Chapter Text
Will, Mike, Jonathan, and Argyle finally reunited with El and had her safe with them. After a long drive, they stopped at Surfer Boy Pizza to take a rest.
Throughout all of spring break, Jonathan could tell that something was different about his brother, Will. When Mike arrived in California, Jonathan watched as Will tried to give him a painting. He saw the bright smile on Will’s face turn into a dim frown. He saw Will looking hopelessly left out on his birthday as Mike and El skated together. He watched Will get closer to Mike again and talk to him on top of the car, just like him and Nancy did. It was about time that Jonathan asked him about it.
Will was sitting at the counter by himself as Mike tried to comfort El. El was really shaken up, and Will understood. She just blew up a secret laboratory. Who wouldn’t be shaken up? Jonathan was sitting at a table with Argyle with Will’s face turned from them. He got up from the table and gently approached Will.
“Hey. Um, can I talk to you for a sec?” he asked softly.
“Ok…” Will responded, as confused as someone who had hit their head.
Jonathan walked behind the counter and into the kitchen. Will followed him. The bright golden lights shone above them as Jonathan stopped by one of the stoves.
“Are you okay?” Jonathan asked him.
“I mean… I’m as okay as anyone can be when they’re on the run to save their friends who are about to die.” Will looked down at the tiled floor below him as his cheeks turned red.
“Well I mean, even before all of this. Just ever since Mike got here. Something is going on with you two and I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but I’m not blind. You’re acting differently,” Jonathan said as gently as he could.
“No-No I’m not,” Will stuttered defensively.
“Yes. You are.” Will looked up at Jonathan with wide eyes as tears started to form. “Listen, I’ve known you for 15 years. I know you better than you think I do. I’m not mad, I just want to know so I can help,” Jonathan reassured him. Will slowly nodded as his lips pursed together into a frown. A single tear slowly fell down his cheek.
“Okay.” Will paused before continuing. “Please don’t be mad at me for this,” Will said shakily.
“I won’t be. I promise.”
“... I’m in love with Mike.” Will inhaled deeply and exhaled quickly. His breath crackled as he released the built up feelings he had had for years.
“I know,” Jonathan replied quietly. He watched Will’s eyes fill with tears and his hands start to shake. “Come here,” Jonathan said gently as he held his arms out.
Will rushed into Jonathan’s arms and cried into his shoulder. Jonathan started to hug him tighter as Will sobbed. Will opened his eyes, and the room started to turn dim. The lights gradually went from the color of the sun to the color of the moon. He took his arms off of Jonathan’s back as he tried to pull away. Jonathan grabbed onto Will tighter.
“Jonathan, you’re squeezing too tight. I can’t breathe.”
“You don’t deserve to,” a deep voice echoed from in front of him. Will forcefully ducked under Jonathan’s arms to release himself. He was greeted by a tall, slimy figure without a nose. His fingers were long and sharp, and vines encapsulated his neck. Will’s eyes widened as he examined the strange man.
“Who- Who are you?!” Will shouted at him.
“I’m here to save you. No one in your world will ever love you for the real you. They only even acknowledge you because they don’t know who you truly are: a lying, sinful, selfish, broken boy,” he groaned. The slimy man began to walk towards him. Will quickly backed up until his back was against the wall.
“I don’t understand this!” Will screamed.
“But I do. I will end your suffering. I can be your real friend. Just join me. Let’s start a new party, you and me. Join my party.”
Meanwhile in the real world, his body sat still at the counter. His eyes stared blankly at the counter, unable to move, but no one knew. He looked the same as before to them, like maybe he was just bored.
In his vision, Will looked up at the low pitched man, fear escaping his eyes. “Invitation declined,” Will responded after hesitating. He bolted through the kitchen and out of the restaurant. A red bolt of lighting struck the mountains in front of him. He frantically looked into the windows of Surfer Boy Pizza with hopes to see anyone. No one was there. He was alone. “Mike! Mike!” he yelled desperately as a shadow approached him.
“He can’t hear you,” the shadow spoke. As it walked closer, the vines became clearer and the silhouette of his sharp talons grew bigger.
“Mike! El! Jonathan! Someone help me! Please! Argyle! Mike!” he shouted frantically.
While Will was desperately reaching for help, Jonathan and Argyle were sitting at the table, bored as ever.
“Hey, um, can you maybe put on the radio or something? The silence of the middle of nowhere is kind of giving me the creeps,” Jonathan told Argyle.
“Yeah, sure man.” Argyle hopped out of his seat and went to the back of the kitchen. There were speaker controls in a separate room, and he turned them on. The commercials on the station blared too loudly.
“Holy shit! Can you turn that down?” Mike shouted from across the restaurant.
“I’m trying!” Mike rolled his eyes and looked at the counter from across the room. He noticed that Will was frozen. Will didn’t even flinch at the loud speakers above him. Growing concerned, Mike walked over.
“Hey Will, are you alright?” Mike asked softly as he put his hand on Will’s shoulder. He sat down next to him and looked into Will’s eyes. “Will?”
Jonathan turned and watched fear grow on Mike’s face. “What’s wrong?” Jonathan asked. Mike stared at Will’s face and double checked to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating.
“He’s not moving.”
“Yeah, yeah. Funny joke,” Argyle interrupted from the kitchen.
“I’m not joking! Get over here, right now!” Jonathan rushed to the other side of Will and looked into his eyes.
“What the Hell?” Jonathan whispered. El ran up to them. Her eyes were filled with terror, like she knew exactly what was wrong. Suddenly, the once commercial filled radio station began to play music; more specifically, Should I Stay or Should I Go? began to blast from the speakers.
Will, still searching for a way out, was able to hear the song in the distance. He turned around and watched the desert in the distance as a window slowly opened up. What the Hell? A soft image of Mike, Jonathan, El, and Argyle poked through the window. They were standing around his frozen body. “...Mike?” Will whispered quietly. Will slowly began to walk towards the opening in the sky.
“What’s wrong with him?” Jonathan’s voice echoed quietly.
“Will! Come back to us, please!” Mike shouted.
Will increased his pace as he looked behind him. The viney man was still following behind. Will began to sprint.
“Don’t join them, William. Join me.” Will ran away faster and faster. Vines from the ground moved around him, but didn’t catch him. His breath became heavy as he processed everything that was happening.
“Will! Come back!” Mike screamed.
“I’m trying!” Will shouted, hoping that Mike could somehow hear him. A root from the ground suddenly latched onto Will’s foot, causing him to trip. “Fuck!” he yelled as he fell to the ground. Will grasped on to anything he could in front of him. There were huge rocks in the slimy desert around him. It was his last resort. Will threw himself towards the rocks before the vine could drag him away. He gripped the sharp ridges as he got pulled in the opposite direction. It was like tug of war, except Will was the rope. He kicked his leg, hoping it would loosen the root. It did. Will fell onto his face, creating dozens of cuts across his skin.
“What do we do?!” Jonathan shouted.
“I don’t know!” Mike yelled.
Will pushed himself up from the ground and resumed his sprint to life. The light from the opening got brighter and brighter until Will was almost blinded. Covering his eyes, he jumped through.
Will abruptly lifted his head and frantically looked around. His breath was pulsing as quick as he could handle. He was sitting at the counter, surrounded by Mike and the others. Will turned around and touched Mike’s shoulder to make sure he was really there. He felt the vinyl cloth of his teal jacket and immediately felt safe. “You’re real, right?!” Will asked, panicking.
“Yes, I’m real. I’ve got you,” Mike reassured as he wrapped his arms tightly around Will’s shaken body. Will dug his fingers into the back of Mike’s jacket and nuzzled his head in the crook of Mike’s neck.
El stood behind, watching in fear. She knew what hurt Will, but she didn’t know how or why. How did that monster get him? Why did he hurt him? The problem was in Hawkins, not California.
“What the hell happened, man?” Argyle asked Will. He tried to ask gently, but it didn’t come out that way. Argyle wasn’t the best at remaining calm in unexpected situations.
“I don’t… I don’t know,” Will responded, out breath. He released his head from Mike’s neck and moved it to his shoulder. Mike kept his arm around Will’s shaking body as Will leaned against him. Mike put his hand on top of Will’s, trying to keep it still. He hated seeing Will scared like this.
“If this happened to Will all the way out here, we need to get to Hawkins ASAP,” El told the group.
“Do you know what might’ve happened to me?” Will asked.
“It’s a long story, but I remembered it all at the lab. I don’t know why it did that, or what its motives are. All I know is… that thing you encountered is strong. And I don’t know how you escaped it, but you’re lucky you’re alive right now.” Will trembled in Mike’s arms.
“Can you describe it at all?” Jonathan asked Will.
“There was- There was this tall slimy man with claws for fingers. And he didn’t have a nose. He tried to tell me things… things that weren’t true. He told me to join him.” El watched concerningly as memories flashed through her mind of 001. “I just… I don’t know. I just need to sit here for a moment,” Will said tiredly.
“It’s okay,” Mike reassured Will.
“Even with that explanation, I know who it is that did this. We need to leave for Hawkins… now,” El reminded them firmly. Jonathan nodded.
“Mike, you keep Will with you as we all walk to the van,” Jonathan instructed.
“I’ve got him, don’t worry,” Mike responded as he held onto Will’s hand and shoulder. They exited the building and crawled into the van.
Will plopped down in between Mike and El. He turned to look at them, and realized how if they almost lost him, he could lose them at any point either. As he stared ahead, he saw Jonathan’s caramel brown hair flowing behind him. Jonathan did so much for him. And so did Argyle, as overwhelming as he could be sometimes. He needed to remind them how much he loved them.
“I love you guys,” Will said aloud gently. El began to tear up as she threw her arms around Will’s shoulder. Mike quickly joined. Jonathan watched from afar, but tried to reach his hand out. So did Argyle. Tears began to fall down Will’s face as they sped back off into the desert. He rested his head on Mike’s shoulder and dozed off.