Chapter Text
It was another morning in Queens, and Will was swinging across the city, late to class, again. Late nights were gonna be the death of him, and his grades. He had finally come up with a design for his suit, all he needed were the materials, and the money, and the time. With school and saving people 24/7, he barely had a moment to breathe. He missed summer, and all of his freedom, the only thing he missed in those months was Mike, his neighbor. They had lived next door to each other since they were six years old, and Mike still barely knew he existed. He only got to see him in the halls, and they had never really talked to each other, only in passing, but Will decided that was gonna change this year. He was finally gonna hold a conversation with that totally regular guy he didn't have any feelings for whatsoever, and most importantly, he wasn't gonna stumble over his words and embarrass himself, right?
The noise from the streets below helped his mind drift away from Mike and his perfect, incredibly distracting face. Sometimes it was barely possible for Will to stop thinking about him, but his brain could only take so much at once. Mike was always on the verge of that, maybe that's what made him so irresistible to think about.
He saw the school below him and landed next to the dumpsters at the side of the building. He took off his mask, shoved it into his bag, and slung his backpack over his shoulder. He put his earbuds in as he rushed to the front steps, struggling to squeeze past the crowd. He found his way through the school doors. He found faith in his dream that he could get through the school year with just his heart and Time After Time blasting through his earbuds, but it was fading away, both the song and his hope, had vanished.
He began walking through the thinning flood of people and saw a familiar face in the corner of his eye. It was Mike. He was talking to a girl at his locker, and he was smiling, a lot. Maybe too much for Will's liking. The music in his earbuds drowned out what they were saying, he could only guess what they were talking about, though he thought it was obvious. Mike pretty much only talked to Lucas and Dustin, the only other person Will had really ever seen him talking to was the girlfriend he had back in middle school, which Will predicted before they even told anyone. At least they weren't together anymore.
Will rolled his eyes at them. Great. A week into the school year and he already has a girlfriend. Why did I think I'd ever have a chance?
She turned around and walked away from the locker. Will noticed she was smiling way more than Mike. Speaking of. His glance drifted back to him, and he wasn't smiling anymore, he almost looked sad. He saw Will looking at him, so he held his hand up and softly waved it, which Will took as Heyyyy. Why are you staring at me, weirdo? I've talked to you maybe twice in my entire life. Please leave me alone, you freak. But to Mike, it really meant You have no idea how long I've waited to see you today. Please talk to me, but also don't because I don't wanna look stupid in front of you. Thanks! Mike smiled at him, but it came off as one of those smiles that you have in awkward situations. And Will didn't even smile back at him, so he put his hand down again.
Mike watched Will walk past him, his head was moving along with Will. He thought that God must have it out for him considering their lockers were so far apart. He thought that's how they'd always be, and that Mike would have to spend every day of freshman year watching Will walk down the hall and for him not to even give Mike a second thought. But today, he looked at him, and it wasn't even a glance. Was it three, or four seconds? Why would he look at me? Does he like me? Does he think I look weird? Is there something on my face? Or my shirt? He looked down at his clothes, a green flannel with a black shirt and pants, there wasn't a spot on them, and by the time he looked back up, Will had disappeared into the halls.
He sighed as he turned around and closed his locker, only to find Dustin and Lucas next to him.
Mike jumped in shock. "Come with a warning next time, Jesus Christ!"
"Who were you talking to?" Dustin said as he raised his eyebrows a few times.
"Ooooh, do you liiiiiike herrr?" He teased, now pursing his lips and making kissing noises at Mike.
"What, are guys in middle school?" He paused and raised an eyebrow at the both of them. "We just have a class together, geez."
Lucas laughed at his excuse. "Well, you better tell her that."
There was an awkward silence between the three of them, which was soon interrupted by the first-period bell.
"I'm gonna be late, bye!" He turned around and started borderline sprinting down the hall.
"That was weird. You think he's okay?" Dustin asked.
“Is anyone?" Lucas turned around and began walking to his class
“THAT’S NOT AN ANSWER!” He yelled down the hall.
“Lucas?”
No answer.
“Aw shit, I'm gonna be late.” Dustin scoffed as he ran after him.
Mike entered the bathroom to find it empty. Thank god. He stared at the mirror for a second. I'm such an idiot.
He noticed a few stray hairs scattered around and began fixing them, by the time he was done, he looked up to find Will in the mirror.
He swiftly turned around. "What are you doing in here?"
Will made a face. What, does he own this specific bathroom? "It's a bathroom."
"Right, sorry."
Mike grabbed his backpack and squeezed past him. Will watched him rush out the door. He was alone, and now, he was confused, really confused.
"I swear he hates me." He sighed.
Suddenly, he heard a flush coming from a nearby stall, Will closed his eyes in embarrassment.
Shit. He opened his eyes again as the stall door opened to reveal a guy with a really confused look on his face. Literally.