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Mike didn't get it. Not only did he not get it, but it was starting to piss him off.
Stupid, dumb Justin Bieber.
Every time the party got together to hang out in his basement for a movie night, game night, anything—El, Max, and Will were glued to his family's desktop computer in the corner of the basement. Blaring god-awful music and giggling. They tried to get through whatever it was they had planned just so that they could go over to the computer to pull up YouTube.
If that wasn't bad enough (it was), they had started singing the stupid songs all the time—in the car, at the park, at lunch, anywhere.
He didn't understand half of their conversations.
"I am so jealous of the One Time girl," El would gush.
"Ugh… can you imagine being his One Less Lonely Girl? I would probably kill someone with my bare hands for that opportunity."
"No, actually. I can't imagine that. Because I'm a boy." Will would say before they all started giggling.
Which… is what started to be confusing for Mike. Because it was clearly about more than the music to them. They thought he was so cute.
Even Will. And he was very unashamed about it.
It made Mike's stomach flip whenever he would think about it for too long.
Eventually, it got too far.
"This song has to stop; they've been playing it nonstop," Lucas grumbles.
"I know, it's stuck in my head all the time and I hate it."
"Luda's part goes hard, though."
"Dustin, are you stupid?" Lucas asks.
"It's like… a sickness," Dustin says, tossing a handful of popcorn into his mouth, ignoring the insult.
"Bieber Fever," Lucas states, tossing his empty soda can onto the coffee table.
"What?" Mike asks, turning his attention away from the corner of the basement where Max, El, and Will are huddling around the computer, blasting a song that repeats the line baby, baby, baby, ohhhh over and over again. He feels his ears bleeding.
"Bieber Fever. All these girls are so obsessed with Justin Bieber that they turn into like… different people."
"Like rabid monsters."
"And Will." Mike mumbles.
"Huh?"
"Girls… and Will," Mike states. He feels his heart rate pick up for some reason.
"Oh, yeah. Right." Lucas corrects.
Mike searches for any change in his facial expression. He finds none. Good.
"We can hear you jerks!" Max yells.
"Oh, can you? Can you really? Over that stupid song blasting so loud my neighbors can hear?"
"Yeah," Max turns to face them now, "Yeah, we can, and you better not be being a dick about Will over there." Her eyes are fierce, and she tilts her head in a challenge.
"If I have to figure out how to blow you up with my mind, I will," El says without taking her attention away from the screen.
Mike's mouth drops open. "I wasn't! I wouldn't."
"We weren't!"
"Max, it's okay." Mike hears Will say softly as he turns to face the rest of them as they sit on the couch. He narrows his eyes at them."They're not being mean. Right, guys?" His voice has a slight shake in it, and Mike can see the red of his cheeks from across the dim basement.
"Never."
"Yeah, bro. It's cool!" Dustin calls out.
"It's awesome, yeah. If anyone gives you shit, let us know." Lucas tells him.
Will smiles at them before turning around.
It's not long before they play the next song, belting out the horrendous lyrics. Mike is developing a permanent headache.
♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ
Will has noticed Mike acting… odd.
Sure, all three of the guys are always kind of annoyed with them for always listening to Justin, talking about Justin, watching videos of Justin, all of it. He could understand that.
But Mike was acting differently from the rest of them.
He and Mike are hanging out in the basement when he starts asking questions.
"So… what's the deal with him? I don't get it," Mike says as he sets his Xbox controller down and reaches for his drink.
"Who?"
"Justin Bieber." Mike all but spits.
Will laughs, "What do you mean? He has good music." Will shrugs, reaching forward to grab his own drink, taking a sip before turning his body toward Mike on the couch. "I mean, I know you don't agree. You're into all that emo stuff—"
"Hey!"
Will laughs, "You are!"
"Well, it's clearly not just the music, now is it?"
Will shifts uncomfortably, "What do you mean?" He hasn't really talked to Mike much about this. They'd all make passing comments about it in group settings lately, but they hadn't really talked about it. He didn't really know how, not without revealing too much information and making it weird between them.
"I mean, you guys are all like, obsessed. You think he's so cute."
Will can feel his cheeks heat up, "I mean… yeah. He is cute," he mumbles.
"I don't see it," Mike quips.
A laugh bubbles out of him, "Well, of course you don't, Mike."
Mike makes a face; he can't quite read.
"I'm just saying… if I was going to have a crush on a guy, it would not be Justin Bieber." Mike rolls his eyes, gaze returning to the TV as he picks up the Xbox controller again.
Will doesn't reply, doesn't know what to say. He picks up his own remote, and they play another round.
After winning two rounds in a row, Will places his controller down. "I'm bored," he states as he flops back onto the couch and pulls his phone from his hoodie pocket. He immediately goes to check his texts. He has one from Max.
maxxxx: will did u see the trailer?
He furrows his brow as he types out his reply.
no. what trailer?
maxxxx: the jb movie! it's out! i'm w/ el come home so we can watch
He shoots straight up off the couch, "Gotta go, Mike."
He thumbs out the reply to her.
omw
"What? Why? Your mom isn't coming to get you for another hour, I thought?"
Will looks over at Mike, and he has a genuine, sad look on his face. He watches as he pushes a curl from his face.
"Max and El want me to come home, the trailer for the JB movie dropped, and we wanna watch together."
Mike lets out a long, dramatic groan. "Are you serious, Will?"
Will lets out a laugh, "Yeah, we're excited!"
"Excited to stare at a cute boy," Mike mumbles, dramatic pout still in place.
It makes Will cackle loudly, "What do you care if I want to stare at a cute boy?" He can feel his heart beating in his chest.
Mike's cheeks turn red, "I don't."
"Whatever you say, Mike. I'll see you at school tomorrow." Will starts walking toward the staircase.
"Text me?" Mike asks.
Will tries to ignore the flutter in his belly. "You text me," he challenges.
"I will. Have fun starting with cute boys."
Will laughs as he takes the stairs two at a time to leave the basement.
Later that evening, as he's lying in bed, earbuds in, listening to "Never Let You Go," he gets a text from Mike.
mikey:): u survive the bieber emergency?
yes mike
mikey:): good. cant believe u ditched me for that
i told u i was leaving
mikey:): i kno
r u mad? its not that serious
mikey:): no
u sound mad
mikey:): nah just dont pick bieber over me again haha
i didnt pick anything
mikey:): sure
ur annoying
goodnight mike
mikey:): nite will
♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ
As Mike stands in front of his bathroom mirror on a Saturday morning in December, he tries to rationalize what he's doing as he starts brushing out his curls.
His mom has scheduled his monthly haircut for today, and he's about to do something that's probably a little stupid.
He's always been pretty frustrated with his curly hair. It's always frizzing up throughout the day, and some days it looks fine, others it looks like a bird's nest. But he knows if he brushes it a lot when it's drying after a shower, his curls won't form and it'll be mostly smoothed out. As he's standing there brushing through it, he decides to try it.
And, listen, he won't be the first. About a third of the male population at Hawkins Middle had started growing their hair longer, shaking it out, and flicking their heads to the side so it lay just right across their foreheads. Obviously, they were all copying a certain famous someone, but none of them would admit it to you.
So, Mike wants to try it. Except his hair isn't thin and smooth, so when he tries to swoosh it to the side, it just looks poofy. Maybe the hairdresser can help him out with this.
When he walks into school the next day, he feels a bit self-conscious. It isn't a complete transformation; it was just a quick trim, and he's choosing to brush his hair out instead of letting it dry all wild and curly. It definitely doesn't mean anything. As he's walking to lunch, though, he notices just how many boys in their grade have their own versions of his hairstyle. Each one shakes out their hair and brushes it to the side. It reminds Mike of the videos he's seen Will, El, and Max watch on YouTube of a certain singer.
He doesn't share any of his first two blocks with his friends, so when he enters the cafeteria to see him for the first time, he's trying to ignore the nervousness stirring in his stomach. It's just hair.
"Whoa, what did you do to your head, Wheeler?" Lucas calls out as he drops to his seat across from him.
So much for not making it a big deal, then.
"Nothing," Mike murmurs as he takes out his lunchable from his bag, pulling back the plastic cover.
"Doesn't look like nothing."
"Oh my God," Max starts, and Mike has to take a deep breath.
He shakes his head to the side and smooths the hair across his forehead and out of his eyes.
"Not you too," El says as she takes a sip of her chocolate milk.
"What do you mean, not me too?"
"You got the JB cut, just like half boys here," Dustin says.
Mike picks up his cracker and takes a bite. "I didn't get any kind of cut, I just got a normal haircut and brushed out my hair today."
Max looks at him with narrowed eyes, "Yeah, okay, JB wanna-be."
"Shut up," Mike mumbles as the rest of the table laughs.
"So what girl are you trying to impress, then?" Lucas asks, and Mike can't help the way his nose wrinkles and lips turn down.
"Gross, there's no girl, Lucas."
"Gross? Mike, we're thirteen now. Girls aren't supposed to be gross." Dustin says slowly, like he's explaining something to a toddler.
Mike scoffs. "Whatever," he says as he continues to eat his lunchable, stacking a piece of cheese and a piece of turkey on a cracker.
"I mean…" El trails off. "He's allowed to think that... if he wants." She says, hesitantly.
Mike looks over at her, and he can see Will in his field of vision, who has been quiet this whole time. He avoids eye contact.
"Does anyone wanna trade? I don't want my Capri-Sun." Mike changes the subject.
"I'll trade you, I don't know why my mom gave me a red Gatorade. I only like blue." Max says as she slides it across the table.
As they finish up their lunches, Mike reaches into his lunchable container and hands one of the Oreos to Will.
Will turns to face him and gives him a smile, eyes trailing down his face before landing back on his hair. "Thanks."
The rest of the table is partaking in a loud exchange of Silly Bandz, El fighting for any of the purple ones, and Max trying to collect all the animals, leaving him and Will in their own bubble.
"I think your hair is nice," Will tells him.
Mike feels a flutter behind his ribs, "Yeah?"
Will nods. "Different, but it looks nice."
Mike shakes out his hair and uses one hand to smooth it to the side.
When he looks back at Will, he notices his cheeks are pink, and his bottom lip is caught between his teeth.
It takes the entire walk to his next class for his heart to return to a normal pace.
When he gets home, he has a text from Will.
will the wisest: so r u trying 2 b JB?
Mike rolls his eyes.
no i already said that
will the wisest: u sure tho? a lot of girls r talkin about u
He huffs out a breath, opening the fridge to grab a can of Dr. Pepper.
yes will y do u care
will the wisest: im just asking chill
i dont care if they r talking about me
will the wisest: u dont?
no
will the wisest: y?
just dont
will the wisest: ok
He makes his way to his bedroom and flops down on his bed. Finally, the best part of his day. His after-school nap. He usually texts Will until he falls asleep.
does my hair look bad or something
will the wisest: no all the girls in my math class think its cute
wat do u think
will the wisest: about wat
my hair
will the wisest: told u it looks nice. i like it
Mike smiles, typing out his reply before tossing his phone down and closing his eyes.
ok thx will
♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ
It's a few weeks later when Max comes over to hang out that Will decides to tell them. They're on their last day of Winter Break before returning to school on the first Monday of 2011.
"I need to tell you something," Will says as he plops down onto El's bed.
Max is holding El's hand in her own as she applies bright purple nail polish. The sound of Justin's voice blares from where El's iPod is hooked up to her speakers. He tries to ignore the pang in his chest at the lyrics.
'Cause I know you can't love me, hey
I wish we had another time
I wish we had another place
But everything we have is stuck in the moment
He almost wants to ask her to change the song.
"You know how yesterday we talked about crushes?" Will asks.
"Yeah, and we told you ours, but you didn't tell us anything. It was so fake of you." Max rolls her eyes.
"Well," Will swallows and takes a deep breath. "I mean, I feel like it's obvious enough. But it's stupid because he's clearly straight."
They both turn to face him, he's lying on his stomach with his feet kicked up behind him, swaying back and forth.
"Obvious?" El asks.
Will nods.
"But straight?" Max asks, then.
Will nods again.
"Then I'm confused. The only obvious choice is also very obviously gay and very obviously has a crush on you, too." Max smirks at him.
Will just looks at her, raising a brow, "Who?"
"Mike, you idiot," Max says, picking up a pillow and tossing it at his face.
"Oh my god," Will rolls his eyes. There is no way they actually think Mike likes him.
"I think so, too," El says.
Will just starts at them, wide smiles breaking out across their faces. "Can't believe all three of us couldn't find a crush outside of the friend group."
They all cackle. Then, suddenly, all three of their phones go off.
Will rolls to his back and pulls his phone from his pocket.
mikey:): hey will wats up havent talked 2 u since friday
mikey:): miss u
Will lets out a groan—ignoring the fluttering feeling in his stomach, but the sound gets drowned out by a fit of giggles from the girls.
"Oh my god, did Dustin text you?" Max asks El.
She squeals. "Yes! Did Lucas text you?"
"Yup," Max says, smug.
They both turned to Will, brows raised in expectation.
"Mike texted me," is all he said, and their laughter returned.
"You know what this means, right?" Max says.
Will and El both shake their heads.
"It means they're hanging out and talking about us, too. And they decided to text us." Max smirks. "They're so pathetic." She laughs.
Will's heart rate picks up a bit. Is that true? He knows that Lucas likes Max, and he knows that Dustin likes El. He promised them not to tell either of the girls, though, because they wanted to surprise them, they said. But he didn't know any details about what that would entail.
Could Mike really feel the same way? About him?
"Okay, let's text them back while we watch Justin videos before we go to the mall when mom gets off work," El says.
They all turn their attention to their phones, typing out a text, before getting up and heading to the living room to get on the computer.
hi mikey. miss u 2
♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ
"Are we sure this is a good idea?" Dustin asks, tossing the controller onto the couch and grabbing a handful of popcorn.
"Yeah, they love him. And they've been talking about this movie nonstop." Lucas replies, like it's obvious.
"I think it's a good idea, they'll love it. And hey, maybe you guys will catch Bieber Fever too." Mike jokes, ignoring the weird feeling in his chest.
Both Dustin and Lucas turn to him and stare.
"Uh, what? I was joking… obviously. It'll be torture to listen to him and stare at his face, but you guys will be fine." Mike gulps.
Lucas turns to look at Dustin. They seem to have a silent conversation using nothing but their eyes and tilts of their heads. Then, he guesses, they come to some sort of agreement with a nod of their heads.
"Mike," Lucas starts, voice uncharacteristically soft. "Dustin is going to ask El on a date to the movies, I'm going to ask Max on a date to the movies…" he trails off.
Mike is just nodding along. Duh. Obviously. We've been over this… is he okay?
"Yeah, I know. Are you okay?"
He ignores the question, looking to Dustin.
Dustin then adds, "And you are going to ask Will on a date to the movies."
Mike feels his entire body lock up. He just stares at them with what he can only assume looks like a deer in headlights.
"Uh," Mike coughs, then tries to laugh to cover it up, but it just sounds like he's choking.
"Mike, come on, bro. We know you like him. And it's cool! It's great! You guys were like, made for each other, actually, so it works perfectly!" Lucas says, words tumbling out of his mouth at a speed Mike can barely keep up with.
He and Will… were made for each other? What?
"He's my best friend," is all Mike can manage.
"Which is why it would be perfect!" Dustin adds.
"I…" Mike trails off in thought. Does he like Will? Like that?
"Oh shit," Lucas murmurs, "did you not know?"
"Know what?"
"That you… like guys. Like Will. That Will obviously likes you."
Mike chokes on his spit. "He what?
"I mean, it seems that way; we have no, like, proof," Dustin says.
"But the proof on your end—"
"What proof?"
"You're disgusted by girls. You have ignored every single girl who has tried to flirt with you after you got this copycat Bieber cut, which, by the way, I don't care what you say, was obviously because Will thinks he's hot. Plus, you're just, like, obsessed with him. I get it, you're best friends and all, but Jesus Christ, you follow him around like a lost puppy and are always flirting with him!"
"Lucas!" Dustin yells. "We said we'd be gentle! Ease him into it!"
Lucas puts his hands up in a surrendering motion.
Mike suddenly feels like something is slowly slotting into place in front of his own eyes. He feels like he can't quite get a full breath in. Maybe he does like Will. Shit. He has a crush on his best friend.
"Shit."
"Don't worry, bro, we support you."
"Yeah, and if it helps, out of the three of us, you're the only one who has a clear shot. Will is just as bad as you."
"Lucas!"
"Shit, I mean—not bad, like. Oh my god, obviously not like that. I didn't mean it like—"
Mike lets out a loud cackling laugh, "Don't be a homophobe, Sinclair." He jokes.
Lucas' eyes grow wide, and Dustin is cackling. "I'm not! Oh my god, I am so not, I didn't mean it like—It's not a bad thing, that's—"
"Dude, chill. I'm messing with you."
"Fuck off," Lucas shakes his head.
"You really think that, though? About me having a shot?" Mike asks, hope blooming in his chest.
"For sure."
"Absolutely."
Mike lets out a long breath, "Well. Alright, we'll ask them tomorrow, then? At school?"
"No way, I'm too chicken shit for that," Dustin says.
"So… phone call then? Can we call them? The movie is this weekend."
They all agree on phone calls.
Mike feels so nervous that he could vomit. He can't believe he didn't realize this sooner. He likes Will Byers.
He returns to playing Xbox with a smile on his face and an itch to text Will. He fights the itch for a good 5 minutes before he takes out his phone and thumbs out a text.
hi will :)
Is the smiley too much? Can't be, right?
The reply is immediate, a smile overtaking his face.
will the wisest: hi mikey :) :)
He's done for.
♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ
It's only a few weeks into the last semester of 8th grade, and Will is stressed. He hates his math teacher this year. He is horrible and doesn't even teach, just gives them the work to struggle through themselves. He is definitely going to fail this quiz tomorrow. He failed the one last Friday, too.
He's thankful when he hears his phone go off. He rolls over on his bedroom floor and picks it up.
mikey:): hey can i call u real quick
Will's stomach swoops. Mike never asks if he can call him; he just does it.
He types out his reply.
yes of course
It takes about a minute for his phone to ring, Justin Bieber's "Baby" ringing out into the quiet bedroom.
"Hello?" Will says as he picks up the phone.
"Will, hey. Um, What's up?"
"Just studying for Mr. Graham's quiz tomorrow. I'm gonna fail either way, though." He huffs out a sigh.
He hears Mike laugh. "You won't, I can help you during Study Hall tomorrow. You don't have his class until the end of the day, right?"
"Yeah," Will replies with a smile.
"Okay, cool. Yeah, I'll help you."
Will feels warm all over. He needs to calm down.
"So, um. I wanted to… ask you something."
So, he can't calm down, actually.
"Yeah?"
"You know how Max and El are going to the movies with Lucas and Dustin tomorrow?"
Will does know. They had both come to him yesterday, all giddy and excited, saying they were going to the movies on a date to see the new JB documentary. Will was kind of upset they wouldn't get to see it together. But he was happy for his friends.
"Yeah," he replies softly.
"Well, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go with me?"
Will… can't be hearing this right. Or, he is, and he's just reading into it. Mike probably just feels bad for him that he doesn't get to go see the movie, so he's offering. To be nice.
"Oh, um. That's okay, Mike. You don't have to—"
"No, Will. I want to. I want you to go to the movies with me to see that dumb—I mean, sorry. The uh Justin Bieber movie thing. I want you to go with me, as, um. As a date?"
Will feels like his brain is short-circuiting. Maybe he's been studying for this math quiz for too long, and all of this is some sort of delusional state he's slipped into and—
"Will?" Mike asks, his voice small.
"Um. You mean, like a real date? Just like—"
"Yeah. A real one. Just like Max and El."
The fluttering feeling behind his ribs and the swooping of his stomach are about to take him out. "You… you like me?" Will asks, almost a whisper.
He hears Mike let out a soft noise on the other end, a mix between a breath and a laugh. "Yeah, Will. So much."
"Mike," he lets out, softly, like an exhale of breath. "Really?
"Really, really." Mike laughs.
"Okay. Yes." Will giggles, biting his bottom lip.
"Cool."
"Cool."
"Okay, well, you get some sleep. Stop studying. I'll help you tomorrow. And then you'll pass your quiz, and we'll go to the movies tomorrow night."
He doesn't think he'll be able to sleep, actually. The butterflies in his stomach refuse to settle. "Okay, Mike."
"Okay, good night, Will."
Will sits up quickly, "Wait! Mike!"
"What?"
"Um. Don't brush out your curls tomorrow." Will can feel his cheeks heating up as the words leave his mouth.
"Oh," Mike sounds disappointed. "You don't like my hair?"
Will smiles. "I do like your hair, Mike. Your hair. I've always loved your curls. They're one of my favorite things about you." Will feels like he has maybe said too much when it takes Mike a second to reply.
"Okay, um. Okay. I just thought—"
Will cackles; he can't help it. "I know what you thought, Mike."
"Will…" Mike whines out. "Don't."
"For the record, I thought you were cute before I ever even knew who Justin Bieber was."
"Am I cuter?" Mike asks, pout still clear in his voice.
Will rolls his eyes, a smile breaking out across his face. "Obviously."
He swears he hears Mike Wheeler squeal.
What is his life?
"Go to bed, Michael."
"Okay, William."
"Good night. Don't forget my curls."
"Good night, Will. You'll get your curls."
"Bye," Will smiles as he hangs up, then kicks his feet out rapidly before grabbing his notebook and tossing it into his backpack.
He debates going to wake up El and tell her, but he decides against it, crawling into bed and turning off his bedside lamp.
His phone lights up once he gets all settled in.
mikey:): miss u already. see u tomorrow :)
Yeah, he's gone for him.
♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ
The ten minutes that Mike is standing and waiting outside the movie theater with Lucas and Dustin as they wait for Will, Max, and El are the longest of his life. Dustin and Lucas are theorizing about what this movie or documentary or whatever it is is even going to be about, if it's going to be boring enough that they'll fall asleep, and if they would even get the chance to do so due to the possibility of girls screaming through the entire thing. Yes, girls. Not Will, Will would not be screaming. Drooling, maybe. But not screaming.
When he sees Hopper's truck pull up to the curb and let Max, El, and Will out before driving away, he instantly feels his palms grow sweaty.
He'd seen Will three different times today. Once in Science, where Will ruffled his curls and thanked him for bringing them back, once in Study Hall, where he helped him with his Geometry, and at lunch, where they split his PB&J sandwich because Will didn't like what the cafeteria was serving. Mike had tried to give him his entire lunch, but Will wouldn't take it.
Will looked… so pretty. His hair looked soft. He was wearing a faded yellow long-sleeve shirt and jeans. He wonders if he had all these thoughts before, and they just never registered in his brain. But now that he's opened the floodgates, they won't stop.
As Will takes the last few steps toward him, he tries to take a deep breath. It's just Will.
"Hi," Mike says, immediately reaching forward to wrap him in a quick hug. "You look nice." He tries not to cringe at himself.
Will pulls back and giggles, "Thanks, Mike. You do too. And you smell good."
Mike smirks. He remembered to put on the cologne his dad bought him for Christmas. "Thanks. You ready?"
Will nods, and they head inside.
It takes a few minutes to get through the line and get tickets, popcorn, and drinks.
Mike pays, even though Will gives him a pouty face.
Once they're settling in their seats, he leans over to him, "It's a date, Will. Of course, you aren't going to pay."
In the low lighting of the theater, he sees him roll his eyes with a smile.
"And I'm pretty sure most times we come to the movies I pay," Mike says and genuinely lets out a laugh at the memories. Maybe he was more obvious than the thought.
Max leans over Will, then, "Yeah, you've been dating him for a while now, Wheeler. Glad you finally caught up."
Will gasps, "Max!" He swats at her shoulder, "Stop being mean to him!"
"I will never do that. I don't care if he's your boyfriend now; he's still Wheeler." Mike flushes.
Are they boyfriends? No, right? This is just a first date, he still needs to ask will to be his boyfriend. He's pretty sure that's how this whole thing works. He thinks.
"Shut up, Max," he hears Will whisper as the lights dim to darkness and the movie trailers begin.
Mike squirms in his seat, trying to get settled.
They get through the first half without any major screaming. There have been a few squeals from around the theater, but nothing too crazy. He keeps looking over to Will, probably too much; he's smiling big, and he, Max, and El are singing quietly along to the songs.
Mike's just glad he's having fun. Even if he still doesn't get it.
After one of the songs tapers off and another scene from the documentary portion comes on, Will starts moving in his seat a bit. Hands coming up to rub his arms.
Mike leans in close, "You okay?" He asks.
Will turns to face him, nodding. "Yeah, just a little cold in here."
Mike leans back, immediately pulling off his hoodie. "Here, take this." The cold air blasting in the theater hits his arms instantly, and he tries his hardest to suppress a shiver.
"But you'll be cold." Will sticks out his bottom lip in a pout, brows furrowing.
"Put it on." He pushes it into Will's hands, ignoring his protests.
Will gives up and puts on the hoodie, and Mike makes eye contact with Lucas, who gives him an exaggerated wink and thumbs up with the hand not around Max.
He rolls his eyes at him before settling back into his seat.
As soon as Will has put the hoodie on and leaned back into the seat, Mike, without giving himself time to overthink it, reaches over, puts the armrest between them back up and out of the way, then laces his fingers with Will's.
When he looks over at him, he can't read his expression.
"Is this okay?" He rubs his thumb along the backside of Will's hand.
Will just nods, a small, shy smile on his face.
They stay that way for the rest of the movie.
When the lights come up at the end of it, and people start filtering out, the six of them remain seated. Will, Max, and El gush about the movie and how amazing the songs were, how crazy it was that Miley Cyrus was in it, and how funny and cute the rest of the documentary clips were.
Mike keeps his hand clasped tight around Will's.
Eventually, the rest of the moviegoers had exited the theater. Upon noticing this, Mike looked to Lucas and then to Dustin, making deliberate eye contact with wide eyes.
"Let's go, guys," Dustin says, almost too rehearsed as they all stand to leave, walking down the stairs and going for the long hallway that leads out of the theater.
Mike, still with Will's hand in his, slows their strides down so they are a good distance behind the others, watching as they exit the theater before them, both couples hand in hand.
He takes a deep breath. He doesn't know how Will feels about PDA in public. It's 2011, for God's sake, you would think people would get over seeing two boys holding hands, and he sure didn't care who saw, but they hadn't discussed it, and he didn't want to do anything to make Will uncomfortable.
He stopped just at the door, looking around to make sure no one was there, before he turned to look at Will, stepping close into his space.
"Hi," he says.
"What are you doing, Mike?" Will giggles.
"Did you have fun?"
Will's smile grows, squeezing his hand, "Yes, of course."
"Good. I have a question." He can feel his heartbeat in his throat. "Will you be my boyfriend?"
Will's smile gets even bigger, which he didn't think was possible, eyes sparkling in the dim theater lighting. He nods. "Yes."
Mike gives a matching smile, "One more question."
"Okay," Will nods again.
"Can I… kiss you?"
He can hear the hitch of breath from Will before he sees him nod.
Mike takes a deep breath and suddenly remembers he's never done this before. But it's okay, because it's Will. He reaches forward with the hand not clasped in Will's and places it on the dip in his waist, moving it slowly to the small of his back as he brings his face close.
He closes his eyes, because that's what you're supposed to do, tilts his head, and their lips meet for a short and sweet kiss.
When they both pull back, they burst into giggles.
"I've been thinking about kissing you forever," Will admits.
"I'll keep kissing you forever," Mike says. He knows it's cheesy, but he doesn't care.
Maybe he can understand now some of the lyrics to those love songs Justin Bieber sings about.
"You mean you don't wish you were kissing Justin Bieber right now?" Mike jokes.
Will laughs, shoves him in the chest, their hands coming unclasped. "No, Mike. I don't." He rolls his eyes, but Mike can see the smile on his face as he turns to push the theater door open. Mike follows him out, trying and failing to contain the smile on his face.