𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭; byler

- 12 -

✴ ⁕ ✴ ⁕ ✴

WORD COUNT: 1056

✴ ⁕ ✴ ⁕ ✴

THE WORD SEEMED to echo all over the parking lot, bouncing off the cars and filling Mike's ears. One word, one word, that changed everything.

For a split second, everyone stopped.

Mike stopped struggling, stopped screaming, and the guys behind him let go of his arms and mouth abruptly. He fell to the ground, but didn't even feel the concrete he knew was turning his knees red. Troy let his hand fall back to his side, his face turning white and his eyes widening.
And they all stared at Will.

Confusion, shock, fear- You could almost smell the emotions in the air. Nobody knew how to react, even Will seemed shocked by his own action.

his Hazel eyes stared into Mike's, as big as plates,  like he was asking "Did I just do that?"

Silence.

And then, as if connected by some sort of invisible rope, they all turned to the cop exactly at the same moment. And the cop was looking at them with his mouth slightly open, his hand still holding the pen he had been using for the report.

Another half beat of silence- and pandemonium ensued. 

The cop leaped from his spot and started running towards the boys, his walkie-talkie slapping against his thigh loudly. Troy jumped up from above Will, leaving the brunette on the ground.

"RUN!" He yelled at the other two guys: they didn't need to be told twice. Before he could blink, the three assailants were running back towards the path, sprinting as fast as they could into the woods.
The cop reached Mike, putting a hand on his shoulder. Mike wasn't sure if the gesture was one of friendliness or if the man was just holding onto him for support. He was a chubby man, and the short run seemed to leave him very tired.

"You okay, son?" He asked breathlessly, and Mike nodded, sill in a daze. The cop tapped his shoulder fondly, breathed heavily a few more times, then started in a pursuit of Troy and his friends.

"Stop right there!" They heard his voice booming as he disappeared in the trees. 

And they were alone in the parking lot. Mike didn't wait for another second to pass,jumping to his feet and hurrying to Will's side. The Adrenalin made him momentarily forget his pains.

Will was still on the ground, sitting up slowly. Mike dropped back o his knees and grabbed his shoulders, looking the boy over.  Will's whole right cheek was completely blue and black, and he he had a not so subtle black eye. He didn't look in pain, however: He just looked in complete shock.

"Will. Oh my god, Will, you-" Mike said, sitting down next to Will. His head was spinning.
"yeah," Will replied. Mike looked at him, still shocked. Will seemed just as surprised at the words leaving his mouth. Again, his eyes turned to Mike as if asking "Wait, did you hear that too?"

"I don't- I don't know why, it just... happened," He continued. His words were carefully constructed, like he was tasting them for the first time and he wasn't what he thought about them. 

His voice. It was weird, hearing him talk. His voice fit him perfectly: Slightly higher than usual for a boy his age, but absolutely fitting and absolutely adorable. For some reason it seemed so wrong in Mike's ears. Bizarre. 

For some reason it kind of changed the way Will looked. Mike couldn't quite explain it, but something changed in the way Will was sitting. He just seemed more upright, more confidant. Like in one moment a whole new part of him clicked into place. He didn't know. He just knew something changed.

Or maybe that was just Mike's imagination.

"Thank you. This could've ended... badly," Mike said slowly, testing the expression on Will's face. He couldn't quite figure it out. Confusion? surprise? happiness? 

Will shrugged, smiling a half smile, but then his face darkened.
"Why didn't you tell me they were giving you such a hard time?" He asked.

Now it was Mike's turn to shrug.
"I don't know. I didn't want you to think I was... weak, or something." 
"Like I could ever think that," Will muttered. Mike blushed.

They just sat there in silence. Slowly, the sun began to set. The sky turned that shade of brilliant gold from the sun rays, and sitting there in the parking lot Mike could finally understand why it was called the golden hour. Although the sun was beautiful, it seemed to shine straight into Mike's eyes. He was also starting to feel his injuries. His shin burned like crazy, and the joints of his hands and feet were stiff and pained.

Somehow, he felt completely peaceful.

Mike was still processing everything. It all happened so fast... 

"I can't believe it. I can't believe you can actually talk," Mike said finally. Will smiled wider than Mike had ever seen him smile,His whole face seeming to change with happiness.
"Me neither," He said. He looked so beautiful, with his eyes shining in the slowly descending sun.

They leaned back against the car behind them, sighing contently. 
"I guess we missed the movie," Will said quietly. It was too quiet and peaceful not to talk quietly.

"Just the ads," Mike replied in that same hushed tone.

The shock from the whole situation had finally subsided, and all his feelings rushed back like a tsunami. His stomach burst with a thousand butterflies in an almost painful way, like they were actually bats instead of butterflies. And he didn't care about the bullies, he just cared about Will sitting besides him.

 His decision from that morning returned to his mind, and this seemed kind of perfect.

So Mike decided to go for it. 

He leaned forward, grabbing Will's left cheek with his hand. Will didn't move away, didn't even flinch, and Mike took it as a sign of agreement. He stayed like that for another second, and he could almost taste his beating heart in his throat.

Right there, sitting on the road behind a blue Volks Wagen in the Starcourt mall parking lot, Mike and Will shared the most perfect kiss ever.

-

-

-

[AUTHOR SAYS]

FINALLY!! Slow burns are so hard to write ahahah was this too long??