Things are great!

That's what everyone is saying. New Hawkins, as everyone is calling it, is growing nicely. New buildings quickly sprouted to replace the old ones. Mike considered himself lucky that his house wasn't among the destroyed. His neighborhood was relatively untouched.

The Byers, plus El, moved back to Hawkins. Mike and El broke things off not long after. They were still good friends. El went under the name Jane Hooper. Most people forgot her time as Eleanor Wheeler. When everyone met her in middle school it was a very chaotic time. So, El was given a fresh start.

"Micheal," Karen called. "You're going to be late for school!"

Mike rushed downstairs. "Remember, I have D&D after school," Mike explained. Mike took over the club after Eddie's death, and Dustin became the vice president. Will, of course, joined the club when he transferred to Hawkins High. Erica had started a middle school version of the club too.

"Why are you still playing that game?" Karen asked. "Isn't that what caused that Eddie boy to kill those people?"

"Mom, you know Eddie was found innocent," Mike said. Too bad it was found out after his death. "And I play it because it's fun. There's nothing demonic about it. See you this afternoon."

Ever since the Eddie Munson situation, his Mom had become skeptical about D&D. She gave into all the panic about it.

Mike exited the home. He walked towards the bicycle. Mike hadn't gone to take his learner's permit test. Lucas was the only member of the party to have his learner's permit. Mike's Mom had let him drive around the neighborhood for practice. He was planning on taking the test this weekend.

Mike made his bicycle stand up. He noticed a weird van across the street. It had a weird symbol on it. Now that Mike thought about it, he had seen that image a lot. He had seen it on clothing and other cars. When he pointed it out to his friends, they said they never saw it around unless he pointed it out.

"Hey, Mike," Dustin said. He, Lucas, and Will had just arrived on their bikes.

"Hey, guys," Mike said.

Will noticed the weird van. "Do you have new neighbors?"

"I don't think so," Mike answered. "I haven't seen any moving vans."

Mike climbed onto his bicycle. "Where's El?"

"She's getting a ride with Connor," Will responded. Once she moved back to Hawkins, El got her fair share of admirers. Max had taken her on another shopping spree. El was also experimenting with new hairstyles. That, along with her new boost of confidence, made her quite popular.

"Alright," Mike said. The group biked away from the home. The van soon drove off.

"What are you guys doing Friday night?" Lucas asked. The party had lunch together. Lunch was deemed their time since they didn't have a class together.

"Nothing," Will said.

"You guys should come to a party with me," Lucas said. "You guys remember my friend, Andrew, from the basketball team, right? Well, he's having a party, and he said I could bring you guys. He has a huge backyard."

"I don't know," Will said. "That's not really our scene."

"It's going to be super chill," Lucas promised. "It's mostly just the boys and girls basketball teams, and their girlfriends and boyfriends. El has already agreed to go."

"Connor invited me," El shrugged.

"So, how serious are things with this Connor guy?" Dustin asked.

"Mom and Hopper already want to meet him," Will responded. Lucas went on to try and convince the party to go with him on Friday. However, Mike couldn't pay attention. Something outside caught his attention. It was a van almost identical to the one he saw this morning.

"I have to get something from my locker," Mike said. Without saying anything else, Mike got up from the lunch table. He didn't even bother to throw away his tray. Mike went straight to his locker.

Mike hadn't realized Will had followed him. "Mike."

"Oh, hey," Mike responded.

"Are you okay?" Will asked. "You've been acting weird today."

"It's stupid," Mike sighed.

"You can tell me anything," Will stated.

"Do you ever feel like you're being watched?" Mike asked.

"All the time," Will chuckled. "It's just the paranoia from the last few years. That's what Dr. Stevens always says. It's normal."

Will started seeing a therapist when he moved back to Hawkins. Mike could tell it was helping. Mike thought about asking his parents to sign him up, but he didn't want people to worry.

"But I keep seeing these vans with a symbol on them," Mike responded. "Everywhere."

"It's from that new church in town," Will promised. "Its followers are everywhere. Hopper told me all about it. They're quite crazy, and the police have had to be called on them a few times for noise complaints, but they seen harmless."

Will checked the perimeter. He reached for Mike's hand and took it. That was another thing that had improved since the Byers came back. "The days of living in fear from the boogeyman are over," Will promised. "Let's just embrace the new normal. Let's go to that party Friday night. We can leave if needed, but let's just be high schoolers."

Mike didn't respond for a few moments. Then he smiled. "Okay."