American Heroes: A Stranger Things 3 Fic

Indiana Flyer

Steve, Robin, and Will mumble okays, and they all continue on their way out of the mall. When they get outside, Robin waves them goodbye as she grabs her bike and rides off. Will grabs his bike off the bike rack while Dustin and Steve walk towards the parking lot.

Steve stops walking and glances at Will. "Hey, Byers, why don't I drive you home?"

"Oh, no, that's fine. I've got my bike."

"I'm serious, Byers. I'm already driving Dustin, and you literally live a second away from me. Just toss your bike in my trunk."

Will stands still, contemplating. Steve watches him with a friendly face, awaiting his reply. Sighing, Will shrugs. "Alright. Thanks."

Steve smiles, and the three of them walk to his car. Dustin calls shotgun, so Will sits in the seat behind him. While Dustin begins rambling about what the Russians could be doing in Hawkins, Will stares out the window, wondering what Mike is up to right now. Probably searching for that gift he so badly wanted to get El. God, how Will wishes they could go back to before the Mind Flayer, before the Demogorgon. Before El. Not that he hates El. He can't hate her because he barely knows her. Whenever he sees El, she's sweet, but all she does is hang out with Mike. Mike, Mike, Mike. It's all about him, isn't it? It always has been. Will never noticed until El came back and Mike didn't hang around the rest of the party as much. Will thought his dependence on Mike stemmed from him being there for Will last fall when the Mind Flayer got to him. Then he saw Mike and El kiss at the Snow Ball, and he knew what made Mike's concern for him so comforting wasn't just him being his best friend. Will soon realized when summer started and he, Mike, Lucas, and Max went to the movies together, butterflies would flutter about his stomach each time Mike looked at him. Will shuts his eyes as he remembers Day of the Dead. As usual, Lucas and Max sat in the row in front of them, leaving Mike and Will to themselves. Will had been really excited about seeing the movie but the excitement died down when the feeling of dread fell over him. He didn't know exactly what it meant, but it wasn't good. His breath caught in his throat when Mike asked if he was okay, but he quickly said he was fine. All he wanted was to have a fun time with his friends, with Mike, yet something always had to come up. He ignored the cold feeling and tried to focus on the movie, but there another feeling nagged at him. Butterflies in his stomach. Will turned his head to see Mike staring intensely at him. He felt a blush creeping up on him, so he looked quickly back to the movie screen. He still felt Mike's eyes on him. Thinking back to that moment, Will wonders what exactly Mike was looking at him for. Was it because he realized Will was lying about feeling fine? Or was it something else? Will shakes his head. Of course it wasn't something else. Mike is his best friend. His completely straight best friend. It's not like it matters what Mike was staring at him for either. Not after their fight.

"See you guys tomorrow!" Dustin says as he gets out of the car and shuts the door.

Steve glances back at Will. "You can come sit up here."

Will takes a moment to pull his thoughts together before hopping up to the passenger seat. Steve gives him a smile, turning on the radio before driving away from Dustin's. "So Henderson tells me the other knuckleheads ditched you guys when he got back from camp."

"Yeah, they did," Will replies. He glances at Steve, then sighs. "We had a fight, too."

"Really? Dustin didn't say anything about that."

"It wasn't with Dustin. It was earlier today."

Steve taps his knuckles on the steering wheel. "With who? Wheeler and Sinclair?"

"Mostly just Mike. Lucas didn't say much."

"Was this right before you came to Scoops?"

Will nods.

"What were you fighting about?"

"I don't know. Just stupid stuff."

Steve glances at Will. "You know, at your age, don't even worry about your friends. After high school, it won't even matter. You'll find new ones. Better ones."

Will doesn't like the sound of that. He likes his friends now even if they're assholes. They've been with him through all the crap the last two years. He can barely imagine life without them.

They pull into the driveway of Will's house where Jonathan's car is parked. Will reaches for the door handle, but Steve raises his hand to stop him. "How – how's Jonathan?" Steve asks.

Will takes his hand away from the door and looks at Steve. "Jonathan? He's fine."

"That's good. You know, Byers, he's a good brother to you. I would've done anything to have someone who loves me as much as he loves you."

Unsure of what to say, Will just nods, reaching for the door handle again.

"If Wheeler really cares about you, he'll come around, but don't dwell on people who treat you like shit."

Will gives Steve a smile before getting out of the car. "I won't... and thanks for the ride, Steve."

"No problem, Byers."