"Somewhere, someone remembers to read between the lines"

Will is still out of breath when he leaves the metal fence of the track fields, passing through the gate leading to the parking lot. He grabbed everything he needed before gym class so that he didn't have to risk seeing Dustin or Lucas or El, or especially Mike, somewhere in the halls. This way he could sneak out to his car and wait for Jamie there. He is still in his Hawkins gym shirt and shorts, but he figures Jamie won't mind. Inhaling one last deep breath, he dashes up the hill where his car is parked at the top. When he reaches it he throws his backpack and extra books inside the back seat and then leans against the front of the car. It's warm against his hips. He sucks a long drink of water from the straw of his water bottle and watches the way the sunlight catches on the dirt particles he kicks up in clouds with his sneaker.

When he looks up Jamie is approaching, backpack slung nonchalantly over his shoulder and holding his jean vest in one hand. Will shuffles from foot to foot, suddenly feeling nervous. Jamie grins at him and he smiles back, swiping his hair out of his face as it's rustled in the breeze.

"Hey," Will greets him warmly.

"Hey," Jamie replies, his eyes bright with excitement.

"You're here."

Jamie stops in front of Will, looking down at him with quiet amusement.

"So I am."

Will pushes himself up off the car, trying not to crowd his space. He opens his door and Jamie immediately heads to the passenger side. Will's cheeks burn and he is feeling more nervous by the second, not really knowing why. This is a good thing, he reminds himself. He's meeting new people, making new friends. He logically knows it's a good thing, and so why is he feeling so terrified? He feels more nervous than he did on his first day of school in Lenora Hills. He rubs his palms on his thighs and looks at Jamie. It's quiet and close inside the car and Will can smell the laundry detergent Jamie uses and when he leans to put his backpack in the backseat, his almond shampoo. This makes Will even more nervous, and he prays that Jamie can't tell.

Jamie holds up a cassette tape, shaking it between two fingers as he bites his tongue and scrunches his nose."Shall we?"

Will's eyes widen and he giggles at him. He is surprised by how relaxed he is, in the casual way he sits in Will's car as if he's known him his whole life. Will motions to his radio dramatically, caught up in his playfulness. "By all means." He says, lowering his voice in a pretend formal voice.

Jamie beams at him, the palpable excitement that radiated off him yesterday back again.

The Smiths come on his radio and Will feels himself absorb Jamie's excitement, his positivity, and he's smiling so wide he doesn't even know what to do with it.

"Hey, is it okay if we stop at my house before we get ice cream?I just want to change." he asks.

"Sure!" Jamie says, tapping along the edge of his seat to the music.

They're out of the car in Will's driveway, and Will's still laughing , and he pauses a moment when he realizes he actually can't remember the last time he laughed so hard. It turns out that Jamie is rather funny. It's the kind of funny that is exceptionally silly and kind of unpredictable. Different from Mike. Mike has a sarcastic, dark humor that sometimes makes Will burst into laughter when one of his snarky comments hits him exactly the right way. Jamie's is lighter, definitely sillier, and mischievous, and it makes Will feel like he can be silly right back. It makes him feel younger, like how the Party used to almost fall off their chairs when they got off topic during one of their campaigns.

They carry their bags inside, and the glint in Jamie's eye as Will holds the screen door out for him sends a shiver of electricity up Will's spine, but they're immediately interrupted as they enter the house. Joyce has already noticed them.

She's in the living room with Hop standing over the vacuum. Hop's loitering in the hallway as if he was going to do something, but instead got distracted by the television.

"Hey Sweetie!" Joyce greets him as she bends to pull the plug of the vacuum out of the wall. "How was school?"

Will and Jamie pause in the entrance of the living room, Will feels as if a spotlight has suddenly been shone on them. He fidgets uncomfortably under their attention.

"It was fine," Will says honestly, returning his Mom's smile.

"Glad it's Friday though," Jamie adds unexpectedly, and shrugs his shoulders at Will as if to say "what?" when Will glances at him curiously.

Hop takes his chance at a stab at an interrogation.

"Who's this?" he asks Will, one hand on his hip and the other holding the clicker. His tone is mild, but Will knows he really does want to know.

Will blushes. "This is Jamie. He's a friend from school."

"Hmph," Hop says, wandering over to the boys. "Nice to meet you Jamie." Hop holds his hand out for a handshake and Will grimaces in embarrassment.

"Nice to meet you, uhm-" Jamie clears his throat awkwardly as he gives Hop's hand a good shake. "Uhm, Sir."

"Just call me Hop," he corrects him.

Thankfully Joyce saunters over and rescues them from Hop's scrutiny.

"Hi Jamie!" she says. "It's nice to meet you. What are you boys up to today?"

"Uhm-" Will stutters. "We were just going to go get ice cream or something."

Joyce observes Jamie for a long second and then smiles at Will. "That sounds nice. Hey-" then she shoots over to her purse like a bee buzzing from flower to flower and quickly pulls out her wallet. She hands Will a five dollar bill. "Here," she says, "You two have fun."

Hot embarrassment creeps up Will's neck, but when he looks over at Jamie he sees nothing but contentment, and so he takes the five dollars and shoves it quickly into his pocket.

"Thanks Mom," he says sheepishly. He quickly bypasses them, determined to get to his room without further conversation, hoping that Jamie is following him.

"Is El home?" he asks over his shoulder, realizing she never told him if she needed a ride.

"Yes, she's in her room getting ready for Max."

Oh yeah. He'd forgotten.

Will doesn't respond and instead beelines it for his room, the chain that rattles at Jamie's thigh the only thing that tells him he's still behind him.

He ushers Jamie inside his bedroom and then closes the door quietly behind him.

"Sorry," he says softly. "I thought my Mom would still be at work."

"Hah, don't worry about it." Jamie slows as he enters the room, standing in the middle of it and looking around at the walls. He drops his backpack on Will's desk chair and then slowly makes his way around, eyeing Will's belongings with curiosity. It suddenly makes Will feel extremely self-conscious, and he picks along the knuckle of his thumb with his nail.

"Is that your Dad?" Jamie asks, while still glancing around at trinkets and posters and drawings on his walls. He picks up a book off his desk and fans the pages.

"No," Will responds as he settles himself on his bed. "That's my Mom's boyfriend. He is El's Dad."

"Huh, that makes more sense. I was never sure if you and El were actually related."

"No, we're not."

"Could have fooled me though. You look alike," Jamie says, deciding to remove his backpack and sit across from him in the desk chair.

Will blushes. "Everyone says that. I do have an older brother, Jonathan. But he's got his own place now."

"Is Hop a cop?" Jamie asks, one side of his mouth turning up at his rhyme.

Will chuckles softly. "How'd you know?"

Jamie shrugs. "Ah, you know. He has that way about him. Where's your Dad?"

Will picks harder at his thumb, suddenly feeling like Jamie is the cop and he's the one being interrogated. But when Jamie looks up from his things, his expression is open and his brows are raised in actual interest.

Will clears his throat. "Uh, I don't know, honestly. Somewhere in Indianapolis was the last I heard, but that must have been two years ago. We were never…close," he explains, and rubs his arms anxiously when Lonnie's rough hands along his collar flash in his mind.

Jamie looks up from his things and gazes at him seriously, as if he's taking him in for the first time.

"I get it," he says. "My mom left when I was… ten I think?"

Will swallows hard. "Where is she now?"

"Oh, she died last year," he replies, opening one of Will's textbooks and examining the inside of the cover.

Will's heart constricts. "Oh I'm sorry Jamie. I didn't—"

"Don't worry about it." He interrupts, looking up from the book. "Seriously. It just… is what it is, ya know?"

Will nods, slightly unconvinced that's true, but decides maybe they can broach the subject of absent parents another time.

Even with the suddenly intense conversation, Will hasn't noticed an ounce of nervousness from Jamie this afternoon. Nothing like how he was this morning. He's comfortable sitting in Will's room, as if he's been here one thousand times before. The only thing that hints to his newness in the Byer's house is how he looks at everything in his room inquisitively, as if it was some type of puzzle that would tell him everything he needed to know about Will.

Jamie turns on the desk and picks up a few sketches he had left out. One is of Jonathan, sitting in the chair in their living room holding his camera in one hand. The others are the Party's characters from D&D based off of the campaign they had over the summer.

"Are these yours?" Jamie asks, sifting through them slowly.

Will gets up anxiously, heading toward the desk. "Yes they're mine," He tells him and hates the way his voice breaks around it.

Jamie's mouth tightens a little as he pivots around in Will's desk chair and asks, "Really?"

Will reaches for them, but Jamie swipes them away, turning back around in the chair and Will falls heavily over his left shoulder. Jamie's warm and thinly muscled beneath him.

"Man, these are so fucking good!" he exclaims, studying them a moment longer before turning back around to Will and handing them to him easily.

Will finds himself looming above Jamie, standing in between the "v" of his legs. Jamie looks up at him from the chair, his face morphing into something more weighty.

"Seriously, man. Those are so good. I didn't know you liked to draw."

"Yeah," Will nods, blushing as he examines them. "I always have."

Jamie gazes up at him through his lashes. The inside of his knee is touching the outside of Will's thigh, and Will loathes that it's all that he can think about.

Will clears his throat, scouring his mind, desperately trying to think of something to say.

"Do you have any hobbies?" he finally asks.

Jamie hums, still holding eye contact. "Well," he explains, "I like skateboarding. And I like drums. I have a set in my dad's garage I use. I'm good with cars, but I don't know if I'd consider that a hobby."

"That's cool. Drums are cool. Maybe you could show me them sometime." Will's surprises himself with his forwardness. It is the truth though. He wants to see Jamie's things. Then, it suddenly comes to him. "Wait, where is your skateboard?"

A hearty laugh bursts out of Jamie's chest, as if he is also just remembering his skateboard. "Oh, wellll ," he says between chuckles, "Mr. Peters confiscated it this morning."

Will laughs right along with him now, it's surprising, shooting up in his chest so hard that he's clutching his ribs and closing his eyes. Jamie startles him then when he stands up, and he's so close, so close they're almost chest to chest. He looms over Will a bit and he gazes down at him, eyes black with mischief and something else. Something Will can't quite put his finger on. But it makes Will's heart flutter in his chest and he sighs when an excruciating, thrumming heat pools between his thighs. There's nothing but electricity and bated breath connecting them and Will's gaze drops to Jamie's mouth as he bites his bottom lip. Will notices it's pink and wet where his teeth drag along the skin. Then Jamie's face breaks into a warm smile, and Will's thrown out of his trance. He steps back from him and feels himself released from the moment.

"Ice cream?" Jamie asks.

Will breathes out heavily and nods, still unsure of exactly what just happened, a smile catching his own lips. " Definitely ice cream."