Chapter Text
Jason found himself out at Lover's Lake staring into the distance. He'd been here a lot since Chrissy died and even more after Patrick. Tomorrow was the big day, tomorrow he would get his revenge on that freak Eddie Munson for killing his girlfriend and his best friend. He'd love those two with all his heart, truly he did. Chrissy had been the love of his life, they'd met freshmen year, he'd been late to class and had bumped into her, and he’d opened his mouth to apologize and hadn't been able to say a word, voice stolen by the angel in front of him. Chrissy his sweet Chrissy she hadn't deserved to die like that. Jason fingered the ring on his hand, the ring he'd been planning to propose with. It was worthless now.
Some might find it morbid to return to the scene of their friend’s death but Jason couldn’t find it in him to care. Even now he could still see Patrick’s body floating in the sky, limbs cracking before falling to the ground. He'd met Patrick freshmen year as well, on the basketball team, Patrick had been quiet but Jason talked more than enough for the both of them. They’d gotten along like a house on fire. It helped that they all had the same thing in common. Chrissy's mom was a bitch and Patrick's dad was an asshole.
Maybe that's why he'd taken to them. He lived with his aunt and uncle but they hated him and he hated them right back. Shitty parents and guardians but as long as they had each other it was alright. Now Jason had no one and it was all thanks to that freak Eddie Munson. There was a small part of him that knew Eddie didn’t have anything to do with their deaths. He'd seem just as shocked as Jason when Patrick flew into the air. But Chrissy was another story all together, maybe Eddie was innocent but Jason was too far gone to care. He wanted revenge and if getting Eddie Munson helped ease the hole in his heart well so be it.
Munson had always been loud and weird. Shouting a lunch, and playing his weird games with that little cult of his. Jason hadn't cared much, not really, Munson was a freak and when he got held back a third time Jason would be long gone. No, but Chrissy, there was no reason why Chrissy should've been at Munson's trailer so late at night. Just thinking about it made Jason's fists clench, surely Chrissy wouldn’t. Jason shook his head, pressing his palms into his eyes, before wrapping his arms around his knees.
He stood up brushing the dirt off his pants when splashing in the distance caught his attention. There in the middle of the lake, was someone a kid maybe, splashing around in the lake, the lake where...
Jason shook his head, eyes on the kid as he went under and came back up gasping for breath. The kid was drowning, how he got out there he'd never know. Decision made Jason kicked off his shoes, and pulled out his shirt, diving into the water,
He wasn't going to let anyone else die out here and if this was a trap and he was going to die just like Patrick well so be it, he had no one else to live for anyways. Jason swam over to the struggling boy he realized as he got closer that there was something wrapped around the boy’s chest pulling him into the water.
The kid went back under and Jason sprang into action, diving underneath, freezing at the sight, in front of him. There was a gaping red hole in the middle of the lake, with a tentacle stretched out from it, pulling the kid toward it. Holy shit! Was that a portal to hell? Is this how Patrick died?
Jason blinked making eye contact with the boy, the kid who was staring at him eyes wide with terror, and Jason made a decision, swimming towards the boy. He moved to him trying to pull the boy out of the tentacles’ grip only for them to both be dragged down with such force Jason nearly choked.
The kid had his hand pointed at the tentacle, palm facing out, with a look of desperation on his face. The tentacle slowed some but didn’t loosen his grip and Jason fumbled for his gun. He’d brought it to stop Munson and hadn’t let it out of his sight. Aiming he pointed it at the gun, missing once, twice, before the kid yanked the gun out of his hand, aimed, and bam! The bullet shot clear through the tentacle, Jason turned and took at the kid only to find him head tilted back, eyes closed, and a stream of blood coming from his nose. Clearly, he’d underestimated the kickback in the water. Not resting a second, Jason shoved the gun in his waistband, hooked a hand around the kid’s waist, and swam for the surface lungs burning.
He emerged with a loud gasp, gulping for air, to his right the kid was still unconscious, and as much as he wanted to rest a minute and catch his breath he was all too aware of the giant tentacle lurking beneath ready to drag them to hell.
Jason wrapped an arm around the boy’s chest, pulling him close, using his other arm he swam for shore, going as fast as he could adrenaline pumping. Every brush of his leg underneath the water would make his stomach clench in fear and anxiety. Jason couldn’t help but get deja-vu, this was the exact same spot Patrick had died and Jason had brought his body back to shore the same way…
Once they reached shore, Jason dragged the boy as far as he could before collapsing on the ground himself, exhaustion taking hold. Jason took a few minutes to catch his breath before turning to the boy.
"Hey."
When the boy didn’t respond, Jason moved over him checking his pulse. It was there but slower than it should be. Without hesitation, Jason hovered over the boy, tilting his chin up and pinching his nose, Jason proceeded to give him mouth-to-mouth. It went on for a couple of minutes before the boy let out a little noise, which quickly turned into a cough.
The boy sat up coughing up water, as Jason thumped him on the back. Once he was done expelling water from his lungs, the boy turned to look at him, and holy shit was that a shotgun ? Sure enough, there was a shotgun strapped to his back how Jason hadn't noticed it before he didn't know. Considering what he saw in the lake, well it made sense all things considered.
"You alright?" Jason asked.
The boy looked at him before nodding, eyes darting around this way and that. Jason watched him with a cautious eye, the boy didn't look dangerous but then again he had a shotgun strapped to his body.
“So you want to tell me why there was a gigantic tentacle trying to drag you into hell in the middle of the lake?” Jason asked.
“Not really, you won’t believe me anyway.” The boy whispered.
Jason raised an eyebrow, considering the week he’d been having, well let’s just say he was open to new experiences, “Try me.”
When all is said and done Jason doesn't know what to think. The kid's story sounds well completely insane , with alternate dimensions, powers, and monsters. It sounds like some sort of horror movie. But the kid seems to believe every word that's come out of his mouth and equally believes Jason won't believe him and normally Jason wouldn't.
Normally Jason would do his part as a good citizen of Hawkins and take him to the police station and be done with it. But today hasn't been a normal week. His girlfriend is dead, his best friend is dead and Jason saw his body rise into the air before all the bones...Jason shakes his head, closing his eyes as tears start to well up.
"Are you okay?"
Jason looks at the boy, the kid, really because he looks young and if he’s been in that alternate dimension since then...Jason can’t imagine how he survived. The kid looks like a good kid, he's genuinely concerned for Jason even though, he's the one who’s spent the past three years trapped in some weird universe.
The lake water washed some of it off, but dirt and gunk are clinging to every inch of his body, and his hair is a hot mess. He's pretty well built for someone who's had to survive for that long and Jason makes a mental note to ask him about it.
Jason thinks back to Munson how he claims he hadn't killed Chrissy the shock on his face when Patrick had started to float. He'd known, deep down he'd known Munson couldn't have done anything, he was a freak, yeah, but Jason wanted no needed someone to blame. Who was a better scapegoat than the freak of Hawkins High? Munson’s holier-than-thou attitude towards everything normal certainly made his decision easier.
"You don't believe me huh?" The kid says ruefully
"No, I do!" Jason shouts out, "It’s just a lot to take in."
"Oh."
It is truly. Jason thought seeing Patrick die from nothing was the strangest thing to witness this week. Now he’s realizing it was just the tip of the iceberg. There’s more, there are monsters and alternate dimensions and this kid who has powers. That’s right this kid has powers . Jason had asked for a demonstration and the kid had feebly managed to skip a rock across the lake.
Not the most impressive demonstration but he has a feeling the kid is running on empty. Jason thinks he’s taking in all the information pretty well. If it wasn’t for the fact that the kid doesn’t have a mean bone in his body, Jason can tell, just from their brief conversation. The kid reminds him a lot of Chrissy, just as sweet even when the world constantly throws shit at them. If it had been anyone else Jason would be more worried about the kid trying to kill him but there’s just something in him that knows the kid wouldn’t do that.
The same something in him that’d known Chrissy was the one, that he and Patrick were destined to be great friends. At the thought of Chrissy and Patrick, Jason can’t help but think everything’s connected. It can’t be a coincidence this kid had come out in the same spot Patrick had been killed. No way.
Jason opens his mouth, to tell him but nothing comes out, he tries again and feels his eyes well up. He hasn’t talked about it, not out loud. He’s been so focused on anger and revenge.
He opens his mouth to tell him, cause he just knows it’s not a coincidence and maybe to just talk and all that comes out is a loud sob and Jason can’t even find it in himself to be embarrassed.
And that's how Jason finds himself, finally breaking down into the arms of a random teenager covered in muck and grime. He hasn't cried all week too focused on getting revenge for Chrissy and now he finds he can't stop. When he's done his face burns as he moves away from the kid, rubbing at his face. "Sorry."
"It’s okay, I cried a lot when I first got too well wherever I was." He smiles bitterly, "I’m sorry about your girlfriend and your friend. You're right it was probably Henry."
At that Jason can’t help but snort, to think the cause of all this is some demonic monster named Henry . It’s so absurd. It feels weird to hear the kid say it so casually.
The worst part is Jason suddenly feels empty, how on earth is he supposed to enact revenge on some otherworld monster? At least with Munson, it was achievable now, well now Jason feels, he doesn’t know how he feels truth be told.
He's brought out of his musings by a violent shiver the kid makes and Jason feels like an asshole, interrogating and crying on a kid who's spent years in a horror movie, and is probably freezing. Now that Jason thinks about it is pretty cold. Since Jason rescued him, the sky has gotten darker as time went on and they’re still soaking wet.
"Come on kid,” Jason says yanking him to his feet.
The kid stumbles into him, face flush as their eyes meet and Jason can't help but notice the kid despite all the shit he's no doubt gone through still has kind eyes, they’re hazel with specks of green in them, he’s a cute kid. No doubt going to be a looker in the future, he'll have no problem getting girls to like him they'll be lining up to date him.
"Sorry." The kid says, hastily backing up from him, eyes averted, face red.
Or not .
Jason inwardly preens however, it's one thing to know he's attractive it's another to have it confirmed. The kid reminds of Patrick now, Patrick had never officially said he was gay but Jason had always noticed how he’d stared at Remi Porter on the track team. Jason never got it, Remi Porter listened to jazz in his free time, jazz!
He wraps an arm around the kid’s shoulder, just to watch him squeal. It's probably a little mean, but hey, Jason has never said he was nice.
"What’s your name by the way?"
That probably should’ve been the first question out of his mouth, but he’d been distracted by, monsters and tentacles and portals to hell.
"Um, it's Will, Will Byers?"
They walk to his car, as Jason mulls over why that name sounds so familiar. It doesn’t hit him until he’s halfway down the road and Jason almost crashes his car turning to look at him.
"You're Byer’s brother!"
"The road, the road!" Will screams
Jason gets it back under control, pulling the car off to the side before turning to Will. "Sorry, sorry, I just remember your brother asking if anyone had seen you. There were posters all over.”
"Were you friends with him?"
"Vaguely," Jason mumbles, truth be told he hadn't cared for a missing 12-year-old. Not when he was a freshman trying to make it on the basketball team.
"So are the Byers, I mean." Will fidgets.
Jason bites his lip, "Uh, there was an incident with a mall I don’t know. Your family they uh moved away last year, I’m sorry."
"It's okay."
Jason says nothing but he pretends not to notice when Will turns to the window wiping away the tears from his face.
Both his aunt and uncle are out of town, which makes it dramatically easy for him to get Will Byers into his house, and cleaned up. Now the both of them are sitting in Jason's room, staring at each other. Well, Jason is staring. Will is looking around like he hasn’t seen a house in years and Jason realizes maybe he hasn’t.
He's bundled Will up in what must be like at least five hoodies and every so often the kid still shivers. Jason feels hot just looking at him. Will had also scared down the chicken alfredo leftovers as if his life depended on it after Jason had forced him to eat.
Seriously the kid is like a combination of Patrick and Chrissy and it makes his heart ache. He used to have to force Chrissy to eat more and Patrick was always afraid to ask for anything. He sees the same signs in Will, the signs he saw in Chrissy and Patrick the signs he sees in himself. The signs of growing up unloved and unwanted, by someone who should've loved and wanted them most of all.
"Now what?"
Jason blinks now what indeed. An hour ago he'd been planning to find Munson and his little gang, now well now, he glances at Will.
Now he has a not-so-dead and missing kid in his room and Jason doesn’t quite know what to do. He shrugs as an answer instead.
Will fidgets with his hands, “Do you know, um, do you know a Mike Wheeler?”
“Wheeler?” Jason says, “The one in Munson’s group?”
“So do you know him!” Will blinks eyes lighting up, “Do you-does he still live on Maple Street? What about Dustin, Dustin Henderson? And Lucas Sinclair! Do they still hang out?! Have you seen them?!”
Jason holds up his hands, “Hold up, hold up! I don’t know him, certainly not enough to know where he lives. He’s out of town, visiting some girl or something last I heard.”
“Oh,” Will mumbles and he looks so depressed that Jason feels like a jerk, even when all he did was tell the truth.
“He’s in the same club as Henderson and Sinclair.” Jason mumbles and that one hurts, the fact that Sinclair had lied to him after Jason had taken him under his wing. Though he supposes maybe Sinclair had a good reason. If he had found Munson when Munson wasn't even responsible...
“They’re in some dragon club.”
"Huh."
"Your friends, they play some dragon-DD thing, I don't know."
“Dragons, DD? Do you mean DnD? Dungeons and dragons they still play? There’s a club in high school!?” Will smiles, all big and bright.
Jason rubs at the back of his hand, there probably won’t be a club anymore not after he got the town thinking it was a cult, and truth be told it does still sound like a cult but, he’s starting to realize he may have jumped the gun.
“Sinclair’s also on the basketball team.” Jason changes the subject, feeling weirdly guilty for some reason.
“Really?” Will whispers, he tilts his head back as if trying to picture it.
“How do you know them anyways?” Jason asks, after all, Will had been in gone for years, there's no way he could've met them.
“They’re my best friends, well were, I guess it’s hard to still be best friends when you’ve been missing for three years.”
Oh, that makes sense and now Jason regrets asking because Will looks like he’s going to cry...Jason, nudges at his feet, “Hey I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you don’t worry. You guys will catch up like nothing ever happened.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah, totally. I’d offer to take you to them, but I don’t know where they are. I mean I guess we can drive around…”
That’s what Jason had been planning on doing before all of this started. He was supposed to go gather up an army but he guesses it's a moot point now. He’s jerked out of his musings as Byers places a hand on his neck, a violent shiver raking through his body, looking up with fear in his eyes.
“What?" Jason sits up, "What’s wrong?”
“Henry he’s here.”
“Here? As in the house?” Jason stands up looking for a weapon he can use, he grabs a desk lamp brandishing it like a bat.
“No Hawkins, I think, something’s happening.”
“What, what’s happening?”
“I don’t know.”
"Hey don't freak you. You said you've got powers and you've fought him off before right?"
"Sorta."
"Do you think you can fight him now? Stop him?"
"I can try."
"Good enough for me."
Jason feels like shit asking a little kid to go up against an evil monster named Henry and Jason still can’t wrap his head around it. But at least Will can do something, Jason had been so far off base he was going to hunt down the wrong guy. This is better than nothing, if Will can help me avenge Chrissy great, if not well at least this stops another innocent death.
"I just I've never done it like this before. I'll need to concentrate."
Jason rushes around his bedroom turns off the lights, and rummages through his drawer before handing Will a pair of sunglasses.
"What’s this for?"
"You said you need to concentrate right? I read it in a book once, silence and darkness. Like when you’re trying to fall asleep."
"Okay," Will says, taking the glasses from him and slipping them on his face.
Jason lets out a little snort unwittingly and Will looks up at him, a grin spreading across his face, “I know, I look pretty cool huh.”
“The coolest.”
Jason moves to leave the room only for Will to grab his hand, "Don't leave please."
Will sounds so terrified and Jason nods, shifting his hand to hold on to Will’s. He can only imagine how horrible and terrifying it must have been to be trapped by himself all those years. How Chrissy and Patrick must have felt in their final moments. Hell even how Munson must have felt watching it happen again. He tightens his grip on Will’s hand.
"Alright, I won't I'll be right here okay."
"Okay."
Will nods and lets go of his hand body going still, Jason centers himself between Will and the door watching as a bead of blood drips from his nose.
The lights start to flicker and Will's breathing gets heavier Jason shifts his hold on his lamp, wondering just what on earth he's gotten himself into.