Chapter Text
Well, that’s it. They did it.
Through all the noise, the heartbreak, the loss, the monsters (metaphorically and literally), they did it.
The four of them stand together, triumphant and relieved, laughing as they praise Dustin’s Eddie-esque stunt on stage.
Everything still feels too loud, too bright, too unreal. They barely even register when someone steps in front of them.
Until—
Stacey Albright.
Stacey Albright.
Golden girl of Hawkins Elementary, all the way through to high school. The same Stacey who spent years leading the charge of bullying them, followed by Troy and James—
She says a couple things to Dustin that they don’t yet quite register, because, what?
It looks like an awkward encounter, obviously on Dustin’s end.
She turns around to walk away, and before the group can talk about what on earth just happened, she starts again.
“Hey, so, I’m having a party… later tonight.”
They stiffen immediately, bracing themselves for the attack. Because of course there’s an attack coming.
“You guys should come.”
Oh.
Their mouths gape.
There’s no way in hell that the Stacey Albright had just… invited them to her party.
Right?
The obvious choice would be to go. To finally erase whatever bad blood had tethered them together for years. And now that Suzie and Dustin had officially called it quits (courtesy of her extremely Mormon father), Dustin might finally have the chance to score just one last time with the girl he’d had a crush on since elementary school.
The vote seems unanimous.
Until Mike cuts in.
“No. Screw that,” he says. “I’ve got a better idea. Way better.”
He looks at Will, expecting him to be just as ready to shut the idea down as he is.
Instead he looks… excited?
“Yeah, no offense, Mike, but I really don’t see how literally anything could be better than this.” Lucas grins, practically vibrating. “We just got invited to Stacey Albright’s graduation party.” He pauses. “Hold on, I gotta find Max—she’s totally gonna die.”
A beat.
“—I mean, be excited. She’ll be excited. Probably. Maybe.”
“Hopefully.”
And then he’s gone, disappearing into a blur of orange caps and gowns.
“Wh—Is he serious?” Mike scoffs, pitching his voice higher with annoyance. “Since when do we go to partiiies?” The impression is unmistakable. Eddie Munson, through and through.
“Hey, I’m sure Lucas has a lot of experience, you know, being on the basketball team and all” Dustin says, met with a cutting glare from Mike.
“Oh, come on, Mike!” Will cuts in eagerly. “This is good! This is great! We can just— I don’t know—be normal for one night.”
There’s something in his tone. Something earnest.
And he’s right. Mike hates that he’s right.
Out of all of them, Will is the one who deserves normality the most.
Mike turns to Dustin for backup, and immediately wonders why he thought Dustin would help at all.
“I can’t believe it,” Dustin says, still awestruck. “Stacey—like, Stacey Stacey—called me badass and then invited me to her party.”
Will clears his throat pointedly. “Invited us to her party, Dustin.”
“Yeah, okay, but she obviously meant me,” Dustin shrugs. “You guys are just invited because you’re my friends.”
Will shoves him, laughing, and they bicker until Mike cuts in again.
“Will,” he says, quieter now. “You’re really sure? Like—really sure you wanna go to this thing? We could just hang in my basement. Play D&D. Like old times.”
“We can do that whenever we want, Mike.” Will smiles softly. “Let’s just—let loose for one night. We deserve it. Like everyone else.” He tilts his head. “When’s the last time you saw Dustin this excited when it wasn’t about killing an inter-dimensional monster?”
Mike looks at him. Really looks at him.
And—shit.
He could never say no to that smile. That warm, stupid, beautiful smile. The kind that makes Will’s hazel eyes crinkle and his lips thin out just slightly.
Wait.
What?
That was weird.
Mike clears his throat. “Yeah. Okay. Fine. But if anything weird happens, we’re leaving. All of us. This still feels like a trap.”
“You’re so mopey, Wheeler.” Max appears beside them, arms crossed. “Live a little. Some of us didn’t get to live at all these past few months, you know.”
Mike finally tears his eyes away from Will and looks at her instead, a reluctant grin tugging at his mouth.
“Yeah,” he sighs. “Whatever. Let’s partyyy.” He makes a big motion with his hands, and they all laugh together, the tension finally breaking.
What could possibly go wrong?