^{☆ ⁞ little will.}

JONATHAN BYERS.

HE BARELY SLEEPS AT NIGHT. ^{it’s always that place. THE UPSIDE DOWN. the DARKNESS and the STENCH OF DECAY. the urge to RUN & HIDE. they’re just BAD DREAMS . bad dreams that make him wake up FREEZING COLD & COVERED IN SWEAT, and an ache at the pit of his stomach. HE KNOWS THEY’RE ONLY IN HIS HEAD,  and that he shouldn’t be afraid of them, and he doesn’t want to be  ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶  but he is. ESPECIALLY NOW. when he’s started SEEING when he’s awake.} 

^{IT’S EVERYWHERE HE TURNS. the DARKNESS, and it’s coming for him. that smell. sometimes he fears he’s going to WAKE UP back in that place … and he feels like telling someone. but  DAD said BOYS DON’T CRY. he has to be STRONG. he doesn’t want to WORRY anyone more than they have to … his VANISHING caused enough of that … he has to endure.  there are DARK CIRCLES under his eyes, he’s got a STOMACH-ACHE but still.  HE PUTS ON A SMILE when his BROTHER asks him if he’s alright.}

                                                ❝  ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶   yeah,  i’m fine. ❞

^{@byersbcy gets a starter !}

^{he would be lying if he said he expected everything to go right back to NORMAL after they got Will back. everyone went through so much, Jonathan knew that, but it still hurt that things weren’t okay. everyone could lie to themselves if they wanted, but Jonathan could see everyone was going to be SCARRED for a long time ( himself included ).} 

^{Nancy called him sometimes to talk about her nightmares and when he allowed that wall to  c r u m b l e  down he’d see sharp teeth and BLOOD and sometimes he swore he could still feel it’s SLIMY body on top of him, oozing gross GOOP onto his skin.} he’d thought he was going to be a goner for sure.

^{but when it came to PTSD, Will’s was the only one that mattered to him. Jonathan was fine, what he went through was a}  walk in the park ^{compared to what Will suffered.. and it BROKE HIS HEART more and more every time he saw how much it was getting to him. he knew his little brother tried to hide it, but he couldn’t quite catch everything before Jonathan got a glimpse. and what could he do ? how could he protect Will from something he couldn’t see ?}

^{the perfectly constructed FAKE smile he gets in reply to his concern makes Jonathan’s stomach twist. he ignores how it feels as if his insides are being squeezed harder and harder and gives Will a look.}

                                    ^{❝ are- are you sure — ‘cause it’s okay if you’re not. ❞}