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When Max Mayfield returned to the living room after pouring herself another drink and found no one but Mike Wheeler in the Party’s previous spot against the back wall, she debated ducking back into the kitchen. It wasn’t that she disliked Mike. He was her friend after all, yet there was still something about him that she couldn’t stand to be around for too long. It had gotten better after they killed Vecna, but Max still wasn’t too fond of interacting with him one-on-one.
“Where are the others?” Max asked. She had gotten a drink for Lucas, but since he wasn’t around, and Mike’s red Solo Cup was empty, she offered it to him instead.
“Thanks.” Mike took a heavy swig of the liquor and soda in the cup, unable to keep a straight face as it burned a path down his throat. “They’re over there.” Mike pointed to a place across the room where Lucas and Dustin stood to the side of Will who was talking to some guy that could have easily passed for Mike’s brother. Clearly, Will had a type.
“And you didn’t go with them?”
Mike shrugged. “Someone had to wait for you.”
“Bullshit.”
Even if someone had been elected to wait for Max, it never would have been Mike. Their friends knew that they were always a few seconds away from strangling each other, so if Mike had stayed behind that meant there was another reason. One that he wasn’t telling her. One that, maybe, he didn’t even know himself.
Mike sighed. He was still staring at Will even though Max now knew where he was. Max looked between the two of them. Will didn’t even seem to notice Mike, too caught up in laughter with the mystery guy. Lucas and Dustin were laughing too, clearly being their friend’s wingmen. Mike’s face was broken. Max knew that look too well. It was the same way she had felt when she was trapped in Vecna’s mind. When she had seen Lucas and felt his hand grabbing hers at the hospital. When he was so close to her yet so out of reach.
Max hated when Mike did this. Something that reminded her of herself. Sometimes she felt that they were too similar and maybe that’s why she didn’t like him. Maybe that’s why they always butted heads.
“What are you thinking, Wheeler?” Max leaned her head against the wall. Then, as to not ruin her reputation added, “probably not much.”
Mike rolled his eyes at her, another gesture that they had in common. “Ha. Ha.” He paused. “I’m thinking-” he looked down at his cup, “that I’ve never been this drunk before.”
Max nearly laughed. She knew that Mike didn’t go to a lot of parties, but she had drunk the same amount as him, if not more, and, while she could feel the alcohol in her system, she wasn’t drunk. Although, adding it all up in her head she realized just how much that amount was. Maybe she went to too many parties.
“Don’t act so surprised.” Mike’s speech was mumbled.
Max shook her head. “Sorry.”
“Do you ever- do you still think about El?”
The question caught Max off-guard, nearly causing her to choke on her drink. The world seemed to slow down at the mention of her dead best friend, the music slowly fading, until reality hit her like a freight train. “All the time.” Her voice was a whisper in the loud room.
Somehow Mike still heard her. “And you think she’s still out there?”
Max looked at the half-empty drink in her hand. As much as she pretended to believe that El was thriving somewhere, she couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that she was simply in denial about the whole situation. Besides, it had been years. Even if El was still alive, she wouldn’t be able to ever tell or see her friends. No matter what, they’d never interact with her again. However, she knew she couldn’t say that to Mike. He was already so fragile, so, instead, Max lied. “I believe.”
Mike’s mouth curled into a small smile. He looked at Max before looking back at Will. The longing had returned to his face. And Max could swear that, even though Will was on the other side of the room, Mike was staring at his lips.
Holy. Shit.
The puzzle pieces had connected inside Max’s mind. The way Mike stared at Will, the way Mike's voice softened whenever he spoke to him, the way Mike would always sit as close as physically possible to his best friend. At that moment, it was clear: Mike Wheeler was in love with Will Byers, and he didn’t even know it. Max could’ve screamed.
“What does he even see in him?”
“What?” How could he not know?
“I mean he’s not even like- hot.”
“You do know he looks just like you, right?”
“No he doesn’t.”
“Right because that guy definitely doesn’t look like he could be the fourth Wheeler sibling.”
“Shut up.” The words were slightly slurred.
Max smiled and took another sip of her drink. She wondered if Mike would remember any of the conversation in the morning. She saw an in.
“You know,” she started, preparing to test the waters. “The look you’re giving Will is the same one I gave Lucas.”
Now, Max was upplaying her drunkenness. She would never talk about that with Mike. Not unless the situation was life or death, or unless she was far from sober. She hoped Mike would pick up on that, otherwise she had just embarrassed herself for no reason.
“What look?” It was clear Mike was lying as he pulled his eyes away from Will and instead chose to have them land on Max. This didn’t last long as it didn’t take more than ten seconds for his eyes to drift back.
“That look.”
“I don’t understand.”
Max sighed and rolled her eyes. “Of course you don’t.”
Max expected some snarky response to come out of Mike’s mouth, but instead he had gone quiet and, even in the colorful lights of the party, Max could tell that his face had gone paper white. When she looked over to what Mike was viewing, she saw Will, still in the same spot he had been in for the last twenty or so minutes, but now, the mystery guy was pulling him in close and placing his lips on Will’s. Lucas and Dustin expressed shock for a moment before smiling and high fiving one another. When Max turned around to look at Mike, ready to say whatever came to mind, he was already walking away.
“Mike!” Max shoved through the crowd of people, determined to get to her friend. “Mike!”
She chased Mike all the way out the front door, and sat, or more so collapsed, against the porch’s wooden steps. Tears sprang from the corners of his eyes.
“Mike?” Max sat down beside him. She made a mental note to scold Lucas for leaving her alone with him and getting her into her current situation.
“I’m fine.” Mike went to take another sip of his drink, but, upon realizing it was empty, just sighed and set it beside him.
Max shook her head. “Look, I don’t know exactly what you’re going through. And I know I’m gonna regret this later, but you can talk to me, Mike.”
“You’re drunk.”
Max bit back the urge to clarify that she was, in fact, not drunk because if she said that, it would ruin her whole plan. Not wanting to be the only drunk one, Mike would sober up, not a lot, but just enough to close himself off to her. She couldn’t let that happen. Instead, she smiled, added some slurring to her words that she hoped didn’t sound too fake and responded, “so are you.”
Mike smiled. “I guess we have something in common.”
“Guess so.”
A silence passed between them.
Max was the first to break it. “What happened in there?”
“I don’t know,” Mike admitted. “I guess I’m just not used to seeing Will do… that.” He spit out the word like it was on fire and he was disgusted.
Max tried not to point out that Mike had done the same thing with El. Multiple times. But now wasn’t the time for that, or was it? “You’ve done it.”
“Not at a party!” Mike protested.
“Mike.” Max didn’t know how Mike’s tiny brain hadn’t yet connected the pieces together.
“What?”
“Why are you so upset about Will kissing that guy?”
“I’m not upset. I’m happy for him.”
“You don’t seem happy.”
“Well I am!”
Max raised her eyebrows at him, urging him to tell the truth.
Mike looked at the ground and sighed. “I want to be happy.”
“But?” Max couldn’t believe she actually wanted to hear Mike ramble. Much less could she believe that she was acting drunk on purpose.
“But I don’t know! I don’t know. It’s just- everything’s been so different. I thought college would be fun, you know? We’d finally be out of Hawkins. We’d finally be free of the Upside Down and the hive mind. But then I got here, and, well, it’s not like the movies.”
“I could’ve told you that.”
Mike looked at her with a broken expression.
“Not the time. Sorry.”
“I guess, I guess I just thought El would be here too. I never thought it would just be Will and I.”
“Is being with just Will a bad thing?”
“What? No.” Mike shook his head. “No. It’s just… complicated.”
“What’s complicated about it?” Max took another sip of her almost-empty drink. If she was going to act drunk, she might as well fully embrace the role.
Mike looked at the ground. “They’re just so alike, you know? Every time I look at Will, I feel like I’m looking at her.”
“Yeah.” Max had to admit that despite not being related, Will and El easily could have passed for twins. “Is that what’s bothering you?”
Mike shook his head. “It’s not just that.”
“Then what is it, Mike?”
“I don't want Will to talk to other guys. I want him to talk to me.” The words came out quietly. Quietly enough that Max almost didn’t hear.
Now they were getting somewhere. Max gestured for him to go on.
“I want him to look at me.”
“Because he’s your best friend?”
Mike seemed to think for a moment and then shook his head. “No.”
Max gulped the rest of her drink down. She wished she had more. She wasn’t drunk enough to deal with whatever the next words out of Mike’s mouth would be.
“It’s more than that.” It seemed Mike was finally realizing things for the first time. “And I think I’ve always felt this way, but there was El and, and she didn’t deserve the bullshit I put her through.”
“About time you’re admitting it.”
Mike nodded. “But I don’t know if I ever actually loved her. I mean of course I loved her! But I don’t know. I don’t think I loved her in the way I was supposed to. I tried, but every time I tried, my mind just came back to- to him.”
“To Will?”
Mike nodded. “But I don’t know why it kept coming back to him! I mean he’s my best friend, and he’s a boy.” He whispered the last word.
For one of the first times in her life, Max felt pity for her friend. “Mike.”
“What?”
“Mike.” This time, she spoke his name softer.
Finally, Mike looked at Max with wide and glossy eyes, a realization setting in, “holy shit.”
“Holy shit.”
“I’m so stupid! How could I not have realized?” The words were laced with tears. He hung his head, looking at the steps beneath him. He swallowed loudly, nerves disappearing down his throat. “And Will, this whole time- his Tammy, that wasn’t some random guy, that- that was me, wasn’t it?”
Max smiled. “Took you long enough.”
“Screw you, Mayfield.”
The joke had lifted the heavy mood, but Max knew her next words would throw them right back into it, “so what are you gonna do now?”
Mike’s shoulders deflated. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t?”
Mike shook his head.
“Do you love him?” Max’s voice was softer than usual and she almost didn’t recognize it as her own.
“Max-” Mike was still looking at the ground.
“Mike. Look, I can’t let you hurt another one of my best friends. I will kill you. Do you understand?”
Mike nodded.
“So? Do you love him?”
Mike finally looked at her, made eye contact, and slowly nodded. It was probably the most honest he had been all night. “Do you think it’s too late?”
Max looked towards the door to the house party and shrugged. “Maybe. But it’s worth a shot, right?”
Mike looked between Max and the door. “Yeah.” he decided, nodding. He started to get up but then sat back down.
“What?” Max looked him up and down, confused by why he had stopped.
“I can’t do this.” He dropped his head into his hands.
“Why not?” The phrase came out more demanding than Max had intended it to.
“Because I can’t just go into a crowded room and tell my best friend that I- you know.” Mike’s voice was weak and muffled by his hands.
“You told me.” Now, Max made sure her voice was softer.
“Because I’m drunk and you’re drunk.”
“Will’s drunk.”
Mike shook his head. “You already hate me.”
“I don’t hate you.”
“You don’t?” Mike lifted his face from his hands and looked at Max in a mix of shock and confusion.
Max shook her head. “Look, as much as you hurt El, and as much as I cannot and will not forget about that, in the end, she still loved you. And Will, as much as you hurt him, he still loves you. Honestly, you just,” Max hesitated, thinking if she really was drunk enough to say the next thing that was already starting to spill out of her mouth, “you remind me of myself.” She spoke the phrase as quietly as possible.
“Say that again?” Mike had a hint of a smirk on his face.
“In your dreams, Wheeler.”
“What am I supposed to say to him?” Mike changed the subject back. “And, does this- am I- am I gay?”
Max noticed Mike was on the verge of a panic attack. He was crying, more than she had seen him cry in recent times, and his eyes were darting from one thing to the next. His breath had turned heavy and he kept wiping the palms of his hands onto his black jeans.
“We can worry about that part later,” Max said, trying to get him to calm down. “Right now, just focus on Will.”
Mike nodded, but a few stray tears still hung in his eyes and on his face. “What would I even say?”
“Just tell him what you told me.”
“And what if I can’t?” Mike’s voice cracked on the last syllable.
Max sighed. She knew the only way to get into Mike’s head was to speak his language. “Pretend it’s a campaign. The paladin has to charm the cleric.”
Mike laughed. “You really are drunk.”
“You’re welcome. Do you want me to come with you?”
“Um,” Mike hesitated before accepting defeat, “yeah. Yeah I do.”
“Then let’s go.” Max grabbed Mike’s arm and began to drag him inside. It was one of the first times she had been so close to him, and, for some reason, be it the alcohol or the situation at hand, she didn’t think twice about it.
When they got back inside the house, it didn’t take long for them to spot Will. While Max had expected him to still be talking with the mystery guy, he was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Will was back in the group’s original corner, talking with Lucas and Dustin.
“There you are!” Lucas slurred his words as he put an arm around Max’s shoulders. He had a fresh drink in his hand.
“Where were you guys?” Dustin asked.
“Needed some fresh air,” Max replied. “I need another drink. You guys wanna come with?” Max looked between Lucas and Dustin, hoping they would get the hint.
“Yeah, sure.” Dustin’s tone of voice was higher than usual, suspicious.
“Okay, great.” Max nodded at Mike, giving him the signal. Mike shot back a silent thank you as she dragged Lucas and Dustin out of the room.
“What was that about?” Lucas asked when they got in the kitchen.
“I’ll tell you later. Like I said, right now, I need another drink.”
Max made sure to angle herself in such a way so that she had a view of Will and Mike from the kitchen. From where she was standing, she was unable to make out anything they were saying, but she could easily see their facial expressions. Mike’s face was flushed, a mix of nerves, drunkenness, and embarrassment all mixed into one bundle. However, there was also the presence of happiness and freedom on his face. It was clear that he was finally saying the words that he had wanted to say for so long, the ones he had kept buried deep within. The ones even his best friend didn’t know about.
And Will’s face was similar, except there was more joy buried underneath. Max knew Will had been waiting for that exact moment: the moment that he finally got the one thing he wanted. It was long overdue.
Will had told Max about his crush on Mike not long after the group had defeated Vecna. At the time, Max had still been in a wheelchair, going through extensive physical therapy and trying to relearn how to move. She and Will had gotten closer, both bonding over their experiences in The Upside Down and their grief over losing El. One night, when neither of them could sleep, Will blurted it out. He was in love with Mike Wheeler. He had always been in love with Mike Wheeler. Mike had never been his Tammy.
So as much as Max was hesitant about Mike getting with another one of her best friends, she couldn’t help but feel happy for Will. Even if she knew that Mike’s confession was less than grand and probably involved the slurring and stumbling of words.
“Here.” Lucas handed Max a drink, snapping her out of her staring daze.
“Thanks.”
“Did he finally realize?”
Max took a sip of her drink and nodded.
“And he’s actually doing something about it?”
“He’s drunk,” was all Max could think to say.
Max turned back to the scene playing out in front of her. It was hard to focus, with so many other things happening at once, but Max persisted. The gestures and glances between the two boys were subtle, so subtle that if Max didn’t know them, she wouldn’t expect that what was happening was a life-altering conversation. Not that she blamed them for that. She knew that Mike wouldn’t kiss Will in a crowded party, even if he wasn’t sober and no one was paying attention.
That didn’t stop them from moving closer together though. With every word spoken, they seemed to take another step forward, limbs accidentally and clumsily brushing together. It was like they craved each other’s comfort. Craved each other’s touch, yet they still had to wait to receive it.
And, with each sip of her drink, Max could feel her mind growing more fuzzy. She stopped caring about how Mike would treat Will and how difficult their relationship would be. She stopped caring about how they perceived her. Maybe that’s why, when Will took Mike’s hand and began to lead him outside, Max followed.
She didn’t actually follow them outside the door, but, instead, lingered beside it. There were tiny windows in the door. Too small for anyone who was simply glancing through to see anything, but large enough that Max, who was watching intensively, could see everything.
Mike’s mouth was moving a million miles a minute, hands gesturing wildly. Will was the opposite, however, simply standing still and smiling. Occasionally, he’d say something to Mike, place a hand on his shoulder. Eventually, though, it seemed that Will had gotten sick of Mike’s speech.
It happened fast. Will leaned his face in closer to Mike’s and put a hand on the back of his head, pulling him in closer. There seemed to be a bit of hesitation as both boys looked from each others’ eyes to each others’ lips, but it was only a matter of seconds before they came to an agreement. Will’s lips collided into Mike’s. It was slow at first, nothing more than a peck, but, as soon as they pulled away, there was a hunger in their eyes that Max had never seen before. It didn’t take long for their lips to meet again, the gentle kiss turning passionate and sloppy. Tongues in mouths and hands tangled in hair. They had completely let themselves be consumed by their hunger, practically devouring one another. They had waited a lifetime for the time to be right and, at that moment, they had decided to make up for all the lost time.
And, as much as Max knew it was wrong to be staring, she couldn’t look away. She felt triumphant in a way. She had finally knocked some sense into Mike Wheeler, and all it took was a few drinks and fake drunkenness.
When the boys finally broke apart, their lips were swollen and their cheeks were red. They were both panting, gasping for the air they had forgotten to breathe. But, above all, they were smiling. It was probably the biggest smile Max had seen on either of their faces since the fight with Vecna. Their hands reached to meet one another, fingers settling into the empty spaces between them.
They stayed like that for a bit, just standing and looking into each others’ eyes. They didn’t say anything, or at least Max didn’t see them say anything. It felt like the most romantic thing in the world.
As they walked back up the porch towards the door, their hands fell from each other and Max turned away. She heard the door open, but, by then, she was already halfway to the kitchen. She hoped Dustin and Lucas were still there. She would have to explain everything to them later, but, right then, it would be her, Mike, and Will’s little secret.