byler "Unknown Account"

2009. Mike Wheeler had never been a popular guy. Braces, a lip piercing, odd jokes, and a habit of arguing with everyone made him the kind of teenager some considered obnoxious and a bit of a loser. Mike himself, of course, thought otherwise.

Will Byers didn't exactly fit in at school either. He was quiet, often wearing light, muted colors, and tried to avoid drawing attention to himself. Only his side-swept bangs and pierced ears occasionally revealed his interest in emo culture. He also made videos for a small YouTube channel that almost no one at school knew about.

One evening, Mike stumbled upon this channel completely by accident. He didn't even immediately realize who was in front of the camera. On camera, Will was talking about a recently discovered group, showing off his drawings, and making awkward jokes, occasionally adjusting his bangs.

“Byers?” Mike muttered, recognizing his voice.

Out of curiosity, he watched another video. Then another. And then he realized he'd spent almost an hour watching the channel.

The next day, Mike met Will in the hallway. He stared at him silently for a few seconds, remembering the videos from the previous day.

"What?" Will asked, noticing the look.

• Nothing.

• Then why are you looking?

• Just.

Mike shrugged and left, deciding not to tell anyone yet that he had found the channel.

After that, he began visiting there more and more often. Sometimes he'd leave short comments from a completely unfamiliar account, and at school, he continued to act as if nothing had happened.

Will had no idea that one of his strangest audience members was sitting just a few meters away from him in class.