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The sun was blaring down onto Hawkins, forcing Will to wear a short sleeved T-shirt for the first time in ages. He was walking to the Wheeler's home to meet Mike and he was already going to be late. He was beginning to regret that he didn't drive up with his bike, it would've been way quicker.
He passed one of the alleyways in town, feeling a sudden breeze. He paused. That was strange. He glanced down the alleyway, but there was nothing there. He could see the old grafitti on the walls which someone had tried to paint over but new ones had been added.
Will got a strange feeling as he looked down the passageway, like the air suddenly became dense. He was about to turn back around, knowing this would make him even more late to meet Mike.
However something suddenly dragged him by the arm.
He took a deep breath to yell, until he turned around and was met by Mike's eyes. He relaxed, about to tell him off but then his eyes dragged down the boy in front of him.
"Mike...why are you wearing armour?" He glanced back up at his friend, knowing he definitely didn't own anything like this. "When the hell did your hair get longer? What the hell-"
"Shhh, my Cleric." Mike replied with a low, gentle voice.
"Cleric? You never call me that. What's up with you?"
The boy completely ignored his question. "My dear, stop panicking."
Will was really freaking out now. This wasn't Mike. Sure: he looked like Mike (sorta), had the same voice, had those same puppy eyes, same lips...but he wasn't Mike. There was either something extremely wrong with his friend or this was someone else.
"I- I gotta go. Need some sunlight." Will slipped past 'Mike' and out of the ally. He turned around to see the other boy wiping down the shiny armour which was beginning to lose its shine from how filthy the street was. Mike barely cared about how he looked most of the time. Which made this even stranger.
He spotted Nancy from across the road and quickly walked up to her, forgetting to look both ways on the road and almost lost an arm.
"Hey Will, I was going out to meet Robin. Are you okay?" Nancy asked, noticing the confused look on his face. "Mike is waiting for you at home, I think. He was just pacing around In the hallway."
That just confirmed it. Will opened his mouth, then closed it and looked towards the alleyway across the road again. Thankfully, he didn't see the boy.
"Will?"
"What? Oh yeah, I'm going to see him now. I just got distracted and ran a bit late." He nodded, waving a quick goodbye then walked down the street in the original direction he was walking in.
That was just him daydreaming, right? He wasn't getting much sleep lately because of how warm it was, so maybe he was sleep deprived.
Right?
He felt a tap on his shoulder which made him jump slightly. It was that boy who looked scarily like Mike. He tried to ignore it at first, but that clinking of the armour and swishing of the cape on the ground made his skin prickle.
"My cleric, why are you ignoring me? I travelled over far away lands for you." The boy asked, his voice filled with sadness and confusion.
How could Will refuse that?
Will glanced around and made sure there wasn't anyone looking and then shoved the boy into the closest shop, which was thankfully practically empty. He took them behind some shelves, away from the windows and counter.
"I have no clue what you're on about." He didn't know what else to say. This was so confusing and he was so sure these were only hallucinations.
The fake Mike sighed, looking at Will with those puppy eyes that the real Mike always looked at him with.
"My Cleric-"
"Please, call me Will."
"Will...why are you acting so delirious? This isnt you."
"No, this isn't you. You're not Mike. Unless this is some weird joke Dustin and Lucas helped you with...although I have no clue where you would've gotten that armour...you're not my Mike. Well, not 'my' Mike- you're just not-"
He was just rambling at this point. He felt bad for acting like this, the guy clearly wasn't going to let him go.
Wait...if this wasn't Mike, how the hell would he know their DND classes? That was definitely suspicious. Maybe he was wrong and Mike just got into some weird public roleplay stuff in the past few days.
One of the workers appeared behind them, staring daggers at them.
"If you're not browsing or buying, then could you leave? We're not somewhere you can go to get out the sun."
Will nodded, whereas the other boy bowed and whispered a "Sorry m'lady" which made Will inwardly squirm.
He was so glad that they weren't in any of the packed places in town, only a few people who just stared at them; mostly at the boy in armour because it was one of the hottest day of summer. At least they didn't see anybody from school. He took him into another alleyway, wanting to be both out of anyone's eyes and in the shade.
"So, can you tell me why you're doing this? Or what you're even doing? Because I'm so sure you're not Mike but this is so weird. You look so much like him."
'Mike' nodded, placing his hands on his hips as he looked Will over properly this time. His puppy eyes were gone and were swapped with more inquisitive eyes.
"And you don't look much like my cleric. Same hair, eyes, build. But your outfit...and smile. It's different. You also don't speak much like him." He glanced around. "This town also doesn't look like the ones we see when travelling. Hmm..."
Will watched him with raised eyebrows, tilting his head slightly. This was only making him more and more confused.
A loud rumble errupted behind them, the air suddenly grew thick and that piercing chill came back. Goosebumps rose on his bare arms, making him shiver. Mike wrapped his cape around Will, having to press close to him. The metal armour was burning hot from the sun but the way it was mixed in with the suddenly cold air, it was relaxing.
A bright, beam of white appeared, forcing Will to cover his eyes and when he opened then a couple of seconds later, it looked like a rip in the middle of the space in the alleyway, almost like a gate through the air. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before. As quickly as it came, it was gone, as if it blinked and disappeared.
In the space it left behind, stood a boy. Same height as Will, same chestnut brown hair in a bowl cut, same stance, same large eyes. The only difference between them was the outfit. The other Will had a purple cloak draped over him, adorned with gliterring white stars and a matching hat.
It looked exactly like Will's DND outfit that he had when he was younger at campaigns. Actually, he looked exactly like Will's younger self but grown up if he'd never changed.
"My cleric!" "My paladin!" Both the Mike and new Will said in unison, running up to each other and the boy in the armour lifted the boy in the cloak up in a small, romantic spin, holding him In his arms as they hugged.
"I've been searching for you for ages, my love!" The paladin said, cupping the boy's cheeks.
The other Will laughed, placing his hands on Mike's shoulders. "It's been a week. We've gone longer when we're on our adventures."
"I know but it felt like years. I was so worried."
The actual Will watched the two kiss and it made his own stomach do small flips and sprout butterflies. He was beginning to back away until the other Will spotted him with a curious look and pulled back from the other boy.
"You- you're me?"
"I- I don't know. I don't know what's happening anymore." The actual Will replied. He figured this was definitely a dream but it felt so real and he wasn't waking up no matter how many times he pinched himself in the arm.
He was either stuck in a dream or this was real life.
They were both walking up to him now, making him feel a bit anxious but kept his cool on the outside.
"Wait, if you're me, or Will, in this universe. Then where's your Mike?" The cleric asked, looking around the alley.
Will glanced to the side, cheeks heating up. "At home. Oh god, I'm so late."
The paladin piped up, almost springing into action. "I made you late to seeing him! I'm so sorry, you could've said! Now I wish my horse was with me so I could've taken you to your Mike as an apology."
"No need for that, I'll just go...and also, dont call him 'my' Mike, we're friends. Not what you two are." Will was beginning to feel a bit embarrassed. Of course he had a crush on Mike, or what felt like years now, but he'd never admit to being in love with his best friend.
The other Will and Mike gasped in unison.
"You and this Mike aren't together?" Will asked, placing a hand over his heart.
The other boy seemed just as shocked. "But In every universe...we're together. So this can't be true."
Will didn't know what to respond with, so instead he turned away and folded his arms as the cold air disintegrated into warmth again.
"I have to go see him."
"Yeah you do!" The other Will was right by his side, a small smile on his face. He swore a smile looked better on the DND Will than him.
The other Mike was at his other side. "And we gotta make this happen in this universe as well."
"Oh god, please no." Will would rather hide in the woods than go through this. "He's my best friend. I can't!"
"Oh, our dear." The cleric murmured, giving a small wink to the paladin. Will didn't even want to see the other's reaction. He just took the more secretive way to the Wheeler house and begged nobody recognized the other Will under the large hat.
When they arrived at Mike's house, Will pointed for the other two get out of the way and then knocked. No answer. He got impatient and was about to knock again, until the door swung open and he saw Mike right in front of him.
"I was waiting for you so long." He pulled Will into a one armed hug, not noticing the other two hiding to the side yet. "You're never this late, I was worried."
"Sorry, I got caught up in...stuff."
"That's fine, not like the movie was going to go anywhere." Mike looked down awkwardly, then nodded inside. "Come on, before my mum comes back."
"Wait, I have to ermm- talk about- or show you something." Will pointed at the two people who looked like they spawned right out of a DND campaign.
He didn't even look at Mike but the silence and then gasp said it all.
"What the absolute hell is happening?"
---
"Wait, you're telling me you're from a different universe?" Mike was pacing around the basement, Will sitting on the couch and the other two stood to the side, examining the room. "You guys are us but from another reality? Dustin said something about parallel universes and stuff like that at one point but I wasn't really listening. But it's true? How?"
"Oh, you're so cute. Stop pacing like that." The DND Will commented, watching Mike closely. For some reason Will felt a small prick of jealousy inside him when he heard someone else call Mike cute. Even if it was him from a different universe.
This was frying his brain.
"We don't know how it works. We just know these exists. It took a really powerful spell to conjure these reality portals In the first place. This is the first one I've been in, so I can't tell you much about it. I didn't realize it worked until I saw how different this Will was." The Paladin added as he looked at some figurines on the shelves.
The cleric nodded. "I've been to one other before this. I - or Will - was very...different: bright white makeup, dark clothing. Whereas Mike, well, your orange mohawk was blinding."
"For some reason that's the weirdest thing I've heard today." Will laughed, imagining Mike in that hairstyle.
"Did you know that in that universe we were really close. And In both our universes, that's also true." Cleric Will leaned against the wall, taking his hat off and folding it neatly onto the table.
"Lovers In one universe, means lovers in all other universes." The second Mike smiled at them then walked up to his Will and held his hand. "It's a true fact."
"But we're not together. We're friends. Just friends." Mike's voice jumped in volume, as if he was panicked or confused. Or hiding something. Will nodded, even though part of him felt a bit sad at what Mike had just said.
Apparently he made his emotion too obvious because of the sympathetic look he got from his other self.
"Just friends and you kept all of these paintings from him?" Paladin Mike asked, finding the draw with dozens upon dozens of paintings and drawings. Some were hung up as well, mixed in with photos and posters.
"It's rude not to, and wait- how'd you know there all only from Will? They could be from Lucas or Dustin as well." Mike was talking way faster than usual, a small pink blush developing on his cheeks.
"Because our Lucas and Dustin don't paint, never in a million years." Cleric Will glanced over to Will. "But i do, so I'm guessing your Will does too."
Mike didn't comment on the way he said 'your Will', maybe he didn't notice or didn't hear but Will felt some weird feeling at the way the other two always reffered to them as if they belonged to each other.
Maybe they did? In every other universe they did apparently.
"And hanging out just the two of you down here?" Paladin Mike stopped looking at the paintings and walked over to his Will again, staring at the two boys.
Mike looked down at the floor for a few seconds then back up at the two, looking even more flustered than before. "Well, I did ask Lucas and Dustin and they declined!"
"You didn't, you said you wanted it to just be us two." Will stood up from where he was sitting on the couch, walking up to Mike.
For the first time in ages, Mike finally looked at him. His cheeks were turning red and his narrowed eyes switched into his puppy eyes as he met Will's gaze. There was a mix of annoyance, confusion and something else on his face which Will didn't get to properly make out as Mike dropped his head to glance at the floor.
"Yeah...i know. I did want it to be just us two." Mike mumbled quietly, as if he only wanted Will to hear him admit that.
Will was lost in the moment of looking at Mike that he didn't notice the other Will move beside him, making him jump a little. He gave him a small smile, hoping he didn't hear what Mike said, then turned back around and took a step closer to Mike.
He didn't notice Mike had taken a step closer himself and the closeness forced them to bump noses and brush their lips together.
They both stepped back and looked away nervously, Will gave an awkward breathy laugh and almost walked back into his other self. Mike covered his face and glared at the floor, hands going into his pockets.
For some reason that felt extremely staged by the Cleric.
"As you'd like, we won't disturb you any further and let you get on with your platonic day together." The boy who was just beside Will went to stand beside his Mike again. They were both definitely trying to hide their smiles and laughter.
"We shall be heading out now, to our own universe. Good luck to you both." The Paladin bowed again, taking his Will's hand and they both began making it up the stairs and disappeared behind the door with their final waves.
Mike and Will were too flustered and shocked to speak but managed to wave back, and watched the door close. They were so glad nobody else was in the house at the moment (except Ted but was he really going to notice anything?).
"Anyways, movie?" Will asked, trying to act like none of that happened. They could talk about this after they caught their bearings and relaxed a little.
Mike nodded and played the film. They sat on the couch together, a bit closer than they usually would. It didn't help that Mike had picked out a scary movie, so at every jumpscare, Will had somehow edged closer to Mike and at one point, grabbed his hand at one of the scarier scenes.
Mike was obviously surprised at the motion, but didn't move his hand, instead he spun his palm around and intertwined fingers with Will, almost making the other boy melt from the gesture.
Afterwards, they looked around the house and garden for the Paladin and Cleric, but they seemed to have disappeared in thin air with no trace. Except for a single painting on Mike's desk, of the two DND characters holding hands together. It was exactly like Will's art style but not by him.
Even though it all seemed very unrealistic and unreal, the two from the other universe allowed both Will and Mike to see a new light.
Maybe they could be like them in this universe as well?