love makes you crazy |byler|

3.

despite being the furthest from the others, dustin arrived first. steve probably sped, if you were to be honest.

"okay, look, i know you don't actually have school work to do, huh." dustin was always good at telling when someone is lying.

"okay, and what if i don't?"

"avoiding will won't stop your feelings from growing stronger. you know that, right?"

"that's not what i'm doing." mike was gonna add more, but then will and lucas both showed up, along with max.

"we should play truth or dare." dustin suggested.

"why would we do that." max asked.

"why not, it would be fun." will chimes in.

"okay okay, fine, let's lay truth or dare." mike sighed.

"okay okay, will, truth or dare?" dustin asked.

"uh, truth." will responds.

"loser, anyway, do you like anyone?"

the room was silent, you could hear everyone's breathing, the room was dead quiet for about a few minutes.

"yes."

it would be a lie if mike said he didn't feel butterflies in his stomach, not knowing if it was nerves or excitement cause there's a very small possibility that will could like him back.

"i bet its that new girl jane." max joked.

"y-yeah, i could see them together." mike said with a chuckle, but you could tell that it hurt him to say it.

"stop, no i don't like her, okay?" will said.

"someone's getting defensive." max said teasingly.

wills face turned red from embarrassment.

"okay, okay anyway, uh mike, truth or dare." will said.

"dare, i'm no pussy."

"tell everyone who you like." will said.

"oh, um." mike got visibly anxious, his face turned paler than it already is. he looked like a ghost and he was shaking.

"oh shit- mike, are you okay?" dustin, who was the closest to him, so he notced first, wrapped him in a hug but mike flinched.

"d-don't touch me, please. let go." mike raised his voice. he was never fond of people touching him without permission.

"you don't have to answer it, but at least tell us if we know them." will said, feeling bad for the dare he gave mike.

"okay, uh, yeah you guys do know them." he wasn't looking at any specific person when he said it.

"okay."

"max, truth or dare." mike said.

"truth."

"do you like lucas?"

the game went on like that. they had fun, laughing and joking around. they were being kids. the party finally went home and he was alone, with his thoughts. all his thoughts.

mike, currently laying in the fetal position, hears a knock at his door.

"who is it?" he said, barely above a whisper, barely loud enough for whoever is at his door to hear.

"it's nancy, can i come in?"

"even if i say no you'll come in anyway." he gets up, hair a mess and opens his bedroom door. "what do you want? i'm tired."

"i call bullshit."

"may i help you?" mike said, not meaning to sound rude but it came out that way.

"did you have fun with your friends earlier?" she responded with a question. she's honestly not phased by mikes tone cause she's used to it.

"i guess so. it wasn't any different than any other time i hung out with them. why do you care?" for no reason, mike felt annoyed, he doesn't know why but he just does.

"cause you're my younger brother, mike. also its time for dinner." she said changing the subject with her last sentence

"i'm not hungry right now, save me some for later." he knows he not going to eat it but he says it anyway.

"okay." nancy walks out of his room, leaving her younger brothers door open on her way out.

"you do this every damm time." mike says under his breath, closing the door.

***

it's the weekend. nancy at work, his mom and dad is who knows where, and mike is stuck babysitting his younger sister holly.

he isn't going to lie, he sometimes wishes that he got at least half the attention she did. his parents seem to only care when he gets into some kind of trouble, the only person he can really talk to about anything is nancy, but that was when she didn't have a job. she's home less now and he misses her around, not that he'll admit it, he loves his sisters, he kinda loves his mother, but he absolutely hates his dad.

"i'm always stuck taking care of you. i'm not mad, but i wanted to hang out with my fiends. why can't they hire an actual babysitter?" mike says more to himself than holly, but that gives him an idea.

"steve, can you babysit my sister i wanna go to the arcade." mike says over the phone.

"why does nancy need babysat?" steve says confused. he's not the brightest but he's okay.

"no idiot, holly needs babysat."

"ohhh, okay yeah, are you paying me?"

"not a dime." mike laughed, "but i won't tell and neither of us get in trouble. hurry."

"okay okay." they both hang up the phone.

mike holds his pointer finger to his lips and holly does it back, signaling that neither will tell that mike leaves. when steve came in, mike says bye and leaves for the arcade as the party is waiting for him cause they go to the arcade every weekend and sometimes after school.

"i can't tell him how i feel, he wouldn't understand. he's not like me, dustin." will says.

"you won't know until you ask him." lucas said

"you guys wouldn't understand, okay it's not like you guys are in love with your best friend, so until you are, you can't tell me to not overreact."

dustins eyes got wide, not because of what will said but because mike was standing there, he heard everything.

"will, what's going on?"