Chapter Text
Wilhelmina “Wylla” Byers was so stupidly gorgeous. Not that Wylla was stupid! God, no! Mickie would never think that of her best friend. Wylla was one of the smartest people she knew, besides Dustin and Lucas, Wylla had some of the best grades in class! She was always the first to finish tests, but the last to turn them in to double-check her answers. She was also an incredibly talented artist, and Mickie never fails to tell her best friend when she gives Mickie another drawing of their D&D characters. Mickie adored the painting the other girl had gifted her, it was special to her because not only had her best friend painted it for her, but her awesome superhero boyfriend commissioned it!
It had been the push that had Mickie finally tell El she loves him. So of course that painting had brought her closer to the two people she loves most in the world.
Mickie was sure there'd never be anyone that loves Wylla more than Mickie herself, they'd known each other since kindergarten, and Wylla was so sweet and kind, so of course Mickie had to protect her.
Mickie was Wylla's Paladin and Wylla was Mickie's Cleric. Forever destined to protect each other. Which brings Michelle “Mickie” Wheeler back to her first thought.
Wylla was stupidly gorgeous.
The Party had been enjoying lunch together laughing and joking together, it was a good day for all of them. Lucas was feeling good because Max had squeezed his hand the other day and they're all hoping for good news soon. She was obviously going to wake up soon. Dustin was also having a good day, he was telling Wylla about one of Hellfire's campaigns.
Wylla was nodding along with a soft smile. Her hazel eyes crinkled up at the corners and her head tilted. Her straight hair is smooth and silky. Wylla had wanted to grow out her bangs once and Mickie had begged her not to because she thought they were cute. Wylla kept the bangs. Mickie wanted to run her hand through the soft tresses. Wylla was a perfect Cleric, but sometimes Mickie also imagined her as a beautiful princess. Wylla had the face for it: soft features, a refined, slightly curved nose, with pink pouty lips. Sometimes Mickie wrote about Michelle the Brave saving the beautiful and courageous Wilhelmina the Wise. Mickie loved how fitting Wylla's name was for their campaigns, she always begged Wylla to use her full name because it was so perfect.
Wylla would always roll her eyes and cave when Mickie pleaded with her. Wylla was a sucker for big sad eyes.
Mickie was jolted from her thoughts when a shadow fell over their table. Immediately the four of them tensed and, Mickie felt her face twist in a hateful sneer as she saw the telltale colors of their school varsity jacket. She dragged her eyes up to the intruder's face, and she gripped her fork tighter when she saw him.
“Hey, Byers! How's my favorite Zombie Girl?”
Mickie opens her mouth to give the jerk a piece of her mind when Wylla reaches over and sets a gentle hand on hers, the one that was wielding her deadly plastic fork. The brunette gives a slight head shake before giving Chance a nervous smile. Chance, who was leaning on their table and hovering over Wylla like some dirty, mangy, starved wolf eyeing the most perfect meal.
“Hi Chance, please don't call me that.” Wylla's voice is firm but not unkind. Mickie adores that about her friend, that no matter what Wylla has always continued to be kind.
Chance blinks, red tinging his cheeks as his grin slides off his face. Mickie feels a smugness and pride for her friend standing up for herself. She hopes this Neanderthal gets the hint and fucks off.
No such luck, she bemoans as the jock smiles again this time a bit sheepishly and raises a hand to rub the back of his head. “Right, I should have known you wouldn't like that. I'm sorry, Byers.”
Wylla shrugs, and takes her hand off of Mickie's to turn more in Chance's direction with her head tilted upward. The shift makes her hair fall behind her shoulders, revealing a mole on her neck that was previously hidden and places her more in the light shining through the window beside their table. She's bathed in honey-warm light, warming her skin and the green in her eyes pop below her bangs.
Chance swallows hard and Mickie's hand itches to carve his eyes out with her fork. How dare he? He's been one of their biggest tormentors for years, laughed along with Troy and his goons when Wylla went missing and people were saying a girl that wanted to be a boy deserved what happened to her. Assholes that didn't even know that the reason Wylla dressed like a boy was because she wore Jonathan's hand me downs. How dare Chance Lawson presume he could even breathe the same air as Mickie's best friend?
Wylla frowns and tilts her head. So adorable. She looked like a bunny. Mickie thinks.
“Chance? Did you need something?”
Chance seems to jump out of his–surely– perverted, disgusting creepy thoughts. He reddens even more and nods. “Yeah, sorry. I just,”
He grins down at the brunette, leaning in closer. “I can't seem to focus when I'm around you, Byers.”
“Then you should get lost.”
The whole table turns to Mickie, who glares up at Chance. Lucas elbows her, but Dustin nods, his own glare piercing. Mickie's tone is cutting.
“Before your idiocy rubs off on Wylla. That's her name by the way, she's not one of your stupid, meatheaded asshole friends with mushed peas for brains for you to be calling her Byers. Wylla is a girl and she's too nice to tell you to fuck off.”
Wylla's eyes widened. “Mickie!”
Chance's jaw clenched. Mickie gave him a smug smile. “See? She's not denying it.”
“Oh my god.” Wylla is mortified and she turns to Chance. “Ignore her. You can call me whatever, just not Zombie Girl. Please.”
Wylla is giving the taller girl an exasperated look and she misses the stupid lovestruck look on the face of the bane of Michelle Wheeler's existence.
“Then you'll let me call you mine?”
A hush falls over the table. Mickie wants to burst out in laughter at how absolutely corny that was, she starts to smile and about to rip into Chance when she notices Wylla's reaction. Wylla is staring up at the jock with wide, stunned eyes, pink cheeks and ears turning a shocking shade of red. Mickie feels a dreadful, sinking feeling at the sight. She can see Lucas and Dustin's own gobsmacked reactions at the horrible turn of events.
It's like Mickie is staring at a trainwreck in slow motion. She watches in horror as Wylla blinks at the boy in front of her before her head dips and a nervous giggle escapes the brunette. A giggle. Wylla pushes a lock of her silken hair behind her ear and looks up at Chance, the bastard is grinning wide in triumph at her sweet reaction. Mickie hates him.
“Yours? When have I ever been yours?”
Holy fucking shit. Wylla is flirting with this meathead? Michelle drags her eyes from the terrifying scene before her to see her best friends’ reaction to this, this bullshit. Bullshit!
Wylla is laughing and Chance is visibly charmed. Michelle can't blame him. Wylla has always been cute and gorgeous and Michelle wonders how someone could be so beautiful. Compared to Mickie's sharp features and tall, lanky, boyish body, Wylla was exactly the opposite, very feminine despite the boyish hand me downs from her brother, Wylla had developed in a way that Michelle was envious of. Sometimes Michelle stared at her best friend's body and felt something all consuming and hot.
“You could be. Mine. If you want me to be yours?”
Michelle wants to smack him with her tray. The only reason she hasn't is because of Lucas’ grip on her elbow keeping her in her seat. Mickie is seething, Chance is leaning closer and Wylla is still smiling, laughing as if their bully of all their lives is the funniest person in the world, apparently.
“Wylla, I uh, ever since you came back to Hawkins I thought you were the most beautiful girl. You're so pretty and your art is, um.” Chance starts babbling and Mickie can tell he's as stupid as he looks, Mickie rolls her eyes.
Please, as if Chance Lawson knew anything about Wylla's art. About Wylla.
“Your art is. I don't know. I'm not as smart as you and your nerd friends.” He chuckles and immediately the party frowns and Wylla's smile drops. “Sorry!” He waves his hands anxiously when he sees Wylla frown and start to turn away from him. “I'm sorry, for everything! I.. I know I've been an asshole and, well.”
Chance sighs and hangs his head as his shoulders drop in defeat. “I won't let Jason and the rest of them bother you guys anymore. I swear.”
Wylla looks back at the boy with surprise, her mouth making a small o, showing her two front teeth and Michelle warms at the sight. She's so cute, like a bunny.
Then what Chance says registered in Mickie's head and she scoffs. “Yeah right. You think we're stupid? Just the other day your friend shoved Dustin into the wall.”
Lucas and Dustin agreed. Dustin, sitting next to Wylla, puts an arm on her shoulder. Wylla frowns, looking at Chance.
“I'm not interested, Chance. If you really mean what you say then I appreciate it, but I don't want to date you.”
Mickie beams at her best friend, knocking their shoes together and Wylla smiles back at her before giving Chance an apologetic smile. Mickie gears up for whatever a jerk like Chance is gonna say or do, Mickie is willing to fist fight a boy for her best friend. She was taller than this fucking dickhead anyway.
However, Chance doesn't react the way they expect. He wilts and nods, “Yeah, okay. I expected this. Um. For what it's worth, I do mean it.” Chance smiles softly at Wylla, who is visibly nervous and feeling guilty about her rejection. Chance loses the confident tone and Wylla's eyes widen.
“I'll keep the team off your back. I, uh, also wanted to tell you that I really like everything you make in art class, Wylla.”
Wylla snaps her gaze to the boy again. Chance smiles. “I really connected with it. I think you're so amazing and your artwork is so full of love. I guess I wanted to feel what it's like to be so loved by Wylla Byers.”
Wylla flushes so red, Mickie fears she's gonna pass out. What the hell? What kind of art is Wylla making that this asshole feels a connection to?
Chance smiles sadly. “I'll see you in art class, Wylla.” He's finally turning to leave, hand running through his gelled hair as he mutters something to himself, something like “Stupid, so stupid, Lawson.”
Mickie snorts and is grinning at Wylla, Wylla who is staring at Chance's retreating body, her eyes wide and her breath quick, chest starting to rise and fall faster. “Forget him, Wylla! You don't want some dumb jock, you could do so much better– Wylla?”
Wylla had stood up from her chair, the loud scrape of it and the loud clang on the floor it made when it tipped over. The cafeteria hushed and eyes bore into Wylla Byers, the girl that died and came back. Normally Wylla would shrink under the weight of their gaze but Mickie saw a determined set of her shoulders, arms stiff and hands curled into fists as she surged forward and Mickie called out to her but Wylla ignored her.
“Chance!”
Mickie's jaw dropped and her hand, which was outstretched and had just missed her best friend's wrist, curled into Mickie's chest. The shock of Wylla's uninterest in Mickie in favor of Chance hurt more than Mickie could put into words. She watched as Chance turned in surprise only to be dragged by Wylla, snagging his wrist as she strut passed him and they disappeared from the Cafeteria. She reminded the party of Joyce dragging Hopper around, the comparison makes Mickie's teeth itch. Wylla glancing back at Mickie and mouthing, “I'll be fine. Stay.”
“What the fuck. What the fuck.”
Mickie slumped in her seat. Staring ahead at Wylla's empty chair. Lucas and Dustin exchanged glances before Lucas patted Mickie's shoulder. “Hey, Wylla will be fine. Chance seemed sincere.”
“Yeah. I mean.” Dustin groaned, his hand massaging his temple. “I never knew she had such awful taste in men. But, maybe that's why she's been single all this time… hasn't talked about crushes because.. god dammit.” Dustin can't even fathom their sweetest friend having a crush on one of their mortal enemies.
“I mean. Chance isn't the worst she could've had a crush on. He's not that bad.” Lucas sighs, shaking his head. Mickie makes a disgusted face.
“She's not into him.”
Lucas raised an eyebrow. “Right. Because her running to him, dramatically and whisking him away as soon as he backed off after claiming he wanted to feel loved by her was… what? She was obviously smitten.”
Mickie slams her palm on the table, eyes not leaving the doors her best friend disappeared through. “Wylla is way too good for some stupid jock!” She says jock like it's the worst word in all of the human languages. Something ugly and righteous burns through her, she's itching to follow after them and eavesdrop but she knows the guys wouldn't let her. They never understood the connection between Wylla and Mickie.
“Come on, Mickie. You weren't like this when Max and I started dating.”
Mickie scoffed, she crossed her arms and slumped back in the chair, her lips curling into a sneer. “Yeah, because Max can take care of herself, and you're not an asshole.”
Lucas gaped at Mickie before pretending to tear up. “That was the nicest thing you've ever said about us, wow.” Dustin snickered. “Wylla can take care of herself too. I mean, she's survived the Upside Down and being possessed. I think she can handle one guy that seems to like her.”
Mickie's grimace had her nose scrunched as she slowly turned to Dustin. She stared at him for a second before her eyebrows raised and she leaned forward, betrayed. “You're okay with this?”
Dustin held his hands up, in defense. “Hey, I'm just as upset as you. Trust me.” He sighs and his hands go down as his shoulders rise in a shrug. “But,” he drags the word out glancing at the empty seat next to him, that he had picked up after Wylla's dramatic exit. “This is Wylla we're talking about. If anyone deserves to have a shot at being happy it's her. Even if that means getting along with someone like Chance Lawson.”
“Never would have thought she'd like a guy like that. I would have figured she'd be into the more nerdy, artsy types.” Lucas reiterates his and Dustin's musings from earlier and Mickie feels hurt, suddenly. Wylla always told her everything. They were best friends, and Mickie told Wylla everything about her and El's relationship. Wylla could have opened up about her crush on Chance at any point, maybe then Mickie could have convinced her of what an awful guy Chance was.
“Why didn't she tell me?”
The two boys pick up on the hurt in their friend and fall silent. “Hey, maybe she was embarrassed? You know she's always been kind of quiet about stuff like this.”
“Yeah, Mickie. Not everyone falls into a perfect relationship with a super boy they just met.” Mickie frowns. “El is different. He's kind and gentle, never pushes me to do something, and he's a superhero. He's perfect.”
“El isn't perfect.” An amused voice says as she slides into her seat. Mickie jumps as she turns to glare at Wylla, whose cheeks are flushed the prettiest pink and she averts her gaze from Mickie's. “He snores, leaves his clothes on the bathroom floor and steals my flannels. Oh, and he always eats my left overs without asking and never leaves me any Eggos. He's just like any other boy.” Wylla laughs as she talks about her brother.
“Wylla! What the hell was that?” Mickie barks at her best friend, who shrinks a bit before a frown settles on her face. Wylla sits up straighter and crosses her arms.
“What, Michelle?” Mickie rears back at the sharp tone. “I talked to Chance. That's it. Am I allowed to do that? Or are you the only girl in the world that can fall in love?”
Mickie sputters, her eyes going wide and something heavy and awful sinking down to her stomach. “Love? Love?” She repeats the word as if trying to make it make sense. “You don't even know him! You don't know him!”
“Oh and you and El were practically born holding hands, were you?” Wylla snaps back. “Okay, love is a strong word. Sure.”
Wylla waves her hand. “I'm just getting to know him, is that better? I figured it's time. I mean,” She looks away from them in shame, “everyone else is dating, why can't I? Maybe it's time I give it a try?”
Mickie opens her mouth to argue that no, it's not better. Wylla doesn't need to date anybody because the Party adores her. When Lucas pinches her side and she yelps and glares at him. Lucas is the one to speak, instead.
“I get it, Wylla. Just know that if you're not ready to start a relationship then that's okay, too. We love and support you no matter what.” Dustin nods and pats Wylla's back as the girl beams at them.
“Thanks guys, I love you guys so much!” Her smile wanes and she shrugs. “What if Chance is my only shot? I figured it can't hurt.”
She looks down at her plate to open her milk and misses the incredulous looks all three give her. Silence falls between the four of them and Wylla glances up at them before freezing. “What? Why are you staring at me?”
Mickie shakes her head. “Wylla.”
Wylla sighs and tilts her head with her brows raised and pointed look. “What. Mickie.”
“Why would Chance be your only choice?” Mickie asks slowly. Wylla rolls her eyes. “Oh because the boys here are tripping over themselves for my hand.” The brunette says sarcastically. “Oh, Zombie Girl, how I've longed for your embrace! I especially enjoy the way you dress like an emaciated lumberjack!”
The boys laugh and Mickie cracks a smile but she can't help but give her friend a wandering glance. “Wylla, you're one of the prettiest girls in school. You're kind and sweet, you're graceful when you walk and talk.” Mickie turns red. “And when we're in our gym uniforms well, a lot of guys stare at you. Some of the girls talk about how they wish they looked like you when you're changing.”
Wylla's face burns red as she brings her hands to cover her face and Mickie glares at Lucas and Dustin when their eyes wander to Wylla's chest before quickly looking away in shame. Boys are gross. Mickie clears her throat and meets Wylla's gaze.
Wylla had big, curious eyes, easy to get lost in and framed by impossibly long lashes. Those eyes bore in Mickie, intense and assessing. Mickie felt her anger dissolve and she reached across the table to hold her best friend's hand. “Wyl. Fine. You want to give Chance a…” Mickie sighs.
The table snickers and Wylla covers her smile with her other hand.
“Give him an opportunity, for lack of a better word.” Mickie smiles when the other teens roll their eyes. “Then I'll– we'll have your back, Wylla.”
Wylla beams and squeezes Mickie's hand before pulling her hand away quickly, blush on her cheeks as she raises her eyebrows and her shoulders.
“I have a boyfriend!” She wiggles around and squeals. Lucas and Dustin celebrate with their friend and Mickie gives her a smile but she already feels like this will end poorly. Mickie will just wait and swoop in to help her friend when Chance inevitably fucks up.
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