Chapter Text
He’d been through this a million times before, but he just couldn’t find the right words. Michael Wheeler was writing a letter to his best friend of 10 years, William Byers, who moved away to California last summer. This was the first of many drafts to never see the light of day.
Mike had written dozens of letters… to his girlfriend, Eleven… who happened to be Will’s sister, but this was Will, for god’s sake! Why couldn’t he just write what he meant? With El though, it was different. It didn’t seem to matter as much what he wrote.
Every single letter he’d written “from, Mike”, believing that ”love” was just not the right word. El would know what he meant. Obviously, he loved her, she was his girlfriend. He liked how she’d laugh at his jokes like his friends do. How she speaks softly when she’s with him, like Will. How she… wait. Did he just compare his girlfriend to Will twice?
I’m sure it’s nothing, he thought to himself.
But that ”nothing” turned into a nagging feeling. Mike put his pen down. Why was he thinking about his girlfriend when writing to Will and Will when writing to his girlfriend? That shouldn’t happen. No normal person would think like that. Mike shuddered.
Maybe I should take a break.
Mike stood up and stretched. He checked his watch. Will and Mike had accidentally gotten matching ones in 3rd grade and they never got rid of them. The numbers read 10:57 PM. He hadn’t realized how long he spent at his desk trying to find the words for how he felt; or if he felt anything other than friendship.
The next day was a Saturday, but there was a meeting for Hellfire, the DnD club Mike and his friends were part of. So he turned off his desk lamp and tucked himself under the blue duvet. He needed to go to sleep early so he could wake up with enough time for a real breakfast.
But that didn’t happen. Mike couldn’t sleep. His mind was flooded with thoughts about his feelings ( or a lack thereof ) surrounding Will. Mike should be able to talk to him without the pressure of using the right words, they just got each other like that. Mike decided that he would call Will the next day after the meeting and just tell him everything; how much he misses him, all about Eddie and Hellfire, how Mike just feels lonely without him. But it’s probably just him missing his girlfriend and mistaking those feelings for his best friend. Yeah, that’s probably it.
Shit.
Mike accidentally slept in after thinking late into the night. He was groggy and only had time to throw on the clothes he’d worn to school the day before. His dark curls were in knots at the back of his head, and his shirt bunched up around the shoulders. Nancy had to work on the school newspaper, so she had agreed to drive him; but, when he woke up, he discovered she’d left without him. So Mike took his bike and showed up at 8:30 instead of 8:00 like they had all agreed to. The group was in the middle of a discussion when he burst through the door.
“Wheeler, you’re late.”
“I know. Sorry, Eddie. I just didn’t get enough sleep last night, is all.”
Mike was embarrassed, but his face was already flushed from running through the school halls, tripping on his untied laces multiple times. An annoyed, yet slightly concerned look crossed the dungeon master’s face.
“Hm, okay. Just don’t let it happen again, got it?”
“Of course. Sorry.”
Throughout the meeting, all Mike could think about was the call. He had to keep reminding himself that it was just Will and there was nothing to worry about.
“Mike!”
Dustin’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Mike looked around and everyone was packing up their stuff. He quickly stood up and started following the group out the door.
As soon as they were out of earshot of the others, Dustin asked, “Are you okay?”
“Hm? Oh, no yeah, I’m fine.”
“Clearly.”
“Well, what do you want me to say?”
“Just tell me what’s wrong, dude.”
“God. Nothing’s wrong,” Mike sighed.
He realized he was being a bit of an asshole, but Mike had a lot on his mind, after all.
“Alright. Well, see ya Monday?”
Mike nodded.
“Okay, bye. Oh, and see if you can convince Max to come to the next meeting.”
Dustin wheeled his bike away from the school building and Mike.
“Bye. Sorry,” he said so quietly, he almost couldn’t hear himself.
As soon as Mike got home, he ran down the basement stairs. He skidded to a stop next to the phone. On the ride from school, Mike had thought a lot about what to say first. He figured to start with the basic “how are you” and then continue to Hellfire and then eventually escalate to his confusing thoughts recently.
Mike dialed the number he had memorized for calling El. Immediately there was a tone that meant the line was busy. Maybe Ms. Byers was on a call with a client. Mike decided to call back ten minutes later. Occupied. Fifteen minutes. Still busy. Twenty. Busy. Thirty? Nothing.
He called them over five times at varying increments just to make sure he wasn’t missing anything. With that option off the table, Mike resorted back to his unfinished ( unstarted really ) letter. After an hour of stress and contemplation, it read:
Dear Will,
I hope you can forgive me for not calling much. Your phone is always busy. Maybe you guys should get a second one so your mom doesn’t hog it all day. Haha. I have a lot to tell you. Me, Dustin, and Lucas joined this DnD club called Hellfire. The Dungeon Master Eddie is really cool. He’s got long hair and a lot of rings and a leather jacket. Playing DnD again made me realize how much I miss you. Actually I think I’m starting to get on Dustin’s nerves, but I’m just kind of frustrated all the time. I don’t know. I can’t wait to see you during Spring break.
Love,
Mike