Archive of Our Own ^beta

February 14th is the one day of the year Will is forced to witness already overly affectionate couples be even more grossly in love with each other. Whether it be at school, the movies, or any public setting. Will hates Valentine’s Day for many reasons, not because he’s single. One reason is that he is jealous. He's jealous of straight couples who can be openly affectionate with each other and not get harassed for it. 

He‘s jealous that he can’t do any of the cheesy things straight couples do in public. Why? Because he’s gay. Another big reason is that it reminds him of the fact he’s still in love with his painfully straight best friend, Mike Wheeler. He truly has tried getting over him, but it isn’t easy to get rid of feelings that have been built up already for a decade of his life. 

But none of this information is new to Will. He groans, forcing himself to get up from the comfort of his bed. He opens his closet, looking to see what to wear for the long day ahead. He chooses his usual outfit, a yellow plaid long-sleeved shirt, brown khaki pants, and grey worn-out sneakers. 

He goes to the kitchen when he is done getting ready, and takes a seat next to El, who seems to be in a good mood. She is happily eating her Eggos and stops when he sits next to her.

“Good morning Will,” El greets him with a bright smile that slightly lifts Will’s already awful mood. 

He smiles softly at his sister. “Hey El, you seem in a good mood.”

“Yes. Max and the rest of the party made plans for us to hang out as a group this year for Valentine’s Day. I am excited.”

Will can feel his smile drop from his face when she says that. As much as he loves his friends, he kind of just wants to be by himself this year for Valentine's Day. He feels awful for pushing them away these past few months, but he just can’t find the courage to explain his recent distant behavior. 

It’s not like he can just say ‘oh the reason why I have been distant from you guys is because I am trying to get over being in love with Mike. Yes Mike, our Mike. I know. How unfortunate. Also, I’m gay.’ He just wishes he had someone to talk to about his personal struggles, someone who would understand. 

He feels El staring at him and he awkwardly nods his head, forcing a smile on his face. “Yeah, uh, that sounds fun. Can't wait either.” 

“Will-“

Before El can ask what’s wrong, Jonathan walks in holding the key to the car. 

“Guys, we have to leave now or else you both will be late. I don’t want mom to be mad at me.”

Oh yeah. Will forgot. His older brother, Jonathan, is staying over two weeks to spend time with his girlfriend, Nancy. So he and his sister have a free ride to school for the rest of the week. He feels himself sighing in relief, his brother unknowingly saved him from an awkward confrontation with El. 

He gets up from his seat, a little too quickly, and heads out the door, desperate to leave the room before the tension eats him alive.  

Will is fidgeting in his seat because of his sister. He can feel her intense stare on him and it is making him feel guilty. He doesn’t want to avoid her, but he doesn’t want to tell her the truth either. In all fairness, he doesn’t want to tell anyone he knows the truth. He can also feel his older brother staring at them as he is driving. It’s too quiet, and Jonathan would have to be a fool to not notice something is up. 

Fortunately for Will’s sanity, they finally arrive at school. He hurries out of the car, but before he can leave, he hears his older brother calling him. He turns around and stares at his brother calmly, afraid to give himself away.

“Hey, are you okay? I can sense something is up between you and El,” Jonathan asks, concern clear in his voice. 

“Yeah, everything’s good. Nothing is up with me and El,” He replies in a dismissive tone which causes Jonathan to open his mouth again. 

“Will, you can always talk to me.”

“I said I’m fine,” he cuts off his brother, feeling frustrated. Frustrated that his face and body language always gives him away. He hates how obvious he is when he is in one of his moods. What Will hates, even more, is how much of an asshole he is being to his brother right now. Jonathan is just trying to be a good brother here, and Will is just being a huge prick to him, god he’s such a jerk. 

Unable to look at the hurt expression on his brother’s face, Will forces himself to turn away and leave, acting like nothing is wrong. He doesn’t wait for his sister because he just doesn’t want to hurt anyone else with his sour mood. He already feels horrible, he would feel even more horrible if he accidentally lashes out at El. 

He makes it to his locker and opens it a bit harshly, ignoring the stares people passing by give him. Not able to react to it in time, a heart-shaped chocolate box falls out, with a note attached to it. Will freezes and looks down to make sure what he saw was real, seeing the chocolate box confirms his suspicions. 

He grabs the box from the floor after closing his locker.  He lifts the box closer to his face so he can read the note, the handwriting is neat. Before he can finish reading the note attached to the box, a voice snaps him back to reality. 

“Hey Will, what are you holding?” 

Will jumps and feels his heart thumping against his chest like he just finished a marathon. He turns hesitantly and sees Max standing there with an amused look on her face. Thankfully it’s not Mike, but knowing Max’s personality, she can be a bit pushy and nosy at times like Mike. 

“Jesus! Max, you scared the shit out of me,” Will exclaims, holding the chocolate box to his chest. Will foolishly hopes she changes the topic, but he’s aware that’s not going to happen, knowing Max’s personality. 

“Woah, relax Will. It’s just me. But more importantly, is that a Valentine's chocolate box you’re holding?” Max asks, raising an eyebrow at him. She scoots closer into Will’s personal space so she can get a better look at it.

“Yeah, I don’t know who it’s from,” he replies in a flat voice and hands it to her, not giving a shit anymore. It’s not like he can keep it a secret since she already saw it. He just hopes the other members of the party don’t find out, especially Mike. Knowing them, they will make a huge deal out of this. Why? Because it’s Will, the loner of the group who has never dated and shown interest in anyone. It’s not that Will doesn’t want to date anyone, he truly does. It’s just the boy he’s in love with doesn’t love him back and he is too scared to flirt with any guy in this narrow-minded small town. 

“Well, there’s no name attached to the note. All it says is ‘Happy Valentine's Day from your secret admirer’,” Max reads out loud, her tone turning into a disappointed one at the end. She sighs dramatically and hands Will back the box. He yanks it out of her hands and shoves it in his bag a little too aggressively. Max raises an eyebrow at him and he blinks at her impassively.

“I’m guessing you don’t want me to tell anyone about this,” she says with a smirk forming on her face. Will sighs and nods his head in affirmation.

Max slings an arm around him with a smirk on her face. “Well consider your secret safe with me Byers.” Will gives her a look, but their moment is ruined by a familiar voice. 

“What secret?” 

Will feels himself stiffen into Max’s touch. He reluctantly turns his head to see Mike standing there with his arms crossed and a bothered look on his face. He wants to dig a hole and bury himself in it forever. Why is the universe so keen on plotting against him? Out of all the people, why did it have to be Mike?

Will looks at Max for help but she shrugs at him with wide eyes. Well, fuck. How the hell is he going to lie his way out of this one? He is so bad at lying, especially to Mike. He opens his mouth but before he can speak, the bell rings, indicating it’s time for class. He fights the urge to jump out in joy. Never once in his life, he has felt this grateful for school starting so early in the morning until now.

“Oh Jeez. Would you look at the time? Will and I have to be on our way to English class now. Bye Mike,” Max blurts out, pulling Will away in a hurry. Will, unable to help himself, turns his head around to see Mike looking at them with an unreadable expression on his face. They lock eyes until the crowd of students blocks Will’s view. He turns back to Max with a sigh.

“Well that went great,” Will mutters sarcastically. Knowing Mike’s personality, he will most definitely ask what he and Max were talking about when he sees him again. At least he has some time to come up with a lie. Will isn't planning to sit with the party at lunch today. Definitely not because he is avoiding two of the members. 

For his classes, Will doesn’t have El in any, thankfully. He has Max for English, Dustin and Lucas for history, and no one in art. He only has Mike for math, which is his last class of the day, but the teacher is strict. Mike will probably confront Will after school since they obviously can’t talk during class. Will feels anxious thinking about it. Will wants to avoid all his problems until he graduates, but that isn’t going to happen. 

Maybe he can go to the nurse’s office and hide there for the day. Will knows the nurse doesn’t mind students staying in her office for a while, she’s a very sweet lady. 

Max snorts at him. “Did you see the look on his face? He looked so bothered about something. Maybe he’s jealous of how close we got recently.” 

Will feels a sad smile form on his face from her comment. Mike getting jealous over Will? Yeah right. Will isn't about to get his hopes up over Mike’s strange behavior earlier. Unable to contain himself, he chuckles bitterly. Max looks at him worriedly. Will ignores her stare, maintaining a neutral expression on his face. He really needs to work on controlling his emotions better. He hates how emotional he gets when it comes to Mike.

Will removes her arm wrapped around him when they arrive outside the classroom. He takes his seat and pulls out his textbook from his bag, dropping it on his desk with a sigh. He rests his hand under his chin and feels his mind drift off from boredom. He remembers how he didn’t really get close with Max until two years ago. 

It was during the summer when El and Mike were still dating. Mike hardly hung out with him, too preoccupied with sharing every moment he had to spare with El. He felt so miserable and heartbroken. His best friend just tossed him aside like trash, for a girl, a girl that didn’t find him weird as most did. Will was in his room venting his feelings away with art. He knew he was worrying his brother and mom by isolating himself, but he couldn’t tell anyone why. He hadn’t talked to anyone in the party for 3 weeks after his argument with Mike. 

“It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!” Mike retorts at Will. Mike blinks hard and instant regret is written all over his face. 

Will feels his throat close up and his heart shatters into a million pieces. He also feels tears building in his eyes but he blinks them away, refusing to cry in front of Mike. He stares at Mike with a hurt expression, eyes raw with heartache. He’s hurt that his best friend would say something like that to him. Out of everyone he knows, he never expected Mike to say something so hurtful to him. Something so personal that it cuts him deeply into his soul, and fragile heart. It’s even worse because he is stupidly in love with this boy. 

They continue arguing and Will has had enough. Every passing second Will feels like he’s being stabbed in the heart. Feeling like he is about to burst from the amount of pain he is in and reveal his biggest secret, Will grabs his bike. He rides away despite it raining hard. He hears Mike shouting after him but he doesn't care. He doesn’t care if he gets sick. All he needs right now is to leave before he says something he’ll regret, something that he will regret. 

Will blinks away the memory trying to forget Mike’s hurtful words. He hears a knock at the front door and ignores it. The person knocks even louder a moment later, clearly not affected by the lack of response. Will knows his mom and brother are at work. His friends finally took the hint that he wants to be alone after radio silence for 3 weeks straight. It’s quiet and Will shakes his head. Maybe the person finally took the hint. Nope. They start banging on the door obnoxiously again. Will’s eye twitches and he makes his way to the front door trying to calm himself. 

He opens the door prepared to give whoever this is a piece of his mind, but when he sees who it is, he finds himself at a loss for words. It’s Max Mayfield, the intimidating redhead in his party who he barely interacts with. She grins at him like he didn’t ghost everyone for 3 weeks. He feels annoyed at her for acting like everything is okay when it’s not.

“Look if the others sent you here to talk to me, just leave. I don’t want to be around you guys for a while, I want to be alone.” He says with a tone coming off harsher than what he meant. He winces at his own voice and moves to close the door. Max, unbothered by his bad mood, sticks her foot in before he can fully close it. Will feels his face twitching in irritation from Max’s pushy behavior.   

“Wait, they didn’t send me. Honestly screw them all, except El. I…I just wanted someone to hang out with. Mike is being an asshole, El is too busy hanging out with Mike, and Dustin is hanging out with older kids—and I broke up with Lucas again,” Max explains with a pleading look.

“So what you’re saying is that no one is available which just leaves me as the last option,” Will scoffs angrily, feeling like shit again. But before the self-deprecating thoughts take over, Max interrupts. 

“No! Shit. That’s not what I meant. I…I actually always wanted to get closer with you. Because you’re different from the rest of the boys in the party. Not in a bad way. I just thought we would be able to get along well. Ugh, forget it. You probably don’t believe me and this is rude of me to bother you like this. You obviously want to be alone right now, and I don’t blame you. I know how it feels to be treated like shit by friends, it’s not great. Sorry for bothering you, bye,” Max says with a watery laugh. She turns to leave with a sad smile on her face. 

Surprised but moved by the sincerity of Max’s words he opens the door. “Wait!”

Max stops upon hearing his voice and turns her head slowly with teary eyes. Will walks up to her and hugs her. He feels awkward and is about to move away, but then he feels Max lean into his embrace. They stand there, holding each other for what feels like an eternity until Max is the first to pull away. 

“So what did you want to do?” Will finds himself asking and looks at her with a sheepish smile. He feels terrible for treating her like shit when she genuinely wants to hang out with him. Will hopes he can make it up to her. 

Max rubs her face with her arm and looks back at him with the same grin from before.“Well, I got us two tickets to Return of the Jedi. The showing is in 30 minutes. If we go now, we can probably make it.” 

Will nods his head. “Sounds great, I love Star Wars.” 

Max holds out her hand and Will takes it. Together they make their way to the movie theater in a lighthearted mood. They talk the whole way there and Will feels happier than he’s been in a really long time. That was the start of their close friendship. Max reaching out to Will that summer was honestly the best thing to have happened to him in a while. 

If you were to tell younger Will in the future, that he’ll become close friends with the red-headed girl he finds intimidating, he would laugh thinking it’s a joke. If you were to tell him he and Mike became distant when they got older, he wouldn’t believe you. He knows better now. 

The bell rings and he quickly packs his things in his bag. But before he can get out of his seat he feels a hand on his shoulder. He looks up to see Max standing in front of him.

She mouths the words ‘we talk later’ and walks off. Fuck. Make that 3 people he’s avoiding now. He feels sick to his stomach thinking if they find out the truth.

Will is in the middle of painting in art class, too preoccupied with his work, he barely notices the bell ring. He puts his paintbrush down reluctantly and goes over to the sink to wash his hands. All of his other classmates already left for lunch and he’s here taking his time. Will wants to honestly just hide here, but he doesn’t want to bother his teacher during her lunch break, he’s not a complete asshole. He hesitantly leaves the class and to his relief, none of his friends are nearby waiting, he smiles feeling at ease. 

Will’s stomach growls and twists in hunger. He hasn’t eaten much these past few weeks. He feels lightheaded and exhausted. His body aches for some type of nourishment. He ignores his hunger despite every part of his body urging him to eat something, he rather starve than have to deal with any confrontation. Not paying attention to his surroundings, he bumps into someone. Weak from deprivation of food and water, he falls to the ground. 

He closes his eyes, embracing himself for the incoming pain, but it never comes. Instead, he feels a strong set of hands holding him steady, what the fuck. He opens his eyes in confusion to see Lucas standing in front of him with worry, even more confused now he opens his mouth, but no words come out. 

“I thought I recognized that haircut. Are you feeling alright? You look really out of it,” Lucas frowns at him in concern. 

Will blinks at him and his face heats up in embarrassment. “Yeah, I just wasn’t paying attention. I’m okay.” 

“Well, I’m lucky to have run into you. Everyone misses you, it’s not the same with you,” Lucas says softly, and gives Will a gentle squeeze on his shoulder, causing Will’s cheeks to turn into a darker shade of red. 

Although Will isn’t completely convinced by his words, he nods his head, too flustered to speak. Uncomfortable by the awkwardness growing between the two, he attempts to move out Lucas’ grip. Lucas, oblivious to Will’s discomfort, keeps his grip on him. Will is about to muster up the courage to say something but Lucas speaks up first.

“Hey, I got an idea. Let's surprise the group together. I know you can get anxious at times,” Lucas grins and leads him in the direction of the cafeteria. Will opens his mouth to protest, but after seeing Lucas’s excited expression, he nods in agreement instead. Will bites his lips in an attempt to calm his nerves, but there’s no point. He fights the urge to run away when they step inside the cafeteria. He glances around and spots the party in the distance. Okay, Just act like everything is okay, Will thinks to himself. 

Lucas leads him to the table. With every step, Will’s heart pounds harder against his chest. Lucas stops and greets the party. “Hey guys, look who I brought!”

El stops her conversation with Max to greet Lucas and pauses when she sees Will. Max waves to Will, and elbows Mike hard in the stomach, interrupting his conversation with Dustin about what their next DnD campaign should be. Mike glares at Max as she blinks innocently at him, pointing her head in the direction of where Will is standing. Mike looks up and his eyes soften when he locks eyes with Will. It’s silent at the table and Will can feel everyone’s gaze on him. 

Wills wants to jump out the nearest window, unfortunately for him, there’s no window nearby. He swallows the lump in his throat and steps forward. 

“Hey guys,” he waves awkwardly and all he receives is silence. Except for Dustin, the boy who can’t read the room for the life of him, bless his soul. 

He greets Will back with a toothy grin. “Hey, Will, come sit next to me, it’s been awhile. I missed you a lot. Our party isn’t the same without Will The Wise.” Dustin gets up, hugs him for a few seconds, and drags Will to sit in between him and Mike. 

After a few moments, everyone resumes their previous conversations, but the awkwardness from earlier still lingers in the air. Lucas takes a seat next to Dustin and joins in their conversation. Will feels out of place immediately. Wills knows he deserves this for being an asshole to mostly everyone in the party these past few weeks, but he still feels like shit though. His mind is about to drift off until a shoulder presses into his. He turns his head and sees Mike’s concerned expression.

“Hey,” Mike whispers in that soft voice he reserves only for Will. Will's heart flutters upon hearing that soft tone, which makes him feel like an idiot for thinking he's special because of something so insignificant. But he can’t help it. He has never heard Mike talk in that same tone with anyone else. 

“Hey,” he mumbles awkwardly, unable to look away from Mike’s gaze. They stare at each other and he swears he sees Mike’s eyes flicker to his lips for a moment, but it’s gone the second he blinks. Will needs to seriously eat something because now he’s seeing things. 

“Are you okay?” Mike asks, brushing his hand against his. Out of reflex, Will moves his hand away, casting his eyes downward.

“Yeah I’m fine,” Will answers, ignoring the tingling sensation he felt earlier when he felt Mike’s hand touch his. 

 Mike frowns but before Will can notice, his bag falls to the ground. He reaches to pick it up, but Dustin grabs it first. Will’s body freezes in horror when he realizes he didn’t zipper up his bag properly. 

The chocolate box sticks out and Dustin curiously reaches into his bag. “Ooh, what’s this?” 

“Wait-”

But it’s too late. Dustin takes out the chocolate box and holds it out in front of everyone, interrupting what Will was about to say. “Guys look at what I found in Will’s bag.” 

Everyone looks and is surprised by what they see. Well everyone except Max, she stares at him sympathetically. Will sits there, paralyzed and at a loss for words. 

“Is that a Valentine’s Day chocolate box?” Lucas questions, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

“Who gave that to you?” El asks, oblivious to Will’s distressed body language. 

“Oh my god, it’s from a secret admirer according to the note attached to it. Will has a secret admirer!” Dustin exclaims, waving the note in the air.

Everyone talks at once, bombarding Will with questions. Will opens his mouth to answer but Mike interrupts him.

“Is this the secret you and Max were talking about earlier?” Mike asks, causing everyone to go silent. 

“Uh…yes,” Will replies hesitantly, unsure how Mike figured it out, his body language probably gave it away. He’s about to ask how the hell he found out but Mike continues. 

“I fucking knew it. Max is the only one not surprised by this and is awfully quiet for once in her life.” 

Will's jaw drops from his jab at Max. 

“What the hell do you mean by that?” Max demands, angry by Mike’s sudden rude attitude towards her. 

“Yeah what the hell’s your problem man?” Lucas asks, upset that Mike is being rude to his girlfriend for no reason. 

“My problem is that Max and Will were going to keep this a secret from us. Who knows how many secrets they are hiding from us!” Mike accuses, gesturing to Max and Will.

“Mike, calm down,” El chimes in, sad that her friends are fighting with each other.

“Yeah calm down dude,” Dustin agrees, worried this will escalate into a bigger fight. 

He can’t believe Mike right now. Will knows why Mike is upset, but he shouldn’t be lashing out at Max. The person he should really be mad at is Will. Will is the one who insisted on keeping this a secret. Max was just being a good friend by respecting his plea for secrecy. 

Will coughs loudly to get the attention of the two. It doesn’t work. Will tries again to interject in an attempt to de-escalate the heated argument between Max and Mike.

“Hey-“

“You know what Mike. You’re just jealous I grew closer to Will while you grew distant,” Max says, hitting close to home with her comment.

Mike’s face darkens.

 Max is annoyed that Mike is taking out his jealousy on her, which is understandable for the most part. But Will is still in shock from her harsh remark, not expecting her to say that. From the looks the others have on their faces, they weren’t expecting it either. 

 Deep down Will knows she’s right. It’s not her fault Mike’s grown distant from him, and it’s unfair of him to act like it’s her fault. But for some reason, admitting this harsh truth causes Will to grow angry. 

Dustin laughs nervously, feeling the tension at the table rise. He leans into Will’s ear and whispers. “Hey, do you think you can do something about this? I feel like they would only listen to you right now.”

 Focused on controlling the months of buried anger from resurfacing, he ignores him. 

Mike lets out a dry laugh. “So you’re going there, huh?” Mike shakes his head glaring at her with disdain. “You don’t belong in this party and deep down Max, you know you never will.” 

Unbelievable, he finds this behavior from Mike and Max childish. He rises from his seat, cutting off whatever Max was going to say, and with a shaky breath he slams his fists onto the table. 

“Enough!”

 The arguing stops immediately, and Will’s eyes flicker to Mike and Max who look taken back from his sudden shout. Even El and the others look surprised by his shout. He doesn’t blame them. It’s not everyday that you witness him explode, especially in a public setting like school. 

 A headache pounds at his head, every bone in his body radiates with nerves, and his heart is beating loudly in his chest. Will doesn’t remember the last time he's felt like this, so angry. It takes a lot for Will to lash out like this, or maybe he’s changed. He blames the traumatic shit he’s gone through in his life so far, but deep down he knows it’s because of something else. Something that he refuses to acknowledge right now for the sake of his already declining mental health.

“You guys need to stop acting like five-year-olds. The shit you are saying to each other is not okay, and very hurtful,” he says with a shaky breath and looks in Mike’s direction first. “You need to calm down. Have you stopped to think for a moment that—“ he stops and takes a deep breath to calm himself— “that there's a reason why I didn’t want to tell you? We aren’t kids anymore Mike, I am not the same little boy who tells you every single thing that’s bothering me.” 

He swallows and turns his head to Max. “And you. I am grateful you agreed to keep this a secret for my sake—even though everyone found out anyway. What Mike said to you was not right, but what you said wasn’t either. Instead of insulting each other like little children—just talk things out.” 

Hypocrite, the voice in his head says. 

He feels tears prick up in his eyes, so he turns his head around to avoid the stares of his friends. He glances around the cafeteria, noticing multiple tables are looking over at them. Overwhelmed with the number of eyes on him, he runs off, ignoring the multiple voices calling out for him. Not giving a shit about leaving his belongings behind, he continues running, desperate to avoid any confrontation. He’s not ready yet.

When the adrenaline wears off Will slows down, faltering in his steps. Sweat rolls down his face, his throat burns from dehydration, and his body aches everywhere. He pushes forward, wiping the dried tears and snot off his face. With his vision blurry, he stumbles into a random store, breathing heavily. 

“Hey, welcome to Family Video, I’ll be right there to help in a moment,” A familiar calls out. Will turns his head in the direction of the voice and squints his eyes to try to make out the blurry figure. 

“Okay, sorry for the wait—oh it’s little Byers,” Steve says in surprise, not expecting to see him. Will knows only one person who would call him that, Steve. How the hell did he end up all the way here? He blames the adrenaline. Suddenly Will’s body decides it’s out of energy and his world turns upside down. Without realizing it, he collapses to the floor with a loud thud. 

Without hesitation, Steve rushes to his side to lift him up. He checks his pulse and panics when he barely feels anything. “Fuck—Robin we got a problem!” 

“What is it dingus—oh shit. Is he alive?” Robin walks over and checks his pulse. “It's a low pulse. I think he’s dehydrated by the state he’s in,” Robin murmurs. She moves to the front door and flips the sign, to let customers know the store is closed. 

“Fuck, he better not be dead. His brother is gonna kill me if he finds out I didn’t do anything to help,” Steve wails in distress, mostly concerned for Will’s health. Will stirs in his grip groaning, barely conscious. 

Robin heads to the back room and comes back with a bottle of water. “Steve shut up, we both need to stay calm in order to help him.” Steve composes himself immediately and waits for Robin to continue. Seeing that Steve is in a more calm state of mind, she resumes. “Lift his head up so he can drink this. He needs some fluids in his body right now.” 

Steve lifts Will’s head up gently. “Okay Will—buddy, I’m going to need you to open your mouth so you can get some water in your body. Or else we have to call the ambulance, which I’m sure you don’t want to happen.” 

Will blinks slowly and opens his mouth with the little strength he has left. He doesn’t want to be in a hospital again, so he complies. Robin opens the bottle of water, tilting it slowly, probably to prevent him from accidentally choking. Will swallows the water, feeling slightly better already. Robin puts the cap back on the water when he’s done. Overcome with fatigue, Will drifts off to sleep, not caring he’s still in Steve’s arms. 

“On the bright side, at least we end our shift early today,” Robin says after a period of silence, flashing Steve an awkward smile.

Steve looks at her with an exasperated expression, before fixing his gaze back on Will. He holds Will tenderly, worried he might wake the kid up from his much-needed rest. 

“You’re right, not the time for jokes,” Robin mumbles. “I’ll get the keys to the car.”

Will opens his eyes slowly and finds himself in an unfamiliar bedroom. Confused, he sits up from the bed and looks around. He spots a note on the nightstand and walks over to grab it.

“Come downstairs when you are done resting,” Will reads out loud, confused—then it suddenly hits him. Everything that happened in the past couple of hours floods his brain. He sinks to the floor with his hands to his face, groaning. He purses his lips, well there’s nothing he can do now. He shakes his head and brings his knees close to his chest. He sits there for a couple of minutes mentally preparing himself for what’s to come. He gets up from the floor reluctantly and quietly opens the bedroom door, making his way to the staircase.

With every step he takes, Will finds himself regretting everything he’s done in the past 24 hours, but he can’t do anything about it now. He lifts his head up, seeing Robin sitting at the kitchen table by herself, he sighs in relief. 

Hearing footsteps coming down the stairs, Robin turns her head around and waves at him. 

“Good morning sleepyhead!” 

Will chuckles at her words and takes a seat next to her. He appreciates her for not acting weird and treating him casually, even though he did pass out in the middle of the floor at her workplace. He isn’t close to Robin and Steve, he has had fewer interactions with the two compared to the other party members. 

“Sorry about passing out like that in the middle of your workplace.” Will apologizes, feeling really embarrassed. “I bet you didn’t expect that to happen today huh.”

 Will glances down to avoid eye contact, playing with the hem of his shirt nervously. God, he wishes this was all a dream, but he knows it’s not. He doesn’t even know how he’s going to explain himself to his family, he knows it’s inevitable because Jonathan was supposed to pick him up after school today with El. His family is probably worried that he's missing, oh he feels sick thinking about it. 

Robin puts a hand on his shoulder, smiling softly at him. “Hey, look at me.” Will hesitantly does what he’s told and his eyes widen when he sees she isn’t mad at him. 

“You don’t have to tell us what happened or anything you don’t want to tell us. Steve and I won’t push you for any answers, we are more concerned for your well-being. It scared the both of us when we saw you in that state,” Robin assures him calmly, squeezing his shoulder. “Also Steve went to get pizza. So if you want to tell me anything you don’t feel comfortable telling him, now is the time.” 

From his gut feeling, Will feels he can trust her, but he's still scared to say anything. Not having the courage to say anything, he stares at her silently, afraid to tell her the truth. Robin sighs and leans against her seat. “I guess I’ll have to go first.” 

“It was the summer of 1985 when Steve and I met. We worked the same shift at scoops ahoy, so obviously we became friends as you can tell,” Robin recalls, feeling a wave of nostalgia wash over her. “One day during the end of our shift, Steve told me had something to say. He told me he liked me, romantically, and do you know what I said?”

Will shakes his and stares at her curiously, waiting for her to continue. “Well I told him that I like him too, but in a platonic way. I told him I liked a girl back in high school, and he was shocked at first. But then a moment after he processed what I told him, he joked about my taste in girls casually. He has been my biggest supporter and best friend ever since,” Robin finishes with the fondest smile on her face. 

“So if there’s anything you want to tell me that’s been bothering you lately that you can’t tell other people, I’m here with open ears,” Robin offers in a reassuring tone. Will brings his knees to his chest, pondering over what she said, and realizes she’s just like him. They sit in silence for a couple of minutes before Will feels ready to open up.

“I’ve been really distant with my friends these past few months, because of something that I’m scared to let anyone know,” Will starts in a low voice, avoiding eye contact, afraid he might cry on the spot. “I’m scared they’ll hate me because of it. I imagine the disgusted  looks on their faces when they know the truth.” He pauses, feeling his eyes become watery. 

He takes a moment to calm himself, grateful for Robin's patience. “I am also afraid he’ll hate me because of my feelings. I like—no I’m in love with my best friend, Mike Wheeler. I’ve been in love with him for so many years, and it hurts so much.” His voice cracks with tears flowing down his face and shifts in his seat awkwardly. 

“It sucks because I can’t—don’t want to tell my friends or family the truth. I don’t want things to change. I don’t know if I can live with them hating me after finding out I’m gay. I tried hiding it but it’s so suffocating, having to hide my true self all these years, unable to be myself. I guess my dad was right about me after all,” He tearfully chokes out, throat tight from all the tension in his body. 

He bites the inside of his cheeks to hold back a sob, feeling embarrassed from crying so much, especially in front of someone he’s not really close to. Still avoiding eye contact, he doesn’t notice Robin rise from her seat, too focused on holding back his tears. She wraps her arms around his shaking body, and rubs his back gently, catching Will off guard. His breath hitches and he feels more tears stream down his face. Will grips the back of her shirt tightly, and buries his face deep into the crook of her neck, allowing himself to cry his heart out. 

Will pulls back from the hug after a while, feeling completely exhausted, he yawns. Robin smiles softly at him and puts a hand on his shoulder. “Do you feel better now?” Will nods, and for the first time in a long time, he smiles genuinely. Out of everyone, he never expected himself to come out to Robin first, someone he’s exchanged only a few words with. He’s glad he did because now he knows someone who is similar to him—someone he can talk to without fear of being judged.  

“I know how you feel exactly, it really does suck living in a small town like this feeling isolated from everyone because of who we like. Just know you don’t have to come out to anyone if you don’t want to, your safety and overall well-being are more important,” Robin says after a prolonged moment, her voice soft. 

“Also from what I heard and know about your mom, she really loves you. So do your friends, I don’t think they would hate you after finding out you like boys. But, I do know there’s always that possibility they might and it’s scary to think about. Also, screw your dad—he’s wrong. There’s nothing wrong with you,” Robin adds, giving Will a fierce look.

Will nods.

“Also really? Mike Wheeler? You are in love with that guy?” Robin asks questionably, not believing him.

“What? Are you seriously questioning my taste in guys? He’s cute, okay!” Will retorts back defensively, glaring at Robin. 

“Huh, I’m just surprised, he’s not the greatest catch. Are you sure you love him?” Robin asks teasingly which causes Will to scowl at her.  

 “I love his stupid freckles that cover his face and curly hair that looks soft. I love how he can ramble about something he’s passionate about like the nerd he is but doesn’t want to admit,” Will cries out, growing flustered for being questioned about his taste in guys.  

“Okay okay, I get it. I’m just teasing ya. Mike is lucky to have someone like you head over heels for him,” Robin interrupts, holding back a laugh when she sees the annoyed pout on his face.

Will knows she’s just trying to lighten up the mood, which he appreciates a lot because a few minutes ago he was sobbing uncontrollably. He’s really thankful Robin opened up first because Will knows he would have not been able to. Will is happy because now he knows he isn’t alone anymore. He has someone who knows and struggles with the same thing he does, a friend who understands him the way his other friends can’t.

The front door opens and Steve walks in with two boxes of large pizzas. “Hey I didn’t know what you liked so I just got classic pepperoni pizza—oh did I miss something?”

Will knows he probably looks like a mess but he doesn’t give a shit. He turns his head to Robin and they give each other a knowing look before bursting out with laughter. Steve stands there with a dumbfounded look on his face and turns to glance at Robin.

 Robin shakes her head at him. “Nothing you have to worry about dingus, let’s just eat. I bet Will is starving.” 

It’s 10 pm when Will leaves Steve’s house, much to his reluctance. He sits in the front seat staring out the window in silence. As every second passes, Will hears his heart pound against his chest faster, with palmy hands he holds onto his seat belt tighter. He knows he’s fucked because he ditched school and went radio silent from everyone for the whole day. His family is probably worried because he’s never done this before. 

He imagines the look on his mom’s face and grimaces, she’s probably worried sick. His hands shake from nerves, and it doesn’t help that his stomach is twisting in knots from the guilt he’s feeling right now.

 Steve glances at him and sighs quietly. “Hey, are you okay kid?”

Will turns his head and swallows the lump in his throat. “Yeah, I’m fine, just nervous.” 

Steve chuckles and gives him a sympathizing look. “I bet, your whole family must be worried sick. If I was your mom I would be hysterical, wondering where the hell my son is and praying that something bad didn’t happen to him.” 

 Will shoots him a deadpan look and Steve winces, before continuing. “Yeah, you’re right, not helping.” An awkward silence grows between the two for the rest of the drive. Steve pulls up to Will’s house after what feels like an eternity. Will opens the car door hesitantly and steps out. When he’s about to walk away, he hears Steve call out his name.

“Hey Will, you are going to be okay. Your family is going to be relieved to see you are fine and be mad—you can’t blame them, you’ve been gone all day. Just try to explain whatever happened and you’ll be fine. Good luck little Byers,” Steve says encouragingly and gives him a thumbs up. Will forces a smile as he nods at him, turning around when he drives off.

Will twists the doorknob and surprisingly the door is unlocked. He slowly walks in and stops when he sees his whole family sitting on the couch. He hears a gasp from his mom and a moment later she’s hugging him tightly. He barely wraps his arms around her when the rest of the family joins in the hug. They all pull back from the hug and his mom ushers him to sit on the couch next to her, Jonathan, and El. Hopper sits on the lounge chair across from them. 

“Where have you been? You disappeared the whole day and weren’t at school when Jonathan went to go pick you and El up,” his mom asks, voice shaking. 

“El told us you ran off from the group during lunch because of an argument with your friends,” Jonathan says, gesturing toward El. El nods in confirmation and stares at him with concerned eyes. 

Hopper sighs. “You can’t disappear like this kid. You made your mom worried sick. You had us all stressed out, thinking something happened to you.” 

“We were scared and panicking, asking everyone if they knew where you were. You better have a good explanation for this, and all your behavior these past couple of months. Your mom and I have been patient, but we have had enough,” Hopper finishes with a firm tone, meeting Will’s eyes. 

Will looks down at his feet and places his hands on top of his knees, gripping his pants tightly. All eyes are on him and he feels tears well up in his eyes. He reflects back on his earlier conversation with Robin and takes a breath in and out. 

“I’m sorry. You guys deserve to know why I've been acting the way I have these past few months. But I—I am scared to tell you guys the truth. I don’t want to, I’m scared you’ll hate me,” His voice comes out small, and he feels like he’s 5 years old again. Tears roll down his face and he hates it. He hates how he can’t control his emotions like other kids his age can, he’s so obvious and sensitive. 

“Sweetie, I could never hate you. You’re my boy, my sweet little boy. Nothing you say can make me hate you,” his mom coaxes softly, pulling him in for a hug. Will weeps in his mom's warm embrace, gripping the back of her shirt tightly. She rubs his back tenderly and hums to him the same way she did when he would cry as a child.

It takes a couple of minutes before he’s coherent enough to talk again. He sniffs and withdraws from his mom’s embrace, wiping his damp face. 

“The reason why I've been acting so distant and different is not because of you guys. It’s because of me—I've been struggling with something really personal. Something that I was afraid to admit to myself, especially to others. Because I’m scared, so scared that your opinion of me will change because of it. I’m…gay. I know it’s wrong and I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I know it’s weird and bad. I’m a freak. Just don’t hate me, please—please don’t hate me,” Will sobs out, voice cracking as more tears run down his face. 

He curls up into a ball as a self-defense mechanism, refusing to look at anyone. His heart will break when he sees the disgusted and hateful looks on their faces after knowing he’s gay. He’s sobbing loudly when he hears his brother shift in his spot to reach out to him. 

“Will.”

“It’s okay Jonathan, I understand if you hate me. I hate myself too for being like this. I understand if you don’t want to associate with me or be around me-“

Before he can continue his brother forcefully pulls him into an embrace, tightly holding him. Will lifts his head prepared for what’s to come. He’s ready to be screamed at and— oh . His brother isn’t disgusted or mad, he’s sad—crying. Before he can fully process why, his mother and sister join in the hug. He glances at their faces and notices that none of them are angry or disgusted at him, they are actually crying for him.

Oh.

“You guys don’t hate me?” Will blurts out, hopeful and stunned from the lack of negative reactions. He is still in disbelief until his brother speaks up.

“Will—I—we don’t hate you. I always knew deep down, but I didn’t want to push you for answers. I don’t care if you’re gay or straight, because you know what? You’re still my little brother at the end of the day. I’ll always love you and support you no matter what. Nothing can change that—absolutely nothing,” his brother says in a watery voice, smiling softly at him.

 Will nods his head then his mom speaks next. “You know, I always knew too. When you were eight, you drew a rainbow spaceship and showed it to me and Jonathan excitedly. Then when Star Wars came out you always talked about how cool Luke SkyWalker was and how much you liked him. But I didn’t care if you were gay like how Lonnie always said you were. Do you know why? Because you’re my boy, my sweet boy who I love, and still love even after knowing you’re gay. I can never hate you, I will always love you.” 

Will didn’t expect all the support he’s been receiving so far from his family. He’s overwhelmed and is at a loss for words. His face brightens as he leans deeper into his family’s warm embrace. They sit just like that in comfortable silence. 

“What is gay?” El asks genuinely, clearly confused with the puzzled expression plastered on her face. Will laughs, sudden and raspy from all the crying. The muscles on his face relax, and all the tension gone from his body. Jonathan shakes his head chuckling softly. Joyce's eyes soften seeing Will laughing after so long. 

Will feels a bit bad laughing at her question and answers. “It’s uh.. a term.. to refer to someone who isn’t straight. Basically um.. instead of a boy having romantic attraction toward a girl, he likes boys instead. Vice versa. I only like boys so I identify as gay.” 

El nods at his words, pondering over his explanation for a moment. “I don’t get why you said it’s bad. You are still you. You just don’t like girls, only boys.”

“It’s because people suck and are close-minded El. But we aren’t. We still love and support Will for being gay, because we are family,” Jonathan chimes in, flashing him a reassuring smile. 

“Will, I know uh..we aren’t close, but I just want to let you know I care for you. I love you because I consider you my son—and I don’t care if you’re gay. I love you still.  I’m sorry I didn’t speak up sooner, I didn’t want to ruin the moment you were having with your mom and siblings,” Hopper voices after being silent the whole time. 

Will untangles himself from the embrace he’s currently in and leaps into Hopper’s arms without hesitation. Hopper sits there stunned, not expecting Will to react like that. He reciprocates the hug a moment later, a small smile forming on his face. 

“I love you too, dad,” Will responds, burying his face further into Hopper’s neck. Will hears a quiet sob, but pretends not to hear for the sake of Hopper’s pride, even though he knows he’s a big softie when it comes to family moments like this.

Will notices that his other family members are standing up, so he pulls back from the hug, joining them with Hopper. His mom crosses her arms at Will with Hopper, both having a silent conversation with each other before turning to him with a disapproving stare. 

“Now that we know the truth and have an explanation for everything going on with you these past few months, we decided that you won’t be grounded. However, if you ever disappear like that again without telling us you are, you will be grounded for a long time. Do I make myself clear?” Joyce scolds, narrowing her eyes as  Hopper nods his head in agreement. 

“Yes mom, I’m sorry for scaring you and everyone like that. I won’t do that again,” Will responds quickly, playing with the hem of his shirt nervously. 

His mom walks over to him and gives a quick peck on his forehead before announcing she’s going to bed. Hopper ruffles Will’s hair before joining her. Jonathan squeezes his shoulder and walks off. Which leaves Will with El, alone. She grabs his arm the moment everyone is gone and drags him over to her room, not giving him a chance to run away to his room. She locks the door behind her after Will steps inside, letting him know it’s serious. 

Will takes a seat on her bed, resting his hands on his lap. The mattress sinks when El joins him, and it clicks. 

She must be upset that he didn’t join the group for Valentine's Day when he said he’ll go.

“Will, why didn’t you join us today? You didn’t answer any of us when we tried talking to you through the walkie-talkie. I tried using my powers to find you, but I didn’t recognize the room you were asleep in. We were all upset and worried. Mike especially,” El questions, getting straight to the point as she always does. Will clenches his fists on his lap and turns his head meeting El’s eyes.

“I was doing something else and lost track of time, I’m sorry El,” Will lies, feeling on edge for some reason. El narrows her eyes at him, huffing in disbelief.

“Friends don’t lie,” El retorts.

Not wanting to worry his sister anymore about what actually happened, he decides to lie again, hoping El will believe him this time.

“Fine, you caught me. I was actually trying to find out who put the chocolate box in my locker in the morning. I went to Steve and Robin to ask for some help but as you can tell I lost track of time. I’m really sorry for worrying you and the others,” He answers with a strained smile.

El stares at him for what feels like an eternity before nodding her head. He moves to get up from the bed but he feels a hand on his arm. He turns around to see El staring at him intensely, and from the look in her eyes, he can tell she doesn’t fully believe him.

“Are you feeling better?” she asks softly, deciding not to push him for his answers.  

Will looks at her confused, not expecting her to change the topic. “What are you talking about?”

“Earlier at lunch today. You were upset seeing Max and Mike argue like that. They feel bad and want to apologize, but you weren’t available. As your sister, I wanted to make sure you're okay,” El clarifies, watching Will’s eyes widen in realization. 

The question catches Will off guard. He knows El is observant when she wants to be, but he’s still caught off guard. He opens his mouth but then closes it, not knowing what to say.

“I won’t force you to talk if you don’t want to. But I’m here to listen,” she reassures, placing a warm hand on top of his. 

“I just,” he glances at the framed portrait of him and the other party members sitting on her desk, “I just think that Mike doesn’t care for me sometimes. Sometimes— no, most of the time, he acts distant from me. One moment he’s concerned and acts like a good friend, then the next moment he ignores my existence and treats me badly.”

His voice falters at the end, causing El to grip his hand tighter. 

His mind flashes and hurtful memories flood his mind. 

“It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!” 

“We are just friends!”

“I’m hanging out with El today, sorry.”

“We can play another time, I forgot we were supposed to play DnD today. I'm already hanging out with El.” 

He blinks away the memories before more start flooding in to taunt him. Mike has apologized and tried making it up to him, but those words and memories still sting. He can never hate Mike no matter how much he’s hurt him. He always forgives him, even for the times he hasn’t apologized for. He’s always been forgiving when it comes to Mike, not only because they’re—were best friends, it’s because he has a special bond with him. 

It’s different from the one he has with Lucas and the other party members. Mike was his first friend and only friend until Lucas and soon after Dustin. His favorite memory is the first day of kindergarten because that’s when he met the love of his life, Mike. He would have been alone with no friends if Mike didn’t approach him that day. 

“I know he doesn’t mean it sometimes, but it still hurts. It hurts so much, it makes me feel like shit,” he confesses, and fuck he is crying over Mike again. “He makes me think I’m the backup friend because he never wants to hangout with me anymore like we used to. The summer of 1985 was the worst, I was pushed to the side and treated horribly.”  

He uses his free hand to wipe away the tears rolling down his damp face. There’s a silence that settles between the two before El speaks up again. 

“Do you like him?” 

Will’s body goes numb when he hears the words roll out her tongue. Different emotions run through his body all at once. Fear, horror, panic, guilt, and shame. Guilt for being in love with his sister’s ex-boyfriend, shame for loving his best friend that way even though he’s straight. Fear of someone knowing he is in love with Mike, and the horror of having his sister know his darkest secret that he especially—out of everyone—doesn't want her to know.

“Yeah of course I like him, he’s my best friend even if he doesn’t consider me as one,” he answers in a flat tone, acting dumb. He knows damn well that wasn’t what she meant.

“Do you like him more as a friend?” she asks again, clarifying her question. She leans closer to him, meeting his teary eyes. 

“I’m sorry,” he blurts out in a trembling voice, raising his hands to cover his face. Fuck, he’s the worst brother ever. He hates that he is in love with Mike out of all people. He’s sorry for being in love with him when his sister was dating and in love with him. He’s even more sorry for being in love with his sister's ex boyfriend. What kind of brother is he? He wouldn’t blame El hating him for this. 

He mumbles out apologies incoherently through his hands. His whole body trembles and his throat tightens from lack of oxygen. An agonized sob escapes his lips as he imagines the disgusted look on his sister's face after knowing the truth about his feelings for her ex-boyfriend. He’s ashamed of it, even though he was in love with Mike before El was in the picture. He should have gotten over him so long ago, but like the fool he is, he had hope. Hope that Mike may look at him one day the way he looked at El whenever she walked in the room. 

His thoughts are abruptly interrupted when his sister pulls him into a tight embrace. His breath hitches, stunned that El isn’t angrily yelling at him right now. 

“Do not apologize. Mike and I had a mutual break-up almost a year ago. I’m not mad, it’s okay,” she reassures him, voice soft.

“But you should be mad, he’s your ex-boyfriend. It’s wrong,” Will argues, perplexed by her reaction. 

“We are not dating anymore, so he is single now,” El points out, causing Will to grow frustrated. 

“But it’s wrong,” Will cries out in frustration. He stands up, unable to believe what’s happening right now. He raises his hands in the air out in frustration. 

El sits there with her legs crossed, an amused smile settling on her face, “Why is it wrong?”

“Because you guys used to date, and you're my sister. It’s wrong to date or pursue my sister’s ex-boyfriend, anyone would agree with me on this. It’s not normal, it-it’s just weird. I don’t understand why you are so calm about this. It makes me feel like I’m going crazy and overthinking this!” Will rants angrily, moving back and forth shaking his head in disbelief.

“I really don’t understand—“

“Will. Mike and I aren’t dating anymore, it was a mutual breakup. It’s okay that you love him, I am okay with it. I am not normal. You are not normal. No one is. And that’s okay,” El gently interrupts, snapping Will out of his ramble. 

He pauses and is at a complete loss for words. El motions for him to sit down and he complies. She leans in close to him and flicks his forehead, causing Will’s eyes to crinkle in pain. 

“Ow! What the hell was the for?“

El puts a finger to his lips interrupting him again. “Shh…You are overthinking this. I don’t care if you date Mike, I don’t love him in that way anymore. It’s okay, Will. You’re my brother and I love you.” 

Will can’t find it in himself to believe her, he wants to after hearing the sincerity in her voice, but he just can’t. Maybe he will one day after sorting out his issues, but right now he just can’t. 

It's been a few days since he came out to his family and he’s never felt better. Except for one thing, his strained relationship with the party right now. Will has been avoiding them much to his sister’s displeasure. He knows he’s being an asshole but he just isn’t ready to come out yet. He hangs out with Robin a lot these days and sometimes Steve. Eddie graduated last year and is busy most of the time so he doesn’t get to hang out with him much as he did during freshman year. 

He misses the DnD sessions he had with Eddie as the D.M. The hellfire club is still a thing but they hardly play DnD these days. Mostly because the party hasn’t been fully together for months. It’s mainly Will who’s been missing though, making up excuses why he can’t hang out. Then sometimes it’s Lucas who has basketball practice. 

It’s Friday and Will is home alone, his mom and dad are both at work. Jonathan is on a date with Nancy while El said she had plans with someone, she didn’t specify who. He is watching TV in the living room when the doorbell suddenly rings. He sighs and gets up from the comfort of the couch to answer it.

He opens the door and sees Max standing there with her arms crossed. Before he has the chance to say something she pushes him out of the doorway and forces herself inside, locking the door behind her. Wills stands there dumbfounded until Max turns to him. Oh no, he thinks, realizing what’s about to happen. 

“Will we need to talk,” she says firmly and moves past him to take a seat on the couch. She gestures to the space next to her and Will begrudgingly sits down. 

“I’m sorry about what happened at lunch on Monday. You were right about me and Mike arguing like children. We already talked things out and made up, but we haven’t been able to talk to you,” she says, leaning closer to him to meet his eyes. 

He blinks and processes what she just told him. 

Mike and Max made up with each other willingly? What the actual fuck. Now that’s something you don’t see happening every day.

 Will is unable to hide the bewildered expression that takes over his face, causing Max to snort at him.

“I know, shocking right?” she quips, rolling her eyes dramatically. 

“Yeah, no shit. You two are the most stubborn people I met,” Will retorts without thinking. 

Max gasps and her jaw drops from his remark, stunned from his comment.

Oops.

Will wants to mentally slap himself, regretting the words that came out of his big mouth. He can be such a little shit sometimes. Here he is throwing shade at his friend trying to apologize to him.

“Sorry, I just said that without thinking-“

Max bursts into laughter all of sudden, clutching her stomach. Will laughs nervously alongside her, startled by her response to his earlier comment. 

She shakes her head at him, grinning. “No, you’re good. I needed to be humbled someday by someone. You can be so honestly brutal sometimes, it’s hilarious.” 

He grins back, relieved she isn’t mad at him. “Well, you weren’t completely wrong about Mike. He’s been a jerk lately.”

His grin falters when he thinks about how strained his current relationship with Mike really is. His younger self would be so sad right now. 

Max notices the lighthearted atmosphere in the room turns into a more somber one. She glances at Will’s crestfallen face and moves her hand on top of his shoulder. 

“Hey,” she whispers softly.

Will turns his head to her. “Hey.”

“You know, you can tell me anything I’m all ears. I’m here for you Will,” Max offers, bumping her knee against his. 

Will sucks in a breath and confesses what he’s been hiding from her and the rest of his friends for so long. “The reason why I’ve been avoiding everyone recently is because I’m gay. I’m afraid to tell them the truth because they might not be friends with me anymore after finding out.” 

Will looks down at his feet to avoid eye contact. Max blinks, processing what he just told her and her eyes soften. She grabs Will, startling him, and pulls him into a hug. 

“You really think that I’ll stop being friends with you because you’re gay? You are going to try harder than that to get rid of me Byers,” she scoffs half-heartedly and messes with his hair. 

All the tension in his body is gone and he shoves her hands off his hair laughing. “I know I’ll never be able to get rid of you.”

“So is there any boy you are crushing on right now? C'mon, you can tell me,” Max teases, playfully bumping her shoulder against his. 

He glares at her and ignores her question. Max with a wry smile stands up from her seat to stretch her arms. “I bet it’s someone from school. Is it the boy who borrowed your notes in English?”

Will cringes and tilts his head up to give her a disgusted look. “I have standards, you know.”

“Hm, you’re right. Is it someone I know?” Max asks, taking a seat next to him again. 

“No. It’s not someone you know. Stop asking,” Will replies a bit too quickly, causing Max to raise an eyebrow at him. He looks away and for a moment he thinks she gave up. He hears the couch shift and hears a voice whisper in his ear. 

“It’s Mike isn’t it?”

Startled at the sudden question, he falls off the couch landing hard on his butt. 

“Ow,” Will whines and looks up to see Max grimacing at him. Fuck his dramatic reaction gave him away, now she knows. He forces himself to get up from the floor and sits back down on the couch. He turns his head and sees her still looking at him with a frown. 

“What?” Will asks defensively, bothered at her reaction. She shakes her head and leans closer to him. 

“Are you sure you like Mike? Mike out of all people,” she complains, in disbelief that Will actually likes Mike romantically. “You can do so much better than him.” 

“That’s the thing, Max. I don’t want better. I love Mike and still love him for all his good and bad moments. It’s not just a simple crush, I’ve been in love with this stupid boy for over half my life! I tried getting over him already but I just can’t. Okay? It’s not that easy. I wish it was, but it’s not,” He croaks out, voice faltering at the end.

Max stares at him, stunned at his sudden rant, but silently gestures for him to continue. 

 He swallows the lump in his throat and continues. “I hate it so much, it hurts. I can't control who I fall in love with and you don’t know him like I do. Before you moved here from California he used to be different, he was so different.”

Will lifts his hands to his face, letting out a muffled sob, the walls he’s built up completely destroyed. Fuck, he’s cried so much over these past few days and is so tired of it. It’s probably his fault for keeping his feelings repressed for so long. He’s also just a sensitive and very emotional person, which he hates. Max shifts her body and wraps her arms around him gently. He buries himself deeper in her embrace as his body trembles. 

They sit there in silence, the only noise being Will’s heart-wrenching sobs. Will feels himself calming down after a few minutes go by. Will wipes the dried tears off his face, feeling exhausted.

He’s drowsy, his eyes start to doze off until the telephone rings, causing him to groan. Max gently removes herself from his grip and walks over to answer. It’s not long before Max rejoins Will on the couch. She reaches for the tv remote next to Will and turns on the tv, changing the channel. Will shifts his position and rests his head on her shoulder, the fabric of his shirt tickles his face. 

“So who called?” Will asks, keeping his eyes on the tv screen. When Will doesn’t receive an answer he glances at Max momentarily before bumping his knee against hers.

 Her head snaps toward him, startled out of her daze she shrugs at him stiffly. “No one important. It was just a telemarketer.” 

Will squints his eyes at her dismissive tone, not believing her one second. Max has always been a horrible liar, her body language always gives her away. He can’t talk because he’s also a horrible liar, but that’s beside the point. She is clearly hiding something from him, he’s not an idiot. Why? He doesn’t know, but he’s about to find out. 

“You’re lying,” He points out, giving her a disbelieving look. Will feels Max stiffen at his words, and he scoffs. He really can’t believe her right now. He poured his heart out to her just a couple of minutes ago and here she is lying to him.  

“Fine, you caught me. It was your brother, he called to ask you for a favor,” Max admits, turning her head to meet his eyes. He gestures for her to continue and she complies. “He left something at the Wheeler house when he went to visit earlier today. He was wondering if you can go real quick to get it for him.”

Will frowns. “Oh.”

There’s silence now, the only noise being the tv in the background. Will is processing what Max said until she squeezes his arm. “Look, you don’t have to go get it if you don’t want to. Your brother will understand.”

Will shakes his head, he can’t keep avoiding everyone forever. Besides Mike not even be home right now and the rest of the party definitely won’t be there. He’ll be fine, he just has to go inside Mike’s house real quick and get something his brother left behind. Will stands up suddenly, startling Max, and strides over to the door.

He swings it open and turns to Max. “I hope you brought your skateboard because I only have one bike and we both won’t fit on it.” 

Giving her a firm look he walks out the door, knowing she’ll follow him shortly. 

“Of course I did, I’m not an idiot. How the hell do you think I got here?” Max retorts loudly, rolling her eyes. 

When they arrive at the Wheeler’s house Will already wants to turn back. He stands at the porch awkwardly, rings the doorbell, and plays with the hem of his shirt. He’s already regretting this, for some reason he has a bad feeling and has to fight the urge to run away. Max turns her head toward him and grabs him by the shoulder, making him face her. 

“Hey, we don’t have to do this. We can leave right now if you are uncomfortable. I understand and so will your brother,” Max says, noticing his discomfort. Will opens his mouth to reply, but he’s interrupted by the sound of the door opening. He forces himself to turn around and sighs in relief when he sees who it is. It’s Holly, Mike’s little sister. Thank god because if it was Mike he would have cried. Maybe the universe doesn’t hate him and plots against him on a daily basis. 

“Hi Will and Max, it’s been a while,” Holly greets, stepping to the side so they can enter.

“Hi Holly,” Will greets back while Max waves. He takes a deep breath and steps forward. 

He enters the house with Max, following closely behind. It’s awfully quiet and he doesn’t see anyone else in the house, which is weird. It’s weird because Mrs.Wheeler would never leave Holly home alone because she’s too young. This causes alarms to go off in his head, but he chooses to ignore it, believing it’s just his nerves. He’s probably overthinking like usual, he tends to do that more than he would like to admit. He searches around the house and is confused about what he’s looking for. 

Will turns to Max. “Hey, what are we looking for?”

 She stops in her search and snaps her head toward him. “I have no idea. Your brother didn’t specify what he left, probably a sweater or something.” She continues searching the living room after replying to Will’s question. 

“I think your brother left something in the basement. I saw something in there when I was in there earlier,” Holly speaks up suddenly, then continues doodling. Will frowns, remembering the times when Mike and him would hang out. His favorite memory is when Mike brought him over during Halloween back in middle school. 

Will falls to the floor after being scared by a random kid dressed as a clown. He tilts his head to look around, realizing he’s back in the upside down, dread fills his stomach. It has to be a nightmare or something, there’s just no way he’s back in the upside, but it feels too real to be a nightmare.

He quickly stands up, not wasting any time he decides to call out for help. 

“Mike!” 

“Mike!” He yells out again, desperate to escape this nightmare. 

He’s about to call out again but a weird noise stops him. He looks around, heart stopping for a moment at what he sees. It’s a huge shadow monster that looks like one of the monsters from DnD, which is also looking directly at Will, triggering his body to flee. 

Will runs, not daring to take a moment to look behind him, too afraid it’ll get him if he does. He finds a temporary spot to hide, hoping the monster won’t find him, if it does he’s screwed. He brings his knees to his chest, letting out a quiet whimper, too scared to make a loud sound. 

The eerie silence is getting to him and he’s shaking really bad-

His thoughts are interrupted when he feels a pair of hands grab him. “Will, what’s wrong? I couldn’t find you— are you hurt?” 

Will is still somewhat in a daze when Mike finds him. He desperately tries to respond but his body refuses to cooperate. 

“I’m gonna get you home, okay? I’m gonna get you home,” Mike repeats, pulling him up from the floor. Mike wraps a protective arm with Will, leaving the rest of the party to take him home. Will leans into his touch, afraid he’ll be alone again, but Mike’s body warmth comforts him.

 Instead of taking Will to his home, Mike decides to take him to his house. They sit together in the basement in silence. Will can feel Mike’s stare at him, which is understandable, he was having a full on mental-breakdown not that long ago.

“Eleven is gone now but I feel like I can still see her sometimes. I don’t know, I feel like I’m going crazy. So much has happened,” Mike says all of a sudden. 

“Me too,” Will replies, staring at the wall. 

“Hey Will, if we’re both going crazy, then we’ll go crazy together,” Mike says with a soft smile.

 Will turns his head around, chuckling softly. “Yeah. Crazy Together.”

Max groans loudly, snapping him out of the fond memory. Surprised by the sudden noise, he turns his head and stares at her quizzically. He raises an eyebrow at her, wondering what she's so bothered about. 

“I don’t want to go inside Mike’s basement, it smells like armpit and body odor,” Max complains, putting her hands to her face. 

Will rolls his eyes. “It isn’t that bad. Stop being dramatic.” 

He walks over to the basement door and opens it hesitantly. It’s dark inside and he feels goosebumps all over his body for some reason. 

Max is behind him and squints her eyes. “It’s so dark in here.” 

The door behind them closes and the lights turn on. There sitting on the couch is the rest of the party, what the fuck. What the actual fuck, was he set up? Will turns to the door trying to open it but it won’t budge for some reason. He bangs on the door desperate to get out, not ready for any more confrontation. 

Will knew something was off but still chose to ignore his gut feeling. He turns to Max who is standing there awfully quiet. “Hey did you know about this?”

Before she can reply, a familiar voice speaks up. “No, she didn’t. We knew she would tell you if she knew.”

Will darts his eyes to the culprit, Mike, god damn it. Was he the one who planned this? No, it couldn’t be, it had to be someone else. He glances around the room, noticing El is wiping the blood dripping from her nose with the sleeve of her shirt. 

He points a finger at her accusingly. “You were the one who planned this, huh?”

El smiles, tilting her head innocently. “Yes, it was my idea. But it was a group effort.” 

“Yeah it was a group idea, we are worried about you Will!” Dustin says. 

“Yeah what he said,” Lucas agrees, nodding his head. 

Will sighs, with no choice he walks down the stairs slowly. With El on their side, he can’t do shit. He’s annoyed, but also impressed that his friends planned this out perfectly. He decides to take a seat next to Mike since there’s only an available spot next to him or El. Even though he’s impressed, he’s still upset that his sister planned behind his back like this. However, before he can sit down, he’s pulled back by a sudden force, which results in Max stealing the seat. Mike glares at her, clearly preferring Will to sit next to him, but she ignores the both of them. Will shrugs and takes a seat next to El, giving her a look. 

It’s silent, he watches the others mouth to each other, thinking Will isn’t paying attention. Yeah, how did these idiots fool him and Max again? He crosses his arms, and darts his eyes to Max. She mouths ‘they can be so dumb and smart at the same time’, he snorts at her comment, finding it funny. Mike glances at the both of them with an unreadable expression on his face, god what’s up with him? Will looks away, cheeks reddening from Mike’s intense stare. 

“Sorry for tricking you Will, but we decided to hold a convention because of your recent behavior these past months. We just want to talk and know what’s up,” Dustin begins, unable to take the awkward silence anymore. Will looks at him in confusion, Mike puts his hands to his face groaning, and Max snorts. 

Lucas smacks him on the head, hard by the wince on Dustin’s face. “No, you idiot. It’s called an intervention. We are having an intervention right now.” 

“Ow motherfucker! You could have just said so, no need for violence,” Dustin complains, rubbing his head with one hand, and raising his other to flip Lucas off. 

“I was hoping to knock some sense in that empty head of yours,” Lucas retorts, ignoring the scowl on Dustin’s face. El giggles, finding this amusing, and leans closer to Will. Will shifts his gaze to Mike, and oh boy he can tell he isn’t happy, he’s fuming by the frustrated look on his face. 

“Oh that’s it,” Dustin mutters, turning his body toward Lucas to smack him until Mike interrupts.

“Enough!”

Lucas and Dustin both pause in their movement and turn to Mike sheepishly. Mike puts a hand to his temple, clearly bothered by them forgetting the main reason why they are all gathered here. Will bites the inside of his cheek, he was hoping Mike would get distracted like the others, but it’s Mike. Mike has always been observant, especially with Will, damn it. 

Lucas sits up, fixing his gaze on Will. “Will talk to us about what’s been up with you. We are here for you.”

The others nod in agreement and Max shoots him an apologetic look. Everyone stares at Will expectantly, but he sinks into the couch, avoiding eye contact. Feeling petty, he ignores them and plays with the hem of his shirt. 

El leans into his personal space even more and pokes him. She pokes his arm, then stomach, and finally his cheek. Will feels the urge to slap her hand away, instead, he grips his pants tightly, finding it best to not react to her touch. 

El frowns and then for a moment Will thinks she gave up, but he’s wrong. “Will. If you don’t talk to us we will be here all night. I told mom and dad we might have to stay the night to finish a project for school.” 

Max groans, hunching forward in her seat. Mike and Lucas nod their heads in agreement, the former having a more smug look on his face.

“Wait, actually I can’t spend the night. My mom told me I have to be home by-“

“Dustin please be quiet,” Lucas interrupts, shaking his head at him. Dustin grumbles, complying with his request when he sees Mike giving him a scary glare.

“Also I told Jonathan about this, so he knows,” El adds, bumping her knee against Will’s. Will’s right eye twitches from the information, not expecting his brother to betray him like this, but he’s able to restrain himself from talking. He closes his eyes and pretends he’s home alone in his room. Will knows he’s acting childish, but he doesn’t care. Will doesn’t have the courage to tell the rest of his friends the truth yet. 

An hour passes by and the tension in the room almost makes Will crack, keyword almost. 

Max stands up, strides over to Will, and falls to her knees. She grabs his hands, surprising him by the sudden contact, he opens his eyes. He meets her gaze and sees the pleading look crossing her face. 

“Will please, I can’t stand to stay another minute in this armpit-smelling basement. My nostrils are dying and I am afraid—afraid if I’m trapped in here any longer I’m going to lose my sense of smell,” Max begs, hysterical from being stuck in Mike’s musty basement for over an hour. 

Will understands why Max is reacting the way she is because it does smell worse than usual, much worse. He’s used to the usual smell but it smells worse today, like something rotten. Will looks in Mike’s direction. 

Mike is already staring at him, Will raises an eyebrow and all he receives in return is a shrug and smug smile. 

Oh, Will realizes. He stands up and makes his way over to where the smell is coming from. It’s coming from where Mike is seated, well under him. Will gets down on his knees and reaches under the couch, grimacing when he touches something squishy. He pulls out a plastic bag that is filled with old sandwiches and moldy cheese. He stands up and tosses the bag away, looks at Mike in disgust, and returns to his seat. Max joins him but sits on the floor next to him instead, distancing herself from Mike. 

Another hour passes by and Will notices Dustin is dozing off, El is having a hushed conversation with Max, Lucas is staring at the wall, and Mike is staring at him with his arms crossed. Will fidgets in his seat, uncomfortable from the intense gaze from Mike, and embarrassed by the fact it’s giving him butterflies. Will wants to shoot himself, he’s acting like a flustered middle schooler when the person they like notices them. Will can’t take this anymore, his friends are just concerned for his well-being by staging this intervention. He stands up from his seat abruptly, causing El and Max to pause in their conversation.

Lucas elbows Dustin in the ribs, waking him up from his daze, and points his head toward Will. Dustin opens his mouth, turns, and slams his mouth shut. Will locks eyes with Mike for a moment before he looks away.  

“Okay, I can’t take this anymore. The reason why I have been pushing everyone away and acting like a complete asshole is that I am afraid to tell you guys something,” Will blurts, turning his head in El’s direction. She nods her head encouragingly and gestures for him to continue. 

Her support brings him the comfort he needs in order to be able to continue. “I understand if you guys don’t want to be my friend anymore after I tell you the truth. But I am just going to say it to get it over with. I’m gay, I don’t like girls, only boys.” 

Like a weight taken off his chest, he feels relieved. Relieved of the burden he’s been carrying all this time, relieved he doesn’t have to push his friends away in fear they might find out. However, now that they know, he’s scared to see their reactions and even more scared to lose them. Will’s body shakes and his heart races uncontrollably. Tears well up in his eyes much to his dismay and he tries blinking them away. 

Will attempts to calm himself when he realizes everyone is silent, after he just told them he’s gay, he wishes he lied instead of telling them the truth. Refusing to look at anyone he shuts his eyes, only a single tear slips through. He bites the inside of his cheek to push down a sob, not wanting to embarrass himself further. 

God, they fucking hate him now. He should have just kept his mouth shut.

Will mopes, angry with himself. More negative thoughts whirl through his head until he feels multiple people throw themselves at him. 

He stumbles at the sudden weight, letting out a breathy gasp. He quickly balances himself so he doesn’t fall. Will opens his eyes slowly to see everyone hugging him. He leans into their embrace more, unable to hold back the watery laugh he emits. It feels like an eternity before someone finally speaks up.

“Will, we still love you and care for you. You being gay doesn’t change that. We are a party and a party sticks together,” Lucas says softly as he leans in closer, exchanging a smile with Will.

“Yeah, we are like that one piece of gum stuck on the bottom of your shoe, so you can’t get rid of us easily,” Dustin adds, grinning from ear to ear. Will rolls his eyes at that, unable to stop the smile from taking over his face. It’s the thought that counts, even though the comparison is weird. 

“Gum really? Dustin, you really compared us to gum,” Max complains half-heartedly, rolling her eyes. Dustin opens his mouth to argue back but El interrupts the two.

“Will, I hope that you feel better now that you told us what you've been holding in for so long.”

Will turns his head in El’s direction and nods, flashing a soft smile at her. She hums, probably content at the fact he finally shared what’s been the main cause of him distancing himself from everyone. He’s beaming with joy until he realizes Mike hasn’t said anything. The main person whose reaction he’s imagined in his head multiple times. He should be grateful for the fact Mike isn’t disgusted at him, but he’s still disappointed for some reason.

Maybe the reason why Will is bothered is that he was hoping for something more out of Mike. Anything, but it’s just complete silence from his end, which frustrates him even more. Will sneaks a glance at Mike, noticing the straight-faced expression settled on his face, a sigh escapes his mouth. Will is frustrated that Mike is behaving abnormally, well more than usual.

The others don’t notice, too caught up in their own conversations, happy that the party is finally together. Will sits on the couch next to El and Max in contemplation until the basement door finally opens, interrupting Will’s train of thoughts. 

Mike’s mom stands there with Holly trailing behind, left hand resting on her hip, she shifts her gaze to Will and opens her mouth. “Sorry to interrupt guys, but Will and El, your brother is here to pick you up.” She turns her head toward Dustin’s direction. “Dustin, your mom is here too. It’s getting late so unless you guys are staying over I would start heading home before it gets dark outside.”

“Okay, thank you Mrs.Wheeler,” Will responds politely and the rest of the party nod their heads at her in acknowledgment. Mrs.Wheeler walks away and Holly stands there for a moment, smiling at Mike, then leaves before Will can process anything.

Dustin stands up from his seat, the rest of the group follows his actions and moves to gather all their belongings. Dustin is the first to leave, not wanting to make his mom wait, but he gives Will a quick hug before making his way up the stairs. 

“Well I’m going to head out now, see you at school Monday,” Lucas says. He hugs Will tightly, and heads up the stairs, waving goodbye to the others. Will chuckles and waves back, not noticing Max sneaking up from behind. 

Catching him off guard, she messes with his hair despite his protests and ignores the glare Will sends her way. 

“See you Monday, you better be at the lunch table tomorrow!” Max chirps, giving Will one last smirk, she turns to leave. 

Max is gone and now it’s just Mike, El, and Will. Will must not be the only one who senses the tension in the room because El gives him a knowing look before making her way to the stairs.

“Will let’s go, Jonathan is waiting for us,” El states firmly, holding her hand out to him. Before Will can move, he feels a familiar hand pressed on his shoulder. He jumps, startled by the sudden contact. He whips his head to see Mike standing there with a clenched fist.

“Wait,” Mike says, and moves closer into Will’s personal space. Overwhelmed by Mike’s sudden boldness, he steps back. What the hell has gotten into Mike all of sudden, the audacity he has to act like this as if he wasn’t acting like Will didn’t exist after he came out. Will frowns, Mike has been quiet the whole time he came out, and now he’s being all touchy, more than usual. 

El notices Will’s discomfort and moves closer, grabbing his hand, she drags him to the stairs. But before she takes another step, Mike grabs Will’s free arm, with a determined look on his face. “Will can spend the night here, it’s been a while since the two of us hung out, alone.”

Will darts his eyes to El and then Mike and feels the tension worsen, crap. El tightens her grip and glares at Mike. Oh no, Will thinks. Mike just activated her protective sister mode, holding in a sigh, he presses his mouth into a thin line. Mike refuses to back down, tightening his hold on Will as well. Will wants to cry, he’s tired and just wants to go to sleep already.

“Mike I-“

“Will can hang out another time. It’s late and he didn't bring any clothes. Goodbye Mike,” El butts in aggressively, ignoring Mike’s glare. 

“Last time I checked you weren’t the boss of Will. He can answer for himself,” Mike scoffs, rolling his eyes. Mike leans closer to him, causing his heart to flutter, it’s not every day he has Mike touching him like this. Will does wonder how the hell Mike and El were dating for so long again because right now they look so done with each other.

For some reason this causes El to get angry and argue with Mike. Will feels a headache forming as he’s being tugged around like a ragdoll. These two are fighting like kindergarteners and if he has to hear them go at it for another minute he will go insane. 

“Enough!” Will snaps, having enough of their childish behavior. He’s exhausted and honestly just wants to lay down after everything that happened today. The bickering immediately stops and Will knows he now has their full attention. 

“El, I appreciate you looking out for me but I am fine,” He says calmly, turning his head to meet Mike’s eyes and he continues. “And as for staying over, I don’t know if I feel comfortable doing that. You’ve been acting weird Mike.”

Ignoring the dejected look on Mike’s face he turns to El. “Let’s go home, see you Monday Mike.”

El happily makes her way up the stairs but before Will can join her, Mike grabs Will’s hand, startling him. Will is about to slap his hand away but pauses in doing so when he sees the look on Mike’s face. 

“Please stay,” Mike begs, with a pleading look as he squeezes Will’s hand gently. Will’s heart clenches from the desperate tone in his voice. Will has always been weak when it comes to Mike, he can’t help it, it’s in his nature. His eyes flicker in El’s direction, she shakes her head, preferring him to not stay the night. Will turns and meets Mike’s eyes, his heart skipping a beat from the way Mike’s pupils dilate. 

 He makes up his mind, not wanting to waste any more time. 

“Fine, I’ll stay the night. El, tell mom I’ll be home tomorrow,” He replies, withdrawing his hand from Mike’s, he shifts away to create distance. Will feels like his heart was about to burst from holding hands with Mike for that long, the effect he has on Will is frustrating, and he doesn’t even know it. Mike’s face falters for a second but brightens again a moment later.

El sighs, not surprised by Will’s choice, and leaves him alone with Mike reluctantly. 

“You should probably tell your mom I’m spending the night,” Will suggests, not waiting for Mike’s reply, he heads up the stairs. 

Will is currently regretting his choices in the bathroom. Why did he agree to have a sleepover with Mike? They aren’t 12 years old anymore. Since he didn’t have any clothes he’s currently wearing Mike’s hellfire club shirt and sweatpants. Even though Mike is taller than him by a few inches, Will has a more broad build, so the shirt is only a little loose on him. He fights the urge to lift the shirt to his nose, knowing it smells like Mike. Ugh, he’s such a weirdo for even wanting something so weird. He brings his hands to his face and groans, appalled that he wants to sniff Mike’s shirt, a shirt he lent him because he’s a good friend and nothing more.

He reflects on Mike’s odd behavior for the past few hours and finds himself foolishly hoping that maybe his feelings aren’t completely one-sided. There’s no explanation he can come up with for Mike’s sudden clinginess, but before he can overthink things Will flicks his forehead. He is reading into things way too much, he needs to get a grip and come to terms with reality. His best friend is straight and will never see him in the way he so desperately longs for. 

He gives himself one last reassuring pat on his shoulder and hesitantly opens the bathroom door. He makes his way to Mike’s room, stops once he reaches the door, and slowly opens the door. Glancing around the room he hasn’t been in for ages, he notices there’s no sleeping bag, and pauses in confusion. Where is he going to sleep? 

“Okay, so I decided that we can share a bed like old times,” Mike says, shifting closer to Will. Will lifts his head to respond and pauses when he’s aware of how close they are standing near each other. Mike locks eyes with Will, his eyes flickering to Will’s lips momentarily, Will must be imagining things. 

“Okay,” Will answers, voice faint and nervous from the intensity of Mike’s stare. Will is frozen in place, unable to move, he licks his lips. The tension in the room is suffocating, as he waits for Mike to do something, anything. His heart nearly leaps out of his chest when Mike leans in closer, closing the distance between the two. Panicking, Will jerks away, unfortunately, he missteps and falls. With a loud thud, he lands on his butt hard, he winces in pain.

Will believes Mike was going to kiss him right that moment, but he moved away before he could fully close the distance. His face heats up in embarrassment, but before he can get lost in his thoughts, a pair of hands grab him by the waist and lift him gently. 

“Will, are you okay?” Mike asks in that worried voice that causes Will’s heart to clench tightly. He chuckles awkwardly in response, twists away from Mike’s grip, and takes a seat on the bed. 

“Hey, it’s getting pretty late, and I’m tired. I’m going to sleep now, goodnight Mike,” he lets out a fake yawn, avoiding eye contact. Will lays down on his side, pulling the covers over his body with shaky hands. His heart is racing, afraid he’ll give himself away, he shuts his eyes and bites the inside of his cheek to calm himself. 

When the lights are turned off, Will finally opens his eyes. He hears the bed squeak, and not even a moment later Mike shifts closer to him, his hand brushing against Will’s right hand. Will shivers, feeling himself going insane from Mike’s recent touchy behavior. 

“Hey are you asleep yet?” Mike whispers, gaze flickering at Will’s turned back. 

Holding back a sigh, he turns around. “No, I can’t sleep.” 

“Me neither,” Mike admits, eyes flickering to Will’s lips again. 

Will’s breath hitches when he sees Mike staring at him. He looks away, desperate to avoid Mike’s dark eyes that he just wants to stare at and admire for hours. 

“So…how have you been?” Mike asks, shifting closer to Will.

“Good,” Will answers, still avoiding eye contact. He can feel Mike’s gaze on him, but manages to maintain a calm expression on his face. Will refuses to get his hopes up, Mike is just trying to reconnect with him again, after being distant for so long. They haven’t been close with each other for a year now, which isn’t completely Mike’s fault. He blames the constant misunderstandings, but deep down Will knows it’s his fault for pushing him away. Mike isn’t the only one guilty of that, he’s just as guilty. 

“That’s good. Listen, I know we haven’t talked much for the past year, especially after my breakup with El. I've been a dick lately and I’m sorry. I’m sorry for pushing you away and treating you horribly when you were nothing but a patient and good friend. I miss you, it’s not the same without you. The others are great to hang out with, but it’s not the same,” Mike confesses, voice softening at the end. 

Will’s heart skips a beat, moved by his words he meets Mike’s eyes. A flush creeps on Will’s face and he feels a sudden warmth in his body. Will’s not the only one blushing because he thinks he sees Mike’s face turn a faint pink color, but it’s hard to tell in the dark. He wants to reach a hand out and touch Mike’s hair which looks so soft, but clenches his fists instead to restrain himself. 

“It’s okay Mike. I’ve already forgiven you for everything that’s happened lately. I have also been a dick lately too, I’m sorry,” Will murmurs quietly. 

“It’s okay Will. I forgive you and I don’t blame you at all. I was the first one to push you away after all,” Mike whispers softly.

Will nods his head and smiles at Mike, happy that they are finally friends again, even happier that he's so close to the boy he loves. They lay there in comfortable silence until Will feels himself drifting off, tired from the last 24 hours. The last thing he sees is Mike’s fond smile before exhaustion takes over him. 

When Will wakes up early in the morning he finds himself in a dilemma, a huge one. Mike’s stomach is pressed against his back, both arms are wrapped around his waist, and his face resting on Will’s shoulder. He feels Mike’s breath touch his neck, causing tingling sensations to go off all over his body. Will’s face heats up thinking about how intimate their positions are currently. 

Feeling like he’s taking advantage of Mike, Will attempts to squirm free of his hold. It’s no use, Mike’s already tight grip becomes tighter, and he pulls Will closer to him than he already is somehow. Determined to get out his grip, he squirms again, but it backfires on him almost instantly. Mike whines in protest, clinging onto Will like he’s a teddy bear. 

With no other option left he gives up, not wanting to wake Mike up, and relaxes into his embrace. Not even a few moments later, he grows drowsy and closes his eyes. Before he can fully doze off into sleep, he prays that this doesn’t cause any awkwardness between him and Mike, because they finally made up with each other after so long. 

Will wakes up an hour later to an empty bed, much to his relief. He sits up and stretches his arms lazily, and decides it’s time to get up and face Mike, unfortunately. He hops off the bed and makes his way to the door, the floor creaking beneath his feet with every step he takes. He opens it slowly and takes his time to get to the kitchen, delaying the inevitable. When he arrives, he sees Mike sitting alone at the dining table with two plates of food. Will takes the seat next to him, scooting his chair closer, ignoring the awful squeaking noises it makes.

Will rubs his eyes, blinks, and realizes it’s just him and Mike, the other Wheelers aren't home. Will whips his head toward Mike, his usual kept hair is a wild mess, but Will doesn’t care, he still wants to reach out and touch it. Will clenches his fist instead, digging his nails into the palm of his hand, a reminder to keep his urges at bay. 

“Is it just us?” Will asks, noticing how Mike’s body goes stiff from the question. He raises an eyebrow at him. Why the hell is he acting weird all of a sudden? Maybe he’s embarrassed about cuddling Will like a koala, but that is nothing to get worked over, if anything he should be embarrassed at the way he snores in his sleep.

“Yes,” Mike answers quickly, still avoiding eye contact. Will hums and just eats his plate of food in silence, deciding he needs some nourishment before dealing with Mike. He reflects on Mike’s touchy behavior after he came out gay to everyone in the party, feeling hopeful he turns to Mike again. Maybe- just maybe his best friend isn’t straight, there’s no explanation for Mike’s odd behavior, he  caught Mike looking at his lips on multiple occasions. 

It could just be all foolish thinking but Will can’t help himself, if there’s a chance Mike might return his feelings he’s willing to take it. 

“So about this morning,” Will starts, fiddling with the hem of his shirt nervously, he forces himself to continue. “You were kind of cuddling me, like a lot.”

When the words come out of his mouth, he instantly regrets it. He inwardly cringes regretting everything and wants to die when he sees Mike turn to him with furrowed eyebrows. 

“What are you talking about?” Mike asks, confusion settling on his face. Silence grows between the two boys and Will wants to disappear, no-actually he wants to smack himself for opening his big mouth. But, there’s no way Will is imagining things, Mike has to be acting dumb on purpose. He studies Mike’s body language, noticing he is fidgeting in his seat, Will clenches the fork in his hand. 

Oh, so he wants to act like that? Feeling petty, Will blinks at Mike like he asked a stupid question. 

“I mean you were gripping onto me for dear life like a koala. Whining in your sleep if I dared to move an inch,” Will says nonchalantly, stabbing the egg on his plate a bit too hard, he stuffs a big chunk into his mouth. 

Mike spits out the orange juice he was sipping with wide eyes, and raises a hand to his mouth, coughing awkwardly. 

“I was not,” Mike denies, a little too aggressively. Will rolls his eyes, done with his dramatic behavior. What is he lying for? He’s probably embarrassed, but if anyone should be flustered about this whole cuddling ordeal, it should be him, not Mike. 

“Nevermind,” Will says dryly and stands up. With a sharp sigh he takes his plate to the kitchen, dumping it in the sink gently, he bites his lip in frustration. Why did he get his hopes up over nothing? Will is just projecting his feelings and overanalyzing Mike’s every action, which is stupid on his part. 

He needs to stop entertaining the idea that Mike may love him back one day, it’s becoming painful, way too painful for his heart. Will knows it’s time to move on now after so many years of one-sided pining, but it’s hard to bury his feelings away. But he has to try because his best friend will never love him back, no matter how much he daydreams about it. 

It’s Monday morning and Will is currently standing at his locker. Ignoring the feeling of deja vu, he opens his locker, gently this time. A note falls out, but Will reacts in time and catches it, surprising himself. He holds the note up closer to his face and reads it out loud.

“Did you enjoy the chocolate? Love your secret admirer.” 

Will pauses, confused for a second, and then remembers about the box of chocolate a moment later. 

“Oh, right. I gave those to El to eat. I kind of feel bad now,” Will mumbles to himself, feeling a bit guilty about giving it to his sister yesterday. He was about to throw out the box last night because the chocolates melted from being in his bag for multiple days, but his sister spotted him and asked to have it. Since he didn’t want it, he gave it to her without hesitation, the smile on her face made his day so much better. 

Will crumples the note into a ball, stuffing it in the front pocket of his jeans. With a slam, his locker shuts and he leaves for his first class, hoping that there’s no pop quiz today. 

He arrives early to class, thinking he has to wait outside the door, but to his surprise, the door is wide open. He greets his teacher and takes a seat, taking his books out from his bag. He sits there in silence and takes a moment to think, grateful to have some time to reflect without any interruptions. 

Maybe he should give his secret admirer a chance, it couldn’t hurt to try. But, they might be a girl, and it’s going to be awkward when he rejects her, really awkward. It won’t be his first time turning down a girl, for some reason he’s popular with girls, despite the rumors about him. The rumors aren’t wrong of course, but he’s not going to confirm them, no way in hell. 

But there’s a possibility it might be a boy, a very small possibility. Robin did say there could be other gay people in this town, but they wouldn’t know, so he has to be careful. Will’s thoughts are interrupted when the bell rings, indicating that class is starting soon. Will straightens in his seat and watches a flood of students arrive inside the class. Max walks in a few seconds before the late bell rings, waving at Will with a wide grin on her face. Will shakes his head at her, a fond smile surfacing on his face, and turns around when the teacher starts attendance. 

The day goes by quickly and before Will knows it, it’s already time for lunch. The bell rings signaling it’s time for lunch and everyone in his class heads out, including Will. For the first time in a while, he willingly makes his way to the cafeteria, excited to see everyone. Well excluding Mike, things ended awkwardly Saturday, so awkwardly that he made up an excuse to go home early. 

When he finally escapes the crowded lunch line, the whole party is already at the table. Max spots him in the distance and waves at him, gesturing wildly for him to sit next to her. Will rolls his eyes playfully and sits next to her, placing his tray of food on the table. Will is in between Max and Lucas, El is to Max’s left, and Dustin is sitting next to Mike, who is sitting across from them. 

He listens to their conversations absentmindedly as he sips his chocolate milk, too preoccupied with his drink, he doesn’t notice the way Dustin and Max grin at each other, in a scheming way.

Max slings an arm around Will’s shoulders, startled by the unexpected weight on his shoulders he almost spills his milk, but fortunately, he doesn’t. Will glares at Max, annoyed that she almost caused him to spill his milk, he attempts to shrug her arm off his shoulders. 

She doesn’t budge at all and smirks at him, growing even more annoyed from the smug look on her face, he is about to vocalize his thoughts but a voice cuts him off. 

“Hey Will, did you get any more notes from your secret admirer?” 

Will freezes in his seat, not expecting to be asked that question at all, his expression falters for a moment giving him away. Will turns his head around with the blankest face he can muster, and sees Dustin smiling at him with a mischievous glint in his eyes, causing Will’s stomach to churn.

Before Will can reply, Dustin continues. 

“Son of a bitch. I fucking knew it. You did get another note!” Dustin exclaims, a little too excitedly, and leans closer in his seat. 

Will fidgets in his seat, uncomfortable by having everyone’s sudden attention on him, he looks down at his lunch tray. 

“Uh,” Will starts awkwardly, sensing everyone’s anticipation and eyes on him, he continues clumsily, “yeah um—yeah I did. This morning.”

Will’s face twists in embarrassment, why did he stutter like that? A flush creeps on the back of his neck, going unnoticed by everyone thankfully. He focuses his gaze firmly on his lunch tray to avoid eye contact. 

“What did it say?” Max questions, leaning closer into Will’s personal space.

“Maybe they gave Will their phone number to contact them,” El suggests, nudging Max’s arm.

Lucas shakes his head. “No, they probably complimented Will with poetic words. Like all secret admirers do.”

Will is trying to think of what to say, finding it difficult to find the right words, but a voice interrupts him.

“Why are you guys so interested in this? It’s none of our fucking business,” Mike scowls, eyebrows furrowed, clearly annoyed about this for some reason, which Will doesn’t understand why. 

Why is Mike so bothered about this? 

“Because Will is the only one in our party that hasn’t dated anyone. He’s been single for so long, it would be nice to help set him up with someone who might be a guy,” Dustin argues, voice quieting at the end, probably afraid he might accidentally out Will to other tables next to them.

Will appreciates the gesture, even though it’s already heavily believed that he’s gay by a good chunk of the school population. It’s the thought that counts though.

“Yeah, Mike. Why are you so bothered? Unless…” Max trails off, sending Mike a mischievous grin. 

“Unless you’re jealous,” El finishes, smirking at Mike, whose eyes widen from the accusation. 

Will looks up, shifting his gaze in Mike’s direction. 

Mike’s cheeks turn pink from El’s accusation, and he lifts a finger at her and Max.

“I’m- I’m not jealous!” Mike chokes out, shaking his head. 

Max raises an eyebrow at him, which triggers Mike. 

 “I’m not jealous,” Mike repeats, more defensively this time. 

“Okay we get it you’re not jealous. Nobody cares. Anyways, what did the note say Will?” Lucas interrupts, ignoring the glare Mike sends his way.

Will has to hold in a chuckle from that. Lucas always puts Mike in his place, so casually too. Will knows Mike isn’t jealous, why would he be? Mike has made it clear he doesn’t like him in that way. And he never will, Will bitterly thinks. 

“They asked if I enjoyed the chocolate, that’s it. It’s no big deal, really,” Will mumbles, a bit flustered to have everyone’s attention on him again. He sticks his hand in his pocket and pulls out the note, handing it to Max. 

She reads it silently, handing it to El with wide eyes, and then it’s passed around the table until it reaches Dustin. 

“Oh my god,” Dustin gasps. 

“What?” Mike asks, leaning closer to Dustin, obviously curious to see what the note says.

“It says love your secret admirer,” Dustin says loudly.

Will rolls his eyes. “Like I said. It’s not a big deal.” 

His comment causes Dustin to gasp at him. What? Did he say something wrong? Will looks at him confused, wondering why the hell Dustin looks so disappointed at what he just said. 

Will shrugs at him, completely dumbfounded. 

Dustin shakes his head at him. “Will, this is a big deal! This could be your chance to finally have a partner, a significant other, a lover-“

“Okay, we get it Dustin,” Max interrupts, rolling her eyes. Will turns his head to her and nods at her, grateful for her interruption, because Dustin was going to keep rambling on. 

“I think he’s right, Will. It wouldn’t hurt to try,” El voices calmly. Will gives her a pointed look and she shrugs at him. Now El is acting weird, she’s adamant about him giving this secret admirer a chance. She knows that he’s still in love with Mike, even though he’s trying his best to move on.

Then it hits him. 

El is acting like this because of Mike, and Will has to hold back a sigh. El is being overprotective over him, which warms his heart but at the same time, it aggravates him. Will is not 5 years old, he can handle the heartache he’s going through currently, even though it hurts so much. 

“Yeah it wouldn’t hurt to try,” Max agrees, smiling brightly at Will. 

Will glances around the table, eyes flickering in Mike’s direction, and pauses when he sees the frown on his face. This causes Will’s blood to boil, feeling he’s about to snap, he clenches his jaw tightly. Mike has no right to be so upset over this, not with the way he acted on 

Saturday, no fucking right at all. Especially not with the way he treated Will when he dated El, acting as if he was a nuisance, and getting so bothered when he just wanted to hang out and play DnD.

Maybe he’s so bothered at the fact that Will might find happiness for once in his life. No. That’s not it. He’s scared, but what’s Mike so scared of? That Will is going to leave him behind and forget about him? Like he did when he was with El? Will is petty but he isn’t that petty. Will would never do something like that to Mike or any of his friends, no matter what, he would never want them to experience what he went through. 

 Will wasn’t going to take the chance with this secret admirer of his, but Mike’s audacity changed his mind, and this may be impulsive of him but he doesn’t give a shit right now. 

“Mike I don’t get why you’re so bothered at the thought of me giving this person a chance. It’s not like I’ll stop being friends with you and pretend you don’t exist. Not all of us are bad at balancing relationships with people,” Will says bitterly, surprising himself with how aggressive his tone was.

“Will I-“

“You guys are right, it wouldn’t hurt to try. I’ll give this person a chance. Fingers crossed it’s not a girl,” Will cuts Mike off, ignoring the heavy throb in his heart. Max throws her arm around his neck again and pulls him over, grinning widely at him. Unable to fight the urge, Will glances at Mike and locks eyes with him, feeling his heart skip a beat. 

The moment is ruined when Will sees the hurt in Mike’s eyes, causing him to almost take back what he said and apologize, but instead, he looks away.

“So that’s what basically happened today at school. I’m such an idiot,” Will whines, lifting his hands to his face, he regrets being such a douchebag to Mike. 

Will is currently at Family Video to hang out with Robin during her lunch break, there are not many customers that come in during the day, so he’s able to talk to her. Steve doesn’t have a shift today, it’s his day off, and Eddie isn’t coming till later. 

Robin pats his shoulder reassuringly. “Yeah I agree, you are an idiot.”

Will frowns and casts his gaze to the floor.

“But I don’t think it’s bad that you want to give this person a chance,” Robin begins.

Will looks up, his interest piques at her words.

Robin continues. “If they aren’t a boy you can just politely reject them.”

Will nods his head. “You’re right. It’s just I don’t want to accidentally lead them on. I still have feelings for Mike, unfortunately.”

Robin snorts at that. “Well, you could use this as an opportunity to make Mike jealous.”

Will rolls his eyes at her but then pauses, taking a moment to consider what she suggested, an idea forms in his mind. He tilts his head at Robin and smiles. 

“You know what. You’re right Robin,” Will says. 

“Of course I am,” Robin agrees, lifting her hand off his shoulder. “After all, I’m dating Vickie now.” 

Will nods at her absentmindedly, hatching a plan in his head. 

It’s Thursday after school and Will is currently hanging out with Max and El at his house. They are in the living room reviewing the notes Will has received the past few days. Will hasn’t talked to Mike since Monday and he feels awful, really awful, it’s been eating at his consciousness all day long. 

Will sits next to Max on the floor, legs crossed, and rests his head on her shoulder. Will drifts off, thinking about his last conversation with Mike until a foot nudges his leg. Will tilts his head and sees El staring at him with concerned eyes. 

“Are you okay?” El asks softly, and shifts closer to him, placing a hand on top of his. 

Will awkwardly pulls his hand back and looks away. “Yeah. I’m fine, just tired from the long day I had at school today.”

El doesn’t look too convinced, but luckily for him, she doesn’t push him for answers and changes the topic instead.

“So what did you write to your secret admirer?” 

Max shoots Will a smile and scoots closer. “Yeah what did you write?” 

Will decided the easiest way to contact his secret admirer was to leave his locker unlocked, and he was right. He leaves notes replying to his secret admirer’s notes inside his locker everyday after school, and Will always gets a response the next day. His secret admirer picked up on this system he created, quickly might he add, and Will’s really happy about it. 

“Well I asked if they are a boy,” he replies coolly and pulls out the note he’s been hiding in his pocket. 

Will stifles a laugh when he sees both Max and El’s eyes widen and jaw drop, not expecting the answer he gave them. Their reactions to what he just said are priceless, especially Max's face, she looks taken back. 

“So what did they say?” Max demands, barely managing to spit the words out.

El nods her head excitedly and leans in closer to Will’s personal space, curious to see what they wrote. 

“Well…,” Will trails off playfully, ignoring the exasperated look on Max’s face.

“Will, just spit it out already!” Max complains and elbows his arm, growing annoyed with his teasing. 

Will laughs and waves his hand in the air. “Okay, okay. Calm down, they said they’re a boy and interested in me, romantically.”

He shoves the note into Max’s hand and watches El crawl over with an amused look on his face, finding it funny how invested his sister is in his secret admirer situation. When they finish reading the note they both look up at him with huge smiles plastered on their faces. 

El beams at him. “Will this is great news.”

Max nods her head, agreeing with what El said. “Yeah, it’s great news, because he’s not a girl. You can give him a chance and possibly like him back after getting to know the guy.”

Will takes their words into careful consideration. He knows this could be his only chance at finding happiness, and it wouldn’t hurt to give this mysterious boy a chance, it might be his only chance of moving on from Mike. Will also doesn’t want to lead on this secret admirer of his, that would be very messed up. 

“Yeah it is, and you’re right. It wouldn't hurt to give him a chance. It might be one chance to finally get over Mike,” Will says with a smile, a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. 

It’s Friday morning and Will is glad he has the upcoming weekend to relax, school has been tiring this week. Will stands at his locker for a moment, mentally preparing himself for whatever may be in his locker today, and opens it slowly.

There’s an envelope taped inside his locker with a white rose attached to it. Will’s eyes widen in surprise, not expecting a flower to be attached to it, he finds it very romantic. He opens the envelope gently, afraid to damage it, and pulls out the letter that’s been carefully tucked in. 

“Did you know that white roses symbolize fresh beginnings? I didn’t know until I read about it in a book. But that’s not the main reason why I chose this specific color,” Will starts, feeling a small smile begin to form on his face.  

I chose it because it reminded me of you. You are someone who is pure, selfless, and endlessly loyal to their friends. I adore all those wonderful traits of yours,” Will’s smile widens as he continues, “If you are willing to take a chance with me, let's meet in the woods by lovers lake at 8 pm tonight. If you do not show up within the first 20 minutes, I’ll take that as a no and will not bother you anymore. Love your secret admirer.”

Will reads it again, and another 5 times to make sure what he read is correct. After processing that what he read is real, Will’s cheeks turn a dark shade of red. His heart pounds hard against his chest, and with a flustered face he turns his body around to look around the hallway, but there’s no one around. He traces a finger over the letter, admiring the neat handwriting the sender has, and folds it neatly. 

Will removes the rose that is taped against the envelope and gently puts the letter back in the envelope, stuffing it in his backpack. He slams his locker shut, completely in a daze from what he just read, and smiles. He leans against his locker and holds the white rose against his chest, not caring if someone sees him. He lifts it to his nose.

However the moment is ruined by the morning bell, signaling that first period is starting soon, Will snaps out of the daze he was in. He quickly puts the rose in his bag, hoping it isn’t crushed by the books in his bag and makes his way to his first class. Will does not want to get stuck in a crowd of students, some of which smell bad, so he always heads to class early. 

Will finally finishes the painting he’s been working on all week when the bell rings. The teacher leaves to the bathroom, but not before telling everyone to be out of the class before she returns. 

Will sets his brush down and takes a moment to look at his work, satisfied with what he sees, he starts to clean up after himself. As Will is cleaning up, he feels a tap on his shoulder. Will whips his head around to see his classmate smiling at him, confused on what to do he smiles back, very awkwardly. 

Will realizes it’s his classmate Matthew, someone who he talks to in art class sometimes and considers a friend, even though they don’t hang out outside of school. He’s pretty cool and fun to talk to, Will wonders if he would have had a crush on him if it wasn’t for Mike, he’s definitely someone he could fall for. 

Will’s face must be twisted in a funny way because Matthew lets out a soft chuckle. “Sorry if I startled you. I just wanted to say your painting looks amazing.” 

Will’s face flushes slightly, not used to being complimented for his work from people other than his family, and Mike of course. Mike’s eyes always lit up when he gave him drawings when they were younger. He blinks away the fond memories resurfacing in his mind, choosing to focus on the conversation in front of him. 

“No, it’s okay. And thanks, I’m glad you think my painting is amazing,” he says at last, hoping he isn’t being too awkward. 

Matthew chuckles again, grin widening. “So is this supposed to be a painting of that fantasy game you play a lot with your friends?”

Will blinks at him, confused for a moment, but then he realizes what his classmate is saying, and quickly nods his head. 

Will is about to say something but a new voice interrupts the conversation.

“Will.” 

Feeling a sense of deja vu, he turns around hesitantly, hoping it’s not who he thinks it is, and sadly it’s the last person he wants to see right now. The universe always screws with him, especially when he least expects it. 

“Oh hey Mike,” Will greets awkwardly, not knowing what to do. 

They stand there in awkward silence until his classmate turns to Will. “I’m going to head to lunch now before the teacher returns from the bathroom. See you Will.” 

Matthew walks past Mike, not sparing him a glance, which makes the tension in the room somehow worse. Will packs his things, pretending that the tension isn’t eating him alive, and heads out of the class with Mike following closely behind.

“Who was that? He didn’t even say hello and just left like that,” Mike complains, crossing his arms. 

Will rolls his eyes at his whining, to be fair Will’s classmate doesn’t know Mike, and it’s not like Mike said hi either. “Well to be fair, he doesn’t know you. Also, he’s just a friend I met in art class this year.”

Mike scoffs and Will presses his mouth into a thin line. Mike is acting weird again, and Will doesn’t want to assume anything, but it’s almost as if he’s jealous. Will shakes those unrealistic thoughts away, there’s no way Mike would be jealous, he’s just annoyed his classmate didn’t say hi to him. 

Will wants to say something, specifically about what happened on Monday, but he decides against it. Together they walk in silence side by side to the cafeteria, and Will is so grateful that he won’t be alone with Mike because the tension between them is high. He catches Mike glancing at him multiple times, looking like he wants to say something but chooses to remain silent, which is understandable. 

Will is thankful that Mike for once in his life is quiet, really thankful. Mike stands so close to Will that his hand brushes against Will’s, and for a moment they hold hands until Will pulls away. 

Will’s heart stops for a moment, fear taking over his features. Afraid someone saw them and even more afraid to meet Mike’s eyes, he looks around. Thankfully for once, luck is on his side, the hallway is empty and he spots the entrance to the cafeteria. He walks as fast as he can to their table, leaving Mike behind. 

Will slides into his usual spot, next to Lucas and Max, with El on Max’s left. Mike takes a seat next to Dustin, both sitting across from the rest of the party. The conversation so far is nothing serious, just the party talking about how their classes have been so far. 

“God, Mr. Jackson is such a dick! How was I supposed to know he wanted me to write down how I solved the equation and not just the answer?” Max complains loudly, leaning her head on Lucas’s shoulder. 

Lucas chuckles in amusement as rests his head on top of hers, rubbing her back gently. “You’re right about Mr. Jackson being a dick. He’s a huge one.”

“Yeah, he’s a dick,” El agrees, patting Max’s shoulder. 

Dustin shakes his head. “As much as I feel for you Max, I believe there’s something more interesting we should talk about.”

“What-“

“And that something is Will. So Will the wise, did you get anything from your secret admirer today?” Dustin asks, cutting off Max. 

Will is deep in thought when Dustin asks him the question. Will believed at first that his plan was working because during the week Mike’s mood seemed worse than usual, but then he realized Mike was probably just annoyed that Will kept talking about his secret admirer during lunch. Which is fair, it was the only thing he would talk about, but at the same time, Will had to go through the same thing when Mike dated his sister. 

His original plan was to make Mike jealous and not actually meet the guy, but he doesn’t think it’s working out, so he might go meet his secret admirer tonight, and hopefully, it will be fun.

“Earth to Will!” Dustin shouts, reaching over to poke Will. 

Max smacks his prying hand away, which results in her receiving a glare from Dustin, and she almost feels bad. Lucas decides to shake Will gently, mostly to prevent Max and Dustin from arguing with each other for the rest of lunch. Will snaps out of his thoughts and meets Lucas’s eyes, feeling embarrassed, he mumbles an apology.

 Mike stares intensely at Will, observing the interaction between the two. He clenches his fork tighter and stuffs more of the school macaroni and cheese in his mouth. 

“Sorry guys, I wasn’t paying attention. What was your question?” Will asks apologetically, shifting his gaze to Dustin. 

Dustin rolls his eyes. “I asked if you got anything from your secret admirer today.”

Will smiles. “Yeah, I did. They left me a very romantic letter with a rose attached to it.”

Mike almost chokes on his food after the words leave Will’s mouth, lifting a fist to his mouth, he coughs violently. 

Dustin pats Mike’s back and stares at him with concerned eyes. “Uh Mike, are you good?” 

Mike nods his head and gives a thumbs up at Dustin, obviously embarrassed. Max and El have to hold back a laugh, mainly because Will is giving them a look, not because they feel bad. Lucas stifles a laugh, feeling worried for Mike, but at the same time finding what just happened hilarious. 

Will leans closer into the table, a bit horrified to see Mike almost choke like that. “Mike, are you okay?” 

“Yeah, um—I’m fine, just forgot to swallow properly,” Mike manages to squeak out, face heating up even more when he sees the knowing smirk on Max’s face. 

Will decides for Mike’s sake, to change the topic. Even though he finds his flustered face kind of cute and is tempted to tease him, he doesn’t want to torment him even more, it looks like Max is already doing that. 

“So do you guys wanna see what he wrote to me?” Will asks, bringing the attention back to him. 

Everyone nods their head in curiosity and excitement, except for Mike, who has a blank expression formed on his face. Will reaches inside his bag and pulls out the envelope with the white rose. He hands the envelope for Dustin to read since he’s been reading all of them out loud so far. 

“Did you know that white roses symbolize fresh beginnings? I didn’t know until I read about it in a book. But that’s not the main reason why I chose this specific color,” Dustin starts, trying to suppress his excitement.

 Everyone coos ooooh at Will, excluding Mike of course, he stays silent with a frown on his face.

“I chose it because it reminded me of you. You are someone who is pure, selfless, and endlessly loyal to their friends. I adore all those wonderful traits of yours,” Dustin's grin widens and he continues, “If you are willing to take a chance with me, let's meet in the woods by lovers lake at 8 pm tonight. If you do not show up within the first 20 minutes, I’ll take that as a no and will not bother you anymore. Love your secret admirer.”

Max bumps her shoulder into Will’s with a smirk on her face. “So Will, are you going to meet this mysterious boy tonight?”

“Yeah Will, are you? He seems romantic and sweet,” El adds, joining in on the conversation.

“I mean I haven’t really decided yet,” Will confesses, and it’s the truth. He actually isn’t sure what to do yet, this could be a chance to fully move on from Mike, and the guy has been sweet so far in every note. 

“I think that you should give this guy a chance, who knows maybe he’ll treat you right unlike someone else,” Max says nonchalantly. 

Mike glares at Max and in return she sticks her tongue at him. Feeling petty, he kicks her under the table, which causes her to stomp on his foot hard.

Lucas notices the silent but heated glances between Mike and Max and decides to chime in to prevent an argument from surfacing. “Well, I think Will should do whatever he feels is most comfortable with. You don’t have to meet him if you don’t want to.”

Will turns to Lucas and shoots a thankful smile his way, grateful for him intervening. Will isn’t stupid, he noticed the glares Max and Mike were sending each other, but he didn’t know what to say. He shifts in his seat and glances at Max, sending her a disapproving look. Will appreciates the gesture, but that was about to cause unnecessary drama, and he doesn’t need more of that in his already eventful life. 

Also, Will hasn’t been the best friend either, he’s also guilty of being avoidant and rude for no reason, but Mike does it a lot more often than him. 

“Is anyone else not concerned that a stranger wants to meet Will in the woods at night time, alone? That’s very concerning and dangerous,” Mike points out, sounding frustrated. 

Dustin scratches his neck, taking Mike’s words into consideration. “Now that I think about it, Mike isn’t wrong about it being dangerous. I mean I’m totally excited for you Will and supportive of whatever you decide, but it sounds a bit sketchy.”

“Yeah and we are all supposed to hang out today at my house for a movie marathon,” Mike adds, reminding everyone.

Will almost forgot about that. El told him the other day when he was working on a sketch in his room, so he pushed it to the back of his mind, choosing to focus on his drawing instead. 

Max scoffs at Mike. “Will can just hang out until the time he’s supposed to meet the guy. Also, two of us can accompany him to make sure he’s safe and leave when we are 100% sure.”

“Max, El, and I can go with Will if he decides to go. I don’t mind and I would like to make sure Will is safe,” Lucas says, shifting his gaze to Will. 

Will finally looks up to meet Mike’s eyes, instantly he locks eyes with him. Mike gives him a pleading stare, which causes Will to look away, unable to handle the intensity radiating from his gaze.  

“I’ll think about it, but what movies did we decide to watch later today again?” Will asks, changing the topic.

El gives him a look and Will shrugs, flashing an awkward smile at her.

Will stops when he arrives at Mike’s house, and leaves his bike inside the open garage. He makes his way to the basement, excited to hangout with everyone. 

When Will takes a seat on the couch, he notices no one else is here yet, just him. He shrugs it off, believing he probably arrived early, and that the others will arrive soon. 

He grabs the bowl of popcorn next to him and tosses a handful in his mouth. Mike’s parents bought a new tv last year so they placed the older one in Mike’s basement, which is why the group has movie nights every two weeks now. Will hears footsteps coming down the stairs after a couple of minutes go by, tilting his head up, he realizes it’s Mike. 

Will waves awkwardly. “Hey Mike, I guess I’m here early.”

Mike waves and crouches in front of the tv, turning it on to set up the movie. After a few minutes, Mike takes a seat next to him, a little too close for Will’s comfort.

“They aren’t coming.”

Will turns to him confused, what did Mike just say?

Mike grabs a handful of popcorn and shoves some in his mouth, pressing his leg against Will’s. 

“Wait, the others aren’t coming? Is it just us?“ he asks, growing uncomfortable. 

Will still hasn’t apologized to Mike for what happened on Monday and his relationship with him is strained again. He doesn’t know if he’s going to survive being alone with Mike for 5 hours, that is a very long time, and the tension between them is really high at the moment. 

Mike seems to notice his discomfort and frowns. “What? Do you not want to hang out with me? The others called and said they had plans, and it’s been a while since it’s just been the two of us. So I thought it would be nice.” 

“Yeah, that’s not the problem Mike,” Will says, shifting his gaze to the floor, mainly to avoid eye contact. 

Mike shifts in his seat to fully look at Will. “Then what’s the problem? You can tell me anything, you know that Will.”

Okay, why is Mike acting like everything is fine? When it’s not. Will said some uncalled-for things to Mike, while Mike has been a dick for no reason, and weirdly touchy.

“The problem is your behavior recently, that’s what,” Will says, the tone coming off harsher than what he meant. 

“What do you mean?” Mike asks, curling his lip. 

Mike is an idiot, scratch that a huge idiot. 

“You know..” he starts, “You've been… weirdly touchy these days and really against this secret admirer since the beginning…so I know this might sound stupid but I've been wondering if you uh might be…”

“Might be what?” Mike questions, shifting away from Will. 

Will senses the change in the atmosphere after Mike questions him and decides to change the topic, mainly for his own sake. 

“Nevermind, let’s just watch the movie in peace. Okay?” Will says, voice low. He knows he’s being a coward by retreating in his confrontation, but he’s scared.

Will looks away and fixes his gaze on the tv screen, avoiding Mike’s stare. He knows Mike wants to say something, he can sense it but it seems like the both of them are too scared to say anything, deciding it’s best to just watch the movie. 

A couple of hours pass and Will finds his head pressed against Mike’s shoulder, immediately he moves away to the far end of the couch, startling Mike. 

“Sorry for falling asleep on you like that,” Will quickly apologizes, blushing a deep red. 

Mike smiles softly at him. “It’s okay Will, if it was a bother I would have woken you up. I didn’t mind, you only drooled a little bit.”

Will laughs at his teasing, knowing Mike is just trying to lighten up the mood and make him feel less embarrassed, which he appreciates. 

They lock eyes with each other and Will’s heart skips a beat. 

Will is the first to look away and realizes it’s getting late. He glances at his wrist and checks the time on his watch, the one Mike bought him for his 7th birthday to match his. It was one of his favorite gifts he ever received and wore it every day since.

Will notices it’s getting close to 8 pm and decides it’s time to go, despite the good mood he and Mike are in. He wants to believe he has a chance with Mike, but he knows he doesn’t because he’s straight and will never reciprocate Will’s feelings.

“Well I should get going, it’s almost 8pm,” Will says, standing up from the couch. 

He stretches his legs, his body stiff from sitting on the couch for a couple of hours straight. Will is about to grab his things until Mike speaks up.

“Where are you going?”

Will pauses from the question for a brief moment and turns his body around, giving Mike a are you serious look. 

“What do you mean? I’m meeting my secret admirer obviously,” Will shakes his head, finding it weird Mike forgot so soon.

Mike’s face is unreadable and suddenly the playful mood in the room turns into a more sour one, making Will feel uncomfortable again. 

Will decides to grab his bag, wanting to leave as soon as possible.

“No,” is all Mike says and Will turns to him confused.

Okay, Mike is being super weird now.

“What do you mean no? Last time I checked you aren’t my mom,” he laughs awkwardly, brushing off the weird tone from Mike’s voice. 

Mike stands up, abruptly from his seat and Will steps away, feeling nervous.

“It’s too dangerous to go and I think you shouldn’t go. For all we know he could be some creepy weirdo,” Mike argues, gesturing his hands up in the air. 

Will shakes his head at that, chuckling dryly. No that’s not the problem, something else is clearly bothering Mike. Maybe him from 3 months ago would be overanalyzing his behavior right now, desperate to find any hints that maybe just maybe there’s a possibility that Mike might return his one-sided feelings. But right now he just wants to leave.

Will walks past him, but before he can even make it to the stairs, a hand is gripping his arm tightly.

He turns his head to see Mike frowning at him.

“What?”

“Stay,” Mike begs, eyes pleading. 

Will almost drops his bag on the spot, wanting to give in to Mike, instead he shrugs his arm out of Mike’s steel grip.

Will turns his back to Mike, unable to meet his eyes. “I have somewhere to be. Goodbye Mike.”

He makes his way upstairs, hearing  Mike’s footsteps following closely behind. 

Will opens the door to the garage and makes his way over to his bike, feeling a sense of deja vu crawl up his spine.

“Are you seriously going to meet him this late?” Mike asks, standing a couple of inches from Will. 

Will turns his body to Mike and sighs, growing annoyed with his odd behavior.

“Yes, why do you care so much Mike? It’s a bit weird,” Will points out, letting his arms fall to his side. 

Mike's face turns red from the question.

“Because you're my friend—best friend, and I don’t want you meeting this weird guy,” Mike answers, fumbling on his words. 

Will wants to laugh. So Mike considers him his best friend now? 

“Oh. I’m surprised you consider me your best friend because you don’t treat me like one,” Will says dryly, watching Mike’s jaw drop.

“That’s not true!” Mike argues, eyebrows furrowed.

“Really? Then tell me why you have been acting weird ever since you and El broke up. You didn’t hang out with me for months only when the party met up, and even then you refused to acknowledge my existence and treated me like trash!” Will shouts angrily, pressing a finger into Mike’s chest. 

“Will-“

“One moment you are nice to me and the next you act as if I’m a bother to you!” Will cuts him off, voice trembling. 

Mike opens his mouth to speak again, but Will isn’t having it. 

“Let me finish.” 

Mike shuts his mouth immediately.

“You know after you broke up with El you started being even more distant with me, which hurt, it hurt a lot and it still does when thinking about it.,” Will whispers, voice on the verge of breaking.

Tears begin to well up in Will’s eyes, desperate to not cry in front of Mike he forcefully blinks them away, pressing his lips together. 

After taking a moment to compose himself, he continues. 

“So can you tell me why you have been acting like this? Please, I just need to know what I did wrong.”

There’s a moment of silence but it is quickly filled in by the sudden sound of thunder. A few seconds go by and the sound of raindrops hitting the ground reaches his ears, drawing his attention away.

Will notices the gloomy weather in the sky, the white clouds are now a dark grey, which are pouring out beads of water at a rapid speed. 

Then it hits him, they fought like this two years ago, during the summer of 1985. Will wants to laugh at the irony of it all, but he looks away instead, letting the sound of rain bring comfort to him.

“Will…” Mike begins with a shaky voice, causing Will to meet his eyes again. “You’re right, there’s no excuse for my behavior, and I’m sorry.” 

Will is stunned by what he sees, believing he’s imagining it for a second. Mike’s face is stained with tears trailing down his eyes, which are red with puffy eyelids, causing his heart to clench. 

“The reason why I've been avoiding you for so long is that I figured out something about myself recently that scared me. It disgusted me, causing me to hate myself for so long, and I was too scared to tell you—or anyone what I was going through,” Mike confesses, voice wavering. “I lashed out unfairly on you and the others, many times. I know no matter how much I apologize, it won’t change the fact I've been a shitty friend.”

A sob escapes Mike’s throat and more tears race down his face. Mike covers his face with shaking hands, mumbling incoherently. His whole body is shaking. 

Will feels all the previous anger in his body vanish, feeling more concerned that his best friend is having a mental breakdown in front of him. It’s not every day Mike is so open about his feelings, mainly because of the family he grew up in, they aren’t close with each other like Will’s family. He knows that Mike chooses to repress what he’s feeling most of the time. That’s why he is surprised about Mike being so open with him, right now at this very moment. 

Will closes the distance between them and raises his arms in the air, wrapping them around Mike’s shaking body as gently as possible. He feels Mike shift in his embrace, probably not expecting—or used to being held like this, which causes Will’s heart to throb. He decides to rub Mike’s back softly like his mother did when he was a crying mess a week ago. Will hopes it works for Mike, mainly because he hates seeing him like this, so miserable and lost. 

It seems to be working because after a couple of minutes go by, he feels Mike’s tense body relax in his arms, which is a huge relief. 

“I have been scared to tell you what I’ve been struggling with for a while. I’m so afraid it will change things between us, and I don’t want to lose you Will. I can’t lose you, not again,” Mike murmurs with a shaky breath, pressing his face deeper into Will’s neck. 

Will’s eyes soften. “Mike, you aren’t going to lose me.  Nothing can make me want to stop being your best friend.” 

“Nothing at all,” Will repeats, voice soft. 

Mike pulls back. “You promise?”

Will nods his head in affirmation, locking eyes with Mike. 

Mike seems to have found what he’s searching for in Will’s eyes because he steps away and lifts a sleeve to his nose, wiping the tears and snot off his face. 

“This problem I have been struggling with is the main reason El and I broke up. Did I ever tell you why we broke up?” Mike asks after composing himself, voice low. 

Will shakes his head at him, waiting for Mike to continue. 

“It was during the beginning of freshman year. Even though El and I seemed like a happy couple from the outside, we had a lot of problems in our relationship,” Mike says after a moment. 

Mike takes a deep breath. “I couldn’t tell El three simple words, three words, no matter how much I tried. I knew I hurt El by not being able to tell her I love her anymore. I was able to say it for the couple of months we dated, but not anymore. I thought it was because of my parents and the lack of affection I had growing up, but that wasn’t the reason.” He pauses, taking a moment to maintain his composure. “The main reason why was because I didn’t love her the way she wanted me to love her.”  

Mike takes another deep breath to calm himself. “El eventually got tired of my shit and confronted me about my inability to say three words to her. I told her that I love and care for her a lot but in a platonic way. I couldn’t figure out why I didn’t love her romantically anymore, but she seemed to understand. We had a mutual break up and I had to take time to sort out my feelings before I hurt anyone else with my problems.”

“Oh,” is all he manages to say, completely at a loss for words. Will wasn’t expecting this.

Mike steps closer to him, their faces a breath away from each other, and he swears he sees Mike staring down at his lips.

“So did you finally sort out what you were struggling with?” Will whispers, unsure whether Mike heard him. 

Mike seems to have heard him because he reaches for Will's hands, which are somehow still warm despite the harsh weather, holding them tenderly to his heart.

The racing beat of Mike’s heart pulsates under Will’s fingertips, causing his eyes to widen in shock. 

Ba-dum, Ba-dum

It’s almost as if…

But before Will can finish that thought he is interrupted.

Mike swallows hard.“ I did. Another reason why I couldn’t tell her those three words anymore was because I found myself in love with someone else. Someone who I really don’t deserve and has put up with my shit for way too long.” 

“Mike I-“

“Will I love you, and have been for years . It took me time to realize that, which caused me to hurt you and El without meaning to,” he says with a shaky breath, looking into Will’s eyes.” I was in denial for so long and after El and I broke up, it took me months to come to terms that I like both girls and boys. Then seeing you come out to the party made me realize that—“ he stops for a moment to catch his breath—“that I’m not alone. That I had someone to talk to—about these scary new things I recently learned about myself. But I was so angry that some weirdo was trying to take away my best friend, and I didn’t know why until I saw you walking up those stairs. It took me having to almost lose you to finally accept that I am in love with my best friend.” 

Will’s breath gets caught in his throat at Mike’s confession. A cold hand moves to Will’s cheek, and Mike dips his head forward, closing the distance between them. 

Will blinks and it takes him a moment to register what’s going on.

Mike is kissing him.

Mike is kissing him and it’s not a dream.  

He feels giddy causing him to forget that he’s supposed to kiss Mike back. Mike pulls back before he can kiss him back and steps a couple of feet away from him. Will looks at him in confusion and his heart stops when he sees the look on Mike’s face. 

His face is pale, and he looks like he’s on the verge of tears.

Will steps closer to him, ignoring the sudden clap of thunder.

“I-I’m so sorry, I thought that you felt the same way as me. I shouldn’t have assumed anything,” Mike chokes out, holding back a sob. 

“I’m so sorry-“

Will pulls Mike by the strings of his sweater, interrupting whatever he was going to say, and kisses him. It’s awkward at first, because this is his first kiss—well second, and he doesn’t have much experience compared to Mike. But eventually, they fall into a steady rhythm, with Mike taking the lead. Will wraps his arms around Mike’s neck, pressing his body closer to his. 

Mike shifts his position, possessively placing one hand on Will’s waist, and the other on the back of his head. Mike’s lips are soft and a little bit chapped, but Will still finds himself melting into the kiss. 

Mike pulls away slowly, resting his forehead against his. 

“Hey,” Mike whispers.

“Hey,” Will whispers back, smiling softly at him. 

“I love you,” Mike says with the brightest grin on his face. 

Will rolls his eyes playfully. “I love you too, and I've been since we were 5.”

Mike’s eyes widen, looking at him in disbelief. “Really?”

Instead of answering, he pulls away and grabs Mike’s hands.

“Mike, I forgive you for being an asshole to me for so long. But I am also guilty of acting like one. What I said to you on Monday was not cool and I hope you can forgive me,” Will says, squeezing his hand apologetically. 

Mike grins playfully at him. “I forgive you.”

“Really?”

“But only if you give me a kiss.”

Will freezes for a second but quickly recovers.

“What?”

“I said I’ll forgive you if you kiss me,” Mike repeats, smirking at him. 

Will sighs and leans in, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.  Mike pretends to not be satisfied, but the dorky grin on his face he tries to push back gives him away.  

Will’s ears redden. “So does this make us boyfriends now?” 

Mike leans down, his breath tickling Will’s right ear. “Yes, it does.”

Will’s eyes sparkle in joy as he throws himself at Mike, wrapping his arm around him tightly. Mike returns the hug almost immediately, and they stand there in each other’s arms for a while.

Until Will sneezes, ruining the moment.

Mike pulls back and presses a hand against his forehead. “Okay you are freezing and so am I. We should head back inside before we catch a cold.” 

He unzips his sweater, wrapping it around Will’s shaking frame. Will hates being coddled like this, but he allows himself to be wrapped up in the warmth of Mike’s sweater, which is soft and a bit big on him. 

Not wasting any time, Mike leads him back inside.

A few months go by and Will has never been happier. Will and Mike have been secretly dating ever since that one rainy night, and it’s been great so far. Will hasn’t told anyone about this new revelation because Mike isn’t ready to come out to anyone yet. 

Another reason why is because they live in a judgmental small town, so yeah they have to date in secret. His family and friends have noticed that Mike and him are hanging out again, after having a strained relationship for so long. 

But they don’t know anything more than that, so far they have been doing a great job keeping this a secret. Right now he is being led by Mike to the location of where their date is supposed to take place. 

Will’s blindfolded since Mike wanted to keep it a surprise, which he finds sweet and very romantic. Mike can be cheesy sometimes, especially when it comes to him. Their last date was a casual one, it was a night of reading comics and discussing future DnD campaigns at Mike’s house. 

“What are you thinking about?” Mike asks, swinging their arms together. 

“Just about our last date and how nerdy you got talking about Superman,” Will teases, wishing he can see the flustered expression on his face. 

“Hey! You don’t see me making fun of your Luke Skywalker obsession,” Mike retorts back.

Will is about to say something back but he trips, almost falling to the ground. But Mike catches him before he does, pulling him close.

Will glares as best as he can with the blindfold on, earning a soft chuckle from Mike. Mike did that on purpose, but he doesn’t get the chance to accuse him. 

“We are here!” Mike announces, taking the blindfold off of him. 

Will blinks slowly, observing his surroundings. A gasp escapes his mouth the moment he sees a blanket spread out with a picnic basket. He turns to Mike, not expecting something like this at all. 

Mike takes a seat on the blanket, patting the spot next time to him. Will sits next to him, pulling the basket on top of his lap. 

“Mike this is amazing, you did a great job planning this,” he praises his boyfriend, leaning his head against his shoulder. Mike smiles at him and opens the basket, pulling out the snacks he placed in there.

“As you know I am a terrible cook, but I did some improvising. I made us some PBJ sandwiches, bought your favorite, Reese’s Pieces, and some soda. Oh! I also packed some fruit and a bag of Doritos for us to share,” Mike says, placing down each item on the blanket. 

Will presses a kiss on Mike’s cheek. “You did great. I love it so much. And how thoughtful of you to buy my favorite candy.” 

Mike chuckles. “Listen, I just want to thank you for being so patient with me. I know it’s been hard for you to keep us a secret from everyone, especially your family. I appreciate it so much because I don’t know if I’m ever going to be ready to…come out to anyone, even our friends.”

Will’s eyes soften. “Mike…you aren’t wrong about it being hard. But I don’t mind keeping our relationship a secret from everyone, especially if you aren’t comfortable being out yet. The most important thing to me is respecting your wishes. When you are ready, you’ll come out. For now, we can just take things slowly and enjoy the time we have keeping this between us.” 

Will squeezes his hand reassuringly, hoping his words help bring some comfort to him. He knows Mike has been struggling to come to terms that his family might not be so accepting as Will’s, except maybe his sisters, specifically Nancy. Will has told him he can just come out to the party first, then his sisters, and one day his parents. Will doesn’t suggest it, but it’s Mike’s choice if he wants to come out to his parents in the far future. 

While Mike takes in his words, he lays down on his back, basking in the sunlight above him. He closes his eyes as he feels the cool breeze of wind flow against his face, reminding him the weather is nice today.

A pair of hands grab him, pulling at him gently. Mike places his head on his lap, running a hand through his hair. Will relaxes into his touch, listening to Mike hum softly. They sit there together, enjoying each other’s company. 

Will knows there’s going to be bumps in the road as he and Mike continue to date, especially with it being a secret, but at least they have each other.