Archive of Our Own ^beta

1.

The first time it happens, Mike thinks it’s just a fluke.

It’s sometime in early October of their junior year when it first happens—the Thursday right before fall break—and God, Mike is ready for a long weekend. Seriously, between taking three AP courses (against his wishes, unfortunately), studying for the SATs, and still trying to find time to do the things he actually enjoys doing like his school’s creative writing club and being the DM for Hellfire Club, Mike really doesn’t have a whole lot of time on his hands. A four day weekend is very needed.

Plus, he and the other Party members have plans to drive over to one of the nearby apple orchards this weekend. It had been Will’s idea, being a strong proponent of the “apple is better than pumpkin” argument that had been floating around their friend group over the past couple years. Dustin is firmly opposed to Will’s statement—solidifying himself, in Mike’s mind at least, as one of those basic pumpkin spice latte girls.

(Yeah, Dustin definitely flips him off for that comment. But hey, it makes Will grin, which makes Mike grin like a complete idiot and also makes all the stupid little butterflies in Mike’s stomach flutter around as if they have nothing better to do, and… yeah. Okay. Mike maybe… sort of… kind of… has a tiny crush on his best friend.

Whatever.)

“I’m surprised you’re still here,” comes a familiar voice, and Mike flinches sharply, slamming his knee into one of the old tables in the school library. 

“Shit,” Mike groans, rubbing his knee and looking up at his teacher. “You scared me.”

“Language,” Mr. Livingston scolds, though there’s a smile tugging at his lips. Mike fights the urge to roll his eyes. Like Mr. Livingston actually cares about his students cursing.

See, because here’s the thing.

Mr. Livingston is by far, without a doubt, the coolest teacher that Mike has ever had in his entire life. He’s only about twenty-six years old—barely a decade older than Mike himself—and way too cool to be living in Hawkins fucking Indiana. He has an MFA in Creative Writing from some fancy university in Chicago, but like Mike, he’s originally from Indiana and ultimately decided to come back home to live closer to his family. He first started at Hawkins High at the beginning of this year, and immediately, Mike latched onto him. 

He’s always had the propensity to latch onto English teachers like that. They get it—the overthinking and the analysis of practically everything, the need to escape into a world far less boring and mundane than the one they live in, and the ever-present itch to say something about anything. Mike has a lot of things to say, and somehow, his English teachers have always noticed that.

But none more so than Mr. Livingston has.

Mr. Livingston is always asking Mike more questions—always challenging him to dig deeper, to think more critically, to really dive into what he thinks an author is trying to say. And on the flip side, Mr. Livingston is always challenging Mike with more ideas for his own writing—asking him to rephrase things or to make them clearer, pushing him to explore a character’s thoughts more intimately, or helping him rework problems in his plots that Mike just gets stuck on.

Needless to say, Mr. Livingston is Mike’s favorite teacher. 

“Sorry,” Mike says, though he’s really not. “I was just finishing up something I was working on.”

Mr. Livingston raises an eyebrow. There’s a small smile tugging at his lips, and he glances at Mike’s laptop. “New story for the club?”

“Something like that,” Mike says with a shrug. He doesn’t really want to tell Mr. Livingston that he’s actually in the middle of writing an entire story to give to Will by Christmas this year. Mike knows it’s cheesy, but writing… it’s always been his thing. Just like art has always been Will’s thing. They’ve been giving one another stories and artwork since they were five years old, so it’s not like it’s anything new.

Still, Mike can’t help but feel heat rise to his cheeks as he thinks about the novella he’s in the process of writing for Will—a silly little sci-fi story (because those have always been Will’s favorites) complete with monsters from another dimension and a small town mystery. There’s nothing inherently romantic about the story, and yet, Mike can’t help but write small hints into the plot about where the main characters’ love lives are going.

(And look… if those two main characters just so happen to be similar to Will and Mike themselves, then… that’s merely a coincidence.)

Mr. Livingston merely hums, and he walks up behind Mike, glancing at the computer. “The Body,” he quotes, reading the chapter title that Mike is currently working on. “Sounds interesting. You’ll have to tell me about it sometime.”

“I will,” Mike promises, and he exchanges a small grin with his teacher. “The last chapter was my favorite one. It didn’t end well.”

“Everyone loves a cliffhanger,” Mr. Livingston chuckles. “I’m excited to hear about it, Mike. You think you’ll end up working on it over break?”

“I mean, probably.” Mike shrugs. “I’m going to the apple orchard that’s a couple hours north of here with Will and the others this weekend though, but hopefully, I’ll find some time to work on it. I at least want to get this chapter done before school starts back up on Monday.”

At the mention of Will, Mr. Livingston’s mouth forms a little ‘o’ shape, and he nods in recognition. “I’m sure that’ll be fun,” he says with a smile. “Make sure to get a lot of apple cider donuts. And if you really wanted to get brownie points, you could bring some back to school on Tuesday…”

Mike just laughs, and he nods. “Oh, we’ll definitely get some,” he reassures. “Will loves apple cider donuts, so we’ll probably buy like… two or three dozen. I’m sure I can steal a couple to bring to school next week.”

Once again, Mr. Livingston just smiles, and there’s an almost… knowing look on his face. That’s…  a bit odd, but whatever. Mike figures it doesn’t matter that much anyways.

“Well, I hope you and Will have fun,” Mr. Livingston says. “And I—”

Before he can finish the rest of his sentence, the library door opens, slamming quickly against the wall, and a familiar voice yelps, “Shit!”

Mike’s heart swells inside his chest, and with a smile on his face, he turns around to see none other than Will Byers himself step into the library, awkwardly carrying his giant art portfolio case over his shoulder and a little clay bowl in his hands. 

“Oh, sorry!” Will says, his eyes going wide once he sees Mr. Livingston. “I didn’t mean to interrupt—”

“You’re fine, Will,” Mike reassures with a laugh, and the panicked look on Will’s face melts away into one of relief. “Are you done for the day?”

Will just smiles. “Yeah, I’m done,” he says. “Thanks for waiting on me.”

“Of course.” Mike smiles back, meeting Will’s eyes, and for a moment, it’s like they’re the only two people in the room. Hell, it’s like they’re the only two people in the world. 

(God, Mike has it bad for him.)

Then, finally, Will clears his throat, and he ducks his head, a small smile on his face. “I’m gonna run to the bathroom before we head home,” he says, taking a step towards the door. “Meet you out by the car?”

“Sounds good,” Mike replies, and after giving him another smile, Will ducks out of the library, letting the door close behind him. 

“So, that’s the infamous Will,” Mr. Livingston says, barely a moment after Will leaves. There’s amusement clear in his voice, and Mike turns back to him, raising an eyebrow. Much to Mike’s surprise, there’s a knowing look on his teacher’s face. “He seems nice.”

“He is,” Mike says slowly, before turning back around and closing his laptop. He quickly stuffs the computer and his notebook into his backpack, zipping it up and throwing it over his shoulders. “Will’s the best.”

Another strange smile, and this time, Mr. Livingston reaches out and pats Mike’s shoulder lightly. “I’m happy for you, Mike,” he says genuinely. “He seems good for you.”

Again, it’s a strange thing to say about someone’s best friend, but oh well. Will is good for him, so that’s all that matters, right? 

“Our friends like to joke that he’s my better half,” Mike says dryly as the two of them walk towards the door. “It’s gotten to his head though, I think.”

Mr. Livingston just laughs, and he opens the door, gesturing for Mike to leave first. “Boyfriends are like that sometimes,” he says, and oh.

Oh.

Wait, shit, shit, no, he doesn’t think… No, Mike must have heard him wrong, or… or something… He didn’t—

“I hope you lovebirds have a good time together this weekend,” Mr. Livingston says, another genuine yet mildly teasing smile on his face, and oh God, oh God, oh God, Mike thinks he actually meant it. Fuck, shit, fuck. Mike’s cheeks are so hot right now, and how the fuck do you tell your English teacher that you are not dating your best friend? 

“Stay out of trouble,” Mr. Livingston adds, before Mike can say anything else. Then, without giving him a chance to respond back, the older man turns and walks down the opposite end of the hallway, leaving Mike alone and completely dumbfounded.

What. The. Fuck.

The bathroom door across the hall swings open as Mike just stands there, his mouth open wide, and Will walks out, the little pottery dish and his canvas bag still in hand. 

“Hey,” Will says, walking up to Mike with a smile on his face. The smile quickly dissolves into confusion though, and Will asks,. “Um… Mike… are you good?”

“W-what?” Mike stammers, turning to look at his best friend. Will’s brow is furrowed in concern, and he tilts his head slightly (adorably), the way he always does.

“I asked if you’re good,” Will says with a nervous sort of chuckle. “You’re like… bright red now. And if you leave your mouth open like that any longer, you’re going to catch flies.”

(Well, shit, that’s not embarrassing at all.)

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” Mike stumbles over his words, and he mentally kicks himself for sounding so stupid . “Livingston just… complimented this story I’m writing for the creative writing club. I, um… thought it was shit, so I… guess it just caught me off guard?”

So much for friends don’t lie, the snarky voice in the back of his mind mutters.

Shut up, Mike thinks.

Luckily, Will buys his shitty lie, and he smiles. “It shouldn’t have,” he says, rolling his eyes fondly. “Everything you write is incredible, Mike.”

Okay, Mike didn’t think it was possible for his face to feel even more warm, but apparently, that isn’t true. His face is burning now. Jesus, he’s a wreck.

“T-thanks,” Mike finally manages to say, and bonus points for him, he also manages to smile back at Will. “Here, um… let me take something for you, so your hands aren’t full…”

Before Will can even protest, Mike quickly takes the little blue and yellow painted bowl from him, and he definitely does not think about the jolt of electricity that rushes through him when his hands touch Will’s. Nope. Definitely… not thinking about that. 

“You’d better not drop that,” Will warns. There’s a teasing smile on his face, and Mike rolls his eyes as the two of them walk out to the parking lot. “I worked very hard on that.”

“I’m not gonna drop it, Byers,” Mike reassures. “If I ever ruin a piece of art that you’ve made, I think I might just… I don’t know—die or something?”

This time, Will rolls his eyes, and he pushes the double doors open, allowing Mike to go first. “You are such a drama queen, you know that?” he laughs. “Not that I want you to ruin any of my art, but I don’t think it’s worth dying over.”

“Agree to disagree.” Mike shrugs. “Your art like… belongs in a fucking museum, Will. Seriously. Someday, you’re going to be some rich and famous artist, and the whole world is going to be spending thousands of dollars to buy your art, and I… I will be the lucky bastard who has drawings of ten year-old Will the Wise hanging up in my office.”

“Oh my God ,” Will groans. His face is turning bright red, and Mike can’t help the sudden rush of giddiness he gets at the sight. He did that. Yeah, he made Will blush. 

(Okay, maybe he’s being a bit pathetic right now, but… whatever.)

“You’re absolutely ridiculous, you know that?” Will says, and he stops in front of Mike’s car, giving him an exasperated but fond look—the one that Mike thinks says, You’re an idiot Mike, but you’re also my idiot.

Maybe that’s just wishful thinking though.

“I know,” Mike says with a shrug, then he carefully hands Will back the little clay bowl and unlocks his car, walking over to the passenger side and opening the door for his best friend. “I’m hungry… You wanna grab dinner before we go back to my house?”

Another smile forms on Will’s face as he follows Mike to the passenger’s side, carefully getting into the car. “Dinner sounds great,” he agrees. “Benny’s?”

“Hell, yes.” Mike grins back at him, walking over to the driver’s side and getting in. “I’m literally starving, so you’re my best friend and all, but I’m getting my own milkshake this time. Last time, you drank the whole damn thing.”

Will laughs, and he leans his head back against the seat, raising an eyebrow at Mike. “You’re lactose intolerant, Mike,” he reminds dryly. “I’m doing you a favor here.”

“I know the risks, and I choose to accept them,” Mike says stubbornly, and Will just laughs even harder. “You should know this by now.”

Will just shakes head, the look on his face some sort of cross between amused and fond. “Of course, I know this,” he chuckles, meeting Mike’s eyes. “I know you , Mike. Doesn’t mean that I’m not going to try and stop you though.”

“I know you, Mike.” Will’s voice echoes in Mike’s mind, and shit, the warmth from before is back. Mike is… most definitely overthinking this. Of course, Will knows him. They’ve been best friends for over a decade for God’s sake. He needs to chill.

But in addition to Will’s voice, Mike can hear Mr. Livingston’s voice in his mind: “Boyfriends are like that sometimes.”

Will Byers… as his boyfriend. His boyfriend.

Fuck… fuck. Just the very thought of that makes Mike feel all giddy and stupid and warm inside.

“Mike?” Will snaps his fingers in front of Mike’s face, and Mike flinches sharply, turning to his best friend. “Are you sure you’re okay? You keep zoning out.”

“Sorry,” Mike apologizes quickly, because there’s no way in hell he’s going to tell Will that his English teacher thought they were dating. “Um… it’s just… been a long day, and I’m tired. Anyways. We should, um… probably go.”

Though Will still looks skeptical, he chooses to drop it, and instead, he nods, reaching for the aux cord in Mike’s car. “Wanna listen to anything in particular?”

“Nope.” Mike shakes his head, offering a weak smile to his best friend. “I don’t care what you pick… I trust you.”

The look on Will’s face softens, and he smiles back, plugging the cord into his phone. “Alright, then,” he says with a chuckle. “I hope you’re fine with Taylor Swift then, because I’m in the mood to listen to Reputation.”

Mike can’t help the groan that escapes his lips, and Will laughs as he hits shuffle on the album. With a moment, the familiar voice of Taylor Swift sings, This ain’t for the best…

“You could have at least picked Red, ” Mike points out. “I have a newfound respect for that album, thanks to Max beating it into us last fall.”

Will just laughs, loud and bright, and he turns to look at Mike, a soft sort of look in his eyes. “I know,” he says with a shrug. “But this one’s a good album too. It might actually be my favorite. You should give it a chance. Maybe all of us will convert you into a Swiftie yet.”

(Well.

If it’s Will’s favorite album, then Mike supposes he has to like it.)

“Alright, fine,” Mike concedes, and he shares another smile with his best friend, doing his best to ignore that stupidly warm and giddy feeling inside his chest. “I’ll give it a chance… just for you.”

A smug smile forms on Will’s face. “That’s all I ask.”

Mike just shakes his head, and he glances in his rearview mirror as he pulls out of the parking lot of the school. All the while, Taylor Swift continues to sing her song, and if Mike listens close enough, he thinks he can hear Will singing along too.

Is it cool that I said all that?

Is it chill that you’re in my head?

‘Cause I know that it’s delicate.

Well, that’s… fitting. 

Maybe Mike will end up liking this album after all.

2.

Never in a million years did Will think he’d ever end up working at Sun and Moon Bookstore with Steve Harrington and Robin Buckley of all people in the world, but hey, life can be funny like that.

After a rather disastrous summer spent working at Melvald’s, Will had been desperate to find a new job. It’s not that he needs to work that much during the school year, but saving up for college tuition is rather important to Will, so he tries to work at least a couple nights out of the week and during the weekends. 

Somehow, thanks to Dustin, who is for some reason best friends with Steve Harrington, Will landed this job at the bookstore within his first week of applying. And so, on every Tuesday and Thursday night, plus anytime he’s free on Saturday and Sunday, Will spends his time at the bookstore with either Steve or Robin or both of them.

It’s… chaotic, to say the least.

At first, Will is honestly a little bit uncomfortable. He’s never been a particularly outgoing person, and for his entire life, he’s always stuck to the people he knows . And sure, while he knows both Steve and Robin by association, Will doesn’t really know them, and it feels a little weird walking into a workplace where the two of the only other employees are best friends and roommates.

So, yeah. It… makes the couple months or so of working at the bookstore a little bit uncomfortable, and it unfortunately takes Will more time than he expected to find his place here at work. 

In the meantime, Will definitely ends up complaining about the awkwardness to Mike, who patiently listens and lets him rant about the whole situation. He’s about the only person who Will actually feels comfortable sharing all of this with—mostly because he feels so damn bad about it. It’s not that Steve and Robin are mean or anything! They’re both incredibly nice people! But they both just know each other, and they’re both such loud, outgoing personalities, and Will… Will is not that. 

Luckily for Will, Mike takes it upon himself to visit the bookstore… very frequently. Seriously. He stops by practically every time that Will is at work, and most of the time, he doesn’t even buy anything. He just walks through all of his favorite sections—the fantasy novels, the comic books, and surprisingly, the classic literature—and then follows Will around like a lost puppy dog while Will makes sure no books are out of place.

It’s both the best thing in the world and the worst thing in the world.

It’s the best thing in the world because Mike is just so… Mike. He’s one of the kindest, most caring, and considerate people that Will knows, and it makes Will feel all warm and giddy and excited inside every time the little bell over the door jingles and he catches sight of a familiar mop of dark hair. Mike makes Will feel a little less alone when Robin and Steve bicker back and forth near the front of the store, and Will definitely laughs way too much when Mike does a (very shitty) impression of Steve. 

But it’s also the worst thing in the world because Mike is just so Mike. He’s Will’s best friend in the entire world, but that’s it. He’s Will’s best friend, and he’s only doing this because he cares about Will… as a friend. Not because he sees Will the same stupid, childish, and romanticized way that Will sees him. Mike is just being a good friend, but Will can’t help himself. Every time Mike Wheeler walks through the door with a smile on his face and the determination to make Will happy in his heart, Will falls just a little bit more in love.

Yeah. It happens very often, which is rather unfortunate for Will’s plan to eventually get over this crush. At this rate, he’s never going to get over Mike Wheeler.

He is so unbelievably, irrevocably screwed.

“I’m just saying, I feel like one of the prerequisites for being a manager at a literal bookstore is that you should actually read books, Steve,” Robin points out, reaching down and grabbing a book from the box that Will is currently holding for her. She takes another step on the ladder and carefully places the book next to the others in the series, and she makes a face at Steve. “I mean, seriously! When was the last time you actually read a book?”

“I read books!” Steve protests from the other side of the bookshelf. A moment later, the top of his head peeks out from the top shelf, and Will catches sight of the offended look on his face. “Screw off, Robin!”

“Uh huh.” Robin rolls her eyes, and she glances at Will, as if to say, Can you believe this guy? “I live with you, dingus, and I work with you. I think I’d know if you read any books.”

“You do realize I have a life outside of you, right?” Steve complains.

“I find that very hard to believe,” Robin replies cheerfully, and Steve just lets out an indignant little squawk in response. “How about you, Byers? You read any good books recently?”

“Oh.” Will feels his cheeks go warm, and he takes a step back as Robin walks down the ladder, scooting it forward slightly. “I’ve been reading The Raven Cycle series recently. Those are pretty good books.”

Robin’s eyes widen in recognition. “Oh, I think I’ve read those!” she exclaims, grabbing a few books out of the box in Will’s arms. “I don’t remember much about them, but I remember I loved Adam and Ronan. They were so fucking cute.”

Somehow, Will’s cheeks get even warmer, and he smiles hesitantly at Robin. Though he’s never gotten the chance to talk to her one-on-one about it, Will knows that Robin is a lesbian. After all, half the time, she comes into work wearing various pride pins or tennis shoes that have BOOBIES written on the side, and the other half of the time, Robin is hunting down any piece of queer literature she can get in small town, conservative Indiana.

It makes Will feel a little bit better knowing he’s not entirely alone here in Hawkins—that there are people like him. Even if there aren’t that many queer people here in Hawkins, they’re still here , and there’s always something comforting in knowing that he isn’t alone, like how he used to feel when he was a kid.

“They are really cute,” Will agrees, and he walks forward, shifting the box awkwardly. His arms feel a little bit like jelly right now, though that might also be because Lucas had practically dragged him to the gym after school yesterday. Look, Will doesn’t mind exercising, but Jesus Christ. Lucas is on a whole other level. 

“I really like Adam,” Will adds, and Robin glances back at him, her lips quirked up into a bit of a smile. “Kind of relate to him, actually.”

Robin just chuckles, stepping down from the ladder and grabbing another small handful of books. “You relate to the incredibly traumatized queer character,” she muses. “You doing okay, buddy? Want to talk about anything?”

Warmth spreads across Will’s cheeks, and he stammers, “Oh… I-I mean…”

Behind them, the doorbell jingles, and Will nearly sighs with relief. Saved by the bell. Literally.

“I’ll go check who it is,” Will says quickly, setting down the box and all but running to the front of the store. It’s not like Robin is actually trying to be nosy and turn their shift into a therapy session, but Will does not want to take any chances. Yeah, as far as he’s concerned, he would much rather just not think about his shitty father and all the trauma that comes with that relationship. And even if Will did want to talk about it, he’s fairly certain he wouldn’t want to do so at work , where everyone can hear him—

“Oof!” a familiar voice yelps, right as Will slams right into a body, warm and sturdy, and right about knocks the person off his feet.

“Shit!” Will gasps, as Mike grabs onto his arms and steadies both of them. “Mike? What the hell are you doing here?”

Mike raises a brow. His hands are still wrapped around Will’s arms, and the two of them are barely a foot away from each other—close enough that Will can smell the familiar scent of the Wheelers’ laundry detergent mixed in with the faint smell of cologne Mike’s been using ever since his sister got him a bottle for his birthday.

“Good to see you too, Will,” he says dryly, but there’s a grin on his face. “Do you talk to all of your customers like that? Can’t be good for business.”

Will’s cheeks turn even warmer, and he glares at Mike. “You hardly count as a customer,” he reminds, gently pushing on Mike’s chest. “Considering the fact that you never buy anything.”

“Because everything’s so expensive in here!” Mike complains, motioning to the bookstore with one arm. His other hand still remains wrapped around Will’s forearm, tight enough that Will doesn’t bother trying to pull away but gentle enough that it makes Will’s heart go thump, thump, thump nervously. “And you won’t give me the employee discount!”

“Okay, that’s bull,” Will laughs. “The few times you have bought something, I so let you use my discount! So, I don’t want to hear it, Wheeler!”

A pout just forms on Mike’s face, and Will fights the urge to kiss it right off of him. Yeah. That’s… probably not appropriate workplace conduct. Or appropriate best friend conduct. Probably… should not be doing that type of thing.

“Hey, Byers!” Robin calls from the back of the store, and Will winces. “Can you come help me with this real quick?”

Will glances back at Mike, whose pout has turned into a more annoyed, frustrated look. “You look like you’re trying to explode Robin with your mind,” Will deadpans. “Knock it off.”

“Maybe I am,” Mike retorts, and Will just rolls his eyes, gently tugging on his arm. Mike, stubbornly, does not let go. The butterflies in Will’s stomach have a hay day about it. “She’s just annoying.”

“You don’t even know her,” Will reminds. 

“I don’t need to know her,” Mike grumbles. “I think both she and Steve Harrington are annoying. Plus, I’m pretty sure they’ve each made out with my sister at some point, which is just… not something I ever want to think about.”

“My brother has also made out with your sister,” Will points out, and Mike makes another disgusted face. “Yeah, not a great mental image.”

“Nope,” Mike agrees, and finally, he lets go of Will’s arm and offers him a small smile. “I’m going to go look around. Come find me whenever you’re finished?”

“Of course.” Will smiles back, ignoring the way his stomach is doing stupid little somersaults. “Oh, just so you know, we got some new journals in, so our old inventory got marked down. I think that leather one you were looking at a couple months ago is half off…”

Mike’s expression just brightens, and he nods excitedly. “You’re the best,” he declares, then he turns and practically sprints towards the journal section, leaving Will behind. 

And yeah, Will… definitely does not stand there and watch Mike for a little bit longer. No, why would he do that? Nope, that definitely is not what happened, and he definitely is not thinking about the warmth of Mike’s hand curled gently around his forearm or the fact that Mike was barely a foot away from him, invading all his personal space and close enough to where Will could just throw all caution to the wind and just kiss him—

"Wiiillll!” Robin calls again. “Helllooo? You still there!”

Shit.

“Coming!” Will shouts, and he runs to the back of the bookstore, giving Robin an apologetic look. Steve has moved from his place on the other side of the bookshelf to standing below Robin’s ladder and holding the box of books for her now, and both of them… have very strange looks on their faces.

“Um… is everything okay?” Will asks warily.

Steve and Robin just exchange a look, matching grins on their faces. “Everything’s great,” Steve reassures.

“So great,” Robin agrees.

Yeah, they’re definitely being weird… weirder than normal, at least.

“Um… okay then,” Will says, and once again, Steve and Robin look at each other, barely even trying to hold back their laughter. “Why do I feel like there’s something that you’re not telling me?”

“More like something you’re not telling us,” Steve says, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, Byers.” Robin turns around, and she sits on one of the steps, leaning her head on her hand. “I thought we were friends and stuff, but we’ve been working together since September, and you haven’t told us anything about your boyfriend that always comes in here!”

Wait, what? What the hell, what the hell, what the hell—

“My… my what ?” Will sputters. His cheeks are absolutely burning right now, and holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, this is not happening, this cannot be happening, this is absolutely mortifying —

“Don’t worry, we’re not homophobic or anything like that!” Steve reassures quickly. “I mean, you know Robin’s literally a lesbian, and I’m just a really good ally—”

Robin coughs. Steve gives her a very pointed look. Will gets the feeling that discussion is still pending, which honestly is not at all surprising to him.

“Anyways, what Steve is trying to say is, we’re not like that,” Robin promises, as if Will literally didn’t know this already. He’s not worried about them being homophobic; no , he just wants to know how the hell either of them can think he and Mike are dating! “But we’ve been working together for months now, and you never chat about yourself, Byers! Come on; what’s the deal with you and your boyfriend? He’s always here… little clingy if you ask me.”

Holy shit, this cannot actually be happening. Will is not actually having this conversation right now— especially with Mike somewhere in this fucking bookstore. This is not actually happening; he’s just dreaming or something—

“Robin,” Steve hisses, giving her a look.

Robin’s eyes widen, and she winces. “Sorry,” she says with a nervous sort of laugh. “Sometimes, I get excited, and I say things without thinking, and I swear I didn’t mean clingy like in a bad way, you know? I just mean, he’s always here to visit you, which is super sweet but also just a little bit much… But you know, to each their own, right? If you like it, that’s super cute, and we’re super happy for you!”

The room feels incredibly hot right now, and Will winces, pulling on the collar of his shirt. “Well, actually,” he starts to say, but once again, he’s interrupted by the sound of the bell jingling over the door. 

Steve glances towards the front of the store, then he gives Will a wry sort of smile. “Better go say hi to the customer,” he says, nodding towards the door. “We can talk later.”

“We will definitely be talking later,” Robin agrees, a mischievous sort of smirk on her face. “But yeah, go say hi to the customer, and then you can go say hi to your boyfriend or whatever. Just no making out in the back of the store on company time. Been there, done that. Surprisingly, not as romantic as you'd think it would be."

Definitely not the mental image Will wanted to think about… the Robin part at least. The Mike part? Well, Will would be lying if he said he didn’t at least imagine Mike coming here after the store was already closed and helping Will clean up, which would lead to the two of them maybe sort of kissing up against the bookshelves like they’re in some fucking coming of age movie.

Yeah… Will is screwed. So, irrevocably, inexplicably screwed and down bad for his best friend.

(His best friend, whom people apparently think that he’s dating. Yeah, that’s cool.)

With a sigh, Will just walks back towards the front of the store, looking around for their new customer. On his way, he definitely does pass by Mike, who has moved from the journal section of the store to the comic book section, and Mike glances up, softly smiling at Will. He looks absolutely perfect standing there, with his denim jacket and an old sweater that he’s had since freshman year and the new pair of circular glasses that he just got this past summer and with his wind ruffled hair and kind dark eyes and warm smile.

Yeah, Will is so, so screwed.

3.

Never before has Mike wanted to explode someone with his mind so much.

Okay, maybe he’s been thinking too much about the sequel to that story he’s been writing for Will, but exploding someone with his mind would be cool, right? Right? Mike certainly thinks so, and he’s never wanted to do so more than now.

(Jesus, he needs to get a life.)

It’s just that things aren’t going the way that Mike planned today. Not that—not that he planned for anything to happen with him and Will! No, no, obviously Mike knows that the two of them are just friends and nothing more than that. Mr. Livingston’s comment about Will being Mike’s boyfriend totally has not been on his mind ever since it happened a few months ago. Of course not.

It’s just that… well, Mike kind of figured today would be for the two of them, not for Will and this stupid girl who will not fucking leave him alone.

Ugh.

It’s fine. It’s not like the two of them have literally been planning this college visit since last semester, and it’s not like they woke up early in the morning to skip school and drive out with their moms to Chicago together, just to make it to the university at 9 AM sharp. It’s not like this is the only school that both he and Will are applying to, and it’s not like Mike actually feels physically sick when he thinks about going to a different university in a different fucking state from his best friend. It’s bad enough knowing the other Party members are probably all going to end up on opposite ends of the country. But if Will leaves Mike behind?

Yeah, Mike doesn’t want to even think about that. They’ve still got over a year until graduation, so that’s plenty of time for Mike to convince Will to go to the same university as him.

Apparently, he’s not going to have to work very hard though, since that stupid girl is doing it for him.

God, Mike knows he’s being absolutely fucking ridiculous. It’s not like he owns Will or anything, and it’s not like Will is even interested in this girl. Hello. Will Byers is gay, thank you very much, so sorry about your luck, random annoying girl who happens to be studying art and thinks she has a chance with Will. That’s definitely not going to happen.

Still, Mike can’t help the pit of disgust and jealousy that sits in his stomach throughout the course of the campus tour. Will does stick by his side throughout most of it, but whenever the tour guide isn’t talking, Will ends up chatting with the pretty brunette girl who has decided to latch onto him. Her name’s Liv, at least according to her name tag. Mike literally could not care less. 

(He still kind of wants to explode Liv with his mind, but he doesn’t think that her parents will like that. Oh well. They can get over it.)

“And over here, you’ll find our oldest dormitory, which actually survived the Great Fire of Chicago,” their tour guide says cheerfully. She’s one of those overly peppy and way too excited people, and normally, Mike wouldn’t really mind it. After all, she’s just trying to do her damn job. 

But for some reason (totally unrelated to the fact that Will is ignoring him in favor of his new friend—stupid fucking Liv), Mike cannot stand their tour guide. His mom and Mrs. Byers are chattering animatedly behind them, and they seem to be eating up every word this girl says. Will doesn’t seem to mind her either, though Mike can’t really tell since he and Will haven’t really gotten to talk all day. Either way, nobody seems to mind their stupid tour guide except for Mike, which means it’s probably (definitely) just related to his sour mood.

“This dormitory is also one of the only ones that’s still segregated by gender,” the tour guide adds, stopping in front of the door. “I know, I know. Not very progressive. We all hate it too. So, fellas, I’m sorry, but you’ll just have to wait out here. We won’t be long.”

A collective, mildly overdramatic groan erupts from the other guys in the group, and Mike fights the urge to roll his eyes. Okay, yeah, it’s annoying that they have to wait out here in the cold (and also just stupid , like geez, if you’re going to make half the group wait outside why even visit this dorm), but Mike isn’t going to complain. 

Because hey, now both stupid Liv and the stupid tour guide are gone—at least for a few minutes—and Mike has Will all to himself. 

As all the girls in the group shuffle into the dorm building and follow their tour guide, Mike turns to his best friend, a dry smile on his face. “Please tell me I’m not the only one who thinks that was super weird.”

“Oh, so weird,” Will agrees, and he walks over to the steps of the building, taking a seat. Mike follows him, sitting down next to Will and staying close enough that his shoulder brushes up against Will’s. “It’s nice to get a break though. I feel like we’ve been going nonstop since we got here… This campus is huge.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Mike laughs softly, and he hesitates, before bumping Will’s shoulder teasingly. “You know, I feel like I haven’t gotten to talk to you at all today… That girl seems pretty interested in you.”

Almost immediately, Will’s face turns bright red, and he shoves Mike away, groaning in embarrassment. “Shut up,” he grumbles, burying his head in his hands. “She’s just being friendly!”

Mike snorts. “Right… like Jennifer Hayes was just being friendly back in middle school? Or how that Allie was being friendly when she moved to Hawkins freshman year? Or how Maisie—”

“Okay, okay!” Will laughs, shoving Mike once again. “Please shut up! God, you’re insufferable. You know I’m not interested in any of them!”

“Of course, I know.” Mike shrugs, offering his best friend an innocent grin. “But they’re definitely interested in you, Will… just like that girl is. What’s her name? Lily? Liz? Lilo?”

Will gives him an exasperated look as Mike fights his laughter. “You’re an idiot,” he deadpans, and Mike just smiles crookedly. 

“And you’re way too nice to people,” Mike says with another shrug. “ Especially to girls you’re probably never going to see again.”

Will purses his lips slightly, and he glances in the direction of the door. “Who says I won’t see her again?” he muses. “She seems pretty set on coming here, and honestly, I really like this school… So, maybe we’ll end up being classmates.”

Suddenly, Mike feels his face turn warm, and he can’t fight the grin that forms on his face. Before visiting, Will had been somewhat on the fence about this school, while it had easily been one of Mike’s top picks. But now … apparently, Will likes this school and is actually considering it for real.

(Alright, fine. Maybe Mike is going to have to reconsider his disdain for that Liv girl. And their tour guide too. Whatever gets Will to go to the same school as him.)

“Maybe,” Mike agrees, bumping Will’s shoulder lightly. “Better let her down easy then, Byers. You don’t want it to be awkward or anything if you both end up coming here.”

Once again, Will groans, and he glares at Mike, an exasperated look on his face. His cheeks are bright, rosy red—maybe from his embarrassment or maybe from how fucking cold it is in Chicago. But either way, Will looks absolutely adorable, and God, Mike just wants to say fuck it and just kiss his best friend.

(That wouldn’t be weird, right? Okay, maybe just a little, since there’s a dozen other guys and their parents freezing their asses off here, and also because Mike doesn’t even know if Will sees him like that, and because one sure fire way to ruin a decade-long friendship is to kiss your best friend out of the blue.

So, um, maybe Mike shouldn’t do that, even though he really, really wants to.)

Before Mike can actually get his thoughts together enough to say anything that sounds even remotely coherent, Will shivers, and he wraps his arms around himself. 

And immediately, it’s like a switch flips inside of Mike’s brain.

“Here,” Mike says quickly, and without any hesitation, he starts taking his scarf off. “You look like you need this more than I do.”

“Mike,” Will protests. He’s even redder now, so okay, yeah, it’s definitely from embarrassment. That’s fine; Mike is also probably bright red right now. “You don’t have to—”

“You’re literally shivering,” Mike points out stubbornly, and he reaches over, gently placing the scarf around Will’s neck. “So, I don’t wanna hear it.”

Finally, Mike finishes wrapping the scarf around Will’s neck, and he pauses, his hands lingering on the end of his old green scarf. He suddenly becomes aware of just how close he and Will are now. Their faces barely inches away from each other, and Mike’s hands are just close enough to pull Will even closer to him and—

Mike really, really wants to kiss him.

He glances at Will’s lips briefly, then back up at his eyes, and honestly, it’s like all coherent thoughts have left Mike’s brain. Will is just so close—he’s here, in Mike’s space, wearing Mike’s scarf, at the school where Mike wants him to go so he can keep Will close to him forever and ever—

“Alright!” a familiar voice says cheerfully, and both Mike and Will flinch sharply, pulling away from each other as their stupid fucking tour guide leads the girls out of the dormitory. “Told you we wouldn’t be long. We’ve still got a lot of ground to cover, so let’s keep going, okay?”

Will clears his throat, and he glances at Mike, a shy smile on his face. “Guess that’s our cue to go,” he says softly, standing to his feet and offering Mike his hand.

“Guess so,” Mike agrees, and he takes Will’s hand, doing his best to ignore the disappointment rising in his heart. Reasonably, he knows it’s probably for the best that he and Will didn’t end up kissing in front of a bunch of strangers at a college visit, but damn it, Mike still wishes they had.

“Thanks, by the way,” Will adds as the two of them walk towards the front of the group. A few steps ahead of them, their tour guide continues to chat with one of the other visiting students, and Mike fights the urge to roll his eyes. “For, uh… for the scarf, I mean.”

“Oh.” Mike feels heat rise to his own cheeks, and he can’t help but smile back at his best friend. “Yeah, of course, it’s no prob—”

“Hi, Will,” a girl’s voice interrupts, and are you fucking kidding ?

Will winces, briefly giving Mike a panicked but also apologetic look, and he turns to stupid fucking Liv, smiling weakly. “Hey, Liv,” he greets. “How was the dormitory?”

“No different from the other ones,” Liv says dryly, and she shoves her hands in her coat pockets, walking in step with Will. Ugh. Mike can’t stand her. Seriously. Can’t she tell that they were literally having a conversation that she just came and interrupted? “You’ve seen one dorm, you’ve seen them all.”

Will laughs, and yeah, he definitely sounds a bit awkward. And that definitely doesn’t make Mike feel smug. No, not at all. He’s definitely not trying to fight his own laughter as this poor girl keeps trying to talk to Will, who now seems about 10x more uncomfortable than he did before Mike pointed out the fact that she was flirting with him, and—

“Hey!” a vaguely familiar voice says, and Mike flinches sharply, turning to look at the person talking to him.

Sure enough, it’s their fucking tour guide, walking beside Mike with that same, cheerful smile on her face. Apparently, she doesn’t have anything to point out on this stretch of their tour, so… Mike gets to be the unlucky person who she decides to talk to. Great.

“Um, hi?” Mike says awkwardly, glancing over at her. 

Somehow, their tour guide—Thea, according to the shiny metal name tag pinned to her jacket—doesn’t seem to notice his awkwardness, and she glances past Mike, smiling at Will. “That was really sweet,” she says, her voice a bit softer now.

Mike’s brow just furrows, and he gives her a weird look. “What are you talking about?”

Thea just giggles, nodding to Will. “Giving your boyfriend your scarf,” she answers, and um, yeah, okay, yep, Mike’s brain… sort of stops working.

Your boyfriend.

Your boyfriend.

His boyfriend.

That shouldn’t make Mike feel as giddy as it does, but fuck, he’s never been able to control his emotions. His face feels burning hot, his heart is absolutely pounding inside his chest, and his mind feels like those stupid emotions from Inside Out, running around and screaming, BOYFRIEND BOYFRIEND BOYFRIEND!

God, he is so glad Will isn’t paying attention right now.

“Um, actually, we… we’re—” Mike starts to say, but he never gets to finish his sentence.

“Excuse me?” one of the parents asks, hurrying up to Thea and holding up the campus map. “I was just wondering when we planned to visit the Bly Building…”

Thea glances back at him, an apologetic smile on her face. “Duty calls,” she says with a smile. “You guys should come here though. It’s a pretty safe place, so you don’t have to worry about hiding or anything.”

Somehow, Mike’s face gets even warmer, but before he can even protest or correct her, Thea turns back to the parent and begins talking, animatedly pointing to the map and explaining that they, in fact, are only a few minutes away from visiting the building in question.

Jesus , Mike’s brain feels like it’s spinning. His boyfriend? Seriously? This girl has barely known them for a few hours, so who is she to just assume that Will is his boyfriend? It’s not… it’s not like that. 

But you want it to be, the incredibly unhelpful voice in the back of Mike’s mind points out.

Shut up, he tells it.

Just admit it, the voice laughs. It kind of sounds like Max or maybe even like El, and Mike fights the urge to groan aloud. You’re happy people think Will is your boyfriend!

…

Okay, fine. Maybe it does make Mike feel just a little happy that people think he and Will are dating. It’s happened twice now, and honestly, Mike can’t help it. The thought of Will Byers being his boyfriend? The fact that anyone can even think that Mike would be good enough for Will Byers? 

Come on. It’s enough to make a guy smile like a complete idiot. 

“Oh, by the way, Liv,” Will says, his voice snapping Mike out of his thoughts. Mike glances to his left, and he catches sight of Will smiling his familiar, warm, and oh so Will smile at Mike. “This is my best friend, Mike. We, ah, we’re from the same hometown, and we’re thinking about going to school together.”

My best friend, Mike.

That’s right. Mike is just Will’s best friend. Nothing more than that—no matter what Mr. Livingston or Thea the tour guide think. He needs to get out of his head. 

He and Will are just friends—best friends. Nothing more. And that’s… that’s okay! As long as Mike still has Will in his life, then that’s all that matters in the end, right?

Keep telling yourself that, Wheeler, something in the back of Mike’s mind chuckles. Keep telling yourself that.

(Yeah… Mike is screwed.)

4.

So, in hindsight…

Going out with his best friend and crush of basically ten years on Valentine’s Day probably wasn’t the smartest idea that Will has had. 

There are many reasons why this is a bad idea, and now, halfway through his not-date date with Mike, Will has formed a nice little list of those reasons.

1. Everyone and their mother is out and about tonight… because it’s Valentine’s Day. And yeah, Hawkins really doesn’t have that many restaurants to begin with, so it’s an absolute madhouse at every single place he and Mike visit. It’s great.
2. Being that it’s Valentine’s Day, Will and Mike run into… literally everyone that they know. Including Robin, who’s on a date with a pretty girl with red hair (Vicki, Will thinks he remembers her mentioning at work the other day), and Steve, who is out and about with Eddie Munson, of all people. Will makes a mental note to ask Steve (or maybe Robin) about that at work tomorrow. Either way, both of them give him knowing looks and smile their stupid, shit-eating grins at Will when Mike isn’t looking. He gives them the middle finger in response.
3. Not only is everyone out and about in Hawkins for Valentine’s Day, but everyone is also incredibly mean tonight for some reason. Jesus. For a holiday that’s supposed to be about love, Will has some people get really nasty tonight—first in the incredibly long lines at the movie theaters, then at the three different, fully booked restaurants that he and Mike had stumbled into after getting out of the theater. 
4. And of course, because every single restaurant is packed full of people, it takes forever for the two of them to get their food at Benny’s. Benny’s fucking Burgers of all places. It’s not even a restaurant! It’s just a little diner, and who takes their significant other out to a little rundown diner for Valentine’s Day? (Apparently, half of Hawkins, Indiana does.)

“This is so ridiculous,” Mike groans, leaning his head on the table and pouting. “Our waitress hasn’t even come over here yet!” 

Will just smiles wryly, and he leans his head on his hand, absently fiddling with the paper placemat on the table. “I’m sure she’s just busy,” he says with a shrug. “It looks like they’re kind of short-staffed tonight.”

The pout on Mike’s face just deepens. “Well, they shouldn’t be,” he grumbles. “It’s Valentine’s Day. How are you going to be short-staffed on Valentine’s Day? I mean, seriously?”

He sounds so annoyed, which… yeah, that’s no surprise there. Mike has always been an impatient person, but he’s downright insufferable when he’s hungry. Will would know. The two of them have been best friends for years, and there’s a reason why Will keeps stashes of fruit snacks and granola bars in the console of his and El’s shared car. 

“Careful, Mike,” Will says dryly. “You sound like your mom.”

Mike lifts his head, scrunching his nose at Will. “William Byers,” he huffs in mock offense. “Are you calling me a Karen?”

Will snorts. “Michael Wheeler,” he parrots back in the same time, a playful grin on his face.”Why, yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing. I’ve known you for over ten years now. Your family is full of Karens, Mike. Don’t even try to deny it.”

An offended look forms on Mike’s face, and he kicks Will’s foot lightly underneath the table. “Okay, rude! You don’t seem to mind when I have to be a Karen and ask our waiters to come back with the right food.”

“I never ask you to do that!” Will protests, kicking Mike’s foot back lightly. “You just automatically do it for me!”

“Because I know you won’t say anything, Will!” Mike laughs, and he nudges Will’s foot—gentler this time. The offended look has been replaced by something softer and kinder now, and Mike raises a brow at him. “I mean, what am I supposed to do? Just watch as you suffer through a turkey club even though you hate turkey, all because you don’t want to make someone else’s life more difficult?”

“Yes!” Will exclaims. “That’s exactly what you’re supposed to do!”

Mike gives him another look that seems to say, No way in hell, and Will… well, Will’s stomach does a little loop-the-loop sort of thing in response. Though that could also just be because he’s hungry. Maybe it’s because of both.

Regardless, Will can’t help but get a little bit flustered whenever Mike is like this—which is often, to say the least. The two of them have been spending a lot more time alone together as of lately. With basketball season in full gear, Lucas’s schedule is almost entirely booked, and Dustin has been busy studying his ass off for the SATs and working on other things to build his resume to apply for MIT this coming year. On top of all that, Max and El both recently started working at the local toy store across from where Will works, so it’s unfortunately been a minute since the Party has hung out altogether. Nowadays, it feels like the only time Will gets to see his best friends is during their shared lunch period.

But Will and Mike? It’s like they’re always together.

Honestly, Will doesn’t know how it started, but he’s damn glad that it did. He still works Tuesdays and Thursdays at the bookstore with Steve and Robin, and Mike still stops by to say hi and hang out with him a little bit longer. Yes, Robin and Steve do know that he and Mike aren’t actually dating. No, it doesn’t stop them from calling Mike his boyfriend whenever he’s not around (and sometimes when he is).

Yes, it does make Will sort of want to crawl under the bookstore’s dusty old rug and just… die. So, that’s cool.

(He considers filing some sort of workplace harassment report against the two of them for the bullying they’ve subjected him to, but then again, he doesn’t think Miss Maggie, the store’s sweet little owner, has an HR department.

So… relentless teasing at the hands of his friends slash coworkers it is.

After the very least, Will can join in on Robin’s merciless teasing of Steve and his blatantly obvious crush on Eddie Munson, who works at the record store down the street. Will still has yet to find dirt on Robin himself, but one of these days, he’ll figure something out.)

And in addition to Mike visiting him whenever Will is at work, every other night, they end up hanging out with each other. Most of the time, Will goes over to the Wheelers’ house after school, just like he used to as a kid, and the two of them work on homework until they’re sick of it… then, they just mess around and play video games or other dumb shit like that. Other times, they’ll end up sitting on Mike’s couch and talking about life for hours on end. 

Those are Will’s favorite days.

He’s never been much of a talker—even now at almost seventeen years old, Will is still most comfortable staying quiet and in the background of most conversations. He’s much more inclined to just sit and listen and observe, only occasionally providing his opinion. Ms. Kelly, the school counselor, says it’s probably at least in part due to all of the shit Will’s dad put him through, which is… valid. Sometimes, it’s just easier to not even try—to fade into the background and not draw attention to himself. 

But with Mike, everything is different. Will is different. 

It’s just so much easier to talk to Mike, and Will somehow always has something to say. Maybe it’s because he knows that Mike is going to listen and actually hear him, unlike most other people in the world. With the glaring exception of the year-and-a-half that Mike and El dated freshman year, Mike has always been like that. He’s always been good at making Will feel seen and heard, and he’s always made Will feel comfortable enough to share his thoughts and his opinions and his stupid jokes and everything in between.

Will thinks he could spend forever just sitting with and talking to and being with Mike Wheeler. All those silly promises that they made when they were just kids about playing video games and writing stories and creating D&D campaigns in Mike’s basement for the rest of their lives? Yeah… Will thinks he’d actually be okay with that.

As long as he has Mike, Will’s certain he’ll always be happy.

“Hi, guys,” an unfamiliar voice says, and Will flinches, snapping out of his thoughts. Finally, their waitress has approached their table, and immediately, Will feels bad for her. He vaguely recognizes her from the hallways of their high school, though he’s not certain what her name is. 

“Hi,” Will says politely, offering their waitress a smile. She definitely looks like she needs it, so just for good measure, Will kicks Mike’s foot under the table.

“Ow!” Mike mutters, and he gives Will a look. Will gives him a look back, hoping he gets the message: Be nice.

Mike’s eyes widen slightly, and he scrunches his nose at Will, before turning to their waitress. “Hi,” he mutters, only sounding slightly annoyed. Alright, that’s probably the closest any of them are going to get to Mike being nice—at least until he gets more food in his body.

“My name’s Haven,” their waitress says with a slightly more relaxed smile now. “I’m sorry about the wait, but I’ll be your server tonight. Were you guys ready to order?”

“Uhhh, I think so,” Will answers, glancing over at Mike, who just nods slightly. “I’ll just take a double cheeseburger with no tomatoes and no onion, please. Oh, I’ll take a side of fries and a Pepsi please!”

Haven nods, scribbling down his order quickly, and then she turns to Mike. “And for you?”

Mike hums slightly, a distracted look on his face. Under the table, he swings his legs, absently kicking Will’s foot. “I think I’ll just get a double cheeseburger too,” he finally decides. “With, uh, two sides of fries. And a…”

He pauses and looks over at Will, the expression on his face softening. “Is strawberry okay with you?” he says in that soft and far too gentle voice. 

Will’s breath catches, because fuck… fuck . The way Mike is looking at him right now—his brown eyes slightly wide and full of something so tender and so familiar , the smallest but most genuine smile on his face, and nothing but concern for Will written all over his face… Fuck. Will is lucky that he’s sitting down, because if he wasn’t, he thinks he’d be weak in the knees or something.

Leave it to Mike Wheeler to make Will feel like this… on a not-date date… on Valentine’s Day.

(Why does Will do this to himself?)

“Y-yeah,” Will manages to say, and he gives Mike a weak smile in return. “Strawberry’s perfect.”

Mike just smiles back, that same look still on his face. “And a strawberry milkshake,” he adds, never once taking his eyes off Will.

“Please,” Will tacks on to the end of his sentence, just for good measure, but he can’t bring himself to look away from Mike either. Oh well. Surely, their waitress will understand. Or maybe she’s just too tired to care at all.

“Got it,” Haven says. “So, two double cheeseburgers—one without onion and tomato—with three orders of fries, a Pepsi, and a strawberry milkshake. Does that sound right?”

“Mhm,” Mike says, clearly distracted. He absently nudges Will’s foot again, and Will bites back a laugh, nudging his foot back. “Sounds good.”

“Alright, I’ll get that order put in for you,” Haven says with a small chuckle, and Will glances away briefly, offering her a weak smile. The older teenager just gives him a knowing look in return, then she turns and walks towards the kitchen, ripping the page from her notepad in the process.

“I’m proud of you,” Will chuckles, leaning his head on his hand.

Mike raises an eyebrow. “For what?”

“For not being a complete asshole and snapping at our waitress.” Will grins, and Mike just lets out an indignant little squawk. “Oh come on, I know you wanted to. You get so grumpy when you’re hungry.”

“I do not!” Mike protests, kicking Will’s foot again. “I don’t get grumpy!”

This time, Will raises a brow. “Mike, I’ve known you since we were five years old,” he reminds gently. “You do realize that I’ve been carrying around snacks with me since we were like… eleven because of how grumpy you get when you’re hungry? You get really mean when you’re hungry.”

The pout on Mike’s face is back, and he scrunches his nose at Will. “I don’t try to be mean,” Mike grumbles. “I’m just impatient, and everyone else sucks but you. So, what?”

“So, we’re not trying to make our waitress cry for probably the third time tonight,” Will laughs, and he nudges Mike’s foot lightly. “Hence why I’m proud of you for not being mean to her. Keep it up, and maybe I’ll buy you dinner tonight.”

For some reason, Mike’s cheeks redden, and he meets Will’s eyes, smiling slightly. “Movie and dinner, huh?” he teases, voice soft. “You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think—”

Mike never gets to finish his sentence.

Because it’s at that exact moment that the little girl behind him turns around and dumps a glass of water onto Mike’s head. 

“Shit!” Mike gasps. His eyes go wide, and he turns around quickly. “What the hell—”

“Suni!” the little girl’s mother scolds. There’s an absolutely mortified look on her face, and she picks up the giggling toddler, holding her close. “Oh my God, I am so, so sorry about her. Oh God, I’m so sorry.”

For a moment, Mike just sits there, completely dumbfounded, while Will watches all of this play out and tries his hardest not to burst into laughter. Honestly, Mike looks hilarious and absolutely adorable—like a cat who’s just been dunked underwater. His hair is completely soaked, and little droplets of water are dripping comically from his glasses.

“It’s okay!” Will calls across the table to the mother, before Mike can say anything either of us regret. Mike gives him a withering glare, as if to say, It’s not fine, Will! Will pointedly chooses to ignore said glare. “Kids will be kids, right?”

The mother still doesn’t look entirely convinced, and the little girl—Suni, Will vaguely remembers—giggles, clapping her hands together and grinning widely. “It was fun!” she says cheerfully, and somehow, Mike looks even more done. “He needs to have fun!”

“Suni,” her mother hisses, pulling the little girl onto her lap and giving Will another apologetic look. 

Will just laughs and gives her another reassuring smile, before turning back to Mike and trying his hardest not to laugh. “You should go to the bathroom,” he says, and Mike gives him another look. “Oh, don’t give me that look! You can dry off a little bit in there!”

“My clothes are soaked , Will!” Mike protests, not even bothering to whisper or hide his frustration. 

Will rolls his eyes, and he just gives Mike a look, before carefully unbuttoning his flannel. Luckily, he’d decided to wear a long-sleeved shirt under his blue flannel today, so it’ll have to do for now.

“Here,” Will says, taking off the flannel and handing it to Mike. “Go dry off and change before you get grumpy again.”

That blush on Mike’s face has returned, and for a few moments, he just stares at Will’s shirt, as if unsure of what to say. Then, finally, he takes the shirt carefully in his hand, stands up, and mumbles under his breath, “I don’t get grumpy ,” before walking towards the bathroom.

“I heard that!” Will calls after him, and Mike turns around, making a face. “And you definitely do!”

Mike just rolls his eyes playfully, and Will smiles, turning back to their now soaking wet diner booth. Yikes. They definitely don’t have any napkins on the table, but he can’t just leave Mike’s seat like this…

“Need some of these?” someone asks, and Will looks up to see their waitress, Haven, smiling wryly at him and holding up a pile of napkins.

“Thanks,” Will laughs, taking the napkins and getting out of his side of the booth. “You read my mind.”

“More like I saw all of that happen from the kitchen,” Haven chuckles as Will wipes the water off of the seat. “Your boyfriend did not look happy.”

Will freezes, his hand still covered in the soggy and sopping wet napkin. 

His what?

Your boyfriend, his mind supplies—very unhelpfully, Will might add. She thinks Mike’s your boyfriend. You know… just like Robin and Steve did.

Heat rises to Will’s cheeks, and he quickly turns around, giving Haven a panicked look. “Oh, um… we’re not… he’s…”

His waitress just raises her hands, a small smile on her face. “Dude, relax,” she says reassuringly. “I mean, I know it’s Hawkins, and the people here are shitty… But I’m not like that, I promise. Even if your boyfriend does kind of seem like he’s a jackass who wants to yell at me or something.”

Will swallows the lump in his throat, and he awkwardly turns around, leaning against the booth. “Mike’s not… he’s not a jackass,” he promises. “Trust me. He just… gets like that when he’s hungry. Sorry if he came off as rude or anything.”

Haven raises a brow. “So… your boyfriend’s like a baby then? Gets grumpy and stuff until you feed him?”

Will’s cheeks are on fire now, and his stomach keeps doing that stupid loop-the-loop somersault thing. He sort of wants to die, so that’s cool. “I mean, y-yeah, kind of,” Will stammers. Then, realization hits, and he quickly adds, “Well, actually no, because we’re not—”

“Hey, Haven!” a voice calls from the kitchen, and Will flinches as both he and Haven turn to look in that direction. “Your order for Table 5’s up!”

“Ah, duty calls,” Haven says dryly. “Have fun on the rest of your date. Hopefully, no one else dumps water on your boyfriend.”

Then, without saying anything else, she turns and hurries back towards the kitchen, leaving Will alone with a half-dried diner booth, a pile of soggy napkins, and a thousand different thoughts running through his mind.

Your boyfriend.

People… actually think that Mike is his boyfriend. Mike. 

The fact that Will actually feels so happy with this is pretty pathetic, in his opinion. 

After all, it’s Mike. Mike, who has been Will’s best friend for years now, and who has never once indicated to him that he wants to be something more. Sure, there have been a couple of times—like when they went on that college visit together last month—when Will almost thought Mike was flirting with him… or maybe even going to kiss him…

But Mike Wheeler has always been one of the most straightforward, blunt people who Will knows. When Mike wants something, Mike will tell people about it, and he’ll become relentless until he gets what he wants.

Mike doesn’t want Will. If he did, then… then surely, he would’ve said something by now.

Mike Wheeler becoming his boyfriend is nothing but a fantasy—a silly little dream that’s only being encouraged by people like Robin and Steve and now even their waitress at Benny’s Burgers.

God, when did Will’s life become like this?

“Okay, I’m back,” comes Mike’s familiar voice, and Will flinches sharply, blinking and looking around. Sure enough, Mike is standing there in Will’s shirt , and…

And oh no, Will definitely did not think this through.

It’s not that the two of them haven’t shared clothes before. They’ve been best friends for over a decade now. Of course, the two of them have shared clothes.

But for some reason, seeing Mike in Will’s favorite flannel—the one that’s navy blue and forest green and that El had gotten him for Christmas a couple years ago—does something to Will. It makes his heart pound even harder inside his chest and makes his stomach do the somersault thing and makes his cheeks feel like they’re on fire and—

And yeah. Will kind of wants to grab Mike by the collar of his own damn shirt and pull him close and kiss him silly until everyone —including Mike himself—thinks that Mike Wheeler is his boyfriend.

“Hey,” Will manages to say, clenching his hands around the soggy napkins. “I, uh… I tried to dry off the booth. I think I got most of the water off. It wasn’t too wet, actually.”

“Wish I could say the same,” Mike says dryly, and he runs a hand through his wet hair.  “Thanks for letting me borrow your shirt though. You’re the best, Will.”

Somehow, Will’s cheeks get even warmer, and he smiles shyly at his best friend, before walking back to the opposite side of the booth and sliding in. Mike follows his example and offers a smile in return, leaning his head on his hand.

“You know, I was kind of hoping our food would be out by now,” Mike muses. “Kind of a bummer.”

“It’s barely been five minutes since she put our order in, Mike,” Will laughs, leaning his head on his hand. “You’re going to have to be a little patient.”

Mike makes a face. “I just got ice water dumped on me,” he reminds. “Whatever patience I had left is so gone!”

“Well, you’d better find it again, before I dump water on you this time,” Will teases, and Mike lets out a little indignant squawk. “Don’t challenge me.”

“That’s harsh, Byers,” Mike deadpans. “Harsh and cruel.”

“And deserved,” Will adds. Mike kicks his foot in response, and Will just laughs. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding!”

“It didn’t sound like you were kidding.” Mike pouts again, and Will rolls his eyes fondly. “Wiiillll.”

“Miiiiiike,” Will parrots back, in the same tone. Mike nudges his foot. Again… and again… and again. Jesus. Maybe Haven was right. Maybe Mike is like a baby until he gets food.

“I’m sure our drinks will be out soon,” Will adds. “At the very least, you’ll have your milkshake then.”

Mike gives him a look. “You mean our milkshake. I know you’re going to drink at least half of it.”

“Only to save you from yourself,” Will chuckles. “Now, are you going to pout all night, or are we going to actually talk about that movie we just saw? I know you have thoughts on it, so I want to hear your crazy Mike Wheeler analysis on it.”

In an instant, Mike’s face brightens again, and he leans across the table, grinning at Will. “Okay, so, first of all, I don’t believe that ending at all. They’re definitely trying to trick us there, so here’s what I think is going to happen…”

Will just leans his head on his hand, and he listens as Mike continues to talk about his theories and latest predictions for what comes next in the movie series.

And somewhere in the back of his mind, Will thinks that there’s no place he’d rather be than here, in a little booth of a busy diner on Valentine’s Day with his best friend in the entire world.

5.

So, it goes without saying:

Fuck Lonnie Byers.

Literally, fuck Lonnie Byers. There are a lot of things and a lot of people who Mike hates in the world, and God , he could go on forever and ever about all of those things. Don’t even get him started. But fuck it all, there is nothing and nobody in the world who Mike hates more than stupid fucking Lonnie Byers.

Lonnie is literally the scum of the earth, and Mike swears he’s one more shitty comment away from getting in his car, driving to Indianapolis, and decking Lonnie in his stupid face. It probably isn’t the best idea in the world since Mike knows exactly what Lonnie is like and also has the athletic ability of a ten year-old pre-pubescent boy, but… fuck it. He doesn’t fucking care at this point. All he wants to do is punch Lonnie right in his face—or better yet, somehow magically explode him with his mind.

The only thing that’s keeping Mike from doing any of that is the fact that Will needs him right now. Will needs him to be here, and more than that, Will wants him to be here, because for some Godforsaken reason, Mike is the luckiest person in the world and Will Byers somehow thinks he’s a safe person to turn to when shit like this happens.

So, Mike stays.

He barely gives his mom any warning—just a quick, “Lonnie’s an asshole! I’m spending the week at Will’s house!” said right before he runs out of his own home—sets up camp at the Byers-Hopper household for all of spring break. Will’s birthday, March 22nd, marks the beginning of spring break, so it should have been the beginning of a great week of getting to hang out with friends, celebrate Will’s birthday, and relax before the rest of the school year decides to kill all of them.

But nope. Lonnie’s a fucking asshole, who decided to text Will some shit on his birthday while all of them were still at school. And listen… if Mike and Max and Lucas wrote out a long text in response that includes more than a few expletives and threats to literally never text Will again, then nobody needs to know that but the six Party members, right?

(Right.)

Will never lets him send it though, and instead, the six of them just end up at Will’s house that evening for a movie and game night to celebrate Will’s birthday. Joyce ends up buying all of them pizza and picks up an ice cream cake from the store for Will’s birthday, and honestly, it’s a great time that helps to get Will’s mind off his asshole father and all the shit that was said to him. Mike probably laughs way too much—especially when Dustin and Max both end up with ice cream in their hair and when someone (Lucas) shoves ice cream cake right into Will’s face. 

There’s just something about being together that makes Mike’s heart happy, and as he watches that sad look disappear from Will’s eyes, he thinks Will feels the same way.

Sometime around midnight, everyone but El, Will, and Mike leave the Byers-Hopper household—but not before hugging Will tight and also maybe threatening to hunt down Lonnie ( if Will wants them to). El, ever the early riser, wishes both Will and Mike goodnight shortly thereafter and heads to her room for the night, goes to her room shortly, leaving the two of them alone in the living room.

In the end, the two of them had ended up back on the couch, with Megamind playing on the TV in the background. Neither one of them had really been that interested in watching another movie, and though Megamind isn’t exactly Mike’s top pick for a movie to watch with his best friend slash crush, he knows this movie and ones like it are just comfort movies for Will. Mike figures after the day Will has had, he deserves it.

Then again, Will definitely isn’t watching the movie, considering the fact that he’s literally about to fall asleep.

Right on Mike’s shoulder.

So, um, yeah, there’s… there’s that.

And Mike is so chill about this. Completely, absolutely, without a doubt chill about this. He’s not freaking out at all about the fact that Will is cuddled up under a blanket with him, or the fact that Will’s hair is tickling Mike’s next, or the fact that Will looks absolutely adorable, with how he keeps sleepily blinking and looking around, before somehow managing to snuggle even closer to Mike, and—

Um. Yeah, Mike’s cool. Mike’s chill. Mike’s. Not like. Freaking out or anything—

Oh, for Christ’s sake. Who is he even kidding?

Mike is definitely losing it right now, because holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, Will is so close to him, and he looks so adorable and beautiful and kissable . And all Mike wants to do is wrap the Byers’ old green blanket around Will tighter and hold him close and keep him safe and never, ever let him go.

Maybe it’s silly, considering Mike is literally only sixteen (almost seventeen, thanks) years old, but recently, with college applications and SATs and all that coming up, the future has been on his mind a lot. And really, Mike doesn’t know what he wants for his future at all, except…

…except for the fact that he hopes his future looks like this.

Late nights, staying up and watching silly movies made for kids with his best friend.

Sitting on a couch, wrapped up in a soft fleece blanket that’s been around for as long as Mike and Will’s friendship, and safe from all the world’s problems.

And holding the most precious, important person in the entire world.

Yeah.

Mike hopes his future looks like that.

Beside him, Will stirs ever so slightly, and Mike glances down at him. Yeah, Will has fully fallen asleep now, and there’s a peaceful look on his face. He looks almost angelic like this, and fuck, it’s so damn cheesy, but Will takes his breath away. 

I love you, Mike thinks to himself, gently brushing a stray piece of Will’s hair away from his forehead. The confession sends a warmth through Mike’s chest—genuine and so very familiar, the way that wearing your favorite old sweater feels, no matter how long you’ve had it, or the way someone feels coming home after so long. 

Mike Wheeler loves Will Byers. God, in the truest and deepest sense of the word, Mike loves Will, and he thinks he’d give anything in the world just to stay forever here in this moment with Will. 

“You guys are still up?” a familiar, gruff voice says, and Mike looks up, wincing slightly.

“Will’s not,” he answers, voice soft, and Hopper glances over at his step-son, an amused smile on his face. “He passed out a few minutes ago, I think.”

Hopper chuckles, low and quiet, walking into the living room and leaning against the wall. “And he decided to use you as a pillow, huh?”

“Something like that.” Mike glances down at his best friend, smiling dryly. “I really don’t know how he's comfortable like this. I mean… Jesus, my shoulder’s bony.”

The joke actually manages to make Hopper laugh, which Mike considers a win. Ever since dating El back in eighth and ninth grade, Mike’s interactions with Hopper have been… less than ideal, and even now, nearly two years after he and El decided to be just friends, Hopper still sort of… terrifies Mike.

“From what Joyce says, Will’s always been like this,” Hopper chuckles, looking at Will in amusement. “ Really bad at falling asleep at night, but somehow always falling asleep at the most random of times, in the most random places.”

Mike laughs softly, and beside him, Will mumbles something incoherent and sleepy, snuggling closer. Mike pauses, and he wraps his arm around Will, gently shushing him, before looking back over at Hopper. 

“Yeah, I still don’t get how he does it,” Mike muses, pulling the blanket closer to both him and Will. “It’s a special talent of his or something, I swear.”

For a moment, Hopper just remains quiet, and he watches them, a curious but surprisingly not unkind look on his face. He looks like he wants to say something, and Mike can’t help but shift uncomfortably. 

He opens his mouth to say something—or more like ask Hopper if he’s good and all that—but Hopper beats him to it.

“I’m glad he has you,” Hopper says, his voice quiet and genuine, and Mike feels his face go warm. Likewise, that giddy, warm feeling blossoms inside his chest, and he glances down at Will, smiling softly.

“I’m glad I have him,” Mike responds, his own voice barely above a whisper. He looks back up at Hopper, meeting the older man’s eyes, and strangely, Mike doesn’t feel afraid. He’s never been the kind of person to… to open up and share his feelings with people, yet somehow… 

Somehow, when it comes to Will, things are just so much easier.

Hopper’s lips curl up into a small smile; he shakes his head slightly. “Well, it’s about time you two got your act together,” he chuckles. “And I’m going to say this to you one time and one time only, Wheeler. If you do anything to hurt him… if you break his heart or his trust or anything like that… I think I speak for everyone in this household when I say that I’ll make sure you regret it.”

Almost immediately, Mike’s brain short-circuits again.

Shit, shit, shit. Okay, this is actually bad, and Mike needs to set the record straight with Hopper. Even though it definitely does seem like he and Will are dating, they’re not actually together, and Mike doesn’t want Hopper getting the wrong impression.

Because… well, because if Hopper thinks he and Will are dating, then Joyce is going to think he and Will are dating, and so is El, and so is Jonathan. And if El knows, then the rest of the Party knows, and if Jonathan knows, then Nancy is going to find out too. And that’s going to get back to all of Jonathan and Nancy’s friends—like Steve and Robin, who literally work with Will. And so basically, this is bad—so, so bad...

“You look like you’re about to have a panic attack, kid.” Hopper’s voice breaks through all the panicked chaos of Mike’s thoughts, and Mike winces, looking up at meeting the older man’s gaze. Surprisingly, there’s an amused and gentler look on Hop’s face now, and he just shakes his head. “Mike. I’m kidding. I know you wouldn’t do anything to hurt Will. God knows that you’re the most insufferable person in your party, or whatever the hell you all call yourselves, but I’ve seen the way you act around Will. We all have. And me and Joyce… we know he’s safe with you. Like I said, you’re good for him. So, just… don’t screw it up.”

There’s something… so genuine in Hopper’s voice and in the look on his face, and for a minute, Mike just sits there, completely stunned. His cheeks are absolutely burning now, and yeah, there’s definitely a part of Mike that is so embarrassed that Will’s step-dad (and his mom, from what it sounds like) have caught onto Mike’s feelings for Will.

But there’s also a part of Mike that feels oddly pleased and comforted by the fact that Hopper and Joyce trust him. 

They trust him with Will—kind, gentle, funny, brave, selfless, incredible Will, who is no one’s to own but everyone’s to love. Will, who despite everything he has been through, is still the most loving and most selfless person that Mike knows. Will, who deserves everything good in the world, simply just for being Will. 

Will, who Mike is so stupidly in love with that he can’t even begin to express it—especially to Will himself.

And Hopper… ha, he thinks Mike is good for Will.

Mike.

Abrasive, snarky, know-it-all Mike is somehow good for Will . Yeah, that’s hilarious. Mike, who speaks without thinking and who too often jumps the gun on things and ends up in a world of trouble. Mike, who barely even deserves to be Will’s best friend, especially after that year back when high school started when the two of them nearly fell apart. Mike, who is selfish and a bit possessive, and who wants—so, so badly—for Will Byers to love him back.

Somehow, Hopper (and Joyce) seems to think that he, Mike Wheeler, is good enough for Will Byers.

(And apparently, other people—people like Mr. Livingston and Thea the stupid tour guide—do too.

It’s kind of mind-blowing, actually.)

“I… I’d never do anything to hurt him,” Mike finally decides to say, his voice quiet. “At least… not intentionally, I wouldn’t.”

Once again, Hopper just smiles, and he nods slightly. “I know,” he says. “That’s why we’re glad he has you.”

As Mike feels his cheeks go warm once again, Hopper stands up straight, and he yawns, walking back towards the hallway. “Try to get some sleep,” he calls over his shoulder. “Might not be a bad idea to wake him up and get him to bed too.”

He pauses here and stops in the middle of the hallway. “ No sleeping on the bed together though,” Hopper says sternly. “And leave the door open—”

“—three inches,” Mike finishes dryly. Fuck it. He’ll correct Hopper another time. “Yeah, yeah, I got it.”

A satisfied smirk forms on Hop’s face. “What do you know? You can listen,” he remarks. “Get some sleep, Wheeler. See you in the morning.”

“Night, Hop,” Mike calls as the older man walks back to his bedroom.

Barely a moment later, Will mumbles something again—still incoherent and barely audible. His brow is all scrunched up, and he shifts closer to Mike, as if trying to get comfortable. 

Mike laughs softly, unable to keep the smile off his face. “Hey, Will,” he whispers, shaking his best friend gently. “Hey… wake up.”

“Mmm, stop it,” Will mumbles in response, practically falling onto Mike’s chest. “Stop it… ‘m sleepy…”

“Exactly why we should go to your room,” Mike says with another laugh. “This can’t be comfortable.” 

Will doesn’t even bother opening his eyes. “Nuh uh… ‘m comfy. And… warm. Don’t wanna move.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re comfy,” Mike teases gently. “I, however, want to fall asleep too, you know.”

“Okay.” This time, Will does open his eyes, and he looks at Mike with a sleepy gaze. There’s a slight pout on his face, and he looks absolutely adorable when he’s sleepy like this, and okay, yeah, Mike is definitely losing his mind just a little bit.

“We both fit on the couch,” Will says sleepily, and he stretches his legs out. “Just… lie down… and we can fall asleep.”

Somehow, the invitation makes Mike’s face get even warmer, and his stomach does a stupid little cartwheel or something. His heart is already pounding inside his chest, and his mouth suddenly feels dry. 

Oh, Mike thinks distantly in the back of his mind. Oh, okay .

Will lets out a sleepy and mildly grumpy sort of huff, and he looks at Mike with his half-lidded eyes. “Mike,” he mumbles, soft and petulant, “‘m tired.”

“Okay, okay,” Mike laughs softly, and as Mike lies back onto the couch, Will just smiles, clearly satisfied. 

Once Mike is situated, Will just snuggles up to Mike, resting his head on Mike’s chest. The two of them have shared beds and fallen asleep together before, and yeah, okay, there have been at least a few times where they woke up cuddling… But it’s never happened intentionally.

Mike is losing his mind. 

Just a little.

(Okay, fine. A lot.)

Somehow, Mike manages to form a coherent sentence, and he swallows the lump in his throat, holding Will close. “Is this okay?” he whispers. 

It’s quiet for a few moments that somehow also feel like an eternity.

Then, Will’s voice—soft and sleepy—whispers back, “Perfect,” and Mike smiles.

“Okay,” he whispers back, pulling the old green blanket around the two of them and closing his eyes. “Goodnight, Will.”

I love you, Mike thinks to himself, but he doesn’t say it aloud.

Maybe, eventually, he’ll find the courage to say it. Maybe, eventually, he’ll sit Will down and… and talk about whatever this is—because if Mr. Livingston and Thea the tour guide and Hopper are to be believed, it’s certainly not just something platonic between two best friends. 

Maybe, eventually, Mike will finally tell Will just how much Will means to him.

But for right now, this is enough.

+1.

Prom is… a lot.

Okay, really, it’s a lot like homecoming, so it’s not like there’s anything new about all of this. As far as Will is concerned, school dances are basically the same—which isn’t to say that they’re bad , per se. No, it’s just that… once you’ve been to one, you’ve basically been to all of them. There’s only so many times that one can enjoy the American high school dance experience of a spiked punch bowl, dozens of sweaty, smelly teenagers crammed into a hot gym, and losing your voice from screaming lyrics to Ariana Grande or Taylor Swift or Olivia Rodrigo songs at the top of your lungs.

Needless to say, Will doesn’t hate prom, but he also doesn’t love it. Prom just… is.

But the Party—El, in particular—would have killed him if Will had skipped out on prom, even if is just their junior prom. And honestly, Will has learned just not to argue with his sister, because as kind as she is, El can also be terrifying when she wants something. That’s just a can of worms he is not willing to open.

So, prom it is.

Naturally, El, Max, and Lucas are going together, and the three of them do look amazing in their coordinated outfits. El had made the rather bold decision to wear a bright red dress this year—long and flowy with a slight leg slit that Hopper had definitely argued with her and Will’s mom over for a solid thirty minutes about. Lucas and Max, on the other hand, both look absolutely incredible in their complementary suits—Lucas in a sleek, all black suit and tie and Max in an oversized white blazer and white pants to match. The three of them look like a million bucks.

Luckily for Will, he isn’t the only one going stag to the dance. Like Will, Dustin is going alone, since his girlfriend, Suzie, isn’t going to be able to make it this year. Dustin is quick to point out that Suzie’s determined to make it to their senior prom next year, even if she has to defy her incredibly strict parents in the process. Hey, by that time, Will’s pretty sure that Suzie will be eighteen years old, so… the chances of her actually pulling it off and making it to Hawkins are much higher.

Dustin does try to convince Will to match with him at prom, and Will definitely notices Mike get a little flustered when this conversation takes place. He gets all red and stuff, and he gets that classic Mike Wheeler “I’m annoyed at something and am going to make it everyone’s problem” look on his face. Will finds it a little endearing, so when Dustin cheerfully invites Will to join his plan of wearing a funky looking bowtie and matching suspenders, Will politely declines and makes some stupid remark about how he’s certain he’ll look like he’s seven years old if he wears a bowtie and suspenders.

And then there’s Mike.

With Mike, things are… interesting. Mike’s going alone to prom, just like Will and Dustin are, but in the weeks leading up to prom, there had definitely been a few moments when Will could’ve sworn Mike was about to ask him to prom. He certainly seemed a little too invested in what color tie Will had decided on (a floral light blue, yellow and green tie that El had actually found online) and whether Will had decided to ask anyone out (he had not, considering the fact that he couldn’t quite muster the courage to ask Mike himself).

In the end, neither of them had ended up asking each other to prom, and Will had only been a little disappointed.

Because, see… things have been a little strange between them. Ever since the day after Will’s birthday, when Will had woken up in Mike’s arms, it’s like something has changed between them—for the better.

For the first time in their over ten years of friendship, Will feels almost certain that something has changed between them. It feels like the two of them are hurtling towards something —something that he doesn’t dare name but something that he almost knows for certain. 

And look… Will doesn’t want to get his hopes up, but he’s not a complete idiot. He knows that normal best friends don’t do things like… like show up every day at work just to keep him company, or wrap their scarves around his neck and literally look at his lips, or hold him close and fall asleep with him on the couch. Will has other best friends, and the thought of doing any of this with Dustin or Lucas is laughable, actually. There’s no way either of them would ever treat him the way that Mike treats him.

He and Mike are best friends, sure, but deep down, Will knows that they’re a little something more than that too.

And so do other people—people like Robin, Steve, that waitress from Valentine’s Day, and about half a dozen other people who have asked him if he’s dating Mike. Other people have noticed that things are different between Will and Mike, and Will…

Will thinks Mike may have noticed too.

So now, Will thinks it’s only a matter of time before one of them brings it up. He’s been trying to find a good time to sit Mike down and talk about this—about them—but God, it’s been difficult. Practically every time Will gets close to doing it, someone interrupts them or Will ends up chickening out. It’s the worst thing in the world, and even though Will is almost certain that Mike feels the same way that he does, there’s still that quiet voice in the back of his mind that keeps asking, What if he doesn’t? .

Because if he doesn’t feel the same way and Will brings this up, then it’s game over. If Will bares his soul to Mike and tells Mike about his feelings for him—tells him just how much Will loves him—and Mike doesn’t feel the same way, then Will is going to ruin their over decade-long friendship. He’s going to make things incredibly awkward, and it’s going to be just like freshman year again, when the two of them could barely stand to be around each other and when they were hardly even friends .

Yeah, it’s… definitely a conundrum. And Will definitely has chickened out a solid six or seven times over the past couple of months. It’s fine . Eventually, he’ll work up the courage to talk to Mike about it, but until then… 

Until then, he’ll settle for the fact that Mike’s dusty blue bowtie just so happens to be the exact shade of blue that the flowers are on Will’s own tie. That sort of counts as matching, right? It’s almost as if they came to prom together, and poor Dustin is just the unfortunate sixth wheel (like that makes much sense) in the Party.

(Jesus, Will needs to get out of his own head. It’s probably just the spiked punch talking.)

“Hey,” Mike says, and Will flinches, snapping out of his own thoughts. His best friend offers a sheepish smile. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s cool,” Will reassures, giving him a smile in return. “What’s up?”

Mike shrugs, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I was just wondering if you wanted to take a walk outside for a minute,” he says, suddenly seeming a bit shy. “It’s, uh… it’s kind of warm out here, and some fresh air sounds nice.”

Will glances around the gym. A few feet away, Lucas, El, Dustin, and Max are all dancing to some upbeat pop song—that new one that Harry Styles released back in April. The four of them seem pretty caught up in dancing, so they probably won’t even notice that Will and Mike are gone.

Plus, fresh air does sound nice.

Will smiles, and he stands up, nodding at Mike. “A walk sounds like fun.”

A relieved look forms on Mike’s face, and he smiles again at Will, before turning and walking out of the gym. As the two of them walk towards the door, the off-key voices of their classmates sing along with Harry Styles: In this world, it’s just us. You know it’s not the same as it was! As it was! As it was!

(A bit ironic, if you ask Will.)

The song follows them even after they leave the gym, and Will glances around the mostly empty hallway curiously. There are two different couples making out against the lockers (gross), a girl sitting on the floor and drunkenly crying her eyes out (relatable), and a guy already passed out on the ground with his tie undone and his jacket sprawled on the floor next to him (classic). So basically, just another day at Hawkins High.

“Jesus, these people are a wreck,” Mike mutters, as if he’s able to read Will’s thoughts, and Will just laughs.

“I think the basketball team might’ve put a little too much vodka in the punch,” Will says dryly. “People are going to be so hungover tomorrow.”

Mike snorts, glancing over at Will and grinning slightly. “Yeah, no kidding,” he agrees. “I could barely finish two cups of that shit.”

“Probably not a bad thing,” Will muses. “Somebody’s gotta be the designated driver, and God knows it’s not going to be one of the others.”

Once again, Mike just laughs, and as the two of them reach the double doors, he pushes one open, motioning for Will to go first. “I feel like you and I always end up being the designated drivers,” he points out, following Will outside. “Or you do, at least. I’m pretty sure you were the designated driver at the last couple parties we all went to.”

“Eh.” Will shrugs, and he walks around to an empty bench outside of the school and takes a seat. Though the two of them are a decent ways away from the gym, Will can just barely hear the next song begin to play in the background. It’s some Doja Cat song, he thinks, though Will honestly isn’t that sure.

“I don’t mind,” Will adds softly. “Everyone else is having fun, and I’m not a big drinker anyways. I’d rather get stuck being the DD than have someone end up crashing their car or some shit… or worse , have Hopper find out any of us drove while drunk.”

“Oh God.” Mike shudders, taking a seat next to Will. “Can you imagine? I think he’d yell at all of us until someone cried. And then he’d ground us, even though only two of us are technically his kids. Or maybe he’d throw us in jail for the night.”

Will just laughs. “He’d definitely throw us in jail for the night,” he agrees, turning and offering Mike another smile. “And he’d probably convince our parents not to bail us out.”

Mike rolls his eyes. “Like my parents would even realize I’m gone,” he says dryly. “If I ever need to be bailed out of jail or if I’m ever stuck in some mess, I’m definitely calling your parents first. By the time my parents realize I’m gone, I’ll probably be dead on the side of the road or something.”

“Mike!” Will shoves his best friend lightly, and Mike just bursts into laughter. “What the hell is wrong with you? That isn’t funny!”

“Okay, but it’s true,” Mike laughs, scooting closer to Will again—so close that their shoulders are touching. “It’s true, and you know it, Will. Your family is practically my family at this point… like, they should just adopt me or something.

Will rolls his eyes, and he gives his best friend a look. “Still not funny,” he deadpans. “And my parents aren’t going to adopt you, Mike. That would just be…”

Will’s voice trails off.

That would just be weird, he had nearly said, which is… definitely true. It would be weird if his mom and Hopper adopted Mike, because then that would make Mike Will’s brother, and yeah, absolutely not. Even after over ten years of friendship, Will would never look at Mike like a brother. A best friend? Yes, absolutely. But a brother?

No, that’s… that’s just… not what their relationship is like. It never has been, and honestly, Will doesn’t think it ever will be.

“That would be weird,” Mike finishes, his voice impossibly soft, and Will’s breath catches.

The song in the gym has changed again, and though it’s barely audible, Will thinks he recognizes some of the lyrics.

You can hear it in the silence, silence, you…

You can feel it on the way home, way home, you…

And sitting out here with his best friend, with the nearly full moon high in the sky and casting Mike in the softest glow, Will thinks he must just have the courage to say what he’s been waiting to say for a long time.

The two of them are sitting so close to each other now—close enough that Will swears Mike is going to hear the quiet thump thump thump of Will’s heartbeat. Will swallows the lump in his throat, and he nods hesitantly.

“Yeah,” he says, breathless and soft. “That… that would be weird.”

Mike’s lips curl up into a smile. His cheeks are rosy shade of red, and he looks like he wants to say something but just… doesn’t know how to. 

For once, somehow, Mike Wheeler is speechless.

But Will? 

Will has a million things to say.

So, Will chooses to be brave.

“Mike,” Will whispers, and because he’s feeling a little bit braver, he reaches out, placing his hand on top of his best friend’s hand. “What… what are we doing?”

Mike’s eyes widen to an almost comical degree, and he goes still at Will’s touch. “W-what?” he stammers, his cheeks somehow getting even redder.

For just a moment, Will hesitates. His heart is pounding inside his chest, and his stomach feels like it’s on some rollercoaster with a dozen different loops, twisting up and down and upside down and every direction. The two of them stand on the precipice of something—something that could change everything between them forever.

For the better, if Will is lucky.

For the worst, if he’s not.

“Mike,” Will says again, and he swallows the lump in his throat, looking up and meeting his best friend’s eyes. “What are we?”

There’s silence. 

For what feels like an eternity, there’s silence, and the two of them just sit there, staring at one another. There’s a surprised but thankfully not disgusted look on Mike’s face, which Will takes as a good sign. Maybe it’s just taking him a while to process Will’s question. That makes sense, right? Right. Everything’s fine, and Will isn’t panicking about the fact that he literally just asked Mike what they are like a complete idiot, and—

…

…

…

Oh.

Oh .

Will…

Will thought he knew what his feelings for Mike Wheeler were. After all, he’s known about his feelings for Mike since he was probably eleven or twelve years old, and those feelings have only grown stronger over the years. Mike Wheeler has been Will’s best friend, the person he trusts the most, the easiest person in the world to talk to, and the person who Will loves and always wants to be with. He’s known that for a long time.

But this? Kissing Mike? 

It’s like a whole new flood of emotions and feelings for Mike Wheeler has washed over Will, and God, Will is drowning in them—drowning in all of this.

This—the beginning of a brand new beautiful, exhilarating, and also terrifying adventure into something unknown.

This—the middle of a story that’s been in progress since the first day that Mike asked Will to be his friend and Will said yes .

This—the end of years of back-and-forth and of wondering and of pining, all in hopes that one day , maybe he’d get lucky enough to call Mike Wheeler his .

Will is drowning in this—in how deeply, fully, and truly he loves Mike Wheeler and in how deeply, fully, and truly Mike Wheeler loves him.

Eventually, Mike pulls away, the shyest and most gentle smile on his face. He takes Will’s hand in his and intertwines their fingers, before looking up and meeting Will’s eyes. 

“Does that answer your question?” Mike whispers.

There’s a soft look in Mike’s eyes, and God, Will’s heart soars. He feels like he’s on Cloud Nine and like he could take on anything or anyone, just because he has Mike .

Mike feels the same way for Will that Will does for him.

“Yeah,” Will whispers back, unable to keep the smile off his face. “Yeah, I think it does.”

Mike’s smile grows wider in response, and he reaches forward, cupping Will’s face and kissing him once more. “God, I love you,” he says, his voice soft and breathless. “I love you so much, Will.”

And yeah, okay… Will knows this—after all, you don’t just kiss someone the way Mike just kissed him if you don’t feel the same way. 

But God … actually hearing it out loud? Hearing Mike say that he loves Will? 

It feels like a fever dream.

“I love you too,” Will says with a breathy laugh, and Mike’s smile brightens even more. It definitely makes the butterflies in Will’s stomach come alive with excitement. “I love you so much, you have no idea.”

Mike laughs softly, and he leans forward, giving Will another kiss. “Oh yeah?” he asks, his voice teasing. “Maybe you could… I don’t know… show me?”

Will can’t help but laugh, and he kisses his best friend—no, wait… his boyfriend—back sweetly. In the background, some other song that Will doesn't recognize has replaced the Taylor Swift song from before, and Will…

Will has an idea.

“Okay,” he says with a smile, and he pulls Mike to his feet. “Do you have your phone with you?”

Mike’s brow furrows, but he nods slowly and reaches for his phone with his free hand. “Yeah… why?”

“Just let me see it,” Will laughs, taking it from him and quickly pulling up Spotify. Mike makes a little noise of protest, and Will rolls his eyes. “Give me a second…”

Before Mike can argue, Will hits the play button, and he sets the phone back down on the bench, smiling at his boyfriend. 

“Dance with me,” he says softly, as the beginning notes of the song from before—You Are in Love—begin to play. “We’re at prom, and I want to dance with my boyfriend.”

A surprised look forms on Mike’s face, but it quickly melts into something softer and more tender. “Okay,” he whispers back, smiling shyly and allowing Will to pull him close. “I’d love to.”

Will just smiles back, and he wraps his arms around Mike’s neck, swaying back and forth as the song continues to play in the silence of their shared space. 

Neither of them say anything. 

Neither of them have to. 

Because Will knows—God, he knows exactly what Mike is thinking. He knows that Mike Wheeler loves him just as much as he loves Mike Wheeler. He knows that there’s no other place in the world that Mike would rather be than here, with Will, slow-dancing under the soft glow of the moon, just like there’s no other place that Will would rather be. He knows that, just like Will, Mike hopes this moment never ends, and that the two of them continue to have moment after special moment like this one with one another. 

You can hear it in the silence, silence, you…

You can feel it on the way home, way home, you…

“I love you,” Will murmurs, leaning his forehead against Mike’s and smiling softly. 

A soft sort of smile forms on Mike’s face, and he holds Will closer, swaying back and forth as the song continues to play. “I love you too,” Mike whispers back, and Will just smiles.

You can see it with the lights out, lights out, you…

You are in love, true love.

You are in love.