Chapter Text
The first month after moving back from Lenora felt normal. As normal as it could considering Hawkins had been split into 4 by Vecna. But despite the apocalyptic feel in the air Will had never felt more at home in his life. Him and Jonathon had taken over the Wheeler basement while Joyce stayed in the guest room and the best part of all was that Will got to spend every day with Mike. Every. Single. Day.
It was just like old times. They spent their time together reading comics, playing DnD and sometimes in the quiet of it all Mike would let Will draw him for hours on end. Will always loved to draw Mike whether it was as 'Mike the brave' or just his normal childhood best friend Mike Wheeler. Occasionally Mike would disappear to see El for a few hours, making sure she was still safe with Hopper and that she hadn't been found by the government but Mike wouldn't stay for long before he would make his way back home and spend the remaining hours of the day by Will's side. It seemed like everything he said in Lenora about them being a team and working together was true. It restored confidence in Will that him and Mike weren't growing apart like he thought they were.
However something changed after that first month and Mike seemed to do anything he could to avoid being around Will at all. Mike would spend most of his time locked in his room, refusing to be in the same room as Will unless it was meal time at the Wheeler/Byers shared dining table but as soon as he could get away he could. Maybe what Mike said about them being a team was him just telling Will what he wanted to hear.
Will spent minutes, hours, days even, racking his brain on what changed, wondering if his eyes had lingered too long on Mike's perfectly sculpted face or if he had said something too obvious that hinted at how he felt about Mike. Eventually Will figured out Mike and El had broken up. He had overheard bits of conversation when he would pass through the kitchen or when he would leave out the front door for the day. So like any good friend he would try to ask Mike about it or check if he was okay which was often met with "Don't worry about it Will" or "I'm fine, I don't want to talk about it" before Mike would shut his bedroom door in his face.
Jonathon had told Will that he would come around eventually, that break ups are hard and when you have a relationship as complicated as Mike and El it's going to hit harder than normal. So Will, as much as he didn't want to, gave Mike space. However, 3 months had passed and the most Mike had spoken to Will was an occasionally 'Morning' or him asking to borrow a pencil in class. They still sat together at lunch however the air was always filled with Dustin talking about how they needed to continue Hellfire in honour of Eddie or Lucas giving updates on Max. Will was devastated. He needed Mike more than ever. Especially with the threat of Vecna lurking around every corner. But if space is what Mike needs than that is what Will will give him.