Chapter Text
It is safe here. Truly, actually safe. Will drops into the muddy floor of Castle Byers, ripping his backpack off as he huddles in the den, his only source of protection against the raging winds and rain above. Barely.
The branches are barely holding up in the storm tonight, wind gusting in his ears. Will can’t stop shaking, full-body tremors that shake his body uncontrollably.
I’m so scared. He hears a whisper in the back of his mind.
Will can’t control the response he has to the storm outside, the back of his neck feels the sick touch of evil. Dread hollows out his belly, and he hides his head in his knees. The hand of the Demogorgon looms above Castle Byers, ready to drag Will out of it at any moment.
Will hates it. He hates being a coward so much, a crybaby, a wuss, a queer . He knows the whispers better than anyone. But Will cannot physically move from his spot on the ground. It’s like he’s a deer in the headlights, his muscles are locked in terror. It eats him alive everytime he proves the rumors right and he fails to stand up for himself. Everytime he hides behind his friends, behind the protection of a certain someone.
Mike . Will closed his eyes tighter. Mike, who he just embarrassed himself in front of. Mike, who has been such a jerk towards him whenever he tries to talk to him. Mike, who acts like he’s cooler than him now. Mike, who treats him like a child.
Mike, the one who wraps his hand around his shoulders and pulls him away from the danger. Mike, who stays at his bedside to make sure he’s okay. Mike, the paladin who protects him from harm. Mike, his best friend who has been pushing Will away for reasons he will not explain. Mike, who just grabbed Will and stared at him with eyes Will can’t explain.
His eyes. Will felt so seen, and not in a good way. He never saw Mike act like that before, so intense and absolutely frantic in his movements. He was right on top of Will, inspecting Will everywhere. Will felt similar to a fly pinned under the light of a microscope, the heat of Mike’s glare causing his mind to go blank. He doesn’t even remember what happened after they ended up in the garage. All he knows is that Mike was scary and not himself.
Will is still shaking a half hour later. He feels the side of his neck, fingers lingering at the hot, raised skin under his jaw. What is that? He presses down, feeling the soft pulse of the puffy skin.
Will doubles over, sudden nausea overtaking him. He doesn’t know if it was his fight with Mike, Vecna’s hold over him, the weird bump on his neck, or a culmination of everything, but he feels terrible. The ground is soaking wet, but he couldn’t care less as another cramp pulses through him. Fuck. He needs to go home.
Will pushes himself off the ground, slowly crawling onto his hands and knees because his body aches. Clinging to the branches of Castle Byers as another stomach pain strikes him, Will sucks a deep breath in, dragging himself through the woods.
He barely makes it to the backdoor, collapsing against the side of the house. Jonathan opens the door, shocked to see Will hunched over in the backyard. He immediately ushers him inside, Will can barely make out what he is saying.
“What happened, we thought you were still at Mike’s,” Will drops into the kitchen chair. Joyce is already home, and is fussing over him in a second. He feels her warm, worried hands over his heated face. Is he warm? He’s shivering, and cold, but feels like he has a fever. “Will? Will?”
“Mom..” He can’t speak. Will feels bad for making his mom worry about him, but he can’t gather the strength to prove to her that he’s okay. Everything is moving in slow motion. It’s so hot. Too hot. The last thing he remembers is hearing knocking at the front door. And the smell that takes him, grabs him by the neck and stops his heart, him .
“Will! WILL!” Lucas is sick of Mike. Seriously. If this happens again, just count him out of it, because they were at Will’s house, about to ask Will’s mom if he’s there, then Mike runs off the porch into the woods. Seriously ? He thought Mike had gotten an idea of where Will is exactly, but he keeps cutting through the woods in short sections and he’s starting to think Mike is walking in circles.
He’s two right turns away from telling Mike he’s just going to go home. Lucas shakes his head, bemoaning the wasted night. It’s not like he had better things to do, but watching Mike go mental in the woods isn’t at the top of his list either.
What is he doing? Mike finally stops zig zagging through the trees and ends up at oh, it’s Fort Byers. This must be where Will is at. Lucas feels a little more content knowing the goosechase Mike swept him up in was actually purposeful.
Until Mike gets on the ground and starts sniffing a branch. Lucas steps back, feeling bewildered. “Mike?” Mike ignores him, seeming to shove his head further into the branches. “Um. Okay,” Lucas looks away, completely bewildered.
Mike gets up, straightening the jacket on his shoulders. “He’s over there!” And he points in the direction opposite of where they came. Lucas groans. Seriously?
“How do you know?” Lucas complains, “I can barely see anything.” He looks up to the sky but it is covered by the branches, rain drizzling down. The ground is completely swamped and the path is covered with intruding branches. He climbs over a fallen tree.
“I can smell him.” Mike says casually. “I think.” The boy catches up to Lucas, hot on his heels. On the run to find Will as fast as possible. To catch him. Lucas swallows.
That puberty class they went to a couple weeks ago is sending alarms in his head, “Smell? Dude, are you a…” Lucas trails off. Mike is an Alpha then, isn’t he? It’d make sense, his dad is one also, but Lucas never thought any of the Party members would present this early. He had been hoping to present as an Alpha also. Would make it easier to get on the Basketball team for freshman auditions. It’s not like Mike would put any of his increased athletic advantage to use. Lucas’s mouth twists bitterly.
They exit the woods and Mike paces ahead towards the Byers porch. Lucas falls back, watching the way Mike paces on the porch before tracing his wrist along the frame of the door. His face pinches with disgust. This is classic scenting behavior. It feels weird to watch. Should he leave?
Lucas is too afraid of what Mike will get up to without him there though. That realization, that Mike is volatile and not to be trusted in this state, runs a shiver down his spine.
Mike knocks on the door. Leaning his head against the wood, he can hear the footsteps approaching. Based on the scent wafting near, unfamiliar and floral, it’s likely Will’s mom. Mike doesn’t think Jonathan is an Omega, anyway. The second scent that hits him makes his mouth water. Will . His heart starts to race, and he feels an urge to throw himself against the door.
Joyce Byers opens it before he can slam his shoulder against it. He reddens. “Hello, Mike.” Mike watches the way Joyce’s eyes dart nervously between him and the surroundings behind her. The smell of Will congregates stronger in the roof of his mouth, saliva pooling. Will. “What do you need?”
Mike shakes his head. He has to think of something , the voice in his head says, it’s tone sly and deeper than the internal voice that usually resides within Mike’s head.
“I left my,” what will convince Ms Byers to let him come inside? The thought presses him despite his mind telling him to stop where he was on the porch. “I left my homework assignment in Will’s room. Is he here?” Mike tilts his head innocently, feeling obvious. Of course Will is here— all the reminders of Will are itching under Mike’s skin right now. Mike opens his mouth slightly, scenting the air.
Joyce’s eyebrows dip low, shading her concerned eyes. “I don’t know,” She frets, looking urgently behind her before making quick gestures out of view.
Mike fights the urge to look, the voice in his head reminding him he needs to play the part. Will needs him to.
“Can I grab it for you? Will isn’t feeling very well right now.” Joyce amends.
Mike pauses, as if collecting his words. He’s raging on the inside. The beast paces in his mind space. ‘This won’t do.’ Mike shakes his head. “It’s a couple of papers for science. I think I left them on Will’s desk,” He tilts his head wonderingly. “Or maybe it was in the living room where we worked on it? Maybe it’s in his drawer…” Mike trails off.
Joyce cuts him off, and the beast in Mike’s head unfurls, coming out to make his full debut. “It’s fine. Come inside,” The concealed anxiety she is exuding is palpable. Mike tastes it in his mouth like rotten deli meat. His lips twist, he wants to spit it out.
Mike comes inside tentatively, Lucas just behind him. They both toes off their shoes, Mike taking the lead as he walks through the kitchen. Will must’ve just been in here, he eyes the wet footsteps that led to the kitchen from the back door.
Mike places his socked foot to the muddy footprint, his foot just slightly larger. The muddy print belongs to a small, narrow foot. Mike can smell the mud and sap, likely exuding from the oak trees that grow around Castle Byers. His mouth salivates, and Mike’s knees ache to bring him down to the ground. He wants to kneel on all fours, bring his nose down and scent deeply. He’d find Will, Will and Will himself , just barely woven into the scent of forest and foliage.
Joyce stops her tour at the staircase, dark eyes peering up to where Will’s room resides on the floor above. The beast inside Mike is surprised she’s not pressing against him entering harder. She doesn’t know . The beast taunts. Know what? Mike responds. The silence is deafening.
Mike climbs the steps, Lucas’s a secondary echo of his own. He doesn’t acknowledge his friend at the moment, even when he picks up on the sharp exhale of air breathed by Lucas. His eyes are glued to the door down the hall. His fingers itch, ready to grab and take .
Take a hold of the doorknob, that is. Mike hesitates, mid step right outside Will’s door. Even when his mind is screaming for him to just come inside, already. He doesn’t know what he’ll say. Mike presses closer to the door, leaning his ear to the wood, closing his eyes. Lucas starts talking, his voice right on the edge of his tuned periphery. He raises a hand up to silence him.
Will’s heartbeat is fast. Not incredibly fast, but higher than his heart rate when he’s asleep. He doesn’t even know Will’s average heart rate, but the voice inside his head tells him. The Omega is awake.
Mike pauses at his bedroom door, cheeks flushing. He doesn’t know what he’ll say to Will when he comes in. Should he just turn tail and run? But he came all this way. He needs Will, and Will needs to apologize to him for being a bad partner. A bad friend, what kind of friend just turns away when his best friend is going through a breakup?
You don’t deserve an apology. The beast in him reminds Mike. He does a double take at that, the beast’s words clear and calm in his head. No, Mike argues against the monster. He does deserve one. Will never should’ve treated him like that .
What kind of Alpha lets his Omega walk out like that? The voice, loud and resonant, responds.
With that judgement, Mike welcomes himself to his execution, walking inside Will’s room.