. * & andrew ♡

^{—@byersbcy​ ♡   didn’t ask for a thing but we watched thirteen ghosts and love to suffer !!}

  ^{HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN since he felt someone else’s presence, heard a voice — or, rather, more than one ? loneliness is not uncommon, a dear old friend he’s held hands with since the front door slammed for the final time  (  they were gone !  )  and he was left standing in the middle of an empty living room kicking at dust & crumpled trash with the toe of a captain america sock. how long ?  and he hasn’t been able to LEAVE, either  (  an endless time loop. run out one door, walk through the other  ) .  crying the first few times was inevitable.}

  ^{now there has been a change in his routine, which brings butterfly flutters of excitement with it  ;  a new family. small, kind, one of the boys seeming around his age —— andrew wonders if, under better circumstances, they would have been friends. she never would have allowed it, but he’s had a lot of time to conjure up different scenarios on how it could have been. even when he was ALIVE.}

^{he quickly learns his name is jonathan.}

  ^{since they moved in, he’s kept his distance — there is something FRAGILE about them — but tonight is subject to change. there is a desperation & an aching for something more in pacing footfalls in the laundry room, running chilled palms over clean clothes neatly piled on top of a rumbling washer pondering all the possible things to say to them.  ‘ hello ! ’  , maybe ?  no, no, that’s dumb. death may have bound him here but they didn’t INVITE him.  a selfish thought  (  ‘ I was here first ! ’  )  quickly passes by.}

  ^{instead the apparition of a golden-haired boy passes, inconspicuous, into the room where a stereo softly plays one of the mixtapes mentioned before — things he’s never heard to until now and thoroughly enjoys. in fact, andrew would have settled on simply lurking in here to listen, but his plan is foiled when he accidentally ruffles a box and, in his effort to catch it, sends its contents spilling across the floor.}

^{Hawkins, Indiana. Remote. Quiet. Calm. Nothing ever happens here! The police chief was quick to reassure them about Hawkins every time Jonathan asked when they were welcomed into the new little city. His mom looked tired, as usual, but she was definitely eager to here Jim Hopper’s answers. And Will was just… being Will, as excited as any kid would be. Jonathan hates that he’s made them move for the fourth time in two years, which is why he did long, hard research on this new place. He wants it to be the One. He wants to stop seeing Them.}

^{He still doesn’t know, for sure, if his mom believes in his gifts. She’s never outright said she did. When he’s near them and he starts seizing, she’s too busy screaming and crying on the phone to worry about the looming threat of the ones no one else can see. Afterwards, when he’s resting in bed, Will will come into his room with nervous pitter patters of his feet and sit on the edge of his bed, ready to be indulged with yet another wild story of the things he saw flashing behind his eyes that time. His mom never really liked that, but it’s like she’s too scared to say anything about it, scared that Jonathan will just up and break at being told he did something wrong.}

^{The house was small and in the woods, the perfect place for someone like Jonathan to be. There’s always the ghosts that were murdered way out there, of course, but he was praying to WHOEVER that he could just have peace for once.}

^{The first couple days were practically heaven; beautifully SILENT. So, for the first time in a while, he decides to relax. Mom hadn’t been easy to convince, for obvious reasons, but Will was on his side about it. He’d pulled that cute pouty face of his and she’d reluctantly gave in to taking him to the park. Jonathan figured it was safe enough for Will to try and make some friends.} 

^{With eyes closed, arms folded behind his head, he tapped his foot along to The Clash, pretty melodies bouncing off the walls of his room. Boxes and bags were strewn across the floor, which is why he took safety upon his freshly made bed. Everything was going fine until he felt that all too familiar heaviness fall over him, but his mind forced himself to ignore it and remain calm. It’s nothing. You’re safe.} 

^{But, of course, the universe just had to prove him wrong, because next thing he knew, he was jerking upwards into a sitting position, chest heaving and eyes glued to the box that was suddenly tipped over. It was just a box of his clothes and a few hats, but he knew better.} 

^{With wide eyes, Jonathan rose from the bed, but when he stood up straight his head started pounding and he made a strangled noise, fingers now digging into his temples. He made another pained noise as he doubled over, managing to stay upright, as quick flashes took over his vision.}

^{( THE SUN. No, no, HAIR. BLOND HAIR. red, pain, BLOOD. Loud voices, screaming, too angry —
                                                                                                                Then silence all at once. )}

^{He came back to himself confused and actually panting, eyes filled with tears that he wouldn’t let fall. Everything went too fast, just as it always did. He could hear his heartbeat in his head and now he was confused as all hell. He fell back onto the bed, forcing himself to stay sitting up, as he finally lifted his head to take a look around the room. It was still empty… to the eye.}

                 ^{❝ — I know you’re there. Just… are you going to hurt me? That’s all I want to know. ❞}