Never going Back ⋆ Stranger Things

2. The Hero Moment Part One

Content warning; use of homophobic language and slurs.

Thursday, March 20, 1986.

It was a rare, beautiful day in Hawkins, Indiana, when Oz made one of the stupidest choices in his entire seventeen years of life. At least, that's what he decided to categorize it as, himself. In hindsight, it might not have even made the top ten.

Things hadn't exactly been easy as of late—they never were—but at least they'd been quiet. To his own surprise Oz had made himself rather comfortable at his job at Family Video, despite the presence of Steve Harrington, who hed grown to tolerate. He'd grown to actually like his other coworker, Robin, and even found himself enjoying listening to her ramble from time to time.

He'd even managed to keep out of trouble at school for the past few weeks, which was something of a personal record. If he could keep this up, soon enough the basketball coach would most likely allow him to leave the bench for once. It had helped his relationship with the other team members, at least, which Oz figured he should be happy with. They no longer outright shunned him, and even very rarely ignored him now. Only when they deemed it socially acceptable enough to do so.

"Reynolds, over here!" Andy Johnson, center player of the Hawkins Tigers, waved his hand high as he noticed Oz walk into the school cafeteria. Oz had hoped to go by unnoticed, eat his lunch in some dark corner before fleeing to either the smoke hole or the bathrooms, but he had no such luck. For a moment, he considered ignoring Andy and dipping out anyway, but he knew he couldn't. Oz was intending to make it out of high school alive, something he needed at least a semblance of a social circle for. They had almost accepted him back in, he couldn't fuck it up now.

A step in the right direction.

"Hey, guys," Oz hummed in a greeting, settling down between shooting guard Patrick McKinney and small forward Chance Navarro. Right across from their point guard, and the only reason Oz was even still on the basketball team to begin with, Jason Carver.

Jason was, by all accounts, exactly who people wished they were in high school. Generally well-liked, strongest member of the basketball team, all-American blond hair and straight teeth, perfectly average GPA, and dating head cheerleader Chrissy Cunningham. He was the poster child of high school success, and what Oz hoped to be the poster child of peaking in high school.

"Reynolds," Jason greeted with a too-wide perfectly white smile, blue eyes seemingly looking right through Oz. "Good to see you, man. I feel like you haven't had lunch with the team in forever."

Oz didn't dislike Jason. Not outright, anyway. He was the only member of the basketball team who'd stuck up for Oz after he broke the nose of that Fort Wayne kid last season. Jason had sat the coach down and by some miracle convinced him to not only hold off on suspending Oz, but also to keep him on the basketball team. Oz knew that he owed Jason, as much as he hated it.

"Yeah man, I've just been busy, I guess."

Chrissy was smiling towards Oz, clinging onto Jason's right arm like it was the only thing keeping her alive. Maybe that's what Oz hated about Jason most. He hated Jason's stupid perfect girlfirend and their stupid perfect relationship.

He hated that Jason had exactly what Oz could never have.

"How have you been?" Chrissy asked, as kind and chipper as she'd always been. She had big round blue eyes and a smile that all but screamed innocence. She could stand right next to Jason on his poster.

Another girl from the cheerleading team was sitting next to Chrissy. A brunette who's name Oz remembered to be Emma. She was staring right at Oz with the brightest, most interested eyes that had ever been directed his way. She was smiling and batting her eyelashes at Oz, the way he'd seen girls do at Family Video when they were talking with Steve.