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Mike felt missing. He had everything he wanted in life but he still felt something was missing. Who was he kidding? He knew what was missing from his life. It was Will. He had long come to terms with his disgusting feelings towards his best friend Will who definitely did not love him back. Well he had a wife now and would probably have kids like he was supposed to. Will left early at the ceremony which raised some concern but he might have been sick. A dinging in his pocket had stopped his thought process. Before he could even answer it El took his hand and stopped him.
“Don’t answer Mike, remember you said it would be about us.”
El looked at him with big sad eyes. Mike had seen the contact name on the phone which read Will. And like always he chose El. Through his phone he could see a voicemail being sent. So whatever Will needed to tell him, he could listen to later. Yeah later, he thought. Little did he know there wouldn’t be another later with Will.
The news came fast. He had never felt it coming either. He was so naive. It was Mrs. Byers to inform him.
“Mike, I need you to come with me.”
Mrs. Byers had tears stains all over her face and tears were still falling. Her makeup was washed away with the amount of tears she had shed. A horrible pit of dread filled my stomach as he followed her. What could possibly be so wrong that Mrs. Byers, one of the strongest people Mike knew, was crying. He knew the answer that would bring her to tears but he just couldn’t accept that. Mike remembered that Will just called him an hour ago.he was going to talk to him later and apologize for not paying enough attention to him. He would come back. Right?
“Mike, I-I don’t know how to say this nicely but… Will he- he’s gone..”
Her voice came out more of a sob than a sentence but hit Mike more.
“What do you mean gone?”
Mike’s voice was sharp but he couldn’t bring myself to care. This conversation had happened in the past when Will ran away but why would he run away?
“Where did he run this time?”
“Mike he- he’s dead.”
Everything crashed down on him. It felt like a weight was pressed to his back. Will and dead in the same sentence didn’t compute with Mike. Nothing about that made sense. They were so young, they hadn’t experienced life yet. No this has to be some stupid prank. Will couldn’t have died. He just called him. He… called him. If he had picked up that goddamn phone. If he had not chosen El. If he could go back.
Mike’s knees collapsed to the floor and his vision darkened. He couldn’t see anything. He didn’t even care. How could he care when Will is… he couldn’t even make out the words in his head. Let alone actually believe their truth. Mike could hear Mrs. Byers voice in and out but all he could think of was Will and his stupid contact photo. He called him for something. And that something could have saved him.
That’s when Mike remembered his phone. He pulled himself up just a little so he could sit on the floor Mrs. Byers watched him carefully as he clicked on Will’s name. It dinged and dinged but never came through. That’s when he saw the voicemail. It was ten minutes long. He shook his head again and again. He had to hear what had happened. So he clicked on the voicemail and clicked play. Mrs. Byers slowly exited the room to give him some privacy but he didn’t care. Will’s voice rang through.
“Hey Mike it’s me. When you get this I’ll probably be dead.”
The “what if” possibilities stopped in Mike’s head. It was true. Will. Was. Dead.
“I’m kind of in a car accident right now and it’s not looking that great. Don’t blame yourself for letting me go or for not picking up the phone.Whatever you could’ve done is just a what if scenario that probably wouldn’t have stopped my death from happening anyways. The reason I’m calling you is to let you know all the things I couldn’t say to your face. All of the forced silence that I had given to many people because I couldn’t say the truth of my situation. As you may know I like guys the way I should like girls. But now as I’m on death's door step I’m not that ashamed, I mean why should love be punished. Well for all of my life I’ve been so ashamed of who I was that I lost track on how to appreciate some aspects of my life. One of those being you. I had always considered you a sore spot as we got older because of the feelings I harbored for you. Yeah Mike I blame you for me being gay. Ha it’s almost comical that I’m dying while confessing it’s like one of those tragic romance books that I read a lot.”
“ Anyways I’ve always felt this way for you even though I know you don’t feel the same. I’m sorry if this disgusts you or taints your view on me even when I’m dead. I just wanted you to know that I’m happy for you. I’m happy that you found happiness even if I never could truly achieve that. I’m happy that you’ve found someone and even if that person is not me I will always want you to know that I’m proud of you. Thank you Mike for teaching me how to love someone, even if that love is unrequited. I wanted to thank you for making me happy, happier than I could’ve ever thought possible. Well Mike I guess this is the end for me but it’s just the beginning for you and your relationship with El. I want you to live a long and happy life with or without me so make sure to treat El right. Remember to teach your kids DND and make them laugh and smile. I love you Mike…”
Mike clutched his phone close to his chest as he sobbed. Tears and snot were all over his face, but he couldn’t care less. The only thing on his mind was Will. Will the sweet, sweet, boy who loved him. The boy could never confess too. He loved him so much that he felt like his heart was going to explode. Why did he have to marry El? Why did he have to go be a stupid idiot and decide to not check in on Will. He could feel that Will was sad but he was too caught up in his head.
He should’ve been better. He didn’t know how his life could continue. He couldn’t continue life with El. He could never be the same again. He felt like his heart was being torn from his chest. And he wished that was happening right now because anything was better than feeling the pain of losing your other half.
He screamed out trying to lessen the pain but nothing helped.
Nothing would ever help because Will was gone.
Gone. Gone. Gone.
Gone as in lost forever.
Gone as in he would never see him again.
Mike was left with the broken pieces of his own heart that would never be repaired. From this day forward he would walk as a husk of himself. He would never be the same without his other half. Not El. Will. He wanted to be taken back to the night they met. He wanted to change everything that had happened in their life.
There’s this other myth in Greek Mythology of this man who went to the Underworld looking for his lover. Mike would do the same. Mike would always save Will. But he couldn’t in this world and maybe in another world he would love Will first. And he would have the time to tell him everything he couldn’t. But those were just hopes he told himself, because Mike’s life was destroyed