You squint curiously at Mike's head in front of you. He seems tense. Did something bad happen? No, no...he's been in a generally good mood the whole day. Then why is he so nervous?
You've never seen this part of Hawkins before although you've been here for almost a year. Something's not right here.
"Hey, Mike." You say, speeding up to be side by side with him. "Stop for a second."
"Hm?"
"Something's wrong. You're acting weird. What's up?"
"Oh, um..." Then he sighs. "Do...do you want to go on a date with me, Y/N?"
You definitely didn't hear that right. You're breathless.
"Wh-What?" You say, trying to breathe.
His cheeks set on fire. "Oh, well that's okay I'm really so-"
"No no no, what did you say?" You say, a little louder than intended.
The expression on his face is almost begging me to stop humiliating him.
"I asked if you wanted to go on a date." He blurts out awkwardly.
"Really?" You ask. He only stares at the ground.
"Like...a date date?" You ask, not sure if you should get your hopes up.
He raises his gaze to your eyes and nods.
Your heart flutters. "Then yes, of course!"
His eyes widen. "Are- are you sure?"
"Yeah!" You say excitedly.
"Really? Oh okay, then follow me!" He says, not believing his own luck.
A couple of minutes later you arrive. It's just some trees leading into another forest.
"Where are we?" You ask.
"Follow me." He says. You shrug and let him lead you through the woods.
Not long after he leads you to an open field.
"Woah, cool. How come there aren't any trees here?" You ask curiously.
"I dunno. It's great for absolutely anything though." He says, laying down on the grass.
You join him and watch the clouds together.
"That one looks like a-"
"Yes, yes I saw it too no need to say it though!" He cuts you off. You laugh darkly.
"You're messed up, Y/N." He laughs.
"Thanks."
You both look up at the clouds and use your imaginations to amuse each other.
"Hey look it's Troy!" He says, pointing a deranged gremlin-like figure.
"Oh my God." You laugh.
Pretty soon the sky begins to darken, but neither of you mention leaving.
"Do you think our parents are worried?" You ask.
He laughs. "I can tell you mine aren't. But after what happened, I don't know about yours. What do you think?"
"I think we're good for now. I told them I might be out for awhile." You reply.
A couple of moments of silence pass by. The two of you had grown so comfortable with each other that neither of you felt obligated to say something to make it "less awkward". You were both perfectly happy staring up at the night's sky, enjoying each other's company.
"Hey, look! A shooting star!" He shouts, staring up into the sky. "Make a wish."
You make a wish, watching the beam of light travel across the sky. (A/N: I'll leave you to decide what you wish for. This definitely isn't me being lazy or anything how dare you think such a thing!!)
Soon the fireflies come out.
"Whoa, cool." You say subconsciously, watching them light up the sky.
(A/N: Go ahead. Sing it.)
So there you sit, side by side with the boy of your dreams.
The next words you say are blatantly obvious. It was more of a thought that escaped through your mouth.
"I like you, Mike."
He doesn't say anything back. He only takes your hand.
You can't help the bashful smile that quickly spreads across your face—but you don't really feel the need to hide it anymore.
"I'm so glad I convinced the party to sit at your table Y/N." Mike says.
You chuckle. "Me too. I can't believe it's almost a year since I got here."
"I know. It feels like yesterday you were freaking out in the hallway asking us to show you where Mr. Clarke's room was."
You laugh.
You watch the stars together silently for maybe another forty-five minutes.
"You think we should get going now?" He says.
You sigh. "Yeah." You both get up and dust yourselves off.
Even though you aren't alone, you can't help the fear rising in your stomach when you gaze at the the dark trees you'd have to walk through. It brought back some rather unpleasant memories.
"What's wrong?" Mike asks, reading your mind.
"Oh um...this is going to sound stupid but could I maybe just hold your hand when we walk through there? I-...I'm just a little paranoid." You say, humiliation haunting you.
"Of course. You know I'm not gonna let anything happen to you, right?" He says, clasping my hand.
"I know. But...still." You say with a little shiver.
"Yeah." He says, walking to the edge of where the forest starts. He gives your hand a little squeeze.
"Ready?"
"Ready."
You're anxious. You can't shake the feeling that it's still following you. You haven't been safe in a week. It's hard to shake the feeling that you can't relax. Heart pounding, you begin to breathe heavier than usual.
"Hey, you okay?" Mike asks, concern evident in his voice.
You nod. "Yeah. Just a little shaken up."
You realize you've been squeezing his hand and release the pressure.
"Sorry." You mutter.
"No problem. Squeeze it as long as you need."
He continues through the trees, and soon enough we're back at our bikes.
You let go of his hand and take a shaky breath. "Thank you."
"Anytime." He says, picking up his bike.
You follow him to your house. Giving him a kiss on the cheek, you turn the key and wave goodnight.
What an amazing start to an amazing summer.
As you close you bedroom door that night, you remember the awkward words of a certain black-haired boy, all those months ago.
"Sorry, there's no other room, would it be okay if we sat with you?"
You smile warmly at the thought and sleepily crawl into bed. You don't think you'll ever forget those first words.
It was those words that began a lifelong bond with the four greatest people you've ever met.
"Knock yourselves out."