Eighteen months had passed since the nightmare in Hawkins ended. Friends had graduated, and after listening to Dustin's incredible speech, the guys agreed on the only one thing that remained. One last game of D&D before their paths diverged, for a future, a peaceful life. The tense game paid off. They won, just as they had defeated the Vecna they had been fighting with for so long. Mike had invented an ending for each of the players. However, when it came to Will the Wise...Mike made up with the ending that he later regretted. Not because the ending was bad...but because Mike secretly didn't want it to be true. He didn't want to let Will go. And after Will came out, Mike thought long about his feelings. He thought being with El was the right thing to do, even though his soul was drawn to Will. And after El's death, Mike tried to focus on the memory of El, even though his feelings for Will grew and became stronger. But it was too late. Will was leaving Hawkins behind, heading to the big city. Also Mike realized something. He knew Will had lied about the painting he made, about how El was the one telling him what to draw. The words didn't line up with the letters El had sent him...And that's when he accepted that he's in love with Will.

They came out of the basement, leaving space free for a new generation and campaigns. Max, Lucas, Dustin—they all said goodbye and went their separate ways. Will, however, stayed the longest.

"Thank you for the game. You wrote a great script." Will said, looking into Mike's eyes with affection and hidden sadness. Mike saw this, but was afraid to speak directly "Before you leave, Will...I wanted to show you something. It's a book I've been working on." They went up to Mike's room, which looked... empty. There were almost no posters as it used to be before... Just Will's painting that stood out from the rest, and a typewriter sitting on the desk, with a pile of papers and clutter around it. Mike called it "Poetic Mess."