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Lucas knew Will was the best person in the party after everything with the Mind Flayer happened. It had only been 3 days since everything had happened and Will was still in the hospital. Lucas had brought him comic books after school, he made sure to get the new X-Men comic. He looked skinny, like scary skinny. Lucas knew he was always a really scrawny kid, but this was something else.
“Hey! My mom gave me cornbread and a chicken casserole for you and your family. She told me to tell you guys that everything is kosher. I told her you guys don’t really do that, but she said to tell you she made sure it was kosher.” Lucas told Will, who was awake and smiling, which was a nice change. He put the food on the little hospital tray and took out the comic. “I also got you the last 2 X-Men books, since you were out when the last one came out. It’s the end of this run, so that should be exciting.”
“Awesome! Mrs. Henderson dropped off brisket yesterday, this is the best I’ve eaten in years.” Will gave him a weird look, he was staring at him for a while. Lucas was a little concerned it might be Mind Flayer stuff, until Will finally spoke up. “How are doing?”
“Uh, you’re the one in the hospital bed. I should be asking you that.” Lucas laughed. The fact that Will would be asking how he is doing just seemed funny. He wasn’t the one who got possessed.
“Dustin told me what happened with Billy. That really sucks, I’m sorry that happened,” Will pat him on the shoulder, and it felt ridiculous. Will was covered in wires and tubes and he looked like a skeleton. But, this was the first time someone had asked Lucas about what happened. He was frozen, he tried not to think about it, but it was really scary. “You’re allowed to be upset. I know what it’s like, when someone that big comes after you. It’s really scary. I’m not gonna judge you or anything.”
And Lucas, he started letting out tears he had hardly realized he was holding back. He was trying to be strong, for Will, for Max, for Steve. He didn’t want any of them to feel bad or look at him like he was weak. Will just pat him on the shoulder and (attempted) to rub his back. It was so scary. He thought he was going to die. He thought that this racist guy was going to kill him for being black, and being friends with his sister. He liked Max, he liked her a lot, and he was going to keep liking her. He just didn’t like how dangerous that was.
They sat there for a while, Lucas crying, and Will letting him. It was nice, in a certain way. A nurse walked in, and she started taking Will’s vitals. She helped him out of bed so she could measure him on the scale.
“You’re looking better, Will. You need to work on getting that weight up, you’re pretty severely underweight. Make sure you’re eating three full meals a day. Get some protein powder and mix that in with milk. It’s going to taste kind of gross, butt add some choclate syrup to it.” She told Will, helping him back to bed. “Once you’re in a better physical condition, you might want to consider exercising more often and helping build some muscle mass.”
She left, and the mood had changed enough Lucas didn’t feel like he wanted to keep crying. “What do you think? Want to start lifting weights together?”
“I wanna join a sport.” Will looked at him with almost a scared look in his eyes. Lucas was kind of confused, Will hated gym class. Absolutely detested it. It was the worst. The guys were always the meanest, and he wasn’t particularly good at it. When they played dodgeball he got pelted in the face so hard his nose was almost broken.
“Which one?” He wanted to know why, but maybe getting a little more specific would help him. Will might be good at track or something that was not a team sport. Not that Will wasn’t like, good at teamwork. Teams kind of just, hated him.
“Any sport. I don’t care,” Will was looking him dead in the eyes, like he did when it was a really important thing. Like really important. It’s the same face he made when he was telling Lucas about his dad leaving. “We’re going into high school next year. You saw Halloween, we’re not going to be kids forever. It was easier to hide in middle school, but everyone knows me. I don’t want everyone to think I’m a sissy. If I’m on a team or I have a varsity jacket or something maybe people won’t want to mess with me as much.”
Lucas really didn’t like that whole thing sissy thing. Will needed to know they liked him just as he was. It didn’t matter if he liked to throw a ball around. None of them did. They liked Will cuz he was cool, and funny, and really good at drawing. “Will, none of us care about that kind of stuff. We don’t think you’re a sissy. You don’t have to worry about what anyone in the Party thinks.”
“It’s not about what any of you think. You know how Troy and the guys are, and if Billy is anything to go by, it’s only going to get worse. Jonathan is always telling me I shouldn’t be afraid to be a freak, but I am. People don’t like us because of who we are, but being total nerds doesn’t help. If I can be a freak and play sports maybe it’ll help keep some people off my back.” Will had a point. Billy had been willing to kill him, and he was just a kid. What would happen when they got to high school?
“Steve knows basketball. Maybe we can ask him to help us. We can be freaks on the basketball team together.” Lucas smiled at Will, it could be fun. Lucas turned on the T.V. and tried to find a basketball game. It was the playoffs and the bulls were winning.
When Will got released from the hospital, and was finally allowed out it was Thanksgiving weekend. Mrs. Byers had driven him and Lucas to Steve’s. She had put some brisket in a tupperware, and wrapped some challah in tin foil.
“Don’t tell Steve the challah is store bought! And thank him again for keeping you kids safe.” Mrs. Byers was really frazzled, she was still mourning Bob and still really protective over Will. It made sense, if his parents were in the same position he would never be allowed to leave the house again.
“Why would Steve care if the challah is store bought? He’s not Jewish.” Will asked, putting the challah in his backpack.
“Will!” His mom admonished. Will was usually pretty polite, but every now and then he was just like Erica.
“What he’s not! His parents made a big stink about donating the organ to the Church down the block last year.” Will had a point, the Harringtons had made it
“Yeah, I think they’re Anglican.” Lucas added.
“It doesn’t matter wether or not he’s Jewish, don’t tell him I’m giving him store bought leftovers! I’ll bring him some fresh soup when I pick you boys up, I just need to go grocery shopping. Okay?”
When they ring the doorbell, Steve takes a while to answer the door with the nail bat in hand.
“What are you guys here for again?”
“We want to join the basketball team,” Will says almost defiantly. Steve just raises his eyebrows.
“Really? Are you sure, that’s not really you guys’ thing?” He crossed his arms, giving them a strange look. Well, at least Lucas thinks, it’s a little hard to tell considering his face is… what it is.
“I’m not a sissy, I can do it.” Will almost spat, and Lucas’ jaw dropped. That wasn’t like Will at all. He was usually really quiet, and he never said that kind of thing. Lucas always thought it’s because he was, y’know . It felt like when Will was possessed, but they had gotten rid of the Mind Flayer. Maybe it had like given him brain damage and caused his personality to change.
“Hey, don’t be an asshole. I’m just a little surprised is all, especially after how anti-basketball Mike was.” Steve had his hands on his hips like when he was scolding them not to go into the tunnels.
It seemed to work better on Will than it had on them, Will looked at the ground and said “Sorry.”
Steve just tussled his hair to accept his apology.
“What Will means is that we think it could be fun…and maybe Troy and guys like Billy will leave us alone.”
“Well, I can’t guarantee they’ll leave you alone, but it is pretty fun,” Steve sat down on the couch with a grunt. That fight had taken a lot out of him. “I’m not exactly in practice condition, but we can try some warm-ups and stuff. There’s a Bulls game on Tuesday, you guys can come over and I’ll explain the rules to you.”
Steve picks the two of them up from school on Tuesdays. He has them train, sit ups, push ups, jumping jacks, running around the block. It kind of sucks, but it’s also kind of fun. They shoot hoops in his drive way, and then they go inside to watch the Bulls play. They were kind of lucky, the local stations only broadcast four teams. The Celtics, The Lakers, The Pacers, and the Bulls. Technically Hawkins would be in Pacers territory, but it wasn’t a good enough team and they were so close to Illinois it was pretty easy to watch Bulls games. Lucas loved watching the Bulls play, Steve explained all the rules to them and never judged them for having questions.
Lucas was enamored, all of these guys seemed so cool. It was really the first time he ever saw so many black guys on T.V. before. They had really cool hair, and they seemed so confident. Lucas envied that, he was tired of being scared, feeling small. Billy wouldn’t beat up any of these guys. He couldn’t. Lucas wanted that, that safety, that protection, that family. He wanted to be on a team, with people who could protect him. He loved the party, and he would always be a party member, but it would be nice to have someone have his back the way the guys on the court did.
Will wasn’t as good at it as Steve or Lucas, he was short and still working on breaking 100 lbs. But he tried, and he seemed to be having a lot of fun. Lucas and Will loved tag teaming Steve, it was so cool when one of them managed to shoot a basket. Will really liked watching basketball, his eyes were always glued to the screen. Lucas wondered if it was like when he watched Return of the Jedi , because Will would still mess up the rules when Steve gave them a pop quiz from time to time.
Lucas worried what would happen if he got on the team, and Will didn’t. Steve asked Will about it one day, since he would probably get cut for his height alone. Will agreed to join cross country if he didn’t make the team.
“It’s really nice, playing sports. I didn’t expect it to be, but nobody thinks I’m breakable. It’s not like at home, with my mom and Jonathan. Steve works me just as hard as he works you.” Will told him when they were riding their bikes after practice one day. Lucas got that, a lot of them treated Will like he was made of glass. He was guilty of it too, it’s just hard not to after you saw his dead body. Lucas hadn’t really known what to do, and when Will came back from the dead, Lucas wanted to make sure he stayed that way. Alive and upright. But it was hard to go easy on him when they were on the court. Lucas was able to forget the body floating in the water. He kind of liked that, and it was nice to know Will did too.
On weeks when Steve’s parents are home they end up going to the Byers’ house. Steve got a basketball hoop for Will as a Christmas present. That confused Lucas a little, since they’re Jewish. But apparently, Steve spent Christmas with the Byers. It didn’t work great with the house, since they had a dirt driveway, but they made it work.
The house kind of freaks Lucas out sometimes. It’s hard to forget that’s where Billy tried to kill him. He looks at the kitchen, and he just remembers being up against the wall, so sure this would be where he died. He tried not to think about it because it wasn’t Will’s fault he was scared.
At one sleepover Will asked him about it. Normally, Lucas would not have said anything, but it was so late at night the words kind of slipped out of him. “This is where Billy tried to kill me. Sometimes I think he’s going to come through that door, and Steve’s not going to be there to save me.”
“If you’d be more comfortable at your house we can go there. I get it, sometimes it freaks me out too. Not just the Upside Down stuff. But it’s still scary here sometimes. I was little when my dad finally left, but I’m still afraid he’s going to come back.” Will gave him that look, the one he gave Lucas at the hospital. It reminds him of just how good Will was. He didn’t call Lucas a pussy, or tell him it was ridiculous. Will gets it. He always gets it.
Steve was running a little late to pick up Will and Lucas, and what a bad day to be running late. Will had given Dustin his hat back, so Lucas saw all the glitter shining in the sun. It made the whole situation so much worse, seeing just how much was still on Will. Erica spilled glitter on him once and it had been so scratchy, and he could never seem to get all of it off. To make matters worse, he saw Will’s face after Mike “defended” him. It was like that had hurt more than anything Troy could have said. Lucas knew Will liked Mike, it was so obvious. The whole thing just sucked.
“I tried to punch Troy for you but the teacher pulled us apart.” Lucas said to just fill the silence. It was never quiet, Dustin or Mike were always talking. Even when it was just Lucas and Will they would talk about comics, or movies, or how the Bulls were doing, or wether the Lakers going to win this weekend or not. This wasn’t good quiet either. The absence of laughter and petty arguments were so loud.
“Thanks.” Will answered, still kind of zoned out. He was looking at his shoes, not really moving. Lucas looked at him, really looked. He knew, he knew that Troy wasn’t wrong. He was being a jerk, but that didn’t make the assumption incorrect. Lucas had known Will since first grade. He had never once been interested in a girl. But Will did look at Mike the way Mike looked at El. Or how he looked at Max, if he was to take a guess. Will looked at Larry Bird the way Dustin looked at Phoebe Cates, which Lucas was kind of judging him for. Not because Larry Bird was a guy, but because Larry Bird was like really ugly. It was a little better when they watched Bulls or Laker games, because Will would be totally enamored when he would watch Magic Johnson during the interviews. And yeah, Magic and Jordan were soooo much better picks for a celebrity crush, but Will’s taste in guys was always a little questionable since he was like, in love with Mike or whatever.
It kind of reminded Lucas of why they started playing basketball. Will told him he didn’t want people to think he was a sissy. Lucas understood, there’s a danger in being a freak, and sometimes it might be a good idea to make sure people would mess with you. But Lucas was worried, he didn’t want Will to think he was like actually a freak. Lucas thought they were okay with who they were, but were just playing for fun and to try get a few people off their back. Not like, actually try to change who they were or because they didn’t like themselves, just that they knew society didn’t.
“Will, uh, you know– you know there wouldn’t be anything wrong if you were a queer right? Troy is shitty for calling you that cuz he’s being shitty. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. There’s plenty of cool gay guys, you love David Bowie-“
“I’m not gay,” Will said, really rushed. He had that scared look in his eye, like when Troy dumped the glitter on him. “But thanks. It’s cool, that you think that.”
Steve pulled up just then. Will got in the back seat, he got shotgun sometimes, but he never complained when someone else got it. He was nice like that.
“What’s with the clothes? You look like Dustin.” Steve said with a laugh, it wasn’t his fault that he said it. There was no way he could have possibly known. But that didn’t stop Lucas from shooting him a glare. Will burst into tears in the backseat.
Steve pulled over to the shoulder. “Hey, hey, hey, what’s wrong? I’m sorry, what did I say?”
Will started sobbing, and it was very clear he was not going to stop anytime soon.
“Troy poured glitter on Will at lunch. Dustin gave him his shirt because Will’s got ruined.” Lucas answered quietly.
“Do you want to go to your house? We can cancel practice for tonight.”
Will stopped crying for a few seconds, and Lucas thought that was what they were going to do. “No. I can’t. I can’t go home. Jonathan, I can’t. They can’t find-”
“Hey, bud it's okay. We can go back to my place. You can take a shower and borrow some of my old clothes.” Steve told Will, doing his best to tussle his hair, but the angle was really far off and it seemed to hurt Steve.
“Yeah, besides tonight’s the Bulls vs. Celtics. Michael Jordan is going to kick Larry Bird’s butt!” Lucas told him, in the hopes of making him laugh.
“Hah! You wish!” Will gave him a small smile, and it warmed Lucas’s heart up a little.
The Celtics actually won that night, but it was a really close game. Will looked at Larry Bird with a little less fear than last time. Lucas hoped what he had said helped.
Things are so much better than ever before. They go to the arcade, and Max is part of the party now so her high scores still count as a win for them. He and Max started going on dates more. It’s really fun. They have a really good time. They go to the movies, and when Starcourt opens, they walk around.
Steve started giving Lucas and Will his magazines. Lucas liked to go through and take out pictures of some of the basketball players and the rappers, to put up in his room and for when he would get a haircut. Will did the same thing with Larry Bird, he told him he was going to take it to the barbershop. Lucas knew that he was lying, Mrs. Byers cut his hair. The only style she could do was the bowl cut he and Jonathan both had, but Lucas knew what it meant. Max had cutouts of the cast of The Outsiders all over her room. Lucas had a picture of Cindy Crawford that he had stolen from one of his mom’s magazines. But, Lucas is happy for Will. It’s nice, looking through the magazines together. It’s nice, that Will isn’t hiding as much as he used to.
Will told him that he wasn’t going to be able to join the team. They wouldn’t let him join any contact sports because of his epilepsy. He still trains with them every Tuesday, even though he’s not going to be able to join the team with Lucas. It’s such bullshit, Will’s epilepsy didn’t get in the way ever. Steve talked to the coach for the track and cross country teams, and they said they would be willing to let Will join if he was any good. They changed the schedule around, so they would switch between track and basketball every week. Lucas said he would try out for the track team with Will, since it was a different season than basketball.
June hit, and school was out. Dustin went to summer camp and El started being allowed outside the cabin. Mike kind of disappeared, forgetting about everyone besides El. It was total bullshit.
For the most part Lucas, Max, and Will just go to the movies and play basketball. Max was also really good, Steve tried to get her to join them but she refused. Billy hated it, thought she was doing it to get back at him. But it was nice, when she would join them to play from time to time. She wiped the floor with their asses.
They tried to go swimming at the town pool, and it’s kind of nice. Lucas likes swimming, and the three of them live to race each other. They would swim laps all day, upping the best two out of three to three out of five till their muscles would give out.
It was when Billy got a job there that the pool became kind of an issue. Billy hadn’t said anything, but the looks he gave Lucas sent a chill down his spine.
Max suggested they go to the quarry and Will agreed, surprisingly. It kind of made sense, since Will wasn’t there to find his own dead fake body. Lucas had to shoot that idea down, the thought of going there kind of made him want to puke. Steve told them to try Lover’s Lake, as long as there was no funny business.
It was amazing. It was quiet, and pretty secluded. They didn’t have to worry about people like Billy or Troy bothering them. They could just hang out and talk about whatever. No one would give them a weird look if they started talking about the Upside Down or Demogorgons.
Will and Lucas would race each other through the lake while Max floated. Some days Will would just sit in the shore with his sketchpad and colored pencils Lucas got him for his birthday, while Max and Lucas played in the water. He gave Lucas a drawing of the two of them in the water, and it made Lucas want to cry.
“Sorry if it’s annoying you have to third wheel us all the time.” Lucas told him one day. It sucked thirdwheeling Mike and El, third wheeling him and Max might be a little better, but he wasn’t sure.
“It’s not third wheeling with you guys. You guys are just my friends and you happen to be dating. It’s different.” Will assured him.
“Well, maybe we can double date one of these days. Find you somebody to come swim with us.” Lucas smiled, careful with the language he was choosing. He wanted Will to know he could bring a guy around. They were going into high school soon, and Will might finally meet someone, someone like Max. Someone who could bring out the best in him.
“Yeah cuz all the girls are lining up to date me,” Will laughed. He tossed the sketchbook in his bag. “Race you to the water!” And he bolted, totally cheating. Will was sweet on the outside but he fought dirty. Lucas instinctually chased after him, somehow beating him into the lake.
I never said girlfriend. I know you’re going to bring your boyfriend one of these days, once you get over Mike.
July fourth came and went, nearly taking Hawkins with it. It took Hopper and Billy with it.
It was hard, really hard.
It was the end of July when Lucas, Will, and Steve played their last game of basketball before the Byers moved. Steve was sitting on the side of their game, too injured from the Russians to actually play.
“You know, it’s a different school out there. Are you going to try out for the team?” Steve asked him.
“I had my mom ask already, they still said no. I can try out for cross country, though.”
“That’s bullshit, you can play basketball and be epileptic.” Lucas huffed, tossing him the ball.
“Yeah, well. It is what it is.” Will sighed, resigned. The move was hitting him hard, and he hadn’t even gone yet. Losing Hopper really hurt him. It hurt all of them.
“Well, you better join a Rec league, or I’ll start beating you.” Steve laughed.
“You already beat me.” Will sassed. It hurt, that this would be the last time they did this.
The first basketball practice without Will kind of sucked. The night before Mike told him what caused their fight. It had been keeping Lucas up all night. He couldn’t yell at Mike why that was so fucked up, because if he didn’t know that would be a total dick move towards Will. But not doing anything also felt shitty. Lucas wasn’t on Mike’s side really, and if he had known that that’s what Mike had said– well he doesn’t know what he’d do. But he knows what happened was shitty.
He decided to ask Steve for help since he seemed like he would know what to do. Besides, it would be weird not to bring Will up, even if he wasn’t there. He couldn’t pretend like Will had never existed.
Lucas was shooting hoops in Steve’s pool, while Steve sat in the shade covered by an umbrella. They’re hanging out in mostly silence when Lucas decides to ask. “So, Will is gay right?”
“Don’t be a dick,” Steve told him sternly. “It’s not cool to use that as an insult.”
“That’s not what I mean. I don’t care about that. Or at least not like that. Erica’s always saying ‘it’s just the facts’ I just wanna know if you think he’s gay.” He wanted to ask a little more than that, but he was working up to it.
“I’m still not sure if that’s cool to say, but I mean… it’s Will. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think there was anything going on there.” Steve took off his sunglasses, looking at Lucas a little funny. It was weird, actually talking about it. It was this thing they all kind of knew and understood, but never acknowledged. He and Max talked about it a lot, but it was weird to talk about it with someone who wasn’t her.
“The only reason he started playing basketball was so people wouldn’t think he’s a sissy. It’s definitely fucked up, what all the kids say about him, but maybe they’re not entirely wrong.” Lucas knew they weren’t wrong. It was like they saw right through him like it was as obvious as Lucas being black or Dustin’s disability.
“Yeah, I really regret what I was like in high school. I was friends with a lot of assholes. I’ve been on both sides of those assholes. Sometimes, sometimes they find the thing about yourself, the thing that you don’t like, or the thing you’re not sure of, and they use that against you. If I could go back and change it, I would.” Steve had that look, whenever anyone brought up what he was like in high school. He always seemed ashamed, like he was trying to make it up to the universe.
“I feel like carting all of us around and taking all our punches is enough atonement.” Lucas laughed, pointing at his black eye.
“Yeah, we’ll I’ve got a lot more penance if I’m going to make up bringing your sister into this,” Steve got up and put his legs in the pool. He didn’t say anything for a while, he was just looking at Lucas. It was weird. “I’m really sorry about that, by the way. I want to apologize to her. Properly, and soon.”
“She’s going to hate that.” Lucas laughed, Erica would make fun of Steve to hell and back for that, and Lucas wouldn’t be able to stop her. (like he was ever able to stop her)
“Yeah well, I need to,” Steve said resolutely.
Lucas thinks back, to when they were apologizing to Will, at the ruins of Castle Byers. He had apologized like 4 times after that, Will always brushed it off. Mike only apologized the one time, it was kind of shitty. But then Mike told him what he said, which caused Will to run off. Mike had said it so casually. Like it didn’t mean anything. Maybe Mike didn’t know know (Lucas knew he must know, or he wouldn’t have said it). But Lucas did. And he felt so bad, even if he wasn’t the one who said it.
“Steve, Mike said something stupid.”
“You’re going to need to be more specific” They both laughed at that. It was kind of funny, how oblivious Mike was. It wasn’t funny now, even though Steve made him laugh.
“Mike, Will, and I got into that fight. Y’know,” Steve nodded at him. “Mike said ‘it’s not my fault you don’t like girls’.”
“That’s…” Steve whistled, almost in disbelief.
“Yeah. I know,” There was a lot said in Steve’s silence. “I didn’t know Mike said that. I kept apologizing to Will, but I didn’t know Mike did that. You didn’t see how upset he was after that. It was really bad, he destroyed Castle Byers, and that place meant so much to him. What am I supposed to do? I can’t tell Will that I know why that hurt him so much, but if I don’t say anything he might think I’ll judge him.”
Steve continued to sit in silence, thinking. It was a while before he spoke up. “Well, all you can really do is be there for him. Let him know that you love him, and that nothing can change that. Keep being his friend, talk to him about basketball, that nerd game of yours. You said Erica has his books now, see if you can get her to send them out to him. I know you guys have you’re special thing just you guys, but he should try to make friends out there.”
“Thanks, Steve,” Lucas had a funny thought. “I’ll send him some pictures of Larry Bird next time he’s in Sport’s Illustrated.”
Steve groaned, “Ugh, I don’t know what’s worse. His crush on Mike or Larry Bird. The kid needs better taste.”
That had Lucas laughing, hard. It was hard to stop. “Lary Bird looks like if the guy from Tootsie was left in water for too long.”
Steve also started laughing, “Yeah, well Mike always looks like an angry baby!”
“That’s so dumb!”
They were laughing so hard they couldn’t breathe.
When he got home he was able to convince Erica to give him Will’s dnd books. She agreed if he would give her his. He was able to get her to agree to let her borrow them every now and then when he needed them. She agreed if he would let her play, and he said yes, reluctantly. She was a scary good negotiator.
He got her to agree to come with him to Steve’s that weekend.
“What am I doing here with you losers?” She asked as soon as they got in the door.
“Erica, be nice.” Lucas shot her a dirty look, which she returned.
Steve brings out some ice cream for her. He looked at her very seriously. “I just wanted to apologize. I’m sorry I got you involved. If I had known how serious it was I would make sure you weren’t anywhere near it. You never should have been in danger.”
“Well, that’s stupid.” Lucas whipped over to look at her, he could not believe his little sister right now.
“Erica!” He hissed.
“What? You told me to go through the vents to find Russians! You think I signed up to go on a secret mission to hunt the commies and didn’t expect at least some danger? The law calls that ‘assumption of risk’!” Erica was not having any of it, which admitedly was to be expected.
“Still, you’re just a kid-”
“So was Will when he got taken, he was the same age as me. If there are flesh-eating monsters living under my town, I want to know about it. I’m safer cuz I’m prepared . I keep a lighter and travel hair spray in my pocket, in case I need a flame thrower. If you really feel bad, you’ll keep giving me ice cream, and teach me how to fight.”
“You have a flame thrower?” Lucas practically shouted. Her pockets were tiny, how did she have the makings of a flame thrower on her? It wasn’t the worst idea in the world to be prepared, but she was eleven! “Anyways, you don’t want Steve teaching you how to fight. He always loses!”
“Hey! I knocked that Russian soldier out in one go!” Steve defended. Given the rest of the fights and his face, it didn’t help much. But it was nice to know someone had Erica’s back.
Lucas had gone over to Max’s every day the entire week, and every day Max said she wasn’t ready to see him. He knew she was going through a lot, and he understood she needed some space, but he didn’t know what to do. He needed to do something, he needed to help her.
It was his fault, he didn’t know how to help her because he was a bad person. It was awful. He couldn’t help Max, because he was glad. He was glad Billy was dead. He had seen his girlfriend’s brother die, and he was glad. If anyone knew about this secret, they would hate him, but he needed to tell someone. Someone who could help him. Someone who could fix him.
He resolved to tell Steve. They were playing HORSE in Steve’s drive way. “Steve I don’t know how to be there for Max.”
“It’s okay grief is hard.” Steve kept playing, like it was nothing. Because he didn’t know, because if he knew, he would hate Lucas.
“No, Steve you don’t get it. I’m awful, and I’m a horrible boyfriend and an even worse friend!” Lucas was having trouble breathing, and it felt like the world was spinning.
“Lucas, c’mon sit down,” He grabbed Lucas by the forearm and took him to the front steps. Steve helped him breathe and he was able to calm down. “Kid, what’s this about? You’re a great guy, you don’t have a bad bone in your body.”
“Steve, I’m glad Billy is dead. I watched someone die, he sacrificed himself for us, and I’m still happy he’s gone.” Lucas started to cry, admitting it outloud was both liberating and felt like confirming his worst fears about himself.
“Lucas, it’s okay, you’re not a bad person. I get it, I do. If anyone else is going to get it, I do. If I’m honest, I’m glad he’s dead too. It’s a little relief, not having to worry if he’s going to come after me or one of you guys. I know it’s not nice, but you can’t help what you feel It doesn’t make you a bad person. Billy was an vicous, racist, asshole. He made Max’s life a living hell and he tried to kill you, he nearly killed me. You don’t need to be sad he’s gone, and you don’t need to miss him to help Max.” Steve put his arm around Lucas, comforting him. It was nice, knowing he wasn’t alone. That there was someone else who remembered what Billy was like when he was alive. Everyone was saying how nice he was, because that’s what you do when someone dies. But it wasn’t true, and he felt like he was going crazy.
“How do I be there for Max? That was her brother.” Lucas said it so quietly, he didn’t know if he could speak louder than that though.
“ Let her mourn her brother, be a shoulder to cry on. A rock for her. You love max right?”
“Of course.” Lucas said without hesitation. It wasn’t a question. It was a fact. The sky is blue, the grass is green, Lucas loves Max.
“Then this is just a part of that. You don’t have to be sad about it, and you can still be there for her as she mourns. Those things aren’t mutually exclusive.”
He is there for Max, they still break up. She says she needs space and needs to work on herself. They’re still friends though, they hang out a lot. Lucas still loves her, he thinks he will always love her.
Will sends him a letter.
Dear Lucas,
We only get the Lakers and the Bulls out here. We only get like half of the Celtics games. I’m still a Bulls fan at heart, but I might be converted to the Lakers. Magic Johnson is pretty cool. Much cooler than Michael Jordan
–Will
Dear Will,
In your dreams! Jordan is the greatest player of all time! But it’s nice to see you’re taste is getting better, I can’t believe you ever thought Larry Bird was the best.
Tryouts start for basketball in a few weeks, I’m probably not going to get on varsity because I’m a freshman. I’m hoping I get point guard on JV.
How’s California? Have you found a DnD group yet? I bet there are a lot of cool people in California, it's totally tubular out there. How is training going?
– Lucas
Will and Lucas write each other once every two weeks. They talk about basketball and running. Will made the cross country team, but he wasn’t really friends with any of the guys on the team. He was trying to get a group together with some of the people from the music shop. Will said there was a really cool guy who looked like the guys from The Smiths. (Lucas thinks Will has a crush on him) Lucas tells him about Eddie, and how he wished Will could meet him. Will and Eddie would have gotten along really well. They both liked music, Dungeons and Dragons, and he thinks Eddie and Will had something else in common.
Dear Lucas,
My seizures are getting worse. I might not be able to do track this Spring if it doesn’t get better. The doctor says that there’s this medicine that might help, but what if it cuts me off from my Upside Down Spidey Sense? I’m worried I won’t know if something is happening.
-Will
Dear Will,
Take the medicine, don’t worry about the Upside Down. If something happens, we can take care of it. You just worry about you, and how Jordan is going to kick Magic’s butt.
–Lucas
Will ends up taking the medicine. He’s becoming friends with some of the track guys. One of them is also really into music and The Hobbit. He agreed to play DnD with Will if they found more people to play with.
Fall fades to Winter, and Winter fades to Spring.
It’s a week before the championship game, when he heard that Dustin and Mike weren’t going to come to his game, because they wanted to play dnd. He called Will, not believing the two of them. Especially after what Mike did that Summer.
Will tells him that’s bullshit, get them to move dnd up. Will said he would call Dustin and Mike, and make them change Eddie’s mind.
Gareth wasn’t going to make it on Thursday, so Eddie made him a deal. If they could find a replacement by the end of lunch, they could do it. Eddie thought it was a trick, but Lucas had Erica. Erica had been wanting to play with Hellfire Club for months.
He got up and ran to the middle school. The lady at the office asked him why he needed to see his sister, saying there had to be an emergency. Lucas looked at Dustin and Mike behind him. He remembered what Hopper said to Mike last summer. “Our grandma died!”
“Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry.”
When Erica came to the office, he made sure they went to the hallway for “privacy.”
“Can you come to Hellfire on Thursday?” Lucas looked at her, begging her.
“Really! I can play?” She smiled up at him. When he nodded, she jumped up and started hugging him.
When he opened the door to grab Dustin and Mike, he heard Dustin say, “They weren’t close.”
Lucas and Erica were actually a great team, especially in DnD. He hadn’t had that much fun in years.
It was close when he got the winning shot in the game, and Dustin, Mike, and Erica rushed the court and lifted them on their shoulder.
It was a couple weeks after everything happened, but Max was finally awake and in a new government hush money house. Eddie was safe. Lucas didn’t feel safe. Lucas wasn’t sure if he was ever going to feel safe again. Especially after what happened to Erica. He was worried about her all the time now. He thought being on the basketball team might get some people off his back, but it was them who attacked him. His friends had attacked his little sister. He didn’t know how to help her, he didn’t know how to help himself.
It was one of the first Tuesdays since the Byers came back the second time. After Will, Mike, Jonathan, and Argyle arrived the first time, and met up with Joyce, the Byers and Argyle went back to Lenora to pack up some of their things.
It was perfect timing though, because this Tuesday was special. Steve and Will were at Lucas’ house for basketball, but it was even more special than their regular Tuesday basketball games. It was the NBA play-off finals. Chicago Bulls, vs. Boston Celtics. Michael Jordan vs. Larry Bird.
Everyone, even Erica was watching with rapt attention. Even if she did say this was nerdier than Dungeons and Dragons.
The Celtics won, but it was an extremely close game. Even if he was disappointed the Bulls lost, he couldn’t be too upset with how it went. Will asked Lucas if he could talk to him upstairs for a minute, while Steve was talking to Lucas’ parents. Lucas knew what this meant, so he brought Will back to his room.
“Lucas, I’m really glad I started playing basketball with you.” Will looked at him, like he was confessing something. And in a way he was.
“I’m really glad I started playing with you, too.” Lucas smiled, letting Will take his time with this.
“I um, I like Larry Bird a lot.” Will said carefully.
“I know, Will.”
“No, Lucas, I like Larry Bird,” Will emphasized. “I like Larry Bird the same way Steve and Dustin like Phoebe Cates.”
“I know Will. I think you’re taste is trash, but I get it. You like guys.” Lucas pat him on the arm. He was smiling, he was so happy to see Will finally say it.
“Hey! Larry Bird isn’t trash! He’s a great basketball player!” Will defended.
“And Iggy Pop is a great musician, it doesn’t make him hot.” Lucas laughed, and Will just groaned.
“But you’re cool with it, right? That I’m gay?” Will looked at him scared like that was even a question. Lucas was tempted to roll his eyes, because duh, but he also knew that now wasn’t the time or place.
“I’ve known since fifth grade man, I’ve always been cool with it. I’ve been waiting for you to tell me.” Lucas smiled, hitting him on the shoulder.
“Oh, thanks.” Will smiled.
“I’m kinda off the basketball team now, wanna join track together?” Lucas asked him. He really liked sports, but he didn’t really want to keep playing basketball with all the guys who tried to kill him. Will smiled and nodded.
“Will! We’ve gotta go, you’re already past curfew and I don’t need Hop and Joyce biting my head off!” Steve yelled as he knocked on Lucas’ door.
When Will walked into the cabin, and saw Will all done up in his goth outfit, it made him so happy. Will was coming into his own. He was becoming his own person, and it was nice that they could share sports together, even if the other guys didn’t always get it.
“You know, we might need a new spot, since Lover’s Lake out of the question. But one day maybe you could double date with me and Max,” Lucas told him as they ate the cake Steve had made. “They can wear our varsity jackets.”
“The second I get a boyfriend, we’ll do it. It’s getting hard to find places we haven’t died in, but we can find a romantic spot I’m sure.” Will smiled, and Lucas hoped it was true. He hoped Will would find his Max, especially now that Will was finally getting over Mike.