Chapter Text
The world was ending. They didn’t have much time. But what Vecna showed him…Will couldn’t stop thinking about it. If he brings it up, would they react the same? Will feared the answer to that. But he didn’t have much time. He had to do this now. Or he’d be too late.
“Mom?” Joyce looked at him, a question on her face.
“Um…Earlier today when you asked me what happened in Vecna’s mind, I didn’t tell you everything.” Will continued hesitantly.
“When Vecna attacks, he weakens you by turning your own mind against you, by bringing out everything inside you that hurts. So, I fought back by focusing on happy memories, memories from when I was a kid, and when I wasn’t scared, and when I felt most happy.”
Will remembered Vecna’s look. Will remembered what he showed him. Him. All alone. No one beside him. Joyce was his mother. She would understand right? Doubt crept through Will’s mind.
“That’s how I took control in the MAC-Z and how I killed those Demos. And I thought the same would work on Vecna too. But he found a way past.”
His voice started to shake. Fear crawling through his skin.
But Joyce was his mother. She would understand, right?
“And he showed me things, Mom.” With a shaky breath Will continued on.
“He showed me the most awful things.”
Tears built up in his eyes, waiting for the dam to break and fall on his cheeks. Joyce looked at him with worry, a hint of fear hidden in her eyes.
“No, listen. Whatever he showed you, it’s not real. He plays tricks. He lies.” Joyce said sternly, making Will tear up more.
“No, he doesn’t. What he showed me…it didn’t come from him. It came from me.”
Will took a deep breath. Tears rolled down his cheeks. But he had no choice. He had to do this.
“He sees everything, Mom. He sees my thoughts. He sees my memories. And he sees my…”
Joyce held his hands comfortingly, silently encouraging him to go on.
“He sees my…secrets. But Max, she told me he’s also afraid, which proves I can beat him. But for me to do that, you need to know…”
Will hesitated for a second. Doubting. Thinking. Was it the right thing to do? Was it the right time? Would he get another time? Will didn’t think so.
Joyce was his mother…She would understand, right?
“I think you need to know the truth—”
Just then the door opened. It was Mike. He stopped in his tracks, as if he wasn’t expecting them like that, with tears down Will’s face. Mike’s face changed, his brows drew together.
“Oh. Uh…”
Mike paused for a bit, as if trying to read Will’s face. Was he crying? Why was Will crying? Mike felt the need to know. Mike had to know. But how? How would he ask? He quickly let go of that thought and remembered why he was here.
“Sorry. We just heard from Hop. He’s 15 minutes out. So we should probably leave in five.”
Will’s face was red. Cheeks dampened with tears. How long has he been crying for? Mike had to know.
“Is everything okay?” He finally asked. Will looked away, almost as if he was avoiding his gaze. Why? Mike wondered.
“Yeah, we’ll be out in a minute.” Joyce said, her tone soft with a hint of stern.
She wanted him to leave. Mike got the message. Will wasn’t looking at him. Joyce didn’t want him here.
If Mike was being truthful his heart ached a bit. He thought Will was his best friend. He thought Will would tell him if something was wrong.
But now something was wrong. And Will was avoiding his gaze.
Mike nodded at Joyce and turned around to leave.
But then, “Wait.” Will finally spoke. Mike turned around.
“I think you need to hear this too. Everyone does.”
Over the years, being Will’s best friend, Mike has noticed a few things about him. Will was mostly a quiet person other than when he was a lot of happy.
And when he’s happy, he smiles and laughs a lot. And when he’s quiet, he listens. When he’s scared he hugs his body. When he’s anxious, he fidgets with his hands.
Everyone was sitting and looking at Will, a question mark on their faces. Mike could see clearly how bad Will was fidgeting with his hands. How bad he was picking at the skin on his fingers. Mike felt the strange need to hold his hand and tell him to be calm.
And then Will started talking.
“I…I haven’t told any of you this because…Because I…I don’t…I don’t want you to see me differently. But the truth is…The…The truth is I am.”
Will was stuttering badly. He could feel the tears well up in his eyes. But he had no choice. He had to do this.
This was his family and friends. They would understand…right?
“I am different.” Mike’s brows furrowed. Different?
“I just…I just pretended like I wasn’t because…because I didn’t want to be. I wanted to be like everyone else. I wanted to be like my friends and…And I am like you.”
Of course Will was like them. Mike had no idea where Will was going with this.
Mike was listening, trying to hold on to every word just so he could understand what Will was saying. Mike was listening so hard that he missed the knowing look Lucas had on his face.
Well…you could say, Lucas knows everything.
“I’m like you in…in almost every way.”
Will kept talking about D&D nights, Mike’s basement, biking to Melvald’s, getting lost in the woods, getting lost in Family Video, arguing and settling on Holy Grail for the millionth time, Milk Duds in popcorn, Coke with Pop Rocks, bike races, trading comics, NASA, Steve Martin, Lucky Charms, and so and so on.
Mike smiled at the memory. He remembered those nights when they played D&D. And arguing in Family Video about what movie to rent and always settling on the same thing. And how Will beats Dustin all the time in Bike races. And the comics he has traded with Will over the years.
“We like…literally all the same things.”
Everyone was smiling at the memories. But tears welled up in Will’s eyes. Were these…not…happy memories to Will? Why does he look sad?
“I just…I just…I…I just…”
Will was on the verge of breaking up. Tears were forcing their way out of his eyes. His breathing was shallow.
“I…I…I…” Will couldn’t hold it in anymore. Tears fell down his cheeks without a rest, making his face red as a tomato. His nose burned. He wanted to cry so bad.
He had to do this. He came too far just to go back again. He had no choice.
This was his family and friends. They would understand...right?
“I don’t like girls.” He finally blurted out in one breath.
The silence that followed after was too loud.
Will didn’t like…girls? As in…As in…that way? Gears turned inside Mike’s head. His thoughts running a mile per second. Remembering about every time that someone made fun of Will for being queer.
And then…then…
‘It’s not my fault you don’t like girls.’
Mike felt sick. He felt the need to puke. How could he? How could he say such a thing? Was that why Will ran? Was that why after that day their friendship hasn’t been the same?
Did he just…ruin their friendship?
The silence was too loud. Will could feel his heart in his chest. Why was no one talking? Do they…hate him? Do they not like him anymore? Do they not…understand? Will couldn’t bear the silence so he broke it.
“I mean…I mean I do. Just…Just not like you guys do.”
Will took a deep breath. Should he tell this? Should he tell this too? But this was…this was more of a secret than that one…But he had come so close. There was no turning back now.
“And I, uh, I had this…this crush on someone, even though I know…I know they’re not like me.” Will dared a glance at Mike.
A crush? Mike never knew about a crush. If Will had a crush he would know that…right?
“But…But then I realized he’s just my Tammy. And by Tammy, I mean it was never about him. It was…It was about me. And I thought I was finally okay with myself, but…”
Will kept talking, explaining, doing everything he could so they would just…not see him as different. Doing everything he could so they would just…understand and not hate him.
And Mike…only one thought in his mind.
‘It’s not my fault you don’t like girls.’
“But…But then today…Today Vecna showed me what would happen if I did this, if I told you guys the truth. He showed me a future, and in this future, some of you are just…are just worried for me. Worried that things will be harder for me.” Joyce was looking at him with eyes filled with worry.
“And it just makes me feel like something’s wrong with me. So I…So I push you away. And for the rest of us, we just drift apart more and more and more and more and more until I’m alone.”
They would not. Mike would not. Will was his best friend. He would never let something like that happen.
“And I know none of that has happened and Vecna can’t see into the future. But he can see into our minds, and he knows things. And it just felt so real. It felt so real.”
Sobs came out of his mouth without a rest. Will could hardly breathe. He could feel his heart beat loud in his chest. Sweat built up on his body.
This was a bad idea. This was a bad idea. They don’t understand. Now they all see him as this…freak. Now they all hate him. He should’ve never told them this. He should’ve never told his secret to everyone.
“Will.” Joyce spoke quickly, her hand holding Will’s.
“You gotta listen to me. That will never ever happen. You’ll never lose me. Ever.” Joyce’s eyes were kind. Will knew she wasn’t lying. Does that mean…she…understand?
“Okay. Okay.” Will managed to say through the sobs.
“And you’ll never lose me.” Jonathan told him.
His brother, Jonathan. He…he understood him. Jonathan stood up from where he was sitting. He came to Will and hugged him tightly. Will hugged him back, his hands holding tightly on Jonathan’s shirt almost as if he let go it would all end.
“Or me.” Lucas stood up and joined the hug.
“Or me.” Dustin joined too.
Will couldn’t stop crying. Mom, Jonathan, Lucas, Dustin…they…they didn’t see him differently.
And Mike…Mike was still sitting on the sofa, deep in thought. He looked at Will who was hugging Jonathan. He looked at Lucas and Dustin who were crushing Will with their hugs.
“Or me.” Mike joined the hug without sparing a second.
“Or me.” El joined too with a smile on her face.
“Or me.” Robin said with a choked sob, still on her chair crying as she looked at Will.
Will cried into the hug. He could feel Jonathan’s hand on his hair. Dustin’s body on his back. Lucas’s hand on his body. He could see Mike’s face. He could see El, hugging them all. He cried and laughed. Choked on a sob or two while doing that.
How naive he was.
This was his family and friends. Of course they would understand.