Byler one shots

16 part 2

Mike Wheeler may only be sixteen years old, but he’s proud to say he knows a lot of things. He knows all fifty states and their capitals, and almost all forty-one presidents. He knows the exact distance between the Earth and the sun, 92.96 million miles, a fact that clings to his memory from their sixth grade science fair project. He knows the unit circle like the back of his hand, as much as he wishes he could forget it. He knows the secret cheat to get the enemies in Galaga to stop firing at you, even though he won't tell Dustin, no matter how much he begs. He knows where to get the best pizza in all of Hawkins, Indiana, which is significantly less impressive when considering that there are only three pizza joints in the entire town. He knows that no matter how long Nancy's away at school, she knows exactly how much money she has in her room at any given time, and if he takes any, he'll be paying it back with interest. He knows that, like every healthy sixteen-year-old boy, he should want to kiss girls. He knows that he does want to kiss girls.

He also knows that he wants to kiss Will Byers.

Which, okay, shouldn't be that big of a deal. So what? It's the eighties, for christssake. Gay people exist, and besides, it's not a problem, because Mike knows he's not gay. He wants to kiss girls. He likes to kiss girls. Sure, he's only kissed one girl so far, and more aren't exactly lining up down the block, but he knows, given the opportunity, he'd enjoy himself.

And Mike knows that to enjoy kissing girls is pretty much the opposite of being gay, no matter what ugly words Troy might throw at him, so Mike knows he's not gay.

Except sometimes he catches himself staring at Will just a little too long, watching the way his eyes light up when he laughs, or the way his hands curl around a piece of charcoal during art, or the furrow in his brow when they work on homework together. He doesn't mean to, it's just that Will is really nice to look at. It's an objective fact. People like to look at flowers, they like to look at sunsets, and they like to look at Will Byers. It's human nature.

And honestly, Will's pretty, which is probably the root of all this. Mike likes girls, and girls are pretty, but Will is also pretty, so maybe Mike's brain is a little confused. But it's not a big deal. So what if he can’t stop thinking about the way Will's doe eyes light up like stars while he talks about his ideas for the next campaign? So what if he finds himself daydreaming about Will's lips, about what they'd feel like against his own, against his neck—

Mike knows it's completely natural. And Mike knows he's not gay.

That's why he asks Will to kiss him.

Mike knows he has to be careful whenever he asks Will to do anything, because he has a bad habit of doing whatever he's asked, whether he wants to or not. Will seems to struggle with the concept of optional, and that he's more than capable of saying no if he doesn't want to do something. He's gotten a little better, now that they're older, but it's still a work in progress. And Mike never wants Will to feel pressured, so he has to be very cautious about his phrasing. 

When he finds out that Will's never even been kissed before, everything seems to work itself out. Will can have his first kiss with someone who won't make him nervous, and Mike can get this weird urge to kiss Will out of his system. It's a win-win situation. Once they kiss, it'll help Mike's brain remember that Will's not a girl, and that Mike likes kissing girls, and the funny feeling in his stomach whenever he sees Will smile will go away. Problem solved. Easy-peasy.

Except that's not what happens at all.

Mike kisses Will and suddenly everything is on fire, a furious blaze that ignites the second their lips touch. And, okay, it's been a while since he's kissed someone, he's probably just a little overexcited. He knows he likes kissing, and it's just that he's missed the feeling. That's all. No need to be dramatic. So he readjusts and goes to kiss Will once more, slow and easy, ready for the whole thing to work itself out. He's not ready for the urge to pull Will flush against his chest, to run his hands through his hair and push him into the pillow and kiss him until their lips are raw.