Work Text:
It takes Mike Wheeler two years, seven months, and eight days to realize that Will Byers isn’t who he says he is.
It’s a bit ironic, actually, in a twisted, fucked up sort of way. The realization finally sets in on November 6, 1988—five years to the very day that Will Byers first vanished.
It happens a little something like this.
“Mom,” Mike groans, giving his mother an exasperated look as she adjusts his tie. “Enough already! You have enough pictures!”
Behind him, the other members of the party just snicker, and Mike fights the urge to flip them off. Why he keeps these assholes in his life? He’ll never know.
“Oh, Michael, stop it,” his mom scolds. Once she’s satisfied with Mike’s tie, she runs a hand through his hair, adjusting some of the stray curls, and Mike just groans again. “Okay, okay, just a few more pictures! It’s your senior homecoming! This is an important milestone for all of you!”
“Yeah, we kind of figured that out with the first two hundred pictures you all took,” Mike replies dryly, glancing at his friends’ parents as well. “You know if you keep taking pictures we’re going to be late to the dance, right?”
“Technically, the dance doesn’t start for another half hour,” El pipes up. Mike glances back at his best friend and ex-girlfriend, and he glares at her. El just smiles innocently in return.
“See, honey, listen to Jane,” Mike’s mom says triumphantly. “Now, all of you get back together, so we can take a few more pictures, alright? Girls in the middle again, arms around each other, and all of you squeeze in close together—”
Mike fights the urge to groan, but he complies, putting his arm around Will’s waist. The other boy just glances over at him, a soft and knowing smile on his face, and Mike feels his heart rate pick up.
Damn it, it really, really isn’t fair that Will looks at him like that—all trusting and soft and loving and like he thinks Mike is the sun, moon, and stars. The two of them haven’t been together for that long—just since this past July—but Mike gets the feeling he’ll never get over the way Will smiles at him.
Mike Wheeler has it so, so bad for Will Byers. Luckily for him, Will feels the same way.
“Say, ‘Happy homecoming!’” Mike’s mom says brightly, and though Mike just wants to roll his eyes, he joins the others in echoing his mom’s little prompt. She takes a few pictures and so do the other moms, before Mike’s mom smiles one last time. “Okay, these will be the last ones… I want all of you to do something silly!”
“Oh, I can do silly,” Dustin says with a grin.
The next thing Mike knows, Dustin has started climbing onto Lucas’ back, despite their best friend’s distressed protests. Likewise, the girls pair up to do something equally chaotic, with Max lifting her leg as high as she can without flashing anyone and El laughing as she helps hold Max up.
That just leaves Mike and Will, and well… screw it.
His boyfriend turns to him, the obvious question of what should we do? on his face, but Mike doesn’t give him the chance to even ask it. Instead, he grins quickly and picks up Will bridal style, turning to the camera.
“Mike!” Will yelps, clearly shocked, and Mike just laughs, turning to smile at his boyfriend as their parents take more pictures.
“What?” he asks innocently. “She said do something silly!”
Will’s eyes crinkle as he smiles, and he shakes his head at Mike. “You’re ridiculous,” he mutters fondly. “Now put me down before you drop me!”
“Buzzkill,” Mike deadpans, but he obliges, setting Will back down and giving him one last smile. Maybe the two of them are being just a bit too obvious, especially since all their friends and family are around and don't know about them yet, but it’s just one night. The two of them won’t actually get to act like a couple at homecoming—no, everyone in the party but Lucas and Max has decided to go stag—so Mike figures he might as well flirt with his boyfriend as much as he can.
“Get a room, idiots,” Max says dryly as she and Lucas walk towards their car. Of all the people in the party, Max is probably the closest to figuring out what’s going on between Mike and Will, but then again, she’s also just always had it out for Mike.
“You first,” he responds with an equally sarcastic smile. “Or are you saving that for after the dance?”
Max just flips him off in return, and Mike smirks, turning back to his boyfriend. “You ready?” he asks with a smile.
“Yep.” Will flashes him a smile in return, following Mike to Dustin’s car. “Remind me again why we decided to let Dustin drive?”
“Because we’re fucking stupid,” Mike says simply, opening the door to Dustin’s car and letting Will get in first. “And we never think things through.”
“Damn right,” El agrees, and she smirks at them through the visor mirror.
“You’ve been spending too much time with Max,” Mike grumbles, while Will just makes a face at his sister.
El merely shrugs in return, and Dustin just laughs, glancing over his shoulder at Mike and Will. “I think the worst thing we ever did was introduce El and Max,” he muses. “Those two are scary together. El, remind me to never get on your bad side.”
“You won’t,” El promises, patting Dustin’s shoulder reassuringly. “You’re my favorite out of all of the boys in the party.”
“Hey!” Will protests. “El, we’re literally siblings!”
“Exactly,” El agrees. “We have the love-hate relationship.”
“Since when?!”
“Since you ate the last Eggo on Wednesday!”
As the two siblings bicker back and forth, Mike just smiles to himself, leaning on the car door and glancing out the window. The stars are unusually bright tonight and more visible than usual—as if somehow, the universe knew that Hawkins High was having its homecoming and decided to let them have a good night.
They’ve earned it, after all. With the whole mess of the Upside Down and Vecna’s curse a few years ago, they really have earned the right to be happy.
It’s going to be a good night, Mike thinks to himself, and he glances over at his boyfriend, just happening to catch Will’s eyes. Will smiles at him, and Mike just smiles back.
Yeah. It’s going to be a good night.
One thing Mike doesn’t understand is how he became the responsible one of the party.
Honestly, it’s probably because he’s been spending too much time around Jonathan and Nancy. Yeah, Mike knows he can be a moody, sarcastic piece of shit who’s not afraid to call out societal bullshit, but at the same time, he’s somehow ended up becoming the unofficial dad of the group, purely by default.
Max certainly isn’t going to be the responsible one, and neither is Dustin. They’re both the life of the party and seem to always bring chaos with them wherever they go. El, after having lived such a restricted life up until this point, almost always goes too far, and Mike really can’t blame her. Lucas tends to be a bit more put together than the rest of them, but as the newly minted King of Hawkins High, even he goes a little bit crazy at things like this.
And so, that usually leaves Mike and Will to watch out for the others.
Maybe it’s his innate nature to just protect the people he loves, or maybe it’s all the trauma from his most formative years, but early on into high school, Mike decides on a new rule. At least one member of the party must stay sober, if only so they can look out for the others. Usually, it ends up being Mike or Will, but sometimes Lucas and El will volunteer and let Mike have a break.
So really, it comes as no surprise to Mike when everyone—Will included—gets completely plastered at homecoming.
Cause we are living in a material world, El and Max both sing at the top of their lungs, jumping down and dancing like they don’t have a single care in the world. And I am a material girl!
Behind them, Dustin and Lucas are caught in some horrific dance battle that both of them are losing. Mike wishes he had his mom’s camera with him, just this once, to take a picture of how stupid his friends are being. God, if only they could see themselves now.
“Miiiike!” a familiar voice says from behind him, and Mike bites back a laugh, turning around right as Will walks up to him.
“There you are,” Mike says with a grin. “I thought we’d lost you.”
“Nope,” Will says, popping the ‘p’ at the end of the word. “Just… had-ta use the bathroom, ‘s all.”
His words are definitely slurring together, and Mike rolls his eyes fondly. “How much have you had to drink?”
“Mm, not too much,” Will promises, but the flush of his cheeks says otherwise. “Who cares anyways? Let’s dance, Mike!”
Without giving Mike a chance to protest, Will grabs Mike’s hands and pulls him to the middle of the dance floor, laughing brightly and dancing very poorly. Will’s never been much of a dancer, which is admittedly quite adorable.
Let’s hear it for the boooooooyy, Will sings, and he grins, still holding onto Mike’s hands and trying to get Mike to join him in the dancing.
“No more drinks for you,” Mike laughs, though he does indulge his very drunk boyfriend’s crazy antics. Everyone else in the gym is about as drunk as Will, so the chances of people remembering this are low. Mike’s sure things will be fine.
“You’re the best, you know?” Will shouts over the music. He dances closer to Mike, a bright smile on his face.
Mike just laughs, and he twirls Will around, exchanging another smile with his boyfriend. God, he’s just so happy he feels like he might burst. “I think that’s you,” Mike responds genuinely. “You’re the best, Will.”
And I love you, he thinks to himself, but he doesn’t say it aloud. No, there will be plenty of time for Mike to say it to Will later. He actually wants Will to remember the first time they say “I love you” to each other.
Will just flashes him another happy, dazed grin, and he continues to dance—carefree and joyful and free. Somewhere along the line, the other members of the party come and join them, and the six of them laugh and dance together like none of them have a care in the world.
They’ve come a long way in such a relatively short period of time. Sure, sometimes the memories of the Upside Down and the trauma they’ve all experienced still haunt them, but here, smiling and dancing with his boyfriend and friends to terrible pop music, Mike’s certain he has never been happier.
And that’s when something weird happens.
All at once, the music blaring over the speakers fades into an incredibly loud, high-pitched ringing, and Mike flinches, covering his ears. Likewise, everyone else does the same, and around the room, people begin to boo and complain, demanding the music to turn back on.
“Oh, come on!” Lucas groans. His face is sweaty, and his tie hangs loose around his neck. “Really?”
As soon as the words are out of his mouth, the ringing cuts out abruptly, but the music does not return. No, in its place is the quiet sound of static—like someone is trying to change the frequency on a radio.
Most people in the room are still quietly muttering to themselves, and some even walk up to the DJ, demanding he fix whatever the problem is. The other members of Mike’s party look like a cross between confused and annoyed, and Max turns to Mike, giving him an exasperated look as if this is somehow his fault.
Then, things go from… strange… to even stranger.
Because the radio static fades away ever so slightly, and in its place comes a voice—a familiar voice.
So, come on and let me know… should I stay or should I go?
Mike turns his head so sharply that he thinks he might hear his own neck crack. He stares at the speakers at the back of the gym in complete shock.
Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
“Mike,” El whispers from somewhere to his right. Mike doesn’t turn to look at her, but he knows that she’s thinking about the exact same thing—the exact same memory—as him.
If I go, there will be trouble,
If I stay, it will be double.
The voice—Will’s voice—fades away, and for a moment, there’s a faint crackling of the radio static.
Then, as if nothing had even happened, the music turns back on, filling the gym with the familiar tune of the song Take on Me. Everyone bursts into loud cheers and laughter, and nobody gives the strange occurrence a second thought.
Mike remains frozen in place.
("Was that…” he had once asked El, years and years ago, down in the safety of his basement.
“Will.”)
“Mike.” Someone takes his hand, and Mike flinches sharply, turning to look at the person next to him.
Will Byers stares back at him, cheeks still flushed from the alcohol and hazel eyes full of concern. “Are you alright?” he asks gently. “What’s wrong?”
This doesn’t make any sense, Mike thinks to himself. Because Will is right here. Will has been here, this whole entire time with Mike, and there’s no damn way that the voice over the speakers could have been Will. Will is right in front of him, and God damn it, Mike would know if this wasn’t Will.
He… he’s had conversations with the person in front him! They’ve talked about memories together and moments in their lives that only the two of them would know about. Mike has shared more with him than he’s ever shared with anyone else, and Will… Will has done the same.
Mike has fallen in love with Will, damn it. Will, who is right here. Right in front of him.
But it sounded just like him, the voice of doubt whispers in the back of his head.
“Uh… y-yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Mike lies, and he forces a smile. “I think I’m just… hot or something."
Will gives him a concerned look. “Are you sure?” he presses. His voice is soft and gentle, and for a moment, Mike’s resolve crumbles. “Mike, what’s going on?”
It has to be Will, he thinks to himself. This is Will. This. Is. Will.
But out of the corner of his eyes, he sees El shake her head ever so slightly. While everyone else has resumed dancing, El seems as tense as Mike feels. Clearly, she can feel something is off too.
And what if it’s not? the voice of doubt asks.
(Honestly, Mike isn’t sure he has the answer to that question.)
“I’m alright,” he says softly, and he gives Will’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I, uh… I think I’m going to go get something to drink though. You can keep dancing with the others. I’ll be fine.”
Although Will doesn’t look too convinced, he nods slowly and lets go of Mike’s hand. “If you’re not back in two songs, I’m coming to check on you,” he says firmly.
“Deal.” Mike flashes him a grin, and then, he turns, walking quickly out of the gym to find a water fountain. His heart pounds violently inside his chest—thump thump thump—and Mike has to fight the urge to throw up.
That has to be Will inside that gym. It has to be. There’s no way it isn’t. Maybe El is just paranoid. Maybe Mike is just paranoid.
“God,” Mike whispers to himself, and he leans against the wall heavily, trying to force himself to breathe. The room still feels like it’s spinning, and everything is just too much. It’s all too damn much.
So, come on and let me know… should I stay or should I go? the haunting voice of Will Byers echoes inside Mike’s mind, and he closes his eyes tightly.
It’s not Will, Mike thinks to himself. It’s not Will.
It takes Mike hours to fall asleep that night.
Homecoming goes until almost midnight, and unfortunately, as the only sober one in the group, Mike is responsible for getting the others home. They all pile into Dustin’s little car, and one by one, Mike drops the others home, starting with Will and El, then Max, then Dustin, then finally Lucas. He drives Dustin’s car back to his own house with the intent of returning it in the morning, and he all but collapses onto his bed.
But he can’t sleep.
Ever since the music cut out and Will’s voice came over the speakers, Mike has had an awful headache. It’s probably just the stress, or maybe that incessant ringing also just messed with his ears. Regardless, his head feels like it’s pounding by the time he goes home, and all Mike wants to do is sleep and forget about all of this.
There is no way that voice over the speakers was Will. At the worst, the strange occurrence just means something is going on with the Upside Down again. Mike makes a mental note to check for other unusual things—like the magnets and the compasses and any other things that might signal a recurrence of their worst nightmare. It’s probably best if he loops Joyce and Hopper in on this too, just in case it turns out to be anything terrible.
God, they can never catch a break, can they?
All Mike wants is to be able to graduate and get the hell out of this town. Maybe that’s selfish of him, since he’s one of the only ones who knows about the Upside Down and can help protect the other citizens of Hawkins. But God, he’s tired. He just wants to be normal and happy, like they have been for the past nearly three years.
But what if it was all a lie? that nagging voice of doubt asks. What if something has been happening this entire time?
Shut up, Mike tells it, and he pulls his blanket over his head. Just shut up.
The voice of doubt says nothing in return.
At some point, Mike finally falls asleep, drifting off into a restless slumber. It’s not uncommon for him to have nightmares; even now, years after their last incident with the Upside Down, Mike still dreams about some of his worst memories.
Nearly getting killed by the demodogs at Hawkins National Lab.
Running from the Mind Flayer inside of Starcourt Mall.
Seeing Will, frozen in place, begin to levitate under the influence of Vecna’s curse.
The memories still haunt him, and tonight is no different in that regard.
But then, the dreams shift, taking Mike to a place he’s never been before.
“Mike!” Will screams desperately. The world around them is dark and terrifying, only illuminated by the occasional flash of red lightning. Though he’s only ever heard about this place from stories, Mike knows exactly where he is: the Upside Down.
“Mike!” Will screams again, and Mike looks around, trying to find his boyfriend. A flash of lightning strikes again, and there—there’s Will.
He doesn’t entirely look like himself. His hair is longer and matted; his clothes are a tattered, bloody mess. There’s blood and grime streaked across his face, and he looks paler and more haggard than Mike has ever seen him before.
“Will?” Mike shouts back, trying to take a step in his direction. “Will, I’m here! Will, where are you?”
“Mike?” There’s relief in Will’s voice now, and he looks over at Mike, his eyes wide. “Mike, it’s me! You have to listen to me! It’s not over; it’s not over! You have to warn El, warn the others—”
Red lightning strikes again, so close that Mike can feel the supercharged energy. Likewise, Will pales, touching the back of his neck, and he looks at Mike desperately.
“He's coming,” he says quickly. “He’s coming for Hawkins, for-for El, for all of you—”
Before Will can even finish his sentence, Mike feels something—some type of suffocating force—surround him, and his eyes widen. “Will!” he shouts, just before he’s flung backwards and away from the terrifying dreamscape of the Upside Down.
The next thing Mike knows, he finds himself on the ground, somewhere in the woods. The faint tick, tock, tick, tock of an old clock fills the silence of the forest, and Mike shudders, slowly standing to his feet.
“Will?” he yells again. He desperately looks around the woods, but Will is nowhere to be found. “Will! Will!”
In the distance, lightning strikes, and Mike glances up, squinting his eyes. The sky looks normal—full of stars and the moon—and completely unlike the Upside Down. Somehow, he’s back in Hawkins again.
Lightning strikes once more, and as it does, Mike feels his heart drop all the way to the bottom of his stomach.
Because there, illuminated by the lightning in the night sky, is an all-too familiar shadowy figure, looming over the entirety of Hawkins.
A clock chimes—once, twice, thrice.
And with a start, Mike sits up, breathing heavily. Gone are the dark forest in Hawkins and the terrifying image of the Mind Flayer. Gone are Will and the terrifying hellscape of the Upside Down. Mike is in his bedroom. He’s safe. It was all just a dream.
He’s coming, Will had said in his dream. He’s coming for Hawkins.
But was that Will, or was it all just some dream? That Will didn’t look like the Will that Mike had just seen a few hours ago. That Will was in the Upside Down and looked like he’d been fighting for his life.
Mike, it’s me! Will had shouted. Listen to me!
And just earlier, at the dance, Will’s voice had over the speakers, just like when he had been taken to the Upside Down as kid: So, come on and let me know: should I stay or should I go?
What if that was Will? the voice of doubt asks. What if Will’s in trouble?
The Will he had seen in his dreams had looked like he had been through hell. He was stuck in the Upside Down, probably hiding from demogorgons and demobats and God knows what else. And he was completely at the mercy of the Mind Flayer.
He's coming! He's coming for Hawkins, for El, for all of you—
All of this could just be a dream… the result of his own lingering anxiety and trauma.
But somehow, Mike gets the feeling that it isn’t.
Without giving it another thought, Mike gets out of bed and quickly pulls on some clothes, running downstairs and out to his car. The clock on his car reads 3:06 AM. It’s officially November 6, 1988—the five year anniversary of Will’s disappearance, and God, maybe Mike’s going insane. This is crazy. Mike is being completely, utterly crazy.
But… if there is a chance that Will is in trouble? That the Will Byers here in Hawkins isn’t actually Will and that the real Will is actually trapped in the Upside Down?
Then, Mike has to do something.
As fast as he can, Mike drives over to the Byers-Hopper household, and he pounds on the door roughly, hoping and praying to whatever god might be out there that “Will” does not open the door. He needs to talk to someone—Joyce, Hopper, El… anyone but this Will.
The door swings open, and Mike breathes a sigh of relief when he comes face to face with none other than Joyce Byers-Hopper. “Mike?” his boyfriend’s—or rather, his best friend’s, Mike realizes with a sinking feeling in his stomach—asks, a confused expression on her face. “What are you doing here?”
Mike glances inside the house, checking to see if the imposter Will is anywhere in sight. “I need to talk to you,” he says fiercely. “Now.”
Joyce’s brow furrows, but fortunately, she’s been on the receiving end of some really weird shit over the past five years. If anyone understands what it’s like to have something ridiculous but important to say, it’s her. “Alright,” she says slowly, stepping outside and closing the door behind her. “Sweetheart, is everything alright?”
“No,” Mike whispers, and God, he can barely hear himself speak over the thump thump thump of his own beating heart. “Joyce… I… I think Will’s in danger.”
Once again, Joyce just gives him a confused look, and she glances behind her at the closed door. “Will’s fast asleep in bed right now, Mike,” she says with a small chuckle. “He’s alright, don’t worry.”
“No.” Mike shakes his head. “No, he’s not.”
He takes a shuddered breath, trying to calm his nerves, but there’s no use. The reality of this entire situation has finally begun to set in, and as much as he doesn’t want to admit it or say it out loud, Mike knows the truth.
“He’s not safe,” Mike says fiercely, and he swallows the lump in his throat. “Because that’s not Will.”