Archive of Our Own

Mike knew there was something wrong with him.

He knew there was something about him that wasn’t entirely normal. But he had no intention of being treated or corrected. He was content with who he was, even though most people would call him out for being so insensitive, manipulative, disrespectful, and cynical towards others—but honestly, he didn’t care.

He didn’t feel the slightest bit of remorse when he hurt others; he didn’t think he owed anyone an apology for his actions. People should understand him and adapt to him.

He knew he wasn’t a good person, but no one in this world really was.

At least he was sure he could love, just in a way that was different from others. Although sometimes he wondered if he felt any love or affection for anyone at all. He had plenty of relationships during his adolescence, but they only made him unhappy; he didn’t enjoy spending time with them.

The thing was, Mike liked to maintain control. He would get furious when his partners didn’t do exactly what he wanted, and so he got bored and left them. Usually, people didn’t take it well when Mike broke up with them—they always pointed out how unpleasant a person he was.

“You’re one of the most despicable people around.”

He always laughed when he remembered that. They were just hurt, saying stupid things. He wasn’t a bad person—not exactly a good one either, but no man was a good man; everyone had their secrets.

It was contradictory.

Mike had questionable behavior, but he wasn’t a bad person. His exes were just resentful. They never had anything good to offer him, which is why he got bored of them.

But with Will, everything was different…

Will Byers always caused different feelings in him, maybe because he had known him for years, literally since they were kids. He was important to him, and Mike was aware he had some sort of feelings for Will—or whatever being in love was supposed to mean.

He never intended to screw up his relationship or friendship with Will, but when the brunette confessed his feelings for him, everything changed between them. Mike had always known Will liked him—it was obvious; he wasn’t blind. But he never wanted to make the first move, because he never did. Still, he was secretly grateful when the brunette had the guts to say it.

Honestly, he didn’t see it coming. He thought Will would hide his feelings forever, but he said it without even stuttering, and that’s how their relationship began… which didn’t last more than two and a half months.

Mike gave his all to make sure Will didn’t end up hating him like his other exes, but nothing seemed to fully satisfy young Byers, who ended the relationship just as easily as he started it.

It was a brutal blow to his ego and his heart. Mike tried not to say a word, just to accept it and wait. He knew Will would come back to him.

And Will did come back—but only with the intention of staying by his side as a friend, best friends.

Mike wouldn’t lie, he didn’t want to just be his friend. He wanted to be with Will again, but he couldn’t force him. So he accepted his terms. After all, it wasn’t like they could distance themselves, they had mutual friends, so Will wouldn’t be able to get rid of him so easily, not that Mike would have let him.

Will was everything to him, and he would do anything to keep him by his side. He would never let him go. Will was the only good thing Mike could salvage from the world, he was sweet and understanding, the complete opposite of Mike. But that’s why he liked him—the contrast between them fascinated him. And how easy it was to bend him.

Will was charming, Mike could admire him for hours. He loved watching him and taking in every little detail. But lately, Mike wasn’t the only one falling for the charms of Will.

It had been around two years since the summer of ’87, or maybe it was one or two, he wasn’t sure. But it still hurt, and Will had been single since then. But that didn’t change the fact that some bastards had been eyeing him more than once.

Will was an incredible person, and on the surface, just as stunning. His face was angelic, his skin as soft as cotton, his slim, pale body with a hint of muscle on his shoulders, and those green eyes, so piercing you could lose yourself in them. It was no surprise people stared at him.

Especially the girls. Will had always been popular among the female crowd, but he was never interested in them because he didn’t like girls. He only liked guys, though none of the boys ever dared talk to him. But Mike knew what Will stirred up in several closeted idiots at school. A few years ago, Mike wouldn’t have cared too much, but things had changed now.

Will was distancing himself from him, too much. And that terrified him. He had never felt scared of losing someone until now.

Mike was egotistical, and he had never felt jealous of an ex or even of Will himself because he didn’t think anyone was better than him. Plus, he knew jealousy was a sign of insecurity, and he wasn’t fucking insecure. He could have anyone he wanted if he set his mind to it, but he only wanted Will.

But Will was drifting away, and the number of people interested in him was growing, not to mention Will seemed ready to let someone new into his life, ready to move on from Mike.

When had he ever imagined fear could settle so deep in his bones, to the point it made him feel a lump in his throat and tears burn his eyes? Never, not once did he think he could feel like this about anyone. But now he was screaming internally when Will ignored him and went off with people outside their circle of friends.

Mike couldn’t help it—his heart stopped whenever someone dared to look at Will. His mind played tricks on him, making him imagine the whole world was trying to steal Will away from him. Will was driving him insane. His smile was perfect, radiant. This last year, Mike found him even more attractive than in past years. It was as if distancing himself from Mike made Will more beautiful than he already was, more irresistible than before, more fragile, but without losing his innocence. If before he had a crowd of fools drooling over him, now, how many more were there? Before, those bastards didn’t stand a chance, but now they did.

The situation was slowly killing him.

Mike sighed as he rubbed his body a little faster, breathing deeply with grunts to calm the rapid beating of his heart. The only sound was the steady beat of the water from the shower falling onto the tiles next to his feet.

Everyone wanted to take Will from him.

The water ran over his body as he scrubbed himself with his eyes closed, refusing to look at the red water trickling over his skin.

Specifically, from his hands.

“The loud music was just a few meters away, but where he was, there was only the sound of cicadas and crickets.

Plus the nearly unconscious body of Stacy Wagner at his feet, making an attempt to crawl through the thick dirt caked under her fingernails, as well as the sweat covering her forehead and clothes.

Mike sighed, and turned her over laying her on her back on the ground, pressing her to the dead leaves crunching under her leather boots, he crouched down in front of her who was hyperventilating, couldn't move, couldn't breathe, just looked at him begging for mercy, he bowed his head in something akin to false sympathy.

“If you hadn't acted like an incompetent bitch we wouldn't be in this situation Stacy," he stood over her, straddling her hips with his hips holding the knife in his hand.

“P-Please... P-Please... “

“Sh, sh..sh..Stacy..” he playfully twirls his knife between his gloved fingertips, the girl raised her hand weakly up to Mike who was wearing a cheap mask he bought near the grocery store for Halloween. “This will all be over soon..in fact in seconds.” he smiles and the girl's throat was slit but at that too her mask was snatched away.”

With a trembling hand, he shook his hair that was dripping water from its ends, he felt no remorse, he was just frustrated that he could not enjoy killing that bitch as he should have.

Because Jason Carver and Sarah Devis appeared on the scene recognizing his face, he had to take care of them too.

What happened at Jason's party was a roller coaster of emotions, terror and the sick joy of stabbing a living, breathing person to exhaustion as they writhed underneath him.

He stepped out of the shower and wrapped his waist in a towel, he remained silent as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. He looked fine, as if nothing had happened, he was just protecting what was his.

Because Will was his.

He wasn't worried, it wasn't the first time he hurt someone for Will, when he was eight, there was a girl in his second grade class who had a huge crush on his best friend.

So, he stabbed her hand with a pencil because she irritated him.

But now jealousy was driving him crazy, like never before, and he was unable to confess that he loved him, so things would be a thousand times worse. He was frustrated, full of anguish, he could not lash out against the whole damn world that looked at him, smiled at him and gave him love letters, sighs.

So he swallowed his anger and he fulminated them with the most atrocious of his looks, at the time it worked, and they all averted their eyes from him, but they always came back. And he couldn't take it anymore, he had to take charge.

So he decided to do it the best way, to permanently keep people away from Will anonymously.

And it's a crapshoot the way he enjoyed it.

[•••]

It's October 27, 1989, Halloween is coming up, Will's favorite holiday.

The decorations, the costumes, the scares, getting free candy, staying up late into the night and going into the next morning watching horror movies, basically the best thing every year.

Although things didn't seem to be as unbelievable this time around, not if there was a serial killer on the loose roaming Hawkins.

Lately the disappearances were getting higher and higher, the most recent case being that of Jason Carver.

He disappeared after his last party with Scott Golding, his best friend and the prime suspect, but he insisted he was innocent, as Jason was not the only one missing that night, but also his girlfriend Sarah, but no one was talking about her as Jason was the 'king' of the school and with that he got all the attention.

The principal did not allow any decorations at the school this year as it would have been disrespectful to the disappearance of Jason and company, the school did not like the idea of Halloween because the wave of crazy theories like 'satanic pacts' were all over Hawkins, some people believed that a cult had captured the Jason and were holding him captive somewhere in the woods.

It was ridiculous.

Jane and Will got out of the car parked in front of the school saying goodbye to Joyce together, this day would be long as the school street was loaded in yellow caution tape, with a couple of police around, news channel vans and several reporters, journalists that were spread out all over the school yard.

Will could hear several overlapping voices, all talking at once.

“Can you believe this shit?” someone complained behind him and his sister, Will turned around to find Max and Lucas behind them, holding hands.

“It's crazy," adds Lucas.

“We just got here, what's going on," Will asked crossing his arms, holding them rigidly in front of his chest.

“As you know, Jason Carver and Sarah Devis were missing recently, but today they were found near Scott's house, but apparently today Stacy Wagner's body was also found near the lake," answered Lucas, keeping his voice low, Will gasped in surprise.

“Stacy?" Will repeated, his eyes widened incredibly and his eyebrows rose to his hairline, he couldn't believe it, that brunette girl with the curls that flirted with him just three days ago was dead.

He admitted it was awkward that she had hit on him, but she was a good girl and above all a good companion, it's a shame she had to die, she didn't deserve it.

“God I can't believe it, I literally talked to her just recently," Will mumbles.

“I know man, it was so sudden, three deaths in one night," Lucas murmurs, they started to walk to the entrance, the boys followed him with slow steps.

“It was disgusting, worthy of a macabre horror movie," Max speaks, bringing her arms to Jane's shoulders, leaning forward, "They found Stacy with her stomach ripped from one end to the other," she cocks her head, "But she was stabbed in the heart before being ripped to shreds.

“Holy cow," gasps Jane, holding her hands up to her mouth, totally pale and looking terrified at the redhead.

“My God, who would do something terrible like that," asks Will, looking around nervously at the people around him, "She was sitting next to me in science class.”

“She was a sweet girl, how could anyone do something like that," gasps Jane.

“A fucking psycho bastard," Lucas points out.

Will bites his lip, what a disgusting situation.

“Guys, finally!" the group looked up, finding Dustin and Mike in the center hallway, "We were dying here!”

“Yeah, classes are about to start," Mike spoke, putting his hands in his front pockets.

Will made eye contact with Mike, quickly looked down and let out a shaky sigh, Mike smiled proudly still causing him to be nervous.

Lucas ran up to Dustin fluttering his hair making the girls giggle, so none of them caught the tension between Mike and Will.

Will was trying to calm down and contain himself, he didn't like to keep his eyes on Mike, because despite all this time, he still causes him things and the worst part is that he knows it.

They are best friends since kindergarten but they are also ex's boyfriends, and honestly Will thinks that confessing his feelings was the worst thing he could have done...every time he remembers the short romance with Mike in the summer of 87' it only comes to his mind that he ruined a nice and long friendship.

Since their relationship didn't last long and wasn't exactly good either, Will terminated him because he thought it was best for both of them since Mike still didn't fully accept himself, lived in fear, and sometimes didn't give him his place as a 'boyfriend' so Will started to feel insecure and jealous, they wouldn't get anywhere if they continued like this.

So he didn't regret making that decision.

Although deep down..he wished Mike had insisted a little more or asked for a chance to try to improve the relationship, whatever..but he didn't, he just agreed to end the relationship.

But they remained friends.

Lucas and Dustin knew that, but they never brought it up, because they didn't want the friendly atmosphere to break, and Will mentally thanked them for that, but he didn't enjoy hearing them talk about the girls that flirted with Mike or that he was attracted to.

Why stressing that it was only girls Mike was interested in after him made him feel relatively bad. Will felt like a simple experiment...like Mike was just discovering himself at his expense, testing whether he liked girls or boys.

He didn't enjoy thinking about it too much, not if he still didn't fully get over it, he was frustrated with himself for not doing it, Mike moved on with his life, got a girlfriend.. who was unfortunately his stepsister, and he was just stuck in the same thing.

Although he had taken the time to meet many people over time, but it always went wrong or there was a but. So he just decided to stay single, he didn't want to use anyone just for convenience, he didn't want to get someone else involved just to forget Mike, he knows that wouldn't lead to anything, just pain and disappointment.

But sometimes he thinks he won't be able to get someone to love him at the rate he's going....

“Jason was brutal," Dustin's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, "Jesus Christ, it's like Michael fucking Myers walking the streets of Hawkins!”

Mike smiled at the comparison but it went unnoticed by the group, although Will noticed, but said nothing.

“I wonder who the killer is..” Max brings her fingers to her chin. “Do you think it's someone from the school?" She asks hesitantly, watching the people around her with careful eyes. “Jason wasn't that well liked by the outcasts..”

“The outcasts couldn't fight Jason, just look at us," Dustin points out, Max nods with a chuckle, "It must be someone out for revenge, all the horror movies say so," he points out.

“We're not in a movie, Dustin," Jane drops her head on Mike's chest and he grabs her around the waist, "By the way, where were you last night," she turns to her boyfriend, "I waited for you for hours..”

“I was helping Eddie with his new campaign and I forgot to tell you, I'm sorry..” he murmurs leaning down to press a kiss on her lips.

“Hm...it's okay, but next time let me know," she puts his finger against her mouth, stopping the words she was about to say to him, "Don't ever do that again,"

Mike denies in a smile kissing her again on the lips.

Will looks down uncomfortably, the thought that he had no reason or right to be angry was something he was desperately trying to drill into his head, his sister was Mike's girlfriend now and he was supposed to show her affection with or without Will there.

But he was still feeling that pang of jealousy and headache like the first time the news hit him, it was a low blow.

It's not like Jane would have cared too much how he felt about it, she knew he and Mike were boyfriends but she only excused that it was a long time ago, but he can't blame her either, Will stressed that he didn't care, that he just wanted her to be happy and that with Mike they were just still friends.

But it was a vile lie, he cared and it hurt.

“You should be careful about going out so late at night," Lucas pointed out to Mike, "There's a killer on the loose, he can leave you just as bad or worse than Stacy Wagner.”

“What happened to her," Mike asks with a frown, "I thought only Jason was dead?”

“No dude, Stacy was found dead last night, with her guts all over the place, this killer is totally unhinged," replies Lucas, Mike grimaces in disgust.

“Oh shit”

“It's crazy dude, three murders in one night," Dustin exclaims, pointing out, "Poor Stacy, she got the worst of it.

“Oh my God yeah," Jane mutters, holding her hands to her chest, "She ended up worse off than the rest of them.”

“She was very sweet," Will murmurs, Mike looks at him with a frown, Max nods in agreement with his words, "How do you gut someone?" he asks with puzzled eyes, after his question the group falls silent.

“Why do you care so much?" Mike answered sullenly.

Will opened his eyes slightly with surprise at his tone of voice, he opened his mouth to answer but closed it immediately, he didn't like the tone Mike used.

Mike noticed this and quickly changed his posture. "I'm saying it why...it's an inhumane act Will, we shouldn't think too deeply about this."

“Uh," Will voice had dropped to a low murmur, "Yeah, it's just...it's kind of inhuman.”

Mike hardened his gaze still on Will who was looking at his feet caressing his arms as if he was feeling cold.

“Let's go to class now, let's forget this terrible situation for a moment," Jane said, "It won't do us any good to keep thinking about it.

“Yeah, we'd better think about Eddie and Mike's big campaign this afternoon, I can't fucking wait," Dustin jumps in, "Finally the hellfire guys are ready to join us!”

“Agh, nerd stuff again," snorts Max, Jane smiles in amusement at Dustin's indignant look.

“The hellfire isn't nerds, it's a group of intellectual amateurs," Dustin points out, "After two weeks they finally accepted us to play, this is important to us.”

“Yes, they are nerds," said the redhead, "Let's go, I don't want to hear them," she laughed walking to the classroom with Lucas behind her, quickly the rest did the same.

Will looked around at the other students, they looked worried and sad, then he noticed Chrissy crying with the group of cheerleaders surrounding her while they were caressing her back, advising her, encouraging her.

She loved Jason, she was devastated, Will grimaces giving her one last look and walking into his classroom.

He sat in his science class, trying to keep his attention on his teacher who was at the front of the classroom going over homework, but the class felt suffocating. A murderer was on the loose killing teenagers and they want everything to stay the same.

Will snorted, it was outrageous.

He opened his notebook by the back cover, he wanted to draw some things, but the moment he opened it he caused a small note to fall in front of the table

Will frowned, he picked it up with his cold fingers, it was folded in only two parts.

"Hi Will, I don't know if you're interested in going out to the starcout on Friday after school?

Yes. No.

Stacy. ♡

P.S. You're really cute :)"

Will pursed his lips, brought his gaze to the empty seat next to him, the seat Stacy normally occupied but was now unoccupied, seeing the empty desk chair gave him an unpleasant swirl in his stomach, she sometimes asked him for help in class, she was very nice to him, always smiled at him. Despite his awkward innuendos, he usually laughed with her.

It made her nauseous that she couldn't read that note sooner, she knew it wouldn't change anything, after all, she couldn't have avoided it.

He didn't know how long he kept reading that note over and over again, feeling like it was all unreal, until suddenly, he felt a heavy gaze, he detected such a vibe and met the deep, cold gaze of his friend who was standing to the side of Max, Mike was watching him from the redhead's side.

Will squeezed the note with his fingertips, unnerved by the cold stare Mike was giving him.

Something inside told him that there was a very strange tension between them, Mike's eyes seemed to drill into his head, it was as if he was killing him mentally... why was he looking at him like that?

Hearing the school bell ringing throughout the classroom was one of the best things Will felt he had ever heard, he left the note back inside his notebook and picked up his things and put them in his backpack to leave the classroom without even looking at it or waiting for the boys.

He wanted to soak his face with ice water, he felt anxious and the nausea was still fluttering in his stomach, he needed to go to the bathroom to be alone and relax, the situation was affecting him more than it should.

[••]

Mike walked out of the room with an uneasiness in his jaw.

He was furious with Will and his fucking behavior, why did he care so much about Stacy's death, that bitch had been harassing him for days, unable to understand a simple "I don't like you" why the fuck does he look so affected, she meant nothing to him.

He met Lucas outside in the schoolyard, watched as Max ran up to him taking his hand, with Jane heading up to Mike with a smile.

He smiled back at her, taking her hand following Max and Lucas.

He didn't feel the slightest bit of remorse for using her, it's not like he cared how she felt, Jane was a distraction, a simple strategy to be closer to Will, since because the brown was distancing himself too much he had to do something, an excuse to spend it at his house, without looking pushy. Dating Jane was easy, she liked him from before, so it wasn't so easy to get into the Byers-Hopper's life again.

“You guys are going to attend the campaign this afternoon right?” Eddie's overbearing voice made him jump out of his seat. “Because I don't want any silly excuses this time, Wheeler and I worked hard for this campaign” he points out.

Mike nods, they only met Eddie Munson three weeks ago but he was funny as shit and has the best organized campaigns in D&D, plus Dustin was very insistent on becoming friends with the hellfire club, and Eddie didn't hesitate to let them in.

“Yes, but are the costumes necessary?”asked Lucas.

Max let out a mocking laugh, "Costumes? What are they, kids?" She turned to his boyfriend with a mocking look, Lucas snorted.

“The costumes are necessary! It's the longest campaign we'll ever play," Eddie replies with a laugh, "It's not like you don't have a costume Sinclair," he points out, Lucas cocks his head, "The only one who won't be wearing his costume is Gareth because his mommy hasn't finished it yet.

The group laughs in amusement, the aforementioned blushed and pursed his lips in embarrassment, Mike smiled as part of the mocking laughter, Gareth like the rest of the d&d members was a year or two older than him, he had wild curly brown hair, dressed as if he was attending a Metallica concert not a school lunch like the rest of the hellfire.

Mike enjoys spending the afternoon with them, they were nice.

“Fuck Eddie, you're annoying," snorts Gareth.

“So, did you guys hear about Jason?" Jeff's voice caught his attention, Jeff is dark, tall, a little athletic, mostly he's the one who makes him laugh the most, so you could say that of the hellfire, he was his favorite.

“Everybody's talking about it, man," Eddie cocked his head to the side, "Impossible not to know," he replied, drinking some of the water beside him.

“I think it was Scott," said Gareth.

"Nah dude..it was Chrissy." speaks Jeff, the group denied letting out boos and giggles, Mike laughs bringing a strawberry to his mouth.

“Shut up, dude”

“No no, listen, listen, I have good arguments..” Jeff raised his hands in surrender. “Jason cheated on Chrissy with Sarah for two months” he points out.

The group gasped in surprise, Mike furrowed his eyebrows, he had no idea about that.

“How do you know that?” Eddie laughs, shaking his head.

“My younger sister is Chrissy's friend so that's how I know, Chrissy called her crying one night saying she had seen them together, it was her who killed them, I'm sure.” he points out, the group filled with murmurs.

Mike was amused but still couldn't take his eyes off his surroundings looking for Will who still didn't deign to show up.

“You're wrong Jeff," laughed Eddie mockingly, "Chrissy is too sweet to commit such an atrocity," he pointed out.

“In fits of rage you don't think straight and your strength rises to levels you have no idea of," said Jeff.

"She didn't do it buddy" snorts Eddie denying. “If Jason cheated on Chrissy...Scott probably knew and killed them both for it.”

Mike had no idea Jason and Sarah were in a relationship, the only reason he killed them was because they saw him stabbing Stacy Wagner. It was easy to kill them, they were drunk as shit they could barely run properly.

“Yes it must have been Scott, a girl could never do that," Gareth emphasized

Max looked at him with a frown. “Why?" she asked, crossing her arms.

“Do you know how Jason died, Red? They gouged his eyes out and hung him in a tree, Jason was fucking strong, a girl couldn't handle him, plus Stacy was gutted, it takes a man to do that," he points out, Max snorts in disagreement.

“Or a man's mind to do it," she adds, crossing her arms, "Girls can do anything a guy can do, you know that right?”

“So a strong girl killed three people?”Mike raises an eyebrow wanting to annoy her, Max snorts ignoring him.

“It could be possible, assholes," Max spits, "We still don't know who the killer is.”

“I was just saying," Mike held up his hands in another pose of surrender, smiling at Max as if they were playing a game he was winning.

“It's sexist” she claims.

“It's realistic” clarifies Gareth, Mike smiles. “You think Chrissy could take three of them, please! He's clearly Scott, athletic, he's taller than Jason by a lot, and he must have been very jealous when he found out his girlfriend was cheating on him”

“Definitely the mind of a caveman," mutters Max, rolling her eyes.

“Stacy had it worse than Jason, and I don't know why no one talks about her, they literally cut her stomach open and pulled out her intestines," says Dustin in horror.

“Ew, dude, I'm still eating!” Lucas complained, waving his half-eaten sandwich in the air, ripping off a piece, throwing it at Dustin, it bounced off his chest.

“You just wasted a piece of bread," the capped one pointed out indignantly.

Mike frowned as he still didn't see Will nearby, so he got up from his spot, "I'm going to the bathroom," he mutters in Jane's direction, who nods.

Mike moved quickly to the hallway leading to the men's room. And he gasped inwardly as he saw Will with Chrissy sitting on the benches, causing him to slow his steps to a complete stop.

What were they doing together?

Mike grunted low as he watched Chrissy hide her face in Will's neck, Will instinctively placed an arm around her waist, hugging her, reaching up with his other hand and combing her blonde hair.

Mike paled in place, broke down.

His breathing suddenly became ragged feeling a knot in his stomach, he dragged his teeth over his bottom lip, darkness settled in his eyes focused on the girl leaning on Will's shoulder with all the confidence in the world.

Mike closed his eyes taking a deep breath, he turned away shaking his head trying to control his senses, why was Will doing this to him, why not just stop teasing him? He never in his life talked to Chrissy why did he suddenly want to be with her and hug her, since when was there that trust between them?

Mike growled angrily, he arranged his black curls back looking irritated, that annoying heat in his stomach was building up again, he ran his tongue over his lower lip putting his hands in his pockets.

A flashlight flickered in his head, he knew what to do to get rid of that annoying heat.

[••]

Chrissy took a deep breath.

It was no surprise that she was having such a hard time with the death of her boyfriend, even though she knew he wasn't perfect, she loved him. And now he was gone, his life was taken away, just like her best friend Stacy's.

She couldn't help but cry in the middle of the hallway as she passed Jason's locker, filled with flowers and letters, just as Will Byers took her in, trying to reassure her.

She felt grateful for his help, as his advice and sweet words left her with a kneading peace. She now understood why Stacy talked about him so much, a pity she couldn't tell him how she felt in time.

Chrissy carefully opened the bathroom door, she knew that at that hour there was hardly anyone in the halls since everyone had gone to lunch, she usually skipped lunch but now she didn't want to be around all the people watching her like a circus freak.

As if suffering was a show.

She poked her head out looking around the bathroom, hearing no one nearby, she walked out, going straight to the sink, she had been crying a lot that day but she couldn't help it, she had lost her boyfriend and her best friend.

She looked at herself in the mirror, hating to see her makeup smeared, and her face reddened, full of tears, shaking her head at her reflection, she dried her wet eyes letting out an exhausted sigh, she brought her hands to the faucet so she could soak her face but felt a noise nearby.

Chrissy stopped, turning around, she scanned all the cubicle doors one by one, she felt the sound of a zipper, the blonde hesitated, she was sure there was no one in the bathroom.

She would be really embarrassed if anyone heard her vomiting and sobbing for 10 minutes, so she crouched down on the floor, looking under them to see if she could see any feet, but all she saw was the dirty floor and the bottom half of the toilets.

She frowned and stood up, the whole Jason thing with Stacy had her sick in the head, it had her more paranoid than she normally was. She placed her hands back on the tap wanting to snap out of her paranoia, but at that she froze in place as a man whispered her name

“Chrissy...”

The blonde gasped inwardly, she turned around slowly, once again she scanned the cubicle doors, that whisper was not in her imagination....

“I-is anyone in there?" she asked hesitantly feeling foolish for doing so, she pursed her lips and swallowed saliva falling back to the dirty floor to look under the cubicles again, wanting to prove to herself that no one else was in the bathroom with her, and still seeing nothing, she stood up, her posture strained

"Come on, how stupid..it's just my imagination playing tricks on me" she thinks massaging her temple, but the noise returned and Chrissy's breath seemed to get caught in her throat.

In the first cubicle closest to the bathroom door, a pair of black boots that looked heavy were deliberately and carefully lowered to the floor, Chrissy swallowed saliva, clenching her fists anxiously, she noticed how the lock on the stable door turned slowly, almost taunting her with its passage as that stranger opened it.

She forced herself out of her frozen state as the cubicle door finally burst open, and out of it stepped a man dressed entirely in black with a creepy mask holding a knife...was this a sick joke?

The man locked the entrance to the bathroom, Chrissy gasped, it wasn't a joke apparently.

Dropping her backpack on the sink, she quickly ran forward, fear coursed through her entire body, the man made a move to grab her, she tried to duck under his arms covering herself, to run to the entrance but soon knew she was unsuccessful when she felt him grab her by her blonde hair, holding it with a strength Chrissy could not compete with

The man threw her against the wall next to the sinks holding her thin neck, pressing hard so that it would be hard for her to scream for help, although it would be a little difficult, they were all eating lunch and Chrissy had her own routine of going to the farthest bathroom so she could throw up her food without being heard.

“ L-let me go....” the blonde cried trying to kick her legs towards the man but failing, she could barely see clearly, but in a second the man softened his grip which left her bewildered but soon she felt a sharp pain

The masked man without wasting his time, had taken his knife straight to her throat, leaving a trail of blood from the cut to her chest, the man took a step backwards away from the girl's body who fell to her knees on the ground.

Horrible choking sounds escaped Chrissy's mouth, her eyes filled with tears and panic numbed her senses, trying and failing to crawl, she was flipped onto her back, in the doorway stood that man watching her bleed out through the dark holes in the mask.

“You're going to be with your boyfriend now, Chrissy..”

The blonde trembled on the floor, it wasn't long after her eyelids felt too heavy to keep them open, with a last gasp the world went silent and black.

The man removed his mask, revealing the pale boy expressionless watching the pool of blood flood the dirty bathroom floor, Mike quickly brought his knife to the hands of the blonde lying motionless on the floor, it was clear what he was after, to make her murder look like suicide.

That was what Chrissy would have done anyway.

Mike had never planned to murder her, let alone do it at school where he was more likely to be found. But he had experience with this, there was no way to be found.

The bathroom door was closed, so he washed his hands quietly, moving as far away from Chrissy's body as possible so her blood wouldn't get on his feet.

He took off his suit and put it in his backpack, opened the bathroom door and looked around, there was no one there as he assumed.

He exited with a whistle, walking down the hallway, rounding a corner at the end.

If Chrissy hadn't been so stupid she could have gotten out of this whole mess without a scratch, she could have lived the rest of her life in peace, if she had just kept crying alone in a corner without looking to Will for support, if she had just kept her hands to herself and kept her distance gladly Mike would have left her alone.

But he didn't, and she had to pay the consequences, he couldn't risk Will leaving him, the odds were medium and he couldn't let anyone through.

[•••]

Will yawned, apparently the last to arrive at the club after Lucas, Eddie welcomed them with a bow, and the other members quickly joined them.

“All right provincials, put on your costumes, let's go!” ordered Eddie, who was wearing a colorful red costume.

Will took the time to admire him a little more, he always thought Eddie was an amazing guy, even though he was older than them, he behaved like a kid and he wasn't ashamed to behave in such a way, he just liked to have fun and be himself, not caring what others said about him.

He liked it, he wished he could have that personality.

“Where's Mike?" asked Dustin, "He's supposed to be with me!" he complained, Will frowned looking at the capped man.

“Wasn't he with you?" he asked worriedly, Dustin denied, "Did you call him?”

“Yes, but Mrs. Wheeler said he was already out of the house," he replies, Lucas tenses up.

“Fuck, how long ago was that?”

“About...15 minutes ago," he mutters, the boys look at each other, looking worried, there was a killer on the loose and Mike wasn't coming to the club.

“I'm going to look for him," says Lucas, putting on his jacket, "I bet the handlebars on his bike got all messed up again.”

“I'm coming with you," Will says, but Lucas holds him back.

“No, stay here, I'll go, don't worry," he says taking his walkie and leaving the place.

Will swallows saliva

“Don't worry Will, go change," Dustin speaks patting him on the back, Will bites his lip unsure but can only nod, "There's a bathroom to the right of that corner," he points out.

Will nods again, heading towards the bathroom feeling a bittersweet taste on the tip of his tongue.

This killer on the loose has him very disturbed.

The chestnut's cold hands wander through the wash as he stares at his reflection in front of the mirror, looking horrified to see a pimple growing on the corner of his forehead, he gasps, covering it with his bangs.

Fucking puberty.

He hopes no one saw that nasty reddish spot on his forehead, he lets out a low moan leaving his backpack in the sink, he brings his hands to the zipper of the backpack pulling out the purple suit with big stars made of thin fabric.

He sighs cocking his head to the side, he was still tense for Mike.

The attitude that Mike had with him lately had him worried, Mike looked at him annoyed most of the time, as if Will was doing something wrong, as if he was betraying him or something like that, the looks he gave him were not the ones he was used to receive, because his brown eyes roamed his body slowly, as if he wanted to look under his clothes, Will felt helpless before that look empty of fear and full of superiority, besides that sometimes he answered him very rudely, as it happened this morning.

He exhales a big breath of air as he remembers the last few weeks of Mike's interrogations.

"Where were you? Who were you with? What took you so long? Are you meeting someone? Why didn't you call?" Mike thought he didn't realize his insistence but he did, and he didn't understand what exactly he wanted to know.

Will thinks Mike is upset because he's been slowly distancing himself from his side, it's not like he wants to get away but he doesn't enjoy seeing him with Jane everywhere.

Jane was all over him, they were showing love to each other in such a cloying way that he felt uncomfortable, besides he had to do something about his insistent feelings for Mike, he was her sister's boyfriend, he couldn't go after him like a fool anymore.

His hands run over the top buttons of his shirt, slowly descending downwards, his carefully took it off and folded it neatly to leave it on the wash.

He has to do his part in order to overcome this childish love..

The bathroom door suddenly swings open, causing him to startle with a not-so-masculine yelp.

“Oh, shit! Sorry, man.” He hears a soft, mocking laugh.

Will quickly turns toward the door frame, finding Gareth laughing quietly as he closes the door behind him.

“It’s occupied, in case you didn’t notice.” Will covers his chest, clearly annoyed by the guy’s audacity. “I’m almost naked,” he complains, releasing some of the air he’d been holding in from the scare.

“Yeah, sorry man, but I really have to piss.” Gareth mutters, walking past him straight to the toilet, quickly lifting the seat. “I swear it’ll be fast,” he says, unzipping his pants.

Will lets out a grunt, still covering his chest with his arms. Gareth glances at him this time.

“Come on, I have no intention of looking at you. It’s not like you have tits,” he laughs.

Will swallows hard, turning his back and frowning, waiting for Gareth to finish peeing.

“It’s not like you should just barge into the bathroom either,” Will mutters.

“We’ve got the same parts. I’m not gonna freak out seeing you naked,” Gareth complains, flushing the toilet and moving to the sink. Will rolls his eyes.

“There’s something called privacy,” he says, turning to him. Gareth has his back to him now, scrubbing his hands with soap.

“In my defense, you’re in my house,” Gareth points out.

Will scoffs.

“Uh… do you have some kind of training?” Gareth asks, looking at him through the mirror. The silhouette of Will’s bare chest gleams in the mirror’s glow.

“No,” Will frowns, looking at his torso.

“You’re really toned…” Gareth says absentmindedly, rinsing his hands under the tap.

“You think so?” Will raises his eyebrows, then touches his abs, making Gareth chuckle.

“Yeah, man, you’re lucky… you don’t need training to look toned,” Gareth sighs.

Will gives a shy smile, grabbing the costume that was on the sink.

“Is that natural?” Gareth asks, noticing a small scar on the side of Will’s abdomen.

Will looks at it. Oh, the scar Nancy accidentally gave him that night in December. “My brother’s girlfriend burned me once by accident with a hot iron,” he mutters. Gareth gasps in surprise. “It was my fault, I got too close,” Will clarifies, finally putting on his costume.

“Damn…” Gareth laughs, grabbing the towel from the corner to dry his hands. “That’s messed up.” Will nods. “Well, wise Will, we better get going,” Gareth winks, hanging the towel back up.

Will grabbed the hat that was part of his costume and left the bathroom with Gareth.

They arrived at the large table, which was all set, with maps, miniatures, and dice in place, ready to start. The guys were already in their seats.

Will sighed with relief when he saw Mike laughing along with Jeff and Dustin, and quickly moved over to Lucas. Will noticed Mike’s gaze on him the second he arrived. Gareth made his way to his spot next to Eddie, who stood up from his lavish throne, arms wide open.

“Welcome, one and all, travelers to Hellfire!” Eddie declared loudly. All the players cheered enthusiastically; Eddie’s mood and energy were truly contagious. “I hope you can survive this…”

The game began, and without anyone noticing, so did the storm.

The session was going amazingly for everyone. The roleplay was immersive and entertaining, with Eddie pulling off a range of voices, from hilarious to terrifying, creating suspense and laughter.

“Now that Will the Wise and Gareth the Great have formed a close bond after Will saved Gareth’s life during the battle against the Goblin King…” Eddie said, his eyes just visible above the screen. “The king is furious…”

“Oh no, no! He’s going after Will!” Dustin shouted.

“The king slides toward Gareth at full speed, drawing twin scimitars to cut you to pieces… Will the Wise!” Eddie turned to Will. “Will you intervene this time?”

Another shiver ran down Will’s spine as the guys started shouting, some begging him to help Gareth, others telling him not to, fearing he might die.

“I cast a wall of force to protect Gareth the Great!” Will decided, trying to be heard over his friends.

“The king crashes into the invisible barrier, blocking the tunnel between you!” Eddie narrated smoothly. “You’re safe, for now, sorcerer…”

Gareth groaned along with the rest of them.

“I swear, Will the Wise, I’m gonna repay you for saving my ass tonight!” Gareth yelled, kneeling before Will, much to the amusement of everyone else.

Even Mike was laughing, but his expression changed when he heard a comment from Gareth that left him bewildered:

“I’ll save your precious body from the flames of the Goblin King’s wrath, I promise it won’t leave a scar like the one Lady Nancy Wheeler gave you on your hip…”

Mike frowned, and suddenly all eyes were on Will, who was laughing and shaking his head. Dustin and Lucas stared at Gareth like he had grown a second head.

“How do you know that?” Dustin asked, surprised but still laughing.

Gareth returned to his seat with a playful laugh. “I saw it,” he replied simply.

“What, you saw him naked or something?” Mike laughed awkwardly, trying to hide his irritation or interest in the question.

“Pretty much, yeah,” Gareth shrugged. Mike just stared blankly at a fixed point, then glanced over at Will, who was arguing with Jeff about how to survive the Goblin King.

Will didn’t deny anything.

“Who’s Lady Nancy? She doesn’t exist in this universe!” Eddie pointed out. “Stick to the script! Will’s busy saving your ass!” He threw cereal into Gareth’s hair, and Gareth protested, laughing nonstop.

“They’re practically boyfriends now,” Jeff teased, blowing loud kisses into the air.

Will’s eyes widened. “No, no, we’re not!” he exclaimed, a slight blush creeping onto his cheeks, drowned out by the group’s teasing shouts.

“Well, I did practically see you naked,” Gareth pointed out, and the group started shouting even louder.

After a while of laughter and jokes, they got back to the game, this time demanding Dustin’s plan to overthrow the Goblin King.

Mike stared at Gareth for several seconds. In fact, for half of the remaining game, his brow was slightly furrowed. A bit of hair fell over his face, and he felt like he was about to get an eye twitch at any moment.

“He saw him naked.” Mike clenched his jaw at the thought.

Gareth noticed Mike’s blatant stare and turned to look at him, confused. Mike’s glare felt horrible; it was like he was killing him with his eyes. Not knowing what to do or say, Gareth seriously wondered if he could even breathe, because the guy in front of him looked like he was about to explode at any moment.

[•••]

Gareth had started pacing the length of his living room, growing restless the longer it took his parents to get home.

He hated being left home alone.

He walked to the lamp in the living room, turned it on, illuminating the space, with the light on he felt better, as if the glow of it might scare anyone or anything away.

He tidied up some more of the mess that was put together by the d&d campaign, that almost took him eight hours, Eddie made it literally unwinnable.

He leans back on the couch, he feels satisfied, glad, that they were able to play as usual again with new members, it's been too long since they were able to do that.

A thump from outside made him stop, Gareth swallows spit, that sounded like something hitting the outside of the house, and the only thing that came to his memory was his mother describing the raccoons that would dig through his garbage and destroy the yard at night how if no one would stop them.

"If you see one raccoon, chase them all away!" His mother's words echoed his head, Gareth grimaced at the thought of having to go out into the cold night air, he looked through the sliding glass doors just off the kitchen.

He turned on the outside light, leaning his forearms against the glass to try to block the light reflecting behind him, suddenly, a pair of glowing eyes appeared out of the darkness, followed by a fluffy gray body and tiny humanoid hands digging in the dirt.

“Those little..." he growled, hitting the glass hard with his fist and the raccoon was startled, rushed into the bushes and disappeared completely. “Damn invaders..." he muttered turning off the light.

His house phone began to ring, which made him wince at the unexpected sound "Must be mom" the phone echoed as he walked towards it.

He grabbed the handle of the phone as he reached it and pressed it against his ear. “Hello?”

“Hello “

Gareth frowned, the voice was not one he recognized, it was a man's voice, with a low, raspy tone.

“Who is it?" he asked with less sternness in his voice and more curiosity.

“Tell me your name and I'll tell you mine," He could hear the mocking tone covering his voice.

“Hm, I don't think so dude, who are you," he laughs, he had no patience for prank phone calls.

“It's a scary night, isn't it, with the murders and all, it's like something out of a horror movie? don't you think?”

Gareth felt his body relax, letting out a chuckle, he knew who was on the other end of the phone, trying to play a silly joke on him.

“Eddie, you just gave yourself away, your little shit annoying” he laughed again. "If that's your payback for last year, forget it dude, that prank was fucking legendary and I don't regret planning it."

“Are you home alone? “

Gareth looked down the hallway area, cocking his head to one side. "That's not original, Eddie do you think I'm a damsel in distress?" he asked in a wry tone, looking away from the hallway area.

“Aren't you?”

Gareth laughed, "Is that the best you can do?" he exclaimed, spinning in idle circles.

“Do you like scary movies...?” he ignored his question

Gareth snorted at the question, Eddie didn't even like horror movies.

“Oh please, you don't even know a single horror movie Eddie, do I have to remind you of the time you pissed yourself at the cinema?" he laughed in amusement.

There was silence on the other end of the phone, a sudden stillness, only one breath could be heard, Gareth frowned.

“Hm, I'm not Eddie..”

Gareth tensed his body, showing confusion on his face at the statement from the man behind the phone.

“Okay...so who am I talking to?”

“I'll tell you if...we play a little game” his laughter was heard

Once again Gareth looked around the hallway, even going so far as to lean over the nearby window, he still saw nothing.

"Mmm, if you keep looking for me you'll probably find me Gareth..” the caller hummed playfully to him.

Gareth stopped his movements suddenly, feeling his body stiffen Who was behind the phone? And how the fuck did he know her name?

He looked anxiously around his living room, paying close attention to the front windows.

The amused laughter of the man behind the phone drilled into her head.

With his heart pounding a mile a minute in his chest, Gareth moved to the window, squinting to try to see in the darkness outside. “What did you just say...?”

“What do you think I said?” he asked, clicking his tongue around a chuckle.

“If this is a stupid joke, Eddie, I swear to—”

“I’m not Eddie…” the man repeated. Gareth glanced towards the kitchen, and the man behind him, as if knowing the curly-haired guy was about to hang up and go check. The man spoke again, “If you’re looking for the knives, I’ve already got them, so don’t you dare hang up.”

Gareth paled, swallowing so hard it hurt. Without waiting to see if the man said anything else, he hung up the phone. He hated how much his hands were shaking; he was scared shitless. He didn’t like the overwhelming feeling of vulnerability washing over him. He ran to the kitchen only to feel a horrible sinking feeling when he opened the first drawer and confirmed there really were no knives.

The phone rang again, echoing throughout the place. Gareth gasped, trembling where he stood as the phone kept shrilling. He thought about not answering, but clearly, someone was in his house. He couldn’t ignore it—he just had to think smart.

He rushed back to the phone, telling himself to calm down. There was no reason to freak out. Everything was fine, he was fine.

Even though he was fucking terrified, he decided to answer the phone. It was probably Eddie, and he was taking his prank way too far, as usual. The older guy could be a real psycho sometimes.

“Eddie, come on, man…” he picked up the phone, his voice only trembling slightly, which he wasn’t proud of. “This isn’t funny anymore, you’re being a fucking asshole.”

“I told you not to hang up,” the man responded, no fake joke this time, his voice deeper now.

“Who the fuck are you?” Gareth asked, already feeling pissed off. The man didn’t respond. “What the fuck do you want?” he shouted, demanding.

“Hang up on me again, and I’ll slit your fucking throat, got it?” The man sounded furious, but he didn’t raise his voice.

Gareth was about to shout back at him but froze when he heard footsteps behind him. He didn’t know how to respond; he wanted to hang up again, but the threat hanging over his head kept him on the line.

“Dude… please, if this is a fucking jok—” He heard footsteps again, closer this time. Gareth took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring, failing to calm his racing heart.

“I see you…” the man joked with another laugh that sent a shiver down Gareth’s spine.

Gareth felt like a massive stone had dropped into his stomach, sinking like it would in deep water. This shit wasn’t funny anymore.

“I don’t know who you are, but this isn’t fucking funny, you sick bastard!” he shouted, blinking to hold back the tears that desperately wanted to spill from his eyes.

Gareth jumped in place, letting out a loud scream when he spotted a figure in the corner of the main living room. The person was dressed entirely in black, wearing black leather gloves, and their face was covered with a creepy white mask, which had three areas carved out in black for the eyes and nose, with an exaggeratedly large mouth.

Gareth swallowed hard. The phone he was holding dropped to the floor as his grip slackened in terror.

“Dude, please…” he choked out, his voice cracking as he backed away. “W-What do you want with me?”

“Justice…” the man replied. Gareth frowned, trembling in place, retreating more and more. “For the boy you raped…” his voice sounded furious, spitting the words out.

Gareth’s breath came out in ragged gasps. “W-What? Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about, I swear to God, I never—”

“You think you can abuse someone and walk away unscathed?” The man took a step forward. Gareth stepped back, his sobs making it hard to hear the now familiar voice of the masked man.

Gareth’s hands were shaking uncontrollably, flailing in the air as he tried to find the right words to convince the man in front of him. He would never abuse anyone, he didn’t even know where the guy got that from.

“Man, I didn’t rape anyone! I swear to God, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” he screamed, letting out a sob as tears streamed down his cheeks.

“Will Byers.”

Gareth froze, gasping, his eyes widening. “B-Byers…?”

The man nodded, stepping closer and closer to the curly-haired guy, who stopped when he felt the wall against his back. The muffled sound of his uneven breathing filled the room.

“You raped him…” the man said with certainty. Gareth’s face changed drastically as he recognized that voice now that it was closer.

“W-Wheeler?”

With a disturbingly calm demeanor, the masked man tilted his head to the side, as if curious about that last name. His steps toward Gareth were steady and unhurried. Gareth gasped when he noticed the knife in his hand.

“Wheeler, are you fucking with me right now?” Gareth asked, looking almost angry, though he couldn’t stop trembling. The guy didn’t respond, so Gareth opened his mouth to protest, but Mike’s knife-wielding hand moved towards him, slashing his side, close to his ribs.

Gareth screamed, and within seconds, the masked man grabbed his hair, yanking it hard. The older boy felt a sharp pain in his scalp and gasped as he was brutally thrown to the ground.

Mike didn’t bother taking off his mask, even though Gareth had already figured out who he was. He just watched him sobbing on the floor, his body trembling in spasms.

“Will just turned seventeen, and you’re nineteen…” Mike muttered calmly. Gareth’s trembling hands went to the wound on his side, trying to stop the bleeding. He tried to stop his sobbing too, but his throat ached from holding back his cries. He couldn’t help it—he was terrified. “You’re basically in your twenties, and you abused a minor.”

Gareth glanced at Mike, who was clenching his fists. All he could hear were his own sobs and whimpers as he tried to crawl along the floor, desperately attempting to get away from him. But Mike lifted his leg and kicked Gareth in the ankle, twisting it. Gareth screamed in agony, writhing on the ground with tears welling in his eyes.

Mike just watched, fully aware that Gareth didn’t have any close neighbors to hear him scream for his life. But hearing him cry was pure satisfaction. A shiver ran down Mike’s spine, and a twisted smile formed on his face as Gareth screamed in pain from his twisted ankle. Despite the agony, Gareth kept dragging himself, trying to get away from him, but in one quick move, Mike climbed on top of him, covering his mouth to muffle his pained cries. He’d had enough of hearing him cry.

Gareth weakly struggled, his voice shaking and broken from crying, barely managing to plead for his innocence, but his words went unheard. Mike pressed harder to keep his mouth shut.

“You sick fuck,” Mike growled, his blood boiling with anger. The helplessness and rage were quickly consuming him. Gareth could no longer move, panic was setting in, and he was on the verge of a full breakdown. Mike flipped him over roughly, grabbing him by the collar to force him to face him. “Aren’t you? You’re a fucking sick bastard!” he shouted before smashing his fist into Gareth’s nose, breaking it.

He watched as Gareth opened his mouth, letting out a gut-wrenching scream. Mike didn’t stop punching the older boy’s face as Gareth kept begging him to stop, choking on his own saliva and blood.

“You dared to touch him? Huh?” Mike demanded, grabbing a fistful of Gareth’s hair, forcing his head up only to slam it down hard against the floor again. “How did you see him naked? How the fuck did you see him naked? Huh?! Answer me, damn it!” he yelled, repeating the action. Gareth’s ears began ringing, and his vision blurred. He could feel warm liquid seeping through his hair from the back of his head.

Gareth felt dizzy for a moment, the dull, throbbing pain where his head had struck the floor overshadowing everything else. He wondered if he would survive such a brutal beating.

“You bastard! You disgusting piece of shit!” Mike shouted, still holding onto Gareth’s head as the guy barely managed to defend himself from the vicious assault. Mike punched his jaw repeatedly, not bothering to stop, completely blinded by rage, without a care for how hard he was hitting him. “What did you do to him?!”

Mike paused, letting out a breath that turned into a loud growl. Gareth spat out blood, trying to distance himself as much as possible, but his body wouldn’t move, and Mike still had a grip on him. The dark-haired boy took out his knife and ran it along Gareth’s cheeks without cutting him, just letting the blade brush his skin.

“Come on, bastard, talk…” Mike demanded, trying to control his breathing. “Answer me now, or I’ll slit your fucking throat!” he shouted in his face. Gareth sobbed. “Answer!”

“I-I will! I will!” Gareth whimpered. Mike took a deep breath. “He was in the b-bathroom, changing, and I-I just went in to piss. I never touched him, I could never do something like that…”

“Why did you come in when he was changing?" Mike asks with his jaw clenched, more furious than ever before in his life. He wanted to rip his throat out, his eyes out for having the audacity to have seen Will naked and flaunt it in his fucking face.

He wasn't trying to make a simple empty threat, he's capable of gouging his fucking eyes out.

“ I-I didn't know he was in there, I swear to God..” he sobbed and his eyes, reddened from crying and laden with pain, desperately sought eye contact with the jet through that mask, hoping the curly one had a spark of understanding. “Please Mike, don't hurt me and-I never did anything—“

Mike again hits him directly in the already broken nose, Gareth again sobbing painfully.

“Why did you go into the bathroom when he was changing?" Mike repeated, Gareth weakly denied, "Why did you dare to see his body?" he raised the knife in the air with both hands, intending to plunge it into his chest, "I'm going to kill you, you filthy son of a bitch!”

“P-Please, I'm begging you Mike! I-I don't even like the-" Gareth opened his mouth to let out another scream, choked silently on air and spat out when he felt an excruciating pain in his chest.

“Do you think you can even see it, you son of a bitch, you're a fucking creep” Mike could hear Gareth sobbing and screaming, telling him to stop, but he couldn't hear him. “Did you enjoy it, did you?”

Mike pressed his arm over Gareth's face covering his screams and sobs, pulling the knife out of his chest, only to do the same thing again and again, screaming 'rapist' at him with each stab, blood gushed from the stab wound and ran down the front of Gareth's pajama's he was hyperventilating, he couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, his vision was already blurred, but with the lack of oxygen he began to feel faint and started to see black dots in the air.

The last thing Gareth saw before he lost consciousness was the eerie white mask worn by his schoolmate and who he considered a friend hovering over him as he drowned in his own blood.

Mike got tired, realizing that he had already killed him, but the anger was still running through his veins, he did not stop stabbing him at any moment, even if he was dead and he could no longer feel the knife piercing his body, he did not want to stop, he only remembered Gareth's smile boasting that he had seen Will naked, as if it was right to have seen him naked.

No one should have the luxury of seeing Will naked, even seeing him directly. He was worth more than all the bastards who dared lay eyes on him.

Mike, who hadn't moved an inch from his spot, had an angry look on his face with his hands pressing so hard on the knife they were white.

His eyes glowed with a disturbing intensity, revealing a mixture of elation and madness, but it was not visible because of the mask.

His breathing became a ragged gasp escaping his lips as his chest rose and fell frantically, his face was flushed with effort, but the smile that spread across his lips was sinister and unhinged, he wanted to laugh even, for this felt too good, the satisfaction that seized him was palpable in the air, like a toxic aura enveloping his presence.

He pulled the knife out of Gareth's body, to take the time to run away and not be discovered.

[•••]

1:30 AM

Will was still not sleeping, he stayed up drawing some sketches, sharpen his pencil back to a perfect fine point, turn to a new page in his sketchbook, starting the face up to the Ralph Macchio poster he had taped on his door, he always hid it with some coats.

He didn't want anyone to know about his little crush on Ralph Macchio that started since he went to see Karate Kid 2 on 86' surely Jonathan would tease him every time he was on TV, so he preferred to spare him.

A clattering noise came from outside his window, sounding like glass breaking, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, looking up at the window but seeing nothing but the night sky outside it, Will pursed his lips uncertainly keeping his eyes on the window which was open with the curtains drawn back and hooked to one side.

Swallowing nervously he got up from the desk and walked over to the window, Will leaned out with his head down looking down at the ground below the window, on his right side, a pair of arms came out of nowhere and wrapped around Will letting Will let out a squeal that sounded almost like an annoyed squirrel, yet his cries were muffled by the intruder who still had his arms around him.

“Shhh, calm down, calm down...it's just me," Mike whispered loudly, cutting his screams short, he pushed Will back from the window but grabbed his hands to help himself through.

It's just Mike.

Mike let go of Will's hands once inside his room.

“What was that screaming by the way?" he laughed under his breath, "Wiiii!" he mimicked him by waving his hands exaggeratedly.

Will pushed Mike with his face in a bright red. “You scared me!” he complains in a mumble, then he went back to the window to close it without first taking a look outside, it was very dark.

“What were you doing up so late?" asks Mike standing in the middle of the room, inspecting his interior and noticing the slightest changes. In a fit of frustration a few weeks earlier, Will had rearranged his furniture and thrown out belongings that reminded him of Mike because he had used them when they were together.

Mike noticed this change and couldn't help but feel a sick feeling in his stomach.

“What are you doing here at this hour?," Will pointed accusingly, "Did you go to the wrong window?” he questioned as he headed for his desk.

Mike laughed in amusement as he noticed Will's clear jealousy and stared at him as the boy tidied up pencils that were all over his desk.

“I didn't get the wrong window and...what's that?" he asked looking at the small notebook Will had clutched to his chest.

“Just a drawing," he mumbles in response, Mike's pale arms reach out to grab him and look at everything, catching him off guard, "It's Larusso.”

Mike looks at the drawing, “It's very detailed and looks exactly like the actor with tons of shading, you do amazing," he hands him the notebook.

Will looks down with a blush “Thanks” he receives the notebook and puts it away with the rest of the stuff he had on his desk.

“Hey, I was confused about this afternoon, why did Gareth say he saw you naked," Mike asks without a filter, looking disinterested but clearly wanting to know the reason.

Although his visit with Gareth was something he would do if he wanted to know Will's side of the story.

“He came in like desperate to the bathroom when I was changing, apparently his bladder was going to explode," he jokes, Mike fakes a laugh that managed to convince Will, "But only that he clarified that he didn't see me one hundred percent naked, he only had my chest uncovered and he saw my scar.”

“He said it in a strange way.”

“ I was just playing around," he shakes his head downplaying it, Mike tilts his head letting out a deep sigh and moved towards the brown's bed, used to that confidence, stretching his tall and slim figure on the comfortable bed, "No shame," he says turning to him in a joking touch.

“I'm sorry, I missed your bed," he replies in a smile relaxing on the pillows watching Will's every move as he finished tidying up and sat down on the edge of the bed.

“By the way, what are you doing here, Mike," Will asks with a frown, Mike snorts, "Do you have any idea how dangerous it is? There's a killer loose on the streets.”

“Are you worried about me?” Mike pouts at him from the bed, Will folds his arms looking annoyed.

“I'm serious Mike, it's dangerous," he insists, "Why are you here?”

“I just wanted to see you, or don't you want me here now?” asks Mike sullenly with a hardened expression. “Because all you do now is avoid me as if I were a leper?”

Will hunched his shoulders, lowering his gaze. “I'm sorry for that.”

“You made me really angry these weeks," Mike mutters, Will sighs feeling guilty, "I was really angry with you, because you stood me up twice and you keep ignoring me, I don't understand.”

Will took a deep breath. “I'm sorry for that, but—“ he swallowed saliva, lowering his gaze, they remained silent for a while, his heart was beating so fast and strong that he thought it would burst out of his chest.

Will swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and threw caution to the wind.

Mike feigned surprise.

"And you're with my sister, so I'd rather keep my distance and I'm trying my best to...to forget you" Will says.

Mike changed his expression and became much more tense, his hands, previously calm, tensed with worry.

“With what?” Mike asked hardening his gaze, Will cocked his head in confusion. “Who are you making an effort with?”

Will frowned

"Uh, no one," Will responded, but Mike didn’t believe him. Suspicion whispered in his ear, filling his mind with imaginary scenarios of Will being with someone else.

He was sure there was someone.

“And... well, keeping some distance for now, which is good, and it’s working...” Will swallowed, knowing it was a blatant lie, but the irritated look on Mike’s face scared him. Mike was probably furious for Will’s audacity to tell him he was still in love with him, especially since Will was Jane’s brother—and Jane was Mike’s girlfriend. It was a total disrespect, or maybe Mike was uncomfortable because Will was ruining their friendship for the second time. "I’m sorry..." Will stood up.

But Mike stood up from his bed too, walking toward Will. Will started trembling, not wanting to fight with Mike.

“Mike, I really don’t want to ruin our friendship. I just want to do things right this time,” Will continued, his eyes filling with tears as he looked down, blinking slowly.

Mike remained silent.

“I tried to forget you, but I couldn’t… I tried with a couple of guys, but—”

“Who?” Mike interrupted with a growl, clear disgust flashing in his eyes.

“They’re not important…” Will murmured, insecure, slightly annoyed that Mike didn’t seem to be listening fully. “The point is, I don’t want to ruin what’s left of our friendship. I’m sorry for pulling away without explaining, but I was too embarrassed to tell you why. You understand, right?”

There was no response. Mike stayed silent, and Will shifted uncomfortably on his feet. But soon, Mike let out a tired sigh, nodding slowly.

Will’s face filled with confusion when Mike’s hands wrapped around his waist, and he buried his face in the crook of Will’s neck.

Will was about to ask, but Mike cut him off, leaving him speechless:

“I miss you.”

Will let out a long, low hiss, his heart racing. He lifted his hand to Mike’s chest and gently pushed him back.

“I miss you too… but I want to do things right,” Will murmured, blushing. Mike just looked at him, their noses nearly touching, Mike’s eyes dark and intense.

“Who have you been with?” Mike asked. Will looked at him, confused. “You said you were with a few guys, and I never knew about that.”

“Why does it matter, Mike? I’m trying—”

“It matters to me,” Mike snapped angrily. Will gasped in surprise. “I don’t like us keeping things from each other.”

Will opened his mouth, trying to find the words, but there it was again—his damn stuttering. Mike hated it, hated how Will tied his tongue in such tight knots that he couldn’t spit out a straight answer.

“Do I know him?” Mike asked, his brows furrowing as his hands remained wrapped around Will’s waist, staring at him with curiosity.

“I’ve only been with three guys, but two were just flings... just a couple of kisses, nothing serious. But I was seeing Peter Bennet for a while.” Will lowered his gaze, embarrassed. Mike looked pissed, and Will wished he could think it was jealousy, but that would be stupid.

“Peter Bennet?” Mike let out a scoffing laugh. “He’s a loser. How could you go out with him?”

Peter was an asshole who had about five different jobs. A stereotypically sarcastic, unmotivated, antisocial teenager. He was cruel, treated everyone like shit, and thought no one understood him, always wearing black and eyeliner, looking like a raccoon. Everyone knew his dad left because he was a jerk, and his mom didn’t want him around either, and Mike couldn’t blame her.

Peter was just a pathetic loser, desperately searching for someone to love him, and it was sad that Will gave in to that pity.

“He looks tough, but he’s sweet and kind, Mike,” Will responded, crossing his arms.

Mike clenched his jaw, tightening his grip on Will’s waist, pulling him closer. “Do you still talk to him?” His voice was soft, but cold.

“Yeah, but not much. We’re just friends now…” Will murmured, shrugging his shoulders.

Mike pressed his lips together in disapproval.

“How far did you go with him?” Mike asked.

Will hesitated to answer. It wasn’t like he owed his ex-boyfriend anything so personal. Mike stepped closer, invading his personal space, as if trying to intimidate him.

“What did you do with him?” Mike insisted.

“Mike, that’s private,” Will responded, his voice trembling slightly. “We’re best friends, but I can’t ask you what you do with my sister or anything like—”

“What did you do?” Mike repeated, completely ignoring Will’s justification. “Did you fuck?” he asked crudely, his voice more aggressive than usual.

“Mike,” Will said, placing his hands on Mike’s chest, trying to create some distance. He didn’t like how Mike was speaking or the way he was pushing for answers. “Mike, stop…”

“Answer me,” Mike growled, moving even closer to his face.

Will turned his head, uncomfortable, feeling Mike’s breath against his cheek as he breathed heavily, still pushing for an answer.

“Did you let him touch you?” Mike asked, taking steps forward, maintaining their closeness. Will kept stepping backward, almost tripping, as Mike continued to pressure him.

“Mike, what’s wrong with you?” Will asked, confused, trying to get away but backing into the desk with Mike pinning him in place. “Mik—”

“Answer me,” Mike commanded firmly. “Answer me, damn it.”

“Jesus, Mike, nothing happened! We only went out for a week,” Will snapped, irritated, looking at him completely bewildered by his behavior, his body tense from the pressure Mike was putting on him.

He felt suffocated.

Will’s response seemed to dissolve the negative emotions in Mike’s mind. His dark eyes softened as he met Will’s, but Will instantly looked away, trembling when Mike’s breath brushed against his face. Will gasped in relief when Mike’s tension faded.

Will’s face was open and vulnerable, visibly disturbed. His big eyes shone with confusion—he couldn’t understand why Mike was reacting like this.

Will was about to call out Mike’s behavior, but as soon as a small syllable left his mouth, Mike grabbed his chin and slammed his lips against Will’s, with the same force he’d used to grab him by the waist moments earlier. It was like he was pouring all his anger and stress into Will’s soft lips.

Will wanted to pull away, but his muscles wouldn’t respond. He just kissed back, momentarily forgetting that Jane was just down the hall, and he was kissing her boyfriend. His body tensed up immediately as he remembered his sister.

He gasped between their lips when Mike lifted him, sweeping items off the desk to place Will on top of it, positioning himself between Will’s spread legs. Mike’s hands slid to Will’s hips as he kissed him hard and intensely, but now his hands moved up to Will’s soft face with urgency, squeezing his cheeks.

Will’s fingers gripped Mike’s shirt, clutching the fabric tightly as his knees went weak, his whole body feeling numb.

Mike bit down on Will’s lower lip before trailing rough kisses along his neck, clearly enjoying the shaky breaths and gasps escaping Will, though he finally stopped.

“Mike…” Will called out, grabbing Mike’s shoulders to push him away. “We can’t…” he whispered in a breath, feeling like a terrible person. Jane would be furious if she found out, and she definitely wouldn’t take it well—obviously.

“Why?” Mike asked softly, his voice barely audible, though he wanted to be angry. He just couldn’t. He hadn’t kissed Will in so long, and he missed it so much.

“You’re with Jane…” Will replied.

Mike sighed, cursing silently to himself, having momentarily forgotten he was still in a relationship with her. She’d completely slipped his mind.

“Damn it…” he sighed. “She doesn’t have to know.” He spoke as if it were just a mundane interaction. It was like what had just happened was nothing more than a slip-up, something of no importance. “She’ll never find out,” he murmured, leaning in to kiss Will’s lips again.

Will closed his eyes, maybe it wasn’t so bad… After all, Mike had been his boyfriend first, and Jane hadn’t cared when she started dating him. He hadn’t done anything wrong...

He tried to rationalize it, but it fell flat, because at the end of the day, Mike and Will had broken up a year or two ago when Jane started dating him, and here he was kissing Mike while he was in a relationship with her. No matter how much he tried to twist it, he’d still betrayed her.

A wave of guilt washed over him, making him want to vomit. He pulled away from Mike again, breathing heavily.

“Just stop,” he murmured, rubbing his palms over his face.

“Don’t be like that. It’s fine. She won’t know, and it was just a mistake…” Mike said, trying to sound understanding. Will nodded slowly, wanting to think clearly, but his chest hurt hearing Mike say the kiss was a mistake. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that…”

Will hunched his shoulders, biting his lips, his heart sinking inexplicably.

“But I just miss you so much, Will…” Mike whispered, wrapping his arms around him, burying his face in Will’s hair, breathing in his scent.

“I miss you too…” Will said in a thick voice, only now realizing the tears that had been threatening to fall. “But we can’t be together…” His voice was low and dull. “I don’t want to hurt Jane.”

Mike sighed. “Can we… have one last kiss?”

Will pressed his lips together, hesitating over the answer, which was clear as day. The right answer was “NO,” but… he couldn’t resist. He lifted his head and pressed their lips together softly. Mike sighed into the kiss, which was gentle, tender, and chaste, so different from their previous ones.

He cradled Will’s face in his hands, breathing into his mouth, then slowly pulled back.

“Let me stay tonight…” Mike said as they parted for air. “We can talk, or just sleep, nothing more…” He pressed his forehead against Will’s.

“I-I don’t know if it’s safe…” Will responded, his voice raspy and low.

Mike smiled, bringing his face close to Will’s ear, making him gasp at the proximity. “Are you afraid of losing control and kissing me?” he whispered in his ear. “Or something else…?”

Will bit his lower lip, swallowing hard. Mike’s lips caught the lobe of his ear, and Will stiffened, trying to push him away with the last fragile bit of strength he had, though it was impossible to move him.

“Please, you’re making this hard…” Will murmured with a soft laugh, and Mike chuckled, bringing his hands to the back of Will’s neck, pulling him closer.

“Yeah, I know… come on, stop resisting for a moment, open those lips and let me kiss you one more time, it’s the last time…” Mike said, a hint of condescension in his tone.

Will shook his head, and Mike pouted.

“Please…”

“Mike, I’m not playing…” Will murmured, looking down. Mike clenched his jaw, tilting his head. “This can’t happen again… okay? You’re with Jane.”

Mike sighed, nodding in resignation.

“It won’t happen again… I promise.”

[••]

One day left until Halloween.

Excitement filled the small group of nerds. This year, they had planned their costumes months in advance, but due to the murders, they hadn’t been able to meet up and discuss it further, as everyone was stuck with a curfew. Especially Lucas, who wouldn’t stop complaining that his mom wouldn’t even let him go into the yard.

Mike laughed. The terror the murders were causing was amusing to him. Sometimes he fantasized about being caught—how would everyone react? A killer had been so close, with no apparent plan, and had ruined them all.

Though he didn’t exactly like that it was cutting into his time with his friends.

“I think they’ll let us go,” Dustin said. “Jennifer’s party is gonna be amazing. We were finally invited to a party, our moms have to be understanding.”

“We were invited?” Mike scoffed.

“Dude, my mom won’t let me go,” Lucas complained for the fifth time. “Not until they catch the killer, especially now that Gareth’s dead.”

At the moment, only Lucas’s mom knew about Gareth’s death, since they were close. Gareth’s parents didn’t want their son’s death to become a spectacle.

“The police are dumb, it’s obvious it was Scott. He barely left that night, and Gareth was found dead,” Dustin said, shaking his head. “It all happened too fast…”

“What would Scott have against Gareth?” Mike asked, trying to sound interested. Lucas shrugged.

“He’s a psychopath, how would we know?”

“Mhm…” Mike hummed. “You’ve got a point there.” Dustin nodded as if it were obvious, and Lucas sighed, spotting Max and Jane sitting together at a table, laughing.

“There are the girls,” Lucas pointed out, and the guys headed toward them without hesitation. “Uh, I haven’t seen Will since this morning,” he added. Mike wrinkled his nose, nodding.

Since sneaking into Will’s room, Will had been more distant than ever, not just from Mike but from the group too. But Mike wasn’t worried anymore. After that long kissing session they’d had that night, he knew it would be much harder for Will to forget him.

“You guys took forever to get here, idiots,” Max complained, crossing her arms. Jane nodded.

“We had some ‘guys-only’ stuff to deal with,” Lucas said, going over to Max and giving her a kiss, which she returned with a smile.

Jane looked at Mike, expecting him to do the same, but he only gave her a smile. She slumped her shoulders, disappointed and slightly confused by the lack of affection Mike had been showing her since the day before.

“Get your lunches out!” Dustin ordered. The group sighed—it was a daily routine. Everyone pulled out their food, and Dustin stole a little from everyone.

But it wasn’t annoying. They didn’t mind too much since Dustin always made up for it by inviting them to the movies or somewhere else.

“Did you guys see Will? He’s supposed to be fucking Luke Skywalker, and we need to talk about it,” Dustin pointed out.

“I thought he didn’t want to be Luke,” Lucas said. “He said it for three whole minutes.” He brought his hand to his chin.

Mike pulled out his sandwich and drink, nodding in agreement with Lucas. Will had said he didn’t want to be Luke on three occasions.

“What? Who’s gonna be Luke then?” Dustin asked, alarmed. Lucas shrugged. “How did I not know he wasn’t gonna be Luke?! So who is?!”

“I don’t know, ask him yourself,” Lucas said, nodding to his right. Dustin and Mike turned immediately, spotting Will standing in the hallway, smiling while talking to… Peter Bennet.

His ex-boyfriend.

Mike stiffened in his seat, feeling his hair stand on end and his heart race, as if he was about to have a heart attack. He watched every movement Will made, noticing his nervousness, how he fidgeted and clenched his fists, while a nervous smile played on his lips.

Will was trying too hard.

Mike snorted. There’s no way he was going to let that happen. He kept chewing his sandwich, eyes narrowed on the two of them, but soon felt his stomach burn with anger when Will started heading their way, with Peter Bennet right behind him.

Mike lowered his gaze, trying to seem disinterested when Will reached them, giving them a smile.

“Hey, sorry I’m late…”

“You better be sorry for not being fucking Luke Skywalker this Halloween,” Dustin pointed out. Will sighed. “Will, we’ve been planning this all year!”

“I told you a thousand times I’m not gonna be Luke!”

Mike barely heard Dustin’s complaints anymore. His attention was fully on Peter, who looked dead inside, slouched, and slightly disgusted by Dustin’s outburst. Oh, of course, he hates loud noises and chaos.

Mike would love to cut off his stupid head and make him scream until he hated himself if he didn’t get away from their table right now.

“Fine, Dustin, I’ll be Luke, and it’s all settled!” Will’s voice snapped Mike out of his thoughts. “Geez…”

“Excellent!”

“I don’t want to butt into your weird argument, but Will,” Jane called. “I’m going with Max after school, so I’ll see you at Jennifer’s party.”

“Does Hopper know?” Will asked, and Jane nodded. “Okay, no problem.”

“By the way, Will, what’s Bennet doing here?” Lucas asked, turning to the guy behind Will.

“Yeah… what are you doing here? Are you Will’s boyfriend again?” Mike asked, with no apparent shame and a hint of bitterness in his voice.

Will looked at Mike with clear terror in his eyes. He had only told Mike about his past with Peter, and now, thanks to his stupid mouth, everyone knew.

“Uh, no…” Peter replied, sensing Mike’s arrogant tone. “How’d you come to that conclusion?” Mike shrugged.

“Were you two together?” Jane asked, surprised. “God! You never told me,” she complained to her brother.

“It was just a fling,” Peter responded. “We’re friends now. I’m just here for a while, waiting for my sister.”

“How long did you guys date?” Max asked Peter, intrigued.

Mike sipped his drink without taking a breath, never taking his eyes off Will, who just avoided his gaze, clearly shaken.

“About… two weeks?” Peter turned to Will, frowning, waiting for confirmation, but the brunette didn’t respond. “Well, it was just a few weeks, nothing serious…”

Suddenly, everyone started bombarding Peter with questions. Will was visibly annoyed by what Mike had caused, and Peter answered everything with a sarcastic, disinterested tone, earning some laughs. Will was surprised when Mike joined in on the conversation, laughing at times and seeming to enjoy it.

Will’s eyes met Mike’s. He smiled at him, as if he were mocking him.

Mike’s gaze stayed fixed on Will, so intense that Will couldn’t help the color rising to his face. He felt uncomfortable, as Mike would stare at him one moment and then completely ignore him the next.

Ten minutes had passed.

Will felt nervous, anxious, and even scared. Mike hadn’t stopped looking at him during those ten minutes, and out of the corner of his eye, Will saw how his knuckles turned white as he gripped the drink can in his hands.

Now he had no idea if Mike was angry or if he was mocking him. His face was unreadable, but Will could bet a dollar that he was probably pissed off.

He didn’t want to find out.

Will jumped in his seat, directing a look of surprise at Mike; he had just brushed his foot under the table.

Will clenched his jaw, trying to figure out the reason behind his behavior. He flinched in surprise when he felt his slippery foot slide further up. His back arched as he looked to the left, trying to cover it up.

“Hey, Will.” Mike called softly. “Can you come with me to Professor Clark’s office?”

Will looked at him, his green eyes brimming with curiosity. He glanced at his friends; everyone at the table was having completely different conversations. Peter had blended in with the group.

Mike stood up silently, ignoring Jane’s odd look, and didn’t pay it any mind. Will hesitated but eventually stood up and followed him.

He just wanted to tell him not to do that again—especially with Jane sitting next to them, it could be misinterpreted.

He saw Mike, who seemed to be waiting for him in the hallway right by the door leading to the janitor's closet.

“What the hell were you doing?” Will complained as he stepped up to him. Mike simply observed him silently from where he stood, not even moving.

“What do you want?”

Mike grabbed his hand, pulling him into the cleaning room. Will gasped, and the loud sound of the door slamming shut violently left him stunned. His surprise only grew with what happened next. In a flash, he realized he was being pressed forcefully against the door.

“What the hell are you doing?” The disbelief was palpable in Will’s voice.

"I just want to repeat what happened during our little midnight visit yesterday. I have to admit, I can’t stop thinking about you and your lips..." Mike confessed shamelessly, letting his hot breath fall beside Will’s neck, causing him to shiver.

"M-Mike, we promised that wouldn’t happen again..." Will’s voice trembled, unable to articulate coherently the idea he was trying to convey to Mike, who had him under his control. "You’re acting like an idiot..."

Mike loved feeling the boy’s rapid breathing against his skin. He leaned in, running the tip of his nose along the brown-haired boy’s neck, before letting his tongue follow.

"You know I am..." Mike smiled, Will pouting his lips. "Don’t play innocent with me. You brought that guy to the table with other intentions..." he said softly, his hands gripping the slim body tightly, one resting on the narrow waist and the other on the wood.

Will swallowed, hating that Mike knew him so well. He admitted he had been jealous that morning because Jane had hinted at taking things to the next level with Mike after he finally told her he loved her.

Mike had never told him he loved him, even if they had known each other for years, despite their friendship.

He admitted he was jealous and taking Peter there, even though he was the one who suggested it, he just wanted to see if Mike would do anything, and well, he did, but it wasn’t exactly a jealousy scene.

He knew Mike wasn’t as jealous, thanks to his stupid ego, thinking that no one is on his level.

"Y-You're with Jane," Will managed to articulate, feeling like a broken radio playing. Mike laughed against his neck, and the sensations hit him hard, making his legs buckle. He would’ve fallen to the floor if it weren’t for the curls holding him up.

Mike lifted his face to Will’s level, only to claim his lips in a demanding kiss once more, forcing him to taste his saliva as their tongues tangled and sucked, licking, pulling, feeling the saliva drip from the corners of their mouths. Will gasped against the other’s mouth, letting the wave of guilt slip away with the wind, again.

All that could be heard were the wet sounds of their mouths as Will gripped Mike’s forearms, aware of how wild and primitive Mike’s mouth was taking over his. He just wanted to think about that, about the two of them.

Mike licked his lips when their mouths parted, pushing forward to press his chest against Will’s. Leaning in even more, he bit the lobe of Will’s ear, licking the same spot, then his chin, to reach his lips again.

He missed kissing him so much.

"Where do you think they went?"

Will heard Jane’s voice behind the door, pulling away from the kiss immediately, exhaling sharply, panicked, giving Mike a shove that didn’t push him far.

"I don’t know, Mike said they’d go to Professor Clark’s, they might be in the library. Will mentioned he had math homework to catch up on," Max’s voice joined in, footsteps moving away as well.

They were looking for them.

That meant Jane probably suspected something, or saw something, or heard something from the other night… she didn’t know, but fuck, he had to stop.

"Fuck..." Will growled, and Mike leaned in close again. "Mike, no, no, let’s go..." he murmured against his lips.

"Relax, there’s no way they’ll find us here." Mike says, gently biting Will’s lower lip.

"N-No." Will shakes his head with difficulty, placing his palms on Mike’s chest to keep distance. "We promised we wouldn’t do this again... We can’t do this to Jane."

"I can leave her." Mike insists.

"No, that would hurt her too much. Just... let’s forget this." Will repeats, panting, frustrated that he couldn’t handle the situation and that Mike was making it really hard. "It’s for the best."

Mike laughs. "Is that really what you think?"

"Yes, you’re with Jane and I... I want to try again with Peter. We can’t do this to them." Will says, repeating it in his mind, wanting his words to drill into his head so he can never forget them.

But it’s a lie. Peter is just a friend, but Will had to find a way to get rid of Mike.

Mike quickly changed his expression when he heard it. "What did you say?"

"You heard me." Will points. "Let’s not do this again." Will demands, quickly leaving the room, not wanting to stay with Mike there, knowing he’d fall under his charm again.

Mike gritted his teeth, lifting his chin, his breathing slow and heavy through his nostrils.

"I want to try again with Peter." Will’s voice echoed in his head.

"Fucking son of a..." In a fit of rage, Mike began hitting the wall, his fists pounding against the concrete, the skin of his hands tearing a little more with each hit.

"I want to try again with Peter."

Adrenaline puffed out like steam from his mouth, he growled slightly from the pain in his knuckles, breathing slowly, his nostrils flaring, pressing his forehead against the wall.

Shit, he couldn’t stand that stubborn bastard anymore. He had to teach him a lesson.

[••]

Will was surprised to see his house empty, since his mother had tracked his every move, and Jonathan had been tagging along everywhere, almost harassing him due to his disappearances. And they left him alone at home with no one else?

He thought Hopper would be there spending the afternoon with him, since he knew his mother and brother had work until the afternoon, but apparently Hopper also had a night shift. Will put his hands to his temples. Of course he has a night shift—he’s a cop. How stupid.

But still, no one had told him. He frowned, probably there was no problem. After all, they had agreed to let him go to Jennifer’s party that night, so they must think he’s staying at Mike’s house.

And he would’ve done that, but he didn’t want to be alone with him. He didn’t feel right doing that to Jane. Besides, it’s like Mike doesn’t care all that much. He doesn’t know what’s going through his head, but he doesn’t want to find out, at least not right now.

He took off his shoes and threw the keys on the table next to the front door, walked down the hallway to the kitchen, intending to prepare a small dinner. The clock read 6:19 PM, and his stomach growled at the perfect moment. The party started at 11:30, so he had plenty of time to be alone.

He made a quick meal as the light outside continued to fade, casting the bushes and trees of the large backyard into an increasingly deep shadow. He thought he might find something to watch on TV while he ate.

So, he brought his plate to the couch, flipping through the channels for a while, aware that his food was getting cold on the plate, until he landed on the news channel.

"More than three murders have occurred in Hawkins, the town is in shock and no one can believe what has happened here, it’s outrageous that there isn’t even a clue about the killer—"

That was all he heard from the woman before Will raised the remote and changed the channel.

"More than four deaths, including a suicide by—"

Will lifted the remote again and switched channels, his expression stunned. He didn’t want to hear more or he’d get even more scared.

"This is the first time the Hawkins community has suffered such a tragedy, a killer is on the loose, killing teenagers..." Suddenly, a picture of Gareth appeared. Will blinked at the screen, unsure if he was seeing correctly. "This morning, the body of Gareth Walton was found, son and friend to many, found in his own house with over 10 stab wounds to his chest and stomach, with multiple broken bones. His parents have made no further statements, and the identity of the perpetrator is still unknown." The brunette brought his hands to his mouth, choking back his gasps. "Are we not even safe in our own home anymore?"

He didn’t want to hear more. He couldn’t believe Gareth was dead. That’s why everyone had wondered why he wasn’t at break. He had perfect attendance... well, he used to.

He turned off the TV with a deep sigh, rubbing his arms and grimacing.

"Are we not even safe in our own home anymore?"

Will took his plate to the kitchen. His appetite had completely vanished, and he was starting to feel cold.

He’d save the food for Jonathan, he’d probably get home earlier. He put it in the warmer, and the sudden silence after that made him realize how quiet the house was at night, with the TV off and no cars passing outside. He was completely alone at that moment.

That gave him a chill down his spine, but it got worse when the phone rang, scaring him.

He sighed, trying to relax. It was probably Jane wanting to make sure if he was going to the party or not.

“Hello?”

“Hello,” came the response, in a voice that definitely wasn’t Jane’s. It was a deep, rough male voice.

“Can I help you with something?” he asked, probably some coworker of Hopper’s.

“I don’t know, can you?”

Will furrowed his brow.

“Uh, I think you dialed the wrong number,” he muttered, tilting his head.

“Hm, I don’t think so...” came the reply, still in that low tone. Will huffed in irritation.

“Yeah, well, I have no idea who you are, so I’m hanging up now. Have a nice afternoon.” He was about to hang up the phone, but the voice on the other end called out again.

“Wait, wait, I just want to ask you something…”

Will paused, tentatively bringing the phone to his ear. “What?”

“What are you doing right now?” His rough voice sounded flirtatious, and Will wanted to ignore the brief flutter in his stomach because his voice was oddly attractive.

But he wasn’t in the mood for any nonsense tonight.

“That sounded weird, and I don’t think it’s any of your business. Good afternoon.” Once again, he tried to hang up, but the man on the other end yelled.

“I care, really…”

Will scoffed. “You care?”

“Of course. I like your voice. I have a strong feeling you’re someone... interesting.”

Will raised an eyebrow with a smug smile. “Okeeey... I don’t know how to take that.” He chuckled softly.

“A compliment... or maybe an invitation.” The smile in the man’s voice was palpable, even through the phone.

“An invitation to what?” Will smiled sideways and brought his index finger to his lips.

“A date...” The voice sounded seductive and provocative.

Will laughed, amused. “Aw, I really think you’ve got the wrong number. You’re probably looking for my sister.”

“No, it’s definitely you I’m looking at…”

“Okay, sure...” His blood froze as he processed what the man had just said. “W-What? What did you say?” His breathing quickened as the silence on the line stretched longer and longer.

“I’m watching you, standing there in that nice, thin shirt... narcissus yellow.”

Will trembled, his muscles frozen, unable to move to hang up. He was completely paralyzed.

“H-How...?” His eyes shot like lightning to the kitchen window that faced the dark backyard.

“I love how yellow looks on you. You wear it pretty often, is it your favorite color?”

Finally, his muscles kicked into gear, and he hung up the phone, rushing toward the window, frantically closing the curtains before running at full speed to the front door, nearly tripping from nerves to lock it.

He gasped for air, bringing his hands to his chest, feeling his heart pounding rapidly. He tried to relax his tense muscles and steady his breathing.

He almost screamed when the phone rang again.

He debated whether to answer or not, but the fear of not knowing what that psychopath was doing near his house consumed him. He tried to think positively; most likely, it was just a cruel prank or some perverted pedophile calling him from his own house, scaring teenagers. He was just lucky with the comment about his yellow shirt, that’s all...

Will swallowed hard, still as scared as he was, deciding to answer. His hand shook as he reached for the phone, his breathing ragged and trembling against the receiver.

“If this is a prank, I warn you, my dad’s a cop and he’ll find out about this,” he threatened, and it wasn’t entirely empty—Hopper would break the bones of the man on the other end of the line without hesitation.

“Why’d you hang up on me, pretty boy?” the man asked, mocking him, ignoring the brunette’s threats.

“I swear to God, idiot, if my dad finds out you’re messing with me, he’ll slit your throat!” Will shouted, pressing himself against the wall, scanning every corner of his house in terror.

“Uh, who could that be?” the man toyed with him, the brunette licking his lips anxiously. “I think it’s... Lonnie, right? Oh, wait! He’s not a cop and he left really early this morning, so the other option is... Officer Jim Hopper.” His voice held an edge that it hadn’t before.

Will paled in place. How did he know right away it was Hopper? How did he know about Lonnie?!

“Sorry for mentioning Lonnie, I know it’s a sensitive subject for you…”

He was frozen, feeling an unpleasant chill run down his spine, scared and helpless. “Fuck you…”

The man’s laughter made him shiver. “I like it when you curse, it’s so...” His rough whisper and occasional sighs created dramatic pauses, building more tension in the phone conversation. “So fucking hot, Will…”

“Listen to me, idiot,” Will gulped. “I-I’m calling my dad, and b-believe me, he’ll be here in seconds, so you better leave me alone...” He couldn’t stop sobbing, but the man just clicked his tongue.

“I don’t think so, baby. Jim’s on the night shift at the junkyard trying to find a clue about me.”

“Y-You?” Will repeated, his palms sweaty. Hopper had been working overtime, looking for the killer, and this man was telling him... so was he implying that... he was the killer?

“Don’t worry, you’re not alone. I’m with you. I could never leave you. I’ve missed you so much…”

“Who are you?”

“Uh, you were just watching me on the news, weren’t you?”

Will gasped, trembling. “P-Please...” he begged, the phone beginning to slip from his sweaty palm. “Please don’t hurt me…”

“Uh, where’d your threats go, Byers?” the man teased.

Will sobbed, feeling lost. This stranger knew enough about him—it wasn’t just a prank.

“Uh, I’ll recommend something...” he continued, still in that low tone. “You should remember to lock the back door...”

Will's eyes widened, and he dropped the phone, running down the hallway as fast as his weak legs would allow. He rushed to the counter, searching for the keys, and felt a weight on his shoulders, a cold shiver running down his spine as he noticed the keys were no longer on it.

“Shit!” he cursed under his breath, running to the kitchen to grab a knife to defend himself. He searched the drawers only to find none, did the killer have them? “Shit! No, no...” he exclaimed desperately, hitting the cabinet, irritation and fear coursing through his body.

The killer was in his house.

Will wasn’t good at fighting, in fact, he had little endurance, and he knew it well. He didn’t know if he could take on the stranger who had killed three people in one night, including Gareth, who was much stronger and had more stamina than he did.

He dropped to his knees to avoid being seen at first glance, quickly crawling to the phone, almost hysterically grabbing it with his slippery fingers, trying to dial the police.

“Come on... come on, please—” Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed the phone in one swift motion, pulling it away from him. Will screamed as he was grabbed by the collar of his shirt and dragged away from the hallway, toward the kitchen.

Will screamed, demanding to be freed, even though he knew no one would hear him—he had no close neighbors. Soon, his cries were muffled by a heavy hand that covered his mouth, choking off his desperate screams. The brunette thrashed wildly, biting the hand as hard as he could, but the man didn’t pull away. He just let out a low grunt. Will then realized the man was wearing thick leather gloves that protected and hid his fingers.

He sobbed again, twisting and struggling against the unknown man, who wasn’t letting go so easily, until the stranger shoved him, throwing him to the ground.

Will grunted in pain as he hit the floor so abruptly, but even with fear coursing through his veins, he began to crawl across the floor, gasping for air through his nose and mouth, trying to get as far away from the killer as possible.

“Don’t even think about moving...” the man behind him said. Will turned, looking with horror at the figure looming over him—an eerie silhouette, dressed entirely in black, wearing black boots and a white rubber mask resembling a ghost with a screaming expression. In his right hand, he held a voice modulator at face level.

Will gasped inwardly as he scanned the man’s gloved hand, noticing he was holding a wickedly sharp knife that gleamed in the dim light.

“That shirt looks like thin fabric... do you know how cold it is outside?” he asked with a hint of humor, somehow seeming to smile even without showing a trace of expression through the mask.

“Please, go away...” Will whimpered once again, sliding away from him with slippery hands and feet encased in socks.

“Agh, ‘please’ this, ‘please’ that,” the man mocked. “Are you one of those who begs too much?”

Will nodded fervently, thinking maybe he could appease him and get him to leave, though he knew it was unlikely. This man knew too much about him—he’d probably had him in his sights for a while.

The masked man tilted his head toward the brunette as if he were deep in thought about what to do first, then sighed and began walking slowly toward him, twirling the knife in his hand.

Will quickly retreated until his back collided hard with the cabinet that was the base of the sink. He groaned in pain as the handles dug into his back, then let out a small scream, sounding like a high-pitched squeal when the man reached his feet and crouched down to grab his ankle, pulling him forcefully and dragging him back to the floor. His back slammed painfully against the ground from the sudden motion.

“No, no! Please..!” Will sobs, pleading for his life, covering his mouth with one hand to stifle his embarrassing screams, but soon the man brought both of his gloved hands to Will belt. “What the hell are you doing?! Don’t fucking touch me!” he exclaims loudly, struggling to free himself, but nothing worked. The man managed to pull the belt off and grabbed the boy’s wrists, who kept trying to strike him.

Will landed a knee that forced the man to step back, and he turned around, ready to run for his life once again, but his ankle was grabbed again, pulling his body back.

He fell hard to the floor, his chest feeling the coldness of the marble. The man quickly moved behind him, taking his hands, pressing both wrists against the boy's back. Will realized he was trying to bind his hands with the belt, gasping in surprise and trying to move away, but the stranger pressed his wrists firmly. Fear took over him, running down his spine, sending a shiver through him involuntarily and faintly.

He breathed heavily, continuing to struggle, but his hands were already tied. The man flipped him over to face him, and Will stiffened as he saw the eerie mask once more.

“Stay away from me!" Will protested weakly, regretting not having enough strength, feeling a cold horror spread throughout his body.

“Shhh..." The man showed the knife, playfully toying with it. Will, seeing the sharp tool, swallowed so hard it was painful. "Would you like... to play a game?" he asked through the voice modulator.

Will whimpers as the stranger practically straddles him.

Without hesitation, Will starts to struggle again, feeling pain in his wrists. The man leaned his crushing weight forward to completely immobilize him.

“Shh..." he repeated, bringing the knife forward just inches above the boy's nose. Will shifted his hips restlessly, squirming as much as he could with the masked man on top of him. "Don’t struggle..." he demanded.

"Please, let me go..." he pleaded. The man merely pressed his weapon against the boy's cheek without hurting him, yet it still caused a sob to escape from the brunet, who nervously followed the knife with his eyes.

“Calm down, it's going to be a very simple game... just answer a few straightforward questions with nothing but the truth," the man spoke as he slid the weapon further down the boy's cheek, the sharp object tracing his throat and chest until it reached his stomach. Will trembled, focusing his gaze on the stranger's thighs, where they emerged from the slits of his tunic to kneel at both sides of his hips, tightening with force. "I'll know when you're lying, Byers..."

Will whimpered as the man rested the tip of the knife just above his navel, remembering how the news emphasized that Gareth had been stabbed more than 10 times in the stomach... just like his entire chest. Would he do that to him too?

"If you lie to me, things will go badly..." the masked man purred.

Will squirmed, the thought sending shivers down his spine. The linoleum was cold against his body, and the mask tilted slightly downward without releasing the voice modulator.

“I've been watching you a lot lately... and your close circle... you know..."

Will tensed as the tip of the knife silently dragged across his skin.

"Lucas, Dustin... Mike," the man continued.

Will felt his eyes swell with tears that brushed against his eyelashes but didn't fall down his cheeks.

"But you're my favorite..." The knife, sharp as a razor, lightly took the edge of the fine fabric of his shirt, tearing it.

Will screamed in fear, the man was tearing apart his shirt, leaving his chest exposed. The masked figure seemed to be examining his chest, searching for something else on his freckled torso.

"You're so cute..."

"P-Please don't do anything to me.." pleads Will, the masked man shamelessly began to touch the bare chest, Will stiffened as he felt the cold gloves on his body, the man was gasping for breath as he roamed the bare torso. " L-Let you touch me..!"

“I can touch you whenever I want," growls the furious stranger, as if the fact that Will didn't allow him to touch his body had been a terrible offense to him.

“That's enough! P-Please...”

“I should carve all my name here..” he murmurs ignoring his pleas, he raised the knife pointing to his chest with the sharp tip, Will gasped silently feeling a lump in his throat. “..so that you always keep in mind who you belong to.”

“Fuck you, y-you're crazy," Will spoke, clenching his fists, the man cocked his head as if hearing that word caused some kind of incredulous curiosity in him.

“Crazy?" he moved towards Will's face in a quick movement that caused Will to startle and tilt his neck, the man took advantage of that to stick his head in there breathing heavily, listening to Will's heart beating wildly.

The man brought his free hand to the side of his head and leaned his weight against Will's body who fell silent with his breath catching in his throat, trembling slightly.

“Go away, I'm warning you..." hesitates Will writhing on the cold floor, holding his breath. "If you kill me, my dad will find you and fuck you up.."

The man sighed, his weight shifted slightly on the brown man removing his hand from his head and leaned back to sheathe the knife.

Will swallowed, his heart still racing.

“I don't want to kill you, I thought I made that very clear..I just want to play an innocent little game with you. What's it called..you're going to do exactly what I tell you, when I say it, or I'll gut you like a pig.”

“F-Fuck you, I don't want to play shit with you.”

“Fine, let's not..we can both have a good time here, I don't want to kill you, still..I wouldn't be able to do it.” he said it with so much venom dripping in his voice. “But you put me in such a difficult situation..”

Will wants to complain about the man's contradictions but soon he pulls his hair causing his voice to go with the wind.

“If I see you with that bastard again, I'll stop being as understanding as I am now," he growled, pulling the boy's head back so that his chin was up in the air.

Will sobbed, "Wait, please...”

"I swear I'll kill him if you don't cooperate and keep your fucking distance” the rage in his voice made Will feel as if someone had dipped him in acid.

“I-I don't know who you mean," Will whimpers, tears streaming down his cheeks and sobs coming from his throat, the man runs his black gloved finger from her right eye to her cheek, tracing the path of her tears.

“You're beautiful even when you cry," he murmurs, "You belong only to me, do you understand? To no other bastard.”

“Please..." he sobs.

The stranger pressed his head back with a growl, Will let out a gasp.

"Keep your distance, remember you're mine..say it" he mutters, releasing his head with a jerk, getting up, Will curls up squeezing his knees in front of his chest, crying.

"I'm yours.."

"Good. Enjoy the party.." speaks the man leaving him shivering on the cold floor.

The sudden silence left him stunned, the man was gone, and the only sounds in the hallway were the moans and sobs. The whimpers never stopped coming from the brown-haired boy's throat, who only had the eerie white mask on his head.

He tried to unbuckle the belt from his wrists, but it hurt to try. The grip was well done, and his breath became ragged. He opened his mouth to scream desperately for help, but there was no one nearby.

The oppressive silence of the room was only interrupted by the distant sounds of the night. The dim moonlight seeped through the curtains, accentuating the gloomy scene. Will struggled to control his breathing, but each inhale was a desperate fight against the fear that engulfed him.

Minutes turned into eternity as his thoughts tangled in a web of nightmares and torment. The cold intensified, penetrating every pore of his vulnerable skin. Overwhelming loneliness enveloped him, and the sense of being completely at the mercy of his captor paralyzed him. He feared the man would return. Every creak, every shadow, every small sound amplified his anxiety, pushing him to the brink of despair.

Tears mixed with the sweat that soaked his face as he continued trembling on the kitchen floor, surrounded by terrifying silence.

He startled when he heard three knocks at the front door.

“Will? Are you home?” Mike's voice came, and the brown-haired boy gasped in relief. “Can we talk?”

“Mike! Mike, help me!” he shouted loudly, quickly hearing Mike try to open the door.

“It’s locked!” Will gasped in a moan. “I’ll go around back!”

“Wait, wait!” the brown-haired boy exclaimed, trying to stand up. “There’s someone in the house!” he screamed, but Mike didn’t answer. “Mike…?” No one replied. Will started crying intentionally, terrified, trying to stifle his sobs so he could hear better in case Mike had been attacked.

He heard the back door open.

“Will?” Mike gasped in relief once more upon hearing him. “Where are you?”

Will shakily got to his feet, enduring the painful grip of his wrists, and made his way to the kitchen entrance, meeting Mike in the hallway.

"What the hell is going on?" Mike stepped closer to him, noticing that he was tied up, so he quickly tried to untie him. "What happened?" he asked as he freed Will, who immediately jumped into his arms, sobbing.

"Mike! Oh my god..." Will exclaimed, grabbing his arms, immediately pressing himself against his comforting chest, the warmth from Mike's body calming his trembling form.

"What happened?" Mike hugged him back, gently running his hand over his back as Will sobbed into his chest. "Are you okay?"

"The Hawkins killer... he was here!" Will spoke through his sobs, hiccuping between words, choking his sounds even more in Mike's shoulder. He was terrified, not wanting Mike to leave him. "We... we have to tell Hopper." His words came out broken and forced.

"Did he do anything to you?" Mike pulled Will back, placing his hands on his jaw, forcing him to look at him. He scanned his face and body, his eyes searching for any signs of injury. "Why is your shirt like this?"

"He... he ripped it and... he threatened me..."

Mike covered him. Without letting him pull away, he pulled Will closer to his chest, running his hands up and down his arms, trying to calm him.

"I’ll stay with you until Hopper or Jonathan get here, okay? I won’t leave you alone," he murmured softly. Will nodded weakly, releasing another sob from deep within his chest.

Mike stayed with him for several minutes, calming him enough so that he no longer cried uncontrollably or had hiccups interrupting his words. Mike remained silent, just listening to Will's breathing with an unreadable expression on his face.

He didn’t want to make him cry, but Will needed to understand somehow.

[••]

It's Halloween, and the group couldn't celebrate it the way they wanted, since the killer was lurking behind their bones, or something like that.

The boys were terrified when they found out the killer had been at Will's house; the killer was on the loose and knew about them. Clearly, that was enough to keep them from going out to trick-or-treat like everyone else.

As soon as it was known that a killer was stalking Will, Hopper didn’t stop searching every corner of Hawkins, not wanting to miss a single detail.

Mike would like to say he was calm, but no, even though he wasn't a suspect, Hopper drove around every night in his patrol car, and it didn’t matter who he found outside, he’d bombard them with questions until he took them to the police station.

He was suspicious of everyone.

This made him nervous and irritated. Hopper would give him curious and intimidating looks, as if he was suspected of being involved.

He disliked orange juice, scrunching his nose; it wasn't one of his favorite juices, but he was thirsty. He noticed that all the students he passed had concerned looks on their faces, their eyes blinking around him in semi-panic, as if the killer could pop out from any corner.

He felt a sense of satisfaction seeing them scared.

"You're staying with Will this afternoon, right?" Jane asked, pulling him out of his trance. "I have to finish the science homework with Max, and I don’t want him to be alone."

"Yeah, I’ll be with him," Mike replied. Jane nodded. The mention of Will brought back memories of their argument that morning, the argument that happened again because of that idiot Peter Bennet.

"I'm just worried about you!”

“I know! But I can't let that lunatic ruin my life, you're talking to me like I should obey everything that idiot said, as if you agree with him!” Will pointed out angrily. “As if you’re on his side”

“No! Of course not!” he shouted back, slowly moving closer to the brunette, closing the distance between them. Will frowned at the rapidly shrinking space. “What I'm saying is... there's a crazy person on the loose, you were attacked. Why don’t you just do what he said and stay away from Peter?”

There was silence for a minute between them.

“He didn’t specify who it was...” Will said hesitantly. Mike sighed.

“But it’s obvious, Will.” he pointed out. “Think about it for a second, he never bothered you before until you brought that idiot into the group.”

Will pursed his lips, lowering his gaze as if thinking. Mike took his hand in his.

“I'm worried about you... can you understand that? Maybe you should just do whatever he says until they catch him.”

“But why didn't he show up when I was with Peter? Now he's just... my friend.”

“You said you wanted to get back with him.” Mike pointed out, accusingly. His eyes were a cold, emotionless void.

“But how could he know that? I only told you.” Will replied. Mike clenched his jaw, standing motionless like stone.

“I-I don’t know...” he stammered nervously. “But still, Will, it's dangerous—“

“I'm not going to stay away from Peter, or anyone. I’ve spent all my afternoons with Peter and the killer hasn’t called again. He just wants to mess with me, and I won’t let him.”

Those were his final words. Mike stood there in silence, looking at Will’s back as he walked away quickly, his face reflecting his clear frustration with how stubborn and stupid Will was.

Why didn’t he just do what he was told?"

"Hey Mike.." Jane's voice brings him back to his senses. "Uh..lately, I feel like you're distant. Is something wrong?"

"No, just..the whole murder thing is bothering me a bit, especially now that that lunatic is after Will and knows about all of us." He justifies, Jane's constant insistence these past weeks was starting to irritate him.

She was about to respond, but someone behind her grabbed her by the shoulders, startling her.

"Boo!"

"Lucas, you're an idiot!" Jane exclaims, touching his chest. The guy starts laughing, but soon his girlfriend next to him elbows him.

"You need to be alert," Dustin points out.

Jane rolls her eyes.

"Alright, sorry Jane. Did we interrupt something important?" the dark-skinned guy asks, turning to the couple.

"No," Mike responds curtly. "And where's Will? We can't leave him alone," he points out.

"He said he had something to do first," Dustin responds, shrugging.

"Where? We're about to leave, we have to go together," Mike insists.

"In the gym," Max responds. "Leave him alone for a moment, you know that when you push him too much, he gets upset," he says, sitting next to Jane. Mike clenches his jaw. "He's been having a hard time with the crazy guy chasing him."

"Uh! Speaking of that, do you want to know who I think the killer is?" Lucas pulls them closer by the arms, looks around, and waits until a couple of people pass by before whispering. "I think it might be that bastard Troy, because I don’t know about you, but he should be the first suspect. He was always 'obsessed' with us, especially with Will, following us around, making stupid comments, and attacking us. Don't you think it's logical?"

Dustin nods, as if lost in thought. "Do you think Hopper knows about this?"

"He knows, they interrogated him," Jane responds. "But they don’t have any proof to lock him up."

"Do you think Troy has such a twisted mind?" Max asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Totally," Mike answers to himself.

The bell signaling the end of class rings throughout the hallway, and the guys get up, starting to walk.

"I do think it could be him. Plus..I don't know, but they say that when someone bothers you, it's because they like you, and Troy had this weird obsession with Will since elementary school," Lucas says. Mike furrows his brow. "Also...the ones who suppress their sexuality the most are the most likely to be that way," he shrugs.

"Are you insinuating that Troy likes Will?" Jane mocks, crossing her arms, looking incredulous.

"Of course. Didn't you ever think about it?" He turns to the group. Dustin and Max nod. "See?"

"It's obvious, Troy is a repressed homosexual who's obsessed with Will and must hate him for that, so he wants him dead. I mean, how would he know about Lonnie?" Dustin asks. Mike bites his lower lip. "The cops are idiots. Don't get me wrong, Jane, Hopper's great, I think he's the only one worth anything, but he's on his own with this. He's surrounded by idiots. If they would just sit down and watch literally any horror movie that exists, they’d save themselves some time."

"Horror movies are not answers to a real killer, Dustin," Jane complains.

"They are, and most likely it’s Troy. That idiot is overflowing with madness," Dustin scoffs. "It's a shame we won’t be celebrating Halloween together, guys."

"Oh, God, yes! I really wanted to egg the Murphy's house," Max sighs. "But we’ll have to wait until next year, detectives. Now, we girls have to go." She says, grabbing Jane's arm. "We have to get a 10 in science," she points out, and Jane nods.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Lucas asks. "I'll protect you from the killer with these charming biceps," he boasts.

"Or rather, they'll protect you," Dustin laughs, and Lucas hits him on the back of the neck.

"Ouch! Alright, alright, see you tomorrow, I have a curfew. Bye, nerds," he says, walking away.

"Idiot," Lucas mutters, and Max takes his hand, laughing.

"Alright, soldier, come with us," Max smiles, and Lucas nods.

Jane gives Mike a kiss on the lips, which startles him. "See you tomorrow, I love you," she smiles, and he just nods. Jane pouts, disappointed. "Goodbye..."

"See you tomorrow, I'm going to get Will before it gets too late," he says, turning on her heels.

Mike would have liked to celebrate Halloween, but he would rather be with Will until dawn. He puts his hands in his jacket pockets and walks quickly toward the gym, which seemed to be empty.

When he arrived at the gym, the sound of voices made her stop in her tracks. He didn’t doubt it was Will with someone else.

He peered through the cracked door, and sure enough, it was Will, looking as handsome as ever. Mike could enjoy seeing every detail of him, he was smiling, and his smile was like a sudden ray of sunshine, lighting up the darkest corners of the room... but he was with that bastard Peter again.

Mike approached, fully prepared to interrupt, but then stopped dead in his tracks.

"I trust you more than anyone, Peter."

Mike gasped, his heart stopped for a few seconds. He couldn’t move after hearing that; it felt like his feet were glued to the floor.

"I know, and I trust you, Will. I know you're going through a hard time..." He saw Peter take Will's hand, caressing it with his thumb. Mike felt his insides burn as he watched that idiot dare to touch him. "You know I would never leave you alone..."

"I know... and I appreciate it, but I was thinking that maybe Mike is right, there's a killer lurking around, maybe... we should stop seeing each other. I don’t want him to hurt you." Mike clenched his fists as he saw Will, while saying his last words, bring his hands to Peter’s cheeks in a show of affection.

His heart constricted. More than furious, he felt betrayed. He leaned against the door, catching his breath.

"But I can't leave you alone, I would never leave you, even if some idiot tries to kill me. For you, I would fight him." He smiled, moving his hands to Will’s chin. The movement looked as if he was ready to kiss him.

Mike didn’t want to hear more. He couldn’t...

He opened the door, stepping into view. He saw how both guys tensed, pulling away sharply. He wished they would always be that distant.

"Uh... hey Mike," Will says nervously.

Mike stood there staring at the brunette for several seconds, which for Will felt like minutes, hours, days. The way the dark-haired guy was looking at him felt horrible, just like the looks he had been giving him recently, those that felt like they were killing him.

"Is s-something wrong?" Will swallows. Mike clenched his jaw. Will looked at Peter and then back at Mike, unsure of what to do or say. The curly-haired guy seemed like he was about to explode at any moment.

"Hello Wheeler," Peter’s voice sparked something inside Mike.

"Hi... uh, I just came here because Dustin told me you'd be here, and I have to go home with you," Mike says, trying to sound uninterested, just like always, and succeeding.

Will furrows his brow when he hears Mike say "have to," as if Mike didn’t want to go home with him and was only doing it out of obligation. Probably because Hopper or Jane had insisted too much.

"Oh, thanks..." Will forces a smile. "Don’t worry, Peter will be accompanying me home. We’re going to watch horror movies for Halloween. If you want, you can either rest or come with us."

Mike's eyes glinted as he stared at Will, his pupils dilated, feeling a disgusting sense of resentment and bitterness.

"Alright, I’m going home," he responds with an icy voice, smiling. Will clenches his fists. "Still, you can call me for anything, you know..." Mike says in a calm, cold voice. He then turns around without waiting for a response from the brunette.

He better call him.

[•••]

Mike straightened up and stepped back into the shadows, watching Will across the living room as he took off his jacket and backpack by the door, leaving his things on the counter. Peter repeated the action, laughing at something Will had said.

Mike clenched his hands at his sides, damn idiot laugh of his. He would enjoy killing him.

Meanwhile, Will was serving cereal. Peter didn’t enjoy eating much sweet food or candy.

He felt a pain in his stomach when he heard the phone ring.

“I’ll answer!” Peter exclaimed from the main hallway. The brunette swallowed, finishing both bowls quickly to go to him.

He put the milk away and only heard Peter say, “—Yes, sure Mrs. Byers.” Will sighed in relief; he had been paranoid these last few days. They couldn’t blame him; he had been attacked by a strange man in his own house.

Will went to the living room, where Peter was already lying on the large sofa. The brunette sat beside him, handing him the cereal.

“Was it mom?”

“Yeah, she said she locked all the doors earlier and that I should call her as soon as we go to bed,” Peter replied, taking a big bite of cereal.

Will nodded, focusing on eating alongside him, while they watched the music video of Bowie and Mick Jagger's 'Dancing in the Street.'

“Did you know Bowie is bisexual?” Peter asked while wiping his mouth.

“What? No way,” Will gasped, leaning forward in his seat. “When did he say that?”

“I don’t really know, I just heard it somewhere,” Peter said, shrugging awkwardly. Will laughed, looking back at the TV. “But just look at him with Mick Jagger, come on! They like each other,” he pointed out.

“Hm...” Will shoved another large spoonful of cereal into his mouth. “They have great chemistry.”

“Yeah, I bet,” Peter said, smiling. “What movie are we watching?”

“I don’t know, maybe... we should just listen to Bowie all night. I don’t want to keep thinking about killers,” Will replied. Peter nodded.

They spent the afternoon talking nonsense, laughing, sitting on the sofa. The house was extremely quiet, only the TV shows and their laughter could be heard, but soon they got hungry.

Will offered to make a few things since Peter was his guest. He accepted without protest. The brunette wasn’t a huge fan of popcorn, but he knew Peter liked it. Every time he invited him to the movies, Peter didn’t care about what movie they were watching, he just wanted to eat popcorn.

Peter relaxed his body on the sofa, watching TV, but the house phone started ringing, making him flinch at the unexpected sound.

“I’ll answer, Will!” he exclaimed, getting up from the sofa. The brunette shouted a “thanks” to him.

The phone kept ringing as Peter walked towards it. It was irritating him; he didn’t enjoy loud sounds. He grabbed the phone’s receiver and pressed it to his ear.

“Hello?” No one on the other side of the line responded, all Peter could hear was soft breathing. “Mrs. Byers?”

“Hello,” the voice wasn’t one he recognized.

“Who am I speaking with?”

“Hmm, I guess Will has already told you about me…”

“No...?” Peter quickly realized who it was—the killer. “You... are you the man who called Will that night?” He felt stupid for asking.

“Surprise…”

“Listen, you fucking sicko...” Peter muttered quietly, not wanting Will to hear anything, he had been on edge these days because of the idiot on the other end of the phone. “Leave Will alone, once and for all.”

“Oh... What are you going to do about it?” the voice asked, clicking their tongue around a laugh.

Peter bit his lower lip in anxiety. “What do you want from him? Hm? Find another guy to bother.”

“What do you want from him? You’re nobody to him, nobody to anyone, right, Peter?”

“He’s my boyfriend, actually.” Peter lied shamelessly, cursing inwardly as he let himself get drawn in by the provocations of the stranger. “So, I warn you, leave him alone.”

“Oh sure you are” a playful laugh came through. “Do you really think he wants you? Please... not even your father wants you near him, and you think Will does?”

Peter’s eyes nearly burned with rage. The mention of his father was everything to him. His opposite hand curled into a pale white fist at his side. He was sick of the disrespect.

“Look, asshole, I don’t know who you think you are, but your stupid calls are ridiculous. Do you think you're the next slasher or something?” the reply was strong and angry.

“Wanna find out?”

Peter swallowed hard, cutting the phone line immediately.

“Peter! Is everything okay?” Will's voice echoed through the house.

“Yeah, yeah! Your mom says she’ll be back soon.” Peter responded, the brunette muttered a “okay.” Peter was anxious about the popcorn that seemed to be taking forever to cook.

Before he could go to Will, the stupid doorbell rang again.

“Shit.”

“I bet Mom forgot to say something!” he heard Will's sweet laugh.

“Sure...” Peter responded as the phone continued to ring with an irritating sound. He thought about not answering it, but then remembered that man had once broken into Will’s house, and maybe he had done it again.

Peter decided to answer the phone. He wouldn’t let that man affect him like this.

“Who is this?” He grabbed the phone, his voice coming out only annoyed.

“If you hang up again, I’ll kill you.”

“Listen, buddy, stop calling or I’ll call Officer Hopper immediately.” He was glad that his demanding and serious tone didn’t waver. “I don’t know what movies you’ve been watching, but if you’re doing this to get to Will, he’s already made his decision. He chose me, and right now, he’s cooking for me because we’re having a good time as a couple—

The words had barely left his mouth when he felt a stab in his neck, directly in the jugular.

Peter gasped at the unbearable pain, frozen as he watched the blood pour uncontrollably from his neck. He grabbed his throat frantically, trying to stop the bleeding, but it wasn’t the only stab he received. The man began stabbing him in the ribs, one after another.

The man pressed himself against his back giving him another stab enjoying seeing the boy struggling to breathe.

“Will was never yours, nor will he ever be," the stranger mumbled, with Peter's little strength, he grabbed the man's mask with force falling to the ground with the mask in his hands.

“Peter?” Will's voice was present, he heard how the man ran to the other side, when he heard Will call him.

Peter screamed as he could because of the blood gushing from his side, choking with it, it was difficult for him to move with agility and his strength was weakening, his vision was already blurred, with the lack of oxygen he began to no longer see properly.

He could not see the face of Will's stalker or his murderer, only the terrifying white mask of the man remained in his image.

“Peter!" Will called again when he heard the man's gasp, and froze when he saw a pool of blood on the floor, "No, no...Peter!" he shouted so loudly that he felt his throat hurt.

He kneels down in front of the boy crying desolately, pressing Peter's body to him repeating "I'm sorry" in every sentence.

He noticed his friend had that mask in his hands, that meant the killer was in his house again.

Will sobbed, trembling between Peter's body, soon he knew he had to do something, he laid the boy's body gently on the floor as he ran to the phone, but within seconds the lights went out. Will gasped, picked up the phone and noticed that it didn't dial anything, the son of a bitch had cut the power.

“Shit," he whimpered, clenching the phone between his fingers.

“Will... “

Will turns around and sees Mike standing a meter away from him in the main hallway.

Without questioning what he was doing there or how long he had been there, Will just ran to Mike, completely terrified, burying his face in the chest of the guy who seemed to always arrive at the moment he needed him.

“Mike, the killer is here…” he whimpered, pressing his blood-covered palms against his chest, staining his shirt and part of his face. “We have to leave…” he sobbed.

Mike’s expression was unreadable as his eyes darted back and forth between Peter and Will. Will thought he was processing that.

“Mike…” he called through silent sobs, but the guy didn’t respond.

Then Will finally used his head correctly. How had Mike arrived so fast? He had literally come to the scene right after the killer left, after the killer on the other side of his door had gone, leaving Peter’s body on the floor. He was wearing different clothes than the black attire of the killer, but Will hadn’t seen how Peter had been killed...

Will gasped as he saw Mike’s hands covered in fresh blood, bringing a small white box to his mouth that he had taken from his pocket, the same one the killer had when he attacked him in his own house.

“Surprise, Will…” he murmured with a small smile. That voice, that proved to him that he was the one who had called him.

“W-What..?”

Mike began to laugh. It sounded like him, not like a brutal killer, but it was him. It had been Mike all along. He had called him, he had threatened him with a knife, he had killed all those people.

Will looked at Mike long and hard, feeling a painful pressure in his chest. He was sure he would lose control of his legs at any moment.

He stepped back slowly from Mike, who didn’t change his stance.

“What’s a matter, Will? You look like you’ve seen a ghost…” Mike smiled again as he emphasized the word “ghost,” and Will wished he would stop smiling. “I warned you what I’d do…”

“Why are you doing this?!” Will exclaimed, feeling all the anger, frustration, and fear slowly build up in his chest. “Have you gone crazy?!”

Mike raised an eyebrow, pretending to be surprised.

“I guess so, Will…” his words were whispered, almost inaudible. “Isn’t that what we promised?” He let out a laugh, walking toward Will and throwing him against the nearest wall, cornering him with a smile that was somewhat suggestive... disturbing.

Will’s face was dominated by terror, making futile efforts to free himself from Mike’s strong arms, which only moved to place his hands on either side of his head, trapping him even more.

“M-Mike… this isn’t okay at all…” Will whispered with a faint voice, his body shaking uncontrollably, his eyes tightly shut. “I-Is this one of your jokes?” he asked, hoping it was.

Although it was a ridiculous question, Peter was dead, and Mike’s hands were covered in blood, but his mind was in denial despite the clear evidence against him.

“This isn’t a joke, Will, we said it that Halloween night…” Mike gently caressed his cheek, and Will sobbed. “That we were crazy, but at least we were crazy together… right?” He asked, his eyes scanning the slender body.

Mike watched as Will’s knees trembled and his whole body exuded desperation. “I-I never thought you’d be capable of something like this.”

“What did I do?” Mike frowned. “I just took my place with those bastards.” He pointed furiously. “None of them could take my place.”

“What are you talking about, Mike? Oh my God! T-This is insane…” Tears fell freely as his throat ached from the rawness of his screams.

“None of them... no one can take you away from my side.” Mike brought both of his hands to Will face, smearing it with fresh blood from his fingers, since he hadn't worn gloves that time. “I killed them for you…”

Will furrowed his brow, feeling his chin tremble. Mike pulled the brunette toward him roughly, pressing their cheeks together as he kissed him, his teeth sinking into his lips. The green-eyed boy was unable to respond to such a grotesque kiss.

“Shit, Will, understand me…” Mike murmured breathlessly after pulling away, but he didn’t release his grip on Will’s face. The brunette’s eyes were swollen from crying. “You’re mine, you’re not made for them... your place is right here.” He pressed his fingers against Will cheeks. “With me.”

“M-Mike, it hurts…” Will whimpered from the pressure.

“Do you think it didn’t hurt me to see you with those bastards?!” Mike yelled, furious and harsh. Will squeezed his eyes shut, terrified. Suddenly, the scowl on Mike's face disappeared, his features softened, and he let out a frustrated gasp, burying his face in the brunette’s neck. “You’ve got me so messed up…”

Will didn’t know what to think. Why was he saying he did it for him? Why did he have to kill people...?

"I... I just lost my mind," Mike says.

Will stared at him.

"There’s no... no line I wouldn’t cross for you," Mike says. "There are no limits, because I... Will... I would do anything for you."

Will sobbed. "But Peter..."

"Don’t talk about him! He didn’t want you as a friend, Will. He told me... he told me you were his, when that’s not true, it’s not true. You’re mine, you’re only mine, do you understand that? He never would have risked everything like I did. He never would have made you feel the way I do. You love me, only me."

"It’s okay, Mike..." Will spoke carefully, his voice soft as always, as if talking to a child, hoping to calm Mike down.

Mike pulled away from his neck to look at him, somewhat incredulous, searching for any sign of deception in Will, to see if he was lying, but he couldn’t see it. Will looked sincere.

"Damn it, Will, you know I’d do anything for you..." he murmured, caressing the boy’s pink lips with his thumb. "I love you so much I’d kill anyone if you asked me to..."

Will felt a warmth in his chest. Mike had said "I love you" for the first time in years. He knew that wasn’t the most important thing here—Mike had just killed Peter, his ex, his friend, his companion...

But it was as if Mike had him bound to him, hypnotized. That simple "I love you" changed his whole perspective.

He couldn’t hold back his choked moan when Mike pressed against his lips once more. Mike tilted Will’s head back to deepen the kiss.

"Your kisses are mine, only mine, all of them..." Mike growled into the kiss, tugging on Will’s bottom lip. "Right?"

"They are," Will responds, knowing it’s wrong, but his love for Mike was blinding him in the most critical moments. It was as if Mike knew that those simple words would make him give in.

Well, Mike always knew how to deliberately manipulate the love Will felt for him to his advantage, and he went mad when he could no longer do so.

"Tell me you're mine..." Mike demands, wanting with all his heart to hear those words.

Will was his, and he could never leave him. He could never stop loving Mike, no matter what he did; Will wouldn’t stop loving him.

"I’m yours," Will responds, giving him the satisfaction and pleasure that was so damn satisfying.

"That no bastard would have the pleasure of touching you or even looking at you..."

"No one makes me feel like you do... you’re the only one I want," Will responded in place, gasping.

Mike tilted his smile and sunk into his lips again, this time reciprocated with the same intensity.

Will felt that kissing Mike was like kissing sin and desiring madness at the same time, but he didn’t hesitate to swallow Mike’s saliva with delight and smiled in the middle of the kiss as he felt his lips tingle feverishly from the intensity with which their mouths met, desperate.

They would deal with Mike’s mess together, and they would be together for the rest of their lives until madness consumed them completely.