hawkins, indiana ► wheeler

four

Your POV - Wednesday, 2:38 pm

You strolled down the trail, which was surrounded by tall trees, on your way to the lake. Caleb invited you and the rest of the boys to hang out after school, because it was an early release day. And for some reason they decided it would be a good idea to go to the lake. . . in the middle of winter. To top off your situation, you'd been waiting for Mike for about half an hour because the two of you planned to walk together, but he was no show, so you decided he'd meet you there. Your tshirt that you'd worn over your swimsuit blew behind you in the slight breeze, while you jogged to the edge of the woods, where the trees opened up to the lake. It was beautiful this time of year. An icy blue that contrasted harshly with the monotone gray sky. It was really pretty, but you'd bet your lucky brown bracelet it was cold as shit right about now.

"Y/n!" You heard Will yell. You turned your head and spotted the boys, waving at you from the large rock they were sitting on. As you walked over Lucas tilted his head to the side.

"Why don't you have pants on?" He said with a hint of confusion. Dustin hit his friend on the shoulder.

"Hey I have a shirt on." You said defensively. "We're getting in the water anyway." You pointed out. Dustin nodded.

"Yeah, let the woman do what she wants." You smiled at him and Lucas shrugged.

"Hey, where's Mike?" Will asked.

"Yeah weren't the two of you coming together?" Dustin said, wiggling his eyebrows. You groaned.

"That's what I thought, but he bailed." You folded your arms and Will rolled his eyes.

"That's weird, I know how excited he was to see you in a swimsuit." Will said playfully. Your eyes widened.

"Will!" You exclaimed as he giggled.

"I was just joking." He said, standing up. The other guys took off their shirts and you did the same leaving you all in your swimsuits. You rubbed your arms due to the breezes coming from the lake's direction.

"Mike's really missing out." Lucas said with a smile, referring to the sight of you in a bathing suit.

"Yeah sure-"

"Missing out on what?" Mike said, walking up to you guys.

"Mike!" You said excitedly as he set an arm in your shoulder. "Why are you so late? I waited for you for over half an hour." His smiled turned into a small frown.

"S-sorry, practice ran late." He replied, not meeting your eyes.

"Is that so?" You said skeptically.

He gave a small nod and cleared his throat. "I uh, needed to stay after and get tips from the coach." He said, unsurely.

"What really happened Mike?" You said. Another breeze picked up and moved his hair out of his eyes. His right eye was swollen and a bit purple. You touched it softly with your finger.

"Oh my god," he pushed your hand down.

"I'm fine." He said, not bothering to move his hair back into place.

"Did you get hit at practice?" Dustin asked, turning his attention to the two of you.

"No! He obviously got beat up, by 'you know who'" Will said with a small frown. You removed his jacket and lifted up his shirt just to find more bruises. His whole upper torso was covered in yellow, turning a darker shade, marks. On his arms especially. There were even a few red fingerprint marks, from being grabbed so forcefully.

"Oh Mike." You sighed sadly and ran your finger over his chest where he'd been bruised. He shivered a bit at your touch and you pulled your hand away embarrassed.