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“This is bullshit,” Mike yelled, slamming his hands against the table. The board shook from the aggression of his movement, figurines and dice falling to the ground.
“Dude,” Dustin yelled in protest, chasing after his D20.
“Calm down,” Lucas said, “It’s not that big a deal.”
“Bullshit,” Mike said again, his anger limiting his vocabulary.
“Mike,” Will tried, squeezing Mike’s arm. “It got me fair and square.”
“Not true,” Mike protested. “If Dustin had just made a better call-”
“This is not on me,” Dustin yelled, back turned and still looking for his dice. “Man I can’t see shit,” he mumbled.
“Yeah,” Mike agreed. “It’s Eddie’s evil sadistic fucking writing.”
Everyone turned to Eddie, expecting his typical loud, energetic reaction. No one ever shit-talked Eddie’s campaigns, not unless they wanted an ear-full. But Mike had been testy all day for some reason. And apparently Will’s character getting killed off was the final straw.
“Let’s wrap it up for today, guys,” Eddie said, surprisingly calm.
A groan of protest erupted in the room. But it was quickly snuffed out by the serious look on Eddie’s face.
“Come on guys,” Lucas said, “Steve should be outside anyway.”
Everyone started gathering their things. No one was talking, a thick awkwardness settling over the room.
“Can I talk to my Paladin for a second?” Eddie said. “Alone.”
A look of pure dread washed over Mike’s face. He nodded. “Okay,” he said quietly.
Will slung his backpack over his shoulder. “He probably just wants to make sure you’re okay,” he whispered, squeezing Mike’s arm again.
Mike shook him off and huffed. Will tried not to be offended as he walked out of the room, Dustin and Lucus in tow.
“What the hell is his problem?” Dustin asked as he pushed open the high school doors.
“Who knows,” Lucas replied. “He’s always been a whiny bitch.”
“Hey,” Will said, swatting at Lucas’ arm. “He’s our friend.”
“Well he needs to stop acting so moody. It’s like being friends with my sister.”
“Maybe it’s because we’re seniors now,” Dustin supplied, throwing open the door of Steve’s beamer.
“Seniors?” The voice from the driver’s seat said. “I thought you guys were like twelve.”
“Real funny, Steve,” Dustin said, dead-pan.
“Still can’t believe you little assholes are seniors now. You’re making me feel really old.”
“That’s because you are old,” Lucas joked.
“Will, can you smack him for me?” Steve asked.
Will laughed. “Sure thing,” he said, smacking Lucas upside the head.
“Oww,” Lucas squeaked.
“That’s why you’re my favorite, Will,” Steve laughed.
“Okay, okay, we get it, you like Will the most. Can we go home now?”
“What about Wheeler?” Steve asked.
“Eddie wanted to have a talk,” Lucas said.
“Mike’s in trouble,” Dustin said, like a middle school boy.
“Shouldn’t we still give him a ride back?”
“Nah,” Lucas said, brushing it off with the flick of his hand. “Eddie can give him a ride home. He might be pissed at him, but he’d never leave him stranded.”
“Okay, whatever,” Steve said, pulling out of the parking lot without any more protest. “A night without Mike Wheeler in my car is a pretty good night, if I say so myself.”
Will chuckled under his breath. It wasn’t a secret that Mike wasn’t Steve’s biggest fan. It had been almost four years since Steve and Nancy broke up, but Mike still seemed to hold a little grudge.
“I gotta drop off Byers last by the way,” Steve said, making eye contact with Will through the rearview mirror.
“What, why?” Dustin asked, sounding offended.
“I just gotta run an idea by Jonathan, dude,” Steve said. “Don’t get your panties in a twist.”
“Eww,” Dustin groaned, “don’t say panties.”
Will laughed as Steve and Dustin began to bicker.
—
“What is this about?” Mike asked, crossing his arms.
“Hey,” Eddie replied, “how about you show some respect for your elders. I graduated two years ago, but I still drag my ass back to this hellhole for your sorry asses.”
“My mom just doesn't want you in the basement,” Mike shrugged. He did feel bad about it. Eddie was innocent and everybody knew it, but his mom was still worried about Eddie hanging around.
“Yeah, yeah,” Eddie said, “your mom doesn’t want some 22 year old child-killing drug dealer hanging out with her precious little angel. That’s not what this is about. This is about your attitude the past couple weeks. Ever since you little kiddies started senior year, you’ve been biting everyone’s heads off. It your time of the month, Wheeler?”
“You shouldn’t make jokes like that,” Mike said. “Nancy says it's derogatory towards women.”
“Okay, sorry, didn’t realize you were a feminist now,” Eddie said, raising his hands in surrender. “You gonna answer my question?”
Mike didn’t know what to say. He knew he’d been acting extra irritated lately, but he didn’t know why. Everyone and everything was pissing him off. Wasn’t that answer enough?
“I don’t know,” he said.
“Wow, Wheeler,” Eddie said, voice dripping with sarcasm, “your knowledge of the English language continues to amaze me.”
Mike huffed. “I don’t know what you want from me, man.”
“I’m not your mom or your psychiatrist, you don’t have to tell me shit, I just want to know if you’re okay. I survived the end of the world with you kid, so I do actually care about you.”
“Thanks,” Mike said. “I’m sorry. I don’t really know what’s going on.”
“Hey, man, you’re a teenager. Your hormones are all over the place. I was the same when I was your age.”
Mike wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Please don’t talk about my hormones.”
“Point being,” Eddie said, ignoring Mike’s visible cringe, “It’s understandable if you’re a little cranky, but keep it out of the sessions. Go push one of those meathead jocks into a locker for me or something.”
“I don’t think that’s a great idea,” Mike retorted.
“Yeah, probably not,” Eddie agreed, “that always got me pushed into the lockers more.”
“Listen,” Mike said, backing up towards the door. “I gotta go. Everyone is probably waiting on me.”
“I can give you a ride,” Eddie said. “Here, help me put the chairs away.”
Mike sighed.
“Respect your elders, Wheeler. Respect your elders. Help an old man out.”
Mike laughed. “You’re 22.”
“Practically got one foot in the grave,” Eddie quipped back.
They fell into silence as they stacked the chairs in the corner of the auditorium.
“So,” Eddie drawled, “you got pretty mad when Byers died today. There a reason for that?”
Mike felt his back go rigid. “What?” he asked. “No, why would there be?”
He didn’t know why he responded like that. Will was his friend, of course he was upset on his behalf. Will was the best DnD player he knew, besides Eddie. And he had just as much passion as Eddie too, if not more. If anyone deserved to make it to the end of a campaign, it was Will.
“Right,” Eddie said, moving to grab the last chair. “Listen, I’m gonna tell you something because you’re my friend, Wheeler, and I trust you. Don’t take it as anything more than that, okay?”
Mike was confused, but nodded anyway. “Okay,” he said.
“So,” Eddie started, suddenly looking nervous, “you know Steve, right?”
Mike stared at him for a second before responding. “Yeah,” he said, “I know Steve.”
“Well, me and Steve are really close, you know?”
“You guys are friends?” Mike asked.
“Yeah,” Eddie nodded, “a little more than just friends.”
Mike thought for a second. “Best friends? I thought that was Dustin.”
Eddie stared at him like he had grown an extra head. “Umm, not exactly,” Eddie said. “He’s more than that, you know?”
Mike thought about it for a second. He never really saw Steve and Eddie interact. He couldn’t comprehend the two of them being friends, let alone “more than that”, whatever that meant. Eddie was so cool, and Steve was just some washed-up jock; they were complete opposites.
“I can see your gears turning, Wheeler,” Eddie said, poking him in the middle of his forehead.
Mike swatted Eddie’s hand away. “Stop, dude,” he whined. “What are you trying to say?”
Eddie groaned, running his hands through his hair. “God, Wheeler, you really can be dense sometimes. I thought you kids were supposed to be smart. I’m coming out to you, man! Me and Steve are together. We. Are. Queers.”
Mike’s brain screeched to a halt. What?
There were a million things running through his brain. Why hadn’t Eddie said anything about being gay? How long had they been together? Since when was Steve gay?
“Steve’s gay?” He asked, that being the thing that stuck out to him the most for some reason. Steve had dated the entire female population of Hawkins; he couldn’t be gay.
Eddie laughed. “I just told you that I’m dating the ex-King of Hawkins, and all you can say is ‘Steve’s gay?’” Eddie dead-panned.
“It’s a valid question,” Mike responded. “He’s dated like every girl in Hawkins.”
“He hasn’t dated every girl,” Eddie said defensively, crossing his arms. “Besides, that’s not the point. He likes girls, yes, but more importantly, he likes me. For some reason.”
“So is he gay now or…” Mike trailed off.
“No,” Eddie said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Not fully, you know. He’s liked girls in the past, but now he’s with me. He might like another girl in the future, but not if I have anything to say about it. I reeled him in with my charms,” he said, raising his eyebrows.
“Eww,” Mike said. “What charms?”
“Not! The! Point! Wheeler!” Eddie yelled. “Me and Steve are gay for each other. How does that make you feel?”
Mike cringed. “Good for you, I guess?”
“So you’re okay with gay people?” Eddie asked.
“Of course I am!” Mike exclaimed. “Will is gay.”
“No other reason?”
Mike felt defensive all of a sudden. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh, nothing,” Eddie said. “Just wanted to get that off my chest. Carrying around a secret like that is a lot, you know?”
“Yeah, I know,” Mike agreed. “I’ve talked to Will about it. I hate that he felt like he had to keep that part of himself a secret for so long, like I would hate him or something. He’s my best friend.”
Eddie nodded. “Sometimes even when we know that someone will accept us, it’s still hard to say it. There’s always that part of you that thinks they won’t look at you the same. Maybe he was just worried that things would change. You guys mean so much to each other, and losing a best friend because of something you can’t control, well, it’s gotta be one of the worst feelings in the world.”
“Yeah,” Mike said, not knowing what else to say.
“But you know,” Eddie continued, “even though I was worried about confessing to Steve, it was like there was a little part of my brain that knew it would work out. I’m usually pro running, but Steve was something I was willing to stand and fight for, as cheesy as that sounds.”
Mike smiled. “Yeah,” he agreed, “that’s pretty fucking cheesy.”
Eddie laughed. “Yeah, well, someday there will be somebody that makes you want to be pretty fucking cheesy.”
He should have thought about El at that moment, but he didn’t. They’d been broken up for a while now, and some part of him thought he’d never truly get over her, but he found that he loved being her friend. Having the whole group together for senior year was all he could ever want.
Instead, his brain flooded with images of Will. His best friend’s smile, his laugh, the way the skin between his eyebrows wrinkled when Mike was being an idiot.
“What’s going on in that head of yours, Wheeler?” Eddie asked.
Mike blushed. “N-nothing,” he sputtered. “Can you just take me home?”
Eddie chuckled. “Sure thing. Let’s blow this popsicle stand, little Wheeler.”
Mike scoffed. “I’m almost 18,” he said. “And I’m taller than you.”
“Still little,” Eddie shot back.
—
After dropping off Dustin, Will moved to the front seat.
“So, little Byers, how’s it going?” Steve asked.
Awkwardness filled the car.
“Good, I guess,” Will replied. “And you?”
Steve nodded one too many times before responding. “Good, good,” he said. “I made a reservation for me and Eddie at this Italian place a couple towns over. I was gonna do Enzo's because, you know, it’s Enzo's, but I just thought we’d play it safe and go somewhere we couldn’t be recognized.”
Will felt like the world had come to a screeching halt. What the hell was Steve talking about? And why was he telling Will this? Will could count the number of one-on-one conversations he’d had with Steve on one hand, now he was getting the guy’s whole life story?
“I’m sorry, what?” Will asked, jaw practically on the floor. “I’m confused. Are you and Eddie going on a date?”
Steve nodded. “Yeah,” he said, like it was the most casual thing in the world, “next Friday is our one year.”
“One year!” Will exclaimed, a little too loud.
Steve swerved a little. “Jesus, dude, warn me before you yell next time!”
“Sorry,” Will laughed, “I think I’m just surprised. Has Hell frozen over? Are pigs flying? What the heck is happening right now?”
“Eddie told me to ‘be subtle’ and have lots of ‘build up’,” Steve said, putting the words in air quotes, “so as not to send your gay heart into overdrive, but I don’t see the point in beating around the bush.” Will gave him a weird look at that. “His words, not mine,” Steve said quickly.
“You and Eddie discussed coming out to me? Why?”
Steve shrugged. “We just thought maybe it would be good for you to hear it, you know?”
Will nodded. “Yeah, totally. I can’t believe you’ve been keeping it a secret this long. Wait, are you gay?”
Steve chuckled. “Kind of,” he said, tilting his hand in a “so-so” gesture. “I still like girls, I mean, obviously none right now, I’m with Eddie, but you know what I mean. Boobs are awesome, but so is d-”
“Okay,” Will said, loud on purpose this time, “I think I get it.”
“Point is,” Steve continued, “is that Eddie thought it would be nice for you to know about other queer couples. I know you keep in touch with Robin, but she’s at school now, and me and Eddie are always around, so you know, there’s that.”
“That’s nice of you guys,” Will said. “Thanks.”
“Yeah, no problem,” Steve said. “Maybe after this Mike will finally pull his head out of this ass and confess.”
If Will had water he would have spit it all over Steve’s fancy dashboard. “What?” Will asked. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. It’s not like that with Mike. I mean, he’s straight. As straight as the day is long. He’s as straight as,” Will looked over at Steve, his face falling, “you.”
Steve laughed. “Was I your judge of male straightness?"
“Maybe!” Will exclaimed. “I mean, you dated like every girl in Hawkins.”
“Okay,” Steve said, sounding a little defensive. “I did not date every girl in Hawkins.”
“You know what I mean,” Will replied.
“Eddie and Robin tell me we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. I mean, look at me. Everyone assumes I’m some dumb, straight jock, but I’m actually a dumb, bisexual jock.”
“You’re not a dumb jock, Steve,” Will said.
Now it was Steve’s turn to give Will a look. Will chuckled. “Okay, maybe only a little,” he said, “but you’ve redeemed yourself. I don’t even want to know how much money you’ve spent on gas driving us all around.”
“Aww, don’t worry about it kid,” Steve said, “it’s not like I have anything else going on.”
Steve pulled into the Byer’s driveway and put the car into park.
“So what did you need to talk to my brother about?” Will asked.
“Oh,” Steve said, like he’d forgotten. “I lied about that. I just wanted to talk to you alone.”
Will chuckled. “Thanks for the ride, Steve,” he said, opening the car door.
“Hey, Will?” Steve asked.
Will turned around. “Yeah?”
“If you like the guy, you should tell him. I know it can be scary, but you gotta trust me when I say it’ll work out. Eddie confessed his feelings to apparently the straightest guy in Hawkins, and look how that worked out.”
Will nodded. “Thanks, Steve. Get home safe.”
Will watched Steve’s beamer disappear down the street and tried not to think about his best friend’s eyes and soft hair.
—
When Mike’s alarm went off the next morning he had to stop himself from throwing it out the window. He hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep, too busy totally not thinking about a brown-eyed boy.
It was like Eddie had planted a seed in his head that had grown into a weed overnight. Why would Eddie tell him all those things? Did he think that he had a crush on Will? Did he think that Will had a crush on him?
Mike liked girls. He’d been in love with El, or at least he thought he’d been in love with her. So why was he thinking about Will?
“Mike,” his mom yelled from downstairs. “Lucas is here.”
Mike groaned into his pillow.
“Mike,” his mom yelled again.
“I know,” Mike yelled back. “I’m almost ready.”
Lucas was tapping the steering wheel impatiently when Mike threw himself into his car.
“We’re gonna be late, dude,” he complained.
“Oh, whatever,” Mike said, “it’s just Mrs. Click’s class.”
“I should make your ass walk,” Lucas mumbled.
“If you miss curfew one more time we’re both gonna be taking the bus,” Mike snarked.
“You better not,” Erica chimed in from the back seat. “I do not want to be stuck with the gross sixth graders. Those boys have yet to discover deodorant.”
“Y'all have a lot of comments for people who don’t know how to drive,” Lucas snapped back.
“I’m fourteen,” Erica said at the same time as Mike’s “I’m working on it!”
Lucas pulled into the school parking lot. As soon as he came to a stop, Erika threw open the car door like she couldn’t get away fast enough and ran over to her own group of friends.
“What did Eddie want yesterday?” Lucas asked.
“Don’t worry about it. It was nothing,” Mike said, walking faster. The bell rang as they entered the school.
“Come on,” Lucas said, starting to jog. “If I get another detention my mom is gonna kill me.”
“Yeah,” Mike said, refusing to run. “Wouldn’t want you to get kicked off the basketball team,” he yelled as Lucas disappeared down the hallway.
He passed Will’s homeroom on his way to Mrs. Click’s classroom. He glanced into the room, seeing Will diligently taking notes. He liked the way Will would bite the inside of his cheek when he was concentrating. It’s cute, his brain supplied against his will.
Mike shook his head and hurried down the hall.
“Nice of you to join us, Mr. Wheeler,” Mrs. Click said. “You can join Mr. Sinclair after school today in detention. I hear you’ll be cleaning under the bleachers today.”
Evil woman, Mike thought as he slid into his seat.
He couldn’t pay attention in any of his classes, too busy reminding himself not to think about Will and Eddie and half-gay Steve fucking Harrington.
It wasn’t until a grape hit him directly between the eyes that he checked back into reality.
“What the hell,” he groaned, rubbing the spot.
“You’ve had your damn head in the clouds all day,” Dustin said, pointing an accusatory finger Mike’s way across the lunch table. “We’re trying to talk strategy for Eddie’s campaign.”
“I don’t really care about the campaign,” he lied.
“Oh please, that’s a load of bull,” Dustin shot back. “You’re just upset that Eddie called you out. What did he say to you anyway?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Mike snapped.
“Oh-kay,” Dustin said, hands up in surrender.
“Who shit in your cheerios?” Max asked as she sat down next to Lucas.
“Oh my god, nothing,” he said, a little too loud. “I’m gonna eat outside.”
He grabbed his packed lunch and walked off.
——
“Seriously, what’s his problem?” Dustin asked, looking at Will.
“Why are you asking me?” Will asked.
“Because he actually tells you things.”
Will laughed. “Mike doesn’t tell anyone anything,” he retorted.
“Joyce says not talking about your feelings is bad,” El supplied.
“Yeah,” Max agreed. “But do we really want to hear about Mike’s feelings?”
“True,” Lucas said.
“Point being,” Dustin continued, “is that he’s acting like a moody teenager and it’s totally ruining sessions.”
“Aren’t we all moody teenagers?” Max asked.
“Not me,” Lucas said, sticking a thumb into his chest, “I’m a total sweetheart.”
“Your mom has lied to you,” Max said, deadpan.
“Will, go talk to him,” Dustin commanded.
“Maybe we should just leave him be,” Will suggested.
“No way,” Dustin said. “If we’re gonna get through senior year I need him to get his shit together.”
Will sighed. “Fine.”
Mike was sitting on the bleachers by the baseball field, angrily chewing on the carrot sticks Will knew his mom packed for him.
“Hey,” Will said, “this seat taken?” he asked, gesturing to the empty space beside Mike.
“For you, no,” Mike said, and Will pretended that didn't make his heart flutter a bit.
“Are you okay?” Will asked, sitting down next to Mike.
“Don’t you want to know what Eddie said to me?”
“I kind of have an idea actually.”
Mike raised his eyebrows at him. “What?”
“Let’s just say I had a very interesting conversation with Steve.”
“That’s unfortunate,” Mike mumbled.
“Stop it,” Will chuckled, knocking his shoulder against Mike’s. “It was actually really nice.”
“Up until yesterday I couldn’t possibly comprehend Steve Harrington having anything good or relevant to say, but I guess I was wrong about him in a lot of ways,” Mike said.
“You know,” Will said, “now that it’s been pointed out to me, I can see it. They’re cute together, him and Eddie.”
“Oh, eww,” Mike said.
Will tried not to show the hurt on his face. Clearly he did a terrible job because something like regret flashed over Mike’s face, and he flailed his arms.
“Not like that,” he replied quickly. “I don’t have a problem with it. You know that. It’s just, Eddie and Steve are like annoying big brothers, you know? I don’t like thinking about them being all mushy and loving and shit.”
“It’s like seeing your mom and dad kiss,” Will laughed, relief washing over him.
Mike laughed too. “Yeah,” he nodded, “exactly.”
They lapsed into silence for a second before Mike spoke again.
“Eddie told me that he was scared to confess to Steve. He was worried that he would say it out loud and everything would change, that Steve wouldn't feel the same and never see him the same way.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty scary,” Will added. “He could have lost one of his best friends.”
“But he didn’t,” Mike supplied. “He said he knew it would all work out. I just don’t know how he could be so confident that it would all be okay.”
“It’s hard, being brave.”
“You’re brave,” Mike said, turning to face Will. He had a serious look in his eyes. “You’re brave every day. Brave enough to be yourself in this brainwashed shit-stain of a town.”
“Wow, quite the vocabulary you got there,” Will chucked. “Thanks, though, that means a lot.”
Mike turned to look out at the field. “Yeah, no problem,” he said quietly.
Will didn’t know what to say. He didn’t usually feel out of his element when talking to Mike; their conversations were easy and natural most of the time. Existing around Mike felt like breathing: he didn’t need to think about it, it just happened.
“Hey, umm-”
“Mike-”
They both chuckled awkwardly. Will ran his hand through his hair. “You can go,” he said.
“Okay,” Mike said, clearing his throat. “I don’t actually know what I was gonna say. I guess I’ve just been thinking about what Eddie said a lot. About Steve being worth risking the friendship for.”
Will could only nod. He tried keeping his expression neutral. It would be a lie to say that the little spark he’d shoved into the darkest recesses of his heart wasn’t trying to burn brighter. He’d had a crush on Mike since what felt like forever, but at some point he accepted it would never happen.
Now Mike was talking about confessing feelings to a friend. Will’s traitorous heart was jumping to conclusions.
“Uh huh,” Will said, not knowing how to respond.
“God,” Mike groaned, hiding his face in his hands. “Sorry, I don’t know why I’m so frustrated. Maybe everyone is right. I am just ruining everything.”
“That’s not true,” Will replied immediately. “You’re our friend and everyone cares about you. They just want to make sure you’re okay. You can tell me if something is wrong.”
Mike emerged from between his hands, looking over at Will. “You’re amazing,” he said. “I don’t deserve you.”
Will felt a mortifying blush form on his cheeks. He hoped Mike couldn’t see it. “Now that’s not true,” he replied, hiding his embarrassment behind a chuckle. “You’re a great friend.”
“Just a great friend?” Mike asked. Then his eyes went wide as saucers. He cleared his throat loudly before saying, “Sorry, I don’t know why I said that.”
“Steve told me something too,” Will began before he could stop himself. “He told me I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. People can surprise you. I made assumptions about him that turned out to be wrong. Maybe we all need to stop making assumptions about who people are and how they feel, and instead just let that person tell us when they’re ready.”
Mike was looking down at his lap, playing with his long fingers. “That’s pretty wise,” he said.
Will chuckled. “They don’t call me Will the Wise for nothing.”
Mike laughed, really laughed. The kind of laugh that made the skin around his eyes wrinkle. He’s beautiful, Will thought. And for the first time in a long time, he didn’t make himself stomp that feeling out; he let it sit in his chest and make him feel warm.
“Am I included in this ‘not making assumptions’ thing?” Mike asked.
“Of course,” Wil replied. “But what am I not assuming?”
He could see the inner turmoil on Mike’s face; the words trying to bubble to the surface and him actively shoving them back down.
Mike wiped his hands down his pants and sighed.
“Sorry,” he said after a minute of silence, “this is like the world’s worst confession.”
Will felt his breath catch in his throat. He felt like he needed to pinch himself, because no way was this actually happening to him. Good things didn’t happen to him. The past five years had taught him that.
“I think you’re doing a great job, actually,” he joked.
Mike chuckled. “I’d kiss you if we weren’t at the fucking high school right now,” he said.
“Yeah,” Will said, remembering where they were. It felt like they were in their own little world sometimes, but reality always had a way of reminding him that he wasn’t completely safe.
But more important than that, his brain was having a hard time comprehending the fact that Mike Wheeler just said he wanted to kiss him.
He looked around the field, his eyes landing on the dugout. “Come on,” he said, grabbing Mike’s hand and dragging him towards it.
“What are we doing?” Mike asked dumbly.
“Just trust me,” Will replied.
The cover of the dugout was as private as it was going to get at school. And with lunch period still going on, they were the only two near the field.
Mike looked around with a hint of disgust. “Not exactly romantic,” he said.
“I don't think we can afford to be picky right now. Unless you want to wait?” Will teased.
“Oh, to hell with that,” Mike said, like the suggestion was the most absurd thing in the world.
Before Will had a chance to reply, Mike was cupping his cheeks in both hands and leaning in. Mike’s lips were surprisingly soft. And Will was inclined to think that Mike’s lips were made just to slot between his.
When he pulled back, the expression on Mike’s face was one he’d only ever seen directed at someone else. Now Will was getting the full attention of Mike’s soft smile and gentle eyes, and he didn’t know what to do.
“I’m scared of losing you,” Mike said.
Will was thrown off for a second, still reeling from his very good first kiss with his childhood best friend-turned life long crush.
“What?”
“The reason I've been acting so off lately. Everyone has started talking about college and the future, and it’s making me realize I’m not ready for things to change. I want us all to stay here and-”
“Play DnD in your basement?” Will supplied.
Mike chuckled lightly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I guess so.”
“Mike, it’s going to be okay. Even if we all end up in different places, nothing is going to change. We’ll all still be friends.”
“But things are going to change,” Mike said, beginning to pace back and forth. “After this year, nothing is going to be the same. And we can lie to ourselves and say it’s going to all be fine, but we don’t know that for sure.”
“Hey,” Will said, stepping forward to grab Mike’s face between his palms. He was still getting used to the fact that he could do that now. “I promise nothing is going to change between us. Especially now. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
Mike sighed, visibly relaxing into Will’s hold. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll try not to think about it.”
“Good,” Will said, leaning in to peck Mike on the lips. “We’ll just have to make the most of this year. How’s that sound?”
A huge smile grew across Mike’s face. “Pretty good. That sounds pretty good.”
“Mike! Will!”
They both jumped at the sound of Dustin’s booming voice.
“Jesus H. Christ,” Mike swore, putting his hand over his heart.
“Guys are you out here? You’re gonna be late for fifth period!”
“We should go,” Will said. “Come on.”
The feeling of Mike’s hand in his was something he could get used to.
—
Eddie was on the couch when Steve got back.
“Hey, how was the session?”
“Good,” Eddie said, getting up and making his way to Steve. “Will and Mike were holding hands below the table the whole time,” he said, a mischievous grin on his face.
Steve sighed. “I can’t believe your meddling actually worked.”
“I think you mean our meddling,” Eddie corrected.
“Hey, that was all your idea. I’m just your accomplice.”
“Well, thanks to me, Wheeler has stopped being a little bitch, and Byers is smiling ear to fucking ear.”
“We did good,” Steve agreed.
“Yeah,” Eddie said, “our kids are gonna be okay.”