The day Five dreaded yet hoped for finally arrived as he was getting himself dressed. School…he was actually going to high school with other students and none of his siblings would be there. He was wondering if he would be overall annoyed with most of the student body or find some minimal enjoyment. Because of his own inner worries that he wouldn't admit to anyone, he wouldn't be skipping grades even know he could very well have done so. Reginald might have taught him very well in academics but Five was still smart enough to know he didn't want to be away from his friends. He would see Robin and Jonathan around as well since they had one last year in high school to go, which was a comfort to him as well. There would be people in his corner to help him get him through this time in his life.

"Five everything okay? Your breakfast is going to get cold."

Five looked back to see Will standing in the doorway and cracked a very faint smile. He was already dressed in a blue and gray polo shirt with dark blue shorts. Will looked over Five's outfit and it suited him a bit more than the uniform he arrived in. He wore a long sleeved grey and black striped shirt, some dark jeans, and a brown bomber jacket with a red backpack for his supplies and his worn out sneakers.

"Yeah…it's just hitting me that I will be going to school…well Aidan Quinn is going to school."

Thanks to Dr. Owens, Five Hargreaves was now officially Aidan Quinn according to Hawkins High and most people in this town. It wasn't the most awful name in the world and Five would just take it in stride. He fiddled a bit with his hair to see it was in place and Will laughed warmly at him.

"You'll be fine Five. You're probably not going to struggle at all with grades. Maybe just the people will be jerks but you won't be alone." Will comforted.

Five nodded and slung the backpack on his back.

"Yeah I know…just feels weird. I haven't been away from my family for this long before and we were always learning together. Now I am going to school without them and it is just a strange feeling."

Will frowned a bit since it sounded like Five was sick of this town already, perhaps very homesick, and was thinking of leaving. Five saw Will's face shift and he patted Will's shoulder.

"Hey stop with that look. Yes I am saying all these things but I am still enjoying my time with you. Now you're right, let's get breakfast before it gets cold."

Will's smile sprung back on his face and they both went to the kitchen to eat with Will's mom and Johnathon. Breakfast was fluffy eggs, toast, bacon and orange juice. Five grew accustomed to eating with the Byers and he especially loved Joyce kind of treating him like her own boys.

"How are you feeling about your first day?" she asked.

"Honestly Mrs. Byers I'm a bit mixed. Excited that I am doing something new but I just know people are going to be staring at me since I am a new freshman. New as in I'm an outsider here and they might notice it more." Five said as he munched on his eggs.

Jonathan shook his head as he grabbed some more bacon.

"Honestly people aren't going to make that much of a deal thankfully. I mean you're a freshman and freshman are new anyway. So it will make you stand out a bit less. If it was another year then yeah you would clearly be the big focus of attention." Jonathan encouraged.

Five chuckled a bit but nodded in agreement. Jonathan had this brotherly quality of sincerity and warmth that was lacking from his own siblings. Despite knowing he could handle school, it was comforting to hear the support and calming words from Jonathan. Maybe that's why Will was able to get by despite the hardships, he had a great mother and a great brother.

"You have a point…yeah just don't make it a big deal, play it cool." Five commented with a light smile.

Will laughed at that and commented,

"Cool as a freshman can be, which isn't much. But we don't have to be cool, we just have to be ourselves and stick together."

Five nodded in agreement and that made Joyce's heart melt. She looked at Five and Will eating breakfast and she was thankful for Five being here. Jonathan would be going to college after this year and she worried Will wouldn't handle that day when it came. However with Five being here Will might be able to cope a little better. She looked at the time and the boys needed to get going.

"Jonathan, can you take Five and Will to school?" Joyce asked.

Jonathan nodded and he got up from the table, swinging his bag on his shoulder and grabbed his camera.

"Come on, let's get a move on and yes I am driving you too Five. I don't want to risk anyone else catching you using your powers."

Five let out a small little groan but Jonathan had a point. Plus he wanted to ride with Will anyway and talk before they started school. They all got into Jonathan's car and he started to drive them. Jonathan smiled as he saw Will and Five close on the backseat of the car, chatting a bit.

"You're going to have a good year. High school may be hard but you at least have each other. If anything happens, you can come to me." he told them.

"I can probably handle anything for the both of us but I like the sentiment, thanks." Five told him.

Jonathan did scoff playfully at the notion, but he was happy that Five was going to help look after Will. He glanced at his brother and he could see something was on his mind.

"What's on your mind?" he questioned.

Will snapped out of his thoughts and sheepishly stroked his wrist.

"Um…well; when I was getting some supplies for D&D last week I ran into this guy. Kind of looked a bit old to still be in high school but he expressed that if I was into D&D I join his club at the high school. Know anything or anyone like that?" Will asked.

Jonathan thought for a moment and someone did pop in his head if the person was left back.

"Probably Munson. He might be scary looking but he's not that bad a guy. I can maybe see his 'Hellfire Club' maybe being a D&D club but only join if you want to and not because he's pressuring you." Jonathan informed him.

Will looked to Five and he raised an eyebrow at him.

"Really?" Five questioned.

"Come on, you liked it when we played and your character is good for campaigns."

"I will see if we get approached and when meetings are. Might not be able to make them if I have to work." Five shared.

"I thought you hated that ice cream job and that you were quitting?" Jonathan questioned.

"Yeah I'm looking into other jobs but I kind of have to keep this one, hate it or not. I don't want your mom to worry about providing for three boys if one's not hers. Besides, the boss is mad that Robin and I need to change our schedules because of school and her band practice. He's being a hard ass."

Jonathan sighed and expressed,

"You shouldn't worry about working Five. If it's too much, just quit and let me help with getting you what you need okay? You're becoming family to us and you shouldn't worry about growing up so fast. Your old man kind of did that enough didn't he?"

"Family after two months, wow what a record." Five teased.

"Five…we mean it. Mom's worried about you taking on too much. She feels you are taking too much. Please at least consider it." Will asked.

Five looked at both brothers and felt a light warmth sensation. His father would have told him to suck it up and stick to his responsibilities. Actually he would wonder why he was still here and hadn't tackled working on a formula yet. But seeing how everyone in the Byers family was rallying and caring for him…did make Five feel safe and accepted.

"I will consider maybe not working so much and cut back on hours. I mean technically he's still breaking labor laws with me so maybe he will be more lenient until I'm actually 14."

"Right your birthday is in October right, October 1st?" Jonathan asked.

Five nodded and he could already see Will's face beaming.

"I'm going to make sure it's a fun one Five, or at least maybe a little better than what you had."

Five chuckled and shook his head.

"Let's tackle one thing at a time and right now, it's school..my first day of school….Shit." Five commented.

Jonathan pulled into the school's parking lot and opened the backdoor for his brother and Five to get out. Jonathan left to walk in with Nancy while Will and Five waited for the others. It didn't take long for the others to come and Five was amused at what Dustin was wearing.

"Weird Al huh…way to make a statement, a brave statement." Five teased warmly.

Dustin chuckled and motioned to Five shooting back with,

"Least I don't look like a mini Tom Cruise. You sure you didn't talk to Steve about what you'd wear since I see him wearing something like this."

"Hey Steve is not bad…plus it was Robin's idea that I wear the bomber jacket. She thought the blazer would make me too much like a prep school nerd. I think this all looks rather good myself." Five answered.

"Yes I agree, better than any of the guys here anyway. Just be careful since some girls are already looking at you with curious and puppy dog eyes." Max said with a light gag.

"Oh trust me I can manage and my focus isn't to them but to surviving how long I will be here for."

"Which will be awhile most likely but hey, least you're here and El's…El's happy you're here too." Mike commented, gritting his teeth at the last bit.

El nodded in agreement and smiled lightly at Five. She wondered if he was actually going to go to school with her and here he was. It was her first time in school too and they would go through this together.

When they all got into the school, they went to the office to get their schedules and started to see who would be with who and when.

"Still can't believe Quinn's going to be your last name. Eh beats the old fart's last name." Dustin commented.

"Yeah well it could have been worse and the options Owens picked before this were worse. Last thing I need is to pick something too stand outish." Five expressed as he was making notes on his schedule.

His program worked out to where he wouldn't be completely alone in all his classes; El's was the same way. He grinned at this discovery since he really didn't want to intermingle much with others. The day went by as normal as it could for Five. He needed to get used to being referred by Mr. Quinn by some of his teachers but overall it wasn't an adjustment to being called Aidan. Naturally he was advanced and pretty much classes content wise weren't going to be an issue. His Algebra teacher was very impressed with Five's knowledge and wasn't bothered when Five noticed errors in a problem he was teaching. Biology was the same only Five wasn't an asshole to the teacher. Five genuinely loved science and math despite how a lot in his first year might just be a refresher for him. The only teacher Five knew he was going to butt heads with was his English teacher. Based on the books she was going to cover and how her demeanor was, he knew the only opinions that would get good grades were ones that matched her narrow mind and her opinions. Eh least he realized now and he could help El in this course to help her pass as well as the others too. Teachers were the same just when everyone had them was different.

The boys met up for lunch. When they wondered why El and Max weren't there Five reminded them,

"They share lunch next period."

Mike frowned at that and Five playfully shoved him.

"Come on, you will see her soon anyway. From how she was in English with me, it is overwhelming her slightly but she will make it. We do have to help her catch up on a few things though and help her study."

"How very sweet Five; yeah we will do that." Will acknowledged.

Mike scoffed a bit but still gave him a light look of warmth.

"Thanks. We all know this school is a bit beneath you but you must be smart if that's the case." Mike commented.

Five nodded as he picked at his food. Maybe he will be one of those losers who will bring lunch from home if the quality was always going to suck like this. Limp green beans, sickly chicken tenders, hard bread that others might have touched. He instead munched on some pretzels since he needed to eat something.

"So this might be early but anyone thinking about joining any clubs?" Will asked.

This shocked everyone except for Five. Out of all of them, the nervous and timid Will asking that was just unexpected.

"Well I'm definitely going to try out for the basketball team. I don't want us to be complete losers for the four years." Lucas mentioned as he popped a small piece of chicken in his mouth.

"Who cares if we are losers, we should join things that are fun." Dustin expressed.

Five chuckled and looked at Will softly. He knew what he was going to suggest and sure enough,

"Well when I was getting us new D&D stuff, I bumped into this guy with leather and long hair saying we should join his club. It sounds like he maybe played and has a club…"

"Yeah like anyone like that exists here. I mean who would make a D&D club." Lucas dismissed.

Will frowned and Five sighed. As he ate though he did notice people at a couple of tables away. He raised an eyebrow to see a guy who clearly looked to be left back at the head of one of them. Long hair, a denim vest over his leather jacket, shirt that read Hellfire on it, and a devious and playful smile. Five watched him and oddly, he noticed that the metalhead was looking at them…like a wolf looking for little sheep. He grabbed his plastic knife just in case as he saw the older teen get up and approached their table. Will cracked a tiny smile since it was the same guy from the game store. Dustin and Mike seem a bit stunned and cowered a bit while Lucas shot a little glare at the guy.

"Welllllll, look at all the lost sheep. You clearly need my help and a cause my young friends." he spoke with charm and theatrics.

Five played with the plastic knife in his hand and the teen noticed, chuckling at the actions.

"Is the little Cruise wannabe going to try and shank me? All I am offering is a place for all of you to belong in your four years and a place where adventures and fantasy can run free." he continued.

"So you do have a D&D club then?" Will asked with light excitement.

"Indeed I do boys. You play?" he asks.

Mike and Dustin beamed at that since…wow this guy, this rough looking guy played D&D. He was probably the DM of the club and he was so cool.

"Yeah we do. We usually play every weekend in my basement." Mike told him.

"Usually either with Mike or Will as the DM, they make awesome campaigns." Dustin expressed, motioning to Will and Mike.

Five watched at the teen's eyes lit up and he placed his hands on the table.

"Well I only have a year left…"

"Is that what you said to yourself the last two years, Van Halen?" Five quipped, not letting go of the Cruise comment.

He was expecting the older teen to get pissed and to try and grab his throat as he got the plastic knife ready. Instead, the teen just smiled and laughed at the comment. That caught Five off guard as did everyone else. Surely he wasn't amused at the quip was he?

"Well I do share a name with the great guitarist….it's Eddie, Eddie Munson. But the rest of 85 and 86 will be my years and it will be even grander with all new party members in my club." Eddie commented.

Will seemed to be eager and he looked to his friends. Mike seemed to be intrigued by Eddie and it would be cool to play D&D with the guy. Dustin's eyes were also brimming with eagerness and excitement since there were others in this town that didn't think D&D was a devil's game. Lucas had a reluctant smile since he wanted to join but he would also be trying out for basketball. He was kind of done being a loser and just wanted to be popular for once. However if the rest of his friends were going to join, he would too out of reluctance. Five wanted to be sure Will didn't get too sucked into Eddie's wild wiles and D&D was fun. He probably wouldn't be able to make every meeting due to his future work obligations but he wanted to expand his horizons a bit.

"Have I tempted you all to join my party and the Hellfire family?" Eddie asked with a curious smile.

"Tempt nothing, we are in! Least I am!" Dustin expressed happily.

"I-I'm in too, yeah I'm going to join." Will stammered happily.

"Count me in Eddie." Mike commented.

Eddie then turned his attention to Lucas and Five. Lucas was hesitant and Mike noticed this.

"Lucas come on, you can do both. Besides, what are the chances they would even let a freshman play big games? Don't abandon us." Will pressed.

Lucas sighed and he looked at Five.

"What about you Aidan, are you joining this club? I know you work…"

"I will see what I can do and try taking shifts that aren't on club nights. But as far as you're concerned, I will be around in Hellfire when possible." Five interrupted.

Of course he would join the club Lucas thought, especially at points he's joined at Will's hip. Eddie grinned a bit wider and then looked at Lucas.

"Everyone else is joining up, don't be left out of the fun." Eddie encouraged.

Lucas cracked a very tiny smile and nodded.

"Fine but I will have other obligations."

Eddie grinned and he motioned them all to get up and have them sit with him at the Hellfire's table. There were only like three other guys at his table so they were all able to fit. Eddie expressed when club meetings were and that he would be the main DM. Everyone didn't complain about that and Will did see that Eddie was a good guy with maybe a few eccentricities. Least they all had a place they could belong at school even if the rest of the school didn't seem to like the club much.

When school finally let out, Five and the others including El and Max met up at Mike's to discuss their first day.

"It was very…overwhelming at times. Some people laughed at how I spoke but I'm glad everyone stuck up for me, especially you Mike and Five." El said in a grateful tone.

"I would have done more but it took all I had to listen to you about not hurting them. Honestly if anyone makes you cry I will do something about it. That goes if anyone is giving any of us problems I can deal with them." Five expressed.

Dustin chuckled at that and calmed him down, expressing,

"Yeah we don't want you in detention for us Five. Still, how was school for you?"

Five shrugged a bit since honestly it wasn't too eventful after getting the program and sitting in all the classes. Content wise it would be a breeze, dealing with other people would be more of the challenge.

"I mean Max was kind of right, girls were looking at me weirdly. Not sure if they found me cute or if I was a dork. Doesn't matter to me though." Five commented.

"Doesn't matter? Five, you are catching girls' attention already. Just think about when you're older, you could have a girlfriend of your own." Mike expressed.

Five scoffed at that notion and shook his head.

"That's not really on my mind Mike. What's on my mind is to just get through school, work on my formula, work at my job whether it's at Scoops or somewhere else, and just be a good friend and hang out at fun places. Girls…not really high up unless it's hanging out with Max and El in a friendly way." Five expressed.

"Yeah but most of the party has someone. I have Suzie, Mike and El might get back together if he keeps up the good behavior, and Lucas and Max are a thing. It's only you and Will that are single." Dustin shared.

Will squirmed a bit in his seat at that. He wasn't like his friends and he knew it. They seemed to find girls attractive, pretty, or hot but he was just blank or not interested in them. He knew something had to be wrong but felt he had to hide this from them. Five also kind of felt odd but in a different way. It seemed too early for any of them to have someone but that was probably his old man's teachings again muddling his mind.

"Yeah well lest you forgot, most of you are only 14. I'm 13 and quite frankly I have the time. I already felt like I was growing up too fast at the academy and I am not accelerating now that I am away from them. My priorities are just…elsewhere." Five shared

Will noticed Five was subtly looking his way when he said elsewhere. His cheeks flushed a bit and saw Five smiling a bit at him. He had to know what he was doing…did he?

"Okay fine fine, take your time. But overall school wasn't hell for you was it El?" Mike asked.

"No, you all made it…decent. I wonder how it will be tomorrow." El asked.

"More of the same maybe with a class change or something. Least I know all the guys are doing D&D at school thanks to the club we joined." Dustin shared.

"Oh good thing we missed the recruiting; you annoy us to join as is. Last thing we needed was a junior asking us to join." Max said in relief.

"Try a super senior recruiting people to play D&D…but yeah Eddie's okay. Bit of a cliched metalhead but does have a heart for young kids and personal expression. Maybe if he's a good DM and if he really wants to get out of school I can tutor his ass." Five mused.

"Why am I not surprised to hear you say that?" Max asked.

Five thought for a moment and then commented,

"What tutor is ass? It's pathetic he's still in high school where he's pushing 20 almost. But yeah call this one of my many acts of kindness and maybe changing history but yeah I do care for people, just people who deserve it."

"Glad to know that since that might mean you and I won't be at each other's throats." Mike expressed.

"Yeah except in D&D where my character's a bit chaotic and will screw you over." Five teased.

This caused the guys to laugh and Max to comment 'boys' under her breath and admit her laughing.

"Well at least we'll be in this together…all of us." Dustin said with a smile.

Everyone looked to Five and he chuckled a bit warmly. He felt this little pull in his heart that hurt and felt his throat get a bit choked up. Five knew he didn't belong here and yet…he felt he was in the right place and in the right time.

"Yeah of course…we will be there for each other." Five commented back.

Five just hope this won't end up a broken promise. He didn't belong here yet why did his heart say he did belong. There's no such thing as fate yet Five felt he was where he needed to be. Above all else, Five did like having friends and he was going to be by their side for as long as he could.

Yeah not so subtle reference on Aidan being Five's first name and Quinn being the last, wanted to pay tribute to Five's actor and Eddie's actor since they are wonderful in their respective roles. Anyway hope people are enjoying this read since I love Five's interactions with the Stranger Things cast. More to come in the coming week.