Chapter Text
It’s been a little over 3 months since Will and his friends had graduated highschool. August had passed leaving nothing but mild warmth and shorter days behind. Summer was almost over and Dustin, Lucas and Will all had settled for different colleges. Though Max and Lucas left for the same one.
Three nights ago the party met up for one last game night before going separate ways, unsure about when they would see each other again.
Except for Mike.
Ever since El had sacrificed herself to save Hawkins and its people, Mike kept to himself at all times.
He didn’t leave the house unless he had to. Barely ate, wouldn’t talk.
It pained Will. Mike and him had spent their entire childhood together and just before El did what she did, they started getting closer again.
After Will and his family left for Lenora, their friendship had withered, rotted even so that moment on the tower in the upside down had meant the world to Will.
It felt like he won Mike over.
Now it’s back to the same cold interactions as before. Worse even because when Mike did talk to him, he mostly snapped or tried to shut him out.
He was supposed to leave for New York in the morning. Chasing a city so big no one would even care about him being different, being a freak. No one would know that he was the boy who survived being kidnapped and possessed by an interdimensional creature. No one would know he was gay.
He would leave all this behind. Hawkins, the suffering, the horrible memories. Maybe even the nightmares.
Perhaps, he would find someone who was like him.
Above all, he wanted to leave behind his undying love for Mike Wheeler. Run away from the lingering feeling. Run away from the reality of never getting what he had wanted for so, so long.
He was sitting on the edge of his bed, bare calves against the cold, wooden bedframe as he held the stuffed animal his brother had gifted him when he was born. A small, white rabbit.
Though it wasn't really white anymore. With each year Will cherished the fuzzy fabric it had worn down and turned beige, yellowish almost.
A tear rolled down his cheek.
Leaving felt so wrong for all the wrong reasons.
It wasn’t about leaving the town he had grown up in. The town that had gifted him so many precious memories.
It wasn’t about leaving his mom. She was happily engaged to Hopper, which filled Will with a feeling of joy. He hadn’t seen his mother this happy ever. Hopper was great, he cared for them, let them move in even.
It wasn’t about knowing he eventually wouldn’t feel the familiarity of this town again.
It was about leaving Mike behind. After graduating, Mike didn’t apply for any colleges, wouldn’t even mind finding a part time job. Anything to keep him occupied really.
Will didn’t want to leave his suffering best friend behind. The boy whom he loved so deeply. Cared for so deeply.
Another tear.
It was then and there he decided he wouldn’t be leaving for New York the next day. His mom had to understand.
It was 9 pm already. The last beams of sunlight had hidden behind the horizon long ago.
He stood up, clenching his fists before slowly moving towards the living room of Hopper's cabin.
Hopper and his mom sat on the couch cuddled up under a blanket. Two cups of already cold tea stood on the coffee table.
Will took a deep breath.
“Mom can we talk?” Cold sweat formed on his forehead and it felt like his intestines were forming a knot.
“Sure.” She turned down the volume of the TV. “What’s wrong sweetie?”
He sat on the stool by the coffee table. Shifting uncomfortably.
A shaky breath escaped his lungs.
“I, um.” He squinted his eyes before spitting it out. “Iamnotgonnaleaveforcollege.” He held his breath, green eyes studying his mom’s face for any kind of reaction.
Joyce untangled herself from Hopper's arms who was just as perplexed as her.
“That’s.. unexpected.” She shook her head in confusion as if she had woken up from a weird dream, uncertain if it was reality or not. “How- I mean, why? Do you want to go to another college?”
Will looked down, fixating on his own lap while fidgeting with the hem of his sleeve.
“No mom, I, I don’t want to leave at all. I don’t want to leave Hawkins. I don’t want to leave-“.
No, he wouldn’t say it. After he came out to everyone nothing had shifted in their behavior, however putting it out there that he still held this deep feeling for Mike felt raw. Intimate. As if it were an ancient book that would fall to dust the second it touched somebody's hands.
“I just can’t leave. Being alone out there after everything that happened feels scary. Uneasy.”
Joyce nodded slowly. The air, Will almost choked on by now, fled from his lungs. The knot in his belly disappeared and the dizziness in his head finally stopped.
“It’s okay Will.” she finally said. “I understand. Should we help you unpack?”
Will shook his head.
“No thank you, I'm just gonna go to sleep. Good night.”
A loving smile formed on Joyce's face. "Good night Will."
Feeling a strong sense of awkwardness and relief at the same time, Will got up from the small, wooden stool. A small thank you escaped his lips before he shifted back to his room, yellow walls dipped into warm, cozy light.
Still he knew sleep wasn't to come for a long time.
Back in his room he closed the door behind him. He pulled a sketchbook from the drawer of his desk and flipped through the pages until he found the one he was looking for.
His favourite sketch of Mike.
It showed him sitting in a field on the day of their graduation. The party had gathered for a picnic to enjoy the first carefree summer in ages - as carefree as it can be after having lost a friend, a girlfriend or in Will's case, a sister.
Mike's hair was combed to the side, freckles complimenting his features as beautifully as ever.
The feeling of this being the last time of him having seen Mike smile like this weighed heavy on Will.
It was never the same after. Matter of fact it had been the last time Mike had joined them.
He kept looking at the sketch, his vision getting blurry. A weird collision of sadness and hope forming in his heart. Sadness about never getting to hold him the way his hands were carved to hold him. To hold him as more than a friend.
Hope about getting Mike to open up again. To get him out of his shell.
He put away the sketchbook. Hiding it below other papers and more sketchbooks. It was so sacred to him. Something of Mike that only belonged to him.
He changed for the night before sliding under the covers and turning off the light.
Impatience spread all throughout Will while he waited for the sunrise to come so he could bike to the Wheelers house and let Mike know that he stayed. For him. Though he wouldn't admit it, at least not this soon.
Loud thoughts tortured him as he shifted from side to side, not bound to find peace until eventually, his body had to give in to the exhaustion.