Byler one shots

28

“The Demogorgan!” Mike said, slamming the figure down onto the board. Everyone groaned and Mike smiled inwardly. He loved making a great campaign.

“We’re in deep shit,” Dustin said.

“Will, your action,” said Mike.

“I don’t know,” Will said. Lucas suggest a fireball, but that was risky at best. Dustin thought that he should cast protection. Neither one of them was willing to compromise and Will was caught in the middle. The Demogorgan, however, would not wait for them to finish bickering.

The monster advanced towards them as Mike’s voice grew more and more insistent. Lucas and Dustin began to yell at Will to make a move.

“Fireball!” Will said, throwing the dice. In his excitement, they skittered off of the table. The boys jumped up to find them. Mike, Lucas and Will crawled around on the floor while Dustin, who was apparently too upset by the whole ordeal to help, just keep repeating “oh my god”.

“Mike,” his mom said, opening the door at the top of the stair.

“Mom, we’re in the middle of a campaign,” Mike said, looking up from his search.

“You mean the end?” she said, pointing at her watch, “Fifteen after.” Mike felt the disappointment rising in his stomach. He rushed up the stairs after his mom.

“Mom, wait, just twenty more minutes,” he said, trying to bargain. He could finish up the campaign then, if the other boys could find the dice.

“It’s a school night, Michael,” she said. No matter what he said, he couldn’t get her to budge. He might have even made it worse by mentioning that they had been playing for ten hours. His dad dad was useless (as always), agreeing with his mom without even listening to Mike.

“They’re the worst,” Mike grumbled when he was outside with Lucas and Will.

“It’s okay Mike,” Will said, giving him a small smile. “We can just finish it next weekend, or maybe after school.”

Mike leaned back against his dad’s car and looked at his friend, forgetting his parents for a moment. Something had changed between them in the past few weeks. Not anything too drastic, but Mike was beginning to notice. They sat a little closer to each other, their smiles became a little more shy, they looked at each other a little bit longer than normal. There was a feeling that was beginning to grow in Mike’s chest that he had never felt before.

“Yeah, but it won’t be the same,” Lucas said, bringing Mike back to reality.

Dustin finally made his way outside and told them all that Mike’s sister was boring and horrible now, which Mike already knew. Lucas, Dustin and Will turned on the headlights on their bikes. Dustin was the first to leave, then Lucas. Will was last, as always, but Mike didn’t mind. He liked it that way.

“It was a seven,” Will said.

“Huh?” Mike turned toward him.

“The role, it was a seven,” Will said. Mike furrowed his brows. “The Demogorgan, it got me.” Mike didn’t say anything as his friend said his goodbyes and pedaled off into the night.

The lights of the garage flickered as Mike stood there alone, watching Will ride away. It sent a shiver up his spine. He turned them off and headed inside.