mike wheeler had been a snotty kid. it was something troy had decided when he first met the boy. he didnât remember too much about it, and he didnât even know their names properly for the longest amount of time. even then it had only been their given names, not their surnames. troy had only learned those after âthe incidentâ. byers first because of course byers first, the other three happened in tandem because how could he ever forget after that? he remembered being at least under 7, he was fuzzy on the actual age, and describing his new playmates to his mom. weird, snotty, strange, funky, funny, dorky, fun. of course, she hadnât realized his meaning of fun with the excitement bristling in her sonâs expression. most little kids meant fun as in âhide and seekâ or âtagâ. not making other kids flinch, stealing their pudding, or making them run and hide. his mom also hadnât realized, when troy had said âplaymatesâ he hadnât meant âfriendsâ. after all, friends didnât push eachother into the mud. and who cared if they werenât having fun? troy was. back then, that was the only part that had mattered ( and playmates sounded a lot nicer then victims ).Â
then hawkins got very weird very quickly. one of them was dead and troy had thought the whole thing was some twisted fucking joke in every sense of the word. back then, he thought heâd met the most sick twisted freak to ever exist in the world. the root of his nightmares and the worst event that could possibly ever happen to anyone ever. his child selfâs point of view was centered on what other children thought of him, and back then that was his biggest problem in the world. he was pee boy. that was all he had to worry about. troy envied his younger self for that. not that he was missed being pee boy, but in comparison in was enviable. after all, it was far later he realized the actual most sick twisted freak in the world had been living under his roof. or to be more accurate, providing the roof over troyâs head. his past nightmares of that snap were replaced by daily occurrences. sometimes troyâs eyes didnât even need to be closed for him to be living the nightmare.Â
all this to say, hawkins reminded troy of simpler times. it was the best place to lay low, to get his college degree so he could find a profitable job, and hopefully find some semblance of the mom he used to know in the shell sheâd become. so yeah, the reminder was a lot nicer then troy had realized heading there. sure there were dragging reminders of the past in the shape of familiar faces, but it was a past far less grave then what heâd come to know.Â
he barely recognized the kid at first glance. he could keep on walking, leave the guy alone to get on with his day and troy could continue on with his own. it would probably be the most mature adult thing toâ oh shit, wheeler spotted him staring. if troy broke the eye contact would that be losing? if he retreated would that be taken as a sign of weakness? fear? was he afraid? of who he used to be? of who he resembled? ( was it like father like son when the son had been the bully first? ). his feet moved under his legs and suddenly he was standing before mike wheeler. âshit.â troy said, he had to look up at wheeler. maybe this was karma. âi mean-â what did he mean? a sigh was in his chest but troy refused to let it withdrawal. he was stubborn and stupid like that. âbeen a long time, wheeler.â he was at a loss for words and so that led him to state the obvious.Â
    For as long as Mike could remember â about the age of four or five â he had been a social outcast. His peers had picked him out of the crowd, labelling him a nerd. He was weird. He was frog faced. But where other kids would leave Mike alone for the most part, Troy and James plagued him. They were a looming threat, the possibility of their figure appearing around every corner like the boogeyman kept Mikeâs heart rate up, his adrenaline pumping as he waited in anticipation. The only safety provided was the momentary relief of AV Club. Nothing lasted forever though.Â
    Meeting Eleven had been one of the greatest things to occur in his life. She had come at a time when he needed her most. Will was gone. Will was dead. Mike couldnât, no, Mike wouldnât accept that answer. It was too final. There had been no goodbye, no one last awkward hug. Eleven had provided him hope when he thought he had lost it all. She was his hero in more ways than one. At his lowest she had protected him. Tory had never been an issues again after that.Â
    Troy had been a trivial threat only made apparent by the threat provided by the Upside Down. He was childish â the monster under Mikeâs bed or in his closet. There was no real harm to befall him when compared to the world shattering Mind Flayer. In his mind Troy didnât linger. He was lost somewhere in the memories of a boy who had grown up knowing real danger. Everything had changed when he met Eleven. In more ways than one.Â
    That was likely why it had taken Mike a second to register who the face staring back at him belonged to. A ghost of memories past. Troy didnât live in Hawkins anymore which left only three options, two which were viable. Troy either: 1. was the Doppel in disguise, 2. was a figment of his imagination and a sign that he needed to get more sleep to ward off the side effect of sleep deprivation, or 3. Troy had moved back to Hawkins. The third option seemed the least likely. What would have brought him back? Maybe it was wishful thinking that kept him from accepting that as a true possibility until Troy spoke. Shit was right. âWhat do you want, Troy?â There was no patience in his eyes, no want for answers to the questions that flew around his mind like a tornado.Â