Dustin decides to start the band reunification with Will since, in theory, he'll probably be the least mad.

On Sunday afternoon, Dustin bikes to Will's house, knocks on the front door, and is greeted by Joyce. She's wearing an apron that's covered in flour and though her hair is pulled back, it still manages to look messy and unkempt.

"Dustin!" She smiles, resting a hand against the doorway, "What's up, bud?"

Dustin smiles back. "Hey, Mrs. Byers, is Will home?"

"No, he took off about an hour ago," Joyce replies, "I think he said he was going to the movies?"

Dustin frowns. "All by himself?"

Joyce shrugs her shoulders with a huff. "I guess so. He's been going there a lot lately, maybe he wants to go into film like Jonathan."

Dustin pouts, primarily because the bike ride to Will's house is kinda super long, and to go from Will's house to the theater is going to be even longer. Also, he can smell the scent of baking cookies drifting out of the Byers' house, and he realizes that he's also super hungry.

"Son of a bitch," Dustin grumbles, shuffling his feet, "You mean I gotta bike all the way downtown?"

Joyce gives him a reprimanding look for his language, but nods. "Looks like it."

Dustin sighs and turns to go, but Joyce stops him.

"Here, Dustin, before you go —" she ducks into the house and returns with a small baggie of cookies for him. "I don't want you biking on an empty stomach."

Dustin beams at her. "Have I ever told you that you're like, the best mom ever?"

Joyce smiles back and snorts. "What about your mother?"

"Have I ever told you that you're the second best mom ever?"

Joyce gives him a teasing grin and hands the cookies over. "Goodbye, Dustin," she replies patiently.

Dustin gives her a final wave before heading back to his bike. He slips the cookies into his backpack, readjusts his baseball hat, and takes off. The afternoon is chilly even though the sky is blue. As he bikes down side-roads and secret shortcuts, he tries to plan out what he's actually going to say once he finds Will. Like, hey, sorry I didn't listen to you. Please join the band again. It just seems way too…lame. He needs to give it a little more oomph.

The bike ride feels like it takes forever. When Dustin finally makes it to the Hawk Cinema, he has to wait outside for several minutes just so he can catch his breath. He probably shouldn't have exerted himself so much by biking so fast, but whatever. He couldn't help wanting to see his friend right away, especially when said friend, as well as all of his friends, has been ignoring him for nearly a week now.

Dustin parks his bike beside Will's in the alleyway and heads into the movie theater. It's pretty quiet, considering it's noon on a Sunday, but that actually turns out to be a good thing as it makes it super easy to spot Will, as he's one of the only people in the lobby. He's standing in line for the concessions, drumming his foot nervously.

Dustin beams. "Will!" He calls out.

Will flinches in surprise before he glances around the lobby and spots Dustin. "Dustin!" He beams before his smile falters and he glances around nervously, "Dustin, what are you doing here?"

Dustin hurries up to him and joins him in line, ignoring the ruffled huffs of the people behind Will in line. "I came for you!" Dustin exclaims. He pauses and glances around the lobby. "What are you doing here?"

Will blushes a delicate shade of pink and begins to sway on the spot. "No reason," he says, but his eyes betray him as they fleetingly move toward the head of the concession line.

Dustin looks in that direction and sees the same guy that helped them out the last time he was here. He remembers how flustered and blushy Will had gotten that night, and though he didn't think anything of it at the time, it all makes sense now.

"You like him?" Dustin exclaims in a whisper that's pretty much audible to anyone within a five-foot radius of them.

"Shhh!" Will hisses, slapping a hand over Dustin's mouth. He glances toward the concession stand one more time before yanking Dustin out of the lobby and back outside. The two boys come to a stop outside in the alleyway, beside their parked bikes.

"Sorry!" Dustin hastily apologizes as soon as Will removes his hand.

"He can't know that I like him!" Will insists, still glancing around their surroundings as if he expects his crush to spring out of the dumpster further down the alleyway, "I don't want to weird him out. I don't know if he's even…you know."

Dustin nods understandingly. "I'm sorry," he says again.

Will nods back and glances down at his feet, his frustration deflating and leaving him looking quite sheepish.

For an awful moment, Dustin feels a flash of that old, familiar feeling coming back again. That last one! left behind! no girlfriend! feeling. It churns in his gut like an old stomach ache, but Dustin takes a breath and forces himself to push it all aside. "Well, for what it's worth, Will, I hope it works out," he says, truly meaning it.

Will looks up at him, seeming both touched and surprised. "Thanks, Dustin," he says rather blankly.

Dustin gives him a small smile and averts his gaze. There's a solid minute of uncomfortable silence that settles over the pair as they both remember that they're not supposed to be friends anymore. There are the sounds of passing cars, their own shuffling feet, and muffled amiable chatter from down the street. A breeze drifts down the alley, causing Will to zipper his jacket shut.

"So, why did you come here?" Will asks quietly, "I thought—"

Dustin gives him an uneasy smile. "Yeah, I know, we all fought and stuff, but…"

Alright, this was it. He needed to totally win Will over so he could get the rest of his friends back. This is what he'd been practicing for, it had to be the best apology ever.

But when Dustin looks at Will and opens his mouth to continue, all coherent thought just falls right out his head and lands at his feet. His brain suddenly feels impossibly empty and all he knows is that holy shit he's missed his friends so much.

"I want to be friends again!" He whines, "I want the band back together!"

So much for oomph.

Will gives him a hesitant look. "I want that too, but—"

"And we need to get back together because Steve booked us a gig!" Dustin hurriedly continues, not liking the sound of that but, "It's at Indiana U and it's at this big party and it's this Thursday so we need to hurry!"

"That's…that's really great, Dustin! But—"

"A-and this could be our shot you know? Like the gig that gets us started! And I obviously can't do it alone and—"

"Dustin!" Will finally erupts. His voice is so brash and authoritative, so out-of-character, that Dustin can't help but come to an abrupt halt, "I need to say something!"

Dustin clamps his mouth shut and nods quickly.

Will takes a breath, clenches and unclenches his hands, and looks Dustin directly in the eye. "Listen, Dustin, what you did sucked," he says with a glare. It's the angriest Dustin's ever seen him and the sight is so alarming that Dustin can't do anything but stare back at him blankly.

"You and Lucas, actually," Will continues sternly, "With all your dumb rules and how you treated El. Do you know how much it sucks to have to pretend like you don't like someone? To have to hide your feelings all the time? It's horrible! And you guys put Mike through all this drama just because you didn't want to accept El! I know Mike didn't act perfect either, but—"

"I know!" Dustin cuts in, finally regaining the ability to speak, "I know, okay? I overreacted and I'm sorry. I really, really am! But I'm trying to make things right and I can't do it without you!"

Will gives him a reproachful look, still not convinced.

Dustin sighs and actually takes a moment to collect his thoughts before speaking this time. "I know that what I did was wrong," he finally admits, "I was just jealous, okay? I saw that Mike was getting a girlfriend and I felt left out and I knew it was selfish but I didn't care. El never did anything and I assumed that she was going to Yoko-Ono the band but in the end, I Yoko-Onoed the band because I tried to control everything and I'm just really, really, really sorry, okay? I don't want the band back together just because of the gig, but also because I miss you guys! Having to go all week ignoring you all was horrible and it sucked so bad and I felt like shit the whole time. You're my friends and I need you, all of you, even El." He finds himself out of breath again once he's finished speaking, but that's okay because he finally feels like he's gotten everything off of his chest once and for all.

Will studies him, not saying a word.

Dustin shifts in place anxiously. He feels like he's in English class or something, about to be graded on an oral presentation.

Finally, after what feels like what could have been either a few seconds or a few thousand years, Will rewards Dustin with a warm smile. "Good," he says simply.

"Good?" Dustin replies hopefully.

Will's smile widens. "That's really good. I think you're actually sorry about what you did, and it sounds like you're willing to make things up."

Dustin nods wholeheartedly. "I am, I really am! I'm more sorry than I've ever been about anything in my entire life!"

"I believe you," Will assures him.

"So, you'll rejoin the band?"

Will nods. "I missed you guys too," he admits bashfully, "Like, every day."

Dustin grins for the first time in a long time. He claps Will on the back before pulling him to a tight hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He exclaims.

Will yelps in surprise but begins to laugh as Dustin lifts him off the ground and continues to hug him. "You're welcome!"

After a few more seconds, Dustin plants Will back on his feet and readjusts his cap. "I still need to talk things out with everyone else, but I was hoping you could help me."

Will smiles. "Of course I'll help!"

Dustin smiles back before glancing toward the theater. "Did you want to finish seeing your movie?"

Will looks hesitant for a second but ends up shaking his head dismissively. "No, I can always come back later. Besides, I've already been here 3 times this past week —" His voice comes to an abrupt halt as his eyes widen and his cheeks redden. "I mean, I haven't, like, you know, uh, been here that many times…"

"No worries," Dustin shrugs with a teasing smirk, "Your mom already told me that you're like, obsessed with coming here now."

Will's eyes nearly bug out of his head. "She what?!"

"Now come on!" Dustin continues, grabbing his bike from where it's leaning against the alley wall, "We've got some making up to do!"

The boys decide to head to Mike's house next, as Will points out that Lucas probably won't want to rejoin the band unless Mike is there to talk things out.

Thankfully, the bike ride from the theater to Mike's house isn't as long as the one to Will's.

But it's still long.

"We really need to get cars," Dustin huffs as he and Will come to a stop in the Wheeler's driveway.

Will, feeling thoroughly winded, nods. "Agreed. We need money though."

The boys place down their kickstands, demount their bikes, and begin walking side-by-side toward the Wheeler's front door.

"Hey, maybe you could get a job working at the theater," Dustin suddenly suggests, turning to grin at Will.

Will feels his face burn with a bashful embarrassment. "Dustin!" He hisses, though internally he has to admit it isn't that bad of an idea...

"I'm just saying," Dustin replies in a sing-songy voice.

"Hey, maybe you should sing for the band," Will teases back, "You sound great."

Dustin pulls a face a nudges him, to which Will nudges him right back. At this interaction, Will feels a surge of happiness settle within him. He didn't realize just how much he missed having friends to joke around with until now.

He and Dustin reach the front step and ring the doorbell. A minute or so passes as the boys awkwardly wait on the front step, and just when they start debating whether or not they should ring it again, the door swings open to reveal a ruffled-looking Ted Wheeler.

"What's going on?" Ted asks in a voice that reminds Will of the narrators in all those old, boring history documentaries they have to watch in class sometimes.

"We're here to see Mike!" Dustin replies eagerly.

Ted shakes his head. "He's not home."

Dustin's face drops instantly. "What the shit?" He snaps, "Why is no one home today?"

"Language!" Ted snaps back.

"What Dustin meant to ask," Will cuts in, throwing his friend a glare, "Is where Mike is."

Ted eyes them both grumpily before replying, "He took Holly to the park."

Will hesitates. "Did he go with El?"

Ted frowns. "What's El?"

Dustin rolls his eyes. "Never mind, we're outta here."

"Humph," Ted replies disinterestedly before shutting the door.

"Man, Mike's dad is the worst," Dustin gripes as he and Will return to their bikes, "And that's coming from someone who doesn't even have one."

"Same," Will contends dryly.

The boys head to the park where, indeed, Mike's decided to spend the day with Holly. It was either that or spend his Sunday ignoring the way his parents are now ignoring each other. While they've stopped fighting, their silence is somehow louder and more unbearable. It hangs in the air and makes everything feel cloudy and gray inside their home.

So yeah, they needed to get out of the house.

Mike's pushing Holly on the swing set. As she moves back and forth, her pigtails fly out in the air like big, floppy ears. Bundled in her puffy parka and hat, she kinda looks like a pink marshmallow, which makes Mike wanna laugh.

"Higher!" Holly squeals, kicking her legs. Being seven years old, Holly's more than capable of swinging herself, but when she'd looked up at him with her innocent little doe eyes and pleaded for Mike to push her, how was he supposed to say no?

Especially after all the shit that happened last night...

Mike swallows and pushes the thought aside. Yesterday was yesterday, today is today, and today he's going to focus on having a good time with his sister. His parents' problems aren't his own.

Mike gives Holly another push and makes himself smile. "If I push you any higher, you're gonna go over the pole!" He teases, only half-kidding.

"That'd be cool!" Holly gasps.

"Not when you end up in so many casts you look like a Mummy."

"You look like a Mummy!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!" Holly calls over her shoulder, "You're white and bony!"

Mike lets out a bark of actual, genuine laughter. "That's it!" He exclaims before he stops pushing Holly and brings her swing to a swaying stop. Ignoring her exclamations of protest, he lifts her into his arms and begins tickling her profusely.

"N-No!" Holly squeals between keens of laughter.

"I got you!" Mike teases, tickling her stomach.

"L-let go of m-me, you m-mummy!" Holly exclaims breathlessly.

"Mike?" A new voice calls out, interrupting them.

Mike pauses and looks up to see Dustin and Will crossing the playground, heading in his direction. He feels his heart skip a beat and for a second he starts to smile (Friends! Here! They came back for me! They care!). But then he feels his heart drop to his feet as quickly as it skipped because, oh yeah, he kinda treated them like jerks, and Will and Dustin are probably just here to get their instruments back, which are still in his garage.

Mike sets Holly down as the boys come closer. "Hold on a minute," he tells her.

"Why?" Holly frowns, suddenly seeming on edge, "Weren't they mean to you?"

And now Mike's starting to regret telling her about everything that happened in the band while they were snuggling in his room last night. In his defense, it was a highly emotional time and Holly's an extremely good listener.

"Shh!" Mike instructs just as Dustin and Will finally reach them.

"Shh, what?" Dustin asks skeptically.

"Nothing!" Mike replies quickly.

Dustin and Will give him puzzled looks, followed by a brief period of silence. As Mike stands in front of them, fidgeting with the hem of his coat, he finds himself wondering who's supposed to be saying something right now.

"If you guys want your instruments," Mike eventually blurts out, "They're in my garage. We can go back and get them right now if you want."

"Huh?" Will frowns.

"Dude, no," Dustin snorts, "That's not why we're here."

Mike tries to ignore the hopeful skip of his heartbeat. "It's not?"

Will gives Dustin a look and a nudge, to which Dustin steps forward and looks at Mike sincerely. "We — I wanted to say that I was sorry."

"Good!" Holly pipes up.

The boys turn to look down at her in surprise, all kinda having forgotten that she was there.

"You guys hurt Mike's feelings!" Holly continues crossly, "He told me! Now he'll never get another girlfriend again 'cause he's not cool enough!"

"WHAT," Mike yelps, cheeks crimson, "I...I never—"

Dustin has to hold back a laugh as he turns to look at Mike incredulously. "Dude! You told everything that happened to your little sister?"

Mike blushes even redder but crosses his arms over his chest in an attempt to seem tougher. "Well, who ELSE was I supposed to talk to?" He grumbles, looking toward his feet.

Dustin and Will glance at each other, both looking quite guilty. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that," Dustin mumbles, "I'm sorry about the fight. What I did was super immature — trying to make you not date El. I was just...jealous and shit."

Mike glances up at him, alarmed. "You were jealous of El?"

"Not like that!" Dustin quickly explains, "Ew, no! I mean, I was jealous that a girl liked you and no girls in school ever even pay attention to me. I hated feeling like I was going to be the last one in our friend group to get with someone. Plus, I felt like you weren't going to need me anymore after you got with her."

"Oh," Mike replies. He processes this for a moment before he takes a deep breath and looks Dustin directly in the eye. "Listen, Dustin, it wasn't all your fault. I treated you guys like jerks and then I lied right to your face. I broke our rules and I was wrong, okay? I do need you guys."

Dustin gives him a hopeful look. "Really?"

"Obviously!" Mike smiles, "No one could ever replace you, Dustin! Who else am I going to watch Star Wars with or plan out D&D campaigns with? Plus, you're the best drummer I've ever seen."

Dustin blushes modestly. "That's bullshit, Mike."

"It's true!" Mike contends.

"It's true," Will smiles, giving Dustin a playful nudge.

"I've never seen you drum," Holly remarks, "So, I don't know."

"The point is," Mike continues, eyeing Holly, "No matter what happens with any girl, you guys will always be my best friends. And I promise that from now on I'm not going to shut you guys out anymore."

Dustin's not going to like, cry in front of Mike, even though he kinda feels like doing so. Instead, he breaks out into a grin and pulls Mike in for a tight hug. Will joins in and soon the three of them are embracing each other, leaving Holly trapped in the middle.

"Get off!" Holly squeaks, voice muffled, "You're crushing me!"

The boys pull apart with a series of laughs, causing Holly to look annoyed.

"Dumb boys," she grumbles, brushing herself off.

Mike idly pats the top of her head before looking back up at his friends. "So, what now?" He asks, "Where's everyone else?"

"We still haven't talked to Lucas, Max, or El yet," Will explains, "We were hoping that you would help us out."

Mike nods nervously. "Yeah, totally."

"Then let's go!" Dustin beams.

"Right now?"

"Yes, right now! Unless you wanna ride the merry-go-round a few more times."

"No!" Mike blushes and nudges Dustin as the four of them begin walking back to Mike's car.

"Can you drive us?" Will asks.

"Our legs hurt," Dustin whines.

"I mean, I guess, since I'm already babysitting," Mike teases.

All three of the others in attendance take great offense to this.

Before the boys head to Lucas', Mike drops off Holly at home. He feels kinda awful leaving her behind, but the only other alternative would be to cart her around and have her awkwardly listen in on all his apologies, which they both agreed would be weird.

Well, okay, Mike thought it would be weird. Holly was more than thrilled at the prospect of getting to meet Mike's (ex) girlfriend, which just further emphasized the whole not-gonna-happen-ness of the situation.

After dropping off Holly and the bikes at the Wheeler's home, the boys decide to walk over to Lucas' house. It's Sunday evening, the sky is pink and orange, and the air is cool enough for them to only need light jackets. As they draw closer to Lucas', Mike finds himself growing increasingly nervous about what he's going to say to make things right between them.

As if reading his mind, Dustin glances over at him and asks, "So, what are you going to say to Lucas?"

Mike buries his hands in his pockets and shrugs. "Honestly, I don't know. I'm pretty sure he hates me."

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you," Will replies civilly.

"More like, he just can't stand you," Dustin elaborates.

Mike throws him a flat look. "Gee, thanks, Dustin."

"I'm just trying to be realistic!" Dustin defends, "If you go in acting all buddy-buddy, he'll probably just be even more annoyed."

"I guess you're right," Mike admits.

"I know we're almost there," Will hesitates, "But maybe we should get El first? I mean, Lucas was kind of mean to her, I think she should be here for this…"

"Yeah, where is El?" Dustin asks curiously, "Is she doing okay?"

Mike feels a sharp jab of something hit him right in the gut. Bitterness? Remorse? Heartbreak? Some other sappy, mopey emotion that he desperately wants to get over already?

"El's busy," Mike mutters, desperately trying to keep his voice flat and emotionless, "And besides, like you said, Will, we're already here, so there's no point in turning back now."

Will looks a little wary but nods silently. At this point, the boys reach the Sinclair residence and are happy to see Max's van parked in the driveway.

"Finally!" Dustin huffs, "Someone's actually home for once!"

Mike and Will snort as Mike leads the way up to the front door. As he comes to a stop in front of the doorway and rings the doorbell, Mike finds that his heart is beating faster and his palms have gotten all gross and clammy. Why is he so nervous about this? Lucas is (was?) his best friend. Talking to him should be totally normal.

And yet —

Mike can't get over his own actions. Being snarky about Lucas' playing, shutting out Lucas whenever he tried to confront Mike, never letting him take lead…he keeps playing everything that happened between them over and over in his mind, like how your life is supposed to flash before your eyes when you're about to die. In Mike's mind, this makes sense, as he wouldn't be surprised if Lucas literally kills him for this. He kinda deserves it.

The door swings open, revealing Lucas' little sister, Erica. Her hands are planted on her hips and she's looking up at the boys like they're Mormons or trying to sell her a cable TV package.

"What are you doing here?" She asks, crinkling up her nose in disdain.

After years of hanging out with Lucas, Mike's discovered that the best way to deal with his sister is to not give into her...prickliness. Lucas always freaks out over her behavior, which only eggs her on, which leads to the rest of the bandmates awkwardly sitting on Lucas' living room couch while they go back and forth at each other.

"Is Lucas home?" Mike asks patiently.

"Nope," Erica replies disinterestedly.

"But that's Max's car in the driveway!" Dustin exclaims.

"No, it isn't!" Erica contends.

"Yes, it is!"

"No, it isn't!"

"Yes, it is! I've literally seen it a million times!"

"Can we just PLEASE talk to Lucas?" Mike pleads, raising his voice to be heard over Dustin and Erica's bickering.

"Can you PLEASE leave?" Erica counters, "I don't wanna catch your nerd disease."

"There's no such thing as nerd diseases!" Dustin snaps.

"Dustin," Will says in a tone that pleads please-stop-pulling-a-Lucas-and-arguing-with-the-middle-schooler.

Just as Erica's opening her mouth to fire off another remark, Lucas appears at her side, nudging past her. "Erica, who the hell are you —"

His voice comes to an abrupt halt as his eyes land on Mike, Dustin, and Will. Mike would never admit this to Lucas, but it's in this moment — when Lucas crosses his arms over his chest and scrunches up his face into a scowl — that Mike can see the family resemblance between him and Erica more than ever.

"Hey, Lucas!" Mike begins cautiously, "I just wanted to —"

"Save it," Lucas scowls with a dismissive huff. He steps in front of Erica to shut the door, but Mike thrusts himself forward and wedges himself against the doorframe. The side of the door consequently slams against his side, but Mike chooses to ignore this.

"I just wanna talk!" Mike pleads.

"Please let us in!" Will adds hopefully.

"We've been biking all day and I need to sit down before my legs fall off!" Dustin insists.

Lucas glares at Mike but ultimately steps aside. "Whatever," he grumbles.

Erica rolls her eyes and retreats to her room, muttering something about how they're acting like a bunch of babies.

"Thanks," Mike smiles as he and the boys enter.

Lucas ignores him and leads them over to the living room, where Max is watching TV on the couch. From the looks of it, they're in the middle of one of the Indiana Jones movies.

Max turns to look at them as they enter, her face settling into an uncertain frown. Lucas moves to sit beside her on the couch while the other three boys awkwardly stand in front of them. As the TV continues to play, each side eyes each other expectantly.

"Harrison Ford," Mike says awkwardly as he motions to the screen.

Lucas eyes him.

"Remember when we all dressed up as Star Wars characters in the seventh grade?" Mike ventures hopefully.

"Yeah," Lucas replies, voice flat, "I wanted to be Han, but you said that you were already being Han, and then you made me be Lando."

Right.

"Right," Mike coughs, tugging at his collar a little.

"What do you want, Mike?" Max says, sounding bored.

Mike glances back at Dustin and Will, who give him encouraging nods before he steps forward and looks Lucas right in the eye. "I wanted to officially say that I was sorry," he says as sincerely as possible, "I drew first blood, I was a shitty bandmate and friend, and I'm really, really sorry."

Lucas has his arms crossed again as he slumps back on the couch. He still looks totally pissed but he's not like, kicking Mike out or anything, which has to be a good thing, right?

"Plus, we really need you!" Dustin chimes in, "Both of you! We got our first gig ever and it's in four days —"

"Wait, what?!" Mike, Lucas, and Max exclaim at once.

"We got a gig?!" Max gasps.

"Yeah!" Dustin blinks, looking a little startled, "Halloween night at Indiana U! It's a music fest! Steve hooked it up for us and everything!"

"Holy shit," Max murmurs, looking a little dazed, "An actual gig!"

"Dude!" Mike gapes, "Why didn't you tell me this before?!"

"I'm sorry!" Dustin yelps, "I guess I forgot!"

Lucas turns to Mike. "Wait, you didn't know?"

Mike turns back to Lucas and shakes his head.

"So, you're not just apologizing because you want me to do the gig?" Lucas asks carefully.

"No, this is the first I've heard about it, I swear!" Mike insists, "I came to apologize because I feel bad, okay?"

Lucas gives him a challenging look, wordlessly signaling him to continue.

Mike takes a second to think over his words, but when he finally proceeds, he realizes that all his planning goes right out the window and what comes out is an emotional, slightly disorganized blurb of a speech.

"Look, I never should have assumed that I was the lead guitarist. I should have asked you how you felt about things instead of just taking over. I mean, we could have been sharing the spot this entire time, but I was so wrapped up in my own shit that I didn't care. And I think the reason I wanted to be lead so bad was because my life kinda sucks right now and it just felt nice to be in control of something. But that's no excuse because I hurt you and I hurt everyone else and acted like an ass. You're a good lead — you did an awesome job at practice last time but I was acting stupid and jealous and I insulted you when you were actually doing really good. I miss you and I don't want to lose you, or anyone else ever. I'm also sorry that I lied about El, I shouldn't have broken the band's rules because they matter and you all matter and I need you guys."

After he's done, Mike stops to catch his breath. A part of him is too scared to look at Lucas, too scared to see what his reaction is. But a larger, more compulsive part of him can't look away, either. He looks at Lucas nervously, wringing his hands together without even really realizing that he's doing it.

"I'm sorry too!" Dustin adds hastily, "I never should have said that you're not like John Lennon because you're not the lead guitarist. I was also being a jerk. Also, Mike's right, you were a really good lead."

Lucas offers Dustin a small smile before his face settles back into a reflective frown. He processes Mike apology for a moment before he averts his gaze to his feet. "You really were an ass," he mutters, "I mean, we were supposed to be friends, but instead you just made me feel like shit all the time."

Mike, thinking back to his problems at home, swallows thickly.

"I just felt like you didn't care," Lucas continues, "Like, every time I tried to talk to you about it, you'd just ignore me. That just made everything worse."

Mike looks down, shame rolling off of him in waves. He feels like he wants to cry but the tears don't come — instead, his eyes just burn and his mouth feels dry.

"Do you even know how that makes someone feel?" Lucas asks, looking up at him.

Your mother and I just have some issues that we can't work out.

Mike nods. "Yeah. I do now." He stops for a minute, takes a deep breath, and meets Lucas' gaze. "And that's why I'm here. I know that what I did was wrong. It's not just recently, either, it's been going on for awhile, but I'm going to change, I promise. No more lies, no more shutting you out. You're my best friends and I think it's time that I start acting like it."

Lucas studies him for a moment. Max is smiling beside him, and seconds later, Lucas joins her. "Okay," Lucas says simply, and that's that.

"HELL YEAH!" Dustin cheers, pumping his fist in the air. That earns a laugh out of the group, and before long Lucas and Max are standing up and everyone's moving in for a big group hug.

"I missed your big dumb head," Max mumbles into the hug, nudging Mike.

"I missed your murder van," Mike teases back.

Max snorts and the group pulls apart to smile at each other. The world finally feels right again, like everything was upside down before. Everything's finally back the way it should be, well, except for —

"Wait, what about El?" Max asks, looking around the group, "Where's she?"

"Mike said she was busy," Will shrugs.

"Bullshit," Max scoffs, "Since when is El too busy for Mike?"

Mike avoids eye contact with anyone, suddenly feeling like he's gonna be sick. "El's not coming," he says, voice low with remorse.

His friends' give him worried looks. "What? Why?" Dustin asks.

"Because," Mike mutters, shuffling his feet, "Because...she broke up with me."

"Wait, for real?!" Max exclaims, "Why?"

"She felt guilty about lying to you guys and thought that the fight was all her fault," Mike pouts, "Also, she was mad at me for coming up with the whole lying plan in the first place."

Dustin and Lucas exchange reluctant glances. "I guess it didn't help that we pinned a lot of it on her," Dustin mumbles.

"Yeah," Lucas admits, "...Listen, Mike, I'm sorry too. I was rude to El and the whole anti-dating thing was dumb. She is a real member of this band and we need her too."

"I couldn't agree more," Max smiles.

"Me either!" Will contends.

"So, let's go get her!" Dustin grins.

"It's not that easy!" Mike exclaims, "We really hurt her feelings!"

"So, we have to really, really, make it up to her," Dustin muses.

"Okay, how?" Lucas asks curiously.

"Anyone got any ideas?" Max asks.

The band members think for a moment, all contemplating the best way to make things up to El.

"What if we got her some flowers?" Will suggests.

"That's not original enough," Mike pouts.

"We could take her bowling again!" Max offers.

"That's something we've already done though," Mike points out.

"I got it!" Dustin exclaims, "We could like, pick out a cheesy song, and serenade her!"

"That's literally not going to happen," Lucas states firmly.

"Yeah, that'd be way too embarrassing," Mike nods quickly.

"Well, I don't see anyone offering any better ideas," Dustin huffs, folding his arms across his chest, "Plus, it's unique and it's something we've never done before."

"Please no," Lucas pleads.

"Does anyone else have any other ideas?" Mike asks desperately, "Anyone?"

The band members all look at each other wordlessly before turning their gazes to Mike.

Mike sighs resolutely. "...Shit."

Hopper has the night shift tonight, which means that El is spending Sunday evening alone, practicing Blackbird in her room. Even though the band is broken up now, she's realized that she actually does enjoy playing the guitar, even if doing so drudges up so many painful memories in the process.

She's sitting cross-legged on her bed, her guitar in her lap and her sheet music off to the side. Her brow is furrowed in concentration as she tries to hit the notes just right. Her lips murmur the lyrics in time to the music, though as she continues to flub more notes, her singing sounds increasingly agitated.

El doesn't want to admit that she misses him, or needs him, or that

(she'd be worse off without him)

she shouldn't have broken up with him, because that makes everything all the more painful. Like, it's one thing to be justified in her actions, it's another thing to be awake tossing and turning at night because what if she made the wrong decision?

Despite all that, as much as she hates to admit it, guitar playing was so much easier when Mike was here to walk her through everything. She ultimately decides to give up, or take a break, or whatever, and sets her guitar aside. She flops back on her bed, holding her favorite teddy bear close to her chest.

Hopefully, the others will still be able to make things up. She still feels awful for splitting them up. After all, they've been friends since kindergarten. They deserve each other! El deserves to be alone like the lame loner she's always been.

Maybe she'll watch more movies tonight. She's pretty sure she's already watched and rewatched all the VHS tapes she owns over the past week, but maybe she could catch something on TV — there might even be some leftover ice cream in the fridge.

Just as El's debating whether or not she has enough effort to make the trip all the way downstairs, she hears the sudden slide of a keyboard, followed by the upbeat pluck of guitar strings.

At first El's pretty sure she's hallucinating — maybe all her lonely wallowing finally turned her insane — but then she realizes that no, she's actually hearing music, and yes, it's coming from outside her window.

El drops her teddy bear and runs toward the window, peering out into the dark backyard. To her surprise, the rest of the band has set up their instruments right on the grass, amps and all. They're jamming away enthusiastically, and it's then that El recognizes the song they're covering: I Want You Back by the Jackson 5.

She probably should be furious. After all, all of them, except for like, Will, treated her pretty badly.

And yet...El can't bring herself to be mad. Not when they're here and they're back and she missed them all so much.

El opens her bedroom window and smiles out at them, absolutely beaming.

Dustin spots her looking out at them and grins. "Yes! She's home!" He calls out over the music, "That would have been awkward if she wasn't!"

"It's still pretty awkward!" Lucas blushes.

Will and Max wave to El before continuing their music. El waves back at them before her eyes land on Mike, who's looking...terrified, to say the least. He can barely meet El's gaze and when he eventually does, he totally screws up the note he's playing. Thankfully, the band ends the song only a few bars after she opens the window, so he doesn't have that much of an opportunity to mess up the song any further. As the song comes to an end, the band members turn to look at her hopefully.

"What are you guys doing?" El giggles, resting her hands on the windowsill.

Dustin turns to the others and nods like he's motioning for them all to go ahead. "We want you back!" He, Will, and Max say together, smiling hopefully.

"W-we want you back!" Mike says nervously, a couple seconds behind everyone else.

"We really do," Lucas grimaces, looking beyond embarrassed.

"Also, we bought slushies!" Max calls out. On cue, she and the other band members hold up their slushie cups. Mike has one in each hand and gives El a shy smile as he holds them up to her.

When El ultimately decides to let them inside, maybe it's due to the fact that she's really sick of crying over a bowl of ice cream all night, or that she's watched Sixteen Candles three times over the past 6 days, or that music doesn't sound the same when she's alone, or that Mike looks unfairly adorable in his striped shirt, a hoodie, and jeans.

Or maybe it's just because she really, really wants them back too.

After El helps them unplug all the extension cords and pack the instruments back into Max's van, she brings the band members to her living room. The five of them all cram to sit by each other on the couch while El sits across from them on a loveseat. The sight reminds her of some kind of late night talk-show set-up, which makes her smile a little bit.

As Mike takes his seat, he hands a slushie to El. Their fingers brush in the process, and for a moment it feels like nothing has changed. They're right back in Radio Shack, exchanging shy glances. They're sneaking around their friends again, daring to see what they can get away with without getting caught.

Of course, everything has changed. They all know that. Now it's just a matter of what they're going to do about it.

There are a few moments of awkward silence as they all settle themselves into their seats. El takes a few sips of her slushie and is happy to note that Mike got her all three flavors. She lifts her gaze to smile at him gratefully, but Mike is glancing around the room sporadically and drumming his leg on the floor, clearly still nervous.

"So…" Will says, clearing his throat.

It's just a single simple word, but it seems to break the ice between everyone, at least a little bit.

"So, listen, El," Dustin begins, sliding forward on the couch, "I'm a jerk."

El gives him an apprehensive look. "You're not a jerk," she says politely.

"No, he is," Lucas insists.

"Hey!" Dustin pouts.

"But I am too," Lucas continues, giving both El and Dustin pointed looks, "I never should have said you weren't a real member of our band, or that you were a traitor."

"And I never should have said you were Yoko Ono," Dustin adds, "You're not Yoko Ono, you're someone super cool like...Janis Joplin or Stevie Nicks!"

"Thank you?" El replies, mostly sure that that's a good thing.

"Anyway," Lucas continues, "We both tried to push you out of the band without giving you a fair chance, and we're sorry. The fight wasn't your fault, it was 100% ours."

"And I'm sorry too," Mike pipes up. He's still blushing bright red, but he's finally able to look her in the eye as he speaks, "I shouldn't have forced you to lie to everyone else. You were right, we all should have been honest with each other from the beginning."

"And I'm sorry," Max cuts in with a grin, "that our boyfriends are idiots."

"Hey!" Mike and Lucas exclaim indignantly, turning to frown at her.

"And I shouldn't have let their drama affect our friendship," Max continues, ignoring them, "You were right, you shouldn't have had to choose between us."

"I'm sorry," Will remarks dryly, "That our friends are so dramatic."

El stifles a laugh by taking a long sip of her slushie. As the syrupy ice crystals dissolve on her tongue, she takes some time to process everyone's apologies. The others are looking at her, their anxiety written plainly on their faces. She wants to forgive them, but she still needs one more question answered first…

"Can I ask you something?" El asks, looking at Dustin and Lucas.

They both nod. "Yeah, anything," Dustin replies.

El feels a little embarrassed, but proceeds to ask, "Why didn't you like me? I feel like ever since I got here, you two didn't want anything to do with me."

Dustin and Lucas eye each other reluctantly, shoulders drooped with shame. "I guess…" Lucas begins carefully, "We were stubborn?"

"I felt like Mike was picking you over us," Dustin explains, "And I felt left out."

"And I was so busy being pissed at Mike," Lucas says, "That I kinda just lumped all my feelings toward him with you."

"Basically, we both had our own shit going on," Dustin summarizes, "And we took it out on you, which made us look like we had intelligence scores of 0."

"You do have intelligence scores of 0," Max smirks.

"But we're not going to do that anymore," Lucas continues, giving his girlfriend a light-hearted nudge, "We talked things out —"

"Lucas and I are going to take turns taking lead," Mike provides, "And we're not going to keep secrets from each other anymore."

"And I'm going to try to stop getting so jealous," Dustin adds.

El smiles shyly at them, eyes flitting to each one them. "Promise?"

The boys nod and all three of them look so sincere, El can't help but believe them. They do really seem sorry, and it sounds like whatever drama they had going on amongst themselves has since been resolved. She didn't ruin everything and even better, they're finally willing to accept her.

El feels so happy she wants to explode. Instead, she settles for a warm grin. "Okay!"

"So, you'll rejoin the band?" Dustin asks eagerly.

El nods. "Yes!"

Her friends cheer excitedly, which causes El to blush. As they set down their slushie cups on the coffee table and exchange high-fives, El feels bubbly from head to toe. Her insides feel like they're radiating with a blissfully warm light, like summertimes and daydreams and Saturday mornings.

They rise up out of their seats and all rush toward each other in a big group hug. El giggles as she gets squished by her friends (friends!) and soon the others are laughing too. After a few moments, they pull away and smile at one another.

"This is so great!" Dustin beams, "We're all back together again!"

"Well, not all of us," Will says quietly, giving the group a pointed look.

The group looks puzzled for a second, but then their gazes move toward Mike and El.

"Oooooooh," Dustin says obviously, "Right!"

El and Mike both blush bright red as the others fail to conceal their grins.

"Why don't we go check out the kitchen?" Max suggests, a little too loudly, "Right, guys?" She nudges Lucas and motions for Will and Dustin to follow her.

"Yeah, I love kitchens!" Will smiles.

"Me too!" Dustin says, failing to suppress his giggles.

"Subtle, guys," Lucas smirks.

The others head down the hallway to El's kitchen, leaving Mike and El alone in the living room, aka, currently the most awkward location on the entire planet. The entire universe, probably.

El's pretty sure her body is one blush away from just...combusting. She feels so nervous and excited and NERVOUS and shy and why is she so nervous, this is just MIKE — though maybe that just answers her own question — and now she can't even think straight and yup, she's definitely going to explode all over the living room and all over Mike and it's going to be so embarrassing.

They're both just standing awkwardly in place, about two feet away from each other. Mike's taking his hands out of his hoodie, only to put them right back in, while El wrings her own hands together.

Someone needs to say something.

"I think—" El begins.

"I wanna—" Mike starts at the same time.

They both stop and exchange bashful smiles.

"Sorry," they say together, before repeating in unison, "Sorry!" That gains a laugh out of both of them and as they laugh together, El feels some of the tension within her slowly deflate.

"We're doing it again," She mumbles shyly, glancing up at him.

"Your dad would be so annoyed," Mike adds.

They laugh once more. It feels so natural, familiar, and well-missed, like coming home after a long trip away. God, how she'd missed this. Laughing with Mike, being with Mike, looking up into Mike's eyes, blushing under Mike's gaze…

Before she can stop herself, she voices her thoughts aloud and confesses, "I missed you."

Mike looks surprised, then happy, and finally hesitant. "You did?" He asks hopefully.

El gives him a wry smile in return. "Yes. A lot. I kept —" her voice falters and she stops, face suddenly feeling warm.

Mike eyes her. "You kept what?"

El glances at him shyly before she covers her face with her hands and mumbles, "I kept daydreaming that you'd come in all wet from the rain and we'd make up and it'd be like a movie."

She peeks out through her fingers in time to catch Mike grinning at her. "Well, it's not raining outside right now, but if you really wanted, I could like, jump into your shower quick."

El bursts into a laugh that's full of relief, delight, and a kind of endearing affection. "You're so dumb," she giggles, lowering her hands.

"You love it," Mike grins, leaning forward to poke her arm lightly.

I love you, El wants to say. This time though, she manages to stop herself — she doesn't want to move too fast, too soon. Instead, she bites down on her lower lip and gives him a tentative glance. "I...I'm sorry I broke up with you."

"Don't be," Mike says, then at the puzzled look El gives him, he adds, "I think I needed it. I was being really mean to my friends, and even though it sounds kinda weird, I think I needed to lose them in order to realize how much I needed them, you know?"

El nods understandingly. "I know."

"Also," Mike says after a brief hesitation, "I missed you a lot too."

Their gazes land on each other's, but this time it isn't like all the other times tonight. It feels solid and secure and more permanent somehow like

(home)

things are finally going to be okay between them again. Like they were made for each other and they've always been destined to come back together, and whatever other cheesy nonsense El's read in her romance novels.

She suddenly realizes that during this entire conversation, the two feet between them has been reduced by half and is continually getting smaller. She wasn't even aware of this happening, it's as if her body is just slowly drifting closer to Mike by its own accord. Their feet are toe-to-toe. Their fingers are brushing against each other. Time is standing still, and she's pretty sure that the only place that exists in the entire universe is the space between them.

"Mike?" El swallows.

"Yeah?" Mike murmurs.

And she kisses him. She has to stand on tiptoe to reach him, but the strain of her legs is easily forgotten when Mike wraps one arm around her waist and curls his other hand in her hair. He tastes like her slushie and she realizes that he probably got all three flavors too, because of course he did. It feels like they're right back in the backseat of his car again, only this time it's so, SO much better. No more secrets, no more hiding.

His mouth is warm and comforting. El can feel him smiling into the kiss, which makes her smile, which makes Mike laugh, which makes El laugh, and before long they're both pulling back to laugh only to move back in for more giggly kisses. They probably look insane. El could care less.

They're interrupted when their friends peek their heads back into the living room. "Awwwwwww!" The other four croon, followed by some exaggerated kissing sounds from Lucas and Dustin.

"Screw you guys!" Mike exclaims as he and El part, though he's beaming from ear-to-ear.

"So, you guys good?" Max asks as they step back into the living room.

El and Mike exchange a heart-eyed nod before lacing their fingers together. "We're good," El smiles contently.

"Good!" Dustin smiles back, "Because we've got a show to plan and only 3 days to do it!"

El freezes. "Wait, what?"

[A/N]:I wanted to apologize for such a long wait in between chapters. I kinda talked about this on my Tumblr, but I've really been struggling with writing lately. It's been a long, uphill battle, but I wanted to thank anyone who's still invested in this story. Thank for you reading, commenting, and sticking around. I promise the wait for the last chapter won't be as long! 3