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frogboyandzombieface · 2 years

Text

breathe (in the air)

chapter 9

a03 link !!! | spotify playlist

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 11

byler fanfiction - 1970′s au - aged up character(s) - multi-chapter - no upside down/no powers

words: 7314

overall summary: Mike didn’t even want to go in the first place, honestly. El and Dustin managed to convince him to tag along despite his determination to refuse, and he was quite miffed, to be honest. He considered himself to be a pretty normal guy; a little anti-social, a bit uptight due to his conservative upbringing. But he was normal. And he was going to keep it that way, no matter what his friends tried to do to get him to loosen up.

But then he was stuck at a five day hippie-filled, groovy festival called the Midsummer Splendour, full of psychedelic music, drugs, peace and love. And he meets Will, possibly comes to some realisations that he wasn’t a very normal person after all, and finds friends that he would be bonded to for life.

It’s 1973, and Mike is completely, unequivocally, screwed.

author’s note: gUYS. *janice from friends voice* oh. my. god.

im so sorry for such a long wait holy shit a LOT of things irl have happened last few months for me ive had a really bad writers block, worst ive had in a while, whilst working on a new fic that was supposed to be basically a fix-it for season 3 and 4 ( @frogboyandbongos-canon-st 😳) and like byler centric n shit. but ive been rly struggling writing that im not usually one to write like somewhat canon compliant fics ya know what i mean? i usually do au's and shit like that. anyways so yeah that took up a lot of my time most of it has been planned out, i hopefully will be able to go thru it but idk - anyways so i thought to get out of the block was to return to this and try and finish it off which worked so hell yeah !!!!!

PLEASE let me know if you enjoyed this chapter, if you guys have stuck around - not long to go until the end !! and then i might do a sequel 👀i have ideas for one, lemme know if youd wanna read it ! ANYWAYS enjoy ily all so so much sorry for the wait <3

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It had taken over an hour for Mike to calm himself down enough (with quite a lot of encouragement from El. proving for what felt like the hundredth time that Mike would’ve probably been doing nothing if not for her) to come out from behind the shower areas and back towards the van. Mainly because he hated the fact that he’d been crying and didn’t want anyone to notice the results on his face - men don’t cry, he was just a weakling - but knowing that as soon as they got back to the van El would pester him to do something about his feelings for Will was a massive factor as well. He’d only just begun to accept it all himself, he isn’t going to be able to actually do anything about it! But he knew El wouldn’t accept that for an answer, the stubborn girl that she was.

“Look, it’s going to be fine, Mike. Just be yourself and that’ll be enough.” El reassured him, her arm delicately looped around his own as she led him in the direction of the sleeping areas, Mike trying his absolute best to be inconspicuous. Probably failing, but that’s to be expected.

“Yeah, yeah, you keep saying that, when it probably isn’t going to be fine.” The caravan was already in sight by that point, and from a distance, he could see that the rest of the group had apparently already begun to settle down for the night. What could they be thinking after Mike and El disappeared for so long? He hoped they - at least he hoped Will - didn’t think that the two were secretly together or something like that, explaining why they vanished together. For all they knew, Mike left first, seeming a little out of sorts, and El followed to comfort a friend.

He could just manage to spot Will himself sitting on the lip of the van, staring out into the crowd around them; Mike’s heart skipped a heady beat in his chest, causing him to choke slightly in surprise and cough a little. El raised an all-knowing eyebrow at him, and he glared in response.

“Mike,” She began imploringly, but he only shook his head, not tearing his eyes off Will still anxiously perched on the edge of the van, leaning against the open doors, his eyes never stopping in their search for.. whatever it was, and El (surprisingly) shut her mouth, subdued. A figure behind Will with a head of curly hair tapped him on the shoulder, interrupting his concentration; spoke something to him that Mike couldn’t make out. Will lifted his head to look at them, responded with something and smiled, before the other person patted his shoulder and disappeared further into the van. It must’ve been Dustin, Mike figured, because no one else had hair as curly as that - it seemed as if he was checking on him. Had Will been sitting there by himself for a long time? Perhaps the whole time since Mike left?

Will’s gaze returned to searching the crowd - and then he and Mike, who was now only a couple of metres away, locked eyes, and everything stopped for a moment. Like one of those cliché movie moments where everything around the main character and the love interest slows down, the noise falling silent with a click of fingers until it seemed like they were the only ones left in the world. Mike almost expected dramatic, romantic music to swell in the background as Will rose to his feet, face alight, before jogging over to him and El. He could barely even feel her arm that was still linked with his. He definitely knew, though, that she was using up every bit of energy in her body not to grin wickedly like the Cheshire Cat.

“Mike,” Will greeted - a little breathlessly - slowing to a stop in front of the two friends. His hair was slightly dishevelled, looking like it had fingers running through it over and over again, shoelaces of his converse now untied and lying lonely in the dry dirt. Mike felt El briefly squeeze his arm, before letting go of him completely. He felt slightly reassured by the gesture. “Um, hi. Are you okay? You were gone for ages.. again.”

Mike tried not to flinch at the word ‘again’. Yeah, he wasn’t dealing with all this stuff so graciously.

“Nah, I’m okay, I was just.. missing home, really. Me and El just kind of lost track of time chatting.” He glanced over to the El in question, who shrugged and sent a smile in Will’s direction, and he knew that was El Language for “eh, good enough excuse.”

“Oh.. okay.” Will responded slowly, glancing between both El and Mike with an expression that clearly showed he didn’t fully believe their story. Which Mike wasn’t really surprised about; he was so smart and intuitive. There wasn’t any way he could sufficiently lie to him. And, not to mention, Mike was a notoriously horrible liar, which certainly didn’t make matters better. “I understand. Um, well, I’m gonna go back to the van- it’s already, like, way past one in the morning, and you don’t wanna see what I’m like when I don’t get my beauty sleep.” He half-chuckled.

I wouldn’t care, I want to see what you’re like every day, Mike thought to himself. But of course, he didn’t voice it, instead just saying “Okay, I’ll catch up with you in a second. I wanna get the good mattress before Dustin steals it.”

“Well, good luck with that, I think he’s done it already,” Will grinned lopsidedly; Mike couldn’t help but grin back, even though a frustrated “damn it!” burst from his lips, because that meant he’d probably have to sleep on the couch again. Dustin knew Mike was a Bigfoot - he never failed to nickname him so - he couldn’t fit his legs on the fucking thing!

It was kind of weird, actually; there seemed to be this unspoken agreement that El, Dustin and Mike were going to stay in the caravan with the other three, like they’d been seamlessly absorbed into the friend group in the small amount of time they’ve known each other. Two groups becoming one. He didn’t mind it much - sleeping in the caravan was way more comfortable than their tent.

Mike prepared himself to follow Will into the van, but El tugged on his arm, keeping him in place - he turned to look at her, brows furrowed.

“Mike, you have to talk to him.” She was grinning in that little mischievous way of hers, like she was amazed at the interaction the two boys had just had. “He so likes you. I bet he’s been sitting there waiting for you the whole time to come back!”

“Oh, shut up, Hopper, that’s not true.” He flushed brightly; he ignored her “hey, don’t last name me, that’s my thing!” and continued: “And I can’t now, anyway! I’ve got to talk to Max and Lucas first, see if he actually does like me back.. they know him best.”

El rolled her eyes, about to retaliate with some smart retort, but he interrupted her.

“Well, come on, El! We don’t know for sure. And- and this is a huge step to take.. if this goes wrong, then it’s gonna be a disaster.” He clenched his jaw. He didn’t even really know where the words were coming from, but.. he didn’t stop himself from saying them. “I.. I want Will to stay in my life, even if he doesn’t like me back, y’know? I’m not about to- about to let him waltz in and be all-” He gestured vaguely, unable to properly convey what he meant. “Amazing and beautiful and kind and all Will - and then leave and take my feelings with him. I can’t let that happen. So I need to plan this out carefully.”

El watched him for a long moment, stunned into a hushed silence; like she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

“Oh my god,” She breathed, still staring, and her lips broke out into a grin all over again. “You really fucking like him.”

Mike flushed even redder, if that were possible - oh god, this was never going to end, he knew that. As soon as El found out about these kinds of things, she would never let go.

“El,” He warned, sensing an oncoming barrage of teasing. And he was right, unfortunately.

“You like him so much! You love him, you loveeee him!” She exclaimed gleefully, running around him and poking him, tugging on his arms and attempting to spin him around, even though he was unyielding. He glanced frantically at the people around them, terrified someone was listening in (specifically Will) and understood what they were talking about, but no one seemed to be paying attention.

“Stop, I don’t love him!” He whacked her hands away, shooting her the best death glare he could create. He liked Will, sure, but love? Jesus, Mike wasn’t that desperate. “We’ve only known each other for three goddamn days, okay, I can’t love him yet.”

“You don’t believe in love at first sight?” El pouted mockingly at him, before pretending to faint and fan herself as she comically danced around Mike. If she wasn’t my best friend, I’d murder her right now.

“No, for god’s sake! Now shut your mouth, I’m telling you!” He hissed through his teeth.

El tilted her head, studying him for a few seconds with a grin; all of a sudden, she relented, halting her movements and letting go of Mike’s hands, holding up her own in a show of surrender. “Okay, okay, you don’t love him, I get it.” She smiled, before leaning in rather dramatically to add: “Yet.”

Mike glared, opening his mouth to snap back at her, but he wasn’t able to, because he had to get interrupted again.

“What’s going on over here?” Max called from the caravan’s doors, gaze flitting between them both. Lucas stood next to her, with Dustin on his other side, and Will peeking from between their shoulders, eyebrows raised in curiosity.

“Yeah, what’s got you two squabbling?” Lucas quipped, hopping down onto the grass and moving over to them.

“Nothing! Nothing.” Mike responded, rather too quickly. “El is just being mean for no reason.” He directed the last two words at her specifically; she only reacted by giggling into his shoulder. He groaned and rolled his eyes.

“Sounds like there really is something going on, though,” Dustin prompted. Mike huffed - he really didn’t need the others’ probing questions right now - and strode past them into the van, determined to just move past this and get some sleep because it’s already past two am, thank you very much.

“Can I tell them, Mike? Please?” She hurried after him, placing a hand on his shoulder to stop his movements - he turned to stare at her with wide eyes like she’d just confessed that she was a secret German spy from the 1930’s, but she quickly whispered to him, gently entwining their fingers for a moment in a show of comfort. “Of course I’m not gonna tell them everything, Mike. But it actually might help your situation with Will if we allude to the fact that you’re interested in someone.”

“Oh, fine, alright,” Mike grumbled. “Don’t mess this up, Hopper, or I swear to god..”

“Hey, I got you.” She grinned at him, gently bumping her shoulder with his. “Also, remember, again -” She pointed a finger at him. “Last naming is my thing.”

“Well, come on, spill the beans!” Max popped up behind El’s shoulder, grinning at them both before flopping graciously onto the couch. Mike can’t resist glancing at Will - he looked just as interested as everyone else to know. Christ, if only he knew who it was about. “We’re Mike’s friends too, we’re in the circle. We deserve to know.”

“I deserve to know the most, you know! I’m his oldest friend!” Dustin exclaimed in a rather affronted way.

“Children, children, calm yourselves.” El held up her hands again. “So, basically.. Mike’s interested in someone. And I’m trying to get him to make a move,” She shot a look at Mike, who glanced away and began to whistle mock-inconspicuously. “But he refuses to do anything.”

Max gasped loudly and dramatically, placing a hand over her mouth in an act of mock shock.

“It keeps getting more and more scandalous!” She stage-whispered; her and Lucas both snickered with each other.

“Oh my god, dude! Why didn’t you tell me?” Dustin exclaimed towards Mike for the third time, throwing his hands up in the air like he’d done something insanely baffling. “You know I’m a great wingman, I’ll help you get with her!”

Mike sunk his teeth sharply into the inside of his cheek to keep from showing anything on his face.

Her.

He tasted harsh, metallic blood.

“Well- I - I dunno, I just..” Mike stammered, desperate to find something to say, to find something to at least elicit some kind of reaction from Will - who, despite staring at him for a long time, wasn’t giving anything away on his face. “I’m not so great with the flirting and the picking up chicks kind of thing, if you couldn’t tell already.”

“There’s a surprise,” Someone murmured under their breath - without a doubt Max, of course. Mike doesn’t really care, anyway.

“Shut it, guys, leave him alone.” Lucas frowned at everyone, before turning to Mike with a sympathetic smile. He felt a swell of affection in his chest for the other boy. He was always so kind. “Who is it? Is it someone you met at the festival?” He asked good-naturedly.

“Um.. yeah. Kind of.” He chuckled weakly; and of course, he had to almost give himself away by his eyes flicking to Will. If only for a moment. God, he was still standing there in that rigid, closed-off way of his, barely giving anything away. He wished he could just know what he was thinking. Was he jealous? Did he think Mike was hanging after some random girl they’d met here? How could he believe that? He’d barely interacted with anyone outside of their circle, and he was pretty sure Will knew that.

But his eyes still never left Mike.

“Well, y’know, you gotta do something! You might never see them again!” Dustin urged, coming over to grip Mike’s shoulder. Well, at least he’d dropped the ‘she’. “And I’m sure they’re head over heels for you, too. Trust me.”

“Dustin, stop,” Mike shrugged him off, firing him a surly look. “It’s not a big deal. I’m tired, let’s just go to bed, alright?”

His friend blinked at him for a moment, unsure, before he shrugged and said “yeah, sure, okay.”

The group began to disperse after that - Max and Lucas slinked away, out of the van and presumably up to the roof, because there was a loud thumping and groaning, and the van even shook slightly as footsteps pounded on the ceiling, until there was silence.

Mike frowned up at the roof, as if he could see them through the slightly rusted metal and what they were doing. “Why are they on the roof?” He asked, to no one in particular.

“Oh, they like to go and sit up there sometimes. Look at the stars, cheesy stuff like that. Get some alone time.” Will answered; Mike whirled around to see the shorter boy standing next to him, doing the same thing and looking up at the roof like they could see them. He glanced over to Mike with a small, slightly sly smile, before leaning in a little to talk under his breath. Mike tried not to be affected by it. “They’ll never admit it to anyone, but they love cliché romantic things, they do that stuff all the time.”

Mike grinned. “Aww, how adorable,” He fake-simpered, making Will giggle. “I’m definitely going to use that against them in the future, then.”

“Oh, yeah, I do it all the time. It’s great collateral.” Will nodded slowly, in a serious, solemn way. “They nick my stash, I blackmail them with their secret rom-com-with-roses-and-chocolates-watching, have-their-honeymoon-in-a-Hawaii-resort relationship.”

Mike burst into laughter; even though he’d only known Max and Lucas for a couple of days, he could picture Lucas proposing to Max in a fancy restaurant. His heart stuttered excitedly in his chest when Will began to laugh along with him. Christ, he was already so addicted to that sound. Especially knowing that he caused it.

“Well, um,” Mike began after a beat of slightly heady silence. Jesus, when did the air in the room become all thick and unbreathable? “I.. I’ve actually got something to ask them, so I’m just gonna quickly go up and do that, before, um.. I accidentally walk in on something. Or, well, not walk in, because they’re not in a room, but.. you get what I mean. Before I interrupt anything.” Fuck, I’m rambling, shut up, shut up! He firmly closed his mouth before he said any more stupid shit.

“Right.” Will raised a single eyebrow, clearly amused by Mike’s ineptitude. “I’ll leave you to that.”

“Yeah..” He trailed off, taking a few steps backwards and swinging his arms back and forth at his sides, because it suddenly got all awkward and he needed to get out of there before he made it any worse. He noticed El and Dustin both watching them out of the corner of his eye, and when they both grinned and shot him thumbs up behind Will’s back, he discreetly sent them the bird, smiling tight-lipped back at them. “See ya.”

He spun around on his heel, hurrying out of the van and out into the night again.

The temperature had dropped considerably since they’d gone inside, and he wrapped his arms around his skinny torso because he was a dumbass only wearing a t-shirt; shivering ever so slightly, he rounded the edge of the van to the right, where there was a ladder attached to the side that led up to the roof. Gripping the cold metal rungs, he hesitated, listening for whatever was going on up there - there didn’t seem to be much, except for hushed whispers and a few giggles.

“Okay, okay, Mike…” He muttered to himself, squeezing the rung for a moment to psych himself up. It didn’t matter, right? Max and Lucas were his friends. They seemed pretty liberal. He didn’t think they were going to judge.

With that, he began the descent up the ladder; once he could see over the rim of the roof, he saw that the couple were lying on their backs next to each other, facing the open sky above - Max’s long hair pooled from her head like fiery lava, long enough to hang over the edge. It occasionally swayed in the breeze.

“Really, I’m telling you, that’s Orion!” Lucas was saying, pointing a finger up to some constellation amongst the stars - Max snorted out a laugh, patting him on the chest in a consoling, but kind of condescending way.

“If you say so, Lukey.”

He wasn’t really sure how to announce himself to them - he didn’t want to just shout out “hey!” and scare the daylights out of them, but it wasn’t like he could knock on any doors.. He glanced around, wondering if there was something he could do to make his presence known, but before he could, Max’s voice rang out to him.

“You know, Mike, I can see you there. Just come here if you want to talk.” He looked up to see both Max and Lucas staring at him, matching expressions of amusement.

“Oh, sorry. Right.” He nodded, embarrassed, awkwardly clambering up the rest of the ladder until he was up on the roof with them (goddamnit, couldn’t he just be normal for once?!). “I won’t be long, I just wanted to ask you guys something..”

“Don’t worry about being long. You’re our friend, man, you can ask whatever.” Lucas reassured, smiling softly at him as he spun around on his butt to face Mike. Max nodded along with him, throwing an arm around her boyfriend’s shoulders.

“Yeah, whatever the dorkus said.” She smiled at Mike. There were a couple beats of silence between the three, while Mike tried hopelessly to find a way to word his question without raising suspicion. They all stared at each other, then Max rolled her eyes and broke the ice. “Go on, Mike. Shoot. We’re not gonna bite your head off.” She paused. “Well, no promises from me, but y’know.” She smirked.

“Duly noted.” Mike snorted. “Anyway..” He cleared his throat one last time. Might as well just go for it. Prolonging it would only make it worse. “So, um.. I have a friend who I bumped into here, who’s seen us hang out and she’s interested, and she’s making me ask you guys if you know whether or not Will is seeing anyone at the moment.” He shrugged, trying his best to act as unconcerned as possible. “Stupid, I know. But I thought I might as well.”

Max and Lucas were both silent for a few seconds. They exchanged a short glance, but it was clearly full of meaning; with the way they silently communicated with just expressions and raises of their eyebrows. Mike was terrified that they’d seen through his lies and knew that there was no mysterious mutual-friend-slash-girl interested in Will. That, in fact he was the mystery girl.

“Huh, well, no, Will isn’t dating anyone right now..” Max’s gaze flitted back to Mike, and he knew, he could see in the depths of those sharp cerulean irises, that she had seen through him. She knew the truth. “But he’s interested in someone, definitely.”

“He- he is?” Mike blurted out immediately, swallowing thickly when he realised he probably wasn’t helping his case. Will liked someone? Holy shit, Mike tried his best to hope that it was who he thought it maybe, possibly, could be.. but.. “I mean, I didn’t know. He didn’t seem like it. But then again, I don’t know him as well as you guys do..”

“Oh, no, we can totally tell.” Lucas grinned, raising his eyebrows in an odd sort of way - in fact, both of them were looking at him with these weird sly smiles on their faces like they knew something he didn’t. Like they were trying to tell him something without actually saying it. “He’s obvious as hell, man. But.. I think your, um, mysterious lady friend will be a bit disappointed, ‘cause we’re pretty sure it isn’t her.”

“Oh.” Mike blinked once. Twice. He felt his brows furrowing again, in confusion. “Who is it he’s interested in, then?”

“Hmm.. someone.” Max responded, frustratingly evasively. He fought the urge to sigh aloud, because he felt like he was going around in circles at the moment, instead frowning even harder when Max smiled at him and asked innocently: “Why do you wanna know, Mike?”

“Max,” Lucas hissed, whacking her lightly on the arm and giving her a look. He turned back to Mike with another smile. “Ignore her. It’s normal to be curious.”

“Yeah, totally.” He agreed hurriedly. “I-I don’t care that much, really, I just wanted to know. ‘Cause Will’s my friend, and- maybe I could help him, I dunno.”

“You could help him.” Max repeated slowly, as if he were a child who had just said he could recite the entirety of the square root of PI.

Mike’s face reddened to the colour of crimson in a matter of seconds. Okay, so he wasn’t exactly James Bond when it came to flirting and overall romantics, he’ll admit it. He didn’t want Will to get with anyone else, anyway. “W-well, fine. Whatever. You know what I mean.”

“Stop ragging on the poor guy, Max.” Lucas sighed, snaking an arm around her bare freckled shoulders. She rolled her eyes, though didn’t respond, only rested her head on his shoulder. “He’s been through enough already.”

“It’s fine, I think I’ll leave you guys alone now, anyway. That’s all I had to ask.” He slowly rose to his feet, smiling at them one last time prior to beginning to make his way back down the ladder to the ground. Before he could leave, though, a hand reached out to tug on his pant sleeve and a voice calling his name.

“Wait, Mike.”

He spun around to see Max reaching out to him. Her expression was completely different now; free of judgement, instead sincere and sympathetic, actually. Not pitying, which was nice, at least.

“It’s okay, y’know.” She continued.

“Wh.. what’s okay?” He echoed, though he had a feeling he knew what she was talking about.

“Just. Uh- know that we’re never gonna judge you, no matter what. And we support you. So.. don’t feel afraid to come to us if you need anything.” There was a pause. Mike hated how his throat had already begun to close up in emotion, affection rolling in his chest for the couple that he already felt so close with, when they haven’t even known each other for a week yet.

“Thanks, guys.” He managed to croak out. “That’s… yeah. Thanks.” He waved to them one last time, and with that, he climbed back down the ladder and onto the grass, stumbling slightly as he did so. He felt slightly dizzy after that; the fact that two people he barely even knew would do that for him was bizarre, and kind of terrifying if he thought about it for longer than two seconds.

Now that was over and done with, he rounded back around the corner, about to go inside - but something inside him forced him to stop short at the back doors of the van, hesitating, instead just watching the others from a distance.

Will was sitting on the couch, the same blanket that Mike had put over him the other night draped over his legs, with Dustin next to him raving on about some stupid story while El had already stretched herself out on one of the mattresses on the floor, dressed in pyjamas and an oversized jumper - that he was pretty sure was Dustin’s - flipping through a book. Mike smiled softly. But then, laughter spilled from Will’s lips at something Mike’s best friend said, his face scrunched up in delight, Dustin’s eyes sparkling with joy at making him laugh, and he froze. It struck a chord with him for some reason, flying straight to his heart into a tangle of emotions that were complicated and difficult to name. Seeing Will get along with his closest friends made him happy in a way that he couldn’t explain.

“Hey, Mike, you okay?” El asked, disrupting him from his thoughts.

“Oh, yeah, sorry.” He nodded, smiling, before stepping up into the van alongside her. “Just tired.”

“Did your little chat go okay?” El half-joked, grinning at him as he manoeuvred around the mattresses past her. For her question, he purposely stomped on her hand, making her squeak and whack his leg away.

“Fine,” He hissed through his teeth, gesturing soundlessly to Will, who was only a few inches away. “Thanks.” She rolled her eyes, waving him off in a motion that basically said “suit yourself.”

“Well, I’m wiped. We better get ready for bed.” Dustin announced as Mike made his way up to the couch, lifting himself up and stretching his arms into the air. The other man took the opportunity and jabbed him in the ribs, causing Dustin to yelp and curl in on himself. He spun around and whacked Mike on the arm, glaring. “Unoriginal!”

“Hey, I love the classics!”

“You’re a menace, Wheeler.” Will smirked, following Dustin by also getting up from the couch, padding over to his bed with the blanket still shrouded around him, the ends trailing on the floor after him. He looked so cuddly, Mike just wanted to wrap him up in his arms and never let go.

“Oh, that hurts, Will, it truly does.” He slapped a hand dramatically to his chest.

“Shut up, drama queen.”

It was a good twenty more minutes before Max and Lucas finally came down from their rooftop thrones to join the rest of them inside, finally shutting the back doors after themselves; while everyone got changed and settled down, Mike noticed that Max kept hanging around El, the two of them giggling and joking with each other whilst they brushed their teeth. Max seemed kind of.. different, while she was around her. Mike had noticed it before - the way her eyes softened and a sickly sweet smile graced her lips, how she would talk in a quiet voice to El full of sincerity, very much unlike her usual sarcastic tone. And El, too; he’d known her for ten whole years, he knew when she had a crush on someone. He really felt like there was something happening between them, some kind of spark, but… but Max had Lucas. And he knew that she definitely really liked Lucas, they loved each other, even. It was obvious to anyone with a pair of eyes. Yet.. Max seemed to like El, too.

He watched with a sour twist in his gut as Max’s smile fell slightly, her gaze flitting between El and Lucas, the latter waiting for her to join him in their bed to sleep, an uncannily unsure and nervous look on his face, while El was pretending not to notice the conflict in Max’s eyes, her expression switching from shyly joyful to impassive in seconds. Ouch, this situation is certainly worse than mine, he thought with a purse of his lips. Maybe I should try get some perspective.

“Well, um-” El cleared her throat purposely, smiling tight-lipped and brief at Max before beginning to slip past her. Mike felt guilty that he was listening in, but he couldn’t really help it - he cared about them all too much. “Better get to sleep now. I’m tired.”

“I..” Max began, but whatever she had to say petered out, leaving her silent, frowning at the floor, lost in her own world. She stood there for a couple of moments longer, clearly thinking through something, before she shook her head, jaw tightening suddenly with determination - she made her way past both El and Lucas to the last available mattress on the floor (Mike’s, which he despaired over) flopping down upon it, announcing that she “would rather sleep by herself tonight if that was okay”.

Both El and Lucas were perplexed, frowning bereft after her, not really understanding her decision. Yeesh, awkward. That’s all Mike could call it. But he knew what she was doing; by going with one of them, it could almost seem like choosing one over the other to either of them, and so she’s purposely choosing neither. Showing that she didn’t want only one of them - she wanted both of them. It was all or nothing. Mike didn’t resist smiling to himself. That was a smart decision, he had to give her that.

But that left him in a bit of a conundrum, now. He had nowhere to sleep.

“Well, um. Where am I going to sleep?” He announced, rather sheepishly, to the silent room - at least bringing the attention off the awkward moment between the resident love triangle. He raked his gaze around the room at five faces all staring up at him with wide eyes from different directions.

“Sorry, man, wouldn’t want to sleep with me, I toss and turn like a bitch.” Lucas shook his head apologetically, adjusting his position and throwing the blankets over himself. Well, guess that was off the cards, then, Mike thought with a twist of his mouth. He wasn’t about to admit that he was a tosser as well, which his friends constantly complained about.

He fixed his gaze on El, who stared at him like a deer in headlights. Please, oh god, don’t do what I think you’re gonna do, he silently begged.

“Oh, me?” She inquired faux-innocently.

“Yeah, is that okay? Can’t fit on the couch, I’m too tall.”

“Wait, come here for a second.” She gestured for him to come closer, a determined look in her eyes that told him something suspicious.

“Why?” He frowned. She was clearly up to something, he knew that.

“Just- come on,” She whispered harshly, eyes widening big to indicate she had something to tell him - he inched forward until she was close enough to whisper to him without the others hearing.

“What the hell are you doing? Go with Will!” El hissed.

“What!? Are you insane? That’s a catastrophe waiting to happen!” He basically scream-whispered back, staring at her like she’d told him she was the secret Prime Minister of France.

“Mike.” She deadpanned.

“El.” He deadpanned back, shaking his head slowly. No way could he do that. He’d give away his feelings and lose Will forever.

“Oh, okay, then,” She, out of the blue, announced loud enough for the rest of the group to hear, slowly moving to sit up on the mattress - her gaze dropped to an old mug of coffee sitting on the small table next to the couch, Lucas’s, if Mike remembered correctly, from that morning. It was still half-full.

El slowly looked at Mike. He stared at her. Then, just as slowly, she fixed her gaze back on the cup.

Oh fuck.

“No!-” He cried out at the last second, reaching out to try and keep the mug away from her, but she snatched it up well before he did and poured every last bit of it all over the mattress, exclaiming in mock-horror.

“Oh no, whoops!” She dropped the mug, scrambling up to avoid the spillage with a hand over her mouth. The sticky, foul-smelling substance sunk deep into the material, leaving behind a fuscous stain. Mike was so going to kill her. “So, sorry, Mike, looks like we can’t sleep here! I’ll have to go on the couch.” She was clearly fighting to keep a smug smirk from appearing on her face, sauntering past him and collapsing gracefully onto the couch.

“Yeah, that’s such an unfortunate coincidence.” He basically snarled the last word through clenched teeth; she only smiled back at him and waved, like everything was fine and well. There was a muffled giggling and snorting coming from Mike’s feet, and he whipped around to glare at Dustin and Max, ready to rip them a new one, but they both immediately pretended to be asleep, snoring loudly in an obvious and glaringly fake way.

God, this day was so humiliating for him so far.

To get back at them for that, he whacked them both on the back of the head, before finally submitting to his eventual fate and slowly turning around to face Will’s bed. He noticed Will’s eyes immediately dart back to his sketchbook splayed in his lap the moment their gazes met, as if he’d already been watching him. Oh, god.

Mike plunged his teeth into the inside of his cheek again to keep from displaying his nerves, gradually shuffling closer and closer to his bed until he was level with the ladder that led up to it; he hesitated one last time, glancing over his shoulder - everyone’s eyes immediately fell shut and they promptly snored, obviously pretending to be asleep when they were actually watching the interaction. Bastards.

He turned back around. Will’s eyes were still resolutely set on his sketchbook, face carefully blank. He inched forward a little more until his head was just peeking over the edge of the mattress - there were benefits to being tall, after all - and stared at Will. He was languidly spread over his bed, the blanket he’d wrapped around himself now bunched up and stuffed beside him. He looked so cosy.. His eyes were droopy already. He clearly wanted to sleep.

Not wanting to drag it out any longer, Mike delicately cleared his throat and tapped nimbly on the bed frame.

“Hey, um- Will?” He approached; Will raised his head, lips curling up into an extremely amused smile as he regarded him, one eyebrow lifted. He clearly knew what he was about to try and do. “Um.. could I sleep with you?”

There wasn’t an immediate response from the other man - he only continued to stare - causing anxiety to begin to snake up Mike’s spine and curl around his ribcage, so he continued rather nervously: “It’s just- every other bed is taken, and to be honest, I’d rather not sleep on wet smelly coffee stains, and- Dustin and Max are being dickheads-”

“Mike, it’s fine.” Will cut him off. “Of course you can sleep with me.”

Mike tried not to get too visibly flustered at the phrase “of course you can sleep with me”, but he found he was struggling slightly, cheeks bright red, and in his delay Will shifted to the left until his back was up against the wall, patting the empty space next to him.

“Come up, you dork. It’s not getting any later.” He grinned in this fond, adoring kind of way, eyes sparkling like tiny beetles - Mike couldn’t help but grin back, all previous anxiety forgotten, instead replaced with flutters and jolts in his stomach as he began to climb up the ladder, carefully crawling onto the mattress so as not to bounce Will around too much; he hesitated again, though, as a question formed in his mind.

“Um- are- are we going to top and tail, or?” He asked, hovering next to Will.

The other boy rolled his eyes, shutting his sketchbook and leaning down over the edge to place it on the desk below.

“And have your gross germy feet in my face? I don’t think so.” He shuffled and turned until he was facing Mike, adjusting the blankets over himself. He smiled at Mike, but there was a slight nervous edge to it. He could barely even concentrate on it, anyway, with how much he was internally screaming at how close they were. Only centimetres away.. “We can just sleep head to head. I mean- I think it’ll be better, that’s all.”

“Okay.” The taller boy agreed croakily.

Oh my god, I have no idea what to do. My face is going to be so close to his! What if- what if we accidentally bump in the night? What if I subconsciously cuddle him or something like that? He could somehow figure out my feelings!

“You okay, Mike?” Will posed, eyes apprehensively scanning Mike’s face, as if he was searching for some kind of clue in his expression, but Mike only smiled and nodded, letting himself finally lie down on the mattress; though trying to keep as much distance between him and Will as much as possible. He couldn’t tempt himself.

The other boy’s gaze softened; he smiled back at him, so softly, ever so softly, gently throwing the blanket over Mike, making sure it was fully covering him. There was something so tender and caring about it that he could seriously burst out crying right then and there. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from Will, no matter how hard he tried - they were glued to him and his gentle figure, the way his face glowed orange in the warm light of the singular lamp that was left on in the corner.

“Night, guys.” Max called from the ground, reaching up to turn the lamp off as she was the closest, cloaking them in harsh darkness. It would’ve been pitch black if not for the moon above, and the distant lamps surrounding the stage in the distance that were left on for the late-night party goers. The group echoed her words, saying goodnight in return, before they were silent again.

Of fucking course they had all still been awake, Mike sighed inwardly.

The quiet was slightly overwhelming to Mike; he was hyper-aware of Will’s breathing in front of him, the rise and fall of his shoulders.

“Is this comfortable for you?” Mike prompted gently, as faintly as he could in case the others would hear. “I’m- not in the way or anything?”

Will’s eyes focused on him in the dark. He can just make out his figure, the slope of his jaw, the curves of his shoulders and back, the swell of his oh, so alluring lips; Mike’s body thrummed with desire.

“It’s okay, trust me. You’re fine.” There was a pause. Mike hoped his erratic, shallow breathing wasn’t audible in the near-silence. Every single hair on his body was raised high in anticipation, and Mike tried his best to make himself as small as possible. He didn’t know if he could stand an entire night right next to the object of his desires, he felt like he’d go completely insane.

He was so lost in his own thoughts that he nearly didn’t hear Will still speaking:

“It’s actually..” he paused again, eyes still locked onto Mike, so intense and full of emotion. He couldn’t stand it. “Comfier than normal.”

There was a small, almost silent shuffle at their legs and then something, a bare foot, brushed against Mike’s - his breath hitched aloud - and not because of the cold - and he froze in his movements, electricity firing up his leg like a gunshot and scattering across his body, seeping into every nook and cranny, snatching his heartbeat away for a full second. Oh, god, how could he feel all this just from feet touching? And no, Dustin’s voice in my head, I don’t have a secret kink.

Before he could react with anything, though, Will’s foot darted away after a few seconds, his own breath slight, eyes shining with anxiety, still staring at Mike. Like he too was scared. Like he, too, meant it to be something more than just a joking, friendly touch.

Do something! A voice scarily akin to El cried out in his head. How will you feel later if you never did anything about it even if it doesn’t work out?

He set his jaw in determination. He wasn’t going to lose this opportunity to pure cowardice. When Mike Wheeler set his mind to something, there was nothing that could be thrown his way that would stop him.

Shutting his eyes tightly so he wouldn’t have to see any disappointment, he slowly inched his foot forward, and connected it with Will’s. He held his breath in anticipation. They were both deadly silent, not moving a single muscle but he could feel Will’s eyes still on him - like they were almost confirming some kind of silent agreement with each other, something that they weren’t going to say aloud.

After what felt like a lifetime of waiting, there’s a little more shuffling from Will - though his foot didn’t leave Mike’s - and he spoke.

“Goodnight, Mike.” He whispered gently; he could actually hear the smile in his voice.

It was then, that he realised - it was just Will. What was he even worried about? Everything was okay. Even if things didn’t work out, he knew Will wouldn’t just stop talking to him, wouldn’t abandon him. They’d still be okay.

“Night, Will.”

Mike fell asleep with a smile on his face.

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