Chapter Text
“God, Dustin, do I really have to?” Will sighs and looks up at Dustin.
They were catching up in Dustin’s room because it had the best air conditioning. It was the middle of July in Hawkins, which was unbearably hot.
“Dude, you haven’t seen Mike in ages. If he heard that you were back in Hawkins, he would sprint around the whole town just to find you.” Dustin chuckles and glances at Lucas, “Right?”
Lucas joins in, “He would do that, then chicken out on talking the moment he sees you.”
Will looks between both of them. He is surprised to hear what his friends think Mike’s reaction would be to seeing him. Will hadn’t received a single call or letter from Mike since he moved away for college, and that was about a year and a half ago.
To be honest, Will was dreading seeing Mike the most since he arrived in Hawkins a day prior. He wasn’t sure how long he could harbor his feelings until his facade melts away.
Now Will is being forced to face Mike at a concert that Lucas and Dustin were dragging him to. “I didn’t even pack anything nice to wear.” Will says, on a last ditch effort.
“I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you.” Dustin states.
With a confused look, Will turns away to grab a snack.
He successfully misses two mischievous smirks shared by the friends behind him.
-
“Seriously, Henderson?” Steve yells through his coughs, “that was way more than four puffs. Who raised you?”
“You did.” Robin shoots finger guns at Steve. He gives an unenthusiastic look.
“Four puffs? That was like the whole can.” Will puts his shirt over his nose, “I just got here and you guys are already trying to kill me.”
“Don’t worry, Will, your hair will look great. And I would’ve thought you would be used to trying to be killed in Hawkins by now.” Dustin says in a joyful tone.
Will chuckles.
Lucas abruptly walks in, “Woah! Did you guys light a girly smelling bomb in here? I knew I shouldn’t have left you four unsupervised for more than two minutes.”
The group was getting ready in Lucas’ new apartment.
“Hey, respect the spray, man, respect the spray.” Steve shakes his head. Robin giggles.
“What kind of band are we going to see anyway?” Will questions.
“Trust us, Will, we think you’ll really like it.” Lucas says with a suspiciously big smile.
“Okay… What do they play?”
“It’s like a mix between Bowie and The Clash.” Robin says, fixing her eyeliner.
“Oh. Okay, cool.”
-
And just like that, they arrived.
The venue was any old small town bar, except it was bursting with neon lights and noise. There were so many people that Will had trouble hearing his own thoughts. Will had been here before, but it didn't look anything like this . All of the tables have been cleared out and pushed to the back, and the bar was way bigger than it was before. This band must attract a pretty big crowd .
Suddenly, someone puts a cup in Will’s hand. “Dude, you almost scared the shit out of me.” Will yells over the volume then takes a sip.
“Sorry, I’ll try to be a little louder with it next time.” Dustin smirks. “Come on, we need a front row seat.”
Dustin drags Will right in front of the stage. The people on stage are doing the light fixtures.
“They should be on any minute now.” Lucas shows up behind them while checking his watch.
Will can’t help but wonder where Mike was. God, maybe he heard I was here. He probably wouldn’t want to come then, right? He bailed on me the whole past year, why wouldn’t he bail now?
Screams erupt from behind them when one by one, the band members walk onto the stage. Will doesn’t recognize any of them. A guy in a leather jacket with his guitar slung around him grabs the mic. “Hello, Hawkins. We are Hellfire, and we have only one question.”
Somehow, the screams get louder. “Are you ready… to rock!”
Leather-jacket-guy retreats from the mic and tunes his guitar.
The last member of the band walks on stage with his head down, and the crowd absolutely loses it.
“Crowd favorite?” Asks Will.
Dustin looks over with a smug look, “You have no idea.”
The guy is wearing long black jeans and a baseball shirt that had the band’s respective name on it.
He looks up as soon as he reaches the mic.
“Oh, you’ve gotta be shitting me.” Will says.
Dustin and Lucas scream so loud beside him that the lead singer looks down at them.
Their eyes meet for the first time in months.
Will all but chugs the drink in his hand.