Chapter Text
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Will reaches out to his nightstand and grabs his phone to stop the beeping.
7:30 am, School starts today. Will was not looking forward to it. In Raleigh, he was always alone, or he was with Jane. Which was great, he loved her, of course, he did, but she wasn't enough. He was this weird kid, always quiet, always alone. And his haircut did not help. A bowl cut, his mom said it was the prime in her childhood, but Will's pretty sure that even in the 80s, he would've gotten bullied for it. He's been planning to change it.
Will rises from his bed and walks to his closet. What to wear? Like it matters. The summers here are like NC, but NC had the wind from the ocean, having at least some cooling effect; here's none. So, a basic pair of denim shorts; it falls just above his knees, and a T-Shirt with the outline of a cat on it.
He opens his door and walks down the hallway through the living room and into the kitchen. His mother and Jane are already awake and eating. Jane is wearing a pink summer dress that stops just above her knees, and she has makeup on. Pink eyeshadow and pink lipstick. She loves pink, no, she adores pink.
“Morning.” Will greets. Jane looks up and smiles. “Morning!” She chirps.
How she always is so upbeat in the morning, Will will never find out.
“Good morning, are you excited for school?” His mother asks. Will plops down on the chair next to his sister, his mother sitting across from him. She has a neutral expression on her face. Will put his head on the table. “You already know the answer.” He says, disheartened. “Oh, Will...” His mother ruffles his hair. “I’m confident you’ll make friends.” Will looks up and smiles weakly at her. She smiles back with adoration. His mother always cared so deeply for him. Always made sure he was safe.
When she could.
“Thanks mom.” “Don’t worry mom, I’ll make sure he does.” Jane pokes him with her elbow. Will sigh. “I don’t need charity.” He grins at her. She grins back. His mom stands up and grabs her plate, while walking to the sink, she says: “Will, don’t forget, at 3:30 pm we have an appointment at the barber.” He turns around. “I literally can’t forget with you reminding me every day.” His mom shrugs. “I must remind you every day because you always forget.” She grins at him. He laughs. “What do we have for breakfast, actually?” He just remembered his empty stomach. Jane points to the other side of the kitchen, next to the stove.
Pancakes.
Will jumps up and immediately grabs two. “YES!! Oh my god, this is the best morning ever.” His excitement is always so obvious. He loves pancake, always has, always will. His mother smiles widely. “I knew that would cheer you up!” Will giggles fondly. He sits back down, and Jane passes him the syrup. He drowns his pancakes in it and gourmandises them.
Jane watches him with wide eyes. “My God, you’re like an animal.” He side eyes her. “You’re an animal.” He says through bites. “Says the one inhaling his food.” She laughs, and he grins. “7:45 already? I’m gonna grab my backpack.” She stands up and sprints to her room. His plate is empty.
No more pancakes. (so sad)
He stands up and walks to his room. His backpack is in the corner, the previous night packed. He grabs it, and Jane is already waiting at the door. He looks at his phone: 7:50. It's less than 20 minutes biking to school, but Jane always wanted to be early. He puts on his summer jacket, and they head out the door. “Have a nice day!” His mother yells after them. The sun is bright, and there’s not a cloud to be seen. It’s a beautiful day, and he’s obliged to waste it at school. They jump on their bikes and ride off.
“Good morning, Hawkins. It's such a beautiful day out! The sun is bright, the skies are clear, and the temperature has cooled down just slightly, just enough where you don’t have the wind knocked out of you when you dare to step outside.”
Robin lowers her voice to an ominous tone at the words ‘dare to step outside’.
“It’s a lovely 79 degrees out, and it won’t rain anytime soon. Perfect for the first school day! We wish you schoolkids all the best this coming year! And now the “perfect” song." She has an exaggerated, sarcastic tone on the word ‘perfect’. “According to my partner in crime, September by Earth, Wind & Fire.”
Steve presses a button, and the song starts. Then he mutes her microphone. She turns around and has a grin on her face. “So, you gonna tell me what’s bothering you?” He furrows his eyebrows in confusion. “Oh, come on!” She throws her arms around. “It’s so obvious!” He straightens his back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about...” He says pensively. She huffs. “You’re weirdly quiet, and your shoulders are slumped, like there’s a weight on your back. And you suggested September, I’m surprised that you even know that song.” Steve straightens his back again. “I don’t live under a rock!” Robin leans in; her facial expression has gone soft. Steve sighs.
“You’re right. I’m just... I don’t know...” He breathes in. “I feel stuck? Like there’s something...” He flails with his arms. “I don’t know how to even describe it.” He lays his head in his hands. Robin stands up and puts a hand on his shoulder. “You know you can always come to me? You don’t necessarily have to talk about anything. If you just need a shoulder to lean on, or a distraction, I'm here.” He looks up and smiles weakly. “Thanks, Rob.” He stands up. “Now, let’s get some coffee.” She yawns.
Robin is not a morning person; she’s the ‘nightiest’ owl Steve’s ever met. Steve’s a... well... he doesn’t really know. He thinks he’s not really... anything. He doesn’t know himself anymore. He thought he did, until-
His thoughts are interrupted by the door from the outside to the kitchen opening.
Speak of the devil.
It’s Eddie. “Morning, my colleagues.” He winks at Steve. Steve grins back. There's a... feeling in his stomach. He doesn’t understand it. Steve's awful at feelings, at least he knows that about himself. Eddie grabs a Coke from the fridge and sits next to him, their legs touching. He gets inexplicably warmer...
“Oh my god...” Eddie lets out a breath. “I needed that. You lied, Robin. I still can’t breathe for shit.” Robin, who's sitting opposite them in an armchair, chuckles. “It’s because your car is like a vacuum, sucking in all of the heat.” Eddie takes a big gulp of his Coke. “Touché.” He turns to Steve. “September, really?” His mouth immediately widens into a grin. “It’s the first of September, it fits.” He shrugs. “So simple.” Steve rolls his eyes. “I like it.” Eddie says, his voice soft. Steve’s grin forms into a sincere smile. His eyes briefly wander to Eddie's lips. He immediately looks back into his eyes. “Thanks.”
Then Eddie turns to Robin, her expression indecipherable. They have a conversation about the recent news. But Steve’s not following.
Why on earth would he look at Eddie's lips?! He knows why- Shhhhh.
He takes a sip of his coffee. He doesn’t have enough braincells to deal with this shit.
Jane has always been a social bird. So, when she has math second period, she immediately clicks with Max, her eyes are an icy blue, her pale skin littered with ginger freckles and long ginger braids. She has gold glasses. She's of average height, Jane being just an inch taller. She's wearing blue ripped shorts and an oversized T-Shirt with the face of a woman on it and the name ‘Mitski’. Her shoes are regular sneakers, but with words written on them and little doodles.
Max introduces her to Dustin and Lucas. Lucas has black eyes and hair, and his skin is dark brown, with a sort of golden hue. He's also quite buff, a bit more than Will. He’s Will’s height, too. He’s wearing skinny shorts and a white tank top. His sneakers are for sports.
Dustin has medium blue eyes, long brown curly hair and a tan. He's shorter than Lucas but a little taller than Jane. His shorts are kaki, and his T-Shirt says ‘I put the sexy in dyslexic’ with cats in between the text, and a flannel with a crazy pattern. It doesn’t match. But that’s Dustin.
They sit at lunch together. In a circle, Jane next to Dustin, Dustin next to Lucas, Lucas next to Max and Max next to Jane.
Jane looks over the canteen. Where is Will?
"So, Jane, where are you from?” Lucas asks. “I just moved a month ago from Raleigh!” Jane says upbeat. “Raleigh... that’s in... North Carolina, right?” “Yes!” Jane smiles widely. “Wow, how are you so upbeat?” Jane shrugs. “I was always like that...” Lucas grins. “How did you win over Max’s heart so easily? I had to toil; she hated me at first.” Max shoves him with her elbow. “You stalked me, remember?” Lucas lets out an exasperated breath. “It wasn’t stalking!” “You totally were.” Dustin chimes in. Lucas shoots him a glare. “You were too!” “I stopped after the first day! You followed her to the arcade!” “I didn’t follow; I waited!” “Like that’s any better.” Lucas pores him, Dustin pores back.
“Lucas? What did you mean by ‘win over easily’?” Lucas looks back at Jane with a grin. “Oh, well, Max isn’t very fond of sunshine.” Max snickers. “Sounds like I’m a vampire.” “You are.” “But did you call her sunshine?” “Have you seen the way she acts and talks? Sunshine personified.” Jane chuckles. “Thanks, I guess?” “You’re welcome.” Lucas takes a bite of his sandwich.
"Are you flirting with her?" Dustin teases. Lucas frowns. "No? She's not my type. Uh, no offence, Jane-" "It's okay, same here." Jane interrupts.
"My question still hasn't been answered, though." "How did I easily win her over?" Lucas nods. Jane shrugs, and Max groans. "She sat next to me during math, and she helped me with the work. She was really nice, okay?" Lucas chuckles. "So, you just used her for her math skills?" Max rolls her eyes. "You sure that was all?" Lucas has a sort of knowing tone. Max flushes barely. "Okay, yeah, and she's gorgeous! You happy?" Jane's heart stutters at the compliment, and she blushes furiously. "Your flirting is working." Lucas teases. Max shoves her elbow into his side. "Shut up." Jane smiles at Max. "Thanks, I think you're also gorgeous." Max grins back. "Thanks."
Dustin turns to Jane. “So, Jane, this is the most important question to see whether you officially join the friend group.” Jane’s face flashes with concern. “Jesus, Dustin, you’re scaring her.” Dustin shushes him. “Anyway, are you familiar with the game DnD?” Jane frowns. “Dungeons and Dragons? I’m familiar with it, and it’s pretty cool, but I’m not interested in it.” Jane says cautiously. Dustin frowns in a thinking way. “Hm...” Lucas pinches his nose. “Dustin, I swear to God, we haven’t even played DnD these past six months.” Sadness spreads over Dustin’s face. “I miss it...” “I know, buddy.” Lucas puts a hand on his shoulder. “I miss it too. We will play it again, but right now, school is a little bit more important.” Dustin nods.
And then the school bell rings. “Speak of the devil.” They simultaneously stand up. “What do y’all have?” Jane looks at the schedule on her phone. “French in room B206.” “Yes! Me too.” Max yells jubilantly. “Dustin and I have physics and then French, ugh. See y'all later!” “Later!” And then Dustin and Lucas are gone. Max hooks her arm around Jane’s arm and drags her to the classroom.
“Please tell me you’re incredible in French too.” “Sorry to disappoint, but no. Well, I’m good at the grammar side but not at translation.” Max smiles. “That’s actually wonderful! My vocabulary is wide, but I’m terrible at grammar.” They sit down at the back of the class as one of the last to enter. Mr Peterson stands up and walks to the board. “Welcome class.”
Max and Jane talk constantly during class, somehow still being able to finish the homework. Jane learns a lot about Max. She’s a skateboarding pro, her favourite musician is Mitski, she’s from California, knows the most random information and is an adrenaline junkie. She went on vacation to the Rocky Mountains and climbed to insane heights. Max learns a lot about Jane, too. She does gymnastics, is insanely cracked at word puzzles, speaks Dutch in addition to English, her favourite musician is Sabrina Carpenter, and she has a twin brother named Will.
While they’re walking to their bikes, Max asks: “Are you interested in hanging out?” Jane smiles. “Yeah, where?” “The arcade?” Jane’s smile grows wider. “Ooh, I haven’t been to an arcade yet. It’s on my bucket list.” Max lights up. “Cool.” Jane nods. “Cool.”
Jane quickly texts Will that she’s off with a friend.
They step on their bikes and ride off, towards the arcade.
Will has mostly kept to himself this day, always at the back of the class, quiet and sitting alone at lunch. He had first period with his sister, but that was it. They don’t have the same classes other than English today. And now he has one class left, two hours of music. His sister has already finished and has left with a friend. He wishes he had her social abilities. He enters the classroom and sits in the back; there are three other people here already. The bell rings a second time, and the rest start pouring in. Then, a minute later, the teacher, Mrs Brown, walks in.
“Good afternoon, class.” She claps her hands together, and everyone starts to quiet down. “First day of school, exciting, isn’t it?” A boy laughs loudly. “No.” He simply states. Brown looks at him with a non-amused look. “Bummer for you.” The entire class snickers. “I want to immediately start with assigning a collaborative practical assignment-” The class groans. “-and before you all start to mope and whine, it isn’t due until December, but it’s a big project, and I don’t want you all to rush and get behind on other classes. Now it’s protocol of the school, so don’t hang me, but I have already premade the pairs.” The class groans again.
Great, Will thinks, so much for ignoring everyone.
Brown grabs a paper from her desk.
“The pairs are Charlotte Anderson with Ruby Williams, William Byers with Michael Wheeler, Henry Davis with Mia Turner, Samuel Garcia with Thomas Thomas, Lily Green with Hudson Taylor, Mateo Hernandez with Gabriel Smith, Willow Hill with Valentina Rodriguez, Cooper Jones with Vivian Moore, Nathan Johnson with Noah Miller and last, Ella Lopez with Violet Martinez.”
While she’s listing, the class reacts, some with groans other with “Yes!”, “Woo!” or yelps of joy. Michael Wheeler is his partner. Project partner. No, collaborator... whatever.
Will looks around. But obviously, he doesn’t know who Michael is, and Michael doesn’t know him. “Now that everyone knows who their partner is, you can sit together. This will also be the floor plan for the following months. It’s a big project, guys.”
A couple of people keep sitting, already next to their partner. Everyone else stands up, and everyone asks who who is. Will keeps sitting, not really knowing what to do. He feels so awkward. And he’s also incredibly shy. “Hi.” Will looks up to see a boy standing next to his table.
He's got, just past his shoulders, long black hair, dark brown, almost black eyes and pale skin. His cheekbones are so sharp they can cut glass, his lips are quite full, and his eyebrows are long. He's tall and skinny, lanky. His jeans are ripped, long and black. And he’s wearing an oversized shirt with the word ‘CHIHIRO’.
He’s pretty, Will thinks. Shut up.
The boy smiles hesitantly. “Are you William Byers?” Will smiles shyly. “Y-yeah. Michael Wheeler?” The boy nods and walks over to his left to sit on the chair beside Will. Brown claps her hands.
“Now that everyone is situated, I will explain the assignment. It’s a creative project; you will have to create your own short song of a minimum of thirty seconds, max a minute and a half. Lyrics are required. And I will know if you took “inspiration” from an existing song. No cheating. This is for a grade, a very important grade, so don’t fuck it up.”
She picks up a pile of papers.
“I have printed out a thorough explanation of the assignment. Feel free to ask as many questions as your heart desires.” She walks through the class and hands a paper to everyone. ‘Duo Song Creative Assignment’. This is probably the second-worst thing to ever happen to Will. “I have reserved the laptops for the second hour of today. This first hour, I will teach you about melodies, which will tie in with the assignment.” Brown puts on a PowerPoint and starts talking about notes, and soon everyone gets up to grab a laptop. “I’ll grab one for you, too.” Will tells Micheal and he stands up, walks to the front of the class, grabs two laptops and walks back. He gives one to Michael, and he smiles up at him. “Thanks.” Will sits down and puts down the laptop. Opens it, waits for it to start up, logs in and opens a Chrome tab. They have to use a music website called Beatstar, which is from the school or something.
“Are you new here?” Will looks to his left. “Well, since it’s the first day, everyone’s new here.” Michael smiles at that. But it’s gone the next second. “Yeah, no, I mean, I recognise every face here, except yours. I meant new here in town.” Will nods understandingly. “Oh, yeah, yeah, I am. Just moved here a month ago.” Michael shifts his body towards Wills. “From where?” Will feels his chest swell with warmth.
Someone who's interested in him?
“From Raleigh, North Carolina.” “Ooh, the East Coast. How does the weather compare?” “So far fairly similar, just feels warmer cause of the lack of wind.” Michael nods. “Aren’t you overheating in those clothes?” Michael looks a bit startled.
Shit. He said the wrong thing.
But then he smiles a little. “Not really, I guess I repel heat?” He shrugs. Will smiles. There's a beat of silence, and then Michael speaks again. “Do you prefer to be called William or Will?” “Will, you?” Michael’s eyebrows furrow a little. “Uh, Michael or Mike?” Understanding washes over his features. “Mike.” He says with a slight smile. Will nods. “May I have your number? F-for the assignment...” “Yeah, of course.” Will pulls out his phone and gives it to Mike so he can enter his number. As Mike passes the phone back, their fingers brush just barely. There’s a beat before Will speaks again. “We should probably start with the assignment.” Mike nods. “Hmh.”
The next hour, they work on the project. Things flow incredibly smoothly between them. They already agreed to a theme and have laid out the base beat. And then the bell rings. Will puts the laptops back and walks out of the classroom with Mike next to him. In silence. It's comfortable, though.
When they're outside, he sees his mom waiting for him in front of her car. She waves at him. He totally forgot about the haircut. “Is that your mom?” Mike breaks the silence. “Yeah, she’s here to take me to the barber. Which I totally didn’t forget about.” Mike laughs a little, more like a breath. “Hi, Will. Who’s this?” She says cheerfully. She looks at Will with an I told you so face. “I’m Mike.” He extends his hand, and she shakes it. “I told you you’d make friends!” Will grimaces. “Oh my God, mom!” She chuckles. Mike blushes? Wha-
“So, how’d you meet?”
Oh, God, she’s interrogating.
“We were paired up for a music assignment.” Mike answers. “Ooh, fate.” Will snorts at that. “You and your fate.” His mom ruffles his hair. “Stawwwpp.” He backs away from her. Mike now snorts. Will likes the sound. “We should get going if we wanna be on time for your haircut. Mike, would you be interested in joining us for dinner?” Will's heart skips a beat. Mom always with her meddling. Mike smiles. “I’d love to. My parents aren’t home anyway.” His mom looks concerned. “Oh?” Mike puts a hand through his hair. “Some business thing, I don't know.” He shrugs. His mom nods. “Okay, how are you with food?” “What do you mean?” “Oh, well, for example, Will here is a picky eater.” Will flails his arms. “Mom!” Mike snickers. “I’m also very picky.” Mike smiles at him, and Will smiles back. “Great! Dinner at 5?” Mike nods. “I’ll text you our address, okay?” Mike smiles and nods. “Come on, Will!” His mom is already behind the steering wheel. Will quickly speeds to the passenger seat door and opens it. “See you later!” He tells Mike. “Yeah, see you.” Mike smiles and then turns toward the bikes.
“Your bike’s already in the trunk.” His mom starts the car, and Will puts on his seatbelt. “Are you ready?” Will chuckles. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”