Summer Savings [Byler]

Chapter 10

El barely had chance to get changed before there was an echoing, impatient hammering on the door. Will could hear Hopper opening it, and he let out a laugh, "Max! Good to see you! El's in her room."

Then before he knew it, all three were rushing out of the house, Max and El chattering at him nonstop. The moon was high in the sky, the last tendrils of summer heat seeping away with it, and a light breeze fluttering against them. There were fewer and fewer lights in windows now, but it wasn't yet so late that the streetlamps had turned on.

If he hadn't had El's guiding hand on his shoulder, Will would've missed Nightbar. It was down a cramped backstreet, and the only sign the building was actually used was the open doorway, spilling out flashing lights and muffled music. Beaded threads hung in the doorway, acting as a makeshift barrier as the three pushed through them. They were hit with a wall of hot air and loud music, but the bar itself was suprisingly deserted, apart from a few people sat around tables, talking quietly.

"Cool, right?" Max looked at Will as he took in the new surroundings.

"Uh, yeah," Will responded, slightly unenthusiastically. He'd never been to a bar before, and wasn't sure it would be "his thing".

The trio settled down at a table in the far corner, furthest away from the blaring speakers so they could talk easily without having to yell.

"So, Will, fancy a drink?" Max raised her eyebrows at him.

"Uh, sure just a- just a coke, I'll give you the money in a second," Will knew that wasn't what she meant, but he didn't know the first thing about alcohol and didn't want to make a fool of himself.

Max rolled her eyes, sensing Will's dodge of the actual question, and El added in "He doesn't have to if he doesn't want." More to comfort Will than to tell off Max, who had no intentions of pressuring Will.

"Have you ever drank before?" El asked Will, and he hesitated with his answer.

"Uhm- champagne at Christmas and birthdays, or other special occasions."

"Oh-kayy, we are not having champagne," Max laughed.

"Well, you order for me then!" Will flung a hand out at Max, which she dodged, and responded with "Fine! Yes, thank you, I will."
Will's heart dropped, and he silently prayed she'd pick something that tasted nice, and wasn't too heavy.

Once Max and El had picked out all their drinks, Max stepped up from her seat and headed to the bar. Only then did it dawn on Will what she was about to do.

"El!" He hissed. "El, we're minors! She's going to get us caught!"

"No, she's not. This place doesn't care as long as you're sixteen or over. You are, aren't you?" El stayed calm as she explained all of this to Will in an attempt to stop him from panicking.

"Yeah, yeah, seventeen," Will responded, letting out a quiet sigh of relief. He hadn't been in Redwood more than a few weeks and he didn't feel like getting dragged down to the police station, especially not if El's dad was on the force.

Max returned quickly with the drinks, handing Will and El theirs before sitting down with her own. Will noticed El only had a coke.

"You aren't drinking?" He asked her.

"No, not if you two are!" She laughed, and he and Max both joined in.

"We aren't having that much," Max breathed between her laughs.

"Still," El smiled, and sipped her coke.

Will stared down at his drink, not sure what it was or what to expect when he sipped it. It was a thick red liquid, in a tall glass filled with ice cubes and a strawberry stuck to the side. He tentatively sipped at it, and his face lit up when he was hit with the unexpected sweetness.

"You like it?" Max questioned, raising her eyebrows at his expression.

"Yeah! It's really nice! What is it?" Will drank some more, starting to really enjoy himself.

"Strawberry margarita. I thought you should have a proper fancy drink for your first one! But then you're going on the cheaper stuff," Max nudged him in the side.

"Thank you," Will grinned, and El shook her head with a small smile, knowing exactly where this was going.

Many hours (and drinks) later, Max was laughing wildly at Will, who had his head down on the table and was non-stop mumbling nonsense, a solid seventy-five percent of it being completely incoherent. Max had introduced Will at the bar, and the bartender, who was very fond of Max, had offered them all free drinks for the night, as it was Will's first time. Max had taken complete advantage of this, and was constantly bringing Will up to the bar and allowing him to try as many drinks as he wanted, and was giggling nonstop as he tasted each one he picked, spitting some out in disgust, or sometimes downing them in one if he really liked them. Max did the same, and took the opportunity to try some drinks she'd never had, and now the two were quite drunk, Max not so much as Will. El had, of course, forseen this, and had diligently stuck to her cokes and lemonades all night, bar the odd sip of Max's or Will's drinks.

"I think it's time to take you two home," she said, raising her voice in an attempt to get Will's attention.

"Max, you're staying over at my house," she added, firmly.

"I'm... I- I don't want... to go, yet," Will lifted his head, brushing hair out of his eyes and struggled to get his words out.

"Yes, you do. Help me, Max," El lifted one of Will's arms and instructed Max to grab the other, and the two girls led him to the door, despite his protests of "I'm havin' fun," and "I'm lonely at Cedar," all spoken in a slurred voice.

"You know, Max, I hate to admit it, but he's right," El started, but was quickly interrupted.

"What? You think we should let him go back to the bar?" Max said in astonishment.

"No! No, obviously not. But he's right, about Cedar. Robin can't look after him, we need to take him somewhere else because I don't know if it's a good idea for him to stay on his own."

"Okay... but where? He can't come back with us to your place, I don't suppose? Because he can't come to mine."

"No, he has to go to someone else's house. The only issue being: we don't know anyone else," El stopped walking and sat down on the edge of the sidewalk to think, gently bringing Will and Max down with her.

Max cringed at the words. How had they lived in this stupid town for so long, yet only got along with eachother? But the more she thought about it, the more she realised they did know someone else, only El wasn't going to like who it was. She drummed her fingers on the edge of the sidewalk as she figured out a way to pose her suggestion.

"El... we do know someone."

El looked at her, confused, and Max could see the cogs turning in her brain. Any sceond now and-
Yep, Max could see the second it clicked in El's head due to her quick change of expression.

"Mike? Seriously?"

"Dude, he's better now than he used to be. Come on," Max hauled Will to his feet, meaning El had no choice but to also stand up.

"Can I walk by myself on my own," Will requested, rambling a little, his words jumbling into eachother. El slowly slid her hand out from behind his back, testing to make sure he could actually walk on his own. He followed behind them obediently once Max had also let go, so El figured yes, he was alright to walk by himself.