A Fool's Tears | Byler (DISCONTINUED)

04.

!! TW: MENTIONS/ACTIONS OF SELF HARM !!

Thursday, March 23 1987

Will sat in his bed, drawing in his sketchbook with some new art stuff he had received from his patented the night prior. Once they had gotten home from Enzo's Will opened his presents and then they had cake, pretty good night! And his gifts were awesome! He got some new comic books, some new d&d stuff, the art stuff he was using, it was awesome! And the best part is, Joyce let him stay home from school!.. i mean, the downside is that she made El go, and now he didn't have anyone to hang out with at home, but he didn't mind. He was sketching a big dragon before he heard the phone ring. He closed the sketchbook and set it down beside him, getting up to go answer the phone. He walked into the kitchen, picking up the phone. "Hello?" He called. "Will!" Mike exclaimed. Will's facial expression turned to a frown. "Oh my god- Whatever you have to say, I don't want to hear it!" and before Mike could say anything else, shoved the phone back on the wall. He sighed and went to go back to his room, but then the phone rang again. He groaned and went to pick up the phone. "What!? What do you want!?" He shouted. "Will, just let me explain, plea-" "No! I don't want a bullshit, watered down explanation, Mike! I want you to leave me alone!" Mike sighed before speaking again. "You don't have to be a bitch about it.." Will was taken aback. "I'm not being a bitch about anything! You hurt my feelings, and now you're trying to put the blame on me? You're the one being a bitch here! You!" Will exclaimed. "How am I being a bitch!? You're the one whining!-" "I'm not whining Mike!! I'm upset, how isn't that obvious!?" Will yelled at him over the phone. Mike didn't say anything, so Will sighed. "Just.. please stop calling.. I'll uh-.. call you when I'm ready to talk, or whatever..." And with that, he hung up. He put his head against the wall and stayed there for a second, before putting his head up and and deciding to go take a shower.

Will turned the water on and began undressing himself. He thought about the stuff that Mike said. A bitch? I'm not being a bitch, right? He thought. He tested the water with the tips of his fingers, then got under the water. He rubbed his face as the water fell down his body. Maybe yelling at him was a bit much.. but I wasn't being a bitch! But what if he hates me now for yelling like at him? Will shivered at that thought, despite being under quite warm water. No! He doesn't hate you, he's your boyfriend. He couldn't hate you over something so stupid... but what if I hurt his feelings? A million thoughts swirled through Will's head as he began to panic. He really didn't want to hurt Mike's feelings, and he knew he couldn't call him until after school, but what if Mike didn't want to talk? That wouldn't be good. He just sighed and continued on with his shower. He didn't need to think about that stuff right now..

Will had gotten out of the shower about an hour ago, and he was watching a movie in the living room, when the lights began to flicker. He stared up at the ceiling light, confused. Why the hell is the light flickering? He thought, just as the lights in the kitchen began to flicker. He stood up, beginning to get a little worried. "H.. Hello..?" He called out, but obviously nothing happened. Then suddenly, all of the lights in the entire house began to flicker, rapidly. He sat down on the couch and pulled his knees to his chest, waiting for the flickering to stop. When it did, he released his legs and opened his eyes, but as soon as he saw his surroundings, his stomach dropped.

It was dark, cold and vines covered the walls. Will stood up abruptly and darted his eyes around. No, I can't be back here. He thought. But there he was, standing in the Upside Down. He began to panic. "HELLO!? ANYONE??" He screamed into the air. "IF THIS IS A JOKE IT SERIOUSLY ISNT FUNNY!!" He yelled again, but there was nothing, no sound but the scorching of the vines. Suddenly, there was a loud, familiar growl from behind the house, and he immediately knew what it was. He bolted towards the door and ran outside, the red lightning crackling in the sky. He almost slipped on the gravel running over to his bike. He picked it up and got on it, racing down the driveway. As he was biking down the road, he got that, weird, terrifying feeling in the back of his neck. He turned around, and there it was. That big spider looking monster made out of black particles, The Mind Flayer. Will screamed and pedalled faster in an attempt to get away from the huge monster in the sky. The thought of it possessing him again made him shiver, so he sure wasn't gonna try to tell it to go away again. He pedalled as fast as he could all the way into town square where his mom's work was, he was hoping with every atom in his body that this was just an episode or a dream, and that we would wake up and Mike would be beside him hugging him tight in his arms. He reached the smallish store and scrambled to get off his bike, throwing it to the side. He pushed open the doors aggressively and then suddenly everything was back. The sun was out, there were no vines, no red lightning, but most importantly, His Mom and Step-dad were staring right at his tear dripping face.