𝙍𝙤𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 ─ 𝘉𝘺𝘭𝘦𝘳

Chapter 9 - Open up

-- #3RDPERSON

"Um. . . Yeah, sure. Why not?" Will smiled, Mike grinning and holding up a beer for him.

"You drink a lot?" Mike asked, noticing how hesitant Will seemed to be around drinks.

"No. . . I don't really like to." Will chuckled nervously.

"Oh, why not?" Mike frowned, not realizing that this probably wasn't a subject that Will wanted to talk about with some guy he met a few days ago.

"Uh. . . J- Just my dad. He was, um. . . He wasn't a good person." Will murmured, Mike frowning at this.

"Oh shit, sorry for asking." He frowned, now feeling quite bad.

"No, it's okay. You didn't know." Will smiled weakly at him.

"If it makes you feel any better, I know what it's like to not have a very good dad. You can talk to me if you want, I won't judge you." Mike offered, Will looking up at him for a moment.

"I don't- I don't know." He murmured.

"If you want then I can't tell you about my dad first?" He offered.

"You- You don't have to if you don't want to." Will stammered, Mike chuckling softly.

"I offered. Stop panicking. Yes or no?" Mike chuckled. Will hesitated before nodding softly, Mike setting down his beer and looking up at him.

"Well, my dad was a pretty shitty person. He was aggressive to my mum, sometimes even to me or my sisters, but that wasn't very often. He drank a lot of alcohol, and when he wasn't drinking he was out at work because he didn't like being near us." Mike told him, Will frowning as he heard what Mike was saying.

"He- He was a bad person?" Will frowned.

"Yeah, he died a few months ago." Mike scoffed, Will's eyes widening as he heard this.

"Oh, I probably should've said this earlier but he abandoned us when I was thirteen." Mike chuckled.

"Oh. . . I'm sorry that I asked about him, I didn't realize how horrible he was." Will frowned.

"I don't mind, felt good to get everything out for once. I've never told anybody how bad he was. The only reason I'm telling you is because I've had a little bit too much to drink and I couldn't stop myself even if I wanted to!" Mike grinned.

"Anyways, what about your dad? Can you top mine?" Mike asked.

"Uh. . . I think I can. . . He was- He was really abusive to me and El and my brother, but then after a while it just became me. He said that I ruined his life and stuff. . . I- He told me that I was an embarrassment to our family and that he hated me, and just other horrible stuff. . ." Will told him.

"Why just you?" Mike frowned, Will hesitating and staying silent, "What else did he say to you?" He asked.

"He- He used to call me stuff. . . Slurs and things like that. I mean, most people did. It kinda stopped upsetting me after a while so that's why he just started getting even more violent." Will murmured.

"Slurs?" Mike frowned, "What kinda slurs? I mean, sorry for asking but like, I'm kinda curious?" He asked.

"It's fine. Um, he would call me a- a fag, you know. . . Just stuff like that. He was horrible." Will murmured.

"Wh- Well, I mean, was he wrong?" Mike asked, a small smile on his face, Will looking up at him with a shocked and upset look on his face.

"I- Shit, sorry, I didn't mean to s-" Mike stammered before getting cut off.

"It's fine. I- I'm gonna go to bed. . . Um, It- It was nice talking to you." Will stammered, smiling weakly at Mike before leaving.

Mike opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out, a small sigh escaping his lips as he watched Will walk off.

". . .Shit." He mumurmured

He quickly chugged the rest of his can of beer before getting up and walking over to Will's room, gently knocking on the door.

"Can I come in?" He asked.

". . .Yeah." Will spoke quietly, Mike opening the door and looking down to see Will lay down in bed looking down at his phone.

"Can I sit down for a moment?" Mike asked, Will nodding softly and watching as Mike walked over and sat down, Will setting down his phone and looking up at Mike.

". . .I'm sorry for asking that question. I didn't think about what I was actually saying and I just said it. I know it wasn't nice of me to ask, I'm sorry." Mike sighed softly.

"I- It's fine. . . I didn't- I didn't think you had meant to be rude. . ." Will stammered, Mike frowning as he saw the tears in Will's eyes.

"Um. . . Do you want a hug?" Mike sighed, Will hesitating before nodding.

Mike sat closer to Will and gently wrapped his arms around him, Will nervously hugging him back.

"You don't need to be nervous you know, I don't bite." Mike joked, Will letting out a small laugh.

"Well, I don't know how true that is." He scoffed.

"Excuse me!" Mike gasped, Will laughing softly and relaxing into the hug.

Mike quickly shuffled his way onto the bed so that he could lay down, Will adjusting to the position change and just laying his head down on Mike's chest, enjoying the company.

"Fuck, I'm tired. . . You mind if I just stay here?" Mike groaned, looking down at Will.

"Uh. . ." Will murmured, not sure whether that would be a good idea, "If you want." He nodded.

"Sweet, thanks." Mike grinned, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the pillow.

Will decided to just go to sleep aswell, so he closed his eyes and relaxed into the hug. The two fell asleep after not long, their company comforting the other.

{Word Count: 965}