Chapter Text
Mike stood up and added his red-stained plate to the pile in the sink where Holly and her friends had already left their finished lasagna dishes. He ran the sink for a bit to get all he could off the plate, sticking his tongue out at Max and Dustin when they sarcastically thanked him for being so kind and washing their dishes too. Rolling his eyes he brought their dishes under the stream of water. He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes getting stuck on Will and Lucas having a conversation.
His mind flashed back to the campaign, down in the basement. How his stomach twisted looking at Will, and how Will was looking at him. He shook his head and went to turn off the sink. He had wanted to tell Will the whole truth on the tower, but knew he needed a bit of time to figure himself out before that conversation happened, and then El… It felt wrong. Like he shouldn’t be allowed to move on, even though they had been broken up long before she went away. Even though he knew he was never seeing her again. He didn’t believe she was dead, but he knew she was gone.
An arm bumped into his arm, pulling him out of his thoughts.
“Hey,” Will said softly, turning the sink back on to rinse off his and Lucas’s plates.
“Hi,” Mike's voice cracked a bit and he prayed that the heat in his cheeks wasn’t showing.
The moment was interrupted by Dustin announcing, “Hey guys, we still have plenty of time to drop by Stacey’s party. It’s only seven, and knowing Stacey it probably doesn’t end til, like, twelve or later,”
“Let’s go then!” Max looked absolutely pumped at the idea of a party. Mike looked at his mom hoping she got the hint to say Sorry, Mike can’t go, I need him to do literally any chore or anything here. She did not, in fact, get the hint.
“Oh yes! Mike you should go! You’re graduated, celebrate a little!” She smiled at him. I did. By playing DnD. He sighed, but put on what he hoped was a convincing smile and turned towards his friends.
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
…
And that is how they ended up at a house with music so loud you couldn't hear anything even when you were outside. Max had already dragged Lucas in behind her followed closely by Dustin. Mike sighed. A hand nestled itself onto his shoulder and he tried to suppress the butterflies in his stomach as he turned to see Will looking back at him.
Will had offered to be the designated driver since he wasn’t a fan of alcohol or being drunk.
“Well you look excited.” Will's laugh rang next to Mike's ear.
Mike scoffed, “Why wouldn't I be? Drunk crowds and loud music are my two favorite things.” Will smiled at him. Mike smiled back. He let Will hook his elbow around Mike's and lead him into the drunken mess.
…
Mike had lost all of his friends in the crowd and honestly there were so many bodies shoved against each other in the cramped living room that looking for them wouldn’t do much good. It also probably didn’t help that Mike had had a bit more alcohol than he would’ve liked to admit.
Look, he wasn’t a fan of being drunk either, but being in this big crowd of people who were drunk basically required him being drunk as well if he wanted to remain sane for the night.
Mike leaned against a wall as far from the two blasting speakers as he could get. He was baffled that none of the neighbors had called the cops for the noise yet. He went to take a drink before looking into the empty cup with disappointment. Sighing, he made his way to the kitchen to get more of whatever chemical-tasting liquid had been configured. The ladle had disappeared about five or six songs ago, so Mike wrinkled his nose as he dragged his cup through the dark drink. He took a sip and felt the alcohol and carbonation of whatever soda they had mixed in with it burn his throat.
“What you did today at graduation was so cool.” Mike turned his head to watch as Stacey flirted with Dustin. He rolled his eyes which just about popped out of his head when he watched as Dustin flirted back. Stacey had been a jerk to them and especially Dustin since middle school. Why was Dustin going along with this? Mike quickly left the kitchen wishing he could forget everything he just saw. He downed a bit more of the mystery drink as he reentered the living room.
He was walking through the mass of bodies into the hallway leading to a room with a paper sign reading “BATHROOM” that had clearly been trampled on and then hastily taped back up. Mike made his way to the door. Just a moment to himself with no elbows sticking into his ribs and couples doing couply things everywhere sounded amazing. As he got closer to the door he started to hear a girl crying and what sounded like vomiting. He sighed and spun on his heel, deciding not to interrupt whatever that poor girl was going through. Walking back through the hall, he ran into Lucas and Max.
He honestly wasn’t sure that they knew that he was right there. Their faces were so smushed together he wondered how they were breathing. Gagging, he twisted his way around them and went back into the crowd. He had found most of his friends, but at what cost? He leaned back against the wall he started at and took a swig from his cup. Wiping a bit of his drink off his cheek, Mike mindlessly scanned the crowd. Finally, his eyes locked on something.
Someone.
Will was dancing. He obviously was still sober, but that wasn’t stopping him from entering the drunk crowd and feeling the music. Mike tilted his head. Will was smiling and laughing as he jumped up and down to the music. A loopy smile tugged at the corners of Mike’s mouth as he watched him. The butterflies in his stomach were going haywire and Mike felt like he was about to explode. Will made eye contact with Mike, catching him staring. Heat rushed to Mike’s face. What was I thinking? Getting drunk? This whole Will thing is hard enough to control when I’m sober, Mike quickly looked down into his drink.
When he looked back up, Will was still watching him with a curious look in his eyes. Mike’s heart did some sort of flippy thing. Screw it. Mike made his way through the crowd. A man on a mission.
…
Mike woke up with a knife behind his eyes, “Urrumphh,” he grumbled in protest. A familiar laugh launched another knife into his head but also immediately made him feel much better, “Hey, Will.” Mike opened an eye to look at the boy leaning next to the window. Oh so you opened the blinds. Screw you, “What are you doing in my– this isn't my room. Why am I in your room?” Mike sat up groggily.
“And finally Mike Wheeler says a full sentence,” Will’s laugh could automatically make any situation better, “We are in my room because you were so wasted last night and I didn’t want your mom to kill you. So I just took you here and told her you were sleeping over. Which you did so that is not technically a lie I just happened to forget that you were drunk senseless.” Mike closed his eyes as Will spoke. Drunk senseless, who am I, Nancy? When he opened his eyes there was an odd look in Will’s eyes, “Do you remember anything from last night?”
Mike tried to think back. Walking into the party and it was so loud. Deciding the bathroom was over rated. Dustin flirting with some girl. Max and Lucas drunk making out. Will dancing. Mike’s heart doing cartwheels while watching Will dance.
“Not really.” Will stared at him with an odd look in his eyes, like he was trying to figure something about Mike out. Mike felt his cheeks blush a bit and rushed to change the subject, “So how did you manage to get both of us on here? Your bed is tiny.” Will seemed to take a moment to register what Mike had asked.
“Oh, uh, I just took the couch.” Now it was Mike that stared at Will, who had dark circles under his eyes and looked like he hadn’t slept at all. Of course you took the couch and gave me the bed. Your bed. You gave me your bed. That’s just the wonderful, selfless human being you are.
All that came out was, “Oh. Thank you.” Will gave a small smile and Mike looked down awkwardly.
“Um,” Will started, Mike’s head shot back up to look at him, “The others are out in the living room. Your jeans are on the floor next to you. You can just stay in my shirt for now. You got vomit all over yours last night, so it’s in the wash right now.” Mike looked down and sure enough he was in his boxers and an oversized David Bowie T-shirt. He quickly hopped off the bed and tried to shove his jeans back on. He also took a quick trip to the bathroom and brushed his teeth.
WIll led him into his living room where Lucas, Max, and Dustin were all sitting on the floor.
“Well hey there, sleepy head,” Lucas teased. Mike gave him a half-hearted wave and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Will gave him two Tylenols to down with the glass. Something fluttered in Mike’s stomach when his fingertips brushed against Will’s palm as he took the pills from Will. He hated that his face was suddenly very warm and prayed Will didn’t notice.
He walked back to the silent living room. Everyone was clearly hung over. Everyone besides Will, who had a slight smug look on his face that somehow sent more butterflies to Mike’s stomach. Why is it so much harder to shove it down right now? Usually he can at least mostly ignore his feelings for Will, but at the moment it was like the pressure was building up too much and about to pop. Maybe it’s because of the hang over? He shook his head slightly.
He took a seat with the others on the floor, Will sitting next to him. Max was drinking the last bit of Coca-Cola from a glass bottle. Finally she seemed to have drank all that was left. She absent-mindedly smiled at the bottle before setting it on the carpet and spinning it.
“We should play a game,” She said, still smiling.
“I’m not kissing any of you losers,” Dustin chimed in, glaring at the spinning bottle.
Max rolled her eyes, “Trust me, none of us want to kiss you either.” Dustin stuck his tongue out at her, “How about some truth or dare?”
Everyone seemed too tired or hung over to argue with the fiery redhead so a chorus of mumbled agreement rang around the room. Max smiled.
“Will, as the only one here who didn’t leave Stacey’s vomiting, you get the honor of going first.” Will raised his eyebrows as she passed him the bottle. He sighed a bit and flicked his wrist. The bottle made one, two rounds before landing on Lucas. Will smiled at the boy with a wicked look in his eyes.
“Okay, Lucas,” Will started, “Truth or dare?”
Lucas narrowed his eyes at Will, “I’m scared of your dares, but also I feel like you’ll ask some really weird truths out of me, so I guess…dare.” Lucas winced and wrinkled his nose as if already regretting his decision.
Will seemed to think about it for a moment, and Mike tried and failed to stop himself from getting distracted in the way Will’s eyebrows knitted together. He tried and failed not to think about how he wanted to take his thumb and smooth out that crease.
“I dare you to…” his eyes flicked to the fridge, “shotgun a can.” He grinned at Lucas. Lucas groaned but made his way to the fridge.
“Making me drink more alcohol when I’m already hung over? You’re cruel, Byers, cruel.” He pulled out a beer. Mike didn’t see the rest, though he assumed it went well due to the cheering erupting from the room. He was too distracted with the feeling of eyes on him. He looked to his side and saw Will not giving any mind to Lucas completing his dare.
Instead he was looking at Mike with a serious expression on his face. He looked like he was trying to figure Mike out. Like Mike was a puzzle he couldn’t quite solve but kept getting close to. Mike could feel himself blushing again and quickly looked back to Lucas as cheers erupted from Max and Dustin.
What happened last night?
Lucas spun the bottle. It landed on Dustin. Neither Mike or Will were paying enough attention to know if it was a truth or a dare. They were both stuck in a game of figuring the other out.
“William!” Dustin shouted. Mike winced at the volume. The bottle was pointing at Will. “Truth or dare?”
“Uh, truth, I guess.” Will looked like he was already tired of this game. Dustin thought hard for a moment before smiling wickedly.
“Tell us how you really feel about Mike’s side part.” An offended hand flew up to Mike’s hair. Will looked at him with a look that said I’m sorry.
“It’s not that bad, right?” Mike asked.
“I hate it.” Mike let out an indignant squawk. Will continued, “I really hate it. You look like your dad.”
Mike’s jaw dropped open, “You take that back.”
“Sorry, it’s the truth. I’m not taking it back. In fact…” Will trailed off with a smile playing at his lips.
Mike couldn’t breathe because now Will’s hands were in his hair, messing it around and scrunching it a bit.
Mike swatted half-heartedly at his hands, “Hey! I worked hard to get that straight!”
“And now I’m fixing it. Plus it’s not really straight anymore since you slept on it. Now hold still.” Will was ruffing his hair into whatever style pleased him and Mike could feel everyone’s eyes on them as blush made its way up his neck and over his cheeks. Mike thought he might die right there.
Will was laughing, but there was a look in his eyes each time he made eye contact with Mike that seemed like he was searching for something in Mike’s face. If he wasn’t too distracted trying to remember how to breathe, Mike might’ve asked him about it.
After what felt like both an eternity and not nearly enough time, Will’s hands were out of his hair and Will looked rather pleased with himself. Mike already knew he was the shade of a tomato even without looking at a mirror. He was never going to admit it, but he wished that Will’s hands were still there. That time would have frozen in that moment, even if it meant keeping that stupid headache.
“Okay, Max and Mike,” Will says, turning back to the group as if nothing had happened. “Looks like you two have each other. I’ll spin for whoever goes first.”
Max raised her arms triumphantly as the bottle slowed to a stop on her. Her eyes landed on him, “Truth or dare, Michael?”
I have too big of secrets for this game, Mike thought sullenly. He sighed, “Dare.” While Max thought about a good dare, he risked another glance at Will. A glance that quickly turned into a stare as he realized Will’s eyes were already on him in that odd searching expression.
Will tilted his head a bit, stare unyielding. Mike leaned in and whispered in his ear, “What happened last night?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re looking at me like I’m some great mystery to solve. Why?”
Will opened his mouth and closed it a few times, like he wanted to say something but couldn’t figure out what. Max interrupted, “Oh, I have a great dare.” She was smiling devilishly as her eyes flicked between Will and Mike. A pit formed in Mike’s stomach.
“Max–”
“Mike, I dare you to kiss Will.”
“I thought you said no kissing”
“I said no kissing Dustin. It can just be like on the cheek or something”
“At that point it's not even a dare. That's just how he and Will used to say goodbye to each other." Max looked entirely too excited at this information and Mike wanted to strangle Lucas for bringing that up.
“Okay,” Max said, “Just a quick peck on the lips, that's all it has to be.”
Mike turned to Will with questioning eyes. Is this okay? Will gave him a small smile and nodded slightly. Mike translated the look. Yeah, yeah this is okay. A little bit of relief mixed with the anxiety swarming within him.
“Okay, then.” Mike shifted a bit closer to Will, as if their knees weren’t already pressed against each other.
Mike tried, really tried, to keep his composure through the kiss, but he’d be lying to say he hadn’t melted a bit into it. That he hadn’t leaned in a bit more than a peck should have him leaning in. And maybe it was only wishful thinking, but to him it felt like Will might have leaned in a bit too much as well.
His lips were soft and warm. A hand ghosted over Mike’s cheek. It was over all too soon, though it probably lasted a good three seconds longer than a peck, and Will’s warmth was pulled away. Mike blinked and tried to quickly pull himself together again.
Their friends whooped, not helping with his headache in the slightest, though he honestly wasn’t thinking about his headache at the moment.
Mike cleared his throat and looked at Max, desperately trying to clear his head as well since all it was doing was going I kissed Will I kissed Will I kissed Will. “Max,” he started, “Truth or dare?”
She seemed to size him up a bit before rolling her eyes and saying, “Truth.” Mike thought hard about it. He wanted something that would make Max blush and stutter like that kiss dare had made him. Revenge.
“What was the first time you realized you were in love with Lucas?”
Bullseye. Max was blushing furiously and opening and closing her mouth like she wasn’t sure what to say. It got much worse when Lucas smiled, wrapping his arms around her middle and muttering into her neck.
“Oh, I would love to hear this.”
She giggled. Max Mayfield giggled. Mike gave himself a mental pat on the back. He did good with this question.
“Well, I sort of started feeling that way at the Snowball, but I didn’t realize what it was until that night,” she got quiet all the sudden, “Until that night in the Creel house.”
Lucas hugged her tighter and Mike suddenly felt really bad about reminding her of quite possibly the worst night of her life.
The room remained quiet for a moment before Dustin cleared his throat. “That party last night was fun.”
“I know you certainly had fun,” Mike muttered teasingly. Dustin looked at him confused.
“What?”
“What you did today at graduation was so cool.” Mike put on his best Stacey impression and Dustin blushed furiously. Max started cackling while Will and Lucas looked at each other very confused and somewhat entertained.
Dustin stared at Mike wide-eyed. “You heard that?”
“I heard everything, Dustin.”
“Ohmygosh.” Dustin buried his bright red face in his hands. Will cut in, drawing Mike’s attention back to him. Not that that was a hard thing to do.
“Okay wait. So how much of last night do you remember? Like, what’s the last thing?”
You look really pretty when you’re dancing. Mike couldn’t say that, obviously, so he instead pointed two fingers at Max and Lucas, looking at them accusingly.
“Those two blocking the hallway while eating each other’s faces.” Lucas gaped at him while they both started blushing. Will started laughing hard, though it sounded a little strangled. What happened last night? Maybe Mike was over analyzing a bit.
…
William Byers was feeling very touchy-feely and Mike was going to die because of it.
It started with sitting shoulder to shoulder on the couch, which was nothing odd for them. Then it was wiping a bit of pizza sauce from the corner of Mike's mouth, faces so close Mike could smell the pepperoni on Will's breath. Then it was linking their pinkies together as Dustin put Ghostbusters on the TV, which shifted into holding hands. Mike's palms were almost certainly sweaty, but Will never removed his grip. At least not until he shifted so their thighs and knees were flush together and instead wrapped his arm around Mike's shoulders. Every now and then Will would lean his face into Mike's jaw to tell him some fact about Ghostbusters that he somehow knew.
It ended with the others asleep around the living room (Joyce and Hopper long retired to their bedroom) and Will's leg draped over Mike's, one hand in Mike's and the other in Mike's hair, head on Mike's shoulder, and Mike a deep shade of red.
And if Mike was leaning into any part of this, if he maybe relished in the fact that Will's nose was in his collarbone, sue him.
Will removed his hand from Mike's hair and left it hanging around his shoulders. Lifting up his face, he asked, “Is everyone asleep?”
“I think so,” Mike said. He shifted to better face Will. “Will, what happened last night?”
Will froze for a second, staring at Mike. “Let's go to my room.” He stood up abruptly, hand still holding Mike's, and dragged Mike to his room. They stepped over and around their sleeping friends and quietly shut the door behind them.
“Will?” Mike wasn't sure what to ask. Why did we have to go to your room? Why are you looking at me odd? Why were you all over me during the movie? “What happened last night?”
Will bit at his bottom lip and Mike failed at trying not to watch.
“Do you…” Will started. Mike's eyes met his. That look was back. Will has pretty eyes.
“Do you want me to remind you?”