confused - byler

05 - Boys and Girls

Will's POV

When I wake up, I remember that it's Friday which is when Dustin goes to school early for robotics club, so it'll just be Mike and i this morning. I'm so nervous for no reason.

I pedal over to Mike's house where he is wheeling his bike out of his garage with his head down. His curls are falling in his eyes.

"Hey!" I say enthusiastically.

"Hi." he says dimly, lifting his head up. His face looks a little puffier and paler than normal.

We bike to school in practical silence and I can tell something had happened with Mike. We sit down next to each other in History class, and I can feel eyes on me from the back of the classroom, and that's when I look back to see Cooper and Troy pointing and laughing at me. I try to ignore it, but I can't help it when they throw a piece of paper at Mike. I watch him slowly unwrap it and tears well up in his eyes as he runs out of the classroom and out of instinct, I jump up and follow after him as the teacher yells my name.

"Mike!" I call down the hallway and he turns around quickly, tears streaming down his face. He wipes his tears only to reveal a very bruised and cut up eye and lip. There is a little bit of dried blood now smeared across his face along with what I assume is Nancy's makeup.

"Mike w - what happened?" I ask. All of the sudden he walks quickly towards me and buries his head into my shoulder, crying quietly. All of my emotions take over and I begin to cry quietly, holding on to him as he does the same. I needed this. I needed to just hug Mike and cry.

"I hung out with - with Cooper yesterday. H - he was calling you some bad names so I punched him and then we got into a big fight. I tried to cover it with makeup." Mike says, leaning away and gesturing towards his bruised face. He hung out with Cooper? One of my lifelong bullies.

"You shouldn't have tried to defend me. It's fine. " I say.

"It's not fine, Will! You can't keep letting people like Cooper and Troy walk all over you! You don't deserve it. You're the sweetest, smartest, cut- coolest guy I know." he says hesitantly.

"Thanks, Mike. Thank you, but what kind of bad words was he calling me?" I say, on the verge of breaking down.

"They were saying queer and stuff. I'm so sorry that they say those things about you." Mike says, wrapping his arms back around me. I collapse into his arms and start to break down.

"Well, Mike I need to tell you something. T - the things they say, t -" I begin to say, but get cut off by our teacher yelling at us to get back to class. I was really about to tell him that I think I like boys. Wow. I just told Jonathan, but Mike is my best friend in the whole world and I guess I trust him just as much as I do my own brother.

We both wipe our tears before quickly walking back, not another word spoken. A few awkward glances are shared throughout the day, but that's it.

Mike POV

I think Will and I almost kissed. I don't want to go that far, but I swear I felt our lips get closer, but I didn't really mind if I'm being honest. I felt really nervous and excited to be sharing that moment with him which is very different then how I feel when I'm about to kiss El. It's just so normal now that I don't feel anything.

I don't know if I can talk to anyone about this except one person.

I walk quickly to their house and knock on the door to see the red haired girl standing in front of me in a matter of seconds. Over the past year Max and I have been getting along a lot better and she recently told us that she likes both girls and boys which makes me feel like she would understand how I feel more than anyone in the party.

"Hi?" she asks, making it sound more like a question then a statement.

"Hi. Can I talk to you about something?" I ask hesitantly.

"Sure. Let's sit on the porch." she says. She sits in an old lounge chair and I sit on her rusty porch swing and fidget with my fingers nervously.

"Is everything okay? You seem kinda off." she tells me.

"Yeah it's just - how did you know that you liked both boys and girls?" I ask quietly. I see the expression on her face turn from attentive to confused.

"Oh - uhm - well I guess I just kinda new. I have kinda known my whole life and have had a crush on a few girls before, but I still really love Lucas." Max says.

"Okay. Sure. Good." I say, stuttering in the process.

"Why are you asking me this, Mike?" Max asks.

"Because I - I - I think I might maybe like this boy, but I can't tell the difference between loving him as a friend and loving him as a - a boyfriend I guess. I have had crushes on girls before, so I think I might like both, but I'm not sure. Please don't tell anyone." I say, tears running down my face. Max comes and sits down next to me, draping her arm around my back to comfort me.

"Of course I won't tell anyone. Does El know this?" she asks me.

"No. Lately things with El haven't been going great on my end. All she wants to do is make out." I tell her honestly.

"Oh. I'm sorry, but you need to tell her. Do you think whatever is happening with this boy is serious? Like do you think he likes you back?" she asks.

"I can't tell. I think he might." I tell her.

"We'll you should ask him. I think Will feels the same." she says, my heart dropping.

"How did you know?" I ask.

"I see the way you two look at each other." she says quietly, still comforting me as I cry for s little while longer.