Chapter Text
Will stared up at the ceiling in his room of the house he hadn’t yet grown to love.He missed his old home. He missed the sound of the old window that didn’t shut all the way and sometimes creeped him out enough to go sleep on the couch instead. He missed the long bike rides he’d take when he just felt like he needed time alone. He even missed the cold, wet weather in the winter. He missed home.
California was nice, he supposed, but it wasn’t Hawkins. The new house didn’t have the crack in his bedroom window. The streets didn’t have the comfort they did in Hawkins. It wasn’t home. As much as his mom tried to make it feel so, he knew this place could never be home. And she did too.
With the shine of the bright California sun shining in his face, Will tossed the blanket off of himself and slid so his legs were hanging over the edge of the bed. He let his bare feet touch the cold, wood floor, almost shivering at the touch. He rose, stretching a bit as he did. He had grown a lot this year and sometimes his back hurt from the sudden change. The clock on his nightstand read nearly 11:30. It was Saturday so sleeping in wasn’t an issue. It was rare, though, to see Will sleep so late, though he was mostly in and out of sleep the last few hours, daydreaming and thinking.
He went to his drawers, grabbing a random t-shirt that would work for his walk to the kitchen. He slipped it on, taking a look at it as he did. It was a hand-me-down from Jonathan. Most of his clothes were though, so this really didn’t matter much to him. He opened the door, almost immediately hearing his family from the main rooms of the home. Joyce was on the phone, working. Jonathan was getting ready for his shift at his job. El was making something in the kitchen, which would probably end in a mess that Will would probably clean up. These were just his predictions from the sounds he heard and as he walked down the hall to the kitchen and living room, he found these predictions to be correct. Jonathan was almost ready, slipping his shoes on as Will walked in. Joyce was on the phone, at the desk she had placed in the living room just for her work. El- or Jane- was trying to cook something that Will couldn’t quite make out. She was distracted as she was doing so, opening a freshly received letter from the pile of mail that had surely just arrived.
“New letter?” Will asked, looking over to the stove and seeing that she was trying to make a grilled cheese.
“Yes. A new letter from Mike.” El smiled a little dulley. Will nodded, biting the inside of his cheek. “That’s nice. How… How is Mike?” He asked.
“He is good…” El said, which didn’t seem genuine. It seemed as if she had more to say but Will wouldn’t push it.
“Did you put any kind of spread on this?” Will laughed, seeing how badly the sandwich was cooking.
“Spread?” El put the letter down, looking back at her brother. “Like butter or mayonnaise? It helps it cook.” Will explained. “Oh.” El said, shaking her head. “I didn’t know.”
“It’s alright, El. I’ll make you a new one.” Will assured, going to the fridge and grabbing the mayo.
“Thank you, Will.” El smiled, folding the letter back up and placing it in the envelope. If Will was honest, this upset him. Constantly, El was getting letters from Mike and calls from Max. Will had none of that. Besides an every once and again phone call from Lucas and Dustin. It wasn’t frequent though. He still appreciated it. So much more than he realized.
“I’m heading off to work.” Jonathan’s voice called from his spot by the door.
“Okay, honey. Be safe.” Joyce said, removing the phone from her ear for a minute to say this.
Both El and Will said goodbye before Jonathan left. El walked out of the kitchen, going to her room and shutting the door. She seemed upset; Will could tell. He would talk to her when he finished their lunch.
He heard Joyce end her call and stand up. She made her way into the kitchen, grabbing two plates from the cabinet and setting them down beside Will so he could plate the sandwiches.
“Hey, honey.” Joyce smiled, moving so she was leaning on the counter and watching him cook. “How’d you sleep?” She asked, crossing her arms.
“Good.” Will said simply, even if it wasn’t true. He hadn’t slept well since they left Hawkins. The first two months, he really didn’t sleep at all.
Joyce moved her arms and pushed a little bit of Will’s bowl cut out of his face. “I think you need a trim.” She suggested. “It’s getting a little long. I’m surprised you can see.”
“Yeah. Maybe I’ll trim it later. It’s okay for right now though.” Will shrugged, putting the two sandwiches on the plates. “Do you want one?” He asked, meeting eyes with his mom for the first time this morning.
“No, no, baby. I’m okay.” She dismissed, moving her arm back and folding it. Will nodded, grabbing the plates. “I’m gonna go talk and eat with El.” He explained, starting to walk to El’s room.
“Will, hold on.” Joyce said, moving and touching his arm so he’d turn and face her. “Are you… you know.” She was struggling, it was obvious. “Are you doing okay?” She finally asked after a moment.
Will nodded. “I’m okay, Mom.” He assured her.
“Okay. It’s just… you haven’t really adjusted as well and you seem like you’re… depressed and I don’t…”
“Mom, I promise, I’m okay.” Will let out a light chuckle.
Joyce sighed softly and nodded. “Just… remember that you can talk to me about anything, honey. Anything at all.” She reminded.
Will nodded. “I know.” He said, kissing her cheek. “I love you. Mom.” He said before moving and walking down the hallway.
“I love you too.” Joyce sighed worryingly as she watched him walk away.
Will walked into El’s room, surprised by how tidy it actually was. El was not the cleanest person, usually forgetting to clean up after herself so Will tended to help a lot.
“Here.” He said, setting her grilled cheese on the desk and sitting in her chair. “What’s that?” He asked as El was putting a box away.
“It is where Mike's letters are. I keep them in the box.” El explained, grabbing the sandwich and sitting on the edge of her bed.
“Are you okay?” He asked, taking his sandwich in his hands and biting it.
“Yes. I miss Hawkins.” El shrugged. “Me too.” Will said, mouth full with food.
“You are gross!” Eleven laughed, grabbing a stuffed animal from behind her on the bed and throwing it at Will.
“Hey!” Will laughed as he was being hit. Eleven laughed some more, taking a bite of her sandwich and chewing it. She took a sigh and looked out the window before her eyes went wide and she turned back to Will.
“How did the date go?” She asked, swallowing with a bit of effort since she didn’t finish her chewing.
“Oh.” Will said, looking down with a shrug. “It was… okay, I guess. I don’t know.”
“Michelle is very pretty. Is she your girlfriend yet?” El asked, taking another bite.
Will shook his head. “No- uh- no, I don’t think so.” He cleared his throat, wanting a conversation change. Her heard the phone ring and his mom picked it up.
“This was date number five- why not?” El questioned, tilting her head a bit to the left. Will shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
“Do you like her?” She asked. Will was going to answer before Joyce was at the door. “Jane, baby, the phone’s for you.”
El got up and left the room with Joyce to go get the phone. Will leaned back in the chair and let out a sigh of relief, glad the conversation ended.
He got up, taking his plate with him as he walked to his bedroom, shutting the door and sitting at his desk. He looked at the finished painting in front of him. He painted it for Mike but he hadn’t heard from him in a while. There were phone calls every once in a blue moon but it wasn’t as frequent as Will wished. Will was just his friend- if he could even say that anymore. He was El’s girlfriend and Will had to let go. It was just hard.
He stared at the painting, as if he was analyzing every stroke of his brush. He pulled his eyes away from the painting, getting a little emotional for some reason he didn’t want to know. He saw the photo of all of his friends on Halloween a couple years ago. Ghostbusters. This was when things were easy- well easy besides the mindflayer and all of that. It was before emotions got in the way. Before girls and before Will realized how different he was and how wrong it is to be this kind of different. At this point, it was easy to have feelings and to love your friends. But that was gone. All of that was over. And as Will stared at the picture at his desk, tears fell on his plate. He squeezed his eyes shut, abandoning the desk and going to his bed. He kept his voice down, not wanting his mom or sister to hear his cries. He couldn’t let them know what he was. No one could know.
He hated himself enough and he couldn’t deal with them hating him too.