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During the summer of '85 Will was adopted by Lucas&Max. Anytime they hung out and Mike was being an asshole and was too oblivious to notice that he was ignoring them, they’d wander around Starcourt, just the three of them. And, well, they never made Will feel like a third-wheel; an add-on to their relationship; an accessory. They were just three best friends hanging out, like normal teenagers.
They started doing a lot of things together. They’d go to the movies just the three of them, not bothering to tell Mike of their plans (and, honestly, he wouldn’t’ve even noticed with how consumed with El he was). They’d go and bother Steve at Scoops, getting to meet his now best friend, Robin Buckley. They even started having sleepovers. Just the three of them, always at Lucas’ house.
During one of those said sleepovers, Will admitted to liking boys. Just boys. And, well, it had gone a lot better than Will had expected. It went like this:
“I like boys,” Will blurts out.
Max and Lucas look at each other for a moment before looking back at him.
“That’s cool, dude. So do I,” Lucas says reassuringly.
“Yeah, and I like girls, too,” Max says.
“But, you too are dating.”
“You can like both,” Max says.
“Oh.”
“So, do you have a crush on anyone?” Lucas asks.
Will blushes. “No…”
“He so does! Tell us,” Max grins.
“Do I have too?”
“Not if it makes you uncomfortable,” Lucas says. “But we won’t judge you.”
Will contemplates for a moment and then mumbles out, “It’s Mike.”
“Huh?” Lucas asks.
“Oh my god, you can’t be serious!” Max shouts.
“You said you wouldn’t judge.”
“No, Lucas said it, not me. I made no promises.”
“What? Who is it?”
“It’s Mike.”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
“Would you rather it have been Lucas?” Will asks, looking at Max.
“Yes! Because then I would at least know you have taste!”
“Oh my god, Max!”
After that, things became even more lightless between the three of them. You’d see them everywhere together. Unless it was just a Lucas&Max day. And Will respected those days. He would never encroach on those days.
But then he moved to California and then Lucas&Max became Lucas and Max. And all he had was letters and short-lived phone calls. And then all he had were letters from Lucas, because Max’s had started dwindling the more she had started to withdraw, and then there were none. And then Lucas’ started to dwindle the busier he got with school and basketball and Hellfire. But they never stopped. Just fewer came.
Then spring break came and Vecna happened and Max almost died . And so much other horrific shit happened.
And finally, finally it was normal again. Because Vecna was gone and the gates were closed and they finally didn’t have to keep fixing what the government fucked up in the first place.
Another finally is that it was Lucas&Max again. And they were having a Lucas&Max and Will sleepover.
“Do you still like Wheeler?” Max asks.
“Sadly,” Will replies.
Lucas snorts. “You chose to like the most emotionally closed off person in this entire town.”
“Don’t say that. Max is sitting right here. She’s a close runner-up.”
Max smacks him on the shoulder. “Shut up. This is Mike Wheeler hate hours. Not Max Mayfield hate hours.”
Will holds his hands up in surrender.
“Did you see him though? I think he’s going into his emo phase,” Max says.
“He’s stealing his whole new style from Eddie. If he’s going to do it, he should at least be original,” Lucas chimes in.
“I think it’s cute.”
“Of course you do. You have rose-tinted glasses on when it comes to Mike.”
“Yea, anything he does is cute to you.”
“Oh, come on guys!”
“Fine, fine. We’ll stop. Tell us about California. Was there anyone there you liked ?” Max asks.
“No.”
“See, he’s going to be hung up on Mike until the day he dies,” Lucas groans out.
“We must save him from his bad taste in men,” Max agrees.
“I don’t have bad taste in men! I like Brad Pitt!”
Max groans. “No! It’s even worse than I thought, you have unoriginal and bad taste in men!”
“Oh, come on! Brad Pitt is… cute.”
“You struggled saying it,” Lucas points out. “I personally go for Simon Le Bon.”
Max nods her head. “See, now that’s good taste.”
“You’re only saying that cause you’re dating him.”
“Since when have I ever agreed with Lucas just because we’re dating?”
“Never.” Lucas says.
“Exactly. Never.”
Will huffs. “Fine.”