of his wheels, steadying himself on his left hand, he held out his right to me. I nearly took it before I saw the blood poking out of the abrasion on his palm in noticeable beads. It was pooling in his hand fast, threating to mix with the dirt that came off on his hand from the concrete.

"Shit, Will, your hand," I said, locking my hand around his wrist and forearm instead and pulling him the rest of the way to his feet.

He wobbled again as I did so but I wasn't going to let him fall again. Instead, I pulled his hand in for a closer look to his surprise. He didn't seem to realize the injury was even there until I pointed it out.

He started hissing a little again when I guided the back of his hand to get a better look, but he still brushed it off.

"I'm fine, really,"

"Yeah, but it could still get infected," I mumbled, carefully flicking away the pebbles around the scrape with my fingertips. I looked up at him when I heard him laugh under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing," he smiled. "It's just, you haven't really changed." I frowned a little. "It's a good thing." He said. A fond look came into his eyes and he laughed under his breath. "Remember the summer before sixth grade? You and Dustin roped us into playing baseball in your back yard and Mike skinned his knee?"

I thought for a second, recalling the memory before a smile slowly sprouted on my face. I could still feel Will smiling at me and my ears slowly began to burn as he told the story with such fondess. "You two had been butting heads all day - the rest of us were actually starting to think you weren't gonna speak to each other after that. But the second he got hurt, you ran inside and came out with this -" Will began gesturing with his hands, his injured palm leaving my own for a moment. "little first aid kit even though he just skinned his knee. He even tried to tell you but you said-"

-"'Shut up and let me help you,'" we both finished, and I nodded, unable to fight the laughter creeping up.

I did remember that. I was pissed off at Mike that day, and funny enough, I can't remember why. But I did understand what he was getting at.

It was the same way Dustin was always making sure everyone had enough to eat, or the way Lucas was always protecting us - whether it was thinking ahead or speaking up - it was always for the safety of the group. And how Will was always making sure we were all having fun. We all looked out for each other in our own ways.

"And he did," I said promptly, looking up from his palm and shooting him a matter of fact grin. "And so should you."

He chuckled again as I took his forearms in my hands, and carefully pulled him forward. He wobbled a bit as I brought him in but caught himself quickly before meeting me in the middle, his lips on mine.

I could feel his smile on my lips and after a moment I pull away, flashing him a smile. "Now come on," I said, gesturing down to his skates, implying he take them off lest he take another tumble. "Let's get inside and run that under some water, get it cleaned out."

Despite the small roll of his eyes, a grin split his lips and he complied. "You know," he began, quickly unfastening the first skate off his foot with his unharmed hand and getting to work on the other. "one of these days we're gonna get back at you."

I shot him a funny look, not quite sure what he was getting at.

"You take care of everyone," he clarifies, nuding me with his elbow. "Some day you gotta let us take care of you."

- 𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗛𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 -