Chapter Text
Will didn’t know how it happened. Well, he did. He knew the way it happened, just not the explanation behind it.
Around three weeks ago, he was bitten by a radioactive spider. At first, he figured it was a regular spider, and the bite would go away in no time.
But it didn’t. He started to get these strange feelings — feelings that something was about to happen. And then, it would. At first he thought he was going insane, maybe dying. Or maybe the spider was venomous, and he was poisoned and having hallucinations.
But, he was able to rule all of those out when a web flung out from his hand. Or maybe it was when he was stuck to the ceiling in his room.
So whatever it was, he didn’t know how to explain it. He's a spider now? A spider’s lovechild? None of those things sounded quite right.
This wasn’t some El-related thing, this was... different. And Will could feel it. El never told them about a human-spider mutant that was able to shoot out webs and climb on things like Spiderman from the comics. Spiderman wasn't supposed to be real, he was supposed be a fictional superhero who saved New York! But instead he was given these powers, while being in the middle of Indiana in a small town where everybody knew everybody. Just his luck.
So, when things started happening around Hawkins, he knew he had to take action. It's what Spiderman would've done and well... now he is Spiderman. Plus, with El not having her powers anymore, who was supposed to step up if not him? There was nobody to save Hawkins, so he knew he had to be the one to do it. He had these powers, might as well use them for good.
So he quickly created a suit — even though quickly isn’t the greatest word to use. After all he had around 50 different sketches — but after he decided on the final one, a black and yellow suit, he knew he had to make it fast.
And now, 3 weeks after he got bitten by said spider, he’s swinging around Hawkins, stopping crime and helping people around town.
Even though at first, he didn’t want to give himself a superhero name (because that sounded cringy) the public gave him one.
They called him Spiderman — of course — Hawkins’ Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman.
He had gotten popular. Maybe a little too popular. To the point where now even his friends were talking about him… to him.
Initially, he wanted to tell the party. He was going to, but then he realized how much danger it puts him — and more importantly — his friends in.
So now, he has to keep this secret from them. This big, spider-related, secret. And he was never good at keeping secrets.
Plus, he’s starting to think that they’re catching on. His excuses are getting to a point where they even sound like excuses to his teachers, who usually don't care who's in or out of their class. But hopefully, his identity stays secret, because there’s no way in hell, that the party can find out.
Will's phone buzzes on his desk softly, loudly enough for it to wake him up. He groans groggily, wiping the crust from his eyes as he sits up.
He doesn't want to go to school — he's dreading it, in fact. He slowly, but surely, gets up and reaches for his phone at his desk, unlocking it and heading to his notifications.
The buzzes that he was getting were messages — messages from his friends.
The first message was from around an hour ago. It was from Mike.
Mike [7:45 am]:
will, u up? don’t be late today, we've gotta do the campaign.
Lucas [7:46 am]:
you too, dustin!
Dustin had just replied to with an annoyed emoji.
Shit, the planning for the campaign was today! How could he forget? Well, he was fighting one of the most uncooperative criminals he’s ever met last night, so it's kinda not his fault.
He rubs his temple as he reads the next message. This one was from Lucas, the one that had just woke him up.
Lucas [9:13 am]:
will, dude. it’s second period already. where are you?
It's second period? Will glances at the time quickly. 9:15. Shit! He was supposed to be at school at 8!
He shoots up from his bed, the blanket flinging off him quickly. He flings a web from his wrist at his pants that were discarded on the floor, snapping them towards him.
He shuffles to put them on, grabbing a random shirt from his floor and quickly pulling it over his head. He grabs his phone, headphones, and his keys, stuffing them in his pocket as he rushes out of his room and into the real world.
When he reaches the living room, he sees Jonathan, who was slumped, sleeping on the couch. His mom wasn’t there; she had gotten a new job in downtown Hawkins, so she had to go to work before anybody in the household woke up.
She had trusted Jonathan to get Will to school, but most days, he just sleeps in, leaving Will to get to school on his own terms. Will doesn't really mind it, though. Makes everything a bit more easier for him.
Will just shakes his head at the sight of Jonathan and strolls out the door. The sunlight was blinding, the air heavy with the hum of early morning life in Hawkins.
Quickly, he makes his way to his bike, unlocking the lock and hopping on it quickly. He really could just swing all the way to school, but that’s way too obvious. Someone would see him. So, he has to take his old, rusty bike that creaks every 5 seconds.
God, he can’t wait to get his driver's license.
As quickly as he possibly can, he bikes his way to Hawkins High, desperately trying to make it before he misses another period.
He pulls up to the bike parking in front of his school. He turns around, digging in his pockets to find his lock, and starts to lock up his bike and—
Suddenly, the air shifts, the familiar feeling rising and flowing through his spine.
Then—,
There's a loud noise from behind him — a sharp screech of tires. His senses kick him into overdrive.
He whips around just in time to see a car swerving wildly, heading straight towards him. Will freezes, his heart hammering in his chest.
Instinctively, his hand shoots out and —
Wham! A web shoots from his wrist, slamming into the car’s side, pulling it off course. The car veers to the side, narrowly missing him and skidding to a stop near a light pole to his side. The driver seemed to slam on the brakes hard enough that he, luckily, didn't crash into the light pole and didn't cause a very large scene.
He breathes heavily, as if he had just run a marathon, looking at the car and then back at his bike. He was shaking; he could feel it.
“Will!” he hears a voice from behind him. He turns around quickly, and is greeted by: “What happened, dude? You okay?” Dustin asks, jogging up beside him.
Will looks back at the car, then back at Dustin. “Uh, yeah. I— I guess the car just lost control,” He replies, dusting his pants off nervously. "I'm all good."
“I've never seen someone dodge a car like that! How'd you—” Dustin starts, excitedly.
But Will just cuts him off as quickly as he can. “I was lucky, I guess. Anyway, shouldn’t we get inside?” Will says as he clicks his lock and starts walking towards the entrance. Dustin didn’t see the web? Thank god.
Dustin glances back at the car and then back at Will. “You aren’t gonna go talk to them? They almost killed you!”
Will stops in his tracks, looks back at Dustin, then at the car, which was still parked there. He just shrugs, then continues walking. Unfortunately, almost dying was now a regular occurrence for him. It didn’t faze him too much.
Dustin speeds up to walk next to Will, and Will quickly pulls out his phone to look at the time. 9:32. “How late were you?” Will asks.
“Not as late as you,” Dustin stifles a laugh, making Will just scoff and roll his eyes. “I got here like, halfway through first period.”
“Then why are you out here?” Will questions, finally reaching the entrance doors to the school.
“I've got study hall second period, and Mr. Gerald is on his computer the whole time. He doesn’t even notice when I slip out,” Dustin chuckles as they walk through the empty halls. “So, why not just use it to my advantage?”
Will just shakes his head, laughing as they reach his locker. He punches in the code, opening the creaky door and grabbing his books, not before stuffing both of his bags as deep as he can into the locker.
“You know,” Dustin starts, leaning against a locker near Will’s. “Mike and Lucas are gonna be so mad.”
Will just sighs, shuffling through the papers on the shelf in the metal locker. “Yeah. I know.”
“You’ve been late almost every day now. Even Max is starting to get worried,” Dustin sighs with him, looking away. Then, he mumbles, “I am too,” even quieter.
Will glances at Dustin, who was just staring down at the floor. “Listen…” he begins, making Dustin’s head pop back up. “It’s nothing. I promise. Just… Jonathan hasn’t been waking up in the mornings, and—”
“Your mom goes to work at 5’o clock in the morning. Yeah, yeah, I know,” Dustin sighs. “I believe you, man. Trust me, I do! It’s just… I don’t know about Mike.”
Will looks back in his locker, away from Dustin. Mike. Of course, he just had to be the main problem.
“Yeah, I get it,” Will says, and slams his locker behind him, making Dustin flinch at the loud noise. “I should get to class. I already missed most of it.”
Dustin narrows his eyes. “Dude, why would you go to class when you already missed most of it?”
Will just stays silent for a second, seemingly thinking about the question. “Fine, you’re right. Let's go hang out in the office?” Will suggests, making Dustin's face light up.
“And bother Mrs. Harper? Hell yeah.”
The rest of the morning was a blur. After Dustin and Will had gotten back from the office, it just felt like minutes were going by for Will.
After a little, the bell finally rang for third period. Then fourth, Then fifth. And finally, sixth. Lunchtime. God, Will was starving. He hadn’t eaten breakfast, and he was out all night. The lunchroom was its usual mess of clattering trays, yelling freshmen, and questionable food smells. Will scans the crowd as he steps in, tray in hand.
His eyes flick to a table — their table — the one they always sit at. Where Mike and Lucas were already sitting.
When he sees them sitting at the table, he hesitates for just a second. Mike looked pissed already, his jaw so clenched that Will could see it from here. Lucas was chewing something, looking down into his lap at his phone. Max was sitting with them too, poking at a carton of mashed potatoes like it personally offended her.
He glances around the lunchroom, maybe for Dustin, so he doesn’t have to walk up alone. He takes a deep breath, then forces his legs to move towards the table.
When he reaches the table, he slowly plops down next to Max and in front of Mike. Mike doesn't say anything when Will sits down — all he does is narrow his eyes.
“Hey,” Will says, breaking the unbearable silence.
Mike crosses his arms. “Third time this week.”
“Fourth, actually,” Lucas corrects, without even looking up.
"Even worse!"
Will presses his lips together, deciding not to say anything. Just as he was about to respond, Dustin strolls up and sits down right beside Mike. “Hey, guys! What’re we talking about?”
“I think you know what we’re talking about, Dustin,” Lucas says quietly, side-eyeing Mike, who was still staring ahead at Will, obviously mad.
Dustin makes an ah sound and then stays quiet.
Mike starts again, “If you don’t wanna be a part of the campaign, just say that,” Mike mumbles, and Will opens his mouth to try to scramble to say something. But Mike continues before he can reply. “But we need you, Will. You’re the best member we have!”
“Hey!” Dustin complains, sounding offended.
Will sighs. “I’m… sorry,” he replies softly, making Mike’s face tighten a little less. “I’ve just been… caught up in a lot of stuff. A lot’s been going on.”
After Will finishes, Mike’s face just tightens up again. Will hates lying. Because whenever he lies, it's so extremely obvious. And Mike, who’s been his best friend since he can remember, can definitely tell when he’s lying.
“You know you can talk to us, right?” Lucas adds, locking his phone and placing it facedown on the table.
Will just nods. “Yeah, you can tell us whatever,” Mike continues, pressing closer to Will from under the table, even though they were across from each other. He knows that this is Mike's way of saying, tell us what’s wrong. Tell us why you’ve been late every-fucking-day.
But what is he supposed to say? Hey! Sorry, I was late today. I almost got hit by a car because my spider-senses kicked in too late! Or, Sorry I've been so late lately. I’ve been waking up hours later because I’m sleep-deprived from fighting crime all night!
Will swallows hard, his throat tight. He knows Mike means well. He always means well. There's no good excuse to give, but Will had to make one.
“It’s just that…” Will takes a deep breath. “Jonathan’s been less present. And Mom’s so caught up about her job and—”
“We’re asking about you, Will,” Max says suddenly, finally putting her fork down.
Will just blinks. He didn’t know what to say to that; it's like his mind actually just goes blank. “Yeah, I know, just—”
Mike cuts him off. “I don’t believe that, Will. Tell me what’s actually going on,” he says, his tone getting more serious.
Will doesn’t think he’s ever seen Mike this serious. The way his voice sounds, the way he looks. It's all so confusing. He glances over at Dustin, who’s giving him an, I told you so, face.
He looks back at Mike, who seemingly hasn’t glanced away from him once, maybe hasn’t even blinked. He knows he has to make something up to convince Mike, really convince.
And then, he realizes. Maybe he doesn't have to lie.
Not fully.
“I’ve just been sleep-deprived lately. My sleep schedule’s been… all messed up. I think I have… insomnia. Or whatever it’s called,” Will replies. And this time, Mike stays completely silent, listening. So does Max, and so does Lucas.
So he continues. “Plus, all this... Spiderman stuff isn’t really helping.”
“Yeah, I… get that,” Mike mutters, quietly. Had he finally done it? Made Mike lay off of him, even just for a little? All he had to do was tell the... half-truth?
“Speaking of,” Dustin starts up again. “Did you guys see that Spiderman caught that dude last night? The one who keeps robbing all those gas stations?”
Max scoffs. “Yeah, finally. He’s robbing gas stations. Can’t believe he wasn’t caught earlier.” You'd be shocked, Will's brain provides unhelpfully.
Lucas just shrugs in response. “Spiderman works in mysterious ways,” making Dustin and Mike laugh. Will just stays silent.
Mike clears his throat suddenly. “Just… listen,” he begins up again, toward Will. Shit, maybe he didn’t do it. “You can tell me anything. Anything. I can help you with anything you need! Well… I can try.” Will chuckles quietly, and Mike just smiles at him. “That’s not the point. But I just want you to know.”
Dustin clears his throat, making the party look at him. “Maybe it’d help if you guys lay off him a little? I mean, it’s probably just making everything more stressful.”
That made Mike and Lucas turn their heads to Will, who, with his lips pressed together, just softly nods. Quickly, Lucas stutters to say, “Yeah— yeah! We can do that!” he says, feverishly. Then — quieter — he whispers, “Sorry, man, we didn’t realize.”
Will just shakes his head. “No, no. It’s alright. I get it,” he smiles, glancing over at Mike, who was looking down at his tray. He looked troubled. Like he felt really bad.
“No need to get worked up about it, alright?” Will says, putting a smile on his face, and he hoped it didn’t look as fake as it was. “Now, are we working on this campaign, or not?”
Mike looks up, face lit up with a smile, and so does Dustin's. Mike quickly pulls out a large notebook and a pencil, placing them down in front of all of them. Max scoffs quietly, making Lucas stifle a laugh.
As Will glances across the table, he realizes that something feels... off. Somebody's missing. His sister, El.
Even though they live together, El always makes it to school on time. Hopper picks her up every morning because he’s living up in his old cabin, renovating the place.
He tells El he ‘plans to move in with her,’ but he hasn’t really talked to Joyce about it. And even though Hopper asks El every morning — does Will need a ride? — she just brushes it off and tells him no.
Lately, El’s been different — maybe it’s because she doesn't have her powers anymore, or maybe it’s because of how distant Will’s been getting — but she’s different.
“Hey, where’s El?” he asks in a whisper, careful not to let anyone else hear the name, since everybody knew her as ‘Jane’.
Mike glances around and shrugs. “She said she had this group project to work on. Guessing she’s in the library still.”
“Yeah. For economics,” Max confirms, making Dustin groan.
"I still have to do that! I haven’t even started,” Dustin whines sarcastically, making Lucas chuckle. “My group is so ass.”
“I’m, in your group, Dustin,” Mike blinks, looking over at Dustin.
“Exactly, dude,” Dustin shrugs, making Mike roll his eyes at him and scoff.
He doesn't know what's going on between El and Mike. He's pretty sure they aren't broken up — or El would’ve told him. But, they’ve been distant lately, too. One day, it's like they're strangers, and the other, they’re acting like a couple again.
It was so confusing, and it wasn’t helping his situation. And no, not the radioactive-Spiderman-superhero situation. The gay-crush-on-bestfriend situation. He sighs and takes a bite from his, now hot, sandwich.
As they talked amongst themselves and discussed their campaign, Will couldn’t help but notice the uneasy feeling in his stomach. It's not his spider-sense — not yet, at least.
Suddenly, the bell rings, abruptly halting the party’s planning.
“We just have a little left. Who wants to finish it later?” Mike asks, closing the notebook on the table.
“I can’t, I have a basketball game later,” Lucas sighs, making Mike scoff. “Will, do you have an art meeting today?”
Will had joined the art club at the start of the year. They do have meetings, but every once in a while. He figured that art meetings were a good cover-up for his disappearances.
Max starts, “He probably does, there’s one almost every day—”
“He doesn’t! Me and him are going to the arcade later today,” Dustin interrupts. “We’re still going, right?” he glances at Will hopefully.
Fuck, he had forgotten all about that.
“You guys are?” Mike asks, looking over at Will, awaiting his answer.
“Uhm… yup! Yeah, we are,” he mumbles, noticing Dustin smile from the corner of his eye. “We can take the notebook and do the rest once we get back from the arcade."
“Perfect, then,” Mike says, sliding the notebook across the table to Will.
Will grimaces slightly at the large notebook. He definitely wouldn’t be able to carry that while swinging around. “Dustin, can you carry it in your bag?”
“You mean his unnecessarily big ass bag?” Lucas adds in a whisper, even though there was no attempt to hide it from Dustin, making everyone except Dustin laugh. "Yeah, I definitely think he can. He has room for two of those in there."
He crosses his arms defensively. “It’s a perfectly normal-sized bag, dumbass!”
Lucas rolls his eyes and mumbles something under his breath, something only Max could hear, making her chuckle under his breath softly.
“Anyway, are we meeting at the arcade or…?” Dustin asks, turning his attention to Will.
“Uh, meet at my house?” Will suggests, making Dustin nod. He might as well go on patrol early, so he can get back to his house before Dustin gets there to meet up. It seems like the perfect plan. Go do his super duties quickly, and then go to the arcade!
“Okay then,” Dustin says. “What time?”
“Uhh…” he glances down at the time on his phone quickly. 1:15. sixth period was over and school ends at 3:00. Patrol should take around… two hours? Maybe three, just to be safe. So that means… “6:30?”
“Alright! I’ll be there,” Dustin says cheerfully, getting up from the table and grabbing the notebook, stuffing it into his bag. The party follows, starting to pack up their belongings and throw away their trash. “And don’t be late, Will.”
Will stifles a laugh, grabbing his phone off the table. “How can I be late to my own house, Dustin?”
That made Mike laugh softly, his laugh crinkling up his nose. Will couldn’t help but admire.
“How about you don’t be late,” Will teases back, making Dustin scoff.
“Watch! I'll be on time!” Dustin bounces back, making Will laugh a little bit harder. “I’ll see you guys! See you, Will!"
Max and Lucas waves at them, both going off together. “See you. Bye, Will,” Mike says, waving at Will and smiling at him before he leaves. Will gives him a little wave back, his stomach turning as he does so, like it always does when it comes to Mike.
“You are so obvious,” Dustin states, and it makes Will narrow his eyes at him.
“Shut, up,” Will scoffs, playfully pushing Dustin on the shoulder. “Goodbye,” Dustin chuckles, waving to Will as he walks off.
When Will reaches the hall, he can't help but notice the uneasiness rising in his chest. His senses keep getting higher, and everything seems to be getting louder, and he can feel himself starting to sweat.
It feels like something — someone — was there. Watching him, stalking him. Just lurking. He doesn't know what or who it was, and he wasn't entirely sure if he even wanted to find out right now.
So he, very quickly, makes his way to his seventh period, trying his hardest to walk as fast as he can.