MIKE POV -

---- Wednesday 7:34 AM ----

Dustin sat in his usual seat, headphones in his ears as he scrolled through his phone, leg bumping softly up and down; he'd been stressed over his friends for a while, the group wasn't the same; Will had been noticeably absent, invested fully in his art project for graduation while Mike hadn't been at school these past two days. He just broke up with Will and then mysteriously disappeared.

The curly haired boy needed to figure out why they broke up, having all the questions on his mind; this type of thing was strange, even for Mike. The ravenette had always been a little out of the ordinary, but breaking up with Will was not on his Bingo card for the year.

When he saw the ravenette's head poke through the doors of the classroom, he jumped up, pulling the headphones out his ears, "Where have you been? Why haven't you been answering your phon-" Dustin paused, "What the fuck?"

The ravenette strolled into the class, shopping bags hanging from both arms, difficult for a team to carry, let alone one boy. His smile was odd, almost as if nothing was amiss; both comforting and eerie,

It was his last few days, so he decided to do something nice for all his friends; the only way he knew how to... with money.

A torrent of scattered thoughts infested his brain, and he was doing whatever he could to stop his swirling doubt thoughts, the scary ones that plagued him. After he ran out his room last night, he got some fresh air to calm down, then spent the whole night online shopping - express delivery. There wasn't much he could do anyway; he couldn't tell anyone the truth.

He wanted to go to Will, but couldn't...

"Mike Claus has come bearing gifts!" the ravenette declared grinning bright, trying to sound light-hearted, but it was clear there was forced enthusiasm in there. Putting on a show for everyone, he threw the gifts on-and-around the table with a short huff of relief.

Raising his brows, Dustin didn't believe the act, "Santa... it's mid-June?" then shaking his head, not believing that was the objection he made, "No, never mind that! What is all of this?!"

"Gifts!" Mike replied simple, stretching his arm.

Sarcasm broke through his shock, "I see that!" His jaw dropped as he caught sight of the expensive items within; the latest videogames, gear, exclusive merchandise, clothes, and a collection of high-end art supplies... "Dude... are you okay?" concern laced his voice as he looked up at his friend, searching for answers.

"Of course I am," he answered too quickly, an automated response as he stretched, feeling the eyes of his class on him; it wasn't everyday a kid came in with more bags than fingers on his hands.

Without further explanation, the boy rummaged through the gifts, scanning them, grabbing two before holding them out to Dustin, forcing them into his hands,

Dustin peeked inside, his eyes widening to reveal a rare comic: X-man 134, one he mentioned wanting for a while; a collector's edition impossible to find as well as its accompanying figurines. In the other were video games overflowing, the bag heavy with the number of cases; how did Mike even carry this all himself?

"I can't accept this," he shook his head, pushing the gifts away, "This must have cost a fortune,"

"Just take it," Mike insisted, but his voice betrayed him; it was too high-pitched and squeaky, clear he was hiding something; his possible heartache?

Dustin furrowed his brows in worry, despite the smile on Mike's face, he could see the cracks in his soul; this wasn't normal-person behaviour; "No, Mike listen," he put the bags down on his desk as he continued with a soft expression, "What is this? Like seriously, you do AWOL for two days and then pop up with all of- of this!"

"I'm fine, I was just busy," the answer kept short,

"It's okay if your sad about the whole break-up thing-"

Mike looked at him, keeping up his façade; he couldn't tell the boy anything, not the real reason behind the breakup, nor that this was his last few days here, "Oh, it's nothing! Stuff like that happens," he flashed a big confident grin, casually waving it off, "People break up all the time,"

The curly haired boy stared at him, "Okay... then why don't you make me understand why you broke up?"

"People grow apart, that's all," he merely shrugged in response,

"You sure? Because it didn't really seem like you guys were growing apart at all," Dustin gently pressed, determined to break the barrier and get to the truth, "You know you can talk to me about it, right?"

"I know," the ravenette passed a wide smile, tone upbeat, "But this is just something I wanted to do because it's the end of year; new year, new me!"

Now he was just sprouting out nonsense.

Looking him up and down, Dustin scrunched his upper lip; undeniably knowing that was fake, he didn't know what was going on with Mike, but he wasn't 'fine'; when he opened his mouth to say something, the ravenette beat him to it,

"Anyways, I need to go hand the rest of these out, so I'll see you in a bit," he ended the conversation abruptly, grabbing the rest of the presents, confidently striding out the class, leaving his friend behind.

His heart hurt as he walked down the hallway, the air was thicker with the urgency that clawed at his brain. The laughter and chatter around him filled his every sense; he wished he could be like them, be so carefree, not needing to worry about all of this. He didn't even cry when he broke up with Will, he really wanted to, but couldn't...

Why couldn't he?

[2 Days Remaining]

Weight of the secret he held pressed down on his shoulders, the reminder of his two days ticking away before him. He didn't want to face it, didn't want to confront the truth or how it would affect him; he was doing anything he could to avert his mind, but in reality...

He was scared.

The thought he was leaving gifts for his friends was oddly comforting, something for them before he left; he was sharing a part of him; a part that would transcend his physical being. He walked down the hall until seeing familiar figures; it was Max and Lucas.

He tightened his grip; he had two days... that's how long he had to keep up this little facade... Taking a deep breath, he walked up to them, casual as ever despite the fact he had at least fourty unanswered notification messages between the both of them, "Hey guys!" plastering the smile on his face,

"Oh my gosh Mike!" Max was the first to turn, jogging over as if to throw her arms around him, "I thought something happened to you!" but instead of an embrace, she punched his arm, "You idiot! Why didn't you respond to your texts?"

"Yeah man, what the hell is going on with you?!" Lucas crowded, his expression itching for the truth, not angry, but more... worried.

Mike smiled, taking small step toward them knowing the questions they had in their mind; the typical: 'Why did you break up with Will?', 'Why didn't you respond to our texts?', 'Why haven't you been coming to school?' he didn't allow them to get a word in as he held the bags up to them.

Two for Max.

Two for Lucas.

The pair exchanged glances, a face that said, 'is he serious right now?'. They politely smiled, they didn't know how to react but knew something was wrong, clearly. They had to play their cards right, if not, Mike would shut down, never opening up to the main reason for all of this... they accepted the bags.

"Mike?" the redhead spoke first, stretching his name with a unique sweetness she'd never shown before; it was obvious she was trying to show her compassionate side, "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine Max! how about you?" Mike smiled; it was almost getting unnatural at this point.

The girl wasn't buying it. She arched a brow, studying him intently, "Really... you're doing 'fine'?" the question almost sarcastic.

"Yeah," The ravenette nodded, an awkward silence surrounding the conversation. The usual banter, funny remarks and playfulness disappeared; it was like they were learning to communicate for the first time. The forced giggles, the plastered smiles and silences made it... awkward.

She squinted her eyes wanting to naturally lead into that conversation of the break up, "Well, the gifts look great! Thanks!" she held them up with a crooked grin; these bags were heavy.

"Oh, that reminds me, I have something else-" placing yet another smaller purple wrapped gift into the athletic boy's hands, "- this is for Erica! I heard she liked D&D, so I thought, hey... why not?"

"Ha-ha... why not buy something for your friend's little sister you meet like once a month..." the girl faked a laugh, emphasising the peculiarity of the situation; this was even worse than she thought. She looked for help in her boyfriend, handing him the conversational torch,

"Mike, my man... my bro... my dude..." Lucas tried to sound relatable and comforting but came off extremely uncool and downright strange, so instead he asked straightforwardly, "So what's this about you and Will breaking up?" Asking the question on his mind; his approach was different from Max's, he'd rather get straight to the point then skirt around it,

Max swatted his side, whispering to him, "You can't just ask that!"

"C'mon! It was only so long we can go ahead avoiding the question!" Lucas argued back, seeing her evil eye, "Don't look at me like I'm crazy Max,"

"Geez! Have you never comforted someone before?"

"Not now! Crisis!" Lucas reminded,

"Right! Crisis!" She repeated, turning to the task at hand, "Boy, what's up?" being more direct.

"Can't I just give my friends some gifts? It's the end of the year, after all! They're going away presents!" he wasn't lying; they technically were 'going away presents', just not the type of going away they were thinking of.

"Not when they are this expensive!" Max listed off brands, naming the different gifts he had brought ; she didn't need a receipt to know how much these had cost; she was slightly frustrated by his nonchalant expression and mannerisms. Part of her wondered if Mike had broken up with Will, or if they were baseless rumours because he did not seem distraught; she wanted to smack the sense into him.

"It's not that bad," The tall boy rolled his eyes playfully. It wasn't like he had a use for all this money he had saved up anyway; he was going away in two days, he might as well use it to buy things his friends really wanted. Placing the bags down for a second, he rummaged his pockets, taking out a pair of keys with a small skateboard keychain, finally handing it over, "Here... your studio keys,"

The redhead's heart sank... jaw hanging open; the first time she was silent in the conversation. The metal glint in her eyes, reflecting florescent lights, cold and uninviting. She'd lent him those keys to her photoshoot studio, and it wasn't something she did lightly, she never let anyone into her little sanctuary, let alone giving someone the keys. Returning the keys didn't feel like a 'just-in-case I forget' gesture – it felt like a farewell.

"Look me in the eye and say you're fine," her eyes shot up, fierce yet questioning,

"Don't be crazy!" Mike childishly pouted, trying to laugh it off as he deflected the question. He couldn't explicitly tell, but he knew in the back of his mind that she had an inkling as to what was going to happen; not about this being a game world or anything... but rather that he was leaving.

"Don't try that bullshit with me!" her voice laced with an anxiety she couldn't describe, "If this is about Will, if you're messed up over the breakup, you can tell us! Trust me! We know more about breakups then anyone, right Lucas?"

"At least twice a year," The athletic boy chimed in, holding up two fingers, crossing his arms,

"See!" Max pointed, "So just tell us what's wrong?" despite her worry for the answer, she forced herself to be strong for whatever he may say; she needed to be! She wasn't sure if this was a 'final act', a mental break down, retail therapy or something beyond her scope of thinking, but one thing she did know was that something was wrong.

"People grow apart," he repeated the same statement he said to Dustin, almost like an automated response,

"I want the real answer! I want to know you are really fine!"

Mike's smile fell for a second, genuinely tinting with sadness; even if he wanted to, he couldn't tell her the truth; his voice lowered a few decibels, calmly speaking, "How do you want me to prove it to you?"

Max hesitated for a mere second, placing her studio keys back in his palm, "Keep it," she ordered,

"But I-" the ravenette shook his head, he just gave it to her! This is one of the last times she could retrieve it... so he didn't want it hanging around in his possessions after he was forced to leave,

"Keep it till graduation," she explained, "And if you still don't want it, then you can give it to me... okay?" her eyes searched his, her voice raw and vulnerable,

Mike looked down at his hands... her optimism rubbed off on him despite knowing his time limit, "Okay... I'll keep it till graduation,"

"Cool... cool," Max let out a breath she didn't know was trapped in her lungs, seemingly more relieved that he promised something for the future, something way in the future, and when she studied him... she didn't see any signs of lying,

The raven-haired boy pocketed the keys, checking his watch to see the time, "I need to go give these before class starts!" he held up the few gifts remaining in his arms with a cheeky grin plastered on, trying to show he was happy.

With that, he turned away, forcing himself down the hall, hearing someone call out to him, "Call us anytime, we're here for you!"

Pausing, over his shoulder, seeing the pair still by the lockers, watching his retreating figure. It was undeniably Max's voice, cheering him on, caring for him despite it all, yet watching him as if vowing to find out whatever was wrong with him. The tall boy merely waved in response, the weight of his time crashing down on him. They shared one last glance as he turned the corner,

His list of friends dwindled, only a few left – El, Troy and of course Will. But the thought of seeing the brunette, seemingly playing with his heart by giving him a gift made him ache in a way he couldn't handle, hurting even more than the message of his remaining days.

Not yet.

He pushed the thoughts aside, instead focusing on a simpler task; finding El.

Before he could get too far though, he collided with someone, a figure he was familiar with; it was Troy. Troy clutched his head, whipping his hair back, "ouch," he groaned dramatic, actually on time for once; who chooses the last week to be early? This boy worked backwards.

When he saw Mike, his eyes sparkled, trying to play it off cool, "I thought you were dead Mike, turns out I was wrong," he joked light-hearted, despite his worry.

"Glad to see you too," the ravenette looked him up and down sarcastically, "Anyways, here you go," basically throwing the gifts in his direction,

Troy struggled to catch them, "I was worried cause you were ignoring me, and now you're handing out presents?"

"Something like that," Mike joked, glancing over his shoulder. Even though the raven-haired boy walked all around the school, he hadn't caught a glimpse of his ex-boyfriend anywhere; if he had, he was sure he'd notice him from miles away. He knew he was somewhere in school, that was obvious.

"Are you looking for Will?" The ex-bully tilted his head,

"Isn't he in the art club today?"

"I saw him being interviewed outside the school,"

"Interviewed?"

"After he joined that Art Model thing, he's been getting interviews left and right-"

"Isn't that excessive?"

"Not for the price of fame..."

Mike pondered, is this really what he wanted? He knew what he was getting into when he opened that social media account, aware of the many things it entailed, but hearing that the brunette had an interview made him feel like a proud mama bird; his chick had left the nest, soaring high into the sky. Yet at the same time he felt a sense of shame for being secretly relieved he didn't need to confront Will directly. He changed the subject,

"How have you been doing recently?"

"Me?" Troy seemed almost shocked by the question, as if no-one had ever asked him that before; whenever Mike asked how someone was, it was usually about Will. He cleared his throat, "I've been doing well?" his statement sounding more like a question from the surprise. "How about you?"

"How about me?" Mike played dumb despite knowing the question he would be asked; why was everyone so persistent,

"You were sick the other day,"

That completely shocked the ravenette, catching him off-guard. He'd nearly forgotten all about the fever that struck him last week. But at the same time he knew Troy had a crush on him so he thought the boy would use this as an opportunity to make a move, "You're not gonna ask about me and Will?"

"And would you have told me?" Troy raised a brow, reverting the subject, placing a hand to Mike's forehead, "Temperature's gone down," he noted, allowing it to linger for a few seconds, "You're getting cold sweats though,"

"Am I?" the tall boy hadn't even noticed, his hands roaming his head and neck, his fingers accidently brushing against Troy's, quickly retreating.

"You're hands are freezing!" The ex-bully exclaimed, feeling the coolness of his touch, grabbing Mike's hands, inspecting; they seemed sickly, "And you look worse for wear too; you shouldn't have come if you're still sick,"

Mike shrugged, merely brushing off the comment, through Troy wasn't far from the truth; he knew how he looked right now, his hair combed with little effort, clothes were the first he could find. His appetite had vanished the day he'd learnt he had fourteen days left, and by the time he had broken things off with Will, every meal felt like a chore, his mind too clouded by thoughts. He shook his head, he had two days left, he just wanted to get through them like any other by focusing on the task at hand: delivering the last of the gifts.

He opened his mouth, ready to say something to ease the ex-bully's worries when he saw it – the familiar pink notification appearing in his view,

[Entering The Love Supremacy Zone]

What?!

Mike looked all around; the moment he let his guard down, Will appeared. Behind him, stood the brunette, watching the pair a few meters away, his expression unreadable, yet clear a mask painted his face. His eyes scanned the boys, landing on their hands.

Vivid memories of Will's tear-stained cheeks imprinted into the ravenette's brain, he couldn't look at him for the Will from that night overlapped, combining into a cacophony of emotions; the smell of Chicago wafting in the air.

The brunette merely nodded, politely and demure. That was all; he didn't cry, he didn't complained, he didn't even come any closer... he just walked past.

"Wheeler, man, you spaced out for a second there. You good?" Troy's voice broke through his trance.

The ravenette forced himself to focus, though his eyes remained fixated to the spot Will had just disappeared around the corner, "Huh? Oh, um, yeah," then, and only then had he realised their hands were touching; it could be interpreted wrong... it was too late,

How did Will perceive that?

Instinctively, he pulled his hand away from Troy's grasp, stepping back to create distance. The moment felt too close and heavy, especially with everything going on. Troy continued talking to him, his voice a comforting drone, lecturing him about his health but Mike barely acknowledged the words, mind solely fixated on Will.

Suddenly, the gift bag slipped from his fingers, tumbling to the ground with a soft thud. The contents spilled into a chaotic scatter of boxes and wrapping paper.

"Crap! Hold on, I got it," The ex-bully rushed to help, kneeling to gather the fallen gifts. But as Mike did the same to assist, he noticed something strange; his hand seemed to flicker just like yesterday, glitching.

When his fingers touched the handle of the bag, it went through like a ghost, his touch having no more affect than the oxygen in the air. A wave of electricity rippled through his bones, warning him.

And then, the real danger appeared:

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3462 Words

Stay Safe <3