Chapter 1: Let's Go Back to 1989
Chapter Text
Chapter 1
June 9, 1989
Will shielded the glare from the sun as he looked up. Around him his fellow classmates were celebrating as their graduation caps came raining down in droves.
After successfully defeating Vecna, all things to do with the upside down finally came to an end. He was able to go through the rest of high school, mostly in peace. There were still a few kids that looked at him and snickered. Occasionally he’d get addressed as “Zombie Boy,” and one of the others would come to his defense; mainly Lucas.
His best friend became quite the chameleon in high school; bouncing between the nerds and the jocks with ease. Will didn’t exactly know how he was able to juggle the two groups, but he somehow managed to without ever missing a D&D campaign. Will found it admirable.
Speaking of—he felt a strong grip on his shoulder that snapped him from his thoughts. To his right he was met with a huge grin from none other than Lucas himself. He was clearly excited to be putting their high school years behind them. “We did it, man! We fucking did it!” he felt the cap he threw up get placed back onto his head from behind and a kiss on his cheek; he turned to see his step sister’s grinning face. “Congratulations!”
A few years ago Hopper wouldn’t have let El see daylight if it meant protecting her from the military hunting her down, but after she helped to close the gate to the upside down, Hopper made a deal with them; as long as El didn’t expose her powers to the general public, they allowed her to live her life as a normal teenager; this was a plus for Mike, who had taken full advantage of taking her on dates to make up for lost time. The two were practically inseparable; he was surprised he wasn’t at his sister’s side now, actually.
He looked from Lucas to El, their smiles infectious enough for him to mirror one of his own. He couldn’t help it; the two just radiated happiness. “How do we look?” Lucas saddled up next to El and the two posed with their backs against the other, arms crossed, and modeled matching pouts.
“You two are idiots,” he said through a chuckle. “Where’s your other half?” he joked, which caused El to stick her tongue out at him in jest before answering. “Karen is forcing him to pose for pictures,” she pointed to their left. Both boys craned their necks to see that Mike, in fact, was being forced against his will to pose for multiple pictures.
“Mom, please!” the 18 year old whined, his prominent cheeks red from embarrassment.
“Oh, Michael, don’t be such a sour puss. Say cheese!” Karen cooed with a 10 year old Holly at her hip modeling a smile in an attempt to get her older brother to follow.
El and Lucas laughed before the three of them made their way over at the same time that Max and Dustin did. Lucas instinctively tucked an arm around his girlfriend’s shoulder’s and Dustin mimicked a gag when El scooched next to Mike, whose frown immediately disappeared at the sight of his girlfriend by his side. “Thank you, Eleven,” Karen sighed in relief, happy that she’d finally get a few smiling pictures of her son that she could frame.
“They’re disgusting aren’t they?” Dustin said next to Will’s side. The two were off to the side watching. Will shrugged, a small smile on his face. Dustin had Susie; the two made long distance look like a cake walk. They would be continuing their time apart in university as well since Susie would be attending school in Utah while Dustin stayed in Indiana to attend Purdue on an engineering scholarship.
Will wasn’t oblivious. With all his friends being paired up, it became increasingly obvious throughout high school that he was the odd one out. Whenever the party would hang out, the couples would naturally pair up, leaving him and Dustin together by default.
Still. It wasn’t the same. Dustin had someone. Will had no one. Not in that way at least. The group tried not to make him feel like the third wheel, and Dustin would help take the focus off of his chronic singledom by acting grossed out by all the PDA from their other friends. Will knew it was to make him feel better. In some ways it did; in other ways it made him feel worse. He wanted what his friends had. Hell, even something like what Dustin and Susie had would ease the loneliness.
Nevertheless, while his romantic life remained seemingly stagnant, Dustin made it a point to make sure he never felt alone and he would forever be grateful for that. Especially in times like now. “They’re...sweet,” Will supplied. If you’d have asked him a few years ago, he would absolutely agree that Mike and Eleven’s clingy, Romeo and Juliet reminiscent love was disgusting. But that was back then, when he was still coming to terms with how he was feeling and was carrying around that pathetic crush on Mike.
Looking back at it now, he didn’t know what he was thinking. Well, yes, he did. Mike was the first boy to show him unconditional love. Mike wasn’t perfect, but his care and support awakened a part of him that he struggled to accept. When Eleven came into their lives, Will watched in real time as Mike’s attention transitioned away from Dungeons and Dragons to girls and romance. That was the first time Will felt it. It was only during their Sophomore year of high school, after Lucas had caught him crying during one of their group get togethers that he put a name to the feeling; jealousy. Mike and El were being even more affectionate than usual—he later found out that earlier that day Mike had dropped the L bomb—and it made something snap inside of him. He’d abruptly excused himself from their movie marathon in the basement and rushed to the upstairs bathroom to let it all out.
He’d only been in there for a minute or so before he heard a soft tap at the door. His voice was tight with the tension he kept from holding back his sobs. “Someone’s in here.”
It was quiet before he heard a soft voice in response. “It’s me.” It was Lucas. He rubbed the back of his palm against his eyes to clear the tears and sniffled softly before opening the door, worried dark eyes meeting his own bloodshot ones. “You okay?”
It took a few seconds and Will swallowing down the burning feeling in his throat before he decided to be honest and shake his head. Luckily Lucas didn’t pry like he thought he would. Instead he offered him a ride back home, which he gratefully accepted. On the way, he asked if Will minded if he stopped at the gas station. A few minutes later when Lucas returned from the mini-mart inside, he wordlessly passed Will a packet of peanut M&M’s and a bag of Cheetos. They were pulling into the Byers’ driveway when Lucas turned off the radio that had been drowning out both their thoughts and put the car in park.
They sat in silence before Lucas broke it, his voice careful in a way that made Will pay attention, though he kept his eyes on his lap. “I know things are different for you...but if you ever wanted to talk to someone, about anything, really...I’m a good listener.” Will looked up to see Lucas’ earnest eyes on him. It made his chest tighten. He wondered if his friend would be so open to hearing what he had to say if he knew what he had to say. “At least that’s what I’ve been told,” he finished off with a small smile.
Will wanted to tell him. He almost did. But then the front door swung open and his mom’s voice pierced the air from the front porch. “Will is that you?” and the moment was broken. Later that evening, as Will lie in bed, he thought about it. He thought about how different things would be if he ever were brave enough to utter the truth. But he wasn’t ready to risk the potential losses he would face if he did; his friendships; so he kept his feelings buried deep inside.
By Junior year it was a little easier to breathe when he was around his group of friends. He still felt that faint pang in his chest when Mike and El would exchange a kiss in front of him, but it wasn’t as bad as before. Plus, he had become distracted with a kid in his art class—Aiden.
Aiden had tight curls, cropped close to his head, and his skin was rich in depth, eyes a pretty brown color that Will noticed right away. The two happened to sit next to each other the first week of Junior year and had become study partners. Aiden was goofy with a boisterous laugh and a crude sense of humor. In a way he reminded him of his friends--Lucas, specifically, which was comforting.
They were in the gym and sitting on the bleachers sketching out an assignment for their art class during P.E. when Aiden asked him if he wanted to come over that night to watch Back to the Future. “I got it on VHS,” Aiden said, his hazel eyes sparkling with something Will couldn’t quite figure out, but it made him respond with a nervous smile, his cheeks warming over. It was his first time hanging out with a boy; one outside of his party. “Sure.”
Will couldn’t even remember paying attention to the movie. All he could focus on was how close they were sitting, knees nearly brushing on the comfortable couch. Aiden’s parents were at some gala for his dad’s job, so they had the house to themselves. Will felt out of his element. He wasn’t used to hanging around anyone outside of the party. Plus, he was having a hard time stomping down the feelings he’d been keeping buried deep inside since that breakdown he had in Mike’s bathroom the year before.
He could feel the warmth radiating off of the boy next to him, and there were more than a few moments that they’d reached for the popcorn between them at the same time; each time made Will stammer out an apology through a nervous chuckle.
“I love this part,” Aiden commented about what was on screen, Will wasn’t paying attention. It must have shown somehow because Aiden looked over, his easy smile making Will’s heart hammer in his chest.
Get it together.
“Not a fan?” Aiden inquired.
“W-what? No! I mean,” Will cleared his throat and started again. “I’m having a good time. It’s just,” he averted his eyes from Aiden’s curious stare, his cheeks burning. “Aren’t your parents gonna be home soon?”
Why did he say that? Now Aiden was going to think he was eager to leave when it was the complete opposite. He was surprised when he heard Aiden snicker in amusement, his eyes rolling slightly as he shook his head. “Nah, they won’t be home for hours. My dad usually takes my mom dancing after those stupid things,” he explained and then leaned closer to knock their shoulders together. “We’ve got this place all to ourselves.”
“Oh,” Will lamely responded, earning another soft laugh from the boy next to him. Aiden reached for the remote and pauses the movie before standing up. “Come on, I wanna show you something.”
Will watched with curious eyes as Aiden led the way to the steps. “You coming, Willy?” He asked, the amusement never leaving his face. Will awkwardly stood to his feet and followed him upstairs. He stood back as Aiden pushed a door open that Will could only assume was his room. “This is your room?” Will wondered as he followed him inside.
It wasn’t anything too crazy; pretty much your typical teenage boy’s room. Messy unmade bed, posters of the latest comics spread around blue walls mixed with some art pieces Will recognized from their time in class. He heard the door click behind him. “Like what you see?” Will found himself nodding as he walked over to the desk in the corner, a baby faced version of Aiden smiling with missing teeth at him in a dirty soccer uniform. Will snickered as he put the frame back down. “Cute,” he whispered. He froze the moment the words left his lips and spun around, prepared to play it off. “I mean—,”
Except when he turned, Aiden was close. He was really close, actually. He wasn’t expecting him to be that close. It caught him off guard and made him take a clumsy step back, his thighs hitting the desk behind him. He attempted to steady himself against it but his hands kept slipping. “Sorry!” He felt Aiden’s hands at his hips trying to help, which only made him gasp. “Sorry,” the other boy repeated again, his voice much calmer than before. Aiden’s hands remained on his hips, holding him still.
Will could practically feel his heart in his throat. They’d somehow gotten closer and he was flustered. Aiden’s eyes kept flickering over his face as Will chewed on his bottom lip out of nerves. His stomach flipped when he noticed how Aiden’s eyes followed the movement. He saw Aiden’s lips on his before it even happened.
He’d had his first kiss that day. His first kiss with a boy. Something in Will’s chest loosened after that. He felt less trapped in his own head. It kind of became an unspoken thing between them after that. Will would go to Aiden’s on Friday’s while his parents were out, and they’d kiss until they were both giddy and high off it. They thought they had been discrete. It had been a Friday where Aiden had been sick and stayed home from school that he’d learned that they weren’t. He was with El in her room helping her with an English paper that was due the following Monday.
“I bet you’re bored,” El commented absently as she put pencil to paper. Will was laying next to her on the bed, highlighter in hand. “You’re usually with Aiden on a Friday night.” Her comment made his back straighten and he held his breath. A few seconds passed before he gave a response that he hoped sounded aloof. “I’m not bored.”
El huffed a sound of amusement and shook her head. “Friends don’t lie,” she said with a soft smirk, looking at him from the corner of her eye. He let out a strained laugh and tucked his head into the history book he was helping her highlight for notes. “It’s not a lie exactly,” he started to say but was interrupted. “It is. No way you’d rather help me with homework than to be with a cute boy. I know I’d rather be with Mike,” she said wistfully, her eyes drifting to the picture frame of her boyfriend she kept by her bed.
Will started to tease her for her down bad behavior when he realized what she said and stilled, his eyes widening. “Wait, what?” Surely she didn’t know about him. About them? To Will’s horror, she only smirked knowingly at him and reached to run her fingers through his hair. “It’s okay, Will. Like I said…he’s cute,” she reassured before her hand fell to his neck, her brows rising. “Is he not?”
Will wasn’t sure what to say. He was genuinely at a loss for words. He had gone his entire life being laughed at and teased for just existing; being told, even by his own father, that he was wrong. Yet, El was looking at him with a tender love he didn’t think would be reserved given what she’s implying. He felt his eyes watering without his approval. “Um. Yeah,” he choked out after some time. “Yeah, he is,” he cleared his throat and looked away.
“Good,” he heard his sister say, her hand squeezing his shoulder comfortingly before falling away. “Now, keep highlighting. If I fail, Hopper will ground my ass.” The utter normalcy of her statement broke whatever tension was left as a laugh bubbled from his mouth. He heard her giggles following not long after. After some time their giggles faded and they just stared up at the ceiling. “Thanks El,” he said softly, his head turning in her direction. “Love you.”
She smiled back at him, her eyes shining to match his. “Love you.”
It was easier after that. He had someone else he could talk to and work through his feelings with, which made them grow closer. He started bringing Aiden to their group hangouts. Besides a few grumbles from Mike who hated any sort of change that could disrupt the party, and a few questioning looks from Lucas who was naturally dubious, it became the new normal for Will’s new friend to tag along as his plus one.
The group had decided to go to the arcade one night for old times sake and Joyce insisted on dropping him off. When they pulled into the lot, Aiden was out front waiting with the others, laughing at something Max said. Lucas was eying the both of them wearily, still skeptical of Aiden’s presence, but still engaging in conversation which made Will roll his eyes fondly. The protectiveness of his friend was endearing; some may even call it sweet.
He was about to open the car door when Joyce gently pulled him back by the shoulder, her gaze heavy. “Don’t stay out too late okay?” Even after all the time that had passed since he was first exposed to the upside down, his mom still worried. He didn’t think that was something that would ever go away.
“I know. Home by 10,” he confirmed with a reassuring smile. Joyce looked over her son and returned the smile. He’d been much lighter these last few months. Her eyes naturally shifted to the new boy she’d only met a handful of times but seemed polite. Will had described him as a friend but—
“Can I go now?” His voice pulled her out of her thoughts and she let out a soft laugh, her previous thoughts falling away. “Of course, sweetie, go, go,” she urged and watched as he ran toward his friends, immediately settling next to Aiden.
It was like that for a while. Until it wasn’t. Aiden had gotten early admission into Cal U, which put a halt to—whatever they were, indefinitely. He’d left a month prior to graduation to fulfill his dreams of being a doctor. Will was upset, of course he was. But he was proud of his…whatever he was. They’d never talked about or defined what their relationship was; something Will wishes happened in the back of his head. He wished he was brave enough to tell the truth to all of his friends too. At least then they’d know he wasn’t completely pathetic in the romance department.
He was placed back to the present when he heard Max and Mike arguing about where they should all stand to take their pictures. Karen watched patiently, a fond smile on her face. Dustin at some point jumped into the fold during Will’s dazing. “I’m gonna miss this, aren’t you?” He heard Lucas say at his side, his tone wistful. He and Lucas would be the only ones of the party going to the same university come Fall; with him getting into NYU’s arts program and Lucas getting in on a basketball scholarship. Will snorted and nodded in agreement. “Come on, we’ve gotta intervene or we’ll be here forever,” he stated and led the way to their bickering friends, Lucas close by his side—always close.
Chapter 2: Rolling Papers
Summary:
When life gives you lemons, use them for tequila shots.
Or Will and Lucas have a fun night out.
Cue the tension.
Notes:
There are quite a few song references in this one.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 2
September, 1993
Will barely dodged being taken out with a football being hurled in his direction from across the lawn. “My bad, man!” He heard being called out from a distance as he straightened himself out, dusting the imaginary grass from his oversized grey sweater. He grumbled under his breath something about people needing to look at where they’re throwing things before pushing open the building entrance of his dorm.
He took the elevator to the third floor and made his way down the dim lit hallway, fumbling with his keys and twisting it oddly into the broken lock, shaking and shifting it in an attempt to get it to open the door. He felt himself growing frustrated with the shiny gold nuisance as it refused to grant him access to his own dorm. “Ugh,” he groaned, yanking the key out. He was ready to give up when the door suddenly opened up and he was staring at his roommate. “You’re back early,” Lucas grinned, shifting to the side to let Will in.
The two spent the first 2 years of college rooming with separate people due to having the worst luck with the roommate lottery system their school insisted on following. It was only in their junior year that they’d been able to snag a room together. As Will entered their shared space, he took in the scent of cinnamon—the faint smell that followed Lucas around everywhere that now infiltrated their room. The familiarity of it calmed the annoyance he felt building up from earlier. “Only because after assigning us with the biggest project of the year, Professor Eden dismissed us early. You’re never gonna believe how much my final project is worth toward my final grade,” Will sat on his bed opposite to Lucas.’
The boy in reference had already gone back to doing sit-ups, his headphones propped around his neck so that he could listen to Will as he worked out on the floor. “How much?” Will was temporarily distracted by the muscled tee his friend sported, which left very little to the imagination. His muscled arms flexed with every rep and it was distracting.
He blinked himself out of his momentary thirst over his best friend’s physique and mentally scolded himself for objectifying Lucas like he were a stranger. Lately he was just very aware that over the years Lucas had really…developed. Will had always found him cute. He remembered the way he’d come to Lucas’ defense whenever he and Mike would get into small feuds when they were kids. How protective Lucas would get over him when their classmates would call him names. Or how the two would often seek each other’s eyes out from across the room when their friends were bickering and being silly. It was just a them thing, and it was a reminder of how much their friendship meant to him. Emphasis on friendship; which is why he should not be noticing how hot Lucas had become, but dammit, Will had eyes, okay?
Lucas had developed a sense of style that accentuated just how much he’d grown compared to when they were kids. He’d rock his athletic gear proudly, but outside of that, he’d wear windbreakers, colorful sweaters—Will’s personal favorite being a fuzzy burnt orange one that brought out Lucas’ skin tone—and high top sneakers. Lucas was cool and hot. It was just a fact! Will’s thoughts never went beyond that, he was just stating the obvious.
Lucas must have taken his prolonged silence to mean his assignment was worth a ton because his next inquiry was, “Geez, what is it, like 50 percent of your grade?”
“Try 70.”
He watched him grimace as he completed his last set, now sitting up to sip on his Gatorade. “That sucks, but I know for a fact you’re gonna ace it. You love that class.”
“I do,” Will admitted. “But I hate group projects. And this one is relying on me having a scene partner that can deliver both in acting and writing. It’s just—ugh, it’s not ideal,” he complained and flopped down on his bed, his eyes studying the ceiling. He heard Lucas’ laugh from where he still remained on the floor.
“Such a drama queen.”
“Shut up,” Will responded, a subtle smile playing at his lips. “And queen? Really?” He sat up on his elbows to look at Lucas properly, a faux scowl on his face. “I could be a drama king, you know.”
“Oh, totally,” Lucas replied, his tone serious despite the mischief behind his gaze. “But queen gets under your skin more,” he bantered, causing Will to toss a pillow in his direction. Of course Lucas caught it with a laugh and tossed it back, hitting Will square in the face. By the time Will removed it, Lucas was already on his feet and digging through their shared closet. Will scrunched his nose as he said, “Basketball practice?”
“You know it,” Lucas said, pulled out a clean t-shirt and stuffing it in his duffle bag. “Wanna come?” Will snorted and shook his head, flopping back down on his bed. “No thanks. I think I’m gonna take a nap before I have to meet up with Jonah to get started on this script.”
“Oooh, Jonah. Is that his name?” Lucas teased. “Do we like Jonah?” He asked, continuing to shove things into his bag. How much stuff do you need for practice anyway?
“Don’t know yet.” Will sat up fully to watch him pack. He knew what Lucas was really asking. Is Jonah an asshole? “I’ll report back to you later. I need to give the poor guy a chance to live before he finds out I have a meathead jock of a roommate who goes around threatening people,” he teased. Lucas paused his packing to shoot him a playful glare, his mouth twisted around a scoff.
“Hey! I’m not a meathead jock of a roommate. I’m your meathead jock of a best friend, asshole,” he finished with a shit eating grin, and Will could punch him for being such a smartass but he’s unfortunately too amused. “And I’ll be a meathead if it means not letting anyone fuck with you, so just keep me in the loop.” And yeah, Lucas was a lot more blunt these days, which is saying something considering the lack of filter he already had. It made Will’s chest warm to know how much Lucas cared, though.
There was a notable shift in their relationship during their freshman year of college. With all the freedom that came with being a college student in New York, Will felt more comfortable exploring parts of himself he felt he had to hide. He’d met new and interesting people from his classes, people that didn’t judge him or care that he was from a small town in Indiana. They just wanted to get to know him.
Back then he and Lucas had gotten drunk after celebrating one of Lucas’ games; their team had won, and Will was so proud he offered to buy them drinks with his horrible fake ID (courtesy of Robin who had provided one to each party member as a graduation present. “Live it up, kids!”) to really celebrate. They had gone through half the bottle, the buzz of the alcohol flowing through both their systems as they lie in the middle of their bedroom floor taking turns sharing confessions. Lucas confessed that he’d never felt more free and accepted than when in New York; how excited he felt seeing more people that looked like him. It was probably the liquid courage, but Will felt comfortable enough to broach a topic they never truly discussed. “It must have been hard being black in Hawkins. People suck.”
Lucas only hummed his agreement in response, his eyes closing as he felt the effects of the alcohol working its way through his blood stream. They rarely ever discussed the racial dynamics in their friend group, but it didn’t mean that he didn’t notice the bullying Lucas received from others was more complex. Will angled his face slightly to study his childhood friend’s profile, taking in the soft swoop of his nose, his full lips and strong eyebrows. Lucas was objectively very handsome, he thought to himself as he chewed nervously on his lower lip before looking down at the space between them.
His next words were slow to leave his lips. “It, um, sucks being…gay in Hawkins too?” And it came out sounding like a question. He swallowed nervously, too scared to look up to see Lucas’ reaction. After a while he felt a hand nudging his own to get his attention.
He looked up and felt that familiar warmth he got when he was in a similar predicament with El a few years back, except, along with the tender love reflected back at him, there was a sense of understanding to go along with it. Gently, Lucas curled his fingers around Will’s and squeezed. “Good thing we’re outta that hell hole, huh?” Lucas was smiling, soft, and careful. Will couldn’t help but to squeeze his hand and smile back.
Naturally, after that, he came out to the rest of the party on his own time and in his own way. The summer between their freshman and sophomore year of college, the party came back together in Hawkins and during a game of truth or dare in the Wheeler’s basement, Will admitted his first kiss was with a boy. “Wait—really? Who?” Dustin asked incredulously, more interested in knowing who the guy was than the fact that it was a guy at all. Will kept that part to himself, and focused on the fact that his friends were now bickering in a circle trying to extract the details from him. He felt frustration and love all in one sitting. Seeing how his friends reacted made it easier to come out to the rest of his family.
Like with his friends, he chose to do it in his own way. The Byers slash Hoppers were huddled up in front of the tv in the living room. When Harry Met Sally was playing and he watched as his family took turns quoting the dialogue from the movie while passing around the popcorn bowl. Hopper and his mom were cuddled on the love seat, while he and El laid side by side on the couch with Jonathan spread out on the floor in front of them picking through the popcorn bowl. It was so normal that it made his stomach tighten into a ball. This was his family. If he couldn’t be himself with them, what’s the point? He glanced over at El who was engrossed in the movie, and remembered how she reacted. It gave him the courage to just blurt it out. “So, I’m gay.”
For a moment the world titled on its axis. His eyes darted around the room as he took in their reactions. Hopper had his brows raised in surprised, while his mom merely blinked, her dough eyes matching Jonathan’s who had twisted his head around to look at him from his spot on the floor. El on the other hand was beaming, a prideful look in her eye as she popped a piece of popcorn into her mouth. Hopper broke the silence first. “…like Elton John,” he looked around the room for confirmation. “Elton John is cool.”
“Super cool,” El agreed. “Jonathan, you like him too, do you not?” She questioned, her eyes quietly pleading with him to get the hint to join the conversation. His brother snapped into action, immediately nodding his agreement and reaching over to pat Will’s knee. “Who doesn’t? Even I can’t deny You Gotta Love Someone is a classic. Definitely your song, man,” he smiled. “Proud of you,” he said softly, low enough for it to feel like a moment just for them.
His mom was the last to speak, a watery smile on her face. “I think we can all agree that you’re much cooler and more lovable than Elton John.” and Will felt himself tearing up too. The moment her arms opened he was out of his seat and melting into them.
So yeah, everyone that he loved and cared about knew he was gay and they didn’t love him any less. If anything they were more protective; fiercely so, and weren’t afraid to remind him that in a world so cruel he had their love and support. He was lucky and he knew it. Lucas was one of those people, and even though he gave him shit and called him a meathead, he knew Lucas knew how much him being in his corner meant to him.
The athlete flung his duffle bag over his shoulder and ruffled Will’s wavey hair until the other boy grew disgruntled and lightly slapped his hands away. “I’ll see you later, Byers!” He called out with a chuckle, the door shutting loudly behind him. Will rolled his eyes fondly and fell back onto his bed.
A little later
“A-choo!”
“Bless you.”
“Thanks, man,” Jonah sniffled, rubbing his nose with his free hand. Will tried to hide his disgust by bowing his head further down to focus on his paper. He and Jonah had agreed to book one of the study rooms in the library, which is where they currently were, and so far the boy had sneezed seven times. Seven. Times. It was obvious that he was battling a cold, and rather than reschedule their meeting like Will had offered, the boy insisted on them starting their project. “I’m not gonna be left behind,” Jonah had said earlier.
“So what do you think about us doing a play about Whales,” Jonah asked, his voice sounding stuffy. Will glanced out of the clear glass panel of the study room they had booked as he responded. “Whales?” he turned his head, the confusion in his voice undeniable.
“Yeah! I mean, think about it. We could showcase the harmful effects of whales kept in captivity but make it artsy. It’s compelling and innovative enough for us to pretty much be guaranteed a passing grade. What do you think?” he sniffled and took a sip of his coffee.
Will pondered the idea. While it wasn’t his first choice, he couldn’t deny the concept did pretty much guarantee them a passing grade, so he shrugged. “ Alright, why not.”
October, 1993
“TANKS”
(written by Will Byers, performed by Will Byers & Jonah Martin)
INT. BLACKBOX THEATER – EVENING
Two chairs. One soft light overhead.
WILL sits opposite JONAH, their knees almost touching.
JONAH
(reading the line)
“They say whales in captivity live half as long.”
WILL
(quiet, acting)
Only half?
JONAH
“Some don’t make it past a decade.”
Jonah glances up at Will, then back at the page.
WILL
(in character)
I used to think the tank kept them safe.
Like… the walls were a shield instead of a cage.
JONAH
“You think the walls are a choice?”
WILL
(soft smile, sad)
Maybe.
Or maybe the whale pretends so it doesn’t have to know it’s trapped.
Jonah stops, breaking character.
JONAH
Is the whale supposed to be… a person? Or like—
(gesturing vaguely)
Actual whales?
Will shrugs, a little embarrassed. He had written the script with himself in mind but he didn’t suspect it would be that obvious.
WILL
Both. Neither.
It’s more like…
(tapping his chest)
When you feel too big for the space you’re in, but too scared to leave it.
Jonah nods, understanding a little better.
He goes back into character.
JONAH
“But the whale doesn’t know what the ocean feels like.”
WILL
(looking at him, vulnerable)
Yeah.
But it still misses something it’s never had.
Jonah pauses, letting the line settle.
JONAH
“You can’t miss something if you’ve never known it.”
Will meets his eyes, fully in character now, voice trembling:
WILL
You can.
Some creatures are born knowing the shape of freedom.
A beat. Jonah shifts, uncomfortable with how emotional Will gets.
JONAH
(clears throat)
Uh… next line?
Will looks down at the script, pretending not to notice the awkwardness. “Actually, let’s take a break. I think we did good for today,” he cleared his throat as he stood, already moving his chair off to the side of the stage. Jonah simply nodded, his lips curling together as he did the same, his brow furrowed in thought. After a while he let out a chuckle. “We are so gonna kill this thing,” he boasted, a bright smile back on his face as he reached a hand out. Will offered a polite smile and high-fived his scene partner, the height of his emotions from the script starting to dwindle down. “Same time Thursday?”
“Sure,” he said, watching as Jonah jogged down the steps to leave. A few seconds later the theater doors clicked shut and Will was left alone. He carefully tucked his script into his messenger bag before sitting at the edge of the stage, clasping his hands together with a deep sigh.
When Jonah suggested they do a script about whales of all things, he had to fight an eye roll, but turns out, the idea wasn’t as absurd as he initially thought. In fact, it was the perfect fodder to play with different themes about life. His life. Jonah, bless him, wrote the first draft of their script after the second week. Again, bless him, because it was horrible. Genuinely. The boy pretty much admitted he half-assed it during his psychology class because he “forgot.” Instead of getting upset, Will just offered to do it, much to the other boy’s delight. It’s a good thing he did too.
“You were right, the script is way better now.”
He nearly sprained his neck from how quickly he’d turned it. Lucas cringed and apologized as he approached him from the side of the stage. He was wearing baggy high waisted jeans and a dark blue hoodie with N.W.A tagged on the front. Will subtly glanced down at his own outfit. A red short sleeved button down that exposed his chest with a gray tee shirt peaking out underneath, light washed high waisted jeans paired with a brown belt and black boots. They looked so different and yet...
“How much of that did you see?” He asked curiously, ignoring how close Lucas chose to sit next to him. He didn’t want to overthink it. Lucas hummed. “The whale pretending so it doesn’t feel trapped,” he said after a while, angling his head to look at Will better. “I felt that deep,” he placed a fist over his heart, tapping it in rhythm with his heart. Will kicked his feet, the back of his heels hitting the tough exterior of the stage. “Mm,” is all he said in response. He could smell the cinnamon radiating off of Lucas again; it was prominent and calming.
“Soooo...Max paged me earlier.”
“Oh?” Will responded, glancing over. He hadn’t heard Lucas bring up Max in a few weeks. The two had decided to mutually break up the year prior. The distance, ya know, Lucas had explained, shrugging as if it wasn’t a big deal. But Will knew Lucas. His friend, as goofy as he could be, was very loyal and loved deeply. It was totally a big deal, but Will also knew that if Lucas didn’t want to make a fuss over things to leave it be.
Things were awkward between his two friends for a while. The first time they went back home for winter break, Max and Lucas interacted stiff and polite. It only got better when spring break came around and they all took a trip down to the beach. Will had caught the two off to the side laughing as they plucked shells from the sand. He had thought for sure the two would rekindle after that, but it’s been months since and things remained the same. He was admittedly curious about where they stood, especially because Lucas didn’t talk about her much these days. This was a good opening for him to gauge where things were at. You know, just out of friendly concern.
Obviously.
“Mm,” he mimicked Will’s tone from earlier, the smartass. “She was just wondering how I was doing. Asking about school, basketball,” He paused before he continued on, the sentence coming out so fast Will hardly understood it. “AskedIfIWasSeeingAnyone.”
Will sucked in a quiet breath, fully facing Lucas now. “That’s kinda weird for Max.”
“I know,” Lucas snorted. “I said as much and she called me a dickhead,” he rolled his eyes but a fond smile rested on his lips, so Will didn’t take it as a bad thing. “I think she was asking because she wants to get back out there.” At Will’s confused expression he continued. “To date other people.”
Oh.
Oh.
“But that means...”
“That we’re really over? Yeah.” Lucas said. Something about the tone of his voice, the finality mixed with the sadness made Will lean closer, his arm wrapping around Lucas’ waist in a side hug. He rested his head against his shoulder and felt his heart squeeze when Lucas returned the affection by nestling his head against his own. “Sorry,” Will said after a while.
“Strangely enough, I’m okay.” And, okay, that surprised Will enough for him to lift his head, which forced Lucas to do the same. They looked at each other; Lucas’ face full of patience, while Will still looked stunned. “You are? How? I thought you two were like, I don’t know—soulmates or something.”
“Or something,” Lucas responded, the corners of his mouth slightly raised. “Don’t get me wrong. Am I sad that we didn’t work out? Of course. Am I kind of dreading the day she meets someone else and I have to pretend the guy isn’t a dick?” Will laughed at that and faced forward. “No, shit,” Lucas continued through a laugh of his own. “But the long distance thing is hard, you know? Kudos to Dustin because I don’t know how he does it. I don’t wanna be what holds Max back from living her life; she wouldn’t deserve that. And it wouldn’t be fair to myself either. I love her too much.”
“I get that,” Will said, his tone one of understanding. He had a brief thought of Aiden. He wouldn’t want to hold the person he loved back either. “Yeah?” Lucas probed, his eyes studying the sharp features of his friend’s face. Will could feel his eyes on him, his skin heating up from the attention. He forced himself to look over at him and hold eye contact. “Was he your Max?” Lucas pushed. He was referring to Aiden, because of course he was. Despite exploring all New York had to offer, Will still had very little experience with dating.
“I guess in a way he was,” He said, his voice sounding small. The eye contact from Lucas was a little overwhelming and he had to force himself to power through it, especially because they were sitting so close. “He’s the closest to being in love I’ve ever felt that with.”
Lucas was quiet, his brown eyes analyzing hazel. Will felt the warmth in his cheeks begin to travel all over. He wasn’t sure Lucas was aware of how much of an affect he had on him sometimes. “Do you miss him?” The question made Will frown, not expecting it. “Um,” he started, racking his brain for an answer as Lucas continued to look at him with an expression he couldn’t place. “Maybe,” now it was Lucas’ turn to frown.
Oh no, he was supposed to be making him feel better and pushing the narrative that the heartbreak will pass; he was instead doing the opposite. “I mean, only sometimes. I mainly miss the little bubble we were in. It was nice feeling wanted by someone.” He visibly saw the frown relax from Lucas’ mouth and mentally sighed in relief.
He bit the corner of his lip out of habit and watched in fascination as Lucas’ eyes followed. “I get that,” Lucas echoed, his voice now a soft and airy quality Will wasn’t quite used to hearing. He felt his stomach flip. Holy shit, since when did it start to do that? “I missed that too. And the kissing,” Lucas swallowed, his eyes finally leaving Will’s mouth to stare back into his eyes.
“Yeah,” Will breathed out, the flips in his stomach intensifying. “And the kissing,” he repeated, his eyes now the ones to travel down to settle on Lucas’ mouth and oh God.
There was tension between them; he could feel it. Or maybe he was imagining it. That had to be it. There was no way he was suddenly feeling the urge to kiss his best friend was he? His eyes traveled back to Lucas’ face; Lucas, whose face had become unreadable. Will opened his mouth to speak, his need to break the growing tension between them growing when suddenly the theater doors lurched open. Their heads both snapped forward, Lucas quickly getting to his feet while Will, blocking the sudden stream of natural light with an outstretched hand and a squint, followed in his footsteps. “Uh, sorry, we reserved the space but if you need a minute...” said Aimee, a girl from his very same theater class. He recognized her scene partner, Lora, behind her too.
“We were just leaving,” Will clarified, grabbing his bag and bringing the strap over his head to rest on his shoulder. He looked back to see Lucas already exiting the stage step by step, his eyes refusing to leave the ground. Will could relate. He made eye contact with Aimee who’s eyes bounced between him and Lucas before settling on his, her eyes curious. Will wanted to die. He shot her a tight smile, quickly catching up to Lucas as the theater doors closed behind them, the cold from the Blackbox being replaced by the cool humid air.
Once enough distance was put between them and the drama building, Will chanced a glance over at Lucas who had decided to do the same. Just then the two made eye contact and without missing a beat both started giggling, the tension melting away. “Did you see her face?” Lucas snickered. “I know,” Will threw his head back dramatically, basking in the rays from the sun. “She’s gonna start a rumor isn’t she?” He looked over at Lucas to see him grinning mischievously. “Totally.”
And just like that, Will was able to convince himself that the moment was nothing; he definitely wasn’t entertaining the thought of Lucas’ lips pressing against his own. It was probably sexual frustration he was feeling. Yeah, that was it. All that talk about kissing. He just needed to kiss someone. “Hey, what about we go out tonight?” Lucas shot him a skeptical look. “It’s Tuesday,” the taller boy deadpanned.
“So?” Will shrugged, his shoulders brushing the low tips of his ears as he did. “It’ll be a boys night out. Come on,” he knocked his hip against the other’s. “It’ll be good for you. You won’t even be thinking about Max.” He could see Lucas’ resolve breaking the more he pushed. “Please?” he tried, a soft pout to his lips as he gripped the strap of his messenger bag.
“Fine,” the other boy finally agreed, which caused Will to let out a cheer and dance adorably around Lucas who cackled as his theatrical friend began galloping around him, twisting an imaginary lasso. “We’re gonna paint the town!” Will giggled, returning to his spot at Lucas’ side as they crossed sidewalks.
“I’m only doing this because you practically begged,” Lucas quipped, side eying his dramatic friend with a soft smirk. Will’s response was to smirk, playfully shove him and flip him the bird.
“I love a beggar, you know,” Lucas joked with a dirty grin. Will practically choked on his own spit and he shoved him again, this time a little rougher. “Fuck you!”
Lucas cackled in delight.
Later that night
So, fun fact—Will was a terribly sloppy drunk. No, not terrible. Horrible. It didn’t take him more than a few drunk nights out to come to that conclusion his freshmen year; two good glasses of wine alone would give him a good buzz. Yet somehow he always pushed that fact aside and only semi-addressed it whenever he was already drunk off his ass and it was too late.
Like now. He was in a sweaty club with his hair plastered to his forehead and his cheeks flushed looking for Lucas. He’d lost him in the swarm of bodies around 20 minutes ago after a series of Madonna songs (Oh my God, I love this one!) came on and he’s only gotten drunker since. He should have said no to that last tequila shot from that cute guy at the bar. God, was he gonna feel this in the morning but he’d worry about that later because right now Lucas. He had to find Lucas.
LucasLucasLucas.
Fuck, was he drunk. As soon as he found Lucas he would demand to be taken to Taco Bell for a crunchy taco supreme. Where did he go? He pushed through the moving crowd, slurring out apologies and growing more and more frustrated when he was unable to identify his friend’s face in any of the bodies around him.
He felt a pair of hands appear around his waist that were way too snug for his liking. “Ew, get off,” he cringed, shoving the random guy off him as he continued searching. He had no idea where Lucas could be; how did he lose him that fast, he thought to himself with a pout.
As if summoned, turning around in the crowd, shoving a few people aside to continue his search, there he was and—
Oh.
Lucas wasn’t alone. Lucas was dancing. His Lucas was dancing with a girl. A pretty girl. Of course she was a pretty girl. Of course she was a girl! Lucas likes girls, hello! He scolded himself. But the drunk and dumb part of his brain ignited a jealous pit in his stomach anyway. Even from where he stood he could see that the girl was gorgeous; wild curls pinned to the top of her head and her leather skirt skimming along her thigh. Lucas looked to be having a good time judging by the grin on his face as the two danced up against each other.
Time to put an end to that.
He shoved his way through the crowd with a purpose, determination coursing through his veins. He’s pretty sure his rapid movement wasn’t as graceful as he thought it to be, he almost fell a few times but was quick to recover. Within less than a minute he was by the dancing duo and tugging on Lucas’ arm to get his attention.
Lucas’ eyes were glassy and dazed. Will was almost positive that his friend had snuck off to do some “gardening,” which explains the red around his eyes and the dopey smile he gives Will from recognition. “Will!” He shouted happily.
“Where the hell have you been?!” And did Will make it a point to place himself between Lucas and the pretty girl he was dancing with? Yes. Did he also lean in closer to him so he could be heard above the music? Also yes. Out the corner of his eye he could see the girl pull a face of dejection which made Will’s drunk brain visibly happy, his hand still on Lucas’ arm—something his friend didn’t see to mind. Lucas mimicked the motion of smoking a joint, which confirmed Will’s theory from earlier. Will leaned in again to speak. “Your coach would kill you if he found out!”
“Then I guess he better not find out!” He shimmied his shoulders to the beat of the music, his tongue poking out of his grinning mouth as he did. “Let’s dance!” Will responded.
“What?” This time Lucas was the one to lean forward to hear. Instead of repeating himself, Will started to shimmy his shoulders to the beat of Vanilla Ice’s Ice Ice Baby. He saw a flicker of amusement pass over Lucas’ face before he joined in, shimmying forward while Will mirrored the movement by moving back.
Will couldn’t help the giggle that left his mouth. He forgot how fun it was to let loose after a few drinks. Especially with Lucas. The two of them together were complete dorks. More so him than Lucas, but he loved it. Pretty soon they were jumping around as one, yelling the lyrics at each other; one of them with red cheeks and the other with red rimmed brown eyes.
“Girls were hot wearing less than bikinis!” Sang Lucas.
“Rockman lovers driving Lamborghinis!” Will sang back.
The crowded room made them navigate closer to each other. Will clung to Lucas’ shirt as he jumped around. Lucas kept his fingers curled in Will’s belt loops to keep him from toppling over. It was the perfect balance. One drunk, the other high. Both supporting each other. Will could barely feel his face from how wide he was smiling back at the other boy, the joy of seeing the expression reflected back at him hitting harder than his last shot of tequila.
“What?” He leaned forward, his lips briefly brushing Lucas’ cheek as he momentarily lost his footing. He felt Lucas tug on his belt loops and he shot him a grateful smile in return. “Nothing, just—!” Lucas leaned down so that Will didn’t have to struggle so much to hear him over the music. “I forgot what a cute drunk you are!”
Will was thankful that he was already drunk; that way he could blame the color of his cheeks on the alcohol. “I’m not cute!”
“Are too!” Lucas insisted through a laugh Will couldn’t hear. Will was not in the mood to be called cute. That was the last way his drunk brain wanted Lucas to describe him as. Cute? Pfft. Will smirked as the song transitioned into a song he knew Lucas loved, considering he’d heard him sing it under his breath many times in the last few months. Sensitivity by Ralp Tresvant. He suddenly had an idea. A very bad idea that in his sober mind he would never do, but drunk Will was clearly winning the war tonight.
He stepped back to put a little distance between them but kept his eyes on Lucas who still had that amused expression, though there was now a hint of curiosity mixed in as well. Will hips started to move to the beat, his fingers traveling up to the top button of his blouse. He made sure Lucas was watching before he started to slowly unbutton his top while singing the lyrics.
“Girl, I know it's been hard since he went away
And left you so sad, you cry everyday
Let me kiss your tears, erase all your doubts
Because for you I'm here, you won't be without love.”
He watched as Lucas’ features softened, his smile more relaxed as he crossed his arms over his chest. Will winked and continued. His shirt was half way unbuttoned, his chest exposed and flushed from—the humidity? The alcohol? Lucas? Take your pick. He gestured for Lucas to come closer to him with his fingers and almost broke character when his friend actually moved and uncrossed his arms.
Will used their closeness as an opportunity to cling to the lower half of Lucas’ shirt as he twisted his hips from side to side, still singing but this time with his head tipped upward at an angle to not break the eye contact they’d managed to maintain so far.
“You don't need a man that'll treat you wrong
You need a man with sensitivity.”
As absurd as it sounded, there was a part of Will that wondered if Lucas was thinking about Max as he sung the lyrics. He loved Max, that was a given, but as he looked at Lucas, who had at some point placed his hands directly on his hips and was absently biting his lower lip, Will wanted him to forget about her and focus on him. The thought drove him to pull himself closer to Lucas’ frame, their chest brushing together as they rocked from side to side.
It was the closest the two had ever been and Will felt more intoxicated by it than the alcohol. “Lucas.” He watched as his friends eyes found his and he swallowed a gasp. He couldn’t hear it but he knew the other boy well enough to know by the quirk of his brows that he had answered him with a hum, so he continued. “Do you really think I’m cute?”
Lucas’ brain functioned a lot slower whenever he smoked, so it took him a few hazy blinks to register what Will was asking. Will didn’t mind. It gave him time to appreciate the boy before him. Eventually Lucas leaned forward, the side of his cheek touching Will’s and he felt him sigh, which made Will do the same. “The cutest,” he whispered against Will’s ear, pealing himself away a moment later.
The fire that consumed Will after that was dangerous. His body shivered from his words. He didn’t know being called cute could sound so sexy until now.
He was fucked.
The left side of Lucas’ mouth lifted into a half smirk, and if Will didn’t know any better, he’d think his friend could see right through him and into his impure thoughts. Will wanted to throw himself at him but instead he settled on. “Fuck off,” which only made Lucas’ smirk widen to a full grin. “I’m hungry, and you owe me Taco Bell,” he deflected, wrapping his hand around Lucas’ wrist and practically dragging him out of the club.
Will ended up getting his tacos.
The next day he woke up with the worst hangover he’s had to date and Lucas’ cackling at his expense, which only made it worse. He tossed his pillow at him and rolled over to hide his own pleased smile. Despite the splitting headache he’d wake up to in a few hours, he deemed the night out with Lucas as worth the pain. And if he had a questionable dream about the continuation of their night that led to him waking up with a suspicious tent in his pants, nobody but him needed to know.
Notes:
I loved writing this chapter. There's just something about a push pull dynamic that feels like crack lol
Chapter 3: My Darling, Can't You See?
Summary:
Will goes to Lucas' basketball game with a big sign.
Expect the unexpected.
Notes:
This chapter has some angst packed in but it'll be worth the pay off.
Please excuse any typos along the read, I recently added some edits to this one and did my best to re-read to catch anything too crazy.
Chapter title is from Raindance by Dave & Tems.
Happy reading!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 3
November, 1993
“What do you mean you’re dropping out? I need you!”
“I’m sorry, man,” Jonah said, his tone genuinely sympathetic. It was less than a month before their final project was due. This couldn’t be happening. “But why?” Will said, his tone distressed. Jonah rubbed the back of his neck, his face sullen. “Some family stuff is happening and I kind of need to be back home right now. I know the timing sucks. I spoke to Professor Eden about it and she said it would be totally cool if you did the project solo, so you’re not totally screwed, right?”
Solo? Will’s script was written for a duo! He felt like screaming. The only thing holding him back from having a complete meltdown on the spot was 1. Embarrassment and 2. He could tell that Jonah was either a really good actor or he was telling the truth. He’d be an asshole if he came off as anything but understanding. “Maybe you can ask your roommate to help you,” Jonah continued, already turning around to leave the study room they booked. They didn’t even really use it since Jonah decided to rip the band-aid off as soon as he walked in. He sighed, his shoulders sagging a little. “I guess.”
He’d hardly seen Lucas the last few weeks due to his practice schedule ramping up now that they were officially entering the basketball season. He were lucky if he caught him between classes, which was hardly ever. He missed having him around. He picked up his bag and made his way out of the library, covering his head with his hoodie as soon as he was hit with the brisk winter air, and started his trek across campus to the gym. If he was going to ask Lucas for his help, he’d have to catch him at practice.
He kept his head low as he entered the gym, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself and immediately made his way to the stands. He sat down and surveyed the court. Thanks to Lucas, he was familiar enough with the sport to note that it looked like they were in the middle of a scrimmage. His eyes bounced from player to player moving up and down the court until he spotted him.
Lucas moved with the flow of his teammates with ease, his face set in concentration as he blocked a steal, allowing his teammate to score a point. Will wasn’t able to take his eyes off of him, it was like he was in a trance. He watched attentively as Lucas communicated with his teammates to ensure they stuck to whatever play they’d practiced before. The coach was yelling, “He’s open, he’s open!” in reference to Lucas who had his arms up to catch the ball. Once it was in his hands, he dribbled it once, twice, before his feet lifted off the ground to make an incredible 3-point shot.
Will couldn’t help the cheer that slipped past his lips or the way he stood up, his fist risen in victory. He saw Lucas’ head turn in his direction and the grin that was already on his face only grew. Will folded his arms against his chest and gave a subtle wave in response. Lucas simply winked before his focus shifted back to the game. Will sat back down, a small smile on his face. He took out his sketchbook and flipped to a new page. If he was going to sit there, he might as well got comfortable.
Will focused on the sketchbook in his lap, but occasionally he would glance up to check to see how Lucas was doing, cheering whenever his team managed to make another shot or steal the ball. It was oddly relaxing and he almost forgot why he initially came. That was until he heard a throat clear and he looked up to see Lucas staring back at him. He was still catching his breath, so he must have climbed up the bleachers as soon as coach blew the whistle. “Hey,” he started, placing his sketchbook to one side.
Lucas took a seat next to him and lifted his t-shirt, exposing his stomach, to wipe the sheen of sweat from his face. Will averted his gaze to the court where a few players were still idling about. “If I knew you were coming to my practice I would have—,”
“Shown off more than you already did?” Will cut in to tease, a subtle smile on his face. He heard Lucas’ laugh before feeling his shoulder knock into his. The contact made Will’s body temperature increase. He glanced over to see Lucas already looking at him with an expectant smile. “What?”
Lucas’ brow arched. “What?”
“I said what first.”
“And I’m asking, what to your what?”
Will scoffed. “How do you know there’s a what?” he was stalling and they both knew it. Lucas shot him an unimpressed look. “Okay, you only show up to my practices when you’re bored or some major shit has gone down, so, I’m gonna ask again. What?”
He got him there. “Fine. But before you say no—hey! Don’t roll your eyes,” he slapped his chest, only mildly feeling guilty for noticing how strong it felt. “I’m listening,” Lucas patiently urged, his expression purposely unreadable. Will bit the inside of his lip, buying himself a few more seconds. “Okay, well...I know it’s a big ask but, could you help me with my theater assignment?”
Lucas’ face twisted up into confusion. “That’s it? You need help with your homework?” he started to scoff but Will interrupted. “No. I mean, yes. You see, Jonah, you remember Jonah?” he waited for Lucas to nod before he continued. “And you know that project we’ve been working on that’s like 70% of my grade?” another nod. “Well, he kinda dipped out. Well, not kinda, he definitely dipped out on me and I swear I wouldn’t ask if I had literally anyone else because I know how busy you get around this time of year with basketball and the team and—,” He was cut off mid ramble by Lucas, whose hand rested on his knee, grounding him. Will glanced over at him, his eyes slightly wide.
“Will. What is it?” He looked concerned and Will couldn’t blame him. He was stalling hard but he was nervous. He didn’t know why? It’s not like Lucas would actually say no. It might take him some convincing, but that was only for Lucas’ amusement (he did say he liked a beggar, which, interesting but); he never actually said no to Will. It was that reminder that made him breathe a little easier to ask. “Will you be my scene partner? I could do it alone, but it would really help my grade if I had you,” his voice faltered toward the end, his nerves returning. This was stupid of him. Lucas was way too busy to help him with his stupid—
“Yeah, okay.”
Record scratch.
“Okay? Really?” Will sputtered, bending his head a little to get a better look at his friend who at this point was back to looking amused. “It’s clearly really important to you. Plus, you weren’t gonna stop rambling until I said yes, so...” he trailed off, eyes darting to the side as he fought a smile. Will punched him in the arm, his cheeks red. “Asshole.”
Lucas laughed while rubbing at the spot, obviously not deterred. “You were right about the busy thing, though, I do have to concentrate a lot more on practice, so the only time I’d really have to work on it with you is afterwards.”
Lucas practiced Monday - Friday and had a game every Saturday. His practices also ended at 8 o’clock, which was late but it wasn’t that late. “That works.”
“But you also have to come to my games.”
Will frowned. “I always come to your games.”
“True,” he rubbed at his chin in thought for a second before snapping his fingers together and sitting up straight. “A sign!”
“Huh?”
“You have to make me a sign,” Lucas snickered.
“Is that all?” That was nothing new. Will would often show up to his games with a small poster for support. The thought must have been written all over his face because Lucas continued, wiggling his brows. “A BIG sign. At every game.”
“Really?” Will tried to fight the smile off his face by rolling his eyes but it was no use. He glanced down at his lap, noting that Lucas’ hand was still on his knee. “Will you move your hand if I agree?” He gestured with his head toward his lap. Lucas, to his credit, didn’t seem to notice his hand had been on him that whole time. He quickly removed his hand and looked away. Will found it hilarious. “I guess I have no choice to agree now, huh?” It was Lucas’ turn to be flustered, much to his delight. “Shut up,” he retorted, shooting him a playful glare.
They settled on practicing Tuesday’s and Thursday’s since those were the two days Lucas was the most free. The practices went surprisingly well considering. He figured with them being as close as they were that it would be hard to fall into the scene. Turns out it was the opposite. The only problem he found was with Jonah now absent from the project, Will wasn’t quite so confident in the script. He was never in love with the whale concept in the first place but now he almost hated it. It was missing something, he just didn’t know what. He voices as much to Lucas who advised him to take a step back and come back to it later. But Will didn’t have later and they still needed to memorize their lines. “Fuck it,” he said to himself one day after crumpling his 8th rewrite. “I’ll just keep it as is. It’s fine. It’s fine.”
It was the week before Thanksgiving break and NYU was playing against SIT, aka Stevens Tech; arguably their biggest threat. Lucas had reminded him of this all week, which is why Will was currently curled over his desk carefully working on a big poster. He knew he didn’t have to actually do it, Lucas was just teasing. But it meant a lot that even with all he had on his plate, he still found the time to be there for him. He wanted to show his appreciation for his friend.
He checked his watch and knew he had to wrap things up before he’d have to start getting ready. Lucas had already left a few hours ago to do some last minute practicing with the team, so he’d see him after the game.
About a half an hour later he was changed into a pair of loose jeans that cuffed at the ankle, an oversized sweatshirt (he was pretty sure it was Lucas’) and black boots. It was absolutely freezing outside, so he paired it with a denim jacket.
Will walked the 15 minutes to the Cole Center and then spent another 20 minutes threading through the crowd before finding a spot next to Aimee of all people. She beckoned him over with a cheerful grin. She had her face painted with the school colors and pom poms to match. He’d never seen her at a game before, which meant she must have been invited by one of Lucas’ teammates. Judging by the 1 and 0 written on either cheek, he could only guess which one. “Hey!” he said after thanking her.
“Hola,” she dragged out the last vowel and gave him a friendly side-hug. “Did you come alone too?” He nodded as they both sat down. The crowd was already pumped so they had to talk loudly. “This your first game?” he asked.
“Yeah! I’m cheering on #10,” she pointed in the general direction of the court. “What about you?”
“I’m just here to support Lucas!” and gestured to the rolled up poster in his hand. “Oh! Is that the cute black boy I always see you with?” She questioned. He hesitated. New York was very diverse and inclusive, but you never really know with some. Eventually he nodded when he didn’t see a hint of judgment in her eyes, only genuine interest. “Yeah, number #8.”
She smiled, seemingly happy with his answer. The conversation between them flowed after that, their chatter lasting all the way up until the game started. Lucas was right about SIT—they were really good. He could tell their team—The Violets—was working hard to outscore the opposing team—The Ducks, he thinks they call themselves? Whatever, Will was more focused on following Lucas up and down the court anyway.
As the game continued, there were too many fumbles, too many foul calls, and by the time halftime neared, The Violets were down by 10 points. They still had time to recover but they’d have to work 10x harder than they already were and their team was already giving it their all. When the buzzer signaled, officially starting halftime, Will knew he had to find Lucas. He was most likely psyching himself out and Will couldn’t sit with the thought of Lucas blaming himself if they lost.
“I’ll be back. Do you want anything?” He asked Aimee, who had managed to make conversation with a few of the attendees next to them. She politely waved him off mid convo to signal she was fine, which was all he needed to proceed his search. It took him forever to get down the steps. He managed to find a small space near the court for him to squat down in as he tried to get the attention of Lucas, who was posted up on the sidelines engaging in what he was sure was meant to be a pep talk but looked more like being yelled at by their coach.
The athlete had his hands on his hips, his brows furrowed and jaw clenched as he listened to the coach lecture the team. He was fully in game mode, and while objectively very hot, Will needed him to notice him. He cupped his mouth and started to shout. “Lucas! Lucas!”
He must have said his name 5 times before successfully getting him to turn in his direction. Lucas’ eyes shifted from determination to brief surprise before his face relaxed and he jogged over to the sidelines. “What are you doing?” He asked while Will straightened to a stand and shifted to angle his body in a way that gave them some semblance of privacy from prying eyes. “I’m checking on you. Are you okay?”
He saw Lucas’ shoulder slump a little and the corners of his mouth lift into a weak barely there smile. “Could be better. They’re killing us out there, man,” he exhaled through his cheeks. Will shifted on his feet and crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s just a temporary setback. You’ll get them in the next half, you just have to focus.”
“Mhm.” He glanced at the scoreboard distractedly.
Lucas was already giving up and Will wasn’t going to let him. “Hey, look at me.” He waited until Lucas’ eyes were back on his. “I got you something. Actually, I made you something.”
At that Lucas’ eyes brightened a little. “Yeah?”
“Mhm. I figured you could use a little motivation,” his lips lifted into a soft smile. “If you need a little pick me up, just look up there,” he pointed in the direction he’d be sitting in, making sure Lucas’ eyes followed the movement; they did.
He dropped his hand, keeping his eyes on the boy before him. “You might see a boy up there with a cheesy poster rooting for #8,” his voice took on a teasing tone. Lucas’ mouth twitched upward in response. “You probably won’t be able to hear him but just picture his voice in your head telling you how amazing you are and how proud of you he is,” Lucas’ eyes visibly softened and Will felt his heart staccato in his chest. He kept talking. “You can do this, Lucas. I’ve seen you on the court, you’re a monster. If you wanna win, you better fight for it, okay? Do it for you. For your team. For…” He bit the corner of his lip, debating if he should say what else he was thinking. Do it for me.
Lucas seemed to hear the unspoken words anyway. His eyes had a spark behind them that wasn’t present before and it made Will want to look away but he couldn’t. There was that tension again. It’s been lying dormant since that night at the club but right here, he could feel it wanting to claw its way out of his chest. It didn’t help that Lucas’ eyes studied him like a hawk. He wondered if he felt it too? The tension?
After a while Lucas broke it, his voice only loud enough for him to hear. “Thanks, Will.”
Will let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, his body sagging with it. “Of course. Now go kill those sitting Ducks.” That got a laugh out of Lucas and within seconds that competitive fire was restored. The coach whistled to get the attention of the team, which gave Will the perfect out to head back to his seat.
“How’d it go?” Aimee asked as she passed his rolled up poster back to him. He didn’t ask what she was referring to; he already knew she was asking about Lucas. Was it that obvious? “Let’s just say I’m still hedging my bets on a win for The Violets.”
When the second half of the game began, Will could tell his talk really got through to Lucas. Either that or the coach had put the fear into their team. Regardless, Lucas was now moving with a new confidence that bled into the entire team. Will had finally unrolled the poster and held it up high in the air. He wasn’t sure if Lucas could see, but he noticed him looking in his direction a few times, and he cheered louder when he did. “Let’s go, Lucas!” Will was surprised at how much more into it he was this go around, but then again, it was easy to cheer for Lucas.
By the fourth quarter they had made a comeback, now being only 2 points behind their rivals. They had 40 seconds on the clock and their team had the ball. They actually had a shot at winning this. Will was mumbling words of encouragement under his breath, leaning forward in his chair, while Aimee yelled expletives at his side. “Come on, kick their asses, Violets!” she shouted, accidentally elbowing the popcorn bucket out of the hands of the person beside her. “Oops,” she apologized sheepishly.
Will doesn’t even realize he’s standing until the entire row rises with him.
The next play is chaos—jerseys blurring, the ball whipping from one pair of hands to another, Coles Sports Center shaking under the noise. His eyes track Lucas automatically, like gravity. Lucas darts toward the wing, quick and sharp, and Malik, his teammate, sees him the same second Will does.
The pass rockets across the court. Lucas catches it—clean, perfect—and then a defender slams into him hard enough that Will hears the impact from the bleachers.
The whistle cuts through everything.
Will’s heart stutters.
It hits him a beat later; that’s three free throws. Lucas can actually pull them ahead. Will reaches for the poster that he’d set aside and holds it high above his head, much to the people behind him’s annoyance. “You’ve got this, Lucas!” He shouts as loud as he can. He doubted Lucas could hear him but it didn’t matter. Still, Lucas must have sensed that Will was cheering for him though, because for the first time since the game started, he watched as Lucas’ eyes scanned the crowd until a look of recognition glossed over his features.
He’d found Will in the crowd. He watched Lucas squint his eyes as he attempted to read the poster. Back when they were still battling the Upside Down and he was still having his visions, Will remembered during a particularly bad one Lucas’ voice shouting, “We’re with you, Will! I’m with you!” At the time, all Will could focus on through the fear were those reassuring words. They had meant everything then and they still do now. He wasn’t sure if it was something Lucas would remember, as it must have been trivial in hindsight, but they’re words he’d personally never forget.
I’M WITH YOU #8
‧₊˚🏀彡ִ ࣪𖤐 ⚡︎
L 𓆩🖤𓆪 S
It was a simple sign but it held words near and dear to Will’s heart.
I'm With You #8.
Lucas’ eyes widened slightly once his eyes finished scanning the poster. Will felt his stomach tighten when Lucas reached his hand up to his chest; all but his pointer and index finger curled into a fist as the other two formed the number two like a peace sign, and he beat against his own chest, right over his heart.
I’m with you, too.
Will’s lips parted from the gasp he let out. Somehow Lucas remembered. He understood. Will’s smile wobbled as he returned the affectionate gesture, and he giggled to himself when Lucas rewarded him with one of his wide grins. He felt Aimee nudge his side but he was too wrapped up in watching Lucas, who had walked up to the 3 point line and threw the ball, scoring the winning shot that made the stadium erupt.
The world moved in slow motion after that. People were cheering and jumping (some even crying) with joy around him. Aimee was waving her pom pom’s in the air. And Lucas…well, Lucas was looking right at him as his teammates boosted him up into the air. He was smiling and so happy and it was all directed toward him. Will waved shyly at him from where he stood and he was almost positive Lucas winked but he wasn’t sure.
One thing he was sure of, though, given how wildly his heart thumped in response, was that he was absolutely fucked.
After the game they decided to get pizza to celebrate. Aimee tagged along with #10—he later learned his name was Ethan—and it actually ended up being a lot of fun. Aimee and Ethan were cute, Will decided. With Aimee’s outgoing nature and Ethan’s more introverted vibe, they balanced each other out. It kind of reminded him of the dynamics between him and a certain someone but that was neither here nor there.
They didn’t hangout for long since the couple had already made plans to catch a movie. They extended the invite to Will and Lucas but they declined, opting to finish their dinner. Lucas was actually the one to turn it down, which Will secretly celebrated. He was all for spending one on one time with him and now that they were alone, they could talk more freely.
“How does it feel to be the most famous guy on campus?” Will teased around a bite of his pepperoni.
“It feels great,” Lucas admitted, smugly. “Couldn’t have done it without you, though.”
“Don’t start,” Will warned, fighting the blush that treated to appear on his cheeks.
“I’m serious! After that first half I didn’t think I could muster the strength. I was fully prepared to go out there and take my loss like a man,” he half joked with a laugh. “Which is so unlike me, I know. But then you came down being all motivating and encouraging and like…I just knew I had to win it all.”
The for you being implied did, in fact, make Will’s cheeks finally turn pink.
Dammit.
“And that poster,” Lucas whistled, sitting back in his seat and shaking his head. “That was…yeah, that was more than I even expected.”
Suddenly Will felt embarrassed. “Was it too much?”
“What? No! ‘Course not,” Lucas reassured, his face and tone serious as he looked at him. “Believe me, it was…perfect.”
Will searched Lucas’ face for any hints at dishonesty. When all he found was sincerity in his expression, he relaxed, the smile slowly coming back on his face. “Okay.”
“Do you wanna go for a walk?” Lucas offered once the two of them finished, the empty pizza pan staring back at them.
“Sure.”
It was even colder now than when they first entered the pizzaria. Both of them had their hands in their pockets and their hoodies drawn over their heads. They walked closely, side by side in a comfortable silence, enjoying each other’s company and the bustling of the city around them.
“Did I tell you that Erica got a boyfriend?” Lucas said suddenly.
“Did she?” Lucas hummed his confirmation. “Do we like him?” He asked.
“I don’t know yet. She said if he lasts until then that she’d bring him to Hawkins for Christmas, so I guess we’ll find out then,” he chuckled.
“I feel bad for him already. Knowing you, there’s no way he’ll get off easy.”
“Alright, I’m not that bad,” Lucas argued.
Will snorted at that and side eyed him as they approached their dorm building. “Yeah, okay.” He pushed open the front door and welcomed the warm air that wrapped around him. He made a beeline for the elevators, oblivious to the way Lucas’ shoulders went tense at the comment.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Will turned to him after hitting the button and pointed an accusatory finger into his chest, laughing as he did. “Are you kidding? You practically glared daggers into Aiden’s soul the first time I brought him around.” The elevator doors opened and they got inside. “If you acted like that with me, I can’t imagine how you’d react to the poor boy Erica brings home to meet the family.”
Will closed his eyes and rested his body against the steel walls of the elevator as it carried them to their floor. He could feel Lucas’ eyes on him, though, analyzing him, probably trying to come up with a retort and drawing a blank. Ha.
The elevator dinged and the both of them walked out. Lucas was quiet all the way up until they reached their door when he said, his voice quieter than it had been all night. “The first time?” Lucas questioned. “So you were together the entire time we knew him?”
Shit. Will had forgotten that he never outright told any of his friends, not even Lucas, that he and Aiden were always a thing. He kind of assumed they all put the pieces together when he came out, but judging by the hurt he heard in Lucas’ voice, the boy didn’t know. “I thought you knew,” Will replied, keeping his voice even and pushing the door open to slip inside, quietly hoping to put the conversation behind him. He toed off his shoes and listened as the door clicked shut, signaling they were all alone.
He purposely kept his back away from Lucas as he started to undress. “I did,” Lucas was quick to clarify. “You two were practically glued at the hip the last 2 years of high school. But I didn’t know you were messing around that early into us knowing him. I thought he was just a friend at first before...” he trailed off.
“Right.” Will sighed and peeled off his sweatshirt, tossing it in the chair of the desk separating their beds. He wasn’t sure why the when of it all mattered that much. “I just never realized until recently that you felt so much for him. That day in the theater when you said you were in love with him—,”
Will’s shoulders stiffened defensively and he quickly turned around to face Lucas, who was closer than he expected him to be. This was starting to become a pattern. “I never said that,” and okay, he didn’t mean for his voice to come out as sharp as it did. “I said he’s the closest I’ve ever felt that with.”
“Still?” Lucas pushed, sounding vexed, the corners of his eyes tight with annoyance. What the hell?
“Come again?” Will bristled at his tone, his head snapping back as he tried to process the weird change in conversation. Lucas’ mouth relaxed but his eyes remained tight when he said. “Forget it.”
“No, what did you—,”
“I said forget it!” Lucas interrupted, his face immediately apologetic from watching Will take a step back. “I didn’t mean to yell, I’m sorry, just—the post game high is starting to come down—,” he was deflecting, “—and you know I’m gonna need all the sleep I can get if we’re gonna run through the script tomorrow. I just need to go to bed.”
“But—,”
“Please, Will,” Lucas pleaded, both with his words and his eyes. Will’s teeth tugged on his bottom lip a few times as he considered his options. He could push Lucas and risk him shutting down on him more than he already was or he can be a good friend and drop it.
He just wanted to understand what Lucas meant, that’s all. But he could tell he wouldn’t be getting anything more out of him tonight so he’d just have to make note of it and file it away for later. “Fine,” he decided and turned away to strip out of his jeans.
“Are you mad?” He heard Lucas ask from behind. He was a little mad but he wasn’t going to voice that so he shrugged and rummaged through his drawer for a shirt as a distraction. Lucas let out a heavy sigh but he didn’t push. The both of them got ready for bed in silence. Will got in his bed first and angled himself away from Lucas so that he faced the wall.
The bed opposite of him squeaked with the pressure of Lucas’ weight as he got into bed. Will listened to him shuffle around for a few seconds, probably to get comfortable, and a moment later the clicking of the lamp light before the room got dark.
It was quiet after that. So quiet that Will figured the other boy had fallen asleep.
“It’s against the rules to be mean to me on game day,” Lucas said, breaking the silence first. He sounded like he was facing Will.
“Hm.” Will turned around so that he was facing Lucas. He was right, the other boy was on his side, lying in his direction. “It’s also against the rules to be a dick to your best friend. Just in general.”
“M’sorry,” Lucas said. And Will knew he meant it. Lucas never lied to him. He was just feeling very confused. One minute the two were talking about Erica and the next they were arguing about Aiden, which he guesses was his fault for bringing him up, he just didn’t understand why Lucas reacted so strongly. And the bit about, Still? Still what? What did still mean in that context? Why did Lucas even care how Will thought of Aiden?
“You’re making me crazy,” Will joked softly.
“Don’t mean to,” he heard in response.
It was quiet again. Will’s eyes had adjusted to the darkness by now, so he was able to make out the shape of Lucas’ body much easier to see that he was now on his back. “Come here,” said the other boy.
“Why?” Will asked even though he was already moving to sit up.
“Because,” Lucas started, shuffling on his bed again before lifting the blankets. “Because I can’t fall asleep if you’re mad at me. And the only way I’ll know that you’re not is if you come over here.”
Will huffed, the sound coming out more like a laugh, but he moved out of his bed anyway. “You realize that makes no sense at all, right? If anything, you just made it easier for me to strangle you in your sleep,” he teased while getting into Lucas’ bed.
“I’ll take my chances.” He could hear the smug smile in his voice as he adjusted his body to give Will more space. The mattress wasn’t big by any means, it could barely fit one person, let alone two, but they made it work.
Despite his arguing, Will quickly got comfortable by wrapping his arm around Lucas’ middle and tucking his head under Lucas’ chin so close that his nose brushed against his neck. Lucas had an arm tucked under his pillow and the other rested comfortably on the other boy’s waist. Their knees brushed together under the covers from how close they were. Will tried to ignore the part of him that secretly craved and enjoyed the intimacy of it and cleared his throat. “Is this better?”
He felt Lucas nodding sleepily above him and then shift so that his hand cradled Will’s hip. “Better,” he said, his voice more relaxed than before. Internally Will was freaking out. He shouldn’t be doing this. Cuddling with Lucas was not helping with the confusing feelings he’d developed for him in the slightest but it was so comfortable and it felt so right he couldn’t pry himself away even if he wanted to. He hasn’t been this close to someone since…well, Aiden, ironically enough, but even this felt different. It felt like…more somehow. It felt dangerous is what it was.
Before he could dwell on it further he found himself yawning. Lucas shifted again, his voice barely a mumble. “Sleep,” he scolded. Even in his sleepy state he was still so Lucas. “Stop thinking,” Lucas squeezed his hip to get his attention. “I can’t sleep if you’re thinking,” he grumbled.
Will let out something close to a laugh and subconsciously started to rub circles into Lucas’ back to soothe him to sleep. “Sorry,” he apologized, deciding to put his panicking on the back burner for now. He’d have to unpack his feelings for his best friend later on—most likely when he wasn’t engrossed in his arms and the aroma of cinnamon. After a while, he felt Lucas’ breathing even out.
He drifted not long after.
The next day when Will woke up, he found that in the middle of the night they had somehow tangled themselves together. At some point Lucas had rolled onto his side and had an arm around Will, who had thrown a leg over Lucas’ hip, and had his head planted against his chest. Will quietly gasped and tensed, already moving to separate when he felt Lucas’ arm tighten around him. “5 more minutes,” his groggy voice bartered. Seeing as Lucas wasn’t in a rush to separate, Will slowly relaxed, quietly returning his head to Lucas’ chest but keeping his legs tucked together instead of across the other boy’s hip.
Cuddling became a thing after that.
Notes:
I just wanted to thank you all for the kind comments you've left so far. I really appreciate every comment, kudos, bookmark, etc and it let's me know that I've reached my target audience.
Chapter questions:
1. What was your favorite part?
2. Do you like the dynamic the two of them have so far?
3. What do you think Lucas meant when he said, "still?"See ya soon!
Chapter 4: As Long As You're Happy Too
Summary:
Will and Lucas perform for his classmates before going back home for winter break.
There are a lot of feelings. Good and bad.
Title inspired from Happy by Doja Cat.
Happy reading!
Notes:
Buckle up folks, the angst gets worse, but we can only go up from here!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 4
November, 1993
It was the week of Thanksgiving, and two weeks before Will’s theater project was due. It was quieter around campus due to the holidays. He and Lucas decided weeks ago to spend Thanksgiving in New York since it didn’t make any sense to either of them to book an expensive plane ticket twice in less than a month. They could celebrate Christmas with their friends and families in a few more weeks.
Will was prepared to hunker down in his dorm and take another look at the script that in his opinion, still felt like it was missing something. When he communicated his plan to Lucas, he was met with pushback. “You can’t spend Thanksgiving break doing homework!” Lucas exclaimed. After some minor bickering, they came to a compromise.
“Come with me to the quad. You can bring your stuff if you want.” The quad was where their school hosted campus events. For break they were broadcasting movies on the projector on the student lawn. It was just like going to the movies but cooler, in Will’s opinion. Will decided it couldn’t hurt and agreed. “But I am bringing my stuff.”
That was how he ended up next to Lucas later that night, side by side on the picnic blanket Lucas insisted they bring. The athlete was twisted on his side with one leg bent at the knee and the same foot planted on the ground, the other leg straightened out. He held his head in his palm, his eyes trained on the movie. Will sat with his legs crossed and slouched over his notebook in his lap so he could scribble down whatever ideas came to mind for his script. The school was showing Dead Poets Society, a favorite of his, so his eyes kept bouncing from the screen, to his paper, and of course when the urge was too strong to deny—Lucas.
Because yeah, sneaking what he hoped were subtle glances over at his best friend had become a thing now too. Ever since that first night after Lucas asked Will to share a bed, it had become a routine. One might expect it to be weird—two totally platonic friends cuddling each night—but the only actual weird part was how normal it felt. Every night the two would get ready for bed. Sometimes in comforting silence, while other times they would joke and tease each other like they normally did. One of them would get into bed, usually Will, and the other would turn off the lights, usually Lucas—and after a few beats of silence passed Lucas would ask Will to, “Come here,” and every single time Will would. Every. Single. Time.
They never actually did anything other than cuddle and go straight to sleep. Will had somehow become the designated little spoon (which he loved). It was comforting and falling asleep in Lucas’ arms resulted in the best sleep he’d gotten in literal years. He sought comfort in the warmth that their bodies radiated from such close proximity, and the way Lucas would nuzzle his nose into Will’s hair, mumbling about how soft it was—it made Will’s chest burn fiercely with something he tried his hardest to suppress.
He couldn’t deny it if he tried. He was falling for him. His best friend. Lucas! He almost couldn’t believe that he’d gone ahead and fallen for someone in his friend group twice. He wanted to step out of his body and shake himself for being such an idiot. It was one thing to have crushed on Mike. As irrational as it was, he could handle it. That was just a small, hormonal, self discovery fueled crush. But the feelings he was having for Lucas? They felt like much more than that. Stronger. Like a fire burning in his chest he couldn’t contain. The feelings were suffocating him and caused an internal spiral every time he thought about it too long.
Of course Lucas didn’t make it any better. His friend was naturally sweet and caring, very attentive, and annoyingly charming. He was ticking boxes that Will didn’t even know he had. Even in this moment he was ticking boxes. Keep Will from spiraling over his theater class for the millionth time by spending time with him and keeping him occupied without him asking—check. “Here,” Lucas raised his hand, a single popcorn between his digits, his eyes still locked onto the projector screen. Will leaned forward and opened his mouth to accept. He was feeding Will. Literally what the fuck—definite check.
It was inevitable that this would happen when Lucas was just so…Lucas-like. Part of him felt a small wave of guilt wash over him when he thought about Max and how he was crushing on her ex, but he rationalized it with the thought that Lucas would never return his feelings, no matter how affectionate or flirty he was. It was okay for Will to fantasize, that wasn’t a crime, right?
“What are you thinking?” Lucas asked, finally shifting his eyes away from the screen to look at him. Naturally, Will flushed at being caught out. Hopefully Lucas didn’t notice his blatant staring. “Hm…just that it’s super weird that they’d choose to host an event like this when it’s piss cold outside,” he joked. “Luckily I like this movie.”
Lucas smiled. “I know, that’s why I suggested we come.”
See? Sweet.
Ugh.
Will’s eyed dropped to his paper again and he bit down on a smile. He adjusted the leather jacket over his shoulders (another borrowed item courtesy of Lucas Sinclair, thank you) and closed his notebook to concentrate on the rest of the movie.
At some point during, Lucas rested his head on Will’s lap. Will, subconsciously or not, used the tips of his fingers to brush along his hairline, too engrossed by the movie to notice the feather soft smile on the other boy’s face.
Turns out Lucas was right—what’s new; he really did need to get out of his own head. As the movie progressed he found himself connecting with the source material in a way he hadn’t before. Keating’s care for his students and his insistence on showing them different ways of the world hit an emotional beat that made him teary at parts. Seeing each boy stand on a desk and watching how it impacted their perspectives of the people around him had his eyes shining, and if Lucas noticed, he didn’t say anything.
After the movie they decided to grab hot chocolate from the cafe on campus before heading back to their room. “You okay? You’re quiet,” Lucas asked, a hint of concern in his tone.
“Yeah, I was just thinking about the movie. It really made me feel something this time around. I don’t know if it’s because it’s the holidays and I’m always a little more emotional around this time or what but,” he paused his steps, turning to look at Lucas who mirrored his movement. “I think I was looking at my script all wrong.” At that Lucas gave a look for him to press on so he did. “When I wrote it, I was thinking about myself. The kid version of me that was just so scared to exist for being different. For being gay.”
Lucas frowned and reached his hand out to wrap around Will’s wrist, his thumb brushing along his pulse point. The other boy shivered at the contact but he’d blame it on the cold for now. “I know it’s something you can relate to. Not the gay part,” he averted his eyes, “but the being different part,” Will clarified. “It sucks to move around the world with people thinking they know who you are before you do. Like, fuck them, right?”
“Right,” Lucas agreed, a soft understanding smile on his face.
Will’s mouth twitched into a smile before he continued. “Anyway, my point is, I’ve been so hell bent trying to change something I wrote for me because I didn’t think they’d understand,” he thought back to one of his first rehearsals with Jonah and how awkward things became. “But I shouldn’t have to accommodate them in my art. I should be able to write about a scene about a fucking gay whale—,” Lucas sputtered out a surprised laugh at that, which made him laugh too as be continued, “—and go on about my day!”
“You’re a dork,” Lucas commented, still laughing, his eyes bright and fond. Will blushed. “But you’re right and I’m glad you finally came to that conclusion on your own. Your script was always perfect in my books,” he finished, the laughter bleeding out of him so that now he was only smiling. It was a specific smile that only came out whenever Will made him laugh. It made Will feel special.
Will fought down another blush as the two resumed walking, and if their hands brushed every once in a while neither said anything.
Will peaked out of the curtains, his eyes scoping out the faces of his peers before he quickly stepped back and started pacing. “Shit, I think that’s the entire theater department,” he hissed to himself, his nerves forming a pit in his stomach.
He checked his watch and cursed under his breath. It just so happened that Lucas had practice during the time of Will’s final but he promised he’d be there. Practice ended at 4. It was nearing 4:30 and he still wasn’t there and Will was next. He was freaking out.
Before he could get knee deep into self loathing he heard Lucas’ voice in the distance and the skidding of sneakers along the laminated floors before the athlete appeared breathing heavy and carrying…
“Are those flowers?” Will’s voice cracked from surprise and he cringed internally.
“Yeah,” Lucas stopped in front of him, slowly regaining control of his labored breathing. “They’re Delphiniums. I, uh, heard they were good for lifting your spirits?” He swallowed, his nose slightly flaring. “—and figured you worked so hard and, um, deserved something…nice,” and Will was almost sure if Lucas were pale his face would be carrying a red hue that had nothing to do with him sprinting to the auditorium.
Will’s nerves subsided, replaced with a warm, soft feeling. His smile was fond as he looked from the flowers (they were blue, his favorite color) and to Lucas. “You got me flowers?” And yeah, Lucas was definitely blushing if Will was to go by the way he looked away with a nervous laugh. “It’s nothing,” he played it off, offering the flowers anyway.
Will accepted them, his smile widening as he smelled them. They had a light herbal scent that calmed him. “It’s not nothing,” he corrected, his voice gentle and he waited for Lucas to look at him before he continued. “Thank you. You being here…doing this…it means a lot,” he bit the inside of his cheek. “So, yeah. Thank you.”
Lucas stepped closer, his soft brown eyes studying Will’s. “I’m always with you, remember?” He said it so quiet that if they weren’t so close Will would have missed it. Will swallowed, that nervous pit in his stomach returning but this time for a different reason. In this moment he really wanted to do something stupid like kiss him.
Thankfully, the universe stepped in when his professor called his name over the mic, announcing that it was time. Will let out a deep exhale and stepped back. “Well, it’s now or never,” he carefully set the flowers down on the table behind them, ignoring the slight tremble of his hands. He started walking toward the curtain when he felt a strong hand clasp his. He glanced down at their hands and looked back at Lucas. Their eyes meeting.
“Remember—I’m with you.” Lucas repeated, his tone unwavering and he squeezed Will’s hand before separating their palms. The words echoed into his head right up until they got on stage. It all happened so fast. Once they were prompted to begin, they both shed themselves and concentrated on each other. Like the many other times they rehearsed, they nailed it. The natural chemistry from years of friendship made it easy to fall into the scene and trust one another. Will was hardly aware of the audience until he heard their applause. Lucas grinned at him and took his hand like he did before they got on stage, this time urging for him to bow.
When they got off stage and Will was able to recollect his flowers, Lucas pulled him into a hug and spoke life over him that made him teary. “I’m so proud of you, Will. I knew you could do it. You can do anything. So talented. Gonna be a star.” Those were a few of the things Will managed to make out over the sound of his classmates still applauding and the blood rushing to his face.
As Lucas continued to fawn over him, Will quietly blinked his tears away and squeezed his arms around Lucas’ waist to keep them connected. He just wanted to feel close to him a little bit longer and to bask in the unfiltered love Lucas always provided.
He could try to rationalize his feelings all he wanted, but it couldn’t change the truth.
Will was not only falling for his best friend, but he was falling for him hard.
God help him.
December, 1993
The first thought that came to Will as he made his way into the Wheeler’s basement was how everything was the exact same as they’d last left it. It had been a few days since the Party members trickled back into Hawkins for winter break. After spending the first 2 days with their families, they all decided to meet up yesterday at the quarry to catch up. Besides a few awkward moments between Max and Lucas, things were normal.
Well, as normal as things could be with Will battling his feelings for Lucas. As he sat on the couch next to El, he noticed things between Max and Lucas were a lot less awkward than it was the day before. The two must have talked things over as they now were comfortable enough to huddle in the corner and joke around with each another. Will swallowed whatever jealousy he felt and told himself that he was being ridiculous. Lucas and Max weren’t doing anything wrong, it’s not their fault he was in his feelings.
El turned away from her conversation with Mike to bump shoulders with her brother. Her hair was almost to her waist from growing it out over the years and she sported a freshly new nose piercing. She said it was, “bitchin’,” when Joyce questioned her about it. She wasn’t wrong. “There you are,” she smiled, looking pleased to see him. “I thought I was going to have to drag you down here.”
Will gently laughed and shook his head. He glanced briefly over at Max and Lucas. El caught it. The two were separating now and making their way over to the group. “The love birds have decided to join us!” Dustin shouted, his tone mocking.
“I thought that was us,” Mike butted in, his arm wrapping around El’s shoulder who grinned and leaned into it. “It is,” she kissed his cheek, always the one to humor her boyfriends antics.
“Guys and girls are capable of being friends, did you know that?” Max flipped Dustin’s hat off his head with a smirk as she stepped over him to sit on the loveseat in the corner. The two party members started to debate the topic, with Dustin pulling Mike into the conversation and El attempting to mediate. Will looked on, feeling the nostalgia of it wash over him. He was expecting Lucas to join Max as there was an extra seat next to her but he sat next to him instead. Will ducked his head to hide his smile at first, and glanced over to see Lucas already smiling his way.
“It doesn’t even feel like we’ve left high school,” he commented. “Look at them,” he gestured to the scene before them. Mike was wildly gesturing between Dustin and Max, pointing out their strictly platonic friendship. “You’re supposed to be on my side!” Dustin shouted.
“Wait a minute, I explained that wrong!” Mike started to backpedal.
Will shared a look with Lucas as the argument grew louder and the two of them laughed under their breaths. “Yeah,” Will agreed. “And you and Max seem to be on the same page again,” he commented offhandedly, not able to pass up the opportunity to voice his inner thoughts. “High school indeed,” he finished, mentally scolding himself for allowing his jealousy to slip through.
“What, you don’t think guys and girls can be friends?” Lucas mocked, his eyes teasing. Will blanched, not expecting to be put on the spot. “I—I didn’t say that. They can.”
“See, Will agrees!” Max, having overheard the tail end of the conversation, threw her hands up.
“Will’s obviously succumbing to peer pressure. Lucas is peer pressuring him!”
“Hey!” Lucas leaned forward to shoot Dustin a playful glare. “I don’t peer pressure,” he defended himself. “Take that back.”
“Pfft!” Dustin made a show of looking at Mike for support as he pointed back in Lucas’ direction. “Get a load of this guy.”
That started a whole new argument that Will and El sat out on. While the others continued their heated debate on God knows what, El and Will snuck off to the kitchen to refill the snacks. “How much do you want to bet that they haven’t even noticed we left,” Will said while pouring out more pretzels into a bowl.
“I don’t know how they switch conversations so quickly. How did they go from a debate about boy and girl friendships to a debate on if tomatoes count as a fruit or vegetable?”
“Right? It’s obviously a fruit,” Will deadpanned. The two looked at each other and giggled.
“I miss you,” El said after a while, reaching over to squeeze his shoulder before resuming her task of chopping carrots. “I wish we could go to school together.”
Will missed her too. He loved going to school with Lucas, he was home away from home. But El had become the sister he didn’t even know he needed. Having her by his side in New York would have been a bonus. He had a feeling she would have loved it.
“I know. But Cali looks good on you,” he complimented, his tone genuine. Over the years she had went through her own journey of self discovery outside of childhood trauma. She discovered a love of music, and she had become enamored with writing. She switched her major from Communications to Music Therapy—something she decided on her second semester into school. Will didn’t ask her about the choice behind it. He had a pretty good inkling that it stemmed from their multiple battles with the upside down.
She sighed wistfully. “It does, doesn’t it?” She pouted playfully which caused Will to laugh. “But tell me about your project. Did you do well?” Will had filled her in on their weekly phone calls, so she was well aware of all that drama that surrounded his final project. “I won’t know my grade until the end of the week, but there’s no way I failed.” He explained everything, including the part where Lucas got him flowers for good luck. Her eyes widened at that part and she put down the knife.
“Lucas got you flowers?”
Will fought hard not to blush. He didn’t want to make it seem like a big deal. Lucas was just being a good friend, he told himself. But he’d be lying if the reaction he was getting from El wasn’t stirring up hope that it could mean more. He shrugged, doing his best to seem nonchalant. “Yeah.”
“A bouquet?” Her brows rose to her hairline.
He nodded.
“What kind?” She pushed, gesturing with her hand for him to answer quickly.
“Uh, Delphiniums?”
She hummed, and squinted her eyes as she analyzed him. She poked her lips and tapped her pointer finger against them as she nodded. “Okay, I’m going to ask this one time as your sister and you need to be honest. Are you two banging?”
Will nearly choked on his tongue. “Wh—what?! No! Why would you ask me that?” He looked around frantically, making sure they were still alone.
“Well, he’s bringing you flowers,” she made a face as if she had made a point. She hadn’t.
“And?” Will shrugged his arms out, trying to find the correlation.
“Mike brings me flowers and I’m banging him.” She said it so simply, so matter of fact that Will could only stare with his mouth agape. At his silence she pursed her lips and shrugged, clearly deciding that her logic had won out. She started chopping again. “It would make sense if you are.”
“…it would?” Will didn’t know why he was even entertaining this conversation. Maybe it had something to do with how normal she was treating the idea. It was bizarre, all things considering. “How? That would kill Max,” he frowned.
El scrunched her nose up in thought. “I don’t know. She has been talking to someone new for a while now.” She glanced over at Will with a cocky smirk. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that you didn’t deny that you two were getting it on.”
Will pinched her hip in retaliation. The knowledge that Max might have been moving on from Lucas did make him feel less guilty but it didn’t matter. He and Lucas were strictly friends. Unfortunately.
“We aren’t getting it on, Jesus Christ, where’s your filter?”
“But you like him right?” She asked seriously as she eyed him. “You two have a vibe. I can sense it. I saw you two on the couch and how you looked at each other.”
Will worked his teeth over his bottom lip anxiously. Were his feelings really that obvious that El had picked up on it? Who else had noticed? “I do…like him,” he admitted quietly, his tone cautious.
El nodded, her lips tilted down slightly. She could tell there was more. “But?”
Will’s eyes flittered around the kitchen as he thought his words over. “He doesn’t…see me that way. And that’s okay! I can get over him. It’ll be just like when…” his voice trailed off suddenly, too embarrassed to finish that sentence.
“Like getting over Mike?” El finished it for him. That was the second time in one night that El had left Will spluttering in shock. “What…? Who told you that?”
She was smiling now, amusement behind her eyes, which also confused him. He was expecting anger at the knowledge that her brother at one point held a flame for her boyfriend. What is going on?
“You aren’t as subtle as you think you are when you like someone.” She paused and flicked his nose. “Ow,” he grumbled rubbing at the area dramatically. “Lucas isn’t either by the way.”
“Lucas isn’t what?”
She gave him a bored look as she picked up the bowl of carrots and pretzels. “He isn’t subtle about liking someone, dummy,” she scrunched her face at him while smiling and gestured toward the other bowls. “Do what you want with that information and grab the rest of the snacks,” she said while walking out of the kitchen to head back down to the basement.
Still stunned, Will grabbed the food and followed after her, mulling over her words. His sister sounded so confident in what she said that it was making him question things. He knew he was having feelings for Lucas but he was sure they weren’t reciprocated. Maybe he needed to pay more attention to Lucas to figure out what El was seeing, so over the next few days he did.
So far he’s gathered the following:
- In group settings, no matter what, Lucas always found a way to be next to him.
- Despite it being out of his way, Lucas insisted on walking him home after every group hang out, even when Will said he didn’t have to.
- Lucas often found a way to touch Will. A brush of the hand, an arm casually around his shoulder.
There was also the fact that even though they were back home, they took turns staying over the other’s house and maintaining their routine of falling asleep together. Once, when they were at his house, they didn’t even make it to his room. They fell asleep on the couch during a Home Alone marathon and woke up to Hopper’s gruff voice asking what they wanted for breakfast as the rest of his family trickled in, hardly batting an eye at them.
Another thing that stuck out to him was his relationship with the Sinclair's. They’ve always treated him like family, but it was different now. When he came over, Sue would embrace him a little longer. Similar to how she did back when he was 12 and would spend the night. Charles, who usually didn’t go out of his way to question his son’s friends, took a new interest in getting to know Will, claiming that he hadn't gotten to properly speak to him since they'd first left for New York. He asked about school, his hobbies—he even suggested their families do a lunch together like they used to back when they were kids before the boys went back to school. It was all so weirdly different than what he was used to, yet not at the same time, and also gave him a wave of de ja vu, but in a way that made Will happy. It was a lot.
Even Erica, who couldn’t care less about any of her brother’s friends, would sit with Will to make conversation. It was how he found out that the guy she was talking to and possibly entertained inviting home for Christmas did not make the cut. Something about him not being chivalrous enough.
“He never waited until I was inside before driving off. Major red flag,” she’d said. Will couldn’t help but to compare him to her brother. “Lucas isn’t like that at all,” he said absently as he shuffled cards. They were playing Crazy Eights—Erica was winning of course. “I know,” she huffed, briefly glancing at him while tapping her fingertips on the dining room table, her eyes narrowing in his direction. “Even in the dead of night he makes sure you get home safe.”
Will remembered the tone she said it in—like it was the most normal thing to observe and lay out for him to acknowledge. It almost seemed like Erica was testing him to see how he’d react. But that would mean there was something to react to and there wasn’t. So he played it cool and avoided her eyes for the next 5 minutes as they played until he felt it was safe.
Later that night, her comment replayed in his head as he lied in bed next to Lucas, who was fully asleep, his arm strewn around Will’s waist. Wordlessly, they had decided to sleep at Will’s that night. Lucas simply packed an overnight bag after dinner and told his parents he’d see them tomorrow while twirling his dad’s car keys around his finger. Erica snickered, mumbling something suspiciously close to the word lovebirds, from her place washing dishes at the sink. Charles reminded Lucas that he would need the car back by 9 the next day. Sue handed Will a tupperware of Christmas cookies to give to El and Jonathan, commenting that she knew how much they loved them from the last time they were there.
Being back home made it easy for Will to delude himself into believing what El said was true. Maybe there was something more on Lucas’ end too. It all felt too…domestic? Maybe? For even him to deny.
That was until a stupid game of Truth or Dare brought him back to reality. It was El’s idea. He suspected his sister was attempting to play match maker. Unfortunately, her meddling backfired when the bottle landed on Lucas. Dustin rubbed his hands together and asked the infamous question. “Truth or Dare?”
“Truth,” Lucas said easily, leaning back on his elbows. He was sat next to Will.
Dustin smirked and clasped his hands together as he eyed everyone in the circle. Will’s stomach was doing that thing again where a pit formed but instead of nerves he felt a bout of nausea. In hindsight that must have been his body warning him to get the fuck out of there but he stuck around. “Objectively, if you could kiss anyone in this room right now, who would you choose?”
There were a chorus of oooh’s and he could feel El’s eyes on him but he purposely kept his head down and looked at Lucas discretely through his lashes.
Me.
Pick me.
It felt like hours had passed. In reality it was probably less than a minute of Will watching Lucas hesitate over his answer before he spoke, his voice wavering slightly. “…obviously, Max.”
There was a painful ache that filled his chest at that. Luckily the rest of his friends were too busy ribbing Lucas and Max to notice the way he’d shrunk in on himself for the remainder of the night. He made the mistake of making brief eye contact with El and almost flinched from the pity he saw in her stare.
Delusion over.
He wasn’t avoiding the Party. He wasn’t. He just needed a break to breathe away from the Lucas of it all. If he was going to get over him, (which he decided was a must) he needed to put some space between them. He spent his time away decompressing from the last group hangout by chilling with Jonathan (and Nancy when she would come over) at the Byers-Hoppers residence. They went through old boxes filled with ornaments and put up the Christmas tree while listening to holiday classics. It helped bring the spirit of Christmas into the home. They even added lights around the windows that you could see from the outside.
“What happened to all the hot chocolate?” Jonathan rummaged around the pantry and cabinets but came up empty handed. They were getting ready to play a round of monopoly and Jonathan insisted that they couldn’t do it without. Will shrugged. With a sigh, Jonathan grabbed his keys to run to the store. Will needed to do some last minute Christmas shopping so he tagged along.
Once in the store, the both of them separated to find what they needed. Will was in the process of reading the isle signs to locate where he needed to go when he heard a familiar voice calling his name. “Will, is that you?” The voice said excitedly.
Will followed the voice, his eyes traveling from the ground up to take in the familiarity of Aiden’s presence. Will was taken aback. “Aiden? Oh my God, it’s been years! How are you?” He wasn’t sure who went in for the hug first. To be honest it could have been both. When Will stepped back he noticed that not much of Aiden had changed except that he’d grown his hair out and now sported a mustache.
“You haven’t changed a bit,” Aiden commented, a ghost of a smile on his face. “You look good,” he complimented and Will felt heat creep up his neck. “Thanks. You too. Are you here on break?” It was a dumb question, because of course he was, but Will needed an ice breaker. Luckily Aiden didn’t seem to mind it. “Yeah. My mom sent me out to get some apples for the pie. I was almost out of here when I saw this cute guy. Imagine my surprise when I realized it was you,” his eyes subtly traveled over Will in an appreciative manner.
Will smiled, feeling himself blush from the open display of interest directed his way. “Still the charmer,” he commented and Aiden shrugged unapologetically, a smile on his lips. “Guilty,” he chuckled. “We should catch up. How long are you in town for? I heard you were a city boy now.”
Will laughed a little louder than necessary and ran the back of his knuckles behind his neck nervously. “I wouldn’t go that far with it but yeah, New York’s definitely a culture shock from Hawkins. I’m here until the week of New Years if you wanted to hang.”
“Definitely,” Aiden pulled a pen from his back pocket and reached for Will’s hand. He smiled as he watched Aiden scribble his number into his palm. “It’s the same number from before,” he clarified. “Cool,” Will nodded, his face flushed.
“Cool,” Aiden smiled, still looking at him.
There was the sound of a throat clearing. Will’s smile immediately left his face when he looked in the direction of it to see a frowning Lucas, his eyes bouncing accusingly between the two of them.
“Lucas?” Will questioned in shock, and took a step back at the same moment Aiden excitedly said, “Sinclair! Wow, is the entire Party with you guys?” He joked, oblivious to the growing tension.
Lucas’ eyes narrowed in a way that told Will he was running on thin patience. “Not exactly,” his voice was clipped as his eyes darted over to Will who was purposely ignoring him and hoping he got the hint to leave him alone. Apparently Lucas was having none of that. “Will, I need to talk to you.”
Will grimaced and forced a smile on his face as he looked at him. “Sure,” he looked back at Aiden and his smile turned apologetic. “We’ll catch up, yeah?”
If Aiden noticed the tension between them he was a good enough sport to not comment on it. “Sure, yeah.” He looked back at Lucas and waved. “See ya later man. Say hi to Max for me,” and with that he was rounding the corner.
As soon as he was gone Lucas encroached in his space. “Soooo you ignore me for days because you’re too caught up hanging out with your ex? That makes total sense,” Lucas started, his tone dry and his face vexed.
Will’s shoulders straightened defensively. “I wasn’t ignoring you,” he denied and began to walk off. Lucas followed by his side and scoffed in response. “Bullshit. Just tell me what I did now because it’s clearly something.”
“Excuse me?” Will turned abruptly to face him, crossing his arms in annoyance.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. Every time you’re upset you shut me out and usually I can figure you out, but it’s been days without a word from you, Will!” He argued. He was upset but not upset enough to disregard the fact that they were in public, so he kept his voice low.
Will huffed, feeling the anger he’d been holding in these last few days beginning to take over. “Fuck off,” he spat and turned away. Lucas didn’t allow him to get far. The taller boy gently tugged him back by his sweater (fuck, it was literally Lucas’ sweater). “So, what, you’re just gonna hang out with Aiden now, then?” He hissed, saying Aiden’s name like it were a swear.
Will tugged himself free of his hold and stepped back, putting some space between them. The closer they were the more intoxicating it all felt and Will couldn’t deal with the way he was feeling because why the fuck did Lucas actually sound jealous?
“So what if I did?! Don’t you have a make out session with Max scheduled on your calendar? What difference does it make what I do and who I do it with?” He was being an asshole, he knew, but he felt as though Lucas was backing him into a corner. The other boy looked like a bucket of water had been dumped over his head at his words. “What does Max have to do with anything? We’re not even together!” He almost shouted but refrained from doing so.
“Does she know that?” Will responded, struggling to keep his voice level. Lucas was shaking his head, his face twinged with a mixture of confusion and anger. “What the hell are you talking about? You know we haven’t been together. I haven’t been with anyone since we broke up!”
“Well maybe you should!” Will blurted and a flicker of what looked like hurt crossed Lucas’ face before he schooled it back to anger. “Is that what you want? You want me to be with someone else?”
Lucas said it in a way that implied he already was. Like there was another choice. Will purposely looked away.
He didn’t know how the conversation got here but he felt the anger in him dissipate from the question. He considered Lucas; taking in how beautiful he looked, even angry. How beneath the anger he could see that most of all Lucas was hurt. Will was hurting him, but how?
“What do you want from me, Lucas?” Will asked, placing the ball back in Lucas’ court. “Seriously, Lucas, what do you want?” Will questioned, taking a step close to him. The scowl remained on Lucas’ face as he watched Will get closer but he didn’t move away, so Will kept pushing, his voice tight with desperation. “Do you want me to come over and have dinner with your family tonight? Play scrabble with your sister? Sleep in your bed?”
Will was closer to him now. Close enough to see the smoothness of his darker skin and how the light from above bounced off of his cheekbones. Lucas looked down at him, his scowl softening slightly and he swallowed. Will’s eyes flickered to his mouth. Lucas’ lips parted, the soft breath that escaped tickling the space between Will’s eyes. The slightly shorter boy looked up, his eyes searching the other’s and Lucas let him look. Will felt Lucas’ fingers holding the low hem of his sweater, grounding him in place and Will’s fisted hand came up to rest on Lucas’ chest.
Fuck, Will suddenly felt dizzy. “Say something,” he pleaded softly. He couldn’t spend another moment with Lucas pretending that whatever was happening with them wasn’t sending him into psychosis. He needed to know what was going on in that head of his. Lucas’ eyes scanned his face and he started to speak.
“Uh, am I interrupting something?” Jonathan spoke, struggling to hide the amusement he got from indeed interrupting. It was only when the two stepped back like they’d been electrocuted that Jonathan was able to assess the severity of the situation. “Oh, shit, was I really?” Lucas had ducked his head and returned his hands into the front pockets of his hoodie. Will was fidgeting with the cuff of his sweater as he spoke, avoiding direct eye contact. “Let’s—let’s just go.” He didn’t wait for Jonathan’s response and chose to quickly exit the isle, not daring to look back at Lucas as he did.
The ride home was awkwardly silent apart from Jonathan’s attempts at apologizing. “Seriously, man, I didn’t mean to…you know. Interrupt your moment. I didn’t know you and Lucas were…” his voice trailed off.
Will was looking out the window when he responded, his voice carefully even. “S’okay, Jonathan. It was nothing.” A lie.
“It didn’t seem like nothing,” Jonathan tried, eyes shifting between the road and his brother in the passenger seat.
Silence. Jonathan thankfully left him alone after that and was gracious enough to excuse him from monopoly. He went directly to El’s room, feeling relief when he saw she was home instead of at the Wheeler’s. She immediately knew something was wrong when her brother slid into her bed and wordlessly hugged her. She felt his body trembling a few minutes later as she rubbed his back and she realized he was crying.
She comforted him as best as she could and waited until his cries quieted down to finally ask what happened. He explained the short version to her. “It was so intense, El. And I know he felt it too but he said nothing. There’s nothing I can do with nothing, you know?” He sniffled and curled into her pillow.
“Maybe give him space? It’s probably a lot for him to process. Lucas has only ever been with one person and it was Max.”
Will sniffled. “Don’t remind me,” he said sounding miserable.
El laughed a little at that. “What I’m saying is Max is a girl. You’re a boy. Like I said, Lucas is not subtle about his feelings, so I’m pretty sure he does like you but he is still processing that he’s…I guess that would make him bi?” She pondered to herself.
Will swallowed the lump in his throat. He felt like crying again. “I’m done with boys, they all suck.”
El was playing with his hair, a knowing little smirk on her face. “You don’t mean that.”
No, he didn’t, but he wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of being right.
Notes:
Ahhhh, I'm so curious to see what you all are thinking, I know we had a lot going on this chapter. A couple of questions:
1. Have you figured out Will's and Lucas' love language?
2. Do you like the dynamics of the Party when they get together?
3. How do you feel about Will's and El's relationship?
4. We got one of our biggest moments from Lucas and Will towards the end; How do we feel about these two complicated boys?There's a ton to dissect with this chapter, so feel free to comment on anything that really stuck out to you. We have one more chapter left, but fear not! There's more to come from this world that I'm excited to share with you all. See you very soon!
Chapter 5: Fall In Love Again and Again
Summary:
Will and Lucas have some tough decisions to make.
Title inspired from Everything is Romantic by Charli xcx
Notes:
Thank you for 100 kudos!
Going into this chapter, I just want to thank you all for the support. It's been so fun to write for these two and I love knowing that there are people out there who enjoy them too. This is my first body of work that I’ve published and your feedback has been really sweet and encouraging!
I’ve been watching this show since it first hit Netflix and I never thought I’d grow so attached to these characters that I’d be writing about them, but here we are! I think an important thing I’ve taken from the series is to enjoy and cherish the people around you that you care about the most, and to love out loudly and proudly.
The cast and crew worked so hard to breathe life into these characters and I’m super proud of them all for giving us something as iconic as this. They may not have been able to fit in everything I personally wanted to see, but hey, that’s what the fuck fanfiction is for!
So lock in, nerd out, and enjoy the last banger of an episode that we’re about to get!
In the meantime, I hope this final chapter makes you feel as much as I did.
Remember, this is the first installment of this series, so to keep up for updates, subscribe!
Happy reading!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 5
December, 1993
It had been a few days since the fight with Lucas and the pair still hadn’t seen each other. Ironically enough, even though Will was the one that initially wanted the space, he was missing him. A lot. The distance was different knowing that they had left things the way they did.
The Wheelers had gone out of town to visit Karen’s mom in the town over; so the group hangouts got moved to the Byers-Hopper home. Lucas had yet to show up to any. Will wanted to call or stop by his house just to check if he were alright, but he knew he was fine. When he asked El about it, she said that he told Dustin he wasn’t feeling well. It was bull, but Will couldn’t blame him. Lucas was giving him what he wanted; space.
“He’s fine.” The space beside him on the couch sunk as Max sat next to him, a cup of hot chocolate in her hand. Dustin and El were on the floor playing Spades. El was winning much to Dustin’s horror.
Will didn’t bother asking who she was referring to. It was obvious and if she wasn’t playing coy, he didn’t think he had to either. Max had always been observant, especially if it involved El, Lucas, or himself. “You’ve spoken to him?” He asked, curious. Will could deal with Lucas being mad at him, but he felt guilty that his friends had to suffer with his absence as well. At least if he were talking to them he’d feel better.
She blew on the surface of the drink before taking a small sip. “Yeah. I went over to drop off some gifts. He was wallowing on the couch watching basketball reruns,” she snorted and took another sip. Will nodded and swallowed down the question on his mind.
“Did he say anything?”
He played with his fingers to distract himself from how badly he wanted to call him. “Sue asked about you,” Max said casually. “She said she hadn’t seen you in a few days and wondered if you were alright, but I covered for you. I said you were sick.”
Will chuckled softly, appreciating her ability to think quick on her feet. It reminded him of all the times her, Lucas and himself would hang out together in high school, usually at the Sinclair home. They would get together after school to do homework or catch up on the latest episode of whatever tv drama they were into at the moment. It would get late into the night, way past their curfew, and Max would somehow convince Lucas’ parents to let them stay an extra hour before they had to leave. She was charming like that and he always loved that about her, but especially now.
The last thing he needed was Sue to find out they weren’t talking. It would only lead to her calling his mom and her trying to pry to find out why they were fighting. He could already hear how the conversation would play out in his head:
“You two haven’t fought like this since you were 13. Remember that year you two went not talking?”
“We weren’t not talking, mom, we were just…”
“Distant? Yeah, and miserable. You two are best friends, you need to work whatever it is out!”
Except, it was a lot simpler to fix things when they were 13 and he wasn’t in love with his best friend.
He leaned over to playfully knock his shoulder into hers, a small, grateful smile on his face. “Your quick thinking always did come in handy.”
“Naturally,” she giggled softly, happy to have gotten a smile out of him. As she smiled her brows furrowed while looking at him. “Also, it’s okay.”
Will’s brows raised in confusion, not sure what she meant. “What’s okay?”
She glanced over at El and Dustin who were still wrapped in their own world. She set her mug down on the coffee table and crossed her legs to face him. She exhaled, keeping her hands on her knees as she spoke. “I know things have been kind of…weird with the group since Lucas and I broke up.”
Will tensed but Max didn’t seem to notice or at least pretended not to.
“I don’t want you guys to feel like you have to tip toe around us. Me and him really are good, I swear,” she smiled trying to convey her truth.
Will nodded slowly, still processing that they were actually having this conversation. “El mentioned you might be seeing someone. Is that…true?”
Max’s smile didn’t falter. “Yeah, this dweeb in my psychology class. He’s nice,” she shrugged, and there was a light pink to her cheeks as she spoke about him.
“Does Lucas know?” He questioned.
“Mhm. We talked about it a week or so ago. He took it a lot better than I thought he would,” she responded, her tone sounding purposely light and aloof. “But it all made sense when he told me he was thinking about dating too.”
Will’s heart thudded painfully in his chest. So Lucas wanted to start dating again. He averted his gaze. “Oh,” he said simply to mask his aching heart. Max’s eyes scanned the side of his face quietly. “Do you…maybe know who he’s eyeing?” Something about the way she said it made him glance in her direction. She was still looking at him, her smile careful. Did she know that Will was pining over her ex?
“Uh...not really. We haven’t talked about that stuff,” Will said truthfully and looked away again, his voice hardened. He cleared his throat.
“I think you should,” she said rising to her feet. “You might be surprised.” Will furrowed his brows, not sure of what she meant. She winked and picked up her cup to take to the kitchen.
So, she did know something, he just wasn’t sure what.
Christmas Day came and went. The Byers-Hopper clan exchanged gifts over breakfast. Jonathan received new film rolls and clothes, El got a Walkman and new shoes, and Will got an art book and a new sketchpad. They spent the day together in the living room swapping between playing games and watching Christmas movies. It was nice. Will would be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about Lucas and how his Christmas was going. He hoped it was nice.
The next day, the Party gathered at Mike’s (the family had returned the night before) and did a gift exchange of their own. Lucas was missing, still “sick,” according to Erica who had come to drop off his gifts on his behalf. “Next year I wanna be apart of this,” she shouted halfway up the stairs, the door slamming shut behind her a moment later. He opened all of his other gifts with the rest of the party present, but saved Lucas’ for later.
When he returned home that night, he immediately went to his room and shut the bedroom door before setting the gift on his desk. He tugged at the bow, careful to unravel it. His hands were shaking. He didn’t know why he was so nervous. Lucas had gotten him plenty of gifts. He removed the paper as delicately as he could and gasped softly when he saw what it was. He stared, his eyes beginning to water. He set it down and rubbed at his eyes until they were red, remnants of tears on his palms.
It was a photo from Will’s 8th birthday party. It wasn’t anything fancy. His mom made him an X-Men themed cake from scratch and purchased cheap streamers and balloons that she used to decorate the backyard. But that’s not what got Will’s attention. Within the photo was an 8 and 9 year old version of Will and Lucas, both smiling so hard their eyes were hardly visible. Lucas had his arm wrapped around Will’s shoulder and Will was leaning against him, his head resting on his shoulder. Lucas had recently lost his two front baby teeth and little Will was gesturing toward the gap it left in his mouth with his finger. It was an adorable picture that caused something to break inside of Will.
He missed him. He missed him so much and he wished he could go back to a time before he’d fallen for him and ruined everything because things would be easier.
December 31st, 1993
Every year the Wheelers threw a New Year’s Eve party in their backyard and invited the Party and their families. This year was no different. El was practically skipping next to him as they approached the Wheeler residence, her wavy brown hair bouncing in the wind. “Are you sure this isn’t too much?” She asked her brother for what felt like the millionth time about her outfit. She wore a leather mini skirt and a loose sweater paired with high heeled boots—outside of it being 30 degrees too cold for the mini skirt, it was hardly scandalous. “Positive,” he said while knocking on the door.
Mike opened it a few minutes later and pulled them both inside, hugging each before naturally releasing Will to wrap an arm around El’s waist. “Come on, we got booze in the basement,” he said in a low conspiratorial voice. They quickly diverted to the basement where their own version of a party had gotten started. Unlike their other gatherings, Steve was there flipping through multiple cassettes to slip into the boom box as the designated DJ.
Will and El went to say hi, happy to see him after nearly a year of him traveling abroad with Robin in Europe. After college Robin had gotten a job hosting a radio show in the UK and she brought Steve along as her assistant. “Yeah, it’s mainly the weather that sucks,” he grimaced, explaining the dreary weather to El who looked sympathetic. Will’s focus however, kept wondering to the basement steps, subconsciously hopeful for Lucas to make an appearance, so he was only half listening.
Break was almost over and he was hoping he’d get to see him so they could at least smooth things over and attempt to go back to the way things were. He’d rather have Lucas in his life as a friend than not at all as painful as it would be. They were also roommates. “I’m sorry, Byers, am I boring you?” Will zoned back into the conversation to see Steve smiling at him. El waved him off. “Don’t mind him. He’s waiting for Lucas,” she said with a waggle of her eyebrows. Steve looked confused for a second before his face brightened. “Ohhhh,” the older male started to smirk in his direction and that was Will’s exit to leave before they made things weird.
“I’m gonna get a drink.”
“But there’s drinks down here,” El reasoned, barely fighting a laugh.
“What? I can’t hear you over the music!” Will responded, pretending to struggle to hear her over the music. It was loud but not that loud.
“Boooo!” He heard her heckle, the others joining in for fun. Will flicked them off with a smile as he ascended the basement steps. He opened the door and heard someone stumble behind it.
“Oh shit, I’m sorry,” he started to apologize but halted when he saw that it was Lucas. He was rubbing at the place where the door had swung into his chest when he recognized the person who hit him was Will and he froze.
They stared at each other, wide eyed and both lost for words as they took the other in. Will’s eyes flittered everywhere they could. Lucas’ face, his hands, his chest, then back to his face. Lucas seemed to do the same, but his eyes moved slower, choosing to take his time drinking in the boy before him.
“Hey.”
“Hi.”
They greeted at the same time. Will bit back a smile and rocked on his feet, looking toward the ground. Lucas wasn’t saying anything. He was still trying to piece together what to say when Will spoke again, his eyes still averted. “Are you feeling better?”
“Hm? Feeling better?” Lucas asked still semi-distracted by the boy in front of him.
Will looked up then. “Yeah. You’ve been sick?” He gently reminded.
“Oh,” Lucas said automatically before he realized. “Oh. Yeah. Y-yeah, I was.” He cleared his throat. “But I’m better now.”
Will nodded slowly and waited. He’d extended the olive branch. It was Lucas’ turn to meet him halfway.
More staring.
Will started to fidget awkwardly from the quiet between them (sans the music from the backyard). “Okay…” Will said after a while. This wasn’t going well and him being there was clearly making Lucas uncomfortable. “I’m gonna go,” he stated, wrapping his arms around himself and quickly brushing past Lucas.
That seemed to wake the other boy out of his stupor. “Wait!” Lucas called out, following after Will who had turned back in his direction, his eyes glassy from unshed tears.
Lucas reacted immediately, closing the space between them and pulling him into a hug. Will fell into it easily, burying his head into Lucas’ neck and sniffling. The hot tears spilled down his cheeks and he reached around Lucas, fisting his shirt. Lucas held him tightly, pressing the side of his face atop Will’s head. “Oh, Will,” Lucas sighed, his own throat feeling tight from unshed tears.
Will sucked in a shaky breath, his chest burning as he did. He was surrounded by the smell of cinnamon.
CinnamonCinnamonCinnamon.
LucasLucasLucas.
He missed him. Has he already mentioned that? For the first time in days he felt like he could breathe and felt at home in his body. Because Lucas was here. Lucas was holding him and rubbing his back and whispering his apologies in his ear.
“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have disappeared like that,” Lucas said as the two finally separated but barely. Will shook his head as Lucas wiped the remaining tears from his face. “It’s my fault. I pushed you away.”
“Will…”
“It’s the truth,” he sniffled. “Whenever it becomes too much or I feel like I’m being too much, I just push and push, and I pushed you too far. I’m sorry.”
“You just needed your space. I should have respected that instead of lashing out,” Lucas sighed and looked down. “I guess I just got jealous seeing you with Aiden again.”
Over the last few days, Lucas had a lot of time to think about his relationship with Will. He knew that his relationship with Will had always been…different, to say the least, compared to his other friends. But it had taken a new turn over the last few months. The things he thought about when he was around him—they weren’t thoughts you had about someone who was just a friend. You didn’t cuddle your friends or flirt with them in a club. You don’t dream about their lips and long to feel them against your own. The thought of doing any of that with Dustin or Mike made him shudder. He clearly had developed romantic feelings for Will in the last year or at least had become aware of them, which was something he struggled to admit up until late.
After all he had never liked a boy before. He’d dated Max for years. How could he suddenly like a boy? He expressed this much to Erica a few days earlier after their fight, who had called him dumb before saying. “You ever stopped to think that you can like both?” That gave him pause. He didn’t even know that was an option. Was it possible to like both? It had to be. He had strong feelings for Max when they were together. He doesn’t anymore, that much became clearer to him over the last few weeks; especially when she told him about the guy she was seeing and he didn’t feel the least bit jealous.
He did, however, feel jealous seeing Will flirt with Aiden—it didn’t help that Will had ignored him for days prior. Lucas reacted on impulse, anger overcoming him at the thought of Will replacing him with someone else. He knew it was irrational feeling so territorial over someone, let alone a person he had no real claim to, but he wasn’t thinking rationally. All he knew was the person he had spent the past year unknowingly falling in love with was smiling at someone else, getting their number, and planning on meeting up with them. Lucas wanted to vomit.
Then Will went ahead and did the unthinkable by calling him out on his hypocrisy. How dare he get mad at Will for acting…single? God, he felt stupid. He felt even worse hearing Will ask him what he wanted. He knew what he wanted, he was just too scared to acknowledge it.
He wanted to see his mom hugging Will like she had been—as if he were the second son she never had—as if she had been waiting on him to show up for forever. He wanted to see his dad laughing at a joke Will made at the dinner table while trading stories. He wanted to see that soft look that appeared in his sister’s eyes whenever they were together and she didn’t think he was looking. He wanted to hold Will at night and feel his heartbeat slowing to match his as they fell asleep.
He wanted him. He wanted him so bad that it terrified him; terrified him because of what it all meant.
Will blinked at him, his nose red and his cheeks splotchy. Lucas’ chest ached with want. “But why?” He asked in a voice so puzzled Lucas would laugh if he weren’t having an internal meltdown.
Oh God, did he want him in the worst way.
“Because I couldn’t stand the fact that you loved him in a way you could never love me,” he said truthfully, and he forced himself to keep his eyes on Will, even though he so badly wanted a hole to swallow him. This was the most vulnerable he had ever been in his life and it scared him to not know what would come from it.
An inaudible sound left Will’s lips. An array of emotions appeared on his face. Shock, confusion, shock again, before his face softened into something one could only describe as scared. “What are you saying?” He asked, his voice cracking on the last word.
Lucas could either be a coward and opt to convince Will he wasn’t in his right mind, blame it on the alcohol he didn’t drink. Or he could be honest with Will and honest with himself and hope the risk was worth the reward. He battled with both choices as everything felt so up in the air. Will came closer and carefully grabbed his hand, interlocking their fingers and bringing them up to rest on Lucas’ cheek. It made him shiver. “Lucas…” he said desperately, his voice barely above a whisper.
Lucas decided to be brave. He gently untangled their fingers and watched Will’s brows drag down in confusion. Despite how brave Lucas felt, he was equally as afraid. What if he was wrong? Lucas’ tongue flicked across his lower lip and he watched Will’s eyes follow the movement, his irises blown.
What if he was right?
Both Lucas’ hands carefully cupped Will’s jaw on either side and he angled the shorter boy’s head slightly. His thumbs stroked his sharp cheekbones and he started to lean forward, the lids of his eyes lowering. He was so close that he could feel Will’s breath mixing with his own. His nostrils filled with the scent of cheap beer and minty toothpaste. If Will were going to pull away he would have by now. He felt Will’s hands come up to grip the material of his shirt and that was the last little nudge he needed to close the space between them.
Their mouths slotted together like a puzzle. Lucas’ heart was doing somersaults against his ribcage. Will was kissing him back and holy shit it was even better than he imagined. Will leaned forward, deepening the kiss by pressing up on the balls of his feet. Lucas opened his mouth further, accepting the tentative tease of the tongue that was offered to him with a soft moan.
Will felt like the room was spinning. There was just no way he was kissing Lucas Sinclair in the Wheeler family living room. Where they could be walked in on at any moment. Lucas tipped his head back, his tongue gently brushing against his in a way that made Will’s knees wobble.
He could stay like this forever with him. Unfortunately, they both needed to breathe at some point. Lucas pulled away first, his eyes slowly opening to meet Will’s shocked ones, his breathing slightly labored. He brushed his thumb against Will’s damp bottom lip as he spoke, his voice quiet to match the intimacy of the moment. “It took me way too long to realize I’m in love with you, Byers.”
Slowly Will started smiling, which only widened further when he felt Lucas’ lips briefly press against his again. It was like the other boy couldn’t help it after denying himself all this time. “You got there eventually,” he responded, sounding breathless. Will’s hands were still clutching at his shirt. Lucas had the softest expression he’d ever seen and it was solely reserved for him. “But me too,” he cleared his throat, his already red face getting darker. “I’m in love with you too,” he bit his lip and closed his eyes when he felt Lucas’ mouth press against his forehead. “Have been for a while. Probably longer than a while,” Will whispered, his eyes glancing up at him.
“Shit, Will, I—,” the taller boy breathed out, his words trailing off, before he wrapped his arms around him. They stood in the middle of the room, holding each other until they heard the rumbling of footsteps. They pulled away as the basement door opened and their friends trickled out. El spotted them first, her face brightening and her eyes sparkling with a knowing look. She would definitely be pulling Will aside later to get details. “There you guys are! Come on, there’s only 3 minutes left before the New Year,” she giggled, beckoning them to follow the group outside.
Together, they all made their way outside to join the adults. Charles and Ted had the fireworks lined up and ready to go for the countdown. The rest of their families were scattered around with sparklers already lit. Lucas and Will stood off to the side, with Lucas wrapping his arms around Will’s shoulders from behind, his chin resting on his shoulder as Dustin led the countdown. It was bold to do in front of their friends and families, but Lucas had always been bold. Will made eye contact with his sister who stood on the opposite side of him and she winked and nudged Max who was to the right of her. El pointed in their direction and recognition flashed across Max’s face. She smirked and gave them both a subtle thumbs up.
“3!”
Will tilted his head back to rest his cheek against Lucas’ and gazed up at the sky. If you would have told him he’d end his year in Lucas Sinclair’s arms after everything that happened between them, he would have thought you were crazy.
“2!” Lucas nuzzled the side of his face against his and Will snuggled further into Lucas’ hold, his hands tucked under the pit of his arms, a peaceful smile on his face.
“Happy New Year!” They all shouted.
Will felt a gentle nudge under his chin from Lucas’ fingers, and then his soft lips pressing on his, and then…
Fireworks.
The sky lit up around them with hues of red and blue, the faint smell of smoke filling their noses, but all Will could focus on was him. Lucas’ hand came up to cup his cheek as their lips moved. The sound of their loved ones celebrating the start of a new year was drowned out, regulated to background noise. He giggled under his breath as they separated, and put his hand against Lucas’ chest as the boy obnoxiously peppered his face with his lips.
He heard Erica in the background complaining about them being disgusting and heard Sue telling her to hush. Will blushed, realizing that they’d just kissed in front of everyone else. “I didn’t take you to be a fan of public displays of affection,” Will teased, biting down on his lip. He could still feel the ghost of Lucas’ on his own.
Lucas laughed softly, bowing his head bashfully. “I guess you just bring that out of me,” he peaked down at Will through his lashes, feeling shy all of a sudden. “Is it too much?”
Will’s heart fluttered at how cute he was. He shook his head silently before saying. “Never too much with you.” He watched Lucas’ confident smile return. He reached for Will’s hand, their fingers slipping together; Lucas’ thumb brushing along the back of his. Will was suddenly hit with the fact that this was real.
Lucas was really holding his hand and looking at him like he was his entire world. His heart slammed against his chest when he remembered that Lucas had confessed his love for him.
Lucas Sinclair loved him.
And he loved him too. So much.
“Happy New Year, Will,” Lucas brought his hand up to press his lips to the back of it.
Will blinked back the tears of happiness he felt while staring up at the boy he’d known his entire life; the boy he had no idea would mean so much to him years down the line. An image came into his head of the two of them at his 8th birthday, posing together and smiling into the camera at their future selves. He couldn’t wait to see what other memories they created together.
“Happy New Year, Lucas,” he said softly.
Later that evening they found themselves back in the basement with all their friends, the high of New Years dwindling down as they scattered around the room drinking hot chocolate and going around sharing their New Year’s resolutions.
Mike and Dustin were lounging on the couch with Steve and Erica on the floor in front of them. Max and El sat next to each other in bean bags closest to the tv. And Will and Lucas were tucked away the furthest in the room on the old recliner with Will sitting on the arm of it, bundled close to Lucas’ side. Max had just finished sharing her own resolution about being better at communicating.
“So, Mike, what are you hoping to accomplish in the fresh year of 1994?” Max asked, tapping her foot in his direction to signal for him to go next.
Mike exhaled deeply, releasing the air through his nose as he mulled it over. He looked around at each of his friends before a small smile appeared. “You know what?”
“What?” Dustin responded from the other side, one leg hanging off the edge while the other rested on the neck of the couch.
“I’m looking forward to seeing us in this exact same spot next year; Steve DJ'ing his shitty pop tunes—”
“Hey!” said Steve, eliciting a round of chuckles from the group.
“And still being friends,” Mike finished once the laughter died down.
“Cheers to that!” El raised her mug of hot coco, prompting the rest of the group to follow with bouts of hooting.
“Who’s next?” Asked Erica, leaning the weight of her torso on one arm while drinking with the other. Multiple pairs of eyes scanned the room before Steve spoke, his voice tickled. “Think Sinclair and baby Byers are up.”
The two of them had been quietly talking with their foreheads pressed together, stuck in their own world. At the sound of their names being called, they both, at the same time, turned their flustered faces to look at their amused friend group.
Mortified, Will hid his face in his hands, whereas Lucas just grinned and rubbed at his chin. “So what did we miss?”
“We’re doing New Year’s resolutions, lovebirds,” Erica responded, sounding bored and gestured for her brother to hurry.
“Right, right,” Lucas cleared his throat. By now, Will had removed his hands from his flushed face and chose to keep his eyes on Lucas, finding it easier to pretend his friends weren’t watching them if he did so. Lucas glanced in his direction and smiled at him while addressing the group. “Well, a lot has happened. I don’t know where to start,” he flirted subtly, making Will smile softly, the flush in his cheeks traveling to the tips of his ears.
“Oh brother,” whined Erica, knocking her head back in exasperation. Max hid her laughter by sipping from her mug, whereas Dustin was openly egging Erica on with a cackle. “Are you two gonna be this gross every time?” she complained, though there was no real heat behind her words, she just enjoyed embarrassing her older brother.
Lucas shrugged, unphased. “Sure will. And if you give us shit, I’m gonna accuse you of being homophobic,” he stuck his tongue out and flashed both middle fingers in her direction, a devious smirk settling on his lips.
The group started laughing again, clearly entertained by the two siblings who, despite aging, remained as childish as ever when together. Erica flipped him off right back, but she was smirking as she did. “Touché.”
“Wait, while we’re on the topic,” Steve chimed in, gesturing his hand between both boys on the recliner, “Are you two a proper thing now? Not that it would be a problem at all, just, you know, wondering if you guys were,” he made a gesture with his hand that made them all let out a collective groan. This time it was Will who spoke up after waiting for them to quiet down. “We’re together.”
Lucas looked at him, his brows slightly raised in question. “We are?” he asked around a growing smirk. Will, back to feeling shy, gave a small shrug as he folded his arms over his chest. “I just figured,” he mumbled quietly for only Lucas to hear, keeping his eyes on his lap. Maybe he had assumed too much. Just because they had confessed their feelings didn’t automatically mean they were a couple.
He felt Lucas’ hand wrap around his wrist and gently tug at his arm to get his attention. He risked a glance in his direction, his eyes apprehensive. Lucas was still smirking, though, this time it was less teasing and more fond. “I’m down if you’re down.”
Will bit back a smile and rolled his eyes, punching him softly in the arm. “Of course I’m down, dummy,” he chastised half-heartedly, feeling warm all over.
“Yes!” They all turned to see El standing, a gleeful look on her face as she turned to face Mike with her hand out. “That’ll be 40 bucks.” she waggled her fingers with a smug smile. Mike groaned and begrudgingly reached for his wallet in his back pocket.
Will’s eyes widened as he processed what was going on. “You did not make a bet!”
El didn’t even bother looking sheepish. She simply collected the four ten dollar bills from her boyfriend and started passing them out—one to Dustin, Max, and Erica. With each bill, Will’s mouth dropped further.
“Wait, you were all betting on us?” Lucas exclaimed in disbelief.
“Yup,” El said, taking her seat back in the bean bag. “Bet Mike you two would get together before we left.”
“He didn’t believe you two would ever get your shit together,” Dustin said, pocketing his share.
“I tried to tell him he was on the losing team,” Said Erica with a shake of her head.
“I’m just confused on why everyone else was in on the bet except for me? I could use 10 bucks,” Steve said, sounding genuinely put out about it.
Max, taking pity on him, reached over to pat his shoulder. “Next time, buddy,” she jutted out her bottom lip in a sarcastic pout, which only made Erica snicker.
“I can’t believe you guys made a bet on us,” Will said, still in shock. Had he really been so oblivious to not see what everyone else so clearly did?
“I’m more offended that Mike was on the losing team. Dude, you seriously underestimated my game,” Lucas tutted, sounding disappointed. Mike, who was already frowning, managed to deepen it. “I’m already out 40 bucks, please don’t rub it in.” He stood up, stretching his arms out as he did. “Anyway, happy for you guys,” he smiled at them.
“Is our happiness worth you being out 40 bucks?” Will teased, a soft smile on his face. It was nice being able to be around his friends and know that they supported them both. There was a time when he genuinely feared not ever getting the chance to simultaneously experience love and keep his best friends in his life. It just never seemed possible. He was happy to know that he was worried for nothing.
Mike made a gesture with his hand as if to say, “meh,” but he was smirking as he did, which let them both know he was joking before he headed in the direction of the steps. “I’m gonna grab some more pretzels, anyone want anything?”
That set off a multitude of voices as different people started shouting their requests at him. El stood to her feet with a laugh, seeing how overwhelmed Mike was getting and decided to help him.
Will turned his face back to Lucas, not even surprised to see his eyes were already on him. “They bet on us,” he said, a soft pout on his face. Lucas only chuckled and leaned forward, kissing him softly on the forehead before taking his hand. “We can’t even be upset, though. They were right, weren’t they?” he said, his voice soft and his eyes searching. Slowly, Will nodded and pressed his forehead against his like earlier, bringing them back into their own personal cocoon.
“Yeah.” His voice was softer than its ever been. “Yeah, they were right.”
Notes:
We made it!
How are we feeling? I’m so curious about your thoughts.
Questions:
1. What do you think about Max’ reaction to Will’s and Lucas’ relationship?
2. Were you surprised that the others were able to pick up on the tension between the two boys enough to make a bet on it?
3. Did you expect the two of them to be into PDA or did that come as a surprise?
4. Is there a scene in this story that you’d want to see expanded upon? I may do a one-shot :)REMINDER: THIS IS NOT THE END
I have good news; I'm not done with these two yet. It’s hard for me to put them down when they have so much buzz.
I have two follow-ups for you guys. One of them will be posted with the next few days, so don't go too far.I’m also currently working on a piece from Lucas’ perspective about how his feelings developed for Will throughout the years, so keep an eye out for that ;)
Pages Navigation
amara_harris_15 on Chapter 1 Sat 13 Dec 2025 01:19AM UTC
Comment Actions
lovingcrazy on Chapter 1 Sat 13 Dec 2025 02:56AM UTC
Comment Actions
m00nwat3r4ever on Chapter 1 Tue 16 Dec 2025 04:33AM UTC
Comment Actions
lovingcrazy on Chapter 1 Thu 18 Dec 2025 04:14AM UTC
Comment Actions
exotikai on Chapter 1 Fri 19 Dec 2025 02:21PM UTC
Comment Actions
lovingcrazy on Chapter 1 Sun 21 Dec 2025 08:00PM UTC
Comment Actions
Fictio on Chapter 1 Fri 02 Jan 2026 08:35PM UTC
Comment Actions
lovingcrazy on Chapter 1 Fri 02 Jan 2026 09:06PM UTC
Comment Actions
violetmacabe on Chapter 1 Mon 05 Jan 2026 04:42PM UTC
Comment Actions
lovingcrazy on Chapter 1 Tue 06 Jan 2026 09:10PM UTC
Comment Actions
QuentinK2000 on Chapter 2 Sun 14 Dec 2025 09:10PM UTC
Comment Actions
lovingcrazy on Chapter 2 Thu 18 Dec 2025 04:10AM UTC
Comment Actions
pandecadadia on Chapter 2 Sun 14 Dec 2025 11:48PM UTC
Comment Actions
lovingcrazy on Chapter 2 Thu 18 Dec 2025 04:11AM UTC
Comment Actions
Sagegreenlove on Chapter 2 Mon 15 Dec 2025 02:37AM UTC
Comment Actions
lovingcrazy on Chapter 2 Thu 18 Dec 2025 04:12AM UTC
Comment Actions
Isidis on Chapter 2 Mon 15 Dec 2025 05:37AM UTC
Comment Actions
lovingcrazy on Chapter 2 Thu 18 Dec 2025 04:13AM UTC
Comment Actions
m00nwat3r4ever on Chapter 2 Tue 16 Dec 2025 04:48AM UTC
Comment Actions
lovingcrazy on Chapter 2 Thu 18 Dec 2025 04:16AM UTC
Comment Actions
LAZYFCK on Chapter 2 Wed 17 Dec 2025 12:42PM UTC
Comment Actions
lovingcrazy on Chapter 2 Thu 18 Dec 2025 04:16AM UTC
Comment Actions
Not_Yourcrybaby on Chapter 2 Wed 17 Dec 2025 10:09PM UTC
Comment Actions
lovingcrazy on Chapter 2 Thu 18 Dec 2025 04:18AM UTC
Comment Actions
kyokoo on Chapter 2 Mon 22 Dec 2025 02:38AM UTC
Comment Actions
lovingcrazy on Chapter 2 Mon 22 Dec 2025 02:15PM UTC
Comment Actions
Blindsided1921 on Chapter 2 Tue 30 Dec 2025 10:10AM UTC
Comment Actions
lovingcrazy on Chapter 2 Wed 31 Dec 2025 12:05AM UTC
Comment Actions
Fictio on Chapter 2 Sat 03 Jan 2026 12:06PM UTC
Comment Actions
lovingcrazy on Chapter 2 Tue 06 Jan 2026 09:01PM UTC
Comment Actions
Azulaschild on Chapter 2 Tue 06 Jan 2026 02:35AM UTC
Comment Actions
lovingcrazy on Chapter 2 Tue 06 Jan 2026 09:11PM UTC
Comment Actions
seslexx on Chapter 2 Sat 10 Jan 2026 12:52AM UTC
Comment Actions
Not_Yourcrybaby on Chapter 3 Thu 18 Dec 2025 11:53AM UTC
Comment Actions
lovingcrazy on Chapter 3 Sun 21 Dec 2025 07:55PM UTC
Comment Actions
Sagegreenlove on Chapter 3 Thu 18 Dec 2025 03:51PM UTC
Comment Actions
lovingcrazy on Chapter 3 Sun 21 Dec 2025 07:57PM UTC
Comment Actions
QuentinK2000 on Chapter 3 Thu 18 Dec 2025 06:40PM UTC
Comment Actions
lovingcrazy on Chapter 3 Sun 21 Dec 2025 07:58PM UTC
Comment Actions
Pages Navigation