Mike Wheeler had always dreaded school days, and he could count the only reasons he actually somewhat cared about them on one hand. That is, until he skips a class and meets a boy in a record shop, making him reconsider his outlook on things. ------------------------------------- ! I DO NOT own any of the characters here, all of those credits go to Netflix, The Duffer Brothers, and the actors i guess, this is merely an AU for a series, Stranger Things. ! Please don't reupload this anywhere else like AO3 without my permission, I cherish this story like my own child. If you wanna translate it or something, go ahead, but please make sure to credit me! If you wanna upload it on ao3, please do reach out to me :] *no smut in here btw, i will NEVER write that. no offense to those who read smut. Just a modern AU fic that was made to help me (and you!) cope with the fact that byler wasn't endgame. Enjoy! oh btw chapters are gonna be a bit long like some ao3 byler fics, bc im forever an ao3 defender(why am i on wattpad? idk either.).

"And it doesn't really change anything between us, right? We're still a team. Friends." He explained, though that word left a sour taste in his mouth. Friends. Friends with someone you've basically been in love with all your life. Oh, who was he kidding? That was probably the best he was gonna get, anyway. Don't get so greedy, Will. He told himself, but it still felt wrong. A beat passes. Mike shoots him a look he can't really describe. Like he's... unsatisfied? "No, not friends." Mike stares down, avoiding Will's gaze. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- this is fanfiction, i don't own stranger things in any way. The show belongs to the duffer brothers and netflix i guess. this story is only somewhat original, it's just an alternative ending to what we saw, so of course, not everything is mine. this has a good ending, i swear on dustin's mother. a rewrite of the interaction at the tower ("Friends? No thanks. Best friends."), and maybe the whole finale, too. because if denial's a river in egypt, well then i'm moving there for life.