✓ | 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 (BYLER)

𝒊𝒗. RINK-O-MANIA

━━━━ 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 !
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑

The California skies were painted a flamboyant tint of blue, masses of cotton-like clouds gliding across its canvas. They continued to progress at a consistent pace, eventually unveiling the illuminated yellow sphere that was previously hidden behind them.

The crew had devoured their breakfast at El Rodeo and were now headed to Rink-O-Mania. Mike and Eleven were chatting up a storm in the back of the van, giving each other life updates and whatnot.

Mike was eager to inform his girlfriend about the Hellfire Club, a Dungeons & Dragons club that he, Dustin, and Lucas had joined at the beginning of the school year. He babbled on and on about Eddie Munson, their hilariously awesome leader, as well as the amount of creativity that went into their weekly campaigns. Although El had zero interest in the fantasy game, she was polite enough to give Mike her undivided attention.

The thought of Mike becoming an active member of the Hellfire Club infuriated Will. The ravenette had rejected almost all of his campaigns over the summer, as he was too engrossed in his complicated relationship with El. He acted as if he had outgrown the game, implying that it was childish and blatantly stupid, just to join a club dedicated to it once the new school year began. It was incredibly hypocritical of him.

After what felt like centuries of listening to Mike boasting about his life in Hawkins, it was El's turn to speak. She didn't hesitate to construct even more lies in hopes to impress her boyfriend.

The brunette girl claimed that she had made lots of friends and thoroughly enjoyed going to school. She stated that her classmates were incredibly friendly and that she had become decently popular amongst them. Each and every word that escaped her lips was far from the truth, and Will couldn't stand it.

Although he was irritated by his step-sister's continuous lies and desperately wanted to reveal the truth, Will sat in complete and utter silence. He was fully aware of the fact that speaking up would spark unwanted drama, which he didn't have the energy to deal with.

˗ˏˋ꒰ 🎱 ꒱

After a few short minutes, the van pulled up to Rink-O-Mania. The place was packed — it was undoubtedly the most popular hangout spot for the teenage residents of Lenora Hills.

Immediately after Argyle brought the van to a halt, Mike opened the door and hopped out, followed by El and Will. The girl was quick to intertwine her fingers with Mike's as Will observed, a pang of jealousy striking him like a lightning bolt.

Jonathan instantly noticed how miserable Will appeared as he trailed behind the joyful couple. He had always been capable of reading his younger brother's emotions. It almost felt like he had a telepathic connection with him.

"Hey, Will!" Jonathan shouted from the passenger seat.

Will swiveled around at the sound of his name. He tried his hardest to mask the sadness he felt in the pit of his stomach.

"We'll be back at six. Have fun, okay?"

"Okay," The younger of the two flatly responded.

He wasn't going to have fun — he knew he wouldn't. How could one possibly have fun while third-wheeling their crush and step-sister?

˗ˏˋ꒰ 🎱 ꒱

Upon entering the roller rink, Will was faced with two distinct sounds — "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive blaring over the speakers and teenagers laughing with their friends. The place was filled to the brim with high school students, children, and young adults. As El had stated earlier, it was the most fun attraction Lenora Hills had to offer.

Will managed to catch up to El and Mike, who barely acknowledged his presence. The three teens marched up to the counter to rent their roller skates.

"Bitchin', right?" El beamed, whipping her head around to gaze at her lanky boyfriend.

"Yeah," Mike replied. "Yeah, bitchin'. Do you come here a lot?"

"Yeah!"

"No!"

El glared at her step-brother, shooting daggers in his direction to signal for him to quit exposing her constant lies. He glared right back at her, aggravated that she had the audacity to lie to her boyfriend. Without saying a word, she swiveled back around and made up yet another lie in an attempt to impress Mike.

"Will does not, but I go to parties here," She smiled. "It's a big party place."

Will rolled his eyes. As much as he loved and cared for his step-sister, he couldn't stand her hypocrisy. Just last summer, she had dumped Mike after realizing he was being dishonest with her. Yet here she was, not even a year later, lying to him as if it were nothing.

Sighing to himself, Will followed the couple to an unoccupied bench where they could put on their skates.

"Oh, I forgot. You need socks," El stated, noticing Mike's absence of socks.

"Oh, shit."

"They sell them at the counter," Will chimed in, gently tapping Mike's leg to capture his attention.

"Oh, okay."

Perfect. Because the ravenette had fled the scene, he finally had the opportunity to confront El about her dishonesty.

"How'd you forget about the socks? I mean, since you come here all the time," He asked in a rather sarcastic tone.

"I . . . I don't know. I just forgot," She shrugged.

"Right," Will nodded, playing along. "Why do you keep lying?"

"What?" El furrowed her eyebrows, acting as if she didn't know what he was talking about.

"Why do you keep lying to Mike?"

"I'm not lying," She claimed.

"You're not?" Will replied, dumbfounded. "You're friends with Angela and Stacy, and you come to parties here?"

"I have been to a party here," She retorted in an attempt to defend herself.

"For Mom's work! That's not what you implied."

The brunette boy sighed, pausing before opening his mouth again.

"I just . . . I don't think Mike's gonna like that you're lying to him, and he doesn't deserve that. And when he finds out, he's gonna be mad."

Before El had the chance to muster up a response, Mike returned with a pair of neon green socks in his hand. He plopped in between the two, completely oblivious of the small quarrel they just had.

"Okay, so, I asked for vomit green and I got vomit green! Isn't that awesome?" Mike said, smiling proudly.

Will just nodded, praying that the boy beside him would find out about his girlfriend's lies sooner rather than later.

˗ˏˋ꒰ 🎱 ꒱

Immediately after stepping foot on the rink, Mike and El interlocked their hands. As expected, Will was forced to trail behind them. He stared at their intertwined fingers and frowned, secretly wishing he was the one holding Mike's hand.

"I'm so bad at this, I'm like Bambi on ice," The taller boy joked, causing his girlfriend to giggle.

"No, you're good! You got this," She smiled, her cheeks turning rosy.

They began to pick up their pace, skating ahead and leaving Will entirely by himself. He hated every second of it. Mike and El seemed to forget about his existence, as if he had suddenly become invisible. Not to mention the fact that it was his birthday, his special day, and they were selfish enough to act as if it didn't matter.

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 !
volume 2 was so sad but so so good! i just wish we got more byler & less m*leven but it's ok because we still have season 5 ahead of us!