MIKE POV -

---- One Week Later: Thursday 4:27 PM ----

The gentle scratching of his pen filled the air as he sighed, his notebook lay open before him, nearly full, each page packed with memories, thoughts, feelings; it was raw and vulnerable. If he couldn't say how he felt over these past months, he aimed to write it down – his own way of expressing himself.

Mike was in his designated desk. Despite having taken his final exams, he was forced to stay until the end of June; basically just a stretch of time where nothing really happens until the remaining seniors take their extra-curricular tests while the rest of the year came in for no reason.

Flipping through the pages, Mike couldn't help but notice how much time had passed. He had skipped over 200 days, but the book didn't show it. The journal was filled with moments he couldn't even remember fully, as if his hand had written them on autopilot. It was his second book and he was nearing the end. Only a few pages remained, and with the deadline of his departure arriving, the thought of leaving this gift made the ravenette squeeze a little...

Time was passing; he had just eight days left.

When he leaned back in his chair, he bit the cap of his pen, staring at the half-finished page before him; he just completed the events from yesterday... how could he possibly summarise all his feelings in a few measly pages? He wanted, no, needed it to be perfect. Something that would transcend him even if he couldn't be here.

The beep of a text message cut him out his thoughts,

WILL – 'I have a meeting with Barbara right now, wish me luck,'

The ravenette perked up upon reading the text with a surprised blink; he did not think Will would actually agree to going to meet Barbara... sure Mike suggested it, but Will hated meeting with new people.

His mind was heavy, replaying the thoughts from yesterday; the words Will said to him. He hadn't been able to sleep or eat; his stomach was empty, yet he felt like barfing after failing to respond to Will's confession.

But before he could even consider dwelling on this conundrum any longer, a pop-up message appeared before his eyes, momentarily causing him to freeze; he used to not mind them, but now-a-days, they only appeared to shout out the presence of errors.

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

The screen showed the mission he was currently on; the ravenette had completely forgotten about Will's social media; he didn't check at all recently, he was way too busy with the game breaking around him to notice,

[Total Followers: 342,955]

Woah, Mike blinked stunned, almost 350,000 followers? Mike wasn't even sure if Troy had that many. It honestly felt so surreal knowing how popular the brunette was, and how his life had been affected on such a large scale.

[REWARD: Author's Pen]

The tall boy furrowed his brows, seeing the new message appear before his eyes, he didn't have a moment to think as he felt a lump in his back pocket as if someone had placed something there without his knowledge. Taking the pen out his pocket, he examined it; it appeared sleek and simple, too simple for its name; it was a calligraphy pen, like any other you could buy from the store; it was nothing special.

He furrowed his brows... What was an Author's Pen?

[The Author's Pen: An object with the power to rewrite reality. Use wisely]

As if listening to his inner thoughts, the description appeared, going into depth about its use; 'rewrite reality'? what exactly did that mean? The weight hitting him like a ton of bricks; if this was real, then this was no ordinary pen. The idea that it could change the world was... unnerving.

"Mike?" A voice called out,

The ravenette flinched, looking up, breaking out his thoughts and instinctively shoving the pen out of sight. It was Troy, appearing out of nowhere as casually as ever, he wasn't in Mike's class, so Troy made the effort to walk all the way here just for the fun of it, "Shit! You startled me!"

"Why? You thought I was Will?" the ex-bully mocked,

The tall boy rolled his eyes, "Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Schools out." The ex-bully furrowed his brows, "What are you still doing here?"

"Oh, nothing." The ravenette lied through his teeth; he felt like he was glued to this seat; even if he wanted to get up, he was sure he couldn't, but, he needed to go home; how long was he sitting here for? Pushing himself off his desk, he took a step, but his head felt fuzzy, his vision wavering slightly,

Troy squinted at him, "What's up with you?"

"I'm fine," Mike managed to stand up, but his posture slightly hunched,

"No way you're fine." The ex-bully almost scoffed in concern, placing a hand on Mike's shoulder, he could feel the heat radiating from his core, "You're burning up."

"I'm really fine." The ravenette repeated, taking a shaky step, his knees buckling beneath him.

Strong arms caught him, keeping him from hitting the ground, "Would you like to say that again?" Troy joked despite his own seriousness, trying to keep the tone light-hearted, "Let's get you to the Nurse's Office," leading the ravenette down the hall, holding him steady from behind, firmly grasping his shoulders; the ravenette looked like he was ready to pass out any minute.

WILL POV –

The brunette looked at the address on his phone, shrugging as he walked into the familiar café; this was where he was supposed to meet someone important; Barbara. Apparently, she had good news for him. Will wasn't sure what type of news she could pass to him considering that every time the pair have spoken, it ended with the brunette refusing to work for her company.

But never-the-less, his interest was piqued as he pushed open the door of the café. The bell rung softly, the smell of coffee beans and desserts wafting in the air. A few steps in, he noticed her familiar red hair sitting in a corner at a high table. So, with a short breath, he walked over, sliding in the seat across from her.

"Long time, no see," the girl smiled, her tone polite as she sipped coffee.

Will merely nodded in response, obvious that he wanted to know the real reason for this meet-up; it's clear this wasn't just a social hang out, there was something deeper than that.

Barbara decided to begin the conversation, clearing her throat, "So, I bet you're wondering why you're here..." pausing for a mere second as she continued, "Well we caught your stalker,"

The brown-haired boy raised his brows, "How?"

"Turns out he was sloppy," she shrugged as if it was a simple answer, "He didn't bother covering his tracks, and with a previous warrant for his arrest, it was only a matter of time."

Will processed the words, blinking slightly, a slight relief within; his stalker hadn't come face-to-face with him recently, especially not after the last time Will had basically threatened him with a shotgun... but he had felt like he was being watched from afar.

There was a part of it that didn't make sense; he had repeatedly turned down the agency's offers, it's been half a year since they had asked him to join this new art focus, and he had refused... yet they stepped in to help, "Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you go out your way to help me?" his tone grateful yet curious.

"Because you're a person," Barbara passed a gentle smile, explaining eloquently, "The agency may focus on work, but we weren't going to let something happen to you just because you didn't want to sign on,"

"Then," Will looked down at the blank table before speaking once more, "I think I could work with you guys... if that offer's still on the table,"

"Really?" she almost chocked on her coffee, lowering the mug, visibly surprised, "I mean that's great... but didn't you decide too quickly?"

"Well, only if I get paid." He replied; he was surprised by their kindness, but money was still good.

"Fair," The girl giggled, her face shifting to a serious expression, "It's true that we do want you Mr Byers, but we don't want to force you," speaking in a way that was remanent of an elder sister, "And there's also Mike's request-"

"Mike?"

"Recently, Mike asked me to take care of you..." Barbara explained, "Well his exact words were that he wanted to make sure you'd be able to do whatever you wanted to, and to keep an eye on you until you're at a place where you don't need it."

The brunette looked down at his hands; only now had he noticed he hadn't been biting his nails anymore; when did he stop doing that? He hadn't expected Mike's request to be something so soft and thoughtful, he thought back to his past; his time with Mike, with his friends; part of him actually wanted to reach out and take on something like this... to be the model for the art focus...

"School and Art are things I've always forced myself to do because doing them well made other people happy." Will smiled soft, averting his eyes up to meet hers, "But I don't feel forced about this at all."

---- Next Day: Friday 7:51 AM ----

Will stood by the school gates, swaying back and forth on his heels, continuously checking both ways for Mike, hoping for any sign of his arrival. His fingers drummed against his leg, nervous with anticipation, his mind spinning with the possibility of how he would share his wonderful news of joining the art company as a model, already thinking of what he could buy for Mike with his first pay check.

The minutes stretched on, where was he? He was usually here extremely early; despite his rebellious looks, he was never tardy, he just wasn't the type. He was just so excited he couldn't wait; giving up, he called Mike, waiting for the soft music of the ravenette's voice to come through.

But it just rang, and rang, and rang.

["You've reached the voicemail of Mik-"]

Will put down the phone; he didn't want to leave a voicemail; what type of good news is given on a voicemail? With a sigh, he switched apps, checking his texts, but also saw no improvement from last night; the text he had sent Mike had no response; it wasn't even read. That was strange, Mike always checked his messages immediately; he was a bit like an old man in a way.

He debated leaving a message, quickly typing out texts before deleting them.

'Why aren't you picking up?' No, too controlling.

'Hi babe, is everything okay? You're not answering, did something happen?' can't send that, too overreactive over nothing.

'Wassup?' too... strange.

Will sighed, this was difficult; he didn't know what to say. Should he even say anything at all? He didn't want to appear obsessed or clingy; he most definitely was, but he must hide that little fact.

So, with a resigned sigh, he typed out a more compact, softer message, simply something to pique his interest, quickly typing a new text message,

'Guess what? I just overheard from the teachers that graduation is on the 14th of August. Can't wait to graduate together!'

Yes. This one was casual, carefree, with the right amount of excitement; this time going through with actually pressing the 'send' button. Sure, he was double-texting, but it was the informative type.

As he stood leaning his weight on one leg, the school bell rang, slowly but surely the front gates rolled to a close. The noise cut through the air, signalling the start of another day and he didn't want to be tardy. Will sighed softer, his shoulders slumping just a tad as he walked into the building narrowly missing the clatter of the closing fences.

---- 1:06 PM ----

By the middle of the day with still no reply from Mike, Will hung on confusion. The confusion inside him expanded from a mere afterthought to something howling out mad and wild; it was impossible to concentrate on anything else. As soon as lunch ended the brunette headed straight to Mike's classroom, ignoring his usual routine.

Peaking over the corner through the small window in the door, he scanned the rows of desks until his gaze moved over Mike's usual seating arrangement... but he was nowhere to be found; he saw Dustin sitting behind him, but the ravenette's presence was undeniably missing.

"Mr Byers, remind me." A teacher suddenly snapped the brunette out of his trance, "Do you attend this class?"

"No sir,"

"Correct. Now please stop loitering and get to your own class." He said, his tone stern but not unkind.

As the teacher crossed his arms, Will bit back his frustration, managing a quick nod, masking his disappointment. Reluctantly, he turned around and walked down the hall, his steps slow as he dragged himself toward his own classroom.

---- 4:53 PM ----

After school, the short boy stepped out the building with El, slinging his backpack over his shoulders; they had just finished art club for the day, working on a special set piece for the graduation; it was intricate; it was heartfelt and touching.

"I still can't believe they stopped airing reruns of 'Miami Vice'." El groaned,

"Just stream it like everyone else does," Will mumbled,

"I mean, duh!" El rolled her eyes dramatically, "But I like to experience the show as intended by the directors; in 120p quality and eight ad breaks."

The brunette turned to her, scrunching his face, he was about to say something but caught off-guard when steps clicked up to them, hurried and authoritative, "Will! El! Guys wait!" the voice called,

The pair turned around seeing Max, jogging in their direction, "Will, do you know where Troy is? I haven't seen him all day."

"How would I know?" the small boy furrowed his brows, honestly confused why she would single him out,

"You both are always together,"

"Even the notion..." Will shook his head; did he really spend a lot of time with 'Troy? No. he didn't even like thinking about that; they shared a lot of classes, and Troy was teaching Will how to take care of his new dog, but they didn't spend all their time together, "He's probably in class, or something,"

"If he was, I wouldn't have asked," The redhead deadpanned, "He mentioned he was with Mike yesterday-"

"Troy was with who?!" The brunette's eyes bulged out its sockets almost not believing the words. The idea of them hanging out was strange... but not alarming.

"Yeah, apparently Mike has some fever or something," Max explained,

"Fever?"

"Yeah, I think he stayed the night or something,"

"Oh," Will mumbled, chewing the inside of his cheek, trying to be casual but a roaring tsunami within. Why hadn't Mike told him? And why was he with Troy of all people? Pushing the questions aside, he turned on his heel, bolting off down the sidewalk without another word, leaving both girls stunned, "See you guys tomorrow,"

Max and El exchanged confused glances, startled by the suddenness, but seeing the urgency in his stride.

Frantically dialling Mike's number once more, Will watched as the call went straight to voicemail, and the silence was heavy.

["You've reached the voicema-"]

Will's mind raced, the conversation replaying in his head. Mike was with Troy, sick. He felt guilty for brushing off Mike's earlier silence, and now had had no excuses as his feet pounded against the paved roads, enough power to crack the concrete if he so wanted to.

Reaching the ravenette's street, Will went straight to the door, essentially jumping over the lawn until he reached the porch. His movements were manic as he knocked on the door repeatedly, surprised he didn't wake up the neighbours.

Will listened closely, hoping for the familiar shuffle of footsteps, or even Nancy's voice calling through the door... but the house remained silent. His worry deepened, but he stayed pacing back and forth. He exhaled, constantly rearranging his view from his phone to the street for any sign of his boyfriend...

He pressed the call button again,

["You've reached-"]

"Where is he?"

---- 10:45 PM ----

Will spotted the familiar silhouette walking up to the street and toward the house. The brunette looked down at his phone, it was nearly 11PM. He returned almost six hours later. Six hours. That's how long Will was waiting for.

The ravenette stepped onto the porch, not even noticing Will at first under the harsh shadows of the streetlamps, "You're here?" Mike's voice appeared confused, almost as if he had never planned on this.

"Where were you?" Will's voice was low. He wanted his question answered first, "I couldn't reach you since yesterday,"

"Oh, right." The ravenette shook his head, stuffing his hands in his pockets uncomfortably, "It's no big deal, I just wasn't feeling well."

"No big deal?" Will's voice was rising now, his frustration bubbling over, "You were sick... and I had to hear about it from Max?" it was clear he was hurt; why was he the last to know? The brunette knew he was being selfish, but his concern and overthinking mind took control of him.

"About that-"

"Mike." The small boy cut the sentence short, "Why don't you rely on me? You relied on Troy of all people... why couldn't you rely on me?" watching Mike's face, seeing him not even knowing how to respond, clear he was stumped, "Why must you handle everything alone? Why don't you tell me things? Why am I doing all this alone?"

"That's not true..." the tall boy whispered,

"It feels like you're barely... barely letting yourself feel anything at all." Will stammered through his sentence, not even sure if the words he was saying made sense. He was so confused. Too confused. This wasn't fair. He just wanted Mike to be honest with him; rely on him, care for him, love him... what was Mike hiding?

"Mike, I know you're hiding something from me. I promise I won't be mad, whatever it is," he said, his tone patient, almost pleading.

Looking down, the ravenette was unable to meet the brunette's eyes. The words hovering on his lips but unable to bring himself to say them. With hands clutched at his side, he remained silent, once more keeping closed-in on himself with the secret he couldn't tell.

Will's face fell, obvious hurt flashing across his features as he understood what the silence meant... Mike didn't trust him. He nodded, more to himself than anything, "I get it," whispering barely audible, "You're not ready... and honestly... I'm not sure you'll ever be,"

With that, the brunette walked past his boyfriend, leaving Mike standing alone on the porch,

MIKE POV -

The weight of his unshared secret pressed down on him as Will disappeared into the distance. Mike felt the hollow feeling in his chest return... the pop-up message appeared before his eyes once more,

[Make Will Byers Happy]

[7 Days Remaining]

[Penalty: Death]

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3131 Words

Stay Safe <3