Enjoy!

HAWKINS, INDIANA, 2019

Rudy watched his students while they took their test. They had been so focused on the Vietnam War for the past two weeks that it's all they thought about. They knew their upcoming test was going to be a struggle, even if it was open book. They were always so good with their work, but recently, they seemed bored with their education. Mr. Willis hated to see his best students fall out of love with learning-he knew their next lesson might get them interested. Once every test was handed in, the history teacher stood up in front of his bored class.

"Now," he said," the moment we've been waiting for, the theme for the big project. I know that some of you have been bothering me about it for some time, but I feel like now's a good time to reveal it."

Rudy clicked on the nearby computer and grabbed the remote to the projector. He turned it on, only to have a blue screen. The kids looked around, amused that their favorite teacher still had trouble with the projector. A student in the front told his teacher that he had to change the channel on the projector.

"Thank you Robert," he said with a soft chuckle," I still can't get used to this. Now, our big presentation-is on Hawkins!"

The students' ears perked up at the sound of their hometown. They looked all around, their faces lit up at the sound of their new project. They were always interested in talking about the history of their town and all of the weird rumours. They were now invested and Rudy was proud. He went on to explain the project, using any platform and talking about anything they desired. He passed out a paper that held the requirements and, as he did, a star student raised her hand immediately after he asked if there were any questions.

"Yes, Julie?"

"Can we even discuss all of those supernatural rumours?"

"Of course!" Rudy laughed," A report on the history of Hawkins would be nothing without those rumours about all the things that happened here!"

"Even the weird aliens that my mom swore she saw when she was little?" Christian asked.

"Why not?" he asked," After all, this is the project where you can have freedom! Do what you will with it! I only ask that it be school appropriate."

"Mr. Willis?" Julie asked again,"Do you believe all those rumours?"

Rudy agreed immediately. He glanced to his wrist, remembering his tattoo as he spoke about the supernatural beliefs. He'd been a small part of what went down, but his whole life was a reminder that odd happenings occurred and it was the way it was meant to be. The bell went off and the students were dismissed. Rudy wished them a safe weekend and hoped they would get started on their projects. Rudy began to pack up, getting ready to grade papers as soon as he got home. He walked to his car and hopped in. As he drove off, he watched the kids walking off, excited for their weekend. It made him miss the 80s and all of his friends, especially the summer of 86' and after. He saw himself relaxing in the fields, telling Mike and Dean how he used his powers to mess with his sister. Or, as he walked to the arcade with Lily, Lucas and Max, told them about life in his hometown of Batonsville. Or, how he, Dustin, Mike, Eleven, Robin and Mandy spied on Steve and Deb during their first date (to which his sister found out and was furious for about an hour). For a while, each memory made Rudy miss everything the way it used to be. Even if his summers and times with his new friends were short-lived, he had those memories. And he loved them.

Rudy approached his home just a few minutes later. He parked in the driveway and went to the front door, where he heard the dogs barking. Chloe and Milo hopped beside their owner, happy that he was finally home. Rudy called out for his husband, unsure if he was even out of work yet. He set down everything in his arms and went into the living room, where Micky was lying on the couch in sweatpants and a t-shirt. He hardly ever wore his sweatpants so his husband could tell it had been a long day.

"What happened?" Rudy asked as he took his tie off.

"Just another long day at the office," he sighed," being a manager is difficult. I tried to tell Richard that he should have those reports ready by today. I told him that two weeks ago and he comes up to me and tells me his dog ate them. His dog, Rudy!"

"What a tragedy," the teacher laughed.

"I need a good weekend to me, you and the dogs. So anyway, babe, how was your day?"

"Well, today is the day I introduced our big project to the students," Rudy said as he moved next to Mick, leaning in his arms,"They seem really excited about it."

"I wonder if they'll do a report on you without knowing," Mick laughed, then paused to look down at his husband," Y'know, when I was younger, growing up here, I swear that I saw a Demagorgon lurking around my house."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah...It almost didn't feel real. I remember sitting there, staring back at it, wondering if it was going to attack me. But after it heard something and ran off, my mom came in to my room. She was all panicked and worried about me...you know, I think she might've saw it too."

Rudy believed his husband. He understood what those creatures did, and why they were dangerous for people like them. He felt their world was close knit as they shared a kiss. Mick's end suddenly went up, staring at the door. Rudy watched with slight confusion.

"What-?"

"I forgot I ordered a pizza."

Suddenly, they saw a car pull up and a pizza guy walk up to the door. Rudy rolled his eyes and gave Mick a smile as he got up.

"Hey Number Nine," Rudy called," You're bleeding."

Mick grabbed a tissue and thanked his husband, walking to the front door and getting their pizza without another thought.