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The summer of 1988 was different from most of Will Byers’ summers when he was growing up. For years it had felt like the walls of Hawkins, Indiana were closing in on him, strangling him. He loved his hometown, of course, but there was something about the way the whole town spread rumors and gossiped that made him feel like an outsider. The way people treated him had never been the same since the “zombie boy” incident, but that wasn’t the only thing they teased him for now.
This summer, though, was different. Maybe it was the way the Wheeler’s brand new boat made him feel so free when he was out on the water, or maybe it was how Elton John, legendary musician, had come out as definitively gay in Rolling Stone magazine that year, but something had changed. Will felt happier with himself. He didn’t brush his teeth and floss without looking in the mirror just to avoid his appearance anymore. He spent quite a long time in the morning admiring how he looked, now. His heart didn’t hammer in his chest when he heard the word “gay” anymore. He knew that’s what he was, but he also knew it wasn’t a bad thing. He hadn’t come out to anyone yet- this was Hawkins, Indiana after all- but he wasn’t running away from anything anymore. It was nice, for a change, that he felt at peace in his own body.
“You’re pretty quiet back there, buddy!” Dustin yelled over the roaring sound of the water, looking back at Will over the edge of his sunglasses. Will rolled his eyes. He had made a habit of calling everyone “buddy” lately, god knows why. He had also made a habit of calling himself “The Captain” because he was the only one brave enough to drive the Wheeler’s boat.
“Could you please pay attention to where you’re going when you’re driving?” Mike whined. “I really don’t need to be murdered by my parents before I graduate.”
“I’m paying attention! I just wa-”
“Look! You’re doing it again!”
“Ladies!” Max interrupted, coming up from the little dining area down inside the boat. “Please, stop fighting.”
Eleven followed close behind her, giggling at the comment. She held two cans of Mr. Pibb in her hands, extending one out to Will. He bravely stood up, holding onto anything he could find for balance, and grabbed the can from her, plopping down on the leather chair closest to her.
“Move.” She said, nudging him over a little so she could sit next to him.
“Thanks for getting one for me.” His eyes wandered over to Lucas, who was pulling four beers out of the cooler they had brought with.
“Seriously? Already?” Will and Eleven shared a look, one that only kids who are too afraid of what their parents might say to illegally drink beer can share.
“It’s lake day!” Lucas and Dustin cheered
“This looks like a good spot, right up there,” Mike said, pointing towards a larger boat with lots of girls in high rise bikinis jumping off the front. Will looked over towards where he was pointing and felt his heart sink a little bit.
He had fallen in love with every freckle on Mike’s perfect face before he had even known what love really was. He knew it was ridiculous to think there was even a chance that another person in Hawkins would turn out gay, let alone his best friend, but he still hoped. He had a brief moment of excitement when Eleven broke up with Mike, but it all faded away when he showed up at Will’s house that night, crying and blowing into tissues talking about how much he had loved her. Will realized that Mike just liked girls, end of story.
He felt the boat come to a stop.
“Someone get the air pumps for the rafts.”
“On it!” Max headed downstairs while the rest of the boys started unraveling the rafts on the upper deck.
“You two, just sit there being useless.” Lucas rolled his eyes at Eleven and Will, sipping their matching Mr. Pibbs. “I’ll never understand how you two became so close.”
Eleven leaned her head onto Will’s shoulder with a smile on her face. Will didn’t really know how they had become close either. He couldn’t even remember the first time they had hung out together, one-on-one, but he knew it was sometime after she had broken up with Mike. He remembered feeling a little bad for Mike, but Eleven was just such a good listener, and she made the best brownies at 3am when they had sleepovers. Of course, there was a rule that Eleven wasn’t allowed in Will’s room at night. If only his mom knew the truth.
Mike startled Will by sitting down on the chair next to him. He jumped enough to make El annoyed and remove her head from his shoulder. Mike wrapped his arm around him in a way that he would never touch the other boys, and Will blushed the brightest shade of red the world had ever seen. Just because he had come to terms with being gay and Mike being straight didn’t mean he didn’t turn into a nervous wreck every time he looked at him. How could he not? Mike looked at him with his big, brown eyes and fluttering, long eyelashes that made his heart thud in his chest. He always looked at him in such a loving way that nobody else in that godforsaken town did. Will couldn’t understand why Mike cared for him so much as a friend.
“Are you sure you don’t want a beer?” Mike finally said, and Will mustered the strength to pull his eyes away from Mike’s.
“Sorry,” Will said.
“Why are you apo-”
“I don’t want a beer, I don’t need one of those to have fun.” He winced at the harsh tone of his voice. He stood up, feeling his cheeks flush. He teetered with the movement of the boat and Mike grasped his hand to help him maintain his balance.
“I don’t either. What do you mean- are you mad at me or something?” The smaller boy felt bad for a moment. He was putting up walls out of fear, again. He squeezed Mike’s hand that was still holding his.
“No. I’m sorry, thank you.”
He walked to the edge of the boat and jumped onto the raft that was already blown up. Mike turned to El with a confused look, but she just shrugged.
“I didn’t do anything, did I?” He asked, glancing down at the cold can between his hands.
“No.” She smiled, reaching over and patting his shoulder. Mike looked back over at Will who was now using his arm to push the raft farther away from the boat. Lucas threatened to untie the raft from the boat and “send your useless ass to the next state over”. Mike saw Will’s face brighten with a chuckle. In the past year, Will had become so much happier. Mike was relieved to see that, despite everything, he might turn out to be okay. He felt his heart flutter against his chest in a way that made him take a big sip of his beer and look down at his lap. He had to fight the heart flutter and butterflies he felt every time he was near Will, and it made him sick. Part of him hated the way he felt about Will, and another part hated the fact that if he were to go kiss him right now in front of everyone, he would probably lose his friends. It isn’t natural, he had to remind himself as Will waved at him from his raft.
Eleven watched Mike as he fought with his emotions. Considering how she was raised, it took her quite some time to realize that the way Mike and Will interacted was much different from how either of them interacted with anyone else in the group. The only thing she could compare it to was how Mike interacted with her. That was how she realized that even though Mike loved her, he loved Will more, but didn’t know it. She had asked Max about it, who told her that boys weren’t allowed to love boys, not like that. Nothing about the outside world had confused her more than that. She couldn’t understand why people would regulate something like love.
She broke up with Mike the next day, and it was one of the most painful things she had ever done. They both cried like babies when it happened, but healing from it was worse. She was angry at him for loving someone else, sad because she missed him so much, and hopeful that somehow, it would be worth it, and Mike and Will would find a way to be together. Watching Mike down the rest of his beer after staring at Will for a painfully long time made her feel like there was no way they would ever be together.
“Could you go get the snacks, Mike?” Dustin asked.
Mike’s mood was suddenly on the rise at the thought of Cheetos and chips. He quickly headed downstairs to search through the piles of stuff they had brought.
“Dammit.” He huffed when he smacked his head on the roof. No matter how many times he had been down there, he still did it every time. Annoyed, he bent over to open the bright pink bag decorated with posing flamingos that he had borrowed from his sister which was stuffed full of treats.
He heard the door open behind him and he whirled around, yet again smacking his head on the ceiling.
“Fuck.” He said this time, even more irritated. He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his head.
“Sorry,” He heard Will squeak out. “I was just coming down to get a towel.”
Mike opened his eyes and looked at the small boy who was absolutely drenched from head to toe. Water dripped from his hair onto his face, sliding over his top lip and getting caught on his bottom lip.
“Did you jump in?” He asked incredulously. The weather was nice, but the water had to be freezing. Will wrapped his arms around himself, cold.
“No. Dustin pushed me in when I was getting out.”
“What?” Mike grabbed his shoulders, “You’re not hurt, are you?”
Will laughed a little at his concern, “No, I’m fine. Just really cold.”
“Oh. Right.”
Mike grabbed a towel and wrapped it around Will’s shoulders, who looked up at him with a smile. His wet eyelashes stuck together and in such close proximity, Mike could see his lips tremble a little from the cold. Suddenly he felt the alcohol hit him like a freight train. As tall as he was, he was quite a lightweight, and man, did it feel like he was floating on clouds right now.
“You’re beautiful.” He mumbled, long fingers reaching out to trace Will’s jaw.
“W-what?” Will said in response. Mike pulled his hand back. The alcohol combined with years of withholding everything he wanted to say had taken over. He felt his stomach turn.
“Oh fuck,” He said again, this time in a much different way. Water started to flow down his face, too. He realized he was actually crying, making the situation even worse. “I’m sorry. Please don’t tell anyone.”
“Did you just say I’m beautiful?” Will’s eyes were so big and so, so brown and Mike started to cry even more.
“No. Yes. I’m sorry,” Mike wiped at the tears frantically. “Please don’t say anything to anyone.”
Will just stared at him in shock and Mike heard an inhuman sounding sob escape his throat. “Please,” He whispered.
“Mike,” Will said suddenly, the corners of his lips turning up into a smile, “Mike, stop crying.” His small hands brushed away at the tears on Mike’s cheeks. Then, they firmly pulled his face closer.
Mike made a startled noise when Will kissed him, but he quickly grabbed his waist and pulled him in closer. His mind went blank at the feeling of Will smiling against his lips.
“I don’t like when you cry,” Will said so softly Mike could hardly hear him. He just wrapped his arms around Will and hugged him as tight as he possibly could.
“Where are the snacks?!” They heard Dustin angrily yell from upstairs and they both giggled. Will grabbed the snack bag and turned towards the door.
“Let’s go.”
The two of them headed to the upper deck of the boat and saw Eleven sitting in the same spot with wide eyes. They didn’t know how she knew, she just did. Mike’s heart stopped in his chest for a moment until a big, dumb grin spread across her face.
“Oh…my god.” Was all she said, smirking and leaning back in the seat.