Archive of Our Own

Mike didn’t think this would’ve been possible.

This shouldn’t be possible.

But it is.

And it’s his reality.

//\\

Mike was sitting in class, bored. He anxiously taps his pencil on his desk as the teacher explains, whatever she was teaching, since Mike has zoned out by now. He wonders why he’s being this anxious. He never felt like this before, although he had felt like this in class, and sometimes in public or even at home, but he had passed it off as an odd feeling. He only started feeling like this after Eleven broke up with him in California for not sending “Love, Mike” at the end of each note he sent. There was much more in the picture than that, but that’s the most he can think of from that situation. After his breakup, he started being more of himself again and getting closer to the party, mostly Will. Mike is assuming that, after Will spoke up about his behavior when he was dating El, he felt like something had changed in him. He changed back to his old persona, but he felt like he had grown; however, he had a bad feeling about this new growth, which was why he had been so anxious. Most Likely.

After this, he gets to go home. He won’t have to be in school anymore, which means he won’t be able to see Will. This odd feeling grows inside of him at the thought of Will, this feeling always makes him feel sick, but this feeling also makes him feel good inside; the thought of Will staying close to him, never leaving his side, staying together forever, and for nobody to get in their way is the perfect dream for.. Both of them. Will surely has this feeling too, right?

But what if he doesn’t? That’s fine. He could always forgive Will because he’s perfect in every way, and he’ll be even more perfect if they were together, or is that what Mike thinks? Even if they don’t get together, they could still be friends, best friends. They could stay like that, and neither of them would have partners; it’s just both of them until the end of time.

What if.

What if Will finds a partner who isn’t Mike? His heart swells at the thought of that, and his stomach twists. He couldn’t imagine Will with anybody else who isn’t him. They’re destined soulmates, and he’s going to date somebody like that? Just behind his back? He rolls his eyes at the thought of that even happening – he won’t ever let that happen; there won’t even be a chance of that happening. He will always be there to stop it, until the end of time. Until they finally end up together, but until then. Will is his; he will make sure of that. Even if Will doesn’t even know that he’s Mike's.

//RING RING\\

The dismissive bells scatter Mike's thoughts.

 

///\\\

Mike waits at Will's locker. He planned for them to bike home together just for no reason, of course. He was talking to Lucas to pass the time waiting for him. He knew that Will was always late to his locker after his last class. Does Mike know why? No, it was just a pattern he noticed after watching him and observing. Everybody was mostly out of school when Will finally appeared, being later than usual.

“Damn took you a while Will.” Lucas joked when he finally saw him.

“Yeah, uh, just somebody held me back for longer than I expected.” He chuckled lightly. Lucas said his goodbyes, also saying something along the lines of ‘Max is going to beat my ass if I’m late – well, I’m already late, but see ya!’ They both said goodbye to Lucas, and then it was just the two of them in this mostly empty school.

“So, who held you up?” Mike asked. Leaning against the locker next to Will’s, he hesitated a bit before answering Mike’s question. Telling him won’t harm, right?

“Oh. Do you know Stacy? The black hair girl, tanned skin, girly.. She kinda confessed to me, but I turned her down.” Will answered him. Shutting his locker close now, waiting for Mike to move.

“Oh.” Mike said, trying to process what Will said, “Go ahead, I’m going to use the bathroom real quick.” Mike said, then went to walk off without meeting Will's eyes.

“Uh? Okay, don’t take too long!”

Yeah, Mike hopes it doesn’t take long.

He walks the way Will came from, walking down the hall with quiet footsteps after another. Will last class was math, so he knew exactly where to look. He gets the the classroom door and hides in the shadows while he peeks through the door window, taking a look at the girl and analyzing her looks and the way she looks. She was just sitting there in distraught with her face in her palms, she was crying, guessing it was because of Will, good. She can’t have him, she will never have him, and she will never get the chance to. He looks at her with anger, jealousy, and disgust in his eyes for even trying to get with his Will, the audacity of her.

She will die tonight,

Mike will make sure of it.

///\\\

Stacy sat on her couch, still thinking about the moment that happened in class this afternoon. It was midnight by now. She thought Will liked her back since he was so nice to her, and he was just so sweet, but he ended up rejecting her; at least he still respects her. She won’t say that he gave mixed signals; maybe it was just her being delusional, like her younger, annoying brother tells her all the time. She didn’t think it was the truth. She sniffles a bit, then stands up from the couch to put her coat on that was on the hanger. She has to let her dog back in from using the bathroom outside. It was way too cold for her to go outside, and now she has to go find him because he likes playing hide and seek when it’s cold outside, which is unfortunate for her.

She slips her boots on, then goes outside and closes the door behind her. After she lets her dog in, she will have the house all to herself. She sighs, and the air copied her breath.

“Popi!”

No barks.

“Popi, come on! It’s too cold out here!”

She hears a dog yelp.

She freezes. Stacy heard that yelp coming from her backyard, her heart races under her layers.

“Popi!? Is that you?” Stacy yelled again, walking towards her backyard. The grass under her feet was frozen and stale under her boots, crunching with every step, making her presence known. She shivers as she looks around in the backyard, not seeing a dog, not hearing a sound. She scoffs in annoyance and walks towards the dark trees that face her.

“Popi! You better not be-”

Her words were cut off by a cold, rough, tight hand. Her eyes widen as her eyes goes to scan around her surroundings. Nobody was outside; it was midnight, of course, who would be out this late at night? She felt the mimicry of a breath from the cold air against her ear. She trembles slightly as the shock in her eyes is replaced with fear. Stacy felt a cold knife graze her neck. She swallowed hard, then she began to struggle, and struggle she did.

She reached to grip the hand that was over her mouth to let go as she wiggled around to try to push the mystery person off. She heard a sharp noise behind her before she was pushed down to the ground, her face pressing against the rough grass that she always hated during this time of the year. Hawkins always gets cold but never snow, but instead freezes things to its core.

She felt a heavy weight get sat down on her back, making her immobile. She was about to scream before she felt that sharp, cold knife again, but in the back of her throat instead.
“If you scream, I won’t hesitate to end you right here. I just want to have a nice.. Conversation.” The voice said right above her. His words ringing in her ears, she starts to tear up a bit because of this situation that she’s in.

The killer turned her around so they could talk face-to-face. He went back to place his weight on her stomach so she couldn’t run away.

“M-” Stacy started, but the air was pushed out of her because of the pressure on her stomach. She wheezed a bit before starting again, “M-Mike, why are you.. Doing this.” She said, staring up into his eyes, all she could see was jealousy swirling around in his pupils.

“Do you recall what you did this afternoon?”

“U-Uhh, I confessed to Will, but what does – what does that have to do with you?” She asked

He sucks his teeth in anger like she offended him, “Well, that’s the problem, you confessed to him. I don’t care that he rejected you; you still talked to him. You probably still like him, don’t you?” He glares at her, furrowing his eyebrows. His face showed that he didn’t like what she did and that she messed up.

“Y… It doesn’t even involve you!” She raised her voice a bit but quickly regretted it when she coughed in pain and wheezed once more, “You’re.. Crazy. Will is never going to like you if he knew that this is what you do to people who have a silly crush on him!”

“You know what..” Mike glared at her.

Mike grits his teeth as he goes to wrap his cold hands around her warm neck, slowly making her neck cold like his hands. Stacy struggled as she swayed her arms around, which moved along with her legs. She coughs when she struggles to breathe for air; the hands only tighten to make sure she can’t get any air through her system, really trying to kill her. Drool started pooling from her mouth as her eyes faded in and out of consciousness; her lips were chapped from the cold, sharp air, and her arms stopped their crazed movements. Stacy reached her hands to grip his wrists in a weak attempt to stop, her legs stalled as her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

Mike smiled with glee at her expression. She was almost dead, and he didn’t even have to make a mess out of her. Stacy's face went blank with struggle, her color was slightly purple, and her eyes were rolled out of their sockets. Her drool touched his fingers, but he didn’t care. He grips tighter to make sure she’s dead, but her hands going limp was evidence enough for him; he lets go of her neck. His hands release as he removes his weight from her limp, cold, and now dead body. Mike took his knife and slipped it inside his coat, hiding it to make sure nobody assumes he’s a weirdo. He picks up her limp body and carries her to the trash can on the side of her house. It was the perfect place and time, too. Nobody was outside, and she was just alone at home. He dumped her in the trash can, her body folding inside the shape for her to fit. He shuts the lid lightly not to make a commotion, and he walks off a proud, happy man.
Oh, don’t worry about the dog.

The dog is safe inside; no harm has been done to it—just no owner for now.

 

//–\\

Ever since his first kill, he continued to do this because it feels too good to just let go. Thanks to Stacy, he started planning so he could know where they are, where they’re going, and where their parents are. He even found out new ways to kill some of them off that don’t include a knife and a massive amount of blood. The only downside is that rumors are going around about who the killer is and why they are only targeting high school girls. Maybe the killer is sexist or is just an insecure girl who wants revenge, like it’s some scary movie, not even close to who the killer is. He has plans to kill this girl, Dorthy. He saw her writing to Will, and he peeked at the word ‘love’ in there. The party was at Dustin's grandma's place, sitting at the dining room table, they were hanging out, then he brought up the killer on the loose. What a coincidence, huh?

“Do you think the killer will strike again tonight?” Lucas asked the group.

“Probably, I mean. We could never know since we don’t know why they’re doing this, and nobody has come up with a confirmed theory.” Dustin licks his teeth. He’s scared of this killer only because they might come after Jane and Max next; this killer doesn’t have a pattern.

Will nods, looking a bit guilty. You see, he has noticed a pattern with the victims; the victims are all the girls who had talked to him and who had a crush on him. He either got their confession and rejected them politely or he noticed that they had been seeking ‘those’ types of glances at him, the type of glances he looks at Mike, or they would signal their feelings by meeting their feet or any other body parts. He bites his lips nervously as they continue to talk about it, only making Will more nervous and more guilty, even though it isn’t his fault.

“This killer is insane. Have you seen what they've done to the bodies?” Mike said with a concerned look on his face.

“Exactly, man, the kills are just brutal.. I hope the girls will be fine.” Lucas said, spreading his worry for the girls in the group. Saying what everybody was feeling.

“They’re strong, but just to make sure… Maybe they should still have supervision.” Dustin said, sharing his idea.

Mike chuckled a bit, “I don’t think they will like that idea of being ‘supervised’, especially Max.”

“Yeah, dude, but it’s just for their own safety. – They’ll understand, right?”

They all shared looks before breaking out in laughter – all of them except for Will. He didn’t think that they should be laughing at such a serious matter like this, especially since those two girls are close to him.

The party stayed at Dustin's place for a little longer until it was time for them to go. Since there was a killer on the loose, they had to be extra careful and go home early just in case. They don’t know if the killer might accidentally switch targets and go after them. They all say their goodbyes to each other and bike away to their houses, except for Dustin, since he was already home, and Mike, since he was visiting a special someone. He bikes up to Dorthy's house, ditching his bike against a dingy tree. He slips black gloves on to fit his attire, and he puts a mask over his face, pulling his hood up to fully hide his head. He had a syringe inside his jacket filled with a headache-inducing substance, just incase if she gives him a hard time.

He walks slowly into her backyard, the grass crunching under his footsteps lightly. The steps can be mistaken for the wind with how quiet he’s being. He reaches the back window and peeks inside to see Dorthy with company, just a small group; she’s with two other people, both of them being girls. He assumes these are her friends; he sighs with irritation in his voice as he continues to scan the insides of her house. She had multiple golf clubs, which Mike can use to his advantage since there was company, but they also can use that, so it’s a 50/50 for him.

The breaker was outside. He thanks whoever built this house for that, so he can cause a blackout for the three young, poor girls. He punches the breaker, and the power inside the house is cut off, leaving the three in the dark. Quiet and small mumbles were among them in the dark, silent house, soon going to turn cold if nobody goes and checks up on it.

Dorthy scoffed, “So who’s going to check?”

“It’s your house, Dorthy..” Lindsay said, rolling her eyes in the dark.

“But there is a killer murdering girls like me out there, plus everybody is asleep at time, nobody can call the police if they could!” Dorthy argued. Crossing her arms against her chest in annoyance.

“Oh, whatever, I’m just going to check if you guys are being bitches about it.” Poppy chuckled as she got up from the couch and headed towards the back door. She knew where the breaker was, so she didn’t need a flashlight. She opened the door and was greeted with the cold, piercing breeze against her exposed skin. She groans, covering her arms the best she can as she scans for the breaker.

She finally finds the breaker, only to see that it’s broken. She was about to go back inside, but then her head was slammed into the side of the house, knocking her down in pain, a smear of blood as she went down. She was in too much pain to talk or to scream as her head was then repeatedly slammed against the house walls,

/BAM BAM BAM!/

The sound was repeated three times before it came to a halt. The blood smear on the wall only worsened, but to Poppy's luck, she was still alive. Only being knocked out of consciousness for a while. The girls inside heard the banging, only assuming it was Poppy jokingly slamming her breaker shut to make fun of them for being pussies of something serious. They both glanced at each other and rolled their eyes, giggling.

“Poppy, omg we get it now, come inside!” Lindsay said, jokingly turning back to the back door, she only saw a tall figure, dressed in black and had a stupid mask on. She froze in fear as her eyes widened, her lips trembled, and she tried to get the words out.

“I-It’s.. It’s her.”

“It’s who?” Dorthy said, turning around to also see the figure that was walking towards them. She gasped as she gripped Lindsay's arm and dragged her to run to hide; she won’t be running out of her house just because of some insecure girl. No way.

Mike spots them running upstairs, and he cracks his knuckles before grabbing a golf club. His father teaching him how to swing came in handy, huh. He follows them carefully up the stairs in the dark; he has to be standing on his toes so he wouldn’t get surprised by the remaining two girls, well. He doesn’t have to kill the other girl named Lindsay; the only problem is Dorthy, and he will make sure she dies, one way or another. Dorthy separated from Lindsay because she knew that she could handle this murderer; if it was just another girl, then she could handle her just fine. She held a pocket knife in her hand for self-defense; she could easily overpower this girl. She limited her breathing in the tight closet that was just in the upstairs hallway, playing it risky, she made Lindsay hide in one of the bedrooms so the killer could get to her last. Dorthy heard footsteps outside the door, the steps coming really, really close to her closet door. She took a deep breath before charging out of the closet to pounce on the killer. She got hold of ‘her’ back as she struggled to reach for the neck of the killer, the murderer slammed their back against a nearby wall, weakening Dorthy to get off of them. She spits out a breath before letting go, but also grabs the mask along with the hoodie, pulling it off. Dorthy breaths heavily, but before she could take another breath, her head was meeting with a golf club, her head being hit repeatedly, making sure she dies. She falls over and brings her arms up to protect her head, but the killer wouldn’t stop hitting her over and over, and over again. By the time she was about to give up, the back of her hands were bloody, and her head was banging with immense pain; her pocket knife was long out of her hands. Before her eyes were about to be the next thing slammed into mush, she saw the face of the culprit doing this to her; it was a boy. Mike, to be exact. His face had splatters of blood as he kept hitting her and hitting her until her hands were a bloody mess. The golf club was messy with blood from different parts of her body, her head, face, hands, and eyes. Dorthy passed away, only remembering little slivers of her memories as the golf club was hitting her skull now, breaking into her brain. She only remembers the look on his face; he felt euphoric doing this, like he was doing something, but the something he was doing only applied to him, to his benefit. She could see it in his sick, twisted eyes.
Mike pants heavily. He should feel sick after doing that, but he doesn’t. Why should he feel bad? She did this to herself. He slowed his heart rate, but the blood pulsing through him ran hot and heavy, never stopping the fast and ongoing flow. He picked up her pocket knife and went to scan the bedrooms, one by one. Lindsay shook heavily under the bed, tears breaching her eyes and falling down her face. She heard ‘her’ enter the room she was hiding in, and she cut her breath to a halt, staying frozen still to make sure she wouldn’t get caught. The blood-stained black boots stilled all of a sudden, then the figure leaned down to look under the bed to meet with scared, glossy green eyes.

“Got you.”

She choked on her scream as she tried to run away from under the bed, but her hair was gripped by stained gloves, pulling her from under the bed. She held the hands that were tugging on her hair, making her scalp burn. She cries, looking up at the twisted eyes; he had no remorse in his actions. She cried out as her body was fully out from under the bed. She got thrown against a drawer, her back screaming in pain now.

“W-Why.. Wh-”

She couldn’t even beg before she was choking on her own blood, the killer had sliced her throat with Dorthy pocket knife to seem like.. Dorthy did it, or worse. That she did it herself. Her eyes widen as her trembling hands go to reach her slit neck, the collar of her pajama shirt being wet with fresh blood. Life slowly leaves her eyes as she loses more blood from her neck and from her mouth. She sees the sick grin on his face when he places the blood-painted pocket knife inside of her hand, then closes it with both of his hands. Her palms, which were covered in blood, now covered the pink pocket knife. The only face she saw before she died wasn’t her family's or her friends; it was just a murderer.

Poppy's eyes open a bit, her head throbbing with pain. She lifts her head weakly and goes to press against the wound with her hand. She looks at it and is greeted with blood. Poppy whined in pain as she got up, tumbling a bit. Tears leaked from her eyes without her permission, feeling like her thoughts were leaking out from the side of her head, giving her the most intense pain, also not hear anything but a buzz in her right ear.

“Dorthy.. Lindsey, I’m in pain.. Please come out.. Please.” Poppy whined as her voice broke. Her whole body was trembling as she stumbled with every walk she took, going towards the ugly forest, wanting to be there instead of here.

She heard footsteps behind her coming from the house. She smiled weakly to herself, thinking it was one of her friends, as she turned around to face who it was. It wasn’t one of her friends, it was… him. He killed him, and he was going to kill her – she could tell by the blood that was splattered on his black clothes, the blood on the side of his face, the stained golf club being held in his hand tightly. He grinned at her when their eyes met. Her breathing quickened as she started picking up the pace with a limp. She focused on what was in front of her instead of behind her; she heard his footsteps increase in distance as she hurried. Her brain ached to tell her to run, but her brain was also almost out of her head. Tears streamed down her cheeks uncontrollably, snot leaking out of her nostrils, and she tried to hurry away. She tripped over her own feet, and the impact of her falling on the ground made her headache pound even louder. Before she could even get up to continue to escape her fate, a single blow from the cold golf club struck the back of her head, and her eyes turned dead. Her body went cold and limp, but Mike kept hitting her head repeatedly.

He kept hitting her on the head unnecessarily as blood painted his face, his smile grew wide, but dropped at the sound of a voice he well knew.

“M-Mike?”

His body froze. He drops the golf club out of fear when he hears his voice; his blood runs cold as his heart fully stops.

This couldn’t be Will.

But he knows that voice so, so well.

This can’t be possible.

But it was, it was his reality.

“Mike. Is that – Is that really you?” Will said, staring at the back of his head. He recognizes hair from anywhere, especially since it was a brand-new haircut that he favored and loved. In this state, he didn’t love it this time. No – No, he hated it this time.

Silence granted Will question.

“Mike. If it is you, face me. It’s just me, Will. I won’t hurt you.” He said he couldn’t hide the tremble in his voice. He lied when he said he wouldn’t hurt him – he was extremely angry at him.

The head turned to face him; it was Will's turn for his blood to run cold. Mike turned his head to look at him with only shame in his eyes; his face was a mess with the combined blood from the victims. Will's eyes just widened at the scene of Mike; anger, disappointment, and worry filled his eyes in that moment. He felt way too many uncomfortable feelings surging inside of him.

“Mike. You’re coming with me. Now.”

He only saw the nod of a shameful, scared Mike.

///\\\
Will swears under his breath as he waits for Mike from the shower to come into his room. He should’ve felt bad after punching him, but he didn’t. He had to cover for Mike, saying that the killer almost got him, which is why he had a bruise swelling on his cheek, and he escaped when Will found him. His mom nearly cried, and he doesn’t blame her. Mike told his mom to call Mrs. Wheeler to let her know he was an ‘escaped victim’ and that he was staying at the Byers for the night just for safety. Will's eyes were drawn to the slightly ajar door; it was his mom.

“Hey, honey, how are you holding up? You looked pretty mad at Mike when I saw you, too. Did something happen on the way here?” Joyce asked him with a heartfelt emotion in her voice. He smiled at her, lightly resting his face.

“I promise Mom, he was just so careless tonight, it just annoyed me. Uh – When Mike enters my room, can you let us have some alone time, please?” Will said with a restful smile. Joyce returned the smile.

“Okay, well, you just let me know if you boys need anything.” Joyce chuckled. Leaving Will alone now, closing his door, Mike appears behind her. She jumped a bit, then opened her son's door back to let him in. He gave her a small ‘thanks,’ and he went in. She shuts the door, walking away to give them privacy.

Will waits for his mom to be far away from his door to finally speak to Mike,

“Sit on the bed for me,” Will said, now standing up from the bed.

He gets a slight glance from the other before he behaves, sitting down on the bed listening to his exact words. Will groans as he rubs his fingertips against his now furrowed eyebrows, showing his emotions clear as day. “Mike, what were you thinking?”

Silence.

“Mike, do not make me ask again.” He glared at him when he said that. He couldn’t believe Mike wasn’t even looking at him when he was talking directly to him.

“- I-I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Will said louder for both of them to hear how insane that sounded, “Mike. Look me in the eyes while I’m talking to you – you’re telling me that, you don’t know why you murdered three girls for, well, not only three girls. MULTIPLE girls for no reason? Because you simply do not know?” He said, raising his voice. Mike looked up at him with sad droopy puppy eyes, but he only got rolled eyes in return.

“I have, no, I just lied to cover you while I should’ve turned you in. Now you just don’t know why you did this?! You've got to be shitting me right now, Mike, and stop looking at me with those eyes.” Will snarled at him. He never had to be this mean or rough to him until now; he can’t just let him slide like this just because he’s in love with him.

“Will, I just said I don’t know. It’s – It’s complicated, I mean-”

“Mike, just stop, fucking stop. You killed Stacy first, and then you killed more and more girls, and for what, Mike? For what?! You have killed so many fucking girls for no reason, I guess, since it’s just soo complicated. Get it through your skull, Mike. I brought you here so you can explain why and if I can fix this, but you just won’t tell me.” Will said. His whole body tensing up, he went to bite on his nails for a bit before hearing Mike mumble something unintelligible, just making him more irritated, “Mike, speak up, man, I need to hear you.”

“It’s because I LOVE you, okay, I I-I don’t know why I feel like this, but I love you too much, and I hate, I just hate seeing somebody else like you. I want you all for me. I- I didn’t say these feelings because of course you-you’re going to be freaked out! So I had to cope with a.. Different way which resulted into this, and I didn’t – didn’t mean to” Mike voice cracks as he sniffles trying to hide it, “Before you go on about how I’m my own person and yadada, I know.. I already know, Will it’s just, I can’t get this feeling out of me, it’s stuck with me, and I don’t – I don’t, and that’s why it’s fucking complicated, okay?! Yes, I know I’m sick, I’m twisted, I don’t want to hear it from your mouth – just please don’t say it..” He ended his confession with a weak sob creeping up his throat. He tugs his knees onto Will's bed to press his chest against it.

Will looked at him, that’s all he did for a full minute. He needed a full day to process what Mike just said, and it doesn’t help that he’s crying right after that. He takes a deep breath before speaking,

“Okay, Okay. I can’t say I fully understand, but walk me through your emotions,” Will said, licking his lips. “Walk me through how you will feel if you saw somebody giving me a, I don’t know, a love letter.” He finished. He sat down next to Mike. His temper had lowered a bit, but now he was filled with confusion. He is still angry at Mike, but he just wants to understand now.

Mike looked at him with glossy, droopy eyes. He nodded and cleared his throat. “O-Okay uh, If I saw you with another girl, I felt like I was in comp– competition with that person for your love and for your attention. I knew that I never had to compete with Dustin, Lucas, Eleven, and Max because I don’t think Dustin and Lucas are gay, and Max is dating Lucas, and Eleven is your stepsister…” He took a deep breath, running his wet, sweaty palms on Will's pajama pants that he was borrowing for tonight.

“Then like, the feeling just grew, and then it grew into anger, then jealousy, and both of them combined with me also desiring your love was too, was just too strong, so I did it. I killed every single one of them, and I never had regret when I did because I felt safe knowing that you finally belonged – I-I mean, it meant I had no competition, any-anymore.” Mike finally finished. His stomach had doubt and guilt swirling inside of his gut as he waited for Will's response, as he rocked slightly back and forth anxiously.
Will chuckled in disbelief at what he was hearing, “Mike, I swear, honest to gosh, you never fail to impress me and to irritate me at the same time.” He took a deep breath before releasing his feelings. “I’m gay, Mike. I have loved you for so fucking long, but I knew you couldn’t possibly love me back after that awkward hug at the airport one time and that time you were dating my sister… Eleven. Now, I’m hearing that you’re also deeply in love with me, but just more… intensely.” Will said, groaning. Mike anxiousness suddenly disappeared when he heard Will confessed, he never even had to end off those girls if he just, knew only if he knew that Will liked him back. So stupid of him, but now, they can get together, right?

“I’m in love, deeply in love with you, Mike, but…”

Mike's heart sank. He raised his head to look at Will with shattered thoughts swirling in his mind, his eyes, and now his heart.

“I-I- I, what do you mean but?! Will, I love you, and you love me. We’re perfect for each other-”

“Mike, shut up for a second.”

Mike obeys.

“I love you, adore you even, but… You’re unhealthy, Mike. I’m making you like this; you’re obsessive and controlling of me, even when we’re just best friends. I can’t imagine how bad your condition will get when we get together.” Will said, blinking away his tears. His heart swelled at this unfortunate outcome. “We can’t date, we can’t be anything until – until you get better for yourself and, for me.” He said his heart was stuck in his throat once again. He wants to stay close to Mike – he wants to date him, but he needs Mike to heal from this. He is unhealthy, and Will could take advantage of that, but he won’t. Mike is his best friend, and he is in love with Mike. For them to date, he has to push his feelings down for the sake of him once again. This time, he will be rewarded in the end. Hopefully.

“So.. You- You’re saying…?”

“We need to take a break, Mike, yes, I’m saying we are taking a break. Please listen to me for this moment, I want you to be healed after eight months, I want you to fix yourself, for you and for me. That’s all I want out of you when we meet again after eight months, in the morning, your time will start. If you did get better over those eight months, we can build from there. Okay?” Will said with sincerity in his voice. He turned his eyes to look at the tear-filled ones. He grabs their hands and interlocks their fingers together.

“Do you promise?”

“P-promise..”

They shared a heartfelt hug. Will wished he could still be mad at him, keep yelling at him, and punch him one more time, but he felt too bad. He didn’t know Mike was like this, and his gosh damn puppy eyes got to Will way too easily than he likes to admit it.

///8 months in\\\

Mike was depressed to say the least. He was more than depressed, but he’s only trying to stay sane for Will. He has been avoiding invites from the party altogether, ignoring Nancy; the only person he hasn’t been ignoring is Holly. It’s only because she’s impossible to ignore. His parents and his friends were worried about him, but he couldn't care less about them right now. He did try communicating with his father, but he gave up because he knew being gay was a choice, so he went to his mom instead. She tried her best to understand, she scolded him, and then she cried, then scolded him more, then hugged him for coming out, then put him into therapy for his thoughts, but they weren’t good for shit and only gave him anti-depressant pills. Bullshit, he then stopped listening to his therapist and went to his mother and sister for advice and hoped they would help him, and thank gosh they did help him. Nancy gave him a tad of relationship advice and how Will most likely felt in the situation, and he didn’t want to hurt Mike but just help him. His mother tried to help him smile more, so they hung out more often. He did smile twice and thrice around her and his family, which made her heart warm. He grew closer to his family, well, not to Ted but only to the girls in his family.

It was July 8th, and he was lying in bed thinking to himself for a bit. It has been 8 months, and he has felt like he has gotten better for himself and for Will, but what if Will doesn’t agree? He sighs as he sits up in his bed, groaning out in the air, just staring at the ceiling. Nancy burst in without knocking,

“You finally up? Thank goodness, hurry up and get ready for breakfast.” Nancy said, hoping her words even got through his thick skull.

“Yes..?”

“Yes, oh my gosh, get out,” Mike grunted out loud. Nancy rolled her eyes and closed the door.

/\

He’s wearing a thick red and blue sweater, he wore a white collared shirt underneath, and he popped his collar to make it show. Even if it was summer, it was still oddly cold outside for some reason. He likes his new blueberry-scented shampoo his mom got him. He thought he wouldn’t like it, but it smells great. He rubbed his hand through his hair, hair rested at the top of his ears.

“MIKE!! YOUR BREAKFAST IS GOING TO GET COLD!” Holly yelled, this being the favorite thing to do in the morning.

He groans under his breath, “COMING!” Mike yelled back, jogging out of the bathroom and rushing downstairs. He greets Holly by sticking his tongue out, his mom kisses him on the cheek, and he and his sister share a look. This routine started after the whole Will Byers thing. He didn’t mind it; it made his thoughts happier and made him feel nice inside. He sits down in his chair, and communication breaks out among the four of them, Ted not being there. (I just didn’t want to write about him, ugghh)

He groans, hearing Holly's ridiculous story. Stealing the syrup from her to put on his eggs so he can eat and go on a walk to the quarry. He doesn’t need therapy if it isn’t working for him and only giving him wack pills, walking alone with him, and his thoughts were a suggestion from Holly, and he was surprised she was right, even though she was younger. They all finished their breakfast and had plans on where to go, since Ted was at work, his mother could take Holly shopping, Nancy and Jonathan could go visit Robin and Steve at the radio station, and Mike would go on his daily peaceful walk to the quarry. Usual summer with plans, he does need to think about what college to attend, since when he goes back to school, it will be his last year in high school. They share their goodbyes. Nancy wanted to talk to him before he started walking, since Jonathan was going to pick her up.

“Also, Mike,” He turns his attention to her. “Will is going to be glad of your growth, don’t worry.” She said, smiling at him. He raised his eyebrows at that. He rested his face, and he smiled at her; it was one of his genuine smiles that they all adored when he first did it. It was showing signs that he had improved.

“Thanks, Nance. I appreciate it, um, have fun on your date with Jonathan.” Mike responded. Nancy bowed to him, saying ‘Thank you. They waved goodbye after that. Mike knew it was going to be a good day regardless of what was going to happen.

//\\

He whistles on his walk to the quarry. His mind is really scrambled at the moment – he can’t really think of anything to fix. Maybe he’s focusing on the wrong thing right now, like how would his friends react if he confessed to what he did eight months ago? It was a long time ago, and the rumors stopped since the killings stopped. That probably made Will relieved. He switched to humming on his walk,

“Mike?”

He stopped and turned around at the call of his name. Who it was made Mike smile. It was Dustin.

“Holy shit! It’s really you! Wait, don’t start walking again!” Dustin said, like he was just going to start running away. He ran up to him and gave him the biggest hug ever, basically suffocating him with how tight he was hugging.

“Hey, Dustin.”

Dustin stopped hugging him to look at him. He then got pushed from the hug.

Mike looked at him, confused.

“Don’t give me that look. You know what you did.” Dustin said, sounding strict all of a sudden. He deserves to get scolded, so he’ll let Dustin say what he has to say; he doesn’t really mind this time.

“Dude, you can’t just – just disappear on us like that! You stopped talking to us, stopped accepting invites, stopped inviting us up to your basement, no updates, even when we were in school, you weren’t talking to us! It was hard on all of us, and we were confused. I think it hit Will the hardest since.. I don’t know why since he won’t tell us, but man, we needed you. You were our motivation because you’re, believe it or not, pretty smart in some situations, but mostly dumb.” Dustin said, ending it off with a light chuckle after he just poured out all his feelings towards Mike.

The mention of Will's name set Mike straight for a second. He sighed then smiled again, “Yeah uh, just something horrible happened man and uh – I will tell y’all, all of you when me and Will have a talk. We all will be in my basement like old times, and I will tell you, guys, what happened, how does that sound?” Mike said, having a trusting smile, which only made Dustin smile harder.

He hugged him again, and they both shared laughs for a bit. Dustin talked a bit about Eddie, Steve, and the others, but Mike told him he had to finish his walk to the quarry so he could make it home on time, and Dustin gave him a weird look but let it pass. They said goodbye, and that they will 100% percent meet again, and if they don’t, Dustin will beat his ass. Besides that, their meet was pretty wholesome. He can’t wait to see Will again. – He kept walking, and he got towards the quarry. He sees a familiar redhead here, sitting on a rock, like she was waiting for him.

“Max?”

She turnt her head to Mike. She furrowed her eyebrows at him and got up, stomping his way towards him. He furrowed his eyebrows back at her, but in confusion, because why was she stomping towards him-?

/SLAP/

Oh, that’s why. Mike thought as he felt the sting of the slap on his cheek. He was then grabbed by the angry ginger – she gripped him through his layers, feeling like he would bruise.

“You fucking bastard! Do you know how much stress you put on Eleven? I knew you were a fucker, but jeez, Mike Wheeler, this takes the cake.” Max grits at him; she was clearly angry at him, but she didn’t even let him explain why he did it.

“Okay, Max-”

“No, don’t ‘Okay Max’ me. I won’t fall for your bullshit right now. Eleven has vented to me about you and Will's best friend's breakup, which led to Will having uncontrollable emotions, and all he could do was vent to his sister about it, and she was pretty fucking concerned, and I wonder who is at fault for this. YOU! So if you could just please, please tell me what happened so I can tell Eleven so she wouldn’t vent her worry to me,” Max said, sighing, sucking her teeth.

“But-”

“Michael.”

“Ew, don’t ever call me that again..” He rolled his eyes at her, getting out of her surprisingly loose grip.

//..Explaing…\\

They were sitting on one of the rocks near the cliff. Max is trying to process what the hell happened from before 8 months, and until now, she turns to look at him, and he stares back at her with raised eyebrows. Max pictured an unhinged, cringe, Will-obsessed Mike before those 8 months, and as she stares at him now, he looks better than her imaginary old Mike. Although she had one question for him,

“So, you listened to Will and actually healed. I’m not surprised you listen to him, but just a quick question.” Mike nodded, “Will you have listened to anybody else if they said that, or just caught you in general. Like Lucas, for example.” She asked him, and he looked at her weirdly for a moment before actually thinking about it to respond to that.

“Probably not.”

“Only submissive for the Will Byers, huh?”

He glares at her.

“Am I really wrong, though?” Max said, glancing at him. Mike rolled his eyes and looked away. “See! I’m right like always. Anyway, thanks for answering my only question at least, and sorry for getting mad at you right away. I was just tired of hearing Eleven complain about Will, even if I do love them, not in that type of way, but it gets so overwhelming when it’s the only thing I hear from her and barely any good news.” Max explained, Mike knows she will never hate those two. She kinda hates him, but even if she does by a little bit, she understands what he went through and how much he has grown, and honestly, she’s proud of him. She feels like a disappointed grandmother who is finally proud of her nephew.

Mike looks at the sun setting. Today wasn’t the day they talked about it, and that’s fine. Mike stands up and pats his pants down, getting ready to leave from his walk that was better than usual walks.

“Sun setting, which means it’s my time to go. Also, thanks, Max. I appreciate it a lot, and I understand your position, so I can’t really blame anybody but myself, and I already accepted that. – Hug?” Mike asked; he wanted to hug her before leaving, since they won’t be seeing each other. They won’t until Will and Mike talk, which is what he promised Dustin.

She nodded and pulled him into a genuine hug. This felt nice; it would feel better if it were from Will, but he has to wait for that moment; he can’t be too greedy. He needs to take what he can get right now, and it was Dustin and Max for today. They break from the hug, and Max smirks at him.

“Well, you take care, Mike Wheeler, see you then?”

“See you then, Max Mayfield.”

They shared a smile before parting their ways. This day for Mike was productive to say the least, he met up with two of his friends, both were mildly aggressive, but he couldn’t blame them after what happened and what he did. Logical reaction, sureee… He walks his way home. The sunset looks pretty while he’s walking home, making him feel a tad better about not meeting Will yet, even though it has been like eight days.

//\\

On his way back home. He was thinking about Will more on this day than he had on his walks. He has been avoiding thinking about Will because the thought of him did make him worse; believe it or not, he has to accept that the thought of him does that. The thought of him just makes him crave Will again, to crave over him, but he can’t go back, no, he can’t. He has been doing well so far, so why restart now on the eighth month? These thoughts might have just been from not being able to contact him or touch him in a while; he missed his voice, his touch, his eyes, but that night, he was caught. Those eyes were filled with disgust and hatred, and he couldn’t possibly forgive himself for making Will see that and for making him feel that. He shivers those uncomfortable thoughts out of his head. This is a good day, and it will continue being a good day if he doesn’t think of these memories because he’s healed, after all.

And his day was about to get even better when he laid his eyes on him once again.

Once his brown eyes met hazel eyes, he knew today was the day they talked, the day that they could talk to each other again, touch each other, feel each other, and stay together forever. Only if Will wants that… Of course. Mike scans him to see that he’s wearing a half-zipped yellow plaid jacket with a black turtleneck underneath, following down with those same cargo pants he wore in Lenora. A smile breached his lips when he saw Will smile at him after their last interaction. Which was a messy case of tears and sobs and no smiles. Mike picks up the pace to close the distance between the two, and when he finally gets close enough, he goes up to give him a tight, warm, and welcoming hug. He felt Will's hands place his on Mike's back, falling into the hug, showing that he missed him too. They held that hug for five minutes at most. Mike wanted to stay attached to him like this, but he felt a pat on his back, and then he let go. Will separates himself from Mike, already missing Will's warmth. They locked forearms and went to walk to the house slowly, taking things a step at a time.

“Hi Mike.”

“Hi Will.”

They greeted each other. They should’ve said that before they hugged each other, but they just wanted to feel each other after a tough eight months.

“How have you been, Mike? Did you get better?” Will asked, noticing that Mike had slowed down to match Will's footsteps. His heart beat hard at that. This can be included in one of the cutest things Mike has done.

“Oh – Uh, I feel like I have, I mean, I feel like I did get better. At least to my standards. The first starting months were hard, made me anxious, but I haven't felt that in the fourth month, I believe? Nancy, Holly, and my mother did help me out once I shared what I did, a lot of confusion and some back and forth, but I’m glad I did so.” Mike said, smiling to himself and at Will. His heart beat a little quicker when Will asked how he had been. The sound of his voice and that he cares just warms him up inside.

“I’m happy, you do look better and sound better than from our last conversation. No offense,” He smiled warmly at him, “Have you started talking to the others at least?”

“Yeah, and no, the only people I have talked to were Dustin and Max today on my walk, and now you how… Hey.” Mike suddenly changes the tone of the conversation. Making Will look at him, “How have you been? I don’t need to pry, but um, a familiar ginger that we know told me that you’ve been struggling too.” He said, showing worry back for him. If he was going to date this wonderful boy, then he must know what he went through.

Will chuckled nervously. Sighing right after. “Yeah, well, Eleven wanted to know every second of my feelings when our break started. She noticed and caught on that we weren’t talking, and we looked pretty terrible without each other. I didn’t tell her about your secret – I just told mine.” He answered, sighing right after, like he was holding that in. “Love her and everything, but she just kept prying, which probably made her more worried since I was getting irritated from her many questions. Also, my mom heard our last conversation, so that talk went well..” Will said, sucking his teeth afterwards. Mike's eyebrows rose at that. She must be cool with it since he isn’t in jail.

“So she was just... Cool with it?”

Will laughed, “After I explained, then yeah, she was cool with it then and wished the best for you.”

Mike smirks at that. They walk in silence towards Mike's house. He hopes he stays over tonight so he can finally have a good night's rest, only if Will wants that… Of course. Mike pulls his forearm closer, bringing them together to the point where their feet are almost side by side. Will didn’t mind it one bit, surprisingly.

“Before I officially ask you out…”

His ears caught those words, and it made his heart quicken even more. He didn’t even catch what Will said after that, only stuck on the first few words; he felt his face was getting warmer, and it was most likely noticeable, but he didn’t care. They both know they love each other deeply, they just needed a break from each other so they can heal independently, then they can deal with any relationship problem they will gain or any that they have. Mike wants to hold his hand, but he has to take things slow and let Will take the lead and control. He was doing that, and Mike would just follow.

“Mike..?”

“Hm! Oh yes, yes, yup, I’m ready.”

“-- Okay.. Question one: Have you had any murderous and out-of-the-ordinary thoughts?”

“No.”

“Question two: Have you been obsessing over certain things lately?”

“Nope.”

“Question three, last question: If we get together, right here, right now. Will you turn back into your old self?”

“No, I promised, remember?” Mike said, looking at him. They met eyes, hazel met brown. They both share smiles. Will comes to a halt, which also made Mike stop; he looks at him in curiosity about why he stopped. Will looked around the area nervously. Nobody walks around the quarry at sunset, and almost midnight, Will faces him, and he inches closer towards Mike's face. Their noses were touching at this point, and the only thing that was important right now was them both in this moment. Mike grips Will's waist, pulling him closer to his body. Will's hands were placed on the side of Mike's cheekbones, his hands filling those spots perfectly. Both of their faces were flushing pink in this moment, and getting giggly all of a sudden with each other.

“Then, Mike Wheeler. Will you be my boyfriend?” Will asked, breath tickling over Mike's lips.

Mike doesn’t try to hide the sniffle after he heard those words, “Yes – Yes of course, Will.” The approval Mike gave Will allowed him to attach his lips to the other boy's lips. The upcoming afternoon moonlight shone over the two boys who finally had a kiss after sharing their feelings. Will goes up to tickle his fingers up in Mike's scalp just to pull on it to deepen their kiss. An uncertain noise came out of Mike, but he doesn’t complain. Will pushes him closer to his face, their tongues tying together in the kiss. They share spits for a while before separating, sharing pants, they share a faint smile before going to kiss each other again, not wanting to miss this moment. Their teeth clash this time, finally easing into the kiss, the grip on Will's waist was tightened by Mike's arms. They finally had each other; nobody was there to see them, nobody was there to stop them. They finally gained their reward in the end, and it was them ending up happily together.

//+1\\

Will and Mike walk into the radio station together, and Mike rubs his palm against the pants he was wearing. He hasn’t been able to hold Will's hand, and it’s driving him crazy. As the door closed behind them, they conjoined hands with each other, making Mike's anxiety wash away just like that. Mike whispers a complaint in Will's ear, and he receives a glare from Will that made him back down with a teeth suck.

“Mike, she’s just a friend, stop being like that.” Will scoffed, he rolled his eyes playfully, and walked to find Robin holding Mike's hand tight, making him feel secure. Will spot the blonde hair and only that her face was buried in the controls behind the glass that connected to the radio station. He knocked, which made her jump a bit. She met his hazel eyes and then met eyes with glaring brown ones, and excitement painted her face.

She quickly rushed out of the glass room, which made Mike roll his eyes. Will saw that and nudged him in his side, causing him to have a twinge in his side. Robin rushed out to meet both of them from outside the glass box, and a big grin was on her face.

“Hi Will! So, you must be the boy Will was heads over heels for.” As Robin said that, she saw his expression change from a jealous boyfriend to a flustered, embarrassed one when she said those words.

“Yeah, Uh – My name is Mike, Will didn’t really talk about you to me much, but I know your name is Robin at least.” Mike greeted her, holding Will's hand tighter.

“Yes, I am Robin! You should know my fanciest hair friend, Steve. He also works here with me, but he isn’t here right now for some reason. Yeah, but besides that...”
“You gay?”

“-- What?”

“Are – You – Gay?”

“I- What do you think?”

“Robin, please.”

“I was just asking him if he was gay; if he was, he wouldn’t hesitate.”

“Are you gay?”

“I am!”

“.. Did you.. Ask me if I was gay so I can ask you that question back?”

“Yeah, cool plan was it? So no need to be filled with jealousy, I like girls, and I do not like them young.” She said with a smile.

“Robin, you could’ve told him that you were gay.. You know that, right?” Will told her.

She brushed it off, “Pfft- yeah, okay. Would it be weird if we all went on a double date, me and my girlfriend with you guys? Deal?”

Mike nodded as Will sighed in defeat.

 

//////\\\\\\\