𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫

[ 010 ] Talking's Weird.

      

     AFTER dropping off Charles, Gareth drove all the way to the Byers home and just sat there, didn't budge or turn off the engine so Will looks over at him, where he's gathering his stuff. "Gar? Ready to head in?" He asked and Gareth doesn't even turn to look at him. "I'm not coming in." He says and Will frowns.

"Why'd you say yes then to staying the night?" He asked and Gareth turns his head, finding those soft hazel eyes staring back at him. "Because I think we need to break up..." He says and Will furrows his brows. "What? Break up? Why?" He asked, his voice wavering as he spoke and Gareth sighed.

"Because even though we make a nice pair and we're actually amazing together... we don't belong together." He says and Will sighed. "If this is about--" "it's not about anyone. It's about us. Your heart belongs to someone else already and I can't keep pretending that it's me, I especially can't keep thinking I can somehow steal it away from him." He says and Will just glanced away, looking dejected.

"Gareth, I don't--" "no, please, please, stop arguing with me. Because I know love, true love, when I see it. And it's you and Charles. I know it. I do, deep down. I mean, come on, your mothers were best friends? You guys grew up together, most people would see each other as siblings when they do that, but... you likes Charles romantically, and he likes you." He says and Will looks up right away.

"He--" "doesn't? I beg to differ. He just bragged to me about kissing you before our date..." He says and Will looked down, "I--I'm sorry I didn't tell you about that. It was really nothing." He whispers and Gareth huffs. "Will, seriously, you can't... you have to stop denying yourself of him, and he has to do the same. Do you know why he asks you if you're happy with me? Because he wishes it would be him instead." He says and Will just looks the other way.

"And if I remember correctly, it was like about an hour before my date and Charles called me, trying to give me advice. Guess what it was? The shittiest fucking date advice known on all of God's green Earth. But I was selfish, so I didn't listen, I treated you good in hopes you'd give your heart to me instead." He said and Will just sighed, turning to look at him.

"Are you... mad at me?" He asked in a quiet voice because ever since his dad, he doesn't really do well when people are angry with him, but Gareth wasn't, he laughed and shook his head. "No... just... I don't know, I'm not sure what I'm feeling but I do know I feel like you should talk to Charles. Be with him instead." He says and Will just nods softly.

"So... do I still see you at work tomorrow?" The Byers then asked quietly. "Well... I'm not really a petty person, I guess you two can keep your jobs. Plus running Scoops by myself would be a living nightmare. So, yes, I'll see you tomorrow." He says, nodding and Will sighed, "okay, see you tomorrow." He got out, smiling softly before heading inside his home.

In his room, Will laid down and sighed, putting his hands over his face. The thought of Charles giving Gareth bad date advice right after their kiss caused him to smile and blush hard. Does Charles seriously feel the same way back? But they constantly say it, that they're just best friends and nothing more was going on. Yet that doesn't stop Will from smiling so hard and thinking about Charles.

His first best friend, his first kiss. He wants Charles to be his first everything. It sucks they hid it that long and avoided the possibility that they might just be more romantic than platonic. If he really does feel the same way back, Will feels like he might just burst from being overly joyed, the thought making his heart race and his face turn red even more. They've kissed, sure, but imagining Charles as his boyfriend makes him grin so hard his face hurts.

So the next day, when he shows up to the Dumont apartment, he knocked the door and the door swung open to Sarah, smiling widely at him. "Good morning, Will!" She pulls her in, wrapping his arms around him just as Charles came rushing out of his room, his cassette tape player clipped on his shorts and his headphones resting around his neck.