Chapter Text
Monday morning rolled around a little faster than Chris would have liked. Although there was still another almost week and a half before school began, he was hoping to spend a few more days sleeping in. However, his 10:00 meeting with the newspaper adviser followed by the 11:00 meeting with the band director meant he had to be up earlier than normal.
His father Dale had already left for work. Dale was a police detective, and since he was already related to Hopper, his job was secured rather quickly. Today was his first day back with the Hawkins PD, and he had left the house just as Chris was getting out of the shower and getting dressed.
Today was also Pearl's first day back at the anchor desk. She had previously served as the morning and noon anchor at the Hawkins NBC-affiliate before their move to Chicago, where she anchored the evening news. In her new position with the NBC-affiliate, she was going to continue anchoring evening newscasts, which she much preferred so she could sleep in before starting her day, and she could attend Chris' halftime performances in-between newscasts.
All things considered, Chris was happy that all three of them were beginning their new lives in Hawkins on the same day. While he had grown up here, things were a little different after the three-year absence. Though, to his relief, he had his friends again; bonding with them during the movie night at the Wheeler's had felt just like old times and like they had picked up back when they had left off.
Chris glanced at the clock on the microwave just as Pearl came walking into the kitchen, rubbing sleep out of her eyes and yawning. It was 9:27 a.m.
"Morning, honey," she said in a tired voice. "Do I have you or your dad to thank for making coffee?"
Chris smirked as his mother made a beeline for the coffee pot.
"I take credit this morning, Ma. Dad was out the door before he would make a pot. I guess him working with Uncle Jim means mornings are once again for coffee..."
"And contemplation," Pearl finished, rolling her eyes fondly as she poured herself a mug of coffee. "It's been a little while since I've heard that phrase said out loud. I was beginning to miss it, if you can believe that."
"Nope, I don't buy that for a second."
Pearl chuckled as she sat down on the dining table, nursing her mug of coffee.
"You ready for your meetings?" she asked.
"Little nervous, but I'll live. I'm just glad Mike is making the introduction for the newspaper adviser. It'll be nice to have a friend on staff with me."
"You're gonna do great, sweetie. I just know you're gonna kill it!"
"Sure hope so. Otherwise, what the heck am I gonna do with all the free time if I'm not on staff? Oh, by the way, I made some breakfast burritos. There are two more on the stove if you want."
"Oh, that sounds fabulous, Chris, thank you!" Pearl exclaimed as she stood up and went to grab herself a plate. "You must be nervous if you did some cooking this morning!"
"And I kinda gotta get used to it. School will be here before we know it, and I know you gotta get your beauty sleep!"
Mother and son shared a laugh just as a car horn echoed out in the driveway.
"Oh, that's Mike, I'd better get going."
Chris stood up from the dining table, throwing his backpack over his shoulders. He walked over to the coffee pot, which was still half full, and grabbed two coffee thermos containers and filled them. He grabbed the two thermos and made his way to the front door.
"Good luck, Chris! Let me know how it goes! Are you still going to Will's afterward?"
"Yep, we're gonna hang out, and I think we'll get lunch once the meetings are over. Good luck on your first day of anchoring if I don't see you before tonight; I'll be watching like always!"
"Thanks, sweetie. Love you! See you later!"
"Bye, Ma!"
Chris opened the front door, stacking the two thermos on top of each other in one hand and carefully avoiding dropping them. He hurried out the door and shut it behind him and put one thermos in each hand. Mike's family station wagon was parked in the driveway, and Chris walked over to it. He put one thermos on the roof of the car so he could open the door and shove his backpack in. He grabbed the thermos and got into the car, handing the thermos over to Mike.
"Have I mentioned you're literally my best friend ever?" Mike asked as he took the thermos.
"Liar," Chris retorted with a smirk. "Will is your best friend ever."
"True, but you've gone up in my books this morning by getting me coffee."
"Glad I could be of service. Now let's get going."
"Aye, aye!" Mike shouted, giving a mock salute as he took a swig of the coffee before grabbing the gear shift and putting the car into reverse.
Chris took a few sips of coffee while Mike drove out of his driveway and down his street. Once they were out of the neighborhood, he turned to Mike to speak.
"Thanks again for being my ride and for making the introduction with Mrs. Baker."
"No prob, old buddy. It'll be fun to work on the newspaper with you. Who knows? Maybe we'll even co-write a story or two like we did when we were kids!"
Chris chuckled. "Yeah, those were always fun! We should team up with Will and Johnny, maybe make some comics like we did back in the day!"
"Hell yeah we should! Dustin and Lucas complain at least once a month that our old comics were never finished. Maybe that can be our weekend project for the next while."
They drove in silence for a few moments, each of them taking some sips of their coffee.
"So," Chris said slyly. "I can kinda see why Johnny drove you crazy when he and Will were dating."
Mike groaned. "Oh god, please tell me I'm not about to get roasted."
"Only gently," Chris smirked. "I must say I see what Will saw in him. He's a nice guy and he's not bad looking, either."
"What, are you thinking of asking him out or something?"
Chris was glad that Mike was driving and not looking at him. If Mike had been looking at Chris, he would've noticed Chris' eyes go wide for about half a second before he started to blush. Chris took another swig of coffee before clearing his throat.
"I just met the guy," he replied. "Even if I wanted to ask him out, I'd at least want to get to know him better first. I'm not about to jump into any relationship headfirst without knowing SOMETHING about whoever I'd ask out."
"What about your old school?" Mike asked, sounding genuinely curious. "Anyone catch your eye over there?"
Now, Chris was really glad that Mike was looking at him. He was sure that he had a dark look on his face. He felt a lump form in throat and he did his best to swallow it down. Now was not the time to open that can of worms.
"It's....complicated," Chris mused. "Wouldn't matter anyway since I'm here now."
"Still, you're a great guy, Chris! If you're interested in someone, I say go for it. Anyone would be lucky to date you. I probably would if Will hadn't stolen my heart."
"God, you and he are disgustingly cute," Chris laughed. "I have a feeling I'm gonna be suffering from cuteness overload for the next while, aren't I?"
"Yeah, but you love me and Will so you'll put up with it."
"Damn, you know me too well, Wheeler."
The boys shared a laugh just as Mike pulled the car into the parking lot of Hawkins High School. The school looked exactly the same as Chris remembered it. He glanced to the right of the school and spotted his old middle school, also looking like nothing about it had changed.
Mike parked the car and the two boys got out. Chris grabbed his backpack and threw it around his shoulders again.
"Nerd," Mike teased, giving Chris a smirk.
"Oh fuck off," Chris bit back, though he was also smiling. "I didn't want to just carry around a binder all day with my portfolio. Hell, at least the band director said I could audition with one of the school trumpets so I didn't have to bring my own. Then I'd really be a nerd."
"Yeah, but you're still a member of The Party, so that automatically makes you a nerd," Mike countered.
"Touche."
They laughed again as they walked toward the front doors, Mike leading the way. Once inside, Chris was hit with flashbacks of the occasional visit he had made to the high school when he was younger. Most band concerts were hosted in the high school auditorium, so he had been in the school plenty of times over the years. But, his knowledge of locations in the school was limited mostly to the band room and auditorium, which were connected.
Mike led him through the hallways, snaking around several corridors before reaching a classroom that, from the outside, looked larger than most ordinary classrooms.
"This is it," Mike said, turning to Chris with a grin. "You ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Chris replied, taking another sip of coffee. The thermos was about half empty now.
Mike smiled as he turned to open the door to the newsroom. Instantly, Chris loved the set up of the room. To his left was the teacher's desk, which was just large enough for a computer monitor and a stack of newspapers to sit. Past the teacher's desk were six large, wooden desks. Each desk was surrounded by a handful of chairs, and Chris had a suspicion that the lower level journalism courses spent most of their time with students sitting at these desks. Further back, there was a full computer lab of Mac computers. Several students were sitting at computers, some of them typing away, while others had notebooks out and were taking notes from what they saw on the computers.
Mike greeted several of the staff members while Chris took in the room. He was wondering if Mrs. Baker was present yet when he spotted a woman in her 20s stand up and make her way to him and Mike. This woman was about the same height as many high school students and she had ginger blonde hair. She smiled when she reached the boys.
"Hi Mike, welcome back," she said, holding out her hand and shaking Mike's hand. "We're just starting to work on stories. Kaitlyn has your story assignment if you wanna get it."
"Great!" Mike replied before he turned and gestured at Chris. "I also wanted to introduce you to my friend, Chris Byers."
"Oh! I didn't realize you two were friends!"
Mrs. Baker beamed at Chris and held out her hand for him. Chris smiled back and shook her hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Baker."
"Oh please, Chris, the pleasure is all mine." She noticed the thermos in Chris' hand. "Ah, a coffee drinker, are you?"
"Wouldn't be much of a journalist if I wasn't," Chris joked.
To his relief, Mrs. Baker cackled. She looked rather amused by his remark.
"I will not argue with that! Shall we go to my desk and talk?"
"Sure."
Mrs. Baker led Chris back to her desk. Before he followed her, Chris locked eyes with Mike, who gave him a thumbs-up. Once at Mrs. Baker's desk, Chris pulled a chair in front of it and plopped down, taking his backpack off his shoulders and opening it, extracting a blue blinder.
"This is my portfolio," he explained.
"Oh yes, I'll have a look after we talk. But first, Chris, I'd like to get to know you. What drew you to journalism?"
"Well, I've just always been a curious person," Chris answered. "I've always wanted to know how things worked and when I was a little kid, I was always asking questions, trying to find out more information. And I remember when we would play games as kids, I would always want to be the newspaper reporter. Something about journalism just kind of drew me to it, you know?"
Mrs. Baker nodded knowingly.
"That's actually sort of how I got into journalism as well," she admitted. "I was always asking questions and asking follow-ups and asking follow-ups to the follow-ups. I think I annoyed people with my never-ending questions."
Chris laughed.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I did too. And when I was at Hawkins Middle, I applied to be on the newspaper staff, and I got on. Even though my reporting back then was...questionable at best, I really enjoyed it. Before my parents and I moved, I was planning on taking both the intro journalism course and the photojournalism course here. I ended up taking both classes at my previous high school, and I was already on the newspaper staff by the spring semester."
Mrs. Baker looked impressed.
"Wow! Was that a normal thing at your old school, getting on staff as a freshman?"
Chris blushed. "Actually, it was a one-time exception. My old adviser told me I had a natural talent for journalism. And she liked my photo work, too. And because I was so passionate about it, I was let on staff for the spring semester."
"What kinds of roles have you had on a newspaper staff?"
"I started out on general assignment, like we all do," Chris replied. "By my sophomore year, I added copy editing responsibilities, and I was usually taking photos for my own stories. I primarily did hard news and feature stories that year. And I copy edited every story before going to print. Last year, I was the managing editor of the paper, so I had a lot more responsibility in coaching the younger staff members, while still reporting and taking photos. I was the student government reporter last year, and let me tell you, there was certainly quite a bit of drama with them!"
Mrs. Baker laughed.
"What kind of drama?"
"Too much to contain to one answer," Chris replied. "You'd have to read all the articles in my portfolio to make it make sense. Heck, it still barely makes sense even with all the context in my work! The clowns running the student government just liked to create drama, I suppose."
"And did you have plans for your senior year before you moved back to Hawkins?"
"I was actually up for the editor-in-chief role. I had interviewed for it and they were about to announce it when I found out I'd be moving back to Hawkins. So I had to withdraw from it. That sucked, but I am happy to be back home, and I'd love to work on this staff, even if it's not in an editor role."
Mrs. Baker considered Chris for a moment before she picked up his portfolio and scanned through it. Chris held his breath, waiting. After several moments, Mrs. Baker closed the binder and looked up at Chris with an unreadable look on her face.
"Can I ask you one more question?" she asked.
"Sure."
"Would you say journalism runs in your family?"
Chris huffed. He should have known that Mrs. Baker would put two and two together.
"I suppose the technical answer to that question is 'yes,' since after all my mother does anchor the news, and she did help inspire my interest in journalism. That said, I want to join this staff based on my own abilities, not because of my connection to my mother."
To Chris' relief, Mrs. Baker was smiling again.
"I had a feeling that's why you hadn't yet mentioned your mother," she said. "She should be proud of you for wanting to join this staff on your own merit. And from everything you've told me, and from what I've read in your portfolio, you have certainly earned a spot on this staff."
Mrs. Baker stood up. Chris did the same. She held out her hand again and Chris took it.
"Congratulations, Chris, and welcome to the staff of The Weekly Streak!"
Will hurried to the door when he heard the familiar "shave and a haircut" knock coming from it. He opened the door and saw a smiling Johnny standing in his doorway.
"Hey, Johnny, come on in," Will said, stepping aside to let Johnny into his house.
"Thanks, Will," Johnny answered as he walked through the front door and shut it behind him.
"Looks like it's just us til Mike and Chris get back," Will explained as he led Johnny into the living room. "Mom and Dad are both at work, and El decided on an impromptu crashing of Max and Lucas' date to the mall."
Johnny smirked.
"How did Lucas take that?"
"Oh, about as well as you think, which means he rolled over on command when Max told him that El was coming with them."
The two former boyfriends shared a laugh, both relieved that they were able to behave normally around each other. Even though they had dated for a few months and it was a serious relationship for the both of them, their break-up had been quite amicable, and they remained good friends.
"Can I get you a drink?" Will asked, heading toward one of the kitchen cabinets.
"Just water is fine, thank you."
Will nodded as he grabbed two cups and headed to the sink. He turned on the water filter and filled both cups. Johnny was already sitting at the dining table when Will walked over and set the glasses down.
"Thanks," Johnny said quietly, taking the glass and sipping. "So, you ready for school to begin next week?"
"Ugh, don't remind me," Will replied, grimacing. "Mom is already trying to convince me to start getting used to going to bed early. Which is kinda pointless since I'm notorious for staying up late to finish art projects. But, oh well. I am looking forward to senior art class. How about you?"
Johnny nodded. "Yeah, I'm excited to see what Mrs. Foster comes up with this year. I know in the past she has had seniors work on portfolios to prepare for college, and I'm kinda hoping for the same. I have no idea where to begin in prepping a portfolio."
"Oh, come on, Johnny, you're a great artist! Surely you've got some idea for your best work!"
Johnny blushed, as he tended to do whenever Will complimented his art work.
"Thanks, Will." Johnny cleared his throat. "So, what about Chris? Is he into art at all?"
Will shook his head. "Not like you and me. He says I stole all the drawing genes in our family, while he and Jonathan shared the photography genes. But, he's the main writer of the bunch. Honestly, if I wasn't already related to him, I'd say he was more related to Mike."
"He seems like a nice guy. I'm looking forward to getting to know him."
Will grinned.
"Are you interested in my cousin, Johnny?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrow.
"No!" Johnny exclaimed. "I mean, I just met the guy! I'm not one for jumping into a relationship when I just met someone."
"Why? You did it with me," Will teased.
"Well, sort of. I mean, we were at least friendly before I got the courage to ask you out. Even if I was interested in Chris, I'd want to have a friendship first."
"Speaking from experience, I can tell you that Chris is a wonderful friend. He's super protective like Mike is, and he's always looking out for us. Sometimes we gotta remind him to look after himself too."
Johnny nodded, looking thoughtful.
"I definitely want to get to know him better.”
"Shouldn't be too hard, cause I have a feeling we'll see a lot of him. And with him and El both performing at halftime now, we have more reason to go to Friday night games. Even if we don't care about the before and after show by the football team."
The boys shared another laugh before Will spoke again.
"I definitely think you guys would be great friends," he insisted. "You and he are a lot alike, but also different. You guys would be a good balance, whether that's as friends or something more. You've got nothing to lose by being friends with Chris."
"Maybe we could go and pick up lunch for all of us together. Kinda like an icebreaker kind of thing, you know?"
Will smiled. "I think that's a great idea! That would give you some one-on-one time with him."
"And you and Mike could swap spit while we're gone," Johnny grinned.
"Asshole," Will replied, though he was smiling.
"Sorry, can't help it."
"It's funny you say that, because Chris was literally telling me and Mike the other night that if anything, the two of you could pretend to vomit anytime Mike and I start kissing."
The boys shared another laugh just as there was another knock at the door. Will stood up and ran toward it, opening the door to reveal Mike and Chris.
"Oh, hey guys! Come on in! Johnny is already here."
"What are you two plotting?" Mike asked, sounding amused, as he followed Will into the house.
"Nothing yet," Will answered.
"I doubt that," Chris muttered.
"I heard that, asshole."
"I know, darling,” Chris said, in a perfect imitation of Edna Mode from The Incredibles.
Will laughed as he led Mike and Chris into the kitchen, where Johnny was taking a sip of water.
"Hey guys, how did it go?" said Johnny.
"Pretty good," Mike replied. "I'm on principal interview duty for the first issue. Not the most exciting thing, but I do plan on asking him a bunch of questions about the bond issue coming up at the first school board meeting. I'm sure he has thoughts."
"Nerd," Will teased.
"Look who's talking."
"How about you, Chris? Did you get on staff?"
Chris nodded happily. "Yeah, Mrs. Baker and I pretty much hit it off right away. She is letting me do copy editing, reporting and photography this year. No editor position, but I can live without that. My first story is about a new math teacher who was a student teacher two years ago."
"Who's that?" Johnny asked.
"Mrs. Kristina Wallace, I think her name is."
"Oh yes, she was the student teacher for geometry when I had that God awful teacher who would have rather sat around and chatted with the girls," Johnny said. "Thank God Mrs. Wallace was actually capable of teaching. I'd have failed Geometry without her."
"Would you mind if I interviewed you, Johnny? Get some perspective on her as a former student of hers?"
"Yeah, sure. Maybe we can talk more when we go and pick up lunch?"
"Ooooh, have you guys ordered yet?" Mike chimed in. "I'm starving!"
"We were waiting on you guys to get back, silly," Will said, shaking his head at Mike. He turned to Chris. “Wait. What about your audition for band?”
“That went well too, thanks,” Chris replied, smiling. “Mr. Linville says I definitely have the skills to play first trumpet. And he thinks I’ll blow away any competition to play the trumpet solo for one of the songs.”
“Oooh, what songs are you guys doing this year?” Johnny asked.
“It’s a surprise!” Chris declared. The other boys groaned and Mike yelled, “NERD!” to which Chris simply flipped him off.
The four of them spent the next few minutes getting together a pizza order. They ended up ordering a large supreme pizza (without olives because as Mike put it, "We don't need to eat a black hole."), a pizza bowl for Chris, who preferred to eat low-carb because carby food made his stomach hurt, and some breadsticks. Before the others could fight him on it, Mike whipped out his debit card and paid for the lunch.
"But Mike, we should at least split it!" Chris protested.
"Yeah, you don't have to pay for all of it by yourself!" added Johnny.
"I love you, Mike, but sometimes you're just too generous,” said Will.
"Guys, it's seriously no big deal. It's my treat," Mike said when he was done ordering their food. "It's not like I've been spending money like crazy with the extra hours at work this summer."
The other three boys relented, even though both Chris and Johnny were trying to convince Mike to let them pay him back by buying him lunch in the future. Mike shot them down and said they could repay him by going to pick up the food so he and Will could be alone for a little bit.
"As if that wasn't your plan all along," Chris teased.
Mike didn't respond and instead flipped him off. Chris cackled while Johnny was smiling at the two friends bickering.
A few minutes later, Chris and Johnny left the house to go pick up the pizza, with Johnny driving them to the pizza joint. When they were alone, Mike and Will ventured to the sofa and plopped down together, barely an inch of space in between them.
"You think Chris is gonna fit it okay at Hawkins High?" Will asked.
"I think so. You know Chris: he can make friends with anyone. Besides, even if he doesn't make many more friends, he's at least got all of us."
"Yeah, you're right."
"Besides, I think he already has a potential romantic match," Mike said slyly, wiggling his eyebrow.
"Who? Johnny?"
Mike nodded. "I think they'd be great together! Maybe not as good as you and me, but they'd rank right up there!"
"Mike, they literally just met!" Will protested, although he was smiling. "Although, yes, I can admit I definitely see something of a spark between them. Johnny is definitely a little interested. But I think he's gunshy about dating a Byers again. That, and he doesn't want to rush into a relationship again."
"Hmmmm," Mike said. "I think Chris is kinda in the same boat. I think maybe there was something with someone at his old school."
"What gives you that idea?"
"Something that happened earlier when we were driving to the school. I asked him if anyone in Chicago had caught his attention. He got really quiet all of a sudden and he was kinda vague when he answered me. He didn't tell you anything about someone at his old school, did he?"
Will shook his head. "Wonder what that was about. Usually he'd tell me something like that. Maybe he talked to El or something. Or maybe it just wasn't that serious. Or one-sided even."
"Still, do you agree Chris and Johnny would make a good couple?"
"Oh, I think so. But I definitely think they should take things slowly and just be friends for now."
"Wanna make a bet on who will ask who out?" Mike asked eagerly.
"Wow, you really wanna play matchmaker between my cousin and my ex, don't you?" Will asked dryly.
"What? I can't hope for a little love between two of my friends?"
Will smiled as he leaned over and gave Mike a kiss on the cheek. "You're insufferable, Mike Wheeler."
"But you love me," Mike retorted.
"Yeah, and I'm an idiot."
Mike snorted.
The ride to the pizza joint was just long enough for Chris and Johnny to start to get to know each other a little better. Johnny, so far, had talked about his interest in all forms of art and how he was thinking about studying art theory in college, while also being interested in studying studio art. Similarly, Chris had talked about potentially following in his mother's footsteps and becoming a journalist, although he was keeping his options open. He definitely wanted to be a writer and possibly a book editor.
They picked up the pizza and hurried back into Johnny's car. Chris had the pizza in his lap to keep it steady while Johnny drove. They had just pulled away from the pizza joint when Chris spoke up a little nervously.
"Can I say something that might sound a little awkward?"
Johnny chuckled. "Sure, why not?"
"I just want to say that I'm sorry things didn't work out between you and Will. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Mike like a brother and I'm happy that he and Will are happy. But I was rooting for you guys. And Will was happy with you, I know that. He told me what a good person you are and how you fit right in with our friends. So, from another member of the Byers family, I'm sorry things didn't work out. Sorry if that's awkward for you."
"No, no, it's really nice to hear, thank you, Chris," Johnny spoke in a quiet voice. "I don't have any regrets about my relationship with Will. But it's just..."
Johnny trailed off, as if lost in his own thoughts. Chris simply looked at him while still holding the pizza steady.
"It's okay, Johnny, you can speak freely around me. I know what to say and what not to say to Will."
Johnny sighed before he answered in a low voice.
"I don't regret dating Will, and I'm definitely happy that we're still friends. Which is why what I'm about to say will sound horrible, even though it is the truth." Johnny sighed again. "I can't help but feel bitter about Mike and Will dating. Even though they are perfect for each other and it's clear they love each other so much. I just can't help but feel like I missed out on that, you know?"
Chris nodded in understanding.
"And like objectively I know I'll find someone else to go out with. I don't know who or when, but I know that I can find someone else to date, hopefully someone who isn't in love with someone else." Johnny chuckled weakly. "But I just can't help feeling like I'm missing out when I had Will already. I really liked him and I thought maybe we'd go long term. And I know how horrible that makes me sound."
"You're not a bad person," Chris consoled. "You're far from a bad person, Johnny. In fact, you're imperfect, like all of us are. You’re human. You're allowed to feel several feelings at once, even if they contradict each other. You can be happy that Mike and Will are together and be sad that you and Will aren't together anymore. And you can know that there is someone, somewhere, out there for you. You can feel all of that and still be a good person."
Johnny was close to tears now.
"I haven't told anyone this, not even my Mom and I tend to over share with her. I've been struggling with how I feel lately. It's nice to talk about it."
Chris nodded again.
"If you ever need someone to vent to, that can be me. I'm a pretty good sounding board for our friends. I'm usually the one best at keeping secrets, too. It's kinda like I'm everyone's unpaid therapist. I should start charging."
Johnny let out a wet chuckle. Chris could tell that his words were having a positive effect on him.
"So who's your therapist then?"
"Usually El or Max," Chris replied. "They're really good about listening to me vent and they're great with keeping secrets too. But for the really heavy stuff, I go to my diary. That's where I pour my heart out and try to keep everyone's gossip contained. I keep it under lock and key, and it's probably better protected than the damn nuclear codes at this point."
The two boys laughed. Chris felt a familiar sensation in his stomach, but he ignored it. He had no desire to think about what that sensation meant.
"Well thanks for listening, Chris," Johnny said as he pulled the car into the Byers' driveway. "I think you and I are gonna be pretty good friends."
"Yeah, I think so too."