Work Text:
Mike’s POV:
I looked back to the basement that holds so many memories, so many wonderful memories. But also, bad ones too. Memories filled my mind, Will, rolling a seven on the campaign where everything went wrong after. Having El stay in his basement while looking for his childhood best friend- and current crush at the moment.
I don’t really know how to feel about this crush, I honestly hate myself for it. Moving on from El so easily? Living my life like she never existed? Replacing her for a stupid crush I have on a boy I love- Wait, love? No.
El and I were meant to be? Right...?
I push those thoughts into the back of my mind, as I turn the doorknob to my basement door, opening to my hallway, where the smell of lasagna filled the air. And the faint sound of chatter of conversations drifted into my ears. I stand there, frozen in place. Do I really want to move on from all of those oh so wonderful childhood memories? Do I really want to grow up? Leaving that silly childhood crush on El behind me? Should I focus on the future, or do I swell on that past, and what could have been?
No. I graduated today. I’ve grown up. I can’t change that, but I really want to.
I want to go back. I want to ask Will if he wanted to sleepover on November 6th, 1983. I want to be able to apologize to Will, for being such a shitty friend over the summer, and when I went to California. I want to apologize for forgetting his birthday.
Seriously, what type of friend am I if I forget his birthday? A stupid one, for sure.
Then all of a sudden, I feel a tear roll down my cheek. Is the past mistake of mine really something to cry over? Will seemed to forgive me for them, so why can’t I bring myself to forgive them as well?
I quickly wipe the tear from my cheek, as I close the basement door, muffling the loud chatter and joyful screams from Holly and her friends. I move my feet closer to the kitchen, where the chatter got louder and louder.
“Hey Mike, I saved you a seat next to me.” Will shouted from the other side of the kitchen, where the dining room table was. I’m pretty sure my face got all red, and stood there with my mouth hanging open like an idiot. “Oh! Thanks Will.” I manage to mutter out, after stumbling over my words like one million times.
I pull the chair out next to Will and sit down, noticing all of the changes Will has gone through. His nose, it shaped his face so well. Which is probably my favorite part about him, well besides his arms. Will has been getting stronger since defeating Vecna. And the way he dresses, his style changed so much from the clothes his mom would buy him, to this very pretty style that I think suited him very well. And his hair, it looked so silky under the light, chocolatey brown bangs covered his forehead and-
“Goodbye Mike.”
El’s words echoed through my mind. Was I really forgetting our relationship? Is it even still a relationship? I don’t even know anymore, and I don’t want to forget El. She was wonderful, a real superhero. But is that all she was in my eyes? A superhero?
“Yo Dustin, that speech was amazing! Higgins lost his shit!” Lucas said enthusiastically, while getting a piece of lasagna from the dish it was baked in. “What can I say, Higgins was an asshole!” Dustin said with a small chuckle, then taking a bite of the lasagna on his plate. Max’s face was still a bit red from her crying at the end of the campaign, I think she saw me staring at her, then she proceeded to flip me off.
“... Right Mike?” Will said, while he looked over to me. “Huh? What? I’m sorry I wasn't paying attention.” I said quickly as I take a sip of the glass of water in front of me. I am pretty sure I heard a chuckle from Will. Oh god his smile was just so perfect. Will’s voice snapped me out of thoughts. “I was thinking it would be fun over the summer to go on a group camping trip, maybe at the lake. Or it could be a different spot. The idea is still in the works though.”
“That sounds super fun!” I add on quickly, meeting Will’s gaze. We maintain eye contact for about five seconds before my mom’s voice cuts through the silence. “Well guys, I am very proud of you guys. Finishing high school, and Dustin that speech was sure something.” She then sets down a bowl of a freshly made salad. She then makes her way to one of the ends of the table, and sits down.
Her short hair framed her face, clinging to her cheekbones. Her scars from the demogorgon attack are fully visible. “Can you pass the salad please Micheal?” My dad’s voice yelled across the table. I sigh and grab the salad bowl, handing it to Will, who then slides it to the end of the table to my dad.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My least favorite chore in the world? Washing dishes. And guess what I got blessed with after dinner. You can take a guess.
As I finish washing one of the multiple plates in the sink, I hear footsteps approaching up from behind me. I switched off the water and turned my head, it was Will. “Hey” he said. “Hi.” I quickly say out loud. “Do you mind if I sleep over? I don’t think my mom and Hop are going to be back from their date anytime soon. If they were, I think being in the house would be a bad idea.” Will says with a sheepish chuckle.
Jesus, I love his laugh.
“Yeah, let me go ask my parents.” I say while drying my hand on the kitchen towel. “Also the others are getting ready to go, they asked me to go tell you they were leaving soon.” Will adds on.
“Understood.” I say calmly, with a hint of sarcasm in my voice. Hopefully that didn’t sound too insincere. My mom says my tone often comes off as bitchy and insincere. As I make my way towards the living room I see Max, Lucas, and Dustin by the front door. “Thanks for having us over Mike! That campaign was great.” Dustin said, pulling his back pack over his shoulder.
“Thanks Wheeler.” Max said as she walked through the front door Lucas was holding open for her. “Awesome campaign Mike, talk to you soon!” Lucas said. He gave me a quick pat on the back and left with the others. I close the front door and walk over to the living room where my parents were watching the television.
“Mom, dad, can Will stay the night? He doesn’t have a ride home, and his mom and Hopper won’t be back for a while.” I say with my arms crossed, waiting impatiently for their answer. They both share a look and my mom sighs. “Ok fine, but he will have to sleep somewhere other than the basement though. Holly and two of her friends are sleeping over as well. Debbie and Mary, was it?” She looks over at my dad who then proceeds to shrug and say it was okay with him as well.
I walk back into the kitchen, and to my surprise I see Will washing the dishes? “Hey what the hell are you doing! That’s my job!” I say quickly walking up to Will. “They're almost finished, let me do them!” Will says laughing as I try to push him away.
“No! What kind of host would I be if I made my guest do the dishes!” I say holding back a laugh. “Well you would be a very bad one.” Will adds on. We make eye contact and start laughing like maniacs. I’ve really missed this, laughing with Will over stupid jokes. It makes my heart feel all warm.
“There, look, all done.” Will says triumphantly as he goes to dry his hands with a towel. “Oh shit, I forgot. My parents said you can stay over.” I’m scratching the back of my head. Why am I doing that? I only do it when I’m nervous, so why the hell am I nervous right now?
“Cool.” Will said calmly, as his eyes met mine. I felt my face heat up, holy shit this crush is bad. Actually, no. This isn’t a crush. I like El. I LIKE EL. But if I am so stern on keeping our relationship up, why can’t I say I love her? Our relationship was perfectly fine, we were always together, we were always on the same track.
We WERE together.
Why is it so hard for me to admit that El is gone? Why can’t I just let go? Has our relationship really come to an end?
I push those thoughts in my head deeper down into the back of my mind, saving them for another time. “How about we go get the extra bedding? You’ll be up in my room tonight. Holly and her friends have the basement for tonight.”
“Of course Micheal.” Will said with playfulness laced in his voice. As Will walked away I swear to all of the gods above me I saw the smallest hint of blush on his face. Did he like me back? Well that thought right there was absolute bull shit. Will said I was just his Tammy. Who the hell is Tammy, and what does that have to do with me? I thought at that moment.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention to Will, or anybody else that I knew Will liked me. I think I pieced it all together when he told everybody that he didn’t like girls. And when he said that, I realized how much of a jerk I had been to him over the summer before we started high school. I said something so stupid to him I hate myself for it. “Mike! Are you coming or not?” Will shouted from the top of the stairs. “Coming!”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Will’s POV:
Me and Mike have just finished setting up my makeshift bed for the night. And throughout the time period of setting up my sleeping bag and all of that, I’ve been fighting the urge to mention that the painting I made for him is proudly displayed on his wall. I feel like if I mention it he might get all emotional about El not being here anymore, because I originally said to him that El herself commissioned the painting. I think I was too afraid to say I was the one who made it. El commissioning it was a bunch of lies I made up on the spot to cheer him up.
After what seemed like forever, I finally muster up the courage to ask. “I see you hung up the painting?” By the surprised look on Mike’s face after I asked that question made me regret my decision. I believe I heard Mike swear something under his breath before saying, “Oh- uhm.. Yeah! Hey I’ve been meaning to tell you something..” Mike said while scratching the back of his head. And Mike only does that when he’s nervous, so I know this conversation wasn’t going to be a fun one.
“El didn’t commission the painting, right? I remember thanking her for it a few weeks after you gave it to me, and she looked at me like I was crazy and shrugged it off. Why did you lie to me about it?” My breath got caught in my throat. “Mike, listen I’m so sorry I lied to you! It just seemed like you needed some hope that El wasn’t mad at you, so I just said what I’d thought you wanted to hear. I am super sorry, matter of fact, if you don’t want me here I can just leave so I won’t make anything awkward!”
“I’m not mad at you Will.”
“What?” I said, confused. Mike had every reason to be mad. I lied to him about the painting, I lied to him about everything I said in that van. I lied to him when I said that one certain crush I had was just my Tammy. I lied to him about the fact that I still love him so much. My stupid crush on him won’t go away no matter how hard I try to get rid of it. Robin said her first crush, Tammy Thompson, was just some stupid school crush, and that it went away after she accepted herself. So why the hell has mine stayed with me throughout high school? And why the hell can’t my stupid brain take a clue that Mike is still mourning the loss of his girlfriend of over four plus years. Who just so happened to be my step-sister. I would be a total asshole if I told my step-sister boyfriend that I have had a crush on him since I was young?
And plus, Mike isn’t like me. He has a girlfriend. Or had one.
“Will, you saying that painting was from El gave me the strength back then to fight on. And I did, I told her I loved her. And that felt right at the moment. And when she…” Mike choked back a sob before he continued. “And when she told me that she loved me before she.. left, it felt like I was saying goodbye to memories I would never get back. And some of those memories were good, but some were bad. All of the times I ignored my best friend, and ditched him to hang out with her instead.”
“What are you saying Mike?” My voice wavered.
“I’m saying that although me and El’s relationship was long, it doesn’t mean it was always… healthy. We fought and disagreed so much. And, I couldn’t even say I love you to her without you bashing it into my brain.” Mike was moving closer to me, and stopped right in front of me.
“I feel like I have been so focused on the fact that she isn’t here anymore, I have been ignoring my true feelings.” Mike said while looking into my eyes.
True feelings? Those words echoed throughout my mind. And then all of a sudden, Mike grabbed my shoulders. “I was mourning the loss of a relationship that was never meant to last forever.” Over Mike’s words I could hear the faint footsteps of someone starting to walk up the stairs, but I ignore it. “M-Mike, I don’t understand, what the hell are you saying?” At this point I was so nervous my thoughts were racing all throughout my head, then all of a sudden Mike cradled my cheeks with his hands and kissed me.
Wait a minute. Wait a goddamn minute. MIKE WHEELER IS KISSING ME. My heart is pounding through my chest, it felt like someone was shooting it from the inside with a gun. He quickly pulls away. His face was just as shocked as mine. “Shit, shit, shit! I’m so sorry! I got ahead of myself and-” before he could finish his sentence, I cut him off by kissing him again, this time, not a rushed one, but a slow, warm, and gentle one.
“Ooooooh~ Mike and Will, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”
Me and Mike both whipped our heads around to find Holly by the door frame giggling like a little girl watching her friend confess to her crush.
“GET OUT OF MY ROOM HOLLY!"