disclaimer !! i am not hispanic, i am simply trying to include representation within the fandom. ive googled and researched some things so i didn't mistake anything but i'm not perfect! and there might be mistakes, so if you personally feel hurt or offended by anything in this chapter, please let me know! trigger warning!! racism, slurs towards the lgbtq+ community (i can reclaim, im pansexual) and bullying.
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the eighties weren't that accepting of those different than the archetypal male and female they'd crafted over the years. and tommy hagan knew that, had been told from his parents from such a young age that people like him didn't get many opportunities but it was important to be proud nonetheless. made him learn how important it was to make a name for himself and prove everyone in hawkins, indiana wrong.
so for a long time, he was proud. proud of his parents speaking of family traditions and proud of telling his friends them. proud of the way he knew two languages because seriously, how fucking cool was that?
but then? then he realized how ruthless kids and adults could be. and as he grew up, he ditched the small things that could associate himself with his heritage. opting for 'tommy' instead of 'tomás' because tommy sounded like the rest of them. and he was able to do that. he was able to make subtle shifts in his behavior and tweak his actions to fit the classic small town white boy. even when that's not who he was. because he wasn't tommy, tommy wasn't real. andpeople who could speak two languages (no matter how cool) and people who celebrated 'weird' holidays and called their family members even 'weirder' names weren't meant to be anything in hawkins, indiana.
so tommy (still didnt feel right) made a name for himself. he was popular, he had a pretty girlfriend who seemed to like him, he had everything his parents had wanted for him. everything any boy would want, everything people like him would kill to have.
and then tommy realized he didn't strictly like girls because steve fucking harrington existed. which, oh shit, that so wasn't meant to happen. he couldn't allow people to realize he was some sort of queer. most importantly, steve couldn't know that he had a very huge crush on him. that would definitely ruin their friendship and that just couldn't happen. so he'd ignore the way his gut clenched when steve called jonathan byers a 'queer' just like he'd ignore his own feelings.
and he'd ignore the way he flared with anger as steve ignored and forgot him for fucking nancy wheeler because steve wasn't his. but god damn it, why nancy wheeler? why her of all people? and why was steve so adamant on keeping her around? she brought nothing good for steve yet the boy was willing to toss tommy aside like it meant nothing; like their years of friendship served no purpose.
so by the time that chick disappeared in steve's pool, tommy had realized that maybe he was permanently shunned from steve's life. and yeah, it made their fall out hurt a little less but tommy realized something that day. realized his parents were right. people like him didn't get opportunities. people who had crushes on their best friends weren't meant to ever get them.
