Ava & Lucas at the bonfire
Lucas had already been at the bonfire for a while now. It was actually nice getting to hang out with his friends, talk to different people, pretend for a few hours that things were normal. Still, he hadn’t missed the fact that weird stuff was totally brewing again. But before he could spiral about that, a couple of guys from the basketball team dragged him off to the side. Apparently they’d managed to get their hands on a decent amount of alcohol and it was “team only.” Lucas vividly remembered completely wiping out after the championship final. Since then, alcohol had been very much not his thing. But after everything that had happened, he was kind of relieved to at least halfway feel like he belonged on the team again. And he didn’t want to be the only "uncool" one either. So he let them talk him into a few drinks...
And now he was maybe a little tipsy. Even though he was pretty sure he was still the most sober one there. The other guys were getting louder and dumber by the second, daring each other to do increasingly stupid stuff. This would be the perfect moment for Lucas to disappear. To go find his real friends. He’d much rather be over with Dustin, Will, and Mike right now. But before he could even think of an excuse, one of his teammates grabbed him in a half-headlock hug.
“Sinclair! Your turn, man! You see that cute new cheerleader over there? Standing all alone? She’s hot—go keep her company!” The guy clapped Lucas on the back while the others whooped and made exaggerated hype noises. Lucas’ eyes went wide and he shook his head immediately. This “new cheerleader” wasn’t just some random girl. She was Will’s sister. And beyond that? Lucas had zero interest in flirting with anyone. Like he didn’t already have enough problems...
“Don’t be a wimp, Sinclair!” one of them called. “What, you scared?” another added. “We’ve literally never seen you talk to a girl. You’re way too shy, man! C’mon, you’re a Hawkins Tiger. Girls would be all over you if you wanted!”, they all teased and pushed him. Lucas blinked, feeling slightly dizzy now—and not just from the alcohol. What was he supposed to do? He didn’t want to do this. Not even a little. But he also didn’t have the guts right now to flat-out refuse and get branded a coward in front of everyone.
“Go on, man. Bring her a drink,” someone said, shoving two cups into his hands. And just like that, a few seconds later, Lucas found himself standing in front of Avery Byers. His heart was pounding. Not because he wanted to be here, but because he knew the guys were watching and because he was absolutely terrified of humiliating himself. “Hey…” he said, voice a little unsteady, offering Avery an awkward, uncertain smile. “I, uh… saw you standing here all by yourself. Did you maybe wanna… grab a drink with me?” He quickly held one of the cups out to her, trying his best to shot her his nicest smile and not to look like he was internally panicking. Maybe if the guys saw her talk to him for some time and take the drink, that’d be enough. And then he could get out of here. /@avabyers-ste
