Secret Moments-Byler

3.

"Mike? Mike, get your ass up!" Nancy rolled her eyes, shoving him a bit from her seat by the window. That was the one Mike wanted but he eventually let Nancy have it.

"What is your problem?" Mike groaned, moving his hand up to his face and rubbing his eyes.

"Plane's about to start landing." Nancy stated, a hint of attitude in her voice. "You look like a dumbass." She added.

Mike rolled his eyes, sitting up tiredly in his seat. "I'm dressed for Cali." He said, quite proud of his outfit.

Nancy shook her head, putting her cassette player in her bag as the plane continued to descend. "You still drool in your sleep." She mumbled.

"I do not!" Mike defended himself.

"It's still on your face." Nancy laughed.

Mike wiped his face, not expecting there to actually be drool on his face. But there was so he simply mumbled a "fuck you" under his breath to his sister. He leaned back, feeling his heart mutter nervous bumps in his chest. He was anxious, that was obvious. He didn't know what to do when he saw Will. Suppressing his feelings were easy since Will hadn't been around and before that, he just completely focused on El. But he didn't want to upset Will like he had when he acted that way.

He really didn't want to hurt Will again.

"Mike?" Nancy asked, pulling him out of his deep thoughts. "Huh?" Mike asked, snapping his head to face his older sister. "You just seemed out of it. Are you okay?" She asked.

Mike swallowed hard and nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay-" He said, his voice having a hint of a higher pitch, one of the biggest tells he was lying. Not many people caught, only Nancy, his mom, Will, and Lucas, since they knew him the longest. He cringed a bit at the sound, getting a suspicious raise of the eyebrow from Nancy but glad when she didn't push the subject.

Mike jumped a bit when the plane hit the ground, never getting used to that feeling. He held the front in front of him as the pilot hard pressed on the brakes. It took about another ten minutes before he and Nancy actually got off of the plane and Mike didn't expect to be glad to get on the ground. He was never a huge fan of flying.

He followed Nancy around the elevator, looking around. He was pretty tall so he could peer through the crowd pretty well. As looking around, Mike made eye contact with his long lost friend and he could feel his heart skip a beat. He quickly looked over at El instead, who Will made eye contact with after Will pointed at him. "They're over here, Nanc." He said, moving so he was walking towards them.

"El!" He said, putting all his focus on her when they made it to their group. He put his arms around her and put their lips together. It had been a long time since they kissed. And he remembered what happened after the last time. The feelings that ran through his head. He tried to push these out of his head as he continued kissing his girlfriend until they finally stopped. "I-uh- picked these for you. From Hawkins." He said, handing her the flowers that were from the field near the cabin she lived at before moving to California.

"Hey, Mike!" Will said, pulling Mike's attention away from El. This was the moment Mike had been nervous about. He wasn't sure what to do, but he knew he had to do something. Once he realized he hadn't said anything, he finally brought himself to say "Hey, dude," which didn't sound too good. He saw Will go in for a hug, which caused Mike's heart to skip a beat. He half hugged his friend. It upset him, Mike knew it, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't let his feelings for Will show. It couldn't happen.

Mike gave Will an awkward half hug. The tension was obviously there and it upset him. Both of them. He pulled away. "So-uh-" Mike started, trying not to make eye contact with Will. He didn't need to look at him to know that disappointment and sadness covered his face. "What are we doing today, El?" He asked, slinking a hand over her shoulder. A conversation struck between the two. Will didn't listen, not really caring. He tried to stay focused on something-anything- else. Jonathan was all over Nancy and Mike was all over Eleven. And there Will was, alone.