spin the bottle// byler

ii (crazy together)

"boys, lunch is, oh" jonathan begin, stopping when he sees mike asleep.

"lunch is ready." he whispers and steps out the room, quietly.

"thanks, jonathan." i say as he walks out. 

as much as i love mike, my stomach has been growling for the last 20 minutes and i need to get some food. 

just as i had done before, i whisper "mikey" close to his ear. 

i run my fingers through his curls, "mikey, wake up." i says again, a little louder. 

he sleeps soundly, still.

"where's mike?" i hear el say over the walkie-talkie, which is still sitting on the edge of my bed. 

i was so tempted to answer and say, "asleep in my bed, sorry, sis, i'm stealing your man." but, i didn't.

"haven't heard from him or will all day." dustin replies.

i pick up the walkie-talkie and respond, "sorry, guys, i'm here." 

i try my best to whisper so i don't wake mike, although i don't think that's a problem, since i couldn't even wake him up when i wanted him to wake up. 

"byers, where's mike?" lucas chimes in.

"i-i don't know." i whisper, again. 

"will, why are you whispering?" el asks.

"because mike's asleep in his bed." dustin replies quickly.

"w-what do you mean?" i ask, how did he know?

"i'm kidding, will." he says.

dustin is the only person who knows about my feelings for mike, the feelings that have been developing since kindergarten. 

"obviously." i brush it off. 

"why'd you move, will? i'm cold." i hear mike say.

"hey, guys, i have to go." i say and finally turn off the walkie-talkie

"mikey, lunch is ready." i settle back into the position i was in before, putting my arm around him, again. 

"what is it?" he asks, moving his head from the crook of my neck to my chest.

every time he's in this position, i get scared because i swear he can hear my heartbeat. 

"only one way to find out." i say and begin to move away from mike, i put my feet on the cold wood of the floor.

suddenly, mike pulls me back to the bed. 

"guess you'll have to wait." he says, wrapping his arms around my waist. 

"mikey, come on." i say, climbing on top of him, about to start a sure way to get him to obey me-a tickle fight. 

but, what he does next surprises me.

without really thinking, mike puts his hands on my hips.

i have to admit, i've only dreamed about mike doing this to me. 

he quickly retracts his hands.

"sorry, i, um-"

"it's okay, mikey. can i say something?" i whisper close to his ear, leaning close to him. 

"anything." he blushes.

"you know what i really want?"

"what?" he bites his lip.

i move closer to him and say, "i really want..."

"yeah?"

"you to get up so we can eat." and i tickle him.

"stop, will. no fair." he says, short of breath, giggling uncontrollably.

without thinking of the consequences, i say, "make me."

mike continues giggling, but this time, he start tickling me, quickly switching our positions, so he's on top.

he's straddling my waist. knees on either side of my hips. 

i have to suppress the feelings i felt in that moment, and ignore the thoughts. 

his curls fall in his face as the tickling becomes faster and more aggressive. 

"mikey-" i giggle, feeling something like giddiness. i hope we never lose this. 

"surrender then, byers." he says playfully.

"okay, okay, mercy." 

and with that, mike stops.

"hey, will?" 

"yeah?"

he looks at me with a worried expression, and i begin to become concerned.

"are you every going to be best friends with someone else?" he asks, tears pricking at his warm eyes.

"where did that come from?" i ask, still a little out of breath from mike's tickle attack.

he climbs off of me and sits cross-legged next to me on the bed. 

"we're getting older and i'm just afraid you'll forget me for some stupid girl." he says, hiding his hands in the sleeves of his black hoodie.

"nobody could ever replace you, mikey. not some stupid girl, not some stupid boy, not nobody, not no how." i smile playfully, trying to lighten the mood. 

"crazy together, right?" 

"crazy together."