Chapter Text
Prologue
It has been 3 years since Mike had officially graduated from Hawkins High. Life hadn’t changed for him much However, it had also changed entirely. Unlike his friends, Mike Wheeler stayed in Hawkins, clinging to any familiarity he had left, using writing as his escape from the horrors that haunted his mind. When he first started writing he used it to cope with what had happened on the night that changed everything. The night that El disappeared forever. He wrote stories of the Mage who got her happy ending, living in a far away land with at least 3 waterfalls but turns out those kinds of stories don’t help you get your break as writer.
Mike had been struggling to make his break as an author for 3 years which had taken it’s toll on him. He had been stuck in this same cycle while everyone else around him had moved on with their lives. Dustin, Lucas and Max had all gone off to college. They often shared their stories of late night parties, study sessions and the friends they had made along the way. At first Mike cared to listen, happy for his friends but as time went on he became envious. Envious of the life he wished he could have had. What hurts the most is that over the years he had lost touch of someone even more dear to him. Will.
Will felt like a distant memory to Mike now. When Will left so did Mike. Whatever remains of him there was anyways after El. Will represent childhood, safety and the feeling of home. With him gone there wasn’t much left for Mike to cling onto. Hawkins didn’t feel the same without him. Mike missed Will so much. More than he liked to admit and the guilt ate him alive. The guilt that even though Mike missed El, he missed Will more.
At first El was all Mike could think about it. She was a huge part of his life. He missed the way her smile would light up any room she was in. The way her eyes soften when she looked at Mike, like he was the only person in the world that mattered. The way she hugged him on their last night together. However, as time went on Mike became angry. Angry that El left him in this hell that is Hawkins. Angry that she hadn’t tried to prove to him that she was alive and safe. Mike knew she was or at least that’s what he told himself but he was angry that she didn’t at least let him know but more importantly he was more angry at himself. More angry that he didn’t try harder to protect her, give her a dream that seemed more real than 3 waterfalls.
However, after some time had passed Mike had come to terms with El’s decision. He had accepted that it was her way of protecting them both. She began to become someone that haunted the narrative of the stories he stayed up late writing but there was someone who haunted his narrative more. Will Byers. Eventually Will had consumed nearly every thought of Mike. The more they drifted apart the more Will consumed Mike’s thoughts. Mike never quite understood why he felt this way. He knew that Will was always different to everyone else in his life. I mean after all Will had been Mike’s life since his first day of Kindergarten so of course he cared about him more than anyone else. He was the Cleric to his Paladin. His sorcerer. His best friend. However, Mike knew Will was more than that. He knew that from the second Will said Mike was his Tammy. Whatever that means. But now it was too late. Like always Mike was too late. Perhaps that’s why Mike and Will drifted apart. That in some messed up way it was Mike’s way of protecting Will from him. From the curse that is Mike Wheeler.