One and Only (Byler)

'Hello?'

Will Byers sat on top of his bed with his legs crossed and his head bent in concentration, squinting at the finished sketch on his lap. Jonathan was in the kitchen, looking over his sheaf of photos spread out on the table, and giving the occasional glance towards Will's bedroom door.

Joyce had gone shopping with Hopper, and probably wouldn't be back for a couple of hours, and El had joined them to pick out an outfit for her date with Mike. So the house was quieter than usual, at least until the phone rang. Jonathan gave a loud and exaggerated sigh, looking over to the phone.

"Could you get that, Will?" he called, turning back to the hall, where the phone continued to ring. Will did not respond. "Please?" he added, and Will surfaced from his room, appearing mildly annoyed. "Why me, you're closest," he retorted, but went to go pick up the phone anyway.

"Hello?" he said, and the voice on the other side replied almost immediately. "Hey Will, it's Mike, I was just wondering whether you could maybe come over to help me pick out an outfit for my date with El?" Mike asked, stumbling over his words. Will's heart gave a hopeful jolt, and he was suddenly glad that he was the one who had picked up the phone.

"Of course, but why can't you come over to mine instead?" There was a crashing noise on Mike's end, and Will could faintly hear him curse under his breath. "I wish I could, but everyone else is out, and I'm stuck on babysitting duty with Holly until Nancy gets back," he said, sounding slightly exasperated. Will spun his finger around the telephone wire, smiling to himself. "Ok then, I'll be there in 5," he replied, and Mike hung up.

Jonathan had been watching the whole exchange with an air of suspicion, his newly developed photographs suddenly forgotten. "And who was that?" Will's face went red, and he began to mess the cuffs of his checkered button-up.  "Oh, it's just my friend, Mike, he asked me to come over,"  he said carefully, not quite meeting Jonathan's eye. "And, besides, it's really none of your business," Will added, for his brother had slightly risen from his seat.

Jonathan made a noise of outrage, looking scandalised. "As a matter of fact, Will, it's very much my business, because-" But Will already had his hand on the door handle, cutting his brother off with the sound of the door shutting. Jonathan closed his mouth, sighing and turning back to his work. He knew that he was going to miss him, but Will wasn't a kid anymore. He knew perfectly well how to take care of himself, and bullies had stopped being a problem a while ago. He'd be fine.

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Will mounted his bike, staring his cycle up to Maple Street. It was a pretty fair distance from where his house was, he didn't really mind. It was a familiar road, and as much as he would like to deny it, Will would've cycled halfway around the world to see Mike. But that was really a bit silly, seeing as that act would be for a person who 'didn't like him in that way'. His grip on the handles tightened, and he had to take a sharp turn to avoid crashing straight into a trash can.

Finally, the Wheeler residence came into view, and Will got off his bike, leaving it to lean against the side of the house. He knocked on, and for a few moments, the only sounds he could hear were the distant arguing of two voices, and the sound of the leafs rustling. Then the door swung open, revealing a little girl of about five or six. "We don't buy cookies, or anything else- oh!"

A wide smile split on her otherwise innocent face, and she grabbed Will by the wrist with a surprising amount of strength, pulling him into the house. "Hi Will, I know we've met before, but wow, none of Mike's other friends are as cute as you!" she squealed, and Will gave her a fond smile. "Hey Holly-" he started, but she shook her head, clearing her throat loudly. "It's so perfectly wonderful that you're here, Will, you're just in time to get married - to me!"