I, Will Byers, Am Not a Victim

Chapter 32: Return to the Party

When I returned to school, I continued avoiding people. It might not have been the best thing for me to do, but it was all I could think of. Mike and I hadn't said a word to each other or even made eye contact since our big blow-up, and I was avoiding Dustin and Lucas. Idon't know whose side they would take, but with everything supernatural going on, I didn't have time to get involved in any of that.

Despite my best efforts, I did interact with someone: Lucas.

"Will!" he shouted from across the hall. "We're playing D&D at my place tonight. You in?" I was shocked. I didn't expect him to even speak to me, much less invite me over to his house. "The game starts at 7. Don't skip out or we'll find out." I chuckled to myself. I know he just wanted me to have a good time, but didn't he know what happened with Mike? I doubt he would want to see me again after what happened.

Nevertheless, I decided to show up. For some reason, the party still wanted to see me, and they invited me over. Maybe Mike had cooled off? I didn't know what to expect, but my curiosity was piqued.

When I got there, I saw Dustin and Lucas, but not Mike. The game was set up and ready to go, but I was more interested in what was going on. When they saw me, they acted as if nothing had happened, and greeted me enthusiastically.

"At last!" Dustin proclaimed. "Will the Wise has arrived. Once again, we seek your guidance." I got into character for a brief moment, but I needed to address the elephant in the room.

"Where's Mike?" I asked.

"Don't worry about him," Lucas responded. "Tonight is about our campaign, not Mike. He will not be here tonight." As much as I wanted more information, I went along with it. I still wanted to make things right, but I also wanted to have a good time with my other friends, and I was happy I could still spend time with them.

Throughout the night, he was still on my mind, but I focused on having fun with Dustin and Lucas. I didn't know if they had chosen me over Mike or if they had felt sorry for me after what happened, but I didn't ask. To be honest, I was scared at what the answer might be.

We completed the campaign in 3 hours, which is kind of short for this kind of thing, but it was still fun. Even so, Mike was missing, and we all noticed it in the game. He had always acted like a leader, so without him, we all felt lost.

As I was leaving to go home, Lucas stopped me. "Hey Will," hesaid. "I'm sorry about what happened with Mike. I don't know what happened, but I know you, and I know you're an awesome guy. Dustin and I don't want to take sides; we just want you two to be friends again."

"Yeah," I said as I sighed. "Me too."

"You might not like this," Lucas responded tentatively. "But,you might have to make the first move. I know him, and I know that he probably feels bad about what happened, but I don't think he'll reach out to you."

"I don't know. According to the party rules, he drew first blood, so shouldn't he be the one to apologize."

"Yes," he said back quickly. "But, when it comes to El, he acts strange. I think that if you explain what happened, he'll apologize on his own."

"I don't know." I wanted things to be right between us, but it would reflect badly on me and there was still the issue of the gate reopening, which I couldn't even tell Lucas bout.

"Just think about it."

"Sure," I responded. "I'll see you tomorrow."

  "It's good to have you back, Will the Wise," he said as I biked my way back home.