Chapter Text
I had never given much thought to how I would die.
It seemed like the sort of thing that belonged to other people. Strangers whose names appeared briefly in newspapers, characters in books, old photographs tucked away in boxes. Death had always felt so distant to me, something that existed far away at the edge of the world rather than somewhere I might actually stumble into.
I was seventeen when I learned how wrong I was.
Not because I died.
Not then, anyway.
But because I learned that sometimes the things that change your life forever don't announce themselves when they arrive. They don't come with warnings or flashing lights or some unmistakable sign that you should turn around and go home.
Though this seemed like a good place to die, in the place of someone I love.
I'll miss Hawkins, I'll miss the heat and summer of it all. But, we can't stay there. Not anymore. This will be good, I think.
⚬──────────✧──────────⚬
By the time we left Hawkins, the sky was so blue it almost seemed cruel to leave. The thought of not being able to look out the window and paint the beautiful bright blue skies anymore was awful.
There wasn't a cloud in sight. The kind of wide, endless summer sky that made Indiana feel warmer than it actually was, the sunlight pouring through the windshield of the U-haul truck and turning everything outside into shades of green and gold. Cornfields stretched along either side of the highway, their leaves shimmering in the heat, and every few miles I'd catch a glimpse of something familiar—like a gas station I'd been to a hundred times, a diner with a fading neon sign, the turnoff that led toward the house I'd grown up in.
I kept looking back, I told myself I was only checking the road behind us, but I knew that wasn't true…I think I was trying to memorize it.
Hawkins had never been perfect. I knew that better than anyone. There were plenty of things I wouldn't miss about it, and even more things I was trying not to think about as we drove farther away. But it was home. It was where I'd spent almost every year of my life, where Jonathan and I had grown up, where mom had raised us.
Now all of it was disappearing behind us. Still, I'm optimistic I'll make many more memories in Forks, hopefully good ones.
Jonathan drove the U-Haul with both hands wrapped around the steering wheel, looking far more comfortable behind it than I felt sitting in the passenger seat.
"Why do you keep staring out the window?" he said.
I looked over. "I'm not."
"You've been staring out the same window for twenty minutes, Will."
"I like the view."
"You've seen that view everyday for seventeen years."
"Maybe I like it."
Jonathan smiled faintly, with a faint sniffle of a laugh escaping through his nose before his eyes returned to the road.
"You're going to miss it." It wasn't a question.
"Yeah."
The word came out quieter than I'd meant to as I looked back toward the window.
For a while, neither of us said anything.
The U-haul hummed beneath us, the engine loud enough that we had to raise our voices whenever we wanted to talk. Behind us, everything we owned was packed into cardboard boxes and taped up furniture. My entire bedroom had been reduced to a collection of boxes labeled in my handwriting . Sketchbooks, clothes, art supplies, posters. Things I'd accumulated over seventeen years that suddenly looked very small when they were stacked in the back of a moving truck.
It was strange knowing that when we got to Forks, I wouldn't be going back. Not for school, not for home, or friends.
Mom had already left a week ago. Hopper and El picked her up so she could get settled before Jonathan and I arrived. Jonathan needed another week for some work transfer thing and I stayed with him because, well because I wasn't ready to say goodbye yet. Mom has called almost every night since then, telling us about the neighborhood, the grocery store, the school, the rain.
Mostly the rain.
"You know," Jonathan said, breaking the silence, "Mom said it's supposed to rain all week."
"Of course it is."
"She sounds excited about it."
"Well, Mom loves rain."
"Yeah well, she married Hopper. I think she likes suffering."
I laughed despite the fact that I hate to admit that Jonathan can sometimes be funny.
That was the thing about leaving with Jonathan, it made everything easier.
We weren't doing this alone.
Well, technically we're moving in with our stepdad, Jim Hopper. This small town's very own chief and our stepsister, El, who's my best friend in the whole wide world and practically my long lost twin. Jonathan, El, and I had spent years figuring out what our family looked like after mom and Hopper got together. It didn't happen all at once. There were awkward dinners, holidays, birthdays, arguments over who got to use the bathroom first.
But eventually, it had become normal, and our small family of three became five.
Every summer, Jonathan and I would spend two weeks in Forks with Mom, Hopper, and El. We'd done it for years.
So Forks wasn't exactly a place I'd never seen before. I knew the roads, I knew the house, I knew which diner Hopper liked and which trail El always wanted to drag us down to. I knew the beach where we'd spend entire afternoons throwing rocks into the water, watching people surf, and the little store where El insisted on buying the same candy every summer.
I knew Forks.
Just not well enough to call it home. I think that's what scared me most.
I rested my forehead against the cool glass.
"What if I hate it?"
Jonathan glanced at me just for a second before returning his eyes toward the road ahead.
"You've been there every summer since you were ten."
"I know."
"So…"
I sighed.
"I know."
He laughed.
I smiled just to reassure him but the nervous feeling in my stomach didn't disappear.
I was excited though. I really was.
There was something about starting over that made my chest feel light whenever I let myself think about it. New school. New people. New places. Maybe i'd actually make friends this time instead of spending the first six months trying to figure out where everyone sat at lunch and ending up sitting by myself under a tree, drawing.
Plus, El would be there. That was probably the best part.
El wasn't technically my sister by blood, but I stopped caring about that a long time ago. She is my sister, my best friend. The person who knew how to make me laugh when I didn't want to and how to annoy me when she knew I was taking myself too seriously.
I missed her.
I was excited to finally live with her instead of counting down the days until another summer ended.
"Do you think El's changed?" I asked.
I immediately noticed Jonathan raising his eyebrow. "You talked to her yesterday."
"That doesn't count."
"Why not?"
"Because she's just been sending me pictures of my new room from every possible angle."
"So you've seen your room?"
"I haven't seen her? What if she actually dyed her entire head pink like she said she would?"
Jonathan shook his head and chuckled.
"You're weird."
"Wh—so are you!"
"Okay, fair."
The miles kept passing, mostly in silence.
Indiana had long disappeared behind us.
And eventually, after hours of highway and too many gas stations stops, the landscape began to change.
At first I barely noticed because of my drowsiness. The flat stretches of farmland gave way to rolling hills. Then the hills grew larger. The trees became taller, darker, thicker.
By the time we reached Washington, I had stopped pretending I wasn't nervous.
The sky was the first obvious change.
The brilliant blue I had spent the morning staring at was gone.
Clouds stretched across the horizon, heavy and gray, swallowing every trace of sunlight possible. The air seemed cooler even through the glass, and the landscape around us became increasingly green until it felt like we were driving through an endless forest.
Then the rain started. Not a storm or heavy rain. Just a steady, quiet drizzle that tapped against the windshield and refused to stop.
"Welcome home," Jonathan said.
I looked at him.
"Don't say it like that."
He grinned.
The road narrowed as we got closer to Forks. The trees crowded around us on both sides, covering every possible space, enormous evergreens disappearing into mist. Everything seemed quieter here, even the roads.
Forks was small. Like really small. Like three thousand and something people small. You could drive through the center of town and miss half of it if you blinked.
There were no towering buildings, or traffic jams, or crowded sidewalks. Just rain and trees. Had I mentioned the rain already? Or the fact that it rains more here in this inconsequential town of Forks than any other place in the United States.
It was almost the complete opposite of Hawkins.
Hawkins was warm summer nights and cicadas buzzing outside bedroom windows. It was bike tires against pavement, streetlights flickering on at dusk, the smell of grass after someone had just mowed their lawn.
Forks smelled of wet earth, like everything was damp and green. The sky looked like it hadn't seen the sun in years. And the cicadas were replaced with howls coming from the mountains at night.
I should've hated it if I'm being honest, but something strange settled over me instead.
Not exactly happiness, something quieter. Like the feeling of standing at the edge of something enormous and having no idea what was waiting on the other side.
Seventeen years in Hawkins and now this. A new house, a new school, a new town, new people.
I was terrified, but maybe underneath the fear there was also something else.
Hope? Maybe.
The U-haul turned onto a familiar road, and I recognized the trees before I recognized the house .
My heart jumped.
"We're here," Jonathan's voice cut right through my nerves.
✦
The U-Haul rolled to a stop in front of the house with a low groan, the engine sputtering once before Jonathan finally turned the key and silenced it. For a moment, neither of us moved. The rain had softened to a faint mist, barely more than droplets clinging to the windshield, and through the glass I could see Mom standing on the porch with one hand tucked into the pocket of her sweater. Beside her was Hopper, already grinning like he'd been waiting all day for us to arrive.
"There they are," Mom said, the second Jonathan opened his door.
I barely had time to unbuckle my seatbelt before I was out of the truck.
"Mom!"
She laughed as I practically ran up the driveway, catching me in a hug so tight my feet nearly left the ground. I buried my face against her shoulder, breathing in the familiar smell of her shampoo and laundry detergent, and for a second I wasn't seventeen and halfway across the country. I was ten again, running into her arms after she'd picked me up from school.
"Oh, my baby," she murmured, squeezing me harder. "I missed you so much."
"I missed you too."
She pulled back just enough to cup both sides of my face, looking me over like she was checking for damage.
"You're too skinny."
"Mom! You saw me a week ago."
"And you're tired."
"I just drove across the country."
"Exactly."
Jonathan came around the U-Haul and Mom immediately released me to grab him next, and I smiled as they hugged.
"Well I actually drove across the country, you just sat there and looked pretty." Jonathan intercepted.
Hopper stepped forward while they were still talking, giving me that familiar half smile he always wore when he was trying not to look too happy about something.
"Come here, kid."
I didn't need to be asked twice.
I wrapped my arms around him, and Hopper gave me a firm pat between the shoulder blades before pulling away.
"Good to see you, kid."
"Good to see you too."
"You get taller?"
"No."
"Could've sworn you got taller."
"You're just getting shorter."
Hopper stared at me and I smiled.
"Yeah," he muttered. "Definitely been hanging around your mother too long."
Before I could answer, he reached over and grabbed the two suitcases from my hands.
"Hey—"
"You're home. I can carry your stuff inside."
"It's just two suitcases."
"It's my job."
"You're not on duty."
"I'll decide when I'm on duty, plus you can never really be off father duty."
I rolled my eyes, but I let him take it.
That was Hopper.
He could complain about everything under the sun, but somehow he always found a way to make you feel taken care of without ever saying it outright.
I followed Mom and Jonathan inside.
The house felt different from the last time I'd been here.
Not unfamiliar but just lived in.
There were boxes stacked against the walls, new furniture where there hadn't been any before, and little signs of Mom everywhere. A vase of flowers sat on the kitchen counter. One of her sweaters was draped over the back of a chair. A half-finished mug of coffee sat beside the sink.
And then I noticed the photographs.
I stopped in the hallway.
There were pictures everywhere.
Some of them were recent. Mom and Hopper, El making an exaggerated face at the camera, Jonathan standing awkwardly beside everyone else, but mixed in between them were photographs from all the summers we'd spent here.
Me and El sitting on the porch with popsicles.
Jonathan and I standing beside the lake, both of us soaked from swimming.
El and I making faces at the camera.
Hopper attempting to barbecue while all three of us watched him like we were waiting for a disaster.
I smiled, it made me happy how "home" this house already felt.
Then I saw them on the refrigerator, drawings. They were old, really old.
The paper had yellowed just slightly around the edges, and one corner was held to the fridge with a cute little magnet shaped like a strawberry.
I knew that drawing. I'd made it when I was little.
It was supposed to be a picture of our family. The proportions were terrible, everyone's heads were far too large, and Hopper had been given an enormous black hat that made him look more like a cartoon sheriff than an actual person, also there was a really random rainbow colored spaceship above all of us for some odd reason.
I'd given it to him like 8 summers ago and forgotten about it almost immediately.
Apparently, Hopper didn't. It made something warm settle in my chest, I almost cried … allegedly.
I could hear Hopper's giant boots walking up with my suitcases.
"You still have that?
Hopper looked over. "Course I do."
I glanced at him. "You kept it all these years?"
He shrugged like it was nothing.
"My kid gave it to me." He shrugged again as he made his way up the stairs to put my suitcases away.
I smiled and might have teared up a bit, it was such a small thing but it made my nerves disappear almost immediately, this can be my home.
I headed upstairs before anyone could see how stupidly happy that little piece of paper had made me.
My room was at the end of the hallway, most of my things had been waiting for me. Mom had clearly tried to make it feel like mine before we arrived. She changed the old purple summer curtains to yellow ones, and moved the bed away from the window wall like I've always preferred. There was a new desk underneath the window now, and enough empty shelf space for all my vinyls and art supplies I brought with me.
Maybe this could work, maybe I could make this horribly blue colored room work…once I paint it yellow of course.
I think I took about two actual steps inside the room when something collided with me and nearly knocked me down.
"WILL!!!"
I stumbled forward as I was embraced from behind with a startled laugh, my arms instinctively wrapping around El's.
She squeezed me so hard I could barely breathe.
"Okay! okay—El, El!"
"I missed you."
"I missed you too."
She finally pulled back, I turned around and she's grinning so widely that I couldn't help smiling back.
Her hair was longer than I remembered but it's not pink.
"You changed your hair." She said almost immediately, I swear she can read minds sometimes.
"Yeah, and uh you didn't."
"I did."
"No you didn't. "
"I did."
"It's just longer."
"That's called changing it Will."
"No, it’s called growing it."
"Yeah and my hair is now changed thanks to growing it."
"Well you're still short."
She gasped.
"Rude."
I laughed.
She grabbed my hand and pulled me further into the room.
"Come on. I helped Mom unpack some of your things she brought with her last week."
"How much?"
"Some."
"El."
"Okay, maybe a lot."
We spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking.
Or at least, we were supposed to.
Mostly, El sat on the floor and opened boxes while I decided where everything should go. We talked about everything we'd missed since last summer, about the school, about Forks, about what she'd been doing while she'd been here without us.
She told me which teachers were nice, which ones weren't, which lunch tables were usually empty, and which places in town were worth visiting.
By the time evening came, my room actually looked like mine.
My drawings were stacked neatly on the desk, my vinyls filled the shelves, clothes were tucked away in drawers instead of boxes, most of the clothes anyway.
El fell asleep on the carpet holding one of my comics.
I fell asleep shortly after, thinking that maybe moving here wasn't going to be as difficult as I'd imagined.
⚬──────────✧──────────⚬
Someone knocked on my door the very next morning.
I groaned and pulled the blanket over my head.
Another knock.
"Will."
I didn't answer.
"Willlll."
"Go away."
The door creaked open anyway. "Will…"
I squinted through the blanket, El stood in the doorway, already dressed and looking entirely too awake for whatever ungodly hour it was.
"What?"
"We have guests."
I tried to blink the sleep away.
"Wait, guests?"
"Yes."
I finally managed to push myself onto one elbow, one eye open but squinting.
"Who?"
El just smiled at me.
"And put on something cute?"
I stared at her with both eyes now fully adjusted.
"What?"
"Something cute."
"Why?"
"Because…"
"Because what?"
She just grinned and shrugged her shoulders.
I narrowed my eyes at her in brotherly suspicion.
"El…"
"Look out the window…"
I groaned but dragged myself out of bed anyway, the curtains were still partially closed, so I pulled them aside just enough to not get caught snooping by whoever was outside.
And there he was.
Standing beside a red truck in the driveway.
For a second, I didn't recognize him at all, until I did.
Gabriel.
I hadn't seen him in years, not properly anyway.
The last time I'd seen him, we were kids spending our summers in Forks. We'd spent entire afternoons wandering around outside, picking flowers and making terrible crowns out of them. Gabriel had always been better at it than me.
But this wasn't the little boy I remembered. He was taller now, a lot taller.
His dark hair was longer than I remembered, it almost reached his waist and there was something different about his face that I couldn't quite place.
Older, obviously. And maybe… cuter?
I frowned at myself immediately.
No. Not cuter. Of course not cuter what the hell?
I stepped away from the window and El was still standing by the door with the widest grin possible.
"Don't."
"I didn't say anything."
"You were going to."
Her grin reduced to an innocent smile.
"I wasn't."
"You were."
"Maybe…"
I rolled my eyes and grabbed a soft yellow shirt from the chair and put it over my white sleeping long sleeve.
"Sooooo." El said, insinuating something.
I reached for a pair of jeans from a random box.
"Get out."
"What did I say?"
"Go!"
"Okay okay!" She laughed as she disappeared into the hallway.
I changed quickly, ran a hand through my messy hair and followed her downstairs.
Outside, everyone was gathered around the red truck talking.
Mom spotted me first.
"Good morning, sleepyhead!"
"Morning."
Hopper waved me over, already in his uniform.
Beside him was Billy Black, sitting in his wheelchair with the same sharp smile I remembered from all those summers ago.
"William," Billy said, looking me over. "Look at you. All grown up."
I smiled shyly.
"Hey, Billy."
"I'm glad you're here. Hopper hasn't shut up about you since he found out you boys were moving out here."
Mom immediately laughed.
"Oh, you big ol' softie, Hopper."
Hopper's eyebrows shot up.
"Softie?"
Billy chuckled.
"She's right."
"Keep talking and I'll roll you down a hill."
"I dare you, come on."
"Oh yeah?"
Billy laughed as Hopper grabbed the handles of his wheelchair and pretended to push him backward.
"Jim!" Mom shouted.
"What?"
"Don't you dare!"
"He started it!"
Mom was laughing now, and I couldn't help it either.
I turned toward Gabriel, he was watching the chaos with an amused expression.
Then, he stepped closer.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"I'm Gabriel."
I smiled.
"I know."
He laughed.
"Right. Yeah."
"You don't remember me?" He asked.
"I remember you."
His smile grew.
"We used to make flower crowns together."
"Of course I remember you, Gabe."
He looked genuinely pleased by that.
"Cool."
I glanced behind him at Hopper and Billy, who were still arguing.
"Are they always like this?"
Gabriel looked over his shoulder.
"It gets worse with old age."
"Hey!" Hopper shouted as he ended his imaginary fight.
Gabriel grinned as Hopper walked up and pointed at me.
"So, kid. You like your present?"
"My present?"
Hopper nodded toward the truck.
I followed his gaze.
The red truck sat in the driveway, rainwater glistening across its hood.
For a second, I just stared.
Then, my mouth fell open.
"No way."
Hopper smiled.
"You need a car."
I practically ran toward it.
"You got me a truck?"
"It's yours."
I ran my hands over the hood, grinning so hard my cheeks hurt.
It was old. A little beat up. The red paint wasn't perfect, and there was a dent near the back bumper, but I didn't care.
It was beautiful.
I turned around.
"Thank you!"
Hopper laughed.
"You like it?"
"I love it!"
"Good, I want you to be happy here."
"Thank you! I am!"
"Yeah, yeah."
"No, seriously."
I crossed the driveway and threw my arms around him.
"Thank you, Dad."
Hopper went still for half a second before hugging me back.
"You're welcome, kid."
I pulled away.
"Thank you."
"I heard you the first time."
"Thank you."
He laughed.
"Okay, okay, go get in, check it out."
"Okay fine!"
I practically bounced back toward the truck, Gabriel followed me.
I opened the driver's side door and immediately climbed into the seat.
"I helped fix the engine," he said.
I turned to look at him through the open window he so cooly tried to lean against.
"You did?"
"Yeah. It needed some work."
"Thank you."
He shrugged.
"It wasn't that bad."
It smelled faintly like old leather and rain.
"You have to double pump the clutch."
I frowned.
"The what?"
"The clutch."
"Oh… umm is it this one?"
He laughed. "Yeah, this thing's old. You can't just drive it like a normal automatic."
"So I have to double pump it?"
"Sometimes. Especially when you're starting from a stop. And don't force the gears."
I nodded seriously, taking in the advice.
"Okay."
"And the brakes are a little sensitive."
"Okay."
"And—"
"You're giving me a lot of rules."
"I'm trying to keep you alive."
"That's nice of you."
He smiled.
I looked toward the house, a very ready for school El walks out of the front door with her backpack on one shoulder.
"Do you go to Forks High? You can ride with us this morning."
Gabriel shook his head.
"No."
"Oh."
"I'm homeschooled."
"That sucks."
He laughed.
"Why?"
"It would've been cool to know someone besides my sister."
He grinned.
"Well, you do know me."
I looked at him and smiled.
Yeah, Forks might not be so bad after all.
✦
The red Chevrolet truck coughed as I pulled into the parking lot of Forks High School.
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel to brace myself for whatever was coming today.
"Come on," I muttered. "You can do this."
In the passenger seat beside me, El was sitting and practically vibrating with excitement.
"This is going to be the best day ever."
I glanced at her without an ounce of belief in my eyes.
"Really?"
"Yes Will!"
"Even if I just moved halfway across the country and I’m starting my first day of school in the middle of March?"
"Exactly! especially because of those things."
"Yeah, that doesn't sound like the recipe for the best day ever."
She shrugged like that would get rid of any spoken negativity.
"It will be, trust me."
I wasn't nearly as optimistic, especially since finding out Gabe doesn't even go here.
The parking lot was already crowded, filled with cars and students moving toward the school beneath a sky that threatened rain. Everyone seemed to know exactly where they were going. They walked in groups, laughing and talking, stopping beside cars to finish conversations before heading inside.
Meanwhile, I was sitting in an ancient red truck that sounded like it was being held together by optimism and duct tape.
I spotted an empty space near the edge of the lot and carefully pulled into it.
The second I put the truck into park, something in the back made a loud BANG.
El and I both froze, we looked at each other with a fearful cringe in our face.
Another metallic clatter followed.
"What was that?" she asked.
"I don't know."
"Should we check?"
"No."
"Will."
"It'll be fine."
I reached over to grab my backpack from the back seat.
"Let's just go."
El laughed as she jumped out.
I followed, shutting the door behind me and pretending I hadn't just heard something potentially expensive explode in the back of my new truck.
El came around the front and grabbed my arm.
"Come on!"
"Why are you so excited?"
"Because it's your first day."
"You're acting like I'm five."
"You need encouragement."
"I need a map."
"You have me."
"That's arguably worse."
She shoved my shoulder.
"You're going to have a great day."
I smiled despite not truly believing her, just a quick reassurance smile.
"Well, I hope so."
She squeezed my arm before we headed toward the school.
I tried not to think about how many people were going to stare at me today.
It was difficult not to, but it can get worse than the coughing, self destructing truck right?
✦
I might genuinely be the worst volleyball player on earth. Actually I think I'm the worst person to ever attempt to play any sport…ever.
I mean I played baseball when I was younger, with Jonathan. I don't remember being completely hopeless, but apparently, whatever small amount of athletic ability I possessed had decided to abandon me the second I stepped onto the gym floor.
The ball came toward me, I panicked, I swung, and the ball flew to the direct opposite way I aimed it to…and straight into the back of a boy's head.
"Oh my god." My hands immediately covered my mouth.
The boy turned around with his hand already rubbing circles to the back of his head as he looked around.
I felt my entire face burn and turn the reddest shade of skin this pale town has ever seen.
He looked at me for a half a second before he realized it was me, the instant apologies and hand covered mouth might've been a dead giveaway.
"Oh my God, I am so so sorry! I told them to not let me play , I—"
He got closer and laughed as he shook his head.
"Relax man, it’s cool."
"Are you sure? I feel horrible."
"Yeah, it's fine man."
I wanted the entire earth to open up and swallow me.
"I'm really sorry."
"Seriously, you're good."
Before I could embarrass myself any further, a girl walked over.
She had red hair, an effortless confidence to the way she carried herself, and the kind of expression that made me immediately assume she was cool enough to have absolutely no patience for someone like me.
She placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and made him turn towards her.
"You okay?"
"Yeah."
She looked at me. Then at the ball on the ground. Then back at him. And started bawling her eyes out with laughter.
I stared at her in what I can only assume was confusion, maybe a little bit of fear.
"I'm so sorry." I shook my head and raised my hands to my chest in a surrendering manner.
She shook her head right back.
"No dude, you're fine."
I wanted to disappear but fortunately, El appeared beside me.
"There you are!"
I turned toward her with the relief of someone spotting a rescue helicopter.
"El."
She looked between me and the two students.
"Oh. You met Lucas."
"Lucas?"
The boy nodded and extended his hand for a proper greeting as if I hadn't given him whiplash just seconds ago.
"Lucas Sinclair."
"And Max," El added.
The girl gave me a small wave.
"Max and Lucas, okay, uhh hi."
I nodded.
"I'm Will."
"We know," Lucas said. "El told us all about you."
I looked at my sister.
"You've been talking about me?"
"Obviously."
"What, why?"
"Because you're my brother."
I rolled my eyes and now I'm wondering what countless embarrassing stories about me she's told them.
The awkwardness seemed to disappear surprisingly quickly after that.
Lucas was easy to talk to. Max was quieter, but she had this dry sense of humor that made me laugh when I wasn't expecting to. Within a few minutes, I didn't feel quite as much like the new kid standing in the middle of a gymnasium full of strangers.
Lucas tossed the volleyball back toward me.
"Don't worry. You'll get used to everyone."
"I really shouldn't be playinggg."
Max and El laughed at me.
"Hey, you eating lunch with us?" Lucas asked as he glanced at the clock and caught the ball after I successfully tossed it back.
"Yeah."
"Cool."
I nodded.
"Cool."
Technically, I'd already planned on following El around for the first few days until I figured out where everything was.
So I guess I was going to meet them in the cafeteria eventually anyway.
✦
By the time math rolled around, I had pretty much fully convinced myself that I could survive Forks High.
Almost.
I followed a line of students down the hallway toward my next class, trying to look like I knew where I was going.
Thankfully, my clothes didn't stand out too much.
I was wearing a black jacket I'd borrowed from Jonathan, which was probably the only reason I didn't look completely like someone who had wandered in from another school.
The hallway was crowded with students carrying books and backpacks, everyone peeling off toward different classrooms.
One by one, the students stopped outside the math classroom and took off their coats.
There was a long wooden coat rack along the wall, covered in hooks.
I watched the person ahead hang their jacket.
Then the person behind them did the same.
So I did too.
I slipped my jacket onto an empty hook and walked inside.
It didn't seem like there was a specific seating chart, so I just found an empty seat near the middle of the room and sat down.
About five minutes later, someone leaned forward from the desk behind me.
"Hey."
I thought about ignoring it. Maybe the "hey" was for someone else, but it was rather obvious it was intended for me.
I turned very hesitantly, a boy with dark hair parted down the middle was looking straight at me, still leaned in, a little too close if I'm being honest.
He had that kind of build that immediately made me think of the jocks back home, and the varsity jacket wasn't really helping.
My stomach tightened slightly, the jocks in Hawkins had never exactly been my favorite people.
"You're Williams Byers, right?"
"Will." I corrected.
He nodded. "Will, cool."
I glanced around, everyone within a three seat radius had turned to look at me.
Great.
I can feel my entire face grow warm, which seems like a recurring theme today.
He smiled awkwardly with his lips shut together, I think he could feel how nervous I was.
"So umm, where's your next class?"
"Oh, uh," I pretended to look down at my schedule but I already had it memorized. "Some sort of science, I think."
"Which building?"
That I didn't memorize, so I ended up actually having to check my schedule anyway.
"Uhh, building C?"
"That's where I'm headed after this class."
"Oh… okay."
"I- I can show you."
There was something almost aggressively helpful about him, like he had to be the first to help the new kid around. I wasn't sure whether I appreciated it or was suspicious of it.
"Thanks."
He smiled, very proud of himself. "I'm Chance, by the way."
"Will."
"Yeah—yeah I got that."
I smiled very, very awkwardly.
Thankfully the teacher walked in before he could say anything else.
For the next fifty minutes, I attempted to focus on math while being painfully aware that Chance was sitting directly behind me.
When the bell finally rang, everyone stood at once.
I reached for my backpack and Chance was already standing beside my desk, waiting.
"Come on."
I followed him into the hallway.
"So," he said, "Hawkins."
I looked up at him, "Yeah…"
"What's it like?"
"Also small."
"Like, Forks small?"
"No, definitely not Forks small, but still small."
"Does it rain there a lot?"
"Uh, not as much as here. Probably like 9 times a year to be honest."
"Woah, that's like two regular weeks here in Forks."
I laughed softly but nothing was actually funny, he didn't need to know that though.
"So um, anyway, Building C is not that far from here actually."
"Wait, you're taking me to Building C already?"
"Uh yeah?"
"Isn't it lunch period?"
"Oh—oh my god, yea it is! I am so sorry, I don't know why I forgot?"
I chuckled lightly, "It's okay."
"I'm sorry, I'll just take you to the cafeteria instead, if that's okay?"
"Yeah, thats—thats okay."
"Okay, yeah… this way!" He turns dramatically, pointing towards the opposite direction we were headed to.
We talked a bit more about our favorite subjects, and what I'll miss about Hawkins. So far, he didn't seem as bad as the jocks back home.
"Hey so, if you want, you can sit with me and my friends today for lunch."
"Oh, um, thank you so much for the offer," I said as he opened the cafeteria door for me. "But I'm actually sitting with my sister and her friends today. She's kind of waiting for me."
"Oh, um, yeah, yeah no that's okay!"
"I should probably go."
"Yeah." He nodded.
There was something strange about his expression, like he hadn't expected the conversation to end yet.
"Thanks for showing me around though. I'm pretty sure I can find Building C now."
"Yeah, of course. It's really no problem."
I started walking towards the bright purple sweater in the back of the cafeteria, which was very obviously El.
"Well, good luck!" he called out.
I turned around.
"Maybe we'll have more classes together?!"
I pressed my lips together, giving him an awkward little smile and a nod.
"Yeah, maybe!"
I hurried toward El before Chance could say literally anything else.
I didn't notice the way he watched me walk away, I was too busy wondering whether the cafeteria would be less humiliating than volleyball had been.
✦
El narrowed her eyes at me the second I reached the table.
"What was that about?"
I slid my backpack down beside my chair and tried to act like nothing had happened.
"What?"
She gave me a look.
"You and Chance."
Lucas leaned forward, resting his elbows against the table. "You okay? What did he want?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." I pulled out the chair beside El. "He just wanted to show me around, I guess."
"That's Chance," Max said, stabbing her fork into something on her tray. "I wouldn't trust him."
"Maybe he just likes being helpful?" El added,as if she wasn't literally just questioning him two seconds ago.
"Too helpful," Lucas muttered.
I glanced between them.
"Yeah, I noticed."
Dustin, who I hadn't officially met yet, snorted from across the table as he scrolled through a camera.
"Oh shit."
Lucas turned toward him.
"What?"
"Nothing, just this stupid camera the school gave me for the yearbook keeps randomly deleting some of my best work."
Lucas looked back at me and suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Oh, right. Um, Dustin, this is Will."
Dustin's attention snapped toward me.
"Hey! What's up? How's it going?"
I smiled awkwardly.
"Oh, you know. First day."
"Yeah. Totally."
Dustin nodded with such exaggerated seriousness that I almost laughed.
There was something comforting about sitting with people who didn't seem particularly interested in making me feel like the new kid. They were loud, slightly chaotic, and already seemed to have their own rhythm that I didn't understand yet, but somehow they'd made room for me anyway.
"So, Will," Lucas started, "do you play D&—"
"Hey!" Dustin interrupted immediately. "You got your turn already."
Lucas frowned.
"What does that even mean?"
"It means you've asked him enough questions."
"I asked him one question."
"Exactly."
Dustin turned toward me.
"So, what sciences are you in this year?"
Lucas rolled his eyes so dramatically I thought they might actually get stuck.
"AP Physics," I answered.
Dustin's eyes widened.
"No way."
I blinked.
"Yeah?"
"With Mrs. H? Fourth period?"
"I think so."
"Nice! I'm in that class."
He leaned forward, suddenly animated and interested in whatever conversation was about to happen at this table.
"We're actually currently doing this really interesting thing with—"
"Dustin."
Max didn't even look up from her food.
"This is our lunch break. Nobody wants to hear about your nerdy experiment in Mrs. H's class."
"Thank you," Lucas said.
Dustin looked offended.
"That's so not funny."
"It was a little funny," Lucas said.
Dustin turned to me.
"Will wants to hear right?"
I opened my mouth.
Then stopped.
Because I wasn't looking at Dustin anymore.
The cafeteria doors had opened.
The sound of the double doors swinging inward, letting in a brief rush of cool, damp air from outside. A few students glanced over automatically before returning to their conversations, barely paying attention.
I completely forgot anything Dustin was asking me as I watched four people walk into the cafeteria.
Well no, four of the most beautiful people I'd ever seen walked into the cafeteria.
They were so striking that for a second I wondered if everyone else was seeing what I was seeing. They didn't even look real. Had I been up unpacking for too long? Maybe the cross country move was messing with my vision.
Three girls and a boy walked in together, all of them pale in a way that wasn't quite natural, their skin almost luminous beneath the harsh cafeteria lights. They were dressed simply enough—jeans, jackets, sweaters, but somehow everything they wore looked deliberate. Expensive without appearing like they were trying to be expensive.
They moved differently too. Not too fast or too slow, but with a strange sort of effortless grace. Like they never had to think about where their feet were going to go.
Lucas and Dustin continued to bicker in the background, but I paid them no mind.
I leaned closer to Max and El.
"Who are they?"
El didn't even have to turn around to know who I was talking about.
"They're The Cullens."
"The Cullens?"
Max leaned in immediately, lowering her voice in the way people did when they were about to tell you something they considered important, otherwise known as gossip mode.
"They're Dr. Karen Wheeler's kids."
"All of them?"
"Yeah."
She paused.
"Well, technically..."
"Max," El whispered.
"What? I'm explaining."
She looked back toward the group.
"They moved here from Alaska a couple years ago. Nobody really knows why."
"People move," I said.
"Not people like them."
I looked at her.
"What does that mean?"
Max shrugged.
"They're weird."
El nodded.
"They mostly keep to themselves."
I looked back toward the cafeteria entrance.
The first girl had short brown hair, cut close around her face. There was something almost mischievous about her expression, like she was constantly thinking about something she probably shouldn't be. She walked with her hands tucked into the pockets of her jacket, glancing around the cafeteria without seeming particularly interested in anyone.
"That's Robin," Max said.
"The one with the short hair?"
"Yeah."
"She's kind of weird."
Robin stopped for half a second, looking toward a group of students before continuing toward the table.
I smiled faintly.
"She doesn't look that weird."
"Give her time."
The boy beside her was impossible not to notice, his hair was everywhere.
It wasn't really messy, just… a lot of it.
Dark brown, thick hair that seemed determined to exist in every direction at once.
"That's Steve," Max continued. "Robin's twin, who's strangely the least weird one of them all… probably?"
"He's handsome," El said.
Max gave her a look.
"What?"
"You don't have to say it like you're reviewing him."
"I'm just stating a fact."
Steve was tall, broad-shouldered, and carried himself with the kind of confidence that made it obvious he knew exactly what he looked like. He had the athletic build of someone who probably played three different sports and somehow still had enough time to be good at all of them.
I looked away before it became obvious I was staring.
There was another girl just behind him.
Blonde.
She was smaller than the others, and she practically skipped toward their table, she wore sparkly silver glitter around her eyes that made her look far more cheerful than everyone else in the cafeteria.
"That's Holly," El said.
"Holly." I repeated, as if I was trying to study their names.
"Yeah."
She smiled brightly at someone across the cafeteria and waved.
"She's nice."
Then came Nancy.
She had brown, curly hair that fell below her shoulders in soft waves, and there was something almost old-fashioned about the way she carried herself. Not in a bad way. She just seemed more composed than everyone else, her expression calm and thoughtful as she followed the others toward their table.
"Nancy," Max said.
I nodded.
"She's pretty."
"All of them are," El replied.
She was right.
There was something almost unsettling about how beautiful they were, not beautiful in the ordinary sense.
Beautiful in a way that made everyone else around them seem slightly unfinished.
I watched Nancy sit down.
Then Steve.
Then Robin.
Then Holly.
And for a moment, I thought that was everyone.
Until another figure appeared through the doors.
He walked in alone.
And everything else seemed to sort of move in slow motion.
He was taller than the others. Thin, but not fragile. Pale enough that the contrast between his skin and his dark clothes was almost startling beneath the cafeteria lights. His hair was dark too, untidy curls falling over his forehead in a way that looked completely effortless.
He didn't smile.
He didn't look around the cafeteria like everyone else had.
He simply walked toward the table.
There was something distant about him. Guarded. Mysterious.
I couldn't explain why I was still looking at him, or why I hadn't looked away.
"Who is he?" I whispered, without ever breaking sight of him.
El followed my gaze.
"That's Mike Cullen."
Mike.
The name seemed to settle strangely in my head.
Mike Cullen.
I watched him take another step.
Then, as though he'd somehow heard El whisper his name from across the cafeteria, his head turned.
His eyes found mine.
My stomach dropped instantly, for one suspended second, neither of us moved.
I couldn't tell what was in his expression.
Surprise, maybe.
Or confusion.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Then his face hardened into something I couldn't quite read.
I suddenly became very aware that I was staring. I turned around so quickly I nearly knocked my water over.
Max was watching me.
"Don't waste your time, I don't think anyone here is really good enough for Michael Cullen."
I frowned.
"I wasn't planning on it."
My voice sounded much more defensive than I'd intended.
I played with my water bottle for a second before I was compelled to look back.
Mike was already staring at me, not in a casual or curious way.
He was staring at me with an intensity that made the hairs on the back of my neck rise.
His expression was frustrated, almost angry.
I immediately looked away again.
My heart was beating incredibly fast and I didn't know why.
I don't think I did anything to him, not even speak a word to him. I'd never met Mike Cullen before so what could I have done to make him death stare me down across the cafeteria.
Yet somehow, despite every warning instinct in my body telling me to leave it alone, I found myself wanting to look back.