Byler - CURSED. (Stranger Things)

CHAPTER FOUR: The Painting

WILL'S POV

At first, when Mike and El went off to talk privately I thought nothing of it. They had a lot to talk about after the whole fight with Vecna. It just seemed a bit weird to me as to why it would be now. After a while a brushed it off until I heard Mike and El walking into the living room of Hop's Cabin, where I had evacuated to in order to give the two as much space as I could. I just wanted to be a good friend to Mike and as much as I wanted to know what was said, I wanted to respect my best friend, quite honestly, my everything, the person who made me the happiest even if I knew him and I were never going to be together like him and El are now, I wanted to respect him more than I wanted to be all nosy.

"Will..." El began almost a bit to forwardly for my personal comfort. "Friends don't lie. W-Why did you tell Mike I commissioned the painting when you wouldn't even tell me what it was you were working on when you were painting it?"

Immediately I felt my heart shatter into ten-thousand little, hopelessly-shattered pieces. Mike glanced over at El almost in shock of what she'd said. Or maybe it was that he wasn't expecting her to be as confrontational as she was. She definitely wasn't bubbling up with anger, like my dad had always been towards my mom while they were still together, but she definitely wasn't the most pleasant chicken in the coop either. My brain didn't have time to try to unravel all of this though, all it was focused on was the utter chaos trickling down my body in an extraordinary fashion that I wasn't precisely fond of. 

I could believe this was happening. Years of me secretly liking Mike and trying to hide it and now... now I had to go draw some dumbass painting, give it to Mike, and twist it all and lie about where it came from and probably make him never want to talk to me again. 

Shit.

How could I have been THIS stupid? Like obviously Mike was going to find out at some point. But I went ahead and lied anyway. And now. Now I was going to have to tell him anything because there's absolutely no way I'm lying to my best friend, not again. I've wanted to tell Mike forever about who I was, but not like this. He was going to hate me. Then the voices started to flood my brain again.

"It's not my fault you don't like girls!" Mike's voice from only a year ago now echoed through the sorrowful chamber that was my mind.

"Why the fuck did I do to deserve this, huh? I raise my boy like a good father should and what do I get? A queer? A fairy?" I heard my dad's voice linger through my head. 

I didn't know what to do. Usually when I'm afraid I cower into a corner and cry myself to sleep. But seeing that wasn't an option I didn't the only thing I could do.

"I-I-I'm so so-sorry. I'm sorry for everything." My face was soiled with salty tears. And as soon as I saw the scared look on Mike's face, I couldn't do it anymore. I made a beeline for the door, hopped on my bike and threw all of my inner demons and pure hell that I had within me into my legs to somehow grind through the rough terrain of the woods. By this time, night had fallen, making it perfect for me to not be spotted and bike to where in my mind would be the perfect spot to end it all. I had had enough. I hated who I was. I knew people cared about me, but something deep inside me convinced myself that would change after they learned the truth.

MIKE'S POV

"Mike, I-I'm" El stuttered in pure shock and almost on the verge of tears. I knew she didn't mean to confront Will as harshly as she did.

"I-I just gotta find him." I exit the cabin with tearstained eyes, even though I had only begun the crying process. One thing's for sure, I was furious with myself for hesitating to chase after Will. I was just so in shock in the moment, but that was nowhere near enough to sanctify my soul from this internal warfare. Right now though, I knew one thing and one thing only. I needed Will back. And I needed to let him know whatever was happening was going to be okay. 

I had no idea where to find Will, I checked Castle Byers, which was pretty far away and had been partially destroyed by Will the previous year, but I found nothing. 

"WILL!" I screamed it utmost agony only to be greeted by a flock of ravens vacating the area as fast as they could once they heard my hideous cry. I collapsed to the ground cradling my knees and placing my head forcefully between them. I had just lost my best friend. Somehow this was all my fault. I just needed Will. But all I had was the ominous glow of a darkened Castle Byers shining in the moonlight.