𝐨𝐧𝐞. [𝐦𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫]

004

[six months later; 1986]

The boys were almost done with school now. Things were getting better for them.

(Y/n)'s parents couldn't handle the pain of staying in Hawkins, so they moved. No one really knows where, but it was very far away.

When they were moving, each of the boys made sure to get some of (Y/n)'s things from her room. They still had hope that she was alive, and she'd want her things.

That was two months ago.

(Y/n) went missing in November, and it was now April, going on May.

They started losing hope, but no one dared to admit it.

Will had been going to Castle Byers more often than usual. It's the only place where he could truly be alone with his thoughts.

On one rainy day in April, Will decided that he needed a quiet spot to do his homework. Sure, it was about to storm, but he liked the rain. It calmed him.

Gathering his things, Will ran outside, wanting to get to Castle Byers as soon as possible before it rained.

He arrived to Castle Byers just before it started to rain. Catching his breath, he quickly opened the curtain...

...only to see something he hadn't expected.

"(Y/n)?" Will asked in disbelief. He saw the girl sitting in the corner of Castle Byers, trembling.

"W-Will?" She asked, looking up at him. He was taken aback by her appearance. She looked like herself, but extremely... different.

She had dark purple bags under her eyes, she was paler than usual, and she was extremely skinny.

"Here, come with me," he said, holding out his hand. He tried to blink his happy tears away.

She hesitantly grabbed his hand and struggled to stand up.

He quickly guided her through the forest back to his house. It was thunder storming now.

Will brought her inside, not letting go of her hand.

Once they were inside, he dropped his backpack to the ground and engulfed her in a hug.

"I thought I lost you," he said quietly.

"I'm sorry," (Y/n) said quietly.

"Don't be. How come you didn't come to my house? Or Mike's?" Will asked, pulling away.

"I went to my own house. New people were there. I thought everyone forgot about me," (Y/n) said simply, as if struggling to form a sentence.

"I'm gonna call the boys, okay?" Will said softly.

"Okay," she replied, nerve overtaking her.

She hasn't seen them in months. They don't even know what happened to her.

What he did to her.

"Where were you?" Will asked after contacting the boys and saying he had a surprise.

"The lab," she replied, terrified to answer any questions.

"Hawkins Lab?" Will asked.

"Yes," she replied.

"What happened there?" Will asked, suddenly noticing that she was wearing a hospital gown.

"Experiments. Bad experiments."

"Oh. Can you tell me more later? When the guys get here? I'll get you something new to wear," Will said. (Y/n) nodded and sat down on his couch.

Johnathan and Joyce were both at work, so the house was empty.

"I called the guys, they're on their way. Here, take some of my clothes. I think Dustin took some of your shirts and stuff," Will said, handing (Y/n) a shirt and a pair of pants.

"My stuff?" She asked hesitantly, holding up the shirt. It was a simple (f/c) polo.

"Oh, yeah. When your parents moved, we each took some of your things. In case you came back," Will said bashfully. (Y/n) smiled; she hadn't felt joy in months.

"I will go change," she said simply, getting up and walking into the bathroom. She slipped on the polo and then the pants, tucking in the shirt as she did.

She realized the pants were loose, so she decided to ask Will for a belt.

"Will?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah?" He replied, now sitting on the couch.

"Can I have... a belt?" She asked, looking for the right words.

"Yeah! Hold on a second," he said, shooting up and running into his room. He returned with a plain black belt and a pair of long black socks.

"Thank you," (Y/n) said, putting on the belt.

"I gave you socks because it gets cold in here," Will said kindly. (Y/n) smiled, slipping on the socks.

"Thank you Will," she said.

"You're welcome. Hey, did you get a ta-"

Suddenly, someone started pounding at the door.

"Quick, hide in my room. I want it to be a grand reveal," Will whispered. (Y/n) nodded and ran into Will's room, sitting on his bed.

He opened the door only to be ambushed by the boys. They were extremely anxious to know what the surprise was.

"What is it Will? You better not be messing with us," Lucas said.

"I'm not. It's in my room, follow me," Will said, trying not to burst into laughter.

He guided the boys through the hallway and opened his door to reveal (Y/n) sitting on his bed peacefully.

"What the...?" Dustin asked. No one dared to enter the room.

"Will, if this is some kind of joke-"

"It's not, Mike," Will said, cutting him off.

"Hi," (Y/n) said quietly. Lucas hesitantly walked into the room and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's really you," he said with a smile. (Y/n) returned the smile before taking his hand off of her shoulder and hugging him.

"No way. Where were you?" Dustin asked, shoving Lucas out of the way and hugging her. Mike still stood at the door, dumbfounded.

"Mike?" (Y/n) asked quietly, ignoring Dustin's question. He still didn't move.

She walked up to him slowly and looked deep into his eyes. He looked as if he was about to cry.

Before Mike could react, (Y/n) gently wrapped her arms around him. He flinched, but did the same.

"I can't believe you're back," he whispered.

And she couldn't either.