✓ Wake Up, Mike ⇔ Mileven {1st - "Wake Up, Mike" Trilogy}

Seven

OH MY GOD GUYS 200+ READERS I WAS AT LIKE 100 THIS MORNING OMGGGG😭😭💝🙏🏻
edit, 12-14-18: awwwwh omg^^ now I'm at 149,800. Bless you all♥️
edit, 5-5-19: progress report. I'm now at 153,432 at the time that I'm editing it.

Mike.

I regret it, I do. I know it isn't Will's fault, but it's just so easy to blame him. I mean, even if he had died, she'd still be gone. She died saving Lucas, Dustin, and I. Will truly had nothing to do with it.

I still say 'died' but I honestly don't think she's dead. I just keep getting this feeling that she's close. Like she's right next to me, I just can't see her. That's why I was so happy to see that hole in the tree. I have the strongest feeling that she's down there. If I could somehow find a way to get her attention, I could talk to her through it. Or maybe I can find a way to make it bigger.

I wish I could just go to Hawkins Lab to find her. But ever since Dr. Brenner died, they've been slowly closing the gate. It must be closed by now, it's been a year. The second everything had calmed down, all they did was search for a way to close it. It worked and they closed it before anything could go in. Or come out, for that matter.

So, it looks like the hole in the tree is my best bet. It'll have to do.

I had a pretty chill dream last night, which is good. I think I'm too busy thinking about Will to remember it. So, I woke up easily and actually wasn't fully focused on El. I got ready quickly and decided to skip breakfast. I want to go to Will's house and apologize before school starts.

I told my mom what I was doing before quickly riding in the direction of his house. I'm not positive what I'm gonna say, which is probably a good thing. It'll be more genuine if I come up with it as I go.

I reached his house pretty quickly and hopped off my bike. I saw Jonathan's car was still in the yard and slowed down a bit. I came a lot earlier than I thought.

I shrugged and knocked on the door. Will answered, his slight smile dropping.

"Can I come in?" I asked sheepishly, and he let me in without saying anything. Jonathan was in the kitchen practically shoveling food into his mouth. He must be running late. Will closed the door and turned to face me. I sighed loudly, feeling awkward with Jonathan in hearing range. "Listen, Will, I'm...I'm sorry. I was just angry and I feel horrible. I have no excuse, I'm not trying to sound innocent. I know what I did and I seriously regret it." I paused, getting ready to fully speak my mind. "And I know I'm being ridiculous, I just can't help it. I should care about you guys way more than her, but I just can't stop thinking about her. I know she's alive, I can feel it, and I think that's why I can't stop thinking about her. I've just been such a bad friend and I understand if you hate me or something."

I think that's the longest speech I've ever given. Half of me expected him to be annoyed. Then again, Will has always been a good listener. At this moment, though, he's just looking at me with a troubled expression.

"Mike, I don't hate you, I was just a bit hurt. Half of me was thinking you want me dead or something," He mumbled, and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"No way, you're my best friend. Well, one of them. I was just blinded by the possibility of finding her that I was mean and inconsiderate. I'm sorry, Will."

"It's fine, Mike, I forgive you. Thanks for apologizing so quickly, I probably would've held a grudge." He smiled at me, and I was about to reply but was cut off by loud knocks at the door. Will and I looked at each other and he was obviously just as confused as I am.

He opened the door and we were met with Dustin and Lucas. But they were sweating slightly and panting heavily. Did they just run here or something?

"Oh, good, you're here," Lucas spoke with a tone of relief, still gasping for air as they passed us and entered the house. Will and I continued to look at them in utter confusion.

Then Jonathan showed up and pushed past us, running to his car while yelling goodbye to Will. Everything is a mess right now.

Will pushed the door closed and we turned to face Lucas and Dustin. They were sitting on the couch, gaining their breath back.

"What's going on?" I was the first to speak, and Dustin replied before Lucas could gather his thoughts.

"So, we were in the woods-" He started, but I cut him off.

"Why were you in the woods?"

"Well...we want everything back to normal. We figured the only way to fix things is to bring El back, so we were continuing to look for clues," Lucas explained quietly, and I wasn't even mad that they went without me.

"Yeah, that's actually a good idea. Anyway, so you found something?" I asked, suddenly getting really excited.

"Yeah, it was insane! We found this small wooden box and there was food in it. Someone obviously just put it in there because Lucas dared me to touch it and it was still warm. That means someone is leaving food in the woods and who else would be there to eat it?" Dustin concluded, and I was practically vibrating with excitement.

"Well, come on! Show us!" I yelled excitedly, and Will nodded along frantically.

-

We jumped off of our bikes and followed Dustin and Lucas into the trees. They knew the path well, somehow, because they led us right to it with no hesitation.

"There, open it," Lucas encouraged, and I knelt down so I could reach the box properly. I lifted the top and saw...nothing. I just stared at it with confused eyes, trying not to get emotional.

"Did she come here? Did we miss it?" I asked loudly, looking up at them as if they had the answer.

"I don't know, Mike, it was there not even twenty minutes ago." Dustin shrugged and I could tell he was just as confused as I am.

I kept looking around, checking for any clue. Maybe a footprint? Absolutely anything.

But, I found nothing.
Only an empty box and a sinking feeling remained.