[A/N]: In advance, I wanted to say thanks for everyone's patience with this story. I've really been struggling with writing for the past 2 months. I haven't been able to finish anything concrete. And then suddenly today, I was completely inspired. I sat down and wrote this entire chapter in one day. That's the life of a writer I guess?

Anyway, I know this chapter has been a long time coming, hopefully it's somewhat worth the wait. Enjoy, and again, thank you so much!

It's Thursday, Halloween, and the band can't sit still. The school day seems to drag on even longer than usual, and they all find themselves staring at the clock more than their actual schoolwork. They spend all of lunch (which is eaten in the cafeteria with everyone else, despite Max's proposal to crash the Wizard of Oz set) rehashing their plan for the evening: head to Mike's house right after school, run through one last rehearsal, load up the instruments, hit the road, stop for dinner, blow everyone's socks off, maybe even get a record deal (though the last one was filed under 'wishful thinking').

When the last bell of the day finally rings, it's a mad dash to their lockers. Some of the other kids are eyeing them all weird, but the band is way too amped up on excitement to care.

"Alright, guys, this is it!" Dustin grins. He's bouncing in place as everyone hastily shuffles items in and out of their lockers, "T-Minus 7 hours and counting!"

"More like 6," Will points out, "Since we should be there to set up before the show starts."

"SHIT, you're right!"

"We gotta move!" Lucas exclaims as everyone grabs the last of their things and slams their locker doors shut.

"I bet I can beat you guys back to my house!" Mike challenges. He has a mischievous glint in his eye similar to the one he had when he challenged Lucas to a bowl-off.

Lucas looks equally excited by the prospect. "You're so on!" He grins. He and Max turn to look at each other, exchanging a knowing smirk, and with that, they take off running down the hallway and toward the parking lot.

"Cheaters!" El gasps with an incredulous laugh.

"Come on, El!" Mike beams, motioning for her to come over to him.

El slings her bag over her shoulder, starts running, and jumps onto Mike's back. Once she wraps her arms around his neck and Mike has a secure grip around her legs, Mike takes off running after Max and Lucas, piggybacking El along with him.

"No fair!" Dustin calls out after them, "Me and Will have bikes!"

"You can ride with us!" Max calls over her shoulder, "Hurry up!"

By the time Dustin and Will make it to Max's van, Mike and El are already zooming out of the parking lot with a squeal of car tires. El's laughing so hard her lungs hurt as Mike whips out of the school parking lot and speeds down the streets of Hawkins. Fallen brown leaves whip upward and spin in the air as their car rushes past. The windows are down and the wind is making their hair fly in all sorts of directions. It feels like they're Bonnie and Clyde and she adores it.

"We're so gonna beat them!" Mike says gleefully, glancing in his rearview mirror.

"You're crazy!" El exclaims.

It's really sudden and unexpected, the three things that happen next.

The first thing is that Mike turns to glance back at her. He sees how her brown hair is whipping in the wind and how some strands are glowing a soft honey-golden in the autumn sunlight, how her cheeks are flushed from smiling and laughing so much, and how she's looking back at him with complete and utter adorer. How he realizes how truly free and light she makes him feel, like they could do anything and be anything.

The second thing is that he tells her he loves her. It's just a blurted, heat-of-the-moment sort of declaration, but he means it wholeheartedly. He doesn't get to see or hear El's reaction though, on account of the third thing.

Which is that they hear a police siren.

Mike and El immediately look over their shoulder to see a police vehicle tailing them, lights flashing and siren still blaring. Mike turns to glance back at the speedometer and — shit — he's going 20 over the speed limit.

"Shit," Mike groans, dread rising in his throat and making him feel sick. He pulls over to the side of the road, puts the car in park, and turns off the engine.

"Don't worry," El assures him, placing a hand on his knee. "All the officers know me since I'm the chief's daughter."

"Yeah, but what if they still give me a ticket?" Mike asks worriedly, palms clammy and heart racing, "My parents will kill me."

"I'll still talk to my dad, I'm sure he can—"

There's a knock on the side of the car that causes both Mike and El to jump in place, eyes wide.

"License, registration, proof of insurance," a familiar voice says.

El and Mike turn to look toward the driver's side window, and low and behold, Hopper kneeling there, looking way too pleased with himself.

"Dad!?" El exclaims.

"Eleanor," Hopper counters.

Mike swallows. He's not sure if Hopper being the officer to pull him over is a good or bad thing. "H-Hey Mr. Hopper, uh, sir," he gulps.

Hopper raises an eyebrow at Mike. "You wanna tell me why you were going 65 on a 45 street, kid?"

Mike opens his mouth to reply, but nothing comes out other than strangled-sounding air.

"We were racing," El offers meekly, craning her neck to be seen past Mike, "Max and Lucas. We have a concert tonight! Remember, I told you about it yesterday? We have to hurry back to Mike's house to get the instruments."

El was kinda nervous to tell her dad about the concert, since she feared that he wouldn't let her go all the way out to Indiana U on a school night, but when she did, he seemed happy that she was happy and excited about something again (plus, she's pretty sure he's sick of watching Sixteen Candles after so many nights in a row).

Right now though, El's starting to worry she's pressing her luck.

"Right, the concert," Hopper nods knowingly. Even though he still has that satisfied grin on his face, his eyes are narrowed with slight suspicion, or possibly judgment (Mike can't tell and he's honestly too terrified to look Hopper in the eye and find out).

A beat of awkward silence passes between everyone before Hopper raises his hand to motion between them. "So, are you guys…you know, a thing again?"

"Dad!" El yelps, cheeks burning in mortification.

"Hey!" Hopper replies defensively, "Last thing I heard, you were all choked up and crying about him over your ice cream."

"You were?" Mike gapes, torn between laughing and leaning over to hug her. The hint of amusement in his tone doesn't go unmissed though.

"Shut up!" El frowns, the order directed at both of them.

"She was," Hopper teases, "She really missed you, kid."

El really wants to die. She groans and slumps over in her seat, and she can totally hear the smile in Mike's voice as he 'awww's'. Why do the two guys she cares about the most have to also be the most irritating ones on the planet?

"I missed her too," Mike continues, more seriously this time. At his change of tone, El stops her slouching and softens, turning her head to watch Mike carefully.

Mike turns to look at Hopper, finally meeting his gaze, though he's still white-knuckling the steering wheel. "And I'm really sorry for hurting her, and speeding, and…everything. I…I'm trying to be a better friend. And…" He pauses, blushing, "…Uh, boyfriend."

Hopper studies him for a moment. He looks almost hesitant, which is kinda confusing to Mike, but then when he speaks, Mike gets why. "I heard about your folks," he says, cautious, but oddly comforting too.

"You did?" Mike pales, "How?"

"Word gets around town."

"Small town," Mike mutters, lowering his gaze.

Hopper snorts. "I'll say."

Another beat of silence. "That's a tough break," Hopper finally continues, "I know…I know it's hard when parents can't stay together." His eyes briefly flit toward El as she feels that dull, albeit familiar jab of pain she gets when she thinks of her mother.

Mike nods sulkily. El has her hand on his thigh again and she's drawing little circles over his jeans. It's a simple touch, but it's immensely comforting, just having her here.

And that's when he realizes something.

"I think…" He begins, swallowing slowly, "I think I'm going to be okay though."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean…they fought all the time, and I think…I think they'd be better apart, honestly. Plus, I've got all my friends to help me through it, and El, and yo—" His voice comes to a stop as he looks up at Hopper, embarrassed. Is he overstepping his bounds? "I-I mean—"

But, thankfully, Hopper doesn't seem weirded out or upset. Instead, he just smiles warmly. "No, kid, you got me too," He assures Mike.

Mike smiles back at him gratefully. He wishes he could fully express the gratitude he feels right now, to repay Hopper for his inexplicable kindness toward him, but all he's able to come up with is, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, kid."

El looks at them both contently. "Thanks, Dad."

Hopper nods before exhaling, long and deep. "Alright, you kids better get going."

Mike and El look back at him, shocked. "Wait, you're not going to arrest me?" Mike asks.

Hopper smirks. "Not today."

"Dad!"

"You kids have fun!" Hopper continues to smile, rising to his feet and slapping the roof of the car twice. "Don't do anything stupid! And watch your damn speed."

Mike takes a moment to process the fact that he's not being ticketed or arrested, but when his brain finally comes to speed he turns to lean out the window and call out to
Hopper's retreating back. "We won't and I will!"

Hopper gives an acknowledging wave before entering his police cruiser. As he pulls out from behind them and drives off, Mike and El turn to look at each other.

"Well, that was…" El begins.

"A lot." Mike finishes.

El smiles at him before leaning across the dashboard to kiss his cheek. Before she can close the gap though, Mike tilts his head so his mouth can meet hers. El smiles into their kiss and swats his arm playfully, which only makes Mike grin back.

After a moment, they pull away, cheeks pink and minds fuzzy.

"We should probably get going," Mike mumbles, glancing toward the road, "Lucas definitely beat us by now."

"Yeah," El nods, sitting back in her seat.

Mike turns the engine back on and resumes the drive back to his place, though this time at a much more controlled speed.

They're turning onto Maple Street when El says that for the record, she loves him too.

After Mike and El rejoin the group and endure the teasing they get for being so slow, the band runs over their songs one last time. Their set list includes some of their favorites like Back in Black and Melt With You, along with some more spooky and fun songs like a cover of the Ghostbusters theme song.

Before long, their time is up and it's time to head out. They work together to load up their equipment into the back of Max's van. They agree that, this being their first show, it'd be better if they all rode together, even if that means four of them are going to be riding with the cargo.

"Alright, everyone, into the murder van!" Max announces once the instruments are packed up.

"We really need to get a band logo," Will says as he climbs inside, eyeing the white, windowless vehicle woefully.

"We really need a band name," Dustin adds, following him.

As El gets into the back and Max and Lucas get into the front seats, Holly comes running out into the garage. She's wearing a Care Bears onesie and holding an empty trick-or-treating bucket in one hand. Mrs. Wheeler is trailing behind her, tucked in a warm wrap-coat with a cat nose and whiskers drawn on her face with pencil eyeliner.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Holly calls out, rushing over to Mike, "Before I go trick-or-treating with Mom I wanna say 'bye'!"

Mike smiles and leans down to hug Holly. "Thanks, Holls," he says, patting her back affectionately, "Or is it Sunshine Bear now?"

"Funshine!" Holly corrects, hugging him tightly.

"Same difference."

"Nuh uh!"

As Mike pulls away and rises to his feet, he meets his mom's gaze shyly.

"So, you're all packed up and ready to go?" Karen asks. There's a wistful sort of glint in her eye as she looks Mike over.

Mike nods. "Yeah."

Neither of them really know what to say, but oddly enough, that suffices. In the brief silence that passes between them, there's an immense amount of understanding that Mike feels too.

Karen steps forward to cup her son's cheek with a smile. "I'm proud of you," she murmurs.

"Thanks," Mike blushes, and if his friends weren't listening and he didn't feel so awkward, he probably would have told her that he's proud of her, too.

He exchanges hugs with Holly and his mother one last time before heading into the back of the van with his friends.

"Have fun!" Karen calls out with a wave.

"Don't mess up!" Holly adds.

"Gee, thanks!"

Mike closes the back doors of the van and takes his seat on the floor next to his guitar case. El slides over to him and places herself in his lap, and Mike wraps his arms around her protectively.

"You're like my own personal seatbelt," El giggles.

"Yup," Mike smiles, tickling her sides a little.

El laughs harder which causes Max to scoff from the driver's seat. "You guys are so sappy."

"They really are," Dustin replies with a playful eye roll, seated across from Mike and El.

"Like gross, sticky, mushy, tree sap," Max adds.

"Less talking more driving, Mayfield," Mike counters flippantly.

Max flips him off before starting the van and pulling out of Mike's driveway. The instruments — along with Mike, El, Dustin, and Will — rattle around the back of the van, but it's actually kind of fun.

…Even if everything and everyone does slide around like crazy whenever Max whips around a curve.

"Hold on!" Max grins upon rounding yet another curve, and okay, maybe she's kinda going out of her way to make the turns tighter, just because hearing everyone's startled exclamations from the back is definitely the funniest thing ever.

"You're terrible," Lucas grins, knowing better.

"You're having fun," Max counters.

"MIKE your bony COLLARBONE just poked my EYE out!" Dustin whines from the back.

"It did not! Dude, that's not even possible!"

"Yes, it is! It just happened!"

"I don't think it did," Will says.

"Just because I don't have collarbones doesn't mean I don't know what it's like to be attacked by one."

Lucas can't help but burst out laughing.

"What?" El calls out. "What's so funny?"

Lucas just shakes his head, still chuckling. "I don't know! You guys are so dumb. And I just love you all I guess."

He receives a unanimous, "SAP!" in response.

Halfway to Indiana U, they stop at a Waffle House for dinner. The place is all decked out for Halloween with orange twinkle lights on the walls and little plastic jack-o-lanterns on the tables. Everyone crams into a booth, Will, Mike, and El on one side; Lucas, Dustin, and Max on the other.

While everyone's eating, Mike accidentally lets it slip about his parents' divorce. It's a dumb mistake, really. He's just talking without thinking and makes some offhand comment about how his dad is going to move in with his grandparents for a while, and then all the questions start, and now their waffles are all cold and Mike's finishing up explaining years' worth of events to his friends.

"Wait, so your parents were fighting for years?" Max says once Mike finally finishes.

"And you never told us?" Will frowns.

"I'm sorry," Mike mumbles, unable to look at any of them. "I guess…I dunno. I didn't like talking about it."

"But we could have helped you!" Dustin pouts.

"My parents are divorced! Will's, too!" Max points out. "We would have understood."

"I know you would have!" Mike assures them, looking up from his plate, "That wasn't the issue! I guess I just…I just spent so much time wanting things to go back to normal, for them to just get along again, and talking about how much they fought just made it seem so much more…real. I just wanted things to be how they always were."

His friends are silent for a moment, taking this in. El's holding his hand under the table, keeping Mike tethered and safe.

"I can see that," Lucas eventually says.

"Change is the worst," Dustin mumbles.

"I dunno," Will says, "Sometimes change is good? I mean, think of what change has given us. This band, El, my coming out…"

"That's true," Dustin admits.

"I agree," Mike nods. He pauses to think over his words carefully before continuing. "I'm done wanting to go back to the past. I just want my family and you guys to be happy, and if nothing ever changed, then no one ever would be."

"God, you're such a nerd," Max says, though her gaze is affectionate, "Talking all philosophical and shit."

"Shut up," Mike smiles, flicking a straw wrapper in her direction.

Max deflects the wrapper and continues talking anyway. "But I guess you're right. I mean, I definitely want change. I don't want to stay in this town forever. I don't care what I'm doing, but I wanna be something more than just sitting on my ass for the rest of my life."

"Me too," Will contends, and the others nod.

"We'll do it," El says firmly, "I don't know how, or what, but I know we'll be somebodies. I just know we'll get beyond where we are right now."

The band is quiet for a bit before Dustin breaks the silence with a light laugh. "Wow, that got really deep, guys," he teases.

"Mike started it!" Max defends, "He's the Sap King!"

Mike opens his mouth to protest, but Will speaks first. "Well, speaking of change," he begins, sitting up straighter in his seat, "I, uh, have some news."

His five friends turn to look at him curiously. "What is it, Will?" Mike asks.

Will blushes. He doesn't know why he feels so nervous to tell them…

…Except he kind of totally does.

"I got a job working at the movie theater!" He smiles, wringing his fingers together as he speaks, "So, I can get you guys discount movie tickets and stuff now."

"Sweet!" Lucas beams.

"I just wanted to save up money for a car," Will goes on, "And — "

"You wanted to work with your CRUSH!" Max grins wickedly.

"AWW!" Dustin croons exaggeratedly.

"Will has a crush!?" Mike exclaims.

"Yeah, keep up Wheeler!"

"Whatever, Max!"

"It's not that big of a deal!" Will cuts in, face burning bright red, "We barely know each other!"

"That can change," El smiles, glancing at Mike.

"I give it a week," Dustin comments, sitting back in his seat, "Until they'll be all over each other."

"What?!" Will yelps.

"Make it two," Lucas says with a shake of his head, "Will's gonna spend the first week just working up the courage to stand within five feet of him."

"You guys are the worst," Will groans, but he's still smiling as he digs back into his plate of waffles.

They've finished eating at Waffle House and are running back to the van when Max suddenly stops in the middle of the parking lot.

"I got it!" She exclaims.

"What?" The others ask, stopping to look back at her.

"A name!"

"Congrats," Mike replies dryly, "So does everyone."

"Lucas, I think your girlfriend has finally lost it," Dustin remarks.

"No, idiots!" Max huffs, rolling her eyes, "A name for the band! I just thought of one!"

Mike eyes her warily. "If it's Max and the Maxettes…"

"It's not that!" Max insists, "It's better. I think you guys will like it."

"Well, what is it?" Will asks.

She tells them and for once and at last, the band agrees on a name.

By the time the band pulls into Indiana University, the campus is alive with activity and the Boo-sic Fest is in full swing. Students, some more sober than others, are wandering the campus walkways wearing all sorts of costumes, talking to their friends excitedly, and heading off to various parties.

The band works together to grab their instruments, following the sound of music and a cheering crowd to the central quad. In the middle of the quad is a big makeshift stage with lights and giant amps and wires snaking all over it. There's a group of 3 guys up there right now playing a cover of some Metallica song. The area around the stage is packed with students that all seem much older, cooler, and honestly scarier than expected.

Mike can't help but feel like he's totally out of his depth here. "Where do we go?" He calls out, literally yelling to be heard over the music and the roar of the crowd.

"Backstage!" Dustin yells back, motioning for them all to follow him. They do, and though it takes a lot of effort, they eventually manage to make it behind the stage. There are more students back here, tuning instruments, sitting on the grass, and chatting with each other. A few camping lamps are scattered around the ground for light, giving the area a much more subdued and calming feeling compared to the front side of the stage.

Steve's seated in the grass alongside Nancy and Jonathan, and when he sees the kids approaching, he rises to his feet with a grin. "There you guys are!" He greets, giving everyone a fist bump.

"Sorry we took so long!" Dustin replies, "Max got us lost."

"No, you got us lost," Max frowns, "You told me to turn right onto that street and we got totally lost."

"I said turn right here!"

"Exactly!"

"No, as in, turn right where you are."

"That doesn't make sense!"

"Yes, it does!"

"We didn't miss our turn, did we?" Mike asks Steve, raising his voice to be heard over Dustin and Max's bickering.

Steve shakes his head. "This is the second group right now, you guys are going last."

"Ok, good," Lucas replies, looking relieved.

Nancy and Jonathan get up and walk over to greet the band too.

"So, how's Hawkins' resident rockstar doing?" Jonathan asks teasingly as he pulls Will in for a hug.

"Jonathan!" Will whines as his brother begins to ruffle his hair.

As Will and Jonathan catch up, Nancy goes over to Mike. "So," she smiles knowingly, "This must be El. My mom told me about you guys."

El blushes, feeling suddenly shy. "Hi. It's nice to meet you."

Nancy pulls her in for a hug. "You're so pretty," she says, "How'd my dweeby brother land you?"

El giggles as she pulls away, but Mike isn't as amused. When El walks over to the others crowded around Jonathan and Steve, Mike glares at Nancy.

"You're hilarious," he glowers, to which Nancy only grins.

"Whatever, Mike," she says, pulling him in for a hug, "I know you missed me too."

"No way," Mike huffs, hugging her back.

"Not even a little?"

"Nuh uh."

"Hmph."

As Nancy rubs a hand up and down Mike's back, Mike can't help but ask. "Do you know?" He whispers into her ear, voice low so that only she can hear it.

Nancy stiffens slightly, but nods. "Mom called me," she murmurs back. They pull apart from their hug to look one another in the eye, faces set with a reserved sort of sorrow.

"I'm sorry," Nancy finally says, and when she speaks, Mike can tell it's about to crack. "Maybe if I'd been home —"

"Trust me, there's nothing you could have done," Mike sighs, "They had to deal with this on their own, it wasn't about us."

"I guess you're right…" Nancy pauses to compose herself and quirks an eyebrow, "Hey, when did you get so smart?"

"Maybe you just got dumber," Mike counters with a grin.

Nancy bursts into a laugh, giving him a firm nudge. "Douche bag!"

A few feet away, the rest of the band is still talking to the older guys. "Just remember to have fun," Jonathan assure them.

"Yeah, it's not like this is some high-stakes thing, okay?" Steve adds, "Plus, most of the people out there are wasted anyway, so if you suck, they won't even remember it tomorrow."

Jonathan nudges Steve with an almost imperceivable shake of his head. Steve shrugs it off and continues on. "But yeah, have fun and all that shit. You guys are going to do great!"

The band smiles back warily, and even Max can't help but feel the jitters of the whole situation starting to get to her. A few minutes later, the second band finishes and the third steps up to play — only two more acts left.

Nancy and Mike rejoin the group, and everyone takes a moment to listen to the current band playing. They sound even better than the last group, and the crowd really seems to be into it as they sing along to the lyrics and cheer at ear-splitting decibels.

"They're really good," Will says wistfully.

"Yeah, but you guys are even better," Jonathan assures him.

Lucas feels his grip shaking on the strap of his guitar case as he tries to prepare himself. A few days ago, the idea of playing a show seemed nerve-wracking, but slightly doable. Now that they're actually here, it's a completely different story. When he peers his head around the edge of the stage, he can see some of the crowd. They look so energetic and almost ravenous as they jump in place, yelling at the top of their lungs. It's all so intense and Lucas is suddenly greeted with the image of all that energy turning against them. Of being humiliated and judged on a grander scale than ever before.

By the time the fifth band is getting onstage, Lucas can't handle the pressure any longer. "Maybe we shouldn't do this," He says anxiously, turning to look at the others.

"What do you mean?" Mike frowns.

"What if we screw up? What if we make giant asses of ourselves and everyone makes fun of us?"

"We've been practicing like crazy," Max replies confidently, "We got this."

"Yeah, but they're all college kids," Lucas emphasizes, "It's going to be way different than just us in our garage."

"We played for Steve before!" Dustin points out, "He's a college kid."

"Yeah, but Steve loves us."

"Most of you, anyway," Steve teases.

"What if we get like, 'boo'ed' off the stage?" Lucas continues.

"You're not going to get 'boo'ed off of the stage," Nancy states firmly, flicking Steve's shoulder in reprimand.

"It could happen!"

"If they started shouting 'boo,' that'd be a good thing," Dustin says, grinning, "Because it's Halloween."

Everyone turns to give Dustin an unappreciative look, while he laughs at his own play on words.

"I don't know…I'm kind of nervous too," El admits after Dustin's laughs die down, "I've never sung in front of anyone, other than you guys."

"Don't worry about that," Max says with a dismissive shake of her head, "You're going to do great."

"Yeah, you're really good," Will adds, "There's a reason you're in the band."

"Because she was the only one to show up to auditions?" Mike teases, to which El frowns and nudges him firmly. "Kidding!" Mike quickly insists.

"You guys need to look at the bigger picture," Jonathan cuts in, "Even if tonight goes badly, so what? Do you think every famous musician performed perfectly at their first show? Don't let the fear of what could happen stop you from doing something great."

There's a beat of silence as everyone processes this, until Dustin says, "Yeah, that's really great and all, but I'm with Lucas — it would really suck to get laughed at."

"Oh my god!" Max huffs, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at them all, "The more you guys worry, the more likely you're gonna mess something up. You're psyching yourselves out. We're gonna rock this, okay?"

The rest of the bandmates only give disheartened grumbles in reply.

"Okay?!" Max repeats, eyes narrowed.

"OKAY!" They echo.

"We're amazing, we're talented, we've been practicing for months, and by the time we're done with this place, this Quad is gonna be in flames!"

It's hard to say no to Max. She knows that, and they know that. And right now, Max knows that even though she's scared too, she has to be strong for them. She has to let her friends know that they can do this.

Thankfully, it seems to work. Lucas takes a deep breath and nods, face set. El and Mike exchange soft glances before El stands on tip-toe to kiss his cheek. Will leans his head against Jonathan's side, feeling comforted. Dustin flexes his fingers and arms as if he's already seated in front of the drum set.

With a final, screeching note, the song onstage ends, and the fifth band leaves the stage.

It's time.

"Group hug for good luck!" Dustin calls out quickly, and despite a few squeaks of protest, the group envelopes each other in a big, warm hug.

"When you guys are famous, you better write a song about me," Steve smiles as they all pull away.

"In your dreams, Harrington," Mike grins.

"Perfect title, right there!" Steve says, pointing toward Mike appreciatively.

A few more goodbyes and good luck's are exchanged, the bass and guitars are removed their cases, and before the band has more time to reconsider or second-guess anymore, they're stepping onto the stage.

The lights and noise are blinding as they make their way onto the center of the stage. Though there's probably only 200 to 300 students here, it feels more like a thousand. Maybe even a million.

Will and Dustin take their seats at the drum set and keyboard already onstage.

El stands near the front, gripping the mic tightly. Her heart is racing impossibly fast and she's convinced that the second her mouth opens, she's going to either vomit or just pass out altogether.

But then she closes her eyes. She closes her eyes, takes a breath, and wills herself to drown out the roar of the crowd and the terror of the situation before her. And when she does this, she's right back to that first day, standing onstage in an empty auditorium. It's just her and her five future friends, the people who'd change her life forever.

When El opens her eyes again, she finally knows this is where she belongs.

Mike agreed to let Lucas play lead in their opening song, which means Lucas is front and center with El. There are so many lights shining on them, it's a little hard to see the crowd, but Lucas isn't complaining. It makes it much easier to step forward, take a breath, and speak into the microphone in front of him.

"I'm Lucas," he says, motioning to himself, and then the others, "And this is Mike, El, Max, Will, and Dustin, and we are Beyond Hawkins."

There's an appreciative and welcoming round of applause, along with some hearty drunken hollers. Though he's still nervous as hell, Lucas steps back into place and prepares himself to take the lead. He's got this.

As the band readies themselves. Mike's not sure how this is going to go. 'This' being not only their music and the audience's reaction, but everything that comes after. This is their first real show, and it might be their last. It might go horribly and they might never play again. Maybe it'll go really well and they'll go on to become famous musicians that sell out shows all over the world. Maybe they'll play this show, go back to their garage, and the band will be left behind in their high school years, a warm and effervescent memory.

It's kinda frightening, really, how uncertain the future can be. How completely unable Mike is to grasp any fraction of it. But as he looks back towards his friends one last time, it feels like things are going to be ok. No matter what the future holds, as long as he has his friends by his side, he's certain they can handle anything that comes their way.

His fingers curl over the neck of the guitar, ready to play the first cord.

El grips the microphone, strong but certain as Will hovers his fingers over his keyboard.

Lucas and Max exchange one last smile, hopeful and reassuring.

Dustin gives his drumsticks four introductory taps.

And they begin.