*lunch time*

"Oh my god!" Frankie exclaims, nearly falling out of her swing.

Will nods his head a little at her, awkwardly scratching the side of his head.

Frankie, noticing his slightly awkward exterior, lowers her tone of voice. "They had a funeral and everything?" She asks softly, hoping not to push any unspoken boundaries.

"Yeah," Will confirms, "it was a weird time for Hawkins."

Frankie nods her head and glances towards the boy.

During recess today, Will talked about how he got "lost in the woods". Something about the story just didn't seem like the truth to her though. Even in her short time, she could tell when Will is lying. He's been leaving his normal routine to come swing with her for a month now.

He's running out of excuses to feed Mike.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay now– really glad," Frankie hums, causing Will to smile widely. "Hey, I know it's weird– but where do you live?" Will asks, changing the morbid topic to something a little lighter.

"Oh, uh– I live in a cabin all the way down Lover's Lane," Frankie responds, "why do you ask?"

"Well, maybe– if my mom lets me– maybe, we could hang out outside of school. I-I mean, if you to! You don't have to– j-just an idea—"
The boy begins to stumble over his words and turn a light shade of pink.

"Yeah! Sure. I'd like that," Frankie smiles, Will stops his stuttering and looks up the girl with a grin.

"It's Friday, after all," she adds.

"I'll really beg her," he says, "she's kind of protective after the whole disappearance thing."

"I imagine so," Frankie chuckles, "if it helps, you could leave the fact that I'm a girl out. Most girls are horrible– I wouldn't blame your mom if she didn't let you hang out with me for the simple fact that I'm a girl! I mean, truly, they're terrible."

Will laughs a little at her seriousness over the matter.

"Yeah, but you're different," he reminds smiling gently at her.

Frankie blushes and grins at Will.

"Come on," she says while standing up from her swing, "let's get to class."

Will stands up and follows the girl out of the hidden lot and back across the street to the school.

-

"You staying for AV club today?" Mike questions as Will shuts his locker. Will jumps a little at the sudden question, but quickly covers it up.

"No, Me and Jonathan made plans," he lies. Mike nods his head, "cool, you'll be here Monday though right?"

"Yeah! Of course," he promises, closing his locker and offering Mike a reassuring smile. Mike grins back before turning and walking away brown the hall. Will lets out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding in.

"Hey!" Frankie chimes, popping up behind the boy. He jumps and quickly turns to face her.

"Jesus," he breathes, "you scared the crap out of me!"

Frankie laughs as Will places a hand over his rushing heart and shoots her a playful glare. Quickly, the girl takes his hand and rushes down the hallway.

Frankie's held his hand before, platonically. But something about this felt different. Will shrugs it off.

"Did you ask your mom if you could hang out with me?" She hums.

"Not yet, but she's probably waiting to pick me up. I'll ask her now," he explains. Frankie nods and swings their hands around a bit as they walk. Once they exit the school, she lets go of his hand.

"You know, you're weirdly touchy for a girl who doesn't like to be touched," Will laughs.

Frankie shrugs.

"How many hands have you held?" He teasingly asks as they walk towards the parking lot.

"Only your's, Byers."

Will blushes and grins at her before walking towards a vehicle. Only it isn't his mom's, it's his brother's. She remembers Will mentioning his name was "Jonathan".

She decides to watch from afar, and wait to see what his brother tells him.

As she watches Will exchange a few words with his older brother, she thinks about what she plans to tell Steve. Jonathan glances towards Frankie, resulting in her blushing. Just as his eyes meet hers, a loud honk causes both of them to jump.

Frankie turns around to see Steve's car parked about a foot behind her.

She shoots him a glare, to which Steve laughs at. Rolling her eyes, she walks towards his window. Steve gives her a confused look.

"I have to wait for my friend, he's gonna come to my house to hang out—"

"Alone?!" Steve scoffs, "hell no. Your parents aren't ever there to supervise you, and I'm not letting you—"

"You aren't my dad, Steve! And it'll be fine– plus, I don't even know if he's allowed yet. He's asking his brother," she huffs. Steve sighs defeatedly before allowing his eyes to scan around.

His eyes meet Jonathan's surprised ones.

"Oh shit," he mutters, causing Frankie to raise an eyebrow.

Meanwhile, Jonathan is looking back down at Will's pleading expression with a disapproving look. "Will, you know mom will kill me if I let you go over there. Plus, is that Steve Harrington?..."

"Please! I promise it's safe," Will begs, "and yeah– she's with him a lot. I don't know if they're related, but I know he gives her rides a lot."

Jonathan seems to hesitate.

"Fine. What am I supposed to tell mom?" He mutters, giving in. Will smiles largely and tackles his brother in a small hug.
"Thank you thank you thank you!! J-Just tell her that I had AV club!" He cheers, quickly tossing his backpack into Jonathan's car and beginning to walk back towards Frankie.

"Be home by 10pm, at least!" Jonathan calls, to which Will simply waves back.

Jonathan chuckles at his excitement and nervously watches him walk to Steve's car. Steve waves slightly, and Jonathan does too. He then climbs back into his car and drives off.

As Will walks up, Steve and Frankie seem to be at each other's throats.

They stop arguing as soon as he comes into hearing distance though.

"Hey, Will," Steve greets with a smile. Will responds with a quiet, "hey", and awkward smile.

"Come on," Frankie says, pulling on the small boy's hand. Will follows her lead and climbs into the back seat. Steve raises his eyebrow.

Why did she get in the back with him? She always sits in the front?

He decides not to question it and begins to drive towards Frankie's house.

"I'm staying with you guys," Steve states. Frankie sighs loudly and leans back into her seat. Will quietly watches as they begin to bicker.

"Why are you like this?"

"Like what? Caring?"

"No! Annoying– and over protective! You don't trust me and—"

"It's not about trust! It's about parenting–"

"You aren't my parent, Steve!"

"Well, I'm pretty damn close! I can't let you two stay alone. Not with everything that's happened– no offense, Will–"

"Ugh! You're so, so— ugh! I hate you!" Frankie growls.

"Yeah, well I love you," Steve yells back. The car goes silent, and Frankie's eyes widen. Will awkwardly looks between the two, playing with his hands.

Steve turns a slight shade of red at his words. He never takes it back though.

Each car ride they took, he felt a little closer to her. A little more protective. Like she was the little sister he never got. Within the span of a month, he knew he would never want anything to hurt her.

Sure, they argue a lot. Sure, she's an annoying brat sometimes. Yet, he cares about her safety more than his own. He's even come to rely on her.

Even Nancy noticed his strange behavior.

Frankie's face breaks into a small smile as her house comes into view.

"I love you too, you loser," she finally replies. Steve cracks a small smile. Will is sitting there extremely confused. They were just fighting?

Classic siblings.