Archive of Our Own

Monday, May 3, 1982

“So,” started Lucas as he dropped his lunch tray carelessly on the table, “Are we going? Or what?”

“Going?” asked Mike. “Going to what?” Will likewise had a quizzical look on his face as he carefully eased into his seat.

But Dustin already knew. He tried to keep the excitement off his face as he wordlessly passed Lucas a napkin to wipe up the applesauce that had sloshed over the side of his tray. He already knew what the next words out of Lucas’s mouth would be –

“The school dance, of course!”

Dustin almost rolled his eyes. It was obvious what Lucas was referring to. It had been on the school announcements every day last week, there were posters in all the halls and fifth grade classrooms, and even one on the wall right next to their table.

“Oh, uh,” Mike started, then took a big bite of his sandwich.

Okay. Hold up.

Observation 1. Mike was not stupid. Dustin didn’t make friends with stupid people. So either he was being oblivious (which, to be fair, was a distinct possibility) or he was playing dumb.

Observation 2. Will tensed up as he was sitting down. He knew what Lucas was going to ask. So Wheeler was probably playing dumb.

Observation 3. Mike’s eyes darted over to Will. Dustin didn’t notice any change in expression – if held at gunpoint, he might have guessed the corners of Will’s mouth tightened infinitesimally – but they must have done that mind meld thing because Mike hastily swallowed his sandwich and had an answer ready to go.

“Why would we go to some stupid dance?” he asked, spraying flecks of peanut butter on the table in front of him. Dustin grimaced and wordlessly passed him a napkin, which was summarily ignored.

Lucas stared at Mike incredulously. “Why does anyone go to a dance, Mike?”

“Uh.” Mike looked genuinely baffled. “I dunno, man.”

Lucas rolled his eyes. “To dance, Mike. Duh.” That elicited a little giggle from Will, causing Mike’s eyes to flicker to his left.

“But we can’t dance!” Mike protested.

Dustin couldn’t let that stand. “Now hang on a moment!” he interjected. “What I think you meant is that you can’t dance.”

“Yeah,” Lucas cut in. “I’ve got plenty of moves that’ll impress the ladies. Even Byers can bust a move!” Will blushed, but didn’t disagree.

“Yeah, well, what about you?” Mike countered, turning to face Dustin. “I’ve seen you flailing around!”

“Ah, young Wheeler,” Dustin replied sagely, stroking his chin. “The difference between you and me is that I have no shame.” He could admit to himself that dancing wasn’t his forte. It was one of his qualities that his mom referred to as “endearing”. Surely some of the girls in their grade would come to the same conclusion.

Mike flushed. “When is it anyway?” he asked. “We’ll –” he swept his hair over his ear – “We’ll probably be out of town. I know we’re visiting our cousin sometime soon.” That thought turned his face to a scowl.

“He’s not that bad,” Will interjected, lightly jostling Mike with his elbow.

“Ehhh…” Lucas grimaced. “You’ve met him, right, Will? Over Christmas break a few years ago? When he wouldn’t stop talking about his friends back home and said so many bad words Mike’s mom threatened to wash his mouth out with soap?”

Dustin snorted. “Wait, so Mike’s cousin is just… Mike 2.0?”

Mike flushed again. “Hey, you’re one to be talking, ass-” Dustin raised an eyebrow – “as a pottymouth yourself,” he finished lamely.

“Okay, fine, maybe he is that bad,” admitted Will. “But you won’t be there for too long, right?”

“I have no idea,” replied Mike morosely. “Mom doesn’t tell me anything.”

“She doesn’t tell you anything? Or you don’t hear anything?” asked Lucas, “Because there’s a big difference there.”

Mike sneered. “Oh, like you’re such a mama’s boy.”

“At least I listen enough to –”

“Gentlemen, gentlemen!” Dustin interrupted, raising his hands placatingly. Will shot him a grateful look. “As fascinating as this conversation is, ’tis but a sidepiece to the matter at hand, to wit – are we going to said dance?”

“I vote yes,” said Lucas.

“You just want to dance with Jenny!” Mike accused.

“And if I do?” Lucas wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

 Mike firmed his expression. “So,” he said deliberately. “If we go, we go as a Party. You can’t ditch us the whole time.”

And – there it was. The slight release of tension in Will’s shoulder. The barest hint of a smile. Meanwhile, Mike continued to hold Lucas’s gaze.

“Well, that’s a moot point,” Dustin countered, trying to break the staring contest, “unless we’re actually going, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, Wheeler,” Lucas added. “Party vote?”

“Guys!” Mike protested, “I actually gotta check with my mom to see when we’re going to the pit of despair in the middle of nowhere.”

“What do you think, Will?” asked Dustin.

“I mean,” Will stammered, “Weren’t we planning on having a sleepover that night?”

Lucas’s eyes lit up. “That’s right! So we can go to the dance and then have the sleepover right after!”

Will’s face fell. “I still gotta ask my mom too. Do you really think the dance will be more fun than just hanging out the four of us?”

“Aw, don’t worry,” Dustin cooed, reaching a hand across the table, “No one’s gonna replace you, Williford.”

Of course, Mike’s hand beat him, resting comfortably on Will’s shoulder. “That’s right. If we go, we’ll stick together. I promise.”

Lucas looked about to protest, but Dustin kicked him in the shin. “Owww…” he muttered. Will frowned in curiosity. “Uh, bit my tongue?” Lucas offered, and grimaced guiltily. Dustin rolled his eyes, but Will apparently bought it.

The conversation flowed onwards. Dustin knew they’d end up going to the dance. Mike just might take a little convincing.

*          *          *

Thursday, May 6, 1982

Dustin had to plan his ambush carefully. Whenever Mike was in a group, he had this persona of always being in control of both himself and the situation. This was why he made such a great DM and such a shit person to have real talk with – except on the rare occasion he could be caught alone and vulnerable.

Well. It was rare for anyone to catch him that way except for Will. But Dustin was not Will, so the point still stood.

As he was saying, Mike was rarely one to be found on his own. The Party were all in the same class again and they had lunch together, and Lucas lived closest to Mike so on the rare occasion they weren’t hanging out after school, Lucas was the last on the bus or bike ride with him.

But today – today! Today, Will had a dentist appointment directly after school, so Mike would already be a little off-balance. He’d had a chance to talk to Lucas at the beginning of lunch while Mike and Will were waiting in the lunch line. And now, it was the end of the day.

“Ugh,” Mike complained as they walked out the front doors. “Why does it have to be so hot already?”

“There’s no such thing as bad weather,” Dustin quoted, “Only bad clothing choices.”

“Yeah, thanks, Mr. Kennedy.” Mike rolled his eyes, making his disdain for their gym teacher known.

“No one made you wear long pants when it’s 85 out,” Lucas pointed out. “You probably forgot to check the weather and ignored your mom when she told you to change.”

Will’s smirk told Dustin that that in fact was exactly what had happened.

“Whatever,” Mike muttered sullenly. “My mom has popsicles if you guys wanna come to mine today? You can come after the dentist, Will?”

Will’s smirk fell. “Mom wants a family dinner tonight, sorry Mike.”

“Oh.” Mike’s face fell even further. “I get it. It’s not your fault.”

Will drifted closer and bumped Mike’s elbow, then let Mike lean into him a bit. “We can call later?” he offered.

Mike brightened up and a small smile flitted across his face. “Yeah. Sure.” He turned to the other two. “What do you say? Popsicles?”

“I can’t,” Lucas cut in quickly – too quickly.

Mike frowned. “…Why not?”

“I –” Lucas stammered. Dustin glared at him. “I have to watch Erica,” he managed. “My mom’s – busy,” he finished lamely and flashed a cheesy smile.

Dustin rolled his eyes. Some people just had no sense of acting. Fortunately, Mike didn’t follow up further. “I’ll eat your popsicles, Mike,” he added quickly and waggled his eyebrows, making a lewd gesture. Lucas burst out laughing. Mike scowled, and Will looked nonplussed.

“I don’t get it,” he whined.

“I’ll explain when you’re older,” Dustin replied.

“That’s not funny, Dustin.” And, oh, Will looked genuinely hurt now. That hadn’t been his intention.

Mike slung an arm around Will’s shoulders. “Your mom’s here, but I’ll tell you when you call tonight, Byers. Deal?” He leaned down and whispered something in Will’s ear, causing him to snort as a smile creeped across his face.

“Ugh, fine,” Will replied good-naturedly. “See you guys later!”

The bike ride to Mike’s was fairly quiet. Mike was clearly still a little off-balance. That always happened a little when Will wasn’t around, and Lucas’s surprise absence seemed to have thrown him for a loop. Dustin and Mike didn’t hang out one-on-one that often, but it’s not like it never happened. It’s just that their friendship tended to be healthier with a mediator or two to keep them (mostly Mike) from going out of line.

But this afternoon would be fine, because Dustin had A Plan.

Step 1. Small Talk.

“So, got any new campaign ideas?” Dustin wheedled as they tossed their bikes in the Wheelers’ carport.

“Starting to,” Mike replied. “Will’s sketching some stuff, but I gotta flesh out the plot more. You guys are getting pretty powerful.”

“Yeah, we are.” Dustin grinned and held up his arms to flex. “Look at these guns!”

Mike rolled his eyes loudly.

“Hey, at least I got more muscle than you!”

“Do you want popsicles or not?”

Dustin grinned. “Cherry, please.”

Mike dutifully handed him a couple red popsicles and they headed downstairs.

“Any monsters you need me to research?” Dustin was the Keeper of the Rules and even though he’d read the manual cover-to-cover seven times, he still liked to brush up now and again.

“Why would I give away my secrets?”

“Oh, so you can tell Willbury secrets but not me? I see how it is!” he said, huffing, mock-offended.

Mike rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “You know, I don’t tell Will details either. Just broad settings so we can get some landscape backgrounds, for the atmosphere, y’know.”

Step 2. Bring up the dance.

“So –”

“He’s –”

“You go.”

“No, you go.”

“Okay, I’ll go. So what about this dance, huh?”

Step 3. Shut down Mike’s silly counterarguments.

Mike grimaced. “I dunno, man.”

“Why not?” Dustin pushed.

“I dunno,” Mike repeated. “Just not really feeling it.”

“Mike!” Dustin scolded, “Where’s your sense of adventure? Where’s your spirit of inquiry?”

“I’d rather just have a sleepover with the four of you, I guess.”

“But it’ll be a new experience! And there will be girls!” Dustin waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Ew, girls are gross.”

“Tell you what. If you come up with one good argument against going, I’ll stop bothering you. Deal?”

Mike stuck out his hand. “Deal.” They shook.

“So…?” Dustin prompted.

“Well, my mom doesn’t like me being out too late. She says I get cranky or something.”

A weak opening salvo. Very well. “Well, your mom’s not wrong – but! We both know she’d be thrilled to see you out and socializing with someone besides the ‘Nerd Brigade’.”

“I don’t know how to dance?”

Dustin scoffed. “No one knows how to dance, Mike. Objection overruled.”

“I don’t want Will to feel left out.”

And there it was. The heart of the issue. The crux of the matter. The pearl in the oyster. “And why would Will feel left out?” he asked delicately.

“You know Will doesn’t like big crowds!” Mike replied accusingly. “And it sounds like you and Lucas wanna go and dance with girls –” he wrinkled his nose – “And Will doesn’t.”

“…Have you asked him?”

“No. But I mean. Have you ever heard Will talk about a girl?”

“Fair,” Dustin conceded. “But what about you?”

“What about me?”

“Do you want to dance with a girl?”

“No, girls are gross.”

“So then you can dance with Will.” Dustin noted the sudden fear in Mike’s eyes. “Or, like, chill at the punch table or whatever. I wasn’t telling you to marry him, geez, take a chill pill, man. My point is – you and Will can hang. He’s not gonna be lonely if you’re there for him.”

“But –” Mike paused. Dustin waited. Mike continued in a small voice. “But what if he does wanna dance with someone else?”

“Mike.” Dustin reached out a hand to pat him on the shoulder. “Mike, Mike, Mike. Have you seen the way he looks at you?” Mike frowned in confusion. “Oh my god, you’re so oblivious. I promise you he’s going through exactly the same thought process right now. Lucas and I will be out there getting it with the ladies, but if you don’t want to, that’s totally fine.” He gave Mike a toothy smile. “Will’s not gonna abandon you, man. I promise.”

“Yeah, I know… you’re right,” Mike agreed.

“Hmm? Didn’t quite catch that.”

“I said that you’re right.”

“A little louder, maybe?” Dustin could almost see the lightbulb above Mike’s head when he caught up.

“Oh, screw you too, Dustin.”

Dustin laughed as he dodged Mike’s poorly-aimed punch. He had definitely won this discussion.

*          *          *

Wednesday, May 12, 1982

“Come on, Lucas!” Will whispered loudly as they lined up for lunch. “You gotta do it!”

Mike’s head swiveled. “Do what?”

Lucas glared daggers at Will, who put on a face of contrite innocence, as if this wasn’t exactly the outcome he had engineered. Once Mike knew there was a secret, he was worse than a dog with a tennis ball.

Lucas sighed. “It’s nothing.”

Dustin raised an eyebrow and Will honest-to-god punched Lucas in the shoulder. Lightly, but still. “It’s now or never,” he continued to whisper. “Go talk to her!”

“Her?” Dustin leaped in as he pieced it together. “Ooh la la! Lucas, who’s the lucky lady?”

“Oh my god, no one!”

“Wait, lucky lady for what?” Mike, as usual, was simply oblivious.

“Lucas wants to ask Jenny Hayes to the dance!” Will grinned mischievously.

“Oh my god, Will! You’re the worst!”

“It’s called being a good wingman, Lucas,” Will countered.

“Yeah, someone’s gotta call you on your shit,” Dustin agreed.

“Jenny Hayes?” Mike still looked confused somehow.

“Yeah?” Dustin answered. “You know, that female human that’s been in our class for at least the last two years?”

“Yeah, I know who she is.” Mike at least had the decency to look offended. “I just – why Jenny?”

“Oh my god, Mike,” Will cut in. “You’re just like – ‘Does Not Compute’,” he said, while moving his arms like a robot.

Dustin guffawed and even Lucas cracked a grin as the line started to move out the door.

“I don’t know,” Lucas replied finally. “We were partners for that Indiana history project, and she’s smart and funny.”

“And cute?” Dustin needled. Lucas blushed but didn’t say anything. “And cute,” Dustin concluded.

“I take it back,” Lucas said. “Will’s not the worst. You’re all the worst. Collectively. Nope –” he said, pre-emptively placing a finger over Dustin’s mouth. “Just accept it.”

“Lucas said he’s gonna ask her at lunch today,” Will volunteered as there was a lull in the conversation.

“Will!” Lucas almost shrieked. “Do you know what a secret is?”

“Of course,” Will replied, still looking totally innocent. “I also know what to do to make sure you don’t chicken out and make a decision you’ll regret.”

“Damn, Byers,” Dustin whistled appreciatively.

“So what?” asked Mike. “You’re just gonna walk over to her table and ask her?”

Lucas paled. “Uh, I was just gonna talk to her in the lunch line.”

“Bold move,” Dustin commented.

“What? Why? That’s way less scary than walking over to the girl’s half of the table and asking in front of all her friends!”

“But at least then you can walk away. In the lunch line, if she turns you down, you’re stuck behind her for the rest of the line.”

“But she’s not gonna turn him down!” Will insisted. “Right, Mike?” Mike just shrugged. Will rolled his eyes fondly. “Thanks for the support.”

“You need back-up?” Dustin asked seriously. “I can wait in line with you and run interference if you want.”

Lucas actually looked a little relieved. “That’d actually be great, thanks. She’s always in a pack.”

“Yeah, girls always are.” Dustin nodded knowingly. He dropped his lunch box on the table and joined the other three as they meandered their way over to the lunch line, coincidentally just behind Jenny’s group.

“So, ladies,” Dustin led with as they reached the line, “Lovely weather we’re having, isn’t it?” The pack of girls giggled awkwardly, but Dustin was able to casually separate Jenny from the rest of them, shunting her closer to Lucas. He was the master of subtlety.

As words continued pouring out of his mouth, he tuned into the conversation behind him.

“Hey, Jenny,” Lucas whispered.

“Yeah?” She sounded confused.

“Do you –” he paused.

“…Do I?” Jenny prompted.

“Do you wanna go to the dance with me?” Lucas managed, with evident strain in his voice.

“I –” Jenny didn’t sound like she had good news. Shit. “I’m sorry, Lucas. Greg already asked me, and I said yes.”

“Fucking Greg!” Dustin almost shouted. Everyone in the vicinity turned to stare at him. “I mean- Shit. Abandon ship! Abort mission!” He got out of line and quickly walked back to the table.

“What. The hell. Was that,” asked Lucas as he returned from the lunch line a few minutes later. He sounded pissed.

“I – sorry?” Dustin grimaced. “Not my proudest moment?”

“At least we stayed as buffer,” Mike accused.

“It’s the least we could do.” Will patted Lucas on the shoulder. “Hey, none of us have dates, right?” he asked, glancing around the table. Dustin and Mike shook their heads. “See, it’s not a big deal, Lucas. We can all hang out together!”

Lucas grunted.

“It’ll be fun,” Dustin joined. “Our moms will want pictures of all of us since we’re all grown up now!” That got a groan out of the other three.

“I swear, if my mom takes more than one picture –”

“We can take pictures together, Mike,” Will offered. “It’ll be more fun that way.”

“Yeah, and it’s the only way he’ll smile,” Dustin laughed. Both Mike and Will turned to him in confusion. “What? Lucas, back me up here. Am I seriously the only one who’s noticed this? Go home and look at all the pictures in your house, Mike. I dare you to find a single photo of you smiling past the age of five without Will in the photo. I bet you can’t.”

“Oh, yeah? How much?”

Dustin hummed in thought. “Two dollars.”

Mike paled but didn’t back down. He stuck out his hand. “Two dollars.” They shook.

“Pleasure doing business with you,” Dustin grinned.

*          *          *

Friday, May 14, 1982

Dustin couldn’t keep the grin off his face as he hopped out of the car. “Have fun, Dusty!” his mom called after him as he ran up the Wheelers’ driveway.

Mike and Will were already there, their moms carefully arranging them by the front door. True to form, Mike looked absolutely miserable. As the moms backed up, Mrs. Wheeler finally noticed. “Mike!” she scolded. “Smile! Think about how much fun you’re going to have!” If anything, Mike just scowled harder. But then, Will lightly touched Mike’s elbow, causing Mike to lean down to let Will whisper something in his ear. And there – there was that Mike Wheeler smile.

As the camera flashes clicked, Dustin heard footsteps behind him. “Hey, Lucas,” he called without looking. “Has it always been like this?”

“Has what always been like what?” retorted Lucas, scowling at the vagueness.

“That,” explained Dustin, flapping his hand at Mike and Will, then miming a camera and a smile.

“What, Mike being a crybaby in front of the camera? Yeah, that’s nothing new.”

“Get in here, boys!” Mrs. Byers gestured them over.

Lucas stood next to Will and Dustin stood next to Lucas and the flashes were bright, but soon enough it was over. He turned to Mike. “See? Just grin and bear it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Mike mumbled, fumbling in his pocket. “Here ya go.” He handed Dustin four quarters and a grubby dollar bill.

“No shit, really?” Dustin guffawed. “You seriously couldn’t find a single picture of you smiling?”

“Without me!” Will popped up beside them, grinning. “We looked for hours! He’s basically a grumpy old man.”

“Am not!” Mike screeched.

“Boys…” Mrs. Wheeler brought out her warning tone. Cooperation wasn’t always rewarded, but crossing Mrs. Wheeler never led anywhere good. For Mike, at least. Once she saw they’d quieted down, she continued. “There are cookies on the table inside. We’ll be leaving in ten minutes.”

Mike led the charge inside, the rest of them hot on his heels. “Boys!” Mrs. Wheeler called after them, “Don’t you dare wipe your hands on your nice clothes!”

*          *          *

The school gym was… still the school gym. The recent heat wave wasn’t doing the venue any favors. The teachers had put in an effort, hanging up balloons and streamers in the inspiring powder blue and light grey that were Washington Elementary’s school colors. Dustin scanned the room. There were some cafeteria tables set up at the far end. People were sitting at some of them and one was set up with drinks and snacks. Some people were already out on the floor dancing – mostly girls, although there were a few awkward-looking boys who looked like they’d been dragged out under duress.

Dustin turned to Lucas. “What do you say we get this party started?”

Lucas grinned and flexed his non-existent biceps. “Let’s show these ladies what they’re missing out on.”

Dustin rolled his eyes. He grabbed Lucas’s arm and dragged him out to the dance floor.

He’d – thought it would be easy to find a girl to dance with. He was on friendly terms with most of the girls their age, but Lucas was right. Females in packs were intimidating. If it was one-on-one, he’d be fine, but when all of her friends are there, staring at you, judging you? Uh-uh. No way, José.

“Hey, Dustin, Lucas!” called out Emma, waving. “Come over and join us!”

Dustin smiled. “Don’t mind if I do!”

His mom had insisted he leave his calculator watch at home, so he had no idea how much time had passed. On the one hand, it was irritating. On the other hand, maybe that’s what dances were meant to be – chaotic, timeless voids. That had a nice ring to it. People moved on and off the dance floor. Jenny was there with Greg, as advertised. They managed to drag Mike and Will out for a few songs after a punch break. Will looked like he was having a good time. Mike scowled like he was hating every minute of it, but he still stayed out there. They fled the floor when the next slow dance came on.

“Hey.” Dustin looked behind him to see Jenny Hayes approaching. “Do you wanna dance, Lucas? I felt bad saying no to you and Greg and I are just here as friends and he said he’s fine with it, so…” Dustin snickered at the bug-eyed look on Lucas’s face and gave him a little push to get him moving.

His heart sank, though, as he looked around and saw that everyone else on the dance floor had managed to couple up. He drifted to the edge. There were a few girls sitting down, but they pointedly looked away as he plopped down on the bench next to Will. “Ladies, am I right?”

“Huh?” asked Will, nonplussed.

Dustin gestured vaguely at the dance floor. “So many girls here, and none to dance with us.”

“Oh, uh, yeah,” offered Mike. Will just shrugged.

“Am I the only one upset by this turn of events?” Dustin spluttered.

“I wasn’t really trying to dance, if that’s what you’re asking,” Mike replied.

“He thinks he can’t dance,” Will stage-whispered behind his hand.

“Hey! I can’t!” protested Mike.

Will raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“Fine,” Mike relented. “I’m capable of dancing in a group with you or the guys. I dunno how to dance with a girl, though, and…”

“Girls are gross,” Mike and Will chorused together.

Dustin sighed. “The two of you really are hopeless, aren’t you? You’ll discover the wonder of girls sometime soon, and I’ll be there to say ‘I told you so’!”

Mike looked nonplussed. Will grimaced. Oh. Well. Twenty bucks or an ‘I told you so’. He won either way.

The music started to speed up again and as he glanced behind him, Dustin saw all the couples breaking apart. “What do you say, gentlemen?” he asked, holding out his hands. “One last dance before we blow this joint?” The three of them stumbled towards the dance floor laughing.

*          *          *

The sleepover was at the Sinclairs’ tonight, so it was Mrs. Sinclair who met them outside the school in the pick-up line. “Have fun, boys?” she asked as they clambered inside. Lucas got shotgun, forcing the other three to squish together in the back. Will automatically took the middle, as the smallest.

“Yeah,” said Lucas, smiling.

“He got to dance with Jenny Hayes!” Dustin offered. Getting to watch Mrs. Sinclair’s eyes light up with hearts while Lucas’s darkened with murderous intent was a glorious sight to behold.

“Lucas! I thought you told me she was going with one of your classmates?”

“She went with Greg,” Dustin cut in when it became clear Lucas wasn’t going to reply. “But she said they went as friends and specifically came over and asked Lucas for a slow dance.”

“Oh, my!” Mrs. Sinclair nodded knowingly as Lucas hunkered down and tried to become invisible. “You know, in my day, it would have been considered rude for a girl to ask a boy to dance. I’m glad that things have changed.”

“Mommmm,” Lucas groaned.

“What about the rest of you boys?” she asked, glancing in the rearview mirror.

“I had a great time!” replied Dustin. “I danced a lot. Got to show off my moves even though I didn’t have the same game with the ladies. What about you two bozos?” He glanced over only to see Mike with his eyebrows raised and a finger over his mouth. Will had somehow already nodded off, his head lolling into Mike’s shoulder. “Uh,” he whispered. “I think they had a good time too.” Mike smiled and gave a thumbs-up.

When they arrived at the house, Dustin jumped out and impatiently waited for everyone else. Mike took his sweet time shaking Will awake and gently ushering him out of the car.

“It’s already late, boys,” Mrs. Sinclair called as they pounded up the stairs. “Get ready for bed right away, okay?”

“Yes, Mom,” Lucas called back.

To be fair, they did get ready quickly, although they kept getting distracted. Lucas started doing a fake striptease, which led to Will hitting him with a pillow, which led to an impromptu pillow fight. Lucas (now thankfully in his pajamas) derailed the process when he showed them his new Lego set. And of course, Mike and Will had to go through their whole sleeping bag routine.

A few months ago, they were at Lucas’s house and Mike for some reason didn’t have a sleeping bag. They all had sleepover stuff at each other’s houses at this point. Maybe his mom had taken it home to wash it or something? Or maybe Mike had somehow managed to lose it. He couldn’t imagine how you could lose a sleeping bag, but Mike would find a way if anyone could. Regardless, he asked if anyone would double up with him. The obvious choice would be to share Lucas’s bed, but Will had volunteered. It made sense. Half the time they ended up in the same sleeping bag anyways, even when they started out separate. Whatever. Dustin didn’t care – Except. Now this had become a thing that had to be re-enacted at every sleepover.

“Hey, where’s my sleeping bag?” asked Mike.

“How do you lose a sleeping bag?” Lucas retorted.

Dustin sighed loudly, hoping to disrupt the cycle. “Yes, Mike, we know. Now you’re going to ask to share and even though Lucas is the logical choice, Will will volunteer and you’ll snuggle all night. Boom. You’re welcome.”

His monologue was met with silence. He glanced up from where he was laying out his own sleeping bag. Lucas had a half-grin. Mike looked like a deer in the headlights. Will was looking down and blushing. “Efficiency, boys,” he continued in order to fill the awkward silence, “Chop, chop.” He clapped his hands. “Now where were we?”

By 9:30, the Sinclairs had bade them goodnight and they were all tucked in. Mike and Will were indeed sharing, to the surprise of absolutely no one. This was always Dustin’s favorite part of the sleepover. It was – easier to talk about things with the lights off, for some reason. Sure enough, Mike spoke after a moment of silence.

“What was it like, Lucas?”

“What was what like?”

“Y’know…” He trailed off. “Dancing? With a girl?”

“Oh.” Dustin could hear the smile in his voice. “It was… nice. She was really pretty in that dress and she smelled really good.”

Mike grunted noncommittally.

“Okay, just because you can’t smell, Mike. Anyways. I think the best part was how it was just the two of us. Even though everyone was dancing around us, we were in our own little world.”

Will made a noise this time and there was a bit of rustling from their sleeping bag, followed by a muffled shriek. “Mike! Keep your icicle feet to yourself!” All four boys burst out laughing.

“So…” Dustin ventured after the laughter died down. “Was it different than hanging out with one of us one-on-one?”

“Well, duh. I don’t wanna dance with any of you dweebs.”

“Bite me,” Dustin shot back.

“No, for real though.” Lucas’s voice softened. “It’s – nice, feeling like someone is totally focused on you. That they want to spend that moment with you.”

“Yeah,” echoed Will. “I get that.”

“Well, you gotta put yourself out there next time then, Byers. Find yourself a girl!”

Will chuckled once. More rustling. “Yeah, maybe. We’ll see,” Will said quietly. “Do you like Jenny, then?”

“Yeah, she’s cool.”

“No, Lucas,” groaned Mike. Dustin could hear his eyes rolling. “He means do you like like her?”

“Oh.” Lucas sounded taken aback. “I – I don’t know. What does that feel like?” It was only with the lights off that Lucas let himself feel vulnerable like this.

“Well,” Will started softly, almost whispering, “Jonathan says it – it’s supposed to feel special when you’re around them.”

“Like butterflies in your stomach,” whispered Mike, sounding like he was quoting something.

“And you wanna grow old together with them,” Will finished, “Like a forever best friend.”

“Uh.” Lucas sounded confused now. “You guys are my best friends, you know that, right? Jenny’s not gonna replace you or anything.”

Dustin coughed. “Dodgingthequestion,” he muttered, then coughed again as Mike and Will started giggling.

Lucas appeared over the edge of the bed to flip them all off. “I… I dunno guys. Not yet, I guess. But I want to get to know her better? We’ll see what happens next year, I guess.”

There was silence for a few moments. Will yawned. “I dunno about you guys, but I’m about to nod off.”

“’Night, Will,” Dustin and Lucas chorused. There were a few whispers from the Mike and Will sleeping bag, and then silence reigned once more. A forever best friend. That sounds nice, thought Dustin as he succumbed to sleep.