Chapter Text
3 years later…
Ring riiing
Ring riiing
«Hello?»
No answer.
«Hello..??»
Will only hears a long, familiar breath on the other end of the line.
«Babe, who’s on the phone?» another voice called Will from the other side.
«Ehm, I think they dialed the wrong number..» and he hung up the phone.
A long tone filled Mike’s left ear.
He stood there, leaning against the wall, and slowly took the phone away from his ear and placed it back in its cradle.
He couldn't believe what he'd just done; he'd finally plucked up the courage to call his best friend after ignoring his calls for five years and not even managing to say hello.
He felt a myriad of different emotions. Hearing Will's voice had awakened something inside him.. a sense of nostalgia, a voice so familiar yet so distant.
A voice he'd heard every day before, that reminded him of home, his home.
Ever since Will moved to New York for college, Hawkins hasn't been the same for Mike. It had happened once before, when Will moved to California for a year. He and Mike barely spoke, but that was his fault again.
Mike has never been good at expressing his feelings, much less writing them in a stupid letter. That's why now he writes books about fantastical characters who fall in love during their adventures. He hides his feelings behind the protagonists of the stories, with the only difference being that they have the opportunity to feel loved and understood, without being judged.
Mike never had the chance to tell Will how he truly felt. Not because he was afraid of rejection, but because he still couldn't accept the fact that he'd fallen in love with his childhood best friend.
The only person who knew about his feelings for Will, was Max.
It happened randomly. They were at a party, about a year ago.
Mike had drunk a little too much that night, he was stressed about exams, and he'd just received the news that Will had a boyfriend.
Mike was his best friend... he should have been happy for him, right?
But he wasn't, he wasn't at all.
And he couldn't say anything because it was meant to be that way, because he'd had his chance years before, but he'd always tried to hide his feelings, to ignore them because it wasn't normal.
His father had always told him that that, wasn’t the normality.
That evening, Max noticed his discomfort and went to talk to him, «You're more depressed than usual, Wheeler.» she said with her usual sarcasm.
Mike snorted and turned away.
Max obviously didn't give up, and after badgering him, Mike finally spoke up and told her everything.
She wasn't entirely surprised.
Max had always noticed how Mike's tone changed when he talked to Will, —her and Lucas used to called it "Will's tone" she said— or the way he cared about him and always tried to make him feel at ease.
But then a doubt came to her, «But.. what about El, then? You never loved her?» she had asked, her tone become a little more threatening.
Mike's eyes widened. «No, of course not! You see.. that's the problem! I loved El, I really did, but.. she wasn't the one.»
Max seemed to understand what he meant, «It’s okay to like both.»
Mike was confused, «What?» he asked, looking up at her.
«It’s okay that you like them both, Mike,» Max repeated gently, «and David Bowie likes both, too, so what’s the problem?» she added and Mike laughed, genuinely laughed.
«I wish it were that simple,» Mike said afterward, once the smile had faded again.
«It is, Mike,» Max said, placing a hand on his shoulder. «You just have to learn to accept it.» Mike followed Max’s hand with his gaze and then began to sob.
He sobbed so hard he had to sit on one of the couches in the house they were in.
Max tried to comfort him, but then Mike said something. It was more of a whisper, and no one would have been able to hear it unless they were close enough, but Max heard it, and she almost burst into tears herself.
«It would be so much easier if Will was a girl.»