Summer 1985 - Mileven/Jopper/Lumax

Chapter 13: Truth or Dare?

8:00 rolled around and Mike, El, Max, Lucas, Dustin, and Will made the trek over to the other campsite set up less than a mile away. Joyce and Hopper were overjoyed that the kids had been able to meet others around their age and befriend them. Joyce pulled Will aside before they were leaving, reminding him to be careful and to stay with his group at all times before kissing his head and waving goodbye to the rest of the group.

"Guys, I'm serious," Dustin deadpans, "the twins dig me." There was a mixture of laughter from the girls and Will and faces of disgust from Lucas and Mike. "You're delusional," Lucas remarks with a pinched face. "Maybe not delusional," Mike says apprehensively, "just...confused."

"Screw you assholes, they do! If anyone's delusional here, it's that Kimberly girl for having interest in you," he says while sticking his finger in Lucas's face. El feels Max stiffen next to her, shooting her a reassuring smile.

"What are you talking about? No, she doesn't!" Lucas says defensively.

"She totally does, she kept looking at you and smiling and touching your arm," the observant boy says, "little does she know..." he trails off, looking at Max, then back at Lucas, at Max, then back at him.

Mike lets out a snort, causing El to elbow him in the side. By this time, the redhead's cheeks match the color of her hair and she's shooting dagger at Dustin.

"Fuck off already, Dustin," Lucas says, annoyed, "just keep imagining those two twins actually like you." Mike, sensing there's about to be tension between his hot-tempered friend and Dustin, goes in between the two boys to calm them down, "could you two just calm down, we're supposed to be having fun..." Max, El, and Will hear his voice fade out as they walk a little bit ahead.

Max's face finally returned to her normal pale color, shaking her head at Dustin's antics. "I really can't deal with him sometimes." El and Will both chuckle, giving a nod of agreement.

"He means well though," Will says kindly, "he knows Lucas likes you a lot, we all kind of did." Max lets out a laugh, "wow I'm glad everyone did but me!" she says, narrowing her eyes at El.

The accused girl lets out a giggle and an innocent shrug. "Aren't you glad I played matchmaker?" she asked innocently.

Rolling her eyes playfully, Max nods. "I suppose," she says, trying to sound indifferent but her huge smile says otherwise. They eventually meet up with the other boys, Max squeezing her way between Lucas and Dustin, who are now back to joking good-naturedly together.

El took this time to talk with Will. "I saw how you smiled at Chris before," she says quietly. His face red, he makes eye contact with El. "He's really nice and funny and...I think he's like me." El simply nods, leaving the two friends in a comfortable silence

There really was never a conversation within the group about Will's sexuality; they were still so pure and young that it never needed to be discussed. The boy knows his loyal friends won't care, but it's also not something he feels comfortable broadcasting as of yet. El had only noticed due to their silent but evident bond. Hopper had taught her the word gay, wanting her to be aware and open since she'd be starting high school at some point.

It was a few weeks after that El had joined the boys at the arcade, where Will had a crush on one of the regular players. He never approached him, would only shyly look away when the boy did catch his gaze and once, Will had bumped into him and got out a strangled "sorry," before speed walking away with a red face. He and El exchanged a look, him giving an almost undetectable nod with fear in his eyes. He almost started to cry when the telekinetic teen simply went over and hugged him. After pulling back, she gave him a sweet smile and dragged him over to play Pac-Man, not a single word exchanged.