Major Malfunction (Sequel to American Heroes)

Everyone Has Secrets

The city streets are bustling with people in the spring of nineteen eighty-six, shouts and the honking of car horns filling the air. It's March twentieth, two days away from spring break, and from around the corner of a building, Will Byers and El Hopper come tearing down the sidewalk, shoes slamming against the pavement. Behind them, two boys and a girl – all of them double the size of Will and El despite all being the same age – shout and scream, waving their fists as they chase after them.

One of the boys, wearing a black Members Only jacket and khakis, thrusts his arms forward and slams Will to the pavement. The skin of Will's forearms scratch against the cement, leaving streaks of blood on the ground. And oh, does it burn.

Before he can move, the boy grabs him by the shirt collar and yanks him to his feet. "Where do you think you're going, faggot?"

Choking from the fabric tightening against his throat, Will grasps at the boy's hands whilst keeping his eyes on the ground, trying to suppress the anger boiling up inside him. Beside them, El rushes forward and yanks the boy's arm. "Leave us alone."

The girl shoots El a glare, stepping between her and the boy strangling Will. "Shut up, lesbo."

"What do you want?" Will hisses, struggling in the boy's grasp. His mind blurs and black dots cloud his vision, but he tries to keep calm.

"What do we want?" the boy sneers. "We want you to get the hell out of our city, you freaks." He hurls Will backwards like a cannon. Will slams onto the concrete, his elbows slicing open and sending a rush of pain through his body like a dozen shards of glass splitting his skin apart. Wincing, he attempts to push himself to his knees, but the boy surges forward and slams his foot in Will's stomach. Whoosh! The air shoots out of his lungs and leaves him choking in shallow breaths.

"Stop it!" El shoves the boy to the side, but the girl grabs her by the hair and heaves her onto the ground beside Will. He exchanges a look with her before they're pummeled by kicks and punches.

"Hey!" a guy's voice booms from a few feet away. "Knock it off, assholes!"

"Shit." The other boy grabs the arms of the girl and the boy with the Members Only jacket and gestures back the way they came. "Come on, guys. Let's go."

"Losers!" Landing one last kick to Will's stomach, the three bullies tear in the other direction.

Once the bullies disappear, Will and El sit up, muscles aching. Groaning, Will rubs his bruised arms and gestures to El who's holding her hand to her head. "Are you okay?"

While El gives a stiff nod, the guy who yelled at the bullies appears beside them, extending hands to both of them. "You good?" Looking up, Will recognizes the friendly face of Jonathan's co-worker, Argyle. He and El take Argyle's hand and get to their feet.

"We're alright," Will says, checking the scratches on his arms. His elbows are bloody, but the cuts aren't deep. He can feel bruises forming on his stomach and ribs though, but at this point, he's used to it.

Argyle nods his head in the direction the bullies ran. "Who were those numbskulls?"

"Mouthbreathers," El murmurs.

He laughs. "Totally. Mouthbreathers."

The three of them make their way down the block towards the pizza shop where Argyle and Jonathan work. "Just some jerks from school," Will mumbles. His heart is still hammering in his chest. He can't stand those assholes. "They've been messing with us ever since we moved here."

Pulling open the door to the pizza shop, Argyle shrugs a shoulder. "You can always blackmail them."

Following him inside, Will and El both furrow their brows. "Blackmail them?"