The Cold Sun

Almost a year had gone by, and the night was quiet, but inside Will's bedroom, everything felt heavy. Eleven sat on the edge of his bed, eyes wide and searching. Will was drawing in his sketchbook, not even noticing how tense Eleven seemed.

Eleven finally took a shaky breath, "Will... I need to tell you something. Something I shouldn't be feeling, but I can't help it."

Will looked up, heart pounding, "What is it, El?"

Her voice cracked as she spoke, "I still love Mike. I never stopped. And it hurts...because I see you two, and I don't know where that leaves me."

Will's chest tightened, "Why are you telling me this now?" he asked quietly, voice almost breaking.

Eleven's eyes flickered, something darker beneath the surface, "Because you should know. You deserve to feel what I'm feeling...the confusion, the pain. Maybe then you'll understand what it's like to be left behind."

Will's throat tightened, "I'm trying, El. I'm trying so hard. But it feels like you're tearing everything apart."

She took a step closer, voice soft but sharp, "Maybe I am tearing things apart. Maybe that's what's supposed to happen. Because maybe Mike was never meant to be yours the way you thought."

Will's hands clenched at his sides, heart pounding, "Why would you say that?"

Eleven's gaze hardened, "Because I love him. More than you ever will. And no matter how much you pretend, you can't change that."

Will's eyes brimmed with tears, a mixture of anger and heartbreak, "So what? You want me to just walk away? To let you have him?"

She shook her head slowly, lips curling into something that almost looked like a smirk, "No. I want you to feel what it's like to lose. To feel that fear and jealousy eating away at you...because that's the truth of what's happening here."

Will swallowed hard, voice breaking, "I thought you were my friend."

Eleven's voice dropped, almost a whisper, "I was your friend. But sometimes friends make choices that hurt the people they care about the most."

She turned to leave but paused at the door, over her shoulder, "Just remember, Will—love isn't always fair. And sometimes, it's the one thing that breaks us."

"Is that a threat...?" Will looked scared.

Eleven lingered at the doorway, her voice cold but low, venom wrapped in every word, "You think Mike's really committed to you? He's always been conflicted. I've seen it. He's torn between us, and honestly, I don't know if he's ever fully chosen you."

Will's chest tightened painfully, his voice barely a whisper, "Why would you say that? That's not true."

Eleven shook her head, eyes gleaming with a cruel sort of certainty, "Isn't it, though? Remember the way he looks at me sometimes...like I'm the only one who really gets him. Like I'm the only one who's been there through everything."

Will's lip trembled as the seed of doubt took root, twisting his gut, "But... he's with me now."

She smiled, sharp, cold, unkind, "Is he? Or are you just the safe choice? The one he can control? You think he's not afraid you'll break under the pressure—the way you always do? The way you always ran before?"

Will's eyes filled with tears, the walls around him crumbling, "Stop. Please."

But Eleven's final blow came slow and deliberate, "You'll never be enough for him. You never were. And I'm sorry if that's hard to hear, but it's the truth. You're just the boy he settled for when the real thing was right in front of him."

Will's world shattered. He felt dizzy, broken—like everything he thought was real was slipping through his fingers.

Maybe she's right.

When Eleven gets home that night, she calls Mike on his landline, ready to stir the pot in her favor, and then Mike will come running back to her.

The phone rings, once, twice, "Hello?" and its Mike's voice.

"Mike, we need to talk." El says, trying to sound urgent.

Mike responds, tired but alert, "What's up, El?"

Eleven hesitated for just a second before diving in, her tone almost too casual, "I talked to Will earlier."

Mike's tone shifted, instantly worried something might be wrong with Will, "Yeah?"

"I think you should know... Will's been acting weird. Like he's holding things back from you." El explains.

Mike sighed, "What do you mean?"

Eleven leaned in, voice dropping so only Mike could hear, "He's scared, Mike. Scared of losing you. But honestly, I don't think he trusts you anymore. I heard things—things he said. He's jealous... jealous of me."

Mike's brow furrowed, confusion mixing with a sharp edge of pain, "Jealous of you? Why?"

Eleven shrugged, pretending to be casual, but her words were weapons, "Because he thinks you still care about me. Like you don't really want to be with him. Like you're just settling because it's easier."

Mike's chest tightened painfully, the doubt creeping in where there had only been love before, "That's not true. I love Will."

Eleven's smile faltered for a heartbeat, but she pushed on, "Do you? Or do you just tell yourself that? Because the Mike I see sometimes... he looks lost. Like he's waiting for something else, someone else."

Mike shook his head, desperate to fight the poison slipping into his mind, "No. I'm with Will."

But Eleven's voice was relentless, "If you're so sure, then why does Will seem so distant? Why won't he talk to you anymore? You deserve someone who chooses you without fear."

Mike swallowed hard, confusion and pain clouding his eyes, "I don't know what to think anymore."

Eleven fake sighs, "That's why I'm here. To help you see the truth. I'm not your enemy, Mike."

But as she said the words, a cold calculation burned behind her eyes. But she gasped when the line went dead. Mike hung up on her. Probably to call Will. 

Mike's fingers trembled as he slammed the phone down after hanging up with Eleven. His chest felt like it was about to burst, confused, angry, heartbroken. The weight of her words clawed at him, but part of him still refused to believe the poison she'd fed. Without thinking, he grabbed the receiver again, dialing Will's number.

The line rang twice before Will's voice, cautious and tired, answered, "Hello?"

Mike's breath hitched, the pain and confusion bubbling over faster than he could control, "Will, what the hell's going on? El just told me everything."

Will's voice tightened, wary, "What did she tell you?"

Mike didn't wait for an answer, "That you don't trust me. That you're jealous of her. That you think I'm not really with you...that I'm just settling because it's easier."

Will's tone faltered, hurt bleeding through, "Mike, that's not true. El is twisting things-..."

Mike cut him off, anger and fear mixing in his voice, "No, Will! It makes sense now. You've been distant, cold. You've been holding back and I thought... I thought maybe you never really wanted me. I don't know if I can do this anymore."

There was silence on the line. Heavy.

"I can't keep doing this, Mike. If you're going to believe everything El says without even asking me... then maybe we're already done." Will says firmly.

Mike was left holding the phone, trembling, the echo of Will's words cutting deeper than anything Eleven had said.

Will's voice broke the silence of his room, barely above a whisper, "Go ahead. Be with her." 

Mike felt his whole body go stiff.

"I won't fight for you anymore, Mike." Will's voice trembled, but there was a bitter finality behind it. "I spent so long holding on, hoping you'd choose me... not halfway, not in secret, but completely. And you didn't. You never did. So this is me letting go. I can't keep bleeding for someone who only reaches for me when everything else falls apart." Will is crying at this point, breaking down.

Then the line goes dead, and Mike is left with his own thoughts.

All alone...