Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Mikes POV

      Everyone was quiet. Will wouldn't talk to him, El was shaken, Jonathan looked exhausted, and Argyle was driving the Surfer Boy Pizza van. After the whole mind battle piggyback excitement, they all wanted to make it back to Hawkins as soon as possible, but Jonathan was hardly functioning and clearly wasn't able to drive without sleep, and Argyle had driven all day and admitted he wasn't up for driving either. So here they were in a small motel room. The room had two beds, a couch, a small bathroom & kitchen, a microwave, and a lamp on the bedside table. It was your average motel room. Finally, the silence was broken by Jonathan. “I think we should all shower. They should be short, though, to save heat. El, you should go first.” El nodded and will pulled out an extra pair of pants and a flannel from his backpack. “Here, El, I know they're probably a little bit too big, but you can wear them for the night, but ill need them tomorrow,” Will said and handed them to Eleven. She smiled and took the clothes and mumbled a small “thank you.” Before walking into the bathroom and locking the door behind her

☆

The next half hour was a bit of a blur for Mike. He had offered to go last for the showers, so Jonathan had Argyle and mike go get some food at the small center market down the road for the rest of the trip and breakfast for the next day. They were given 9$ to spend and so Mike and Argyle debated snacks for a while, trying to figure out what to buy.
“I want to get a small bag of Reese's Pieces for Will. They’re his favorite candy.”
“Okay, little dude. We can get the Byers boy some candy, but what about this?” Argyle showed Mike a package of penne pasta.
“Uhmm… I don't think we can cook that on the road…” Mike now realized that he and Argyle were not a very good fit for this job.
“Oh shit you’re right.” Argyle mumbled. Eventually after some bickering they had bought some food. They got a small package of Reeces pieces, Chips, Eggos, a loaf of pre-sliced sandwich bread, peanut butter, Jam, and a package of baby carrots.

When they got back to their motel room, Jonathan and El had finished their showers, and Will was currently in the shower. Jonathan was currently putting a blanket and a few pillows on the couch, and El was insisting she wanted to sleep on the couch because she wanted space. Argyle put most of their groceries in the tiny fridge, and Mike started to make peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. About 2 minutes later, Will came out of the bathroom, and it was Argyle's turn to shower.
“Want some help?” Will asked Mike. Mike felt his ears become warm.
“Sure…” he mumbled. The two made their sandwiches in quiet. Mike couldn't help but look at the slightly smaller boy. He had grown so much since he had last seen Will. Also, when did Will become muscular? Suddenly, Mike felt guilty. He shouldn't be looking at his best friend like that. That was weird and wrong. Boys shouldn't be looking at other boys like that. That was gross and perverted, Mike reminded himself. Mike forced himself to hyperfocus on the peanut butter sandwich he was making. If Mike had looked up, he would have noticed Will watching him with a hint of pink dusted across his cheeks.

☆

When it was Mike's turn to shower, he entered the bathroom and locked the door behind him. He stood at the sink, staring at his face in the mirror for a minute, trying to see what was wrong with himself. Was it his pale face, his messy hair that when unkept went every which way, or was it his nose wich he never really liked? Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. He hated himself so much. About a minute later he remembered he had to shower. Mike sighed before He turned on the water in the shower; however, instead of turning it on hot to try and see if there was any warm water left, he turned it to the cold. He didn't deserve warm water. When he got into the shower, the ice-cold water immediately made him tense and shiver. He wanted to make some sort of noise, but he bit his tongue, stopping himself from doing so. He used the soap and lathered it on his hands. The past few months, Mike had gotten into a habit of letting his nails get long until they'd chip and get jagged until they eventually tore or broke. Because of this, his nails were often sharp. Now, when washing his body, he let his nails dig into his skin. It hurt, but he didn't care anymore. He was a monster. He didnt love his girlfriend like he should instead he was a fag pining after his best friend. He scratched at his hands with his hatred towards himself until they were raw and started to bleed slightly in certain spots. Finally, Mike realized he should get out. He didn't know how long he'd been in there. He quickly put on his clothes and left the bathroom. He was shivering.

When he returned to the others, El and Argyle were already asleep, Will was lying in the bed on the right, and Jonathan was sitting in the bed on the left next to Argyle. Shit. Mike was going to have to sleep with Will. That wasnt going to help his stupid queer thoughts. He realized Jonathan was still watching him, he saw Jonathan's eyes flick down towards Mike's hands, which Mike realized were still bleeding the tiniest bit. Mike quickly stuffed them in his pockets, feeling awkward and trying to ignore Jonathan's staring (Was it annoyed staring or was it just so obvious that he was gay?) As he climbed into the bed, trying to keep as much space between himself and Will as Jonathan switched off the light. A few minutes later, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Mike tensed. The hand recoiled at the action but then returned even more gently than it had been before.
“You’re cold…” It was Will's voice.
“Uh, n-not really- I’m fine, I swear-” Mike mumbled, trying to hide the lie. He turned to face Will. There was a little light floating through the window from the motel sign, and in that sliver of light, he saw Will looking at him with his concerned eyes that made Mike want to cave and give him everything whenever Will made that expression.
“I- I mean maybe a little.. but I’m fine. The shower was just a little cold.” Goodness lying was becoming easier than Mike would have liked. Eventually Mike fell asleep.

Chapter Text

Mike was running. Then suddenly the ground beneath him fell away, and he was falling. Down down down. Then he landed on his back. He felt the wind knocked out of him. He took a few seconds to recover before sitting up. Where was he? he looked around in confusion. Then he felt sick, realizing where he was. Six feet away, Bob was being pinned by a demogorgon. Demo dog, as Dustin called them when they were still small. (Well, small for a demogorgon, those things were still large) The demo dog tore through Bob. Mike was able to run away this time.

The setting was different now. Mike staggered to a halt, trying to figure out what was happening. To his left, Billy was attacking Max, and she fell to the ground unconscious.
“MAX!” He couldn't control himself again, and he ran to Billy, throwing the weakest punch known to man at the possessed and angry teenager who had more strength than Mike by a long shot. The punch angered Billy, of course, and the next thing Mike knew was that he was being slammed against the wall and punched square in the face. Mike's dream went black, which was something that had never happened before, but a few seconds later, his head was in Max's lap, and he felt his nose bleeding as Max mumbled something he couldn't make out. He opened his eyes, trying to process what was happening. He felt Max let go of his wrist.
“Thank goodness you're alive and awake…” he heard Max say quietly. For once in this nightmare, Mike felt comfortable, Max cared about him, and he cared about her, but both would never admit it. But as if on cue, he was standing in his driveway in the rain, fighting with will. Then, as the rain hid his tears, he said something he'd forever regret.
“It's not my fault you don't like girls!” He spat and then watched Will's face crumble before he rode away. He ran after Will. Will pedaled away, just out of reach. Then suddenly he was back at the quarry, nononono, he thought. He couldn't be back here, back on this wretched day. Guilt sinking in, He watched frozen in horror as Will's body was pulled out of the quarry's basin of water. He tried to look away, but he couldn’t. It was his fault.

☆

Mike woke up with a gasp and realized he'd been crying. Quickly, he did his best to take deep breaths and quiet his sobs. Slowly, his breathing had evened out. He pressed his hands to his eyes. So stupid. Why was he crying? he shouldn't cry. Mike lay there for a moment, mulling over the dream. He turned. Everything was fine, see? Will was lying there facing him. His long eyelashes fluttered occasionally. He looked so peaceful. Mike found himself inching closer to Will. He knew it was a bad idea and that he was invading Will's personal space, but he just needed one thing. He decided tthat he would give will a gentle yet quick hug before pulling away abd sucking his feelings up. When Mike wrapped his arm around Will's waist to hug him, Will stirred slightly, and Mike felt Will's hands wrap around him protectively, keeping Mike from pulling away. First, he tensed. Then he relaxed. Mike found himself burying his head into Will's chest. It was warm and comforting. Here he was safe.
“I'm sorry,” he mumbled, before slowly, Mike found himself being lulled to a peaceful sleep.

Chapter Text

When Mike woke up he felt warm, fuzzy, and safe. There was a scent of something familiar and comforting. He could also hear a faint rythmic sound but he couldnt quite place what it was. Finally mike opened his eyes slowly. He realized he had burrowed his head into some yellow, cotton, flannel like materiel. Strange, he thought. Finally the logic part of his brain caught up with his observations and he realized his head was buried in his best friend’s chest. Oh, shit. He should not be this close to Will. He was invading Wills personal space like a weirdo or a pervert or something. Mike looked up to check and see if Will was awake or not. Will looked like he was peacefully asleep. He was about to move when he realized Will had wrapped his arms around Mike. Well maybe Mike wasn’t a needy weirdo. Yes, that must be it. Will needed him, right? Mike was needed. That thought made Mike suddenly feel like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders or as if he had taken a deep breath of fresh air. Mike checked his watch. 5:27 they would probably have to get up soon to drive home. Mike decided he wouldn’t even bother trying to fall back asleep as he could sleep in the van if he needed and because he had gotten into the habit of having a shit sleep schedule.

☆
Maybe half an hour later Mike felt Will stir.
“You’re awake” Mike said in his signature “Will voice.” Will opened his eyes slowly, looking around, taking in his surroundings.
“Yeah. Are you okay?” Will asked, concern in his pretty eyes.
“Yeah. Why wouldnt I be?”
“Well… last night it looked like you had a nightmare because I woke up and you were hugging me and your face was wet. So I hugged you and then you fell asleep. I heard you mumble sonething at one point about me being dead… so I pulled you into my chest to try and see if that would comfort you…” Will mumbled.

The realization hit Mike like a truck. Of course, why would Will have needed him. Why would anyone need Mike? Besides El of course because Will told him she felt that way. Truth was Mike was a lousy stupid needy person whom even his friends hated him too. Mike thought back to last summer when he was scared and concerned for Elevens safety and when he tried to let his feelings known he got shut down and told he was controlling. Heck, Will probably felt the same but was too nice to let him know.
“Mike? You okay?” Will snapped Mike out of his steadily sprialing thoughts.
“Oh! Uh- sorry got lost in thought. Y-yeah I’m fine.”
“Okay…” Will didn’t look too convinced but he let it go.

☆

Mike was getting really sick of being in the Surfer Boy Pizza van. The stentch of weed and greasy pizza mixed in a unpleasant sickening sensation and Mike was also just plain tired of being in a vehicle for hours on end. It wasn’t a cheerful drive either as El still refused to talk to him and Wills attempts at small talk fell short. Mike also had this feeling that Jonathan wouldn’t stop glaring at him. Maybe Jonathan knew how much of a bad boyfriend he was or maybe he knew that Mike was a queer. Whatever it was, Jonathan looked like he was definitely imagining exploding Mike in his imagination. Mike sighed, he probably deserved it. Ugh he was overthinking way too much. It was giving him a headache now. Why couldn’t he think like a normal person? Because you’re not a normal person, a tiny part of Mike knew that his thoughts were right. He just chose to ignore it for the time being. Eventually he found himself gazing out the window watching scenery flick by.

Finally he couldn’t take the endless silence.
“How much longer?” He asked, careful not to whine and risk sounding like a small child.
“About an hour without traffic” Jonathan mumbled. Mike thought about this. Okay he could do it, one hour was equal to two half hours, And one half hour was equal to two fifteen minutes, then he’d have to wait four fifteen minutes. Okay, that sounds good. In four fifteen minutes he would be able to see Dustin, Lucas, Nancy, Holly, his mom, and Eddie too! Well probably not Eddie for a while because he was probably at home wondering why the “gates of Hell” had opened up or something. Well, knowing him he’d probably be somewhat intrigued by it. Mike didn’t realize how much time had passed until he saw the sign that said: “Now Entering Hawkins.” The sight was quite depressing. Cars in bumper to bumper traffic waiting to leave and smoke rising from the buildings below.

☆

They pulled into the Wheelers driveway and the van had barely come to a stop when Mike, Eleven, Will, and Jonathan piled out of it. They all hugged everyone. When Mike hugged his mother she said something about him giving up on college because it was far away but he wasn’t fully listening. He just held her tightly not realizing how much he missed her.

When they visited Max in the hospital he felt a sense of dread. He had never seen her look so broken and lifeless. Even after Billy’s death she still carried a sense of life that was struggling but working on perserverance. But here? Her face looked even paler because of her fiery red hair and she looked so… fragile. Mike registered Lucas saying something to him and the others but he wasn’t listening. He doubted even if he tried hed be able to listen as it was so hard to draw his gaze away from his friends limp form. Maybe if he had made more of an effort to reach out to her this wouldn’t have happened. Instead he spent his time wallowing in his own issues. Guilt started to sink in. Suddenly Mike felt a gentle hand on his back. It was comforting. He turned to see Will looking at him with those concerened eyes. You have beautiful eyes… Mike thought before pushing the thought aside. Stop thinking about that. Especially right now. He took a silent deep breath. Save the headache inducing overthinking for later, he can’t deal with it right now.

Chapter Text

Mike sat in his room on his bed alone. He had hung up the wonderful painting that he just mildly wished was from Will, not El. He shoved the thought aside. He needed to stop this thought process. Mike tapped his foot nervously. Then something inside him snapped slightly. He couldn’t sit around like this anymore. He walked over to the random clothes, books, and other miscellaneous items on his floor and started to clean. A little bit into the cleaning spree he felt his nose start to run. Maybe it was too much dust for him right now. He wiped his nose. When he pulled his hand away he was met with a surprise. That was not snot, his nose was bleeding slightly.
“Shit” he mumbled before going into the bathroom down the hall for a tissue. The bloody nose stopped almost as soon as it had started.

Mildly shaken he started to return to his room. However, he saw Eleven standing near the stairs. “Oh, hey El, do you need anything?” He asked.
“Mike… can we talk?” She asked quietly.
“Sure, sure, yeah.” Mike couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread.
“I… I do not think we should be together anymore. I am taking Max’s advice from last summer that it will be better for both of us.”
“Wh-what? Why?” Mike asked, immediately disliking how needy it made him sound.
“Well I want to focus on saving Hawkins… and I do not get what I want when I am with you.” Mike found himself silent. “You cannot even say you love me!”
“I said it! I did what you wanted!” Mike didn’t mean to snap.
“Mike… friends dont lie. I know-“ Eleven started to say but she got interrupted by Mike.
“You know what!?” His voice cracked with slight worry.
“I heard Will. I know that your speech was a lie. I’m not stupid. You didn’t mean it.” Eleven saw Mikes expression and her face softened. “Its okay Mike. You do not love me in a boyfriend girlfriend way. I think I don’t love you in that way too. Do not worry, I am sure you will be a good boyfriend with someone else.” She gave Mike a sad smile. Mike inhaled slowly, doing his best to hide the shakiness of it.
“Okay… its true, I’m sorry…” He mumbled. Eleven was quick to respond.
“No! Mike do not be sorry. We are just not right for eachother.” She did her best to smile.
“Okay… I’m just confused on one thing. Will said you needed me. Does this mean you don’t need me?”
“No Mike. I do need you… just, not in that way. I need you to be one of my best friends! We will be like Robin and Steve!” She grinned. Mike couldn’t help it but her infectious energy made him crack into a big smile. This conversation made him feel like a weight had been lifted off his chest.
“Alright. As long as things are cool with us. Oh, and by the way. Thanks for commissioning the painting! I really like it.”
“What painting?”

Mike was extremely confused. What did she mean by that?
“You know, the dnd painting?”
“I do not understand. I do not like dnd, Mike. Will only worked on one painting in California. It was for a girl, I think. But if you have it then it must have been for you.”
“Oh. Well why would he say that then…”
“I do not know Mike, he had to have had a reason to lie.”
“I guess…” Even though Mike knew El was just stating the truth it still felt like a punch to the gut. His best friend of almost ten years went from being able to trust him so much he would always tell the truth to being able to lie to him about something so small. Mike remembered the day Will was taken. They had just been playing a really long campaign and the die got dropped. Then within all the chaos they were told that it was time for his friends to head home. Before Will had left he told mike: “It was a seven. The demogorgon, it got me.” It was something so small that Will could have lied and said it was a success and easily gotten away with it. But no, he told Mike the truth. Why did Will lie about the painting? Mike sighed, he’d figure this out later. Right now he needed to let El know everything between them was great.
“Thanks for telling me this…” he smiled. “I’m glad were still friends.” El grinned back before she pulled Mike into a hug. Mike happily returned it.

Chapter Text

It had been about a day since Eleven and Mike had broken up, and now the party, along with the older teens and adults, were in the Wheelers' basement trying to come up with a game plan to defeat Vecna.
“If we have some people fighting his monsters while others go into the upside down and try to find him, we might have a chance at winning…” Dustin said, looking around the table.
“I like this idea.” Hopper mused.
“Except we have a few problems with this plan.” Nancy interrupted. “First things first, the odds are terrible! Statistically, this plan is a death wish! And-”
“Don’t tell me the odds,” Hopper muttered.
“You know, Nancy, if we adjust and tweak the plan, we might be able to improve our chances at winning.” This was the first time Mike had spoken up in this meeting.

So now here they were, in a field a few miles away from Hawkins, all practicing with weapons.
“Hey, Mike.” Hopper approached Mike. “I doubt that knife of yours that you're holding is going to be much help. Try this.” Hopper took the kitchen knife away from him and handed him a rifle.
“Oh uh okay…” Mike mumbled. Hopper must have thought that because he was related to Nancy, he was also good with a gun, but the thing was, Mike had never even touched one. He’d always obeyed his mother's wish to “never touch a weapon like a gun because those things go off so easily and you could get killed.” Now his mother may have been very overdramatic, but it had worked. He awkwardly started examining it, pretending he knew how to shoot but was just admiring it? Double-checking that it was safe? Actually, he probably looked clueless.

“Kid. You’re supposed to be practicing shooting, not admiring the damn thing.” Hopper said, patience running thin. With Mike, it was always thin.
“I-I- okay…” Mike nervously clicked off the safety and aimed at the tin can ten feet away. He took a deep breath before pulling the trigger. Several things happened. First, Mike was so clumsy and uncoordinated he ended up stumbling back, slipping on a rock that was behind him, and then falling on his butt, Second, The bullet was way off course going about ten feet to the left of the tin can and hitting a tree, and third, Will walked over with a small smile on his face, chuckling.
“What was that?” Hopper asked, very surprised that someone could mess up that badly.
“I don’t know.” Mike responded unhelpfully, “I’ve never touched a gun before.”
“That… That is very clear now.” Hopper responded with a sigh. “You might just have more luck with the knife.” Hopper was about to take the rifle from him when Will spoke up.
“I could try and help him.” Hopper paused to think for a moment.
“Eh, do what you want, Will. You guys just need to find a weapon that suits yourselves before we go back to the Wheelers.” Hopper walked off.
“Okay, see your form is all wrong. Watch me.” Will steadily aimed before firing. The tin can was blown clean off the fence post. Damn. Mike felt his cheeks heating up, and he didn’t want to admit it, but that was hot. “Okay, so now it's your turn.” Will said, handing the rifle back to Mike. Mike took the rifle and tried to copy the stance that Will had earlier. He realized his hands were shaking badly now. He wasn't sure whether it was from the mild panic from Will surprising him like that, the noise, or just the fear of shooting the rifle. “Hey, hey, it’s okay.” Mike felt Will's gentle hands lightly steady him. At the contact, Mike felt his pulse spike. “Okay, so now you can pull the trigger.”
“Y-yeah okay.” Mike pulled it. He stumbled back again, same as before, but Will prevented him from falling back too much. He still missed the tin can, but only by a few feet now. “Um. I think I’m good.”
“Oh, okay.” Will responded with a smile

Mike found himself looking through the weapons like Hopper had earlier instructed. Then something caught his eye. It was a sword. Mike didn't know why it was one of the weapons they had, but he didn't care. He picked it up. It wasn't too heavy, and it was just the right length for him. He carefully swung it around. Heck, he may be uncoordinated, but this was so much easier to use than the stupid rifle. Mike examined the blade. If Hopper allowed him to use this, he could be like his paladin character in Dungeons and Dragons! In his excitement, he wasn't as careful when he ran his finger up the blade.
“Ow!” He yelped, pulling his hand back. He looked at his thumb, and it was bleeding slightly. He instinctively put it in his mouth briefly, like he always did when he got paper cuts. He looked at it again, it wasn't bad. It was small, yet a bit painful. He put that hand in his pants pocket when he walked up to Hopper. “Can I use this sword?” Hopper looked at him, then at the sword.
“Sure. It's a step up from that kitchen knife you had earlier.”
“Cool.” Mike found himself grinning

☆

Mike was sitting in his room. He had given the bed to Will (Will did not willingly accept it), so he was sitting on his sleeping bag on the floor next to it. Will was currently downstairs. Mike was glad he was alone. He had a bad headache and just needed some alone time as he reflected on the events of the day. He heard a strange noise, it was a long and drawn-out and off-key dong, like a clock. Startled, he turned towards the noise. In the corner of his room, there was a tall grandfather clock chiming.

Chapter Text

Mike did not like that stupid clock. He was under so much stress right now that he must be seeing things. He didn’t want to worry anyone, so he kept quiet. He didn't eat much dinner that night, just mostly pushed the food around on his plate before brushing his teeth and going to bed with a weak, “night.”

Mike woke up in the middle of the night, sensing that something was wrong. He sat up and scanned the room for danger. There didn't seem to be anything of immediate threat, like a Demogorgon in his room, or one of those Demobat things at his window. That's when he heard it, it was the faintest noise. A small whimper and then a sob. Mike immediately turned towards his bed. There was the noise again. He quickly kicked off his sleeping bag and stood on his knees, turning towards his bed.
“Will?” His voice was soft and faint and laced with concern. No response. “Will?” He said again, a little louder this time. He saw Will sit up with a gasp, fear bright in his eyes. Will turned towards Mike.
“What is it? Did I wake you? Are you okay?” Will asked him.
“What? No- I-I was already awake. Are you okay? Well, okay, for having a bad dream?”
“Eh…” Will Shrugged. “Could be better, could be worse. I’m shaken, though. Anyways, are you okay? If you were already awake. You should be asleep.” Will pointed out. Mike sighed. Why must Will be so stubborn and caring? He swallowed before responding.
“I’m…” he chose his words slowly; he had to tread carefully. “I’m fine. I mean, I’m not fine.” He chuckled. “None of us are, we’re living in the fucking apocalypse for crying out loud, But I’m okay other than that. I just…slept weird.” Mike felt bad for lying. He’d always hated liars when he was younger. Liars never told the truth, liars broke trust, that's why he hated them. Unfortunately, now he had become everything he hated and wasn’t supposed to be. He was a liar, he liked boys, not girls, and worst of all, it was all his fault. If he had just invited Will over for a sleepover that cursed night of November, none of this would have happened.

“Mike?” Will snapped Mike out of his thoughts. “Whatcha thinking about?”
“Uh, oh, I was just um thinking about the plan. Anyways, do you need anything? Water, another blanket, space? …A hug?” Mike was unsure whether he was crossing a boundary or not, but he felt that in this scenario, it probably wasn’t.
“Oh! Y-yeah, a hug would be nice.” Will smiled in the way that always made Mike's ears turn red. Mike climbed up onto his bed and extended his arms, a silent way of asking Will to come to him. Will crawled towards him and enveloped Mike in a hug. Mike wrapped his arms around Will tightly. This was the best hug they'd shared in a really long time, probably since the Byers moved. Mike remembered holding Will so tightly, trying not to cry as he gripped Will like he was his lifeline.
“Mike… can you- can you stay up here tonight?” Will asked, his voice barely a whisper, as if he was afraid to ask. Now, normally, Mike would have felt nervous or disgusted by himself (not Will, of course, Will was wonderful), but given the situation, he didn’t feel that; instead, he felt happy to help his childhood friend.
“Of course.” He replied quietly. Will scooted over so Mike had some room and offered him some of the blankets.
Will let out a weak chuckle.
“Y’know this kind of reminds me of when I was possessed by the mind flayer, but I wasn’t fully 'gone, ' I guess, and-”
“I was sitting in that uncomfortable chair, and you said I looked uncomfortable?” Mike interrupted with a small smile.
“Y-yeah, and I had you join me because I felt bad because you'd slept badly on the floor the night before…” Will finished.
“I remember that… Although I also remembered you occasionally looking at me weirdly. Like, your- your eyes were almost piercing into me. It's hard to explain, never mind.” Mike's voice trailed off. Will paused thoughtfully.
“Well, I was never going to tell anyone about this, but I think that could be explained by when the mind flayer occasionally took over, I guess? Almost as if it wasn't fully strong enough to have me completely, but it was getting there. Anyway, I remember when it did that, I felt very overwhelmed.”

“What do you mean?” Mike asked, confused yet curious.
“It felt like every sense was almost heightened. Especially around people it knew were threats, I guess. It was almost as if I could feel things I wouldn't be able to feel by looking at a person. It’s hard to explain.” Will sighed. Mike thought for several moments before speaking up.
“Did it feel similar to when he went inside of you? I mean, obviously, he-it? I dunno- didn't go inside me like he did with you, but you said a couple of years ago you felt like it was everywhere and could feel everything inside you, like a bone-chilling wind, almost a kind of feeling? But with other people.” Will turned to look at Mike, a hint of awe in his eyes.
“Yeah. Kind of like that.”
“I see.” Mike wasn't sure what Will had felt fully, yet he had an idea. It was one of those moments where he understood but didn't understand at the same time. He decided maybe he would find out some other time; however, it did not feel like the time to ask. “I like talking with you, and I'm glad you told me this, but I think it's probably best if we get to sleep because we have to execute the plan tomorrow.”
“Good idea,” Will responded before curling up rather close to him, Mike noted. “You okay?” Will aslked softly.
“I'm fine.” Mike lied, as he did his best to ignore the distorted chiming of the grandfather clock on his ceiling.