Chapter Text
Chapter One - October 30th
It was lunchtime at Hawkins High, the bell rang like the warning sirens they’d heard on the radio when listening for Robin’s encrypted speeches. The party had basically claimed the table Eddie and his friends sat at, Dustin adopted the cold seat at the head of the table, closest to the windows which let breezes drift in, making the party shiver, but they had to act like they didn’t mind - for Dustin.
The group gathered around the table, each dropping their lunch trays down rather aggressively. Lucas set their radio on the sticky lunch table in case Robin had a new code for a crawl soon. Mike and Will came together, and then Dustin, wearing his hellfire shirt. Lucas sighed, deflated.
“Dustin, Andy already told you to stop wearing that shirt.” Lucas recalled as Dustin rolled his eyes swiftly. “So what? What’s Andy gonna do, huh?” Dustin’s tone came sarcastic and rude, unlike himself. Lucas copied, rolling his eyes. Will looked around, Mike lifting and dropping his arms in an exasperated manner.
“C’mon, guys. It doesn’t matter until Andy actually does something, right?” Will suggested, looking at the boys who all looked away from him and away from eachother. Will rolled his eyes too.
They later disbanded, Will going to see if there was any food left and Mike followed. Dustin sat in the chair eating, and Lucas went out to the bench just outside the school field to be alone, taking the radio with him. No code came, so no crawl.
The bell rang for the end of their lunch break, which made Will jump slightly. He’s still on edge due to the constant feeling of Vecna creeping up his neck.
Will and Mike met Lucas outside of their last period, maths. Dustin was supposed to be there, but he never showed. They sat at the back, Mike a row ahead of the two other boys, so Lucas started to toss scrunched up paper balls at his back, so much so that a pile grew around Mike’s feet.
The final bell sounded, finally not alarming Will - mostly because he was basically counting the seconds until he could leave the boring class. So was everyone else, but Will’s eyes fixated on the hands, when they moved and the 7 second delay in his watch and the classroom’s own clock.
The boys packed up and exited as soon as they could, walking out to the bike shed to cycle home. Lucas fist-bumped Will and Mike as they departed, as the two boys had to pick Holly, Mike’s younger sister, up.
Mike walked ahead of Will as they spoke, the taller boys shoelaces unraveling as they were grasped by the prickly thistles. Will noticed, but remained silent.
“You okay?” Mike asked, rather randomly - atleast to Will. “Huh? Oh, yeah.” Will replied, forgetting what Mike was previously rambling about. “You sure? It’s just.. you seem quiet. Quieter than usual.” he responded, and Will sighed. “Yeah, just in my own head, kinda. Sorry, what were you saying,” Will retorted. “Nothing. It doesn’t matter.” Mike said, but Will grew curious.
“We’re here, anyway.” Mike ended.
Will leaned against the metal frame, as did Mike, waiting for Holly to come out so they could cycle home. Eventually, she did, even if she was 6 and a half minutes late. Will counted. 6 minutes and 37 seconds, while Mike just pretended to look at his own watch, his elbow contacting Will’s, both raised to see the watch face.
Holly went on and on about her day, Will making that correlation to how Mike was talking earlier. Like brother, like sister, he guessed? They cycled past the Mac-Z, soldiers always standing upright when they approached as if they hadn’t seen the boys and Holly basically everyday since May the same year.
As they cycled along a relatively empty street, Mike’s wheel faltered and he fell, the left side of his face scraping against the rough ground. Will rushed to Mike, abandoning his own bike to tend to his best friend. Holly also stopped, watching Mike struggle to stand as Will helped him up. Mike bled, but brushed it off as he did the gravel from his jacket.
Will offered to ride ahead so Mike could just follow where he went, Holly riding beside Mike. The blood dried quickly in the wind, but that didn’t stop it from trickling all down his face and onto his shirt and jeans.
When they arrived at the Wheeler house, Will carried Mike under his arm, though he probably didn’t need it, he had a nasty scrape on his left shin. Mike winced as his wounds were soaked with a cold washcloth that Holly ran under the kitchen sink for a few seconds. Will held the cloth to Mike’s cheek, the taller boy slightly pulling away as the other moved the cloth over to clean his friends face. “Thanks.” Mike blurted. Will smiled, “It’s no big deal. Just helping you, Mike.” he could feel his face reddening. He suddenly turned around, pretending to wring the washcloth out and wet it again.
When Mike’s wounds had been cleaned, Will went down to the basement to catch up on a test he hadn’t done. The basement had become Will’s living quarters for the last six months, being as his old house had been bought by some unsuspecting family, who were now trapped in the quarantined town. Jonathan was supposed to be sleeping in there too, but he crept up to Nancy’s room when Ted fell asleep, so Will had to face the basement alone. It wasn’t scary, being in there. He had great memories with all his friends in the room, especially with Mike before they had met Lucas or Dustin.
Will smiled to himself at the reminders, then was interrupted by Nancy opening the door and sauntering down the familiar wooden steps, which had footsteps indented into them from all the times everyone had entered and exited, or just lingered on the middle step, attempting to build the courage to see their lifelong best friend and crush who literally lived in the same house not 10 metres away.
“You okay?” Nancy’s voice pulled Will out of his mind, his disarrayed and cluttered brain. “Uh- yeah. Are you?” Will asked, slightly embarrassed. “Yeah. Just came to see what you want for dinner. Mom asked me to ask you and Jonathan.” She admitted, rather politely for the girl that shot a otherworldly demon from his own lair. Will faltered for a moment, then spoke, “Pasta, maybe? I don’t mind, really.” He replied, and she nodded, then turned to leave.
The basement was now completely empty, save for Will and some rather eerie dolls that Nancy didn’t give away in April. Finished with his test, he set the pencil and paper down and fell back into the sofa. He yawned, then sat back up.
He now stood outside Mike’s room, knocking on the door quietly. “Come in!” he heard, so he turned the knob and entered. “How’s your face?” Will asked, sitting at the foot of Mike’s bed, who was reading a comic. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. “Not too bad, think it’ll scar?” Mike responded, smiling innocently. “Probably not, but it’d look super badass with your other one.” Will chuckled, so did Mike. “Guess so. You wanna read this? It’s new!” Mike’s excitement reminded Will of a puppy, maybe even like Chester. “Uh, no thanks. I was gonna go out for some air, it gets really stuffy when your mom cooks.” Will replied, trying not to sound too harsh. “Okay, cool. See you later.” Mike said as Will stood, closing the door behind him.
Since Joyce couldn’t find a job past Melvalds, she made it her top priority to smother Will as much as possible, either with questions or with physical contact, which made Will uncomfortable after a certain point. “Will? Where are you going, sweetie?” Her voice came loud over bubbling water. “Just to cycle around. It’s really hot in here.” Will confessed, which alarmed his mother more than it should. Like, way way way more than it should. “Alone? It’s getting dark! Can’t you just handle it for five more minutes?” Joyce asked, not allowing Will any time to answer. See, smother. “I already asked Mike, and Jonathan’s too high to walk in a straight line, I doubt he can cycle.” Will acknowledged, which Joyce knew deep down was true.
“I’ll go with you!” Holly exclaimed, raising her hand as she hopped excitedly. Joyce looked to Will with an expression that said “Sure.” Will gave her one back that said “Thank God.”
Holly tied her hair in two pigtails with pastel blue hair spirals, which matched her earrings and school bag. Will led her to the front porch, and patiently waited for her to settle on her bike. “Why’d you wanna come outside?” Will asked, intrigued. “Dad said I can’t watch TV until I finish my homework.” Holly admitted, making Will giggle, which made Holly laugh too. They cycled around the neighbourhood, rambling on about school and friends. Holly did most of the rambling, Will only answered questions when asked. Holly told Will about Mary, and how she was coming for dinner and staying the night on halloween. Will smiled. “You know, Mike and I used to have sleepovers in the basement and watch scary movies, he screamed so loud!” He revealed, Holly laughed so much she almost fell off her bike, which would count for two Wheeler injuries in the same day.
They circled back home, Karen already plating the food with everyone but Ted at the table. Will sat next to the head of the table, just how he did at school. He liked being near the end, so did Holly, apparently, she climbed out of her original seat so she’d be sat next to Will. “Hey!” Mike shouted, “That’s my seat!” his annoyance poked through his otherwise playful tone, a smile barely visible on his face. Will laughed as Holly didn’t move, Mike having to sit opposite Will. Ted started making his way to the table, and nobody had started to eat yet. It was basically an unspoken rule than nobody could eat until Ted did, right after he said grace.
Sometimes, Will had been forced to hold Mr. Wheeler’s hand in his during dinner, and he was always so disgusted that he began to wear mittens when the temperature started to drop so their skin didn’t have to make direct contact. Mike caught on first, looking up from his food with a mischievous grin. Then so did everyone else, except the Wheeler parents.
This day, Will forgot his gloves. He was grossed out even by the idea of holding hands with a middle-aged man. Who knows where his hands have been when he’s alone all day? Will could probably guess, which made him feel much more uncomfortable. Ted sat at the head of the table, between Mike and Will. Ted held out his hands, and Mike immediately clocked than Will didn’t have his blue gloves with the white zigzags. He smiled, looking down so nobody would notice. Will reluctantly grabbed Mr. Wheeler’s hand, grease already rubbing along the back of his hand. Will’s free hand instinctively gripped Holly’s. “Sorry.” Will whispered, “It’s okay.” Holly replied, mimicking his volume.
When everybody finished their food, Will looked around as the empty bowls came his way. He placed his inside the others, and passed the stack to Ted. Will looked up, catching Mike looking at him, smiling. He didn’t say anything, but it pressed against his brain like a sticky note with a pin through it. Will smiled involuntarily.
When darkness crawled over the blue sky, the adults were already in bed ready to sleep. Karen was probably drinking expensive white wine in her bathroom, Will thought, and it was most likely true.
Will ambled down to his sleeping quarters, dropping himself onto the scratchy couch. He tossed for a minute, then relaxed. He felt himself slipping into sleep, but was forced awake by the loud hum of the heater’s above him. Will was no stranger to this sound, in the early months when Karen allowed the Byers’ to stay with them Will heard it all the time, and he struggled then, but he learned to fall asleep before they rumbled him into insomnia.
This night, they thundered like the weather had forecasted for the next week. Wet, loud storms. The weather would clear on November 6th, but it wasn’t November 6th. It was October 30th.
But, his own tiredness eventually caused him to wade into dreaming.