Stop Pulling on my Heart - A Byler Story

Chapter One

Author's Note: So, yeah. This is my first multi-chapter fic, and it's really bad, so I'd appreciate all the feedback you could give me. Stranger Things is one of my favorite shows ever, and I've wanted to write a multi-chapter Byler focused fic for a really long time, so here is my (first) attempt. I'll also try to work concurrently on an S3 canon fic as well, I have the first 3 (and a bit) chapters of this written, so they should be coming out around once every 3-5 weeks for a while. Okay, that's it, hope you like it, byeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Trigger warning for the f-slur, just FYI.

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Will thought this was a really bad idea.

Sure, he missed Dustin as much as everyone else in the party did. The party's whole dynamic had been thrown wildly out of whack ever since Dustin had left for camp nearly three weeks ago. The nerdy, awkward foundation on which their collective friendship had been built upon shone the brightest it ever did when Dustin wasn't actively trying to get Lucas to bite his head off. Still, when Max pitched the idea of scaring Dustin when he got home tomorrow, Will couldn't help but hesitate. The rest of the party, however, didn't share Will's tentativeness.

"Aw, c' mon Will," Lucas had scoffed at him when he voiced his unwillingness. "He'll think it's hilarious." Will rolled his eyes. "No, you just want to get back at him for beating Max's Dig Dug score over Spring Break," Will replied back at the skinny 14-year-old. Lucas' eyes quickly fluttered from Will across the Byers' cramped kitchen to Max, who gave Lucas an interrogatory glare before Lucas looked back at Will, replying sheepishly "Well... yeah, a little."

"It'll be fun, Will." Will heard a soft male voice say from the back of the room. He had almost forgotten Mike was still there at all, he had barely said a word to anyone who wasn't his girlfriend in, if Will had to be honest, probably months. The two had been sitting together in the neighboring living room, in the same loveseat on which just last October, Bob Newby and Will's mom had snuggled up to each other, giggling and screaming at TV sitcoms late into the night. Mike and El were snuggled up to each other in the same way now, El's smooth arms around Mike's long neck, her legs draped haphazardly over his. Will was surprised that the pair had even been able to follow the conversation, their constant giggling and gasps had made it hard for Will to pay any attention to anything.

He wasn't really mad at El. Jealous? Okay, yeah. A bit. Maybe. But, even where people wouldn't string him up because of his whole, thing, Will knew that Mike wouldn't see him the same way. He just wanted to be the other person on that small brown couch, so close and yet not uncomfortably so. He wanted to run his hands through Mike's recently long black hair, the way El was right now. Mike's hair wasn't naturally that straight (an irony not lost upon Will). It grew out so curly that Max had frequently mocked Mike by telling him he should cut his hair "before it starts to braid itself." Will disagreed with Max's proclamation and was incredibly disappointed when El had asked Mike to start straightening his hair, a request which Mike had earnestly obliged.

Max snapped her fingers in Will's face, attempting to jostle him from his stupor. "Hey Byers," Max said in her trademarked sweet, yet sharp tone. "You gonna make up your mind? We need the whole party in for this to work." Will snapped back to attention, Max's words and rather aggressive snapping startling him from his gaydream. "Yeah," Will replied quietly. "Sorry."

Max looked at him pointedly, "Well?" She asked. "You in or not?" Will considered for a moment, then sighed with resignation. "Sure, I guess." he acquiesced. Will noticed a wry smile creeping onto Max's face, and quickly added: "But when Dustin hits us all with Steve's bat, I'll use whatever's left of my face muscles to tell you I told you so." Max rolled her eyes in the same bemused way Will had earlier. Lucas snickered a little under his breath. Will looked behind him into the living room to try to catch Mike's reaction, only to notice a sudden lack of black hair and giggling girl on the couch. He turned back to Lucas and Max, a confused grimace on his face. "Where'd they go?" he asked the pair, already knowing the answer to his question. "They snuck out while we were talking," Max replied. "Again," Lucas added pointedly.