Chapter Text
The summer had settled over Hawkings with that kind of heat that sticks to the skin, accompanied by the constant buzz of insects and bugs. The streets were almost empty, but the old sound of bicycle tires still echoed through them. Will Byers pedaled behind Mike, the wind hitting his face, warm and dusty, just like it always was.
Mike was laughing at something Dustin had said, and Will watched him for a second. Sometimes he wondered if things had always felt like this: like everything was changing too fast and he was the only one trying to hold it all in place.
“So, arcade or what?” Lucas called up from ahead, turning his head as he rode.
“El told me she could stay out late today” Mike replied, without looking back “I think I'll walk her home later…after the arcade”.
Will lowered his gaze, trying hard not to react, just kept pedaling, pretending it didn't matter. But of course it did. All of it did.
The whole ride there he listened to the others talk about movies, dates, dumb summer stuff. He just nodded, sometimes smiled when it felt appropriate, but not really adding anything to the conversation. Some days it felt like everything was okay again. Other days, it felt like he'd lost something without ever quite knowing when.
When they arrived, the blast of cold air from the arcade hit him immediately. The noise of the machines, the flashes of colour, the shouting kids— It all was so familiar and yet somehow so different. Mike and the others rushed towards a new game, Will lingered behind, just watching them.
There was something about the way Mike laughed with the others that made his chest ache. It wasn't exactly jealousy…it was more like the feeling of watching from the outside something that had once belonged to him.
“You're not gonna play, Will?” Dustin asked as he got closer.
“Yeah!...in a minute” Will said, then followed him.
He stood besides the machine, directly across from Mike; noticing the way his hands moved, his distracted smile. Everything Will had been trying to erase from his mind for months.
When the clock read a little past six and the sunlight coming through the windows had become that soft orange colour, El arrived. Mike looked up as she walked in, rushing to her immediately, draping an arm around her shoulders before leading her back towards the party, everyone smiling.
She looked a little different, her hair was longer now and she was wearing a colourful dress that contrasted with her still-awkward way of moving through the crowd. Will thought she was pretty, kind even, but everything had felt different since she arrived.
He couldn't blame her. It was just that, somehow, it felt like she'd taken a part of Mike that used to belong only to him. The way she and Mike had fallen into something so natural while he was gone (even though he came back just a week after that happened) left him not knowing what to do. So little by little, he'd gotten used to it. Or at least that's what he told himself.
When they left the arcade, the boys said their goodbyes in-between jokes and half-made plans for the next day. Eleven stepped closer to Mike, took his hand, and he kissed her quickly. Will looked away. He didn't want to see it, didn't want to feel that familiar tightness in his chest every time they showed affection. He knew it was normal, they were a couple, but he couldn't stop the discomfort that came from his own feelings.
“You heading home, Will?” Lucas asked as he climbed onto his bike.
“Yeah… I think so” Will replied, adjusting the strap of his backpack.
Dustin waved his hand in a goodbye. “See you tomorrow then?”.
Will nodded. “Right, tomorrow” he said, forcing a smile as he got onto his bike.
But as he rode away, he knew it probably wouldn't be tomorrow. Lately, he found out that when the other said tomorrow, it actually meant whenever everyone’s free from their girlfriends, and that could take days, even weeks.
He pedaled without a clear destination, the wind brushing against his face. The streets of Hawkins were quiet, cars parked along the driveways, porch lights flickering one by one. Summer carried that familiar smell…a mix of cut grass, heat and humidity.
He crossed the bridge over the river and turned into the path he used to take with Mike when they were kids. Back then, they'd spend hours there, throwing stones into the water, talking about nothing that really mattered. Now, the place felt more like a memory than anything else.
Will leaned his bike against the wooden fence and sat by the water’s edge. The reflection on the surface moved slowly, just like his thoughts, drifting through everything that had been happening in his life lately.
He thought about Mike— about how everything had changed with him. How things used to be simpler. How they could spend entire days talking about comics, playing D&D together, drawing in Mike's basement. Just the two of them, keeping each other company. Now, there were awkward silences, shorter smiles, glances that didn't last as long as they used to.
Maybe he just grew up, Will thought, watching his own reflection on the water.
But he couldn't shake the feeling that something had broken, and that it was his fault for not knowing how to fix it. To him, Mike and the others were everything. Everything he had outside his family. And now being so distant, always feeling out-of-place, left him with a heaviness he couldn't quite name.
The sky began to fade into shades of violet, fireflies flying over the grass. Hawkins always looked beautiful at that hour, as if time paused for a few minutes before the night fell.
Will sighed, closing his eyes for a second.
That was when he heard something behind him. The snap of a branch. The clumsy thud of sneakers against dirt.
He turned his head and he saw him.
A boy around his age, maybe a year older. Messy hair, thick glasses, a bike at his side covered in worn-out stickers. He lifted a hand in greeting.
“Hey… is this place private?, or can I hang around for a bit?”.
Will blinked, startled, then answered, “No- no, it's fine. You can stay” He gave a vague tilt of his head “Not many people come here”.
The boy grinned, wide and careless.
“Perfect. An idiot-free zone at last” He paused, eyes lingering on the other. “Oh- and I'm Richie, Richie Tozier. Just moved here a week ago to bring a little brilliance to this Podunk town”.
Will laughed softly. The boy was very free with his words, either incredibly confident or just completely incapable of holding his tongue.
“I'm Will. Will Byers” he said, a little shy, his voice barely above the river’s murmur.
Richie sat down beside him without asking, casually sliding an arm around his shoulders.
“So, Will— do you come here often?”.
Will shrugged slightly, aware of the closeness but not uncomfortable. Weird, he thought. He usually didn't like being touched by strangers.
“Sometimes…It's quiet. And kind of nice”.
“Looks like it,” Richie said. “Also kind of boring, but if there's a cute guy like you hanging around, I'm sure that helps”. He tossed a stone into the water, saying it as casually as if it meant nothing.
The surface rippled.
So did something inside Will.
Silence settled between them, but it wasn't awkward. It was the kind that didn't push you away, only invited you to stay.
Richie threw another stone. “Yeah, it's really peaceful…though it does feel a little depressing,” he added with a crooked smile.
Will shrugged. “Depends on the day”.
“And today?”
“Today…” Will paused, thinking. “I don't know. I guess I just needed to get out”.
Richie glanced at him sideways, and something in his expression shifted. It wasn't teasing. Wasn't pity. Wasn't curiosity.
It was attention. Genuine attention.
“Well,” Richie said, a little more brightly, like he was trying to lift the mood, “getting out is always a good idea. And look, you came here and found this Incredible, charming, ridiculously handsome guy with glasses”. He pointed at himself with a grin.
Will smiled.
“Yeah sure, definitely”. He made an incredulous face and nudged Richie lightly, half-joking. No one had ever flirted with him before, not even as a joke, and much less another boy.
After a while, the sun had completely disappeared, and the sky filled with stars. Fireflies drifted lazily through the grass. Both Will and Richie were getting late, so they grabbed their bikes and started walking along the street. Where to? Neither of them really knew, but for some reason, they were completely absorbed into their conversation.
“So…” Will asked after a moment, “where are you from?”.
“Oh, from the goddamn Derry,” Richie replied. “A little place even more boring than Hawkings. Trust me, if there were a competition for shitty towns, Derry would win without even trying”.
Will let out a small laugh.
“I don't think it's that bad”.
“Oh it is,” Richie said, adjusting his glasses. “But I guess I'll have to find something that makes living here better from now on”.
“Have you found it yet?” Will asked more out of reflex than curiosity.
Richie eyed him, for an instant their shared gaze intensified. He smiled, but this time different. It was slower. Honest.
“Perhaps” He said, giving him a wink.
Will looked away immediately, trying to hide the serene tightness that had formed in chest. There was something about Richie that made him feel different, not because of what he said, but because of how easily he said it, without caring whether Will might judge him for it.
After a moment, Richie stopped, scratching the back of his neck.
“Well, I think my mom will kill me if I don't get home soon. I'd really like to stay and talk longer, but she'll probably call the FBI or something”.
Will laughed and nodded.
“Don't worry Richie. I guess I'll see you around”.
Richie grabbed his bike, then paused for a second before leaving.
“Hey, Will…. are you coming back here tomorrow?”. He asked, gesturing back towards the river.
Will hesitated.
“Maybe”.
“Then, just in that case…” Richie smiled at him once more “See you tomorrow, handsome”.
And he left, pedaling away slowly until his figure disappeared down the street. Will felt his cheeks heat up at the last word and watched him go, not entirely sure why.
The air felt different, lighter. And for the first time in a long time, he thought his day hadn't been so gray after all.
That night, as he laid in bed with the sound of the wind slipping into his room, Will thought about the boy he had met so spontaneously: Richie Tozier. He thought about the way he spoke, how he expressed himself, how he didn't seem to measure his words. About that playful, flirtatious smile that appeared after a joke or a tease. About how easily Richie had trusted him, as if they had known each other before. About how much he enjoyed talking to him.
He tried not to think about him anymore, but every time he closed his eyes, he saw him again. Standing by the river.
And without fully understanding why, he smiled.