Work Text:
Michael Wheeler
November 5, 1987
Will and I were walking by the radio tower with Murray and Lucas and Ms. Byers and Rockin’ Robin when Joyce told us something I needed to hear.
Sometimes, people need someone to believe in them. Then they can do amazing things.
I wanted Will to know that I still believed in him, because these last couple years, I’ve been the idiot who screwed up our bond every goddamn time. Will doesn’t do the bad thing, because his heart just bursts with love, like an elliptical lightsaber. But he doesn’t need me anymore. Will has Robin to talk to and Robin to laugh with and Robin to drive him everywhere and Robin to debrief about the next demodog attack at the Squawk with. Oh god. Does my best friend want to date Steve Harrington’s best friend? Ew. Bullshit.
Stupid. It was stupid to hate the thought of Will Byers dating someone else because he’s been my best friend. Both of us having girlfriends wouldn’t change that. Besides, El loves me. I’ll see her soon and when all this is over we’ll go to some local village far away from Hawkins where there’s three waterfalls and Lucas and Dustin and the party can visit us sometimes. I could just leave everything that reminds me of this war-torn town behind because if I brought anything from Hawkins to the local village it would just stir up thoughts of Will.
I’m sure Will would talk for hours if I asked him about Robin, so that’s what I do.
“Your mom and Robin are getting along better,” I say.
“Well, it didn’t hurt that Mom scared off that Demo,” Will says. “Saved Robin’s life, everybody’s life.”
Of course Will wanted to talk about Robin Buckley, but the thought of them together makes me sick. I’ve gotta change the subject to something different.
“So,” I start, “when your mom, when she had her axe, you could see her? Like, through the Demo’s eyes?”
“Yeah,” Will blurts. “And I was… so close to the hive.”
Will looks me dead in the eyes. They’re greener than they used to be.
“It’s like I… I could feel what it was feeling,” he continues. “Like this anger. That I was still in there too, and…”
I try to focus on what he is telling me, but in this sunrise on the field, Will is too beautiful.
“I was afraid,” he says. “I was afraid for my mom.”
“You wanted to protect her,” I finish.
“Yeah. But I…I just couldn’t,” he admits.
Will pauses. His eyes dart to the ground.
“It was like this scary movie you just can’t turn off,”
I bite my lip.
It must be hell to be Will Byers. I try to imagine what Will’s scary movie must look like, but my brain short-circuts because I’m staring at him.
“Are you positive you didn’t?”
“Didn’t what?”
“Turn off the scary movie,” I begin. “Protect your mom, not the other way around. No offense, I know she’s badass and everything, but you know…”
“Yeah, she’s 5’3”,” he muses.
“Yeah,” I agree. “And Vecna likes to control the hive like a puppet master.”
Will stares at me blankly. I guess I’ll keep talking but I’m terrible with…this.
“So maybe when you tap into the hive, you can pull the strings too,” I continue.
Too nerdy. Will totally didn’t get my Metallica reference because he doesn’t even listen to Metallica.
“Except I’m not Vecna,” he quips.
“You sorta are,” I joke. Sort of.
Will chuckles.
“You’re trying to say that I’m evil and hell-bent on destroying the world?” he says.
“Totally,” I tease. But no-no-no-no, I did not mean it that way but, shit, he thinks I’m being serious. Too bad, MikeTheBrave, back to the beginning of the level.
“No,” I explain. “I’m just saying that, you know, you’re like a wizard like him.”
Will brightens. His eyes are playful today.
“In D&D, Mike, not real life.”
“True,” I say. “In real life, you’re more like a sorcerer. Because your powers don’t come from a book of spells. They’re innate.”
Will laughs. It sounds like the sunlight.
“Listen, as far as crazy theories go, I’ve had crazier.”
The sorcerer line worked, shit, I bet it worked! Time to write the big flirty bit.
“And with Eleven in the Upside Down,” I say, “We could really use some magic up here.”
Will grins. He pushes me the way Dustin or Lucas do, but oh, his big, toothy smile, it’s giving me butterflies.
I wish he was flirting with me.
Why I wish he was, I’m not sure.
Byers had to go all buddy-buddy on me, of course he did. I don’t know what to do, so I just walk between the trees.
My stupid grin never leaves my face.