Chapter Text
May 1986 (2 months after s4)
Since the day Mike Wheeler asked Will Byers to be friends on the kindergarten swingset, their souls were forever intertwined. So it was a no-brainer for Will to move in with Mike after coming back to California. It had only been 2 months since the Byers moved in, and things were going great. Will shared Mike's room, Jonathan slept in the basement, and Joyce slept in the guest room. The 2 boys loved the arrangement, it was like a sleepover every night.
“Mike? Mike, wake up!” Will says with urgency from his yellow sleeping bag.
“Oh shit,” Mike starts. “Will, just get dressed. I will get our stuff together, and I'll just change in the car.” finishes Mike, rushing out of bed.
Will nods.
“Do you think your brother will drive us, Will?” he says, as he's rushing to gather their things.
“Yeah. I’m sure he will, he is unemployed anyways.” Replies Will.
The boys eventually get out the door, and into Jonathan’s car, shoving their bikes in the trunk. Will hops in the passenger seat and Mike gets in the back.
“You guys need to stop snoozing that alarm, I can't keep driving you everywhere,” Jonathan sighs, not really angry.
“It's all Mike's fault, he's the one next to the alarm!” Will exclaimed
“Oh whatever, you never hear it anyway.” Mike mutters, putting on his jeans.
Will rolls his eyes.
“Am I not the one who had to wake you up this morning?!” Will shouts, turning back to face Mike.
“WILL! Don’t look, I’m changing!”
He was about to respond until Jonathan interrupts, “OH MY GOD IT'S 8:30 IN THE MORNING, SHUT UP!!” The ride is silent the rest of the way.
They arrive at their destination, not too far away from the Wheeler house.
Jonathan drops the 2 off at the entrance to the trail. They grab their bikes and start walking, Will stops to make sure of something.
“Mike, what time is it?”
“About 8:45, I think we'll make it.”
They finally reach the meeting place at 8:58, but El is nowhere to be seen.
Suspiciously, Mike questions, “Where is she at, she said 9 right?”
“Yeah, but you know how Hopper is, everything has to be exact ‘for safety'" Will replies, adding air quotes to the safety part. They sit down on a fallen log to wait, a small centipede crawling on it, just out of sight.
Ever since the military moved in, it had been almost impossible to hang out with El.
“I really hope this is all over soon, I feel like me and El have had no real time together.” There is silence between them for a brief moment.
“I really miss her, you know?” Mike admits, glancing at Will for a response.
“Yeah I bet, it must be hard not being able to see your girlfriend for so long,” Will replies with something hidden in his tone. Suddenly Mike's upper body jumps, grabbing onto will.
“EW EW EW! WHAT IS THAT?!?!?!” He screams pointing at the miniscule centipede.
“Oh it's just a centipede,” Will giggles, making fun of Mike. “It’s non lethal to humans, it would only leave a small itchy bump if it were to bite you,” Will explains standing up and moving towards the bug. He picks it up, bringing it closer for Mike to see.
“Dude-- seriously, get that thing away from me, it’s freaky looking!” Mike says squirming backwards, almost falling off the log.
“Really? I thought he was cute!” Will replies tauntingly as Mike starts getting up to move away.
“It's NOT a he, and it's NOT cute!” Mike rebuttals, as Will keeps moving closer. Mike picks up the pace, as Will's slow advance turns into a chase.
El leaves the cabin as soon as the clock hits 8:30, since it’s a long walk to the meeting spot. She hasn't seen her boyfriend-- or her brother in over 3 weeks. She really wanted to hang out with Mike, especially because things haven't been quite right since their fight in California, Mike seems to have put it behind him. It still troubles El sometimes since the issue was never really resolved, but they had been doing better so she tries not to think about it too often.
She starts to see the beginning of the clearing when she hears a chilling scream. She starts to run, worried that her friends might be in danger. She drops her guard once she enters the clearing, seeing her boyfriend pathetically running from Will, who has an insect in hand. Will stops running and looks up at her, “El!” He drops the insect. Mike joins, seemingly forgetting about the terrifying creature, now invisible on the forest floor, “El!” Mike runs up to her, meeting her in a hug and kiss while slightly lifting her off the ground. El hugs him back and exclaims, “I’ve missed you guys!”
All 3 of them sit on the ground in a circle.
They have 2 hours to spend together. They spend the first part just catching up. Will leaves to use the restroom in some nearby bushes, leaving just Mike and El alone. Mike starts,
“El, I know we haven't had much alone time recently, but I wanted to finally tell you how much I appreciated that painting you commissioned, It really meant a lot especially at t-”
“What painting?” El interrupts with a confused look on her face.
“The painting you commissioned from Will?”
“I don't know what you mean”
“The painting?? Will gave it to me in California saying you told him what to paint so you could give it to me as a gift.”
“I never told Will to paint anything”
“Oh uh ok nevermind i must be mixing stuff up” Mike explains hiding his confusion.
Will returns sensing an awkwardness in the air.
“Heyyy guysss…” He says, trying to gauge the situation. Mike looks up. El staring at the ground, thinking about the confusion of the past conversation.
“Oh, hey Will,” Mike follows. “How about we go on a walk?”
They walk for the rest of the 2 hours, talking and telling stories. At the end they drop El off at the cabin, Mike leaves her with only an awkward hug, Will with a wave.
“Dude what the heck was that??” Asks Will.
“What do you mean?” Mike responds.
“You know exactly what I mean! Why were you guys so awkward when I got back?”
“We weren't awkward..it had just been awhile since we have seen each other, that's all..”
“Yeah ok, whatever.”