Chapter Text
Will soon wakes up in a daze. He looks around frantically, eyes filled with worry. He tries to slow down his breathing but he can't. He wonders what time it is, but he can't seem to bring himself to get up and check. He tried remembering why he was breathing so heavily. And then it hit him. Another stupid nightmare. He recalled briefly what it was, but not the tiny details. He thought real hard and then popped his eyes open.
"Mike.” He said softly. He had dreamt of Mike. Mike was in some sort of trouble in his dream. He didn't remember what caused it, he just knew he needed to see Mike and make sure he was okay. He slowly flung the sheet and blanket off his body and then moved his legs to the side of the bed. With a deep sigh he stood up, wavering a little. He held his head. 'What’s going on with me?’. He felt dizzy and nauseated at the same time. He grabbed onto the bed for support and gradually gained his balance. He noticed his bag halfway open spilling it's contents of art supplies on the floor. It was a reminder of what happened yesterday with Troy and his friends. He frowned and trodded out of his room to the bathroom, dragging his foot behind.
“Good morning sleepy head!” Joyce says cheerfully ruffling Will's fringe into an even more tangled mess.
Will smiled weakly in return reaching up and kissing his mom's cheek. Luckily she's already short so it's easy for him to extend himself to her face. A few moments later Hopper was standing next to Joyce holding her lower back with his arm. He planted a quick peck on her forehead and then places his attention to Will.
“Damn Will, they really got you huh?” Hop said/asked sympathetically. Jim reached out and touched Will's cheek gently and Will winched slightly at the contact, but he soon relaxed. Hopper frowned.
"I'm gonna make them pay, don't worry buddy.” Hopper said with a tinge of hope.
“N-no it's fine. It really isn't that big a deal.”
“No. We're gonna get them, and we're gonna make them pay for all the hell they put you through.”
Will shrugged it off and freed himself of the two adults' grip. He continued his trek to the bathroom and then used the toilet. He went to wash his hands, but his reflection in the mirror caught his eye. He looked up. He stared at himself. He inspected his features. He looked first at his hair. He never particularly liked his bowl cut, but he was afraid that if he got it cut shorter, then Troy would have even more reason to call him names. He looked into his eyes. They were so brown. He hated his eyes. He was always so intrigued by blue and green eyes, and the way they sparkle every which way. Then he looked at his lips. The lips that turned blue so many times. More specifically when he kept his room cold for days when the mind flayer communicated that it liked it cold. He was so glad that was over, and he was relieved that things could go back to the way they had always been. Unfortunately nothing went back to normal. It did for all the other kids because all they had to do was fit in the new plus one, El. For Will it was harder, and the party knew that, but they didn’t quite understand how hard it was. He tried his best to be okay. He knew it’d take a lot of time, and he came to terms with the fact that he’d probably never be one-hundred percent back to the original Will. But oh did he try. He tried so much. He got frustrated with himself for feeling what he was feeling. The urge to just scrape at his body. Carve out little shapes and lines, like he was perfecting a sculpture. Like everything else he tried hard at, he tried to stop the artistic slashes that he placed all over the hidden parts of his body. But sometimes the need to feel that euphoria was too strong, and he couldn’t overcome it, and he soon gave in to the temptations. It was a recurring theme, the pain. Not only the physical pain of the actual cuts on him, but the heartache he was experiencing at the same time.
Will quickly snapped out of whatever he was in, and shut his eyes, trying to process his thoughts. They flew all around his brain, and the only thing he knew for certain was that he was hungry. He regained himself as much as he could and then exited the bathroom. He plopped into a chair at the small dinner table and slumped down into it, rubbing his eyes sleepily. When he opened his eyes he was greeted by a tiny girl seated across from him. He studied the face and quickly realized that it was Eleven. She beamed. She was overjoyed for some reason that Will couldn’t place his finger on.
"Oh hi.” Will said sheepishly.
“Hey. I stayed the night last night because Dad did and he said I could not be home alone.” El replied explaining why she was sitting in his kitchen that early. Will only nodded and El kept on rambling about her being excited for later. She mentioned how they could walk to Mike’s house together. Will nodded again. Thankfully Jonathan saved Will by bringing in two plates of breakfast and placing them on the table. A plate consisted of two scrambled eggs, a piece of toast, and a cut up apple. Will smiled shyly at his brother to say thank you, and Jonathan grinned back. Will shoveled his food in like he hadn’t eaten in days. Truthfully he hadn’t, but he wasn’t going to admit that to his mom because he know she’d freak out and worry over him even more. After he practically licked his plate clean he placed his plate in the sink and told El he was going to finish packing his bags and change, and then they could leave for Mike’s house. He took a peek at the clock on his way out and saw that it was ten o’clock. He didn’t remember what time they were supposed to meet, but he knew he needed to hurry. So he threw on a random sweater -he made sure it covered his arms for obvious reasons- and then he shimmied his way into his dark blue jeans. He grabbed the art supplies that had fell onto the floor and put them back into his backpack and then he zipped it up.
Will ran out of his room all dressed and ready to go. He kissed his mom goodbye, listening to her ramble about him being safe, and he told her he'd call and check in each night to tell him he was okay. Then he gave Jonathan the tightest hug ever. He knew he was going to miss his brother, but he knew he needed to get out of the house. Hopper gave El a lecture about being smart with her powers because he couldn’t lose his little girl. And with that they were off. Will led the way, eager to get to Mike’s. He was surprised El hadn’t said anything about his scuff marks that were all over his body. He hoped that Mike would not worry too much, but at the same time he hoped that Mike would be overprotective, because damn was he cute when he was overprotective. On the way there El was talking about her excitement for the week. Will usually enjoyed listening to her talk on and on, because after all she has been locked in a small room for most of her life. But today was different. He wished she would just shut up. He felt guilty for thinking that considering El sacrificed her life to save Will countless times. He shuffled his thoughts around for what seemed like ages before he snapped out of his head when El poked his shoulder.
"You okay Will?” El said worriedly-she was getting really good at regular conversation. |
"Oh yeah. Just thinking.” Will replied hesitantly. El accepted the answer with a shrug and they kept walking on.
- -
Will walked up to the front door, admiring their Christmas decorations. He gently knocked three times and Mrs. Wheeler answered and greeted them with a bright smile. She was in long jeans and a striped sweater, holding Holly on her hip.
"Will!!” Holly exclaimed reaching for him to hold her. Will and Holly always had a strong bond, and Holly just adored Will. Will closed the gap between them and grabbed her tightly.
“Hi Holly! I missed you so much!” Will beamed at her. He loved her like his own sister, and sometimes he was jealous that Mike was able to have a younger sibling. Karen yelled up the stairs that Mike's friends were here, and then she vanished.
"I have something to show you Willy!” Holly looked so happy in Will's arms, and Will looked proud holding her and hearing his special nickname fly out of Holly's little mouth.
“Oh you do?!” Will asked acting surprised. He really wasn't cause’ everytime he came over Holly always had a new toy or trick to show him. She nodded her tiny head, pigtails bobbing up and down. He placed her feet into the ground and she grabbed three of his fingers, tugging him into the living room. Will smiled and let her drag him along.
A few moments later Mike appeared in front of eleven and she practically jumped into his arms. He held her for a few seconds before letting go and then placing a quick kiss on the cheek. She blushed red. Mike didn't. He never did. Not unless the person was Will. He put his arm gently around her lower back and guided her into the living room where Will and Holly were. Mike saw Will playing with his little sister and his heart almost popped open, overflowing with admiration. He stood there staring at his best friend so long that his arm got tired and dropped by itself from El’s back, dangling by his side lifelessly. Will looked up and met Mike's eyes.
"Oh hi Mike! What? Do I have something in my hair?” Will asked as he noticed Mike staring at him. He felt around his hair looking for whatever must have been caught in it.
Now Mike was blushing. He walked towards Mike and chuckled nervously.
"Oh no, haha, you just- nevermind” he cut himself off. Will shrugged and went back to Holly's attention. When Mike's mind came back into focus he looked at Will for real. He noticed the blue almost purple bruises along his collarbone and the red bump atop his forehead. He rushed to him worried for his friend.
"What happened Wll!!?” He said frantically. He placed his left hand onto Will's shoulder trying to comfort him.
“It's nothing, I ran into Troy and his friends the other day and we had a little argument. It's fine. It's okay.” Will said reassuringly. Mike wouldn't take that for an answer.
"Troy? That little asshole. I'll kill him” Mike said clenching his fists and standing up as if he was going to find Troy right now. Will grabbed Mike's hand and held it tightly to stop him from leaving. Will’s hands were icy cold, and Mike reasoned that it was because of the small snowfall that started to drop early this morning. Mike thought his heart would just stop beating right there. He never really connected physically with Will, no matter how much he wanted to he always only let it go as far as a friendly poke or high five. But this time something was different. He felt truly connected to Will. Like he was letting him in finally. But then Will took his hand away, jolting Mike back to reality.
"First of all Mike, child!” Will pointed to Holly who was staring back with confusion in her eyes.
"Second, I'm fine. I really am. Let's just go and have a good time.” Mike agreed and put out a friendly hand to help Will up. He got up, and then they disconnected once again. They flipped on the TV while they waited for the others to arrive. El sat in the corner confused, but silent. She was beginning to think something else was going on, but she pushed the thought aside because her favorite program was on, and she rarely got TV time anymore.