Chapter Text
STEVE'S POV
Dustin has told him in great detail about Eddie ‘The Freak’ Munson. How he’s just ‘the coolest guy ever, Steve, you have to meet him’, but Steve already knows Eddie. Of course, he does. They went to high school together for years. He remembers seeing the guy for the first time. He was a junior while Steve was a freshman, but he was in the same study hall as Steve. He dressed less punk then and had a buzzcut, but he was still loud. Always attracting the anger of their teacher and jeering comments from the jocks.
Later on, Tommy H started bullying the guy for at least 2 years of the time Steve was his friend. Beyond that though, Eddie ‘The Freak’ Munson was nearly as well known as Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington, himself. The metalhead would jump up on tables and shout weird long speeches at everyone. Speeches that demonized sports, jocks, the rich, and basically everything Steve stood for back then. It would drive Steve insane that this guy hated everything about him, but didn't know him. That Steve couldn't take his eyes off of him, couldn't stop listening to every word he spoke, but those words were painful to hear. Eddie eventually started dressing like a rockstar in all black and leather, and was always ridiculously bold and nerdy. You couldn’t ignore the guy even if you wanted to. God, did Steve want to.
After Graduation, Steve thought that would be the end of his years watching Eddie Munson from afar while the metalhead made a fool of himself and ridiculed Steve without naming him directly. Until his father had rung him to whine about college, grades, and how ‘if he doesn’t get a summer job, he might as well move out on the streets with the rest of the bums in this hick town’. Maybe it was weird to worry about bumping into a random guy from his high school- one he never actually talked to -but the idea filled him with dread. He's finally managed to clear the guy from his mind and now, he might have to see him again? No thanks. Normally, he’d work as a life guard at the pool, except that summer Billy Hargrove signed up and Steve would rather die than talk to or interact with that guy again. He might just die if Billy has his say. He also knew that Eddie and his friends would for sure visit the local pool. So to avoid those tow problems he picked the next best place. A job at the 'capitalist normie waste of money and killing their environment' mall, that Eddie Munson had ranted about in one of his speeches before the school year had ended. He was sure to never or rarely visit.
Scoops Ahoy should’ve been fine to work at. It’s an ice cream shop for one. Who doesn’t love ice cream? And in the mall, he could go anywhere he wanted on his break rather than being trapped in the sun or the hot break room at the pool. Only, the shop was too cold and they weren’t even allowed to wear sweaters. His uniform was embarrassing, fucked up his hair, showed off way too much leg, and overall scared the ladies off. Maybe the worst part of it all- at the time -was how his co-worker hated him. Robin Buckley, now his best friend, twin and platonic soulmate, had once hated him so badly that she would mock him nearly every shift. Every comment out of her mouth was sarcastic and venomous. Before he even knew the reason, Steve hadn’t blamed her. She wasn’t someone he remembered from school, not like she had him. But Steve knew- still knows -that there are so many people in this town who rightfully hate him. It hurt at first but after what they went through Steve got over it. He's unbelievably grateful for the job bringing Robin into his life and even kind of thankful to the Russians for bringing them so close. Even if he can't sleep some nights because of the nightmares of being tortured. He now has Robin to call on those nights. He isn't fully alone anymore.
There was one other positive thing about working at Scoops, besides the ice cream discount and Robin, Eddie Munson never showed up or at least not while Steve was working. Unfortunately for Steve nowadays, he is among some of the regulars for Family video. So, after nearly four months of freedom from the guy, Steve was back to seeing him on a regular basis. Back to being tormented by the guy.
Things got worse once Dustin became friends with him.
What once was just an annoying guy from school that Steve for some ungodly reason couldn’t keep his eyes away from, was now Dustin’s Eddie. Steve knew things about him against his will. Things his brain would catalogue away. He knows that the older boy recently went to Indy on a trip, bought himself the new Metallica album. He’d even bought a copy for Mike. Dustin was so jealous of that, he'd ranted to Steve for nearly 2 hours afterwards. Steve knows he plays the guitar, piano, and drums. That Eddie’s the lead singer in his band. He knows about the guy's ability to sew and how he makes the shirts for Hellfire all by himself. Somehow, despite his efforts Eddie Munson is invading his life, thoughts, his friend group, and his work. There's no freedom from the guy.
It all started because the kids, his brats, started school only two months ago. Steve knew Lucas with his sports skills would probably be fine. Max worried him in a different way than the others did. That summer they’d lost Billy. The guy was an asshole and Steve had no love for him, but Max’s relationship with her step-brother was complicated and no one could fault her for the grief and pain she’s been experiencing. She still had El though, who nearly lost Hopper that summer too and seemed to be one of the only people able to get through to the redhead these days.
The others were his main concern. Mike is bitchy in a way that no one really likes. The arrogance and pretentious air about him is bound to piss off the “Hawkins elite”. He’s always shoving his foot in his mouth. Dustin is smart and he knows it, never fearing to tell everyone how much smarter than them he knows he is. Also bound to piss everyone off, not just the jocks. Lastly, Will and El are both sweet, the nicest of his kids, but both of them struggle with socializing and fitting in. They’d both had a hard time over the summer with everything that happened. He just knows that High School will be hard on them.
Steve knows it's a part of growing up and that he can't shield them from everything, but with all the trauma the kids have faced, they deserve to have a peaceful and positive high school experience. And Steve knows first hand how unkind people are. He knows how ruthless the popular kids can be. How miserable school can be when you become their target. He spent his last year trying to avoid Billy and Tommy H like the plague for all the hell they would put him through. Even someone like himself wasn't free from the bullying and rude remarks. How are his kids meant to survive it? Steve knows they're strong, that they have each other, and they've fought literal monsters. But he can't help his worries. It's just the kind of person he is.
In a way, he should be thankful for Eddie and he was. The metalhead, self-proclaimed ‘King of the Nerds’ is probably protecting Steve’s kids where Steve, himself, can't. During the years they went to school together, he watched Eddie pick nerds out from the fresh meat and offer them a safe space at his table. Another part of him was unbelievably jealous. Not a week into the kids freshmen year went by before he heard “Eddie is the coolest”, “he’s the best DM ever”, “Eddie is so smart, he’s even read The Silmarillion”, and “Steve, can you put on some Iron Maiden, Eddie’s music is way better than this mainstream pop shit.”. Steve hated how much this affected him. He shouldn't care so much what 14 year olds think of him. Yet, he is still jealous. Jealous that it's not him protecting them.
There’s more to it than just that though. Eddie has always bothered him. Did it have to be him out of every nerd in Hawkins? It had to be the one with the long curly brown hair that always looked so unkept and untamed. Steve shutters to think about his old buzzcut, the longer hair certainly suited him better, not that Steve would ever voice that out loud. But couldn’t the guy at least take care of it better. He probably uses 2 in 1 shampoo and doesn’t even put any gels or creams in it. He can practically see how parched the curls are. At least the long hair hid the guy's ridiculous Bambi eyes better. What man has eyes that big, round, and distracting. Steve hated the guy, of course he did. That’s why he’s so desperate to avoid him. Steve wishes Dustin would’ve become obsessed with anyone else.
But if he is to be tortured then at least the drug dealing freak had the decency to take care of his kids.
Which honestly got Steve thinking…
This is probably a ridiculous idea, but Steve can't get rid of the thought now that it's occurred to him. The last time Steve went to Max’s to drop off food for her, since her mother seemed to be too busy drinking away her problems and working to pay any attention to her daughter, he found out something interesting. Steve had sympathy for the woman to some degree, she is Max’s mother after all, but shouldn’t her daughter be more important than drinking? Maybe it’s because of his own family situation that he feels this way. His own father would rather travel around the world and cheat than pay attention to his son. His mother wasn’t much better. Somehow, she is almost worse. Unlike his father who makes his hatred honest. She’ll pretend she loves him with empty promises and apologises. Neither of them have cared about him since he was old enough to fend for himself.
He learned to cook, shave, and take care of himself all on his own. That could be why he won’t stop visiting Max, no matter how much she tries to ignore his help.
Back to what he discovered, Eddie Munson lives just across the- street? Path? -from Max. Which isn’t surprising information. Tommy H called him trailer trash enough times for Steve to understand that the guy probably did live in the trailer park. The idea of finally talking to Eddie made his gut twist. Sure, he’s spoken to him while cashing him out at Family Video, but this would be different. This would be Steve talking to him on purpose. Not just talking either, asking the guy for a favour as well. Steve just hopes it doesn’t go nightmarishly.
…
It’s a Thursday night, 10pm and Steve’s just dropped Robin off at home. He heads straight from there to the trailer park, forgoing heading home. Now is the perfect time to enact his plan. There shouldn’t be any parties happening tonight, so hopefully Munson won’t have a hot date or plans with friends. He leaves a bag of food and necessities outside of Max’s place with a knock. She often doesn’t open the door until after he’s pulled out of the park. He hopes his car remaining there won’t scare her off for too long.
Steve walks over to the trailer he knows belongs to Eddie. His stomach turns slightly, must be the lack of dinner. It couldn’t possibly be nerves. The place looks shabby, not nearly as fancy as Steve’s place or even the Byers' house. He knocks on the door three times, loud and firm. The door opens and a dishevelled Eddie regards Steve with a shocked face. His hair is wild as usual, making Steve wish he could get his hands on it. The shirt he’s wearing is a band tee for some metal group Steve doesn’t recognize, 'DIO' it reads. It's cropped and allows Steve to see way more skin then he truly expected to see of the metalhead and ever had before. They'd never shared a gym class and even if they had, Steve certainly wouldn't have peaked. Now though, he can't help but look, noticing the tattoo on the guy's hip going up his stomach, the shirt hiding the rest of it.
“Harrington, house calls are normally frowned upon. Too many watchful eyes. Don’t want the pigs catching wind, ya know.” The booming voice, dramatics and all, drags Steve out of his thoughts and causes him to finally pull his eyes away from the guy's surprisingly toned stomach. Eddie gestures for Steve to follow him inside, expecting to deal to Steve tonight. “But since it’s your first time, I’ll let it slide.”
“I’m not here for that, Munson.” Steve follows after him, glancing around and taking note of the place. The trailer is nothing like Steve’s empty clinical home. It looks lived in. There’s blankets thrown about the couch, a throw pillow on the floor. Beer cans and books piled on the small coffee table. There's a wall lined with shelves holding novelty mugs. The kitchen sink is filled with dishes and the fridge has magnets holding up artwork and grades. That’s the only similar thing. His fridge is covered in Will and El’s drawings, Dustin and Erika’s grades, and photos of the kids and the teens are hung up as well. Suddenly, Steve’s jealous again.
”We need to talk.”
“Of course, anything for the King of Hawkins himself.” He jests.
“Firstly, you can’t sell a single drug of any kind to any one of my kids or I’ll kill you myself.” He turns to the other man with his hands on his hips. His mom stance, as Max would say. “And secondly, I need you to also keep an eye on Max and El.”
“What?” The look on Eddie’s face is genuine confusion.
“My kids, Dustin, Will, Mike, Lucas?” He flicks up a finger at a time as he lists them off. “You play Dungeons and Dweebs with them, don’t you?”
“Fuck, you’re the Steve, Dustin always brings up?” The question takes Steve by surprise. What other Steve would the kids know? He guesses without the context of the upside down, it might seem odd that Steve willingly hangs out with the dorks. But Steve had expected Dustin to brag about that fact.
“Of course, I pick them up after nearly every session. You didn’t notice?”
“Nah, I always have to stay behind for ages cleaning up.” He shakes his head, Steve can actively see the wheels in his head turning behind his eyes. “So you want me to not sell them drugs, heard. I wasn’t planning on it. They’re like 12.”
“They’re 14 and annoying. Even if they beg and plead, you’re not allowed. But what I really need is for you to keep an eye on El and Max. Max doesn’t let me drive her to and from school and won't answer when I drop off her food. El, I see more often because I drive her brother, but she hides things. It’s so obvious that someone’s bullying her and yet she won't say anything to us.” He’s complained about this to Robin, time and time again, but she’s gotten sick of his moaning. Steve stopped mentioning it under threat of violence. It feels nice to get it off his chest again.
“I have so many questions, but firstly how does this involve me?” Eddie gestures for Steve to sit down on the couch as he takes up a spot on the arm rest, feet on the couch cushion instead of his ass. Who sits like that? He makes himself comfortable as far away from Eddie as he can. The couch is really a loveseat, barely big enough for two grown men. He takes a moment to wonder if he should’ve taken his shoes off before fully entering what is essentially a living room.
“Dustin said you’re like a protector for those nerds. That you found them like lost sheep and gave them a safe place." He isn't lying. Dustin has said that, but Steve knows it from watching Eddie over the years, not just from the kids saying so. "I need you to do that for the girls too. I’m worried sick, man.”
“Don’t these kids have parents?” Eddie blurts out.
“Don’t be a prick, Munson. They do, but honestly, most of them suck. Some mean well, yet they still don’t pay any attention to what those kids are going through. I don't know what Dustin's told you but we were in that mall fire this summer. It was bad. I can’t get into it, but I need you to promise me you’ll look out for them at school.”
Eddie just looks at him for a moment. The look on his face is one Steve's never seen before. He doesn't know what it means, but something he said must get through to the guy.
“Ok, you have my word, King Steve.” Eddie flings his arm up and into a mock bow before continuing. “I’ll be your trusted Knight and take care of your little kiddies for you.” He laughs, it’s almost infectious the way it makes Steve’s heart speed up and his breath catch in his throat. “The kids called you cool and a badass, not one of them mentioned how much of a mother hen you are.”
“Shut up, Munson.” Steve blushes. “I expect updates and if anything serious happens, come to me.” He leaves, slamming the door behind him louder than he meant to as Eddie shouts out “Anything for you, my king.”
…
Max corners him days later while he’s in his car waiting on Robin to stop fussing with her hair in the mirror and leave his car already. The kids have just run off, probably to go find Eddie’s group of freaks and nerds. Today is one of the rare days Joyce drives El and Will to school. Normally, Steve would be rushing off to go pick up the last of them. He’s happy to not have to make two trips, but misses the excuse to not linger in the school's parking lot too long. It feels weird being here when he’s graduated. His shift also doesn’t start until 10am and Robin knows that, planning to not let him go until the bell finally rings.
“What did you do, dumbass?” Max grunts out, popping up right beside Robin.
“Huh?” Steve acts stupid. It’s been awhile since Max has approached him first. He knows it could be for only one reason.
“You must have talked to that metalhead weirdo, I saw you at his trailer the other day and now he keeps talking to me and El.”
“Well, I just-”
“You just nothing, Steve. We don’t need someone watching over us. We aren’t toddlers.”
“I know that, Max. I know but you two… A lot happened this summer-”
“Don’t talk about that.” Her voice quivers and her eyes dart away. “I can’t… I’m not ready. It’s too-”
“It’s ok. I’m here for you when you need it and you don’t have to tell him anything, but Dustin says the guy is really cool and it can’t hurt to have another friend besides just El and those idiots. If you won’t hang out with him then at least hang out with Robin.” Steve suggests. His plan B if the Eddie plan didn’t work out was Robin. Maybe if Max is faced with a rock and a hard place, she’ll pick one option rather than just ignoring everyone.
“Fine.” She gestures for Robin to get out of the car. “Come on, El is waiting at the lockers.”
“Bye, dingus!” Robin calls as she’s dragged away. Hopefully those two teaming up won't backfire on him.
…
“Your kids are annoying, Harrington.” Steve startles from where he was messing with his tapes, waiting for the kids to come out from the school. Today is Hellfire night. He didn't even notice Eddie showing up and leaning against his open window. How long has he been there? “Tears for Fears, really, Stevie? Not even something good like Queen?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be cleaning up? Where are the boys?” Steve bites back, his eyes wander down Eddie's body. His shirt is riding up slightly because of his arm propped up on the top of Steve’s beamer. He’s leaning down, taller than the car, taller than Steve as well. Just like the other day at his trailer, the metalhead doesn’t have his jacket or vest, just his Hellfire T-shirt on. The collar is loose and hangs low just enough for Steve to catch a glimpse down it. There’s tattoo lines visible on his collar, the younger man can’t help but wonder what they are? How many tattoos does he have? Did they hurt? And where did he get them? He asks none of these questions aloud and forces himself to look away from Eddie. Why does he keep looking at the guy's tattoos? And why can't the guy wear decent clothing? Shaking his head, he focuses on picking out a tape he knows the kids won’t complain as much about, The Cure.
“I forced them and Jeff to clean up in revenge for them thwarting my plans for tonight.”
“What?” He looks up again, locking eyes with Eddie who is looking at him intensely. Steve can feel warmth in his cheeks, yet he can’t look away from those doe eyes. He’s got a piece of his hair pulled in front of his face and biting on it. It’s disgusting.
“Well, they were supposed to find the Elf’s offer to help them with the trolls in the caves of Tabron suspicious, but instead Dustin kept trying to flirt with it, claiming he’s so charming which got annoying real fast. Then Mike killed the innocent barmaid who was supposed to give them some really helpful information about a side quest I wanted them to go on, because and I quote “She was looking at Will weirdly”. So, revenge.”
“I don’t think I understood a word of what you just said.” Steve admitted, suddenly feeling less hot under the collar at the reminder that this guy is a nerd. The same brand of nerd that his kids are. A D&D playing weirdo who talks like a dork and definitely isn’t hot in any way even though he is objectively handsome. But if Steve was a girl he would definitely never date a guy like Eddie. That would be crazy. “But those shits need to be punished more. Their attitude is unbelievable.”
“Wouldn’t that be your fault?”
“Huh?”
“Since your basically their mother-”
“Fuck off, man.” Steve can’t continue the conversation further because of the kids finally spilling out of the school, loudly chatting to each other. He finds himself silently sad as Eddie turns his attention over to saying goodbye to the kids. Even though he hadn’t known anything about what Eddie was talking about, he enjoyed talking to the man more than he thought he would. He was undeniably funny and seemed to have a response for everything.
The kids pile into the car, Dustin stealing shotgun despite Mike's protests.
“Come on, man. Mine and Lucas’ legs are longer, one of us should be in the front.”
“I’m Steve’s best friend, his only friend-”
“Not my only friend, man.” Steve cuts in.
“Plus you don’t even like him. You can’t sit up front.” Dustin continues, ignoring him. Mike doesn’t argue which stings Steve a little. He knows that being Nancy’s ex is the main reason Mike is so weird around him, but it’s been ages. He wishes Mike would realize that Nancy and him are not getting back together, so the snark isn’t necessary.
“If you sit up front, you can’t sit beside Will and he’ll be lonely.” Lucas pipes up.
“What?” Will gasps out, confused. Mike ignores Lucas in favour of arguing about the music.
“Shut up. Asshole, put on something other than The Cure.” The gangly tallest Wheeler sibling complains as he crawls into the back of the vehicle next to Will.
“I love The Cure, though.” Will mutters. That shuts Mike up.
“What were you and Eddie talking about?” They’ve finally pulled out of the parking lot now that everyone's settled. So of course, Dustin takes the opportunity to jump down his throat, when he has no place to run.
“Yea, I can’t imagine what Eddie would have to say to a guy like you.”
“What is that supposed to mean, little Wheeler?”
“Fuck off. Eddie hates jocks and popular guys. You’re like the king of that shit.”
“We were talking about you guys not that it’s any of your business who I talk to.”
“Gossiping about us like old ladies?” Dustin groans. “When I said you should meet Eddie, I didn’t mean for you guys to team up on us.”
“Eddie’s too cool for Steve anyways. They can’t be friends.” Mike has never been Steve’s fan but lately the hate really does seem to be growing. The rude comments used to be a lot less. Since summer, they've increased tenfold.
“I think Steve’s super cool. He’s like objectively the hottest, most popular guy in Hawkins.” Will speaks up shyly, not looking away from the window. This receives a rather cruel glare from Mike directed instead at Steve. What did he do? Robin suspects that Will’s potential puppy crush on Steve might be the cause of Mike’s growing hatred, but that makes no sense to Steve.
“Eddie’s way hotter.” Mike mutters.
“That’s such a good question. Who is hotter? Steve or Eddie?” Dustin asks excitedly. “We should ask Robin or Nancy or Max.”
“Nope, not happening. Besides, it's me. I’ve gotten way more babes-”
“How would you know?” Mike cuts in.
“Although, Eddie is very attractive objectively speaking.” Steve muses out loud, ignoring Mike's interruption.
“What?”
“His hair isn't bad and his eyes are really pretty, like Bambi.” It's objectively true. He always wondered why the guy never dated anyone in all the years they were in school together. There wasn't so much as one rumour of him dating someone.
“Ok…” Dustin responds, giving conspiratorial looks to the boys in the back of the car.
…
MIKE’S POV
“It’s a Sunday morning, Dustin. Why are you guys all gathered in my basement at 8am?” Dustin radioed everyone that morning arranging to meet at Mike’s and the middle Wheeler is still trying to shake off the signs of sleep. He'd agreed, of course, he had. But why did they have to meet so early when it wasn't even an emergency?
“Yea, can’t we at least sleep in before hanging out.” Lucas groans out. Luckily, living next door has its benefits, so he’d just rolled out of bed and arrived first.
“Nope, this is important.” Dustin cuts in, he pulls out several notebooks and puts them on the table. “I called you all here today to discuss Steve and Eddie.”
“What?” Will asks.
“Is it a plan to get them to never talk again?” Mike asks, hopefully.
“Better. We’re gonna set them up on a date.”
Everyone pauses, Lucas just stares blankly, the audible gasp from Mike hangs in the air, but Will, he looks tense, shifting in his seat.
“Gay people exist, guys. And ok, they might not be gay, but the way Steve was talking about Eddie was odd.” Dustin flips open the black notebook to show several quotes written down. Ones from Steve and Eddie. Things like 'his hair is wild', 'Bambi eyes', and 'just because he's hot' fill the first page. “Plus no one can say that the way Eddie talks about Steve isn’t suspicious.”
“But what if it’s nothing. I mean we don’t want to assume.” Lucas speaks up. Out of all of them, he tends to be the voice of reason.
“And Steve dated my sister. He’s dated like every girl in Hawkins. He can’t be gay.”
“You’re right, but he could be bisexual.” At the blank looks from Mike and Lucas, he explains. “It’s when someone likes both genders. Bowie is Bisexual.”
Both genders? Can people like both genders? How come this is something Mike never knew about. Suddenly, he's filled with panic. Things are making sense in his head that previously seemed like jumbled, grumbled messes. Steve Harrington might be bisexual and might date Eddie Munson. Mike doesn’t quite understand why the idea is so earth shattering to him.
“Is that possible?” Mike stumbles out his words.
“Of course, I read about it in some books in the library when I was trying to research something else and like I said Bowie is bisexual. Anyways, if you guys are homophobes, I’m getting Eddie to kick you out of Hellfire and I’m not talking to you again. You can accept super powered humans and monsters, but not gay people? Doesn’t make sense, man.”
“No, I’m fine with it.” Of course it’s Lucas who speaks up first. Mike glances at Will looking to see if his face will give anything away about his thoughts. Did Will know about bisexuals? Is he ok with that? Would he not want to talk to Steve again? Mike’s fine with it, he thinks. After all, who cares who someone else loves. It’s not like it has anything to do with him at all.
“I don’t care. I just didn’t know someone like Steve could be bisexual.” He decides to speak up first, hoping Will won’t disagree with him.
“Anyone can be gay, Mike. That’s why assuming is bad.” Will points out quietly. “I’m also… ok with it, of course.” Mike notices that Will looks like he wants to say more, but instead stays quiet. They share a look and the smile Mike gives is small, forced, he tries to convey something, anything with it. He’s not even sure what it is he wants Will to pick up from it. He just desperately wants to know what Will is thinking.
“Great! Then let’s plan.” Dustin’s excitement sucks them into the conversation. They get carried away planning for ages. Arguing back and forth about what will and won't work.
The plan they formed was simple. Get Eddie and Steve to interact more. They’d force them to talk after Hellfire, they’d invite Eddie to hangouts that they arrange at Steve’s until finally something happens.
“Isn’t it too simple?” Lucas wonders out loud.
“Of course not-” Dustin goes to argue but gets cut off.
“It hinges on them both realizing their feelings and then one of them making a move. How is that gonna happen?” Mike complains. It seems pretty clear to him that this won't work. If they didn't know about bisexuals and didn't know Steve could be one, how will Eddie? And Mike can't see Steve ever liking a guy like Eddie. Jocks don't like nerds like them. Eddie wouldn't like Steve either. He hates everything someone like Steve stands for.
“What? Steve never backs down from asking anyone out.”
“But this is different, Dustin. If one of them doesn’t know the other is safe, he’s not gonna show that he likes him.” Will speaks up to defend Mike's point.
“Ok, so we get them to realize that they're safe and everyone's safe. That none of us hate gay people.”
“How do we do that?” Mike asks.
“First, we need to focus on getting them to be friends then we can test the waters.” Lucas suggests. “Maybe we pick a movie for movie night that has gay people or mention casually how Bowie is bisexual?”
“That could work.”
They continue planning until dinner time when everyone has to leave. Dustin is relentless in his pursuit of getting his ‘parents’ together. ‘It’s a parent trap reference, Mike. I know they aren’t my real parents.’ Dustin had snarked when Mike had teased him.
Now, it’s just Mike and Will left. Dustin and Lucas rushed off as soon as it turned 4:45pm to be home for dinner on time.
“Do you want to stay for dinner here? My mom is making lasagna.”
“El will be sad if I miss Sunday dinner. She gets to pick, so it'll be Eggos again as always.”
“Ahh… of course.” Mike glances around. They’re standing at the door awkwardly. They’d walked the others out and Mike had anticipated that Will would stay. Now, he doesn’t know what to say. “Is Jonathan picking you up?”
“Yea. He said he’d be here by 5pm and it’s almost time, so I figured I’d wait outside.” Mike doesn't like the idea of Will waiting outside alone. It's only been two years since he went missing and Mike knows it's unlikely that Will will go missing off his doorstep, but he doesn't want to chance it. The gate is closed and everything should be safe, except weirdos still exist. Maybe someone would snatch him. No, it's best if Mike waits with him.
“What did you think about what Dustin said?” Mike asks, once they've sat down on the front step.
“Huh?”
“Do you think Steve could be… ya know?”
“Maybe. I don’t know him as well as Dustin obviously. But it’s not something you can just guess about someone. People can surprise you.”
“And you’re really ok with it?” Will looks at him unimpressed. He opens and closes his mouth a couple times before responding.
“Are you purposefully making fun of me? Again?”
“What?” Mike asks, confused.
“You know, Mike.” He sighs. “You know why I don't care.”
“I know you’re nice but you never know-”
“You said it this summer. You made fun of me for not liking girls like you guys do. Are you purposefully acting like that didn’t happen because now you know everyone else isn’t homophobic.”
“That’s not-I wasn’t making fun of you. I just… I didn’t know. I just said that because I don’t know why I said that.” He shakes his head trying to get Will to stop looking at him so angrily. He doesn’t know how this conversation has turned into an argument. What has he done wrong? Why is Will bringing up shit from this summer? Stupid shit he said while angry. Something he said while confused and mad, that didn’t even mean anything.
“Do you really not know or are you just trying to pretend like you don’t see the obvious?”
“What does that even mean?”
“Why don’t you be honest with yourself for once, Mike. Why don’t you just stop lying to me, lying to yourself. It won’t change, you won’t stop feeling that way just because you ignore it.”
Mike doesn’t get the opportunity to respond because Jonathan’s honking the car horn, alerting them to his arrival. Will storms off, leaving Mike standing on the step more confused than before. He feels like he’s been set on fire. The words lay over his skin in a blanket of truth that he isn’t willing- isn’t ready to face.