hurt, ( byler )

0.1

will was looking anywhere but the girl he was dancing with. sure, she was pretty, but he didn't like her like that. not at all. she was smiling brightly at him, and he gave her a small one back. he quickly threw a glance behind him, where he saw max and lucas dancing together, looking happier than ever. will turned back to look at the girl he was with—suddenly feeling guilty. i shouldn't be dancing with her, he thought. i don't even like her. i don't even know her name!

he turned his head to look to the only other place he didn't want to. mike and eleven. every breath you take by the police was playing in the background. will felt a sharp sting in his heart, a strange feeling in his stomach, as he watched mike smiling happily at eleven. 'how my poor heart aches,
with every step you take.' the song sang. will almost laughed at the ridiculous timing that the song had with his own life.

"hey, zombie boy." the pretty girl grabbed will's hand, which had slipped from her waist. "you okay?"

"what? yeah, yeah. i'm fine." he gave her a small smile, which she returned. he looked back over to where mike and eleven were dancing, a very strange feeling in his stomach. i don't like eleven, he thought. i don't like eleven. as he kept watching, the strange feeling kept growing. i like... mike? he gave his head a slight shake. no. no. i don't like mike! as the song was almost coming to an end, he watched as mike and eleven stared into each other's eyes, before mike leaned in, kissing eleven right on her mouth.

will watched for a few seconds, heart aching, before he looked away. 'every smile you fake.' the lyrics of the song now seemed to be the loudest thing in the room. he looked back at the pretty girl, giving her an obviously fake smile. her expression fell before she smiled again, a small, now-unenthusiastic smile.

will glanced around again, spotting dustin sitting on the bleachers. will had seen him dancing with nancy before, but then he assumed nancy had gone back to her job, or maybe to see jonathan.

will excused himself from the dance floor and walked over to dustin, who smiled when he saw his friend walking towards him. he said, "hey, will!"

"hi," will greeted, voice small.

"bad date?" dustin suddenly guessed. "what was she? some bitch? a bad dancer?" he lowered his voice. "did she smell like cheese?"

"what?" will tried to stifle a laugh at the last, ridiculous question. "no, no. it wasn't her. it was... it was more me."

"you? why?" dustin asked.

"i... i figured that i liked somebody else." will shrugged.

"oh, god. don't tell me you like max," dustin groaned.

"no, no. not max."

"ohhh!" dustin exclaimed, though not too loudly. "is it eleven?"

"n—yeah." will quickly caught himself.

"ah." dustin didn't look like he fully believed will. "damn. tough luck, bud."

later that night, when will's mom came to pick will up from the snowball, she must have noticed the sad look on her son's face. "hey, sweetie." she smiled kindly. "how was the dance?"

"it was okay," he said, shrugging.

"what happened?"

"i just—nevermind, it's stupid." he attempted to wave it off, but joyce wasn't having it.

"no, sweetie! baby, no!" she said. "it's not stupid! you can tell me, baby. you can tell me anything. i'll never judge you, sweetie."

will shifted in his seat. "i just—i think i like someone. but i know... i know they'll never like me back."

"i'm sure that's not true, will." joyce reached over and gave his hand a quick squeeze.

"no, mom! i know it's true! i know it!" he cried, getting upset. god, i'm so pathetic.

"why, sweetie?" joyce asked. "how do you know?"

"because it's a boy, mom!" he sobbed. "i like a boy!"

may 28, 1985
will lay awake in bed, a cool breeze coming in through the open window, goosebumps spreading up his arms. dry tears stained his cheeks as he recalled that night.

his mom had been left quiet for a few minutes, looking shocked, yet not too shocked at the same time. she then reassured will that she supported him fully, and that she loved him no matter what. once they got home and inside, she had pulled her sobbing son into her arms, holding him closely against her chest for at least twenty minutes.

will thought about that night a lot.

( AUTHORS NOTE! )
I NEED TO FOCUS ON MY OTHER FICS BUT I REALLY WANTED TO GET THIS ONE OUT BC I HAVE IDEAS FOR IT OK BYE

( 21 april // 9:45pm )