MIKE POV -

[199 Days Remaining]

The ravenette's eyes widened, tears threatening to fall from the brink of his eyelashes, worried if he blinked he would break. His eyes shifted, no longer on the rooftop as he suddenly became bombarded with visions, but unlike usual, the visions weren't old memories; not ones from the past, nor someone else's... it was from the future, the memories he would have had; the images were clear, poignant, clearly showing him what he was missing. They were all so real, he was seeing them with his own eyes, experiencing them all in quick succession.

[174 Days Remaining]

"Stand by the fountain!" Will fiddled with a portable camera he had borrowed from his brother's room; it was just collecting dust as Jonathan was still away, so he thought it would be a silly couples' thing to do. He practically skipped over, pushing Mike into the correct position by the fountain in the park, insisting it was fun. Forcing the boy to sit down, Will stepped back, nodding upon seeing the picture take shape in his mind.

"Hold up your fingers, like this!" the brunette backed-up further away, holding the camera up, mimicking a pose, directing his boyfriend how to sit and how to act in the picture; for a two-time model, Mike sure was awkward.

Will lower the camera after snapping a few shots, the picture instantly printing after they were taken. He held the photos in his hands, waving them in the air out of habit. The pictures captured Mike mid-chuckle, his expression soft and genuine,

The short boy teased, flipping the picture around to show the ravenette, "You look so cute!"

[162 Days Remaining]

The credits illuminated the screen, popcorn sat in a bowl in Mike's lap, M&M's mixing with the kernels, the movie he was watching was horrible; it was a dumb movie, but it made him laugh; it was funny in an ironic sort of way.

Light poured from the window of his sitting room; it was mid-afternoon and he was all alone until, the front door swung open, a confident Nancy bursting through, her face beaming with excitement.

"I got it!" she shouted, her voice bouncing off the walls, "I got the job!"

Closing the door behind her, she clutched her folder and phone in each hand, her lanyard around her neck like a medal of honour. "They offered me the job on the spot! Manager's position!" she jumped with excitement, dropping her things on the coffee table as she ran over, hugging her brother with all those excitements bubbling within.

"I need to send a thank-you gift to Barb!" her mind scattered with thoughts,

Pride was clear in her eyes; this meant a lot to her. She'd worked so hard for this, pushing through every obstacle possible: horrible bosses, mean coworkers, a toxic work environment, no pay and even passing out at work.

She finally made it.

[144 Days Remaining]

"Game, set, match! I win bitches," El proudly proclaimed; she never swore, but it was what Max had taught her for a victory call instead of 'yippee'. Pulling all the poker chips toward her, her grin widened, not really sure how she won the game, but it turned out she was good at it.

"Bullshit!" Dustin threw his cards down with a huff, "She doesn't even know how to play!"

"Rules are rules." the redhead grumbled despite her own losses; secretly wanting to protest but not knowing how to bring it up for she was the one who invited El to play.

Next to them, Lucas stood tall, arms crossed while tapping his foot up and down impatiently, his hair was gelled, and his clothes were fitted, "So is no one going to work today?"

[118 Days Remaining]

"I had a dream you tried to kidnap me and be scary, but I kept falling off the gurney you tied me too," Will admitted, laying his head down in Mike's lap, looking up at with a soft smile, the weather was warmer out; it was still early spring,

He seemed content, sharing whatever dumb thoughts were on his mind no matter how crazy, stupid or selfish they may seem. He could speak his mind without being judged, blossoming into a more confident version of himself,

Mike pet his head, playing with the few follicles of hair that fell in front of his face.

"You also spoke in a New York accent and to threaten me, you chopped down a tree but the axe got stuck,"

[94 Days Remaining]

"You're supposed to have your eyes closed!" Will pouted, seeing the sliver of white peaking through the ravenette's eyelids. They ambushed him, dragging him into the empty auditorium with vibrant energy. It was a sunny afternoon, and Mike had no idea what they were up to.

"Men these days just don't listen!" El complained, dramatically throwing her hands in the air.

"Seriously Mike! Close your eyes!" The brunette commanded, he was stern, but it mixed with excitement, as if bursting to reveal what he was hiding; he had been keeping his boyfriend in the dark, exchanging hushed secrets with the doe-eyed girl, both in on this plan.

The ravenette did as told, his vision darkening, the minutes stretching on, hearing rustling around him. The sounds of stomping and curtains being pulled echoed through the hall; he felt like he was in complete darkness; did they switch off the lights? There was squeaking, shuffling of props being set up; what were they planning?

"Okay, open them!" Will announced, his voice breaking the void, switching on a spotlight.

Mike opened his eyes, blinking at the transformation. The entire stage had been turned into a magical fairytale scene. A soft, glowing moon hung in the background, surrounded by a starry sky, lights twinkling in his eyes, fake trees surrounded the edges, making it seem like something straight out of a book. Fake swans, both beautiful, pristine and graceful sat on each side of the stage, so lifelike, it appeared to float across.

A fairy tale bed sat in the centre with pillows and soft blankets, fake lanterns surrounded casting an ethereal glow. It was overgrowing with hanging fairy lights in the nighttime scenery.

It was breathtaking.

"He made it all by himself!" El expressed, taking no credit, "All I did was help set up,"

Will stood beside the set-up, a shy expression tugging on his lips, eyes filling with nervous anticipation, "I made this for you," Will said soft, biting his lip in nervousness, "Well, for the drama club actually, but I really made it with you in mind... So... um, how do you find it?"

[77 Days Remaining]

BEEP - BEEP

The buzzer rang, spreading through the air of the gymnasium. The crowd sat on the edge of their seats as the final ball of the game was thrown; Lucas was the shooter. The friends huddled, Max was the most tense, her leg nervously shaking, bopping up and down. The crowd was silent, too scared to even blink.

The group didn't even realise when they had raised from their seats, inching closer to the edge of the bleachers, leaning over the banister, if their was nothing stopping them, they may have travelled straight onto the gym-floor,

And then, the ball hit the headboard, bouncing on the basket, swirling the rim. Pressure raised, moments seemed to last forever,

Until...

It dropped in the hoop.

"FUCK YEAH!" Lucas screamed at the top of his lungs, running up to his friends, high-fiving each of them, feeling the rush of victory,

He scored the winning shot of the season.

[54 Days Remaining]

Troy pet his dog, having brought him to the studio for the day, proudly presenting his pet's fur like it was a trophy on display, treating him so carefully as though he were a mosaic, "Isn't he so cute?" snuggling his face against his soft ears,

"He looks like a rat," Max scoffed, scrunching her face, only half-joking,

"Twinkie is a pure bred chihuahua!" The ex-bully rebutted, a shocked expression on his face as he covered Twinkie's ears almost as if he were worried his dog would take offence to the words,

"Still a rat." Max shrugged, obviously not caring how her words were affecting the boy before her,

He became redder, "Mike! Tell her!" Troy wined, offended, "Twinkie isn't a rat! He's a chihuahua!" He turned to the ravenette with a begging expression on his face.

Mike looked between them, throwing his hands in the air in surrender, not wanting any part of this.

"Rat." Was all Max replied with,

[26 Days Remaining]

"C'mon Mike, hurry!" the brunette giggled, waving his hand high into the air, hiking through the mountains together like they said they always would. Following the trail, the air was crisp, the summer weather now deep in effect,

Will had always wanted to go hiking with Mike, So they decided to go just before they were contaminated by the stress of exams.

The short boy had endless energy, bouncing on his spot, already well ahead on the trail, eyes sparkling with excitement. A satchel was thrown over his shoulder, turning around to occasionally check on Mike who was clearly lagging behind.

"Come on, slow poke!" Will called out, laughing as he waited, his cheeks flushing from the cool air and the effort of climbing as he trotted onwards, disappearing over the path.

The ravenette stood there looking down at his hands...

[14 Days Remaining]

He fell to the ground; he experienced it all, all the memories infected into his brain, not just mentally, but physically too... when he looked back at his hands he had cuts and scrapes from the hiking. His body trembled, the gravity of the situation pressing on him, the weight of his own choices - it was unbearable.

He was back to the present... his mind felt so scrambled he wasn't even sure what 'the present' was. Either way, he was back at the hospital, the rise and collapsing of his chest prominent, he felt like he was in control once more; the visions felt more like movie reels being played before him in first-person, as if he could see the world from the main-character's eyes.

He lived through those moments as if those two-hundred days passed by in mere minutes.

To taunt him, the familiar red message appeared flashing in his vision as a reminder of his failures; he failed to make a choice, failed to stabilise the server, and now he was going to fail making Will happy.

[ERROR: SYSTEM MALFUNCTION]

His heart raced, panic setting in as the words changed, becoming a gargled mess of letters and symbols; the game was breaking, and it was taking him down with it.

[P£).%))%&^(AE)_*@D/%£@!@!]

[ERROR: SYSTEM MALFUNCTION]

Desperate, with no time to think, he scrambled to his feet, ignoring the tears pricking his eyes; he ran toward the doors, entering the hospital once more. Echoing footsteps filled the air as he made his way down the stairs, practically jumping down the entire flight, rushing into the halls.

Something was amiss, it was eerie. No one was there. The hospital, once filled with doctors, nurses and patients, was now desolate, the only sound being his own pounding heart and ragged breaths... it was like everyone vanished off the face of the Earth.

"Nancy? Will? Hello?" he screamed, a lump forming in his throat as there was no response, not from anyone. His voice echoed unanswered into the empty hallways.

Mike kept running, hoping, praying that eventually he would stumble on someone. The monochromatic, sterile walls mocked him; the cheerful messages telling him to 'stay safe' might as well have profanity scrawled all over them. The halls seemed to stretch on with every corridor leading to the next.

No end in sight.

No people.

No sounds.

He started to question himself, "Will? Nancy? Please?" he begged. He was terrified. The unknown always had this effect on him, making him feel suffocated and trapped; was this the error? Or another cruel joke?

[ERROR: SYSTEM MALFUNCTION]

Finally, he made his way to Nancy's room, the one he was in all day. He hoped to find Nancy and Will sitting inside engaged in conversation to make this damn error stop. He hoped that if he found them, he would be free. His hand touched the handle, hesitating for a second as he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath -

Pushing the door open, he found himself in the void once more. The familiar vast dark-space stretched before him; not this again! He stepped back, he'd rather be in the creepy hospital than the void... but the door was no longer there, it was just him, in the endless vortex. Water reached the soles of his shoes, the puddle stretching ever-expansive.

He walked slowly and cautiously, so careful as though the ground may crumble beneath him; water squelched with every step, the rubber of his shoes dripping. Faintly, he started to hear something. What was it?

"Hello?" He called out, rushing towards the sound; perhaps it was someone or something to help him get out of here; he was thankful that he could at least move this time.

Approaching the scene, he saw a glowing vision of himself mid-conversation with another entity, his face shrouded by a darkness, one he couldn't explain; it was his friend from the real world, he was sure of it.

He stepped close, so close he could touch them. Reaching a hand out, his fingers trembled as it passed through the vision as though it was nothing more than smoke. He tried again but the image remained untouchable like a mere mirage in the desert.

He circled the figures slowly, seeing his own face was surreal and somewhat eerie, but it wasn't the strangest thing he'd dealt with these past months. They were talking, their voices low, atmosphere soft yet tense; the conversation felt important yet forgotten till now.

His friend posed a question, "If you had to choose between breaking up right away or delaying it? What would you do?"

Mike's past self-crossed his arms, once again bamboozled by his friend's weird questions, "Like in those cheesy romance movies?" sarcasm lacing his words, "What are the logistics of that?"

"Just imagine it was crucial?"

"Like a life-or-death type of thing?" The tall boy crossed his arms, raising a brow, "Isn't that a bit too unrealistic?"

"It's just a hypothetical." The friend didn't engage with the humour, brushing aside the jocular tone, "You can break-up straight away which is considered a 'good' breakup, or it could go another way..." he paused for mere seconds; words dancing around something deeper, "You can delay the inevitable, bearing the pain and scars until the very last seconds, hurting each other even after breaking-up... but, you get more time together."

The past self of the ravenette flinched, processing the question, taking a moment to think, "Logically speaking, what's the point?" his voice spat venom, laced with deep-rooted cynicism, "You're both in pain and know how this story is going to end. Love doesn't last forever anyway... it just fades and both parties are too scared to admit the truth." He thought hard, "I would break up."

"Is that so?"

"I mean, it's going to be painful to break up either way," Mike felt like he had to explain himself, being put under a harsh microscope, "I think delaying it would be even more painful..."

...

With a pause, Mike replied with his final answer. "So yeah, I'd let them go."

The figures faded away, the ravenette stepped forward as they dissipated into the nothingness; now he really was truly alone. He looked down at his hands, not knowing what to do. He wanted a sign... no, he needed it, to be told what to do, it wasn't fair, nothing was.

Suddenly, as per usual a new message popped up before his eyes, floating in midair. His heart pounded as he read the words; soaking in its meaning,

[Option 1: Continue with the world as is, with only 14 days left]

[Option 2: Reset the world to 100 days, but Will's fondness and happiness will be reset as well, unable to increase]

[Time Remaining: 24:00:00]

A clock started ticking down from twenty-four hours just as it did yesterday, giving him time to make his decision. But unlike yesterday, it wasn't even a question. His hands clenched tight in his fists, imprints of his nails in his soft flesh. He couldn't tamper with Will's happiness, never, that boy deserved every bit of happiness he could get; Mike worried what could happen if that happiness was reset, would he run away to California again... would he try something drastic?

Without hesitation, Mike spoke, "I choose 'Option 1'," he whispered; it was a no-brainer, "I choose Will's happiness."

[Time Remaining: 23:58:16]

The timer paused, accepting the choice as the message disappeared, leaving just the emptiness of the voice, his own hollow breathing, rhythmic heartbeats and murmering thoughts.

He took a step back, but his feet felt heavy, like anchors pulling them down, sticking to his shoes, his foot caught on nothing and suddenly, he was falling backwards - spiralling into what felt like an empty bottomless pit; he kept going and going, the tunnel blurring together as the overwhelming dark washed over him, leaving his sensations overstimulated.

But, just as quick as it had begun, it ended. Mike's back slammed into the ground, yet he felt no pain. There was a warmth on his skin, sweat raindrops running down his flesh, a contrast to the suffocating emptiness he was just in. He gasped, his chest heaving as he opened his eyes. The heat was intense- far more then it should've been; for a winter, it sure was warm.

A shadow loomed over him, blocking the blinding sun. The ravenette squinted, his vision finally coming into focus, adjusting to the light to see Will, a playful but cocky smile on his face as if he caught Mike in the act of slacking off,

"You told me to come study for exams and here you are sleeping! Not a good role model, are you Mike?" The brunette smirked, looking amused and wanting to rub it in Mike's face. The tall boy never seemed to have any faults, he always knew what to do, and always knew what to say, so it was nice to see him like this, more vulnerable and soft... more human,

Mike's mind raced, "Exam?" he muttered, but it was loud enough for Will to hear,

"Our final-final exam!" The brunette sighed relief, "Then we are done! Phew!" he chuckled, sitting down on the ground beside his boyfriend.

"What?" Mike exclaimed,

"Are you really that loopy from your nap?" the short boy giggled, making a joke as he furrowed a brow, "You've forced me to study like crazy! We're probably gonna get the best grades in the whole year,"

Mike sat up, looking down at himself, he was in his school uniform on what appeared to be the school roof; wasn't he just at the hospital? Technically he was just in the void, but his point still stood.

Picking up the notebook that lied dormant on his chest, the ravenette flicked quickly through the pages, it was chemistry work. It was worn out, every page was filled with notes, annotations, drawings, diagrams and highlighting to the best of his ability. It was so full, it was practically twice the size of a new notebook.

He was so confused.

Shaking his head, he reached for his phone, picking it up from his side. The screen lit up, his heart skipped a beat when he saw the date: June 13th.

He skipped forward...

[Make Will Byers Happy]

[14 Days Remaining]

[Penalty: Death]

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3166 Words

I hope this chapter wasn't too confusing; if u need any clarification, feel free to ask.

Stay Safe <3