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Strange Attraction (you never know how anything will change)

Warnings/info: possible s5 spoilers, not edited at all i'm sorry i'm lazy, will byers x male reader, aged up characters! will is 18, male reader is only a few years older ( not that it matters nothing happens)

Summary: y/n isn't new to the knowledge of the upside down, having fought that battle against vecna before Hawkins was put into a quarantine. Despite everything, Will and y/n haven't uttered a word to one another. A new crawl setup changes that.

Tropes: strangers to friends to future lovers

Words: 5k

Becoming friends, best friends, with Steve Harrington and Robin Buckley was supposed to be a normal, ordinary thing.

It was supposed to be just three teens orbiting the same world; sharing work shifts at the same rundown jobs, sharing rides with Steve to school and back home since he was the only one with a real car and robin lacking a license, sharing the same questionable at times taste in movies, sharing the bordering on babysitting duty with the amount of kids Harrington had found himself befriending.

It was supposed to be like that, normal people doing mostly normal things. But normality? In Hawkins of all places? It was more of a myth than anything tangible.

The upside down, a whole world living and breathing under the feet of anyone standing on Hawkins soil, was far from normal. At least it should've been. But now? It had become a staple in the lives of the group that had formed, bonded over their shared knowledge of the supernatural breeding just under the ground.

y/ns young eyes had seen things, witnessed sights that should have been impossible- things that should've remained buried in the likes of nightmares. y/n had battled creatures that looked straight out of horror films he'd binged on with Robin during their weekly sleepovers, he had survived things no teenager, or anyone should ever have to face. And yet, throughout it all, it had become standard for him, a new normalcy he wasn't looking for.

He had to accept it, learn to live with it. Especially now with the crawls entering the double 30 digits.

Vecna wasn't finished with them, with Hawkins, that much was clear after what he had shown Nancy and y/n that night they thought they killed him. Nancy had been shown horrors of what would come of her family, a brutal massacre of blood and claws, and y/n didn't have the pleasure of seeing anything that different.

Nancy seen Hawkins succumb to the terrors of vecna, the whole town collapsing to never recover, a mass death. y/n had seen just as horrible fates, death and tragedy alike but what he really saw, who he saw, he hadn't told anyone the details. He didn't feel like he could.

The traumabond that came from surviving everything they had been put through was stronger than anything y/n had thought he could ever experience. But he was learning anything was possible now, considering the evil he'd seen firsthand.

y/n had always been close to robin and steve, dumb and dumber- practically fused together like some mutant monster, sharing nearly everything between them. But after vecna? His curse? The bond was untouchable, strengthened to steel lengths.

But it wasn't just his original group he grew closer to, he'd gotten close with the others after everything all the same.

Nancy Wheeler had always come across as an untouchable badass, someone you don't get on the bad side of, and that was proven quickly after y/n had seen her work with a gun like it was a first language to her. It was practically written in stone that Nancy would do dangerous things to save those she cared about and now y/n knew first hand. The pair became quick friends, not needing to state the shift had been made but the mutual care was in place. Jonathan too. Anyone who cared for nancy, y/n would care for too.

The older teens had developed their own little group, a circle of mutual friendship and tenderness over one another.

But that didnt mean y/n didnt care about the younger teens going through what everyone else was, if not worse, just as much. It didn't take long for them to worm their ways straight into his tender heart.

Dustin had already always been around, barking at Steve every chance he was handed, making his all but hopeless attempts at matchmaking steve and robin- completely missing the key knowledge that Robin herself was into girls, which steve the hair harrington was definitely not.

Most days, y/n, steve, and robin strongly resembled parents to these rowdy kids, keeping them as in check as they could.

But hidden, poorly, under it all, y/n genuinely cared about the chaos that was this babysitter esque relationship. Lucas was impressive to say the least, brave and undeniably loyal, watching over Max even now. Then Mike. Mike was…he was fine. The lid wasn't terrible or anything, but he wasn't great either. But it was safe to say Nancy was definitely the preferred wheeler in y/ns opinion.

Then there was Will. Will Byers.

It wasn't like y/n had never seen will in the flesh before, he wasn't some local legend (even if some asshole kids liked to treat him like one). Of course he had, he was what he considered friends with Jonathan now. Will wasn't some legend of uncharted territory, not exactly at least. But even so, the two had never spoken, not even a simple hello had been passed between them.

Y/n chalked it up to Will being shy or just not in the business of making new friends. It would make sense, with everything going on, with Will being so directly involved in everything that was occurring around them.

Weeks back- one of the earlier crawls that had been conducted - y/n had asked Steve from where they sat in the front of the wsqk van, attempting to trace a signal from below, if he had ever spoken to the Byers kid. But it seemed y/n and steve were sat in the same boat to nowhere.

Steve shrugged his shoulders, claiming he too had never spoken to the boy, only knew what everyone else knew, the trauma base knowledge. The upside down taking will when he was little, the Zombie boy nickname that followed him like the plague, the tie to the world everyone was trying so desperately to close. It seemed few knew much more than that.

It was becoming glaringly obvious that if he wanted any answers, wanted to hear any words directed towards him from the boy, he'd have to go straight to the source himself. After everything the group had been subjected to with vecna and the upside down itself, y/n wasn't so sure he was ready for that, but with how this group functioned, the choice was never truly yours.

—------------------------------------------------------

“Okay, someone needs to be on Will duty.”

Nancy landed the tip of the pointer stick she'd been holding in her hand against her other open palm, the sound sharp but short. She had just concluded her, as always, very detailed rundown of how tonight's crawl would rollout. She had everything strictly planned out as she always did, but this time, after recent events, she had one detail still pending in her master plan.

Who would watch Will?

“We all know his episodes are getting worse, and Joyce has to help Robin this time.” Nancy’s eyes drifted around the room, scanning the group, ignoring Will’s irritated muttering from a table a few feet away. He sat slouched, cheek in palm, clearly offended at the idea he needed a ‘babysitter’.

Nancy lifted her stick from her palm, pointing the end of it straight at a surprised y/n.

“so…Y/n. That leaves Y/n.”

Y/n’s eyes widened further if that was even possible, practically swallowing half his face. Him? Watching Will? The kid he’d never even waved at once in his life?

“Me? Why me? I always help Robin during crawls!” Y/n gestured around the basement full of static-spitting radios and old crawl plans laying around. “Have you forgotten I literally work here? That this is my job daily? That I know how all this shit actually functions?”

“I know,” Nancy sighed, “but we need Joyce with robin this time, all hands on deck type deal. The crawls are getting harder with the military crawling around—no pun intended—and Will is undeniably getting worse.” She threw him an apologetic look before continuing her bordering on lecture, tone firm again. “We need all stations loaded, but we also need everyone safe. Someone has to keep an eye on Will. And you’re that someone. Joyce already signed off on it.”

That last part made Y/n pause more than the knowledge he'd be a babysitter to someone just a few years younger than him again. Joyce Byers didn’t trust anyone with Will unless she meant it. If she thought he was capable— then that had to count for something.

Y/n deflated with a sigh. “Fine. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

He glanced over at Will, who stayed still, hunched at the table with that far-off look that danced between embarrassed and annoyed. It wasn't surprising, not to y/n. being eighteen and still getting assigned a babysitter wasn’t exactly a strong ego boost.

The group nodded collectively, satisfied with their roles, and began packing up any equipment that may be needed. Within minutes, the WSQK basement emptied out, leaving only Y/n and Will behind.

Will didn’t make a move from his spot. Y/n leaned against Nancy’s meeting table, hands braced behind him, one foot crossed over the other as he bounced his shoe lazily. The silence stretched between them, seemingly making no move to be broken.

This was going to be a painfully awkward two hours if someone didn’t break it.

So Y/n did.

“You know,” he began, “for sharing a friend group and dealing with all the freaky shit we’ve dealt with, we’ve never actually talked before.” He let out a chuckle, surprised the sound slipped before he could catch it. It was weird. Being around someone almost daily and having never said a word to them, not even once.

Will’s head snapped up so fast Y/n almost flinched. With wide eyes, and a second of surprise, will took a hesitant moment to return to normal. “O-oh. Um… y-yeah, I—I guess not.”

Y/n nodded. “Why do you think that is? You secretly hate me, Byers?” He tilted his head teasingly, the tone of his voice matching the action. “Got a top secret vendetta I should know about?”

Will blinked, startled, then shook his head with the tiniest smile tugging at the very corner of his lips. His hair, which was still in a bowl cut just slightly more overgrown, fell forward, shielding his eyes from locking with y/ns.

“No. But… if I did, it wouldn’t be very top secret if I told you.” A joke back. Progress.

“Touche,” Y/n said, pushing off the table in a slow motion. He began pacing lazily around the room, no real destination in mind, just a sudden urge to be on his feet. “So… is it weird if I ask about your episodes? Whatever you call em.”

“No.” Will shook his head, sitting up straighter, jacket rustling against the plastic of the chair back. “It’s like… visions almost. What Vecna sees, or the demos see, I see. Like our minds are… connected. I usually feel it coming, though. Like a chill down your spine.”

His hand drifted to the back of his bare neck, an anxious habit Y/n could assume, it was easily noticed.

“Shit,” Y/n murmured, cheeks puffing slightly as he processed it. “That’s rough. Cool in a really messed-up way, but still rough. Doesn’t that make you… connected? Like to whatever the upside down is?”

“It’s a hivemind,” Will said quietly, confirming what y/n was theorizing. “I’m tied to it somehow. I don’t understand all of it completely, at least not yet.”

Y/n stopped pacing and dropped into the chair across from will, stretching his legs out completely. “Let’s change the topic. You probably don’t want to talk about the thing that got you stuck with a babysitter in the first place.” He gestured to himself dramatically with his hand, trying to somewhat lighten the dampened mood.

Will laughed, an actual laugh, and shook his head, hair flopping with the movements. “I don’t mind. But… yeah. We- Let’s change the topic.”

For a moment, Y/n just looked at him. Really looked. Will was cute. Soft features, boyish charm, those deep eyes that glimmered faintly even in the dim basement light. Definitely cute y/n could concur.

“So,” Y/n said, shrugging his shoulders casually, his large t-shirt shifting as he moved “what kind of music do you listen to? I could play something on the squawk. That is, assuming Robin isn’t hoarding the records again. Like she always does.” It was a dig at his best friends but it wasn't meant in poor taste.

Will’s cheeks tinted pink almost instantly with a soft blush. He looked away not a second later.

“You don’t have to play anything. But I… I like The Clash.” The words sounded nervous, almost like he's said them or something similar before and it ended in a poor reaction.

Y/n hummed. “The Clash is cool.”

Will brightened a little at the knowledge y/n didnt think it was stupid. “ um… The Cure too.”

Y/n grinned at that. “The Cure is cool too.” validating Will's music choices was an easy enough task, especially when the boy had to try and hide a grin right after the words left y/ns mouth.

Y/n caught on to the subtle… signs. The blush, the softness, the way Will lit up at shared interests, the fact one of said interests was the cure. Y/n had spent enough time around Robin to know the signs when someone might be queer, and it helped he was himself.

“I’m guessing you like ‘Boys Don’t Cry?’”

“Is it that obvious?” Will laughed shyly, the sound almost embarrassed.

“It’s a good song,” Y/n said with a lazy shrug, hands raised in mock surrender. “No judgment here. I’m more of a Journey or Duran Duran guy. And maybe some Stevie Nicks here and there, but uh don’t tell anyone about that last one.” He tossed Will a playful wink, then stood up again. “Alright. Fun as this has been, I’m hungry and want to bother Robin. Nancy didn’t say we had to stay in the basement.”

He gestured for Will to follow him out of the dim, honestly smelly room but the boy didn't make a move to follow just yet.

Will hesitated… then eventually stood. Fresh air sounded nice, especially after filling his lungs with old dusty air down in this wsqk basement . And y/n was right, no one explicitly said they had to stay put in the basement.

They climbed the creaking basement stairs, the boards whining under every step and the weight of their bodies, until Robin and Joyce came into view.

Y/n immediately snuck behind Robin and wrapped her in a backhug, peering over her shoulder. “How’s it going up here, Ms. Rockin’ Robin?”

She groaned, annoyed, shrugging him off immediately after. “It was going decently until you showed up. You’re supposed to be on Will duty dingus, remember?”

Y/n stepped aside dramatically and gestured to Will with wide arms and a bow. “At your service,” he said in a terrible accent, then moved himself backwards until he could sling an arm around Will’s shoulders, pulling him close.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Byers,” Y/n added with a reassuring smile. “I’ve been keeping a close eye on him.” He patted Will's shoulder under his hand.

“I would hope so,” Joyce muttered, eyes never leaving the radio, her focus zeroed in on whatever she was trying and failing to tinker with.

Y/n’s brows knitted together, his hand clenching slightly on Will's shoulder. “Everything good?”

Joyce let out a frustrated sound, the tone of it bordering on half stress, half disbelief. Something definitely had to be going wrong with this crawl.

“The signal, it's gone all wonky,” Joyce muttered, her brows knitting together on her forehead, her arms thrown up in a rare display of bordering defeat. “Hoppers walkie, it's gone distorted.” Robin nodded at that, confirming Joyce's annoyance wasn't misplaced.

y/n kept glancing back at robin. He knew that if anyone here could possibly fix this, it would be one of the two. He slipped his arm off of Will's shoulders, leaving the boy behind him as he moved to stand behind robins chair, leaning over her shoulder to take in what exactly they were dealing with.

“Alright, let’s see if we can get something working,” he murmured slowly, slipping to stand between Robin and Joyce to get a better angle at the equipment laid before them. His fingers flew over the equipment, switches flicked, knobs adjusted, buttons tapped. For a second, it seemed like the interference was clearing, like he was actually making progress.

Then, in now normal hawking fashion, the lights above them flickered. A repetitive cycle of on and off. They stuttered violently, flicking and flashing.

Y/n’s head snapped up, the room now flashing like some deranged underground rave. He turned just in time to see Will’s eyes roll back, his body jerk in sharp, unnatural twitches.

“Oh shit.” He lunged forward as Will’s body tilted downwards. Before the boy could make friends with the concrete floor, Y/n caught him, pulling him against his chest as Will went completely stiff—dead weight and burning with sweat.

“Holy shit, Will!” Y/n’s voice cracked, trying to hold the boy still as tremors rippled through him, his mind clearly somewhere else, somewhere far away.

Joyce was at their side not a beat later, robin trailing behind to give space. panic flooded joyces features. She cupped Will’s clammy face with shaking hands, brushing the damp hair from off his forehead as she pleaded softly for him to come back to himself.

But Will didn’t respond, how could he when he was trapped mentally elsewhere?

A few tense seconds, seconds that stretched on like endless hours, passed before will finally returned to himself. His eyes returned to their normal position, his mouth gaping for air in a panic. The body tremors slowed to a stop, his body limp but not as heavy against y/ns hold.

His fingers, nails, bit down into the skin of y/ns arm. His hold was tight, desperate.

“Hey, hey… you’re okay,” Y/n murmured, keeping his voice low and steady, not wanting to be too loud too suddenly, letting Will use him as a crutch. He tightened his arms around him without hesitation, not caring how close they were or how intimate the position had become.

“You good?” he asked softly, leaning in slightly, trying to gauge Will's reaction. Pain pulsed at his forearms where Will’s nails were breaking skin, but Y/n ignored it entirely. If this was what Will needed to feel real again, he’d take it without complaint. “Should uh, should I leave you with your mom for a second?” y/n was unsure, he hadn't dealt with one of wills episodes before, didn't know what the standard for after them was.

Will shook his head, breathing still shaky but less panicked. “I’m okay,” he insisted, voice thin like a lace cloth. He didn’t want a scene, didn’t want a debrief with his mom, didn’t want everyone hovering like he was about to shatter. He loosened his grip on Y/n’s arm, slowly peeling himself away as the awareness of how close they’d been finally hit him. Embarrassment crawled up his neck, coloring his ears as red as beets.

He tried to play it off like nothing happened, like he hadn’t just been clinging to Y/n like a frightened cat, But Joyce knew her baby more than that, she wasn’t buying it.

The moment he stepped back, she swooped in, pulling him aside, hands fluttering over his shoulders, his face, his hair as she demanded to know what he saw this time, how he felt, if he was hurting. Her voice was soft but frantic. Motherly fear wrapped in every word that left her mouth.

Robin wasted no time sliding into the space Will had now left open. y/n was rubbing over the deep, bloodied crescents Will’s nails had left behind, trying to look uncaring about it.

“You were pretty cuddled up there,” she said under her breath. Her voice may have been quiet, but it was loud in accusation. “I mean, yeah, horrible situation, terrifying visions, all that—but you did seem pretty eager to catch him.”

Y/n shot her a flat, deadpan look before elbowing her in the ribs, not enough to hurt but hopefully enough to shut the chatter box up. “What did you want me to do? Let him crack his head open on the floor?”

Robin rolled her eyes dramatically, nudging him back with a knowing smile. She didn’t push further, but the smirk said she absolutely could. Then she caught sight of Will stepping away from Joyce and heading back toward them.

“I’ll leave you to it,” she said, voice lilting with implication as she backed away, hands raised in surrender before she melted into the background, joining Joyce like before, the pair of them deciding to try and get ahold of hopper, of anyone again.

Will gave Y/n a hesitant look, tipping his chin to the side subtly toward Robin, as if afraid of being obvious. “You guys are… pretty close, huh?”

Y/n didn’t even need him to finish the thought. He could see exactly where Will’s mind was going. And y/n would shut it down with pleasure.

“We’re not dating, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Y/n said with a soft laugh. “Trust me.” He slung an arm over Will’s shoulders again, something he could see becoming a habit over time. y/n looked over his shoulder, calling out to the girls that he was taking Will back downstairs to sit for a bit, just to recover. Joyce nodded immediately, relieved he’d be with someone while they tried to sort through the crawl madness.

As they descended the stairs, Y/n picked the conversation back up where it had left off, voice low enough that only Will could hear until they were in the clear.

“Robin would probably murder me for telling you this,” he started, amusement tugging at his lips, “which she'd have the right to under other circumstances, but I think I can safely assume it won’t be a mistake.” He didn’t say the words outright—not you’re gay too and I know—but he said enough. Enough for Will to understand without feeling exposed.

“Robin couldn’t date a guy if you paid her to,” Y/n continued, shaking his head fondly. “She’s already got this girl she’s completely gone for.”

Will’s eyes widened,not in disgust, not even in surprise. More like… wonder. Like the idea of someone queer being happy, being loved, was something he hadn’t dared imagine for himself.

Y/n caught the look, felt something warm tug in his chest.

“And trust me,” Y/n continued lightly, “I love that girl to death, but I’m not exactly in the market for her type either.”

He said it so casually, like it was nothing, like the words didn’t carry the weight they usually did in Hawkins, or anywhere for that matter. And Will understood instantly. His face warmed, a blush blooming across his cheeks as a small, genuine smile tugged at his mouth. There was something deeply comforting in the way Y/n spoke, in the way he didn’t have to spell anything out for Will to understand. y/n spoke and will just listened.

For the first time in a long time, Will felt… safe saying things out loud. Like he could talk and not immediately regret the vulnerability. Like he could be himself without overthinking. The feeling was terrifying and exciting all at once.

He hadn’t even felt that with Mike, not really at least. Mike was supposed to be his best friend, the person he could trust with anything. But lately? Will wasn’t sure that was true anymore.

“You know,” Will began, voice small but steady, “the last time someone figured out I was… you know…” He gestured vaguely, unable to say the word but not needing to. “I got told it wasn’t his fault that I didn’t like girls.” His smile twisted, sad around the edges. The memory clearly still held teeth.

“What idiot said that?” Y/n scoffed, dropping into one of the plastic chairs with a thud. He gestured for Will to take the one across from him. Will sat a moment later.

“Mike.”

Y/n let out a long, dramatic sigh, rolling his eyes so hard it almost looked painful.

“Yeah. Sounds like him.” y/n looked over Will's face, seeing the contrasting expressions on his face. “Mike could have someone begging at his feet, claiming they'd die for him and his bonehead would still look the other way.” y/n shook his head, smirking when will let out a small laugh. “I guess you're right.”

The moment settled into something calm, quiet but warm. A soft wave of understanding passed between them, easing the lingering of Will’s episode. It felt good, grounding. Y/n didn’t want to break that fragile peace, didn’t want to disrupt whatever was forming between them. But after everything? After the connection he felt building? He couldn’t keep this to himself.

“Listen,” Y/n began carefully, rubbing his palms against his jeans as if steadying himself. “I don’t want to kill the vibe we’ve got going, because… this? Right now? It’s good. But there’s something I need to tell you.”

Will blinked, confused but open, leaning forward just slightly. “I probably should’ve said something sooner,” Y/n admitted, voice softening, one of his eyes pinching close to a near wink but more like a guilty wince. “But we hadn’t really talked before, and if some random guy you barely know comes up to you and drops something insane on you, that’s not exactly ideal. So I figured… now might be the right time.”

He exhaled a long, shaky breath, eyes locked on Will’s. Will looked nervous but curious, like he wasn’t sure what was coming but he was ready to hear it. “Okay,” Will said quietly. “What is it?”

Y/n hesitated only for a second. “You remember everything with Vecna? Back before the world started literally splitting open?”

Will nodded slowly, worry creeping into his expression. “Yeah…” “He didn’t just show Nancy something,” Y/n said, voice dropping. “He showed me something too.”

Will’s breath caught in his lungs, the sound hanging in the stilled air. “Something I didn’t understand back then,” Y/n continued, swallowing hard. “But now? I think I’m starting to. At least… a little more.”

Will didn’t speak. He didn’t even breathe, not really. His eyes were locked onto Y/N’s, wide and glassy, like he was afraid blinking would change what he had just heard. Y/N swallowed, fingers twisting together in his lap. “Will… you basically commanded those things. Or scared them. Or—I don’t know. But they listened to you. They died because of you. At least, that’s what it looked like in the vision. Fuck maybe i should’ve started from the beginning.” he shook his head, unsure what to even say or how to go about it.

Silence stretched, thick and tight.

For a moment, Will looked like he might be sick. Then his expression shifted to something of fear, confusion, something like denial. But underneath it all, something stronger. Something he didn’t have a name for yet.

“That… that doesn’t make sense,” he whispered, but his voice wavered like he wasn’t fully convinced. “I don’t have powers. I don’t, I’m not like Eleven is.” “I know,” Y/N said gently. “But maybe it’s not powers or maybe it is i dont know. Maybe it’s something else. Something connected to what happened to you. There's no rulebook for any of this.”

Will stared down at the floor as if the cement would offer answers it didn’t have. “Why wouldn’t he show me that? Why would Vecna show you instead?”

“I’ve been asking myself the same thing.” Y/N leaned forward, elbows on his knees now. “But maybe… maybe he thought I wouldn’t understand it. Or maybe he wanted to scare me. Or maybe he wanted me to tell you exactly like this. None of any of it really makes sense. He just…does stuff, shows what he wants to who he wants when he wants. Maybe he doesn't actually have a proper system.”

Will let out a shaky laugh, one with no humor in it. “Great. So even my visions come through secondhand now.”

Y/N’s voice dropped, soft but steady. “I didn’t want to keep it from you. Promise. I just knew it would probably sound insane if I just came up and told you all that when I hadn't even told you to have a good morning before.”

Will finally looked up, eyes shining with something raw, emotions all tangled together. “And you think… what? That I'm one of them or supposed to help defeat them?”

“I don’t think you’re a monster.” Y/N said it fast, firm, cutting him off before the spiral finished forming. “Whatever I saw… you weren’t hurting anyone. You stopped the monsters. You ended it.”

Will blinked, startled. “Ended it?”

“Yeah.” Y/N’s voice softened. “Well ended them at least. Not sure how much further it goes from there but you looked… powerful. Like really powerful. Like you were choosing to save people.”

Will’s breath trembled out of him. And in the fragile quiet that followed, something settled between them, a spark of trust so sharp it felt like a promise.

“Thank you,” Will whispered, voice breaking just slightly. “For telling me. Even if it’s terrifying.”

Y/N gave a small, crooked smile. “Guess we both gotta get used to terrifying.” Will actually laughed at that. “And if this friendship is gonna continue, you also have to get used to robin teasing the shit out of you, out of us.”

And for the first time since the vision, since Vecna, since everything, he didn’t feel quite so alone.

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