MIKE POV-

NEGATIVE THIRTY?

The ravenette almost screamed at the top of his lungs but was forced to remain calm. His mouth hung open; he hadn't even heard what the brunette had said. Damn... how was he so low already? Minus thirty, really?

"Hello?" The brunette said irritated, not even bothering to hide his tone, "Can you let go?" he demanded again.

"Oh right..." Mike cut out of his own thoughts, instantly letting go of his wrist, his face flushed with embarrassment.

The brunette pulled himself up, glaring at the ravenette, dusting his clothes as he did. The annoyance in Will's disposition was clear; he didn't seem like the type to let something like this go. In the game, Will was also like this, cold to everyone until he liked the protagonist, then he became like a puppy. "Who are you?"

Mike's mind raced, jumping to his feet; trying to come up with a reason that didn't make him sound crazy, should he give his real name? but he stammered, "I'm just a classmate... I'm in your year and stuff."

"Who are you?" The brunette questioned once more; it didn't seem like he was in the mood for round-about answers.

"Mike," he answered quickly, pointing at his nametag.

"Well 'Mike'... you should leave before I call the police." Will deadpanned, his face cold, taking his phone out his pocket.

"Wait... I mean I know your brother!" the ravenette came up with a reasonable excuse.

"What?" Will cast a glance of disbelief. "My brother never mentioned you."

"Yeah... well Jonathan and I worked together last summer." The ravenette lied, trying to piece together a coherent sentence, "And he likes photography and drives a car all the way from 1971 and he... he likes the 'Thumper' from the movie 'Bambi'... oh! And he got you into music!" Mike stated all the facts he could remember from the game, now he just hoped Will believed it because he was out of 'fun facts'.

Will still looked unconvinced, just as hostile as before. "So, you're just some guy from school who knows my family and decided to tackle me at the train station?" he asked, his tone dripping with scepticism.

"Well... your brother said to take care of you while he is in the army," Mike smiled awkwardly.

"I can take care of myself. I don't need a babysitter." Will's eyes flashed annoyance, adjusting the straps of his side bags.

Mike was taken aback, his attempt to connect with Will was backfiring hard. He thought merely mentioning Jonathan would make the brunette trust him, but it seemed to only irritate him more. Ensuring he had all his bags, Will turned away, clearly done with the conversation; he had bigger priorities as he advanced to the ticket counter.

"Wait, Will!" Mike called out, tailing the short boy like a persistent shadow. He wanted to grab his shoulder to stop him, but Will jerked away, glaring at the ravenette.

"Leave me alone!" Will snapped, his voice devoid of any courtesy.

[Fondness: -32]

The message appeared in his view once more, it went down even more; it was clear Will despised the ravenette with his very core. "I'm just saying, you can't leave the State!"

The brunette ignored him, approaching the ticket counter with a clenched jaw, putting the encounter he had to the back of his mind despite the culprit being right behind him. He asked about the next train, handing his ticket over. The lady behind the counter placed her glasses on, squinting at the brunette's phone, then clicking keys into the computer.

She looked at him apologetically, "I'm sorry, young man, the train you want only arrives once a day... that was very clear on the ticket you brought."

"Oh..." Will's shoulders slumped in defeat, a flicker of frustration crossing his face. "Thank you anyway," he mumbled, turning to glare at Mike, his eyes narrowing with obvious annoyance. It was as if he blamed Mike entirely for this situation, and Mike could practically feel the disdain radiating off him.

At that moment, another message flashed in Mike's vision:

[Fondness: -35]

The fondness went down again? That time the ravenette didn't even do anything! Will clearly hated him, his forehead so scrunched it might leave wrinkles; his bags weighed him down, wanting to put as much distance between himself and the ravenette. Like an obedient puppy, Mike tailed him, compelled to help somehow even if it was just by carrying bags.

"Hey, Will!" Mike called out, hurrying after him. "Let me at least help you with your bags. They look heavy."

Will didn't stop, but Mike could see the irritation on his face as he glanced back. "I said I don't need your help. Just leave me alone!"

But ignoring the brunette's protests, the ravenette quickened his pace to catch up; he was much faster than Will due to the smaller boy's excess bag weight. But upon grabbing the brunette's bag, a message appeared in his vision:

[Debuff Due to Low Fondness]

Before the ravenette could even process what the message meant, two station guards suddenly appeared, almost as if out of thin air. They stepped before the boys with stern expressions.

"You both need to come with us," the guard said, his tone leaving no room for argument. The other guard, a woman with a sharp gaze, nodded in agreement, already reaching for her radio.

"Wait? What?" Will replied, "I didn't do anything!"

"Well, your little friend here thought it was a good idea not to pay for his ticket." The woman chimed in, her gaze unyielding.

"He is not 'my friend'." The brunette rebutted, obviously offended by the notion.

Mike paused as he realised his earlier haste had come back to bite him in the butt. He had been so focused on reaching Will that he jumped over the turnstiles. Now, not only was he in trouble with the station authorities, but Will was also angry with him too. "Look, I'm sorry," Mike tried to explain, "I was in a hurry, and I didn't realise-"

"Rules are rules," the male guard interrupted, "You can sort this out with the station manager,"

The brunette groaned audibly, his patience at its limit as the pair were ushered to a small office inside the station. It was cramped with barely enough space to sit; they couldn't stop their chairs from touching. The boys sat before a looming desk, a large monitor on the wall with train memorabilia all around.

The manager was a man of few words, his hair silver at the tips; in his hand was a remote. Clicking the button, the TV screen illuminated. On screen was security footage, a grainy clip that showed Mike clearly jumping over the turnstiles without paying, his urgency evident in his movements. Mike felt a wave of embarrassment as he felt eyes bore into him from everyone in the room.

Will sat beside him, crossing his arms, his expression outwardly irritated, "Can I please go now? I paid for my ticket." He addressed the station manager, showing the ticket displayed on his phone; he had no interest sticking up for Mike's screw-up.

The manager exuded authority, his glasses hanging on the edge of his nose, shaking his head, "Not until your little friend pays his fine," he replied calm, yet the words carried weight. "It's $50 altogether."

The ravenette wasn't even shocked at the price, in the real world his family were quite wealthy, he wondered if it travelled over here, "I can pay it, I just-" He patted his pockets, his confidence quickly turning into panic as he realised he didn't have his wallet on him. His mind raced, trying to remember where he could have left it- but then he remembered it was in his bag... which was at school.

"Crap!" Mike muttered under his breath, "I don't have my wallet,"

The station manager sighed impatiently, clearly used to dealing with situations like this, especially from the youth, "Well then, someone has to pay or we'll be forced to contact the authorities."

The ravenette's stomach dropped; he was in deep trouble and even worse was that he brought Will into this mess too; this was the opposite of making Will happy! But before he could say anything, the brunette reached into his bag, almost as if digging around before pulling out an envelope filled with money, he counted some, placing it on the table.

Will just wanted to get out of there "Here," he placed multiple bills on the table, "$50, can we go now?"

Mike was too stunned to speak; Will paid for the fine. The last thing the ravenette wanted was to burden Will even more then he had; Will wasn't exactly the richest. Mike watched the envelope in the brunette hand and there didn't seem to be much left in it; was that all the money he was taking with him to California?

The station manager collected the bills, consisting of tens, and even some loose dollars. He nodded in satisfaction, "Alright, you're free to go." he said, waving them off.

As they walked out of the office, Mike saw another message flash in his vision:

[Fondness: -40]

Damn.

Mike almost stopped in his tracks; it was that low now? Everything he did seemed to just make the entire situation worse than before. He opened his mouth, but it hung open as they approached the outside of the station; they were greeted by the eerie unsettling quiet. The usual hustle and bustle of the city seemed absent, no taxis, busses or and form of transportation in sight.

"Where is everyone?" the ravenette whispered to himself, squinting his eyes to look better; he looked down at his watch, it was past Nine-PM; Yikes!

"I'll just walk," The brunette muttered, more to himself then Mike. He adjusted the straps of his remaining bags, clearly annoyed. He walked a few steps away.

Mike felt a weird sensation wash over; a cold shiver as another message appeared before his eyes once more:

[Debuff Due to Low Fondness]

Mike blinked; why now? He looked around. Nearby, he noticed a flickering lamppost across the street emitting a sinister purple aura, swirling menacingly in the air. The sight of it sent a jolt of fear through him, and his instincts screamed that something was very wrong; what would happen if Will walked under it?

With a little chuckle, the ravenette ran over to Will placing an arm over his shoulder, with his other arm, he yanked one of the bags from Will's grasp.

"What are you...?" the brunette tried to argue

"Come on, we're going to my house," Mike said firmly, tugging at the brunette's arm. He was stubborn, refusing to let go despite the protests; in his mind, if he was with Will, he could prevent whatever bad thing might occur.

"I'm not gonna leave the State, if that's what you're so worried of," Will protested calmly, trying to pull away but Mike's grip was surprisingly strong,

The ravenette ignored the struggles, dragging Will along with him. He could feel the weight of the bag on his shoulder, but it didn't bother him; the bag was heavy – what did Will have in here? Bricks? The only thing that mattered right now was to get far away from the flickering lamppost.

Despite the constant muttering and distain, the brunette didn't put up much of a fight. He cast sideways glances at Mike as they walked, clearly confused by the whole situation. Mike's behaviour was strange, even for someone trying to help, and the fact that Mike seemed so insistent on being with him at that moment was weird. The mention of Jonathan had caught Will off guard though; was that why he was doing all of this?

Walking through the quiet streets, the path felt familiar to Mike. He hadn't noticed it at first as he was too focused on his goal of keeping Will from leaving the State. The houses, trees and even the cracks in the sidewalk seemed so familiar... too familiar. These winding roads made the realisation creep up on him...

This was his old town; turning the corner, he saw his house, the same white paint and brick foundation as he remembered. It was exactly how he remembered even down to the old, crooked mailbox. This was the house he grew up in, the one he hadn't seen since he was shipped off to that private school years ago. It made the ravenette think, did his older friend base the game world off his old town? But how, did he ever mention that?

He slowed his pace, "This really is it," the ravenette whispered to himself, "Woah."

Mike shook off his daze and stepped toward the house. He couldn't let himself get too enamoured with this place or how it appeared in this world; right now, he needed to keep Will safe.

"Come on," Mike said, still dragging the brunette behind him. He glanced around one last time before entering, the familiar sent of the old house hitting him like a wave of nostalgia.

Inside, the lights were off, was anyone even home? Flicking on the switch, a figure appeared on the armchair, as if waiting for a moment to strike; her hair loose with pyjamas covering her frame. Standing up was Nancy, looking just as he remembered, though maybe just a little older. She crossed her arms, carrying the edges of her cardigan with her.

Mike's heart swelled with emotion, for the first time since the train station, he let go of Will's hand. He hadn't seen his sister in so long. After being sent to private school, Mike cut off communication with his family; bitter how they could send him to a place like that, but after a while, he regretted it; they left on bad terms. It just felt as if they didn't want him anymore.

Without thinking, Mike rushed over, a big smile on his face, his voice cracking as he said her name. He stretched his arms out, ready to hug her. 

"Nancy?"

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2291 Words

Stay Safe <3