They had been Will’s birthday present from his mom and Hopper, and it had been the first time he’d had brand new shoes, shoes that weren’t just hand-me-downs from Jonathan or a bargain at the local charity store. The shoes were just classic black converse with tight white laces. “Oh, thanks,” Will mumbled, glancing down at his feet. It was the first real thing Mike had said to him since he’d got there, excluding their brief greetings when they’d first been reunited. “I like your shoes,” Mike whispered gently. In his head, he imagined a town that he knew inside out, a town where people welcomed and accepted him, but he wasn’t sure if Hawkins had ever really been like that, and he was certain it would never be like that again.Īs Will’s mom drove over a bump, bringing him back to the moment, he noticed Mike was staring at him. Will felt a momentary ache for Hawkins, but he knew it was a longing for a place that would never live up to Will’s rose-tinted memories. Mike chatted with Will’s mom on the way home, telling her all about Holly and Nancy and updating her on Max, who had recently woken up from her coma. Maybe Mike had grown out his hair like that just so Will could imagine running his fingers through it. Maybe their first eager hug lasted a bit too long to be written off as totally platonic. Like, maybe Mike had just as many butterflies in his stomach as Will did when they first spotted each other through the crowd of recent arrivals to the airport. Sometimes he would play a game where he pretended they were in some parallel universe, one where everything worked out all right, and he would imagine every moment in a slightly different context. Living without Mike would be like living in a nightmarish world without the sun, but every time he reminded himself that they were just friends, it hurt more than a blistering sunburn. But at the same time, it was a barrier, the wall blocking him from entering the life he couldn’t stop imagining, and it felt like weight on his shoulders every time the label was used.īeing around Mike brought many of the same conflicting feelings with it. He knew how it felt to be Mike’s best friend, and it felt like teetering on the edge of paradise.
On one hand, it conjured memories of sleepovers and D & D and being each other’s favourite person, and it tasted like sweet-and-salty popcorn on his tongue.
“Can’t I just come visit my best friend?” Mike had responded with a laugh when Will had asked him as much.īest friend was a difficult term for Will. Was there some reason Mike desperately needed to escape Hawkins? Not that Will was upset or anything, of course he wanted Mike to visit, he was just a little. After all, El was in Hawkins now, back in Hopper’s cabin, and Max was still in the hospital, and it just wasn’t the best time for travelling. It had sort of surprised him when Mike had told him that he’d bought tickets to California for the first week of summer break.
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