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The fresh air of the evening does wonders for Lucas' sweaty body, tired after carrying so many boxes and weapons into the truck.
As soon as he gets a moment to rest, he scans around the place and finds no sign of Will or his family.
That makes him smile.
"So... Who do you think Will was talking about?"
"Huh?" Mike exclaimed. Much too fast.
"You know. The guy he liked."
Mike took a deep breath, like he was preparing to answer.
"I think it was me..."
"Wow, so self-centered." Dustin commented.
"Yeah, man!" Lucas added, raising his voice a lot more than he should have. "Why didn't you even consider any of us?"
"Well, I've known him the longest!"
"That doesn't mean anything!" Lucas insisted, truly annoyed now. Because Mike Wheeler did not just imply his relationship with Will was stronger just because they met first. "We're very close to him too!"
"Yeah!" Dustin backed Lucas up. "He could've been talking about me!"
"Not a chance." Both Lucas and Mike intervened at the same time.
"Why not?!"
“Because it was clearly me.” Lucas pressed. He was not going to let his friends win this time. There was something particularly special about being Will’s first love that he, nor his other friends, could simply let it go. “He was looking at me while he confessed it!”
Mike rolled his eyes so hard; they could’ve easily got stuck in the back of his head. Unfortunately, they didn’t. “No, he was looking at me. You just happened to be there.”
“He was looking at the three of us.” Dustin cleared up before Lucas could retort.
"It seemed like that because I sat between you, but he was looking at me." Lucas explained with a smug smile.
This has turned more into a push and pull than an actual conversation. Like the times they used to fight over their D&D campaigns. When they were younger and happier.
"What makes so sure of that?" Mike snapped. He was way more pressed about this than he should've been.
But to be fair, they all were.
"Come on, guys! Just look at me!” Lucas pointed at himself —all of him.
"Are you saying Will should be attracted to you because you're black?" Dustin deadpanned. "That's a harmful stereotype."
Lucas lost his breath for a second, and smacked Dustin in the head as soon as he caught it back.
"No. I'm saying I'm handsome," He listed with his fingers. "a great friend, clearly more romantic than you both, and he's more comfortable around me."
“Will wouldn’t be comfortable with his crush.” Dustin said. “He’d be at least a little awkward; you know, laughing too loud, or staring a little longer.”
“Why do you two even care so much?” Mike frowned and jumped to his feet, ready to walk away.
Dustin and Lucas stood up after him.
“Because it’s Will, man!” Lucas yelled.
“Yeah! Have you seen him? If he liked one of us, that automatically makes that guy the world’s most handsome man.”
Dustin stopped, right after he finished talking, to think for a moment. He exchanged glances with Lucas, then both looked at Mike and burst out laughing.
“Yeah, Mike’s out of the question.” Dustin said, not bothering to contain his smile.
“What? Why?” Mike asked, almost screaming.
“Because you’re a douche. Will would like someone strong and sexy like me.” Lucas batted his eyelashes and intertwined his hands together, just to annoy Mike even more.
“Or someone funny and thoughtful like me.” Dustin doubled down.
When it came to annoy Mike, Lucas and Dustin connected like no one else. And with him so worked up, their wit became twice as chaotic.
Mike huffed, already exasperated. “It’s not neither of you two.”
“Why are you so sure?” Dustin asked, with his most annoying voice tone.
Mike opened his mouth to defend that opinion that he was so sure of, but he closed it immediately, as if it had been closed by an external invisible force.
Lucas knew exactly why —the painting on the wall next to his bed.
Will told Lucas, and only Lucas (because he was his actual best friend), about the painting he’d been working on for months, and for who.
Dustin didn’t know who it was, until Will bravely came out to them. And he kept staring at Mike.
But they would never admit it out loud. Not yet.
“There’s one way to find out for sure.” Dustin said, looking directly at Robin, on the other side of the field, preparing weapons with Steve and Vickie.
Lucas and Dustin share mischievous smiles, while Mike doesn’t look convinced at all.
Still, they approached Robin.
As they got closer, they caught sight of Steve saying something that left the other two women in shock. Robin stared at Steve like she wanted to kill him.
Lucas, as brave as he is, walked up to Robin either way.
“Robin!” He waved at her. “We need you really quick. It’s important.”
She gave Steve one last murderous glare, before she stood up and followed the three boys somewhere nobody else could hear them.
“Listen,” Dustin spoke first. “we need to know who Will’s crush is, and we have reasons to believe he told you. So, who out of us is it?” He pointed at the three of them, but kept his hand hovering over himself longer than the other two.
Both Mike and Lucas scoffed, convinced that in no way, shape or form, Dustin was the mysterious boy.
“Nuh, uh. That’s for Will to share, if he wants to.” Robin said, and to make it her final word, she tried to leave.
“So, you do know.” Lucas stepped on the way to stop her.
“And it is one of us.” Dustin confirmed.
“Of course it is one of us.” Mike didn’t miss the opportunity to diss Dustin. “Who else would it be? Troy? Chance?”
“My point is,” Robin intervened. “our time’s running out. If you want to know, ask Will before we leave. If he doesn’t want to tell you, don’t push it.” She finished, and left without one more word.
They’ve never before seen Robin being so serious about something. But she was right, this was Will’s secret to share.
Lucas, however, wouldn’t miss the opportunity to annoy Mike a little bit more.
“I guess you won’t know for sure that Will liked a handsome, sexy, kind and considerate guy such as me, until after we kill Vecna.”
Dustin laughed, more out of mockery than mirth. “Come on, we all know I’m way better than you.”
“Are you still going on about that?” Mike screamed, and threw his hands in the air like an exasperated child.
Lucas didn’t bother to contain a smirk. Then, averted his eyes, far behind his friends, and winked at the boy who had just come out of the building, and was hesitant to approach his life-long friends, who held him in the highest regards, and would never in a million years abandon him.