Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

About how I met a certain Mike Wheeler...

It happened weeks before winter break.

On this snowy Monday, all I could see through the windows was the boring white landscape. After spending hours staring at this dull scenery instead of listening to one of the many lessons I-should-focus-on-if-I-want-to-graduate, it gave me a spark of inspiration.

As an art student, I tend to be the opposite of inspired. Practical when you have grading assignments. If it wasn't clear enough, most of mine are overdue. At least, I'm not the only student like that so it's okay. (it's not).

So I decided to stay a little longer in the art room to "finish" this awful work I had in progress for a while now. My teacher, Mr Stephens, will be embarrassingly excited to finally grade a proclaimed finished piece of mine.

I was lost in my thoughts while I was cleaning my used brushes and the mixed colored paint stuck on my hand with cold water as an unknown voice made its way to me.

— Can I come in..?

My heart jumped in my chest since I was used to being alone at this time of the day, in this small room. I acted calm and answered like I didn't really care.

— Technically I'm also a guest here. Do whatever you want.

I thought I was subtle when I slowly turned my head and stared at the stranger for a quick second. At the same time it seemed to be a longer time than I expected because I felt uncomfortable under his gaze for some reason. I probably passed by this guy on the corridors but clearly didn't remember his face.

All of a sudden, I shrugged my shoulders and made a casual comment about the recent accusations of stolen goods in our art room.

— Unless you were expecting to steal our material. Then I may have to get in your way.

— But I can't fight.

— Me neither.

He chuckled. His lips were pursed in a big smile. He sounded really happy about this foolish discussion. Like a child would.

He walked in cautiously, like he was acting shy, hands tied behind his back. He spoke freely without looking at me.

— I was always intrigued by this room and the people in it.

His dark eyes continued to glance quickly around the workshop and he was grabbing random objects like he was inspecting a crime scene.

He suddenly stopped when he noticed my canevas, its front hidden because we were standing facing the back of it.

— Is it yours..? Do you mind if I look ?

I bite the inside of my cheek right after he asked me this.

I gave him an answer hoping he would give up.

— I think most art students oddly have mixed feelings about their art. I am one of them.

He raised his thick dark eyebrows, surprised.

— Why ? I find it incredible to be able to share something that comes from here and here.

He first used his index to point at the inside of his skull, and then his finger went all the way down to show the inside of his chest.

Blank.

I think I somehow understood why I never liked to give my pieces to my teacher.

Let alone finishing them.

Showing a deep personal part of myself to a random adult I don't even know that well was a big no-no.

Plus how can I possibly finish something when I don't even know myself that well either ?

I can't believe this random guy made me think way harder than I had to on a Monday afternoon.

I must have appeared stunned or I don't know because I heard his voice and he sounded gentler than before.

— Is it still a no ?

With a fake laid-back hand gesture, I agreed to let him take a look at my painting. I immediately regretted it but I couldn't go back on my choice now. Too late.

He was a little bit hesitant at first, like he was making sure I was okay with it. When he noticed I went back to clean my stuff and my hands, he visibly started to analyze every detail on it. I peeked and saw his short wavy black hair annoy him since they got in front of his eyes so he kept moving it away.

After a while, he finally asked me a question.

— Is there a meaning behind it ?

I passed my cleaned and wet hand through my chestnut hair in my neck in a nervous way.

— There are none. It's a simple landscape.

The earnest light in his dark colored eyes made me feel guilty for no reason. I sighed and continued to speak.

— But... Do you like winter ?

— I do.

My face made an unusual expression. My eyes softened and I had a small smile since I felt a sense of familiarity with a stranger I met minutes ago. For the sole and foolish reason that we liked the same season. Totally absurd.

Nonetheless, I answered truthfully.

— Me too.

I walked across the room to stand in front of my painting too and be able to show him directly what I was talking about.

— Even if I don't have any meaning, I made this snow storm look ironically warm on purpose, with these two colors and the focus I put on this detail here with the light. See, with those I'm secretly saying, hey I like winter and that's winter through my eyes.

I felt really embarrassed to say all this out loud. But I could see that my explanation captivated him to the point he couldn't look away from my canevas for a whole minute.

— Can I come back on random days ?

This came out of nowhere.

Perhaps I would be classified as a pure weirdo if I told him my real feelings :

— Actually I don't think I can draw properly if someone is watching me, I think it's better not to–

So forget it.

— I don't mind... I think.

This guy was weird, why would he want to spend time with– Nevermind. He may just be interested in joining or knowing about these kind of arts. Mr Stephens would be overjoyed if I brought another student he could experiment on.

He spoke one word. I liked the sound of his voice saying it with a hint of mysterious anticipation.

— Cool.

I turned my head and when I saw his face, it made me speechless. He smiled, with the same warm and honest smile he gave me earlier. My brows furrowed as the black haired boy swiftly made his way out of the art room. He must have said something like a quick bye but honestly, I heard none of it.

Once I was all alone in this room again, I quickly checked my phone that was in I'm-working-Don't-call-Don't-text-I'm-dead mode. Oh and it was late. Awfully late. And my brother, Jonathan, sent me many texts. I had something like thirty more minutes before the faculty officially closes.

I wore an useless beanie since I felt my face get slapped by the cold wind while I was rushing like a race-walking athlete. Of course, the roads were slippery so I didn't miss to trip over my own foot. A child saw my gracious fall and laughed at me. At least, I felt a little warmer since my face was burning with shame. After that, I wouldn't make the same mistake twice so I walked really carefully like Bambi on the ice until I reached home.

In the end, I even wondered why I liked this kind of weather in the first place. I felt like I had to fight for my life just to get somewhere.

I went straight to my room, I took off my shoes with my feet and I let my wet coat fall on the floor. Then I could allow myself to fall flat on my bed. I rolled once and stared at the ceiling. I couldn't help but think about the unexpected encounter I had in the art room.

For the first time ever, I felt a little bit more confident about this assignment than all my previous ones, even if it's a simple wintery landscape.

Chapter Text

— Yesterday, my mom almost fainted when she saw the phone bill.

— Say Dustin... Isn't it a waste of time ? I mean long-distance relationships are kinda useless.

The one who spoke, Lucas, is a basketball player. Him and I knew each other since we were kids. He tend to be straightforward about everything but he's not a bad person. I bet he was really curious about how can a relationship last this long while being far apart.

On the other side, we were introduced to Dustin a few years ago by our moms but it's like we always knew each other. We're all neighbors in our small town. Right now, we were on our daily morning meeting where we took the same dirty old bus to go to our individual faculties.

Dustin has recently been in a relationship with a girl named Suzie. Since summer break if I'm not wrong. And if I remember correctly, they met in a science camp. He says she's his soulmate.

After Lucas' question sank in, Dustin narrowed his steel blue eyes suspiciously.

— Useless how ?

Lucas started to list everything with his fingers.

— You can't go on dates, you can't touch each other, you can't–

— It's okay. We talk everyday and we're always honest with each other. Since we have so many things in common, we're never out of things to talk about. Suzie is worth the wait.

Lucas seemed skeptical. The other who had brown curly messy hair became even louder and happier now.

— She's awesome ! Let me tell you about what she did yesterday she-

Lucas acted like he went deaf and stared through the bus window. I was politely listening to Dustin show off about his genius girlfriend. He jumped at every occasion to bring her up in a conversation. I understood why my other friend found it tiresome but I think it's kind of sweet to be honest. He radiated happiness.

Suddenly, Lucas had no shame when he cut Dustin off and turned to me to ask something.

— Will, you talked about this epic exhibition your art faculty do around the end of the year so when exactly is it ?

— I don't know yet but I'll tell you as soon as I get more infos about it.

I knew he was worried that my exposition (as Mr Stephens liked to call it since it was a french word) happened at the same time as their huge winter basketball match. Basically it was very noisy, very crowded and very sweaty. But Dustin and I pushed ourselves to go there to support Lucas.

I felt the need to change the subject. Something itched me in my mind and I wanted to share it with the both of them. I chose to act casual when I brought up what happened in the art room.

— I met someone yesterday.

In fact, it mattered to me a little more than what I let them know.

Lucas bushy eyebrows went up as he wanted to know more about my sudden confession.

— Who ?

I internally slapped myself.

What do you mean I don't even know his name ?

I found it even more weird that it didn't occur to me that I was totally clueless about something this basic.

Embarrassed, I looked away as I answered in a roundabout way.

— Another student... He just wants to come by the art room sometimes and watch me paint.

Lucas seemed really confused. I bet he was thinking hard about the same one-word question that made me stay up a little later than usual last night : Why ?

All of a sudden, he came up with a reason I didn't even consider.

— Maybe he's a fan of your work ?

Dustin joined our discussion to give us his own hypothesis about this situation.

— Will's not that famous– Yet. I bet he just wants to learn how to paint to gift it to someone. I know someone who did.

The sporty one seemed interested by this fact so he quickly turned to look at Dustin.

— Really ? For free ?

— No, they charged them. Like 5 dollars per hour or so.

I shrugged my shoulders and smiled as I spoke.

— And that, my friends, is how we, art students, do shady business.

They laughed hard. The brown haired one wondered if he should learn how to paint the famous monument Stonhenge or a scene from the old movie NeverEnding Story to gift it to Suzie. He offered to give me twenty bucks. I politely declined.

After that, we got really disgusted and made fun of Lucas because he noticed he sat on a chewed gum that was now stuck on his ass. The ancient discolored bus full of precious trash and scraps got to my stop first so I took my stuff before I got out.

⸝⸝⸝

— Dear students, may I remind you that the assignment was due last week ? I know most of you don't care about points being taken off so I'll start to be more strict.

The booming voice of our main art teacher continued to echo inside this huge room full of bored, tired or excited students.

— For the next one, you'll have to work in pairs. Who knows ? Maybe your pieces won't be late anymore.

His lips formed a sadistic smile as he said that.

My eyes grew bigger at this instruction. I didn't like to be paired for stuff related to art. Plus, I wasn't really close to anyone in class. It would only be uncomforable.

Mr Stephens carried on with a list he held in front of him. He started to say a bunch of names I didn't know until I heard mine.

— William Byers with Jane Hopper. Greg McCorkle with-

Who ?

I looked anxiously around hoping my eyes would meet the person I'm supposed to work with.

A huge sound at my left startled me.

A large pile of books were now resting on my table. I had no difficulties to read their titles from where I sat. For example, one was named I Am Not Okay With This by Charles Forsman, the one under it was the famous Carrie by Stephen Kings, and so on. These choices were intruiging.

Her crisp voice reached my ears easily and made me come back to reality.

— You're with me.

Brown straight hair attached in a messy ponytail. She was dressed with a grey sweatshirt way too big for her. Since I got nervous, I asked a question so obvious that I already had my answer.

— Jane ?

— If you want this assignment to go smoothly, you better start to call me El.

I pursed my lips and slowly nodded. I tried to get past her borderline rude way to talk to me and I spoke again in order to know more about her on a surface level.

— El... Noted. So huh–

— I've never been late to any projects. You better not drag me down.

She was so cold I felt like I was standing outside in the snow. I forced a small smile as I continued to speak politely.

— Yeah, I promise I'll try.

— Don't try. Finish it on time.

My fist clenched under the table and I swallowed down my anger.

This project will be a blast.

After a few minutes spent in total silence between us, caused by her own self, I think she must have finally noticed that her previous behavior was considered harsh.

El suddenly apologized to me while explaining the reason behind it.

— Sorry. I'm... I'm used to work by myself so this situation is kinda stressing me out.

Honestly, she was totally right about my tardiness but it doesn't excuse the way she said it.

In the end, I chose to chase my repressed anger away and forgave her. It was pointless to stay angry for that anyway.

— It's okay, I get it.

She seemed way more relaxed now.

El was silently sorting her stuff in her backpack while I found something else to discuss.

— I saw the movie Carrie, it's an interesting story.

Her eyes had a sudden sparkle of interest when I mentioned her book. I didn't expect her to ramble on it with passion.

— You did ? The book is tenth– No, a hundredth time better than the movie. I already read it three times. The psychological aspect of each characters is so interesting ! You should definitely read the book.

I had an hesitant expression as I told her the truth about my ability to read.

— I have a hard time reading if they're not comic books.

— What ? You're clearly missing on something.

She had a disapproving look and crossed her arms in front of her.

Before her insistance, I sighed and gave up.

— Okay... Lend it to me. I'll try– I'll read it.

She clapped her hands together happily and stared intensively at me with her brown eyes as she made me a suggestion.

— Maybe we could take inspiration in this story for our next assignment ?

— Great idea. I'll tell you once I finish it and we can think about it together.

When she gave me a deadline for the book, I laughed totally dumbfounded but I agreed. We exchanged our phone number and chatted in a warm athmosphere until class ended.

I placed El's book inside my backpack and walked across the room toward Mr Stephens. He was a middle-aged man and he was extremely tall. I don't think I ever met anyone as tall as him. He had an oval face and he always wore a few days growth of beard and mustache. I always thought his long frizzy hair suited him well.

He was arranging some papers on his desk when he noticed I was waiting. He immediately pushed them aside to give me his full attention. He sighed before he spoke in a expasperated manner.

— Byers, I already gave you enough time as it is, if you don't have anything, I will be forced to–

El's scolding about my tardiness was enough.

I had no remorse in cutting him off as I grumpily handed my "finished" painting.

— There. I called it a warming sight.

The middle aged man was totally taken aback, his mouth stayed slightly open.

He finally took my painting in his hands and analyzed it quickly. His fingers reached to grab his chin in a thinking manner. He finally gave me his opinion.

— Interesting choice despite what I'm seeing there. I'm really excited to read your explanatory note. Thank you.

I nodded in silence, put my explanatory sheet on his desk and left as quickly as I could. Mr Stephens was known for being someone who babbled on and on about random topics for hours.

As a result, Today I came home early. It was somewhere around noon.

We didn't have any classes on Tuesday afternoon and luckily we just gave our last project so technically I didn't need to go work on the art room. Moreover, I didn't really want to go in there to paint or draw something private.

Truthfully, I was way too nervous to enter the workshop. What would I say if I met him again ?

I opened the book Carrie. I smiled as I noticed that the fire-like cover really didn't match the winter weather outside.

I started to read the first sentence. I forgot what I read so I read it again and I began to wonder what we'll have for dinner. I closed my eyes really hard and told myself to focus.

Surprisingly, time passed by really fast and I read until my mom came home late from her shift.

Chapter Text

It's Wednesday so the cafeteria's menu proposed either spinach quiche or a slice of pizza with anchovies on it.

Sometimes I wondered if their goal was to make students flee and waste their food.

My mom wouldn't be too happy to know that most of my pocket money disappeared because of Wednesdays.

— Lucas, are we hanging out at your place tonight ?

I came back to my senses when I heard Dustin's question. I turned my face toward Lucas.

The boy who had a high fade haircut answered in a relaxed manner.

— Let's do that. Who cares if Erica's the only one home.

He gave us a hollow laugh and acted like his soul went out of his body to show us how his sister gave him a hard time at home. I smiled in a light-hearted way because even though the Sinclair siblings fought a lot, they were also a tight-knit family.

Dustin mischievously rubbed his hands together as he spoke.

— Nice, I want to ruin your family again in The Game Of Life.

— Hey ! Why don't you sabotage Will's for once ? He's the one who made you divorce from fake Suzie 2 and 3.

Obviously offended because he threw me under the bus, I made a whistling sound and immediatly gave him a betrayed look.

— Bringing that up is low, even for you Lucas.

The three of us continued to bicker about it until we arrived at my faculty.

We all agreed to meet at the bus stop since it was next to Lucas' house. We also chose to meet at six because Dustin had seminars that took the longest. He was actually in a faculty related to sciences. Shocker, I know.

⸝⸝⸝

— I hate it when he gives us mysterious subjects like this.

Mr Stephens gave us one word for the next assignment : mimesis. We had one month to finish it, we had to collaborate and we were not allowed to be late. Simple as that.

El, who now sat next to me in class whenever it was Mr Stephens' class, complained about his methods. Me, on the other hand, I had a different point of view. Without much thought, I decided to share it with her since I'm more of an easy-going type of person.

— To be honest, I like it sometimes... It helps with creativity you know, like... We're not told exactly what we have to do step by step and all.

El looked honestly disgusted. I never saw that expression on her, she scowled at me, so I felt really scared for a moment.

Instead of acting like I imagined she would, she suddenly smirked and poked fun at me.

— How are you not Mr Stephen's favorite yet ? Oh yeah right, his marvellous assignments help you so much with creativity that you're always late.

Touché.

I still had a hard time understanding El but despite that, I had to mentally process how satire was an integral part of her personality. 

I laughed at her joke and faked that I began to feel weariness.

— Why do I have to work with you ? Can't I change partners already ?

Like the supporting partner that she is, her hand now rested on my shoulder. Then, the brown haired girl spoke with a fake gentle tone.

— Don't lose hope, William. I'm sure we'll find something that suits both our artstyles, the subject of mime-it's-the-crisis and a scene from Carrie.

Her presumed encouraging speech instead started to make me dispirited. It reminded me how we indeed had a lot to do. At least we were amibtious when it came to ideas but maybe we were too hopeful considering we only had a month. I hide my face inside my hands and groaned.

— Don't talk to me about it...

⸝⸝⸝

El and I both agreed unanimously to eat outside because of the cafeteria's dreadful menu. As we were walking with a poverty-stricken sandwich in hand, my phone buzzed. As I chewed the bread mechanically, I took it from inside my jean pocket. I really struggled to press my passcode with one hand.

1982. Release date of the first Poltergeist movie.

Don't tell my mom I actually liked that movie or I won't hear the end of it since she's the one who suggested it.

Speak of the devil, it was my mom. She sent me a text.

Contact : Mom

Hey Will, tomorrow I won't come home and I'll sleep at a friend's. We have this stupid farewell party for a coworker I hate but I'll go anyway. But we urgently need [click to see the list]. Would you mind to go buy it ? I'll leave the money on the kitchen's table.

Knowing that my mom worked very hard and often came home late, we only ate together on Fridays. Plus, now I was basically the only one able to help her. I texted her back and said that I'll go tomorrow.

My brother, Jonathan, moved last year. He didn't live with us anymore but he visited on a weekly basis so it was almost like he was still home. Sometimes I remember how he used to crash in my room uninvited and vented about his frustration. I miss him.

Meanwhile, El got a call right when I put away my phone. It took me a few seconds but I recognized her ringtone since it was a specific part of the song White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane. I precisely liked this old song because it reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. When I was six or so, I really admired Alice as a character and I aspired to visit another world like she did.

The direct and accusatory tone El took when she answered brought me back from my drifting thoughts.

— Max ? [...] Why are you calling me from Max's phone ? [...] No. [...]

Since we were walking together, I couldn't help but listen in on her phone call.

I noticed El squint her eyes when she glanced at me but then she continued in a monotonous tone.

— I'm with Will Byers. Don't wait for me, I'm eating with him. [...] We have to discuss something about our project. [...] I won't ! [...] Yeah, bye, bye, yeah.

I raised an eyebrow, surprised that she used my full name since the other person most certainly didn't know me. She hung up, visibily annoyed by the conversation she just had. I assumed it was one of her parent.

— Your mom ?

— I only have a dad and... No. Actually, it was a fake stalker. A kind but annoying one.

Oh. This time I preferred not to assume anything, even if she spoke with an amusing tone and a fond smile.

I felt unconsciously a little closer to her since we both grew up with one parental figure. I smiled and asked her something, entertained by this discussion.

— I know what that's like, I have a single mom. Are you also forced to have a Friday movie night ?

— What do you mean ? I'm the one forcing my dad. He has shitty taste in everything. As if I'd let him watch the reboot of Magnum P.I. on loop.

I didn't know anything about it. I couldn't help but laugh louder than I'm used to. Her horrified face was really funny. They seemed to have a really special bond.

⸝⸝⸝

Knock knock.

No, it wasn't the joke. Someone simply used their knuckles to softly knock twice on the opened door of the art room.

And I really appreciated to not have been startled by any loud noise and get abruptly interrupted while reading.

I put the bookmark inside the book and slowly raised my eyes from El's book to look nervously toward the entrance. The reason being that I had an accurate idea about the identity of the welcomed intruder.

There he was. Standing respectfully still, like if he was waiting for my approval before entering the room. I gave him a quick nod and a smile with my mouth closed.

The mysterious boy I met two days ago approached slowly. He glanced at the closed horror novel I held in my hand and asked me about it with an interested tone in his voice.

— You read ?

Before his curious gaze, I opened my mouth to speak but I stopped myself and swallowed a lie. I made an embarassed laugh before spitting the truth.

— Not really... To tell you the truth, I'm on the clock. I need to finish this by the end of the week.

I didn't really know why but I just couldn't lie to him.

— Is it even possible ?

The book had two hundred pages or so. (yes I couldn't resist the temptation to check). I really liked the fact that it was clearly way more detailed than the movies but reading wasn't for me.

I sighed before I answered his question as if I was surrendering.

— My project partner told me it was. But I think she overestimated my ability to focus on something for so long...

— I can relate.

His tall and slender body took many steps to close the distance between us. Along the way, he grabbed a chair. He left it around two meters diagonally from me so he could sit without giving us the weird impression we were in an interview.

The boy with wavy short black hair fiddled with his sweater as he spoke with an endearing concern.

— You weren't there yesterday... I genuinely thought I scared you.

After hearing that, I couldn't contain the soft chuckle that escaped from my lips.

Since I didn't know what to say, I joked about it to make him less worried.

— You couldn't even if you tried. I became immune to this feeling once I saw my mom disguised as a witch when I was five.

He laughed very loudly and I giggled with a beaming smile.

His laugh was contagious.

After a moment, I suddenly remembered something. 

— You asked me about many things but aren't you curious about something else..?

It seemed pretty obvious to me that I meant the fact that we still didn't know each other's names.

I didn't know if I imagined it but I thought I saw his cheeks take a very slightly reddening tint as he blurted out a confused sound.

— Huh ?

After reflexion, maybe it wasn't that obvious.

I raised an eyebrow with an indifferent expression. I clarified what I meant earlier.

— I mean I can continue to call you stranger but that's kind of...

I mumbled as I unconsciously continued to speak my thoughts out loud.

— Well... There's strange in stranger after all.

The boy burst out in laughter again after hearing what I just said and this time I felt my own face get warmer.

He faked a cough and finally introduced himself.

— Mike is definitely more appropriate.

I smiled politely and nodded with a pleased expression.

Many seconds passed. Minutes.

Nothing.

We were just looking at each other in the eyes and I was flabbergasted.

What do you mean he doesn't even have the decency to ask for mine ?

He sure was a quirky one.

I acted like I was hurt and sulky.

— Wow you really don't care ? I'm Will.

With a simple hand movement, he pushed his wavy hair back and tittered before he finally explained.

— My bad... I'm not used to introduce myself like that.

My face became comically straight-faced.

And who's fault is it that we're stuck in this awkward situation in the first place ? 

It reminded me of when I first met El yesterday. At this point, I began to wonder if everybody was like that and I just had the social skills of an alien while being convinced they were decent.

After that, I put the book away for good and I stretched my arms. I got up and spoke in an apologetic tone since I was troubled about something else.

— Sorry, I don't really intend to paint today so I hope you don't feel like you're wasting your time here.

— I don't mind.

On second thoughts, "Stranger" as a name definitely suited him better.

I took my used pencil and my small artbook that was full of many random drawings I did while I was brainstorming for previous projects. I sharpened my pencil before I started to sketch some scenes that weren't that popular or remarkable. I often ended up thinking that the forgotten ones were the most interesting. Either because they were judged boring, there wasn't much happening or they weren't understood by the public. That was exactly the reason why they fascinated me.

With this in mind for our art project, I had to admit that the book had way more things to explore than the movie.

Long minutes passed by and it was dead quiet since a while now. I almost deduced that he left. To confirm this, I looked over to see what Mike was doing.

His eyes were like those of a raven, deeply analytical and dark. It was disconcerting.

I couldn't support his gaze any longer so I lowered my head. I stared at my feet for a bit, embarrassed for no reason, and asked him something to keep my mind off what just happened.

—  Sorry... I was so focused I lost track of time. Do you know what time it is ?

He made a reassuring smile before casually looking at his watch.

— It's five thirty-five.

All of a sudden, I turned really pale.

Seeing my reaction, the boy with black hair got worried.

— What is it..? What's wrong ?

— I'm supposed to meet my friends at the bus stop across town at six... Now I think they'll forbid me from even entering Lucas' house.

My eyes got bigger and I anxiously looked somewhere mindlessly as I talked to myself.

— Or even worse... They'll give me a random card from the Game of Curses Dustin bought...

I started to pace worriedly in the art room. It was impossible to get there on time.

Should I cancel ? Maybe if I ran..?

Desperate, I glanced at Mike who had a pleased smile right at this moment like nothing was absolutely wrong.

I felt a little bit betrayed by his apparent unconcern so I confronted him.

— You think it's funny, don't you ?

Panicked by what I just said, he quickly waved his hands in front of him to deny my accusation as he stammered.

— No, no, no- Not at all. I mean I– I could drive you there if you want ?

I didn't expect him to react like that at all but I found it kind of adorable. Kind of. I mean it's like he was being extra careful to not upset me.

I answered completely thrilled by his offer of help.

— You don't mind ? That's–

I realized something midway so I quickly calmed down and shook my head.

— No. I won't make you go that far...

Even if his suggestion was extremely appealing, I didn't want to compel him to do this for me.

Mike insisted.

— It's okay ! My house is also across town.

I told him the exact place where I lived then he confirmed me that his house was in the same direction. I felt really reassured.

I hurriedly packed my things and grabbed my backpack before we left the art room together.

We walked side by side in complete silence. As surprising as it may sound, it wasn't awkward or anything.

We quietly left the deserted campus and arrived at the parking lot.

The black haired boy walked past me and suddenly stopped in front of a white car. It was a fun contrast.

It was a long and clean vehicle, I bet he took good care of it. Beside the fact that it was an old Chevrolet, I didn't know anything else since I wasn't so much into cars in general. It just seemed really expensive to me.

As I was still staring silently at the white four-wheeled vehicle, Mike's voice echoed in the empty parking lot.

— It was a second-hand car.

— I didn't say anything...

— Well, your thoughts were too loud.

I chuckled and we both sat inside it.

There were a little bit of dust and dirt. Random compact discs of unknown bands were scattered next to me. The black haired boy was calmly fastening his seatbelt. On a whim, I randomly grabbed one to read the titles on it.

The album was A Flock of Seagulls. I liked the cover, it was colorful. Mainly with warm colors but there was also red and the complementary color green.

I Ran, You Can Run, Messages, Space Age Love Song, ...

Mike started the car and watched what happened in the rearview mirror with a serious expression as he was speaking to himself.

— Fifteen minutes is more than enough.

He turned his head to check on me and when he noticed what I held, the corner of his mouth curled up.

— You can put some music if you want.

I looked at him and nodded with a shy smile. The car stereo gladly accepted the CD I was holding previously. Then I got confused with the amount of buttons there were on it so I foolishly moved my fingers around them without actually pressing any.

Accustomed to drive and click on buttons at the same time, Mike was the one to finally do it.

Let there be music.

I Ran played first. It was really enjoyable. It was an old tune but you could feel that it was a timeless group. And even if it wasn't really my type of music, I could get a bang out of listening to that.

I didn't even notice that I started to sway sligthly from side to side rhythmically.

The boy with wavy hair had an enthusiastic smile as he spoke.

— I love new wave bands. And you, what do you think about it ?

— I'm usually more into rock music... But I'm not lying when I say I like it.

Suddenly, a sticker in front of me catched my eyes. It was a dripping vinyl that looked like a beach sunset. I turned around to observe what other mysteries there could be and directly saw a black case hiding a music instrument. It was simply lying on the backseats. 

I easily connected the dots but I was stunned about this revelation.

— Wait a minute... Are you– Are you on the music department ?!

He glanced at me with an enigmatic smirk and I got speechless. Of course, I was right.

Even if the music department was on the other side of ours, it was kind of hard to bump into each other. Except when we ate in the cafeteria or when we reunited for major events of the faculty.

I was absolutely taken aback by this fact. I hadn't had time to process this new information that we arrived at the bus stop. I saw two figures waiting and recognized my friends.

I spoke to warn him of my actions before he'd get confused.

— Wait a sec, I'll go around.

I removed the belt, opened my door and walked toward his to send him off politely.

Mike lowered the window, a hand still resting on the steering wheel.

As I was about to speak, Dustin's teasing voice beat me to it.

— Almost late Will, we were discussing your fate but you made it on time. How come you're this late when you're the closest one to– Oh ? Who's that ?

The fuzzy head who just spoke seemed intrigued by the fact that I was driven by someone they didn't know.

They came closer to us and glanced at the boy who drove me here.

It took me a second before I nervously spoke since I didn’t really know how to introduce someone I met two days ago and still didn't know much about him.

— That's– Mike. From the same faculty but he's in the music department.

Mike made a quick mocking laugh. I easily understood the meaning of the teasing look he gave me after that : Nice introduction. Completly flustered by that, I looked away.

My sporty friend had a warm smile as he questionned the black haired boy who was still sitting in his car.

— Well... Maybe you want to join us ? We're chill so we'll order pizzas and play board games tonight.

I silently gasped and telepathically asked Lucas.

— Even if it's your house, don't I have like... a say in this whole invite him over thing ?

Lucas roughly guessed what I was mentally asking him but he simply grinned.

Mike interrupted us, seemingly unaware of the muted exchange that just happened.

— Sadly, I already have plans tonight... But I'm definitely looking forward to it next time.

Lucas shrugged his shoulders and spoke as the good-natured person he was.

— Too bad. Well, we'll already head inside. It was nice meeting you. Bye, Mike.

Dustin agreed with a genuine smile. As soon as the both of them turned around, the curly haired boy nudged Lucas with his elbow. Dustin had the ability to not know how to whisper discreetly so we basically heard everything they were saying.

— Are you crazy ? Board games ? That dude doesn't look like he does board games.

— It doesn't hurt to try ! I consider myself to not look like I'm into board games either and guess what ? I am !

— ...What about me ? Do I look like I am ?

Silence.

Then Dustin used his fist to give a fake punch on the sporty boy's arm and they cackled until they finally went inside.

The boy in front of me laughed but I sighed, already worn out by their tireless energy.

Since what Dustin just said stayed in my mind, I started to observe what Mike wore. I didn't really pay attention to it before.

His dark blue knitted sweater looked like it was home-made because there were random little holes on the sleeves. He also wore a sloppy jean who looked like it belonged to someone a little taller than him. 

His white colored car was very cool in my eyes because I didn't own any, I bet my friends thought the same and that could explain what they said previously.

All of a sudden, I heard Mike's gentle voice ask me a question.

— I'll see you tomorrow ?

On instinct, I almost blurted Yes, but I instantly reminded myself that my mom sent me a message earlier.

Duties were duties.

For the pure intention of making grocery shopping look cooler than it just being me buying stuff, I spoke with enthusiam.

— Tomorrow, I have the privilege to go grocery shopping. What an adventure. I wonder what creature I might encounter– 

Mike laughed softly and cut me off to ask me something.

— Can I come with ?

He stared intently at me.

I got emotionnally shaken by this question.

Why do you keep insisting on invading my habits where I had a quiet but pleasant loneliness ? Weren't you initially there to learn painting skills or was I mistaken ?

I put these thoughts away and came back to my senses before I finally gave him an answer.

— I guess if you're that bored, I won't say no...

He had a dazzling smile as he spoke.

— Cool. See you tomorrow then, Will.

I nodded with a placid smile as he gently waved his hand.

The white car and its quirky driver left without making too much noise. It was a convenient discretion.

Then, my friends made many inquiries about Mike. I was a little embarrassed about the fact that I couldn't answer in a way that satisfied them so I just blurted that he was the boy I told them about. After that, I really appreciated that they didn't have any further questions.

After a while, Lucas' sister went downstairs since we were making a racket because of Lucas and Dustin's bickering as we played The Game Of Life.

I thought she came to scold us but instead, Erica was in a good mood today so she didn't mind to join us for both pizza and a game. She proposed Uno and we easily agreed. Honestly, I was so out of it (it's not an excuse, I really was) that I ended up being the last one in every Uno games we played. After that, we chatted for a while.

Erica explained how being the student body president in her highschool was, I quote, "a pain in the ass" and also "for people who got a stick up their ass". Apparently, she didn't quit because otherwise, it would make her friend Derek want to quit too.

That night, I went home late. It was extremely cold since it was almost midnight. At the entrance door, I got surprised to see the lights still on in the kitchen.

Once I got inside, I saw my mother fighting sleep while waiting for her industrial lasagna still turning in the microwave. She was glad to bump into me. We discussed a little about our day but we were both very tired so we parted after wishing each other a goodnight. Inside my bedroom, I stopped to gaze at a poster of The Clash. I thought about music for a bit.

After a moment, I finally threw my backpack in a random corner, I yawned handsomely and changed into pajamas without much thought. I brushed my teeth with my eyes closed, almost falling asleep standing up.

That night, I slept like a log.

Chapter Text

I got startled awake by the melody of London Calling, the song I set up on my alarm clock.

I got up from my bed and took weak steps toward the kitchen. I could hear someone piling up cleaned plates from the the dishwasher. I stopped at the doorway and blinked slowly, still half asleep. My mom was there. She had long brown hair and wispy bangs. She always wore clothes that prioritized comfort and practicality.

It's been many years since she divorced my father. Her maiden name was Joyce Maldonado. She was very young when she became Joyce Byers and impetuously moved in the small town where we lived today. The moment he got physically and verbally abusive when drunk, my mom made him leave for good. Fortunately, we didn't stay in touch. To top it all off, I knew years later that my father was unfaithful toward her.

When asked, she told Jonathan and me that she preferred to keep his name mainly because of administrative procedures. It was easier this way for her and for us. I felt a little disturbed that I shared the same name as the person I didn't even view as my father anymore but I understood her reasoning. I didn't blame her for anything that happened between them.

She's an amazing mom and a woman I look up to and that's all that mattered to me.

Her worried almond brown eyes observed every detail possible on my tired face. She finally asked a question once she put away the dishes she held.

— You didn't forget I won't be home tonight, right ? Will you be alright on your own..?

— I'm not twelve anymore mom... I'll be fine.

I walked closer to her in order to put away the last cups that still waited in the dishwasher but I suddenly got caught in a warm embrace. My mom sighed and smiled lovingly.

— I know... But you're still my little boy.

She shooed me out of there and finished to arrange the last dishes. I went to seek for anything that could serve as breakfast because I started to get a little hungry.

The sleep deprived woman handed me enough dollars to buy the things she put on the shopping list. She kissed my forehead and moved to reach the entrance of the house. She spoke louder to be sure I heard.

— Don't forget to close the door. Oh– and the bulb from the bathroom broke. Again. So I'll take a look at it tomorrow.

I could hear rustling noises and I knew my mom was searching for her car keys. I was munching on a freshly made pancake I just grabbed on the counter. I deliberatly walked into the living room and took the innocent car keys that were silently resting on the coffee table. I whispered to them.

— Hide and seek is over.

I walked toward her and handed them over as I gulped down the last bite of the thin round cake my mom cooked. I spoke to her with a small smile.

— Have a good day at work.

Now relieved, she thanked me before closing the door. I was left alone. I couldn't resist to put some maple syrup on the pancakes since they were kind of tasteless.

⸝⸝⸝

Today, we mainly learned about art history.

Miss Modotti was an expert in this subject and in modern techniques. She had a strong italian accent and her dark straight hair was knotted in a low bun. Since she was a young artist, she stood out among the teachers we had.

She was a woman that naturally exuded enthusiasm, confidence and integrity. When she introduced herself she told us about the fact that beside teaching, her real passion was photography. She had many galleries that provided a showcase for her photographies.

Students particularily liked her because the black haired woman didn't mind to take enough time in order to answer our many questions or to give an honest opinion about our projects. Let it be sculptures, paintings, videos or photographies.

From the corner of my eyes, I could see El be very attentive and accurately write everything the teacher said throughout the lesson. Meanwhile, I couldn't help but doodle as I listened. I drew a smiley face of a character with recognizable black wavy hair on the corner of the page from my notebook. As soon as I noticed what I was doing, my eyes grew bigger and I hastily scribbled over the doodle.

Seriously, I'm not a kid anymore...

As soon as it was over, most students left to go eat. I stayed a little while to calmly sort out my poorly organized notes.

When I arrived at the cafeteria, everyone was being very loud and moved in a hurry. I was kind of used to it by now but I still felt suffocated by the stifling atmosphere. I ordered one of the two main dishes and took my plate to an empty seat next to people I didn't know.

I ate quietly and read El's book as much as I could since the deadline was slowly narrowing. I was being extra careful because I didn't want to dirty it with food.

To be honest, I often ate alone because I wasn't really close to the people in my faculty. I sometimes talked randomly to one or two students but we never reached above the strangers stage of relationships.

There were icebreaker activities and events that took place when the year started.

For some reason, I gathered the courage to go to one of them last year. (Basically Lucas and Dustin talked me into it and I gave in).

It was a small meeting between freshmen from our whole faculty. All I remembered of it was the chatty girl that sat next to me. Even as a first-year student she seemed quite popular. Her face was flushed. I guessed that she was already quite drunk. Her insistent questioning made me particularly uncomfortable. Then I felt even more awkward because she wanted me to give her my number. I refused politely because it wasn't something I shared casually with anyone.

The girl got up from her seat and suddenly swore at me loudly before leaving the meeting, outraged. Her friends followed her out. I immediately got all the attention of the other freshmen who came with us. Their eyes were mean and silently screamed what they were all thinking : What a douche. That night when I went home, I felt really nauseous, drained and sad.

To spare me these negative emotions, I promised myself I wouldn't go to these events anymore.

— That guy is total scum !

I got brought back to reality by the loud words spoken by the person next to me. I didn't care enough about that topic to listen to what her and her friend group were talking about.

I quickly finished eating and went back to class.

⸝⸝⸝

It seemed logical to me that Mike and I had to meet in the art room but we didn't agree on a time.

So it's been something like thirty minutes since I got here and I took the opportunity to read Carrie again. I was almost at the end of the book by now. El was right. It was possible after all.

I proudly sent her a text, updating her about that fact. My phone buzzed, she answered right away.

Contact : El

wow congrats, tbh I didn't think you would

As I was putting away my phone in a deadpan manner, I heard someone speak all of a sudden.

— Sorry... I'm late...

I got a little startled and immediatly looked at the entrance of the small workshop.

Mike was panting and he stood against the wall since he was beat. I knew the stairs were intense since we're at the very top of the building, but I never imagined he would actually run.

— I wasn't going to bail, you know ? You should have walked.

— I know but... I didn't want to make you wait.

His considerate nature never failed to astonish me.

I packed my things and got up from my seat. I spoke teasingly.

— Ready to go all the way down ?

I smiled and knew it was a little sadistic of me. I waited for him as he took the time to get his breath back after all the effort he did. Once the black haired boy was ready, he complained a little but followed me anyway.

Mike didn't bring his white car this time. Honsetly, I didn't mind since we could get some fresh air this way.

While we walked, I learned that he had two sisters. One was called Nancy, she was around the age of Jonathan. Apparently, the siblings were really close when they were young but they kind of grew apart once she moved. I was curious about it but I didn't question further since he seemed troubled. The other one, Holly, was a few years younger than Erica, Lucas' sister. He kept calling her Baby Holly which annoyed her, obviously.

We finally arrived in front of the giant supermarket.

I unconsciously smiled since this place made me nostalgic.

I remembered how I got lost when I was a child. When a staff employee saw me, they gave me a candy to divert my attention away from the fact that I was alone. I was happy because I heard my name on the loud speaker. My mom came all panicky and hugged me really tightly. At that time, I didn't understand and I felt like I won some kind of prize.

The black haired boy brought me back from my reminiscences when he spoke with pride.

— Since I have a license, I'm the only suitable candidate to drive the cart.

I raised both of my hands and talked with a pleased smile, glad to shirk my responsibilities.

— Be my guest.

⸝⸝⸝

I boldly took the reins of the poor shopping cart because everytime we turned, Mike was basically doing drifts with it. I got scared the employees would throw us out.

— You're a terrible driver.

With a dramatic gesture, he put a hand over his mouth. I could clearly see through his fake offended act. Mike suddenly burst out in laughter and let me drive peacefully. Since his hands were now free, he grabbed everything he saw without reason. Then, he excitedly tried to influence me into buying each one of these useless things.

Why would I want to solve a Rubik's Cube ? And play with a blue Stegausorus in plastic ? Or even use a flamingo watering can when we don't even have plants in our house ?

To do my shopping properly (and not waste my mom's money), I gave him a simple task.

After a few minutes, in the distance, I noticed that Mike started to juggle with the tomatoes I asked him to fetch. I stared at him with a straight face until he arrived to our shopping cart.

Obviously, he missed and most of the tomatoes found themselves rolling on the floor.

Called it but at least, he didn't create a crime scene...

He tittled before his own mistake and made an embarassed smile. He hurriedly picked them up and blew on the red fruits before putting them in the shopping cart.

I shook my head and quietly chuckled with an amused smile I hide from him.

I tried to act as serious as possible when I spoke.

— We need potatoes.

— Potatoes.

He left again and I chuckled at how obedient he was being suddenly. On the other hand, I went to look for a small plastic bag for the tomatoes.

Now the cart was full of things that were actually written on the list.

Mission accomplished.

As soon as we arrived at the cashier, Mike disappeared for a bit. I didn't mind and moved forward alone. The tattooed woman in a black uniform gave me back the excess of money I handed her. She seemed really bored, almost like she was lifeless. Every words she spoke and movements she did were like those of a machine. I felt a little bad for her.

I went outside with two heavy bags full of stuff and after a few minutes, Mike walked toward me.

The boy with wavy hair spontaneously took one of them and I immediately tried to take it back.

— It's o–

— Since I recommeded you the best maple syrup brand, you owe me this.

I laughed and let it go. We started to walk while we chatted calmly about random topics.

⸝⸝⸝

We could already see my house at the end of the road.

We were about to part any minute now so I was thinking and getting more and more worried. I bite my lips. Truthfully, I had fun and I wanted this fun to last a little longer.

I spoke casually to hide the real reason why I offered him to stay.

— Want to come over for a bit ? My mom's not home.

Mike seemed stunned by my suggestion so I instantly felt uneasy and continued to speak in an anxious manner.

— You don't have to say yes if–

— Okay.

He chuckled and explained why he was surprised previously.

— I thought I annoyed you so much that you wanted to get rid of me.

I knew he talked about the idea of sending someone away but I joked around as I exagerrated on purpose.

— And where exactly would I hide your body ? Going into jail isn't in my plan yet.

He laughed.

We entered my house and I offered him a drink. He chose a can of 7Up and he drank it in no time like a dehydrated plant.

As we chatted, Mike was scrutinizing every nook and cranny of my house. Exactly like he did when he entered the art room for the first time. I liked to watch him being meticulous when he observed things, when he started to get lost in thoughts and when he was eager to know more about something.

He turned to me innocently.

— Where is your room ?

I only pointed at the direction with my finger.

He walked ahead in the corridor and I quietly followed him. He stopped at the closed door and turned to me again. With his dark colored eyes, I instantly knew he was silently asking me if he could enter it. I nodded with a smile.

I totally forgot the fact that it was probably considered a mess inside.

Mike spoke as if he heard what I thought and reassured me at once.

— Wow your room's actually tidier than mine...

There were brushes inside a glass with gray-brown colored water that stood on the window sill of my room. In a corner, there were empty canevas, ready to have paint to their surface. The clothes I slept with last night were scattered on the floor and as I looked away, I even noticed a pair of shoes under my bed. I didn't remember I had that.

If mine is tidier, I can't imagine his... Like– Is everything in a chaotic jumble ?

Then, he sat on my bed and my sheets made a muffled sound under his weight.

His dark colored eyes had no difficulties to spot my huge poster on the wall.

— You didn't seem to be fan of rock music.

I huffed, interpreting this ambiguous sentence however I wanted.

Jonathan was the one that introduced me to The Clash when I didn't know anything about music. Our parents were fighting in the living room for the millionth time. Ever since then, this band had a special place in my life. I quickly got interested in the rock genre overall so it wasn't hard for me to take a liking to groups like The Cure and The Smiths.

His previous comment still intruigued me. I thought about something but I didn't say it out loud. Instead, I started to get curious about another thing related to him. I also sat on my bed but a little further away as I questioned him.

— About that, what kind of music do you do..?

Mike smirked and gave me a look from the corner of his eyes.

— I thought you would never ask. Actually, I'm in a band since...

I could feel his excitement when he started to count with his fingers. He continued to speak with enthusiasm.

— Three years. And the music we do... Well, it's secret. You should come see us when we practice. The members won't mind.

I nodded slowly but I felt kind of uneasy at the idea of being in the way of their rehearsals.

The black haired boy seemed a little embarrassed about what he was about to say since he held his left arm with his right hand and stroked it. I thought he was going to change the subject but he still said it.

— Sometimes we do intimate concerts too. But we're not that big.

— To me, that's already amazing.

I was being honest because we, art students, had many opportunities to have exhibitions organized by our teachers. On the other side, teachers from the music department organized huge concerts for the faculty's events. But that was all happening in our own little world of students and teachers so a real audience was hard to find.

Mike made a smile that expressed pride and shyness and it showed how what I said affected him positively.

This time, his body turned completely toward me and he started to rummage inside his jacket's pocket to find something. As he talked, he finally handed me something I recognized.

— There. A small gift.

It was the blue dinosaur toy we saw earlier. He continued to speak.

— I decided to buy myself another one as a souvenir.

He showed me a yellow Tyrannosaurus Rex and made a roaring sound. His antics made me giggle.

When he asked earlier, I absolutely didn't want it because I wasn't going to play with it. I was too old for it. But to think of it as a souvenir from our common trip in the supermarket was really sweet and funny so I gratefully accepted.

In a trice, Mike's face reddened and his eyes darted toward the right as he shyly asked.

— I know they just met but... Can they be friends ?

I easily understood what he implied through the dinosaurs. I wondered why he needed to disguise it like that.

I made a genuine and tender smile.

— Yes.

Like the first time we met, he made a beaming smile when he heard my one word answer.

It disappeared at once when his phone rang. All of a sudden, his mood shifted and he looked particularily annoyed. The black haired boy said one thing after another as I was staring into space. I didn't hear much of it but to sum it up, he had to go. I quietly walked him to the door.

Mike swiftly took his leave.

But this time, he left as a friend.

I went back to my bedroom and delicately put the small blue dinosaur on my drawer, next to a family framed pictures and a globe.

Chapter Text

I left my house and almost missed the bus.

The vehicle arrived at my friends stop and when they approached me, I could already hear that Lucas was complaining about something. Dustin nodded at me and it translated to Hi. I nodded back.

The boy with black frizzy hair quickly brought me up to speed on what happened.

— Yesterday, I got into an argument with Jason, our stuck-up captain.

He then started to gossip about the captain of his basketball team.

— He got dumped and his now ex-girlfriend is apparently with a nerdy guy. He started to bad-mouth people who like to read, play games and all. I got really annoyed so we fought.

I listened attentively. As I already said before, Lucas was very straight-forward and sometimes, when he confronted someone, he ended up quarreling with them. Therefore, I wasn't really surprised.

Even though we were all friends, our personalities were relatively very different.

— Now our coach wants us to make peace like if we were in kindergarten. Our winter match is soon and we can't stay mad like that but ugh– I hate that guy.

Talking about this topic made the boy with the buzzcut hair even more irritated.

Dustin shrugged his shoulders and shared his opinion in a nonchalant manner.

—  Jeez– There's way too much testosterones in basketball court. I don't know how you deal with those kind of guys.

Even though, I could bet there were nice guys in basketball teams, like Lucas, they seemed to be rare. So I approved what my friend just said by nodding silently.

Lucas even joined us despite being mentally worn out.

— Me neither.

The sporty boy started to type something quickly on his phone with a smile.

Meanwhile, Dustin turned to me with a sudden excitement.

— Oh ! By the way, Will, do you remember Jennifer Hayes ? All of the boys had a crush on her in middle school. She was so popular. 

Lucas detached his eyes from his phone to look at us and started to use a syrupy voice when he pronounced the famous nickname associated with her.

— And they all called her : Our Angel.

Dustin and Lucas cackled together. I got their attention when I answered seriously.

— Yeah... I think I have a vague memory of her. Why ?

The boy with curly brown hair started to explain and as he talked, he used his hands too.

— I met her on the bus last time and since we sat next to each other, we chatted. When she knew you and I were still friends, she was basically trying to make me set you up with her.

— No way !

Dustin acted proud after Lucas' reaction even though he wasn't the one directly concerned by this situation. In the meantime, I felt really uncomfortable about it.

All I managed to do was blurting something that showed how uninterested I was.

— Did she..?

My friend didn't notice my amount of interest in this matter so he shaked his phone as he spoke.

— Yup. I got her number. Are you interested ?

The bus suddenly stopped and I felt relieved as I moved away to get out of the dirty old vehicle.

— ...I have to go.

Dustin gasped and spoke loudly to my other friend who was dying of laughter next to him.

— He escaped !

I left the bus under the gaze of a few annoyed passengers. I thought that perhaps it was because we talked too loudly. The sound of screeching tires going away was carried by the cold air. I walked as fast as possible to reach the entrance of the building.

I always liked simple things.

Both of my friends' lives changed a lot throughout the years but I always stayed the same. For example, as opposed to them, I never thought about being in a romantic relationship.  I never found someone with whom I felt the magic you're supposed to feel once you're in love. And it was okay. I didn't mind. I was probably never going to fall in love anyway. My family and my friends were all I ever cared for.

The only issue was that people minded.

⸝⸝⸝

Mr Stephens welcomed us with his usual disappointed and encouraging speech about our working habits. Most students preferred to create their pieces calmly at home so I was one of the few people that stayed in the workshop once classes ended.

Actually, he mentioned something interesting. It was the date they chose for our exhibition. Each project we were actually doing with our partner will be presented on the 23th of December and people were allowed to come visit. I should probably tell Lucas and Dustin about it as soon as possible.

The girl who sat next to me suddenly started to speak.

— Let's review our ideas over text this weekend so we can start the project on Monday.

— Okay. I actually did some sketches, I'll send you some pictures.

El seemed a little bit surprised. Then she smiled and complimented me.

— You're more diligent than I thought.

— Thank you..?

I looked at her doubtfully and she assured me it was indeed a compliment.

As she was browsing on her phone, I asked her a question about something else but I was genuinely curious.

— Who will you invite on the 23th ? He said we're allowed to have three guests.

— Hm...Like last year so my father and two gremlins I'm close with. What about you ?

I knew El was an only child so she could only mean her friends.

I decided to share my worries with her since last year, many guests criticized the students' artworks and the main reviews were basically : "unoriginal" and "uninteresting".

— Same as you. But I really hope it will meet the public's expectation.

— Look, if one of them complain, I'll call security.

As we imagined the scene, we broke out into laughter.

⸝⸝⸝

The workshop was filled with students for once and it became a veritable hive of activity.

Many of them got anxious when they realized how little the time left before the exhibition was. Plus, we were prohibited to go into the art room on weekends and the tools inside were too expensive if we wanted one for ourselves. The only choice left was to use it in here or make a formal request to borrow some. (obviously, most of us were too lazy to do that).

Some partners were arguing loudly over which technique they would opt for, others were discussing about everything but their project, and there were people who actually started to create something.

In the middle of this war zone, there I was, trying to focus on ideas for our own project.

I was currently debating wether I should stay or go when I heard a curious and familiar voice tone near me.

— Sorry to bother you but... Is Will Byers here..?

I looked toward the owner of this voice and noticed him easily at the entrance of the room.

Since he was tall, he stood out in the small crowd. When he tilted his head to the side, a strand of his bangs got in front of his dark colored eyes. I found entertaining to try and guess the reason why his black wavy hair was kind of messy today.

The person he previously talked to started to glance around for a bit. We made an eye contact and she pointed a finger toward me as she answered in a monotonous tone.

— He's over there.

I started to internally panic since I forgot what I was doing and my pencil fell on the ground as I moved. I heard him when he thanked her.

I bent down to pick it up and when I raised my eyes upward, I proceeded to catch his gaze as his slender figure made his way toward me.

He smiled and his voice became soft as he asked.

— Are you okay in here ?

He looked at the people filling up the usual empty space of this room and when his worried eyes landed back on me, I spoke in a manner that showed I was feeling uncomfortable.

— Not really... That's why I'm probably leaving in a few minutes.

— I see, I'll be quick then.

He immediatly sat on the chair next to me. People were being noisy so he approached his face a little bit closer to mine to not get too much of their attention. Then he spoke softly but clearly enough for me to understand what he said.

— I heard that there's this board game bar near our faculty... And I thought you might enjoy it. You in ?

His dark eyes sparkled and he made a brilliant smile.

I was about to answer when he hurriedly cut me off.

— Your friends can come too if they want... The more the merrier.

It was impossible for me tonight since we were Friday.

I unconsciously played with the pencil in my hands as I made another suggestion.

— Is tomorrow okay ? I have something I can't miss tonight...

The black haired boy needed a moment to grasp what I just said. When he finally did, he reacted like he embarrassed himself.

— Yeah, totally ! Tomorrow. Tomorrow is fine.

None of us spoke, we just stared at each other, smiling. In contrast to the quiet atmosphere between us, the students around us were basically moving hastily with worry.

All of a sudden, I noticed a tiny obstacle if we were to meet tomorrow since it will be on a Saturday.

— Should I give you my number ? So I can contact you about the time and all...

He slowly nodded and I tore up a piece of paper from my artbook. I wrote a bunch of numbers on it. Mike was waiting patiently and drew imaginary circles on the table's surface. I didn't really know why but it made me chuckle to see him like that. I got an irresistible impulse to draw instead of simply adding my name on the paper.

Next to the phone number, I quickly made a tiny character with short hair that wore a wizard's hat. The boy drawn smiled. It was supposed to be me. When I was young and I drew myself, I always did it like that.

I handed him the tiny piece of paper with a placid smile.

— There.

His own smile grew bigger when he saw the simple drawing I did. He raised his head one more time to look at me. His wavy dark hair bounced as he moved, he put it away from his eyes before he spoke.

— Thanks. I'll send you a message later so you have mine too.

I nodded.

— See you, Will.

I waved as he was leaving the art room.

— See you tomorrow, Mike.

⸝⸝⸝

I arrived home safely but it was very cold and very late. I didn't even notice that time passed by so quickly.

My mother was already there. She was sitting on the couch, casually munching on a french fry, while she watched the news.

— Seriously, it makes me even more depressed.

— That's the news for you.

I said as I shrugged my shoulders and let my backpack slide all the way from my arm until it reached the floor.

She had the TV remote in one hand and she excitedly patted the empty space next to her. I sluggishly went to sit beside her and stared at the screen.

She informed me about the arrival of my brother.

— Jonathan is coming home tonight but we won't see him I think.

I simply moved my head in acknowledgement.

She passed on the remote to me as she spoke.

— Since you love horror movies, you pick one. But I'm in the mood for either E.T. or Freddy Krueger.

I furrowed my eyebrows as I said my thoughts out loud.

— But mom, E.T. isn't a horror movie...

— Spielberg would disagree.

I rolled my eyes and clicked on the button to start the old movie. To know which of us was right, we ended up watching it.

By the end of the Science Fiction movie, we still didn't agree on its genre.

The closing credit song started to play and names slid all the way across the TV screen. The brown haired woman got up from the couch and took our empty plates to the kitchen.

I usually talked about trivial things with my mom but today I felt something ticklish inside me. A feeling of unease inside that wouldn't disappear until it was shared with someone.

I stroked my own hand with my thumb in a self reassuring manner as I spoke.

— ...I made a new friend yesterday.

I couldn't really explain why but it made me feel really vulnerable to talk about it.

I knew my mother heard me but she didn't say anything so I forced myself to continue.

— His name is Mike. He does music.

I didn't notice her quiet steps when she came back into the living room. I got startled when she playfully ruffled my straight hair and had a warm smile as she talked.

— Good for you, I hope he's a nice kid.

— He is, mom. He really is.

I had a soft smile and she wished me sweet dreams before she went to bed.

As I lied in bed, totally knocked out because of the hard work I put in and all the events that happened this week, my phone buzzed.

Immersed in total darkness, I suddenly got blinded by the light emitted by the small device. It took me a second before I got used to it but as soon as I saw the message displayed on the screen, I smiled.

Contact : Unknown

micheal wheeler here

I immediately changed the name of the person that texted me. Another message popped up.

Contact : Mike

i forgot to tell you but i forbid you to re-gift the dinosaur i gave you to any random kid for christmas this year

i'll be heartbroken if you do and you wouldn't want that, right ?

right..?

I answered him in a playful manner.

Contact : You

I wouldn't dare.

Mainly because getting a heartbreak on Christmas is a serious crime.

I wasn't heartless enough to just re-gift something I didn't like. The proof of that was the monstruous pairs of socks my mom's boss keep insisting on giving me each year. I kept them until today and they were very well-organized in a box hidden in my closet.

I turned off my phone and put it on the nightstand.

For two persons that were considered strangers until recently, I noticed I almost spent more time with Mike than anyone else lately. I didn't know why it felt so natural. I also didn't feel an ounce of unease around him. I particularily liked the fact that it was the black haired boy who reached out first. It was a little weird coming from me since I usually liked to have moments for myself and I needed to recharge my social battery quite often.

But with Mike, it was different.

Chapter Text

Contact : Mike

okay, 6pm then, i'll meet you all there

I turned off my phone for now. Dustin and Lucas told me they could come with us but they wouldn't stay too long since they had something planned tomorrow early on the morning. However, they were very pleased that Mike even thought of inviting them.

All of a sudden, I received a crumbled piece of paper on my head.

— Earth to Will.

The hooded brown eyes of my brother looked at me with confusion.

I forgot he was still there. I spoke with a slightly annoyed tone.

— What ?

— I asked you if you're surviving on whatever mom's feeding you.

Despite my annoyance, I answered honestly.

— ...I miss your pancakes.

He smiled proudly and answered.

— I'm glad I'm on vacations then.

We had a very close bond.

Him and I both shared the same music taste and our peculiar interest in arts. Jonathan wasn't really popular or didn't have many friends but I secretly admired the side of him that recognized his self-worth. Even if he made sure to stay tough around me, more so when our parents split, sometimes I took a glimpse of the sensitive and caring person he was.

— Nobody normal ever accomplished anything meaningful in this world.

Those were the words he spat angrily when I told him and my mother that I wanted to become a salesperson at dinner. He instantly knew I lied. Our family wasn't the richest and sometimes we struggled with the bills. So he knew I wanted to quickly provide financial support for our mother. 

That day, we talked it out all night and I ended up enrolling to the faculty I was currently in. Thanks to him and my mother's constant support, I was learning about something I was actually interested in.

I silently looked in the direction of my older brother as he aimlessly walked around in my room, wearing his old shabby pajamas.

He had a funny look today. He even wore mismatched socks. His dark blonde hair were disheveled and I had to contain a laugh upon bumping into him this morning.

He kicked something that was on the floor and gave a heartfelt opinion about what he saw.

— Your room's a total mess.

Great, now I knew Mike lied.

Since he was bugging me on purpose, I pouted and mumbled something my brother heard.

— Says the one dressed as a bum. 

Offended, Jonathan sprang on my bed to tickle me. He knew exactly where I was ticklish and I couldn't get out so I started crying laughing.

At first he ignored my pleading but after a while he stopped to ask me a question.

— What have you been up to ? Did you do the drawing I asked ?

— The Evil Dead poster..? I didn't even start yet.

— Come on ! It's been like two years since.

I thought about a nonchalent answer but I didn't dare to say it.

— I didn't think you would still be asking to be honest.

Instead, I shrugged my shoulders and promised him I would get to it once I found enough time. I knew myself very well and I was ninety percent sure I wouldn't keep my promise.

He forcefully stayed on my bed and made me watch the pictures he took for his work since he was a photojournalist. I observed all of them with attentiveness because my brother had a keen eye for detail. I liked to notice the intentions behind each picture and the photography techniques he used. We talked for a long time until our mother interrupted us.

⸝⸝⸝

A grey beanie covered my chestnut hair as I waited outside the meeting place. Before leaving my house, I tried to tie a basic scarf knot and ended up with whatever that tangled mess was around my neck.

I met Lucas and Dustin first, they arrived together. My new friend was the last one to arrive. It didn't seem like he took his car to come here. He dressed lightly even though the weather was unforgiving.

I bet he'll get sick sooner or later.

Mike introduced himself one more time and my friends shyly did the same. It was kind of awkward at first and I really wasn't used to see my friends act that nervous. Fortunately, the uneasy atmosphere quickly dissipated once we got inside the ornamented walls of the bar.

This amazing place was big. Bigger than I thought it would be. There were actual board games and video games on sale in the front and in the back, there was a whole secret area for the bar. Mike leaded us inside it and we all looked around us like fascinated children.

On the ceiling, there were many golden neons that lit up the whole room. There were already friends groups that took their place. Most of them played small board games while they chatted and ate snacks.

While she served, the waitress was energetic and had a cheerful smile on her face. I noticed that she had a few grey hair. To be honest, that was the only thing that betrayed how old she actually was. (I found out later that she was also the owner of the bar).

We were all eager to play but it was kind of difficult to make a choice. With a tender smile, I grabbed a Rubik's cube. It made me think of when I went grocery shopping not too long ago. Someone got instantly my attention and I raised my eyebrows. Further away, Mike was observing me and smirked when he saw what I held. My cheeks got a little redder as I put down the toy, a little bit annoyed.

I'm not interested in it in the slightest.

My friend with curly brown hair didn't wait for us to choose and picked a card game. From the box cover, I didn't know it. He was all excited and seeing him like that made me smile. We agreed to follow his gut and went to sit at a table. Mike and I were next to each other and the other two went to sit in front of us.

Dustin explained the rules in a total of three times. Firstly, he got cut off by Lucas who sneezed loudly on purpose. Secondly, the waitress saw us and came to take our order. And now he was hoping nobody was going to interrupt him again or he was voluntarily going to end up in jail for murder. Meanwhile from the corner of my eye, I noticed Mike trying to contain his laugh in order to stay polite.

As we finally began to play, we chatted about our faculties, our hobbies and our families. It was the inevitable small talk but it felt natural actually. Plus, it was understandable that they were curious about the new friend I made and the other way round. Surprisingly, Mike didn't share a lot and only did about things I knew beforehand. On the other hand, he was a great listener.

Knowing us, it wasn't particularily surprising that we quickly got off-topic. Right now, we were talking about the past and Lucas brought up one of Dustin's secret.

— Remember your dream about Mr Clarke ?

Oh no, poor Dustin, I know what he's going to say.

My face came closer to Mike to clarify the identity of this unknown name he just heard.

— Our science teacher when we were kids.

The boy with wavy hair nodded with a grateful smile, glad to be able to follow the discussion.

Lucas snickered and continued to speak.

— You couldn't even look at him in the eyes for weeks !

Dustin pushed the bowl of chips further from him. He then spoke with an utterly disgusted face since this topic clearly grossed him out.

— Thanks Lucas now I'm not hungry anymore.

The music student seemed genuinely intrigued so he tilted his head a little before he asked.

— What was it about ?

— He dreamed that he was giving a massage to our teacher. And he didn't touch any part of his body... He–

I broke the suspense my friend desperately tried to create.

— Dustin gave a massage to his pretty feet.

There was a second of complete silence between us before the three of us bursted out in laughter at the same time. Dustin immediately complained to us for sharing his shameful dream with Mike. He tried to justify its content and said stuff like he always admired Mr Clarke and that Freud's interpretation of dreams was "total bullshit". (meaning that it wasn't his inner desire to do so).

Suddenly, the black haired boy next to me gave my shoulder a discreet nudge. I turned my face to look at him with an arched eyebrow. He was observing my friends before he said something.

— Oh, it's just... His story made me remember that...

His raven eyes went up to stare deeply at mine as he spoke softly.

— I dreamed of you yesterday.

Not having any clue to how I should react to the information he just gave me, my mouth stayed a little open since I was dumbfounded. When I came back to my senses, I started to fiddle with my fingers as I curiously asked more about it.

— Really ? What did I do ?

— I kind of forgot. But we were lying on a field and we were just talking. It was chill.

I felt a little shy for some reason so I glanced away and I just noticed that the bickering in front of us stopped. The one with curly hair was eating snacks while he arranged the cards he held in his hand. Next to him, I saw Lucas' eyes go from Mike to me twice but he stayed completely silent. He then picked a ranch-roasted chickpeas that he tossed inside his mouth.

My sporty friend turned to Dustin when he updated him on the situation he talked about yesterday.

— Jason and I agreed to a truce for the team. Now I really hope we're going to destroy those city snobs.

— Yeah, me too... I remember how they looked down on you when you lost last time.

He turned to Mike and spoke with his usual friendliness.

— Mike, you should come to the match. It's next week, on Wednesday.

Hearing that, my eyes grew bigger.

To invite him to one of his match, that meant Lucas liked him. Mike took a moment to remember if he was free or not before he agreed with an enthusiastic smile.

It was a little disconcerting to see that they went along better than I imagined they would. But I didn't complain. On the contrary, I was really happy for them.

After many games and the exuberant laughters that filled the place, Lucas and Dustin had to leave us to head home first. They thanked Mike in person for the invitation and they seemed very happy to have been able to discover this place.

I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder as the black haired boy tried to get my attention.

— Your friends are really nice.

I smiled playfully and mocked those who were absent.

— Now I know they can make a good impression.

Around us, people were loud and overexcited, in contrast, we were calm and quiet. I didn't know how but we ended up talking about the small concerts he told me about.

The conversation was serious and I was quite touched that Mike chose to confide in me.

— The first time I performed, I had massive stage fright and I... I– I felt sick and vomited on a member of my band in front of the whole crowd. 

He nervously averted his eyes from me and tittered.

— I'm so ashamed... I completely ruined the show that day.

The music student had a weak and pained smile so I felt empathy toward his situation. He pushed back his hair with one hand and sighed before he talked again.

— I never told anybody that.

I was unable to hold his intense gaze so I looked away and gulped down the Pepsi drink I ordered.

It took a few seconds for me to gather some courage and look at him again. I chose to share a similar experience. 

— To make us even, I'll tell you an embarassing story.

He seemed very attentive suddenly so I continued.

— There was this guy that hated me... Every single day, he always found new ways to annoy me.

My eyes caught the waitress that seemed really preoccupied because of a customer. I shook my head to stay focused on what I was saying.

Maybe I overanalyzed it but it seemed to me that Mike was a little upset after hearing that but he stayed silent and waited for me to continue. So I did and spoke in a casually manner.

— One day, in art class, he mocked my drawing, basically saying it was ugly and I got so mad I set it ablaze with a lighter in front of him. The look on his face was priceless but the scolding the teacher gave me right after was the worst...

I hide my face with my hands and talked as clearly as possible but I felt a little humiliated as I retold this memory.

— She threw the mop at me in front of everyone and made me wax the floor of all the classrooms. It took me something like a whole week to get it done.

— That shouldn't be allowed. At all.

Even if I thought he was right, I simply shrugged my shoulders since it was the past and I couldn't change it. The mood lifted up when we changed the subject and we continued to talk without realizing that time passed by.

After a while, the black haired boy quickly checked his phone and when he noticed what time it was, he gasped. He showed it to me and spoke with a worried tone.

— There are no buses left... It's way too late.

I made a winsome smile since I had a backup plan and didn't mind to share it with him.

— Don't worry. I'm sure my brother will pick us up.

I got up from my seat and walked outside for a bit. The door closed behind me and I slowly breathed in the cold air. I rubbed my palms together and gave a soft blow to warm them a little. I wore my beanie and hurriedly put my scarf in a messy knot around my neck. Then, I grabbed my phone that was inside my pocket and dialed a number I knew too well.

I could hear a sleepy voice on the other end of the line. I made sure he was completely awake before I calmly explained the situation. Jonathan reluctantly accepted the task at hand. After a few minutes, Mike apparently paid the bill before he joined me outside. I insisted that I would pay him back some other time.

A loud shout brought me back from my thoughts.

— Over here, Will !

Jonathan came with his old car. I was relieved he was still up. Otherwise, we would have had to walk at least an hour to get home.

As I was about to sit on the passenger's seat, my brother stopped me in my tracks when he spoke.

— Sorry boys, I have stuff related to work there so you both sit in the backseats.

Mike glanced at me in silence when he sat. Then the lights from the car suddenly turned off.

They introduced to each other in a friendly manner. To make us at ease, my brother joked around and he only got a small laugh from the black haired boy.

I caught my brother's gaze from the rearview mirror and I instantly knew that he was wondering how Mike and I became friends.

It had been years since it was always Lucas, Dustin and I. The weird trio. No more, no less.

Well, honestly, I didn't know how to explain our friendship either.

⸝⸝⸝

It was obvious that my brother blasted rock music to avoid a quiet car and him falling asleep. At times, I couldn't resist and did lip-sync since I knew the lyrics of some songs. I found it even more amusing when Mike tried to sing along with my brother. I was almost embarrassed since Jonathan couldn't carry a tune at all but instead, all of us ended up breaking out into laughter.

We arrived safely at the location of Mike's house. As I expected, it was indeed near Lucas' house.

The black haired boy readied himself to get out. Suddenly, Jonathan told us he was also getting out of his car to take a quick smoke. Once he was outside, he put a cigarette between his lips with shaking fingers since it was cold and he quietly lit it up. Then the dark blonde boy stood against the front bumper of his old car while he seemed to be fixing pictures on his camera.

Since I had to wait for him to finish smoking, Mike decided to stay a little longer behind to keep me company. I thought it was nice of him but I didn't say it aloud. Now standing outside, I felt a chill in the air. That evening breeze even made me shiver a little. Having said that, we were in December, it was winter and it was freezing.

As we were walking while talking, we unconsciously took some distance from the car.

Mike had a pleased smile on his face and spoke softly.

— I had fun tonight.

I gave back a warm smile as I talked in a lighthearted way.

— Me too. I don't know your tricks but they liked you way too fast.

— Who knows ? Maybe I'm just that great.

I instantly made a disgusted face since he was being shameless when he praised himself. Mike giggled when he noticed my expression then he stopped walking. Confused by his action, I did the same and the black haired boy came to stand right in front of me.

I simply watched his lips since his breath fogged in the cold air. I always found this phenomenon to be captivating. All of a sudden, he began to gently fix the scarf around my neck. I observed what he did with his hands. The tip of his long fingers were calloused. I deduced that the culprit was probably the instrument I noticed in his car last time.

As he finished, my eyes tried to silently decipher the reason behind his kind and gentle behavior toward me. I chased away this useless questioning.

The messy knot turned into a proper scarf knot. I was a little jealous to not be able to do the same.

— I'm not a kid.

— Then you should wear it correctly. 

After he spoke, he gave a soft chuckle and I frowned.

To put my mind at ease, I concluded that he was this caring toward all of his friends.

Mike was about to say something else when a loud noise startled the both of us. A young woman just slammed the door on her way out of his house and she came running toward my brother.

Her voice was really tense and I could easily imagine her eyes being the same.

— Hey, you ! What are you doing in front of my house ? Are you stalking us..?

It was so sudden and confusing that I was completly frozen.

My brother stuttered out an excuse as he tried to defend himself against her accusation.

— Huh ? N-No– I– I don't–

The young woman didn't seem to care so she cut him off coldly.

— Stop lying, creep. I memorized your license plate. I'll call the police–

I noticed a lamp got lit in another house next to theirs. A nosy neighbor discreetly peeked out of the window to know why there was a noisy fight in the middle of the night.

Unlike me, Mike began to move. He rushed over them as he shouted a name, presumably hers.

— Nancy !

I easily recognized this name, it was his sister's.

Mike grabbed the brown haired girl by the shoulders and removed her from my brother's face. I finally came closer in a careful way while my friend explained the situation.

— He's my friend's older brother. He drove me home.

Nancy looked at me for a second but then she continued to eye Jonathan in an aggressive way.

She finally pointed to the camera my brother was holding.

— But I saw him with his camera, he–

— I wasn't taking pictures ! I swear, look. I just– I just had to delete a few I took this week.

Still skeptic, the brown haired girl really took the camera between her hands and inspected what was on it.

After a while, she said one word that meant she gave up the idea to fight him.

— Fine.

She sighed and gave back the professional device. The young woman tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she spoke in a nicer way than before.

— Don't delete the last ones in black and white. They are really nice pictures.

The brown haired girl turned and went back inside the house in complete silence.

I was still completly stunned by what just happened. Mike grumbled about how she should have said Sorry but Jonathan reassured him, saying it was okay.

My friend thanked us and waved me goodbye before he left.

On the return trip to our own house, Jonathan said something totally unexpected.

— Say hmm.. Will... If you and your friend ever need a ride again, I'm here.

— Okay. 

I turned my face and looked at the night scenery through the window. This way, I could hide the little amused smile I had on my face when I heard him say that.

Chapter Text

Yesterday, early in the morning, as promised, I sent my sketches to El. She gave me some advice and we discussed on the phone about some important details too. Now, we had a rough idea of the work each of us had to do. We ended up being a great duo. It's been a while since I felt this excited over a piece I would work on.

Then at noon, I went to see a movie with Lucas. The sporty boy begged me to accompany him since it was the most anticipated action movie of the year. (To be more precise, I really wanted to stay home and laze around all day but he harassed me with texts and calls so I gave in).

When we arrived in the dark halls, Lucas thought that the girl who checked our tickets at the gate was flirting with him. In fact, she just complimented our choice and told us that it was a great movie. So as he babbled about it, I listened without really listening. I ended up laughing at the one who was fed with his illusions and we munched happily on many handful of salty popcorns until the movie started. Unlike Lucas, I wasn't really hooked right away but toward the end, I could tell why it was so popular.

⸝⸝⸝

On this Monday morning, I shivered as I woke up and found out that I forgot to close my window. The cold air sneaked inside my bedroom all night and as a result, it made me feel very chilly. I was in a deep slumber so I didn't even realize. I cursed at myself and quickly closed it. Then I went back inside the warmth of my thick blanket. Only for a few seconds. After that, I'll get ready to leave the house.

A loud voice suddenly broke me out of the short dream I was having.

— Will ? Shouldn't you have left ?

I got startled.

What is going on ?

Jonathan was at my door, his hand resting on the handle, he was visibly waiting for an answer.

I tiredly rubbed my eyes and groaned. I put the blanket over my head and spoke in annoyance toward myself.

— I overslept.

— Seriously... I can't even rest on my days off ! You better be ready in fifteen minutes. I'll take you there.

Jonathan is so reliable, I hope his colleagues aren't taking advantage of him.

I took a quick shower and got ready in the snap of a finger. My clothes were wrinkled because last time, I just threw them in my wardrobe. I had to pay the price of my own carelessness. Then I grabbed my things that were scattered around my room without taking the extra effort of checking that everything was indeed in my bag. Since I didn't have time to eat, I grabbed an apple and took a bite of it.

I silently sat in the passenger seat. The sun was too bright this early on the morning so I kept squinting my eyes. Throughout the whole time Jonathan lectured me, I nodded off.

Seriously, how can a single cup of coffee make him this energized every morning ?

I smiled, amused, by the fact that he drove me here in pajamas. I closed the door and spoke through the opened window.

— You look like you're jobless.

My brother laughed and talked in a playful manner.

— Shut up, sleepy head. That's what you'll be if you miss your lecture. Now go.

I thanked him and left to head inside the huge building already filled with students. If Jonathan didn't have my back, I would have missed the first hour. (Not that it really bothered me).

Luckily, I arrived just in time. I was honestly relieved since I didn't get the unwanted attention of the other attendees. Today, we learned about media technique and how important it was to have our target audience in mind. To be blunt : I didn't really like it. I couldn't really explain why but it was one of these few subjects that didn't really interest me but were mandatory. I even forgot my notebook so it wasn't surprising that I continued to nod off all day.

⸝⸝⸝

After all of our classes ended, El came to find me in the workshop to finally start our project. She looked around like it was her first time inside the art room whereas it wasn't. She arched an eyebrow in disbelief and spoke.

— I can't believe you really use this room. It gives you everything but inspiration and ideas.

Well, she was right. The walls were painted completely white, the lamps shaped like tubes on the ceiling emitted a white light and everything was cleaned spotless. Totally unusual for the actual purpose this room had.

The irony of it all was that us, art students, weren't even allowed to decorate this room. It was meant to stay as plain and boring as it was.

I shrugged my shoulders and talked about her previous comment about my odd habit.

— I'm less distracted this way.

Since we were at the top, sometimes, I liked to sit by the windows and look at the students leaving the faculty in either a positive, negative or neutral mood. I was fascinated by the fact that it totally showed if you took a close look at their walk or the movements they did. I felt like a background character. Admiring whatever was on the ground as I sat in a high place in silence, wondering what kind of protagonists each one of them were.

While I prepared all the stuff I needed, I kept glancing discreetly over the entrance door. But I quickly felt a hint of disappointment.

It was totally empty. No one seemed to be coming anytime soon.

I got surprised when El stopped what she was doing to ask me about my strange behavior.

— Waiting for someone ?

My eyes grew bigger and my heart started to beat faster. It was as if I got caught doing something prohibited.

— No– Not at all.

She nodded but she seemed skeptical after hearing my answer. As I worked on a part of our draft, I could feel her analytical gaze on me. However, every single time I turned my head in her direction, she pretended she was busy doing something else. I noticed that it was the first time the brown haired girl didn't openly speak her mind. Actually, in my point of view, it was a relief. I kind of feared to know what she was really thinking at that moment.

My behavior could be considered strange but at the same time, in a single week I basically saw Mike almost everyday. Now, I got brainwashed into thinking I had to see him that often because if I didn't, it wasn't normal.

I sighed and shook my head to make me focus on what I was doing and not mess up the little details I already created on the clay. Even if I was only experimenting for now, it was very complicated. I wasn't accustomed to these modeling tools and to sculpting in general. Personally, I welcomed this challenge and hoped I could master it in a month. Meanwhile El got stuck with paint, brushes and a canvas. The result could be disappointing but the process was worth it. The basis of our collaborative project was to switch our favorite technique. So El and I took the time to teach each other the difficulties of it and how to use the tools efficiently.

To sum it up, it was really instructive and enjoyable. But it was only the start. I wasn't sure I would still find it enjoyable when the deadline will be closer.

After a while, the sun was slowly disappearing below the horizon and we both felt that we experimented enough for today. El told me how proud she was of her initial painting attempts. On the other hand, even if I wasn't as proud of the deformed pile of clay, at least, now I had a better idea about the do's and don'ts.

The brown haired girl left in a hurry since she didn't want to miss her bus. I was calmly tidying up the room. I wiped some sweat from my forehead with my hand. The halls were dead silent and empty. They really felt haunted at this time of the day since a living soul was neither seen nor heard. I realized after a while that the janitor was oddly missing. The entrance door closed behind me and I suddenly stopped walking.

Should I send a message to Mike ?

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, my phone emitted a recognizable sound. I received a message instead. I instantly grabbed it and what I saw on it made me smile.

Contact : Mike

[see picture]

me dying because im sick and trying to breathe through my nose because i refuse to be a mouth breather

What an idiot.

I called it on Saturday. It was predictable he was going to catch a cold when he dressed everyday like we were still in fall.

I quickly typed a sentence on my phone to ask him something since I was worried.

Contact : Me

Can I come to your house ?|

Can I come to|

Can|

|

In the end, I chickened out. Somehow, it felt... Weird.

I started to walk again in the direction of the bus stop. There were two persons waiting for it in silence. One was listening to loud music with headphones, the other was reading the newspaper.

My phone buzzed again. After I read the message, I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

Contact : Mike

will, are you still at the faculty ???

I didn't even have the time to answer that two more messages popped up.

Contact : Mike

please can you bring me THE chicken noodle soup from the restaurant behind the building

i beg you

nobody else can take care of me atm :(((

Per chance, is he a mind reader ?

I sent a few messages to accept his silly request.

Contact : Me

Are you for real ?

You're lucky I'm still there so I'll do it...

Oh and send me your address, I really don't want to barge into your neighbor's house by mistake.

The bus driver was waiting for me to go inside but I politely excused myself as I left to get that famous soup. Many students were faithful toward this restaurant and the dishes they served. The employees were very friendly so they always made you feel welcomed and they were very attractive.

I mean... That's what I heard of it since I never went there personally yet until today.

As I walked inside the well decored restaurant, I could see a young man in uniform at the counter and he was speaking with his colleague.

— Spill the tea, Robin. What did she say ?

He seemed to be around the age of Jonathan. Or a little bit older but not that much. He didn't notice my arrival since the restaurant was currently empty so he continued to chatter with the blonde girl.

After a long moment, I finally tried to speak up even if I felt really uncomfortable to interrupt their conversation.

— Hum... Hello, excuse me, is it possible to–

The girl with the name tag "Robin" noticed my attempt so she smirked at her friend before she pointed at me.

The young man went silent and suddenly turned toward my direction. He looked at me with total disinterest. He seemed on edge because of the topic of their previous discussion so he urged me to make a choice.

— What. Do. You. Want. Be quick.

— Steve, can you please– stop harassing our customers.

The blonde waitress firstly hit him lightly behind the head and then she came closer to me to lean against the counter.

— I swear we're not usually like this but today this guy has some serious problems– Not like you care or anything but yeah–

She cleared her throat and started over with a polite smile.

— What would you like ?

— Chicken noodle soup. To take away, please.

I tried to be as clear as possible. Without being told, I handed her the exact amount of cash needed. Impressed, the boy beside her with the name tag "Steve" whistled at how efficient I was. He kindly apologized for his behavior earlier. Then, the two young employees continued to bicker until my order was ready.

I left the restaurant with the awaited soup carefully sealed in a box.

This time, I took the bus until Lucas' stop. It was so crowded since it was rush hour. I offered my seat to a person who was limping. Next to me, some people mumbled that he was clearly faking it but I didn't care. I simply closed my eyes in anguish. I absolutely didn't like the fact that I felt suffocated since the other passengers standing were too close to me. When I finally got out, I took the time to breathe in the cold air. Once I felt better, I checked the address Mike sent me to be sure I arrived at the correct place.

My heart pounded inside my chest. I stepped on the doormat where you could read a classic "Welcome". My finger remained in the air next to the doorbell and I noticed how my hand was shaking a little.

Okay, now that I'm standing here, I am way more anxious than I thought I would be.

I took a deep breath and calmed down.

I'm just visiting a sick friend. I know it's been a while since I had a new friend but I shouldn't react like that.

I held my breath throughout the moment I pressed the doorbell until I finally heard something move inside the house.

Then I heard a loud sneeze behind the closed door and I directly pursed my lips to hide the fact that I was about to laugh at his misery.

Suddenly, Mike's head weakly sneaked out of the opened door. I didn't expect his voice to be this hoarse.

— My savior...

This time, I freely laughed incredulously at the nickname he gave me only because I brought soup. I carefully handed him the plastic bag with the box. He thanked me and he took it.

There was a short moment of silence between us before he spoke again.

— Want to come in ?

I instinctively nodded. After I did one single step inside, I immediately regretted my actions.

Why am I bothering him like this when he has a cold ?

I shyly walked behind him. His footsteps weren't making any sound. The black haired boy directly headed upstairs. So I followed him quietly. While we climbed the stairs, my attention was drawn toward a framed picture on the wall.

A picture-perfect family of five. Living in a dream house. They looked carefree and happy. A tender smile appeared on my face. They were fortunate to have each other.

I turned my head and noticed that Mike was also observing this picture. His expression was hard to read. Unexpectedly, he said a few words about what I silently deduced from that moment frozen in time.

— We're actually far from those fake smiles.

I felt confused and embarrassed about the fact that he always knew what I was thinking somehow.

— But I didn't say anything...

— Your thoughts were too loud.

I was about to say something else but I stopped myself at the sight of his smile that conveyed a certain sadness. I felt a twinge of guilt upon the fact that I totally misjudged his family situation.

Mike opened the door to let me inside his bedroom and he suddenly sneezed again. It made me jump of surprise a little. He grabbed a handkerchief and blew his nose. He was a little bit pitiful in this state.

I glanced around curiously and I controlled my expression to stay poker faced.

It was a mess. Not a tidy mess. More like a complete mess of random objects left on the floor and forgotten and never touched again. On one of the corner, I spotted the instrument that was hidden by its case last time. An electric guitar. Mike played an electric guitar. I wondered what kind of sound it emitted and how the black haired boy looked as he focused entirely on it.  

He calmly sat on his bed and I went around the mess to sit on the chair next to his desk. I was confident that he wouldn't mind that I sat on an odd sock.

Even if he was currently making excuses about the mess in his room, I didn't really listen since I couldn't help but ruminate about what just happened on the stairs.

I was twiddling my fingers anxiously. I had to spit it out.

— I'm sorry for making assumptions about your family...

Mike's tired eyes got a sudden spark of surprise. His eyebrows went up and he started to cough. It was a dry cough, it seemed painful. Once his throat didn't hurt him anymore, he talked about it.

— That day, Holly lost a teeth. She cried a lot. It was nerve-racking for all of us. Nancy was in a shitty mood because the day before she broke up with her boyfriend. And me... Well, I was grounded because I snuck out of the house at night.

Simply looking at the picture, as an outsider, you couldn't tell. At all. Those tiny details that made them flawed in a way. But more real.

I asked more about it with a gentle tone.

— Why did you go out..?

— Hm... I don't really know. I just remember that I was swinging on the swings of the neighborhood's playground.

He closed both of his eyes and he grinned.

— Best feeling ever.

His comment made me chuckle. The inside of my chest got warmer. I preferred to see him do those kind of smiles than the one I saw earlier.

He pushed aside his wavy black hair because they bothered him. As he carefully blew on the hot soup before sipping it, he also took the opportunity to change the subject.

— I tried my luck when I asked you but how come you were still at the faculty ?

— I had to work with El–

I cut myself off and clarified who I was talking about.

— My project partner. It was fun but we still have a lot to do...

I sighed and asked him the same thing.

— And what about you ? Are you swamped with work ?

He was staring at me all this time without difficulty but now, as he answered, he looked away and his hand rested awkwardly behind his head.

— It's manageable. I have to compose a song before the year ends... But today I basically slept all day.

— It's understandable... You're sick.

Suddenly, the door downstairs opened and closed loudly. Someone just entered the house. Then, we could hear someone rummage through a cupboard or a drawer.

Mike seemed totally unfazed by whatever was happening below us. He quietly ate the homemade broth and egg noodles. I tried to ignore whoever came home but it made me a little anxious.

After a bit, the black haired boy talked.

— Nothing beats this soup when you're tired. Here, try it.

A spoon appeared in front of my eyes and I blinked many times, surprised by Mike's actions. I tried to refuse politely but he was very insistent and forced me to take a sip. As I gave up and gulped down the hot liquid, my face clearly showed how delicious and savory it was.

Then, he made a childish smile and spoke.

— Good now let's spread the infection.

I was completely flabbergasted. I could only call out to him in disbelief when I discovered the malicious intent behind his actions.

— Mike !

He imitated an evil maniacal laughter. Even if I was a little annoyed, I had an amused smile on my face. I couldn't stay mad at him when I noticed how delighted he was after his prank was a success.

We talked a little more but when I noticed what time it was, I told him I had to leave. Mike walked me downstairs to see me off and as soon as we arrived on the ground floor, we saw a tall woman stand in front of us. She dyed her hair blonde and wore a lot of makeup compared to my mom. I thought that it suited her well.

The fake blonde stared at me and said a cautious Hello. I simply said it back and told her my name. She nodded and looked at her son for a few seconds. She finally spoke to him with an interrogative tone.

— A friend of yours ?

— Yeah.

He did not elaborate and his mother did not ask any further questions. The tall woman left us to head to upstairs.

I was feeling extremely uncomfortable. The layer underneath the picture full of smiles was clearly palpable.

I tried to shake it off and when I reached the doormat where the word "Welcome" could be read upside down, I turned around to tell Mike one last thing.

— Take me with you next time you go on the swings. I'll show you how high I can go.

I passed it off as a joke but I was being serious so my cheeks got a little redder. Luckily, it was already dark outside. Mike seemed surprised and pleased at the same time. He nodded happily.

Then, he kindly offered to take me home but I had to remind him that he was sick and desperately needed to rest.

That night, I went home without any particular trouble. I just felt a deep uneasiness in dark areas without any streetlights.