Hello Everyone! So this is a little project I have been working on for a few weeks and I am excited to get it going! This started as an idea from one of my wonderful mutuals on Tumblr ( claudia-henderson) and I ran with it.
Get ready for some angst, some friendship bonding, and some more angst!
Mike Wheeler stood on a bridge in a park he had never been on, in a part of the city he had never been too, and waited for whatever was coming next, the outcome uncertain. He had always been so careful, so calculating, and meticulous, so how had everything turned to shit?
Why was he standing by himself on this bridge overlooking the busy city streets just beyond the park feeling so uncertain?
The water bubbled through under his feet, the moonlight shining of each ripple as if there were stars in its depths. It was quiet, much quieter than a typical night in the city, but he contributed that to the trees surrounding the park. It had been a long time since he saw trees like this. There aren't many plants in the city, other than weeds that make their way through cracks in the pavement.
That's how he felt. Like an ugly weed, trying desperately to grow in an environment that didn't want him. Like an alien trying to blend in on a different planet. And though he grew, because he did in fact grow, he was still just a weed. A nuisance. Something that didn't belong.
He watched the last of the sun disappear behind taller buildings, and the inky black of night cover everything like a blanket. Neon lights illuminated the darkness beyond the park, and lights flickered on in high rise windows. He saw people silhouetted in their homes, and he wondered when he would feel at home.
He took a deep breathe and thought over everything that had led him to this point. Everything that had come before.
No one really likes school, not even nerds, but there is just something about the excitement of the first day that makes you forget all about the year of stress, deadlines, exams, and papers ahead of you.
Mike skidded to a stop just in front of Dustin's house like planned, with Lucas at his side. Their mothers collectively decided they were old enough now to ride their bikes to school together, so long as they went in a group. They were big time middle schoolers now.
Will and Dustin were already waiting, and with a few excited cheers and greetings, the party was off, speeding towards school and a new year.
Middle school is different because you have a new teacher for every subject. It was just as thrilling as it was confusing. The boys traded schedules to see which classes they shared (thankfully all but two) and went along together, meeting new teacher after new teacher, sitting at desk after desk.
There had been some excitement about the possibility of reinventing themselves. Breaking the social chains of nerdom and coming out on top. That excitement fizzled away when each of the faces they met were the same ones they already knew. That, combined with Troy tripping Dustin in the hallway were pretty substantial indicators that their dorky status would remain. At least they had each other.
Somewhat comfortingly, school lunches suck no matter what grade you are in. Mike and his friends claimed a table at the back of the cafeteria as their own. The table you sat at made a big difference where you were as far as social standings, so they choose quickly. It was in the back by the door that lead out to the 'playground' of sorts (which was really just a cement lot and a couple tether-balls). It was far away from where the more popular and older kids sat, but not in the corner that all of the really weird kids were huddled in. It was perfect for their little gang.
There was a lot of bright-eyed, first day of school, naivety that they shared. Most of their teachers seemed alright. They were especially giddy with the new Science teacher, Mr. Clark, and his open invitation for anyone to join the AV club. Lucas was excited about the prospect of reclaiming his title as dodgeball champion with a new group of individuals to compete against. Will was thrilled about his art class and its teacher, a spazzy red headed woman with coke-bottle glasses. Mike and Dustin chatted eagerly about the upcoming science fairs and tournaments they would get to compete in. All in all, it seemed like it was going to be a good year.
There had been buzz all day about some of the older kids that people remembered from before they moved on to middle school, as well as the small handful of new kids.
Mike looked around the cafeteria for any unfamiliar faces, scouting potential new friends to make a good impression on, as well as potential threats, and that when he saw her.
The new girl. The one everyone had been talked about. She was carrying her plastic tray and looking around the room nervously. Her eyes were big and dark, like a does eyes when you drive by them on a lonely country highway. Her hair was a mess of caramel curls swirling around her head, and her cheeks had the faintest hint of blush. She wandered further down the room, eyeing groups of kids seated at tables, laughing with people they already knew, and looking for anywhere safe to sit.
Then and there, Mike made a bold decision, especially for him, and waved at her. She brushed one of her curls from her face and smiled, and the rest, as they say, was history. He had no idea the gravity of that simple gesture, or that it was going to set the rest of his life into place. He just knew that something about her made his heart flutter a little faster.
The new kid always gets a lot of attention in a town like Hawkins. Where everyone knows everyone, and you graduate with the same kids you knew on your first day of kindergarten, but El was different. She was like sunshine. Like a ray of light spilling into Hawkins Middle Schools hallways, filling them with laughter and her radiant smile. She was nice to everyone, and everyone wanted to get to know her. The beautiful new girl, with the twinkle in her eye, and the pep in her step, and the sunny disposition.
Lucky for The Party, however, she was also desperately dorky. She often stumbled over her words, she had a painfully short temper, she wasn't that great at athletics, and she always had her head buried in a book. All it took was was El seeing Wills doodles in English, commenting on how 'I'm more of a sorcerer type myself. Blood lineage magical is way better than learned magic' and she was in.
She made up The Party's fifth member, and she was socially cemented to them for life. Not that anyone was complaining.
Apparently El (short for Eleanor) was the New police chief's daughter. Her mom had gotten really sick when she was born, and died a few years ago, but her father and her were closer than most families. El was fun. Like really fun.
It wasn't uncommon for her to challenge Lucas in a race to the end of some street, or the top of some hill. It became a routine for her and Dustin to spend hours in the library, researching rare plants, or exotic animals just for the fun of it. Her and Will would doodle together, and shared headphones while they all sat and ate lunch. And her and Mike were inseparable.
El was the newest fixture to the Wheeler's house. Coming in through the basement door without even knocking most of the time, and watching movies with Mike until they both fell asleep on the couch. They would build elaborate blanket forts, using every single one of Karen's extra blankets. When the entire group was over, they would all put on the silliest combination of dress up clothes they could find and run around the basement reenacting their favorite movie scene, or something from their imagination.
There was something special about their bond. It was unlike any of the other clicks at school. Maybe that's what happens when misfits who don't really have any other option get together, but maybe it was something else entirely. It was like they had all known each other in a past life. Like their souls were intertwined together, and that they would always be bound to each other without choice. It sounds cheesy, but that's how it felt. They were inseparable and over the few months they had known El, she wove into their strange little patchwork like a puzzle piece they had been missing.
There was a day in spring, when the ground finally thawed and the trees reanimated, that solidified their pact.
The five of them walked home from school, backpacks heavy with books and the air filled with laughter. They decided to take a short cut through the woods on the way to Will's house. Twigs snapped underfoot, Lucas and Dustin bickered about something or other, El and Will held hands (something they always did, because only she knew the secret he kept from the others), and Mike lead the way.
Just as abruptly as a roar of thunder, Troy and James crept up from the other side of a hill, their faces painted with their signature smugness and devilish grins.
"What are you losers doing out here?" Troy sneered.
"Walking." Mike snapped although his head hung, keeping his eyeline just short of thiers.
El hadn't dealt with these idiots in person before, but the stories about them were as numerous as they were revolting. She let go of Will's hand, balling her own into a fist.
"Well these are our woods. No freaks allowed." Troy retorted. James snickered behind him.
"You don't own the woods." Lucas crossed his arms.
"We own this part of it. And if you don't get the hell out in the next thirty seconds, im going to have to kick you out." Troy reached in his pocket, and flipped the switch blade hidden within.
Reflexively, the boys all took a couple of steps backward, But not El. She stood her ground.
"We aren't scared of you." El hissed through her teeth.
"Sorry princess, I don't think I was talking to you." Troy got in her face. Dangerously close. Mike felt himself start to boil with anxiety and rage. El remained calm.
"No, but i'm talking to you. We aren't scared of you, but you should be scared of us." El's glare was staggering.
Troy and James laughed and 'Oooohed' at her before the king of the maggots himself turned back to match her gaze. "What are you gonna do huh?" He stepped closer. "You and your little fairy friends gonna cast a spell on me?" Another step. "You gonna run and tell you cop daddy?"
"No." El's voice was deep and intent. "I'm gonna kick your ass."
Troy let out an almost stunned snort of laughter in her face, and before he could reply, El had one arm around the wrist he held the knife in, and the other clenched in a firm fist. In one swift motion, she twisted his arm backwards, making him cry out in pain and sending the knife flying down the hill. With her fist, she clocked him in the jaw and pushed him to the ground.
The boys behind her gasped. James yelled to his friend, and Troy yelped in pain.
"You bitch!" He spat. Stars clouding his vision. He felt blood fill his mouth and his arm was still bent at an unnatural angle.
"Go." Her voice was deadly serious. James helped Troy to his feet, and the two ran away, sliding down the hill and stumbling as fast as their feet could take them. All the while, whining like injured dogs.
"Holy SHIT!" Dustin hollered. "Yeah you better run! She's our friend and she's crazy!"
Lucas whooped in celebration and only then did the feeling come back to her hand. Who knew punching someone hurt so badly? She shook out her tense joints and turned around to see her friends all wide eyed and grinning.
"That was badass!" Lucas cheered.
"Where did you learn to do that?" Will asked astonished.
"My dad taught me self defense when we lived in the city because I was getting picked on at school. I have never had to use it before but... I think a knife is a pretty good excuse." She rubbed circles on her hand, trying to work out the bruises that were surely going to form.
"Are you okay? That looks like it hurts." Mike walked towards her and put her hand in his. She blushed as she traced her knuckles.
"Im fine. Better then fine, actually. That felt awesome." El didn't feel proud, because that wasn't the point, It was the right thing to do. She would punch a million mouthbreathers for her friends.
"You are officially the coolest person ever." Lucas patted her on the shoulder.
She smiled at him. She smiled at all of them. She loved them, each and every one. Dorks or not, they were the best people she could have asked for.
Lucas gave her a piggyback ride all the way to Will's. They recounted the story with fervor to Joyce who laughed pinched El's cheeks.
That evening they stayed out in Will's fort. They talked and laughed and played games and pretended everything was perfect, because in that moment it was. Somewhere along the night, Mikes hands had found El's and he gently rubbed over the bandages Joyce had patched her up with. She blushed and grinned and thanked god above that the other boys didn't tease them
It was like El had always been a part of the group, or at the very least, was always meant to be.
Mike and El, El and Mike. Best friends forever.
One warm summer day, just after seventh grade finally came to and end, the pair walked deep into the forest. There, in a clearing, El found a sharp rock, and carved all five of their initials into the trunk of a tall oak tree. After she was finished, with a proud grin, she turned to Mike.
"As long as this tree is alive, we will always be best friends."
That was when, for the second time with El, Mike did something really bold.
He kissed her. There in the field, with the sun shining just a brightly as she made him feel, and the bees buzzing in time with the fluttering in his chest.
"What was that for?" El said with a slight smirk once they pulled apart.
"Because I like you." Mike teased, rubbing circles on the back of her hand as he held it.
"Oh." Then she kissed him back, and wrapped him in a hug as she did so. "Well I like you back."
Mike and El. El and Mike. Best friends. Bound to each other in the bark of tree, and in their smiles, and kisses, and their hands that from that point on seemed to always be intertwined.
That summer was quite possibly the best time in any of their lives.
Endless days of sleepovers, trips to the arcade, hiking around the woods, movies in the basement, stealing fresh cookies from the kitchen.
El had her own D&D character, even though she had never really played before. Mike helped her get all of the details sorted out so she would be ready for their next campaign. They worked late into the night, getting lost in a fantasy realm and sneaking kisses. Will added her character, a mage with a dark purple cape and long wild hair, to his drawing of the others.
The boys liked to tease the budding romance between El and Mike, even if it was only playful. So Mike and El found lots of ways to hide away from the others. Lot's of long walks home as the sunset and the cicadas hummed. Whenever one needed to go 'get something to drink' the other just so happened to want a snack. When Dustin and Lucas would inevitably end up falling asleep first, with Will always soon to follow, the pair would hide inside their fort and whisper and giggle until they returned to their respective sleeping bags.
The police Chief himself, a tall gruff man named Jim, even had to admit to the sweetness between the two. He put up a big front about the whole thing, because 'that's what dads do', but he would let them say their long sappy goodbyes and ignored their long sappy greetings. He just liked seeing his daughter happy after she had lost her mother, and he his wife. He was glad she had friends, and he was more than relieved to find that her friends were the 'get good grades, never break curfew' type.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and the new school year approached all of them like a brick wall. Eighth graders. A gaggle of five weirdos taking a stand against all odds. A party of geeks joined at the hip for the last two years.
It was only a month or so after that, that another new girl moved to town. She had fiery hair, and a temperament to match. She was known first by her code name, topping the charts at the arcade, and second by her attitude. Brash, feisty, quick witted, and painstakingly cool. From the first moment she skated down the hill towards school, face formed in a nonchalant grimace, Lucas and Dustin swooned.
"Woah." They echoed each other as she past.
Then in Mr. Clark's first period science, a class they all fought to share for the third year in a row, she was introduced as Max, and that's when the correlations were made.
It was a few painful days of Lucas and Dustin watching her from afar, Mike rolling his eyes and gripping about the 'impossibility of reaching a score that high' and Will being ambivalent.
"Why don't you just go talk to her?" Mike huffed, finally having had enough.
"Are you kidding? She is so cool. She would probably laugh in our faces." Dustin argued.
"She isn't that cool." Mike crossed his arms, although he knew she was.
El, being ever the brazen one, watched her intently, deciding enough was enough. "I'm going to go talk to her."
There were some concerned objections, but El ignored them. She knew what it was like to be the new kid. She knew what it was like to be the person everyone stared at during lunch, while you sat alone. And she desperately wanted another girl in the mix.
"Hey, you're Max right?" El said with a warm smile.
"Yeah. Its umm... Eleanor?" Max jumped from her board and stepped on the curved edge, making it rise effortlessly into her hands.
"Yep, but I go by El."
"And you're friends with the stalkers?" Max smirked.
"The who?" El followed Max's pointing gaze to the boys standing at the other end of the courtyard. As soon as they realized they weren't being a covert as they hoped, they whipped around. "Oh them. Yep, those are mine." She felt herself grin, she loved her nosey little idiots.
"Anyway, I wanted to invite you hang out with us at the arcade tonight." El turned her attention back to the redhead. "Madmax."
"Sounds cool, i'll see you there." Max smiled softly. There was something short of surprise in her eyes, but also familiar elation. The same kind El had felt the day Mike asked her to sit with them.
She walked back to the boys and rolled her eyes at their forced casualness. Lucas was actually whistling.
"So... uh... how did it go?" Dustin muttered.
"She thinks you are all creepy."
"What!?" All four boys yelled in unison.
"Yeah. called you stalkers. Guess you're going to have to apologize when we hang out with her at the arcade later." El smirked, pulling Mikes arm over her shoulders.
Lucas and Dustin cheered, Will grinned, and Mike tried to not be a downer.
That day, the party got their sixth member. The 'Totally Tubular' Madmax Mayfield.
It's kind of one of those weird things. When you discover something new, and you wonder where its been your whole life? That's how it felt for the boys when they met El. They always thought there quartet was complete, them against the world, but then here came this new girl and she filled in gaps they didn't even know existed.
It was the same way with Max.
El never realized how badly she needed a 'girlfriend' until Max was apart of the group. Sure she could talk to any of the boys about any of her problems (and vice versa) and they would listen, but it didn't always mean they empathized. They didn't have to deal with period cramps, or have tampons to lend. They didn't worry about their hair (not that Max really did either, but she understood) or what to wear on a date. El couldn't complain about Mike to any of them as easily she could with Max, and there was certainly no one better at making fun of them the way Max did.
Max was awesome. She kicked ass at video games, knew about all of the best movies, was crazy smart, and super down to earth. She was a soft heart in a hard shell. A spit-fire attitude with a keen mind. Max made The Party complete.
Before long it was like she had always been there. Karen set an extra plate at the table for dinners, Joyce made extra popcorn on movie nights, there was a little less room on the couch in Mikes basement, and an extra character in their D&D games.
Max insisted on being a 'Zoomer', A class of her own design. Mike allowed it (well, was more or less forced into it) and helped her design that character. It ended up being just as fun for him to make as it was for her. Max even went in game to a gnome workshop and had them craft a skateboard for her. Before long, Will added her character to the Parties drawing. Her long red hair whisked in the breeze, perpetually in motion atop her skateboard.
There was a bit of tension, as far as the boys were concerned, at least first. There was almost this strange silent battle between Lucas and Dustin over which one would eventually win Max's heart. Just as sweet as it was stupid and ridiculous. However, fortune would favor Lucas, when max started sitting next to him during lunch, and not-so-covertly holding his hand under the D&D table.
El took everyone out to that old oak tree one day in summer before high school, and added a sixth name to its trunk.
There must be something magical about that tree, because that was the day Lucas asked Max to be his girlfriend.
Lucas and Max. Max and Lucas. Six party members. Sharing everything, talking constantly, opening up, admitting truths, sharing secrets, teasing each other, falling in love.
An unstoppable force of nature, ready to take on whatever life had to offer, together. They spent another summer of blissful adolescence, basking in the summer sun, and spending time preparing for their biggest challenge yet: High School.
I hope you enjoyed chapter one! Im not sure how long this story is going to be yet, but I dont think its going to be longer than ten chapters. Its also going to span 10 years (from middle school - college) so moments move really quickly!