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Let's take an example from the Byler College AU:

So they both share an apartment. We have Will meeting people and making lots of friends, experiencing popularity, and gaining self-confidence because he knows he's loved for who he is (which also attracts a lot of people). He's opening himself up to the world and finding peace in being himself…

And then we have Mike, slowly processing the trauma and pain he suppressed while in Hawkins. He's gradually letting go, making a few friends but finding the courage to talk to others, connecting with his writing free from criticism because Will is always a kind reader, starting to eat more because dinners aren't filled with pressure or arguments like at home, or having fashion disasters as he finds his own style because his mother isn't there to constantly suggest things. He's experimenting with what he'd like to do with his hair or simply listening to the pop music he secretly loves and being silly about it.

Just imagine it: both of them happy for each other, Mike feeling proud of how Will shines because he always knew how great he is, and Will feeling relieved because after so long…he's seeing the sweet, emotional boy his friend has always been resurface.

Will drags Mike to parties because he knows Mike needs to get out more. Mike doesn't really like any of it, but he goes because he knows Will is excited and he doesn't want to disappoint him.

Mike starts his adventures in thrift stores to find clothes or interesting things (because they're college students and new clothes are expensive, just saying) and drags Will along to help him with outfit combinations or whatever, and it's a disaster because they both spend most of their time joking around and put little effort into actually finding anything.

They both discover how messy it is to manage on their own in a place of their own, and there are arguments about it, but they manage to establish a "system" when they settle into the tasks each of them is best at and achieve a balance, which is broken from time to time when one of them wants to get their way and the other lets them because they're simply too lenient with each other.

Will meets many street performers and… He gets lost in underground art fairs where he sees very interesting works and diverse people, and sometimes asks Mike to accompany him, when he works up the courage because he's not yet ready to share that with his new friends.

Mike finds an interesting book group and they meet every week to discuss books and contemporary issues. When he invites Will, Will goes a little hesitant because he imagines stuffy people discussing classic works, but surprisingly they are quite friendly and have good taste.

They both go to bars with their friends (more Will than Mike) and have fun. On one of these outings, Will meets Carlton, who was ready to flirt with the cute guy, but his enthusiasm vanishes when Will finishes clearing the drinks and asks him to join his group, only to see this cute guy smile and look at this tall guy as if he were bringing him the stars from the sky.

Carlton doesn't really get along with Mike at first, but he has decided to be Will's gay friend and mentor, so they have to They spend a lot of time together. He's close to suggesting Will move on and get over his best friend when he accidentally bumps into them on a weekend outing and sees how Mike behaves when no one else is around, and he realizes what's going on.

That only makes him dislike Mike even more, until one of his friends suggests that Mike might be going through something similar to what he experienced when he was younger and his parents didn't accept him because they were a closed-minded, traditional family, which puts some things into perspective. When Mike gains more self-confidence and resolves some of his inner turmoil, he starts subtly flirting with Will, hoping he'll get the hint. He's dying of embarrassment and doesn't know how to start a conversation—about everything. Eventually, he stops being subtle and gets a little confused because Will isn't reciprocating. Judge him, but he thought they were on the same wavelength a long time ago.

Carlton and their friends are silently screaming because these two are painfully obvious, but they hope they'll work it out.

And eventually, they do.

(I know I went on a bit, but I want to add something else.)

A family Christmas gathering goes awry when, at dinner, Ted "casually" mentions that some friends called him because they saw a boy who looks like his son holding hands with another boy in the street amidst a group of "strange" people. But he's sure it's not Mike, so he can relax about it.

The atmosphere becomes tense, everyone looks at each other, and Mike lowers his head. And he starts to panic until he feels a squeeze on his hand and turns around. It's his sister Nancy, sitting next to him, looking at him with understanding.

He remembers all the incredible moments with Will: the party when they could get together again, his new friends, the everyday things, the simple happiness of not having to hide. He raises his head and tells his father that yes, his friends must really love him, because they weren't lying to him.

Dinner is ruined. Ted yells, Holly hides, and Nancy intervenes as best she can, but Mike isn't going to stay silent anymore. He stoically endured all the subtle criticism that rained down when he walked into the house, and he's had enough.

Al final, llora en casa de Will, rodeado de los miembros del grupo que intentan consolarlo lo mejor que pueden, He has overcome his fear of not being accepted and loved because there are people who love him.

At the boys' graduation, Mike had a moment that felt like a flashback, right? He became disoriented and seemed to be panicking because of the loud speakers and vibrations. It seemed like he regressed to the moment he decided to sacrifice himself… I wonder if that also influenced his decision to play D&D with the group instead of going to that party when they were invited, even though everyone else seemed so excited.

Mike himself, at the beginning of the season (I think), also said he was tired of being seen and treated like a freak (and assuming that party would have given him a chance to fit in a little more, even if it was just because of the graduation).

¿Le había pasado esto antes? ¿Ya sabía que ruidos de esa magnitud sin contexto lo incomodaban tanto? ¿Lo compartió alguna vez con el grupo?

Hell, I want to believe it, but I can't help thinking it's a weird way for the Duffers to invalidate all the terrible experiences he went through. He didn't need to be sad; perhaps showing him even a little pensive would have been enough. And the others too, why was Mike shown as the most affected, and only him?

I understand they were a couple and loved each other, I suppose, but Hopper lost a daughter, Max and the party lost an invaluable friend, others an acquaintance.

The only conversation the party had about her was an imagined insert by Mike about her possible escape and afterlife; it wasn't about her as a person, or as a friend, even if they shared a couple of nostalgic memories to say goodbye, but no.

And then we have Will Byers, severely depressed in silence, waking up every morning with terrible nightmares and night terrors, missing his sister like a missing limb and silently blaming himself because he feels he bears some responsibility, and pretending, pretending all the time that he isn't silently falling apart while he smiles, laughs, and gets fakely excited because, what else can he do when his friends have moved on and Mike doesn't want to talk to anyone?

He graduates, goes to college, still feels bad, goes to a bar to forget, and then realizes he just can't do it, can't pretend he's ready to date someone else, and then later there's a knock at his door and there's that damn Mike Wheeler who arrives inexplicably angry about how everyone lied to him

And Will gets angry too, because what's the point of getting angry about all this now? It's months of pent-up resentment, just thinking about how Mike never kept in touch with him but did with his other friends, because Max told him they exchanged letters.

They argue, Mike yells, Will yells too, and in a strange moment of tension, Mike leans in and Will thinks he's going to hit him because apparently that's how they are now… only for the idiot to give him a kiss. It's so shocking that Will can only do what his brain told him to do first… defend himself, so Mike ends up with a punch straight to his face.

I don't even want to mention Will Byers, because then it hurts even more. The 5th plot is the most terrible thing they could have done to the Mike character.

They basically gave us absolutely nothing about him, not a point of view, justification, or even a small closure to all the questions he raised in past seasons that were never explained.

They basically denied us any context beyond him being a superficial little jerk, which is so contrary to his character.

Honestly, what was the point of him even "ending up" with Eleven if they didn't even talk to each other or communicate properly?

I heard the lyrics of this song recently and I feel that it fits very well with Mike and his feelings for Will.