stranger things · will byers · mike wheeler · hanahaki disease · angsty · tragic romance · flower coughing · best friends · slow death · horror
Morning began with suffocation. Will clutched the phone, stifling a cough that scraped his throat raw, a thin trickle of blood escaping his lips. On the other end of the line, Mike's voice sounded familiar and frayed with worry. Will lied through the pain, insisting everything was fine even though every breath was a struggle. Mike, his intuition a live wire, sensed the deception and demanded honesty, calling him his best friend—a title that cut Will deeper than any physical thorn.