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so they kept dating.
and it really was great- really, really great, in fact.
tyler was everything will could ever want in a boyfriend: because that's what they were now. boyfriends. a couple. he, the gay-good-for-nothing will byers from Indiana, had an actual boyfriend. even thinking that word seemed strange- strange, yet amazing.
he had a boyfriend to walk hand-in-hand with around town, because tyler never seemed to want to let his hand go. he never seemed to want to let will go: everywhere they walked tyler would hold will's hand, or wrap his arms around will's waist. like he actually wanted people to know that he was will.
like he was proud.
will wasn't used to that- not at all, but it was kind of amazing. he liked having tyler next to him, he loved knowing that someone wanted to be this close to him.
and tyler really did seem to want to be near will. every morning when he got up for work, there was tyler- waiting in the door, holding a cup full of hot chocolate and a small book, ready to walk will to the resturant. every single morning he would have tyler's hand around him as he walked, the brown haired boy pulling him into a long, fierce kiss before they said goodbye. his room was practically overflowing with books by now, way more than he could read in a summer.
he barely even got to read anymore, because every day when his shift was over tyler was waiting by the door, ready to take him out to town or hang out in will's room- sometimes will would accompany tyler in his shift in the bookstore. tyler would stay with him until it was sleep time, and meet him the moment he woke up.
maybe he hadn't thought a boyfriend would take up quite this much of his time. tyler, work. tyler, work- that was his entire day.
not that it was bad, it was just... he missed max and jane. but everytime he tried to bring it up with tyler the boy would look so heartbroken he would drop it immediately. after all, he had a boyfriend, a sweet, kind boyfriend who wanted to spend time with him more than anything. so he should be flattered, happy... and he was. yes, he was.
the problem was, the problem remained, the tall boy with that wonderful smirk and dark eyes, the boy that lived just two rooms away from will... but somehow, even living with mike, he didn't get to see mike almost at all. he stopped trying to talk to will. he stayed away, and the only times the two boys would see each other were the rare occasions will happened to cross the hallway as mike was exiting his room.
and they wouldn't talk. they would just stare at each other, and it always seemed like mike wanted to say something, and will wanted him to, he wanted to hear his voice... but then mike would just smile this weird, unnatural smile and leave the other way.
and there was no denying it: even with tyler, even though he liked tyler a lot and he really did want to spend time with him and he was happy, even though it had been a full two weeks since he had spoken a word to mike, his heart would ache with the memory of something deep every time those dark eyes looked his way.
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that morning he woke up at 6:30 am for no reason whatsoever.
he hadn't slept for very long- tyler had dropped him off at home a little past midnight. he had an hour and a half before he had to wake up, and a full two hours before tyler would meet him.
but instead of going back to sleep, will got up slowly. he sat with his back leaning against the cold wood frame of the bed, staring out the window at the rising sun, and just took a deep breath.
he liked how the sound of the air hissing as it left his mouth was the only sound in the room. he liked that there wasn't a warm set of arms around him, he liked feeling the cold frame against his back.
he enjoyed this alone-ness. he hadn't realized quite how much he missed having this time for himself. these two hours seemed like days- two hours for himself, where he could do whatever he wanted.
like reading. god, reading. it had been so long since he had actually read a book- like, sat down and read with ease, without the hand around his waist or tyler's hair tickling his shoulder as the boy lay his head on his shoulders.
time for just him, just himself and the book.
so he got up, his feet hitting the cold floor with a soft thump, and made his way to the stack of books.
but for some reason, he didn't want any of the books tyler had given him- even though they really were good books.
for some reason, his hand reached straight to the small copy of les miserables.
and so he read for an hour, and then took a long shower, and when he was ready it was only 8:20. but instead of going back to his book to wait until tyler would arrive, he decided to leave early.
the thought of making his way across the beach alone was something close to a dream. he really hadn't realized how much he missed this alone-ness... he hadn't felt this peaceful in a long time. so just walking alone with his thoughts, feeling the wind slap across his face, maybe even picking a few seashells... it just seemed perfect. he would see tyler after work.
he made his way down the hall, his steps slowing a little when he passed by mike's door. a pesky thought settled in his brain;
maybe it would be kind of nice if mike was the one to join him.... mike always picked shells with him, they had a competition to see who found the biggest one... mike wouldn't mind if will woke him up, he was sure he wouldn't...
but by the time it was fully formed, he was downstairs by the door, pushing it open slowly.
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"good morning, love!"
wait. what?
will looked to the side with sudden fright, as if he was just caught doing something criminly wrong- and there he was. beanie, sweater, hot chocolate, smile, book. just as always- there was tyler, leaning against the wall.
only, it was forty minutes early...
"t-tyler!" will called in surprise, his voice sharp with panic as if he had done something foul as tyler crossed the few steps between them, hugging will tightly, "what are you doing here?"
"waiting for you," tyler responded once the hug was over, handing will the cup, "as always. can't let you start the day without a hot drink and a kiss!" he smiled, leaning down to kiss will on his cheek. will laughed nervously, not knowing why he was nervous.
"yeah, but it's still so early..." he said, studying tyler's face carefully.
tyler's cheerful expression didn't break as he shrugged. nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except... he hadn't answered the question. and it was really quite early for him to be there already.
did he- did he get there so early every single day?
"oh, almost forgot!" tyler finally said, smiling once again. he reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny book, handing it to will: hamlet.
will had already read hamlet.. multipule times. he knew exactly where his copy was at home, on the small dresser by his bed. it was one of his very favorites, actually.
"oh, thanks but i- umm, i already have this one," will responded, pushing it lightly back into tyler's hand.
tyler's smile froze, and he kept his hands reached for a second. something was weird, and the strange panic was rising in will's throat again as they stood in silence...
"well, now you have two of them." he decided, and without letting will protest he pushed the book inside will's pocket.
"thanks," will muttered, almost as an instinct. for some reason, he knew he couldn't protest further. he didn't want to hurt tyler's feelings.
"what are you doing here so early? not going without me, i hope?" tyler asked, laughing a strangely cheerful laugh. too cheerful. fake.
and was will imagining it, or was his tone strangely decisive, almost... threatening?
will laughed with him feeling this panic rising up. why did he feel like he had to cover his plans, why did he feel like there was no way he could tyler his true intention? was it something in those beautiful green eyes that hinted to him that the truth wouldn't go over nicely, or was will just being paranoid?
"no! i was just, uh, going to get us something to drink before we had to walk. i wanted to surpise you," he lied, not knowing why he was lying.
tyler smiled.
"silly, i always bring you a drink! you don't have to do that!" he said, grabbing will's face with both his hands and kissing his lips firmly.
"don't just walk off like that without telling me! i don't want something bad to happen to you, okay?" he said after the kiss, keeping will's face just a small distance away.
and now a million alarms were ringing in will's head- but he forced them out. he was just being sweet. this was tyler, he was just being sweet. nothing was wrong, it was just his usual panicky mind overthinking everything.
"okay?" tyler repeated again, his eyes full of genuine worry.
he's worried about you, he just wants you to be happy. relax. "yeah, of course."
another kiss. "great." then tyler pulled back, and grabbed will's hand tightly in his.
"now that you have a drink, can i take you for a walk before work?" he asked, squeezing his hand. will nodded with a smile on his lips and they started down the beach.
but even though everything was normal, something in will's head told him everything was so completely not.
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𝐣𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟐𝟔𝐭𝐡. 𝟏𝟕𝟔𝟒 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬.
𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬: I said I post 4 times a week yet it's been a whole week since I last updated- oops. I promise I'm still going to post multiple times a week this week was just weird. so yeah, hope you guys still like this:))