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“You can’t publish this.” Lucas said, tossing the stapled manuscript back onto the table. “You can’t.”
“Why not?” Will asked, taking it and trying to skim the page Lucas decided was the end of his reading. He missed the halfway mark by ten pages.
“Uh, maybe the fact you nearly spell Hawkins Lab out by name!” Dustin cried, slapping his hand on the paper in Will’s hands. “I am not going down for this.”
“What? You aren’t even in it!” Will argued.
“Yeah, because Dennis doesn’t sound at all like me.” Dustin sighed, rolling his eyes. “People will see your name on the cover and connect all the dots, Will.”
“Why are you guys being so mean about this!” Will cried, reaching forward and pulling all the papers into his hands. He had printed and supplied his first draft of his science fiction novel to his closest friends, all home from their first year of college, and was met with reluctance and disgust. “I thought you would like it!”
“That’s not like what happened!” Lucas sighed, providing maybe the first bit of real feedback.
“So is it too realistic or not enough?” Will demanded, glaring at them. “Which is it?”
“What I mean is that you can’t add the romantic subplot.” Lucas said flatly. “It’s dumb.”
“Oh.” It sure didn’t feel that way to Will when he was living it. “I just thought that it would… be true to the story.”
“Will.” Mike finally broke his silence, having been sitting at the far end of the table. He flipped the last page of the draft over. “It’s good.”
“See!”
“But,”
“Oh dammit!” Will sighed and rested his forehead on the table.
“But I think it’s a little too real… I mean, do you want everyone to know our business? Lying to the government? Literally traveling dimensions? Hiding a fugitive in my basement? That’s all true and it’s all right there. You’re going to be putting everyone in danger.”
“But, I changed the names and some of the timeline.” Will had thought it would be enough. Every therapist Will ever went to thought he made his actual life story up, so changing things even more was supposed to be better, make it believable.
“Why do you even want to tell this story anyway?” Dustin asked, crossing his arms.
“Uh,” It was most of Will’s childhood; having nightmares and episodes and switching between worlds. He missed every marker of a regular boy’s childhood. He was too awkward to know how to properly dance at his first formal– and he danced with a girl, having been too behind in his own self-discovery to realize he was gay. Instead every deviant feeling was painted up to being possessed again. The possession made Will nearly experience being “converted” into a straight person. His childhood was taken from him and all he had left were bits and pieces of his friends trying to save him, and the tiniest fluttering heartbeat he had for one of them. Will wanted to cement it in the book, a scared gay boy fighting for his right to live, to declare that it was real, that it happened. “I like the story.”
“It’s just a money grab, man, come on.” Lucas said. “That publisher knows this shit is crazy and wants to sell a quick thousand copies and then let your name get dragged through the mud.” Maybe Lucas was right; who’d want to read Will’s story anyway? Some gay kid from Maine (Indiana would be too obvious), fighting literal scaled monsters without faces and proper dimensions? Who’d want to see a gay kid do anything except be senselessly beaten and killed?
“I guess you’re right.” Will muttered, his shoulders sagging. “Thanks for the feedback.”
“This isn’t anything against you… It’s great writing but… We’re just looking out for you.” Lucas said, standing from his chair. “Don’t give up, Will. This just isn’t the story.”
“Got it.” Will nodded, waving to his friends as they followed Lucas’ lead and began to leave the room. “See you later.”
The door closed behind them and Will was left with his draft, with his sorry excuse for coming out, for self-declaration, for self-exploration, for self-love. It was a handful of chapters about fear and death and numbness and pain and love. How fucking stupid was he?
“Hey Will?”
“Yeah?” Will turned to face Mike as he walked back in the door.
“The story is really good.” He said quietly.
“Thanks.”
“I mean, it’s incredible. You capture everyone so well and when you write about yourself I felt so connected– it’s really good, Will.” He continued, smiling. “And I don’t think the romantic stuff is stupid either.”
“Y–You don’t?” Will asked, twisting the pages in his hands.
“No. I think Bill and Mick are really meant for each other.” He walked back over to the table and sat down in the chair beside Will. “I mean, it’s obvious in chapter three even though Mick’s got his head up his ass and ignoring the fact that Bill is trying to confess to him all this shit he’s going through…”
“Mick is really clueless.” Will agreed, laughing. “But he’s the lovable hero. He’s allowed to have flaws.”
“But see that’s where I think you should change it.” Mike said, picking up a manuscript from Will’s hands. “You write Mick as the hero. And he’s totally not! It’s Bill the whole time. Yeah, he needs the other people to help him get back to Earth, but he’s the one constantly fighting and trying to reach them. He’s the hero!”
“Really?” Will asked, paging through his book slowly. “You think so?”
“As an experienced reader, I would say I know so.” Mike grinned, nudging Will’s side. “Bill’s kind of a badass. I mean, coming out of the closet and the fifth dimension? Kind of a big deal.”
“You don’t think I should scrap it?” Will asked, feeling hopeful in all the worse ways.
“Well, I don’t know.” Mike shrugged. “I don’t know if everyone is ready for it. I mean, the four of us are going to line up with these characters, and El– Jane– is still trying to fly under the radar. I would hate to see your book detained by the government for sensitive information pertaining to national security.” He laughed but Will saw the truth behind the exaggeration– or the fact that it wasn’t.
“So I’ll scrap it.”
“No. Finish it.” Mike said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Write Bill as the hero, give him that happy ending, and then give the book to me. I want a copy to love while the rest of the world catches up to Bill Wyman and his very endearing creator.”
“Flattering me will not make Mick any less of an idiot for half the book.” Will said, pushing Mike away jokingly.
“Well, I tried.” Mike sighed. “Will you at least move up the part where they actually fall in love? The drag out is painful.”
“You’re telling me?” Will laughed. “You were stupid for so damn long!”
“Well, I’m sorry.” Mike muttered, leaning in and kissing Will on the cheek. “I’ll make up for it in the sequel.”