Crazy Together

2

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            While Will takes a quick shower, Mike looks around and picks up his hoodie that Will was grasping under the bed.

He glances over it and decides to let Will keep it as he tosses it onto the bed. It seems to him like it was the only thing keeping Will from breaking down while in the upside - down but he wasn't quite sure, maybe he was being self absorbed again as Nancy likes to put it.

He sits at Will's bed and after a while he decides to check on Will to make sure he's alright.

He stands outside the bathroom and hears the shower running, and the quiet sobs of his friend. He can't help but feel bad for him. He's already been through enough, his father leaving and abusing him when he was little was already enough trauma for a lifetime.

Mike had always had a soft spot for Will, ever since he'd opened up in about the 6th grade about what he was feeling and going through with his father.

Mike's 12 year old brain didn't clearly understand the impact of this on Will, but he knew it upset him so he tried to comfort him as best he could and played Dungeons and Dragons whenever he could with him.

Then, a few months later, Will went missing and Mike couldn't help but feel terrible about it.

Especially when he learned what really happened to Will that summer.

He's brought back to the present as the shower faucet stops, and he raps his knuckles gently amongst the door to alert Will that he's there.

"You okay?" He says softly, and he hears Will cease movement.

"Yeah. I'm okay." He says softly behind the door, following a small sniffle.

"Okay. Just making sure. I'm gonna be on the bed." He knows Will is still upset but, rightfully so. He would be too. As long as he was doing better.

"Okay."

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                 After a few minutes ,
Will comes back to meet Mike in the bedroom in fresh clothes.

He's just wearing a striped shirt and jean shorts but he feels a lot better now that he's cleaned off and safe with Mike.

He tosses his previous clothes in the hamper before shutting the door behind him and sitting next to Mike on his bed.

There's a thick tension as they sit in such a close proximity to each other, though Mike can't quite decipher it.

"I'm glad you found me." Will says unexpectedly, glancing over at his friend.

"Me too." Mike says softly.

"Yeah." Will says, going silent for a few moments almost as if to pause and think about something.

There's a small wet noise in between the silence as Will licks his lips. "If.. if my mom or Jonathan found me.. you know.. they'd go crazy.. asking questions.. I'm glad it was you. You don't treat me like they do."

Mike smiles a bit. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Will looks over him and smiles back.

The tension is still unbroken as they sit there in silence, neither boy knowing what else to say.

After about ten seconds which feels like hours, Mike speaks.

"What happened to your bowl - cut ?" Mike teases, changing the subject as he looks at Will's wetted hair.

"I was too lazy to dry it. Stop." He giggles a bit.

He reaches out at it, ruffling Will's hair. "You should get a perm. You'd look like a poodle. You know ?"