Chapter Text
Mike didn’t want to come, like really really didn’t want to come.
It wasn’t that he disliked concerts. He loved live music, but right now, all he wanted was to lock himself in his bedroom at his parents house in Hawkins and be left alone but of course, his friends refused to let that happen. He hated them for it.
So here he was. Dragged all the way to Winston Farm in New York State for Music Festival. The drive had taken two days, and by the time they finally reached the festival grounds, they were completely exhausted.
Steve parked the car near the campsite. Steve, Lucas, Dustin, and Mike grabbed their backpacks and sleeping bags before heading off to find a good spot for their tents. Since they had arrived a day early, there was still plenty of room. They picked a quiet spot on the edge of the campsite, close to the woods.
Mike dropped his backpack onto the grass, sat down, and cracked open a beer.
He took a long sip.
It was unbearably hot. The sun hung high in the cloudless sky, and he had no idea how he was supposed to survive the next few days.
His friends were busy pitching their tents and setting up camp while he simply sat there, staring blankly into the distance.
"Dude, you should really set up your tent before we start drinking" Lucas said after several meaningful glances failed to get Mike's attention.
"I'll do it later."
Mike finished his first beer.
It definitely wouldn't be his last today.
"Just do it" Steve said, crossing his arms. "Trust me. It'll be a lot harder once you're drunk."
Mike rolled his eyes.
"Relax. I know how to pitch a tent."
"So you're really going to be grumpy this whole trip?" Dustin asked.
"I didn't want to come in the first place." Mike took another sip of his next beer. "Since you idiots practically dragged me here, I'm planning to be a pain in your asses the entire weekend."
The three of them exchanged speechless looks.
"You'd better get used to it.” Mike let out a loud burp, courtesy of the beer.
After setting up a spot for the campfire, they pitched their tents with as much space between them as possible, hoping no one would squeeze another tent into their little corner of the campsite.
"Okay" Steve said, dusting off his hands. "Before it gets dark, how about we take a walk and check the place out?"
"Yeah" Dustin agreed. „It’ll make navigate tomorrow much easier.”
"I'm in" Lucas said, giving the fire pit one last look before standing up.
Three pairs of eyes turned toward Mike.
He ignored them for a few seconds before answering without even looking up.
"I'll take one for the team and stay here. I’ll keep an eye on our stuff."
Dustin let out a heavy sigh.
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
Steve simply facepalmed.
"Fine" Lucas said. "Stay here and KEEP an eye on our stuff."
He paused and pointed a finger at Mike.
"But don't drink all our beer..."
Another pause.
"...and don't smoke all our weed. We'll be back soon."
They walked toward the center of festival.
Mike watched them leave.
Wait...
We have weed?
A slow grin spread across his face.
Now that's exactly what I need right now.
Mike stopped for a second.
He'd known Lucas for practically his entire life. If Lucas wanted to hide something, he'd probably stuff it inside one of his socks. For reasons Mike had never fully understood.
He unzipped Lucas's backpack and immediately started digging through it…clothes…toiletries…condoms…
Well, that’s adorable. He actually came here expecting to get laid.
more clothes…more condoms…
Lucas confidence is almost inspiring.
A ridiculous number of socks.
Mike pulled one out and gave it a suspicious squeeze.
Nothing.
He grabbed another.
Nothing.
By the time he reached the fourth sock, Lucas's backpack looked like a tornado had ripped through it.
Mike didn't even bother putting anything back where he'd found it.
That the Future Mike's problem.
Right now, Present Mike had only one mission.
He grabbed the last pair of socks.
Bingo.
Soon he took the deepest drag he could, holding the smoke in until his lungs burned.
He needed relief.
He needed to feel better.
Now.
By the time his friends returned, Mike was completely stoned, sprawled out in the grass with a lazy smile plastered across his face.
"Oh... hey guys." - He gave them a slow wave. - "How was your walk?"
"...Oh, shit.” - Dustin stopped dead in his tracks.
Lucas looked from Mike to his backpack, all of his stuff was now well...everywhere.
"...Mike."
"Hm?"
"What the hell happened to my backpack?"
Mike glanced at the backpack, then back at Lucas.
"The backpack…exploded.”
"WHAT?!"
"...Gravity."
Lucas let out a heavy sigh and started stuffing everything back into his backpack.
Steve and Dustin got the campfire going while Lucas unpacked the food they'd brought with them. They'd quickly realized there were no food trucks open yet, so they settled for cooking dinner themselves.
After they ate, everyone was ready to call it a night. Two days on the road had left them exhausted.
Steve and Dustin went into their shared tent.
Mike, on the other hand, had never bothered to pitch his. Now it was dark, the temperature had dropped, and he was still pleasantly stoned.
Despite Mike acting like a complete jerk all evening, Lucas asked.
"You can crash in my tent if you want."
Mike looked at him for a moment.
"Considering the number of condoms in your backpack..." he said, narrowing his eyes. "I'm a little afraid to share a tent with you."
Lucas stared at him.
"Screw you Mike."
Lucas zipped the tent shut. Less than two minutes later, Mike could already hear him snoring.
Mike grabbed his sleeping bag, unrolled it beside the dead campfire, and climbed inside.
The high was already wearing off. He came back to reality with each painful minute.
He lay on his back, staring at the stars. The sky was perfectly clear.
He was exhausted, but he couldn't fall asleep.
Instead, he started counting the stars but soon, they began to blur together.
Mike blinked.
The stars came back into focus for a second before blurring again.
He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
"Damn it..."
Another tear rolled down his temple and disappeared into his hair.
The sun rose early. Mike didn’t know what time it was but sleeping bag had turned into an oven.
With a groan, he unzipped it and desperately tried to go back to sleep.
Without a luck, because heat was relentless. He turned his head toward his friends.
Steve and Dustin had already abandoned their tent. The morning sun had turned it into a sauna, so they were now asleep on top of their sleeping bags outside.
Lucas, on the other hand...couldn't decide whether he wanted to stay inside the tent or come out… so he'd apparently settled for both. His legs were still inside the tent, while his torso and head hung out in the open, as if he'd simply given up halfway through escaping the heat.
Mike couldn't help but smirk.
As the hours passed, more and more people came to the campsite, pitching tents wherever they could find space.
Every time someone tried to set up a little too close, one of them would quickly explain that the spot was already reserved for friends who hadn't arrived yet.
The more people come, the more irritated Mike grew.
People played music from portable radios, sang and danced between the tents, and generally looked like they were having fun.
He had no idea how he was supposed to survive the next few days.
"I need another beer" he muttered.
Steve didn't even look up.
"Oh, no. Absolutely not. We're not drinking more before we've had a proper meal. There are some amazing concerts tonight, and there's zero chance I'm spending the evening babysitting you idiots because you got drunk on an empty stomach."
The truth was, none of them had eaten breakfast.
Unless three beers each counted as a three course meal.
They bribed their new neighbors with their last six-pack to keep an eye on the campsite and save the extra space before heading toward the food truck area.
Unfortunately, so had everyone else.
The line for food stretched farther than Mike could see.
At least an hour.
"Shit..." Mike groaned, rubbing his stomach. He was starving.
They had no choice but to wait.
"I'll go see if I can find more beer" Steve said.
"I'll come with you" Dustin replied.
The two of them disappeared into the crowd, leaving Mike and Lucas alone in the endless line.
"Did they tell us what they wanted? Just in case we have to order before they get back."
"Looking at this line, we'll be lucky if there's any food left by the time it's our turn.” - Mike sighed
Steve and Dustin managed to make it back with beer and a few groceries just in time.
They placed their order, waited another twenty minutes, and finally got their food.
No one said a word while they ate, they were far too hungry.
After lunch, they decided to drop the groceries off at their campsite before heading to the first concert of the day.
As they walked, they spotted the guys they'd bribed earlier to keep an eye on their tents.
"Wait..." Steve frowned. "What are you guys doing here? Weren't you supposed to be watching our stuff?"
"Yeah, man, but we were starving" one of them replied with a shrug. "Your friends showed up, so we figured everything was fine."
"...Our friends?" Steve blinked.
The four of them exchanged confused looks.
"How did you know they were our friends?" Lucas asked.
The guy scratched the back of his head.
"I don't know, man. They said they recognized your campsite."
Then guy smiled lazy.
"Peace, love... no war, right?"
The four friends stared at him in complete silence, then they quickened their walk toward the campsite.
"Oh, no. No, no, no." Lucas shook his head. "There is absolutely no way I'm letting a bunch of random people steal our spot."
"Dude, relax." Dustin laughed. "What are you gonna do? Throw them out?"
"Exactly!" Lucas shot back. "We'll tell them they're not our friends and that we're saving the space for our actual friends."
Steve looked at him.
"Lucas... we don't have any other friends coming."
Lucas didn't miss a beat.
"They don't know that."
Mike watched the whole exchange with growing amusement.
For the first time since arriving at the festival, he was actually looking forward to something.
He couldn't wait to see the confrontation.
Maybe, if he got really lucky, it would turn into a fight.
Nothing too serious.
Just enough to get them kicked out of the campsite and sent back to Hawkins.
Now that would be a happy ending.
He knew it made him a terrible friend, but he couldn’t help it, didn't particularly care.
They reached the campsite and immediately froze.
Their "reserved" spot now held two extra tents.
A small group of strangers hurried to unpack their gear before anyone could question them.
Lucas marched over first, ready to kick them out.
"Hey, it's nothing personal, but—"
A redheaded girl turned around.
She had blue eyes, a face dusted with freckles, and the kind of confidence that made Lucas forget what he was about to say.
"Yeah?" she asked. "But what?"
Lucas blinked.
"I... uh..."
His brain had apparently decided to take the afternoon off.
"We were saving this spot for our friends" Dustin jumped in, rescuing him.
"Oh!" a blonde girl said quickly. "We really don't want to cause any trouble."
Lucas found his voice again.
"No, no... I mean... I'm sure we can work something out."
The redhead folded her arms.
"Oh, really? That's funny."
She glanced around at the big circle of empty space surrounding their tents.
"You guys claimed the best spot on the entire campsite, spread your tents out like royalty, and now you're telling us we can't squeeze in?"
Lucas opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
The blonde stepped between them with an apologetic smile.
"How about this? When your friends show up, we'll move our tents around and make some room. Fair?” - proposed blonde
"Something tells me those friends don’t even exist." -redheaded added sharply
Lucas looked helplessly at Steve and Dustin.
Mike watched the exchange from a few steps behind. His eyes scanned over the rest of their group.
There was another brunette girl standing a few feet away.
And...
Oh.
Huh.
There was someone else.
At the moment, the only visible part of that person was a perfectly round butt sticking out of one of the tents, squeezed into a pair of red short jeans.
Mike found himself staring.
The person was apparently reorganizing something inside the tent, shifting slightly every few seconds
The shorts moved up… and down…and left…and right…and up…and down…
Jesus…
Without even realizing it, Mike was waiting for the mystery person to crawl back out.
Ok…just a little more…a little more and …finally…
O shit.
Mike's eyebrows shot up.
The owner of the perfect ass was...
A guy.
"Well…Didn’t see that coming…" Mike muttered under his breath.
"Will!" Robin called. "Come meet our neighbors!"
The guy in the red shorts turned toward them.
"I'm Robin" she said. "This is Maxine, Jane... and that's Will."
"Nice to meet you all," Lucas said, recovering surprisingly quickly. He smiled at the redheaded girl. "Maxine... that's a beautiful name."
"Just call me Max" she replied with an eye roll.
"Right. I'm Lucas. That's Steve, Dustin..."
He pointed over his shoulder.
"...and the grumpy one over there is Mike."
Mike looked up just as Will's big green eyes met his. For a moment time slowed down and everything went a little bluer…except the one person he could see right now.
Will smiled at him… small, warm smile.
For some reason, Mike forgot how to function. His throat was dry, all he managed an awkward little wave. He suddenly felt very warm in all over his body.
"Alright!" Robin clapped her hands together. "Concerts start in a few minutes. Let's finish unpacking and get moving!"
Mike quickly looked away, hoping no one had noticed the heat creeping into his cheeks.
Mike's Brain: Okay. Calm down. Anyone could get distracted by an ass like that.
Mike's Heart: Hello?
Mike's Brain: Not now.
Mike’s Heart: Then why are we so hot?
Mike’s Brain: Spicy Chicken.
Mike’s Heart: We stopped breathing for three seconds.
Mike’s Brain: Spicy Chicken!
Steve was already halfway to the festival grounds, practically dragging the others behind him. He refused to miss the opening act.
"Come on!" he called over his shoulder.
Lucas glanced back toward the campsite.
"We could wait for the girls."
Steve groaned.
"You're being way too obvious."
Lucas frowned.
"What?"
"Don't be such a creep. You'll scare her off !”
Lucas muttered something under his breath but followed anyway.
Mike was secretly relieved.
The sooner they got away from the campsite, the better.
He still had no idea what had just happened back there.
That...
That had never happened before.
Ever. Like never ever.
So what the hell was that?
Mike’s Brain: It had to be the heat. Or the two-day drive. Or the beer. There was absolutely no other explanation.
Mike’s Heart: Sure.
Mike’s Brain: Case closed! Go back to sleep!
They spent the rest of the day at the concert. Luckily for Mike, they never ran into their new neighbors again.
Mike drank more beer than he could count, smoked far too much weed, and threw himself into the crowds. He jumped, shouted and let the music drown out every thought in his head.
He didn't care who was playing. He didn't care about anything.
By the time they stumbled back to the campsite, Mike could barely keep his eyes open. He wasn't entirely sure how he'd made it back.
"Oh, shit..." Steve groaned. "We forgot Mike never pitched his tent."
"Fuck off" Mike mumbled, already fighting with his sleeping bag. "I'm perfectly fine out here.”
Somehow, he managed to crawl inside it and the next minute he drifted off.
He had no idea how long he'd been sleeping, but he slowly begun to hear voices and the sound of something more, but yet not quite familiar, he felt sth is off…
"...I'm not leaving him like that."
"We don’t know this guy…that’s a bad idea"
"It'll be fine…Jane can you stay with girls tonight?"
Mike slowly opened his eyes and realize it was raining. Cold water hit his face. His sleeping bag was soaked. His clothes clung to his skin, and rain poured relentlessly from the sky.
Before he manage to stand up he noticed someone was kneeling beside him.
Will.
"Hey…Mike right?" he said gently. "Come with me. I've got free spot in my tent."
Mike didn't think for long. He rolled out of his soaked sleeping bag and hurried into the tent.
Once inside, he realized they were alone.
Just him and Will.
Will grabbed a flashlight and pointed it toward Mike.
"Do you have any dry clothes?”
Mike looked around for a second as if the answer might magically appear.
"Uh... I don't know. Somewhere outside, I guess."
Will snorted.
"Huh…ok…Do you want to borrow something?"
"No, no. I'm good."
Will raised an eyebrow.
"Come on, those clothes aren't going to dry on you."
He dug through his backpack and pulled out a gray hoodie and a pair of sweatpants.
"Here."
Mike stared at them.
"Change before you catch a cold."
Mike wasn't really sure why he listened. Maybe it was the way Will spoke. His voice was calm and gentle. It just... made Mike want to do what he said. After changing into the dry clothes, Mike lay down. The warmth of the dry hoodie relaxed him almost immediately. He was fast asleep again.