' the dark clouds of hawkins '

When it became more clear that I was awake, I started thinking, thinking of what Dustin said before I left Hawkins, "I'm not gonna tell you what to do, Mike. But if I was you, I'd get my shit together with El, then talk to Will. The way YOU'RE trying to approach this is all wrong. You're gonna hurt yourself, Will, and El. So, think about it. Think about what you're doing." Dustin was the only one I told about Will. Before I left, I knew there was something between me and Will that I hadn't noticed before. A fire, a fire that I thought would go out, but instead burned, and burned, and burned. When it got too much and I got scared of what was happening, I told Dustin.

Dustin took it really well, and I told him not to tell anyone, in which, he didn't, thank god. But he told me that my feelings were in the right place, but my head wasn't, and told me to get my shit together. Talk it out with both of them, heart-to-heart. I only got to do that with Will, and not El. I'd have to tell her eventually that I was kissing her brother in a van trying to find her and that I lost feelings a long time ago, but I didn't know when that was, and what I was gonna say. But I was going to listen to Dustin for sure and try to have a heart-to-heart with her as well, but that's then, this is now. I opened my eyes to Will, he was still sleeping peacefully in my arms, snoring ever so lightly. I fluffed his hair lightly, looking at his features on his face.

I could make out the freckles, the mole, and his lashes. They were his, his perfect features that made him, him. He was perfect in my eyes, perfect in every way I could see. He sniffled lightly, moving his nose, I was confused before he sneezed and opened his eyes, blinking at me. He looked like he had already been awake, I blinked at him, "Were you already awake?" I whispered, he nodded at my question, smiling sheepishly. "For how long?" I asked, he blinked for a second, "Long enough to see you slowly start to wake," He explained, smiling widely. I grinned back, it was barely sunrise, and Jonathan was still driving.

Will snuggled close, we'd still have at least two more hours until we were at Suzie's. I kissed the top of Will's forehead, he giggled lightly and quietly. There was a talk show on the radio that changed back to music, it was loud, casting out any sound that was near. Will looked at me, I looked back, his face had turned a bright red, I turned my head, confused. What was he thinking about? I bit my lip, thinking about all the things he could be thinking about. "What…" I paused, choking on my words, "What're you thinking about?" I asked, he bit his lip, moving forward and burying his face in my neck. 

I could hear muffled sounds of Will's talking against my neck, sending vibrations against my neck, I shivered, he giggled, triggering it again. "Stop it." I shivered out, Will kissed my neck lightly, holding his grip against me and kind of just stayed still, I wanted to know what he said though. Really badly wanted to know what he said. But he was still again, and snoring? I couldn't tell. Will lifted his head to look at me, keeping his grip on me strong. 

"I said, "I was thinking about last night." Nothing more." He replied, slipping back into the crook of my neck and keeping quiet. I bit my lip lightly, what about last night? Thinking back, I believe he was referring to… Oh, that's what. I felt a small blush creep over my face. I could tell Will was smiling. He was grinning that grin from last night, I could remember clearly, it was when he had pulled my hair. I shivered, thinking back to it. I was analyzing Will carefully, looking at every mark and every hair. That's when I realized every hair on the back of his neck started sticking up. Everything felt kind of numb, I wasn't sure how, but when I went to say something I couldn't. My mouth was dry, and my throat was choked up. What was wrong with me? Will was clinging onto me for dear life, like this was the last time we were ever gonna see one another again. "Will?" I managed, choking on my words, what was wrong? I didn't understand what was happening. 

Will's hands were pinching my sides, and not in a playful kind of way, in a hurtful way, I winced, "Will stop," I confronted. He didn't stop, grabbing a handful of skin in both hands, yanking it. I yelped, "Will! Let go! That hurts!" I choked. He kept pulling, pulling farther and farther away from my body. I squealed, squirming under his touch. I paused when I heard Will speaking, my hands against his shoulders, ready to shove him away. "You can't hide from the truth, Micheal. Everyone will know, and they will leave you." Will whispered, his voice was raspy, it wasn't his own. What was happening to him? What was happening to me? I sucked in a deep breath, ready to push Will off, "I know what you are, Micheal." He confessed, I hissed when I felt his nails digging into my skin as he kept pulling. 

I started to push him off of me, but it was no use, he was laying on top of me. It was crushing, keeping my breath away from me. "Mike, Mike, what's happening? Are you okay?" Will's fingers weren't sinking into my skin anymore, his hands were against my face, gently holding onto me. I was breathing heavily, sweat was appearing on my forehead. Was that Will? Was it not? What was that? So many questions and not enough answers. "W-What happened? Is that you?" I asked, Will gave me a worried face. He rubbed my cheek, trying to calm me down. "Hey, hey, it's okay, I'm right here, I'm here for you." 

My first reaction was to push him off, because he had just been physically hurting me a second ago. "Can you get off?" I asked coldly. The worry looming on his face only grew worse as he lifted himself off, sitting next to me. I lifted my shirt, checking my sides for any red marks, scratches, or bruises. Nothing appeared as I looked, I knew this was where Will was grabbing, he was pulling my skin at my sides. Yet, there was nothing, the pain only stung lightly, but it seemed like it hadn't happened in the first place. I dropped my shirt and jacket back down, pondering. Will was watching me carefully, just like he was at the roller rink. This time he was only concerned about what was happening, I sighed. "Did I fall asleep?" I asked, Will pondered for a second or two before answering, "No… We were just talking, and you went kind of numb before your breath picked up," He confessed, explaining what was happening, "I almost fell asleep before you started breathing heavily, I got really concerned and now… y'know, we're here." He explained, I'm confused. What just happened? 

Will didn't do what I thought he did, but if it wasn't real, then why were my sides still aching? I looked at Will with confused eyes, "You weren't just pulling at my skin?" I asked, Will looked at me with worried and confused eyes, he shook his head, "Mike, what're you talking about?" He asked. For a minute, I didn't believe him, I thought he did do something, but then I realized he was being genuine. The look on his face was reeking of worry and concern, as well as confusion, I bit my lip. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to tell him what happened, or to keep it to myself. "What happened to you, Mike?" He asked, before I got to answer in any way Jonathan interrupted, "You guys awake back there?" He asked, Will and I looked at one another. Will nodded, "Yeah, uhm, we're kinda hungry," Will replied, sighing very lightly. Jonathan sighed, "Alright, what do you guys want?" Jonathan asked.

Will looked at me, "Mike? I'm okay with anything," Will responded, I turned toward Jonathan, "Pizza by the slice?" I asked. Will nodded, smiling at the thought, Jonathan sighed, looking around. Pizza in the morning probably wasn't the best idea, but did it really matter right now? I pulled Will close, laying back down and hugging him. I felt myself choking on my tears, I was honestly scared of what just happened. Even though it was Will–right?–I still wanted Will by my side. "Mike, what happened earlier?" Will whispered into my ear, I sighed. "I-I don't know, it was like a real life memory happening in front of me. But it wasn't a memory, it was you, basically trying to pull skin off my sides, a-and you said that everyone was gonna leave me." I whispered, feeling a tear sink down my face. Will looked at my face, putting his hand against my face and using his thumb to wipe the tear off. "It's okay, it didn't really happen, I would never hurt you." Will whispered, grinned very lightly, trying to clear the mood.

I kissed his forehead, pulling him close, "I-I know, but I don't know, you know?" I whispered back. He nodded, rubbing my cheek. "I understand, Mike, you don't have to go through this alone. I promise." He responded, I bit my lip, I'm so confused what was happening in these past few days. Jonathan got us the pizza and we returned to our seats in the van and ate the pizza quickly. Suzie's house seemed to appear out of nowhere, we got out and I knocked on the door, a little kid opened the door, I stared blankly before letting the words spill from my mouth, "Uh… Is Suzie here?" I asked, the kid screamed, pointing a bow at me and shooting it at my head. The arrow stuck to my head, hitting me right on the forehead. "Ow!" I exclaimed, going to pull it off my head as the kid ran off somewhere. I took it off as Will giggled lightly. We all entered the house, looking around, trying to find an adult to find Suzie. There were kids screaming and running everywhere. It was really overwhelming, actually, intense if you would.

We ran into an older girl who seemed to be between maybe sixteen to eighteen. "Who the hell are you?" She hissed, looking at all of us, Argyle cut in, seemed to be drooling over this girl, "Argyle," He whispered, pausing for a second, "Uhm, and you are?" He asked. She paused, she seemed to be wondering if she should answer these strangers in her house, or not. "Eden, like the garden." She smiled very lightly, "Wow." Jonathan replied, unamused, "We're looking for Suzie," I cut in, trying to get the point right away, "Do you know where she is?" Will asked. Eden slowly nodded, staring at Argyle intensely, "Third floor, second door on your left." She replied, finally peeling her eyes off of Argyle and looking all between us, "You make sure to give that selfish four-eyed shit a nice little shove for me." She was mostly talking to Argyle, so of course, he responded. "A-Absolutely" He sputtered.

"Eden, I…" Argyle paused, we started turning away toward the stairs and going up them, I could hear Argyle still talking to the dark-haired girl. I rolled my eyes, walking into the poor girl's room, Jonathan cringed. "Well, great, she's not here." He mentioned. Will and I looked at one another, hearing the commotion from outside her window. We pushed the windows up and looked outside, Will and I looked out one, Jonathan and Argyle the other, I looked at the girl who had a yellow construction helmet. "Suzie!" I yelled out, "Yeah?" She yelled out, turning her head, before realizing we weren't any of her siblings. "Who the heck are you?!" She exclaimed, letting go of the contraption she was working on that looked a lot like Dutsin's Cerebro. "And what are you doing in my room?!" She yelled. I looked at the window we were looking at, realizing how bad this looked.

"No, uh, that's fair," I responded. Will jumped in so as not to scare her anymore, "No, listen! We're Dustin's friends!" He responded, she cringed lightly, "Yeah," I said, replying more to Will to prove our point. Jonathan cut in as well, "We really need your help." He added, Will and I nodded. She came toward us, we moved out of the way so she could jump into the window, in which she jumped quickly and almost as carefully as she could. We were quick to explain what was happening, she took it easy. "Wow, uh, that's a lot to take in, uhm." She paused before quickly picking back up, "I mean, that might be seriously the craziest thing I've ever heard." She finished, looking up at us. I moved my mouth before responding, "I know, it's hard to believe, but it's true, all true." I conformed, she nodded, looking at the paper we gave her. "So, I dial this into my computer and find a location," She paused, "And at this location is the Nina Project?" She asked, Will nodded, I turned as he spoke "Exactly," He responded for us. I turned back to Suzie. We started bickering about "America's answer to Nintendo." Which was clearly an excuse for the truth behind us.

"So you drove 3,000 miles over your spring break, so I can help you get a new video game console, no one has ever heard of?" She asked, we nodded, agreeing together. Will added onto that, "But it's not for us, it's for Dustin." She nodded, clearly unconvinced, "Right." She agreed. "Exactly it's for Dustin's birthday which is," I paused, "In two months, three days, five hours." Suzie finished. Jesus, taking that to another whole level of weird. Eden came in and started another whole thing that I blocked out, it could mean less to me. Suzie shooed the older girl out, closing her door and turning toward us, "Okay, so you can help?" Jonathan perked up, finally talking after not for a while. "I would do anything for Dustybun, unfortunate development, I had my computer confiscated." I heard Will scoff from behind me, "I'm sorry, I wish I could help." I thought for a minute, "Where is your computer?" I asked, she replied almost instantly, "Father's study. He uses it for work now, and he works all day. So, his door is like, permanently locked." She gasped for a bit of air from talking so fast.

Organizing a charaid to get the man out of his study so we could get in was complicated, but it would work. I was sure of it, hell, I came up with most of it with the help of Will, I was positive it was gonna work. When the breaker was pulled as things in the house went out, we waited patiently for the man to exit his study. When he did, he was yelling the kids name to get him to turn it back on, which started the charaid of things down stairs. We got into the room and the breaker was flipped back and the computer whirred back to life. Suzie was quick, she was connecting things I couldn't understand, she pulled up something, I was in awe, it was honestly very cool what she was doing, "Holy sh…" I cut myself off as I could feel Suzie glaring, "Heck." I corrected myself, she proceeded. She was saying a lot of words I didn't understand, but Will was asking all the questions we had. That's when we found the address. Finally, I turned toward Suzie. "Can you print this?" I asked, she turned slowly.

"No, my skills end at IP geolocation," She replied, clicking a button on the computer as the printer next to her whirred to life and continued to whirr as she stared at me. "You were being sarcastic." I sighed, she nodded, "Yeah." We all started piling out and running toward the van, Suzie mentioned something to her father as she followed us, "Dustin was right," I paused, panting slightly from running three flights and outside to the van, "You're a certified genius." I mentioned, complimenting her. I opened the truck to put the paper in the back and calculate where the address was. The truck opened up to reveal Argyle and Eden, getting high. Of… course. Suzie was flabbergasted as her sister jumped out, saying goodbye to Argyle as we fanned out the van and jumped back in, waving goodbye to Suzie as we drove away. 

It felt like forever trying to drive to Nevada, more considering we were in the daylight, and there was nothing to do. I was holding Will's hand tightly and discreetly, we weren't ready to talk to Jonathan about it yet, we'd decide together about it when and who would know, but for now, we're kind of just quiet. But that does beg the question… What were we? We were something… Right? No, you're not. What? That definitely wasn't me, was it Will? Was he reading my mind or something? I turned toward the slightly smaller boy, he was looking out the window with his face in his chin, thinking to himself. The grip between me and Will seemed to get tighter, like Will was gripping harder, "Will, are you okay?" I asked, but he didn't move. The more I stared the tighter Will gripped, I tried to shimmy away, to keep my hand to myself, but Will wouldn't let go. "Will, let go," I whispered, trying to pull away, he wouldn't. This was almost exactly like what had happened this morning. Gave me the chance to panic, and figure out what's happening. 

"Will. Let. Go." I said louder and with more confidence, pulling Will, his head turned toward me. My eyes widened at his clear, white, and glossy eyes. The flesh on his face seemed mingled, and twisted. Flesh-like vines covered his face. I could feel the blood rush away from my face, I could feel myself go pale. This was not Will. I was probably staring for a while, shocked with fear that this… Thing, gripped my hand painfully to catch my attention, "You won't make this out alive, Micheal Wheeler, I know what and who you are." It spoke. This thing was talking through Will, it was trying to scare me. It was doing one hell of a good job, I was petrified with fear. Not moving as my wide eyes stared down at this thing using Will's body like that. Like it did years ago, staring at Will's possessed body screaming and yelling for us to let it go. 

"He's lying!" It screamed, Will was not himself, his eyes had changed color, turning from a beautiful hazel to a dark, deep chocolate. They hadn't seemed to notice the color change in his eyes, but I did. Micheal, fucking, Wheeler did. I noticed every little detail of Will. He was my best friend, of course I'd notice that kind of shit. "He's a spy, if he knows where we are, then so does the shadow monster!" I exclaimed, fearful of my own life, Joyce's, Bob's, and Will's. Will started me dead in the eyes, I stared back, occasionally glancing at Joyce as I kept talking, scared. "He killed those soldiers, he'll kill us too!" I yelled, Joyce looked at this poor boy who's eyes had gone wide and were moving harshly with hatred and anger. He screamed over and over, "He's lying! He's lying!" 

"Do you know who I am?" His mother asked, I paused, awaiting an answer from the boy who was being restrained from moving or escaping. Will paused, searching his own mother's face, he didn't know, "You're, you're…" He paused, searching once again, "You're mom!" When he finally came up with an answer, Joyce looked at this boy with painful eyes as she pulled her hand out to me and talked to Bob, "Hold him down." I handed the surgyne to her and she struggled under the boy. He might have been small, but he had strength. He continuously screamed over and over again, "Let me go! Let me go!" Nobody trusted him. The pain in my heart as I listened to him scream, I stared blankly with fear as my hands went over my ears. I heard Joyce mutter, or more likely yelled, an "I'm sorry!" But I couldn't tell. I couldn't seem to peel my eyes away from the screaming boy. His boy fell limb and he went quiet, his legs stopped kicking, and his agonizing screaming stopped. I uncovered my eyes, feeling a terrible sinking gut feeling staring at Will as he was in this condition. 

The painful grip against my right hand was becoming unbearable, I looked down at the figure that was supposed to be Will, but Will had seemingly disappeared. He was replaced with a flesh-like face, nothing covered the face, the face stared blankly at me. My hand was breaking, maybe that was an exaggeration, but that's what it felt like, but it hurt so fucking bad and there was nothing I could do, so, I pulled. "Let go!" I yelled. "Will Byers will be mine, just as you will. You will never, ever, make it out of this alive, ever." The thing confirmed, letting go as I had seemed to snap out of whatever the hell I was in, smacking my head against the vans side, Will gasped, as did Jonathan. I whimpered, pulling my head back up as I rubbed my neck and the back of my head. Will rubbed my shoulder, "What the hell?" I asked, opening my eyes to reveal a concerned looking Jonathan and Will. I blinked, jumping when I realized how close they were, "Are you okay?" Will asked, Jonathan handed me a water, I took it and nodded, before realizing that must've been a default answer.

I shrugged, "I-I don't know." I confessed, taking a big gulp of water. After a second or two, I pulled the bottled water from my lips, "What's happening?" I asked. Jonathan was outside the van with the door open on my left, Will was still on my right, yet more concerned than the Jonathan next to me, still concerned as well, but less than Will. "You were doing that thing again, but your eyes, they were white, dull, empty, and glossy with pain." He recalled the memory as he shivered. I thought back to what just happened, I shrugged, concerned, but not wanting to concern the others. Jonathan nodded as he stepped out and closed the door, returning to his seat. Will tapped my arm, tugging my shirt toward the trunk. "We're gonna take a nap," Will suggested to his brother, he nodded, "Be my guest." He replied, I followed Will. "Cut the shit, Wheeler, what the fuck just happened?" He accused, whispering as to not alert his brother of what we were talking about.

"Your eyes, they were like mine, and you were gripping the life out of my hand. Whoever this thing was, was trying to get to us, it told me, "You will never, ever, make it out of this alive, ever."" I confessed, Will looked pale as the words snaked off my tongue. I didn't want to say anything about the first part of what this vile villain was saying to not bother Will, but Will looked morally nervous already about the last part. Will was still concerned, to say the least, but he looked up at me with small eyes. "I won't let that happen, I'll keep you around until you're 101 with me laying by your side." He confessed. My worries had seemingly disappeared when Will said that. My face had seemed to heat up at Will's words, I bit my lip, laying back. Will laid next to me, laying close. Will reached to free my lip from the grasp of my teeth. Will smiled gently, analyzing my face carefully, over-analyzing every freckle and every mark. My mind had seemed to flutter away in a trance, my eyes started to get droopy as I quietly sighed, feeling Will pull me close and carefully touching my face and he hummed. I could feel his heartbeat and the humming start to lull me to sleep as my eyelids fought to close.

"Mike!" I heard from a ways away. This was different. I felt awake, but everything felt fuzzy, especially my hands. I tried moving, nothing. I tried opening my eyes, nothing. I gave one last attempt to talk, nothing. I could feel my breath slip away, "Mike, don't do this!" I heard more clearly. "Do it, Wheeler!" Someone yelled over the other voice. Who was this? I felt my feet moving, my head was blank, and I was walking toward something. My eyes fluttered open, I recognized this place, the place where Will was thought to be found dead, but no, this was above it. I saw the edge, the edge I had jumped from. "Mike, please! I'll grow them back!" Dustin screamed hysterically. I turned to face him, still no control of myself, but that was a bit helpful, and yet, there was twelve year old Dustin screaming for my life. I didn't mind jumping, if it meant keeping two out of the three of us that were alive. 

Will was gone. I couldn't lose Dustin or his baby teeth at this point. I stared down at the edge, this is what I want. If I lose my own life for Dustin's baby teeth, does that mean I can see Will again? My right foot stepped me forward, the foot was hovering over nothing, my pause wouldn't affect anyone else, but me, this felt scary, but this was worth it to see Will's gentle smile, bowl cut, and soft hazel eyes. "Mike! DON'T!" Dustin yelped, almost as a scream, but my left foot had already pushed me over. My body had started falling against the cold, breathy wind. I love you, Will. Dustin, Lucas, Eleven, Mom, Dad, Nancy… I love you guys. But Will is waiting for me.

I choked awake, squirming before I jumped, letting out a slight yelp. The dark embrace had seemed to consume me, my breath was staggered and empty. Will sat up, groggy from the sudden awaken, but he was right next to me. "What're you doing, Mike? Are you okay?" He whispered, I looked at Will, who was older from the seeming nightmare, embracing his bowl cut, and droopy hazel eyes. I pulled him close, leaving no space between us as I cuddled close. Hugging tightly and hiding in the crook of his neck. He hugged me back, pulling me in gently, "Shh… You're okay, I'm here," He whispered in my ear, pressing his lips against my neck to comfort me, which it did, my breath started slowing as I realized the attempt of committing was just a painful faded memory. I survived, Eleven saved me, and we found Will. I sighed, shakily, closing my eyes once again to breathe in Will's musk, his beautiful smelling clothing that seemed to bring me back down from my nightmare.

Will pulled away and analyzed my face, I blinked looking at this poor boy who I had probably scared half to death. "I had a really bad nightmare about something that happened when you went missing." I whispered slowly, looking deep into Will's eyes. He nodded slowly, my stomach sank at the realization that if Eleven hadn't been there, I would have died. He searched my eyes for a response, but nothing came out. He took two or three seconds before responding. "Do you wanna talk about it?" He asked. His response was weak, staggered, like he wasn't sure of his response and wasn't sure if I'd respond. I nodded slowly, taking in a deep breath. 

"Take your time, don't rush." Will whispered, breathing very slowly to catch every noise and movement I did in front of him. I adjusted my body, turning slightly so Will could see my face fully. My blue shirt wrinkled against my neck as I moved. I took in another sigh and thought of how to start this difficult sentence without bringing myself to tears right away. "When me and Dustin were searching for Eleven, Troy and James found us and chased us to…" I paused, choking on my words slightly from the start of this horrid memory. Will rubbed my arm, seeing my struggle and nodded toward me, to show that he was there for me. I sighed shakily, "You don't have to finish the sentence, we can be done." Will insisted, seeing my struggle, I shook my head, "They chased us to a ledge at the quarry. They were trying to get us, and Troy got Dustin, holding a knife to his mouth. He told me to…" I paused once again, I could feel myself vibrating, Will grabbed onto my hands, holding my fingers in a tight lock, and rubbing his thumb against my fingers.

"He told me to jump." I choked out, sobbing lightly, choking as I kept it in as much as I could. The color on Will's face drained, he got nervous and his fingers traced my face. "It's okay, Mike, you're doing so well, is that all of it?" He asked softly. I paused, knowing the end of it, I shook my head. Will sighed, he nodded as I took in a deep breath. He paused, looking into my eyes he wasn't sure if I wanted to say the rest of it before I found my voice again. "He said if I didn't, he was gonna cut out Dustin's baby teeth. I was so eager to jump, that I felt like I wasn't in control of myself. I thought about you and how if I did jump, I could see you again. So, I did it, I jumped thinking I could see you, but Eleven had saved me from the fall," I jerked slightly, struggling to hold back tears. 

Will's face softened pulling me in closer, "It's okay, Mike, let it out, it's over." He whispered, rubbing my back. I felt something snap, something broke inside of me, and I finally felt ready to let go of the pain. I started sobbing in his chest, crying almost hysterically as the memory seemed less painful to think about as I did. Will's fingers slid in my hair, brushing my hair out. I breathed shakily, finally revealing some stress from my shoulders as the tears dried. He kissed my cheek lightly, rubbing the dryness of my tears off my cheeks and smiling, "I'm here for you, Mike. I promise everything's okay. You're safe." Will smiled, locking eyes with me and keeping eye contact. I nodded, sighing ever so lightly as I felt his lips against mine, it was a soft and simple kiss. Right? I pulled away slowly, looking down at Will's lips, then back up at his eyes. Will's eyes were tired, yearning to go back to sleep. I grinned lightly, pulling him to my chest. He immediately nuzzled into my neck and fell asleep instantly. I sighed lightly, falling asleep slowly as my eyes got heavy.

The light shined in my eyes, with the feeling of my eyes burning out of my sockets, I winced, glaring at the sides of the van. Will was awake, staring up at the ceiling. "Will?" I asked, he turned toward me, humming in response. "How long have you been awake?" I asked, he thought for a second. "I'm not sure, but I didn't want to wake you." He smiled, tugging me closer. I giggled lightly, laying as close as I could. I bit my lip, hiding in the crook of his neck. As we laid there, he got quiet, unbearably quiet. I lifted my head to look up as he started slowly breathing harder, and quicker. I furrowed my eyebrows, his head tipped back as his back arched, my nose wrinkled. His eyes were wide, frozen, white, glossy, and empty. Just like… "Will Byers will be mine, just as you will. You will never, ever, make it out of this alive, ever." The voice echoed in my head. I lifted myself up, sitting upon his land and grabbing his face, my heart sank as tears started streaming loosely, and quickly down his face.

As I did this, I realized we were parked, and Jonathan and Argyle weren't in sight. My breathing picked up as I started freaking out, "Will, Will, it's okay, come on, I'm right here, wake up, wake up." I choked, shaking Will by his shoulders. The tears started slipping from my face hard and my vision was coming in and out. Will's eyes returned to his hazel as he gasped and lifted himself up, "Oh, god! Will!" I exclaimed, pulling Will into a hug. Will returned it almost immediately, shaking and crying hysterically. "Oh god, it's okay, I'm here, you're safe, you're okay." I confessed, rubbing his back and kissing his cheek. His breath slowed and the tears stopped flowing. He squeezed tighter, hiding his face in the crook of my neck. I closed my eyes, rubbing his back more. "It's okay, I'm here." I whispered. He nodded, breathing lightly against my neck.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" I asked, he shook his head, gripping onto my hair for dear life, almost like he thought he was gonna die or something. "N-Not right now, later." He choked, I nodded, "You are not obligated to tell me anything. You can keep it to yourself, but I am here for you." I explained, he nodded slowly. Jonathan and Argyle returned and we got closer to where we needed to be, Will squeezed my hand, turning toward me. I flinched lightly before turning toward him, "Huh?" I whispered. Will's eyes glistened as he scooted closer. Jonathan and Argyle were clearly distracted as Will leaned closer, "Can I tell you what happened?" He asked, I nodded slowly, "Take your time," I smiled gently, Will smiled back before it faded when he was thinking.

"It was quick, but I had closed my eyes and you disappeared, and I was back in the school yard, staring up at the…" He paused, clearing his throat slightly, he thought for a second. I squeezed his hand slightly, rubbing my thumb over his hand. He took a deep breath in, "I was staring up at the, the Mind Flayer." He finished, taking another breath in before biting his lip. I could feel the color drain from my face. I lifted my open hand to release his lip from his teeth's grip. His face was a slight pink as he gulped lightly, "The Mind Flayer tried reaching for me and I went to take a deep breath to run, and closed my eyes for a second, and I was back with you. Mike, I-I was so scared." He confessed, I nodded slowly, trying to understand Will's pain. My heart hurt just from thinking about it, about the Mind Flayer.

"He's gone. I promise, we killed him. No one can hurt you anymore." I promised, Will looked up at me, slightly breaking as we kept eye contact. "It's okay to cry, Will. I can't expect you to stay strong forever. It's okay to cry, especially from what you've gone through. You deserve the world, Will, and what happened to you, nobody will ever understand it." I explained, Will listened carefully, watching my expressions. "Will, you're amazing for staying so strong. I couldn't ever. Nobody could. But, just because you've stayed strong does NOT mean you have to. You're only human, Will. Everyone has their times, and if that means that yours is now, I'm right here. I will hold you until the world ends, because I love you." I whispered, leaning in and kissing his cheek. Will looked over to his brother and his friend before looking back at me. 

His breath was ragged, his face started breaking, tears started falling as he was crying hysterically. Jonathan turned around, "What's with Will? Is he okay?" I nodded as Will fell into my arms, hugging me harshly and not wanting to let go, he tugged onto my shirt, gripping it to not fall or slip as I could feel him sobbing into my shoulder. "Will, do you need anything?" Jonathan asked, Will shook his head, sobbing out an accidentally loud, "No." Before taking a deep breath. I rubbed his back once again, he flinched, scooting closer. Will had fallen asleep from crying so much and I was trying to explain to Jonathan that the coordinates were correct. Eventually we found what we were supposed to do, Will woke up and joined us as we saw… What the fuck were we looking at? Eleven. She has her powers very clearly, and she was holding a helicopter in midair. 

We were all screaming over each other as the helicopter hit the ground. The van went silent as the flames hit the sky, painting a glow upon all of our faces as Jonathan slammed on the breaks near Eleven. Everything was a blur as some guy died in Eleven's arms, and we all jumped out. It was kind of awkward, but me, Will, and Eleven all hugged. I was kind of dreading the time I'd see Eleven, because I still didn't know what I was supposed to say to her. "Eleven, I…" Jonathan cut me off, explaining that we needed to go, I bit my lip. We all piled in the back of the van, Eleven turned to me, "What did you want to say earlier?" She asked. I paused, a feeling of guilt and anxiety creeped into my throat, the feeling that I couldn't help, a feeling that I wasn't able to shove down, word vomit. 

"These past few days has made me realize that I'm no longer in love with you, Eleven… I have feelings for someone else, a boy." I confessed, shit. No going back now. Eleven's face softened, turning toward Will, and turning back. "I figured it would only be a matter of time." She smiled. Wait, did she know? "Wait, how did you know?" I asked, she was smiling goofily, "I'm pretty sure you two were the last to know." She said, moving spots so Will and I could sit together. Jonathan turned his head, "She's right, we all knew." He confessed, turning back around. My mouth was hanging open, I turned my head to Will, he shrugged lightly, grabbing my hand and holding it as he interlocked fingers. Well, I guess that was better than anything else that could have happened.

The drive was longer than anything else, we were trying to head back to Hawkins, but driving almost across the United States was going to take forever. Eleven knew what was happening, and we had to pull over to a gas station. Jonathan called to see if we could get a ticket for Eleven so she could get to Hawkins, "Damn it." Jonathan said, slamming the phone on its clicker. "What'd they say?" Will asked, Jonathan sighed. "Earliest is tomorrow." He exclaimed, annoyed, I cut in. "No, that's way too late." I confessed. Eleven had seemingly slipped away from the conversation, staring at the sign above the gas station. Argyle kept making stupid comments about how we could get there, suggesting the baggage compartment, I turned toward him, "We'd suffocate." I sighed. Argyle continued to make stupid suggestions, "Holy shit." I whispered. Eleven walked back over, fluffing her jacket. "I have a way." 

We were all standing next to her as she drew on the dusty window of the van. She explains how she can protect Max from here. We were explaining to Argyle how it works and how we can help Eleven get to Max's mind. It was hard trying to get it to click in his head, but he explained that he knows a place that they can get a tub and a lot of salt, it was a little confusing since we were so far out but we tried our best to find what Argyle was looking for, and of course, it was Surfers Boys Pizza. Argyle and Jonathan explained to the guy that we needed to use the store for Eleven. I felt Will's arms wrap around my waist, and his face muffle into my shoulder.

The guy left the store and we got to work. The process was quick, and Jonathan continued to stir the water, stirring the salt into the water. I leaned against a side of a counter, and Will leaned against me, wrapping his arms around me again, looking up at me, I grinned widely, Will grinned as well. I pulled him closer, feeling him pressed up against me. My hands were against his back as I rubbed lightly, nails slightly in the mix of the rubbing. Will shivered, I grinned. I leaned forward, "You like my nails against your back?" I whispered. Thankfully, Jonathan was out of ear shot. Will carefully nodded as he reached his hair, wrapping his hands in my hair. I sniffled a gasp, "Stop it." I scoffed, he grinned.

"Fine, later." He giggled, trying to lighten the mood at least a little. The tub of salty water finished itself instantly. As well as Will and I made glasses that knocked out the light from anywhere for Eleven. After everything was made we helped Eleven into the tub. Things went by slowly, but the lights started flickering as she started breathing heavily. We all started encouraging Eleven to keep going, she was basically crying, and probably not from my words, but the others. Eleven was crying her eyes out and flipped herself up from the table, flinging her blacked out glasses off of her face. She explained to us that we needed to get to Hawkins, so we all ran out to the van, it felt like the whole world kept moving too fast for me. The drive was two days, which means that I could sleep next to Will for the next two days without an issue, but after that, it wouldn't be aloud. I looked at the sleeping Will, he was close to me, laying against me and holding his hands near his and my face. I watched his face closely, his nose wrinkled as he slept. I chuckled as I sat closer to him, pulling him closer as well by his waist. I kissed his nose, and lowered my face to his lips, pecking his lips as I started to fall asleep quickly.

The drive was long, but I got to hold Will, so it was better every second I was with him and got to hold him close. When Hawkins was in sight, nobody was going into Hawkins… Everybody was leaving. Car after car, after car, after car. The line was never ending, everyone but Argyle was staring intensely, watching as insanely packed cars drove past, staring at us like we were crazy. Jonathan knew to go to my house, that's where everyone was always meeting, and yet, we were right, Dustin, Steve, Robin, my mom, and Nancy were all there, packing stuff into the back of what I assume was Steve's or Robin's car, I couldn't tell, but they were packing boxes. When my mom turned toward us, she said something that made everyone turn toward us. Jonathan honked the horn multiple times before pulling to the side. We all started getting out, standing still and letting everyone realize it was us. We all started running toward each other, I embraced my mom in a tight hug, hugging her close as her hands got wrapped up in my hair. She pulled away, laughing, "You smell terrible, Micheal." She snorted lightly, I playfully rolled my eyes. Dustin, Steve, and Robin said their goodbyes before leaving to donate stuff to those who were unfortunate in the tragedy.

Jonathan drove us to the hospital to see Max, Lucas was there, he said hi and gave me and Will a hug, Eleven after us. She took her hood off, walking toward Max, who was laying carefully across the hospital bed. I stared blankly, thinking of when Max was asking me to join the party. There was a reason, it wasn't because I didn't like her, but it was supposed to be so Max wouldn't end up like this. Broken. Brain dead. Will put his hand on my shoulder, rubbing it slightly, I turned toward him, he smiled, trying to comfort me. I smiled dryly, not really feeling it. Will frowned as he turned back to Max, staring down at her limp and frozen body. Hooked up to the wall, and her face was pale. The visit seemed to end quickly, everyone separated. Lucas stayed with Max and the rest of us went to Hopper's old cabin so Eleven could stay there, cleaning it out. Eleven grabbed herself a plastic trash bag and went to her room, closing the door slightly, leaving it open only maybe a couple inches. 

Will and I sat down on the flipped over couch, "Has she talked to you since we found her?" He asked, I cringed, shaking my head, "I guess here and there, but not a lot." I responded. Will nodded in response, sighing and taking my hand in his, bringing it close to his face and kissing the top of my knuckles. I shivered very lightly as he kissed down my hand and up my arm. He was watching me closely while kissing up my arm, my breath was lingering as I read his eyes. "Is something wrong, Will… I mean, I wouldn't say no to this, but somethings wrong…" I whispered, Will pulled away gently, he looked guilty. He nodded, I interlocked fingers with him, waiting for a second. 

"What's wrong, Will…?" I asked. He took a deep breath. "Now that we're… In Hawkins, I can… I can feel him, and I know what he's thinking, and I don't want to know…" Will whispered, I nodded very slowly, trying to understand what Will was talking about. "The… Mind Flayer? He's dead…" I asked, a bit confused. Will shook his head, "The guy El was talking about." Will confessed, I nodded slowly, starting to connect the dots. I blinked, looking at Will blankly, "The guy… That hurt Max?" I asked, trying to confirm what was happening. He nodded slowly, sighing shakily. I took a deep breath in and out, before hearing someone come in. Will let go of my hand, and I brought my hand to my lap. I looked up… Hopper. My jaw dropped. He brought a finger to his mouth to keep us quiet, he pointed to Eleven's room, not audibly asking, but he was asking about Eleven's whereabouts. Will and I nodded as he started creeping toward her room, opening the door as they talked.

We all started to walk outside to connect. We were all talking and hugging, I walked up to Hopper, "Hey," I whispered. Hopper smirked, "You've grown," He confessed, I smirked back, sniffling a giggle. "You shrank." I replied, Hopper smirked, chucking as he pulled me into a hug. It was an awkward hug, but he held me for a long while until we pulled away and realized everyone was looking up. I looked up, seeing the dusty white flakes falling from the sky and into the ground. Everyone started moving through the wood, the trees revealed an open area on a hill. Eleven moved through the crowd and moved to the dying flowers… The ones I had originally picked for Eleven when I went to California. Will was next to me and we seemed to be paired in groups. Hopper and Joyce, Will and I, and Nancy and Jonathan. Eleven was in front of the groups, looking across Hawkins. Will grabbed my hand as we breathed hard and almost together. Hawkins was doused in black and red smoke. Will was shaking. This was not good. Not. Good. That's when the hairs on the back of my neck started sticking up.