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“It’s Zombie Boy.”
“Be careful, who knows what type of diseases he’s carrying.”
“I bet his mom and that weirdo brother of his did that whole disappearance for money.”
“They act like we can’t hear them!” Dustin slams his fist onto the lunch table beneath him. He winces at the sharp pain and quickly rubs at his fist. “Ow, ow, ow…”
“Just ignore them.” Lucas says, focusing his attention mostly on Will. “They have nothing better to do.”
Will gives him a slight smile. “I know…”
“Yeah, don’t mind them, Will! You’re cool, you came back from the dead! Who can say they did that?” Dustin pats Will on the back before taking another bite of his sandwich. “Maybe that even gave you super powers or something.”
“I don’t think so.” Will giggles, “having powers doesn’t seem that great.”
“Who needs powers? You’re Will the Wise. A cleric.” Lucas nods his head to himself before grinning, “hey, we should have a sleepover at Mike’s. We can do that campaign you were talking about.”
“Oh, yea, sure… where’s Mike though?”
“He wasn’t feeling well earlier. Think he went to the nurse. We’ll see him later.” Dustin answers. He and Mike had the same third period.
“Oh.”
It had only been a few months since Will had officially been ‘freed’ from the Upside Down. He still felt weird on most days. Always feeling like he wasn’t truly free. But his mother had simply told him it would take awhile for him to recover.
He wanted to believe that.
Lucas and Dustin did everything in their power to make it seem like everything could go back to normal. They treated Will as if he never left. Brief mentions of his ‘death’ were kept at a minimum but it made Will feel okay.
Pretending as if nothing happened helped but also troubled Will. So he appreciated the fact the boys understood the balance between acknowledging it without being overbearing.
Mike… Mike was Mike.
Joyce and Jonathan were really overbearing. They needed constant updates from him. Will could barely leave the front porch without one of them rushing out to ask where he was going. He understood why but it was still a bit much.
However Mike was always like that in a way. His own weird way. He’s always hovered over Will like a baby bunny he needed to protect from the wolves.
Bullies loved targeting him ever since kindergarten. It was bound to create a weird sense of overprotectiveness in him. He knew Will for the longest.
But after his disappearance, Mike had just gotten even worse.
It had to be because of the party reaching their second puberty. Middle school was when kids started presenting.
Jonathan presented as an omega in middle school. Joyce as well. Will expected he would do the same soon. But his doctors were saying he might delay his presentation after such a traumatic experience.
Dustin had presented as a beta just a few months ago. Luckily it hadn’t changed much between the four of them.
Lucas presenting was a whole different story.
He was an alpha.
Mike was pissed to say the least.
Something something about wanting to be first.
And any other childish reason he had come up with.
His mother had to smack some sense into him. Which led to the very awkward apology on the Sinclair family’s front porch. Will had to encouragingly squeeze Mike’s arm to force the apology out of his mouth.
Wasn’t even a proper apology.
Just a little: “I drew first blood… s… I didn’t mean to attack you for being an alpha. But just know I’ll be the pack alpha when I present!”
“—Mike!” Will and Dustin had sighed.
Mike was lucky Lucas wasn’t even that angry. He almost seemed to understand the underlying reason for Mike's behavior. But he didn’t tell Dustin or Will.
It didn’t matter in the end. Everyone knew Mike would be an alpha. Ted Wheeler was an alpha, Nancy was an alpha. Karen was a beta. It was just expected.
Will liked the idea of Mike being an alpha. The idea of Mike being more protective than he already was. He knew it was strange. He should’ve felt suffocated by Mike’s behavior. But he never did. He reveled in it.
He wanted Mike to care about him.
“Oh, hey, Mike!” Dustin suddenly says taking Will out of his thoughts.
Will practically whips his head around to watch Mike walk over to the party. A small smile pulls on his lips. He had seen Mike this morning, obviously. But seeing Mike now made him happy all over again.
Mike plops down beside Lucas and rubs at his face. “I feel nauseous.” He groans.
“What’s wrong?” Will almost reaches out to touch Mike but stops himself.
“Everything smells weird. I hate it.”
“What’d the nurse do?” Lucas asks.
“Nothing! She can’t even give me anything. Just told me to tough it out.”
“Maybe you’re smelling the school food, it smells particularly disgusting today.” Dustin shakes his head, eyeing the lunch tray in front of Will. It was a plate of chicken nuggets and fries.
Unappealing was a nice description.
Lucas raised an eyebrow. Will watches his expression, being able to see the wheels turning in his friend’s head.
“Mike… maybe you’re—”
The school bell rings.
Mike groans once more. “It’s so loud.”
“The bells always loud.” Dustin unhelpfully chimes in, chuckling to himself as he packs his stuff up.
Lucas frowns, “it’s only three more periods. You can last until then.” He grabs his tray and backpack, “see you guys at the bike rack?”
“Yup, see ya.” Dustin waves.
That leaves Will and Mike all alone. Will nervously pulls at his sleeve before reaching over and tugging at Mike’s finger. Mike subconsciously curls his index finger around Will’s before finally looking over at him since he joined the table.
“C’mon, let’s go.” Will whispers.
Mike hums and pulls away. Will tries to ignore the slight bitterness he felt at the loss of touch. It was easier as toddlers to be so close to Mike. Now he couldn’t do that as much.
Not with eyes watching his every movement.
People already bully Will for simply existing. He didn’t want to bring that attention towards Mike.
The rest of the day was uneventful. Will and Mike had somehow managed to have the same last three classes. Will liked to imagine it was the universe giving him a gift after the hell it put him through just a year prior.
Through each period, Mike seemed to be deteriorating. Paler than normal. His eyes struggled to stay open, as if he wanted to sleep. He wouldn’t pay attention at all in class.
He would react to Will.
Will would only have to glance at him and Mike suddenly sat up straight with a little smile. He wondered if Mike just wanted to make sure Will wasn’t worrying. Or if seeing Will made him feel better.
However Will didn’t want to be too delusional.
“Yo, dude, you look so much worse!” Dustin says, grabbing his bike. “Are you sure you can even bike home?”
Lucas shakes his head, “we should call your mom or something. No way can you even stand up straight.”
Mike’s eyebrows furrow. His lips pulling into a slight snarl, “I can. Just, give me a second.” He rubs at his forehead. “It’s only a slight headache.”
“It’s okay, Mike. Jonathan was going to come pick me up anyway. He can just drive us both home.” Will says, stepping closer to Mike.
“What about my bike?”
“Who’s gonna steal your bike?” Lucas lets out a laugh.
“We wanted to have a sleepover anyway, Lucas and I can just take it with us.” Dustin chimes in.
“Uh, what? Who said I want to do that?”
“Lucas.”
“What? That’s a lot of work.”
“Guys not now please.” Will silently pleads.
Lucas and Dustin promptly stop their mini argument. Soon they switch to just giving each other exaggerated looks. Raised eyebrows, tight lips, and creased foreheads.
Will didn’t even want to know what they were thinking.
He turns his focus over Mike who seems to be getting worse by the minute. “Jonathan should be here soon.” He reaches for Mike’s hand, it’s hot to the touch. “Ah! You’re burning!”
There’s an odd feeling in Will. A whispering voice that flinches at the heat. It prefers the cold. He can’t think about it any further when he hears snickering.
“Look at the little couple! Frog Face and Zombie Boy. A match made in hell.” Troy Walsh and James Dante. Will is sure he hears Dustin and Lucas practically groaning at the sight of them.
Troy Walsh had presented as an alpha a month ago and suddenly believed he was hot shit. His little embarrassment at the hands of Eleven was ‘old news.’ He wasn’t ‘Pee Boy’ anymore.
He was an alpha.
Who peed his pants.
Mike, who was looking as if he was going to faint just moments ago, was now standing tall and straight. He steps in front of Will like a guard dog but that only makes Troy laugh at the sight.
“Hah, look at this. Gonna do something, Wheeler? I don’t see your little friend anywhere.” Troy smirks. “Doubt you can do anything without her.”
“Eat shit!” Dustin yells from behind Lucas.
Troy rolls his eyes. “Shut up, Beta. Should’ve just stayed unpresented like Wheeler here. You’ll just be a beta like Toothless over there.” He steps closer to Mike, holding his head high. His eyes flicker to Will. “But you, Zombie Boy, you’re just gonna be a useless omega. Like your mom.”
“Hey!” Lucas growls. “Leave Will alone.”
A loud almost animalistic growl rumbles through Mike’s chest. It causes each individual boy to look at him in pure shock. James quickly backs away, being just a beta, he didn’t want any trouble.
“You can’t even speak!” Troy taunts him, laughing. “Acting like a dog for your little zombie boy. C’mon, are you scared?” He reaches over to push at Mike but Will quickly puts himself in front of him.
Will glares at Troy. Or at least he tries to. He’s scared. Of course he’s scared. He’s shorter than Troy and still hasn’t presented. Against an alpha, he was going to lose no matter what. But Mike was sick. He couldn’t let Mike handle a bully when it looks like he’ll keel over.
“Woah, Wheeler, letting him protect you? How do you expect to be an alpha?” Troy doesn’t even entertain Will’s attempt at protecting Mike. He shoves Will away, causing him to stumble over. Will drops to the ground with a heavy thud and cuts his forehead against a rock on the ground.
“Will!” Dustin and Lucas quickly rush over to him, helping Will stand up.
“What the? A little push and you’re bleeding? You’re so—”
A loud gasp leaves James.
Will doesn’t understand at first. His focus on the soft throbbing on his right forehead. There’s a little bit of blood dripping down his cheek. It hurts. It really hurts. He would always want to protect Mike but reality has shown him that he can’t.
He really can’t.
“Mike! Mike!”
“Jesus, Mike!”
Will is gently sat back down on the ground by Dustin and Lucas. He’s confused. Why…? His gaze finally focused enough to notice the two bodies tussling around in the ground. It only takes a second for him to recognize Mike raising and slamming his fists down on Troy‘s head.
He’s not stopping. There’s no expression on his face. It’s like he’s moving by pure instinct. Zero hesitation as he beats the absolute shit out of Tony Walsh. Will didn’t even know Mike could fight.
Dustin and Lucas hover over Mike.
“Dude, dude!!” Dustin helplessly cries out. “You’re gonna cave his head in!!”
“Mike, you gotta calm down.” Lucas, even being an alpha himself, seems unwilling to put himself between Mike and Troy.
“Oh man, he smells weird.”
“He’s presenting, Dustin! Go get a teacher!”
“What?! I can’t leave him like this!”
“Dustin!!”
There’s a group of kids watching from afar. Even they aren’t daring to come close to the carnage. Will can’t really comprehend what’s happening. His Mike was fighting someone. For him.
Will hated himself for being weirdly happy at the thought. However the reality begins to set in when he hears a pained cry from Troy. Troy had stopped fighting back, attempting to crawl away.
Mike wasn’t allowing it. He grabs the collar of Troy‘s shirt and drags him backwards. It’s a brutal move. Mike seemed incapable of stopping.
“Mike.” Will calls out. His voice was low. It was drowned out by Troy‘s cries for mercy. The howls of an alpha in pain were loud and clear. Will was going to try again but Mike suddenly stops.
He pulls away and glances back at Will. Lucas doesn’t attempt to touch Mike and motions for Dustin to do the same. The party watches Mike as if he was an active predator ready to pounce.
But he doesn’t attack. Mike kneels down beside Will and tugs him into a hug. No words are exchanged. His nose burying itself in Will’s neck as he practically maneuvers Will to sit on his lap. It’s protective—comforting.
“Uh… Mike?” Dustin calls out. “What, what do we do?”
“Don’t touch him.” Lucas states. “He’ll try to attack us.”
“He’s an alpha?”
“No shit.”
Will ignores Dustin and Lucas. He can only focus on Mike’s stuttered breathing. The way his hands clutch at Will’s shirt so tightly as if he’s scared. Will didn’t know much about presenting for alphas. Joyce had only told him that the presentation is always a little rough.
Alpha or omega. The first presentation always made someone a little territorial. Mostly with family or even friends. She did mention even with crushes. Will tried to push the last part out of his head.
Mike had been with him for years. Of course he would want to protect Will.
Then there was the fact Mike was acting off all day. He probably would’ve presented anyway without seeing Will getting hurt.
Will can’t smell Mike’s scent. He wishes he could. Would it be sweet? Or maybe tangy? A fruit or plant. He only wishes he could present quickly so he can smell Mike.
“Will?”
The sound of a car door closing catches Will’s attention. He peers up from Mike’s shoulder and sighs in relief to see Jonathan. While he’s enjoying Mike’s attention, he’d like it if it wasn’t in public.
Jonathan only reaches two steps from Will when Mike immediately growls. He shifts them around so Will’s back is facing Jonathan and Mike can furiously glare at the omega.
“Be careful! He just beat up Pee Boy!” Dustin says, crowding by Lucas for makeshift protection.
“Pee Boy—?” Jonathan’s eyebrows furrow but he doesn’t even care to decipher whatever Dustin was talking about. “Mike, it’s just me, Jonathan.” He holds his hands up, palms up, as he slowly kneels down to be at eye level with him.
Mike clutches tighter at Will. He scoots back a bit but bumps into the wheel of a bike. It causes him to jump slightly and hug Will even impossibly closer. Will grunts at the pressure. While he enjoyed being hugged by Mike, he was starting to feel crushed.
“Mike, look at me. Really, look at me. I won’t ever hurt Will.” Jonathan whispers. He slowly crawls a little closer but quickly stills when Mike gives him a warning snarl.
“What’s happening?” A voice comes in.
Nancy.
“Don’t come any closer.” Jonathan says.
Will tries to peer behind himself but it’s hard for him to even move his arms that are crushed against Mike’s chest. He can tell the smell of another alpha is beginning to agitate Mike by the low grumbling in his chest. If it was in any other situation, Will could fall asleep to the rhythm.
“Mike.” Will’s breathy voice tickles Mike’s ear. Mike actually lets out a little giggle. Even now he’s still ticklish. Will smiles, deciding to use Mike’s ticklish nature as a way to calm him down. He blows a puff of wind, earning another laugh from Mike.
Mike loosens his grip on Will, allowing Will to pull back a bit. He still can’t look Mike in the eye as the boy still seems set on burying his face in Will’s neck. Will frees one of his arms and tugs at Mike’s ear. Mike’s whole body closes in on himself as he tries to hide his ear, laughing.
Will tickles Mike a few more times. Each time getting Mike to focus solely on Will’s comforting touch. His anger seems to dissolve enough that when Jonathan reaches a hand out—Mike curiously sniffs it.
The comforting scent of one of the omegas from the Byers house calms Mike almost instantly. He buries his nose on Jonathan’s palm as the older omega pats his head, releasing his pheromones to calm the recently presented alpha.
“It’s okay. Will’s okay.” Jonathan says.
It was confusing.
Even as the doctor patched up Will’s wound. All he could think about was what Jonathan had said to Mike. He’s okay? He knows that Mike obviously got riled up due to Will getting hurt but he didn’t think Mike was that worried over him.
He feels a little happy.
Weirdly enough.
“How is he?” Jonathan asks as he and Will walk out to the hallway to find Nancy waiting. Lucas and Dustin were sent home despite their pleas to come with. Mike was too sensitive to scents right now, the less he smelled the better.
Nancy hums, “he’s okay. They said he had a high fever. He wasn’t supposed to present at all.”
“A fever?” Will wonders out loud.
“He had one this morning, Mom told him to not even go to school.” She begins to mimic Mike, “‘But Mom what about Will? I can’t let him go to school alone.’”
Will giggles slightly. Hearing Nancy attempt to sound like Mike was always a treat.
“So he presented even while he was sick?” Jonathan’s gaze flickers to Will before looking back at Nancy. The two share a silent conversation Will is unfortunately not privy to. “Can he come home?”
“Doctor said he should stay with Will. It’ll help keep him calm. He can’t even handle my scent right now.”
“I’ll tell my mom.”
That’s how Will finds himself with Mike Wheeler, his crush, cuddling with him on his bed.
Somewhat cuddling really.
When Mike was taken to the Byers house, he acted as if he was at home. Joyce’s and Jonathan’s scents did nothing to agitate him. In fact it had put him right to sleep. Sleeping right on Will’s bed.
“Where are you going?” Mike originally called out, grabbing Will’s hand.
“You’re going to bed. I was going to hang out in Jonathan’s room.”
“Stay with me. I don’t want to… uh, kick you out of your room.” If there was any other reason, Mike doesn’t state it.
“Oh…”
So now here he was, awkwardly staring at his ceiling so he wouldn’t weird out Mike by staring at his face. Mike was fast asleep. His soft snores would be annoying to others but to Will, it was comforting.
Lucas had told Will that Mike recognized his breathing when he was stuck in the Upside Down.
Did his breathing bring comfort to Mike too?
He wondered.
“Will.”
Will lets out a little gasp, glancing over to see Mike staring at him. “You’re awake?”
“Yeah.”
“Can’t sleep?”
“The sun hasn’t even gone down yet.”
“Oh.”
It’s silent. Mike’s gaze flickers from Will’s eyes to his forehead. His eyebrows furrow and his lips thin. The sight brings a little giggle from Will. A giggle that snaps Mike out of whatever he was thinking. His eyes widen as he stares at Will with an odd sense of awe.
“What?”
“Nothing. You look a little funny.”
Mike grins. “I’m not scary? I think I scared Tony into peeing his pants again.” An alpha pride. Lucas acted similar a few days ago whenever he did anything remotely masculine, like flexing his muscles.
Will shakes his head. “You’ll never be scary to me. I like you as you are.” He says softly. The reality of his words make him blush slightly. “As… as a friend.”
“You don’t care about strong alphas?” Mike seems to ignore Will’s last remark. Though his face betrays him. His eyebrows furrow once more while he bites his inner cheek. An air of annoyance radiates off him.
“No. There’s a lot of them out there. I have Lucas anyway.”
Mike huffs, moving to lay on his back as he stares at the ceiling. Will watches him for a moment. He wants to think he’s overthinking things but he knows Mike seems weirdly upset at the mention of Lucas.
“I have Lucas,” Will repeats, looking at Mike, “but I also have you. You’re you.”
“But you want Lucas as the one to protect you?” His voice is bitter and childish.
“No, you’re my protector. Aren’t you my paladin?”
Mike’s head practically whips to his left, his eyes wide and lips parted, “yeah! I mean, uh, yeah, of course I am. But wouldn’t you… want me to be strong?”
“You’re strong enough.”
“But I, what if I, fail or something? What if there’s a day I can’t really do anything?”
“You being here is enough. You’ve never let me down.” Will hesitates. His hand twitches but he doesn’t attempt to lean over.
Mike’s hand rests on top of his. The pair keeps their gaze on the ceiling, watching the old fan sputter away. Mike slowly entangles his hand with Will’s. Will can feel the bandages around Mike’s knuckles.
“Will, I… when you present, can I scent you?”
“Yeah. Yeah, you can.”
They’re quiet again for a moment.
“What do you think I’ll smell like?” Will whispers.
“Lavender.”
“Lavender? Why lavender?”
“Oh, uh, well—you, you can’t smell me right now but Jonathan said I smell like cypress. Kind of like Nancy.”
“Do… cypress and lavender go together?”
“They’re… complementary. That’s what Nancy told me…” Mike mutters like he’s been caught red handed. Will can only smile to himself.
“Even if it’s not lavender, I’ll still like it. You’ll be the pack omega and I’ll be the pack alpha.”
“It’s only four of us, why do we need two leaders?”
“Technically it’s five. Eleven, she’ll… she’ll join our pack. You’ll like her, I promise. She seems like an alpha—maybe, it’ll be a lot of us but then we’ll be able to take care of you. Me, Eleven, and Lucas.”
“You can’t forget Dustin.”
“He’s a beta. He’ll probably protect you too.”
Will laughs. “But you know, I can protect myself too.”
“Of course! Of course you can, it's just, y’know, we like to… protect you. Can… Can I protect you? I-I won’t be overbearing or anything I know you hate that but I… I just—I need to…”
“Mike.”
Mike finally glances over at Will. His eyes are glossy.
Will glances back. “Yeah.” His voice light and airy.
Mike squeezes Will’s hand. Will squeezes back.
He hopes he presents soon.
So Mike can scent him.
Protect him.
It’ll be one of the best things he has ever done.