The Missing Moments of TLYD

AN: Hi all! I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for the feedback on the first Missing Moment and for the kudos, favourites and follows. You are all amazing and I feel very lucky! :-)

Our next prompt was requested by JakeyFryMason011 and asdfghjkl who wanted Will and Jen moments.

I must say that throughout TLYD I really fell in love with Will and Jen's relationship, and that's why you're getting a nice lengthy chapter on them. So enjoy!

Warning: There is a mention of some homophobic language from the douche bag that is Troy.

P.S. Just to note that for this story I have decided that Jennifer Hayes in Season 1 and the girl who asked Will to dance in Season 2 are the same person!

Missing Moments 2: Will and Jen's Story

Jennifer Hayes loved Will Byers before labels. Before there was 'nerd' and 'popular girl' and long before there was 'zombie boy'. In fact, it all started in a sand box aged five.

Her mom had gone to get her an ice cream cone whilst she sat glumly in the brittle orange sand. It had been two weeks since her dad had passed away. She was too young to understand cancer, but she was old enough to understand grief.

Her mom was trying to make things normal for her and Jen tried to smile in return, but the moment Kathy Hayes walked to the ice cream truck, tears welled up in Jen's light blue eyes and fell down her pink cheeks.

She sniffled and ran her small hands over the crusty sand wishing she could sink straight into it and never come out again. Life without her dad, her hero and best friend just didn't make any sense. If he had become an angel like her mom told her, then why hadn't he visited? He had wings, right?

"Are you okay?" came a soft voice that made Jen lift her tear stained face.

Her eyes widened slightly as she took in the young boy in front of her holding a Tonka truck. A boy had never spoken to her before. In fact, she was pretty sure that they were gross, but this one was different. He had kind green eyes and cute brown hair that was cute like a bowl and made Jen want to touch it.

She sighed and shook her head resolutely, "no I'm sad. My daddy is gone."

"Oh," The boy said frowning slightly, his foot moving into the box and fidgeting slightly as he brushed his sneaker against the brittle sand. "My daddy is gone too."

Jen gasped, her eyes wide. "In heaven too?!"

The boy shrugged and sat down in the sand, "no, just gone."

They were quiet for a moment as the boy took his truck and pushed it across the grit whilst Jen watched, captivated by the bright plastic toy.

"That's really cool." Jen mumbled in awe. "My daddy used to drive trucks. Big fire trucks!" She said unable to hide her pride, her back straighter as she puffed out her chest and punched the air. "He was a super hero!"

"Like the X-Men?!" The boy gasped in amazement, his hand halting the process of the Tonka truck across the sand.

"I guess," Jen shrugged before reality hit once more. "But he's gone now…" She sniffed and looked back down at the truck whilst tears of grief spilled down her face.

The boy watched her for a while and then smiled softly, his youthful face sympathetic. He reached over and patted her hand which was half sunk in the sand. "It's going to be okay."

Jen's head was down, and she sniffled as her eyes moved from where their hands were touching before she slowly lifted her gaze to the boy. And the look in his eyes, those pretty green eyes, made her think that maybe things would be okay.

She looked back at their hands and smiled softly, "don't you think I have cooties?"

The boy giggled and shook his head with a grin, "my brother says they don't exist."

Jen was immediately thrilled at the thought that cooties weren't real, and she wouldn't catch them from their hands touching. "Well I think you're too pretty to have cooties anyway…" Jen whispered with a shy smile.

The boy chuckled and shook his head, "ew! Boys aren't pretty."

He moved his hand and continued to play with the truck, explaining that it was a present for his birthday before letting Jen have a go. She wiped at her tears clumsily and smiled through watery eyes as she drove the truck around the sand, not realising that her mom and Joyce Byers were watching the interaction with warm smiles.

"Beep, beep!" Jen said dramatically as she made the truck move over the grit and used her hands to throw sand into the back of the skip.

"You're really good at that." The boy said with a happy smile as he watched her play. Jen looked up and beamed at him, feeling strangely exhilarated at his compliment. Maybe boys weren't made of slugs, snails and puppy-dog tails.

But before Jen could respond and thank the pretty boy, his mom called "sweetie! We've got to go!"

Jen felt oddly disappointed and looks down sadly at the truck, having enjoyed the presence of this boy and his cool Tonka Truck.

"You can keep it if you want." The boys said with a bashful smile.

Jen immediately gasped, looking between the truck and the boy in disbelief. "Really?! But it's your truck! How will you pick up things and drive them around?"

The boy shrugged and gave her a warm smile that started the flutter of something in her heart. "It makes you happy. I want you to have it."

"Thank you." Jen smiled brightly before looking down at the sand and blushing. "You're the sweetest boy I've ever met." She ignored the fact that he was the only boy she had ever met.

The boy giggled and stood up from the sand with a shy grin. "That's cool…um you are quite nice too. When you're not crying and sad."

Jen smiled feeling all light and fluffy. The boy was about to leave when she remembered something important and shouted to him, "what's your name?!"

The boy turned to her, the green eyes making her feel funny. "William Byers. What's yours?"

And just naming the boy made Jen's little heart swoon. "Jennifer Hayes." She replied with a grin. "Maybe see you soon William?"

He chuckled, "everyone calls me Will."

"Oh okay, well you can call me Jen then." She answered with a bashful smile because Will was just so cute! She wanted to poke his cheek to see if it was as soft as it looked.

"Bye bye Jen!" Will said with a wave as his mom called him again.

"Bye Will. Thank you for the truck." Jen called with a sigh of contentment as she picked up the Tonka Truck and hugged it to her chest.

"You're welcome!" He said with another wave and a big smile that showed off the three gaps where the tooth fairy has taken his teeth.

Jen watched him go, clutching onto the truck all the while and sighed, because she's pretty sure she's in love.

It was another two months before Jen saw Will again. It was the first day of kindergarten and she had made it to the lunch break, feeling nervous as she looked around the large playground.

There were girls squealing with excitement as they skipped using their jump ropes, boys were shouting as they ran after one another declaring war as they played Cowboys and Indians.

And there in the corner of the playground was Will Byers, alone on the swing, looking nervous and edgy as he watched the other children.

Jen's nervous frown immediately lifted, and she grinned, feeling giddy and excited that he was here. Her pretty brown-haired boy was actually in school with her!

She beamed, her small fists clenching around the straps of her back pack as she started to happily walk towards her friend. Jen's mind was always running wild with everything she wanted to tell him.

She wanted him to know that she still loved the Tonka truck and had been using it to transfer her Barbie dolls across her bedroom. She needed him to know that she had a loose tooth and couldn't wait for the tooth fairy to pay her a visit. And then she would tell him that they should definitely get married in the school playhouse and play family together.

But before Jen could take another step closer to Will, another boy with floppy dark hair and pale skin was nervously approaching him. She stopped short, her mouth gaping slightly as she watched the boys feebly interact.

It took one question from the dark-haired boy and one answer from Will, and suddenly they were both grinning foolishly. The boy now sat on the swing set too and both boys played, giggling and talking avidly.

Jen immediately felt glum, her fists loosening from her back pack as she watched them with a mixture of jealousy and sadness. She wanted to join them. For a moment Jen decided to just ask if she could play with them too, but then three girls crossed her path.

The middle one was blonde and tall with pretty features. The other two looked similar to her, in a way they looked like clones of the taller one.

"What's your name?" the taller one asked bluntly making Jen jump slightly at the abruptness of this girl's voice.

"J-Jen." The brunette answered anxiously, her blue eyes flicking from one girl to the next.

"I'm Stacey," The tall one answered, pressing her hand delicately to her own chest before indicating to the two other blondes. "And this is Kimberly, and this is Amy." The two clones gave Jen a small wave each which she returned nervously.

"Um, i-it's nice to meet you." Jen mumbled shyly, giving the girls a smile.

Stacey appraised her for a moment and then grinned satisfactory. "You're pretty and you seem cool. So, do you want to be my friend?"

Jen was taken aback by Stacey's question and her eyes treacherously glanced to Will who was now laughing hard, his head flung back whilst the pale dark-haired boy snorted from his giggles.

"Yes please." Jen answered with a weak smile.

Jen tried to approach Will again but found herself constantly busy with Stacey and the clones who always seemed to demand attention and distract her.

When Jen was rarely free, she would smile in relief and head towards Will, but he looked so happy and busy with the pale one and the dark-skinned boy that he was now also friends with. Jen would lose her nerve and leave the boys to play.

But being with the girls wasn't all that bad. Jen finally had girls to keep secrets with, friends who she could play Barbies with, girls to braid her hair and giggle with in the playground. It felt good and it was fun. But none of that would distract Jen from staring at Will when she got the chance. She would blush and giggle to herself, he was just so cute.

And there would be the rare occasion when Jen got to draw next to Will in class and he would greet her like an old friend, with a sweet gaping grin and a spark in his eyes. Jen would blush and act coy, telling him he could keep her drawings if he wanted.

He giggled and told her she wasn't very good at drawing, but then would cheer her up by giving her one of his own completed pictures to take home. Will didn't know that Jen rushed up to her bedroom the moment she got home that day and stuck the picture of a butterfly to her wall. She would lie on her bed and sigh blissfully, staring at his artwork feeling like the luckiest girl in the whole world.

Jen didn't have any concept of labels until the first grade.

She was sat at a picnic bench with Stacey, Kimberly and Amy, and picking at her lunch, too distracted by watching Will playing some sort of dragons and knights' game with the boys she now knew were called Mike Wheeler and Lucas Sinclair.

Jen held her chin in her palm and sighed quietly, her little heart fluttering as she watched the way the warm summer breeze brushed through Will's hair. It just looked so soft that her fingers twitched, desperate to touch it.

Stacey snorted disdainfully, her attention being drawn to the three boys when Lucas let out a high-pitched scream as his character was killed by Mike. He pretended to stumble before falling dramatically to the floor.

"They're such nerds." Stacey scoffed whilst Amy and Kimberly sniggered cruelly.

Jen frowned, lifting her chin off her palm and turning to the girls. "Why would it matter if they are nerds?" She asked as confidently as she could, hoping they didn't realise that she had no idea what a nerd was.

Stacey sneered, "because they're total losers. Did you see those hideous sweaters the pale one wore last winter?! And that Lucas is so girly when he screams and don't get me started on the little one's hair!"

Jen felt colour flush to her cheeks, her expression filled with indignation. "What's wrong with his hair?!"

Stacey cackled nastily causing the clones to copy, immediately making Jen feel alienated. "Jen, his hair is so stupid. Like his mom totally used a bowl but did the worst job ever. I think it's because he's poor – "

"Don't talk about him like that." Jen immediately snapped, her blue eyes narrowing at Stacey who stopped laughing and observed the irritated brunette with curiosity.

Her eyes finally narrowed, and an evil smirk plucked onto her lips, "ew, don't tell me you like the little weakling Jen."

"Jen and Will sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Kimberly and Amy goaded whilst Stacey sniggered, Jen turned red and clammy.

"I-I don't like Will like that…" she mumbled, her gaze focused on the picnic bench.

Her heart was racing, her palms sweating as she realised that Stacey was on to her. Jen was six and a half, her world revolving around these girls and terrified of losing them. Terrified of not being able to hide behind them, terrified of having to be herself in a such a big and daunting school.

"Well you better not like him Jen or you can't be our friend anymore." Stacey said solemnly, crossing her arms and staring at the brunette sternly.

Jen paled and slowly brought her light blue eyes up from the picnic bench and onto the leader. "I…I don't like him." She whispered whilst her stomach turned, and her heart squeezed. Stacey smirked and dropped the topic.

Through the rest of the 1st grade and all the way through to the 5th grade, Jen hid her feelings about Will. She admired him from a distance, her knees feeling weak when she saw him laugh and her heart fluttering madly when he caught her eye now and again and smiled. She sighed heavily, hoping one day things would change.

5th grade brought the arrival of two boys. Two boys very different from one another.

The first being Dustin Henderson; a sweet boy with crazy curls who proudly explained that he had a condition called cleidocranial dysplasia and liked to demonstrate what he could do with his arms. He was immediately welcomed into 'the party' of Will, Mike and Lucas. The four of them looked like they had been best friends since birth and Jen was secretly frustrated that she couldn't join their group so easily.

The second boy was Troy Harrington. Jen immediately felt uneasy about him, as his dark eyes scowled around at his new classmates, something controlling and aggressive about his demeanour.

It didn't take long for Jen to realise that he was a bully. He soon became friends or maybe just acquaintances with another boy in their grade who liked to pick on Will and his friends, but Troy was ten times worse.

He overheard the party talking eagerly about their next game of D&D which Will had briefly explained to Jen in art class was a fantasy role-playing game that the boys all had characters in. She had thought it sounded cute, loving how excitable Will's grin got when he talked about it.

Troy didn't agree. He didn't just bully the boys calling them nerds, he would pick on them individually. Calling Lucas 'midnight', Mike 'frog face', Dustin 'toothless' and Will 'fairy'.

Jen had no idea what Troy gained from calling the boys these names and it pained her to see the affect it had on them. Whilst she had gotten used to the boys being so lively and excitable over the years, they retreated in on themselves. Becoming more inclusive to protect themselves and hanging out in corners of the playground away from everyone else…including Jen.

She would watch on, craning her neck to try and see what Will was up to whilst Stacey moaned about her first boyfriend Chad and how he "totally doesn't get me". When she noticed Will break away from the boys and head inside, Jen took her chance.

"I'll be right back." She quickly stuttered to Stacey and the clones before getting up abruptly and hurrying to follow Will into the school.

She cringed when she realised he had gone into the bathroom and had to try and casually rest against the wall as if she wasn't waiting for him to come out.

The door swung open and Will emerged looking tired and sad, his eyes having lost some of their sparkle after the weeks and weeks of bullying.

"Hi," Jen squeaked, wanting to kick herself for the sudden nervous butterflies that were causing a battle in her stomach.

Will jumped, clearly not having expected her to be standing in the corridor. His green eyes found her blue ones and he smiled weakly, averting his gaze to the floor. "Um…hi Jen…"

There was an awkward silence for a moment, an elephant in the room that Jen wanted to address but was scared of making things worse. "Are you okay?" she finally blurted out, feeling breathless.

Will's head snapped up and he blushed, trying to shrug nonchalantly. "Why wouldn't I be?" he mumbled.

Jen sighed and played with the sleeve of her sweater. "Um because…because of what Troy has been saying about you. And um, about the others too…"

"Oh," Will said feebly, his pink cheeks now turning red. There was another tense silence, both of them glancing at each other before looking down at the floor.

Jen wouldn't have even thought Will was speaking if she hadn't been looking at his lips at the time. "It's not true what he says about me…" he muttered so quietly.

"What do you mean?" Jen asked in a hushed whisper. Her chest tight and her palms clammy as she looked at Will's red face.

"I'm not…I mean, I like…girls." Will choked out breathlessly looking beyond mortified.

"Oh." Is all Jen could think to say. She was relieved, even though she hadn't believed Troy anyway. But now she was panicking because when he said he liked girls, did that mean he liked a girl? Or that he liked multiple girls? Her eleven-year-old brain was aching trying to understand.

The school bell rang out through the empty corridors, making Jen and Will jump, both of them startled out of their quiet moment. They smiled at each other, shy and hesitant before whispering "bye" and going their separate ways.

November 1983 was the most heart wrenching time of Jen's young life. The month had started as it normally did, Jen pining after Will and blushing every time they would say hello in the hallways.

But November 6th came, and everything changed. The next day Jen found it odd that Will wasn't in homeroom or in English later that afternoon. He was never off school, and his absence was very noticeable. Not just to Jen but to the Mike, Lucas and Dustin.

Around lunch time there was a rumour going around school that the Chief of Police had come into the school and spoken to the boys and everyone speculated why. Jen immediately drew the connection to Will and started to panic.

By the end of the school day there was news that Will Byers had gone missing and Jen felt like her heart lurched, threatening to break out of her chest.

Her mom Kathy and new step dad Paul tried to ease her worries, joining in on the search parties but refusing to let her come out and join. After one evening when Jen tried to sneak out of the house, her mom pulled her back, crying and weeping that she couldn't lose her too.

When the news came out that Will's body had been found, Jen was violently sick in her bed. Sobbing and refusing to believe her mother's words. She cried into her pillow and eventually slept from exhaustion in her mom's arms.

She would clutch the Tonka truck, stare up at the butterfly drawing through red and puffy eyes and feel numb. It didn't feel real, it couldn't be real. How could there be a world without Will Byers in it?

Jen had to go back to school, but her mind wasn't present. She was surprised when the boys turned up to assembly with a girl she didn't know but she was more taken by how normal they seemed. They were quiet and irritable but still quite relaxed in a strange way.

When she overheard a fight, Jen was not surprised to see Mike fighting with Troy. She smiled haughtily when Troy finally got his comeuppance and pissed his pants in front of the whole student body. She had no idea what Mike had done to him for that to happen, but Jen didn't question it.

The girls had been finishing gym class when Stacey teased that Will was so stupid and clumsy that it had killed him. Anger flashed through Jen, all the years of allowing her 'friend' to say things about the boy she loved and not saying anything back. That ended in the very same moment that Jen whirled around and pushed Stacey.

The blonde gasped in shock, as she fell backwards into Kimberley and Amy who scrambled to stop her from falling to the ground.

"Don't ever talk about him again!" Jen shouted, furious hot tears streaming down her face. "He was ten times the person you are Stacey!"

Stacey fumed, her face scowling and red. "That's it Jen, we're done. We aren't friends anymore."

"We never were friends!" Jen spat angrily before turning on her heel and walking away.

She ended up in the bathroom, crying in the stall, her head in her hands as she realised that she was going to have to accept that Will wasn't coming back. She sniffled and hiccupped, digging into her bag for a pen and graffitiing the bathroom stall in her small and neat scrawl, 'Remember Will Byers' she wrote inside of a pink heart. She smiled weakly at her work and took a deep breath, knowing she had to try and move on.

But a couple of days later Jen would discover that she didn't need to move on. News reporters would flock into Hawkins with the news that Will Byers had been found alive and another poor child had drowned at the quarry instead.

She was numb once again, but this time by the shock of Will being alive. She didn't believe the news until she begged her mom to let her go and see her old friend in the hospital.

It was Will's third day at Hawkins Memorial Hospital and Jen hesitantly lingered by the door of his room. He was asleep, looking exhausted, thin and weak but alive. Jen's heart raced, and her lower lip trembled at the beautiful sight.

His mom was also sleeping in a plastic chair, her arms crossed on the bed and her head laying on top of them, clearly wanting to be as close to her son as possible.

Jen crept into the room, a small item in one hand and a 'Get Well Soon' card in the other. She watched Will for another moment, taking in his soft features, his sharp cheek bones, his delicate brown locks and his slender frame. She blushed, her heart exploding with happiness that he was here.

Not wanting to wake him up, Jen carefully placed the card on his trolley and then very quietly placed the item she had been carrying onto the end of his bed. She smiled at him tenderly before turning and leaving.

Just as Jen was leaving the room, Will's eyelids fluttered open weakly and he blinked, seeing a flash of long brown hair whipping around a corner before disappearing. He frowned and looked down when his toes touched something.

Will's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but grin, knowing who his visitor had been the moment he looked at the object.

It was his Tonka truck.

Will sighed and closed his eyes, remembering being five years old and seeing the prettiest girl in the whole world for the first time. He remembered his mom saying how she couldn't afford to get him another Tonka truck, but it hadn't mattered. Because Jen had needed it.

"She should have it because she's sad. She's sad mommy."

When Will came back to school Jen was overwhelmed by her feelings for him. She was so relieved to see him alive and well, and yet she had no idea how to act around him. His absence had only solidified her romantic feelings for him, and she knew that without a doubt she was in love with him.

But Will started to push her away, becoming uncomfortable and shifty if she smiled and waved at him. She knew the bullying had gotten worse, although bizarrely Troy seemed to keep his distance.

People called him 'zombie boy', taunted him, said he smelt like the dead and put mean and cruel notes in his locker. The boy with the bright light in his eyes was fading and Jen hated it.

His friends didn't seem to have fared much better. Lucas and Dustin were quieter, and Mike just looked devastated and exhausted at all times. It was as if someone he loved really had died.

Jen continued to try and approach Will, wanting him to know she didn't think what everyone else thought. He wasn't a zombie boy, he was Will.

She exhaled with determination and walked down the hallway towards his locker where he was scrunching up a piece of paper and chucking it back into his locker.

"Hey Will," Jen called shyly, smiling tenderly as she took in the features she loved so much.

Only this time there was a crease in his brow and a tiredness in his eyes. "Hi Jen," he mumbled defeatedly as he slammed a few books into his locker.

Jen looked down at her feet and took a deep breath trying to be brave. "So, um…I was wondering if you wanted to go to the playground this weekend? I know we're getting a little old for the swings, but it's still fun. And we could talk maybe…as um friends of course." She rambled feeling anxious.

Will slowly looked up at her, his eyes sad and heavy. "Jen we can't…we can't be friends…" he blurted out feebly.

Jen flinched, she couldn't help it. "W-Why? Why can't we be friends?"

And then feelings that Will had been suppressing for years erupted in a frustrated shout. "Because we can't! I'm zombie boy okay? I don't get to have f-friends like you. You…girls like you don't hang out with boys like me okay? I'm a nerd, you're a popular girl."

Jen blinked, her lower lip was trembling and her chest was painfully tight. "But – "

"No. We can't be friends. I-I'm sorry Jen." Will said in a shaky voice before he pushed past her quickly.

Jen let her tears drop and she foolishly wiped at them feeling so stupid. She told her twelve-year-old self to get over Will Byers, he would never want her, not even as a friend. But love was a powerful thing and it wasn't going to give up its hold.

Jen was walking to Math when she felt someone put a heavy arm around her shoulders and walk into step with her. She turned and recoiled realising it was Troy.

He smirked at her and tightened his grip on her shoulder. "Sup Jen…so I've been thinking you should come to the Snow Ball with me." He said wiggling his eyebrows whilst Jen cringed at his slimy demeanour.

"No thanks Troy." Jen immediately said, not even bothering to try and be polite. This was the stupid boy who had tormented the love of her life since the 5th grade. As if she owed this bully any kindness.

Troy snorted, "well who else are you going to go with? You can't go with fairy, he's not into you. He's only into other queers."

Jen stopped and rounded on Troy, shoving his arm off her shoulders. "First of all, don't talk about Will like that. Even if he was gay or not, it's none of your business. And secondly, don't ever touch me again." She fumed.

Troy huffed and glared at Jen, "you are lucky you're so damn pretty. Stacey disowned you, the rest of the school would if you weren't so hot. I guess being stupid doesn't matter when you're nice to look at." He said inching closer to her whilst she backed away.

"Leave her alone Troy."

Jen and Troy turned in surprise to see Will stood in front of them, his cheeks flushed and his beautiful green eyes angry as he looked at the bully.

Troy burst out laughing, "and what are you going to do zombie boy?!"

Will clenched his fists and took a step closer to the bully, "I'll give you five seconds to run away otherwise you can have another broken arm. Do you remember how you broke the other one?" Troy paled slightly, his eyes widening as he stared at Will who continued, "yeah, my friends told me all about it. So, you better leave now before we get our friend to do the same thing. Maybe even break more than your arm…" Will warned angrily.

Troy spluttered, genuine fear in his eyes before he turned and hurried away. Jen watched the bully leave, her mouth gaping open in shock. She had never seen or heard Will talking back to a bully and It was amazing.

When Troy was out of sight Will heaved a sigh of relief and chuckled nervously. "Damn I was actually scared he was going to try and fight me."

Jen turned to Will and her cheeks immediately blushed and her heart hammered in her chest. He was just…perfect.

"Thank you Will," Jen said softly, a warm smile spreading on her lips as she looked up at the boy bashfully.

Will's cheeks flushed, and he put his hands in his pocket. "Oh um, i-it's no big deal. I just…I didn't like how he was talking to you." He admitted, looking down at his sneakers and finding them very interesting.

Jen felt awkward, she wanted to hug him or ask him on a date, but she remembered how he said they couldn't be friends anymore. She sighed and slowly looked up at his pretty face. "Are you going to the Snow Ball?"

Will met her gaze quickly and then thought better of it and looked away. "Um y-yeah…"

Jen was able to hide the excited smile and squealed internally instead of expressing her genuine happiness at this news. "Cool, um…maybe I'll see you there Will." She said sweetly, smiling softly but not wanting to overstep the boundaries he had set.

Will nodded, and a cute lopsided grin appeared on his lips. "Yeah maybe."

The night of the Snow Ball Jen sat with two of her new friends from drama club, Nicole and Yasmine. The girls danced together and enjoyed scoffing their faces on cake and non-alcoholic punch. But Jen couldn't stop herself from exhaling deeply as she watched Will from across the room.

He was sat with his party of course and the red headed girl Max. Jen had no idea what the cool girl had done to get into the party so quickly, but she knew Dustin and Lucas had been trying to impress her in school and clearly it had worked.

Jen's blue eyes went back to Will, he was standing up with Mike, Lucas and Max and greeting Dustin whose hair looked…um…interesting.

The music changed to the first slow song of the evening, 'Time After Time'. Jen wanted to moan because she loved Cyndi Lauper and would love to dance to this song with a certain someone.

A million thoughts raced through Jen's mind; she thought about all the years of bullying Will had received, the nerd comments, the poor comments and now zombie boy. She thought of Stacey and Troy taunting him, but mostly she thought about the five-year-old boy in the sand box. She thought about the Tonka truck she had returned when he was ill, and she thought about him sticking up for her to Troy.

Jen exhaled bravely and stood up from her table, her eyes set on Will as she crossed the dance floor. Fairy, nerd, zombie boy, it didn't matter what they called him because as she stepped closer to the boy who made her heart sing, she knew she had always loved him and always would. He was Will, maybe he was zombie boy and maybe he was a nerd. But he was Will and she loved him.

Max and Lucas walked past her, hand in hand and headed to the dance floor as Jen finally arrived in front of Mike, Dustin and Will.

"Hey zombie boy," she exhaled, a small smile on her face when Will gaped at her in surprise. "Do you wanna dance?"

Will's green eyes widened and he looked between Jen and Mike almost pleadingly, "er…ermm…em.." was all that came out of his mouth.

Jen tried not to giggle at how cute he was. She knew he was trying to accept that he might call himself zombie boy or nerd, but Jen knew who he was and wanted him anyway.

Mike seemed to give Will a bit of a shove and he finally blurted out words. "I mean…erm…yeah, sure."

Jen beamed, feeling happier than she had in years as she took Will's hand for the first time since they were five years old and found a place on the dance floor. There wasn't any hesitation in her putting her hands on his shoulders and Will seemed to relax slightly once his palms were on her waist. Jen tried not to grin too widely at how amazing it felt to dance with him.

The rest of the night was just magical and the start of something deeper. They only had eyes for each other as they danced, song after song, smiling happily and giddily. Once they were too warm to dance anymore, they got some punch and then lingered in a corner of the school gym, talking and giggling about everything and nothing.

It didn't matter what they were talking about, it was just being close and soaking in each other presence that made Jen the happiest.

There would be a lot of toying about over the next year, mainly from Will's side.

Even when Jen smiled at him in the hallway and his heart fluttered, or she giggled when he did something stupid, or even when she gave him a Valentine's card, he still didn't feel good enough for her.

She was a popular girl and always had been. He was a nerd and zombie boy and he accepted those labels, it was just crazy to think that Jen, the smart blue-eyed beauty accepted it too.

Will tried to show his feelings for Jen without actually confessing them. He would stick up for her if Stacey or Troy taunted her for talking to him, he would return her hugs, secretly smelling her hair and grin against her shoulder, and he would draw her pictures.

On Valentine's day Will didn't buy her a card but made her one. It was a drawing of a bear floating up to the sky and holding onto two love heart balloons. He snuck it into her locker, a blush on his cheeks but a tingle in his heart.

Jen loved it and he loved her card too, looking at it way too much but just unable to comprehend that she could honestly like him back.

It was finally summer, and Will knew he needed to do something about his feelings for Jen because it was eating him up inside. He sought the advice of his best friend, sitting in the basement with Mike and explaining how he badly wanted to take Jen on a date.

The Paladin poised his lips in thought for a moment but then smiled, "what about a double date to take the pressure off? Me and El, you and Jen. We could go see Back to The Future for the fourth time. El hasn't been yet." Mike explained, a giddy smile on his face when he mentioned his girlfriend.

Will smiled, really liking the idea. He was quick to ask Jen, ringing her landline from Mike's kitchen whilst his best friend stood next to him offering encouragement.

"Hello?" answered Kathy, Jen's mom.

"Um…h-hi Mrs Stevenson. It's um Will Byers, I was just – "

"Oh Will!" Kathy said happily. "I'll just call Jen for you now…"

Will blinked in surprise and turned to Mike who just shrugged and smiled.

"Hi Will?" Jen's pretty voice answered slightly breathless.

"Oh um…h-hi Jen. It's Will…"

Mike snorted, and Will hit himself on the forehead.

Jen just giggled though and waited for him to continue. Will exhaled deeply and decided to just ask her quickly, maybe it was less painful like taking off a band aid. "I-was-wondering-if-you-wanted-to-go-to-the-movies-with-me-on-a-date." He rambled quickly whilst Mike rolled his eyes and smirked.

Jen gasped, hearing the word date and melting inside because he was so cute. "A date? To the movies?" she reiterated, desperate not to get too excited.

"Y-Yeah. Um…a double date actually," Will said after noticing Mike gesturing to himself. "With Mike and his um…his…"

Mike looked at Will in exasperation, but his best friend was internally worrying about how to explain Eleven seeing as she wasn't in school yet. "Mike's met someone over the summer, and we um thought we could double date." Will said feebly, the hand holding the phone was shaking.

Jen grinned, smiling into the phone as she spoke. "I would love that Will. What are we going to see?"

Will relaxed and gave Mike a thumbs up to gesture that she said yes. Feeling a lot calmer now, he managed to give Jen all of the details and even had a relaxed and fun conversation with her about high school.

When he finally put the phone down he had a dreamy smile on his face and sighed happily.

"You've really got it bad huh?" Mike teased with a friendly smile.

Will snorted, "I'm not on gross Mike and El level, but I'm getting there." He joked back making his best friend laugh and clap him on the back as the boys moved to raid the fridge.

What was meant to be Jen, Will, El and Mike going to the movies ended up with Max, Lucas, Dustin and Melissa joining too.

Will was initially annoyed by the arrival of all his friends because it felt everyone was watching him with Jen, but it also took the pressure off too.

Jen immediately took to El, excited that she would be joining them in high school and wanting to know more about her. And whilst this made Mike slightly anxious, Will couldn't help but grin foolishly as he watched the long-haired brunette. Her blue eyes were so light, and he swore that if you looked close enough they had streaks of yellow in them. Jennifer Hayes was pure beauty.

From the start of the movie, Will's eyes weren't on the screen but on Jen's hand. He swallowed nervously, a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead as he tried to build up the courage to place his palm in hers.

He ate a mouthful of popcorn but left his hand on the arm rest where it twitched slightly from apprehension. Will stared at her hand, just a little bit further up the arm rest and he tried to calm his pounding hand as he very slowly –

Jen's hand moved of its own accord to Will's and she entwined their fingers, giving him a coy smile that made Will's heart almost explode with happiness. He smiled back at her, feeling elated and weightless. Their hands stayed together throughout the movie and all the way to her mom's car.

Will went to bed that night sighing happily and staring up at the ceiling, wondering if he would have the guts to ask out the most beautiful girl in school. And daring to think about what would happen if she said yes.

That opportunity didn't come until early November when Will was walking Jen to class. He loved any chance he got to talk to her, even if it was the few minutes of escorting her to French or English. Her laugh, her sweet smile and bright blue eyes made his stomach twist in knots.

The only disadvantage to their daily meet ups was the gossip and the bullying that came with it. Troy had a crush on Jen, everyone knew it and he would stop at nothing to get her which meant his bullying of Will only intensified.

He would punch Will in the ribs, shove him against walls, put homophobic notes in his locker and taunt Will in gym that he was going to do vulgar things to Jen. For the most part Will tried to ignore it, even though the things he said about Jen made him seethe and the boys had to hold him back from trying to start something.

What they didn't know was that Will had started a self-defence class, just like Jonathan had around his age. It was helping him build tone and strength and his mom approved of anything that was going to help him become more resilient.

So as Will smiled and chuckled with Jen as she told him a funny story about her mom and stepdad, Troy came out of nowhere with his cronies and grabbed Will by the shoulders ready to push him, but instead the smaller boy grabbed the bully's arm and twisted it.

Troy yelped in pain and jumped away from Will who rounded on the bullies with a glare. Jen hid behind Will in amazement.

"You're dead Byers! For real this time!" Troy yelled through humiliation and anger.

He went to swing at Will who expertly missed the punch before delivering his own jab to Troy's side, aiming a successful punch to the bully's cheek.

Troy grunted in pain and stumbled back clutching at his split cheek whilst Will breathed heavily and shook out his painful fist. Troy's cronies didn't do anything, stepping back with their mouths hanging open at what had just happened.

For the next part of the defence Will tried with all of his might to project Max. "You leave me, my friends and especially Jen alone. Don't ever touch her again." His voice deeper and his teeth clenched.

Troy spluttered, looking between Will and Jen who was looking amazed and simply victorious. "Fine," he spat out before throwing a dirty look at the pretty girl. "You're totally not worth it anyway." He mumbled darkly before shoving past them. His cronies all blinked coming back to reality and hurried after their leader.

Will clenched and unclenched his fist curious if it would bruise whilst Jen turned to him, chest heaving and eyes wide in awe. He slowly looked away from his fist, as his gaze locked on her. His heart tingled with adrenaline at the look on her beautiful face.

"Will…" Jen breathed in astonishment. "That was…" But what words she was going to say didn't come out, instead she took action. Her soft palms cupped his face, leaving Will only enough time to gasp before she brought his head down to meet hers in the middle and kissed him.

Will froze for half a second, his eyes the size of saucers as her soft lips pressed against his. A million butterflies fluttered around his body and his heart practically melted straight onto the school floor. His lungs expanded and then he shut his eyes, chasing her lips when she went to pull away.

His lips applied more pressure to hers as he sank into the incredible feeling of kissing for the first time. He wanted to laugh and smile but could only concentrate on one thing, and that was kissing Jen forever.

Her hands moved from his cheeks and wrapped around his neck while Will's hands moved gently to her waist, his heart pounding at the feel of her body. Their mouths eventually pulled away for necessary air, but Jen stayed close, her cheeks blushed a pretty pink as she leaned her forehead against his.

"T-That was…" Will stammered whilst a hopeless grin of happiness spread quickly over his lips. "Wow."

Jen giggled, the sweet noise sending love hearts straight to Will's eyes making him wonder if he currently looked how Mike looks when he is staring at El.

"I can't tell you how long I've wanted to do that." Jen whispered, a shy smile on her lips as her eyes flickered down to his mouth.

"Y-You can do it again if you w-want." He gulped anxiously, desperate to have that feeling again, craving it like air or water.

Jen grinned coyly and then her lips were pressed to Will's once more and he was happily drowning in her. Her scent, the smell of her shampoo, her soft skin against his, the feel of her waist as he gripped just a little bit tighter. It was perfection.

When they pulled their lips from each other, Jen exhaled blissfully but then blinked as she looked around the hall way and giggled. "Will?"

"Y-Yeah?" Will answered in a low whisper, his eyes still on her glistening lips.

"I think we're late for class, like really late." Jen snorted happily whilst Will blinked, coming back to his senses before he realised that the hallways were completely empty.

"Oh," he answered weakly. Part of him wanting to rush to class and apologise to his teacher and the other half wanting to suggest they carry on kissing in a supply closet seeing as they're late anyway. He was after all an almost fifteen-year-old with the most beautiful girl in his arms, how could he not want to kiss her more?

"I guess we were kissing longer than we thought." Jen said giddily, biting her lower lip as she tried to contain her grin.

"Y-Yeah I guess so." Will said smiling foolishly as he took in Jen's pink cheeks, stunning lips and happy eyes.

"Do you want to go on a date?" Jen blurted out as if this had been on the tip of her tongue for too long and she couldn't take it anymore.

She smiled bashfully, and Will couldn't help but grin. "Definitely." He answered straight away, his heart already fluttering with excitement. "Um, maybe without my friends this time." He snorted making Jen giggle as they remembered all of his friends making out with their respective partner at the movie theatre.

Their date consisted of Will and Jen going to Benny's for dinner, both of them smiling and giddy as they held hands under the table and ignored their food, too caught up in each other.

They walked around Hawkins, their fingers swinging together gently as they chanced glances at one another with coy smirks before heading over to the playground where they had first met.

Will led Jen over to the sand box and they both carefully sat on the wooden border, taking their shoes off and letting their toes wiggle in the coarse orange sand.

They were sat close, Will's hand slowly moving to wrap around Jen's shoulders as she happily tucked into his side as they stared down at their feet, occasionally knocking each other's toes and laughing.

"I wonder if they ever changed the sand." Jen said distractedly as she grinned, leaning her head into Will's chest and closing her eyes at the wonderful sensation.

"Probably not." Will laughed as he brushed his foot against Jen's and felt his heart pounding. It had all started here in this sand box and in a way this location felt significant.

Will cleared his throat, dropping his hand from Jen's shoulder so he could turn and look at her. She sat up and smiled at him warmly, the glow on her face distracting Will from what he was going to say for a while.

He entwined their hands and exhaled a shaky breath. "Jen?" he whispered vulnerably, his eyes dancing over her face.

"Yes?" she answered in a beautifully tender voice, giving his question the importance and attention that it needed.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" He asked for once without nerves. There was no hesitation or awkwardness in his question.

Jen beamed, her blue eyes brightening even more and her grin widening with happiness. "Yes. Yes, I want to be your girlfriend." She said eagerly making Will grin too because he just felt so good, and he didn't realise until that moment just how much he had needed her in his life. As El would say, she was his special person.

The sand box wasn't the only significant location for Will and Jen. When they had turned sixteen they were walking around Mirkwood after having a making out session in Castle Byers and stumbled across the most beautiful sight either of them had ever seen.

Hidden behind some brambles and broken trees was a beautiful lagoon. It wasn't very big, but there was a small clearing to sit in front of the clear water and the sound of the trickling brook added a beautiful aesthetic.

It became their place. A secret that only Jen and Will shared, a place where they could just be a couple and truly be themselves without any guards up or hesitations.

Whilst Jen loved splashing in the water and pulling Will in with her, he enjoyed sitting back and painting the scene, most importantly painting her.

They would lie in the grass together, daisies shooting up from the ground all around them as they stared at the sky and took in the beauty of the stars.

Their hands would be laced together, and Will would sigh in contentment, his heart quivering with happiness at having Jen so close.

"I love you." He whispered, turning his gaze from the stars to see them reflected in Jen's eyes. She would always blush, and her eyes would light up with joy when he told her those words.

"I love you too." Jen whispered back through a warm smile as she closed the very small gap and kissed him, their love for one another being swept up into the passion that they felt.

But it wouldn't be until the summer came that they would give more than their love to one another.

Will was sketching Jen whilst she sat in front of him, her legs delicately tucked into her side as she tried and failed to sit still. She would giggle when Will playfully tutted at her and tried to straighten her back and lift her chin.

Will looked down at the sketch, his eyes roaming over her smooth legs bare in the white summer dress she was wearing and how beautiful the curves of her body looked. With her light blue eyes and tiny yellow streaks, pink soft lips, high cheek bones and lightly freckle-dusted nose Will realised he was looking at a masterpiece.

His green eyes slowly and nervously lifted from the paper and onto the angel in front of him. She was staring back at him, a matching intensity in her eyes as they locked on his and her chest rising and falling heavily from the tension that had built between them.

Will carefully placed his sketch pad to the side of the blanket, not taking his eyes off Jen as he crawled closer to her. His heart was pounding, and his stomach was quivering with nerves, but he knew what he wanted, and he could see it reflected in her eyes.

Jen brought her hand up to his cheek and he leaned his face into her touch, a shaky breath escaping his mouth before she pulled him closer and their lips crashed together in a passionate and overwhelming kiss that awoke all of Will's senses.

He clutched her to him like she was his life line, their mouths deepened together as the desire fuelled their bodies and heightened the moment.

They fell back on the blanket and in the beauty and peace of their secret location, they became one entity. The air filled with their love, with the sound of their gasps, shudders and kisses as they explored each other properly for the very first time.

It was their special moment, with the person they loved the most. The feeling of soul mate being whispered against their joint skin and their beating hearts as they moved together, their lips still joined as they moaned and gasped with each other's desire to be as close as possible.

They would return to their lagoon, again and again over the years. The next most significant event being when they were twenty-four years old as Will turned his sketch pad over, with a nervous and beautiful smile as Jen's eyes fell on the words 'Marry Me?'

A year later they would be married, Will's mouth dropping in disbelief as Jen walked down the aisle with her mom and step dad, looking so radiant in a floaty white lace dress. She was his wife and he couldn't stop the happy tears that fell down his cheeks, nor would he want to stop them.

She was the girl who had never took no for an answer, she had never accepted labels, but she had always accepted him. And he loved her more than words could ever explain.

And in the year 1998, Will would be by Jen's side holding her hand tightly and pressing sweet kisses to her forehead whilst she shook with nerves as the surgeons performed her C-section. They both watched on as their two beautiful girls arrived into the world.

Grace came first and then two minutes later Lily joined.

The room was filled with the cries of the infants and the cries of the new parents, overwhelmed and choked with emotion. Will smiled at their baby girls, both of them bundled up in blankets and placed on Jen's chest whilst the new parents stared at their perfect girls with awe.

Will looked at Jen, leaning down and meeting her lips where she smiled against his mouth. With his wife and two baby girls, Will Byers finally realised what it meant to feel complete.

When the girls were five, Jen watched them playing in their own sand box with Will's old Tonka truck.

She sighed happily and beamed with love as her husband wrapped his arms around her waist and propped his chin on her shoulder. Watching their beautiful girls and feeling so safe and happy in Will's arms, Jen knew that even through the trauma of losing her dad it made her realise that even in the darkest of times there was always light.

AN: I'm sorry there was like zero Mileven in this, but I do hope you enjoyed it. As I said at the beginning, Jen and Will from TLYD have got a place in my heart now and I wanted to share a bit of their relationship too.

Plus I love the idea of Jennifer Hayes being the girl that Will gives his Tonka truck to!