Byler one shots

20

"You didn't see it, did you?"

Eleven asked as Mike kept his eyes trained on the night sky, studying the constellations.

"See what?"

Mike wasn't fully paying attention, too far gone in his own mind. He ran his fingers in circles on his palm, drawing his own constellations at the same time. He breath was quiet and steady as he stared upwards, fog coming out of every puff.

"They way Will had looked at you."

"Looked at me?"

"Didn't you see it? The look in his eyes."

"What are you talking about?"

Mike glanced at her, slightly confused.

"He looked at you," She repeated as she tried to get her meaning across. "He looked at you as if he just realized you were....you were everything he ever wanted and needed."

Mike scrunched up his eyebrows, turning his head to stare at El, his eyes shining. El gave him a tiny smile, turning her attention back up to the sky, pointing at a cluster of them.

"Pretty."

-----

Ruffling up his hair, Mike stared at himself in the mirror. He stared into his brown eyes, his pale skin and freckles sprinkled around his cheeks and nose, his messy dark hair getting a little too long. He took in a deep breath, closing his eyes as he leaned his head against the cold mirror. He focused on the cooling spot on his forehead, pressing down until his entire face was flush against the freezing surface.

Mike agreed to be Will's partner for their science project. He didn't even give Will a chance to make up his mind on who to join before Mike had piped up. His heart was beating loudly in his ears as he thought of spending time with anyone else, sadness washing over him. He didn't understand his feelings of why Will felt so important to him, more than he usually did. They were best friends after all, but this felt different.

Something about the way Will softly smiled up at him whenever he spoke, his tongue peeking out whenever he would laugh at someone's joke. Happiness looks pretty on Will, and Mike wants to make sure he always gets to see it. Whether he's the cause of Will's smiling face or not, he doesn't really care. As long as Will's happy. As long as he is happy, so is Mike.

"Mike? Are you alright?"

Mike flipped around so quick that he stumbled over his own feet, falling down to the floor. He watched as his mother rushed over to him, helping him up. He merely smiled at her, avoiding her eyes after she brushed off his sweater. She looked down at him with a worried glanced, her hands resting on both of Mike's shoulders. Mike attempted to give her a reassuring smile before shaking her hands off.

"Mom, stop looking at me like that. I'm fine, really!"

With a displeased glance, she turned to leave Mike's room, giving one final look around before closing his door once again. Mike's cheeks were tinted pink from the exchange and he just wanted to crawl underneath his covers.

-----

When Will arrived at school, Mike didn't expect the soft feeling in his chest to bubble up. Will was wearing a slightly too big sweater with yellow stars and newly cleaned shoes. Mike couldn't help but to look at Will for longer than he needed to, soaking up his appearance. Lucas tapped his shoulder, pointed to Will as he waved his hand towards them. Mike shyly lifted his hand up, giving the shorter boy a small wave.