Chapter Text
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Will hummed to the music that was currently blasting from his headphones as he walked with Jane, heading towards their school. They both walked in and made their way towards Dustin’s locker where the party usually meets in the morning. Will quickly sat down with Jane following his actions. Will took out his sketchbook and placed his headphones inside his backpack as Jane beamed in excitement.
“Are you excited for the field trip later today?” Jane asked, leaning her head on Will’s shoulder as he opened his sketchbook to draw something to kill some time. She loved watching him draw, it’s calming and anything he makes is truly amazing in her eyes.
“Honestly? Not really.” He admitted as he started to trace an outline. “At least we’ll have the party so we can all suffer together."
“Everyone but Dustin. He kept spamming the group chat last night about Brenner’s Labs and how he was excited to learn everything about it.” Jane rambled, smiling a little which caught Will’s attention. “I don’t know if you saw but I figured to mention it since I was the only one responding back to him.”
“Oh I saw but it was cute seeing the two of you text back and forth forgetting that the others can see. I didn’t want to interrupt you lovebirds.” Will teased while Jane just turned red and smacked him on the arm, very hard. “Ow! I was just teasing. Geesh, you meanie.”
“Like you’re any worse with Mike.” Now it was her turn to tease as Will could feel himself turning red.
“Oh my god, shut up before anyone hears!” He shushed her, smacking her arm but his hit was soft unlike hers.
“Before anyone hears what?” A voice called out in front of them causing the pair to look up and see the rest of their friends finally arrived.
“Hey guys!” Jane happily greeted and got up to hug each of them.
Will smiled and closed his sketchbook, putting it back inside his backpack and standing up to greet his friends. Once he did that, he felt someone standing a little close to him and he didn’t need to look to know who it was.
“So what did El say that made you yell at her?” Mike asked, turning his body towards Will.
“Wow, no hello? No good morning?” Will shakes his head, pretending to be disappointed. “You severely lack manners.”
“Sorry, hi. Good morning, Will. How are you on this fine day?” Mike properly greeted Will, not bothering to give Will a chance to respond back. “Anyways, what did El say to you that made you yell at her?” He repeated his question with no hesitation.
“Oh? That was nothing, don’t worry about it.” Will responded as he turned his head towards the others, ignoring Mike’s stare. He hoped his blush went away but of course, just his luck, Mike just had to point it out.
“Mmm sure, says the who’s blushing like crazy.” Mike called out, crossing his arms and a frown immediately displaying upon his face.
Will glanced over for a second, wondering what was that all about but chose to ignore it for the time being. It was probably nothing to be overanalyzing right now. “Oh my god, please shut up. Not you too.” He shifted away a bit from Mike. He already hates today and the day hasn’t even started yet. Before Mike could respond, Dustin’s voice took over.
“As I was saying, this field trip is going to be awesome guys! We get to learn about this new project of theirs!” Dustin gushed while the others didn’t match his enthusiasm besides Jane. Well, she was trying and that fact alone made Dustin smile. “You guys are haters, at least Jane gets it.” He pointed to her causing the girl to giggle.
“That’s because she’s too nice.” Lucas stated.
“And the fact she has a–”
“Will!”
“I was going to say that she has a pure heart unlike the rest of us.” Will chuckled, smirking a little seeing his sister turning a little red.
“That part is true.” Max smiled, giving the girl a hug.
Jane narrowed her eyes at Will who was still smirking but reluctantly returned back to the conversation with her friends. “Anyways, what do you guys think about Brenner Labs? I don’t know much besides what Dustin told us.”
There was a pause as the rest of the party took a moment to reflect on Jane’s question. It wasn’t until Mike brought up a question that’s been lingering in the back of his head. “Do you guys think Brenner Labs is corrupt as most people say?”
“Aren’t they all about pharmaceutical and technological research?” Max looked over at Dustin who nodded, happy that Max was paying attention to his many ramblings this past week. “It seems what Dustin has been yapping about for the past week might cause some people to disagree, I guess depending on what project, especially the industry they’re in but for the most part, they don’t seem all that bad.” She answered honestly.
Dustin nodded. “Yes! As I was saying earlier, we’re going to see this new project of theirs that involves these genetically modified engineered spid–”
“Wait, wait!” Lucas interrupted Dustin before turning towards Mike. “Where did this come from?”
“Oh, um, Nancy mentioned a few stories from past employees and how a few of their research projects seemed unethical once you look into the details.” He shrugged his shoulders before continuing. “Apparently her and Barb have been working on getting more information about the company but their boss doesn’t seem that interested in what they’re trying to cover. He said it was a waste of time.”
Will thought for a moment, he tried recalling if Jonathan mentioned anything about Brenner Labs in the past few weeks. Jonathan worked with Nancy and Barb at the Daily Bugle, they usually worked on the same projects together but that was mostly due to Nancy dragging him. Not like Jonathan was complaining.
“Did Jonathan not mention any of this to you guys?” Mike's question was directed to both Jane and Will but Will knew it was mostly aimed at him.
“No, Jonathan didn’t mention anything about Brenner Labs when we told him about the field trip.” Jane responded.
“Maybe because Nancy hasn’t brought it up to him yet. He did mention how he’s cramming for two exams and something about a deadline with the paper.” Will spoke up, trying to give a reason to his sister before turning back to look at Mike. “Nancy will probably tell him soon. You know how she gets once she wants to uncover something.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Anyways as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted.” Dustin turned to glare at Lucas who just stuck his tongue out as a response. “This new research project about the genetically mod–”
That was all Dustin was able to say as the bell rang. “Oh, come on! Really?”
“Sucker!” Lucas laughed at his misfortune before getting up. “See you guys later!”
“Bye guys.” Max was the next one to leave as Lucas always walked to her class every morning.
“Sorry Dustin. Maybe you can talk about the new research project on the bus?” Jane suggested.
Dustin smiled at her. “Yeah, do you want to sit next to each other on the bus?”
“Yes!” Jane said, a little louder than usual before coughing. “I mean yeah that would be nice.”
“Okay, yeah. Nice. I’ll see you later?”
“Yeah, bye Dustin!”
“Bye Jane!” Dustin smiled at Jane before realizing he wasn’t completely alone. “Bye Will. Bye Mike. See ya later!”
Will smiled at the two, he was happy that his sister and one of his best friends liked each other. It was only a matter of time before the two finally admitted their feelings for one another. He just hoped one of them confessed before prom so they could be each other's dates. Jane deserved the perfect prom night, especially after everything.
“Come on, Will. Let’s go to class.” Jane nudged his shoulder, breaking his train of thoughts.
He turned to Mike, already waving his hand. “Bye Mike!”
“See you later, Mike.” Jane smiled as she grabbed Will by the arm and the two walked to class together without knowing their dark haired friend was staring at one of them.
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Finally what it feels like forever, it was now time for the students of Hawkins High School to go on their field trip. The students were currently standing outside the bus, waiting for it to open. Once they were allowed to go on the bus and find a seat, Max didn’t hesitate on grabbing Will and claiming him to be her bus buddy. Not like Will minded at all either did Lucas. The only one who had a problem with it was Mike. It caused Max and Mike to argue for a bit before Max claimed that she needed to talk to him about something important that Lucas and Mike couldn’t know. When it was really about spying Jane and Dustin's conversation as the two lovebirds sat in front of them.
Her plan seemed to work as Lucas dragged Mike away and went to find a seat. The two were silently giggling as they tried to keep their voices down, listening to their friends' conversation.
Max turned to Will, smiling. “So when do you think one of them is going to fuss up about their feelings?”
“Oh my god, shh!” Will laughed before leaning closer to Max. “I’m not even sure at this rate but I need them to date now. They’ll be the cutest couple along with you and Lucas.”
“You damn right.” Max giggled. “Speaking of someone fussing up about their feelings, how are things between you and Mike?”
“There’s nothing going on between me and Mike.” Will quickly replied, biting his lip.
“Right, right. I literally almost fought for him because he didn’t like how I was going to sit with you.” Max rolled her eyes.
“I’m sure that meant nothing.” He sighed. “You and Mike practically fight everyday, it was right on schedule.”
“True, true but come on, Will!” Max whined, placing both her hands on his shoulders and giving him a good shake. “Open your eyes! Mike was jealous because he wasn’t able to sit next to you. If I had picked Lucas, he wouldn’t even lift a finger to fight for Lucas. You on the other hand…well, you saw what happened.”
“I don’t think it’s jealousy, Max. It’s perfectly reasonable for one to want to sit next to his best friend.” He responded back.
“Best friend?” She sighed. “That is not normal best friend behavior! He’s so possessive over you and I don’t see Dustin or Lucas doing the same shit he does with you. Nor does he act like this with them, it’s just you he does this with.”
“That’s different because Mike and I have been best friends since kinder—”
“Yeah, yeah! You and Mike have been best friends since kindergarten, we know the story! Swing sets and all that jazz.” She waved her hand, not caring she interrupted Will. “That still doesn’t make his behavior normal. Just admit it Will!”
“Okay! His behavior might not be normal to you and maybe anyone else with eyes but it is to me! That’s how Mike has always been with me so I guess I never really question his behavior.”
That’s a lie. Of course, he questioned Mike’s behavior, especially in the last few years. It wasn’t until both Max and Jane entered his life. The two apparently talked to Lucas and Dustin about Mike and Will, more specifically Mike’s behavior towards Will and if there was anything going on between the two. Will knew he liked him, well liked is an understatement since he isn’t twelve years old anymore. The way he feels for Mike is so much more and although Mike never showed any interest in anyone, that didn’t mean Mike liked him back. Mike was just protective and deeply cared for his friends despite what any of his friends said otherwise.
“Oh my god, you’re just as hopeless as him.”
“What does that even mean?”
“Don’t worry, William.” She patted his shoulder. “It’s only a matter of time before the truth comes out.” She smiled then shifted closer to the front.
Will just stared, feeling even more confused. “Ignoring that, what’s your plan with…what was the ship name you came up with for…you know?”
“Actually, there’s a list of potential names because I still can’t think which one fits them perfectly for them.” She said, pulling out her phone. “Here! You could take a look and I’ll tell you my plan later but for now, shush!"
Will just closed his mouth as he stared at the list, laughing a little as he read through it.
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The long awaited trip was finally about to start as the bus pulled up in front of Brenner Laboratories—or Brenner Labs for short. Will waited patiently for Mr. Clarke’s instructions once everyone got out of the bus.
The party stood by the side and near the end from everyone, chatting away as Will grabbed his camera to check everything was set. It was actually Jonathan’s but it was one of his old ones that he gave to Will to express himself more and capture moments in his life since he couldn’t be there to do it anymore—well at least not as much since he’s currently away at college. Will smiled as he thought about the memory, he missed him. He also missed Kali too, his older sister. He saw them during winter break which was three weeks ago but he already missed them so much and he couldn’t wait to see them until spring break.
“Students! Please make sure you stay close as a group and pay attention to our tour guide!” Mr. Clarke yelled out in front of the group but most of the students ignored him and continued talking with one another. He just sighed before following inside where their tour was about to start. Everyone quickly followed him.
A lady walked up to Mr. Clarke and started talking with him for a quick second before turning towards the students. “Good evening everyone! Welcome to Brenner Laboratories, we are delighted to have you all here today. My name is Susan and I’ll be your tour guide. If you would please follow me and Mr. Clarke, we can finally get started.” She gestured to everyone to follow her.
Will with the rest of the party opted to stay at the back, they followed Susan as Will let his eyes wander over the place. The place was truly massive and he couldn’t wait to take some photos for future references for his next piece along with taking some photos of his friends.
He was walking with Max by his side as Dustin dragged Jane ahead of them.
“Do you think he’s going to make a move?” Max asked as her eyes focused on the two in front of them.
“I want to say yes but knowing Dustin…he’ll probably back out at the last minute or since we’re finally here, he’ll be too geeked out to make a move.” Will answered honestly.
Max let out a ‘hmm’ as she nodded. “I hate that you’re right. Let’s get this trip over with.”
Will smiled at her as they continued following everyone.
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It’s been half an hour since the tour started and so far, Will wasn’t dying from boredom. It helped that he has his friends and sister with him. Right now, they were passing by a lab and Will was about to grab his camera before he felt something—more like someone—bumped into him.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I didn’t see where I was going.” The person said as he grabbed Will by his shoulders.
Will was already shaking his head. “No worries, you’re fine.” He looked up at the person and was surprised how close the two were. Will guessed by seeing his reaction, the stranger—no, his classmate—instantly let go of Will.
“I didn’t break your camera, did I?” He pointed towards the camera around his neck.
Will glanced down and saw no damage which he figured since all he did was stumbled a bit and luckily didn’t fall. “No, the camera is fine but thank you for catching me.” Will reassured him but he couldn’t help and wondered what his classmate's name was. He seriously needs to pay more attention in class.
His classmate just nodded and gave him a smile, waving his hand. “Thank god. I’m going to catch up with my friends but see you later?”
“Uh, yeah! See ya!” Will waved back as he watched him walk away.
“Ooo who was that, Will?”
He jumped when he heard a voice behind him. He turned back to see Max and Jane.
“I actually don’t know his name.” He shyly admitted.
“Damn, me either.” Max sighed before turning to Jane. “Do you know his name?”
Jane just shook her head. “I also don’t know.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll find out his name in no time by doing some light stalking later.” Max stated as she grabbed Will by the arm. “So what were you guys talking about? That embrace felt very intimate.”
“And he was cute too!” Jane added on as she giggled.
“Oh my god! It wasn’t like that!” Will claimed, hoping he wasn’t turning red at this moment.
“You can’t deny he was cute!” Max smiled at him. “I saw him purposefully making his way over you. So what did you guys talk about?”
“Nothing! He was just apologizing for bumping into me and asked if my camera was fine, that’s all.”
“Mmm if you say so mister but Jane and I are still going to find out who he is!” Max finally lets go of Will and grabs Jane, the two leaving him behind.
‘I don’t like the sound of that but I can’t stop Max once she gets her mind on something.’ Will thought, sighing as he went to catch up with everyone. He stood next to Dustin who was smiling so big.
“In the next room, we have our current project that a few of our scientists have been working on.” Susan stated as she gestured everyone to follow her. “This project involves genetically modified engineered spiders. Our two main scientists Dr. Creel and Dr. Owens both have been working on this project for years.”
Will looked around the new room. It was a different lab from the previous ones he has seen as there was a clear glass case on the other side.
“The purpose of this project is to see if we’re able to combine human DNA with the spider traits. Since ideally, the whole point is to see if we can try curing human genetic diseases with this. Right now, we are still focusing on amplifying specific traits into the spiders that Dr. Brenner wants as current results aren’t up to his liking but from what I heard, everything is going smoothly.” Susan smiled at the group as she stood to the side where the clear glass case was displaying the spiders.
A few students went up to the case and looked around it.
“In front of me is the case we keep them in. As you can see, there are twelve spiders. I understand if some of you want to keep your distance.” Susan chuckled before gesturing to the exit, failing to notice that one of the spiders was missing. “If you like to look at the spiders for a moment, please feel free to do so. If not, we can continue discussing them in the next room. I promise you there are no more insects going forward.” With that, Susan gestured for those who want to continue with the tour.
Most of the students went to follow Susan after they took a quick glance at the case. Will turned to look behind him and saw Lucas and Mike barely catching up with them. He raised an eyebrow at them and wondered if they were gone with this partition of the tour the whole time.
Mike stood next to him as Lucas walked towards the case. “Hey, what did we miss?”
“Seriously?” Will sighed.
Before Mike could respond, the two shifted their heads towards Lucas who let out a scream once he saw what was inside the glass case. His scream caught the attention of a few students that were lingering around, casting an ugly glare at him. He quickly apologized but luckily the students went to catch up with the others, leaving only the party behind.
“No one mentioned anything about spiders?” Lucas shrieked, slowly backing up from the glass case.
“I did! Like several times in the group chat and tried explaining basically all day but of course, you wouldn’t know that since none of you guys pay any attention to me.” Dustin complained, shoving Lucas a little by the shoulder as he stepped closer to the case. “Guys, look!”
“I’m good, man.” Lucas nervously laughed as he dragged Max to stand next to him. This caused Max to roll her eyes but she allowed Lucas to drag her away as the amount of the spiders in the case were giving her an uneasy feeling.
“Wimp!” Dustin teased before turning to look at the rest of the group. “Does anyone else want to see the spiders with me?”
Mike quickly shook his head as Jane hesitated to step forward. Will decided to step up and look at the spiders with Dustin even if he was slightly scared of them. Anything for Dustin.
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to take a look at them.” Will answered, making his way to Dustin and hoping his friend couldn’t tell he was shaking a bit.
“See? At least Will is a true friend.”
“Oh shut up man!”
“Spiders are scary!”
“Have you guys seriously not been listening? The spiders are perfectly safe…for the most part I think!” Dustin scoffed in shock before turning his back to argue with his friends. “Me? I understand, you guys always ignore me but Susan?”
“Bro who the fuck is Susan?” Mike raised an eyebrow, feeling both confused and left out on something that everyone in the party knows.
“The fucking tour guide?” Dustin called out.
“Wow Mike! How rude you don’t remember our tour guide’s name?” Max pursed her lips as she jabbed her elbow into Mike’s side.
“Ow! Oh shut up Maxine! You didn’t know either!”
“I actually did know her name was Susan and that she’s been working here for seven years now because I actually pay attention unlike you.”
“W–well you’re annoying!”
“Really? That’s all you got?”
The two continued going at it and Will ignored his friends arguing. He heard Lucas dragging both of them away to the next room. ‘Good.’ He thought as he focused on looking at the spiders and counting them. The sight of multiple spiders still made him tense but as long as all twelve spiders were inside the case, he should have nothing to be worried about. As he was counting, he felt someone tugged his arm. He turned around and saw it was Dustin.
“Will! Can you please take some photos of the spiders and possibly one with me in it?” Dustin begged, giving his version of what he claims to be his sad puppy dog eyes. “I want to document it and have physical proof to show to Steve during our weekly hangouts because he doesn’t believe the project is real. Could you believe that? I have sent him links to articles, Will!” He scoffed, shaking his head.
Will smiled softly. “Of course, you know you don't have to beg, right?”
Will started taking close up pictures of the spiders while he did that, he failed to notice the missing spider dangling above him. Once he felt satisfied with the amount he took, he gestured Dustin to pose in front of him. He laughed at the poses Dustin was throwing before getting an idea. “Hey! We should get one with you and Jane.”
“Me?” Jane popped out right next to Will and turned to look at her brother with wide eyes.
“Yeah, why not? I would ask Lucas but I would love to have my hearing for a few more years.” Will joked, getting a laugh from the two of them. He turned to whisper to her ear. “Don’t act like you don’t want to take a photo with Dustin.”
Jane huffed, trying to look annoyed but couldn’t help the smile that was growing on her face. “I hate that you’re right but make sure you snap a lot of photos and if you see any spiders roaming around, please let me know.”
“I think Lucas would let us know but yes ma'am.” Will teased as he gestured to her to stand next to Dustin.
He saw the two turning red before Dustin threw his arm around Jane’s shoulder as she wrapped her arm around him. “You guys sure look cute, okay smile!”
As Will snapped some photos, he felt something on his neck. Something crawling. He paused for a moment to raise one of his hands towards his neck. Letting out a breath of relief, he felt nothing there.
“Is everything alright, Will?” His sister asked.
“Yeah, I thought there was something on my neck but it was nothing. My bad.” He quickly apologized.
“No worries, dude!”
Will smiled at the two before thinking about what just happened. “Okay…weird. Must be the air conditioner or something.” He mumbled to himself before going back to snapping more photos.
Taking one more photo of the future couple, he heard Mr. Clarke called for the three of them as they were the only ones that stayed behind that area. Jane and Dustin immediately let go of each other, following their teacher as Will started to look through his photos.
He smiled when he was going through his camera before letting out a quiet ‘ow!’. He felt something bite him on his hand. Will quickly shook whatever was on his hand and it fell to the ground. His heart sank once he realized it was a spider that looked quite familiar to the ones he just took photos of.
“It’s just a coincidence that the spider that bit you looks very…” He swallowed, trying to shake off his nerves. “Similar to the ones in the case but once you count them again, they’re all going to be there and the spider that bit you was a normal spider.”
He went back to the case and started counting before the feeling of dread creeped into his stomach. “No, no, no.” He counted again, again, and again before giving up that there were only eleven spiders inside the case now.
Millions of thoughts were racing in his mind as he tried not to panic.
‘Don’t panic, maybe the twelfth spider is just hiding, yeah. That’s it.’ Will thought to himself, trying to control his breathing as he tried catching up with the others. ‘I’m sure that spider bite means nothing. It’s not poisonous, remember what Dustin said about the project. They wouldn’t allow spiders out here if Brenner Labs knew they were a danger or they wouldn't be ready to display them, especially if a group of high school students were coming today. You’ll be fine. Wait a minute…they mentioned they were still working on it as the results weren’t to their liking. Oh my god…shit. Shit! Shit!”
Will felt someone standing right next to him but he was too preoccupied on his thoughts to realize it was Mike. Mike cleared his throat which finally caused Will to look over. He saw Mike leaning closer to him. “Hey,” Mike whispered, softly. A tone Will knew too well. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” He felt himself nodding before wincing a little as he felt a headache forming. “Why do you ask?”
“You don’t look fine.” Mike said before quickly apologizing. “Sorry it’s just you’re kind of sweating right now and a bit red.”
‘No, I’m fine. I think one of those genetically modified engineered spiders Dustin and Susan talked about just bite me and I think I’m slowly dying. Which I guess makes sense based on my luck. I can already see my headstone, here lies William Jacob Byers dead at sixteen, never even had his first kiss. Not like anyone is surprised by that fact.’ Is what Will wanted to say before he pushed out.
“Yeah, no, I’m fine. Just thinking about something.” Will said as he bumped his shoulder against Mike’s.
“Mmm, if you say so but I’m here if you need to talk, okay?” Mike bumped his shoulder back to Will, smiling before catching up with their friends.
Will looked down at his feet, trying to focus on not passing out on the spot.
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They finished the rest of the tour with a breeze, well, for everyone else at least. Will was struggling a bit as he was feeling himself getting a little dizzy. Now they were back on the bus, this time Will was sitting next to Mike as he quickly claimed it was now his turn to sit with Will. Max simply rolled her eyes before going with Lucas and finding a seat.
Mike was discussing a new campaign and the potential ideas he has. Will tried, he’s desperately trying to engage back in the conversation but it was quite difficult. He could feel himself nodding off and a splitting headache forming. Seriously, now his body decided it was a perfect time to get sick when he finally had the chance to have a talk with Mike alone for the first time in a while and when the party decided to hang out after the field trip. It was something they’ve been planning the past week since this was the only time all six of them could hang out together. His Byers Luck was truly something else today.
“Hey,” Mike’s hand reached out to grab his shoulder and squeezed it. “Are you alright, Will?”
“I–I think I’m coming down with something. I’ve been feeling off during the trip but I thought it was my lunch.” Will confessed before sighing as he looked down at his lap. “I’m sorry, Mike.”
“Will! Stop, you don’t have to apologize! Do you want to umm…” Mike trailed off as he could feel himself blushing a little bit. “Do you want to lay down on my shoulder and close your eyes for a bit?”
“Oh! Uhh are you sure that’s fine?” Now it was Will’s turn to blush. “I don’t want to bother you.”
“Will, it’s no bother and plus it will make me feel better once you get more rest.” Mike remarked, patting his own shoulder. “We definitely need it if we’re going to go up against the others in the arcade later.”
Will nodded. “Yeah, okay. I’m just…” Will adjusted around his seat before laying his head down on Mike’s shoulder. He held his breath for a second when he felt Mike dropping his head on top of Will’s.
‘Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!’ Will thought, smiling before darkness consumed him and the last thing he heard was Mike continued onto his rambling about the potential new campaign.
It only felt like a minute but really it was twenty minutes. Will groaned when he felt someone shaking him, trying to wake him up.
“Five…more minutes.” He grumbled, eyes still shut.
“I wish I could give you five more minutes to sleep but I don’t think the bus driver would like that.”
Will’s eyes snapped open as he remembered who he was laying on. “Right, right. Let’s go.” He went to grab his backpack from the floor and got up to leave.
Once he stepped outside of the bus, he already saw the others waiting for him and Mike.
Max smiled at him. “Hey, sleeping beauty! It’s about time you woke up.”
“Haha.” Will rolled his eyes before wincing in pain. Damn, his headache didn’t go away as he hoped.
“Are you okay, Will?” Lucas asked.
“Uhhh…” He thought for a moment, should he tell them the truth or pretend everything is okay and just suck it up for their hangout. “Yes…?”
“Will, don’t lie to us!” Mike scowled at him. “He’s not fine. He told me that he wasn’t feeling well during the trip. That's why I let him sleep on my shoulder but I didn’t think it was this bad.”
“Will?” Jane went up to her brother. “Are you sure you’re okay? You’re sweating right now and looking a little pale right now.”
“I-I…” He looked at his friends and saw their concerned faces. Great, now he got them all worried. “No, I’m not. I think I’m going to skip the arcade guys, I don’t really feel that well.”
“Do you want us to walk with you home?” Mike offered.
“No, no!” Will waved his arms around. “No, it’s fine. I can survive walking home alone and getting there safely. Don’t worry about me. You guys go have fun!”
His friends didn’t look too convinced but nodded as there wasn’t much they could do.
“Fine but you better text us once you get home, got it?” Mike pleaded as he stared at Will.
“Of course, don’t worry guys. Have fun at the arcade for me.” He waved goodbye at them as he started to make his way home. He didn’t turn to look back knowing his friends were still staring at him.
‘Everything is going to be fine once you get home and sleep it off.’ Will tried reassuring himself but he couldn’t help the feeling that everything was going to change. He sighed, he really hoped it was just the lunch special that was making him sick.
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