i wanted this to be a wholesome one but my former religious background said โletโs put them in a situationโ so
tw: homophobia; internalized homophobia
the church of hawkins asks welders father and son lonnie and will for a new piece. high school music teacher mike plays the piano there on the weekends.
eventually, they meet and will is immediately infatuated but represses it because mr. wheeler, whoโs good friends with the pastorโ and openly homophobic, was the one to hire lonnie and him, so he canโt fuck this up.
will hasnโt been to mass since he was little but he started attending just to hear mike play. mike notices and makes a mixtape so will can play it at his workshop when heโs not working at the chapel. itโs mostly religious songs and mike singing just backup vocals but will appreciates it anyway.
one day, out of curiosity, will asks mike how he ended up at the church choir. jokes about him owing ted some kind of favor. mike tells him he discovered them while doing conversion therapy and will just stops on his tracks because my brother in christ what the fuck.
โi was just a confused kid and dad just wanted whatโs best for me.โ
with this brand new information, will is now hyperaware of every interaction they have. can someone ever be really โfixedโ? is he luring him in? back to sin?
once the piece is done, the church presents it at a charity event celebration. mike performs an excerpt of a song heโs been working on, โthe makerโ. allegedly, about god and creation but later, after the party, will finds himself inside a confessional boothโ hiding from everyone, and mike walks beside him.
says heโs having thoughtsโ having urges, like when he was a teen again. will stays silent but understands. remembers the first time he started to feel that way. and then he finally says it, the song is for
โa man. an artist like god himself.โ
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