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One thing Mike does not expect when he wakes up is for his surroundings to be unfamiliar to him. He could say that it surprises him, but it doesn’t, as he wakes up frequently feeling like this, like he isn’t fully recognizing himself or the world around him.
Still, he sits up, pushing the blankets off him and to the side before putting weight on his feet so he can stand up. He glances around his room; the detachment becoming more apparent the more he wakes up.
He feels no connection to the movie posters on the walls or the trinkets and papers on his desk or even the pictures on his dresser and a shelf that he knows his dad put up for that purpose back when he was a little more in their lives. It’s almost like Mike is in a stranger’s body.
He puts one foot in front of the other to get to his dresser, pulling out clothes on autopilot. Something with dark colors, courtesy of Eddie Munson’s influence. Thinking about Eddie makes him frown, but he barely feels anything , much less sadness for the recently deceased young adult. He makes sure the clothes match before he heads toward the bathroom.
Inside the bathroom, he chances a glance towards the mirror. He looks normal, or what he assumes is normal for him when he’s living in the apocalypse world that is Hawkins, Indiana. When the world he’s living in is being invaded by monsters being led by one person: Henry.
Idly, Mike thinks that this would be a good time to attack, him feeling numb and detached and easily convinced about anything. He continues to stare at himself and listens for any sort of noise, any kind of clock sound, but it is silent.
Mike notes that the bags under his brown eyes have gotten darker and his dark curls are sticking out everywhere. He looks away before he can log anything else. He gets dressed slowly, still trying to connect his mind to his body.
When he heads downstairs, he finds his mom and Holly, both Nancy and his dad gone by now. Mike wasn’t surprised by his dad being gone, as the man was barely there even before the upside down started leaking into their world. Emotionally, at least. Now he’s barely at home, period.
His mom glances at him as he passes her, but even she looks unfamiliar to his eyes. “There’s food on the stove if you want any,” she tells him. He nods.
Mike doesn’t eat much, not feeling hungry.
He leaves the house with few words, meeting Will outside at the 9:30 mark. Will tilts his head at him.
“Are you feeling okay?”
Mike shrugs. “Numb,” is all he says.
Will nods, understanding and concern bleeding into his expression. “One of those days?” Mike nods. “I’m here if you need to talk, okay?” Will responds gently.
Mike nods again and follows Will as he rides off towards the school.