Byler one shots

34

Typically, whenever Will and Mike had sleepovers, they would stay in the basement, putting sleeping bags on the floor or curling up on the couch. In the winter though, the basement had an awful draft, the windows not insulated properly and the cold air making the basement unbearable. Mike thought sharing his room would be more comfortable than shivering in the damp basement.

“Here, I’ll take your stuff.” Mike said, trying to take Will’s backpack as he walked in the door; Mike always saw Jonathan take Nancy’s bag, and she always let him have it with a gracious smile, gently touching his arm. Will held the straps stiffly.

“I can do it.” He laughed, looking at Mike with furrowed eyebrows. “But thank you.” Will touched Mike’s arm anyway, his smile different from Nancy’s– it was brighter, Will glowing as Mike stood beside him, staying under his fingertips. Mike usually stepped away, looking around to see who must’ve spotted them, but he couldn’t help but stupidly grin back.

“Here, let’s put your stuff upstairs.” Mike nodded towards the stairs. He took Will’s hand and pulled him along.

“Upstairs? What’s wrong with the basement?” He asked, trying to keep up as Mike accidentally started taking two steps at a time.

“We’re always cold down there.” Mike said as he reached his bedroom door. “I figured this would be better.”

“Oh, okay.” Will said softly, following Mike in. He shouldered his bag off and placed it by the door. “Did you clean your room?” Will looked around the room and seemed to be searching for Mike’s typical pile of Star Wars models and toys in various spots of his room.

“I did, yeah.” Mike said, trying to shrug it off. “So what?”

“You don’t have to do that.” Will said, still smiling at Mike. Mike felt so foolish being rendered so useless by him, only able to smile back in response. Mike was so new to having someone like him back, even the simplest things he had done a thousand times became foreign and nerve wracking.

“I don’t know… Aren’t you supposed to clean up for b–b–boy… best friends?” Mike sputtered, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t know.”

“I don’t know either.” Will shrugged. “But, let’s just say that for you and me, you don’t have to do anything different. I like the Mike that never gets an allowance because his room is always a mess.”

“You should convince my mom to like that Mike too.” Mike said, rolling his eyes. Will’s grin returned as he sat on the edge of Mike’s bed, giggling. Mike sat down next to him, slowly letting his hands rest by his sides. His pinky finger rested over Will’s carefully. Will looked up at Mike quickly, their conversation dropping off in order to be as secretive as possible.

“Michael! Your mother wants you to help her downstairs!” Mike’s dad was at the bottom of the stairs, the voice far enough away to keep their hands touching.

“Coming in just a second!” Mike called back.

Mike was scared to touch Will’s hand, but was also scared to pull away. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do. He liked holding Will’s hand, but they weren’t in the basement or sitting at lunch, their hands always tucked under the table. Staring at their hands as they slowly intertwined was something new, something that made Mike’s stomach twist in a much different way. He couldn’t help but start laughing. Will’s hands were cold and his touch was so gentle, it nearly sent a tickling shiver up Mike’s arm.