𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 ~ 𝐛𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐫

22

After class ended, Mike grabbed Darren by the arm and led him to the bathroom. "So.. what's up?" Darren asked.

"Nothing much." Mike responded awkwardly.

"What.. did you want to ask?" Darren said pulling a lighter out of his pocket and playing with it.

"Uh.. does Will like you?" Mike asked.

"What?" Darren responded. "Are you serious, Mike?"

"Yes." Mike started, "I don't want to assume.. but I see the way he acts around you.."

"And.. how does he act?" Darren asked.

"Like.. he's so much more comfortable with you than he is with me." Mike responded.

"You really think that.. Will Byers.. Will.. Byers.. would be comfortable around his crush?" Darren responded slowly, trying to get what he was saying through Mike's head.

"Well.. shit.. I don't know? Maybe he's good at hiding it?" Mike responded. Darren stopped playing with his lighter and gave Mike a dumbfounded look.

"You are the most oblivious person on the planet." Darren said. Mike gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?" Mike responded.

"Just think about what I said. Would Will Byers really be comfortable around somebody he liked?" Darren asked. Mike thought about it.

"I don't know.. God, I don't even know if he likes guys, why am I asking you this?" Mike said rhetorically.

"I don't know, man." Darren responded, a knowing smirk on his face. He knew Will obviously didn't like him, but he also could tell something going on with Mike. Mike looked down. "But, if and when you know, I'm here to talk." Darren started, he walked up to Mike and patted him on the shoulder before walking out. Mike sighed, putting his hands on his head in frustration. The bell rang again, signaling the start of the next period.

"What the hell am I doing?" He whispered to himself as he looked in the mirror. He thought about everything that was going through his mind. "Shit."

At lunch everyone sat down in their usual spots, Mike came and sat in between El and Will.

"Hey, Mike, where were you yesterday?" Dustin asked as he sat down.

"Oh just in the library.. thinking." He replied.

"About?" Max asked.

"Just.. stuff." Mike responded. He held El's hand under the table, making her smile, but he felt barely anything. Max nodded. "Yeah, wasn't having the best day yesterday."

"Oh yeah, are you going to tell me what was going on?" El asked, looking at Mike. Mike looked at her before nodding.

"Of course." Mike responded. He glanced at Will, who seemed to be more interested in studying than what was going on.

"Are you coming to the movies?" Lucas asked. Mike nodded.

"Yeah, Will told me about it." Mike replied. Will, suddenly hearing his name, glanced up a bit before going back to studying.

"Oh, you guys are talking again?" Dustin asked. Will looked up in alarm as Darren kicked Dustin's leg under the table. "Uh.. ow?" Darren glanced at him as if to say 'shut up.' Lucas put his head in his hands. Everyone had noticed what was going on for the past couple of days except El, and the awkwardness of it made this whole situation worse. El looked at Mike and Will in confusion as everyone shared glances around the table.

"You two.. haven't been talking?" El asked.

"We're talking now.. I just didn't talk to him that much because of.. stuff." Will responded, trying to erase El's confusion.

"Oh.." El responded, now more confused. Max glanced at El then back at Will and Mike.

"Will's just been stressed and needed a bit of space, that's all." Mike said suddenly. Will looked up a bit.

"Well.. that makes sense I guess." El said smiling a bit. Max and Darren glared at Dustin, and Mike noticed. He glanced at Will, who had just gone back to studying.

"Hey! What is everyone wearing to prom?" Lucas asked, trying to break the silence.

"Wait, when is that?" Mike asked. He had totally forgotten that prom was coming up.

"Are you being serious?" El asked.

"Your girlfriend is literally a prom queen nominee." Max added.

"I just.. forgot what day it was. That's all." Mike responded awkwardly.

"Like a month from now." Lucas said.

"Ohh makes sense." Mike responded. Max rolled her eyes.

"Anyways.." Max started, "I still don't know."

"Same." Lucas said shaking his head.

"Me too." Will said.

"Well, since I'm a prom king nominee, I'm going with a royal blue suit." Dustin said smiling. El laughed.

"Nice." She responded.

"I'm probably just gonna wear the suit I have in my closet." Darren said.

"I don't know what I'm wearing yet." Mike said.

"Oh, you can come with me, Max, and Lucas. We're going shopping Sunday." El started before looking at Will, "You too Will."

"Oh.. um okay." Will said quickly smiling at El before going back to studying. Mike nodded, leaning back in his seat. He let go of El's hand and just kind of held himself. El looked at him then looked down sadly.

"El, do you know what you want to wear yet?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know yet, but I do want to wear something purple." El replied.

"Purple would look great on you!" Max said smiling, El smiled back excitedly. Mike's eyes landed on Will as everyone else excitedly continued talking about prom. He didn't even know if he wanted to go anymore, but at the same time he wanted to support El and Dustin. He looked down, his head was turning and starting to hurt. He turned to El and tapped her shoulder.

"Hey.. uh.. I'm gonna head to class early, my head's starting to hurt." He whispered .

"Oh, okay!" El responded smiling. Mike reached down and lightly squeezed her hand, before he grabbed his tray and began to get up. El grabbed his arm, stopping him. "Oh when are you going to tell me about the thing that was bothering you?"

"I'll come over after school, kay?" He responded. El nodded. He grabbed his tray and threw it away before grabbing his bag and leaving. Everyone at the table looked at Mike in confusion as he left. El looked back at everyone who was now looking at her.

"Oh, his head hurts, so he's heading to class early." El said. Everyone nodded.

"Ah, okay." Max said, continuing to talk to Lucas and Dustin. El looked down, she could tell something was up, but she didn't know what, and she didn't want to ask him. She also knew that if she wanted him to be honest she needed to be honest as well. The truth was, something had been bothering her the past few months, and it was eating her up inside.

A few months ago, something had happened.

To be continued..