American Heroes: A Stranger Things 3 Fic

Castle Byers

Rain batters down on Will as he runs through the woods, his socks soaking up mud. When he'd run out of the house, he completely forgot to put on his shoes and is now cursing himself for this. Despite his wet feet, he doesn't turn back.

The moment he reaches Castle Byers, he throws himself on the blankets inside, pounding his fists on the ground. Mike's face flashes in his head, the look of resent written all over him and his voice, seething, What are you doing? Will's stomach lurches. "So stupid..." he growls at himself. Beside him, he grabs a photograph of him and his friends from last Halloween, all of them in their Ghostbusters costumes. He remembers laughing and having a great time trick-or-treating before he saw the Mind Flayer, then he remembers going back to Mike's place afterwards. We'll go crazy together. So much for that. He's ruined it now by kissing Mike. Mike will never want to be his friend again. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," Will mutters, ripping the photograph in half and throwing it on the ground. He spots the baseball bat in the corner, grabs it, and goes outside. He winces at the cold rain hitting his skin and turns towards Castle Byers. Mike's bitter voice is in his head. "Stupid!" he screams, smashing the bat down on the roof of his castle. The sticks crack. He smashes it again. And again. And again. Crying. His chest is tight, and his stomach heaves. His bat collides with the castle again, crunching wood. His throat is sore from screaming, but he continues, tears mixing in with the rain falling down his cheeks.

"Will!" A nearby shout startles him. Mike races up to him from out of the darkness, completely drenched. "Will, what are you doing?"

Ignoring Mike, Will bashes the roof of Castle Byers in. He clenches his jaw to keep from sobbing. He lifts the bat again, but Mike seizes Will's shoulder. "Will, I'm sorry! Please, stop! I was being stupid!"

Will yanks himself away, swinging the bat at the castle once more. "Stop!" Mike shouts, lurching forward and grabbing at Will to tear the bat out of his hands. "Will, stop it! Please, put the bat down!"

"Go away!"

"No, stop it, Will!" Mike clutches Will's wrists. "Let go!"

The two boys struggle against each other, both of their grips firm on the baseball bat. Will yanks his whole body back, hoping the force will tear the bat out of Mike's hands, but instead, they both slip on the muddy ground, falling ontop of each other.

"Will, c'mon!" Mike pleads, his hands still clasping the bat as he tries to get to his feet. "Just give me the bat!"

"No! Go away!"

Mike lets go of the bat, causing Will the fall back in the mud. "Will, I'm sorry."

"I said go away, Mike!" Will brings his knees up to his chest, sobbing into them. Mike leans down, trying to wrap his arms around Will, but he lets out a cry when Will rams his arm with the bat. He backs away from Will, holding his arm, and Will drops the bat, panic and concern falling over his face. Will jumps to his feet, stepping towards Mike. "I'm sorry!" Will raises his hand to Mike's arm but pulls back quickly, afraid of hurting him anymore.

Mike looks at Will before throwing his arms around him in a hug, grasping Will's body desperately. "No, Will, I'm sorry." He hugs him tighter, sobbing. "I'm so, so sorry, Will."

The two of them stand there, crying in each other's arms until they have no more tears left in them. Mike takes Will's face in his hands and gazes into his eyes. "You shouldn't be sorry for anything. You haven't done anything wrong. I'm the one who should be sorry."

Will chews his bottom lip, looking away. "No, I hurt you. I just hit you with a baseball bat."

"I don't care. I deserved it." Mike gives him a reassuring smile. "Plus, you don't hit very hard."

"Hey!" Will shoves Mike playfully, and they both start laughing. Will's laugh soon falters, and he slumps his shoulders. "I didn't hurt you?"

Mike shakes his head, clutching Will's hands. "No, not one bit." He glances at the ruins of Castle Byers. "Why did you do that?"

Will glares at the ground. "Why do you think, Mike?"

Mike pauses, sniffling. "Will, I know I'm an asshole. I know I do stupid things and say stupid things. I know I'm not... I'm not like you -"

"What's that mean?"

Mike takes Will's face in his hands. "I'm selfish. I'm not nice like you are. I'm just... I don't think right, and I know I hurt people. I know I hurt you... and I don't want to hurt you."

"Mike-" Will frowns. "I'm selfish, too. Everyone's selfish. And everyone hurts people. You're not the only one who does things they're not proud of."

"But I don't want to hurt you," Mike insists. "After everything that happened. After everything you've been through, I don't want... I don't want to be the reason you're sad or angry or... I don't know."

"I get sad and angry for plenty of other reasons, Mike."

"But you destroyed Castle Byers. Because of me."

Will lets out an unsteady breath. "It's not just because of you. I was angry for a lot of reasons."

"I don't want you to be angry."

"You can't stop me from feeling things, Mike."

Silence hangs in the air as Mike looks down, shivering. "I know," he says quietly, "but I do stupid shit all the time, and I don't want you getting hurt from it."

"Then stop doing stupid shit." Will gives Mike a reassuring smile when he looks at him.

Shaking his head and sighing, Mike slings an arm around Will's shoulders. "C'mon, let's get back inside."

They walk in silence, covered in mud and rain and tears, neither of them mentioning their kiss, but it's all Will can think of.

Lucas is on them the moment they get back to Will's house. "What happened? Are you okay, Will?"

Will nods. "Yeah, fine."

"Where were you guys? What happened? You just left without a word!"

Mike put his hands up defensively. "I know, Lucas. Calm down. We had another fight, but we're fine now."

"Seriously?" Lucas rolls his eyes. "Enough fighting. And enough running off without saying where you're going. I seriously thought something bad happened to you."

"Okay, okay."

"Sorry, Lucas," Will adds.

Lucas shrugs. "It's fine. Just tell me what's going on next time before you run off without me."

The three of them head to Will's room, Mike and Will having to change their clothes and shower since they got soaked in the rain and drenched in mud. It's almost two in the morning when the boys get to bed, Will wondering what tomorrow will hold.