Pastel Colours ~ Fillie & Mileven one shots

ultimately

Mike Wheeler, age 16, was in the midst of an emotional breakdown.

Yes, his beloved El had returned three years earlier.

And he was happy about that

He was in love with her, and she was in love with him.

But they were growing up, and growing up had its challenges

Of course, there were the average teenager problems.

Like, grades, friend drama, and wondering who would ask you to the school dance that's coming up

But Mike, he had other things on his mind

-

Mike had been crying in his room, everything was just too much sometimes

He let the tears flow freely down his face.

He thought no one was home, and if someone was home, who would care if he was crying anyway? Everyone cries.

But without warning, Mike's father, Ted, walked into the room. Mike had no time to wipe his tears away, and his father noticed the tears and Mike's puffy eyes also immediately.

"What are you doing?" He asked

"N-Nothing..." Mike didn't want him to know he was crying, he didn't want to be questioned or asked what was wrong because, well, the truth is Mike didn't exactly know what was wrong, he was just... Sad

"Men don't cry. Don't be such a little girl" His dad said.

Oh, Mike hated hearing those words, his father had always said this to him. Mike believed it, he didn't feel he could cry.

"Men don't get upset" those words echoed around in his head,

"Men don't show feelings. Stop crying"

Mike willed himself not to cry, at least not in front of his father.

"Grow up Micheal, stop crying and be a man"

Mike nodded "o-ok"

His father nodded back, before turning and swiftly walking out of the room, shutting Mike's door behind him with a slam

-

And that was how Mike ended up here, cuddling with his girlfriend, El, as a sudden wave of emotion crashed over him.

His lip began to quiver, tears stung at the back of his eyes.

El looked at him and could tell something was wrong "Mike, are you ok?"

"Yea, I'm totally fine" Mike felt as if his throat was closing up, a feeling he was familiar with, it was the feeling he got when he was holding back tears.

"You look like you're about to cry," El said, a concerned tone in her voice

"No, no, I don't cry"

"Everyone cries"

"Men don't" And he truly believed that.

"Men cry, everyone cries" El was seriously confused about why he thought he couldn't cry.

A stray tear fell down Mike's cheek but he wiped it away, but she had already seen it.

She wrapped her arms around Mike and pulled him close to her.

She kissed the top of his head and whispered to him "Everyone cries. It's ok to cry, people cry when they're sad, people cry when they're happy. It's ok to cry"

And with those words, all the emotions Mike kept bottled up for so long came out. He burst into tears, sobbing loudly.

It broke El's heart to hear the pain in his sobs, the sadness he kept hidden for so long.

He buried his face in the crook of her neck.

She rubbed circles on his back, whispering soothing things into his ear.

And that is how Mike Wheeler learned that it's ok to cry and he didn't have to hide his emotions anymore, El was there for him. When he was upset, he would call her and she would rush to his side and comfort him while he cried. She was there for him and he was there for her.