LETTERMAN | STRANGER THINGS

act i ; scene i

will really needed this to work out.

for the past 2 weeks, mike had barricaded himself in his room, the only sound of life being the occasional, "oh my fucking god," or, "holy fuuuuck!" it had taken a pissed off nancy, an assertive steve, and some gentle coaxing from will to convince him to come outside for tonight.

come outside for what? a party this girl valerie is throwing for her 18th birthday. nobody in the group actually knew valerie all that well. they only got invited because lucas was her english tutor. lucas had given the invite over to will and said, "this is it! mike just needs to let loose for a few hours. this will be his chance!"

will was beginning to think lucas was just very desperate for mike to feel better.

blip! blip!

will dug his phone out of his pocket and opened the group chat.

+++

he needs some MILK
members: lucky ass, max attac, a dusty boi, will i am.

lucky ass: any news?
max attac: i spoke to el again today. she said the same thing as last time!
a dusty boi: do they honestly think we'll believe the "we just grew apart" excuse when mike is a total mess about it??
lucky ass: speaking of mike
lucky ass: @will i am has mike said anything???
will i am: barely
will i am: we're walking to the party rn, but are you guys sure he'll have fun?
will i am: he looks miserable
max attac: it's going to work.
max attac: and if it doesn't
max attac: im gonna go over there, rip his speakers out of the outlet so i don't have to hear the smiths playing whenever i ride by, and i'm going to make him so angry at me that he'll stop being mopey
lucky ass: damn
a dusty boi: solid plan

+++

"what's that?"

mike leaned over will's shoulder, his eyes trained on the phone.

will clicked off the the screen and stuffed his phone in his coat pocket, sputtering, "uh, n-nothing? no one? "

mike gave him an unimpressed look.

will huffed. "we're concerned, mike. this is the first time you've left your room in 2 weeks! we want to make sure you're okay."

mike scoffed, "this is not the first time in 2 weeks—"

"fine, first time in 2 weeks that's longer than 3 minutes and isn't just to the kitchen, or to school."

mike rolled his eyes a kicked a pebble onto the street. will's gaze followed the pebble's trail as it skid off the curb and wobbled into stillness. he examined their surroundings as they crossed the street.

it was barely 7pm, but the sky was a dark canvas. the late november chill meant heavy sweaters, scarves, and pom pom hats that sit oddly on everyone's heads. will had tried his best to dress appropriately for a party, but his mom had roped him into wearing a scarf that's length was twice his height.

his phone buzzed insistently. he ignored it. ahead of them, a house was lit up like a christmas tree. all along the far sides of the street, cars were parked and lined up. will could put names to the faces of only a few that crowded the entrance of the party hub. from a block away, he could clearly hear music (oh, hell by somo) and shouting from inside. will would be lying if he said those cheers weren't probably fueled by some sort of spiked drink.