Work Text:
lucas sinclair. will's first and closest friend.
lucas was a constant. he always had been. he’d been there when no one else was. he’d been there since the very beginning.
he had been the very first person to ever come up to him in school, a bright smile plastered on his face and a warm aura exuding from his presence. will could still remember the first words lucas had said to him on the first day of elementary school.
"hey, you wanna come sit by me and my friends? they're over there," he had pointed at the boys he grew to know as mike wheeler and dustin henderson, waving excitedly at them.
an invitation.
will had smiled then, nodding shyly and allowing lucas to lead him by the hand to their table in the cafeteria with a warmth creeping across his face.
lucas was always so willing to play whatever game will had been excited to play. so eager to make will laugh. so adamant on always making sure he was included. late night walks to mike’s house, riding his bike with will clinging to his back, whispering quiet words of reassurance in will’s ears while he would sob in the privacy of his bedroom.
sometimes, when he thought will wouldn’t notice, lucas would stare at him from across the classroom. he’d look so deep in thought, long lashes looking even thicker due to his furrowed brow. he would look away immediately if will caught him, preoccupying himself with his schoolwork.
will always noticed. will couldn’t not notice his quiet but thoughtful attentiveness.
will knew that he was different. he knew ever since he first saw that tom cruise poster in nancy’s room when mike was hosting a DnD campaign in his basement. he couldn’t get his face out of his brain no matter how hard he tried to make it go away. this feeling was confirmed when one of jonathan’s friends came over to play video games in jonathan’s room. this feeling was confirmed again when he ran into steve harrington in a grocery store. curse attractive men.
will tried to keep it a secret. he’d scribble down his intrusive and horrific thoughts in the flimsy spiral notebook that he used for his sketches. he’d think about boys and their strong physiques and their big hands and their defined legs. he would spend hours drawing them in his “diary”, then he’d feel gross about it and rip up the pages so no one would accidentally see.
he knew that it wasn’t right for him to feel like this. all mike and dustin and lucas would ever talk about were hot girls or porno magazines they’d sneakily glance at in the book aisles at the store. will had never once had a thought like that about girls. all he could think about were boys, no matter how much he’d try to force those thoughts away.
why couldn’t that be him? why couldn’t he just be normal? why did it have to be boys? he’d think to himself, going silent whenever his friends would gush about some actress they’d thought was hot. lucas, always being ever so attentive, would notice his awkward demeanor in these many conversations. he’d see how will would become uncomfortable for whatever reason and would always try to change the topic to DnD or schoolwork or anything to get will talking again. will always appreciated it.
lucas was the only one who could possibly know about his secret. the constant itch in the back of his brain that wouldn’t ever leave him alone. lucas knew him too well. will honestly had his suspicions that lucas was studying him. or something. lucas saw right through him at the slightest moment of hesitance when he questioned what had been bothering him.
“hey will,” lucas whispered, laying next to him on his bed on a rainy saturday night.
“yeah?” will mumbled in response, hesitating slightly. does he know? how can he know?
the thunder outside his window boomed, making the house creak and shift. lucas waited a moment before continuing. “you know, uh, i’m always uh,” he fumbled clumsily over his words, “i’m here, y’know? if you, uh, need to talk to someone.” lucas fidgeted idly with his cuticles.
will didn’t say anything, opting to stare at his feet instead. his socks were on inside out. huh.
lucas continued, clearing his throat before speaking again. “i, ahem, i know that you don’t always talk to people even when there’s something bothering you. but i can tell when you need to say something, and i just want you to know that i’ll always be here for you,” he finished, sighing before rolling over on his side to face will.
will felt his face heating. he couldn’t return his gaze. he felt like he wanted to cry. did he like lucas? god.
“uh,” will stuttered, phrasing his next words carefully, “thank you. um, and i know. that you’re here for me, that is.”
he cringed at how forced and awkward it sounded. that’s not what he wanted to say at all. he wanted to tell lucas how much he appreciated him. he suddenly felt the need to tell lucas so much.
lucas smiled regardless, more to himself than to will. “you’re welcome,” he replied, exhaling a little, like he had been holding in his breath. he went back to picking at his cuticles, rubbing his feet against each other as a source of warmth in will’s cold bedroom.
lucas was just so comforting, even when he wasn’t doing anything. he didn’t even have to try. his presence just naturally radiated warmth. safety. will could smell him from their position on the mattress. lucas smelled like musk and cocoa butter. he could even pick up a slight waft of some of lucas’ dad’s cologne. will loved that familiar smell. he wanted to curl up against him and allow the scent to swallow him whole.
lucas shuffled a little and glanced at will, curious.
it was in that moment that will knew he never wanted lucas to leave.
will stared up at his ceiling, eyes tracing the glow-in-the-dark stars plastered messily across the popcorn texturing. “are you gonna sleep over?” he asked, praying that his tone didn’t expose how eager he felt inside.
he felt lucas’ eyes on him before he even responded. against his good conscience, will snuck a glance at his face.
lucas was looking at will as if he had hung the stars.
“yeah, i think i will.”
will wanted to light himself on fire.