#rationalwristrocket

starter for @rationalwristrocket​ 

“Uh, I’m sorry to uh, bother you...”

Kaden spoke quietly, but even so his southern drawl bled through like a sharpie on white paper. He glanced up and down the hallway, and he wasn’t ignorant to the stares. He figured it was new kid treatment, and besides-- he was rather tall. He tended to give off an intimidating vibe, though he couldn’t imagine why. All the same, he had no idea where Mr. Clarke’s science class would be, so...

       ❝ oh ! ❞ a bashful smile crosses her lips. she’s still not used to will’s friends being able to joke with her, but go through HELL a couple of times together, and that’s the inevitable result. ❝ anytime, lucas, i mean it. i like having you here. and it does wonders for will. ❞

☀ 

Kaden honestly can’t tell-- is his heart breaking or mending? What Lucas just said sounded mostly like a no, but... There was a hint of yes in there, wasn’t there?

The taller boy glances around, makes sure that they’re alone, before he steps closer to his friend. He takes Lucas’s hands in his own, soft meeting rough, and his grip is gentle but strong. He catches Lucas’s gaze and speaks quietly, brow furrowed, hurt and concern lingering in his eyes.

"It was nothing...", Joyce mumbled as she shook her head and leaned forward to examine the kid's bruise. "Come here." Her voice was now firm, almost demanding, as she tilted Lucas's head to see his eye. It was purple and swollen, but it wasn't the bruise or the cut on his lip what worried her the most. It wasn't Will this time, or Jonathan, but she knew very well that that kind of injuries were hardly the product of just a casual disagreement between neighborhood boys. She carefully dabbed the warm stiff flesh around his eye with the back of her fingers before letting go and crouching in front of the boy looking at him directly.

"So. Are you going to tell me what happened?"

small hands close to being buried in his dad’s huge ones as they stumble-run through the eerily quiet street ( a misconception. they’re almost here. they will find us. we have to hide! ) “dad!”, breathless gasp as he almost trips over his own feet ( weak -- so weak these days, as life seeps out of blue veins and into nothingness. you don’t know what to do about it, just know it’s almost over, almost there. just another day, and you will know. but the last snippet is missing -- the last piece of natural knowledge that just won’t come to him. i don’t belong here. but where? oh, but where? and how do i get there? ) 

@rationalwristrocket

i want all the threads with you my dear/accepting! 

☀ 

Kaden had honestly thought he would be alone here. Ever since Lucas had shown him to Murkwood, he had enjoyed the quiet of the woods, and the sense of isolation and peace he could gain there. It was where he had gone after a night plagued with bad dreams of his father, and it was where he went now, after being jumped by a group of school bullies.

Kaden would have easily been able to take down one of them, even two or three of them– but a boy named Troy had gotten together a group of six, and once they got Kaden’s arms behind his back, they had pummeled him. Apparently it was his welcome to Hawkins, and a warning against hanging out with Losers. 

Kaden had never wanted to go back and beat a group of kids up more. He was fuming, hands clenching and relaxing as he sat under a tree. He had never been this angry before, never so vengeful. He couldn’t have cared less about the blood still streaming down his face from his throbbing temple and nose. He cared about what those boys had been saying about his friends. Especially Lucas.

He jerked his head up at the sound of a voice, and Lucas was there. Kaden’s heart immediately jumped into his throat– he didn’t want Lucas seeing him like this, covered in blood and basically just a wreck. He scrambled to his feet, only to sway unsteadily and put a hand against a tree to support himself.

@rationalwristrocket

oh shit our muses are being cute!/accepting! 

☀ 

Kaden had never snuck out before, and he felt the strangest exhilaration as he opened his window and slipped out. The tree by the house was perfect for climbing, and Kaden easily shimmied down it until his feet landed on damp grass. It was sprinkling, misting really, but he was glad he had brought his rain coat. He pulled up his hood, adjusted his backpack on his shoulders, and hurried to get his bike out of the driveway.

Riding in the dark in Hawkins, with rain clouds obscuring the stars and the moon– it was kind of scary, but he didn’t let it bother him. He was still riding the high that came with breaking rules, something he had never done before.

It was only a little while later that he ended up on a street that Lucas and the others called Murkwood– it was a reference to some series of movies that Lucas swore they would marathon one night. He spotted his friend off in the trees and a grin immediately came over his face, as his heart picked up a beat or two. Only Lucas inspired this kind of reaction in him. 

Kaden pulled off to the side of the road and put his kickstand up, before jogging over to join Lucas under the still bare trees.