Chapter Text
The house was becoming colder as the seasons dipped from summer to fall, Will's sanity beginning to drain as November creeped closer. Government housing wasn't exactly awful, but Will found it becoming increasingly suffocating to live inside of, not to mention expensive. He missed his childhood home, when the promise of Castle Byers comfortably existed in the backwoods alongside all of his memories. But things were different now, and there was no room for nostalgia. The past had to stay in the past, Will was beginning to realize. Memories of the party carelessly playing D&D for hours, hanging out and drawing in Castle Byers, listening to music with Jonathan as his parents argued, and the biggest one of them all, his terribly large feelings for Mike Wheeler. After that grand declaration of love from Mike to El in the spring, Will knew he couldn't go on feeling like this. Childish. He was childish. He was stuck in the past all along, wishing for a reality where the Upside Down never existed, where his friends hadn't moved on from him.
Will Byers needed to move on. And he was so ready for California to be that change he needed, but things never truly lasted in his life. It was like a gift and a curse, back in the town he'd known all his life, where both his bullies and the Upside Down haunted every corner, alongside short-lived happy memories made with the Party. Some good things did come out of the spring fiasco, however; him and Mike were finally normal again, for one. Unspoken feelings still stuck between them, mostly on Will's behalf, but it was relieving to finally have his best friend back. He wouldn't ever admit it to Mike, but it was killing him to pretend like they were nothing to each other.
Speaking of the boy in question, Will was currently sweating in the bathroom mirror anticipating his hangout with him in a few minutes. They would go to the arcade, as they typically did on Fridays. Nothing new. Just two best friends hanging out as they normally would, with one of them pretending like every glance and smile meant nothing. It was fine, Will was fine. He had adjusted his flannel's collar a billion times in the last few minutes, for no reason in particular. It was silly, he thought, putting this much thought into a normal day with a friend. He couldn't help but feel like he was using Mike in a way, overthinking every little interaction and show of affection between them, but dwelling on that thought only made him more miserable. Will would simply have to handle it like he always did. Mike was way too important to lose, and he had just gotten him back.
Will let go of his collar, and stared into the mirror for a final, pathetic look. He just looked the same, as he always did. Byers bowlcut, a tired hand-me-down flannel, old jeans. Nothing new.
"Will! You good in there?" Jonathan called for him, suddenly. Will snapped out of his thoughts and finally left the bathroom, meeting Jonathan in the kitchen.
"Hey." Will said awkwardly.
Jonathan raised an eyebrow, nodding over to the bathroom. "You were in there for a while, everything okay?"
"Yeah, just getting ready. I'm about to head out."
"Ah, with the Party or just Mike?" Jonathan asked carefully, silent curiosity lingering.
"Just Mike, we're going to the arcade like usual." He said, trying not to give anything away on his face.
Jonathan simply nodded, looking at him for a second longer as he thought about something silently. "Everything… okay? Between you two?"
That had caught him off guard. Will nodded quickly. "Yeah, of course."
A knowing expression came onto Jonathan's face, trying to make Will crack. He knew there was more than what Will was letting on, but he wouldn't ever force him to say anything. Even back in March, when Will was very sure Jonathan had clocked his embarrassingly intense feelings for his best friend. He hadn't brought it up again, simply casting knowing looks once in a while without forcing anything out of him. Will loved Jonathan for it, and was quite okay keeping it that way.
"Well if you—"
Will cut him off, not in the mood for a Jonathan Byers pep talk at the moment. "Well, I'm getting late, I'll see you later!"
Jonathan sighed, sticking out his head a little. "Don't stay out too late…"
✧✧✧
It was only October, yet Will could physically feel the temperature dipping as he zoomed on his bike. Before 1983, the leaves used to be his favorite indicator of autumn, colors meshing in beautiful ways he could drag out onto paint. They meant that Halloween was approaching, which always meant matching costumes with the Party and eating so much candy from trick-or-treating that they all fell into sugar comas. Now, all it meant was that Will was getting closer to relieving the worst week of his life. Trauma was funny like that; Will knew he was safe, at least for the most part, but there was always a lingering fear in the back of his mind that he would somehow go back there. Shivering and alone in a frozen blue version of Castle Byers, shakily singing his favorite song to stay sane. With Vecna's whereabouts now unknown, he had more than enough reason to be nervous again.
It didn't help that the Party felt like it was falling apart, little by little each day. It was beginning to feel like last summer, where Will was constantly ignored in favor of growing up, but this time it wasn't about Will. Dustin was still isolating himself badly, limiting his speech to singular unenthusiastic sentences in every interaction and hanging out with the others as little as possible. It hurt everyone to see him suffering so obviously, but he didn't want to take anybody's help. He was too proud, too confused, trapped in his bubble of grief. Will understood for the most part, giving him his space when he could. He missed his friend, though. Meanwhile, Lucas was at Max's bedside every single day since her horrific accident in March. The dark circles underneath his eyes always gave away when he would accidentally fall asleep in that hospital room, but he'd always shrug it off. But at least Lucas spoke, unlike Dustin. The new addition of crawls helped a little, bringing together the extended party in a way that kept them all on track. If they all preoccupied themselves with finding Vecna, maybe it would distract them from how uncertain they all actually were of themselves
Will found himself peddling faster, eerily similar to that night in 1983.
He reached the Palace Arcade eventually, chaining the bike to a pole and heading inside. Inside the arcade, little had changed from his last visit. Neon lights blared from every machine and led sign, sounds of clinking coins, videogame beeps, and frustrated teenagers filling the air as per usual. Unlike the Party's younger days, it was beginning to be a little emptier every passing day. The quarantine was truly making Hawkins bleak, even in the smallest ways. However, the town had recovered bits of normalcy through their daily routines. The Palace Arcade was a part of Mike and Will's routines, a permanent spot in their schedules every Saturday since they came back. It was important to the both of them to reserve some time to hang out as much as they could to make up for a year of stupidity, so the arcade started as their olive branch. Speaking of, Will could see Mike standing at the front counter, arguing with Keith over something stupid, as per usual. Some things would never change, Will chuckled to himself as he approached the moody boy.
"You're such a dick, Keith!" Mike squawked, his arms flailing around in a typical Mike Wheeler fashion.
Will quietly stood next to him, hands awkwardly hanging on his sides.
"Can you JUST— oh, hey, Will." Mike jumped a little, red creeping onto his cheeks as his voice softened.
Will raised an eyebrow, tilting his head. "What's going on?"
Mike gave Keith a pointed stare, eyebrows furrowing. "He's being a cryptic asshole, that's what. Why can't you just tell me where the Space Invaders machine is?"
"I told you, you stupid wastoid, it's out of order."
"Bullshit!" Mike protested.
Will couldn't help but giggle, watching the black-haired boy in one of his many mood swings. "C'mon, let's just play something else."
"But…" Mike looked at Will, then Keith, then Will again. He sighed, relenting. "Alright, let's go."
"That's all it took for him to fold? He's been pestering me for the last ten minutes." Keith scoffed, munching on his cheese puffs with amusement.
Mike glared daggers at him as Will dragged him away, walking over to an actual machine to prevent him from smacking the cheese puffs out of Keith's hands.
"Hey, Pacman's free." They headed to the machine, inserting coins into the slot as per routine.
The next two hours passed in a rush of battling each other in various games, sharing thousands of giddy smiles as they watched their scores surpass the leaderboard. At some point, the arcade was beginning to empty out more, leaving Mike and Will isolated in a corner playing the Dragon's Lair.
"This game's so bullshit, it's so obvious they just wanna drain all our coins." Mike shook his head, watching Will fall again for the hundredth time. They shared a laugh as the character fell through a gigantic hole, leaving them unsuccessful once more. "I wonder why Lucas even likes it."
Will chuckled, letting go of the joystick to let Mike have his turn. "Isn't it obvious? Teenage boys eat this stuff up." He wasn't stupid, he definitely knew why. After all, the beautiful princess was a reward most boys would swoon after, wasting all of their coins at only a slim chance to win her over. Will never really understood its appeal, for reasons he hated to admit.
Mike scoffed, starting his turn over after dying immediately. "Well, I don't. This is dumb, let's play something else."
Their hands brushed as Mike let go of the joystick, a small smile subconsciously planted onto his face. Will felt his breath hitch, standing still in place. They were so close, Will could count every freckle on the other boy's face with ease, every strand of hair on his face. Purple and blue lights from the LED sign above them softly lit up his pale face, and suddenly Will Byers found it hard to breathe. Mike didn't move either, his face holding the same indecipherable expression it had been for months around Will. He didn't dare question it. Instead, he gulped and looked away quickly, searching for a new game.
"Donkey Kong? It's free—"
"Do you wanna get dinner?" Mike asked, standing closer to him again. Will stilled once more. "I mean, since it's getting late, anyways. But, like, we don't have to, or anything if you don't want to. I just thought—"
"Okay. Yeah, sure." Will nodded, a small smile creeping onto his face. He felt another shred of dangerous hope, and mentally noted to crush it later.
Mike smiled, relieved. "Cool."
"Cool." Will smiled back.
✧✧✧
The pair had decided on going to their usual diner, Tiger's Eatery, the only good food spot open in Hawkins at eleven at night. They chained their bikes near the entrance and entered the mostly empty establishment, claiming their regular corner booth. The red seats were sticky in a mysterious dineresque way where no amount of scrubbing would help, the waiters were grouchy, the windows were foggy, and the lights glowed a dim yellow as Madonna played faintly in the background. It was shitty, but perfect in a weird way.
The two boys had been looking through the menus, sitting on opposite sides of the booth with their legs knocking together under the table. Will already knew what he wanted to order, as it literally never changed, but he still stared at the menu in his hands just to give him an excuse to avoid eye contact with Mike. Mike, however, kept peeking over his own menu to stare at Will, poking him with his feet every two seconds. Will tried to suppress a laugh, kicking him back.
"Hey, Will, wanna share a shake?" Mike asked, inspecting the menu as though he didn't look at it at least a couple times a month.
"Depends. If you're getting boring vanilla again, then no." He smiled teasingly.
"Aw, c'mon, it's good! But fine, fine. Whatever you want, Sir Byers."
"Why thank you, Sir Wheeler."
They shared a grin, nudging each other playfully again.
By the time the waitress had come around to take their orders, they were already engrossed in a conversation about the new Little Shop of Horrors movie set to come out in December.
The waitress looked annoyed and tired, her eyebrows furrowed grouchily as she cleared her throat. They looked up, and Mike ordered for them quickly. She wrote their order down, but gave them a once-over that didn't go unnoticed by Will. He sunk into the seat a little, cheeks reddening, while Mike remained oblivious.
Mike nudged his leg again, fiddling with the jukebox on the table. "So… about that Thesselhydra story."
This caught Will's attention immediately, making him sit up out of nerves. "Yeah?"
"I kinda wanna continue it. Any suggestions?"
Will gave him a strained smile, avoiding eye contact. "Ask El, she commissioned the painting in the first place."
Mike opened his mouth, but closed it right after. His voice flattened, sitting up a bit more as well. "Right. El."
An awkward silence went through the air, Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper now playing in between the gaps.
Mike looked at him, breaking the awkward air. "Hey, remember this song?"
Will raised his eyebrow, an amused smile on his face. "Well… yeah, it's really popular, Michael."
He swatted him away, laughing. "Okay, yeah. But I meant from the Snow Ball, William."
Ah, the Snow Ball. Also known as the night where Will Byers realized the trajectory of his life from then on. He would be expected to dance with some random girl who called him names, and Mike would be with El. That was when Will realized it wouldn't be Mike and Will anymore, but rather Mike and El. That night. Yes, he remembered.
"Yeah… what about it?" He asked cautiously.
"Nothing, just… sorry I made you dance with that random girl. Honestly? I didn't want you to. I just thought you did." Mike reminisced, wincing a little.
Will raised his eyebrows a little, surprised. "Why're you saying sorry? It was two years ago, I literally don't care."
He shrugged, now wringing his hands together instead. "I have a lot of things to say sorry about, I'm realizing. And I want to make up for all of it. I regret a lot of things I've done. Just… I'm sorry."
Will looked at him softly. He would probably go through it all again, the Upside Down, the fights, the terrible moments of insecurity, all to have Mike Wheeler in his life. He knew it felt miserable to think about him for the last year, but he truly loved the boy in front of him as easy as breathing.
"I forgave you already, stupid." He nudged him again, a small smile on his face.
"And? I fucked up, Will. I'm just… I'm sorry. I want you to know that, that's all." He stops, his voice softer than Will has heard it be in the last year.
He flicked his forehead gently, trying to lighten the mood. "You know what would really make up for it?"
Mike laughed, a little surprised at the boldness. "What?"
"If you let me live in your basement, or something." Will joked.
"Wow, the house is that bad, huh?"
Will groaned, putting his head in his hands dramatically. "It's so cramped. And Jonathan snores, like, a lot. I'm going crazy."
"Well, crazy together, right?" Mike wiggled his eyebrows, grinning.
He chuckled, rolling his eyes. "I guess. You don't have to deal with Jonathan's snoring, though. We're not even."
Their food finally arrived, the waitress back with an irritated glint in her eye. Two plates of pancakes, one with blueberries and one with chocolate chips, and a chocolate milkshake with two straws. Mike reached for the syrup immediately, drowning his blueberry stack in a sticky ocean of maple.
The conversation died down a bit as they ate, comfortable silence between them instead of the awkward air from before. Mike looked up for a second, just looking at the other boy, lost in thought. Will looked back, a muffled What? escaping him as pancake bites filled his mouth.
"What if you did live with us?"
Will almost choked. He lightly smacked the table, trying to gain back composure as the words processed in his brain. Mike quickly patted his back, which evidently made it worse. He calmed down eventually, embarrassed from the overreaction.
"I was just kidding, Mike. The housing is fine, I'll live." He chuckled awkwardly, trying to brush off how much the idea of living with Michael Wheeler affected him.
"Think about it, though. You could share my room, and your mom could take the guest room while Jonathan takes the basement. I mean, he'd probably sneak up to Nancy's room anyways, so nobody would be in there, actually."
Mike was quite literally trying to kill him, Will decided. Sharing a room? Will didn't know if he could handle the idea of being around him most days, let alone sharing a room with him. Not when his brain was still a confusing mesh of intense longing for the said room's owner. It would be heart wrenchingly difficult to suppress his fat feelings for Mike Wheeler if he saw him every night before he went to sleep, that was for sure.
"You'd… you'd share your room? You sure?"
"Yeah! It'd be fun, like our sleepovers from when we were kids. I'll even clean my room for once, maybe. You're a convincing motivator."
Will felt his cheeks flush into crimson as he sunk deeper into the seat.
"I wouldn't say no to that."
Mike grinned at him once more, nudging him for the billionth time before going back to his pancakes as though he hadn't just shaken Will's world like a present on Christmas morning.
Will was so, so far gone.