Chapter Text
The blinding light woke him up before Nancy did. Sunlight filtered through the curtains which Mike was sure he’d closed last night.
“MIKE! WE’RE GOING TO BE LATE!” Nancy. Ugh, what were they late for? It’s the holi-
He sat up abruptly from the comfortable confines of his bed.
“Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit.” He dragged his palm down his face, groaning. He checked the alarm clock on his bedside table, 12:00 AM, stupid old alarm clock.
“MIKE? HURRY UP!” Can you please shut up, Nancy?
“I’M COMING, Jesus.” He lay back down, staring into the blue of his ceiling. His brain was doing jumping jacks, thinking of every possible way this was going to go wrong, but he was giddy with excitement. It was pathetic really, how easily the thought of seeing his girlfriend brought him to a near-drunk state.
But was it really El that made him feel this way?
Time to wake the fuck up!
The speed with which he stood up and almost tripped trying to pull his pants on was overwhelming. Just goes to show how very excited he is to see his girlfriend, after many months of not seeing her.
But is it really your girlfriend?
“MIKE! WE HAVE TO GO! LIKE NOW!” For once, he was thankful for Nancy.
“I’M COMING!” Shit, where were his sunglasses?
No time to search for his glasses. He was very late. He risked a look in the mirror.
What the fuck am I wearing?
He looked like one of those tourist dads who went to Hawaii and dressed up really weirdly. With a blue shirt and a bright orange flannel on top with shorts and a floral hat, he could pass for those newspaper worthy families.
He’d chosen his clothes at random because he didn’t have time last night. By no time, he meant he was procrastinating going to sleep, contemplating his decision to just jump off a cliff instead of seeing her.
No, seeing him.
Ugh, Mike, just shut up. It’s just an outfit. It’s not like El was gonna judge him for it.
But he might.
Mike internally groaned.
He grabbed his bag, and prayed to a god he didn’t believe in that his glasses were safe and sound downstairs. Probably not with Holly and all.
He also prayed that these sins in his head would disappear, and he can just be normal. He doesn’t need to be worse than he already is.
He almost slipped down the stairs in his hurry. As soon as he made it downstairs, it really hit Mike. He really was going to Cali. Really going to see his girlfriend.
Mike, really?
He pretended not to hear a single thing the voice was saying, which was funny considering that it was right.
“What the hell are you wearing?” Nancy said. She had badly disguised her voice, and Mike could tell that she was trying not to laugh.
“What’s wrong with it? It’s comfortable.” A lie. The orange flannel was very itchy.
His mom turned around from the stove, giving him a once over. He could tell she was fighting the urge to tell him to fix his collar or something, but she held it back. Mike was grateful for that.
“He looks good, Nance,” She made his way to him, one hand still on the pan, and gave him a big fat smooch on the forehead. “Stay safe, okay? And if you need anything, don’t be afraid to-”
Her eyes were at his level, and glistening with tears.
“Yeah, yeah, I can call you, I know,” She pulled him into a hug, “Ouch, mom, ribs. Mom! You’re suffocating me!”
His mom gave him a watery smile. Mike gave her one back. Why was everything so blurry?
Maybe he needed his glasses. Oh wait, they were sunglasses. Which meant Mike was-
“Michael, are you crying?” A voice laced with a sneer came from the recliner.
He quickly brought his hands to his eyes, rubbing the crime scene away.
“Ted, he’s leaving Hawkins. Of course he’s going to cry.” His mom was trying to take his side, but with his dad, she never won. Or she was too afraid to win.
“Still. Boys don’t cry. Men don’t cry. Proper men, don’t cry. Only those fa-”
“Mikey, why do you look like a really colorful popsicle?” Holly. She looked up from her precious drawings, wrinkling her nose in distaste.
Mike laughed, but it came out all wrong. It came out dripping, like a leaky faucet that was slowly losing its moisture, eventually becoming a dry well, and the ‘plumber’ just made it worse, pushing more and more water in but never actually fixing the leak, the problem.
Wow, that’s depressing, Mike.
“Dad, go back to your news channel. C’mon, Mike, let’s go.” Mike was tearing up again, so he pinched himself to stop the flow.
He was incredibly grateful for Nancy. He gave her a hug, her black curls merging in with his. He probably soaked her shoulder, but the leak was almost gone.
Nancy pulled back, the car keys dangling in her hand.
“You know, you’re missing the one thing that would pull your look together. Sunglasses.” She tossed him a pair, his pair, thank you very much, and made her way to the car.
“H-how?” He shook his head. He can worry about sunglasses later.
“Bye, mom, and Holly. Have a great thanksgiving!” He waved at them, and they waved at him back. Holly looked confused, as if she couldn’t comprehend what was going on. Mike didn’t blame her. His mom blew him a kiss, and he just waved.
Not even a goodbye from his dad. Was he that weird? That abnormal?
Mike loaded up the car. He slid into the passenger seat, numb, and Nancy looked up through the mirror.
“You alright, Mike?” She murmured. Mike wanted to laugh. Was he okay? Yeah, absolutely! His dad probably hated him and eventually his girlfriend and his best friend of more than ten fucking years would hate him all because he–
“Yeah. Yep. I’m fine. I’m ready.” Mike knew she wouldn’t buy it. He also knew she wouldn’t push.
She glanced at him again.
“Okay. You’re fine.” She smiled at him. “You know I love you no matter what, okay?”
Did she know? How did she know? Did she sniff it on him, like his father did? Like El would if she knew what it meant? Like he would?
Like Will would?
“I-Yeah, I love you too.” He gave her a smile back. But it didn’t meet his eyes.
They sat in silence for the rest of the ride.
As they pulled into the parking lot, Mike knew one thing.
He could not mess this up.