American Heroes: A Stranger Things 3 Fic

Will Byers

An abundance of sounds pull Will out of unconsciousness. Sirens blaring, helicopter blades whirring, he opens his eyes to stare at the ceiling of an ambulance, a pounding ache in every inch of his body. He sits up, groaning and squeezing his eyes shut when his ears ring. When he opens them again, he spots his brother and Nancy sitting at the end of the ambulance and struggles to his feet. Jonathan and Nancy turn around and hop to their feet at the sight of Will. "Hey, buddy," Jonathan says, helping his younger brother to the edge of the ambulance.

Nancy ducks around the side and calls out, "He's awake!"

"How are you doing?" Jonathan asks him.

"It-" Throat scratchy, Will lets out a round of harsh coughs. "It feels like I got hit by a truck." He peers at the scene outside the mall. Soldiers are marching out of helicopters, firetrucks and ambulances are parked everywhere, and lights flash through the night sky. He looks back to Jonathan with a reassuring smile. "I'm okay though."

"You sure?"

Will nods.

"That's good. I'm glad you're okay."

"How are you? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Jonathan chuckles. "I wasn't the one who blew up a thirty foot monster with my mind."

Rolling his eyes, Will shakes his head. "I didn't blow it up."

"You basically did."

"Hey." Mike appears in front of them, breathless, eyes wild. He gestures to Will's face. "You've still got blood-"

"Oh." Will goes to rub the blood off from under his nose, only for the whole back of his hand to come off red. He gapes at his hand until Nancy squeezes his shoulder.

"It's okay, I'll get a paramedic for you," she says before rushing off.

Jonathan glances from Mike to Will before standing. "I'm going to find Mom," he says, ruffling Will's hair. Before walking off, he puts a hand on Mike's shoulder. "If you say anything remotely bad to my brother, I'll come for you. Got it?"

Mike nods quickly. As Jonathan leaves, Mike turns his wide eyes to Will, hovering in front of him, and leans forward. "How are you feeling?" he asks, his voice soft.

"Dizzy." Will lets out a hoarse laugh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Like I'm going crazy, and everything, all of this, is just some insane dream of mine."

"Well, hey-" Knocking Will's knee with his knuckles, Mike smiles. "If you're going crazy, we'll go crazy together."

Looking into Mike's eyes, Will smiles back. "Yeah, crazy together."

They fall silent, both of them keeping their eyes locked. After a moment, Mike moves forward. "Back there, in the mall, I thought..." He shakes his head, looking to the ground. "I thought I – I lost you. I thought-"

"Mike, it's okay," Will assures him. "Really. I'm alright."

"I'm so sorry," Mike says through tears, "for everything." He sticks his hand out to Will.

A smile forms on Will's face. Wiping the blood off his hand, he takes Mike's hand and shakes it. Mike smiles back, squeezes his hand, and pulls him into a hug. When they pull away, Mike's lower lip is quivering. "I know I don't deserve it, but can we-"

"Be friends again? I'd like that."

They share a smile before Lucas and Dustin crash into them, pulling them into a group hug. "Byers!" Lucas and Dustin both cry. Erica hovers beside them, a small smile on her face.

"Dude," Dustin says with a massive grin, "I heard what you did in there."

Remembering what he'd done, Will looks down at his hands.

Lucas squeezes his shoulder. "Hey, man, that was awesome. Really. I didn't even know you could do that." He smiles. "Was that what you were hiding from us? What you had to talk to El about?"

Will nods, and Mike's mouth falls open. "Oh, Will," he murmurs. "Shit, I thought you were going to tell her about-"

"It's okay," Will says. "I get it."

Lucas, grinning, shakes his head and nudges Dustin. "Man, you should've seen it. He set that thing on fire! It was like a billion fireworks combined!

"But oh, man." Lucas says to Will. "You should've seen yourself when Mike and Steve hauled you out of there. I swear, we all thought you were dead."

Will glances at Mike. "You and Steve?"

"Yeah," Lucas says while Mike shrugs, "after those government guys came in, they forced us out of there, so they had to carry you out."

Erica nods to him, gesturing to his face. "You might want to get that cleaned up. Looks like you got mauled by a bear."

"Erica," Lucas grumbles. Erica rolls her eyes.

"Is everyone else okay?" Will peers around the parking lot. "Where is everyone anyway?"

Lucas and Dustin shrug.

"Right here." From behind them, Max clears her throat. She stands a little ahead of El, her eyes red and puffy. Max takes a step towards Will, a small smile on her tear-stained face. Will gives her a tight hug.

"I told you you were special," Max whispers in his ear.

When they pull away, Will keeps his hand on her shoulder. "Are you doing okay?"

"Fine... I'm fine."

"I'm sorry I couldn't help him. I... I really wish I could've."

She shakes her head. "No, it's okay. Really. You did everything you could."

They exchange smiles before Max looks to the others boys and wraps her arms around Lucas. El reaches forward and hugs Will. "Thank you," she says.

Will clutches onto her. "No, thank you."

Everyone steps away as a paramedic comes and checks over Will. After he's cleaned up, Steve and Robin rush up to them, shouting "Byers!"

Exchanging high-fives and fist bumps, Steve nudges him. "So that's how you got the taser to work in the cabin!"

"How come you didn't tell anyone?" Robin asks.

Will shrugs. "I don't know. I wasn't sure it was anything."

"Well, thank you anyways." She smiles. "You saved us all."

A blush creeps up his cheeks. "It was nothing. You guys were the ones who came to the rescue with the fireworks." He flashes a grin, gesturing to Lucas. "I guess we should thank Lucas for that."

Mike, who's still hanging to the side, nudges Will on the shoulder. "Hey, Will the Wise," he says with a smile, "I think I see your mom." He gestures across the parking lot to where Joyce is wandering alone, glancing around at the ambulances and firetrucks. Her eyes meet Will's.

Rain hits Will's skin as he jumps out of the ambulance and runs to his mom, wrapping his arms around her. "Thank god," she cries into his shoulder. He sinks into her touch, and they stand like that, the rain falling around them, for what feels like forever.

"I love you, Mom," he murmurs, still clutching onto her.

"I love you, too, honey," she cries back. "I love you so much."