Chapter Text
The applause came in waves—uneven, loud in some places, distant in others.
Mike barely registered it.
His cap itched. His gown felt wrong. Everything felt a little off, like the world had reset… but not properly.
Beside him, Dustin was already halfway out of his seat.
“We did it,” he whispered, like he couldn’t believe it himself.
Lucas snorted. “You almost didn’t.”
“Okay, can we not rewrite history right now—”
“Three missing assignments, Henderson.”
“Two and a half—”
“You don’t get halves—”
“Guys,” Max cut in, dry as ever, not even looking at them. “You graduated. Try acting like it for at least five minutes.”
A beat.
“She’s right,” Will said quietly.
Mike turned.
Will was smiling. Soft, real, not forced.
And for a second, everything else just… blurred.
There was an empty space between them.
No one said her name.
No one needed to.
Max’s jaw tightened slightly, but she looked away first.
“So,” Lucas started, stretching his arms behind his head, “what now? College, jobs, becoming functional members of society?”
“Bold of you to assume we’re capable of that,” Dustin said.
“I give Mike two weeks before he forgets to eat and starves.”
“I eat,” Mike muttered.
Max hummed. “Yeah. When someone reminds you.”
Will laughed softly.
Mike noticed that.
“Hey.”
The voice didn’t belong to any of them.
They all looked up.
Stacey stood there, like she’d just stepped into the wrong movie but decided to stay anyway.
“Graduation party,” she said, simple, direct.
“Tonight. My place.”
Dustin blinked. “Wait—your party?”
“No, Henderson, a random one I found on the street,” she deadpanned.
“Okay, wow. Attitude. I like it.”
Lucas elbowed him. “Stop flirting.”
“I’m not—”
“You literally are—”
“Guys,” Mike cut in, sharper than he meant to.
Stacey’s eyes flicked to him, unimpressed.
“You coming or not?” she asked.
“We’ll think about it,” Mike said quickly.
Too quickly.
Will frowned slightly. “Why not?”
Mike shrugged, avoiding his eyes. “It’s just… not really our thing.”
“Maybe it could be,” Will said.
That landed.
Mike felt it.
Didn’t know what to do with it.
“You should go,” Max said suddenly.
All of them turned to her.
She was looking straight at Mike.
Not casually. Not jokingly.
Directly.
“We just fought interdimensional horror and survived high school,” she continued.
“If there was ever a time to do something stupid and normal, it’s now.”
A pause.
Then, softer—just enough for him to hear:
“Or are you scared of something else?”
Mike frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Max shrugged. “Nothing.”
But her eyes flicked briefly, deliberately
to Will.
Oh.
Mike looked away first.
“I think we should go,” Will said, a little more firmly this time.
Not loud.
But certain.
And that was the problem.
Because Will didn’t ask for things.
Not really.
Mike exhaled slowly.
“Fine,” he said. “We’ll go.”
Dustin lit up immediately. “Oh my god, we’re going to a real party—”
“Do not embarrass us,” Lucas warned.
“No promises.”
Max smirked.
Will smiled.
And Mike—
Mike tried not to think about why he said yes.
The ceremony ended in a blur after that.
Caps flew. People cheered. Someone cried.
But as they walked off the field together, like they always had Max lingered just a step behind Mike.
“You know,” she said quietly, “you’re not as subtle as you think.”
Mike tensed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yeah,” Max said. “That’s kind of the whole problem.”
The music hit before the door even opened.
Loud. Heavy. Alive.
It pulsed through the walls, through the ground, through Mike’s chest in a way he didn’t like.
“This is insane,” Dustin breathed, already halfway to excited.
Lucas grabbed his shoulder. “Stay normal. Just—act like you’ve been to a party before.”
“I have been to a party—”
“No, you haven’t.”
“Okay, well, I’ve seen one—”
“That’s worse.”
Mike didn’t laugh.
He stood at the doorway, hand still on the knob, like stepping inside meant something more than just… stepping inside.
“Mike.”
Will’s voice. Soft. Close.
Mike turned.
Will was already looking at him. Not nervous. Not unsure.
Just… waiting
.
“We can leave,” Mike said quietly.
“We just got here,” Will replied, almost amused.
A pause.
“Come on.”
And Mike. Mike followed.
The moment they stepped in, everything blurred.
Music. Lights. Voices layered over voices.
Someone laughed too loud. Someone bumped into Mike’s shoulder and didn’t even notice.
It felt like walking into a world that had nothing to do with them.
Max took it in like she’d been here a hundred times.
“Drinks are probably in the kitchen,” she said casually.
“Don’t die,” she added, already walking off.
Lucas followed.
Dustin hesitated—then followed faster.
And just like that it was only Mike and Will again.
“You okay?” Will asked.
Mike nodded. “Yeah.”
He wasn’t.
But that wasn’t new.
Will looked around, taking everything in.
The lights reflecting in his eyes. The music. The movement.
He looked… different.
Like he was allowing himself to be part of something.
Mike noticed that. He noticed everything.
Someone brushed past Will, pulling him slightly forward.
He laughed, quiet, surprised.
Mike’s chest tightened. It shouldn’t have mattered.
It really shouldn’t have.
“I’m gonna—uh,” Will gestured vaguely toward the crowd.
“Just for a minute.”
Mike nodded. Too fast.
“Yeah. Sure.”
And then Will was gone. Not far. Not really. But far enough.
Mike stayed where he was. Watching.
He could still see him—barely.
A flash of movement. A familiar shape in unfamiliar light.
Laughing. Talking. Existing in a way Mike hadn’t seen in a long time.
“You’re staring.”
Max.
Mike didn’t turn. “I’m not.”
“You are,” she said, stepping beside him, following his line of sight without even trying to hide it.
A beat.
“Relax,” she added. “He’s not going anywhere.”
That wasn’t the problem.
Mike didn’t know how to explain what the problem was.
“You ever think,” Max continued, voice quieter now, “that maybe you’re the one who’s been standing still this whole time?”
Mike frowned. “What?”
But Max was already walking away again.
Of course she was.
Mike looked back at the crowd.
At Will.
And for the first time something felt… off.
Like the distance between them wasn’t just the space of a room anymore.
♡♡♡
The kitchen smelled like something sugary and vaguely dangerous.
Dustin was already holding a red cup.
“I don’t know what this is,” he said, inspecting it like a scientist, “but I’m willing to risk my life.”
“That’s how you die,” Lucas replied.
“That’s how I live, actually.”
Mike didn’t take a drink.
He leaned against the counter, eyes drifting, landing, inevitably, on Will.
Will was talking to someone Mike didn’t recognize.
Smiling.
That same easy smile from earlier. It sat wrong in Mike’s chest.
“Oh my god, you guys are boring,” a voice cut through.
Stacey again.
“We’re playing a game. Living room. Now.”
The living room was already crowded.
People sat in a loose circle, music slightly lower but still pulsing in the background.
A bottle lay in the center like it had seen things.
“Spin the bottle?” Dustin whispered, scandalized.
“We are not twelve,” Lucas muttered.
“It’s either that or truth or dare,” someone said.
“Oh, we’re definitely doing truth or dare,” Max cut in, dropping onto the floor like she owned the place.
Will hesitated for half a second then sat down.
Mike followed.
Of course he did.
“Alright,” Stacey clapped once. “No lame answers. No chickening out.”
The bottle spun.
It landed on Dustin.
“Truth or dare?”
“Truth,” Dustin said immediately.
“Boring,” Max muttered.
“Ask him something good,” someone added.
Stacey smirked. “Biggest crush?”
Dustin choked. “Next question.”
Laughter.
The tension loosened. Just a little.
The bottle spun again.
Lucas.
Then Max.
Then someone else.
The questions got louder.
The dares got dumber.
People laughed easier. Leaned closer. Talked softer.
Mike still hadn’t relaxed.
Not with Will sitting just a few inches away close enough to feel, far enough to not touch.
The bottle spun again. Slower this time. And stopped.
On Mike.
A chorus of oohs.
Mike stiffened. “No.”
“Yes,” Max said instantly.
“Absolutely yes,” Dustin added.
Stacey leaned forward. “Truth or dare?”
Mike hesitated.
Then—
“Truth.”
“Of course,” Max muttered.
“Have you ever lied about your feelings to someone you care about?”
The room quieted.
Not completely—just enough.
Mike’s eyes flicked up and landed on Will.
Of course they did.
For a second, neither of them looked away.
Max watched the whole thing.
“Well?” someone pushed.
Mike swallowed.
“Yeah,” he said finally.
“I guess I have.”
The room moved on quickly after that.
Another spin. Another laugh. Another dare.
But something had shifted.
Mike leaned back slightly, trying to breathe.
But it felt harder now.
Like the air had changed.
Beside him, Will hadn’t said anything.
But he hadn’t looked away either.