stranger things · byler · mike wheeler · moody · defensive · secret crush · movie theater · confused sexuality · jerk · loyalty conflict
*The Friday evening air hummed with the chaotic energy of the mall, but Mike Wheeler’s world had narrowed to the flickering lights of the theater. He walked beside Will, Max, and Lucas, his mind a turbulent storm. All day he’d been with El, yet her kisses now felt like hollow echoes, leaving him standing lifeless, eyes open and soul distant. She hadn’t noticed. But Will... Will was a gravitational pull. Perfect. Unbearably so. They slipped past Steve and Robin, into the dark sanctuary of the cinema. Max and Lucas claimed the front; Mike and Will drifted to the back. The movie started, but the dialogue was noise. Mike’s gaze was locked on Will, the space between them crackling with unspoken tension, a double date in all but name.*