WILL POV-

---- 9:32 PM ----

Somehow, during the events of everything that had occurred, the brunette managed to fall asleep in his spot; probably due to all his exhaustion. In these past few days Will had no sleep: with the drunken kiss, Mike's clinginess and his confession, he was sleep deprived and tired of everything; leaving him both mentally and physically drained.

He was exhausted, falling into a deep slumber with only his snoring filling the room, a testament to the fatigue surrounding him.

But a second sound filled the room, jolting him up; not again! Would no one allow him to sleep in peace? He covered his ears, drowning the sound out. Hopefully someone would answer the door, but then realising that he was the only one at home at this current moment in time, he groaned.

He wanted to ignore the sounds, but they only grew louder and reverberated through his bones. He whined; the pounding sounds mixing with the drumbeat of heavy rain outside; not even knowing of the weather change.

"Who comes here in this weather?" he groaned, sitting up, casting a sleep-fogged gaze around the room; he was all alone on this stormy night; when did it even start raining?

Summoning whatever strength he had left, the brunette reluctantly pulled himself out of bed making his way to the front door, the pounding increased, and the rain hammered against the window, "Someone better be dead with all this knocking!" he complained,

When he finally flung the door open, a mixture of mist and cold air wacked him in the face sending a shiver through his entire body; it was cold and stinging. There, standing in its downpour was Mike, soaked head to toe, his hair clinging to his forehead with a hood over his head and a plastic bag in his hand.

Suddenly, the brunette's face felt warmer as he noticed the expression on Mike's face; he wasn't angry or annoyed, rather he was smiling, like a beacon of light in this whirlwind.

Will raised his eyebrows with genuine surprise, watching as Mike presented the plastic bag holding it out to Will, stammering his reason for being here, "I just, wanted to give you your cookie, you didn't take it earlier and I brought it especially for you and- yeah." Mike said, his voice shaky yet sincere.

A soft giggle escaped Will's lips, "You went through the rain to give me a cookie?" he asked, tilting his head as a smile tugged the corner of his mouth, almost forgetting what happened earlier in the day.

Mike's grinned widened as he nodded, "Yeah, I did. I figured you'd still want it; I mean... I know how much you like them after all."

"Oh, thanks; you didn't have too though..." The brunette uttered, accepting the bag with a timid grin.

"But I wanted to." Mike smiled as a heavy silence clouded them; neither knew what to say; the situation was awkward. But Mike, realising he would need to be the first to speak, spoke, "Umm, anyways, I'm, um gonna get going; I don't think you'd want to see me for long, after... you know?" he chuckled, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck,

Will, still feeling a bit overwhelmed by the recent turn of events, didn't want Mike to leave. He knew they needed to talk about everything that happened, and... he couldn't let Mike go back out, not out in that storm. "Mike?" Will said, his voice soft, "You don't have to leave. I appreciate the cookie, and, umm... I'm glad you're here actually." he admitted,

Mike looked into Will's eyes, the relief evident, "THANK GOD!" he exclaimed, "I did not want to bike home in that!" he joked.

"Come in." the brunette smiled, moving out the way so the ravenette could slip into the room, closing the door behind him.

"Thanks Will." Mike said, taking his hood off, shaking his damp hair.

"You're dripping all over the floor like a dog!" Will reprimanded crossing his arms.

"Sorry," Mike muttered sheepishly,

"Eh, its fine, although you should have a shower before you get a cold." Will mumbled, looking Mike up and down, analysing the puddle by his feet. "I'll go get some clothes and a towel... don't move." he instructed, placing the plastic bag on the table.

Mike nodded, although initially unsure, he couldn't ignore the genuine concern in Will's eyes. As the brunette disappeared to fetch towels and dry clothes, Mike couldn't help but smile, he was grateful for this chance; a glimmer of hope that at least Will didn't hate him after that confession.

When Will finally returned, Mike looked down at them, raising an eyebrow, "Are these... your clothes?"

"Whose else's clothes are they gonna be?" The small boy quipped in reply.

"No... I mean, are you sure they'll fit?" The tall boy clarified.

Will rolled his eyes, "I'm sure you'll fit in them; we aren't even that different in size... you're just unusually lanky," he joked.

"I mean... I like being taller than you!" Mike laughed.

"Oh is that right?" Will placed a hand on his hip seeing Mike nod, "Well I guess if the clothes don't fit you're just gonna have to walk around the house naked!" Will smirked mockingly, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Mike's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, he hadn't expected Will to respond so boldly, "I, um... I'm sure they'll fit." he laughed awkwardly; the only thing he could do in that moment.

"And you can sleep in my room tonight." Will replied, changing the subject completely; despite any situation they were going through, he couldn't let Mike go home in that rain, not after he came all this way to deliver a cookie.

Mike nodded, "A sleepover? We haven't done that in months."

"Yep." the brunette simply replied; it was the truth. Mike hadn't come over for a sleepover at Will's since at least the beginning of the school year... although, the drunken 'sleepover' technically was a sleepover by definition... but Will didn't like thinking of that. "Now go!" the brunette pointed to the shower,

Blushing, Mike chuckled, heading to the bathroom for his shower, quickly stripping his wet clothes, jumping in. He allowed the warm water to hit his body; feeling his thoughts of how the brunette would treat him at ease; Will wasn't treating him any different. Despite his roller coaster of emotions, he hoped this evening would lead to more.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Will grumbled to himself, "Damn Mike getting my floor wet." he pouted playfully, thinking of the ravenette as a small smile crept on his face; did... did Mike actually care about him? Coming all this way across town, in a storm to deliver a cookie after Will had rejected him?

Will looked over at the cookie, his smile becoming softer, happier, but he slapped his face with his hands, "Calm down!" he muttered to himself, "Just be cool." Honestly, Will didn't know how he was going to deal with all this going on tonight.

Cleaning up the puddle the ravenette had brought into the house with him, Will chuckled at his best friend as he mopped, the area, soaking up any water he could from the wooden floors.

His mind raced as he finished cleaning, he couldn't help but mumble to himself, trying to make sense of his whirlwinds of emotions he experienced, "What do I do?" he whined,

Making his way to the bathroom in his mother's room, Will completed his nightly routine. The familiar surrounding brought minimal comfort as he brushed his teeth, splashing water on his face. He looked at his reflection; only thinking of Mike the whole time.

With a sigh, he turned off the bathroom light returning to his own bedroom, changing into his pyjamas: a thin t-shirt and a pair of pyjama bottoms.

The soft glow of his desk lamp illuminated the familiar space where he had spent countless hours with friends and, most recently, the drunken kisses he had with Mike the other day; it turned his world upside down.

Will wavered for a moment as he debated what to do next. He wanted to be a good friend and make Mike feel comfortable especially after the rain-soaked surprise visit and all the events from earlier; he didn't even say why he rejected Mike... he ran away.

Will shook his head, and despite having a double bed, decided Mike could use his bed as he slept on the floor. The brunette began rummaging through his closet, taking out a sleeping bag and unravelling it across the floor, preparing himself for an uncomfortable night's rest. He laid down, staring at the ceiling, hearing the soft clatter of raindrops hitting the window,

Just then the water from the bathroom shut off, signalling to Will that Mike was out the shower. The brunette closed his eyes; he didn't want to be awake and answer Mike as he pretended to sleep; just wanting to get this night over with before he could embaress himself further.

The minutes felt like hours as Will turned to one side, curling into the foetal position, pretending to be asleep, not bothering to even get inside the sleeping bag.

The door creaked open, and Mike walked in, speaking, "Hey Will. Your shampoo smell grea-" he paused the moment he saw the brunette on the floor.

Will pretended to snore, dramatically and audibly even though his heart was pounding in his chest.

"I know you're not asleep!" The ravenette smirked, raising an eyebrow, "You don't sleep like that," he rolled his eyes with a playful smile, calling out Will's bluff, "Get on the bed; why are you on the floor? It's your house!"

But Will didn't move, pretending to snore even more, acutely aware that Mike was moving closer, basically standing over him.

The brunette couldn't help but sneak a peek, opening his eyes just a crack, hoping to catch a glimpse of what Mike was doing, but as he did so, their eyes met, and Will quickly shut them again.

"You're a terrible actor Will," Mike teased, the laughter evident in his voice and with surprising strength, he ducked down, picking Will up bridal style.

Will's heart raced as he was lifted from the floor, his eyes snapping open. Panic surged through him, and he couldn't help but call out, "Mike! Mike! Mike!" he exclaimed, knowing it was all in good fun but the sudden motion and intimate picking up position, took him by surprise.

Mike, still wearing that playful grin and holding Will in his arms, exclaimed, "You need to relax, or I won't let you down," He chuckled, his tone reassuring, "I promise I won't bite. Well unless you start snoring like a chainsaw again."

As Mike teased him, the brunette looked up into the ravenette's face as his embarrassment only grew. He couldn't help but notice the way the dimly lit room accentuated Mike's features, from his defined cheekbones, his damp hair and the playful glint in his eyes.

Still being carried like a groom carrying his bride, Will stammered, "Okay, okay," he said, his face flushed, "I'm calm, I'm calm; let me down now!"

With a good-natured laugh, Mike plopped Will on the bed, causing the small boy to groan as his back hit the mattress,

"Thats better!" the ravenette chuckled, ruffling Will's hair, keeping his face inches apart from the brunette, "Now get some sleep... okay?"

"Y-yeah." Will stammered in a soft, breathy tone.

Mike chuckled at Will's flustered state, loving the way his face turned a shade of red he had never seen before. He gently placed the blanket over the brunette's body as he continued to tease him, "You're really cute when you're flustered, you know that, right?" he whispered,

Will tried to respond, but his words came out in an adorable mess, "I'm not cute, Mike." his voice cracked.

Mike's smile softened, "I'm just having some fun. You're always adorable, and I mean it in the best way possible."

The tension in the room evaporated as Will placed his head on the pillow. Beside him Mike got under the covers, laying down next to him. The brunette's eyes widened, "What? What are you doing?"

"Oh shit! Sorry, I just thought I could sleep in your bed... just like we used to do when we were younger. Sorry, I'll just sleep on the floor." Mike rambled, tripping over his own words as he struggled to pull the covers off himself.

Will grabbed his arm, stopping him from moving, "No... I mean, it's fine. You're right, we used to do this when we were kids; so it's fine."

The ravenette grinned, settling beside the brunette on the double bed. They were now laying side by side staring at the ceiling, just like they used to when they were in middle school. It felt so natural; too natural, like slipping back into a time when they were inseparable.

"I missed this... when I was with El, it was great, but there was always a part of me that felt missing. And... I know that something was you. I missed our late-night campaigns, our talks, our inside jokes... I missed you."

Will gasped, looking into Mike's eyes for a second, seeing the genuine compassion in his eyes, but feeling a mix of emotions, not knowing how to respond, merely mumbling, "Goodnight Mike." he said soft, his tone tinged with sadness. He turned away to face the wall, switching off the lamp.

Will's heart ached as he remembered Mike's confession and the complex emotions that stirred within him.

Mike, sensing the change in Will's mood, didn't push further, instead reaching out and gently placing a hand on Will's back, "I just... want you to know that I care about you more than I can put into words."

With those heartfelt words, the brunette squeezed his eyes shut; his heartbeat increasing as the moments pass.

Yet hearing no response from Will, Mike sighed, his shoulders slumping, turning away so their backs would face one another. He muttered, "Goodnight Will." 

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2353 Words

Stay Safe <3