Byler- The Unwanted Return of Everything (And How It Finally Ends)

The Anniversary of Everything

Notes- Hi! Hello! I just wanted to start this off by saying I'm an Ao3 writer and I simply wanted to put this story on here to see what happened. It's one of my most viewed on that site, so hopefully you'll enjoy it! Alright, that's all. Sorry if this is all wrong by the way. I have never used Wattpad in my life.

Will spent the anniversary of everything by himself. He sat at his desk, in his college dorm room, eating a leftover piece of pizza from three days ago, working on homework for his art history class.

He only realized he was crying when a tear dropped onto the paper below him, smudging the ink he'd just applied to it. He hadn't meant to cry. He shouldn't have, because today was the anniversary of everything, and that sounded so good.

When Will called it the anniversary of everything, he wasn't lying. For some reason, everything liked to happen on this day. Three years ago, he and his friends had closed the gates to the Upside Down once and for all. Three years ago, Will's own brother had sacrificed his life for the fate of Hawkins. Two years ago, Will heard his father had died from drinking, found in his own living room, television still playing some football game. Five years ago, his sister hit a girl from high school with a roller skate. Fourteen years ago, he'd watched his first Star Wars movie. And twenty years ago, Will had been born on this day.

His birthday. It seemed so unimportant compared to everything else. Will hadn't even found joy in celebrating the day he was born since he was eleven years old. It just didn't seem like all that big of a deal anymore. Especially when it competed with saving the world. And two family deaths. Birthdays were the least of Will's concerns. He decided to just forget about it like everyone else did.

Correction: almost everyone. Jane had called to wish him a good day. So had his mother, trying the best she could. Will figured the death of her eldest son probably overshadowed the birth of her youngest. Dustin and Lucas had called him together, very briefly. They were both working on some sort of assignment together, obviously busy. They hadn't mentioned his birthday but he assumed it had to be part of the reason they were calling. Nobody wanted to mention the fact that March twenty-second had any importance at all. It wasn't a happy day anymore.

Will simply stared at his pizza, which was getting unappetizingly cold. That was okay because he wasn't all that hungry anymore. He'd just have to continue his homework and wait for Brad to get back. Surely, his own boyfriend hadn't forgotten his birthday.

The phone rang, which made Will jump slightly, in the silent room. He slowly made his way out of the chair he was sitting in and over to the wall, where the ringing was coming from. He put the phone to his ear.

"Hello? This is Will Byers."

"Hey, Will." He almost dropped the phone in surprise. It was the last person he had expected to call him tonight. Or ever.

He stuttered slightly, in shock. "M- Mike?" Michael Wheeler hadn't talked to him in a very long time. They'd seen each other over the summer, but it was brief, and Will figured Mike just didn't want Will in his life anymore. Fair, he supposed. Maybe Will just brought back too many bad memories.

"Yeah, Mike," the familiar voice on the other end of the line sighed. Will closed his eyes. He loved that voice. He missed it. And here it was.

"It's been a while," he finally said, barely audible. It was hard to talk, the voice making him feel queasy.

A pause. "Yeah, it really has. I'm sorry, I... uh..." Mike seemed to be searching for an excuse for his lack of calls. "It's just been busy. I mean, Harvard is pretty intense." Mike had gone to Harvard Law School at the request of his parents. Got in on scholarships and plain money. Will had the feeling he didn't like it very much, but the only times he'd mentioned it, Mike had spoken pretty highly of it, so maybe he was wrong.