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Although Hanukkah was two weeks before Christmas break, he really enjoyed getting to see his friends everyday. However, now that they were all adults in their first year of college, he almost thought that his friends wouldn’t have asked him to come back to Hawkins because they’ve moved on.
That looming anxiety that’s been crawling in his gut since November ended when Lucas and Dustin called him to ask when he was coming back for the break. He remembers almost thanking a god that he didn’t believe in that his friends still wanted him back home. Will gets calls from his family almost everyday, and the party calls him at least once a week, so he doesn’t know why that little patch of anxiety still resides in the back of his brain telling him that everyone hates him.
He got on the first plane to Indianapolis once his last class was over. Since there was no plane that flew directly to Hawkins, he just had to settle for a city that was two hours away. He didn’t mind, though, since he liked cities. Small towns weren’t his thing anymore now that he’s moved to New York City, but Christmastime in rural Indiana was probably the most beautiful thing ever.
Everyone’s house was decorated, and his mom always had fairy lights for some reason, even if he didn’t know why since they were the only ones that celebrated Hanukkah in their small town. And, the snow was always fluffy and untouched. He remembers sledding down the biggest hill he could find with Mike when he was around eleven and that had been one of the best days of his life.
Now, thinking about sledding sounded like the worst possible thing he could do. Will enjoyed his clean clothes, especially because most of his winter clothes were vintage and sold in a tiny boutique in upscale Manhattan by a sweet, old lady. If he told any of his friends that still live in Hawkins that he was spending his hard-earned money on clothes, they might just give him a swirly.
Will’s really thankful that he has the money now to get things like that since, throughout his childhood, all he had was raggedy hand me downs from Jonathan and sometimes even Lonnie who he hasn’t seen since he was a pre-teen.
Once he arrived, he stormed into his house. Jonathan was already there since NYU let all of their seniors out early. Although he wanted to say it was unfair, he’s just really glad that he and Jonathan got to go to the same college, even if they rarely saw each other because of how big the school is.
“Hey, Jon!” He dropped his bags and ran up to give his brother a hug. Ever since Jonathan and Nancy finally realized that long distance wasn’t for them and broke up, he’d become a lot happier. And, Will could definitely tell now since his hug was bone-crushing even though he saw him just a week ago.
“I’ve missed you, Will.” He pulled back from the hug, smiling brightly, dark circles almost completely gone now after years of staying on his face. “How was your flight?”
“It was good,” he said. “No kids kicking my seat this time.” He laughed lightly.
“Thank god. You didn’t stop complaining about that kid for almost a month.”
“He’s the reason I don’t want kids.” Will crossed his arms, smiling.
Jonathan rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that’s the reason,” he said sarcastically. Will punched him lightly in the arm, still grinning widely. “Just be glad that Mom knows your gay or else she’d be trying to get you to have a baby with every girl you talk to.”
Will grimaced. “Wow, straight people have it so hard ,” he said sarcastically.
“Shut up and let me take your bags to our room,” he said, bending down to take his suitcase and carry on. Will almost stopped him, but Jane came running out of her room, still childish as ever.
“Will! I’ve missed you!” She was only a month younger than him, but sometimes he felt years older than her. However, she was much smarter than he was at the most annoying times—like when she had to help him with a problem in his math notebook that was taking him longer than twenty minutes to get through, but she finished it in less than thirty seconds. However, that small jealousy that he had for her just a few years ago vanished. They were both adults now with their own lives with respect for one another.
“I’ve missed you, too, Jane.” He hugged her, too, lighter than he did to Jonathan because he didn’t want Jane to crush his organs. “What have you been up to?”
She blushed. “Well, I’ve just been working on school and helping Dustin with a few things.” She paused. “Um, Max and I have been hanging out more recently,” she added shyly.
“That’s great!” He doesn’t know why she’s being so shy about Max because they’ve been tied at the hip since they turned thirteen. Maybe something happened, but he didn’t pry because he wanted to get through the doorway and take off his massive snow boots that clearly weren’t vintage.
He moved through the foyer and into the kitchen where something was being cooked. It smelled good, though, and Will expects that Jim was cooking instead of his mom because of how delicious it smelled.
“What’s for dinner,” he asked.
“I think Dad’s making pulled pork, but Joyce said she wanted to try making something with her new air fryer. It doesn’t smell bad yet, so it can’t be that bad.” Will nodded, hoping she was right about it not being that bad, but his mom was a disaster in the kitchen. “Anyways,” she started. “What have you been up to?”
He sighed. He’s been doing so much that he can’t even think straight. “Uh, well, I’ve just been focusing on school,” is what he chose to say, because it was true. For the most part. He’s also a lot more social than he’s ever been, so that meant parties. And parties meant drinking and smoking. And drinking and smoking mean bad ideas. Well, not all of them were bad ideas—he should just be more careful.
“That’s it? There’s no guy in your life?” she asked mischievously, and Will likes to think that they were siblings by blood sometimes because of how nosy they both were, but now he wishes they were different.
“No, no one right now.” That wasn’t true. There were plenty of guys after Will, and he took a lot of them up on offers since he’d been starved of human contact for so long because Hawkins wouldn’t be too fond of a gay kid in their town.
The only people that knew Will was gay was his mom, his brother, Jane, Jim, and Max. His family was okay with it, and his mom even cried when he came out to them even though he was so nonchalant when he said he was gay, but the weirder story was how he told Max. Max probably had her suspicions beforehand, but Will didn’t think so at the time.
The day he came out to her was weird because he had a panic attack in the back of chemistry his sophomore year and Max was the only one of his friends who noticed, so she snuck him out to the boys bathroom, not even caring that they were getting weird stares, and she offered him a bit of her vape. He didn’t vape, but he sometimes smoked weed with Jonathan when they were both in bad moods, but she used to be so picky on who hit her vape that he took that as a sign to open up. At that point, only Jonathan knew his sexuality, so it was scary. But, during a loud sob, he said he was gay, and he remembers Max laughing so loud that he heard someone scurry out of the bathroom right when they walked in.
He laughed, too, even though he couldn’t tell if she was being mean or not. But, at the time, she was always mean, so it was hard to care when his mind was still rattled with chemical formulas that he didn’t understand.
Once she stopped laughing, she said, “I’m a lesbian. Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me. And, mine better be safe with you.” She took another hit of her vape before she left him to ponder what happened. After that day, he and Max protected each other throughout high school. They weren’t that close anymore, but she still called him to ask about stupid things like outfits. But, lucky for her, he loves stupid things.
His thoughts were interrupted by Jim and his mom coming through the back door with their clothes sopping wet from the snow.
Once they walked through the kitchen, Will said, “What happened to you guys?”
Joyce looked up from the ground and her eyes shined brightly, and that’s when he knew he wouldn’t be able to breathe for the next minute. The women in his family really need to stop working out or else his whole body will break.
Without any words, Jim came up to scruff his hair while his mom was still crushing him. “How was school, kid?”
“Good,” he said breathlessly. “Glad I get a break, though.” Jim hummed at that. “How’s work?”
Jim groaned, and Will knew he was in for a treat. “Callahan called me today seven times because he can’t handle being without me. And, several people at the office told me that they need me back because Callahan is so bad at his job.”
Will couldn’t help but laugh at that. Jim always had the weirdest stories, and that one was only scratching the surface of strange. Once, someone from another town vandalized the elementary school because they thought it was the police station.
“Come on, honey, I don’t think Will wants to think about that right now,” Joyce said, sitting down at the table, and before Jim could retaliate, she started talking again. “Are you dating anyone?” Maybe he and El got their nosiness from Joyce, not each other.
“ Mom.” He felt like a middle schooler again, groaning about how his mom was so invested in his relationships. “I’d rather hear the story about how Callahan clogged up the toilet again.”
“You see!” Jim sat down at the table across from Jane. “Will loves my stories.”
“No, Jim, he just doesn’t want to talk about his love life to his poor, sweet mom.” She sighed, feigning sadness.
“Don’t worry, he didn’t want to talk to me about it either,” Jane chimed in, sighing even louder.
“You two are unbelievable.” He rolled his eyes playfully.
“Anyways, I got you and Jonathan bunk beds.” Will’s eyes scrunched up. “And Jonathan told me to tell you that he calls the top bunk.” He un-scrunched his brows, realizing how fun it would be to share a room with his brother. They’ve done it before when they were younger, but now they were grown adults who’d probably feel way too close. But, he got along quite well with his siblings, especially Jonathan.
Jane took Jonathan’s old bedroom once he moved out to NYU, and once Will moved out, too, his room became a guest bedroom, so now he figures that their mom wants them to come home together more often.
“I think I’ll have to check the bottom bunk out, then.” He stood up from the table, not wanting to talk about guys anymore, and when he walked into their room, he didn’t expect it to look almost exactly the same. The bunk beds were new, of course, but he expected his mom to have taken down all of his drawings.
Jonathan must’ve caught him staring. “Mike told our mom not to take them down since he comes over sometimes.”
Will took off his coat, still glancing at one of the drawings that looks like he made with his eyes closed, and he grimaced. “I didn’t know he came over here.”
“Yeah, well, apparently he comes over a lot with Dustin and Lucas but spends most of his time here. At least, that’s what Jane said.” Jonathan picked up his phone and that stopped the conversation.
Will had so many questions, but he supposes that he needs to get changed out of his day-old clothes and have some dinner.
The next day he woke up to a bunch of missed texts. His phone was on the nightstand being charged, but he could still feel the vibrations from the rickety wood in his brain. He hopes that it didn’t wake Jonathan up, but he might already be awake for all he knows.
He picked up his phone and glanced at the string of texts. Most of them were from the parties group chat, but some were from other people.
The Party
Mike: WILL
Mike: WILL
Mike: WILLLL
Mike: GUYS EL TOLD ME HES IN TOWN NOW
Max: jeez mike chill
Lucas: I’m excited too but he probably just got home last night and is sleeping
Dustin: well he’s probably not sleeping anymore since mike must’ve woken him up from his incessant crying
Max: seriously. mikes probably shitting his pants rn cuz his bff is in town
Mike: WHO WOULDNT SHIT THEIR PANTS FOR WILL
Jane: what
Jane: he is in town btw, but he needs his beauty sleep
Jane: It's already noon and I can hear him snoring.
Will shot up out bed, almost hitting his head on the bunk above him. He read the text again and it was from an hour ago, so it’s already one in the afternoon, and that’s basically a whole day wasted.
He glanced over at some of his other texts, and none of them were too important—just some horny guys he barely knows asking to hook up with him. He just blocked them, except for one that he knew was attractive.
Rummaging through his luggage that he forgot to unpack, he grabbed a flannel shirt and jeans. It wasn’t what he’d normally wear, but he had to be casual in Hawkins or he’d get rude stares. He’s used to treating every day like a very cozy fashion show.
Once he put on his clothes, he ran out to make a bagel with cream cheese. Jonathan was sitting at the table with his headphones on and Jane was flipping through channels on the old TV that somehow still worked.
“Hey, Will,” she mindlessly said from her spot on the couch. “I think we’re all going to hang out today at Mike’s house, and you better come.” She didn’t even look at him when she said that, and he almost got the shivers, but his bagel was done and he was starving.
Last night’s dinner was good, but he still doesn’t know what his mom was trying to cook in the air fryer. It was red, and he was trying to be as nice as possible by having a few bites, but it was terrible. Even Jane couldn’t get herself to try it, and she eats everything.
“Alright,” he answered, almost as monotonous as her. Maybe they really were blood related.
He sat down in front of Jonathan, and he must’ve been listening to The Smiths again because he looked like he was contemplating life. Will enjoyed old 80s bands just as much as his brother did, but sometimes it was too depressing for him. Besides, The Cure was so much better.
He ate his bagel quickly, excited to see his friends after months. He really doesn’t know what they’re up to, but they seemed to be doing well over the phone. He knows that Dustin is doing an online program for a college in Utah so that he has an excuse to visit Suzie. Dustin was apparently studying chemical engineering and trying to get Jane into it, but she seemed to like mathematics more than science. Lucas was working as a part-time coach for a little league basketball team, and some of the kids took his phone and texted Will. He just hopes those kids didn’t have to run laps after that. Max worked in retail and was climbing her ranks as an assistant manager, and that was weirdly fitting.
However, the only mystery to Will was Mike. Mike seemed to have his whole future planned out for him by his parents, but that all seemed to fall through their senior year. Mike expressed how he has no passion for anything, and as depressing as that is, Will could understand that completely. But, Mike always had good grades, he was in clubs, and he had community service hours thanks to Nancy. That just didn’t seem to be enough to get him a scholarship, so he stayed in Hawkins doing tech work for small companies that were bound to go out of business in the next few years.
It was all very sad to Will because he always dreamed of getting out of Hawkins with Mike, not alone. However, life wasn’t fair, and it especially wasn’t fair towards Mike. Maybe it was karma for him being a jerk once in a while, but that was just teenage hormones, and he hasn’t acted like a jerk since.
At least, not that he knows of.
Will’s always withheld the information of him being gay from Mike the most. He had reasons, but none of them were ever very good reasons. Mike wasn’t his father—he wasn’t going to be homophobic, at least not to his face.
The Wheeler family seemed so perfect when you looked at them for an outside perspective, and Will used to be so jealous of Mike’s fancy upbringing, but all that privilege didn’t help. Ted Wheeler was a deadbeat with money. Karen Wheeler was stuck in a loveless marriage and is jobless. Nancy Wheeler is grasping at straws to not be like her mom. Mike Wheeler doesn’t know what to do with his life. Holly Wheeler is left to deal with the aftermath of her family's issues.
Will’s always known there is more than meets the eye with every family, but he couldn’t help but feel bad that Mike has no aspirations in life. Maybe he does now, but Will has never seen it.
However, he couldn’t dwell too much on it because Will—the most picked on kid in town—got to go to the nicest college in the country to pursue his dream of art. He was truly living in a dream.
As he was thinking, Jane got up to shut off the TV and told him that it was time to go over to Mike’s. He couldn’t help but be a little nervous because he hasn’t seen his friends in months, and even over the summer he rarely got to spend time with his friends because was preparing for college.
They decided to walk there since it wasn’t very far, and Jane most definitely knows about Will’s love for snow—even if it does get stuck in his boots. They walked slowly, talking about random things that came to mind. He never got the chance anymore to talk with her face to face, so it was nice to know simple things like how her favorite color is purple now.
Once they got to the Wheeler’s front door, Will froze. He hasn’t been in this house in forever, and he’s scared to say the least. What if Mike hates him now? What if none of his friends talk to him? Maybe Max hates him for not reaching out as much as he could’ve.
Jane’s knock pulled him out of his stupor, and he almost wanted to yell at her for doing that without his permission as if she had to ask him anything. He felt so stupid. He was an adult now and he shouldn’t be scared of his best friend.
But, he should definitely be scared of the person opening the door for them. Holly looked so different now. She was probably about eleven or twelve now, but she’d gotten the tall genes just like Mike. She also seemed to catch the moodiness, too. She stared at them blankly, chewing on her gum. “They’re downstairs.” She left the door open for them to go through, but Will couldn’t help but feel like he was trespassing.
Jane didn’t think so because she walked through the door without even bothering to say hello. She must’ve done this plenty of times, though, so he follows her down to the basement.
This was all becoming very real for him once he stepped on the stair that always creaked under his weight. This was his home for so many years, and he can’t believe he’s nervous.
“Will!” Mike was the first one to rise out of his seat, but he saw Dustin and Lucas follow along. Mad stayed seated, but she was smiling lightly.
Jane moved out of the way so Mike could hug him, and Will missed his hugs. Out of every single one of his friends, Mike gave the nicest hugs. He was always warm and comforting no matter how harsh his words were.
When they pulled apart, Will got a good look at him. Mike had glasses on, and he’s never seen him wear or even talk about glasses before so they must be very new. He was also wearing jeans, and the old Mike never would’ve been caught dead wearing jeans. So much can change in just a short amount of time.
“Hi, Mike,” he said bashfully. Although Will couldn’t see himself, he knew he was blushing. He’d forgotten how attractive he was. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too,” he said softly, looking at Will with some much emotion that he couldn’t even comprehend.
“I like your glasses.”
“Save some Will for the rest of us,” Lucas said, giving Will some weird handshake that he somehow automatically knew. It was probably a guy thing.
Next to him, he could still feel the lingering hand that was Mike’s on his shoulder. It was a nice pretense, but weird.
“Yeah, we’ve missed you.” Dustin smiled brightly, opting out of a hug. Will thought that maybe it was because he knew that he couldn’t beat Mike’s hugs.
“Seriously, dude. I thought you moved on from us freaks and started hanging out with the losers at your stupid Ivy Legue,” Max piped in, and Will laughed.
Will walked over to give her a fist bump and sat down next to her. He knew she wasn’t a hugger. “So I can either pick between freaks and losers?”
Max rolled her eyes jokingly. “Shut up. You know we’ve missed you.”
“And you know I’ve missed all of you guys, too.” He’d already said it a thousand times this past day, but it was true and he couldn’t seem to stop saying how much he missed everyone.
Everyone sat down on and around the couch with Mike squeezed in right next to him and Dustin doing the same to Mike. The couch was small and he wishes he would’ve picked one of the one seaters like Max and Lucas so he wouldn’t make Mike uncomfortable, so he decided to sit on the floor next to Jane. Besides, no one greeted her aside from Max.
Once he sat down, Will noticed the disappointment on Mike’s face, but he couldn’t focus on that for too long because everyone started talking.
“How’s college?” Dustin asked.
“How are the parties?” Lucas asked at the same time.
Max and Mike’s question got tangled up, and Will probably wouldn’t have been able to understand it even if they talked separately. Easily overwhelmed, Jane noticed. “Guys, one at a time.”
He decided to answer Dustin’s first because that was the only one he could process. “Well, college is good. It’s a lot of work, but I like that all of my classes revolve around art.”
“Can you show us some of your art?” Dustin asked.
“Yeah, you never showed us your art—even when we were kids,” Lucas said.
There was a reason for him not showing his art. Most of his art when he was a teenager was depressing or paintings of his friends. One of his paintings was of Mike shirtless and he’d thrown it out right when he was done with it because of how embarrassing he felt.
Will pulled out his phone from his jean pocket. “Yeah, sure.” Now it was different. He could show people his art without feeling embarrassed because he’d learned new techniques to make his art better and he spent time making everything perfect. The last picture in his camera roll was a portrait of a nude model that his class did. He’s really glad that the model was a female or he would’ve been blushing the whole time.
The girl was really pretty, and Will felt comfortable drawing her. Some nude people that he drew looked uncomfortable and Will could always tell that they were just doing it for the money, which he didn’t really get since it wasn’t that much money.
He should feel weird showing his friends a painting of a nude model, but he knows his friends have seen women naked plenty of times. Even Jane’s probably seen naked women before, but he doesn’t want to think about his own sister anymore, so he passes his phone.
“This was the last painting I did before I left to come here.”
First, his phone was paused to Lucas. “Damn, dude. That’s really good. Do you see naked women often?” He winked, and Will laughed.
“Wait, let me see,” Dustin said urgently, and Will laughed impossibly harder. Once he got a grasp on Will’s phone his eyes widened. “Wow, Will. You’re a great artist,” he said genuinely and Will could feel his heart stop. He’s never shown his friends aside from Mike his drawings before.
“Um, thanks, guys.” He was still learning how to take compliments, but he was glad that they think his art isn’t terrible. That would be embarrassing.
Will turned to look at Mike and he was leaning away from anyone, face red. His eyebrows raised at this. Out of everyone here, he thought Mike would be the first one to grab his phone and congratulate him on his art. But when his phone was handed to Mike, he glanced at it quickly, mumbled a quick “Good job”, and handed it to Max.
Max looked at Mike weirdly, too, hopefully not because she’s still looking out for Will’s small crush on him. He was pretty much over that crush. Of course he still wonders what life would’ve been like if Mike had similar aspirations as him and they both shared a dorm. Will knows they’d never date, but it was nice to fantasize.
“Holy shit, you’re an amazing artist, Will! You should draw naked women more.”’ Will stifled a laugh, still uncomfortable with Mike’s reaction. She passed the phone to Jane.
Jane’s eyes went wide and her face turned completely red. “Will, I don’t think I’m meant to see this.” Will looked at her like she was insane. It was just art and human bodies aren’t always sexualized.
“What?” She passed the phone back to him face down. He looked at it and he realized that she might’ve accidentally scrolled too far. It was a screenshot of a text he’d gotten from a guy a few nights ago. It really wasn’t that incriminating, but still weird for his own sister to see. “Oh, shit.” He’s still glad that she saw it instead of Max. Max would’ve teased him for decades if she saw it. He scrolled back to his painting and gave her a quick glance and she smiled, complimenting him.
“Did she see your nudes?” Max asked, and he’s glad that Jane didn’t. It’s not like he took nudes anyways, but that would be a lot harder to explain.
“No, gross!” he exclaimed. “She just saw a text I got,” he said honestly.
“Anyways.” Dustin coughed. “Have you been seeing anyone recently?” Now it was time for Will’s face to turn red. Dustin gave him a big smirk and sometimes Will wonders if Dustin knows. It’s not like Dustin would react badly because he was friends with Robin. But, Will also doesn’t think he knows that Robin’s a lesbian. He wouldn’t react badly, though, he doesn’t think so.
“No, no.” It feels like he’s answered this question too much since he got home. He didn’t think anyone cared if he dated someone. Maybe they’d care if it was a guy, but they don’t know yet. It’s not like he owes them his sexuality, but sometimes he really wants to tell them. Especially now with Mike carefully studying what he says. “I can’t really focus on relationships right now.” If that wasn’t true, he doesn’t know what is. This has easily been the hardest year of his life, but the most fun.
“Seriously? In highschool you had girls all over you,” Lucas said. “Every single time I thought a girl was gonna ask me out, she’d go over to you.”
“Yeah, but Will never even realized he was being hit on,” Dustin said, laughing.
“Maybe because he was too good for them.” Mike relaxed in his seat, but his stare was still beaming into Will.
“I don’t even remember that happening once.” He tried not to think of Mike’s comment.
“ Dude. You’re not being serious, are you?” Will shrugged. He seriously doesn’t remember. “Kelly asked you out three times our sophomore year. Angelina asked you to prom when you were a freshman and she was a junior.”
“Yeah, and when you were a senior all I could hear girls talk about was how cute you looked when you smoked,” Dustin added, nose scrunching up. All of his friends hated that he smoked, but he was getting better, and he always refused harder stuff at parties. And, he’s an art major so it’s practically in the description when he signed up that he’s supposed to smoke weed.
“Do you still smoke, Will?” Mike asked, eyes becoming softer.
“Sometimes. Not as much, though,” he answered, his brain unsuccessfully trying not to take a screenshot of Mike’s face. Will turned toward Max, trying not to focus too much on Mike. “Have you quit?”
Max straightened up. “No, but I don’t smoke as much as I used to.” That was good. They both knew the dangers of smoking, and as teens they didn’t care. However, now they were getting older and needed to start caring more.
“Max smokes?” Mike asked incredulously. “When did that happen?”
They weren’t the closest of friends, but Mike must’ve noticed when Will and Max snuck off at sleepovers when they were younger to smoke. “Dude, what?” Max said.
“Yeah, what?” Lucas also said. “She used to smoke in class.” Will laughed at that because she couldn’t give less of a shit if she got in trouble, and usually the teachers stopped caring.
“And Will and Max used to sneak out to smoke when we were all hanging out.” Jane looked directly in Will’s eyes when she said that, trying to get to acknowledge how stupid he used to be.
“Like, when we’d all have sleepovers?” Something in Mike’s brain seemed to click. “They snuck out to smoke?”
“Yes, Mike. What did you think we were doing?” Max pushed.
Mike leaned away from her shyly. “I honestly thought you two snuck out to make out.” He said it so quietly that Will thought he misheard him, but when Max barked out a laugh he knew he heard right.
He started laughing with her, and when she finally stopped, wiping away tears from her eyes, Lucas spoke. “Don’t laugh at Mike. I honestly thought you two were sneaking out to have sex or some shit, too.”
Will knows he should be mad for his friends not having a single clue about either of their sexualities, but it was so funny that he just couldn’t even say anything because he was laughing so hard. Even Jane started laughing. He can’t even imagine sneaking out to have sex with a Max, let alone a girl.
Dustin was the only one who didn’t look confused, like he knew something. And, he probably did, but he was too respectful to say anything.
“You two seriously weren’t dating or hooking up?” Mike’s eyes widened again.” Just smoking.
Will nodded, eyebrows extended. “Nothing ever happened between us. Ever. ”
“No kissing whatsoever?” Lucas asked, and Dustin his him on his shoulder trying to get him to shut up, and Will appreciated the effort.
“Guys—“
Before Will could talk again, Max interrupted him shyly. “I think it’s time I tell you guys something.” Will knew where this was going, and he was proud of her, but he just hopes it doesn’t mean that he has to come out now, too. They all turned their attention toward her. She pulled her legs up to her chest, fiddling with her fingers, and Will realized that she’s really nervous. She never got this nervous. “Well, I.” She looked towards Will for comfort, but also to Jane. He didn’t know that his sister knew about this, too. “I’m, um, I’m a lesbian,” she stuttered out.
Will looked at Mike for his reaction, and he knows that’s selfish to see how his best friend would react instead of helping his friend in a crisis. Mike didn’t really do much, his eyes just kind of widened, and Will couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Maybe Mike was so stupid that he didn’t even know that lesbians were a thing. He doubts that, though.
Dustin was the first one to speak, and he had a smile that rised to his eyes. “Thanks for telling us, Max. We’ll always support you.”
“Thanks, Dustin.” She didn’t seem to believe him, waiting for Lucas and Mike to talk. Will knows that when she moved here in middle school, her and Lucas were a thing for a bit, but middle school relationships hopefully weren’t that serious to Lucas.
“Well, you know Will and I are always on your side.” Jane meant that in more ways than one, but Will didn’t need the guys to know that.
“Yeah, um, I’m here for you, too,” Mike said. He didn’t look mad about it, just confused, and Will breathed a sigh of relief that he reacted well.
“Me, too, Max,” Lucas said, and Will could feel the vibrancy of the room coming back. Will knows that Max was mostly looking for Lucas’s approval because of their past. “But, am I allowed to ask when you realized?” Will sighed. She doesn’t owe it to him, but it was definitely a question that everyone except for Will had on their minds. Will already knew the story, and it involved him.
“Well.” She looked toward Will, and he nodded slightly, hoping she’ll change some of the story up. “I’ve known I was a lesbian for a while, but it was harder to accept myself in this stupid town. So, um, Will actually helped me come to terms with it.”
He knows that she didn’t have a good family to rely on when it came to information on lesbians or just the community in general, so she definitely had some internalized things to deal with. He just hopes that he helped her realize that she doesn’t need to love a man to be human.
“How long has Will known?” Jane asked, like it was a competition on who knew the longest.
“Almost four years now,” she answered and Jane hummed, probably realizing that Will was most definitely the cooler sibling.
“Damn,” Lucas said. “Well, are you seeing any girls now?” Will’s thankful that the conversation is off of him but he hopes Max won’t slap anyone for giving her stupid questions.
Thankfully, she laughs it off and blushes. She blushes. She’s probably seeing someone and didn’t tell Will. “Actually, yeah, I am.” He could also feel Jane heating up next to him and her eyes were staying clear of everyone, but especially Max.
Holy shit! Will wanted to scream. He knew what this meant and he knows why Jane was jealous that he knew first about Max’s sexuality. He didn’t want to assume anything, but they were totally dating. Will didn’t even know that his sister liked girls. She was always so smitten with Mike, but she did get over him easily freshman year. She didn’t even cry—at least not in front of him.
Dustin, being as perceptive as he always is, kept his eyes on Jane while Max was talking about how nice the girl is that she’s with.
“Are you two a thing or just dating?” Lucas asked.
“Well, it started as hooking up.” Which, gross. Will didn’t need to know about his sister and friend’s sex life. “And, I think we’re gonna go on a date soon.”
“Wow,” Mike spoke. “That’s awesome.” He sounded so genuinely excited for her, and Will was, too, but he didn’t expect Mike to be.
Neither did Max apparently. “Uh, thanks.” She smiled.
“Anyways, can we talk about something else,” Jane basically pleaded. She seemed so embarrassed, and if she were anyone else, Will would’ve thought she was being homophobic.
“Sure,” Will said. He couldn’t help himself from looking at Mike. Mike glanced right into his soul. His heart fluttered and he felt stupid for still thinking he was the most beautiful person he’s ever laid eye on. “Mike, what have you been up to?” He really hoped he wasn’t wasting his life away like he thought.
Mike perked up. “I just got a job working at a private school through a program that allows me to teach kids without a degree.”
Will’s eyes went wide. He seemed genuinely happy to be working at a school, and he never thought that Mike would ever want to be within a ten mile radius of a school in his life, but Mike’s smile said otherwise.
“What kind of teacher?”
“Well, I’m a teacher’s assistant right now for an AP literature class, but the kids there are so nice.” Apparently everyone already knew this so they kept their faces neutral, but Will was so curious about this development. He doesn’t even know how this is possible. Mike hated school, hated kids, and hated English. “Oh, and I’ve been reading and writing more since I have a lot of freetime. So, I’ll hopefully have enough money by next year to get an apartment with Lucas.” Lucas whooped nicely, and Will was almost upset that he didn’t know any of this.
“I’m sorry I did know any of this.” He fiddled with his fingers. He felt so bad. When Mike called him weekly, Mike only ever asked about him, but Will never thought to do the same.
Mike waved his hand. “Don’t worry. It’s not like it’s really important to you.” Will wonders who’s more insecure between the two of them.
“It is, Mike. I’m sorry for not asking.”
“Ugh, stop being so depressing, guys. It’s hard to know anything about someone who lives ten hours away.” Will wanted to feel bad again, but Max spoke. “If we wanna know everything about each other, we should do the Rice Purity test.”
“Wait, yeah. Why don’t we do that?” Dustin asked. “We wanna know things about each other so why not do something that’ll be fun and also be like a friendship test.”
Thinking about it, it doesn’t sound that bad. And, it’s not like Will would have the lowest score out of his friends. He’s sure that Lucas might have the lowest score; Will’s seen Lucas’s private story and it leaves none to the imagination.
“What’s that?” Jane asked.
Everyone looked at each other, waiting for someone to explain. After a few awkward seconds, Max was the first to say anything. “It’s basically a giant checklist of things. And, if you have more things checked off, that means you have a lower score and vice versa.” Jane still looked confused. “It’s just to see how much of a virgin you are,” she reiterated.
Will laughed at Jane’s scrunched up face. He didn’t really want anyone to know his score since it was definitely a lot lower than it was last year.
“I’ll do it if you guys do it,” Lucas said, shrugging.
“Me too,” Will agreed.
Everyone aside from Mike nodded along, opening up their browsers to take the quiz except for Mike.
“Guys, do I have to do this?” Mike asked shyly.
Before Will could say no and give him a pass, Max said, “Yes, don’t be an idiot.” And, that made Mike grumble and open his browser.
Will tried his best to be subtle when he clicked on something, and he also tried to be respectful of everyone else, but he could tell that Lucas was clicking a lot, too. During the time it took to check off some of the boxes, Will couldn’t help but wonder how many Mike’s checked off. He probably still wasn’t a virgin, and he’s definitely had alcohol before. But, he didn’t really want to think of his straight friend having sex with girls. He shot a quick glance at Mike, and he looked so confused. Maybe Mike had the lowest score and didn’t want to tell anyone.
“This quiz is disgusting!” Jane exclaimed, but she clicked off a box while doing so.
It took them all about five minutes to get through, and he was nervous. Will’s never held hands romantically or been on a date, so that probably brought up his score a bit. His score was still embarrassingly low, though.
“I’m done,” Max said.
“Same,” Lucas added.
“Who’s going first?” Will asked, and they all turned to Lucas for some reason.
“Oh, come on , guys. Do I seriously have to go first?” He looked down at his phone when everyone nodded and sighed. “Fine. I got a 52.” He didn’t look up at anyone.
Dustin scoffed jokingly. “Woah, dude. How do you even do all that much?”
Will could focus on them because he was internally freaking out. He’d gotten almost twenty points lower than Lucas and everyone was freaking out about how low he was. Weirdly enough, he wonders what everyone will think of his score.
“You already know the ladies can’t resist me, Dustin. Now, say yours, Virgin.”
Dustin groaned loudly, leaning away from everyone. “I got an 82.” They all stifled their laughter except for Max.
“Do you even masturbait, dipshit?” she teased.
“Guys, you know Suzie’s saving herself for marriage.”
Between their banter, Mike looked more nervous than when they started. Will didn’t know what that meant, though.
“If you think I’m such a virgin, you go, Red.”
“Fine, I will.” She pulled up her phone screen and she turned it around to show everyone. She had a 68 and looked proud of herself. Will was weirdly proud of her, too. Good for her.
“Woah, how did we not know any of this?” Lucas asked, bewildered.
“Well,” Jane spoke. She turned her phone around, too, and she got a solid 69. There were so many things that Will could say about that.
The first thing he wanted to comment on was how close hers and Max’s numbers were. But, the second thing he wanted to say was already being talked about.
“Sixty-nine. That’s actually really funny, El,” Dustin said, using her old nickname. Will could tell that Dustin was probably thinking the same things as he was, but he’s glad he didn’t say anything because Lucas and Mike didn’t seem to catch on.
The next person was either going to be Will or Mike. And, he honestly didn’t want to see Mike’s right now. He doesn’t know if he’d feel jealous or not, and he really doesn’t need his old feelings to come back when he’s leaving in two weeks and probably won’t see him for another few months.
Everyone looked between them and Mike didn’t seem to budge. Will gulped, looking at his results once more. “Um, I got a 37 . . .”
No one spoke but he could feel everyone’s eyes widened.
“Holy shit, Byers!” Lucas exclaimed. “What have you been doing in New York?”
“There’s no way that you didn’t tell me any of this!” Max shouted, hopefully joking, but Will backed up anyways.
Sometimes Will wishes he was a good liar so he could just say seventy or something that’s believable.
“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t think my sex life was that important to you.”
“Will, your sex life is very important to me,” she said, making Jane giggle.
“It’s definitely not important to me,” she said.
Mike didn’t say anything during the whole exchange; his face was very red and he didn’t look like he believed him. Will wants to know what he’s thinking.
Lucas leaned towards Will. “What’s your body count?”
Will’s face scrunched up. “That makes me sound like I killed someone.” Lucas didn’t laugh; he was genuinely curious. “I think seven.”
“You think ?” Mike asked, frowning. “You should know these things, Will.”
He was probably worried for his safety, but thankfully Dustin was there to say something funny. “There’s no way that you’re the most experienced one here,” Dustin said.
“Well, we’ll just have to see Mike’s results,” he said, trying to get all of the eyes off of him.
“That’s true.”
Mike stammered over his words before he decided to just turn his phone around like Max did. A lousy 87 was plastered across his phone screen. Mike had his mouth covered and elbows on his knees looking at the floor.
Dustin patted him on the back. “It’s okay, man. You’ll get there someday.” Mike rolled his eyes, forcing Dustin’s uncomfortable hand away from him.
“I can’t believe Michael Wheeler is the biggest loser out of all of us,” Max said. Will rolled his eyes at her cruelness. Clearly Mike didn’t even want to do this.
“If it makes you feel any better, Mike, I haven’t even held hands romantically or been on a date.” Which was sadder than anything. He’s had plenty of sex and done plenty of risky things but he’s never been able to date anyone because he still isn’t over Mike.
That made everyone shift their attention back to Will, and that’s the last thing he needed. “No fucking way, Will. You haven’t even held hands with anyone but you got a 38,” Max said.
“A 37,” he corrected.
“Whatever.” She crossed her arms. “You seriously need to stop being horny and go on a date.”
“Says you,” he mocked.
Her eyes went wide. “I’m literally going on a date with your sister tomorrow.”
Will was going to facepalm but at least the spotlight was on a new person now.
“Max and El!” Lucas exclaimed. “Holy shit! That’s like the best couple that’s ever been in Hawkins.”
Even though Jane was clearly uncomfortable, Will’s glad that their friends are doing their best to comfort her. Max didn’t seem to recognize her own words until Lucas spoke.
“Shit, Jane.” She sat on the floor next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “I didn’t mean to say that.”
Jane was still in shock. “It’s fine. They were going to find out anyway,” she said. He hopes Max’s big mouth doesn’t stop them from being together, but he doubts that. If he looked back on it, clearly Jane liked her for a while.
“I know, but I didn’t mean for it to happen like this.” That was probably the most genuine apology she’s ever given anyone.
Will knew they’d be fine, so he excused himself to grab water. He just hopes Holly wouldn’t kill him with her evil stare. Thankfully it didn’t seem like anyone was home.
Just as he opened the refrigerator door, steps came up behind him. He could tell that it was Mike, but he wanted him to speak first.
“Hey, Will?”
He hummed, grabbing ice to put in his water. He tried not to look at him or he wouldn’t be able to stop. He just had to remind himself that there’s multiple guys waiting for him back in New York. But, none of them were Mike.
“I, uh, thanks.” Will looked at him cluelessly, now completely stuck in his eyes. “Thanks for not thinking I’m a loser.”
“You’re welcome? It’s just a stupid little checklist—it’s not like I could ever think you’re stupid for not having sex.”
“I know, but um.” He paused. “It just seems like you have so much of it.” Will never thought he’d ever talk about sex with his straight best friend, but a lot of things have changed in the past day.
“I do, but I’ve never been on a date so it probably cancels out.” He took a sip of his water, carefully staring at Mike’s glasses. He’s probably read so much in the past five months that he just realized he needs glasses.
He chuckled softly. “Yeah, but I had another thing to say.”
Will was intrigued now, and glad because he wouldn’t be able to keep his emotions in check if Mike brought up sex one more time. “I just wanted to let you know that you can tell me anything.”
He knew what this meant. When Mike went to turn around to possibly stop the silence. “Hey, Mike.” Mike turned back around, and he was impossibly close. Mike was only a few inches taller than him, but Will loved looking up into his eyes. There’s so many things he loves about Mike, and he wishes he didn’t. He also didn’t owe Mike this, but he’d learned a lot of positive things about his friend today, and he wants to tell him. “I’m gay.”
Mike smiled warmly. “So am I.”
Will’s heart stopped. “You aren’t lying?” There’s no way. And even if Mike’s gay, too, that doesn’t mean that he likes Will back. But, he was so close and so warm. He couldn’t get enough of him. He was so pretty and he couldn’t stop staring at his lips.
“I’d never lie about that. You know that, Will.” Hearing his name on Mike’s lips was beautiful. He just wanted to lean in further, but then the next few weeks might be weird. “And, I was thinking that maybe we could go on that date that you’ve never been on.”
This didn’t feel like real life. If he were in middle school, he would’ve screamed into his pillows with his feet kicking. Will stared at his lips one last time before leaning in and kissing him. Once he pulled apart, he said, “I’d like that.”