It started as any other ordinary day, lab with Dr. Creel. Will Byers sat in the back with Lucas Sinclair, the only jock that didn't bully outcasts and befriended them instead. He had appreciated his kindness since he was 10 years old and he saved him, and his other friends, Dustin and El (his now stepsister), from bullies. They were always there for each other no matter what. Will always encouraged Lucas, whether it had to do with sports or asking a girl out, and Lucas was the first person Will had come out to (and he was also Will's first crush, but that didn't matter). Today they were tasked with studying spiders, something Lucas hated.
"God... why couldn't we have studied like.. something not terrifying?" Lucas asked. Will smiled.
"Hey, it's not that bad.. at least it's in a glass box.. we don't have to touch it." Will started, picking up the glass box and looking inside. "Besides.. it's kind of neat." Lucas sighed.
"This is why we're lab partners, Byers. This is why." Lucas responded with a slight laugh. Will laughed a bit.
"You know you love me." Will said as he lightly elbowed Lucas, putting down the glass box as he did. Lucas rolled his eyes with a smile.
"Class, pause for a few moments." Dr. Creel started from the front of the classroom, "We have a new student joining us!" Will looked up to the front of the class, seeing Dr. Creel opening the door for someone. It was a boy with medium-length, raven-colored hair, freckles, a lanky frame, and a sharp jawline. He had a camera bag to his side, along with his book bag, and he was wearing a dark blue flannel with a white t-shirt under it and black jeans. He looked like he did not want to be here at all, and looked quite anxious, his fingers feeling at his clothing. Will felt a bit of sympathy for him, but also a bit of understanding.
"He looks so.. edgy." Lucas whispered to Will. Will sighed.
"He looks pretty.. normal to me." Will responded. Lucas shrugged a bit, but Will didn't notice, continuing to stare.
"This is Michael-James Wheeler." Dr. Creel said.
"It's.. MJ." He mumbled. Dr. Creel nodded.
"Apologies.. MJ!" He responded. "Welcome, MJ! Go ahead and take a seat at Will and Lucas's table." Dr. Creel pointed at Will's table, making Will quickly look away and back down at his box. He furrowed his eyebrows a bit at the fact that the spider was now missing from the glass box. He turned to Lucas.
"Uh... we have a problem." He said.
"Yeah, Dr. Creel's making the weird kid sit at our table." Lucas whispered.
"Hey, I'm weird too." Will responded in an offended tone as Lucas laughed. "No, I mean.. Lucas, the spider-"
"What about the spider?" Lucas asked, a panicked look coming over his face. Will decided then and there that it was in his best interest not to tell Lucas. He looked down at the glass box before sighing slightly as he hid it with his elbow.
"Nothing.. he just wasn't moving for a second." He replied. Lucas sighed in relief before going back to looking at the comic book he was sneak-reading under the table. Will looked at MJ, who was sitting down next to him with a sigh. What should he say? Should he introduce himself? Will really hated that he got this way around cute guys. Especially with someone as interesting-looking as this guy. MJ suddenly looked at him, furrowing his eyes a bit at the trance Will seemed to have been put in.
"Uh.. hi?" He said awkwardly. Will snapped out of it.
"Sorry, hi." He started quickly, a nervous smile forming on his face. MJ nodded.
"It's cool." He said in a hushed tone before looking away. Will thought to himself before looking back at MJ.
"I'm Will.. Will Byers." He responded. MJ turned to him with an almost shocked expression before nodding.
"Uh.. I'm MJ. Well.. you already know that." He said awkwardly.
"It's cool." Will responded, repeating MJ's earlier phrase. MJ cracked a slight smile.
"Cool." He started before looking at the empty glass box Will was trying to hide from Lucas. "So.. what's supposed to be in there?"
"Uh.. a spider." Will whispered, trying to keep his arachnophobic friend from figuring out it was missing. MJ laughed slightly before taking the box from Will and inspecting it. He made a slight "a-ha" noise as he turned to the side.
"It looks like there's a hole." MJ responded.
"A hole?" Will asked.
"Yup.. looks like it was.. melted or something." MJ replied as he handed Will back the box. Will furrowed his eyebrows a bit as he inspected the hole as well.
"Oh." He responded. MJ nodded a bit as he looked down slightly. Will put down the box before looking at MJ's camera bag. "You take pictures?"
"Yeah.. Yeah, I do. I really really love photography." MJ started with a wide smile before looking at Will and laughing nervously. "Sorry.. that probably sounded way too eager.. and weird." Will shook his head with a fond smile.
"No.. no, not weird at all. I think it's awesome." He responded. MJ nodded with a smile.
"Cool." He said before looking down slightly. Will stared at him for a few more seconds before he felt a sharp pain in his arm. He looked down to see the spider and quickly hit it, turning MJ and Lucas's attention to him.
"What the hell was that about?" Lucas asked. Will looked at the ground where the dead spider landed.
"I.. found our spider." Will replied with wide eyes. Lucas's eyes widened slightly.
"The spider was missing? And you didn't tell me?" He asked. Will gave him an apologetic smile before noticing Dr. Creel was standing right in front of him.
"What happened?" He asked quickly.
"The spider escaped, and then it was on Will's arm." MJ replied, holding up the hole in the box to Dr. Creel. Dr. Creel got a panicked look on his face before looking at Will.
"Did.. the spider happen to bite you?" He asked. Will looked at Lucas, who looked almost even more panicked. The spider did bite him, but he didn't want Lucas to have a heart attack.
"No..?" He replied. Lucas sighed, relieved, before Dr. Creel just nodded.
"I see." He started, "I'll collect it.. just write down what you noticed." The three nodded as Dr. Creel grabbed the box from off of the table before going behind them, scooping the spider up, and heading to the front of the class.
"Jesus, Will.. what if that spider bit one of us?" Lucas asked. Will looked down at his arm slightly before looking back at Lucas.
"I just.. didn't want to freak you out." Will replied. Lucas sighed before nodding.
"It's okay.." He started before looking at MJ. "I'm Lucas by the way." MJ nodded.
"Got it." He responded. Lucas sighed before standing up from his seat.
"I'm gonna go complain to Dr. Creel about our.. spider assignment." He said, almost cringing a bit. Will laughed slightly.
"Good luck. He loves 8-legged freaks." He responded. Lucas turned to him with a disgusted look before heading to the front of the classroom.
"He must really hate spiders." MJ said. Will nodded.
"He.. really does." He responded.
"And you?" MJ asked.
"They don't freak me out too much.. I'm more afraid of like.. slimy things." Will replied with a shrug. MJ laughed before he nodded slightly.
"Call me weird.. but I think they're kinda neat." MJ responded. Will smiled as he looked at him.
"Again, not weird." He started. They both smiled at each other before a thought popped into Will's mind. "Oh, yeah! My brother used to run the photography club if you're interested in that. Who knows you could even become the club's president like him." MJ's eyes widened slightly before Will felt a hint of embarrassment come over him. "Sorry.. I just remembered that they're looking for more members because most of them went to college like my brother, and I thought maybe because you like photography.."
"No, no. I'd love to." MJ started, "Depends though.. are any of them scary?" Will laughed slightly before shrugging.
"They're all just kinda quiet." Will replied. MJ nodded.
"Cool, cool." He said. Will just nodded before looking down at his arm as he rolled up his sleeve. His eyes widened slightly before he rolled down his sleeve and quickly got up. MJ looked at him in confusion as he grabbed his bag and headed toward the door.
"Hey! Where are you-" Dr. Creel started before Will interrupted him.
"Bathroom!" He yelled as he closed the door. He headed to the boy's bathroom and locked himself in one of the stalls, before gasping slightly as he lifted his sleeve. It looked bad. Really bad. There was the bite mark, of course, but his blood vessels were turning purple around it, branching out like vines around the bite. He felt beads of sweat start to run down his forehead, and his vision was starting to become glossy. He wiped his eyes as one thought came to his mind. The nurse. He needed to go see the nurse. He quickly left the bathroom and headed to the nurse's office, too many thoughts going through his mind all at once. What the hell kind of spider was that? How could it melt the box? And what was it going to do to him? He opened the nurse's door, out of breath.
"Can I help you?" She asked, slightly concerned. He nodded as he went in and pulled up his sleeve.
"A spider. I got bit by a spider." He replied slightly panicked. She looked down at his arm before her face contorted in confusion.
"Where?" She asked. Will's eyebrows furrowed.
"What? It's right.." He trailed off as he looked down at his arm before stopping. His arm was completely clear, and it looked as though nothing had bitten him at all. He looked up at the school nurse, who looked confused. "Sorry.. false alarm."
"Okay.." She trailed off in confusion before returning to her desk. Will looked down at his arm in utter confusion. A minute ago he thought he would've needed to get his arm amputated or something, but now it was just.. gone? How could that be? Will shook his head before turning to leave.
"Sorry, Nurse May." He responded before heading into the empty hall. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead before looking back down at his arm with a sigh. He rolled down his sleeve slowly before just shrugging and heading back to class.
•••
"There's no rhyme or reason to it." Dustin said, taking a bite of his sandwich. "It's New York. Shit just happens."
"But don't you think it's weird? A lab gets broken into and gets several radioactive materials stolen and suddenly Dr. Creel has us studying these weird spiders?" Max asked.
"Maybe.. it's a coincidence." El replied. "Maybe he made them himself using his materials."
"No way." Max started, "He's already shady enough, I wouldn't put something like this past him." Lucas laughed.
"Hey, didn't our spider melt its box and escape?" He asked Will, who wasn't paying attention at all. "..Will, are you listening?" Will snapped out of it, looking up at Lucas.
"What? What's going on?" He responded. El laughed a bit.
"What is it you're thinking about?" She asked from next to him.
"Nothing. Nothing at all." Will responded with a startled look. That wasn't true though, he definitely was thinking about something. About that spider, and about how his bite magically disappeared. But he couldn't say that. He'd sound crazy.
"Nothing?" Dustin asked.
"He's probably thinking about that new kid in our homeroom." Lucas replied. Will looked at him, his eyes widening slightly. That was definitely another thing that was on his mind.
"What? No.. No, I wasn't." Will responded. Max smiled.
"New kid?" She asked. "Is he cute?"
"He's not my type, to be honest, but he might be Will's type." Lucas replied. Max lightly kicked Lucas's leg.
"I wasn't asking you. Will?" Max asked. Will shook his head.
"I don't like him. Not like that." Will said.
"You were talking and smiling with him most of the class period." Lucas responded. Will blinked nervously.
"So? He seemed anxious so I was just... trying to be nice. That's all." He said. El giggled before wrapping her arms around Will with a dramatic sigh.
"Wow! My brother is such a hero!" She exclaimed dramatically. Will laughed a bit as he pushed her away
"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Troy yelled suddenly, turning the group's attention. Troy was standing behind MJ, grabbing onto the back of the collar of his shirt while MJ just stood there in silence.
"Looks like the new kid doesn't have manners." Troy's right-hand man, James, added. Troy smiled.
"Hey, new kid, don't you know you're supposed to speak when spoken to?" Troy started. MJ stayed silent before Troy turned him around, grabbing the front of his shirt. "Don't you have manners?" MJ shrugged.
"..Guess not." He replied. Some people laughed as Troy just stared at MJ, more anger rising to the surface.
"I didn't expect him to speak back to him." Lucas whispered. Will looked at him before looking back at MJ.
"You think you're funny?" Troy asked, tightening his grip on MJ's collar.
"Hey!" Will yelled suddenly, standing up. "Let him go." Troy, MJ, and James all looked at him, varying levels of confusion on their faces.
"You talking to me, Will?" Troy asked with a smug look on his face.
"Will? What are you doing?" Dustin whisper-yelled. Will glanced at him before sighing.
"..Yes, I am. Now let him go." He demanded a bit louder. Troy smirked.
"Okay." He responded before throwing MJ to the ground. Will quickly went up to MJ, who was squeezing his eyes shut in pain.
"You okay?" He asked. MJ nodded, sitting himself up.
"Yeah.. Yeah, I'm good." MJ replied as Will helped him up. Will nodded before he felt the back of his neck tingle. He turned toward Troy, putting his hand up quickly and stopping the punch he was about to throw at him. Troy immediately screamed out in pain, falling on his back. Will looked down at him, confusion filling him as Troy continued to yell in pain.
"What the.." Will whispered under his breath before he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Dude! You just took down Troy!" Dustin yelled in excitement as he shook Will.
"Wha- I didn't mean to.." He started before everyone in the cafeteria got silent. He looked up to see Principal Connors and Dr. Creel.
"What is going on here?" Dr. Creel yelled, walking up to the five boys.
"He broke my hand!" Troy yelled, still writhing in pain on the floor as he pointed at Will. Will furrowed his eyebrows.
"What?" He said under his breath. Principal Connors looked down at Troy before looking up at Will and sighing.
"Call an ambulance." He started, looking at Dr. Creel. "Come with me, Byers." Will looked at Dustin, who didn't look as excited as he was before, before sighing and following Principal Connors. They headed to his office and Will sat down with a sigh. The Principal was about to sit down before his phone rang. He sighed before looking up at Will. "Stay here." Will nodded before Principal Connors headed out. He looked down at his hands, furrowing his eyebrows.
What the hell was that?
Thirty minutes passed, Will just sitting there nervously. Thinking about what had just happened, and thinking about what was going to happen. He tapped his fingers nervously, still waiting for Principal Connors.
"Hey." He heard Lucas's voice say as the door opened. "What.. was that?" Will shook his head.
"No clue. I just.. stopped his punch." He replied looking up at Lucas. He then noticed MJ right behind him, staring at Will. "Oh.. hi. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you." MJ replied with a slight smile.
"Did he hurt you?" Lucas asked.
"No, not at all." Will replied. Lucas sighed.
"Good.. but if he's really hurt then you'll probably be in big trouble." Lucas said. Will nodded.
"Yeah, I know.. but it was worth it to help someone." He responded, looking at MJ. Lucas glanced at MJ before putting a hand on Will's shoulder.
"Well.. if you need witnesses, we're here." He started before looking at MJ. "Right?"
"Yeah, totally." MJ replied with a nod. Will nodded.
"Thanks, guys." He said. Suddenly, the door opened. Principal Connors stared at Lucas and MJ before sighing.
"May you two excuse us for a moment?" He asked. They both nodded before heading out. Principal Connors sat down in front of Will with a sigh. "Troy is at the hospital.. They suspect that his wrist is fractured and at least some of his fingers are broken."
"What? How?" Will asked.
"You tell me." Principal Connors replied, pulling out a notebook. "Tell me what happened that led to you breaking his wrist." Will sighed.
"I didn't mean to break his wrist.. He was bullying my friend and I made him stop. Then he tried to punch me and I stopped it with my hand." Will said.
"How would you stopping a punch.. do that much damage?" Principal Connors asked. Will shrugged with an awkward smile.
"Trying to figure out the same thing.. sir." He replied. Principal Connors stared at Will for a few seconds before writing some things down.
"Do.. you have any witnesses?" He asked.
"The whole cafeteria saw it." He replied. Principal Connors gave him a look, making Will sigh. "Lucas, El, MJ, Max, and Dustin."
"MJ?" He asked.
"The new kid? The one he was bullying? I think his name's Michael James.. or something like that?" Will responded. Principal Connors nodded before writing more down.
"And.. El is your stepsister, right? Jane Hopper?" He asked.
"Yeah, she's my sister." Will replied. Principal Connors wrote more down before sighing.
"Well.. I can't send you back to class, so I will be calling one of your parents to get you." He said. Will sighed, leaning back in his chair.
"My mom's at work and she can't leave.. call Hopper." He responded. Principal Connors nodded as he picked up his phone and began searching.
"For now, your punishment is undecided, but that doesn't mean you won't be punished." He said. Will sighed.
"Got it." He responded.
•••
Lucas closed the door behind him before turning toward MJ, who was leaning against the wall and looking down at his feet.
"Are you okay? You seemed to fall kind of hard." Lucas said suddenly. MJ looked at him.
"Yeah, I'm good.. Could've been worse." He responded. Lucas nodded.
"Yeah, good thing Will defended you." He started, "He's never done that before." MJ blinked a bit.
"Really?" He asked.
"Troy's bullied him for years. He's been his target for so long.. so him doing something like this was shocking." He replied. MJ looked ahead of him, thinking a bit before smiling. Lucas watched before smiling and holding out his hand in front of MJ. "I didn't really introduce myself properly.. I'm Lucas Sinclair." MJ looked at him before shaking his hand.
"MJ." He said. Lucas nodded before thinking a bit.
"So.. where'd you move here from?" He asked.
"Indiana.. it's a lot different." MJ replied. Lucas laughed a bit.
"Yeah, no kidding." He responded. MJ laughed as well before Will came out of the principal's office with a sigh.
"My fate is undecided." He said. Lucas sighed.
"Yikes." He responded. "Do they know what's up with Troy?"
"They think I broke his wrist and a few fingers." Will replied. Lucas's eyes widened slightly.
"Seriously? How?" He asked. Will shrugged.
"No clue." He replied before sighing. "Hopper is coming to pick me up.. so I'll catch you later."
"Alright, man." Lucas said. Will nodded before looking at MJ, who was just quietly observing.
"You can sit at our lunch table from now on. Ever since Lucas joined the basketball team, no one's really bothered our group." He started with a slight smile. "You'll be safe. Sound good?" MJ blinked a bit before nodding.
"Yeah! Thank you." He responded with a smile. Will nodded before beginning to head down the hallway, walking backward and facing the two.
"See ya." He said. Lucas and MJ waved before Will headed out of the door, turning toward the street with a smile. He then waited for Hopper before opening the door to his cop car when he finally arrived.
"You.. broke a kid's hand?" Hopper asked, his facial expression showing clear disapproval. Will sighed.
"Allegedly." He replied, getting in and closing the door.
"Why would you even do that?" Hopper asked.
"Didn't mean to. He tried to punch me, and I stopped it." He replied. Hopper sighed.
"I guess.. that's a pretty good reason." He started, beginning to drive, "I just don't want you getting in trouble over something that isn't worth getting in trouble for." Will looked out of the window, thinking of MJ. He thought about his smile, and he smiled to himself.
"It was kind of worth it." He said under his breath. Hopper glanced at him.
"Who even was the kid?" He asked.
"Troy." Will replied. Hopper furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"..Who?" He asked.
"Troy? Troy Walsh?" Will started, "Bullied me for eight years.. and also bullied your daughter for eight years." Hopper glanced at him.
"That's who it is?" He asked.
"Yeah.. You'd think the name would've stuck by now." Will replied. Hopper stared at him for a few seconds as they got to a light before sighing.
"When you get home, go to your room and do homework til your classes are supposed to end." Hopper started, "Sound good?" Will nodded.
"Yup." He replied. Hopper nodded.
"Good, good." He responded before continuing to drive in silence. Soon, they were in front of their apartment complex. "Don't get into any more trouble."
"Don't worry, I wasn't planning on breaking our neighbor's hands." Will said. Hopper smiled slightly as Will began to head out.
"Love you, kid." He responded.
"Mhm. Love you too." Will said before closing the door. He headed inside before taking the elevator up to his floor. He then headed to his apartment. He shut the door behind him before beginning to walk away, when he was suddenly pulled back, his hand sticking to the door.
"What.." He started before letting go of it. He stared at the door for a few seconds before turning and looking at his living room. He walked up to his orange tabby cat, sitting down next to him and petting him. "Hi, Petey." He then tried to pull his hand away, but instead, his hand stuck to his cat, lifting him in front of him.
What.
Petey meowed as Will just stared at him in confusion as he slowly put him down, releasing him.
"Okay.." He said, kind of freaking out now. He headed to his room, Petey following behind him. He put down his bag as he thought about everything. How that spider bit him, how he broke Troy's hand, how everything was suddenly sticking to him. How much it made no sense. He then felt his neck tingle again, like it had earlier. He turned toward his desk, shooting a web and catching the mug Petey had almost knocked over. His eyes widened as he looked down at the mug that was now in his hand. "What the hell?" He asked himself.
"Meow." Petey said. Will looked up at him.
"Very insightful." He responded. He put down the mug before sitting on the bottom bunk of his bunk bed with a sigh. He looked down at his hands before slowly doing what he had done before, aiming for the mug again. And as it shot back to his hand, that's when he realized exactly what was happening.
The spider that had bitten him, the fact that the bite healed itself, Troy's hand breaking with barely any touch, stuff sticking to his hands, and now this.
That weird spider caused all of this.
That weird spider.. gave him superpowers.
He picked up his phone, looking through his contacts before stopping at Lucas's name. He was about to call him, but he stopped himself. He realized that if he explained all of this to Lucas, he'd sound insane.
"Help!" He suddenly heard someone yell from below his window. He looked outside to see a kid running from a group of men. "Someone help!" Will backed up a bit, thinking to himself.
Isn't this something someone who has superpowers should help with? This could also be a good opportunity to test these powers out.
He looked around his room before grabbing the red mask he used when he and his friends dressed up as Power Rangers for Halloween, as well as a jacket. He put it on, sitting on the edge of his window as he looked down at the ground below. He took a deep breath before shooting a web at the building in front of him.
"Please let this work." He whispered to himself before pulling himself toward the building. He began swinging through the air, shooting webs at different buildings. He let out a yell of excitement, doing a flip in the air and getting more used to it as he went on. He followed the sounds of the kid yelling for help, making his way to the dead-end of an alley. He sat on the roof, watching as they cornered the kid.
"Please. I don't have anything." The kid pleaded. He had to only be twelve at the most.
"Give us the hearing aid." The lead man demanded. "Or else."
"Please, no." The kid responded.
"Hey!" Will yelled suddenly from the roof. They turned around, looking for him. Will rolled his eyes. "Up here!"
"Who the hell are you?" One of them asked. Will thought a bit.
"Uh.. doesn't matter. Shouldn't you be picking on someone your own size?" He asked, jumping down from the roof and landing on his feet. "I mean.. that's a kid, man."
"You think we care?" The lead man asked, walking toward him.
"I mean.. any of you got kids?" Will started, looking around at all of them. "No? No kids? Okay uh.. anyone ever babysat or something?"
"Get out of here, or else." The man demanded. Will put his hands on his hips.
"Wow. You must really love those two words." He started, "Is it like a catchphrase or something? 'Or Else!' Yeah.. I see. It's actually kind of fun to say." He felt his neck tingle, and immediately dodged the punch that was thrown at him. He then dodged it again, and again, and again.
"What the.." The man said.
"Great reflexes." Will started, stretching a bit. "Come on, try me again." The man looked at the other four men behind him.
"Get him!" He demanded. They all ran toward him, throwing punches and kicks that Will continued to dodge. He then shot webs at them, managing to stick every single one of them to different sides of the alley. Will then looked around in amazement, impressed that he did this. He turned to the kid, who was just watching in amazement.
"Hey, kid." He said, walking toward him.
"Who.. are you?" The kid asked. Will thought a bit.
Spider powers. Spider.. man.
"Uhh.. I'm... Spiderman. Yeah, I'm Spiderman." He replied, coming up with the name on the spot. "Kinda like.. Batman or Superman.. What's your name?"
"Uh.. Ned." He replied.
"Ned! That's a cool name. Where were you headed, Ned?" Will asked.
"Home from school.. Those guys came out of nowhere and asked me to give them my hearing aid." Ned replied. "I think it's cause they're expensive." Will nodded.
"I see.. Do you happen to have a paper so we can write a nice note for the police?" He asked. Ned nodded before grabbing his backpack off of his back and pulling out a sheet of paper and a pen. He handed them to Will. "What's your mommy or daddy's name?"
"My mom is out of town.. My grandma's name is Lola though. Lola Leeds." Ned replied.
"Leeds? L-e-e-d-s?" Will asked. Ned nodded before Will used the wall of the alley to write the note.
"These guys tried to rob a kid. They seem very sketchy. Contact Lola Leeds for more info... Or else! Just kidding. Just contact her, please!
-Spiderman :)"
"Perfect! Can I take you home, Ned?" He asked, using webs to stick the note to the wall.
"Do you have superpowers?" Ned responded.
"I guess you could say that, yeah." Will replied. "Where's your house? I'll take you there."
"Just follow me." Ned responded. Will nodded as he followed the kid out of the alley.
To be continued..
an: SPIDEY-WILL AU AHHHH
i've decided to post the first two chapters of this bc the first chapter is pretty short so yh
anyways, as always, hope you enjoyed!
let me know if you catch any grammatical errors or spelling errors!