Note: Tiny, little time skip.
Warning: Homophobic slurs.
We were all sitting around the table in my basement - Dustin and Lucas on one side, Will and I on the other. It was just the four of us and we were crushing it at D&D, just like old times. Everything was perfect.
Beneath the table, Will's soft hand was placed on top of mine which rested high up on his thigh. His laugh was contagious and I felt a smile stretch across my face from one side to the other as my gaze remained focussed on his own bright grin.
"Oh god, get a room!" Dustin groaned as he caught sight of me staring at Will. My Will.
A blush tinted my cheeks a dark crimson and my gaze dropped to the floor but Will supported me, firing back: "You're just jealous that I got the hottest guy in the school and you're still single."
"Heyyy, I caught Emily Williams eying me up earlier today." Dustin defended himself.
"Oh sure." Will rolled his eyes as he teased Dustin but it was all playful. He started giggling, Lucas and I soon following his lead. Dustin sat with his arms folded and stubbornly glared back for a second before he burst out laughing too. Will's hand still lay on my own and I knew I was the luckiest person in the world.
"Michael." A muffled voice disturbed me and I frowned. "Michael, wake up. It's time for school."
My eyes snapped open as I was torn from a dream so real it felt like it could have been a memory. I felt so at peace just pondering it over in my head that I couldn't understand why anxiety was causing my stomach to do backflips, what could possibly be wrong?
And then it all came rushing back.
Everything that had happened in the previous two weeks: Will's injuries, our fight and I suddenly wished I'd never woken up. Today was the day Will was going back to school meaning it would be the first time I'd seen him since he kicked me out of his hospital room. I'd called his house a day later, begging to speak to him but Joyce just told me no. I called the day after too, and the day after, and the day after, and the day after but only ever got the same response so I stopped calling altogether. The thought that I would be seeing him later simultaneously made my heart explode with joy and sink with dread. It was a strange sensation considering I hadn't felt it working for weeks and had begun to question whether it even still remained in my chest.
I heaved myself out of bed, dread making every step I took wobbly and unstable. I dressed in a disorganised blur, washed in a messy haze and stumbled my way downstairs. My mom was giving Holly her breakfast when I hit the ground floor, I gave them both a kiss on the forehead before heading out the door to my bike. I was old enough to drive but I'd always felt more at home on a bike than behind a wheel so I never chose to. I didn't even have a car.
On the road, I met up with Dustin and Lucas as we all pedalled our way to the high school. My two companions made small talk and joked with each other the entire ride there but my stress levels were too high to allow me to join in and my mouth remained tightly welded shut.
At the gates, we hopped off our bikes and headed to the rack to chain them up where we found Eleven leaning against it and Max circling it on her skateboard. Will was nowhere to be seen and I let out a breath I'd been holding for what felt like an eternity.
"Hey." Max beamed at us as she lightly leapt off her skateboard and skipped up to Lucas, placing a gentle kiss on his lips.
"What's got you so smiley, huh?" Lucas asked, affectionately gazing down at his girlfriend who smiled even brighter.
"Will's back today!" She squealed and Lucas chuckled at her uncontrollable glee.
Our little group stood by the bike rack for another ten minutes, chatting feebly about things that, to me, only sounded irrelevant so I wasn't paying attention. With every second that trickled by, my heart rate increased ever more to the point when all I could hear was the thudding of my pulse in my ears and my head swam with too much blood. I knew Will was getting closer and I had no idea what I would say to him, nor how he'd react when I did. When I was sure my head was about to explode from the pressure, the familiar green car pulled up and Will clambered out of it.
Everything suddenly went silent in my world and I could no longer feel the early-winter chill against my skin. Standing there, it felt as though the only two people on the planet were me and him, him and me. It was as though in those two weeks, I'd forgotten just how beautiful he was. The light shone on his soft hair as it glimmered in the light of the weak sun, the little moles that decorated his skin were a masterpiece, and those glorious eyes that widened as they met mine from across the yard. My breath caught in my throat and my knees went weak as I struggled to remember where I was or anything else that was happening around me.
Goosebumps stood to attention on my neck and I felt that something was wrong. My head whipped around to get a sense of what was making me feel so uncomfortable and I became aware of all the dirty looks Will was getting and the mumbles from groups surrounding him. Before I'd had the chance to regain any control of my self to go and comfort Will, Max had already sprinted over to him and was holding him tight. She dragged him away from the stares and over to us but when they arrived, I could see how downtrodden and hurt he was. I wanted to reach out to him but I was well aware that we weren't on the best of terms so I kept to my boundaries and my hands remained by my sides.
"Will, how you feeling?" Lucas questioned.
"Okay, I guess." Will responded with a slight shrug, clearly trying to pretend he hadn't heard a word of what had happened as he made his way over to us.
The shouts of: "queer" and "disgusting fag" had been audible to us all.
For almost half a second, Will's eyes flickered to mine once again before he looked away. Dustin glanced in our direction with a curious look on his face and I could tell he was wondering why we were so awkward around each other. Neither me nor Will had told a soul of our fight and already we were failing at trying to convince our friends that nothing had happened.
Our now-complete party wandered inside with Max narrowing her eyes menacingly at anyone who dared look over in Will's direction, the intensity of her stare somehow making her fiery hair flame brighter. As a group, we walked as a tight and protective, defensive circle with Will at the centre and no one was brazen enough to say another word against him whilst we were there. We therefore were able to make our way to Will's locker without further incident. That is until Troy and James showed up. They hadn't really bothered us recently, Steve had made sure of that, but now that was about to change.
"So, it's true!" Troy laughed. "What I used to say in middle school. You are a little fairy, aren't you, Byers? You're a dirty, little queer who should have died when you got lost in those woods. And a whore, Alex told us everything you did to him. You're disgusting and it would have been better if you'd never come back." Max and Eleven both ran at Troy and pinned him up against the lockers, neither of them caring that he was twice their height. He began to whimper at the sight of Eleven, memories of her breaking his arm years ago clearly at the forefront of his mind.
Without even realising what I was doing, I found myself swinging my fist into his face and watched as blood poured like a jet-stream from his nose. Both the girls jumped back in shock at my swift advance so I threw him back against the lockers myself. My left arm was against his throat, cutting off his air supply as I hissed at him. "If you say another word to Will ever again, or even breathe in his general direction, I swear to god I'll tear you limb from fucking limb. That boy is the most incredible person I have ever met and you don't deserve to even live on the same planet as him. You're nothing and he's everything. Don't you ever forget that. Now, are you going to bother him again?"
Troy made a last-ditch effort to sound tough. "You got the hots for him, huh, Wheeler? Don't tell me you're a fairy too?"
I threw more force into the arm against his neck and pressed down harder on his throat. I was rewarded for my efforts as Troy's face began to purple from lack of oxygen. "I said: "are you going to bother him again?""
"N-n-no." Troy sputtered and I reluctantly relinquished my hold on him and watched as he and James ran away like the cowards they are.
I span around to see the faces of all my friends ogling me, aghast. Dustin was grinning. "Cool." He whispered.
"Wow." A small voice sounded. "Thanks, Mikey."
I felt a glow in my chest as my head swivelled to Will. "Don't mention it."
"Can we talk?" He enquired weakly and I nodded. The two of us heading to the closest bathroom.
"I'm sorry!" We both blurted out at the same time.
"Sorry, you go first." I offered.
"I'm sorry for how I treated you these past few weeks, Mike. You're my best friend and you were just being protective. I never should have pushed you away. I was wrong."
I desperately shook my head as I responded. "You have nothing to apologise for. It was me that was in the wrong. I let my anger get the better of me and took it out on you. I knew how you felt about Alex yet I didn't stop saying those things about him when I knew it would hurt you, I wasn't being supportive of your feelings and I'm sorry."
"You were right, though. I should be calling Him an asshole. I should be saying I hate Him but I just can't and it makes me feel so weak."
"You're anything but weak, Will. All the things you've been through and come out stronger as a result. I don't think I'd have survived if it was me, let alone recovered from it even tougher. You're brave and smart and I admire you. And I also understand that you can't change how you feel about him. I get it, love is a fucking powerful thing."
"Yeah?" Will asked, looking deeply into my eyes as though he could see my very soul.
"Yeah." I told him. "Don't let any of these people get you down. Remember what I told you in the hospital? You have nothing to be ashamed of and there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. Or me. Everyone at this school is close-minded and stupid and we don't need them. Just walk out of here and hold your head high. Can you do that for me?"
Will nodded in response as I gently lifted his chin. "I can."
And he did, all day long.
*
This could very well be my favourite chapter thus far.
Woo, I am writing this the night before I head off to Rome. I'm setting off at 2:15 in the morning and actually should be getting up in less than two hours and I haven't slept yet. Oh god.
Anyway, I shall get off to sleep (after I've posted a new chapter, should be Chapter 4 I think).
Shan't be writing for about a week now.
Good night.
Late edition the the note: So, two updates today! I'm not a huge fan of the Wheeler family argument one, it makes me sad so I thought it would be better to post another as well. And, besides, I've written up to at least Chapter 17 so it's hardly going to mess with my posting schedule. To clear it up, I wrote the chapter and the author's note the night before going to Rome but that was weeks ago, I am now long since back and will be writing again.
- Niamh.