✓ | 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 (BYLER)

𝒙𝒗𝒊𝒊𝒊. OPENING UP

━━━━  𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 !
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

A wave of exhaustion crashed over Mike's slender body, his limbs aching after shoveling mounds of dirt onto a dead body for what felt like decades. The only thing he longed to do was to sit down and drown in his thoughts.

He spotted an abandoned car nearby, so he snatched his soda can and trudged over to it, lunging himself onto the roof. He could've sat in the van, but it was most likely filled with clouds of smoke and the pungent scent of marijuana, which smelled more like skunk in his opinion.

Footsteps began to echo in the distance merely three minutes after Mike managed to make himself comfortable on the roof of the unused vehicle. He averted his gaze to the ground below him and locked eyes with Will, who was hesitantly approaching the car.

"Mind if I join you?" The brunette shyly smiled, squinting to block the blinding rays of sunlight from his sparkling hazel eyes.

Mike responded with a firm nod and watched as Will mounted himself onto the roof. They remained silent for a few seconds before the Byers boy reluctantly spoke up.

"Hi," He mumbled, his voice low and slightly raspy due to the dry air.

"Hey."

Once again, the boys grew silent, basking in each other's presence rather than conversing. They gawked at the ground and examined a group of tumbleweeds as they somersaulted across the deserted area.

"You can't let Argyle get to you," Will blurted out of nowhere, his eyes still fixated on the ground. "I mean, he's stoned out of his mind. He doesn't even know what he's talking about."

"That doesn't mean he's wrong," Mike sighed, brushing a tangled strand of hair out of his face. "I mean, if that guy would've lived one more second, then we would know where she is. Why didn't he just say the number?"

Will couldn't bring himself to muster up a response, as there was no logical explanation to provide. Maybe the two would just spend the rest of their lives wondering where Eleven had ended up — unless, of course, there was an alternative strategy they could use to track her down. He hoped the second option was a possibility.

"I should've explained myself after our fight, because maybe El would've taken me with her and things would be different, but I didn't know what to say," The ravenette rambled.

"What exactly did you and El fight about, if you don't mind me asking?" Will queried, pretending to be entirely oblivious of the predicament.

"Oh, right," Mike chuckled lightheartedly. "Well, she basically called me out for never telling her that I love her. And, I don't know, I just flipped out on her for it, which was hypocritical of me because she was right. I don't say it."

"I don't understand," Will's expression switched from understanding to puzzled. "Why don't you ever tell her?"

Mike inhaled a deep breath of air, momentarily breaking eye contact with Will in the process. This wasn't going to be easy to explain. He knew he was supposed to have romantic feelings for his girlfriend, but he didn't. He just didn't. And he never understood why.

"Because it would be a lie," He muttered, guiltily tilting his head down and twiddling his thumbs.

"Wait . . . you don't love El?" The brunette asked, shocked by his best friend's confession.

"No, no, I do, I do. Just . . . not romantically, you know?" Mike prattled. "I love and care about her so much, but I'm not in love with her. That's why I never say that stupid phrase. She's just . . . not the person I want to say it to. But I don't know how to tell her without sounding like a total asshole."

"Sometimes, I think it's just scary to open up like that. To say how you really feel," Will uttered, taking a shaky breath of air. "Especially to the people you care about the most. Because what if they don't like the truth?"

He was primarily referring to Mike's situation, but he was also speaking about his own. The Byers boy was petrified to open up about his feelings for Mike, which was why he never did. He worried that confessing his true feelings would tear their friendship to shreds.

The ravenette slowly nodded to demonstrate his understanding. Will was right — he was always right. He always knew precisely what to say and do to calm his nerves. Nobody else possessed that ability, not even Mike's own mother.

Will gazed into the freckled boy's chocolatey eyes, his heart nearly bursting out of his chest. In an alternate universe, he would scoot closer, grab his best friend by the waist, and connect their lips once and for all.

Unfortunately, his life wasn't wired like that. Instead, he had to face the devastating reality of being different in a world full of hateful people. He had to suffer the immense heartbreak of being hopelessly in love with his best friend of nearly ten years and knowing he would never reciprocate those feelings.

"Hey, does anybody know the dead dude's name?" An all-too-familiar voice yelled, bringing the boys back to reality.

Argyle.

"What?" Jonathan asked, furrowing his brows.

"The dead dude," He repeated, holding up a cardboard pizza box. "I'm making him a headstone."

"You do realize we spent all morning hiding the body, right?" Jonathan groaned, rolling his eyes at his friend's stupidity.

"Well, I'll just write, uh, 'Here lies Unknown Hero Agent Man.' Yeah. 'Saved Argyle, Jonathan, Will, and Mike from certain death.'"

"You're gonna write our names on the pizza box?" The older of the Byers boys frowned.

"They're pretty common names," The long-haired teenager shrugged.

"Okay, dude," Jonathan sighed in defeat. "Do your thing."

Argyle attempted to write with a pen he happened to have on hand, but soon realized it was entirely out of ink. He inspected it closely, his eyes filling with frustration.

"That's his pen," Mike remarked.

"What?" Will asked.

"'Unknown Hero Agent Man.' That's the pen he gave me right before he died," The Wheeler teen clarified. "Why would he give me a pen that didn't work?"

Just then, a lightbulb went off in both of their heads. They whipped their heads around to look at each other, sharing a knowing look.

They hopped off of the vehicle and trotted over to Jonathan and Argyle, hopeful that the pen would contain the information they needed.

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 !
y'all are seriously the best ugh i can't thank u enough for just being here and actually taking the time to read my story <3