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“You’ll live. You’ll live in a future where everyone else has moved on without you.”
A haze of red flashed through Will’s mind—taunting images pulled from deep within his subconscious. His breath caught in his throat. The room stretched as his vision warped, walls bowing inward into a dolly zoom, as if the wormhole drawn on the window in front of him was pulling him in. Henry’s words rang sharply, bouncing off the walls of Will’s mind.
The red bled into something warmer. Softer. A living room he didn’t recognize.
Mike was there. Older. Laughing with his arm wrapped around someone else’s shoulders.
Will stood just outside the frame.
The haze sharpened; pictures and blurred faces flickering past him. Birthdays. Holidays. Sleepovers.
“He doesn’t need you anymore.”
A chill ran down Will’s spine.
“And you’ll let him go,” Henry murmured. “It’s all you’re good for.”
“Will?” A soft voice pulls him out of his thoughts. Mike stands in the doorway, a green beanie pushing his hair out to the sides. Will’s heart pangs at the sight.
“I was looking for you. I finished setting up the bomb for Steve’s plan.” Mike steps forward cautiously, as if approaching a frightened deer. He peers at Will with slightly squinted eyes, noting his friend’s stiff shoulders and eyebags. Will fidgets with his sleeve.
“Oh, that’s- good. Was it difficult?” Will says, clearing his throat to rid of the angst clinging to his voice. The side of Mike’s mouth twitches upward as he sits next to Will, his hand the only thing separating their knees.
“Nah, not too hard. I used a record to time the explosion, and Robin made fun of my music choice.” Will smiles faintly at Mike’s words, gaze fixed on the hands in his laps. Mike’s eyes flickered between Will’s profile and those restless fingers, like he was waiting for something to break through. “You know, this whole ‘Rockin’ Robin’ thing must be getting to her head.”
Will’s heart fluttered softly at the effort. Mike’s hand twitches at Will’s side.
“Is something bothering you? Is it Henry?” Mike’s voice softened in the way that always undid him, a quiet pull that loosened something in his chest. He could never lie to Mike. Not like this. The words welled up anyway, swelling in his throat until they burned. He swallowed hard, but they caught, refusing to go down. His fingernails dug into his thighs as he fought to keep the tears from spilling. “You don’t have to carry this alone. We can do it together.”
Mike’s hand drapes over Will’s, warmth seeping into his chilled clench. A tear falls from Will’s cheek.
Crazy together.
“I-I need to tell you something.” The words crack, hard edges jutting into Will’s throat. Mike lightly squeezes encouragingly. “Henry - He didn’t just… use me. He trapped me in these visions. He showed me awful things, things not just straight out of nightmares but my own secrets. Stuff I kept inside ‘cause… I was ashamed. And he used them against me.”
Mike kept quiet, gaze wandering all over Will’s side profile. It was distracting, so Will turned to finally make eye contact. Mike’s eyes widen slightly, maybe with pity, since Will’s eyes are swollen and empty.
“He showed me you. Happy” Mike inhales sharply. “And I wasn’t in your life. Not really.I don’t know how to explain it. Your arm was around someone - I didn’t see her face. He said this was what I deserved.”
Will scans Mike’s face for any reaction, any recognition, and finds only faint confusion. “Why did he choose to show you that? What bothers you?”
Well, Will can’t answer that. How could he answer that truthfully? “I-Uh. It’s stupid.”
Will regretted this conversation. Regretted opening up. He glanced back at the wormhole on the window, partly hoping Vecna would summon the void and suck him in.
“Will.” Mike said, a new air of confidence - and desperation? - in his voice that surprised Will. “Nothing about this is stupid. I want to help you. I want to understand.”
Fuck it. He wasn’t going to let Henry use this against him. If he ruined his friendship with Mike, it would be of his own initiative. “Because I don’t want you to look at me like that someday. Like I’m just someone you used to know.”
Mike’s breath hitches again. “Will, I would never-”
“Mike, I don’t like girls.”
Blink. Another blink. Mike’s features loosen from confusion into a state of faded shock, his hand on Will’s pulling away slightly. More tears fall from Will’s face as he feels something in his chest drop in the moment of silence - until he spots a glint of recognition in the other boy.
“Oh.” It’s barely a whisper. So soft Will wouldn’t have registered it if he wasn’t looking at Mike’s O-shaped mouth. His heart pounds against his chest so hard the room starts spinning, hazy from the tears littering his vision.
Then, Mike moves closer, their shoulders now touching. Will notices him hesitate for a moment, before Mike shifts his body and pulls Will in for a hug. A warm, tight hug with Mike’s hand on the back of Will’s head, placing him in the crook of his neck. The weight in Will’s chest lifts immediately. His hands cling to the back of Mike’s vest, tears flowing unabashedly into Mike’s collar. He sobs a bit harder at Mike stroking his hair, his touch nothing short of tender.
“I promise, no matter what happens from here on out, you are not leaving my side.” Mike’s words land in an affectionate whisper on the shell of Will’s ear, lips grazing it slightly. “You’re my best friend, and you’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
Somehow, the two boys pull each other tighter, staying in a long embrace.