Interlude Will

It was Will's first commission. Commission. He liked that word. It sounded so mature.

Will enjoyed painting very much. The thought that someone liked his painting enough to give him actual money for it gave him hope for the future. He could become a professional painter.

Well, it was too early to think about his future job. He had yet to begin high school.

And it wasn't as if he would earn much money. He knew that high school metal bands didn't have much money to spare.

He knew he needed to take this seriously.

And do something nice for Jonathan. It was thanks to his brother that he got this commission. Commission. He really liked that word.

But his big brother did more than just find him this work. Jonathan had taken photos of all the members of the band.

It would have been easier to try to draw them in person, but photos were more convenient for Will. The photos didn't fidget, need to go to the bathroom or get bored.

He had struggled to keep Mike, his best friend, still while drawing him. He wasn't confident he could handle the task of managing four older boys.

Will concentrated, trying to capture the essence of truth from the photographs.

It was harder doing it through pictures, but Will could do it with some effort. But he also needed to see more. Will had learned that most people don't like when their hidden truths were shown in their faces. He needed to show it in the right way.

First, the bassist.

Turn shame into pride. Will drew him as a gluttony demon. Rather than hiding the older boy's fatness, Will exaggerated it, yet made it appealing.

Second, the drummer.

An inner war between courage and cowardice. A dark knight, heavily armored. Two heavy maces, smashing the drum made of human bone and human skin.

Third, the one who played the electric guitar.

Loyalty. Something he was proud of in himself, something that he treasured in others. A sorcerer. A maker of dark pacts.

And last but not least, the leader and vocalist.

Rebellion. A fallen angel, defiance sung to heaven

"Will? Will!" Being interrupted when he was focused on drawing was like being jarred from a pleasant dream. Except when it was Mike. But this was not Mike. It was Lucas, Dustin, and the new girl.

Max. MADMAX. Runaway Max.

It almost seemed to whisper to him. But Will did not blurt it out. He had learned that lesson.

"What?" he asked, a bit irritated. "What do you want?"

"So, this is the zombie boy?" the new girl, Max, said.

Will was not particularly bothered by it. Perhaps if he was still pretending to be normal and trying to fit in, he would be hurt by it. But being special was liberating. And talking with El helped. She had a unique perspective.

"Zombie?" Lucas asked, "I thought it was a witch."

Rumors were ridiculous, but the truth was even more unbelievable.

"No, it was a robot," Dustin said.

"Obviously, I am a witch-robot-zombie," Will snarked. He had learned that by watching Dr. Hutter. He was so cool. And he always had such delicious snacks to share. "I tried to be a ninja-pirate-robot-zombie, but Hawkins is landlocked, and I failed the ninja entrance exam, so I turned to witchcraft."

"You're funny," Max said.

"It's graveyard humor," Will dryly replied. He decided, maybe the new girl wasn't so bad.

"We invited Max to join us trick-or-treating," Lucas said, , his eyes shifting between Will and Max, gauging their reactions.

"Mike won't like it," Will replied. "He hates it when things don't go as he plans. Remember the fuss he raised when he and I got free costumes."

"I didn't say yes," Max said.

"I'm so jealous," Dustin added, ignoring Max's refusal. "Free costumes from the Hero Forged in Cursed Flame Volume One: Night of the Worm. I wish I got it."

"Mike had us all set to go as Ghostbusters," Will said, shaking his head. "He didn't take well to the change."

"Man, I really want to read it, but I'm worried my mom won't let me buy it," Dustin said, his face falling a bit as he looked expectantly at Will.

Will sighed, "I'll see if Jonathan can get it. There might be an employee discount."

Lucas added, "It must be nice having an older brother. So much better than a little sister."

"Jonathan is your brother? I think your brother beat mine. And it's so weird to be on the other side of that conversation," Max chimed in, a small, amused smile playing on her lips.

Will was not surprised. Earlier, he would have been. But ever since Jonathan got that intern position at Aperture Science, he had to go through a mandatory self-defense course.

As his big brother read him from the employee handbook he received with the job, "All employees must be able to defend themselves in case of a containment breach, otherworldly invasion, robot uprising, or attempted kidnapping by foreign agents or business rivals, like Black Mesa."

Jonathan wasn't really reading to Will, more so reading aloud to memorize it. But Will paid attention. That could be surprisingly funny.

And he was curious. Both Mom and big brother worked for Aperture Science. It was a bit of a glimpse into their lives. 

"Why did they fight?" Lucas asked, leaning forward with furrowed brows, clearly intrigued by the gossip.

"Apparently, Billy beat up his boyfriend first," Max simply said.

"Jonathan is not dating Steve," Will said, his tone firm, showing a hint of annoyance. It was funny at first, but now it was just getting irritating. He was regretting a bit laughing about the picture incident.

"Are you sure?" Max asked, an eyebrow quirked in skepticism.

"Yes," Will said.

He was sure. It was not like Jonathan would hide it from him. Even if they had some strange conversations lately about how it was okay for boys to like other boys and how one should accept both oneself and others as they are. No, even if his brother didn't tell him something like that, he would know. Besides, Steve was dating Nancy. He didn't think his brother would cheat. "I would know."

Will's lips parted into a content smile. He could feel Mike approaching. He must have finished talking to El. He could always feel Mike approaching. It was like a nice warm sun was rising somewhere other than the east.

"El has an older sister!" Mike exclaimed as he approached, "Who's she?" He pointed rudely at Max.

"Who's El?" Max retorted sharply, her eyes narrowing slightly at Mike.