Chapter Text
“Just forget it, Mike!” Will said, sounding extremely frustrated. “I’m going home…”
“Come on, Will…” Lucas said, wanting to stop him but putting in little effort.
Will stormed up the stairs, giving Lucas a gentle push out of his way.
Even in his anger, he didn’t want to hurt him, which didn’t go unnoticed.
Mike rushed to follow him up the stairs, chasing after him until he reached the porch where Will stood, staring at the rain, intending to leave.
“Will, come on, you can’t leave… it’s, uh, raining!” Mike said, trying to find any good excuse to make him stay. “Listen, I said I was sorry, alright? It’s a cool campaign—it’s really cool! We’re just not in the mood right now…”
“Yeah, Mike! That’s the problem. You guys are never in the mood anymore!” Will said, his tone getting progressively harsher. “You’re ruining our party!”
“T-That’s not true!” Mike shot back.
“Really? Where’s Dustin right now?”
Mike stared at the floor.
“See? You don’t know, and you don’t even care—and obviously he doesn’t either, a-and I don’t blame him!” Will said, stepping closer to Mike.
The rain poured down louder.
“You’re destroying everything, and for what?! So you can swap spit with some stupid girl,” Will said, his tone turning envious.
“El’s not stupid…” Mike said, but there wasn’t much meaning behind his words. “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!”
Will flinched, then looked up at Mike… something deeper was seemingly going on in Will’s mind.
Mike regretted his words the moment they left his lips.
“I’m not trying to be a jerk, okay?” Mike said, trying (and failing) to backtrack. “But we’re not kids anymore. I mean, what did you really think? That we were never going to get girlfriends? That we were just going to sit in my basement all day and play games for the rest of our lives?”
This only made Will feel worse.
Will’s eyes filled with tears. “Yeah… I guess I did,” he sniffled. “I really did…”
And just like that, he rode away.
But Mike wasn’t having that… he felt horrible, so instead of going inside, he ran and found his bike.
He got onto his bike and pedaled as fast as he could, getting soaked in the process, but that didn’t matter to him.
His mind and heart were racing as he rode, trying not to slip.
But something made him stop abruptly…
“Shit,” Mike mumbled.
Will had fallen off his bike.
He looked fine—though not hurt, just defeated. He sat on the ground, sobbing, soaked and dirty.
Mike’s heart ached knowing he had caused this.
“Will…” he said breathlessly as he ran over to him.
It was bucketing down at this point. Mike pushed his hair out of his face and sat down next to Will… right in the mud. Karma was getting to him already.
“What are you doing here, Mike?” Will asked, pulling his knees up to his chest.
“I-I’m sorry. What I said was messed up as hell,” Mike said.
He looked at Will… his knee was a bit scraped.
There was a puddle forming around them, so Mike scooped Will up—
—but in good old Mike fashion, he ended up slipping over backward and falling.
He wasn’t hurt… neither was Will, since he had landed on top of Mike, essentially pinning him to the ground.
Mike’s face flushed a deep shade of red, but for a moment, neither of them moved.
“It is your fault…” Will said, breaking down again.
“I know—w-wait, what is?” Mike asked, gazing into Will’s eyes.
“It’s your fault I don’t like girls,” Will said, wiping his eyes.
“Will… what does that mean?” Mike asked, his voice just below a whisper.
Will started sobbing again.
“It means I like you… a-and I’m so sorry ‘cause I know you love El, and I’m sorry! I’m sorry I turned out this way—I-I’m sorry I love you…” Will cried so hard it seemed like he could barely breathe.
Mike lay there staring at Will… and he felt something.
Something he had never felt for El.
He sat up and pulled Will into a hug. Will was shivering.
“There’s nothing wrong with you, Will,” Mike whispered.
Will sniffled, clutching onto Mike’s shirt.
Thunder rumbled in the distance, making Mike flinch slightly.
“Let’s go home, okay?” Mike said, helping Will to his feet.
Will nodded and grabbed his bike.
They both got onto their bikes and rode back to Mike’s house.
…
The house felt cozy and warm, smelling of fresh baked goods.
“Mom, I’m home!” Mike shouted.
“Oh, thank goodness! Where have you been?” Karen said, walking into the entryway.
Her face immediately fell.
“Lord, Mike, how long were you out there for?! And Will, are you alright?”
“It’s fine, Mom,” Mike said, holding Will close. “We’ll go upstairs to get dry.”
“Alright… but don’t be too long. Lucas has been waiting for you both, and I brought home some treats for you all,” Karen said, gesturing toward the kitchen.
“Alright, thanks, Mom,” Mike said, taking Will’s hand and leading him up the stairs.
They walked into Mike’s room and closed the door.
“You can borrow some of my clothes… I’m pretty sure they’ll fit you,” Mike said while digging through his closet.
“Mike… I’m really sorry,” Will said, his voice cracking on the last word.
“It’s okay… it’s okay.” Mike handed him some dry clothes. “You can leave your clothes on the bathroom floor. My mom will wash them. Once you’re done, you can sit in here and wait for me, okay?”
Will nodded and walked to the bathroom.
He slipped off his wet clothes and put on the dry clothes from Mike.
He stared at himself in the mirror.
“Disgusting…” he mumbled. “I-I’m fucking disgusting!” he said slightly louder, tears starting to fall once again.
He turned the sink on and splashed some water on his face.
Will opened the door and walked into Mike’s room, sitting down on the bed.
The sheets were so soft and warm.
Mike sat down next to him.
“Can I… dry your hair?” Mike asked softly.
“S-Sure,” Will mumbled.
Mike smiled and started running his hands through Will’s hair. It was really soft.
Then he took the towel and ran it up and down his hair a few times, drying it quite a bit.
He got up and grabbed his brush, and honestly, he was really enjoying taking care of Will like this.
He sat down on the bed and started gently brushing Will’s hair. He looks so cute… I just wanna kiss his face— Mike thought.
Then he frowned.
“Wait, why am I thinking these things…” Mike’s heart started racing, but he ignored it and finished brushing Will’s hair.
“Okay, I’m all done! Now let’s go downstairs. Poor Lucas must be bored out of his mind,” Mike said, taking Will’s hand again.
The two of them walked downstairs and into the kitchen.
“There you guys are!” Lucas said, standing up from the kitchen table.
He was holding a green crayon, and next to him was Holly, who was happily drawing away.
“Sorry we took so long,” Mike said, taking a seat.
“It’s fine. I was playing Nintendo, then Holly came in and asked me to draw with her, so I did that,” Lucas said, sitting back down.
…
El removed her blindfold.
“Sooo, what did you see? You were there for a pretty long time,” Max said, sounding slightly excited.
“Mike and Will were fighting, then laying in the rain…” El said simply.
“Huh? What were they fighting about?” Max asked.
“I don’t really remember, but Lucas was coloring with Holly,” El said, smiling a little.
“Aww, that’s so cute,” Max said, smiling as well. “How do you feel? Now that you’ve broken up with him, I mean.”
“Hmm… good!” El said.
…
The battle was over… the boxes were packed.
All that was left was to say goodbye.
Goodbye.
They all stood outside the Byers’ old house, crying and hugging.
El hugged everyone at least four times each.
She and Mike kissed, but… it looked cold.
And to Mike, it felt wrong.
Will had stayed inside, not ready to go.
“Mike? Could you go grab Will for me, please?” Joyce asked, wiping her eyes.
“Sure…” Mike said.
He walked up to the front door and opened it.
And there was Will…
Walking around one last time.
“Will…” Mike said, running over to him and embracing him tightly, finally letting his tears fall. “I don’t want you to leave…”
Will held Mike tightly.
His whole body was shaking as he sobbed.
“Shh, it’s okay… I’ll come visit, and you can come visit me too… I’m sure El would like that,” Will whispered reassuringly.
Mike looked at Will.
He gently pressed his lips against Will’s.
Mike pulled away. “I’ll miss you…”
“Me too…” Will said, his face flushed.
The two of them walked back outside, and soon after… Will was gone.
And suddenly…
Mike felt empty.
Yeah, he had the others, but Will was his person.
His best friend…
“What was I thinking?!” Mike thought as he lay in his bed that night. “Kissing Will just like that?? He probably hates me now.”
Mike forgot about that day in the rain…