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

The Host

Notes- TW for talk of violence and death

Mike had spent the entire night thinking about Will and Jonathan. He hoped that Will was okay. Mike knew something was up with Jonathan. He didn't know exactly what, but something was wrong with the guy. Unfortunately, Will didn't want to believe that. It was understandable, of course. He wanted his brother back. But still, Mike wished he'd just listen. He didn't want Will to get hurt again. Maybe Will just needed to have fewer suspicious people in his life, that would make everything a lot easier.

Mike barely talked to his parents when at their house. They asked him quick questions and he gave surface-level answers and left. They'd ask ' Was Will here the other night?' and Mike would respond ' Yeah, he needed somewhere to stay,' and then he'd walk out the door. Somehow, his parents still didn't know a single thing about the Upside Down, so they were hard to talk to anyway.

Mike drove over to the house at seven in the morning. It was early, but he knew Will would be awake. Will was both a night owl and an early bird. Mike wondered if the boy ever slept at all.

Thinking about Will was all Mike seemed to do recently. Although, he wasn't sure he was supposed to. Mike had originally thought that he and Will were dating, boyfriends, lovers, all that. Then yesterday Will had said Mike wasn't his lover. And then he'd kissed him. And then he hugged him and said he loved him. There were many mixed messages that Mike was getting and he just wanted a clear answer. Either they were dating or they weren't. Some people didn't enjoy labels, but Mike found that they gave him some validation. He just hoped that Will didn't decide being with him would be wrong, as he'd mentioned in the past. It wasn't fair for it to be wrong because it was only because of Brad. Brad was dead and horrible and he shouldn't have been able to hold that much power over what Will did. It didn't make any sense to Mike.

Mike pulled into the Hopper-Byers' driveway and noticed that someone else's car was already there. Lucas and Max had somehow beat him to the house despite it being seven in the morning.

Mike walked up to the door and rang the bell. He would have just walked inside, but the door was locked. Fortunately, Will opened the door, holding a cup of coffee. He smiled at Mike and invited him inside warmly. It made Mike smile back. He really wanted to be this boy's lover.

"Can I have a cup?" Mike asked, taking off his shoes.

"Yeah, I made too much for just me anyway," Will said. "Just come to the kitchen. Lucas, Max, and Jane are in the living room."

Mike followed his friend to the kitchen and sat down at the counter. He watched Will take a mug from the cupboard and pour Mike a generous cup of coffee. "You want anything in it?" he asked.

"Milk," Mike said. "I can't drink black coffee."

Will snorted. "You can't drink black coffee?" He shook his head and went to the fridge, retrieving the milk and pouring some into Mike's mug. He pushed it across the counter to Mike. "There you go."

"Thanks," said Mike. He picked up the cup and took a sip. Mike wasn't actually a very big fan of coffee, but everyone he knew drank it, so he decided to live with it. He was embarrassed enough that he had to take it with milk.

Will sat down next to Mike. Directly next to him, Mike noticed. He took a stool and pushed it up right by Mike's. Will leaned his head on Mike's shoulder (that's how close they were) and yawned. "I didn't sleep well at all last night," he said.

Mike frowned. "Why not?"

Will kept his head on Mike's shoulder, casually drawing on his back with his fingers. It made Mike feel calm. He wanted Will to keep doing that. "I had this weird dream."