Chapter 1: The Boy with the Midnight Hair
Chapter Text
High school kids were evil. They fed off the misery of the weaker kids. Will was one of those unfortunate kids to fall victim to those spawns of satan.
.................
The drive from Lenora, California, to Hawkins, Indiana, wasn’t too long; it was just annoying. A whole day of nonstop driving, because for some random reason, Joyce thought they were above staying at a motel somewhere in between and making it into a two-day trip. Will and Jonathan were driving their mom's green 1976 Ford Pinto. Switching spots every 2 hours or so. Joyce and Jane were a couple of hours ahead, having left earlier than them, driving a U-Haul, which carried most of the things all four of them owned. Well, anything that wasn't shoved into oblivion in this puke green car that is.
Moving to a town in the middle of nowhere was not on Will's “senior summer” bucket list. Going to parties, hanging out with friends, and… cliff jumping? Were. But his Junior year had other plans that entirely screwed over all his ideals. Instead of doing all that, he was moving 20 hours away to this new town where he knew no one, starting his senior year at a brand new school.
They were on the final hour or so of the drive. Will was staring out the window. The view was just corn fields, pumpkin patches, and trees for miles.
Jonathan broke what had been a 3-hour silence, “It’s going to be quieter here.” He said, glancing over at Will shortly, his eyebrows pinching together slightly, then returning his gaze to the road before him.
Will didn’t answer. He just kept watching the stupid cornfields buzz by. He didn’t care about it being quiet. He just wanted somewhere where no one would know him. Moving was a desperate try to rebrand. After what had been his Junior year, that's all he desperately wanted.
.................
Moving into their new house on Mirkwood wasn’t hard. They traveled light. They didn’t have much to bring anyway.
The first few days of being there were about exploring the new town where they now resided. Joyce and Jonathan were out looking for jobs almost immediately, while Jane and Will drove around as much as possible, taking in the new sights.
But peace doesn’t last long because the day Will dreaded finally came—the first day of senior year.
Joyce had no problem barging into his room at 6 a.m. to wake him up for school. “Will, honey, it's time to get up for school; you have to be there by 7:30.” Then she proceeded one room over to do the same to Jane.
Will groaned. He was comfortable in his bed, but he begrudgingly kicked off the sheets and swung his legs over the side of it. He stretched, yawned, and then stood up. He threw on a pair of khakis, a plain white t-shirt, and a yellow flannel over it. He then walked over to the mirror and fixed his hair.
Will went out into the kitchen, where his mom and Jane were already eating breakfast. He poured himself a bowl of cereal and sat down at the table with them.
“You excited for your first day of senior year, you two?” Joyce asked both of them, seeming too cheerful for 6 a.m. on a Monday.
Jane responded with an excited expression. “Yes! I’m very excited. I found out that there's a cheer team, and they perform at sports games and stuff. I’m going to try out for it after school today.”
“You’ve never cheered before.” Will said mid-chew, a bland expression on his face.
“So? I could be good at it.” She shrugged.
Joyce watches the interaction, then repeats her question after they are done. “What about you, Will? Are you excited about school?”
“I guess.”
“You guess? Do you have any extra things you might want to do? Like a sport-”
“I don't play sports,” He cuts her off, “but maybe I'll join a club or something.”
They finished breakfast shortly after and headed out the door at around seven. Will hops into the driver's seat of the poor excuse for a car Joyce had found a few days ago for Will and Jane to use. Jane slides into the passenger seat, immediately pulling down the visor and flipping open the mirror to do her makeup.
After pulling out of the driveway, Will clicked on the radio and dialed a few different stations before finding one playing a song he liked.
The whole ride consisted of Jane telling him to drive “smoother” so she doesn't keep messing up her makeup, which results in eye rolls from Will.
He pulls into the Hawkins High parking lot to see that everyone was early, taking all the spots close to the school. So he had to park on the opposite side of the lot, which was a frustrating distance from the front doors. Great start to the day.
Jane hops out of the car, slamming the door probably a little too hard.
“Jeez, chill on the door. This car could fall into nuts and bolts at any second.” Will snarked.
The two of them make their way to the school's front entrance. Slimly avoiding the kids barreling through the parking lot in their cars and bikes.
The start of the day was easy. Will made his way through classes without much interaction. Expect the usual start of the year icebreakers, the teachers would force onto the unwilling kids. He got a few stares, but he knew that was probably because he was a new kid at a school where everyone had been together their whole lives. So a new face was a rarity.
Will and Jane met back up at lunchtime, sitting at the unoccupied end of a table where a loud group of kids was seated.
“I’m telling you! We can’t do campaigns without getting more people to join! Half of our party graduated last year. How are we supposed to play with three people?” One of them complained, gesturing their hands wildly as they spoke.
Will glanced down the table at this group. There were four kids. Sitting on one side of the table was a dark-haired boy with chocolate skin, and a redhead girl with a dusting of orange freckles on her face, sitting adjacent to him. Across from those two was another boy with curly brown hair and a baseball hat that said “thinking cap”. As he talked, he slumped his head down on the table in frustration, revealing the other boy sitting beside him.
This boy had longer, midnight black hair, completed with a fringe that ended just above his eyebrows. His hair was messy, but the type of messy where it looks intentional, like he fixed it to look that way in an “effortless” way. He had pale skin, with cheeks that were almost hollow with how defined they were. He wore a black long-sleeved shirt with a t-shirt layered over it. He was decorated with a few necklaces and a ring on almost every finger, accustomed to chipped black nail polish. Will couldn’t help but stare, nearly caught in a trance by this boy. But not long after, Jane snapped him out of his frozen gaze when she had to repeat herself.
“Will,” she said, snapping her fingers in his face, “did you hear me? I said cheer tryouts are today, so you have to wait after school until 5:00 to go home.”
“Right, yeah. Okay,” he said. Snapping his gaze back to Jane, who was staring at him with a raised eyebrow. She glanced at the group on the other end of the table, who were all still arguing over some party or something. But then the bell rang, and the cafeteria became a swarm of students who didn't want to be late for their next class.
Will and Jane stood up and cleared their trays before splitting off to their following classes.
.................
Before he knew it, the last bell of the day rang, signaling the end of the school day. The hallways were crowded with kids leaving classes. Each student was already drained from just the first day. The sound of the worn-out hinges on each locker creaking every time someone opened it, the sound of sneakers against the vinyl tile floors, and the voices of the kids making plans for that evening.
Will slipped out of the classroom and navigated through the crowded corridors, remembering he couldn't go home yet because Jane had cheer tryouts. So he went to the library to try to kill the 90 minutes by reading. There were a few other kids in there, some wandering the rows looking for books, others just sitting at the tables with their friends, getting told to be quiet by the cranky, probably has been there for 40+ years, librarian lady.
Will found an empty table in a quieter spot of the library. He dropped his bag down on the table and slumped into one of the chairs. He pulled out the book he was currently reading in his free time, which was one of those in the Star Wars saga, “ The Empire Strikes Back” . It was a fictitious escape from all his real-life problems.
He got so lost in reading that he didn't even realize an hour and a half had passed. He folded a corner on the page he left off on and put the book in his backpack, zipping it up and throwing it over one shoulder. He knew Jane’s tryouts were probably over by now, so he decided he’d just wait in the parking lot for her.
He made his way out of the library, the large doors slowly closing behind him, clicking shut. He walked down the hallway, which at this point was completely empty besides him, and made his way toward the front entrance.
As he was walking by a secondary corridor built off the main hallway, he caught the faint sound of music being played. It sounded like an acoustic guitar that was slightly out of tune. He decided to check it out, splitting from the main hallway and walking down that corridor until he was met with a door that had a small glass window in it.
He peeked through the window to see a music room. The room consisted of instruments of all kinds, scattered everywhere, large chalkboards with messily written chord progressions, 20-plus sheet music stands shoved in the corner, and a piano in the adjacent corner. Will shifted his gaze even further into the room (as much as he could see from the window) and caught the tuft of the effortlessly messy, but the type of messy that's on purpose, midnight black hair with the desperately needed-to-be-trimmed fringe. It was the boy from earlier, in the cafeteria. He was absent-mindedly plucking the strings of an acoustic guitar decorated with stickers. His head was downturned, eyes focused on the guitar strings as he played no specific melody.
Like before in the cafeteria, Will couldn't seem to tear his gaze away from this mysterious boy. He was just too– majestic? It is the only word Will could think of. It didn't even cross his mind that anyone passing by would think he looked like some unmoving creep staring through the window of the door.
Will watches intently as the boy mis-plucks a string, and it makes an off-key note. The boy stops playing for a second, and to Will's dismay, he lifts his head, and his gaze falls on the door immediately. Almost like he had an instinct that someone was watching him. They caught each others gaze for not even a full second before Will was quick to move out of the window, his heart thrumming, because he was just caught staring at this random boy like he was plotting him as his next victim or something.
He quickly walked away from the music room and reentered the main hallway, turning the corner out of view just as the sound of the door opening could be heard behind him. The boy was probably looking around to see who the creep was that was watching him.
Will kept walking, eventually making it out of the school, heading to his car that was parked on the other side of the lot. His heart was still pounding, mostly because he was caught staring, but a small part felt there was another reason he couldn't fully wrap his mind around.
When Will got to the car, Jane was already there, leaning against its hood with her arms crossed and an annoyed expression on her face.
“Dude, where the hell have you been? I said to meet me here at 5:00. It's now-” she checks her watch, “5:23! I've been waiting here for almost 30 minutes.”
“Sorry, sorry. I got caught up in my book and didn’t realize how much time had passed,” he said as they both got into the car, not even caring to mention his half-encounter with the mysterious boy, “and besides. 20 minutes is hardly even a long time.” he said, turning the keys in the ignition, praying that the car will start, and when it does he lets out a sigh of relief.
“Well, it's long when I just had an hour and a half long cheer tryout, and just want to get home,” she says, buckling her seatbelt as he pulls out of the parking spot.
“Oh yeah. How was that, by the way? You don't seem too enthusiastic about it.”
“Eh, it was okay, I guess. I don't think I'll make the team,” she shrugs, “I'm not very good, and I don't think I'm coordinated enough for it.”
“Well, with that state of mind, you definitely won't make the team,” Will laughs, which earns an eye roll from Jane. “I'm serious. Have an open mind. Who knows, they might've thought you were a perfect candidate.”
“Oh, please, I tripped like four times during one routine.”
“You have to start somewhere, right?”
“I guess so,” she sighs, turning her head to look out the window—her classic move to end a conversation.
Will gave a short laugh and shook his head. Then he clicked on the radio, which was still on the same channel as earlier, and the song, “ Should I Stay or Should I Go," by The Clash started playing through the speakers.
Darling, you got to let me know,
Will and Jane didn't talk the rest of the ride; the only sound that could be heard was the song playing.
Should I stay or should I go?
Will had survived his first day of senior year at this brand new school, in the middle of absolute nowhere.
If you say that you are mine,
One day down.
I'll be here till the end of time.
Only one hundred and seventy-nine left.
So you got to let me know,
Easy, right?
Should I stay or should I go?
Chapter 2: The Mystery Boy Has a Name
Summary:
Will navigates his first week at Hawkins High, finding a quiet corner in the library where he spends all of his time, after Jane ditches him for the cheer team.
He then unexpectedly gets pulled into a D&D group, the Hellfire Club.
When Mike Wheeler gives him his home address for tomorrow’s campaign, Jane jumps at the opportunity to make Will as her reluctant wingman.
But why does the idea of Jane with Mike make Will's stomach twist in knots?
Notes:
if you haven't noticed by now, each chapter will start with something that alludes to his life prior to their move to hawkins. hopefully helping ease in to information on his past.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“You’re such a fucking freak, Byers.”
One simple slip-up, and everything can come crumbling down.
.................
The first week of school passed like a blur, and before Will could even blink, Friday was upon them. Just one more day until the weekend.
Being the bubbly, kind person she is, Jane quickly made friends—mostly the other girls on the cheer team. Oh yeah, she made the team by the way. Mostly because not many people tried out this year, and they were desperate, but nonetheless, she quickly fell into the friend group of the cheer girls.
This was good for her, but for Will, he was now alone most of the time. Jane sat with her new friends at lunch and always stayed after cheer practice to hang out with them longer, catching rides with other girls, while Will drove himself home.
Will didn't want to say anything about her sudden abandonment of him; after all, he was the reason they all needed to uproot from their hometown and leave everything they’d ever known behind, so he would feel guilty complaining that she was not spending enough time with him.
Over this week, Will had found solace in the little corner of the library where he went on the first day to read. Hardly anyone was ever in there, so it was usually quiet.
He still sat at the same spot at lunch, usually alone, though, well, besides the noisy kids who sat on the other end of the table. Those four kids. They were still arguing about a party.
Today was no different. Will sat alone at one end of the long cafeteria table, while the loud kids sat on the other. Never paying any mind to him.
Will had his head resting on his hand as he poked at his food with a fork in the other hand. He never thought he'd say he missed the food from his old school, which usually consisted of chicken nuggets and frozen fries. But it was better than whatever… this… was.
“I’m telling you, it just doesn't work! We can’t run a consistent campaign that makes sense without at least one more person.” The curly, brown haired boy said to his friends.
Will had a couple of classes with these kids. So he had learned most of their names from the introductions on the first day. The one speaking was Dustin Henderson. The redhead girl was Maxine Mayfield, but she didn’t like being called that, so she went by Max. She made that very clear on the first day when the history teacher called her Maxine. The dark-haired, chocolate brown skinned one was Lucas Sinclair. But Will had yet to catch the boy's name with the black, messy hair and defined cheekbones.
“Max, seriously, can you just join our party?” Lucas asked her.
“Nope. I have zero interest in playing a fantasy game with you nerds.”
“Come onnn! We’ve asked like everyone, and no one wants to join.” Dustin groaned.
Their conversation continued for a bit. Will couldn't help but listen; it was hard not to, they were being so loud. But their voices went hushed and quiet for a moment, making it hard to hear them.
“What about…?”
“Should we ask…?”
“I’ve never seen… before. I think he’s…”
“I’m not asking– you ask.”
“No way– you…”
“Fine– fine. I’ll ask. You big babies.”
Will heard someone clear their throat.
“Hey, bowl-cut boy,” Max called out down the table. “Yeah- you at the end of the table.”
Will slowly looked up from his food, only to see all four of them staring at him.
“No way he just answered to bowl-cut boy.” Lucas snickers, making Dustin laugh too.
Max elbowed Lucas in the side and then turned her gaze back to Will. “These losers,” she gestured to Dustin, Lucas, and the other boy, “wanted to know if you played Dungeons and Dragons.”
Will was confused as to why these kids who didn't even know his name were asking him such an odd question. But he answered anyway. “Um… yeah, I’ve played before.” It’s true. He used to be in a party back in Lenora. But he hasn't played since… junior year.
Max gleamed. “Okay, awesome. Since they can't speak for themselves, I'm talking for them. Do you have any interest in joining their nerdy D&D club to complete the campaign?” A few of them scoffed at her comments, but then they all looked at Will, awaiting his answer.
To be frank, Will didn't really have much interest in getting back into D&D, but their stares were inescapable—one in particular. The thus-far-unnamed dark-haired boy who wore rings seemed to have been studying him. His gaze was almost boring into Will's soul. Will hoped he didn't recognize him from Monday when he was watching him in the music room. But like everyone says, new faces in Hawkins High are unforgettable.
Will wondered if he joined the club, maybe he could get to know this mysterious boy more. He felt a draw to him. Something about him was electrifying, and Will couldn't grasp what that might be. So reluctantly, even though D&D might be a sore subject for him, “Uh, yeah. Yeah, sure, I’ll join,” he gave in anyway.
Max let out a sigh of relief. “Perfect! There you have it, boys. All your problems have been fixed,” she says dramatically as she stands up and grabs her food tray. As she walks off, she mutters, “What the hell would you guys do without me?”
Lucas rolls his eyes. Dustin looks back at Will. “So who are you anyway? Are you new?”
Of course, they’d ask that. “Oh, right. I’m Will. Will Byers–and yeah, I'm new. I just moved here last week.”
The unnamed boy spoke up, “Wait, are you related to that other new girl? Jane or something, right? She sits next to me in calc and has the same last name.”
“Yeah. That's my twin sister.”
The boy nodded in understanding. “Cool.”
Dustin cleared his throat, “So anyway, why’d you move to Hawkins? It's kind of a shithole.”
They all stared waiting for his reply. “Oh, well, my mom's job…” He lied, but they bought it, not knowing anything else to base it on.
They all nodded.
Dustin introduced himself, “Well, I’m Dustin Henderson–and that girl was Max.”
“Lucas,” Lucas gave a short nod.
“I’m Mike. Mike Wheeler.” And so, the unnamed boy was finally named.
Mike Wheeler.
Dustin chimes in, “Alright. Well, that settles it then. Will Byers is the newest member of the Hellfire Club.”
Will smiles slightly, “So what exactly have I just signed up for?”
“Adventure, danger, and epic plotlines.” Dustin smiles proudly, then adds, “Also snacks, lots of ‘em.”
Lucas puts in his two cents, “Translation: sitting in Mike's shitty basement for 6 hours rolling dice.”
Mike rolls his eyes.
“Sounds… fun,” Will says hesitantly.
Dustin takes him seriously, “Doesn't it?”
Lucas face palms.
Mike rolls his eyes again. “So is everyone free tomorrow then?”
Dustin nods.
“Yup,” Lucas says shortly.
Will also nods, “Yeah, I'm free.”
“Alright. Cool. Then my house–4 p.m.” Mike says before standing up and slinging his bag over his shoulder.
Then the bell rings, lunch is over, and the cafeteria turns into a mess of kids.
Will was so caught up in the fact that he had just agreed to go to a "stranger's" house tomorrow that he forgot to ask for the address. But now it was too late, as everyone had already left for their classes. Will cleared his tray and headed to his afternoon classes, hoping the rest of the day would pass quickly.
.................
“Chapters 7,8, and 9 are for homework, along with the question sheet I just handed out.” Groans followed.
It was only the first week of school, and teachers were piling on homework.
The day's final bell rang, and Will packed up his bag before exiting the classroom and heading into the swarming halls.
He had told Jane that he was staying after school to do homework in the library for a while so that he could bring her home after practice.
Will weaved through the crowds and to his locker, switched out some books, then weaved again to the library. He sat down at the same table from the first day he came in here and started reading. He had finished “The Empire Strikes Back,” and was now onto “The Return of the Jedi.”
.................
Eventually, time passed, and Will thought for sure Jane’s practice would be done by now. So he packed up his bag and headed out of the library.
Like usual, the hallways were empty at this time of day, everyone at their sports practices or after school clubs. Will had thought about joining a club but hadn't found the time to.
He walks through the quiet halls, passing the secondary corridor where the music room is located, just as the door to the music room opens. He sped up his walk, as he didn't really feel like interacting with anyone right now. As he continued to walk, footsteps could be heard behind him.
“Will, hey!”
Will stopped walking and turned around.
It was Mike.
Mike came right up to Will, stopping just before him. “I've been looking for you.”
“Looking for me?”
Mike corrected himself, “Well, not like creepily looking for you, I just forgot that you have no idea where I live. You know, for tomorrow. So I was trying to find you so I could give you my address. For tomorrow… of course.” his words were slightly rushed.
“Oh, yeah, right. Totally forgot to even ask.” Will responded.
Mike dropped his bag off his shoulder and onto the ground. He unzipped a pocket and took out a notebook, ripping out a page. He then grabbed a pen from a different pocket and quickly wrote his address on the piece of paper. He then folded it up and handed it to Will.
Will took the paper, their fingers gazing for a second. But before he could say anything else, his sister’s voice cut through the moment. “Will!”
Will dropped his hand quickly and turned around toward where Jane's voice was coming from, to see her angrily walking down the hall.
She threw her hands up. “What have you been doing? I've been waiting outside at the car for you for like 30 minutes, again! This is why I don't drive home with you anymore, cause you're always late!” she comes to a stop in front of him, her arms crossed now.
“I was just coming out, Jane. Stop being so impatient all the time.”
Mike steps up beside Will, looking at Jane. “Sorry, it's my fault he's running late. I was just talking to him for a minute. He was actually on his way out before I stopped him.”
Jane seems to have forgotten everything she was saying after Mike spoke to her. “Oh, it's totally fine. No need to apologize!” She smiles sweetly. Will rolls his eyes. “You’re the boy who sits next to me in calc, right?” she asks.
“Yeah,” Mike answers. Then it's awkwardly silent for a moment before he speaks up again, turning to face Will again. “So, I'll see you tomorrow then, right? 4 o'clock?”
Jane looks confused. Will nods. “Yeah, see you tomorrow.”
Mike gives a short wave before picking up his bag and walking away down the hallway.
“What the hell was that?” Jane asks as she and Will start walking out to the parking lot.
“It's nothing. I just agreed to play D&D with him and his friends for a day. So I'm going to his house tomorrow.”
“My brother, Will Byers, is going to someone he barely knows's house? That's new,” she remarks.
“It's not a big deal, Jane, I'm just being nice. They needed one more person for their campaign, that's all.”
“I thought you were officially ‘retired’ from D&D after what happened last year,” she said cautiously.
“I'm still retired, like I said; it's a one-time thing. I'll be fine.”
Jane knew not to press anymore about that subject. She knew how sensitive Will could get talking about last year.
They finally finished the trek to the opposite end of the parking lot, climbing into the heap of metal in the parking spot. Like usual, Will prayed that the car would start, and when it did, he let out a sigh of relief. It was routine at this point.
Will pulled out of the parking spot and drove away from the school.
“So you're going to help me, right?” Jane said as she flipped through radio channels.
“Help you with what?” Will question. Looking at her briefly before looking back at the road.
She looked at him like he was dense, then continued speaking, “You know, with Mike. He's really cute.”
Will didn't say anything after that, so Jane kept talking.
“Can you get me his number? Please?”
“Why can't you just ask him yourself?” Will asked like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He especially didn't feel like being her wingman.
“Oh, cmon,” she scoffed. “That would be embarrassing. You're the one going to his house tomorrow, just slip it into casual conversation.”
“Jane–”
“Please will?” she cut him off, putting on her sweet voice, “You'd be the best brother ever.”
Will knew she wouldn't let up. She never does. Somehow, she always got her way.
“Fine,” he muttered reluctantly, but his stomach twisted at the idea. He didn't want to be the messenger, and he definitely did NOT want to think about his sister with some guy. With Mike, especially. He was just being a protective brother, right?
Jane squealed in excitement. “You're the best!” Then she turned up the radio. Letting him know she was done talking to him.
Will sighed quietly. His stomach is still in knots. He couldn't understand why something as simple as getting Jane a guy's number made him feel this way. But the idea didn't sit well with him.
He tried to brush it off; after all, Jane was allowed to like who she liked. But at this moment, the folded-up paper with Mike Wheeler's address in his pocket suddenly felt heavier than it did before, and the pale, freckle-dusted face of the mysterious boy seemed to now be permanently burned into Will’s mind.
Shit.
Notes:
sorry about how overdue this second chapter is!
i started school this past week and my life has been super busy. like i said, posting for this fic will be very irregular so bear w/ me!
and thanks for reading/all the support on the first chapter :))
Boxo (Guest) on Chapter 1 Fri 29 Aug 2025 01:46AM UTC
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haloskiess on Chapter 2 Mon 08 Sep 2025 01:32AM UTC
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Iliketoeatpasta on Chapter 2 Mon 08 Sep 2025 02:00AM UTC
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