WILL POV-

---- 6:44 PM ----

"Okay so when you having popcorn make sure you share one bucket" El dictated sitting on Will's bed giving him last minute tips on how to act on the date; now that Will potentially had a boyfriend, he needed to know how to behave. It wasn't like before; more like the first date all over again. Having those nervous jittery feelings to throw up. El dressed him, wearing what he normally would; except more fit for the occasion.

"But what if he wants sweet popcorn? I don't like sweet popcorn!" Will whined throwing his hands in the air

"Will if you want to flirt, that's the price" She sarcastically mocked

"Why do we need to share anyway?" He asked

"So when he puts his hand in the bucket you can 'accidentally' touch" El explained

"Does that really work?" Will mocked sceptical

"Of course- I did that for Max and look where we are now" El answered, a bright smile adorning her face

"If you say so" The chestnut-haired boy shrugged

"Oh, and also if he asks to try your drink say YES! Because that's a kiss!" The brunette chirped, placing her hands on Will's

"How is that a kiss?" Will asked

"Oh My God! You are so uncultured. That's an indirect kiss dumbass" El responded, placing a hand on her head

"I'll give you dumbass" The chestnut-haired boy pouted raising his fist

"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. You have to be nice to me- I set this up remember" The brunette reprimanded waving a finger in the boy's face

"Thats because you couldn't tell your dad you were dating Max" He spat

"Umm... I have!" El responded

"WHAT? WHEN?" Will's eyes widen, shuffling in his seat

"Yesterday" She calmly stated

"And I'm just hearing about this now?" Grasping the shoulders of the brunette girl firmly he shook her around

"You were talking about your date- I got distracted" She complained jokingly pouting

"So how did it go?" Will stopped shaking, his demeanour now serious

"It was SO amazing!!" She gushed

"He already liked Max, so he was fine with it"

"I'm so happy for you" He launched over hugging her tight, dropping both of them off the bed

"HONEY YOU'RE GONNA BE LATE!" Joyce screamed from the kitchen also excited about Will's date, the two friends got up from off the floor making their way to the kitchen seeing Joyce hunched over the stove making a cup of coffee for herself. She grinned bright; her debt being removed after being discovered that Lonnie did not owe the loan-sharks that large of an amount; his debt was way lower at $50,000 yet extorted money from his ex-wife and children.

"You've had quite a few dates with this guy" She chirped pouring the coffee into a mug "Is he your boyfriend?"

"We haven't put a label on it but... I think... maybe?" Will bashfully answered not sure of the logistics of the relationships; to be honest how does one even manage to explain everything they had been through

"Aww honey! I'm soo proud of you... I told you the right man takes time" Joyce set down her mug skipping over enveloping him into a big hug

"Mum!" Will whined "You're crinkling my clothes"

"Sorry... Just soo happy" The auburn-haired woman backed up attempting to iron away the creases with her hands

"It's fine" He chuckled

"So when do I get to meet him?" Joyce nudged her son

"He's on his way... you could meet him now if you want Mrs Byers?" El chirped, sinisterly smiling at the chestnut-haired boy, aiming to be like a thorn in his side

"Wait really?" The auburn-haired woman's eyes widened

"Yeah! I guess you could- I've already met his family" Will grumbled

"You did what? And I'm just finding out now!" She shouted

"It's a long story" Will replied scratching the back of his neck

KNOCK KNOCK

"It's him!" The chestnut-haired boy chuckled running over to the door.

"Hey Mike! C-come in" Will nervously chuckled, wiping sweat from his hand onto his pants. Not even feeling this anxious when he was introduced to Mike's parents as somehow that was easier. Placing a smile on his face he moved out the way allowing the ravenette into the house. This felt like DeJa Vu except Mike had to meet his mum; although this time they still needed to keep one thing a secret: In no way could Joyce find out Mike was his professor; deeming that as something Joyce didn't need to know at this current moment, or she would flip out.

"Hello...?" The auburn-haired woman blinked holding an arm out to the ravnette,

"Mike, I'm Michael Wheeler" He awkwardly smiled, afraid of making a bad first impression; he thought back, was Will this nervous to meet his parents for the first time. He ran a hand through his raven locks allowing them to fall.

"I'm soo happy to meet you Mike" She smiled "So how did you guys meet?"

"Oh, I'm Will's pro-" The ravenette attempted

"We're in the same English class; El set us up" Will interrupted nudging the taller boy in the side; technically he wasn't telling a lie, they were in the same class and El did technically set them up. Will awkwardly chuckled. Looking between the two the room encapsulated into an aura of silence, not knowing what to do he shuffled to Mike's side perching to him like some sort of parrot.

"Soo Mike what school courses do you do?" His mother asked, taking a sip of her coffee

"Umm..." Mike panicked glancing at the smaller boy who nudged his side again

"I'm taking English and Art" Mike lied hoping that's the answer Will wanted him to give

"Oh just like Will?" Joyce chirped; her smiled widened

"Yep like Will!" The ravenette chuckled scratching the back of his neck

"Umm let's get going or we'll miss the movie!" Will smiled alleviating the weird situation

"You should come over for dinner one day Mike" Joyce set her coffee down, strutting over to pull the ravenette in for a short hug. Letting go the ravenette grinned happy that he made a good impression at the very least; standing still waiting for Will to say something but instead El stepped forward

"It was nice to see you again Mike" El held a hand out for the taller boy to accept shaking it; she then squeezed his hand leaning him close to whisper in his ear

"If you do anything to Will, I swear to God I'll cut your dick off" The brunette sinisterly smiled making the threat seem more like an inevitability; letting go. Mike nervously nodded; he knew she was being serious and with that look on her face nothing would hold her away from hurting him. Stepping away he rubbed his palm, seeing it turn back to its natural colour.

Will scowled at El knowing exactly what she had said to him rolling his eyes chuckling under his breath looking at Mike's face it seemed as though it worked. Mike was pale as though he'd seen a ghost.

"Okay let's go!" Will chirped grabbing the arm of the taller boy. The ravenette blushed following Will to the car. Sitting down Mike started the car reversing on to the clearing; going to the movie theatre wanting to get early to buy food and sit comfortably. Will blushed; knowing it was his first official date, he had gone on many dates with the ravenette before but those didn't count on account of being in a full disguise and multiple lies.

"By the way- sorry about my mum... she can get a bit excited" Nervously, he rocked back and forth

"Its fine... who wouldn't be excited to see me" The ravenette joked

"Sure! But its also because you're kinda like my first boyfriend" Will fumbled with his fingers

"Boyfriend?" Mike's eyes widened

"Oh sorry... is that moving too fast? I didn't mean to assume but it's just tha-" Will stumbled

"Nope its fine! I like it" Mike played on his lips

"What?" Will asked out of shock

"I'd like to be your boyfriend" Mike tenderly smiled watching the smaller boy in the passenger seat. Prepared to watch the movie; the pair sat in silence worried of the tension they felt finally catch up to them. Will's heart rate increased glancing over at Mike concentrating on the road until they reached the parking lot.

The boys walked to the entrance of the theatre, Will smiled choosing the movie; keeping it a secret from Mike; choosing a scary movie as another point that El had passed on to him as guidance many times before lecturing him as it would enable them to get closer or hold hands if they get scared

"Let's get popcorn" Mike placed an arm on his back, directing him to the counter "Do you like sweet or salted?"

"Ugh! Only salted" Will scrunched his face

"You don't like sweet?" Mike questioned

"I mean if you want, we could get the mixed one" The chestnut-haired boy shrugged

"Nope! let's just get salted... do you mind if we share?" The ravenette squinted hopeful

"I'd love to" Will recited remembering the tip that El had given him earlier

---- 8:24 PM ----

The film played for a short while; the two boys sitting side by side. The horror movie before their eyes illuminated the screen. Will chose the new 'Annabelle' movie excited for its reveal ever since its announcement. Mike didn't want to admit it, but he was terrified of horror movies; usually playing on his mind for days afterwards. He wasn't the biggest fan of horror but would watch it if it made Will happy

"I think he's going to die" Mike leaned over whispering close to the chestnut-haired boy's ear

"R-right" Will blushed, placing his hand into the bucket between them; reaching deep inside picking out the perfect kernel of popcorn; plump and salty. He knew it would be the best piece to eat while stuffing more in his mouth to cover the blush on his face. His hand in the bucket again sweeping over Mike's; their pinkie's touching inside. A shiver ran down the chestnut-haired boy's spine taking his hand out as his blush deepened, eating the piece in hand. not even bothering to chew he swallowed the piece beginning to slightly choke on it, covering his mouth.

"Drink this" Mike held the straw of his soda close to Will's lips; the room dark, filled only with the glow of the movie reflecting onto their skin. Mike looked at his face; his plump lips pink as though they were waiting for a kiss from the ravenette. He placed a hand on Will's back helping his coughing fit.

"Better?" Mike spoke soft

"Y-yeah" Will stuttered, turning his attention to the big screen, distracted by the fact that they indirectly kissed

Mike turned his attention as well, jumping up from his seat at the sound of the screams of the movie. He closed his eyes noticing the hand of the chestnut-haired boy on the rest; he took it as his chance scraping their pinkies against one another, eventually managing to gather the courage to fully hold his hand.

"You are such a dingus" Will sarcastically mocked staring deep into his eyes

"I'm your dingus!" The ravenette replied, tightening his grip interlocking fingers

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1889 Words

Stay Safe <3