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"I think it's kinda cool how everyone's more eager to celebrate the little things now, after almost losing so much," Will ponders after Max voices criticism at the frivolous decorations around Hawkins High.
He notices a head of dark waves near Will's locker up ahead, turning to walk in the opposite direction, and pointedly chooses to ignore it. Will has never really been a skeptic—though he's never gotten to celebrate the day of Love, he likes seeing the people he cares about be giddy about it.
Like the year his mom had just started dating Bob when he was twelve, flowers were delivered to the front door during breakfast, and he saw her smile for the first time in a long time. And when Lucas asked Max to be his valentine when they were thirteen, and he got all the steps wrong—Max laughed at him, but Will noticed the flush on her cheekbones as she accepted his offer. Or when he watched Jonathan scramble to accomplish the perfect long-distance gesture for Nancy when Will was fourteen, which he thought was kind of dumb, but still.
Now, Will is sixteen, and the town he grew up in has finally found a new normal after years of war. It's February 14, 1988, and the hallway is covered with construction paper hearts and pink garlands.
"I mean, yeah, that's sweet. It's just like—who's going to come and clean this up by tomorrow? Does it not feel like a waste to you?" She poses, and Will shrugs.
"Are we talking about how Valentine's day is a waste of energy and money? Because I completely agree," Dustin interjects, joining them in their walk down the hall, and Will is thankful because he's not the best debate partner. He listens as they stop at Max's locker first and then Will's. By the time Will turns his lock combination, the two have moved on to a full-fledged conversation about economics.
"I do support innovation and creativity, but we can't ignore how consumerism is changing the moral fabric of society—" Dustin stops talking abruptly when Will's locker opens.
Will's gaze is trained on the floor as he feels the surface of his face catch fire. If he never looks up, he'll never have to find out if his friends’ heads are angled to the floor just like his. He wonders if he stares long enough, if he stays frozen, that Dustin and Max will just get the idea and continue their debate.
But his friends are Max and Dustin, who aren't normal about anything ever.
And Will knows they are all three looking at the same thing.
A homemade Valentine.
That just fell out of Will's locker.
A cute little handmade Valentine's card is on the ground in front of them, addressed to Will Byers.
"Will…" Dustin sings, drawing out his name, "What is this?"
Will finally snaps out of his frozen state, bending down at lightning speed to pick up the card before either of his nosy friends beat him to it.
"Weren't you just talking about how much you dislike Valentine's day? Why do you care?" Will tries, avoiding eye contact as he (carefully) shoves the card deep into his locker.
"Forget Valentine's day—are you seeing someone?" Max exclaims, "Or is this from a secret admirer?"
Will stutters, too flustered to even think about an answer. His utter mortification is only amplified when Lucas and El join the three of them.
"Did I just hear someone say, secret admirer?" El inquires.
"Why are the three of you being weird—Will, dude, are you okay? Your face is really red," Lucas speculates. Dustin ignores their questions, opting to glare at Will instead.
"Judging by the look on your face, you definitely know who this is from, and you don't want to tell us. What the hell, man!" Dustin concludes.
Max looks around, ducking her head and lowering her voice, and asks, "Wait, is it Jeff from biology? I knew I was right about him."
"No, Max, oh my god, be quiet please ," Will begs, face only growing more flushed, looking to El for help. Four of his best friends are looking at him, facial expressions a mix of sympathy, excitement, pride, and suspicion.
"Maybe it's something new, and Will wants to keep it to himself. We can respect that, right guys?" El urges the rest of the group, and Will is so thankful that his sister can pretty much read his mind. He takes a deep breath.
"Let's just act like no one saw that. Okay? Please?" Will pleads, teeth clenched together, and he's met with reluctant agreement.
"Just know we're happy for you, man. Whoever it is better know he's the luckiest guy ever," Lucas affirms before he receives a death glare from Max. "Other than me, of course," he winces. Will turns to get his book, and they'll probably be late for class, thanks to someone's poor decision-making skills.
"Who's the luckiest guy ever?" He hears a familiar voice say, the only voice missing from this delightful intervention. Will's heart flutters a little bit.
"Will has a valentine," El discloses, raising her eyebrows at Mike.
"Oh," Mike responds, sounding unphased, "Of course he does—it's Will," he acknowledges, and now that Will thinks about it, he feels kind of offended by how surprised the party was at the possibility of Will having an admirer. Mike seems to understand completely. But also, it's Mike.
Mike, who has been close to obsessed with Will ever since they repaired their friendship almost 2 summers ago. Mike, who is so nice to Will all the time that the party doesn't even bat an eye at his behavior anymore. It's so similar to how they acted when they were ten years old, Will thinks that Dustin and Lucas are just so glad to have another thing that feels normal again that they don't think twice about it.
"Anyway," Will groans, signaling that the conversation needs to be over now. "We have class." The rest of them disperse, and Will catches Mike's eye. He notices the rosiness that's formed on Mike's cheeks and the warmth in his expression as he holds Will's gaze for a beat longer. Then, Mike tilts his head, signaling for Will to walk with him to their next class.
…
Will laughs to himself later that day, considering how invested his friends appear to be in his love life while still managing to be entirely oblivious to something that's been right under their noses for almost a year now. He's holding the sweetly made Valentine's card in his hand, flipping it over to find a quick doodle of a ceiling fan in Mike's style, with the words:
I'm a huge fan of yours. Be my valentine, pretty boy?
Love, Mike
"What's so funny?" Mike asks from the driver's seat, looking over at Will as they make the trip to his house from school.
"You," Will teases, getting a hey, from Mike as he takes his hand off the gear shift and snakes his fingers between Will's. Will hums and then continues, "Just thinking about the party. Like, do you think they really have no idea about us?"
"I don't know," Mike wonders, bringing Will's hand up to his mouth to press a kiss on top. "I think everyone's just been caught up with their own shit that a lot has gone over their heads. Plus, we haven't really met the normal friendship standards since they've known us. Maybe they're scared to ask. Or they're just self-absorbed assholes."
"Mike," Will scolds with a giggle.
"I mean, it's fine with me. I like having you all to myself anyway," Mike sighs dramatically as he pulls the car into the driveway. "Except for when I wish everyone could know you're mine and be jealous, which is most of the time." He puts the car in park.
"You're silly," Will teases as he leans over the console to kiss Mike. Their lips move together easily—like they have each other memorized. Mike smiles against Will's mouth, both happy to have each other close after a long day of school—similar to most days, but especially on a day centered around love and romance.
"I love you," Mike says between pecks across Will's cheeks, nose, and forehead. The two trade more slow kisses and giggles until their position across the console becomes uncomfortable, and they realize no one's even home.
"I'm starting to think you actually want them to find out. I have something for you, too, but I didn't put it in your locker because of exactly what happened with this," Will says, holding up the card. “Risky behavior from you, sir.” Mike mumbles something that sounds like maybe I do, then comes around to open the passenger door.
The decision to keep their relationship private was mutual, but largely based around Mike’s worries about how his sexuality might impact his relationship with his family, which is more than understandable. Mike knows how he feels about Will, and that’s what matters the most—everything else, Will is perfectly fine being patient with.
"You never said whether you accept or decline," Mike recalls, eyebrows arched in a question.
"What?" Will asks dumbly, head foggy from all the kissing. He takes Mike's outstretched hand, pulling himself out of the car.
"Will you be my valentine?" Mike proposes again, eyes wide and awaiting a response.
"I'd want nothing more," Will replies, raising onto his toes to press a kiss to Mike's cheek. "And I love you too. Now let’s go inside so I can show you your card. I used watercolor," Will starts, bouncing on his heels in excitement.
Mike pulls him through the garage door and up to his room. It's so simple, loving and being loved by Mike. That's probably why the party hasn't noticed anything—not much has changed, really. The kissing is new, and the excessive hand-holding anytime they can get away with it, and saying that they love each other, yeah. But they've always given each other gifts, and had specified Will and Mike time that the other boys knew not to intrude on, back before things got complicated and they realized that wasn't the most normal thing for teenage boys to do.
For the most part, being with Mike feels like the most natural thing in the world, and Will finally understands how much it means to want to dedicate an entire day to celebrating that.