Chapter Text
“It was a seven.”
“Huh?”
“The roll, it was a seven. The Demogorgon, it got me”
*
*
HAWKINS, INDIANA
NOVEMBER 6th
1983
7:30PM
“Something is coming. Something hungry for blood” What? Where am I? “ A shadow grows on the wall behind you swallowing you in darkness. It…is almost here.” Is that…me…talking? “What is it?” Will…it was as if he had his eyes closed, because suddenly…he could see everything. And that includes…12-year old Will?
“What if it’s the Demogorgon? Oh, Jesus, we’re so screwed if it’s the Demogorgon.”
“It’s not the Demogorgon.”
“This isn’t right— I mean, Will was just— ‘Mike?’ Mike looks up to find that oh-so-familiar face, the one he had just seen covered in blood and definitely older. “Hm?” Mike finds himself saying. “Are you…okay?” Will says, looking at him with an amused glint in his eyes. Lucas and Dustin are looking at him with weird expressions. “Uh- yeah! I- uhm, I…” He looks back and forth between the figurine in his hand and the DnD board, then suddenly, “An army of troglodytes charge into the chamber!” Mike says as he slams the figurine on the table. It was as if his body was on autopilot, like he was watching a movie that couldn’t be turned off, but it wasn’t a bad movie at least that was until he remembered what day this campaign was held on.
*
“It was a seven.” Mike’s body…it was still on autopilot, and as much pleading and begging he did— ‘Will, don’t go, please just stay here with me’— “Huh?” He couldn't stop himself from saying…basically nothing, and so he had to watch the event he knew would scar their lives until the day they died, till Will died. He had to watch a second time as Will rode off on his bike, knowing it was the start of the worst week of his life, and he couldn’t do anything but watch Will in the distance. He wanted to cry, he wanted to scream, he wanted to throw up, or maybe do all three. He couldn’t decide.
“10:00pm”
That night he lies in bed trying to figure out what happened, why his body locked up when it did, and why he’s in his 12-year-old body when he was just in his 16-year-old body looking at 16-year-old Will…Dying. He remembers before coming here he was talking to Will… —“The mindflayer is down, El and Will are dealing with Vecna, so while they're distracting him, we go for the heart, the source of the hivemind.” Mike looks around the group “We have to finish it once and for all.” His gaze stops on Will in the background with his arm stretched out using the powers he used to save Mike (and Robin, and Lucas), but he still saved him, and— “Mike…” he snaps his eyes back to the group.
“What?” Everyone except Steve and Dustin is looking at him with strange expressions, especially Robin and Lucas. “Dude, you gotta focus,” Lucas says with a knowing look. “I am focusing, Lucas, I just might need a recap,” he admits sheepishly. “We’re executing your plan we were just talking about, who would be the ones to carry it out,” Nancy says with a stern expression. He’s pretty sure she wants to be part of the group that intends to carry it out.
“Oh…Well, I’m staying with Will.” Mike eyes the group, ensuring no objections. “In case anything goes wrong, we should split up into groups. To have people inside and outside,” Robin says, already forming the groups in her mind. “Me, Jonathan, Robin, and Steve will go. The rest of you will stay here,” Nancy says, looking at Jonathan then suddenly at Mike. “If anything happens, and I mean anything, I want you all to take Joyce and Will and run. Find a place to hide. Do you understand?”
She looks between Mike, Dustin, and Lucas. “We understand,” Lucas says, looking at Nancy with a stern expression. Mike looks at Lucas. “Wha-” Mike begins. “We understand,” Dustin interrupts. Mike looks at Dustin, then at Lucas, then at everyone else. He stands there, looking bewildered. ‘I- but- what if-” frustrated, he cuts himself short and suddenly glares at them before walking away to Will.
~
“Mike! Stop pacing. Calm down, man.” Dustin tells him, annoyed. Then Lucas clasps a hand on his shoulder. “Yeah, man…They’ll be fine. The mindflayer is down, and El and Will have Vecna.” Lucas and Mike look to Will. “Okay…yeah, maybe you’re right.” A few steps away from them, a pained yell is heard in a voice he knows well. “Will!” Mike exclaims. Or was it Joyce? He didn’t know. They both suddenly appeared near Will, so maybe it was both? “Will? Hey, what’s wrong?” Will was kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily, his arm still stretched out, blood dripping down his nose and…ears? “Is this normal?” Joyce asks, looking at Mike.
“No— or at least I don’t think so! I’ve never seen this happening to El.” Will suddenly slumps forward, screaming at the top of his lungs. “IT HURTS! IT HURTS SO MUCH! MIKE!” Mike removes his hands from his ears. He doesn't even recall putting them there. He grabs Will’s face. “Will? Can you hear me!?” Will continues to scream. This reminds him of the time Will was possessed. “Will, where does it hurt!? Will!” Joyce exclaims, then he hears Dustin’s breath hitch. “Mike…” Mike turns his head to Dustin. “Will is a part of the hive mind, isn’t he?” he tentatively asks.
Suddenly, everything becomes clear about Will’s pain. “Lucas, go stop them!” he snaps, turning to Lucas. Lucas’s expression is unreadable, but he remains unmoving. “Lucas! GO!” Mike exclaims, his eyes suddenly feeling wet. Joyce looks at him with eyes saying, ‘What’s wrong?’ Lucas looks at Mike’s face, and his expression hardens. Then, he’s running to the mindflayer. He can't remember the rest. It hurts his head to try and think about it, so instead, he thinks about why he’s suddenly in the past and if this means what he thinks it means. Can he save Will?
Chapter 1:The Vanishing of Will Byers
HAWKINS, INDIANA
NOVEMBER 7th
1983
The Wheeler residence
“Michael!” Mike jolted awake to the sound of his mom yelling, but he didn’t want to get up. He wanted to stay in bed and avoid facing a world without Will, a world that would be without him for a week. Will was alone and in danger, in the Upside Down, and he was up here doing nothing that was a problem. With a sigh, Mike finally got out of bed and headed to the bathroom.
When he’s finished, he walks downstairs. “Mike, are you all set for school?” his mom asks him. “Yeah, Mom,” he lazily replies. “Okay, good. Now go eat so you can go.” He sits down in his seat as his mom passes him eggs. Nancy keeps side-eyeing him, “What?” and he asks. She looks at him and says, “What happened? You look like shit.” He rolls his eyes.
“Gee, thanks. You really know how to make a guy feel better,” then, he grabs the maple syrup and pours it on his eggs. “That’s disgusting,” she says, looking over. He can hear the phone ring. 'Is it Mrs. Byers?’ he thinks. “You’re disgusting!” then pours syrup on her eggs, trying to distract himself from the conversation his mom was having on the phone. “What the hell! Mike,” Nancy exclaims. “Hey,” his dad says at the same time as his mom’s. “Quiet!” Mike keeps trying to distract himself by eating more eggs as he hears his dad talk to Nancy about her “language.”
And later, as he’s riding his bike to school with Lucas and Dustin, he almost falls off because he’s in his head, not paying attention to anything. “Mike, man, you okay?” Lucas asks him while pedaling next to him. “Yeah…I’m fine. I just didn’t get enough sleep last night.” He gives Lucas a shy smile and goes back to thinking. “Where’s Will?” Just as the word ‘Will’ leaves Dustin's mouth, Mike is looking at him. “I was wondering that too, Mike. Have you seen Will?”
‘No, but I know where he is, and I know how to get there,’ he wants to shout. “No, I haven’t seen him since last night,” he mumbles instead. “Okay…maybe he went to school early. We’ll just meet him there,” Lucas cheerfully says. “Yeah!” Dustin exclaims. Mike just looks at them, wondering if he should tell them anything or just stay silent. He wanted to tell them, he really did, he just—didn't know if it was a good idea.
HAWKINS, INDIANA
NOVEMBER 7th
1983
Hawkins Middle School
They eventually get to school, put their bikes in the racks and lock them up. “I don’t see him,” Dustin says, looking around for Will. Mike stays silent. He knows he’s the first one to say that, but this time he can’t when he knows Will isn’t here and won’t be here. “I’m telling you, his mom’s right. He probably just went to class early again.” Lucas looks at him, probably wondering why he hasn’t said anything yet.
“Yeah, he’s always paranoid. Gursky’s gonna give him another pop quiz.” As Dustin’s saying this, Troy and James approach them. “Step right up, ladies and gentlemen. Step right up and get your tickets for the freak show. Who do you think would make more money in a freak show?” Troy looks to Lucas. “Midnight.” Then to Mike. “Frogface.”
When Troy says this, Mike remembers something from the month he lived with Will. Mike is in the kitchen with his mom when she says, “Michael, your hair is getting quite long.” His mom tells him, “I know, but—” He tries to tell her, but she interrupts instead, saying, “No buts, it needs to get cut. I’ll set you up with a barber's appointment.” Mike frowns; he doesn’t want to cut it, but he knows she’ll nag him about it. “No need, I’ll just ask Will.” She looks at him surprised. “Oh? Will knows how to cut hair?”
And at that exact moment, Will walks into the kitchen. “I know how to do what now?” he asks, confused. “Oh, Mike was just telling me that you know how to cut hair?” Will looks at him with confusion and amusement. Mike feels his cheeks grow warm. He looks back at Will, shrugging his shoulders. Then Will goes to open his mouth, but because Mike knows exactly what he’s going to say, “I actually don’t—” as he says it, Mike walks over to him, takes his hand, and interrupts. “Yes, he does, and now we’re going to go and…uh cut my hair.” He drags Will with him to the upstairs bathroom and closes the door.
He turns around to Will, looking at him a bit flushed. ‘Cute,’ he thinks, but quickly erases that from his mind. “So…could you cut my hair?” he sheepishly asks. Will’s eyes soften. “You're asking me, now? When we’re already in the bathroom?” he raises an eyebrow, and Mike did not find that endearing. “Well…it seems you have figured out my master plan,” Mike says, walking towards Will. “To get me in the bathroom? Very evil indeed,” he says with an amused glint in his eyes. Mike stops in front of Will and leans in. “Yeah, that was the first part. The second part is to get you to cut my hair, then go read comics.”
His face is inches from Will's. He licks his lips, and Will’s gaze flickers down. “Did the plan work?” Mike whispers, and then Will pushes his face away, laughing. “Shut up!” Mike bursts out laughing as well. “Now sit down,” Will says, while pointing to the toilet seat. “The scissors should be in the drawer,” he says, walking to the toilet and sitting down on the top. He watches as Will grabs the scissors, closes the drawer, and walks over to him.
He stands in front of him, looking down at Mike. “Will…could you, um…not cut it that short?” Mike says, looking up at Will, who has a confused expression. “I just—I feel like if you cut my hair too short, it’ll make me uglier than I already am, so—” Will looks at him, bewildered. “Mike, you are far from ugly. Don’t say things like that about yourself.” Mike suddenly can’t find his voice. “Is this about what Troy called you when we were younger?” Will tentatively asks, and Mike nods his head.
“Kind of, it’s a part of it. I know it’s stupid, but—” Mike starts to say until Will shuts him down. “If it hurts you, it’s not stupid, Mike,” he gives Mike a stern look. “I…also, um, liked that about you,” Will suddenly says and shifts his eyes in the other direction, and Mike’s heart skips a beat. “What? My frogface?” he asks incredulously, and Will gives him a bored look. “Yes, your frogface. It was…cute,” he says, cute so low that Mike almost couldn’t hear him. “Oh,” he says suddenly, out of breath.
He feels kind of hot. “Anyway, um, I think the short hair would suit you and bring out your cheekbones and curls a lot better,” Mike looks at Will, then hesitantly asks, “Are you sure about your request?” Snipping the scissors, “You’re the artist here, so if that's what you think, then go ahead,” Mike says with a small smile.“Cool,” Will says, smiling back at him. “Cool,” Mike softly says—Mike suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.
Startled, he jumps back a bit and finds Lucas and Dustin looking at him with worried expressions. “Mike, the bell just rang, and we’ve been sitting here trying to gain your attention,” Dustin worriedly says. “Yeah, man, what happened?” Lucas says while pushing Mike forward so he can walk. “I don’t know, I was just wondering about Will,” he admits. It’s the partial truth, so he thinks it’s okay that he lied.
“Well, you won’t get to see Will if you keep lagging behind,” Lucas says, noticing how slow he’s walking. “And zoning out,” Dustin annoyingly adds on. “Yeah…whatever, let’s just go and see Will,” he says, knowing they won’t see Will at all this week. They walk to class, apologize for being late, and sit down in their seats.
After class, the three of them walk up to Mr. Clarke's desk. “So, did it come?” Dustin excitedly says. Usually, Mike would be more excited for something like this. He was the first time, but now he just feels guilty for being so excited while Will was missing, and he doesn’t think Will even saw the Heathkit. Now that he really thinks about it.
He aimlessly trails behind Lucas, Dustin, and Mr. Clarke as they walk to the AV room. Dustin sprints into the room, sitting down in the chair. That’s fine; he doesn’t mind that much. “Ain’t she a beaut?” Mr. Clarke asks. Dustin turns his head. “I bet you can talk to New York on this thing,” Dustin excitedly says. Then, Mr. Clarke says, “Think bigger.” Lucas gives Mr. Clarke an excited look. “California?” Lucas questions. “Bigger.”
Mike knows he should say something so he doesn’t raise any more suspicion. "Australia?” That's weird. He had opened his mouth to speak. He didn’t know what he was going to say, but it wasn’t going to be Australia. He said that the last time, so that’s why he knows Mr. Clarke nodded his head when he said it. “Oh, man! When Will sees this, he’s totally gonna blow his shit,” Lucas excitedly says. He almost throws himself on top of Dustin.
Mike smiles at this because despite the ache in his heart right now, watching them mimic an Australian accent in the Heathkit warms his heart a little. He misses when they were kids playing around and not having to worry about saving the world. “Mike, you wanna give it a try?” Mr. Clarke asks him. He’s already had a turn, but it wouldn’t hurt to have another, but just as he starts “Yea-” there’s a sharp knocking sound gaining everyone’s attention.
“Sorry to interrupt, but uh, may I borrow Michael, Lucas, and Dustin?” The Principal says. Then Chief Hopper and Officer Callahan walk into view. ‘Man, this is going to be a long day,’ just like every day of this week.
~
“...so you were…racing?” They were all sitting in the Principal’s office being interrogated a second time, well, only for Mike, but it’s still tiring hearing Hopper ask that question. Dustin should’ve ridden with him to Mirkwood, he thinks, but quickly dismisses the thought. He shouldn’t blame Dustin. “You.” Mike's eyes snap up to see Hopper pointing at him. “You said he takes…what?”
Wait, he said that out loud? “Yes, you’ve been muttering to yourself for a minute now,” Hopper tells him. “...Oh…I uh-I said Mirkwood,” he explains, avoiding Dustin's eyes. He doesn’t know if he heard him or not. “It’s from “Lord of the Rings,” Lucas explains. To be honest, Mike isn’t really listening, like he hasn’t been the whole day.
But he notices when Hopper points to him again, “Mirkwood. It’s a real road. It’s just the name that’s made-up.” Mike blurted out. He’s losing his mind with the autopilot thing. “What’s its real name?” Hopper asks him, and once again he just says something without thinking about it. “I don’t know. It’s where Cornwall and Kerry meet.”
Hopper jots the information on his notepad. “Yeah, I think I know it.” When Hopper says this, Mike jumps to the chase to say, “We can show you–” just like the last time, but just like the last time, Hopper interrupts. “I said I know it.” Mike feels the same irritation he felt the first time. “We could help look–” Hopper gives him a sharp look.
“No, after school, you go straight home. All of you.” He looks at the three of them, and Mike frowns. “The Hobbit.” Dustin says, and Hopper gives him an annoyed look. “Do I make myself clear?” When Hopper hears nothing, he tries again more firmly. “I make myself clear?” Dustin and Lucas share a look and nod their heads, but Mike looks at the ground, a scowl on his face.
“No,” he spits out. Lucas and Dustin turn to him, shocked, their eyes pleading for him to take it back as they avert their eyes to Hopper's irritated face, but he’s not backing down, not this time. “What did you say?” Hopper angrily says. “I said, No.” Hopper’s jaw clenches. “Kid-” Hopper starts, but he interrupts. “You can’t just come in here, tell us our friend is missing, and expect me to sit still.” Mike exclaims.
Dustin looks at him bewildered, while Lucas looks exasperated. “Kid, I'm not saying go home and twiddle your thumbs— or actually— I am. What if the same person who’s got your friend gets you because you were out there looking for him? Do you think it would help your friend if we’re out there looking for you as well?” Okay, Hopper has a point, but it’s too late to back down now.
“If it meant Will got to come back unharmed,” he proudly says. Is that weird to say about your best friend? He doesn't think so; he would do anything for Will. Hopper is staring at him weirdly. “Okay, look, it’s either you go home and stay home, or I put you on house arrest. You can choose.” He can’t do that; it’s Bullshit! If he’s on house arrest, he can’t sneak out. He glares at Hopper. “Fine…” He relents, then abruptly stands up and walks out.
Lucas and Dustin run after him. “Dude! What the hell was that!” Lucas angrily spits at him. “Oh, I’m sorry, Lucas, that I actually spoke up about the utter bullshit he said,” Mike says, glaring at Lucas. “You could’ve gotten yourself in trouble! You did almost get yourself on house arrest, or are we moving past that?” Lucas says while standing in front of Mike and folding his arms together.
“I don’t care! Lucas, the only thing I care about is Will, who is MISSING, by the way. M-i-s-s-i-n-g, missing.” It’s just like their games of hide and seek, hide…and…seek! If Will is stuck and hiding in the Upside Down right now, it’s Mike's job to seek to find him, and the only way to do that is…His eyes slowly widen. “Mike!”
He didn’t notice Dustin yelling at him to gain his attention? “What?” Both Dustin and Lucas give him irritated looks. “Okay, what is up with you, man! You’ve been distracted all day,” Lucas blurts out, and Dustin gives him a guilty look. With a sigh, he says, “Mike, we know you're worried about Will, but—” Dustin starts, and Mike interrupts. “But what? Is it a bad thing to care about your best friend now?” he irritably says while raising an eyebrow.
“No!” Dustin hurriedly rushes out. “We’re just saying calm down before you get yourself into trouble.” Lucas sighs; now he feels bad for yelling at them. “I know…I–just…I’m really worried about Will,” he admits, then Lucas puts a hand on his shoulder and gives him a small smile. “We are too,” he also admits. “Yeah, so stop making it like you’re the only one who cares.”
Dustin punches his shoulder, and Mike smiles at them. “I have a plan on how we can find Will,” he tells them. He came up with this while they were arguing. “For this to work, we’ll need Mr. Clarke and El,” he mutters in the last part so they wouldn’t hear it. “Why would we need Mr. Clarke?” Lucas asks him with a puzzled look. Then Mike puts his hands on their shoulders and leads them to Mr. Clarke’s room. “I’ll fill you in later, promise.” They nod at him, and they continue on to Mr. Clarke.
~
“A magnetic energy source?” Mr. Clarke asks. Right now, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas are huddled together with the addition of Mr. Clarke in the AV room. “Yeah, like a big burst of magnetic energy,” Mike admits. Mr. Clarke looks at the three of them. Lucas and Dustin shrug their shoulders while Mike has a serious expression. “How would I be able to find it?”
“Hypothetically?”
“Yes, hypothetically.”
“Well…” Mike could tell Mr. Clarke was hesitant about telling them, and he didn’t know how he could persuade him further without revealing anything. “We could use a compass or…more specifically, three,” Dustin’s voice booms from the back. He turns toward Dustin. He’d forgotten Dustin was the reason they were almost able to find a gate in the first place.
“Dustin, you’re a genius!” he exclaims. Dustin beams, and Lucas looks confused. “Uh- Nevermind, Mr. Clarke. We- uh figured it out. Bye!” He grabs both Lucas and Dustin by their arms and dashes out of the room. Or tries to. Lucas stops him before he can get far.
“Mike, I have no idea what your plan is, but we still have school.”
“Why does that matter? Also, I know we have school.”
“It doesn’t because you're my friend, but if it gets too crazy, I'm leaving. And It didn’t seem like it. It seemed like you were dragging us outside of school.”
“...It might already be a bit crazy…And I was dragging you out of school.”
“What!?”
“What?”
“Guys!”
They both turned to Dustin, who was watching them with a bored expression and his arms crossed. “Are we going or not? Because it's only a matter of time before the bell rings.” Mike looks at Lucas. “So…are you with me? Because I’ll do it with or without you.” He would hate to go without Lucas, but if he has to, he will. Lucas sighs. “Lead the way.”
Mike beams, and Dustin unfolds his arms. “Well, then let’s blow this popsicle stand,” he says, and Mike grabs Lucas’s arm and runs out of the school building. “I’ve always wanted to say that,” with Dustin in tow.
HAWKINS, INDIANA
NOVEMBER 7th
1983
The Wheeler residence
Unfortunately for them, they weren’t able to have a lot of time to look for El because the school called Mike’s mom, ending up in his basement after being scolded. “Son of a bitch,” Dustin exclaims, slumping on the couch. Lucas looks at Mike. He avoids Lucas’s eyes, scowling. He knows what he wants him to say, and he’s not going to.
He’s not apologizing for trying to help find his best friend. For a while, it’s quiet in the basement while they're all in their thoughts. That is until Lucas unexpectedly speaks up. “Well…you promised you would tell us what was going on, so…what’s going on?” he looks at Lucas and contemplates telling them now or later when they’ve got El.
“Later, I don’t have everything I-We need for the plan yet,” he explains. He’s beginning to feel overwhelmed, and it’s irritating. He sees Lucas open his mouth about to say something until Dustin interrupts. “I’m bored, dude. Let’s watch a movie.” Mike looks at him. “Really!? You want to watch a movie while Will’s missing? We don’t have time for that.”
He angrily spits his irritation bubbling to the surface. Lucas and Dustin look at him, shocked at his outburst. “We don’t have time to sit around twiddling our thumbs! While Will is in danger! And—” he stops, fuck! he thinks. It’s quiet. All he could hear was his own heartbeat. “What… Do you mean Will is in danger?” Dustin tentatively asks.
He doesn’t answer. He can’t. “Mike, what the hell do you mean Will is in danger!? What do you know that we don’t?” he can’t do this. He needs to leave. He runs up the stairs, out the door, then he’s on his bike, pedaling to the only place that felt safe to him. It still does, even if his best friend was possessed in it.
HAWKINS, INDIANA
NOVEMBER 7th
1983
Castle Byers
The last time he’d seen this place, it was destroyed by a storm. A storm named Will Byers. It fills him with immense guilt, knowing it's his fault this will be destroyed in the future. With a sigh, he goes inside and sits down. He sits there recollecting his thoughts or he tries, and soon as he closes his eyes, he’s out like a light.
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When he opens his eyes, the first thing he notices is how much his neck hurts. He slowly gets up and walks out of Castle Byers. The sun is going down, making the sky turn a beautiful amber color, and as the sun shines down on him, making him feel warm, it weirdly reminds him of Will.
He bikes back home after watching the sun set for a bit longer, and as he walks in, he’s engulfed in a hug by his mom. “Michael! Oh, thank goodness you’re okay,” he can’t really breathe or move, but he tries to hug her back anyway. He missed his mom, and he should’ve told her everything before she almost lost her life.
He buries his head in her chest, almost bursting into tears but holding them back. She pulls him back. “Let’s go eat dinner, okay?” She gives him a small smile as she says this, and he nods his head. “Okay,” he shyly smiles back.
Later at dinner, his mom asked him, “So, Michael, honey, can you tell me why you ran out like that?” His dad and Nancy look at him. “ I just— I feel like we should be out there right now. We should be helping look for him,” his mom’s expression saddens. “Mike, we went over this when you came home. The Chief said—”
‘Should he go about this the same way he did the last time or not?’ he thinks, but before he can ponder long, he hears his voice.
“I don’t care what the Chief said.”
“Michael–”
“He’s not even the real police, Mom. We have to do something— Will could be in danger!”
“More reason to stay put.”
“Mom –”
“End of discussion.”
Everybody resumes eating after the conversation ends, and ‘wow, I was a bratty kid’ is all he can think, but erases that thought because this was about Will and how worried he was for him. That thought makes him frown about how his Mom shut him down.
“So…me and Barb…we’re gonna study for the chemistry test at her house tonight, that’s cool, right?” Mom looks up from her meal. “No. Not cool,” she sternly says. Mike still can’t believe Nancy even tried right after him.
“What? Why not?”
“Why do you think? Am I speaking Chinese in this house? Until we know Will is okay, no one leaves.”
“So we’re under house arrest?”
“Don’t be dramatic, Nancy.”
“This is such bullshit!”
“Language!”
“Barb lives two minutes away, just because Mike’s friend got lost on his way home–”
That gets Mike’s attention; he had hated the way she blamed Will for this the first time. “This is Will’s Fault?!” he turns to her. “Nancy, take that back–” his Mom says, trying to keep some of the peace. “No!” but that peace had been broken the moment “Will” left Nancy’s mouth. “You’re just pissed because you wanna hang out with Steve–"
“Steve?”
“Who is Steve?”
“Her new boyfriend–”
“YOU”RE SUCH A DOUCHE, MIKE!”
“LANGUAGE!!”
She storms off from the dinner table. Mike doesn’t care how mad she is. She should’ve never blamed Will for this. None of this is his fault. It’s Vecna’s or Henry’s or—whatever! It’s just not Will’s. “See, Michael: This is what happens.”
“What happens when what? I’m the only one acting normal here– I’m the only one who cares about Will!”
“That’s not fair, Michael. We care.”
He just stares at his dad. Then he feels anger, anger that his dad would lie like this. He knows his dad doesn’t like Will, and that makes him angry. Everything about this conversation makes him angry, so he scowls at him, shoves out of his chair, and storms off to the basement, slamming the door behind him. Huh, he guesses he and Nancy are alike.
HAWKINS, INDIANA
NOVEMBER 7th
1983
The Wheeler residence
basement
He’s sitting down on the couch thinking about those moments where he would say something he didn’t want to. He noticed it only happened when it was something major or when he said something major like the argument upstairs or when Hopper asked for the street name.
So that means anything major he’ll say what he said before, but when it’s not, he has free reign. This makes things a lot harder. How is he supposed to change the future without changing the future? Speaking of the future, he still can’t remember anything that happened after Lucas went to get the mindflayer.
This all makes no sense. Like how is he in the past anyway? As he thinks this, his gaze turns towards the D&D table specifically on the wizard. “He’s a sorcerer! A real-life, honest-to-god sorcerer.” When was the last time he had hugged Will like that? God, he would kill to have one right now
a close, tight, genuine hug from Will. Well, Will always gave Mike hugs like that. It was Mike who was weird about it…it’s fine. He’ll make it up to him. He’s sure of it. He turns his gaze away from the wizard and to the walkie-talkie instead, speaking of major events.
“Lucas? It’s Mike. You copy? Lucas?” He waits for a few minutes then:
“Hey, it’s Lucas.”
“I know it’s you. And say ‘over’ when you’re done talking, or I don’t know you’re done. Over.”
“I’m done. Over.”
“I’m worried about Will. Over.”
“Yeah. I can’t believe he’s really missing. It’s crazy. Over.”
“I was thinking… Will could’ve cast protection last night. But he didn't. He cast Fireball. Over.”
“What’s your point? Over.”
“My point is… he could’ve played it safe. But he didn’t. He put himself in danger to help the party. Over.”
It’s silent for a while until:
“Meet me in ten. Over and out.”
Mike smiles. Lucas was a good friend, and that made Mike feel guilty, guilty for yelling at him and Dustin. He clears that thought and starts to gather flashlights, puts them in his backpack, and goes outside to the garage.
Wheeling his bike out of the garage, he spots Steve attempting to climb into Nancy’s window, and he locks eyes with Mike. He stands there awkwardly, then Steve holds his hand up, waving at him. Mike just rolls his eyes, climbs on his bike, and pedals away.
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He can basically taste the tension in the air as they pedal to Mirkwood. Mike tries not to focus on the tension and looks around, then suddenly he’s slowing down. “Why are we stopping?” Lucas questions. Mike doesn’t answer; he just looks off into the woods.
Dustin and Lucas follow his gaze to find a line of police tape wrapped around two trees along the side of the road. He could practically feel the realization dawn on them of what’s happening, just how serious this was, but Mike wasn’t thinking about that.
He was wondering where in the upside-down Will was in right now and if he was safe. Just then, the sky starts to rumble. They all look up and see lightning flash in the sky. “Oh man. You guys feel that?” Dustin holds out his hand, and Mike could feel the water droplets on his skin. "Maybe we should go back.”
Mike isn’t listening. Or if he is, he doesn’t care. Actually, he knows he doesn’t care because he’s here for a reason. Will is in danger, and to help him, he’ll need help, supernatural help. So he needs El.
“No splitting up or anything stupid like that, but stay on channel six. Just in case.” With that, he heads into the woods, ducking under the caution tape with Lucas in tow. In the background, he can hear Dustin exclaim, “Hey, guys, wait up! WAIT UP!” and race after them.
~
“So… are we going to talk about earlier?” Lucas and Mike are in the front while Dustin is a bit behind them looking around. They’re soaked to the bone and deep into the forest when Lucas speaks up. “What about earlier?” Mike says, not really paying attention. He knows exactly what he’s talking about though. “Look. I'll admit we didn’t really understand the gravity of the situation. I’ll admit that and we’re sorry.”
Mike keeps walking even as Lucas talks to him. He’s trying to listen, so he lets out a sigh of relief when Dustin starts to speak. “Guys, I really think we should turn back–” When Dustin starts to say this, Mike starts to feel irritated. “Seriously, Dustin, if you want to be a baby, just go home already.”
Lucas then says something for him, which he’s grateful for, because he didn’t have to say anything, because that would involve him saying something he didn’t mean. “I’m just being realistic, Lucas–” Dustin starts to argue. “No, you’re just being a sissy–” just as Lucas says this, Mike could hear something in the distance.
“You ever think Will went missing because, you know, he ran into someone bad? And now we’re going to the place where he was last seen, and we don’t have any weapons or anything–”
“Dustin, shut up–”
“I’m just sayin’, does that seem smart to you–?!”
“Shut up!”
Dustin silences. They both turn to Mike. He’s not mad…or…actually, he kind of is. Dustin was pissing him off with what he was saying, but he can hear rustling in the bushes and he knows what it is or who. “You guys hear that?” they lean in to listen, and they can hear more rustling.
Mike raises his flashlight around the woods, then a figure darts behind them, and Mike, even though he knows what that is, whirls around startled. Their flashlights illuminate El, and their gaze locks, but while everyone is surprised and confused, Mike can only think about how he didn’t realize just how much El looked like a guy, a very specific guy.