Chapter Text
Things had started to go back to normal, well, whatever you could classify as normal after Hawkins had split in four and the military took over the whole city. They had tried to push everyone back into a sense of normalcy by sending kids back to school and everyone else back to their jobs, hoping that there would be no suspicion toward the “earthquake” a couple months ago.
This morning was just like any other. Footsteps bustled throughout the entire house, someone banged on the bathroom door, and the smell of breakfast permeated the air. There was a small knock on the basement door before it was cracked open and Karen stuck her head through the gap.
“Hey, boys! Breakfast is ready! If you don’t come and eat now, you’ll be late for school, Will!” A head shot up from the pile of blankets on the floor and from the couch.
The two of them looked at each other and looked at their alarm clocks, groaning.
“I thought you were setting an alarm, Will,” Jonathan spoke softly, rubbing his eyes.
“I thought you were, so I didn’t,” he replied with a shrug, quickly getting up and making his way to the bathroom to freshen up before heading upstairs to partake in yet another awkward breakfast with the Wheelers. More specifically, Mike.
Things had been pretty weird between both of them since they got back from California, not even having had a proper conversation about everything that had happened. They tried their best to seem somewhat normal around everyone and never spent any time together, just the two of them.
“Good morning, baby, get some breakfast in you before you leave,” Joyce offered Will a smile as he made his way to the table.
As both the Wheelers and the Byers were taking their seats at the table, the house phone began to ring. Nancy, who was one of the last to be sitting down, jumped back up to answer at the obvious sign nobody else was going to.
“Wheeler residence.” She answered with a small amount of exasperation, slightly annoyed with the disruption of breakfast and a call this early in the morning.
“Can someone pass the bacon?” Ted had his eyes on the full plate of bacon that was on the complete opposite side of the table.
As said plate started to be passed around, everyone was taking some before it reached him completely empty and he scoffed.
“Okay, thank you for letting us know. I will relay the information.” The phone was hung up and Nancy turned to everyone at the table, clapping her hands together. “Well, I’ve got some good news and some bad news.”
“Come back to the table and tell us while you eat. I don’t want you to be late, honey.” Karen gestured toward her empty seat and smiled. A nod from Nancy as she made her way back to her seat.
“Well, that was Hawkins High calling to tell us that there won’t be any school for a few days because one of the sewage pipes busted. Probably the fault of the military and whatever shit they’re doing again.”
The sound of forks dropping onto plates followed, along with a small gasp from Karen.
“Language, young lady.” Ted gave her a stern look as he shoveled eggs into his mouth. She just rolled her eyes.
“So what are we supposed to do now?” Heads turned as Mike, who hadn’t been speaking much at breakfast lately, finally asked the question both him and Will were definitely wondering.
“Well, you two can help me clean up after breakfast and maybe spend some time together. You’ve been so busy with school that I don’t see you together much now.” A suggestion from Karen.
A suggestion that didn’t take to either of them very well by the noticeable looks on their faces for a split second. The split second in which they just happened to look across at each other.
That’s all it was, though. A split second. The boys looked away from each other way too quickly and received raised eyebrows from their older siblings.
“I agree with Mrs. Wheeler. You two could definitely use some quality time together.” An agreement from Joyce who immediately receives a look of desperation from her youngest.
“Maybe we can see if the Party wants to get together, too,” Mike mumbled, just enough for his close vicinity to hear.
Of course Mike didn’t want to be alone with him. He never did.
Will nodded absentmindedly at this statement, but a quick whisper to Karen from her daughter is enough for her to give her two cents with a grimace.
“You are always all together. Spend some time with your best friend, too, Michael.” A groan came from the latter as he leaned over to pile pancakes onto his plate and slid down further into his seat.
Any further push on it would’ve been suspicious and it seemed they both silently understood that. Will swallowed thickly, looking at his half eaten plate and pushing the food around slowly.
A small brush of a socked foot against his ankle startled him, but it was quickly jerked back. Will glanced in Mike’s direction in confusion, but the other boy was just aggressively cutting his pancakes into pieces with an unreadable expression. And was that blush on his cheeks?
Will shook his head, no way he was reading into that.
Reading into things with Mike was banned. So, it’s probably just because it’s warm from the amount of people in here.
As everyone took care of their plates and made their way out the door, Mike started to pack up the leftovers to put in the fridge.
“So, um, what should we do..?” A small, shaky, soft spoken voice to the right startled him and he turned to look at the boy speaking to him. Will stood there, still in his pajamas; a thin baggy t-shirt and some lighter grey sweatpants with his hair a little disheveled.
Mike’s eyes darted to the dollop of jelly on the corner of his lips, subconsciously licking his lips. Will raises an eyebrow at Mike, still waiting for a response from him.
“Oh, um-uh well, I haven’t actually thought about that. We could, ummm..” He trailed off, trying to think of anything other than exactly what he just did and the jelly on Will’s lips. He wondered what wouldn’t be too awkward for them since they hadn’t really talked things out yet.
Will offered a small smile, almost letting a giggle slip out at the flustered state of the other boy. Almost. He had to keep his feelings in check, so actions out of turn were also banned.
Mike couldn’t stand it. It was distracting him too much and he had to get rid of it. He leaned over the counter, grabbing a napkin and holding it out in front of Will before gesturing to the jelly on his lip. A clear of the throat and Mike looked away for a moment while the other boy took the napkin.
“Let’s just go down to the basement, I’m sure we will think of something.” Mike offered, a waver in his voice made Will tilt his head just a little, but nod nonetheless. When he did a double take, he took note of the lack of jelly and nodded to himself.
Maybe they would finally talk. Maybe, just maybe, things could finally go back to how they were.
Once they had both finished helping Karen clean all the dishes from breakfast, she shooed them away to go and spend time together. Mike wiped his slightly sweaty palms on his pajama pants as he made his way down the stairs with firm and determined steps.
Will, however, trailed behind the boy, watching his movements. All he could think about was what just happened. What just happened? The furrow of Mike’s eyebrows, the nervousness in his expression, the sudden concern for some jelly on his mouth.
Reading into it again.
A shake of the head and a shaky breath before he followed Mike into the basement where he watched him plop down on the couch that Jonathan had been sleeping on the past few months.
“Do you, uh, have your walkie talkie..? We could see if anyone else wants to hang out and sneak out of here.”
A sad expression crossed Will’s features before he nodded and snagged his walkie from his bag. When Mike reached out to take it from him, their fingertips just barely brushed each other.
Panic. Physical touch couldn’t possibly be banned in certain scenarios, but it was teetering on the edge.
This time it was Will who jerked back quickly causing Mike to just stop in his tracks for a moment. He sat down on the spare mattress he had been sleeping on, staring off at nothing in particular as his brain spiraled.
Why is Mike fighting so hard to keep them from being alone? Did he really just not care for him the same way anymore? Even after everything they’ve been through together?
“Hey, it’s Mike, does anyone copy?” He heard the other boy and tuned in just a little bit, still mostly focused on his own thoughts.
He couldn’t believe he had even got his hopes up a little bit that they would finally talk and hang out just like they used to. Mike always just wanted a way out.
“I copy. Hey, Mike.” A familiar feminine voice came through the walkie and Mike let out a sigh of relief.
Ouch.
“Hey, El. Have you heard from Dustin or Lucas?” Mike sounded anxious, but it was never anything El ever picked up on.
“Yeah, they were just talking a little bit ago. Something about school being closed for a few days, so they were making plans. Lucas went to work on waking Max up and Dustin went to do something with Steve.”
“Oh.”
Another ouch. The defeat in Mike’s voice just crushed Will.
He proceeded to completely tune out the rest of the conversation, pulling his sketchbook out and continuing a drawing he had been working on of Mike and Will’s D&D characters.
After a few more minutes, Mike called out to him and, with no reply, came to stand by him to look down at the drawing he was so focused on.
“Woah, that’s really good, Will.” A pang in his heart.
“Yeah, tha-anks..” He mentally cursed himself for his voice breaking in response.
“So, it seems like we’re uh, stuck together..”
A third ouch. He really couldn’t tell if Mike just didn’t want anything to do with him or what, but it did not feel good.
“Okay,” he responded dejectedly, in a low, quiet tone. His eyes rested sadly upon the drawing of him and Mike.
All he had to do was get through these next few days somehow and then it could go back to how it was over the past few months.
Quiet. Independent. Lonely. A lack of the boy that occupied his mind oh so much.
“If you want, I can just put a movie on. Or you can keep drawing and I can just go grab some comic books, and we can just do our own things. We can stay down here, that way my mom still thinks we’re doing what she wants.”
Will almost laughed, but instead he just nodded and kept drawing.
Mike fidgeted with the hem of his sleeve, leveraging his weight from one foot to the other. He watched Will draw for a moment, but started to feel uneasiness from him and decided to make his way up the stairs to fetch his comic books.
He needed to stop letting himself read into things. It was just making him more hopeful and more miserable.
This whole day was going to be so unbelievably awkward.
—-------------------------------------—
Sometimes Will just got goosebumps because it felt like someone was watching him. He hadn’t felt his presence in a few months, but that didn’t stop the weird feelings. Out of instinct from the goosebumps, he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck very intensely.
Of course, Mike noticed.
“Will? Are you okay? Did something happen?” Mike jumped up from the spot he was once sitting in, completely forgetting about the comic that was tossed aside in his hurry to Will’s side.
“No, I’m fine. Just didn’t sleep well last night and I think I’m just out of it.” Will grimaced as he felt Mike at his side.
Sadness reached Mike’s face. Did he not want him there?
“Are you sure?” His voice softened and he reached out to set his hand on Will’s shoulder. Will flinched and he jerked his hand back.
Oh.
He nodded, a little too aggressively.
“Might just need a nap.” It felt like Will just wanted a break from him.
“Oh, okay. I’ll um, just go back to my room, then..” He trailed off, unsure if what he was saying would make Will happy or upset. He had hoped Will would stop him or something, but he knew that was too much to ask for. Maybe if he stopped him, they could finally talk about everything.
Yet as Mike gathered his comic books, Will just sat there staring at the blanket over his lap.
What was he doing? Isn’t this what he wanted? An excuse for them to not have to be alone together, scared of what could happen in the silence? Why did his gut absolutely twist at the thought of leaving Will alone right now?
“Wake me for dinner if I’m not up..?” Will spoke quietly, tension in the air dissipating and something softer settling in.
Mike noticed the shift and his heart skipped a beat. What was wrong with him?
“Of course.” And then before turning to the stairs, he glanced down at the boy who was now fidgeting with his hands and staring down at his lap. He started to walk up the stairs, but paused.
Just say the word and he'd go right back to him.
Something was drawing him to Will and he wasn’t sure why, but he had to take a second glance to make sure Will was okay.
Will had set his sketchbook on the coffee table and curled up on the spare mattress, but that unfortunately wasn’t enough to stop him from regrettably making his way to his room. There, he set his comic books aside and threw himself onto his bed. He stared up at the painting that Will had given him on the way to get El just a few months back.
He just wanted to understand. And he was drawn back to the day he found out about it.
—-------------------------------------—
The air was thick with the tension of an argument and a break up all in one. Mike had started pacing at some point near the end of the conversation, running his hands through his hair repeatedly and trying to process everything and piece it together.
He shook his head because it still didn’t make sense.
“If you were unhappy and you were going to break up with me, why did you have Will paint that painting for me?” He had stopped pacing for just a minute and turned to where she was sitting on the steps of Hopper’s cabin.
She stood up and walked over to him, gently resting a hand on his tense shoulder.
“Mike, I didn’t ask him to paint anything for you. I had told you in a letter that I thought he was painting something for a girl he liked. That had nothing to do with me.”
It didn’t make any sense. Still. Why would Will say that El commissioned it if she had no ties to it? And why did El say he was making a painting for someone he liked if he was just giving it to him? Was there another painting? But especially, why did Will lie about everything he said about the painting? Did he do this just for their downfall? No, El had no idea about it and Will would never do something like that.
“Mike, breathe. You’re freaking out.” Eleven looked at him, worry in her expression.
He hadn’t even realized that his pulse had quickened and his breathing had become uneven, too focused on the thoughts that swirled in his mind. He took a deep breath and hugged Eleven.
“Thank you. I’m sorry, El. I’ll do better to be a good friend to you. Good luck with training.” A smile graced her lips as she pulled back from the hug and nodded.
“I’ll see you later, Mike. Tell everyone I miss them.” A wave as she made her way back into the cabin and he gestured to her before scrambling to his bike and making quick work to get home.
He needed to confront him. He needed to figure out why he lied about everything. Answers. It was all he could focus on.
Why would Will give credit where credit is not earned? If El had no connection, why would he say all of those things about El always needing him? Did he really mean them instead of her?
Why did Will make him a painting if he was making one for a crush?
Wait.
If Will was making a painting for someone he liked and a painting went to him, does that mean Will liked him? Liked him? Had feelings for him? No, that’s an absurd thought. What if it wasn’t though? And if it wasn’t, how did he feel about Will? Will was special to him.
What if there was someone else that got a painting from him? His stomach twisted in knots at the thought, but why? It’s not like it mattered. But, if Will did like someone he would’ve told him, right? They’re best friends, aren’t they? At least he thought they were.
They hadn’t talked much in the past couple weeks and he was starting to fear he was losing him.
He couldn’t let that happen. He needed Will like he needed oxygen.
Wait, what?
As he pulled up to his house, his bike dropped into the grass, determined steps headed straight into the house.
His mind was just repetitively going ‘Will Will Will’. At this point he didn’t know what he was thinking other than that he needed to see him. Where was he?
Cracking open the door to the basement, he heard an all too familiar voice that had him stop dead in his tracks. His mind silenced.
“I’m scared, mom. It feels too real, I can’t stand it. I think he’s closer than ever before and I’m just terrified of what will happen. What if something happens to my friends because I can’t face all of this? It’s too much.” Will’s voice was shaky and breaking, small sobs falling from his lips as Joyce held him in her arms.
Mike immediately closed the door, but stood there lingering for a moment longer. He wanted to know, but something in him was stopping him. Will is suffering too much right now, just wait for the right moment. And with that, he trudged up the stairs to his room once again.