The second change happened about a month into school. "Hey, Will?" El called. "Yeah." he answered. Will was at the table working on homework. She came in the kitchen with a coat. It was freezing cold out, but it was November in Decorah, Iowa. "Mom is taking me to a jew-elry store." El said. "Okay." he hummed. Will's eyes where concentrated on his algebra. "I wanted to know if you wanted to go." she said. His head shot up and looked at her. Will never thought of going to a jewelry store. He wasn't a girl. He didn't really like that kind of stuff. Will looked over to El, she looked hopeful. "Why?" he asked. "Well, to spend time with you." she said. Will gave El a small smile. It was sort of touching that she wanted to get to know him better. Even if it was shopping for girl accessories. "Okay." he said. He closed his textbook and put on his coat.
As they pulled into the jewelry shop, El started to get excited. She was lightly jumping in her seat. Will took a look at the store. It wasn't very big, it was a small, white building with a glass door. But the store was bigger than a house for all Will knew. Once they entered the shop, El went berserk. She quickly went to the front of the desk to look at the glass case with jewelry. "El, honey, hold on." his mother said. She quickly caught up with El at the front. Will just chuckled at the girl's curiosity. He looked around the store, there were many other things than jewelry. There were clothes, records, and electronics.
While his mother and El looked at earrings in the front, Will did his own looking. He made his way to the back of the store to look at the records. Some of the records were really outdated and some were really new. Will suspected the newer records cost more, so he left those alone. Will picked up a record, this hadn't been in any store in Hawkins. Will had looked for it for many years. The word 'Closer' was written on it. There was sort of Greek art on it, but it was something Will couldn't name. Will smiled at the record. This was one of his favorite bands. Jonathan had introduced them to him when he was twelve. Will soon made his way to the front. It seemed that El had found what she wanted. He looked the jewelry. There were earrings, bracelets, rings, and necklaces. Some of them were really cool looking. There was one that Will liked, it was a ring that had a lightning bolt on it. It reminded Will of superhero rings. One maybe The Green Lantern would use. Others looked really girly for him. There was one with hearts and pink. Will didn't really like pink, so that was a no go for him. He watched El pick out an earring pair. They were simple. Just a simple, small, marble stud.
Will watched as El looked in the mirror at her new piercing. She seemed content with her new possessions. His mother was paying now. "Hey, what about Will?" El asked innocently. She had her eyes trained on him. Will was surprised by her bluntness. No one had ever asked him if he wanted his ears pierced. "Me?" he asked. "Your ears." she said. Will looked at her and shrugged. His record fell from under his arm. "I don't know El." he said as he bending down to get his record. His mother must have heard because she turned to him and asked, "Honey, do you want your done too?" Will shrugged his shoulders once more. "Please Will. Just one ear." El pleaded. Will wasn't sure what he would put on his ear. He looked at El pleading face. "Okay. Alright. One ear." he said. "Sir, we would like another." his mother said. "Which one are you lookin' at?" the man asked. "Um…" Will hummed. He took a look at his options. There was a stud, a small hoop-like one, and one that had a small leaf hanging from it. Will didn't want something that would take long. "That one." he finally said. Will pointed at the one with the leaf. Leaves weren't cool, but it looked like it wouldn't take very long. The leaf on the earring wasn't very long, so it dangled against Will's jaw.
"You look pretty cool." his mother said. El nodded her head in agreement. "I don't know if a leaf is really cool." Will said with a raised brow. "No one has to know what it is." his mom said. "Yeah! We would look cool!" El exclaimed. She was wearing a wide smile, so Will gave her one just as grand. "C'mon, you two. We best be getting home." his mother said. Will shook his head and quickly thanked the man that put his earring in. On the way home, Will found himself smiling. It wasn't grand and big, but rather small and soft. Maybe change wasn't so bad, Will thought as his mother drove home.