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It started with a small bump on the head.
Will Byers, at the time being age 12, had been in the Upside Down for nearly a week at that point in time. He could hear the vicious growl of the Demogorgon behind him, getting closer as he ran faster and faster. He felt as if he had gotten away in record time and was finally safe before his foot caught directly on a tree root, sending him flying through the air. His head made contact with the ground, a rather large oof being knocked directly from his body. The world got fuzzy and then soon went dark.
The next thing he remembers is seeing his mother and Hop in hazmat suits, grabbing him up and getting him the fuck out of dodge. He doesn’t really remember the drive to the hospital, but he does remember waking up there.
He realized something was different when the doctor walked into the room, asking him how he was.
“Good. I’m sore and my lungs hurt, but I’m good.”
The doctor hummed, smiling slightly.
‘You’re lucky to be alive, kid.’
Will looked at the doctor, shock and confusion overcoming his face when he realized he heard the words loud and clear but the doctor’s mouth had yet to move from his smile.
“I know I am,” he replied, afraid of seeming rude if he didn’t answer.
The doctor looked at him, just as confused as Will had been just moments prior. He nodded back at Will, walking out the door and shutting it quietly. Will decided to take the moment of silence to wrap his head around everything. He wasn’t sure how the hell he actually did make it out alive, but one thing he knew for sure was that he was different because of it. He looked up at the gleaming lights above his head, squinting slightly when the light began to blink.
“Can you cut it out?” he asked, aiming the question towards the light. As if on cue, the light went out. Will would’ve thought nothing of it if the other 6 lights in the room hadn’t gone out as well. A small emergency light hanging above the door came on, gleaming bright right into Will’s eyes. He groaned slightly, laying his head against the pillow, slowly drifting off to sleep.
16 years old
From the moment he was in the hospital to now, Will realized 3 things.
Number 1, he could apparently manipulate things with his mind. He realized that all of these things that kept happening weren’t just flukes. He could manipulate electricity, move things with his mind, and apparently fire hands were a thing?
Number 2, he could also read minds. Sometimes it was a blessing, like when he could hear his mom thinking about the nice new coat she saw in the window of GAP in the mall and surprised her with it after he saved enough money for it. But he realized it was also a curse, like when he started hearing all of the thoughts in the gym during volleyball season at school. Jesus fuck, were those some dark times for Will. But hearing those thoughts really got Will thinking about some things. And that brings us to number 3.
He was gay. And he doesn’t just mean he hasn’t-found-the-right-girl kind of gay like he hears Max talking about in regards to her brother, because believe him, he has looked. He means that the thought of having any kind of intimate contact with a woman made him feel sick to his stomach and so much as a glance from a cute boy made his face burn and his heart race kind of gay.
At the moment, the party is sitting in the gym watching the boys warming up before their first home basketball game. The crowd is buzzing and Will’s head is fucking killing him. He can hear everyone’s thoughts and for some reason, he can’t shut. It. Off. He’s heard everything from elevator music to some freshman thinking about #27’s ass. He’s kind of fucking sick of it. He’s looking around the gym, wondering if the party would be mad if he left. He’s trying to remain positive and not let the raging headache he has get him down. After all, they are here to watch Lucas play and to see El cheer. He looks to his left and sees Max and Dustin talking about the homework they have to do for Mrs. Lewinski tonight, comparing the dress she wore to class today to a tablecloth on steroids with a laugh. Will grins and looks to his right. Mike is looking directly at him, hurriedly looking away as if he had been caught with his hand in his mother’s purse. Will can feel his face getting hot, the grin he had there before remaining.
‘I wonder if Will knows how cute he looks today.’
Holy fucking shit.
Will looks away from Mike. It took him a minute to realize that the thought he just heard matched Mike’s inner monologue. Will stands abruptly from his seat, earning the attention of the rest of the party.
“I’ll be right back guys. I’m gonna go to the bathroom before the game starts.” He says, earning a nod from everyone in return. He begins walking down the bleachers. He makes his way towards the door and out into the hallway. He pushes the exit door open and makes his way to the lonely picnic table, pulling a small pack of smokes out of his coat pocket. God, if his mom knew he picked up her habit, his ass would be absolute grass.
He retrieves his lighter and lights the stick, taking a long inhale and sighing as he exhales. This is the first time since he got to school this morning that the voices in his head haven’t been swarming, making his head feel like it was going to blow off. He takes a few more puffs before he hears a small voice in the back of his head.
‘Where the hell is he?’
He can’t quite place the voice due to the volume of the comment, so he continues on as if they aren’t actually looking for him.
Boy was he wrong.
He hears the exit door open. He feels a bit frozen because now someone knows he smokes. He’s hoping it’s someone who won’t give a shit and maybe they’ll just leave or ask to bum one.
Make that two times he was wrong in the last 5 fucking minutes.
“Will? You smoke? Since when?” He hears Mike’s voice coming from behind him. He freezes and tenses, watching his long ash falling from the end of his cigarette.
“Uh, I started when I was like 14 I think? Something about monsters always chasing you seems to cause stress that even medicine can’t cure.” Will retorts back. He hears a small snort from behind him. He takes that as his secret being safe.
‘Smoking shouldn’t look so fucking hot. Okay Jesus, Wheeler. Pull yourself together and go sit the fuck down. You’re being weird right now. But maybe he doesn’t want to be bothered? Maybe I should just go back inside..’
“Mike. Do you want to come sit down with me? I’m heading back in a few.” Will says, not looking at Mike. He flicks his cigarette somewhere to the left and feels the seat bow slightly to his right. Will looks at Mike and smiles slightly, receiving a smile back.
‘Oh god I hope he doesn’t think it’s weird that I sat next to him when there’s a seat in front of him. Maybe I should move. I’m an idiot what am I doing?’
“Mike. Are you okay?” Will asks, feeling emboldened by the comment and laying his hand on top of Mike’s.
“Yeah. I’m okay. Why do you ask?” He says back, his voice trembling slightly.
‘Oh my god he’s holding my hand. Do I hold it back or do I like, pull away?’
“Because Mike. You’re thinking so loudly I can pretty much hear your thoughts,” Will responds, hoping the honesty in his voice didn’t betray his secret.
He sees the red return back to the other boy’s face. Will is so happy no one can hear his thoughts at the moment because they’re a mixture of internal screaming and thinking about how fucking cute it is that you can see the freckles on Mike’s face even more when he blushes.
“Um. Can I ask you a question?” Mike asks, looking towards the ground.
“Of course you can. You’re my best friend, you can ask or tell me anything.”
‘Best friend. Fuck this is so stupid he doesn’t like me. He might not even be gay, what am I doing? I need to leave I need to leave I need to l-‘
“Mike. Ask me.”
Will tightens his grip on Mike’s hand, trying to encourage him to continue.
“Okay so please don’t punch me in the face for this okay? I’ve just been really confused these last few days because of some thoughts I’ve been having. Like I went as far as to call Nancy and talk to her and ask her what all of this meant and she told me that I.. might be gay? And then I started telling her about this boy that I kinda like and that I have liked for a long time and he’s actually the reason for all of these thoughts that I keep having and it’s starting to scare me but in a good way so I was going to talk to him ab-“
Will had been slowly leaning in until his lips made contact with Mike’s, ceasing the rambling. He slowly pulled back, grinning widely.
“Does that answer any of the questions you had?” Will asks, moving a piece of hair back from his face. Mike bites his lip, trying to fight the smile making its way to his face.
“Literally every single one of them.”
“And trust me Mike, I’m happy you finally said something. Hearing those thoughts all week has been exhausting,” Will says and stands up from the table, walking towards the exit.
“W-Wait, hearing the thoughts?! What the hell are you talking about?” Mike says, laughing slightly.
“Come catch me if you wanna find out, baby,” Will answers, running into the school and down the hallway, hearing Mike’s footsteps right behind him. Their laughter filters through the empty halls and for the first time in a while, that’s the only sound Will hears.