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Knowing the world was ending with their chances of survival being slim brought a heavy feeling to the air since that fateful day in March. It was late June now, and despite the time of year indicating summer, the weather outside was ice cold and unforgiving, just like the evil they were fighting.
The cabin and the Wheelers basement have turned into makeshift battle forts, two points across the town where the group knew they could seek refuge from the monsters crawling the streets and the storms hanging in the air. Everyone who hadn’t left town within the first week of the alleged earthquake months before was quarantined in, almost cut off completely from the outside world, due to the fear of contamination and spread.
Every week, a fleet of military trucks would drop off supplies at the town lines. Usually, they would have to go collect on foot because their cars were out of gas by that point. This week, it was Mike and Will’s turn to make the trek.
The two boys presided at the cabin, accompanied by Joyce, Jonathan, Hopper, and El. El, who had unceremoniously dumped Mike only a few months ago. It was for the best, he thinks. Something hadn’t been right for a long time and with everything going on Mike knew neither of them were in any place to fix or foster a relationship. Thinking about it still brought on an ache in his chest, but El needed to focus now. Max is on her last leg in the hospital and the gates still need to be closed. Mike knew he wasn’t needed for those things.
But Will, he’s in a new world now. Just over a month ago El ripped a soteria from his neck, a purple scar in its place, and he discovered that he and his sister are more alike than he already thought. They’ve been in intense training, making up for years of development Will missed out on. Remote travelling was still a bit difficult for Will but being able to move and manipulate objects came naturally.
Will prepares to go out into the wasteland that awaits outside. He looks into the mirror while in the bathroom, sighing at the state of his hair. He takes out a switchblade from his waistband and starts pulling pieces of his bangs forward, slicing them shorter. Sadly, all the hairdressers in Hawkins are no longer found and Will wasn’t about to let his mom come near his head with the bowl again. The rest of his hair reached past his ears now, falling slightly wavy and shaggier than it’s ever been.
He finds Mike in the bedroom, lacing up the bulky black boots that clunk a bit too much when he walks. He’s got a navy blue bandana tied around his neck as a makeshift mask, his hair tied back into a low ponytail with his bangs falling out in every which way. Will wasn’t the only one suffering without haircuts being available. Mike glances up at him and mumbles,”Hey.”
“You sleep okay?” Will asks. Mike shrugs.
“I guess. It’s just been hard, lately. I feel like every time I wake up, I’m still in the nightmare.”
Will sits down in a rickety wooden chair and leans his elbows on his knees. “Yeah, we pretty much are.”
“You feeling okay about today?” he asks Will.
“Mhm.”
Mike stands up and puts on a graphite colored coat, threading the buttons up then zipping up the final layer. He picks up his machete on the floor from its strap and slings it over his shoulder, and finishes off preparation by stuffing a handgun into one of his coat pockets after checking the chamber.
Will reaches into the closet and grabs his shotgun and a box of ammo, slinging it over his back and the ammo into his own dirt brown coat. He takes a red bandana from the nightstand drawer, tying it around his nose and mouth. Mike pulls his own up over his face and they give each other a knowing look.
In the kitchen, they refill a water jug. Luckily the water has stayed on throughout the tragedy, but the electricity comes and goes. Will figures it’s the world’s slightest mercy on them.
The two boys put on a respective pair of gloves and each locate the wagons they’ll be pulling the supplies in.
“We’re going to head out,” Mike tells Hopper.
“Alright. Radio us if you run into any trouble.”
Hopper pulls Mike into a brief hug. The circumstances have changed their relationship completely, a softness having grown between them. But Will and Hopper are family now. Father and son. His hug to Will lingers and Hopper’s hand rests on the back of his head.
“Tell mom we left when she wakes up,” Will says when they break the hug. Hopper nods, glancing at Joyce fast asleep on the couch.
Outside Eleven sits on the porch steps while twisting around a Rubix cube. Her curls are growing back begrudgingly, the shape just finally starting to take hold this week. She glances up at Mike and Will.
“Be safe, guys,” she says bitterly. El knows being safe is merely a phrase in good fun these days because at every turn there’s a Demodog and every look at the sky sends a carnivorous bat down. Every breath they take is an inhalation of toxins. Every sensation is unwelcoming.
The leaves crunch underneath the boy’s feet as they begin the journey. Another reminder of their dying world.
“How’s your training going?” Mike asks. They step over the trigger wire.
“Fine. We’re working on remote travelling now. I can do it, it just drains me a lot more than it should.”
Mike searches his mind for a response. Even with everything going on he hasn’t found a way to get things between himself and Will back on the right path.
He’s been trying, though.
He wakes up at the crack of dawn to eat breakfast with Will. They wake each other up from nightmares and Mike reminds him that he’s alive and real. Mike stays up into the latest hours of the night with him to talk about anything and everything, so maybe their time spent together has been more intentional and abundant, but Mike knows there’s still something in the way.
Mike knows it when he can’t tear his eyes away from Will. The first time he realized the shift was after Will had been temporarily Vecna’d. The same day they arrived from California. Will’s eyes had glossed over in the decaying meadow and he began gasping for air.
“Will? Will?” Mike had said after noticing something was wrong.
Mike’s hands grasped his shoulders and he began shaking the other boy.
The others gathered around and Joyce began crying out for him, too.
“Music, we need music!” Nancy yelled. “What’s his favorite song?” she pleads.
Jonathan had sprinted off to the van without another word, trusting Nancy on instinct.
“Will, wake up! Please, you have to wake up,” Mike cried out. He grabbed Will’s wrists and looked into the clouded eyes. Tears began streaming down Mike’s face at a rapid rate and his breathing became as rapid as his heart beat.
Eleven had grasped onto Will’s arm as well, beginning an attempt to remote travel into his mind.
“You have to wake up! I can’t lose you again. Will, please.”
Jonathan came back in a panic. “We don’t have anything. What do we do?” he pleaded with Nancy.
After that, the world around Mike went quiet. A ringing came over his ears. The words came out of his mouth before he even made the decision to say them.
“Will, you need to wake up. You’re my best friend, I can’t be here without you. I don’t…this is too scary, and I can’t fight without you. Come on, wake up! I can’t lose you!” Mike pleaded one last time before his body became overwhelmed with sobs.
A gasp overcame Will. The primal urge for air overcame his body and he fell face first into Mike’s shoulder. Mike’s arms wrapped around his back, lowering him to the ground slowly and leaning Will against his chest as he struggled to breathe again.
“Are you okay? Will?”
“Yeah,” he breathed out while his chest rapidly rose and fell.
Will’s hand reached up to grip Mike’s arm to make sure he was real. Real and alive.
Mike replays it over and over in his head. Since that moment he decided somewhere in his subconscious he couldn’t be away from Will for not more than a few minutes. It’s the only way to know he’s safe.
They reach the dirt trail now. Every piece of vegetation has decayed and the vines and gunk of the Upside Down have begun taking over, growing slowly in small patches. “How’s Max doing?” Will asks.
“Lucas said her bones are healed now. They don’t know if she’s paralyzed or not, yet. Her spine was broken in some places but it’s hard to know when you can’t ask if she’s got any feeling in her toes.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you think she’ll ever wake up?” Mike asks.
Will doesn’t respond immediately. He knows what he thinks, but saying it aloud would make it hurt more.
“Maybe. I don’t know.”
“I mean, yeah. Maybe she will when all of this is over. I’d hate for her to go through this after everything. At least when she wakes up, she gets to sleep through the storm,” Mike says weakly.
“I guess. I don’t remember a lot from being flayed, but I know what I did. It’s still there in bits and pieces, and regardless it still happened. It’s confusing…when you wake up after. All these things have happened and you don’t remember a thing,” Will says in reply.
The wagons begin to squeak behind them. “Do you…what do you remember?” Mike asks.
“The last clear thing I remember is telling my mom about what happened on the field at school. Everything gets so blurry after that. You were there and we looked for Hopper. I was in a lot of pain. My skin was on fire…I remember killing the soldiers. And I know I forgot who everyone was.”
“My mom filled me in, though. A little bit at a time. But she didn’t even have to tell me Bob was dead. When I woke up, I just knew,” Will finishes.
Mike winces at the memory. He had been holding the other boy up by his arms, waiting for Hopper and Joyce, when he heard the guttural cries and the rapid blasting of the semi automatic Hopper wielded that night.
Feeling like they were all in the end of times had Mike reliving the past more often than he liked. Today isn’t the first time he’s thought about that night, that week, since the Upside Down began growing into their world. That night replayed in his head on a loop, always has.
From the soldiers dying, to picking up the needle and telling Joyce they had to sedate Will, the mutilated bodies at every turn inside the lab, Bob dying, talking to the possessed vessel of Will’s body, Eleven returning, Steve being beaten into a pulp, and delving into the Upside Down tunnels for the first time, Mike had an endless array of moments to pick apart. To analyze. To contemplate.
“Do you remember? That night in the shed?” Mike asks.
They reach the main roads again. The asphalt is cracked and damaged in ways that make pulling the wagons harder than it needs to be. The spores continue to rain down on them, along with real, actual rain. It’s only a slight drizzle, but it storms everyday now.
“When I told you guys to close the gate?” Will asks.
They make the turn that leads them on the path out of town to the supplies.
“Yeah.”
“Kind of. It was exhausting trying to fight against him. I figured out what you guys were trying to do, but I had no control over my body. Everything I was saying…was up to him.” Will doesn’t dare to meet the other boy’s eyes. He knows how many people died at his hands, albeit involuntarily.
Mike swallows the lump in his throat. “Do you remember what I said to you?”
Will finally turns to look at him, but Mike is staring ahead. He takes the opportunity to survey for any monsters. So far, nothing.
“Vaguely. You were talking about the swing set, and kindergarten. Us being friends. Some stuff about D&D. Jonathan kept talking about our dad. Mom was talking about crayons and this toy truck I used to have,” Will says, omitting the part he himself replays in his head.
It was the best thing I’ve ever done.
Will knows that doesn’t ring true now.
“I told you about the day we met. It was the first day of kindergarten and you were alone on the swings. I had been alone, too. I didn’t know anybody,” Mike begins. When he glances at Will, it’s him who’s looking straight ahead now.
“So when I saw you…I decided to go up to you and ask you to be my friend.”
“Yeah, I remember,” Will says softly.
“And that night I told you it was the best thing I’ve ever done… that’s still true, you know?”
Will’s face flushes, both anger and embarrassment overcoming him. “It was the best thing you’ve ever done…but your life didn’t start until you met Eleven.”
All the blood drains from Mike’s face and his heart sinks into his stomach. So he caught that part.
“Will, it’s not like that. El was choking and I care about her. I- I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking.”
“Mike, that’s the day I went missing. My life turned to shit before your life even started.”
The venom in his words wounded Mike into silence. What can he say to make it better? Taking it back only causes more complications.
“It’s just…life was simple before then. I didn’t know any bad, not like for real. That day was like, this huge turning point, okay? There is only before, and there is only after,” Mike tries.
“Yeah, imagine how I feel.” For the first time, Will feels good. For the first time ever, he’s said something selfish.
“I’m sorry,” Mike says quietly. “It doesn’t even matter now, it’s not like it fixed what was going on between El and I.”
Will shrugs. Speaking about Mike’s relationship with El was the last thing he wanted to do again. Since they’ve broken up he’s finally known peace because playing matchmaker at the end of the world wasn’t on his priority list.
The path is desolate which makes Will wonder how many people are even left alive. They’re a bit early in the day as they usually are, but usually they’ve seen a couple other groups by now. Making their way through the same war path.
A demodog corpse decays at the edge of the road. Mike steps around it unceremoniously, giving it a hard stare. “How long do you think that’s been dead?” he asks Will.
“Couple days.”
They arrive at the edge. Caution tape and road blocks continue to stand tall. Several tents contain supplies and the two split up to gather what they need. Gallons of gas, non perishable food, more first aid supplies, like that will help. Ammo, weapon parts. Nothing advanced enough to make a dent, just enough for the hopeless remaining citizens to feel like they’re not entirely helpless when a bat descends upon them.
In the distance, Will can see the world easing up into normalcy. Just at the very edge, the sky looks a bit brighter. He thinks of how easy it could be to just run and never look back. To leave it all behind and soak up a few more months of normalcy until it spreads again.
Will waits for Mike to finish up and glances around at the stragglers coming in. No one he directly recognizes. It’s hard to make out faces with all the bandanas and gaiters around everyone’s head.
Mike joins him at his side, wagon squeaking in protest at the weight of everything piled on.
“Ready?”
“Yep. Can we stop at my house on the way back? I haven’t seen Nancy in a couple days.”
“Is she okay?” Will asks.
“Yeah, we talked on the walkie last night.”
The squeaking wheels fill the silence while the boys head back in direction of Mike’s house. Mike’s head hangs heavy while his eyes train on Will. It’s like every time he tries to say something meaningful, it backfires. It’s the wrong thing and the wrong time. Like Will doesn’t want to hear it.
“It’s still true,” Mike says.
“Huh?”
“Being your friend. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done. I don’t think I’d be here without you.”
The words echo in Will’s ears. Not the words Mike just said, but the words he heard break through to him while he was in Vecna’s trance. He had told Mike what Vecna showed him. Memories of the words his dad called him, the physical abuse he faced as a child, visions of Mike dying, but he did coyly omit the visions where Mike hated him. Vecna reminded him of how everyone forgot his birthday this year, but he kept that one to himself, too.
“I remember. And I remember what you said, when I was in Vecna’s trance.”
“Oh…” Mike’s face begins to burn.
“It was you, your words, that…that I held on to. Chose to believe so I could get out. I don’t know if I still believe them, though,” Will mumbles.
“What does that mean?” Mike sighs.
Houses begin to sprout up again and they make a slow turn in the navigation to head to Mike’s. Will’s chest pulls, knowing his words are coming off cruel.
“I just don’t know if I believe you. There was so much happening when you said that…I hadn’t even processed what you said about the day your life started. It was easy then.”
Mike rolls his eyes. “Will, you don’t understand. That was the worst moment of my life, seeing you that way. I was- I was inconsolable. I’ve never felt so helpless watching you like that. I knew what happened to Max, and I knew it could happen to you. I can’t lose you.”
“I guess.”
Mike kicks a stray rock in his path. “Have things not been better? Have I not been trying hard enough for you?” his voice strains.
“Mike-“
“I was an asshole before, I know. But I’ve been trying so hard and there’s still this, this wall between us.”
All the nights of them sleeping on the floor flash through Will’s head. Mike’s face being the first thing he sees when he wakes from a nightmare. Shooting cans in the woods behind Hopper’s cabins, the long, deep conversations they’ve been having on the back deck. Eating, sleeping, fighting together. It’s everything Will has ever wanted, truly, but the one thing he wants is why he’s kept the wall up. His heart guarded.
“There’s not a wall…I’m just changing, okay? We all are. I can’t just pretend like everything is okay and like things can be how they used to,” Will says.
“Why not?”
He knows why not. Because back then, he didn’t know. He didn’t realize the way he felt about Mike was different. That Mike was special to him in a way other best friends aren’t.
“Just because.”
The two approach Mike’s house. They wheel the wagons into the garage, securing them with rope. “I don’t want to go in yet,” Mike says.
“Why?”
“We’re not done talking.”
Will leans back against the station wagon.
“I know about the painting.”
Suddenly, Will feels sick.
He could puke right then and there on the floor with how much blood just rushed to his stomach, leaving his brain with none. Suddenly he feels very hot despite shivering only a moment before.
“What?” he sputters.
“I asked El. It was when we were breaking up. I asked her, why do you want to break up if you had this painting made for me? I showed it to her, and she said she’s never seen it before in her life and had no idea what I was talking about. The heart, the party, being a leader. Holding us together.”
“She must have forgotten, I don’t-“ Will tries weakly.
“Bullshit!” Mike yells. He rips the bandana down to his neck. “You lied about the painting. Tell me why.”
Will stares at the cement between them as he feels Mike’s energy blazing in front of him. “It was for you, either way.”
“You painted it for me?” he says softly.
“Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you just say that?” Mike pleads.
Will looks up at him. “I didn’t think it would mean anything to you. You were treating me like shit when you got to California. I was going to give it to you at the airport, but it just felt like you didn’t even want me there.”
Mike turns to the side and runs his hand through his bangs, sighing.
“It means everything coming from you.”
“Then why do you treat me so differently, Mike?”
“I don’t, I’ve been treating you like I always have.”
Anger presents itself in Will now because the way he’s been feeling for a year threatens to break loose. He stands straight, pulling down his own bandana so Mike can hear him crystal clear. “You know that’s not true. This entire year you’ve been acting like, like I’m some leper and like you can’t be bothered to talk to me. It’s only when the world ends or I’m going to die that I’m worth something.”
“That’s not true!” Mike whines.
Rain begins to pour down heavily outside the garage, accompanied by a heavy downfall of spores and demodog screeching in the distance. They glance, but only briefly when they see it’s clear.
“Then tell me what is true, Mike, because you don’t treat Dustin and Lucas like this. Not last year and not after being apart for so long,” Will spits, shoving Mike back after he had stepped closer.
Mike shoves him back instinctively then responds,” Because we’re not like Dustin and Lucas, and you know that.”
The gaze between them grows hot, Mike’s jaw clenching once he realizes what he’s said.
“Not like what? Able to care about each other like normal friends?” Will says sarcastically and crosses his arms over his chest.
“Do you want to be friends?” Mike starts. His breath hitches as he decides if he should continue. But the world is ending, and he has nothing left to lose. “Or do you want to be more?”
Will’s eyes grow wide, both his breath and words taken away in one sweep. His pulse escalates to an unsafe rate and he can hear the pulsing in his ears, feel it in his feet, his hands.
Will thinks he’s forgotten how to breathe.
“Will? Do you?”
He drops his gaze from Mike’s face, ashamed.
“Yeah, I do.”
Mike steps forward and reaches out. He grasps onto the strap of Will’s rifle, taking some of his coat material in his grip, and pulls Will forward. In a swift motion of adrenaline, he tilts his head down and presses his lips to Will’s in an unambiguous confession. Saying that he’s felt it, too. The electricity.
Will’s tense but relaxed when he realizes he’s not dreaming, that the chapped lips against his own belong to the boy he’s loved his whole life. He grabs Mike’s arm between them, and their lips move together for a moment, making up for the lost time.
The lights above the garage begin to flicker rapidly, bursting glass raining down around them. After hearing the crash onto the floor they break apart, the two boys both knowing it was Will’s unchecked powers going rogue under the heat of the moment.
Their foreheads rest together. A smile spreads across Will’s face. If he woke up right now, he wouldn’t be surprised. Mike moves to cup Will’s face.
“You’re alive and this is real,” he whispers. Will gives a small laugh.
Mike leans in again, pressing a more gentle kiss to Will. If the world was going to take everything from them, he might as well have this one moment. This one moment proves that the way he’s felt for Will wasn’t all in his head and that he felt it, too. That even in the end of times, Will would always be his light. That all this time, Will wasn’t the one who needed Mike, but that Mike needed him, too. No amount of shame and uncertainty mattered now, because in risking it all, they know their connection is the only thing that will stand the test.
They head inside the house, ready to face the world against them.