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@spiritgone
❝ 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 , 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 ... ❞
˗ ˋ ☁ 𝑺𝑷𝑰𝑹𝑰𝑻𝑮𝑶𝑵𝑬 is a private , dependent roleplay account ; starring a myriad of muses as written by 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫 !!! do not interact with this blog , unless afflicted with the closed & private group !!! otherwise , you will be blocked ...
𝑹𝑶𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑩𝑬𝑳𝑶𝑾 :
neil laughed softly, head shaking in response to will's inquiry. “ no, i don't think so. i mean … he's a pretty great director. lot's of great movies were directed by him. i bet he'd love to direct a movie based off of this very …. strange occurence, ” he stated confidently. granted, he didn't know how they'd even get the opportunity to pitch the idea to the man himself. this was all just an enjoyable theoretical conversation. “ he would at least know what he's doing, ” neil agreed with a nod. “ then again, if we gave him too much information about what we've seen here, he'd either think we were nuts or we'd risk the whole … consequences for interfering with the future thing that the time travel can create if we reveal too much information. ” he knew he was geeking out a little bit, but he felt comfortable enough around will to do that in front of him. he'd never once felt judged by the other. “ is it a little bit like sweeping or something ? or is there a special technique to raking leaves ? ” he queried, eager to hear will explain it to him. he liked seeing the way his eyes lit up. he enjoyed observing his excitement. “ you know, i saw someone trying to teach a parent how to use a phone here. it seems like a stressful experience for both parties. ” he was glad he was younger and could at least pick up on how to use technology relatively quickly. he'd quickly become aware of all the tools and tutorials at his disposal on such a tiny device. “ oh, yeah … i know what you mean. i haven't tried it yet, but i've heard about it. it's so cool. right ? so much more fun than not being able to see a person's face. ” neil nodded at will's words, another smile tugging at his lips. “ yeah, i'm trying to learn, too. maybe we could try learning together ? ” he suggested, hoping will didn't think the idea was too weird.
will couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips. the idea of a movie about their experience seemed so silly. he knew his life wasn't boring ( far from it ). if he was the type to keep a journal , parts would sound more like fiction than fact. however , he lacked the ego to ever think himself interesting enough to be a movie character. he was far from a protagonist. rather , he was just some queer - coded side character that people often forgot about , at best. ❝ you really think so ? ❞ he asked , like he wasn't the one who pitched the idea. ❝ well ... he'd know what he's doing , but i sure as hell don't. ❞ he should probably be more concerned about telling his story ; like it needed to be trusted in the right hands. will wasn't sure he really cared. he was used to letting people merely believe what they wanted to believe. ❝ all good artists are nuts , ❞ he shrugged with a shy smile. even if the story was the truth , it would be best sold as science - fiction ; so maybe they could make crazy work for them. ❝ i'm not sure how much we can mess up the future ... i mean ... it's not like we can erase ourselves from existence , right ??? ❞ it was a theorical , hence his haphazard lack of concern. he was typically a worrier , understandably so , but will found himself playing into the theorical for once. it was harmless ... right ? ❝ oh , the technique is very special , ❞ he exaggerated with a smile. ❝ you'll need an expert to learn. good thing you got me. ❞ raking leaves was a chore , typically , but somehow the idea of doing it with neil was giving him butterflies. ( doing anything with neil gave will butterflies. ) ❝ and i don't need any more stress right now , thank you very much. ❞ his head bounced with a curt nod. ❝ oh , well , uh ... ❞ he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. ❝ maybe we can try it out sometime ? figure it out together ? facetiming , i mean ... ❞ he offered. ❝ and everything else too ! i mean ... so far i think i kinda - sorta started to figure out instagram by myself ... i learned how to find a bunch of artists and how to like stuff ... it's cool. i can show you. ❞
chloe didn't exactly know what to expect from the people in small towns, and she'd rather remain cautious than oblivious. plus, this wasn't just any average small town. neither of them knew how they'd gotten there in the first place. she kind of wanted to try and figure that out at some point. the not knowing was agonizing. “ unfortunately, we kind of do have to, ” she told gabi, a small pout forming on her features. they'd had a blissful period together, but it was to get out there and start searching for answers. she laughed softly at her girlfriend's words before humming in agreement. chloe shrugged, a low sigh passing through her lips. “ y'know, i don't really know. i guess we'll have to try and figure that out while we're out there. this place is kinda crazy. so i'm not really sure what to expect. though i can't imagine it's worse than having my lung punctured by my own pen, ” she stated in jest.
gabi listened , humming in thought at the other's words. she knew chloe was right. it just felt like a strange dream and they were just waiting to wake up. no , enough time has passed that it was obviously they weren't waking up back home in los angeles anytime soon. ❝ okay , fine , ❞ she relented. she'd brave this town , but only with her girlfriend by her side. she stared at chloe , a pout now forming on gabi's lips , in response to the apparent joke. ❝ don't jinx something like that , ❞ her tone bordering on a whine. their initial meeting was crazy ; she didn't think their lives could get crazier after that day , but here they were. ❝ let's just hope this place isn't nearly as dangerous as l.a. ❞ she reached out , grabbing the other's hand to give it a squeeze. she tried to smile with a half - hearted effort. ❝ the only highlight being the local news seems pretty boring , in comparison ... though that one reporter looks familiar ... ❞
though she didn't like to admit it, she did have the tendency to care about people's perceptions of her. “ i mean . . . i think we should kind of care a little bit, ” she stated, trying to reason with gabi. even if she wasn't the most neighborly person out there, she'd always made sure she at least knew her neighbors. “ we should introduce ourselves. what if we need something one day ? ” given the way they woke up there, she wouldn't be surprised if they did end up needing something. “ this is my first time in a small town. i'm not sure how to feel about it. ”
gabi crinkled her nose slightly. maybe they should care , a little bit , like chloe said ; but she thought they were in a strange enough situation that it shouldn't matter. ❝ do we have to ?? ❞ her tone like a playful whine. if her girlfriend cared , then she would try to care too. ❝ never know when we'll need an extra cup of sugar , i guess , ❞ she mused. getting familiar with their neighbors wasn't the worst idea , but she was getting used to their little bubble. ❝ i mean , same ! it's weird ... do you think everyone knows everyone ? is that really a thing ?? is it just as weird to them that we just ... showed up here ? ❞
eyes rolled dramatically as his brother insisted that he wasn't stalking him, as if that was high up on scott's list of concerns. he wasn't an idiot. he knew that if silas wanted to find him at any point, he most certainly possessed the skill set to do so. the unfortunate advantages of growing up in the family that they did. “ as if i spend any of my time thinking about you. ” that was a lie. he spent a great deal of it thinking about silas, but he'd never admit it. “ we're nothing alike. this is just a freak coincidence. ”
silas just barely stifled a laugh at his brother's reaction. he didn't put it past the other if as much was assumed ; he was vaguely certain he'd already been accused of such curing one of their brief interactions prior. ❝ you break my heart , scott. ❞ he dramatically grabbed at his own chest , hand covering his heart. he feigned pain , though his demeanor was anything but serious. ❝ nothing ? ❞ he arched a brow. ❝ maybe you're right. mom and dad raised us so completely different. ❞ the sarcasm obvious. ❝ how could anyone think we're related ? hardly even a family resemblance ... ❞
tristan knew he could've easily just walked the other way instead of engaging with eddie. it wasn't like it'd be all that strange. he didn't attend karaoke nights for him. “ her history ? ” tristan queried, squinting. what the hell was that supposed to mean ? who was this guy to be bringing up her history ? he didn't like it, but he maintained his composure. why would he visibly react ? he wouldn't give anyone that type of satisfaction. “ why are you so interested in my life and what i'm doing with taylor ? don't you have your own to worry about ? ”
❝ yeah , ❞ eddie said as arms crossed over his chest. he could usually be seen as the type to mind his business , but something made him want to stir this particular pot. ❝ i mean , you're a dead ringer for her ex. ❞ a smirk pulled on his lips. ❝ then she brings you around his entire friend group , not once , but twice ?? ❞ his brow furrowed , as if considering the conundrum. the whole situation was messy , and maybe eddie should keep his mouth shut especially since buck didn't actually remember dating taylor. ❝ i just find it fascinating is all , ❞ he shrugged. ❝ and why would i turn down free entertainment ? ❞
buck knew that a few people would be absolutely certain he was crazy. not everyone would feel the same way that he did about the town. most people were comfortable with their lives from what he'd seen, and something like this would disrupt the flow of everything. people didn't want their lives to drastically change over night. unfortunately, buck couldn't control the fact that his did. meeting eddie and maddie changed everything for him. he still hadn't gotten any answers, but buck was resilient. he would not give up. “ well, i'm glad it makes sense to someone, ” he said with a laugh. he knew sometimes his rambling was a little difficult to follow along with. “ come on, man . . . it definitely wasn't necessary to add it on, ” he told him, chuckling. buck huffed, head shaking in protest. “ except that there's nothing there, ” he insisted. “ he's straight. ” buck wondered how many times he'd said that to people in recent weeks. the male took a deep breath, cheeks puffing out as he exhaled. great. now was the part where he really sounded like a lunatic. “ well .. ” he began, averting his gaze for a moment. “ i um . . . i don't think we're . .. from here. and, before you ask . . . no, i don't think we're aliens, jake. i just think . . . this town isn't as normal as it seems. ”
❝ have there been people saying that it doesn't make sense ?? ❞ jake furrowed his brow some. the idea , thus far , didn't sound all that unusual. maybe there was something he wasn't hearing or understanding ; or maybe jake was just on the same wavelength as his friend. ❝ listen , i don't need you running to ames that i ever thought of her like a sister. you don't need that ammo ! ❞ he chuckled along with his friend , shoulders shrugged. ❝ nothing ? ❞ a smirk curled on his lips as buck seemed to insist there was nothing going on with this coworker of his. ❝ isn't it like an essential experience to have a crush on a straight guy at some point or another ? plus , who is even straight anymore ... so old school , ❞ he joked. he didn't know this eddie guy , so he couldn't actually comment on the other side. he just saw the opportunity to tease a friend. jake's head fell to one side at the other's words. okay , this idea was a bit more strange. ❝ if we're not aliens ... ❞ which , yes , wouldn't been his follow up question , if only in jest. ❝ then what's up ? terret's is , well , pretty boring ... ❞ his head swayed from side - to - side. ❝ cover's do like to be boring , to avoid suspicion ... but i'm still not sure i know what you're trying to say ... ❞
↷ ˚ ☾ ･ closed starter ; @spiritgone ↷ ˚ ☾ ･ chloe & gabi.
“ okay, so . . . i know this place is really weird and all, but if we don't go out and do something . . . i'm pretty sure our neighbors are going to think we're freaks or something. we should probably do at least a little exploring. plus, we can't keep just ordering food. what do you say about going out and at least getting some groceries so we can cook a proper meal, hmm ? ”
gabi hummed as she listened to her girlfriend. ❝ do we really care what the neighbors think ? maybe we're just home - bodies ! introverts ! ❞ she pouted her bottom lip. was she going a little stir crazy ? maybe , but she was still adjusting to whatever the hell this place was. ❝ but ... i guess i haven't taken advantage of the fresher air ... ❞ she was so used to big cities ; she wasn't quite sure how to live in a small town.
neil chuckled at the joke, head shaking in amusement. he knew science fiction and theories like time travel sold pretty well, so it wasn't like they couldn't make a killing off of their experiences, but he was quite certain it'd be a little bizarre if they truly did write about it and saw their very real lives played out as entertainment for an unsuspecting audience. “ yeah ? ” he queried, deciding to humor him. “ who do you think would be the best director for that cinematic masterpiece ? ” the eighties had a lot of great directors, it was difficult to narrow down that list. “ it is a lot … but i think we're doing a pretty good job of handling it, ” neil told him, smiling softly. at least, as great of a job as they could given the insane circumstances. it wasn't like this was a normal experience. he chose to force himself to think of other things, knowing that investing too many of his thoughts into what was going on was not going to do him any justice. if will wanted to talk about leaves as a distraction, that was just fine by him. he listened, genuinely interested in hearing what the other had to say. “ well i'm sure that won't be a problem. i think with two of us working to build it, a big enough leaf pile will be pretty easy to make. ” he laughed again, head canting slightly. “ well, i'm sure it's at least a little better than having to teach her how to keep up with all of it … right ? ” he imagined that would be more tiring. “ okay, yeah, great, ” he replied awkwardly. how was he so bad at this ? it was horribly embarrassing for him. he hoped will didn't think he was some kind of freak. he smiled at will's words, nodding along. “ well, these things are a lot better. no static or anything, ” he said, holding up his phone. “ and you can do so much with the one device. it's still so weird to me. ”
will didn't hide his growing smile. he didn't expect to be humored , so he hadn't put much further thought into the idea. ❝ i-i don't know. ❞ an awkward laugh escaped his lips. his rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to think. ❝ is steven spielberg too obvious ? ❞ the obvious first person to come to mind. ❝ maybe the guy who did back to the future ? ❞ another time travel movie , he thought. that director would have some useful experience , at least. he nodded his head. ❝ yeah. all things considered , we're handling it pretty well , ❞ he agreed. sure , will felt on the verge of spiraling some days , but this wasn't the worst thing that happened to him. he could get through this , too. at the very least , he had people going through it with him. together , they'd find out what was on the other side of all this. ❝ of course. team work ! ❞ the topic so low impact , almost mindless conversation. it was nice , though. welcome distraction from their situation. plus , maybe it was something to look forward to. ❝ but if you've never jumped in a leaf pile before , then you probably need to learn how to rake leaves too ... there's a lot i may need to teach you. ❞ was this flirting ? will didn't know how to flirt , or if he was being flirted with. he didn't even know if he was trying. ❝ right , yeah ... that's true , that's true ... ❞ he agreed. he wasn't sure he minded helping his mother with things like technology , but surely he'd struggle if he had to teach and learn at the same time in this modern age. he nodded once more , trying not to overthink texting his crush. no big deal. ❝ so much better ! and you can even , like , see them when you call sometimes. um ... facetime ? ❞ his nose crinkled with uncertainty. he was still learning. ❝ i'm still figuring out all those things can do ... so many ... applications ... ❞
“ to each their own, ” buck agreed, nodding. he wasn't the type to yuck someone's yum in most scenarios. he didn't have anything against new york, it just wasn't the city he saw himself in, and he thought that was perfectly fine. he felt comfortable unloading on jake, because the guy never once made buck feel like he was being judged. he listened, and he gave the best advice that he could. buck was appreciative of that. he blinked at the other's query before giving him a slight nod of the head. “ yeah, actually. i guess it was sort of something like that, ” he told him. it was like they weren't truly meeting for the first time, and he'd yet to figure out why that was the case. “ maybe it was a mix of deja vu and fate. does that make sense ? ” buck's nose scrunched slightly as he fixed jake with a perplexed expression. “ dude … i don't think you needed to clarify that. it'd be a little weird if she felt like a sister and you still married her, ” he stated, baffled. he scoffed, cheeks suddenly feeling quite heated. “ i am not in love with eddie, ” he insisted, though he wasn't sure how convincing his tone was. “ okay, great, ” he said, clapping his hands together. “ i'll make sure you're home for dinner. promise. ”
jake bit his cheek , trying to decide how to proceed. buck's situation sounded interesting , but if he thought about it , it didn't sound completely foreign. he thought a lot of cheesy things , but he thought it was because he watched a lot of rom - coms and listened to taylor swift. buck wasn't exactly that type , per se. he was clearly ... panicking ? something was off , and jake's natural detective skills wanted to help find some answers. ❝ yeah , no , yeah ... makes total sense , ❞ he assured. a loose laugh escaped his lips. ❝ i still felt the need to clarify , okay ? ❞ he raised a brow at his friend's reaction and insistence. ❝ i'm not judging , dude , ❞ he raised his hands , as if innocent. he wasn't trying to make it a big deal. ❝ plenty of people find love at work. totally normal. way better than the apps , i'm sure. ❞ if anything , it was quite the love story. cute , if told right. who wouldn't love two firefighters in love ? it'd sell better than two cops. ❝ perfect. now dish. ❞ his posture shifted , more serious , bordering professional. ❝ what's the conspiracy ? what we thinking ? better not the earth is flat. i think katy perry's space mission already disproved that one ... ❞
he didn't have a reason to dislike the guy, but he also didn't have a reason to like him, either. tristan felt nothing but indifference towards eddie, and he didn't doubt the firefighter felt the same way towards him. “ so what if we are ? you got a problem with that ? ” tristan asked, head canting slightly. he didn't see an issue with it, but he wasn't entirely aware of taylor's history with the people from karaoke night. “ my deal ? ” he asked, arms folding across his chest. “ i don't know what you're talking about. ”
eddie should be indifferent , but something just robbed him wrong about the guy. maybe it was just his poor history with doppelgangers of his loved ones. ❝ hm , no. just find it interesting , ❞ he admitted with a shrug. ❝ given her ... history. ❞ eddie had no reason to care who taylor kelly was hanging around with ; but given she was buck's ex and she was now hanging around his near clone ? the whole thing was weird. ❝ yeah , your deal. taylor dragging you around or ... ? you curious about first responders karaoke choices ? ❞
↷ ˚ ☾ ･ closed starter ; @spiritgone ↷ ˚ ☾ ･ scott & silas
“ what do you want, silas ? ” he asked, not bothering with putting any effort into concealing his levels of annoyance. an exaggerated sigh passed through scott's lips as he adjusted in his seat. “ first, we couldn't get you to stay. now, it's like you'red always around. what's with that ? ”
silas exhaled a breathy laugh. ❝ i'm not stalking you , if that's your fear , ❞ he assured. he wasn't consciously following his brother around. rather , the town was small , and the brothers were more alike than they'd care to admit ; thus , they seemed to find themselves at the same place at the same time. ❝ great minds think alike , i guess. ❞
↷ ˚ ☾ ･ closed starter ; @spiritgone ↷ ˚ ☾ ･ tristan & eddie.
“ you, ” tristan stated, not really officially greeting the guy. “ you're one of those people that taylor knows. ” he wasn't asking, he was making a statement. he still didn't know how he felt about any of the people he'd briefly met when attending karaoke. “ what do you want ? are you looking for your boyfriend or something ? ”
eddie blinked at the lack of greeting before eying the guy from head - to - toe. ❝ yeah , i know taylor ... and you two seem well acquainted , last i saw ... ❞ this dude may look near identical to his best friend ( down to the birthmark ) , but he couldn't be more different than buck. even the way he held himself was just off. ❝ no , ❞ he scoffed at the questions , eyes rolling. ❝ just wondering what your deal is. ❞
for the most part, buck had been content with his life in terret's cove. he'd had miniscule doubts here and there, but nothing to the degree he'd had lately. it wasn't until he met eddie and maddie that those questions truly began to get more challenging to disregard. they were always there in his mind, like mosquito bites just begging to be itched for a few blissful seconds of relief. “ yeah, los angeles, ” he reaffirmed, nodding as he spoke. he didn't miss the way jake seemed somewhat put off by the idea, but he chose to ignore it. certain places weren't for everyone, and he accepted that. of course he'd follow up with that query. why wouldn't he ? it was the most logical next step. “ i . . . well . . . my coworker, eddie . . . i met him and it was like . . . ” buck began, brows furrowing as he tried to form a coherent sentence. “ it was like the stars and planets aligned or something, jake. he made sense to me. then, i met this girl maddie . . . and it was a similar feeling. only . . . with her, it's like she's the sister i never had. i can't even begin to explain it, ” he rambled, hands gesturing wildly as he spoke. “ uh . .. yeah. kind of. i definitely think there's something going on. you got the time to hear me out ? ”
❝ to each their own , ❞ jake mumbled under his breath. if he squinted , he could maybe see his friend in the glamour of los angeles. then again , he never tried to imagine himself or his friends anywhere else besides terret's cove ; like the idea never occurred to him until now. strange. he listened to buck , nodding and humming in acknowledgement the entire time. arms folded over his chest as he fought any urge to interrupt or ask for clarification. the concept wasn't making complete sense , sure , but this wasn't the first weird occurrence he'd try to solve. ❝ was there ever this , like , sense of deja vu ??? ❞ he finally asked when there was a momentarily lull. ❝ or maybe like it was fate or something ? i mean , i sorta feel that way with amy a bunch ... ❞ he admitted. ❝ the stars aligning , not the sister thing. gross. but you may be in love with your coworker , by the way , ❞ he quickly added like a passing comment , not lingering on the latter idea too long. ❝ if you think something's up , yeah dude ! mac's at daycare , and amy's picking him up anyways ... and according to her binder , i'm not likely to miss any major milestones this week. ❞
he tried to make the best of a rather unfortunate situation. at least he had friends there. it was better than california and being in a home devoid of any love. “ exactly, ” neil readily agreed, hand gesturing out towards will as he nodded. “ i bet it'd be a movie a lot of people would love to go and see, ” he stated, laughing lightly. living it, however ? it was not so pleasant. he couldn't believe what his life had become in a few short months. “ i guess you're right. i'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around all of it, ” he admitted, brows furrowing slightly. “ like . . . i know i'm stuck here and stuff, but i still don't get how it happened in the first place. i doubt we're ever going to get answers. ” he was just grateful for the fact that he was picking up on how to use the advanced technology, even if it still left him dumfounded most of the time. time travel was something he believed to be impossible until he woke up in terret's cove. he couldn't help but wonder if there was anything out there that was truly impossible. he laughed at will's words, a hand moving to run through his hair. “ i always did wonder what it was like to do that. i bet it's pretty fun. ” he noticed the newfound tint to will's cheeks, but he chose to keep that to himself. “ oh, yeah, definitely. it'd be super weird. we're supposed to be teaching them how to use technology … not the othe way around, ” he mentioned with a laugh. “ you can always text me too, ” he stated, perhaps a little more eagerly than intended. he liked will, he just couldn't help himself. “ walkie talkies ? oh . . . wow. i haven't used one of those in so long. i can't remember the last time i did, actually. these cell phones are definitely a lot easier. ”
❝ maybe we should work on the script , ❞ will playfully suggested. he was certain his life story would make for some solid entertainment for anyone who wasn't living it ; he just wished he knew how it ended. ❝ y'know , and then pitch it when we get back maybe , ❞ he laughed before it faded off. he didn't know when they'd get home , if they'd get home ... or what going back really meant. would he be back in indiana while neil returned to california ? would he be thrust back into the vecna fiasco ? would they even remember all this ? suddenly , he wasn't so sure what was his ideal scenario. ❝ yeah , me too , ❞ he nodded , trying to get out of his own head but failing. ❝ it's a lot , i know. ❞ will didn't have any answers. he wanted to give neil something , but he had nothing. it's not like he could easily draw parallels to his experiences in hawkins. he perked up slightly , the subject matter more light. ❝ oh , it's a real satisfying crunch if you land just right. we'd probably need a bigger pile than when i was a kid but ... ❞ he actually couldn't remember the last time he jumped into a leaf pile ; yet he was suddenly fantasizing doing so , holding hands with neil and just ... will shook his head. stupid. ❝ kinda embarrassing to have your mother ahead of the curve. ❞ his lips curved with a shy smile. ❝ oh ? me text you ? of course. yeah. i can ... i can do that. yeah. ❞ the pink hue painting his features even more obvious now. ❝ oh , yeah. me neither. it's been like ... forty years ? ❞ a bad attempt at a joke , but he hoped his nervous smile helped to sell it anyways.
even if he wasn't out there verbally acknowledging the bizarre nature of the town, he was almost always thinking about it. one day he was in california, comfortably living his life in the eighties and thinking about what he wanted for his future. the next, he woke up in a bed he hadn't been in before and in a state he'd never been to. how did he get from california all the way to maine in a mere eight - ish hours ? he didn't understand. if he tried thinking about it too much, it became overwhelming. hence, his decision to bury those thoughts. he did whatever he could to drown them out and try to get adjusted to his new normal. “ it is kind of crazy, ” he agreed, nodding. “ i never expected anything like this to ever be a possibility. ” he thought it was all rather impressive, but it was definitely not easy to adjust to. he was realistic, he didn't see an escape from the town in sight, so he tried to find little things to look forward to. “ i think it'll be so much different than autumn in california. ” he'd missed it last time, but he was sure he'd see it this time around. neil smiled fondly as he listened to will speak, nodding along to his words. he figured will's mother was in town, and he was happy for him. he didn't know what it was like to have a mother to be close to, but he wasn't envious of that. “ i think it's sweet that she worries. y'know ? and it's pretty cool that she learned how to text. i learned that, too. it's still pretty … weird, but it's a nice way to be able to communicate with people. ”
all things considered , terret's cove may not have been the strangest place will had woken up. that easily went to the upside down. at least he didn't have monsters chasing after him currently. still , this was a new sort of torture ; to have his closest friends within his reach but had no memories of him , wanted nothing to do with him. ❝ like something out of a movie ... ❞ a gentle laugh escaped. while will preferred fantasy , he was no stranger to science fiction. the modern era wasn't exactly like the future envisioned during his childhood , but it was fascinating nonetheless. ❝ maybe we shouldn't be so surprised by much , given we're victims to traveling across time and space. ❞ will thought himself a quick study , adjusting fairly fast. he was no tech wiz , as much as he wished he could be , but he was learning how to blend in best he could. still , he stuck out. he stuck out in the eighties , he stuck out now. once a freak , always a freak. ❝ oh , yeah. just wait until you see the leaves change colors. i'll even teach you how to jump into a leaf pile. ❞ he smiled. it might've sounded childish , wanting to play in the leaves , but will grew up too fast anyways. he should be allowed to be a little kid from time to time. ❝ sweet. yeah , ❞ he nodded as a slight blush painted his cheeks. he knew he shouldn't be embarrassed of having such an attentive mother. he'd never take her for granted. he was lucky , extremely so. ❝ i learned how to text too. obviously. it'd be weird if my mom learned , and i didn't. but ya know ! you can always text me. if you want. ❞ he blinked , his face heating up even more. why was he like this ? ❝ anyways , uh ... it's nice. super quick and easy. way better than , like , walkie talkies. ❞
“ oh, definitely, ” he quickly agreed. “ i mean . . . this whole town in itself as a new experience for both of us, ” neil mentioned, glancing around at their surroundings before refocusing his attention on will. will and el were the only people he'd known there, and he had quickly realized that el had no idea who he was. so, really, he only knew will. he was glad he wasn't alone. at least there was someone there who knew him, who understood how overwhelming all of this truly was. the weather was genuinely the least of his concerns. he could adapt to that relatively easily. it was everything else he was uncertain about. “ yeah. the whole … advanced technology thing is pretty complicated, ” neil stated, shaking his head. “ it is cool … but not as cool as some of the people there make it out to be, ” he told will, offering him a slight smile. “ i'm excited to see what this place looks like in the fall. i bet it's pretty neat. ” he listened fondly as will spoke, the smile never quite leaving his lips. “ your mom seems like she's pretty great. ” he wasn't going to sour the mood by bringing up his absent parents.
❝ yeah , ❞ will breathed out the word as a hesitant smile grew. terret's cove , to an outsider , probably seemed like almost any other small town in america. however , it clearly held some sort of secret given the occurrence of people just appearing ; some apparently forgetting their entire lives in lieu of believing they have lived a whole other life here in town. his very own adopted sister being one of the latter , painfully so. will had the luxury of other loved ones , ones who remembered , which he was fairly certain neil did not. strange , to be the sole friend to the same boy he had an embarrassing crush on in high school. ( will was far from complaining , even if the whole thing made his chest hurt. ) ❝ the technology is crazy ... the internet ? you can just look up anything now. don't even need the library anymore. ❞ complicated didn't even begin to cover it. he was still adjusting , trying to comprehend how much was at his finger tips. ❝ no , right. right. ❞ he nodded along , simply agreeing. ❝ the fall , yeah ... ❞ he hummed , as if realizing how much longer they could be here. they likely would see the autumn , all the seasons. no way home in sight. he didn't linger on the idea. ❝ she's great. she's here. i , uh ... ❞ was that obvious ? was that weird that his mother was here ? ❝ obviously , i'm an adult. i don't live with her , anymore , but , uh , she has learned how to text. as have i. so she still , uh , worries. ❞
