about you mike wheeler x fem!reader
🎧 ─ about you by the 1975
desc: you've always had a thing for nerds—you adored the way they got passionate over their interests. so when mike wheeler befriends you in one of your university courses, you can't help but enjoy it.
genre/warnings: friends to lovers trope, modern au, university au, miscommunication, slight jealous!reader, fluff
word count: 1.1k
a/n: wow im busting out these oneshots like there's no tomorrow. anyways i looooove nerds esp movie/film nerds so why not combine my fav stranger things character with my type heh
Mike Wheeler became your friend because he wouldn't shut up about film.
it started in your first year of university during your elective course, Intro to Film Studies when he sat next you. He had leaned over and whispered, "If anyone says Neil and Todd weren't in love in Dead Poet's Society, they're crazy."
You whispered back. "No yeah, they definitely were in love."
"We're gonna be good friends, I can feel it," he said with a smile.
A couple weeks went by and the two of you were inseparable.
Mike was honestly the biggest nerd you ever met. He talked about his favourite directors as if they were best friends, and annotated screenplays until all you saw was his messy but neat handwriting. He owned a beat up Pulp Fiction poster and claimed the creases, as well as the faded dye added character.
He loved dragging you to movie nights your university held, shushing those around him with a little intensity. Honestly, the way you acted with him slowly made you his favourite audience.
Whenever you guys watched movies together on his old laptop, he would pause the movie to explain film logistics but immediately apologize after. For example, one time you two were watching Saltburn and he paused to explain the rule of thirds to you.
You liked to sit in dorm, either on his bed or floor, in the latest of hours while he edited his short film. You offered commentary whenever he asked and you could tell it was helping him get through the process.
Mike was one of the sweetest guys you’ve met at school. He remembered your coffee order after your first hang out after class. If you ever fell asleep on his shoulder during movie nights in his dorm, he would never move—just shift slightly so you were in a comfortable position.
The problem was: the two of you never mentioned anything. Never brought up how the lines between friends and something more were blurring together.
It was a rainy night and another editing session when Mike mentioned Jane while he was going through his new footage.
“Jane helped me block this scene,” he said. “She’s really good when it comes to visual cues.”
“Oh,” you carefully said, wrapping the blanket you had around yourself tighter. “I didn’t know you guys were friends, or worked together.”
Mike hummed, clear distraction in his voice. “Yeah, only sometimes, we grew up together in the same—” he paused, his brain finally registering the way you spoke. “Hey, you okay?”
“Mhm,” you said with a hint of fake happiness.
He looked at you for a second, studying you before he said. “It’s nothing really, I promise.”
You guys had moved on from it, resuming editing as if nothing ever happened. You didn’t bring it up again, you told yourself you were being stupid for caring this much.
Meanwhile, Mike started acting different. While he was normally attentive, he started to care more. He watched you more than he watched the movie screen. He asked for your opinion as if it was the only thing that mattered. He began to get flustered whenever you teased him, stuttering in a way he never did before.
You assumed it was stress and never put in a thought about it.
A couple months passed and the day of Mikes short film premiere arrived. He was so nervous to show it but you kept reassuring him everything was perfect. Although, you weren’t sure if that was true considering he stopped asking you for your opinion a few weeks after the Jane incident.
You thought it was strange considering Mike always valued your input but he promised you it was just a director choice and nothing personal.
The room was packed with university students, everyone buzzing with excitement. You were sitting in the second row, Mike next to you. His leg bounced in a mixture of fear and anticipation.
“Don’t freak out,” he whispered.
Don’t freak out—what an odd thing to say.
“It’s rough,” he added, his hands fidgeting in his lap.
Oh. “You’ll survive,” you whispered back.
The lights dimmed and the movie flickered onto the projector screen.
As the film began to play, you noticed something unusual. The main girl didn’t look like you but her mannerisms were the exact same. She listened the way you did, and tilted her head the same way you would whenever you were thinking. There was a scene in the film where she sat on the bed wrapped in a blanket giving commentary while the boy edited footage.
Your heart started to race. Mike based his movie off you two. Of you. By the time the end credits rolled, your chest was too tight to breathe.
After Mike thanked everyone for the support and receive a round of applause, people crowded around him—showering him with praise, compliments, questions.
You hung back until the noise died down and everyone left.
When you two made eye contact, his smile faltered a bit.
“Hey,” he said. “Can we—can we talk?”
You nodded. Mike shoved his hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth before saying—
“So… you saw it.”
“I did.”
A beat passed. You thought to yourself: I might as well rip the bandaid.
“You based her on me,” you confronted.
He exhaled. “Yeah.”
“I thought you were into Jane this whole time,” you softly say.
Confusion crossed his face, before it was replaced by guilt. “No, god no. Jane was just—she’s just a part of my childhood. You were—” he swallowed. “You were the reason I started making things. You made me feel seen.”
Silence hummed between you.
“I never meant to brush it off that night,” he confessed. “If I made you feel like you didn’t matter—”
You cut him off. “You didn’t. I just never asked more.”
Mike stepped closer. “I wish you had.”
“You wrote a movie based off me instead,” you laughed shakily.
“Yeah,” he said, his lopsided smile forming on his face. “Subtle, I know.”
His hand reached out for yours, hovering for a second as if he was waiting for a cue. When your fingers threaded with his, he let out a sigh of relief.
“I’ve been in love with you ever since I mentioned Anderperry in class and you agreed,” he said. “I just never knew how to say it out loud.”
You giggled reminiscing your first exchange, squeezing his hand. “God, you were such a dorky idiot.”
He softly laughed. “Yeah but I was your dorky idiot.”
A few weeks later, Mike submitted the film to local theatres in hopes to make it big. Everything was the same except he added something for you.
A small dedication at the end saying:
For the one who always stayed.
And you did, and will continue to do so every time.