Chapter Text
Will gets upset by the secrecy pretty quickly.
He spends almost two weeks at home before his mom lets him go back to school. Mike and the rest of the party visit every day after school, but the rest of the party’s presence makes it impossible for Will to talk with Mike more.
Will had never paid so much attention to how much the party always hangs out in one big group. It’s never bothered him before, being part of a group has always made Will feel good, like he belongs somewhere even if he is different. He feels kind of bad about it, but he keeps wishing he could spend more time alone with Mike. If they were alone, would Mike hold his hand again?
Would he kiss him again?
He knows he shouldn’t have thoughts like this, but ever since Mike kissed Will in his bedroom, he hasn’t been able to feel as bad about it all as he used to. Not if Mike’s like him.
Then there’s the Snow Ball.
Will wasn’t sure how to feel about the dance. His mom was excited about it though, so he dressed up in his nicest clothes, let her show him some dance moves, and let Jonathan take videos with only minimal complaining.
He is excited about after the dance. His mom agreed to let him sleep over at Mike’s for the first time in ages. Mike had quietly told him not to mention the sleep over to Dustin or Lucas so they wouldn’t try to join, and Will’s practically giddy knowing that Mike wants to hang out, just the two of them.
When he gets to the dance, Will thinks Mike looks really nice in his sweater and jacket, but obviously Will can’t say that, so he just smiles and greets the party and doesn’t stare the way he wants to.
Max and Lucas split from the group to go dance, which isn’t surprising, even Will has noticed how much he stares at her.
Then Lane comes over and asks Will to dance. Lane is a nice girl, even if she does call him zombie boy. She’s complimented his art before, and on Halloween she told Will that she liked his costume, so she probably likes ghost busters, which is cool.
None of that really makes him want to dance with her, but Mike nudges his arm, nods at him, and Will lets himself be pulled to the dance floor.
He’s mostly focused on where it’s okay to place his hands, and on not stepping on her feet, but he keeps catching little glimpses of Mike out of the corner of his eye. He’s sitting at one of the tables, looking pretty glum, and Will lets himself wonder, for a fantastical moment, if it’s because they can’t dance together.
Then El arrives, and Mike stands up to talk to her, and then they’re dancing too.
Will focuses back on not stepping on Lane’s feet, trying not to feel crushed but kind of wanting to melt into the floor anyway.
He’s noticed Lucas and Dustin giving Mike and El looks whenever they talk with one another. Dustin had told Will last year that Mike totally liked the weird girl they found in the woods. Mike didn’t talk about her often, but Will knows he’s been missing her. They barely even know each other though.
Will shouldn’t be so sour about it, El saved his life after all (more than once), but he still feels disappointment pooling in his gut.
Despite his poor dance moves and lack of chattiness, Lane dances with him for most of the night. He thinks maybe she just doesn’t want to be left without a partner, like a few of the other kids around the gym that haven’t paired up. Will guesses he doesn’t want that either, because he doesn’t make an excuse to leave her. He thinks she might be a little disappointed that he doesn’t try to kiss her, but he seriously can’t think of anything he wants to do less. He keeps sneaking glances at Mike and El. He hasn’t seen them leaning in close like Max and Lucas have been (ew), but all night they’re dancing and laughing.
Mike looks so happy with her.
By time the dance ends Will is regretting begging his mom for the sleepover at Mike’s. He can’t back out now or everyone is going to think something’s wrong, and he doesn’t want to have to explain himself, so he says nothing and his mom drives them both to Mike’s house.
Mike is chattering about the night being surprisingly fun as he leads the way down to the basement.
“I can’t believe Hopper and Owens actually let her come!” he’s saying, “Hopefully they’re going to let her out more often, I can’t believe how crazy she must have been all year stuck in some cabin in the woods.”
“Yeah,” is the only response Will manages, setting his bag down by the couch. He really doesn’t want to talk about El.
Mike kicks his shoes off and looks at Will apologetically. “Sorry you were stuck with Lane all night.”
Will frowns, looking away, “You’re the one who wanted me to dance with her.”
“Well, I thought it would be more fun than sitting on the sidelines all night,” Mike says with a shrug.
Will should leave it be, but he feels irrationally mad, and he finds himself saying, “I’m glad you had fun with El.”
There’s a quiet pause, and Will glances up at Mike’s face. Mike is looking at him quizzically, brow furrowed, “Are you… mad at me?”
“No,” Will denies immediately, looking away again.
“Will…” Mike’s voice is cautious, and confused. Will decides he really shouldn’t have started this conversation, he doesn’t really see how it could end well for him.
“Let’s just go to sleep,” Will tries, turning towards his bag to get his pajamas.
“Wait,” Mike reaches out, and grabs his hand. Will looks down at their hands, cheeks growing hot. Mike steps close to him, looking a bit panicked, “I-I just thought… we couldn’t… it’s not like we could dance with each other Will.”
Will looks away, embarrassed, “I know.”
“I would’ve if we could, you know that right?” Mike asks, voice earnest and soft. Will feels his anger ebb, which is a relief, because he doesn’t like being mad in general, but especially at Mike.
With the anger gone though he feels vulnerable and small again. Will shrugs and keeps his eyes trained on his shoes, not willing to meet Mike’s eyes as he whispers, “I thought maybe you’d rather… dance with El. II would understand if you did.”
“I’d rather do everything with you,” Mike says. Will looks at him, doubtful.
Mike’s face turns from frustrated to stubborn determination, “Wait here a minute,” he says. Then he drops Will’s hand and rushes out of the basement.
Will takes off his shoes and sits on the couch, head in his hand, trying to tap down the apprehension building in his chest and failing.
Only a minute later Mike is hurrying back down the stairs, holding a cassette player. Will watches as he sets it on the table they play D&D on and pushes play.
Music starts to play softly, and Will realizes after a moment that he knows the song.
Highway run into the midnight sun,
Wheels go 'round and 'round, you're on my mind
Mike walks over to Will on the couch and holds out a hand, cheeks pink.
Will feels his mouth actually drop open. Mike gives him a nervous little grin, “So… do you want to dance?”
Will slowly raises his hand and places it in Mike’s, letting himself be led to the middle of the basement floor. They face each other and Will hesitantly lifts his hands and places them on Mike’s hips, like he had with Lane earlier. He immediately worries that it was the wrong move. Maybe he should have put his hands around Mike’s neck, like girls do. Mike asked him to dance, and Will’s shorter, does that matter? This is weird-
Mike places his hands on Will’s hips too, arms slotting into place over Will’s, and that’s fine, actually. It’s kind of like they’re loosely hugging each other. They start to sway back and forth, moving in a slow circle, and Will focuses on making sure he isn’t stepping on Mike’s feet. At least if he does they’re both in their socks.
Right down the line, it's been you and me
And lovin' a music man ain't always what it's supposed to be
Oh, girl, you stand by me
Once he’s pretty sure he won’t mess up the rhythm he looks back up at Mike. Mike’s gazing down at him, eyes wide and smiling bashfully. Will’s heart starts beating fast again, but he doesn’t really mind this time. He lets himself just stare back, not worrying for once about it being too much, or revealing too much.
Through space and time, always another show
Wonderin' where I am lost without you
Will becomes aware that they’re slowly drifting closer, the inches between their bodies slowly decreasing with each turn they make. He can feel Mike’s breath across his face, it smells like the punch Nancy was ladling out at the dance.
Mike starts to lean down at the same time Will tilts his head up, meeting in the middle.
I'm forever yours
Faithfully