Bruised Boy Byers - Byler

3

                                                                                       719 words

Will's eyes slowly opened, a small white light crawling in from the curtains, which were almost completely closed. Will tried to move, his heart suddenly starting to pound as he found himself unable too, something chilly on his chest. Will tensed, trying to move in a panic once again, thrashing until he saw that a hand was on his chest. His heart thudded, craning his neck to look behind him. Mike. His face flushed, a familiar warm tingle dancing on his cheeks, which contrasted drastically against Mike's frigid hand on His chest. Will took a deep breath, letting his hand dance up to Mike's, where Will fanned his fingers onto his and held it there. He closed his eyes again, the bruised one throbbing dully, as well as the ones on his ribs.

"You don't have to talk about it," Mike said groggily behind him, as if reading his thoughts, then yawned and tightened his grip on Will then scooted closer. Will felt the warm blush on his face starting to burn up.

"Thank you, Mike," Will replied, loosening up in Mike's arms. He could feel Mike's warm breath on the back of his neck, which prickled in a strange tingly way.

"Yeah, of course. I'd do anything for you, you know that" Mike explained softly, his mouth only a few inches from his ear. Will's breath hitched. He knew Mike could feel his heartbeat right now, but he couldn't control how fast it was thumping right now. "Hey."

"Yeah?" Will answered. Mike felt a smile creep up his face as he slowly flipped Will over. "Hey, Wha-?" Will yelped but Mike just pulled him into a hug.

"You're so strong, Will. You truly mean the world to me." Mike whispered his hand on the back of Will's head. "You're the best friend anyone could ask for, and I'm so glad to have you."

"Thank you so much, Mike," Will sniffled, hugging him a bit tighter before pulling away and looked into Mike's beautiful brown eyes. "You're really awesome. I'd probably be dead by now if I didn't have you." Mike grinned, his eyes glittering with joy.

Will stood in Mike's shower, the strong white light above highlighting his bony the paleness of his skin, which were tainted with the occasional scar or bruise. He rubbed his face, cupping his head in his palms as the hot water poured over him and through his butterscotch hair, which was darkened by the water. He felt so vulnerable, so weak, but he knew no one could hurt him here. No one would. Will trusted Mike with his life, and his dad is a great guy and super funny, but he still felt so nervous. So scared. He removed his hands from his face looking down at them. They were trembling, even with the almost scalding heat and steam of the shower.

"Hey, Will are you ok in there?" Mike asked, knocking softly on the wood door of the bathroom.

"Y-yeah I'm fine," Will replied shakily, slowly turning off the water of the shower, still standing there, shaking.

"Well, ok, I left a pair of clothes for you outside the door, ok?"

"Thank you, Mike,"

"No problem," Mike finished, his voice a bit muffled behind the door. Will took another deep breath and rolled back the glass shower door. He wrapped his waist in a light cream towel Mike left out for him and opened the door a crack to retrieve the clothes. Mike, on the other hand, waited patiently in the kitchen, sitting at the island whilst he read one of his dad's old books.

"Hey, Mike," Will said softly. Mike turned around to see Will standing stiffly, holding his forearm. Mike couldn't help but smile at how Will looked in his clothes. He actually looked pretty cute, in a gray t-shirt with a warm red and orange flannel and casual but cozy pants.

"Hey, you feeling alright?" Mike asked. Will shrugged, then looked at his feet, which were covered in thick white socks.

"I guess so," Will mumbled. Mike's eyes dropped to the ground for a second, but then returned back up to Will.

"Are you hungry?" Mike asked, getting up from his stool. Will bit his lip and tightened his grip on his arm, still looking at the wood floor.