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The church loomed in front of them, towering and hollowed-out, its steeple swallowed by thick black vines that pulsed like veins. The air was heavy with the Upside Down’s damp, metallic smell—something between mold and old blood. Will leaned against Mike, breaths sharp and shallow.
“You… you did good back there, Will,” Mike said quietly, glancing at him before looking ahead again. “Come on. It’s safer in there than out here.”
Will nodded weakly, and the two stepped inside. The interior looked almost skeletal. Veins crawled across the walls, twitching as though reacting to their presence. Membranes pulsed beneath their feet. Stained-glass windows sagged inward, rotting around their frames, letting in only the dim red glow of the hanging spores outside.
“You doing okay…?” Mike’s voice softened as he gently lowered Will onto one of the few pews not fully consumed by rot.
Will stared at his trembling hands. His chest rose and fell in uneven heaves. “I… I didn’t think I had powers…”
Mike put a steady hand over Will’s. “Hey. Look at me.”
Will hesitated, then lifted his gaze. His panicked eyes searched Mike’s face like Mike might somehow have an answer hidden there.
“We’ll figure it out, okay? Together.” Mike leaned in a little. “I mean it, Will. If you do something, we do it together.”
A breathless laugh slipped from Will, a faint, tired smile ghosting his face. “Crazy together, right?”
Mike knelt in front of him, hands resting gently on Will’s knees. “Crazy together. I’ll follow you till death, Will the Wise.”
“Mike, I— you don’t mean that…” Will muttered, shaking his head.
"But I do,” Mike whispered. “I’d follow you anywhere.” He shifted closer, their faces barely inches apart.
“Mike…” Will’s eyes flicked between Mike’s brown ones, searching for the truth. “Tell me… am I reading this wrong?”
Mike’s hand slid from Will’s knee up to his cheek, warm and careful. “Tell me if I’m wrong…” he breathed, and then he kissed him—soft, meaningful, deliberate.
Will froze, then kissed back, heat curling in his stomach, years of yearning pulling them closer. The kiss deepened—
Until Mike’s hand drifted down Will’s cheek to his jaw, tracing the bone before wrapping around his throat and squeezing.
He pulled back. His expression twisted—dark, taunting.
“Did you really think I liked you back?” he sneered. “That I’m a freak… like you?”
His eyes were wrong. Blackened. Hungry. Not Mike. His voice warped into a deep, almost demonic growl.
“Mike—” Will choked, eyes wide with terror.
“I’m not a disgusting fag like you.”
Will’s world snapped. He squeezed his eyes shut, fumbling blindly until his hand closed around the flashlight. He swung it, cracking it against Mike’s head. The grip on his throat vanished. Will gasped for air and stumbled back—
Mike was gone.
In his place stood Vecna.
Vecna’s head tilted, slow and predatory, cords of flesh stringing between his limbs as he stepped forward.
Will bolted out of the church, running until his legs burned.
“William.”
A voice he hadn’t heard in years. Cold. Familiar. Wrong.
“Dad?” Will whispered, horrified.
Lonnie stepped into the faint red light, towering, sneering. “I told your mom what you were. A fairy. A queer. A fag.” His voice dripped venom. “You should’ve died the night you went missing. Fewer freaks in the world.”
“He’s right.”
A woman’s voice. Soft. Devastating.
Will turned— “Mom?” His voice cracked. “Please. No. You don’t mean that.”
Joyce laughed darkly and grabbed his wrist. “I shouldn’t have gone looking for you. I would’ve left you there if I knew what you’d become.” She leaned in close. “A monster.”
“No one cares for you, William,” Vecna said, emerging from the shadows, walking toward him with deliberate slowness. “No one loves you. Who would love someone like you?”
“You’re lying,” Will spat, stepping back— only to trip over a vine. It snaked instantly around his ankle, dragging him upward toward Vecna.
“Am I?” Vecna purred. “No one has come to save you. Not even your precious Michael. If he really loved you, why hasn’t he saved you yet?”
—
“Will? Hey, Will? Come on, wake up, man.”
Mike shook him, panic rising in his throat. Will didn’t move.
“Shit. Shit—” Mike tore off Will’s backpack, rummaging frantically. “Come on, please—” He found the walkman, but it was shattered.
He cursed, hands dragging through his hair. “I don’t know if you can hear me, Will, but I’m sorry. I’ve been such an asshole these past few years. You didn’t deserve any of it.”
Then Will rose into the air.
Mike’s blood ran cold. “Will! Please! Come on!”
—
“Don’t listen to him,” Vecna murmured as he lifted Will’s chin with one bony finger. His breath was warm and foul against Will’s face. “Join me. Help me destroy Hawkins. You don’t belong there.”
A violent shiver ran down Will’s spine. “I’d never join you…” he hissed.
Fire burst suddenly from his hands. The vines holding him burned away. He hit the ground hard, but stood.
“Foolish boy,” Vecna snarled. He flicked his hand, slamming Will against the wall. “You dare deny me? I made you. I made you special. You are nothing without me.”
Vecna grabbed Will’s face, squeezing cruelly. “Everything is your fault. Everything that happened… is because of you. Now watch.”
Images flooded Will’s mind—flashes of pain, loss, memories twisted into nightmares—
—
Will gasped awake and collapsed to the floor.
“Will?! Will, oh my god!” Mike caught him, pulling him in, arms tight around him. “I’m here. I’m here. You’re okay.”
A broken sob tore out of Will as he held onto Mike’s sweater like he was afraid he’d vanish.
“Whatever he said, it’s not true,” Mike whispered fiercely. “He just wants to get inside your head.”
They sat there until Will’s sobs quieted.
“I’m sorry…” Mike murmured, meeting his eyes. “I made an oath to you. I promised I’d always protect you and…” His voice cracked. “I failed. I’m your paladin. I’m supposed to always protect you.”
—
Mike clung to Karen’s leg outside the school, tiny hands shaking. “I don’t wanna, Mommy…”
Karen crouched down. “You’re going to have so much fun. You’ll make friends. You’ll play outside. You’ll have naptime. Doesn’t that sound nice?” Mike hesitated. He did like playing outside. “You promise…?”
She smiled and held out her pinky. “I pinky promise.”
After she left, Mike wandered toward the playground, nervous and fidgeting until he saw a quiet boy alone on the swings.
He took a breath. I can do this.
“Hi! I’m Mike! Do you wanna be friends?”
The boy looked up, eyes brightening. “Yeah! I’m Will!”
Mike grinned, grabbed his hand, and tugged him off the swing. “Come on! Let’s play fantasy! I can be a knight—a paladin! My armor has a heart!”
Will giggled. “I’ll be a wizard! Will the Wise!”
Before Mike could continue, a girl marched over, glaring. “What are you two doing?”
“Playing fantasy! Do you wanna join?” Will offered sweetly.
She scoffed. “My daddy says I shouldn’t associate with your kind.”
Mike’s face twisted with indignation. “Hey! Don’t listen to her. She’s a meanie-butt.”
He dropped to one knee, serious as a knight. “As your paladin, I swear I’ll always protect you! No one will ever hurt you again!”
Will giggled. “Okay! Come on—we have a DRAGON to defeat!”
“A dragon?!” Mike gasped dramatically, his eyes full of wonderment. “Lead the way, Will the Wise! For I shall follow you till death!”
—
Will let out a small laugh at the memory, looking at Mike. “You remember that?”
Mike smiled softly. “Of course I do. Meeting you was the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Will hesitated. “Is it still? Even after everything? After what I’ve done?”
Mike shook his head immediately. “Hey. Nothing that happened to you is your fault, yeah? You were a kid. You didn’t know anything. Everything that happened—it’s not on you.”
He slid his hand over Will’s, thumb brushing his knuckles. His eyes flickered briefly to Will’s lips before rising again.
“Tell me to stop, Will…” he whispered, leaning in. “Tell me you don’t feel it too…”
Will didn’t move.
Their lips met—slow, tentative, real. Will froze for a second before kissing him back. Mike’s hands cupped his face gently.
“I love you, Will Byers…” Mike breathed against his forehead. “I’m sorry I didn’t say it sooner.”
Will brushed their noses together, whispering, “It’s okay, Mike. I get it.”
Mike kissed him again—warm, certain. Kissing Will felt better than anything had in years.
—
“Almost out of here, Will. You need a break?”
Will shook his head. “No, I—I’m okay. Let’s just get home.”
They finally reached the gate, stumbling out in exhaustion.
The walkie crackled. “Mike? Will? Are you there?!”
Mike lunged for his bag. “Dustin?”
“MIKE?! Where the hell are you two?! We’ve been trying to reach you for hours!”
“We’re by the church—about four miles out,” Mike answered. “Heading to the cabin now.”
—
“Will! Thank god!” Joyce rushed to him the second they arrived, pulling him into her arms. “Sweetheart, are you okay? Hurt anywhere?”
Will shook his head, sinking into her hold. Joyce kissed his forehead, whispering, “Shh, you can tell me later. You need rest…”
Mike followed anxiously, what if Will got hurt and he wasn't there?
When Will woke, light streamed through the cracked windows of Hopper’s cabin. He found Joyce sweeping outside.
“Oh! You’re awake. Good.” She smiled warmly. “How are you feeling? Any pain?”
Will shook his head. “No, I—I’m okay.”
“Good. Now, come help me.”
They swept together in silence until Joyce spoke carefully: “Do you remember when you and Mike broke my vase?”
Will blinked, then nodded.
“You tried to tape it back together.” She laughed softly. “Mike tried to take the blame even though you threw the ball.”
Will winced, but smiled. “Mike always wanted to protect me.”
Joyce nodded, watching him closely. “He always has, hasn’t he?”
Her voice gentled. “You can tell me anything, Will. I love you. Nothing in this world could ever make me hate you.”
Will froze, broom pausing mid-sweep. Tears filled his eyes.
“You’re my son. I will always love you. No matter what,” Joyce whispered. “Is there anything you want to tell me?”
She guided him to the couch and sat with him.
“You… you won’t hate me?” Will whispered.
“Never,” Joyce said instantly, cupping his cheek. “Never.”
Will’s chest trembled. “I… I think—no—I know…” He swallowed. “I’m gay, Mom.”
Joyce smiled and pulled him into her arms. “Oh, honey. Thank you for telling me.”
He sobbed into her shoulder, holding onto her like his life depended on it.
“It’s Mike, isn’t it?” she asked gently after a moment.
Will sniffled. “How—how did you—”
“Mothers know,” she murmured, kissing his forehead.
“Mrs. Byers, is Will—” Mike stepped into the room and froze when he saw them. “Oh, uh— I can go—”
Joyce shook her head and stood. “I was about to take a break. Take over for me?” She handed him the broom. “You’ll protect him?”
Mike nodded without hesitation. “Always.”
Joyce smiled, hearing their laughter behind her as she walked away.
She didn’t need to look back.
Mike would protect him.
He always had.
He always would.
He would follow Will till death.