Chapter Text
“MIKE C’MON WAKE UP PLEASE, FIGHT HIM. FIGHT HIM FOR EL, FOR THE PARTY. Fight him for me Mike, you can do it I believe in you”
you’re friends can’t save you this time Michael, I have grown stronger and they cannot stop me.
”FIGHT MIKE COME ON”
Mike knew he couldn’t stop this. Slimy black vines curled around his legs, arms and neck, he couldn’t move, he was defenceless. Will’s voice was like a stab in the heart, he was desperate to get Mike back but Mike knew he wasn’t coming back, there was no way out of this hell. He didn’t want to leave El, Nancy, the party or will, they all meant so much to him, but his death was inevitable, one of us was going to die in the end, right?
He saw a hand slowly inch towards his face, his eyes rolled back, suddenly he had no control. This was it.
Mike’s body was 10 feet in the air, Will knew that Mike would make it, He had to.
The first bone cracked and then the second and then the rest. His jaw twisted and his eyes bled.
he fell to the ground
“MIIIIKE” Will was horrified. Shock plastered his body
He rushed over to the mangled body on the floor, in that moment his heart stopped beating
“Mike.. no no no no, Mike c’mon wake up, Mike” his face was now plastered in tears, the realisation started to hit him. The ground swayed as he looked at his best friend, the person he loved. He sat and held what was left of Mike in his arms, he didn’t want to accept this, he didn’t want to let go. His ears blocked out the screams from all the other party members, they were all surrounding him, yet in his vision was only Mike. He rested his face on mikes chest, sobbing uncontrollably, he couldn’t bare to look at his broken face any longer. He had lost the person who meant the most to him, this was the last time he could physically touch him, look at his curly black hair or even the freckles which painted his skin. This was the last time he would be able to see Mike Wheeler. His Mike.
We defeated Vecna. But at what cost.. he had taken Mike as a victim instead of max, and clearly it caught everyone of guard and mike ended up dying, (no not dying, he can’t be dead)for it.
“Will…” a gentle hand was placed on his shoulder, shocking him back into reality. He didn’t have time to see who it was, but he couldn’t handle speaking at this moment, so he ran. He ran to the only place he could be by himself.
Castle Byers. But this isn’t right.. Will destroyed castle Byers after he and Mike had an argument. It looks like someone rebuilt it, it looks slightly bigger and more sturdier than the previous castle Byers he made with Jonathan
Who did this?
He entered Castle Byers, everything looked just like how it did before. There was a note on the table,
Hey will! I rebuilt castle Byers for you while you were in California, I’m hoping you will visit Hawkins some day and see this. I felt really bad when I saw that you had tore apart your safe space because of me, so I hope this makes up for it
I miss you, a lot
- Love From, Mike
Mike…. Mike had rebuilt castle Byers for him. He won’t get to thank him.
The photos were still hung all over the walls, it looks as though Mike tried to fix the one Will had torn apart
He couldn’t ignore the crossed out “Love, Mike” El always complained about how Mike could never say I love you, or even write it, but he had originally written it to Will, and that makes him tear up even more.
he placed his head on the pillow in the makeshift bed, he couldn’t bare to go home and face other people, maybe if he sleeps he’ll wake up in the morning and maybe all of this was just some sick dream
“hey will”
“Mike…is that really you? Where are we..?”
”that doesn’t matter will. You didn’t save me. This is your fault. I’m DEAD because of YOU”
“no….no..”
”You weren’t powerful enough to save me. Maybe if El was the one talking I would have survived, I would have made it home safely.”
”You know what, maybe you’re right, but I tried SO MUCH to get you back. I loved you Mike. I had to Atleast try.”
”well I guess you didn’t try hard enough”
He woke up in a sweat, he was still on the makeshift bed in castle byers. Reality started to hit him again, Mike was gone and he could never thank him for rebuilding his safe space, he could never apologise for not reaching out more while he was in California, he could never say how much he loved him. He didn’t even get to confess in the end.
An aching feeling emerges in his throat, Mike never got to hear how much I loved him. He never heard my feelings he never gets to know how I felt about him for so many years.
why does the universe hate me so much? Is all Will can think, he had Lonnie Byers as a father who constantly made fun of him and was nowhere near a father figure, he was trapped in the upside down for 1 week, he got possessed by the mind flayer, his friends basically ignored him for the entire summer because they were too busy with their girlfriends to even notice him, it’s not my fault you don’t like girls. He moved to California, away from all of his friends, his home. He didn’t receive any letters from Mike, maybe he didn’t call because of his mothers new job which required her to be on the telephone.
Thinking back, Will should have reached out more, he knew that his mom was always on the line so Mike reaching out was practically impossible. But deep down Will knew he was the one pushing Mike away, hiding his feelings was becoming more and more difficult, and if Mike found out maybe he would hate him and never talk to him again.
But now I can’t talk to him ever again.
Small sobs escaped his mouth, he didn’t even know when he started to cry but he knew this was just the start, he’d have to face a lot more moving forward.
“WILL?”
Jonathan searches the woods for Will, he thought he’d give him some time alone but after being gone for a few hours it was probably best to check up on him.
He knew how much Mike meant to Will, he watched them grow up together.
After Will ran off, Eleven had tried starting Mike’s heart again, but she had no luck, he was gone. He had been there to comfort Nancy, her horrific screams and cries piercing through his mind, both his brother and his girlfriend had lost someone important to them, two people he cared for the most were in a great deal of pain. He can remember what it feels like, when he thought he lost Will, when he saw his dead body and had to plan his funeral out, whilst his mother slowly went insane. He comforted Nancy as best as he could, but now he has to find his brother, because he knows he’s hurting just as bad.
He remembers one place Will often hid, castle byers. The place Jonathan had helped to build as an escape for Will, a place for him to hide when his parents were fighting. He hadn’t seen castle byers in a very long time, after the star court battle his mom wanted to leave Hawkins and move to California, after loosing Hopper and being haunted by Hawkins she couldn’t stand the place. So Jonathan spent days helping her pack and visiting Nancy for what could be the last time for a long while. He spent a year in California and made a friend, but he didn’t interact with Will as much as he used to, maybe because he was stoned for the majority of his time in California, he felt guilty that he barely knew his brother anymore. But one thing he did know from peering at Will in the van and listening to his conversation was that he was still obsessed with Mike Wheeler. It was clear that they were best friends and always had been, that Mike was Will’s favourite, but being the observant brother he is, he knows Will doesn’t just like Mike in a friend way, he can see the sadness and grief flood his face when he watches Mike and El be happy together.
He approaches castle Byers, but lt looks different from the last time he had saw it, it looked more sturdy and taller, like someone had rebuilt it.
He heard sobs coming from the inside of castle byers, he knew Will would be here.
“Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.” Will should have protected Mike, he should have got his favourite song, he should have helped El more. He wished he could have helped more, maybe Mike would have still been alive.
He heard footsteps outside of castle byers, he didn’t want anybody to see him like this, but he couldn’t care less right now, he could only think of Mike and how he was gone.
”Will….”
The voice of Jonathan caught his attention, he couldn’t decide whether he’d rather be alone or with his brother to comfort him.
He came and sat next to Will on the makeshift bed
”Im really sorry with what happened to Mike.. I can image what you feel like, when I saw your dead body I felt empty. It didn’t feel real. Look, i know you probably want to be alone right now, but I just want you to know that I am here. And I don’t want you to suffer alone, alright?”
Will can’t help but cry even more as Jonathan wraps his arms around will, Jonathan knew what it felt like to loose someone, but Will came back. Mike wouldn’t.
Will hadn’t worn a suit in a long time, he’s sure the last time he did was at the snowball. But this occasion was much more depressing, an occasion he wished that he would never experience. And yet here he was, standing at Mike wheeler’s funeral, dressed in full black. He had tried so hard not cry, he didn’t even think about how Mike’s death affected other people. Especially El, Will didn’t even bother to talk to her, he was so caught up with his own feelings that he forgot about everyone else.
Will went up to the casket, everyone gave him space.
His body wasn’t as broken as before, he lays peacefully, but Will knew his death was nowhere near peaceful. He was also in a casual black suit, it seemed wrong, Will barely saw Mike in a suit. It dawned on him that this was the last time he would ever see Mike before he was buried 6ft under, after this he would never see Mike again. Will tried his best to keep it together but all the pain he has been burrowing came flooding out, and before he knew it he was sobbing beside his dead best friend in-front of a crowd of people.
His surroundings started to go blurry, whether this was from the tears or the embarrassment and pure sadness he was facing or maybe a combination of the both. He could see the figures of people start to slowly walk towards him, trying to comfort him. This was too much, he couldn’t do it any longer, he couldn’t watch his friend be buried, that would almost finalise his death. So he ran. He ran like the first time he saw Mike dead. He was a coward, he couldn’t face his biggest fear, the fear of living in a world without it mike. He couldn’t watch his best friend be buried in the ground knowing that was the last time he would ever see him.
”EL PLEASE. Just do it for me, I need to see if he’s out there, I need to know if I can ever speak to him again”
“Will. Mike is gone. I tried to save him, but it was already too late. He is gone Will! Mike is Gone!”
“Please El. Just this once I just NEED TO KNOW.”
El knows she can’t argue with Will any longer, he was slowly going insane, asking her to see if she could communicate with Mike with her powers, to see if he was really dead. It was ridiculous, El knew Mike had died and she had spent a few days alone thinking about it. Max was there to comfort her when she was finally ready to talk. Will on the other hand shut himself off entirely. Nobody heard from him since the funeral. El would often hear Will crying, and when he would go to the kitchen to get something to eat she could see his tear stained cheeks and his tired eyes, it was clear he hadn’t slept for days . She didn’t like seeing her brother like this, She never really realised how much Mike meant to Will
”Fine. But I’m not doing it again, and I am almost certain I won’t see anything”
Will gives a small smile
“thank you El, I won’t bother you anymore after this”
She sets up the Tv and wraps a blindfold around her eyes. All she could hear was the static from the tv. She had a photo of Mike in her hands.
nothing.
She knew it.
“there is nothing Will… Mike is gone.”
All the hope that was inside of Will quickly drained out of him. A part of him was really hoping that El would actually see something, that they could somehow communicate with Mike or even bring him back. That maybe there was a way to reverse all of this.
Will had gone back to his room, his original plan was to thank El and apologise for pestering her but he couldn’t talk right now. He just wanted to be alone, his voice was lost.
Its officially been 1 week and 2 days since you left us. 1 week and 2 days of me feeling completely empty. I heard that writing could make me feel better, but I don’t think anything could ever make me feel better. I lost you. And you were the most important person in my life, despite the times we argued. Yesterday I begged El to try and find you, or to see if she could and she didn’t find anything. You’re really gone. I don’t think I’ll ever accept it. I never got to confess how much I loved you. I never got to tell you the true meaning behind the painting. How I felt like a mistake, how I projected myself as El in the speech I gave you, how you made me feel like I wasn’t a mistake and that I was good for being different. I will always need you Mike, and I never stopped loving you. I just wish I could have told you, but I would rather keep it all to myself rather than risk loosing you. But now you’ll never know.
I’ll still have everyone else, but I won’t have you Mike. I don’t think I can even talk to anybody else anymore, I feel empty. Saying yes to being your friend was the best decision I made. Not being able to save you is my biggest guilt.
i miss you Mike.
love, Will
nightmares after nightmares, crying after crying. Will byers life was falling apart, this was somehow the worst pain he had ever felt.
Will byers can’t be happy. People like him don’t get to be happy. The Universe hates him.