Angst in My Pants (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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caiartistcollective2024-04-08 09:41 pm
partypaladin) wrote in caiartistcollective2024-04-08 09:41 pm
But the loneliness never left me
He’d felt his stomach dropping long before his plane hit the runway. It’d only been a few months since Christmas, but his nerves are still electric under his skin, keyed up and sparking at the thought of seeing Will again. He should’ve called like he said he would. He should’ve written like he’d meant to, but the truth is he can’t think of anything worth the price of a stamp, let alone the long distance charges. His own college experience sounds incredibly dry compared to Will’s stories about drag queens and gay bars. He’d thought Chicago would be more progressive than Hawkins, but so far all he’s seen is the rigidness of Academia and an advanced high school hierarchy where the athletes still get away with murder.
He isn’t bullied, exactly, though he has a sneaking suspicion that he would be if Nick hadn’t been assigned his roommate due to some random lottery drawing. He knows he’s not well liked, something that’s obvious by the way Nick’s friends tease him, not friendly but not outright hostile, either. He misses his friends. He even misses Hawkins, in his own way. But most of all, he misses Will.
He thinks that they’ll pick up where they left off at Christmas, except this time he’ll try not to let himself get too jealous about Will’s life in Cleveland or the friends that have moved into the space he used to occupy. He tells himself that he’s going to be supportive and ask more questions this time, no matter how much it hurts.
He just doesn’t expect the mouth shaped bruise on Will’s neck, or to keep catching the tail end of conversations about the guy who gave it to him. His name is Daniel and he’s Will’s first boyfriend. Mike misses how they met, but he doesn’t particularly care. Will doesn’t talk to Mike directly about him and yet it seems like Mike can't seem to escape people asking questions about him in his presence.
Mike feels stupid for worrying about long distance bills when it feels like Daniel must be calling every night, if not more. He doesn’t like the way Will slips away from him and the others to take a call, only to return half an hour later looking tired and worn down. Mike spends the whole night watching the light of the TV reflect off of Will’s unhappy face in the Byers’ living room, narrowly looking away in time when Will turns his head in his direction.
Like clock work, the phone rings exactly at 10pm three hours later and the entire Party gathered groans in unison as Will preemptively gets to his feet to take it in the other room.
“You’re going to miss the best part,” Mike blurts out as Will scoots past him with a muttered apology. Will gives him a small shrug and disappears behind the nearest bedroom door, his voice muffled and sounding far away.
When he finally emerges only a few minutes later he looks even worse than he did before. If Mike didn’t know he was upset from the look of pure misery on his face, he’d know it by the set of his shoulders and way he avoids joining the others and goes to the kitchen instead. Mike follows him into the kitchen, studying him for a moment before leaning against the doorway.
“Hey,” he says, softly. “Can you give me a ride home?”
He isn’t bullied, exactly, though he has a sneaking suspicion that he would be if Nick hadn’t been assigned his roommate due to some random lottery drawing. He knows he’s not well liked, something that’s obvious by the way Nick’s friends tease him, not friendly but not outright hostile, either. He misses his friends. He even misses Hawkins, in his own way. But most of all, he misses Will.
He thinks that they’ll pick up where they left off at Christmas, except this time he’ll try not to let himself get too jealous about Will’s life in Cleveland or the friends that have moved into the space he used to occupy. He tells himself that he’s going to be supportive and ask more questions this time, no matter how much it hurts.
He just doesn’t expect the mouth shaped bruise on Will’s neck, or to keep catching the tail end of conversations about the guy who gave it to him. His name is Daniel and he’s Will’s first boyfriend. Mike misses how they met, but he doesn’t particularly care. Will doesn’t talk to Mike directly about him and yet it seems like Mike can't seem to escape people asking questions about him in his presence.
Mike feels stupid for worrying about long distance bills when it feels like Daniel must be calling every night, if not more. He doesn’t like the way Will slips away from him and the others to take a call, only to return half an hour later looking tired and worn down. Mike spends the whole night watching the light of the TV reflect off of Will’s unhappy face in the Byers’ living room, narrowly looking away in time when Will turns his head in his direction.
Like clock work, the phone rings exactly at 10pm three hours later and the entire Party gathered groans in unison as Will preemptively gets to his feet to take it in the other room.
“You’re going to miss the best part,” Mike blurts out as Will scoots past him with a muttered apology. Will gives him a small shrug and disappears behind the nearest bedroom door, his voice muffled and sounding far away.
When he finally emerges only a few minutes later he looks even worse than he did before. If Mike didn’t know he was upset from the look of pure misery on his face, he’d know it by the set of his shoulders and way he avoids joining the others and goes to the kitchen instead. Mike follows him into the kitchen, studying him for a moment before leaning against the doorway.
“Hey,” he says, softly. “Can you give me a ride home?”