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“Just forget it, Mike.” Will spat out, shoving his cleric costume into his backpack. His blood boiled, he felt pissed, disappointed, but most of all, he felt betrayed in a way. His friends would always be hyped up whenever they played a campaign but now, it’s as if Will did not exist in their eyes because they were too caught up with girl problems that Will didn’t and will probably never have in his life.
“No wait-“ Mike stammered, trying to keep Will from leaving. “You want to keep playing the campaign, right?” he asked, looking towards Lucas who was awkwardly standing there, his facial expression showing obvious concern. Lucas was taken aback from the question, processing it in his mind and quickly answers.
“Y-yea, totally” Lucas replies, not meaning it to sound sarcastic. Will’s actions began to become quicker, properly pissed off. Mike stood there, feeling vulnerable, thinking of ways to make Will pause.
“Come on, Will. We can think about the girls later, let’s just finish the campaign for now.” Mike suggested, talking quicker than normal. Mike felt his heartbeat rise, adrenaline slowly draining into his body. He felt nervous, feeling the guilt start to sink in.
“I said forget it, Mike!” Will shouted, glaring at Mike. Will could feel himself about to tip over the edge, so he just snapped, not able to keep in the anger. Will stared at Mike, shaking out of pure anger. Mike froze, eyes wide from surprise. Mike saw Will’s eyes start to water, and the guilt hit him like a train. Will grabbed his backpack, starting to walk towards the stairs. “I’m going home.” He grumbled.
“Will, wait” Lucas said, trying to block the way to the stairs. “Move!” Will exclaimed, basically pushing Lucas so he would move out the away. Will stomped upstairs, his head fuming. Lucas and Mike exchange a glance, Lucas nodding towards the stairs. Mike takes a deep breath and follows Will upstairs.
Once Mike gets upstairs, he looks around himself and saw Will going through the garage door. He took a quick glance outside and saw that it was pouring down hard, which only made Mike panic. He quickly walks to the garage, trying to stop Will from leaving.
“Will, come on!” Mike exclaims once he sees Will putting on his backpack in the garage. “You can’t leave, it’s raining, you’ll get sick!” Mike stops next to Will, who refused to answer and refused to even look at Mike. Mike sighed, trying to think of something that could make Will stop. “Look, we didn't mean it like that, we’re sorry. We were just not in the mood to play today!” Mike explains but shuts his mouth once he saw Will freeze.
“That’s it! You guys are never in the mood anymore! This never happened before you and Lucas went off to deal with your ‘precious girl problems’! Our party is getting ripped apart!” Will shouted, glaring right at Mike.
“T-that’s not true! Our party is fine.” Mike replied defensively, starting to get a little pissed. Will scoffed, putting his bag on his back. “Oh yeah? Then explain where Dustin is right now.” Will said, already knowing the other’s answer. Mike stood there, speechless, just staring with his mouth open, meaning to say something but nothing coming out. “See! You don’t know and you don’t even care, and I’m sure he doesn’t either, and I don’t blame him after everyone ditched him yesterday!” Will screamed, not breaking eye contact to let Mike know that he wasn’t playing around. Mike just stood there, shocked from everything the other boy was saying, unable to talk back or do anything. “You’re ruining everything, and for what? So you can go make out with some stupid girl?!” Will shouted, motioning out into the rain. That was when Mike drew the line.
“El’s not stupid. It’s not my fault you don’t like girls.” Mike shouted back, instantly regretting what came out of his mouth. Will stood there, taken aback, eyes starting to water as he processed the other’s words in his mind. He couldn’t believe that his best friend just insulted him that low. The only thing that was filling the awkward silence was the raindrops splashing onto the ground. Mike knew he fucked up, pausing for a second for when the guilt hit him again.
Mike pushed down the feeling and since he so in the moment, he continued. “I’m not trying to be a jerk, okay?” Mike started, closing his eyes and messaging the bridge of his nose. Will stood there, one hand on his other arm, obviously still hurt from his words.
“But we aren’t kids anymore, Will. I mean, what’d you think? That we would play games all day in my basement? That we would never grow up? That we were never gonna get girlfriends?” Mike said, opening his eyes again to look at Will. Will sniffled, straightening up his back, the tears in his eyes threatening to spill.
“I did. I guess I did. I really did.” Was all Will said before turning around and picking up his bike, steadying it so he could get on. Mike stood there, not being able to process what was happening until Will started to ride away into the rain.
“Wait! Will please! Come on!” Mike yells after him, as if it was gonna stop him. Mike didn’t think about what he was doing once his body started to move, only that he needed to go after Will and properly apologize. Running through the rain did not feel the best, all the splashing of his feet hitting the ground mading his socks get wet, and his clothes got heavier and heavier the more drenched they got, making Mike want to slow down, but he rejected the idea, knowing he must go faster than he was currently going.
“Will! Stop!” Mike yelled, which resulted into Will into riding faster. Every step he took hit the ground harder than the last, starting to get sore from the pain of slamming his feet onto the ground. He ignored the pain and kept going, even though he had no idea what in the world was his reasoning, and what he was going to tell Will once he caught up with him.
Mike could see Will in the distance and came up with a plan. Mike stopped for a second and continued running to the side of the road so Will could not see him. He ran as fast as possible in front of Will, and stood dead center of the road, arms out, eyes shut.
Will rode his bike as fast as possible, he could hear Mike behind him, so he sped up, not wanting talk with him again after what he said. His head was pounding, overwhelmed with so many thoughts. His eyes were pouring with tears, his throat making choking sounds. He was sobbing, wiping his eyes with one of his hands but gave up quickly after since the rain was getting into his eyes anyway. He continued to ride home, until he realized that he couldn’t hear Mike behind him. He concluded that Mike stopped and went home, which made him calm down a bit. He slowed down and started to pay attention to his surroundings, which he did not do before since he was a little… distracted.
“WILL!” He heard someone scream in front of him, and he saw a figure in the middle of the road. His eyes widen, and in a panic, he quickly turns his handle left, making his bike fall out of balance, making Will fall onto the concrete ground. He yelped out of pain when he hit the ground, most of the contact with his knee. He looked at who he stopped in front of him, and of course, it was Mike.
“Mike?” He exclaims, getting onto his knees to get up but quickly fell back again, squeaking out in pain. He looked down at his knee to see the damage. He had a big scrape mark, starting to slightly bleed. It didn’t look too serious, but he predicted that if he put more pressure on it, it would bleed out more and it would turn worse.
“Are you ok?” Mike asked in a worried tone, kneeling next to Will. Will grunted in response, trying to get up but failing once again. Mike held out his arm, offering help to Will. He hesitated but took his hand anyway. Mike pulled him up, and even though Will would be fine on his own, Mike did not want to let go of him, not wanting to risk him falling again.
“Uhm-“ Will mumbled, his cheeks going red, looking away. Mike then realized that he had been staring at Will for a while now, to the point where it was a bit weird. “What did you want, Mike.” Will whispered but loud enough so Mike could hear him. Mike stayed quiet for a bit, thinking, meanwhile, Will remembered what had happened back at Mike’s house and got a little pissed again.
“What do you honestly want to say, Mike?” Will sighed, pushing away from Mike, limping on one leg so his knee did not bleed more. Mike stood still, staring down at his shoes. He was starting to get overwhelmed, unsure what to say. “What else do you have to say after that?” Will asked, not really excepting an answer.
Will was about to continue until Mike couldn’t handle it anymore. Mike gently put his hand on Will’s hip and cupped Will’s cheek in the other. Will lost his words, slowly closing his mouth. Mike gingerly pulled Will’s body against his own, staring into Will’s mesmerizing eyes for a split second, unsure what exactly he was doing. Will didn’t react other than just staring with the uncontrollable hotness of his face. He didn’t understand what Mike was doing but he knew that it felt... right. Mike’s brain seemed to have shut off completely since his body started to move without any thought. Mike brought Will’s face closer to him and leaned in, delicately connecting their lips together. Will’s eyes widened out of surprise, while Mike’s eyes were shut closed. It was more of a ‘long peck’ instead of a proper kiss, but to Will, he didn’t see any difference. Will’s mind was going wild, his face burning even more than before. He was about to start panicking until he got distracted by Mike’s hand on his cheek, moving up and behind his neck, Mike’s fingers curling into Will’s long bowl cut. He would continue to slowly twirl Will’s hair on his finger, somehow comforting Will. Mike’s other hand on his hip moved more up his back, not caring that it was drenched from the pouring rain. Will’s eyes slowly closed shut enjoying the little time of joy and pleasure he got from their connection, leaning against Mike’s body. The sounds of the raindrops dancing on the ground surrounded them, making them both relax into the kiss. Even though they were both getting drenched in water, it’s as if they couldn’t care less. If there was a volcano erupting lava onto them, they wouldn’t know or care, only that they were in this moment. Both of their body heat protected each other from the freezing air around them.
Before Will leaned more into the kiss, Mike froze all his actions, as if he snapped back to reality in that exact moment. He quickly leaned away, his thoughts coming back to his brain, in result, making Will confused. Will was a blushing mess, still trying to comprehend what just went down. Mike knew he was supposed to feel guilt, disgust, or anything. He knows he likes El, and he can’t do this to her, but she did dump him. Mike was so confused on why he had just done that, he had never felt these feelings before, and it felt disgustingly good to kiss Will Byers.
Will finally did it. He has kissed Mike Wheeler. THE Mike Wheeler. The boy who asked to be his friend. The boy who was desperate to find him when he was in The Upside Down. The boy who stuck to his side when he got possessed by the Mind Flayer. The boy who said they would go crazy together. The boy he loved, more than anything nor anyone. He felt like he was in a dream, like he was in heaven, but the heat of Mike’s body against his own felt too real to be fantasy. Will felt like he was on cloud 9, like nothing could ruin this exact moment. Kissing Mike Wheeler in the middle of the road, in a middle of a rainstorm, not giving any other cares in the world. He felt joy, joy he hasn’t felt in a long, long time. His dream has come true, that him and Mike will care and love each other until the end of the world.
Mike’s brain was practically at war, not understanding where he stood. Did he like El or Will? His whole world was El, but now that he thought of it, Will would always be in his fantasy world, even before he even met El. But he loved El, she was the first girl who liked him, and he was her’s too. Mike felt dizzy from all the thinking all at once, but there was only one outcome. Mike loves El, and she will always be the closest to Mike, but Will is the one that he truly loved from the beginning. When El went missing, Mike could have gone out to look for her like he did for Will when he went missing, but he never did. All these thoughts came to his head from moments in the past, and it made more and more sense. Mike finally came back out of his thoughts, back into the situation.
“Let’s go back to my house, Will. I promise Lucas and I will play the campaign for real this time. We can talk to the girls after.” Mike whispered, looking down at the other. But at that, Will looked up at Mike with a harrowing look. Will’s fantasy world, his joy, his happiness, and his hope all crashed like glass breaking.
“What? Was this all just to get me back to your house? So that you and Lucas could ‘apologize’ and ‘make up’ for what you guys have done? Did you do that to manipulate my feelings? Was that nothing to you?” Will whispered in horror, his eyes started to water again. His heart broke, starting to feel truly empty.
Will backed away, forgetting about the pain in his knee. His heart was thundering in his ear, his spine shivered from the cold air around them. He felt betrayed, way more than he did before. He knew that Mike would never like him, but he thought it had changed, that Mike shares those feelings too, but of course, he was wrong. Now Mike knew how much of a freak he was. Mike found out his weakness and used it against him. Will felt heartbroken, embarrassed mostly.
“Wait- Will that’s not what I meant-“ Mike stuttered, trying to make Will understand. “’We can talk to the girls after’. What do you really feel, Mike. Please let me know if I should leave you right now.” Will whispered, his voice wavering, cracking from starting to cry again. Mike felt the way too familiar wave of guilt hitting him again, cursing at himself for saying something stupid again. Mike knows how he feels, he just didn’t know if Will would like it.
“Will. Please don’t get mad right now, just- Let me talk for a second” Mike explained, stepping forward to gently hold Will’s wrist. Will kept shut, his eyes still watering, but he didn’t pull away, which Mike was grateful for.
“Will, I thought about our past. And I think that genuinely, I love you.” Mike breathed, staring down at the concrete, too afraid to look Will in his eyes. “I always have, ever since we became friends all those years ago. Yes, I love El, but I feel like when I think about true love, I think of you. El will always have a special part in my heart, but you, Will Byers, are my world. So, I didn’t do that to make you pissed, or to manipulate you. I did it because I was too stupid to know any of my feelings for you before.” Mike continued, looking up from the ground, only to see Will’s flustered face, old tears still in his eyes. His eyes sparkled with hope, but his body language shwoed that Will still felt unsure, so Mike did the only thing he thought that would make Will know that Mike is his, and he is Mike’s.
Mike leaned closer to Will’s ear, whispering something in a breathy tone.
“I lied before, in my garage, during our argument. It IS my fault you don’t like girls, isn’t it?”
Will quickly inhaled; he couldn’t take it anymore. He stepped back, making Mike stand in confusion. Will slowly stepped closer to Mike, reaching both of his hands for the back of Mike’s head, first trailing his neck to tenderly stretching his fingers through the other’s hair. He left one hand on the Mike’s neck, giving a more balanced position. He barely stood on his tip toes, and leaned in, only to pause right when their lips brushed together. Will was pretty much waiting for Mike’s content, and Mike happily obliged. Mike put a hand behind Will’s lower back while the other was on to upper back. Mike held him in a way so that Will’s knee would not bleed out, so Mike was practically holding Will up. They breathed into each other’s faces, each breath making both shiver out of delight. Will finally gave in, gingerly locking their lips together and Mike kissed back. This kiss was much more passionate than the last one, less of a peck and turning more into a snog. They both knew that they had to face challenges in the future with their whole “relationship”. Like how the party would react to it, especially El. How Hawkins would treat them. How most of the world would discriminate against them. They knew this risk, but they knew that they had each other and each other’s love, that’s all they needed. The only thing they cared about right now is not to ruin this perfect moment.
The perfect moment where two boys deeply falling in love in the 80s, kissing softly and with full passion, on a beautifully, rainy day, knowing that their love would always keep them together through any hardships in their life.
Although they may be one problem. Would their love ever be strong enough to fight against the pure evil that will take over Will in the not-so-far future?
The only rational answer for now is
Maybe.