Ao3 story (Why would you ever kiss me)

Part 9

It seemed that all of the world seemed to be against them when it started to rain. Both of them gasped because it was almost immediately a complete downpour and there had not been a single sign of it in the sky. Well, there might've been, but it wasn't like Will was focused on anything but the person who was steering them through the wilds of Hawkins.

Mike.

His hair had only gotten more messy after their dip down "Thrill Hill" and being so close to him he noted that it smelled vaguely of flowers. Oddly feminine. But, connecting the dots, Will figured that Mike's last shower had been at the cabin and he'd probably "borrowed" the shampoo that Nancy had brought with her because, let's be honest, he forgot to bring his own. That was only yesterday. To think that so much had changed since then.

He had an ability now. His sister hated him. He basically ran away. And now he was with Michael Wheeler. His crush. Sitting on the back of his bike.

"Oh, shit! Look!" Mike yelled.

Will looked ahead and saw a wall of rain right in front of them.

"Oh my god! Turn around!" Mike kept pedaling toward it though, he even seemed to be going faster. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Not giving a damn!" Mike looked back at him with a smirkish kind of smile. "You should try it sometime!"

The moment the hazy wash of rain hit them, they were completely soaked in seconds.

The fat droplets of spring rain were almost warm against his skin. Mike threw his arms up into the air, welcoming the sensation.

"You're going to ruin your bike!" Will yelled, barely able to hear his own thoughts over the sounds of downpour.

"Oh shit! You're right! Hold on." Mike whipped the bike onto a familiar trail. The canapé of trees did barely enough to shelter them from the rain though. Mike charged forward over rocks and mud in a way that was sort of surprising considering that he was carrying the weight of an extra person on his bike.

Will could tell where they were going before they arrived.

The abandoned junkyard was a place they both knew well. A lot of their memories with Dustin and Lucas were made here. When they rolled up to the bus, Will hopped off and helped Mike push his bike underneath the bus to protect it from the falling rain. The old bus looked different than before, like it'd been boarded up at one point. Strange. Wouldn't be the strangest thing in this town though.

"Get in!"

"I am!"

When they were finally sheltered, they were exasperated, breathing like it was their first time. They looked at eachother. Seeing that the other was completely soaked caused them to burst into laughter.

Will wiped his face with his hands.

"I don't think it's ever rained this hard before." Mike said, out of breath. He stood up and looked through the scummy old windows. His reaction seemed to denote that he couldn't see five feet out of the bus because it was raining so hard.

"It has." Will said, leaning his head back against one of the seats.

"Yeah, I guess it was raining pretty hard the night we met." Mike said with clear fondness. Will felt suddenly cold. He tried to tell himself it was because he was completely soaked, but he knew better.

That wasn't the night he was thinking of. He was thinking of the night that he'd destroyed Castle Byers.

It's not my fault you don't like girls!

If only he knew.

Mike seemed to notice the change in Will's demeanor.

"Are you okay?"