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There's a soft click of the door closing into place as Max sits against it, leaning her head between her knees. She's abandoned her now-empty red solo cup to the side of her on the bathroom floor.
“Are you regretting coming here yet, Wheeler?” Max asks, her words slurring a bit as she clenches her eyes to try and get away from the blinding overhead bathroom light.
Mike has his head resting on the edge of the bathtub, his face towards the ceiling as he watches the room spin around him.
“Yeah. You?” Mike responds, his mouth filling with saliva. It takes him less than three seconds to get his head over the toilet bowl before he's throwing up his stomach contents.
Max winces at the noise, then chuckles from between her knees. “I’m regretting it so fucking bad, dude.”
Mike pulls his head out of the ceramic bowl, wiping his mouth off on the sleeve of his polo shirt. He scoots back into his previous position beside the bathtub, watching as the room spins a little less harsh this time. It would feel rewarding had there not been the strong taste of bile and puke filling his senses.
“We should not have come here, we should've stayed playing your stupid campaign until morning.” Max mumbles. The bathrooms small enough that Mike can kick her foot in response.
“Hey. It wasn't stupid, we had fun.” Mike defends himself, pulling his eyes away from the ceiling to look at her.
Max raises her head at him. “Sorry.” She mumbles. “Lucas is going to kill us when he finds us.”
Mike closes his eyes, shaking his head at his lap. “You're safe, he cares about you. I think I’m the only one getting killed.”
“Nah, it was my idea to come here after we ate, I had to beg him to be our DD. He's killing you first, but I’ll be right after.” She laughs half-heartedly.
Mike laughs a bit, too, running a hand over his face. “Your boyfriend's going to kill us both. On graduation night. What a story for the presses.”
Max extends her legs outwards, copying Mike’s position. The room is so cramped that her right leg ends up half on top of his. “We should try to sober up a bit,” She slurs. “Ask me a question.”
“Like what?”
“Anything, just get me to answer sober-ly.”
Mike huffs a laugh through his nose. “Alright, fine. When was the last time you threw up?”
“In a potted plant five minutes ago.”
Mike winces. “Seriously? Gross.”
Max rolls her eyes. “You literally just finished puking. We are in a room thick with the stench of your vomit, you're in no place to judge.”
Mike reaches out to the toilet, this time remembering to flush away his stomach contents to try and help with the bathroom’s scent. “Fair enough.”
They take a second to let the noises of water and pipes die down, giving Max time to plan her question for him.
“Your turn, Wheeler. Who's your favourite of our friends? And you can't say me.” Max grins cockily.
“Wasn't going to.”
“Whatever, just answer.”
“Will.”
Max rolls her eyes. “Of course.” She mumbles.
“What? Who's your favourite?” Mike switches the topic.
“Lucas, obviously.”
Mike rolls his eyes now. “Of course you pick your boyfriend. Typical.” He smiles at her, trying to offset his sarcasm a bit.
“Of course you picked your boyfriend.” Max smiles back.
Mike’s smile drops. He can feel a look of disgust forming on his face, shaking his head. “What? What are you even saying, Max? You're not talking very sober anymore.” He says defensively.
Max rolls her eyes. Again. It's both of their go-to moves.
“Sorry. Forget I said anything.”
A dull ache forms in Mike’s chest. He shifts his body, moving his knees towards his chest, to try and shake the feeling. It doesn't work.
“What's your favourite memory of Hawkins?” Mike asks, going back to trying to sober her up.
Max chuckles. “There's, like, none of those.” She thinks for a second, picking at the threads of her jeans. “Probably the summer before freshman year. Before… Everything. When we'd just sneak into movies and piss off Steve. And I’d go to Hopper's cabin and play games with…” She trails off.
Mike swallows. “El?”
She nods. “Jane.” She corrects him. “We'd listen to music and have makeovers and drink soda, it was nice.”
The moods shifted to something a lot more solemn now, the silence between words filled with each of their memories of Jane.
“She really loved you, Max. You were such a good friend to her.”
“She loved you too, Mike. She loved you a lot, you were just an okay boyfriend to her.” Max tries to lighten the mood. Mike shuts his eyes tight rather than responding, the ache in his chest growing stronger.
The words ring between the two of them, something disgusting churning in his stomach. He dips his head between his knees, silently praying for the feeling the go away.
“You OD over there, Wheeler?” Max huffs a laugh, kicking him with the tip of her green Vans. Mike doesn’t say anything, just silently prays for his feelings to disappear.
“Mike?” She nudges him with the toe of her shoe again. “You okay?”
Mike sighs. “Yeah, it’s just... A lot.”
“Shit, I’m sorry for saying you were just an okay boyfriend. You were more than that, you were everything to her. She loved you. A lot.” Max apologizes, yet it only makes the sour taste in Mike’s mouth more prominent. He leaves her words in the air, going silent once again. “Did I lose you again Wheeler?”
“Not yet.” It’s barely audible coming from his mouth, more of a grumble if anything.
“What’s going on in that brain cell of yours?” She teases. Mike gives a sad smile to the floor.
Mike rubs a hand over his face, letting the ache beneath his ribs seep through his body. “I loved her. I really did...” He looks up at the ceiling again, feeling his eyes go glassy.
“Yeah, I know, even though you were a douche, she loved you too-”
“But it was too much.” Mike interrupts, glancing at Max from the corner of his eye. She cocks her head at him. “I was a total douchebag, and we were arguing all the time. Even when we weren’t, something just felt... Off. Like, no matter what was happening, something always felt not right. I really did love her, but I don’t know, there was always a piece of it that felt... Wrong.” He rubs his face again, sighing. “Fuck, I’m going to regret telling you this all tomorrow. But I’m hammered, so it’s a problem for tomorrow.”
“Are you even going to remember this tomorrow?” Max asks, a small smile coming through her voice.
Mike shakes his head. “No, probably not.”
Max stares ahead at him while he stares upwards, both silent once more. The room has stopped spinning, which Mike is grateful for. Max seems a little more sober, which is good. Yet there’s still an ache piercing through Mike’s body.
“... What felt wrong about it?” Max speaks up, quietly. Mike could ignore her if he wanted to, not let her words hold any weight since they were hardly audible.
He heaves. “I don’t know... It was just, like, not right. Like we would send letters and hug and kiss and hold hands and tell jokes, but it all felt... Not in a boyfriend/girlfriend way. It felt-”
“Going through the motions?” Max interrupts.
“Yeah, yeah. It felt like going through the motions of what I thought was what I was supposed to be doing. None of it felt like what I wanted to be doing.”
Max makes a noise of understanding. “What did you want to be doing?”
Mike thinks. “I don’t know, I guess anything else.” He smiles a bit, reminiscing. “I remember I would always be comparing it to Will. Like, he was my best friend. Anything we wanted to do, we would just... Do. I didn’t have to calculate if it was the right thing to do or not, if it was wrong or too much, I would just do it. It was all... So much easier with him.”
Max doesn’t say anything. Mike looks away from the ceiling towards her. “Max? You OD there?” He asks, repeating her question from earlier.
“No, no...” She pauses. “What do you like about Will?”
Mike thinks this is an odd question, but anything to help sober them both up, he supposes.
“Everything, I guess. His creativity, holy shit, he’s so creative. I never thought it was possible for someone to think like that, but here comes Will Byers, with so much creativity it practically spills out of him. And he’s so talented, too. Have you seen his artwork lately? I mean, it’s always been good, but it’s become next level. He showed me a painting he did the other day, I nearly cried over it. It was so insanely good, he knows how to capture light and shading in such an impressive way.” Mike’s rambling, but it’s helping to numb the pain in his torso, so he continues. “Just- The way he sees the world, it’s really quite incredible. Even after everything he’s ever gone through, he still sees beauty in everything. Even when I was a total dick to him in California, he was still so kind to me. Fuck, he’s so kind. There was this one time, when Will was still living with me- Dude, I miss when he lived with me- and Holly scraped her knee when she was playing in the street with her friends. She came back home, crying, a total mess, and Will immediately knew how to help her. He told her jokes and put cream on her knee, he put on her favourite cassette, made her pancakes, he just did everything. I should’ve felt like a total dud of a brother, because here’s my best friend, doing everything I wouldn’t have done for my little sister, but I didn’t. No, I just felt... I don’t even know how to describe it- Happy? Yeah, I don’t know, I guess...” He trails off, realizing how much he just said. Mike’s heart tugs at the memories.
“Mike... Do you... Like Will?” Max asks.
“’Course. He’s my best friend. That’s like if I asked if you like Lucas.”
Max pauses, shaking her head at the floor. “Obviously I like Lucas, he’s my boyfriend.”
“You said he was your favourite of our friends.”
“Yeah, because he is. He’s my friend, and he’s my boyfriend.”
Mike doesn’t understand what she’s saying. “Right... So...?”
“He’s my favourite because I like him.”
“Yeah, and Will’s my favourite because I like him. What even is your point?”
Max sighs, rolling her eyes. “You’re so fucking stupid...” She mumbles.
“Dude, what? I don’t even know what you’re trying to say-”
“Do you like Will?” She asks again. Mike still isn’t comprehending.
“Yes, I just said that. Seriously, Max, you’re being annoying-”
“No, Mike. Do you like Will?”
It hits him.
Full force.
What Max is saying.
What she’s asking.
“What the fuck, Max?! No!” He lashes at her. “No... I don’t- I don’t like him, he’s just my best friend...”
The ache returns, blooming throughout his entire body, reaching all the way to his fingertips and toes.
Max swallows. “Right, yeah... Sorry, I didn’t mean to- I wasn’t trying to say anything about you, I was just... Asking a question.”
Mike rolls his eyes. “Yeah, whatever, man. It’s fine. I like him, but as a friend. As my best friend.”
“You seem to like him a lot more than that.” Max says, purely honest.
Mike shakes his head at her. “But Will Byers is a boy...” He trails off, because it feels obvious. Obviously, Mike couldn’t like Will, because Will was a boy.
“Mike...” Max says to him.
He gulps, realizing.
Oh.
Oh.
“Oh...” He mumbles.
“Yeah...” Max replies.
“But... Will’s my best friend- And- And I can’t be like that-”
Max cuts him off. “It’s okay to be like that, Mike. I don’t know whatever bullshit propaganda Mr. Wheeler has pumped into your head, but it’s okay to be like that. It’s natural, it’s normal.”
It’s normal.
“Yeah...?” Mike asks.
“Yeah, Wheeler.” She smiles at him. “Plus, it seems like it comes perfectly naturally to the two of you.”
“It does not!” Mike tries to defend himself.
“Does too! Come on, I’ve seen you guys sing Tiffany together, it was some of the most natural, gayest shit I’ve ever seen.”
Mike’s jaw drops at her. “We were just singing! For fun! There was nothing gay about it!”
She’s smiling at him. “I think we’re alone now...” Max sings at him mockingly.
“Shut up! That is not what I sounded like!” He’s laughing, unable to control the freedom he feels right now. She’s laughing, too, in between lyrics.
“Children behaveeeee!” Max laughs. “That’s what they say...”
Mike can’t help but join in, both of them performing a mini concert on Stacey Albright’s bathroom floor.
It doesn’t take long for the singing to be replaced with laughter. Nothing feels serious anymore, just easy.
Max has made her way closer to Mike, doubled over with laughter in front of him. Mike assumes he looks similar to her, both feeling nothing heavy anymore. The ache has completely disappeared, and Mike wills for it to not come back.
There’s a sharp sound of the door opening, shutting Mike and Max both up. They look up to find Lucas, standing with his hands on his hips.
“I have been looking for you guys for forty-five minutes!” He all-but yells.
Max shares a look with Mike, a giggle teasing at her lips. Mike laughs first, bursting out onto the floor, soon to be followed by Max. It’s something neither of them can contain, it’s all just so... Easy.