mike has to laugh at what will says next. itâs hard not to. most of mikeâs high school career was being bullied, they all knew this too well, they were there. it didnât help that mike made himself punchable to the bullies by instigating fights on purpose just because he wanted to feel something. mike had been captain of the av club, and the science club all throughout high school which put a target on his back even when he was mouthing off to teachers. no one in their right mind wanted to be near him. mike had the ability of when he was hurting to take people down with him, he was a ticking time bomb in that way. it was incredibly unhealthy but he never had a good outlet to put it. âdonât make me laugh,â mike says rolling his eyes. âi had a girlfriend only once in middle school and she dumped me. iâm sure you remember,â he snorts thinking about it now. he had been heartbroken then, but he knew it was because he hung out with will and their friends more than he hung out with her. never mind the fact how he had jumped into that ârelationshipâ so quick if you could call it one. he didnât want to think about it.Â
when he mentions the similarities between jonathan and himself, mike looks down. he knew what people had said about jonathan in high school, shit tends to stick, but it was even worse when will went missing. jonathan became the town pariah and half the people thought that he had killed will himself which was ridiculous. mike and jonathan might not be close the way mike is with steve but thereâs a certain resilience that he has to admire. âwell, it suits you,â mike says with a shrug. âweâre both weird,â he takes the joint from behind his ear and puts it in between his lips.Â
mike always had an issue when it came to affection, he drew away from it because he didnât want anyone touching him or getting to know him enough where they felt comfortable that they could. will was different because they were his best friend, he had known will longer than anyone in the party, they knew each other in a way that not many people did and it was amazing that their friendship had survived this long considering how mike was when people got close. even if there were things that mike didnât know how to tell will, some things he thinks he might not ever, as to not bring up old ghosts, thereâs a level of trust. and once upon a time it might have been all he thought about. when they finally get seated on the hayride, mike is about to spark the joint before will points to the flask. mike raises an eyebrow, taking it off his person and handing it over to will. âi stole some of tedâs good whisky when he wasnât looking. iâd hold your breath when you take the shot.âÂ
âI do remember,â Will agrees. Theyâd taken an instant disliking to the girl in question, for reasons that, at the time, they couldnât explain. Itâs not like there was even anything wrong with her, at least not anything real, but Will had resented her sudden presence in their lives all the same. It seems so obvious now that they were jealous - jealous like they were with El, and to a lesser extent, Max and Suzie as well. It wasnât fair to any of them. âBut you do realise youâre not the same guy you were in middle school, right? That was ten years ago, youâve changed a lot since then.â And itâs the kind of change that people tend to notice. Will has always seen something worth looking at in the cast of Mikeâs features, but now... well, heâs handsome, isnât he? In the eyes of many, being handsome can make up for any number of so-called deficiencies - like being a huge nerd, for instance.
Taking the flask from Mike as the wagon stirs into motion, they raise an eyebrow at the advice to hold their breath when they take their drink, deciding that heâs probably exaggerating for effect and decide not to listen. They regret it the moment the whiskey hits the back of their throat, trying desperately not to cough at the way it burns. "Ugh. If this is the good whiskey, I hate to think what the bad stuff tastes like,â Will groans, finding themselves completely unable to figure out why the hell anyone willingly drinks this stuff. Itâs a million miles away from the fruity drink Gareth mixed for them at Reefer Rickâs party, and it seems their tolerance for stronger alcohol leaves something to be desired.
Quickly handing the whiskey back over, they start peering into the woods around them, wondering how quickly after setting off the first scare will come. Their breath hangs in the cold air, a pale ghost set against the darkness as they move further away from the rest of the festival. Anticipation is already starting to set their nerves jangling. âScared yet?â Will whispers, prodding Mike in the ribs to make him squirm.