Byler one shots

16

It would really be a shame if, after everything, Will died here in the Wheeler basement, sprawled out on a pile of blankets and mismatched pillows. He’s survived a week in a literal hellhole, fought off being possessed by an actual demon monster, and he’s going to be taken out by his own mortification. He can see the headlines now: Local Zombie Boy dies of Embarrassment, but For Real This Time.

“Not anyone? Like, at all?”

Will's face has probably never been redder than in this very moment, which is a significant feat for someone who’s spent most his life in perpetual humiliation. He grabs the nearest pillow, one that Mike pulled off of his living room couch, and buries his face in it. “Mike.” He tries to make it sound stern, but it just comes out muffled and whiny.

“Okay, but I'm just saying. No one? At all? What about Hannah? After the Snow Ball?”

“No,” Will groans from beneath his pillow cocoon. Maybe if he stays under long enough, he could suffocate and pass out instead of continuing this conversation. It's something to consider.

“Are you kidding? She didn't even try to kiss you? That's rude.” Mike, who apparently could not take a hint to save his life (or Will's life, at this point), trudges forward with his train of thought. How they had even gotten to this topic of conversation was beyond him, but Will had made the unfortunate mistake of admitting that he'd never had his first kiss, and Mike seemed to have taken personal offense to it.

“Yeah,” he says, trying to make his voice sound uninterested instead of mortified. It seems to work, because a discomforting silence falls over them instead. Will tentatively removes the pillow from his face.

They lie there, side by side, until Mike asks in a quieter, more thoughtful voice, “You didn't try to kiss her?”

Will huffs. “No, Mike, I didn't try to kiss her.”

“Oh.” Another silence. “How come?”

The gate’s closed, he knows it is, but it doesn’t stop Will from wondering for a moment if the Mind Flayer might still be able to reach him. He could flit into the Upside Down real quick, maybe call him up – Hey, Mr. Almighty Demon Guy, can you come possess me and try to destroy my town again? I know it’s inconvenient for you, you’ve probably got plans, but I’m having the most mortifying conversation of my life, so if you could do me a solid here, I’d really appreciate it.

Eternal destruction of the entirety of Hawkins or embarrass himself in front of Mike? It’s a tough call.

It's worse, though, because Mike is usually so good at reading him, and so rarely pushes him into talking about things he was uncomfortable with. On any normal day, he'd pat Will on the shoulder and tell him he'd be here if he ever wanted to talk about it. Will’s never actually had to tell Mike no before. He’s not sure he knows how.

“I don't know,” Will answers after a long moment, which is a blatant lie, and he doesn't make a habit of lying to Mike very often. The truth is that there are too many reasons, that he had barely spoken to Hannah before that night, that she'd called him Zombie Boy and it was probably supposed to be cute but it just stung, that she was taller than him and he wasn't sure how to even approach that, that he'd never kissed anyone before and didn't want to try in front of his entire class on a sweaty gym floor, that Hannah had probably only asked him to dance out of pity and not because she wanted him to kiss her. That he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to be kissing girls, anyway.