/

Chapter Five

Don't Dream It's Over

The wind was all that could be heard in the cold November air. Before the two teenagers, one going in and out of consciousness and the other trying to figure out what to do next, was a tree, split all the way down the middle from the very top. And this wasn't a small tree.

He hadn't quite expected that entrance, but he would never forget the way the ground beneath him rumbled and how the wind seemed to pick up on cue. And then suddenly she was shoved forward, likely her own might of will mixing with her force throwing her out of the tree and into his dimension.

Will hadn't been this exhilarated in so long. He'd been stuck in another space of his mind for

years that helping Eleven had brought him some sense of self again. He almost felt like he did before he met the Demogorgon, carefree.

That was until he felt her go quite limp in his embrace on the wet ground of the woods. Quickly checking her pulse, he couldn't find it. Will cursed himself for not paying more attention like Lucas had in their CPR health class. He pulled away some of her layers and put his ear to her chest. It was still beating – much calmer than he would've thought for what she'd put up with, but he figured that now she was indeed safe, she could let someone else take care of her for a change. And Will was prepared to do so.

Her flashlight was on the ground, still covered in that T-shirt for reasons he would find out eventually. She also had a backpack on, and he wondered if walking from Mike's basement to the gateway by Castle Byers was more of a journey than he anticipated. He rolled her over so that he could remove the backpack and pack the flashlight. He hoisted his own on one shoulder and Eleven's on his other shoulder and left his spray cans and the bat, his much smaller flashlight in his mouth to direct the way better.

Awkwardly Will sat her up so that he could use her armpits to raise her up on her feet. He wasn't strong but something told him that Eleven wasn't very heavy either. He strained one arm across her back before getting the other one behind her knees. She wasn't light, but he was sure she was meant to be heavier if healthy.

Eleven was probably in the worst shape after her entrance. She'd clearly put everything into leaving the Upside Down, pale in the face with blue bruising in her veins pushing forward to the surface of her face and around her eyes in particular. The blood seeped from one nostril and from one eye too, which was a terrifying sight and had him hauling himself to the house quicker.

Once he reached the backdoor, Will set her on her feet, and struggled to keep her steady while also getting them both through the entrance. Will found that he'd have to carry her like a bride through a threshold again if he didn't want to disturb his mother.

Will supposed he could have woken his mother up immediately, but wanted to get Eleven comfortable and warm and explain some things to his mother before she could be shocked at her reappearance and also angry with Will – because inevitably he would have to be upfront with the truth and that was hard enough already for Will these days.

His utmost priorities resurfaced when he nearly hit Eleven's head on the hallway opening's frame.

Once he had her carefully laid out on his bed he looked out of his bedroom door and down the hall.

Not a stir in the night…not a hint that his mother was awake.

He had some time.

After he closed the door carefully, Will put one of his lamps on and read 2:38 AM on his alarm clock beside his bed. Seeing no sense in sleep while he was far too awake, he decided that for the next 24 hours, he was now Eleven's carer.

He started to peel some of the layers off of Eleven, moving her limbs and sitting her up when it was necessary. She had a jacket, a sweater, a top and a thermal layer underneath, with sweat pants, leggings and checking before he undressed her after the leggings saw a pair of thermals under that too, hoisted up to her hip bone.

Will left the thermals on for obvious reasons and added new layers from his own wardrobe. It had taken some time, but once she was rewrapped with the extra blankets in his backpack, and under his heavy comforter to provide her some ease through her sleep, Eleven's colour began to change, flushing back into a pink despite the consistent green tinge.

He found his notebook on his desk and pulled his seat over to Eleven on his bed. Her breathing was slow and consistent enough for him to relax. Finding a pen somewhere on the floor in his somewhat messy room, Will started to write some notes of importance, questions he had that he hadn't had when he was overwhelmed by their connection.

Why are you green?

Where is your gas mask?

(Only if she's willing) What happened while you were in the Upside Down?

Who was sending you all the stuff?

That one seemed to send him off to where he shouldn't have been snooping, but Will just had to see it as it all being for Eleven's benefit. Hawkins Lab, the "Department of Energy" and shifty government characters could have been keeping her there and thought made him boil with anger that all they sent were provisions and not help to get her back out.

They were doing the damn near minimum if they were behind this.

Books, and lots of them had explained why her bag had been so much heavier than his. Clearly she treasured this along with the small dictionary that been thumbed at and folded at the corners at where he assumed were her favourite words. There was a small bottle of water and a box Eggos, some soap as well a toothbrush, a small tube of paste and a pad. The twelve year old in him was screaming to fling it away but then he remembered he was housing a lab experiment girl who had been on the run in another dimension of hell for three years and that he grew up doing his mother's bra and it was unopened.

He couldn't discern much from the books or the other cherished items and when he found a torn up pink dress, a pair of shoes and a flannel shirt that he could vaguely recollect as Mike's and that this might have been the outfit she was wearing when she left his friends, he decided that the next avenue for clues was in her layers of clothes.

Will investigated the clothes that he placed on a dressing table in a pile to clean for her if she felt an attachment to them. Carefully unfolding each and every item, he found they'd all had their store labels attached but that they faded over time and heavy use. It wasn't like these stores had computer systems logging these items and who bought them so Will gave up on that idea.

Until he saw the jacket hanging on his doorknob, wanting to keep it out of his mess for Eleven. It was also vaguely familiar – it's colour a distinctive deep forest green with a lovely wool lining.

Mike had grown out of that jacket.

/

October 1984

Will had arrived late to their latest D&D game but hardly anyone could complain about it. Mike's campaigns had been just rebuilding in quality after about ten months of some lacklustre stuff. Lucas and Dustin had considered bringing it up when Will very nearly stood up and left their conversation. They realised that Mike was still going through some stuff and would encourage their mourning friend from Will's severe suggestion. After that, the campaigns picked up a little bit more.

And on top of that, Mike was saddled with a small chore in the basement while Dustin and Lucas were helping him. Mrs. Wheeler wanted Mike to fill up a box of old clothes for the Winter clothing charity drive for the church.

Dustin and Lucas had been too busy laughing over some of Mike's old pyjamas, which mysteriously never made an appearance during sleepovers. Mike, somehow smiling through it all was defending himself the entire time, but taking it all in stride.

"My aunt gave them to me for my birthday – I had no choice but to keep them!"

Will had remembered the bunny slippers and the little flap at the back with fluffy tail for detail. Dustin had made a point for everyone to hold onto the image of Mike's bunny suit for the rest of their lives and the subsequent small life changes he would have succumbed due to its restrictions in the front.

"Didn't know you sat down to pee Mike."

Mike was scrunching up his face in annoyance, but his smile remained nevertheless as he shook his head and three friends cracked up over his mild suffering. Their freckled friend was clearly planning some sort of revenge, just as he was putting in his old forest green, wool lined coat. Every one of Mike's clothes had his name printed on the tags, as Mrs. Wheeler was a persistent woman. Will sort of chuckled to himself at the thought that poorer kids in Hawkins all had items with some Wheeler kid's name on it.

"One day in your sleep Henderson."

But his hands came across a neatly folded pair of grey sweatpants and a navy blue sweatshirt. Mike's whole demeanour changed. Neither item would fit him anymore and he seemed to be stuck thinking about where these two items were heading. Lucas and Dustin seemed to notice too and went down route of pretending they hadn't by continuing a different conversation.

Quickly Mike placed it back with the keeping pile. Will frowned.

Before even a whisper left Will in question, Lucas slyly motioned him to cut it out as he continued his conversation with Dustin seemingly. Dustin held up two fingers, parted but not in the peace sign. It was their signal.

It had something to do with Eleven and if they wanted the day to go smoothly then they would let this drop because Mike would get past it in a couple of minutes.

And he did. Later Will found out that Eleven had worn these items almost exclusively until the disguise was introduced.

It was nearly eight hours later, only breaks spent getting drinks and more snacks and going to bathroom, when Will was being picked up by the Chief as the nightfall had swept across Hawkins that Will remembered the interaction. He could just hear from his spot in the passenger seat of Hopper's Chevy

"You don't mind dropping this off for me at the church tomorrow Jim?"

As always, Chief Hopper was naturally gruff but decided to be polite all the same. Karen Wheeler occasionally supplied him with home cooked food that she insisted wouldn't fit in her fridge, and reasoned he was such a busy man that it would only make life a little easier for him if he took it off her hands. And it did and almost always, Jim Hopper swallowed his pride and took the offering and Will would witness this often from the passenger seat. While he was no favourite at the church, his position as Chief got him in and out without so much as a question of whether he should jump in the confessional booth for a word with those closes to God.

"Sure Karen."

Will watched in the rear view mirror, Hopper put the box in the back, only to touch one of the items, almost in thought. Eventually he nodded once to himself and slammed the door to the trunk closed.

The then thirteen year old didn't think much on Hopper's bizarre observation.

But a fifteen year old was slowly being crushed from inside out.

Will opened his eyes and shook his head. It couldn't be him.

He stood and walked toward the door, took the jacket from the doorknob and found the telltale sign that he somehow wished wasn't there.

Mike Wheeler was written in Mrs. Wheeler's handwriting and a thick marker that had been used on most of Mike's clothes.

Will felt sick to the core, but thankfully, he didn't feel the urge to cough up any of the internal creatures that seemed insistent on growing in his body. No this felt like something he hadn't felt for a long time.

He'd felt like this for his father, who let his mom work to the bone where as he held zero responsibility or care of any sort in Will or Jonathon's upbringing. And it certainly didn't have him speeding down in his Muscle car to see Will in the hospital when he survived the Upside Down.

Just as he was starting to consider Hopper as a missing figure in his life, one that actually understood him and let him be – it was ripped from him. Will looked at Eleven, how much his friends toiled looking for her, how many tears were spilt in that year, Will with guilt that she couldn't have what he had too, Lucas for not being friendly enough with her after he realised the truth and not giving her a chance, and Mike, oh God Mike.

All that time looking, and hoping and failing, and he had the answer all along.

Will remained quiet for Eleven's sake, but he couldn't help the angry tears that rose up in his eyes and the sniffling that followed.

What made it worse was the thought that his Mom might be in on it too.

She potentially was due to how close she was to Hopper. How Eleven found him only to be chased by Hawkins Lab a few hours later, with the aim of capturing her and shutting her up in her old life only to chase her straight into near death and the Upside Down.

Will didn't feel at all guilty. His Mom cared deeply for Eleven and he knew that – but if she allowed that to happen – then he didn't know if he could ever look at her the same. He already besmirched the name Hopper in his mind. His part was very clear in this.

Eleven shouldn't have been in the Upside Down for three years. She shouldn't have even been in there for more than a week.

Will knew now that there was no way he could trust any adult with Eleven's wellbeing. They either wanted her as a weapon or buried in the ground.

As she steadily sleeps, he wonders if he's being irrational. If stopping adult intervention might be the downfall of Eleven.

But the chances are in the favour of likeliness that they will just take her against her Will. If he could fear any of the stories told by the guys about being on the run from Hawkins Lab, having vans drive directly toward a bunch of kids on bikes or chasing them through the halls of their middle school with guns would have been top of why Will didn't trust well intending adults with shit. Even his Mom didn't trust them – and had always been very vocal about that.

It's this factor that almost makes him reconsider his Mom's part in this. Maybe it was Hopper had never made a move when his Mom was practically throwing softballs to bait him.

But there was always an "if". Nothing was certain and these were high stakes.

Will couldn't take those odds lightly.

The prospective plans of Eleven's return were changing dramatically, but he was glad he had overanalysed some of her possessions and hadn't made a move too soon.

Soon he was writing a list of priorities in his book with Eleven's sketch beside it.

Eleven's recovery, welfare and safety.

Fake sick. Convince Mom. Get her to go to work despite that.

Call the guys before they get to school.

Deep down Will knew that he couldn't keep this to himself and that he would be causing grievous harms to his friendships if he didn't inform them at least. Eleven needed some familiar faces in her life, and as much as Will was prepared to help her beyond his means, he was sure that having Dustin and Lucas would hasten the recovery process and Mike would keep her from feeling guilty about her part in the Upside Down's existence.

What makes you think it's all your fault?

Will wrote that down once it popped into his head through his train of thought.

He closed the book carefully and placed that and the pen on his desk, before leaving the room to get some baby wipes and a large glass of water for Eleven. Will was planning on leaving Eleven alone until she stirred herself awake, but was going to be ready at a moment's notice if she needed anything.

There was still a lot to do but he knew he'd have to get some actual rest in if he wanted to work with Eleven effectively. Living off on a very little sleep the night before and a nap during Gym was not wise if he planned on being useful.

Will created a mini mattress beside his own bed by creating a thick surface via layered blankets and used his sleeping bag to cocoon himself comfortably. He clicked around on his new watch that he received for his birthday last May from Hopper. It's digital and decked out with some of the coolest little things like detection for the current temperature and an alarm. The noise wasn't quite as disturbing in the morning and he had started using it instead of his bedside clock. Eleven doesn't need to wake up from a deep sleep in distress.

And for the first time in years, Will fell asleep with a sense of responsibility greater than him passing through his own fears on the way. It's this aspect of his new way of thinking that made him actually believe he was rested for the uncertainty that lies ahead.

Will awoke at the mini beeping sound in his watch.

Eleven had hardly been disturbed, having not tossed or turned once. Will would've known as he was too light a sleeper these days not to be woken up by any minuscule sound that brought upon a possible anxiety attack or a slug coughing episode.

Stretching out his limbs and cracking anything that needed it, Will checked on Eleven. She was softly breathing in her sleep, chest slowly rising and falling with the sheets. Will pulled up the blanket a little over her shoulders, and she seemed to tuck herself further in her sleep mode when Will did this.

He was almost so distracted at his pure disbelief that Will didn't hear his mom start walking down toward the hallway.

Sprinting to his door as lightly as possible, Will opened it to his mom halfway to his door.

"Oh hey honey, I was just coming to check on you."

"Uh yeah, thing is Mom, I'm not feeling so hot-"

Will was interrupted when Joyce touched his forehead. She was checking his temperature and looked unsure on whether she agreed with him.

Frowning, Joyce could see the honest desire not to leave the house. She sighed.

"You're not sick Will."

"But Mom-"

"But you don't have to go to school today."

Will was flabbergasted. He blinked a few times, apprehensive to question this decision his mother had made. She didn't believe he was sick, but she was still going to let him play hookey?

"You've been acting a bit off more than can be usually expected sweetie. I'm not blind to it."

"What about school?" he asked absentmindedly.

Joyce smirked somewhat. "From what Mrs. Wheeler tells me, it might be best if you stay home today. Diffusing fights can be a scary thing, Will…let's say you've earned it, like when I used to take you out of school on my day off when you were just a kid."

"Am I not still a kid?"

Will didn't know why he was still asking questions, but when he caught his mom in a conversation as honest as these, Will tried to get as much out of it as he could. Meanwhile, the tingling in his stomach told him that holding his mom back from going on about her day was just prolonging her and make it possible that she could catch the girl in his bed.

Joyce's smile was a little sad and she placed a hand on his arm, before pulling him into a hug. He was a few inches taller than her now, which wasn't surprising when she'd always been short. But she could still feel his vulnerability regardless, her baby boy.

"You'll always be my little kid Will, even when you're in your forties. But I would be remiss to see that you've grown up faster than most."

She never added the reasoning, she never had to these days. It was always just a whisper in their ears when their eyes saw something that wasn't there in the walls and when Jonathon changed the light bulbs in the house whenever they flickered.

Joyce stroked her son's cheek and pulled him down so she could kiss his forehead.

"Now you just rest easy. Do you want to me to bring anything to your room."

"No! I – I mean, I want to watch TV. Veg out on the couch. You know."

His mom shook her head at the bizarre behaviour, accounting it to her reasoning for keeping him home today.

And so Will waited ten minutes while he sat on the couch, mind racing with thoughts and possible scenarios of how this could all go south very quickly, while his mom brought out some Pop Tarts and a glass of juice. She kissed him before shoving on in her mouth and heading off to work.

"Don't get up to too much trouble when I'm gone mister," his mother said jokingly.

He smiled awkwardly and waved her out, "Yeah, bye Mom, have a good day."

Will needed some acting lessons, but his mom bought it. His guilt ate him up inside, he never liked lying to her since she always would be in his corner to defend him, but he didn't really know what not dating Hopper had consisted of this whole time. Had she gone shopping for those same thermals, had she suggested the sanitary pads when the Chief didn't come across Eleven's inevitable puberty crisis in another dimension?

Will swallowed uncomfortably, but decided to give his mother the benefit of the doubt until he found enough to debate it to conclusion. It made him mentally add her to his list of priorities, as she had done day one for him.

4. Find out if Mom is in on the supplies.

There was a perpetual ache in being in the cramped position with which he slept. His lips were dried out and cracked painfully. He had a headache for the ages and he was cold. And on top of all of that, Mike Wheeler had panicked his mother.

A slam awoke said teenage boy completely on edge and nearly banging his head on one of the chairs holding up the fort. He must've found himself increasing in the space by spreading out through uncomfortable means, but it still didn't make his small muscles satisfied with his position. Rushed footsteps followed from the door.

"Oh my God, Mike! Why weren't you in your bed?!"

Mike moved from the fort, and turned as his mom finally reached the bottom of the stairs to berate him for freaking her out, only to concern her more.

His eyes were heavy and puffier than she'd seen them. There was an exhaustion in them that she was worried would happen the day he stopped being her little man. He was paler than his complexion naturally was and looked as though he was done with the world. His voice croaked when he tried to excuse what happened when she put a finger to his lips.

She put a hand to his head and silenced him by doing so as he looked confused by her actions.

There was no rising temperature as she might've suspected, no fever ahead, and yet everything else told her that he was in no good condition. Her shoulders sagged when the decision came to mind and a possible culprit for this manic behaviour from her son.

"I'm going to need you to stay home today honey."

Mike looked taken aback by that suggestion. He didn't know if that was even an option.

Sure he could use the rest. But he didn't want to worry his friends and become an unnecessary burden after he'd finally accepted everything and said everything he needed to Eleven.

Or nothing at all if his beliefs were proven true.

Sure if Troy was back in school, although he highly doubted it because his mother doted on him more than his own who at least had the logic to punish Mike for his actions on every other occasion, it would've been nice to avoid him. Mike's attack that started a rather one-sided fight had been problematic; he took the chance while Troy was too busy lauding himself to the cafeteria as some big bad wolf. Mike could reason that in any tense situation, one shouldn't ever be cocky because it only led to mishaps like this for Troy – and boy he'd had it coming for years so that was always going to play against Troy who was clearly not very good at the game of Life. But Troy was also a sadistic and privileged kid. He could get away with being the psychopath who held a switchblade to Dustin's throat while forcing Mike to jump into the Quarry to save his friend from being badly cut up. He may have been bluffing that day, but Mike wasn't going to take that risk from Troy Donovan who could probably get away with god damn murder if his mother had a say and so Mike didn't want to find himself in a situation where he was alone in an alley while Mike Donovan and his muscle left him unconscious somewhere.

Patricia Donovan was another woman he would gladly avoid too. Troy's conceitedness clearly came from her.

Mike felt like none of that mattered though.

It was the twelfth of November, and he wanted to be with his friends.

Before he could voice this, she suggested something.

"How about I get you a ton of junk food and some pizza for tonight and you can invite the boys over for a sleepover? Just like old times."

Compromise wasn't often faceted in Karen's approach, but it seemed to bring Mike around on the idea. Although it completely blew her mind that he was even turning down a day off from school in the first place.

"Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't offer if I wasn't sure Mike."

Mike rubbed his eyes wearily before caving in. Despite how much he was loathe to admit it, he was overemotional, and while he wanted to move on, which he was insistent he had, Mike wanted a day just to not think.

"Thanks Mom."

She helped him out of the fort and pushed him lightly to the direction of the stairs, a state of worry returning as soon as his back was to her, slouching his way up each step.

Mike stole an apple off the kitchen bench when his stomach growled and watched his sister as she sang to herself some strange little ditty as she ate her cereal at the table. What heaven it would be to be blissfully oblivious again.

He walked over and drank her juice, which didn't impress her much.

"Mike!"

Mike smiled at his sister and her little scowl – it was nice that not every little thing made her quietly tear up anymore. She was starting to remind him of Nancy now.

"I'll fill it back up Holly," Mike promised.

"Good," she was assertive in her word that she usually had a positive tone to.

Mike ruffled her undone hair, knowing his mother would soon put into pigtails and plaits while Holly was busy eating, and poured her a new glass from the carton sitting on the table.

And for the first time in a week, he started to feel a little better.

His mom walked out of the kitchen and noticed the display at the table but wasn't about to make a Kodak moment out of it, secretly glad Mike was being himself again.

"You're going to eat more than that and you're going to go straight up to your proper bed, do you hear me Michael?"

"I do Mom," he said, only looking at his sister as he pushed the glass next to her bowl.

He was sat down opposite his sister and given a bowl of Cheerios save the milk so that they wouldn't be soggy. His mom's kiss landed on his head after he started eating them.

It was about twenty minutes later that Lucas was ringing doorbell and Mike was halfway up the stairs. He heard his Mom answer.

"He can't make it to school today Lucas, he's not feeling well."

"Oh," Lucas expressed concerned, "Is he at least okay after…after yesterday?"

"Well I can't know for sure honey, but if you and the boys would like to stay over tonight I'm sure you can talk to him about it then?"

"Really – even after the fight?"

He could hear the small sigh as his mother responded, likely nodding, "Mike needs the support before he has to serve his Saturday detention."

"Oh," this expression came out more high-pitched. Lucas hadn't been informed on this and was clearly hoping to find out every sordid detail during the car ride to school, but was surprised nonetheless. "Thanks, I'll tell Will and Dustin, Mrs. Wheeler."

"Have a good day at school Lucas," but decided to add as an afterthought, "And try steering clear of any confrontations today."

"Preaching to the choir Mrs. Wheeler," Lucas mentioned honestly.

"Good boy."

The door closed and Mike finished the hike up the stairs to his room. An irritating static noise had been echoing in the hallway but he'd been too focused on trying to hone in his overhearing of his mom and best friend's conversation. It was only when he closed the door he had recognised that sound.

His Supercom had sat on a shelf, gathering dust, a relic of days gone past. He couldn't particularly remember the day they had stopped using them collectively, but Mike remembered never responding to a message from Dustin one day a few months back when it all just felt like too much.

"Mike, come in, Mike, over!"

It was Will.

Mike tenderly picked the device up off his shelf. He used his hand to clear some of the dust and pressed the button, and responded.

"Will? Why didn't you just call the phone…over."

A short pause and then a quieter voice.

"I don't know who could be listening…over."

Mike's heart dropped. Either something strange was happening – or Will had finally cracked, and the signs had been showing for the latter more than the former. His friend's sudden confidence and fearlessness in facing Troy the day before should've been immediate warning signs, as well as a sudden eagerness that he witnessed last night and the lack of sleep.

"Will…is everything okay?...Over."

"Couldn't be better. Mike you need to come over now...over"

It was this strange excitement that concerned Mike more than anything, and Mike with his own mental state, wasn't sure if he should be tackling this alone.

"Okay, but I'm bringing Lucas and Dustin too. Over."

"Only them Mike, over."

Mike came running downstairs, jeans undone and a sweater with only one arm in it and his hair messed up from pushing his head through the hole. His mom looked quite surprised to see him doing this after she'd instructed him to stay in bed.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"Will – he's not good," Mike stuttered out, waving his Supercom in the air to his mom as evidence.

His mother seemed to disapprove of this plan. "Mike I don't think that's a good idea."

He was shoving his other arm in the sweater before grabbing his sneakers and a jacket.

"Mom I don't really have time to think about it, he's acting weird, more than normal. He needs me Mom."

Karen sighed uncomfortably, "Look, maybe I should go and check on him."

Mike winced at the very thought. Will had specifically said him and Dustin and Lucas. There was a reason for that, one he was yet to find out, but he figured throwing his Mom into the mix would make things worse.

"Mom, you wouldn't understand, I'm sorry."

"Well then help me to understand Mike!" Her voice had risen from its original footing.

Mike shook his head adamantly as he looked his mother in the eye; "I don't have enough time right now."

With that he opened the front door and took off into the street, dishevelled but mostly ready.

Lucas' car was halfway down the street, oddly stopped.

"I'm going to be late for homeroom Lucas!"

Lucas rolled his eyes while internally worrying about his Cimarron. However much he dwelled on his car's capability, he wasn't ever going to go down easy in an argument of particulars with Dustin. "You didn't seem to care yesterday when we missed homeroom entirely so you could scarf down some waffles instead."

"And your car seemed to work fine just then!"

"Would you prefer to walk Dustin?"

Before the curly haired friend could retort, a smacking sound hit the Cimarron at the back and the two looked up into the rear view mirror to see Mike huffing and puffing.

"What the hell?" Lucas exclaimed. He unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car. Dustin pulled himself up from his seat and out of the window so he could watch what was happening.

Mike placed the Supercom and his sneakers on top of the car and was buttoning up his jeans and putting his arms through his jacket sleeves.

"Mike, I thought you were sick?"

"That's not really true," Mike said hurriedly while multi tasking and somewhat out of breath, "but that's not the point. Something's up with Will and he needs us."

Dustin and Lucas looked to each other as Dustin said, "I told you he was going to breakdown – we didn't intervene when we should have."

"Shut up Dustin," Lucas commented sourly, although believed he might've been right.

Mike jumped in the back with his Supercom and sneakers in hand and waited for both his friends to get in the car. Lucas revved the engine, and it started smoothly, letting them pull off without too many hiccups along the way after that.

When his friends asked him about the Supercom conversation, both Will and Dustin were growing more concerned as Mike picked it apart.

"Well, if he is having a mental breakdown then we need to be careful."

"But…but what if he isn't?"

Dustin and Mike looked in surprise at Lucas and his train of thought.

"I mean we can't always assume it's a bad thing. Yeah maybe he's a little paranoid, but who wouldn't be after it was proven Hawkins Lab were tapping into the phone lines and bugging our houses," Lucas shrugged.

But what could make Will so paranoid?

/

The Cimarron pulled up to the Byers House and the car emptied of three adolescent boys who weren't certain what they were heading into that morning.

Carefully they approached the door.

"It's open, should we just go in?"

"This is sort of past social rules now, isn't it Lucas?"

Lucas rolled his eyes as Dustin pushed his way in and Mike followed him with a wariness written in his frown.

"Will?!" Dustin called out unconcerned. Lucas hit him on the arm.

"If he is freaking out, we should try being calm."

Shortly after hearing that, pounding footsteps were felt vibrating from the floor. Once he came out looking relatively fine through the hallway entrance, all three sighed greatly. Mike pulled him forward, checked his wrists and was close to slapping him.

"Jesus Christ Will, you had us damn worried!"

Will frowned and said, "Why should you be worried?"

But Dustin decided to ignore the conversation once it was confirmed that Will was indeed fine and not going off the deep end as they had dramatically expected.

"Oh thank God now I can go take a leak."

Dustin left the room and headed toward the bathroom and they started up once they heard the door slam shut, wincing at the sound.

"Honestly guys I'm fine."

"Really? Because Mike seemed to cliff dive to the conclusion that you were freaking out."

Will made a mildly amused and confused face, "What the hell gave you that impression?"

"Okay so you're not physically hurt, and you haven't drawn blood which is another reason why you could have been contacting me," Mike said absentmindedly as he looked Will over. "But you're really happy which we haven't seen in a while."

"So you assumed I was going insane?" Will questioned, as though the mere suggestion should've been deemed so.

"Well you have to admit, this is the first time in years we've seen you like this – which we know why, but still, it's not unreasonable that we went straight to the most likely situation."

Dustin could hear the muffled conversation from the bathroom and shook his head. While he'd been blunt in talking about Will's mental state to his friends, he knew that addressing it with much the same manner wouldn't work well at all. He'd finished up and washed his hands. Before he left, he could hear a strange noise.

It was soft and disturbed. Almost like an animal trying to withstand pain.

Once he stepped out of the bathroom to look down the hall, Will's bedroom was the next door down, and the noise seemed to be coming from there.

Dustin looked toward the direction with the conversation and toward the noise and decided to take an investigative look for himself, to see if maybe his predictions were right. Will might have found some injured animal and didn't know what to do with it.

The door was ajar and Dustin carefully opened it, attempting not to make much noise to alert his friends. Looking in, his eyes widened. Was that a person in Will's bed? Had he acquired his own Goldilocks, who now peacefully slept in his bed?

As he took a step inside the room to look closer, the body of the person, a girl, shifted.

"Will?" she quietly asked.

Dustin was speechless since he was sure that this was awkward already and that he had no idea what a girl was doing in Will's room, let alone his bed – and almost stumbled completely.

"No – sorry – I'll go and…

Her very messy hair fell out of her face as she attempted to sit up. She looked to be agonised over the action but Mike didn't move to help her.

Those dark brown eyes – that nose.

Dustin had seen them somewhere before, in a distinctive part of his life.

Blood trickled from that nose one time too often, a consequence of some of the craziest and most awesome shit he'd ever seen in his life that no one else would ever believe.

"Dustin?"

It brought him back to the present, and slowly his eyes widened even more than he thought they could as she too looked surprised to see him. He backed out of the room cautiously, mostly due to being hit in the face with the most shock since he'd watched the same girl slam Mike's bedroom door shut when Lucas suggested handing her in.

He continued to back up until he reached the hallway entrance and saw the guys still talking. Dustin didn't know how they could be when this discovery only sat so many feet from where they stood asininely talking.

"Woah dude, have you seen a ghost or something?" Mike asked once they caught sight of him

Will turned as Dustin's stare ended up on him. Slowly a smile spread on Dustin's face, the pure shock still there, but an added layer of exhilaration topping it off.

"How…the fuck…Will?"

Lucas threw his arms in the air, "Great, now Dustin's malfunctioning."

Mike's voice was raised in the din of their nonsense.

"You're both acting weird. What the hell is going on Will?"

"Mike?"

The world stopped moving for Mike Wheeler.

Dustin moved out of the way as Will turned to face the new arrival, in every sense of the word.

From head to toe, there were remnants of filth on her, but she was covered in clean warm clothes that were Will's and a blanket was wrapped around her to complete the ensemble of survivor recently found, trailing behind her like some mockery of royalty. Her hair was lank and long and her face was marred by dirt that had recently been wiped away but evidently couldn't be entirely removed from the borders of her face. Will had done so when she started to come to earlier, even as she fell asleep again during the process.

It was past what was unclean – her eyes, a deep brown that had penetrated his soul the same night he found her in the woods, drenched and cold from the rain. She was smaller then, younger, and more afraid. In her eyes was a fear of a new kind that he couldn't quite discern. Possibly due to the fact that he had stopped breathing the minute he saw her.

Mike paled significantly.

He didn't have the words. But Lucas did.

"Eleven?"

Her eyes looked to Lucas with a small smile, as she leaned against the frame, unsteady and weak.

When she looked back at Mike, tears coming up at the very sight of him, she nodded.

With that last blow, the world turned black.