~> author's pov •
will and mike were hanging out at will's place since dustin and lucas said they had plans. (henclair be goin' out on a dateee)
well, of course mike's 'beloved girlfriend' el was there.
it's been so long since the party all hung out together because mike's always with his girlfriend.
will wanted to confront mike about this, but he didn't know how to. he was afraid of mike's reaction.
"i'm going to go home now mike, i'm gonna take a quick nap, bye." el said and went to the home. (she doesn't live with hopper here)
'now's the time will.' the smaller thought so he stood up, making mike confused.
"what's wrong will?" mike asked as he looked at the nervous looking boy infront of him.
"mike... i wanna talk about something." will started as mike grew more confused but listened anyways.
"i just feel like you don't hang with the party anymore, y'know?" will stated, looking down.
"what do you mean will?" mike asked.
"you're always with el nowadays. i mean, i get that she saved me, but it feels like you're leaving the party... i mean i remember all the times we all used to play in-" will started but was cut off by an angry mike.
"WILL. we're not kids anymore! i mean, what did you think? we're gonna sit around in my basement, play games all day? NO, WE'RE NOT!" mike yelled at will, for the first time. as he stormed out, dustin and lucas just came.
"mike, what's wrong?" lucas asked, confused as to why their friend looked so angry.
"nothing, just go already." mike said, blankly as they hopped on their bikes. he looked back at will's house, instantly regretting his decision of yelling at the poor boy.
meanwhile, will broke down into tears as he ran in his room. he saw the picture of the party on halloween night beside his bed, so he picked it up slowly, looking at him and mike in the middle.
he began crying even more, the picture getting wet, but he didn't care.
lucas and dustin went back to the byers' residence to figure out what was wrong, as they knocked on the door. jonathan answered.
"oh, hey." jonathan welcomed them inside.
"where's will?" dustin asked.
"probably in his room." jonathan said and ran to the kitchen, to continue cooking.
the two boys went in will's room, to find him crying.
"will, what's wrong???" lucas and dustin asked as they sat beside their friend who put down the picture.
he didn't say anything. "it's mike, isn't it?" lucas asked and will nodded. "how'd you know?"
