Mama Steve (A Stranger Things AU story type of thing)

~Joyce Byers Part Two~

The next morning the party went downstairs to find Steve and Max sleeping, Max pulled into his hug, his chin on her head.

"Aww," El whispered.

Mike grabbed a camera from the living room and snapped a couple of pictures. Will faked tears as he looked at the two of them.

"Ay!" Lucas yelled. The two jumped up, Max with her a fist raised and a middle finger raised. "LUCAS SINCLAIR, I WILL END YOUUUUU!" she yelled when she saw her surroundings, which started the game of Let's-Kill-Lucas, invented and perfected by THE Maxine Mayfield.

Steve looked at Will and said, "We gotta talk," causing Will to widen his eyes in fear. Mike gasped and asked, "What happened?"

Meanwhile Dustin had collected a couple dozen chocolate pudding cups and a metal spoon, preparing to eat his pudding, unaware of the drama.

El looked at Steve, tears in her eyes, knowing that whatever he was gonna say was going to be bad.

"Will, your mom called last night. She-she wants you in California. Said she'll pay any amount of money. I-I guess you should go pack," he said, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"What?!?!?" Will exclaimed, tears forming in his eyes.

El put her arms protectively around Will, "We're a family. I'm not letting him go," she said.

"El," Steve said weakly, "It's Will's mom. He has to go."

"No he doesn't!" Lucas said, throwing a pudding cup at his face.

Steve just nodded, still crying. Dustin, oblivious, said, "Steve, what's going on? Why is everyone in tears?"

Steve just shook his head, crying.

Dustin, panicked, "Wait, is somebody dead?"

El shook her head, and, voice shaking, explained the situation to Dustin.

Dustin shrieked and said, "No! I will get you in your sleep if you let Will go to California!"

Steve just let an inhumane sound leave his mouth and grabbed a butter knife. He went to the fridge and stabbed a ketchup bottle with it, causing ketchup to spill all over him.

El sniffled as Will brought her into a hug. "Let me speak to my mom," he said, his voice strong and even.

Steve looked at him and told him the number in a shaky voice, as Will let El cry against his chest.

He gently handed her over to Mike and dialed the number into the phone. "Mom? Is this you?" He asked.

"William Byers, tell the person taking care of you to return you to California. We miss you, honey. Come home!"

Click.

His mom had hung up on him. Shaking, Will dialed the number again. "Mom, you listen to me, okay? I like it here, where I am. Better than I ever liked California, but you never understood that. You just assumed my life was great when it wasn't. You basically said you wouldn't care if I was happy, as long as you were happy we were all fine. And you were wrong about that, okay? I like it here. I've got friends who feel like family to me. So I'm not coming back home."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

Dustin snatched the phone from him and said, "Dude, stop controlling his life!"

But that wasn't the end of Joyce Byers, because one thing you should know about her is that she never gives up.

Two days later

Steve opened the door to see a middle aged looking woman with wavy dark hair standing there.

"Hi, is my son here?"

"Who's your son?" Steve questioned.

"Will. Will Byers," the woman replied. Steve blinked a few times, realizing this was Joyce, Will's mother.

"The only Will I know is my younger brother, William Harrington," Steve replied.

The woman sighed as she started to tear up. "Thanks," she muttered, turning around to leave.

"Wait!" Steve called out. Joyce turned around, looking hopeful. "What does he look like?" Steve asked.

"Tallish, brown bowl cut. Kind and considerate, into art, loves D&D. He's your typical teenager," Joyce replied, her eyes misty. There was something about her voice that was.... different.

"Excuse me, ma'am? What did you say your name was again?" Steve asked, smirking.

The woman froze as her eyes grew misty again. "Joy Byers," the woman said with a sniffle. Steve slapped her across the face and said, "Nuh uh, Will's actual mother's name is Joyce, you fake!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

"You really care about my son," 'Joy Byers' said, softly, as tears ran down her pale cheeks. What the heck? Steve thought, shaking all over.

Sorry for the three parts, but I like keeping y'all on your toes lol. Part three coming out soon!
Bye,
Stories📖

Word count: 784