Lean on

After dropping Will off, Gareth went and sat in the rec center parking lot. First, he smoked and listened to music, thinking about his day with Will. He wore a smile on his face up until he got to the end of the night, when he had to be around Wheeler. To get his mind off that, he turned around to look at his dad's things in the back seat. After staring at them for a second, he decided to climb into the backseat and go through the pile.

His dad's hat, some shirts, his broken radio, things like that. There was a small box, clearly very old. Gareth recognized it, from years and years ago. When he opened it, he saw 3 rings. He remembered they had been very important to his dad. He chuckled with a sad smile as he took off his necklace. As he placed the rings on the chain and put it back on, he decided he wanted to confront his mother about it.

He climbed back into the drivers seat, turning up his music. He knew his mom wouldn't be home until 8, so he still had an hour and a half to spare. He decided on getting himself dinner and driving around.

——

He dreaded going inside. He wanted to ask his mother why she tried pawning his dad's stuff, but he dreaded it. He had been sitting outside his house in his car for 20 minutes before he got up the guts to go in and ask her.

She was sitting on the couch in front of the tv, drinking a beer and smoking a cigarette. He got in front of her and threw the pawnshop money down in front of her, she immediately picked it up to count it.

"There's your money." He said, putting a hand on his hip.

"Gare, there should be more here." She said, taking a drag from the cigarette.

"I didn't pawn dad's stuff." He said. She looked up at him, confused.

"Why the hell not?"

"Because he was my dad! I don't want to get rid of his shit just so you and Walt have beer money." He sighed. "Why are you getting rid of it, anyways?"

"Because we need to move on, Gareth." She said, putting a hand on her face.

Gareth knew what that meant. "So Walt wants my dad's stuff gone. Got it." He laughed breathlessly, shaking his head. "God, I wish you'd stop listening to that piece of shit." As if on cue, Walt slams the front door. Clearly having heard Gareth.

"Piece of shit, huh?" He said, throwing down his work bag and getting in Gareths face. "I saved your mother, you little brat."

Gareth shoved him away. "Saved her? You ruined her! Now you're making her get rid on my dad's stuff?" Gareth looked Walt in the eyes, seeing his anger.

"That man has no place in my house!" Walt said, shoving Gareth back. He could smell the alcohol and cigarette smoke on his breath, it almost made him gag. But nonetheless, he made a point to get back in Walt's face.

"He bought this fucking house! It's only in your name because you guilt tripped my mom. You're worthless. You haven't bought anything worth a shit in your life." Annnnd that's where he fucked up. Because before he knew it, he got punched in the face. He fell, and got punched again.

"You're right, the house is in my name! And you're done staying here. I don't care where you go, but if I see you here again I will beat you black and blue." Walt said, towering over Gareth as he lay on the ground, holding his eye and checking his nose for blood. There was a lot. He stood up and looked to his mom for help. She wouldn't even make eye contact with him.

"Unbelievable." He laughed, shouldering past Walt to get to his room. He went to his closet and grabbed an old bag, stuffing his clothes into the bag. There wasn't very many left in the house. There was nothing else in his room he needed, it had all been moved to his car over time. He needed to go to the garage, but wanted to avoid another interaction with Walt. So he climbed out of his window and made his way to the garage.

When he got there, he took the picture of Corroded Coffin off the wall and put it in his bag. "So much for setting up that sound system." He laughed, looking at the equipment he and Eddie had fought about just hours earlier. His eyes then panned to his drums, that he had no way to take with him wherever he was going. As he looked outside, he noticed the heavy rain that had just started. "Fuck, dude." He whispered, going out to get in his car. He drove around town for a while, listening to music, before things actually hit him and he started crying. He was so upset. How could his mom pawn his dad's things? How could she stay with a guy like Walt? How could she sit there and watch her son get punched by her husband? How could she let him be kicked out of the house?

He needed to go see Eddie. He knew that meant going to Steve's, but at the moment he didn't care. He needed his best friend.

——

Steve, Eddie, and Max were attempting to make a cake. From scratch. It wasn't going well, but they were all upset about Robins move to college, so they were enjoying the distraction. Max was wearing pajama pants and one of Eddies shirts, hair up and glasses on. (After vecna, Max was left needing glasses).

"Steve, tell Eddie to stop trying to wipe stuff on me!" Max complained, jumping away from Eddie. There was a knock on the door, but neither noticed.

"Red, that's my shirt, I can do what I want!" Eddie said, reaching out again to try wiping his hand on her again. She squealed, slapping his arm away. The knock on the door grew more aggressive.

"Steve, stop him!" Max laughed, running to the other side of Steve. Steve sighed and stopped mixing.

"Eddie, behave. Max, go get the door, please." He said, looking at the recipe again with squinted eyes.

"With all that squinting you might need to borrow Maxs glasses." Eddie joked, going to stand next to Steve and bumping their hips. Steve hummed, leaning onto Eddie a little.

Eddie wrapped an arm around him and kissed his head. The two had been together since Eddie was in the hospital. The only people that knew were Max, Robin, and Gareth.

"Yeah, I need to go to the eye doctor soon," Steve started, but was cut off by Max.

"Guys?" She sounded worried. When the guys turned around, they were faced with a soaking wet, bleeding Gareth with a black eye. Eddie immediately wiped his hands on his pants and rushed over to Gareth. He moved his hair out of his face and examined him close.

"Shit, Gare. Again?" He whispered, moving his hand from Gareths face down to his shoulder. Gareth wasn't looking at him. But he still nodded, blank stare on his face as he chewed on his lip.

"Kicked out, too. Believe that?" He chuckled heartlessly.

"Give me one second. Okay?" He said, patting Gareths chest. When he nodded, Eddie made his way over to Steve, who had kept his distance. "I'm sorry, I need to handle this."

"It's okay, Ed's, go. I do the same with my kids." Steve smiled. Eddie quickly kissed him and ran over to Gareth, dragging him upstairs and into Steve's large bathroom.

"I'm assuming this is because you confronted your mom?" Eddie asked, grabbing some first aid supplies from the cabinet. Gareth had told Eddie about the pawnshop thing earlier, when he went inside to show Eddie Wills art.

"Yup." Gareth said, sitting on the toilet. "Walt didn't appreciate it." He winced as Eddie wiped blood from his probably broken nose.

Eddie was focused on wiping the blood. So much so that his voice was close to a whisper when he spoke. "Walt's a piece of shit, anyways. You don't need him man."

"That exactly what I said." They were quiet for a minute, Eddie surveying Gareths face.

"Did you get all your shit?" He asked, putting the first aid kit away.

"Everything but my drums. Can't keep those in the car if I'm sleeping in it." He laughed a little bit as Eddie dragged him out of the bathroom.

"My rooms down there." He pointed down the hallway at the door at the very end. "Go change into some of my clothes and come downstairs." He lightly pushed Gareth towards the room then ran downstairs. Steve and Max had just put the cake in the oven when Eddie made it to the kitchen. Max noticed him first.

"Hey, how is he?" She asked, adjusting her glasses.

"He's fine. He's changing now. Steve, you know how we never got around to taking apart Robins bed?" Eddie said, kind of nervous.

"Yeah, Ed's, Gareth can stay here." Steve said, nodding his head with a smile.

Eddie looked almost shocked. "Are you sure?" Steve put his arms around Eddies neck.

"Of course. He needs a place, he's your best friend, he's a good kid." Steve shrugged. "Plus, I like having a full house. It'll be fun." Eddie smiled huge, kissing Steve's face a bunch of times.

"Thank you so much Stevie!" Eddie said, wrapping Steve in a hug. After a second, the two let go and turned to Max.

"You're okay with it, right, Red?" Steve asked. Max looked up from the spoon she was licking cake batter off of.

"Duh." She said like it was obvious. And maybe it was. "I like Gareth and he needs a place. You took me in when I needed one, why wouldn't I be okay with you doing the same for him?" She went back to licking her spoon, like the conversation didn't happen. Steve and Eddie looked at each other and shrugged.

Gareth came downstairs, clearly exhausted. "Alright, I'm gonna get out of your big hair, Harrington." Gareth joked, seeming to be in a better mood. "Thank you, guys." He tried making it to the front door, but Steve grabbed his arm as he passed, pulling him back.

"You're not living in that car, man." Steve said, mom mode clearly on.

Gareth pulled his arm back, laughing a little. "Thanks for the concern, Steve, but I'm not Henderson or one of the kids you babysit." He bent down to pick up his bag.

"No, but you're my brother, Gare." Eddie said, poking Gareth in the chest. "What kind of friend would I be if I let you live in a car when we have a perfectly good, open bed?" Eddie pointed upstairs, moving his finger in a circle.

Gareth looked past Eddie, making direct eye contact with Steve. "Are you sure?" He asked, serious as can be.

"100 percent. You may not be one of mine, but you're Eddies brother. And that means I care about you just as much as I care about the other little brats." He said, arms crossed.

"Hey!" Max said, objecting to being referred to as a brat. Steve waved her off and shook his head.

Gareth looked like he wanted to argue Steve on the matter, but saw no point. So he looked to Max. "And you're cool with this?" He asked, pointing at the redhead.

"Oh, yeah. Totally." She said, mouth full of whatever snack she had grabbed. "Where's all your shit? I'll help you move in." She shrugged, walking over, ready to help. Steve sighed, putting a hand out in front of her.

"Maxine, it's dark and pouring rain. We'll do it in the morning." He said. Max groaned but went back to eating her snack.

"Want some?" She offered, holding the bag out to Gareth. He shook his head with a smile. "Fine, more for me." She shrugged.

Steve rolled his eyes. "First off, those were Dustin's, that is your fight. Gareth, come on, we're gonna get you some sheets." He put a hand on Gareths shoulder and led him back upstairs.

"You don't have to let me stay here, man." Gareth said, watching Steve dig through a closet. "Just cus you're with Eddie doesn't mean you have to take up with me, too." He leaned against the wall, holding the sheets he was handed.

"Emerson, it has nothing to do with you being Eddies friend." He said, closing the closet and taking the sheets from Gareth.

"It doesn't?" He said, sounding shocked.

Steve led him to Robins old room, stopping at the door. He looked at Gareth in a way nobody but Eddie had in a long time. Caring, like he genuinely wanted him around. "You could be a random kid that I hardly knew, and if you came here asking for help, I'd give it to you." He lightly pushed the door open with his foot.

As Steve turned on the light as sat the sheets on a desk, Gareth watched before saying: "Other than my connection to Eddie, I am a random kid you hardly know." He said it slowly, watching as Steve made the bed. He knew Steve had changed from high school, but this interaction really made him feel bad for holding the guys past against him.

"Exactly." Steve said.

"Look, man," Gareth said, going to help Steve make the bed. "I have a job, I'll pay rent or whatever you need." He said, feeling really bad.

"Dude, my parents are loaded. Even though they don't live here, they still pay the bills and shit." Steve said, laughing a little.

Gareth laughed a little himself. "That's one way to say your parents don't know who else lives here." Gareth said. Steve just shrugged with a smug smile.

"Nobody pays rent. Just pitch in for groceries when I really need the help and we're good." They had finished making the bed, Steve stood up and put his hands on his hips. "Honestly, I wouldn't even ask you to do that, but with more people moving in and all the kids being here so much, I need a little help."

"Yeah, man, for sure." Gareth said. He made his way to the other side of the bed, standing in front of Steve. "Thank you." He held out his hand to the older guy for a handshake. Steve took it and instead pulled Gareth into a half hug. It only lasted a second before they pulled back.

"Of course, Emerson. I don't work tomorrow, so me and Max will help you unpack all your stuff." He said. Then he made his way to the center of the room and motioned at the bare walls. "Then maybe Tuesday we can go out and buy you some posters and a new bed set, some curtains maybe. Make the place your own." He moved to the door, going to leave. But Gareth stopped him.

"Thanks, Steve. I'm sorry for all the digs I've been making at you." Gareth said kind of awkwardly. Steve just smiled and nodded before shutting the door.

——

Monday

Luckily for Gareth, Robin had a tv in her room. Maybe not the best one, but it worked and he was grateful for something to focus on. He had fallen asleep watching it, and it was still on when he woke up. This bed was much better than the one he had at home; he really didn't want to get up in the morning. Sure, part of that was not wanting to see the damage on his face in the bathroom mirror, but the bed was really comfortable. After about five minutes of lying down, half awake, he finally decided to make his way to the overly large bathroom across the hall.

At first, he avoided the large mirror. But once he had to wash his hands, he had no choice. He slowly made eye contact with himself, seeing the black eye and bruised up nose, he just stared. It wasn't the first time it had happened, nor the first time he had seen himself this way, but knowing it would never happen again. In the most cliche way, he felt lighter than he did just last night. And it changed everything. No more riding around for hours to avoid interactions with his parents, no more working extra hours for that same reason (and also to pay for gas to drive around), no more hiding away from his stepdad to avoid an argument or fight, no more being terrified. It changed everything. Even if he wasn't 100% used to living here yet, he knows he could stay here all day and do whatever he wanted, all without risk.

His life had entirely changed, and something about that almost put him in shock. So he just stared. For a while, apparently, because a knock on the door pulled him out of the trance.

"Gare, no offense, but if I have to wait any longer I might drag you out myself." Max said from outside the door. He shook his head, shaking himself out of it.

"Yeah, sorry, Red." He said, opening the door and walking out. Max hummed as she entered the bathroom. For a second, standing in the long hallway, he pondered on what to do. He could either go back to his room or go downstairs, where he heard noises of Steve cooking coming from. He decided on just going back to his room and watching tv, maybe going back to sleep. That didn't happen, however, because Eddie had shown up out of nowhere, putting an arm around him.

He started walking the two down the stairs. "She's usually a little cranky when she wakes up. Just steer clear."

"Noted." Gareth said, really wishing he could just lay back down. "I thought you had work?"

Eddie motioned at his outfit, which Gareth hadn't noticed was his work uniform. "I'm about to walk out the door now." Having reached the bottom of the stairs at the kitchen, Eddie walked over to Steve, and kissed him goodbye. Gareth fake gagged at the 2, earning a glare from Eddie. "You guys have fun today. I'll bring home dinner. Gare, use more of my clothes if you need to." He yelled, what Gareth assumed was goodbye in some other language, and slammed the door.

Gareth made his way to the kitchen island, taking a seat on the stool. He was still tired, so he rested his head in his hand. Steve was still cooking, but looked back at Gareth with a smile.

"I'm making enough breakfast for the 3 of us, help yourself." Steve motioned to plates of already made food. After a second of thinking, Gareth decided he could eat and got up and made himself a plate. It was weird not eating in his bed, and also eating actual food. At his house he only ate junk, and at Eddies it was either fast food or takeout leftovers from the night before.

"Thanks, Steve." He said, sitting back down. He ate his food quickly, being hungrier than he had thought. Surprisingly, Steve Harrington was an impressively good cook. "Holy shit, Harrington, you can fucking cook!" He exclaimed. Steve chuckled, turning the stove off and taking a seat across from Gareth.

"Eat as much as you want. Max probably wont come down until noon, anyways." He said, eating off his own plate. "I always make enough breakfast for her, but I rarely see her until almost lunch." Gareth nodded, he got that vibe from Max. "Sometimes she wakes up easy, sometimes I just leave her be. Not going to deal with Morning Grumpy Max over some eggs and sausage."

Gareth nodded. "Yeah, I think she was ready to cut my head off over the bathroom a minute ago." He motioned up the stairs. Steve nodded, taking a drink out of his mug; coffee, Gareth assumed.

"Yeah, she's definitely back in bed, by now." Steve said. A silence then fell over them as they ate. Until Steve started again. "After we eat, I'll help you carry your stuff up to your room." Gareth nodded with a hum. "The kids are coming over later, too. You can stay in the room, though. Won't tell them you're here." Honestly, that didn't sound too bad to Gareth. He really liked most of them, minus Wheeler, but he didn't have the energy for them today. Plus, he kind of figured Will wouldn't be there, just based on past events.

"Alright, but why are they coming? Hellfire isn't until Wednesday." He sounded judgier than he meant to, like he usually did. Really, he was just curious.

Steve sighed, taking his and Gareths plated to the sink. "They're here more than they're not. They say it's because Max moved in, but they've been up my ass for years." He said, sitting back down.

"Why does she live here, anyways?" Gareth asked. He knew it wasn't his business, but he figured he'd ask. Steve thought for a second, head tilted.

"Remember when we were all in the hospital?" Steve asked.

Gareth nodded, a look on his face that said "fuck do you think? Of course I remember." But he didn't say it. It was clear that Steve had noticed the look, though.

"Right, well, once we found out she was going to be fine, her mom decided to split town like everyone else." Some people had returned to Hawkins, but most had stayed gone. Maxs mom, he assumed, was one of them. "She left guardianship to me, and said she'd be back within a month. Clearly, she hasn't came, it's been almost 4. Hasn't called once, either." Steve seemed kind of annoyed at the story.

"Shit, dude." Gareth said, not knowing what else to say. He remembered Mrs. Mayfield, she looked kind of like his own mom. And he had hear that after Billy's death, Neil had left them, too. Then they lost their house, and Mrs. Mayfield started drinking. Another thing that reminded him about his mom.

Steve nodded with a hum. "As shitty as the story is, I really like not living here alone. This is the fullest this house has ever been." He seemed happy for the company. Gareth knew the Harringtons spent most of their time traveling and living in their other houses, everyone knew that; but he'd never thought about the toll it took on Steve. "I guess that's why I let the little shits in here so much. I mean, now the house actually looks lived in, not like a set for a magazine." Gareth looked around the house, actually looked for the first time. In the kitchen, he saw different water bottles and different snacks sitting on the counters. He looked through the big archway that lead through the dining room and saw jackets on the backs of chairs, and a dnd board on the table, dice sitting next to it. He's sure if he went in the living room, he'd see stacks of rented movies, and unruly blankets on the furniture, and shoes throughout the room.

"Yeah, I've never had the fullest house, either." Gareth said with understanding. Steve nodded. Would you believe it, he had something in common with Steve. Other than being able to put up with Eddie. "I might come down, when the others are here. I'm not telling them what happened, though." He said. He had to get used to the full house at some point. No time like the present.

Steve nodded. "What, uh, are you gonna say about..." He motioned to his own face in reference to Gareths bruises. "Because those are some of the nosiest little shits." He said. Gareth knew it would serve a problem that he couldn't avoid.

"Gonna tell them not to worry about it, that it's nothing." He shrugged. He knew it wouldn't be that easy, but it wouldn't be much harder, either. "They'll push, but eventually they'll get annoyed or distracted and let it go." He knows how those assholes work. Plus, they know Gareth is a private person and not to push too much. Except Wheeler, that kid couldn't take a hint. "May threaten to punch Wheeler if he pushes, though." He said it with the most flat tone.

Steve chuckled a bit. "Not a fan?"

"Not at all."

Steve stood up, adjusting his shirt. "C'mon, let's bring your stuff in."

And they did. All his shit that he had been keeping in his car for months. Steve helped him set his room up and even hang his clothes in the closet. It took longer than Gareth expected it would. He really underestimated how much he had in that car.

Books, comics, dnd books, music, clothes, his dad's things, his weed, music sheets, dnd notes, so much shit. He had begun filling the empty bookshelf in the corner of the room when Steve knocked on the door.

"Hey, I have this desk in one of the garages, would you like it?" He asked, motioning behind him. "None of us are gonna use it." He shrugged.

"Yeah, sure. Thanks, Steve." Gareth said, placing the last thing on the shelf. "Give me a second and I'll help you carry it up." Steve nodded and left the room, shutting the door behind him. Gareth walked over to his bag, pulling out the original hellfire club picture, and a folder. He threw the folder on his bed absentmindedly, not even taking the time to remember what was in it. Then, he held the picture in his hands, looking around for where to put it. The walls were blank, and he wanted to save that for posters and other things, so he settled on leaning it against the lamp that sat on his nightstand.

He looked back at the yellow folder on the bed and sighed. "Shit." He mumbled to himself. He realized what it was. Wills folder of notes that he borrowed. He made a mental note to copy them once they had brought the desk up. Then he realized, Will had to come today so that he could return his notes. Sure, he could send it back with one of his friends, but where's the fun in that? Gareth wanted to talk to the boy, if he came.

——

Over the next few hours, Gareth had helped Steve bring up the desk, copied Wills notes, showered, and laid down to watch tv, but ended up falling asleep. He slept for about 3 hours before the sound of voices from outside his open window woke him up. He made his way over to look into the driveway, and saw who he thought was just Mike, Lucas, and Dustin. He didn't look anymore than just a glance, so he wasn't entirely sure. Either way, he couldnt go down there shirtless and in his boxers.

The outfit he settled on was just black cargo shorts and a white T. He usually would dress more metal with his battle vest and cut up clothes, but he wanted to be comfortable today. He decided to put on eyeliner, though. So he made his way to the bathroom with it in hand. On his way there, Max stopped him.

"Hey, are you gonna come down? Steve ordered food and we rented some pretty good movies." She offered, sounding like she genuinely wanted him there. He didn't come to any of their hangouts other than for hellfire, so he was shocked.

He waved the eyeliner at her with a smile. "I'll be down soon." He said, then went into the bathroom. It was kinda painful on his black eye, but he did it nonetheless. He was too committed to the eyeliner. He made his way down the stairs and into the living room where he saw the three boys he had seen outside his window, plus El, Max, Steve, and Will. They were separated out on the multiple couches Steve had, getting situated in their seats. After watching unnoticed for a second, he decided on going to the kitchen for food.

"Why is Emerson's car here? I thought Eddie had work." Mike asked. It was a reasonable question, sure. He was surprised nobody else had asked. But something about Mikes tone just pissed Gareth off. He was already regretting his decision to come down here.

"He does. Gareth stays here now." Max said, giving Mike attitude with her tone of voice. Of course, this confused everyone. Gareth made his way back to the living room with his food. There were overlapping questions like, "why" and "since when" from Wheeler, Sinclair, and Henderson. Of course, Will and his sister were quiet in the midst of the confusion. Before Max or Steve got the chance to come up with something to say,Gareth just answered himself.

"Since last night, and it isn't your business. Any of you." He said, taking a seat between Will and Steve. He watched as everyone's faces changed to shock and surprise at the appearance of his face.

The first to speak was Dustin. "Woah, dude. Who the hell beat you up?" He asked, earning a hard punch on the arm from Max.

"You deaf, Henderson?" He said. Dustin put his hands up and mimed zipping his mouth shut. Gareth nodded, satisfied to be done with this.

"Friends don't lie." Mike said. When Gareth looked up, he didn't see shock on Mikes face. Instead, it was a look of curiosity and distrust.

"What?" He asked flatly, glaring at Mike in confusion.

"Friends don't lie; if you're going to hang out with us, you can't keep shit from us." He said. He didn't actually care what happened, Gareth thought. He just wanted something against Gareth. He could be wrong, he didn't really know the guy. Just based on his attitude and the way the two would normally interact, that's the assumption Gareth made.

Gareth rolled his eyes and sighed. "Well, then it's a damn good thing we ain't friends, huh?" The two just stared at each other as if in a no blinking competition. The tension was thick and Gareth could hear Max cursing at Mike and telling him to drop it. Mike clearly showed no sign of doing such.

"Jesus, Mike. Do you always have to argue with every new person we meet?" Wow. The statement itself wasn't surprising. Everyone was always thinking it. What was surprising was the person that said it. Everyone looked over at the source of the voice: Will Byers. He acknowledged the eyes on him, but didn't back down from his burst of confidence. "Seriously, it's getting insufferable." He was sitting crisscrossed on the couch, hands in his lap.

"Will, I was just saying," Mike started, but Will cut him off.

"No, you were trying to be mean. For someone who was so focused on growing up last summer, you really haven't changed since we were 12 and you did this shit to Max." Will had a very obvious annoyed tone to his voice. He was tired of it. And Mike looked genuinely upset as he looked at the ground.

"You're right. I'm sorry, Gareth." Mike sighed. He got up and made his way to stand in front of the older boy, holding out his hand. Gareth looked up at him confused. Very confused. "I drew first blood, started the argument. I have to apologize and shake on it." Gareth shrugged, accepting the weird customs the party apparently had. Gareth nodded with a tight lipped smile as Mike went to sit back down. That was weird, Gareth thought.

——

They ended up watching a movie, and were halfway through a second one when Eddie came home with a shit ton of pizzas. Everyone ate and talked and joked, the movie playing in the background. Gareth was talking to Eddie, hearing some overdramatized story about an interaction he had at work when Will came over.

“Will the Wise! Finally decide to join the cool kids?” Eddie asked, taking a sip of his beer. Will smiles as he chewed on pizza.

“Something like that, I guess. Gareth,I was wondering if you were done with my notes? No rush, just, Erica wants Lucas to bring them home to her, and I’m scared of her.” Will said. Gareth couldn’t blame him for that. He was scared of the younger Sinclair, too.

“Yeah, they’re upstairs.” Gareth said, turning to walk and motioning for Will to follow. When they entered Gareths room, he opened the window and began to smoke. He half expected Will to have something to say about it, but he didn’t seem phased by it. The guy was just looking at the few belongings scattered around the room, and examining the bookshelves. Still, Gareth wanted to be sure he didn’t mind. “You don’t care that I smoke around you, right?”

Will shook his head, still looking at the books. “No, Johnathan smokes a lot. So does Argyle.”

“Argyle?” Gareth practically echoed.

“His friend in California. He actually drove us here when the earthquakes happened.” Will said. He was finally done looking at the bookshelves, and leaned against Gareths new desk. “He’s… strange.”

So that was the guy from the hospital that night. “Oh, well. If you don’t want me to around you I won’t.” Will just hummed, looking at the ground. “You know, I don’t think any of us were expecting you to stand up to Mike like that.”

Will laughed. “Yeah, I wasn’t either. It’s only happened once before, and nobody was there to see it.” Will shook his head, looking up at Gareth. “But, maybe he’ll stop being such an ass to you. He apologized, that’s more than me or Max ever got.”

“So I was right.” Gareth said. “Partly. It’s not them treating you bad, it’s him.” He assumed. Will didn’t seem upset or anything, just nodded his head with a small smile.

“I guess, but we’re actually decent, now that I’m home.” Will said. He genuinely seemed happy, and Gareth didn’t want to mess that up by pushing the issue.

“That’s good, I’m glad.” He said. “But if he starts again, let me know and I’ll get Eddie to fuck with him during the next campaign.” He laughed, reaching over to slightly push Wills shoulder as Will smiled back. For a while, they just stood there, looking at each other with smiles playing away at their faces as Gareth finished smoking. Gareth decided to break the silence. “You know, I don’t know how I’m gonna get used to all these people being around all the time.”

Will knew he meant the party all being at Steve’s house, now Gareths too, so often. “You’re not used to people being home so much?”

“Not at all. Today, I almost stayed locked in here. We weren’t even going to tell you guys I was here.” He chuckled, playing with the hem of his shirt.

“We would’ve seen the car.” Will said. “They would’ve asked questions.”

“I think Steve would have put it in the garage.” He said, tilting his head. Will shrugged. “But I’m kind of glad I didn’t, though. It’s going to be hard to get used to, but I enjoyed it today.” He shrugged.

“Yeah, I’m glad you didn’t, too. It was nice having you here.” Will said, reaching out and squeezing Gareths arm. After a beat, Will said, “What are you doing tomorrow?”

“Uh, I think decorating and shopping. Why?”

“Would you like to come to dinner at my place?” He asked, seemingly nervous. Gareth knew his excitement showed on his face. He didn’t care one bit.

“Yeah, totally.” He smiled, seeing Wills face light up, too.

“Great! Dinners at 6, so you can come at 5:30?” Will suggested. Before Gareth could respond, they heard Eddie yelling up the stairs at them.

Gareth reached behind Will, grabbing the folder of notes. “Here.” He smiled, and they went downstairs.