On Monday after school Mike and Will decided they could go to Wills house to do math and science homework, since Will is great at math and Mike is great at science.
They walked down the road talking about random things. It was now December 3rd and Will was getting anxious about the near future.
They rounded the corner and walked down the road, stopping at the end of the driveway.
"Who's that?" Will whispers to no one in particular.
"Have you ever seen that car?" Mike asks, both boys were confused to why there was a strangers car in the driveway.
Will shakes his head and cautiously walks towards the house. It was weird for Mike to see the sudden change in Will. Like he went from being this carefree, happy, middle school boy, to being this cautious, anxious, middle school boy.
They both walk to the house and Will quietly opens the front door.
He saw his mom on the couch with a man.
Not just any man.
Lonnie's friend that Will had recognized.
Will's breathing quickened and it felt like the room was spinning. Mike grabbed his arm and brought him over to the kitchen, ignoring what Joyce and the man were saying.
He grabbed a chair for the smaller boy and Will sat down, completely dazed.
"You want water?" Mike asks him quietly. Will nods slowly.
Mike grabs him a cup of water and hands it to him. Will sipped on it, it calmed him down a little bit. Joyce walked into the kitchen and kneeled in front of her son.
"He's only staying for the night William." She says softly. Will took another deep breath.
The man walks into the kitchen and Will subconsciously moved closer to Mike. Mike grabbed Wills arm as the man approached them, trying to touch Wills shoulder.
"Don't touch him." Mike snapped coldly. The man looks at him, almost startled but a smirk was on his face.
"You must be Michael." He says, just as coldly. Mike nods.
The man's arm returned to his side and Will stood up and stood next to Mike.
"William, I know we've had our differences. But I'd like to put all of that behind us and maybe have a fresh start." The man lies. Will looks at the floor, thinking of all the things Lonnie and this man said to him.
The man goes to touch Wills shoulder again and Will flinched and leaned into Mike, burying his head into his shoulder. Mike slapped the man's hand.
"He obviously doesn't want you touching him, so quit it."
"Liam just stop." Joyce sighs. She was now standing near the sink, attempting to start the dishes.
"He'll be fine if I just touch his shoulder." The man, Liam protests.
"He doesn't want you to." Mike says while making sure Will was an okay distance away from the man.
Mike ran his hand through Wills hair, he could feel Will shaking and starting to cry.
"We're gonna go to my house, alright?" Mike tells him softly. Will nods without saying anything.
"Is thay okay ms, Byers?" Mike asks. Joyce nods.
"Joyce." She corrects him with a smile. Mike nods.
Mike grabs Wills hand and they walk out of the house. Mike shoved past the man and they left, walking down the roads quietly until they got a few houses down from their destination.
"Thank you." Will says quietly. Mike nods.
"Anytime." He smiles.
They walk up to Mikes house and Mike opens the door. The two boys walk down to the basement and shut the door behind them. Mike throws down his backpack and Will sets his down gently next to the stairs.
"Do you still want to do homework? Or we can just talk if you want to." Mike says was sitting down on the couch. Will was still shaky but he shrugged in response.
"Doesn't matter to me." He says quietly. Mike thinks for a minute.
"We can do homework later. Maybe my mom will let you spend the night tonight!" He says hopeful. Will couldn't help but smile.
"Maybe." He sits down next to Mike on the couch. Mike looks into Wills eyes with a small smile on his face.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Will asks him while smiling a bit more.
"Nothing. No reason." Mike tore his gaze away from the shorter boy and looked at the floor.
An awkward silence fell over the room and Will let out a sigh, making Mike turn to look at him once more.
"How are you feeling?"
"A bit better," Will shrugs, "really Mike, thank you for being there for me all the time."
"I told you, you don't have to thank me." Mike smiles and looks back to the ground. Will smiles back at him and another silence fell over the room.
"Have you heard about the snowball?" Mike turns back to him and asks after a minute of silence. Will nods.
"Anyone ask you yet?" Mike asks him.
"Oh yeah, loads of people." Will says sarcastically with a laugh and Mike couldn't help but laugh with him.
"I'll take that as a no?" Mike says, still smiling. Will nods.
"Anyone ask you?"
"Nope." Mike says, "Are you gonna ask someone to go with you?"
"To be completely honest I'm not sure I'm gonna go at all." Will says truthfully. Mike looks at him like he just murdered a man.
"What?! That's insane! Why not?" He asks. Will laughs.
"I've never really been to a school dance before. I don't know, there's not really a point in going." Will shrugs. Mike thinks for a minute, trying to think of a way to convince Will to go.
"What if I asked you to go with me?" He asks quietly while looking at the floor.
"I would consider it." Will says sarcastically. Mike looks up at him and shakes his head with a smile.
"Well then, do you want to go to the snowball with me?" Mike asks him. Will nods, his face started heating up and he smiles.
"Why not."
***
Word Count: 1,026
Date Published: 12/26/22
YOU ARE READING
Silent Secrets ||A Byler Story||
FanfictionAfter the Byers move to a small town, Hawkins Indiana, Will Byers finds himself questioning everything his father has taught him. So what happens when realizes his real feelings for one of his new friends? There are a lot of triggers to this story...
