A Little Deal

Not the Only One

It happened while Will and Max were at the Family Video on Christmas Eve, looking through Christmas movies and trying to decide which one to rent for movie night at Mike's. The two of them had been hanging out a lot recently since Lucas and Dustin were on vacation until after Christmas and Mike and El were glued to each other again.

"We could do Trading Places or A Christmas Story?" Max was saying, taking the latter off the shelf and turning it over in her hands. The song "Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer" was playing over the radio. The store was fairly empty but for an elderly couple near the back and Steve and Robin at the counter.

Looking at the movies Max suggested, Will shook his head. "Isn't there something more interesting?"

"These are both plenty interesting. Trading Places is hilarious."

"I don't know. I was thinking..." Will crouched to grab a movie off the lower shelf and hopped up to show Max.

"Gremlins?"

"Yeah, it's good."

"I didn't think you liked horror."

"Horror's my favorite."

"Well, alright. Why not."

Will was about to turn around and head for the counter when Max grabbed his arm and pulled him back. He frowned at her, opening his mouth to ask what the hell she was doing, but she put a finger to her lips to quiet him. She motioned to the counter where Steve and Robin were discussing something in low voices.

"I just don't see why you liked Tammy," Steve said. "You can do so much better than her."

Robin let out a dry laugh. "Like who?"

"Well, what's your type?"

"A girl who also likes girls, for one."

It took him a moment to register what Robin had said. A girl who also likes girls. He glanced at Max out of the corner of his eye for confirmation that he wasn't misinterpreting what Robin said, but Max's eyes were on the ground.

"There's gotta be plenty of girls like that," Steve said. "Isn't there that tennis lady? The one from Europe. Martina something."

"Navratilova?"

"Yeah, her. And didn't Billie Jean King have a thing with some lady, too?"

Robin laughed. "How do you know all this?"

"It was on the news. Anyway, doesn't matter. My point is-"

"Yeah, what is your point?"

"My point is that you're not the only one. You could totally find a girlfriend."

"I'm fully aware I'm not the only one, Steve."

Will was so absorbed in thought at this whole conversation that he nearly missed what Max murmured beside him. "I think I like El."

"Huh?" Taking a moment to register her words, he turned to look at her. Her face was beet-red and made him falter since as far as he could recall, he'd never seen Max even an ounce embarrassed before. He gave her a tender smile. "I think... I think I like Mike."

"Wait... really?"

Will nodded.

The redness in Max's cheeks faded into a faint pink. "Oh, okay." She relaxed her shoulders before cracking a grin. "Actually, I don't think I'm surprised. You two have always had a dynamic I couldn't quite figure out, but now I think I've got it. C'mon." She took Will by the arm and trotted over to the counter where Steve and Robin were discussing new movies.

The two older teenagers smiled at them, neither of them aware of the fact that the two younger teens had heard their conversation mere seconds ago. Will handed Robin Gremlins as Steve leaned over the counter on his elbows. "Hey, Byers. When's Henderson coming back from vacation?" he asked while Max handed Robin the money to rent the movie.

"The twenty-eighth," Will said.

"What are the rest of you doofuses up to until then?"

"Movie night at Mike's today. Lucas comes back in two days."

"Sounds like fun." Robin handed Gremlins back to Will, and they all exchanged goodbyes before leaving for Mike's.

Movie night was uneventful. They were all packed together on Mike's basement couch; Will on one end, Mike on the other, and Max and El in the middle. Will and Max kept their focus on the movie instead of the other two since Mike and El kept leaning over to whisper in each other's ears and laughing every so often out of the blue. Before everyone parted ways, Mike reminded everyone that they were going to meet up the day after Christmas at his house to exchange presents and head to Lucas's to surprise him when he got back.

On the day after Christmas, Will was wrapping his gift for Lucas, a mixtape, at the kitchen table when someone knocked on the door. He didn't bother moving to answer. He was too preoccupied getting his gifts together. He'd already wrapped Max's and was nearly finished with Lucas's, but he still had to wrap the mixtapes for El, Dustin, and Mike, and he was running out of tape. "Will, Max is here to see you," Joyce called from the living room.

He stood up when Max, nose and cheeks pink, entered the room. Snow was sprinkled on her hair and coat, and her backpack was slung over her shoulder. Will's eyebrows drew together. "I thought we were meeting at Mike's?"

She nodded, sucking in a breath. "Yeah, we are. I wanted to talk to you first."

"What about?"

"I've been thinking about the other day." She took a seat at the table, so Will joined her. "You know, our talk."

"Okay..."

"It's probably a stupid idea, so we don't have to do it or anything if you don't want to, but I was thinking, you know, since it's almost New Year's, and we're both sort of in the same situation, that maybe we could, I don't know, make a little deal with each other."

"A deal?"

"I was thinking since we're both in the same boat, why don't we just... go for it?"

"Go for it?"

"Tell them. I'll tell El, and you'll tell Mike. If you want, that is."

"Oh..." His stomach fluttered at the thought of admitting his feelings to Mike. Whether it was in a good way or bad way, he couldn't tell. "I don't know, Max. It just feels so fast."

"Not right away. We don't have to do it today or anything, but I just thought... wouldn't it be nice to get it off our chests?"

"I guess so."

"How about New Year's? We'll make that our... deadline. We try to tell them by then, and if one or both of us don't, we have to..." She drummed her fingers on the tabletop. "What's a good downside?"

Studying Max's pensive face, Will came to the conclusion she was, in fact, onto something. "How about this?" Clearing his throat, he sat up straight and waved his pointer finger in the air. "Whoever doesn't tell who they like that they like them, they'll have to tell them anyways but in front of everyone in the Party on New Year's Day."

"Geez, I wasn't expecting that."

"Better to let it out than keep it in, right?"

"Right."

He wrung his hands together. "Of course, if one or both of us truly can't tell them, then we can back out. Only if we truly can't tell them. You know, if we're not... safe."

"Sounds good." Max stuck her hand out to him. "Deal?"

"Deal."