Chapter Text
Holly’s spinning on the merry-go-round when she sees him.
Behind a tree, waiting for her, is Mr. Whatsit. She can’t see his face, but she can tell it’s him by his long, brown pants and fancy shoes. Holly motions for Mary to stop her, but as she goes to do so, Holly sees someone start to turn her faster out of the corner of her eye.
“Hey,” Mary yells, “Stop it, Derek! I’m trying to stop her!”
Holly groans internally, because of course Dipshit Derek had to take time out of her conversation with Mr. Whatsit just to annoy her. She tries to sit up, but the merry-go-round is going so fast and she flies back down, so she resigns herself to laying there until Mary eventually gets Derek to stop.
Holly stumbles off of the merry-go-round, and Mary holds her hand as she regains her balance. “I’m sorry, Holly,” Mary frowns apologetically. “I tried to stop him from coming over, but he wouldn’t.”
“It’s okay, he’s a dipshit. Besides, he’s probably just jealous he doesn’t have any friends to play with at recess.”
Both of the girls dissolve into giggles, and Holly remembers- right, Mr. Whatsit! She tells Mary that she’s going to see him, because he’s friends with both of them, so she leaves while Mary smiles and goes to hang out with Debbie. Holly skips over to the edge of the playground, where Mr. Whatsit is still waiting for her, and he smiles at her; Holly smiles back and looks up at her friend.
Mr. Whatsit may have a weird name, but it doesn’t make him any less cool. Holly’s never met anyone quite like him, and she means it in the best way possible- he’s calm, kind, and always wears the same cool suit. Her parents would love him, she thinks- she needs to introduce them sometime. Mr. Whatsit peers down at her over his glasses. “Sorry I didn’t come over earlier,” Holly tells him. “Dipshit Derek was being annoying.”
Mr. Whatsit shrugs. “That’s okay, Holly. Sometimes, it’s all we can do to wait; after all, arguing gets you nowhere.”
Holly also loves how he talks. He speaks like a character in a fancy old book, like a businessman, and she wishes she could be as well-spoken as him. Mike is a writer, she thinks- maybe he can help her improve her vocabulary.
“Yeah. It doesn't help my parents, and it definitely doesn’t help me. They still don’t think you’re real.”
“That’s unfortunate. But I suppose it can’t be helped, can it? If they don’t want to accept the fact that the monsters are coming, they don’t have to.”
Holly frowns. “But I don’t want them to get hurt.”
“And they won’t. But, Holly, there’s a reason I chose you and your friends to be saved by me first- you all have potential. Especially you. You have wit and strength, and truly, that’s what you need to survive the monsters. I believe in you, Holly, and you don’t need your silly parents or siblings to be strong. When the time comes, I will retrieve you first- and, on the off-chance you do get taken by the monsters, you need not worry. I will take you to my home either way, and we will do beautiful things together.”
“What if you can’t rescue me? If the monsters get me first, I mean.”
Mr. Whatsit leans down, and it’s a little imposing, but Holly knows her friend, and she knows he’d never hurt her. “That won’t happen, Holly. You have my word.”
Mr. Whatsit extends his hand and Holly shakes it just as Miss Harris runs over, grabbing her shoulder. “Holly,” she snaps, “What are you doing?”
“I’m talking to my friend,” Holly says, gesturing in front of her. “Mr. Whatsit.”
Miss Harris looks horrified, which Holly doesn’t get- Mr. Whatsit isn’t that scary. “Holly, there’s nobody there.”
Holly frowns and looks at Mr. Whatsit- who is, in fact, right in front of her- and he smiles at her sadly before shaking his head and beginning to walk away. Holly stares at where he was standing, a sense of betrayal flooding her body- he knows nobody ever believes her, why isn’t he just showing himself? Holly is prepared to run over and give him a piece of her mind, but Miss Harris turns her sharply around and ushers her towards the building, muttering about imaginary friends and telling Karen, and Holly feels like the entire world is against her.
“I just don’t understand why nobody believes me.”
Holly and Mike sit next to each other on a bench in her school, her mom talking to the counselor a room over. Her teacher and her parents and her counselor all think she’s crazy, but she doesn’t understand why. You can’t really see an imaginary friend- you can pretend to and act like it’s real, but it never will be. Mr. Whatsit is real. She sees him at school, at parks, everywhere. He isn’t dangerous- he’s kind and respectful. He doesn’t treat Holly like she’s a baby, and she isn’t a baby, not anymore; of course she talks to him.
Even if other people can’t see Mr. Whatsit, he’s real. And he’s protecting her.
Mike sighs, long and heavy. Holly does feel bad for making her family worry, but she’s not a liar, either, and saying he’s all in her head just isn’t true. “Holls, nobody else can see him. I- I’m not saying that he’s not real, he could be, but he could also be dangerous. Haven’t you heard of stranger danger? You shouldn’t just be talking to random grown-ups without people knowing who they are.”
“But he’s not a stranger,” Holly huffs. “He’s my friend. And he’s not dangerous, either, he’s protecting me.”
“What’s he protecting you from?”
Holly loves her brother, she really does, for giving her the time of day. But he sounds suspicious, and she still doesn’t understand why everyone is suspicious of her friend when all he’s doing is making sure she doesn’t get taken by them. “Monsters,” she says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, because it is. The fact is, Mr. Whatsit is a good person who’s protecting her from bad monsters. It’s simple. It’s so simple, and still, nobody believes her.
Something unreadable flashes in Mike’s face, but he hides his expression as quickly as it came. Shaking his head, he mutters, “Monsters aren’t real.”
“But they are,” Holly says, exasperated, because this isn’t a new conversation to her. But she shouldn’t get frustrated, because that never leads to a productive conversation- according to Mr. Whatsit, at least. She takes a deep breath explains it to her brother. “They’re coming for me. Mr. Whatsit is making sure I’m safe. He says that they like to eat kids like me.”
“Monsters aren’t real, Holly,” Mike repeats firmly. At this point, Holly is entirely fed up with not being taken seriously, but she stays calm, for Mike’s sake. “I don’t believe you,” she mutters- it comes out more bitterly than she meant it to, but it’s true. Why should she believe someone who thinks she’s some helpless infant? And why shouldn’t she believe someone who treats her like she’s smart, and brave, and more than a little kid that needs protection?
“I know you’re scared because of everything that’s happened. I mean, with the crazy stories people tell, I am too. I know Nancy is.” Mike shrugs. Holly is left stunned, because- well, thought of either of her siblings being scared of monsters shocks her. Nancy is by far the coolest person Holly knows. Jeez, she keeps guns hidden all over her room (One of which Holly had in Nancy’s vanity when she was playing with her makeup a year ago. Nancy had made her swear not to tell their parents four times). She has big and curly hair that Holly is always jealous of and smells like raspberries, vanilla and gunpowder. Holly has always looked up to her sister who is so committed to journalism and finding out the truth, just like Holly. She hopes that when she grows up, she’s just like Nancy.
Mike is cool in a different way. He’s loud and outspoken, and he wears clothes their parents don’t like. He’s stopped straightening his hair and started letting it get really curly since spring break and the lockdown six months ago, kept the length to a little before his shoulders- their parents both hate it, but Mike refuses to cut it to his ears or straighten it. Holly’s hair isn’t curly, which makes her really jealous of both of her siblings for their hair, but she admires Mike for standing up to their parents all of the time. He always seems so assured. So to find out that he’s scared of monsters, too- it’s the craziest thing Holly’s heard all day. She laughs and says, “No way,” but Mike just shakes his head.
“Yes way. I mean, it’s scary! The things people talk about happening in Hawkins... I mean, who isn’t terrified? We are, Mom and Dad are, I’m sure your friends are too. Everyone’s scared absolutely shitless, I promise you. Who’s the mouthbreather in your class again?”
“Derek,” Holly giggles, and Mike grins. “Yeah, that kid. I bet he wets his bed every night.” And Holly laughs at that, because it’s probably true. Derek is a mouthbreather, and even though her parents and teachers are always going on about treating others the way you want to be treated, he’s a bully. If he wants to be mean to Holly, Holly will be mean right back, and she hopes that Mike is right.
“And you know who I turn to when I’m scared? Mike the Brave.”
Holly tilts her head. “The DnD guy?”
“Yeah, him. Even though he’s just who I play when I’m in a campaign, sometimes I like to pretend I’m him. It makes it harder to be scared when you imagine yourself as a knight, you know? And,” Mike pauses, searching for something in his backpack. “You can be brave like him, too. You don’t need Mr. Whatsit.”
“But I don’t have a Mike the Brave.”
“No, because you’re not Mike, stupid.” Mike messes with her hair and Holly shrieks, giggling. “But you’re Holly. You can be Holly the Heroic.” He takes out what he’d been looking for, and it’s a DnD figurine like the ones she’s seen him using with his friends. She has a tan cloak with a hood over her head, a pretty blue dress, and a magical club thing in her hand. Mike hands her the figure and she takes it gently, inspecting it. “She’s a cleric- that means she’s basically a wizard. She can cast magic spells and dimension doors that let her travel anywhere she wants. It’s pretty cool. So, no, you don’t have a Mike the Brave, but you have a Holly the Heroic, and you can keep her with you when you’re scared. Hey, maybe you can even play a campaign with us sometime.”
Holly beams at her brother, and Mike smiles back. “Just remember, Holly, you don’t need Mr. Whatsit to keep you safe. You just need Holly the Heroic. And if you’re really in trouble, mom or Nancy or I can help you.”
“Not dad?”
“Do you really think he can protect you from a monster? He’d probably die on his La-Z-Boy if he was getting attacked in the middle of one of his shows. But if you absolutely need his help and nobody else is there, I guess you can go to him too.”
Holly and Mike giggle together until Karen comes out of the room, signaling it’s their time to go. Karen tries to get Mike to go home in the car, but instead, he takes his bike to that one radio station he’s always hanging out at. Holly holds her figurine the entire way to her house. It put her in a frankly incredible mood, so even when her mom nags her about her ‘imaginary friend’, spewing words of warning about talking to strangers, the smile never leaves her face.
As soon as she gets home, Holly runs up to her room. Her mom is already starting to yell at her dad for something, and Holly really doesn’t want to hear that right now, so she shuts her door, turns on her music, and goes to her desk to work on her necklace.
Holly doesn’t want to ruin the figurine, but she has to get it onto a necklace somehow, so she uses hot glue to attach a metal loop to it and slides it onto a long piece of string. She’d gotten a huge pack of beads for her birthday last month and had vowed to make each of her family members a personalized bracelet for Christmas; because of that and making jewelry for her friends, there aren’t a ton of beads left, but she adds an assortment of colors to make a pretty necklace, which she finally ties off an hour later.
She admires her new necklace in the mirror- the colors she used really go well with her jumpsuit. Holly bounces her pigtails a few times, smiling at how the waves turn- after a week straight of begging her mother, she’d managed to get her to curl her hair like Mike’s and Nancy’s. It’s nowhere near the level of theirs, but it makes her feel more connected to them and her mom instead of her dad and his boring, straight hair. Holly hates being boring.
After dinner, she heads back up to her room to work on the bracelets for her family. Right now, she’s working on Mike’s; he’d said his favorite color was yellow (Holly remembers him saying that with a weird smile, but she hadn’t asked questions- she’d just assumed he really loves it), and he wears a lot of blue, so his bracelet was going to be mostly yellow with dots of blue. She has to pick a charm for it, too- Holly starts digging through her box of charms, and it’s the last good thing to happen to her for a while.
It starts with a weird sound coming from her ceiling. That isn’t normal, Holly thinks, and she frowns and turns. The assumption that it’s a problem with her air conditioner is erased, because- well, she doesn’t know what she expected to see, but it was not a slimy red hole being ripped open by a gray, humanoid thing with a really weird face. Holly shrieks, leaping out of her chair, and the thing turns in her direction and roars.
It has to have around a thousand teeth in its mouth that opens like a flower blooming. Holly screams again and tries to run out of her door, but it’s faster. It grabs her leg and pulls her towards the hole. She’s kicking, thrashing, and she’s terrified, but then she remembers. She has to be Holly the Heroic- if Mr. Whatsit and Mike think she can be brave, maybe she can be. Holly grabs onto the end of her bed as soon as her finger grazes it, but the monster (because Mr. Whatsit was right, monsters are real and nobody believed her and now she’s getting taken by one, it’s going to eat her) tries to rip her off the bedframe, but only succeeds in tearing off her sock and leaving a cut across her ankle. Holly falls to the ground and doesn’t waste a second before she’s sprinting to the door and slamming it.
Music is blasting from the bathroom, where she’s sure her mom is. Holly remembers what Mike told her about going to get help if she needs it- and right now, she really does. So despite her stinging ankle and her inhuman pursuer, she runs as fast as she can to the bathroom, not daring to look back as she hears her door being destroyed behind her.
Will gets to the WSQK first.
It’s empty except for Robin’s voice flooding in from a nearby room. Steve is probably trying to find Dustin and making an attempt to talk to him that will, ultimately, fail. If Will had to guess, he’s at Eddie’s grave. He wishes, sometimes, that he’d gotten to meet Eddie- from the way Mike talks about him, he seems like an incredible person and a great DM. Will misses DnD.
“And tonight, maybe we can go out to Enzo’s,” Robin says, and- look, Will isn’t one for eavesdropping, but if he happens to hear this conversation, that’s his business, especially since there’s literally nobody else in the building right now.
Will moves to take off his backpack as Robin continues. “Hey, well, excuse me for wanting to have a nice dinner with you, Vic.” Will scrunches his nose- Victor? Is there even someone with that name in Hawkins? And not to be pretentious, but Robin can definitely do better than a Victor. “We can pretend we’re going as friends. I just want to spoil my girlfriend, is that too much to ask?”
Will drops his backpack.
Robin stops speaking, and the WSQK falls silent. Will’s heart drops to his stomach and he considers bolting, but is unable to make his legs move. No, his traitorous body stays rooted in place as Robin whispers something into the phone and comes rushing out. The two of them stare at each other with wide eyes until Robin sighs and her shoulders slump in relief.
“Oh- oh, thank god, it’s you. Anyone else and I might have to- well, I don’t even know, but I would have to do something. Uh, how long have you been here?”
Will feels heat rise to his face. “A-around a minute? I’m so sorry, Robin, I should have said something-”
“No, Byers, it’s cool! Seriously, I’m lucky it’s someone like me. It’d be so embarrassing if that was, like, Nancy or something. Or god forbid Hopper; Jesus, I got lucky, wow.”
“Someone-” Will’s heart somehow falls even further, and he thinks it could hit his feet at this rate. Robin is incredibly different from him- she’s way more confident and talkative, and they don’t really have that many interests in common. The only trait he can think of them sharing is the fact that they both- well, she was just talking to someone who she called her girlfriend, so is she gay too? Does she know? “Someone like you?”
Robin’s eyes widen again, and she backs up slightly. “Wait, shit, are you- fuck, I thought you were, I- shit, I’m so sorry.”
Will shakes his head, because she’s right- but surely he can’t have been that obvious. Of course, he knows how the whole town talks about him, he knows what Lonnie called him, but he’s been so careful. He’s tried to change, and he’s tried to cover it up. So, despite his worries, he has to ask. “I mean, you aren’t wrong, I just- how- how did you know?”
Robin shrugs and walks over to the couch, gesturing for him to sit next to her. He does. “I mean- I had a feeling, you know? I can always tell.” Robin smiles at him, nudging his shoulder. “I have an impeccable gaydar.”
And Will laughs, he beams, because he didn’t know there were people like him in Hawkins. He didn’t know it was possible to be like this, to be gay, and to live with it; and maybe, if Robin can find happiness despite- because- of it, he can too.
“And, you- you have a girlfriend? Vic?”
“Vickie,” Robin says, smiling. “She’s incredible. I wanted to take her out tonight, but she still isn’t comfortable going on dates in public. And I mean, I get it! Of course I get it, but- I don’t know, I just want to be able to do nice stuff for her. It’s hard out there, for people like us. Say, speaking of-” Robin turns her body to face him, her previously lovestruck smile morphing into a grin that Will does not like the implications of. “How’s it going with Wheeler? You guys gone on any dates yet?”
Will feels his face heat up, and Robin smiles wider. “I- we’re not- I mean, he’s not- we aren’t together.”
Robin’s jaw drops, like she’s more surprised that Mike and Will aren’t together, which is- well, Mike is probably one of the straightest people Will knows. He’s well aware that he and El are broken up, and despite Will’s surprise at Mike’s general okayness with that, just because he doesn’t have a girlfriend doesn’t mean he’s gay. Mike isn’t like him.
“No way. No way! I mean, obviously, if you don’t wanna date, you shouldn’t, but come on. Like, the way you guys look at each other? I swear, both of you turn into tomatoes when you lock eyes.”
“I mean, I wouldn’t be opposed,” Will mutters. Robin nods enthusiastically, widening her eyes as if to say, see? But Will shakes his head. “But he’s not- he’s not like me. Like us.”
“He told you that?”
“He doesn’t need to. He’s literally had a girlfriend before; Mike and El dated for, like, three years. You know that.”
Robin shrugs. “You never know. He could be- well, I’m not saying it’s definitive, but I am saying you might have more of a chance than you think."
Will lets out a long sigh before turning to Robin like she did to him. “Okay. Let’s say I was going to humor you. If there was any chance he liked me, I- well, how did you know Vickie wanted to-”
“To kiss?” Robin asks at the same time Will says “To date.” She looks startled for a second, but gives him a small smile and leans back on the couch. “Oh. Well, I mean, there were signals.”
“Signals? What kind of signals?”
“Oh, you know, a brush of the knee, a touch of the elbow, a shared look. We talked for a while- you know, as friends- and eventually, it snowballed. That snowball turned into an avalanche, and we got together.”
Will stares at his knees, because- well, because Mike does those things, and it scares him. Mike’s always been touchy, especially with Will, and it’s like he’s able to read whatever Will is thinking by just glancing at him. But Will is sick of getting his hopes up when it won’t amount to anything, so he shakes his head. “He’s straight,” he says quietly, and it must come out a little broken, because Robin puts a hand on his shoulder and looks at him, really looks at him. Will feels small under her knowing gaze.
“Just so you know,” she whispers like she’s telling him a world-altering secret, and maybe she is. “Vickie had a boyfriend before we got together.”
That was, in fact, world-altering. Will feels like his world tilts on its axis, and he looks up at Robin with wide eyes. “I thought-”
“She likes both,” Robin smiles. “Boys and girls. Maybe Mike’s like that, maybe he’s not, but all I’m saying is that maybe you have a chance, okay? Don’t- don’t let yourself get crushed for no reason. You’ll never know unless you try, okay? And I’ve seen how Wheeler looks at you. I think you have a chance, Will.”
Will shakes his head. “I don’t know, Robin,” he whispers. “He was- he was so protective of me, up until the year before high school- you know, the summer when you got involved- and then he just changed. I don’t know why, but for a solid two years, he just... ignored me, and now he’s like he was before that, and- I don’t know what to think. But I don’t think he likes me. I don’t think he likes boys.”
“Byers, I know what an unrequited crush looks like. When I was still in high school, there was this girl named Tammy Thompson, and she was, like, this horrible singer, but I was so into her. But I never talked to her. I never got to know her. And maybe if I had, things would have been different, yeah? But you and Mike are different from me and Tammy, because- well, you guys have been friends for so long, and you know each other so well. I’ll say it as much as I need to, Will- I think you could have a chance. I think-”
She’s cut off by the sound of the door to the WSQK opening, and Mike fucking Wheeler walks in. Speak of the devil.
He seems a bit surprised by Robin and Will’s position- Robin still has her hand on his shoulder, and they’re leaning into each other a bit. Will angles himself backwards, because he really doesn’t want Mike to get the wrong idea here. “Am I, uh, interrupting something?”
Robin laughs. “No, Wheeler, you’re fine. Any idea when the others will get here?”
“Lucas is on his way, and I think Dustin’ll probably be here soon. Oh, and I think Nancy and Jonathan are almost here.” Mike sits down right next to Will, and- wow, he’s close, Will thinks, his face growing hot. He can practically feel Robin staring at them, so he quickly stands, heading for the passage to the basement. “Well, we should probably wait for them downstairs, right?” God, this is awkward. “What’s, uh, what’s the plan for today?”
“Same as usual,” Robin says, amusement evident in her voice. “El said that she thinks she has a lead on Vecna’s location, so we’ll need to send her and Hop to the upside down.”
Mike nods. “She told me that if everything goes well, we’ll be able to storm it next crawl and try to kill him. We’ll need to find a way to separate him from the hivemind, so we’re working on that, too.”
Will doesn’t know exactly where Mike and El stand. He didn’t even hear about their breakup until a week after it’d happened, when he’d said something about them being together and Mike had told him, so he’s still unsure how the two of them feel about it. But they’re still friends- really good friends, maybe even closer than when they were together, so Will has his doubts that they won’t date again. After all, they clearly love each other- he’d heard what Mike said when El was in the pizza freezer. Will tries not to feel too bitter about it, but his feet still drag as he goes to the basement. He hears Robin and Mike trail after him, and the three of them wait in relative silence until the others arrive.
Mike is still standing too close.
Everybody sits in the basement, circled around El as she describes her plan using the map. She’s highlighted the lab- specifically, a point in the center- and repeatedly taps it with her pointer.
El’s outfit is a stark contrast to the general mood in the room. Her hair has grown enough to be short but still have volume, and she looks similar to how she had when Hopper was hiding her the first time. Her curls are pushed back by a pink headband that matches her flannel, and she has on a white tank top, light blue jeans, and purple sneakers. The outfit is so El that Will can’t imagine her wearing anything else, and despite her bright appearance, she leads the party through her plan with stony determination.
“This is our gateway,” she affirms, looking around the room. “To Dimension X, if that is what we are calling it. Tonight, Hopper and I must go through the gate in the military base in order to investigate. We will report back with our findings, and with luck, we can get through it soon to kill One.”
El takes a deep breath. “I have managed to speak to Max as well.”
The room explodes with noise. Next to Will, Mike straightens. His eyes are wide with hope, and they lock with Lucas’, who is smiling wider than Will’s seen since he moved back. “Really?” Lucas exclaims. “What- is she okay? What did she say?”
“She is alright. Currently, Max is in Vecna’s mindscape. She told me that she has seen a portal back to us previously, but was unable to reach it before it disappeared.” El’s face turns grim, and she glances at the floor. “She says that Vecna will be distracted tonight. I do not know what is going to happen, but she will try to reach the portal again. At the first sign of something happening, Lucas and I will go to the hospital, but the rest of you must be on alert. Max says that he has been planning this for a long time, so whatever it is cannot be good.”
Mike steps forward towards the center of the room. “What kind of plan? Did she tell you? And how does she know?”
“She does not know. All she told me is that he is ready.”
Well, if that isn’t cryptic, Will doesn’t know what is. Hopper calls a break so that people can discuss, and Will follows Mike to talk to El. The three of them sit together on the floor.
“Do you think it could have something to do with Holly?” Mike asks El, quietly, and Will frowns. “What’s Holly got to do with this?”
Mike picks at his fingers. “Holly... She has this imaginary friend that she calls Mr. Whatsit. I asked her what he looks like yesterday, and her description matched El’s of Henry pretty perfectly. I don’t know. It could be a coincidence, but... I just don’t believe in those anymore, you know?”
Will feels his face go pale, and he grabs Mike’s arm to brace himself. Mike turns to him, worry evident on his features, but Will feels like he can barely breathe, because Mr. Whatsit is who he saw before he was taken to the upside down.
(“Will you protect me from the monsters, Mr. Whatsit?”
“I would never let them hurt you, William.”)
Will hears Mike’s voice coming to him like it’s underwater. He suddenly can’t breathe, and he doubles over, his vision going spotty. There’s an overwhelming amount of noise around him, and he can’t breathe, and he can’t think; all that’s coming to his mind is Mr. Whatsit, telling him that he would be safe from the monsters, up until the moment he was taken.
There’s a warm presence on his arm, and he clings onto it. It’s a hand, he thinks, and he grips it so hard that it has to hurt whoever it is, but they hold him just as tightly.
“Breathe, Will,” he hears, finally, and it’s Mike again, clearer than the others. His vision finally loses its fogginess enough to see, and he looks at Mike; his eyes are wide, and he looks at Will like he’s the only thing in the world.
Will finally takes a deep, rattling breath, and Mike rubs his arm. After another minute or so of getting his breathing back on track, the two of them make eye contact.
“Mr. Whatsit,” he whispers, “Is who I saw before I got taken.”
Somehow, Mike’s eyes open wider, fear flashing across them, but Will doesn’t get the chance to dwell on it before his vision goes red.
He’s in the forest, and he’s hungry. Thankfully, he has orders to follow, and he’s been promised a meal.
Will stalks out of the woods. He knows that he has to keep hidden, so he stays out of the lights; nobody will see him in the shadows. Eventually, he arrives- he’s across the street from a nice house on the cul-de-sac, and as soon as he sees it, he runs. Right before he’s about to make it to the door, he shoots up, and he’s in the basement of the WSQK.
Mike is there. He’s looking at him, terrified, and it’s Will’s turn to grab his arm. Mike opens his mouth to speak, but Will beats him to it. “Mike,” he gasps out. “You need to go to your house. The Demogorgon. It’s close.”
“Wh-what-” Mike chokes out, but Nancy sprints over and grabs his arm, running the two of them up the stairs. Will stands up, stumbling a bit, and El steadies him. “It’s happening. Vecna’s plan, it’s happening, you- you need to get to Max.”
El nods, helping him sit on the couch, and she and Lucas are next to run up the stairs.
Goosebumps rise on the back of Will’s neck, and he knows, with a sinking pit in his stomach, that Vecna is back.