Byler- The Unwanted Return of Everything (And How It Finally Ends)

The Drive

Will kissed his best friend a few times. At first, he felt bad about it, but after a while, he didn't care anymore. He was going to suffer the same outcome whether he kissed him one time or one hundred so why not make the most of the situation?

He was kind of mad at Mike for not having a problem with the whole ordeal. He was enjoying it actually, telling Will it was okay. It wasn't okay and they both knew that very well. Even if Brad was terrible, he was still Will's boyfriend.

Not for long. Mike had convinced him to finally break up with Brad. He'd do it tomorrow. Just casually. No hard feelings, hopefully. Half of him knew it wouldn't work out that easily, but he was optimistic.

For now, Will didn't have to think about Brad. He didn't want to. He just wanted to stay with Mike forever and ever and ever. Simple as that.

Mike and Will were laying on the bed, Will on his back, and Mike on his side, just looking at him. You'd think Mike was looking at a beautiful night sky, the amazement on his face. It made Will feel good, for sure.

"Hey," he said. "Remember when you finally got your driver's license?" The memory had come to him abruptly.

"Senior year," Mike laughed. "All the Upside Down stuff held me back a little bit, but I was pretty proud of it. Mom and dad said I could use Nancy's old car." He paused. "Why do you ask?"

Will turned to face him. "Well, do you remember how you called me? You were so excited. Like, ' Will! Will! I did it!' And then you asked if I wanted to go for a drive. Remember that?"

"Of course I remember that. It's one of the most recent memories I have of you. You think I'd just forget it?"

Will frowned. "No, but I'm just saying... And you drove me around for hours and we listened to that cassette tape we made until it got dark. We just talked and sang songs... I must've got home at eight."

"Eight? We were out that late?"

"Apparently. But it was fun, wasn't it?" It was one of Will's favorite memories. He thought about it all the time.

Mike was quiet for a second. "Yeah, it was really fun."

"Don't you wish we could do that over sometimes? Just go back and be seventeen again?" Will always had something he wanted to do over.

"Yeah, I guess," Mike said. "Maybe I would've been brave and told you I wanted to go to college together no matter what my parents wanted." He laughed. "Wouldn't that have saved us a lot of trouble?"

Will stared at the ceiling. Longing for the past wasn't going to help anything. They always had the present, though. "How about we do it again?"

"Huh?" Mike sat up a bit, not understanding Will's statement.

Will sat up too. "Let's just get in your car and drive around. It'll be fun. A break from all this serious stuff. We both need it, don't we?"

Mike smiled. "I like that idea."

"Great! I'll tell my mom we're heading out."

Mike walked towards the door, Will headed to the kitchen. Back in the hallway, he asked himself a question.

What are you doing? It was hard to tell. Maybe he was just greedy, ignoring his problems and spending time with Mike just because he wanted to spend time with Mike. It was more like he needed it right now. Not the kind of need he felt with Brad for any trace of affection. It was personal.

But he felt so guilty. Secretly going out for the night with Mike Wheeler. They were supposed to be best friends. They were never supposed to be more than that. Will had a boyfriend. He should just stay with him. Brad had accused him a couple of times now of liking Mike. Calling him names, playing the victim. Now, Will was probably just proving him right.