Well, I don't know where that place is
If I did I would follow
I don't know what this taste is
If I did I would swallow
Mike awakens face down in his pillow, slowly coming out of a dream, as if he was swimming to the surface of Lover's Lake. He groans, realizing heavy light is filtering in through the curtains. His mind clings to the dream, like a man falling backwards who clutches to the edge of a cliff, but he just can't remember it. Something cold, he thinks, and someone's green eyes and gentle hands at his back. He shivers in the wet heat of his bed. Will? Had it been Will?
Mike, do you copy?
The wind blows through his windows, making his curtains fan out like a clean sheet being spread over a bed. The air is cooler than yesterday and it's bright out.It must be late, he thinks, blearily looking at his watch that's resting on his nightstand: 11:54 am.
Mike, do you copy?
"Ah, fuck!" He rolls over onto his back and sighs heavily. He lets his arm drop, and it hangs over the edge of his bed holding his watch.
Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Miiiiikkkeeee, Dustin squeals rapidly over the radio.
Mike groans for a second time, blindly feeling for his radio laying on the floor beside his bed.
"WHAT?!" he yells back at him once he has it in his grasp.
"Dude, we've been radioing you for over an hour!" Lucas chimes.
"What the hell are you doing? It's like noon already!" Dustin quickly follows.
"I was sleeping, Jesus ," Mike responds groggily, draping his other arm over his forehead.
"Damn, Wheeler, I've been up since eight," Dustin says.
"Well, we can't all be stand up citizens, Henderson."
"I went for a run and read Max two more chapters out of Shawshank this morning."
"Fuck you guys, it's Saturday for Christ's sake–"
"What were you doing last night? Were you with El?" Lucas asks teasingly, and Mike has no problem envisioning the cocky grin spread across his face. He and Max went all the way ages ago, and now he keeps badgering Mike every chance he gets. Mike rolls his eyes, adjusting himself on his bed so he's sitting up. Once fully vertical he realizes his head is pounding.
"No, Lucas ," he hisses, rubbing his temple and grimacing. He pulls open his nightstand drawer and searches for the Tylenol he swore was still in there.
When he can't find it he huffs frustratedly and stands up, searching for his clothes on his floor.
"Well then where the hell were you?" Dustin asks.
Mike hops into gray sweatpants and then pulls a semi clean, white undershirt that's hanging on his desk chair over his head.
" I was with Jeff, you assholes. We ended up at the quarry with some of the guys from Hellfire after the arcade and he had a flask of some nasty shit he stole from his dad."
Mike doesn't mention they were having a bonfire for Eddie. Dustin would be upset he couldn't come.
Lucas snickers across the airwaves. "Ooooh, so you're just hungover. Get the hell out of bed Wheeler! We have very important Party business to attend to. It's called sitting on our asses watching movies."
"I'm up, I'm up," he grumbles, rubbing his eyes.
There's a long beat and then Dustin asks, "Where the hell is Will?"
"I'm here," Will replies quietly across the line.
Mike bristles at the sound of his voice. Was he there the whole time?
"Byers! What's up buddy?" Dustin cheers. "You're still on for tonight right?"
There's a long pause. "Yeah of course."
"Are we meeting at the video store?" Lucas asks.
"No," Mike says quickly. "I got some movies. Just come over."
It comes out grumpier than he meant it, but whatever. He can blame it on the hangover.
"Copy that. See you guys in the basement in an hour. Maybe if we turn the lights on we'll be able to find whatever crawled up Mike's ass last night." Lucas's tone is light, but Mike hears the underlying seriousness.
"What?! I didn't do anything!" he growls at him.
"See you guys," Dustin says quickly, decidingly staying out of this one and and signs off before Mike can even say goodbye.
"Get it together Mike. Be there in an hour." Lucas signs off, leaving what he's assuming is only Will left on the channel.
Mike waits.
Nothing .
He waits another second before rolling his eyes and pressing hard on the radio's button.
"Will, you copy ?"
Nothing .
He tries one more time. " Will , are you there?"
"-I'm here." Mike can hear him clear his throat. "Sorry I was drawing."
Mike taps the radio against his forehead and sighs. Of course they got stuck on the line together.
"You're coming today right?" he tries.
There's some loud static and Mike flinches, moving the radio away from his face. His pulse rages inside his skull.
"I'm—-I'll—-be—-soon." Will's words are a garbled mess and Mike slams the button again.
"Will? I can't–I can't hear you. Are you there?"
More static.
"I—-there—-"
Mike roars and slams the antenna down. "Motherfucking piece of shit —-Goddam—-" As soon as the radio is in the air his mother is softly opening his door, scaring the shit out of him.
"Mike?!" She asks, her face scrunching up in confusion.
The radio flies across the bed and roughly slams into the drywall and Mike scowls at it.
"Michael Wheeler!" Karen scolds as she stands in the doorway, staring at the radio on the bed.
"What are you doing?"
"The radio isn't working," he shrugs, acting as if he had done nothing out of line.
His mom looks around the room, and Mike follows her line of sight. She furrows her brow as she fastens a bracelet onto her wrist.
"Mike, your room is a pigsty. You better clean this up or I'll send Lucas and the rest of them right back to their houses."
"Mom—-"
"Just do it Mike. And don't think I didn't hear that language. You're on thin ice with the swearing Michael Anthony. Keep it up and I'll take the Nintendo," She scolds and sighs heavily, completely uninterested with any protest he might have. Mike cringes at the sound of his middle name.
Karen leans against the doorway watching him as he gets started cleaning his room. She turns her head to one side to adjust her earring, and Mike can feel her cogs turning, gauging his mood.
"Is there anything you want in particular from the grocery store?"
"Snacks?" he asks as he bends and starts picking up his laundry.
"Ok. I'm heading out for sone errands with Holly. Can you take your laundry to the basement when you're done?"
"Yes," he sighs.
"Hey Mike?"
"Yeah, Mom," he responds, pulling his blankets off his bed to make it. He tries not to sound like too much of an asshole. She is letting him lounge around with his friends all day.
"Is Will coming today?"
Mike pauses and looks up at her. Her brows are raised expectantly, brown eyes frustratingly imploring.
"Yeah. Why?" he asks, rolling the bunched blanket in his hands.
His Mom shakes her head slightly. "No reason. I just–he hasn't been around much recently." She waits a moment, and Mike fidgets under her scrutiny. Then her face breaks into a smile, her tone lightening.
"Alright sweetheart, I'll be back in a little while. Your Dad's mowing if you need anything. Take the laundry to the basement okay?"
He nods at her, focusing his attention on the bed. She closes the door and he hears Holly run down the stairs behind her. She must have been hiding in the hall the entire time.
It's another half hour or more before he has his room picked up and his bed made. He's in the basement when his three best friends come barrelling down the stairs together. First it's Dustin, already in an animated conversation with Lucas close on his heels. Will is a few paces behind. Before Mike can blink Dustin has thrown his backpack on his Dad's raggedy old chair and kicked off his sneakers. Lucas and him have the Nintendo on before Mike can even close the washer.
He immediately registers that Will sits behind them on the couch, still completely zipped up in his sweatshirt and his hands in his pockets. He's smiling gently at Dustin and Lucas wrestling over the controller, but Mike can tell by the way that his legs are crossed and how he hasn't made eye contact with him that he's still off.
"Hey guys," Mike greets them with a warm smile. He's aware this morning was not one of his finer moments, and doesn't want today to be weird.
"Hey!" Lucas looks up quickly from the TV screen. "How ya feeling?"
Dustin elbows him in the arm, and shoves Lucas's face with the palm of his hand. "Dude, leave him alone. Like you weren't drinking with your basketball buddies last weekend!"
Mike rubs his left eye and smiles, realizing Lucas's teasing earlier really was all in good fun.
"You guys are idiots," He chuckles.
When his hand falls away, he realizes Will's gazing at him, smiling back. It's tentative, but real. He removes his hands from his pockets and uncrosses his legs, letting them fall relaxed in his lap. Mike approaches him, feeling jittery and stupid. It seems so dumb to feel this way around someone he's known since Kindergarten. He plops himself next to him on the sunken couch. He tries being casual, keeping his eyes on the television and the back of Dustin's head as he plays Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
"Hey," Mike says softly, risking a glance at him.
Will shifts uncomfortably next to him, lifting his hips and pulling his jeans down where they rode up his thighs, then crosses his arms protectively over his belly. Mike notices a hole forming at the knee of his pants.
"Hey," he replies, finally looking over at him, his eyelids fluttering nervously. He's still tense and unsure and Mike isn't sure exactly when this shift happened between them, but Will's energy is that of a caged rabbit, and Mike hates it.
"Did you have a good time at the bonfire?" Will asks him, picking at the knuckle of his thumb with his nail. Mike's noticed this new tic, ever since he returned from California, and he thinks it might have something to do with Vecna. His hand itches to reach out and put his palm over his to make him stop, but that feels weird, so he sits on it to keep from doing so.
"Yeah. I did." Mike makes sure Dustin is still distracted then lowers his voice a bit and leans in closer to Will, trying not to flinch when Will's posture stiffens again. "I met some of Eddie's other friends outside of Hellfire. It was nice."
Will's lip quivers a bit as he pulls up one side of his mouth into a smile. "That does sound nice," he says lowly, and Mike spots the pity in his hazel eyes. The pity and the concern.
He had told Will about Eddie over the Summer, but he really doesn't want to go into it now, into how much he fucking misses him. What if he started crying in front of all fucking three of them? Jesus Christ.
After a beat, Mike sits back from him and clears his throat anxiously, thankful when Will doesn't press any further. They sit there awkwardly for a second, and Mike watches the video game. Mike's been dreading asking him, and the fact that his cheeks burn as he says it makes it one thousand times worse.
"Uhm, how was your night?"
He tries not to let it, but the image of Will sitting with Jamie on the ice cream bench floods into his mind, their thighs touching and heads leaning in close like they'd known each other their whole lives. Jamie even offered Will a sip of his drink and Will accepted like it was the most normal thing in the world, as if they weren't sitting on a public bench, in front of everyone. And what Mike hated most about it was the way Will's eyes regarded Jamie as he took a sip, vibrant and laced with something dark Mike couldn't place. It was the way Jamie, he didn't even know how to explain it, watched him back?
Why was he looking at him that way? Why were they even friends to begin with? Didn't Will have enough friends? And why did Mike care so much, standing there in the parking lot staring at Will like an idiot. He doesn't own Will. He really can and should have as many friends as he wants. He deserves all the friends in the world, really. He's so good at being a friend. Who wouldn't want him around? But why did the whole idea of it make Mike so angry?
He chalks it up to just being mad about not being able to hang out, but in truth the idea of this new friend totally freaked him out. Things have been so weird between him and Will lately, for the last year and a half, if he is truly being honest. Things were weird between them even before he left for California. They've never even talked about the fight in his garage, never talked about him and Lucas finding Will in the rain with Castle Byers laid to waste at his feet, never talked about making good on their promise to be a team again. And Mike has never brought up to Will the fact that El had no idea what he was talking about when he thanked her for the painting, drawing her brows together and her dark eyes squinting at him like he was crazy.
Mike can't think of one time in their entire relationship that Will had lied to him. Will never lied, not to him at least. And he had this infuriating way about him that made it impossible for Mike to lie to him too, making his cheeks go hot when Will read him like an open book. But something has changed, something that makes Mike feel like he's stuck outside and looking in on Will through a window, but it's locked and he can't find the door. Will has been quiet and closed off and secretive, inaccessible in a way Mike can't figure out. He hasn't lied, he doesn't think, since the painting, not outright, but Mike feels him drawing in on himself, like a flower in the frost.
"It was good," Will says, interrupting Mike's thoughts. Mike looks at him. He's biting his lip and Mike swears he blushes while he studies the frayed edge of the hole ripped in his jeans, tugging at a loose string. Mike nods when Will looks up at him, his face turning serious when he notices Mike staring. "I mean, he's–" Will opens his mouth, stuck on what he wants to say.
" —- nice," He states finally.
"Cool," Mike replies quickly. "No–I mean–that's good, Will." He really hopes he knows he really means it.
"Yeah."
Will nods at him and his smile grows, full lips spreading tightly over white teeth. It's warm and bright and Mike can't help but smile back at him. He feels like it's been so long since Will smiled like that, and it tells him that Will knows he does mean what he says. Mike watches as his face relaxes and peers at him shyly from under heavy lashes, his eyes filled with… happiness?
Will is happy. And watchful; his eyes appearing darker as they scan Mike's face. For what, he isn't sure. Will bites his lip again except it isn't nervous this time. Instead, it's almost as if he's holding himself back from saying something. The intensity of him makes Mike suddenly hyper aware that their hands are lying side by side on the couch, so close that Mike can feel the heat radiate off Will's skin. He examines the space between them, barely an inch. When he returns his attention to Will's face he's startled to find he had never stopped observing him. Heat creeps up Mike's neck and he holds his breath, chest tight with embarrassment.
"God dammit Dustin!" Lucas yells loudly. Mike jumps, tearing his attention from Will and sucking in a deep breath. "Give me the controller! Your turn is over, you doofus! Admit defeat!"
"Neverrrr!" Dustin yells back, holding it above his head and dodging Lucas's swipes.
"Oh come on! You lost! Admit ittttt!" Lucas is up in a flash and jumping on Dustin roughly.
Dustin lets out a high pitched scream. "Never!" before bursting into laughter.
Will laughs next to him too, deep from his chest, and Mike can't help but stare at him again. He hasn't heard him laugh so full-heartedly in so long. He's also taken off his sweatshirt and removed his shoes while Mike was watching Dustin and Lucas fight over the controller. Will hauls himself up on one leg and pushes himself up on the couch, crossing and tucking them underneath his body. His knee brushes Mike's ribs and Mike can't help but think how good it feels to be this close to him, to his best friend. He leans into it. Will doesn't move away.
"Guys! Guys! Guys!" Mike yells over his other dumb idiot best friends still rolling around on the floor, suddenly feeling so much lighter than he has in ages and trying not to laugh. "Let's put the movie on!"
Two movies and several snacks later, the credits of Beetlejuice are rolling and the four members of the Party are all sprawled across the furniture and the floor of Mike's basement. There's a pizza box and bags of chips spread across the coffee table and Mike and Will have claimed the sunken couch. Their heads rest at either end and legs, now much longer than they used to be, unavoidably tangled.
Will has turned on his side toward the TV, his butt against Mike's legs and his breathing is quiet. He stirs, rubbing his eyes and resting his head on the underside of his forearm and Mike's pretty sure he has been asleep for a while. He could feel it in the way Will had stopped giggling at some point and leaned into him heavily halfway through the movie. Enjoying the closeness of him, even if it was only in sleep, and not wanting to disturb him, Mike just let it be. He couldn't help but wonder why he is so tired though, and he hopes that there isn't anything with Vecna that he's keeping from him. He makes a mental note to check in with him when he finds the right moment.
When Will rolls back against him again he must notice Mike's knee wedged in between his hip and the worn cushion. He sleepily paws around behind him, fingers gliding over the back of the couch and then lightly trailing along Mike's leg. Mike's entire body freezes at the contact and an alarming jolt of electric heat shoots up his thigh, straight to his core.
Will's eyes are closed and he's half asleep and his fingers, with a mind of their own, are sliding down his thigh to his knee, the pesky culprit that's causing him his discomfort. When Will feels the round bone of it he squeezes and it's at that exact moment Will's eyes shoot open, suddenly awake, and he sits up in a flash, pulling his hand away as if he'd been burned. His slightly grown out hair is falling over his forehead in unkempt, chestnut waves and his eyes are wide as he gazes down at Mike, who still for some reason can't move. Doesn't want to move, he thinks shamefully.
"Sorry," Will says, his cheeks turning crimson. "I think I fell asleep."
Mike breathes out a small breath: almost a chuckle, almost a sigh. "Yeah. You did."
Will looks away from him, shoulders suddenly tense again, frozen as if he doesn't know what to do. Without warning, he stands and starts cleaning up the pizza box, grabbing at the various bags of snacks and folding them up. Piling them onto the box, he heads quickly for the stairs.
"I'm just gonna use the bathroom," he announces to no one really, and bolts up the stairs.
Mike, unsure of what the hell has made Will suddenly so awkward, sits up and observes his other friends. Dustin is snoring on the floor with his head on a pillow he stole out from under Mike. Lucas is balancing on his elbow on the other side of the table, rubbing one eye. "What's up with Will?"
Mike shrugs, balancing his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together.
"I don't know. He was asleep."
"Hah! I knew it," Lucas chuckles. "He's always doing that."
"Yeah," Mike agrees, trying to smile. But all he can think about is the look on Will's face, the embarrassment, the humiliation , after he realized he touched him. A cold sweat pools at the small of Mike's back and he shakes his leg when he has nowhere to put how that makes him feel. It pulses through his body and makes him hot and angry and his stomach twists uncomfortably. So stupid. Of course Will would recoil when he realized he was touching him there, of course he would be embarrassed. Mike is his best friend, and a boy, and it's not appropriate. But then….why did it make his chest feel tight with rejection? Why was his throat heavy with emotion that shouldn't even be happening in the first place?
Mike frowns, his mind racing a mile a second and his body on fire. "I'll go see if he's okay," he tells Lucas, jumping up and heading towards the stairs before he can change his mind.
Lucas stretches and reaches for his shoes. "Alright, man. Well, I'm gonna get this asshole up and we're going to meet up with Steve and Robin."
Mike waves at him, already turning away.
"Let me know how it goes with Will, okay?" Lucas says, and when Mike turns on the stairs, he sees his face is drenched with concern. He pauses, slowing his pace and really taking Lucas in. "Yeah man, I will. I'll call you tomorrow. Promise."
Lucas nods at him sincerely. And with that Mike rushes up the stairs to find Will.