WILL POV-

---- 6:03 PM ----

The brunette bubbled with confusion and a hint of anger; a few minutes passed from the previous revelation the girls had imparted before leaving, assuming Will wanted to spend time with his 'girlfriend'. The small boy sat in the breakroom of the Scoops Ahoy parlour. Steve now worked behind the counter while Robin talked to Will, suggesting a whole plethora of reasons why Mike didn't tell him about D&D night,

"There could be several reasons: maybe the meet got cancelled and he decided to do one last minute... or maybe he wanted a smaller group this time; or maybe he thought you were hanging out with me!"

"I thought about all of those, but he's never done this before, Mike's always invited me. And if it was back on, why didn't he even send a text? somehow the message reached everyone but me!"

"True, true, or maybe, just maybe he was planning a surprise for you; like your birthday or something," The blue-eyed girl suggested, grasping at straws as she knew how important D&D was to the small boy.

The brunette scrunched his face, deadpanning "My birthday was last week, remember."

"Oh yeah," Robin nervously chuckled. "Why don't you text one of your other friends, ask them about it?"

"Oh, of course," Will muttered, a little scatter-brained after the revelation of what he just heard. Instantly, he took his phone out his pocket; deciding to text Lucas, who always promptly replied.

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DIRECT MESSAGE; LUCAS 🏀

LUCAS!

Are you at D&D night?

Yh, we are rn!

Mike said you weren't feeling well 🙁

D&D is better with you

Mike's campaigns are always the same

Hope you get better

Yh thx

Feeling better

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"Max was right!" the brunette furrowed his brows, "Lucas is there right now! Mike lied to them saying I was sick! We talked in school; he knows for a fact I'm not sick!"

"Shit! I'm gonna kill Wheeler next time I see him!" Robin sighed,

"Not if I get him first!" he mumbled under his breath. "He told me he was sick so he had to cancel the meet and then he lies telling everyone I'm the one who is sick!"

"Call him!" The blue-eyed girl announced slapping a hand against the table, "Call him right now and pretend to 'check up' on him and ask him questions till he confesses!"

The brunette took a deep sigh, switching to the phone app ready to call the ravenette; he didn't know what to say but mustered the courage as his finger hovered over the call button, pressing it. The dial rung for a few seconds. Will waited in anticipation as the phone was answered.

Will held the phone to his ear, hearing the sound of coughing from the other side; it sounded fake, "Hello?" Mike said,

The brunette pretended to sound concerned, "Hey Mike, I was just checking in, I was wondering how you were feeling."

The ravenette seemed taken aback as a quiet gasp was heard from the other side, but then he immediately responded with a strained voice, "Yeah, still not feeling too well! Think I caught something; it was good I cancelled the meet tonight, wouldn't want any of the Party getting sick."

"Oh really? Still sick?" the brunette said aloud so that Robin could even hear; she mouthed something to him which he struggled to repeat, "Well, I- Um, actually was thinking of bringing you soup or something." he said as Robin gave him a thumbs up, showing he said it correctly,

The conversation was awkward and tense as Mike panicked, screaming, "NO... I mean, no, no thank you, I don't want you to get sick." the ravenette nervously chuckled before adding, "Umm, anyways I have to go now, Bye," harshly adding before hanging up.

Will was left frustrated and confused, slamming the phone on the table; he was seething. He couldn't understand why Mike was lying to him and what could possibly be the reason for the sudden change in Mike's behaviour,

"What are you gonna do now?" the blue-eyed girl knitted her brows together.

Despite Robin's presence, Will couldn't help but feel hurt, he thought he and Mike shared everything; well, almost everything. Sitting, lost in thoughts at the table, he contemplated what to do next; why was Mike lying to him? A thought popped into his head, 'show up announced'.

He smiled, standing up from his seat, "That's it!" he proclaimed, "I'm going to catch Mike in the act,"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" the blue-eyed girl questioned.

"Yes!" the brunette simply nodded, "And if I do catch him red-handed, I swear, I'm throwing another book at him."

Robin concealed her laughter as she responded, "Woah, slow down there, detective. Let's not resort to violence just yet. First talk... calmly."

Will scrunched his face, crossing his arms, "Fine, I won't throw a book." he said with a little pout. "But I am taking matters into my own hands."

"How inspirational!" Robin sarcastically chirped. "So, are you going now?"

"Yep," the brunette said, "I already know the rest of them are there; if I go now, I'll catch him red-handed,"

"Fine, go safe and don't throw books!" the blue-eyed girl joked, "Keep me updated and tell me EVERYTHING after my shift!"

"Of course, I must keep the gays informed," Will laughed, grabbing his phone from the table, making his way pass the store room and the counter. He couldn't resist a little insurance, discreetly picking up an ice-cream scooper from atop the counter as his makeshift weapon, just in case things got messy.

Robin said not to throw a book... she never said anything about metal scoopers.

The brunette stomped out the store, Robin rushed from the breakroom, standing behind the counter with concern evident in her eyes, hoping Will would be careful and not hurt himself physically or emotionally; he was like a little brother to her.

Will gave a small nod before disappearing into the bustling Mall; kids and adults alike loitering the walkways; some window-shopping, others merely here for the food. Will however, was lost in his own thoughts, wanting to get to the bottom of this mystery; his body working on auto pilot as he hopped on his bike, riding away from Starcourt. He clutched his scooper tighter, his mind racing with thoughts; why was Mike treating him specifically, weird? What was he hiding?

MIKE POV-

On the other side of town, Mike stood in the dimly lit bathroom in his basement. After the call with Will, he cursed himself under his breath, leaning against the sink; his breathing heavy as though he had just ran a mile. He couldn't believe what he did- lying to his best friend, over something so trivial as D&D night.

The ravenette ran a hand through his hair, scrunching his eyes shut as if he could somehow erase the moment from his mind; he was well aware he had been avoiding the brunette recently, making up excuses to stay away and now, he flat-out lied.

It was stupid!

He just didn't want to get into a fight with Will like they did on Monday; something had changed, and he couldn't exactly place his finger on what. He couldn't shake the strange, unsettling feelings that had been creeping up on him recently; it terrified him.

And yet, every time Robin was merely mentioned, a jolt of anger coursed through him; that was another reason he didn't invite Will; what if he brings her to D&D night and gets distracted? What if he gets attacked by a Demogorgon because of her.

Mike sighed, realising he was in way over his head, needing to figure out what was happening to him and why he was pushing the brunette away. But for now, he needed to get out the bathroom; the group probably thought he was taking a massive dump or something...

With a sigh, he pushed himself off the sink, unlocking the door and walking back into the basement, greeting Lucas, Suzie and Dustin who sat around the set-up on the D&D table, waiting for him mid-campaign as they talked and laughed.

"Hey guys." Mike said awkwardly, forcing a smile, "What's going on?"

Dustin quickly answered, "We were just talking about how we miss Will's voices for the characters! He really does the best zombie noises."

Mike's heart sank at the mention of Will; he lied to them too, and now he had to keep up the façade, "Yeah," he said, trying to sound convincing, "He'll turn up next week."

"Hopefully!" Lucas said, "He texted me saying he was feeling better."

"He... He texted you?" the tall boy questioned, his heart pounding loudly in his chest, feeling the colour drain from his face. Panic bubbled inside; his lies were unravelling before him, and he didn't know how to stop them.

"Yeah," the athletic boy responded with a smile,

"Oh!" Suzie interjected, "We should definitely buy him soup on the way home!" she suggested,

"No!" Mike yelled, his anxiety intensifying at the thought of his friends visiting Will; he needed to keep them away for the night. Hopefully they would forget about it in the morning. "I mean, no! No! I actually already made some soup for him and sent- sent it over,"

"Since when do you know how to cook?" Dustin raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, you know," Mike casually shrugged, "Secret talent!"

Lucas, ever the caring friend, looked up to Mike with a knowing gaze, "You're a good friend, looking out for him."

"Yeah... good friend." the ravenette repeated under his breath. His mind raced, searching for a way out this mess; he couldn't let his friends know of his differing lies; it would only make things more complicated. What would they even think of him?

But before anyone can say anything else, the doorbell rang; a wave of relief rushed over him, thinking perhaps someone had just saved him from his own embarrassment, "I'll go get that!" he chirped, just glad to be out that situation.

Mike ran up the stairs of the basement, hurrying to the door, his heart still racing; assuming the people on the other side to be El or Max. He swung the door open; seeing the person he wanted to avoid.

The bowlcut, the moles, the hazel-green eyes and pink lips...

It was Will, he didn't look very happy and... was he carrying an ice-cream scooper?

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1713 Words

Stay Safe <3