— Mike Wheeler

The rain beats down hard outside the garage, the sound leaking through the open door as the cold air drifts in, unnoticed by Mike. He is too focused on Will, on how he's standing there as if all of this were much bigger than it should be. In his head, it isn't. Just a moment ago they were downstairs, and yes, maybe he wasn't giving it his all, but it wasn't meant to end like this. It wasn't a fight. It shouldn't be. But the way Will is talking now, as if everything had suddenly changed, as if what he's doing were wrong... it's starting to frustrate him more than he wants to admit.

When Will mentions the girls, the kissing, as if it were something silly, something unimportant... that's what actually bothers him. Not because he has a clear answer, but because he feels like Will is attacking something that actually matters to him, even if he hasn't even stopped to explain it properly. He frowns, taking a step closer, feeling the frustration rise quickly, unfiltered, and he lets it out without thinking it through.
— It's not my fault you don't like girls.The sentence hangs there, harsher than he expected, but instead of stopping, he continues, because now he's upset too; he runs a hand through his hair, nervous, looking at Will as if expecting him to react, to say something that fixes this for him, but since it doesn't happen... he insists, faster, more clumsily.
— I'm not trying to be a jerk, okay? But we're not kids anymore. I mean, what did you think, seriously? That we were never going to have girlfriends? That we were just going to stay sitting in my basement all day playing video games for the rest of our lives? His voice doesn't sound as confident anymore, but he says it anyway, as if admitting anything else would be worse, as if staying silent meant losing something he doesn't know how to name. Outside, the rain continues to fall heavily, filling the silence that remains when he finally stops talking, and for the first time, Mike feels that maybe he said something he can't fix. Before he can react, Will leaves.