Chapter Text
The water was cold when he jumped in.
Mike felt like he was pulling and tearing at it trying to push through the thick current
Lovers lake always seemed like a peaceful place, each animal and plant flowing with the tide. Everything moving as one.
The lake was also terrifying. A gaping mouth ready to swallow any outsider that fell into its depth. An environment so harsh it would tear the skin from his bones and the bones from his marrow, given the chance.
It comforted him in a way. Nothing so beautiful could exist without scars. People looked to the water and witnessed all its beauty despite the trash and filth that came with it. He looked down at his arms and wondered if he too could be seen as lovely.
The blood in his veins couldn't even bring him the feeling of life when he brought steel to them . He wasn't even remotely like the body of water he sunk into.
He was the trash that polluted its shores and the chemicals that tore the fish apart.
He was the oil and the industry, the factory that polluted his own body.
His mind flooded with the idea of water seeping into his lungs. fighting for air before finally accepting how heavy his body felt and submerging into the feeling.
Oh.
He was drowning.
The more he had let his mind wonder the more he didn't realize how long he had been in the water.
He was ready to give in to the current allowing the fish a new home within his skin and let them feed off his bones.
He could hardly see anything past his finger tips, but he managed to make out a figure with brown hair that contrasted the deep blues of the lake; it looked like he was looking for something . Suddenly, he stopped flailing in the water and the figure headed towards him.
Holy shit.
Will attempted to calm his nerves as he neared the Wheelers house hoping off his bike as it clambered to the ground.
He tried to tell himself that maybe Mike was just in the shower or something, but given it was one in the fucking morning he quickly waved off that thought.
Normally he wouldn't care but the party hadn't heard from Mike all day, and when he knocked on the door anxiously waiting for it to open, his thoughts wouldn't stop spiraling. Mike always picked up his walkie. Always. So why not now? -another bang on the door- Was he mad at him? He ran through every interaction they had had in the last week but nothing stood out to him. he began to knock more as his mind raced. Maybe Mike had finally figured out how he really felt and-
He was quickly pulled from his thoughts when the door swung open, ”Jesus, I'm awake! I'm awake!” Karen was standing there, hair frizzy, unkept, and her expression irritated, a clear sign that the knocking had woken her up from a good sleep.
“oh!” she said, her expression quickly turning from irritation to confusion, “ Will honey, what are you doing here? Do you know what time it is?”
Will inhale sharply “Hi uhm sorry its just- is Mike home?” he tried keeping the worry out of his voice to no avail, the confused expression on Karen's face deepened, then quickly turned to concern.
"Uhm.. no he said he was sleeping over at your house?” Will's expression fell flat as he tried not to let his thoughts start spiraling again. Maybe Mike just lied to his mom so he could go hookup with a girl or something quickly reassuring himself. But Mike wasn't like that, he never lied to his mom. about anything.
He looked at Mrs. Wheeler and quickly spewed out something along the lines of “yeah! Yeah- he is uhm, we were just pranking you?”
He could tell she didn't buy it but even so, she took the bait too tired to question further. After some scolding and a threat to call Joyce, the door shut softly and he returned to the front lawn where his bike was laid carelessly on its side the muddy grass causing it to sink into the ground slightly as he tried to grab it to lift it back upright. He mounted it with ease and started heading down the road letting his thoughts run rampant.
If Mike wasn't hooking up with some girl - which, Will really hoped he wasn't- and if he wasn't at home or with any of the party members where the hell could he be? Will wracked his brain to try and think of anyplace Mike would go to be alone. Actually, Mike hates being alone. He was always with Will or Lucas and if he was really desperate he'd hang out in Nancy’s room and annoy her till she made him leave.
Suddenly a memory struck him.
“when it all gets too much,” He started with the summer's sun blazing down on his skin
- Will had practically chased him to get him to put on sunscreen, which he managed to avoid claiming he didn't need it due to his long sleeved shirt-
“i like to come here and just… listen.”
It was a quiet day, just the two of them sitting on the bank chatting about comics, music, their hobbies and general catching up. Though it had been a few minutes since the chatter had slipped into something deeper, something more meaningful.
“Mmm” Will had hummed in response. Despite his lackluster answer, Will's eyebrows quirked up the slightest bit as he waited for Mike to continue, eyes locked with him.
“I just feel like- like I can really feel at peace here.” The lake was one of the few places that the gates didn't affect too much, The water reminiscing a simpler time.
“Like I don't have to think about anything. I can just… be” he cringed at himself as the words left his mouth, his eyes darting down from where they previously met Will’s.
He shook his head as a smile creeped onto his lips looking out at the lake “i don't know maybe its silly-”
“I don’t think it's silly.” Will stated. He turned to face Will again who was now reaching out a reassuring hand to place on his shoulder. “I think it's good… that you have somewhere you can escape to- away from all this” he motioned to the flakes falling from the sky with his other arm.
“Yeah? You don't think it's dumb?” he looked to will with a pitiful expression for a second wave of reassurance.
“of course not” will smiled sheepishly pulling his hand back to rest by his side, a subtle redness creeping up his neck “I-I think its cute”
Mike was now the one with a sudden flush to his cheeks, maybe he should have let Will put sunscreen on him.
As the memory faded to the back of his mind, Will held onto the handlebars of his bike tight as he rode up the path to Lovers lake.