Chapter Text
It was cold. It felt unsettling on Will’s skin. He was in Mike’s room… his room was always warm. He hated it. He knew it wasn’t really his room, yet he hated it so much. The feeling on his skin. It made him feel gross. He always got this feeling whenever he was in the upside down… whenever he had these dreams every now and then…
Shivering in discomfort, he huffs as he sits up, looking around for any sign of life. The emptiness was so eerie. He knew it was just a bad dream, it had to be. He mumbled under his breath as he stared at his lap. Will looked around once more only to be startled at Mike suddenly directly next to him, staring right at him. The way he bore his eyes into him made his skin crawl as he shifted away slightly from the shock of his sudden appearance. Will can feel it’s not him. It’s all just a bad nightmare.
“Uh— Will… where are we?” Mike questioned, a tinge of fear in his voice. He shifts closer to Will—despite his movement away—their arms touching. Will couldn’t help but blush. “Um… I— I don’t know. Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.” Will reassured the Mike-like entity. Maybe it really was Mike. Will questioned, continuing to allow his eyesight to roam, wondering, are they really here? Mike swallowed, hugging himself. “It’s… so cold.” Will nods and looks back at him, staring a little too long. He swallows, trying to examine him. He studied his body language. Trying to see if it was his Mike. Mike notices and… looks… disgusted with him. “What are you looking at?” Will was startled, quickly ripping his gaze as he looked down, dejected before murmuring. “N-Nothing.” Mike rolled his eyes and backed up. Shifting away. A pit formed in the brunette’s stomach.
“Oh yeah, sure, sure. Nothing. You looking at me like that is definitely nothing, Will.” ‘Mike’ scowled at him.
As much as Will tries to convince himself that this isn’t truly Mike, it still hurts. The work and time taken that Will has endured to get rid of his feelings for Mike only for them to be recognized and ridiculed… just sets off something in him. ‘Mike’ examines his body language and mannerisms and his face contorts in disgust, like he realized something he didn’t want to find out.
He used their personal way of communication as a way to taunt Will.
He knew better than to let Vecna get to him. Better than to adhere to his sick manipulation and mocking. He knew better than anyone else. And, god, did he wish this didn’t hurt him. He felt so weak. So aimless.
“Hm. Is that why you were so scared to sleep in the same bed as me, huh?” ‘Mike’ mocked Will, crawling closer as a way to jeer at him. “You’re disgusting. You didn’t want to come near me because you couldn’t control your sick feelings. You should’ve slept somewhere else. Maybe the basement. Better yet, how about 15 feet in that lake?” ‘Mike’ laughed. Like those corny villains in superhero movies. Even though Will knew it wasn’t him, it still hit him hard. What if he truly was this obvious with his feelings? He worked so hard to conceal them and make them go away, yet nothing ever worked.
“You can’t even look at yourself in the mirror anymore, can you? You’re a mistake. You shouldn’t even be here. We should’ve closed that gate right when you said it.” ‘Mike’ spat. “Why don’t you like girls like a normal guy? So gross. No wonder everyone calls you a fag.” It insulted him more. These jeers filled Will’s mind, causing him to spiral. His pace of breathing quickened, feeling himself panic from the overwhelming amount of taunts.
Suddenly, he felt arms squeeze his shoulders, causing him to jolt up in fear of—
“Will, Will, hey, hey it’s okay, wake up…” A soft voice comforted him.
…
Will opened his eyes. He was back in Mike’s room… warm, comfortable. And with… Mike? Slowly, tears welled up in Will’s eyes as he scrambled away from the worry-eyed Wheeler in front of him. His pace of breathing quickened again as he sobs, murmuring so much all at the same time. “Don’t—don’t… not now, please…” Will sobbed, hugging himself as he shoved his head into his arms, attempting to give himself time to adjust to the sudden change of atmosphere. The sudden comfort that felt too good to be true. In the state that Will was in, that’s what it felt like, at least. “Okay… okay. It’s okay Will. Take your time. I won’t leave, okay? I won’t ever leave.” Mike spoke softly, keeping his hands away from Will as he waited patiently.
It took a couple minutes or so for Will to actually feel comfortable enough to speak, yet he had still been hitching his breath and trembling. “Will… it’s okay. I’m here, I’m real, it’s me.” Mike continued to whisper gently to him, trying to keep his hands as far away as needed so he wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. Will composed his breathing and bit his tongue. Mike opened his arms to signal if Will wanted a hug. Will stopped biting his tongue and swallowed, exhaling softly before nodding. Quickly, Will scrambled to initiate the hug. Mike hummed gently and hugged him back, gently playing with his hair.
After a few minutes, Will pulled off of Mike and sighed once again, fiddling with his hands. Will mumbles “Good morning.” Mike couldn’t help but smile bittersweetly. “Good morning, Will.” Mike shifted back into his concerned, gentle tone. “What happened? I—If you want to talk about it.” Will chewed on his lip and looks at Mike with a saddened expression. “Another nightmare, huh? Hey, it’s okay. It’s not real. And it won’t be real. Ever.” Mike continued to reassure him, his smile contradicting his furrowed eyebrows. He shoots a glance at Will with his hand slightly above his shoulder. Will nods which leads to Mike placing a gentle hand on Will’s shoulder.
“If you don’t wanna talk about it, it’s alright. It’s fine, just… just know I’m still here if you do.” Mike continued to speak to Will in that voice. Will hated how much that tone made him feel secure. Comforted. He wishes it didn’t. He felt almost guilty.
Shifting back into a more positive light, Will snaps out of his thoughts and nods before looking at the clock on Mike’s bedside table. 3:27 AM. He bites the inside of his cheek and hums disappointingly, lying down and staring at the ceiling. Mike tilts his head and sits up next to him, looking at him every now and then.
“Hey, you don’t have to worry.” Mike whispered when he noticed Will fighting his eyelids that fell like dropping anvils. Mike wanted nothing more than for him to get a good amount of sleep, just so he doesn’t have to drag himself around like a limping zombie the next day. He had a date, for christ’s sake!
The reminder caused Mike to look dejected. That was, before he forgot he had been talking to Will. Quickly, he masked his disappointment.
“Really. I’ll be here to protect you if anything happens. Anything.” Mike said, gently rubbing his arm before pulling his hand back. Will smiled gratefully and couldn’t help but tear up a bit, wiping it before Mike could see. Nodding, he gets comfortable before closing his eyes and drifting off once more. Mike sighed and layed his head down as well, keeping a close eye on Will.
—————————
For some lack of reason, Mike couldn’t sit all day grumbling knowing his best friend was off going on a date and having fun. It just gave him a weird uneasy feeling. He had to find some way to steer himself away from that, so he decided to go to hang out with his girlfriend, Eleven. For once, Hop decided to let them hang out again. It was always kind of on and off for when it came to them getting to see each other, but it’s not like Mike fought all that much.
Mike and El were sat on the couch together, watching television with their hands intertwined. Though, on the other hand, Mike was grasping El’s blindfold he had found in her room. He couldn’t stop overthinking and wondering what had been going on during Will’s date, and if the notes he gave him helped at all. He doesn’t know why that, during his entire time with El, his mind was plagued with nothing but concern. Mike wanted to find a way to see how they were doing, but spying on them felt… immoral.
“Uh… cool… commercials, huh?” Mike mumbled with a nervous glint in his voice. El looked over at Mike with a somewhat unamused face, but she still managed a small smile. “Yes. Very cool.” El tore her gaze back to the television. Mike bit his lip so hard he swore he could’ve drawn blood. Mike keeps tapping his foot anxiously. He had what could be described as a death grip on El’s hand involuntarily. “Mike, are you okay? You are holding my hand very.. roughly.” El mumbled as she moved her hand away.
Mike widened his eyes and quickly apologized. “Oh, shit, s—sorry El. I’m just… really bored.” He quickly covered for himself. “Hey, do you wanna shut off the TV and do something else?” Mike suggested, as he wanted anything to get his mind off of this. El shrugged but complied, getting up to turn the television off. “What would you like to do? There is not a lot to have fun with, so…” El monotonously questioned, looking around.
Mike chewed on the inside of his cheek, asking himself the same question. “Well, uh…” The boy looked down at the blindfold he gripped tightly and huffs. He shakes his head and looks back up at El. “Let’s just… talk! One on one, no noise distracting us.” Mike pat the place where El sat before. She sat next to him and faced him. “So, how has your week been?” Eleven initiated, placing her hand on Mike’s.
Mike swallowed and recapped his week in his head. “It’s been… alright. Uneventful as always.” He bit his lip. “Oh, uh, we’re learning more about… math. I know you like math. I think.” Mike smiled, gently tapping her hand. “I did. 2 years ago.” El nodded, still managing a smile. Mike gulped at the awkwardness. He remembered the painting Will made before and how El requested it. Maybe she got into D&D for him?
“So, did Dustin tell you all about the campaign we had in the Hellfire Club?” Mike inquired, beaming. El tilted her head before briefly shaking it. “Oh. Well, the end was crazy. We were all counting on Erica because this was our last shot, and—and she did it! A nat-20! A fucking nat-20! So, we basically defeated Vecna!—“ Mike exclaimed only to realize the face Eleven had been making.
“You… what?” Eleven tilted her head. “We killed Vecna because Erica rolled a nat-20!” Mike smiled, waiting for her to understand. Eleven still had confusion lying on her face. “How did you kill One? Will said he still felt him… and what is a not-twinty?” Eleven mumbled, worrying if Mike was imagining things.
“I… what? That’s not….” Mike murmured, quickly glancing elsewhere before shaking his head and smiling again. “It’s like—game Vecna! The guy we got the name from!” The boy stated, Eleven’s expression swiftly changed from confused to slightly enlightened. Definitely made more sense.
Even after the explanation, the girl had been so bored she looked around for things to suggest to do, before she noticed Mike’s hand behind his back. She peered over, noticing the blindfold he had a death grip on.
“Why do you have that?” Eleven pointed out, Mike jumping slightly in his seat. Eleven furrowed her eyebrows as if she put the pieces together. “Mike, we are not fourteen again. That is irresponsible. And not… mature. You said it yourself before.” Mike nodded and bit his lip a bit. “I know, really I do. I’m just really worried about someone and I don’t know where they are. I know it’s unethical and stupid and childish, but—I’ve been thinking about it all day and it’s been eating me alive. ” Mike rambles on, Eleven’s expression shifting to sympathy at his amount of worry. “Okay, Mike. It is okay. We can do it, but just this once. As long as they are not doing anything I should not be seeing. If they are out in public, it is fine. It is the same as walking around and coming across them. Well, except less work.” Eleven smiled with a small chuckle behind her words. Mike nodded as he smiled along before giving her the blindfold.
The girl took it and got up, turning on the television to find a channel filled with static. She sits on the ground in front of it and looks over at Mike, as if she needed for him to do something.
… because she did. She didn’t even know who he wanted her to see. Mike realizes this and quickly gets up, plops on the ground and scoots over to sit next to her. “So, who is worrying you so bad? Nancy? Your mom? Dad? Is Lucas not responding on his Walkie Talkie again?” Eleven questioned as if she had an entire list scrawled out in front of her. “Oh, what? Uh… Just… wanted to see what’s up. With. A certain… person.” Mike mumbled, for some reason breaking up his words one by one.
Eleven nodded, obviously needing more detail. Not at all answering her question, but it’s progress. “Okay, who is that?” Mike swallowed, knowing if he said, she would question. But what else can he do? “Uh… Will.” He swallowed before exclaiming immediately after in rebuttal, despite no words leaving Eleven’s mouth.
”I—I know, you’re wondering why, it’s just… he’s going on his first date. With a girl.” Eleven nodded along as he spoke, her eyes widening slightly once he mentioned a girl. “Ah… a girl?” Eleven questioned, fiddling with the blindfold. Mike didn’t know why she seemed so surprised at that.
He brushes it off, preparing to explain further until Eleven began to put the blindfold on. “Okay, let me focus.” Mike bit his lip and wondered what they could be doing. What if she ended up liking D&D and they were playing an intimate one on one game together? What if Will started drawing her as a date? What if—
“They are sitting down somewhere. With popcorn.” Eleven narrated, monotonous. Mike quickly shooed his thoughts away before exclaiming. “What? Are they watching a movie? What movie? Does Will look like he likes the movie or is he bored out of his mind?” Mike kept up his string of questions before he was cut off. “I do not know what they are watching, but Will does keep whispering about ‘He-Man’.” Eleven continued to stare at them from behind, noticing the lack of interest the girl had. She had just been lying her head on her hand the entire time and eating popcorn. Eleven had realized how little the girl liked the movie, possibly pointing to a possibility that Will most likely picked it out. Mike widened his eyes and pulled at the stuck-out strings coming from the carpet. He mumbled under his breath in frustration lined with jealousy. “Dude, Masters of the Universe, are you serious?…”
Eleven perked up as she heard him grumble and couldn’t help but snicker. She decided to lighten the mood some more. “And the girl looks very interested in the movie. Cannot keep her eyes off of the screen or Will.” Eleven laughs, attempting to show sarcasm in her voice but didn’t know how to go about it. She still managed to show a slight joking tone in her voice, but even then, Mike didn’t catch on. “Ugh… you have got to be kidding me…” Eleven giggled at his reaction, thinking he was playing around with the teasing. Mike couldn’t help but scowl at her narration. Eleven also notices… Will taking out a piece of paper whenever the girl wasn’t paying attention and then using whatever was on it to speak to her. Will wasn’t the best at flirting, yet somehow the girl blushed. Or, Eleven thinks she did, unable to properly read her face before she quickly turned back, looking down at her lap. If she did interpret it right, Eleven believes it’s just because girls think he’s conventionally attractive.
Eleven always thought there was something up with the way Will looked at girls compared to how he looked at guys. Girls always gawked and gave Will that look, yet Will can only look back the same as any other girl. Nothing special. The same way he looks at El was almost identical.
Though, the way Jennifer looked at Will didn’t compare the same as the others, but she couldn’t put her finger on it and in what tense.
After the amount of corny pick up lines El listened to, she noticed Will took longer staring at the paper than usual. She thought it must have been a long one, so she walked closer. Still unable to comprehend it, she continued to lean in farther and farther, squinting her eyes to see what was written. She noticed a lot of the things listed near the end didn’t really apply to the girl… and Will seemed surprised at this too. Slowly, El put two and two together from the handwriting to the words written down in general. Eleven… was confused. Was it Mike’s? Who had he studied so closely to write this much about someone that wasn’t her or the girl going out with Will? Eleven stared and stared and let all the specific points connect.
It hits her.
She glances at Will with widened eyes.
“Mike? Did you write this?” Eleven questioned, quickly looking back at the paper. Will was so torn from how off the rest of the points had been that he had forgotten to check on Jennifer, his eyes boring into it for so long. Too long. Jennifer looked over to see the paper but didn’t say anything. Eleven noticed that alongside Mike’s lack of response and repeats herself. “Mike. Did you write the paper?” Mike thought back, wondering, what did he write on the paper? Was it accurate to Jennifer at all? Or… to…girls?
“Mike!” Eleven exclaimed once more. “Ah, shit, uh, yeah? Why?” Mike finally responded, shaken up from the sudden break of silence. Eleven huffed and didn’t respond. “Is it bad? Did it work?” He continued to scour for answers.
Eleven noticed Will’s sudden change in emotion and how he crossed his arms, not even paying attention to the movie anymore. He tapped his foot… like Mike. Eleven couldn’t help but furrow her eyebrows and place a hand on Will’s shoulder in comfort, causing Will to jump slightly in his chair. Eleven frowned before taking the blindfold off. Mike tilted his head, putting his hand on her shoulder.
The same shoulder.
Eleven notices this and huffs, looking over at Mike with a bittersweet smile. “Mike… if you have to tell me anything at all, you are able to tell me. I will never judge you.” El assured him, taking his hand off of her shoulder and putting a hand over his. Mike was bewildered from this sudden change of tone. “I… what? I have nothing to hide from you, El. Nothing.” El’s eased more into her melancholy expression. “Everything on that paper… that was not about the girl. That was not about me. Was it?”
The more Eleven talked about this, the worse Mike’s uncertainty of the situation worsened. “Eleven, seriously, what are you talking about? I just wrote advice for Will since he’s never been with a girl before. That’s all.” Mike insisted there was nothing deeper than it. She knew better.
She shook her head. Mike was so deep into his belief that he was helping that he had no idea what to pick up from this. “Mike. Hazel eyes? The hair that covers them? The things that we have in common?” Eleven quoted the paper. Mike still didn’t see the issue, as those were the more broad ones. “What’s wrong with it? I don’t know anything about Jennifer, so I assumed she and Will had a lot in common.” Mike continued to assure El—assure himself.
El, once again, huffs before she states the more specific points. “The way you always end up on my side even after you should not, the way you do not hate me even after the amount of times I have made you feel any less than what you mean to me, the way you always insist on playing my campaigns and never bring my ideas down, only add to them.” Mike widened his eyes at the last statement. Did he write that?
“And… how you tried to cast fireball on the demogorgon rather than casting the protection spell on yourself and risked your life for the party.” Mike’s face dropped. He didn’t remember writing all of that… but he might’ve. Holy shit that is so on the nose, what was I thinking?, the boy mumbled. “What does that mean?” Eleven interrogated. Mike looked up and opened his mouth as if he had an excuse, but only pursed his lips as he scavenged for coherent thoughts. Mike was confused how Eleven didn’t understand half the things he talked about when she obviously knew enough to ask Will to paint the painting.
“Y-You know, the campaign. Like what Will told you about. Or, whoever did. You know it, right? You know.” Mike stuttered and stumbled on his words. Eleven shook her head. He couldn’t help but feel like he was going crazy.
“Remember, you—you asked Will to make that painting. I think the painting was… kind of based off of all our campaigns into one? Is that how you asked for it? Like—Like to show us all together! You know what I mean.” Mike nodded rapidly in disbelief. “…right? You have to know.”
“…Mike, what painting?”
The silence was deafening when it hit him.
“… Holy shit.”