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♡ 1. Max
Max gives Michael Wheeler a lot of shit even on his best days, but she thinks today really takes the cake on the dumbest things Mike has said.
She waits for the girl who was clearly asking Mike out to walk away before she smacks him in the arm. "Wheeler, what was that ?"
She can't see him, but she knows that he is making that open-mouthed offended face he does when he shoots back a "What? What was that for?"
"You totally blew that girl off."
"Okay?" The confusion is evident in his voice and she can hear him rubbing his arm. Baby. She barely touched him.
"Haven't you been complaining that you miss having a girlfriend?"
"That's not exactly how I remember that conversation going."
Max drops an elbow on the lunch table and rests her head against her hand. "Whatever. My point is, why'd you say no? She was so out of your league too."
"You couldn't even see her!"
Max smirks. "Mike, every girl is out of your league."
"Rude! Will, do you hear this?"
The clatter of a tray being set on the table marks Will's arrival.
"Hear what?"
"Mike turned down a perfectly nice girl," Max responds, interrupting whatever Mike had been about to say, "because she didn't want to play Dungeons & Dragons."
"Oh," Will says. She waits for something–anything–else, but the only sound is the background clamor of the school cafeteria.
They must be doing that thing where they have a silent conversation with their expressions only. Ugh. Talk about rude, since she can no longer participate.
"What is the big deal? You don't have to do everything your girlfriend or boyfriend does. Look at me and Lucas."
"You literally play D&D," Mike counters.
"Yeah, now , but I didn't before, and it was still fine . It's totally normal to have different interests even if you're dating."
"I guess," Mike says, sounding dubious at best. "Still, she wasn't even willing to try it. Her face when I brought it up was like I asked her to eat some juicy earthworms."
"Ew, Mike," Will chastises. "I'm trying to enjoy my lunch. Why'd you have to call them juicy ?"
"Sorry. Anyway,if someone hates D&D that much, I just don't see it working out for us."
Max sighs. If Mike wants to be single for the rest of his life, that's his own prerogative.
♡ 2. Dustin
"I just don't see what was wrong with her," Dustin says again as they grab their things for next period from their lockers. Mike is currently fighting back a wave of old assignments, books, snack wrappers, and what seems to be a shoe that's trying to escape the small space they've been crammed into.
Mike curses under his breath when something falls out and lands on his foot. "Her who?"
"Is that a box of paint?" Dustin asks as Mike quickly scoops up the fallen item and shoves it away.
"Yeah, it's for Will. I just keep forgetting to give it to him."
Dustin rolls his eyes. He's sure there's no gifts for him in Mike's locker.
"Anyway, Bailey. From Home Ec? She wanted to be your partner today."
"Are you saying you didn't want to be my partner?" Mike counters, finally managing to extract the textbook he needs and slam his locker door shut.
"No, but I would have understood if you wanted some alone time with a pretty girl."
"She wasn't even that pretty," Mike mutters. "Plus, have you heard the music she listens to?"
Dustin has, admittedly, heard her preferred music, since she has a habit of playing it very loudly in the school parking lot. But he didn't see what that had to do with anything. "Yeah, so?"
"If I had to listen to that all the time, I'd go crazy. Like have you ever heard her listen to The Clash or, or Tom Petty?"
"Do you even listen to Tom Petty?" Dustin asks just as the warning bell rings.
"It was just an example! Are we going to keep talking about Bailey or are we actually going to make it to class on time?"
"I'm just saying–"
"Don't."
"–no one is going to force you to listen to her music. If you wanna listen to The Clash so bad, you can just go hang out with Will."
Mike huffs and starts walking. "Fine! I'll do that! At least he won't bother me about girls from Home Ec!"
Dustin groans and follows after his friend. He loves Mike, but he really doesn't understand the guy.
♡ 3. Robin
Robin is trying valiantly to pay attention to whatever Steve is saying to her about Nancy when she spots another Wheeler take a seat at a table a few yards away from them. He seems preoccupied, leg bouncing, not even noticing them despite how small the ice cream parlor is.
"Robin?" Steve asks, waving a hand in front of her face. "Are you listening to me?"
Robin nods absentmindedly and cranes her neck around Steve's hand, curiosity piqued as a girl takes the spot across from Mike. "Yeah, yeah. Something something Nance, something pining something. Be right back."
She slides out of her chair and heads over to where the napkins and spoons are, conveniently close enough to eavesdrop.
"Actually," she hears Mike say, "I was kind of waiting for someone?"
"Oh, you're already– I'm so sorry. Your girlfriend would probably not be happy to find me sitting here. Sorry again."
Robin glances over her shoulder just in time to catch the pained smile the two exchange before the girl awkwardly speed walks out of the door, apparently too embarrassed to even stay in the parlor.
"When did you become a ladies man?" she asks, swooping in to claim the empty seat and making Mike jump.
"Robin, what the hell! Where did you even come from?"
"That's not important. Spill the beans."
Mike looks very lost.
"About the new girlfriend," Robin clarifies. His face promptly reddens, much to her amusement.
"I don't have a girlfriend. It was just easier to let her think that."
"Oh." She's not quite able to hide the disappointment in her voice. It would have been a much more interesting topic than Nancy's call to Steve earlier. She's prepared to leave him to his own devices again when he continues.
"It's just I don't even know her?" he says, looking at Robin like he wants–what? Validation?
"You could get to know her," she suggests, but he just frowns.
"It's not the same. I don't want to have to work at it. I mean, like, I want it to come naturally, not because I'm trying to make feelings happen. If that even makes any sense."
"Like a friend," she summarizes, and he perks up immediately.
"Yeah! Exactly! I just want it to come easily. I don't want to force anything." He looks down at his fingers. "Kind of had enough of that to last me a lifetime."
A little suspicion begins to take hold of her, but she doesn't want to push him on it. "I know what you mean."
Mike offers her a small smile and she returns it.
"I hope you find that special person one day, Mike."
"Thanks." His smile broadens, face scrunching up in a way that kind of makes her want to tousle his hair or pinch his cheeks.
Instead, she smacks her hands lightly on the table and stands up. "Enjoy your ice cream with your not-girlfriend," she says, not missing how his cheeks pink again as he laughs.
"Yeah, I will."
Robin heads back to her table and knocks her foot against Steve's chair. "Let's get out of here.'
Steve huffs, but gets up and tosses their trash out. "Where did you go? Oh, hey, Wheeler."
Mike waves as they leave and Robin leads Steve across the street for some subtle espionage.
Her little suspicion grows when she sees Will Byers enter the ice cream parlor a minute later, both boys' faces lighting up as they spot each other.
"Robin, what are we doing?" Steve asks for the third time.
Boys are so oblivious.
♡ 4. Jonathan
It isn't fair for Jonathan to want to strangle his teenage brother's best friend. He knows, logically, that Mike can't help who he likes any more than Will can. Still, he didn't come visit his family to see Will look so damn sad.
Maybe he should have kept his mouth shut to begin with, when Mike started explaining to his friends why he wasn't interested in some girl from school. Jonathan had no clue what the draw to Mike Wheeler was, but then again, if Will loved him and El had loved him, then there must be a good reason for it.
"So, let me get this straight," Jonathan had interrupted. "You don't like her because she doesn't have a good relationship with her sibling?"
Apparently that had opened a whole can of worms, because Mike began an entire spiel about how Jonathan was "completely missing the point" and it was the way the girl acted in general that bothered him. She just wasn't very nice, which Jonathan could understand now, so he didn't see why Mike was still yapping.
"I just want someone who's kind and loyal. Someone I can lean on when I'm down, who I can really trust ."
Will sinks further down into the couch and Jonathan can practically read his brother's mind. Will is all of those things, but it's not enough. Will could be the exact person Mike was looking for but it wouldn't matter because he's not a girl.
"And she's so loud all the time. It's overwhelming. I don't think she knows what a comfortable silence even is."
"Geez, Mike, you act like this girl committed a crime against you personally," Max says, throwing a pillow at him with startling accuracy.
"She did!" Mike yelps, trying to duck and failing. "She said Will was–"
Jonathan watches closely as Mike's brain catches up with his mouth and he lowers his voice, eyes trailing down to play with the strings on one of mom's throw pillows.
"She said some stuff about Will that wasn't very nice. A few years ago," he mumbles.
Will leans toward him, touching his leg to get his attention. "You remember that?"
Mike meets his gaze with such sincerity that Jonathan almost feels like he's intruding on a private conversation. "Of course. You're my best friend. I'd never forget something like that. If she doesn't like you, then she's clearly a monster.
Will smiles, eyes crinkling at the corners, and Mike smiles back, knocking his weight into Will's side. They stay like that for the rest of the night, pressed up against each other like two halves of the same whole. He guesses Mike Wheeler can live for another day.
♡ 5. Lucas
"What about her?" Lucas asks, pointing inconspicuously across the room to a nice looking girl. She was no Max, but she seemed like a good enough match for Mike, and had always been polite whenever Lucas had talked to her.
"No," Mike says, not even bothering to look up from his paper.
"You don't even know who I'm pointing at."
Mike purses his lips and looks up for about three seconds, then goes back to doodling what appears to be a dragon. Or a really disfigured dog. It's hard to tell with Mike's skills. "Definitely no."
"Oh my god, why not? She's nice! Isn't that what you wanted?"
"What I want is for my friends to not be weirdly obsessed with my love life ever since me and El broke up, but I don't think I'm going to get that."
" You're the one always giving those big sad puppy eyes every time me and Max kiss or Dustin talks about how much he loves Suzie. We're just trying to help, especially because you're so picky ."
Mike scoffs and draws a maybe-pair-of-wings on the probably-not-a-dog. "I'm not picky and I do not give anyone sad puppy eyes."
"Fine, if you're not picky, why don't you want to ask her out? You're not still into El, are you?"
"No!" Mike yells, loud enough to turn several heads, but fortunately they're just in homeroom and the teacher doesn't really give a shit. "No, I am not still into El," he adds more quietly.
"Then what's your deal?"
"I don't have a deal! I'm just not into her. Her hair is too bright and her eyes are the same color as El's, which is weird. " He looks up at Lucas briefly as he says weird, driving home the claim on not liking El anymore.
"Mike, do you hear yourself? You don't want to date a girl because of the color of her hair and eyes?" Lucas rubs a hand over his face, exasperated. God, it's like Mike doesn't want to date any girl at all.
Wait.
Lucas' mind screeches to a halt. Oh .
He doesn't hear whatever Mike is trying to justify himself with, not that it matters, because he's too busy putting all the pieces of the past few months together.
"Okay, we're gonna do a little mind experiment."
The look on Mike's face is somewhere between confused and annoyed.
"Just- Just trust me. Close your eyes."
With a sigh, Mike does as he's told, though he crosses his arms to make it clear he doesn't want to be doing it. "Now what?"
"Think about the person you want to be with," Lucas says, carefully avoiding the word girl. "Like your dream person. What do you see in your head? Anything in particular?"
Mike frowns. "I don't know. Um. Dark hair. Hazel eyes? A pretty smile. Not too short, because that would make kissing them kind of awkward. I'm pretty lanky, so maybe someone a little more filled out than I am."
"Okay," Lucas says slowly. "Does that remind you of anyone in particular?"
Mike opens his eyes and shrugs. His gaze travels around the room, like he's trying to find the right person. "Not really."
Well, no one can say Lucas hadn't tried. "Alright, I just want you to know that whoever you end up dating, I'll support you ." He stares at Mike intently, really trying to get his point across.
"Um, thanks?"
Mike goes back to drawing.
♡ +1. El
Mike is in the Byers-Hopper house, back pressed against the couch from his place on the floor next to Will and El. There's at least five blankets spread out on the floor and pillows all around them. Joyce had commented it looked like a linen closet exploded in the living room, but she only smiled about it and told them to make sure they picked it up in the morning. Hopper grumbled about them all sleeping together, but ultimately just told Mike to keep his hands to himself and moved on–much to Mike's horror and annoyance.
It's El's turn to pick what they watch, and she's settled on How the Grinch Stole Christmas, despite Christmas having passed already. Mike doesn't mind, doesn't kick up a fuss about how it's for little kids like he might have a year ago. It's nice, sitting here with two of his favorite people, watching a feel good family film. It feels healing, like they're finally allowing themselves to be the kids they haven't had the chance to be in so long, in Mike and Will's case, or at all, in El's. No more monsters or disappearances or fighting for their lives. Just them, shoulder to shoulder with a shared blanket, and a silly green guy learning to care about people.
El giggles at the movie and he shares a look with Will automatically, a soft fondness for the bravest girl in the world who never wanted to be a superhero and didn't have to be anymore.
When Will starts quietly singing along to You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch , Mike can't help but join in, the two of them growing increasingly loud and ridiculous as they go, until El is outright laughing and shoving at Mike.
"Hush! I want to hear the TV, not you guys."
Mike tries to fake offense, but he can't wipe the grin off his face. "She basically said we sound awful, Will."
"Well, we do," Will answers easily.
"But she doesn't have to say it."
Will looks around Mike at his sister. "He's got you there."
She sticks her tongue out at him, and then they resettle into their positions, Mike toasty warm between them.
When the climax of the story comes, El has unshed tears in her eyes, and it dawns on Mike that she's probably never seen this before. She grabs his hand from where it's resting between them, giving it a squeeze, and he squeezes back. Without thinking about it, he grabs Will's hand too, which earns him a surprised look, and then a smile.
"I love it," El whispers reverently as the credits roll.
"Yeah," Will says quietly. "Me too."
The way he's looking at them, tenderly, like they're the meaning of Christmas, Mike thinks he doesn't just mean the movie. Maybe all of their hearts are growing three sizes today.
Will extracts his hand from Mike's and slips out from under the blanket. "I'm gonna go make some hot chocolate while you guys set up the next movie."
Mike crawls across the room to rewind the VHS and El follows to browse the rest of the stack.
"Do we have any romance?" she asks.
"It's your house, I don't know." They sit in silence for a few seconds before something that's been worrying Mike finally forces its way out his mouth. "Has it bothered you, the way the party keeps bringing up girls I should date?"
"No? Why would it?" She glances at Mike like he's grown another head. "We are not together."
He breathes a sigh of relief. "Yeah, I know, it's just sometimes that can– Nevermind. I'm glad. That it doesn't bother you. Not that I'm looking for a girlfriend anyway."
"I know," El says simply, turning her attention back to the tapes in her hands. "You have Will."
His fingers freeze where they'd been removing How the Grinch Stole Christmas from the VHS Player. " What? "
"Will," she repeats, like that clears up literally anything .
Somehow, he manages to force his hands to move again, as she turns and hands him another movie. He doesn't register what it is, just slips it into place on autopilot. "Can you please explain what you mean, El?"
Her brows furrow as she takes in his expression, the serious tone of his voice. "Well, that is who you want to date, right? That is why you don't want any of those girls."
His head starts shaking, a denial springing to his lips, but he can't quite make any words come out. Sweat prickles at the back of his neck and his heart races, pumping adrenaline through him as his brain tells him to run, tells him danger .
"Mike," El whispers, placing a hand gently on his arm, "it's okay."
"I don't–" he finally manages to get out. "I can't –"
"It's okay, Mike. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset."
Mike nods and shuffles back to his spot, staring blankly at the TV.
When El joins him, she rests her head on his shoulder, a steady weight to keep him grounded, and he wants to thank her for that, but she's also the reason he needs grounding to begin with.
Will is who you want to date.
Unbidden, he imagines what dating Will would be like. He imagines going on dates, falling asleep curled up together, sharing I love yous . And it's hardly different from their relationship now. Then, he imagines kissing Will, and his brain short circuits, catches fire, and ejects itself into the stratosphere.
"I picked the marshmallows out of Mike's cocoa mix and put them in yours, El," Will says, sauntering back into the room as if Mike wasn't on the verge of a mental breakdown over him, "since I know you like them and he doesn't."
Will hands El her mug first and then moves on to Mike, completely oblivious to the way that their fingers brushing sends a spark through him. The worst part is that it's not even a new feeling. Mike has always gotten a jolt of happiness whenever touching Will, but he hadn't thought about it, hadn't let himself think about, in any meaningful way.
"Grease, huh?" Will asks. "Someone's in a musical mood."
He sets his own hot chocolate down as he kneels on the floor, then tugs at the blanket Mike is sitting on, the one they'd all been sharing.
Mike resituates himself, trying not to overthink the way Will's leg presses against his own. El's leg is against his other side and it's not making his world tilt on its axis. It's normal. Everything is normal and Will is his friend .
His heart doesn't get the memo though, because it lodges itself in his throat when Will's fingers brush over his. "You okay?"
He wants to say Actually, your sister just dropped a Will-shaped bomb into my life and now I can't be normal around you suddenly and if you don't take your hand off of mine I think I might do something crazy.
What he actually says is, "Yeah, I'm great."
El peers over at them, eyes heavy with concern, then returns her head to Mike's shoulder.
Will doesn't take his hand off Mike's for the entirety of the movie, even when he starts to sway and sing along, bumping shoulders with Mike to try to get a reaction out of him. He manages a few smiles, because how could he not smile at Will's antics, but mostly he's preoccupied with the way their shifting has separated their fingers enough that Will's have slid down between his. Mike wants to flip his hand over and entwine them properly, pull Will in and kiss him until they can't breathe. It's like the floodgates have been opened, like El's nonchalant comment has burst the dam holding back every more-than-friendly feeling for Will that Mike has been repressing for God knows how long.
Without meaning to, he realizes he's staring just as Will turns to meet his eyes. He's so beautiful , Mike thinks. Then, I love him.
It feels freeing and terrifying in equal measure.
"What?" Will asks, raising his eyebrows.
"Nothing, sorry, I just–"
There's a pause as his brain tries to find a valid reason for his staring.
"Just..?"
El gets up and presses the pause button, drawing both boys' attention. "I am going to go take a shower."
Will frowns. "In the middle of the movie?"
"I don't want to fall asleep dirty," she says, eyeing Mike conspicuously and making Will's eyes flit between them. She stands there for a moment longer, like she's deciding on something, before she walks over to Mike and leans down to whisper in his ear. "I really think you should tell him."
It's not until El has collected a pair of pajamas and started up the shower that Will speaks again.
"Alright, what was that about?"
"Sorry. Um, I think she's just trying to help."
"Help with what?"
Mike bites his lip and pulls his hand out from under Will's. El probably didn't even understand what this meant for him, that boys didn't just date boys . Not if they wanted to be normal. And, sure, Mike has pretty much accepted that he'll never be normal anyway, that he should just embrace being who he is rather than who he's supposed to be , but there's a difference in wearing the clothes he likes and playing Dungeons and Dragons and befriending the school freaks and breaking up with his girlfriend who he realized he couldn't love the way she should be loved and… this .
"Mike?"
He closes his eyes and thinks of Eddie's hand gripping his shoulder the first day they'd sat together at lunch. "Listen, Wheeler, if you're always worried about what everyone else wants from you, you're never gonna learn what you want for yourself."
"Mike, what's wrong? What did she say?"
He pulls up his knees and wraps his arms around them, dropping his head to his lap. " ShesaidIwanttodateyou ."
He feels a hand at his elbow. "I can't understand you like that."
"She said," Mike repeats, turning his face, "that I want to date you."
The only answer he gets is the steady stream of the shower. God, he's so stupid. Why would he listen to El? What does she know about boys who like boys? "Can you say something? Please?"
"Do you?" Will asks, and Mike finally cracks his eyes open. The dim light of the TV casts shadows across Will's face, throwing his features into stark contrast. How had Mike never realized before that it wasn't typical to get starstruck by your best friend's looks?
"What do you think? I mean, I'm telling you this."
Pressure on his elbow reminds him that Will hasn't pulled away. That had to count for something, right?
"I need you to be very clear right now, Mike."
Will looks confused and maybe a little afraid, but not disgusted. And he's giving Mike an out. Mike could take it all back, right now, laugh and say of course I don't and isn't that crazy? But looking into Will's eyes, framed by those long lashes, gaurded and kind and patiently waiting…
"Yeah. I do. Want to date you." The words come out stilted, but they're out and there's no taking them back now.
"Oh," Will whispers. "Really?"
Mike nods, tries not to feel like he's cut open his chest and told Will to examine his still beating heart.
"I'd like that."
Scratch the beating heart. Mike's pretty sure it just stopped. "You would ?" He can't even feel embarrassed about the way his voice breaks when he says it, because his world is rearranging itself for the second time in the past hour.
This time, Will nods, and his expression is so hopeful that it gives Mike the courage to lift his head and look at Will straight on.
"So are we…"
"If you want to."
"I want to."
"Oh. Cool," he says faintly, and is at last graced with Will's smile.
"Mike?"
He leans in closer, like a planet being pulled into his friend's–boyfriend's?–gravity. "Yeah?"
"This is real, right?"
"I guess if it's a dream, I better take my chance to kiss you before I wake up."
When Will nods again, their noses bump, but whatever he's about to say is cut off as Mike leans the rest of the way in, closes that short distance between their mouths.
It's pretty clear that Will hasn't kissed anyone before, which sends a possessive little trill through Mike, but he's a quick learner. His mouth opens under Mike's and the surprised sound he makes when their tongues touch goes straight to Mike's head.
Just when Mike is about to pull back, Will's hand snakes behind his neck and up into his hair, causing him to squeak out an embarrassing sound of his own. It just makes Will grin, which makes him grin, and soon they can't kiss past their smiles and they're laughing instead.
"Not a dream, then," Will says, his breath ghosting over Mike's tingling lips.
"Guess not. Thank god."
They're so busy staring at each other in wonder that neither of them has registered the shower being off until Sha Na Na is crooning Blue Moon from the TV and they're practically jumping out of their skin.
"Oh my god, El, what's wrong with you!?" Mike yells, slapping a hand over his racing heart.
She plops down on the floor next to them and shimmies under the blanket. "I want to finish the movie," she says, at the same time Hopper's voice comes from down the hall telling Mike to quiet down before he's forced to sleep outside.
Will laughs and turns back toward the screen, leaning fully against Mike's side. This time, when their hands meet, Mike entwines their fingers on purpose. Maybe El knows more than him after all.