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The skies were burning red, the color blinding with its saturation as a familiar enormous figure emerged, turning everything into nothing but a shadow under the scrapped outlines, making it hard to tell how much time was left.
But it was close.
The Mind Flayer was way too close.
And at the same time, far away.
It seemed like that monster looked at Will — straight at him and nothing else, even though there were no eyes in sight. He knew, he just knew that HE was the one being looked at.
Will woke up covered in sweat, his breathing unusually shallow and the grip on the blanket tight.
Lately, he hadn't been able to sleep properly without getting nightmares.
Whether the nightmare was awful or tame compared to others, it all was starting to tire the boy out. Will glanced around, his breathing coming back to normal slowly.
He let go of the blanket and lain down again, staring at the ceiling.
It was still night.
Will was extremely tired but, weirdly enough, he couldn't find it in him to go back to sleep.
His tired eyes wandered across the basement, taking in the familiar surroundings, all dark and misleading.
Was something going to happen?
Will's gaze stopped at the staircase, a slight hint of uncertainty warring within him.
Maybe it was a good idea to check on Mike. Just... in case. Just checking.
Slowly, Will got up, his feet landing on the hard surface of the basement floor.
He looked at the staircase again now that he was standing, debating whether it was actually a good idea or not.
Ultimately, the boy decided that it's better to be safe than sorry.
Even so, each step felt difficult.
Mike was probably already asleep.
Will was just going to check anyway.
His soft footsteps echoed across the house, sounding way too loud in the night, which only amplified his nerved state.
Finally, Will reached Mike's room, quietly opening the door.
He was a bit surprised to see that Mike wasn't sleeping — on the contrary, the boy seemed to be busy doing something.
Mike turned to Will when the boy walked in, answering the questioning look on Will's face,
"I'm doing a 3 AM Grimace Shake challenge."
"What?"
"Yeah, I know. You just don't keep up with these stuff. You never do." Mike paused, looking at the milkshake in his hand. "I mean, nothing really happened so far..." He threw away the tall cup.
"I was just checking on you."
It sounded more like Will wanted to convince both of them.
"Cool."
"So... you're okay."
"Yeah."
Will shifted his weight a bit. He knew he had to leave now that he had checked on Mike, but he didn't.
"I keep seeing the same things in my dreams... nightmares, actually,"
The boy admitted, adding,
"I couldn't fall asleep. I decided I should check on you, just in case."
Mike was now getting comfortable in his bed as silence washed over the room.
Will was just kind of awkwardly standing there, torn between going back and talking some more.
Will slowly sat down on the edge of bed.
Mike raised his eyebrow.
"Are you gonna watch me sleep?"
Will shook his head immediately.
"What? No! I'll just sit here a little."
"You know what you should try?"
Mike sat up in his bed, snapping his fingers.
"Imagine bringing your gun to your dreams. Have you ever thought about that?"
Will considered Mike's words, looking away for a moment, and then looking at the boy again.
"Do you think that would work? I can't... take anything to my dreams. Not really."
He noticed how close they were due to the size of the bed, but tried not to think about it.
Mike shrugged.
"Well, it's your problem for having no aura, so I can't help you."
Will looked at his joined fingers, feeling troubled. He should've probably found a way to fight it or do anything, really... But his mind was tired. This bed felt more comfortable than the one he had been sleeping in.
"...it's soft. Your bed, I mean."
"I know. It has this perfect ratio of solidity and softness......It's not too soft but not too solid either. There are different types of bed like this one... like this bed is made of wood partly..."
Will found himself unconsciously leaning towards Mike slightly as the boy was talking while gesturing.
He could barely keep his eyes open now. It was comfortable and not too warm for it to feel bad.
Before he knew it, he was starting to fall asleep from exhaustion, the words fading into background.
He couldn't quite process the surroundings as he reached the state somewhere between between being awake and drifting to sleep....
The last thing he saw before his eyes closed fully was Mike's form — awfully comforting in the moment.
He just wished he could be by the boy's side.
Always.