Chapter Text
(mixed) POV:
I can feel him. Getting..stronger. I can feel it. Everywhere. The vines. The smoke. Inside of me. His powers flowing throughout my veins. I can see it. The darkness of it all turned the veins in my arms and neck black. Black marks covered my torso, wrapping like ribbons. It hurts. I can’t stand the pain of it under my fingernails as I scratched at the marks on my stomach and back. Every night, memories of Mike and I when we were younger play in my head, giving me an escape from it all. Showing me times that I wish never escaped me. He used to be my best friend. Like, best best friend. We’d stay up all night playing D&D when we weren’t supposed to, drawing maps, talking about whatever was on our minds. He even held my hand once during a scary movie—but then the bad memories come back when I wake up again. When the pain comes back. When everything changed after I “got better”. He started acting weird: like he forgot what happened. He started to distance himself away from us and hang out with El—Jane. All the time.
I feel horrible. I once called her “stupid”. Not on purpose. I was just..upset. Angry at Mike ditching us all Summer. We both said and did some really shitty things. It was bad, but it got even worse after the move to Lenora. We cut off communication from each other completely. The only time he’d actually call was to talk to Jane. I’d answer, but he’d ask for her almost immediately. Not even baring a simple ‘how are you’. I miss him then. But I can't just pretend everything’s okay now either. I mean, between us, it kinda is I guess? But between me and my stupid connection to the upside down. It’s horrible. It’s taking over. I can’t just push it down and say ‘it’s fine’ anymore. I hate it.
“Will?”
Mike. Right. I’m awake now.
“You okay?” Mike says, coming over to put a hand on Will’s shoulder, but stops midway to hover his hand over his shoulder.
“Yeah. Sorry, I’m just scared,” Stupid, why did I say that? He doesn’t care. I mean, we used to be inseparable. Now, he can’t even bear to put his hand on the shoulder of his gay friend.
“Oh. Well…do you wanna go? You don’t have to. I know your connection to him is scary for you. You don’t have to go and make this hard.”
“I want to. It’s fine.”
“Are you fine?..Am I being ridiculous?”
“What? No!”
“I just don’t wanna baby you, Will. I want you to figure out what’s too much and what’s not.”
There goes *those* thoughts again. Robin’s speech might’ve helped me accept myself, but it didn’t really help with pushing away my feelings for you. Mike. He doesn’t see me like that. I know that much. We’re just friends. Best friends. That’s all we’ve ever been. Even if I…It doesn’t matter anyway. I just nodded my head to get him to go away. I don’t need him right now. But…I can’t keep carrying around like another shadow like the Mind Flayer.
Mike gets up from his spot on the couch and taps Will’s back roughly before leaving the room.
“Will!,” someone called from the other room where everyone was huddled up talking about the big plan to kill Vecna and end the upside down for good.
“Do we think that..I don’t know, since Will is in fact still connected to the upside down in some way..will he disappear too?” Johnathan says, referring to what happened a few years back when they had to ‘burn’ the Flayer out of me. Burned like hell. *Kinda* worked though.
“No! We already did something like that! We shouldn’t have to again.”
“Yeah, but El closed the gate before, and we’re having to do that again..”
Silence falls on the room as all eyes go on me, “what?”
“We might have to…’burn’ you again like when-..”
“I get it, I get it.”
“Do you?” Mikes says abruptly, “You don’t get it. We could lose you, Will. Forever this time.”
“I know. It doesn’t matter. Not anymore, as long as he dies-..”
“What about you?” Johnathan interrupts.
“…I don’t know..”
The room is silent for some time until Lucas speaks up, “Yeah, Will’s right.”
Confused faces fill the room.
“It won’t matter because we’ll still have Will. Our Will. Not Vecnas’s Will. Not the upside down’s Will. Our Will.” Lucas smiles at me.
“Yeah, Will’s strong. He’s not going anywhere anytime soon, are ya Will?” Robin says.
I shake my head no, huffing out a half-assed laugh.
“..Okay!..so..” The group goes back to discussing what’s going to happen once we reach where the kids and Vecna are, but out of the corner of my eye, I can still see Mike looking at me through a worried expression. His arms are crossed and his head is slightly down with his bottom lip tucked into his mouth.
“Got it?” everyone nods or lets out a simple, “Mhm”.
“Let’s kill this asshole,” Dustin says, “Ayhh!?” Dustin and Steve clasp hands.
Everyone laughs at their actions and leaves the room to ‘gear’ up.
I leave just after everyone, minus Mike, leaves the room. I can’t help, but feel the same pain that I’ve been experiencing for several weeks now. I can’t help it. It’s starting to burn the more I itch and the more it spreads. As I head to a room with a door and a mirror, I start to remove the precautions I put on to help hide what lay underneath. My jacket came off, revealing the darkness that spreads throughout my veins and arms. I flattened the collar of my undershirt that hid the mass of black coming up my neck. I reach up to scratch it one more time before finally entering the room and peeling off my sweater and undershirt. Finally revealing the worst of it all on my torso. That part hurts the most. It feels like something being pumped throughout my entire body through an IV. Like there lay scabs that cover my entire body and one scratch can tear me apart.
I go to stand in front of the full body mirror that leaned against the wall in the far corner. I stare at my figure, eyes following the black rings that wrap around me. My fingers sprinkle against them. Lightly tapping the skin to see if it was still mine. Massaging the familiar, yet ‘new’ skin.
“Will..?” the door creaked open, “Will—..” Mike stops in his tracks, hand still lingering on the door knob.
“Mike..” I cross my arms to shield my body from his gaze. His eyes are full of empathy and confusion.
“What’s…what is that? Are you okay?..”
Will scrambles for something to cover himself. He ultimately goes for a blanket that’s scattered on the floor. Before he can fully cover himself, a hand comes up and gently pulls it down from his body, wanting to see more. It’s Mike. Mike looks over Will’s arms and then his back, lightly hovering over the area with his fingers. Will watches him as he does so. Making sure that Mike doesn’t apply any pressure to the marks. When they make eye contact, it’s intimate. Something special that they don’t want to lose. Will’s eyes gloss over, his eyes straining while he craves more. Mike's eyes wander down to Will’s lips and follow this invisible line down back to his back.
“Can I?..” Mike gestures to touching Will’s back.
Will’s eyes narrow down on Mike’s hand, “It hurts, Mike.”
“I’ll be gentle. Promise.”
Will’s heart stops for a second. He loved when Mike was gentle with him. Especially when they were younger. They’d always cling to each other no matter what people at school or around town would say about Will. No matter what Troy or his little minion said. Will’s lips tremble at the start of his words.
“Okay, but please—“
“Be gentle..I know.” Mike says, finishing Will’s sentence. He continues reaching his hand down, aiming to glide his hand down Will’s back. Once his hand lands on Will’s back. Will flinches at his touch. The warmth frightening him more than the cold.
“Shit Will..you’re freezing.”
“...Whenever I have ‘flare ups’ like this, I get cold. It’s like he’s still here. Inside me.”
Mike’s eyes flinch wide a bit at Will’s words. The feeling isn’t as he expected. It feels almost…reptile-like. Only where the blackness is though. The constants between Will’s skin and his fake skin was insane. It shocked Mike to his core and it still shocked Will no matter how many times he woke up with it.
“This is…” Mike starts.
“Insane?”
“Cool?..” Mike raises his voice to a higher pitch as he says that.
“Mike seriously?” Will huffs.
“What?
“It’s not cool. It’s…disgusting. Filthy.” Will’s words go harsh on these words, showing his complete hate for his new markings.
Mike looks up at Will with his usual sad, little, puppy eyes. Will liked it when he did that. Something about Mike looking so…pathetic.
…
Will snaps out of it. What was happening to him?
“You okay, Will?” Mike finally rests a hand on Will’s shoulder.
“Yes, but I—“ Will stops. He stops everything. His movements, his talking, his blinking, his tears that built up over time, and even his smooth breathing. His breaths become staggered. Like it wants to stop. To kill him.
“Will? Wi— Will!”
Will's breathing becomes smooth again. Just for a moment. His eyes are pure white, the black veins drooped down as they left his eyes as if they were tears. They left his lips as if he were drooling. Drooling for death.
“Mike..” With that, Will grabs Mike by the sides of her face. His hands sliding behind his ears and into his hair. Mike eases, after everything, he still finds himself at ease.
“Will..”
Will’s body is twitching with every movement. It hurts to move. To try to go against what his body is doing. It pains him to do this. To let it get this far. He wishes that he would’ve told them sooner. Told Mike sooner.
Will’s body smiles a creepy smile and he backs away.
Joyce shocks and then swings open the door after a few seconds of no response, “Will? Will!” She gasps.
This catches the attention of the rest of the group and they come to see what’s going on. When they see Will, their faces go white. Will looks around for a way to escape and just decides to try to go through them. Through the crowd, pushing past them. Though, his attempt fails because he’s immediately caught by Lucas, Steve, and Jonathan. Their arms surround him and they hold him tight, laying him down on the floor.
“Let me go! Let me go!—“
“Holy shit, Mike!” Dustin exclaims.
“I don- I don’t know what happened..” Mike whispers.
Will is on the floor, trying to get away from everyone’s grasp.
“Get a rope! We need a rope!” Jonathan yells.
“Shit. Shit, that’s a lot of…what is that?!” Robin exclaims.
“It happened once before when he was possessed, but..it was this..extreme. It only happened when he was being ‘un-possessed’,” Jonathan explains.
When Will finally calms down, he’s out of breath. His eyes are tired and grey.
“Mike..” Will whispers, “..I didn’t mean it..I didn’t mean it..! Please..”
“Don’t listen to him, Mike. Remember? He’s a spy now,” Nancy reminds him.
“Okay—“
“We gotta put him to sleep.” Joyce says, “We have to.”
Everyone looks around, not knowing how seeming they don’t know of anything that they have that can make anyone go to sleep. Maybe.
“I…uh..I have sleeping pills. Like the ones that can put elephants to sleep..” Robin admits.
“Why?—“ Steve starts.
“It doesn’t matter right now, where are they?” Dustin asks.
“In my…in..” Robin disappears out the door, coming back a few minutes later holding an armful of pill bottles, “how many will we need?”
Everyone makes a weird face at Robin, but then Nancy speaks up, “All of it. Trust me.”
“No! No! Mike!” ‘Will’ yelps.
Mike is in utter shock. He’s frozen, looking at Will with tears brimming his eyes. His hands tremble to cover his ears, but he holds them put.
“Let me go!!!”
…
The scream runs circles in Mike’s head. Replaying that night in the hospital.
Now, they’ve got Will tied up in the recording room. It’s dark and those old, ragged ropes scratch at his wrists. Each member takes turns taking watch over Will. Hopper takes the most time with him to try and do what he did before. He won’t let that happen though. He’s stronger now.
For the majority of their sessions, Will’s eyes are rolled back and white. Sometimes they end up drying out from being held open for too long.
Then there was Mike. Whenever Mike was in the room, ‘Will’ tried to get him to untie him.
“Mike..” Will whispered.
Mike looks up, “Yeah..?” He matched Will’s tone.
“Please..the ropes. They hurt. Too tight.”
Mike hesitated before moving closer to Will.
“Will..don’t move. Okay?”
Will nods slowly, watching Mike as he gets closer and embraces Will as if he was hugging him. Mike reached his arms behind him and slowly untied the ropes.
“Mike..can I tell you something?”
Mike paused and moved his head away from Will’s shoulder to look at him. Will’s eyes were glossy and pathetic looking. He looked beautifully tragic.
Will whispered, “I love you..like, a lot.”
Mike’s eyes widened, “What?” Mike's lips tremble at Will’s words, his eyes bouncing between Will’s lips and his eyes. While Will nods, looking up at Mike through his eyelashes. Mike’s hands follow Will’s arms up to his face.
Then, he stops, “this isn’t real”.
Will’s face drops, “what?”
“This isn’t real. You’re possessed. He’s making you say that..”
“Not true,” Will blurts, “I do love you..Mike.”
Tears brim Mike’s eyes as he looks up at Will, upset that the one chance that he might’ve had at telling Will how he really felt. How he knew everything about the lies he had told him back in California. How he knew that those feelings weren’t El’s, but his. He told Mike everything and Mike just sat there like an idiot. Like a child being told the Easter bunny’s real.
“Please. Untie me, Mike. I wanna hold you. Your face.”
Mike stays looking up sorrowfully at Will, “I can’t.”
“I promise I won’t do anything. Please.” Will whispers that last part.
Mike thinks for a moment, peering up at Will’s lips momentarily, “Okay. Don’t move.”
A smile sneaks up on Will’s face as Mike’s arms went behind him to undo the knot piercing his back and wrists. They breathe each other in. After the ropes are undone, Will grabs Mike’s face.
“Will! I told you to stay—“
Will’s lips slam into Mike’s. Getting a bit of teeth as Mike was on the verge of finishing his sentence. Mike immediately slumps down into the kiss, his hands going for Will’s lower waist.
“Why haven’t we done this before?” Will says, breaking the kiss-sesh.
“Scared.” Mike says, out of breath, “Of what people will say, think, or..do.”
“Mike..I know,” Will caresses Mike’s face, slowly making his way up to his hair, “Do you know how long I’ve wanted this? Wanted you?..” Will confesses softly.
Mike’s eyes sparkle at Will’s words. His eyes move from Will’s right eye, to his left, and beams toward his lips. Will’s beautiful lips that he always catches himself looking at. The lips that he craved to be on his once more. He loved the mole that stapled above his top lip. That beauty mark was the making of his need to kiss him. He’d always wanted to draw Will, but he was never the type to draw. That was more Will’s thing. Mike opted to describe Will in stories he wrote for himself. The stories which were kept in a drawer by his bed. He’d always read them right before resting his eyes. He loved to see how people would imagine Will from his writings. He’d wonder what color they would see that painted his eyes. What pink would grace his cheeks and lips. What-
“Mike.? Are you okay?” Will asked, concerned.
“Y-yeah! Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just thinking. Sorry.”
“It’s okay..” Will said, a heart practically coming out his mouth along with his words.
“Will?.. Do you think that we’ll get a chance to grow old together? You know..if—no! When we survive this?”
“Mike—..”
The door slams open, “Wheeler! Your time is up!” Hopper says as he busts through the door, “Wheeler! Why is he untied?!”
“Uhm..I—I wanted—“
“You’re not watching him again. Got it?”
“What?! Why not! He trusts me!”
“You let him convince you to untie him!”
“Yeah because I know he won’t hurt me!”Mike says.”
“Bullshit! You’re not watching him again.”
“But—“
“That’s final.” Hopper says sternly.
Mike pauses, looking back at Will and then back at Hopper before storming out.
Hopper abruptly ties Will back up, struggling a bit as Will pushes his body against Hopper.
“Mike! Mike!” Will screeches.
Hopper pulls some tape from the side where the rope was initially and pulls a piece or two off to cover Will’s mouth.
“No! Let me go! Let me— Mike!” Will struggles.
Hopper tapes Will’s mouth shut, but not without retaining a few nibbles— chomps on his fingers.
“Shit kid,” Hopper says, exiting the room.
“Mike!—“
The door shuts, slamming behind Hopper as he goes to meet the others in the main room.
Wheeler is off to the side, arms folded tightly.
“What are we gonna do about my boy?” Joyce says, covering her mouth with her fists.
…..