Archive of Our Own

Do You Think We’re Stupid?

0.

Mike is standing on the landing, water bottle held loosely in his hand, gaze unfocused as he stares out into the Upside Down. Will isn’t sure what Mike is thinking about as he climbs closer and closer. He’s not even sure if he should stop, too. He’s tired, and not exactly in enough shape to climb up an entire radio tower. He could use the water, though. He just feels… awkward about it. 

He hasn’t spoken to anyone in the Party alone since he held court at the Squawk. After a long group hug, his mother had dominated his time. She wanted to be sure that Will knew, that he really knew, that she loved him, no matter what. He appreciated the gesture, but now that Mike’s form is approaching faster as Will climbs higher, he feels self-conscious about whether or not he should stop to talk. 

Mike decides for him. Some things never change. 

“You want some?” Mike asks, holding out his water bottle to Will as he crosses the threshold of the landing. 

“Yeah,” Will sighs, grateful and out of breath, sweaty in places where he didn’t even know it was possible to sweat. He gulps it down, and feels the intensity of Mike’s stare on his face. He’s thankful that it’s already red from exertion. 

Mike’s gaze shifts from Will’s face to his throat. He watches Will’s Adam's Apple bob as he continues to drink. 

“Listen,” Mike starts, and Will’s posture tenses. “About what you said, at the Squawk…” Mike trails off for a bit, but Will is too afraid to pick up the thread of conversation. If Mike has something to say, he needs to say it.

“I just wanted to say, I’m sorry,” Mike finishes. 

“Sorry?” Will asks, but thinks privately to himself wow, what a way to be turned down. My best friend tells me he’s sorry that I’m gay for him. 

“Yeah. I should have been there for you, you know?” Mike continues. “I should have, I don’t know, done things differently, said things differently. I was too focused on myself. I should have been a better friend.” 

“What? No, Mike. Part of the reason why I didn’t tell anyone for so long is because I didn’t want any of that. I don’t want you guys to treat me differently, or watch your language around me, or anything like that. I just want to be your friend, like I always have been,” Will says. 

“My friend,” Mike repeats. 

“If you’re still okay with that. Okay with- with me,” Will says. 

“I— of course I am,” Mike says. “Like you said, I don’t see you any differently. Well, maybe I do, I’m not sure." Mike pauses for a while, staring back at the Upside Down and slowly sipping on water.

"I guess I’m just surprised,” Mike finally says.  

“Surprised?" Will asks. "Mike, people have been calling me gay since before I knew what that word meant. My father—” 

“What bullies have had to say about you has never had any effect on me,” Mike interrupts. “Besides, El told me you liked a girl when you were in California.”

“I told her I liked someone. She took that the only way she knew how,” Will says.

“I guess I’ve been kind of the same,” Mike mumbles. Will scrunches his eyebrows at him in a request for him to keep talking. He's not making enough sense.  

“I mean, I just didn’t know it was even an option,” Mike says. 

“You didn’t know about being gay?” Will asks, disbelief evident on his face. 

“Of course I know about being, uh, that,” Mike clarifies. “I just mean, I didn’t know that it was possible to, like, be gay. Like having a crush on someone, asking them out, dating them, and then one day settling down and having a family.” 

“What did you think that gay people do then?” Will asks. Mike shrugs. 

“I never really thought too hard about it. I just thought that if you’re gay, you keep it to yourself. I’ve heard about lesbians who marry gay guys so that they can both be safe. Or maybe I thought gay people stay suspiciously single for the rest of their lives, I dunno,” Mike says. Will isn’t sure if he wants to laugh or cry at that truly tragic imagery. 

“Maybe that’s what some gay guys do,” Will says slowly. “But I’d like to be different. I want to move to a big city after graduation, if we even make it to graduation. I’ll try to meet someone like me, who wants to be with me, and see where things go from there. Just like how straight people do it.” 

“That sounds nice,” Mike says, voice pinched. 

“Yeah?” Will asks, unsure whether he’s just shared too much or not. Mike nodded jerkily. 

“It sounds like you just want to be… like everyone else,” Mike said. 

“Well, as ‘like everyone else’ as someone who has a telepathic connection to a hive mind of monsters from another dimension can be, yeah, I guess,” Will tries to joke. It lands, and Mike huffs out a laugh, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. 

“I don’t think you should be just like everyone else,” Mike says. “I’ve always liked that you’re not.” 

“I know,” Will says, because he does. Because he knows Mike. “You like people who are different. It’s why you love El so much. It’s part of what makes you such a fantastic writer.” 

“El and I broke up a year ago,” Mike says, uselessly. 

“I know that, too. I was there with the ice cream, remember?” Will says with a smile. Mike smiles back. 

“You’ve always been the best at being there for me,” Mike says, staring at Will so intensely that Will thinks he might melt. 

“It’s my job as your friend,” Will says mildly, hoping that he sounds casual even though he feels anything but. 

“My best friend,” Mike corrects him, but the words carry an edge. Will doesn’t know what to do with it. 

“We should keep climbing,” Will points out, noticing that the rest of their crew has already reached the top of the tower. Whatever fragile spell they were under is broken. Mike groans loudly. He’s as tired as Will is. Maybe they shouldn’t have played hooky in gym class their entire sophomore year. 

“See you on the other side,” Mike says as he starts to ascend. 

“Literally the other side,” Will says. “We’re jumping into another dimension, dude, and we’re standing here talking about how I like boys. How pathetic.” 

“How normal,” Mike corrects. “Teenagers talking about the people they like? How boring, how contrived. Very just like everyone else.” 

Just before they reach the top, Mike pauses. He looks down at Will, who, admittedly, was trying very hard not to look up at the view he has of Mike’s ass. 

“Can I ask you one more thing?” Mike asks. 

“You just did,” Will deadpans. 

“Who did you like? In California, I mean,” Mike asks. “Even when I thought it was a girl, I never asked you. That seems rude, now.”

Will feels his hands go numb and his feet get hot. Now is so not the time for this conversation to occur. 

“Maybe if we make it out of this alive, I’ll tell you about him,” Will says, hoping to get Mike to move past this as quickly as possible, before Will plunges to his death out of embarrassment. 

Mike says nothing, but mercifully keeps moving. 

~~~

“Don’t.” 

It’s the first thing Mike says to him, rushing to his side after they make it out of the military base and back to Hopper’s safehouse, all their limbs and lives intact. 

“Don’t?” Will parrots. 

“Don’t tell me about the guy. From California,” Mike says. 

“Oh, um, ok. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable,” Will says, feeling his face heating. He’s not sure why Mike is viewing now as the time to bring this up, considering Will and El and basically the whole Party just almost died trying to save the world. 

Mike acts as if he hadn’t spoken at all. 

“He’s in your past now, is all,” Mike says. “Now that the world is saved, at least I hope it is, you can move on from him.” 

“Oh. Ok,” Will says, not knowing what else he should contribute to this very one-sided conversation Mike seems to be having with himself. 

“I just mean, you deserve to be happy,” Mike says.

“Thanks,” Will replies. “Uh, you do, too.” 

Mike breaks his intense gaze on Will’s face at that statement, and Will doesn’t know what he said wrong. 

“What if I can’t be?” Mike asks. 

“What?” Will asks. 

“Now that all of this is over, what if the world and all of us go back to normal, and I hate normal. What if I can’t be happy when there isn’t a threat to the world as we know it that only my friends with superpowers can handle?” 

Will would never allow Mike to live in a world where he wasn’t happy, but he couldn’t tell him that. It would give too much of himself away. 

“I don’t know, Mike,” Will says. “I don’t even know if the United States Government is going to arrest us for blowing up their military laboratory. We all might have to go into hiding! This whole thing isn’t over, not by a long shot. Yeah, Vecna is gone, but there’s going to be all kinds of other excitements, probably for the rest of our lives. We’ll never be normal. My sister and I have literal comic book-level telekinetic powers.”

“Is it weird that you saying that made me feel better?” Mike asked. 

“Yes,” Will answers.

Mike laughs, which doesn’t surprise Will. What does surprise him is when Mike reaches out and grabs Will’s hand. He gives it a firm, quick squeeze. 

“Promise me something,” Mike says. Will nods. He’d do anything for Mike, and Mike knows it. 

“Promise me, you and I will always stick together. No matter how crazy or how normal things get.”

Will nods his head, gaze not leaving the sight of Mike’s long fingers intertwined with his. 

“Me and you, Mike,” Will says. “I’d, um, I’d be happy with that. Forever. I promise.” 

Mike smiles, but he doesn’t let go. Instead, he pulls Will closer, so close that Will can feel Mike’s breath ghosting across his face. 

“I think that I want to kiss you,” Mike admits to him. All of the breath leaves Will’s lungs. His vision blurs, and he thinks for a second that he might pass out, until Mike squeezes his hand again and brings him back. 

“If I’m reading this wrong,” Mike continues. “Then you should tell me all about that guy from California. I’ll try my best to be supportive, and it will still always be you and me forever. Our friendship won’t change.” 

Mike is being brave. Mike has always been brave. Will can be, too. 

“I’m sure El told you, that spring before you came to visit, I was working on something for the guy I liked. I spent hours in my room, painting and painting. Adding detail and reversing course, only to scrap the whole thing and start fresh at least five times. It never felt finished, and I hated it so much because it was so important to me that I got every little thing right for him, to show him how much he means to me, how important he is.” 

Mike’s face had fallen a little, but Will refused to let go of his hand, even when Mike tried to drop his grip. Will squeezed tight, steeled his nerves, and looked at Mike’s wide eyes.

“I could always find something wrong with it. But… when I see it hanging in your bedroom, I think I kind of love it.” 

He waits for his words to sink in. He waits for Mike to understand. Mike always understands Will. There was never a guy in California; it had been Mike all along. It always would be.   

1. 12 Months Later

The fact of the matter is, Dr. Sam Owens is a powerful man. It’s a fact that the military task force that tried to experiment on Kali and El conveniently forgot. They, with their inflated egos and grand ideas of X-Men-level genetic mutation, forgot who really held the cards. 

Dr. Owens shut down the base in Hawkins so quickly that sometimes, the regular townsfolk (well, those that are left) forget that it even existed. He rebuilt crumbled buildings and funneled money into the town. He brought Hopper back from the dead and gave him a healthy sum of money for "reparations." 

He had given El a choice: Jane or El, choose one. In true El fashion, she chose both. 

“Elle-Jane Butterfly Hopper,” She told Owens. “My new friends at Hawkins High can call me El. Or EJ, or Jane, or Butterfly, or Hopper. I am not picky.”

She laughed in his face when he told her she made things complicated, and didn’t she know that was a lot of names to fit onto a newly obtained birth certificate?  

Dr. Owens then proceeded to explain to Hawkins PD that the military had made a grand mistake, and that the town’s most wanted girl for years, Jane Hopper, was not the same person as Elle-Jane Butterfly Hopper, who lived peacefully in Hawkins with her adoptive father. The "dangerous and very real" Jane Hopper, the government believed, had fled to Canada. The town of Hawkins was safe from all threats. And wasn’t it a miracle that former chief of police Jim Hopper was alive?

It had been an insane end to their junior year of high school, with Max returning after missing more than an entire year, and El joining them in classes instead of waiting in hiding for the right signal to emerge. It was an even busier senior year. 

Mike was adamant that the entire Party pick a city and go to college there. It didn’t matter if they went to the same college, Mike had said, as long as they were all within walkie range. He’d suggested New York, but everyone knew that it was only because it was where Will had always wanted to go. Jonathan was there, and Nancy was likely to move after graduating from Emerson. It was the logical choice for the Party’s next spot, as much as Max hated to agree with Mike. 

So, they all started applying. Dustin was unsurprisingly admitted to Columbia. Lucas and Will would both be at NYU, though Will would be at the art school, Tisch. Max and Mike both got into Fordham. The school was so impressed by the fact that Max graduated on time despite failing her freshman year and being in a coma for her sophomore year that they even gave her a hefty scholarship. El would be going, to Hopper’s great surprise, to the Fashion Institute of Technology. 

El had completely blossomed in the last year. She was so herself; so full of life and color and wonderment. She and Max took every opportunity they had to spend time together at the newly rebuilt and renamed Hawkins Mall. El loved clothing and fashion so much that she started designing her own pieces. 

At first, they were poorly shaped, colorful blobs. But eventually, with Will’s help and his artistic precision, Max’s unwavering determination, Hopper’s wallet bankrolling a sewing machine, and the Party’s endless requests for El to sew them new DnD costumes, Elle-Jane Butterfly Hopper had turned herself into an adept designer.

Would she be at the top of the graduating class with her GPA? Absolutely not. But Erica Sinclair was more than happy to hack into the school’s database to change any failing grade of El’s into a C+, and El was happy. Finally, they all were. 

They met up each day at lunch, all sitting hunched up close to one another, trading complaints, jokes, and jabs. After school, they went to Mike’s basement and played video games or watched movies. On weekends, they went to Lucas’s basketball games and continued their DnD campaigns. 

This particular lunch, on a Wednesday in February, the party was at their usual table closest to the window. Will and El liked to look out onto the fields while they ate. Except, the former was late. As was Mike. Again. 

“If they don’t hurry, they’re gonna miss the entire lunch period,” Dustin said. 

“It’s only been eight minutes,” Lucas said, though he was looking at the door, awaiting their final two members’ arrival like a wife waiting for her husband to return from war. They were all anxious to be together and talk about their new campaign for the upcoming weekend. They’d just finished one that had taken them a full 13 months to complete. Not their longest in history, but it was El’s first major campaign, and it was Will’s first time playing as a sorcerer instead of a cleric. He’d had El make him a whole new costume and everything. They had an incredible campaign and were anxious to begin planning for the next one. 

When Will and Mike finally arrived, they both looked like they’d been in a fight. Their hair was tousled, their pants wrinkled, and Mike’s shirt was so twisted it looked like it could be on backwards. Actually, maybe it was on backwards. 

“What the fuck happened to you two?” Max asked. Will’s face turned red so fast that Dustin thought he was in danger of passing out. 

“Nothing,” Will said, just as Mike said, “Fell down some stairs.”

“You both fell down the stairs?” El asked. 

“Uh, yep,” Will said, not sounding convincing in the slightest. 

“Bullshit,” Dustin chimed in. Lucas nodded in agreement. 

“It’s my fault, really,” Will said, and Mike looked at him in surprise. “I tripped, and I reached out to grab Mike for support, but I took him down with me. Sorry, by the way,” He looked at Mike. 

“Uh, yeah, no prob,” Mike said. “I shouldn’t have skipped gym this week. Maybe I could’ve caught you if I was hitting the weights.” 

Will laughed easily, and the two sat down. Will went about trying to fix his hair and his clothing, but Mike didn’t seem hung up about looking like a mess. 

“What’d we miss? You didn’t start planning for Sunday yet without us, did you? Because without the DM, AKA me, you can’t—” 

“Shut up, Wheeler,” Max interrupted. “We waited for you.”

Successfully distracted, they talked until the warning bell rang, and they all began to pack up their belongings. Lucas stood up to follow Mike to their next class, but he felt a tug on his arm. Max was still seated and pointing at the empty seat Lucas had just abandoned next to her. He obediently sat back down. 

“They were totally just making out,” Max said. 

“What?” Lucas asked, lost. 

“Mike and Will! Before they got to lunch, that’s why they were late.”

“Mike said they fell down the stairs,” Lucas said, and Max gave him a familiar look that said, are you a moron?

“Mike’s shirt was on backwards,” Max said. “And they’ve been weird all year. Since, you know, everything went down.” 

“Weird how like all of us are a little more weird now?” Lucas asked.  

“No, weird as in, I think they’re secretly making out weird,” Max said. 

Lucas thought about it for a minute. As it turned out, a minute was all he needed. Just one deep look at Will and Mike’s friendship throughout the past year, and all the signs were there. The endless touching, the almost feral need to be close to one another at all times, Mike’s possessiveness over who sat next to Will when they watched movies (always Mike and usually El or Lucas on his other side). It all made sense. They were totally making out. 

“Holy shit,” Lucas said. Max nodded in agreement. 

“Why haven’t they said anything?” Lucas asked. Max shrugged. 

“My best guess: Mike is weird, and Will lets him be weird,” Max said. An easy explanation, and certainly possible considering what was definitely happening between the two of them. 

“Should we tell them we know?” Lucas asked. 

“Nah,” Max said. “They’re gonna be too careless and get caught soon enough. You saw them today.” 

“What about Dustin? And El? Do we tell them?”

“No, it’s rude. Just because we all know Will is gay, doesn’t mean we can air Mike out,” Max answered. Lucas nodded. He loved having Max around to tell him how to go about his life. 

“You’re late for class, by the way,” Max said. 

“It’s your fault! And you are too!” Lucas whined, and Max smirked. Lucas wanted to kiss it off her face, but unlike Mike and Will, apparently, Lucas could keep himself in check during school hours. 

He wondered where Mike and Will even went to make out. The school was so sparse these days that sneaking around without being caught was pretty difficult. Teachers seemed to have eyes on everyone. 

“You know,” Lucas started as he and Max walked towards her math class. “I don’t think it’s fair that Mike and Will get to have all the fun around here.” 

Max looked up and laughed in his face. Lucas loved making her laugh, even when, especially when, she was laughing at him. 

“You know what? Maybe we can still mess with them a little bit without telling them we know about what they’re doing,” Max said.

“How would we do that?” Lucas asked. 

“I’ll ask Will if he knows any good spots around school. Make him sweat a little bit. You do the same for Mike,” Max said. 

“I’m down,” Lucas agreed. “And if they have any good ideas…?” 

“Ew, Stalker, I am not making out with you in the same place where Mike and Will have been tonguing. You’re so nasty. You need to be on some kind of list.” 

Lucas laughed. He didn’t think it was that gross, and he’s sure that Max was just being mean to him for her own entertainment. 

“Whatever you say, Mad Max. Still on for after school?” 

“If they don’t arrest you before then for being a pervert,” She replied. 

Lucas smiled and kissed her cheek as he dropped her off at her class. By this point, he was so late to his own, he may as well skip it. He spent the remaining 20 minutes of the period roaming the hallways, looking for hidden alcoves and passageways that he and Max could sneak off to, as if Hawkins High were a medieval castle. God, they were all such losers. 

˙Ɩ

Will passed Mike a note in class.

Do u think they noticed? 

Noticed what? 

That we were, u no, lying to them abt the stairs.

No. Our friends arent smart

Our friends are so smart???? 

Max is stooopid.

Shes not even reading this, u dnt have to make fun of her every chance u get.

Im bored. Miss u.

Right here

Miss ur lips, then

Stopppp what if mr harris saw this and read it out loud!

Dnt get caught! 

I need to pay attention now. Rip. 

Mike tore up the note into shreds, eviscerating any evidence that it ever existed. 

When class was over, Mike walked with Will to his locker. 

“I wasn’t kidding,” Mike said, then leaned in close so that his lips were brushing against Will’s ear. “I do miss your lips.” 

Will shivered. He and Mike had been together for a whole year now, but he still might never get used to this feeling. They had celebrated their anniversary together with an all-night Star Trek marathon that turned into a game of making out every time Captain Kirk tore his shirt. Will had never felt so free. 

Will didn’t mind having a secret with Mike. He liked it, even. It was just one more thing that only they knew. It made Will feel special, chosen. He was Mike’s, and Mike was his.

“Later,” Will said. “We already got lucky earlier today with the East stairwell being empty. I don’t wanna push it and get caught somewhere doing something.” 

Mike pouted, yet diligently began packing Will’s books into his backpack for him. 

“Come over at four today,” Mike said, handing Will his things. 

“I thought you said five at lunch,” Will said. 

“That’s for everyone else. My mom is leaving for her jazzercise class at 3:50. We’ll have a whole hour to ourselves,” Mike said, winking at Will. Will blushed. How could he not?

“See you then,” Will said. He reached over and gave Mike’s wrist a light pinch. Mike reached out to do the same move back. Even the lightest touch of Mike’s fingertips made Will feel hot. 

“I can’t wait,” Mike said, and watched as Will went off to his next class. 

2.

It was a Thursday night in late March, and still fairly cold in Indiana. The Party was in Mike’s basement, up later than they should have been on a school night, watching The Slumberparty Massacre. Will kept flinching when the girls took their tops off, and closed his eyes when they got brutally murdered. Dustin was worried he wasn’t enjoying it at all, except every so often, Mike grabbed his chin, pulled his head closer, and whispered something into Will’s ear. Each time Will’s posture relaxed, he laughed, and was quick to whisper something back with a smirk on his face.  

By the time the slasher was over, El was yawning so much that Dustin thought it was a statistical outlier that she hadn’t already fallen asleep. It was time to go home. 

“Alright, I’m heading out. I can drive the twins,” Dustin said, stretching his arms up over his head and gesturing to El and Will. El stood up with a small smile and went to collect her bag. Will made no such moves to stand up from his position, sandwiched between the arm of the couch and Mike. 

Will and Mike were sharing a look that Dustin had learned over the many years of being friends with the two of them not to try deciphering. Will and Mike thought at each other in a coded language that was theirs alone. They all knew it, had known it for years, and it was a waste of time trying to decode it. Dustin, however, was not feeling particularly patient. 

“Something you two want to share with the class?” Dustin asked them. Will’s ears turned red at the attention. 

“Um, nothing, it’s just, uh, Will’s gonna stay here for a bit longer,” Mike said, looking at the floor and not at Dustin. 

“Yeah, Mike asked me to help him clean up,” Will said. Alarms went off in Dustin’s mind. Mike never cleaned the basement. He let it get disgusting until his mom “couldn’t handle it anymore” and came down to clean up for them.  

“How will you get home?” El asked. They’d ridden their bikes over, but Joyce Byers might actually murder Mike if she found out that he sent Will home alone on his bike late at night. 

“Uh, don’t worry about it, I have a ride,” Will said. 

“Who?” Max asked from the floor. All of Will’s friends were in this room, and they all knew it. 

“Jonathan,” Will said easily, but the second it left his mouth, he realized his mistake. 

“Jonathan lives in New York,” Dustin reminded him, speaking slowly as if talking to a toddler. 

Will looked helplessly to Mike, who didn’t look any less guilty than Will did. Dustin was starting to realize what the two of them might be hiding. 

“Whatever, I’m tired,” Max said, before Dustin could ask any of the thousand questions circling in his brain. “I need some space and some sleep before I have to see you all again tomorrow.”

Dustin looked at Lucas, who was looking at Max. Then, he noticed Will, who was staring at Dustin with a fearful expression on his face. That wouldn't do. Dustin doesn’t want Will to ever feel afraid of him. What kind of friend would he be? 

“Get home safe, Will,” Dustin said before following Lucas and Max out of the basement, dropping the subject for now. He waits until he hears the door slam to tug Lucas and Max towards him. 

“They’re totally hooking up,” Dustin said. Max and Lucas look sheepish.

“What the hell, did you two already know? Did they tell you and not me?” 

“They haven’t told us anything,” Lucas was quick to say. “But… we did kind of figure it out a couple weeks ago.” 

“Remember that lunch when they tried to tell us they fell down the stairs?” Max asked, and Dustin felt like an idiot for the first time in his life. 

“They’ve only been more and more obvious since,” Lucas said. 

“What is ‘hooking up?’” El asked. All three of them turned to her, previously forgetting that she was there. Was it insensitive to talk about Mike and Will’s maybe-probably-definitely hookup in front of her? She and Mike hadn’t been together since they returned from Lenora, but she was still his ex-girlfriend. Would she be upset?

“Uh, it’s like, kissing. Sometimes more,” Max supplied for her, wincing as she did so. Dustin mentally slapped himself for bringing this up in front of her.  

“Oh, yes,” El said. 

“You get it?” Lucas asked for confirmation. 

“Yes. Will and Mike are hooking up. They are kissing, sometimes more. Mike comes to our house very often.”

“Wait a second, you knew too?” Dustin asked. He had never been the last to know something in his life. It is a completely foreign feeling. 

“Should I not?” El asked.

“I can’t believe they told you and not us!” Lucas cried. 

“Oh, they did not say anything to me. My room is next to Will’s and—” 

“Ewwww no, stop talking. Please stop talking,” Max interrupted. 

“Why do you think they haven’t told us?” Dustin asked. Max let out a long-suffering sigh. 

“Because Mike is weird, and Will lets him be weird,” Max said. 

“Oh yes, Mike is very strange,” El confirmed. 

“Do we do anything about this?” Dustin asked. Lucas and Max shook their heads. 

“They can tell us when they’re ready,” Lucas said. 

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t mess with them,” Max added. “We can’t force them to tell us, but we can make it harder for them to keep it a secret.” 

Now this sounded interesting to all four of them. It had been a while since the Party had to formulate and carry out an intricate plan outside of their DnD campaigns. They were all buzzing for the thrill of it. 

“Lunch tomorrow,” Lucas said. “When Mike and Will are late again, we’ll use that time to talk about a plan to mess with them. Just a little bit!”

El giggled into her palm. Another thing that the Party had learned about El in the past year, since she had been allowed to start living her life freely, is that she really loved pulling pranks. Usually, she set her sights on torturing Hopper. On the rare occasion that she branched out and struck other members of the Party, well, one always needed to be on the lookout. She would certainly be their greatest asset and a giant wildcard. 

Dustin, as much as he loved all of his friends almost equally, could not wait to mess with them. It would be an exciting end to their senior year that didn’t scare the shit out of him. What more could he ask for?  

˙ᄅ

After Dustin slammed the door shut, Mike felt as though he could finally relax. 

“Finally, they’re gone,” he said. 

Will looked at him like he was an idiot. Mike wasn’t sure what he'd missed. 

“Mike, we were so obvious just now,” Will said. 

“We were?” Mike asked. 

“I was, at least. I told them Jonathan was going to pick me up,” Will said. 

Mike laughed at him. Even though Mike was the one who still wanted things between him and Will to be kept from their friends, he wasn’t worried. If Max had suspected something, she wouldn’t keep her mouth shut, would she? She never missed an opportunity to harass Mike. 

“I think it’s fine,” Mike said. “They all know that you and me are the closest out of all of us. They won’t make anything of it.”

Will wasn’t sure how Mike could be so confident, but he let it drop. This was the only time he and Mike had alone together all day, Will wanted to make better use of it. 

Will climbed onto Mike’s lap and began peppering small kisses across his neck. Mike hummed in appreciation and squeezed Will’s hips. 

What started as small, sweet touches quickly turned feverish and frantic. Will plunged his tongue into Mike’s mouth while Mike bit his lips. Mike scraped his nails up and down Will’s back, as Will slammed his hips into Mike’s over and over. They could feel each other through their sweatpants; it drove Will crazy every time. 

Karen Wheeler was still awake upstairs, and Will never felt comfortable taking his clothes off if an adult was in the house and could potentially walk in on him naked, so grinding against each other was all they would do for the night. It was more than enough for both of them. Mike loved every iteration of sex with Will. 

Will bit down on Mike’s neck, and Mike came desperately in his sweatpants. Will followed shortly after. They remained panting in each other's mouths, unwilling to move from the other’s grip. 

“That was short,” Mike whispered into Will’s mouth. 

“That was fun,” Will corrected. 

Mike kissed the corner of Will’s mouth and slowly pulled away. Will stood up and went for his bag. He’d brought a spare pair of pajama pants; he had known how the night would end.

“You still have to call your mom, tell her you’re staying over,” Mike said. 

Will sighed and stretched his arms over his head. Mike couldn’t help but stare at the strip of skin peeking out under Will's shirt. 

“I'll bring you down different sweats. Be right back,” Will said, as he went upstairs to use the phone. 

Was it pathetic that the second Will was out of his sight, Mike felt like he’d been plunged into icy cold water?

Mike had always needed Will; he just hadn’t known how much until November of ‘83. Since then, he’d only felt more and more protective of Will. Possessive, too. Mike had a hard time saying goodbye to him, even now, as legal adults. He felt it especially on nights when Will slept at his own house, when Mike knew he’d see Will in just a few short hours at school. He was one bad nightmare away from asking Will to move into the basement permanently. 

He thought this need to protect Will was why he was so weird with him for the 10 months that Will lived in California. Not being able to check in on Will, to see him with his own two eyes, to hear his voice, had felt like suffocating. Mike and Will spoke best with their eyes; Mike could always tell what Will was feeling when he got a good look at him.

When Will wrote, Mike could hardly bring himself to read the notes, let alone write back.  He and Will didn’t work when they were apart, because they weren’t meant to be. They were meant to be together. Always.

When Will crept back down the stairs, a small smile on his face telling Mike he got approval from Joyce to stay over, Mike pulled him close. Will pulled a face and demanded that he change his pants, but Mike couldn't muster the desire to move. Will was back where Mike needed him. Mike didn’t intend to let go anytime soon.   

3.

Mike and Will were being more and more careless, and it was starting to drive the rest of the Party crazy. They were late to lunch every day, sauntering into the cafeteria looking windswept and glossy-eyed. Some days, they didn’t even bother showing up! Every day, they had another flimsy excuse. Will dropped his books, or Mike had to use the bathroom, and I said I’d wait. Their most unbelievable story was one day when Will had the audacity to claim that Mike had “stepped on a rusty nail” and Will “had to take it out before Mike got tetanus.” Right. 

Mike started pushing back Party hangouts later and later each day after school. He claimed he had a lot of homework, that he needed to get certain chores done, hell, he even threw Holly under the bus, claiming she wanted to spend more time with him before he left for college. It was all bullshit, because every day when the rest of them arrived at the basement at the time Mike told them to, Will was already there. 

It was past time to put their plan to mess with Will and Mike into action. Dustin told Max as much when the two of them sat down at their lunch table on a Wednesday in April. She vehemently agreed and went to the lunch line to inform Lucas and El. 

The four of them shared conspiratorial looks as Mike and Will sat down with a half-hearted, “Sorry we’re late,” from Will. Usually, Max would ask him why they were late, but she had a different job to do.

“So, El,” Max started. “How’s my prom dress coming along?” 

“It looks incredible,” Will says, before El can reply to Max. “El is doing such a fantastic job, you’re going to look so beautiful, Max.” 

Will was so sweet, Max almost felt bad for the torment she was about to set off.

“I’m excited to wear it,” Max said, not without ulterior motive, but she was being honest. “Actually, I have to admit, I’m really excited to go to prom.” 

“Me too!” Lucas jumped in, just like he was supposed to. “I can’t wait. My mom is even more excited about taking pictures than she was when we all did the Scooby Gang for Halloween.” 

“I still can’t believe you made me be the dog,” Dustin muttered. 

“Better than making me be The Creeper!” Mike complained, like he’d been complaining about it since October. 

“It’s not our fault you have such bad posture,” Max said for the hundredth time.

“Whatever,” Mike conceded, only after Will lightly pinched his arm.

“Anyway,” Dustin said, pulling them back on course. “I’m excited for prom too.” 

“You are?” Mike asked. “Do you even have a date?” 

“You’re incredibly rude. Has anyone ever told you that?” Dustin asked. Mike curled his lip. “Besides. I do have a date this year. This hunky Bard is taking our beautiful Mage to the school dance.” He pointed at El, who waved to Mike with a smile.

“You’re taking El to prom?” Mike asked. 

“Yup,” Dustin said. “I asked Lady Butterfly last week.” 

“Dustin is very kind. He got me a bin to organize all of my fabric scraps, and he asked me to be his date,” El confirmed. 

“Oh. Um, that’s nice,” Mike said, but Dustin knew he was barely controlling an outburst. Mike wasn’t envious of Dustin and El’s friendship, and he wasn’t possessive over El (anymore), but he certainly was very upset that the two of them were going to prom together, for reasons unknown. Max would say it's because he’s an insane person with major jealousy issues. Which is just how The Party planned it. 

Lucas prepared to deliver the second punch. 

“Do you have a date, Will?” Lucas asked. Will, who had been staring at Mike's upset face with worry, startled. He looked like he’d just been asked to sing the National Anthem at a sold-out stadium. 

“Um, no,” Will said, so quietly it was almost a whisper. 

“That’s no fair!” Max took over. “You should definitely have a date. I bet if we all put our heads together, we can find someone for you.” 

“No, uh, that’s not— that’s okay,” Will stammered. “I think I might not even go.” 

El reached across the table and took one of Will’s hands in both of hers. 

“You must go,” El said, with the fierce intensity her voice always carried. “This is The Prom. It is very special. Every movie says so.” 

“Will doesn’t need a date to have fun at prom,” Mike said, his lips so pursed that a little bit of spit flew out.

“Of course not, we’ll all be there, but I think it would be nice. Don’t you, Will?” Max asked. She was admirably evil. This idea had been hers, and they all knew that there was no easier way to drive Mike crazy than to test the limits of his possessiveness over Will. 

“I can set you up with someone,” Max continued. 

“Oh, really? Who do you know?” Mike asked. 

“Lots of people. Unlike you losers, I have other friends,” Max lied. “I’m sure we can set you up with someone who would love to take you.” 

“That’s nice guys, but, uh, I’m not sure anyone else would wanna be, you know, with me in public like that,” Will said. 

“Then they don’t deserve you,” Max said, looking directly at Mike. Mike had the decency to look quite ashamed. His whole face was red, and he couldn’t look any of them in the eye. 

“I’ve actually heard that there’s a group of a few out-of-the-closet kids who all go to Andover. Their high school is only a 45-minute drive. I bet if we did some research, we could figure out who they are and see if you’re interested in any of them,” Dustin supplied. 

Will looked troubled. He clearly didn’t want to agree to this scheme, but he also didn’t know how to say no to the very kind lengths that his friends were suggesting they go to in order to secure him a prom date. The Party had backed him into a corner, and all Will could think was that he wished Mike could get him out of it. 

“Stop making Will uncomfortable,” Mike snapped. “You all sound insane. You think that Will is gonna to want to go to prom with some random from another school? Here, where bullies already torment all of us enough? I don't think so.” 

“So you want Will to go to prom alone?” Max asked. 

“No!” Mike shouted. “He’s going with me.” 

Will looked at Mike with shock evident in his eyes. 

“I am?” He asked. 

“Yes,” Mike said. “Since neither of us has dates, I mean. We can go alone, but, like, together.” 

“Oh,” Will said. He looked disappointed. It made Max feel incredibly awful for putting Will in the middle of her amusement in torturing Mike. 

“You’re so pathetic, Wheeler,” She snapped at Mike. Normally, Mike would fight back on that. Call her some other name, but he was too preoccupied staring at Will’s face. 

“Will, I— I didn’t mean to—,” Mike started, but Will gently touched his arm and shook his head. 

“It’s alright, I get what you mean. I’ll go to prom, but I think I’m just gonna go stag,” Will said to the table. “Mike is right, I don’t want to take someone I don’t really know just because they also happen to be gay.” 

“That’s right!” Mike said, nodding emphatically. “And you and I can—” 

“Mike, you should ask someone, though,” Will said, turning to face him. “I’m sure a lot of girls would say yes, if you asked.” 

Mike’s jaw dropped. Lucas wondered if he might be able to practice his aim a bit by throwing food into it, as it was hanging so wide open.

“I’m not— no, I’m not doing that,” Mike said after a pregnant pause, but he was just talking to Will now. He was using his softer voice, the one he reserved for Will only, body turned completely away from the rest of the Party, and eyes focused solely on Will.  

Will shrugged and didn’t seem keen on responding to Mike. Mike looked devastated. 

“You all suck,” Mike said, pointing at each one of them before grabbing Will’s arm and hauling him out of his seat. 

“Come on, Will, we’re leaving,” Mike said. And Will, even though he was still clearly upset with Mike, started gathering his things in order to follow him.

“Lunch isn’t over yet!” Dustin called out. 

“Don’t care!” Mike shot back. 

“Are we still on for after school?” Lucas asked. Mike scowled at him, but Will nodded the affirmative. 

“Great, see you guys at four,” Lucas said. 

“Five,” Mike corrected. “I’m busy until then.” 

“Doing what?” Max asked, though she wanted to ask who. 

“Fixing your messes!” Mike yelled, as he took Will’s arm and ushered him out of the cafeteria. 

There was a moment of tense silence at the table.

“I didn’t want to upset Will,” El said, and the rest of them cringed. None of them liked upsetting Will. 

“We can talk to him later and apologize,” Max said. “He and Mike are probably heading to some weird, hidden back stairway in the school to cry and then have make-up sex.” 

“Ew, don’t put that image in my head!” Lucas pretended to gag. 

“Will definitely goes on top, don’t you think?” Dustin asked, and Lucas began to mime puking. “I mean, Mike never goes to gym class. He has no musculature in his body whatsoever.” 

“They both definitely cry while they’re doing it,” Max says with a giggle. 

“Hey! What’s wrong with that?” Lucas asked, and promptly slapped his own hands over his mouth. Dustin was never going to let him live that down. 

El and Max began whispering to each other, and all sense of decency was lost. Lucas wouldn’t stop begging to hear what the girls were saying about him, and Dustin wouldn’t stop asking Max inappropriate questions about what Lucas was like in bed. They were all laughing so hard when the bell rang that all four of them jumped at the sound. 

“Should someone try to go check on Mike and Will?” Lucas asked. 

“Who volunteers to go do that?” Max asked, and all four of them made faces and shook their heads. 

“Too gross. We’ll make sure they’re okay later. See you guys,” Dustin said, gathering his belongings as well as El’s and walking with her to her next class. It was only a few doors down from his, and the least he could do for one of his co-conspirators and prom date was carry her books. 

“You don’t think Will is really upset, do you?” El asked. “I do not want to be a bad friend.” 

“Nah, you’re a great friend,” Dustin said. “Plus, you’re Will’s sister. Sometimes, you have to piss your sibling off a little.”

“Really?” El asked. 

“Sure, look at Mike and Nancy. And Lucas and Erica. They annoy each other off all the time,” Dustin said. 

“With Will, it is different,” El said. 

Yeah, it was, Dustin thought. They all had a soft spot for Will; they always had, Mike wasn't the only one. 

“He’ll be fine,” Dustin said. “Will is made of stronger stuff.”  

˙Ɛ

Mike tugged Will through the hallway so strongly that Will was worried his arm might snap. He led him past the gym, out the double doors, all the way to the baseball field. He pulled Will into the dugout and onto the bench. 

“Are you mad?” Mike asked, panting. 

Will had to think about it. Was he mad? No, not really. But he also wasn’t okay with what Mike had said. It felt stupid to admit this to himself, but Will had always dreamt about going to prom. He never thought he’d have a date, but he had always wanted to go with just the Party. It was embarrassing, but sometimes he even fantasized that he and Mike could steal a dance. 

That wasn’t fair to Mike, to think like that. Mike loved him. Will knew that, he felt it every day. But Mike wasn’t ready yet, and that was okay, too. Will was okay with waiting. He would wait until Mike was ready, and if that day never came, Will would still be there, happy as a clam to just be with Mike at all. 

“I’m not mad,” Will said. “I know you’re not ready. I just— the Prom of it all got to me, and I got dramatic. I’m sorry.” 

“Please don’t apologize,” Mike said. “I’m the one who still needs more time. You don’t deserve that, I’m sorry.”

“All I’ve ever wanted was to be by your side,” Will said. “As your best friend, as your cleric, as your boyfriend. It never matters what role I play, as long as I’m next to you.”

Mike looked like he might cry, or throw up. His face was pale as he took in Will’s open expression.

“I love you,” Mike whispered. 

“I love you,” Will promised.

It wasn’t the first time they had said those words to each other. Will swore he meant it more and more each time.

“You are going to prom with me,” Mike said. “If you go with anyone else, I’ll consider it cheating and jump off the quarry in a fit of rage-filled jealousy.” 

Will laughed. He would never even consider going to prom with anyone else. He and Mike would go together-not-together. It would be okay, because Mike loved him, and he loved Mike. 

“Can I still come over after school?” Will asked. Mike nodded. 

“Okay, then. Maybe you could ask me properly later. In your room?” Will said, lowering his voice. He hoped he sounded flirty and not sick. 

“Ask you properly? What do you me— oh,” Mike said, cheeks reddening. “I, uh, yeah. I could maybe do that.” 

Will smirked. He saw Mike starting to tent in his jeans. Will felt a surge of his power, almost like he could produce it himself instead of siphoning off of El. He wondered if he’d started to levitate, because it sure felt like he was.

“See you later,” Will said, gesturing to the school building that they were still sitting outside of. He walked to his next class, and for the rest of the day, he couldn’t get the mental picture of Mike taking extra time in the dugout to readjust himself out of his head. 

Worrying about prom felt stupid. Will had Mike. That was all he needed.      

4.

They all ignored it when Will and Mike continued sneaking off with each other. They ignored the shared looks between the two of them, the lingering hand that Mike placed on the small of Will’s back when they all walked to class, the soft gazes that Will sent Mike’s way at lunch, and Mike constantly calling dibs on Will being on his team for Super Mario Bros. 

But this? They couldn’t ignore this. 

The Party agreed to get ready for prom at El and Will’s house. It was huge, thanks to the government hush money, and El had been working on alterations for all of the Party’s outfits, so most of what they needed was already there. The house didn’t have the charm and the lack of supervision that Mike’s basement had, so they didn’t spend too much time there, but it was the perfect spot to get ready and take pictures. 

When Max and Lucas arrived, they let themselves in and headed upstairs, towards El and Will’s rooms. They could hear hushed arguing coming from behind Will’s door. Neither of them could make out what was being said, but it was clear whose voices those were. Lucas and Max knocked on El’s door, and she pulled them in quickly and put a finger to her lips. 

She quickly scratched out on a piece of stray notebook paper, I’m trying to listen, then closed her eyes, covering them with a familiar bandana. 

“You’re spying on them now?” Lucas hissed. El didn’t answer, and put her finger to her lips again. 

Lucas looked to Max as if to say, are you seeing this? But his girlfriend had abandoned him in favor of pressing her ear against El and Will’s shared wall. Lucas huffed in exasperation, but truthfully, he did want to know what was going on between Mike and Will. 

After a few minutes, El took her blindfold off and frowned slightly. 

“Get anything good?” Max asked. El shook her head. 

“I don’t understand,” She said. “What is a ‘hickey?’” 

“Ohhhhh my god,” Max said, already laughing, delight evident on her face. “No fucking way.” 

“I wonder how they’re gonna try to talk themselves out of this one,” Lucas said. El tugged on his sleeve, face twisted in confusion. 

“You’ll see in a second,” Lucas assured her. 

“Oh Willlll, Mikeeeee, we’re hereeeee,” Max sang out. Through the wall, Lucas could hear Mike swearing viciously. He launched himself out of Will’s room and slammed the door behind him. 

“Hey guys,” He said, trying to sound casual. “Um, El? Do you have any makeup?” 

“Why do you need makeup?” Max asked, a grin stretching across her face as if she were the Cheshire Cat. 

“Will has a zit. He’s embarrassed. Don’t be nasty,” Mike said. 

“Sure he does, sure he does. Tell him to come out here, I bet I can help him cover it up,” Max said. 

“Will doesn’t need your help,” Mike lashed out. 

A loud groan came from the other side of the wall.

“Yes,” Will’s voice called out, “I do.” 

Will emerged slowly from his bedroom, head bent and shoulders hunched. 

Will did not have a hickey. No, what Will Byers had on his neck was a mauling. The purple and red bruising was stretched across Will’s entire neck, and most likely went down deep into his chest, if his collarbone was anything to go by. Lucas stood shell-shocked, mouth gaping open. 

El looked horrified. 

“Is the demagorgon back?” She asked, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. 

Max laughed so hard she screamed. 

“Hoy shit, Byers. You meet any bears lately?” Max asked through her snorts. 

“A bear?” El squeaked, even more frightened. 

“I’m okay El,” Will assured before things got too out of hand. “This didn’t hurt.” 

“Oh, I bet it didn’t hurt. I bet you feel real good right now By—“

“Shut up Max!” Mike yelled, “I told you, don’t be nasty.” 

“This, El, is a hickey,” Max said, ignoring Mike and gesturing to Will’s neck. “A hickey is something you get when someone you’re hooking up with sucks on your neck.” 

“Oh,” El said. “I understand. Will likes Vampires.” 

Will groaned so loudly that Joyce called upstairs to make sure everything was okay. 

“Can you help me or what?” Will asked Max. His face was still beet red.

“Or what,” Max said. “Unless… you tell me who it is.” 

“Who who is?” Will asked. He was stalling for time. It was obvious what Max wanted. 

“You know,” Max said. “Whoever it was who gave you those monstrosities.” 

Will rubbed his throat self-consciously. Mike had his piercing gaze trained on him, but he refused to look back.

“I’m… sort of… seeing a guy,” Will said, haltingly. “We got carried away.”

Lucas thought of all the new turtleneck sweaters Will had been wearing lately, even as it began to warm up outside. Was this the first time he and Mike had gotten “carried away?” Lucas doubted it. 

“Those look fresh,” Max said. “Did you have him over today?” 

If Will’s face could get as purple as his neck, it would have. Lucas had never seen anyone blush this much in his life. 

“He comes over… sometimes,” Will mumbled. 

“El, you never said anything! Have you met him?” Max continued, unable to stop herself from making this situation as uncomfortable for Mike (and unfortunately, by extension, Will) as possible. 

“I respect Will’s privacy,” El said. “But… I have met him.” 

Mike’s eyes got comically wide. 

“You have?” Mike asked, and sent her a look that loudly said Wait! Don’t answer that! Max thought he might be the dumbest man alive. 

“Is he, um, is he nice?” Lucas asked, trying his best to play along with Max’s game, but he was never any good at lying. 

“Not really,” El answered, before Will could. 

Lucas wanted to shout Mike, we know it’s you! from the rooftop, but he also understood the importance of letting Mike come out in his own time.

“Your first boyfriend, Will, that’s so exciting,” Lucas said, and even though it was Mike, and Lucas didn’t want to ever think about Will and Mike like that, he meant it. “How come you didn’t tell us?” 

“He’s not— we’re not ready. For all of that,” Will said. “I didn’t mean to keep secrets, I just—”

“Don’t sweat it,” Max said. “I’m sure your boyfriend will make it up to us when you introduce us. Though you probably should have reminded him you weren’t ready to be public before he ate your entire neck.” 

Will groaned again and put his face in his hands. 

“I'm sure Will’s boyfriend feels really, really bad,” Mike said, voice cracking uncharacteristically. “Can you help him fix it or not?” 

“Help who fix what?” A voice asked from the doorway. Dustin had arrived. He took one look at Will, and burst into laughter that rivaled a hyena. 

“Oh, dude,” Dustin said. Will shot him a look. “The girls can’t help you with that. Too advanced. You’re lucky I brought him.” 

Before anyone could ask, Dustin screeched Steve Harrington’s name, and the man practically flew up the stairs. 

“How’d you mess your hair up already, Henderson? I swear to G—“ Steve cut himself off when he crossed into El’s room and got a look at Will. 

“Whoa, Little Byers, the hell happened to you?” Steve asked. 

“Can you help him or not?” Mike snapped. 

“Stand down, Young Wheeler,” Steve said. “I’ve covered up plenty of hickeys in my day, but this? This is something else. I’m gonna need more light in here.” 

Steve reached for the makeup that El kept on her vanity. El was a big fan of color; she had products in every shade, and Steve collected a mass of different things while he had Dustin hold a flashlight up to Will’s neck. 

“Man, whoever did this to you must either really be into you or really hate you,” Steve said, trying his best to cover up the bruising. 

“Why do you say that?” Mike asked.

“Well, the way I see it, and I’m usually right about these things, kids, is that this guy either likes you so much that he wants to make sure everyone at prom knows you’re unavailable. Or, the guy doesn’t respect you, and doesn’t care that he’s made a mess of your neck right before prom.”

“No, no, that’s not it,” Mike jumped in. Steve raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Will would never be with someone who didn’t lo—respect him,” Mike said, his arms crossed. 

Steve shrugged as if to say, sure, whatever you say man, and got back to work on Will. 

“You can’t tell Jonathan about this,” Will begged. Steve laughed outright. 

“Oh, buddy, if I don’t do a good enough job here, even your mom’s shitty camera won’t be able to hide this. You absolute dog.” 

“You know what? Show’s over,” Mike demanded. “We all need to finish getting ready.”

“Let me guess,” Max said. “You volunteer to stay with Will while Steve finishes up.”

Mike curled his lip at her in a snarl that rivaled a rottweiler's. 

“El can stay. It’s her room,” Mike said, but at the slightly disappointed look that crossed Will’s face, he quickly backtracked. “But I should probably stay because I have less to do to get ready.” Max and Lucas shared a knowing look, and Dustin let out a put-upon sigh. 

“Sure, man,” Dustin said. “See you in a bit.”

It took Steve nearly 45 minutes, but they all had to admit that by the time he was done, Will looked mostly presentable to the public eye. The man had some great skill with covering hickeys. Max made a mental note of it. 

Steve cornered Dustin before the Party all rushed down to take pictures. 

“Nancy thinks that Mike has been dating Will. She’s said it since Christmas. She’s right, isn’t she?” Steve asked. 

“We’re 99.99% sure,” Dustin confirmed. “But they still won’t fess up to it. We keep trying, but apparently they’re ‘not ready.’”

“Total BS,” Steve said. Dustin agreed. 

“You look good, Henderson,” Steve said. 

“No thanks to you,” Dustin complained. “You were here to help me, remember?” 

Steve laughed. Dustin would never admit to it, but he always felt so cool when he got Steve Harrington laughing. 

“I cannot wait to call Jonathan and Nancy about this. You still have to teach me how to do those three-way calls you know,” Steve said. 

“I have taught you, your pea brain just can’t remember it!” Dustin complained. 

“Whatever man, just go downstairs. Take lots of pictures, have lots of fun tonight, and show El a better time than Mike would’ve,” Steve said.

“I was always going to do that,” Dustin said, and he went downstairs to join his friends.

˙ㄣ

Two hours earlier. 

Will’s room was always warm. The sun shone through the window in the afternoons, making it almost boiling. It was only logical that Mike took his shirt off. He encouraged Will to follow suit. And since their shirts were off, why shouldn’t their pants be as well? And hey, while they were there, they should absolutely make out, right? 

Will didn’t really need to be persuaded. He would make out with Mike anywhere, at any time. 

“You brought your suit over, right?” Will asked between fervent kisses. 

“I hate my tie,” Mike affirmed, while trailing his mouth down to Will’s neck. He started to suck gently on Will’s throat, and Will let out a quiet whine. 

“Careful,” Will said. “My suit doesn’t have a turtleneck.” 

“So?” Mike asked, sucking harder. 

“So, if I show up to prom with a hickey, everyone will see it.”

Mike thought about that. The idea of Will showing up to prom with a hickey, announcing to everyone that he was taken, made Mike shiver. He stopped sucking and started biting. 

“Mike!” Will cried out, but by the way his hips were jerking against Mike’s leg, Mike knew he was enjoying it. 

“I want them to know,” Mike growled. “You’re not available. You’re mine.” 

Will cried out. His hands, previously tangled in Mike’s hair, moved down Mike’s back and clung onto his hips. 

Mike kept sucking and biting. He couldn’t stop. He left mouth-shaped bruises across Will’s throat, like a perverse necklace. When he bit down on Will’s collarbone, Will let out a moan so loud, he shushed himself. Mike laughed, and bit down again.

As he bit down towards Will’s chest, he was unable to ignore the need he felt in his own body. Marking Will, possessing him like this, made Mike feel dizzy with want. He opened his eyes. Will was staring back at him, eyes glued to Mike’s mouth.

Mike ground his hips down against Will’s pliant body. He groaned at the contact, and couldn’t stop himself from going again, and again. He moved faster, unable to control his pace, lost in the pleasure. 

Will stared intently into Mike's eyes and removed one of his hands from Mike’s hip. He placed it gently across his own neck, rubbing the spots that Mike had sucked bruises into. Mike couldn’t take it anymore. He came, unannounced, in his underwear.   

Will was close too, Mike could tell. His hips were rocking against Mike’s leg, and the grip he had on Mike’s hip was as bruising as Mike’s bites. Mike couldn’t waste any more time. 

He gracelessly pulled Will’s dick out of his underwear and spat into his own hand. Will was already slick with precome, and Mike’s hand was able to slide easily up and down. Will was shaking in Mike's grip, and couldn’t hold on. He came with an uncharacteristically loud shout, and spurts of cum flew into Mike’s hand. Mike was fairly certain he could get hard again, just by looking at Will like this, completely wrecked, covered in Mike. 

Mike flopped down beside Will, and began lightly sucking on his pecs again. 

“That sort of tickles,” Will said, so Mike moved back up to Will’s neck. Will laughed at him and shoved him off. 

“We should probably shower,” Will said. “Everyone is gonna be here soon to get ready, and I got a little… messy.” 

“More than a little, sweetheart,” Mike said. Will blushed at the pet name, he always did. Yeah, Mike could definitely get hard again. 

Will walked into his bathroom, and Mike managed to close his eyes for half a second before he heard a high-pitched shriek. He shot up in Will’s bed as Will came rushing back into the room. 

“What did you do?!” Will shrieked at him, pointing to his neck.

“I gave you a hickey,” Mike said with a shrug. He knew it was more than that, he had eyes, but it felt too embarrassing to tell Will the truth. I marked you, I made you mine. I did it on purpose. 

“This is not a hickey Mike,” Will said. “You, like, mutilated me!”

“Are you mad?” Mike asked.

“Yes!” Will cried. Mike said nothing, and waited. After a short pause, Will sighed. Mike grinned.

“No,” Will admitted in a small voice. 

“You kind of love it, don’t you?” Mike asked, voice low.

“Couldn’t you have done it any other night?” Will answered, which Mike knew meant yes, I love it. 

Mike couldn’t explain to him that prom was precisely the reason why he needed to mark Will so thoroughly. The thought made him too nervous, even though he knew Will would be kind. Will liked that Mike was possessive; he was the only one in the Party who had never complained about it. 

“I bet one of the girls can fix it,” Mike said. “Girls have to cover up hickeys all the time in movies.”

Will sighed, and started uselessly poking at the hickeys in his bathroom mirror.

“I’m fucked,” Will said. 

“We’ll fix it!” Mike insisted. 

When they heard Max’s shout from El’s room, announcing her and Lucas’s arrival, Mike hurled himself out of the room to gather reinforcements. Will sighed. He didn’t know how the two of them were going to get themselves out of this one.   

5.

Being invited to one of Stacey Albright’s parties had never happened to any of them in their entire tenure at Hawkins. 

“Should we go?” Will whispered to Dustin when Stacey was a safe distance away. 

“We would be idiots not to,” Dustin said. 

“Free booze!” Lucas chimed in. 

“I heard she gets kegs for her parties,” Max supplied. “Her older brother buys them for her. Her parents are like always on vacation.”

“Will doesn’t like beer,” Mike said. Max glared at him.

Will shrugged and laughed lightly. “I’m sure I’d find something there. Jonathan told me once that he went to a party that had spiked punch.” 

“Do you want to go?” Mike asked, turned only to Will, and no one else. If they weren’t all on such a high from it being their graduation, Max certainly would have commented on it. 

“I mean, yeah, sure, if everyone else wants to,” Will said. 

“It’s settled, we’re going,” Max said. “Come on El, you need to help Lucas find something normal to wear.” 

Lucas squawked in protest, but followed his girlfriend nonetheless.

~~~

The Party uncharacteristically scattered when they arrived. Dustin and Lucas went for the keg while El and Will went for the spiked punch. Max and Mike were in a heated argument over whether or not cereal counted as soup throughout the car ride over, and were likely still screaming at each other in the car, torturing their designated driver, Jonathon, unaware that they had made it to Stacey’s house. 

As they stood by the counter drinking their punch, El tugged the collar of Will’s shirt down. 

“You have another,” She said, gesturing to the hickey on his collarbone. Will’s face almost looked smug as he took a long sip. 

“Yeah, the guy I’m seeing really—” 

“You can just say Mike,” El interrupted. “I caught him sneaking out of your window last week. He was very embarrassed and made me promise not to tell anyone. Also, we share a wall, so I knew before that happened.” 

Will turned red. He looked anywhere but at his sister. 

“Friends don’t lie. I’m sorry I let you find out for yourself instead of telling you directly,” Will said. 

“Friends don’t lie. I should have told you that I knew sooner. You are happy, and that is good,” El said. 

“I really love him,” Will told her, unable to help it, now that someone finally knew. “Is that… weird for me to tell you?” 

“No,” El said simply, and the two went back to drinking. 

As the night progressed, the Party’s need for close proximity to one another overruled the newfound experience of a high school rager. They all migrated towards each other, getting closer and closer until they were all huddled together with their various drinks by the Albrights’ TV. 

They’d all drunk before, sparingly. There had been a few nights in Mike’s basement when Jonathan agreed to buy a case of beers for them all to split. There was another time that Mike had stolen two bottles of wine from a holiday party his parents had hosted and over-purchased for. They were all familiar with drinking. They were not, however, familiar with being drunk. 

Max, for the first time since the Party had known her, was being openly affectionate with Lucas in a way that was both sincere and touchy. She had her hands around his middle and was intermittently nuzzling her head into his chest. She kept pressing kisses to his cheek, and he kept pretending that he wasn’t pleased as spiked punch about it. 

Dustin, who didn’t have volume control on a good day, was shouting each word with a volume that bordered on reckless, considering that they had all been discussing El and Will’s powers. He, too, was being very touchy with Lucas. Max didn’t seem to notice or mind. 

El, the Party’s steady, strong rock, was an emotional drunk. She laughed and cried freely and in equal measure. Will had never seen her so expressive about what she was thinking and feeling.

If Max and Lucas were turning up the PDA the more they drank, they didn’t hold a candle to the show that Mike and Will were putting on. It was obscene, bordering on pornographic, the way they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Mike had slung himself over Will’s back and had his hands up Will’s shirt. Will kept pushing his head back onto Mike’s shoulder to whisper in his ear. 

“Do you think we can’t see you?” Max asked, after it had gone on for long enough. 

“Do you think we can’t see you?” Mike asked back, gesturing at her and Lucas.

“Can’t see me doing what? Casually touching my boyfriend,” Max retorted. Mike’s face turned red, but Will started giggling. 

“You called Lucas your boyfriend,” Will slurred. 

“We should go back to my house,” Mike said, interrupting Max before she could cause more trouble for him. “Take some alcohol to go and get out of here.” 

Dustin, because he was terrible and wonderful in equal measure, had bought a set of five plastic flasks from the Five and Dime. He left the Party and set to work filling them with the bottles of hard liquor that Stacey had so kindly placed on the counter. 

“Call your brother,” Dustin told Will when he returned. “Tell him we’re ready to be picked up.” 

“Oh, he’s still outside,” Will said. “He figured we wouldn’t want to be here that long. Said he’d just wait.” 

“We’ve been here for like, five hours!” Lucas complained. 

“It’s been 75 minutes,” Dustin corrected him. Lucas deflated a bit. 

The Party stumbled outside and back into Jonathan’s van. Will took his spot in the front seat, which seemed to greatly displease Mike, who up until that point had an iron grip on Will’s hand. He didn’t seem to know what to do now that he was smushed between Max and the window. He settled for stretching his arms out in front of him, and placing his hands on Will’s shoulders. It wasn’t enough of what he wanted, but it would have to do until they got to the basement.  

“No puking!” Jonathan yelled before any of them had said anything. 

“Take us to my house,” Mike barked at him. 

“We’re all going to Mike’s house,” Will repeated to his brother, straining his neck to stare at Mike as though he was responsible for the moon landing. 

“Are you staying over?” Jonathan asked, glaring lightly at Mike. 

“I think so. Is that okay Mike?” Will asked. Mike nodded, cheeks turning a touch pink at Will’s unwavering stare. 

“You should all stay over,” Mike said, though he, too, was holding only Will’s gaze.

“You all are staying over,” Jonathan corrected. “This is your last ride from me; my final stop is the Wheelers’, too.” 

“Oh, I bet it is,” Max said, looking at Mike. He removed a hand from Will’s shoulder to give her a sloppy wet willy, which made her shriek. 

“Don’t talk about my sister like that!” Mike shouted. 

“Who said anything about your sister?” Max said, punching Mike in the arm. The two began the laziest slap fight that any of them had ever seen. It didn’t end, even as the group walked into the basement and settled around the couches and loungers. They continued hitting each other until Dustin whipped out the flasks, and they all remembered why they were there. 

“Alright. I think it’s Truth or Dare time,” Dustin said. 

“But there are only five flasks and six of us!” Lucas whined. 

“El and I will share,” Max said. “And we won’t even run out because we aren’t pussies like you.” 

“Okay then, since you’re so brave, you go first,” Dustin challenged. “Truth or Dare?”

“Dare,” Max said, chin lifted. 

“I dare you to go upstairs and knock on Nancy’s door,” Dustin said, a grin stretched across his face. 

“Ew!” Max yelled, and Dustin cackled. She chugged her alcohol and pulled a face, reaching for a Coke to wash the harsh taste down. 

“I thought you weren’t a pussy?” Dustin asked through his laughter. 

“I’m not, but neither is Nancy, and she scares the shit out of me,” Max said. Mike laughed.

She collected herself after the large gulp of hard alcohol, then turned to Mike. 

“Mike Wheeler, Truth or Dare?” 

“Why are you asking me that like you’re Freddy Krueger?” Mike snapped, and when she did not answer, said, “Dare.” 

“I dare you to kiss Lucas,” Max said. Mike chugged his drink immediately. 

“Hey!” Lucas said. “I think I deserve more consideration than that.” 

“That’s gross,” Mike said.

“Friends kiss friends sometimes,” Max said. 

“Yeah, well, I don’t kiss Lucas,” Mike said. 

“Would you kiss any of your friends?” Max asked, an evil glint in her eyes.

“My turn is over,” Mike said. “Lucas, Truth or Dare?” 

They played like that, back and forth, for much longer than they had been at the party. There was a lot of forfeiting, which meant a lot of drinking, and the Party was getting sloppier with each minute. The decorum was gone, if it had ever been there to begin with. Max and Mike were throwing Cheetos at each other, El was sloppily sewing her shirt to Lucas’s (no relation to the game, she just “wanted to be closer”), and Will was siphoning El’s powers to fly Mike’s Millennium Falcon Lego around the room. 

“Okay, okay, OKAY!” Mike yelled out. “It’s my turn. Will, Truth or Dare?”

“We’re still playing?” Will asked, wiping his nose on his sleeve in a way that sent shivers down Mike’s spine. 

“Yes. Truth or Dare?” 

“Truth,” Will said. Will always chose truth. 

“Um, what was the best sex you’ve ever had?” Mike asked. 

Will blushed to his roots and couldn’t maintain eye contact with Mike. He took a long drink in forfeit. 

“Oh, come on Will, you never tell us about you and your boyfriend,” Max said. “Have you even had sex? We don’t know because you never share!” 

“Obviously they’ve had sex! Have you seen Will’s hickeys?” Lucas chimed in. 

“Will, are you on the top or bottom?” Dustin asked, and Will screamed. He looked cartoonishly embarrassed. 

“I want to redo my turn because Will forfeited,” Mike said, interrupting the interrogation. 

“That’s not how the game works,” Max said, but Dustin and Lucas were in favor of saying fuck the rules and letting him. Will nodded his consent and Mike caught his eyes again. 

“Will, Truth or Dare?”

“Truth,” Will said, feeling like an idiot the second it left his mouth. Who makes the same mistake twice in a row? He thought.

“Okay, if you had to date anyone in the Party, who would you date?” Mike asked. 

Will looked at him as if he had six heads. The rest of the Party looked just as confused. 

“I, uh, I have a boyfriend,” Will ventured, gesturing to the hickey that continued to poke out over his collar. 

“Okay, but if you didn’t, who would you date?” Mike asked. 

Will kept looking at Mike in disbelief. He didn’t know whether or not to answer. Would Mike want Will to say his name? Would he want Will to lie and say Dustin or Lucas? Probably not, Mike was too possessive of Will to want that. Did this mean he was ready to tell the Party that they were dating? The two of them had not discussed this, and Will was too confused to make a decision. 

Max slammed her cup down on the floor, effectively making one for him.

“Absolutely not, this has gone on long enough,” she said. 

“Well, if Will would just answer the question,” Mike tried, but Max cut him off. 

“Stop lying,” she accused. 

Mike looked like he might throw up. Will just looked embarrassed, and still very confused. 

“We, uh, we kinda know you two are together,” Lucas admitted, looking at the ground. 

“El! You promised you wouldn’t say anything!” Mike hollered. In retaliation, she levitated him to the ceiling, then dropped him back onto the floor in a heap.

“El didn’t tell us shit,” Dustin said. “You two have been awful at hiding it.”

“Hey! Nuh uh! We’ve been together over a year, and you guys just figured it out,” Mike said, digging himself further into the hole he created. 

“Asshole, I’ve known since February,” Max said. “And I suspected before then.” 

Max then began a tirade, listing out all the different times that Will and Mike had been awful at the art of subtlety over the last six months. Will wanted to sink into the couch and never resurface again.

“And the prom hickey, I mean, seriously, Mike, you must think we’re idiots! You and Will walk out of his room, and he has the freshest fucking mammoth-sized hickey any of us has ever seen, and you thought, what, we’re being so stealth right now? You’re the idiot, Mike,” Max was not slowing down. It got to the point that Lucas had to tap her on the top of her head to let her know to lay off. 

Mike was caught between kicking everyone out of his basement, crying, killing Max in cold blood, or screaming. In the end, comforting Will won out over all else. 

He went to sit by his boyfriend and put an arm slowly around his shoulders. Will wasn’t crying, but he did look fairly upset. 

“Look what you did,” Mike said to Max, gesturing at Will’s downturned face. 

“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you guys sooner,” Will started to apologize, but Mike slapped his arm. 

“Don’t apologize to these assholes, Will. I’m not, and I asked you to keep us a secret. You were just being a good boyfriend,” Mike said. 

“No one cares that you didn’t tell us,” Max said. “I just got sick of pretending like I didn’t already know. Sorry if I upset you, Will.”

Will smiled at her and reached over to squeeze her hand.

“How did it happen?” Lucas asked. “I’ve wanted to know for like, months now.” 

“It was pretty much right after we defeated Vecna,” Mike said, but stopped there. He didn’t seem inclined to give the Party any further details.

“So what I’m hearing is, you found out Will was gay and you made a move immediately?” Max asked.

“Pretty much,” Mike said. 

“He said he ‘didn’t know it was an option’ before I came out,” Will chimed in. 

“What? He didn’t know about being gay?” Lucas asked. 

“No, not like that—” Mike started, but his explanation was drowned out by the sounds of laughter and teasing from everyone else. 

The longer the night stretched, the more the members of the Party began to fade. El was the first to fall asleep, then Lucas, followed quickly by Max. Dustin, realizing that he was the last one awake with Will and Mike, rolled his eyes and rolled out his sleeping bag. He was determined to fall asleep and not have to listen to them making out, which he was sure they would do.

“I’m waking everyone up at eight,” Mike said to Dustin, just as he had begun to nod off. “Joyce and Hopper want us over at nine for a graduation breakfast.”

“So we’ll stop for doughnuts on the way?” Dustin mumbled. 

“We’re gonna have to,” Will said, laughing. “Mom said she’s making ‘egg casserole,’ I don’t even want to know what she thinks that is.” 

Dustin chuckled. 

“I love you guys,” Dustin said. “And I’m only saying it because I’m drunk, so try to remember this moment. ‘M happy you’re together.” 

Will felt tears spring to his eyes. He reached out and squeezed Mike’s hand.

“We’re happy too,” Mike said, voice choked up and still a bit slurred.  

“And we love you,” Will added. 

Dustin was snoring in no time.  

˙ϛ

“Are you mad?” Mike asked when it was clear he and Will were the last two awake. 

“Why would I be mad?” Will asked.

“Because I made you wait to tell everyone we’re dating, and we didn’t even get to do it how you wanted to. Ring any bells?” Mike answered.

“Nah, not mad,” Will said, stretching his arms above his head and letting out a soft groan. “Could never be mad at you.” 

“That’s not true, and you know it,” Mike said, though he was blushing. 

“What was your goal with that question, anyway?” Will asked, referring to the Truth that Mike posed to Will, which led them to coming clean. “Did you want me to say that I’d consider dating you over my boyfriend, who is you?” 

“I don’t know, maybe! I just didn’t like the idea of you having sex with some boyfriend somewhere that none of us knew anything about,” Mike said. 

“But I don’t have a random boyfriend. I have you, my boyfriend, whom you know very well because he is you. You’re jealous of yourself!” Will started laughing. Once he started, he couldn’t stop. He was snorting and weeping openly, and Mike thought he was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. He was itching to write about the sounds of Will’s laughter. He wished he could paint it, like Will could. 

He wanted to sew himself into Will’s skin. He settled for kissing him instead. It would have to be enough, for tonight.

"Now that we're not a secret, let's just share the couch tonight," Will goaded. "There's no reason for you to move to the floor."

Mike didn't have to be told twice. He scooped Will even closer in his arms, and let them both drift off to sleep. 

+1

The Party decided to spend their last week of summer together, before their college lives began. They wanted to road trip to New York as a group. Their parents would fly in for their respective move-in days, and then drive the cars back to Hawkins. It was a perfect plan. Until, of course, they were faced with the reality that they would need to take two cars. Thus, the argument of who was in which car began. 

Lucas wanted to ride with Max. Max and El wanted to go with Will. Will wanted to be with Mike, who refused to drive at all unless Will was in the car with him. Dustin threw a fit about being “sidelined by love,” and he threatened to add a car to their caravan and drive with Steve, who he claimed “never has any plans.”  

In the end, Dustin rode with Mike and Will, and Lucas and Max joined El. The only one who was 100% happy with this situation was Mike, who was so bratty that, for Max, Mike winning felt like a double loss.      

Max thought that maybe after coming out to the Party, Mike would be more tolerable since he could be Will's boyfriend freely in front of everyone. She should have known better. Mike was much, much worse. 

He was handsy with Will at all times, he barked at anyone who even looked at Will the wrong way when they were all at the pool, and he insisted that Will always got the best seat on the basement couch. The two of them played DnD as a team, which Max wanted to call out as cheating even though it certainly was not. Will’s hickeys got more and more obvious, and Mike took pride in each of them, often pointing them out to everyone, as if they were something to be proclaimed.  

The only reason Max didn’t attempt to blacklist Mike from his own basement is because Will so clearly adored it all. Will loved Mike, and Mike’s oddities, so much that it shone through on his skin. Will was visibly more comfortable when Mike was around, and so much more himself. Will cracked jokes at an almost constant rate these days, making fun of himself as much as he did anything else. He was sharp and witty, and Max hated going to the pool without him because it meant that she would miss out on his commentary on what all the moms were wearing. 

Will had always been so many wonderful things, but before he started dating Mike, he wasn't always able to see them. He was finally starting to enjoy his own company.

Max took solace in the knowledge that she wouldn’t have to suffer through Mike and Will’s couple-y bullshit on the long drive to New York, and promised Dustin that she’d buy him ice cream as reparations. 

~~~

When they stopped for dinner after their first day of driving, Dustin claimed loudly to whoever would listen that the drive was awful and that Will and Mike were being disgusting. Will slapped him lightly on the arm. 

"Tell them the truth," Will said. 

"Friends don't lie," Mike added. 

The truth was that the three of them had spent the entire five-hour car ride having a heated debate over MTV. Mike, a music purist, according to him, thought that music videos were forcing artists to promote materialism and stifle creativity in exchange for popularity and sales. Will thought the opposite. Dustin didn't have a strong opinion, and argued with both of them equally, seemingly for the love of it. 

“Where are we staying tonight?” Mike asked after they had paid their check at Fuddruckers. 

“Depends on how much longer you and Lucas want to drive,” Dustin said. 

“Not much longer,” Lucas said. “I’m tired.” 

“We can ask our waitress about where the closest motel is and book a few rooms for the night,” Max suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement. 

They were told about a motel close by and drove over. There were plenty of vacancies, it was not a crowded weekend in Wheeling, West Virginia. 

“How many rooms?” The sleepy-looking old woman at the check-in counter asked them. 

“Will and I are rooming together,” Mike announced, for absolutely no reason. 

“We’ll need a queen, and two doubles,” Max told the woman, ignoring Mike entirely. “I’m rooming with El. Lucas, you’ll stay with Dustin.” 

Lucas had the good sense not to complain about this arrangement. Max would have hit him upside the head and dumped him again if he made a scene about not being able to room with her. Just because Will, for whatever reason, liked it when Mike threw a tantrum doesn't mean that Max would appreciate it if Lucas did.

“Let's unpack and meet by the pool,” Max said. The desk woman scowled.

“Pool closes at 11,” She snarled at them. Max looked down at her Timex, and gave the woman a scowl of her own. 

“It’s 8:30,” Max said, as she grabbed the keys from the woman’s clammy fist. 

All of them changed into their swimsuits, but when they got down to the pool, Will wrinkled his nose at the color of the water. 

“Something isn’t right with this,” He said, giving the pool a tentative sniff and promptly gagging. 

“Can water go bad?” Lucas asked. 

“There’s a dead rat at the bottom, look!” Dustin yelled.

“I do not like rats,” El chimed in. 

Mike, who was lounging on a dirty chair, sunglasses on even though the sun had long since set, laughed openly. 

“We’re at a Super 8, what did you expect?” Mike said, mocking them openly. 

Everyone took their towels, rolled them up, and began whipping Mike with them. He shrieked and whined, but he was laughing just as hard as everyone else was. 

“What time should we leave tomorrow?” Will asked, as everyone settled down on various dirty loungechairs. Dustin groaned. 

The drive, in total, was about 13 hours. With three drivers in each car, they could have gotten it done all in one go, but everyone decided they wanted to split it up into two days. All of them were nervous about their big move. No one knew what awaited them in New York. El had taken down helicopters with her mind, but she’d never seen a skyscraper. She had called them “monster buildings” all summer long. The only one who had ever even been to the city at all was Will, to visit Jonathan.

“We could stay an extra day here?” Dustin suggested, speaking around the nerves that they had all begun to feel. Will shook his head. 

“Mom bought tickets for a show tomorrow night,” Will said. “I’ve always wanted to see a Broadway show, I don’t want to miss out.”  

“Is the city really as big as the movies say?” Max asked. Mike sat up straighter in his chair, waiting to hear what Will could offer them.  

“Yes, and no,” Will said. “Jonathan says he’s found ways to make the city feel smaller. Like, places he likes to go and friends he often sees. I don’t think you have to have the ‘New York Experience’ every second you live in New York. He says we should avoid Times Square.”

“We should find a place we all like,” El said. “And we can go there every day to see each other.” 

Max had an idea. 

“Everyone, change and come up to my room in 10 minutes,” she said. 

The Party did as they were told, and upon entering Max and El’s dingy motel room, they were greeted with a sight of a map of New York City, with a small area circled in thick red marker. 

“This,” Max pointed at the circled area, “Is part of the Upper West Side, specifically 95th-110th and Broadway. It’s 30 minutes or less by train from all of our schools. Everyone, pick a place in this area to try out. At the end of our first month in the city, we’ll pick the place we like best, and we'll meet up every day that we can.” 

“You’re a genius!” Lucas told her, and kissed the top of her head.

“After our freshman year, we can all move to this area,” Mike added, staring at Will. Will blushed. 

“Stop trying to take him from me, Wheeler!” Lucas yelled. “Will is my roommate.” 

“This year!” Mike cried. Will laughed at him, and shoved playfully at his arm. 

“It’s gonna be a really good year, you guys,” Will said, squeezing Mike’s hand. “I can feel it.” 

As they all gazed at each other and let Will’s words of optimism wash over them, the Party allowed themselves a rare moment of sincerity. It was going to be a good year. A great one, even. They were on this journey together. Nothing, not even the end of the world, has ever been able to change that.