𝗙𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗲 ❦ | 𝗕𝘆𝗹𝗲𝗿

★★★★★

      A MONTH had gone by and for once in Will's life, everything had felt normal. El and Hopper had moved in with the Byers, in a newer and bigger house. Max was slowly, but surely, recovering in the hospital. She was still sort of out of it, but could hold up a very light conversation.

      The Byers' got some of their possessions back from Lenora, but a lot of it was destroyed in the shooting. Luckily, a good majority of Will's painting and art supplies made it out okay. Speaking of which, he had started on a new painting that he was sure Mike would like. The only downside though, is that it's a struggle painting with only one hand, but the accidental streaks of paint that were added onto his cast created a since of "style".

      Things between him and Mike were interesting, to say the least. Mike and El had talked and decided that they worked better as friends, and that they had both realized they loved each other, just not romantically. Yeah, Mike and Will had basically confessed their feelings for each other, but nothing really changed between them besides the fact that they called themselves "boyfriends" instead of "best friends". Will preferred it this way, and so did Mike.

      Jonathan and Nancy had talked things out, and they both decided to follow their own dreams. Still, they would try their hardest to visit each other, but for now they were taking a break until college was over. For the meantime, though, they had some time to spend together until they had to leave for college.

      Currently, Will was in his new bedroom, attempting to continue his painting. Eventually, the struggle became too annoying as he sat everything down and looked at his watch. He still had a bit of time until he had to meet Mike, so he decided to run by somewhere and get his boyfriend a gift. He rushed out of his room and downstairs into the living room where his mother was sat along with Hopper.

      "Hey, uh, random question," Will started, gaining the attention of both of the adults on the couch. "What's a good gift to give someone? Like, a casual gift." He asked, watching as his mother thought for a moment.

      "Hmm..." She verbalized before continuing. "I think maybe some candy or flowers is a pretty easy gift to give someone." She suggested as Will nodded, a slight smile forming on his face.

      "Thanks, mom!" He thanked her before turning away to leave. Before he could do so, though, he was interrupted by Hopper.

      "Hey, wait! This better not be about Mike. I swear that son of a bitch keeps trying to weasel his way into my family." His face was filled with annoyance at just the thought of  the boy. Will simply rolled his eyes before taking off, not giving an answer. He hurried to grab his bike, taking off in the direction of a nearby store.

      Once he got there he looked for some candy or flowers, and ended up finding both. There were some pretty blue flowers wrapped in a very delicate ribbon. Along with that were many other colors, but the blue stick out the most. For the candy, he grabbed one of those bags of fancy chocolates since he didn't want to take too long and end up being late.

      After buying what he wanted, he got onto his bike and took off towards the movie theater to meet up with Mike. Not long after arriving there, he saw the raven haired boy approaching him with a huge smile plastered on his face.

      "I see you're early," Mike pointed out, his attention being drawn to the objects in Will's hands. "What's that?" He asked. Will took a deep breath before stretching his arms out in front of him, showing him what they were.

      "I got these for you..." Will started out, looking away. He felt the objects being gently taken from his hands before he turned back to face the boy in front of him.

      "Really? Thank you... But you know you don't have to get me anything, Will. These flowers are beautiful, but they must've cost a decent amount of money." Mike said, examining the blue flowers.

      "I know I don't have to, but I wanted to. Now come on, we're gonna miss the movie if we just stand out here talking." Will said, grabbing Mike's wrist and dragging him into the theater.

      The two were going to watch a reshowing of Children Of The Corn, since Mike had insisted upon the fact that he wouldn't even get scared by it at all. Will, of course, didn't believe this, but he still took Mike up on his challenge. Now the two of them were seeing who would get the most scared of the movie.

      About 30 minutes later, the two had their snacks and were sitting together watching the movie. From what the brunette could tell, the raven haired boy was already scared of the extremely religious murder children. As more time went on, Will had felt Mike grab onto his hand tightly every few minutes and looking like he was about to cry. Both boys already knew who had won the challenge since it was very obvious that Mike was terrified.

      After the movie had finished and they both exited the building, Mike looked absolutely traumatized. "I just don't understand! How do you not think kids living in a cornfield that kill people is scary?" Mike asked, waving his hands around with a bewildered expression. Will laughed a bit and shrugged.

      "I never said it wasn't scary, it just wasn't the scariest thing I've ever seen. Trust me, I've seen scarier." Will joked as Mike rolled his eyes. The two both got on their bikes and started heading in the direction of their next destination, which was Will's house. "Just so you know, Hopper's convinced you're trying to weasel your way into our family." Will told him, the wind pushing through his hair and his skin.

      "What? I swear that man's crazy." Mike shook his head as he laughed along with Will, eventually making it to the house. Will quietly snuck Mike inside so that way Hopper wouldn't know he was there and question both of them. To their surprise, neither of them got caught sneaking back into the house and into Will's room.

      "Before you even ask, you can't look at the painting. It's supposed to be a surprise." Will reminded the other boy as he sat down on his bed. Mike rolled his eyes and sat down next to him.

      "Fine, fine. It's whatever." He attempted to sound like he didn't care, but Will could tell otherwise. Will reached for Mike's hand, who gladly accepted.

      "Just be patient, you'll get to see it eventually," He started, giving Mike a smile. "Besides, wouldn't you rather spend time with me than a painting?"

      "Yes, I would." Mike answered, his eyes quickly glancing at Will's lips and then back up. Will picked up on that and felt his heart rate go faster. It was now or never, so he slowly inched closer. Mike did the same thing. Before they knew it, their eyes were closed and their lips were connected.

      It didn't last very long, only a second or two. Nonetheless, both boys sat there smiling wide as they pulled away, sharing a heartfelt laugh together.