𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 ; Byler

Mike has a realization

Will was still dazed as he stood and watched Mike walk back into the house, leaving Will alone in the stiff, icy breeze.

He's probably going to see Jane.. he thought, biting the side of his lip.

"No, Will that's stupid if he goes and sees Jane, it'll be because he's mad, not for any other reason," he said out loud to himself. Right?

He walked back inside, wrapping his arms around himself in an attempt to warm himself up. He noticed that the stoners in the kitchen were passed out on the floor and counters. He rolled his eyes and stepped over them, crossing into the living room where a few stragglers were sitting on the couch or against the wall making out. He grimaced and looked away, looking instead down the corridor that led to the room that he and Max had sat earlier. He walked in that direction and noticed the door was closed. Strange. He knocked softly, and after there was no answer he opened the door and peeked in. He nearly threw up at the sight of Jane and Troy sprawled against the sofa. He spun back around and shut the door firmly behind him, eyes wide. He turned to the other side of the corridor and found another sitting room at the end of the hallway that seemed to be empty. He walked in and peeked around the corner, and saw that there was seemingly nobody in the room.

He crossed the room and sat in the chair and nearly shit himself when he saw Mike laying on the sofa across from the chair. "Shit!" Will shouted, falling sideways out of the chair and landing on his shoulder.

"Jesus christ, Will you scared the shit out of me!" Mike shouted, equally as loud when he shot up on the sofa.

"I scared you?" Will asked, picking himself up and sitting back in the chair.

"I thought you saw me," Mike said, laying back down and covering his eyes with his arm.

"I didn't," Will admitted, "But hey... what happened earlier? You just kinda disappeared on me, I thought we were gonna leave together?" He said in a hushed tone.

"I needed some time to clear my head, and break up with Jane. Clearly that went over well," he gestured down the hallway toward the closed door that Will had discovered Troy and Jane behind. "Didn't even get a chance to fucking say anything."

(A/N: Mike said "I dumped your ass" when he broke up with Jane.)

"Yeah," was all Will thought to say.

"Where's Max?" Mike asked, sitting up suddenly and directing his gaze towards Will.

"That's actually a great question," Will said, "Did you see where she went after she came out of the bathroom?" Mike shook his head no.

Will sucked in air through his teeth before standing up. "Well, we should probably look for her," he said to Mike, his eyes darting to the door. Mike followed Will towards the door, opening it up and making their way into the hallway. It was quiet in the house, too quiet. The only sounds echoing through the house were the ones of Troy and Jane coming from the room on the opposite side of the hallway. They made their way through the door frame to the living room. Will searched around the living room while Mike made his way outside.

"Will, come here." Mike suddenly yelled, making Will get up from his hands and knees, banging his head on the bottom side of a coffee table in the process.

(A/N let's ignore why Will was searching under a table for Max 😻)

Will jogged his way outside, to be greeted with Mike standing over Max, who was laid out on the lawn, her knees bent up towards her chest, her hands over her stomach. He made his way down the steps and over to the two. Mike tapped Max with the tip of his shoe, not bothering to bend down and properly help her up. Max, waking up abruptly, gasped when she saw the two boys standing over her. She looked at the two groggily, still tired as hell from the hangover she had. Will bent down, wrapping a hand around her waist to lift her to her feet.

"Thanks," she said, wrapping her arm over his neck as she stood up.  She stumbled the first few feet, her head pounding as she made her way to the porch.
"So, shall we?" Will said, motioning his way toward the road. Max and Mike both nodded. Will helped Max up after a few minutes to let her rest, making their way towards the sidewalk.

"Shit," Mike said, his remark breaking the silence. He looked behind his shoulder as he walked slowly behind the two.

Will stopped and turned his head towards Mike, "what's wrong?" He said, raising an eyebrow at him.

Mike threw his head back and groaned. "Jason still has my bowl."

(A/n: this is my favorite line in this fic. Ever. - featherlessbiped8203)

Will chuckled in response to Mike's comment. Mike looked back and rolled his eyes smiling at Will, picking up his pace to match Will and Max's speed.
They walked for a while in silence, every so often bumping into each other and exchanging looks before turning their heads back around in embarrassment. Eventually they made it to Wills front yard, where Max was able to let go of Will and stand up by herself. They walked to the door, Will knocking to get Johnathans or Joyce's attention. Eventually after a few moments Johnathan peeked his head out the door, gesturing the three in once he saw them.

They walked inside, Johnathan stepping out of the way to let them pass by. Joyce smiled and waved at them as they made their way to Will's room, Max immediately laying down on his bed.

He looked over at her and smiled, before sitting on the edge of the bed and laying back, staring up at the ceiling. Mike had sat down in the rolling chair Will had next to his desk, rolling around the room mindlessly. Will looked over at Mike. Will watched him for a few moments before bursting out in laughter as the chair rolled over something and tipped causing Mike to fly out of the chair, landing on his back.

"Damn it Will, it's not that funny," Mike groaned, watching as Will toppled over in laughter. Mike rolled his eyes, sitting up and resting his arms over his knees. He bit the inside of his cheek as he looked around the room, oblivious of what to say. He looked at Will, who had still been lightly chuckling at Mike ever since he fell, Will's eyes still fixed on him.
"It's pretty funny," Will said, rolling onto his stomach before propping his chin on his hands and looking at Mike.

Mike looked back at him silently, awkwardness slowly filling the air with tension.

Mikes lips parted subtly. He gazed at Will with soft eyes as he stood silently. He choked on the words he wanted to say as he watched Wills' brunette hair flow slightly with the air flowing through the room. He bit his tongue lightly as he looked back over to Max, who had dozed off to a heavy slumber. Mike pressed himself into his hands and stood up as he made a beeline towards the opposite side of Will.
Gritting his teeth, Mike sat down lightly, his arm brushing up against Will as he adjusted himself into a comfortable position.

Mike slipped his tongue over his teeth and gazed over at Will, who's eyes traced every inch of Mike's body before landing within the harsh gaze of Mike. Before Will had a moment to admire the sparkle Mike had in his eyes, the type of sparkle Will hadn't seen since the last time all the boys played DnD together, Mike spoke up.

"Will. I'm sorry, this whole night turned into a shit show."

Mike tried to avoid Will's eyes but for some odd reason, they were dragged back every time, and before you know it, Mike couldn't stop what happened next