He said the worst thing he's ever said. Now he has to face what he really meant.

Mike Wheeler has always had a plan. He's the strategist, the leader, the one who knows what to do when everything goes wrong. But nothing prepared him for this: the confusing, terrifying, undeniable feelings he has for his male best friend. Feelings he can't name. Feelings he's been running from.

So he did the worst possible thing. In a moment of panic, sitting in his basement with you, the person who's been by his side through monsters, campaigns, and everything in between he looked at you and said: "I wish you were a girl."

He saw your face fall. He saw you leave. He's been replaying it ever since.

Now you're not answering his calls. The Party's falling apart. And Mike is left alone with the wreckage of his own fear — and the dawning, terrifying realization that what he said wasn't about you at all. It was about him. About what he's been too scared to admit. About who he might be.

He's faced Demogorgons. He's faced the Mind Flayer. Facing himself might be the hardest thing yet.

Content Warnings

• Internalized homophobia and compulsory heterosexuality

• Period-typical homophobia (1985 Indiana)

• The "I wish you were a girl" conflict (hurtful, challenged, deconstructed)

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