𝐇𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐌𝐞 ; 𝘉𝘺𝘭𝘦𝘳 ✓

𝟏𝟏.

The Wheelers Residence | Thur 3:57 PM
Will Byers

Will road his bike down the street while recalling the directions Mike had given to him yesterday.

"Last house on the left." he said to himself.

Once he got closer to the house, he saw a mailbox that said Wheeler on it and knew he was in the right place. He laid his bike against the concrete driveway and walked to the front door.

He rang the doorbell and patiently waited for someone to answer. After a minute or so, someone finally opened the door. It was a man who had a piece of chicken in both of his hands and chewed loudly.

"Can I help you?" He asked in between bites.

"Is Mike here?"

"Hold on—" He said while stepping inside and shutting the door."—Michael!"

Will heard loud thudding and then finally, Mike was at the door.

"Oh hey Will! Come in!" He said excitedly.

Will walked inside and followed Mike down the stairs to the basement.

"Make yourself at home!" Mike said while plopping down on the couch.

Will looked around silently for a bit, observing all the little knickknacks and things Mike had around the room. He thought it was a little weird that they're first hang out was in a basement but at least it was a nice basement.

"So what do you like to do?" Mike asked.

Will thought about what to say. He didn't want to lie but he also didn't want Mike to think he was dorky right away.

"Ya know, just sports and stuff." he lied.

"Oh, well I like this really nerdy game called Dungeons and Dragons." Mike said, remembering what Dustin had told him yesterday.

Will's face lit up as he said,"Me too."

Mike felt accomplished that he had finally gotten a smile from Will. He got the game off of a shelf and they played for a couple of hours.

***

Will sat across from Dustin at their usual spot in the far back of the cafeteria. He ate his sandwich that was prepared by Joyce while staring at Mike from afar.

Dustin was talking to him but he was so deep in thought that he couldn't hear him anymore, all he was focused on was the tall, raven-haired football player that sat in the middle of the cafeteria.

When Will first saw Mike in freshman year, he admired him and wished to be like him one day. Mike was popular, and handsome, and even thought he hangs out with bullies, he himself was still a good person.

This year he still felt that way, but there were a few more feelings involved. Plus Mike actually knows who Will is now, which Will thought would only happen in his dreams.

Even though they hung out yesterday, Will still felt like they could never truly be friends because of how indifferent their social statuses were. Would them being friends make Will look cooler or Mike look lamer?

"Will, you ok?" he heard Dustin ask.

"Yeah I'm fine." Will mumbled, not taking his eyes off Mike for a second.

Dustin turned around to see what his friend was looking at and smiled at what he saw.

"Ooo you like him!" Dustin teased.

This statement distracted Will from his thoughts. "No I don't!" he said defensively.

"You've been staring at him this whole time!" Dustin said, calling Will out on his lies.

Will paused before saying, "I still can't believe you fought Troy." changing the subject.

Dustin continued to talk and Will continued to stare. What if Dustin's right? he thought to himself.

Soon the lunch period ended and the two split up and headed to their next classes.

***

Will spotted Blaineley in the hallway and walked over to her before she left her locker. Will knew he needed to apologize after what happened the other day, it would only be the right thing to do.

"Can I talk to you?" Will asked. She closed her locker and faced Will with her arms crossed, waiting for him to speak.

"I wanted to say sorry for the other day, it's just, most popular people aren't that nice to me, like at all." Will said while looking down at his feet.

"Well I'm not most popular people—"

"I know, I know. I shouldn't have assumed, I'm sorry." Will said, continuing to apologize.

"Ya know Will, I really hate it when people label me as something I'm not just because I wear a cheer uniform." she said.

Will could definitely relate. People always labeled and assumed things about him, but he's gotten used to it at this point.

"If I accept your apology, I want you to get to know me for me and not what you think you know."

"Deal." Will said while holding out his hand.

They shook hands and then walked to their classes, eager to get the day over with and start the weekend.

***

Will was woken up by a rustling sound coming from outside. He sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes a couple of times before standing up and looking out of his window. It was pitch black, the only light source being the moon and stars.

Will looked at his alarm clock and it read 3:47 AM. He decided to go outside and investigate, so he quickly grabbed a flashlight and put on some slippers. He slowly opened the front door and stepped outside into the cool night.

The wind caused Will's cheeks and nose to get pink, and his bowl cut to sway back and forth. He switches on his flashlight and banged it a couple of times before it turned on. The light flickered a bit, which made Will think he must've broken it.

Will shined the light around the porch looking for whatever was causing the rustling. He heard the movement again and followed the noise.

He realized the noise was coming from the bushes and he spread them to reveal some kind of...animal? It was slimy, black, and had a huge mouth that opened up like a flower.

"What are you?" Will asked while lifting the animal out of the bushes.

Will got a couple of looks at it before he felt goosebumps on the back of his neck. It felt like something was watching him.

Will turned around and saw a figure walking out of the woods. The figure was tall, black, and had no face. His eyes widened and he dropped the animal and ran back inside.

To be continued...
[6/15/20 | 1098 words]