Lean on

Hopper didn’t take kindly to people who hurt children. He was abused by a stepfather when he was a little older, about middle school age, and nobody came to save him. Now, he was raising children who were abused, one of them in a very different way. And they had friends who have been abused or otherwise mistreated by a parent. All of those kids were undoubtedly traumatized by the supernatural world that never should’ve existed. These kids, to almost every degree, have been saved in ways Hopper had never gotten. Of course he couldn’t save them from their own minds and what the trauma did to them, but they were all now physically safe, and to Hop, that’s the first step. Gareth hadn’t been saved. Sure, he escaped, but how long would that last? With all of these once broken kids, plus watching his first born die in front of him, Hopper had grown a stronger loathing to those that hurt children, more than he had before. Most sane people with a conscience shared this, he figured. At least he hoped. His fiancée did, that’s for sure. Joyce would, and has, done anything to keep those kids from being hurt. It was one of the things he loved most about her.

Walt has always been a terrible man, since school. And now, he had turned out just as Hopper had always assumed he would. The town of Hawkins thought the man a hero, though. He had a very successful law firm; the only one in town, so could it really be overly successful if there was no competition? Not only that, but he stayed and helped tremendously after the earthquakes. He saved many and donated lots of old clothing and canned food he had stocked up on to the efforts. Hopper would admit that was a good deed, he himself did that and more, but Walt was anything but a hero. He was a drunk who, more often than not could be found at the bar. He didn’t work at the law firm anymore, he just owned it while other people did the work and he profited rather generously just by sitting at the bar, which is where all of that undeserved money went towards. He was a rather rude man, especially when he wasn’t sober. That was nothing new, though. He was on the football team in school and was a drinker back then, too. Always rude and picking on those smaller than him. Some things never change, apparently.

Hopper wasn’t stupid; he knew an unregistered gun would only lead to some questioning and a fine. But with Walt’s temper, there was a high chance he’d rack up an “assault of an officer” charge, too. Hopefully there were drugs lying about. These things would put him in holding and questioning. He would of course be granted bail, but his wife wouldn’t post it. Especially if she’s unconscious when Hopper goes in, and if she doesn’t stay sober tomorrow. If things went as he hoped, he would have plenty of time to collect evidence to prove the abuse. Because as of now, all he had was a beaten, socially outcasted kid. And that was more than enough for Jim to believe, but the law is the law. Chances are, Walt would write it off as the boy got assaulted by a jock for being weird and different; evidence was crucial here.

The drive was short, so he was now pulling into the driveway. It was beginning to get dark, but he could still see. The house was well kept on the outside and the garden was cut well. Hopper noticed the open garage, but didn’t pay much mind to it as he made his way to the front door. He sighed deeply, knocking on the door. As he waited for some sort of response, he looked over at the neighbors yard where an older woman, Mrs. Leighbetter, was taking her dog out on a leash. She looked over at him and waved, he smiled and gave a curt nod back before knocking again. He waited, looking into the window on the door. He couldn’t see much other than a lamp in the mud room and a light from a television in the other room. He grumbled and knocked again, harder.

“Hawkins PD, open up!” He called out. Again, no answer. He began to pound on the door with a fist, even harder. “Walter!” He yelled, pounding now continuously. Finally, after too long for Hoppers taste, Walter yanked the door open with aggression.

“Jesus, Jim! It’s past nine, what could you possibly need?” He was agitated and wearing a messed up, unruly suit. “My wife is trying to sleep, you know that?” The man reeked of liquor, and the odor coming from the house smelled like cigarettes.

He took a deep breath through his mouth, and let it out hard. “I’m operating on an anonymous tip. Im sure it’s false, given you’re a man of a certain stature.” The passive aggression and sarcasm was dripping from his voice. “Just let me take a look and I’ll be on my way.” He had a fake smile on his face as Walt seemed to notice his sarcasm, growing more irritated by the second. The feeling was mutual.

“Now’s really not a good time.” The man said.

“No time like the present, Walt. That’s what I always say.” His voice was now flat as he made his way through the door. Walt complained, but still let him through. “Where’s your bedroom?” Hop asked, and Walt lead the way there. Hopper looked around the house, much less kept up than the outside. Beer cans and bottles lying about, clothes and trash in the floor. It wasn’t terrible, but certainly not what you’d expect from a house that looks the way it did from the outside. Hopper had almost figured that Garth was the one that picked up around here.

As he entered the bedroom, he saw more beer cans and clothes and trash. Only one side of the bed looked used, and on that side sat a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. “That your side?” Hopper asked, pointing at the messed with side.

“Yeah,” Walt answered. Hopper hummed and walked over, going to open the top drawer of the nightstand. He pulled, but it was locked. He looked over at Walt expectantly, wanting him to open the drawer. Walt side and made his way over, taking a key out of his pocket and unlocking the drawer. The man was growing anxious; Hopper could tell by the way he touched his face and bit his nails. As he opened the drawer, he seen many papers and envelopes, lighters and cigarettes, and just as he’d hoped, a pistol. He picked it up, going to ask Walt about the registration, but hiding under it was a bag of white powder. With his other hand, he picked the bag up and turned to Walt, holding them both up.

“Wanna guess which one I’m here for?” He joked, not wanting a response. And he didn’t wait for one. “Got papers for this gun?” He asked as he put both down on the bed and grabbed evidence bags from his back pocket to place them into.

“That little shit,” Walt muttered, running a hand down his face. “This is none of your business, Jim.” He pointed, growing angry.

Hopper raised an eyebrow as he placed the things in the bags. “Really? ‘Cause it seems like this is police business. I don’t know if you remember, but, uh, I am the police.”

Walter began to walk closer to Jim. “I know you’re just here because Gladys’ son is trying to get me into trouble.” The man sounded pissed, and it showed on his face.

“Yeah? Why would he want that?”

“We got into an argument and he ran off,” Walt said. “That little asshole can hold a grudge and is a vengeful piece of shit.”

“You know you’re talking about a seventeen year old kid?” Hopper placed the evidence bags down and turned to face Walt.

“That’s not a kid. That boy is possessed by the devil. It’s that dragon game he plays with your brat.”

“You know, just based on this I might vote you for father of the year,” he said sarcastically. Walt was growing angrier by the second.

“I’m no father, not to that bastard.”

“And thank God you’re not.” Hopper said. And that’s what did it. Walt pushed Hopper and tried to swing on him. Hopper managed to grab the man and turn him to cuff him. “That’s 3 charges right there Walt. And counting,”

“Counting?” Walt yelled. “What do you mean by that, Jim?”

Hopper ignored him and began to walk him out the way he came, making sure to grab the bags off the bed as he left. He looked into the living room and saw Gladys passed out on the couch and more white powder on the coffee table. He sighed, thinking of how Gareths life had been since his father passed. He finally got Walt in the back of the car, and as he was walking to the drivers side door, he looked into the open garage and saw Gareths drum set and speakers. He looked back at his car and figured he had enough room for them. Sure, some would be in his passenger seat and Walt may be squished, but he could manage. He started to the garage when the lady from earlier, Mrs. Leighbetter, called his name and began to walk over. He stopped, going to meet her in the middle.

“Are you arresting Walter?” She asked, holding her dog’s leash tight.

“Yes ma’am,” he answered.

“Is it for the abuse?” She asked, looking sad.

“Was there abuse?” He asked, already knowing the answer but hoping for proof.

“Oh, you didn’t know.” She said sadly. “Gladys’ son came home late the other night, then Walter got home not much later. I was running off some deer my Pauly was barking at,” she motioned at the dog at her feet. “He barks at anything, really. While I was out here I heard the yelling start, it’s quite normal but I always try to listen just to make sure everything’s okay.”

“You’re a good woman,”

“Thank you, sir. I stayed out here to listen, and it eventually stopped, and the boy came out and threw some bags in his car and left. I thought I saw some blood on his face, but the porch light ain’t that great and it was raining.”

“Have you seen him back here since?” Hopper asked, knowing the answer.

“No, sir. You can hear and see the whole things on my cameras; I’d be glad to let you do what you must.”

“Thank you, maam. I’d gladly take a look at the footage after I pack this up,” he tipped his hat to her and she walked away.

——

Packing those things into his car was harder than he thought. Once he was done, though, he went over to Mrs. Leighbetters and transferred the footage from her cameras to a VHS tape. He dropped Walt at the station, where he’d spend the night, and was now walking through his front door. He had planned to handle Walt and his charges in the morning and let him sober up.

When he walked in, everyone except Gareth was asleep in the living room. Gareth turned to look at him and stood up. Hopper didn’t want to wake the others, so he put a finger to his lips and walked to the kitchen with Gareth in tow.

The two sat at the table across from each other. “Did you get him?” Gareth asked anxiously.

“Yeah, I found the gun and some coke in the nightstand, then he tried to punch me,” Hopper started to list tiredly.

“Yeah, he’s bad about that.” Gareth joked, motioning to his own face with a chuckle. Hopper returned it.

“As I was leaving, your neighbor stopped me and said you could hear the argument and see you leaving all bloody on her cameras.”

Gareth perked up, eyes wide but emotion unclear. “So, he’s going away?”

“He should. But I’ll be honest, kid, he has a very good reputation around here.”

Gareths expression became annoyed and upset. “Yeah, I know.”

“But we have proof of the abuse now.” Hopper said.

“So?”

“So, I have a friend that can get you removed from your mother’s custody and put into Steve’s. Would you be okay with that?”

Gareth quickly nodded. “Yeah, for sure”

“Good, I’ll talk to Steve tomorrow and then give Sam a call.” He stood up and began to walk away.

“Thank you,” he heard quietly from Gareth. He clapped the boy on the shoulder as he passed.

“Get some sleep, kid. We got a drum set and sound system to take over to Steve’s in the morning.” He said, actually walking away this time. He looked back before he shook Joyce awake, and he seen Gareth sitting still at the table. He turned his head, and Hopper saw the grin on the boys face, making him grow one himself.

——

Wednesday

Today was the second day of Eddies campaign. That didn’t start until later that night, though. Right now, Gareth, Hopper, Max, and Steve were unloading the sound system and drums into the garage-type thing in the backyard of the Harrington house. Hopper was telling Steve and Eddie about the possibility of Steve taking custody of Gareth.

“Andrew the guy that would be doing this is the same guy that put El in your custody?” Steve asked, handing a piece of the equipment to Max.

“Yep,” Hopper answered.

“Is this, like, legit? Legal and shit?” Eddie asked.

Hopper shrugged. “All the same.” Eddie shrugged and went back to work. “All you have to do is agree and I can have a paper and documents in your mailbox by tonight.” Steve looked at Eddie, then at Gareth.

“You want this?” Steve asked with his hands on his hips. Gareth just nodded, a serious look on his still beaten face. “Thank you, Hop.”

Hopper soon left for the station, and at the Harrington house it was war between Eddie and Gareth. Over that damn sound system again. Max and Steve stood behind them, arms crossed and watching the arguing.

“Is it just me or are they arguing over nothing?” Max whispered. Steve agreed. The thing they were arguing over was so simple and obvious, and yet both were wrong.

“No, yeah, not just you,” Steve whispered back. The two watched for a few minutes before Steve stepped up and stopped the arguing by pushing between them. The 2 both shouted protests, saying Steve was going to mess it up. Steve easily put the cord into the right port and didn’t mess a thing up.

“Why didn’t you know how to do that, Ed?” Gareth asked with his hands on his hips.

“Oh, like you did.” Eddie retorted. “You’re supposed to be the one good at that shit.”

Gareth scoffed. “You’re older,”

Eddie shook his head aggressively, as if taken aback. “So?” Steve moved out from between the two and moved to sit on the couch as Max walked inside with an eye roll. “That has not shit to do with anything.”

Gareth moved closer to Eddie. “You should be the smart one here!”

“Right because im known for my smarts!”

Steve sighed. “Eds, dear, that’s not a good argument.” He said. Gareth laughed and moved to sit on the couch next to Steve. Eddie followed, sitting on Steve’s other side. Soon, the 3 were all passing a joint back and forth, talking about nonsense. “How was dinner?” Steve asked.

“How’d they like the getup?” Eddie laughed. Steve had to block Gareth from reaching over to punch him.

“Shut up, asshole.” Gareth grumbled. “No, it was good. I felt awkward at first, but it was fine. Hopper scared the shit out of me, though.”

Steve chuckled. “How?”

“He called me outside. Alone, mind you. He made me smoke a cigarette and got on me about faking who I am.” Gareth paused, taking a drag before passing it to Steve.

“So we were right?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, congrats.” He rolled his eyes. “Then he asked about Walt, and we talked about it and he arrested him.” He knew he sounded kind of dull about it, but he didn’t think it mattered.

“How do you feel about that?” Eddie asked.

“Good, I think. I feel kinda bad for my mom, but really, what can you do?” He shrugged. “They both deserve it.” Steve and Eddie nodded in agreement, but didn’t say anything due to lack of knowing what they should say. It was silent for a few minutes, comfortably.

“So,” Eddie started. “Is Will coming tonight?”

“I think he is.” Gareth answered.

“It’s good that he started coming, im glad he likes it.” Eddie said.

“Yeah. Why didn’t he come before?” Gareth asked. Eddie just shrugged, but Steve didn’t react at all.

“If anyone knows it’s Steve.” Eddie said. Both Eddie and Gareth looked at him, and he thought for a second before sighing.

“Okay, if I tell you this, you can’t tell him. Dustin told me not to tell anyone.” He said, moving his hand infront of himself.

Eddie put two fingers to his forehead. “Scouts honor, Stevie.”

“After everything that happened to Will, I guess he just wasn’t ready to grow up or something.” Steve said, pausing to think of the way he wanted to word it.

“Understandable,” Gareth said.

“Lucas and Mike, Dustin too, but he wasn’t really around them when this happened, had all moved on and started putting all their time towards girls and not wanting to play dnd anymore.” Steve said.

Gareth understood that, but he also understood Will not being ready to move on yet.

“El and Max had broken up with the guys, so Will started trying to play dnd again, and they were jerks about it, so Will got upset and tried to leave. But Mike followed him out and they started to argue, and Mike was saying all this shit about how Will has to grow up and they can’t just play games together forever. Something like that, Dustin didn’t have complete details. But then Mike said something,” Steve paused and took a deep breath. “Really stupid.”

“What was it?” Gareth asked. As if he needed another reason not to like Mike.

“He told Will that it wasn’t his fault that Will didn’t like girls. And that hurt Will pretty bad,” Steve said, in a tone to suggest it was obvious. And it was.

So maybe Will didn’t like girls, Gareth thought. But that wasn’t what he cared about most right now. Why the fuck did they treat him that way? For wanting his childhood back after it was stolen from him? Now he liked Mike less, which shouldn’t be possible.

“Of course it did. No matter how he meant it.” Eddie said.

“Right. Then the upside down shit started again, so they never got a chance to actually talk about it before Will moved. And he never joined another party, but the other guys joined Hellfire right when he left.” Steve stopped there, figuring the rest was easy to figure out.

And Gareth did. “So he never played with us because he was hurt that they wouldn’t play with him but joined a party right when he left?” He asked, knowing the answer. Steve still nodded. “What the fuck?”

“Yeah,” Steve said. “Dustin was pretty pissed when he found out, too. I’m just glad everything’s okay now.”

“I knew Wheeler was an ass, but I didn’t know that shit.” Eddie said. “What if I kill off his character tonight?” The three laughed. “Hey, Gare, why haven’t they been calling you into work?”

“I don’t know. They told me last Thursday not to come in until they called for me.” He shrugged.

“And they just , haven’t?” Steve asked. Gareth shook his head.

“Nope. I might quit before they fire me. Find a better job with a coworker whose boyfriend didn’t try to beat my ass over spring break.”

Eddie nodded with a hum before jumping up, scaring Steve and Gareth. “Mrs. B is opening a store soon!”

“Wills mom?” Gareth clarified; you can never be too sure with Eddie.

“Oh shit, that’s right.” Steve said. “You should definitely talk to them about it.”

Gareth nodded, deciding to think about it.

——

Dustin was going to Eddies early today, like he usually did. First, though, he wanted to buy a new pair of sunglasses that he had been saving up for. Nothing was wrong with the pair he had now, but they were getting old and were getting loose due to age.

They had rebuilt the mall after the “fire” that definitely wasn’t started by fireworks him and his friends set off. Now, most people were out of town, so only a few stores stayed open. One of them was a men’s clothing store, and that’s where he was now. He was looking at the sunglasses, trying a million pairs on and getting nowhere. He couldn’t find any he liked and was getting annoyed.

He was on his 20th pair, and didn’t like them either. He yanked them off his face “Shit!” He exclaimed before aggressively putting them back on the wall.

“Need some help?” A voice asked from behind him, tapping his shoulder. When he turned around, he saw a pretty blonde girl who was just a little shorter than him. She was wearing a red tank top and jean shorts.

“Please. Im Dustin,” he said, smiling and holding out his hand. She shook it with a smile.

“I’m Lucy. What exactly are you looking for?” She asked sweetly, looking at the array of glasses infront of them.

“Anything that doesn’t look stupid.” He wasn’t joking, but they both chuckled. Lucy began looking at all the glasses and then back at Dustin, a hand on her cheek as she thought. She smiled widely and pulled a pair off the wall. She put them onto Dustins face and turned him around to look at the mirror.

“Tada!”

The glasses were perfect. How did she do it? “Holy shit! You’re a genius!” He laughed. “Thank you so much,” he turned to face her and took off the glasses.

“It’s no problem.” She smiled as she spoke.

“How would you feel about helping me find a new hat?”

——

At Hellfire that night, everyone had sat in the same seats as they had last Friday. So Will sat next to Gareth. The two were messing around the entire campaign; whispering jokes to each other, poking at each other, kicking each other under the table, and Will was drawing doodles on his notes paper (that Gareth planned to borrow).

Eddie had threatened to kill their characters at least 5 times if they didn’t stop.

They finished earlier than normal tonight, around 9, and were now talking in little groups. Will and Gareth were alone in the kitchen, pouring themselves drinks.

“Do you think your mom would let me work at her store when she opens it?” Gareth asked, passing a cup of coke to Will where he sat at the island.

“I’m sure she would, but I thought you had a job?” Will asked confusedly.

Gareth sighed, putting the coke back in the fridge before sitting across from Will. “I did, but they haven’t called me in for a while, I think im about to get fired.” He scrunched up his face.

“Oh, well, yeah just come talk to her about it. I’m sure she’d be happy to have you.”

“I’ll come sometime this week, I think.”

“You gonna dress normal this time?” Will joked, holding back a laugh. Gareth half-laughed-half-groaned. He reached over to an open bag of popcorn and threw a piece at Will.

“Jesus, nobody’s ever gonna let me live that down.” He said. He wanted to act annoyed, but he couldn’t help the laughter.

“No, but seriously: dress normal next time. I like you how you are and so do they. Even if they didn’t like the way you dressed, that doesn’t mean I couldn’t hang out with you.” Wills voice was more serious now, a small smile on his face.

Gareth returned the smile. “I know, but I just… I don’t know. I’ll be normal next time; I was just nervous.” He said with a shrug. “You have fun tonight?”

Will nodded and took a sip of his drink before responding. “I did. I think we pissed Eddie off, though.”

Gareth made a noise. “Ahh, he’s fine.” After that, a silence fell over them as they made eye contact. Slight smiles on their faces.

“Hey, I was thinking,” Will started.

“Yeah?”

“My mom and Hopper are getting married soon. How would you feel about coming with me?”

“To the wedding?” Gareth was shocked

“Duh?” Will answered. “I’m sure they’d love it if you came.”

“Gareths coming to the wedding? Cool.” Dustin said, walking in and sitting next to Will. He began to munch on the bag of popcorn while Will studied him.

“Did you get a new hat?” Will asked. Dustin hit the table.

“Oh my God I totally forgot to tell you!” He yelled. Will glanced at Gareth who just shrugged his shoulders. “I was at the mall looking for a new glasses for literally forever and couldn’t find a pair, then this girl showed up; a gorgeous, perfect girl, and she helped me find the perfect pair!” He was smiling and looking between Will and Gareth, who were also smiling. “Then I asked her for help finding the perfect hat and, guess what, she found the best one!” He pointed at his head excitedly.

“That’s great, Dustin!” Will said.

“Yeah, who was she?” Gareth asked.

“Her name was Lucy. But I was so excited that I forgot to get her number.” He sighed. Gareth thought for a second before coming up with an idea.

“Why don’t we all go to the mall this weekend and try to find her?” He asked. Will and Dustin both perked back up at that.

“Would you guys really do that?” Dustin asked.

“Of course,” Will answered.

“Gareth I could hug you right now!” Dustin yelled. Gareth laughed.

“Please don’t,”

“Also, im sorry for pushing you about what happened, man.” Dustin said. Gareth waved it off and didn’t respond. “No, really. It wasn’t cool. Me and Mike shouldn’t have pushed you like that.”

Gareth shook his head. “Don’t apologize for Wheeler. He chose to do that on his own and he apologized.” He said. Dustin nodded with a tight lipped expression. “But it’s cool, man. Just don’t do it again and we’re good.” He reached his hand across the island and Dustin shook it.

“Don’t take Mike too seriously. You dont have to tell us everything just because you hang around us.”

“Yeah,” Will chimed in. “He’s just difficult with new people.”

Gareth chuckled. “So ive noticed. I have no intentions of irritating him, dont worry.”

Dustin made a face and tilted his head, but didn’t say anything. “So, you’re coming to the wedding?”

“I might,” Gareth shrugged. “I don’t exactly own a suit or anything.”

“Well, we can help you with that.” Will said.

“Yeah, when we go find Lucy we can have her help us find you one.” Dustin was talking like it was the best idea to ever be uttered out of one’s mouth. And honestly, it wasn’t half bad.

“Totally. Will can I borrow your notes before I take you home?” Gareth asked, surprising the boy with the offer.

“You’re taking me home?” Will looked shocked and confused. “I’m on the other side of town?”

“So? Dustin do you need a ride?” Gareth asked, ignoring Wills confused stuttering.

“Nah, thanks though. Moms on a date so im staying the night here.” Dustin shrugged, putting a handful of popcorn in his mouth.

“Whose she’s going out with?” Will asked. From what Gareth had picked up, she had been single since before Dustin had made friends with Will and them.

“Wouldn’t say,” he shrugged. “I wanted to stay so I knew she made it home. But nooooo,” he dragged out. “I had to come stay with stupid Steve.” He rolled his eyes. Gareth laughed as he finished off his drink.

“What a damn shame,” he joked.

——

After an hour of everyone hanging out and talking, Gareth and Mike avoiding each other in conversation, Will decided it was probably time for him to go home. Gareth went to the living room where everyone was while Will put his shoes on.

“Hey, im gonna run Will home.” He called out. A chorus of okays responded and he made his way to the mudroom to meet Will. “You ready?” He smiled. Will nodded and opened the door.

“Why are you taking me home? It’s all the way across town.” Will asked as they made their way to the car. Gareth didn’t respond until they got to the car. He opened Wills door for him and leaned down to look at him.

“I wanted to.” He voiced it like it were a question, then closed the door and walked over to his side. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because, again, it’s actually across town now.” Will said, light hearted attitude in his voice. “You don’t live so close anymore; you’ll have to come all the way back here after.”

Gareth lit a cigarette as he started to drive. “And again,” Gareth mocked. “I wanted to. How else would you have gotten home, anyways?”

“Jonathan was out with Nancy, he was gonna come get me on the way home. You just listened to me call the restaurant to tell him not to.” Will laughed through the words. That was true, Gareth did listen to the call.

“Well,” Gareth laughed. “I just wanted to take you home, okay?” He smiled over at Will.

“Thank you. But you didn’t have to do that.” Will said.

“Yeah, yeah,” Gareth waved it off. “Can I ask you something?”

“I guess.” Will joked.

“Don’t… get mad at Steve for telling me this. Or, I guess Dustin for telling Steve.” Gareth trailed off in thought. “Anyways,” he shook his head. “Steve said you stopped playing dnd because Mike and Lucas wouldn’t play and told you it’s not his fault you don’t like girls. And that you were upset because they joined a new party when you left.”

Will sucked a sharp breath through his nose, and Gareth flinched. He definitely fucked up.

“That’s not a question, Gare.” Will said somewhat slowly.

“Right, sorry.” Gareth said. He was too nervous to remember to add the question in there. “Did you kind of… resent the Hellfire guys for that?” There was an unspoken “me” in the question.

“Honestly, a little. But it was mostly Mike. What he said kind of hurt me, and we made an agreement about not joining a new party,” Will paused, looking out the window. “Or, I thought we did. He was just… mean to me about wanting to hold onto being a kid after what happened. He was kind of right; I did need to grow up at some point.”

“That’s still no reason for what he said. It was uncalled for.”

He could see Will nod from the corner of his eye. “Maybe, but he was right in a way. Just the way he worded it hit me wrong, I guess.”

“What do you mean?”

Will took a deep breath before answering. “When he said that about me not liking girls, he meant it like I just hadn’t matured to that point where I was looking for a girlfriend.” Will hesitated to continue, and Gareth gave him his time. “But to me, it felt like he was attacking me for… not liking girls at all.” He said slowly. “Which was unfair because he wasn’t; he doesn’t even know about that.”

Will just came out to him. “Just because he didn’t mean it in that way doesn’t mean that isn’t how it hit you, ya’ know?” It was a rhetorical question, and Will knew. “You needed your time to process that and nobody holds that against you. Thank you for trusting me, too.”

Will shrugged. “You accepted Steve and Eddie, so I knew you’d be okay with me.”

“Yeah, that, plus im bi myself.” Garth glanced at Will, who turned to look at him.

“Really?” Will sounded shocked.

“Yes, really.” Gareth laughed.

“Thanks for telling me.” Will said quietly, relaxing back into his seat.