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Will Byers is missing. Has been for a few days.
It’s not unusual for a boy his age to go out on his own adventures of fun self-discovery, but it is a long while for Will to be no-contact with the others.
Jane Hopper would care, if she was presented with any reason to be worried.
The way she sees it? It’s been less than forty-eight hours. He doesn’t have to talk to any of his friends in that time. And, she’s been no-contact longer without Mike Wheeler making this much of a fuss.
Will’s probably just out with a friend they don’t know about.
It’s starting to annoy her, actually, how talkative Mike suddenly is whenever Will is brought up in casual conversation. Even prior to this 'missing' incident, just mentioning Will in passing will have him spewing facts about his best friend like he's his personal walking, talking memoir.
And, to douse the flames in even more water, they had a fight about this very thing before Will left.
Mike is adamant he isn’t in the wrong, but Jane knows how it feels to have someone watch over your every move, so when he first showed up at her door and begged for her to tell her what to do, she told him the truth; apologize.
“I did! I said I was sorry!” Mike invited himself inside, flopping down on her couch and staring up at the water-damaged ceiling like it would give him a more palatable answer.
“But did you say it like you mean it?” Jane closed the door behind him, giving him a critical look.
“...Yes.” Mike hesitated, his voice reaching a wonky octave that made Max snort from the bathroom. “I did! I said it with my full chest!”
“You are lying.” Jane decided, watching as Max stepped out from the washroom, dressed especially gorgeous for the day they had planned before Mike Wheeler showed up unannounced with his totally-not-a-relationship relationship problems. “Do not lie.”
“Yeah, Mike. Don't lie.” Max inclined her head toward the hopeless boy in a mocking way that made Jane giggle, though she tried to stifle it with the back of her hand. “Well this has been plenty of fun, but we have an even more fun date planned. So, I think we should go…” Max snaked her hand around Jane’s waist, finding her hand at her hip and spinning her around with a yelp that made the both of them laugh. She clasped Jane’s hand in her own, heading for the door.
Briefly, Jane looked back at Mike, hurt to leave him all alone in her own home.
He was rubbing his eyes, and the way he looked so defeated—even though they broke up almost four years ago, they were still great friends, and she cared for him deeply. She hated to see him in piles of his own self-pity. “Do you want to come with us?”
“What?” Max yelled, clearly outraged.
Meanwhile, Mike looked up from the couch, a smile pinching at the corners of his lips. “Seriously?”
“Yes.” Jane decided. “We can give you more ideas on how to tell Will you are sorry.”
Mike jumped off the couch, kicking his shoes back on and meeting Max in the door frame with a smug look on his face.
After checking to make sure she had everything, Jane locked up the house, and off they headed to the mall.
“—And he has no right to— to push me away like that!” Mike chirped in Jane’s ear every chance he got, pushing between her and Max as if he was the one on the date with the two of them.
Which, as Max has stated many times, she would rather gouge her eyes out with her stubby fingers than even imagine being a “throuple” with Mike wheeler. Not only because she doesn’t like boys like that, barely even likes them as friends, but because it’s Mike fucking Wheeler.
Jane is never quite sure what she means by that, but she laughs whenever it’s said.
“Uh-huh.” Max rolled her eyes, picking at the melted remains of her bubblegum ice cream she only bought because she had a sample scoop the week prior and was sure she liked it, but two bites in she wasn’t so sure anymore. “I just don’t really see how any of this is relevant. Like, at all. You guys fought, so what? Me and Jane argue all the time, and we’re doing great! Why can’t you guys just be cool?”
“Because nothing about this is ‘cool’ at all!” Mike slapped his hands down on his thighs in exasperation. “Look, it’s different with guys. You wouldn’t understand.”
Max recoiled, like he personally insulted her mother. “I’m sorry for trying to help, Mike. For going out of my way to talk to you—which I would never do on my own accord, by the way—and letting you third-wheel our date. Oh, see, now that’s funny. Because my joke apology is almost certainly a million times better than any ‘real’ apology you could come up with.”
“Max!” Jane playfully slapped Max’s shoulder, shaking her head. “Not funny. We need to be serious. I would also die if I had to be in a room with Mike and my brother, especially if they are not on good terms. Yuck.”
“Yuck.” Max quoted, supportively placing a hand on Jane’s waist. She siddled between Jane and Mike, taking back her rightful place of ‘girlfriend’. She steered Jane away from Mike and toward the Gap, where a new line of flashy blouses was on sale.
“Sorry!” Jane called out, leaving Mike in the dust.
About an hour later, the girls returned from their shopping trip with a couple bags in hand to find Mike waiting for them at the exact place they dropped him off, by the fountain, which was now crowded by two enthusiastic hoards of children, boxing him in. He looked dejected, in a sad, puppy-dog way that made Jane's heart clench.
She felt bad for him, she really did, but he also needed to learn that his actions had consequences on Will’s mental state.
“Hi.” Jane said, chipper, waving her and Max’s shopping bags in a depressed-Mike’s face. “We are done shopping now, so we can go home if you like.”
Mike looked from Jane to Max, as if expecting a snarky reply from the latter, but he didn’t get one.
One, because Max knew better than to beat a man when he was down, especially when it came to Will, and two, because Jane told her not to. While they were looking through racks of bright rainbow-colored t-shirts, Max holding up random designs for Jane to try on while spewing how good she’d look in them, Jane gave her a stern look. “No more making fun of him.” She demanded, and Max cowered under her teacher-like tone. Max nodded weakly and Jane knew that would be that.
Max would’ve wanted to stay longer, Jane knew that. Check out some shiny jewellery and ogle at the prices or try on some shoes she knew she’d never actually wear, just for the fun of it; just to see her girlfriend smile. But, it was already four in the afternoon, and anymore mall-food was sure to put Jane in a coma.
So Max would be ready to leave, if Jane was, and if Mike wanted to.
“What, no witty comeback?” Mike chirped, un-crossing his arms over his chest, and tilting his chin up so he was less pouty.
“I’m… a changed woman!” Max sighed, offering a lopsided smile as collateral. “So… are we going or not? There’s leftover lasagna in the fridge with my name on it, and if I don’t eat now, I’m literally gonna kill myself. Or you. No, yeah, definitely you.” Max giggled, and Jane let her have it, looping their arms together and grabbing Mike’s wrist to pull him up from his sulky half-lean against the fountain.
“Come on, silly. You can stay over if you want to.” Jane offered, and Mike’s eyes lit up like a flashlight.
“Really?”
“Yes? Why would I lie?” She laughed as Mike rolled his eyes, pulling him along home with them.
At Hop’s cabin, after dinner was heated up, served, and devoured, the three got ready for bed as synchronized as a professional swim team.
Their plates stacked on top of each other in the sink, all dishes licked clean except the knives because Jane was worried about her or her friends slicing their tongues open and bleeding all over her kitchen table.
They all brushed their teeth at the same time, though Mike had to spit last because there was only room for two people in front of the sink.
Then, they all stripped and stepped into pajamas, and though they changed in separate rooms, they all emerged at once, like some sketch in an old sitcom. They were giggly the rest of the night while they set Mike up to sleep on the couch, though Jane and Max were sure their laughter could be heard from Jane’s bedroom even with the door closed.
They tried to be quiet, but silencing love was a hard thing, especially between the two most giggly teenagers in the universe.
In the morning, Jane woke to find Max still sleeping peacefully beside her, but there was a smell coming from the kitchen that seeped under her door and held her by the throat.
She was salivating already, and she hopped out of bed with as much fervor as a child on Christmas morning. “Waffles?” She asked, her voice coming out rough and dry as she tried to swallow, rubbing her eyes to clear her sleepy vision.
“Yep. Waffles.” Mike was standing in the middle of their kitchen, holding a porcelain white plate of homemade waffles that almost stacked as high as the ceiling, homemade whipped cream in a bowl on the table next to where he placed the plate.
The waffles nearly toppled over, making Jane gasp, but they stood firm.
A tired Mike turned around to grab the strawberries from the fridge, slicing them with his back turned to Jane.
“Why did you do this?” She asked, curious as she sat down at the table, her favorite pink plate that made her feel like a princess already in front of her. She took two waffles for herself, her stomach rumbling. They smelled delicious.
Mike shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. Just kinda… felt like it, I guess. I woke up early, couldn’t fall back asleep. You know.”
Jane narrowed her eyes on Mike’s working back. He was lying, she knew it.
He was trying to distract himself from thinking about Will.
She wanted to confront him about this, but couldn’t stand another second without those fluffy, golden-brown waffles in her mouth.
She took a large bite, the sweet and plain taste melting on her tongue as she chewed. “Is dad sleeping?” She asked between bites, trying to change the conversation into something lighter; something she knew wouldn’t make Mike panic, or want to crawl out of his own skin.
“No,” Mike shrugged with a weightlessness that put Jane at ease. “No, I think he slept over at the Byers’ last night.” His shoulders tensed again, and Jane rolled her eyes.
“Oh.” Jane said, dumping half the bowl of whipped cream onto her plate.
“Is Max up?”
Jane shook her head. “No, not yet.” She wiped the corners of her lips with her thumbs, then licked the mess off her fingers. “Thank you for breakfast.”
Mike shrugged. “It’s no problem, really.”
“It is very…” Jane struggled to find the word. A word she only ever really heard on TV, when a business man was describing his wife whom he hated. “Do-mestic.” She pronounced the word like it was two, struggling with it on her tongue.
Mike snorted, choking on his laughter in a way that confused Jane. She wasn’t sure if she said the right word, and she felt her cheeks flush.
“What’s domestic?” Max sleepily emerged from Jane's bedroom, rubbing her own eyes as she kissed the top of Jane’s head before plopping down in the seat across from her. “Ooh, waffles. Did you make these, Wheeler? Cause if you did, this is very housewife of you.”
“Wha— I—” Mike spun around, like he was admitting defeat, but instead he placed the bowl of sliced strawberries in the middle of the table and pulled up a chair next to them. “Am I not allowed to do something nice for my friends?”
“We are not friends, Wheeler. I hope you never, ever think that.” Max chuckled, digging into the remaining plate of three waffles, leaving none for Mike. “Damn, these are good.”
Mike’s eyebrows furrowed. “Thanks for leaving some for me.”
Jane cut her second waffle in half, spearing it on her fork and presenting it to Mike like a caveman offering its baby food. “Hmm?”
Mike sighed, taking the sticky fork from Jane’s fingers. “Thanks.” He chewed on his soggy waffle thoughtfully, but before he could get too engulfed in his second day of being without his, arguably, better half, Jane cleared her throat.
“So, I was thinking we could go rent that movie you wanted us to watch today, Max.”
Max nodded, briefly looking up at Jane before going back to devouring her breakfast. She took a pause to chew, swallow, and then cover her messy mouth when she spoke. “Sure, we can do that today. Is meatball over here tagging along—” Max pointed a thumb toward Mike, who only laughed at her comment. “—or can we leave him at home?”
“‘Meatball?’” Jane quoted, trying her best not to laugh in Mike’s face. Max shrugged. “I do not want to leave him here. I thought he could join us.”
Mike raised an eyebrow. “What, you don’t trust me in your home?”
“No,” Jane shook her head. “I do not trust you in Hop’s home. If he sees you here today, it would be awkward.”
“It’s awkward every day he sees me!”
“Further proving my point,” Jane looked up at Max, who was already looking back, and they both laughed. “Do you have clothes to wear, Mike?” She asked, as politely as she could.
Mike shrugged. “I’ll just wear these.”
Max scrunched her nose. “Let’s do a load of laundry before we leave.”
At the video store, while Max and Jane searched for the cheesy 70s sci-fi movie Max had always wanted to watch together, Steve was hovering over Mike no matter where he went, just like he did Will, hammering advice into his skull that might have worked on a girl but was almost certainly going to fail on Will.
“See, no, that’s what I’m saying.” Steve said, exasperated. “You just say you’re sorry, even if you don’t mean it. It makes her—or whoever you’re apologizing to—feel good, even if you know they were in the wrong.”
Meanwhile, Robin watched them from the corner of the store, conspiring against who would be less likely to get a girlfriend first between Mike or Steve, with a curious Dustin, who she was passing an open bag of Fritos to like it was a cigarette.
“Well, but—” Mike started.
“Ah.” Steve put a hand out in front of him, stopping Mike from continuing.
“No, I just mean—”
“Nope.” Steve shook his head. “Nuh-uh, man. Look, you can’t be honest when you gotta apologize. You just have to say the right things.” He slung an arm over Mike’s shoulders, holding him close like this was insider-info no one else was allowed to hear. In reality, he was practically screaming. “Because, let’s face it. Everyone is miserable because of you.”
“What?”
“Yeah, man. Tough truth, huh? Well, I’ve been in the same exact situation before. Got into this gnarly fight with a girl I really liked—who everyone else also liked—and because I was so unwilling to apologize, the whole group suffered. So by that point, it was just making up for the sake of making up. For the sake of the party, if you will.”
“Even if you were right?”
“No, I wasn’t right!” Steve chuckled. “No, but that’s not the point. With girls, you’re never right…” He droned on, but Jane stopped paying attention. They were both useless.
Robin snickered in the corner behind the counter, handing the bag back to Dustin. “Oh my god, they are both insufferable. I can’t believe Nance ever saw any good in that sack of potatoes.”
Dustin scoffed and rolled his eyes, taking a good handful for himself, but eating the chips one by one. “It’s fascinating. Truly, truly, fascinating. It’s gotta be all in the looks, right? For any woman to even want to get close to him.”
Robin leaned her head back with a quick “ha!” that alerted the whole store. “God, you’re funny, Henderson. We gotta hang out more.”
“...Well, women are simple creatures, Wheeler…” Jane caught Steve saying, in a lower tone but still loud enough to be heard from five aisles away. “Sometimes words do the trick, sometimes big gestures—”
“Gestures?” Mike inquired.
“Yeah, you know. Like gifts. Flowers, chocolates. Act like every day you screw up is Valentine’s Day, and boom. Suddenly you never find yourself lonely on another Feb-fourteen again!” Steve clapped his hands on Mike’s back like he solved the crisis, but everyone else was staring him down knowing he created a new one.
Max slapped her palm into her forehead in the middle of showing Jane movies from her childhood that she loved. “Jesus Christ.” She whispered, mainly to herself, but Jane chuckled under her breath at the exasperation in her tone.
“So who’s this girl you wanna apologize to, anyway? Is it someone I know?” Steve finally turned away from Mike, restocking shelves Jane saw him bump into and knock over earlier in his speech.
“Uh, it’s uh—” Mike hesitated, turning into himself most likely to prepare for Steve’s reaction when he realized it was a “friend” apology, and not a “boyfriend” apology, although Jane was positive they were the same thing for Mike. “It’s… it’s Will…” He said quietly, so quietly that Steve had to incline his head closer to hear it.
“It’s what?” Steve asked, his eyebrows raised in a curiosity that implied he heard Mike the first time, but was just making sure he heard it correctly. “Who?”
“Will! It’s Will, okay?” Mike shouted, clearly louder than he intended, from the way he immediately shied away in embarrassment after.
“Will— like, Byers? Will Byers?” Steve queried, turning around to look at Robin for help in a way Jane couldn’t understand. Why was he looking at her? He should be looking at the only other gay people in the room, Jane or Max!
Robin rolled her eyes and shooed Steve away, as if to say he picked this battle and now he has to fight it.
Steve reluctantly turned around. “Uh, okay, Will Byers! Well, I mean, me personally, I’ve never dated a dude—”
“He’s definitely thought about it!” Robin chimed in, unhelpfully.
“We’ve all thought about it!”
“Not me.” Robin shook her head.
"Okay, well that's—"
“Me neither.” Max shrugged, finally joining in on the Tom Foolery bestowed upon Family Video at a shockingly early time in the morning.
“I certainly have not.” Dustin raised his arm up, signalling his response.
Steve, definitely just desperate for one singular win, looked at Jane with a plea that screamed ‘Just help me!’
Jane shrugged. “I did not ever picture myself with Mike, it just kind of happened.”
Mike shook his head silently, cursing under his breath.
Meanwhile everyone else laughed, including Steve, whose shoulders finally loosened and dropped down from his ears.
“Okay, well, whatever. Point is, it can’t be that different for him. I mean—” Steve grimaced, throwing a look Max and Jane’s way that asked ‘Is he serious?’ or ‘Does he not know his boyfriend is literally gay?’
He was unsure what to say to poor, hopeless Mike, and he sure as hell was going to tread as lightly as possible. “You know, just show up for him. Be nice. Give him that look, do that thing with your voice, you’ll be back in no-time.”
“What look? What thing with my voice?” Mike spun on his heels, locking eyes with Dustin, who only laughed. “What? What thing? What are you talking about?” He turned again, looking at Jane now, who shrugged a shoulder and looked away, trying her hardest to hide her eyes from his truth-digging glare. “What thing?” Mike emphasized, and Steve slapped a hand down on his own thigh to draw attention.
“You know, Wheeler! Like when you get all pouty and your eyes start watering. Very cute, very… you. But literally any conversation you have with Will, your voice gets all mushy and sweet—”
“—And easy to stomach,” Max said through gritted teeth. She rolled her eyes, struggling to decide between two double-feature VHS’s in front of her.
“Just get both,” Jane inquired, trying to be as helpful as she knew how.
“We don’t have time to watch four movies.” Max gave Jane a look, one that said ‘just choose for me’.
So, Jane glanced down at the covers of both and pointed her finger at the one that didn’t have blood or violence on it; instead, the one with pretty girls and big pink bows around the edge.
Max paused, then sighed, putting her evil movie back on the shelf.
“It does not!” Mike protested, stepping away from Steve. He walked toward Robin and Dustin’s corner of the store, reaching his hand into the bag and stealing most of the remaining Fritos for himself.
“Dude!” Dustin complained, ripping the bag away from Mike’s wandering hand and stepping away from his personal space entirely. “Not cool, man. I bought these myself.”
Mike shrugged, swallowing the last of his chips.
“Uh, it totally does. It was like, actually shocking talking to you the first time.” Robin chimed in, leaning back on her heels and crossing her arms over her chest. She raised a skeptical eyebrow at Mike who was looking at her with the same intense glare, as if his eyes would disprove her statement. “Hearing you go from that sweet, innocent, ‘I just got done talking to Will Byers’ Mike Wheeler, to, you know, you.”
“I…” Mike shrugged. He slapped his hands on his thighs in a gesture that imitated Steve to a tee, slumping against the wall behind him. “That’s so stupid.”
You know what wasn’t just stupid, but hopelessly lame and annoying? Mike Wheeler barging into Hopper’s cabin well past midnight just to freak out about the aforementioned ‘non-issue’.
He slammed Jane’s bedroom door open, startling her and Max awake, and rambled on for nearly two full hours about not being able to find Will.
Apparently, after their little rendezvous at the video store, Mike went to Will’s house to finally apologize.
He knocked and knocked and knocked and finally someone opened, but it was only an exhausted Joyce who was in the middle of making lunch for her and Hopper. Mike asked if Will was home, Joyce shook her head, Mike asked where he was, Joyce said ‘no clue’, assuming he would’ve been with friends.
So, following this news, Mike, obviously, went all over town searching for the ‘missing’ Will Byers.
He checked Castle Byers first, obviously; nothing. So he biked into town, checked Melvald’s, peered into the school since the doors were locked for summer, and even went to the public library.
All places turned up the same outcome; Will Byers was nowhere to be found.
At the very least, with his disturbance, Mike brought Dustin to the cabin, who looked exhausted and tired of Mike’s antics the second he opened his mouth.
“I need a break,” Dustin mumbled, plopping down on the couch. He was sticky with sweat, and when he raised his arm to wipe his forehead, Max grimaced at the smell.
“—So that’s when I was thinking, what’s an easy solution we have right in front of us?” Mike was speaking like a teacher presenting on the most boring topics known to mankind. He stood in front of the TV, blocking anyone’s view of an actual productive night.
“What?” Max indulged, when she realized Mike was waiting for an answer from the audience.
“Jane!” Mike called out, gesturing to Jane with such suddenness that even she was startled, despite paying attention to the whole conversation.
“What?”
“Jane! You can use your static mind power thingy to locate Will! That way we won’t have to wait days for the police to find anything, we can just see where he is now!”
Max shook her head, getting to her feet. “Nuh-uh, no way. You’re not about to use my girlfriend for your little game.” She pressed toward Mike with a ferocity everybody else knew not to mess with.
Not Mike, apparently. “It’s not a game, Max, it’s life or death. Will could literally be drowning right now—”
“Does he not know how to swim?” Jane asked, concerned.
“He can swim, Mike’s just being an idiot.” Max pressed her fingers into Mike’s chest, pushing him backwards. “The door’s right behind you.”
“Hey, it’s a good idea!”
“Good?”
“I will do it.” Jane said, final in her answer. “I will help you find Will.”
So, here they are. Crowded around the TV’s static, the boys—and Max—eager to hear from Jane.
Jane, meanwhile, is sitting crossed-legged in front of her dad’s boxy TV, a black blindfold over her eyes and preparation pumping in her blood. She takes a deep breath, letting the static wash over her as she pictures Will in her mind.
After a moment of pause and anxious breathing from the group in front of her, an image begins to form in the darkness of Jane’s brain.
A bedroom; Lucas’s bedroom. The door is closed, the blinds drawn, and the bedsheets rumpled, pillows scattered across the floor.
At the end of the bed sits Lucas, leaning forward like whatever is in front of him is the most interesting thing in the world. And then, she spots him.
Will. Her brother, sitting in front of Lucas, his back slumped against the headboard, lips quirked up into a smile, eyes glancing between Lucas’s eyes and his mouth.
“What do you see? Have you found him?” Mike impatiently asks, his voice booming through Jane’s mind in a way that makes her want to roll her eyes.
“Yes.”
“What? Really? You have? Where is he?”
“With… Lucas. In his bedroom. On his bed.”
“What?” Mike’s voice reaches a new octave, one that he only hits when he’s extremely offended or confused or disturbed. “What are they doing? Are they just hanging out? Has Will been there this whole time?”
Jane shakes her head, unsure how to answer that question without needing to see more.
She steps closer, and Lucas and Will laugh about something she doesn’t hear.
They’re both smiling wide, but the second that laughter dies down, Lucas does something Jane never would have expected from him. From either of them.
Lucas places his hands on both of Will’s cheeks, and Will wraps his hands around Lucas’s neck. In the split second where Jane questions their close-contact, Lucas leans in and presses a quick peck to Will’s lips.
Jane furrows her eyebrows.
The boys pull away after an intimate moment, but the second there’s space between them, they burst out into another loud fit of laughter, like this kiss was the funniest thing ever. They take a second to regain composure, and Lucas shakes his hands out at his sides before they meet Will’s face again. He sighs, still smiling. “Okay. Okay, that was good. Let’s try again, though. Take it seriously this time, you know?”
Will takes his bottom lip between his teeth, nodding, a desire clouding his eyes that Jane has recognized on Max too many times to count.
Slowly, the boys lean back into each other, and this time, when their lips connect, it’s electric. Jane can feel the energy in the air, despite not even being there.
What starts as the quick peck they just shared quickly turns into mouths opening, heads tilting, teeth clamoring and noses bumping.
Will lets a breathy moan escape from his lips, his thumbs fidgeting behind Lucas’s head.
Lucas scooches closer to Will, like his hips are seeking any friction they can find.
Jane is stunned. Here she is, in Lucas’s bedroom, watching as he and her brother make out on his bed. Basically in front of Mike, Will’s platonic boyfriend. They are essentially cucking Mike Wheeler. What. The. Fuck.
She doesn’t want to watch. If anything, she wants to turn away and escape, but it’s like every thought left her mind at once the second Will started enjoying his friend’s lips on his. However, her jaw is on the floor.
Lucas moves even closer, until his knees are pressed against Will’s. He moves one of his hands from Will’s face and trails it over his neck, collarbone, chest, until he straightens it and presses a particularly bony forefinger into Will’s shoulder, making him chuckle.
He leans back against the pillows with ease, letting Lucas climb over him and trail his hand lower… and lower… teasing at Will’s belt—
Jane pulls the blindfold off her eyes with enough force to shatter a diamond. She is never going to be able to forget what she just saw.
Let alone that it’s Lucas, but it’s Will. William Byers. Her brother! She must be breathing heavily because Max is by her side in an instant, a hand on her shoulder, a thigh pressed to her thigh.
“Hey, it’s okay. What did you see? Is he okay?” Max asks, keeping her voice calm and gentle in the way Jane likes.
Dustin inclines forward, intensity radiating off his stare, but he doesn’t dare press the matters further if they really are that stressful.
“What did you see? What were they doing?” Mike asks, just as loud and intense as five minutes ago.
Jane gulps, knowing the answer won’t make Mike calmer. Matter of fact, it will probably only make him worse. Ten times, at least. “Um,” She squeaks. “Kissing.”
There’s a moment of pause in the room. Jane almost finds herself ridiculous for thinking this is so awkward, but after a second or two of silence, Max and Dustin burst out laughing, falling on their respective backs until they can’t even breathe.
But, Mike’s eyebrows are furrowed. He scoots forward until his and Jane’s knees are pressing. “Kissing? What the fuck do you mean ‘kissing’?” His face is bright red, Jane notices, which makes her chuckle, too.
Maybe this jealousy thing could be good for him. Finally whip him into shape, as Max likes to say sometimes.
Speaking of, Max, still on her back, is trying her hardest to form a sentence, but all the giggles in the world are eating her alive. Not a single coherent word leaves her lips, though her hands fly around slapping tables and hitting the side of the TV hysterically.
Jane lets her have her fun.
“Well,” She starts, shy, the laughter already making her forget what she saw, thank God. “Their hands were all over each other, and their lips were pressed together in a kiss,” Jane does the motion with her hands. “And—”
“No.” Mike shakes his head. “You must’ve— you must’ve seen it wrong. That wouldn’t… Will wouldn’t—” He’s a confused, blabbering mess. That makes Jane smile. Finally. “Where were they, again?”
“In Lucas's bed.” Jane says, matter-of-factly.
“Jesus Christ!” Mike is frustrated. He gets to his feet, slips his shoes on and grabs his coat from the back of a kitchen chair without missing a beat. Then, he rips the front door open and slams it behind him all before Dustin and Max can regain their composure.
“Oh boy, he’s doomed.” Max whispers, finally getting some of her voice back.
Dustin nods, pointing finger guns at the ceiling. “Yup.”
It doesn’t take much convincing for Jane to re-enter her mind palace, under the pretense of just being curious.
This time, she is going to see Mike confront his two best friends for kissing.
It is going to be juicy, and action-packed, and way better than any movie night she and Max could’ve planned, in Max’s words.
Jane completely disagrees. The last thing she’d ever want to do on any evening is watch her ex make-up and hopefully not make-out with her brother.
But apparently everyone else disagrees with her. Because her audience has upgraded to four.
Now, the couch is packed with Max, Dustin, Robin and Steve, all sharing one bowl of buttered popcorn like this really is the movies.
“So, where is he now?” Steve asks, mouth full of popcorn. It sounds like he’s barely chewing, which makes Jane grimace. She hears someone slap his arm. “Ow! Okay, jeez, shutting up now.” He says, exasperated.
Jane takes a deep breath, concentrating on Mike, and the path he might take to Lucas’s house.
After a moment, the picture is painted in her mind, and there she is. In front of the Sinclairs’ home, watching as Mike storms up the steps and knocks on the door with a fervor previously known for more serious events like war, or arguments heavier than 'sorry I care for you too much.'
The door opens, but Mike doesn’t find Lucas in front of him. No, instead, he finds Will.
The audience gasps, and Jane chuckles as conversation unfolds in front of her.
“Oh. Mike.” Will says, his voice rough in an ‘it’s early’ way, and surprisingly not an ‘I just made out with my best friend’ way. He looks Mike up and down, though his own hair is tousled and own clothes rumpled.
“Where’s Lucas?” Mike’s voice, however, is taut and tough like swallowing sandpaper. “I need to have a word with him.”
Will scoffs, Jane presumes, at Mike’s stupid intensity. “Uh, he’s just in his room.” Will steps out of the way, pointing his thumb back at the staircase behind him.
Without hesitation, Mike pushes past Will and storms into the house uninvited. He doesn’t even take his shoes or jacket off, which Jane is positive would send Lucas’s mother into a frenzy if she were home.
Jane follows him, and Will follows her, only unknowingly.
“Mike? What the hell are you doing here?” Lucas looks up from the comic book on his bed, his lips puffier than normal. He looks relaxed, but that only seems to anger Mike more.
“Were you kissing Will? You were, right? Kissing my best friend.” Mike raises his voice, and Will squeezes into the room, closing and locking the door behind him.
“Woah, what?” Lucas sits up straight, his eyes wide with disbelief, but he’s no longer looking at Mike. Instead, his eyes are behind Mike, searching Will’s face for a sign of what to say, what to do; anything that isn’t telling Michael Wheeler the truth.
“Okay, Mike, let’s just talk about this like adults. Please.” Will tries to plead, but Mike shakes his head, only stepping closer to Lucas.
Lucas shakes his head back, getting to his feet so he can really get in Mike’s face. “No! No, he has no right to be up in our business like this!”
“So you’re admitting it?” Mike raises an eyebrow and Lucas.
Lucas raises his hands and dramatically slaps them down on his thighs. They land so hard, even Will winces from behind Mike. “Oh, my God! Yes, Mike! We kissed! What do you even care?” Lucas chuckles as he rambles, and when he meets Will’s eyes again, Jane notices both of them are smiling.
“I—” Mike pauses, as if mulling over the words he’s kept pent-up inside probably his whole life.
It’s why Jane dumped him, it’s why he cares for Will as deeply as he does, and yet there is not enough time in the universe for Mike to accurately express how he feels about this boy because he’s repressed it for so long.
So, he has two options. Try and condense it into a ten-second speech of all the clumsy ‘I love you’s and ‘I can’t live without you’s, or lie.
Or, just leave. But Jane is positive that last one isn’t even on the table.
“It doesn’t concern you, Lucas.” Mike snaps. Okay, secret fourth option. More repression. Good. Heading in a great direction, Mike!
“No?” Lucas raises an eyebrow, stepping past Mike to stand beside Will. He snakes an arm around his best friend’s waist, but something in his eye screams more ‘friendly’ than jealous.
Jane knows jealousy, and he’s a boy named Mike Wheeler she once convinced herself she loved.
Not even a second later, Will breaks. Though he’s blushing redder than a strawberry, he bursts out into that vibrant laughter he’s known for, nearly doubling over until Lucas’s arm drops. “Oh my God, this is so stupid. He was just helping me practice, Mike. I haven’t kissed anyone before, so…”
Mike furrows his eyebrows until they arch upwards worriedly. “Well… why couldn’t you just come to me?”
“We were in a fight!”
“That doesn’t matter! Even Steve would be a better choice than Lucas!”
“Hey!” Lucas raises his arms, surprised at the sudden insult. “What the fuck, man?” He’s smiling, however, which causes Mike to throw him a half-sympathetic, half ‘you’ll get over it’ look.
“Just…” Mike starts, turning so his whole body is facing Will now. “Kiss me next time, okay?” He places a kind hand on Will’s shoulder, squeezing gently.
“What?” Will whispers flatly, like that was the last thing he ever expected to come out of Mike’s mouth. “Mike.”
“Oh my God, just tell him, Will!” Lucas palms his face, turning away from both helpless boys with a sigh that downturns the entire angle of his spine.
“What?” Mike’s head snaps up. “Tell me what?”
“Mike—” Will starts.
Lucas shakes his head, interrupting him. “He was practicing for you! Oh my God, why am I always at the center of this?” He steps back, opening his door and pausing in the doorway to continue his heartfelt speech. “You know what, I’m just gonna go deep-clean the kitchen. Make whatever mess of my room you want, but you’re cleaning it up tomorrow.” Then, he leaves, closing the door behind him.
Will waits until Lucas’s footsteps recede to laugh again, clutching his stomach as the joy shakes his whole body.
But Mike isn’t laughing. He barely looks half amused. “Was… is… I mean, is he telling the truth? Is that true?” Mike gulps, his Adam’s apple visibly bobbing in his throat. Will’s eyes are on it the whole time. “You were practicing for me?”
“Well—” Will shrugs a shoulder, keeping only one eye open like it would soften the blow if Mike isn’t gay. Jane smiles, knowing her brother has nothing to worry about. “I don’t know, Mike, I guess so.”
“You guess so, or you know so?”
“Why are you making this so hard for me?” Will’s voice drops to something a bit louder than a whisper, but not quite his normal talking voice.
“Am I?” Mike steps closer, and surprisingly, his hands find Will’s shoulders and rest there, at least semi-confidently.
Will flushes red immediately.
“Aw, he’s blushing? That’s adorable!” Dustin’s booming voice cuts through Jane’s concentration, and she misses the next thing Will says. She grimaces.
“Shh, shut up! We’re getting to the good part!” Robin mumbles, chewing a handful of her popcorn loudly.
“Okay, okay! Jeez!” Dustin clears his throat, and then silence is all that follows.
Jane sighs, willing her mind to get back into it.
Will and Mike are standing so close now, their breaths are intertwining.
Mike’s hand has moved up to cup Will’s cheeks, and Will’s lips are parted in waiting for Mike’s next move.
“Was he a good kisser?” Mike asks, his voice low and husky.
Will scoffs. "I don’t know, I’ve never kissed anyone else. Maybe… maybe you could help me with that.”
“Maybe I could.” Mike is smiling now, in a way that almost looks like a smirk from Jane’s angle.
Then, in the blink of an eye, he does. He closes his eyes and surges forward, wrapping Will in a comforting embrace and pressing their lips together.
It’s a hard, desperate plea for freedom at first, like Mike is testing the waters for chemistry between them, but the longer their kiss lasts, the more relaxed he becomes, and the better their mouths connect.
Will presses back against Mike’s sudden, passionate force, and as the kiss turns open-mouthed and wet and moan-y, Will pushes Mike back onto Lucas’s bed, climbing over him like a monkey that’s been dropped in the middle of a forest.
“Oh, God, Will—” Mike moans, his hands roaming his best friend’s body; through his hair, under his shirt, and finally landing on his belt.
He tugs and tugs until the accessory is pulled free. His needy fingers pop the button to Will’s pants open while he runs his tongue over Will’s bottom lip, taking the flesh into his mouth and sucking slightly.
“Mike…” Will breathes into the kiss. His arms brace against the bed, trapping Mike beneath him.
Mike nods, like he knows something Jane doesn’t, and his hand slips down past Will’s pants waistband, into his boxers—no. Nope.
Jane reaches for her blindfold in the real world, tugging it down past her eyes and dropping it into her lap.
When she looks up at the audience in front of her, the popcorn bowl now just an empty bowl, everyone is staring at her expectantly, but she can’t keep her cool.
She giggles then laughs, tilting her head back and finally understanding Max and Dustin’s earlier hysteria.
Slowly, Max and Robin join in, as if they understand what Jane’s chuckles imply despite not having any clear image of it.
Dustin huffs and puffs a lame excuse of a laugh, but it’s lack-lustre enough to get Steve joining in on the fun, and soon all five of them are having way more fun than any double-feature movie night could’ve ever brought them.