A Kiss For Kill Chapter 13, a stranger things, 2016 fanfic

A/N: Hope you guys enjoy :)

Chapter Thirteen: Dear Diary

Hawkins, Indiana

The Wheeler Home

November 6th, 1983

8:50pm

Fidgeting in his place, Will tried not to make it obvious that he was growing anxious and worried with Mike's silence, they were sitting in the Wheeler's basement, heater on full blast to fight off the November cold. He was bundled up in a thick sweater with a jacket thrown over it, a scarf around his neck, a beanie on his head, and jeans on his legs. Will sat on the basement's lumpy couch, one that he's positive has been around since prehistoric times, it was so old. Mike sat next to him, leaning back against the arm of the couch, his legs thrown over Will's lap, a dark purple journal in his hands.

Mike had told him to come to his house without explaining why, hearing the sadness and anger in his friend's tone though had Will hopping on his bike without a second thought, racing across town in the dead of winter to get to his friend who he was sure needed him. He didn't have to worry about telling anyone he wasn't home, his mom was on another date with Chief Hopper, one he was sure she wouldn't be coming back home from like the two previous dates they have had, and his brother Jonathan was working late interning at a local News Station.

When Will had got to the Wheeler's home, he had noted the difference in atmosphere right away, it was going on six months since Mike's mom died, since she killed herself in the bathtub of the upstairs bathroom. The only sounds in the house were coming from the living room TV, some documentary about World War 2 played well Ted Wheeler snored away on his recliner, Mike's sisters were nowhere to be found, he knew Nancy was interning right along with Jonathan, but he had no clue where Holly was, if she was even in the house at all.

The air around him was suffocating, he was used to hearing the sounds of Mike's mom asking him about his mom and brother as she fiddled around in the kitchen, banging pots and pans around as she cooked up something for dinner. With Karen the house was always warm, both literally and metaphorically, the house was filled with her light, her smile was always soft and caring, there was never a moment that Will felt unsafe in the Wheeler's house, even with Ted Wheeler's indifferent attitude to both his wife and children, Will thought of Mike's home as his safe place, another Castle Byers.

Walking into Mike's home at that moment though was a harsh reality check for Will, there was no more love, no more warmth, no more care, all of that had been sucked out of the home when Mrs. Wheeler killed herself. Will had understood then why Mike had been spending so much time at his house, in comparison, with Lonnie out of his house, Will's home was now the safe space.

He hadn't been to Mike's house in months, the last time he was there was the day Mike found his mom in the bathtub, he had gotten a frantic call from Mike begging him to come help him with his mom, by the time Will had showed up, the Police and Ambulance were already there, Mike shrieking at the top of his lungs well being held back by some random Officer when his mom was carted out of the house in a black body bag.

"It's my mom's diary," Mike finally said, breaking the tense silence around them, he waved the purple journal in Will's direction, his expression unreadable, "I found it when I was cleaning out her things."

Sympathy for his best friend ran through Will's veins, he grasped Mike's calves in his hands, trying to tell his friend he was there for him without actually telling him. Mike was only thirteen-years-old, they both were, the responsibility of cleaning out his mother's personal possessions should have never fallen to him and yet it did. Will knew no one in the house has touched Mrs. Wheeler's things, not her clothes, her shoes, her makeup, nothing, it all sat in the master bedroom in exactly the same way it was before she died. Mike's dad had moved all of his own things out of the bedroom and to a spare storage closet in the upstairs hallway a few days after Mrs. Wheeler's funeral, he didn't even sleep in that room anymore from what Mike told Will, his dad now slept on the recliner in the living room or in Mike's bed when he spent the night at Will's house.

Ted Wheeler refused to clean out any of his wife's things, silently declaring it a job for his kids to do. Nancy never ventured into the room, choosing instead to spend all her time outside of her house, at school, at the News Station, at a friend's, anywhere and everywhere that wasn't her own house. Holly was too little to even understand what had happened to her mother, Mike had to be the one to explain it to her when Nancy and their dad refused to acknowledge Holly's questions on where her mom was and when she was coming back.

That left Mike, Will's best friend who was holding himself together by a measly thread, his best friend that was now always so angry at the world, picking fights left and right with anyone who wasn't Will, he was left to clean out Karen Wheeler's belongings. Will offered to help Mike wherever he was ready, he told Mike he was with him every step of the way and would do anything he asked of him because he loved him and if he could make something easier for his friend then he would in a heartbeat.

Fast forward months later, Mike had left the master bedroom as is, Will didn't even know he planned to clean it out, and in the process of digging through his mom's belongings he found her diary, Will didn't think there was anything nice in there, not according to the way Mike eyeballed the journal with hatred, appearing a second away from trashing the whole thing.

"You should have called me Mike," Will rubbed his hands up and down Mike's legs, his fingers lingering to long the further he went up, "I would have come over to help you." Will didn't say how he didn't think Mike should be alone with his thoughts as he cleared out his mom's things, his friend might not like what that insinuated.

"I know you would have," Mike nodded biting at his lower lip, something Will noticed he did more often than he's ever had before, it left his lower lip raw and swollen, puffy in a way that made Will want to suck on it, "That's why I didn't call you, I wanted to…needed to do it on my own."

"Are you okay?" Will questioned, Mike still hadn't let go of his mom's diary, he still hadn't told Will why he unexpectedly called him there, physically Mike looked fine, a little on the thinner side from where Will knows he's not eating as well as he used to but fine overall. Mentally Will had no clue what was going through Mike's mind, but he wanted to know, he wanted Mike to open up to him and talk to him about what he was going through, that's all Will's ever wanted.

"I found her diary when I was cleaning out her sock drawer," Mike laughed under his breath in disbelief, like the notion of his mom hiding her diary in her sock drawer was something silly to laugh about, "I read through it." Mikes stopped talking, he fingered a place in the journal, turning it around in his hands, he showed it to Will, not sure if he was supposed to read what was on the pages or not, his eyes flickered from the journal to Mike and back again.

"My dad cheated on my mom with Terry Ives," Mike spat out, his teeth dug into his lower lip even more making it bleed, something he didn't seem to notice, "He was going to leave my mom…my mom! For that bitch!" Mike shouted, he pulled his legs back until they were under him, moving closer to Will Mike hit the pages that were still open, held there by his fingers digging into the top of the pages.

Terry Ives. Will knew who she was only because there was town gossip about her having mental break downs. Apparently, they were so bad that she would become unresponsive for weeks at a time, she also spent half her time being admitted into Pennhurst Insane Asylum, a crazy home for mentally ill people on the very edge of Hawkins. Will also knew who she was because she used to be Chief Hopper's girlfriend some years back, not wife, as far as he knew they never married but they did have a daughter together, one that Will knows his mom wants him to meet since she's dating Chief Hopper, she told him the girl was his age and named Eleanor Hopper. Will didn't know much about her, really only her name and age considering she was homeschooled, his mom had told him she was trying to convince Chief Hopper to let her attend an actual High School when she graduates.

"He was cheating on my mom for a year," Mike continued when Will didn't say anything, "He told my mom that he was leaving her because she wasn't worth his time anymore. That fucker told MY MOM she wasn't worth his time. She didn't even love him Will, she was only with him because she thought she had to have this perfect semblance of a nuclear family, that was the only reason she stayed with his sorry ass, and he thinks he has a right to cheat on her! And with some dumb bitch who can't even hold her sanity together no less!" Mike stood up from the couch, pacing the floor in front of Will, he aggressively rubbed at his curls, pulling the beautiful locks of hair so hard that Will thought he would take chucks of it out of his scalp.

"He was going to leave her Will, leave her with nothing and run off into the fucking sunset with this bitch full well knowing my mom would have struggled with us," not being able to stand seeing Mike as distraught as he was and pulling on his hair the way he was, Will also got off the couch, walking the short distance between them, he wrapped his arms around Mike's thin waist, hugging his best friend, trying to offer some comfort after figuring out what his dad did to his mom, "She killed herself because she didn't want to be left alone Will," Mike broke out in heart wrenching sobs, grasping on to Will's body like it was his only life line, "She didn't want to do things by herself, she didn't want to struggle, she was scared and felt like she meant nothing because that asshole told her that she didn't mean anything to anyone and she didn't want to face this fucking bigoted towns gossip and stupid judgements when he left her for another woman…so she killed herself Will…she killed herself…she killed herself…she killed herself." Mike kept repeating to him through his crying.

"Hey, hey, look at me," when Mike's breathing was coming out stunted Will placed his hands on Mike's jaw, he forced his friends face up from where it was buried in his shoulder, "You're okay, take deep breaths for me...in and out…in and out." Will patiently waited until Mike caught his breath, calming himself down enough that he wasn't suffocating around his sobs anymore.

"My mom is dead because of him," Mike said to him, taking himself out of Will's arms he brought Mrs. Wheeler's journal up again, flipping through the pages until he landed on the one he was looking for, "I begged Ted today to stop seeing her, he laughed in my face and told me that she was everything he wanted in a woman and she could make him happy, he told me the only reason he ever stayed with me is because I got pregnant, he told me he didn't want to waste his time with me anymore, he said he loves Terry, he wants to be with her. I feel ashamed that I begged him not to leave me, what kind of self-respecting woman does that? What I'm I suppose to do without him? I've wasted years on him…who I'm I outside of Ted Wheeler's wife?...That's what she wrote, those are her words straight from her mouth, she begged my dad not to leave her and he laughed in her face." Will tried to picture that scene in his mind and failed, he couldn't picture someone as pretty, loving, and amazing as Mrs. Wheeler begging someone like Ted Wheeler to not leave them, that picture was all kinds of wrong.

"Does your dad know you found her diary? Does he know why your mom did what she did?" Will was hesitant to ask but he still did.

"Yeah, I confronted him," Mike growled looking towards the basement stairs with rage, Will half expected him to walk up the stairs to go confront his dad again, "He just sat there on that stupid fucking recliner with a bored look to his stupid fucking face as he told me that my mom was dramatic and killed herself for selfish reasons, he didn't give a fuck! He still doesn't give a fuck!" Throwing the journal on the couch Mike balled up his fists, digging his nails into the palms of his hands, his body shaking with the emotions he tried his best to rein in.

"You want to know what else I was able to get out of him?" Mike asked without looking at Will, his focus trained to the basement stairs, not waiting for a response from Will he continued, "He was still planning to be with that fucking bitch, even after my mom died, he didn't pack his things that week to move them out of their bedroom because he was sad, or missing her to much or some shit, he packed them to move in with Terry, he was going to leave me, Nancy, and Holly here, to do god knows what with ourselves well he went off with that fucking whore." Will shook his head well running his hands through his hair, he didn't know what to say back to that, he didn't know how to soothe Mike in that moment. His dad was an even bigger asshole then he assumed, and God Mike deserved so much better than that, he didn't deserve any of this.

"Why didn't he?" Will questioned not understanding if that was Ted's plan all along why he didn't go through with it, why was he still there in the house with Mike and his sisters?

Mike scoffed, clicking his tongue around the sound, which Will found strangely attractive, he scowled at himself for his thoughts though, now was not the time to be thinking thoughts like that about Mike, "That's the best fucking part of all of this! I asked him that and he had no problem telling me exactly why he didn't leave that day. It's not because he felt guilty, it's not because he was rethinking his actions, it's not because he knew it was wrong…no it's because he didn't want to deal with a woman that was slowly losing her mind. That bitch was racked with guilt so much over the part she played in my mom's death that she started to have mental breakdowns when she found out about how and why my mom died. That's why Terry Ives is the way she fucking is right now Will! Its God damn guilt eating away at her! My dad told me she struggled with her mental health before all of this even happened, she has struggled to keep sane for years now…the guilt triggered something, fuck if I know how that all works but she deserves to go insane, she deserves to not be able to tell what's real and what isn't. That crazy bitch is basically fucking unresponsive because she couldn't handle the role she played in my mom's death!"

"What the fuck." Shocked Will could do nothing but stand there open mouthed, that was the last thing he expected to come out of Mike's mouth, so far off the scope of possibilities that it wasn't even a thought until Mike mentioned it and now it was all Will could think about. He wondered if anyone else knew why Terry Ives's mentality started deteriorating, he wondered if anyone knew she struggled with her mental health before her recent breakdowns. He also wondered if Mike's dad mentioned this to anyone else other than Mike or if he kept that information to himself and only revealed it to his son as some spiteful way to make Mike hurt more than he was already hurting, Will wouldn't put it past Ted Wheeler to do just that.

Not seeing when Mike moved Will flinched when he felt Mike's hands grabbing his own hands, threading their fingers together. Figuring his best friend needed comforting Will moved closer to Mike, closing the little bit of distance between them, getting far closer than he really needed to be but he didn't pull away, positive that if Mike had an issue with it he would say something, besides it wasn't the first time they were that close.

"You're my best friend, right Will?" Mike asked him putting emphasis on 'best friend', taking his hands out of Will's he wrapped his arms around Will's neck, his breath caught in his throat when he noticed Mike's eyes were trained on his lips, looking at them with a hunger that he's only seen a few times before, a hunger he wasn't sure he understood completely.

"Of course I am." He replied.

Looking pleased with his quick answer, Mike brought his eyes up from his lips to Will's own hazel ones, "You would do anything for me?"

"Anything." Will promised without thought, it wasn't a lie, he would do anything Mike asked of him, sometimes he thought some part of him was built specifically to cater to Mike, it was that impossible to tell the other boy no.

"They deserve to rot in hell for what they did to my mom Will," Mike's eyes hardened as they stared into Will's, no feeling in them, they lost all warmth and softness, it scared Will enough to look down, needing to break the hold they had on him, "They deserve to suffer, my dad and Terry Ives, they both deserve nothing but agony, they need to pay for what they did, they can't get away with it, they don't get to live well my mom is buried six feet fucking under. That shit isn't fair!" Tightening his arms around his neck, Mike crouched down a bit to look into Will's eyes again, he couldn't bring himself to look up at Mike, he didn't want to see his friends empty dark eyes when he was so used to seeing life and happiness in them.

"You said you would do anything for me Will, you promised," Mike gently reminded him, he did promise that, he couldn't go back on it now, not when Mike needed him, and the thing was Will already knew what Mike was asking of him, he just needed to hear him say it, "I need you to help me make them pay, I need you to be with me all the way, I need you to help me no questioned asked. My mom didn't deserve this Will, you know she didn't, she loved you so much, she loved both of us so much and they took that away from us, they took her away from us and they can't get away with that, we can't let them get away with that."

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath Will nodded, Mike was right, Terry Ives and Ted Wheeler needed to pay, they couldn't get away with taking Mike's mom away from Mike, from them both because Karen Wheeler was a second mom to him, she loved him and cared for him on a level that not even his real mother did. Not that Joyce Byers was a terrible mom because she was far from it but she was an absent mom, one that spent more time at work than anything else which Will didn't hold against her because they needed their bills paid somehow, but the fact remained that Karen was the mom that Will felt like he was lacking, there for him in ways a typical mom was supposed to be there for their kids, there for him in a way that his mom wasn't.

They both deserved to suffer for taking someone as beautiful as Karen Wheeler from this world.

"What do we do then?" Will opened his eyes, a smile spreading on his lips when Mike's face broke out in relieved expression, one of happiness that Mike's been lacking since finding his mom's body.

"Terry Ives has a daughter, doesn't she?" Mike cutely titled his head with his question, looking like a puppy dog to Will, one that was too cute not to squeeze, "Your mom is dating Chief Hopper, he's that girls dad, right? I think her name is Eloise or something old fashioned like that."

"Yeah, Eleanor Hopper, mother Terry Ives, father Jim Hopper." Will said, listing off the girl's information in a bored manner, he wasn't sure what Mike was thinking exactly but he didn't like that some girl was brought up, even if it was one that Mike might use for his own gain in his attempt to get revenge for his mother.

"Right…Terry Ives had no problem fucking up my life or playing a part in taking my mom's life, I say it's only fair to take her life and fuck up her daughter's life in return."

"Your dad?" Will asked, Mike had said he wanted to punish both of them.

"We'll think of something."

Leaning into Will's space, Mike hovered his lips above Will's, he can feel his breath fanning over his face, sticking his tongue out Will was quick to swipe it across his lips, wetting them, Mike followed his movements, just as he was thinking Mike was changing his mind about being this close to him, abruptly, almost harshly he moved forward, crashing their lips together in a clumsy kiss that had too much teeth and spit but one that was perfect regardless because it was Will's first kiss and with Mike no less, the boy he's known he's loved since Kindergarten.

Mike stayed there kissing him for a while before pulling back, having the dopiest grin on his face that Will did his best to ignore, he wasn't sure if he should ask about him and Mike, about their kiss, about what they felt, he knew what he felt but maybe this didn't mean the same to Mike that it meant to him.

Likely noticing the doubt on his face Mike cupped his cheeks in between his hands, pressing his palms to Will's skin to tighten his face in his hold, "I love you Will Byers, no matter what happens I need you to know that you're my best friend, the person I trust most in this world, and I love you."

Kissing Mike again Will murmured against his mouth, "I love you to." It wasn't the first time Mike had told Will he loved him but it was the first time it felt like it had a deeper meaning, it was the first time that Mike wasn't trying to hide the possessive tint to his words, likely realizing that Will wasn't going anywhere, not after promising to ruin some lives specifically for Mike.

Hawkins, Indiana

The Byers/Hopper Home

October 29th, 1988

8: 26pm

Quietly making his way out of his room, Will was careful to shut his bedroom door as softly as he could, El's bedroom was right next to his, he could hear her and Max rummaging around her room, not bothering to try and be quiet.

Not wanting El to know he was there yet, Will crept his way to her open door and leaned against the entryway of it, spying into her room, watching her and Max as silently as a ghost. El was going through a storage chest she kept in her closet, pulling out the multiple bags and odd knickknack items she had in there well Max was digging through her dresser drawers, pulling out El's clothing and neatly folding them next to her.

Neither girl knew that he was standing at the doorway watching them and listening in to their hushed conversation.

"I mean I just still can't believe Will was friends with that man," Max continued on a line of conversation Will hadn't been privy to, he wondered what man she was talking about, it wasn't like he ventured outside of the group that much, "Like the concept of that is unbelievable and really fucking creepy actually, what twenty-two-year-old is friends with a fourteen-year-old?" It seemed like Max was mostly venting to herself, not really expecting to get an answer from El, but El being El and missing social cues on the daily, answered her anyways.

"Henry once told me that him and Will were alike, that they were the same and understood each other, and that is why they got along so well," El responded back, she set aside two of the bigger bags she had pulled out of the storage chest and started putting away the other things she took out of it back into it, "I did think it was weird at first, but after a while it stopped being weird, Henry was not "creepy", at least not then, not with Will." El's voice faded as she looked down to her two bags.

They were talking about Henry.

Will shifted with uncertainty, trying his best to still be quiet so he could hear more of the conversation, when had El told Max about Henry? What did she tell her? How much did Max know? Logically, Will knew she couldn't have known much because El didn't know everything herself, but the thought of someone else knowing about him and Henry being friends was not a welcomed one.

"Do you think Will liked him? Did he have a crush on him or something?" Max curiously asked.

"I think he did at one point," El said, looking lost in memories, "He was always so happy to see him, sometimes he would even leave the room with Henry, follow him as he attended to other patients well I stayed with my mom."

He almost laughed out loud at El's words, he had left the room with Henry but not to follow him around like a lost puppy, not to trail after him as he attended to patients that were worse than El's mom. Will could barely stand being in the room with El and her mom at Pennhurst, there was no way he was going to voluntarily go around the crazy ward with Henry as he did his job.

Not that El knew that of course.

"Still really weird if you ask me." Max pretended to shutter to get El to laugh, when she did Max got a look a triumph on her face, like she had accomplished something amazing by getting El to laugh.

"Very weird." El agreed through her giggles, Will figured that was the time to interrupt them, them speaking about Henry was bringing up things that Will didn't want to think about, things he tried his best to forget about, not needing the headache that those thoughts brought him.

The Wheeler Home

February 18th, 1984

7:00pm

"She told me there's an orderly who works there that's mainly assigned to her mom's room; his name is Henry-something…I don't remember his last name." Will was sitting with his back to the ancient couch in Mike's basement, his legs pulled to his chest, arms wrapped around them. He was watching Mike pace in front of him with impatience, energy thrumming inside of him that he couldn't do anything with for now.

It had been a little over three months since Mike had found his mom's diary when he was cleaning out her things. It's been a slow moving process trying to decide the best way to go about things, for now Will's been gathering information on Pennhurst and who is most often with Terry Ives from El, since meeting her a few weeks ago, he's tried to show genuine interest in her life, including that of her visits to Pennhurst, El was none the wiser, assuming he wanted to build a sibling bond with her.

"Henry," Mike parroted, eyes lightening up with a familiar look that Will knows an idea has struck his best friend's mind, "How old is he?"

Brows pinched together Will said, "I don't know, I'm guessing maybe in his thirties."

"Thirties," Mike repeated with a happy head nod, inspecting Will's body he motioned for Will to stand up, when he did Will had to resist the urge to squirm in his place, Mike was looking him over with a critical eye that seemed more like he was assessing an object rather than looking at his best friend, "We can work with that, I think, if it doesn't work then we'll go in a different direction."

Frowning in confusion Will didn't say anything for a moment, trying to take in Mike's words, running them over in his mind, "If what doesn't work?" He asked, he hated when Mike made these decisions in his head and didn't bother voicing them out loud to Will, as if he was expecting Will to be able to read his mind or something.

"When you start visits with Eleanor you're going to try and catch Henry's attention, he seems like the easiest way to that bitch's room without any suspicion. If he doesn't bite the bait you dangle in front of him then we'll figure something else out but," moving closer to Will Mike titled his head up from where he was facing the floor, fingers tracing over his skin in loving motions, "You're so pretty baby, I doubt this Henry guy is going to be able to say no to you." Kissing the tip of his nose Mike winked at him, Will was far too into his thoughts to think about Mike's actions and words to him.

Mike wanted him to…get with this Henry guy? He wanted to dangle bait in front of him? Bait…as in himself…he was the bait.

"Bait? You want me to what exactly…fuck this guy or something? Since apparently I'm the fucking bait that you want to dangle in his face like free pickings. What the fuck Mike!" Will disbelievingly snapped, pushing Mike away from him, nose wrinkled in distaste, how could Mike even suggest something like that.

"No one said you have to fuck him Will," Mike bit back, hands going to Will's arms, grabbing onto them tightly enough that Will knew they would have a ring of bruising around them later that night, "You're mine, you're not fucking anyone but me." He snarled in Will's face.

"Then what the fuck are you talking about Mike!"

"I just want you to talk to him, get him interested in you, that's all baby," Mike let go of his arms, instead wrapping Will in a hug, tugging him to his chest, "I know it's asking a lot from you, I know that Will, but this place has to have some kind of security measure, we're going to need a way in and he's looking like the easiest way so far."

"Why do I have to do this? I don't want to give him attention like that Mike, he's probably some creepy shriveled up old dude, I don't-I don't," Mike cut him off by kissing him, moving his lips over Will's with a deep pressure that sent tingles down his spine, he loved kissing Mike, he loved doing anything with Mike, he loved Mike.

"I need you to do this for me Will, it can't be me, it has to be you, we decided it's going to be me for Eleanor, so it has to be you with him." Will didn't decide that Mike was going to be with El, Mike decided that on his own, not that Will could or even wanted to show that kind of interest in his soon to be step-sister, that was wrong on more levels then he wanted to think about but the fact was that Mike made that decision, that when the time was right Will would introduce him to El and he could charm his way into her life.

"Do you love me?" Mike questioned him, lips pursed for an answer.

"Do you love me Will?" He asked again in a rougher tone when Will didn't answer him right away.

"Of course I do." Will responded rubbing his hands down his face to collect his thoughts, how Mike could doubt that was beyond him.

"Then you'll do this for me."

"El?" Will let his voice carry through the room, speaking louder than necessary, shaking his head he willed Mike's voice to go away, he didn't want to remember the things Mike had said to him in the beginning stages of his plan. Both girls jumped in their place, not expecting anyone else to be in the room with them, both of them whirled around with wide eyes to stare at him.

"Shit! Don't scare us like that asshole!" Max shouted at him, Will rolled his eyes at her dramatics, he had some choice words he wished he could say back but Mike would be upset with him if he didn't try to make things right with El and he guessed by extension Max, they couldn't afford for Will to be in a rift with either girl, thinking that he softened his features to look apologetic, giving Max what Mike called his puppy eyes.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, bashfully looking to his feet and up again in a way he knew came off as hesitant and shy, "I didn't mean to scare either of you, I heard El and I just thought I'd come apologize to her."

"Apologize?" El parroted, getting up from the floor she moved away from her storage chest and towards Will, stopping right in front of him she grabbed both of his hands in hers.

"Oh, now you want to say sorry for being a dick, little later there Byers." Max commented with hard eyes that watched Will with suspicion, he did his best to keep the sneer off his face.

"Max." El said in warning, not looking away from Will, she pulled him into her room and sat both of them on her bed, Max scoffed but accepted that El wanted to hear him out, instead of remarking anything else she focused on putting the clothing she had folded into the bags El had taken out.

"Yeah, apologize," Will scooted closer to El, bringing with him the full force of his puppy eyes, even going as far as to make them tear up, something he learned how to do with Mike when they were little kids begging their moms to let them have a sleep over on a school night, "I am so sorry El. I don't know what came over me, I was being selfish, and I treated you horribly when I shouldn't have, you didn't deserve that. Mike is my friend, but you're my sister and I should have been more sympathetic to you both instead of only Mike. I could have handled the whole situation better than I did and I am sorry that I didn't think before opening my mouth." Will throat burned with his lies, he hated anytime he had to refer to El as his sister.

El appeared happy with his apology, still a little uncertain but happy he was there, "Jonathan said Mike talked to you? About not being upset with me?" It wasn't a full question, but he understood what she was asking regardless.

"He did," Will nodded, glancing at Max, he noted her watching them with pursed lips, offering her a kind smile that hurt his cheekbones, he continued, "He got on my ass for treating you badly after we picked him up from the Police Station. He made me realize how unfair I was being to you. I'm apologizing because I want to El, because I feel bad, not because Mike told me to though, he did help me realize what I did was wrong but I'm not here apologizing because of him."

Will wanted to make that clear, El wouldn't forgive him if she thought his words were coming from Mike and not himself, and despite that actually being the case because he wouldn't have apologized to her or "make nice" with her had Mike not told him to, she couldn't doubt that his apology was from him.

"It hurt me when you defended Mike Will," El bit her lip, mumbling her words through her lips, Will forced his face to remain frowned, holding back another eye roll at her words, "But I forgive you because I know how close you and Mike are, I understand that it was hard for you to see beyond your friendship," El moved herself even closer to him, letting go of his hands she tucked herself into his side, laying her head on his shoulder, "Please just promise me that you will remember that Mike is not the only one who needs your support Will, you are my brother and I need you just as much as Mike does." El turned her face into his shoulder, seeping through his t-shirt was a wetness he figured was her tears.

Tangling his hands in her hair, he turned his face to El's, bringing her head a little bit away from his shoulder, he kissed her forehead a few times, whispering against her skin, "I promise El. I promise I'll do better." El nodded against him, burying herself further into his side, accepting his apology far faster than he thought she would have but that made things easier for him so he wasn't going to complain or point it out.

"You better not hurt her again Will," Max moved around the bed to stand in front of them, crossing her arms at her chest, she glared at him through squinted eyes, "She forgave you way to easily in my opinion, but because I love her I'll respect El's wishes to give you another chance, but I'm watching you." Lifting her arm Max pointed two of her fingers to her eyes and then pointed them at Will's eyes, hearing a thump against the wall that connected Will's and El's bedrooms, Max's eyes snapped to the noise, "And Mike, I'm watching both of you."

"Of course." Will said, another thump sounded on the wall, Will hoped that wasn't Mike's idiot self trying to tell him he was taking too long, he's the one that sent Will to El's room to begin with he was not entitled to complain about how long he stayed there to do what needed to be done.

"Mike is here with you." El stated, there was no use in trying to deny it, she had seen Mike's car in the driveway before making her way inside, she knew he was there in the house and she knew he was in Will's room too, a third thump sounded, "Did he talk to you about anything else?"

Mike had talked to him about wanting El to suffer but for obvious reasons Will wouldn't be mentioning that to her, ignoring the fact that he desperately wanted to shout in her face that Mike was his, Will said, "After school he told me you said something that hurt him but that he understood that you're going through a lot right now and maybe he was being too much. He didn't tell me what you said though."

"Oh." El whispered, a guilty look came across her face, she gazed at the wall that connected their rooms but didn't move from where she was.

"You ready to go El?" Noticing her staring at the wall Max interrupted their conversation, if Will wasn't so irritated with the redhead he might have actually considered giving her a hug, he didn't want El and Mike making up tonight anymore then she did. That night was supposed to be just Mike and him, El had already ruined that by coming back for some of her things, the last thing he wanted was for them to make up and have Mike ignore him the rest of the night in favor of El.

Seeing El's hesitance, Will added, "I think both of you need a little bit of time apart, it gives both of you some space to think about whatever happened and where you both want to go from there," if he could keep them apart permanently he would, but Will knew how much Mike (and him) had put in to Mike's plan, it couldn't be ruined by his insecurity and jealousy, Mike would never forgive him if he did anything to backtrack their efforts, "Everything's okay though, go with Max and just relax for the rest of the night, you deserve it."

"Yeah El," Max hurried to agree, nodding her head so fast Will thought it would fly right off her shoulders, "Let's go home for now and worry about all the drama later, we can go stuff our faces with snacks and watch bad comedy movies." Max widely smiled as she grabbed El's hand to pull her up from her bed, throwing El's bags over her shoulder, she led the way out of El's bedroom, silently trailing after them to the front door, Will thought about what he and Mike would be doing for the rest of the night, definitely not stuffing their faces with snacks and watching horrible comedy movies, if Will got his way he would be spending his night on his knees or on his back.

At the front door, El paused long enough to throw her arms around him and pull Will down into a hug that practically suffocated him, resisting the urge to push her way, Will returned El's hug just as fiercely, "Thank you for apologizing Will, I love you." Closing his eyes to prevent himself from rolling them he lightly kissed El's forehead, mumbling against her skin, "I love you too."

Will waited until Max's car pulled out of the driveway to make his way back to his bedroom, carefully opening the door so it didn't alert Mike that he was back.

Inside he found a shirtless Mike still on his bed, on his stomach with his legs curled in the air together, Will's sketchbook was in front of him, Mike flipping through the pages of drawings with that same prideful smile on his lips, eyes shining brightly with adoration.

Leaning on his tiptoes Will tried to see what page Mike was paused on without getting closer to him and letting him know he watching him. Will bit his lip with nervousness when he seen what page Mike was fixated on, it was a rough sketch of a concept he had imagined up a few weeks prior when he had caught Mike eyeing El with a rare sight of hatred, the other boy was normally so good at disguising his emotions which was why it was so difficult for Will to know what was real and what wasn't.

At the time Mike and El were seated on the living room couch together, cuddled up as they watched a rom-com that El had put on for them, Will was seated on the armchair across the room from them, one of the times he had looked over El was grinning at the couple finally kissing on the screen well Mike's eyes were boring into the side of her head, eyes black and narrowed, his face pulled into a sneer.

The drawing he did was of El on her knees in front of Mike, eyes blown wide but pure white with bloody tears trailing down her face, mouth wide open in a terrified scream, blood trickled from her mouth and down her throat, vines thick and dark with sharp thorns were tied around her body, restraining her. Mike was in front of El, standing in a way that was smug, his hand was positioned in front of his face, pulling off a mask made of skin, the mask itself was of Mike's face grinning lovingly at El, looking at her like she was something precious and special. Behind the skin mask was Mike's actual face, a look that perfectly resembled that of his look when they sat in the living room together, the edges of where the mask met his 'real' face in the drawing were dripping with blood.

He wasn't sure how Mike would take the drawing, he hadn't showed him it yet, in fear that Mike would hate it or tell him he shouldn't be drawing things like that.

"When did you draw this?" Mike asked, holding his hand out to Will, it took only a second for him to register that Mike was talking to him, beckoning him to his bed.

"A few weeks ago," Will walked over to the bed, instead of taking Mike's hand in his though, he climbed on top of him, gently pushing Mike's legs down, Will straddled the other boy, sitting directly on his ass, he leaned his upper body forward, when his mouth was right next to Mike's ear he whispered, "Do you like it?" Will felt Mike shiver against him, enjoying his lips lightly grazing his earlobe and his breath puffing against his skin.

"Obviously." Mike scoffed out in disbelief as if the thought of Will asking that question was one so ridiculous and inconceivable.

"Obviously." Will echoed sarcastically well laughing, he leaned further into Mike, pressing more of his weight against him, from the back of his ear Will started trailing kissing to Mike's shoulder blade and down his back, sucking every now and then to leave little red marks he knew wouldn't stick past that night.

"How did it go? With El?" Will bit into Mike's shoulder, not wanting to think about El or anyone else other than Mike, Will hummed an approving sound in the back of his throat, getting across that things went well but he wasn't willing to verbally express that and ruin the moment between him and Mike.

Sighing contently Mike relaxed into the mattress, his body going slack under Will's, grinning against Mike's shoulder Will started up his kisses again.

A/N: Will's drawing is a bit of a reference to the Upside Down and Vecna in case that wasn't obvious lol

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