✓ | 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 (BYLER)

𝒊𝒙. THE L-WORD

━━━━  𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 !
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄

The following morning was strangely tranquil.

Joyce and Murray had scuttled out of the house in the middle of the night and nearly missed their flight, inevitably leaving Jonathan in charge of the adolescents. Mike and Will were seated at the dining room table, where they polished their breakfast off in complete silence. Jonathan was concentrated on skimming through the local newspaper. El, on the other hand, had yet to exit her bedroom.

The brown-eyed girl had been hibernating in the comfort of her quiet bedroom since the night before, when she had stomped up the stairs after the upsetting remark Mike had made during dinner.

Will switched his focus back to the delectable scrambled eggs on his plate. He stabbed a sizable piece with his fork, drenched it in a puddle of maple syrup, and scarfed it down. As he chewed, he averted his gaze over to Mike, who had barely touched his meal.

The hazel-eyed boy didn't exactly plan on staring at his closest friend for a solid fifteen seconds, but that was precisely what he found himself doing. He couldn't help it — the ravenette was so perfect. His large, chocolatey eyes and the vast constellation of freckles dusted across his cheeks made it impossible to deny the fact that Mike Wheeler was very handsome. Simply looking at him was enough to fill Will's insides with trillions of butterflies. 

Oblivious of the fact that the brunette's eyes were practically glued to him, Mike peered down at the plate of Eggos sitting in El's usual spot. The waffles were undoubtedly cold, as they had been sitting on the plate for over twenty minutes.

"Hey, guys. There is a 4:00 PM showing of Police Academy 3," Jonathan announced, glancing up from the newspaper article he was engrossed in. "Could be fun."

"Maybe we could just . . . stay home today," Will suggested, his voice monotone.

"What is this? Are you guys seriously just gonna mope around all break?" Jonathan complained.

"No one's moping," Will retorted. "It's just . . . the movie is supposed to suck."

Mike took another glimpse at the plate of Eggos and swiftly picked it up, marching up the stairs without warning. Will heaved out a quiet sigh. He secretly wished the Wheeler boy would have remained seated at the table with him.

˗ˏˋ꒰ 🎱 ꒱

Moments after devouring his breakfast, Will darted upstairs with the intent to begin a new painting. However, as he reached for his bedroom doorknob, he overheard Mike talking to El from the across the hallway. As much as he hated eavesdropping, he couldn't resist the urge to find out what Mike had to say to her.

He tiptoed over to her bedroom door, which was open three inches, and pressed his back against the wall so that he was completely out of the couple's sight.

"So, um, are we just not gonna talk about it?" Mike asked, awkwardly lowering himself onto the edge of his girlfriend's bed.

"About what?" El flatly responded, refusing to make eye contact with her boyfriend.

"I don't know, just maybe, like, about yesterday. Or . . . everything."

"There's nothing to say," The brunette muttered, her eyes focused on the ruined diorama she was attempting to fix.

"Yeah. I guess, um . . . I guess I'm just a little, uh . . . guess I just don't really understand," Mike stuttered. "Why didn't you tell me what was going on here? You know I'm not exactly 'Mr. Popularity' back at home. I mean, you've seen it, I've been bullied my entire life. I know what it's like."