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It started after the summer of 1985.
Out of all parings, no one has expected Will and Max to come out the closest. It threw everyone for a loop, really. The way they would always sit next to each other when the party got together. The way they would pass notes in class, laughing at something the other had written. The whispers, the stares, the knowing looks. No one really understood it, but no one questioned it.
What they didn't realize was that they had more in common than they thought, and it wasn't just shared trauma and the knowledge of all things Upside Down. No, it was so much more. They shared childhood abuse, hands that gripped them too hard and words that stuck to them like glue. They shared the pain of losing a father, even if it was different circumstances. They shared the same taste in arcade games, and the same taste in comic books.
They also grew in the areas they didn't have things in common. Max would sit with Will when he drew, watching and complimenting. Will would stand behind Max during Dig Dug, her giving pointers and Will listening and nodding intensely. Max became the only one who could coax him out of a panic attack, and Will became the only one who could comfort her when things got too hard. Because they understood.
There's one more thing that brought them closer than ever; the both loved someone they shouldn't.
The both confessed a few weeks after the battle at Starcourt. Will needed time away, to think without everyone breathing down his throat. He went to the same place they contacted Suzie, and he just sat there for hours, crying, thinking. It was getting dark when he heard someone behind him.
He quickly turned his head to see Max walking up the hill. "Hey! It's just me!" She said, holding her hand up in surrender.
Will visibly relaxed, turning back around without a word. "Can I sit?" He shrugged.
Max took a seat beside him, and for a solid second, they were quiet. It put them both on edge. "Everyone was worried, you know."
Will sighed. "I know."
"Talk to me, Byers. What's up? I know I'm not as close to you as the others, but I'm still here to listen." Max said, nudging him with her elbow.
He sighed, pulling his knees up to his chest. "Have you ever looked at someone and-" He stopped, taking a deep breath. "Wished they would just... look at you?"
Max furrowed her eyebrows, not understanding where this was going. "Like they look at the person they're with? With so much love and admiration. But you know they never will."
She signed. She does know, and she understand now. "All the time." Will looked at her. "They say love is the best thing you could ever feel. All love has done is break my heart."
Will nodded in agreement. "I shouldn't like them, not like this. But he just-" He stopped. "He's just so beautiful. He cares so much. God, how could anyone not love him?"
Max didn't have to ask who he was talking about. She knew, had suspected for a while, actually.
"I get that." Max nodded. "She's so pure and loving. And god, is she the pretties girl i've ever seen."
They both knew then, they understood each other. They didn't have to say names, they alway knew who the other was talking about; Mike and El.
Mike and El - the ones that do everything together, always by each other's side. Mike - the boy who chose his girlfriend over his best friend. El - the girl who chose her boyfriend over her best friend. They tried, really, they did. They tried to move on, but everyone one of them would look in their direction, butterflies would erupt in their stomach.
And honestly, keeping it in was killing them.
It was mid December when the party sat in Mike's basement, doing absolutely nothing. Lucas and Dustin were arguing about whatever latest comic they just read. Mike and El were sprawled out on the couch, giggling to each other. Will was setting up D&D for their newest campaign, Max watching fondly behind him.
"It's done!" Will said happily.
"What's done?" Lucas asked, turning his attention to will.
"D&D! We should go ahead and start playing, this may be a long one." Will's small faltered as everyone groaned, sans Max who just glared.
"Come on, man." Mike said. "We're not really in the mood to play right now." Everyone nodded in agreement and Max's face turned red at the hurt expression Will was giving.
Will rolled his eyes. "You guys are never in the mood anymore. Just one game, we don't even have to finish it."
Max was getting heated. She watched Will plan this campaign for weeks, and was beyond excited to watch it play out. And the others were chuckle at him, almost as if they were mocking him.
Max knew better than everyone, the reason Will still holds D&D so close to his heart. He was hanging on to the last piece of childhood he had left. And they were ruining it.
"It's a childish game, Will." Mike rolled his eyes. "We're not kids anymore. You really need to grow up, this is getting ridiculous!"
The room went silent after that. Max could hear ringing in her ears at how angry she was, but before she could say anything, she felt Will rush out of the room.
"Will!" She shouted, to no avail. "What the hell is your problem, Wheeler?"
"Come on Max, he's just speaking the truth. We all think it's time Will grows up some." Lucas said calmly, know how bad her temper for.
"Exactly!" Mike yelled. "It's just plain out annoying now." The others nodded in agreement, sans El who was looking at the spot Will disappeared from, guilt building in her stomach.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Max shouted. "Are you all that fucking dense? God you are all such terrible friends. Has it ever occurred to you that he might've, oh, i don't know, missed out on a majority of his childhood? And you all just want him to drop the one thing he has left from it?"
The others had the audacity to look guilty from her words, but she didn't care. "You're all fucking idiots. You keep this up, and you're gonna lose not only him for good, but me for good too - don't you dare leave this basement." She cut off as the others stood up. "You've done enough."
With that, she turned on her heel, running outside. Will was know where in sight, but she knows where he's headed.
Will sat on the outside of a destroyed Castle Byers, sobbing into his knees. Mike's words hit, and they hit hard. He knows he needs to grow up. He does, really. But a part of him wants to go back to that day in Mike's basement so badly. A part of him wants to go back to only liking his best friend as just that; a best friend. He's tried, fed up, and he doesn't know what to do anymore.
Before he could get too lost in thought, someone was pulling him into a hug. He almost panicked before he recognizes the embrace, hugging Max back just as tightly. He could feel teardrops hitting his forehead, signaling she was crying, too.
"I can't do this anymore, Max. It's too much. I can't-" Will sobbed.
"Shhh, it's okay." Max said, and right as the words left her mouth, she got an idea.
"Here, stand up." She stood, pulling Will with her. "I have an idea."
Before he could question it, Max let out a scream so sharp, he had to cover his ears. "What the hell, Max!"
"Come on, Byers!" She yells. "Scream! Let it out, say everything, say nothing. Just scream!"
Wills eyes widened. "I'm not gonna-"
Another scream. This svream was different. It was raw; a scream with so many hurt feelings and pain. And maybe, that's what did it for Will.
Before he knew it, he took a deep breath before letting out a high pitched scream. He could hear Max shout a "hell yeah!" before they kept going.
“God, Eleven!” Max shouts, voice cracking. “Why did you make me fall in love with you? Why can’t you look at me the way you look at him?”
It didn’t take long for Will to join in. “Fuck you, Mike! It is your fault I don’t like girls! All your fault. God, why can’t you just love me back?”
They screamed for another minute, letting out all the pent up pain, frustration, and heart break. They collapsed onto the ground, sobbing into each other’s arms. They both felt lighter, like a weight had been lifted.
They say there for hours, holding each other. Neither of them were aware of the two figures hiding behind a tree, guilt ridden expressions as they watched.