My love- Byler

Seventeen- The Letter

MIKE
Like every year, I was up at 6 am, in the kitchen, eating breakfast. It has been a rough couple of days for Will, but I'm glad I'm here to help him.
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At 8 am, I heard the doorbell so I rushed to the front door.

"Merry Christmas Mike!" The party said smiling. Each member of the party had a massive bag of gifts. As they put the gifts under the tree, I heard the doorbell again, so I answered the door.

"Merry Christmas Mike," Hopper said as he walked in. Like the party, he also had a massive bag full of gifts. He put them under the tree, before going to get some coffee.

"So, is Will up yet?" Max asked.

"Uh..no. He was crying all night and I wanted to let him sleep. He'll wake up when he wants." I said smiling. 5 minutes later, Jonathan came out looking so cheerful it seemed like he was possessed.

WILL
I opened my eyes to notice that Mike wasn't in bed. I looked at the clock next to me. 8:50 am. Great. I rolled my eyes as I got out of bed. As I made my way to the living room, I could hear people talking, so I assumed that the party was here...and I was right.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS WILL!" Everyone in the living room shouted. I smiled as I sat next to Mike on the couch.
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After 2 hours, we had finally gotten through all of the gifts, except for one.

"Hopper...these gifts...are for you. From my mom..." I said handing him a small bag. He opened it.

The first gift he pulled out was a book, on how to raise teenage boys. He was a little confused. The second gift was a t-shirt saying BEST DAD EVER. That confused him.

"Wait..." Hopper looked at me and Jonathan.

He pulled out the third and final gift. It was two adoption papers.

"There's one more thing..." Jonathan said as he grabbed a letter off the shelf. Jonathan handed Hopper the letter, begging him to open it.

"Read it for us!" Dustin said loudly.

"No," Hopper said. He took me and Jonathan into the other room and cleared his throat.

"Dear Jim,

If you're reading this, I'm no longer with you.

You have been nothing but trusting and kind toward me. You helped me find Will when he went missing. You helped me with the death of Bob. You treated me like we were married.

Somehow, I knew that I wouldn't be with you, so I wrote this letter to you. In the bag are two adoption papers. One is for Jonathan and one is for Will. Since Lonnie is back in Indianapolis with his current girlfriend, and Bob...like me is no longer alive, I decided that you were the only man who I could trust to continue raising my two boys.

I know that it may seem sudden, but you have known me since high school, and you have known the boys since they were born. That's why I feel like I can trust you to take care of them.

Congratulations Hopper...you are now the proud adoptive father of Will and Jonathan. I trust that they will behave and treat you with respect, kindness, and trust like they treated me.

Love from your (almost) girlfriend,

-Joyce."

By the end of the letter, Jonathan and I looked up to see Hopper crying his eyes out. We both stood up and hugged him.

"It's ok. Dad." I said with a smile. Hopper looked up at me and smiled at me while still hugging me.

We all walked back into the other room.

"So?! What did the letter say." Lucas and Max asked.

"Hopper is now our dad..." I said looking at Hopper then Jonathan.

Mike smiled at me and the rest of the party smiled, giving me hugs.

"Merry Christmas you guys," I said.

"Wait...did the letter says if you would take his last name?" Dustin asked.

I looked over at Hopper as he read the note.

"P.S. To make us both happy, I have put on the adoption papers, Will Hopper-Byers and Jonathan Hopper-Byers. The boys can choose which last name they want." Hopper finished.

"If it's ok with you, I'd like my last name to stay Byers...in honor of my mom," I said.

"Same with me," Jonathan spoke up.

The party, Jonathan, Hopper and I spent the rest of Christmas Day eating, playing with our presents and enjoying each other's company.