Lean on

When Gareth had gotten home from dropping the guys off at Mikes, it was past midnight. He tried avoiding being home as much as possible. So, sure, getting to talk to Will was why he offered, but avoiding his parents was a huge plus. His mom was good, for the most part. Sure, sometimes she would choose his stepdad, Walter, over her own son when the two got into an argument. And the couple may be drunk more often than not. But he loved his mom; they went through the loss of his father together, 8 years ago.

Walter was another story. He hated Gareth, his friends, his music, all of it. On the rare occasion Gareth was home and Walt wasn't at the Hideout bar, they regularly bumped heads. They couldn't be in the same room without a screaming match ensuing within half an hour. Luckily, Walt and his mother were passed out when Gareth got home, so he proceeded to his room as quietly as possible, locking his door behind him. As he turned the light on and surveyed his room, he noticed it had been searched. Again.

Walt would do that sometimes; search Gareths room. For what? No clue. It would piss Gareth off if he didn't already keep all his valuables in his car. He wasn't home enough to leave them there, anyways. As he went around the room picking up the clothes and things that had been thrown about, he made a mental note to put a new change of clothes in the trunk of his car in the morning. Since Eddie now stayed with Steve, Gareth had taken up to sleeping in his car in place of sleeping at Eddies on the nights he really didn't want to come home. He wasn't totally comfortable sleeping at King Steve's house yet. So his car was the only option. Desperate times, you know?

Finally being done cleaning his room back up, Gareth opened his window, sat on his desk and reached into his pocket for a joint and his lighter. As he smoked, he stared out at the driveway and into the street. Cars being lit up by street lights and porch lights. It reminded him of the drive to the Wheeler home, Wills smile in his passenger seat, only visible because of the street lights. Gareth himself had gotten a grin just thinking about it. Until he thought about the earlier events of the night. There he was, the infamous Will Byers. The boy he had heard about nonstop for an entire school year, returned at last. The most amazing, perfect guy that everyone missed so dearly, and dreamed to have back, was finally home. And it was like those same people who said all those amazing things about him, didn't even notice or care that he was here. It's like they were going out of their way to ignore his existence. What kind of switch up was that? Gareth wouldn't do that to the guy, hence why he invited him to sit and to come to practice. He liked Will so far, and wasn't about to treat him the way Wheeler did.

Just as Gareth was about to start his thoughts about Wheeler and how annoying he is, the phone in his bedroom rang. He snuffed out the joint, grumbling as he slowly made his way across the room to pick it up, lying back on his bed once he did.

"It's Gareth," He said with a sigh.

"Okay, what the hell?" Eddie. What could he possibly need?

"What, Munson? I'm sure Harrington doesn't want you running up his phone bill for nothing." Gareth jokingly said.

"I'll have you know, him and Robin are currently making Sundays and watching movies, so he doesn't care what I'm doing. And again I ask: what the hell?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You giving the guys a ride, saying it's on your way? We both know it's on the opposite side of town. Plus, I happen to know you have a distain for Wheeler that runs deep. So what made you feel so inclined, I wonder?" Of course Eddie would notice. And of course he would have something to say. Gareth almost wished he didn't answer the phone. "Could it be, oh I don't know, Baby Byers?"

"Yeah, well, his friends had been kind of hard on him and I didn't want to leave them there to bug you guys. Figured I'd make everyone's night easier." Well, that wasn't entirely false. Sure, Gareth wouldn't offer to take them home under those circumstances normally, but hopefully Eddie wouldn't point that out. Who was he kidding.

"Rightttt, because you're always super into making Steve and Mikes lives easier. What a warm and considerate guy you are. But you're right, they were kind of... dismissive to Will. You gonna get to know him?"

"I think so, invited him to practice tomorrow. He could use a friend that acknowledges his existence." Gareth said, sitting up and emptying his pockets onto his nightstand.

"Hm, just didn't think that seemed like you. You're right though, I guess. They've all been through a lot together, though. They mean a lot to him, despite everything." Eddie sounded thoughtful, a thing that doesn't happen often. Gareth could only assume he was referring to what happened over spring break. When the "earthquakes" hit and Eddie ended up in the hospital with Steve and Max, all three banged up in ways that should've killed them.

At the hospital that night, Gareth had sat in the waiting room with the freshman HellFire members, plus Robin and Nancy, for hours before the Byers boys showed up in a pizza van with a strange man and Mike Wheeler, and Wheelers girlfriend. After another few hours, Joyce Byers had arrived with another strange man, and police chief Jim Hopper, back from the dead. Between all of the reunions, Gareth went completely unnoticed by everyone, and had left without a word once he was told he couldn't visit Eddie until the next day. When he finally got to see Eddie, he told him everything. The alternate universe, the girl with powers, the monsters, all of it. If it had been anyone else, Gareth would have laughed in their face and left, but he was Eddies best friend; he knew he was telling the truth. And Eddie said that Will and his friends had been at the center of it for years.

"Yeah, man, I know. They just... I don't know. They're not the best to him." Gareth said, fighting back a yawn. "I'm gonna crash now, I'll see you tomorrow, Ed. Go watch your movie." He hung up the phone and changed into his sweatpants, throwing his jeans in the floor next to his closet. As he laid there, he thought about tomorrow and hoped Will would take him up on his invitation.

——

The sleepover Will had with Mike and Lucas after Hellfire wasn't anything special. They talked about their friends and girlfriends and watched movies. Just a normal night. Nobody had talked about Eddie or Hellfire or Gareth since they made it home the night before. Until, however, Will was packing his things to leave.

"Are you gonna call him?" Mike asked from his bed. Lucas had left for a doctors appointment early that morning.

"Who?" Will asked, confused. Until he remembered the conversation with the boy from last night. "Oh, yeah maybe. If mom says I can go."

"Why? You just met him."

"He invited me." Will said with a shrug. "Don't wanna be rude." He had finally gotten all his things in his bag, zipping it up. "Besides, he didn't seem all that bad and Eddies really cool." Will wasn't getting the asshole vibe from Gareth that Mike keeps describing. But then again, Lucas thinks Gareth has a soft spot for Will.

Might sighed. "Go if you want. But if he's, like, a crazy, psycho, killer or something, give me a call." Mike joked, earning a smile and laugh from Will.

"Will do." He said, starting down the stairs to leave. He waved his goodbyes to the rest of the Wheeler family, minus Nancy, and thanked them for letting him stay. As soon as he stepped outside to get to his mom's car, he regretted wearing jeans instead of shorts. It had to be at least 90 degrees, if not more. "Hey, mom." Will said, getting into the passenger seat of his mom's car.

"Hey, honey. Did you have fun?" She asked, sweet mom voice as a.ways.

"Yeah, I did."

"What all did you do?" The car had begun to reverse out of the Wheelers driveway.

"Just watched movies and stuff, nothing special."

"How was your club, game, thing?" She asked, clearly confused but meaning well.

"Good. I think I made a friend there, actually."

"Gareth Emerson. He actually invited me to hang out today." Will said, not seeing a better opportunity to bring it up. "If it's okay with you, of course."

"Oh is he Todd and Gladys Emerson's boy?" She asked.

"I don't know?" Will responded. How would he know?

"Oh, I bet it is. I was close with his mother in high school." She said, nostalgia clear. "His father, though, it's a shame what happened, really." She paused for a moment, Will had no idea what to say. Or even what she was talking about. "Yes, you can go. Just be back by six, Hop and I need to talk to you guys about the wedding over dinner."

"Okay, mom." Will lit up, excited. "He lives just down the road from us, so I won't be far." Joyce nodded her head.

"Okay, honey."

——

They went and picked up El from Steve's before going home, which Will didn't like. He was already so anxious to call Gareth that having to wait made it worse. When they got home, Will practically threw his things into his room before making a beeline for the phone in the hallway. He dialed Gareths number, reading off the crumbled napkin. He anxiously tapped his foot while he waited, but surprisingly the phone only rang once.

"Emerson house." A boy said on the other line. Before Will could even speak, the boy spoke again. "Wait is this Will?" He asked. It was obviously Gareth, it just took Will a second to pick up on that because of his verve's and excitement. Again, before Will could speak, Gareth spoke again. "Will?"

"Yeah, hey," Will said awkwardly and clearly nervous. "I, uh, was calling about what you said last night."

He heard Gareth chuckle on the other line. "Yeah, Will, I know. Injustice wasn't expecting you this early. I was just on my way out."

"Oh, shoot, I'm sorry." Will said, mentally cursing himself. "If you're busy don't worry about it."

"No, I was just going to the pawnshop before Eddie came over. I can pick you up before, if you want?" Gareth said, Will could hear his keys swinging in the background. "And before you even start the whole 'I don't want to be an inconvenience' spiel, that I feel you might do, I would really like it if you came with me."

Will was taken aback by that, never having been told that. Especially since he hadn't even gotten the chance to use the 'I don't want to be an inconvenience' thing on Gareth yet. "Only if you're sure." Will said.

"Totally sure. I'll see you innnn," Gareth dragged out. "Maybe 5 minutes." So soon. Too soon.

"Can't wait." Stupid.

"Me either, Byers." And he hung up. Will rushed to his bedroom to check himself in the mirror. What was the point? This was just a friend hangout. Though, he did decide to change into shorts, it was really hot out there. It was a rushed task, having him trip multiple times in the process. Will was so glad nobody was there to see that. After that, he grabbed his bag and shoved all his DND folders in it,p. He grabbed them both because he was in too much of a rush to figure out which one had his nots and which one had his character art.

Throwing his bag on and running through the house, he stopped in the kitchen, startling his mom and Hopper.

"Gareth will be here in 3 minutes!" He said, breathing heavily. "So I'm going to wait on the porch."

"Woah, woah, woah, kid. Who is Gareth?" Hopper asked, sitting down his coffee.

"One of Eddies friends. I met him last night."

"Eddie Munson?" Hopper asked, eyebrows raised. Will nodded, breath still heavy. "Okay, kid, have fun. Have fun, be back by 6, you know three rules." Hop said, waving him on.

"Thanks, dad. Bye, mom!" He said, running to the porch. As he stood there, honest to God pacing, he heard the door open. He stopped in place, turning to face El. She was still in her pajamas, short hair a mess. "Hey, El."

"Where are you going?" She asked, followed by a yawn. He didn't figure she and Max got very much sleep last night. He took a seat on the bench, and El followed suit.

"I'm hanging out with Gareth. He was as Steve's last night, you may have seen him." Will said, checking his watch nervously. "He was the one with the big hair?"

"I did see him." El said with a smile. "Mike doesn't like him. Says he's a mouth breather." She said, more serious.

Will tilted his head in thought, trying to figure out how to word what he wanted to say. "He's not, I promise. Mike just... has a hard time getting used to people. Like with Max, he still doesn't get along with her." El nodded, seeming to understand.

"I guess Mike can be kind of an ass to new people." She said with a weird look. "I dont get it. But if you like Gareth, then I'm sure he's great. I'll meet him one day." She laid her head on Wills shoulder, yawning once again. "What are you guys doing?"

Her yawn caused him to yawn as well. Afterwords, he said: "I'm going to watch him and Eddie practice."

"Practice?"

"They have a band. I'm sure Mike told you about them. Corroded Coffin?" He said. El hummed and nodded against his shoulder as a car pulled up. El sat up straight, putting her hands on her knees.

"Looks like your rides here," She said, standing up and ruffling Wills hair. He groaned and pushed her away as she laughed, trying to fix his hair.

"El!" He groaned out.

"Have fun!" She said, looking out at Gareth for a second before shutting the door. Will rolled his eyes playfully, picking his stuff back up and standing. At the same time, Gareth got out of his car. They met up in front of the porch steps, Gareth pointing confusedly at the door.

"Who was that?" He asked. "I mean, I know her. It's Wheelers girlfriend. But why is she here?"

"She's my sister." Will said, like it was nothing. Gareths eyes went wide as he led the way back to his car.

"I thought there was only two of you?" He asked, holding out his hand for Wills bag, and heading to the trunk.

"There was, but Hoppers her dad, and after the mall fire, you know when we thought Hopper died, she moved in with us." Will said, watching as Gareth closed the trunk and came back to Will. "Then Hopper came back, and now he's engaged to my mom."

Gareth whistled, opening Wills door for him. "Well that, Byers, is an awfully complicated family situation." He said, putting a hand on Wills back and guiding him into the car, shutting the door for him. Once he made his way to the driver's side, he said, "Everybody has their own strange family aspects, I suppose. Nothing wrong with that." He smiled over at Will, starting the car. Will hummed in response, agreeing with what Gareth was saying. "I mean, look at Steve and Eddie, you know?" Gareth laughed. "The 2 of them are basically coparenting Lil Red and practically Robin, too."

Will had to think on that for a second. He figured Gareth was right, Robin needed about as much supervision as Max did, and it was kind of strange to think of that weird family type dynamic. "Yeah, I guess it is kind of weird to think of King Steve living with the town freak and a band nerd, raising Billy Hargroves younger sister." He laughed a little, despite the fact that, to any outside observer, that living situation would be a genuine cause for concern.

"Exactly," Gareth said, genuinely laughing. "God, this is not how I pictured Eddies life going."  He sighed. "Living in Steve's mansion. We used to crash his parties, now his house is too full of kids to even throw one." Will could tell Gareth was still kind of weird about Steve. Understandably so, Will himself was too. He didn't have anything against the guy, but he had been told of the things Steve said about him and his family while he was missing, so he was just wary of him. Even though he had clearly changed.

"Yeah he's... very different than he was in high school." Will chuckled. "I'm not even sure how Dustin got him to be like that with us. I mean I went to the hospital and got out and he was just... always around."

"Why were you in the hospital?" Gareth asked, glancing over at Will.

"It was, um, some stuff from when I went missing." He said, running a hand along the back of his neck.

"Oh, shit man, I'm sorry." Gareth said, regretting bringing it up. Everyone knows about Will going missing, yet nobody ever talked about it. It was like it didn't happen. And Will was grateful for that.

"No, it's okay. I just don't talk about it much." The conversation lulled for a moment.

"So first," Gareth started. "We're going to drop some things at the pawn for my mom, then we're going to pick up breakfast for us and Ed, then stopping by Steve's to see if we need to bring any of Eddies equipment back to mine in my car." Gareth rambled, more to himself than to Will, it seemed. But nonetheless, Will hummed in response. "Now," He said, motioning to the backseat. "There should be a box of tapes in the floor,"

Will turned to look for it, seeing it peeking under what seemed to be a change of clothes. "Found it," He said, grabbing it and turning back right in his seat. "It was under those clothes."

"Good, now pick something." Gareth said, eyes on the road. Will hummed and started rummaging through the box, looking at each tape.

"So, uh, what are those clothes for?" Will asked, wanting to make conversation while he looked. Gareth looked almost confused, like he hadn't known there was even clothes in his car. After a second, he glanced to the back seat, seeing the clothes Will had moved.

"Oh, yeah those." Gareth said, taking a pause after. Will almost thought he wasn't going to answer. It was obvious, though, that Gareth was thinking of an answer. "It's just for emergencies. I'm a clumsy guy, ya know." Gareth said, a small chuckle added at the end. Will did t really believe that answer, but he didn't see a need to push the conversation. I mean, it's just clothes. Plus, he had found a tape and handed it to Gareth. As the loud music started to fill the Buick, Will watched as Gareths fingers beat the steering wheel to the beat of each song that played, and his lips moved along with the words. It was an interesting thing to watch, the way Gareth seemed to have every detail of every song memorized. Will couldn't do that; sure he could remember the words and the names of the songs, and he even connected very deeply with a few, resonated with them, but he couldn't memorize down to each tiny detail like Gareth could. A talent only musicians could posses, he thought. He was sure that Gareth could play majority of these songs just by memory alone. It was an art.

As they turned into the pawn shop, Gareth turned down the music with a sigh. "Alright I'll only be a few." He unbuckled his seatbelt, and put his keys in his pocket.

"Need any help?" Will said, already unbuckling himself to get out and help with the boxes. Gareth had gotten out of the car, but hadn't moved from the open drivers side door.

"Nah, Byers. Just sit there and look pretty." He leaned his head into the Buick, arms resting on the top as he smiled at Will.

"Come on, man. It's 4 boxes. Let me help." Will got out of the car, making his way to the backseat, drivers side door.

"If you insist, but now I'm definitely paying for your breakfast." Gareth chuckled, opening the back door and handing Will a box. "I wonder what all this stuff is anyways. I haven't looked at any of it."  He hummed, peeking into the box he handed Will. After a second, his face changed as he quickly grabbed a hat out of the box, looking into the car at the others, expression unreadable. "What?" He muttered. Will almost didn't hear him. Gareth ran a hand through his hair, tapping his foot with a sigh. "Okay, let me just," He said, taking a few items out of each box and putting them in the seat of his car. Finally, he grabbed a box and gave Will a smile. "Sorry, let's go."

Gareth started making his way to the door of the pawn."What was all that stuff?" Will asked as he followed the drummer.

"Oh, uh, it was my dad's. I guess... mom decided to get rid of it." He said, wearing a smile but his tone was flat. He shrugged, "She won't know if I keep it."

They took the boxes in, collected the money, bought breakfast, and had started the rout to Steve's without much more conversation. Will could tell something was bothering Gareth, but didn't want to pry. He knew it was his mom pawning his dad's stuff, but he wasn't about to try making Gareth talk about it. So they stayed not talking, letting the tape Gareth put in blast.

——

Steve's front door was wide open when they pulled in, Steve sitting on the porch step, smoking while Eddie was standing in front of him, loudly reading off of a crumbled up paper.

"What do you think that's about?" Gareth joked, not moving to get out of the car.

Will chuckled. "I'm not sure I want to know." He said. They both got out of the car.

"Her...her bed? Why do we have to take apart her bed? I thought they provided those!" He yelled, waving his arms around. He dropped the paper, muttering a curse as he waved it off.  Gareth bent down to pick up the paper.

"Robins leave for college to-do list"  Was written at the top of the paper. Gareth hummed, showing Will. The two both shrugged, deciding to let the conversation go on before alerting Eddie of their presence.

"They do, Eddie." Steve said, joint between his lips. "Rob just suggested that we use her room for something else instead of saving it for her."

"Stevie, there are a million rooms in this house! We can just save ourselves from taking apart that bed and moving it all the way to the garage, and just use the other million rooms." Eddie said, clearly not wanting to move the bed.

"Oh like you'd even help, Ed." Gareth said, clapping a hand down on Eddies shoulder. "You'd let pretty boy here do all the work." He tossed a biscuit to Steve, who caught it gracefully and reached into his pocket for his wallet. "I don't want your money, Harrington."

"No, man, come on, let me pay you back." Steve said, taking the joint from his mouth and holding it. Gareth walked over and plucked it out from in between Steve's fingers, taking a drag.

"I only accept payment in weed, King Steve." He said, blowing smoke. Eddie cleared his throat as a way to get onto Gareth for the old nickname. "Sorry. Is there anything you need us to drive over in my car?" He asked, throwing Eddie his biscuit. He did not catch it as gracefully as Steve. "Nice catch, dumbass."

Eddie flipped Gareth off, bending down to pick his biscuit up. "Byers, you don't have to agree to hang out with him, you know. The charity for the lonely would understand." Eddie put a hand on his own heart. Now it was Gareths turn to flip him off, making Eddie laugh and blow him a kiss. "How ya been in the past... 12 hours since I've seen you?" He had made his way over to Will, putting an arm around his shoulders.

Will chuckled, glancing at Gareth who crossed his arms and shook his head. "Um... good." He said, confused tone very evident. He wasn't used to Eddie yet. "Where's Max?"

"Out like a light." Eddie said, taking a deep breath for seemingly no reason. "Her and Wheelers girlfriend didn't go to sleep until almost 4. Believe that?"

"Eddie, answer Gareths question." Steve sighed, standing up.

"Right," Eddie said, moving away from Will and running into the house.

"Steve are you coming too?" Will asked as Gareth joined him in leaning against the hood of the car.

Steve shook his head, walking over. "No, I'm helping Robin move her shit. It's all packed, just need driven over." He pointed into the house. Through the open doors they could see stacks of boxes. Will nodded in understanding as Eddie ran up to them, guitar in hand. He shoved it against Gareths chest.

"Seriously? No room in there for your baby?" He laughed, motioning to the van as he moved to place the guitar in the trunk.

"No, actually. Because someone had to let our sound system break." He looked at Gareth accusingly, but very clearly joking. "So I have to deliver a new one."

Gareth closed the trunk, swinging his keys in his hand. "Yeah, sure. Like that sound system wasn't a billion years old."

——

"Practice" consisted of Will sitting on a couch in the corner, watching Gareth and Eddie argue over how to set up the sound system. He laughed and sipped on his water for 30 minutes watching them, before Eddie decided he needed a break from the "mental strain."

As Eddie ventured into Gareths house, Gareth made himself comfortable on the couch, right next to Will. The 2 smiled at each other for a second before Gareth spoke. "I promise we usually actually play music instead of..." He paused, motioning to the equipment and jumble of cords on the other side of the garage. "That." He laughed.

"It's fine, I'm having fun either way." Will said, turning his body to face Gareth. "I've had fun all morning." They made eye contact, smiling at each other.

Gareth handed Will the water back and took a breath. "Yeah, I have too. I mean, minus the pawnshop thing. But that had nothing to do with you." He looked down, fiddling with his rings. "I'm sorry for that, by the way."

"For what?" Will asked, taking a drink of the water.

"Getting upset and like... ignoring you the whole ride to Steve's." Gareth said. He didn't sound upset but he still wouldn't look at Will. "My, uh, my dad died when I was 8. And I just wasn't expecting her to pawn his stuff."

"Hey," Will put a hand on Gareths shoulder. "Don't be sorry for that." Will said. Finally, Gareth looked up, confused. He looked like a deer in headlights, staring right at Will. After a second, Gareth shook his head, finally relaxing his body, letting Wills hand fall down his arm and rest on his wrist.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right." Gareth smiled. "How was your sleepover?"

"Pretty boring." Will made a face and shrugged.

"How come?"

"We watched sci-fi movies and they talked about Max and El." Will said. Suddenly, he remembered the notes he had promised Gareth. "Oh, hey!" He said, frantically reaching for his bag and pulling out the two folders. He opened the first one, being met with his DND art. He closed it quickly, placing it on the couch between him and Gareth. He opened the other one, getting out the notes from the session the night before. As he closed the folder and put it back in his bag, he realized Gareth was flipping through the folder of DND art. "Oh, those are just..." Will trailed off, not really knowing what to say.

"Absolutely fucking awesome?" Gareth laughed. "Dude, these are insane!" He said, flipping through each drawing and sketch. "Can I show Eddie?"

"Um...yeah, I guess." Will said. Gareth immediately stood up and ran into the house, yelling Eddies name. For a second, Will sat there, looking around the garage. He saw something that caught his eye, on the wall of the garage. He made his eat over to it; a picture of Corroded Coffin, before everybody left.

Gareth was holding the camera, tongue out. Eddie was leaning against Jeff with one hand on top of Gareths head, ruffling his hair. Ralph was holding up his guitar. They were all wearing Hellfire shirts. It was a really bad picture, but they all looked so happy. Will figured it was before Eddie had picked up the rest of Wills party last year. As he examined the picture, he heard Eddie and Gareth making their way back into the garage. He turned around to face the door.

"I know, Gare, but imagine it: these artistic skills, a Hellfire logo. A new shirt, even!"Eddie said, clutching some of the papers, showing Gareth.

"Jesus, Eddie. Yeah, sure. But I'm not asking him to do that." Gareth laughed and took the drawings from Eddie and put the folder back in Wills bag.

"Ask me to do what?" Will asked, going over to stand with the others by the couch.

Gareth zipped Will bag up and placed it carefully on the couch. Eddie came over to Will, draping an arm around his shoulders once again. "Will the Wise, how would you feel about designing a new logo for Hellfire? We can put it on the shirts and such, you know?" Eddie said, lightly hitting Will on the chest. "Gareth and such would really love you for it." Gareth rolled his eyes and playfully shoved at Eddie.

"You don't have to, Will. We would appreciate it, but we're not going to ask you to do that." Gareth said pointedly, looking at Eddie. Will laughed.

"No, I would actually love to do it." He said, looking over at Eddie who practically jumped with excitement.

"Yes!" He said, shaking Will. "You have full creative freedom, and if needed I will personally fund the art supplies." He said, moving to be in front of Will, both hands on his shoulders. Will shook his head with a smile as Gareth facepalmed at Eddies behavior.

"You don't have to do that, Eddie. I have more than enough art supplies." Will said, patting Eddies shoulder with a chuckle.

"You have to let me see more of your art, man." Gareth said, pulling Eddie away from him. "That shits incredible."

"It's not all that good." Will laughed.

"Well, it sounds to me like Gareth will just have to come over one day and see for himself, huh?" Eddie said, earning a glare from Gareth.

Will nodded with a big smile. "Oh, yeah totally! Anytime." He said. Gareth had that deer in headlights look again. For a few seconds, he just stared at Will.

Eddie elbowed him in the rib. "Alright, let's play some music, huh Gare?"

——

The little hang out ended at 5:30. After they played some music, they went out for lunch at the old diner. After that, they went to the record store to browse new music, and then to family video so that Eddie could return the movies they had watched last night, and to rent a few more.

It was probably the most fun Will had in forever. Now, however, he and Gareth were sitting in the car outside of Wills house.

"Today was great." Gareth said. Before Will got the chance to respond, there was a knocking on his window. As they looked over, they seen Mike, perched on his bike, squinting into the car. "Fucking Wheeler." He grumbled, reaching over Will and rolling down the window.

"Hey, Mike." Will said, waving.

"Hey, you just now getting home?" He asked, putting a hand over his eyes to block out the sun.

"Yeah." Will said. Mike nodded.

"Why're you here Wheeler?" Gareth asked, not even looking at the guy.

Mike rolled his eyes with a sigh. "My mom wanted me to bring over your housewarming gift." He said to Will, motioning behind him to his backpack. "Surprise, it's a silverware set."

Gareth cleared his throat. "Alright, well. I better go. It was great hanging out with you, Will." He said. Will thanked him as he got out of the car and stood by Mike. "Wheeler." He nodded, then drove off.