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“I still think this is a bad idea, for the record.” Mike stepped out of the back of Lucas’s car, stretching out his long legs. “I mean, a party? We’ve never been to a party!” Mike paced in front of the car as the rest of the group unloaded. “What if the cops come and we get busted for having alcohol? What if we all get alcohol poisoning and die?”
“Mike! Shut up!” yelled Max, already on her way to the door. “No one is going to die for having a little fun.”
Mike narrowed his eyes. “If you say so,” he muttered, following Max up the driveway already somehow littered with cans and bottles.
A hand touched Mike’s shoulder, and Will appeared beside him. “I can try to make sure all of us don’t drink too much if you want,” he said, eyes concerned. “And if it makes you feel better, I won’t touch a drop.”
Mike smiled. “I didn’t mean it like that. I- I guess I’m just nervous ‘cause we’re going to be all around these people who hated us up until six months ago, and- it's just different,”
Will nodded. “I understand that. I have to admit, I’m a little scared too. But then again, we’re walking distance from the radio tower, so if we really want to leave, we can just leave and get Steve to drive us home from his hangout.”
Mike nodded. “Well, we’d better try this before we deny it!”
Will chuckled at the throwback to their friend Argyle as the group entered the house.
They were immediately met with the smell of body odour and beer mixed with several kinds of perfume and cologne. Dustin stuck a finger under his nose. “Jesus, it smells like a candle store and a gym mixed into one.”
Just then, a busty woman in a very low-cut dress turned the corner and nearly bumped into Will. “Well, hello there, ya’ll! Welcome in, I’m Stacey's mom, Carrie. Make yourself at home and give me a holler if you need anything.” She winked at them and lightly brushed Lucas’s arm.
“Thank you, ma’am,” Will said, obviously uncomfortable.
“Of course, honey. I aim to please! And really- if you need anything at all,” She looked at Lucas suggestively. “And I mean anything, come find me.”
After she had turned and left, hips swaying, Max huffed. “What the hell, Lucas!”
Lucas shook himself out of his stupor. “What?”
“You know well what you did, Lucas.”
“I- Max, I really don't!”
“Yeah? Does gawking at Stacey's mom ring a bell? How about standing there while she touches your arm and acts all buddy-buddy with you, huh? D’you wanna fuck her?” Max got all up in Lucas’s face, bits of spittle flying out of her mouth.
“Jesus, Max, no! I literally did not know that’s what she was doing!”
“Yeah, right. Come with me, we’re getting drinks, and then we are going to find us a nice little room upstairs to…” Max too winked suggestively, half making fun of Ms Albright and half seriously. “Have fun.”
As Max dragged Lucas away, he turned to the rest of the group, gave them an exaggerated grin and arm pump, and followed Max, hooking a finger in her belt loop.
Dustin shuddered. “Gross, man. I know I used to like Max, but damn am I glad I didn’t go through with it! I might take Ms Albright up on her offer, though.” He waggled his eyebrows at Mike and Will, who both made disgusted faces at him.
“Dude, she’s like, forty!” Mike exclaimed.
“And? She’s hotter than Phoebe Cates!”
“Dustin! What about Suzie!?”
Dustin looked at them with a sigh. “I swear, you guys never know when I’m joking.”
With that, Dustin also headed off to the kitchen, muttering under his breath.
Mike and Will, unsure of how to proceed, lingered by the door.
“So, uh, what do we do now?” Will asked, shifting closer to Mike as more teens streamed through the door and immediately dispersed into the rapidly filling living-room-slash-dance-floor. Will caught a glimpse of Ms Albright sidling up to a peer he recognised from his history class.
“Let's, uh, let’s go get a drink. They’re supposed to calm nerves, right?” Mike answers. Will laughed out loud, his head tilted back. Mike admired his profile in the dim light and decided he did, in fact, need a drink.
Mike grabbed Will’s arm and dragged him towards the kitchen, weaving between bobbing bodies to reach the kitchen island, where an impressive spread of alcohol and mixers lay.
“Jesus, how’d they even get that much stuff?” Will asked loudly.
Mike leaned in and spoke right next to Will’s ear. “I dunno, they probably either have a friend like Steve, or the parents leave the alcohol cabinet unlocked.”
Will chuckled again, deep in his throat. Mike blushed, immediately straightening up and busying himself with pouring drinks. “I hear vodka and lemonade is pretty good, maybe tequila and… milk? Why is there milk here?”
“I think vodka and lemonade sounds good, Mike. Are you sure you want to drink? There’s really no pressure to.” Will said, taking the drink Mike had already prepared for himself.
Mike swallowed. “Yeah, I mean, you only live once, right?” He downed his drink and immediately started coughing. “What the hell! That’s horrible!”
Will, after making sure Mike wasn’t about to choke, took a tentative sip of his own drink. “I mean,” he said, smacking his lips, “It’s not good, but it’s not bad, either.”
“Hey! Will!” A guy Mike hadn’t seen before walked up to the two of them. “I didn’t know you were here!”
“Hey, Carlton!” Will said with a smile. “Mike, this is Carlton. Carlton, this is Michael, my best friend.”
Mike’s heart gave a little twinge at that remark, though he couldn’t exactly place why. “Nice to meet you, Carlton. How do you know Will? I haven’t seen you around before,” he said as they shook hands.
Carlton smiled. “I just moved to Hawkins a few weeks ago, from Tennessee. Mom changed jobs to keep us afloat. Will here is- was in my history class and one of the only people who talked to me during my first two weeks. Your friend here is very kind.”
Mike chuckled. “Yeah, he really is. Must suck to move right before graduation, huh?”
“Oh, holy shit was it bad. I mean, wrapping up last-minute grades and trying to make at least three friends? Absolutely fresh hell.”
“Well, I’m glad you found some friends, Carlton, and I hope you’d consider me one of them.”
“‘Course, Michael!” Carlton made himself a drink, lifted it to his mouth, and paused. “Well, I almost forgot what I was in here for. I’m supposed to be collecting people to play Seven Minutes in Heaven. Y’all in?”
Before Mike could say anything, Will jumped in. “Yeah, sure! C’mon, Mike!”
A few minutes later, they found themselves in a small room off the hallway, seated with a circle of people that Mike vaguely recognised, along with Will and Carlton, of course. There were approximately 12 of them, all somewhat unpopular.
“Let’s get started, shall we?” said a very drunk goth-looking girl Will recognised from art class. She fidgeted with the empty beer bottle that was situated in the middle of the circle absent-mindedly. “Whoever the bottle lands on goes into that room-” she pointed at a dimly lit room behind her. “With the one who spun the bottle for seven minutes, presumably to make out or fuck each other. Penalty for refusing is that you lose a piece of your outfit. Cool?”
An assent of murmured “yeah”, “cool”, and one “capisce” from a boy with a leg brace fluttered throughout the room.
The goth girl spun the bottle. It landed on a girl dressed as Leia, who immediately took off her wig. The goth girl placed one of her numerous rings beside her and passed the bottle to the boy on her left. The game continued like so until the bottle reached Carlton, wigs and pieces of costume jewellery littering the floor.
Carlton spun the bottle hard; it rotated several times before settling between Mike and Will. Mike started to take off his jacket, thinking that the bottle was more aimed at him than Will, but then Will got up and offered a hand to Carlton to a chorus of “oooh”.
Mike froze. What the hell, he thought. Will and Carlton walked into the room, closing the door behind them. Mike shot to his feet. “I, um, I have to go to the bathroom,” he half-said to the rest of the group, now crowded near the door.
Mike did not go to the bathroom. Instead, he walked back to the kitchen and made himself another drink. Why am I so bothered when other people flirt with Will? Am I homophobic? But I don’t like it when girls flirt with him either. What the hell is this? At this point, Mike was already on his third drink of the night, having not tasted the last two. He poured himself another.
“Somethin’ got you down, honey?” Ms Albright sidled up to him at the island and made herself a drink. “Catch your girlfriend kissing another guy?” She ran her hand down Mike’s arm.
‘Uh, no,” Mike answered, moving away from her touch.
“Aw, darling, you can tell me what’s wrong, I won’t tell a soul!” She mimes locking her lips.
The half-drunk part of Mike wants to laugh. “It’s really nothing, Ms Albright. I was just playing spin the bottle with one of my friends, and he went away with this random dude! I mean, it's not like that bothers me that much, y’know?”
Ms Albright raised an eyebrow. “Well, honey, if it bothers you so much that you can drink straight vodka and not make a face, I think it matters.”
Mike looked down. He had forgotten to add the lemonade to the drink he’d been nursing. “Well, it’s not like I’m dating him or anything, right? There’s nothing I can do about it.”
“Sweetie,” Ms Albright said seriously, setting her drink down on the island. “I came over because you looked like you were about to cry. Sure, I’m mingling around here cause my husband doesn’t know how to please me anymore, but-” she tsked. “I’m also here to make sure no one is havin’ a bad time. It’s a party! Go out and get him! Or -” she took a sip of her drink. “If he happens to not be into you, go find someone else, okay?”
With that, Ms Albright turned tail and left, leaving Mike standing at a kitchen island in the middle of a party. He had never felt more alone than he did right now, surrounded by people grinding and tossing back shots. Why did Ms Albright think I was into Will? he thought. It’s not like I’m gay, I mean, I dated El, and I liked her, for heaven’s sake! Sure, Will’s my best friend, and I always feel sad when he’s not there, and I really can’t imagine my life without him, but that’s what best friends do! I mean, yeah, I like to be close to him and give him hugs and watch him smile and be happy, and yeah, his smile is really pretty, and I kind of want to kiss him- wait, what?
Suddenly, Mike’s knees felt wobbly. It could’ve been the alcohol, but it was mostly the fact that Mike Wheeler realised he liked Will Byers. Oh, Mike thought. Jesus, how long has this been going on? Mike walked out of the kitchen and sat down in the first empty corner he could find, feeling like he had been struck through the heart with a lightning bolt.
I like Will. How did I not notice this? Geez, I’m such a bad friend. Will he even want to be my friend when he realises? Does he even like me? Mike was then struck through the heart by a second lightning bolt when he spotted Will coming out of the room with Carlton, both boys’ hair noticeably more tousled and messy than before. “SHIT!” Mike exclaimed, turning approximately three heads over the loud music. “What do I do? What do I do? Shit shit shit shit shit shit FUCK!”
A particularly drunk and stoned guy approached Mike, seeing his distress. “Hey, dude. You alright?”
Mike startled, lost in his own thoughts. “Nah, man. I’m good. I’ve just got a tough decision to make.”
The guy nodded sagely. “Yeah. I got those all the time. What socks to wear, what to drink, what to smoke,” he paused. “Dude, I just think the universe sent me, like, a message. Like, for you. It says, uh, just do it! Yeah, man, go for it!”
Mike nodded, steeling his nerves for what he was about to do. “Okay. Thanks!” he shouted over his shoulder at the boy, who in turn gave him a thumbs-up.
He strode across the room, stealing a drink from a random girl and draining it.
“Hey! What the fuck!”
He rapidly approached Will and Carlton, now dancing.
“Will!” Mike shouted over the music.
Will turned and gave Mike a wave.
Mike grabbed his wrist and started dragging him away from Carlton, who audibly protested.
Mike spun and faced him. “Shut the fuck up, Carl,” he spat.
“Mike, what the hell?” said Will, bumping into several people as he struggled to keep up with Mike’s long-legged stride.
Mike turned a corner and yanked open a door to a bathroom that was thankfully empty and surprisingly clean.
“No, Will. What the hell to you! What was that?” Mike retorted once the bathroom door was closed and locked.
“What the hell was what, Mike?” Will said, eyes wide.
“You just went into a bedroom to play Seven Minutes in fucking Heaven with a guy you barely know, and by the looks of it, made out with him at the very least! That’s what the hell, Will!”
Will laughed a cold laugh. “Why do you care, Mike? I’m allowed to do what I want!”
“I’m just worried that you’re not safe! We barely know this guy!”
“Listen, Michael,” Will said, poking a finger into his chest. “I think that if I can handle helping kill a guy from another fucking dimension with my psychic powers that I still have-” He twitched his head, causing the bar of soap to fly off the sink. “I should be able to handle myself around fucking Carlton, who, may I mention, has never hurt me nearly as much as you have.”
“What?”
‘Don’t pretend you don’t know, Mike! I know you know what you did!” Will shouted.
“I-”
“Do you need me to spell it out for you? First, you start dating El and rub it in all of our faces, not just mine! Then, you tell me that it was not your fault that I didn’t like girls when it actually was, Mike! Then you just keep acting like such a dick and forget my birthday when you come to visit me, even though it’s the combination of your fucking bike lock that you’ve had since third grade and still use! You apologised, but did that make it hurt any less? No! It didn’t. And now, you’re trying to fucking control me just because I always listen to you and I most likely always will, Mike! So you can shut the fuck up. I’m going back out.”
“Will, I-”
Will spun back around, fire in his eyes. “You what, Mike?”
Mike took a deep breath. His voice from earlier echoed in his ears. Yeah, I mean, you only live once, right? “I-” he tried again.
“Goodbye, Mike.”
Mike knew he had to act. “Will, wait-”
“I said goodbye, Mike.”
Fuck it, Mike thought, and grabbed Will’s forearm, turning him around to face him.
“Stop it, Mi-”
Mike crashed their lips together, hands on either side of Will’s face. Will tensed, and Mike immediately pulled back. “I- um, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
Will stood stock-still, eyes locked onto Mike’s own, pupils blown. “Mike, uh,” Will licked his lips. “I can’t do this. Not right now.”
Mike’s heart sank. He was too late. “Yeah, Will, okay. I’m sorry. I can leave, I’ll let you collect yourself.”
“Don’t leave.”
Mike turned back around. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. I-” Will’s voice shook. “I just want answers.”
“Okay,” said Mike, hoisting himself up and sitting down on the ceramic top of the sink.
“Why?”
“Why did I kiss you?”
“Yeah.”
Mike took a shaky breath, running his hand through his hair. “I guess, when you went off with Carlton, I just got really sad and- and weird, and then I talked to Ms Albright-”
“Wait, the one that Max got mad at Lucas over?”
“Yeah. So I was talking with her, and then it just kinda hit me that the reason you going with Carlton hurt so much was because I like you, probably have liked you, for a long time, and then I saw you come out with him and you looked so happy and I got so mad because what do you mean some random guy gets to mess up your hair and make you so happy and I, who has known you forever, doesn’t even know what your hair feels like and-”
“Mike. Take a breath.”
Mike took a breath. Will stood across from him, arms crossed and chewing on his bottom lip. It was driving Mike crazy. Before Mike could start talking again, Will crossed to him and cupped Mike’s face in his hands, leaning their foreheads together.
“It’s okay, Mike.” Will’s hands slid into his hair, and Mike’s breath hitched. “Don’t be nervous. I feel the same.”
Mike met Will’s eyes. “How long?”
“Since we met, honestly.” Will laughed.
Mike buried his head in his hands. “Jesus, that must’ve been hell for you, man. I can’t believe I didn’t notice this until now.”
Will tilted his head back up with the tips of his fingers. “Well, wanna make up for lost time?” he asked, making unsubtle glances at Mike’s lips.
Mike didn’t even answer. He hopped off the sink and promptly brought their lips together, pushing Will back until he hit the wall. Will’s hands were fisted in Mike’s hair as he opened his mouth and licked into Mike’s lips, which parted under the slight touch, eliciting a gasp from Mike, who in turn raised his hands to card through Will’s hair. Mike sucked Will’s bottom lip into his mouth and bit it. Will pulled away. “Shit, sorry, did that hurt?”
Will’s breath was coming hard and fast, knees weak. “No, no, I was just… surprised. Please do it again?”
Mike obliged, Will’s hands coming down to his waist, thumbs digging into Mike’s hipbones and somehow pulling him even closer. Suddenly, Mike pulled back and looked at Will. His pupils had expanded so much that there was only a thin band of brown around them, and his lips were kiss-blushed, slightly parted.
Will tried to follow Mike’s lips, reaching up to catch his lips, but Mike’s lips were no longer there; instead, on Will’s jawline. Will’s breath caught, and his heartbeat pounded so loud in his ears that he could hardly hear the music outside any longer. Mike tongued around Will’s jaw and neck, never staying in one place for long, occasionally biting and immediately smoothing it over with a kiss. “Mike,” Will gasped. Mike kept at his work, licking and biting and kissing. Eventually, he found a spot right below Will’s ear and above his neck that made Will tilt his head back and suppress a moan, biting and sucking over and over again. “Mike,” Will whimpered, “you’re gonna give me a hickey!” Mike didn’t answer and just kept on going, Will’s hands finding their way again back to Mike’s hair and tangling themselves in it. Will felt as if his legs were going to give out. A few minutes later, Mike’s lips found their way back on Will’s. This time, it was Will who bit Mike’s lip, pushing him back until Mike again had to sit on the sink. Will stood between his legs, never breaking the kiss for a moment while unbuttoning the top few buttons of Mike’s shirt. He did the same thing Mike did, pulled back without warning and found a place right between Mike’s collarbones that made his hands tighten in Will's hair and his legs squeeze Will’s hips, breathing Will’s name over and over again.
“Will, oh my god, Will, Jesus, Will!”
Will didn’t stop, preferring to keep biting the same spot until Mike let out a keening sort of moan and dropped his head on top of Will’s.
“Will, please, just kiss me please,” Mike gasped, pulling at Will’s hair until Will finally detached from him. Will took a second to catch his breath, feeling an intense surge of pleasure when he saw just how undone he had made Mike,
When he brought their lips back together, there was less urgency than before. Mike kissed languidly, occasionally poking his tongue into Will’s mouth or bringing a kiss somewhere else on Will’s face. Will let Mike do what he wanted, simply enjoying the feeling of Mike’s fingers in his hair, running his hands up and down Mike’s body.
The boys jumped apart as banging came upon the bathroom door, accompanied by a girl’s voice screeching, “COME OUT, I NEED TO GO, UNLIKE YOU MOTHERFUCKERS JUST MAKING OUT!”
It suddenly dawned on the pair that making out was exactly what they had been doing.
“We should probably talk about this later,” said Will, re-buttoning Mike’s shirt and helping him down from the sink.
“Or, I could just stick my tongue down your throat again if you wanted,” commented Mike, leaning over Will and fixing his hair.
Will blushed. “Definitely, yes, please, but we should probably get out so this girl doesn’t shit her pants.”
The two snickered and unlocked the door, exiting out into the still-raging party. The girl rushed past them, not even sparing them a second look.
Mike and Will stood there, not exactly sure what they should do, hands intertwined.
“Just so you know, Carlton and I didn't do anything,” Will said, hands tightening around Mike’s larger ones. “He really was a gentleman about it, though. He asked me if I wanted to do anything, and I might've told him how I felt about you. We just talked about school and our plans for the summer, and then we messed up our hair so people wouldn't get suspicious.” Will smirked at Mike’s indignant gasp.
“You made me go through the worst eight minutes of my life since the Upside Down, dude. I hate you!” Mike frowned, exaggerating a pout.
“No, you don’t,” Will countered. “And don’t call me dude when your tongue was down my throat not even five minutes ago, Michael.”
Mike blushed. “Okay, Will. Anything for you.”
Now it was Will’s turn to blush.
“Wanna get out of here?”
“Yes, please!” Will answered.
The pair headed for the door, but before they could exit, the music cut out, replaced by Dustin’s very drunk voice in a megaphone.
“Hey, folks! Who’s ready to get this party started? When I say screw, you say conformity! SCREW”
“CONFORMITY!” the wasted crowd shouted back.
“SCREW!”
“CONFORMITY!”
“SCREW!”
“CONFORMITY!”
Will leaned over to Mike. “Aren't these people the same ones who were calling for Eddie’s death?”
“Yeah. Seems kind of hypocritical, if you ask me.” Mike shrugged. “At least Dustin’s having fun?”
Will laughed. “Hell yeah, he is. I wouldn’t be surprised if he started dancing on the table!”
The two boys followed Dustin’s voice to the dining room, where he was, in fact, on a table. At his feet, a surprisingly sober Lucas with a wasted Max hanging over his shoulder fiddled with a boombox and the familiar guitar of Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel” filled the room.
Dustin stomped and clapped, still chanting back and forth with the crowd. When the chorus hit, he started breakdancing. Will let out a shocked laugh.
Rebel rebel, you've torn your dress (Dustin did a floor rock).
Rebel rebel, your face is a mess (Dustin did a hand glide).
Rebel rebel, how could they know? (Dustin did the worm).
Hot tramp, I love you so (Dustin spun on his head).
At this point, the crowd around Dustin was going wild. Mike and Will allowed themselves to get swept up in it, cheering and laughing for their friend as he continued dancing, sometimes attempting to do the simpler moves themselves. The music faded out, the cassette flipped, and Dustin played air guitar to the beginning of “Heroes”. Mike drew Will closer by the waist, standing side by side, hips touching. Everyone was focused on Dustin, now on his knees, singing into an invisible microphone.
I, I could be king
And you, you could be queen
Will pressed a kiss to Mike’s temple. Carlton gave them a thumbs-up from across the room, waggling his eyebrows when Mike kissed Will’s temple in turn.
When the party started winding down, the group left, Lucas driving (he hadn’t drunk anything). Will fell asleep in the backseat, head resting on Mike’s collarbone, hand across his lap.
Mike sighed, hands stroking Will’s hair. The racing thoughts that had plagued him at the party ceded to reveal just one. I finally know what his hair feels like.