Chapter Text
Mike doesn’t think he’s ever experienced a hotter summer. Even his basement has become Hell-on-Earth, which he had previously assumed wasn’t possible.
You just had to get wet. There wasn’t a choice in the matter. And as much as Max insisted that they fulfill that need at Lover’s Lake, the Hawkins Pool had quickly become the go-to hangout spot for Summer ‘89. It helped that Lucas and Will had both gotten lifeguard jobs there, so the need for college money and cool temps was fulfilled in one convenient location.
The only member of the party who was not on board was Max, much to her boyfriend’s detriment. He hadn’t said anything specific, but Mike could tell just from watching Lucas scan the crowds from the high chair that he was hoping she would cave. Wading in the deep end, Mike had to agree. As much as he pretended to be annoyed with her, Max had slowly broken him down over the years. She’d become part of the party, and with everyone (himself excluded) working this summer, it would be nice to be able to get them all together in one place, even if some of them had to be on the clock.
Max was working at Melvald’s, but the boys all knew she had more control of her hours than Will or Lucas did. She’d been deliberately scheduling herself during the pool hours, even though they were the worst hours to be inside with lousy air conditioning. Last week, Will had suggested Mike go visit her. He hadn’t really wanted to leave—he preferred to be at the pool when Will was on the chair—but he did anyway.
Stepping into the store, Mike had felt like he could melt into the tiles. Why would you want to work in here at 3 in the afternoon? Mike had asked.
Mike, don’t act like you don’t understand why I don’t want to go back there, she had said, rolling her eyes. And he did understand, sort of. It was the same reason he didn’t really want to go back to Lover’s Lake, at least without Will. The memories some areas in Hawkins held were just too traumatic to deal with. So, Mike went back to the pool, and Max went back to work, and they pretended the conversation didn’t happen.
Dustin was supposed to be here today (he always made sure his Radioshack shifts were either really early or late), but he’d gone fishing with Steve. Mike was pretty sure Dustin didn’t know how to fish, but he’d really do anything if Steve invited him.
Which meant Mike was alone today.
Will was on the clock, pacing on the opposite side of the pool at Lucas. They were wearing matching red swim trunks and white whistles, but Will’s feet were bare, and Mike couldn’t imagine how much it must be hurting him to walk on the scalding pavement.
Will caught him staring and smiled at him, giving him a small wave. Mike waved back. He was about to mouth something about Will’s feet hurting when his attention got yanked away by a tan brunette tapping on Will's shoulder.
The girl bit her lip, holding out a bottle of sunscreen. Will visibly cringed, but he nodded and took the bottle. Turning around, the girl held up her hair as Will opened the sunscreen and helped her apply it to her back. After a couple of seconds, Will handed the bottle back and the girl seemingly thanked him, grinning and blushing from ear to ear. Will’s hand wandered up to his neck in a sheepish gesture, and the brunette practically bounced over to a collection of beach chairs, where several other girls were watching her and giggling. Mike could’ve sworn he could hear their childish squealing from across the pool, and he couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
This kind of thing had been happening ever since Will’s first day on the job. While the giggly girls seemed to sense the Max-sized space that should be by Lucas, Will has decidedly not been marked “off-limits.” The first time—when a girl with a perm and a polka-dotted bikini had asked him out when he climbed off the chair—Mike had joined Dustin in teasing him about it.
However, as the weeks passed, Mike found himself getting more and more pissed off with Will’s new admirers. These girls had never given him the time of day in high school, when he was sitting with the “satanists” in the lunch room or riding his bike in flannels and jeans. Not only that, but Will had been making it abundantly clear that he was not interested. How many girls did he have to reject before he went from “hard to get” to “hardly worth their time” in their eyes?
Mike knew that, in a better world, Will would be able to get rid of the unwanted attention by just telling the truth. Obviously he wasn’t interested in them—he was gay. But since they lived in Hawkins in this godforsaken timeline, that just wasn’t an option. Instead, Will had to stand there and cringe and smile awkwardly as they fawned over him. Sometimes, Mike wished he could just tell them off himself. He didn’t like seeing Will so uncomfortable, but he knew Will would get upset with him if he did try anything. After going missing and as they’d all grown up, people had started calling Will slurs less and less, favoring nicknames like Zombie Boy or simply ignoring him. If his “satanist” best friend came to his rescue against his army of adoring girlfriends, it could open all that nastiness back up again. And not just for Will.
As much as Mike wanted to call it all bullshit and claim he wouldn’t care if people called him a fag, he knew he was lying to himself. Something about those slurs had always ticked him off more than the other kinds of bullying he and his friends received. Maybe it was because they usually didn’t stop in the mouths of the mouthbreathers he went to school with. Mike knew Will’s dad had called him those words too, and he knew that even if his own father had a cleaner mouth, he still insinuated that being gay was about the most dangerous thing Mike could ever even think about.
With a huff, Mike paddled over to the side of the pool where Will was standing. Propping himself on the edge, he joked halfheartedly, “So, how many is that now?”
Will shook himself out of his girl-induced daze. Moving to sit on the edge of the pool, Will dipped his definitely burning feet into the water. He squinted at Mike, smiling despite himself. “I feel like it just keeps getting worse,” he said, drawing shapes in the water with his fingers.
“That’s because it does. Seriously, man, how do you get more girls flirting with you than me and the rest of the party combined?”
Will snorted, splashing Mike playfully. Mike’s nose crinkled at the contact and at the gesture. He splashed back at him, which just made Will laugh harder.
“That can’t be true,” Will said, rubbing the guilty hand against his reddening back. Mike wondered absentmindedly when Will had last applied sunscreen. To himself, that is.
“It totally is,” Mike retorted. “You and Lucas are doing the same job for Christ’s sake, and I still don’t think I’ve seen a single person flirt with him.”
Will shrugged, but Mike could see pink on his cheeks. Maybe it was just another indication of an imminent sunburn, but Mike swore he was blushing. “He was on the basketball team all of high school. The girls know him, and they know he has Max.”
“True, but I wouldn’t put it past these girls to not care about that sort of thing.”
Will’s brow furrowed. “Mike,” he said. “They’re just being nice.”
Mike frowned. “They can’t accept the word ‘no,’ Will. What about that is nice?”
“It’s fine, Mike. Really, if anything, it’s a compliment that they think I’m worth… I don’t know, pining after,” Will said, brushing his hair out of his eyes.
“Bullshit. You already know you’re worth… You already know that, Will.”
Will’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Right. Look, if you’re jealous, I can put in a good word for you. It feels nice and all, but you know I don’t really… care about this stuff. If you’re… ready, I’d be happy to help.”
Mike stared at him. It was a simple enough offer, but he couldn’t really understand why Will was giving it. That’s not what this was about. Why would he think that’s what this was about?
“I’m not jealous,” Mike said, confusion sounding more like anger. Defensiveness. “Don’t… don’t worry about me, I’m fine. It’s just stupid, you know? It’s stupid that all these clingy girls aren’t smart enough to realize you want nothing to do with them. It’s unfair to you. It’s not like you’re the only option for a boyfriend in Hawkins. Dustin would be thrilled if any of them paid him an ounce as much attention as they do to you. It’s just… it’s bullshit.”
Will looked hurt, and Mike didn’t know what exactly he’d said wrong. “Well, I’m sorry for Dustin, Mike, but I already told you I’d help… any of you out if you wanted me to. But I don’t see what’s so bad about some girls finding me attractive.”
Mike opened his mouth to say something, but just then, an ear-piercing whistle blew. Glancing up at Lucas, Mike watched as he blew the whistle two more times: the signal to the patrons that it was time for the hourly pool break. Mike looked back to where Will had been sitting, but it seemed like he was fed up with the conversation, because Mike spotted him pushing open the Employee’s Only door. Gone, without so much of a goodbye.
Sighing, Mike hoisted himself out of the pool.