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Typically, whenever Will and Mike had sleepovers, they would stay in the basement, putting sleeping bags on the floor or curling up on the couch. In the winter though, the basement had an awful draft, the windows not insulated properly and the cold air making the basement unbearable. Mike thought sharing his room would be more comfortable than shivering in the damp basement.
“Here, I’ll take your stuff.” Mike said, trying to take Will’s backpack as he walked in the door; Mike always saw Jonathan take Nancy’s bag, and she always let him have it with a gracious smile, gently touching his arm. Will held the straps stiffly.
“I can do it.” He laughed, looking at Mike with furrowed eyebrows. “But thank you.” Will touched Mike’s arm anyway, his smile different from Nancy’s– it was brighter, Will glowing as Mike stood beside him, staying under his fingertips. Mike usually stepped away, looking around to see who must’ve spotted them, but he couldn’t help but stupidly grin back.
“Here, let’s put your stuff upstairs.” Mike nodded towards the stairs. He took Will’s hand and pulled him along.
“Upstairs? What’s wrong with the basement?” He asked, trying to keep up as Mike accidentally started taking two steps at a time.
“We’re always cold down there.” Mike said as he reached his bedroom door. “I figured this would be better.”
“Oh, okay.” Will said softly, following Mike in. He shouldered his bag off and placed it by the door. “Did you clean your room?” Will looked around the room and seemed to be searching for Mike’s typical pile of Star Wars models and toys in various spots of his room.
“I did, yeah.” Mike said, trying to shrug it off. “So what?”
“You don’t have to do that.” Will said, still smiling at Mike. Mike felt so foolish being rendered so useless by him, only able to smile back in response. Mike was so new to having someone like him back, even the simplest things he had done a thousand times became foreign and nerve wracking.
“I don’t know… Aren’t you supposed to clean up for b–b–boy… best friends?” Mike sputtered, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t know.”
“I don’t know either.” Will shrugged. “But, let’s just say that for you and me, you don’t have to do anything different. I like the Mike that never gets an allowance because his room is always a mess.”
“You should convince my mom to like that Mike too.” Mike said, rolling his eyes. Will’s grin returned as he sat on the edge of Mike’s bed, giggling. Mike sat down next to him, slowly letting his hands rest by his sides. His pinky finger rested over Will’s carefully. Will looked up at Mike quickly, their conversation dropping off in order to be as secretive as possible.
“Michael! Your mother wants you to help her downstairs!” Mike’s dad was at the bottom of the stairs, the voice far enough away to keep their hands touching.
“Coming in just a second!” Mike called back.
Mike was scared to touch Will’s hand, but was also scared to pull away. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do. He liked holding Will’s hand, but they weren’t in the basement or sitting at lunch, their hands always tucked under the table. Staring at their hands as they slowly intertwined was something new, something that made Mike’s stomach twist in a much different way. He couldn’t help but start laughing. Will’s hands were cold and his touch was so gentle, it nearly sent a tickling shiver up Mike’s arm.
“Your hands are freezing.” Mike noted, half worried. “Do you need a pair of my gloves?”
“It’s fine.” Will said, shaking his head. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?” Mike asked. He placed his other hand on top of Will’s, holding them tightly. “I know you hate being cold–”
“I’m fine.” Will muttered, looking down at their hands tangled together. “But thank you.”
“I–I’m sorry. Am I being too weird? I just–”
“Mike.” Will looked at him with another bright grin. His eye were wide, looking at Mike with an amazed amusement. Will’s eyes searched over his face and Mike’s gaze nervously dipped away as he felt embarrassed by how he was staring blankly back, still shocked by how he had gotten to be there.
How did he ever get the knot of words to untangle and successfully reach Will? How did he manage to gather the courage to sit down across from Will during recess, hands trembling and words stumbling from his lips? He was lucky Will had practically the same words prepared, the two of them speaking over each other but sharing the same hidden feelings. Mike wasn’t sure when everything suddenly changed, but he never wanted to question it. Before he could spoil the moment, Mike leaned forward to kiss Will quickly, both of them still made to feel overwhelmingly embarrassed by the idea and the feeling.
“Michael.” Mike jumped at the voice speaking at his door. He pushed himself back, untangling his hands from Will’s and tucking them under his legs. He looked down at his shoes, but he knew of the other set of eyes staring at him, trying to piece together the secret he stumbled in on. “What are you two boys doing up here?”
“Uh, we were just, um, just,” Mike sputtered, trying to scramble for a lie without spilling his guts. Will stared ahead, face pale and body frozen.
“Will, I think you should leave.” Mike’s father said. “I’ll call your mother.”
“No! Please!” Mike cried, waving his hand out. “Dad, come on. What are you talking about?” Mike deciding playing dumb was his best option.
“We have rules in this house.” He said, turning to walk away. Mike didn’t know where he was going; the phone, to his mother, to the front door to push Will out. He didn’t even have the respect for Mike to argue with him. “Will, come downstairs.”
“Dad, wait!” Mike jumped to his feet and grabbed his arm. “Dad, come on.”
“I won’t have that in my house. We are normal Americans in this house– not deviants.” He said, his words falling flatly at Mike’s feet as if they were fact; no energy was worth the effort to yell at Mike. He wasn’t worth the trouble. “Will.” He said again. “Get up and grab your things.”
“Y–You can’t kick him out.” Mike said, stepping in front of Will. “I–I won’t let you.”
“I don’t remember when I gave you the authority to make decisions in this house.” Mike’s father stepped back in Mike’s room, eyes narrowing as Mike lifted his chin higher. “I am your father and I–”
“What’s going on in here?” Nancy was walking past Mike’s room, purse over her shoulder and with somewhere else to be. She hovered, her footsteps hesitant to carry her forward. “Is everything okay?”
“We’re fine, Nancy. This doesn’t concern you. This is between the Wheeler men.” He said, waving her off. Nancy planted her feet on the ground and dropped her purse on the ground; she wasn’t going anywhere.
“What’s going on? What’s Will doing?” She pushed past their dad, touching Mike’s shoulder before going to comfort Will– something Mike wasn’t able to do. His eyes didn’t deter from the wall, barely acknowledging Nancy if it wasn’t for the hand that frantically reached out for hers. “Hey, what’s wrong, Will?”
“I want to go home.” He muttered. Mike tried to keep his chin high and eyes fixed on his father’s in their stare down, but hearing Will almost too weak to speak almost broke Mike. Mike had only met Will’s dad a handful of times, and every time Will went through a checklist to make sure it was safe to talk to him. And now Mike put him in a position to have his own father talking down to him. Mike not only ruined their sleepover, he was going to make Will cry.
“I’ll drive you home, Will.” Nancy said quietly. “What happened? Didn’t you just get here?” She was holding Will’s hand tightly and holding his head against her chest, his shoulders already beginning to shake with silent sobs. Everyone but Nancy was afraid to break the tense silence. Mike was scared to say much of anything while his father seemed to be afraid of what he would say if he did speak. “Why won’t someone answer me!”
“I’m gay, Nancy.” Mike said, the breath slipping out from his lips and making his whole body feel like it was collapsing in on itself. He clenched his jaw but lowered his gaze back to his feet.
“What?” She said. She reached forward and grabbed Mike’s arm. “Is that what this is about?”
“Nancy, this doesn’t concern you!”
“Doesn’t concern me! You’re yelling at my brother and making his friend cry!” Nancy shouted. “Leave them alone, Dad.”
“Nancy, Mike needs to learn that–”
“Grab your stuff boys. Mike, you’re sleeping over at Will’s tonight. Come on.” She said, grabbing both their hands and standing. “I’ll drive you.”
“Don’t you dare take that boy anywhere.” Their father said sternly, pointing at the bed, wanting Nancy to sit back down.
“Hey, Will, is Chief Hopper home with your mom? Huh? Do you think he could come pick you up instead of your mom?” Nancy asked quietly, crouching to speak to Will. Will sniffled shortly in response, still voiceless and stiff. “Yeah, I think Hopper would love to come get them.” Nancy agreed looking back at her father.
“You can’t call the police, Nancy.” Their father said sternly, thinking he had defeated her in conversation with a flat expression and de facto tone of voice.
“I’m not calling the police, but a cop will kick your ass.” Nancy replied evenly. “Come on, boys.”
Mike and Will followed after Nancy, brushing past Mike’s father and going back downstairs. Nancy quickly released Mike’s hand to grab her purse, and motioning for Will to grab his own, before gripping Mike’s hand tightly in her own again and leading him forward. Although her threat about calling Hopper was real, Nancy ushered both boys outside and towards the car without hesitation. She unlocked the doors and helped get them in the back before climbing in the front and turning the engine over. She pulled out of the driveway as their father emerged in the doorway; he wouldn’t make a scene and chase them from the driveway.
“Is everyone okay?” She asked, looking at Mike through her rear view mirror.
“I’m okay.” Mike said. He turned to look at Will, hugging his bag to his chest with his eyes closed and lips twitching in a quiet prayer. “Will? A–Are you okay?” Mike moved over in his seat to be able to press against Will’s side, reminding him even with his eyes closed that he wasn’t alone in the car. “Will?” He placed a hand over Will’s carefully, startled as Will reached out and gripped it tightly, pulling his whole arm against him.
“Will, you’re okay. Nothing is going to happen to you.” Nancy assured him from the front seat. “I’m driving you home and we’ll talk to your mom and Jonathan and you’ll be okay.”
“You’re okay, Will.” Mike said again softly. “We’re okay.”
“I shouldn’t have let you do that.” Will muttered. “I knew it was stupid–”
“It’s not our fault, Will.” Mike hushed Will, placing an arm around his shoulders. “We weren’t doing anything wrong.”
“I don’t understand!” Will sniffled, wiping his nose with his sleeve. Mike began rubbing circles on Will’s arm, trying to comfort his bloodshot red eyes and running nose. “Does this mean I’m not allowed to be your friend anymore?”
“No no no no.” Mike cried. “You’re always going to be my friend. My best friend.” Mike squeezed Will’s hand and pulled him closer into his side, trying to keep him from shaking. “My boyfriend.”