AN: I posted this on AO3 a WHILE ago (August 2022), idk this scene just sort of came to my mind, and I thought... why not
Will Byers' Guide to Ripping The Band Aid Off (Or How Things Aren't Always What They Appear To Be)
"The painting wasn't from El, was it?" Mike asked Will, as the two were sitting on a set of swings.
Will stopped swinging, "What are you talking about?" He answered, feigning ignorance. If Mike had learned the painting wasn't commissioned by El, then he might have reached the fairly obvious conclusion that Will had feelings for him- Mike wasn't completely clueless, after all, although he had shown to be pretty oblivious in the past- and Will didn't want to think about what this meant for the future of their friendship, so he did the best thing he thought to do on the spot- lie. Although he had to admit he'd always been terrible at lying to Mike- he'd never been able to, he even remembered right before he went missing as he couldn't omit the fact that he had rolled a seven and that the Demogorgon had gotten him- but to be fair, he'd never felt the need to lie to Mike before he'd given him that painting either. But too many raw emotions had been involved, and he couldn't bear to lay them all bare in front of Mike, and have Mike see him differently, especially when they were on their way to save his girlfriend, who happened to be his sister. Will loved having El as his sister, she was absolutely chaotic in her own way and he had truly bonded with her over the last few months, he just thought that her being Mike's girlfriend made everything complicated- messy, even, for him at least.
"Will, I know El didn't commission the painting. She didn't even know what the word 'commission' meant," Mike said, planting his feet on the ground to stop the swing, "Besides, I'm not entirely stupid," he said, looking at Will in the eye. Will felt his throat tighten and his mouth dry up- it was bad, really bad. He had to tell the truth.
Will sighed, looking at his feet, "How did you know?" He asked, defeated. So this was how it was all gonna end. Mike would never want to speak to him again and- "I mean, it's not like-"
"I tried to thank El, for, you know, the painting- well, for telling you what to draw," Mike interrupted him, "And she asked me what I was talking about," he shrugged, "So I told her everything you told me, and she said she had no idea what I was talking about, that she only knew that you were working on a painting and nothing more. Nothing about me being the heart, or whatever."
The two stayed in silence for what seemed like an eternity, before Mike spoke up, "Will, look at me," he said, awkwardly poking Will's shoulder. Will slowly looked up from his shoes, and turned his head. His expression looked pained. He held his breath, not knowing what to say.
"Why would you lie to me?" Mike asked, the hurt evident in his voice, "I mean, wh-what was the point of telling me all this if you knew it wasn't true?" He got up from the swing, and started pacing, "Why would you tell me all this?"
"Don't ask me this, Mike," Will said, his throat drying up once more, his voice cracking, "I can't do this right now."
"Can't do what?" Mike answered, the frustration evident in his voice, "Talk to me, Will! Shit, we used to tell each other everything."
"Well, like you've said before, people change," he said, not daring to look Mike in the eye anymore, "And you've made it clear that you only cared about El," Will said, and immediately regretted it when he saw Mike's face fall, "Besides, we needed to find a way to get you to tell her you loved her," he looked down once again.
By that time, Mike had stopped pacing and was standing in front of Will, "By manipulating me?" Will did not answer, "What, so this was all a lie?- And who told you that I only cared about El? What kind of bullshit is that?"
Will looked up in disbelief, "Are you kidding me?" He answered, getting up, directly facing Mike, "You straight up ignored me the whole time you were in Lenora," Will was still a few inches shorter than the other boy so he had to look up at him, "And you joined a new DnD club? Weren't you the one who said we were getting too old for that?" He furrowed his brows, the anger bubbling in the pit of his stomach- how dare Mike- "And no, none of it was a lie, if you must know," he softly admitted.
"Then what was it?" Mike almost yelled, and Will chose not to comment on the fact Mike had ignored his other comments, "You're not telling me shit, you're just being weirdly cryptic!" He said, running a hand through his hair. Will remained speechless, not knowing what to do- he was frozen, "You don't tell me anything anymore, Will," Mike said, plopping down on his swing, "El said you made a painting for a girl you like, and you didn't even tell me about it," he said. Will stiffened, but did not notice the hint of jealousy that tinted his friend's voice, "Everything's been weird between us, and even weirder since El dumped me," he added, "And look," he paused, "I know I haven't been the best of friends but I thought we were making amends."
"Mike…" Will said, pursing his lips, "Please don't make me do this."
"Do what?" Mike yelled, "I just don't fucking get it!"
Will closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, "Mike, I- the painting," he just managed to get it before he froze again.
"What about the painting?" Mike's brows furrowed into a frown, "Are you finally ready to tell me what's goi-"
"There was only one fucking painting, Mike!" Will yelled, interrupting Mike. He plopped down on his swing, his pent-up anger only growing stronger, "Don't you get it? There was only one painting," he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, "But of course, since you didn't ask about it until I showed it to you and you never called, or wrote letters like you did with El, how would you know?"
"What?" Mike quietly said, "But- I… I don't get it," he looked down at his feet, "El said-"
Will rolled his eyes, burying his face in his hands, "God, you still don't get it, do you?" He asked, sighing.
"Actually," Mike started, "I think I do," he continued, even more quietly, "The painting El thought you were working on for someone… Was it- was it the painting you showed me?" Will's heart rate accelerated, and he swallowed a lump in his throat.
"Yes," Will said, staring straight ahead, "And I meant everything I said," he said, rubbing his arm. He knew he was making himself vulnerable, but fuck it , it was too late to back off.
"So that means that there is no girl?" Mike asked, looking up at Will, who didn't divert his gaze this time.
"I don't- I," he struggled to get out. I don't like girls. He gave a weak chuckle instead, "Or I guess the girl was just you," he said as an attempt to be humorous.
"Holy shit," Mike softly said.
Will sighed, not daring to look at Mike anymore, his heart racing once again, "Holy shit," he repeated quietly, nodding his head. This was it. Mike knew.
Mike stared at Will for what felt like hours, "Does this mean… what I think it means?" Mike softly asked, seemingly unable to tear his gaze away from the other boy.
"Yes," Will managed to choke out.
"Will, I-" Mike started but didn't seem to know how to finish his sentence. He fell silent, still staring at Will with his mouth agape.
Will let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, "Just- rip off the band-aid, Mike," he said a single tear rolling down his cheek.
"I don't get it-"
"Just- rip the damn band-aid off, Mike!" Will said, this time much louder- and clearly holding back a sob. He still wouldn't dare look at Mike, but he knew that if he was going to get rejected by his best friend, he'd rather have it be quick, to feel pain for a while and then have it pass. It would always be better than to have it be slow.
"Will, please, will you listen to what I have to say?" Mike pleaded, causing Will to finally look at him, tears in his eyes. Mike crouched down in front of Will, looking up at him.
"Mike, I know what you're going to say," Will shook his head, "I don't need to hear it right now," his voice cracked, "You're going to say that I'm your be-" Will was interrupted by a pair of lips on his. Will's heart felt as if it was going to leap out of his chest- was this another dream? Was he going to wake up with this gnawing emptiness and feelings of longing? But no, this was real, he could feel Mike under the palms of his hands, and permitted himself to run a hand through Mike's hair, as Mike pulled him closer by the nape of his neck.
When Mike finally pulled away, he gave a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck, "Now, will you listen to what I have to say?"
Will gave a shy smile that was reciprocated by Mike, "Alright," he said, and Mike sat down on his swing once again.
He licked his lips, "When- When El broke up with me," he said, wincing at the memory, "I mean, I thought it was the end of the world. I mean, when your superhero girlfriend breaks up with you, it kind of puts things in perspective," he said, causing Will to raise an eyebrow.
"I'm not sure I see where this is going," Will chuckled, "I mean, when you two broke up, I was- I don't know how to say it," he said. Relieved? Will felt guilty enough about this. "I thought you two were in love or something."
Mike violently shook his arms, "No, no, we definitely weren't. I mean, we're much better off as friends. I don't- Will, I don't think I'm- And I just don't think I like girls like that anyways. And just, having you be so far away from me, it- I don't know. I guess I realized things I wouldn't have if it weren't El breaking up with me," he said, looking down at his feet, "Sorry, it probably didn't make a lot of sense to you."
"No!" Will interjected, "I totally get it, I mean, I don't like girls that way either… As for El, I'm- I'm not sure what to say… Sorry, I guess? I mean, getting dumped always hurts."
"Oh," Mike chuckled, "It's fine. I mean, again I don't even think I ever liked El like that. She's my friend and I love her, just… not romantically, I guess?" He shook his head, "Plus," he started, "I guess I had someone in mind the whole time," he looked over at Will with a smile, who smiled back.