𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 ; Byler

𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝟐.𝟎

Will ended up in the living room, crowds of people drinking, talking, and playing party games, when the two finally stopped walking.

Max turned towards him, face full of excitement. "So, what do you want to do?" Max said unexpectedly, scanning the room for little things the two could do together.

"I don't know, why don't we go find Mike and his stupid girlfriend and make them pay for ruining my life these past years?" He slurred back to her, the alcohol kicking in, hard.

"How would you even do that, Will? They'll just eat you alive like every other time," she answered with a raised eyebrow.

"With this," he grinned, slipping out the creased photo from his pocket and sliding it into Max's palm.

As she unfolded the image, she let out a gasp before pushing it face-down onto her hip, looking at Will with wide eyes.  "Will, where the hell did you get this?" she hissed.

"I took it at the pool last summer," he shrugged before snatching the photo back and putting it securely into his pocket again.

Max watched him carefully. "Okay, look I know you have an obsession with a certain someone but you can't just go around stalking people, that's totally creepy. But that photo is totally badass, how are you going to expose Jane though?"

"Well, Maxine, why don't I just walk up to Mike and give it to him?" he said, moving towards the kitchen.

"Will, you know that's a bad idea. Absolutely not," she said, dragging him backwards by his collar into a secluded corner before turning him around. "You can't just go into a lion's den with fish and expect it to not approach you and attack. You need a game plan to keep Jane and her goons away from you long enough to slip Mike the photo," she paused for a minute before Will gave her an understanding nod. "I'll find him and tell him that you're in the bathroom throwing up and you were asking for him or something, that'll get him alone."

"But what about you? How will you even get a chance to talk to him without Lucas, Dustin, and everyone else noticing? You're not exactly Miss Popular," he said, slowly sobering up from the stress of the new situation that he wrongfully proposed.

Max let out a fake gasp, clutching her hand over her heart. "Are you really underestimating the Mad Max Maxine Mayfield? I've got this, William. Just go sit in the bathroom and look pretty for your little boyfriend."

Will watched Max fade into the crowd for a few seconds before turning around and walking to the bathroom he and Max had passed on their way into the living room. He knocked a few times on the door with his ear pressed against the door to make sure nobody was in there before opening it slowly and slipping in. He closed the door behind him and leaned against the wall across from the mirror, fixing his flattened hair from his nap earlier and making sure his clothes were adjusted just right before sitting on the toilet with his elbows on his knees, fidgeting with a ring that he was wearing. He nearly shouted when the door opened and shut quickly a few minutes later before he realized that it was Mike , the smell of weed mixed with liquor wafting off of him in a crude combination.

"Will, what the hell happened? I told Maxine it was a bad idea for you to be drinking," Mike nearly shouted before crouching in front of Will to get a better look at his face.

To his surprise, Will looked perfectly sober, his face wasn't any paler than it was earlier, which would be a telltale sign that he was throwing up. And the bathroom still smelled clean. Will avoided looking at Mike, as his face flushed slightly from the sudden closeness of the two. He reached into his pocket and tugged out the picture silently before reaching forward and holding it out for Mike.

"What is this? Will, what's going on?" Mike questioned, baffled at the fact that Will wasn't actually in any danger.

"Just... look at it. Please..." Will said, his voice shaky.

Mike hesitated for a couple seconds before gently taking the photo and unfolding it. His eyes widened before he dropped it on the floor, staring at it with a hard jaw. The two of them sat there, staring at the photo of Jane and Troy for a couple minutes before Will finally gained the courage to speak up.

"Say something, Mike," he said, reaching forward to touch his shoulder but stopping himself halfway, instead reaching back and scratching his neck.

"I don't... I don't understand... Will, what the hell is this? Where did you get this?" Mike's voice cracked before looking up at Will with too many emotions to read plastered on his face.

Will didn't make an effort to answer, he only leaned down enough to pick the photo back up and put it back in Mike's open palm, maintaining eye contact the whole time. He used this moment to study Mike's expression. Anger. Betrayal. Jealousy. Confusion. Heartbreak. Will looked deeper into Mike's eyes, confused when he saw something in them that he knew all too well, but he couldn't identify it.

"Will, answer me what the hell is this?" Mike said again, this time barely above a whisper, tears threatening to fall at the corner of his eyes.

Will took a deep breath. "You deserved to know."

"How long have you known?" Mike asked, his voice trembling at the thought aroused at his new question.

"Everyone's known about it since a couple months after the two of you got together," Will said, looking at the wall behind Mike's head to avoid seeing anything on his face that he didn't want to see.

"Everyone...?" he questioned, Mike's heart shattered as tears began streaming down his face. He paused for a moment before grabbing Will's arm harshly, forcing the boy to look at him. "Why didn't you FUCKING TELL ME?" He sobbed, his whole body now shaking.

"It's not like we're exactly the best of friends, Mike," Will muttered, looking at where Mike touched him. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help but notice how warm Mike's touch was against his clothed arm, his mind wandering before he was violently shaken again.

"Do you really think that fucking matters to me? My fucking girlfriend has been cheating on me since the beginning and nobody bothered to even fucking tell me? We used to be friends, Will. What the hell happened to that?" He shouted angrily at him, tears softly patting against the floor.

Will shook Mike's hand off of his arm before standing up and walking to the other side of the bathroom. "Do you really blame me for us not being friends anymore? Really, Mike? Look, I've tried to forgive you for everything that you just let happen to me, for you replacing me, avoiding me like I've got the plague, emotionally abusing me just so that your new fucking friends will accept you? That's all my fault, right? Because I'm gay? Is that it?"

"No it's n-" Mike tried, but Will cut him off.

"God Mike, I knew you were a fucking douchebag but I didn't know you were neck deep in all of your shit!" Will exploded, tears now streaming down his face. He ran a hand through his hair and took a breath before continuing. "I've wanted nothing more than the chance to be friends with you again, Mike. But you have made that literally impossible for me. I'm done playing your stupid ass games. Look I'm sorry you got cheated on, man, that really sucks, but for the love of God don't fucking make that everyone's problem like you have all of your others. I want to be your friend so fucking desperately but I'm not going to sit around and let you still be friends with those assholes who clearly wouldn't give two shits about you if Jane hadn't come strolling into your life with her legs wide open."