Chapter Text
Mike slammed the front door; he took a quick look at the house.
Apparently the house was empty, pretty much they were out.
He rushed to his room and collapsed in his bed.
What the hell was wrong with him?
Maybe he's confused because he hasn't seen Will for a whole month.
The more he thinks about that idea, the more nauseous and gross he feels.
⊹⊱ ♫ ⊰⊹
Mike doesn't know how much he was there thinking, but he fell asleep until something woke him up.
He heard someone knock on the door.
He turned around to see the clock on his desk.
5:37 PM
After a few seconds the door slowly opens and shows Nancy.
“Nancy?” Mike asks, still a little sleepy.
“Hey,” Nancy said softly and calmly, “are you okay?” Nancy asks and leans against the door frame.
“Where is everyone?” Mike is confused, why is only Nancy here?
“Yeah, mom, dad and Holly went out,”
There was a short but awkward silence between the siblings.
“Can I come in?” Nancy asks Mike.
“What?”
Nancy ignores Mike’s question and takes it as a yes, so she opens the door completely and passes.
“You haven't answered," Nancy says, walking towards Mike.
“What do you mean?”
“Are you okay?” Nancy looked at Mike directly in his eyes.
Mike hated when Nancy did that because no matter how hard Mike tried, Nancy always knew when he was lying.
“Yeah.”
“Are you sure?” Nancy questions Mike's answer.
Here it is, Mike doesn't understand how, but she always, always knows.
He assumes that this is a sister’s thing or something like that.
She always knows what is going on and how to fix it or at least give great ideas.
“Yes, I'm sure, what do you want?” Mike can't tell Nancy anything about this.
About these weird feelings he has.
He doesn't even know if there's a name or something to name this strange feeling he has had lately.
“I was thinking if you wanted to watch a movie since mom and dad are not home,” Nancy proposes.
Nancy knows how to cheer up Mike. She always does the same thing when she can’t get the truth out of him.
At least she tries to cheer him up even if she doesn’t exactly know what’s going on.
“Okay, what movie are we watching?” Mike asks, “It better be good, because your taste always sucks,” Mike jokes.
Nancy rolls her eyes in response.
The movie was about to finish but Nancy spoke.
“I heard you running to your room last night,” Nancy says with a bit of concern in her tone.
“You heard me? I thought nobody was home,” Mike frowned.
“Well, yeah, they were all dining out but I stayed home because I was writing something,” Nancy explained to Mike.
Mike just stood there confused, he was sure there was no one home.
“Was it bad? I mean seeing Will,” Nancy asked with a completely worried face.
Mike didn't know what to say, he just stared at Nancy.
He was scared of what his reaction could mean.
He prefers to ignore it.
“Mike, you can talk to me, you know that right?”
“Yeah, I know,”
“then?”
“Then what?” Mike was getting annoyed.
Does Nancy not notice that he doesn't want to talk about it?
She worried too much.
“Tell me what is happening between you and Will,”
Between him and Will?
There was nothing between them.
They're friends, best friends, that’s all.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Mike stood up and shouted.
The music of the credits started playing in the background.
“Wait I didn't mean it like tha-” Nancy was interrupted by Mike.
“I'm going out.” Mike turned and went out through the front door, slamming it when he closed it.
“Wait, Mike! I'm sorry!” Nancy didn't follow him, she didn't know what to do.
Mike didn't know where he was going but he needed air.
What was Nancy even talking about?
There is nothing going on between him and Will.
Right? There is nothing between them.
Why would she assume that?
He walked and somehow ended up in the woods, where the air was dense and cold, too cold for it being already summer.
It was a little late but the sun hadn't gone yet.
Mike followed a path that was very familiar to him, he always followed it when he felt lost and needed to be alone.
He keeps walking until he finds that cliff where it happened a few years ago.
He usually goes there, to think or just to be there.
He can still remember the sound of Dustin trying to remove the arms that kept him trapped, he still remembers his screams, he remembers the sound of earth each time he stepped forward.
Mike, do it, don't be a coward, you ruined everything, he’s she's dead because of you.
It's your fault.
When Mike realizes he’s at the top of the cliff.
Mike is scared.
Every time he's here, there is only one thought crossing his head.
Death.
He always wonders what if he jumped.
Everything would end.
El isn't here anymore so there is no way he could be saved.
Mike can feel tears in his eyes, there's no one who can see him right now so this time he lets himself cry.
He couldn't even say one thing for her to stay.
He didn't deserved her and he knows it.
He wants to jump.
But he can't, he can't let Will be alone, he still wants to be with him.
He still wants to spend time with Will.
He would be so selfish if he ever ended his own life, only because he felt a little sad.
Jump.
He just was a coward that didn't know how to manage anything.
That's why his easy path is taking his life.
He would think this daily but never do so because of Will.
Will is his best friend.
Mike Jump, everything would end.
They have been friends since they were five, they have been in every stage of their lives.
They had good days, bad days, fights, reconciliations, hearts to hearts.
That's why Will is so important to Mike.
That's what you want, end all of this.
He is not like Max, Dustin or even Lucas, that is his neighbor.
He is different.
That's why he stays because of him.
jump.
⊹⊱ ♫ ⊰⊹
The sun was already setting, maybe he should be heading home now.
He doesn't want to worry his mother or Nancy.
Maybe he should apologize for how he acted before.
He doesn't know what is happening to him, lately he has been acting so weird.
Mike started walking towards home, thinking what to say to his mom or Nancy.
When Mike arrived and opened the door there was someone waiting.
Not Nancy.
Not his mom.
Will.
Will was at his house waiting for him.
Mike couldn't say anything, Will quickly hugged him.
“Mike,” murmured.
“Will? What are you doing here, it's so late,” Mike says, stepping away from the hug to see Will’s face.
He could only see concern through Will’s eyes.
“i know it’s late, Nancy called me to know if you were with me, but you weren’t, where exactly were you?”
“I was out,” Mike's mood changed in an instant when Will mentioned where he was.
Will doesn't know anything about the quarry and he doesn't have to know.
“I know that, but where?” Will looks directly at Mike’s eyes, raising his eyebrows.
“I don't know,” Mike avoids Will’s look.
It’s complicated lying to him when he looks at him like that, “can we at least go upstairs?"
“Okay,”
Mike, unaware perhaps by habit, grabs Will from the wrist and drags him into his room.
Mike lets Will through first and he closes the door behind him.
Will is the first one to talk.
“Well, are you telling me where have you been or…?”
Will makes a gesture with his hands to make Mike continue and give him some sort of explanation.
“What else do you need to know? I was out, that's all,” Mike says.
Will sighs.
“Mike, I know these months have been difficult for you, they have been for all of us, you can talk to me, you know that right?”
He's just like Nancy, why do all people worry too much?
He's okay right now.
He's okay.
Mike stays in silence.
No one else apart from Dustin and El knows about the quarry, he can't tell Will, he doesn't need to know that.
“Yeah, I know that,” Mike says, trying to avoid eye contact.
“Then tell me, what's wrong? I know something is up with you, do you really think I didn't notice?”
Will takes a step to get closer to Mike but Mike moves away to keep the space between them.
Why does he keep doing all this weird shit.
"Nothing's wrong, I'm okay.” Mike says seriously, this time looking directly at Will's eyes.
“Why did you leave?” Will says softly.
“huh?”
“when i woke up you weren't there,” The sound of Will's voice almost cracking breaks Mike's heart.
He hurted Will.
He messed up, why is he messing things up constantly?
“oh, right, yeah, my mom called so I had to go, but I left a note,” Mike says, trying not to notice the knot that has formed in his throat.
“mh,” Will only nods like he doesn't believe Mike.
They stay silent for a couple of seconds.
“I was walking in the woods,” Mike breaks the silence, saying something true but not all of it.
“Why would you go there?” Will is obviously concerned now.
“air, I needed air,”
“air. That's all? You needed air and you went to the woods,” Will pauses, “Mike you have to be lying,”
Mike doesn't know how much longer he can take the truth from Will, he hates hiding things from him.
“Mike, please, you can talk to me, seriously, you're scaring me,”
Mike felt that this secret could not last much longer.
Mike sat on his bed and started talking.
“When I don't know what to do or need to think I usually go to a place, for me to arrive there I need to go through the woods,”
Will stayed silent listening to Mike's words and analyzing them.
Mike is not good with words and even worse explaining his feelings.
“Do you remember the quarry? Where your ‘body’ was found,”
“Yeah,” Will said softly.
“Well, the next day Lucas and I got into a fight and Dustin and I were on our way to his house to ask for forgiveness but we ran into Troy and James, they both were still angry at us, we tried to run away and we arrived at the cliff of the quarry. That's when Troy caught Dustin and threatened us that if I didn’t jump off the cliff, he would pull out Dustin's teeth,”
Mike didn't want to keep telling this story so he stopped there.
“He really said that?” Will says almost shouting in disbelief.
“yeah, that was pretty fucked up, but El saved us so it's okay,” Mike tries to calm Will down.
“Why did nobody say anything about this? Does Lucas know too?”
“No, only me and Dustin know.” Mike tries to avoid talking about El the most he can for Will.
“Why does nobody else know?”
“Will, can we not talk about this,”
Will stays still looking at Mike
“okay,” Will mutters.
“Are you going to stay for the night?” Mike asks gently, trying not to sound weird.
He tries to not make it obvious that he wants to stay with him.
“Do you want me to?” Will asks with a gentle smile.
“i don't know,” Mike whispers.
Mike stares at Will, Will has something that makes him feel so reassured, but at the same time it makes his heart ache so much.