"Are you sure you guys will be alright?" Will asks Dustin as he, Lucas, and Max walk towards the mall exit. They trail behind Erica, Steve, and Robin to see them off before they leave for Cerebro.
"Of course we'll be alright," Dustin says. "The question is, will you be?"
When Will furrows his eyebrows, Dustin rolls his eyes. "With Mike. I think you two need to talk things out and shake hands. We can't have you two at each other's throats."
"Dustin, it doesn't matter right now. You guys need to get to Cerebro, and we need to get to Murray's house. It really won't make a difference whether I talk to him or not."
"Yeah," Max adds. "I think they need some time before they talk. Plus..." She turns to Will, lowering her voice, "I think you should talk to El. Ask her about you-know-what."
"You-know-what?" Lucas asks, raising an eyebrow at Will and Max.
Max looks at Will as if asking should I tell him?
Will shakes his head. He doesn't want more of his friends suspecting he has powers if it turns out not to be true. "It's nothing."
He can tell by how Lucas narrows his eyes that he doesn't believe him, but he doesn't ask about it which Will is thankful for.
"Look who it is." The three of them turn their heads when Dustin gestures over his shoulder to Mike who's catching up to them. Mike avoids Will's eyes as he approaches.
Will lets out a groan. "No," he mumbles, "I'm not talking to him. Not now."
He moves to leave but Dustin grabs his arm, keeping him in place as Mike reaches them. "Hey, I just wanted to tell you good luck," Mike says to Dustin and lifts his walkie-talkie. "We'll stay in touch."
"Thanks, man." Dustin pats Mike's shoulder. "Good luck to you guys, too. Make sure El's alright."
"Of course."
Dustin starts to follow Steve, Robin, and Erica to the mall doors but halts in his tracks. He spins back around, shakes his head, and crosses his arms. "You two need to work things out and shake hands," he says to Mike and Will.
Will shoots him a frustrated look. He really isn't in the mood to get into it with Mike especially after their argument. If he's being honest, he'd rather go with Dustin and the others to Cerebro than have to be near Mike any longer. Unfortunately, his mom's insistent that he goes to Murray's and sticks by Jonathan's side.
"What?" Mike scrunches up his nose. "No way, are you insane? I'm not shaking his hand."
Max scoffs which earns her a glare from Mike. "Why are you acting like you know anything about this?" Mike says to her.
She shrugs. "It just seems to me like you've been treating Will like shit for a while."
"That's not true!"
"It is, though." She purses her lips, stepping towards Mike. "Ever since El dumped your ass, you've been treating everyone like crap. You act like you own El or something. Like she's your pet. And now, you treat Will the same way."
"Well, I don't think-" Will starts, growing uneasy at the hardening expression on Mike's face.
"C'mon, Will," Max says. "He needs to know that he can't treat people like an afterthought. Tell him how you feel."
"Yeah, okay," Mike sneers. "Since you've already told everyone here, then go ahead. Tell me how you really feel."
Will blinks, looking around at his friends before his eyes rest on Mike. He doesn't know where it came from, but a sense of confidence swells in him as if he's just cast fireball and blown the demogorgon to smithereens. "Okay, I will."
Mike's face wavers.
"I think you're a liar."
Lucas makes an "ooh" sound before Max shushes him.
"You're lying to everyone," Will continues. "You're lying to the party, you're lying to me, you're lying to El, and you're lying to yourself. You're acting like you know what's best for everyone, and you're trying to control everyone, but no one's asking you to do that. I don't want you doing that. All I want is for us to defeat the Mind Flayer once and for all and move on with our lives. None of this other bullshit."
Mike stares at him as if he's listening but then lifts his shoulders. "Is that it?"
Lucas and Max both make faces at Mike.
Trying to keep from yelling, Will takes a breath and turns to Dustin. "See? He won't listen. This is stupid." He turns to leave, but Dustin flips him back around.
"No, this isn't stupid. This is vital to the good of the party." Dustin gestures to Mike. "What about you? Don't you have anything to say?"
"Dustin," Lucas says, "maybe we should give them some time."
Robin, who breaks off from Steve and Erica, walks slowly towards the boys and Max. "What happened?"
"Ask Mike," Max says.
Mike shoots her a look.
"These two bozos had a fight," Dustin explains, "and now they won't make up even though this is literally the worst possible time for us to be divided."
"Dustin, it doesn't matter," Will groans.
"See? He's being a jerk," Mike says to Dustin, raising his voice and gesturing at Will, "and he's been acting crazy all summer!"
Will glares at him, his throat tight. "How –" he chokes out, "how can you say I'm the one who's been acting crazy? After everything you've done?"
As Mike glares back at Will, Steve hollers from the mall doors. "Hey, Robin! Henderson! We're leaving!"
"Gimme a second!" Dustin shouts and spins back around to face Mike and Will. "Alright, I don't know what the hell else is going on here, but you two need to figure out your shit, deal with it, and get it together already. Both of you have been acting like idiots for the past few days, and honestly? I'm sick of it. Just deal with it, get it over with, and shake hands."
When neither Mike nor Will move, Dustin rolls his eyes. "Okay, I'm leaving. Good luck, guys." He gives them both pats on the shoulders before walking out the doors with Steve, Robin, and Erica.
Gazing up at the ceiling, Max lets out a long sigh. "Way to go, Mike. You've royally ruined everyone's mood."
Mike narrows his eyes. "What mood? We're trying to defeat the Mind Flayer, not have a good time."
"Who says we can't do both?" Lucas says.
Will glances at the mall doors and back to Lucas, Max, and Mike. "You guys go on ahead to the food court. I need to tell them something." He doesn't wait for their answers and dashes out the doors.
Outside, Steve, Robin, Dustin, and Erica turn when Will rushes up to them.
"Byers? What are you doing?" Steve asks, twirling the car keys around on his finger as they approach the car parked beside the curb. "Coming with?"
"Just seeing you guys off. Wanted to say goodbye."
Robin smiles at him, ruffling his hair. "Thanks, Will. Are you and your friends okay?"
"We're fine. Just a dumb argument."
Seeing Will's pained face, Dustin slings an arm around his shoulders. "Hey, don't worry about that, okay? Mike will come around eventually."
"We'll see."
Before getting in the car, Dustin ushers the five of them together. "It's sure been a crazy couple of days. But hey, can you believe we cracked a Russian spy code?"
They laugh, the tension in Will's body easing. He smiles. "Before you go, can I say something?"
"Of course," Robin says.
"Keep it quick," Erica says. "We're on a tight schedule."
"I know, I know." He takes a breath. "I... well, I want to thank you guys for being there for me when no one else was. When I had that fight with Mike and Lucas. All of you really supported me when I needed it and made me feel like I really belonged. It means a lot to me that you believed in me even when most of you barely knew me. I know I sound really cheesy, but if we hadn't all gotten together to translate that Russian transmission and get into that secret room, I don't know where I'd be today."
"Pretty sure you'd still be here," Erica says.
Will chuckles. "Yeah, you're probably right. Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you, and you guys mean a lot to me."
"You mean a lot to me, too," Robin says with a smile.
"Yeah, me, too," Steve adds.
"C'mon, guys, group hug," Dustin says, and they all wrap their arms around each other. Warmth envelopes Will, and he realizes how close he feels to these people whom he barely even talked to a week ago.
"You sure you don't wanna come with us?" Dustin asks when they pull apart.
Will smiles but shakes his head. "No, my mom wants me with to stay with my brother as far from this place as possible."
"Can't blame her," Steve says, and as they move to leave, he ruffles Will's hair. "You're a good kid, Byers. Stay safe."
"You, too, Steve."
"Oh, man, now this..." Steve turns towards the car and twirls the keys in his hand, "this is what I'm talkin' about!"
Robin eyes the license plate. "'Toddfather'?"
"Oh, screw Todd! Steve's her daddy now."
"Did you just talk about yourself in the third person?"
"Did he just call himself daddy?" Erica asks.
The four of them get in the car, Robin and Dustin giving him one last wave, and drive off. Will watches them leave the parking lot before he goes back inside the mall.