Mike was the third to arrive at Jane's house, being that Lucas and Dustin got there an hour before him. Now they were only waiting on Will. He was flying all the way from California, so it made sense that he would arrive last.
Mike couldn't help but continue to stare at Max as they waited. She looked pretty much like herself, except she had completely white eyes, which was slightly disturbing. The explanation of why she was even alive had been unsatisfactory. Apparently, she'd simply woken up in the Upside Down and made her way back to Hawkins. No reason. No purpose.
And there was that. It had made Mike sick. The Upside Down was back and nobody knew how it had even opened up again. Everyone had sacrificed so much to finally close the gates forever, and now here they were, three years later, back to the beginning. As if everything they had done up until now had been for nothing.
When Mike heard the car pulling up, he was the first out the door. Joyce had gone to pick Will up from the airport, and Mike couldn't wait to see him, as awkward as it would be.
Will emerged from the backseat, not noticing his friend running towards him. He gave a small yelp as he was tackled in a hug.
"Oh my god, Mike! You could've killed me!" Will hugged Mike back, grabbing onto him tightly. Sure doesn't seem like we aren't best friends anymore. Not-best friends didn't have such long hugs.
"I missed you a lot," Mike said, not attempting to let go of Will. He was making up for what seemed like centuries of being away from him.
Will's grip tightened slightly like he was tensing. Then he relaxed. "Yeah, I missed you too."
"Is that your sister, babe?" Mike whipped his head around at the unfamiliar voice he had heard. It seemed to have come from a tall boy standing a few feet away from him and Will. He had a handsome face and smooth hair. Mike let go of the hug, turning to look at him properly. Had he just mistaken Mike for Will's sister?
"I'm sorry, who are you?" he asked, slightly annoyed by the boy's presence for one reason or another. "And who the hell are you calling babe?"
Max stepped into the conversation before the blond boy could retort. She pointed at him. "Woah, did I completely forget about someone in the party? Who's he?"
The boy squinted at Max. "How can you even see me?"
"I feel like that's a personal question."
"Guys!" Will said, stepping to the tall boy's side. "This is Brad. He's my... Well, he's my-"
"I'm his boyfriend," Brad said casually. You would have thought Mike walked in on a surprise party, the amount of shock on his face. Will had a boyfriend? Was Will gay? Why hadn't Mike known?
Will blushed, scratching his head. "Uh... yeah. He's my boyfriend. He... wanted to come with me on vacation."
"I don't think this is the right vacation to bring your boyfriend, Will," Mike hissed, looking at Brad. He wasn't sure why the guy made him so angry, but by simply existing, he was making Mike fume. It was something about the fact that Mike had never even known Will liked guys, and now he had this perfect, cookie-cutter, model-esque, muscley boyfriend.
Brad crossed his arms, staring back at Mike. "Why's it matter to you, huh? You can't tell him what to do."
Mike scoffed. "I'm not telling him anything! And it doesn't matter to me. I just don't think he needs to get other people involved in this."
"Involved in what?"
Will rolled his eyes, sighing as he left Brad's side and took Mike's arm. "Hey, can we talk for a minute, Mike? Somewhere else?" He sounded annoyed.
Mike nodded, still looking in Brad's direction. "I'd love to."
Will smiled. "Great." He turned to Brad. "We'll be back in a minute, babe. Sorry." Will calling this guy 'babe' made Mike want to curl up in a little ball and never get up. It seemed so wrong. Not because he was a guy, though. For some other reason.
Brad huffed. "Yeah, tell me if that guy gives you any trouble."
That guy? Mike could feel his face heating up. Brad had no idea. He was definitely more than that guy to Will. "What's that supposed to mean? I'm his best friend."
"Yeah, then why haven't I heard of you?"
Mike could feel some sort of pain in the pit of his chest. Will didn't talk about him. Had he never mentioned him to his own boyfriend? "I- Well, I haven't heard of you either." The best thing he could think of.
"Both of you!" Will scolded. "Seriously, calm down! Brad, you have heard of him. It's Mike, remember?" Brad scoffed at the name. Will turned to Mike, not seeming to notice. "And Mike, please just come with me. We need to talk."
Will led Mike around to the back of the house, where they went through a fence and entered the backyard. The house was new, from what Mike could tell. The Hopper-Byers hadn't lived here before. The house was bigger.
Will turned quickly to Mike. "What was that? Why are you being so aggressive about him?"
Mike crossed his arms. "Well, maybe I'm just a little surprised. I wasn't aware you had a boyfriend. Or that he'd be partaking in our little save-the-world-again festivities."
Will raised an eyebrow. "Save the world? Is something wrong?"
"Yeah, of course something's wrong! Why else would Max be alive? There's an open gate."
Will's face drained of all its color. "Is that why I-" He trailed off, muttering something indecipherable. "God, I should've thought of that. How in the world are we gonna deal with Brad?"
"You could've just left him back at your college. Why'd you decide to take him to Hawkins anyway?" It seemed like an easy fix to Mike.
Will looked down, sheepishly grabbing his arm. "Well, it wasn't really up to me. He said he didn't want me going alone."
Mike furrowed his eyebrows. "Yeah, that's not his decision to make, is it?"
"He just cares about me, okay? Why are you so worked up about it?" Will stared at his friend expectantly. Mike wasn't really sure what the answer to the question was. Maybe, he realized, he was slightly jealous. Of what, though, he wasn't sure.
"I'm not worked up," Mike argued. "I just..." He put up his arms in a quick, frustrated motion. "I don't know. Never mind."
"Should we just tell him?" Will asked. "It's not like I can send him home right now."
Mike had no idea. "Maybe? Look, let's talk about it with everyone else and we'll figure out what to do about him after that. For now, we've just got to keep him out of the conversation."
Everyone was inside already when Mike and Will returned. They found them chatting in the living room.
Dustin snickered as he saw them walk in. "Took you long enough. I was about to tell poor Brad he was being cheated on."
Mike rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. Shut up, Dustin. We weren't even gone that long."
"Yeah, just enough time for a proper make-out session." Dustin puckered his lips at Mike, who sat down next to him and gave him a playful slap.
"Stop it! Why would you even suggest that? You're gonna scare Brad away." Actually, it sounded like a good plan. Mike looked up, realizing that Brad was still glaring at him with a strange suspicion. Mike gave him an awkward smile, trying to resolve a bit of the tension he'd accidentally built up. It didn't work.
"So," said Max, changing the subject. "How's everyone been doing at college? I feel like I have a lot to catch up on."
"Really good," Lucas said in response. "I mean, me and Dustin are thriving. He's got the big robotics thing going on, and I'm winning us so many basketball games you wouldn't believe it."
Max frowned slightly. "Hmm... Any new girlfriends?"
"Well, I would've brought her to our really personal, top-secret reunion if I did have one." Lucas grinned, looking at Will for a reaction.
Will crossed his arms. "You're so mean, Lucas." The two laughed. Mike felt slightly disconnected from the rest of the group, being that he hadn't contacted any of them in such a long time. He felt like Max, dead for the last few years and only now returning with no knowledge of what was going on. For once in his entire life, he could relate to Max Mayfield. At least Max's boyfriend hadn't found someone new. Not that Will was Mike's boyfriend, but he just thought it was a fair connection to make. Like, platonically.
How strange this was all turning out to be.
Brad sighed from across the room, drawing Mike's aggravated attention. "You know, you still have to tell me about what's going on here. I've been hearing stuff about saving the world all day and I deserve an explanation." He crossed his arms. "I have ears. I'm not an idiot."
Everyone else looked at each other, having a silent group discussion about how to handle the elephant in the room. The elephant with annoyingly blond hair and strong arms.
Jane sighed. "This is stupid. Let's just tell him."
Lucas squinted. "He has to promise to never tell anyone. And take responsibility for his own death. We should have a contract. By hearing this information, you are putting yourself at great risk."
"Excuse me?" Brad said, looking at Will for an explanation for the nonsensical rambling of all these strangers.
Will exhaled, putting a hand on Brad's knee. "Are you sure you wanna hear, babe? They're not joking. It's gonna put you at pretty high risk if you decide to get involved."
Brad scoffed. "Yeah, right. If you can survive it, I definitely can." What the hell is that supposed to mean? Mike didn't like his slightly offensive statement. Even if he was joking.
Will laughed slightly. "Yeah, but seriously. You're not gonna believe us when we tell you. It's that crazy."
"I can take it."
And so they told Brad their entire story. From nineteen-eighty-three to when they closed the Upside Down for that last time. Or, seemingly last time, that is.
"And now it's open again," Dustin concluded.
Brad stared. Not at anyone in particular, he just moved his head around the room, taking everything in. He closed his eyes, trying to gain a sense of reality. "Wait, wait, wait. So..." He pointed at Max. "You're dead?"
"Not anymore," Max shrugged. "I don't have an explanation for that one though."
"And... you have powers?" He pointed at Jane.
Jane sighed. "Yeah. I do." Because of her attempts to be normal, her superpowers weren't something Jane liked to talk about much. She liked to ignore them when she could.
Brad crossed his arms. "Prove it."
Mike laughed, disbelieving. "You seriously think we'd make all this stuff up? How would Max be able to see you right now, huh?" Mike couldn't believe Brad was doing this. Prove it. Yeah right.
Brad thought for a moment. "Special contacts or something. I've seen 'em before." He turned. "Look, Will, I never took you for much of a prankster, but knock it off now, alright? I get the point. It's not even very fucking funny. It's just weird."
Will frowned. "I'm not playing a joke on you. This is true, Brad. Every bit."
Brad gave a slightly shocked attempt at a laugh. "I said stop it, Will. I know other dimensions aren't real. And nobody can get possessed. Or have magic. You're not fooling me."
Mike had just about enough of this guy. "Dude, he's not pranking you. Why don't you just believe him?"
Brad was getting a little sweaty by the looks of it. "Fucking prove it, then! None of this is true!"
Jane sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her arms out as she stood up. She outstretched her arm towards the couch where Will and Brad were sitting and lifted it into the air easily.
Brad shrieked slightly. He frantically waved his arms around the couch's sides. "I swear to god, where's the string on this thing?" Mike wanted to laugh out loud at the scene. Not so tough anymore, huh?