"Are you okay?" El watches Will from where she's sitting at the desk in their room, radio in her hand.
He lifts himself away from the door. "I don't know," he murmurs, going over in his head what his mom just told him. His father? Here? There's a stitch in his side, digging into him like a knife. He hasn't seen his father in years. As far as he knew, his father didn't even care to see him at all. Why does he want to see him now?
Moving towards his bed, he halts, catching himself on the dresser. The floor sways beneath his feet. Grasping the edge of the dresser to keep himself steady, he closes his eyes and takes a breath in, then out. In then out.
"What's wrong?" El asks, putting away the radio and taking a step towards Will.
Breath unsteady, he shakes his head, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. "Nothing... nothing."
"Are you sure?"
"Will?" Jonathan's voice calls from the hallway, making Will and El look to the door. "Will?"
He meets El's eyes; she gives him a shrug.
"Will!" Jonathan calls again. Opening the door, Will peers down the hall to see Jonathan standing with the phone in his hand. Jonathan waves at him. "You've got a call."
Will furrows his eyebrows, glancing at the time on his watch. Almost ten. His friends usually never call this late on school nights. Shutting the door, he walks over to his brother and in a hushed voice, asks him, "Who is it?"
Jonathan hands him the phone. "It's Mike." He pats him on the shoulder before going to his room.
Mike. Will stares at the phone in his hand for a moment. Mike is calling him. His stomach is in knots as he brings the phone to his ear. "Hello?"
"Hey, Will," Mike says, making Will's breath hitch. "It's Mike."
His vocal chords struggle to make a sound. "H – how are you? What's up?"
"I'm fine. How have you been?"
God, this is so awkward. What the hell is he supposed to say? Swallowing, he leans against the wall and whispers, "I'm okay."
"It's been a while."
"Yeah... yeah, it has." His hand trembles. "Um... I know we haven't really... talked. Since what happened. I've just... with everything going on, I haven't really been able to..." If he could punch himself in the face right now, he would.
"It's fine. Really." Mike sighs. "I actually called about your birthday."
"Oh... what about it?"
"I can't come over," Mike explains, a hitch in his breath audible from the other end. "Nancy's busy with some sort of research or whatever. She can't drive me."
"Oh." He clutches the phone to keep from dropping it. "That's... that's okay," he says, trying to hide the disappointment in his voice. "Actually, it might be better that way. My – my dad... he's coming over for my birthday for some reason."
"Your dad?"
"Yeah, I don't know why."
There's a pause before Mike clears his throat. "I really do wish I could. Come over. But my mom won't even let me take a bus by myself."
"It's fine, Mike, really," he insists. "We can still see each other this summer."
"Yeah, of course."
After a beat of silence, Will goes on, "Dustin said you've been going to that D&D club he's in. The Hellfire Club. How is it?"
"Oh, that... yeah, I don't know if I'm gonna keep hanging around with them much more."
"Why not?"
"I don't know... it's just not the same. And some weird shit is happening with them."
"Weird shit?"
"Yeah, just... people are blaming them for a lot of bad stuff that's happening here... I never should have joined it in the first place. I didn't even want to."
"Mike, I told you it was fine. You don't have to feel bad about joining it."
"It's not just that... none of it feels the same. Not without you."
Will pauses, listening to Mike's breathing. Closing his eyes, a sigh escapes his lips. "I'm sorry I haven't been there for you after what happened," he says, his voice weak. He fidgets with the phone cord. "I've just had a lot on my mind, and with everything happening here, I haven't had the chance to call. "
"No, Will, it's not-" Mike sucks in a breath. "You don't have to feel bad about any of it. It was just an accident anyways. I'm fine now."
"Yeah... yeah, I know." He shuts his eyes, letting out a sigh. His mind flashes back to that day two and a half months ago when he got the call. His friends' panicked voices. His own panicked reaction. Yet another thing to add to his nightmares. "But it still scared me when Dustin called. I didn't know what to think."
It takes a moment for Mike to answer. "I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin things for you there."
"That's not what I meant-"
"No, really. I am sorry. You shouldn't have to worry about me." There was a pause. Whispering on the other end before Mike let out a huff. "You don't have to waste your time on me anymore."
"Mike-"
The line goes quiet.
