MIKE POV -

---- One Week Later: Tuesday 4:54 PM ----

[Sub-Mission: Get Will Byers 100,000 Followers on Social Media (10,422/100,000)]

The message popped up before his eyes, causing Mike to smile.

A week had flown by, and Will's social media was increasing steadily thanks to the relentless efforts of his friends, Max, Lucas and even Troy. The redhead kept her promise by sticking to her word, doing anything she could to promote Will on every platform; strategically posting with her signature flair. Lucas used his sports connections to promote the account, while Troy, who despite his initial reluctance made frequent shout-outs. This whole plan was working, and the numbers were increasing.

Doing mental calculation, Mike discovered he was ten percent to his goal!

It was after school and the ravenette waited under a tree. Mike was writing in his notebook, his back hunched over on the bench. His brows scrunched in concentration, the pen moving swiftly down the page, his gaze never ending. He realised he liked writing and decided to put it to use; the notebook wasn't filled with doodles or schoolwork, rather a 'gift' to Will, one to be given in the far future before his departure. The wind rustled through the leaves above, but Mike didn't notice, lost in his story.

"Mike!" Will called, yelling from many meters away, cutting the ravenette out of his thoughts as he looked up.

Will was there at the school doors, his figure sprinting toward the yard with his backpack bouncing on his shoulders and a bright smile plastered on. His cheeks were flushed, his hair a little messy from the running and paint remnants on his hands no matter how hard he scrubbed.

The ravenette couldn't help but smile as the brunette sat beside him, leaning over, peering over his shoulder with a little grin, "What are ya doing?" he giggled.

The tall boy tensed for a split second, shutting his book shut and shoving it into his empty backpack, feeling his heart skip a beat, "Just notes for class," he lied, Will can't know about the contents of the notebook, at least not for now. He shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant as he zipped up his bag.

"Really?" the brunette grinned; his smile reaching his eyes. He propped up his elbows on his knees, resting his chin in his palms, nudging Mike, "Well you seem very focused!" his tone was playful, clearly just happy to be here.

Mike couldn't help but blush under the gaze, feeling his heart skip a beat, quickly looking away while clearing his throat, "Don't smile like that for anyone else." He muttered, his voice quieter than usual.

"I won't!" the brown-haired boy chuckled softly, "This smile is just for you," He quickly stood up, grabbing Mike's hand to help him up,

The words made the ravenette's heart flutter and for a moment he didn't know what to say, the touch was warm and comforting, feeling the sensation of being pulled onto his feet.

"Come on," Will said, leading the way, "Max wants me in the studio today!"

Mike let out a small laugh, shaking of the nervousness, "Yeah... wait for me!" jogging over to catch up.

The pair walked side by side, not holding hands but close enough for their fingers to occasionally graze one another. They continued on their commute to the studio, but as they approached a traffic light, things changed.

When the boys stopped to wait for the light to turn green, a girl came up to them, her eyes wide, "Are you Will Byers?" she questioned, jumping up and down excitedly, barely acknowledging Mike's presence,

This led to a snowball effect as a group of teenagers suddenly approached them. It started with a few, but quickly grew into a small crowd, all girls, excited to see Will. Pulling out their phones, they swarmed, taking pictures, posing, asking questions. And before he even knew it, the ravenette was pushed to the side, out of the way as the group surrounded, like bees' protecting their queen.

The brunette's face shifted, his usual cold expression settling in once more; he was stiff, not smiling, awkward in his posture as his eyes casted the small mob. The girls snapped selfies with him, clearly excited to meet him and yet, Will didn't know what to do as he stayed put, letting them take their pictures, hoping it would be over soon.

On the sidelines, the ravenette watched, feeling something deep within him, something itching at his very core, clawing its way out. He had never felt like this before, it was unfamiliar... jealousy. He knew it was silly. He was the one who was promoting the brunette, and giving him all these fans... but part of him didn't like it.

His mind raced, when he looked at Will and the girls surrounding him, he felt the jealousy rising; they were grabbing his arm, touching his hair, taking his photo as if he were a mere statue on display; they made comments, acting as if he were product to be gawked at.

"It's really him!"

"Can you draw me?"

"He looks so different in real life!"

"Let's take a picture together!"

Mike didn't want to be that type of guy – the possessive and controlling type who didn't want Will to talk to anyone, but seeing Will surrounded by others, the girls essentially feeling him up, he couldn't ignore it... Will seemed so uncomfortable, Mike could have sworn he saw the brunette make eye contact with him, as if a cry for help.

The ravenette had enough of standing on the sidelines like a mere spectator. With a determined look, he softly but firmly pushed the girls out the way so he could reach his maybe-boyfriend. Ducking down to the brunette's ear, he whispered quietly, "Remember, you're mine." He said, not even realising how jealous he was till that moment.

All the chatter and excitement around Will seemed to be muffled by the ravenette's words. He froze, it was the first time Mike had said something like that; the words simply made him nod, feeling a tad shy... woah, Mike really had an effect on him.

And before the brunette could even respond, Mike was already grabbing his wrist, firm but soft enough so it wouldn't be painful as he dragged him away from the crowd. The girls' voices squealed with disappointment, getting quieter as the pair left. It seemed as if they wanted to chase him but were thwarted by the light turning red once more and cars filled the crosswalk.

Will giggled, his smile reaching his eyes as he was half-dragged, half-jogging to keep up with Mike's determined pace, reaching the other side of the street, and eventually Max's studio. Still in the street, Mike finally stopped, grabbing the brunette, wrapping his arms around him, trapping him in his embrace. He's face was still slightly flustered, both from the running, but also from the sudden burst of possessiveness.

Without saying another word, Mike leaned close, kissing his cheek, his peck soft and gentle as he pulled away. Will opened his mouth to speak, but was instead taken off-guard as the tall boy leaned in once more, kissing the other side too.

The small boy tinted red, surprised by the sudden intimacy, but not hating it in the slightest. Mike didn't let go of him, still cradling him in his arms, as if worried he would leave suddenly and run away; Was Mike... jealous?

The ravenette blinked soft, pouting as if he could read Will's thoughts, "I didn't like them crowding you like that..." He grabbed the back of Will's head, hugging him tighter with Mike's shoulder in Will's face... Mike didn't know what was overcoming him today? He needed to get that checked out.

Suddenly, someone cleared their throat, alerting both boys to turn their heads to the side, seeing Max, her arms crossed with a knowing smile on her face, stopping herself from laughing out loud, "Really? In front of my doorstep?" She caught them in the act.

The pair's eyes widened. Will was melting in his spot, caught in such an intimate position, wanting to hide in a hole from embarrassment; did Max see that all? But Mike didn't even budge, as if he was making a statement to the redhead, "Don't look then."

"Ugh," she playfully sighed, rolling her eyes, "Can you both just get inside so we can start?"

---- 6:11 PM ----

After setting the stage for them, Mike sat down on the couch, watching as Max took pictures of Will in various positions with various props. Twiddling his thumbs, the ravenette pulled out his phone, deciding to check on Will's social media account by scrolling through the posts Max had been managing. He skimmed the followers; it increased slightly from this afternoon. He absentmindedly read the comments, just to get a feel of how people were thinking; to get into the minds of the viewers.

"I wonder if social media is usually this easy?" he pondered to himself, although he was tens of thousands away from his goal, getting 10,000 followers in two weeks was truly impressive.

His light scrolling came to a halt when he noticed a particular user who had been excessively liking, commenting and saving every picture, even mere seconds after they were posted; did they have no shame? That in itself was fine; Mike tried not to overthink, for perhaps it was just a fellow art lover who was inspired by Will.

But then he noticed the nature of the comments.

The tone was unsettling, things people would say for fictional characters, because they were not real, but this fan was a little too passionate, a little too obsessive, a little too... threatening. It was as if he knew the brunette personally...

"You posted this just for me, right?"

"No one understands you like I do,"

"I could watch you forever! I wish I could turn you into my own personal art piece."

Somehow, the comments got more... unhinged, repeating the sentiment that Will was 'for him', as if he was mere property:

"Baby boy, who's that man? I don't like him,"

"I'll treat you like a prince when we meet,"

Mike manually hid all the comments so no one else could see the deprived, disgusting things he wrote. Going to the profile, he wanted to see if there was any information that could lead him to who it was, but it was bare, their were no posts, no bio, nothing. The only thing the account did have was a profile picture, a photo of Will... scary.

The ravenette blinked, a sudden wave of dizziness hitting him, was he having another vision? Groaning, he shuffled back on the couch, leaning till his body was flat, closing his eyes as time seemed to blur.

When his back touched the couch, if felt like he was no longer there. Instead of the familiar cushions and woven blanket, Mike was laying down on the ground in a shallow puddle, the water barely an inch deep that seemed to stretch infinitely. The ravenette's eyes darted around, his body unable to move, as if paralysed to his spot; he was in the void, cold and empty. 

In the sky seemed to be stars, but not the stars from Earth, rather like it was the view from another planet. He was cold while floating on water, gravity pulling on his limbs, forcing him into this submissive state, all he could do was comply.

Above him floating was what looked like a massive glowing screen; it switched on. The ravenette's heart raced as he stared back at the screen, seeing moments from this game world he was in; his memories.

The memories were quick, mere seconds, as if trying to collect data on his playthrough, background checking diagnostics; there was Will and Mike's first meeting at the train station, Dustin and Mike becoming official friends, Mike and El shopping, Will giving his speech at the art showcase, Max meeting Will for the first time, Troy and Mike with his puppy at the vets, Mike earning money, Lucas joking with Mike and finally the events of an hour ago, Mike and Will escaping the group of girls.

A black screen replaced the short videos; it was as if the game world's system was reminding him of his choices, showing him the story he made,

[Will Byers Did Not Leave Hawkins]

{Mike Wheeler Made Friends}

[Will Byers Did Not Quit Art]

{Mike Wheeler Made $3000}

[Will Byers Had His First Kiss]

{Mike Wheeler Started An Account For Will Byers}

[Will Byers Has A Fan Club]

The ravenette didn't know what to think; it was as if his whole time here was being logged; documented for everyone to see, but who was everyone? And where was he? He'd almost forgotten this was a game world, getting too emersed in its realism. Just then the screen changed once more;

[NEW]

An image of a man around their age dressed in all black, peering over a corner while fiddling with his camera. His face was obscured, a baseball cap on his head and a face-mask covering the lower half; his presence was menacing even if he hadn't spoken a single word yet.

The screen flashed with the title over the video,

[Will Byers's Enemy]

A threat? What did that mean? Was this guy going to hurt Will? It didn't make sense; he had a bad feeling about all of this. The tall boy didn't know what to do right now, he couldn't even move. Staring up at the nothingness, a pop-up appeared before him,

[Compensation Due To Previous Server Errors 1/2]

The ravenette blinked, compensation? The system appeared to be rewarding him for all his patience with the game so far; the recent mistakes. He wondered what it would be.

[Current Sub-Mission Difficulty Set To Easy (Follower Boost!)]

Increase in followers? The text seemed very excited just to be there, but it was a welcome change, it made his job much easier than it was supposed to be. He wondered how much of a 'boost' he was given, was it a mere hundred followers? Or something larger? He just hoped this mission wouldn't cause any more errors for him.

[Compensation Due To Errors 2/2]

A second one? Well Mike didn't particularly hate it; he had been through a lot here, so it was time the system was rewarding him with something actually useful. The next message appeared,

[Partial Memory Return To Mike Wheeler.]

The ravenette's head was suddenly hit by a wave of thoughts, past memories filling him like a slug crawling under his skin, seeping into his bones; it didn't help that he couldn't move a single muscle. The sensation was cold, unfamiliar and superficial.

Mike saw himself sitting in his basement once more with his friend, the face so clear, yet foreign at the same time; when did he even meet him? He was in all these past memories... so why couldn't he remember his name still?

The two of them were deep in conversation, the Mike in the memory placed his comic down with a huff, "Why are you asking me weird questions again?" he said, voice sharp with a firm tone,

"I'm just a curious soul!" the friend winked playfully, laughing at his own joke.

"Oh I bet." Mike said sarcastically before his tone became defensive, "What do you mean by saying that force myself to be lonely?!"

"I mean exactly what I said," The friend reiterated plainly, "You can't stand the feeling of people leaving you, so you force yourself to be lonely,"

"You don't know me."

"I know you better than you think."

"I don't force myself to do anything!" The tall boy argued, his tone slightly more agitated than usual.

"Then why are you so offended?"

"I just... ugh! I don't have to explain myself!"

"So why do you deal with everything alone then?" he asked, his tone curious despite already knowing the answer,

"Because I want to," the tall boy grit through his teeth,

"But didn't that make you lose yourself once?" the friend asked, his tone hinting to something Mike couldn't remember.

"What?" Was all the ravenette could say. Lost? How did Mike lose himself? Sure, he lost Nancy, but even after that, he kept going, continuing, pushing through life... what did his friend mean?

"Don't you ever need people?" the friend asked yet another deep question, not giving Mike time to think.

"I don't like people." Mike admitted; that was something he truly believed.

"I don't believe you,"

"Why not?"

"Because you Mike, have love seeping out your every pore."

"Leave me alone," The ravenette huffed while rolling his eyes, half-joking, half-serious, just wanting this conversation to be over.

"Is that what you really want?" The friend let out a singular chuckle, finding the lack of denial hilarious; softly saying his next sentence, "Well then Mike.... I hope you get your happy ending,"

Mike furrowed his brows.

When the vision ended, the ravenette's eyes flew open; he was no longer in his mind, no longer in the void; he was back to his life... well the one in the dating simulator. His mind swirled with thoughts, he was laying down, his head softly on a pillow. He quickly sat up, staring at his arms as he moved them around... he could move again!

Noticing him awake at last, Max turned her head, fiddling with her camera, "Why am I paying you to sleep?" she teased, shaking her head with mocking-disappointment.

"We leave you alone two minutes and you're out cold!" the brunette added, his tone was softer though, filled with slight warmth despite the jocular edge.

Mike forced a smile, "No more naptime for me!" he joked, still spinning from the events he just went through, for it felt like no time and all the time in the world had passed him; he felt the water under his fingertips so vividly, the sensation of floating on the shallow lake, but his hair and clothes were dry, not a single damp patch.

In his lap, his phone buzzed, a notification popped up on his personal account; that was strange, no one ever texted him privately on his account. He thought it was just a mistake...

But when he opened the app, he saw it was from one of Will's fans, the same fan who had been leaving the unsettling comments from earlier, but this time they'd sent him a direct message; they were bold... very bold.

"Fuck you, Mike Wheeler."

------

3010 Words

Stay Safe <3