𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒕 𝒉𝒖𝒆𝒔 ( byler )

⁸ teal ⁸

There's something about him
Yeah, his attitude is like magic

*xxx*
still Mike's pov

About two weeks had passed since "the incident", as Mike referred to it when he told El. Yet still, nothing more had happened between the two boys after that. There was subtle flirting sometimes and casual jokes but neither actually talked about the kiss. They we're off.

Mike knew it was mainly his fault, as he was now making an active decision to hold back, almost ignoring Will sometimes. This new development in his sexuality was hard for him. He hadn't really thought about guys before, but now he was rethinking all the times he might've stared at a guy too long. Questioning if his admiration for certain other guys was really just attraction, and if other guys his age ever felt this way, or if he just wasn't normal.

He spent the first week in pure denial, but after seeing Will almost everyday for two weeks, he couldn't deny what he felt. Mike definitely liked Will. Why else would he be staring at him across the cafeteria table right now?

"Psst." The red haired girl on his left called, making Mike sadly have to look the other way. "What's up with you two?" she whispered.
"Huh? Oh me and El are perfectly fine now. Thanks," Mike said hastily in a rush to return staring at his- friend. "No stupid. You and Will." Mike let out a nervous chuckle in response, clearly panicking. Was it that obvious?

"W-what do you mean?" he stuttered. "We're just two friends... friending it up. Ya know." Mike chuckled with a false smile, but it was met with rolled eyes from Max. "Mike, and I mean this is in the nicest way, you're a complete idiot."

Mike scoffed and opened his mouth to argue but max cut him off. "Dude, it's so obvious you like him and he told me you guys kissed, so what's taking so long?" She said almost a little too loud. Mike started to get worried, wondering who else Will had told. Max clarified "don't worry, only I know. He only told me because he is so sad about it. He said that you guys haven't even mentioned it since."

Sad. Max's words made Mike realized how selfish he'd been. Just how he was questioning everything about himself, Will was probably doing the same. Mike's heart became heavy with guilt. He couldn't bring himself to properly respond to Max.

The bell rang signalling the end of lunch, and as the party said their goodbyes to go to their next classes, Mike took action. He grabbed the smaller teen's hand, causing Will to turn around and face him with pink cheeks.
Mike stopped for a moment to take in the beauty in front of him. It'd been a while since he's been this close to Will. A while since he's gazed into those soft hazel eyes.

When Will let out a soft "Mike?...", he realized that he had been staring too long. "Will, I'm so sorry." Mike turned his head down in embarassment. "I'm sorry I've been such an asshole, and I really want to make things right."
Will didn't reply so he continued, "Could we... go some where after school" Mike swallowed "alone?".

The taller boy could feel his heart begin racing waiting for Will's response. However, Mike would have seen a large smile growing on Will's lips, if he wasn't staring at his own scuffed up converses.
Will poked at his shoulder blade, forcing the dark haired boy to look up and meet his eyes. "Yes, you can take me somewhere," Will said softly.

Before he even realized it, school was over and Mike was waiting for will outside the school.

"Are you ready to go?" Mike called to the short boy walking out the school doors. "Yeah Michael, I'm trusting you" Will replied with a suspicious laugh. Mike's happy expression dropped a little, "I thought you stopped calling me that weeks ago." Will just gave him a playful shove, "well after today, we'll see if you can earn your 'Mike' priveleges back."
Mike just sighed as a smile grew on his face and mounted his bike. "Then I shall not let you down captain."

The two boys rode slowly, almost side by side, with Will closely following Mike. Eventually they arrived at a certain edge of the woods and Mike took Will's hand, and led him down a man-made path.
On their quiet walk, Will felt the atmosphere change. Not only from an increase in altitude, but also there was a change in Mike's energy. His joyous mood was now replaced with a more calm, somber one. The dense brown trees cleared up and Will took in the sight in front of him.

"Pretty cool right?" Mike asked but the other boy could only nod his head with an open mouth. "It's the Hawkins quarry, one of the only cool things this town has to offer." Mike continued.
"It's so amazing," Will announced while taking a seat on the dirt in front of them, gently pulling Mike down to sit with him.

The two sat near the edge of the drop for a while, taking in the vast size of the deep walls all around them. The not-so-blue, teal water resting at the bottom of the basin. Will stared at the strange liquid, wondering what secrets it hid below the surface.
Will turned his head towards Mike, only to see the same liquid running down the boy's freckled cheeks. He tightened his grip on the taller boys hand, asking "what's wrong?"

Mike wiped the tears from his eyes and spoke quietly, "the quarry is about 400 feet deep. Surviving a fall that far, even into the water, isn't possible." Will felt his heart sink at what Mike was trying to express. "For a while, I wanted nothing more than to throw myself off the edge," Mike's voice quivered as he spoke but he pushed through it.
"About three years ago, my little sister, Holly, started feeling really sick. At first we thought it was just the flu or some cold but after days of no improvement, my mom decided it was best to take her to the hospital." Mike sighed and pushed away a stubborn curl that kept falling in his face.

"We found out she had Wilms' Tumor." Mike spat out, his lips going numb as he said the words. "It's a cancer of the kidney, that mainly affects children." Mike began to shake as he spoke. "In the end, she made it and they were able to remove it but, there were days when I couldn't eat or sleep. I couldn't imagine losing her and my whole family was falling apart from it. Pointless fights, it was all too much. So sometimes I came here and just imagined what it'd be like to jum-"
Will grabbed Mike's head with both of his hands softly, forcing his speckled face to turn to towards Will's. He pulled Mike into a firm, strong kiss and Mike did not hesitate to kiss back. They deepened the touch on each other's lips, adding more passion and moving with speed. Mike let his hands roam the other's back, while Will's hands fell off Mike's cheeks, and to the the floor weakly.

After finally breaking the connection the two stared at each other with un-contained smiles on their faces. Mike could feel the warmth returning to his face along with the happiness. Will spoke up, "Family can be hard sometimes. Even when everything is wrong, a part of you still cares for them. I know that first hand. But I'm glad you, and your sister, made it."

The two sat there until dark, talking about everything and nothing all at the same time. Will had been holding onto Mike ever since his story. They eventually left and Mike dropped Will off, and after giving him a long hug, he rode home.

*xxx*

Welp, feels good to post. I put alot of research into this one. Think it came out alright.
Next chapter out like Wednesday or Thursday.

bye bye <3 stay safe

~1341 words