Chapter Two
"Sam? What's going on? Did something happen to Sara?" asked Hopper as he opened the door to find Sam Owens standing on his front porch.
"No, this isn't about Sara," said Dr. Owens. Joyce walked up behind Hopper and Dr. Owens looked directly at her. "It's about Will. I had a gut feeling that we were missing something on his tests all this month, so I had Scott Clarke take a look. He found some slight scarring on Will's left ventricle." Dr. Owens handed Joyce the file and she started reading the chart. "Now we can fix this and we have time, but we should probably get him on the transplant list as soon as possible to be safe."
"What caused this?" ask Hopper as he gestured for Dr. Owens to come inside. "Should we worry about El?"
"El seems to be alright so far, but after everything she went through under Brenner's control all those years, I'd like to keep running tests to be safe. We're doing the same for Sara. Scott Clarke, myself and a few others we've consulted seem to agree that Will put a lot of strain on himself when he opened too portals. It takes a significant amount of energy to open a portal to another part of our world, but opening one to another dimension...That happened after he was stuck in the Upside Down for a week and possessed by an interdimensional entity."
"I'm going to get a second opinion," said Joyce.
"I understand," said Doctor Owens. "But we're here to help and we'll get Will on that list."
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"Hey, are you two coming?" asked Mike as he peaked his head into the room when Will and Julie were cleaning paint off their faces Eleven stood with Mike and giggled at the mess. "Your mom and Hopper are expecting us for dinner and I don't plan of keeping the chief of police waiting. Who knows what he'll do if we piss him off!"
"Well, he did say he'd feed you to dogs if you ever brought El home late," said Will as he wiped his hands and face with a paper towel and Julie did the same.
"Do you two think you can get more paint on the decorations that you do on each other?" asked Mike as he decided to change the subject.
"I'll have you know, Wheeler, we're in a serious competition!" said Will.
"Oh yeah? What's the prize?" asked Mike.
"The best prize of all," said Julie. "Bragging rights!"
"That's a pretty good prize," said Eleven. She looked from Mike to Will to Julie. "Is that good banter I just did?"
"Yeah, you're getting the hang of it," said Will with an encouraging smile.
"You still have paint in your hair," Mike told Will as he pointed to a tuft of hair that was standing off of his best friend's head. Will reached up and felt the spot where Mike was pointing.
"I'll wash it out when we get home."
"We can wait if you want to take care of it now," said Mike.
"That's ok. My mom will freak if I ride home with wet hair when it's under 70 degrees," said Will. "Did you brings Nancy's old cards from Kaminski's class for tonight?"
"Sure did," said Mike as he patted his back pack. They all had a chemistry test the next day. The four of them had formed a study group. Julie's parents were less inquisitive when she went over to Will's house if Eleven was there and the Wheelers were the same about Mike going to study with El if Will was also there. Their parents seemed to live under the assumption that none of them could control their hormones.
They were all laughing and chatting as they arrived at the Byers-Hopper home. Joyce and Hopper had both been taking cooking tips from Karen Wheeler and trying to provide healthy meals for their children, especially since Jonathan way away at college.
Will noticed his mother and step father looking upset as they sat in the living room. He exchanged a glance with Eleven. Even without using telepathy he could tell that, like him, she was wondering if something had happened with Sara.
"Is everything alright?" Will asked his parents tentatively. Joyce looked up with tears in her eyes. She crossed the room and pulled her son into a tight embrace. "Mom, what's wrong?"
"There's something we have to tell you, buddy," said Hopper as he walked over and gave Eleven's shoulder a squeeze. Mike and Julie can stick around and hear this if want, it's up to you."
It must not have had anything to do with Sara. "If course I want them to stay. What's going on? Did something happen to Jonathan?"
"Jonathan's fine, honey," said Joyce. "Doctor Owens came by today and they found something on one of your tests." Will heard his sister, his best friend, and his girlfriend inhale sharply next to him. He quickly glanced at them and saw the concerned expressions on their faces.
"What did they find?" asked Will. Joyce held his hands in hers and stared at the floor as though trying to find the words. Tears were falling down her cheeks.
"They found some scarring on your heart, kid," said Hopper. "Apparently opening those portals and everything else you've been through caused a lot of stress. They're getting your on the transplant list. Doctor Owens said it's not an emergency yet, but the sooner we get this taken care of, the better."
"Oh," said Will. He glanced around at the other people in the room. They were visibly upset. He squeezed his mother's hands and walked into the kitchen where he pulled some dinner plates out of the cabinets.
"Will, what are you doing?" asked Joyce.
"Setting the table. It smells like dinner's almost ready and we still have to study for Kaminski's test," said Will impassively
"Here, I-I'll help you," said Julie in a strained voice. She grabbed some salad bowls and followed Will to the dining room table.
"I'll get the silverware," Mike volunteered. Eleven followed him and grabbed some glasses out of the cabinet. Hopper and Joyce looked at each other and sighed.
During dinner, Will made several attempts to steer the conversation away from his health. I tried the homecoming float he was working on with Julie, the comics he was working on with Mike and the tricks that he an Eleven were trying to teach her dog Buttons. It was useless, they spent most of the meal in silence.
"Jonathan is usually back in his dorm room around ten," said Joyce. "Would you like to call him and let him know what's happening?"
Will shook his head.
"He'd want to know."
"I know he would," said Will. "But it's pointless to tell him now. He has a lot of class work and I could be on that list for months. It'll just cause him to worry when there's nothing he can do. I don't want to put him through that. We can tell him when it's time for the surgery."
"In the meantime," said Hopper. "You need to start taking it easy, Will."
"Taking it easy from what?" asked Will. "I'm not doing anything particularly strenuous right now. I mean Kaminski's class is rough, but I'll be a lot more stressed out if I fall behind in my school work."
"You're bikin' all over town with your friends," Hopper began.
"It's healthy exercise and good stress relief," Will countered.
"There's also the decathlon team, the homecoming committee, the drama club, AV club and every other thing you're involved in," said Hopper.
"None of those things caused my heart issue," said Will. "And I don't plan on opening any more portals."
"Will, you need to take it easy and cut back on your activities," Joyce pleaded.
"I will take it easy, Mom. But quitting my clubs won't help," said Will. "Look, I knew opening those portals was a risk, but the alternative was letting the shadow monster spread into Hawkins and possibly kill everyone and everything. Having a heart transplant is a small price to pay and I can deal with it. Can you?"
"I can deal with it," said Joyce as she reached over and squeezed Will's hand. "It's just hard seeing you have to go through a risky procedure."
"I know," said Will. "But I'm fine. I'll be okay." He looked at his watch. "C'mon guys, we'd better start studying for Kaminski's test."
Will, Mike, Eleven and Julie took their plates to the sink and headed to Will's room to study. They went over all of Nancy's cards three times, shuffling them each time before Hopper came up and insisted on giving Mike and Julie rides home.
Will sat on his bed drawing pictures for some of the stories he'd been working on with Mike. He had his headphones on as he listened to a mix tape that Jonathan had recently sent so he didn't hear Eleven knocking. She had to use her telepathy.
"Will, I've been knocking for two minutes!"
"Sorry, El."
Will got up and opened the door for his sister. "What is it?"
"Can I borrow your supercom, I want to call Mike."
"Sure." Will picked it up off of his dresser and handed it to her. Eleven wordlessly took it and headed back to her room.
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Mike and Julie were both visibly upset when they arrived at their respective homes. Karen and Mrs. Mason both called Joyce when they coaxed the truth out of their children. She assured them both that her family was alright and dealing with things as best as they could.
Mike was laying down on his bed staring at an old photo of the party winning the middle school science fair. With Dustin and Lucas involved in baseball and Mike and Will working on the stories for the video games they planned to create someday as well as all four party members in relationships with girls, they were starting to drift apart. They had made a promise to each other that they would have at least one D and D campaign a month- just the four of them. They'd have another campaign with new party members like Will and Mike's friend Randy or their girlfriends, but doing something that involved just the four original party members was important to all of them.
Mike felt hot tears roll down his face as he stared at the science fair picture. He didn't know exactly why he was so upset. They'd been through much worse, but Will's heart transplant scared Mike. He has seen all of the usual signs of Will pretending to be okay about everything. He could tell that Will was trying to hide just how upset he really was.
"Mike!" El's voice came through his supercom. Will must have let Eleven borrow his. Since moving closer, the signal from Will's supercom much more easily reached Mike's and the others. It was nice because they'd work on their stories together late at night.
"El? How's Will doing." Mike knew she was calling because she was worried about Will. There was no reason to pretend otherwise.
"He's still being brave for everyone," said Eleven. "He was listening to a mixtape Jonathan gave him when I borrowed the supercom."
"He just doesn't want everyone fussing and worrying," said Mike. "He's right, he may not even have the surgery for months, but... this still sucks,"
"Will's having surgery?" Dustin's voice came through the speaker.
"Shut up, Dustin!" Lucas hissed from his own supercom.
"Are you two freaking KIDDING me?" said Mike into his supercom. "What the hell?"
"Hey, we were just trying to find out what was going on with Will and figured you weren't going to tell us if we asked," said Dustin.
"This wasn't my secret to tell and how did you even know something was going on?"
"We saw Hopper giving you a lift home and you didn't even wave back when we waved at you, you looked upset. And Jennifer Hayes called us and said that Julie looked upset when he dropped her off," said Lucas.
Mike buried his face in his hands and shook his head as he audibly groaned. Will wouldn't be thrilled about everyone knowing.
"Look, we know you two think you're Will's personal protectors and all, but we're his friends too," said Dustin.
"Sorry, Mike, we were just worried," said Lucas. "But Dustin has a point."
"And you always use this channel," said Dustin.
"Mike," said Eleven. "I think Will might be upset about this. I-I don't want him to be upset. It could be bad for his heart."
"I know," said Mike. "But we should probably just rip the band aid off on this one."
"Rip the band aid off?" asked Eleven.
"Mike's saying we should just tell Will the truth and get it over with," Dustin explained.
"Yeah,' said Mike. "Just give me a minute to figure out how I'm going to explain this and you can take the supercom to him."
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Will had decided to take off his headphones and listen to his music on the small speaker since he didn't want to have anyone knock on the door and panic when he didn't hear it. That turned out to be a good decision because his mother knocked on the dooy around 10:30.
"Come in," Will called. Joyce entered and sat on the edge of Will's bed. His notebooks and sketch pads covered most of it. He was trying to make himself tired so he could fall asleep.
"Hey sweetheart, are you doing alright...all things considered?"
"Yeah I'm fine, Mom, really," said Will earnestly.
"Are you sure you don't want to call your brother?"
"I don't want him to worry."
"Jonathan would want to know, Will," said Joyce.
"I know he would, but he's already missed out on so many things by worrying about me and I don't want him to miss out on anything else."
"Will, I know that you don't want everyone to constantly be worrying about you, but we do it because we love you and you've been through so much," said Joyce as she rubbed her son's arm.
"I have been though a lot, Mom. And I'd rather go through a thousand surgeries than be stuck in the Upside Down, get possessed by a shadow monster, or get kidnapped by mad scientists ever again. Really, I can handle this. I'll be fine."
"I know you can handle it, Will," said Joyce as she pulled him into a hug that he didn't resist. "But you shouldn't have to."
"Will?" Eleven stood in the doorway holding Will's supercom. "Mike wants to talk to you."
"I'll leave you to this," said Joyce. "But get some sleep, both of you." She kissed each of them on their foreheads and closed the door behind her as she left. Eleven handed the supercom to Will.
"Hey Mike, it's Will, over."
"Hey Will, there's something I have to tell you, over,"
"Oh? What is it?"
"Well, El and I were talking about how we're worried about the surgery-"
"It's nothing to worry about-"
"It is for us! Anyway, Lucas and Dustin were eavesdropping on us because Jennifer told Dustin that Julie looked upset when Hopper dropped her off and Lucas and Dustin saw me looking upset in Hopper's truck, so..."
"So they know about the surgery," said Will.
"Yeah, they know. I just thought I would tell you right away," said Mike. Will looked up at Eleven who looked worried that he was about to have a meltdown.
"I appreciate it," said Will. He then started laughing uncontrollably.
"Will? Are you okay? What's going on?" asked Mike. Will had dropped the supercom when he started laughing and it had muffled the sound of his laughter for Mike. Eleven picked up the device.
"He's laughing, Mike," she answered. Will held out his hand and Eleven handed him the supercom.
"Dustin? Lucas?" are you two still listening?"
"Sorry, we were worried," said Dustin.
"And we knew Mike would tell us if we asked," Lucas added.
"You guys said you were hanging up up!" said Mike indignantly. "So much for 'friends don't lie.'"
"I like to think of it as bull shitting," said Dustin.
"I'm going to start using new channels," said Mike.
"Alright, guys," said Will. "I'm going to tell you what I told my Mom a few minutes ago: I''d rather have a thousand surgeries than get stuck in the Upside Down, possessed by the Mind Flayer, or get kidnapped by mad scientists ever again." There was an awkward silence. "I can handle this, really. I just don't need to whole school knowing right now."
"Understood," said Lucas. "But we are here for you."
"I know you are and I appreciate it," said Will.
"Mike, you want to get to school early and go over Nancy's cards one more time before we take Kaminski's test?"
"At least you're being yourself, Will," said Dustin.
"Sure," said Mike pointedly. "7:15?"
"Sounds like a plan," said Will. "I'll call Julie in the morning and let her know. Lucas and Dustin: feel free to join us, I know you need all the help you can get," Will added lightly.
"See you in the morning," said Mike.
"See you in the morning," said Will. "Over and out." Will shut off his radio and noticed that Eleven had a concerned look on her face. "What's wrong, El?"
Eleven started crying. "Hey! What is it?" Will stood up and hugged his sister and she hugged him back.
"It's my fault, Will. I shouldn't have made you help me listen to Dad talking to Sara. It made you sick."
"El, this has been going on for a while. It took them a long time to catch it, but they knew something was there. It wasn't you, it was Brenner and everyone like him who uses others to try to get power. Please don't blame yourself."
"I just don't want you to die."
"I'm not going to die, El, I promise!" Will stifled a yawn.
"You're tired," said Eleven. "Go to sleep."
"I knew it! You and Mom and in this together," said Will. Eleven chuckled. "You get some sleep too. We have a big test tomorrow."
"Yeah, big test," said Eleven.