monochopsis - byler

i wish you could see, the way i look at you.

(will's pov)

"So what are we doing this weekend? It's already Wednesday." Max asks.

"I don't know. You know we have to work on Saturday right?" I responded.

"Where do you even work? When are we allowed to get free stuff?" Dustin asks.

"Never!" Me and Max both yelled.

"The food is pretty good." Mike mumbled.

"Pretty good?! The food was great when we went!" El rejoiced.

"You guys went?" Dustin inquired.

"Yeah!" El says.

Mike looked like he was tired, yet he still looked so elegant, so unreal. His midnight locks were curlier than they usually were, and freckles littered his face like a giant galaxy. His eyes were a deep brown, dark and haunting, yet warm at the same time.  I could get lost in them for a while, except those eyes will never look at me like they do at El.

"Will?" Max interrupted

"Hmm?" I ask, extremely confused.

"Party on Friday?" Lucas inquired.

"Hell no!" I denied.

"Please?" Max pleaded. 

"Unless one of you stays with me at all times, maybe. I can't face a bunch of kids that don't like me alone!" I exclaim.

"Oh Will, I'm sure lot's of people like you!" El reassures me.

"You've only been in public school for a few weeks El, you haven't quite seen how people treat me."

"Jesus Will, she was just being nice." Mike complained. I  see Friday wasn't enough to make Mike be any less protective of stupid El.

"I'm trying Mike, but it's stupid how I get walked all over, and some people can't even tell!" I was getting riled up. I lifted my shirt a little to show the long, deep scar on my stomach. "You know what I mean."

I then stormed off to a nearby bathroom . I don't want to fight Mike, but I did it anyway. I'm so dumb. I locked the door of an empty stall and tears ran down my face. Why do I alway have to fuck shit up. Why can't I just sew my mouth shut.

...

I wasn't going to get home until late because me and Max had work that night. It had been pretty silent, probably because of the way I stormed out of the cafeteria earlier. I still had to drive Max home though.

"What was that scar about?" Max demanded as soon as she closed the door.

"It was nothing uh- just Troy." I explained weakly.

"Just Troy? Come on Will! That guy has bullied you for year and you won't tell me? I'm sorry if this sounds rude but I just want you to trust me!" Max rambled.

"I know, and it sucks, but I don't want you guys to worry about me." 

"Let me worry about you. I don't care if Mike or Lucas or anyone else wants to worry as well. Let me worry about you."

"Okay. I'll be more honest with you from now on."

"Thank you."

"I like Mike." I blurted out. For a bit it was silent.

"Hey Will? Can I stay over so we can talk more? I know it's a school night but it'll be fine. I can get a sleeping bag from my house."

"Hell yeah you can."

...

Max was sitting in my bed and we were singing to a mix of both of our cassettes. Luckily my mom, Hopper, and maybe El were sound asleep. After a while we ran out of songs. 

"Okay so about what you said earlier. Mike? Really?" Max questioned.

"I fell in like 4th grade when my dad left. Mike was always there for me during my sadness. I don't even know why I was so sad, I mean he was an ass."

"That's honestly so relatable, my dad was bad too. He thought I was a lesbian because I was too boyish to fit girl standards. Before my stepdad was arrested he was bad too."

"Ugh I hate dads." I groaned.

"How's the stepdad experience? I mean I know Hopper and your mom aren't married yet or anything but he's living with you guys."

"Hopper isn't bad but it's definitely weird having the chief of police living with you." 

...

It was already Friday and l was going to be  dragged to a party I didn't really want to go to. Max and me had hung out a lot at work and out of work. She even helped me pick out an outfit for the party, we decided to stick together and also wear outfits that were similar to the other. So I wore a black The Cure shirt with looser jean than I would usual wear, mainly because Max stole them from Billy and he's a size up from me. Max was wearing a similar outfit but it was a black Madonna shirt and a frilly jean skirt. Max says you need to wear a different outfit before the party so you don't look lazy.

Mike and I haven't talked yet. I regret yelling at him on Wednesday. I tried to talk to him on Thursday but I think he was avoiding me. Since me and Max had woken up early and hung out, I drove her to school. Everyone in our party and Eddie were over at a picnic table.

"Where have you guys been? Don't tell me you guys have a secret romance." Dustin said.

"Ew no!" Me and Max exclaimed. Mike was staring at us.

"Leave the poor kids alone. Even if they were dating, it's not our business." Eddie tells them. I swear my respect for Eddie grows every time he talks. The dude is pretty chill. 

"Fine." Dustin accepted.

...

It was an hour before the party. Me and Max were helping El out with the pile of dresses she picked out.

"I just don't know." El says. She had finally narrowed it down to two dresses. There was a blue strappy dress and a black sleeveless dress. 

"Just choose one! I don't know, I'm horrible at fashion." I whined.

"Okay since Will only has the emotional capacity to choose one outfit a day, I'll pick. I say the black one. Black is usually always safe for a party, and the blue one could be too seductive for your first party." Max clarified

I didn't really care what El wore. I just want her to be comfortable. (Then again, if she's not comfortable we can go home!)

...

As soon as I saw Mikes party outfit, I was trying not to lose my shit. He was hot. Rings graced his scrawny fingers. He had a red button up with short sleeves on with black jeans. His hair was tied back into a curly ponytail but his bangs and a few strands of hair in the front had fallen loose. He was staring at me. I guess we still on speaking terms. Wait. Why is he staring at me? Was it really that bad?

I'm not sure if El knew and was teasing me, but she went over to Mike and pulled him into a passionate kiss. Mike had his eyes open, but he looked at me and then closed his eyes.

"Ugh I'm so done with watching this. Wanna get a drink?" Max asked. I have drank before, it was all my dads fault. He encouraged it actually, said it would make me a man.

"Yeah." I replied. 

1179 words total.

a/n sorry it took so long to post this chapter. i haven't been in the mood for writing recently. we get some drunk will next chapter and it's going to be mike's pov because will is obviously drunk.