Hello, everyone! Long time, no see, haha. It's been such a long time since I've updated this fic and I wanted to just apologize. Life's been really busy lately, and I had a bit of of a dip in my inspiration levels. I got into some legal trouble in the beginning of June that I had to sort out, which was no small task. But everything's been dealt with now, so I'm in a much better place to start writing again. This chapter is a little bit short, but I wanted to give you guys something. It'll give you a little bit of an idea of what is to come in the coming chapters, at least in Hawkins. Enjoy, guys :)

Jbg: Thank you! Yes, I knew from the beginning of this fic that El and the Byers' leaving would put strain on the Party in certain ways; people would be upset, act out, maybe drift apart a little bit. Of course we know that Troy would jump at the chance to torment Mike at this point. And I thank you again for your input on ASD, the next chapter featuring Spencer will probably be soon.

Ks: My thoughts exactly, haha

Shrike176: The strain on the Party caused by the move has been evident, yes. Dustin may be facing some challenges that the rest of the group don't know about yet. I think I agree with you about El and Mike, too; seeing them seperated and trying to love each other in spite of it is like watching an uphill battle :( Thanksgiving is soon, though, haha. Enjoy the chapter!

Luna0603: It's definitely a low time for our Party. But in the end, they will pull through, like they always do. I always love writing the phone calls between Mike and Eleven, it's a great way to show that their love extends past just the physical side of things that they have been exploring recently. hope you like this chapter!

Will sat quietly at the dining table, idly poking his food. He stared at his plate of mashed potatoes, green beans, and chicken breast. It wasn't that the food wasn't good or anything. His mom was, at times, a… questionable cook. He nearly chuckled out loud when he remembered the Christmas dinner right after he had been trapped in the Upside Down when the mashed potatoes they had eaten had been runny.

Thankfully, she had improved since then.

It was just that there was a lot on his mind, that was all. He put a piece of meat and a hunk of potato onto his fork and put it into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. The words of those kids echoed in his mind. "He's fucking autistic."

Based on the conversation that he had shared with him in the cafeteria, Spencer was a little bit awkward. The kind of robotic tone in his voice, but when he got excited, boy, did he get excited. The way he got all amped up when he started talking about things in Hawkins was kind of comical, in fact.

But it was a little scary, too. He wasn't entirely comfortable knowing that the going-ons of his former town was practically common knowledge in a town five hours away. But what could have been expected? Their mayor had been arrested, the mall had caught fire, a bunch of people had died… of course, people knew about it. There was no reason to stress about it. No one was digging.

He shook his head to himself. His thoughts were running away from him, like they usually did. What had he even been thinking about to start with? Oh, right. Those kids that had been talking to him during lunch. They had told him that Spencer was autistic.

So what? He was different. If anything, that made them have even more in common. Will had gone his entire life being a kid that was "different." In fact, all of his friends had. They had been dubbed by awkward losers by everyone in their middle school years. Only after they had moved into high school had it subsided.

Will was glad that he had found someone that he could possibly connect with, despite what the other students had said. But if he hung out with him, would that put a target on him to the other kids? The cold thought filled his mind. That would not be a good situation. Perhaps it was worth it, though. There was no way he would be able to get through high school alone. And he had always dealt with bullies; a shove here, maybe some teasing… but years of that prior had built his tolerance sky high. He would be willing to pay the price it meant having someone who he could actually hang out with and be himself around.

It was probably best for him to hang out with him some more and get a feeling for what this kid was like. If things went well, then good. If not, then he would move on. Will took another bite of food and chewed. That was how life usually went. Go with the flow.

"How've you been?" Mike asked, leaning up against the door frame as he switched his phone to the other ear. "You started school yesterday, right?"

"Yeah, it was," Will confirmed over the phone. "It actually wasn't that bad. Teachers seem alright, but I'm not sure about the kids yet."

"Why's that?" Mike asked, furrowing his brow.

Will lightly laughed. "I got some mixed experiences during my lunch period yesterday," he said. He explained his meeting with Spencer and the interaction he had shared with the students in the hall afterward, and what they had told him.

"He seems like a good dude, though," Mike commented. "What are you gonna do?"

"Nothing," Will replied confidently. "He was nice to me, I'm not gonna ditch him just 'cause some mouthbreathers told me to."

"Well, yeah, of course," Mike said, not surprised by Will's resolve and desire to choose his own friends. "But what if kids start giving you problems?"

"I'll cross that bridge if I come to it."

Mike nodded, still holding the phone. "Okay, well… good luck, I guess," he smiled. It was a huge relief to know that Will seemed to have found a friend within the first day. He had been really worried about his friend.

"What about you? How are things with Troy? You were telling me last week that he was being a dick more than usual," Will asked, changing the subject.

Mike pursed his lips in thought. His mind drifted to the day before, and within a second it felt like his stomach was sinking. All the shit that had happened between the Party, and then the incident with Troy in the changeroom… he hadn't told El what had happened. He didn't want her to worry, and he didn't want her to know that he had let Troy walk all over him. He was embarrassed by it. How did a guy like him, so afraid to properly stand up to a bully, end up with El, the bravest girl in the world?

Mike decided that for now, it was probably best to leave Will out of the loop with their fight. For all he knew, Dustin had already called Max and had apologized, and everything was okay. There was no point in raising a fuss yet. "Things are all good, I guess. The normal. And don't worry about Troy, that was just… that was just a one-time thing."

Will narrowed his eyes. Lying still wasn't Mike's strong suit. But he was leaving for school soon, and he didn't have time to press the issue. "Hey, Will, when was the last time you talked to Dustin or Lucas?"

"I talked to both of them early last week," he replied. "They said everything was okay, too." It was true. He had called both of his other friends to check in on them. All of them had told him the same thing, that things were going fine, but now he was starting to doubt that.

Mike closed his eyes in silent thanks to up above. He didn't want Will to know everything that was going on right now, it would just bring him more stress. Besides, they would be able to work things out themselves.

Dustin did not fancy the idea of eating his lunch in the cafeteria with the rest of the Party today. After yesterday, he had been repeatedly kicking himself over what he had done. How could he have said that to Max? It had just kind of come out; his classes were stressing him out, especially science. He had gotten a seventy on his last test, and by his standards, it might as well have been a failing grade. Not to mention that he had been feeling frustrated and angry ever since the move, especially lately after that stupid test. On top of that, lately his conversations with Suzie had been kind of flat, and he was concerned that they were drifting apart. Perhaps a long distance relationship like this wasn't possible.

But it all came down to the fact that he just really missed his two friends, and it was hard to get his feelings out. So instead, he had lashed out at poor Max for no reason like a fucking child. Listening to her talking happily about her grade had just ticked him off for whatever reason, and he had been a complete, unadulterated ass toward his friends.

So it didn't come as a surprise to him when he passed by the cafeteria window and looked inside and saw the regular table where they usually sat empty. He let out a sigh. The only thing to do was to track down Max and apologize to her properly. But even if he did that, would it even make a difference? Things had been steadily going downhill steadily between all of them. The truth was, they all needed to have a big talk with one another to figure out how they were going to fix things.

"Hey, toothless," a voice from behind him snarled. Dustin turned on his heel rapidly and looked behind him just in time to see Troy's face right in his. He was shoved backward and manhandled until his back collided roughly with the brick wall of the school. His head smacked painfully on the hard surface and he grunted.

"What the fuck, Troy?" Dustin spat, fighting against his grip on the collar of his shirt. But his fingers were like iron. He stopped struggling when he realized that his two goons were also with him.

"What are you doing out here by yourself, shithead?" Troy sneered. "Where's the rest of the faggot squad?"

"What's it to you?" Dustin snapped, his jaw clenched.

"Nothing," he replied, his voice dropping quieter. He leaned in close, and Dustin could smell cigarettes on his breath. "We just came to give you a message."

Dustin tilted his chin up defiantly, not saying a word. His confident facade crumbled when pain exploded in his nose. "Fuck!" he cried, sagging to the ground. His hands felt warm when he put them up to his face. Crimson liquid was dripping from between his fingers in an instant.

"Dude, what the fuck did you do? You said that-"

"Relax, I didn't hit him hard enough for it to break," Troy cut off the voice of his friend who Dustin couldn't identify through the pain. He heard footsteps getting closer to him. His vision darkened when Troy's shadow fell over him, blocking out the sun in the sky. In a much clearer voice, he muttered quietly, "this is just a start."

From the ground, Dustin heard the footsteps of the group receding away from him. He brought himself to his feet, his head spinning. He blew his nose out and spattered blood all over the grass where he was standing. "Ugh," he grumbled. His nose was tender, but he didn't think it was broken. After a few seconds, his brain was able to focus. He stared across the field and watched Troy and his two friends leave the property.

"Fuck."

Lucas walked into his third-period class with Max close to behind him. They shared third-period science, and they always tried to stick close to one another so Max didn't get lost in the sea of taller boys that seemed to be everywhere now that they were in high school. On the way in, an arm stuck out and blocked his path into the room. He followed the arm and saw one of his classmates standing in front of him. He looked at his peer, a quizzical in my life.

"What's this?" he asked.

The student laughed. "Read it, man. I'm having a party. I've been handing these in all my classes."

Lucas inspected the orange sheet of paper. It was nothing fancy, just a date, time and address printed across the front with a picture of a black cat below the text. "October thirty-first," Lucas read out loud with Max peering over his shoulder.

"Yeah, it's a Halloween party. You should come, dude, it would be nice to have you there."

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Jacob, right? We have first period together."

"Yeah, English," Jacob confirmed. "Listen, man, I dunno if parties are really your scene or anything, but it won't be anything crazy. Just a bunch of freshmen like us in an empty house. It'll be fun."

Lucas looked beside him toward Max, who gave him a sly grin. "Max, you should come, too," Jacob piped up. "It's a big house, don't worry about space," he added with a laugh.

"Alright, we'll think about it," Lucas said, nodding his head and folding the paper neatly

before stuffing it into his pocket. He and Max walked into the classroom and took their usual seats toward the back of the room. They were in math, the same class that they shared with Dustin. Under normal circumstances, they all sat in a row together, but Lucas knew full well that if Dustin got anywhere near Max she would bite his head off (unless it was to apologize).

Even still, both of them almost gasped out loud when Dustin walked into the classroom with blood caked all over his upper lip from his nose, which had turned a shade of purple. He walked in and was about to take a seat at the first available desk when the teacher spoke up. "Um, Dustin?"

Dustin turned to look at him. "Yes, sir?"

The teacher cleared his throat awkwardly. "You've got, some, uh…" he motioned with his

hand toward his nose, and Dustin brought his own hand up and gingerly massaged his upper lip.

"Oh, shit," he cursed. "That must have just got there," he muttered.

"Perhaps you'd like to clean yourself up?" the teacher suggested.

"Yeah…" Dustin trailed off and left the classroom promptly. When he left, Max and Dustin

exchanged concerned glances.

"Did he get in a fight?" Max asked in a hushed tone.

"No, Dustin wouldn't do that," Lucas dismissed her theory. "Maybe he just fell, or

something."

Max scoffed. "Do you really believe that?"

Lucas shrugged. "I don't know, do you think someone did that to him?"

"It's more likely than 'he fell,'" she countered.

He sighed. "Fair point," he agreed. "But who? Troy hasn't been giving any of us problems since school started."

"Maybe he was bored," Max wrinkled her nose as she took her math notebook out of her bag and turned to a blank page. "Either way, we should probably try to figure it out."

Lucas looked at his girlfriend, his look slightly surprised. "I thought you hated Dustin," he inputted.

Max rolled her eyes. "I don't hate him," she said, exasperated. "And even if I did, I still wouldn't want him to be beaten up," she continued. "I just want him to apologize. I'm not that petty, you know."

Lucas nodded, trying to suppress a sly smile, knowing that their relationship had definitely seen their fair share of "petty" break-ups, especially in the earlier stage. Thankfully, Max had moved on from that stage, and had taken the role of a much more committed and mature partner.

"Do you want to talk to him after class?" Lucas suggested.

"You can," Max said resolutely. "Until he comes to me and says sorry for what an ass he was, I'm still not talking to him," she said, and flicked her head to the side to get her hair out of her face, and turned her attention to the blackboard.

Mike was walking down the hall toward his locker at the end of the third period, dreading what gym class would be like today. He was walking through the hall with his eyes glued to the floor, buried in his thoughts and hatred for Troy when out of the corner of his eye he saw a crowd of kids all huddled around a sheet of paper on the wall. All of the students were talking excitedly amongst themselves and were too preoccupied to even notice when the lanky boy approached the crowd.

It was a cluster of grade nines, so it wasn't challenging for Mike to craned his neck up and peer over their heads at the piece of paper that had been taped to the wall they were all so interested in.

"If he's putting it up in the hall, that means anyone can come, right?"

"I can't believe that Jacob is having a party!"

"Is it Halloween themed?"

"It says 'Halloween' on it, dumb-ass!"

"But are there costumes?"

The overlapping voices were flooding Mike's ears like the sea. He knew that all this was about a party before he even read the poster. He recognized the street name as the street that Steve lived on. There were a lot of big houses on that street, with pools and all that. Perfect for a typical high school party. He had never pictured himself as being a person much into the party scene, but then again… maybe it would be fun? With Will and El gone, he had two fewer friends that he wasn't going to be seeing any time soon.

He mentally noted all the information on the sheet and proceeded toward the gym, still pondering the idea of going to a party. Would anyone else from the Party be going? He wasn't sure where he stood with his friends. Ever since that argument had broken out between them and he yelled at all of them to "shut up," they had not really talked.

Mike glanced behind him one more time before he entered the door to the boys' change room, and his eyes widened a little bit when his eyes caught Dustin standing amongst the crowd of kids that were congregated in a clump down the hall. He raised his eyebrow at the thought of a kid like Dustin ever entertaining the idea of going to a big party like that. He just had a feeling. Then again, he did enjoy dressing up, and maybe he was having the same thoughts as he was.

He was caught off guard when Dustin looked to the side and they locked eyes for a brief moment for the first time in twenty-four hours. Out of what looked like embarrassment, Dustin ducked down and disappeared into the crowd of people. Mike furrowed his brow. Perhaps he was still under the impression he was angry. He couldn't have blamed it he did, considering the outburst he had displayed the day before in the cafeteria.

Mike sighed loudly and swung the door open and stepped into the change room along with some other kids from his class. He looked around nervously and relaxed a bit when he didn't see Troy and his goons anywhere. Maybe they were skipping? They did that sometimes, to smoke cigarettes or whatever.

He breathed a sigh of relief and changed into his gym clothes, and ran into the gym with his thoughts still lingering on that upcoming Halloween party.

Like I said, on the short side, but I hope this gave you guys enough to think about until the next one. I might aim for shorter chapters now just so you guys don't have to wait as long, but I will see. It felt natural to end the chapter here, so that's what I did. As always, leave a review and I'll see you guys in the next one! Take it easy :)