Unshared Feelings: A Byler Love Story

Chapter One

Will couldn't sleep. It wasn't surprising, with everything going on. He knew Vecna wasn't dead, and that once he regained strength, Will would most likely be his first target. But that wasn't the only thing keeping him up. Jonathan's words from the pizza place played on repeat in his head, but one statement in particular.

You can talk to me.

He wanted to tell Jonathan everything. The painting, his heart-to-heart with Mike in his bedroom, the fight at the roller rink, but he just hadn't gotten the chance to. He figured that he probably could have told him at Surfer Boy, but he was afraid Mike or El would hear him. He would've been nervous about Argyle hearing too, but he figured even if Argyle did hear, he would be too high to commit it to his memory. And anyway, what if Jonathan didn't accept him? He could have left him there, stranded in Nevada with no way back to Lenora or Hawkins. Will decided it was best that he didn't tell Jonathan, and that if he was going to tell him, he would do it in a place he felt safe. 

Then again, he knew that Jonathan wasn't the person he should be worried about telling. As he thought more, Mike wasn't even the person he should be worried about. Will hated making people upset, especially his family. If El found out he was in love with her boyfriend and had been for much of their childhood, he was worried he would lose his sister for good. However, he knew that wouldn't be the only thing she would be mad about. Since El had joined the party, there was always one rule that she had mostly stayed true to. Friends don't lie. But he had lied. He was worried Mike would eventually bring up the painting around El and then they would both figure out what was going on. 

Will sighed and rolled onto his back, the wooden floor creaking beneath him. It wasn't exactly roomy in Hopper's old cabin, so he and El shared a room, Hop and Joyce shared another(which Will didn't like to think about), and Jonathan slept on the couch. Will enjoyed sleeping on the floor since it wasn't too different from sleeping on the floor of the van when an unexpected jerk would shake them awake every few hours. Will thought back to the van ride to Hawkins, but it wasn't long until the memory of his talk with Mike resurfaced in his mind, a moment he had tried very hard to forget. He knew it was wrong to lie to Mike, but he was worried that if he had been honest, Mike would figure out what his true intentions were. What he was. And he was sure that Mike would think he was disgusting.

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Mike couldn't sleep. No matter how much he tossed and turned, he just couldn't get comfortable. Although, getting comfortable was the last thing on his mind. He and El hadn't talked since the pizza place. He wanted to talk to her about it. He wanted to tell her that he loved the painting and that he meant every word of his speech. But every time he opened his mouth to say something, it seemed like the words were gone. However, that wasn't the only thing stopping him. Every time he wanted to tell El how he felt, there were only 3 words that came to mind.

Friends don't lie.

He wanted to love El, more than anything. But something was stopping him...

He decided not to think about that anymore. He wanted to focus on what was more important. 001 was alive. He wasn't sure if Will had told anyone else about it, but Mike hadn't mustered up the courage to tell the rest of the party or anyone for that matter. He was pretty sure El knew he wasn't dead either, but he hadn't been able to talk to her about that yet either. He figured she had been through enough, with Max in the hospital and El losing a fight for the first time. He knew he needed to be there to comfort her, but he had been avoiding the cabin for the past couple of days.

For some reason, Mike didn't feel like being around Will, for reasons he couldn't quite explain. He figured it was just because they had spent so much time together the past few days, but deep down, he knew it was something deeper than that, and it was a feeling he knew very well.