𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 • (byler)

018

"i wish i were..."

it had been two months since will and el had moved.

will and mike call each other everyday to check in. neither have gone to visit each other yet, but joyce and hopper agreed that they could go back for thanksgiving and the wheeler's could go there for christmas.

will had worn mike's sweater every single day, even if it was hot out, and mike had looked at will's favorite drawing everyday, remembering the day will moved and he first saw the drawing.

after the will and el drove away and were out of view, the rest of the party biked home and mike got into the car with nancy. they drove home and neither said a word to each other.

mike went up to his room with will's sketchbook and plopped down on his bed. mike flipped to the page will told him about and saw that it was a taped up drawing of the two of them holding hands.

the drawing was beautiful and realistic, even if it was taped up. mike took it out of the sketchbook and found a picture frame. he ripped out the picture that was already in there and put the drawing in. he placed the frame next to an actual picture of him and will and stared at the frame in silence, replaying his last moments with his boyfriend over and over in his head.

mike came back to reality as he remembered it was almost time for the most important thing of the day.

"mike! phone!" karen yelled and mike sprinted down the stairs.

"hello?" he panted.

"hey, mike, it's will." will said.

"how are you? how's everything? are you wearing the sweater? i miss you.
i love you." mike blurted out, quickly.

will bit down on his bottom lip. "mike, slow down."

"right, sorry." mike sighed.

"everything is okay over here, but i wish we could move back." will pouted.

"me too, i miss you so much." mike's lip quivered. "how was your day?"

"not the best. i got bullied again." will replied.

"again? by who?" mike asked.

"the same people. jennifer, madison, connor, and all of their friends. they pick on el and i just because we're new." will explained.

"i will come there right now and beat the shit out of them." mike seethed.

"language, michael!" karen exclaimed.

"sorry, mom!" mike called.

"don't worry mike, they're not as bad as troy and his goons." will assured him.

"did you make any friends?" mike asked.

"yeah. their names are alexander, steven, and michelle. they're all super nice. how's the party?" will questioned

"that's good. the party's doing okay, but we miss you." mike answered.

"i miss you guys more." will frowned.

"oh, you should probably call max and check on her soon." mike said.

"what? why? is she alright?"

"she broke up with lucas. i can't blame her, though, he was being an asshole for no reason." mike said.

"ugh, of course he was being an asshole. i'll call her later."

there was a small silence between the boys.

"hey, one month until thanksgiving break when we can finally see each other." mike reminded.

will suddenly smiled. "i've been counting down the days since the moment we drove away from my old house back in august."

"me too, byers, me too." mike agreed.

"well, i have to go, but i'll talk to you tomorrow. i love you."

"i love you too."

both boys then hung up, wishing they could see each other more than anything.

word count: 565