Chapter Text
“You know all the words to ‘Just Like Heaven’, and I know why he wrote them now that you’re standing right here.” - Olivia Rodrigo (Drop Dead)
Tuesday, August 30th, 1988
The heat, Will had found, was one of the largest adjustments to Southern California so far. The aridness did not rest as heavily as the humidity of Indiana did.
The creaky glass doors of Mervyn’s slid open, the AC pulling a sigh of relief from both Jane and Will.
“It's so hot today,” Jane said, fanning herself with her hand.
“It's hot every day,” Will corrected, too focused on cooling down to laugh as he usually would have. The store was crowded, as he expected, the week before most schools in the area started. Their own high school, where they had recently enrolled, started in less than a week.
Jane and Will ventured up and down the aisles in search of the “Back To School” department. The maze of clothing and toys made their heads spin.
After a search that felt entirely too long, Will spotted the “Back To School” sign. He led Jane in that direction. The aisle was lined with brightly colored notebooks and folders, and their shoes squeaked against the gray floor as they walked. The two of them stopped in front of a row of shelves containing various notebooks and folders.
As he looked around, he noticed large yellow discount signs advertised 25 and 50 % discounts on items that weren't selling. Will couldn’t blame anyone for not buying them; the patterns were atrocious.
“Wait!” Jane said, stopping in her tracks. She looked back from where she stood in front of him, a look of exasperation etched into her face. Will just stared at her, confused. “We need a cart,” she said, and took off for the front of the store before he could get a word in.
Will watched her disappear behind a corner, suddenly feeling exceedingly awkward just standing there, even though no one was around to see him. He pulled a folded-up piece of paper from his pocket, looking over the school supply list he wrote for himself and Jane.
He began walking toward the end of the aisle, eyes locked onto the list in his hands. He didn’t look up as he walked, causing him to walk right into someone who had just rounded the corner.
He stumbled backwards in surprise, nearly falling before he grabbed the shelf next to him to steady himself. He heard something clatter to the ground as he stumbled, and before thinking he immediately bent down to pick it up. The source of the sound was a Walkman, still turned on.
“Oh my god, I’m sorry. I-” He said, his words dying in his throat as soon as he saw who he ran into.
Mike.
Standing right in front of him, with a look that was either concerned or embarrassed, was the boy he had met at the roller rink. He cleared his throat, looking back down at the Walkman in a feeble attempt to avoid making eye contact with him.
“Oh, no, I wasn’t looking. It’s my fault”. He said as he held his hand out to help Will up. His hand felt soft against Will's skin, but he forced that thought away, scolding himself into focusing. A look of recognition passed over Mike’s face, a smile overtaking the apologetic expression he had just been wearing.
“Hey, you were at the roller rink on Saturday, right?” He asked, still not letting go of Will’s hand. Will’s eyebrows raised in surprise.
“Yeah, uh, I was,” he said.
“Cool” was all Mike said before his eyes trailed down to their hands that were very much still clasped together. He immediately dropped Will’s hand, face turned away as his cheeks gained color. “Um—”
“You listen to The Cure?” Will interupted.
“Huh?”
“The cassette,” Will said, holding up the Walkman.
“Oh!” Mike said, eyes lighting up. “Yeah! I have all their albums. I, um, I love collecting music,” he said bashfully. Will wanted to mention how that was his favorite band, how he also had all their albums. But Will just smiled to himself as he handed Mike his Walkman back. Mike’s eyes lingered on his own. Will cursed himself for the way his focus lingered on the subtle brush of their fingers as Mike took the device.
“Uh, I should…” Mike said, pointing his thumb behind himself.
“Yeah, of course. Bye,” Will said as Mike turned back in the direction he had come from. Will leaned his back against the shelves, letting out a deep breath in hopes of steeling himself. He wasn’t given much time before Jane came down the aisle with a squeaky shopping cart in hand.
“Are you…ok? You look flustered,” she asked.
“Is it bad?” Will asked, bringing the back of his hand against his cheek. His skin was warm.
“No, don’t worry,” she said, then paused and narrowed her eyes at Will. “So, what happened?” Will opened his mouth to answer, but before he could get a word out, an embarrassed-looking Mike rounded the corner again. Will’s eyes widened slightly, causing Jane to look over her shoulder.
“Uh, I was just—I meant to go that way,” He muttered, pointing forward down the aisle. Will bit his lip, trying hard to hold back the embarrassingly endeared laugh that threatened to escape.
Mike brushed by Will and Jane, eyes trained on the ground. Will’s eyes track Mike as he walks down the aisle. However, Jane keeps her eyes trained on Will’s face.
“Is it right for me to assume that that is in fact what happened?”
Will didn’t have words for her; he just nodded his head, cheeks flaming.