yearner!mike x harrington!reader
Trying Counts, Right?
there were a lot of bad ideas that mike wheeler had come up with in his life.
this one was climbing the list fast.
it started, like most of his problems, with her.
she was sitting across the room, half-turned in her chair, laughing at something someone said like it came easy to her. like she didn’t have to think about it. like she didn’t have to rehearse anything in her head before speaking.
mike, on the other hand, had already imagined at least five different ways a conversation with her could go wrong.
he was currently living through all of them without even talking to her yet.
“you’re doing that thing again,” lucas said under his breath.
mike didn’t look away. “what thing?”
“staring.”
“i’m not staring.”
“you’ve blinked twice in, like, a full minute. how is that not staring?”
“…i’m observing?”
“that’s worse,” lucas muttered.
from the other side, max leaned in. “why don’t you just go talk to her?”
mike finally tore his eyes away. “and say what?”
“anything normal?” dustin chimed in. “ask her about class? music? literally anything?”
mike stared at him. “you’re acting like that’s easy?”
“it is easy,” lucas said. “you’re just making it weird.”
“you’re overthinking it,” dustin added.
mike opened his mouth to argue.
closed it again.
because yeah
he was.
“…what if i tried to impress her?” he said, more to himself than them.
will raised an eyebrow. “with what?”
mike hesitated.
that was a really good question.
somehow, ten minutes later, he was walking toward her.
his heartbeat felt too loud. his hands didn’t know what to do, so he kept flexing his fingers like that would fix anything.
just say something normal. okay? normal.
she noticed him almost immediately, turning slightly in her seat, smiling like it wasn’t a big deal.
like he wasn’t about to ruin everything.
“hey,” she said.
“hi,” he replied.
good. that was good.
“so, uh… do you know about dungeons and dragons?”
he almost stopped speaking halfway through.
why would he start with that?
her eyebrows lifted, surprised but not put off. “a little? why?”
mike nodded too quickly. “it’s actually really interesting. there’s, like, strategy and storytelling and probability, and i run campaigns sometimes, so i have to keep track of everything, which is—”
he kept going.
he knew he was rambling and he still couldn’t stop.
“—and there’s character arcs and world building, and—”
he cut himself off, finally realizing how long he’d been talking.
there was a pause.
mike felt his stomach drop.
“sorry,” he said quickly. “that was… a lot. i don’t know why i said all that.”
she blinked once.
then smiled.
not polite.
not awkward.
just… real.
“no, it’s cool,” she said. “you looked really excited.”
he stared at her. “…i did?”
“yeah,” she nodded. “it was kinda cute.”
that did not help.
at all.
his brain scrambled again, trying to fix it. trying to be normal. trying to be impressive for once.
“i’m good at other stuff too,” he added.
why did he say that?
she tilted her head, clearly entertained. “like what?” this was it. his chance.
“i can solve a rubik’s cube in under a minute?”
he heard it as soon as it came out.
terrible.
she pressed her lips together like she was trying not to laugh. “seriously?”
“yeah,” he said quickly. “not every time. but most of the time. i could show you? if you wanted?”
“i believe you,” she said, smiling wider now.
there was a pause.
mike shifted awkwardly, fully aware that this had gone nowhere near how he imagined.
“okay,” he muttered. “i’m gonna stop talking now. is that okay?”
that did it.
she laughed, soft and real, and something about it made his embarrassment feel less sharp.
“why?” she asked, still smiling. “i like it.”
he blinked. “you do?”
“yeah.” she leaned forward slightly. “isn’t it obvious?”
“no?” he said, completely honest.
she laughed again. “it’s nice. you’re actually trying.”
he opened his mouth to deny it.
then stopped.
because she was right.
“…i am,” he admitted.
“i know.”
he rubbed the back of his neck. “i was trying to be impressive. did that work at all?”
she smiled, softer now. “do you want me to lie?”
he winced. “that bad?”
“no,” she said quickly. “not bad. just… not what you think impressive is.”
he frowned slightly. “then what is it?”
she held his gaze. “this. you being nervous? talking too much? caring? that’s way better.”
that hit harder than he expected.
“…really?” he asked.
“really.”
there was a quiet second.
mike shifted, a little less tense now, a little more sure of himself.
“so,” he said carefully, “do you maybe want to hang out sometime? like, actually?”
her smile didn’t fade.
“yeah,” she said. “i’d like that. wouldn’t you?”
he let out a small breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “yeah. i would.”
and just like that, everything he thought he messed up didn’t feel like a failure anymore.
because somehow,
being exactly who he was worked better than anything he tried to be.
tags: @amelialovesrafe @alyisdead @illumoria @blissfulbutterfliess @sydneysslove @matthewswifeyy @meetmeintheemeraldpool @lcversvoid @sabrina-carpenter-stan-account @cokewithcameron @drewrry @harubunnyy @lifeonawhim @ar1ynx @tottassss @nessasmultiverseoflove @camerxnlove @mochibunnyyyy @starkeysfile @rosiecherie @faiux @my-fabulousness-has-arrived @angelicameron @p34rlzzz @maximumstructurearchivist @seraphiccrafe @graciegibsonn @obxobsessedbitch1 @dabishou @corallandtragedy3 @dxphhnnee @angxls @l1ttlebones @kavycakes @drewsbby @ghosttinvs @fiercetigerpoison @friedvoidstrawberry @ssugartalkin @whimsygayho @bonni-98 @sex-the1975 @juulsie @estrellabeatriz15 @heavenstolemyheart @baeeyar
dividers: @/cursed-carmine @/bhavihelps @/coldxperience
