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Mike, Lucas, Will, and Dustin, already gathered out back, more precisely in the Wheeler family garage, began pulling out their bikes one by one. The faint scrape of rubber against concrete echoed softly as they maneuvered them into position. Dustin's eyes landed on Will's bike lying there, slightly off to the side, and he let out a small groan.
"Should I really ride your bike now?" Dustin asked, turning his head to look at Will, his tone caught somewhere between reluctance and mild annoyance.
Will just smiled at him, calm and easy. "I'll go with my brother tomorrow, and you can take my bike to school," he said, tugging his jacket tighter around himself. The night air had started to bite, and he knew he wouldn't need to worry about pedaling anyway, he'd be riding with Chris on that Harley.
"Come on, Dustin, it's just one time," Mike said, grinning as he tried to lighten the mood. But even as he spoke, his attention drifted. He couldn't help stealing another glance at Chris's bike parked near the edge of the street, its presence almost magnetic.
"…If we had a bike like that," Mike added, his voice lowering slightly in awe, "wouldn't we be the coolest guys in school?"
"No. You'd be in jail," Lucas shot back immediately, fixing Mike with a deadpan stare. He genuinely couldn't understand how Mike's brain even went there.
Mike groaned, shaking his head in frustration. "Not now! I mean later, like when we're in high school and have our own licenses!"
"Well… if that's the case, then yeah, that would be awesome," Dustin admitted, nodding along as his tone shifted. The idea clearly appealed to him, he already saw how his brother acted with his bike.
Yeah, he had seen it…he had seen how his brother took care of that bike with great care, he even suspected his brother was in love with his bike rather than with any women.
Even though Chris had gotten it from their father, he treated it with an almost absurd level of care. Polishing it, checking every detail, making sure it ran perfectly, like it was something alive, something worth protecting. Like how someone would take care of their mom.
Dustin knew why.
He knew Chris hated their father, especially after everything that had happened. Yeah… Dustin knew. He knew about the divorce, about how their father had walked away from their mother. That bitterness, that sharp edge in Chris's silence and even Dustin's own foul mouth came from that experience. Even though he didn't realise that.
"What about a car? I think a car can beat a motorbike for the coolest look," Lucas said, his voice laced with confidence as his imagination ran ahead of him. He could already picture it, himself behind the wheel of a sleek red sports car, cruising through town. He couldn't help but imagine how he'd instantly become the coolest person in school… maybe even the entire town if he drove something like that.
"You take that back!" Dustin snapped, pointing straight at Lucas with a piercing glare. "There's nothing cooler than a motorbike!" he added, snorting in disbelief at Lucas's claim.
"No way! You don't understand because you're still a child!" Lucas fired back, refusing to back down even as Dustin raised his voice.
Mike crossed his arms, slipping into a thoughtful stance as if he were seriously weighing the argument. "What do you think, Mike?" Will asked, looking over at him with quiet curiosity. Will himself leaned more toward cars, even though he couldn't deny that Chris looked undeniably cool. Still… no matter how cool Chris was, Will loved his brother more.
But it wasn't like he hated motorbikes. Not at all. He respected Dustin's brother. Chris had always been kind to him, to his brother… even to his mother, despite knowing that she could sometimes be… a lot to handle.
"Well," Mike finally said, lifting his head as if he'd reached a conclusion, "I can say motorbikes are cooler right now… but I think I'd still pick a car." He glanced at Dustin, who immediately gasped in betrayal. "Sorry man, but that's only because your brother is cool, and the bike just makes him even cooler."
Lucas nodded, a grin spreading across his face as he looked at Dustin. "Told ya," he said smugly.
Dustin immediately turned to Will, eyes filled with hope, silently begging for backup.
Will only smiled and gave a small shrug. "Bikes are cool too," he said gently.
But that wasn't enough.
Dustin grimaced, clearly seeing through it, he knew Will would still pick a car over Chris's motorbike.
"You guys suck," Dustin muttered, turning his head toward the Wheeler house with a huff. "Where's that guy?!" he added, his frustration bubbling over now that he'd clearly lost the argument.
Mike, Lucas, and Will couldn't help it. They burst out laughing at him.
"What?"
The Wheeler's back door swung open, and all of them turned at once to see Chris stepping out, casual as ever, a faint smile resting on his face like he hadn't just taken his time inside.
"Nothing!" Lucas, Mike, and Will answered almost instantly, their voices overlapping as they shot Dustin a sharp glare that said 'don't say anything.'
"What took you so long?! I want to get home faster now!" Dustin snapped, grabbing Will's bike a little too roughly as he wheeled it out, his irritation still lingering from earlier.
Chris raised an eyebrow, glancing toward Dustin's retreating figure as he walked ahead out of the garage. "What's wrong with him?" he asked, pointing slightly in Dustin's direction.
"Nothing. He's just mad because we told him he only got lucky taking down the Demogorgon," Mike said, shrugging it off, with Will and Lucas nodding along in agreement to back him up.
"Oh, yeah, but that's true right?." Chris let out a light laugh, then reached over and draped an arm around Will's shoulder, guiding him toward his Harley. "Good night, Mike…oh, Nancy? Good night, Nance!" he added, noticing her just as she stepped outside, watching them.
"Drive safe, Chris!" Nancy called out, giving him a small wave. Even though she's already said that before.
Mike and Lucas exchanged a look, both staring at her with an incredulous face. Nancy, however, didn't bother acknowledging them at all.
"Man, you got whipped," Lucas murmured under his breath. But the moment he noticed Nancy's gaze shift sharply toward him, he immediately dropped his head and tried to busy himself, suddenly very interested in leaving quickly.
Mike, on the other hand, simply shook his head. "Man, you got whipped hard," he repeated, a little louder this time, completely unbothered by whatever reaction Nancy might have.
"Shut up!" Nancy snapped, glaring at him before her attention drifted back to Chris, just in time to see him carefully placing a helmet onto Will's head.
Chris didn't put one on himself. Instead, he made sure Will's was secure, adjusting it properly before stepping back.
Lucas and Dustin were already on their bikes, waiting for them. They didn't move yet, watching as Chris prepared to start his motorcycle before they all headed off together.
"Honestly, why are you dating Steve Douchebag if you love Chris?" Mike asked bluntly, just before reaching over to switch off the garage light.
Nancy shot him a sharp side-eye, crossing her arms. "Kid don't understand," she said, her tone dismissive in a way that instantly got under Mike's skin.
Nancy turned and headed back inside, but Mike followed right after her, clearly not done. "What do you mean by that?! You're the one being foolish and acting like a kid!"
Out on the road, the night had settled in deeper. There were only a few pedestrians passing by, their footsteps quiet against the pavement. The air felt cooler now, the streets darker, calmer and almost too quiet.
Lucas, Dustin, and Will rode ahead, their bikes moving steadily along the street. They passed a single couple walking on the sidewalk, their figures partially swallowed by the shadows cast by the trees. The branches stretched overhead, blocking what little light there was, leaving the road dim and unevenly lit.
Behind them, Chris rode slowly....very slowly.
He kept his pace low, watching over them as they pedaled ahead. At times, he even dropped one foot to the ground to steady the bike, balancing it as he moved at their speed, making sure none of them were left behind in the dark.
Out of the three of them, Will's house was the farthest, tucked deeper in, closer to the woods than the others, so Chris didn't hesitate to agree to take him home.
…..Aside from something else of course.
"Good night, guys!" Lucas called out as he turned off toward the street leading to his house, the closest one to Mike's.
"Kiss your mom goodnight for me!" Dustin shouted after him, only to be immediately answered by the sharp honk of Chris's bike from behind.
Dustin didn't even look back, he just threw up a middle finger in response and pedaled Will's bike faster, suddenly very motivated to put some distance between himself and his brother.
Behind him, Will, sitting on the back of the motorcycle, couldn't help but giggle.
But Dustin's head start didn't save him.
Just as he was nearing his house, the low growl of Chris's engine rose behind him louder, closer….
PLack!
Chris reached out as he passed and lightly smacked the back of Dustin's head. Dustin had known it was coming, he had been expecting it but he still wasn't fast enough to dodge that affectionate, annoying hit.
Chris flashed him a middle finger as he rode past, which only made Dustin grumble under his breath. "....Son of a bitch!" he muttered, though he was already pulling up to his house.
He'd get him back tomorrow. Definitely!
"Hey Will, are your brother or your mom home right now?" Chris asked, tilting his head slightly so his voice would carry over his shoulder.
Will, who was holding onto him tightly from behind, answered quickly, "Oh, no! My brother's at his part-time job, and my mom's still at work!"
Chris was about to slow down, maybe even stop for a second….but bad luck moved faster than that.
The motorcycle flickered beneath him, the engine sputtering unevenly.
Chris's expression shifted instantly, his eyes snapping forward.
"Will! Get my gun!" he shouted.
"What?!" Will froze, startled, his grip tightening in confusion. He had no idea what Chris was talking about. What gun? He didn't even know where to look.
Chris saw it.
Right there, ahead in the darkness.
"…you motherfucker…" he muttered under his breath, his voice low, sharp, and suddenly deadly serious.