✓ | 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 (BYLER)

𝒙𝒗𝒊𝒊. PURPLE PALM TREE DELIGHT

━━━━  𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 !
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

Surprisingly, Argyle was the most panicked out of the entire group. This was extremely unusual for someone who was constantly stoned. The weed kept him weirdly calm and loopy. It must've worn off, because he was in hysterics.

Much to Argyle's dismay, the crew had decided to bury Agent Harmon's body in the desert-like area where he parked the van. Was the idea fucked up? Absolutely. However, they didn't exactly have any other options when their primary goal was to avoid being spotted by the military men hunting them down. Properly handling the situation would put them at risk of getting hurt or even killed by those assholes.

"Oh, man," Argyle heaved, combing his fingers through his long, black hair as he scuffed his shoes against the dirt. "This is not the way it's supposed to go, okay?"

Nobody acknowledged the frazzled teenager, as they were too busy shoveling mounds of dirt on top of the agent's lifeless body.

"This is so messed up, man. This is so messed up! This is so messed up!"

For the second time in a span of merely five seconds, his concerns were downright ignored. Unfortunately, the group's ignorance didn't stop him from rambling.

"Okay. Dude's probably got, like, a family and kids . . . you know, all that shit. I think we gotta go to the cops with this one, man. We gotta lay it all on 'em. Mike's super-powered girlfriend, the bad government dudes, and the Upside Down dimension planet thing."

"No!" The others shouted in unison.

Argyle obviously didn't understand the importance of keeping everything happening in Hawkins a secret. If anybody heard about it, they'd all be in great danger. Jonathan began to regret revealing the shocking truth about his hometown to his best friend.

"But . . . but listen!" The long-haired teenager shrieked, storming over to Mike and roughly grabbing him by the shoulder. "The bad government dudes are after your super girlfriend, right? Right? Okay. So maybe the cops can help us find out where she is! Because they're gonna kill her, man. And if they kill her, they're gonna kill us!"

Mike was startled by Argyle's sudden outburst. He was visibly uncomfortable due to the older teenager screaming at him as if the entire situation was his fault.

"Hey!" Jonathan thundered, snapping his fingers in an attempt to grab his friend's attention.

"You know what? They might kill us before they kill her. I don't know, man!"

"Argyle!" The oldest of the Byers boys hollered at the top of his lungs.

"Actually, I don't know what order they wanna go!"

"Argyle! Listen to me!"

"Eeny meeny miny moe!"

"Argyle, listen!"

"What?"

"Look, I think we can figure this out, okay? We just gotta open our minds!" Jonathan huffed.

Will continued to shovel despite the fact that he was exhausted and on the verge of dehydration. His mouth felt drier than the desert he was standing in.

"Open our minds? That's an open grave in front of me, man!" Argyle shrieked. "What do you mean 'open my mind?' What the hell are you talking about?"

"Argyle! Dude! Hey!" Jonathan screeched. "Just relax, okay? Why don't you just go to the van and do your thing, huh?"

"Purple Palm Tree Delight," The long-haired teenager muttered, a small smirk creeping onto his face.

"Right," His best friend nodded, mirroring his smile.

"It's all worn off," Argyle noted.

"It's just worn off," Jonathan nodded in agreement.

"I'm all emotional."

"You're emotional."

"Okay," Argyle chuckled, turning around to head back to the Surfer Boy Pizza van. "I'm sorry."

"You're fine," Jonathan reassured him, giving him a friendly pat on the back.

"Jonathan," Will called out, dropping his shovel to throw his hands in the air.

"Yeah?"

"More weed? Is that really a good idea right now?"

"What? You got a better idea to keep him calm?" His brother scoffed. "Let's just get this done."

Will sighed in defeat and returned to piling dirt on top of the corpse of Agent Harmon. As he did so, he glanced up at Mike and froze in place.

Holy shit.

He looked so perfect in the golden sunlight. The way its rays outlined his features made him look even more beautiful than he already was. His freckles stood out more than they usually did and his fair skin was practically glowing. He had discarded his turquoise pullover so that he only wore the white T-shirt hidden beneath it. It was at that moment that Will realized he didn't just have a crush on Mike Wheeler — he was in love with him.

Mike must have felt a pair of eyes glued to him because he averted his gaze to Will. He immediately turned away when their eyes met, but reluctantly snuck another glance. He had to do a double take — no, a triple take to confirm that his eyes weren't deceiving him.

Mike thought Will looked flawless as well. His skin was tanned from the California sun and his hazel eyes were filled with love and desire. He looked angelic; ethereal.

Wait, why was Mike using those adjectives to describe his best friend? It wasn't weird, was it?

The ravenette brushed off his concerns, dropped his shovel, and maneuvered his way to the cooler to grab a 7 Up. He popped the can open and gulped down the sugary drink, cringing at the way the carbonation tickled his throat.

He desperately wanted to erase his memory and start from scratch, because he knew it wasn't normal to look at his male best friend as if he were a literal work of art.

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 !
this chapter is kinda rushed i'm sorry! anyways mike wheeler i know what you are