stars will fall - byler

.7

i checked the time as i was helping lucas grill the burgers. my watch read 7:42.
-"do we have ketchup?" lucas asked while flipping one of the pattys over.
-"max went to get some, she's pulling up right now." i replied before placing the burgers on a paper plate.
i heard the car door shut and max came skipping towards us.
-"they done yet?" she placed her hands over lucas's shoulders and rested her head against his.
-"yep, i can make your plate for you." he offered.
-"thanks." she giggled, kissing him.
-"ew, get a room." dustin groaned.

i sat next to max as we ate dinner, the sunset shining on your backs.
-"we should go to this diner i saw earlier in the morning when we're leaving." max mentioned.
-"what diner?" lucas jumped in.
-"i can't remember the name, it was like.."

as i was listening to max, i heard a faint noise coming from the woods behind me. i slowly turned my head around and saw troy again from behind a tree. seeing him again shocked me, i almost completely forgot he was here. he was motioning for me to come over but i panicked.
-"uh, i'll be back. i have to go to the bathroom." i lied before leaving my plate at the table and beginning to walk down the wooded path. i heard them talking but i felt someone's eyes burning into the back of my head.

i checked behind me once more before approaching him, seeing if anyone had followed me.
-"can we go for a walk?" troy asked me.
-"right now? why.." i skeptically look behind me, fearful of him.
-"just to talk, you know?"
i looked around, worried and unsure if i was safe with him in this moment. i don't know if i trust that he really changed like he says he has.

...

i walked back up the wooded path and made my way back to the picnic tables where my friends were.
-"that was fast." max commented.
-"yeah.." i nervously chuckled, sitting down in front of my plate. i looked up and made brief eye contact with mike, making me even more anxious. i quickly looked away and pretended to not notice him, eating the food on my plate and trying to focus on my other friends conversation.
no matter how hard i tried to not notice, i could feel mikes eyes burning onto me. it put me even more on edge than i was before, i wanted to yell at him to stop. but i didn't.

after dinner, the sun had completely set and max and i were sitting in front of the fire as the rest of them were in the tents, asleep.
-"is everything okay with you?" she asked, making my heart skip a beat.
-"yeah, why wouldn't everything be okay?" i chuckled anxiously.
-"you seem tense. both you and mike haven't been talking much."
i sighed, wishing she hadn't brought him up.
-"oh.."
-"did something happen between you two?" she asked.
-"i don't know.. we just got into a little argument." i fidgeted with my jacket.
-"what about?"

- Mikes POV -

i laid down in my tent, trying to fall asleep but dustin's loud snoring was preventing me from resting. i tossed and turned for what felt like forever but it just progressively got louder and louder. i sat up and threw my pillow at his face.
-"shut up, dipshit." i groaned, making it stop for a few moments. but just as i thought he was done, the snoring continued. i rolled my eyes, knowing i wasn't going to get any sleep tonight. i sat up and reached for my bag, grabbing a comic book to tucker me out.

as i was reading, i started hearing voices coming from outside the tent. it was a little hard to hear over dustin's loud snoring so i threw my blanket over his face to make out the conversation. i soon realized it was will and max talking.

-"i don't know.. we got into a little argument." i vaguely heard will mumble.
-"what about?" max asked.
-" him and el.. he just made it clear that he wasn't interested in hanging with us anymore because of el and it just really pissed me off."
i heard silence from the other side, but my heart sank when i heard him sniffling. he was crying..
-"i just want everything to go back to normal. i want things to go back to how they were. before.. before my mom." he quietly cried, making tears build up in my eyes when i heard the pain in his voice.
-"i'm sorry, will. your mom loved you a lot.. please don't cry."
-"i'm sorry.." he sniffled.
-"don't be sorry. why don't you just talk to him?"
-"i cant.." his voice cracked, making my heart shatter. he can talk to me about anything. i thought he knew that..
as i sat there, thinking, i realized i couldn't hear them talking anymore. when i heard footsteps approaching the tent, i quickly laid down and pretended to be asleep. i could feel his presence while my eyes were closed. i heard the zipper shut and the material shuffling from him laying down.
after a while of laying there with my eyes closed, i could hear will quietly crying. hearing him cry made me want to cry. i had to say something, even if he was mad at me.
-"will, are you okay?" i sat up from the ground, looking across the tent at him.
-"yeah." he whispered, his voice soft and shaky.
-"will, you're crying.."
-"mike, please just leave me alone." he firmly muttered, still laying down and facing away from me.
but i didn't want to leave him alone. it really bothered me that he thought he couldn't talk to me. i want him to talk to me, he's my best friend.
i love him.

after a while of laying there, trying to sleep while dustin's snoring rang in my ears, i could hear will rustling around from the other side of the tent. it wasn't until i realized he was getting out of the tent until i heard the zipper slowly opening. i kept my eyes closed until i couldn't feel his presence in the tent anymore. i sat up and started crawling towards the opening. i slowly unzipped the tent and peaked out the small opening, seeing will walking towards the wooded area.
where the hell is he going?