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It had been 6 or so months since Will had been in Hawkins. Though the circumstances weren’t the best, he was glad to be back.
Hawkins had been his home since he was born, and though he had moved to Lenora, he had a sinking feeling he would be back soon. And of course, as his gut had sensed, he was right.
For their unmeasurable time in Hawkins, the Byers family, minus his honorable sister, El, were staying at the Wheeler’s house. This didn’t surprise Will, considering the Byers family not having a house and all, but it was… strange.
Will had fully accepted that he was queer. He knew that his town wouldn’t be accepting of him. Calling him a freak of nature, whatever they could, but no one in his close group of friends, beside his brother knew.
Why would this matter in the Wheeler’s house? Well, maybe it was because he had had a crush on his best friend, Mike Wheeler, for as long as this supernatural madness had occurred. The other thing was he was supposed to sleep in the same bed as Mike.
For the first few days back in Hawkins, Will rested on a sleeping bag on the ground of Mike Wheeler’s cramped bedroom. Will was still a bit awkward with sleeping on the ground and almost getting stepped on Mike every morning, but he was perfectly fine with it.
That was until Friday, when Mike had offered something that made Will’s heart skip a beat.
“Hey, Will?” Mike asked, his voice soft and calming. It was just after midnight, and Will couldn’t sleep. His mind was racing with all of the possibilities of how and when Vecna would strike next, and how Hawkins could defend themselves.
Will perked up, his heart skipping a beat.
“Yeah?” He responded, his hazel green eyes beaming in the low setting of Mike’s lamp.
Mike pursed his lips, then began to speak. “You seem uh—on edge? Do you—wanna sleep up here? I mean, the floor doesn’t seem that comfortable.” Mike suggested, his eyes sparkling to match with Wills.
Predictably, Will’s stomach twisted, and his heart beat faster. He thought about it for a second, his friend was looking out for him. But… it didn’t feel like that. Will smiled faintly, then his mouth straightened again.
“Thanks Mike, but I’m fine, really.” Will said. He wanted to, really, but sleeping in Mike’s bed with him? That would make him feel less normal than he already was, and Will couldn’t take any chances. Even though he knew he’d be half fine.
Mike pursed his lips again and nodded once. “Okay.” He spoke, just above a whisper. Mike flipped off his lamp and rolled over. Will sighed.
Will lay there, starring up at the bland Wheelers ceiling. Now more than ever, he wished he accepted Mikes offer.
With a sigh, he let his mind race. So many things had happened to Will in the past 5 years, he couldn’t even think about all of it in one night. Usually, his mind scanned moments, what if he waited to bike home? What if he ran away from the mind flayer? What if his family never moved away from Hawkins?
It was all one big mistake. Why did a dumb little town in the Midwest have to be subjected to this shit? Will hated everything having to do with the Upside Down.
That’s why he changed things in his head. He would’ve been a normal kid if it hadn’t existed. Even though El had opened the gate to it in the first place, he could never blame her. El was like a sister to him—no, she was his sister. He knew it wasn’t her fault that he was involved in all of this madness. It was just his horrible luck, and fate. Those had gotten him to this point and place.
Maybe if Will hoped hard enough, his friends could get through these next few—however longs—unscathed. Well, that was a lie. Many of Will’s friends had been hurt from the Upside Down. In more ways than one, actually.
This included Eddie Munson. Will had never met Eddie, but Mike and Dustin told him that they would have gotten along well. Some part of Will felt it off that Dustin, Lucas, and Mike were playing DnD without him, but that was barely a feeling, realistically.
Some days, Will hoped as much as he could. He wished for the stupid paranormal happenings to go away, he wished for his life to be normal, and he wished he wasn’t so different. Even from his friends, who were considered outside of the norm as well.
This was not one of those nights, but Will was still letting his mind wander. Laying in his own sorrow and doubts—and insomnia.
Hawkins couldn’t be normal. Even if it appeared that way from the outside.
But hoping couldn’t hurt too much, could it? Will thought so—
The lamp flicked back on its lowest setting. Will blinked blindly and turned towards the light, letting his eyes adjust.
Damnit, he must’ve sat up at some time during his thinking.
“C’mon, you can’t just lay there, you haven’t fallen asleep.” Mike began, a light frown crossing his face. Will rubbed his hazel green with a wrist. “It can’t be comfort down there, lay here, Will.” Mike suggested—no, he was demanding it. Will couldn’t say no to that.
Will sighed, reluctantly standing up. Well, it looked reluctant—if anything Will was awkward.
Will crammed into the queen next to Mike, breathing slowly as he laid down. Mike pulled the blankets to shoulder level, then turned off the light.
There was a brief silence or something unrecognizable. It was some mix of yearning, tiredness, and comfort, and Will couldn’t tell if he was only feeling it or if Mike felt those two. Or—the last two. Will thought that Mike could never love him the way Will loved Mike. He was dating Eleven, after all.
After a moment, Will spoke quietly.
“Thank you.” He exhaled, turned in the opposite direction from Mike.
“Huh?” Mike began softly. “Oh, yeah, no problem.” He breathed, smiling silently.
A few more moments passed, and the two boys breathed next to each other, slowly drifting off. The cool summer night was closer to morning at the time, but this didn’t matter to Will or Mike.
Soon, they were completely asleep, but some part of them wasn’t—
—Will smiled back, though he didn’t see Mike’s face.