Chapter Text
It had been a while since their last encounter with Vecna. Will and his family had moved in with the Wheelers, and Mike insisted on Will staying in the same room as him. He forgot how it’d be pretty awkward to sleep in such a cramped room with one bed, so Mike tried to sleep on the ground in a sleeping bag for a while. Let’s just say it didn’t last long. Will had constantly reminded Mike of the offer to stay in the basement with Jonathan and his mother, but Mike told him he didn’t mind sharing the bed instead.
Mike was confused why Will had been so off from that offer, seemingly too flustered to explain why he had been so shocked from the request, but he later complied. It had been 7 months since they moved in. Will and Mike alongside their other friends started a new grade: Sophomore year. Year of the slump.
Mike had been tapping his foot all day, staring at this blank sheet of questions. Bunch of jumbled up shapes and letters. He knew he couldn’t ask Will for help, since he was helping Holly with her homework. Mike huffs and stares at the wall for a bit, deciding to let his mind wander for a small break.
Mike had always wondered who he truly was constantly. This also includes questioning his relationship with Eleven. He often pondered if this is truly what he had leading in his life; a relationship where they both have little in common and a lack of communication skills.
As much as he hates to admit, he really doesn’t treat her the best. Or at least, how she should be treated. El is, in Mike’s words, one of the coolest people he knows. She has powers, she can move mountains! God, she could do anything! Anything! But, that’s the scary part for him. What if she doesn’t find a use for him anymore? She doesn’t need him? She has every right to be independent, she’s a superhero for christ’s sake!
What’s even the point of keeping me around, Mike wonders. His eyebrows furrow at the thought of being left behind. Being forgotten. THE Superman up and leaving him, because if Eleven truly was Superman, he would absolutely leave without hesitation, he can fly, and he has lasers, and—
Wait.
Eleven’s a girl. Why doesn’t he just say a female hero?
Mike perks up once he realizes how long he’s been boring into this specific spot that he could be basically burning a hole through the wall. Biting his pencil, he shakes it off and looks back to the sheet of paper in front of him, scoffing. God, does he hate geometry.
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After constant scribbling on his arm with a pen and random doodles filling each corner of the paper, Mike was finally done!
…he was finally done completely cramping his hand from the amount of strain put on it when he started to draw random shapes everywhere. He scoffed and saw his half done questions and tatted up sides and shrugged his shoulders with a grin, proud of his work as he took the paper and stuffed it in his backpack for the next day.
He sighs, diving into the bed and turning to stare at the ceiling. He finally had time to ponder more. He fidgets with his hands as he thinks of El. She’s… basically the perfect girl. Long hair (well, she had long hair, at least), pretty, nice. She’s even super-abled. She’s like a supersized bundled version of the girls at school. She’s awesome. Mike reminisced on the past, remembering the bangs she had before they had gotten buzzed.
He smiles at his reaction when he first sees her in Lenora. From her bangs, to the dress over her plaid shirt. He never realized how much she developed the same fashion sense as Will. It’s cute. It’s like they’re actually related. He thought more about it and realized they do kind of look pretty similar. Same hair color, same nose shape… though Will’s is a little more hooked down… and Will has so many moles. Mike thought more about his reaction to seeing Will in Lenora.
It’s like he completely bulked up in a year… he used to look so different. How long had it been anyway? It didn’t feel long enough for him to have gained so much muscle… Broader shoulders compared to when he had been back in Hawkins during summer… Mike bit the inside of his cheek. He always liked how El smelt the same as Will. It’s like they’re carbon copies of one another… He pondered, would Will would look like El if he had long hair?
“Woah, wait — what the hell??” Mike exclaimed as he jumped up from his bed in shock, sitting up, stunned. He just stared down at his lap, confused how his thoughts were able to drift from his girlfriend to… wondering if his best friend would look like her if he grew out his hair?
His internal panicking was soon interrupted by the door being swung open, revealing a worried, gently panting Will. Will quickly ran over to him, very visibly concerned.
“Hey, heyhey, are you okay? Is everything alright? Did you see something? You’re pale… I — I didn’t feel him, I’m so sorry I didn’t warn you —“ Will rambled as he gently shook the others shoulders.
“Will! Will…” Mike said gently, his voice softening as he put his hands on the others’ arms, trying to calm him down. It helps, as Will loosens his grip on him. “Hey, I’m alright, it wasn’t him, okay? It wasn’t.” Mike reassured him, rubbing his arm and nodding as he spoke. Unbeknownst to the ravenette, Will looks away for a split second as he tries to maintain the same amount of heat in his face, hoping his blush isn’t too noticeable.
Will has often been feeling Vecna’s presence lately, but nothing had been happening. Mike can tell Will was clearly terrified that something had happened while he wasn’t there. Will has spent too much of his time worrying for others, Mike always has to remind him to care for himself.
Will’s gaze softens and he steadies his breathing as he slowly pulls himself off of Mike. “Sorry. I just… got scared. Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you too.” Will laughed awkwardly, fidgeting with his sleeve.
Mike offered a smile. “Hey, it’s all good man, seriously. There’s nothing wrong with worrying.” Mike said softly as he nodded. Will bit his lip and nodded before swiftly switching his expression to a bittersweet smile.
“Well, um, you’re lucky that you didn’t wake up Holly. I was reading her a bedtime story and she knocked out quick.” Will added with a small grin, walking over to close the door, making his way to the other side of the bed, sitting on it beside Mike.
Mike lies back down on his back and continues to stare into the ceiling, trying to recap how his thoughts shifted from El to Will. Right… they’re pretty similar… but they aren’t the same. El has powers… but Will basically has powers too. Like True Sight. No wonder Mike’s mind wandered. They had to wear similar style clothing, similar bangs…
Will shifted in the bed and noticed Mike still gazing longingly into the ceiling above them. “Hey, are you okay? You look like you have a lot on your mind.” The brunette questioned, sitting up so it was less awkward. Mike looked over at Will and stammered on his words. “I — well… kind of.” He murmured as he stared back up.
“Do you… wanna talk about it?” Will inquired, his eyes staying on the same place: Mike. Mike bit his lip and looked at Will. He furrowed his eyebrows and shrugged. Will understood immediately and nodded, turning to lay on his side, facing the wall. He mumbled “Okay. Okay, yeah, I… I hope you feel better.” before he closed his eyes.
Mike and Will always had their own way of communicating. They didn’t have to actually say what they wanted to say because usually, they know by their mannerisms and their gazes. Mike has always found comfort in this way of communication. There was no need for uncomfortable silence and awkward “no thank you”s, because they were so attuned to this form of conversation. So used to the others body languages.
Mike looks at the clock to his side and at the big numbers saying “12:07 AM”. He huffs and turns to his side, closing his eyes and letting himself drift to sleep.
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It was a usual day at school. Boring lectures, boring assignments… Mike couldn’t wait to get out of there as he fiddled with his pen between his fingers. This school year so far to Mike had been nothing but shapes, cells, and sweating.
Mike tunes out the teacher's voice and thinks back on Spring Break. It took so long for him to just manage an “I love you” out to El, and even then, it had to be pushed by Will for it. Even now, Mike can’t manage to utter those words again without Will steering him in the right direction. Ever since that profession, El has always been… off when it came to Mike. She still smiled and said she loved him, but it was never the same. She never had the same glint of hope in her eyes than when they first got together. Maybe it’s because Mike never treated her the same since… El kissed him before she and Will left. Ever since that, something in Mike set off a need to feel like any other guy in a type of relationship like this. Like, he had to be perfect. Exactly like them. But, then what stopped him from telling her he loved her?
Mike had been tapping his foot faster and clicking his pen during this entire thought process, slowly getting more anxious when it came to his feelings for El. The kiss, the PDA, the way…
The way she needed him to tell her how he felt rather than just… knowing. It was all so confusing. With Will, he never needed to know by words what he felt or what he meant, he usually would know. Him and El felt… different than what he thought a relationship would be like. He thought it would be like him and Will’s relationship times ten! But… him and El —
“Michael!” A raspy voice exclaimed from across the room, causing Mike to snap out of his line of thought, jump while in his seat, and drop his pen.
Mike swallows and scrambles to pick up his pen, “Uh — shi — uh, shoot, sorry, sir! I, uhh…” Mike clambered to find his words. “Sorry. I was… uh…“ Mike said, placing his pen on his desk and biting the inside of his mouth, avoiding eye contact with his teacher.
“Keep your words to yourself, young man. Just keep that irritating tapping down, it’s distracting.” He murmured under his stupid mustache roughly, turning back to face his board. Leaving Mike with a sigh of relief only to be broken again with a loud ring of the bell, causing Mike to flinch in his seat. Mike huffs and snatched all his stuff from his desk along with his bag.
Mike strode along the halls with a dazed expression of uncertainty of what he processed in the past 24 hours. His grip tightened on his backpack strap as he blanked out during his what felt like anthem-length walk. He tried to put the pieces together, not knowing where he was walking. Just hoping to bump into one of his friends on the way.
He did bump into someone, just not someone he ideally wanted to bump into.
Jennifer Hayes. Mike had forgotten she had even been in Hawkins as he processed who she was. The girl that cried at Will’s funeral, right!
“Oh, hey! Uh, sorry about that, didn’t mean to knock into you!” Mike laughed. Jennifer shrugged and stated, “It’s alright.” as she walked off. Mike mumbled a “huh” as he watched her walk over to —
Oh shit, Will! Mike was about to rush over to Will as he scavenged his locker as if looking for hidden treasure, but noticed Jennifer lean against the locker next to him and… talk to him. Mike doesn’t know why he scowled at that. He slowly moved closer and leaned against a locker near but looked off into the distance like he wasn’t listening in.
“… so, uh, yeah. Are you up for it?” Jennifer asked with, Mike can assume, a sweet smile plastered on her face.
He could tell Will was nervous and awkward as usual, but he said “Oh, um… sure.” Jennifer giggled and Mike couldn’t help but look over and see her rubbing his arm. The ravenette’s face contorts at this in disgust. He doesn’t know why, he just can’t help but feel uneasy at a girl holding Will like that.
“Okay, perfect! See you then, huh?” Jennifer screeched with a high-pitched lull to it that made Mike’s eardrums want to explode. The happiness in her tone made Mike grip frustratingly at the one backpack strap on his shoulder as he bit the inside of his cheek. Will sucked his teeth and smiled with a nod in response to her. Mike could tell it was a feigned, maybe anxious smile.
Mike watched Jennifer walk off and once she was out of sight, he slid over to Will, who was facing his locker again, just staring into it. The halls had calmed and there were only a few passing by now. Mike taps his back with a smile. Will jolted from this and faced Mike. “Oh, Mike, you startled me.” Will laughed nervously. “What’s up?” The brunette inquired as confusion lied on his face, as if he was still thinking over what had happened before.
“Yeah yeah, I’m good. So, what was up with you and Jennifer, eh?” Mike teased with a shit-eating grin on his face. Mike couldn’t help but believe the own smile he plastered on himself might’ve been a mask to oppose his actual feelings that… Mike doesn’t really think Jennifer is a good match for him. Jennifer is nice, yeah, but — Will to Mike was always his solo self. It was either that or it was him and Will. No others.
Anxiously, Mike adjusts the strap strewn over his shoulder once the backpack began to drift off of his back.
“Oh. She, uh, just… invited me to hang out. We’ve been talking the past few days and she seems nice.” Will faintly smiled before dropping his face again and organizing his locker. Mike couldn’t help but bite his tongue as rough as he could. “Oh. Yeah, cool. Cool, yeah.” Mike said, trying to sound happy for him while he still couldn’t see his face. His eyes drifted off, looking down at the gross tiled school floor before he cleared his throat and thought of a way to keep the topic going.
“So, uh, is this like… something, y’know, big? Like… like a date? Do you like her?” Mike asked a string of questions, noticing Will’s gaze on the inside of his locker was never torn away, even after he was done organizing and taking what was needed. He just… stared. Mike noticed his lack of emotion on the matter and furrowed his eyebrows in worry, wondering if he crossed a line. “Hey, you okay? Sor-“ Mike apologized as he slowly extended a hand over to Will’s shoulder, only to be interrupted by a suddenly confident Will.
“Yeah, I’m gonna be seeing her tomorrow. We’re, uh, we’re going on a date.” Will laughed awkwardly, shining a grin at Mike. It was obvious he was biting his tongue.
Mike tilted his head, obviously showing his confusion. He also tried his best to conceal his disappointment at his words, and thankfully, it didn't get past him. Still, Will kept up that smile. It felt so off. “Oh, uh. Cool. Yeah, cool.” Mike nodded, trying to divert his expression from being uncertain to aloof. He didn’t wanna show Will he cared that much. “So… what do you like about her?” Mike continued to press on, leaning on the lockers once again.
Will pursed his lips, fidgeting with his locker lock. “She’s nice. And she looks pretty.” Will murmured, obviously not thinking through it fully.
Mike nodded, uncertain about his response. “Is that so? What’s pretty about her?” Mike insisted on prying. Will glanced at the boy with an awfully confused yet bewildered expression.
Will obviously caught onto his remarks. “Uh, I don’t know. Her hair.” There was a pause before Will turned from his locker to look at him directly, deadpanning. “What do you like about El?” The brunette deflected.
Mike bit the inside of his cheek. “Uh… everything.” He murmured before trying to find a way to play it off, because even if he didn’t, he couldn't explain why he was prying so hard because he didn’t even know himself. “Listen, my point is, you gotta have pickup lines. You have to compliment her! Girls love that. They love when you pay attention to every single little detail, especially when it’s annoying as hell to see.” Mike’s advice slowly became murmuring. He quickly swallowed and went back on track. “You gotta have, like, a mental note of everything you wanna tell her. You gotta come prepared. Get her stuff, too.” Mike rambled. Will couldn’t help but have such a contorted face, as this is foreign knowledge to him.
“You know what I mean. Don’t go in there without any knowledge of what to do, research! Ask around! Hell, I could even help you.” Will couldn’t help but snicker at Mike’s offer, causing Mike to tilt his head in obliviousness. “What’s so funny?”
Will quickly composed himself again after realizing Mike acknowledged his reaction. “Yeah, I uh… I think I can figure it out myself, Mike. Thanks, though, really.” Will smiled at him, finally closing his locker shut and putting the lock on. Will cursed under his breath once he realized he had to deal with this topic the entire bike ride.
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Mike really didn't like the idea of Jennifer and Will getting together. He doesn’t know why, but he still wants Will to be happy. So, here he is, writing in his notebook a list of things for Will to memorize for his date. Sure, it goes against what Will said, but he knows he doesn’t have a lot of knowledge on girls, so why not help him out anyway? It’s dumb — he knows that — but Will has been through so much his whole life and he wants him to have this one thing for once.
Except, he’s been sitting at his desk for about an hour and not a single point has been written. Will has been behind him, lying on the bed and staring up at the ceiling, almost parallel to Mike last night. Mike couldn’t help but smile at how much in common he and Will have. Mike tries to think about what he likes about his girlfriend. He likes… her hair. Mike swiftly jots that down. He also likes how heroic she is. But, he never really took a proper glance at Jennifer nor did he know a lot about her personality. And he definitely knows Jennifer didn’t save the world multiple times with her cool telekinesis powers, so…
Mike huffs and looks back at Will. If Will really likes this girl, they have to be similar. They have to have stuff in common. I mean, him and Mike have a ton in common and they’re best friends. They like each other.
Maybe not like that, but it’s something, right?
That's what makes for a good relationship, Mike believes, completely forgetting his own relationship where there’s a large lack of common interests. Mike hums, deciding to base his advice on Will’s interests and personality and, well, him overall. Mike finds it easier to do that.
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Suddenly, one point grew into around 20 points within 10 minutes. Mike lets out a sigh and grins, pretty proud of himself for his list. He skims over it to make sure it’s accurate. “…Hazel eyes that shine like beautiful amber under the light… personality that can light up a room anytime…laugh that can give even the saddest person hope…moles that bring out the adorable blush that lays on your face…such an amazing amount of creativity that can inspire anyone, even the most unmotivated people…” Perfect! This…probably applied to Jennifer, whatever she’s like. Mike exhales in relief as he stares at his paper. He felt accomplished.
He ripped the page out of his notebook articulately, making sure it doesn’t mess up the page. He holds it close to his chest and gets up, walking over to Will. He noticed he had his head stuffed into a pillow. He patted his back to signal he was there to talk to him. “Ah, god — “ Will mumbled, turning his head away from the pillow quickly to glance at Mike. “Yeah?”
Mike smirked and showed him the paper. “Here you go, a whole list of things you need to study for your date tomorrow. Do you like it?”
Will didn’t really read it, but he noticed the first point and huffed, taking it from Mike and putting it under his pillow. “Thanks, Mike. I’ll… I’ll deal with that tomorrow.” Will flashes a small yet genuine smile before putting his face back into the pillow, lying on his stomach.
Mike bit the inside of his mouth. “So, you’re not gonna look over it beforehand? Or in advance? Or at all tonight?” Mike questioned, tapping his foot gently.
Will bit his lip and glanced back at Mike. He couldn’t help but smile at his dedication to this, but his eyes formed a more bittersweet tone once he realized why. He huffs and sits up, beaming sweetly at him. “Okay, how about this, you can read it for me as I sleep? I’m tired, and I’m an audio learner anyway.” Mike can’t help but smile and nod as Will handed the list to him.
Mike swiftly walked over to his side of the bed and sat up, staring at the piece of paper. Will later on his side, facing Mike, admiring his motivation to help Will. Mike read the list in chronological order, and the list slowly got less broad and more specific. It went from “beautiful face” to “admirable passion that gives me such hope”. Except, on the latter line, Mike looked over at Will, only to see him asleep comfortably and quietly. Mike huffed in slight disappointment but smiled anyway, putting the paper between them as he looked at the clock beside him as if it were last night. 12:54 AM. He lies down for a bit, staring up at the ceiling before closing his eyes.
Mike didn’t feel like he could sleep right now. He turned over to his side to face Will. The sight of him so peaceful for once brought comfort to Mike. Knowing the boy he’s known for his whole life who has been through so much gets to have a moment of tranquility gives Mike the ability to rest pleasantly. That is, after Mike examines his best friend's face in a very platonic way. The way his eyelashes fell so perfectly, the way his moles compliment his skin.. Mike can’t help but admire how he looks.
That is, before he widens his eyes and shakes his head. He doesn’t mean it in that way.
Well, at least he hopes he doesn’t.