Hope this makes you feel better～
Mike, a screenwriter in his forties or fifties, discovered a photo of his childhood friend Will with his boyfriend on Facebook. This stirred up childhood memories, and he realized he had once harbored special feelings for Will. He couldn't help but wonder if Will had felt the same way.
He began writing the story of Stranger Things: an adventure story centered around Will.
He took the "ll" from Will's name and named the character "Eleven." (I must emphasize this point: the original Eleven and Will are of the same origin; Eleven is a manifestation of Mike's idealized version of Will.)
Eleven (who is essentially Will) is described as a tormented, blank-slate girl in need of salvation, even though she initially appears boyish.
After Eleven dresses as a girl, Mike boldly kisses her, even though Will is still missing (OMG, Mike wanted to kiss him so badly!).
As you can see, Mike separated his complex feelings using two characters with the same origin. Although his actions towards Will were extremely gentle and attentive, his emotions were projected onto Eleven (given how terribly he treated Eleven, like a boyfriend who says he loves you but can't be bothered to even look at you).
At the end of the story（of S1）, Will returns, and Eleven (Will's agent) naturally disappears (in a sacrificial manner).
After the episode aired, Eleven became very popular with viewers, so Mike brought her back to life and gave her an independent personality and backstory.
He still maintains a highly platonic friendship with Will. The story expands from focusing on Will to depicting the dynamics of the group's relationships. He officially begins a romantic relationship with Eleven, who possesses an independent personality. However, in this relationship, he attempts to "be straight" and accuses Will of "not liking girls." Will completely breaks down in Mike's imagination, and Mike immediately tries to make amends. The appearance of the Mind Flayer interrupts this attempt to repair their friendship.
It's worth noting that Eleven has had an independent personality since the second season. At the end of the second season, Mike begins exploring romantic relationships, and this relationship ends at the beginning of the third season. This means the narrator (Mike) didn't take this relationship seriously, but rather lightly portrayed an immature childhood romance, contrasting with the serious way he depicts the significant impact of the damage to his friendship with his best friend (smashing the cabin, and even the Mind Flayer's attacks).
At the end of the third season, Mike clearly realizes that Eleven's kisses can't solve anything, and at the beginning of the fourth season, he indirectly acknowledges his different feelings for Will by subtly describing his jealousy (unable to properly greet his best friend after learning that Will has a crush on a girl). After this, Mike completely portrays himself as a complete jerk, yet Will still admires and supports him, describing him as the bond and core of the team (which we all know isn't true, because the actions of the other team members have nothing to do with him, even though he was very smart in the first three seasons, so were the others, because this is an ensemble drama, and the highlights are concentrated on Eleven, because she's the one with superpowers; if there's a core, it's Will and Eleven).
At the beginning of the fourth season, the writer Mike explicitly states that Will has a crush on a girl, and that girl is Mike. At the end of the fourth season, the writer Mike chooses to keep Mike unaware that Will likes him, because if Mike knew, he would have to consider what he (Mike) would choose to do. In the final episode of the fourth season, Mike had to do something to make his character relevant in the operation to rescue Max, and he once again chose the lazy approach (Mike's character in the action scenes is, to put it mildly, a strategist; in other words, his contribution to the operation is giving speeches). He even plagiarized lines he had written for Will, directly using them in his speech to Eleven. Eleven didn't empathize, once again highlighting the dissatisfaction in Mike and Eleven's relationship.
Even though both Eleven and Mike were unhappy with the relationship, it didn't diminish the audience's love for this heroic couple. Straight people are already accustomed to such mutually unsatisfactory relationships. People often complain but still muddle through, not yearning for true love, but simply wanting someone to cuddle with, even if their spirits can't connect. Why not? Love is a luxury, and what are the chances of two people truly loving and understanding each other?
In the fifth season, Mike finally allows his true male lead, Will, to shine, because he has to end this journey and this relationship. He ultimately killed Eleven (in a way he thought the audience would accept) and sent Will back to his own timeline.
The subtle details he hinted at through Robin's words at the beginning of the fifth season were actually planted in every episode of every season, only discernible to attentive viewers who realize that Mike was the one actively making these hints.
Therefore, Will's actions and words don't come from Will's character, but from the screenwriter Mike. It wasn't the time they spent together that gave Will hope, but rather the screenwriter Mike who wanted Will to have hope (a bit convoluted, haha).
Even Will's coming out wasn't from Will himself, but Mike arbitrarily having Will fall in love and then let go. In the finale, Mike wouldn't bring up his relationship with Will again because he had already finished telling that story, because the person who came out wasn't really Will, but Mike.
After everything was over, Mike still jealously described Will going to a more open place and starting new relationships. This isn't the behavior of a good friend; it's the behavior of a jealous secret admirer.
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