What is Love? (A Byler AU)

Will Byers Enjoys Some Reese's Pieces While He Saves The World

Shortly after Mike came up with a plan to try and figure out if Billy was really the host of the Mind Flayer, we all split up to prepare the trap. Lucas and I were in charge of getting chains to help keep the door closed. He and I entered a small shed and began to search the place for anything that could be useful in our task.

"Uh, Will?" Lucas spoke up from the other side of the shed. "Um... you know, about yesterday..."

"It's fine, Lucas." He really didn't need to say anything, we had so many other things going on. The Mind Flayer was back, Mike was busy trying to get El back, and I accidentally might have come out to him yesterday. But we'll deal with all that after we save the world. It's fine. Everything's going to be just fine. "You don't have to say anything."

"I know, but it's just..." There were clanging noises as he grabbed a few things, "It was a really cool campaign. And Mike and I, we should've never-"

"I don't care anymore, Lucas. I really don't. We have bigger things to worry about now." Lucas was silent as I found a box of chains we could use in the trap and began to walk out of the shed.

"Will, wait!" I stopped for a moment and looked back at him, "Mike, he said that he-"

"Lucas, can we talk about this later? We don't have time right now." I told him, even though I knew what he meant. Mike had told him I was gay, and he didn't want to be friends anymore. We could deal with this after the Mind Flayer was gone. Lucas nodded as we walked out of the shed, ready to face whatever came next.

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After El had fought Flayed Billy after he escaped from his sauna prison, we watched him escape; he was mostly unharmed in the fight. Eleven was exhausted, and it was late, so we all went back to the Wheeler household to talk about what our next steps would be. I noticed that as Billy ran, El and Mike were holding hands. Didn't you guys just get in, like, the world's biggest fight? What is going on? I felt a wave of jealously washing over me. I wanted to be the one holding Mike's hand like that. Granted, El was exhausted and frightened, but she does have superpowers. The rest of us don't and we too were tired and afraid. El can handle herself most of the time.

The rest of the night was spent mostly in silence as we called our families to tell them we would be spending the night at Mike's. Mom didn't answer, but Jonathan did, so in the morning El decided to see where Hopper and my mother were since neither had answered the phones when we called.

"I found him," El said from her spot on the couch. She had a bit of blood coming from her nose and we had made a makeshift blindfold from an old kitchen rag.

"Where is he?" Max asked.

"Woods."

The static from the TV beside us was heard as Lucas spoke up, "Woods?"

"He's with... Will's mom." El described. What could they be doing in the woods?

"My-my mom?" I asked, shocked.

"What are they doing?" Max inquired.

"Ill... annoy." What? What does that mean? "They're going to Ill-annoy." El described.

Suddenly Mrs. Wheeler knocked on the basement door, "Mike! Breakfast!"

"Not now, Mom!" The boy yelled back. Quieter, he turned back to us: "Illinois? Illinois, like the state? The state of Illinois?"

"Ill-annoy." El stammered, confused as she pulled off her blindfold.

After that, Max and El went into the bathroom so El could get cleaned up.