Chapter Text
I was raised in a small midwestern town where it is customary to conform to the status quo and anything out of the ordinary was regarded as "strange" and "wrong”.
People who defied these norms were seen as freaks.
I guess thats why we connected so well, me and Will. I had heard what the other kids said about him, were they really true? If I mistreated him would I have been seen as normal? I saw him on the swings that day, he was alone. He’s always alone.. just like me, would talking to him make me more of a freak.? I was scared.
Trying to ignore the thoughts of what others would say, I sat on the swing next to him. He must have noticed almost immediately as he turned his head to look at me.
Seeing his face almost instantly made my head feel light, a sad boy with sympathetic eyes staring back at me. A minute had passed though it felt like an hour, I’ve been staring for too long, I gripped the swings chain within my right hand and finally spoke,
“Hey..my name’s Michael, Wheeler..” clutching onto the swing chain with all my willpower to try and hide my awkwardness.
He seemed shaken at first but when he heard my voice, it may have just been my imagination but I saw his eyes light up.
I felt so lightheaded that I almost shivered when I heard his voice, as he replied,
“My name is Will, William Byers..” a soft spoken tone, like music to my ears.
I paused for a moment then responded,
“Ni-nice to meet you, Will..” my sudden stutter made me want to recoil but I continued anyway. “Um-.. wanna be friends.. with me.. Will..?”
Was that too fast? I probably should’ve waited a while into the conversation instead of just jumping in like that.. but what if the conversation wasn’t going anywhere, then there would be no chance in asking him if he wanted to be friends with me.. maybe I’m just overthinking-
as soon as I looked back at Will I saw a small but bright smile, I swear my heart just skipped a beat.
“Reall-really…? You wanna be friends?” He replied like it was the first time anyone’s ever asked him that question (it was), He seemed more upbeat his tone was much more pitched.
I smiled unable to stop myself as I nodded, “Yeah! Would you like to be friends with me, Will?”
I feel like I sound so stupid, but I really can’t help myself seeing how joyful he looks.
“Of course! If that’s ok with you..” He responded, he sounded quieter with the second reply as if he thought his cheerful voice would draw me away (It did the exact opposite).
“Well of course I’m ok with it, I wouldn’t be asking if I wasn’t.” I don’t think I’ve ever heard my voice become so soft, my voice isn’t even this soft when talking to my parents, especially not my sister.
“I’m sorry, I’ve just, never made a friend before..” He replied after looking away, I think that’s the first I saw him look away besides some few glances avoiding eye contact.
He was the same as me, alone. Alone for being different.
“I’ve never had a friend either, you’re my first one..” I said with the same soft tone.
He almost immediately looked back at me.
“Guess you’re my first one too..” He smiled, a kind gentle smile, I smiled back hoping I’d get to see that smile for the rest of my life.
The best thing I’ve ever done.
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My first friend Will Byers
Kids at school often made fun of him
they’d call him awful things,
some of these things I didn’t understand at the time.
Being friends with Will meant I was also a target for them,
I wouldn’t let them get to me though
Will on the other hand did,
I could tell he was hurt by the things said about him.
But I would defend him no matter what,
it didn’t matter what they thought of me and how weird they thought I was.
Will was my friend. You’re supposed to protect friends…
I always felt my friendship with Will was somewhat different then my friendship with Lucas and Dustin, obviously I care for them they’re my best friends, but Will, Will is different. He’s my best friend but he always seemed like something more.
Nowadays I try not to think about it too much.
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I was friends with Will for 4 days now.
I came home from school one day with a lot on my mind, about why the other kids treated him differently, maybe my parents would know. They usually know stuff that I don’t.
It’s dinner time.
Same as always.
Meatloaf and vegetables today.
Nancy is seated next to me, glaring at mom and dad, her hand resting on her chin she must have something on her mind too.
Mom and dad are seated next to each-other, slightly separated (what else is new)
They’re looking away from each-other avoiding conversation probably waiting for someone to break the loud silence. That’s when I start,
“Mom, what’s a queer?” The silence got so loud that it felt like my eardrums would explode
Their heads turned towards me so fast they could’ve gotten whiplash from the speed. My mom’s face looked like someone murdered a dog right in front of her.
Nancy looked at my parents then back at me with an irritated look on her face, hand previously on her chin now slamming onto the table.
I shrugged her off, my mom finally replied,
“Well, Mike, sweetie”- before she could utter another word shes cut off by my dad.
“A queer, huh, do kids at school call you that..?” I think he meant for it to be an innocent question but I couldn’t help but feel like I was being interrogated.
My eyebrows furrowed.
“No..well..- kids at school call my new friend, Will, a queer and I don’t know what it means but I can tell that it hurts him.” I responded staring directly at my untouched
plate before looking up.
My mom looked at me sympathetically, my dad straightened his shirt ready to reply with a smart ass statement. Nancy just waited impatiently for mom and dad to speak up.
“Well son, a queer defies normalcy-“ there’s the smart ass statement “Ted!” My mom looked at him annoyed but he continued anyway.
“A queer is someone who’s involved in homosexual activities, homosexual being attracted to the same sex, this defies normalcy because relationships involve men and women.”
“Ahem!” My mom interrupts, her hands slamming onto the table.
The sound made me jump a little and my head felt
heavy trying to process what he was saying.
“Well excuse me, least I could do is explain it to him instead of having you spill your nonsense, tell it like it is Karen!”
Just like that, before I knew it,
mom and dad are fighting, guess that means dinner is over.
Nancy stands up with her plate in hand then slams the door to her room shut with an irritated look painted onto her face,
not sure if she was mad at me or our parents.
I rub my eyes with one hand and leave the dinner table.
I let my untouched plate lay on the table,
as they continued yelling at each other I headed to my room.
I’m confused.
Will is different, so he’s treated differently.
When did others decide what was normal.
I don’t understand.
All the thoughts sprinting in my brain take a
time out when I hear a knock at my door.
“Come in.” My voice sounds heavy, was I really about to cry over something I didn’t understand, what a loser.
The door opens and I see Nancy standing there,
arms crossed though she doesn’t look mad.
“Mike.” She lets herself in.
“Nancy.” I reply like we’re strangers who only know each others names, which is how we often speak to each other.
She sits down on my bed and looks directly at me like she’s mastered the art of eye contact. I sat up on my bed and clear my throat waiting for a lecture, then she spoke.
“I’m sorry about mom and dad, they’re too focused on their loveless marriage to acknowledge the world around them.” She smiled and huffed out a laugh, my eyebrows rise and fall as I shrug in response, like a signal of agreement.
“Just know not to listen to what others call you or this new friend,
people just love to spread baseless shitty rumors if you let them get to you now, middle school is gonna be an absolute hell for you. And as for your friend don’t believe what others say, thats how you keep friends, understand?” She patted my shoulder and I sighed,
“I somewhat understand,” I exaggerated “Thanks Nance.” she smiled and I returned a small grin back.
“No problem Mike, I’ll let myself out.” She slapped the back of my head before getting up from my bed and closing the door as she left.
One of the only times me and Nancy have somewhat gotten along. (Rare)
It has me thinking, if I never asked the question in the first place would they not have started fighting? If I didn’t say anything it would’ve be a quiet dinner just like every other one, right? Am I the reason they fought? Thinking about it made my stomach curl so I laid down and wrapped myself in my blanket hoping to forget and fall sleep.
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I remember when they announced Will was dead, they found his body in a lake, held a funeral and everything. When I saw it, his body being pulled from out of the water, I felt like I lost apart of me that I’d never get back, there was no point in hoping.
I never thought of it as a possibility, sure some kids teased that he was dead but, I didn’t believe them. I didn’t want to. I wanted to find him, all that mattered was finding Will.
When I heard his voice in the radio, it was like all my hope came rushing back.
My head felt light,
He was alive.
Will was alive.
Eleven was right.
I felt like I could’ve bursted into tears but I covered it up with a heavy sigh of relief.
Hearing his voice made me even more determined to find him.
After we got him back my fear of losing him again was risen, I wouldn’t let anything take him again, I’ll protect him.
He was having hard times, even if he didn’t explicitly state it I could tell.
He was having visions of the upside down, of a monster.
He thought he was going crazy, but he’ll never be crazy alone.
No matter if he thinks he’s insane, I’ll be there for him whenever he needs me.
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I have a girlfriend.
She’s incredible.
She has inhuman powers, she’s different.
Her name is Eleven.
And I…
I feel different, it feels wrong.
People stayed away from Will because they thought he was different,
A different kind of different then El.
What if Will’s kind of different was making me different.
This weird different, the different that I was taught was wrong.
I dedicated myself to protecting Will,
That must give people the impression that I’m that kind of different.
I don’t think I can be that kind of different.
I don’t think-
Will is my friend. We’ve been best friends.
We are friends.
Chapter 1: END