Chapter Text
Will paused, looking into the crowd of excited, partying college kids, hoping that he’d see him. Will knew he wouldn’t be there, He kept thinking about it, “Come on Will, Why would Mike be here of all places. Surely he had better things to do.” Will had applied to the same college as Mike, behind his back of course. MIke had wanted to separate himself from the party after the events with Vecna, something about “rebuilding himself from the ground up.” Will saw through his bullshit though–it was Eleven–no Jane, it was always about Jane with him. Will wanted Mike to come to his senses, to realize that he was right there all along, I mean, MIke had a dramatic coming out at their final D&D game, said he was bisexual and everything. Will knew he had a chance now, he just needed to find Mike so he could take it. But he knew that it would take more than just a party to find him. Someone walked up to Will, “Hey! You look lost in thought, you need a drink?” Will shook his head as his mind snapped back to reality. “Uhh.. Yeah, a drink would be nice, I’m Will by the way, what’s your name?” The guy smiled, “I’m Richie, we have Art History together.. Y’know, the class you keep drawing that one guy in..” Richie’s face flashed a soft pink, “Right.. Your drink.. Let me go get that for you.” The boy momentarily disappeared into the crowd, giving Will a second to collect his thoughts. He sat there, staring into the crowd, “I mean, that guy sounds like Mike, but he doesn’t look like Mike, and besides, he said his name was Richie, and that surely isn’t close to Mike.” He couldn’t stop thinking about how weird it was, how right when he was finally starting to doubt finding Mike, or at least someone similar, Richie, showed up..
Soon after, Richie made it back to Will, holding two cups, “I forgot to ask if you drink, so I brought two cups, one with just a punch, and one with a spiked punch.” Will grabbed the normal drink, “I’d love to get wasted, but I’m looking for someone.” Will paused, “Do you know someone named Mike–Mike Wheeler?” Richie looked down at his feet, then back at Will, “I mean, yeah, I know Mike, I have a Creative Writing class with him, he’s insanely good at coming up with stories, I pray that man makes it as an author.” Richie shot a glance back towards the crowd. “A guy like him won’t be at something like this, I bet he’s cooped up in his dorm writing something right now. When people ask him why he writes so much, it’s always the same answer–he forgot to document the most important moments, so he shares them through stories, and based on his works, it seems like there was a pretty messy love triangle that guy was involved in.” Richie sighed, glancing at Will, “Is he who you’re looking for?” Will nodded, asking Richie if they could leave the party together.
The two walked out of the house, Will sighed, happy to be away from that loud, dreadful, rancid scene. “Sooo.. Wanna go to my place and talk some more, Richie..?” The boy nodded, almost a little too excitedly for Will’s liking, but he hadn’t been able to make any friends whilst at this place, and he wasn’t gonna complain now that it’s happened.
The pair walked together for about 15 minutes before making it back to Will’s place. Richie shot a glance at Will, “I’m feeling a little tipsy.. So, I’m sorry if I say anything stupid.” Will laughed, “It’s fine..” Will paused, finally getting a good look at Richie, he looked shockingly like Mike, it wasn’t just his voice that sounded similar. “Hey, um, Richie.. You look a lot like Mike..? Are you like.. Related to him or anything?” Richie paused, taking a few seconds to answer, “Yeah.. I am, I’m Mike's cousin, though I’ve never really gotten to meet the guy or anything personal, I just know we’re related, that’s all.” Will’s expression changed, “Yeah, honestly, you look like you could be his twin brother..” Will paused, and awkward laugh slipping from his mouth, “Sorry, if I’m making this weird, it’s just–couldn’t get a good look at you during the party.” Will ran his hand through his hair, “It’s fine, Will, I mean, I’ve seen the way you look for Mike at those dumbass parties. I’d say he’s lucky to have someone trying to check up on him as much as you are, plus I’ve heard the rumors, you never go home with anyone, you stay until the host is shooing people away, and it’s not because you’re drunk, but you never tell anyone why. Knowing you felt like you could tell me about the Mike thing, that’s awesome.. Plus… You took me home.” A smirk crept across Richie’s face. Will’s face flashed a soft pink blush, “Well, this is different, I just needed a friend, someone I could talk to about everything, and you just so happened to be there, at the right time, that’s all.”
That word, ‘friend’ it stung Richie, he’d been in love with WIll ever since he’d first seen him, and here he was, in his dorm room, and he’s still ‘just a friend.’ Richie sighed, taking a seat on Will’s bed, “Listen, if I’m being honest, I didn’t come here to be just friends with you, I came here because I want you. I can tell you very much so don’t feel the same, but it’s whatever, I can try my best to play ‘just friend’ if that’s what you really want from me.” Richie put his face down onto his palm, shaking his head. Will looked at Richie, feeling his heart sink, he took a seat next to him, “From what I know, you seem awesome, and I would love to get to know you better.. Besides, all good couples start out as friends, Richie.” Richie lifted his head, his eyes practically sparkling, “So.. You’re not turning me down?” Will shook his head, “Sort of, I wouldn’t call it rejection but I’m not accepting your confession either, it’s just, right now, I am in love with someone else, and I barely know you.. It’s easier for me to get to know you while I get over him.” Richie hugged Will, pulling away after a few seconds, realizing that the hug was probably weird, “Okay! That’s fine to me, and you’re right, we should get to know each other better before anything like that.”