Chapter Text
...
A small store opened a few streets away from downtown Hawkins. It was stuffy, small, and cozy, I guess. Inside, the shelves were filled with DVDs. Everywhere. With the advent of DVD discs in the late 90s, they became very popular and replaced video cassettes. So people who wanted a new movie, maybe not the original version of a video game (but it's cheaper), or nice music still came to this place.
The store had been open for customers for about half an hour, but the store itself had been open for a long time. The same amount of time as the scoliosis of the half-writer at the checkout. He sat on a soft chair at a triangular table that separated him from the customers and looked at the rarely disturbing light bulb that reminded him of "something". He stood there for a while, stupidly staring at the ceiling, The man gets up from his seat and turns around. Behind the cash register was a curtain, behind which was a small room. It contained various boxes, papers, shelves, and other junk. He was drawn to the room by a sound coming from inside. His small flip phone was ringing with the sound of a call. Coming closer and nervously picking up the phone with his hand, simultaneously accepting the call and leaning his other hand on the shelf.
On the shelf nearby stood the book "Strange Love." One of Mike's works that he managed to publish, the most recent of all he wrote over the years. "What was the book about?" - I'll say right away, nothing interesting. From the fantasy he wrote at the very beginning of his career, he quickly moved on to "romance novels," as the title suggests. The plot was as simple as a blank sheet of paper - a boy and a girl fall in love, something gets in their way, and they solve it together, how sweet.
So, going back, He picks up the phone - it's Dustin calling. Mike is a little surprised; they haven't spoken in a while, since everyone left Hawkins and there was only Mike with Jane left there.
"Dustin?" - he thinks, - "We haven't spoken in so long, what does he want? Oh, I hope it's not money, although it's not like Dustin to ask for it." - He finally picks up the call:
- Mike! Hi! Do you remember me? Haha, I hope you haven't forgotten, after everything that happened before, it's hard to forget. You know, I've been wondering for a long time if you've been free lately? I don't know, probably this week. Do you know why I'm asking? I've been thinking and I've come up with this idea. What do you think about meeting up in Hawkins lately? If you haven't left yet? I called Lucas and Max before you, Imagine they are still together, so they agree to be together with us next Monday and for the whole week. What do you think? - Dustin sounded excited but calm. Mike stood in silence for a moment, digesting and considering all the information he'd just heard. It wasn't just Dustin's restlessness, but most likely also a lack of sleep.
-Yes... - the guy answers, his voice sounding tired. - Yes, yes! - waking up from a sharp surge of energy after realizing the whole situation that they would finally get together with their entire old company, and will be able to return to childhood, at least for a few days, forgetting such scary words as "rent payment," "taxes," and "quickly to the checkout!"
A?
Yes, indeed, Mike is called to work at the most "opportune" moment. Upon hearing this, he sharply replies to Dustin that he wants to get back to work quickly and not keep the client waiting. - Yeah, I think I agree. I don't need to go anywhere anyway, I'm already in Hawkins. And work... - The guy is interrupted again by the client, who angrily presses on a desk bell reminding Mike that his calling now is to accept purchases, not to save the world. - Dustin, I'm sorry, I have work. Right now. I'll be free next week, I'll make arrangements. -Oh, of course, - replies he. - I just wanted you to talk to Jane, she's also with you in Hawkins, right? - Certainly. - Mike says, already turning around and getting ready to go to the checkout, deciding it's better to finish the conversation there. There's nothing to talk about with customers anyway. - We meet sometimes; she's more swamped with work than I am. But I hope we won't disturb her. Okay, - he’s already taking the money from customer, holding the phone with his shoulder pressed to his cheek. They were both silent for a moment, but neither hung up. As the buyer was already heading off into the sunset, Mike spoke sharply into the phone:
- Wait! What about Will? Is he coming? - he sounds discouraged. Dustin hesitated in response:
- Oh, I forgot to call him, can you do that? My phone is about to run out of battery. I wanted to call him first, but he didn't pick up. He was probably at work. It's already evening, so I think he's home. If anything happens, we'll call tomorrow.
-Fine. Does he have a new phone number or an old one? - Mike said, to which Dustin began to dictate Will's phone number. Mike didn't even know his number, but Dustin did. How stupid. Although, Mike never tried to talk to anyone first this whole time and only responded if they spoke to him first. It makes sense that Dustin would know all the numbers, all the new cities and where they want to go in the evenings, since he was more sociable. Mike, after closing the inside out, he became very withdrawn.
It was precisely because of this shyness that he was unable to call Will for almost the entire day. And now, the store is already closing. Mike puts on a black leather jacket over his clothes to step out onto the windy street. He looked around his work place as if something had changed there, but there could be nothing there that Mike hadn’t noticed in all his years of work. Stepping outside, he pressed his back against the wall that was inside. He took his phone out of his pocket, and from another pocket, a piece of paper on which were written the numbers that Dustin dictated to him, and the name "Will" in large letters. Looking there, he began to dial the number, with both an impatient anticipation of a new conversation after years, and a great reluctance to do so.... Beep-beep. The beep was long and seemed to last forever.
At this time, Will, in New York
Will worked in the library, it was a quiet and peaceful place, Will (probably) liked being there. In his free time, he could look at a book himself or look at the colorful covers on them. Working in a perpetual motion style would definitely not be to his taste. Aside from the seated image, the library was mostly frequented by elderly people or mothers with children, which meant there were no potential conflicts. And THAT was precisely the main reason. Conflicts not only at work, but also at home. As was said, almost everyone who visited the library is old people or children, but not handsome queer men, which could have lowered the level of jealousy in another queer man. Will never thought he would work there, but his old job in the office, where there were a huge number of people his age, caused constant arguments and shouting.
"-There is no reason for me to cheat on you! Calm down, please." Will sounded irritated, fell silent and took a drag on his cigarette, waiting for an answer. His childhood friends would have been surprised that Will smoked, but it was simple: Young Will goes to various dubious places in New York, where he is offered to try something once, then repeat it, and the next time he asks to share, and it becomes a habit. And especially in such an atmosphere it is difficult not to get hooked on some bad habits. The man standing next to him looked more irritated: - I need to be absolutely sure of this,” he said loudly, almost shouting, compared to Will’s calm tone. - How can I trust you when you spend practically the entire day wandering around who knows where, and then you even come home later than usual? I know your schedule at work.
"-That's right - I'm at WORK. - At the end of the sentence, the guy started raising his voice, which the other man didn't like. - Or should I sit at home all my life, like in a monastery, and see only you? - It would even be better than what it is now. You behave terribly, as if you don't respect me at all! - Man was very angry; it was important for him to be an authority, to control and to be the only one. He slapped him hard across the face, across the cheek, causing the cigarette Will was holding to fall from his hand and onto the floor. The ash from the cigarette also scattered. Will didn't expect such a gesture, and for a while he stared at the man in silence, supporting his sore cheek with his hand. He didn't even have time to quietly mutter something before the man interrupted him. god, now we still have to clean up. - He clicked his tongue, looking at the floor. - I told you to quit smoking." (An old event, when Will was still working in the office)
Currently Will was already sitting at home, in the bedroom. He was alone while his boyfriend went to take a shower. The bedroom was small, the apartment itself was in a high-rise building, and the window parallel to the door offered a view of New York City. Between them there was a bed, pressed against the wall. The bed was metal and a double bed, with a thin, soft blue coverlet on top. There was a shelf on each side of the bed. Will's was on the left, his men's on the right. On Will's shelf was his phone, which at that moment started ringing, catching the guy's attention. Joyce called him often, but Will had to find a time to talk to her calmly. His mother didn't know why. Will often tried to manipulate these calls, for example, when they had a quarrel, at that time his mother called him, during such calls his man became quiet and kind, at least for a while, and he tried to take advantage of this, and talked to her as long as possible, waiting for the man to get ready and leave for work, even if Will himself was late.
The guy already thinks that it’s his mother or sister again, But he was surprised to see the name "Mike" on the screen. The first thing he imagined wasn't Mike's voice, but what would happen if he picked up the phone and a man suddenly walked into the room. That there would be another long row, that Will was unlikely to win, At least in strength. And striking first, in his case, is the same as digging your own grave and killing yourself with that same shovel. But he understood that Mike wouldn't call for nothing, and that if he did, it was important, and that in any case, you need to respond, even just as an expression of respect for Mike (and about the need to respect others, Will has already "understood" by this time) It was a bit stupid to worry about him now, since he himself deleted Mike from his phone. Will wanted to separate himself and forget about "Tammy," so he tried to distance himself from him in every way possible.
Will, seeing Mike's phone number, which he himself saved, but then in a fit of emotion deleted without blocking a long time ago, he abruptly picked up the phone while looking at the door, hoping that his man wouldn't come now.
-Hello? - Will asked quietly. - Oh, hi. - Mike replied. For a while they just held the phone in silence, Mike had already left the store and was heading home, the noise from the street was transmitting into Will's phone. He decided to break this awkward pause. - What happened? Something with Jane?
- No, no. Jane is fine. Dustin called me. He wants to arrange a meeting of our party in Hawkins. Everyone but you already agreed. Dustin also wanted to talk to you, but you didn’t answer then. - Mike spoke to him awkwardly. For a moment, he felt deeply ashamed of his words, even though he hadn't said anything wrong. It just felt very strange to speak after so long, and the atmosphere wasn't the best either.
-Really? I don't know if I can do it... I'll have to, uh, resolve this issue a little later. Well, you know: the meeting is on Monday and today is Friday, Hawkins and New York are far away, I'll have to look into tickets, trains, and other things, hah. Oh! About Dustin. Tell him I'll call him back later, I don't have much time, I'm busy now, if you call Dustin again, tell him I'll call him back later.
-Oh, okay. If anything, write or call me back when you're sure. Or write to Dustin... Uhm, how are things with you in New York?
Will was very confused by this question, even though he was pleased that people were interested in his life, even though he didn’t want to talk about it. - Well, everything is fine. I work, I have an apartment, everything is fi--
He didn't have time to finish speaking before he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. - I'll call you back later, I told you I was busy! - He drawled the last words out sweetly, so as not to appear rude or nervous. He abruptly hung up the phone without letting Mike say a word. He stood outside and looked at his phone, hoping it would ring again. But it didn't. Looking away, he put the phone in his pocket and continued walking, Will at this time abruptly put the phone back on the shelf and sat quietly on the bed.
-Who called? - Man asked. Not angrily. He was just curious.
-Um, sister. - Will answered calmly, He had long ago learned to keep a low profile in any situation, knowing what would happen if his deception was exposed. Any interaction with men was perceived very negatively. It wasn't just slaps, and because of all this, Will was very embarrassed to ask about going to Hawkins. The counter question is why he can't go himself or why he couldn't just leave earlier. A very easy, but unpleasant answer: Will didn't know where his passport was and couldn't pick it up. It is a very mean and extremely immoral decision to keep your loved one close like that. But it seemed he didn't care: the main thing was that Willie was nearby and wouldn't go anywhere, at least not far and not for long.
-How sweet, my sister almost never calls me. "I see why," Will thought. - It's a pity, it seems like you don't have any close friends or people at all. - Will actually felt sorry for him for a second; despite all his antics, the man, like now for example, could behave very kindly: - He talked to him sweetly, sitting next to him, and gently and tenderly hugging him just like that, simply because he loves him. At some moments he really became kind and understanding, and not evil and vulgar, which made him feel really safe, really nice. Will was also overcome with confusion by the fact that during his conversation with Mike, he imagined that the man would be very angry, but it turned out to be the opposite: he was gentle and soothing. This made him think that it was always like this, that all those fights and blows were not true, that he was actually kind and sweet, and that he had simply stumbled, gotten angry, and there was no need to be so angry with him all this time. Having calmed down a little, Will decided to ask:
-Listen, can I ask you something? - In response, the man only shook his head, looking Will in the eyes with a smile, which made him look away. - Anyway, my... sister called me and she suggested that I go to Hawkins next week. For the whole week.
-Mmm... - the man's voice hardened. And what are you planning to do there? Who else will be there besides your sister? - These questions caught Will off guard: he understood that he was not doing anything wrong, he just wanted to spend time with his childhood friends, he was not going to drink or do anything indecent there. But the man's tone made him feel guilty. - Seriously, what's the problem? Why can't I go?
-You didn't answer my question.
Will turned away in embarrassment, but the man pulled him back sharply with his hand. He grabbed his elbow tightly, causing Will's arm to ache. He was hurt, and he felt unpleasant, angry, at the way he was being treated. For a while, he truly believed that man had changed; in recent days, they rarely argued - and now he is shouting at him again, forcing him to look into his eyes and squeezing his hand.
-Fuck, why do you care? It's none of your business! You never give me any space! Will, don't do this, Will, don't do that, I'm not a child! - The man did not expect such an answer, he was very irritated - why are you talking to me like that?!
-Why are you hitting me! - Will said sharply, almost shouting. - Because you don't understand it any other way. - He squeezed his hand even tighter. - WHAT DO I NEED TO UNDERSTAND?
- That you can't cheat on me. - After these words, the man hard hit Will on the top of his head with his free hand. - I'D BETTER CHEAT ON YOU THAN KEEP LIVING WITH YOU - ... Of all the words he'd said earlier during their argument, it was this phrase that had really set him off. He let go of Will's hand and abruptly stood up from the bed, using both hands to push Will down onto the bed, being above him he hit him in the face with his fists - Will hesitated, tried to push him away: when he raised his hands higher, in order to somehow protect himself, the man hit him on the hands with all his strength, from which Will sharply turned to the side, squeezing his hands in pain, while simultaneously quickly but loudly groaning - Enough, stop!! STOP
A sharp scream stopped the man. He silently rubbed his hands, watching his boyfriend lie on the bed, covering his face with his hands while it was quiet and no one was bothering him, his chest was visibly rising and falling as he tried to catch his breath after the unexpected battle, or rather, beating.
- You're not going anywhere. Not tomorrow, not ever.
- GET OUT OF HERE - Will screamed loudly and hysterically, his voice sounding broken.
- This is my hom.. - Before he could finish speaking, Will, without even listening to him, started shouting again, so that one of the neighbors probably already heard him, but Will didn’t care. - GET OUT! GET OUT! DON'T TOUCH ME. - Unlike Will, the man was genuinely worried that someone might hear them, might even call the police, and he won't have Willie anymore. He stood up silently and went into the living room, hoping to sleep on the couch for the night, no, half the night, then he'd still come back when Will was already asleep. As he left, Will looked at him through his fingers with disgust and a plan in his head.
In fact, they could have been heard a bunch of times already, or have already been heard, and neighbors, and neighbors' guests and parrots located through the wall, have already learned all the curses that came from their apartment. No one cared. No one would care about the random gay guy next door getting beaten and raped at night. Everyone is quickly thinking: “I wish they would finish already, so that it would finally be quiet.”
...
By this time, Mike Wheeler was already home. Wearily, he turned the key in the lock to close the door and hung his jacket on a hook in the dimly lit hallway. He sighed heavily and easily took off his shoes, without touching them with his hands, just kicking them off with his feet. After taking a few steps, he headed into another room, and once in the bedroom, he quickly fell onto the bed, simultaneously taking his phone out of his pocket. Turning on his phone, he stared at the call history:
“William
+ХХХ ХХХ ХХХ
18:34
Call duration: three minutes„
He waited for them to call him back, hoping for it. But nothing happened. This feeling left him disappointed. Not in Will, not in himself, just in something.
From childhood, from the moment they met, Will seemed like a special child. Mike wanted to spend more time with him: walk, read comics, and ride bikes, it would be cool if D&D could be played by two people and other things they did as kids seemed cooler when Will was there. When Will went missing, Mike was devastated. He was incredibly upset and determined to find him, no matter the cost - his mother comforted him while he cried over it. When he came back, when it finally happened, Mike was there almost all the time - when he was in the hospital, when Will was sick and couldn't sleep properly. -
Mike wanted Will to be his "FRIEND" of his own free will. He wanted him to be his close "FRIEND," and so that they could spend more time together in a "FRIENDLY" way. He wanted this simple reciprocity, in "FRIENDSHIP"
Yeah, but Mike's best friend was always Lucas, and Will... I don't know, it was weird. Like closer than a friend, no, even closer than a best friend. A close friend who seemed to Mike to be unusually smart, handsome, interesting and strong.
All these thoughts haunted Mike that evening. It's so strange, he's just his friend, but so special. Like, they're both guys, they're friends. Yeah, Will likes guys, but Mike ,like, - "I'm not like that! I'm not against them, but I'm not..." "Oh, God," he thought. "I'm just not like that, of course. We had a classmate named Stacy in elementary school, and I kind of liked her... I can't be like that. Yesterday I had a customer in my store, she was kind of sexy, right? Hah, I'm just tired.. I'll need to get some sleep. I constantly think about all sorts of nonsense before going to bed. Tomorrow morning I'll wake up and I'll feel better, and I'll forget about it, just. - But he wasn't going to sleep, at least not now.
With great effort, he rose from the bed. Stretching his back, he headed for the cabinet that stood in his bedroom. He bent down to the very bottom shelves, His glasses almost accidentally fell off. His hand trembled as it reached inside; he was used to doing this, but the feeling of unease didn't go away with each attempt. He pulled out a small packet, just a few grams by the feel of it, with a white powder in the middle. Have you finally decided to wash your clothes? This won't be enough. Even a few kilograms of washing powder is enough to wash your clothes, but it won't wash YOU from this. From the fact that you're vile, from your vile thoughts. You don't deserve to live while you are like THIS. So go ahead and do it again. This is the only thing that can help you, faggot.
Ted, his father, joked like, "Our son with a girl?" School bullies told Mike he was a "little fairy" just like Will. Mike was furious when Will disappeared, the first thing he thought was that something bad could have happened to him because of his "preferences". He was scared. Mike was afraid that someone would do the same to him, that he would be bullied even more, that some of his friends would turn their backs on him. All he could do was prove the exact opposite, including to himself. Start dating a girl, kiss her demonstratively, because that's what you have to do. Later, fortunately for both of them, they broke up. Mike felt a huge sense of relief, even though he tried to show how "upset" he was. One of the not so good ideas was to start insulting his friend, Will, to seem "normal" - "It's not my fault that YOU don't like girls"... "I like them.. honestly" - As a teenager, he would cry, repeating the last phrase to himself, knowing it wasn't true, but convincing himself it was. As an adult, he convinced himself he'd "outgrown it" and that he was now officially normal. But as a child, as a child, he tried... to strangle himself or something worse, just so that no one would ever find out about it, just so that he could forget about it. Once and for all.
Mike's head was aching and pounding from all these thoughts, from all the justifications and insults he had said to himself. Having poured a small amount of powder onto the track, he quickly sniffed it, all that was left was to wait for high... head was spinning even more, started to feel a little sick to stomach, And when he walked somewhere, his legs turned on their own. There was a strange feeling inside: the entire flow of thoughts, fears, and any sensations suddenly disappeared, leaving a pleasant emptiness mixed with heightened joy. Now it’s definitely - all doesn't matter; what used to cause anxiety at the mere thought of it now causes laughter, sarcasm, and stupidity. So nice. So cool. Too bad it's only for 15 minutes, if not less. But okay, Mike needs- - I needs... Oh... Ahaha... Lol I don't care... About Will... About me... Wow, I have this thing at home? I never noticed it before, where did it come from? That's so cool...
He fell asleep quickly, as he was very relaxed. He didn't even change his clothes. In the morning, his head ached, and his glasses were lying on the floor, already completely fallen off. One of the lens was broken. He picked it up and looked at it, rolled his eyes and put it on the shelf, realizing that he needed to buy new ones. Today he didn't have to go to work and he could lie in bed all day. He picked up his phone from the shelf and stared at the screen for a long time, trying to make out what was written there because of his farsightedness. When he unsaw, he saw several missed ones - one from Will and a bunch from Dustin.