𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐔𝐬 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 ; ᴹᶦᵏᵉ ᵂʰᵉᵉˡᵉʳ

Suzie, Do You Copy?

06/28/1985

"No.. I think this looks better."

"Yeah, you're right. Mine looks kinda stupid."

"No shit, Sherlock."

Ian and Mike unanimously agree that the brunette has more of an artistic ability than the raven haired boy as they throw Mike's creation away. The two were trying to put together a 'Welcome Home' poster for Dustin. The curly haired dweeb came back from camp the next day, and the party was planning to throw him a little surprise. Mike pulls a box of old colored pencils from his nightstand, bringing it back to the floor where Ian sat.

Say You Love Me Or Say Goodnight plays over the vinyl spinning in the record player on Mike's dresser, adding some comforting ambiance to the room. It was already 9:00pm, the curtains were still open from the daytime, revealing a starry sky outside. The two boys didn't even realize they were running late to see Day Of The Dead with their friends. They spent most of the time making out anyways, they barely got anywhere because Mike couldn't stop being all touchy.

"Do you just wanna do this yourself? I'm the geek, not the artist." Mike complains

"No." Ian deadpans, "You're helping out whether you want to or not. It'll still look amazing. Like you" he finishes, kissing Mike on the lips really quick

"Okay, okay" Mike smiles with an eye roll. He opens the box of pencils and spills them onto the floor.

A staticy noise interrupts the two, a voice emitting from the walkie talkie on the floor next to Ian's backpack. He grabs at it, hearing Lucas repetitively calling his name.

"Ian. Ian. Ian." Lucas sighs, "You're late. Pick up. Ian. Ian. Ian."

Ian flicks the mic on, glancing at Mike before replying to Lucas over the radio.

"Sorry, Luke. We were.. uh.." he looks to Mike for an answer

Mike takes the walkie talkie from Ian's hand, "Heyyy, Lucas! We're leaving now, my mom was bothering us about Holly" he lies, standing up as he fights to get his shoes on with one foot.

"Uh huh." Lucas hums, "Get here. Quick. We're not waiting."

"Yes, sir!" Ian exhales, hearing Max shout from the background.

"We're missing Will's previews!"

Ian grabs his backpack, tying his shoes as Mike tosses the walkie into his backpack. He opens the door for Ian, giving him a kiss as they walk out into the hall. Ian waves to Nancy as she slowly exits her room, trying to fish something out of her purse, probably her car keys.

The two boys descend the stairs, yelling a 'goodbye' and 'see you later' to Mrs. Wheeler as they leave through the front door. They grab their bikes from where they left them in the front yard and kick off, heading to Starcourt to meet Lucas, Will, and Max.

The two talk about how being closeted queers really sucks, as per usual. Even though Ian was basically out to the party already, Mike wasn't. Even if they were out about their identities and relationships, they had a higher chance of being hated by their family and friends, which was something they couldn't lose right now.

Nothing much had changed since the past November. El and Mike still talked on a regular basis, still friends. Lucas and Max were still together but broke up practically every week. Will was still a lonely, slowly maturing 14 year old, regularly playing D&D with the party when he could. Dustin was still the nerd he always was, attending science camp at Camp Know Where for the second year in a row now. Ian basically lived at the Wheeler's, though recently, he had been staying at his own home with his bully of a sister. Every time he'd leave and come back and she was there, he got either slapped across the face or called a queer or a faggot. Not the best for his mental health, as he was already stressing about people finding out about him and Mike.