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“Mike.”
Will’s voice was… fragile. It broke Mike’s heart with every step and slight ending breath. Mike was afraid. He looked at the strands of hair falling in Will’s eyes and clutched his shoulder tighter. He wasn’t afraid of Will, no, never. He was afraid of what was happening. That he had no clue of what was happening.
That most everything was happening to Will, all at once.
Mike stopped looking to his side in exchange for watching the ground, a much safer choice, he thought. They had to watch their step. They had to stay steady. Will could not get hurt any more. God, what was happening?
When all the thoughts quelled for a moment, Mike replied, “yeah?”
“Where are we going?”
“Home. My home.” Mike had decided their destination long ago. The Byers’ house was too far across town to risk walking to, Mike assessed. Plus, Jonathan knew to come to his house, so he figured they’d stick with that plan.
Will nodded. “Okay.”
He still sounded so faint, like he was on his last breath. Mike clenched his arm harder.
“Hey. We’re almost there, okay?”
Will nodded unconvincingly.
Mike swallowed hard. “Do you feel sick? Like you’re gonna fall?”
Will quickly glanced at his hand, looked forward, then tearfully shook his head. “No. I just feel… weird.”
“Okay.” Mike almost didn’t know what else to say. “Just hold onto me. I’ll get you some water. Or apple juice,” Will’s favorite. “How - how’s that sound?”
He smiled faintly. Mike saw it. “Good.”
Okay. Yeah. That’s - this is - “Good.”
Mike took a deep breath. He told himself that he had to stop worrying, because that would leave the both of them scared and defenseless. That would leave Will scared and defenseless, and Mike really didn’t want that.
Just one foot after the other. Mike made sure that his hand was secure. Part of him wasn’t sure if he should move it more underneath Will’s arm? Does he need that? What else does he -
“Mike?”
There came his delicate voice again. If only there was a way to hold a voice in the palm of your hand.
“Yeah?”
“Can you…”
Mike nodded instinctively. Anything.
“Can you please… keep talking?”
Oh. Mike was a little taken aback by that.
This wasn’t the first time, though. Back when, maybe seven years ago, Will had asked the same thing. He had fallen, landed on his arm pretty bad, and it was clear that something was sprained, if not broken. He clutched his elbow in pain, and Mike dropped everything.
He didn’t even remember what they were doing. All that mattered was Will.
“Will! Oh my gosh, are you okay?”
“I -“ He lied through a soft groan. “I think so.”
“Shit,” Dustin muttered.
Mike wasn’t sure where Lucas had gone.
Mike dropped to his knees. “No, you’re not okay.” He’d seen enough of the blood to know. Mike pushed himself up to his feet again. “I’m gonna get you some ice, alright?”
Before he could move, Will grabbed his hand. “No, wait.”
He used the hand of his hurt arm, too. Mike stopped as soon as he noticed that.
“Stay.”
No. He had to go. Do something. Mike swallowed hard. “What? But, Will, I gotta -“
Will shook his head. “Please.”
“But I - But I can’t let you bleed! You’re hurting! And what if it doesn’t stop? I’m - I’m scared, Will.”
“Mike,” Dustin spoke up, “Lucas got it.”
“Really?”
Dustin nodded. His worry quelled only a little.
Mike just couldn’t stop looking at him, letting his own heart break as Will began to cry. He didn’t even think about Lucas or Dustin. He couldn’t move. His hand squeezed Will’s a little tighter and he fell back down to his knees.
“Dustin!” Lucas called.
“Okay!” He replied. Then there was a tap to Mike’s shoulder. “Mike, you got him?”
Mike didn’t even need to think. “Yeah.”
Then there were hurried footsteps, Dustin and Lucas calling to each other once more before they were rushing inside, and the hurry faded underneath Will’s voice.
“Mike.”
Though tremulous and tearful, Mike wasn’t sure why, but his own name on Will’s tongue always sounded the most sweet to him. And that wasn’t him being sadistic, he just knew. Knew that Will was always going to need him. He felt loved when Will called on him, whether his heart claimed it or not.
“Yeah?”
“Can you talk to me?”
It was such a simple request. Mike could feel his very heartstrings being plucked gently. No one ever asked him to keep talking before. He was always told that he was such a loud kid, too noisy, too talkative. But Will wanted him to talk.
And so he did.
“Just hold on, okay? We’re gonna get you somewhere safe. I’m gonna make sure of that.”
They made it to the curb of his driveway.
“I don’t know if my mom’s home yet, but it doesn’t matter. I have the key to the basement door. Let’s just stay there for a bit, okay?”
Will’s tears began to slow.
“We don’t have to tell anyone, yet. Or - never, if you don’t want anyone to know. But, anyway. We’re going to the basement. I’ll try and stay quiet, okay? And if anyone comes down, I’ll tell them to go away. I got you. I got you, Will.”
Mike fished through his pocket to find his key, not daring to let go of Will with his right hand. He stayed calm and acted quick, quietly opening the door and closing it behind them.
At that point, he heard Will whimper.
“What? What’s wrong?”
Mike could barely see it, but there were tears building up in his eyes again. It was just so dark.
Dark.
“Oh, shit.”
Albeit reluctantly, Mike finally let go of Will, dropped his candy bag, and rushed to open the blinds just to give Will some immediate brightness. He then clicked on every lamp in the room, the ones by the couches, over his desk, and he also flipped the switch on in the bathroom.
He circled back to close the blinds, giving them privacy.
“There. Better?”
Mike was nervous. He imagined that Will would be on edge again, and sure enough, he was. Still, always one to hide it, Will smiled weakly. “Better.”
Mike bit his lip. No. This was not better. Maybe in some ways, it was, but it sure wasn’t enough. Will may have been attempting to smile, but his eyes were still red and teary, his body clearly stiff, his fingers fidgeting with the corner of his pillowcase bag.
This wasn’t just a broken arm. This was something way bigger. Talking wasn’t enough.
Mike wasn’t sure what to do, but he was going to try.
“Will,” Mike started, putting his hand on his shoulder. He hesitated for a moment, realizing that asking if he was okay was as obvious as anything. He wasn’t. So Mike was going to do something to help him feel better. “Is this okay?”
“Yeah, I -“ he said softly- “wait, is what okay?”
“Being here. In the basement.”
“Oh, yeah. Yeah, this is good.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
He was talking steadily, at least. That was definitely a good sign.
“Well, I just was thinking, if you really want to go home -“
He shook his head. “No. No, I mean it, Mike. This is nice.”
Mike swallowed hard. There he was, still worrying. But he took Will’s word, before, and everything came around. So he was going to take it again.
And so he did. “Okay.”
The room stood washed in yellowy-golden light, and there was a small moment of silence again. Mike wished that he could say something more comforting, more right, maybe be just what Will needed, but he was worried that he’d overdo. Looking to his side at the little blanket-covered haven under the doorside table, he saw what saying too much did to him, before.
How it hurt him, before, and still did.
“Mike.”
He turned back to Will.
“Thank you.”
Mike took a deep breath. His heart was thudding in his chest, real, alive. As was Will. It stung to be so worried all the time, for El, and especially for Will’s episodes that no one could predict, too. But at least he hadn’t lost everything, yet.
How could he lose the one person that he’d always know and protect, time and time again?
Will continued. “I’m still really scared, but, thank you. I feel a lot safer here.” His voice was still so small, but Mike heard every word. “I - everything happened really fast, but… I want to tell you what happened. It’s just -“
“- a lot?”
Their eyes met. Will nodded.
It seemed like a lot was the norm, nowadays. Mike knew that Will wasn’t talking much. He knew that those eyes looked sadder. Of course Will was hiding it. Of course something was coming back. Something bad. In time, he hoped, Will would get better. He hoped the same for all of them. He hoped that he’d be there for it all.
Mike clenched his hand, his… empty hand. Wait a second. His eyes drifted down to Will’s half-full bag, then to his own on the floor. “Hey, I have an idea.”
Will watched as Mike picked up his stuff and brought it to the coffee table in the middle of the room. Mike felt a little proud that Will seemed curious rather than nervous.
“Come,” he beckoned Will over. He debated getting up and taking his hand, but he saw that Will wasn’t struggling to stay on his own two feet, anymore. He was okay. He was going to be okay. Even though Mike still had questions, namely about why he had run and hidden himself out of the blue, Mike was going to bring him to the light before all else.
Mike opened his pillowcase, and Will caught on immediately, and he did the same. They shared small glances each other’s way. Besides dressing up, this was the best part about Halloween, he and Will agreed: sorting candy.
Dustin and Lucas liked sorting their candy, too, but often, they didn’t really care to sort meticulously like he and Will did. On years when they all did sort together, especially if they were inversely outweighed with Three Musketeers, something about the two of them made the process a lot more difficult, at times. That, of course, was thanks to the busyness of two extra voices and votes for who gets what, but there was also a lack of investment. Dustin would eat most anything. Lucas was picky. They cared more about the quantity and quality of candy than the actual process.
They just weren’t like Will. Will liked making sure everyone had near the same amount of candy with even ratios of likes and dislikes to compromise, and oh, the joy that filled his eyes the one year they were all on-the-dot even with seventy-seven pieces of candy each, it was priceless.
They poured out their stashes onto the table. This year’s turnout was a little less than usual as the night was cut short, but it wasn’t something to complain about at all.
“Is this… good?” Mike asked tentatively.
“Good?”
“Yeah, like, sorting? Right now?”
Will surveyed the table and took a deep breath. Mike couldn’t even begin to imagine what he was going through, but he knew that he had to wait a little bit more. Will usually thought to himself before saying anything. It was just how he processed things. Mike hoped that this was enough.
Eventually, Will nodded and said slowly, “only if you help me.”
Mike would be a fool not to. “Duh.”
And so, the rummage began.
Will chuckled as candy spilled off the ledge. “Shoot. We always forget to barricade that side of the table.”
Mike couldn’t help but smile. “We’ll get it later.”
It wasn’t often that it was just the two of them sorting their candy together. Then again, Halloween only came once a year. But even then, Mike longed for more moments like these, alone together, just the two of them. No talking. There was no need to. He did get his wish, and sometimes they’d get to work on duo projects together, study together, plan for campaigns together.
It was just so easy to be side by side with Will.
Somewhere in his head, Mike knew it sounded stupid, maybe, but he loved how Will did most everything. There he was, pushing little boxes and wrappers and lollipops, surveying the whole crowded table. He didn’t even seem to bend down that much, standing up while Mike was kneeling. He was just so…
“Sorry,” Will warned softly. A Reese’s peanut butter cup fell right into his lap.
…precious.
Mike barely even realized that he was lost in thought until he heard the wrapper crinkle.
“It’s fine,” he muttered. Mike was thankful that Will wasn’t paying attention to him, because he was sure that somewhere in the tinted light, his cheeks would be aglow. Eventually, once he was able to keep his eyes on the surface, he started to sort for himself.
As for Mike and sorting, he liked making things organized, so of course he was meticulous, too. He wanted to keep everything he liked and give away everything he didn’t. For one, Mike didn’t like Reese’s Pieces.
He knew that Will did, though. And he liked seeing Will happy, so he easily pushed all of his to Will.
Will didn’t even notice the gesture, too absorbed in his task of finding all his M&Ms. Mike waited until Will gathered them all before nudging his side. Will smiled and took them, putting them right into his pillowcase, of course. He looked so much more relaxed, already. Mike was so relieved.
He had to be sure that it was more than just a look, though. After a while, he broke the silence and asked, “are you feeling better?”
Will paused and turned to him. “Yeah.” Will’s hand was still tentative as he pushed the M&Ms toward him. “A little.”
All of this was hurting Will, no doubt. Mike hated seeing how much it bothered him. He didn’t want to prod, but he was quite curious. What the heck happened back there? Why was Will crying? Did something hurt him? What was it?
He’d rather die than not know.
Maybe a part of this was a bit like the big thrill of the chase from last year, but now… Will was here. Right here. And it still felt as big as ever, if not more. Maybe now was the time. Mike didn’t force it to be so, though. At least, he hoped that he didn’t. He bit his tongue and waited.
Will took another deep breath and sat down on the couch.
Mike joined him. “A little?” He repeated, voice quiet.
Will’s fingers played together nervously, and that’s when Mike noticed they weren’t empty. He was intrigued as he watched Will gingerly open a small package of Skittles. Eating the candy, of course. That would help.
He was doubly intrigued when Will offered the bag to him, first. And of course Will put him first. Mike held out his hand. He wasn’t fussed about Skittles flavors, so he happily accepted the green and yellow one into his palm.
Will sighed again before taking his share. He clutched the bag and closed his eyes.
Mike swallowed hard. “Will.”
Mike was still pretty afraid, he had to admit. But it wasn’t so bad, like this. Not at all.
Before he could really think, he was gently prying the candy from Will’s stressed grip, trying to let him relax. Mike put the red bag onto the table, letting it join the now forgotten stash.
It didn’t matter. Nothing did.
Nothing but Will.
The skies could fall, and Mike imagined that he’d never stop believing that.
“I had another episode. Vision. Something.”
Mike’s eyes were practically trained on him.
“I don’t know how it happened, but I was here. In Hawkins. And then - and then I fell, and suddenly, I wasn’t.”
Unbeknownst to the both of them, they shared a strange feeling that everything was going to change. It was so strong that Mike barely even clocked that Will fell. His heart felt heavy. He was scared. They both were. And yet, in broken silence and jumbled thought, maybe things would be okay.
Together.
“What does it… feel like?”
Will opened his eyes.
“It’s like - like I’m stuck.”