Chapter Text
Murray arrived with another delivery that weekend.
Boxes that looked like plain groceries were unloaded from the van. Murray had been in the workings of getting a professional delivery truck, but he still hadn’t finished all the paperwork for it, so.. They had a van.
As Mike helped lug all the boxes inside the WSQK station, he noticed Henry sitting on the bumper of the van. He tried hard to ignore him, but it became increasingly difficult, especially since he had started singing.
Running on fumes wasn't even beginning to describe how tired of this he had become. He couldn't sleep, because nightmares plagued him. He kept getting nosebleeds when no one was paying attention. He almost always had a raging migraine. He knew it was Vecna, all the symptoms matched. And not a single person noticed, of that he could tell.
Good. Let them be oblivious.
He would suffer in silence if it meant not being the center of attention. If it meant avoiding the brunt of all the hatred his dad spewed. If it meant hiding from his own disgusting, homoerotic feelings for William Byers.
“It's always tease, tease, tease! You're happy when I'm on my knees.. interesting lyrics, don't you think?” Henry inquired after singing the line. “Your little boyfriend's favorite song? Maybe he's like you.” He said it with a smirk, but Mike knew it was a dig.
“Piss off.” Mike muttered under his breath, hoping no one was paying enough attention as they unloaded to hear him. His chest heaved as he carried the rather heavy box inside, ignoring it as Henry started singing again. He wasn't as strong as Will had gotten.
Mike hadn't noticed at first, but then he had, and oh my. Will had gotten strong over the time he spent in Lenora. Maybe he wanted to impress the girls there, or maybe he did it for himself, but Mike was not complaining.
“If I go, there will be trouble.. and if I stay, it will be double..” Henry hummed out the tune to himself as he sang, surprisingly good, for someone trying to annoy him. Suddenly he was beside Mike as he set down the box on the pile. “You know, I think this song could be applied to your life quite well. The problem being your presence. Leaving them all out of your way would cause the least amount of trouble, though your existence at all is a plague on this world.. at least you wouldn't hurt those you care about.” Mike's shoulders tensed as he forced himself to keep moving, not wasting a moment on Vecna's stupid monologue.
He couldn't keep himself away from Will, no matter how much he reminded himself that what he was feeling was wrong. He knew it was wrong. He knew it was gross. He knew it was gut wrenchingly painful. He knew it was exactly why he couldn't keep himself away.
He was snapped from his thoughts when Murray put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. “Kid, if you're gonna slack off, you might as well stand in the middle of the pathway. Shooo.” He released Mike's shoulder, making a dismissive motion. The interesting man annoyed him sometimes, but was overall a good person.
Definitely.. interesting.
Mike obliged him, huffing a sigh and stepping out of the way. He zoned out to the sound of Henry's singing, eyes only flicking back up when Will set down a box, muscles flexing. His eyes fixed on the movement, watching the way his biceps tensed and relaxed.
Then Jonathan walked between them, setting down a box closer to Mike. He cleared his throat, giving him a knowing look, glancing between the two younger boys. Mike kept his breathing purposefully even, turning on his heel and walking out the door, crossing the gravel path quickly. He felt as though he was fleeing with how fast he left, not wanting to see that look any longer.
Shame flooded his lungs, a similar feeling to water, like he was actually drowning. Anxiety. Jonathan couldn't possibly know. He couldn't. If he did, he would've said something. If he did, he would've told Mike not to look at his brother that way. If he did, Mike would be absolutely screwed.
“He does.. You see the way he looks at you? Do you remember? Even when you were a child, when he was coming over to pick William up after a campaign, he looked at you like you were someone to be pitied.” Henry recounted for him, making doubt twist in Mike's heart.
“Oh, so what, you've just been walking around in my memories while I've been busy? Am I really so interesting?” He retorted with sass, though he kept his voice soft as he walked, so the others wouldn't hear.
“Or, perhaps you've just been letting me see them. You did start talking to me, and you have yet to tell your little party about me. If you ask me, you're definitely interesting. Like a mental study.” The words echoed in his head, the hallucination of Henry no longer walking beside him.
Mike dragged his feet as he walked back out to the vehicle for another load of boxes, carrying them in, repeating this process for a while before finally coming in for a break. As he collapsed at the table Jonathan and Robin were sitting at, they shared a look, before turning towards him in the exact same movement. The fuck?
“..what?” He questioned awkwardly, breath caught between his ribs, unable to move in or out. Anxiety swirled as they stared longer.
“..You know, just because I'm your girlfriend's brother, technically, and your sister's boyfriend, doesn't mean that's all we are. We're all family, I think.. so don't feel like you can't tell us stuff.” Jonathan rambled, his usual slow paced stoner mumble ever-present.
Confusion and fear spiked.
“Oooo.. Do they know? Now this is quite interesting. Maybe they'll trick you into admitting your sins and record it to show everyone in town. We are in a radio station after all.” Henry sounded invested, like it was a film he was trying to guess the plot of. “Or maybe they have everyone listening in from the other room, waiting to hear what you say.”
“Shut up.” He snapped, realizing too late that he said it out loud, making him wince at himself. “Sorry- not you. Um. I just, I don't have anything to tell you. I'm fine. Don't worry about me.”
At the “not you” comment, Jonathan raised a brow, perplexed, but he moved on anyway. “..we're not saying there's anything going on. Just, with everything happening, we need to make sure to lean on each other, y'know?” He rambled, awkward in his way, but that was what always impressed Mike. Jonathan, even when awkward, made sure to be there for them.
All this time, Robin had stayed silent, but now she sat up a little taller. “Yeah, like, who knows? It's not like we have anybody else, so we gotta make sure to check in. Everybody struggles sometimes, and people don't even notice.” As she spoke, her leg bounced under the table, making a soft tapping sound.
“-aww. They're worried about you.” Henry interrupted loudly, making it so Mike had to force himself to keep his face still.
He looked between the two in front of him, ignoring it as Henry waved a hand in his face. “I know it's not all sunshine and rainbows, but really- I'm okay.” He spoke in a monotone, not even convincing himself. They both stared at him for too long, so he dragged himself from the seat, getting back to work.
~~~~~~~~
The comic was almost done a month after Mike had gifted it to Will.
Mike felt heavy with the weight of his visions, and the weight of.. well.. himself. Self disgust swirled under his skin constantly, begging to overcome him. He almost let it, a few times.. but he so far, hadn't.
When he felt so heavy it hurt, he took up going out on his skateboard for practice. Away from anyone he cares about. Away from the possibility of lashing out. Away from Will.
It was on one such day, he was riding by the corner store to pick up a coke. When he stopped, picking up his board, he saw him. Troy. Inside the store, checking out some snacks. Shit.
Mike quickly set his board back down.. but Troy was already exiting the store. “Well, look at this guy, trying to run? Where you going, the fag house?” Troy's voice cut through the air, irritatingly high pitched, for a guy in sports.
After a month of Henry's mental torture, Troy.. didn't faze him.
“Just piss off.” He snapped, getting on his board, preparing to leave. Henry had other plans. He appeared, his foot stopping the board. Cool. Henry could affect physical things now, and.. Mike was stuck.