Chapter Text
The rhythmic ringing of the phone alarm pierced through the quiet room, I groaned in annoyance and turned it off.
5:30 AM
He wanted to make sure everything was perfect for his first day of his junior year in Hawkins High, but seriously, five AM. He sluggishly moved out of his bed, to see El on the other side of the room in a deep sleep.
El’s always been a deep sleeper.
He wandered mindlessly into the bathroom attached to their room, splashing hot water onto his face to wake himself up. If that didn’t wake him up, the hot shower definitely did with its water dancing on his body. He never actually liked hot showers, or anything hot at all, but they always did make him feel more energised for some reason, even if he liked the way the cold pricked his skin. If that even makes sense.
After his shower, he left the room to see El scrolling on her phone, “You done?” she said.
“Yeah,” Will went into the walk in closet. It was only settling in now that this house was definitely bigger than his childhood one, being comparable to the one in California. He and El planned out what to wear the day before because she wanted to match outfits with him.
He could hear the shower turn on, it’s muffled droplets breaking on the floor. He looked in the mirror, his hair was sticking up messily. He sighed, realising he had to fix his hair before doing anything.
>>>
An hour and a half had passed, he could have been finished earlier but him and El kept bantering the whole time. “Should we take a picture?” He opened up his phone. El nodded and posed in front of the large mirror next to their door.
The twins wore a muted yellow graphic t-shirt, dark jeans and a brown belt and cap, and jewellery, El more than Will. They both wanted to make a good impression, El especially after the bullying she faced in California High School.
He took the picture on Instagram, he never really used social media so his last time posting was over a year ago. Maybe he’d start posting more as a digital scratch book.
“Jane! Will!” Their mom called them downstairs for breakfast. Jonathan sat at the dining table and Joyce was just finishing making a pasta dish.
Their older brother looked up, “I haven’t seen you two match outfits for a long time,” a gentle smile gained on him.
“This reminds me of when you two were babies, you were so small then.” Joyce remarked.
The two were slightly embarrassed shown on their face by a pink blush. They looked at each at the same time and keeled over laughing.
The dining table became chaotic when Will and El started arguing over a meaningless, Jonathan calling Nancy, and Joyce watching Facebook videos at an obnoxiously loud volume. The twins moved from the kitchen to sitting room, still arguing over a passionate subject and periodically switching watching whatever’s on the TV. Time felt like a line of six friends blocking your way while striding at a pace that felt purposefully slow.
When the time reach 7:50 the twins left their house, saying their bye’s and walking to Mike’s house. When they were in eye view of the Wheeler household, Mike was waving at them from his front porch.
He didn’t really interact with either of them at that point, just fading into the background of their conversation like he usually did when it was only the three of them. He glanced at the other things around him, like people his age walking to school, a red car he could tell was expensive, the bloomed flowers on the sidewalks…
>>>
Chance leans against the front of his locker. He was early. None of his friends were here. Boredom gets the best of him, he pulls out his phone to pass the time. When he opens Instagram he sees two people at the top of his page. Their photo was liked by one of his basketball mates.
That’s interesting.
They looked like the two he saw moving in yesterday. But something about them also felt similar, specifically the guy.
It was probably nothing.
He tries to get it out of his mind, but he wants to know more. Curiosity killed the cat, but he was ready for what proceeded him.
Will Byers.. where had he—Zombie boy, the guy who got kidnapped a few years ago. He wasn’t really sure why he was bullied, or called such a demeaning name. All he knew is that he seemed quiet, which would be the perfect victim for bullies.
This train of thought felt hypocritical. Chance, an ill-famed bully, a heartbreaker, now debated how he thought someone shouldn’t be bullied. A thin breath broke his train of thought.
Still, barely anyone was here. The emptied halls around him were sporadically dotted with a few people, none of which he had the energy to go to. He would call this town haunted if it weren’t for the amount of people here, or maybe that made it worse. The spirits here are influencing everyone to be terrible people.
Fucking hell.
He is a terrible person. He’s always known it. Even if everything he did was so he could fit into the crowds of pale skin and light hair, would that make it better? If he didn’t follow their lead from the beginning, he would have been a freak. Ostracised to hell and back. Maybe one day he’ll repent for every mistake he’s made, but today wouldn’t be that day.
“Chance!” Andy shouts through the growing crowd, Jason close behind.
I guess this is what being a terrible person gets you.
There were only a few minutes left before the first class began, Chance drowned out his thoughts with a quick conversation, and then went to his first class, physics. To be honest, he didn’t really find science too interesting, but it’s been a comprehensive class where he can just stop thinking about himself.
He didn’t even realise the class ended when it did, the next class was English. His least favourite class. He sat alone in the back, the teacher hadn’t arrived yet, which was unusual because she’s never been late to her classes.
“Hello,” or not, in enters the teacher, followed by zombie boy and what Chance assumes is his sister.
“These are your new classmates, please introduce yourselves.”
“I’m Jane, and this is my twin brother Will, we used to go to this school but temporarily transferred to California High School before coming back,” Jane glances towards her brother who is visibly uncomfortable, tugging on his shirt. “I like journalism and he likes art.”
“Will, please take the seat in the back, and Jane, take the seat in the front,” pointing towards each chair in succession.
Will and Chance exchange the same expression.
Shit.
He knew zombie boy was part of the freak clique, even sitting next to him brought a bad aura. The English teacher he never learnt the name of talks about some month long group project, that he can only pray isn’t with your table partner.
But of course, it is. All Chance could think of is that God’s forsaken him after all his actions.
“We can do the presentation on anything, should I choose or..” Zombie boy’s hands shook.
“Yeah do whatever.” Chance fell into the cold table. Neither of them said anything for a while. He could hear the scratching of a pen to his left.
“Can you,” he paused,”give me a way to contact you, like Instagram…” Chance groaned, taking the pen on Will’s desk and crudely writing his Instagram username on the copy he was writing on.
The rest of the day went by in a blink. He didn’t have basketball practice today because it’s a Thursday. He felt out of it this whole day. Occasionally becoming caged by his thoughts and feeling worse every time he reasoned with his subconscious.
I’ll never think again.
He parked his scarlet car in the garage, he could tell his dad wasn’t home because the other space was empty. Neither his mom nor his brother was home when he arrived. They’re probably at the park.
He collapsed on his bed. But a notification interrupted his dissociative state. He pulled out his phone to see zombie boy had texted him. He snickered at the the way he texted but didn’t know exactly why.
“Hello! I didn’t want to do something we both wouldn’t like so please choose between the following:” He didn’t really care about the topics Byers sent over, he’d choose between them later. Right now all he wanted to do was have a quick nap.
“That asshole..” El looked over to see Will angrily sketching away on his desk. Lead chunks scattering around the paper he using.
“You okay? What happened” She asked.
“That asshole, Chance, left me on read for the past 7 hours! I even sent him like five follow up messages that he ignored,” El could see Will drawing a caricature of the jock in his sketchbook. She couldn’t help but laugh at both her brother and his artwork.