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Dustin was talking with the girls that invited them, their conversation inaudible with all the music and people around. The alcohol didn’t help. Will had four drinks already, all the sugar and fruit flavor covered the alcohol well. It’s like there’s no alcohol at all, but there is, in fact, and the effects appear too.
The majority of the people there were already drunk. They graduated high school after all.
Max and Lucas were already dancing. Lucas had gotten quite popular through the years, and Max isn’t the kind to care what people think of her.
Will was more confident now, but having too many people around is overstimulating sometimes.
The lights were too flashy and his vision started to blur. He remembered where one of the bathrooms was, trying to get there he might have pushed some people and almost tripped twice. The house was just so big.
He pushed the door open and got to the sink. The sound of water splashing in the sink was barely noticeable. The feeling of fresh water on his face was nice.
Will looked at his reflection in the mirror, squinting his eyes to see more clearly, his eyes darted to the door when he saw movements.
When he turned to look at the door Mike was standing there.
“Hey”
“Hey” Will blinked to clear his vision and to make sure it really was Mike, “I’ve been looking for you but couldn’t find you, I thought you left.”
“Nah, I was looking for you actually”, Mike stepped closer to where Will was standing, the way he walked showed he wasn’t sober, he was floating, and his eyes were tired, he was drunk too.
“For me? Oh, I’m fine don’t worry I didn’t drink that much. But you…”
“I’m not drunk” his tone was so confident despite the obvious lie. Will scanned him head to toe and raised a brow.
“You sure?”
“Yeah” always with that confident smile, “could someone drunk do this?” Mike made, or at least tried to do a 360, miserably failed and almost fell against the door. His feet were not letting him stand straight anymore.
Will let out a chuckle and helped him get his balance back, “you are drunk”.
“Maybe” Mike’s half closed eyes stared at Will, “you’re drunk too”.
“Yeah, I think I pushed someone too hard when I came here, I think they fell” Will’s laugh was a bit nervous. He never liked bringing attention to him, always felt like everyone was staring at him. And for many years it was actually happening.
When moments like that happened he could always count on Mike to help him, to comfort him.
Will stared back at him remembering those moments, remembering little Mike looking at him worried and taking him to a quiet place whenever he had a panic attack. Little Mike with his hair getting longer and longer as the years passed.
Will always loved his hair. When his eyes landed on him he let out a quiet laugh, “I hate your hair like that”, he had cut it and was brushing them differently for some time, according to Will, it didn’t suit him. His hand moved to reach Mike’s hair, his finger slid between the curls, “let me fix it”.
Will was focusing on every brand of hair, trying to arrange it so it would look better, he didn’t notice Mike’s face getting closer, dangerously closer.
When he did he felt a hand on his face. Mike’s hands were cupping his head, his thumb caressing his cheek slowly.
His breath stopped, he could hear his heart beating faster, way too fast.
Will could swear it missed a beat when Mike leaned against him.
Before he could do something he felt Mike’s lips on his.
Their lips parted, Will couldn’t move, eyes wide open and too stunned by what happened, his voice weak, “Mike..” Will’s grasp on Mike’s hair tightened, unconsciously pulling him closer.
Mike went to kiss him again. Will’s eyes shut, he tilted his head, leaning into the kiss, feeling Mike’s mouth opening slightly to kiss him deeper, letting Will accept it, both succumbing to it.
It felt warm.
Mike’s body moved closer, pushing them against the sink.
His hand slid to Will’s neck. Will flinched but didn’t end the kiss, it was the opposite. It felt good, the feeling of Mike’s hand on his neck. The hot feeling was completely erasing that uncomfortable sensation he used to feel on his neck for a moment.
Will’s hand moved from the black curls and ended up on Mike’s waist. Gripping his shirt tight on his back and pulling him closer.
Their minds were lost in the kiss, it was as if the world around them didn’t exist anymore. It was only the two of them.
Their lips parted to take their breath, shaky and hot against each other. Their chest heaved in sink against the other. Lips swollen, their eyes lost in the other, unable to see anything else.
The next kiss was gentler. But just as intense.
Outside of the bathroom the party was still going strong. Dustin had joined Max and Lucas again, and was asking if they saw Will and Mike, worried that they had collapsed somewhere because they drank too much.
Lucas said he remembered seeing Will going to a bathroom and pointed in the direction.
Dustin just wanted to check on his friends. He wasn’t expecting barging on them kissing, gripping each other so intensely, when he opened the door. His eyes widened, but he closed the door the second he realized.
It took several seconds for the boys to realize what had happened.
Will slowly got away from Mike, still hazy from the kisses and physical contact, while Mike’s eyes were still on him.
“Was it, Dustin?” Will said, voice low and worried.
“I don’t..”
Will didn’t take long to realize the situation he was in after the adrenaline dropped. He let go of Mike’s shirt, pushing him away gently.
“Fuck” Will analyzed around him, nervous. His heart started beating even faster, but it wasn’t feeling good this time. “We should go back to the others”.
Will headed toward the door but was stopped, Mike grabbed his hand.
“Wait” Mike was struggling, he just held Will’s hand struggling to find what to say.
“Mike, you’re drunk, we should head back”
“You’re drunk too”
“I, I think this made me sober up a little”
“I just need to tell you something, I’ve been thinking about it for a while”
Will hesitated, a part of him telling him to just bring Mike out of the room, the other part yelling at him to listen, “tell me what?”
Mike was looking down, he couldn’t look him in the eyes.
“Hopper said something to me, earlier today. Something about moving on. About stopping feeling guilty and blaming myself for what happened, for what I could have done differently. And, he told me that I have the choice, to euther continue torturing myself, or to accept it, accept that sometimes life isn’t kind and that we make mistakes. El wouldn’t want me to mope around pathetically like that.” Mike squeezed Will’s hand, “I’ve been thinking a lot recently, about what I should do”, he froze for a moment, the expression on his face softening, “I’ve been thinking about you.”
“Mike” Will called his name calmly, what could almost feel like pity, he tried to stop him before he could say anything.
“I don’t want to make the same mistakes all over again. I want to do things better, with you.”
Will tried to get away from Mike’s grasp but couldn’t. Not that Mike was holding him too tight, but because deep down he wanted to hear it, he needed it, “Mike, please”.
“Things have always been different with you. I thought it was just because I knew you the longest, because you are the first friend I ever had. I was convincing myself so hard, I just didn’t want to acknowledge that there was something else so I hid these feelings far away and pushed you away. But I can’t, not anymore. I can’t see you going away without doing anything. I just can’t.”
“You’re drunk, Mike” Will wasn’t pleading him to stop, he was lost between dying to know and trying once again to convince himself he was over him.
“I..” Mike gulped, trying to pack the courage to form the words. The courage the alcohol gave him was slowly scattering, leaving him facing his actions. It was too late to just brush it off now. “I need to know” he leveled his eyes, his gaze into Will’s eyes, “this crush you had, are you really over him?”
The question sent chills down Will’s spine. It reminded him of memories he had tried to get rid of so many times.
Just these few words and it was all starting again.
“Why now?” Why after so long?”
“Guess I was a coward…”
The muffled sound of the music filled the air between them. Mike held Will tight, desperately waiting for an answer.
“Let’s get back to the others”