𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 • byler

01

"she's got you mesmerized, while i die."

it was the summer of 1985 and the party didn't have to worry about school or homework or anything. the six friends were going to have a picnic on top of the hill.

"ugh, can someone carry me." dustin whined.

"if you complain one more time i'm going to push you off of this hill, dustin." lucas threatened.

"shut up, lucas! i have the right to complain. we've been walking for like three hours now!" dustin continued to complain.

"dustin, it's been 20 minutes, relax. look how far behind el and mike are." max rolled her eyes.

"they're only behind because they're talking about how in love they are." lucas teased.

"ew, that's gross." will cringed.

"love isn't gross, will. you'll understand when you get a girlfriend." lucas said and smiled at max.

a girlfriend? yeah, right. will thought. if only you knew lucas, if only you knew that i don't like girls.

will had hated the fact that he liked boys because people thought being gay was disgusting. if anyone found out, he knew he would be bullied for it and be called slurs constantly. the bullies already said slurs to him anyway, and nobody even knew that he was gay, so imagine if people found out.

"love may not be gross, but they are." max joked.

"you got that right." will agreed in a serious manner and started at the two.

they looked to happy together, which crushed will's soul. he kept looking at mike and the stupid smile that would appear on his face whenever he looked at el.

"will! are you okay?" dustin asked.

"hm?" will murmured, not taking his eyes off of the black-haired boy.

"he asked if you were okay." max restated dustin's question.

"oh, yeah, i'm fine." will lied.

they continued walking, and finally made it to the top. everyone had plopped down on the grass.

will was sitting in between max and mike, el on the other side of mike, dustin next to el, then lucas in between dustin and max.

"what did you bring, dustin?" max asked and dustin dumped out a bunch of snacks from his backpack.

they all rummaged through the snacks until they found what they wanted and started eating.

will kept glancing over at mike, and saw how focused on el he was. he was so mesmerized by her.

i wish he would look at me like he looks at her. will thought to himself.

"will?" max said.

"will." she tapped his shoulder.

"WILL!" she shouted, causing him to jump.

"w-what?" he looked at max.

"are you okay, you seem...distracted today."

will saw mike looking at him out of the corner of his eye. when he turned his head to look at the black-haired boy, he saw that mike was now looking at el.

"i'm okay." will shrugged.

"are you completely sure?" max raised her eyebrows. "you're not...you're not feeling anything that you felt last year, are you."

will opened his eyes wide. "no, not at all! it's just...can we talk later, in private?"

"yeah, of course, but if you ever feel that feeling again, tell me, okay." max put a hand on his shoulder.

"yeah, of course." will fake smiled.

the 6 friends sat around and laughed and
talked for about an hour.

after, mike was supposed to go over will's house. will and mike went over each other's houses often, sometimes with the whole party, but mostly the two of them.

"i think we should probably get going." mike and el stood up.

"already?" will asked and stood up too.

"yeah, el has to be home soon anyways." mike answered.

"okay, let's go then. bye guys." will waved.

mike gave will and confused look and el looked up at mike.

"will is coming?" eleven tilted her head.

"mike, what's she talking about? i thought we were hanging out after." will looked the boy up and down.

"shit, i forgot. can we do it tomorrow? please?" mike asked.

"uh, sure. it's no problem." will lied and felt a small pain in his chest.

"alright, bye guys." mike waved, awkwardly.

"see you later." el grabbed his hand and they started to walk down the hill together.

will just stood there and watched them walk away. lucas and dustin had went back to their conversation, but max was paying attention to mike and el walking away and will staring at them.

will could tell they were smiling and giggling. will knew that mike was head over heels for the girl, which made him sad. he got chills up and down his spine and let out a shaky sigh, "i'm gonna go home."

"do you want me to go with you so you're not by yourself?" max offered.

"no, thanks, i'll be okay." will replied. "bye guys."

"bye, will." lucas said.

"see you tomorrow." dustin added.

"just know, you're telling me everything later, got it?" max raised her eyebrows.

will nodded and then went on his way, his heart breaking.

word count: 838
hi, this is the first chapter, i'm a little nervous about it, but here it is. enjoy!!