Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Will!” El bounded into his room calling their name, and Will looked up from his painting. 

“Do you want to sit with me, Lucas, Max, and Mike at lunch tomorrow?” 

Lucas and Max were El’s partners. They'd started dating in the middle of this year. Mike had been best friends with Max and Lucas forever, and he also sat at their lunch table. El had been sitting with them more often at lunch, leaving Will and his best friend Dustin alone. This had been the first time she had offered they all sit together.

“Yeah, sure!” Will replied. 

“Dustin can come also,” They added, jumping up and down from excitement. 

The next day, as they were walking to lunch, Will asked Dustin about it. 

“I don't know, man, they're not mean, are they? I mean, Lucas is a jock, what if he's like the rest of them?” By ‘the rest of them,’ Dustin meant the captain of the basketball team, Jason, very close-minded, despite it being 2023. He often bullied kids for being different.

“If El’s dating him, I'm sure he's a nice guy, Dustin. She wouldn't date someone like that.” He paused. “I think.”

Dustin nodded. “Okay, yeah, fair.” He paused to think for a second. “Okay, let's sit with them.” At this point the two had arrived at the cafeteria. Will looked around for El, and when he spotted them, she was waving frantically at him and Dustin. They walked towards their table. 

“Hi!” El said excitedly. “This is Max, that's Lucas, and that's Mike.” Max, a redhead, sat next to El, and Lucas, who had short, curly, black hair and dark skin, sat on Max’s other side. Mike sat across from the three. 

“Hey,” Will waved. “I'm Will, El’s sibling. Well, step-sibling, technically.”

“I’m Dustin, their friend.” He motioned to El and Will. 

“Hey, nice to meet you!” Lucas greeted the pair. 

“Hey,” Max waved. They weren't as enthusiastic as Lucas.

Mike turned around in his seat to greet them with a warm smile. “Hey.” They all paused, Will and Dustin trying to figure out where to sit, when Mike spoke again. 

“You guys should sit on the cool side of the table.” He side-eyed Max, and they stuck their tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes. Then Will sat down beside Mike, Dustin on his other side.

“Are you guys going to try out for the school play?” Mike asked. Lucas and Max groaned. 

“He’s been talking about this non-stop,” Max said. “ Please say no, you’ll get him going.”

“I didn't know there was a school play,” Will replied, ignoring Max. 

“Oh! Well, it's called Puffs, and I looked it up and watched it and it's so cool!! It's a Harry Potter parody, and it's super funny because it's in the perspective of the Hufflepuffs, and they're just so done with Harry causing drama. It's great. I want the lead role, but I probably won't get it ‘cause I'm a freshman, but it will be fun anyway.”

“That sounds kind of cool,” Will responded to Mike’s rant. 

“Yeah!” El added excitedly. “I am auditioning too!”

“Oh, nice,” Dustin said. “I don't want to act, but I can maybe do lights or some shit.” 

“I know the director, Murray Bauman, and he said we’ll definitely need people to do that, so you should come to auditions.” 

Max sighed and rolled their eyes. “I'm auditioning, but only because Mike is forcing me too.” Lucas elbowed them. “Hey! What was that for?”

“Admit it, you secretly want to get a role.”

“I don't want to miss out, asshole.” They replied. 

“Will, are you going to audition?” El asked, moving the conversation away from Lucas and Max’s banter. 

Will shrugged in response. 

“You should!” Mike said, a little bit too enthusiastic. He wanted to get to know more people in the school, especially his friend’s brother. 

“I'm not that great of an actor. I can paint sets and props, though.”

Mike’s face lit up. “Okay, amazing. There are SO many props needed for this show.”

“When are auditions?” Dustin asked. 

“Tomorrow, after school, in the auditorium,” Mike replied. 

“Okay, cool,” Dustin replied. 

Just then, the bell rang. Lunch had ended, and people started heading to their next classes. Will picked up his stuff. 

“I guess we’ll see you guys there,” he smiled. Mike smiled back as Will walked out of the cafeteria with Dustin and El. 

Will forgot about auditions, mostly, until the day of. He waited outside of El’s seventh hour classroom so they could go home together, as always, but she then reminded them of auditions. He’d started walking in the direction of the main school doors when they pulled him aside. 

“Will! Did you forget?” It’s play auditions today!”

They nodded. “Oh, yeah, okay, let’s go.”

“You're coming too?” El asked. “I thought you weren't auditioning.”

Will nodded. “I want to do set design and painting.”

“Oh!” You'd be so good at that!” She exclaimed as the pair started walking down the hall in the direction of the auditorium. 

“Mike said that there won’t be auditions for specific parts, just a general thing where everyone reads the same monologue.”

“Okay, cool. I’ll just watch from the audience and then ask the director how stage crew is going to work.”

“That sounds okay.” The two siblings had arrived at the auditorium doors at this point, and they pulled the doors open. 

Inside, you could see everyone in their different friend groups talking to each other. Everyone automatically grouped together based on who they were friends with. Will noticed Dustin hanging around by Max, Lucas and Mike, who were already there, and he and El moved to go join them.

“Hey, guys!” Mike greeted them. “Excited for auditions?”

“I’m a little nervous,” El replied, “But I think it will be okay.”

“I’m not auditioning,” Will added after, when Mike gave him a pointed look, showing the question was meant for him as well. “I’m just here for stage crew.”

“Oh, nice!” Mike replied. “What kind of crew?”

“Set painting, I guess? I’m not really sure. I like to paint, so I guess that’s what I’ll do.” He shrugged nervously. Mike nodded in response, starting to turn away from Will when Murray, the director, called that auditions were starting. 

Dustin and Will took seats in the front row to watch auditions, and Will took out his notebook and a pencil so he could sketch set and prop ideas. Not that he had a script, but he could always just practice his realism by drawing the actors. 

“Alright students!” He clapped his hands together. “I’m Murray Bauman, the director of this show and of the theater program here at Hawkins High. Feel free to call me Murray. Anything other than that is too formal. Here’s how this will work- there will only be one audition. For the first part, I will give all of you two monologues. One from the Narrator and one from the main character, Wayne Hopkins.” He walked around the circle, handing out two sheets of paper. 

“Everyone will get 15 minutes to practice- you don’t have to memorize the monologue.” He paused.

Everyone looked unsure. 

“Go practice!” Murray barked, waving his hands at them. Everyone ran off the stage quickly. Only Mike stayed behind, talking to Murray. Will couldn’t quite make out what he Mike said, but it looked as though he pointed in Will’s direction. 

After a quick conversation, Mike went off to practice the monologue, and Murray walked over to Will and Dustin. 

“Mike just informed me that you two are interested in tech?”

“Yes,” Will replied. “Well, I’d prefer to do set design, costumes, props, that sort of thing.”

“I’d like to run sound, if possible,” Dustin added. 

Murray clapped his hands. “Sounds great! Though you both should still consider auditioning. If you get a part, you can always decline.”

Will shrugged. “I guess it could be fun.” Murray handed them a script, so he took it and went to go find Mike. 

Mike had been practicing in the corner of the auditorium, giving his performance to the wall. Will walked up to him, clearing his throat. 

“Hey.” 

Mike looked up. “Did Murray talk you into auditioning?” He asked, noticing the papers in Will’s hand. 

They shrugged. “Yeah, I guess I can always decline if I get a part and don’t want to do it. 

Mike nodded. “Do you want to give it a go?” He gestured to the script. Will lifted it up, looking at it, and Mike added, “I can give you feedback.”

“Okay, cool. Thanks.” Will smiled, starting to recite the first monologue.

Eventually, fifteen minutes passed, and everyone gathered back to their seats. One by one, Murray called people on the auditions list. Will figured that meant he would be last, since they’d only decided to audition about ten minutes earlier. Mike’s name had been called pretty early, and Will watched his performance with awe. 

Mike seemed to come to life on stage, creating something out of nothing. Will found himself with the overwhelming feeling to draw him, the way the light hit his eyes, making them sparkle as he told the story of Wayne Hopkins. Mike portrayed the character’s nervous energy perfectly, at least in Will’s eyes. He hoped he would get a main role.

Will’s audition came last, just as he suspected. He walked up the stairs of the stage, and when the time came to start reciting the monologue, he swallowed their nerves and hoped it would go smoothly. His audition ended up a bit rocky, but it had been good nonetheless. No one had died or gotten injured, to say the least. 

After the monologue auditions, Murray explained the next section of the audition. “I will call a couple people up on stage at a time to read for some characters in a scene. First up, Max Mayfield reading for Oliver Rivers, Lucas Sinclair reading for Wayne Hopkins, Jennifer Hayes reading for Megan Jones, Elenore Hopper reading for Leanne, Theo Edwards reading for Clumsy Longbottom and Mia Fleamont reading for Sally Perks.”

The called people walked up to Murray, grabbed scripts and walked on stage. They talked amongst themselves for a bit, then started. The scene started with Oliver/Max.

“I am telling you guys, the headmaster looks different this year.”

Wayne/Lucas replied, “Oliver, I’m a little more worried about the murderer coming to our school. Megan, what if…” Will continued watching, pretty impressed with his new friends, siblings and their classmates. El brought energy to the stage, which made sense with the character she portrayed. Lucas and Max were also quite good, though Theo came in a little late, slightly missing his cue, which seemed to annoy Max a bit.

A couple other groups were called. One doing a scene in defense class, one doing the scene where Oliver, Megan and Wayne become friends for the first time, and a couple others they didn’t pay much attention to, busy lost in his thoughts.

Later, Will didn’t know how much later, he heard his name being called. 

“Will Byers portraying Cedric Diggory, Mike Wheeler portraying Wayne Hopkins, and I also need a couple other people who just kinda run on for a second, Elenore Hopper as Sally Perks, Lucas Sinclair as Ernie Mac, Owen Johnson as J. Finch, Anya Jones as Leanne, and Lavender Turner as Hannah.”

Oh thank god. At least he was with Mike and El. And Lucas, but they also didn’t know each other very well. Well, they didn’t know Mike very well either... 

He and Mike walked up to Murray to take their scripts, then walked out. They, like all the others before them, spent a second looking over the script. 

“Okay, so you start offstage,” Mike told Will, pointing to the script. 

“Alright. Ready?” Will walked offstage. 

Mike took a deep breath, and began. “Lumos!” He waved his hand in front of him, as if he held a wand. “Lumos!” He repeated the word again, which was Will’s cue to enter.

“It’s in the way you move your wrist. Like a little circle. Lumos .” Will waved his hand, stopping themself from laughing as nothing happened because they didn’t have a lights guy. However, in the world of the play, the spell worked.

Mike looked back at where Will entered.

“Wayne, right?” Will as Cedric asked. 

“Yes. Yeah- Yes. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Uh- yes. Yeah. Hi, Cedric.” Mike stuttered, and Will couldn't tell if he did it on purpose or not. It had been a good acting choice, though. 

Will took a quick glance at the script. “Listen man, winning all those points? Pretty cool. You really started something. Everyone’s earning points now!” 

Lucas rushed on, picking up the cue, shouting a spell. Lavender followed, then Owen and El. 

“Olive Gardium Leviosa!” Owen shouted. The script had alternate spells, since they couldn’t say the copyrighted ones. El ran after him, shouting, 

“No! It’s Olive Garden Lasagna!” Will took a second to process the line she’d made up, but it said to improvise in the script, and it was a pretty great line. 

Next, Anya as Leanne came running. “We’re wizards!” She high-fived Will and ran off. 

“We’re moving up. I think we’re finally going to do it this year. Third place!” Will turned to leave after that line, while Wayne/Mike stopped him. 

“Hey… Cedric… Third place!”

Will gave Mike a thumbs up and left. He thought that had been pretty decent acting.

Mike finished up the scene where he stood, still onstage, then exited. 

Soon, auditions were called over, and Murray told them the cast list would be posted tomorrow after school on the auditorium doors. Everyone who got a role would have to either accept or decline. 

The school play seemed to be off to a great start.

Chapter Text

The next day at lunch meant Mike went on an excited rant about auditions. He seemed very satisfied about how they went. 

“-And Will, that scene was amazing! I know Murray talked you into auditioning, but you should take the part if you get it!”

Will shrugged. “It’d be nice to get a part, but I definitely don’t want to perform in front of all those people.”

Mike nodded in agreement. “It is nerve-racking.”

After a stretch of awkward silence, Max jumped in. “Hey, can we do a pronoun check if you’re comfortable?” They nodded at Will and Dustin. 

“Yeah, that sounds good, actually,” Dustin replied, Will nodding along. 

“Okay, well, I use they/them,” Max looked over to Lucas, seated on their left. They went clockwise around the table. 

Lucas. “He/him.”

Mike. “He/him.”

Will. “He/they, but I like ‘he’ a bit better.”

Dustin. “He/him.”

El. “She/they!”

“Okay, I wanted to be sure. Thanks.”

“I appreciate it,” Will added, smiling at Max.

They nodded, understanding what it was like to have your gender validated. 

The rest of the day seemed to pass by slowly and quickly, if that made sense. Will just wanted to see the cast list. Not because he really wanted a part, just because they were excited about this play and wanted to put on a show with his friends. 

Finally, finally, the last bell rang. Will practically sprinted out of his English class to the auditorium. A decent crowd had gathered, but Will, being a bit small for his age, managed to push to the front and get a glimpse of the cast list. 

Wayne Hopkins - Walter Galvin

Oliver Rivers - Theo Edwards

Megan Jones - Anya Jones

Narrator - Josh Hansen

Ernie Mac & Others - Lucas Sinclair

Hannah & Others - Lavender Turner

J. Finch & Others - Max Mayfield

Leanne & Others - Elenore Hopper

Sally Perks & Others - Jennifer Hayes

Susie Bones & Others - Mike Wheeler

Cedric & Mr. Voldy - Will Byers

Wait. They really had gotten a part? Now he almost wanted to take it, though it hadn’t been his original plan. He quickly took a picture of the list, and sent it to El and Dustin. They both replied with celebration emojis and confetti. 

A second later, when he had woven his way back out of the crowd, someone shouted, “Will!” 

Mike, followed closely by Lucas and Max, walked up. 

“Hey,” they said.

“Did you get a look at the cast list yet?” Mike asked excitedly. 

Will showed him the picture on his phone, causing Mike to scream. “We all got parts!”

“Wait, what?” Max asked, grabbing Will’s phone out of their hand. “Oh my gosh. Hah! Mike, you have to be a girl.”

Mike rolled his eyes. “Who cares? I got a part!” 

Max looked at him suspiciously before handing the phone back to Will, who zoomed in on the tiny print on the list. 

“Looks like everyone who got in received an email and they have to either accept or deny the role. Rehearsals start today.” He squinted. “Oh, shit, rehearsal starts right now!” 

The four of them scrambled to get into the auditorium. Luckily, rehearsal hadn’t started yet, and they found seats next to Dustin and El. El beamed from excitement. 

“I’m so happy I got a part!” She exclaimed. 

Will asked Dustin, “Are you just gonna stay to help with crew and shit?”

He nodded. “That was kinda the plan. I checked with Murray, and he says it’s fine. By the way, he seemed really impressed with your acting. You should really consider taking the part.”

Will bit his lip. “I don’t know…”

“At least read his email before you decide,” Dustin told him, turning away to ask El something. 

Will opened his email, clicking on the one from Murray. It wasn’t a mass email with a message for everyone. It seemed he’d typed out everyone a specific message. 

Hey Will, 

Congratulations! You’re going to be playing the roles of Cedric and Mr. Voldy, if you accept. I’ve been told you weren’t planning on being in this production, but you really should consider. I am very impressed with the way you portrayed Cedric, even with the short blurb at auditions. I’m sure you could also master the role of Mr. Voldy, a very fun role to play, if you ask me. I hope you know that I won’t be offended if you choose not to act. It’s not for everyone. 

Thank you for your consideration,

Murray

Theater Director, Hawkins High

Okay, that email was really sweet. Will pressed the reply button, trying to think. This would be a huge commitment. More so than just painting sets. And, he supposed, he could still paint sets. This would just be… an added bonus. With extra work. Fun work, but still work. He took a deep breath, and clicked ‘send’ on his email, accepting the role. 

A couple minutes later, Murray entered, standing on stage. He clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Alright, everyone who is accepting their role or helping with crew, get up here and sit in a circle.” He paused, giving a moment of transition time for everyone to get up onstage. 

Mike ran up to the stage, trying to hoist  himself onto it using only his arms. He failed, and had to walk around to the stairs. Max laughed at him, and he glared at them in response. 

When everyone had gathered on the stage, Murray continued. “Alright, today will be a read-through day of the script. Here, pass these around,” He said to the person on his left, and handed them a pile of scripts. While the scripts were being passed around, Murray added, “Everyone should have a pen as well, to take notes and change lines if needed.” 

And, being the unorganized high school students that they were, everyone scrambled to grab a pen. 

“Highlighters too, for your lines!” Murray called, which caused about another minute of scrambling before everyone was able to jump up on stage again. 

“Before we start the read though, we will go around and introduce ourselves. It’s important to build cast bonds. Please say your name, pronouns, the character(s) you play, and your Hogwarts house. We’ll start with you.” He gestured to the person on his right.

“I’m Theo. I use he/him pronouns, I’ll be playing Oliver Rivers, and my Hogwarts house is Hufflepuff.” 

“I’m Josh. He/him. I’m gonna be the narrator, and my Hogwarts house is Gryffindor.”

“Lavender. She/they. I’ll be playing Hannah, and I’m a Ravenclaw.” 

“I’m Anya. My pronouns are she/her. I got the role of Megan Jones, and I’m a Slytherin.”

“I’m Elenore, but you can call me El. My pronouns are she/they. I will be playing Leanne, and I am a Hufflepuff!”

“Dustin, he/him. I’m just here to help with tech, and I’m a Ravenclaw.”

“I’m Will. He/they. I’ll be Cedric and Mr. Voldy, and I’m also a Hufflepuff.”

“My name’s Mike. He/him. I’ll be playing Susie and others, and I’m a Slytherin.”

“Max. They/them. I’ll be playing J. Finch, and I’m a Gryffindor.”

“My name is Lucas, I use he/him pronouns, I’ll be playing Ernie Mac and I am also a Gryffindor.”

“I’m Walter. He/they. I’ll be playing Wayne Hopkins, and I am a Gryffindor.”

“Jennifer. She/her. I have the role of Sally Perks and my Hogwarts house is Slytherin.”

Jennifer had been the last person, so it was back to Murray. “You all know my name, but I’ll say it anyway. I’m Murray, I use he/they pronouns, I will be your director and I am a Ravenclaw. Let’s get to reading! Josh, you start.”

Everyone turned their scripts to the first page as Josh began. “Heroes. Made, not born. Except sometimes, they are. On a gloomy night, in a far away, magical land called… England…”

Chapter Text

Rehearsals have been going on for a couple weeks, pretty smoothly. They had a stage manager now, a Junior named Taylor Winters. She prided herself in being super organized. They’d finished blocking all the scenes, and now they were just working on details and gathering props and costumes. The theater budget was pretty low, so they weren’t getting any big sets, just two doors on either side of the stage to exit and enter from dramatically. Mike liked his characters, but he sure had to change really fast at a couple points. He played Susie Bones, Harry Potter, Moaning Myrtle, and then one of the Hermionies as well as a dementor and a death eater in one scene.

One scene he hated to do was the Moaning Myrtle scene, during 4th year. She just… didn’t have the greatest vibes. It didn’t make MIke uncomfortable, per se, especially because his partner in that scene was Will, who played Cedric, it just was… weird, to have to flirt with Will. Myrtle was for sure the character he disliked the most. 

Oh, there was another thing. She. Three of his characters were girls. This meant that, sometimes, Mike would be onstage, and Murray would give him something to change, and use she/her pronouns and Mike… didn’t mind it. 

They didn’t really know what that said about them.

What if I’m just fine with it because they’re talking about my character? Or is it that I’m fine with it because I like being called a girl?

He was now thinking about this at 2 in the morning, and the ultimate decision she made was to text Max.

Mike: I need help

Max replied almost right away, which he knew they would. They always stay up late.

Max: with what?

Mike: Soooooooo you know how like over half of my characters for the play are girls

Max: yeah,,,,

Mike: SoThenSometimesPeopleUseShe/HerPronounsForMeAndIKindaLikeItButIdkIfImJustGoodWithItBecauseThey’reTalkingAboutMyCharacterOrWhat

Max: do you think you still like he/him though?

Mike: yeah it feels like it changes depending on the context and who is talking to me

Max: hmmmm

Mike: what????

Max: ever heard the term genderfluid?

Mike: yeah kinda? 

Mike: in passing

Max: well basically it means your gender changes

Max: it could be on the hour, day, or whatever

Mike: hold the fuck up i gotta look this up

Mike: …

Max: it me?

Mike: it me!!!!!!!

Mike: i kinda feel like a kaleidoscope??? If that makes sense???

Mike: like the beads change shape and form and shit

Max: i get what u mean

Max: also wow

Mike: ???

Max: u spedran that crisis.

Mike: wow i really did lol

Mike: i feel like it might’ve been a long time coming tho

Mike: idk

Max: anyways what pronouns do u want me to use for u??

Mike: she/he for now ig

Max: are you gonna come out to lucas or el? or even will or dustin? or castmates?

Max: sorry for all the questions i just dont wanna out u to anyone

Mike: nah its fine

Mike: i appreciate it

Mike: dont tell anyone for now

Mike: how would i even bring it up???

Max: yea its hard

Mike: do y happen to have beads??

Max: yes why?

Mike: i wanna make gender bracelets 🤩

Max: alright cool

Mike: max what are you doing?

Mike: are you just?? coming to my house???

Mike: ITS LIKE 2AM

Mike: MAX

Mike: …that knock on my window was you wasnt it

Mike: i hate you

Max: love u too!!

Max: now let me in it’s fucking cold

Chapter Text

Mike sighed, standing up and walking over to the window. She opened it, and there sat Max, ON THE ROOF, holding a bag. 

“Hold this please,” They said casually. 

Mike grabbed it from them, and tilted off-balance. “What did you put in this, bricks?” She asked. 

Max rolled their eyes, climbing through the window. “Of course not. They’re the fucking beads you asked for.”

Mike smiled. “Thanks.”

Max had succeeded in climbing through the window, so they then closed it. 

Mike flinched, hoping the slam hadn’t been loud enough to wake her parents. 

“Alright, beads,” Max plopped down on the floor and started taking containers out of the bag. They had a lot of beads. 

“What? Now?” Mike sat down as well, hesitantly. 

They shrugged. “Why not? There’s no school tomorrow.”

“Okay, good point.”

Max stood up. “Hey, you have scissors, right?”

“Yeah, go ahead and grab them, they’re on my desk.”

“Ok, cool.” They walked over and rummaged through the desk while Mike took in the scene in front of her. 

“Max?”

“Hm?”

“Where the fuck did you get all these beads?”

They shrugged, coming back with scissors in their hand. “They’re left over from a sleepover I had with El a while ago.”

Mike nodded. “Nice.” 

The two friends chilled for a bit as Mike collected colorful beads for her gender bracelets. Max had also brought letter beads so Mike could put pronouns on the bracelets. 

The ‘she’ bracelet had mostly pink beads, flower beads, things like that. 

The ‘he’ bracelet has mostly blue beads, along with some green, and this one random frog bead that Mike found in Max’s collection.  

She contemplated making a ‘they’ bracelet but she didn’t really know how she felt about the pronoun yet, because no one had really used it to refer to her. She relayed this thought to Max.

“I mean, how did you know they/them was, like, you ?” 

Max shrugged. “I just feel like… no gender. I’m chill with calling myself literally any gendered term, but when anyone else does it, I cringe. And they/them just feels so… no. I don’t really know how to explain it.”

Mike nodded. “I think I kinda understand what you’re saying.”

The two paused, both thinking for a moment. 

Max broke the silence. “So how about Will, then?”

“What?” Mike turned pink. “What about Will??”

“C’mon, you clearly have a crush on him. Every time you guys do the Myrtle scene you’re like, bright red.”

Mike turned said shade of red at the mention of the scene where she had to flirt with Will. “No I’m not,” she replied, not looking up from stringing the bracelet. 

Max gave her a skeptical look. “You’re literally red right now.”

“Fine, maybe he’s pretty! I don’t know!” Mike threw her hands up in frustration. 

Max smirked. “You should ask him out.”

“I don’t know, we don’t even know if he likes guys. Plus, I’m not fully a guy, so I don’t know how he’d feel about that.”

“Will isn’t fully a guy either, Mike, I don’t know if you noticed.”

“Well, yeah…” She shrugged. “I just… I don’t even think it’s a crush, I just think he’s kind of really pretty and has nice eyelashes andsometimesIwanttokisshimonthecheekand……ohshithisisacrush.”

Max laughed. “I told you.”

“Shut up, okay?”

Unnamed Chat

El: Hi everyone!! I made this group chat!!

Lucas: Who’s on here?

Max: max

Dustin: Dustin

Mike: mike

Will: Will

Lucas: Ok cool I wondered who the other people were

Lucas: This number is Lucas by the way

*Max renamed the chat ‘theater people’*

*Mike renamed the chat ‘Queer Theater People’*

*Max renamed the chat ‘Mike don’t assume things about other’s sexualities’*

Mike: oh shit right sorry 

Dustin: It’s chill, we are

Max: no one change the name now

Mike: whyyyyy

Max: ITS FUNNY

Mike: ughhhhhhhh

Private Chat -> Mike & Max

Max: oh btw i forgot to ask is there a different name u wanna use when you’re feeling fem??

Mike: honestly i like mike still

Max: ok cool

Mike don’t assume things about other’s sexualities

Lucas: Everyone just ignore them

Dustin: I was planning on it

Will: El how come you made this chat?

El: For fun? Also to ask if anyone wants to hang out today

Mike: oo yes we can run lines!!!

Lucas: That's a great idea actually, where?

El: How about everyone come to me and Will’s?

El: Since everyone’s been here before

Dustin: Should I still come? I don’t have an actual part

El: Yes you should! You can read in for others!!

Lucas: Yeah dude!
Max: actually that would be helpful

Dustin: Ok cool

Will: El I checked with Mom and Hopper and they’re good with it

Will: So you guys can come over whenever

Max: sounds good

Mike: cool!

Dustin: ok

Lucas: epic i need to practice my lines

Everyone arrived to the Byers-Hopper house in the span of around 30 minutes, and they started arguing about which scenes to run first. 

“I think we should run the bathroom scene,” Max said, looking at Mike. Mike shook his head, turning a bit pink, and Max quickly pulled him aside. 

“Pronouns for today?” They whispered. 

“Preferably ‘he,’ but ‘she’ isn’t wrong either.”

“Okay, cool.”

The two then quickly rejoined the argument. 

“Hold on, what’s a scene we’re all in?” Mike asked. 

“I don’t think there is one, I mean, besides the group scenes with everyone,” Will replied. 

“Okay, well, you guys should practice the bathroom scene. It’s so awkward right now,” Dustin mentioned. 

Max gave Mike a pointed look, saying ‘I told you so.’

Mike rolled his eyes at them, but she had turned noticeably pink.

“I don’t think we really need to practice anything at the moment,” Will replied. “We’re doing pretty good, plus, it’s hard to practice without the others.” 

El shrugged. “Do you guys want to play a game instead?”

“We could play zip, zap, zop!” Lucas suggested. 

“Ooo, yes!” El exclaimed. 

“What category?” Will asked.

“How about celebrities?” Max suggested.

Multiple people groaned. “Fine, but don’t expect me to know that many celebrities,” Will replied.

Mike nodded. “I don’t know that many either.”

Dustin shrugged. “Me either.”

“Yep, that’s why it’s fun!” Max jumped up from where they were sitting, and El pouted. The two had been cuddling. 

The six of them stood in a circle, and Max started. 

“Sadie Sink!” 

Mike. “Taylor Swift!”

Will. “Finn Wolfhard!”

El. “Keira Knightly!”

Dustin. “Albert Einstein! I don’t care if that counts or not!”

“Oh, me?” Lucas stuttered. “Uhhh… Robert Downey Jr!”

Mike again. “Harry Styles?”

Will again. “Shit. Uh. Noah Schnapp.”

Dustin. “Um. Um. Can we play something else? I literally know like no celebrities.”

El laughed. “Yeah, what do you guys think?” 

“We could play a board game?” Lucas suggested. 

“Oh! Yes, El what’s that one game you got recently?” Will turned to their sibling. 

“Oh! Um, taco cat goat cheese pizza?” They replied. 

“No. What the fuck is that?” 

El shrugged. “It had cat in the title.”

Will shook their head. “It had whiteboards? And you had to match with people?”

“Oh! Blank Slate?” 

“Yes!” Will exclaimed. “We should play that!”

“That’s a good one!” Dustin said, then added “We played it together, remember?” when El gave him a confused look. 

“Don’t you guys just have, like, Monopoly or something?” Max complained. 

Mike shot them a glare. “No. Never again.”

“What, you don’t want to play with me?” 

“YOU CHEATED ME OUT OF MY MONEY!” Mike yelled. 

“YOU WERE CHEATING!” Max cried back. 

“GUYS! STOP FIGHTING!” Lucas shouted over them. 

“Sorry,” Mike lowered his voice. “We can play the whiteboard game, or whatever.”

“Ok, I’ll go get it!” El replied, running to where they kept their games. 

For the rest of the afternoon, the six friends played blank slate, and laughed together. El smiled, watching them. Both her worlds were coming together. 

Chapter Text

During a break in Blank Slate, Max and Mike were talking in the kitchen. 

“Okay,  Mike, I just looked up Finn Wolfhard and he looks so much like you, what. the heck.”

“Who the fuck is Finn Wolfhard?” Mike looked up from scrolling on his phone. 

“The guy Will said during zip, zap, zop!” Max exclaimed. 

“Oh.”

“Look at this.” Max showed Mike their phone. 

“Oh, yeah, I guess.” She replied. 

“You should be more excited!”

“Why?”

“‘Cause, how else would Will know him unless he thought he was attractive?” Max asked. 

Mike shrugged. “You can’t assume that.” 

“Well, remember earlier, Dustin said they were queer? In the group chat?”

“Yeah, that doesn’t mean Will likes me.” Mike replied, still looking at his phone. 

“Fuck you,” Max replied. “He should.”

“What are you guys doing?” Lucas asked, walking into the kitchen.

“I don’t know,” Mike replied. 

“Mike has a crush on Will,” Max blurted out. 

“MAX!” Mike yelled. 

“Sorry,” They replied, not sounding very sorry. 

“Okay, well, for Mike’s sake, I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that. El sent me in here to tell you two that we are requesting from the parents a sleepover.” Lucas said.

“ Thank you , Lucas,” Mike replied with a pointed look at Max. Max rolled their eyes in response. 

“My mom already assumed I’d be sleeping over here, so I’m good,” Max added. 

“Alright, cool,” Lucas did finger guns. “Mike?”

“Uh, yeah, I’ll text my mom.”

A little while later, everyone had gotten the ok from their parents to sleep over. They all gathered in the living room. 

“We should watch a movie,” Dustin suggested. 

Will have him a pointed look. “If we can decide on one.”

“I think we should watch The Prom!” El suggested. 

Max sighed. “You always say that.”

“It’s a good movie!” El replied. 

“I second that, but the live musical is much better,” Will added. 

“Wrong. The movie is a horrible adaptation,” Dustin countered. 

“What is The Prom?” Mike asked, and everyone turned in shock. 

“You’ve never heard of The Prom?” Max gaped. 

Mike shook his head slowly, wary of what would come next. 

“Alright then, we have to watch it now.” Lucas clapped his hands. 

“Please can we not?” Dustin asked. “If Mike is going to experience The Prom, it should be in a theater. Live.”

“Everyone chill out!” Will suddenly yelled, as everyone had started to argue. “Why don’t we just put the movie on in the background and then play truth or dare or something as it’s playing?”

Everyone shrugged. 

“Yeah, that’s a good alternative,” Dustin replied, grabbing the remote and hanging it to El so she could pull it up. 

“Alright, truth or dare.” Max rubbed their hands together. “Who shall be my first victim?” 

“What the fuck, Max?” Mike asked.

“Hmm, yes, it shall be you, Mike. Truth or dare.”

Shit, Mike thought. “Um.” Well, I know they’re not going to out me. But there is my crush on Will… but also they give the worst fucking dares.

Mike’s thoughts were interrupted when Dustin asked, “Hold on, is there a rule about chickening out? For either a truth or a dare?”

“Usually we play where if someone doesn’t want to answer a truth or do a dare, they can chicken out and force everyone to answer a truth,” Lucas replied. “Does that sound good for everyone?”

“Alright, cool,” Dustin responded.

“Sounds kinda fun,” Will added.

Max nodded their head. “Ok, with that rule in mind, back to my question. Mike, truth or dare?”

Okay, I can chicken out now. So. Um. “Truth, I guess.”

Max pouted. “You’re no fun. Dares are better. Who was your first kiss?”

“NOPE NOPE NOPE.” Mike waved her hands in front of Max’s smug face. 

“You want a full party truth?” They smirked. 

Mike rolled his eyes. “Yes. Fine.”

“Okay, if everyone’s okay with answering, sexualities?” Max asked. Everyone nodded in response. “Okay, Mike, you have to go first,” They added. 

Mike rolled her eyes again. “Whatever. I’m bi. Well, technically I’m omni but no one ever knows what that means, so.” He shrugged, then seeing some confused looks from the others, she explained, “It means I like all genders, but in different ways. The attraction is different for different genders.”

“That’s cool!” El smiled at him. “I don’t think I knew that!”

Mike smiled, too. El always cheered people up. It might have to do with her mood.

“I’ll go next, I guess,” Dustin shifted his weight, changing sitting positions. “I’m asexual and abroromantic. Abroromantic means my romantic sexuality is fluid, always changing. Other labels just felt too constricting.”

“Dude.” Will looked at Dustin. “You are getting way too deep for it only being 6pm.”

“Yeah, why did we choose to play truth or dare at 6pm again?” Lucas asked.

They all laughed, and continued. 

“I am asexual and panromantic!” El said, then looked at Max, who sat next to her.

“Do I have to answer my own question?”

Lucas shrugged.

“I’d say yes, especially for a full party truth,” Will replied.

“Okay, well, I’m bi,” Max answered.

“I’m also bi,” Lucas shrugged during his turn.

Finally, Will’s turn came along. “I’m gay, but I don’t think it would be a problem for me to date a genderfluid person. I feel like as long as they identify as masc in some way it would be chill. Genderfluidity shouldn’t be a deal breaker. I’m also asexual.”

“Look who’s being deep now?” Dustin teased.

Just then, the TV made a loud sound, and everyone looked over. They’d forgotten The Prom was playing.

♪ Note to self, don’t be gay in Indiana

Big heads up, that’s a really stupid plan ♪

Dustin laughed. “That’s literally all of us, though.”

“Cheers to being gay in Indiana,” Max joked, raising their hand, even though they held nothing.

“None of us have glasses,” Lucas pointed out.

“We should get some. El, can we steal wine from Hopper?” Max asked.

“NO!” El shouted. “Absolutely not, no alcohol consumption will be happening on my watch.”

“Besides, Hopper doesn’t drink wine. He usually drinks shitty beer,” Will added.

Max scrunched their nose up. “Gross. That’s literally the least quality alcohol someone can get.”

Dustin clapped his hands. “ANYWAY.” He paused when everyone stopped talking and looked at him. “What do you guys want to do?”

“Can we order pizza?” Lucas asked Will and El. The two siblings looked at each other.

“I’ll go ask Joyce.” El stood up and skipped down the hall to the office. Everyone started chatting while she went to ask. Max texted Mike from across the room, so they wouldn’t have to leave the room to talk privately.

Private chat -> Max & Mike

Max: see???????

Mike: what

Max: will said they don’t care if someone he likes is genderfluid!!!

Mike: max that still doesn’t mean he likes me

Max: look at me im rolling my eyes rn

Max: you expect me to believe that???

Mike: i cant read social signals ok?

Mike: its the autism

Mike: leave me alone

Max: exactly thats why you hsould trust me on this

Mike: *sigh*

Mike: i swear, if you dare us to kiss or smth i will throw hands

Max: oh, believe me, i can dare you to do a lot worse things than kiss will

Before Mike could respond, El came darting back into the room. “What kind of pizza do we want? Cheese?”

“Cheese is good,” Lucas replied.

“Yeah, sure,” Max added.

“Any objections?” Will asked. “Allergies?”

“Nope,” Dustin looked up.

Mike shook his head.

“Ok, cheese it is!” El skipped back to the other room to help Joyce order the pizza. Everyone else ended up paying attention to the movie, actually watching it now. When El returned, she squeezed her way into the cuddle pile Lucas and Max were already in. The three of them sat on the floor, while Mike sat on one end of the couch. Dustin and Will sat on the other side or the couch. 

Eventually, the pizza arrived, and they all just ate pizza around the TV. It had reached the climax of the movie, and Mike didn’t want to admit it, but she enjoyed the plot. She also kept texting Max about Emma’s outfits.

Private Chat -> Mike & Max

Mike: emma is Gender

Mike: do you see her outfits???

Mike: omg

Mike: im dying 

Mike: i wanna look like that in a suit

Max: honestly i gotta agree w you on this one

Max: also what if we went shopping together so u could get gender outfits

Mike: YES OMG

Mike: i want skirtssss

Mike: and pinkkkkkkkk

Max: ok we can go after puffs lol

Max: it takes up too much of our time rn

Mike: good point

Max: ew and next week is tech week

Mike: gross

Max: ok we should probably stop texting now

Max: el and lucas want attention

Max: and they want to see my texts

Mike: ok

When the movie finally came to an end, El had fallen asleep. So had Dustin. Mike, Will, Lucas and Max decided to leave the two of them and just let them sleep. The four of them set up their sleeping bags in the same area and went to sleep. Mike found herself wanting to tell them about gender, but decided against it, since El and Dustin were asleep and would be out of the loop. She did want to tell them sometime soon, though.

Chapter Text

Everyone woke at different times the next morning, a Sunday. Everyone felt groggy and tired, as one does after a sleepover. Joyce prepared waffles with whipped cream and chocolate chips. 

As the six friends ate breakfast, they talked about plans for the day. El, Lucas and Max had a date planned. Will and Dustin were going to hang around and plan their next D&D campaign for after Puffs . 

“Wait, you guys play D&D too?” Mike asked. 

“Yeah!” Dustin replied. 

“Since we were kids,” Will added. “We used to play with two other people, but they… stopped playing with us.”

“Oh. Maybe we could play together sometime!” Mike suggested.

“Yeah, that could be fun!” Will replied. He then turned away to talk to El, as she’d been trying to get his attention, and didn’t notice Mike blushing as he ate another bite of waffle. Max smirked at Mike across the table, and he kicked them.

“Ow! Mike!” They exclaimed.

Mike rolled her eyes, and the two spent the rest of breakfast glaring at each other.

When Mike, Will and Dustin left, El, Lucas and Max were ready for their date. Max had planned to go to a cute local comic shop. Since Max was the only one who knew how to get there, they had to drive, with her mom in the passenger seat. Ugh. Legal requirements. 

“This is a bad idea,” Lucas said as he took his seat in the back next to El. . 

“It’s fine, Lucas, my driving skills have long since progressed. I have my permit, it’s fine.” Max replied, clicking their seatbelt. “Seatbelts, everyone!”

Lucas sighed, and whispered loudly to El. “This is a bad idea, right?” 

“I can hear you!” Max’s voice came as they started the car. 

Lucas ignored them. 

“I don’t know, they have to learn at some point, right?” El whispered back. 

“I’ve already driven a car before and now I can actually do it legally. Y’all will be fine.”

“It’s alright kids, I’m here if anything happens.” Max’s mom added. 

“Okay, let’s go!” Max stepped on the gas. The car didn’t move. 

“Max, love, you’re in park,” Their mom said. 

“Oh, shit. Okay, now let’s go.” After a gear shift, they were off to the comic store. 

Walking into the small comic shop felt like a dream. A whole different world. 

“Woah,” Lucas breathed. “I didn’t think they had places like this in Hawkins.”

Max shrugged. “They opened this place last year, I think. It hasn’t been here for very long, but it was my escape from Billy, before…” They trailed off. “Anyways, do you guys want anything?”

El gasped. “Oh my gosh, Max, they have Wonder Woman !”

Max smiled. “Yeah, they have a lot of older comics too, like the ones you got from your dad, Lucas.”

“Awesome!” Lucas exclaimed, prancing over to the X-Men section. 

After some exploring of the shop, El and Max curled up in a corner on one of the shop’s many beanbag chairs. El had a Wonder Woman comic she’d found open, reading it, and Max just wanted some cuddles. A couple minutes later, Lucas found them and just collapsed on top of both their laps. 

“Lucas!” Max exclaimed. 

“What?” He asked innocently. Max put their head in their hands. 

“Whatever. El?”

“Yes?” El looked up from their comic. “Oh, hi Lucas,” she said, as if just noticing him. 

“Do you guys want to buy anything?” Max asked. 

“Can I get this one?” El held up the one she was reading. 

“Yeah, sure, Lucas?”

“Eh. I have too many comics already. Can we go get boba? There’s a shop next door.”

El lit up. “Yes! Can we get boba?”

Max groaned. “You know how I feel about boba.”

“You can get a smoothie or something, Max. They don’t just sell boba.”

“Alright, fine, but one of you guys has to pay for it.”

“Deal!” El squealed. 

Max paid for El’s comic, since she would buy the boba, and the three of them then walked over to the boba shop. 

El ordered a strawberry tea with strawberry popping pearls, which are basically boba with juice inside. Lucas ordered some sort of green tea with regular boba (Max was too afraid to ask him what it was. It looked kind of gross), and Max just ended up not getting anything because they couldn’t decide. The three decided to walk around the park while drinking their boba. 

“How are you guys feeling about the play?” Lucas asked.

“It’s great,” Max replied. “J. FInch is just a little guy and I love him.”

“I thought you didn’t really want to do it,” Lucas countered.

Max shrugged. “I didn’t know it would be this fun.”

“I think it’s really fun to talk to everyone!” El exclaimed. “Everyone is so nice.”

Lucas nodded. “I agree.”

Max groaned. “Ugh, tech week is next week.”

Lucas sighed. “I was trying not to think about that.”

“It will be fine,” El replied. 

Max gave her a skeptical look.

Chapter Text

It was not, as El said, fine. Tech week was in fact the most boring thing that the party had to endure. Standing on stage for hours on end, in mostly silence, as the lights and sound were run. 

At least they had mics and didn’t have to project their lines. Will figured he’d lose his voice if they had to do that for three shows.

“Ok, action!” Murray shouted, bringing Will back to the present. Oh. Shit. What was his line again? 

Oh yeah. 

“If I manage to win this thing, I’m telling everyone it was because of your help.” Will made sure to enunciate in order to practice for the actual performance.

“I… cool,” replied Walter, who played Wayne, his partner for this scene.

“Excuse me!” Mike rushed on, picking up his cue. “Cedric! Cedric!-”

“Pause!” Murray shouted, and Mike stopped where he was. Murray worked with the lights guy, Peter, to get a lighting shift to change the mood. Dustin was the sound guy. They’d been doing this for a while now, and it was very slow going. 

Eventually, they managed to get through all of year 4, and Murray called a break. That would be where intermission was in the actual performance, even if the show was supposed to be a one act, Murray figured it would be better to have an intermission.

“Thank god for that break,” Max groaned, collapsing on the stage. 

Mike laid down next to them, complaining. “My feet hurt.”

“Yeah, we’ve been standing for a long time,” Will added. 

“Yeah, I hate to tell you guys, but there’s still an hour left of rehearsal,” Dustin walked up behind them from the sound booth. He pulled himself up onstage and sat on the edge.

Everyone groaned. 

“Hey, at least it’s only an hour,” Lucas pointed out.

“Yeah, but we have to do this again tomorrow with the sound,” El added.

“Ugh. this is unfair,” Max complained, sitting up.

“Yeah,” Mike agreed, also sitting up. “Okay, I’m gonna go to the vending machine. Does anyone want food?”

“I’ll go with, I can get my own food,” Will replied.

“Ok, cool. Anyone else?” Mike asked the group, jumping off the stage.

“I’m good, I have my own food.” El held up her bag of gummy worms.

“You’ll share with me, right?” Max asked. 

“And me?” Lucas added.

El laughed, giving each of her partners a kiss on the cheek. “Yeah, of course.”

Dustin sighed. “I’m good, I need to go check something with Murray about sound. Now you guys better get going, or the break will end soon.”

“Okay,” Will replied, running to the auditorium doors with Mike. 

“So, how’s tech week been going for you?” Will asked, putting his money into the vending machine.

“It’s just boring. The ‘tism doesn’t like standing still and not talking.”

Will laughed, then did a double take. “Wait, you’re autistic?”

“Self-diagnosed,” Mike shrugged. “My parents probably wouldn’t let me get an actual diagnosis, so.” She lifted up his hands, looking around. “I just know I have a lot of the symptoms and shit.”

Will nodded, grabbing his chips from the vending machine.

“We should head back,” Mike looked at her watch.

“Yeah, sounds good.”

The two headed back to the auditorium, and just before they entered, Mike spoke up again. “Hey, I meant to ask, do you want to get together at some point and practice the Myrtle scene without people watching? I mean, I know it’s just a really weird scene, and obviously we don’t have to, but-”

“No, that actually sounds good,” Will interrupted, then scratched their neck. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have interrupted.”

“Nah, I was just gonna start ranting,” Mike replied, pulling open the auditorium doors. He turned her face away from Will, feeling himself turn red. Her crush on Will really was starting to get out of hand. It had gotten to the point where he would forget her lines because he’d be too busy staring at Will. She had to get over this.

At the end of tech week, Will went over to Mike’s house. They really had to practice the bathroom scene, not because they didn’t know their lines, but because it had such a weird vibe, and Mike swore he could act better than this. She’s supposed to be a ghost in this scene, he can’t be blushing.

After one run-though, Will sighed. “God this is such a weird scene.”

Mike nodded. “Yeah, really.”

“Myrtle’s just a weird character in general,” Will added.

“Yeah, sometimes I hate playing her, but she’s also fun to play.” Mike replied.

The two were sitting on the couch in Mike’s basement with the table pushed out of the way, so they could practice the blocking for the scene as well. 

Will felt like he could feel kind of romantic vibes in the room, because, even if he didn’t really want to admit it, he kinda had a crush on Mike. He had no idea how Mike felt, though, if he liked them back. 

Will had thought about confessing, but it was a small crush, at the moment, and they didn’t want to mess up relationships before the shows. Mike literally had to carry his dead body onstage, they couldn’t mess that up.

Chapter Text

Everyone felt at least a little nervous for opening night. They hoped everything would go well. 

The curtains rose, and the show began.

It all went by really fast for Will, and it seemed unreal, to be onstage and say his lines.

At intermission, everyone hung around backstage, talking about the shit they’d messed up. Nothing major, just a couple of lines that had been fudged. El and Mike helped Will put on his Voldy makeup for Act 2, smearing face paint all over, getting that pale look with the shadows under and around his eyes. 

Will could feel himself blushing with Mike’s face so close to his. 

It was fine. He was fine.

Probably.

The second act seemed to go even faster, the last couple scenes whizzing by. Will died (well, pretended to) for the second time, and then it was over.

When the first show ended, everyone had lost their energy. They put away props and costumes and everyone went home, though they’d have to come back the next day to do it all again.

Will and El went home and collapsed together. The two of them practically slept until noon, they were so tired.

There wasn’t much to report for the rest of the shows. Everything went smoothly, their jokes were a hit, and no one forgot any lines. At least, not in a way that was noticeable. No one missed a cue, either.

Mike had been planning the cast party for after their 1 'o'clock show on Sunday, which would be their last show. 

And by planning, Will meant he said everyone was welcome to come to his house after and hang out and eat pizza. There wasn’t much planning involved.

It felt like a lot of stuff had happened since opening night, but it really just was the fact that all the shows had tired Will out. He couldn’t imagine what it was like for Walter, Theo, Anya and Josh, who all had the most lines, being the main trio and the narrator. 

Will felt like he had really bonded with the whole cast, but he knew they probably wouldn’t have another thing like this again, unless he did theater again. Honestly, he’d probably do tech crew if he did theater again. Acting has been fun, but there had been so much to memorize.

Will suspected he’d have the whole puffs play engraved in his brain for a couple months after this.

Cleaning up after all the shows was a mess. Multiple people had brought in props and costumes and were scrambling to find everything that was theirs.

Will could hear shouts of

“Has anyone seen my red mirror?”

“Y’all, where did the ball sphere go? Fuck, that was my brother’s. He’s gonna kill me if I don’t return it.”

“Who used a wand from me? I need those back!”

“I really need to get this makeup off, oh god.”

“Does anyone care if I bring my fake scar home?”

That last one had come from Mike. He’d gotten a headband with a cardboard scar glued to it for when he played Harry. Very over-the-top.

Will had been camping out in the bathroom. He had been trying to get his Voldy makeup off for like, 10 minutes at this point. The problem was just that the makeup had been applied in a splotchy and chunky way, and there was just a lot on his face. Oh well. It would come off eventually.

Finally, the makeup came off, and he and El were ready to go to the cast party at Mike’s. Jonathan, Will’s older brother and El’s step-brother, would be driving them.

They left pretty late, but somehow there were still people in the theater collecting stuff, so they knew they wouldn’t be the last people to get to the party.

Mike had left as soon as possible, and currently, he was trying to prepare her house for the party.  Thank goodness his mom knew it was happening, otherwise she’d be in big trouble. There had also been another thing he’d been thinking about. Coming out as genderfluid.

Private chat -> Mike & Max

Mike: what if i wanna come out to the cast at the cast party?

Max: i mean it's ur decision

Mike: i mean like, how

Mike: if i was going to

Mike: i still don’t know if i will

Max: well idk. it would be funny if i made a joke about u stealing my gender tho

Mike: ohmygod yes

Mike: how would we phrase that tho?

Max: if i was juts like “hey guys i finally figured out who stole my gender”

Max: and then everyone would be llike what the fuck who

Max: and you could dramatically walk down the stairs orsomething and be like

Max: it was MOI

Mike: lmaoo yes

Mike: that would actually be great

Max: ok do you wanna do it?

Mike: …yeah. let’s do it.

Chapter Text

Will and El weren’t the last people to arrive at the cast party, but they certainly weren’t the first. All of the cast had gotten really close over the whole course of rehearsals and shit, but it still felt like they stayed mostly in their cliques of friends they’d had before the show. 

Lavender, Anya, and Josh all sat in a corner, chatting. They played Hannah, Megan, and the Narrator, respectively. Anya and Josh had actually started dating over the course of the show, much to Theo’s dismay. Theo was another person who was in the play. He’d played Oliver, who was Megan’s love interest in the show, and he’d kind of had a crush on Anya, though he’d reported that it had gone away.

Jennifer, Walter, and Theo weren’t there yet, and neither were Max or Lucas.

Eventually, everyone got together in a circle and start a big group conversation. 

“Wait, guys, we should play a game,” Theo suggested, as he’d finally arrived.

“Can we play bitty bitty bonnie bonnie boo again?” Max asked, causing multiple people to groan, and other people to cheer.

The people who cheered ended up starting a game of bitty bitty bonnie bonnie boo in the basement, after moving the coffee table so no one would get hurt. Max started in the middle, and it got just a lot more chaotic from there. Eventually, they weren’t playing the game anymore, just running around the basement shouting random words and phrases. 

“Gray!”

“Cheese!”

“Your mom!”

Mike, as the host, felt like he had to stay down there and supervise to make sure nothing would break, even though she was really fucking overstimulated. There was so much going on all at once and it was a lot. 

“Mike? You alright?” Max asked, walking up to her.

“Ugharshablehp.” Mike replied.

No normal person would have understood that, but, after years of friendship, Max understood, and knew when Mike needed a break. 

“Go upstairs and chill, I’ll make sure no one breaks anything?”

“Really? You won’t just break more shit if people start?” Mike replied sarcastically.

“Now why would you think I’d do that?” Max teased. “No, but really. I will stop people from breaking stuff. I can tell you need a break from… this.” They gestured to everything that was going on. 

The game of bitty bitty bonnie bonnie boo had stopped, and in its place, people had started playing New York, New York, which was very interesting because of the lack of backstage. There was nowhere to run if someone shouted “RATS!”

“Thanks, Max.”

“No problem. Now please, go take a break. For your mental health.” Max smiled, Mike smiling back. Then she ran upstairs.

30-ish minutes later, Will came up to Max. 

“Hey, have you seen Mike? Last I saw him was like 40 minutes ago.”

“Oh, yeah, he’s in his room. I don’t know if he’ll be willing to talk to people right now, but you can go check? Second floor, second door on the right.”

“Thanks, Max!”

The door to Mike’s room was closed, so Will knocked softly.

Mike’s voice called, “Who is it?”

“Will!” They called back.

“Oh, okay. You can come in.”

Will opened the door, then shut it behind him. Mike sat on his bed wrapped in a blanket, headphones on. 

“You disappeared!” Will said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

“Yeah, sorry about that. It just got too loud. There was too much going on.” Mike gestured to the headphones. “I’m mostly ok now.”

“You want a hug?” Will offered.

Mike considered for a moment, then nodded. “That would be nice.”

Will moved closer to Mike on the bed, wrapping him in a hug. After a while, neither of the two moved.

Mike squeezed Will, hugging him tighter for a second, then letting go, and Will returned the gesture. 

“Can we…cuddle for a bit?” Mike asked. “Like… platonically?”

Well, not platonically on Mike’s end, but Will didn’t have to know that.

Meanwhile, Will’s heart dropped a bit when Mike added the platonically part, thinking Mike did not return their feelings.

“Yeah, of course. You’re sure you’re okay?” Will asked.

“Yeah, mostly tired. Kinda burnt out from rehearsals and shows. I’m also really touch-starved, so there’s that too.”

Will laughed softly, then there was a moment of silence. 

“Is there anything you want to talk about with me?” Will asked after a couple of moments passed.

Mike shrugged. “Well…” She paused, deciding. “I did kind of have a gender crisis?”

“Oh? Pronoun check?” Will asked.

“She/he for now, I still don’t really know about ‘they,’” Mike replied. “Oh, and I still go by Mike. That hasn’t changed.”

“Well, thanks for telling me.” Will felt honored. Out of all the people, they didn’t really think Mike would come to him . Well, he probably wasn’t the first person Mike told. 

“Does anyone else know?” Will asked.

Mike nodded. “Yeah, Max knows, but no one else yet. I do have a plan for coming out, though. It’s supposed to be to the group before everyone leaves, but I don’t really know if there will be time or if I’m ready.”

“Take your time. Don’t worry about it.” Will grabbed Mike’s hand and gave it a little squeeze. Mike smiled at Will, and he smiled back.

Half a second passed, and Mike suddenly blurted out, “I really like you, Will.”

Will just stared at her. 

“I mean- as more than a friend.”

Fuck. What did Mike just say?

The two were still cuddled together, and Will made no move to get up, which Mike took as a good sign. A couple moments later, Will still hadn’t said anything, which worried MIke.

“Will?” Mike started to pull away, and Will pulled her closer. 

“Shit, sorry. I- just- processing. I really like you too, Mike.”

Oh thank god.

Mike smiled. “Really?”

Will smiled too. “Yeah.”

Another moment of silence passed. Mike flicked her eyes down to Will’s lips. She didn’t know if Will would want to kiss her or not. She didn’t want to kiss without asking, but cuddling was also nice. Will smelled nice. That was a weird thought. Well, it was true.

Will broke through Mike’s thoughts by blurting “Can I kiss you?”

Mike squealed at the thought of Will wanting to kiss her. “Eep- I- yes. Yes .”

And so Mike closed the distance between their lips.

The kiss was slow, neither of the two moving to rush it. It felt safe to Mike. When the two parted, Mike untangled herself from Will for a second and flapped her hands around, stimming. She noticed Will staring, and then felt weird about it.

“I- sorry,” she apologized. 

“Don’t apologize! You’re totally fine.” Will rested his forehead on Mike’s, smiling and closing his eyes. What he didn’t say was that he found it cute. 

“So… you like me.” Mike paused.

“Yeah…?” Will agreed, slightly confused. Where was she going with this?

“And I like you…” Mike continued. “...so are we dating?”

Will let out a small noise of surprise. “Do you want to date me?”

“...Yes.” Mike replied. “But only if you want to date me.”

“Yes.” Will buried his head into Mike’s shoulder. “I do want to date you.”

Will paused for a second, thinking. 

“Wait, what do you want me to call you? Boyfriend? Girlfriend? Significant other? Partner?” Will asked, looking at Mike. Mike took a second to think, then Will added, “You know, since you’re genderfluid and all.”

Mike nodded. “Boyfriend and girlfriend are fine, depending on the day. I don’t really like partner though. It’s like, what are we partners for, a school project?”

Will laughed. “That’s fair. How do I avoid misgendering you?” He paused, then added, “Sorry for all the questions, I just want to make sure.”

Mike smiled. “You’re good. I have gender bracelets that Max helped me make, but I haven’t worn them yet because… you know. Closeted.”

Will nodded in understanding.

“Gender is complicated.” Mike said.

“Do you… want me to distract you from thinking about it?” Will flirted.

Mike took in a sharp breath. “Yes. Kiss me please.”

Will laughed into Mike’s lips and closed the distance between them once again. The kiss was pretty much the same as the first, slow and loving. Neither Mike nor Will moved to deepen the intensity of the kiss, just smashing their lips together. 

A couple seconds later, the door opened. Mike and Will sprung apart and looked over. Max stood in the doorway, a smug smile on their face.

“Uh- we were just-” Will sputtered.

Mike’s face grew red like a tomato.

“Congratulations, you two.” Max slow clapped. “I mean, I didn’t need to see you guys kiss, but I’m glad you got your shit together and made a move, Mike.”

“Wait.” Will paused. “You knew?”

“I know everything, Will.” They replied.

Mike sighed. “Why are you here?”

“Do you wanna… do the thing?” Max tried to be as vague as possible, since they weren’t sure if Mike had told Will about the Gender.

“Oh, Will knows. We’re chill.” Mike replied. Will pulled Mike closer to him in response.

“Great.” Max clapped their hands. “So… do you want to come out now?” They asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Mike nodded. “Shit, people didn’t leave already, did they?”

“Well, Taylor left, but everyone else is still here.” Max rolled their eyes. “She has to maintain her sleep schedule.”

Mike snorted. “Imagine having a sleep schedule.”

“I know, right?” Max laughed. “Ok. let’s go. C’mon, gays.”

Chapter Text

Mike, Max, and Will trudged down the stairs, and everyone was already in the living room/kitchen/dining area, eating. It seemed the pizza had arrived. Mike quickly looked around to make sure none of her family was around/in earshot- she didn’t really feel like coming out to them today.

Once she was sure they were good, she nodded at Max.

“Yo! Everyone! I have an announcement to make!” They yelled, getting everyone’s attention. 

Surprisingly, it worked, and conversations came to a stop. Mostly. 

“I finally figured out where my gender went!”

There were responses of “where?” among murmurs of confusion, mostly from the cis people. 

Max caught Dustin explaining to a couple people, Lucas among them, “It’s a common joke to say your gender was stolen when you come out as a different gender.”

They allowed for a couple more seconds of side conversations before nodding at Mike. She hesitated, so Will jumped in, trying to help it flow more smoothly. 

“Wait, so who stole your gender?” He asked. 

Mike gave him a grateful smile, then stood up. “It was me! I’m the gender thief.”

A couple of gasps could be heard throughout the room, along with someone saying, “Wait, what?”

“I use she/he pronouns now.” Mike smiled. “I still go by Mike, though. That’s all.”

There were some cheers, a lot of “thanks for telling us!” 

Josh even came up to Mike and patted her on the back. 

It was only when Lavender asked “So, are you ok with us telling other people and using your correct pronouns at school?” that everyone got quiet again. 

Mike nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine. Just be careful around my family, especially my parents.”

Everyone nodded, planning to respect Mike’s wishes. 

Later, a group of people was gathered to play cards against humanity, which resulted in a lot of yelling and laughing. Soon, it was time to go. 

Mike couldn’t believe it. There would be no more rehearsal, no more laughing with the cast, no more bitty bitty bonnie bonnie boo. Part of her felt sad. The other part felt relieved that she would now have free time. Plus, a lot of good things came out of this. Like Will. She walked over to him now, whispering in his ear. 

“Do you want to stay a bit later than everyone else? I mean, Max is sleeping over, but we could still get some hang out time?”

Will smiled, turning to hug Mike. “Yeah, that might be nice.” He laughed a bit. “Max will probably hate us though.”

“Oh, they definitely will.”

“Thank god everyone’s gone,” Max sighed and collapsed onto the couch. Will gave them a weird look. “Don’t get me wrong, I love them all dearly, but everyone is so. fucking. loud.”

“Yeah, it can get really overstimulating.” Mike came down the stairs holding a bowl of popcorn. “Do you guys wanna watch a movie?”

The two shrugged. “What I really wanna know is who your first kiss was, Mike.” Will shoved Mike a bit. She groaned.

Max smiled evilly. “If you don’t want to tell him, I will.”

Mike sighed. “Fine, you can tell them.”

“Her first kiss was me.” 

Will’s mouth fell open. “What?!”

Max smirked. “Yeah, Lucas dared us to kiss in like 7th grade at a sleepover, before either of us knew we were-” they did the gay wrist. 

Will laughed. 

Mike sighed. “It’s not really something I’m proud of.”

“What, you don’t like that you’ve kissed me? Aren’t I such a good kisser?” Max puckered their lips, teasing Mike.

Will kept laughing. 

“Stop laughing at me! You’re supposed to be on my side!” Mike told Will, hitting him playfully with a pillow. 

“PILLOW FIGHT!” Max screamed, starting to hit Mike with their pillow. 

Will grabbed a pillow and put it over his head as protection. 

“Hey! This isn’t fair!” Mike yelled. “You’re only hitting me!” 

“Fine, I’ll hit your boyfriend too, if that’s what you want.” They moved to hit Will, and he just sunk deeper into the couch using the pillow on his head as a sort of shield. 

“This is homophobia!” Mike yelled jokingly. 

Max threw their pillow at her. There were feathers everywhere. 

“What is going on down here?!” Mike’s mom came down the stairs. “Mike, please clean this up. Will, your brother is here to pick you up.” She went back upstairs. 

“Bye, Will,” Mike called softly, hugging him. 

Mike could see Max pretending to make out with someone over Will’s shoulder as they hugged. She rolled her eyes. 

“Can I have a kiss?” Will asked as they pulled out of the hug. 

“Yeah.” Mike shot a quick look up the stairs, then gave Will a peck on the lips. 

“Bye!” Will left, and the second he was gone, Max started laughing. 

“You’re so gay.” 

“Ha ha, very funny.” Mike glared  at them, crossing her arms. 

“I’m teasing. I’m also very gay.” 

The two sat down on the couch. 

“You’re probably gayer than I am, with the polyamory.”

Max laughed. “I’m a threat to all. Agender, bisexual and polyamorous. No one is safe.” They paused. “I mean, same goes with El. She’s non-binary, pansexual and polyam. Lucas is boring. Cis guy. At least he’s bi and polyam.”

Mike laughed. “We’re a complex group of people.”

“Yep,” Max replied, popping the ‘p.’

There was a moment of silence. 

“You wanna watch Pirates of the Caribbean?” Mike suggested. 

“Hell yeah.”

Chapter Text

The two stayed up until around 4am. 

They woke up at 2pm. 

Thank god it was a Sunday. 

“Gender shopping trip time!” Mike pumped her fist in the air. 

“Heck yeah,” Max replied. “And since I got my license a couple weeks ago we can go aloneeeeee!” They drew out the ‘e’ in alone, kind of singing it.

“ Fuck yeah.” Mike climbed into the passenger seat of the car, connecting her phone with bluetooth and pulling up the playlist she shared with Max. The first song that started playing was coming of age by mxmtoon. 

♪ You say I’ve changed

Maybe you should try it too… ♪

Max started the car as the song continued playing. Mike started messing with the queue as Max pulled out of Mike’s driveway. 

“Let the credits ROLL!” Mike started to sing along. Max rolled their eyes, but started singing under their breath.

The next song that came on was ‘You Belong With Me’ by Taylor Swift. Max rolled their eyes again, sighing. 

“You’re such a swiftie,” They said, right before the two of them launched into the first verse, both yelling the lyrics at the top of their lungs.

♪ You’re on the phone with your girlfriend, she’s upset

She’s going off about something that you said

‘Cause she doesn’t get your humor like I do… ♪ 

The two continued screaming along to the song, and when the chorus came, they got louder, if that was even possible. 

“SHE WEARS SHORT SKIRTS, I WEAR T-SHIRTS, SHE’S CHEER CAPTAIN AND I’M ON THE BLEACHERS…”

As the song faded out, Max asked Mike, “So how many times did you scream that in your room thinking about Will before y’all got together?”

Mike turned bright red. “Uhhh…”

Max smirked as the next song (‘Serotonin’ by girl in red) started. “Swiftie.” They used the word as an insult, in the most joking way possible.

They spent the rest of the drive to the mall screaming song lyrics. When they finally arrived. Max parked the car, and they walked into the mall.

“Jesus fuck there are so many people here,” Mike swore.

“What do you want to do first?” Max asked.

“Wait, can we get boba??” Mike jumped up and down excitedly. She’d spotted a boba shop pretty close to the entrance.

Max almost said ‘Absolutely not,’ but seeing how excited Mike was made them change their mind. “You can, but I don’t like it.”

“Why not?” Mike asked, walking towards the boba shop.

“The texture is ick.”

“Ok, fair.” Mike replied. Then she said, “Sounds like someone might have a bit of the ‘tism.”

Max sighed. “Having texture problems doesn’t automatically make me autistic.”

“Ok, yeah, sorry, you’re right, I probably shouldn’t joke about that. Especially since I’m not technically diagnosed.” She paused, reading the boba menu. “Hey, they have smoothies without boba pearls! Or you could always try popping boba, it’s filled with juice.”

Max wrinkled their face in disgust. “That sounds weird. I’ll get a mango smoothie. What do you want? I’ll pay.”

“I have money y’know, I can pay for my own boba.” Mike replied.

“Yeah, but I have a job. You just get an allowance.”

“Wait, since when are you the responsible one?” 

Max laughed, and paid for Mike’s strawberry milk tea with tapioca pearls.

The two walked around the mall for a while, stopping at Bath & Body Works to smell the candles. They did have to leave pretty quickly after Max started to feel nauseous from all the smells.

Eventually, they wound up at Hot Topic, where Max had to stop Mike from buying their entire pin supply.

“But they’re so cute!! Look at this one with the frog and the mushroom!” Mike held it up so they could see. Max wordlessly plucked it out of her hands and put it back. Mike sighed and went to go look at the T-shirts. 

A couple minutes later, they were both looking at the earrings. Mike sighed. “These are making me want to get my ears pierced.”

“Honestly, same,” Max admitted. The various mushroom, crystal, and skull earrings (among others) were very cool. 

“Maybe we should go get our ears pierced at Claire’s.” Mike suggested, mostly joking.

“Absolutely not.” Max said. “I will be keeping you away from Claire’s.”

“Fineee.”

Leaving Hot Topic, Max opened their bag and handed something small to Mike. The pin she’d been looking at. 

“You got it for me!! Thank you thank you thank you!!”

After going to a couple more shops, the two friends went to the food court to get something to eat. Mike paid for her own shit this time, and they sat down with their food. 

“Hey… Mike?” Max asked. There was a nervousness to their voice, which put Mike on edge. Max almost never showed when they were nervous.

“Yeah?” She took a bite of the noodles she’d gotten.

“Any chance you could start using they/he pronouns for me? I want to try it out.”

Mike tried to reply with ‘yeah, of course!’, but since she’d just taken a bite of food it came out more as ‘yesh, mh coufsh!”

Max laughed, then pretended to barf when Mike tried to talk with food in her mouth and they caught a glimpse of the chewed-up noodles. “Ew! Mike, chew with your mouth closed.”

The last stop of the day was a dress shop. Mike was in awe.

“There are so many pretty dresses here!!!” She was practically drooling looking at the princess gowns. Max, once again, had to stop her from trying to buy the whole store. 

She did buy one blue sundress. It was flowy and came down just past her knees.

“Ohmygod, I feel like a princess.” Mike twirled with the dress on, and it spun around her. She stimmed a little. Gender: Affirmed.

Chapter Text

The same Sunday of the shopping trip, Will and El hung out in El’s room, doing their nails. El wanted to try drawing little flowers on some of her nails, so they had a toothpick and were trying to draw flowers with goopy nail polish on her right fingernails, which was tricky. 

“Here, I can help.” Will took the toothpick out of El’s hand, causing a drop of the polish to fall onto the table. “Oops.” He wiped it with his hand. 

“Thanks,” El replied. “Are you sure you don’t want anything fancy on your nails?”

“Yeah, I’m good with just this green color.”

“Ok.” 

The ‘twins’ say in silence for a bit, before El asked, “So how come you’re so happy now?”

“What?” Will looked up, moving his hand suddenly. They almost knocked over a bottle of nail polish when El caught it. 

“Why are you more cheerful than usual?”

“Uhhh, no reason,” Will replied, going back to doodling flowers on El’s nails. Nail polish was a lot harder to work with than paint, especially with a toothpick. 

El game him a skeptical look. “This has something to do with your crush on Mike, doesn’t it?” 

“What?!” Will cried, looking up quickly. In a split second, a bottle of nail polish clattered to the floor, spilling all over El’s rainbow rug. 

“My rainbow rug!! Will!”

“Shit. Sorry, El.” 

“It’s ok. It’ll blend in a little, but can you pour some nail polish remover on it? My nails are still drying.”

“Yeah, sure.” Will grabbed the bottle and, using one of the cotton rounds they had ready to fix nail mistakes, scrubbed the rug for a second. Luckily, the majority of the polish came right off. 

“I’ll be right back.” Will ducked out of the room to text Mike. 

Private Chat —> Will & Mike

Will: Hey is it ok if I tell El about us

Mike: i mean yea sure

Mike: we should prob tell lucas & dustin then soon

Mike: i don’t want them to be the only ones who don’t know 

Will: That’s fair 

Will: I was just asking because El keeps asking me why I’m so happy 

Will: She says I’m acting weird 

Mike: you can tell her it’s chill :)

Mike: its not like were keeping us a secret or anything ahyway lol

Will: Ok :)

Will: Yeah true

“Ok, I’m back.” Will walked back into El’s room, where they were blowing on her nails. 

“Where’d you go?”

“Bathroom,” Will lied easily. “And actually, I do have something to tell you.” His face turned a bit red. 

El gasped. “Ohmygod, spill the tea!”

“How’s you know it’s drama?” Will asked. 

“You’re blushingggg,” El teased. 

“Shush.” Will replied, turning away to hide how red his face turned. 

“So…” El kept questioning.

“I-may-or-may-not-have-kissed-Mike-at-the-cast-party-and-now-we’re-dating.” Will blurted. 

El gasped. “Omigod, I knew it!”

“You did?” Will cocked his head in question. 

“I mean, I could tell she liked you. You were better at hiding your feelings. Mike is an O P E N  B O O K.” They drew out the last two words, anunciating every syllable.

Will laughed. 

“So, do you want help date planning? Because Max took Lucas and me to this amazing comic book store and it was so cute and tiny and aesthetic-“

Will smiled. “Yeah. Help would be nice.”

Chapter Text

The next morning, Max picked Will and El up to bring them to school. Mike and Lucas were already in the car, Mike in shotgun. 

“Yo, Will, where’s Dustin’s house?” Max asked as they got in the car. Lucas moved to the middle so the Hopper-Byers siblings could squish in. “I wanna pick him up too.”

“Max, darling, I don’t think there’s enough space for that,” Lucas replied. “I’m squished as is.”

“Ugh, fine, I guess we’ll go,” Max sighed. 

“His mom drives him anyway- she likes spending time with him,” Will added. 

“Maxieee can I play music?” Mike asked in a baby voice. 

“One, stop acting like a child. Two, don’t ever call me that ever again,” he replied, without even taking their eyes off the road. 

There was a moment of silence in the car, before Max added, “Yes, you can play music, dumbass.” 

“HELL YEAH!” Mike connected his phone and the first song came blasting out. She started to sing along.

♪ You’re on the phone with your girlfriend, she’s upset

She’s going off about something that you said

‘Cause she doesn’t get your humor like I do… ♪ 

“This song again?” Max complained. Will, Lucas, and El in the back shared a confused look. 

When the pre-chorus came, Max reluctantly joined Mike in screaming along. 

“BUT SHE WEARS SHORT SKIRTS, I WEAR T-SHIRTS, SHE’S CHEER CAPTAIN AND I’M ON THE BLEACHERS, DREAMING ‘ABOUT THE DAY WHEN YOU WAKE UP AND FIND THAT WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR HAS BEEN HERE THE WHOLE TIME!”

Mike and Max continued screaming the lyrics to different songs for the rest of the car ride, and their partners watched, in love.

And they were happy.