Byler- The Unwanted Return of Everything (And How It Finally Ends)

Stand Off-ish

Mike was the third to arrive at Jane's house, being that Lucas and Dustin got there an hour before him. Now they were only waiting on Will. He was flying all the way from California, so it made sense that he would arrive last.

Mike couldn't help but continue to stare at Max as they waited. She looked pretty much like herself, except she had completely white eyes, which was slightly disturbing. The explanation of why she was even alive had been unsatisfactory. Apparently, she'd simply woken up in the Upside Down and made her way back to Hawkins. No reason. No purpose.

And there was that. It had made Mike sick. The Upside Down was back and nobody knew how it had even opened up again. Everyone had sacrificed so much to finally close the gates forever, and now here they were, three years later, back to the beginning. As if everything they had done up until now had been for nothing.

When Mike heard the car pulling up, he was the first out the door. Joyce had gone to pick Will up from the airport, and Mike couldn't wait to see him, as awkward as it would be.

Will emerged from the backseat, not noticing his friend running towards him. He gave a small yelp as he was tackled in a hug.

"Oh my god, Mike! You could've killed me!" Will hugged Mike back, grabbing onto him tightly. Sure doesn't seem like we aren't best friends anymore. Not-best friends didn't have such long hugs.

"I missed you a lot," Mike said, not attempting to let go of Will. He was making up for what seemed like centuries of being away from him.

Will's grip tightened slightly like he was tensing. Then he relaxed. "Yeah, I missed you too."

"Is that your sister, babe?" Mike whipped his head around at the unfamiliar voice he had heard. It seemed to have come from a tall boy standing a few feet away from him and Will. He had a handsome face and smooth hair. Mike let go of the hug, turning to look at him properly. Had he just mistaken Mike for Will's sister?

"I'm sorry, who are you?" he asked, slightly annoyed by the boy's presence for one reason or another. "And who the hell are you calling babe?"

Max stepped into the conversation before the blond boy could retort. She pointed at him. "Woah, did I completely forget about someone in the party? Who's he?"

The boy squinted at Max. "How can you even see me?"

"I feel like that's a personal question."

"Guys!" Will said, stepping to the tall boy's side. "This is Brad. He's my... Well, he's my-"

"I'm his boyfriend," Brad said casually. You would have thought Mike walked in on a surprise party, the amount of shock on his face. Will had a boyfriend? Was Will gay? Why hadn't Mike known?

Will blushed, scratching his head. "Uh... yeah. He's my boyfriend. He... wanted to come with me on vacation."

"I don't think this is the right vacation to bring your boyfriend, Will," Mike hissed, looking at Brad. He wasn't sure why the guy made him so angry, but by simply existing, he was making Mike fume. It was something about the fact that Mike had never even known Will liked guys, and now he had this perfect, cookie-cutter, model-esque, muscley boyfriend.

Brad crossed his arms, staring back at Mike. "Why's it matter to you, huh? You can't tell him what to do."

Mike scoffed. "I'm not telling him anything! And it doesn't matter to me. I just don't think he needs to get other people involved in this."

"Involved in what?"

Will rolled his eyes, sighing as he left Brad's side and took Mike's arm. "Hey, can we talk for a minute, Mike? Somewhere else?" He sounded annoyed.