Chapter Text
“It’s coming closer, the demogorgon stomps forwards, raises its hands,” Mike leans over the basement table, slapping the piece against the hardwood, “What will you do?” Lucas and Dustin yell at Will to decide, make a decision, the boy starting to panic when thinking about two good options. “Cast protection!” “Fireball him!” Will throws his dice out, “Fire ball!”
Mike sighs. He can’t believe the campaign has to be cut short when it was just getting good. He watches as Lucas pulls away from the driveway, waving goodbye to his friends. He sees Will, just out of the corner of his eye. “Mike,” “Yeah?” “It was a 7.” Mike blinks, it takes him a while to realize what Will is even talking about. “The demogorgon, it got me.” And then Will and Dustin biked away.
He watches Will go, waiting until he’s completely out of sight before turning his back. He goes upstairs, hearing the whispers of Nancy talking to her new boy, Steve Harrington. Nancy just presented as an Omega last year, as expected, since his mother was an Alpha and his father an Omega.. Now Mom and Dad have nonstop been pestering her about finding a good Alpha to be her mate. Just last week the school had a health class talk for their entire grade on the secondary genders. All it did was squick Mike out. The presenter got way into what ‘comes next’ like– heats and ruts and the way she described them sounded barbaric and gross. All it did was cause lame posers like Troy to pretend to be presenting as an Alpha. Mike got shoved into a locker twice yesterday because he was “embarking on his territory”. They weren’t even at the age to present. Mike wants to tell Troy that if anyone was going to be an Alpha, it wasn’t going to be a jerk like him.
Mike already has a feeling what the Party members will present as. There is some form of guessing, as he doesn’t know what Dustin’s dad's secondary gender was, nor does he want to ask, but his mother was a beta and he always assumed Dustin would be a beta too. Lucas is more tricky as his mother and father are an A-O couple, so he could be anything. And then there’s Will. Mike worries that he will be an Omega. He shakes that idea out of his head. People treat male Omegas differently than female Omegas, many times in sermons he has heard his pastor describe the ‘freaks of nature’-- the Omega Male.
Not that Will is a freak of nature. Mike could never think that, he is too funny and too smart to be anything bad like that. Likely, Will is just short. In his memories, Lonnie was rather short. He couldn’t smell him at the time, but one day when he was right outside the door he found Will’s mom and dad arguing about these Alphagen pills he was taking. Mike was going to ask his parents about what the pills did exactly, but figured it was going to be more troublesome to explain why he knew of them. So since his father was an Alpha, maybe Will could become an Alpha too. Troy would never harass him anymore. He could stand up to his bullies, prove to his father that he wasn’t weak or a pansy like he called him.
Mike knows that Will deserves everything, Will deserves to show those jerks that he’s better than them and what they called him. He just hopes Will decides to keep Mike around when he gets it.
—--
Mike is so glad El was divined into his life. She’s awesome, so cool and pretty. And she can kiss for hours. Her head is cradled between his hands, her back against the pillows when one day she jerks her hands back, throwing his hands off her. Mike feels the pull of her powers jerking him away from her. He scoots away, affronted. “Sorry,” she panted, “I feel trapped.” She sat up on the bed, shaking her head. “I don’t know.”
Mike didn’t know what to say. “It’s fine,” he wasn’t too offended, he was out of breath himself. But El was still sitting there, spine ramrod straight, rubbing her arms. She leans in, to kiss him, but for some reason Mike feels a spike of fear, not arousal, rush through him. He sits there, motionless, fingers ghosting down his neck as she brushes the hair off his cheek. He has not closed his eyes. El deepens the kiss, teeth poking at his bottom lip and he snaps. He pushes her off him, huffing.
Mike feels uncontrollable, something in the air causing his insides to turn compact and hot. His jaw locked and chest tight. Eleven doesn’t look better. A scowl has marinated her pretty features, and she stands up, never looking away from him as she backs into the corner. Mike knows he should say something but the only words that come to mind are the wrong ones. He wants to fight, tell her to go away, hurl his body towards her in a way nothing like their passionate embraces just moments earlier. She was crossing the line here, infuriating him for no reason, and he couldn’t find any reason at all to why he was pissing her off.
“Get out.” Eleven growls, and while his mind doesn’t register it at first his instincts do, and he backs away. Slipping out the door, he finds himself locking eyes with Hopper. He walks out of there as quickly as possible, feeling El’s imaginary teeth snapping at his heels, forcing him out of the cabin. The air outside is cooler, and the openness of the trees is freeing after the confined space of El’s room. Mike bikes home, thoughts racing his mind, but coming up short.
—--
“El is being such a bitch to me,” He finds himself bemoaning to Lucas. Lucas nods along as Mike is flung out on the couch. “You know? We were hanging out, kissing, and she started acting all crazy on me. ‘You’re smothering me, Mike.’ As if, I don’t know what’s going on. Does Max ever do that to you?” Mike sighs.
“Can’t say I relate. Me and Max have never been better.” Lucas smirks. “Sometimes she’s too affectionate. That’s how it is when you have good game, Mike.” Mike sighs even louder, looking away. Is this his fault? He shouldn’t have pushed Eleven away when she tried to kiss him afterwards, but it felt wrong. Incredibly dirty and wrong, like he was being encroached upon. He likes El, likes her alot, but after that event a couple days ago he’s not too certain. What is causing this divide between them?
“Are we ever going to play DND?” Will asks behind the boys. Mike feels a shirk of annoyance that is foreign to him, foreign to feel towards Will. Doesn’t Will see that he is struggling? He wants Will to sit near him, tell him it’s going to be okay, not sit over there, isolated and tightlipped. It irks Mike, it causes an unjustified rage he can’t name. Just because Will doesn’t have a girlfriend doesn’t mean he can’t understand how difficult this situation is for him.
“In a bit, Will.” Lucas says. The boy turns back to Mike, still laying there unresponsive on the coach. “Look man, I don’t know why El is acting like that. Girls are weird creatures. Max and I are great now, but just last week, I said goodbye differently before we went to class and she ignored me for three days straight. And usually she is never that crazy! They’re just emotional. She’s emotional. El will get over it soon. Trust me.”
Mike hopes so.
—--
Mike hopes Will will get over it soon. He knew he shouldn’t have been such a jerk to him, a mistake he has been making a lot lately, but it isn’t as serious as Will is making it out to be. It’s okay if Lucas and him didn’t want to play DND, sure, they were being assholes and he knows it sucks for Will but what about Mike’s problems ? Why can’t Will just be understanding for one night? Listen to Mike’s problems for once?
“Will come on! Just wait.” Will is getting on his bike, backpack on his shoulders. “You can’t leave,” Mike says, a bit louder, grabbing onto Will’s thin shoulder. He finds himself grabbing at him with more force than necessary, Will whipping to face him with scared eyes. Mike’s heart drops. Fuck. He drops his hand tentatively, shaking his head. Will looks away, hands on the handlebars, about to make his escape. No. He’s not leaving. Mike’s head is too loud, a panic filling him to placate Will before he does something stupid. Before he leaves. “It’s raining. You can’t leave.” Mike steps towards him. “Please.”
Will doesn’t respond, but he takes his hands off the handlebars. Good. “Look, Will, I’m sorry we didn’t want to play DND, but we can just play it later.” What else can he say? “Lucas and I just aren’t in the mood today.” Will spins around to face him, eyes wide with fury. “That’s the problem, Mike!” Will spat, “You are never in the mood!”
Mike was shocked, Will was slow to anger, and in his 9 years of knowing him Mike couldn’t recall Will flying off the handle like that. Will never yelled at Mike, he was always kind, always sweet, always awesome and funny and patient. This was new, and Mike found himself arguing right back. “El’s not stupid! It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!”
Will steps back, suddenly going quiet. Damn it. He forgot about the rumors. “Look, I’m not trying to be a jerk,” Mike searches Will’s face, looking for any forgiveness on his part. His face is closed off, meek, as if he’s ignoring Mike. Why can’t he just listen? All Mike wants is Will’s eyes on him, for him to forgive Mike, to understand. “But did you really think we were going to play games in my basement forever?”
Will turns back to face Mike, a hardness in his eyes that pains him. “Yeah. I guess I did,” Will says, more like a whisper, eyes turning soft as his gaze drops to the floor. Mike’s heart is racing, his eyes glimpsing over every inch of Will’s mute expression, to the wetness of his eyes to his sober lips. His observations are screaming. And Will is trying to leave. No. Mike steps in front of Will’s bike as he is about to leave.
“Don’t leave. It’s still raining.” Mike is pleading, and as Will and him stand there in the garage he finds his fingers tracing the edge of Will’s sleeve, hand ghosting the warm skin of his arm. There’s a freckle there, right above his elbow he never noticed. He notices now. Mike looks down at Will. He notices everything. The shine of sadness in Will’s eyes. The way his mouth is parted but he can’t find it in himself to speak. And say what? Mike looks at the whiteness of Will’s neck, one blue line stark against his pale throat. His hand drifts from the edge of his sleeve to the collar of his shirt. The smell of his fabric softener is caught in Mike’s nose, and Mike is closer to Will than he noticed.
Will is so small. He has to tilt his head completely up just to look up at Mike. Will always has to stare up at Mike. This is good, he thinks, he would love to have it no other way. Mike has found himself leaning over the boy, looking at the line of his delicate jaw. The curve of his pale neck. Will’s heart is so loud that even though inches separate them he can hear the blood pumping through Will’s veins. It’s like a compass to tell Mike where to go. His mouth waters, and Mike doesn’t even question the thoughts that tell him the pulse right under Will’s jaw is the perfect place to bite.
Mike is flexing his jaw. Swallowing and gritting his teeth and trying to remove the uncomfortable ache in his mouth. He is hungry. And he doesn’t know why because just two seconds ago he was mad, frustrated, upset at Will for not giving him the support he needed. “Mike?” Will says. He doesn’t know why Will is acting so weird. He can hear his breathing, a soft nasally sound coming from his parted lips. He can hear everything that Will does. “Look, I know you didn’t want to play, but I can just go home.” Will backs the bike up and starts to go around him. Mike wishes Will was a little more mature about everything. He grabs Will’s sleeve, pulling him back towards him. He's not leaving if Mike has anything to do with it.
He hears Will’s heart start to beat louder. Is he scared? Why is Will scared of him? He's his best friend. Mike is leaning into Will’s warmth, feeling the soft whistling of his breath as Will's chest rises and falls. “Don’t go.” He finds himself saying, “Don’t go. Don’t go.” His hands are quick on Will’s shoulders, pulling Will towards him. Mike leans over him, wrapping Will away from the dark of night, arms twisting around his body. “Stay.” Here Mike can hear everything. Control everything. The events in the basement are a memory away now, with his anger at Will being replaced by the comfort of Will in his arms. Good.
But Mike is still on edge, even with his head resting on Will’s head, his hair soft and downy against his chin. It’s not enough. Will is here and in his arms but he’s not attached. He can leave. He can storm off on his bike still, leave Mike alone in the garage, alone and without a friend and that’s just not going to do. Mike hears a sound on the edge of his senses, he whips his head around, trying to find the source of contention. He snarls at the door of the garage, unopened.
Will pushes his arms off him, and Mike turns around to grip at the back of Will's shirt. No. But what Mike sees when he turns his head back around pierces through the haze that had taken ahold of him. Will is crying– thick tears stream down his face and he seems absolutely scared of Mike. What the Hell is going on? The realization makes Mike’s hands go limp against Will’s back. Then he realizes the rumbling noise in the background is a growling sound he’s making. And Mike watches Will dart out of the garage faster than a bat out of hell.
His hands are still open, right where Will was in them just moments prior. He closes on open air, and in his confusion the feeling of utter failure punches through. He feels a lick of adrenaline up his body, enticing Mike to chase after Will, bike and storm be damned. He swears he can still hear Will's heartbeat, echoing in Mike’s ears like a trail he could follow to the boy’s neck ten miles out. In the wet air he can still pick up Will’s laundry detergent and Will himself. Mike paces across the garage, his chest rumbling with equal parts rage and anxiety. He has no idea what just happened but it wasn’t part of his plan. He was supposed to get Will to recognize he was being too judgmental and forgive Mike, but instead he freaked Will out and he ran away. He ran away from Mike, that’s the most astonishing part to him. Will never ran away from him. He always stayed near him, wanted to be with him, and set his gaze upon him. And now Mike is alone in the garage with a racing heart.
“Mike?” Lucas stood at the doorway, leaning out the door. The boy stepped into the garage, a skeptical look in his eyes. “Did Will leave?” Mike stops pacing, the growl cut short in his throat. But seeing his friend step into the garage causes his nerves to be grated on further. Lucas’s scent fills his mouth–spicy yet bland and ever so wrong. It covers up the last traces left of Will in the dark night. Will. Will who ran away from him and is now gone, again, left defenseless against what could creep in the dark. What does creep in the dark, Mike knows now.
“We have to find him.” Mike pushes past Lucas, running down to the basement to grab his coat and belongings. He doesn’t have time, who knows what can happen to Will before Mike gets there. Mike flies up the stairs to where Lucas is still standing there. “Come on, we have to find him.” Mike pulls the bikes out, hopping on. Lucas is close behind at his heels. “Why? What’s wrong with Will? Mike, what happened?” Mike is already gone, pedaling out into the downpour. Lucas sighs, swinging one leg over his bike and following Mike.
He’s fast. Mike only had a five second head start and he is already damn near half-way down the street. Lucas struggles to keep the same pace, nevermind catching up to him. Mike hasn’t turned around to check to see if he’s following him even once, his shoulders hunched as he determinedly flies through the rainpour. Lucas shakes his head, he had no idea what the argument was like between Mike and Will to make Mike so determined to chase after Will in this kind of weather. Not to say Lucas didn’t care about Will’s safety, not at all–if Will proved to be in any kind of danger Lucas would be the one of the first out to look for him. But as Mike leads them down the twisting and winding roads, Lucas realizes Mike is just heading to Will’s house. He regrets being a jerk to Will, but this petty disagreement wasn’t urgent enough to go out in a thunderstorm like this.
Lucas shakes his head, thinking about why Will even stormed out in this terrible of weather. He regrets ignoring Will, but Lucas thinks it wasn’t bad enough to cause Will to storm off so dramatically. Will was usually the most sensible of the Party, quiet and level-headed with a good head on his shoulders. Everyone is just acting weird. Lucas remembers Max freaking out on him just last week. Max is, yes, hot-headed, but usually only towards things that she believes in and wants to stand up for. She has never acted so, well, dramatic over a small mistake Lucas has made. He credited it towards them being in a relationship for a while–- she could’ve just had a bad day and took it out falsely on him. Lucas also thought it was just because she’s a girl, and well, she’s probably on her period or something to do with puberty like that. These two occurrences, Will leaving and Max ignoring him, seem similar to Lucas. He shakes his head, biking faster, trying to catch up to Mike in the near distance. Sometimes he swears he’s the only rational being in this newly developing world of craziness.