?Behind That Fake Smile?ZodiacTheSpringer

Will's POV

I had noticed El knocking on my window. I had strained my neck to look out the window to see her crouched by the window frame with a large grin as she waved at me.
I gave her a small wave in response.

I opened the window and removed the fly net so she could hop into my room.

She threw her bag in before she heaved herself up through the window.

She collapsed chest first onto the floor of my room as she had caught her leg on the window frame as she had come in.

She stood up and brushed off her pants as though there was dirt or dust on them even though there wouldn't be.

"...hey." She said.

"Uhm, hey." I greeted her. "What are you doing here?".

Just at that moment: Mom entered the room.

"Hello, El!" She smiled to El.

"Hi, Joyce." El responded cheerfully.

"You didn't have to go through the window, you know?".

"What?" I muttered, half to myself but instead made it sound like I was talking to them.

"I invited Eleven over. I thought maybe she could help..." Mom told me.

"I don't need help with anything." I crossed my arms over my chest.

Mom looked over at El and El looked back over at Mom. They were talking even if it wasn't with words.

Mom left the room without anything else to say and left me there with El by my side.

"Will-" El began before I cut her off.

"Look! I don't need your help! Don't listen to what Mom said." I instructed her.

"You got vecna'd early this week, Will. Joyce says you've been acting different since." El told me.

"Well.. maybe it isn't Vecna who made me act different..." I glanced off to the side with my fingernails tapping against my arm.

"What do you mean?" El sat down on my bed and patted the spot to her left. I sat beside her with my hands still folded. "Is it about the kiss?".

I refused to respond to her. I only looked towards the wall of my bedroom.

"If you don't tell me: I can't help you." She told me.

"Like I said: I don't want your help, El. I want to be left alone so I can deal with my own problems on my own." I informed her sternly.

"Will." She began again. "I want to help you".

"And I want you to leave!!" I flung my hands up in the air as I stood up from the bed to face the front of her.

She looked back up at me in total shock. She clutched her backpack that had been sitting on her lap and her eyes were huge from fear of my sudden outburst.

"I-I guess I leave then.." she said quietly.

El slowly stood up, still holding her bag close to her chest. She then went on to glance from the window and then back at me as I watched her slowly make her way towards my window to jump out of again.

"Cya, Will." She said to me, calmly as she lifted herself over the windowsill.

But before she had begun to walk away: she reached her hands back through the window and dropped the bag she had brought with her against the space under the window. "Look through it. It might help."she shrugged.

My hands were clenched by my side as I watched her disappear from my view.

I then went on to kneel down to grab her bag. I threw it upon my bed before I sat down beside it.

I (with gentle care) unzipped the top of the bag. She left the bag with me purposely; there was something in there for me that she wanted me to have.

In my first look on the inside of the bag: I saw two random bars of chocolate.
As I dug deeper though, I found a handwritten letter, I bunch of paintbrushes tied together with a rubber band, and two of the same shirts.

At first I was confused to why she had given me this stuff. They were completely random.

Taking closer inspections of the items I noticed how the lot of paintbrushes were El's that she had gotten in California. The letter was in an envelope that had 'Will' written in messy handwriting on top of it. And the two shirts were a white with black sleeves raglan shirt that had 'Hellfire' written across of it.
But of course, I was right to notice that the chocolate bars were in fact chocolate bars.

Squished deep under all the stuff was another hand written note.

I picked it out from the bottom of the bag and immediately noticed that it was El who had written it.

It read:

Hey, Will!

It's El. I hope you have received what is inside the backpack. I'd just like to point out that half of the items are actually Mike's.

When going over to Mike's house (where I unfortunately found you floating in the air) I had been planning to steal a few items that he had. I did manage whilst bugging him about how he wasn't saving you correctly at the same time.
His items are the letter and one of the shirts.

When I had returned to Hawkins: Mike and I had a large discussion about some stuff that had happened. This included the DnD club he had joined. The thing is: Mike had told the DnD club leader about your 'being' and that hopefully one day you'd move back to Hawkins and could join.
That is why there is an extra shirt. Mike had it made for you!

The letter, I had found under his bed. It was a bit crinkled and I expect that it was to be sent to you early in our moving in California. Maybe it'll explain something. I'm not sure though.

I had originally planned to give you this stuff on Monday. I had it in the bag prepared. But you weren't there that day. So I've given it to you now along with some food to keep you filled and some paintbrushes I no longer need.

- El

I was first surprised about her sudden boost in grammar but her written words began to sink in.

I looked back towards the t-shirts and the letter: suddenly intrigued.

What was it that Mike wrote to me? I wondered to myself as I grabbed the letter and shirts to place on my lap.

I lifted up one of the shirts to look at it closer. One of them was clearly smaller then the other (which is clearly mine. I have grown a lot if I'm honest though) and the other one was longer and larger that looked newer even though my one hadn't been worn before.

"It's the proof of his betrayal" I heard the voice whisper inside of my head.

I ignored it once more and then looked down at the letter in my other hand.

"He never sent it, Will. If he loves you back then he would've sent it. How can you expect him to be a good boyfriend if he can't even be a nice friend" the words sent a shiver up my spine that I couldn't ignore.

Somewhere deep inside of me knew that the words were true but something instead made me think back to the kiss we had shared.

Somebody who had shown their love for me so passionately couldn't have anything else to hide that would therefore prove that he was a bad friend. Right?

I flipped the envelope over and proceeded to lift the flap open to reveal the paper inside.