putting the 'pep' in 'dyspepsia'

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

In front of a giant orange sign with HAWKINS TIGERS CAN'T BE BEAT scrawled in green and white markers, the cheerleaders performed a complex routine that made Gabe's head spin to just think about. With one girl being thrown into the air like a ragdoll and somersaulting several times before landing in the arms of her teammates, another cartwheeling across the dirty gym floor, and the rest waving their pom-poms in the air like bursts of green and orange fireworks, Gabe wasn't exactly sure what to focus on. Plus, with all of the cheering from the crowd—apparently, despite the early hour, most of the student body was very excited about the upcoming basketball game—and the loud music from the marching band, there was far too much going on.

If he was being honest, Gabe didn't exactly understand the point of pep rallies. Sure, they were meant to get people excited about their local sports team, but why were they even meant to care in the first place? Maybe the people actually on the teams could be excited about upcoming games, but why drag the Average Joe into it? It wasn't like they had rallies for art or music.

Mike and Dustin weren't even trying to pay attention. For the past five minutes, they'd been rambling about their girlfriends—Mike was listing off his plans for everything he'd do with El in California, while Dustin raved about his upcoming reunion with Suzie at summer camp. The open way they spoke about their partners made something in Gabe's gut twist. He'd never be able to go on about Will like that.

"Now, look, I'm not saying that my girlfriend is better than yours," Dustin drawled, right as Max slid in beside Gabe. He let out a sigh of relief, glad to have someone present that wasn't totally girl-crazy, and gave her a smile. Max just looked down. "It's just that Suzie's, like, a certified genius."

"You do realize El saved the world twice, right?" Mike asked.

"And yet you still have a C in Spanish."

"Hey, Max," Gabe tried, nudging his friend with his shoulder.

Max, red hair pulled into a haphazard bun, headphones hanging around her neck, finally turned to meet his gaze. "Hi," she said. Her tone was almost flat.

A surge of hurt went through Gabe, and he trained his gaze back on the cheerleaders, trying not to let his disappointment show on his face. He should've known better, but a part of him had still been hoping that Max would at least pretend to be happy to see him. Like she used to.

Gabe and Max had been friends ever since they'd first arrived at Hawkins Middle School as the pair of new kids. That had been the week they'd been constantly excluded from the party—which, although it was upsetting at the time, they now knew to be for a good cause. They'd sat together at recess, occasionally shared notes in class, and tried to piece together the secrets that were being kept from them.

It had just been the two of them. Friends.

Though nothing had changed when they'd officially joined the party. Even with their newfound friends, they still stuck together, telling each other everything and hanging out one-on-one. A part of Gabe had expected that to last—after all, there was a certain bond that was formed when you learn about interdimensional monsters together, and he and Max had become like two peas in a pod.

But during these past few months, the two of them had been drifting apart.

Granted, it wasn't just Gabe that Max was giving the cold shoulder to—it was everyone. After everything that had happened with the Mind Flayer and Billy, she'd become quieter, more reserved. She kept her head down in class and her headphones on in the halls, eating alone at lunch instead of joining the Hellfire Club table. She had sessions with Ms. Kelly more frequently than Gabe did, but never came out of them looking like they helped. To make matters worse, whenever anyone asked her about any of this, she shrugged them off.

Gabe had hoped he'd be able to help her get through it, but it seemed that Max didn't want his aid. She always said that she could get through things herself, and that she didn't need Gabe hovering over her all the time. Once, she'd even insinuated that his obsession meant he had a crush on her.

It was hard not to let it get to him. With everything else going on in Gabe's life, this was the last thing he needed—to feel even more worthless. Unfortunately, he was beginning to doubt that anything would change.

Fortunately, he was drawn out of his self-pity by the ending of the cheerleaders' routine, in which they performed several more flips he swore defied physics. The crowd burst into another set of applause, and the cheerleaders skipped to their seats.

"And let's hear it for your Tigers!" the announcer called out. Then, tearing through the paper banner held up by two students came the Hawkins High Basketball Team. Led by senior Jason Carver, the group of boys jogged forward, beaming at the crowd. In the middle was Lucas, who bounced with excitement.

Mike, Dustin, and Max barely clapped, hitting their hands together only one or two times. On the other hand, Gabe let out a whoop, grinning at his friend. He may not have been a fan of sports, but that didn't mean he couldn't support the people in his life.

Lucas met his eyes and perked up. That made it worth it for Gabe.

"Good morning, Hawkins High!" Jason greeted, speaking through the microphone that had been provided for him. He then proceeded to detach it from its stand in order to pace. "First off... hey. First off, I'd like to thank each and every one of you. Without your support, we wouldn't be here. Give yourselves a big hand."

The crowd burst into a fresh set of cheers, and Lucas continued to grin. But when his eyes darted to the rest of his friends and caught onto their listless expressions, his face began to fall. Tentatively, he raised his hand in a wave. Only Gabe returned it.

"And of course... of course, I have to give a special shout-out to the best and the prettiest fans of all time, the Tiger Cheer Squad!"

More clapping. Gabe shifted slightly in place.

"Chrissy..." Jason put a hand to his heart as he addressed his girlfriend. "Chrissy, I love you, babe."

The crowd awwed. Chrissy blew Jason a kiss. Max rolled her eyes.

Once everyone had settled down again, Jason took a step back. "You know... I think I can speak for all of us when I say it's been a tough year for Hawkins. So much loss."

A hush fell over the crowd, and Gabe chewed on his lip. As far as anyone knew, the people that had died last year—and on his birthday, too—had done so in the fire at Starcourt Mall. Just a freak accident, like the one that occurred at Hawkins Lab and killed Barbara Holland. Nothing nefarious. It was all misfortune, a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Gabe was one of the few people to know the truth. That Heather, Janet, and Tom Holloway, Bruce Lowe, Daniel Tree, Doris Driscoll, and the countless others that had perished had done so at the hands of the Mind Flayer—the lord of the Upside Down that sought total control over both worlds. All of its victims had melted into nothing but flesh, combining together to form the monster that had nearly ended the world. It had only been the combined efforts of a group of traumatized teenagers that had stopped it.

Sometimes, he felt so guilty for lying to everyone that he wanted to stand on a rooftop and shout that the deaths had been the Mind Flayer's doing. Unfortunately, even if no one believed them, just hearing the truth might put them in danger. The gate—the new gate—to the Upside Down may have been closed, but the Russians had proven that it wasn't a guarantee of safety. Someone else could crank it open again and start the entire cycle anew.

"And sometimes I wonder, 'How much loss can one community take?'" Jason continued. "In dark days like this, we need something to believe in. So, last night, when we were down by ten points at half to Christian Academy, I looked at my team, and I said, 'Think of Jack.' 'Think of Melissa.' 'Think of Heather.' 'Think of Billy.'"

Gabe's jaw dropped. Everyone's eyes darted over to Max, who clenched her jaw under the weight of all those stares. Not wanting to make her uncomfortable, Gabe turned his incredulous gaze back to Jason.

Was he serious?

"'Think about our heroic police chief, Jim Hopper'," Jason finished. "'Think about each and every one of our friends who perished in that fire. What did they die for? For us to lose to some... some crap school?'"

"Dickwad," Gabe muttered. He'd never liked Jason—he was the stereotypical asshole jock who sneered at people like Gabe—but this had to be the icing on the cake. Tying the deaths of countless people to a basketball game? Using the names of dead people, real dead people, to make some motivational speech? It was complete bullshit, even if you didn't know the full story.

The crowd didn't seem to agree with him, though. Instead, they all shook their heads, collecting shouting, "No!"

"'For us to return home with our heads hung low in defeat?'" Jason shouted.

"No!"

"'No! No. Let's win this game. Let's win this game for them'. And that's exactly what we did! We embarrassed those candy-asses in their own house, and now tonight, tonight, we're gonna bring home the championship trophy! Let's go!"

The cheers that broke out were even louder than the ones that had gone on while the cheerleaders were performing. People jumped, screamed, and waved their hand-made signs. Even the teachers applauded, nodding and wiping tears from their eyes. A few put their hands over their hearts.

Gabe must be going insane.

He leaned over to Max. "I'm so sorry," he said. "This is such bullshit."

Her eyes flashed. For a moment, Gabe thought she was going to confide in him. Then she just shrugged. "Yeah. I guess."

Mike and Dustin seemed unconcerned by the horrible speech. Instead, Mike's eyes widened. "Tonight?"

"How is that possible?" Dustin asked.

"It's called a tournament," Max explained. "If you win one game, you go on to play the next until there's only one team left."

Mike scowled. Gabe frowned.

"You guys are seriously concerned about our D&D campaign right now?"

Both Mike's and Dustin's heads swivelled over to Gabe. "Uh, yeah," Mike said. "If Lucas goes to the game, he's not going to be able to make it."

"Well, yeah, but—"

"But what? We need him!"

"Never mind," Gabe growled.

"What's up with you?" Dustin asked. "You should be worried, too. If we don't have Lucas, then we'll need to find a sub."

"It's nothing," Gabe said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Whatever. Let's just talk to Lucas, okay? Maybe we can figure something out."

His friends visibly relaxed. "Good idea," Mike said. Gabe crossed his arms.

It was now official: he hated pep rallies.

"I don't get the big deal," Lucas said, walking with Gabe, Mike, and Dustin to their next class. "Just talk to Eddie. Get him to move Hellfire to another night."

"That's an option," Gabe said. But Mike and Dustin were already shaking their heads.

"'Just talk to Eddie'," Dustin repeated, his tone implying that Lucas's suggestion was ridiculous.

"Why don't you just talk to your coach and get him to move the game?" Mike suggested.

"I think that's a great idea, Mike."

"Thank you, Dustin."

"That's not how it works," Gabe said. "I mean, I think. I don't actually know how basketball works. But I presume that it would be harder to reschedule a game, since there are so many people. I mean, it's not just our school. I doubt our opponents will be willing to change things up, especially since it's on such short notice. And most of them wouldn't take Hellfire Club as a viable excuse, anyway."

Shit. He was rambling again. Hopefully he wasn't annoying anyone.

Fortunately, Lucas actually seemed grateful. "Exactly! And this is the championship game."

"And this is the end of Eddie's campaign," Dustin argued. "A semester of adventuring has led to this moment, and we need you."

"Yeah, and the Tigers don't," Mike agreed. "You've been on the bench all year."

"That's not the point," Lucas said as they entered the school.

"Please arrive at the point," Dustin urged.

"If I get in good with these guys, I'll be in the popular crowd, and then you guys will be, too."

"Has it ever occurred to you that we don't want to be popular?" Mike snapped.

"So you wanna be stuck with the nerds and freaks for three more years?"

"We are nerds and freaks," Dustin said.

"That is kind of true," Gabe admitted.

"Yeah, but maybe it doesn't have to be," Lucas argued. "Look, I'm tired of being bullied. I'm tired of girls laughing at us. I'm tired of feeling like a loser. We came to high school wanting things to be different. Right? So, now we have that chance. I skip tonight, that's all out the window. So, I'm asking you guys, as a friend, just talk to Eddie. Get him to move Hellfire. Come to my game." He met all of their gazes. "Please."

Gabe chewed on his lip again, thinking. Eddie Munson, the DM and unofficial leader of the group, wasn't exactly the most adaptable to change—he hadn't even wanted to postpone one of their sessions when Gabe had gotten the flu back in December. He also completely hated the popular crowd and basketball. Convincing him to postpone their campaign for that wouldn't exactly be easy.

But looking into Lucas's earnest eyes, Gabe couldn't say no to at least trying.

"Sure," he said. "We'll try."

Lucas exhaled. "Thank you."

Mike and Dustin exchanged a look, yet said nothing. Gabe narrowed his eyes at them and set off for his own class.

D&D wasn't the same without Will, anyway.

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

A/N: i'm not sure how i feel about this chapter but i think it's the best i can do LMFAO. unfortunately, it seems that gabe feels like he's growing apart from his friends (except lucas. we love you, lucas) and he's just having a hard time in general. poor baby needs a hug. and perhaps his boyfriend.

he certainly doesn't need me here to make his life hell. but, uh, sorry, gabe. it's my job. i still love you, king.

anyway, we have another alina pov next chapter! i hope you're excited :)

'till next time!! <333