A Little Deal

The Drawings and the Break-Up

Will laid in his bed, eyes on the ceiling, the light from his window shining on his face. He had no idea what time it was; he guessed some time before noon since his mom had announced breakfast was ready a few minutes ago. When he'd awoken, he couldn't seem to get himself up and out of bed. The night before, all he could think about was the mixtape. That damn mixtape. He couldn't get it out of his head, and when he woke up, the thoughts invaded his mind yet again like a parasite. He felt ill. All he could imagine was Mike's face when he listened to his recording. What would Mike think? How would Mike feel? Happy? Annoyed? Creeped out? Disgusted? His stomach ached at the thought.

"Will, do you copy? It's Mike."

His heart jumped into his throat. Will's head whipped around his room, peering around for his Supercom as Mike continued to talk. "Do you copy, Will? This is important." Oh shit, oh shit. He grasped underneath his bed and pulled out his Supercom, his hands trembling. "Will, I need to talk to you."

"Yeah, I – I copy. What-" He sucked in a breath, trying to keep himself and his voice steady. "What is it? Over."

"Will, we need to talk. Over."

His heart pounded in his ears. He pressed the button on the Supercom, opened his mouth, but then he paused, his stomach flipping. What if Mike rejected him? What if he hated him? What if he never wanted to see him ever again and this would be the last time they ever talked? What if he hadn't even listened to the tape? Oh, this was all too much for him. He let go of the button, turned off his Supercom, and shoved it back beneath his bed.

He made his way to the kitchen to get his mind off of Mike and stopped in his tracks when he saw El sitting at the table. Hopper and his mom were talking by the counter, cups of coffee in their hands. He approached the table, pulling out a chair and seating himself across from El. She smiled at him, and he asked, "What are you doing over?"

"Your mom invited us. She said we can play board games and watch movies."

Board games and movies? He glanced at his mom who was talking to Hopper before looking back to El. "Want to listen to some music in my room?"

She nodded, and they both left the kitchen. In his room, he put one of Jonathan's mixtapes into his boombox and plopped down on his bed with a sketchbook in hand. El sat beside him, listening intently to the music. With his box of crayons, he began sketching the girl he'd been spending so much time with lately, who felt almost like a sister to him now. He drew her red hair, waves of it flowing down her shoulders, her array of freckles like specks of brown paint splattered over her skin, and her skateboard, the thing that made her Mad Max. El leaned against Will's shoulder, watching the drawing progress, a smile spreading over her face. "Pretty," she murmured.

Will glanced up at her. "You think so?"

"Can you draw me some day, too?" she asked.

"Oh." Seeing her eager eyes, he gave her a small smile. "Okay, sure. Let me finish this one first." He took a red crayon and wrote the words Mad Max in the empty space beside the drawing. He tore it out of the sketchbook, handed it to El, and began drawing her. This was good, he figured. He was getting his mind off Mike. El being here was the perfect distraction. When he finished the drawing, he tore it out of the sketchbook and held it up to her. "What do you think?"

"I love it." She took it in her hands, tracing her fingertips over the lines. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Make it so... pretty?"

"I just..." He looked down at his hands, his cheeks growing hot. He never knew how to answer questions like that. "I draw all the time, so I guess it just comes naturally at this point."