[Intro] They thought I broke. They thought I bent. Truth is — I listened. I remembered who stood where. [Verse 1] I learned early fear don’t always scream, Sometimes it whispers, tries to live in your dreams. Cold breath on my neck, shadows learn your name, But I watched who stayed solid when the whole world changed. Mike never folded, never once looked away, Talked to me straight even when I couldn’t say. Didn’t treat me like a ghost, didn’t treat me like weak, Just a friend still here, still worth belief. Dustin kept noise when silence tried to win, Turned panic into jokes, pulled me back in. Lucas stood firm when the town lost sense, Read the truth clear through all that ignorance. I didn’t need saving, I needed my lane, They gave me room to stand through pressure and pain. If you ask what held me when the dark tried to roam — Left its mark, yeah… but it never owned. [Hook] I walk steady through the static and the cold, Mind still sharp, soul never sold. I carry what happened, but I carry it grown, Yeah, I’m marked — not owned. Still me in the mirror, still whole, Past in my head but it don’t hold the throne. Say it once so it’s known — Marked, not owned. [Verse 2] Eleven didn’t speak much, but she saw it all, That look sayin’ “I know,” when the walls feel tall. She knew what it meant to be used, restrained, Still stand upright with a mind unchained. I watched them change while I measured time, Felt stuck between then and the present line. Not jealousy — just reality set, Some battles don’t leave when the others forget. I don’t chase loud moments, don’t need to be seen, I move quiet ‘cause I know what quiet mean. Every chill that hits when the lights go dim, I don’t flinch — I assess, then I settle in. The dark knows my face, yeah, that part’s true, But knowing me don’t mean control too. It touched my head, tried to make it a home, Left a scar — not a leash. Marked, not owned. [Hook] I walk steady through the static and the cold, Mind still sharp, soul never sold. I carry what happened, but I carry it grown, Yeah, I’m marked — not owned. Still me in the mirror, still whole, Past in my head but it don’t hold the throne. Say it once so it’s known — Marked, not owned. [Verse 3] I’m not the blade, I’m the weight behind it, The one who remembers so they don’t rewind it. I see patterns where others see fear, I know when to move, when to stand right here. I don’t need banners, don’t need the cheer, I just make sure my people stay clear. If it comes back knockin’, I already know, I’ve stood in worse with my feet real low. I won’t let it define me, won’t let it rewrite, I survived the pressure ‘cause I stayed airtight. Heart still mine, thoughts still my own, Say it plain so it’s carved in stone — I was tested, I was scarred, I was shown… Marked — not owned. [Outro] I remember who stood with me. I remember who I am. That’s enough.

Marked, Not Owned (Will Byers)