Archive of Our Own ^beta

Friday, March 15, 1985

Mike Wheeler, Will decided for the thousandth time that year, did not make any sense. To be fair, over the eight and a half years he’d known him – God, had it really been that long? – Mike rarely made sense. But usually it was a cute sort of nonsense, like getting weirdly invested in D&D or petting Will’s hair for no reason or complaining about any sort of physical activity when he’d be good if he just tried. But ever since the Snow Ball, it was a more specific, painful kind of nonsense.

Take this afternoon for instance. They’d had an eighth grade assembly about the upcoming DC trip. Of course Will wanted to go and spend time with the Party, but it’s not like he could automatically commit the $200 fee. He was pretty sure it would work out – Joyce had scrounged together the money for Jonathan three years ago, and they had access to government hush money now – but it wasn’t a guarantee. And that made Mike wrinkle up his face in a way that would have made Will burst out laughing if it weren’t so adorable.

“We’ll find the money,” he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“It should be fine,” Will repeated quietly, “I just gotta ask to confirm.”

“You’re going,” Mike repeated, stubbornly, a spark in his eyes.

“Oh?” Will laughed, “You have $200 saved up to sponsor me, Mike?”

Mike looked down and scuffed his foot. “Not quite,” he muttered, “But I have some saved up. And I’d get a job and go on a payment plan to cover the rest.”

Will gave him a weird look. “Mike, you –”

“You’re going,” Mike repeated, placing a hand on Will’s shoulder and catching his eye.

Will bit his lip as he shivered a little. Mike’s eye contact was intense. “Okay, Mike, I’m going,” he conceded, watching Dustin and Lucas exchange a weird glance. Max just rolled her eyes.

Then they had to choose bus buddies. Bus buddies were the foundation of the trip. Two bus buddy pairs to a room, twelve rooms to a bus. And as soon as Mr. Coleman gave them time to stand up and pair off, Mike had linked arms with him and pulled him close. “You’re mine, Byers,” he laughed. Will must have made some kind of face because Mike relaxed his grip and took a step back. “…If that’s okay with you?” he faltered.

“Yes!” Will interrupted hastily. “Yes, of course!”

“Okay, good.” Mike relaxed again and gave him a light noogie. “Can’t get rid of me that easily,” he grinned.

No, thought Will, And that’s the problem.

Obviously they paired up with Lucas and Dustin for their room of four. They got in line for “room approval” but that was just a formality unless you were a serious troublemaker. Mr. Kowalski raised an eyebrow at Mike but barely glanced at the rest of them before waving them along.

The last step was building the buses. Each room group was supposed to gather in a specific area to form a bus. Will didn’t really care which bus they ended up on, but Lucas clearly had a vested interest and pulled them over to the left side of the room where Max had ended up with her bus buddy Jenny and roommates Becky and Maggie.

“ ’Sup, Stalker,” she greeted Lucas.

“Hey to you too,” Lucas replied, smoothly taking her hand. Max initially batted it away, but then grabbed it back, blushing. Dustin’s mouth twisted a little.

“Hey, Will,” greeted Jenny.

“Hey!” Will replied as Mike pulled him closer, since apparently they’d never actually unlinked arms. Huh. He used his proximity to elbow Mike to stop glaring at Jenny. What was his problem with her? She’d only ever been nice to Will.

All in all, everything was feeling pretty good. One way or another he’d be going on the trip (even though he’d never actually take Mike’s money; he’d find some way to pay him back eventually). Mike actively wanted to spend the whole trip with him. Mike was – protective of him? So it seemed like the perfect time to ask.

“Hey,” Will breathed, bumping Mike’s hip as they walked back to math class, “Wanna hang at my place today?”

Mike opened his mouth but no words came out. Will felt his heart sink.

“El?” Will scowled.

“Yeah,” Mike confirmed, the side of his mouth twisting.

Will knew all of Mike’s facial expressions. He’d built up an encyclopedia over their eight and a half years together. It was practically a necessity when Mike felt so much but couldn’t always put it into words. And this side-mouth-twist was clearly a marker of regret. Will snorted. Not enough regret to hang out with his supposed best friend.

“Hey,” Mike continued leaning down slightly and putting a hand on the small of Will’s back, “We can hang out tomorrow, yeah?”

“Yeah, of course.” Will swallowed a sigh. He was lucky enough to have Mike at all; he couldn’t be greedy. El needed him too, so Will would take what he could get.

It’s just – He wasn’t used to feeling like a second choice, not from Mike. What had happened in the auditorium, that was normal. This – this was not. And it had only been going on for a few months, but Will had known from the first day that he hated it. And maybe he wasn’t being fair. He didn’t know El that well. They’d only hung out a few times, the extended Party all squishing into Hopper’s cabin. She seemed perfectly nice, but she and Mike just – didn’t have anything in common. She zoned out whenever they started talking about Star Wars or D&D. Her only hobbies seemed to be watching soap operas and stealing Mike’s attention. Hopper was supposedly tutoring her and Mike supposedly went over after school to help, but Will had his suspicions about what they were actually studying. He suppressed a little shudder.

Mike frowned at him, but didn’t follow up the way he would have automatically in the B.E. (Before El) era. But his hand had never left Will’s back and just – none of it made sense. Did Mike still want to be his forever best friend? What did that even mean anymore? Now that puberty had hit, everything was so unnecessarily complicated. Will put on a smile. “Tomorrow will be fun,” he said.

“Yeah!” Mike agreed immediately, either not noticing or not caring to notice the fakeness attribute of Will’s smile.

*          *          *

Tuesday, March 26, 1985

Will groaned at the sound of the less-familiar alarm. He blearily opened his eyes, decided that 4:30 was an absolutely unreasonable time for any human to be awake, and closed them again. The form beside him shifted. And okay, it certainly wasn’t like Will was complaining about still sharing a bed with Mike, but objectively they’d gotten a lot bigger while the twin bunk bed had not. What had been plenty of space as elementary schoolers now had them practically cuddled up against each other. Which, again, Will wasn’t complaining. He supposed he should be thankful that Mike still wanted this even though he had a girlfriend.

Speaking of Mike, the arm haphazardly thrown over his torso slowly shifted up his body until there was a hand gently shaking his shoulder. “Will,” Mike whispered, “Time to get up.”

“Idonwanna,” Will groaned. “ ’Stooearly.”

Mike chuckled. He wasn’t much of a morning person either, but at least he could function immediately after he woke up. “Do you wanna be left behind? Or do you wanna hang out with me for four days straight? You can sleep on me on the bus if you wanna.”

Oh. Will frowned. That did sound nice. He made weak grabby hands at Mike.

Mike laughed again. “Your face is doing that scrunchy thing again. C’mon!” He took Will’s hands easily and pulled him up to his feet. Will swayed lightly, still not fully awake, so Mike threw a steadying arm around him and – that wasn’t helping his morning wood.

“Gotta pee,” he muttered.

“Okay,” said Mike softly, “I’ll meet you downstairs. Cereal okay?”

“Mm-hmm,” Will hummed absently as he shuffled to the bathroom.

He hated having to sit down to pee, but the circumstances demanded it. He rubbed his face with his unoccupied hand, yawning deeply. It made sense for him to sleep over. Mrs. Wheeler could pick up Lucas next door and Dustin was on the way to the middle school. His own house was way out of the way. But it was still nice, to have this time alone with Mike. It felt like the Before El era. They had eaten chips and played Nintendo in the basement last night until far too late and now Mike was making breakfast for him and – yeah. He’d take what he could get, because he was just greedy like that.

By the time he shuffled downstairs, there was a bowl of Lucky Charms – his favorite – and orange juice on the counter waiting for him.

“Mmm,” he smiled, “Thanks, Mike.”

Mike hip-checked him. “ ’Course. You excited?”

Will thought about it. Four days with the Party, no El in sight, constant exposure to Mike Wheeler? What’s not to love. “Yeah,” he said instead, “You?”

Mike honest-to-god bounced on his toes a little. “Yeah, of course. I get to spend four whole days with you! School days!”

Will knew Mike meant the plural “you”, like “vosotros” in Spanish, but he could imagine that he meant the singular “you”, as in Will. He couldn’t help but smile.

They got ready in the bathroom, brushing their teeth and putting on deodorant. Will had to remind Mike to pack his toiletry bag, otherwise he definitely would have forgotten it. Idiot, he thought fondly.

Before he knew it, the four of them were bundled up in the back of the Wheelers’ station wagon. Will and Mike got the normal back seats, so Lucas and Dustin were relegated to the way back, but Dustin was actually too tired to complain for once. Usually he was more of a morning person than Will, but this was even too early for him.

They made it to the school by 5:15, and sure enough the fancy coach buses were there. The Party scrambled out of the car, grabbing their bags. Mrs. Wheeler gave them all a hug “on behalf of their parents”, which everyone accepted gracefully except for Mike, who seemed embarrassed of his own mother. Typical Mike behavior.

They headed over to bus one, shoved their suitcases underneath the bus, and Will paused for a moment as he entered. He knew that coach buses were fancy, but wow. The seats were upholstered and each seat had its own light and there was even air conditioning. He didn’t really care where they sat – Mike was his bus buddy and that’s all that really mattered – but Lucas was in front and clearly had more of a vested interest. They were early, so Max wasn’t here yet, but Lucas found an acceptable block of seats. Will got the window seat like he always did. Dustin got the window seat in front of him so that Lucas was on the aisle, presumably directly across from Max. Mike put Will’s backpack in the overhead compartment for him before he sat down. There were many benefits to being short, but this was not one of them.

A few minutes later, Max climbed onto the bus, looking even surlier than usual. She saw Mike first. “What did I do in a past life to have to see you before 6 AM?” she muttered.

“The feeling is mutual,” Mike snarked back, earning himself an elbow in the side from Will. He turned to Will, looking offended, but deflated at Will’s judging eyebrow.

“ ’Sup, Stalker,” Max greeted, already moving on and plopping down across the aisle from Lucas, just like he’d planned. Their other classmates gradually filtered onto the bus. Bus 1 was cool because they got everywhere first, but Bus 2 got Mr. Clarke as a chaperone. They had Ms. C and Mrs. Gerossie, who were fine, but then also Mr. Kowalski – and Principal Coleman.

Mr. Coleman boarded the bus at exactly 5:30 AM. “Good morning, boys and girls!” he said over the PA system. “And welcome to the annual Washington, D.C. trip. We’re all very excited, but I want to go over a few ground rules with you.” Will largely tuned him out. There wasn’t any new information – never be alone, have money for a pay phone, bus buddy accountability, meeting places on time. He dutifully adjusted his watch to “Coleman time”. Mike bumped their matching watches together.

Will must still be suffering from lack of sleep because it felt like he blinked and the buses were already rumbling to life. Mike looked over at him as he yawned. “Seriously, you wanna sleep?” he offered.

Will glanced around them. Dustin and Lucas in front. Max and Jenny across from them. Greg and Brian across the aisle. Zach and Logan behind them, and Mandy and Mindy diagonally behind. Safe enough. “Sure,” he agreed. Mike wrapped an arm around him without hesitation and he let himself collapse against Mike.

*          *          *

The next thing he knew, Mike was gently shaking him awake for the second time that day. “Nooo,” he groaned softly.

“We’re at a rest stop past Columbus,” Mike whispered into his hair, “Do you need to use the bathroom or anything?”

Will shook his head. “What time is it?” he managed.

“Like, 8:30?” replied Mike, glancing at his watch.

“Nope.” He burrowed back into Mike’s side. Mike’s arm around him tightened. Why couldn’t it always be like this?

Will finally woke up on his own around 10. “Hey, sleepyhead,” Mike murmured.

“Sleepyhead?” Dustin’s head whipped around from in front of them. “He lives?”

“Hi guys,” Will offered.

“What time is it?” Dustin continued, glancing down at his watch, “Shoot, it’s 10:03.”

“Why does that matter?” asked Mike, making a face.

“He owes me fifty cents,” Lucas replied, also turning around. “He bet me Will would wake up before 10.”

Will snorted while Mike looked mildly offended. “Pay up, Dustin,” he smiled.

“Yeah, yeah,” Dustin grumbled.

Within half an hour or so, they’d arrived at their lunch stop. “Why are we even in West Virginia?” asked Max as she stepped off the bus. Lucas reached for her hand but she slapped it away. He rolled his eyes.

“It’s just a tiny part that juts north,” explained Dustin. “See…”

He started to pull a map out of his back pocket, but Max shot him a glare. “I believe you, nerd.”

Will was glad they had sat near the front of Bus 1, because that meant they were near the front of the line at McDonald’s and they had plenty of time to eat while everyone else waited. There was only so quickly a bunch of eighth graders could order food. Will felt bad for the employees.

“Hey guys!” Zach and Logan sat down at the table with them. Zach had two cheeseburgers, because of course he did.

“You know that your money has to last you all week, right?” asked Lucas.

Zach shrugged. “It’ll be fine. I’m a growing boy!” And, well, Will couldn’t disagree with that. He’d filled out a lot over the past year and it was obvious why he was on the football and wrestling teams. It seemed like he was constantly outgrowing his clothes; either that or he intentionally wore very tight shirts and pants. …Not that Will was complaining. He might be an idiot, but Will had eyes.

“I’m keeping an eye on him, don’t worry,” Logan added. Will snorted.

“That’s probably for the best,” Mike said absently, grabbing some fries. Will elbowed him. “What?” asked Mike around his mouthful of fries. Will rolled his eyes.

“Nah, he’s right,” Zach agreed easily, “I almost bought four cheeseburgers!”

*          *          *

The rest of the bus ride was fairly uneventful. Dustin was reading some giant tome called Gödel, Escher, Bach that seemed nerdy even by his standards. He had Mike and Lucas switch seats temporarily so Mike could read out some dialogue with him that ran the same forwards and backwards? At least Will knew he liked Escher.

Soon enough, they found themselves at the hotel. They weren’t staying in DC proper but across the river in Alexandria, presumably because it was cheaper. Mike appointed himself room captain, because of course he did. Will was going to support him and Dustin didn’t care, so Lucas only made a half-hearted protest.

“Do we really trust him not to lose it?” grumbled Lucas as Mike went up to Mr. Coleman to grab the key. “Do none of you remember all the times he’s forgotten his wallet at home and one of us has to spot him for arcade tokens?” Dustin started to look mildly concerned.

“Do you want me to hold onto the key?” Will asked.

“Yeah, that seems like a good idea,” Dustin agreed.

“Will he let you?” asked Lucas skeptically.

Dustin snorted. “How is that even a question.”

Just then, Mike came back with the key. “We’re 305!”

“Top floor, baby!” crowed Dustin.

“No elevator, baby,” Mike frowned back.

Shoot. Oh well. Will’s suitcase was kind of heavy, but he’d manage. As it turned out, he made it up just fine and went back down to the second-floor landing to help Mike. “Noodle arms,” he teased.

Mike glared at him. “Shut up.”

Will raised an eyebrow. “Do you want help or not?”

Mike’s eyes widened. “Yes, please. I’m sorry Will, you’re the best.”

“That’s right,” Will grinned. He helped Mike carry the suitcase up the final flight of stairs. “What did you pack in here? Rocks?”

“Just some books,” Mike shrugged.

“Just?”

“And clothes and toiletries and stuff, obviously.”

“Good,” Will replied, “I don’t feel like smelling you after four days.”

“Aw, you like how I smell,” teased Mike. Will made a face to try to cover his blush. Mike wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t fair how good he smelled, even (especially?) when he was all sweaty and gross.

As soon as Mike unlocked the room, he marched over to the far bed. “Will and I claim this one,” he called out.

“Flip a coin?” asked Lucas.

“Heads!” called Dustin.

Lucas flipped a coin and it was tails. “Victory is mine!” he crowed, flopping back on the other bed.

“Damn,” muttered Dustin.

Mike looked confused. “Why don’t you just share? It’s huge.”

Lucas shrugged. “I don’t wanna wake up in the middle of the night and have Dustin cuddling up to me.”

“Yeah, it’s chill. We’ll switch off nights,” Dustin agreed.

“But where are you going to sleep?” asked Mike. “I know they’re big, but I don’t think there’s really room with Will and me.”

“On the floor?” said Dustin like it was obvious. “Why would I – God, you’re an idiot, Mike.”

Mike narrowed his eyes. Will put a hand on his shoulder. “That’s – not very kind of you, Dustin,” he said diplomatically, “and kindness is a Hawkins Middle Core Value.”

Lucas burst out laughing as Dustin looked nonplussed. He threw a pillow and comforter down to Dustin who made a little nest between the beds.

It wasn’t a long ride from their hotel to the Landmark Mall. For some reason, Mr. Coleman thought it was a good idea to let a horde of eighth graders loose in an open-air shopping mall. At least it wasn’t raining, but it was stupidly cold out. He had put on a sweatshirt, but it wasn’t quite enough and he shivered a little as they rode an escalator to the food court. Of course they met up with Max for dinner (Mike only looked a little peeved), which meant that the rest of Max’s room also joined them. And that was – a different story.

Will had been chatting with Jenny across the table when Mike got back from the Burger King line. “Another burger, Mike, really?” asked Dustin, chowing down on his Chinese food.

“That was a McDonald’s burger. This is a Burger King burger,” Mike defended himself.

“Oh yeah, totally different,” Lucas said sarcastically.

Will snorted then turned back to Jenny. “Wait, your older sister had Mr. Kowalski, right? Has he always been so – crabby?”

Mike slammed his tray down next to Will.

“Yeah,” Jenny giggled. “One time, she asked to use the bathroom ’cause, y’know, girl things, and he wasn’t letting her, so she threated to bleed on him.”

Will chuckled, but Mike turned white and looked like he was about to pass out. Will bumped his knee into Mike’s, redirecting his attention. “Hi Will,” he said. “Hi Jenny,” he offered begrudgingly. “Are you cold, Will?”

“I’m fine,” Will said, but his teeth chattered unconvincingly. Mike gave him a look. “Okay, fine, I’m a little cold.”

Before he finished his sentence, Mike was unzipping his jacket. “Here ya go,” he said, handing it to Will.

“Mike, I –”

“I have plenty of layers,” Mike said, gesturing to his shirt, sweatshirt, and windbreaker. “Have you met my mom?”

“Your mom,” called out Max as Will accepted Mike’s jacket. It was faint, but it did smell like him. Fuck. Now Will had to be normal about this.

“That doesn’t even make sense, Max!” Mike shouted back as Maggie and Becky sat down next to him.

“Heyyy, Mike,” said Maggie as Becky giggled. Will sucked in a breath. He knew that was just how they were to, like, everyone, but it still felt a little intrusive. “How’s it going?”

“Fine,” Mike said brusquely. “Good bus ride?”

“Yeah!” Becky replied. “Maggie and I braided each other’s hair!” She tossed her hair back and forth a little.

“Amazing,” Mike replied flatly.

“It looks really good,” Will offered, leaning a little over Mike and only coincidentally leaning into him a little.

“Get off me!” Mike protested, shoving Will back to his own side but not actually far enough to break body contact. Will could live with that.

“What did you do on the bus?” Maggie continued, seemingly oblivious.

“Got some reading done,” Mike replied.

“Ooh, what were you reading?” asked Becky.

“This and that,” Mike hedged, clearly not wanting to answer comic books. “Y’know, like…”

“Gödel, Escher, Bach!” Dustin supplied. “We read the Crab Canon dialogue together! It runs the same forwards and backwards?”

“Sounds… neat?” offered Maggie.

“It was not,” cut in Max. “It’s okay to tell them that they’re being nerds when they’re being nerds.”

“Not everything we do is nerdy,” protested Lucas.

Max raised an eyebrow. “Name one thing you’ve done on this trip that hasn’t been nerdy.”

“Uh, hung out with you?” offered Lucas.

“Hmm,” Max hummed, “I’ll allow it. I knew there was a reason I kept you around.”

*          *          *

The Washington Monument had been cool enough, Will supposed, but not really worth the wait. It took forever to get everyone up and down the elevators, and while Will absolutely didn’t mind snuggling in Mike’s jacket, it was only getting colder out. At least Max’s fear of heights was mildly amusing – well, her attempts to deny it were. He had to keep poking Mike to make sure he held his glee in check. “She has a weakness!” he kept whispering. It’s not like Mike could do a lot with that information.

But now they were back at the hotel and had fifteen minutes for visitation before lights out. Will was ready to call it a night, but Max followed them up to their room – and so did Jenny, Becky, and Maggie. He sighed.

“Hey, what’s up?” Mike leaned over to ask him. Again, Will wasn’t complaining, but why was Mike always so much in his space? He never leaned over to ask Dustin or Lucas a question. Will was the shortest, to be fair.

“Nothing,” Will replied automatically, “You want your jacket back?” he asked reluctantly.

Mike frowned. “Nah, you can keep it until you warm up,” he smiled. “But seriously, what’s on your mind?”

“I’m just – ready for bed,” Will sighed, failing to hold back a yawn.

“Then go snuggle up!” Mike insisted, pushing him towards the bed. “We’ll be quiet.”

“I can’t,” Will groaned, “Remember? ‘With girls and boys behind the door, All feet must remain upon the floor’.”

“That doesn’t even scan correctly,” Mike grumbled, “Stupid Mr. Coleman.”

Will shrugged. “It’s whatever. Fifteen minutes won’t kill me.”

“You can go brush your teeth at least?” Mike offered, “And shower in the morning?”

Will sniffed his armpit. “You sure?” he asked skeptically.

“Yeah,” Mike replied immediately, without a hint of doubt.

Will shoved his armpit in Mike’s face. “Still sure?” he teased.

Mike shrugged, unimpressed. “Seriously, it’s no big deal. Do I smell?” he asked, but then was interrupted by Becky and Maggie giggling behind him.

“You smell great,” Maggie said in a bubbly voice. “Are you wearing cologne?”

“What? No.”

“Ooooh,” Becky said in a singsong voice, “So that’s just you naturally?”

Will was silently seething while he plastered on a neutral expression. He seethed slightly less when Mike made a face and said, “Stop smelling me, that’s weird,” and stepped away from them.

“Yeah, don’t smell Mike,” Max called from the bed where she was holding hands with Lucas, all of their feet firmly planted on the floor. “I did that once. I had to be revived with smelling salts.”

“That is not –” Mike fumed, “You know she’s lying, right? Lucas, back me up here!”

Lucas shrugged. “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you man,” he said neutrally. Mike glared daggers at Max as she preened. Will took the opportunity to sneak into the bathroom and get ready for bed.

By the time he emerged, it was almost time for room checks, and the girls were leaving. Becky and Maggie giggled as they pretended to sniff Mike as they left. “Bye, Will,” called Jenny over her shoulder.

“Shield your eyes,” said Lucas, so of course the three of them stared as he and Max shared a chaste kiss at the door. Will made a face.

“Gross, get a room,” called Dustin.

“Why would anyone willingly kiss Max,” muttered Mike, disgusted.

Lucas rolled his eyes as he shut the door behind Max. “Y’all are just jealous,” he stated.

“Nope, nuh-uh, no way, got my own girlfriend to kiss,” Mike said quickly, causing Will’s heart to drop. Half of him had expected every other word out of Mike’s mouth this trip to be about his stupid girlfriend, given how much time he dedicated to her in real life. However, the trip so far had been mercifully El-free and he had hoped to keep it that way. He yawned dramatically to derail that train of thought.

“Hey, Will’s sleepy,” Mike said immediately. “We should go to bed.” They didn’t need much convincing; Dustin seemed just as tired as Will.

The other three got ready as Will snuggled up under the covers, leaving plenty of room for Mike to have his own space. But when Mike joined him he snuggled up right next to Will, master of mixed messages that he was. Whatever. Will was too tired to fight it and happily fell asleep in Mike’s arms.

*          *          *

Wednesday, March 27, 1985

Mike woke up to a mix of familiar and unfamiliar. Unfamiliar: The rattle of the heat, the lumpiness of the pillows, the firmness of the mattress. Familiar: The smell, the warmth, the quiet breaths in and out, the solidness of Will in his arms. He turned his head carefully to glance at the alarm clock on the nightstand. 5:50 AM. Nine minutes until the alarm would go off, per Dustin’s calculations. But nine minutes to just enjoy this feeling.

If it felt this good to wake up with his best friend, he imagined it must feel even better to wake up with El. He’d obviously never been able to sleep over because Hopper was wildly overprotective. It’s not like they’d – do anything beyond making out, anyways. Despite Hopper’s insinuations, Mike was actually a very respectful boyfriend. He never stared at her boobs or tried to cop a feel. He never pressured her to do anything sexual. He didn’t even think about her when he jerked off – he liked El for who she was, not her body.

Oops. Maybe thinking about jerking off wasn’t the best idea when he wouldn’t be able to until Friday night. The Party was close, but not that close.

Will made a sleepy little noise and rolled closer to Mike. Mike pulled his arm in to stabilize them. He closed his eyes and next thing he knew, the alarm was going off.

“C’mon, Will,” he whispered, “Time to get up.”

Will responded by burrowing deeper into Mike.

“If you don’t get up on your own, Dustin will help,” Mike continued to whisper.

Will sat up abruptly, sporting an adorable case of bedhead. “ ’M up,” he mumbled. “Keep that madman away from me.”

“What about me?” asked Dustin from the floor.

“Nothing,” called back Mike.

“I’ll protect you,” he whispered into Will’s hair. Will shivered and stretched. “C’mon, you gotta shower this morning; we all did last night so you’d have time.”

“Remember,” called Dustin, “We gotta be out by 6:30, so we have a tight schedule! We gotta brush our teeth while Will’s in the shower. So Will, go ahead and get in and let us know when it’s safe. We know you’re cute, but not that cute.”

“That’s not what Jenny thinks,” teased Lucas.

Dustin snorted as Mike felt his heart clench. He wanted Will to be happy, of course he did, but Jenny? Really? He could do so much better than stupid Jenny. Then Will trailed his fingers down his arm and he felt the anger drain out of him.

“Makes sense, thanks Dustin,” said Will, slightly more awake now. He rooted around in his suitcase then padded to the bathroom. Mike could see what Jenny must see. Will was undeniably one of the hottest guys in their grade, right up there with Lucas. And Zach, if you could get past his general Zachness.

The water turned on and a few seconds later, Will’s voice came from the bathroom. “All clear!”

“Lucas, you’re first up” called Dustin, still ensconced in his floor nest.

“Why am I first?” Lucas complained.

“Because you thought scheduling the morning was, and I quote, ‘So lame, Dustin’. Actions have consequences, Lucas.”

Lucas grumbled, but got up and – oh. He must have kicked off his pajamas at some point in the night because there he was in his white briefs. Shit. Well, whatever. It’s not like there was anything Mike hadn’t seen before.

After a few minutes, Lucas emerged decently clothed. “Your turn, Mike!” called Dustin from what realized was actually a command center.

“Why do you get to be last?” Mike groused.

“Floor privileges,” Dustin shot back, “Plus, I made the schedule.”

Mike stuck his tongue out even though Dustin couldn’t see him, reluctantly getting out of bed. He grabbed a change of clothes from his suitcase and entered the bathroom.

“Hey Mike!” called Will from the shower. Shit. Will was naked, right on the other side of that curtain.

“Uh, hey,” Mike chuckled awkwardly. “Is it cool if I pee?”

“I won’t look if you won’t!” replied Will.

“I – Wh – Okay,” Mike spluttered. He sat down to pee.

“You sleep okay?” asked Will after a moment.

“Yeah, great, you?”

“Yeah.” Will paused. “You know it wasn’t that cold last night, right?”

“Uh, yeah?” Mike frowned as he washed his hands. “Why?”

“Like, you didn’t need to cuddle me to keep me warm.”

Hmm. Is that why he felt such a strong need to cuddle Will last night? That would make sense. Did he make Will uncomfortable? Shit. “Was it – Was I – Were you uncomfortable?”

Will huffed. “Mike. I –” he sighed. “I… I sleep better with you. I feel safe. And I know if I do still have a nightmare you’ll help me back to sleep. You could never make me feel uncomfortable.”

“Oh,” Mike said, splattering a little toothpaste on the counter. “Then what’s the problem?”

“I just – Don’t want you to feel obligated,” Will said in a weird voice.

“When have I ever done something because someone else told me I should?”

Will snorted. “Okay. Fair point. I just – know you’ve been spending more time with El lately and if I’m holding you back or –”

“Will,” Mike cut him off, “You know you’re still my best friend, right? Nothing’s changed.”

“Okay,” Will said softly, “Yeah, Mike.”

Mike frowned. It didn’t feel like they were on the same page yet, but it was almost Dustin’s shift. He quickly threw on his new clothes. And if he ran his fingers over Will’s boxers just lying there on the floor, that was still just curiosity over the novelty. It didn’t mean anything. “See you soon,” he said softly, slipping out of the bathroom. “Dustin, you’re up!”

Dustin was efficient in the bathroom and the three of them waited outside while Will got out of the shower. “Is it really that weird to share a bed?” asked Mike.

“No, said Lucas.

“Yes,” said Dustin. They looked at each other.

“Yes, it’s weird in general,” clarified Lucas. “No, it’s not weird for you and Will, ’cause you’ve done it forever and you’re comfortable around each other.”

“Like, you don’t think anyone else is sharing a bed?” clarified Mike.

“Girls, absolutely,” said Lucas. “They don’t care. But guys…”

“No,” said Dustin bluntly. “It’s a little queer.”

“But I have a girlfriend,” Mike replied immediately.

“Right,” said Dustin lightly, idly waving a hand, “So there’s no problem.”

*          *          *

The morning was pretty relaxed. The Jefferson Memorial was boring until Lucas made a joke about how much carbonite it must have taken to freeze Jefferson and then they couldn’t stop laughing. Max visibly tried to pretend she didn’t know them. At the National Cathedral, Mike mostly followed Will around to watch him marvel at all the art. They couldn’t find the Darth Vader gargoyle, but the Space Window was pretty cool.

“No, Will,” Lucas had to say, “We will not help you steal the moon rock.”

“But it’s so pretty,” said Will with his puppy dog eyes.

“I’ll help you steal the moon rock,” Max offered, “I have a heart, unlike these losers.”

“Hey! I’ll steal it for you!” Mike huffed.

The photo by the Capitol… Was what it was. They didn’t have time to tour inside, so they just lined up for a photo on the steps by the reflecting pool with the building in the background. Big whoop. The Party blatantly ignored height-ordering guidelines to make sure they were all together. Mike and Lucas stood right behind Will and Dustin. Will kept reaching back and trying to – tickle him? Cut him down at the knees? Mike wasn’t entirely sure, but it kept him giggling throughout the interminable process.

And now it was time for lunch. Will wanted a salad for some godforsaken reason, so they split up to get food. Mike found himself in line for pizza with some other guys. “How’s it been going?” he asked Greg. “You sleep okay last night?”

 “Yeah, Logan and I got the beds, thank god.”

“The floor wasn’t that bad,” Brian remarked.

“Zach slept in the bathtub.” Greg rolled his eyes.

“Why don’t you just share?” asked Maggie from behind Mike.

“That’s weird,” Logan replied. “Did you?”

“Yeah, of course, all the girls do,” Becky replied.

“What’s the difference?” asked Mike, wildly confused. “Why is it okay for girls but not guys?”

“Most guys are just weird,” sniffed Jenny.

“Well,” Greg said, then leaned close to whisper in Mike’s ear, “Girls don’t get morning wood.”

“What’d he say?” asked Maggie as Mike flushed bright red.

“Nothing!” said Mike, far too quickly. “Wait, the bathtub?” he continued, redirecting the conversation.

“Yeah, not what I would have chosen,” Greg agreed. “There are options. Josh and Travis took the mattress off the boxsprings and got some extra pillows from room service. Chris and Mark shared but went head-to-toe. They’re twins, though, so it’s less weird. They’ve had to share growing up and on vacation and stuff.”

“Boys are weird,” repeated Jenny. Despite his general disdain, Mike had to agree. Although, he and Will definitely fell under that last category. They’d just been doing it for so long that it was grandfathered in to not being weird. And head-to-toe was objectively grosser. He didn’t want to wake up with Will’s feet in his face. Ew.

“Anyways, where’s Zach?” asked Logan.

Greg shrugged. “I dunno, why?”

“I gotta make sure he doesn’t eat any marshmallows,” Logan said very seriously.

Logan, Greg, and Mike looked at each other and burst out laughing.

*          *          *

The afternoon was spent at the National Zoo, which was fine. Greg, Zach, and Logan joined up with them at the beginning for old time’s sake but then they split off and took Dustin and Lucas with them, leaving Mike alone with Will. He tried to keep up normal conversation but kept second-guessing himself – was it weird to punch Will’s arm? Hold the door for him? Buy him a soda? Hold his hand? How were people supposed to know all these unwritten rules anyways?

After the third time Mike started to reach for Will’s hand only to pull back at the last moment, Will had evidently had enough. “Mike. What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing!” Mike replied automatically, defensively.

Will sighed and headed for a bench down a side path. “Sit,” he commanded, patting the bench next to him. Mike hesitated. How close was too close? He always sat close to Will, but Will had been weird about the bed this morning, so maybe he needed more space and – “Jesus, Mike, you look like you’re about to pass out.” Will stood up, hooked an arm around Mike, and sat him down on the bench right next to him, their shoulders and knees knocking together. Okay. So this was normal friend – best friend – distance. That was a relief. Will leaned into him. “Earth to Mike. I know you’re stuck in your head. Hey, hey.” Will shot out a hand, second-guessed himself, but then jerkily covered Mike’s own. “You’re safe. Breathe with me.” And wait, when had Mike lost control of his breathing? His breath was coming in short gasps, but Will grounded him and he was able to regain control. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

“Shit, sorry,” he managed. “Sunscreen must have gotten in my eyes.”

“Mm-hmm.” Will was kind enough to humor him, but his eyes sparkled with the truth. “What’s going on in that head of yours? Don’t think about it, just tell me.”

Well, that was a dangerous idea, particularly when paired with Will’s hugs, trusting eyes, and cute face and – yeah, can’t say any of that. “I –” he hesitated. “I’m sorry if I made you feel weird last night.”

Will’s eyebrows furrowed. “What? When?”

“I didn’t even ask if you wanted to share a bed,” Mike burst out, “I just assumed, and apparently that’s even weirder than sleeping in a bathtub and then I cuddled with you even though you didn’t want me to and I just don’t know what –”

“Whoa. Hey.” Will squeezed his hand. “I never said I didn’t want to cuddle last night. I meant what I said – I didn’t want you to feel obligated or weird about it.” He snorted. “Clearly that didn’t work. But –” He glanced down at the ground, “I – liked it. Like it.”

“Oh,” said Mike. “Okay.”

“And also – wait, bathtub, what?”

Mike sighed. “Zach.”

Will rolled his eyes. “Just Zach things.” They shared a smile. “Where’s this coming from?” he asked, his face turning serious again.

“I just – I – I – I’m not good with new people,” Mike stuttered.

Will frowned. “…Yeah, I know that.”

Mike snorted. “So El, like, I like her. A lot. Obviously.”

“Mm-hmm,” Will acknowledged neutrally.

“But it’s still new having a girlfriend and a best friend and I don’t know if I’m doing it right. It’s easy when it’s one of you at a time, usually, but now I’m worried I’m making things weird for you ’cause I’m missing her and how does everyone else know these unwritten rules for what you do with who and I – don’t?” He cut himself off. “Sorry, that was a lot all at once.”

Will pursed his lips. “I’m – sorry you miss El,” he started. “But, uh, if someone forgot to tell you the friend rules, they forgot to tell me too, so…” He shrugged. “I’ll tell you if you do anything to make me feel uncomfortable, yeah?”

Oh. That would work. “Promise?” Mike asked, a little embarrassed that he needed the reassurance.

“Promise,” Will said definitively, squeezing Mike’s hand.

“So this is okay?” confirmed Mike, encompassing their current configuration with his gaze.

“Yep,” Will nodded.

“And this is okay?” Mike continued, extricating his hand from Will’s to put an arm around Will’s shoulder, pulling him even closer.

“Yep,” Will confirmed.

“Oh.” Was it really that simple? “You sure?”

“Yep.”

“But wouldn’t this be weird for other guys?”

Will shrugged against him. “Yeah, probably. Does it bother you?”

“No? Why would it?”

“Okay,” Will agreed, “So there’s no problem. Now c’mon,” he continued, standing up and pulling Mike along with him. “I’m not gonna miss almost seeing the lions again!”

*          *          *

After the zoo, they had way too much time in the hotel to get ready for the dinner cruise. Girls probably needed more time to put on make-up and do their hair or whatever. He was standing in the bathroom running his fingers through his hair when Will sidled up to him. “Need some help?” he asked.

“There’s not much hair to do anything with,” Mike observed.

“…Yeah,” Will frowned. “Why’d you cut it?”

“My dad thought it was getting too long. Said I was starting to look like a girl.”

Will ran his eyes up and down Mike’s body in the mirror, making Mike feel – exposed? Vulnerable? Something. He smirked. “Definitely not a girl.” Mike snorted. “I liked it long,” Will continued casually.

“Yeah?”

Will pursed his lips, then nodded. “Yeah. When you’re done, I have something to share with you.”

“I’m done!” Mike exclaimed quickly. “What is it?” He followed Will out of the bathroom.

“He’s out!” crowed Dustin, “Hallelujah! Excellent work, extractor Will!”

Mike’s face fell. “Wait, that was just a ruse to give Dustin time to do his hair?”

“No!” Will replied immediately. “I really do have something to show you. That was just an added bonus,” he explained as he caught the packet of Reese’s Pieces Dustin tossed his way.

“Hey!” Mike shouted at Dustin’s retreating form but Will tugged him to their bed.

“I was thinking about our conversation earlier and there’s this passage in the book I’m reading that I thought might be relevant?”

Mike glanced at the cover. Maurice. “What’s it about?”

“Uh.” Will hesitated. “Kinda what we were talking about? It’s about… Guys trying to define their own kind of re – of friendship.”

“Oh, that sounds neat. Maybe I could borrow it when you’re done?”

Will shrugged. “Maybe. There’s class differences and romance too though, so I dunno if you’d like it.”

Mike made a face. “Like Pride and Prejudice? Gross.”

Will snorted. “Yeah, Jonathan recommended it to me, but I’m not sure if it’d be your cup of tea. Anyways, what do you think about this? ‘He could die for such a friend, he would allow such a friend to die for him; they would make any sacrifice for each other, and count the world nothing, neither death nor distance nor crossness could part them, because “this is my friend”.’ ”

Mike was silent for a moment.

Will pulled back. “Sorry if that was too much, I just thought –”

“Will,” Mike interrupted, “It’s perfect. That’s exactly what I want for us.”

“Hopefully no one’s dying though,” Lucas offered from his own bed across the room. Mike and Will both jumped back a little from each other. “Dorks,” Lucas added fondly.

*          *          *

Dustin’s hair almost made them late, but they successfully caught the bus to the dinner cruise. As they loaded the buses, Mike noticed how good everyone looked. Greg had slicked back his hair like Danny Zuko. Brian had a sharp suit that looked like it had been tailored. Logan had these shoes that slid and he’d been doing impressive twirls on the tile of the hotel lobby. Even Zach somehow managed to pull off a powder blue suit.

“Hey beautiful,” said Lucas as Max got on the bus. Even Mike had to admit she looked alright. Max took her time looking Lucas up and down. “Nice,” she allowed.

The cruise itself started out fine. There was pizza and there were people from some random other middle school that apparently was also on the cruise with them. The river breeze was refreshing without being too cold. But then Lucas and Dustin dragged them down a level to the dance floor. And what was Mike supposed to do? He had a girlfriend, so it’s not like he could dance with any girls. Not that he wanted to anyways. But the music was fast for now, and Lucas was pulling them all out to the dance floor, and he supposed he at least could make a fool out of himself flailing in front of the Party. Max and Lucas joined hands and faced each other, looking at least mildly coordinated. Dustin grabbed Mike’s and Will’s hands, so it only made sense to grab Will’s free hand too. Will didn’t say anything, so this must be okay even if it made his heartrate spike. Glancing over to see Will smiling, eyes twinkling in that cute little sweater vest didn’t do anything to help that situation.

Dustin leaned in. “All the girls will be lining up to dance with us once they see our sweet moves,” he said conspiratorially. Will raised a very skeptical eyebrow, which Mike was more inclined to agree with. “Well, more than if we were wallflowers,” Dustin defended himself. That was more likely, but Mike was still inclined to disagree. That said, they weren’t the only guys dancing in a group as Mike glanced around the room. God, how did everyone else know these things.

A few songs later, the beat slowed down as the first strains of I Want To Know What Love Is rang out across the dance floor. Mike glanced around for an exit and when he looked back, suddenly there were girls there – the rest of Max’s room. Becky walked up to Dustin, Jenny to Will (of course), and Maggie to him.

“Want to dance?” asked Maggie shyly. Mike froze, watching as a giggling Becky led Dustin onto the dance floor.

“Uh, I – Um – I’m taken, sorry,” Mike forced out.

“Oh.” Maggie’s face fell. “Is she here?”

“No, she goes to a different school – a different different school,” Mike chuckled awkwardly. It looked like Maggie was going to say something else, but Mike glanced over at Will and Will was staring back at him, eyes wide, mouth slightly parted. Mike was forcibly transported back to the Snow Ball, except now there was no chance El would show up for a happy ending. Fuck it. He should get to be selfish every once in a while. He shook his head slightly.

Will’s face shifted – disappointment? relief? – and Mike heard him say something to Jenny about needing more air, and the next thing Mike knew, Will had grabbed his wrist and was dragging him up the stairs that he’d failed to locate earlier.

Mike turned to Will to apologize, but Will beat him to it. “Thanks, Mike,” he smiled softly.

“Huh?”

“Jenny’s nice, but I don’t like her like that and I think she likes me and I don’t want to lead her on.” Mike blinked. “Sorry if you wanted to dance with Maggie,” Will grimaced.

Mike blinked again. “No, I – El –” he gestured vaguely.

“Right,” Will said quietly.

“I thought I was being selfish,” Mike admitted. “I didn’t wanna be alone.”

Will turned to face him and his eyes sparkled in the moonlight. “You’re not,” he whispered. He started swaying to the beat still clearly audible from downstairs. Mike noted idly that Will had never let go of his wrist. …Guess this was allowed too.

*          *          *

“So.” Dustin popped his head over the seats in front of them on the bus ride home. “Who was the prettiest girl tonight?” he whispered.

“Max, obviously,” Lucas cut in quickly.

“Right answer, Stalker,” Max agreed from across the aisle, preening.

“Uh, Jenny’s dress was a really nice shade of yellow,” Will offered. I don’t like her like that, Mike reminded himself, breathing through his nose. “How was dancing with Becky?”

Dustin shrugged. “It was chill. I don’t think she appreciates science enough to date but it was fun to dance with her!” he grinned. “What about you, Mike?”

“I mean, El’s not here, so…”

Dustin rolled his eyes. “Boring. Really? No girls caught your eye tonight?”

Mike shrugged. “Not really, no.”

Dustin shook his head. “Hopeless. You wanna use some Farrah Fawcett spray for the spring formal, just say the word!” Then he did that stupid purring thing with his teeth. Mike lunged forward as he ducked back down and he ended up falling onto Will’s lap, collapsing in a heap of giggles.

*          *          *

Thursday, March 28, 1985

Dustin woke up, yawned, and stretched. Sleeping on the bed was so much nicer than the floor. Not that his nest was poorly constructed, but there was really only so much a man could do.

Last night had been – a time. He’d been able to dance with a girl that wasn’t Nancy, no offense, Mike. Wait, no, full offense, Mike. And said girl had been the one to approach him. That was hot. Dustin appreciated a self-sufficient woman. Then she had called him on the room phone last night after room check and they talked until Mike threatened to murder him for interrupting Will’s beauty sleep or whatever. His statement stood that he wasn’t sure if she was girlfriend material, but perhaps this warranted further investigation.

“Rise and shine, ladies!” he called as the alarm went off. “Lucas, first shower!”

A raised middle finger emerged from the nest. “Fuck off. Nest privileges,” Lucas said sleepily.

“Schedule privileges,” retorted Dustin, “Who’s been getting you everywhere on time?”

“Just go with it,” Will piped up, “Dustin’s gonna get his way one way or another and it’s easier if you just get it over with.”

“Thanks, Will,” Dustin grinned as Lucas emerged. Lucas took the fastest showers, so it made sense for him to go first. Once he got the all clear, he joined him in the bathroom to brush his teeth. He’d meant to shower last night but had been otherwise occupied, so time was of the essence.

“Get out,” called Lucas, shutting off the water right after Dustin spit his toothpaste out. “Unless you wanna see what a real man looks like!”

“Yeah, no thanks,” Dustin demurred. “Is that what Max says you are?” He scampered out as Lucas rattled the shower curtain threateningly. It’s not like it would be a big deal if he saw Lucas naked, but it wasn’t something he was angling for either.

“Remember, Mike first once I’m in the shower, then Will,” called Dustin once he was in the bathroom. It was important to keep Mike happy and “Happy Will, happy Mike” was the oldest trick in the strategy manual. But of course they came in together once Dustin was safely hidden behind the shower curtain, squabbling like an old married couple. Dustin rolled his eyes. So predictable. Why couldn’t things be that easy with Becky? Why couldn’t he find someone he clicked with like that?

Thanks to Dustin’s planning skills, they made it to the bus at exactly 6:29. He gave Becky a little wave as he made his way to his seat. She giggled and waved back.

Observation 1. Becky was interested in him. That was, in the wise words of Kurt Gödel, a good start.

They sat with Max’s room for breakfast like they had been. But today Becky sat next to him instead of on the other side of Max. That was new. Mike had switched with Will and Maggie had switched with Jenny and why was everything changing? Will raised a suggestive eyebrow at him from across the table. Dustin rolled his eyes. Such sass. He raised his own suggestive eyebrow back at Will, intending to flick his gaze over to Mike, but Will was already looking at Mike and ignoring him, so it was a wasted effort even if it just proved his point more effectively.

“So how was last night?” asked Becky.

“Last night was great!” Dustin beamed. “I had a great time!”

“Me too,” Becky giggled.

Observation 2. Becky giggled too much. It was annoying.

“You wanna hang out more today?” she continued.

“Yeah, sure,” Dustin shrugged. “Maybe we could read some dialogues together?”

Becky frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Like, you know how we read Shakespeare scenes in class? I have some really great dialogues for two people in this book I’m reading.”

Becky made a face. “Uh, sure? Sounds fun I guess?”

“Sweet! When, though?”

“What about on the bus?”

“We… Aren’t sitting near each other?”

“We can switch!” Becky said brightly.

“I… Don’t think we’re allowed to?” Dustin said hesitantly.

Becky laughed – at him? With him? “No one cares, silly! I can sit with you, Lucas can sit with Max, and Jenny can sit with Maggie. It all works out!”

“Uh, okay,” Dustin conceded, although he still felt a little weird about it.

Observation 3. Becky was magic. Once they got on the bus, all the girls magically went where Becky had said they would, with Max tugging Lucas across the aisle with her. So, maybe just girls in general were magic? Or had telepathy… That could be more sci-fi, though, like neural implants or something… Or wait. He smacked himself on the forehead. This is why girls always went to the bathroom together. Duh.

“So what are we reading?” asked Becky apprehensively.

Oh boy. This could be the make-or-break moment. He flipped to the middle of the book. “How about the ‘Birthday Cantatatata…’?”

“Is it your birthday?” asked Becky, confused.

“…No?” Oh boy.

“Oh, okay,” she giggled and leaned in to rest her head on his shoulder.

Observation 4. Well, that felt nice.

Becky took the role of Achilles and Dustin took the role of the Tortoise and they made it through, but…

“I don’t get it,” said Becky once they’d finished.

“It’s about different levels of infinity, and how you can always make more.”

“Isn’t infinity, just, like, the biggest number?” asked Becky. “How can you get bigger than that?”

“Well, Cantor’s Diagonalization Argument – you know what, maybe that wasn’t a great one to start with.” Even Mike and Lucas got weird about infinities. He flipped back in the book, landing on the “Little Harmonic Labyrinth”. “Here, this one has more of a story.”

Becky gamely made her way through it, and Dustin called Mike and Will forward to read some of the minor characters. Will trying to be a villain was absolutely adorable. They just finished by the time the bus pulled up at their next stop. Dustin thought it had gone well, but when they got off the bus, Becky made a beeline for Jenny and Maggie. They all looked at him and giggled.

“Lucas,” he said out of the side of his mouth, “Is that a good sign or a bad sign?”

“Bad,” said Lucas.

Max shrugged. “Could go either way. Either she’s really into you or they’re making fun of you for being a nerd. Recursive dialogues, Henderson, really?”

“Wait, you understood what was going on?”

“Psh, like it was that hard. It only pushed down three levels, if you don’t count all that meta-genie nonsense, and it popped back up two. That’s the joke, right? That they’re still trapped in Evil Will’s castle, right?”

Dustin’s mouth fell open in shock. Lucas just grinned. “Told you she’s a keeper.”

*          *          *

Arlington National Cemetery was kind of lame. It was – a big cemetery. He guessed the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was cool if you liked ceremonies, and the Eternal Flame was at least cool to think about the systems in place to keep it lit. But Becky kept trying to hold his hand, which didn’t seem right in a place like this. Dustin wasn’t religious, but even he could tell that this place was sacred.

The White House tour was kind of neat, but it would have been better if stupid Reagan weren’t there. Becky kept gushing about how much her parents loved him and how their taxes had gone way down. He sidled over to the Party. “Reagan’s, like, a bad dude, right?”

Mike shrugged. “My parents voted for him, so probably.”

“Doesn’t he have something to do with Star Wars?” asked Lucas.

“Not the same Star Wars,” Dustin clarified. “Good Star Wars is the George Lucas trilogy. Bad Star Wars is actually launching weapons into space.”

Will frowned. “Why would you do that?”

Dustin shrugged. “Get a leg up on the Soviets, probably?”

“There’s also, y’know…” Will trailed off, glancing around.

“Know what?” asked Dustin, who absolutely did not know.

Will leaned in. “AIDS,” he whispered.

Dustin glanced around too. It was just the four of them. “What about it?”

“He hasn’t done anything about it,” Will said fiercely. “And it’s killing so many people. He just doesn’t care because it’s –”

“Queers,” said Lucas softly.

Observation. Mike looked extremely uncomfortable for a brief moment before he regained control of his face and stepped closer to Will. Dustin filed that one away for further consideration later.

*          *          *

The final straw of the Becky Debacle, as he’d decided to call it in his head, came at the National Air and Space Museum. The Party and their associated hangers-on were at the Apollo to the Moon exhibit. It was pretty insane – real Apollo space suits, a Saturn booster rocket, and lunar samples, including a touchable moon rock.

“Moon rock?” said Will plaintively as soon as he saw it.

“I’ll create a distraction,” Max said calmly. Jenny giggled.

Mike looked furious. “If anyone’s stealing a moon rock for Will, it’s going to be me.”

“Would you steal a moon rock for me?” asked Maggie suggestively.

Mike barely glanced at her. “No.”

She flinched back. Wow, Mike certainly had a way with the ladies.

“No one is stealing a moon rock,” Dustin said firmly.

“Think you can stop me, Henderson?” Max challenged.

Becky, hanging on his wrist, giggled. “You know it’s not real, right?”

Wait, what? Was this a replica too? Usually they were pretty good about marking that… He looked more closely at the placard. Nope, this was real. “Huh? Yes it is,” he said eloquently.

Becky laughed again. “You know no one’s actually been to the Moon, right?”

Dustin’s eyes widened. He quickly detached himself from Becky. “I – have to go to the bathroom,” he said abruptly. “I’ll catch up with you guys later.” He moved over to Lucas. “Mission abort,” he whispered urgently. “Meet at the Voyager spacecraft in five minutes. Party only!”

Observation 5. This was not going to work out.

He did stop by the bathroom to compose himself briefly, then made his way over to the Voyager exhibit. Mike and Will showed up first, followed by Lucas. Max was still with him, but he supposed she got a free pass from the dialogues earlier.

“What’s wrong?” asked Will, reaching out a hand to his shoulder.

“Wrong? What’s wrong?” Dustin almost shouted, but then whisper-shouted at a glare from Max. “Did you hear Becky? She thinks the Moon landing was faked!”

Mike’s, Will’s, and Lucas’s eyes all widened. Max’s just rolled. “That’s the deal-breaker for you dweebs?” she said.

“How is that not a deal-breaker?” Lucas retorted. “How do you not believe in science?”

“She also likes Reagan,” Will piped up.

Max made a face. “Never mind. Screw her.”

“I don’t wanna, like, put a damper on your prospects though, Will. Is this gonna make things weird with Jenny?”

“I don’t think Jenny and Becky are that close?” Will replied. Max shook her head in confirmation. “And there aren’t any ‘prospects’,” he said, putting the word in exaggerated air quotes.

“No?” Dustin teased. “She seems interested in you…” he grinned. Mike looked absolutely murderous.

Will shrugged. “She’s just a friend. I don’t like her like that.”

Dustin shrugged back. “Okay, man. You do you.” He shared a quick glance with Lucas as Mike placed a protective hand on Will’s shoulder.

Max sighed heavily. “Boys.”

*          *          *

Lucas loved the Party, he really did, but a guy needed some space sometimes, y’know? The National Gallery of Art was next and he loved Will, but he didn’t want to waste his hour slowly walking through two or three rooms absorbing every detail. He was a big-picture kind of guy. Mike was obviously going to do whatever Will did. Dustin was a loose cannon at this point whose main goal seemed to be avoiding Becky. “You cool if I disappear for a bit?” he asked Max as they stepped off the bus.

Max shrugged. “Whatever.” He pulled her in for a quick kiss and she blushed. Victory!

“Hey Logan!” he called, “Wait up!”

And so Lucas found himself wandering around a boring art museum with Greg, Brian, Logan, and Zach. “What happened to your room?” asked Greg curiously.

Lucas shrugged. “Just wanted a change of pace. Will loves art so he’s gonna move pretty slow.”

Logan nodded. “He’s like, good though, right? I’ve seen his stuff at the art shows.”

Lucas grinned proudly. “Yeah, he is.”

“Where are all the naked people?” asked Zach loudly.

Logan looked pained. “Indoor voices, Zach.”

“You mean, like, sculptures?” asked Brian.

Zach shrugged. “Or paintings. Whatever.”

“That would probably be Renaissance,” Lucas said. Being Will’s friend definitely had some benefits. “Pretty sure that’s downstairs.”

As promised, they did find a variety of naked sculptures and paintings downstairs. Zach kept pointing to the male sculptures and saying how much bigger his dick was. Lucas rolled his eyes. The Party had their faults, sure, but at least they were honest. He felt like his dick was probably about the same size soft. Did that mean his was small, or was Zach just being an idiot? That was a silly question. Zach was always being an idiot.

The boobs in paintings were more of interest to Lucas. He and Max had never taken their clothes off around each other, but she had let him cop a feel once or twice during some heavy making out, and damn. “You ever seen boobs in real life?” he asked Greg.

“Do porn mags count?” Greg replied. Lucas shook his head. “Then no. Have you?”

Lucas also shook his head. “I’ve touched some, over the shirt, but haven’t seen any.”

Greg nodded, impressed. “Nice man. Max?”

Lucas blushed. “Yeah. Anyone you got your eye on?”

Greg thought for a moment. “Becky’s pretty cute, but it seems like she and Dustin might be a thing…?” He trailed off.

Lucas laughed. “That ship has sailed.”

Greg’s eyes brightened. “Wait, really? Are you sure? What happened?”

“I can tell you for a fact that Dustin is 100% not interested,” Lucas said solemnly.

“Wait, why not?” Greg narrowed his eyes. “They were slow-dancing together last night.”

 “Uh.” Lucas paused. “Let’s just say believing the Moon landing was faked was a deal-breaker for Dustin.”

Greg raised an eyebrow. “I can work with that.”

Lucas snorted. “Have at it, man.”

*          *          *

The Party reconvened at the Natural History Museum, where they made a beeline for the dinosaurs, because duh. As he predicted, Will and Mike had spent the whole time looking at old French painters like Manet or Monet or Matisse or something. They’d been so slow that Jenny and Maggie had ditched them, which Mike seemed glad about. Here, the girls wanted to look at some fancy diamond or something. Max had declared them all to be losers and went off with Mandy and Mindy to look at the mummies.

Mike and Dustin had moved ahead as they debated dinosaur posture, leaving Will and Lucas alone together for the first time all day. “How were the old French paintings?” Lucas asked.

Will’s eyes lit up. “Lucas. They had so many original Monets. Monets. I just – I can’t ever imagine using color like he does. And the way he sees light is incredible. You know like when you’re looking at a body of water and the sun sparkles off of it and it’s just mesmerizing?”

“Uh, sure,” Lucas agreed vaguely.

Will rolled his eyes. “I’ll point it out next time. It was gorgeous on the cruise last night. Anyways, the way he paints light, it’s like – obviously it’s not a photo. But it feels right, if that makes any sense.”

Lucas nodded slowly. “I think so?”

“Hmmm,” Will thought, “It’s like – Some books you read are fun, like comic books, but they obviously don’t connect to you, even if you could theoretically be the main character, like Spiderman. But then there are some books that just – reach into your soul and don’t let go, even if they’re set long ago and far away. But something about them is true and resonates with your entire being.”

Lucas gave him a look. “Sounds like I’ve gotta read more books, then.”

“Yeah, well, you’ve been a little preoccupied,” Will teased.

“Yeah, clearly,” Lucas agreed sarcastically, gesturing to the distinct lack of Max in the vicinity. “She likes mummies more than me.”

Will frowned at him. “You know she really likes you, though, yeah?” Lucas shrugged. “No, seriously. She puts on this mask all the time but she lets it down in front of you. Being vulnerable is a huge deal for her. You’re doing a good job, Lucas.”

Lucas breathed in through his nose. “Thanks, Will.”

Will’s face turned serious. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“If it’s about Jenny, the answer is yes.”

Will wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, I know, I’m working on that. But no, actually, it’s about Maggie.”:

“Wait, you like Maggie?” Lucas hadn’t seen that one coming.

“Oh my god, Lucas, is that the only thing you think about?”

“…Yes?”

Will sighed. “No, it’s – Do you think Maggie likes Mike?”

Lucas paused. Where was Will coming from? “Uh, yeah. She asked him to dance and keeps trying to sit next to him all the time.”

“Damn,” Will muttered under his breath, almost too softly for Lucas to hear.

“Why do you care?” asked Lucas.

“Do you – do you think he likes her back?” Will asked, curling in on himself a little.

“What? Will. You’re not this dumb. Okay, even if he weren’t dating – El,” he suddenly dropped his voice to a whisper. They were in DC after all; who knew who might be listening? – “Has he given any indication that he’s interested in her, even as a friend? He never tries to hang out with her, he ignores her when she sits next to him, he turned her down at the dance. What is this really about, man?”

“I just –” Will paused, then grabbed Lucas’s bicep and pulled him behind a display case, separating them from Mike and Dustin. It looked like he was tearing up. Shit. “I just – This trip has been great. But when we’re in Hawkins, I miss Mike. When we hang out, everything’s fine, but he’s with El all the time now and I feel like his second choice – a distant second – and it, it just sucks, okay? And I don’t want that to happen here too, with Maggie.”

“There there,” Lucas said, awkwardly patting Will on the shoulder. “For real, though, you have nothing to worry about here. This is probably the longest you’ve been out of his sight this whole trip. He still cares about you. A lot. And yeah, he’s a little too obsessed with El, but it’s his first relationship. He’ll even out soon. Soon enough, you’ll wish he were with El more, he’s bothering you so much.”

Will snorted. “Not possible. Anyways, you were never like this with Max,” he said accusingly.

Lucas shrugged. “I see her every day in school. It’s different. Just give him some time, okay? He – speak of the devil,” he said as Mike rounded a corner looking frantic.

“Will!” he said, out of breath, “There you are!”

“Hey,” said Lucas, sticking out his hand, “My name’s Lucas, nice to meet you.”

Mike rolled his eyes. “Yes, hi Lucas, I see you too.” He threw an arm over Will’s shoulder and Lucas shot Will an I told you so glance. Will shot back a wavery smile. Lucas moved discreetly out of range before Mike noticed Will had been crying. He had some sense of self-preservation.

*          *          *

The last stop of the evening was the Vietnam Memorial. Lucas checked his pocked and made sure the piece of paper was still there. It was. As they approached the wall, Lucas paused. It wasn’t a wall so much as a hole in the earth, a tear in the otherwise green landscape. He shivered.

He took out the piece of paper as he approached the west end of the wall. There were three names on it, handwritten by his dad. Three real people his dad had known and fought with and loved who didn’t come back.

“What’s that?” asked Dustin curiously.

“My dad wanted me to get rubbings of some of the names.”

“Oh… shit.” For once, Dustin ran out of words.

“Yeah, man.” Lucas wasn’t sure what to say either. They walked quietly to the directory and found the panels for the names – all on W15.

“Does that mean –” started Dustin.

“Yeah,” Lucas replied quietly, walking slowly along the wall. “There was an ambush. My dad was shot, but it was just a graze along his shoulder. It was enough to get him sent to a field hospital and then honorably discharged. His friends weren’t so lucky.” Dustin patted his shoulder. “Thanks, man.”

Dustin stood with him as he made the rubbings. “Do you think they’ll ever add more names?” he asked.

Lucas frowned. “Why would they? It’s over.”

“Like… If they discover new people who died, or people who worked supporting the war effort in non-combat positions.”

Lucas shook his head. “If they made a mistake, sure, but it doesn’t count if you weren’t fighting out there on the ground. It’s just not the same.”

“Oh, so my dad doesn’t count?” said Dustin quietly, turning away.

Lucas caught his elbow. “Hey, wait, no, that’s not what I meant. I thought he died of cancer?”

“Yeah, after working on a top-secret military base on Long Island through the 60s and early 70s. Why would the military have given us so much money to move to Hawkins if it wasn’t their fault?” He started sniffling. “Why do we even do this, man?”

“…Do what?” asked Lucas cautiously.

“This.” Dustin gestured expansively to the whole wall. “Fight. Kill. Have these huge wars where tens of thousands of people die. And for what? There’s gotta be a better way.”

“They’re heroes,” Lucas said reflexively, “Defending our way of life.”

“Sure,” Dustin said, “I’m not arguing that. But why do people have to die to defend it in the first place?”

Lucas shrugged. “There are bad people in the world. What, you wanna argue with the demogorgons? The Mind Flayer?”

Dustin shot him a glare. “These are people, Lucas. Human beings. We can talk to them. I just – I wish the world was a better place.”

“Yeah,” Lucas said quietly, looking down at the names of three people he would never get to meet. “Me too.”

*          *          *

Friday, March 29, 1985

Max stretched as she woke up. All four of them had showered the night before to make sure they’d all have enough time to get ready and pack this morning. 5:30 was an evil time to wake up, but it was a necessary evil. Having four teenage girls share a single bathroom was absolutely the root cause here.

Max went first, since she took the least amount of time. She just had to change, brush her teeth, put on some deodorant, wash her face, and she was ready to go. She could do her hair with the mirror in the main room.

“Are you sure you don’t wanna switch seats?” asked Jenny

Max sighed. They’d been over this so many times. “Yes, Jenny, it would be nice to sit with my boyfriend. However, that would mean you’d have to sit with Dustin.”

Jenny made a face. “Why couldn’t I sit with Will and Dustin sit with Mike?”

Max tried to hold back a laugh and failed. “Have you met Mike Wheeler?”

“Isn’t he seeing someone?” called Maggie from the bathroom. “Why would he be jealous?”

Max bit her tongue and spoke slowly and carefully. “Mike and Will have been best friends since kindergarten.”

“Yeah, we know,” interrupted Becky.

“Excuse me, I’m talking,” Max continued. “Mike’s always been very protective of Will, especially after he got lost in the woods a few years ago. It takes him a while to warm up to new people. It’s nothing personal.”

“So they’re not, y’know…” Becky trailed off.

“Mike has a girlfriend,” Max said quickly. “And Will’s just shy. I’ve heard him talk about girls.”

“Ooh, who?” Jenny leaned in curiously.

Max mimed zipping her lips together and shook her head, smirking. “I don’t kiss and tell.”

“You’ve kissed Will?” shouted Maggie.

Max barked out a laugh. “Ha, no! I’ve kissed Lucas. Which is why I’m in their Party and they trust me with these things.”

“Has Will kissed anyone?” Jenny persisted.

Max shrugged. “I don’t know all their secrets. Let’s just say I know he’s interested in kissing.” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively as the other three began wondering who the lucky girl was. People were so narrow-minded here. She wished Mike and Will could live somewhere like California, for their sake.

Soon enough, it was time to board the buses. Max easily passed Mike on the staircase, who had resorted to dragging his suitcase down one step at a time. Weakling. She turned in their room key to Mr. Coleman at the same time as – Will?

“Wasn’t Mike room captain?” she asked as they walked back to the buses.

Will smirked. “In name only. No one trusted him not to lose the key.”

Max laughed. “Huh, maybe the four of you have some hope after all.”

“Hey, babe,” said Lucas as she boarded the bus, earning himself a light punch on the arm. “Can we sit together?”

Max sighed heavily. “Not unless you want Mike to strangle you.” She held up a finger. “I am not explaining this again.”

To his credit, Lucas backed down. “Okay, okay,” he conceded, holding his hands up. Good. That definitely earned him a handhold at breakfast.

*          *          *

They stopped at some rest stop for lunch and made it to Pittsburgh by 1 PM. They all got out at some Emerald View Park that, sure, had a nice overlook of the city, but honestly just seemed like a chance to stretch their legs. Which, Max didn’t blame them. Even she was getting restless. Zach practically started sprinting around as soon as he got off the bus. She shook her head. Boys.

“So Lucas,” she asked. She and the Party had wandered off on a trail even though they only had forty minutes here. She figured she’d be able to get them back even if Dustin got lost. “What was the best part of the trip?”

“Wait,” Will cut in, “My family does this thing where we guess each other’s favorite parts. Can we do that?”

Max shrugged. “Sure, go for it.” What Will wanted, Will got. Obviously. Have you seen the kid?

“Ooh, I got this one,” Dustin called out. “The best part of the trip for Lucas was the Vietnam Memorial last night.”

Lucas turned to Dustin, opened his mouth, but then thought and closed it. “Yeah,” he said quietly. Hmm. Max would have to ask him about that later. Lucas glanced around. “Mike’s favorite part was…” He licked his lips, “The time we spent in the hotel room. Hey!” he said, cutting off Mike’s attempts to argue. “Yes, we saw lots of cool things, and you like animals and history and space and dinosaurs, but – you could be yourself the most when it’s just the four of us, and I think you’ve missed that a lot recently.”

Mike scuffed his foot. “Thanks, Lucas,” he muttered. “Will’s favorite part was the cruise,” he said, without pausing to think.

Max frowned at him even as Will nodded, blushing slightly. “You didn’t even dance?” she asked. “What about the art gallery?”

“But the way the sunset sparkled on the water,” Mike said softly, and Will nodded again. Whatever. Max knew better than to get in the middle of – whatever that was.

“Max’s favorite part was the zoo,” Will said softly, which, what the heck.

“We barely hung out at the zoo!” Max protested. “How could you possibly know that?”

Will smiled. “Lucas was all happy and smiley afterwards, because you were happy there.”

“Dammit, Will,” she muttered. “Blowing my cover,” she whispered to Lucas. He just had the audacity to laugh. “So that leaves Dustin. His favorite part of the trip was…” She paused. Space was the obvious answer, but maybe too obvious? It certainly wasn’t anything to do with that whole Becky mess, but that also ended there, so… “The space museum.”

Dustin shrugged, grinning. “What can I say? I’m a man of simple tastes.”

Max pretended to gag.

*          *          *

Max mostly listened to her Walkman on the way home, tuning out everything around her. It had been nice to spend so much time with her friends, but she needed some time alone, away from everyone. Lucas didn’t seem to understand the concept, but backed off after the third attempted to engage. She’d have to explain once she’d recharged; she wasn’t trying to be a dick.

Clearly not everyone felt the same way, though. Once they disembarked at Hawkins Middle, she gave Lucas a quick kiss (making sure Billy’s car was on the opposite side of the bus). Meanwhile, Mike and Will were hugging like they were about to not see each other for years. Will was holding onto Mike for dear life and they were whispering to each other, and then they got their bags and walked to the Byers’s car together. Max rolled her eyes. God, they needed to get their shit together. Not that she would ever get caught caring about Mike, but he was gonna seriously hurt Will if he wasn’t careful.

*          *          *

Saturday, March 30, 1985

Mike had slept over Will’s last night and everything had felt fine. Mike had eaten breakfast with Will this morning and everything had felt fine. Mike had left around noon to walk over to El’s cabin and, well, Will wasn’t thrilled about it, but it felt fine. Mike said he would call when he got home before dinner, so Will had that to look forward to.

But 5 PM passed, then 6 PM, then 7 PM, Will’s anxiety ratcheting up higher and higher, and now it was 8 PM and he couldn’t take it anymore. He stomped to his room and picked up his radio. “Will to Mike,” he called on channel 5, “Are you there? Over.” Silence. He threw the walkie on his bed in frustration, then flopped down after it. He sighed and turned to channel 6. “Will to Mike,” he called, “Over.” Static. He was about to scream into his pillow when –

“Hello?” A girl’s voice – El’s voice. “Mike is with me.”

“Hi!” Mike said cheerily over the radio.

Oh. Will felt tears starting to leak out of his eyes. “I thought you were gonna call before dinner,” he said quietly.

“Yeah, I ended up staying here for dinner and I forgot.” Mike at least had the decency to sound slightly guilty.

“It was not a very good dinner,” El added, “But Hop is trying his best.”

“I don’t know, it was okay,” Mike argued.

“Guys,” Will interrupted, “Sorry to interrupt. Glad you’re okay, Mike. Have a good night. Over and out.”

“Hey, we’ll call tomorrow, okay?” Mike’s voice radiated concern. “Over.”

Will considered just not replying and turning off his radio, but he couldn’t bring himself to do that. “Sure, Mike,” he whispered, “I’ll be waiting. Over and out.”

Fuck.

He wanted to throw his walkie on the floor, but placed it behind his pillow instead. He had really thought things would be better now. Things had been amazing on the trip. Mike had barely mentioned El at all and it felt like it did Before El. But clearly things were going right back to how they had been. Will was officially Mike’s second choice again. resident weirdo, no one’s first pick, Zombie Boy…

Queer.

That’s really what it came down to. If he’d been normal like Mike or Dustin or Lucas, this wouldn’t even be a problem. But no, he had to be built different, built wrong, by God or the Devil or whoever. Anyone else would be happy their best friend had a girlfriend to spend time with, maybe a little jealous that they didn’t have one of their own. But no, Will had to imagine how Mike was telling El all about their trip in between kisses and he just – wanted that. So badly.

And it would be one thing if Mike never led him on. But just the past few days alone, there were so many moments – worried he wouldn’t be comfortable sharing a bed, giving him an out to dancing with Jenny, knowing how much he loved sunset sparkling on the water – but somehow not realizing that what Will loved most was the sunset sparkling in Mike’s eyes.

God, Mike Wheeler was an idiot. How could Will have fallen for him? He let out a wet laugh. That wasn’t really the question, was it. How couldn’t Will have fallen for him?