wasn't it obvious? [byler]

part 15. Will

I arrive at school a little late this morning. I walk into class and immediately notice the absence of Mike. I slide into my seat, set my bag down, and turn to one of the guys that sit behind Mike and I.

"Hey, do you know where Mike is?" I ask Alex

I wouldn't say I'm friends with Alex but we talk every once in a while. He's super smart so he'll occasionally help me.

"No, sorry. Nice shirt." He responds, looking up for only a moment

I turn back around and look down at my shirt, it's new.

[at break]

I walk up to Lucas and Dustin at our usual meeting spot. Max is also here, she's showing Lucas some comics while Dustin is looking over his shoulder to get a glimpse of what's happening.

"Hey, guys." I say

"Oh my god, are you okay? What happened?" Lucas says, running up to me

Dustin gets up too, Max gives me a slight wave.

"Uh... yeah I'm fine. Sometimes I just remember things, you know? I'm okay now though, don't worry." I respond while walking up to the table and sitting down

"We were trying to talk to you on the radios all night!" Dustin says

"I'm sorry, I turned it off. Plus, I wasn't home for a bit after I left." I say

Lucas and Dustin are both sitting down now. I know they won't push it. I feel bad when I can't tell them about these things. I know they won't understand but I honestly don't want to tell them either. They already think I could just break at any time, telling them will make it worse.

"So... Do you guys know where Mike is?" I finally ask

They all look at me, Max included. Lucas and Dustin have a sort of disgusted look on their faces.

"Why does it matter? He's being an idiot." Lucas states

"What do you mean?" I question

"We really only cared what was happening with you last night but... Mike was being a dick. He kept scoffing at everything we did for no reason! He needs to realize that not everything is done by him." Lucas says

"Yeah. I don't exactly know what's up with you and I won't pry but jeez. He needs to get his head out of his ass." Max responds

"Yeah, but Will, we don't even care about Mike. We just want to make sure you're alright." Dustin says, Lucas nods his head in agreement

"I'm alright you guys. Thank you." I respond

I didn't realize they felt like this. I get it but we're a party. We all care for each other and we all need to be there for each other. We need to care about where Mike is and why he isn't here. You can be mad at someone, but after everything we've been through, someone missing is not something to take lightly, even if they're just gone from school.

We sit at the table, and Lucas, Dustin, and Max have moved on and are now talking about music.

"Ew no, I hate her." I hear Dustin say

"YOU HATE KATE BUSH??" Lucas and Max say simultaneously

They talk for a little while longer, letting me join in whenever I feel fit.

The bell for class rings. As we're packing up, Lucas and Dustin come up to me.

"Is it cool if we invite Max to lunch? It's okay if you want it to be just us though." Lucas says

"Sure, she's pretty cool," I say

They share a look, we then walk over to Max and they ask her.

I can tell that Dustin is backing off a little more, letting Lucas spend more time with her.

Max nods and smiles, and we all walk to class.

[at lunch]

Max and I are sitting across from each other. I've never had a full conversation with her but she's awesome.

We talk about Mrs. Wallow and how she's a horrible math teacher, we argue about the best superhero, which is obviously spiderman, she talks about California, and I talk about Hawkins before she arrived. I also talk about how lame Lucas and Dustin were and still are.

It's a great lunch...even without Mike.

I forget about him for the majority of lunch. It's not that I don't want him here, more that it's easier to meet new people. He's very protective over all of us, but I wish he could see how cool Max is.

It's going to be fun having someone around, maybe I would've thought the same thing about El.