Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Will expected to cry. And he does. The drive is long and there isn‘t much to do besides pulling up the snot that clogs his nose. He knows he will spend hours on end doing this. Days. Weeks. Maybe months? The truth is, Will is not going to make an attempt at steadying himself. It feels good. It feels right. Like doing all those people and places he is leaving behind some justice. Jonathan doesn‘t cry. He will in time, but he is an adult and adults know when it‘s time to cry and when it‘s time to steer a car without killing themselves.

Will periodically stares out the window. Then back at the truck right in front of him. Somewhere, way back in the rearmost synapses of his aching brain he thinks this is kinda cool. His mom is driving that thing. His five-foot-three mom is holding a steering wheel with a diameter twice the length of her forearm.

Will‘s tears eat at the awe, though, and every time he remembers what is actually going on, he turns his face away so Jonathan doesn‘t get too distracted.

It is only much later, when every last drop of fluid has been drained from his body, when Will‘s skin seems to shrivel from dehydration, that Jonathan turns the radio off. Will didn‘t even notice David Bowie‘s Heroes playing through the tinny speakers, but now the silence settles heavily.

It is somewhat of a sign that it‘s enough for today. It must have been eight hours. Eight hours with a stretch of asphalt in front of them that never seemed to end. The world is huge, Will thinks. He is further from Hawkins than he has ever been, and it‘s not even the end. How will he ever be able to grasp the sheer size of this world when you can drive eight hours straight and still be in the same country? When the same country stretches across woods, open fields, lakes, rocks, when it changes with every inch of the way but still stays the same and will stay the same for many more miles?

They find a motel just in time for Jonathan to collapse. Will has never driven a car. Is it really that exhausting? His mom‘s speech is slurred when she pays for their rooms.

El stays with their mom for the night, which is expected. Will and Jonathan both had to say goodbye to people they love. But they will see them again. With El and mom, things are different. So, so different. So if they find comfort in each other, that is great.

There‘s no such thing for Jonathan and Will. They each lie in their own, way too narrow beds. Backs turned to each other in the dark, the two brothers don‘t speak a word. They haven‘t spoken much all day. And while Will has no tears left in him, he at least suspects Jonathan is just letting it all out. The noises he makes imply it, though is appears as though he is biting down on something.

Will can‘t sleep. It feels terribly selfish when he switches the light back on. Just so he doesn‘t wake up thinking he is still home, only to find the realization crashing down on him. „D‘you mind?“

„No.“

If Will could find ten minutes of sleep, that would be a success.

The last few hours impose something like excitement. Or maybe curiosity, yes that must be it. The biggest sight the family passes is, obviously, New York City. And they don‘t even stop to take a photo. Straight through without caring for landmarks and skyscrapers, navigating traffic like Will has never seen it before. Jonathan isn‘t used to it. His teeth are clenched. His fist finds the center of the steering wheel time and time again, but alas the horn on his battered LTD is broken.

At least the truck isn‘t easy to lose. It sticks out with its size and their mom‘s Pinto in tow. And should they lose each other, they still got the Supercoms.

The whole family makes it out of the Big Apple unscathed but beyond frustrated. One hour in dense traffic has the same effect on Jonathan as five hours on the Interstate. „If I get into NYU I can imagine selling my car.“

„Then how are you gonna get h-“ Will stalls. Quieter, he continues. „How are you gonna get back to us? It‘s still gonna be a two hour drive.“

„True. Well, it‘s still at least a year away.“

Will is probably supposed to find comfort in that. He loves his brother. And he is sure having Jonathan around for another year is a... good thing. Comfort in a time like this. But right now he just can not care. The buildings around them are smaller already. Fewer. There is more green, more water. Even just Long Island seems huge. And Will would even call it nice if he was just on vacation. If he had the prospect of returning to his friends with a bunch of photographs of the ocean, which out of all of them only Max has ever seen. And maybe with a suntan that would fade after a few weeks in Hawkins‘ fall weather.

Moping about things he can‘t change is dumb, sure, but right now he doesn‘t want to feel good anyways. That would be betrayal. And unfair towards others who have lost so much more. How many more times will El be forced to grieve? And how many times will she think it‘s finally over, only for shit to start again, and again, until none of them can go on anymore?

Will stops himself from drinking too much water, although they are stacked with plastic bottles in the backseat. It‘s because it would only bring back his ability to cry, and that doesn‘t help. There is an ache in his chest, far from dull, and it spreads all over his back and to his sides, making him shift in his seat restlessly.

„You okay?“

„Yeah. I guess. Dunno.“ Will can‘t look at Jonathan.

„You haven‘t had a sip of water all day. Kidney pains? Drink. Or I‘m gonna pull over.“

Begrudgingly, Will complies. A single sip should be enough. Only, he completely loses it and empties two bottles. The hint of a smile plays around Jonathan‘s lips.

Chapter Text

Their house back in Hawkins got their mom a good price. Surprisingly. The location was shit, who are they kidding. It was old, too many roof leaks to count had been clumsily fixed. The plumbing was wrecked. It wasn‘t insulated, like, at all, and overall wasn‘t anything to show for.

Mom must have her own theories why the place made the family enough money to find way more generous living accommodations and basically have them settled for five years. Will does too, though he doesn‘t speak about it because it simply makes no difference. But if he is being honest, it‘s a bit suspicious that none of them ever got to see a buyer. Or even an interested party.

So maybe they just want the land for whatever reason. Tear down the old house, do something else with the place. To Will, it‘s much more likely that Sam Owens had something to do with it. It would make sense, wouldn‘t it? The doctor has gone beyond himself more than once to be of help.

There is some regret involved on his part. Will firmly believes Owens would make all of this undone if he could. The experiments, the deaths, the hurt children, the torn apart families. And above that, he appears to be an influential man. Whatever it may be, whoever may be the generous buyer, the Byers have something in the bank now.

And so their new house is larger than anything they would need. A two-story place in a nice neighborhood, if you can even speak of neighborhoods in a place like Montauk, where less than three thousand people reside. Well, it‘s humble by Wheeler-standards. But a palace by Byers-standards. Cleaner than anything Will was used to.

Two days. Sixteen hours spent in the car. That is how far away Will is from everything he has ever known. Yeah, bathing in self-pity when others are clearly far worse off. That‘s like him. Only, he can‘t pretend to be fine right now. Will used to be good at that when there were people to lean on. Even if Mike wasn‘t much of a friend during the last half year.

Will decidedly tries not to think about Mike when he crosses the doorstep for the first time. The house is empty. His footsteps echo in the hall. And there is no way the furniture and decoration they brought along with them would fill up even a fraction of the space they have now. All they get with the house is a kitchen, as well as a bedroom with a bed and a closet for each of them.

Will decides to explore the upstairs. He doesn‘t miss that his mom has chosen the smallest bedroom. The only one with a Twin size bed. Maybe so she won‘t reach out to someone who isn‘t there in her sleep. Will flops down on his own Queen size bed and cries a little more. And that‘s selfish again, because from the window he can clearly see his family unloading a bunch of boxes from the truck. It‘s only three in the afternoon.

The first two days the little family is too caught up with unpacking and too exhausted to see much of Montauk. Will might not exactly know what this place looks like, but he sure as hell understands what the little town at the tip of Long Island means. You can‘t get much further away from Hawkins. And that was the idea all along.

It‘s going to be a week before his mom will start her new job with a souvenir shop, because souvenirs are apparently a huge provider of jobs in this tourist town for stressed out New Yorkers. If you don‘t want to work at a restaurant, that is, which mom seriously considered. Joyce Byers is perfectly capable of burning cereal, though, so that‘s out of the question.

Jonathan wants to start looking for a job and appears fairly confident about it. Nothing will be as great as being a photographer working with his girlfriend but according to him, it can be as dirty as it gets as long as it can pay at least part of college. And as long as he doesn‘t become a burden on the small fortune the family now possesses. All calculations done, they should be able to live off mom‘s income alone, though.

Meanwhile, Will and El are left with two weeks to spare before the start of the school year. Montauk Public School... Will isn‘t sure how El will fare. She would have needed Mike to be with her on her first school day. She would have needed Mike on every single day. Just like Will. But they are alone among strangers in a town where you can always taste the ocean. Where it‘s warm in the summer but somewhat windy. In a house only minutes away from a beach Will never asked to see.

The two spend hours on end together in absolute silence. Their rooms are empty still. A few photos. Posters to make things less sterile. But there is a lot to do to make this house at least seem like a home. The weather is too nice to stay indoors, but oh well. Maybe they‘re like cats. Meant to stay inside until they have accepted a place as their home so they always remember to return at the end of the day.

A few neighbors come around. A welcome distraction for all four of them. Mostly elderly people. Thank God no kids Will‘s and El‘s age. He couldn‘t bear that. He‘s got friends back home and his family right here, and anyone else would be merely an unwelcome intruder. But widowed Mrs. Lerman from two houses over and the Fords, a retired couple in their seventies, are welcoming to their new neighbors.

Mom seems at ease, at least a little. Around here there is no conceited upper class to call her ‚Second Hand-Joyce‘. As in, ‚Hey Bob! Better don‘t touch that woman. Y‘know, not only her clothes are second hand.‘ Yes, Will actually overheard a Radio Shack customer say that once. And damn, Bob gave him shit for it. The only time he ever witnessed Bob lose it. A true superhero.

People in this town are different. Some are as well off as the Byers family is now, but kind. In a town this small, who cares for status? Multi-story homes right next to those little wooden sheds you could buy as building kits from malls and catalogs in the sixties.

Chapter Text

Will starts to worry by day four. He calls Mike for some reassurance about the whole school situation. Will it be as bad as in Hawkins? Worse even if Will doesn‘t have his best friends to lean on? But according to Mike‘s pretend-enthusiastic voice coming from the small speaker, it‘s „your chance, Will! You can be whoever you want! Reinvent yourself! I wanna see a new Will Byers for Thanksgiving.“

El soon snatches the phone from Will, and he can actually muster a very small, fond smile. She deserves this. And she deserves as much privacy as you get with the phone in the kitchen.

Will finds his mom in the living room, still trying to figure out the exact arrangement of furniture. „Mom?“

„Is that Mike on the phone, sweetie?“

„Yeah. Things are looking okay in Hawkins.“

„I‘m glad.“ she muses. „We‘re gonna have to keep an eye on the phone bill, okay? Letters are more romantic anyways.“

A short laugh escapes Will. „Sure. Hey mom, can I maybe...“

„Maybe...“ Mom looks at him, curious.

„Can I get some of my allowance up front?“

The question itself seems audacious to Will, but damn, he gets the money. Because they got the bucks now. And his mom doesn‘t even ask what he wants to spend it on. She even sets aside an equal amount for El, but since Will can‘t get his now sister to put the phone down, he ventures out on his own.

The fact that no one shouts after him, that no one demands he take Jonathan with him, is significant. As though they are already feeling safe for the first time in almost two years. No Mind Flayer in Montauk. No Demogorgon, no Gate. Just regular old humans frying under an Atlantic sun.

Will takes his bike and a town map and gets on his way. It‘s weird. A weird town (village?). Weird people, he thinks. Hawkins is a relatively small town. But large enough to grant some anonymity. Not this place. Everyone, literally everyone, says hello as Will passes by. He nods at people, unsure if he should actually talk to anyone. The place looks colonial in parts. Living, breathing history, and Will doesn‘t even have an eye for it.

The tourist season seems to be mostly over. Not that Will could discern locals from tourists by any means, but the beaches aren‘t as packed as he imagined. He stops to look at the sea because that‘s something you do, isn‘t it? Admire. Taste the brine, salt on his tongue. Only, he finds he can‘t enjoy the sight. Looking past the people lounging in the sun in places cleared of all those rocks that litter most of the beaches here, all he finds is calm loneliness. The worst kind of loneliness. Rage would be a welcome outlet.

Will tries to be angry. Rile himself up by kicking the pedals with unprecedented aggressiveness. It doesn‘t do anything for him. Or maybe it makes him wish he had someone to race. Even if it meant falling over like he did just three weeks after he got his first bike without training wheels and decided to race Mike.

He has to slow down anyways. Shops aren‘t large or plentiful around this town, but slightly scattered and hard to make out if you‘re flying by, just staring stoically ahead. There places you can only reach by circling huge ponds. Stretches of forest too, but it‘s all flat, unlike Indiana. Will eventually finds a place that looks like it actually sells clothes for people younger than fifty. Oh, and how convenient. There‘s a small barbershop in close proximity.

Shall I tell you about my life

They say I'm a man of the world

I've flown across every tide

And I've seen lots of pretty girls

Will tries to keep the noise to a minimum when he pushes open the front door to find soft music hanging in the air. He is somewhat glad that his mom and El are linked in a slow dance. They spend a lot of time together as of late, because now they have even more in common, and Will is honestly glad about it. Both of them deserve so much better.

They break apart as Will isn‘t as sneaky as he thought. The music keeps playing but he can hear a record scratch where there is none. Both gawk at him, eyes growing ever wider. „What happened to you?“

„What do you mean what happened?“ Will asks indignantly. „Did I ever ask you what happened when you got a haircut?“

Alright, he probably looks like a different person entirely. Having gone at least halfway down the Steve Harrington-path, Will had a hard time recognizing himself in the mirror when the hairdresser was done with him. No, it‘s not quite as extravagant as Steve‘s mane, but he‘s got something new going for him. Something he wouldn‘t have dared to do back home. It‘s all for the wrong reasons, it dawns on him. But he‘s going to pull through with it now.

„Right, sorry...“ mom stutters. „But it‘s, I mean... did you buy clothes?“ She points at the large plastic bag hanging from Will‘s shoulder.

„Am I not allowed to?“ Will snaps. He decides to distract from his rudeness after realizing how bitter he just sounded. „Hey, where‘s Jonathan? Car‘s gone.“

„L-Looking for a job.“ El supplies. „Are you okay, Will?“

„Fine, never been better. I‘m just gonna... gonna go upstairs if that‘s okay.“ Will just can‘t help the bitter undertones. Shouldn‘t he be enthusiastic about this, becoming someone he just couldn‘t be in Hawkins?

„Sweetie, will you come over here for a second?“

Will hesitantly does so. Somehow his mom always knows the right words for every situation. Even if it means only a temporary fix, it‘s better than nothing. His breathing grows shallow when she reaches up to push back a few strands of hair. „Y-You‘re looking great, honey. But never spend your allowance on clothes again. That‘s what I‘m here for.“

„Can‘t I-“

„It‘s part of providing for my kids. Where did you get these anyways?“

Being thoughtful as he usually is, Will marked the store on his town map. And mom wastes no time, literally no time, to ask El if she wants to go clothes shopping. Which she does. So that leaves Will all alone for the first time.

Maybe that‘s a good thing. Because now he can spend time in front of his full length mirror. He can try all the goodies on; The pair of super bleached out jeans he got himself. All those shirts that the costume designers of Miami Vice would drool over. One is light violet; leaving the top two buttons undone and propping up the collar works pretty well with the haircut. Will sticks with that for about ten minutes in which he doesn‘t move, just taking himself in. Something is off. Should he chew on a toothpick? Maybe...

He really needs those entire ten minutes to pinpoint what exactly is wrong with this whole scene. Because it takes him that long to look into his own eyes to realize he is tearing up. His eyes are just... too alive. Will wipes at them, hard, narrows them to a scowl. He forces himself to relax, hands in his pockets. Will struggles with the act at first, but by the third time he thinks it looks believable; It‘s the exact expression people like Troy and his cronies used to show him.

„Fuck off!“ he snarls at the mirror. „Yeah, you. Fuck off! Go be a fag somewhere else!“

Shit. That‘s perfect.

Chapter Text

Will dresses up like that for his first day of school a few days later. After his initial venture out and about, he hasn‘t seen a lot of this town. They have been to some seafood restaurant as a family, and yeah that was a fun experience. The way El wrinkled her nose at the sight of shrimps. Which she enjoyed, by the way. After learning how to properly eat them, that is.

Their mom has fallen in love with Montauk and Will can‘t blame her, even if he doesn‘t feel the same way. It‘s humble and clean, people greet them with open arms wherever they go. But the immutable truth remains, it‘s not home. So Will refuses to treat it like home. He just can‘t be bothered getting to know a town that is sort of his in-between. You don‘t explore every inch of a hotel when you‘re on vacation. This vacation may last until he is eighteen and can move wherever he wants, but it‘s still just that. Mundane and meaningless in the end.

He knows how to get to school by bike, where to get his hair cut and where to watch a movie if he needs distraction. That‘s all that matters. Will is fine with it. Honestly.

It‘s early September, and still warm enough to go out without a jacket. Good, because none of the jackets Will owns would go well with this pretentious outfit. He keeps an eye on the road and one on El. She seems nervous. Beyond that. Even knowing that she is perfectly capable of handling herself in school now, courtesy of Nancy and Jonathan, she must be scared to death. She is pale, even her lips have lost all color.

What El needs is a friend. Not a mother, not a brother she‘s only really been spending time with for three months. Contrary to that, Will has a somewhat more careless attitude. He has long accepted that he hasn‘t given himself a makeover to make friends faster. He can do without all those people in this town perfectly well. He‘ll do his time, that‘s all. El is different. She wants to live her life.

„You okay?“ he asks her, slowing his pedaling.

El slows down as well. „No.“

„Can I help?“

„I... don‘t think so?“

„You‘re smart.“ Will tries to appease sheepishly with a hollow gesture of sympathy. „And I‘m pretty sure there‘s no one who couldn‘t like you.“

El gives the hint of a smile. „You too.“

Will forces himself to grin at his sister. „You mean I‘m smart? Or that people like me?“

„You are smart.“ El says solemnly. „And people like you.“

The grin falls from Will‘s face when he begins kicking harder again. We‘re gonna see about that.

Montauk Public School is small. Like, ridiculously small. More of a glorified colonial cottage than a school, with its wooden floors, slanted roof and ancient looking windows with iron frames. Will can see kids of all ages here. From first grade to senior year. Not a lot of them, of course, but it might just be every kid in this whole damn town from what he can see. Will doesn‘t give a single fuck about any of them.

Will looks down on people on purpose. He keeps his nose up high. The school spares him and El the awkward moment of introducing themselves to the class as it‘s the start of the school year and rumor has it they‘re not the only new kids in town. So no stuttering, no wringing hands in front of everyone, and he can keep the act up easily.

Sure, the class knows his name, but that‘s about all. He is content with that. Not talking to people, treating them as though they are air. Will doesn‘t need them. He‘s got friends back at home. In between he thinks every time someone passes him with a welcoming expression that he doesn‘t mirror. Montauk is a set of episodes he has to go through in between the days he‘ll actually get to live his life.

School. ‚Home‘. School. ‚Home‘. The circle will continue until he gets to go home for real. After three weeks Will doesn‘t feel any different. He relishes the dull ache in his chest, the way his stomach churns whenever he wakes to the taste of brine and the sight of an unfamiliar room. He likes to look at his map of the states. Nine hundred miles between him and his friends.

Will knows, deep down, he is being terribly unfair. He could function as a link for El. To get to know people. As long as he doesn‘t say a word at school, she can‘t either. Yes, it hurts to see her sit in the corner of a wood-paneled classroom all by herself, but it would hurt more to betray his friends by replacing them.

„Hey, sweetie? Do you... have a minute?“

Will looks at his mom standing in the open door. She is worried and terrible at hiding it, although she is definitely trying. „Whatever.“ Will sighs.

And then he listens to her. How she knows he is building a wall, how he shouldn‘t and how he has to consider El in all of this too. And the fact that this is now home, supposedly, and no one can stay alone forever.

Jonathan tells him the same. Takes him on a long drive for a long talk. Will falls asleep during it, and when Jonathan pulls into the drive of their house and only then realizes that one hour of talking has been futile, he is pissed.

Chapter Text

The boy is handsome. Ridiculously so. About as tall as Will, hair blond as the sand on the beaches, and he‘s got a nice tan. But Will is gonna be damned if he got through an entire month of this new school without saying more than yes or no to anyone other than their teachers, only to give in now. So when that disgustingly nice looking boy approaches him during lunch break, Will huffs indignantly, crossing his arms.

„Hi.“

Will cocks an eyebrow, mustering him with feigned disinterest. He is unobtrusive enough with his striped shirt and plain, clean jeans. Much like the clothes that are now hanging discarded in Will‘s closet.

„You‘re Will, right?“

Will desperately wishes he didn‘t like the boy‘s kind voice. It comes out smooth and confident, and also with a hint of understanding in it. „So what?“ he forces himself to grunt.

The boy holds out his hand. „I‘m Adrian. Just noticed you usually sit alone or with your sister, so-“

„So you thought you‘d make it your business.“ Will concludes coldly. „Get lost.“

Adrian falters a bit, frowning. „Hey, no need to be rude. I know what it‘s like to-“

Will‘s words come out louder than he intended. „You don‘t know shit! Do yourself a favor and fuck off or I'll make you!“

It‘s like a silencing spell has just been cast over the small cafeteria. Everyone, literally everyone is staring. „Seriously?“ Adrian hisses.

„Seriously. Go be a fag somewhere else.“ Will pretends not to see the sheer hurt in Adrian‘s pretty features at this well-practiced line. He pretends not to feel the pain too, and he certainly pretends not to notice the disapproving faces all around. He‘s just fucked himself over. He has finally done it. Success.

What Will can‘t ignore is El‘s expression. How long has she been standing behind him? Well, the whole thing took only about thirty seconds, so she probably has witnessed it all. Her face is a mirror of Adrian‘s, who is now slowly turning around to leave. „Well, I tried.“ is all he mumbles, and for some reason, this sparks Will‘s rage one more time. He‘s gonna show them.

„You heard me!“ he shouts. „All you fags can fuck off and leave me alone!“

He storms out then, leaving behind silence that is only pierced by El‘s quiet sobs. Will just takes off on his bike, grim satisfaction blooming in his chest. It adds to the constant ache of a twisting knife between his ribs in the best possible way, never letting him forget he doesn‘t belong here.

Mom is ‚home‘ for her lunch break. He can see her at the kitchen table. Great. Will throws the backpack halfway up the stairs before the door even has a chance to slam shut. „Will?“ Jonathan says. „You‘re back early.“

„Where‘s El?“ mom cuts in.

„Don‘t talk to me.“ Will fends them off. „I‘m grounded.“

„What?“

„You deaf? I‘m fucking grounded!“

„You...“ mom‘s mouth moves without producing words. „Well you certainly are now! Are you skipping school?“

„Big deal, right?“ Will decides to head for the stairs. His mom‘s shout „Hey, I wanna know where your sister is!“ goes almost unheard. At school he thinks. Where else would she be?

Seconds later, mom is on the phone.

No teacher was present during Will‘s outbreak. And again he is reminded this isn‘t Hawkins, where guardians have to constantly be around high school kids to stop them smashing each other‘s heads in. Mom explains the situation to a very understanding principal by making up a sudden illness, and Mr. Vogle doesn‘t ask any further questions.

That doesn‘t change the fact that Will is in trouble. He made himself a persona non grata among students. His success is El‘s loss, and that is really his only regret. He will not make friends here. But someone associated with him won‘t either. At least not if she can‘t really talk to people confidently on her own. So yeah, Will is grounded. For two weeks. No phone, no TV, no Atari, just more staring at the walls. It‘s hardly different from what he has been doing all day anyways.

To her credit, his mom tries to talk to him. She talks and talks until he can almost feel his heart bursting, but always stops maybe ten seconds short of finally getting to him because he gives her nothing. Not a word, not a glance. And in the end she is more disappointed than anything else.

At least people at school leave him alone now. And if they forget, there is not much he has to do; A simple sidestep in their direction sets them straight. Just like Troy used to do it. It‘s easier than Will would have thought.

It would be okay with him if it wasn‘t for that persistent little fucker Adrian, who still flashes a smile from time to time, and who never twitches or clears the way at Will‘s threatening gestures. Will looks at him more and more, and he hates it. Hates to see Adrian with a group of friends, or carrying his violin case into one of the two music classrooms where they often leave the windows open so the sound of piano, cello, violin and classical guitar sways outside for everyone to hear.

The last straw comes when Will‘s two weeks are over. According to mom, things are really looking up with Jonathan having found a job with the only photo lab in town and being able to pocket all of the money he makes for the first time in his life.

Will doesn‘t really feel any of that. He places his first call home in fourteen days and that gives him some comfort, but it‘s all undone when, on a cloudy Tuesday, Adrian starts another attempt. He passes Will off in between classes, a group of skeptical looking friends a few feet behind him. „Will, hey.“ he says casually.

„Hey... you.“ Will sneers, pretending he has forgotten the blonde‘s name already.

Adrian overhears that and goes on as though nothing is out of the ordinary. „Me and the guys wanna go out to see Cocoon tonight. It‘s supposed to be pretty good and I figured you might wanna come with? Maybe?“

„Better step your figuring game up.“ Will grunts.

„Hey, come on.“ one of the girls in the group says. „He‘s not worth it, Adrian.“

This satisfies Will as much as it hurts him. „Listen to her.“ he sighs. „Get out of my goddamn way and let it go.“ A few seconds, nothing happens other than Will clenching his hands into fists.

Adrian speaks again, and this time it‘s accusatory. „How about you listen to me. ‘cause I‘m the only one around here trying to help you despite the shit you gave me.“ Will is almost boiling over by that point, but Adrian chooses to come even closer, whispering. „At least help your sister out. There‘s, like, no getting through to her. Man, if you keep holding her back like that-“

The next thing Will knows is that his fist connects with Adrian‘s jaw.

Chapter Text

„William... William, are you listening to me?“

Will can hardly hear the muffled voice over the sound of a piping teapot that his brain must be producing on its own. There certainly is no teapot in the principal‘s office. He‘s been alone in here for half an hour, maybe. And now someone else is there.

„William. Hey!“ Principal Vogle snaps his fingers. Will blinks at him. His right hand is still throbbing.

„Yeah...“ he says quietly. „I‘m listening.“

„Really?“ the principal questions. „Then what did I just say?“

„Something about... expelled and stuff?“ Will guesses.

„No. Not really, William.“ the man on the other side of the antique desk sighs. He slides his glasses of with an exasperated glance in Will‘s direction. „The opposite. But you are in trouble, you know that. I‘ve been asking around. You skipping your afternoon classes two weeks ago, that wasn‘t some sudden illness like your mother claimed.“

„She‘s got nothing to do with it.“ Will defends. „Leave her alone.“

„Oh, I‘m going to. If you don‘t give me any further reason to bother her. Look, William, I know you‘ve moved quite the way this summer. It‘s... clear that you‘re frustrated. Who wouldn‘t be? But that doesn‘t mean we tolerate bullies around here. There will be consequences.“

A bully, huh? That sounds about right to Will. Exactly the image he wanted for himself to keep himself from... what? Cheating on his friends. „Whatever.“

Vogle doesn‘t comment on that. „You‘ll be pleased to hear Adrian Burnett will be alright. He insisted we don‘t send him home for the day. The same goes for Quentin Prince.“

„Who?“

„The boy you hit with your elbow when they tried to pry you two apart. You will apologize to both of them.“

„Alright-“

„You‘ll apologize and you will mean it, William. See, you can call Montauk a town, but really it‘s a village. There‘s rarely ever been trouble for as long as I‘ve been principal here. And I know for a fact you weren‘t known as a troublemaker at your old school. I‘ll pass on detention this time, and your mother will never know about this, if-“

„If I apologize.“ Will deadpans. „That‘s okay with me.“

„That, and you‘re going to write an essay. Five hundred words on how you think your recent move has affected you and on how you think you can improve your behavior. On my desk on Monday.“

Will feels something inside of him churn. This can only result in him pouring his heart out to a piece of paper. Something he doesn‘t think he can pull off without crumbling into himself. Yet, he nods in agreement. „I‘ll do it.“

Vogle looks satisfied. „I trust you can apologize to each of the boys in private. But be warned, I‘ll ask them how it went. You‘ve got your deadline, you know what to do... I‘d say it‘s back to class for you.“

Will doesn‘t go straight to class. He waits out the remaining ten minutes of the lesson in a bathroom stall, keeping a palm pressed flat on his hammering heart. He wouldn‘t care so much for the principal if it wasn‘t for Adrian‘s words about El. Yes, Will is going to apologize to those two boys. But there might be someone who deserves an apology even more than them.

„Knock knock...“ Will all but whispers, because the door is actually open. Huh. El must have done some further decorating since he was last in here. Two weeks, damn it. That‘s too long for a brother not to talk to his sister. Like, really talk. Not just ‚pass the milk‘ or whatever. El has certainly filled her room better than Will has. He may not have an eye for any of the posters, since they depict mostly people he has never seen in his life, pop stars Will is never going to find an interest in. But he likes El‘s selection of stuffed animals and more abstract art.

And, of course, there are the photos. El doesn‘t really react to him, nose buried in a book by the dim light of her bedside lamp, so he lets himself in. If the frames are arranged by priority, Hopper comes before Mike. „Do you think he‘d be disappointed with me?“

„Huh?“

„Hopper.“ Will sighs. „I‘m making a total ass of myself. Way to pay him back for everything. He saved my life.“

„I saved your life too.“ El remarks.

„Yeah. And how am I paying you back? Not any better, I guess.“

El shuts the book with force. „You‘re right. Nobody ever looks at me. And I don‘t know how... how I...“

Will flinches. „Took a complete stranger to remind me of that. I really gotta try to get things sorted out with these guys at school.“

„So you can find new friends?“

„I never wanted to make friends here.“ Will explains. „Guess I was just too dumb to realize I could just tell them instead of letting it come to this.“

El looks puzzled, as though she has never considered this. „Why don‘t you want to have friends?“

„I... ugh... remember how you didn‘t like Max at first? Because you thought Mike liked her?“

„That was stupid.“ El notes. „Against the rules. We‘re not stupid.“

„Yeah, but what if... what if the guys do the same?“ Without asking, Will flops down on El‘s bedside. „Getting to know other people is like cheating on them.“

„That is stupid. Our friends are not stupid.“

„Yeah, well then I am.“ Will has to bury his face in his hands. „I mean, look at me. All this pretentious crap, that‘s not even... god, I don‘t know.“

„It‘s not you?“ she suggests.

„That! Thank you! A-and I‘m sorry. I‘m a total dick for making your life even harder.“

El musters him for a few seconds. „I miss them too. Every day.“ she finally whispers. „Being alone doesn‘t make it better.“

„And what if I don‘t want to be better?“ Throwing his arms in the air, Will groans with exhaustion. „What if I‘m gonna keep wearing these stupid shirts and still use up a bottle of hairspray a day, and don‘t let people get within arm‘s reach? Whatever. I promised Mr. Vogle I‘d apologize and write his dumb essay, so I‘m gonna do that.“

„What essay?“ El inquires.

There is a growing dread in Will‘s stomach thinking about it. „I‘ll tell you when it‘s done. Hey, Ellie?“

„Yeah?“

„Can I get you anything?“ Will ponders. „It‘s getting colder. I wonder what the winters around here are like.“ The days are already getting shorter too. October is upon them, after all. „I make a mean hot chocolate.“

„Why is it mean?“

Will laughs, to El‘s confusion. He explains it later, when they are huddled in a quickly improvised blanket fort with a flashlight and an issue of Wonder Woman. Oh, and of course with the meanest cups of hot chocolate Will has ever made.

Chapter Text

Alright, this can‘t be so hard, right? Just get it over with, William. At least these guys have proven that it‘s not them who would start a fight, so if Will can just stop being an asshole, he might as well get them to accept his apology and then go on with his life without ever having to talk to them again. This whole bumming them out to keep them away was retarded anyways.

The whole night he wondered how he was going to find that Quentin. Will knows well enough what Adrian looks like, but with that other guy he didn‘t even notice he‘d hit him. Asking around isn‘t really an option. His black eye gives him away. Will squirms at the sight. But even worse, he follows the boy around for a while and never, never, sees him without company.

Because lunch is already nearing, Will gives up. People are going to hear. So what? Will is to blame for everything so he deserves the humiliation. „Uh, hey.“

Quentin spins around in the middle of the corridor and immediately takes a step back. „What do you want?“

Will doesn‘t miss how two other boys make a move towards him. A girl behind Quentin wrinkles her nose. „I... wanted to apologize.“

„Really.“ the dark-haired boy mumbles, disbelieving. At least he doesn‘t look aggressive. Because he is taller than Will and could probably tear him to pieces with one hand tied on his back.

„Yeah, really. Mr. Vogle told me to- aw shit.“

„Yeah, shit.“ Quentin agrees. „That doesn‘t sound like you have a choice, huh? Detention on the horizon already?“ A few of the people behind him giggle at that.

Will feels himself scowl up at him. He steps closer, which doesn‘t seem to make an impression on Quentin. „I‘m not doing this for myself. Have you seen Jane? My sister?“

„I guess so.“

„I‘ve really been giving her a hard time. Look, you‘ve noticed she‘s a bit on the weird side, right? But she‘s lonely, and being the bully‘s sister isn‘t gonna get people to talk to her.“

„And what about you?“ Quentin sighs. „You lonely too?“

„No.“ Will snaps. „I‘m here to make this easier for her. And maybe ‘cause I‘ve been on the receiving end before we moved here.“

The honesty seems to satisfy Quentin. He nods curtly. „Alright. We‘re gonna let everyone see it, okay?“ He demonstratively holds out his hand to Will, and Will takes it. While they shake hands, though, Quentin whispers to him. „I forgive you. Doesn‘t mean I‘ll forget, okay? I‘m gonna stay out of your hair if you stay out of mine.“

„Yeah. I get it.“

And still, Will feels lighthearted after that. People don‘t try to initiate conversation the same as before, but now they don‘t look at him with that much disgust anymore. And if Will can be like air, invisible and unheard, for the rest of his time in Montauk, that‘s absolutely fine with him.

Will has apologized to El and to Quentin. He considers that an achievement, even if he hasn‘t so much as started on his essay. At the beginning of lunch, he actually gets to witness a heartwarming scene; He is too far away to hear what they are saying, but a girl approaches El with her notebook open to show something to her. After about ten seconds both girls start to giggle hysterically. They part ways after a little while, but it‘s a start.

That makes the most difficult task of the day somewhat easier. Will won‘t lie, he is nervous about facing Adrian without even knowing why exactly. It‘s just that he constantly gets distracted from the words he has laid out for himself when looking at the blonde. Maybe to count all those freckles? Will is fucked and he knows it when he approaches Adrian, who is sitting at the cafeteria table among a few friends. Quentin is nowhere to be seen.

There is a huge dark blue spot on the underside of his jaw, and he sort of chews his lunch on the other side, and slowly. Will finds more than just regret in his heart. If he could allow himself to burst out in tears, he‘d do. „A-Adrian?“ he carefully steps closer.

Adrian‘s face is a mystery. He just looks up and blinks, keeping his eyes closed a little too long to look entirely natural.

„I wanted... I was gonna...“ his words come out heavy as lead.

„I know.“ Adrian says quietly. „Hey guys, excuse me for a minute.“

„You sure?“ one of the boys at the table hisses.

„Yeah. I‘m sure. Will?“

Prompted, Will nods. They head outside into the empty hall together. „I wanted to apologize.“ he finally gets out once the door is shut.

„I know.“ Adrian points out again. „Quentin told me.“

„Okay... a-and?“ Will can‘t help the expectant look on his face.

„And what?“

Will huffs. „Do you accept?“

„So far you only told me you wanted to apologize.“ Adrian says lightly. „I‘m listening.“

„You‘re not making it easy.“

„‘course not. You don‘t deserve that.“

„Ouch.“ Will utters. „Okay. Adrian, I‘m sorry. Like, really. And not just ‘cause of Mr. Vogle or my sister. Guess I should‘ve just told you I don‘t want anything to do with you. If we could just... just leave each other alone that would be fine with me.“

Adrian gives a small giggle. „You almost ruined it there in the end. But okay, I accept.“

„Good. So that‘s it?“ Will asks. He still isn‘t in the mood for a longer talk or anything, so he reaches for the door again.

„I... guess.“ Some disappointment lies under Adrian‘s voice. „I was just kinda excited to have another set of twins around here.“

„Wait, what?“ Will‘s hand stalls mid-air.

„You and your sister. Jane, right?“

„We‘re not... no, we‘re not twins.“

„Oh...“ Adrian says tonelessly. „I just figured since you‘re in the same grade and all. So one of you is a genius who has skipped a grade? My bets are on her.“

„No, nothing like that. We‘re about the same age but... El, I mean Jane, she‘s adopted. Her dad was a sort of... friend of my mom‘s I guess.“ Will is seriously wondering if he has already gone into too much detail for his own good. „Wait, you got a twin sister?“ he rambles on.

„Melissa. She was at the table too. Hey, I know you don‘t wanna sit with us. But at least try to get Jane over, okay? Then I‘ll tell Mr. Vogle we‘re cool.“

Will agrees to that. But before he can finally get out of this unwanted conversation, Adrian grabs him by the wrist. Oh the willpower it takes not to lash out for the boy again. „You two got bikes, huh?“

„So what?“ Will snaps.

„If you two meet me and my sister in front of the school at four today, I‘m gonna leave you alone for the rest of your time here. Deal?“ Adrian lets go but makes an attempt at shaking Will‘s hand.

„What do you want from me?“

„We‘re gonna show you around town. It‘s about time.“ Because he can probably sense Will‘s impending rejection, Adrian quickly continues. „If you wanna be alone for the rest of your life you at least gotta know how to pass the time. Or at least do it for Jane.“

Will hates just how right Adrian is with that. He shake‘s the boy‘s hand, thinking it might be good to know how to busy himself. Because up until now his life in Montauk has been school, homework, moping, repeat. All he really knows about this town is the location of a few stores and the theater.

Will refuses to sit with the group, but he gently but with insistence guides El over to them, and after a while all the kids around Adrian shoot him sickeningly inviting gazes. Will stares at his hot dogs.

Chapter Text

It‘s cold. Will has noticed it on his way to school and back, but right now he is faced with the prospect of an afternoon outside. It doesn‘t exactly get his spirits up. But hey, he is too cool to wear a jacket, right? Bullies don‘t allow their style to get ruined by a sissy weakness. El is packed in her parka as she pedals alongside him.

„Do you think they could be our friends?“ she muses.

„They could be your friends. I only agreed to this so that idiot leaves me alone.“ Will grumbles. „Ugh, I‘m sorry. You deserve a chance.“

„And you don‘t?“ El questions. „Last night I thought you...“

„What, that I‘d given up?“ Will chuckles. „Look, El, I‘m fine on my own. I‘m just gonna wait for Mike to come over or for a chance to visit the guys back at home.“

El shakes her head, but doesn‘t comment. Will spots Adrian in front of the school first. His sister, Melissa, is there too. He really should have recognized her as that whenever he saw the two around each other. They look strikingly similar, from the color of their hair to the pattern of freckles on their cheeks. Adrian looks welcoming, Melissa skeptical. Will won‘t blame her for that.

He definitely is glad El gets this opportunity. But for himself this is just a chore. „Hey!“ Adrian waves at them. „There you are! You‘re early!“

„Better early than late.“ Will mumbles once they are closer. He just hopes it‘s going to be over before sundown.

„Will, Jane, my sister Melissa.“ they are introduced. The girl shakes El‘s hand with enthusiasm but won‘t really look at Will. Whatever.

„Wanna get going?“ Adrian asks Will specifically. „I figured we let them do their thing.“

„I‘m gonna show you where we can get our nails painted, we can get our hands on some ice cream before they stop selling that for the winter.“ Will can hear Melissa ramble.

Adrian simply rolls his eyes. „Girls, right? Who needs them? I mean, ice cream on a day like this?“ It‘s all just gray and the wind howls, creeping under Will‘s shirt

„Yeah.“ Will stifles a burst of laughter. „Who needs them?“

The mock-scowls on both girls‘ faces are matching and in secret it makes Will‘s heart grow three sizes. Maybe El can find a friend in Melissa. After all he has done, that could be too good to be true.

He even is glad that they‘re not going to spend the afternoon together. Melissa‘s accusing glances are something Will doesn‘t exactly need. Perhaps time won‘t even drag on slow like honey like he feared it would.

Will and Adrian see the girls off on their bikes and decidedly head in the opposite direction.

Will isn‘t really an artist. Like, sure, he knows how to handle himself with a pencil and paper, but he never would possess the audacity to think he can actually produce anything that would get him recognized somewhere. Plus he hasn‘t drawn a thing since leaving Hawkins two months ago. But this town is inspiring. The gray-in-gray weather doesn‘t take away from the humble beauty of the architecture and nature. Parts of it look like a village that would fit in a D&D campaign.

Adrian shows him quite a few things. There is an arcade, which Will never thought possible. Smaller than the Palace, with a smaller selection of games from what he can see, it is still there. And paradoxically, the building around it looks nothing like an Arcade. A colonial store.

Then, in other places the town could be the set of Jaws. Adrian even acknowledges that. „Yeah, as far as I know tourism wasn‘t really a thing for Montauk ten years ago. Some people from New York spent their vacation here, but Jaws really set things off. But that was before I lived here.“

Will gets to see a few more stores that could prove useful. A record store next to a small but well equipped instruments retailer. Adrian, of course, loves the latter being a violinist himself. It's his go to place for strings, apparently. Will notices an arts supply store and makes a mental note to check it out later on.

„So what do you do?“ Adrian asks as they are once again flying down an almost empty street on their bikes.

„What do you mean?“

„Like, to pass the time? I mean I play the violin. I try to compose sometimes. Not saying I‘m good at it...“

Will chuckles to himself. Little genius, huh he thinks. It takes some jumping over his own shadow to give away something personal. „Okay. I draw. Or I used to. Don‘t really know if I‘m still into it.“

„Are you good at it?“ Adrian asks too curiously for Will‘s taste.

„People tell me I am.“ Will sighs. „What do you care?“

Adrian shrugs. „Just nice knowing something about people you hang out with.“

„Hey, we‘re not hanging out. This is a one time thing.“

„Whatever you say.“ Although he keeps looking ahead firmly, Will can sense the smirk Adrian flashes. „If you‘re into art, you probably know Andy Warhol lives here?“

Will‘s tires actually screech when he pulls both brakes hard enough for the wheels of his bike to lock up. He almost topples over from the force of that, while Adrian slowly comes to a halt a few feet ahead. „You‘re kidding.“

„No.“ the blonde shrugs. „I mean, part time. He‘s got a summer house round here. Comes to town for at least a few weeks every year. I‘ve only ever seen him once, ‘cause he‘s like super secretive.“

Will makes sure to remember that. Jonathan‘s mind is going to be absolutely blown. There is no way his brother knows about this, or he would have mentioned it to Will at some point. „Uh, okay. What‘s next?“ The sun isn‘t visible behind thick, gray clouds, but it must be setting by now. That‘s just what October is like. It‘s only going to get worse from here and Will is freezing.

„Hm, I could show you one more thing. It‘s close, don‘t worry.“

Chapter Text

It‘s not close. Not really if you‘re biking through a cloudy October afternoon without a goddamn jacket on. Probably about thirty minutes by bike from where they left off after that brief intermission. Thinking about it now, Will wonders how many miles he has put on his bike today. A lot. A whole frigging lot. And he‘s going to have to take the trip back if he doesn‘t want to sleep out here in an empty field encircled by the cold Atlantic ocean.

He can see the place from far away. He should have seen it coming, actually. This is a landmark he definitely is at least somewhat familiar with, given that it‘s basically on the cover of every other tourist brochure or map you can find in any of the stores in town. The two boys bike up there in silence.

„It‘s a lighthouse.“ Adrian notes. He has to shout over the wind that could throw them around like ping pong balls on this clifftop on a worse day.

„No shit.“ Will sneers, looking at the tower with its oxblood lower and white upper half. „Never would have guessed. Pretty famous, huh?“

„You could say that. Are you into history?“

„Not a whole lot.“ Will admits. „What‘s so special about it?“

„Well first of all it‘s the eastern end of Long Island. Look around.“ Adrian prompts. „Crazy to think that Brooklyn is on the other side of this.“

Will turns away from the tower, and yes, the view is something to behold. It reminds him all over again that this is in fact an island. It‘s so narrow he can see the waves crashing on either side of it from here, as though the land was just a chunk of dark green and decaying brown in this giant body of water. It‘s the culmination of everything Will has been keeping locked away for weeks. They are alone out here. So damn alone.

„And on top of that...“ Adrian goes on. „...George Washington authorized the building himself. This was 1796.“

„Cool, I guess.“ Will mumbles. „But I thought you wanted to show me how to pass time. If I wanna go sightseeing, I pay a tourist guide.“

„Aw, you got me.“ Adrian grins mischievously. He holds out his hand palm up. „That‘s gonna be ten bucks. Be sure to recommend me to your friends and family.“

If Mike had made that joke, Will would have died laughing. But that‘s the problem. It‘s something Mike would have said. And just like Mike would, Adrian reads Will like an open book, even if he tries to keep his indifferent face up.

„Just kidding, just kidding. I actually come up here once or twice a week. It‘s not as nice in the summer when people are snooping around taking photos.“ Will doesn‘t expect Adrian to nonchalantly walk towards the cliff, not too close, and flop down in the high grass, legs crossed in front of him. „Don‘t you wanna sit down?“

Will sits, and the grass is wet. It feels weird, takes some getting used to, but maybe ten minutes in he gets used to it and does what Adrian probably wants him to do; Stare at the ocean. The water is thrown around by the wind, and though it‘s hard to guess from up here, Will would say that the waves beneath them are about twice as tall as he is. But according to Adrian, that‘s nothing. Storms around here must be terrifying.

It‘s a while later, long after the Atlantic wind has left Will‘s ears sore and aching, when he speaks again. „So this is like all you do here? Sit around?“ In all honesty, if he was properly dressed, if he had a hat to pull deep down over his ears and forehead, Will could spend hours on end here. But Adrian doesn‘t have to know that.

„Yeah.“ the other boy shrugs. His voice has become worryingly heavy. „I think it‘s a bit like, I don‘t know, taking a shower.“

„What?“

„Never had these shower-thoughts? Like, if people could fly we‘d never do it because it would be exercise.“

Both boys let out a low chuckle. „Guess I get it.“ Will mumbles. „I take way too long in the bathroom sometimes because of this crap.“ Wait, why did he just say that? Didn‘t he want to get this day over with just a few hours ago and then never talk to Adrian again?

„Exactly. But then my uncle will start yelling about the water bill, so I can‘t really take the time to think.“

Will needs a second to let that sink. „You live with your uncle?“

„Uh, yeah.“ Adrian nods. „Have been for a few years. We‘re from Rhode Island. I mean, not terribly different up there compared to here. New England, right?“

„Yeah.“ Will says. He really shouldn‘t ask and let Adrian think they could be friends, but now his curiosity is getting the better of him. It could be because they seem to have something in common, but that Will only dimly realizes. „Why‘d you leave if it‘s not that different?“

Adrian clears his throat before speaking and he sounds distant when he does so. „Our, uh, our parents died. Yeah. It‘s... it‘s shit, y‘know.“

A thick lump is growing in Will‘s throat; He croaks more or less around it. „Sounds like shit too. Man, I thought I had bad stuff happen to me.“ Well, okay, the last two years, if not on par, were pretty bad even compared to that. But not having mom anymore? Will doesn‘t think he‘d actually survive like that. „You like it here?“

„S‘okay.“ Adrian shrugs. „Our uncle gets drunk way too often I guess, but he cares. Whenever he can. Hey, Will?“

„Yeah?“

„It‘s getting dark. We could bike over to the docks. If we make it before my uncle gets off work there‘s a free ride home in for you.“

„And what if we don‘t make it?“ Will ponders.

„You‘re gonna freeze your balls off. Seriously man, do you think you‘re too cool for a jacket or what? And, I mean, what‘s that?“ More roughly than necessary, Adrian suddenly reaches over and pulls at Will‘s propped up turquoise shirt collar, folding it down. „This isn‘t Miami, dude. You‘re not impressing anyone. And you‘re not gonna survive the winter in that.“

„Alright, alright...“ Will fends Adrian‘s hands off half-heartedly, mumbling. „Chafes anyways. I‘m red all over.“

„Too cool for an undershirt as well? Jeez. Okay, let‘s get going. Or don‘t you want a ride in a heated truck?“

„Sounds too good to be true.“

Adrian reaches the bikes first. „One more thing. I can smell your hairspray a mile against the wind. So are you gonna stop that act or what?“

„Act...“ Will spits. „Yeah right.“ But he now understands why he is see-through to the blonde. Nothing he can do or say will surprise Adrian because they‘re just too much alike. Will decides that yeah, he could cut back on hairspray. He could maybe get rid of these shirts that leave his goddamn nipples sore all the time. And he could get his parka out and just admit that it‘s freezing.

Chapter Text

It looks like this is something Will just has to go through now; Cope with the stares from everyone around that feel as though they were laser beams that burn his skin. But oh well, he got invited for lunch, and contrary to what he tried to tell himself all along, today he actually thought it might not be so bad sitting around a few people for a change. It still doesn‘t mean they have to be his friends. Will‘s mom sometimes has lunch with her only two coworkers, and that doesn‘t make them friends either.

There is the humiliation of being initiated, of course. It wouldn‘t be so bad if it wasn‘t for the crap that went down just two days prior and if Adrian and Quentin Prince didn‘t still bear the signs of a fight on their faces. Melissa, Adrian‘s sister, is actually okay Will decides. El must have seriously pestered her about giving him a chance because the girl is trying. Really.

„So, you moved here from Indiana?“ she asks pointlessly because everyone knows already. Will nods. „What‘s it like over there?“

Will doesn‘t exactly know what to make of that question. What is it like in Indiana? „It‘s not a different planet.“ he shrugs. „But I guess I thought we were living in a small town until we came here.“ In thought, he runs a hand through his hair that is now more or less lying limp without the excessive amounts of hairspray. He‘s more comfortable in his regular old sweater too.

„Feels secluded, huh?“

„You can say that again.“ Will chews on his sandwich for a while. School lunch here is better than at home, but it‘s still not explicitly great and sometimes he has to force it down. „Hey, did you guys watch that Cocoon movie?“

„Yeah.“ another boy, Richard, supplies. „Bit depressing if you ask me. A bunch of old people trying to be young again.“

„I liked it.“ Adrian shrugs.

„Yeah dude, but you‘re weird.“

Adrian shows a tiny smile that seems to acknowledge these words with a tiny bit of hurt. „True.“

It‘s nice actually. Will really isn‘t forced to talk or anything. For someone who has done nothing but piss his peers off for more than a month, he finds a surprising amount of normality with these people. He decides to cut back on the swear words. That‘s Dustin‘s thing. Mike can swear effortlessly too, but not Will. It makes his skin crawl and it‘s definitely something he has to force if he wants to do it.

El, meanwhile, has finally truly arrived in this town. Melissa is the only girl in this five, now seven-people group, and periodically some of the boys roll their eyes at them comparing all the different colors of nail polish they got themselves yesterday. Held against each other, El‘s hands look like a rainbow.

As long as he doesn‘t take this social integration thing too far, Will decides, he can allow himself at least some company. You can spend some time with people without actually being their friend if you just stay in the background and don‘t talk too much.

So much for not talking too much. Just a day later, Will is already beginning to wonder if he should just become a jerk again. No, not really, but things are moving too fast for his taste. If people could just understand that his friends-collection is happily maxed out and locked up, that would be great. But no, people - especially Adrian - have to keep pushing. And because it looks like it would be doing El a favor, Will agreed to something he never thought would happen again.

„Hey, mom?“ he says over dinner on an especially windy Friday night. „Is it okay if I... slept over at a fr-“ He clears his throat painfully. „At someone‘s place? Tomorrow.“

Mom‘s eyes light up like a Christmas tree. They probably would even if Will had just commented on the weather. They haven‘t spoken in weeks. She‘s got a vague idea that he and El met up with some people from school the other day, but that‘s about it.

„You‘ve made a friend?“

„Adrian.“ Will says curtly. „His name is Adrian. He‘s got a twin sister, too.“

„Can she sleep over at our place?“ El cuts in, making the other half of the plan known. „Melissa doesn‘t hang out with a lot of girls, I think. It could be fun.“

Will knows what their mom is going to answer before she even has a chance to recover from the news. It takes maybe half an hour (not really, but it feels like it) of rambling about just how wonderful this is, how she was so worried Will and El might have a hard time finding friends, before she gets the simple ‚Yes‘ out, that Will had somehow been dreading. No way out now, he supposes.

It‘s Jonathan who takes him aside after dinner. They are now about the same height, and yet Will feels small when his brother‘s hand digs into his shoulder. „You‘re not looking too cross about this.“ Jonathan says out of the blue. His face shows concern but also a hint of disapproval.

„You‘re right.“ Will notes curtly. „So what?“

„So what...“ Jonathan imitates. „Really, Will? Don‘t you think this is a chance? Look, we‘ve been keeping quiet all this time. We were this close to try and get professional help, you know that?“

„Who is we?“

„Me and mom. What did you think? Look, Will...“ If this is supposed to be a heart-to-heart, it‘s getting a bit ridiculous considering that Will is now the same height if not taller than his older brother. Jonathan ignores the awkwardness, though. „Mom‘s been fretting about this for weeks. She works in retail. She gets to know people. Other parents, some kids from your school, and they talk.“

„About me.“ Will sighs in defeat. „Alright, look. I‘m doing this for El, okay? Because she‘s had it hard enough. I got no problem being alone. You‘ve been alone for most of your life and you‘re fine.“

These words must hit home for Jonathan; An odd darkness washes over his features for a second. „Yeah. I‘ve been alone for a while. And y‘know you can tell yourself that‘s okay, but in the end it‘s not. Do you really just wanna wait all this out until one of your friends gets to visit or we go back to Hawkins for a week?“

Will crosses his arms in defense to keep Jonathan from getting to him. „I... I mean... yeah...“

„And you wanna go on punching people in the face if they try to talk to you?“

„What...“ Will stutters. There is no way Jonathan could know of this. „How did you... no!“

„People talk, Will.“ Jonathan reminds him. „I don‘t think mom knows yet, if that helps.“

„I apologized.“

„That‘s something, I guess. The next step would be to-“

„I know. I know.“ Will takes a few steps back as he only now realizes that Jonathan has come awfully close. „I‘m not gonna make an ass of myself.“ It‘s only part of what Jonathan wanted to say, so Will doesn‘t give him another chance before heading off to his room to lock himself in.

Chapter Text

At least Jonathan knows when to let it go and just hope for the best, or whatever he will be doing that night. Will isn‘t sure how his own night will turn out when Jonathan pulls up in front of the address Adrian gave him. The house is small even next to their old house in Hawkins. No second floor, all wood panels and thin windows, but it looks decently clean. Will recognizes the truck in the drive, as Adrian‘s uncle gave them a ride two days earlier.

Will isn‘t too fond of the burly Mr. Burnett. Yeah, he looks nice, but he must have his own demons to deal with if Will can still believe his instincts. Just looking at Adrian‘s uncle makes some alarm ring in the back of his head.

Jonathan sees Will off with an encouraging pat to the shoulder and not much else. Of course, Adrian and Melissa are both waiting by the door, and stepping inside while Melissa heads out to Jonathan‘s car makes Will feel a bit like cattle switching owners. She gives him a nod, though, which is more than he has ever gotten from her so far.

So it‘s come to this, huh? Will barely pays attention to Adrian‘s short tour of the house. Okay. They‘re starting off in the living room, next is the kitchen, the short hall, Uncle Kurt‘s bedroom, Adrian‘s bedroom.

The room is small and the door looks like it‘s actually not supposed to be there. „That‘s because this used to be one larger room.“ Adrian explains, pointing at one of the walls. „When we moved in, Uncle Kurt had to divide it and put a new door in so we could get our own separate rooms.“

„Makes sense.“ Will mumbles, imagining what it would be like to have to share a room with El. Not that he doesn‘t love her, but having Mike over would make things really difficult.

He‘d much rather live in a confined space like Adrian does. And hell, it is confined. There is maybe a four foot gap between the bed and the dividing wall, with a desk cramped in by the window. Vertical space has been used to the fullest, and all the shelves make things feel claustrophobic.

„I... I know it‘s not like the places you get where you live...“ Adrian begins his needless apology.

„It‘s cool. I mean, we‘re just lucky we struck a good deal with out old house back home.“ Will quickly cuts in. „It‘s cozy.“ It really is, to be honest. The wind outside might be throwing treetops around and the windows might be thin, but heating a room this small doesn‘t take a lot. The electric heater under the desk does it‘s job well.

Will sets down his backpack and rolled up sleeping bag in the floor. He can‘t make out any posters or figurines, or whatever nerdy decorations he has chosen for his own room. The books on the shelves look rather plain, most of them a shade of brown or plain black with white or golden titles in small letters. So really, the question remains; What does Adrian do all day?

„Ugh! Dammit!“ Will groans. This is it. He is absolutely finished. There is only so much you can accomplish with strategy, the rest is luck. Which is unfortunate. The outer regions of Australia are about as easy to defend as any territory on the edge of the map, but there are still two access routes and it‘s one army against three if Adrian goes all out.

„Face it, I‘m better.“ the blonde laughs, throwing the dice again. There really isn‘t a lot of space for them to roll, seeing as Risk features a large board that they had to cramp between the bed and the wall, with them having to lie on the floor to either side. They make it work, though, and Will is having some fun. He‘d be having more if he was actually winning, but oh well...

Will doesn‘t roll as high as Adrian. So that‘s round two lost. „Can you even un-learn Risk?“ he complains. „I used to dominate!“

„Un-learning? You know the rules, right? Your chance of winning this last one was only about thirty percent. I mean, even a draw would‘ve finished you.“

„Thanks, Einstein.“ Will mock-pouts.

A short silence settles. The walls are thin, so only the TV from the living room can be heard. There is another one of the tinny, hollow-sounding clacks from there, and it makes Adrian squint, flinching. Will has no idea what these noises mean, but it‘s clear that Adrian doesn‘t like them one bit.

„Sorry I don‘t have more games.“ Adrian apologizes, looking as though he is trying to distract. „I got Monopoly. But I guess it‘s not ideal for two players, huh?“

„Don‘t sweat it.“ Will puts it off. „I just can‘t get over the fact that I suck at Risk now.“

„Yeah, well... if it frustrates you...“

Will shrugs. In what little space he has, he rolls to his back, stretching. The window is inky-black, but from time to time a stray leaf hits it with a slap, reminding him that the wind is constant in this place.

„Hey, can I ask you something?“ Adrian says carefully.

„Sure.“

„You said you like to draw?“

„Yeah.“ Will gives a short nod. „What of it?“

Adrian shrugs. „Can you show me? Here, let me just...“ From his spot on the floor, he reaches up to the small desk to get a pencil and a sheet of paper, along with a textbook from school.

„Really? You want me to draw?“ Will isn‘t too opposed to that idea, actually. He has somehow missed it, but he also knows he won‘t be able to bring himself to pick up a pencil again, so maybe this is a blessing. He can‘t really say no without sounding like a dick. So he takes everything from Adrian‘s hands to go to work.

Chapter Text

Will takes his time to get it right. It feels just a bit weird, finally holding a pencil like that again. His hand is stiffer, somehow clumsy if he doesn‘t pay close attention to what it is doing. He used to draw without a lot of effort, and maybe it‘s going to take a while for that ease of handling the pencil to return to him.

The initial choice of a motive was the hardest, so Will settled on the lighthouse. To challenge himself, but also because he thinks Adrian might like it. The small side building comes alive first as not to give everything away too early. Will places every stroke of the pencil carefully.

„I used to be faster.“ he explains.

There is no answer from Adrian, just a bit of rustling. Whatever he is doing, Will is now caught with his sheet of paper and doesn‘t pay attention. This is good. He is still good at it, and if it takes more effort than before.

A weird, for some reason perfectly pitched, tone suddenly swings through the air. What? Will gawks at his pencil. Just for a second, before he shakes his head and sets it down on the paper again. The stroke produces another noise. Deeper this time. „The hell?“ Will mumbles, shaking the pencil to see if something is wrong with it. That‘s not it. The next stroke produces another noise, and suddenly all Will can hear is Adrian pretty much dying of laughter.

Of course. It‘s him and his dumb violin. „Yeah, bet you think that‘s really funny, huh?“ Will grunts, miserably failing at keeping his laughter at bay.

„You...“ Adrian gasps for air. „You should‘ve... should‘ve seen yourself! Shaking that pencil like...“

„Stop rubbing it in!“ Will giggles. „I bet that looked so dumb!“

„Yeah, but-“

„Hey! Keep it down in there, tryin‘ to watch TV!“ The booming yell makes the thin walls rattle all around them and it causes a flash of panic on Adrian‘s face - an expression Will has seen in the mirror more than once.

The familiar stone that drops into Will‘s stomach is there too. „We... we better be quiet, huh?“ he whispers.

Face buried in his hands, Adrian sighs. „I‘m... I‘m sorry. Look, he promised he wouldn‘t... he wouldn‘t drink tonight. I‘m gonna get you home.“

Will takes a wary look at the door. He should‘ve known. He has heard those clacking noises that make Adrian flinch every time before. Beer cans hitting a TV screen. „Are we safe?“ Really, if they aren‘t Will is going to have to stay. If they are safe, there is no reason to go home.

„Y-Yeah.“ Adrian says. He is shaking now, but Will believes him. „You just don‘t wanna be here. He‘s gonna be yelling all night from now on.“

„Yeah, and we got ways to deal with that.“

„You don‘t deal with it, you bear it.“

„Tell that to my brother.“ Will chuckles lowly. „Seriously, we‘ve dealt with this stuff for most of our lives. Here, I got something. You into music?“ Thank god Will brought his Walkman along.

Waving his violin bow in front of him, Adrian grimaces.

„No, I mean more... what do you say, contemporary stuff?“ Will hands one of the earbuds over. Not ideal to block out the noise. Better than nothing. Besides, if Adrian has never heard any of the songs on this mix, that‘s something Will simply can‘t tolerate.

They‘re still working with limited space here, so the Risk-board has to go back in its box so they can each get an earbud for themselves.

Do you remember a guy that‘s been
in such an early song...

Will himself can stand the noises from the living room so he keeps his hands busy by going on drawing as though nothing happened. Adrian, not so much. He looks like he is barely coping, one finger pressed into the ear that isn‘t occupied by the earbud.

I‘ve heard a rumor from Ground Control
Oh no, don‘t say it‘s true...

„You‘re drawing that from memory...“

„Uh-huh.“ Will nods. „It‘s not quite right, is it?“

„It‘s really good. But there‘s this sort of railing around the top of the lighthouse.“ Over the next half hour or so, Will gets some detailed information on the lighthouse. Adrian really knows every inch of it. After that he works on the shading for maybe another half hour. Long enough for the mix to end and Adrian‘s uncle to fall asleep in the living room.

One of the few blank spots on his bedroom walls is, for some reason, now one of the most fascinating. Will doesn‘t really stare at it as much as he stares through it. Something is horribly amiss here, and it‘s right outside of Will‘s grasp. It‘s already Sunday afternoon. He has been home for a good six hours, having left right after a rich ‚apology-breakfast‘ that seems to follow Uncle Kurt‘s drunken nights. He isn‘t a bad man, Will concludes. But a man with demons.

That doesn‘t change the fact that Will is missing something. It was there before he left for Adrian‘s house, now it‘s gone. Something deep inside that Will doesn‘t think he can live without, despite having no idea what it is. It‘s like he is feeling... less. Overall less.

He lets himself fall on his back on the bed. He gets back up only to be greeted by that same spot on the wall again. He paces his room from one side to the other, from the door to the window. Last night‘s storm has somewhat calmed. Will supposes this right there is as calm as it gets on an island in the middle of October. Looking at the sky is similar to looking into a mirror.

Actually, Will wants to see more if it. He has to get out and he knows where he‘ll go. Mom isn‘t too happy about it. Her contentment from last night - she absolutely adores Melissa - doesn‘t make her less wary, so when Will all but sprints out of the house, packed in three layers of clothing, she shouts after him „Will, where are you going?“

„Out!“ he yells back. „Don‘t worry, I‘ll be back for dinner!“

He may or may not be lying. Will plans on staying out as long as it takes.

Grateful that he still found his way up to the cliff, Will drops his bike in the grass right where he sits down. It‘s wet, and that‘s a bit disgusting. Well, what can he do? The view up here is worth it; The sea is in turmoil, though probably not as much as last night he can imagine.

Only when his pulse from biking up here has settled, when the ocean salt coats his tongue, Will lets out a long breath. He kind of gets where Adrian was going when he led Will up here. You can drill a hole in your skull when the pressure becomes too much, but this is a way less painful solution. It works just as well.

Will lets his fingers run through the wet grass until they‘re dripping. What is it then? What is missing, what has left him? How can missing something feel so right? Yes, it feels good. But that doesn‘t make any sense.

Mesmerized by the dark blue in front of him, Will feels the world screeching to a halt. Just to see if it does anything for him, he makes a fist. Slams it right against his chest, hard. Hard enough to make his parka useless as padding. It hurts, alright. The second hit hurts even more, and with the third he finds his threshold for pain. And yet it remains skin-deep. Never deeper.

When you get stabbed, you‘re not supposed to pull out the knife, right? At least that is what Will has been telling himself. Ignoring the fact that it‘s got to come out eventually.

Chapter Text

Home for dinner, huh? Darkness has settled before Will has even gotten up, which doesn‘t mean a lot considering it‘s October, but still. Add to that the storm that is now coming back full force and even finding the way back home is a challenge. Instead of twenty minutes, Will takes at least a half hour if not more.

He considers himself lucky that he avoided most of the rain; It only really starts pouring when Will pushes his bike into their small shed. He is absolutely exhausted now. Hawkins might have been a larger town overall, but in Montauk there is just so much open space in between landmarks. Miles and miles of nothing at times, especially if you get lost in the dark.

He stops by the front door for a second. Will knows he is in trouble. A week ago he wouldn‘t have cared. He might have flipped his mom off. Right now, though... Will doesn‘t think he could stand being yelled at. If he can just keep it down, he could just push the door open a crack and-

„Where have you been?“

Does Will really know his mom that little? Of course she has spent the last hour pacing by the door. Her demanding tone still feels like a kick to the stomach and he can‘t get out a single word. But mom can‘t either. Once Will steps into the light of the hall, whatever anger she had on her face cracks into a million pieces. Is he really looking that miserable?

„Will?“ mom asks as though she has forgotten who he is. „Will, have you been crying?“ Has he? Will really isn‘t sure. He just goes on standing there, staring, remaining pliant when mom unzips his dripping parka and pulls it off him. „There, that‘s better.“ Without any warning, Will feels himself scooped in a tight hug. That is the moment when he is absolutely done for; Looking back now, how did he even hold it together for so long? Weeks and months of pent up pressure and he is only now bursting at the seams?

Mom must be saying something, or rather whispering, though it‘s not so much the words Will picks up, it‘s just her voice. It makes him feel like a baby and if he wasn‘t bawling like one, Will would probably care.

„M-Mom, it-“ He has to stop himself there as his words come out chopped up by hiccups he can‘t get under control.

„It‘s okay. It‘s okay.“ she soothes. „Just give it a minute.“

A minute turns into two, and then maybe two more. His mom never complains, not even when he thinks he is about to break her in half. Will only half registers that she manages to get him on the couch. Having a place to sit makes things easier rather quickly.

„It-“ Will tries again after a while. „Mom, it... it hurts less.“ The first time he has said it out loud. Today‘s realization is finally palpable.

„But that‘s good, honey.“

„Yeah?“ That‘s not something Will can believe that easily. How can he be allowed to hurt less? „But m-my friends, they-... I thought I shouldn‘t-...“

„They don‘t want you to miss out on your life.“ mom whispers to him. „Didn‘t you know?“

„Know w-what?“

Will is made painfully aware of his hammering heart when she puts her palm right on top of it. „In here... Will, look at me.“ Her face is a blur. „In here there‘s enough room for so many friends. Don‘t think you‘ll ever have to compromise. Not for one second. Okay?“

„O-Okay.“ Will mumbles, and he means it. God, there is nothing he is more scared of than one day waking up and realizing he doesn‘t believe every word she says anymore.

„Really?“

„Yeah.“

In the following minutes, Will comes this close to actually falling asleep on his mom‘s shoulder. But only until she reminds him that he should probably eat something and get some quality sleep before school.

Mondays should be forbidden, Will thinks. If he had anything to say in this world, they would be. Especially after a night like that. There wasn‘t really a lot of quality sleep, because once Will had eaten, once he had already settled down, feeling light as a feather, his mind made a small crash, remembering something he had first postponed and then simply forgotten.

He had no choice. He had to go to work on that essay. More tears were shed. Probably one for each of the two thousand words that oozed out of him; About four times as much as Mr. Vogle wanted him to write. But it also somehow felt good. Almost as good as pouring it all out to his mom.

Being woken by El, jerking to consciousness at his desk with three sheets of paper sticking to his face? Not so good. Biking to school in the everlasting Atlantic wind? Better again. At least Will feels somewhat awake now. That doesn‘t change the fact that his essay is a mess of ink drops, stained with tears, spelling errors all over the place and dog ears on all corners.

Which is why Will finds himself pacing the hall in front of Mr. Vogle‘s office first thing in the morning. Alright. So what if the principal isn‘t satisfied? Will can get through detention, especially now that he actually feels he can sort things out and find his way in this town. And if his mom learns of last Tuesday‘s incident? Well, Adrian has forgiven him.

Speaking of Adrian. „Hey, what are you doing?“ He just shows up out of nowhere. Or maybe Will is too distracted by that heavy oaken door to pay attention to anything.

„Waiting.“ Will says. „Gotta talk to Mr. Vogle.“

„Don‘t worry. I told him you apologized.“ Adrian chuckles lightly. „And that we‘re friends now.“

„That‘s not what it‘s about. He wanted me to write this-“ There is a small flip somewhere deep in Will‘s chest. Something unexpectedly bright and warm. ´„We... we‘re friends?“

Mock-exasperation warping his features, Adrian smacks Will‘s shoulder. „Idiot. See you in class, yeah? Good luck with the boss.“

„Yeah. See you.“ Will can‘t help but stare after his friend. Stare and stare until his striking blond hair has vanished behind a mop of dark curls and a group of students sweeps him away.

„Ah, William. I didn‘t expect to see you before class.“ Mr Vogle looks friendlier than last week by quite a bit.

„Uh, good morning, sir. I just figured I‘d give this to you right away. I know it‘s not... I mean, it‘s... it‘s a mess.“ Will‘s hands are frantic when he hands over the crumpled pages. Just like he had expected, Mr. Vogle‘s eyebrows cock at the sight.

„I can see that.“ he nods.

To Will‘s immense surprise, the principal takes one quick glance at each of the pages, keeping his smile up all the way. Until he simply hands the sheets back to Will. Now, this is a bit unfair to be honest. Does Vogle really want to judge the book by its cover?

„Aren‘t you gonna read it?“ Will inquires carefully.

„No. This is private. I don‘t think I have the right to know what you wrote. You‘re supposed to read it, William. Just keep it safe and read it as many times as you have to. Oh, uh, you might want to wipe that ink off your face before classes start, yes?“

Mr. Vogle unlocks his office to disappear inside seconds later. Leaving Will standing in the hall, gawking at a messy essay that he peeled from his face a few hours earlier.

Chapter Text

Booking a flight across half the country might seem excessive just for four days. To Will it certainly would have half a year ago, considering the price of a plane ticket. Well, the Wheelers have been well off all along and maybe Ted and Karen even believe they owe Mike as much as paying for his Thanksgiving visit. El is pretty much over the moon before they even arrive at the airport - Will in turn is nervous in a strange way. Why? Countless letters and at least one phone call a week should be enough to effectively keep in touch.

The atmosphere at the gate is tense. To Will, all the footsteps, all the voices of countless people swarming out are somehow muffled. El is pacing. He has tried to calm her, just as their mom and Jonathan have, but Will quickly understands that she might explode if she doesn‘t get the opportunity to relieve some tension.

The flight is delayed so they have to uselessly stand there for an hour more than planned, but eventually the moment comes. Will decides to stand back first; These two just need their time. Mike steps out of the gate and is almost immediately pushed back in. Will has to admit it really is heartwarming how El latches on to him, despite people around them looking annoyed by the two kissing teens blocking their exit. If this was a movie, they‘d be clapping.

At least the two have enough sense to stumble away from the gate after a few seconds, but they absolutely refuse to break up their kiss for it. Will tries not to look. Mom has found a spot on the high ceiling that must be particularly interesting as she examines it thoroughly. Will thinks he hears the click of Jonathan snapping a photo, and he is sure the two will appreciate it eventually. That should make a good wedding gift.

Mike‘s hair is a mess, his eyes puffy and red when he slowly unlatches himself from El. A bright blush creeps across his cheeks as though he only now realizes Will, Jonathan, their mom and a hundred strangers have witnessed every second of that gross scene. Will just hopes anyone gets the wrong idea at the sight of Mike now basically making a leap for him.

„Thought I‘d forget my best friend?“

„Sucking face does that to you.“ Will chuckles. He never noticed his attitude towards this changing so much, but he really is fine with being second in line. „Missed you.“

Mike lets out a low sigh. „Yeah. It‘s just not the same without you. Hey, I really wanna get away from that plane if that‘s okay.“

„Rough flight?“

„Rough landing.“ Mike says. „Unless it‘s always like that. I don‘t know. I‘ve never been on a plane before.“

„You‘re gonna have to get used to wind.“ Jonathan explains. They awkwardly shake hands. Will‘s mom is a lot more inviting, offering Mike a warm hug. In the car, though, it‘s all about Mike and El again. That‘s okay, really. They at least try to be mindful of everyone else, waiting for the right moment to steal a kiss or two.

Will won‘t tell Mike this, but he is glad that his mom, while lenient, is still a mother; There is no way in hell that Mike is staying in El‘s room overnight. She did try not to make him feel like an idiot though, casually telling him he should bring his suitcase up to Will‘s room before dinner.

So later that night, it‘s just the two of them. Just like old times, only in a different room with different wallpaper, different carpet and an entirely different world outside. Or so it seems to Mike, who is in awe of this town. Contrary to Will, he had seen the ocean before. But as he very convincingly ensured, Florida is nothing like this place. It‘s a rough sea out there, and that gets your imagination going.

„I was thinking about giving our next campaign a sort of... maritime setting?“ he ponders, chewing on his pencil. „Remember The Shadow over Innsmouth?“

„Sounds wild.“ Will laughs. „At some point you should do your own rulebook. There‘s only so much you can do with D&D.“

„Think I could pull this off? Would require a lot of testing to see if everything‘s fair and all that.“

„You got the guys back in Hawkins, right?“ Will suggests. „Dustin and Lucas would definitely help you with it. Max... not so much, huh?“

„The guys. Yeah.“ Mike lets out a breath that tells Will not to ask. Which is exactly why he has to ask.

„Something wrong?“

At least Mike isn‘t giving him the old ‚Nothing, I‘m fine‘-lie. It‘s good to see the two of them are still above that. „It‘s like... it‘s hard, Will. We haven‘t played since you left, y‘know. And I really don‘t think they‘d want to. I mean, I don‘t wanna play without you. Wouldn‘t feel right, is all.“

„Didn‘t feel right with me there either, apparently.“ Will can‘t quite get the bitterness out of his voice. „We didn‘t play for a good half year before I left anyway, Mike.“

„Didn‘t I apologize?“ Mike groans.

„It‘s okay.“ Will assures him. „It‘s just kinda dumb that you think it‘s up to me to get the fun back into D&D for you. Why didn‘t you tell me on the phone?“

„What, and drag you down like that? Of course it‘s up to you. Will, nothing is-“ Mike stalls. Crossing his arms, he shakes his head. His voice comes out cracking. „It‘s not that easy.“

Well, this satisfies Will in an odd way. It‘s not just him, after all. Others are having difficulties too. And it even looks like he has come further than Mike. Maybe, just for once, he can be the crutch - usually Mike‘s role. Will would be fine with that.

„Hey, Mike... mind if I give you something to read?“

Chapter Text

Will doesn‘t know what it is with these two. Sucking face must be super gross, he thinks. Like, how could anyone enjoy lapping spit from someone else‘s mouth? Ew. Yet, Mike and El do nothing else. Literally, nothing. As soon as it seems appropriate with the sun up and the whole house awake, Mike leaps out of his sleeping bag, out of Will‘s room and down the hall. Will witnesses a scene he‘d rather forget in the process, so he turns his back on them as they disappear in El‘s room and heads downstairs for breakfast. Mike and El only join ten minutes later. And they only stay for about twenty minutes.

Will‘s mom shows her indulgent side once more. He doesn‘t quite understand what good an open bedroom door will do when they are actually upstairs, but he refrains from asking. They deserve this time together, Will supposes. Never mind Mike‘s words from last night. They can‘t hide the simple truth that Mike has come here to spend time with El.

No, Will is not jealous. Not at all. Not one single bit. Maybe a little. Alright, maybe his is jealous, but just unwilling to admit it to himself. It takes only an hour on the couch, alone, before Will decides he doesn‘t have to bear this. He really thought things would have changed by now, but apparently a few months apart aren‘t enough.

Will wraps himself in his parka and heads out, knowing exactly where he is biking. The idea is... well it‘s pathetic to be honest, but at least in Will‘s mind it makes him smirk. Why not give Mike a bit of his own medicine? The cool wind is a relief, just as much as pressing the doorbell.

„Oh... hey.“ Melissa looks nervous as she first peers through a small crack before opening the door entirely. „Will. W-What‘s up? I thought you had a friend visiting.“

„Uh, yeah.“ Will shrugs. „Looks like he‘s a bit... busy with Jane. I was just wondering if...“

The shout from somewhere in the house pushes Will back a step or two. „Hey, close that fuckin‘ door! I‘m not running the heaters for nothing!“

„It‘s not a good time.“ Melissa hisses, face turning red. „He‘s in a bad mood.“

„Where‘s Adrian?“

„In his room. We‘re gonna have to wait it out. You better get home, Will.“

„Hey, no!“ he protests. „Don‘t you wanna come with? To wait it out somewhere else?“

For some weird reason, Melissa can‘t believe what she is hearing. Much less Adrian. While his sister is bright red, looking ashamed of her uncle, Adrian is just pale, save for thick, dark red eye bags. This all isn‘t playing out the way wanted it to; Hell, he just thought he‘d end up playing Atari with Adrian for a bit to pass the time and maybe give Mike something to whine about.

„He got fined for drunk driving on his way back from work.“ Adrian explains.

Will‘s eyebrows furrow. „But that must‘ve been yesterday, right? What‘s he doing still... oh.“ That question was so damn stupid. What was Will‘s father doing still drunk in the morning? He should know well enough how these things happen.

„Yeah.“ Adrian chokes up. By now Will knows he takes it harder than Melissa does. „Y-You really think it‘s okay if we come over to your place?“

What a weird twist of fate that is. It only really hits Will halfway back home. What happened to the boy who used to hide from his drunk father in his best friend‘s basement?

Under better circumstances, Will would be satisfied now. Because Mike does react to Adrian the way he hoped, despite trying his hardest not to show it. Right now he has no idea why the twins are here exactly, only that something happened. That‘s enough for him to keep his emotions in check, looking over the fact that El is now talking softly to Melissa while Will is preparing hot drinks in the kitchen. To his credit, he is actually trying to get to know Adrian a little, for what it‘s worth.

„So are you gonna tell me what‘s going on?“ Jonathan comes up next to Will, who goes on stirring the pot of hot chocolate as it warms up on the stove.

„I don‘t know if they want you to know.“ Chewing on the inside of his own cheek, Will heaves a sigh. „Remember that one morning after dad‘s car had broken down and he had to walk six miles to get home?“

Something dark flashes across Jonathan‘s face. „That bad?“

„Not quite, I guess. Still bad enough.“

„Just so you know, mom said they can stay as long as they want. Even overnight if they have to.“

„I figured.“ Will smiles to himself. „But I‘ve seen what‘s gonna happen. He‘s... I mean their uncle... he‘s not dad. He‘s gonna be sorry later.“

„Doesn‘t make it better.“ Jonathan says bitterly. Perhaps his contempt for people like dad is even worse than Will‘s, seeing as he has taken most of the blows. „Hey, Will?“

„Yeah?“

„I‘m proud of you, bud. Gonna have to run some errands for Thanksgiving with mom. Are you gonna be alright here?“

„Don‘t worry about it.“ Will assures him.

A semi-awkward pat to the shoulder later, Jonathan heads out, leaving Will with the bittersweet feeling that he is doing something of worth. A feeling Will can‘t recall experiencing in the months he has spent in this town so far, including his few weeks of friendship with Adrian.

It takes two trips from the kitchen to the living room to get all the mugs over. The sight of Mike especially is actually adorable, Will thinks. Sitting next to El on the couch, he looks like a child on the verge of a temper tantrum from being denied the attention he craves. That side of him is clearly fighting with mature Mike who knows that this is a serious situation.

It still means a small blow to him that Will decides to sit with Adrian. Who is looking better already. „Thanks.“ he sighs, being handed his mug. Will hopes no one notices that he has just handed over the mug with the hugest mountain of whipped cream of all.

„Hey, look...“ Mike says quietly. „I could go upstairs. I mean, I don‘t really know you guys and everything.“

„It‘s okay. Really.“ Adrian pipes up before Will gets to tell Mike that. „Feels like we‘re actually the ones intruding. It‘s my fault.“

„What does that mean?“ Will doesn‘t understand. How is Adrian supposed to be at fault for his damn uncle being drunk?

„He only got riled up like that when I wanted to practice.“

Oh. Okay, Will gets that. „Violin.“ he explains in Mike‘s direction, who nods in understanding. „But it‘s not your fault. Okay? Or does he want you to fall behind at school?“

Adrian wants to protest, but maybe he can‘t think of anything to say. Or maybe he is too tired. „Will is right.“ Melissa agrees. „You can do whatever you want, he‘s always gonna find something to yell about. Son of a bitch. I hate him sometimes.“

„Hey, maybe I could...“ Will starts. „Maybe I could ask my mom if you can practice here. I‘m sure she wouldn‘t mind. El?“

„I‘d like to hear you play.“ El smiles.

There is a hopeful look on Adrian‘s face now. One that has Will‘s stomach flipping awkwardly in a way he has never felt before. He is going to think about this feeling long and thoroughly tonight, lying awake with Mike snoring in his sleeping bag next to the bed. And Will won‘t be able to explain it to himself at all.

Chapter Text

„Hey, mom? I was wondering...“

Okay, Will swears he doesn‘t just speak to delay the next bite of this godawful lasagna. Thanksgiving was good, like, really good, because Jonathan cooked for a change. Even their mom knows she usually messes it up in one way or another. The only one who doesn‘t seem to mind is El, coming from TV dinners and fish sticks.

„Wondering what, sweetie?“

Will shrugs. „Mike said maybe the guys all want to come here for a few weeks next summer. I mean, if their parents let them. They shouldn‘t have to stay in a motel, right?“

„Well, we‘re gonna make some room for them.“ mom says. „The house is big enough. I never thought I‘d ever say that...“

„Or...“ Will goes on. „...we could clean out the attic. We‘re not doing anything with it, right?“

She thinks about this for a moment. „The last owner left a lot of boxes up there. It‘s too much to go through in one day. But tell you what...“ Mom smirks over the kitchen table mysteriously.

„What?“ Will grins. „C‘mon, tell me.“

„You kids clean out this mess and make the attic presentable, and I pay each of you five Dollars. How does that sound?“

Eight in the evening isn‘t exactly the time when you should start an endeavour like this, but Will and El still end up with a flashlight in a dark, smelly storage space at the top of a fold-out ladder in the upstairs ceiling. Neither of them has been up here since they dumped a couple of boxes. Will scans the walls thoroughly.

The roof isn‘t steep by any means, so while the attic might be as large as the entire upstairs, a fair bit of it is simply unuasble unless they crawl on their knees. In any case, the space is still going to be enough to fit furniture and a few cots.

„Can you imagine how awesome this is gonna be?“ Will sighs. „Mike‘s eyes are gonna pop out, I swear.“

„His eyes?“ El whispers, some fear swinging under her voice.

„I mean, not literally. It‘s like... you know when you look at something impressing your eyes widen and it‘s... it‘s a saying.“

„So his eyes are going to be fine.“

„Yeah, yeah. But not his ego.“ As much as Will loves Mike, he still thinks he deserves some prodding after everything that‘s gone down this year. So screw the Wheelers‘ basement. Will is going to transform this place into the ultimate D&D lair.

„I want to go through every single box and see what‘s inside.“ El says quietly, with a somewhat dreamy undertone.

„That‘s a plus, I guess. But I bet most of it is gonna be folders full of bills and whatever people put in their attics. People say the old man who lived here was a bit weird, but we‘re not gonna find a treasure map or anything. I guess we‘ve had enough adventure for a lifetime anyways, huh?“

Will points his flashlight at El the very moment she nods. Just as Will, she must definitely think ‚More than enough.‘

„So you‘re letting the girls carry the heavy vacuum, huh?“

Will blinks a few times, trying to process this. He didn‘t think of it that way. Melissa might be right, but all he had in mind was division of labor. It‘s not like he and Adrian will just sit around waiting for them. „I mean, the vacuum isn‘t gonna help us if we got no light. Plus we‘re gonna have to find an outlet up there.“

„Why are you complaining, Mel?“ Adrian teases. „You‘re getting paid. But if you wanna deal with the spiders...“

„Next thing you tell us is to make sandwiches and a pot of coffee.“ his sister hisses.

„I‘m hungry.“ El pipes up.

Melissa stalls in her rant for just one second. „See? We‘re gonna make sandwiches now. But just for us. You can go fight the spiders if you think you‘re up to it.“

„Okay, what was that?“ Adrian turns to Will once the girls have stormed down the stairs.

„Girl stuff, I guess?“ Will shrugs. „Here, I got the light bulb. Let‘s see if the socket it still working.“

Climbing up into the attic is always an adventure in and of itself. The ladder creaks under their weight, but it feels strong enough.

„So, any idea where you‘re gonna get furniture?“ Adrian asks casually. „You at least want a couch, a few chairs and a table, right?“

„Jonathan is keeping his eyes open for garage sales and stuff, but...“

„It‘s freezing. Yeah, maybe you‘re gonna have to wait a few months. How are you gonna get stuff up here anyways?“

Will switches on the flashlight, pointing it at a spot on the floor where Jonathan has left him a long rope and a few pulleys. „Gonna build a pulley system.“ he says, not without pride. „Now where‘s that socket?“

It‘s not too hard to find because it‘s literally just hanging there by the cable. Old school. Will is careful not to get his fingers into the socket, and he is right about that. The bulb turns on immediately, blinding him for a second. Yep. That was dangerous.

„Oh shit!“ comes a shriek from right next to him.

Will spins around. In an instant, his blood is cold as ice. He yells out himself, his instincts forcing him to slap his hand against the gigantic spider that is dangling right in front of Adrian‘s face. The vile thing flies across the attic wiggling its hairy legs, and it audibly hits the wall.

Adrian is pale as a ghost, and Will sure as hell feels like one. Neither of them dares to move, eyes glued firmly to the boxes behind which the spider has disappeared. „I‘m gonna tell my mom I want at least twenty bucks for this.“

Will‘s words break the two out of their paralysis. More than that, Will finds himself almost dying from laughter a second later, along with Adrian, who absolutely can‘t keep it together either.

It happens gradually without Will even noticing. One moment they are sort of leaning on each other‘s shoulders to stay on their feet. The next Will‘s knees are so weak from laughter, he has to reach around and plant his other hand there as well. And then, one moment later, his entire body is growing weak in a hug he didn‘t see coming. Like, not at all.

On a short notice, Will trades hysterical laughter for something entirely different. Everything suddenly turns so quiet. Nothing moves anymore. Not Will. Not Adrian. Not the light bulb that has now stopped swinging from its cable.

„Will?“

„Yeah?“

The blonde‘s voice comes out muffled from Will‘s sweater. „What‘s going on?“

„I don‘t know...“ Will mumbles. For a second he can feel fingers gripping tightly into the small of his back. As if on cue, the two very slowly unlatch. „I‘m... uh...“

„Yeah.“ Adrian clears his throat. „Sorry. That thing really freaked me out I guess. I mean...“ he laughs awkwardly. „...one more step and I would‘ve had it in my face.“

„Ew!“ Will giggles. „I‘m gonna have nightmares! I‘m not gonna touch a thing up here before we got the vacuum.“

„Which we‘re gonna have to get ourselves, I guess?“

„Yeah. I swear, girls are the only species that‘d ever make sandwiches out of spite.“

So yeah, in the end Will and Adrian have to push-pull the heavy vacuum up the ladder themselves. But for some odd reason, Will is glad about it. Glad that El and Melissa aren‘t here to see through him. Because he has no idea what they would find.

Chapter Text

These are by no means the finishing touches; The room is still empty save for a few cardboard boxes by the far side, but at least it‘s clean now, so Will wouldn‘t have a problem with spending the night up here. Most of the previous owners‘ junk is gone since there wasn‘t a lot to salvage. No furniture, to Will‘s dismay. Still his mom insisted they keep the photo albums and store them safely because you don‘t just throw away memories, be it your own or someone else‘s.

Cleaning up has taken them Friday afternoon and the entirety of Saturday, and by the time Adrian and Melissa head home, this place is cozy in its own right. Creaky floorboards covered with two old carpets, it already looks like the place to hang out once it‘s properly furnished.

Will is at work attaching a line of little screw-in hooks to the timber a few inches above eye level in the corner where he imagines a couch should be placed when Jonathan appears on the ladder. „Hey! Looking good! Who knew we have that much unused space, huh?“

„Could use some help.“ Will mumbles. His fingers are already hurting and there are five more hooks to go. He points at the spot where the next one belongs.

„Sure... I‘ve been asking around at work if people got any spare furniture. Looks like some old couple from Madison Drive is moving into a retirement home and they‘re cleaning out the house. Wanna drop by tomorrow and see what we can get?“ Jonathan is faster with the hooks than Will and he gets two done in the time Will manages to screw one in.

„Awesome.“ Will smiles. „Should be a couch and a few chairs in, huh?“

„Yeah, but no cots probably.“

Because they are relaxed enough right now, Will figures it‘s as good a time as any to ask. Plus, if he doesn‘t do it now, he probably won‘t find the courage anytime soon. „Can I ask you something?“ he says casually enough.

„Yeah, sure.“

„It‘s maybe... a bit personal...“

Jonathan stops his work for a second, eyes flashing over to Will under raised eyebrows. „It‘s okay. What do you wanna know?“

Will has to swallow a few times before he gets it out. „When did you know that you... liked her. I mean, Nancy.“

Yet again, Jonathan stops. This time for a few more seconds. „Mustv‘e been two years ago. It‘s... it‘s hard to pinpoint. We kinda lost track of each other for a while after we‘d... we‘d went monster hunting. We had a tough year.“

„A-and...“ Will can‘t believe he is seriously asking this. „How did you know? H-How does anyone know?“

„Oh... Oh wow...“ Jonathan says. „That‘s, like, the hardest question anyone‘s ever asked me.“ Will gives him time, beyond grateful that Jonathan would never tease him about this topic.

But eventually, the question has to come. „Will, do you think you like someone?“

„I don‘t know. That‘s why I‘m asking you.“ Will huffs.

„Okay, well for starters you like hanging out with them.“ Jonathan shrugs.

„Yeah, but I like hanging out with you too.“

Jonathan shakes his head. „This is different. It‘s a bit like, if you‘re around them you couldn‘t care less about anything else in the world.“

„Okay...“ That makes sense, Will thinks. In a frighteningly accurate way.

„A-And...“ A blush creeps across his brother‘s cheeks. „Sometimes you have to stop yourself looking at them because you feel like a creep. Ugh, maybe that‘s just me.“

„It‘s not just you.“ Will blurts without thinking, mind wandering back to last night‘s sleepover.

Jonathan finally gets the last hook screwed into the beam of the roof. „It‘s weird, but you just know eventually. Sorry I can‘t be more specific, but it‘s just not that easy. If you could maybe try... spending more time with her. Maybe that could help you find out.“

It feels like Will has just swallowed a spoonful of glass shards. Her. Jonathan‘s assuming wink doesn‘t help at all. Will believes he knows what his brother is thinking. „Yeah, I guess.“ he mumbles, guessing his case is a little more complicated than just spending time together until the inevitable happens. „I‘m gonna take this end, okay?“

„Okay.“

Both of them take one end of the colorful Christmas light string, of which they certainly possess a massive oversupply, and run it through the hooks. For a quick test Will plugs them into the power strip. „Jonathan?“

The whole attic is now tinged in a swirl of pink, green, blue, violet, orange, red... „Yeah, bud?“

„Thanks. Just so you don‘t... assume anything. It‘s not Melissa.“

„I‘d never.“ Jonathan solemnly says. „I don‘t know if I‘m the best one for the job, but if you ever need help with this stuff, I‘ll try. Anything else you wanted to get done tonight? I wanna help mom with dinner before it turns into a disaster again.“

„That‘s okay. Next thing would be furniture. So we‘re gonna head over there tomorrow?“

Jonathan gives a short nod. His voice turns low and secretive. „Mom doesn‘t want me to tell you, but she‘s thinking about getting a new TV for the living room. Can‘t let the old one go to waste.“

Will forces a grin until Jonathan is down the ladder and on his way downstairs. Then he lets himself flop down to the carpet, legs folded. Colors are still dancing around him and dammit, he can tell himself it‘s not true, or it‘s stupid and immature, but he really wishes someone was with him right now. Someone whose light hair would look just so pretty tinged in all these different colors. Someone who is thoughtful, who wouldn‘t mind just sharing the silence for a while. Who‘d share a little more than the silence, actually.

Maybe he‘ll meet someone like that tomorrow. Out in the storm on a cliff top under a towering lighthouse. Or maybe Will is just going crazy all over again, with no one to go crazy with. Face buried in his hands he waits there until dinnertime comes around and he has to leave his refuge.

Chapter Text

„No, thank you. Really, Karen, I appreciate it. We‘ve already booked the flights anyways.“

Will watches his mom pacing in the kitchen as much as the phone cord allows for. He doesn‘t want to spy by any means, but she has already seen him anyways and doesn‘t shoo him away. Will thinks Mrs. Wheeler should stop trying already. Her prodding makes Will‘s mom uncomfortable, evident by her deep frown and shaky hands.

„Yes... sure I will. You know, you‘re welcome here too, Karen. It‘s a nice place for a summer vacation. Not just for Mike. Alright. We‘ll keep in touch. Sure. Bye, Karen.“ She only exhales all the tension once the phone is secure on the wall again. „I swear she‘s going to call again tomorrow.“

„You lied. We only wanted to book the flights this week.“ Will deadpans. He at least believes to get it.

„Yeah, well...“ mom grimaces. „What can I do? Tell her the truth?“

Will is probably in no position to offer advice to his mom about a topic like this. Or really anything that doesn‘t have to do with Star Wars, Dungeons and Dragons or the X-Men. But that is one thing he can agree with. „Not the truth.“ he nods. „S-So you‘re really not coming with us for Christmas?“ The prospect feels far-off and just not right. Spending Christmas without mom? Almost inconceivable.

„I‘m sorry, honey. I just... I can‘t. I can‘t go back to Hawkins.“ It looks like it‘s causing her physical pain to even say it.

Will‘s bottom lip tugs itself under his teeth. There is nothing there for her, he supposes. Just an empty grave and a headstone that will never do Hopper justice. „I guess I‘m a bit scared too. Not that anything could happen, just... the feeling. I haven‘t had a nightmare in a month, I think.“

„I‘m glad you‘re getting better, sweetie. I... I thought you resented me for taking you here. Just because I couldn‘t stand Hawkins anymore.“

It‘s something Will is not going to admit. He did. Will did resent her for it in the beginning. But things are now falling into place in a way he never could have anticipated back then. Putting half a world between him and his past is working miracles. Having new people, a new room to find upon waking up, the wind that sweeps through him, washing away the memories of fear and weakness whenever he steps outside... He thinks he can even handle a one week trip to Hawkins. But it‘s okay if his mom can‘t.

„Do you have anything planned for the weekend?“ she asks him, and Will grins.

„I‘m just waiting for El to get ready, actually. We‘re gonna watch a movie with a few guys from school.“

Mom warily gazes over at the window. It‘s a cloudy day as it‘s almost always during this time a year, and the cold is already crackling. „The weather report said it could start snowing any day now. Do you want me or Jonathan to take you?“

„We‘ll be fine.“ Will assures. „I promise it‘s gonna be three hours tops. We got hats, scarfs and gloves and if it starts snowing we‘ll just push our bikes.“

„We‘ll be home before eight.“ El‘s voice appears along with her in the door frame. „And they have a pay phone at the theater too.“

Another one of these little details that make Montauk feel like home more and more; Especially in the winter, especially when it was cold and the sun wouldn‘t stay up for long, Will‘s mom didn‘t like him going anywhere without her or Jonathan. Especially not on his bike, for some reason. Perhaps because it allows him to get further away. This place on the other hand has her at peace with that idea for the first time in two years. And Will can feel free for the first time in that long.

Ten minutes later, Will is about ready to trade that freedom for a ride in a heated car. Or really in any car that has a roof in place. Temperatures must have passed freezing point by now and are probably about to plummet ever further. A bike ride, no matter how short, is about the worst experience he can think of right now. El isn‘t resistant against the cold either, so after just a few minutes of biking, magnifying the wind tenfold, they decide to just walk. There is no need to rush right now.

„Hey, El...“

„Yeah?“

„You‘ve never been to the movies before, huh?“ Will asks his sister. It‘s weird to think that his could be true for anyone he knows.

„I‘ve seen movies.“ she shrugs. „Just not at the theater. They say it‘s better than the TV.“

„If there‘s anything you don‘t understand, ask me, okay?“ Will tries to tell her this without implying she might be weird. Which she is, in a way. It just wouldn‘t be nice to say that, even if Will thinks he himself is even weirder.

„Because the others would think it‘s strange that I don‘t know some things.“ El says bluntly, taking that off of Will‘s shoulders. She hangs her head a little at her own words, though.

„Hey, that doesn‘t mean you‘re stupid. Okay?“

„I know, I know. Mike tells me all the time. Knowledge and intelligence are two pairs of shoes.“ she sighs. „But it still feels bad sometimes.“

„Maybe I should start feeding you movies like Eggos until you got it.“ Will stifles a chuckle. „Hey, there they are. Did they seriously wait for us outside?“

The two find Adrian and Melissa with a few other people from school waving at them from the entrance to the small theater. At first glance Will makes out Quentin Prince along with his friend Tom Frink, there is Leslie, a girl whose last name always seems to escape Will, as well as Perry Gardiner, the weird kid with the thick glasses who would be the victim to bullies in any town bigger than Montauk. A town where kids seem to be above that.

It‘s just so pleasant that this all feels normal to Will. No effort involved, they all exchange their greetings, some more giddy than others about all the shenanigans they expect from Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd.

They get their tickets first, and after a twenty minute wait in the foyer, two buckets of popcorn later, they have to restock on snacks and drinks for the actual movie. Especially El doesn‘t hold back with the snacks, and that isn‘t unheard of in the Byers house, but sure enough it earns her some amused glances especially from Leslie. She basically buries herself in her seat between her popcorn, packs of M&Ms, chips, two cans of coke and a bowl of nachos, all of which she shares generously.

Will didn‘t like anything spicy a few years back, but now he finds himself reaching for the chili-cheese nachos more than he would have thought. It must be about the warmth they spread in him.

Though he finds real warmth somewhere else. In a cruel twist of fate, Adrian sits two seats over; Not where Will actually wants him. Still, he gazes over Melissa's lap to his friend more than he looks at the screen. He doesn‘t even make sure no one notices this behavior, just hoping it‘s dark enough in the theater. After a while, he loses track of the plot.

„Doctor.“ someone says on the screen.

„Doctor...“ comes the response.

„Doctor.“ someone else says.

„Doctor.“

„Doctor.“ the loop goes on.

By the seventh or eighth time, the entire audience is in tears. Adrian too, making Will in turn even more fascinated by the unbridled way he laughs so hard and with such unfiltered honesty that he almost knocks his drink over. What did Jonathan say?

‚Sometimes you have to stop yourself looking at them because you feel like a creep.‘

‚It‘s a bit like, if you‘re around them you couldn‘t care less about anything else in the world.‘

What was that movie about again? What was it even called? Will can‘t remember, but does any of that even matter when someone that perfect is in the room with him, near enough to watch but to far away to... to what?

If only there was a spider around here somewhere...

Chapter Text

The situation is dangerous. For more than one reason, of course. Both Will and El have been turned into a threat to themselves if they aren‘t careful. As much as Will is usually comfortable around the people he is with now, this evening might just be taking a turn for the worse. They‘ll have to pay close attention to what they do and say now.

„Hey, we were planning to have a little party before Christmas when Uncle Kurt is working the night shift.“ Melissa had said.

„We‘ll have the house to ourselves.“ she had told them.

Yeah, what a great idea. Not. Or it would have been if it hadn‘t been for Melissa and Leslie, the daring, self-confident girls who wouldn‘t pass on the opportunity to snatch a few beers from Uncle Kurt‘s fridge. Not that Adrian had protested too much. He‘d been curious himself. Their uncle wouldn‘t notice two or three cans missing seeing as he has an entire separate fridge dedicated to beer.

Will can still feel the unspoken pressure from back when Melissa first handed him the can. No one would have deliberately made fun of him, but he had felt it was necessary he at least took a sip. So now, a few more sips later Will is feeling pleasantly warm and relaxed on the inside, but that‘s the problem; He finds himself letting his guard down too every once in a while.

Several times he shoots El a pointed gaze, and if she catches it, she nods knowingly. It‘s relief to know that she is watering down the ‚Friends don‘t lie‘ rule for this. Truth or dare... whose brilliant idea was that? Melissa and Leslie are especially tipsy by now. None of the boys actually wanted to drink that much, so the two had to empty the three cans almost entirely by themselves.

„Okay, okay.“ Leslie giggles. „Here it goes. Perry. Truth or dare.“

„Ugh...“ The boy goes on adjusting his glasses before he sighs. „Dare, I guess.“ Big mistake. The game has escalated rather quickly, but then again truth wouldn‘t have been much better. The girls whisper to each other for a second.

„Okay.“ Melissa eventually says. „Two years back my frisbee landed in Mrs. Gunderson‘s garden next door and she never gave it back. So you‘re gonna get out on the front lawn, shout her name and then you‘re gonna show your ass to her. Like, your bare ass.“

Surprisingly, there is no back-and-forth. Perry‘s face turns grim, looking as though he has to prove himself. But it‘s midnight anyways, so whatever. With the whole group assembling around the front door, he steps out into the freezing December cold, shouts at the top of his lungs „Hey! Mrs. Gunderson!“ and swiftly turns around, tugs his jeans down a few inches before running back into the house where the mood has dissolved into giggles. Nothing more comes of it.

Melissa wastes no time to turn on Will, who is next in line.

„Truth.“ he chooses with a heavy heart.

„Alright. Do you like anyone? Be honest.“

The question doesn‘t hurt less just because Will knew it was coming. He wills himself not to look at Adrian, lying „Nah. C‘mon, why‘d you even ask?“ He tries to play it humble that way.

„Boring!“ Leslie shouts. „Should‘ve chosen dare. Jane, your turn.“

„Truth.“ El shrugs, unimpressed. Will is more than relieved Leslie let off that easily, but he is prepared to stay firm through this entire game.

„Do you like anyone?“ Melissa sheepishly repeats the question.

„You guys all know I have a boyfriend. Yes, we hold hands. Yes, we make out. Whatever.“ El says, resulting in Leslie huffing. Will has to grin; El is getting better and better and defying people who annoy her. Max must have kicked something off there last summer.

„Mel, why did you ask her that? She‘s right, we knew that already! Now I‘m gonna make it your turn.“

„What-whatever.“ Melissa hiccups. „Truth.“

Leslie shows a devious smirk, glancing over at Adrian out of all people. The way she looks at him makes Will seriously wonder if he should still consider Leslie his friend, or just simply a threat. Her voice is low and mischievous when she speaks. „What‘s a secret about your brother that he doesn‘t know you‘ve found out?“

„Oh come on!“ Adrian complains, playing over his apparent shock by trying to look annoyed. „That‘s unfair! Let her tell a secret about herself.“

„I know all her secrets.“ Leslie tells him.

„Alright, alright.“ Melissa giggles. „I know...“ she says slowly. „I know what Ady is hiding in the only unlabeled box under his bed.“ She regrets it he second the sentence has escaped her; Both twins pale. Not just a bit. They are white as ghosts, looking at each other in utter shock.

Adrian is the first to pull it together. „You mean those shitty compositions from back when I was ten?“

„Uh, y-yeah.“ Melissa stutters. Something is wrong here. Horribly, horribly wrong, and it‘s probably good that Leslie has had one too many sips. She doesn‘t get it, and the ones who do exchange glances, promising each other to forget about this. „Why do you even keep these?“

„Emotional value, sis. Just emotional value. Writing music is hard work. Good to remind me where I‘m coming from.“ Adrian says lightly. His lips don‘t assume their usual pretty bright red again, though. Not for a long while. And all of a sudden, Melissa looks lie she doesn‘t feel like playing this game anymore.

Adrian has been gone for a while, Will dimly realizes. At least five minutes. Which is longer than a healthy person should need to take a leak. By now everyone is just huddled around the TV, the beer finally taking its toll especially on Melissa and Leslie, who are drifting to sleep periodically before jerking awake again. Will knows it‘s going to be a lesson for Melissa. She shouldn‘t have proposed this in the first place, considering her uncle.

Will had less than a quarter of a can, the same goes for the other two boys, and El only took one sip before declaring beer disgusting, so she is sober as she is any day. „You think he had to throw up?“ Will whispers to her. „I‘m getting worried.“

El shrugs. „He didn‘t have that much to drink. Maybe I could-“

„I‘m gonna check up on him.“ Will declares, because as much as he loves his sister, he is going to do that himself. For selfish reasons, he thinks with resentment towards himself. All he can think of is how upset Adrian looked after the game had ended. It feels wrong to think he might get a hug out of his friend‘s misery, but that‘s what it‘s come to.

He walks slowly down the hall, knocking on the bathroom door first. No answer. There isn‘t even a sheen of light in the crack under the door. There is, however, light in Adrian‘s room. The door isn‘t closed entirely, and the softest of noises escape the small chamber. A bit of rustling. Sniffling too, maybe. Will is just tired. Tired and worried, and he pushes the door in carefully but without knocking.

He barely has time to take in the scene; Adrian on his knees next to his bed, cardboard boxes scattered in what little space this room offers. Along with crumpled paper that must stem from the trashcan. Adrian is at work hastily stuffing rectangular objects deep down into the now empty trashcan, obviously planning to cover them up later.

But it doesn‘t come to that, because the door creaks and his head spins around with a soft cry of panic. „Sorry, I-“ Will is cut of by a sudden jerk of Adrian‘s arm and the object flying across the room, landing right at his feet. Their eyes lock for a second, Adrian‘s showing fear and nothing else.

The object is a magazine, Will realizes looking down at it. A very special one. It has landed with the centerfold on full display. The man in the photo is muscular with a nice tan, he looks tall and his face is dominated by a strong jawline covered in a neatly trimmed dark beard. Oh, and he is stark naked, posing for the camera in a way that shows off a lot, but not quite everything.

His mouth going dry, Will closes the door behind himself and very slowly picks up the magazine. „Oh.“ he whispers. Something inside of him churns and spreads through his blood tingling and warm. He likes what he is seeing for more than one reason. But Adrian doesn‘t know that; He is frozen on the ground, eyes welling up with unnecessary tears.

Will feels the need to kneel down with him, but he is unsure what he can say to make it better. He could only rasp a few words anyways. „He‘s sexy.“ he manages to whisper.

„Wh-What?“ comes the squeak from Adrian.

„I mean him.“ Will points at the centerfold before starting to shift through the pages. Some of these photos are arguably even better, with even two full frontal ones that show off everything. „These are all pretty sexy. Which one‘s your favorite?“

Will looks up only to find tears dripping from the tip of Adrian‘s nose and down his flushed cheeks. „I‘m sorry...“ he croaks. Oh god, he must be thinking Will is making fun of him.

„Hey, no. Don‘t be. This is awesome. I like this one.“ Will shows a photo of a guy who must be about thirty, blond, flexing his abs on a bed of dark red silk. That only makes things worse. Adrian now falls against the bed, face pressing into the sheets as he tries to quiet his sob as not to alert the others in the living room.

Will can‘t help himself anymore. Magazine still open in his lap, he reaches over. Careful at first, as though touching his friend could electrocute him. But it‘s okay, and his palm ends up circling in the small of Adrian‘s back. Will does that for a while, taking in the vibration and the warmth, wishing he could find the right words for this moment.

Nothing happens for a time, perhaps about as long as it takes Adrian to realize Will is in fact still there with him. He warily raises his head again, blinking tears away. Something is going to happen, Will thinks. He can feel it by the way his heart starts hammering, the way he ends up with a tunnel vision that purely focuses on those white lips. And Will is just so, so happy that this magazine exists, and that it‘s here in his lap.

Will is fourteen years and two hundred and sixty-one days old at the time of his first kiss. He is going to calculate that later for no reason at all. He shares this moment with someone he truly cares for, over a lewd magazine between a few cardboard boxes and a pile of trash. Though he thinks he will later call the second kiss his first one. Because at first, he doesn‘t feel anything; It‘s an out-of-body experience that has him crashing back to reality.

The second one is when he gets to feel everything; Chapped lips on his, the faintest taste of beer and salt. He can feel hands tugging on his sweater to keep him in place, and Will doesn‘t fight it. Not even when he feels out of breath.

In the end, they are both sucking in air desperately, eyes locked only a few inches apart. Adrian‘s green orbs are lined in red. „You didn‘t know she knew...“ Will whispers to him.

„N-No.“ Adrian rasps. „Did you know?“

This, in turn, brings a few tears to Will‘s eyes now. „I think I hoped...“ Thinking back to the day Adrian first tried to talk to him, Will believes he even hoped back then. „W-Was it good?“

„Yeah.“

„You wanna-“ Will could curse the knock on the door now. The moment is broken by it, and by the voice on the other side.

„Ady?“ It‘s Melissa. Well, maybe it‘s for the better. „C-Can I come in?“

She already knows Adrian‘s secret. No need to hide anything. „Come in.“ he croaks. Melissa looks like hell, Will thinks. She has to hold herself up by the door frame as not to topple over.

„I‘m s-so sorry.“ She appears to be fighting her slurred speech, being the lightweight that she is. „I never should‘ve...“

Adrian looks up at her, wiping at his eyes. „No, you shouldn‘t.“

„A-And I should‘ve told you that I knew.“

Will feels this is a moment for the twins and no one else. But he just isn‘t quite ready to give up Adrian‘s touch yet, mustering first his friend, then the drunk girl in the door. He can‘t really think anything but fuck it, before he makes another dive for Adrian. „Can you come over to my place tomorrow?“ he whispers against the blonde‘s lips.

„I-I‘ll be there.“ Adrian mumbles.

When Will leaves the twins to it, he finds Melissa finally looking awake, eyes blown. Everyone else is already asleep on the living room couch, on the floor, wherever they have found a spot, be it in the most impossible positions. Will doesn‘t sleep that night. Not for one second.

Chapter Text

Will isn‘t pacing. No, not at all. He isn‘t stepping back and forth behind the front door, running his hands through his hair, trying to keep his shaky limbs under control. He doesn‘t feel his heartbeat racing and knocking against his chest from the inside like a bomb that‘s about to go off.

Oh, who is he kidding? That is exactly what is happening right now. And because he isn‘t exactly sublte about it, this behavior doesn‘t go unnoticed. „Sweetie, are you alright?“

„Uh, yeah.“ Will says in an attempt to assure his mom.

She looks at him unconvinced, but decides not to push it. „Is Adrian staying for dinner?“

„I guess so.“ Will utters. More like I hope so, because Will himself is about to flee the house and if that‘s anything to go by, Adrian might not show up at all. But then it‘s there, the relieving ring of the doorbell. Will rips the door open before Adrian has a chance to ring a second time.

„Whoa...“

Will thinks he must be blushing bright red. „I, uh...“

„Hi.“ Adrian laughs.

„Hi.“ Will breathes, only now realizing he is still blocking the door. He steps aside. „C-Come in.“

Adrian behaves no different than he would any other day. He shrugs off his jacket and hangs it by the door. Does he even remember last night? „Hi, Mrs. Byers.“ he says casually. She greets him back, asks if he wants to stay for dinner. „If it‘s not too much trouble...“

„Hey, wanna go upstairs?“ Will doesn‘t know how he can even speak around the giant lump in his throat.

The do go upstairs. As far as they can go, meaning past Will‘s room, and up the ladder to the attic. It‘s sort of become Will‘s favorite place in the house because the old couch he and Jonathan could find for the place is well worn and comfortable, and placed right in front of the TV where the Atari is connected. All the way up, Will leads the way, not turning around. And when he does it just manages to blow him away.

„How is your sister?“ he asks, both out of genuine interest and because he can‘t think of anything else to say.

Adrian gives a small chuckle that would have seemed normal yesterday, but now makes Will seemingly melt away with bliss. „Last time I checked she was throwing up with your sister holding her hair back. But she apologized. Again.“

His cheeks are pink from the December cold. It‘s well below freezing point outside, although the first snowfall is late so it‘s still dry. He sniffs, his nose just a bit runny. Something moves in Will‘s stomach tickling his insides, something he thinks might want to come outside. He barely registers sitting down on the couch, but that‘s where he finds himself when Adrian says „I-It‘s okay if you don‘t wanna talk about it.“

Will has to blink his confusion away. „N-No. I want to. I just don‘t know... where to start.“ Haphazardly his hands reach out, unsure where to go and what do hold on to. Just for a second or two, but then Adrian catches them in his own ice-cold hands. It feels like an electric discharge, a relief of tension. Will breathes out, unable to help his shaky giggles as they finally fall against each other.

„Let‘s start by not being weird, okay? Please.“

„Promise. I just wanna know...“ Well, what does Will want to know? Why everything about this moment feels so right? Why doesn‘t think he‘ll ever want to leave this embrace again?

„I... don‘t know what we are.“ Adrian supplies. „Don‘t really wanna put a label on it anyways. Do you?“

„No, it‘s fine.“ Will hums. He could curse himself for yawning, but that sleepless night is really catching up to him. „What do we do now?“

„We could...“ Adrian‘s cheeks go from December-pink to dark-red fast. „I mean, where did we leave off last night?“

The heat of nervous anticipation hangs between them, floods through them until Will guesses he is just as red as Adrian. Is this what it feels like? Is Will getting it now? Will ‚Never Gonna Fall In Love‘ Byers, who could have thrown up at the sight of his brother sporting hickeys, or his best friend showing off his swollen lips. But now in a twist of fate, Will wants all that for himself.

Oh god, he is in love. Feeling it is one thing - being entirely aware of what it is, that‘s the really mind-blowing part. This time, they are a little more daring. There is no way Will is keeping his hands to himself when he again gets to feel the best sensation in this world period.

His mind is going haywire the moment he touches Adrian‘s lips with his. If Will could live solely of this feeling, he‘d never leave this attic again. For some reason he‘d like to get rid of his heavy sweater now. Adrian‘s hands placed on Will‘s sides would feel way better that way. But as it‘s almost too much for Will to handle as it is. Almost too tingly. He curls into himself just a little bit.

Out of breath, but aware of everything, Adrian pulls back to look at him. „I-Is this weird?“ His grip loosens.

„What? No!“ Will says. „No, of course not.“

„I just don‘t wanna ruin this. Promise you tell me if you think anything‘s weird or off or whatever.“

Will has to laugh. „If you promise me the same. Let‘s... let‘s make that a rule, okay? Whatever we do, we‘ll ask ourselves if it‘s weird. And if it is, we don‘t do it.“

Adrian nods, understanding where Will is coming from. „We‘re gonna be left with the good bits. Good idea not to put a label on it then, huh?“

„Yeah.“ Will yawns again, shaking his head to chase away the haze of sleep. „Sorry, didn‘t sleep well.“

„C‘mere.“ Adrian prompts, which is odd considering they are about as close as they can get. Or are they? A gentle nudge to Will‘s knee later, he sort of throws his legs across his friend‘s lap. How it happens, Will has no idea. All he knows is, his cheek can feel Adrian‘s heartbeat through his jumper, and counting every thump seems to him like counting sheep.

„Is this weird?“ Will asks warily.

„Nah. Get some sleep, Will.“

Chapter Text

For the few days he has left before his Christmas visit to Hawkins, Will is over the moon. And why not, he thinks. Why not enjoy every little touch to its fullest, why not bathe comfortably in a level of affection he has never experienced before? Why not steal kisses in unobserved moments, cuddle in the privacy of the attic? For once, Will isn‘t ashamed to tell himself that he simply deserves this. And if that sounds self-righteous, so what? Sue him.

And god knows Adrian deserves this too. Will only knows very few details of what exactly his life looked like before Montauk, and Adrian knows even less about Will‘s own way to this place, but they both seem to feel this connection. Jonathan said something about shared trauma once, and Will wonders if this applies to him and Adrian.

Their newfound ritual - „Is this weird?“ - always results in them finding new ways of feeling warm and protected; Bitterly needed because the snow starts about a week before Will‘s booked flight to Indiana and it shows no signs of letting off until it‘s about halfway up to Will‘s knees. So Will does the only thing that makes sense. He insists on having Adrian over for as many hours on as many days as possible, making hot chocolate just to realize getting steaming hot cups up the ladder to the attic is a challenge.

But it‘s worth it for the hours spent on an old couch by the dim glow of an old TV, wrapped in a blanket under rainbow-colored Christmas lights. „Are we getting careless?“ Adrian asks one of these afternoons, pulling Will from a light doze.

„What do you mean?“

„This.“ Adrian demonstratively pulls Will closer by his waist. „People like us should be keeping one eye open.“

„People like us.“ Will huffs.

„Y‘know, queers.“ Adrian says with such a casual shrug that Will has to giggle. They are queers, aren‘t they? Complete fags and fairies. And they‘re happy with it.

But sadly, Will also knows where Adrian is coming from. He places a small kiss on the other boy‘s nose because he like how it always makes Adrian blush bright pink. Will then sighs. „Look, no one‘s gonna come up here without us hearing. We can keep this a secret forever if we have to. Melissa and El aren‘t going to spill the beans.“

In all honesty, Will isn‘t so sure about El. Not because of malice. It‘s her naivety that worries him. Will has decided he likes boys and not girls. No big deal to her because she grew up in a place where none of this mattered. He does believe her promise, though, so it‘s fine.

„Hide...“ Adrian says bitterly. „It‘s not fair.“

„No.“ Will agrees. „Look, I guess we‘ll have to come clean to a few people in the future. I already told Jonathan there‘s someone I could like and-“

Adrian cocks an eyebrow. „You like me?“

Whatever Will was going to say, it dissolves into giggles from both of them. „Just a little bit. Whoops...“

Before Will knows it, Adrian has straddled him again, shaking with laughter. They have managed to fall asleep in this position once before, right after they had found out that this is about as close as two people can get to each other physically. Will is bathed in warmth like this, overwhelmed by the feeling of two heartbeats meeting.

„You realize if we decide to tell my mom, we have to put a label on it?“

Adrian nods nuzzling the little spot on Will‘s neck that always tickles him to the point of tears. Though Will supposes it really doesn‘t matter what they call themselves. Boyfriends, friends who like to kiss and cuddle eight hours a day. Whatever. Right now they are as happy as two fairies can be in a world like this.

There are some things Will finds still hard to admit to himself. Mainly that he is beginning to understand Mike and his behavior of the past year. It‘s so shocking, but most of these days Will just can not see a point in doing anything else but to shimmy from kiss to kiss, to lounge in the feeling and taste of it.

Never mind family or friends. If Will could live off Adrian alone, he wouldn‘t eat or drink a thing anymore, or so it seems to him. He is only too glad that Adrian feels the same way, much to his sister‘s dismay. Melissa constantly teases him with it, alternating between ridiculing and begrudging. Which leaves Will in the weird situation of understanding both sides.

„Were we like that?“ El asks him out the blue one night long after dinner in front of the living room TV. „Mike and I? I didn‘t notice.“

Will is taken aback. He has just spent an hour daydreaming about summer and how the sun will give Adrian back his freckles that looked so good on him. He takes a wary look at the doorway to the kitchen, but mom and Jonathan aren‘t in hearing distance with the TV blaring.

„Ugh, I know it‘s bad. No need to rub it in. Now that I get it I feel like a jerk for exploding in Mike‘s face like that.“

„But were we like that?“ El presses. „I think I should be sorry.“

„What, no!“ Will says. „I mean yeah, I think I hated you for a while and-“ He stops himself there, realizing that his words sounded far too harsh. He is talking to the girl who saved his life too many times to count. Who had little and lost most of that. „I didn‘t hate you. I guess I was just jealous, or whatever.“

What Will doesn‘t say is ‚We both know well enough that you‘re gonna be like this again once we‘re back in Hawkins. And it‘s fine.‘

„Love does weird things to people.“ El repeats a sentence Will thinks he‘s heard from his mother before.

„Yeah. And Mike loves you a lot.“

„Do you love Adrian a lot?“

Will chokes on his own tongue hearing those words. Mike, in a fit of rage, telling everyone he loved El sort of came like a shock last summer. Maybe El doesn‘t quite grasp the significance of it. „I think it‘s a little early to use that word.“ Will coughs. In an epic understatement, he adds „I like Adrian, okay?“

„Okay.“ El says. Wow. Every time something like this happens, Will is blown away by how easy he finds talking to her. El is just so accepting. Nothing could ever seem weird to her because she lived most of her life without a concept of normalcy.

„Hey, do you mind?“

„Mind what?“

„That I‘m spending so much time with him.“ Will elaborates. „I mean, I could say it‘s a way of getting back at you, but I just... forget about everything sometimes.“

„I‘m... glad.“ El says, maybe for lack of a better word. „Mom asked what you are doing all day when Adrian is over. But I promised you not to tell her.“

„So it‘s that obvious?“ Will groans into his hand. His stomach fills up with Icy Hot at the thought. There is no way around it; Mom will have to know eventually. Sure, she‘ll understand. And yet, Will curses himself for the fact that there is just this little splinter of doubt. Yeah, but what if she doesn‘t?

„It‘s stupid.“ El muses.

Will blinks at her. „What‘s stupid?“

„That boys can kiss girls all they want, but boys can‘t kiss boys and girls can‘t kiss girls. Who made that rule?“

„I don‘t know.“ Will sighs. „Some asshole who couldn‘t get the boy he wanted, maybe. Can you be there when I tell mom? I thought I could do it when we get back from Hawkins.“

A nod from El, solemn and dead-serious, means a promise that can never be broken. And she manages to pull out half of that little splinter with that simple action.

Chapter Text

It sort of happens in a blur. Long, slow goodbye kisses up in Wills room with the door closed and packed bags on the bed. A two hour drive. New York. The airport, the plane, a smooth landing.

Then, the car. It‘s, very smooth even on a road that is riddled with patches of asphalt where potholes and cracks used to be. Will isn‘t used to this. Mom‘s car is small and old and she is actually looking into getting something new, and Jonathan‘s car is even older.

Nancy drives carefully in the snow; The way from Indianapolis to Hawkins isn‘t too far and there is no real need to hurry considering the weather conditions. Never mind the fact that they already lost time at the airport for a long and thorough hello. Kisses exchanged between Nancy and Jonathan, between El and Mike, who insisted on coming along to pick them up from the airport. Will could bear the scene with laid-back relaxation.

Finally a life without jealousy. No bitterness over the thought that all the others have something he doesn‘t. That is in the past, and Will finds himself rolling his eyes at Mike and El next to him in the backseat, caught up in each other. If Adrian was here, he‘d show them how to kiss. Nancy makes sure not to look into the rear view too often.

After the car comes Hawkins... The town limits are like a punch to the stomach. More than Will expected. The second he sees the sign - he is grateful that El doesn‘t see it - he is submerged in ice water. The things that happened here...

Mrs. Wheeler offers a hug, Mr. Wheeler a handshake. It all feels a bit like a dream, and Will isn‘t sure if it‘s not a nightmare. This whole town feels off. Removed from the safe reality that Will has gotten used to over the last months. He reaches for the back of his neck. Just to be sure. But as quickly as the feeling has come, he brushes it aside.

„Jonathan, you‘ll want to bring your bags upstairs.“ Mrs. Wheeler says over Dinner. „Jane, dear, you can have Mike‘s room for the week. And you boys will stay in the basement together?“

„Yeah. Thanks, Mrs. Wheeler.“ Will answers, ignoring how Nancy and Jonathan shoot each other relieved glances. Well, they are adults and Nancy is just home from college. No need in keeping them separated. Mike and El, meanwhile, each use only one hand to actually eat. Whatever time they can spend together, it‘s got to be used to its fullest. Will understands and smiles to himself.

Will does miss Adrian, later, strolling past the Wheelers‘ Christmas tree and their rich-people-decorations, stuffed like a turkey with dinner, dessert and cookies. His hand swings the half-empty mug with hot chocolate. Will has no idea why he is standing when Mike and El are sitting. Whatever.

Mrs. Wheeler, eager to fatten everyone in her house up, brings yet another tablet with biscuits. „I‘ve brought myself some brochures from the travel agency.“ she says casually and picks up the stack of photos Jonathan took of Montauk. „Just to see what your life looks like now. But these are way better.“

No one here to humbly take the compliment; Jonathan is upstairs with Nancy. „It‘s a nice place. It‘s just ten minutes on foot to the beach from our house.“ Will says to distract Mrs. Wheeler from Mike and El. He sits down on the other couch, far enough from them. „Mom says it feels safe and I guess that‘s true. But right now it‘s really cold and we almost didn‘t get out because of all the snow.“

„We‘re all glad you made it.“ Mrs. Wheeler smiles, then adds pointedly „Isn‘t that right, Michael?“

Mike chokes, breaking away from El with already a dark blush on his cheeks. „Y-Yeah.“ he coughs. „Dinner was great, mom.“

But Mrs. Wheeler is indulgent enough for a fond smile. „Thank you, honey. Remember your friends want to be over by ten tomorrow morning.“

Oh god, Will can‘t wait to see the others. He knows for a fact that El has missed Max to the point of physical pain, and he feels the same way. The phone just won‘t do, letters won‘t either. As for the Cerebro, Dustin is hesitant to use it, seeing as it‘s illegally powerful. Better not get the authorities involved in the only means of contacting his girlfriend.

Will leans back, closes his eyes. Somewhere in the house a radio is running with very traditional Christmas music playing. Thank god. He is already sick of Last Christmas and can‘t imagine what hearing that song will feel like thirty years from now.

He makes himself as comfortable as Mrs. Wheeler wants him to be. But still, every now and then Hawkins starts creeping in through the door and the windows. He can‘t forget where he is and what this town actually means to him. In retrospect, it wasn‘t hell. No, not that, because Will got out; So rather than hell, it might have been purgatory.

„People say the town is dying.“ Mike tells him later that night in the darkness of the basement. „I mean, the mall is gone but the stores aren‘t coming back, y‘know.“

„Yeah, well this stuff was all over the national news.“ Will says bluntly. „What, do you wanna move in with us in Montauk?“

„No...“ Mike cackles. „No. Just saying, I‘m glad for you. That you‘re out. For us it‘s not really over. We‘re always reminded of it.“

„Jeez, I... didn‘t realize.“ Will blinks against the dark. Unbelievable. A few months ago he was furious. Frustrated and alone and utterly miserable. He would have given anything to go back to Hawkins. But really, all there is for him in this town are his friends. He‘d happily spit on the rest. Burn down the rest, staring at the flames, glad that he got out.

They‘ll all get out at some point. And Will swears the day the last of his friends has left, he‘ll never set foot in this town again in his life.

Chapter Text

„So, you and Suzie?“

Dustin shows a dreamy smile that tells Will all he has to know. Good for him. Very good. „Maybe her parents will let me see her before camp next summer. God, I hope so.“

It somehow makes Will feel like a complete and utter dick. Summer... He actually wanted them to break up. Mike and El, Lucas and Max, Dustin and Suzie, all of them. Just so things would go back to normal, whatever normal even means in Hawkins. The four of them, the original Party, and no one else. It was childish, nothing else, how something in Will‘s stomach applauded when Dustin failed to reach Suzie with his Cerebro.

The realization that El and Max are people you can have fun with was long overdue; They even participated in last night‘s twelve-hour D&D game to the best of their abilities, although they threw half the rule book out the window and made it their own game. So yeah, they have earned the alone time they are spending with their respective boyfriends now.

If that leaves Will alone with Dustin for a while, he‘s fine with that. More than that, Will is actually still tired from a night without sleep and honestly can‘t think of anything fun the Party could do together right now. Anything like D&D or video games would require more concentration than he could bring up in this state. „Hey, any noodles left?“

„Dude, that‘s Mike‘s box.“ Dustin says when Will reaches for the noodle box clearly labeled ‚MW‘. Chinese after Christmas, a sort of tradition in the Wheeler household once the supplies are gone and Mrs. Wheeler needs at least one day off from all of it. It gives Will the opportunity to practice eating with sticks.

„And do you see Mike anywhere near?“ Will muses. „More than enough for both of us.“ Wherever in the house Mike and El have made themselves comfortable, Will knows they couldn‘t care less for the remains of their noodles. Seconds later, he and Dustin are munching away on them.

„Have you talked to her parents?“ Will asks Dustin out of interest.

He grimaces. „It‘s... in the making. Think I can get my mom to pretend we‘re Mormons? Just in case they want to talk to her. Which I assume.“

„What? No, don‘t even try. Dude, some things are just wrong, like...“ Will trails off. What a great cue that is. Not his first one since he is back in Hawkins, but he low-key knows he is going to let this one pass like all the others. So much for his test run. But then it just splutters out of him. „Speaking of wrong, I...“

„Yeah?“ Dustin asks around a mouthful of noodles.

Will jams his chopsticks back into the noodle box. Seriously, at this rate it‘s going to take two hours to get it empty. „Montauk is pretty nice, y‘know.“ he says casually.

„Yup, I figured. Can‘t wait to see it next summer.“

„The people are great too. Made some friends. Really good friends. And believe it or not, there isn‘t a single Troy.“

Dustin‘s nose wrinkles. „Eh. He leaves us alone for the most part. Had some trouble with Mike last month because he insulted you, but that‘s about it. We really thought it‘d get Mike in trouble, but I guess Mr. Gillespie turned a blind eye. Troy just went to the nurse and said he had a nosebleed.“

Okay, Will can work with that. He‘s going to ask Mike about the whole situation later, but right now he really wants to get this all back on track so he can get his point across. Either that or he‘ll never find the courage. „Some of the things Troy used to say...“

„Don‘t listen to that asshole. You‘re never gonna see him again anyways.“

„Yeah, but Dustin, he... he was...“ Will stalls. If only it was as easy as saying ‚I‘m gay‘. But it‘s not. „Troy said it. James said it. Even my dad said it.“

„What did they say?“ Dustin‘s own chopsticks are discarded on the low coffee table.

„Y‘know. Fairy. Queer. All that stuff.“

„Oh come on, you live hundreds of miles away and they‘re still getting to you? You can do better.“

„They‘re not getting to me, they‘re... they‘re right.“ Oh wow, it‘s out. But Will falters, because Dustin just blinks, confused. „I‘m... I‘m not into girls.“

It‘s clear that Dustin needs time to process that information. All kinds of emotions flash across his features. The confusion lasts the longest, then it‘s amusement, confusion again, realization, maybe a hint of pity, and in the end his face just turns blank. „Okay...“

„You thought I was kidding you for a moment.“ Will deadpans. Encouraged by the silence, he adds „I even got someone. Like, a...“ But the word boyfriend is too big to actually say it out loud.

„Way to go! Hey, if-“ Dustin says slowly. „If you think this is any weirder than all the shit of the last two years, you‘re an idiot. I mean, I don‘t get it. How you‘d want to do that stuff with a guy. But I don‘t have to, right?“

„I don‘t get how you‘d want a girl for that.“ Will shrugs. „So... we‘re cool?“ It certainly looks like it, and that simply lifts the weight of a world off Will‘s shoulders. He feels four inches taller.

Dustin doesn‘t answer immediately. „Just tell me one thing. It‘s not, like, a sexual thing for you if I just...“

Will has to laugh, giving in to the invitation of Dustin‘s open arms. „It‘s not when you hug a girl, is it?“

„Right, right.“ Dustin muses. He almost crushes Will, because that‘s what he does given the opportunity of an embrace. „Gotta wrap my head around it. You, you got someone?“ He pulls back grinning. „Tell me all about him, I wanna-“

„Guys!“ a shout comes from up the stairs. A second later the door to the basement flies open. Will and Dustin jump apart unnecessarily and are still staring at each other when Mike has reached the bottom of the stairs. „Uh, what‘s going on?“

Will gives Dustin a pointed glare. „Nothing. What‘s going on with you?“

„You didn‘t see El?“

Something in Mike‘s voice rings an alarm. Will knows his tone just too well. „N-No. Weren‘t you upstairs with her?“

„Yeah, but she was kinda moody. And she said she had to go to the bathroom, but now her jacket and boots are gone. Guys, it hasn‘t stopped snowing in, like, twelve hours!“

A familiar feeling stirs up the pit of Will‘s stomach. Hawkins, he thinks. Screw this town.

Chapter Text

This is about the worst Will has felt since those few days in July. He is cold. His feet become engulfed in snow at every single step, and pulling them up to work his way forwards makes the stuff trickle into his shoes, wetting his socks. The others must be feeling worse, he guesses; At least the trees here have caught some of the snow.

Trees, and too many of them. Will hasn‘t missed those a single bit. The woods around Hawkins don‘t just make him uneasy, they have his skin outright crawling. It happened here. Everything bad he ever had to go through, it all had to do with the woods in one way or another. Or so Will imagines.

But he has to be here. Mike is an absolute idiot, and Max, Lucas and Dustin are idiots for following him. Doesn‘t he know his girlfriend at all? Will feels sort of guilty for sneaking off like that and the fact that he just switched off his SuperCom doesn‘t help. They must be worried sick.

The cabin is the most terrifying sight that Hawkins has to offer, and yet that is where Will is headed. It looks horrible, having never been repaired after summer. Who is there to take care of it, after all? The hole in the roof, the missing door, and now the snow; The whole thing is now worryingly crooked.

„The guys are looking for you at the graveyard.“ Will sighs the second he steps in to find the inside as white with snow as the forest ground. Save for the spot on the frozen couch that El has cleared for herself.

Will can see a spark of rage in her welling up eyes. „The graveyard.“ she spits out as though that‘s an insult. „He was never there. But he was here.“

„Hey...“ Will says lamely. No need to ask who she is talking about. „You‘re gonna get sick if you stay like that. That couch must be cold.“ Because El doesn‘t move an inch, Will takes a few steps in. Images of a bed frame. Electric heaters. Mom... Jonathan... Nancy... all tearing up but determined. And memories of the pain. Now the place is the opposite, cold and deserted. Will turns the knob on his radio to the on-position. „Guys, I found her. We‘re gonna be back soon.“ Off again.

„I‘m sorry.“ El whispers. The snow swallows every sound, leaving only silence. „I scared you. I just wanted to...“ Her cheeks are frozen over from her own tears.

„Don‘t apologize. You got a right to be here, I mean this is your-“

El stomps her foot on the ground and without warning she is up flailing her arms. „Home!“ she yells, rage reigniting in her eyes. „My home! And I don‘t even want to go back anymore!“

Will is almost knocked off his feet. An evil breeze blows in fine, dancing flakes of snow through the door frame. His even gets into his jacket, and he shudders. But El remains unmoved. „I don‘t wanna go back either.“ Will tells her honestly. „And I don‘t even want go back in time anymore and make things undone. I guess... I guess that‘s how it‘s supposed to be. So we can move on and not go crazy. You know that doesn‘t mean you‘re forgetting him, right?“

„I‘ll never.“

„El, I‘m serious, you‘ve been out here for what, two hours? You‘re gonna get sick, and you don‘t wanna infect Mike with anything, do you?“ But El still doesn‘t make an attempt at moving. At least she is standing and not sitting on the frozen couch cushion, but she is still up to her shins in snow and the way back will be long and exhausting. Finally, Will almost can‘t feel his feet anymore, El makes a hesitant step forwards. „Anything here you wanna take with you?“ Will offers.

„Got everything out last summer.“ she utters, then apologizes again. „I‘m sorry, Will.“

Although it‘s beginning to get dark, they stay for a while. It‘s not a conscious decision, but the second Will offers his open arms to her, El refuses to let go. Only when he thinks he could lose a few toes if he stays like this any longer, Will says lowly „C‘mon. Let‘s get out of here.“

And in a way, he doesn‘t mean the cabin or the woods. Let‘s get out of Hawkins.

Will is in a bad way, even five hours after departure from Indianapolis. He figures it‘ll stay that way for a while. The sight of home helps, sure, and the week wasn‘t even half bad. No, scratch that, the week was one of the best Will could have wished for. Nothing more uplifting than knowing he can trust his friends. Mike, Lucas and Max will learn in time, but Will is already content with Dusting being cool with everything.

Hawkins casts a long, dark shadow over everything though, and Will is so, so glad he doesn‘t have to spend another night there. It‘s going to take a while to recover. The snow is about the same in Montauk, but the wind is worse. Will notices that much even on the short way from Jonathan‘s car to the door. The house smells like coffee, which is great, as Will thinks it‘s either coffee or sleep for him now.

He would have expected mom to be at the door right away, but a soft burst of laughter from the kitchen tells him what‘s going on. His heart makes a short leap from just the sound. „Sweetie, hi!“ mom rushes towards him. „We thought you‘d take longer. Did they finally clear the roads?“

„Yeah.“ Will hugs her right back. „We got through fine.“ Once she starts focusing on El and Jonathan, Will finally gets a good look at Adrian and Melissa at the kitchen table, with their mugs and their smiles, or rather a dopey grin in Adrian‘s case.

„Come on.“ Melissa says. „I couldn‘t possibly keep him at home.“ She then jumps at El, but Will knows better than to hug Adrian like that with mom and Jonathan present. Everything in due time.

„Hi.“ Will pours himself a much needed cup of coffee with milk.

„Hi.“ Adrian repeats.

Will sits down intentionally close to the blonde. Right in time for the questions to start.g

How are your friends?

How are Ted and Karen and Nancy and Holly and Mrs. Henderson and the Sinclairs and so on and so on?

Did you have fun?

Did you have a nice Christmas dinner?

Oh and by the way there are presents waiting for you in the living room.

Will thinks he does quite a good job at answering them himself or adding details to El‘s or Jonathan‘s accounts. But he‘d much rather be doing something entirely different. Bless mom for noticing without getting mad about an hour in. „You look tired, honey. Do you maybe want to relax for a while? I‘ll call you for dinner.“

Oh god, does Will want to relax. Adrian doesn‘t need a word to follow him upstairs, so Will considers himself lucky that the others are too caught up to notice. „Attic?“ Will asks.

„You bet.“ Adrian sighs from behind him. It‘s an unspoken rule; Only in the attic. As long as only El and Melissa know, it‘s better that way. It‘s safe.

Will folds out the ladder and clambers up, Adrian in tow. Closing the hatch is always the best part; A tiny little world, secluded and just for them. „Missed you.“ Will allows himself to sigh after an hour of not being able to.

„Missed you so much...“ Adrian hums. He smells like mom‘s too strong coffee. He even tastes like it. Will can‘t contain his shuddering breaths any longer. Adrian knows exactly which part of his back to rub, how to slowly rock him back and forth. „Was it that bad?“

„N-No.“ Will breathes. „We had a great time, but... I just feel so...“ How does Will feel? Flayed. But he won‘t say that. Without context it would sound mad, and with context melodramatic. „I‘m just exhausted, okay?“

If only Will could pay Adrian back for being here, for nodding and not pushing him. For dragging him to the couch and offering a shoulder to lean on.

Chapter Text

It has followed him on the plane. Regret hammers in Will‘s head like a dull bass drum, because it‘s true. It has followed him on the plane. Going back to Hawkins was a mistake, but it happened, and now the streets of Montauk are empty and deserted under a black sky. Will‘s footsteps echo from broken down houses. Windows smashed and boarded up, roofs with holes in them. And the night is eternal. It‘s all Will‘s fault. He has brought it with him from Indiana, how ever it managed to do that, hide on a commercial airliner. It must have even been with them in the car too, which means Will is responsible for all this death and destruction.

And he knows the monster has left him for last to grasp the whole extent of his mistake. So why sneak, why be careful not to make a sound? The Demogorgon knows where he is, watching, stalking him with every step. Will walks on, gaze trained on the cracked-open sidewalk in apathy. It will come to get him once it gets bored, he is sure of that. Let it come; Will is ready for it, he deserves it. He deserves it... He deserves it... He deserves it...

Will can barely hold back the cry of anguish. He is back in his room, in the darkness. Was it the monster that brought him here? Laid him in his bed and put the blanket on top of him? No, no, the monster wouldn‘t do this. Adrian. Adrian should be here. Will kicks off the blanket, and yet another cry gets stuck in his swollen throat when he finds the sleeping bag on the floor next to his bed empty. It got him. He is gone. The monster got him.

Paralyzed, Will remains sitting there, staring at the open door to the dark hall. That‘s where it‘s going to come from to get him. To tear him to pieces like it did with so many others. He can hear it coming. Quiet, careful thumps out in the hall. So slow, as though it doesn‘t want him to know it‘s here.

Adrian stops in the open door. „Will? Oh my god, Will!“

„I...“ Will stammers. „What... you were...“

A dream? Just a goddamn dream, a nightmare like the ones that plagued him for almost two years? Can it really be that easy? It would be the first one of its kind in months. Will can taste copper. A finger brought up to his lips tells him he is bleeding. „What happened?“ Adrian rushes over in a frantic hurry, kneels down by Will‘s bedside, switching on the light. It stings in Will‘s eyes.

„Must‘ve... bitten my tongue.“ he croaks out.

„W-Wait a second. We gotta do something.“

Before Will can protest or even reach for Adrian like he desperately wants to, the other boy has hurried off again. He doesn‘t take long, and when he is back Will knows Adrian won‘t leave again. Just by looking at him. In the light of Will‘s bedside lamp, Adrian is awfully pale and shaky, his lips a thin, white line. One of the plastic cups they drank Coke from last night now contains a little sip of mouthwash. He hands it over.

„It‘s gonna hurt a bit.“ he says apologetically.

Will nods without understanding. What he does understand is the pain when the mouthwash squashes around, across his bleeding tongue. It stings and Will tears up all over again. He spits it back into the plastic cup, but only once his entire mouth is numbed by the alcohol. It‘s too dark to see if the blue liquid has any red tint to it now.

„I just... went to the bathroom.“ Adrian whispers frantically. The alarm clock tells Will it‘s just four in the morning. „Will, what happened?“

What is Will supposed to answer to that? Adrian has no idea, and this just not the time to take him through everything that went down in Hawkins since 1983. So, Will says as much as he can before his voice breaks. „Nightmare. I-It got you.“

A very nimble hand on his shoulder presses him back into the sheets. „Move over.“

How is it that none of Adrian‘s words make much sense to Will? He has to focus so hard just to understand the meaning of ‚Move over‘, and even when he gets what he is supposed to do, he isn‘t prepared for it. „Oh, you...“

„What‘d you think?“ Adrian makes one swift motion, and suddenly he is under the blanket alongside of Will. This must be about the closest two people can ever get, and it feels so, so good, having a solid body pressed against his back and warm limbs draped around him to hold on to. Oh, and hot, damp breath tickling his neck. „It didn‘t get me, I‘m here. Okay?“

„I know it‘s...“ Will stalls when his bedside lamp clicks again and switches off. It‘s not like they haven‘t been close before, but in the bed? It intimacy turned up to eleven. „Tell me if I‘m getting to needy.“

Adrians hums; Will can feel the vibration of the other boy‘s chest between his shoulder blades. „I‘m needy too, don‘t worry about it. That, that week took a lot out of you, huh? You‘re usually such a deep sleeper.“

„I am?“ Will never thought someone would say that about him. Is this him making up for two years of sleeping with one eye open? Did he always feel this terrible back in Hawkins and just considered it normal? „I didn‘t have these nightmares in months. Ever since we moved here.“

„Then they‘re gonna go away again.“ Adrian yawns. „Let‘s just go back to sleep so you can see for yourself.“

„W-What if my mom comes in?“ Will ponders, but Adrian doesn‘t even answer, instead he holds on to Will with more insistence than before. So Will just tells himself screw it, because he‘s been wanting to tell her anyways. Let her walk in on them. This moment right now is more than worth it. Will doesn‘t even try and get his teenage mind to stop comparing himself to others, as for once he is leading the scoreboard. Mike and El can‘t do this. They‘re not allowed to.

So this must be the rightful compensation for society‘s contempt. This and the fact that Will and Adrian are about the same height. It might be a minor detail, but Will enjoys the idea that he could just flip this around without making it awkward if he wanted to. Although he is pretty happy with the situation.

Adrian is already drifting off to sleep, but still whispers „Hey, guess what?“

„What?“

„We‘re completely snowed in. No getting out of the house.“

Will grins into the darkness. He can see snowflakes still hitting the window in front of an inky-black backdrop. „Shame.“

Chapter Text

Adrian‘s hand in Will‘s is clammy and his grip might be a little too tight. So is El‘s; She probably couldn‘t hold on any tighter if she had her powers to help with that. It‘s a very much reassuring feeling though. Like he has two people with him who will stay true to their promises.

In each of his palms, Will can feel a pulse. Adrian‘s to the left, strong and about twice as fast as it should be. El‘s to the right, calm as though she has no idea what the two boys are fretting about. Oh, never mind that Will has never felt a fear like this. It‘s different from the Upside-Down fear, because without being melodramatic, Will would rather be dead than have his mom hate him.

But she won‘t hate him. She couldn‘t. Adrian and El tell him it‘s one hundred percent certain, but to Will it‘s more like ninety-nine point nine percent. Bad enough. „Ready?“

„Yeah.“ Will nods. „Now or never, huh?“

„Hey, imagine how great you‘re gonna feel in ten minutes.“ With his free hand, Adrian gives Will a little swat to the shoulder.

„Remember, Will the Wise isn‘t afraid of anything.“ El adds to that, and god, that stirs something up deep in Will‘s stomach.

One more time, Will nods. He would have wanted to talk to mom and Jonathan separately, but Adrian was adamant with that one; Get everything out in the open once and for all and then breathe the fresh air of freedom. Getting into the kitchen through the narrow doorway without letting go of their hands feels a bit awkward and it attracts mom‘s attention at once.

She is at the table, attempting to stitch a patch to a pair of jeans. Jonathan is making coffee and doesn‘t notice a thing. „H-Hey.“ Will squeals, but only when El kicks the side of his foot. He knows they can‘t speak for him, but still wishes they could.

„Hey.“ mom says. If she is taken aback, she doesn‘t show a hint of that.

„Uh, mom? Can we talk?“

It must be the hesitant way Will asks that makes Jonathan perk up. Leaving the coffee machine open, he turns around to observe. „Bud, you‘re really pale. Tea would be better, huh?“

„I‘m not... not sick.“ Will rasps, voice sounding very sick. „There‘s something we... something I gotta talk about.“

„You really do look sick, sweetie.“ his mom notes. „We could-“

„No.“ Will cuts in. She was about to offer him a seat. Or to head over to the living room, but that‘s out of the question. It has to be now. Right here. And Will has to stand, just because he low-key feels he should be able to run away, even with them snowed in and trapped in the house. Adrian and El might be there, but all eyes are on Will. „I really wanna stand.“ Mom looks curious now, and so does Jonathan. Concerned too of course, but mostly curious, and when they don‘t say a word, Will goes on. „It‘s... I‘m still me, right?“

Mom tilts her head a bit, frowning. Damn, that sounded schizophrenic, didn‘t it? „Will, are you sure you‘re alright?“

„Yeah, yeah. What I mean is, just because I am what I am doesn‘t mean I‘m any less... any less... who I was before... or all along, and...“ He can almost feel Adrian cringe. They have practiced this all morning, but Will has forgotten every word, every phrase he had prepared. He goes on rambling like a madman. „It‘s just, I got this secret and I really don‘t want it to be a secret, because it‘s nothing bad. Not really, a-and mom, you can‘t say it‘s bad. Please don‘t, or I‘ll... I don‘t even know!“

Another kick from El breaks him out of it. There really is nothing to say other than „Mom, I‘m not... into girls.“ In a fit of idiocy, he adds „Looks like dad was right.“

Will is frightened out of his mind when silence settles. When his mom gets up from her chair and just walks up to him. Doesn‘t matter if he is taller than her. One word from her could make him die on the spot. One wrong word.

But what she says isn‘t wrong, just unexpected and mind blowing in its own right. „I know, sweetie.“ As if on cue, El and Adrian let go, perfectly timed with her embrace.

„You know...“ Will repeats.

„Or I suspected.“ Mom‘s relief is palpable and it mixes with Will‘s. „I‘m... I‘m so sorry you had to be scared. But you know I couldn‘t-“

„You couldn‘t just ask.“ Will laughs wetly, because the idea is just so far out there. Is this what feeling safe is like? Not having to live with the weight of this massive secret anymore, being free of the fear. „Then you also know that, uh...“

Now it‘s genuine curiosity again that shows on her face when she pulls back a few inches, but there still is a knowing edge to it. Mom doesn‘t know about Adrian, Will realizes. But there is a suspicion in her eyes, making Will believe she might have picked up on more hints than he wanted. Was he really that terrible at hiding? It's Jonathan's time to shine now, though. Right now he looks like he wants to kick himself. „God, I‘m stupid! That night in the attic you almost told me!“

„What do you mean, sweetie?“ their mom asks, all bemused by Jonathan‘s outburst. Without Will really noticing, Adrian‘s hand has slipped back into his. „Thank god! You two!“ Even Adrian looks unsure of this all now. Will would feel the same if his mom was just staring at him. She kisses Will on the cheek, making him squirm. "That makes a lot of sense."

„Uh, it does?“

„It really does make sense.“ she says with so much certainty that Will has to laugh out of sheer relief. If last night was a throwback to worse times and to nightmares, this is the best dream Will has ever had. Only it‘s not a dream, it‘s real, and the reality of it is so intoxicating, that although they‘re just five people, Will loses track of all the hugs. It feels like in a blink of an eye he gets to embrace everyone, and then suddenly no one because Jonathan just has to thank El for helping Will, and their mom absolutely refuses to let go of Adrian, or is it the other way around?

The whole ordeal lasts at least ten minutes, and all of a sudden Will is sitting on the couch in the living room - well, how did I get here? - in his hand a mug with a teabag swimming around in it. Not being confined to the attic anymore is about as free as he and Adrian can get; While it‘s just one house, it feels like they have the whole world. They can sit as close as they want now. No more looking over their shoulders when they just want to lean against each other.

„She‘s the best. Your mom.“ Adrian tells Will matter-of-factly, and as if Will himself hadn‘t already figured that out.

„God, I‘m so glad she likes you.“ Will giggles. „Did she say anything to you? I mean, it just looked like it, but I couldn‘t hear.“

„She sorta...“ Adrian bites his lip, a sight that Will can‘t get enough of. „I guess she knows about my situation. About my uncle and all that. We can never tell him, Will. I know he‘s gonna lose it if we do. But your mom said I can always-“

Will should probably look if Jonathan is nearby, because his older brother has made it clear that he wants to snap a photo of them together, but he feels a small kiss would be in order. „Don‘t worry about that, okay? You could even move in with us if you had to. And you could bring Melissa along too.“

„Can you imagine what that would be like?“ the blonde sighs. „Living together?“

„You already live here half the time.“ Will huffs. „Next you‘re gonna smuggle some furniture in.“

„Don‘t tell me you wouldn‘t enjoy it.“

Will can‘t help himself. He dissolves into lighthearted laughter, thinking things could stay like this forever.

„Hey, I didn‘t wanna ask earlier, y‘know, ‘cause I wanted you to get it over with...“

„Uh, sorry?“ Will has to really pull himself together.

„Just something El said.“ Adrian explains. „Will the Wise? Is that sort of a nickname?“

Will‘s laughter gets stuck in his throat, and his grin is replaced with something that feels a bit... melancholic?

Chapter Text

„Hey, Will!“ Mike‘s cheery voice comes tinny through the phone speaker. Will doesn‘t like his tone. Not considering what he is about to tell him.

„Mike, hi.“ he says, hoping his own voice doesn‘t betray him. „Look, I know you wanna talk to El, so I‘m gonna make it quick.“

„Hey, no. I mean, yeah I wanna talk to her, but don‘t think I‘d pass up on you.“

He really has to twist the knife in Will‘s stomach, doesn‘t he? Will is going to make it quick, because otherwise he might lose all his resolve. His gaze jump between the note he has prepared himself and the small stack of D&D books on the kitchen table. Everything he needs to start a campaign right now, and it only took the local book store six weeks to deliver them.

„Mike...“ Will sighs. „Look, I‘m sorry. But I‘m not gonna make it for Easter.“

Silence. Will fears Mike is just going to hang up on him, but eventually his voice is back, smaller and more fragile this time. „O-Okay. You got-“

„Yeah, I got plans.“ Will tells him. „Plus I really... really can‘t go back to Hawkins. Mike, after Christmas it took me, like, three weeks to get over the nightmares again. I‘m sorry.“

„Don‘t be.“ Mike says quietly. „I totally get it. Then I‘m gonna see you in the summer?“

„You bet. And we‘re getting a whole month then. Uh, Mike?“

„Yeah?“

This is going to be the hardest part, but it has to come out. Will‘s fingertips wander across the shiny cover of his new rule book. He really has to tell himself he is simply informing Mike, not asking for permission. He doesn‘t need permission. But they way Mike smiled when Will promised he wouldn‘t join another party... „Mike, I got myself some new D&D stuff.“

„You did?“

„Yeah. And I... I‘m gonna.“ Isn‘t it ridiculous how serious this talk about a fantasy game feels to him? Will has to close his eyes for a second. „I‘m gonna found a new party.“

„Hey, that‘s awesome.“ Mike says flatly. „Congrats, man. You‘re a great DM, you know that, right?“

Being well aware that his hurt Mike a whole lot, Will lets out a shaky breath. „Thanks, Mike.“ There are more things he wanted to tell his friend. Thought out phrasings written down in crude handwriting on a sheet of paper in front of him.

Mike, it really was the best thing you‘ve ever done.

Mike, you‘ve been an ass for the better part of a year, but that doesn‘t undo ten good years.

Mike, I think lately our friendship wasn‘t what I really needed. The way it turned out, it held me back.

Mike, I love you, but I can‘t be dependent on you my entire life.

It‘s true, I got new friends. Let‘s not grow too far apart, okay?

But as a matter of fact, Mike knows all this. Will is sure of it. So he just crumples up the sheet with his notes and says „I‘m gonna get you El on the phone, okay?“

„N-No, wait!“ Mike almost yells into the phone. „Don‘t. I think I‘m gonna... just gonna hang up now. Tell her I said hello, will you?“

„Uh, yeah. Sure. So...“

„So...“ Mike sniffs. „Talk to you next week?“

„Just call whenever you want. A-Alright, I gotta go. Gonna meet up with some people. Bye, Mike.“

„Bye. Gonna... gonna miss you.“

Will absolutely can‘t answer to that. He hangs up quickly, wiping away that one stray tear that has escaped him. The second the phone clicks, he feels reborn. This might just be the best day of his life so far. The sun is out, and though the cold is crackling, it‘s the end of February and all signs are pointing towards spring. The world is bright, as bright as the future.

Will doesn‘t give mom any time to say anything. He finds her in the living room in front of the TV, teaching El how to properly iron clothes. One of Will‘s least favorite chores, but El seems to enjoy it. One after the other, he tackles each of them in a tight hug, spins them around once, grinning like an idiot. „Heading out. Want me to bring anything from the store later?“

„We got everything we need. Be careful, sweetie.“

„Gonna be back for dinner, promise.“ The backpack is waiting by the kitchen table. Will‘s parka, his hat, his scarf, his gloves, are all by the door. He wraps himself in as many layers as he can find, never letting his smile slip from him. On the way out - Will skips like he hasn‘t done it in years - he finds Jonathan just having pulled into the drive. He gets a hug too, for good measure.

Will should really thank Adrian for the ingenious idea of wearing sweatpants under his jeans, tugged into his socks. It looks like shit, but with temperatures still below freezing point, he couldn‘t care less. Adrian was thoughtful enough to bring a blanket too. A proper one made for picnics with a sort of tinfoil-like reflective underside for isolation. Will finds him lying there in the wind on top of their cliff. After taking a wary look around to verify they‘re actually alone, Will flops down on the blanket as well.

„Hi.“ he breathes.

„Hi.“ Adrian sighs. „We‘re alone?“

„Yeah.“

Will has to laugh at the sight of Adrian pulling down the scarf he has wrapped from his neck all the way up to his nose, but the tingly feeling of a kiss shuts him up for a second, and then it causes him to hum comfortably, leaning in further. As a queer, you have to take what you can get. They won‘t be able to spend time up here by the lighthouse in the summer when tourists are around. The cold is a price they have to pay for being outside in the sun.

Everything has to come to and end, and so does their kiss, though Will thinks they should try to prove that saying wrong. He reaches for his backpack and the thermos inside. „Here.“

„Thanks.“ Adrian takes the plastic cup. The tea is steaming hot and about as sweet as Will could make it.

„How long have you been waiting?“

Adrian shrugs. „‘bout ten minutes. It‘s not too bad, is it?“

Will stares out at the stormy ocean, at waves that looks as tall as their house. It‘s odd with the sun shining bright like that, but everything about this moment feels right. Like this is where everything that happened led him. This is where he wants to be, and it‘s where he should be. Without really believing in fate, Will thinks he might be one step closer to who he is supposed to be.

„Hey, what are you thinking about?“

„Can I ask you something?“ When Will turns around, he finds Adrian‘s eyebrows are raised so far they‘re hidden under his hat.

„If you stop looking at me like I know the answers to all the questions in the universe.“ But because he notices that it‘s serious, he adds „Yeah, go ahead.“

„Do you think a friendship can serve a purpose?“

„Oh... wow...“ Adrian clacks his tongue. „I, I guess? I guess every friendship serves a purpose. I mean, who wants to be alone all their life? That‘s not healthy.“

„Right, right.“ Will is struggling a bit with his words. This really isn‘t what he meant. „But do you think that... a friendship can fulfill a purpose and then just... fade?“

A hint of understanding steals on Adrian‘s features. And with that comes the knowledge of what Will needs to hear. „No. I think if it fades it‘s got nothing to do with its purpose or whatever. Letting it fade or keeping it up is a decision.“ Will has to make it a conscious decision then. It‘s not even a hard one; There is no way he is letting ten years go down the drain. Not in a thousand years more.

„And do you think it‘s easy to find a healthy balance? Think I can do it?“

„Haven‘t you already?“ Adrian takes a sip from his tea, deeming it cool enough to drink.

„I... I hope.“ Will says lowly. „I think so.“

„C‘mere.“ If only they didn‘t have to wear these thick parkas on top of layer upon layer of shirts and sweaters. But Will can still feel everything he needs to. One arm wrapped around him, hand rubbing up and down his side. Another hand doing the same on what little skin is exposed of his cheek. They breathe each other in through two layers of scarf.

This is the here and now. The one perfect thing to do in a perfect moment. How could Will ever want to turn back the clock to a time before? Even the bad moments are part of his path. Parts he would never make undone. Because everything is going to be okay, no matter what.