♥ Stranger things Imagines♥

10.0

                                                                           [mike wheeler x reader]

                                                                               word count: 1,671

It's not exactly like he can control the way his heart practically stops the moment he hears your laughter floating down into the basement.

It's jarring, but not unpleasantly so. The battle at hand is pushed to the side as Mike looks away from the map on the table and towards the stairs leading up to the first floor. The door is open and he can hear two people's voices, but the only one he's focusing on is yours. He's stopped paying attention to the campaign, but the others only notice when it's his turn to roll.

"Uh, hello? Earth to Mike?" Lucas waves his hand in front of Mike's face in an effort to grab his attention.

"Huh?" Mike blinks and looks over at Lucas, whose expression is unamused. "What?"

"This isn't the time to get distracted! In case you've forgotten, we've lost to Caligari two times already and now is our chance to beat him!"

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry," Mike mumbles, returning his attention to the map. Atop the piece of paper rests three small figures, one for each party member: him, Will, and Lucas. Dustin sits across the table with a screen to hide all of his information as dungeon master, and he's narrating the newest portion of their campaign—their third (and hopefully final) fight against Caligari, a minotaur that fights with a giant ax. Each battle with this boss has nearly resulted in a game over, but they'd pulled through, and Will commented that this was a sign that they were destined to stop Caligari, no matter how long it took.

"Give him a break," Dustin remarks with a smile, breaking character for a moment. Just several seconds ago he'd spoken with urgency, describing the intense scene to the party members and the immense power of Caligari and how they might actually meet their end here if they don't watch themselves carefully. "Don't tell me you wouldn't act the same way if your crush was nearby."

"I don't have a crush," Mike rushes out, but he doesn't meet Dustin's eyes. This isn't the first time he's had to say that.

Will laughs. "Sure. So why's your face red?"

"It's just... warm in here."

The others respond with something to the effect of "Oh yeah of course" but it's clear they don't believe him. And Mike isn't surprised. It hadn't been a very good reason. At this point, he doesn't know why he's trying to pretend he doesn't have a crush. They'd figured it out almost right away and no amount of excuses could get them to think otherwise because they see how Mike reacts when he so much as hears you and that's not the kind of shit you can hide. No, sir. Breaking his immersion in the midst of a very important Dungeons and Dragons boss battle is quite the feat, especially if it's one as high stakes as this. Mike supposes, then, that he's doing it to save face. What face there is left to save anyway. The teasing has been unrelenting since they realized how hopelessly infatuated he was with Nancy's best friend.

"Are you gonna go say hi?" Lucas questions, small smirk on his face. Dustin and Will are stifling giggles to no avail.

Mike takes a deep breath, willing the heat in his cheeks to go away as he looks down at his character sheet. "No. It's my turn to roll isn't it?" He holds his hand out and Lucas gives him the various-sided dice.

Luckily that remains the extend of their teasing for the rest of the evening they hang out. The campaign keeps them distracted, and Mike can no longer hear you; you must've gone upstairs to Nancy's room. The party ends up defeating Caligari once and for all, an accomplishment resulting in loud cheers that surely reached the main part of the house. By the time they call it quits for the night, they've since arrived in a new town with more people to interact with and more quests to embark on. Mike walks the other three to the front door.