Chapter Text
The church is cold.
Really, it always feels cold. To Will it always feels cold.
There are probably some people in the building who feel warm and fuzzy inside when they think of this place. Smiles, friends, fun, jokes.
This would be warm for most people, actually.
Not to Will.
To him, all this building has to offer is one person.
One person he can't look at twice without being judged.
One person who would leave him high and dry if he ever decided to think the same way everyone else does.
One person who is right beside him.
So that's it really, every sunday morning Will goes to a place where the lights are bright and the air is cold. If there's food, it's always stale, and the conversations he overhears are even more so.
The only person in a 10-mile radius he actually has to talk with is Mike.
Even when the air is cold, Mike can somehow bring warmth under his skin and into his blood. It's not just now, either. Mike has always had a way of doing that.
Through his words, his eyes...
His touch.
But no, it really doesn't mean anything. To either of them. Will is always cold, and Mike warms him up. He doesn't just warm Will up, he warms everyone up. Of course. That's what the heart is for, right?
So it'd be super unreasonable and totally unfair if Will were to think sometimes that he needs Mike. Under that logic, everyone needs Mike. Not just Will.
Then it just wouldn't make sense. That would mean that Eleven, Lucas, Dustin, Max - oh, God knows Max doesn't need Mike - they all needed him. And maybe they all do in their own weird little ways, but even so, their ways would never be the same as Will's way.
Why was that, exactly? Will didn't know. Really he didn't feel much like finding out either.
The newly warm spring air was a pleasant contrast to the church's icey atmosphere. It was less crowded now, too, as everyone around began to find their own little groups to stand around in. There was only one other person in Will's group.
"So, when do you think your dad will be out?" Mike asked, sheepishly fidgeting with the button near his collar.
"Oh, uh, probably not for a while. He likes to socialize and stuff. I guess he thinks it makes him closer to his peers or whatever." Will shrugged and turned himself away from Mike just a bit. He was close to follow, though, and now they stood with their shoulders touching as they look out to the parking lot filled with people.
"Well, great. Guess I'll just wait with you then. My dad's probably in there taking to yours anyway, and I need to ask your dad if you can hang out now."
Will scoffed lightly as he turned his eyes down to the pavement they're standing on. "Mike, I've told you so many times that you don't need to ask him. I can do it myself."
"Yeah, and I let you do it yourself until he started telling you no. And no offense Will, but I think the only reason you've been allowed to come over the last five times was because I was the one asking. So I'll keep it up until he starts telling me no, too. Then I guess I'll just have to get Holly to ask or something. I don't know. All I really know is that is working now, so I'm gonna keep asking." Will could hear the hopefulness in his voice.
Will looked up and saw Mike smiling, so he returned the favor. He was careful not to stare into his eyes for too long, because then it could get weird. Then Will realized they shoulders were still brushing occasionally, she he shifted his weight to the side just far enough that there was no chance it would happen again, even with Mike's constant swaying-like motion.
There's a comfortable silence then, with Mike saying back and forth subtly and Will looking up at the sky. He scans the clouds, wondering whether or not it will rain soon. He sees an airplane, soaring thousands of feet above them.
The focus of Will's eyes then shift downward, scanning the very tips of the trees that surround them. He's somehow seeing dark waves, although they're nowhere near the beach. Then a lighter yellow, the sand?
The waves flow back and forth as the sand seems to reach out for the water. The waves begin to reach, too, and it's like a beautiful race that nature is hosting. Will watches, mesmerizing, as the waves continue to course towards the sand, and as they're just about to crash against each other at the collar-
Wait.
Collar?
The waves slow down. The sand stops entirely.
There was no sand. There were no waves. Well, there were waves, just not the kind you find at the beach-
There was no beach at all.
Just Mike.
The waves are his hair, his shirt was the sand.
Will had been staring at Mike. And God knows for how long he was doing so.
It had to be a long time, for Will to have an entire daydream about some beach with dark waves and light yellow sand!
This was ridiculous. The worst part was that Will didn't even stop himself. It was Mike saying something that snapped him out of it.
What did he even say?
Will supposed whatever it was that Mike said didn't require a response, because when he fully came to, Mike was walking toward the front door of the church.
Then Will finally figured it out. Mike had just gone to ask Lonnie if he'd let Will go. Will considered joining the conversation, but he figured it'd just be awkward for him to join in when they were probably almost done talking, so he'd just wait for Mike to relay the message he receives.
Mike comes around the corner of the church after a short time, wearing a smile that says he probably has good news.
Once Mike reaches him, Will of always staring again. This time it's normal, though, because eye contact when having a conversation is perfectly normal.
"He said you're free to go. Did you bring your bike?" Mike questions, gesturing out to the parking lot.
"We're going now?"
Mike raises an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah, Will. We always go right after church. Do you have your bike?" he asks a second time.
"Well, yeah, of course I do. I never ride with Lonnie." Will scoffs.
"Good. Meet me at the stop sign, then."
The two boys ride on the sidewalk together. They'd usually take up the road instead, but it's still busy with churchgoers finding their way back home.
Mike tosses his bike down into his yard and Will follows with a bit more precaution. He'll always feel like he owes the Wheelers a debt since they let him stay here until Mom and Lonnie somehow got back together.
After a quick greeting to Mrs. Wheeler, Will followed Mike up to his room, where they're now lounging on the floor.
"So, um, Will, I've been meaning to ask you this for a while, but I guess i just never got around to it," Will nods, signaling Mike to continue. "So I guess just what I'm wondering is... how do you really feel about your dad? I guess it must be nice to have him back and all, but you... never really talk about him. That's all I'm wondering."
Will takes a moment to ponder his question and Mike gives him time. "I guess I'm just... conflicted still. I mean, he used to treat me so terribly, like when I was younger, that I don't think I'll everever be able to love him like a kid should love their dad now. I don't know, I can't really explain much more than that. Sorry."
"You don't have to apologize, Will."
The morning spent at the Wheelers' sickly turns into the afternoon, so Mike bids Will farewell and has his own time at home.
He eats dinner then curls into bed, hoping to finally find a good amount of rest in the day, but when Will falls asleep, he dreams of dark waves and light yellow sands.