𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐲 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐞

𝟐.

1:22pm
Mike Wheeler

"I-I'm sorry- I didn't mean to get sick or anything!.." Will panics.

It'd been three hours since Will and I arrived home from the grocery store, and he seems to be suffering from a severe cold or maybe more.

"It's okay, okay? I'll look after ya today. It's not like I have plans."

"I-it's just- I didn't expect it to rain and..." he shudders. Even on sunny days, I always liked to bring my coat out just incase of any weather changes. I should've lent Will my coat when it started to rain, so that I'd be sick instead of him. Even though he insists that he's fine on his own, it's clear that he's not. Who would've known Will was so prone to a cold - in my entire life, nobody had ever been so sick when simply just being cold.

"I'll make us hot chocolates, okay? I'm kinda cold myself so I think it'd do both of us some good, right?" I smile assuringly.

"Yeah, thanks..." Will nods, cuddling into his blanket as I enter the kitchen across the corridor.

. . .

I return to the bedroom with two mugs of hot chocolate in hand, taking note of a book that Will's writing in. As soon as he sees me, he puts it down. I consider whether I question this supposedly-panicky behaviour, but decide against it. It's probably nothing, anyway.

"Here you are..." I whisper, leaning over to hand him the drink, sitting down at the side of his bed after. He silently thanks me and embraces it before taking a sip. I hope it isn't bad.

"Thank you.. it's really good." Will says, making me look away shyly. Compliments, even the tiniest ones, are something that I never knew how to react too. I'd obviously feel flattered, then again I wouldn't want to sound unappreciative or narcissistic. You're either one of the two depending on how you react.

Though, Will doesn't seem too taken aback by my flustered gesture.

Will Byers

If I'm being honest, I don't feel that sick. I just want to spend more time with Mike, as messed up as it sounds. It's just that I'm scared that when school starts next week, he'll have lots of friends, being famous and all, and we won't spend any time together. I'm glad when I notice he doesn't mind being with me - it could be a good sign.

And no, I don't just wanna be his friend because he's famous, but so far he had a really good impression on me and I just don't want to lose it all. Yeah, I might make friends too but I feel like even though I don't know Mike all that well, he's that one person I feel drawn to.

I take a sip.

"Thank you.. it's really good." I say, noticing how he timidly looks the other way. There's something we have in common - not particularly liking compliments. Despite the kind gesture, they always just seem to make me feel awkward.

"So, what brings you to this school?" He asks me.

"Oh- um... My step-dad is usually busy, being police chief and all, and my mom works outside of town, so they just kinda want me to have a home where I'm supervised or something. I don't know why but- you know. I think my step-sister is also going to go to an all-girls boarding academy, but I don't know much about it. You?"

Michael Wheeler

I lower my gaze to my lap in thought.