they closed down school for the day and possibly for the rest of the week because of what happened to Troy and James. I paced around Lucas' room waiting for a reaction from my friends.
Max -"you really think Will magically caused a car to hit Troy and James?" she sarcastically emphasizes
-"i know how it sounds, but did you see him at school today?? his eyes.. they're different. it's like there's nothing behind them and he was all sweaty and nervous. i really don't think that's Will anymore."
Dustin -"what do you mean?"
-"do you remember when the mind flayer possessed him a few years ago? maybe it's just like that. i think while Will was in there, Vecna took over Wills body."
El -"but why would he do that?"
-"i don't know.."
Lucas - "have you told this to Jonathan?"
-"yeah, he didn't believe me."
El - "I live with him, i can check up on him and ask him about if you'd like."
-"no! he can't know we're onto him. if we're right about this, Vecna could hurt us in Will's body. it's too big of a risk." i exclaimed
Max -"we just need to act like everything's normal."
El - "tomorrow, since schools gonna be out, we can all go out. maybe to the mall to see a movie?"
-"you're sure that's a good idea? what if he hurts someone else?"
Dustin -"mike, you're overdramatizing it. even if he did that, which we don't know for sure if he even did, he did it because they were bullying him. he didn't just do it for shits and giggles. i think we'll be fine."
Lucas - "i can pick everyone up. i'll borrow my moms car so we can fit everyone in.
El - "perfect, i'll call you guys tonight if anything unusual happens."
we all walk out of lucas' house and i walk towards my bike with Max following behind me.
Max -"you don't think Will would hurt any of us, do you?" she asked.
i turned around, unsure of how to answer.
-"i'd hope not"
— Els POV—
Hopper picks me up from Lucas'. as we were driving i could tell he was on edge with his driving.
-"are you okay?" i ask
Hopper -"yeah, kid. Joyce is just really worried about Will." he nodded.
i wasn't too worried before, but now i am.
when we got home, i feel like i had just walked into a glass house.
everyone was acting normal, as if these past few days haven't even happened.
Jonathan was helping Joyce cook in the kitchen, laughing. there was music playing in the background and i saw Will setting the table with a smile on his face.
what the hell is going on.
was Mike just messing with us? because if so that was all a big fucking waste of time.
Will saw me and his smile grew wider.
-"hey, will you help me set the table, el?" he asked, calling me over.
i placed a fake smile on and helped him. i hope Mike was just messing around and Wills not actually possessed again.
-"it's crazy what's happening at school, yeah?" i ask, seeing if he reacts in any weird way.
Will - "yeah, it's scary." he agreed.
well.. he's not acting weird, which is weird.
after dinner, i practically sprint to my room and shut the door. i put in mikes house number on my telephone while sitting at my desk.
Mike -"hello?"
-"you're such a lying piece of shit!" i whisper loudly
Mike -"what?"
-"Will is acting completely normal! we're you just trying to scare us because if so-"
Mike - "what do you mean he's acting normal? what's normal?"
-"he has a smile on his face, he wasn't sweaty and his eyes were the same hazel color they always have been. if you were just trying to prank us you better admit to it right now because-"
Mike - "El, i swear i wasn't pranking you! was it because your parents were around? where's he at right now?"
-"i don't know, probably his room."
Mike - "go check on him right now if he's alone. call me back when you come back."
-"but-"
the dial tone rang on the other side as i was about to speak.
-"this is so stupid." i whisper under my breath, walking out of my room and down the hall to Will's room.
i knock on the door and don't hear anything.
when i walk in, all his windows were open and it was freezing in there. he was sitting at the edge of his bed turned away from me with just a tank top and pajama pants on. his hair was wet and he looked fresh out of the shower.
i shivered while stepping in.
-"Will? i called out his name, walking towards him.
he didn't respond which made me feel nervous. i tried to get his attention so i poked him in the back which made him slowly turn around.
i got goosebumps when i realized Mike was right. Wills eyes were a lot darker than normal. his once hazel eyes were now a dark brown. he was pale and looked exhausted.
-"hey.. uh tomorrow we're all going to the movies, me, Mike, Max, Dustin and Lucas. you want to go?" i ask, hoping to get a response.
all i got was a shallow nod.
his behavior was completely different from how he acted during dinner. i left his room, closing it behind me and walking back to my room.
i rang Mike again, almost wanting to cry.
-"Mike.. what is going on?" my voice cracked.
Mike - "El? El what happened?"
-"nothing, you were right. that's not Will. i'm scared, mike." a tear fell from my face
-"he said yes to hanging out tomorrow." i mentioned
Mike -"good. i'll see you tomorrow El, just be careful."
-"okay, goodnight." i sniffled, placing the phone back.
as i was getting ready for bed, trying to get my mind off of all the events going on. i brushed through my wet, freshly washed hair in my bathroom mirror before brushing my teeth. when i bent down to spit toothpaste in the sink, i had looked up and saw Will in the reflection behind me.
i screamed and turned around, but he wasn't even there.
i ran to his bedroom just to see him laying down in bed.
was i just imagining it? i'm too tired to deal with this right now.
i walk to my bedroom and lay down in bed. but i couldn't sleep. i couldn't stop thinking about Will. If Vecna took over his mind, who knows what Will would do.
i grab a comic book from my desk to distract my mind and i eventually drift off.
— Mikes POV —
Lucas had picked all of us up, we were all worried to pick Will up. we pulled up to his driveway and saw him hugging his mom on his way out the door, smiling.
we all looked at each other oddly when he got in with a big smile on his face.
Will -"hey guys, ready to go?" he said, smiling and checking the backseat.
Lucas - "hey will." lucas stuttered, reversing the car and driving away.
while we were in the back, max tapped me and el on the shoulder.
Max -"are you sure you guys aren't being dramatic? he seems fine to me." she whispered
El -"this is how he acted at dinner yesterday too.. completely normal." she whispered
-"sh, don't let him hear you!" i whispered, pushing max back.
we all walked in the mall together, making our way through the escalator, pushing through people.
Dustin -"hey guys, want to get ice cream first? Steve lets us get some for free."
we all agreed, walking into scoops ahoy. steve was shocked to see us here with Will.
we gave him a look that made him almost know to stay quiet.
-"hey, what would you like?" he asked everyone.
we walked behind the counter of scoops ahoy to sneak into the theater the back way.
-"Will, do you wanna pick the movie?" i offered, all of us standing in the middle of the hallways.
-"um, i've heard one good summer is a good one." he asked as we all walked into the doors of that movie room.
we were early so we got to see the previews and commercials. Will sat next to me on my left side while everyone else sat on my right side.
as the movie was about to start, i looked over at Will and he looked a little scared.
-"hey, are you alright?" i whispered.
-"yeah, i'll be back. i have to use the bathroom." he said getting up.
-"don't miss the start of the movie!" i joked as he smiled and walked away.
—
i washed my hands in the bathroom, trying to hurry so i wouldn't miss the movie. i dried my hands quickly and began walking back towards scoops. i headed behind the counter as steve let me and and as i made my way through, I saw Robin sitting at the table, reading a book.
i started to feel really hot and sweaty when i saw her.
please, not again.
i'm just trying to watch a movie, please don't do this.
i didn't even notice i was staring at her until she pointed it out.
-"hey, Will? how have you been? you know, considering.." she asked me, placing her book down.
_
i saw Will walking back to his seat next to me at the movies, but instead this time he was no longer normal. i could slightly see sweat glistening on his neck and face. i couldn't see his eyes from how dark the theater was, but i already knew.
he didn't say a word, he just sat and looked directly at the screen.
i nudged lucas next to me, giving him a signal to look at Will.
i watched the movie, but stayed cautious of Will next to me.
once the movie was over, even when the credits were still playing, Will maintained his position and kept staring at the screen. i had to shake him and tell him to get up so we could leave. he didn't say a word and he just followed us out.
as we were leaving the theater and started heading towards the escalator, we heard a blood-curdling scream.
people began screaming and surrounding scoops ahoy, we all looked at each other and ran to where the commotion was happening.
we saw Steve screaming and crying while on the phone with 911 while another worker was hovering the ice cream freezer.
we pushed our way through the crowd and saw what happened.
Robin is dead.
Max started breaking down, knowing that they were friends made me sad. i felt sick to my stomach. she died the same way Tina died. the same way chrissy and jason died.
i looked over at Will. he had the same expression on, he had no emotion. but this time, tears fell from his face. it was like he was crying on the inside but his face didn't show any sign of sadness.
oh God..
he did this.
