it's my feeling we'll win in the end

Chapter 6: rain keeps falling

Thunder booms overhead and a cold wind rips through the trees. Will can feel panic swelling in his chest and sobs rising in his throat as he runs after his friend. Mike reaches his bike and is picking it up from where he's dropped it on the ground when Will reaches him and places a hand on his shoulder.

"Mike, please-" he starts, before his hand is slapped away. He tries again, with a shaky voice, "Can we please just talk for a minute?" Mike whips around to face him.

" Talk , Will? About what?" he spits. His face is red and despite the rain, those are undeniably tears in his eyes. Will is taken back for a second. He had been expecting the yelling and the anger, but he wasn't prepared for this... this hurt on Mike's face.

"I... I want to explain-"

"Explain? Oh I don't think you need to," he says and his voice cracks. "I think I understand perfectly , Will."

"No, Mike, you don't!"

"I just saw you kissing Eleven, Will! What's not to understand!"

"No, I..." He searches for something he can say, something that might be able to undo this. Fuck. He can only think of one thing that really can. And that's telling the truth. He takes a deep breath. "Okay look... do you remember that fight we had earlier this summer? When all that mind-flayer stuff was going on?"

"Are you really bringing that up right now? If this is your petty way of getting back at me-" Will shakes his head and cuts him off.

"Mike, do you remember what you said to me during our fight?" Mike rolls his eyes.

"Will, I already apologized for that. If you-"

"What did you say to me that day?" This earns him another teary eye-roll. "Say it, Mike."

"I said... I said that it wasn't my fault you didn't like girls." He winces at the memory of his own cruel words. But then his anger comes back to him and he raises his voice, "But obviously I was wrong about you not liking girls, wasn't I? You just pretty clearly proved me wrong." He laughs bitterly. Will takes a shaky breath.

"No, you were... right. You were right ."

"I just saw you making out with my ex-girlfriend, Will! What are you talking about, you don't-"

" Mike ," he says meaningfully, staring up at his friend through tears. He doesn't think he can bear it if he has to say it aloud again, so he just waits for Mike to connect the dots on his own. After a minute, he sees his friend's eyes widen in recognition.

"Oh," Mike says, the rage his face had held a minute ago suddenly replaced by surprise. "But Will-'' he starts, but just then they hear the sound of tires on gravel and a second later they're both blinded by a pair of headlights.

Hopper steps out of the truck and slams the door. He seems surprised to see the two boys here, standing with their bikes in the middle of a downpour.

"Oh, hey kids. The power went out at the station and I was just coming to check on El. Are you two... coming inside for a visit?"

"We were just leaving," they say in synchrony. Hopper looks down at their bikes dubiously.

"On your bikes? In this?" he gestures to the torrential rain around them. They nod. "Uh yeah, no. Come in and dry off. We can play a board game or something and wait out the storm."

"No!" blurts out Mike.

"Uh, we both need to be getting home now, actually," explains Will. He lifts his own bike from the ground and moves to get on.