Work Text:
“Mr Wheeler, any hope that you’ve done the assignment this time?”
“Obviously not, Mr. Jeffries, I had to make sure to stay on brand.”
“You’re a nightmare, Michael.”
“But I’m the best kinda nightmare, because I’m funny too.” The teacher glared slightly, a glimmer of laughter in his eyes. “Come on, Adam, you gotta love me.”
“That’s Mr. Jeffries to you, Wheeler. We aren’t on a first name basis.”
“Seriously?! Not even after all these years of witty banter and heart to hearts about my education?”
“Stay back at lunch, you can bring the Byers kid if you want.”
Jeffries was the English teacher that had been stuck with Mike since freshman year, and they had a pretty good thing going. After Mike managed to get kicked out of counseling and anger management, he basically started to rely of Jeffries for that kind of thing. They had a good relationship, and Mr. Jeffries accepted payment for his lunchtime therapy sessions via Karen offering her sewing services whenever something got damaged in his house.
He knew Mike better than most people, probably better than Mike knew himself.
He knew that when Mike was angry, it took Will to calm him down. He knew that when Mike was upset, it was best to isolate him and keep from striking up a conversation. He knew that when Mike wanted to talk, you let him talk, without trying to dig too deep. In short, he knew Mike.
After the class ended, Mike sat back and pulled a notebook from his backpack, tore out the page with the assignment on it, and handed it in.
“Thanks, Wheeler. Anything you wanna talk about?”
“You decide. Just strike up a conversation.”
Jeffries pondered for a few moments, before smirking. “Dating anyone?”
Mike blushed. Jeffries knew he was gay, and knew that this unfortunate fact had left him single for years in the homophobic town of Hawkins.
“Not yet. I like a guy, and I think he might like me but… I d’know, I just don’t wanna tempt fate.”
“What’s stopping you?”
Mike paused. He wasn’t really sure. He didn’t want to lose Will, that was a fact. He didn’t wanna subject the two of them to more bullying, that was also a fact. He knew his dad was probably only okay with the gay thing up to a certain point, and actually being in a relationship with a guy would probably cross that line. But was that what was stopping him? Or was it just the idea of having to ask?
“... Fear, I guess.”
“Ah, fear. Powerful thing, that. A driving force of a lot of literary heroes’ descents. I mean, how many books have we studied where the narratives have fallen apart when the protagonists let fear stop them?”
“A lot?”
“A lot .”
“But how does that apply to me? I’m not a literary hero. I’m just Mike. Nobody’s ever going to write a novel about my failure to ask out Will Byers.” Mike stopped short when he realised he’d named his illusion crush. “ Shit! You didn’t hear that! I didn’t give a name!”
“Relax, kid. I’d already figured it was Will you meant.”
“H-how?”
“I’ve listened to your ramblings for years. You change when you talk about Will. You remind me of how I look talking about my wife.”
Mike blushed again, breaking eye contact. He was tired of the whole world telling him he was hopelessly, visibly lovesick. He was perfectly aware.
“Mike? Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell him. That’s up to you. Remember we talked about narrative structure?”
“Uh-huh?”
“Well, tell me yours. Equilibrium, disruption, quest, restored equilibrium.”
“What?”
“What’s your equilibrium?”
“Um… being friends with Will?”
“Disruption?”
“Falling for him? What, so my quest is to tell him?”
“Exactly. And the new equilibrium?”
“Will hates me and never speaks to me again, I suffer the heart wrenching pain of unrequited love until eventually it all becomes too much and I kill myself, officially dying alone.”
“Jesus, you’re a dramatic little shit aren’t you? That’s not going to happen; I’ve taught the both of you, and I can tell neither one of you would ever cut the other off. The way I see it, your new equilibrium will be one of two things- either you’ll end up dating and happy, or you’ll stay just friends and you can move past the feelings.”
Mike just shrugged a little and stared intensely at the sheet of paper on the desk in front of him. He started scribbling on the page, stressed, clearly frustrated, and Mr. Jeffries knew it was time to ease off the serious conversation.
He let Mike sit in silence for a few minutes, allowing him to calm down. He graded some papers while the teenager collected himself, ready to listen when Mike was ready to talk.
They didn’t really get the chance, as it wasn’t long before the bell rang for fifth period.
Just as Mike was leaving the room, he turned to Jeffries and smiled.
“I’ll talk to him before the year’s out. Thanks, Adam.”
“No problem, Wheeler.”