letters. 〚byler〛

⁎prologue⁎

Will was gone. 

That was the only thought that couldn't slip from Mike's mind after Hopper had informed him, Lucas, and Dustin that Will has disappeared. No one knew where he went. 

They didn't even get to finish their campaign. 

Mike was worried. Extremely worried. Will was always his best friend. He was the one person Mike could go to so that he could pour his emotions out of his mouth. Will was the one person that he went to so he could be comforted. Will knew all if his secrets, and Will kept all of his secrets. Mike would trust Will with his life. 

Because, Will made Mike feel simply safe. 

And now he was missing. 

Mike sighed, draining a glass of water and putting the cup into the sink next to him. 

He was going to find Will, if that was the last thing he did. 

Moving to his room, Mike's eyes wandered around the familiar scene, his gaze landing on a picture of the Party at a science fair. Mike smiled, looking at Will's grinning face, forever engraved into a photograph. 

Suddenly, an idea popped into his mind. Moving to his closet, Mike fished around, eventually pulling a short, but thick notebook from the depths of a drawer. He dusted off the cover and flipped through the pages, finding them all blank. 

Mike smiled, remembering the way that Will loved to draw. 

He was an amazing artist. the way he drew witches, wizards, and dragons was absolutely stunning. Will had even used Lucas as a model once. 

Staring at a white page, thoughts churned in Mike's head. 

I wonder if... 

*** 

Will kept his eyes squeezed tightly shut, the long eyelashes attached to the lids fluttering against the very, very tips of his cheeks. 

It was cold. Cold and dark. 

Ten minutes earlier, there was no time to process what was happening as an invisible force pulled him into an alternate universe. There was no telling what happened, no astronomical professor or mathematical genius could have explained the strange events that Will went through. 

And he was scared. Scared as hell. All he wanted was to be back at the Wheeler's residence, to be in Mike's arms, to hear Lucas' soothing voice, to hear Dustin's stupid comebacks, to know that he was safe. 

But he wasn't. And he didn't know if he would be, ever again. 

All he knew was that Mike was gone. He didn't know where he was. He didn't know why he had gotten taken to wherever he was, and he didn't know what he did to upset the force that took him. 

But Mike was gone. 

His only comfort, his only support, his only light, was gone. 

Without opening his eyes (not wanting to take the chance), Will quickly slid his backpack from his shoulders and held it to his chest, fumbling to find the zipper. Once he found it, he shakily opened the bag and reached inside, pulling out his art book. 

He put his backpack onto the floor next to him and hugged the book protectively, still shaking. The smell of the paper calmed him. 

He suddenly got an idea. 

I wonder what would happen...