WILL POV-

---- Tuesday 5:04 PM ----

"Shit!" Mike stumbled almost tripping on a random tree branch. Considering it was the middle of the day, the shades of the trees casted the woods appearing to be night. Even though they have been searching together for over an hour; it was getting boring as they look for clues all over the place with minimal interaction. Will didn't even know what he could say to Mike; their relationship was rocky at best, sometimes they got on like a house on fire while other times it was unstable.

They found most of the items and with only a few left Will led the two.

"Have you ever been here before?" The ravenette spat

"Nope!" Will smirked "It's my first time" the boy knew where all the items were hidden; it was in the comic. He understood the clues but getting to them was the difficult part. The items were held in memorable places under abnormally shaped rocks or dressed up trees. The clue always led them where to go but Mike kept being a diva, huffing every time the small boy was able to find a clue and he wasn't.

Mike, being the second smartest boy in class behind Lucas was annoyed when Will- the boy who used to be as dumb as a rock, instantly found the items he couldn't. It annoyed him that he couldn't find a single one; sure, Will was giving him ample time to think them through but the ravenette still held a grudge.

"Then how do you know so well where the items are hidden?" Mike scoffed

"Luck I guess" Will lied, it was fun messing with Mike. He giggled under his breath shining his flashlight on the surrounding trees; It was fairly dark so the flashlights helped but useless, feeling like it came from a happy meal. The small boy's flashlight stuttered randomly shutting and switching back on "Should I be scared?" He mumbled under his breath as Mike followed a few feet behind.

"It seems like you have this whole thing planned out..." The tall boy spoke breaking the uncomfortable silence "I guess I'm not really needed here then"

"Don't be so dramatic" The small boy rolled his eyes annoyed of Mike's constant pouting but said nothing more to keep the peace taking a few steps forwards.

Suddenly, Mike shifted "Why don't you do this by yourself then?"

"What?" Will stopped in his tracks turning his body around

"This scavenger hunt" Mike spat "Since you know everything; perhaps you should find the rest by yourself"

"Why are you acting like that now?" The small boy whined, not wanting any further confrontation

"Like what?" Mike sarcastically questioned

"An asshole!" Will blamed

"What did you just call me?" the ravenette puffed up stepping increasingly closer to Will, the leaves rustling under his feet.

"Like I tried to be understanding since it seems like you were so sweet in the comic, I thought maybe you were a big softie pretending to be tough; but when the only person you are nice to is El it's hard to think so!" The small boy argued

"What? That's just not true" Mike didn't understand what Will was rambling about, comic? El?

"Really because it seems like you sometimes decide to be nice to me and them other times you hate me!" Will explained venting his frustrations that seemingly came out of nowhere; all the feelings of anger he felt over the confusing past week had to come out eventually and just so happened to be Mike "I've changed and I'm sorry you cant see that" huffing and crossing his arms

"Yeah, whatever man" Mike scoffed turning on his heel "You ruin everything!" trudging away pass the foliage into the dark of the forest

The brunette watched, turning in a random direction to continue the hunt on his own. Like he said earlier if given the option he wouldn't mind working on his own as he knew all the spots. He was averaging a 'B' in his high-school; these riddles would be a piece-of-cake as he held on tight to the strap on his satchel that held all the items from the hunt so far; he still needed only 3 more clues before he was done for good.

The flashlight stopped again; Will rolled his eyes; he couldn't see very well trying to hit the underside of the torch but to see it remain broken. The boy pouted stumbling through the woods "Where am I going?" he moaned touching tree bark he was so sure he passed before. Since Mike took his compass and map; he didn't even know where he was.

He took out his phone, using the flash to walk around a better alternative to his handheld torch, the boy complained

"It's not fair! He treats everyone so nicely and is so mean to me. Like if he 'hated' me so much why did he invite me to his cabin? He's so confusing, as a romance comic character he's a dick!" Will scoffed, Mike was his number one; you could say his first love but this whole situation annoyed him.

Not knowing what else to do in this moment Will talked to himself; it was the only logical thing to do considering he was all alone. The talking distracted him from the creepy ambience of the woods.

Considering he used to live in the middle of the woods until he was 10, Will assumed he would be confident alone. But when a crack was heard behind him; the brunette flipped his head behind seeing a little bunny with white and black fur, he exhaled... If the smaller boy could recall this was the bunny that El used to find one of the clues in the comic. It was weird, weird indeed. But comic logic never really makes sense in the real world. Like characters becoming caricatures of a trope; like Richie who was written as a flirt and a heartthrob; who unrealistically flirts with everyone but maybe if he got to know Richie, he could see a different side of him.

Perhaps he was harsh to Mike; from what Will could see it seemed as though the characters are forced to act in this way to a degree.

The boy cut out his thoughts crouching down, knowing the bunny leads him to a clue if he had food on him. Luckily, the smaller boy had some carrot sticks from lunch; now a normal person may ask why a fully grown 18-year-old had cut up carrots in his bag, but a clever person knows carrots are the food of the soul.

Placing one on the ground, the fluffy bunny nibbled. The small boy smiled; wishing he could have a pet; he used to have a dog but can't remember where it went; It just disappeared one day.

None-the-less the bunny finished, hopping away alarming Will to follow obviously leading him to the next clue. This bunny was helpful, perhaps he should keep it for the future.

He chuckled, that would be a dumb idea; a bunny would be unable to help him find the last two items but to express his gratitude the small boy placed a bunch of the carrot sticks on the floor to the bunny excitedly doing his hippity-hops; it was cute producing a soft smile on Will's face. The boy jumped up before dusting his hands walking away. A small spec of dirt lingered on his clothes so he rolled his eyes cleaning the stain before trudging away to find the second last item using the new clue he just attained.

Another crack filled the air around him; Will shrugged assuming it was just another bunny "Poor little bunny... Did you come to give me another hint" giggling turning to face the noise; his flashlight aimed at the ground seeing a pair of shoes. As he slowly lifted the light showing two boys. In that moment it was clear who they were and what they wanted....

Troy and James... and they had a knife; not a little pocket knife but this was a full ass kitchen knife. Where did they even keep that? But Will had no time for questions as they menacingly took a step close as the brunette turned on his heel running away. If he was going to get taken out in this universe it wouldn't be from Troy and James.

Running through the forest, he remained silent to not draw attention to himself but the more steps he saw Troy and James get closer the more he panicked, wanting to scream out for help; it was better than nothing. Perhaps one of the other students or a random passerby in the forest could help him. Will shrugged knowing it would be best for him to try and alert someone blowing on the whistle around his neck; it produced a loud sound, but the force used ripped the string off his neck.

The boy shuddered, why were the two boys following him with that knife? What were they planning to do with it? Would they hurt him?

But he didn't ponder these questions for right now he needed to either find help or find the cabins to lock himself inside of one. It was terrifying being hunted like a predator stalking their prey and sadly for Will he was outnumbered. He ran forward but cut off by James. The shock dumped him stumbling back and dropping the whistle from his mouth.

He didn't dawdle standing up to run in the opposite direction, but Troy caught him roughly grabbing his arm. Will filled with adrenaline; not taking something like this without a fight kicking Troy barely managing to avoid them, but the pair wouldn't give up that easily.

No longer having his whistle with him he screamed "FREE BEER! I'M NAKED OVER HERE! SOMEBODY HELP! PLEASE!" it was stupid but the only thing he could think off in that moment hoping it would either deter the pursuers or help someone nearby join in helping him.

"MIKE!" The brunette screeched; wishing the ravenette hears his pleas.

But Will being uncoordinated, couldn't keep his balance causing him to stumble dropping to the floor with a loud yelp, he attempted to pulled himself up but felt a hand on his shoulder. He froze.

In that moment, Will's stomach churned...

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1750 Words

I know it seems like Mike keeps flip-flopping between being nice to Will and not but I swear that is intentional and will be explained... eventually

Stay Safe <3