MIKE POV-

Mike's irritation simmered upon watching Will and Robin walk through the door, the smile on his face strained; he thought he clarified it was just the Party. It made his stomach churn. He didn't understand why Will was so excited to be with Robin when this was just supposed to be a movie night. Nevertheless, he allowed them in the house; he wanted Will here.

"Hey Mike!" the brunette said, his eyes sparkling, "I hope you don't mind I brought Robin... El suggested she come!"

"Yep!" The doe-eyed girl added, "They were just so cute together, I couldn't resist!" she jumped holding her boyfriend's hand.

"Yeah... cute." the ravenette mumbled, not even bothering to put much effort into his response. He could tell Will and El were excited and didn't want to rain on his friends' parade; his friendship with Will was fading in his eyes and he needed to not show the annoyance already filling the room. "Umm anyways, you girls can go down to the basement," he paused for a second, "Will can you help me in the kitchen?"

"Oh, umm, sure." the brunette took his hand off Robin's shoulder, "See you in a bit, El will take you down." he replied, turning his attention to his 'girlfriend'.

"Come back quickly 'babe'" Robin chuckled, following El's lead who was grinning ear to ear; excited to spend time with her brother's first girlfriend. El liked Robin, she thought she was cool and smart... she fit her brother perfectly; she was glad he was happy. He seemed a lot more happier recently.

In the kitchen, Mike decided to have a few minutes of privacy with his best friend. The tall boy couldn't contain his frustration and decided to confront Will about Robin: friend-to-friend. Leaning against the kitchen counter, Mike ran a hand through his hair, not knowing how to start his rant.

"Will..." Mike began, trying to keep his voice calm, "I thought it was just going to be us tonight; the Party. Why did you invite Robin?"

The small boy looked slightly taken aback, his eyes widening with surprise. "I... I didn't know it was going to be a big deal; El, Max and Suzie are here... why isn't Robin?"

Mike's annoyance deepened, but he tried to keep his tone reasonable, "But she isn't part of the Party; tonight was members only."

The small boy scrunched his face, his expression conflicted, "I get it, I really do. But she's important to me!" he said, he didn't mean that in any romantic light, he really meant it; Robin was important to him, and one of the only people who knew he was gay and didn't judge him for it.

"Great! Just great! She's special to you!" the tall boy sarcastically repeated.

"I don't understand why you're getting so worked up about it." the brunette furrowed is brows, honestly confused, "But if you didn't want her here you should have told me earlier!"

"I didn't think I had to! It's supposed to be obvious!" the ravenette replied.

"Obvious? Is that so? Well, it really wasn't!"

"I can't believe you ruined this night. You have one girlfriend and you've turned into a different person," Mike huffed, "You are so stupid Will."

Ouch, that hurt!

The small boy froze, the atmosphere hung heavy in the air; the hurt visible in his eyes. He hated being called 'stupid', it made him not feel adequate enough... now Mike thought that; did Mike think he wasn't good enough?

"Will, I- I didn't mean that. I'm sorry, I just meant I wanted it to be a nice night, that's all. I'm, um, glad Robin is here; just worried we didn't have enough drinks," Mike tried to explain in a softer tone but it obviously didn't work.

"Whatever Mike, it doesn't matter," the brunette cut off; it did matter. Without another word, Will trudged to the basement placing a sullen smile on his face, pretending everything was fine for his friends.

The ravenette stood alone in the kitchen, the argument leaving him shaken and resentful, replaying the frown on the small boy's face; he knew he singlehandedly ruined the evening for himself and Will.

Taking a deep breath, Mike decided to act normal; he knew those words wouldn't affect the brunette after all, Will was one of the smartest kids he knew... so no harm done.

Clouded by irritation, Mike grabbed an extra drink for Robin, unable to help but grumble of the blue-eyed girl's presence and the way she was soo entwined with Will. It bothered him more then he cared to admit.

When he descended the stairs to the basement, his frustration deepened. There, on the loveseat-couch, sat Will and Robin, close together with the blue-eyed girl whispering something to the brunette and the small boy nodding at her words.

Mike tried to muster a smile as he looked at Will, but the moment their eyes met, the brunette quickly averted his gaze; it was subtle but definitely noticeable only to the ravenette. This stung Mike, and he couldn't help but feel as though he may have hurt Will with his earlier comment.

With a sigh, the tall boy placed the extra drink on the table trotting back to his own seat, taking a seat beside El, placing an arm over her, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.

"Finally! Everyone is here!" Lucas fiddled with the remote, waiting for this moment.

"Just start the movie!" Mike quipped in return with a sarcastic tone.

---- 8:56 PM ----

As the night wore on, Mike tried to keep his focus on the screen, but his attention kept drifting back to Will and Robin. The background noise of their giggles and whispering filling the air; he strained to pick up on the talking between the pair but heard nothing.

Their whispering, though barely audible, grated on Mike's nerves like a relentless buzz. Clenching his jaw, his anger built up with each exchanged word; it was Robin's voice; he didn't like her when she talked; she was annoying. Unable to contain himself, he finally erupted, his voice sharp, "Could you two just shut up already?"

Startled, the Party turned to face him, their expressions confused,

"Oh sorry," Will mumbled, his voice soft and conciliatory.

Robin nodded in agreement; her apology genuine upon seeing the hurt on the brunette's face by his side; she would have argued with the ravenette but she decided against it. "Yeah, sorry."

But Mike's anger didn't subside, his feelings of jealousy clouding him. "You've both been whispering and giggling the whole time, and I can't even hear the movie!"

"They said they're sorry man! Just leave it." Dustin advised. Seeing the anger written on Mike's face, he thought it was best to steady the situation; he didn't want any fighting.

The ravenette's anger simmered, nodded at the intervention he turned to Will one last time, his gaze filled with longing, "Fine... Just drop all this whispering bullshit, Will."

The brunette, equally hurt by the argument, nodded in agreement, he knew arguing further wouldn't resolve anything.

But Robin, watching this injustice shook her head, seeing the change in demeanour of the small boy; she couldn't ignore his frown. She thought for a moment, contemplating on what to do but ultimately speaking up, "Bullshit!" she claimed.

"What?" Mike asked,

"I said, Bullshit!" Robin repeated, "You can't treat him like that!"

"Like what?" the ravenette challenged,

"Like your little pet! Micromanaging him, telling him how to act, dropping him when you don't need him." The blue-eyed girl expanded on her point,

"Thats ridiculous! You're being so dramatic!" The tall boy scoffed, "I don't even know why you're here!"

"Ohh, you wanna play this game Wheeler?" the blue-eyed girl rolled her eyes, "Because the way you are acting is straight up jealousy; you're acting like Will's overbearing boyfriend sometimes, and it's suffocating."

"Ew! I'm not gay!" Mike spat.

"MIKE!" Max threw popcorn at him, "Don't say that!"

"Yeah, definitely not cool man!" Lucas shook his head,

"Yeah, that's scummy" El added crossing her arms and shuffling in her seat.

Dustin and Suzie just watched disappointed with the way Mike was acting. The curly haired boy spoke, "There's nothing wrong with being gay!"

"Thats fucking ridiculous; that's not what I meant!" Mike argued in return.

"Then what did you mean? Huh?" The brunette was the one to question this time.

"I- I just don't want you to get hurt, but you know I'd would never like you in that way. It's weird." the tall boy exclaimed.

Will breathed, knowing he had to calm himself, no matter how much those words hurt, "Yeah... weird." he repeated in a mumble.

"Hey, I'm not the bad guy in this! I'm just trying to protect you from the wrong crowd." Mike furrowed his brows.

"And go on Mike!" the small boy argued, "Who exactly is the wrong crowd?"

The ravenette scrunched his face, "You obviously know who I'm talking about! I don't need to spell it out!"

"So now you have a problem with who I meet now?" Will threw his hands to the air, allowing them to hit his thighs on the way down, "Why don't you just lock me in this basement if you don't like me talking to others!"

"Well, I might have to if you keep hanging around her!" The tall boy protested,

Robin scrunched her face, offended, "Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Maybe we should all calm down-" Max attempted to mediate; she didn't like where this was going

Mike ignored the redhead, too pent up with rage, unsure where it came from, "It means you're making Will your little bitch."

"Well at least I didn't leave him alone on his birthday, dick!" Robin bit back.

Suzie piped up, concern etched onto her features, "Guys this is getting out of hand."

But once again Mike ignored the pleas, continuing with the argument, "Oh, come on, Robin," he mocked, "You're only dating him because no guy in your year wants you!"

"Mike don't speak to her like that!" Will defended, not liking the way Mike was talking about his friend.

"Or what? You're gonna start crying again, Cry Baby?" The ravenette punched below the belt, knowing this would shut Will up,

"Don't talk to my brother like that!" El punched Mike's shoulder.

Will's eyes flared with anger. He had enough of Mike's insults, especially using words that affected him the most, 'gay', 'cry-baby', 'stupid', words that bullies used against him and Mike knew that. His face flushed and his eyes bordering tears.

But instead of breaking down into tears like Mike expected; the brunette's patience snapped like a rubber band. Will surprised everyone. Fuelled with rage, his next action was impulsive, grabbing a nearby book; the hefty encyclopaedia of D&D left on the table, hurling it across the room in Mike's direction; Will officially snapped!

The book narrowly missed the ravenette but struck the lamp behind him, shattering it into a cacophony of shards and leaving the room dimly lit by the remaining bulbs; the only sound in the deafening silence. The Party stared at each other not knowing what to do; even Robin was startled.

Mike, momently stunned by the near miss, realised the gravity of the situation; he had gone too far and with the power in that throw, if it landed, it would have hurt. Fear welt up as he tried to apologise, stumbling over his words but nothing came out his throat.

"I'm done with this! I'm going home!" Will said seething, reaching the point of no return; it was clear he was leaving, and he wouldn't be back and besides... the small boy worried his friends would hate him after what he did. Quickly he moved out the way, stomping his way up the stairs,

Robin witnessed the escalating conflict with concern and her own anger toward the ravenette; she wanted to say one last thing to Mike but refrained against it, turning away, calling for Will, following hastily behind him, "Will, wait! Let's talk about this."

The basement door slammed closed behind them, leaving a heavy silence in its wake with only the creaking of floorboards above them. Mike's friends turned to him with disapproving glances, their expressions a melody of concern and disappointment. Mike was left to grapple with what happened.

What did happen? 

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2063 Words

the original version of this chapter was so different

Stay Safe <3