Archive of Our Own

March, 1988

The alarm blares loudly in Holly Wheeler’s sun-soaked bedroom.

The ten-year-old girl groans and rolls over to punch the alarm clock. It falls silent. Bringing the same hand up to her face, she bemoans the loss of blissful unconsciousness. It’s still early in the week, which means that there is plenty more school to dread.

Normally that wouldn’t bother her, but this time of March is normally when Hawkins’ spring break falls. That’s a thing of the past after missing so much school, and Holly could accept that. Only it means there is no end in sight until late June.

Holly just wants to have fun again.

She rolls onto her other side, her eyes landing tiredly on her calendar. She sits up straight and suddenly feels her heart start to race.

March 22nd.

Bounding out of bed, she runs over to her vanity. Not to get ready for the day, but to pull out the project that she’s worked on for the past few days. Holly turns over the bracelet and thoroughly inspects it for any flaws.

When she finds none, she wraps it in some spare tissue paper and ties a ribbon around it. It’s artless, but it’s better than spare newspapers or anything else that they have in the house.

“Holly!” her older sister, Nancy, shouts. “Breakfast in five!”

“Coming!”

Holly speeds through her morning routine. Sticking her head out the window, she settles on a green sweater that she got this past Christmas with a pair of her school slacks. Holly looks at her hair next in contemplation.

She has not worn pigtails since returning from the Upside Down. Partly, because she hasn’t felt like that same girl who was taken by that horrible, frighteningly-toothed monster. The other part is that pigtails feel too kiddy. Most days, she wears a ponytail to school. Nancy even taught her how to do a sleek bun.

Today, she thinks it is time for something different again. She pulls a hairband out of her drawer and places it on top of her head once she combs out some of the knots. Rotating her head, she observes herself from every possible angle until she is satisfied.

Holly bounds out of her bedroom and makes a beeline toward the bathroom. As usual, the door is closed. She huffs in annoyance.

“Mike!” she bellows. “I swear, you spend more time in there than me and Nancy combined.”

Holly is prepared to bang the door down, but it swings open before she gets the chance. She blanches when she sees who is grinning on the other side of it.

“He does, doesn’t he?” Will says, playfully. He flattens some hair on the crown of his head. “Morning, by the way. It’s all yours.”

“Th-Thanks,” Holly stammers. She inwardly winces. “Sorry!”

“Don’t sweat it,” Will chuckles.

Holly watches as her brother’s best friend walks down the stairs. Then, she remembers what she didn’t say to him and nearly facepalms herself. She rushes into the bathroom and closes the door with a resounding thud.

“Stupid,” Holly hisses at herself in the mirror. “You idiot.”

***

“Happy birthday, Will!”

Will does a double-take and flushes when he reaches the bottom of the staircase. Pretty much everyone that Will knows is standing in the Wheelers’ dining room, including an unimpressed and bacon-deprived Ted Wheeler.

“Happy birthday, man,” Lucas and Dustin chorus.

Both of them pat him eagerly on the shoulder and jostle him.

“Baby Byers is all grown up!” Robin crows. “Seventeen!”

“He’s not grown up yet,” his mother says with a nostalgic smile.

“Don’t call me that,” Will groans, giving Robin a look.

“Happy birthday, bud,” Jonathan says next.

“Thanks,” Will replies, hugging his brother tight. Then, he looks at the table. “Jesus.”

“Your mom and I made your favorites,” Mrs. Wheeler says with a smile. “Happy birthday, dear.”

“That’s so … Thank you,” Will stammers. “You didn’t have to go to any trouble.”

“It wasn’t,” Mrs. Wheeler assures him. “But you’d better eat it fast, because I don’t think it’s long for this world if these hungry eyes are anything to go by.”

Will laughs and watches as everyone begins grabbing plates and filling them. He is about to do the same when he feels a hand on the small of his back. He barely resists the urge to shiver at the touch, or from the whisper in his ear.

“Another year older,” Mike murmurs. “Any wiser?”

“So they say,” Will responds.

Will turns so that the others cannot see the way that his face burns. Mike can see how his proximity affects Will as clearly as day, but he merely smiles.

“Happy birthday,” Mike says, softly. “Will the Wise.”

“Thanks,” Will laughs despite himself. “Not sure what all the fuss is about. Seventeen isn’t a big year. Like at all.”

“Not true,” Mike points out. “You can drive us around now. Especially me.”

“I think you’re forgetting an important detail,” Will snorts. “Actually, two. I don’t have a car and … I’m only fifteen days older than you.”

“Never imagined I’d be the type to go for an older man,” Mike teases. “But here we are.”

Will’s eyes widen. He looks around to make sure that no one heard his boyfriend.

“Relax,” Mike soothes. Will looks at him. “It’s chaos. Which is sort of our thing, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Will punches out a breath. “Definitely.”

“Come on,” Mike says next. “We don’t have much time to eat.”

***

Holly bounds down the stairs two at a time.

“Cuttin’ it close,” her father drawls from behind his coffee.

“You haven’t tied back your hair,” her mother says, surprised. “It’s different.”

“I like it this way,” Holly says with a frown. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing,” her mother says, quickly. “It’s just …”

“It looks great,” Nancy interjects. She wraps an arm around Holly’s shoulder. Holly beams up at her. “Looks just like mine did when I was your age.”

“Really?” Holly says, brightly.

Nancy nods. Conspiratorally, she whispers:

“Except I’ve always been jealous of your color.”

“Like Mom’s.”

Nancy’s lip twitches in a way that confuses Holly.

“Sure.”

Their mother whips a dish towel at Nancy, who releases Holly’s shoulder and slinks away while laughing. Holly adjusts her backpack on her shoulder before swinging it around to pull out what she checked on earlier. Then, she scans the dining room until she finds …

“Will,” she calls. The older boy looks at her. “Happy birthday.”

Holly walks over nervously, feeling her heart rate increase when Will beams at her.

“Thanks, Holly.” He offers a one-armed hug, which she eagerly returns. “What’ve you got?”

“It’s for you.” She extends it to him. “I, uh … I made it.”

Will’s eyes widen in surprise as he carefully accepts the gift.

“I just …” Holly falters when he looks up at her again. She is hyper-aware that her brother and his friends are listening. “It’s nothing really. You’ve just been … I was all over the place when I got home. But you got it. You understood.”

Will’s expression softens. There’s a distinct wobble in his lower lip.

“It’s for your birthday,” Holly rambles. “But it’s also a thank-you, I guess. For everything.”

Will sets his drink down so that he can give her a proper hug. Holly’s body goes wobbly and she worries that Will can feel how hard her heart is pounding beneath what she hopes is a detached appearance.

Then again, she reasons. He’d be too nice to point it out.

“That’s so sweet,” Will says in her ear. Holly barely resists the urge to shudder. “Thank you.”

“Looks like you’ve got an admirer, Byers,” Dustin teases.

Mike punches him in the shoulder as Lucas says, “Don’t be a dick.”

“Language,” her mother and Joyce scold them from a few feet away.

“Can I open it now?” Will asks.

Holly blinks. It occurs to her that Will only intends to unwrap her gift if she’s comfortable with him doing it in front of an audience. It makes her heart swell and her feelings deepen.

God, she likes him so much.

Realizing that she hasn’t responded, Holly quickly nods. Will carefully unties the ribbon and opens the tissue paper. Holly is about ready to crawl out of her skin when Will unfurls it and reveals the bracelet that she made for him.

She was on the fence about whether she should make him one or not. Her crush on Will came on fast and out of nowhere. Holly doesn’t want Will to see her just as his best friend’s kid sister, and she doesn’t want him to see her as just a friend, but they are friends. Will has told her that on more than one occasion.

Also, in fairness, Nancy started out as friends with Will’s older brother before they started dating. So who’s to say …?

“Oh, how cute,” her mother squeals, passing by with more bacon. “Is that what you’ve been staying up late working on, Holly?”

Mortified, Holly groans, “Mom.”

“I love it,” Will says, drawing her attention away from anyone else.

“What is it?” El asks, passing by for some juice.

“Looks to me like a friendship bracelet,” Hopper remarks.

“You know what a friendship bracelet is?” Lucas says, skeptically.

A shadow passes over the former Chief of Police’s face. Holly isn’t sure what he is thinking exactly, but it’s like a memory is playing behind Hopper’s eyes. El squeezes his forearm, a gesture that is enough to draw him out of his reverie.

Hopper gives her a reassuring look. He never answers Lucas.

“You really like it?” Holly says, worriedly. “You’re not just saying that?”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Will says. “I swear.” He glances briefly at Mike before focusing again on Holly. “Friends don’t lie.”

Holly smiles weakly and is about to respond when someone else beats her to it.

“That’s all well and good,” her father drones, “but boys don’t wear friendship bracelets.”

The room falls deadly silent. Aside from the rock that lands in Holly’s stomach.

“Ted,” her mother says, appalled.

“Dad, what the hell?” Mike says, angrily.

Those are the last words that Holly hears.

She ignores the voices shouting her name as she hightails it out of the house and to the garage where she can pick up her bike. Her eyes burn more fiercely than she remembers them doing in a long time and she brushes angrily at them.

“Holly, wait!”

That’s Mike again. He is outside and, to Holly’s horror, Will has followed him and stands just a few feet away. She refuses to meet his eye. She doesn’t want to see the pity in them.

“Come back inside,” Mike insists. “Dad’s just being —”

Holly doesn’t know what comes over her. She isn’t even sure where she channels the explosive rage from as she says her next words.

“Just fuck off, Mike!”

Holly kicks off the ground and rides away without another word. Her hair whips all around her, mocking her for the entirety of her bike ride.

Who is she kidding? She’s still a pathetic little kid.

***

“Are you okay?”

Mike’s face, which had slackened from Holly’s parting words, turns to one of disbelief.

“I’ve never heard her curse before,” Mike says, stunned. “Let alone aimed at me.”

“It’s not you she’s upset with,” Will reasons. “I should’ve said something.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.” Mike’s angry eyes find his house. “That asshole did.”

“Mike,” Will sighs. Mike starts to advance toward the house. “No.” Will quickly gets between Mike and the door and puts a hand on either shoulder. “Don’t do it.”

“What’s going on?” Lucas asks. He, Dustin, El, and Max all wander outside. “Where’s Holly?”

“Tore out of here. Like a bat out of hell,” Mike snaps. Pointing at the house, he adds, “Because of that cunt.”

“Jesus, Wheeler,” Max says. “Far be it from me to disagree in this case, but d’you kiss your mother with that mouth?”

“What’s a …?” El begins.

“Don’t,” Will, Lucas, and Dustin chorus.

El freezes. She looks at Max, who shakes her head.

“Don’t ask your parents,” Max says. “I’ll explain later.”

Will glances at Dustin who pulls a face. Then, he looks at Mike.

“Don’t take his match and burn down the house,” Will implores. “He’s on edge because we’re all still here. But we’ll be fully moved into the new house in less than a week. Things’ll be better for everyone’s stress levels.”

“Not for Holly!” Mike argues. “I’ve never seen her so angry.”

“I’ve never seen her so crushed,” Dustin remarks. He glances at Will. “I think you’ve got a fan.”

“I think you need to cool it,” Will says, gaining an edge to his voice. Everyone blinks. “Holly’s a sweet kid. I meant it when I said I wasn’t bullshitting her.”

“We know that,” Lucas says, placatingly. “It’s like she said, you get what she’s been through.”

“To a point.”

“What do you mean?” El asks.

Will glances at Max, who seems to already be on the same page as him.

“Will got the first-child, flaws-and-all parenting treatment from Vecna,” Max says. Will nods in appreciation. “Surviving. Fighting for his life. Vecna didn’t have the blueprint yet. He saw how things went spectacularly bad with Will and course-corrected with Holly.”

“Vecna mentally manipulated Holly into believing she was exactly where she was supposed to be,” Will says. “He gave her everything that she’d ever need or want to make her happy.” He shivers. “I don’t know that I’d’ve fought half as hard if I’d had some utopia.”

“You would’ve,” Mike insists. Will looks at him. “You’d’ve still wanted to come back to us.”

“He convinced her that everyone would be joining her,” Max counters.

“If you hadn’t been there,” Will trails off, shaking his head. “You saved her life. It would make way more sense for her to want to talk to you about this stuff.”

“You’re not getting it,” Dustin says. Will looks at him. “I wasn’t making fun of Holly before. She genuinely has a crush on you. That’s why she opens up to you. It’s the reason why she made you a goddamn friendship bracelet.”

“Dude, she’s ten,” Mike says in disbelief.

“Doesn’t matter,” Max says. They all look at her. She shrugs. “It doesn’t. Girls have crushes way sooner than most boys get over cooties. Especially crushes on their older brother’s friends. The vast majority of Billy’s friends were total creeps, but there were a few who …”

“Okay,” Lucas cuts in before Max can go any further.

Smirking, Max continues, “Besides, it’s not like Byers would act on it. He’s not a perv. Case in point,” she says, gesturing to his grossed out face. “Lots of girls have crushes on older guys.”

“Did it have to be Will?” Mike grumbles.

“What’s the matter, Wheeler?” Max teases. “Worried you’ll lose your claim?”

Mike turns bright red. Will shoots Max a look before directing at Mike:

“Don’t take the bait.”

“Kids,” Mrs. Wheeler calls from the front porch. “If you don’t leave now, you’ll be late.”

“Come on,” Dustin says to Lucas and Max. “Steve said he’d drive us.”

“Bikes?” Mike asks Will.

In other words, more opportunity to speak alone. Will wordlessly nods.

He follows Mike to the Wheelers’ garage.

***

Holly storms into school, ignoring the strange looks that she gets from her classmates. She makes her way over to the water fountain, where she spots Mary leaning over it beside their other friend Cynthia.

“Hey,” Cynthia says. “Who pissed in your Cheerios?”

Mary lifts her head from the water fountain and wipes her mouth. She gives Cynthia an odd look before she appraises Holly.

Sympathetically, Mary asks, “Parents fighting?”

“Dad’s a dick.” The girls’ eyes widen comically, but Holly isn’t as amused by that right now. “He totally embarrassed me in front of Will.”

“Oh, Will,” Cynthia draws out with a wicked grin. Mary whacks her arm. “The love of Holly’s life.”

“Shut up. I’m not that bad,” Holly argues. More hesitantly, she asks, “Am I?”

“Dunno,” Mary says. She gives Holly a lopsided smile. “Does today’s new look have anything to do with him?”

She gestures to her own hair, which makes Holly cover her face and groan. Her friends giggle.

“He’s cute. You’re allowed to be stupid around him,” Mary says. “What happened?”

“I was stupid,” Holly says, flatly. “I didn’t know what to get him for his birthday, then I thought about how he said we’re friends. So I made him a bracelet.”

“Oh, honey,” Cynthia grimaces. “I could’ve told you that wouldn’t go over well.”

“It did, though,” Holly insists. “I know when Mike’s friends are just playing along, but Will isn’t like that. He made it a point to say friends don’t lie to each other when I asked if he actually liked it.”

“But then my dad walked by,” Holly says, feeling renewed anger, “and said boys don’t wear bracelets. He ruined everything!”

“Boys don’t wear friendship bracelets,” Cynthia points out. “Everyone knows that.”

“Come on,” Mary says with a frown. “He doesn’t have to actually wear it. It’s the thought, and Will knows that.” She directs the last part to Holly. “What happened after?”

“I got the hell out of there,” Holly says. “Will and my brother followed me outside, and Mike tried getting me to come back in, but I was already crying and told him to … fuck off.”

Cynthia releases a low whistle. Mary gives the other girl an exasperated look.

“Not helping.”

“It’s a whistle-worthy situation!”

“Anyway,” Holly sighs. “Life sucks.”

“Will doesn’t,” Mary acknowledges. “You said so yourself.”

Feeling her face grow warm, Holly leans forward and whispers, “He hugged me twice.”

“Hugged you, how?” Cynthia gasps, suddenly more engaged.

“A side hug when I wished him a happy birthday,” Holly says, lifting her thumb. Then, she lifts her index finger. “A full hug after I gave him the present. I thought I was gonna die.”

“Ugh, I hate you,” Mary moans. “You’re so lucky you have an older brother. His friends are hot.”

“He’s hot,” Cynthia giggles. “Have you seen him after he’s been sweating?”

“Gross,” Holly cries. “That’s my brother!”

“So?” Cynthia quips. “Not like he’s mine.”

The girls fall silent for a moment before bursting into a fit of giggles. The sound of the first bell follows and they all sigh with resignation.

“Come on,” Holly says. “Miss Harris will make us stay after if we’re late again.”

Linking arms with one another, the girls stride purposefully to their classroom.

***

“Is Dustin right?” Mike asks. He glances at Will as they ride their bikes through the streets of Hawkins. “Does Holly have a crush on you?”

“You really haven’t mastered this whole ‘crush’ thing yet,” Will replies, fondly shaking his head. “It’s generally not for the other person to know until they’re told.”

“So you’re saying you think he’s wrong?”

“I’m not saying that,” Will replies. “I suspected it.” He casts a side-long glance at Mike. “I know what a crush looks like. Been there, done that for most of my life. Remember?”

“Fuck,” Mike says in disbelief. “It all seemed so gross at her age. I thought girls were from another planet.”

“Some of us never quite outgrew that,” Will says with a wry smile. Mike laughs out loud. “It’s innocent. She’ll move on and find someone her own age she can actually be with.”

“I think that’s somehow worse,” Mike mutters. “At least you’re unattainable. What if she ends up with some jerk? Or worse … a jock.”

“Steve was a jock,” Will points out.

“And when he was a jock, he was a jerk,” Mike says, pointedly. “Making my point for me.”

Will hums. They lapse into a brief silence before he breaks it by chuckling.

“What is it?” Mike asks.

“I was just thinking,” Will begins, “how it’s too bad I don’t have a little brother. Byers boys have a habit of falling for the Wheeler siblings.”

“You’re so cheesy,” Mike complains, but his cheeks are bright red. More seriously, he adds, “It means a lot, you know.”

“What does?”

They ride into the Hawkins High School parking lot and navigate toward the bike racks. After locking their bikes, Mike turns to Will.

“You’re patient with her. Kind.”

“So are you,” Will points out. “She told me about Holly the Heroic. How she clung onto that.”

“Really?” Will nods. “She’s never said that to me.”

“You’re her big brother,” Will reasons. “There were lots of things I didn’t tell Jonathan, and we were closer than most siblings. It’s tough when you guys worry about us.”

Mike briefly squeezes his arm, and Will cherishes the fleeting pressure. A funny look suddenly comes over Mike’s face.

“Is that why she’s always insisting that we have the best house for her friends to hang out at?” Mike asks, gaping at Will. The latter grins. “Are they all obsessed with you?”

“If it helps,” Will teases, “I’m pretty sure the blonde girl with glasses has it bad for you. When we got back from that one disastrous workout session with Lucas, they were talking and she cut off like someone took a needle off a record.”

“This is horrifying,” Mike says. Will bursts out laughing. “I’m serious! We’ve never been given the time of day by girls our own age! Interested or not.”

“Mike, you had a girlfriend,” Will snorts. “Besides, speak for yourself. Zombie Boy got attention in his day. And again in Lenora.”

Will says the last part loftily and with the kind of amusement that distance and self-actualization can now afford him. Mike’s jaw drops and he hurries after Will as he walks into the building.

“You’re joking!”

“You’re saying it’s impossible?”

“No! Obviously not,” Mike counters. “You just never said.”

“Why would I?” Will asks, skeptically. “Like the bowl cut, it wasn’t for me.”

Curiously, Mike asks, “What’d she look like?”

A twinkle appears in Will’s eye.

“Hot.” Mike’s jaw, if possible, drops further. “Objectively.”

“Oh, right, of course,” Mike drawls. “Dude!”

Will’s expression becomes flabbergasted.

“It’s my birthday … and you just called me ‘dude,’” he says, slowly. Glancing around quickly, he mutters under his breath, “I think we may need to see other people.”

“Not before I give you your present.” He arches an eyebrow. “Later tonight.”

Mike holds Will’s gaze, which sends a shot of adrenaline directly to Will’s core. The latter clears his throat and looks down the hallway. People are milling around, likely making plans for tonight or the weekend, and Will is trying his level-best to stay calm.

“Unless you have a better offer.”

They both know damn well that Will would sooner set himself on fire than miss whatever Mike has planned. It goes without saying, but Will still gives him a knowing look.

“Remind me why the air mattress wasn’t in your room the whole time?”

Mike snorts and shakes his head.

“Because I’m a stupid, stupid man.” Will grins. The first bell rings. “Did you want to come home after school before we meet up with the others? Or should I meet you guys after bringing Holly home?”

Will opens his mouth and then closes it. He tilts his head.

“Can I propose a third option?”

***

“I’m just saying, they don’t need to give us that much homework,” Holly complains. “We already lost, like, practically two years of our lives. We should be allowed to have fun.”

“I guess,” Mary concedes. “But the work, itself, isn’t that bad.”

“You’re only saying that because you’re actually good at science,” Holly snickers. “Like my dorky brother and his friends.”

“Science is cool,” Mary says, firmly.

“Yeah, yeah …”

“No. Way,” Cynthia says, shooting out her left arm to stop Holly in her tracks.

Holly looks at her and sees that Cynthia is staring wide-eyed at something, or someone, ahead of them. When Holly turns to look, she goes rigid. Instead of seeing her brother where he waits every day for her, it’s …

Will.

“Did you know he was coming here?” Mary whispers.

“Obviously not,” Holly hisses. “This is so embarrassing.”

“The hell it is,” Cynthia counters. “You’re getting picked up by a high schooler who isn’t related to you. Megan H. is going to die, she’ll be so jealous.”

“Great. That’s the goal,” Holly sighs. Just then, Will looks directly at the three of them and waves. “I’m gonna puke.”

Not seeing the look that her friends exchange behind her, Holly is suddenly pushed forward by two sets of hands. She stumbles slightly and glances back at them with betrayal briefly as she walks over to the bike racks. The two girls make shooing gestures at her.

I hate my friends, she thinks.

“Hey, Holly,” Will greets her.

“Hi,” Holly replies. Hesitantly, she asks, “What’s going on? Where’s Mike?”

“He had to do something, before we meet the others tonight,” Will explains. He pushes off the rack and pulls his own bike off it from where it leaned. “Sorry; you’re stuck with me instead.”

Holly tilts her head, which causes him to roll his lips in amusement.

“Sorry,” he reiterates. “You just looked ridiculously like Nancy for a second. She used to give us that look all the time when we were being pests or annoying her.”

Hastily, Holly says, “You’re not annoying me!”

Will’s smile softens. He nods.

“Let’s go,” he says. “If we stay longer, I think your friends will try to arrange a meet and greet.”

Holly looks back, with her hands on the bike’s handlebars, and sees more than a few people whispering and pointing. She sees Cynthia standing there looking at Megan H. with the most smug expression that Holly has ever seen.

“They think this’ll make me cool,” Holly explains. “Being seen with a high schooler.”

“Your brother’s in high school.”

“Have you met Mike?” Holly says before she can stop herself. “I make him look cool.”

Will throws his head back and laughs. A jolt of electricity courses through Holly, but not before she hears the murmurings of her classmates intensify.

“Now we’ve done it,” Will snorts once he’s calmed down again. “Come on.”

He kicks off the ground and starts pedaling. Holly’s left with no choice but to follow him through the parking lot and out onto the main road. She has no clue what tomorrow will bring when she gets to school after that display.

“Why are you really here?” Holly asks after a few minutes. Will glances at her. “I’m not an idiot.”

“No, you’re not,” he agrees. “You were treated unfairly earlier. I’m sorry I didn’t stand up for you.”

“That wouldn’t have gone over well,” Holly points out. “Not while you’re all living in my parents’ house. And it was my dad.”

“Yeah, well. We’ll be moving out soon,” Will says. “I could’ve made my last grandstand be to tell him to stick it where the sun doesn’t shine.”

Holly goes to cover her mouth to prevent herself from giggling, but she nearly tips over as a result. She quickly steadies herself and exhales in relief.

“You good?”

“Yeah,” she replies, embarrassed. “Anyway, I guess he was right. You never see boys wearing friendship bracelets.”

“Who says?”

Holly sees movement in her periphery. When she turns her head, she sees that Will has rolled up his sleeve to reveal the bracelet. Holly nearly forgets how to pedal, which makes her come really close to flying over the handlebars.

Dumbly, Holly says, “You’re wearing it.”

“I was telling you the truth,” Will says. “I do like it. You even got beaded lettering with my DnD nickname on it.”

Will the Wise. It took Holly some time to get it just right, but she was proud of the final product. It looks even better on Will’s wrist when the sunlight hits it just right.

“Aren’t you worried about bullies?” Holly asks.

“Not like I used to be,” Will says. “I’ll be honest with you. Once it gets warmer, I’ll have to take it off if I’m wearing short sleeves. But,” he adds, “I figure I can carry it in my pocket.”

“Why are people so mean?” Holly asks.

“Your brother says it’s ‘cause they’re mouth-breathers,” Will says, conversationally. Holly raises her eyebrows. Will laughs. “Not convinced?”

“That’s just an insult. It doesn’t explain it.”

“True,” Will says. “I dunno, Holly. People are ignorant. And they hate when things don’t look like what they’ve been told to expect. I’ve sorta defied expectations my entire life, and not in a good way that impresses people.”

“How, then?”

“My dad thought I was a wuss.” Holly tenses. “But he’s nothing like your dad. Mine was a mean drunk and said more with his fists than with his mouth. We were better off for him walking out.”

“My dad isn’t always there even when he is,” Holly says. Her lips turn downward. “That’s what I’ve heard my mom say when she’s had too much wine.”

“I’m sorry,” Will says, gently. They lock eyes. “Also that you heard that.”

Holly shrugs jerkily and looks straight ahead.

“I hear more than people realize.”

“I was the same,” Will says. “It can be a lot to carry on your own.”

“I’m not,” Holly counters. “We’re talking right now.”

“And I’ll always be here to talk.”

There’s a long stretch of silence. Too long for Holly’s liking.

“But?” she says, hesitantly.

“No ‘but,’” Will promises. “I meant it when I said we’re friends. If the past several years have taught me anything, we’re nothing without our friends.”

Ain’t that the truth, Holly thinks.

“That said,” Will continues. “Friends tell each other secrets, right? Personal things?”

“Right,” Holly confirms. “Mary and Cynthia tell me all sorts of things. Sometimes about the other when one is mad about something.”

Will’s lip twitches as they turn a corner. It draws Holly’s focus to the birthmark on the left side of his upper lip that she always notices. She has always found it cute and so randomly placed, but so unique. Like the boy, himself.

Will maintains the same speed so that his and Holly’s bikes are perfectly aligned.

“But you keep their secrets, right?” Will says, pulling her from her thoughts. “Because if I tell you something, I need to know it’ll stay between us. That means no telling your friends. Or mine.”

“I promise,” Holly says, suddenly breathless. She looks at Will. “What is it?”

Now that they’re nearing her house, Will starts to pedal slower. As if to afford them more time. Holly also sees a flicker of something in his eye.

Worry?

“Since the end of last year,” he begins, “I’ve been seeing someone. Romantically.”

Holly blinks. Next, it feels as though her world comes crashing down around her ears.

Will has a girlfriend. Someone who likes him and who he likes back. Someone who he kisses. Probably someone who is his age. Holly isn’t stupid. She figured out pretty fast that Will won’t look twice at her right now. But part of her had hoped that someday …

She pushes the thought from her mind.

“What’s her name?”

“That’s the thing, Holls.” Her heart aches at the use of the nickname that he sometimes uses and she loves hearing him say. Usually. “It isn’t a ‘she.’”

Holly hits the brakes hard. Will comes to a stop as well and looks apprehensively at her.

“It’s a boy?” Holly clarifies.

She needs to be sure. These things matter.

“Yeah,” Will confirms. “Does that bother you?”

“No, I … no?” Holly hesitates. “I mean, I hear things. Mean things.”

“I’ve heard them all at this point.”

Will doesn’t say it with any sense of self-pity or anger. His tone is more matter-of-fact.

“You’re nothing like how my dad describes those people.” She flushes. “Sorry.”

“I understand,” Will says. “I know who he voted for.”

Holly looks at him in confusion, but Will just shakes his head. He lowers his gaze and Holly still worries that she has said the wrong thing. She tries to wrack her brain for something to say. As Will opens his mouth again, she blurts out:

“Are you happy?” Will closes his mouth. “That’s what matters, right?”

A smile creeps its way onto Will’s face. It’s as much a relief to Holly as it is devastating.

“Really happy,” Will confides. “I wish more people saw it your way.”

It doesn’t make it easier like Holly thought it would. She was always taught about compassion in Sunday School, but right now it’s taking everything in her not to ride away in tears. Again.

Stop acting like a little kid, she inwardly scolds.

Will is trusting her with an adult-level secret. That has to count for something.

“What’s his name?” Holly amends. “You can trust me. I won’t tell.”

“I know you won’t,” Will says. He shifts his weight from one foot to the other as he sits on the motionless bike. “But I have to respect his privacy. At least for now.”

“Do you want it to be a secret?”

“No,” Will replies without hesitation. “Neither does he, but it’s not that simple. This sort of thing … it’s not always safe to share. It’s definitely not safe in Hawkins. Also,” he continues. “I knew who I was from an early age, even before I was able to accept it. He’s still adjusting to himself, and that’s okay. Does that make sense?”

“I guess,” Holly says, slowly. “Nancy says the most important part of a relationship is that the other person doesn’t make you feel bad. So as long as he doesn’t, I guess it’s okay.”

“There must be something in the water at your house,” Will says, shaking his head. “You Wheelers are ridiculously smart.”

Holly’s cheeks grow warm and she studies her bike. A terrible thought occurs to her. She lifts her head sharply and looks at him with worry.

“You’re not sick, are you?” Holly asks. Will furrows his brow. “Dad gets mad when the news talks about a disease that he says only affects faggots.”

Holly’s heart lurches when Will visibly flinches. She sees the way that his jaw tightens and his right fist clenches and unclenches on his bike handle. He releases a heavy breath.

“I’m not sick,” Will manages. “AIDS can and does affect gay men, but … well, that’s because our government is letting it kill us. They’re not doing enough. Or anything meaningful, really.”

“Not even President Reagan?”

“No. And this starts at the top with him,” Will says, curtly. “Also.” He looks at her with a slightly pained but more neutral expression than before. “You shouldn’t say that word. Faggot.”

“It’s bad?” Holly asks.

“It is,” Will confirms. “I’m sorry you even know it.”

“Why doesn’t Mom get mad at Dad for saying it, like when he curses?”

Will somehow looks even more weary. He runs a hand over his face.

“It’s different from a curse. Curses are … they’re inappropriate and they’re foul, but calling a gay person, or any person, that other word is hateful. I know you didn’t mean it that way,” Will cuts in before Holly can speak. “But it’s important that you know the impact of your words. And how the meaning behind them can affect other people, whether they hear you say it or it’s said to them.”

“I’m sorry,” Holly says, timidly. “I won’t ever say it again.”

“I believe you,” Will replies. Holly blinks at him. “It’s natural to repeat what we hear other people around us say. That is why I’m so glad to be friends with so many different types of people. The stuff I don’t know, they might be able to teach me. And vice versa.”

“Do they know?” Holly asks. “About you liking boys and dating one.”

Does my brother know? Holly wonders.

“They know the first. I think they suspect the second,” Will says with a pensive expression. “My siblings are the only ones who know who it is right now.”

Holly nods as Will glances briefly at his watch.

“We’d better get moving before our moms think we’ve disappeared.”

“Don’t wanna make that a habit,” Holly drawls.

Will laughs loudly before slapping his hand over his mouth. Holly giggles.

“You’re the only one who’d find that funny,” she says.

“I mean, it’s kinda obvious why,” Will says, still laughing. “Dark humor can be great.”

Yeah, Holly thinks. Sometimes it’s a lifeline.

Like a good friend. She glances sideways at Will as they eventually turn onto her street.

“Thanks for trusting me,” Holly says. Will glances at her. “And … Thanks for not making a big deal about this morning. I’m glad we’re friends.”

She watches in real time as that earlier burden seems to lift off Will’s shoulders.

“So am I,” Will says, earnestly.

***

Will’s fingers glide across Mike’s hip bone as the other boy rolls onto his side. His heart stutters when Mike smiles cheekily at him and brushes Will’s bangs to the side.

It’s a habit that Mike has become prone to doing when they’re alone ever since Will ditched the bowl cut earlier this year. Mike once asked if it bothers him, but the change in Will’s pulse every time that Mike does it is answer enough.

“Good birthday?”

That is also easily answered.

“The best,” Will replies.

He presses his lips to Mike’s, feeling especially giddy when the raven-haired boy smiles against them. It is a few more minutes before they separate again and they get comfortable. Will’s head rests on Mike’s chest. Just above Mike’s heart so he can feel, as much as he can also hear, the soothing rhythm.

Mike’s fingers glide up and down Will’s bare back. Occasionally, they settle at the base of Will’s spine and he feels a powerful chill roll over him. Nothing like he once felt when Vecna came out of the shadows and into their world.

Not even close.

“Thank you for my birthday present.” Will rolls his eyes when he feels Mike vibrate with laughter. “The other present, idiot. I still can’t believe you got your hands on it.”

“I did have some help,” Mike admits. “Murray really is our own personal Santa Claus.”

Will thinks back to his brand new wood painting palette and the art supplies that Mike got him. He nearly had a stroke when he opened it, knowing on sight how much they cost.

“I still say you overdid it.”

“And I still say you got shafted your last two birthdays,” Mike retorts. “Not in a good way.”

“Jesus, Mike,” Will groans, trying not to laugh.

Mike shifts so that he can look directly at Will.

“Last year … was what it was. For all of us,” Mike elaborates. “But there’s no excuse for Lenora. I still can’t believe we made you third-wheel like that.”

“Total honesty?” Will says. Mike nods. “Yeah, it didn’t feel good that no one remembered, but it wouldn’t have felt much better if you all had. Aside from being glad to create distance between myself and the Upside Down, I hated California. There was nothing worth celebrating.”

“It was like I was straddling a new kind of two worlds,” he continues. “One where I didn’t know who I was and another where I knew exactly who I was and was terrified by it.”

“Being gay, you mean?” Mike says in a hushed tone.

Nodding, Will replies, “I wasn’t Zombie Boy anymore, which was good. But that attention from girls that I told you about? It was dangerous. I didn’t know which rejection would be the one to make everyone realize who I was or that I was something other than crazy.”

Mike pulls him closer and presses a kiss to the top of Will’s head.

“Crazy together.”

Will laughs in surprise. He puts a hand on Mike’s chest so that he can sit up slightly and look at him. Mike’s eyes twinkle in the moonlit bedroom.

“I can’t believe you remember that.”

“Duh,” Mike says, like there was any doubt. “I don’t make full-blown psychosis pacts with just anyone. You know that.”

“Guess I do,” Will says, fondly. He shakes his head and looks across the room. “Crazy how much has changed since then. Not just with us. With our families.”

“I’ll say,” Mike hums. “My mom went head-to-head with a Demogorgon using nothing but a wine bottle. How bad-ass is that?”

“So bad-ass,” Will confirms. “And you can’t forget Holly the Heroic.”

“How’d that conversation go?” Mike asks, suddenly alert. “We never got a chance to talk about it earlier. Did you tell her …?”

“Just about me,” Will says. “About liking boys and being with one. She doesn’t know or suspect anything else, or that you’re my boyfriend.”

“I need you to know I’m not ashamed of you,” Mike says, desperately. “Of us. I couldn’t be.”

“I know that,” Will reassures him. “I get what it means to protect yourself, Mike. I get that in spades. And based on what Holly told me, your instincts are good.”

Tensing, Mike asks, “What does that mean?”

“It means your sister is as sweet as she was as a little kid,” Will begins. “But she’s also grown up hearing more than your parents might realize. Especially what your dad says when he thinks it’s just him and your mom.”

“You’re not sick, are you?” Holly asks. Will furrows his brow. “Dad gets mad when the news talks about a disease that he says only affects faggots.”

The color drains from Mike’s face. Will rubs soothing circles on his breastbone. He has learned how the pressure can help ground Mike when his thoughts and doubts take the wheel.

“Will …”

Will shakes his head.

“She felt bad about saying it. Even before I explained it to her,” Will says. “If no one tells you it’s wrong, and people you trust are saying it, how are you supposed to know it is?”

“I still hate it,” Mike mutters. “She’s ten.”

“I heard it when I was six,” Will points out. “It’s sad, but it happens. Especially where we live.”

“Dads suck.”

“Yeah,” Will says with a shrug. “Sometimes.” Then, “She asked if I was happy. I told her I was and that seemed like enough.”

Something unreadable appears in Mike’s eyes. He looks like he is trying to hold back on saying what is on his mind, and Will is curious but won’t push him.

For once in their life, there is plenty of time.

“C’mere,” is all Mike says.

Will lowers himself and the two of them lie on Mike’s bed in silence.

“Her classmates were freaking out when I picked her up,” Will says, randomly, some time later. “I think that I gave her ‘fifth grade cred.’”

He practically hears Mike’s grin in his response.

“We would’ve found that so pathetic at her age.”

Laughing, Will agrees and says, “Right?”

***

Holly isn’t exactly sure what wakes her up so early. All she knows is that the sun is still down and her alarm won’t go off for another hour. Just the simple thought of waking up earlier than she needed to for school exhausts her.

Suddenly, she hears footsteps and hushed voices. She glances at the clock and sees that it’s five o’clock. Then, she feels the overwhelming urge to use the bathroom. That’s worse. Once she leaves the warmth of her bed, falling back to sleep won’t happen.

Her body’s desperation wins out in the end. She throws down the covers and twists so her feet touch the floor. Trudging to the door, she opens it but freezes when the voices get clearer.

“Go back to bed.” That voice belongs to Will. It’s soft and laced with its own fatigue. “You’ll be dragging in Gym class.”

“Like that’d be different from normal.” That’s Mike. Holly keeps the door ajar enough to listen without either boy noticing her presence. “I won’t fall back to sleep now anyway.”

Holly furrows her brow when Will releases a low snort.

“You’re so dramatic.”

“Why?” Mike protests. “Because I’ll miss you? Sue me.”

“Don’t tempt me.” Will’s voice is teasing. “I really need to go. Mom wants these boxes moved in before school so we can finally have a family dinner. You’re sure you don’t want to join us?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to,” Mike says. “But I’m trying not to be that guy. You’ve barely seen El since you’ve been living in different houses. The two of you deserve that time.”

“You’ve come quite a long way, Michael.” He places a hand on the back of Mike’s neck and strokes the longer pieces of hair. “Hopper would be impressed.”

Despite not being able to see it from a distance, Holly bets that Mike rolls his eyes.

“As if I care about impressing him,” Mike says. “Joyce on the other hand.”

“Please,” Will laughs. “She adores you.” He tilts his head. “Reverse genetics.”

It’s almost like it happens in slow motion. Holly watches with wide eyes as her brother and his friend gravitate closer and closer until …

Holy shit, Holly thinks.

Will is kissing her brother. Her brother, Mike.

“Do you want it to be a secret?”

“No,” Will replies without hesitation. “Neither does he, but it’s not that simple. This sort of thing … it’s not always safe to share.”

Holly retreats quickly and quietly into her bedroom. She closes the door carefully so it doesn’t click or draw attention to the fact that she witnessed something that wasn’t meant for anyone else’s eyes. She stares at the now-closed door in astonishment.

Mike and Will. The boy that Will has dated since last year is her brother, Mike. The same brother who apparently dated and loved El for years. The one who brings her to and from school every day. The same brother who sat patiently with her when she woke up in a cold sweat for weeks after returning from the Upside Down.

The one who grew up hearing Dad say that stuff about gay people, Holly realizes.

She remembers what Will said yesterday afternoon. About how his “boyfriend” is still adjusting and it’s part of the reason why they’re keeping it a secret from practically everyone.

Holly runs a hand over her face before walking over to the window. The Byers’ station wagon is parked outside. She watches as they load boxes into the back of it, but she quickly ducks out of sight in case someone happens to look up and see her.

There’s no hope of falling back to sleep, so she doesn’t bother trying to chase it. Instead, she goes to the bathroom now that the coast is clear and starts getting ready for school. Once the sun has risen, Holly is already downstairs with a half-finished bowl of cereal.

Mike is, unsurprisingly, the second one to come downstairs.

“Hi,” Holly greets him.

He grunts and trudges into the kitchen to make his own breakfast. He is even less of a morning person than she is, so this behavior isn’t out of the ordinary. Even less so now that Holly knows he woke up early as well.

She wrinkles her nose when the smell of his strong black coffee wafts over to her.

“Gross.”

Mike snorts, joining her at the dining room table.

“Just wait,” he says. “You’ll be the same way in a few years.”

“Uh-uh,” Holly contradicts. “The smell is almost as bad as the taste.”

“When have you tried it?” Mike asks. “Mom would never let you.”

“Grandma let me try hers once. Never again.”

Mike takes a sip of his drink, not bothering to argue the point further. Holly focuses on her breakfast. She isn’t sure if it’s just her paranoia, but it feels like there’s a heaviness to their silence. Like they both know that something is weighing heavily on the other’s mind.

“You okay?”

“What?” Holly says, taken aback. “Yeah. Are you?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Mike asks.

Holly shrugs.

“I told you to fuck off yesterday.”

Mike chokes, practically scalding himself as he inhales half his coffee. It brings tears to his eyes and he groans in pain. He shakes his head.

“Thanks a lot,” Mike rasps.

“Sorry,” Holly grimaces. “Here.”

She hands him a spare napkin, which he uses to clean up his mess and wipe his face.

“I guess we should probably talk about that,” Mike says, posing it almost like a question.

Holly shrugs again before shaking her head.

“Dad was being … well, Dad,” Holly finishes. “It was just a bracelet.”

“It hurt you.”

“Yeah,” Holly admits. It somehow feels so minor now in the grand scheme of things. “But I believe Will when he says he likes it. So, who cares? It was for him.”

Mike smiles slightly and nods more to himself than to Holly.

“You’re lucky to have him.”

Mike tenses. Sharply, he asks:

“What do you mean?”

“He’s a good friend,” Holly elaborates. The tension doesn’t leave Mike’s shoulders. “Aside from Max, who’s awesome for obvious reasons, he’s my favorite. He doesn’t talk down to me.”

“No,” Mike agrees. “He’s good like that. Definitely better than me.”

“Most people are.”

Holly fights back a laugh as Mike scowls at her.

“Don’t be a shit.”

“I know you are, but what am I?”

Mike rolls his eyes and launches the soggy napkin back at Holly, who shrieks. She looks worriedly at the staircase, but no one appears there to scold them.

“Why did you get Will to pick me up from school?”

“I … What?” Mike falters. She watches as he struggles to find a suitable response. “I needed to get home earlier. It was his birthday and we were all hanging out, so …”

“Quit lying, Mike,” Holly says. He falls silent. “I’m not stupid.”

“No,” he says, slowly. “I know that.”

What she says next feels as revealing as if someone stole her diary and read it in front of the entire school, but she searches deep within herself and draws from some inner strength. Like she did in Henry’s house as she clutched Holly the Heroic.

Like Will did when he told her that he likes boys, not knowing how she would react.

“You know about my crush,” Holly says. “You and Will both do. Yesterday after school was him letting me down easy.”

It wasn’t obvious to her at first. Not until last night as she lay awake in bed, replaying the whole conversation in her mind. That is when it hit her that none of it was accidental or circumstantial.

“He’s seventeen. You’re ten,” Mike says, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “You should have crushes on boys your own age.”

“Like Dipshit Derek?” Holly challenges.

“Trust me, you could do worse,” Mike says. Holly raises her eyebrows. “Most of the time.”

“Whatever,” Holly says, rolling her eyes. “I know there’s more to it. And I know you all know, because he told me. So I’m not actually breaking a promise.”

“Holly,” Mike warns her.

Mike looks warily at the staircase. Holly sighs.

“I know, okay? I can keep a secret,” Holly says. “I just feel bad about saying the wrong thing.”

“We’re all guilty of that,” Mike says. “Especially when something challenges everything we’ve been told we’re supposed to believe is ‘normal’ or ‘right.’”

“Nothing’s felt normal or right for a long time,” Holly says. Mike’s lips turn downward. “So when it feels right … we should appreciate it more. Right?”

“Right,” Mike echoes. Then, “What exactly are we talking about?”

Holly rolls her eyes.

Her brother really is thick as bricks.

Rising from her dining room chair, Holly walks around the table to where Mike is seated. Without any preamble, she throws her arms around his shoulders and gives him a hug. Mike freezes but doesn’t shove her away from him.

When she eventually lets go, Mike looks at her with a perplexed expression.

“What was that for?”

Holly gives him a long look before walking back around to grab her empty bowl. It isn’t until she rinses it in the sink and returns to the other room that she answers him.

“For being my overprotective, weird older brother,” Holly replies. “Fuck normal.”

Holly grins when Mike’s eyes grow as wide as saucers. She darts out of the room.

“Holly Elizabeth Wheeler!”