Chapter Text
A loud knock came from Will’s bedroom door, his heart sank and he sat up quickly. Will wiped the fresh cold sweat from his forehead then his step dad’s voice came across as rough, he knocked again, “William Byers, wake up right this second.” Will stood up, fast, too fast. In fact, his vision blurred a tiny bit, then he scrambled to go open the door. “Sorry daddy,” his voice gave a soft whimper.
The whole family is supposed to be up at this time, Will is always the one who wakes up a bit later but usually if he didn’t hear his alarm, the cute chickens from his farm woke him up. Will’s step dad looked him up and down before giving a hesitant look. His voice sounded soft but Will knew he was serious, “For goodness sake Will, put on some decent clothes.” Will looked at his light yellow sleeve cut t-shirt that has “Nirvana” written on it, then his shirt yellow lace shorts, Will groaned of annoyance and shut the door.
Will’s step dad, Jim Hopper is the sheriff, he’s always making sure Will and his siblings are safe. Jim loves Will’s mom, Joyce Byers dearly and also loves Will’s step sister (but Hoppers daughter), Jane Hopper, she is one of the prettiest girls at his school. His brother, Jonathan Byers, is not the perfect kid, he smokes, drinks, and has magazines of naked girls in his room but no one’s perfect. Will’s dad isn’t his biological dad, he’s his step dad. But he’s known him for so long, he’s like a dad to Will.
Will looked in the mirror, his hair was silky and the tips curled a bit, his friend, Lauklyn Care said she loves his hair. Lauklyn says, “It’s a cute chestnut color,” Will sees it, but he wouldn’t call it cute. The mole above his lip got darker and his eyes look lighter, it’s probably just the lighting, the lighting always matters. He went ahead and brushed his teeth. His hair was a bit tangled but still perfect. Will put on a dark red shoulderless sweater with a pair of jean shorts. He felt a little like Regina George. She was his role model when he was about 7, and she still is. Will practiced smiling in his mirror until he felt a cold, wet nose touch his hand, it was Romeo.
Romeo is the family dog. They’ve had him since Will was 7, he is a retriever and a little tan, Romeo has big brown eyes and floppy ears, he loves baths and used to take baths with Will because he was too little to just be washed with hands, so they needed a figure in the bath with him to not let him drown. Now, Romeo is big and super fluffy. He has a pink little nose and his tongue sticks out when he’s concentrated.
Will ran down the stairs, his step dad grinned ear to ear and hugged him tight, then his mom wrapped her arms around his little waist and gave an even tighter hug. His mom had a look that he doesn’t know. Her eyebrows were slightly raised and curved, her eyes were softened and her lips formed a line.
“What?”
Joyce just smiled and stroked his arm, “Nothing baby.”
Will didn’t believe her, he could tell she lied straight to his face. “Momma, just tell me what.” She looked at her small bakery they have in the house, then her vision went to Will again. Joyce looked like she was lost in thought, “I just needed a few things from the farmers market.” Will shook his head and smiled in disbelief at the small favor. The walk wasn’t far from his house, it was close, Joyce always goes to get them some stuff.
“What do we need?” He blurted.
His heart was beating fast, he’s never gone to the farmers market alone before, it’s always him and Joyce or him and Jonathan.
She tapped her chin and opened the new fridge they got, “I’ll tell you on the way there baby,” her soft pink lips touched Will’s cheek with a loud “smooch” immediately after that she waved goodbye.
The walk to the farmers market was fine, a cute group of cowboys looked at Will and whistled but.. he loves the attention. The door made a loud ring as Will entered the market, the scent of everything in there hit him like a brick in the nose. Will got a hint of the carrots nearby and a small scent of the apples. A few girls on his left looked at him as he entered. They looked at his short shorts. The shortest girl looked at the taller girl and they both had a conversation with their eyes. He was their gaze go down to his ass cheeks, they just wish they had some like it. He fidgeted with the bracelet his dad got him, it’s a gold expensive bracelet with his initials, “WB” on it. Will paced down the aisle for a minute, waiting for a text from his mom, the bubbles formed shortly after a few messages appeared.
Will put his phone into his back pocket, he crouched down and locked eyes on the bottom shelf, it had half spilt flour and the other half was fresh strawberry jam in jars. A loud ring startled Will, the front door of the farmers market opened.
“Oh,” he whispered, like if the boy could hear him.
A cowboy.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Dark curls peeking out from beneath his brown cowboy hat.
Will’s cheek flushed, he hadn’t seen a man so handsome before. Will grabbed the jam as quick as a cheetah. He ran into the other aisle and checked his phone,
“..Apples, Caramel, Cin-“
“Ah, Cinnamon,”
Will turned his head slowly to see the cowboy looking at the cinnamon, the cowboy grabbed a container and looked down at Will, “Know if this one’s the best?” Will gulped and fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. “I- uh well, I suppose- well.. I- uhm the- the MrCormik one..”
The cowboy nodded and put the cinnamon Will recommended into his shopping basket, “Thanks,” the boy mumbled. Will nodded and couldn’t help but smile at the small interaction.
Will walked back to the house with two bags of the stuff his mom said to bring, right as he stepped foot onto his property his step dad appeared, polishing his badge. “There you are,” his face brightened. Will stepped forward and leaned against the fence while putting down the bags, “What’s today’s lecture daddy?” Hopper chuckled, “You’re the sheriff’s son.” Will raised an eyebrow then nodded slowly, his hips shifted and the wind blew in his face, “I know,” Hopper put his hands on his hips, “You need to act like it.”
“I do.”
“No.”
“I do.”
Hopper groaned, “Your also to fuckin sweet,”
“No,”
“You picked flowers for Miss Henderson,”
“She was sad,”
“You helped Mrs. Sinclair bake pies.”
“She needed help.”
“You spent two damn hours brushing the mayor’s horse.”
“He looked lonely.”
Hopper scoffed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “You need to stop adopting every damn thing.” Will bit his bottom lip and sighed, “I can’t help it,” Hopper ran his hands across his face, “I know,” There wasn’t much anger in Hopper’s words, just exhaustion. Will smiled sweetly,
“You love me.”
“I tolerate you.”
“Liar.”
Hopper lit a cigarette and shrugged, “Maybe,”
“Hey daddy?” Hopper looked down at Will, “Hm?” “Who’s that new cowboy in town?” Hopper chuckled and shook his head then blew out his smoke, “A trouble maker Will.”
“He didn’t look or act like one,”
Hopper’s eyes darkened,“You met him?”
Will nodded, “He was sweet,” Will dug his cowboy boots into the sand, he knew damn well the cowboy and him didn’t talk they just had the smallest interaction, but that cowboy was so damn fine that Will had to argue with his step dad.
Hopper looked at the end of the empty street, “He’s dangerous,”
“You don’t know that.”
“I don’t.”
“So why assume the worst, daddy?”
“Because it’s my job.” Hopper pressed his cigarette firmly against the fence. Will sighed dramatically and then groaned, “It’s also your job not to judge people!” Hopper tilted his head and nodded, “And it’s also my job to protect this town.” Will turned his head quickly to look up at Hopper, “And if he’s innocent?” Hopper stayed quiet and let the birds chirp, “I’ll figure that out.” Will kicked a rock,“You already don’t trust him.”
“I don’t trust strangers,”
“You trusted Mom,”
“She baked me cookies,”
Will let out a giggle, “So he has to bake to earn your trust?”
“Certainly helps.” he grinned.
Micheal Wheeler, Mike for short, is the town’s new trouble maker. Everyone thinks his dangerous and mysterious because he hardly talks. The sheriff in town dislikes him a lot, Mike’s own father dislikes him too, or you can say hate. His father hit him when he was younger and he just randomly stopped when Mike turned 16, it was like he had a plan to abuse his kid at 5 then stop.
Mike isn’t exactly the favorite at the house. He has two sisters, one older, her name is Nancy Wheeler she’s 21 and one youngest, her name is Holly Wheeler she is 10. Both of his sisters are very sweet and annoying. His Mother, Karen Wheeler, and his Father Ted Wheeler only care about Holly like she’s the whole world. While Mike was always just the invisible child.
Mike recently had a fight with a nerdy kid, his name is Carlton. He’s a faggot and Mike hates faggots his father always taught Mike to be with a hard working house woman, obviously Mike would listen and date a woman, I mean why wouldn’t Micheal fucking John Wheeler want one? Women are hot.
The fight was very very bad, Carlton was left almost unrecognizable, his face was all bloody, his teeth were chipped And his nose was broken, some skin above his eyebrow was peeled off and his glasses were left broken in his hand.
Nobody pisses Mike off or else they would get it, everyone just knew to leave Mike alone. So they did. No one talked about him, no one looked at him, not even the teachers would acknowledge him. And his parents were furious about it, Ted was abusive in the past and still kind of is. Whenever Mike got a bad grade or had another fight at school or anywhere else in general, Ted would hit him with the belt, hanger and even a wine bottle. Ted would, and can take his phone privileges, or take his door out.
The next day..
Mike woke up before the sun rose, the gentle breeze freshened Mike up. He tightened his grip on the saddle of his horse, checked the straps and quietly prepared to leave town. He didn’t want to leave, he didn’t have anywhere to go, he didn’t know where he was going. But the trauma he has from his dad, the bruises, the scars, the fights and the arguments. leaving all that made running away feel better. It was easier like this, no goodbyes, no attachments. Just another road, another town, another sunrise. Mike placed one foot in the stirrup-
“Where are you going?”
Mike looked over his shoulder and saw the boy from the market, the pretty American boy. Mike examined him, he looked at the bracelet he had, the way his hair got curly at the end, the way he has to look up at Mike because Mike’s just too tall (and because he’s on a horse). Mike noticed the big thighs, the small shoulders, the tan skin, the moles. He looked at the boy’s outfit, he was wearing the same shorts from yesterday, Mike recognized the print and the same “Miss American,” writing. His top was a little too small, he could tell by the way the pink fabric showed a strip of tan, perfect skin. Mike got a whiff of a vanilla scent the brunette was wearing.
“You followed me?” Mike questioned.
Will shook his head,“I woke up early,”
“..Why?”
“To feed my animals,” Will’s eyes sparkled with confidence, “I saw you- uh.. I thought you might be lonely.”
Mike blinked, the brunette cared, no one ever cared.
“And, uh I brought breakfast.” Will stepped forward and held out a small basket with cherry filled bread rolls. “My momma makes them and I just uh-“
Mike interrupted. “You didn’t have to.”
“I know,”
Will held out the basket, again and looked up at Mike. Mike hesitated at first but then grabbed the basket, his hand touched Will’s and the touch lingered, “…Thank you.” Will beamed, “So..”
“So?”
“Where are you going?” Will asked again.
Mike glanced toward the road and shrugged, “I don’t know.” Will’s face changed from a smile to confusion, “You don’t have a destination?” Mike furrowed his eyebrows, “You always talk this much?”
Will giggled and shifted, “More,” Mike watched the way Will moved then Mike carefully hopped off his horse, “No.”
Will stared, “So you just ride?”
“Pretty much.”
“That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard,”
Mike let out a quiet chuckle and nodded, he leaned back against his horse, “It isn’t sad,”
“Sounds lonely.”
Mike looked at the dirt on his boots and paused, “Ah, sometimes.” Neither of them spoke, they just watched the birds and listened to the nearby horse’s neighing. Mike watched Will reach into his pocket then he held out a tiny pressed wildflower, Will stammered trying to find words. “It’s for luck.” The brunette swallowed his spit, “My momma says carrying flowers reminds people there is still beauty in this world.” Mike carefully accepted it, it was just a tiny little flower from such a beautiful boy, somehow it felt heavier than the revolver on his belt. Mike cleared his throat, “I’ve never been given flowers before.” Will shifted his weight from one foot to the other and smiled, “There’s a first time for everything.”
Unfortunately for them, someone had been watching. Hopper stepped out from around the stable.
“Will.”
The brunette boy jumped and put his hand behind his back. “Daddy.” Hopper crossed his arms, “I’ve been looking for you.” Will squeaked and then Mike took a respectful step back, “Mornin, Sheriff.” Hopper gave a short nod, “Mike.” An awkward silence spread between the three men. Until, Hopper spoke, “You planning on staying?” Mike glanced toward the road again then his gaze went to Will and back to Hopper, “I haven’t decided sir.” Hopper looked between the two boys in front of him, “You should.” Mike looked surprised and put a hand on his belt, Hopper uncrossed his arms and spoke, “We need help.”
“Help?”
“The storm damaged the fences on the north side.” Mike nodded and fixed his hat, “I can fix fences,” The sheriff nodded, “good.” A good amount of silence happened for a minute until Hopper spoke again, “But,” he paused, “If you’re helping there are rules.” Mike wanted patiently.
“No fighting.”
“Fine.”
“No funny stuff.”
“Okay.”
“No causing trouble.”
“I don’t.”
Hopper rolled his eyes, “And if you hurt anyone in this town…”
“I won’t.”
Will watched the cowboy and his step dad stare at each other until Hopper held out his hand, Mike shook it, not warmly, not friendly, not coldly or firmly just a promise.
For now.
Hopper turned around then looked over his shoulder, “Will, no flowers to strangers.” Will smiled and bit his bottom lip, “I’ll think about it daddy.” Hopper continued walking and shouted,
“No you won’t!”
“Nope.” Will whispered to the air.
The two stood in silence and then Mike looked down at Will, “So..”
“So?”
”Your name is Will?”
Will nodded and smiled, “I know your name. My daddy told me you’re a trouble maker.” Will booped Mike’s chest and grinned.
“I can be,”
”Mm, can you?”
Mike bit his lip and chuckled, “Only when I want to be.”
Will shook his head and tutted, “My daddy likes men who are respectful and loyal.”
”Your daddy is boring.”
”Oh?”
The rest of the night, Will kept his mind on Mike. Hopefully tomorrow they would meet and talk again, maybe tomorrow they could get to know each other.
Just maybe.