Corroded minds- BYLER BAND AU

1.

I'd just like to clear up for any confusions that in this au, Will and el are still in Hawkins! Eddie and Chrissy stay alive too. (They are not going to be a ship here btw. He's cannon to be around 20 in season 4 while she was 17.)

Highschool had just finished and will didn't really know what to do with himself. He stayed in the full time, and was 18 now. He and Mike had stopped talking as much since Mike left a year early to pursue his dream of writing, but they still often sent each other letters and called as frequently as possible. Sometimes Joyce had thought he might be calling a girl he had a crush on, but every time it was just Mike.

He had stayed with the "group". Mike kind of left to have his own path for a while but promised to come back, which will couldn't blame him for. If anything small were to happen with the upside down he would've been dragged into it otherwise and not been able to focus on his real life. Luckily, everything seemed to be fine with that hellhole for now. El constantly checked on it to make sure there wasn't any plotting from what she could see (which wasn't very much nowadays)

Besides from leaving the group he had some new friends, and had broken up with el. It made sense to Will, after all, as much as he loved el she was very much a burden on the heart. Not her fault of course but if you're in mikes shoes, it isn't great to have to worry about your girlfriend possibly being hunted or having some supernatural random things happen that cause her and everyone around her to be in danger. Will still felt bad for her though. She understood completely and surprisingly handled it maturely, never fully over him of course. He was her first love of years and the one who showed her what life is. They remain friends the same as everyone else.

The closest person to Mike in their group right now would be Dustin, who was also in the same group of friends that Mike was in. They called it something like hellfire? All he knew was that it was a d&d game. He kind of wanted to join but was scared to ask.. Will had grown a habit of overthinking every single thing now. As much as he wanted to join he didn't want to make Mike and Dustin feel like they couldn't escape him or that he always had to be included.

At the same time, he felt annoyed with Mike. After all he went through he just wanted to play a game with his friends those few years ago, and they had just been so caught up with GIRLS. Stupid girls. They ruined their party and never even played together again, even though he had gone through so much. They couldn't even play dungeons and dragons to make him feel included for one day. Now they were in a group for the game and hadn't thought to even invite him or invite him to anyone there. Was he being selfish though? They were allowed to do stuff without him.

Will always tried not to think about it to much but it just bugged him more and more.

E: "will? Hellooooooooo are you there? Snap out of it"

Will snapped back to reality after a long thought about what he should do this summer. He knew he wanted to at least hang out with the old gang one last time, just Dustin lucas will and Mike once more.

W: "sorry I was thinking"

E: "it's okay, I was wondering if you want to come to the beach with max and I today? We also invited mike but Lucas and Dustin are busy.."

W: "sure, tell me when ur going I'll drive"

Will didn't really like the beach, it was cold and hot at the same time and just messy everywhere, not to mention the kids kicking sand around. He only agreed because of Mike maybe going. He wanted to catch up with him in person for once and maybe even arrange to hang out more.

E: "1pm, but probably best to leave at about 12"

W: "good job, you've gotten better with your pms and ams"

El had obviously got good at speaking but had trouble with the time, he liked to randomly hype her up so she didn't give up. He may not feel like he's great at a lot of things but he did take pride in being a good brother for the most part.

11:30 pm

Will POV

I wondered what I should wear. It would be hot and sweaty at the dreaded beach but I didn't want to look like a freak, so I settled with some baggy denim shorts, a belt and a flannel which I kept the top button undone. It was a bit to big for me and showed off a bit of my chest but it would do, better than dying in the heatwave.

To be safe he packed a bag with sunscreen, a few snacks and brought his wallet for ice cream and drinks since he knew el would forget hers.

W: "el let's go it's already 12:35"