MIKE POV -

---- Next day: Wednesday 8:13 AM ----

"Shit! Shit! Shit! I'm late!" the ravenette grabbed his shoes, throwing them on, not even bothering to put his blazer on his shoulders as he rushed out the front door. He walked up to the taxi he ordered, making up for lost time; he didn't get to see Will this morning, mentally cursing himself.

Slinking into the back seat, the ravenette finally exhaled for the first time that morning, the commute would take at least fifteen minutes and that's if he was lucky. The car sped through the streets,

[Sub-Mission: Get Will Byers 100,000 Followers on Social Media (62,187/100,000)]

The ravenette's eyes widened; Will's follower number increased over six times; the increase was strange. How had it gotten this high? He knew Max had been pushing herself to her limits to promote the account, and Lucas as well as Troy's influence had also helped, but this kind of growth was unnatural.

While pondering, Mike remembered the experience he had in the void... specifically one of the compensations for the errors: the 'follower boost'. The sub-mission was set to easy; did that mean it increased his followers by over 50,000? That was definitely a boost!

With a little smile, he took out his phone, only now noticing the dozen messages on screen. His face fell. His tunnel vision view from earlier made him disregard the texts, but now he saw them...

LUCAS: "Mike man, people are spreading BS about Will!"

MAX: "Where are you? Call me!"

DUSTIN: "Where are you man? I saw this post about Will!"

TROY: "This guy posted fake rumours bout Will! REPORT THIS ACCOUNT!"

EL: "Where's Will? Is he with you?"

The ravenette's head filled, seeing posts upon posts filling the screen, containing a plethora of rumours. As he skimmed each post, his eyes barely noticed the incoming phone call that popped up at the top of his screen. Anxiously, his fingers trembled as he answered the call, seeing Max's name on top.

"Hey Mike." The redhead answered calmly, her voice slightly echoey; indicating she was possibly in the bathroom, ditching homeroom just for this phone call. Mike was relieved she was this committed to Will's safety that she would play hooky for him.

"Max! What are all these rumours people are saying?" The ravenette replied, not bothering with small talk.

Max's voice came through the phone casually, almost as if she wasn't worried at all, or at least masking it, "Listen, I've looked through all of those posts and the stuff in them? Absolutely fake. Even the personal information they leaked about Will is fake. Nothing is legit."

The ravenette felt a wave of relief crashing into him, quickly replacing with frustration, "Seriously? So why did you all freak me out for nothing?"

"Eh, get used to it," The redhead chuckled, cutting him off before he could spiral, "When I first started out, Dustin used to stand by me and Lucas like a bodyguard."

"I get it... but they were spamming me like something really bad happened,"

"They only do it because they care... and because they have nothing better to do," she whispered the last part. "But it's good they brought it up- it doesn't matter if the information is true or not, it's about the fact people are targeting Will."

"So, what should we do?"

"Addressing the rumours will only bring attention to it; I say we let it pass, and if the rumours come back or get worse then we'll act on it." the redhead spoke firmly, as if she had been through something like this multiple times before. "But... there is one more thing..." her voice suddenly came through the phone worried.

"What?" the ravenette asked, confused, what more is there?

"This thing is something we can't really ignore... there's a possibility Will is being stalked again,"

"Again?" Mike's mind raced, hoping he heard incorrectly, again? Stalked? And this had happened before? He hadn't known; Will never mentioned it, never talked about something like this happening before; it was never mentioned in the dating sim. He knew Will had trouble with fame in the past, but he thought it was general anxiety, not actual stalking! His chest tightened, feeling anger stretching in his core; the game was cruel to force the brunette to make an account in the first place.

"Yeah," she sighed sympathetic, "It was bad last time, I only found out because of El; she accidently saw Will's phone screen once and noticed him acting weird too."

Mike didn't even respond, too in shock.

"El saw some creepy messages and weird photos on Will's phone. Then she saw the same guy waiting by the school gates." Max continued speaking, "But it died down then... Why did he have to come back?" the sound of knocking could be heard on the other side as Max kicked the wall, almost blaming herself for not being careful.

"Did Will say he is being stalked?" Mike whispered, wanting to know if the stalker had come back for sure.

The redhead whispered, "No, he hasn't said anything, but I just get that gnawing feeling."

"What should we do?"

"I'm going to send everything to Barb, she'll deal with it... all you have to do is stay close to Will for now, alright? Make sure he's not alone... so basically just keep doing what you normally do... and don't be suspicious!" she laid the plan bare, commanding him at the end.

"Yeah, I will," the ravenette replied, although he didn't need to be told twice. After what he just heard, he wasn't going to let Will out of his sight. He opened his mouth to ask another question but as he did, he heard commotion on the other side,

"Maxine Mayfield!" An authoritative woman called out on the other side, probably a teacher. In response Max let out a "Oh shit!" before quickly switching the phone off... she must have been caught ditching.

Mike looked down at his screen seeing the disconnected call showing the time they talked for; the conversation was barely fifteen minutes long... he sighed, switching to the message app, knowing that Will was probably in homeroom right now, he wouldn't want to distract or worry him at a time like this, clearing his throat, he sent a voice note.

"Hey Will, sorry for not going to school together this morning, I woke up really late." He started light, "And uh, I just wanted to ask how you are... and stuff." He tried to explain casually, being normal as Max had advised him to, but it was difficult when there was a real threat of Will being in danger... he sent the message,

[ERROR: SYSTEM MALFUNCTION]

The ravenette stopped, not even realised when the taxi had come to a halt; he was outside the school gates. He didn't even know until the driver cleared his throat, clearly wanting Mike to disembark and pay. The ravenette absent-mindedly tapped his card to pay, his eyes glued to the error message; he thought they were all over after his time in the void.

He couldn't shake the error out his mind even after the notification ended; the world before him seemed to blur; the passing cars and honking horns didn't register in his mind.

Stepping out the cab, the ravenette looked up, feeling an overwhelming sense of Deja-Vu... sure, he came to school every day, but right now, it almost felt as if he had seen this current moment before. Shaking his head, he looked down at his phone, going through the various texts from his friends', seeing them panic about the rumours. He didn't think Max told them about the possible stalking, worrying they would only escalate the situation.

He took a mere step forward, not even off the road when, out of nowhere a pair of hands pushed him back, knocking him off balance. He saw the owner; it was the man from his vision yesterday, his face covered by a mask and cap: 'Will Byers's Enemy'. The boy stumbled, almost falling into oncoming traffic, but thankfully someone ran over, catching him- Will, who was also tardy today. His grip was tight on Mike's arm, filled with worry,

Before Mike could fully process what was happening, Will let go of the ravenette, ensuring he was on the sidewalk before chasing after the culprit. "HEY!" the brunette exclaimed, already a few meters away, running after the man with all his might.

The tall boy also chased after them, he didn't want Will to do something dumb like chasing a random man who could be armed, "Wait! Wait! Will wait, don't!" he yelled after them.

Will approached the man, closing the gap between them in seconds. The guy pushed him, but the brunette fought back, tackling him to the ground in mere moments, twisting his arm behind his back, pinning him in place. But as he was ready to throw a punch, the ravenette grabbed Will's arm, firmly pulling him away from the culprit,

"I said don't!" Mike ordered,

The brief second was all the man needed to scramble to his feet before darting down the street. Will cursed, already turning on his heel, his adrenaline spiking as he wanted to chase the guy. But before he could, Mike worked on pure instinct, clutching Will's shoulders to force him to face him. "Get it together!" he yelled.

Will pushed the hands away, the man was long gone; he was furious, "What are you doing?!"

"I should be asking you that! What were you thinking?" Mike ran a hand through his hair in frustration, keeping his voice moderately calm despite the bubbling nerves, "If I didn't stop you, you could've gotten hurt... or worse."

"Then let me fight him!" Will said plainly, "What if that psycho comes back and tries again, huh? He knew you were here; he knew you were alone! What if I wasn't here to save you?"

"I could have dealt with it on my own."

"Could you? Are you a black cat with nine lives?" The brunette argued, "Did it ever occur to you how dangerous this is?"

"I appreciate the help... but fighting isn't going to solve anything!" Mike's voice was cold yet soft,

The short boy crossed his arms, "He started it! he pushed you first. I was protecting you!"

"Still, it shouldn't concern you."

"Then whose concern is it, if it's not your boyfriend's concern?" Will asked plainly, his voice was quieter with the frustration clear on his face,

Mike deflected the question, "Think about yourself first! What about your safety? My job is keeping you safe."

"Your job?" the brunette raised his brows, heart pounding in his chest, somewhat offended by the notion, "I'm not some fragile thing you have to protect all the time; we're supposed to be a team, but you don't treat me like it; would you have even told me about this if I never saw it?"

"I... I don't know." The ravenette couldn't even lie, feeling though he was under a microscope.

"But you would have told Max, Dustin, Lucas, El... and even Troy." The brunette listed.

"That's different." The tall boy muttered; it was different... right?

"How? I know I have a stalker, Mike!" Will exclaimed, "And that guy was my stalker last year too! You should have let me beat his ass."

"What if someone saw? What would they say about you?"

The short boy rolled his eyes, anger bubbling over, "I don't care if someone saw me! He attacked you, Mike! What was I supposed to do, huh?"

"Nothing! Let the police deal with it!"

"Where are they? I don't see them!" Will asked sarcastically, throwing his hands in the air.

The tall boy thought of every possible worst-case scenario, "What if he had a weapon? What if-"

Will cut him off, his voice loud and frustrated, "Why is it always what could happen? What if I got hurt? Why is that all you care about? Why don't you care about you?"

"I do care about me." Mike flinched, "I care about both of us, so I can't let you take risks like that!"

"I knew what I was doing, you were caught off guard, that's two different situations."

The tall boy's hands clenched at his side, "It doesn't matter; what's done now is done." He stated calmly. Despite his initial shock, he was unaffected by the whole event.

"Stop acting like it's no big deal!" Will threw his hands in the air, "This isn't something to brush off!"

"I'm not brushing anything off, I'm just thinking about this logically-"

"That's your answer to everything!" the brunette's eyes flashed with a soft frustration, he just couldn't understand Mike right now, "A man pushed you into an oncoming vehicle. You do realise how dangerous the situation is, right?"

The tall boy opened his mouth to respond but his mouth was dry, not a single syllable left his tongue. He couldn't speak despite how hard he tried.

The short-boy took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down; his anger shifting to a deep sadness, "I'm not asking you to rely on me for everything, in case you've forgotten, I'm your boyfriend, not a child." Letting out a deep sigh, "Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one giving out my heart."

Will continued, "When I see you, I feel so stupidly happy that I want to cry; I feel so much about every little thing." his voice shifted, "But right now, I'm not happy at all... do you even really like me?" the question slipped out before he could stop it; it was clear the question was on his mind for the past few weeks.

Will always had bad self-esteem but with the way Mike was acting, it was just making him feel worse, like the ravenette thought all he was, was a stupid, selfish little child. He wanted to be someone Mike could rely on, someone seen as strong and capable... why wasn't he that? 

He was angry both at Mike and himself.

"I- I do... you know?" The ravenette stammered through his sentence; why couldn't he say the words; he liked Will, but why didn't the words leave his lips? His heart skipped a beat; he knew he needed to say something- anything to make Will stop looking at him like that, but the bell rang, cutting through the conversation.

The brunette merely glanced at the school building, his voice quieter as the hurt was still there, "I've missed homeroom," he muttered under his breath, "We'll talk later." He sighed, walking toward the entrance, leaving the ravenette standing at the gates, speechless and motionless.

The ravenette's chest tightened as he rubbed his forehead. The day started off so normally, but it didn't last, not even to 9 AM. The words shook something inside of him, of course, Mike had been distant, counting his days until he was forced to leave this game... he didn't realise he was this detatched that Will was asking if he cared at all.

The questioned lingered in his mind: 'do you even really like me?'. It made his stomach churn suddenly, as if propelled through time to another place. Back to when his ex-girlfriend asked him the same question, her voice laced with the same pain and confusion. It was a messy breakup... that was the last thing she asked him before she left him for good; even then Mike had no response to that question.

And now, with Will, it was happening all over again.

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2505 Words

Stay Safe <3