Hopeless (byler)

Ch 19: Will

I break free of Mikes warm embrace, no matter how safe it feels, and storm up the stairs. I can't let myself do this again, but he does seem more aware and sorry than before. Mike follows me and yells "Will! Wait, come back!", but I ignore him and stride towards the front door. I walk outside to see a beautiful sunset with vibrant orange, pink, red, and purple, but I don't take the time to look at it, I have to walk back to Max's house where I left my bike. I walk through his lawn, which I can clearly tell is freshly mowed from the sharp edges and the fresh smell it radiates, but the lilacs are still growing. I expected it to be colder out than it currently is, which is about 75 degrees.

Once I get off of the lawn I walk out into the middle of the street where I slow down my pace, and then stop to take in the scenery around me. I listen as the birds chirp and I can start to hear just a few crickets. For how stressful this situation is, I feel at ease. I continue my walk down the wide pavement, with identical looking houses in either side of them. I didn't use to live in a house like this, but since I moved back in the spring, us and Hopper got a new place similar to these houses. I look down at my checked vans and I slowly walk down this street, noticing things I never did before, like how all the mailboxes are different colors of pastels, or how there are yellow roses growing in the Johnson's lawn.

I continue this pattern of walking at a sluggish pace and noticing little details, when I hear a door open and close behind me. Footsteps get louder and louder as Mike continues to run my way, and he grabs my shoulder. "Will, please," I shrug him off and continue to make my way about halfway down the street, picking up my speed slightly. If he's too much of a coward to tell me what's going on with him after that's all I've been trying to get him to do, then I won't waste my time on him any more. "Will come back, please, I just want to talk," I keep on walking as I say frustratedly "why should I? You clearly think that I'm over reacting and that I'm not worth treating with any ounce of kindness, scratch that, any ounce of human decency. You've proven that time and time again to me, so why should I?" The tears that never truly left my eyes start back up again, and I'm walking a little faster now, determined to get away from this dreaded situation I find myself in.

My cheeks start to burn from my tears and I can feel my nose turning pink. There's so much going through my head right now. Why is just now acting genuinely sort of kind to me? His voice and face have softened, and he sounds so desperate.

"Because I love you,"

What?

My heart stops for a second along with my legs, stoping me dead in my tracks. My heart starts again, now beating into my throat. I probably miss heard him, so I very slowly turn around to face Mike, where I seen him with a faint smile on his face and soft upturned eyebrows. I meet his eyes, and begin to say "wait, what do you mea-", but I'm cut off by Mikes two hands on my face, and his soft lips on mine.

I'm stuck in shock for a second before going on my tip toes and melting into the kiss, when I can feel Mikes mouth smiling against my own. I'm so confused, and angry, and relieved, but mostly really happy. We stay here for another 30 seconds, then we pull our lips apart to breath, with our foreheads in contact. He initiates another kiss, but a more passionate one this time. His hand are still on either side of my face, and I wrap mine around his waist. We finally pull away from one another and give a fierce hug. "Will I love you so much, I think I always have," I let his words resonate for a moment before answering by saying, "I love you, too"