early morning scramble

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

There were only twenty-four hours before Gabriel Burton would make his way over to Lenora Hills, California, and he hadn't even begun to pack yet. Not because he was dreading the trip—quite the opposite, actually; he hadn't been this excited about something since he'd first kissed Will. Nor was it because he'd been too busy with school to do so—despite the extraordinary amount of homework his teachers seemed to delight in giving out, he was good enough at time management that he still had a few hours to himself every day. In actuality, it was because he'd been so busy with his grandfather and little sister that caring for them took up the rest of this time.

Which was how Gabe found himself running around his room at 6:30 in the morning, throwing clothes into the suitcase laid out on his bed.

His room typically wasn't such a tornado—he usually liked to keep it rather neat, with his clothes placed neatly within their drawers, his books arranged alphabetically on his bookshelf, and his posters straight on his navy-blue walls—but today, it was the pinnacle of any high school boy's. T-shirts and shorts were strewn about on the floor, several comic books were stacked haphazardly on his nightstand, and a few of his pillows had been knocked askew. As he scrambled about, checking and double-checking to ensure he'd packed this shirt or this pair of socks, he tripped over his backpack and nearly stepped on the brown package he'd left on the floor. He only managed to avoid it by pinwheeling his arms.

A soft curse left his lips. Good job, dumbass, he mentally chided, lifting the package and setting it safely onto his bed. Of course, you'd nearly ruin Will's present. This is why you don't leave things to the last minute.

Though it hadn't exactly been his fault, Gabe should have still been more prepared. Though he was lately feeling strained—all of his responsibilities seemed to be pulling him in different directions, as if he was being stretched by one of those medieval torture devices—he still should have figured things out. Maybe if he finished that checklist Ms. Kelly kept trying to convince him to make, he would be more organized.

"Come on, Gabe," he muttered to himself, rifling through his drawers in search of his favourite button-down shirt. "You have to leave for school in ten minutes. There's no time to be losing clothes."

Fortunately, it only took him a minute before his hand found the familiar fabric. Gabe pulled the button-down shirt—the one he'd worn the day he'd met Alina—out of the drawer and folded it quickly, tossing it on top of the rapidly accumulating pile in his suitcase.

Okay, that was done. He was pretty sure he had enough shirts to last him the whole seven days he was going to spend in California—which was literally going to be a dream, because his boyfriend was going to be there. And socks. He'd already double-checked his shorts, but maybe he should triple-check them? Just to make sure he had extra. After all, you never knew when an accident would happen. It was always better to be prepared.

Before he could take his suitcase apart, though, he was interrupted by a booming voice from the kitchen. "Gabriel! Your breakfast is on the table!"

At the announcement, Gabe halted in his tracks. That was right. He still had to eat. And now there were only seven more minutes until he had to leave, and he wasn't even dressed.

His eyes flickered down to his pajamas. "Shit."

"Bad word!" Nicole cried.

Gabe whirled around.

Somehow, during the early-morning chaos, his nearly three-year-old half-sister had made her way into his room without Gabe noticing. Now, she stood by his dresser, a stuffed rabbit tucked under her arm. Her face—a miniature, female version of Gabe, if he was being honest—scrunched up, her curly brown hair escaping the bun her grandmother must have attempted to wrangle it into. She was wearing a pink dress meant to resemble a strawberry, and knee-high socks.

When Gabe met her eyes, Nicole toddled forward. "You said a bad word!" she repeated. "Bad word!"

"Yeah, I know," said Gabe, lifting her up. She giggled, kicking her little feet. "But I'm older, so it's okay."

"Granny doesn't like it."

Gabe sighed. "What are you doing here, Nicole? It's breakfast time, and I'm sure Grandma made an extra special breakfast just for you."

"I wanted to see you."

"You can see me at breakfast, Princess. Do you know what we're having today?"

Nicole beamed. "Pancakes?"

"Maybe." It was actually bacon and eggs; Gabe could smell it from here. "Why don't you go take a look, huh?"

"Okay!" Nicole said. Gabe set her down, and she took off again, leaving his room in favour of waddling to the kitchen. Once she was gone, he shut the door behind him and quickly stepped out of his pajamas. Today, he pulled on a pair of high-waisted jeans, his Hellfire Club shirt, and a blue windbreaker. Without enough time to do his hair, he styled it with his fingers, ensuring that it at least looked semi-decent. That was when his grandma called for him again.

"Gabriel! Now, please!"

"Coming!" he yelled, stepping away from the mirror and scooping up his schoolbag. Sliding it over his shoulders, Gabe pushed his way out of his room and headed down the hallway.

On the way to the kitchen, Gabe passed his grandparents' room. The door was firmly closed, and the lack of light shining through the crack at the bottom told him that his grandpa was still asleep in there. This was the new normal. Ever since he'd gotten sick, he'd been in bed far more than usual.

Gabe pressed his forehead to the polished white door, imagining his grandpa inside. Not the way he looked now—all gaunt, hollowed cheeks and half-lidded eyes—but how he'd been before, wrinkled and healthy, with a smile that warmed you from the inside-out. With his round face, patchy white hair, and slightly crooked nose, George Burton had always seemed so invincible.

That was all too ironic now.

"Sleep well, grandpa," he whispered to the closed door. "I'll see you after school."

"Gabriel!"

"Jesus Christ, I'm coming!" he called, moving away from the door to continue his journey into the kitchen. Because his grandma was so impatient, he didn't take any more detours, even though he was tempted to stop and study the old photos of his grandparents plastered onto the wall. Instead, he kept going.

When he arrived in the kitchen, he was met with the stern face of Dolores Burton, who crossed her arms, eyes narrow. She was wearing a purple bathrobe and had curlers in her short, white hair (to maintain her youthful looks, she claimed. Gabe didn't have the heart to tell her she looked exactly her age). A spatula was in one hand, and she used the other to jut an accusatory finger at him.

"There you are," she drawled. "I called for you three times, Gabriel. Three times."

"I know, grandma," Gabe responded, taking a seat at the table. Nicole was already in her high chair (she was getting a little big for it, now—soon she'd be moving onto a regular seat), playing with the eggs in her bowl. "I'm sorry. I was getting dressed."

"And yet you're wearing the shirt I've seen you in almost every day for a month," Dolores chided, ladling Gabe's bacon onto a plate. "Was it worth the extra time?"

Gabe only suppressed the urge to roll his eyes because he knew his grandma would probably kill him. "Okay, fine. I was also packing."

"You're just doing that? Your flight is tomorrow, Gabriel!"

"Look, I finished, okay? I'm all ready, now."

"Good. I'd hate for you to have to miss seeing that little boyfriend of yours."

A blush spread over Gabe's cheeks as his grandma deposited the rest of his breakfast in front of him. "Yeah. Me, too."

He still wasn't used to the fact that his grandparents knew of his sexuality. When he'd told them the truth two months ago, finally explaining why he'd been so distraught when Will had moved away, a part of him had expected them to hate him. After all, his father certainly would—he was the type to ramble that homosexuality was a choice and voice his full approval for the conversion camps that were popping up around the country—and he had to get his ideals somewhere.

But both Dolores and George Burton had been nothing but supportive. Perhaps they'd already had an idea—Gabe had never mentioned a crush before, and he already liked things boys weren't supposed to like—or maybe they'd separated the concept of queerness being some dangerous disease from their grandson. Either way, the only thing they'd done after Gabe had come out was wrap him in one of the biggest hugs he'd ever gotten.

When Joyce had invited him to spend spring break in California, they'd been the ones to encourage him to go. George, though rapidly getting sicker, had conveyed in his own minimal way that it would be a good change of scenery. Dolores had added that he'd been miserable ever since Will had left, and it would be healthy to see him again.

After that, the deal had been made. Gabe and Mike would spend the week in California—Gabe would share a room with El, while Mike would be with Will—while Alina would take Gabe's room in Hawkins. Given the very enthusiastic letter Alina had written him when he'd first proposed this arrangement, she was all for it.

"Eat up, Gabe," Dolores instructed now, pouring him a glass of orange juice. "You're a growing boy. You need your strength."

"I have to leave in four minutes, grandma," Gabe pointed out.

"Oh, shush. You're already late. There's no point in biking when I can just take you."

Gabe winced. "Are you sure that's the best idea?"

He may love his grandmother to death, but he certainly didn't trust her to drive him anywhere. Her eyesight wasn't how it used to be, and she could be a real menace on the road.

"Of course, it is. Come on, sweetheart. Finish your food. I've got two more pieces of bacon on the stove."

Gabe didn't bother arguing. Instead, he dug into his breakfast, pausing only when Nicole spilled her sippy cup all over the floor. The sight of him sopping up the milk she'd spilled was apparently hilarious to Nicole, who laughed until she cried as Gabe crawled around on all fours.

He gave her the stink-eye after that.

When he finished, Gabe used his extra time to thoroughly brush his teeth, help his grandma wash the dishes, and fix his hair. Then, he was off to school in the passenger seat of his grandma's car, praying that she wouldn't ram into any more garbage cans.

Apparently, Hawkins High was hosting a pep rally today for the basketball team. It was replacing first period this morning, which was ridiculous—no one should be expected to have any pep at 7 AM. It would be a miracle if the student body was awake enough to clap.

Sure enough, when Gabe arrived at school—miraculously uninjured; though his grandma had nearly run several red lights and drove over a curb, she hadn't managed to cause an actual car accident—his guidance counsellor was guiding everyone to the gymnasium. When Gabe slid out, grateful to still have all four limbs, she met his eyes and smiled at him.

"Gabriel! How are you doing today?"

Gabe attempted to smile back. "Do you want the casual conversation answer or the 'you're my shrink' answer?"

"An honest answer," Ms. Kelly corrected.

"I'm exhausted, then," Gabe said. "Nicole woke me up at three this morning. Then I had to wake up at six, so I didn't exactly sleep well."

"I'm sorry, Gabriel. That sounds unfortunate. At least spring break's tomorrow, though, right? Do you have any big plans?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm actually going to California."

"California! Are you visiting your friends?"

"Yeah. Mrs. Byers invited Mike and I to stay there for the week."

"Well, I hope you have a lovely time. You definitely deserve a break."

"Um, thank you."

While Ms. Kelly continued to direct the students to the gym, Gabe made his way inside, catching up with Mike and Dustin in the hallway. They were lingering by their lockers, wearing their own Hellfire Club shirts—though Dustin had paired his with a hat that had Thinking Cap scrawled on the front. Mike's expression resembled that of someone who'd just sucked on a lemon. Dustin was trying to smile.

"Hey, Gabe," he greeted.

"Hey," Mike said.

Gabe waved. "Hi, guys. Shouldn't you be heading to the gym?"

"I guess," Mike replied. "I don't know. This whole thing seems, like, super lame."

"Duh. It's a pep rally. They're for people with... I don't know, school spirit?"

"I actually think it's an excuse for horny teenagers to ogle at the cheerleaders," Dustin corrected. "I mean, have you seen how short they make their skirts?"

Gabe hadn't noticed. "Uh, yes?"

"Fortunately, you have a girlfriend," Mike said. Dustin sighed dreamily.

"That I do."

Gabe opened his locker and deposited his backpack inside. Once he was ready, he let the door swing shut and redid the lock before turning to his friends. "All right. Should we get this over with?"

"I guess," Mike sighed. "Let's go."

The three of them headed off, filing their way into the gym after a crowd of others. It was just them—Max wasn't here yet, and Lucas was with the basketball team. Even though he was only a benchwarmer, he took the whole thing very seriously—probably to try and get in with that crowd. Though Gabe didn't blame him for that—anything was better than being one of the resident freaks of the school—it was moments like these where he missed him. And Will and Alina, of course.

He took a seat on the bleachers with his friends, then pillowed his head in his hands as the music began to play. It was far too early in the morning for this.

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

A/N: IT'S GABE!! HE'S BACK!!!! and he's as gay as ever!!!!!!

unfortunately, while we should all be happy that he is back, here's a warning: i am going to be VERY mean to him in this book. i've already explored alina's mental health a bunch, and since gabe has his own plotline here, i thought it would be the perfect opportunity to give him his own chance to shine. even if that means that he goes through a shitstorm :(((

happy... happy pride month???

seriously, though, i hope you enjoyed this chapter! the next one will also be gabe-centric, since the pep rally scene comes before the infamous presentation scene in california. i promise, though, we're going back to alina next!!

'till next time :))))