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will stared in silence at the raven-haired boy as he unpacked. it was awkward. much too awkward for supposed "best friends."
will kept opening his mouth and closing it again. what was he supposed to say? ignored all year and the summer before, it felt like he didn't even know mike anymore.
it started with crazy together and ended with will feeling like he was the only crazy one. feeling like when he had been possessed by the mind flayer, mike didn't really like him. will was just the next best thing because el was gone.
will pulled himself out of his thoughts and looked at the clothes mike messily folded and shoved into the dresser drawer will had emptied for him. he caught sight of a black and white shirt with some sort of logo he'd never seen before.
"hey, what's that?" will asked, leaning over to grab it. mike got to it first and held it away from will's reach.
"oh, this shirt? it's from—" mike cut himself off. "never mind."
"what? show me!" will frowned, "it looks cool!"
"will, it's just a basic shirt. i swear!" mike defended, burying the shirt underneath the pile of unfolded clothes.
" mike ," will drawled. "just show me! if it's 'just a basic shirt' then i don't see the problem." he pulled the shirt out, but before he could turn it over, mike yanked it from his grasp. "hey!"
"jeez, will! i told you it's just a shirt. lay off, man." mike scowled, glaring at the other boy.
mike watched as will's hazel eyes glassed over with tears, and mike rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to his clothes.
mike was getting annoyed. why the hell was will so sensitive?
i swear to God, mike thought, will is always about to cry.
but he still cared about him. no matter what, will was his best friend, even if they were going through a rough patch.
mike took a deep breath and shook his head. how was will going to react?
"it's from my dnd club," he explained, handing the shirt back to will.
"your...what?"
"'my dnd club, the hellfire club! you would love it, there's this guy, eddie—he was held back twice , and—"
will interrupted him, dropping the shirt. "wait, you're in a dnd club?"
"yeah, lucas and dustin too!" mike replied enthusiastically, but his face dropped when he saw the hurt in will's expression. "i-i swear i didn't want to at first, but eddie—if you met eddie you'd want to join, too!"
will shook his head in disbelief. "no, no no no. we're not doing this. we're not..." will tugged at his hair with his hands, obviously frustrated.
will felt horrible. dnd was their thing. the party's! and they had even stopped playing dnd with will the summer before he moved across the country.
yeah, will gets it. kind of. maybe dnd isn't the same with three people. but they had acted like they were too old for it, and once they were in high school, joined a club? plus, they hadn't even told will about it! maybe if they did, will wouldn't have felt as bad. maybe he wouldn't have felt as betrayed.
"i'm—i can't believe it. i really can't believe it! you wouldn't play with me that entire summer." as will stood up, a single tear traced a path down his cheek, which he harshly wiped away with his sleeve. "but this, this eddie gets to have you, and lucas and dustin, in some high school dnd club? i don't get it, i just—is it just me? and you didn't even think to tell me—you could have written! we said we would never join other campaigns, it was our thing. our thing!" will paced back in forth in his small room. his breaths came fast and were heavy.
"i-i'm sorry, will. i guess..i didn't think it was that deep," mike offered, unsure of how to approach his friend.
that alone made him feel like absolute shit. will was supposed to be his best friend! why did it feel like he no longer knew the teenager standing just a few feet away from him? when did he and will drift apart so much? he should know how to comfort him. he should have wrote to him and he should have called and he should have been there . what type of best friend was he?
"not that deep?! will repeated. "mike, it was OUR THING! OUR. THING."
mike shook his head slightly, looking at will with an unexplainable look in his eyes. he couldn't devise a response that wouldn't make things worse.
"all i wanted from you guys was one game. one game. i wanted to be treated normally and have things go back to normal after literally going through hell. but i guess i wasn't good enough for your attention. and i guess this eddie guy is. fuck you, mike."
will started towards his bedroom door.
mike blinked. "will, wait!" he pressed his fingers to his temples. some best friend i am. "shit."
will turned around and gave him a look, pissed off (rightfully so) but ready to listen to whatever apology mike was able to throw together in a few moments.
"i'm sorry, alright," mike said, making eye contact with the other boy. "i guess i just thought that you wouldn't mind. el-el told me you were into painting now! i thought you might have forgotten about dnd. i thought it would be okay."
"painting...you don't get it, do you? you don't get it. you don't even know me anymore!" will exclaimed, throwing his hands up in defeat. "you don't even know me."
"it's been a hot minute, will. i know we're not as close as we used to be, especially because you moved and—"
" because i moved?! you started pushing me away the second you started seeing el. and i know she's your girlfriend and i know that she'll always be your most important person but aren't i important too? it's always el this and el that —and i love el, she's like my sister—but what about us? i thought we were friends , mike. i thought we were best friends! i thought that meant something. i thought that girls wouldn't change that."
mike stared at will in silence for a moment
"and girls won't change that! it's just that i'm dating right now, and you're not. i know that i spent all my time with el...and i'll work on that. i'll change," mike promised.
will gave mike a look, one that was just barely hopeful.
"once you grow out of this not liking girls phase and find a girlfriend of your own, we'll be fine again!" mike exclaimed.
will froze. girlfriend.
looking back, will wished he could have just smiled and nodded, instead of allowing these words to spill from his lips. he regretted not just ending the conversation there.
"mike, i don't like girls," will stuttered, blinking back tears.
"i know that you don't, not yet. but once you do we can go on double—"
"mike! mike, you're not listening to me!" will choked back a sob, his hands shaking at his sides. "i don't like girls. i won't. ever. "
"will, i—"
"mike, i'm gay."
"will..."
mike's mouth hung open slightly. will did not take it as a good sign. realizing that he just came out to mike, will panicked, leaving the room quickly.
"and take the stupid painting, because i'm into that now." will kicked the painting towards the other teen. the door slammed and he heard mike call for him.
el's voice rung through mike's yelling, probably concerned after hearing all the commotion. will didn't reply to either of them.
pulling on his shoes, will made his way to the front door. he didn't bother telling anyone where he was going. his mom was probably on a call, jonathan high.
he just needed time alone to think.
on his way out, he grabbed his headphones, putting them over his ears and blasting the song.
walking alongside the road and shoving his hands in his pockets, he blinked hard , trying not to cry.
'cause boys don't cry
boys don't cry