BYLER

2024

Will and Mike walked along the sidewalk on their way from school to Mike's house. Mike chattered on and on about the new Dungeons and Dragons sourcebook that had come out, and Will listened, subconsciously twirling his pencil in his hand. A nervous habit Will had had since his days as a one-man artist and two-man artist had a paralyzing anxiety that apparently ran in the Byers family. Mike kept talking, trying to distract himself.

Mike adjusted his electric guitar case on his back before changing the subject. "God, this homework is going to be such a pain," he groaned, pulling out his phone and quickly sending a message to someone on it before turning it off. "I can just call in sick." His phone rang again, and he groaned. It was a message from his mom, asking him to babysit his little sister, Holly, for the third time this week. You see, Mike's parents were going through a divorce. Mike's dad wasn't necessarily a deadbeat, but he wasn't necessarily emotionally present for any of his kids. And since Nancy moved out, Mike was now Holly's big brother.

Will chuckled a little before sticking a pencil in his ear and looking at Mike. "Oh yeah? Then who am I going to fool on test day?" He asked sarcastically before kicking a rock on the sidewalk. He noticed Mike's less than enthusiastic reaction to everything he was doing on his phone, and Will looked over his boyfriend's shoulder as he read the text. "Babysitting? Again? I swear your mom makes plans for you to babysit whenever I come over," he rolled his eyes, shoving his hands in his pockets. Mike just gave a slightly forced smile before putting his phone back in his pocket. Will frowned, wrapping his arms around Mike and pulling him closer. "Dude, are you okay?" Will asked quietly, rubbing Mike's shoulder as they walked. Mike has certainly been more... closed off since his parents told them about the divorce, but then again, being almost like a step-father to your younger siblings probably drained a hell of a lot of energy. tokarofl