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Another eighteen months later…
Max and Lucas had spend less than five days separate since the graduation. They moved close to Philly as Lucas had a scholarship to play basketball at University of Pennsylvania. Max took a year, working part time at a community-centre in the city. Next fall she applied to study social work at Penn State.
Dustin pumped into Stacey in a party at his college. It was almost like faith as he seldom went to parties and Stacey was just visiting her friends. Nevertheless they talked the whole night, Dustin made way too many Hobbit-references, but somehow she stayed. After that Stacey visited her friend more and more often and somehow their paths crossed almost weekly. It wasn’t until Steve finally gave Dustin a pep-talk that he finally asked her to be his girlfriend. After that they talked about Hawkins, about Will’s disappearance and everything that had happened.
It was a struggle letting someone in again — someone who didn’t know all the baggage Will came with. It wasn’t until they had already been together over half a year when Will finally explained everything to Nathan. It was more of necessity than want as the stress of exams and a storm and flickering lights made a perfect cocktail for an anxiety attack. It took a while for Will to explain Nathan that he hadn’t been drugged at the party, but these were actual things that happened to him. In the end it brought them closer together.
It was a warm evening in Rhode Island when Max and Lucas walked to the apartment complex where Will lived with Nathan.
"Apartment 21," Max said, reading from a small note that Will had written her. Lucas pressed the buzzer and soon enough the lock clicked and he opened the door for Max.
"Ladies first," he winked and Max rolled her eyes in her typical fashion.
They took a lift to the sixth floor of the old building.
"Well this is pretty unstable," Max muttered.
"You know, after kicking that demo-dog, I've kinda found every elevator not that big of a deal," Lucas smirked, pulling her closer to him by her waist.
"Uhhuh," Max laughed. Brightly and energetically, the way which made Lucas's heart skip a beat. "When are you going to stop bringing that up?"
"Not until I'm old and wrinkly and can't remember it anymore," he said with a wink, before giving her a quick kiss. The moment was interrupted as the elevator came to a halt and Lucas opened the door.
"21, that's here," she said and pressed the doorbell. Soon enough the door opened and they were face to face with Will, who pulled the couple in a hug. He was holding a glass of something alcoholic as he tightened his hold on them.
"I'm so glad you guys are here!"
"Good to see you again Byers," Lucas laughed. As they broke the hug Lucas and Max finally saw a brunette guy standing behind Will.
“Here’s Nathan,” he introduced his boyfriend with the biggest smile. “Nathan, these are Lucas and Max.”
“Nice to meet you,” Lucas said and offered his hand to shake.
“You too, I’ve heard a lot.”
“Good things I hope?” Lucas asked with a smirk whilst Max shook Nathan’s hand.
“Of course,” the couple chuckled in unison.
“Are you guys coming in or what?” Dustin voice bellowed from the living room. Lucas lifted his eyebrows.
“They come like five minutes ago,” Will explained and Lucas walked to the living room, pulling Max from her hand.
“Hey you guys!” Dustin was already standing and pulled them in a tight hug. “Missed you.”
“Missed you too,” Lucas said.
“Alright, alright, it’s good to see you, but it’s not like we came back from war,” Max snorted.
Finally Dustin let go of them, but gave Max a quick eye-roll.
“Good to see you again Stacey,” Lucas said and took a seat on the sofa which Hopper gave Will when the couple moved to Montauk.
Max gave her a quick hug before sitting next to her boyfriend, who put his arm around her, gently stroking her arm with his thumb. Max had never really liked Stacey, or any other girl in Hawkins for that matter. But little by little and by Dustin’s adamant begging, she gave her a Nathan. It wasn’t until in the summer when he was — somehow — able to get her to play D&D with them in Mike’s basement, when Max finally welcomed her into her life.
“Your apartment is really nice,” Max said to the couple.
“Well it’s not. But it’s all we can afford,” Nathan said.
“But it’s enough for us,” Will said, taking hold of Nathan’s hand. A wide smile spread on the group’s faces. It took Will a while to come out to Stacey, but she took it just like Dustin said — with a smile and a warm hug.
“It really is nice. Have you seen Dustin’s room at the university? I can barely find him from the mess,” Stacey said with a chuckle.
While they all laughed, Lucas looked at Max gave her a questioning look which she responded to with a quick nod. Letting go of his hand, she pulled a small piece of jewellery from the front pocket of her jeans.
“Okay, we have some news,” Lucas stood up and lifted his glass. “We wanted to do this in person.”
His eyes found Max’s and again, it felt like the whole world disappeared from around them. Without saying anything, Max lifted her hand, showing a beautiful, simple engagement-ring.
“What?” Will’s voice was a few octave’s higher than usual.
“Oh my god!!” Dustin exclaimed and jumped up from the sofa. “Are you serious?”
Both boys jumped and smothered the couple in a tight hug.
“I can’t breathe,” Max whimpered from the hug and finally they broke it.
“Congrats you two!” Nathan said with a wide smile.
“Yeah, so happy for you!!” Stacey said enthusiastically and hugged Max tightly before pulling her hand to see the ring.
“Thanks you guys,” Max said.
“So, first things first, how’d you do it?” Stacey asked Lucas.
“Well… You remember when we visited her dad in California?” Lucas asked them. Max had reconnected with her dad after her graduation. They weren’t the closest, a lot had happened in between, but it was nice to have something, close to a family.
“In the summer?” Dustin almost yelled. “That’s like three months ago!!”
“Yeah,” Max chuckled. “We’ve been busy. With school and the move and everything.”
“But—“ Dustin’s shout was interrupted by his girlfriend’s hand on his mouth.
“Ignore him. How’d you do it?”
“Well, we were on a beach. It was so beautiful, the sky was so orange and the waves…” Lucas said before getting lost in her eyes.
A loud cough from Dustin interrupted his thoughts.
“Anyways. I just did it there and then.”
“Did you get the ring afterwards?”
“I bought it like a year ago,” Lucas laughed. “Come on, I’ve known I’m going to marry her before she even woke up from her coma or trance or whatever. She just didn’t want to get engaged before we had the whole school-thing worked out.”
“Awww,” Will, Nathan and Stacey all said.
“Super cute,” Dustin added. His voice left the sincerity of the sentiment to the imagination, but the group just ignored him.
"Even Erica was happy for us," Lucas chuckled.
"Of course she was. Well at least for you, she did say that I might be able to do better," Max winked.
"She did?"
"Yup. She has a boyfriend by the way," Max added.
"What??" Now Lucas was shouting. The beer Will had given him was nearly spilled as he turned to look at Max. "Why didn't you tell me??"
"Because she told me not to. Because she knows you and how you were going to react."
Lucas closed his mouth, took a deep breath and continued with; "But why. I'm so calm." The whole group laughed and Will thought it'd be best to switch the subject altogether.
“So we thought that we’d just hang here for few hours and make some food before going to the club. It opens at nine, but people usually go at around ten-ish,” Will explained whilst Lucas was still prying Max for more information.
“Sounds good,” Stacey said.
"Oh and by the way, I also knew about Erica," Dustin added and got another scream from Lucas.
"What? How?"
"I'm helping her with school. She's doing this course in mathematics and statistics," he said plainly and shrug his shoulders.
Lucas was frozen in place, looking at his friends which in turn made the whole group erupt in laughter.
“Have you talked to Steve by the way? How’s he doing?” Lucas directed the question to Dustin.
“Yeah, he actually just bought a house with Alyson,” he explained.
“Have we met an Alyson?” Will asked.
“I haven’t even met Alyson,” Dustin laughed. “They’ve been busy. But I’m counting days to their engagement. Or baby-announcement. Can’t say which comes first.”
“Do we really think that he’s the right person to teach sex-ed?”
“No,” Lucas, Will and Dustin said in unison.
“Alyson is actually the physics and chemistry teacher in the Middle School,” Dustin explained.
“Well that explains a lot,” Lucas chuckled.
After Dustin rose his eyebrows with a questioning look Max explained; “You’re his best friend, I’ve always kinda thought he’d get someone like you.”
“WHAT?”
A laughter filled the room.
"I actually pumped into Vickie when I was visiting my folks few weeks ago," Lucas said. "She and Robin are living together in Northampton. She's studying nursing there. I guess there's this rehabilitation centre where she volunteers."
"That's like the perfect job for her," Max said with a smile.
"Good for them honestly, they are so good together," Will added. "Very hyper, but good."
“Oh on other news, you never guess who answered Jonathan’s phone on accident when I called yesterday,” Will smirked.
“Nancy?” The others said — again in unison.
“Bingo!” Will chuckled. “Apparently Nance is writing for the Times now, and they ran into each other in the City.”
“I mean it had to happen, right?” Dustin said.
“A hundred precent,” Will smirked.
“Good for them. They fit together,” Stacey concluded. There was no doubting that. The couple had experienced what independence felt like, they found themselves. But somehow, nothing felt quite complete without each other.
“So… Have you heard from Mike?” Dustin asked Will finally. “I haven’t seen him in months.”
“Uhm… Last I heard he left to Iceland,” Will said, avoiding everyone’s eyes.
It was followed by long silence.
“Can’t blame him. For wanting to escape. I think it’ll do him some good. Getting away from Hawkins finally,” Lucas said.
“I talked with Holly last week, she’d gotten a post-card from him few weeks ago,” Max continued. “He seems happy there.”
“He deserves it,” Will whispered. Nathan’s arm was flung on his shoulder’s as he rubber his shoulder with his thumb. When explaining everything, Will had included Mike’s impact in the story as well. Nathan understood. Why wouldn’t he, one sided feelings weren’t exactly rare phenomenon — especially since their dating-pool was very limited in rural small towns. Will’s affection to Nathan was strong — something that his past couldn’t affect or brake.
It was close to ten when the group finally walked to the club Will talked about. It was a new club and the scene was mostly kids in their early twenties. It was a place where Will and Nathan could be themselves — one of the only places. Inside they walked to the bar, all buying beers and drinks before heading to the dance floor.
Will and Nathan led the group. Dustin and Stacey walked behind them and last Max and Lucas, hand in hand. Lucas walked in front, keeping a tight hold on Max’s hand when pushing people to create a path. Max was wearing Dr. Martens (a gift from Lucas), baggy jeans, leather-jacket (stolen from Lucas) and a graphic t-shirt with a picture of Kate Bush — a gift from Lucas. Lucas was — as usual — matching Max with jeans and a leather jacket.
When passing a group of girls, one focused her eyes on Lucas and gave him a wide smile which made Max’s skin crawl. “Hey you,” the blonde girl smirked and Lucas managed to stutter a measly “uhh,” before turning his eyes to the group that had now stopped and were all looking at him. After that he spun quickly around and his eyes met his fiancee’s
“Can’t they see that I’m like, right here?” She snapped.
“I don’t think she cared to be honest,” Will sighed.
“Hey,” Lucas said and pulled her tight to his chest. “You jealous?”
“No. I mean it’s just stupid, I’m like invisible and you’re you…”
“Yeah, and I can’t notice any other girl than you. You know that right?” He said, rising his eyebrows. And her lips curved into a small smile. Without waiting for her response, Lucas pulled her closer by her waist and dipped his face to hers. He waited just a second, looking into her eyes, before pulling her into a passionate kiss. Her hands roamed to his hair and his squeezed her hips, sliding his thumbs into the belt-loops of her jeans.
“Alright, are you guys done making out?” Will finally interrupted them. “I mean it’s cute and all, but I want to dance.”
The couple broke their kiss, both out of breath, cheeks warm and hearts thumping, and followed to group on the dance floor. They danced, half the time Max and Stacey held each other’s hands whilst dancing with Will and Nathan. It was a new kind of free that neither Lucas nor Dustin had ever seen on Will. It looked good on him. Half the time on the other hand Max was dancing with Lucas, kissing Lucas and/or hugging him. Lucas was in heaven.
As a mix of 'Like a Prayer' came on Max squealed, took Will's hands and the two of them jumped, sung and danced together. Nathan leaned to Lucas, saying; "Those two are trouble after few drinks."
"But the best kind of trouble," Lucas winked back and got a laugh from Nathan. He was a good guy, seemed to love Will with his whole heart.
After a while Dustin, Lucas and Will escaped the dance floor to retrieve some drinks for their partners.
“So-,” Lucas started as the three stood by the bar. “You look happy, Will.”
“I am. Very happy,” he responded with a wide smile on his face.
“And Nathan seems great,” Dustin added.
“So great. I’m actually falling for him,” Will said confidently. “Is that crazy? I mean after everything. Is it possible that I actually found someone?”
“Dude, I think that’s exactly why you found someone,” Lucas said, but Will just lifted his eyebrows. “I mean that I don’t think that you’d be this confident if everything bad that happened, hadn’t happened.”
“I concure. It makes you appreciate everything differently. I mean it’s definitely still scary, opening up. But my god it’s worth it.”
“Stacey is great,” Lucas added. “I mean who would’ve thought that you could actually get her to play D&D with us someday.”
“I think that we’ve both grown a lot. I mean she’s so different to what I thought she’d be.”
“Yeah, I think we all are. Different, I mean. Grown,” Will said.
“Three beers and three vodka-sodas,” the bartender interrupted their talk and Lucas grabbed two beers, Will two vodka-sodas and Dustin a beer for himself and a drink for Stacey. They walked together to the group who were all dancing and jumping around to Madonna’s Vogue. As they were approaching the dance-floor a tall, blonde dude walked over to Max and whispered something in her ear. Lucas could spot Max flinching a little and taking a step back to see who was the person talking to her.
"Damn," Dustin whispered and with that Lucas stalked over to the dance floor, walking quickly to his fiancee.
"Hey, aren't you a bit close?" He shouted as he finally reached Max, standing in between her and the blonde dude -- later named 'asshole'.
"You are?" The asshole asked.
"Her fiancee, and you're a bit too close," Lucas repeated himself. The dude was just as tall as Lucas, but with his confidence, he seemed to be towering over him.
"My bad," the dude chuckled and ducked out. Lucas spun around to look at Max.
"Is someone jealous?" Max smirked.
"Yes." He said simply, as he pulled her closer from the small of her back and smothered her in a passionate kiss which she eagerly deepened. The kiss ensued a groan from Dustin who then got an elbow from his girl.
“Stop it, they’re cute!”
"You're mine," Lucas said to Max, his eyes dark.
"And you're mine. I was just explaining that to the dude," Max smirked
“Have I mentioned how incredibly hot you look,” Lucas whispered into her ear, switching the topic away from the asshole. When her arms were up on his shoulders the short t-shirt rose and revealed her toned abs. Max smiled a little brighter. He knew Max was the most beautiful girl at the club and with her red hair curly, she was bound to draw attention from men. Didn't mean he had to like it, or accept it.
“So you keep saying,” she responded.
“Yes I will. For the rest of my life,” he whispered to her ear. “—fiancee.”
“Oh, I love the sound of that,” Max grinned.
“Mhm, I know. You get the cutest chills every time I call you that,” he said and Max turned her head to look at him. “Love them. And love you.”
“Love you too.”
Finally Max broke their hug, only to spin around, leaning her back to Lucas’s front and bringing his hands to her hips. He didn’t resist this one bit.
When they finally stumbled back to Will and Nathan’s apartment Nathan and Stacey went to sleep to give the four friends an opportunity to gather around a table and reminisce. Thankfully the boys's apartment had two small rooms. It was mostly so that the boys were able to keep up the 'room-mate'-image if necessary. It rarely was, unless they happened to host a larger party with people they didn't know. Stacey and Dustin had the dips on Will's original room and Nathan made a bed for Max and Lucas on the couch.
The party talked about the Crawls for perhaps the first time in two years. They talked about Bob, Eddie and everyone else they missed from that time. They talked about Dart and Mews. Most importantly they talked about the party and everything they went through. It was nearing five in the morning and Max was already leaning on her fiancee’s shoulder as he gently stroke the palm of her hand with his thumb. Once in a while he touched the ring on her finger and he could swear his heart skipped a beat every single time.
Will turned around and grabbed a bottle of vodka from the side-table. After setting that on the table he grabbed four glasses and sat them on the table, pouring all of them a hefty shot.
“To the party,” Will said as he lifted his glass.
“It’s still not the full party,” Max whispered.
“About that,” Will said and stood up. In the silence he walked over to his desk and pulled a piece of paper from the drawer. He handed it to Max.
It was a small post-card with three waterfalls in the picture. Max flipped the card around and on the back was written — in the familiar messy writing;
“Found The waterfalls, Mike.”
She passed the card to Lucas and Dustin.
“Are you sure?” Her chin wobbled and tears threatened to escape her eyes.
“I think so.”
There really wasn’t anything more to say. Will lifted his shot-glass again.
“To the Story teller—“
“— and the Mage,” Dustin finished with tears in his eyes.
Because I believe.