Chapter Text
Jane is out with Joyce and Jonathan... is probably out doing drugs with argyle somewhere which leaves Mike and Will alone
setting: Byer's house living room
Mike lolled in his seat on the far left end of the couch. His legs were crossed and one foot dangled in the air; the other bounced up and down restlessly. His elbow rested on the armrest and he propped his head up with his hand. He stared blankly at the television which was playing boring advertisements.
On the other end, Will sat not so relaxed. He sat uncomfortably. he shifted and fidgeted in his seat very few minutes. Everything was tense especially after Mike and Jane's argument. Ever since the airport the air felt off. First with Mike not saying I love you and Mike not calling them bestfriends. Will didn't know what to do or say. His eyes darted around everywhere. He tried to watch the television but it was as if Mike was a magnet.
His eyes drifted over; they raked over Mike's body. He looked much different to what he remembered: taller and mature. Not that he was complaining anyway. Mike's face was pale and his cheeks hollow. His hooked nose which only seemed to look good on him stuck out from his side profile. Though dry and chapped, Mike's lips were a perfect cherry colour which Will couldn't help but stare at. Will bit his own lips scared he might lick them while staring at Mike's. The thought felt like a sin. His stomach had butterflies. He let go of his lip when he started to feel a metallic liquid pool in his mouth. He hated himself for feeling any of this but couldn’t help but keep staring. That sickly pale, skinny boy could send shivers down his neck with a glance. Will’s eyes dragged down Mike’s arms next. They were thin and wiry but that somehow wasn’t anything to stop Will from liking him. The truth is he’d liked him since they were kids ever since Mike asked to be friends something warm and fuzzy bloomed inside his heart. And now seeing him again rekindled whatever it was he felt before. Something about the way Mike’s, now longer, curls framed his face or his lanky form made Will only more attracted to something he always knew he couldn’t have.
Suddenly, Mike’s eyes drifted from the television to Will and their eyes met. Will’s breath caught and became very aware of how long he was staring like a creep. The moment felt like eternity and every minute seemed to stretch longer and longer. Will’s eyes darted away to look at anywhere else and his heart banged against his ribs. A train of thought crashed into his mind: Oh my gosh, what do I do? Did he notice? Does he… know?
Mike’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What’s up with him? He thought. He had felt eyes on him but didn’t think it was real so he decided to glance over and it seemed he was right. The television wasn’t entertaining at all and only served as white noise. He was feeling bored but this had peaked his interest. his leg paused its bouncing and he shifted his hips slightly. everything in the room seemed to fade out. Noise became muffled and the air felt still.
Until, Mike cleared his throat. His leg dropped to the floor with a dull thud. Will took a deep, shallow breath and reclined back slightly and his eyes nervously redirected themselves back to Mike. The moment felt tense and awkward; the silence was uncomfortable. Finally Mike spoke up, "So... what've you been up to," this didn't seem to help any of the awkwardness but at least he tried. Will swallowed and found his voice, "Not much. You must've been up to a lot though. How was it back in Hawkins? Like you know since we haven't been able to talk much with everything..." he faded himself out since he knew talking about this could take a dark turn - Mike and Jane's relationship issues. Mike shifted his weight slightly, uncomfortable. "Not much just D&D with the gang. You would love it. Oh and there's this guy Eddie," Mike went on and Will listened his expression dreamy. He liked knowing Mike thought about stuff he'd like - made him feel like Mike was still his best friend. After a while, Mike halted as he saw Will's face and misinterpreted his expression as boredom - it was very much not - so he redirected the conversation back. "Oh I've been talking for a while-" Will cut him off panicked, "Of course not, no never!" he said too quickly for his liking and backtracked, "I mean I would love- I mean like hearing you continue..." it was too late and Will felt he'd dug himself a pit and cannonballed into it. "You know what, lets just talk about something different." Will said, trying to act casual. "Uh alright then, have you read any knew comics?" asked Mike seemingly now more relaxed as he reclined back. That seemed to have been a good question because the conversation began to flow.
Soon enough, laughs, chuckles and friendly chatter filled the room. Will had shuffled closer subconsciously. Luckily, Mike was too busy laughing at something Will said to notice. Will's eyes softened at the sight of Mike's face happy. Mike's smile pushed up on his cheek and the corners of his eye's crinkled. His cheeks became a rosy pink from smiling. It all felt real again. That made Will's heart warm and he could feel his cheeks grow warmer too. Will stopped a second then he swivelled around on his bottom to face him fully. "Hey, there’s this good comic book store nearby and they have D&D stuff as well. Wanna go out together to check it out…?"
Mike stopped for a second slightly taken aback. He raised and eyebrow and one side of his mouth pinched up in a smirk. “Oh um sure I guess but how exactly?” His tone was playful but curious; his head tilted. The thing is that the store is far away to walk and no one is there to drive them.
Will’s cheeks flushed slightly as he realised what he was asking. His breath wavered for a moment and his gaze slid away from Mike’s eyes breaking eye contact. “I just thought we could… hang out?” Will was already brainstorming how on Earth they would get there until something popped into his mind. Mike smirked fully now fully invested in whatever might happen next. “Sure we can go but what’re you thinking?”
Will couldn’t help but let a small grin tug at his lips. Inside he thought of something he’d never thought of before: something diabolical, to Will at least, something that he’d never thought of before, something risky. “My brothers van is in the garage and I’m sure he’s not at home…”
Mike’s eyes widened as he caught on but a devious smirk had spread across his face. “Oh. Oh.”
Before they knew it they’d both gotten up and started searching the house for the keys. Will looked around the living room. His heart was pumping with excitement and anticipation. He’d never dared do anything like this but it all felt so tempting and the fact that Mike went along with it did not help at all. He searched inside of cabinets and tables. Mike was searching the kitchen and the garage. Inside of his mind he was surprised if anything. He liked this Will. He stepped into the garage and a strong cloud of marijuana wafted into his face. He coughed and fanned the air infront of him and tried to navigate the room now effectively smoke bombed. After getting past he searched around.
After a while, Mike found it on a stool hidden in a corner of the garage along with a pile of some mysterious white powder he did not want to know about. He raced back into the living room dangling the keys with a big grin on his face. Will turned around when he heard Mike call his name and immediately snatched it and headed into the garage again. “Alrighty let’s get going,” Will started before stopping in his tracks, “ do you know how to drive?” Mikes smile faltered and everything felt very real for a second. “Well I’m sure it’s easy you know? My dad’s taught me some stuff I’m sure it’s easy peasy.” Mike said shrugged took the keys back and headed to the van. Everything did not look so easy when they got inside.
Mike and Will entered Mike behind the wheel. Will’s heart sounded like a marching band at this point not from excitement but from fear. All of the outcomes, problems and consequences hit him like a shot to the heart. He strapped his seat belt on and held onto it for dear life. Meanwhile Mike on the other hand, he put the keys into the ignition and his hands wandered across the dashboard. He exhaled sharply and hesitantly gripped the gearstick. His feet locked into place. He pushed the gearstick into what looked like first gear and suddenly the car jolted forward. Will swore he felt something inside of him explode. He almost whimpered but held it in. “H-hey you sure you know how to do this?” Will’s voice quivered. He swallowed hard. “Yeah, sure, totally… I just—“ Mike cleared his throat and with a grunt the car began rolling backwards. Will let out a sigh of relief. The garage door was already opened from Will’s earlier thinking. The car slowly rolled out of the garage, stopping every few steps.