Boyfriends ~Byler

Thought

Mike pulled himself out of bed feeling refreshed and new. His breakup with El had gone far better than expected, which was a huge relief. However, Mike didn't expect that El liked Max. 

I kind of think they would make a cute couple. He thought as he shoved spoonfuls of cereal in his mouth. 

As Mike continued to imagine the two of them together, he realized that he didn't know if he liked anyone else. He had been concentrating so much on Eleven he hadn't really paid much attention to his other feelings. He didn't know if he had any at all, but he vowed to find out today at school. 

~~

Will walked into school feeling mildly hopeful. He felt energetic, like a new surge of excitement had taken over him. He already knew why. Mike is single today.

Will spent last night lying awake in his bead and admitting to himself something he had known for a while. He is gay. He likes Mike. 

He hasn't told anyone except Max, but he thinks Joyce may be catching on. That's the great thing about his mom. She doesn't pester you and make you uncomfortable by asking awkward questions, she waits for you to accept your own traits and talk to her about them when you are ready. And she'll accept you through it all. 

Will's first class today is wood shop, which he shares with the one and only Mike Wheeler. His heart sped up slightly when Mike walked into the brown walled classroom. He didn't look upset, angry or sad, so Will had to assume his breakup with Eleven went okay. That or Mike was really good at hiding his true feelings, but Will didn't think that was the case.

After the last few students hurried into the classroom, the wood shop teacher, Ms. Davut, announced the first instructions to the class. "Since we all finished our step stools last week, we will be starting a harder one this week. We will be starting a wooden chair. You'll be given a paper with the precise guidelines, but it must have a wooden design on the back of the chair and it needs to be at least 4 feet tall. And one more thing, this will be a partner activity." 

Will glanced over at Mike, who turned and smiled at him. Will smiled back as his heart pitter-pattered quickly. 

Mike brought his stuff over to where Will was sitting. "Hey Will. So we need to get curved wood for the back so it's comfortable to sit in and we need to make it look fancy, so we'll have to sand and cut the wood." Mike informed.

Will nodded, but he mostly just enjoyed listening to Mike's calming voice. He tried to stay focused, but it's hard to stay focused when your crush it sitting right next to you and talking to you. 

Will went over to the large pile of wood stacked on one of the tables and picked out suitable looking ones.

Mike watched as Will chose good pieces. He's so shy and quiet, I feel so sorry for him. He's been through so much. I wonder if there's anything I can do to make him happy again. Mike wondered sadly. 

Will started heading back back and Mike quickly turned his head towards the paper, his cheeks turning pink. Mike ignored it at first, but then he remembered his vow to find out if there was anyone else he liked. He internally shook his head.

"Uh, I thought these would be good. We might need more later, but I thought we should start with this." Will said shyly as he placed the pieces on the table.

Mike thought about how he liked hearing Will's soft and sweet voice, how Will had always been there for Mike, and how he was his best friend. 

"Yeah, these are great." Mike smiled up at Will. 

Maybe...maybe I do like Will.