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October 31st, 1984
This Halloween sucked. Which sucked because Halloween was not supposed to suck. Halloween was the best holiday ever, but this year El was gone and Dustin and Lucas were in love with a complete stranger and something was really wrong with Will. It sucked.
At least Will was safe now, that was the important part. He seemed really freaked out earlier but now that he was in Mike's basement he was slowly but surely calming down. Thank god, Mike had been so worried about him. He really didn't need to be though, Will was resilient. He had to be, after everything he went through last year.
Mike just wished there was some way he could help him. Sure, he had gotten him home but he hadn't been there when Will needed him most both times. He felt so useless. But this wasn't the time to wallow in self-pity, Will needed him and he'd be damned if he wasn't there again.
"It's like, like I'm stuck."
"Like stuck in the upside down?"
"You know how when a view master when it gets like-"
"Caught between two slides?" Mike offered, having caught onto what he was trying to explain.
"Yeah, yeah, like that." Will agreed. "Like one slide's our world and the other.... the other slide is the upside down. And... there was this noise, coming from everywhere. Then I saw something," Something?
"The Demogorgan?" He hoped it wasn't but what else could it be? It wasn't like there were other creatures there. Well... Actually, there very well could be -that didn't make him feel any better. This wasn't about him, it was about Will and right now Will needed someone to just listen to him. It wasn't like the others wouldn't, but Mike noticed he hadn't really opened up to any of them. Ever since he had gotten back it was like he had built walls around himself, letting no one in no matter what. But due to knowing him so long Mike could get past those walls very easily, or maybe he was the only person Will would put them down around. That thought filled him with some emotion he couldn't explain, but he knew he liked it,
And was terrified of it.
"It was like this, this huge sh-shadow in the sky. Only... it was alive and it was coming for me." No, no... Not again.
This can't be real. "Is this all real? Or is it like the doctors say, all in your head?" Please, just let it be in Will's head. This can't be happening again. But, Mike knew, Mike knew it was more than that. He always knew when something was up with Will, and this was something more. This was something bad.
"I don't know just, just please don't tell the others, okay?" Mike was nodding his head before Will even finished his sentence, he'd do anything Will needed right now. "They won't understand." But Mike did and he knew Will would understand him too.
"Eleven would."
"She would?"
Mike nodded again, "Yeah, she always did." Not like Will did though, and that made this next part easier, "Sometimes I feel like I still see her, like she's still around. But she never is. I don't know, sometimes it feels like I'm going crazy."
"Me too." And despite the situation Mike felt himself brighten up, he wasn't alone in this. Will was there. And he was there for Will. Just like it had always been. Just like it always would be. Everything would be okay as long as they had that.
"Hey well if we're going crazy at least we're going crazy together, right?"
Will smiled his first smile since his vision, "Yeah, crazy together."
November 4, 1984
Things had gone from bad to worse- there was a new, worse monster, Bob had died, and Will was possessed by said monster. Somehow that was the scariest one of them all. Mike felt just like he did last year, but this time he refused to be as helpless. He wouldn't just sit by and watch his best friend suffer, he would help him fight.
"Do you remember the first day that we met?" Will looked at him and he felt himself stutter. But he carried on, he wouldn't let Will down.
"It was... it was the first day of kindergarten. I knew nobody, I had no friends, I just felt so alone,"
He had felt alone for most of his life really, nobody had ever understood him until he met Will. And even after he made more friends, Lucas, Dustin... El, nobody understood him like Will did. Nobody meant as much to him as Will did, and seeing him like this now.... it was killing him.
"And so scared. But I saw you on the swings and you were alone too."
There was a feeling for this, a feeling he knew the name of but was too afraid to say it. To think it. But Will would get the true meaning behind his words- a meaning he wasn't quite ready to confront yet, he always did. And right now, that could mean everything.
"You were just swinging by yourself. And I just walked up to you and... I asked. I asked if you wanted to be my friend. You said yes. You said yes."
Sometimes he still couldn't believe Will had said yes, that out of all the kids on the playground he chose Mike to be friends with. That every day he chose to be friends with Mike. To have sleepovers and DnD campaigns, to go to the arcade or the movies, to spend his whole life with Mike. He was the luckiest guy to ever exist, he even felt that way right now. Even though everything was horrible, even though everyone he cared about was in danger- again. He would take anything if it meant he could have Will in his life.
"It was the best thing I've ever done."
October 4, 1985
Will couldn't believe it, they were actually moving! After everything that has happened he couldn't blame his mom really, but it was a very hard thing to come to terms with. Leaving everything and almost everyone he loved behind, the Palace, the Hawk, Lucas, Dustin, Mike. That one might have been the hardest one of all. He had spent most of his life with Mike, he wasn't sure he knew how to be without him, and finding out was something he really wasn't ready for.
But, he had to be. Moving day was here.
"Whoa, dude, that's the donation box."
It was finally here, the worst day of Mike's life. The Byers' moving day. He couldn't believe they were actually leaving. Will was actually leaving. And El, but he wasn't as upset about that for some reason he still wasn't ready to think about. He had spent his whole life with Will and now he was leaving. And right after that stupid fight they still hadn't talked about. Mike messed up, he knew it as soon as he had said what he said, but then so much had happened and there hadn't been time to talk to him.
And then they were moving, and Mike couldn't think about anything else.
"I know, I'll just use yours when I come back. I mean, if we still wanna play."
Cause honestly, right now Will wasn't so sure, there was a lot he wasn't sure about actually. Maybe this move would do him some good, give him a chance to figure some things out. He knew how he felt, but he kept going back and forth on Mike's feelings. Something happened that gave him hope, and then he was being told it 'wasn't his fault he didn't like girls!'. He didn't know where Mike's head was at right now, and it was all he could think about. Funny how feelings worked, huh?
"Yeah, but what if you want to join another party?"
Mike hated this, there was so much that was being left unsaid, and that wasn't like them. Wasn't like him- not when it came to Will. But things had gotten so hard lately. He should've said something sooner! He should've told Will as soon as he heard he was moving! Now it felt like it was too late. And it was no one's fault but his.
Will got the true meaning behind his words. There was really only one response.
"Not possible."
March 24, 1986
Being in Lenora was weird. Nothing felt right here, especially since Mike was fighting with Will and El- again. He may not be able to make it up to El, yet, but he could Will. And after last year... It was the least he deserved.
"Thanks, by the way." Will was surprised to hear Mike speak up again- things had been weird between them since he had gotten there. Well, honestly, things had been weird between them for a while now. It was like they didn't know how to be friends if one of them had a girlfriend.
He didn't want to think about what that meant.
"For what?"
"For knocking some sense into me. I mean I was being a total self-pitying idiot."
Will looked at him, "Oh, I didn't say it."
Mike smiled, "You didn't have to." Will went back to packing and Mike sighed, "Hey, also, about uh, the last few days-"
"You don't have to say anything. I... I was being a total jerk to El, I deserved it."
What? How could Will think that? "No. No, no, no. You didn't deserve anything." Will looked at him again, with something like hope in his eyes. Without even thinking about it he knew the perfect thing to say. "Listen, the truth is, the last year has been weird, you know? And I mean, you know, Max and Lucas and Dustin, they're... they're great. They're great. It's just... It's Hawkins. It's not the same without you. And I feel like maybe I was worrying too much about El, and I don't know, maybe I feel like I lost you or something. Does that make sense?" Will nodded and Mike felt a sense of relief. They were still on the same page. After everything, they still understood each other.
"I have no idea what's gonna happen next. But, whatever it is, I... I think we should work together. I think it'll be easier if we're... we're a team. Friends. Best friends."
This was everything Will had been waiting to hear for a year now, that Mike still wanted to be friends. Them. Will wanted to go back to that, more than anything, right now the other stuff didn't matter. Even if it was glaringly obvious what was really being said.
Will wouldn't do that, not to El. "Cool."
"Cool."
March 27, 1986
Mike was hurting. Their friends were in danger, El was missing, and Mike was hurting. Somehow that felt like the worse thing to Will. Seeing his best friend like this, so filled with doubt, it killed him. There had to be something he could do to fix it, to fix him and El. Wait...
"Can I show you something?" Mike nodded and he grabbed his rolled-up canvas, hesitating slightly. He and Mike were fine now, it was him and El who were having issues. He handed it over.
Mike unfurled it and broke out in a wide grin. "This is amazing." He said, with something in his voice Will couldn't name. "Did you paint this?"
"Yeah. Yeah. I mean..." Here goes nothing. "I mean.. I mean, El asked me to. She commissioned it, basically. I mean she told me what to draw. Anyway, my point is, see how you're leading us here? You're guiding the whole party, inspiring us. That, that's what you do. And see your coat of arms here? It's a heart. And I know it's sorta on the nose, but, but that's what holds this party together. Heart. Because, I mean, without heart, we'd all fall apart. Even El. Especially El." He'd wanted to say these words to Mike for so long, only they weren't quite right. They were hiding behind someone else. Even if they had used coded words before, they'd never done that.
But what could Will do? It was clear Mike wanted to make things work with El, and as his best friend Will had to support that. But, something wasn't right here, Mike kept looking at him thoughtfully, like he was looking for something, and the more he looked the closer he was to finding it. What was he looking for?
Why was he looking for it in Will?
"These past few months, she's been so lost without you. It's just she's so different from other people, and... when you're... when you're different, sometimes..." He thought being away from Mike might do him some good, but this past year had been one of the worst of his life. Even though he had Jonathan and his Mom he'd never felt more alone.
Sometimes it felt like Mike was the only one that got him. And that was what made this next part easier. "You feel like a mistake. But you make her feel like she's not a mistake at all. Like she's better for being different. And that gives her the courage to fight on. If she was mean to you or she seemed like she was pushing you away, it's probably because she's scared of losing you, like you're scared of losing her. And, and if she was going to lose you, I, I think she'd rather get it over with quick. Like, like ripping off a band-aid. So, yeah, El needs you, Mike. And she always will."
????, 1986
Vecna was after Will for some unknown reason and he could tell nobody knew how to handle that. He could tell by the looks they kept giving him, the way he was never alone in a room anymore, the music that was constantly playing in his ears. And Mike was always next to him, not quite hovering, just there.
He was actually okay with that one.
Ever since they had gotten home the two of them had been intertwined in a way they hadn't for years. And for the first time in a while he had hope he hadn't misread Mike's coded love confessions over the years. Cause of course he always knew what they were, he and Mike could always read each other perfectly. There was only one thing making him question it really- the fact that Mike was still with El.
Their relationship wasn't... great, and he hated to use that phrasing since it was two of the people he cared about most, but everyone could see they were on their last legs. It was only a matter of time before they ended things for good, he only hoped it didn't end badly.
But there were admittedly bigger things to worry about.
Mike knew there was a reason to have this meeting, a really good reason, but god did he wish it over already. They weren't getting anywhere! With so many people around there was so much being said and no one could agree on anything. His biggest priority, as always, was Will- as was Mrs. Byers and Jonathan's, but it seemed not everyone agreed keeping him safe was the most important thing.
And, okay, he could get that, the entire town was a hellscape and no one was really safe, but Will was a direct target. They had to protect him. Mike couldn't lose him again. If for no other reason than to finally move past the stupid coding and tell him he loved him for real. Cause yeah, he finally realized what all those feelings he never wanted to confront were, realized that he always knew what he was doing saying those things, realized he had been treating El so horribly. Realized that Will loved him too.
Or, at least he thought, after he had pushed him to tell El he loved her he wasn't so sure. He thought they were on the same page in the van, when Will said all those wonderful things about Mike, when he opened up about stuff like he hadn't in a long time- even if it was hidden behind El. He thought that was just because there were other people around and it would be too vulnerable to admit he was talking about himself, but after whatever that was in the Surfer Boy Pizza he didn't know anymore. And the painting...
Mike really just wanted to talk to Will.
But right now they were stuck in the middle of this stupid meeting that still wasn't going anywhere. Right now Mike wanted to yell at everyone and storm out. But he wouldn't do that, he promised himself he wouldn't leave Will's side, and well, Will wasn't complaining. What Will was was looking as fed up as Mike was, and somehow that brought a smile to his face. Funny how feelings worked.
What dropped the smile was thinking about how off Will had been lately, he hadn't been Vecna'd or anything, but something was up with him and he wouldn't tell Mike what. Another reason he wanted to talk to him.
But for all in up each others space they had been they had not talked at all. Not about anything important at least. And that really needed to change, he was tired of having stuff unsaid between them. When this meeting was over, he promised himself, he would talk to Will.
Will could feel Mike staring at him, it wasn't like he was trying to hide it, but he kept his eyes on Hopper, who was currently explaining fighting tactics. Honestly though, it was going in one ear and out the other, they had been going at this for almost an hour now, he was getting restless. And he wasn't the only one. Thankfully, his Mom had mercy and suggested they wrap it up, and since she was the one who suggested it Hopper agreed.
But before he could get up Mike was tapping his shoulder and asking if they could talk. He bit back a gulp, "Sure."
Mike wanted to talk about the painting, that had to be the only explanation, but Will wasn't sure he wanted to talk about it, ever really, but he had a hard time saying no to Mike. "What did you want to talk about?" He asked in a causal voice as they got to Mike's room.
"Will..." Mike sighed. "You know what I want to talk about. What's been going on with you lately?" Huh?
"I don't know what you mean."
Mike sighed again, "Something's up with you. I mean," He gestured vaguely. "Obviously. But something else is going on. I know it is. Whatever it is you can tell me." Oh. That.
He could tell Mike, he could risk everything and finally confess, but the part of him that wouldn't drop the fact that he and El were still together wouldn't let him. "Can you just drop it?" He pleaded softly. "I don't want to talk about it."
"No, because you're not okay and you haven't been okay in a while and I know I have something to do with it and I just wanna fix it!"
"You can't fix this, Mike!"
"You won't even let me try! You keep pushing me away! I thought we were fine!" Had he been pushing Mike away? Mike hadn't left his side since they got back from Nevada and they had been getting close again, but maybe Will subconsciously still had a wall up. Maybe some part of him was still shutting Mike out.
"We are fine."
"Then why...?" Mike looked at him sadly. "Why won't you tell me?" Will didn't answer. "Will you at least tell me what that thing in Surfer Boy Pizza was about then? I thought, I thought we were on the same page before, in the van, but now I have no idea. The painting... I know that came from you, I thought the words did too." Mike plopped down on his bed. Will gingerly joined him.
"If you knew then why did you say all those things? Why did you say your life started the day I went missing?" Because, yes, he had pushed Mike but that was something he really didn't need to hear.
"I panicked." Mike said honestly. Because how could he not have? El could have died if he didn't do anything, anyone would've panicked. "I didn't mean any of it, not really. She knew that too, it's why she broke up with me- for good." He looked at Will. "If my life started the day I met her it's only because it stopped when you went missing. It's always been you, I was just too scared to say it directly. But I'm not now, Will Byers, I love you."
"The words came from me, all of them. You were worried about El, so I thought it'd be easier to put them in her voice, but I shouldn't have lied like that. I'm sorry. I was unsure about your feelings for a while, but never mine. It's always been you, Mike Wheeler, I love you too."