Yikes. It's 5:30 in the morning! I had to get this chapter out, and I have a busy week ahead of me, so... here we are. This is the first true chapter of the "post move" section of the story, so I'm really excited about this chapter! This one focuses on the Byers. I imagine that in these chapters now, we are either gonna focus only on the Byers and El, or Mike and the gang back in Hawkins. Next chapter will probably be in Hawkins. Thank you so much for all the kind reviews last chapter! I'm loving seeing what all you guys think, and I love replying to them. Keep them coming! enjoy the chapter, you guys :)
Machambaman: Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked the chapter. It was mainly just to bridge the gap between the two parts of the story. The Joyce-El talk was definitely a needed element. They did need closure. And yes, you are right. When the time comes for El to go to school, there will, of course, be problems. But that's for later :)
the Mandalorian Terminator: Thank you! I'm so happy that you like the way the characters are written. I try really hard when writing dialogue to imagine the characters in the show saying the same thing. I loved the way it ended, too :) Enjoy the chapter!
Jane Eleanor Wheeler: Thanks! Hope you like this one!
KennyRogers64: I don't plan on making a storyline that involves the gang looking for Hopper. This isn't Stranger Things 4, after all, haha. This is just a story that shows what goes on in between seasons. Thank you! I hope you like the new chapter.
Stranger Records: Thank you!
HarleyGrove: Thanks! Enjoy this one, too :)
Shrike176: The El-Joyce talk was a very important part of the story. The two characters got off to a rocky start, but after everything that's happened, I think that they finally see each other eye to eye. Will and El is also one of my favorite things to write in this fic! I really hope in S4 they have an actual connection. Especially with Jonathan no longer in school to look out for both of them, Will is going to have to step up at times. I'm glad you liked the Mike and Nancy bit. Their relationship is really understated, and I think that we need more of them. So that was my little tidbit for them. I love that analogy with Troy XD yes, it is a trainwreck. But let's see where it all ends up, shall we? haha
Luna0603: Oh my God, thank you! I always get so happy when something I write manages to stir emotions like that. That means so much to me. Very true point on Joyce, there, haha! There are definitely two sides to them moving, and I think they finally understand one another, marking a new point in their relationship. Will is definitely taking on the big brother role, and I love writing it. Will is a strong character, and there is so much room here for him to develop. And yes, you may be on the right track with Troy... only time will tell. Enjoy the chapter!
Hypersushi: Amen, brother
Jbg: Thank you! Yes, we've got a clean slate to work with. Lots of room to explore. Yes, Joyce and El definitely started out rough because of the move. But after all this time, I think that this drive together was what they needed to finally connect. And Karen remains blissfully ignorant, still... oh, well. Maybe that will change sometime...? Enjoy the chapter :)
"We're here, El," a female voice said quietly.
El opened her eyes groggily, keeping them close to shut. She looked around, confused as to where she was when she remembered that she was still in the moving truck with Joyce. When she finally fully opened her eyes, she realized it was pretty dark out, the sun having almost dipped below the horizon that she wasn't quite able to make out through all the surrounding trees and houses. The sky was splashed in a beautiful pink-orange color, making everything seem like a dream, as if she was sleeping still.
I wish this was a dream, El thought to herself.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," Joyce teased once El had gathered her bearings in the passenger seat of the car.
"What time is it?" El yawned, still trying to shake the cobwebs out of her head.
"Close to eight o'clock," she answered. "Have a good nap?"
"Mm-hm," she hummed, rubbing her eyes and turning her attention toward the house in front of her.
It was a nice place; a lot better looking than the old Byers home. She was well aware that the old house had been close to falling apart after decades of wear and tear. This house looked sturdy and well taken care of; the previous owners had definitely maintained it well. The entire house had been constructed with reddish bricks that seemed to match a couple of the other houses on the street. The driveway, in its perfectly empty state, definitely had enough room for three cars. The lawn was nice, but in desperate need of a cut. There was a neat brick pathway leading from the middle of the drive to a wooden staircase that led to a porch where the front door was located. On either side of the porch, nestled in front of the wall were two little fenced off areas with some sparsely planted flowers. El knew that Joyce had been talking about getting more into gardening, so she expected the front garden to look a lot nicer in the future.
The house itself was a bungalow. There was a basement that Joyce had told her about on the way as well, which was a major step up from the previous living arrangement. It meant that everyone would get their own bedroom, which Will and Jonathan were both eager for. On the wall to the right of the house was a large window that opened into what looked like a common area, but it was hard to tell in the dark.
El started and whipped her head back when she heard the sound of a car door slamming behind her. "So this is it," Jonathan thought aloud, putting his hands on his hips and looking around. "Not bad."
Will stepped out of the car and leaned backward with a grunt, stretching. "Jesus, I'm as stiff as a board," he laughed to himself.
"Come on guys, let's get our stuff in," Joyce reminded them. "You can come back outside and look around all you want, but I'm tired and I want to sleep," she said with a chuckle.
It took about an hour, but the Byers family was finally able to get all of their stuff into the house. At least, all the stuff that they were going to need for the night. All the sleeping gear was in the house along with the large number of toiletries that they owned, and some food. The bed frames and mattresses were by far the hardest things to move. The rest of their belongings would be brought in tomorrow, because, as Joyce had put it, "they were all exhausted and needed some rest."
The house was certainly nice, albeit a little bit empty (but that would be fixed soon enough). The front door opened into a small little mud area with a large closet with mirrored doors on the left. Outside the mud area, a hallway opened up going from left to right. To the left was a living room, dining area, and kitchen all arranged in a grid formation. It was very open, with only one proper doorway leading from the living area to the kitchen.
Down to the right from the hall were where three bedrooms were, along with a small bathroom. which were being taken by Will, El, and Joyce. The basement bedroom would be going to be Jonathan because he was the oldest, and deserved more privacy, as Joyce had put it. Which El was fine with. She was just glad that her brothers could have their own spaces now.
The basement was finished. It had carpeted floors and it was really open with some rooms toward the back area, among which was Jonathan's room. There was a second bathroom and a spare room that the family was still trying to think of a use for. There was even a fireplace down there, too, with a chimney that went outside
All in all, things seemed to be shaping up nicely. El was confident that this house could be her new home, and she could learn to enjoy life here. Minus Mike not being here, she thought bitterly. She had promised Mike that she'd call his house the next day right in the morning before he left for school. But it would have to be short, because of the long-distance and the fact that he would have to get to school soon after. But as soon as Dustin was able to get that radio tower that they were talking about, they'd be able to talk whenever they wanted, from the comfort of their own homes.
Will would be going to school the day after tomorrow because Joyce still wanted him here for one more day to help unpack and get things settled. She was sort of nervous for Will; he would be going into completely uncharted territory all by himself. And she could sympathize with that. Closing her eyes, she silently prayed to whoever was listening that he'd be okay.
What was even more was that El knew that she would be joining him soon, too. Now that was scary. Sure, she was excited to take another step toward finally achieving a normal life. School had been something that she had been itching to start ever since she and Mike got reunited back in November of last year. But with him out of the picture, it just made things seem a lot scarier. Not that she didn't like Will or anything, but there was one problem with him.
He wasn't Mike.
El's mind drifted even farther out, thinking of all the very heated experiences that the two of them had shared over the past month. Her heart almost raced at the thought of it. They had both gotten pretty accustomed to oral sex. They were both still trying things and learning, and there were still times when something awkward or funny happened, but it had always been magical. Her heart ached at the thought of not even being able to touch him for almost two months. Two fucking months.
The final weekend of November. And it was only the first week of October, for God's sake. Not to mention that she wouldn't see Max, either. Or Lucas, or Dustin. She sighed, but not too loudly so as to not wake anyone else up. She was in her own room, but somehow being in such a barren house made her feel exposed. Her own room had a damn echo. She rolled over under the sheets, trying to get comfortable. The pile of discarded clothes on the ground by her bed caught her eye, and she reached down to grab her the shirt she had been wearing. Her hands found the breast pocket of it and she fished out of the crumpled piece of paper, unfolding it in her hands and staring at the messy handwriting. She could barely make out the words, but she knew that it said.
Her chest tightened for the umpteenth time that day, her emotions welling over the piece of paper that she was holding. She had probably read it a thousand times during the car ride. She was confident that she could recite the whole thing out loud if she wanted to. It was just that she was so happy that there was something like this left behind by him… by Hopper. Reading it made her feel loved, it made her feel like a part of him was still around, with her.
"For the sake of your poor, old Dad…" she read the last line out loud to herself in a whisper. She smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek and hit the pillow that her head was resting on.
El was never going to this piece of paper out of her possession for as long as she lived.
As soon as she was awake, El made a beeline for the kitchen toward the phone. It was seven on the dot, so that meant that Mike would be expecting her to call. She made it into the kitchen and saw the rest of her family already awake; Joyce was frying up some eggs in a pan on the stove, and Jonathan and Will were already seated at the table eating their own food.
"What time is it?" she asked, her fingers already fumbling with the phone.
Joyce glanced upward toward the clock that was hanging above the kitchen door frame. "It's a couple minutes before seven, sweetie," she replied. "Calling Mike?"
"Yes," she responded automatically.
"Wait, hold on," Will said quickly, jumping out of his seat. "Me and Jonathan were waiting for you to wake up, we want in, too."
El laughed. "Okay, well, come over," she told them, just as she brought the phone up to her ear so that she could hear the ring.
It had only been a second when the phone was answered.
"Hello?!" Mike's excited voice came through.
"Mike," she sighed loudly, into the receiver. "It's El."
"I know it's you," he laughed. "Who else would it be?"
"I don't know," she giggled. "I miss you," she said, her voice falling slightly.
"I know," he replied, his tone similar. "I do, too." They were both quiet for a moment, suddenly feeling very wrapped up in feeling sorry for themselves because of the circumstances.
"Um… how was the move? Did you guys get there safe? How are Will and Jonathan doing?"
"It was good," she answered, a smile returning to her face once again. "It's a nice house. We have a basement, now." El continued to describe what the moving process had been like to her boyfriend, sparing not even the slightest detail. She described the house in great depth as well, not wanting Mike to miss a single bit of information.
"I can't wait to see it," he said, his thoughts already taking him to the ver-far-off Thanksgiving when he would finally be able to see her again.
"I can't wait, either," El replied, her finger twirling the phone wire.
She was brought back to reality when Will coughed loudly behind her, causing her to jump, startled. "Was that Will?" Mike asked, snorting with laughter.
"Uh, yeah," she said, chuckling. "Jonathan is here, too… is Nancy at the house?"
"Yes, she's glaring at me as we speak," Mike confirmed, biting his lip to hold back his laugh. "I need to leave for school soon… could you pass me over to Will? What? Yes, Nancy, I'm almost- ow, yes, I'm almost done! Jesus…"
El covered the receiver on the phone with her hand and turned to her brothers. "I think Nancy and Mike are beating each other up."
"Wait! No, I'm still here," Mike shouted through the phone quickly. "Nancy just wants me to hurry up."
"Okay, I'll pass you over to Will now-"
"Wait!" Mike exclaimed sharply. He paused. "I… I love you, El."
It took all of El's effort not to melt into a puddle. She would never get tired of hearing him say that. "I love you too, Mike," she replied softly, not noticing the rest of her family looking at each other knowingly, feeling incredibly happy for her.
As much as it pained her, El took the phone away from her ear and handed it off to Will, who took it hurriedly. "Hi, loverboy…" he teased Mike, once he had the phone in his hand. El playfully rolled her eyes at him and walked back to her room, leaving them to have their boy-time.
There was a busy day ahead of them, and she knew that once her breakfast was done, there would be a lot to take care of in order to prepare for their new lives.
"Can I please call him again, Mom?" El asked, almost a beg.
Joyce sighed sadly. "I'm sorry sweetie, I wish I could say yes, really," she assured her. "But those phone bills can get really expensive. Can we please try to stick to one a day?"
El huffed in impatience. She didn't want to be a bother to her Mom, and she definitely didn't want to be the source of any financial loss to the family. But almost the entire day had passed, and she was feeling tired and lonely from a day of straight work.
After the four of them had finished eating, it had been non-stop labor to get everything set up in the house. The only break that they had allowed themselves was an hour pit-stop to eat grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. It had taken a long time, and she had been sticky with sweat until she had taken a much-needed shower. They had just wrapped up eating dinner, and she was lounging on the living room couch, feeling astonishingly bored. It was a regular school night, so if she was back in Hawkins, she would have been with Mike right now, probably rolling around on her bed making out or something.
But instead, she was here, and she was not.
"I guess," she surrendered.
"Have you looked through that section in the geography textbook that I told you to read, yet?"
"No," she mumbled.
"Well, maybe you could do that?" she suggested, trying to keep her tone as nice as possible. She wasn't mad at El, not by a longshot, but she could tell that she was on edge, and she did not want to push any buttons tonight.
"Okay," El relented, and got up to shuffle toward her bedroom. Once inside, she closed the door and plopped onto her desk chair, slouching in her seat and sighing to herself. She just wanted to see him. It didn't matter if she was able to say anything, all she wanted to do was just look at him for just a second.
El's brow furrowed in thought. It had been a while since she tried, and even though her powers didn't work… maybe she'd still be able to access the void? It was doubtful, but she was bored, and, quite frankly, looking for anything to do that didn't involve a textbook.
She fished the black piece of cloth from her backpack, still unsure as to why she even brought it. Wishful thinking that one day her powers would come back, she supposed? I have no idea, she thought to herself as she secured the strip of material around her head and over her eyes. Not needing a photo, she folded her hands in front of her and sat down on the floor, cross-legged. She imagined Mike, his face, his body, his features, his being. When nothing happened, she strained her mind even more, to get anything, to get an inkling as to whether or not even a drop of her powers remained.
"Fuck this!" she spat, and ripped the cloth off her head and ripped it in half in an outburst of pure frustration. But what had she been expecting to happen? Her powers had been completely non-existent for around three months now. Despite what Mike always told her, she seriously doubted that they would ever come back. She had no idea why, but it was just a feeling in her gut…
She knew that the Fourth seriously damaged her body. The scar on her leg was still very nasty looking, the skin all white and creased. It looks fucking bad-ass, at least, her friends would always say. But physical wounds aside, it had taken a serious toll on her body on the inside. A part of her had never really felt the same ever since that night; but she had never been able to tell what exactly it was. And of course, her powers were gone. But nothing had ever felt right with her ever since that day. If she was being honest with herself, she didn't think they ever would.
El stood up from her seated position and walked toward her bed and collapsed on the sheets, where she fell into a dreamless sleep.
"You have everything, right, baby?" Joyce called from the kitchen, her voice clearly betraying her nervousness.
"Yes, Mom," Will confirmed, exasperated. "I do. Can I please leave, now? I don't want to be late, you know," he added with a pleasant smile.
"Okay, okay, but I-"
"Mom!"
"Okay! Fine, go," Joyce said, waving her arms, shooing him out of the door. "Before I lock you up and never let you out of my sight, or something." El laughed to herself, amused by her mother's constant over-protective nature.
"Good luck, Will!" she called from the dining table.
"Thanks, El!" he yelled back, and then she heard the front door close. She turned her attention back to the History textbook and bowl of Cheerios in front of her, eagerly taking another large spoonful from the breakfast that she had prepared.
When Joyce sat back down at the table, she looked up again. "Are you nervous?" El asked.
"Yes," Joyce replied immediately, drumming her fingers on the tabletop repeatedly. "I don't want anything to happen to him in that new school. I'd homeschool him too, if I could, just to keep him safe."
El's mind flashed back to the conversation she and Will had shared a long time ago, when shey compared notes about being feeling babied and being doubted by everyone around them. She was pretty positive that Will would have been a fan of Joyce worrying about him like this. "He'll be fine, Mom," she assured her. "He can take care of himself." The word Mom still felt slightly foreign on her tongue, but it still felt right. Because, at the end of the day, that's what Joyce had become to her.
Joyce exhaled nervously. "I hope so," she said softly.
It wasn't a far walk to school by any means. Fifteen or so minutes. He had walked the route with Jonathan the previous day, just so that he knew where to go and was somewhat familiar with the surroundings of his new house. It seemed like a nice place. They were in a quiet suburban area, on the outskirts of the city. It was a decently sized high school; he was aware of how tiny everything in Hawkins was, so it didn't come as a surprise to him when he found out that his school had nearly a thousand students.
The area in Des Moines he lived in was called "Oak Lane." It was a small little backdrop to the city with a lot of family houses. It was a little bit like Hawkins, except a little less country-like. And there was a big city nearby, of course. Oak Lane certainly seemed like a pleasant place, but it still wasn't… home.
The local high school came into view from down the street and Will took a deep breath, trying to bring his nerves down. There were droves of students flooding into the doors like schools of fish. It would be fine. His mom had been on the phone with the school's office the day before, and clear instructions had been given to him on how to go about the day. He would go to the guidance office and collect his timetable, a teacher would show him to his first class, and then he would have to fend for himself for the rest of the day.
Great.
It wasn't a secret that Will wasn't exactly the pinnacle of confidence, but things had worked out just fine for the first month at Hawkins High. If he just kept his head down and didn't come looking for trouble, trouble probably wouldn't look for him. Right?
Will weaseled himself through the crowds of kids who were bigger than him to finally get into the main area. He looked around, trying to spot where the guidance office could be. He wandered through the foyer and down the hall when he spotted it. Guidance Office.
He walked through the set of heavy double doors and found himself in a cozy little office. The secretary sitting at the desk at the back of the room gave him a glance and a polite smile when he walked through the door. "Do you need anything, young man?" she asked.
"Um, yeah," he answered slowly. "I'm a new student here, and I was told to come here to get my timetable."
"Oh! Yes, William Byers, isn't it?" the woman asked, already digging into drawers through stacks of papers.
"Yes," he replied, walking toward her expectantly.
"Yes, we have your name on record right here," she said. "We talked with your mom, last night, right?"
"I think so," he answered.
"Here's your timetable," she said, producing a piece of paper. "The room numbers are listed right below the course names. We were in communication with your school back in Hawkins, so we know what courses you had. You have the same ones right now, but the order's been shuffled around a little bit. I hope that's okay," she joked.
"Yeah, it's fine," Will answered, already looking at the timetable. "Um, I was also told that someone would bring me to my first class?"
"That would be me," the woman exclaimed excitedly, already getting out of her chair. She walked out of the office and Will followed her, not wanting to dawdle at all. The women made some small talk on the way down the empty corridor. All of the students were already in class. Which means that I'll have to walk in and disturb the class, bringing all attention on me.
"This is your stop," she stated, motioning with her hand toward the door. "This will be your homeroom class for the rest of the semester, math."
Will nodded to himself. "Okay," he acknowledged. "Thank you, um-"
"Ms. Bridgeford," the woman finished. "Here, let me just…" She knocked on the door. "The teacher should already be expecting you, so don't worry."
"Thank you, miss," Will said with a polite smile. The woman smiled once more and turned on her heel to make her way back to the office. The classroom door swung open, and a large, dark-skinned man with thick glasses and a shirt and tie stepped into view.
"Ah! You must be William," the man said. He extended his hand promptly. "I'm Mr. Matthews. It's nice to meet you."
"Thanks, you too," Will answered automatically, feeling rather anxious to just take a seat and get going with the class. He didn't like everyone looking at him, clearly sizing him up, being the new kid.
"You'll be sitting over there, in between Sophia and James," Mr. Matthews instructed, pointing toward a desk near the back of the class. The desks were all arranged in a grid formation, everyone having their own little space. Will preferred that over sitting in groups; he was always more comfortable by himself.
Will walked to his desk and gave a flick of his chin toward James when he nodded hello at him. No one else in the class gave him a second glance, which he was thankful for. He opened up his backpack and slid his binder into the desk storage space, and took out a fresh piece of paper, already writing down notes from the blackboard.
The class went by smoothly. Thankfully, whatever schedule this class was following in terms of the curriculum must have been the same as his old class. He never had any problems in math, so the lesson flew by, followed by English, and then he found himself in the cafeteria eating lunch an hour and a half later.
He was able to navigate through the halls and between the crowds of kids in the caf to get to a table by himself in the corner of the large room where it was relatively quieter than the rest of the place. It was a zoo, as far as he was concerned. Maybe I should try eating outside, more, or something, he thought to himself as he sat down.
"Hey, dude," a male voice said, breaking his train of thought. Will looked up and saw a boy standing in front of him, a friendly expression on his face. He had dusty brown hair that swept in front of his brown eyes a little bit, and had a lot of freckles. He was about Will's height, and he was wearing a pair of jeans and a GAP sweater. "Is anyone sitting here?" He pointed toward the chair across the table from where he was sitting.
"Nope," Will replied, taking a bite of his sandwich.
"Do you mind if I join you?" he asked awkwardly.
Will shrugged. "Not at all." The boy grinned and sat down at the chair in front of him, digging through his bag and producing a red lunch bag. He took what looked to be a peanut butter sandwich with the crusts cut off. He took off the layer of plastic that was neatly wrapped around it and bit into it.
"I'm in your math class," he stated. "I sit a couple seats to the left of you."
"Oh, yeah?" Will raised his eyebrows. "What's your name?"
"Spencer," he answered. "What about you?"
"Will."
Spencer extended an arm across the table with an open hand. "Nice to meet you, Will," he said warmly, despite thus far having a rather monotonous voice.
Will reciprocate the gesture. "You too, Spencer." They shook hands and sat back down in their respective seats.
"Where are you from?" Spencer asked, opening a container from his lunch that contained a handful of sliced peppers and cucumbers, cut into nearly identically-shaped pieces.
"Hawkins," he replied. "You probably haven't heard of it before though, am I right?"
"Hawkins? Of course, I've heard of it," Spencer scoffed. "The fire at that mall kind of put in the spotlight for a while, didn't it?"
Will held back a cringe. Thinking about that day did not bring him much pleasure. He really didn't want to talk about it, but he decided that it was worth it because it seemed like he was actually making a proper friend, and he didn't want to give that up. "Oh, yeah… I forgot about that," Will chuckled dryly. "Yeah, it was, um… things were interesting in July."
"Yes, all that government stuff, I was watching the news a ton," he recalled animatedly, suddenly a lot more excited then he had been when the conversation started. "And the rumors about that Kline guy, and that old lab that was being talked about, like, half a year ago… it seems like a crazy place to live!"
"Yup," Will answered, his tone flat. He looked around the cafeteria, looking at all of the other kids around the area. "Um, is this kind of stuff talked about a lot around here?" he asked. "I never really left town much."
"About Hawkins? I mean, some people do. Back when it was still big news in the summer, it was all everyone was talking about. But everyone in the school probably knows about it to some degree," Spencer explained.
Will couldn't ignore the fact that his heart was suddenly hammering in his chest. Was this what it was like everywhere? He was five freaking hours away from Hawkins, and it seemed like even here and now, the Fourth was still a hot topic. What else did people know? Were there rumors about El?
"What else have you heard about it?" Will asked as casually as he could.
"Not much," Spencer admitted. "I've always been into politics, so all that stuff with that Kline guy was what got me into it. But I've also heard some other stuff, though. Weird rumors about that lab."
"Like what?"
Spencer looked at him from across the table, his eyebrow raised. "You're asking a lot of questions. Is something wrong?" he questioned.
"What?" Will asked quickly, feeling jumpy. But then it occurred to him that Spencer probably felt like he was being interviewed at this point. "Sorry about all the questions," he apologized. "I just… I'm curious about what people who aren't from Hawkins think about… Hawkins."
"Oh, sorry. I've found that when people ask a lot of questions, they're confused or upset," he explained, sounding rather robotic again. He exhaled deeply and leaned back in his chair. "Well, I mean… one of my other friends knows a guy who knows a guy whose uncle runs that store that had their door shattered. By that bald girl with the powers and stuff," he chuckled. "I don't know if I believe all that, though." He folded his hands behind his head, observing the rather disturbed expression on Will's face.
"So… you guys have heard about that?" Will questioned, feeling increasingly uneasy.
Spencer's eyes widened. "Wait, it's true?" He leaned forward across the table.
"No, no, no," Will replied hurriedly, shaking his head. "I just mean… you've heard those rumors, too?"
"Uh-huh."
Will suddenly felt like the cafeteria was shrinking. "Sorry, I have to… use the bathroom. I'll be right back," he excused himself. Not waiting for an answer, he quickly gathered his lunch up and stuffed blindly into his backpack, and took off toward the way he came.
He was barely able to get through the door into the hallway when three other boys approached him, their faces menacing-looking. And they were looking right at him, too.
Will clenched his jaw and pretended like he didn't see them, and started walking the opposite direction in hopes to find a restroom. "Yo!" one of them called. He was facing away from them, so he wasn't completely sure if he was talking to him, or someone else.
"Yo, kid!" The voice was louder, obviously they were closer to him. Closing his eyes and muttering under his breath, he turned around and found himself face to face with two boys. They were both a few inches taller than him, which wasn't saying much because a lot of people were. The one on the left was wearing a zip-up hoodie and black jeans, with hair buzzed down nearly to the skin. The guy on the right was in a t-shirt and sweatpants, and was wearing a baseball cap.
They were both staring at him expectantly, as if he was supposed to say something. "What?" he asked, finally losing patience with them.
"Oh, we just wanted to hear your reason," the guy in the t-shirt said, shrugging.
"Reason for what?" Will asked slowly, being careful with his words.
The guy in the hoodie scoffed. "For hanging out with that fucking retard," he said sharply, as if was the most obvious thing in the world.
"You mean Spencer?" Will asked, his temper flaring. Why would these kids call him that? He had seemed to be a really good kid. "Why not?"
The two boys looked at each other and snickered. "What, are you new here or something?" hoodie-guy asked while t-shirt-guy snorted.
"This is my first day here," Will replied indignantly.
"Oh, well, that explains it," hoodie-guy said, looking over at t-shirt-guy. "Well, new kid, here's a tip for you. Don't hang out with the retard."
"Why do you keep calling him that?" Will blurted, not able to restrain himself any longer.
"Were you not just talking to him?" t-shirt-guy questioned, his voice dripping with condescension. "You noticed how he talked like some fucking robot with a stick up its ass?"
That was true. Will noticed that Spencer had, at times, sound kind of robotic. Like he had been reading lines from a script, or something. But he wouldn't have compared him to a robot with a stick up its ass, whatever that meant. "Okay, what's your point?"
"Jesus Christ, kid. Are you special, too?" hoodie-guy spat. "He's fucking autistic. But based on this conversation, it seems like you guys are a match made in fucking heaven." T-shirt-guy cackled when he heard his friend make the joke.
Will squinted his eyes. "I'll keep it in mind," he said coolly.
Hoodie-guy scrowled. "Yeah, you will. We wouldn't want you hanging out with a kid who has a mental disease."
Will held his ground, glaring at the two boys, his gaze unwavering. "I think I'll decide what I want, not you jack-asses."
The two boys both barked in laughter, and continued doing so as Will turned around to proceed to the bathroom. "Okay, faggot!" one of them hollered once he was a couple more steps away. "Have fun hanging with the retard, retard!"
And that's the chapter. Two quick things: yes, Spencer is actually autistic. I'm not a doctor, so I'm sorry if there are things that I don't get right about autism. I'm actually basing Spencer off of a friend I had in elementary school. He always talked kind of like a robot, except for when he got excited, and he was very particular with things like his food (Hence the neatly cut vegetables and sandwich with no crust, etc). But, like Spencer, he was really nice and we hung out often.
Lastly, I've decided that Hopper has no place in this fic. This story was and still is focused on our characters who still live in North America. But, I still really want to write about Hopper. That's why I've decided that I'm going to start a new fic soon, one that focuses on only Hopper. It will be updated less frequently, and DEFINITELY won't be as long as this one. And don't worry, it won't take away from What Comes After. This is just something that I thought would be fun to do on the side.
It's going to be gritty and tough and grueling, and I have so many ideas for it. So, if any of you are interested in that, be on the lookout and maybe give my profile a follow if you want an email when I post it. Anyway, take care guys! the sun is shining through my bedroom window which means I need to fucking sleep. Take it easy :)