Friends don't lie.

Will's art in this closet had three themes, two obvious and one not so obvious. As it was all very personal to Will, and he was good at hiding now. The art was dark and twisted, a mix of realism and impressionistic fantasy that looked like it walked out of either medieval times of the 1700s, but the themes that were obvious were depression and anxiety represented by dark things that looked like vines, traps, and hope usually represented by small pinpricks of light ready to be snuffed out. The odd things out were the portraits in both major styles in all sorts of mediums. It would make a fantastic museum exhibit one day. Not that Will would show the pieces.

There was still the hidden theme though, the one that no one would pick up on unless they knew Will well, and no one really did these days. Not that Will was showing this to anyone, save for Mike. Jonathan might pick up on it, but he had an eye for art. The hidden theme was Will's own journey wishing for romance settling for accepting himself. The world was not ready for that, Will wasn't either. So in the closet it stayed, a horrible metaphor really.

"Paint, draw, sculpt... if I don't it just bottles up and makes me sick." That was the simplistic version of it. Sometimes he would tame down his idea and submit for a project if the theme fit. But his real life, his experience was not one he liked hearing critique on. And critiques were brutal. "Yeah, I bet you could publish your stories though, El could really read them then, know how you still feel. Maybe it'd make her feel less alone, your words still being there to comfort her."

Mike's eyes is running all over the closet, and maybe it's weird somehow, but he's quite proud of the way Will manages to express himself. Of course there are dark stuff. Mike is not sure he understands all of this, but it's obvious. He remembers the Mindflayer, how much it used to invade Will's art. Things are maybe not perfect for the others, but Mike feels like he's in a much better state than he is, and he's glad about that. Maybe his life is a mess, but he wants his friends to be happy, and Will might be on the way to it.

"That's... incredible. Seriously, Will." He tries to offer the other a smile, and he partially manages, even if his throat is still burning from trying to fight the tears. "Thanks for trusting me with this." Mike knows only too well he tends to insolate himself. It has happened naturally, and he doesn't even know how he can change that. But he's glad to see that Will is including him this way. It means a lot, much more than he can express.

The issue was, Will wasn't just upset about the move. There was so much more he was upset about. It was those things he felt he couldn't talk about. It was those things he felt that he didn't have a right to be upset about when everything else was put into perspective. Everyone wanted to boil down what his issues were to just the move. He didn't want to, but if it was better for everyone else, he would have to. He guessed he just over corrected. But he could fix it, "Its harder for the others though. My mom is now dealing with a second death, after a scare of mine, El is going with us and she barely knows us not like she knows you, Dustin, and Lucas, and Jonathan is going away from Nancy and getting farther away from his dream college. I'm just moving away, and we'll probably be back. It doesn't measure up." The permanency of this move was a topic not really talked about, but Will read the signs.

Will felt weird about being included in the same breath as El from Mike. Especially, after the summer they've had. Something about it didn't feel right. Sure Will really cared about Mike, more than he should, but things had changed noticeably. It sat uncomfortably with Will. Not that any of this showed. He shrugs, "I think its more it hasn't really hit yet."

Mike gently shakes his head. Of course it's worse for El in his mind because she will be with people she doesn't know much, far away from him and the people and the world she knows, while she also just lost her father. But it's also not a competition. Mike knows it must be hard for Will too, no matter how hard he's trying to not make a big deal of it. And Mike doesn't want to lose any of them. Well he won't lose them, but he still doesn't want them to move. He recently got El back after thinking he would never see her again for almost an entire year. Things also didn't go too well with Will this summer, but he's still Mike's best friend.

Will did not know what Mike wanted from, he sighed, "Where do you want me to be?" he asked. Could it perhaps have been a little pulled, showing that he was not quite pleased with the direction of the conversation. However, if Mike wasn't really paying attention he wouldn't catch it. It would seem more sarcastic than anything.

He didn't understand why Mike was upset with him. Nothing, Will was doing had changed. He didn't know why Mike was so insistent about this. He couldn't figure it out because he had been a third wheel to Mike and El, it wasn't his idea of fun. He also didn't know why Mike was mad at him. "You know where I am, you are always welcome to join me." He wasn't going to force it. He was just, a bit annoyed. He did not know what Mike wanted. Sure Will wanted to be with Mike, but experience told him trying to force Mike to hang out with him, didn't end up well, so Will wasn't going to try. He stopped trying after that fateful DnD game. "If you want me to join you, I do every Saturday, already," and he did. It was his mom that was always gone, and his sister who was always training. It was hard being away from them.

The laugh at art homework, made Will second guess sitting with Mike. He could not recall Mike having that reaction ever to Will talking about art. It made him not want to sit at the table, especially if that was going to be Mike's reaction. "Its all I have left, I didn't go with Lucas today, so I sat here doing homework with Holly," he still didn't make any move to join Mike at the table. Mike's reaction spoiled it a bit. Will guessed, he shouldn't have gotten his hopes up.

Mike shakes his head. "Maybe it's just in my head." He's not entirely convinced, but he doesn't feel like arguing or anything. It wouldn't be the first time Will is annoyed at Mike for spending more time with El than with the others. Or maybe that's not the case, but Mike has seen it happen so often that he worries that it might happen again. He knows things are different between them anymore. It has been this way for years. But Mike really thought that after Lenora everything was alright again.

He nods, letting a brief smile cross his lips before he starts looking at his paper. He sighs, though, because he doesn't feel like doing a stupid lab report or math exercises. It's really just that he has to. He starts writing, but quickly notices that Will hasn't taken a seat with him, which brings his attention back to his friend. Maybe Mike really just should stop talking. If he expresses concerns, Will seems annoyed. If he teases him, Will seems annoyed. It's starting to be exhausting. Maybe he should just have stayed at the cabin even if it's not the weekend, even if it means risking to not be in time at school.

He nods at Mike, "Of course I will." He'd figure out how to tell him without worrying him too much. Will was really good at that. He would figure out how to not worry Mike too much.

"I think they'll lay off eventually. I'm not that interesting," he said with a bit of a shrug. He sort of believed, but he hoped more than anything.

Mike smiles gently at Will's words. He knows his best friend went through a lot lately, and hopefully it's behind him for good, but he still wants to be there for him and support him as much as he can. That's what best friends do, after all.

"You didn't even have to ask," Mike assures, offering El a soft smile. It makes him feel so damn happy to be able to just be a normal couple with El after all they had been through. The Upside Down is in the past now, just like Henry. They can just enjoy life together. Even studying together doesn't feel bad because he has wanted this for so long.