Chapter Text
No one called Will ‘William’.
He moved out of Hawkins two years ago to California with his sister, Jane, now that she was no longer Eleven. He made new friends (queer friends, if you could believe it), and he learned to live again. It was almost like all of the stuff he went through was something from someone else’s life.
It was like he had been reborn as a new Will, a Will who didn’t need Mike or anyone else, he just needed himself. It was refreshing.
He pushed his sketchbook into his bag and threw said bag over his shoulder. Jane’s friends had invited him to an art show. They were sweet like that, sweet in the same way Jane was. It was at a bar, which was iffy for him. He really didn’t mind a few drinks with friends, but bars were a completely different ballpark. He wasn’t one for getting shitfaced, or for being around anyone else who was. Still, he took a deep breath and pushed himself to do it, because Jane’s friends had really good taste, and he trusted them enough.
He heard a knock at his door and smiled. It was Carlton and he knew it was. He was the only boy in Jane’s friend group, which subjected him to just a bit of teasing, the kind Will never got. He was gay too, just like Will was, and his family seemed to be pretty supportive of him, all things considered.
He opened the front door and saw the green-eyed man. “How did I know it was going to be you?” he asked, slightly teasing.
“Maybe you were just hoping it was me,” Carlton shot back. “Y’know, because you’re so infatuated with me?”
“No, I think it’s just because you’re the group’s gopher.”
“That too,” he laughed. “Let me carry your bag?”
Will was already taking off his bag when asked, “Alright, what’s your fee then, bag boy?”
“I’d say a kiss would suffice.”
Will leaned in and obliged, pressing his lips to the side of his friend’s face. Then, he turned away. “Alright, let’s not keep the others waiting too long.”
They reached Ellie’s car, which was a slightly worn down brown color, and Will piled into the back. Jane was sitting next to him, and Carlton sat on his other side. Meanwhile, Ellie and Stacey were sitting up front, bickering over the music.
“Come on, Madonna is so much better!” Ellie whined. “She’s classic!”
“Yeah, well I’m passenger seat, and I say Guns n’ Roses.”
“We’ll take a vote.” Ellie turned back in her seat. “Guns n’ Roses or Madonna.”
Jane grinned. “I like Madonna more.”
“Oh come on, Guns n’ Roses is clearly better,” Carlton scoffed. “Will agrees.”
“You don’t speak for him!” Ellie scoffed.
“I know him better, and i know he’d pick Guns n’ Roses!” he laughed out. “Though he’d really pick Queen, wouldn’t you, Will? Queen and Bowie, those are your favorites?”
“They are,” he admitted, “and it’s really sweet that you remembered.” He smiled at Carlton. “But I am choosing Madonna.”
“What!?” Stacey shouted. “Will Byers, how could you?”
He pressed his hand onto Jane’s shoulder. “I have to stick with my sister. She likes Madonna, so I’ll pretend to like trashy pop music.”
“I’ll pretend you didn’t say that and we can all vibe!” Ellie shouted, shoving her cassette tape into the player. Music started blaring through the car.
“Traitor,” Carlton murmured.
“You’ll live,” Will responded, grinning wide.
Jane leaned her head on Will’s shoulder. “Thank you, Will. I really like this song.”
“I know you do.”
They remained like that until they got to the bar. Everyone but Will was 21 or older, but he had a fake ID for things like this. He pulled it out of his wallet and they walked into the bar.
Stacey immediately got a beer and Jane got a glass of wine, while Ellie put her painting on display for the show. Already, it was so loud, and it smelled so much like booze and cigarettes, and Will just wanted to run.
Carlton wandered off within the first few minutes, chatting up anyone who would talk to him. He was a social butterfly like that, which was... fine. It wasn’t like they were really that close, past some teasing and flirting. Will didn’t expect him to notice everything.
Not like Mike would’ve.
He sighed. He would not think about Mike. Mike was hundreds of miles away, in Hawkins. They hadn’t talked since graduation, when Mike had wished Will all the luck in the world in finding someone good and new.
He splashed water on his face, took a deep breath, and went back out. He knocked back two shots and went to look at all the artwork. There were some abstract paintings, some landscapes, and one really pretty one of a man draped over a sofa, completely naked. He smiled to himself and wondered if he could buy that painting.
“Will.” Carlton’s voice became obvious to him. He turned his head and was immediately kissed by beer-drunk lips. His first kiss. It was weird. It felt like Carlton’s tongue was trying to assault his mouth. He tried to kiss back as best as he could anyway.
They were in public. No one seemed to care, though, so he didn’t care either. He had superpowers—there was no point worrying about insensitive assholes. Mouth breathers, as Mike would say.
Eventually, Carlton pulled back with a grin.
“What was that for?” Will asked, faking a smile.
“Just wanted to. You’re really hot, Will. I wanna go home with you tonight.” He nuzzled into Will’s neck.
“How much have you had to drink?” He rubbed Carlton’s back.
“Does it matter?” he murmured. “I want you, Will. Please?”
He took a deep breath. “I’m going to walk you home, but I- I don’t really want to do that tonight, okay? So I’m just going to take you home, and you’re going to sober up.”
“Mm... sure, okay.” He wasn’t listening. His hands were on Will’s waist, rubbing and exploring.
“Let me go tell Jane we’re leaving.” He pried himself out of Carlton’s hands. The feeling of dread welled in his gut.
He managed to get toward the bar, where Jane was discussing eyeshadow colors with an older blonde woman. He tapped her on the shoulder. “I’m walking Carlton home. I’ll probably be going home after that, alright?”
“Nice, Byers!” Stacey punched his shoulder. “You two kids have some fun!”
“Um... yeah.” He forced a smile. “Alright, we’re heading out.”
Carlton grabbed him by the shoulder and they left the bar. Cold air pressed against his neck, his skin, sending chills through him. He pushed down memories of the cold.
New Will Byers, remember? New Will Byers. You don’t think about how your dad would get drunk and how he would hit. You don’t think about how He liked the cold. You don’t think about how Mike broke your heart and you had to run to California because you hurt so bad. You don’t think about the week you went ‘missing’. You’re new. You’re better.
“C’mon, Will,” Carlton whined. “I’m so into you. I know you’re into me too. There’s nothing shameful about who we are.”
“I know,” he said. He flinched away from the hands as best as he could, but Carlton just couldn’t take a hint. “I just- I don’t want to, okay? Please, just let me walk you home. You’re drunk.”
“Will.” His hand wandered lower, toward Will’s belt. He instinctively slapped it away, and that snapped Carlton back to reality. He leaned back and looked Will in the eyes. “What the fuck?”
“Carlton, we’re in the middle of the sidewalk,” he whisper-shouted.
“Mm, alright.” He begrudgingly pulled away and Will began walking, trusting him to follow.
It wasn’t a long walk to Carlton’s apartment. They turned into an alleyway, and suddenly everything shifted. Suddenly, Carlton’s hands were on his waist again, pushing him up against the brick wall of a nearby building. He kissed Will like he expected so much more than this, like Will owed it to him.
Everything came rushing back in that moment. Tendrils in his mouth, around his body. Him curled in on himself, humming The Clash. The memories of Mike, Jonathan, and his mom that kept him safe, kept him going. The New Will Byers snapped in half, and out came the version of him that he used for protection.
He screamed. He could barely see, eyes rolling back into his head. Carlton was flung back into the wall, and the sky lit up with Aurora Borealis-like colors.
“William!” shouted a voice. Mike?
No one called Will ‘William’, except apparently Mike now, who was running toward him. His hair was down to his mid-back, tied into a ponytail, and he was wearing clunky, silver armor. He looked like the paladin he played as when they were kid.
“William, my dearest, thank the Goddess you’re alright.” He pulled Will into his arms, and Will went limp. His limbs weren’t working correctly. “William, what happened? What is this place? And what the devil are you wearing?”
“I- um- Mike?” was all he could say.
Mike pulled back and looked behind him. There sat a portal, just about to close. Mike—presumably not Will’s same Mike—ran back toward it. Except it was too late, and it closed just before he could reach it.
“You’re not my William.” He walked back toward Will and cupped his face in his hands. “My William has a scar right—” he ran his finger over Will’s left eyelid, “—here. Who are you, and what have you done to my William?”
He glanced over to Carlton, unconscious on the ground, then back to Paladin Mike.
“Answer me!” Paladin Mike pulled out his sword and pressed it to Will’s throat. He took note of the shield on his other arm, brandishing the same loud, red heart Will had drawn all those years back.
“Shit! Um, I’m Will. I really didn’t mean to bring you here, I promise.” He held his hands up. “I’m going to assume I’m just a different version of your William. And you’re a different version of... Mike.”
He retracted his sword, looked at Will for a moment, then got down on his knee. “My name is Sir Michael Wheelbrook of Wellsbury, and I am the sorceror prince’s trusted knight. If you’re just another him, then I’m sworn to protect you just the same as I have protected him.”
“What!?”