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will was tinier than he remembered. still, taller, perhaps standing around five foot six or seven. mike, who was three inches over six feet, had to look down at him. he practically had to stoop to his level.
but will was also prettier than he remembered. like that was even possible. his whole existence was an aesthetic in itself. he had this look that wasn't of this world. like he was longing for something— his head was in a fantasy world, a land far far away. this child-like innocence and wild imagination showed in his lost eyes. will reminded mike of a small woodland creature, like a deer or a rabbit.
"so, we just don't exist now?" max inquired with a laugh.
"come on, max, you really ruined the moment," lucas snarled, the redhead snorting in response.
will turned his head immediately, hair swishing in his face.
"i've missed you all," he said quietly, "so much."
the group thought they would melt.
"will come here you adorable thing," el said standing up to hug him. the rest of the group followed suit.
"and with that, the party is complete," dustin said nuzzling his face into lucas's neck in the group hug.
mike awkwardly lingered on the outside of the group hug, wishing he was the one closest to will instead of el and dustin.
what am i thinking, mike said, i'm not here to get back with him. he probably has someone anyways.
will was thinking the same thing.
"what do you guys wanna do," said el, "we still have how much time until the new year?"
mike checked his watch. 10:21. "like an hour and a half."
"i'm sick of the mall, the nostalgia's great but i think we should go somewhere nice and quiet so it can be just us," dustin suggested, while lucas tried to braid sections of his hair (he failed miserably).
"yeah same, it's loud and filled with dumb teenagers in here," said max.
"we were once just like these dumb teenagers, max," said will with a giggle.
"yeah but not anymore so we can talk as much shit about them as we want."
"max," mike deadpanned, "you still have the vocabulary of a dumb teenager."
