MIKE POV-

Eating their ice-creams in silence, the pair walked slowly down the street, their footsteps in sync. The brunette stayed close to Mike, offering a silent support, eyeing the ravenette every few seconds, ensuring his wellbeing; if anything happened, he wanted to notice immediately. He was patient, waiting for Mike to speak on his own terms, offering support without pushing.

With a sigh, Mike finally broke the silence, his voice low and tense, "That café... it's my parents'. I should have told you." He looked at his ice-cream, a tensive expression on his face.

Will glanced over at him, his brows falling soft. Mike's eyes were fixed on the ground, walking to the bridge wall overlooking the ocean. "I thought I'd be fine if I just popped in and out... but I wasn't," Mike continued, his voice faltering. "I'm sorry for snapping at you." 

It hurt more because Mike made eye contact with his mother, she was standing behind the register in the café with a bright smile. She looked older, had a few extra wrinkles, but her hair was still dyed blonde; there was no mistaking her. She looked straight at him, and...

She didn't recognize him.

"You have nothing to apologise for," Will's heart clenched a little at the apology, but he didn't rush in with any reassurances, just letting Mike continue, feeling his need to vent. He stood next to the ravenette, soaking in the words. "Did you ever look for her?"

The ravenette paused. On his last visit, he didn't even get to the door; outside, he saw both his parents with a little girl, probably eight years old. Even at a distance, they seemed like a harmonious family. After private school in the real world, he was cut off financially from his parents, and so in the next few months, he gathered enough money by working multiple jobs until he saved enough. Thinking he did well, he wanted to meet his parents once more before he applied for college.

"What's the point? She has another kid with my dad. I would just bother her." Mike's voice was quieter now, admitting something he was scared to say out loud.

"I'm sorry for not noticing, I should have."

"Eh, no one could have noticed that." Mike shook his head, his tone indifferent, "Don't beat yourself up,"

"No, I am sorry," Will apologised once more, his voice determined this time, "So teach me. Teach me more about you so I don't ever make you sad again,"

The ravenette turned his body, unable but to just chuckle, reaching a hand out to ruffle Will's hair in the affectionate manner he always does, "You don't have to worry so much, Will. I'm fine."

But the shorter boy frowned, clearly taking the moment seriously, "I mean it, Mike," he insisted, but his seriousness shifted upon noticing something else. "Your ice cream," he exclaimed, seeing the cream melting down the ravenette's hand. He hurriedly grabbed a tissue from his pocket, wiping the drips away, a little frantic,

Mike laughed at Will's sudden shift in focus, his warm tone lightening the mood. "You're a good boy, you know that?"

The brunette's face tinted red, a pout on his face, muttering, "No, I'm not." He glanced up at Mike, clearly embarrassed, and a little happy by the compliment,

"That's what good people say," mike teased, unable to resist his playfulness.

"You only say that because you don't know what I'm thinking," Will pouted, wrapping the tissue around Mike's ice-cream.

"Really?" the raven-haired boy tilted his head teasingly, "Enlighten me. So what are you thinking about Will?"

"None of your business!" The brown-haired boy threw his hands in the air, cheeks bright.

Mike chuckled again, changing the subject, he felt a tad better now thanks to Will, it was the first time he'd admitted this to someone, "Come on. Let's hit the theme park before it gets too late. We've got a lot of rides to catch up on." He smiled

"We don't have to go if you're not up for it," Will shook his head, an understanding smile still present on his face, "We can just sit here and enjoy the view."

"I want to go," Mike replied, not wanting to wallow in self-pity, "I'm serious, I want to have fun with you."

Will's eyes brightened at that sentence as he nodded bashfully, his dimples clear on his cheeks. The ravenette watched his face, the creasing of Will's smile mesmerising as a message appeared before his eyes,

[Fondness: 23]

"I'm looking forward to the rides!" Mike led the way, holding the brunette's hand up till the gates.

---- 5:10 PM ----

"If you can't ride the pirate ship, just say so..." Mike rubbed Will's back.

Will bent over slightly, grasping his knees, catching his breath; his face was pale, and his hair stuck to his forehead. They had been rushing from one ride to the next, trying to squeeze in as much excitement into the day as they could, that Mike hadn't even noticed Will's state until after the boy was hunched over. They had been waiting in lines and sitting on rides, Mike's philosophy was the bigger, the better.

Will shook his head, still grasping his knees, "I rode the Volcano! I can do the Pirate Ship."

"You look like you'd pass out if you tried to ride that," Mike continued rubbing circles into Will's back.

"I'm not a child! I can do this." The shorter boy protested, his face drained of colour as he lifted his head, already stepping into the direction of the Pirate Ship; the line was non-existent so Will sat down, strapping himself in, pass the point of no return. Mike sighed, sitting next to him despite seeing through Will's façade.

The brunette persevered even after the ride had started swinging back and forth. And unlike everyone else on the ride, Will didn't scream or even react, he held tight onto the metal bar in front of him, disassociating from the situation.

As soon as they got off the ride, Will immediately sat down on a neighbouring bench,

"Do you want me to buy you a drink?" Mike questioned,

"No, I just need to sit down before the next ride," the brunette kept his head down,

"Next ride?" The tall boy quipped, "I almost had to carry you off this one."

"I'm fine! I don't want to waste my time with you today; you said you liked amusement parks," Will stated, pushing himself.

Mike could see through the façade. Will had been trying so hard to keep up with him, even though it was obvious the big rides weren't his thing. Seeing the brunette brimming with determination to just stay by his side made Mike soften, thinking it was better to go along with it rather than stopping him... maybe they should just slow down.

Then, the ravenette spotted the peaceful, glowing lights of the carousel, smirking before he made a decision, "You know," he said, looking over at the rhythmic rise and fall of the painted horses, "The carousel looks kinda fun, let's do that."

"I thought u wanted to go on the Twister?" Will turned his head.

"Maybe later," Mike lied, it was clear Will was in no way capable of surviving the Twister without vomiting, "I want to do this first."

It was amusing to watch Will's wounded pride; clearly torn between wanting to tough it out, and admitting that fast rides weren't his thing. and despite the protests, when Mike grabbed his hand to lead him to the carousel, Will didn't resist, merely following with an aching chest in the best possible way.

[Fondness: 27]

Mike saw the message before his eyes, a smirk on his face as he assumed Will really appreciated that. The line was short; around them were children that barely reached their shoulders, and couples in love climbing onto bright-coloured horses, fishes, and dragons amongst other mythical creatures.

"Go on," the tall boy teased, "Pick the coolest one,"

Rolling his eyes, the brunette couldn't help laughing as he picked a yellow dragon with light blue accents, finding it the coolest of the bunch. Mike picked the horse next to him, a dark blue unicorn with a purple mane,

As the carousel started moving, the world seemed to slow with the soft rise and fall of the horses, the gentle breeze against their face. Mike glanced over at Will who was slightly more relaxed. He teased, "See, this isn't so scary, right Will?"

"You can be so annoying sometimes," The brunette grumbled playfully, but thankful for the slow ride.

"Hey! Aren't I thoughtful, what other kind of guy would do all of this?"

Will gave no response, his gaze penetrating Mike's form; the concentration on his face was deadly, as if he was thinking about something so distinctly. Mike noticed, feeling the weight of the eyes on him, as if he was being sucked in, making his skin feel hot.

The carousel slowed, time slowed, the music stopped as the pair climbed off their horses. Will stretched his arms a bit, seeming to have recovered from his earlier nausea, ready for what came next.

"So," he turned to Mike with a playful grin, "What's next? Another roller coaster? Ferris wheel?"

Mike glanced at the sky; it was starting to deepen into hues of orange as the sun set. He checked his watch; "It's past six, our coach is at seven; maybe we should start heading to the bus station."

Will's smile faltered just a little, disappointment crossing his face before he nodded. "Oh, yeah. I guess it is getting late."

They began walking side by side, leaving the flashing lights and cheerful screams of the theme park behind them. The sounds of the rides grew softer, distant until they reached the station, sitting down on a vacant bench as they waited,

"Let's come again... after the mountains of course!" Mike announced, noticing the brunette's soft frown, like a puppy told they have to come home from the dog-park.

"Do I have to talk to more people?" Will turned his head,

"Nah! We're friends, we can do stuff like this without conditions next time," The ravenette smiled,

"Right..." Will paused, looking down at his shoes with a small smile, although why did it hurt to hear the word 'friend'?

WILL POV-

The coach arrived with a hiss, its lights flickering as it pulled up to a stop. The doors swung open, and the pair boarded, finding seats in the middle of the bus; this time Will took the window, and as always, Mike sat next to him.

After a while of idling, the bus set off with the engine filling the sound in the air as they began their journey home. Looking out the window, Will saw the sky transition, filling with stars, the streetlamps twinkling in his eyes, passing by in a blur. Mike leaned back in his seat, arms crossed, head back, eyes heavy, a contrast to the brunette's restlessness; his eyes darting between the window and the boy by his side.

After much debating, and mentally battling his own thoughts for over half an hour, Will took the leap, hesitating with his question, "Hey Mike, what kinda person do you like?"

"Huh?" Mike opened his eyes groggy, not moving,

"I mean, you asked me last time, so I got curious about you," he said, attempting to be casual.

Mike felt cornered, saying the first thing that came to mind in his half-asleep state, "The cute type, I guess."

"Cute? Like small?" Will pursed his lips; did he fit that? Did Mike see him that way? Technically he was smaller than Mike.

"Cute is cute," Mike replied, very matter-of-factly,

"What's cute to you?" the brunette pushed.

"Lots of things," The ravenette answered, "Puppies, kittens, babies, even you at times." He said light-heartedly,

"I meant in a more romantic sense," Will replied,

"Why do you care about that?"

"Do you like someone cute as a partner?" the shorter boy questioned, completely ignoring Mike's protests. Will was anxious, he so desperately wanted to know, to know what Mike liked... and what he should do.

"I guess... but most important is someone who will be with me for a long time." Mike shrugged.

"That's not really a quality..." Will mumbled at the ambiguous response.

Mike chuckled to himself at the puzzled look on Will's face, it was clear he didn't know what Will was feeling in that moment, "Fine... then I guess I like someone who is cute, diligent, kind and has a nice smile... is that the type of thing you wanted?"

"That's very vague." Will scrunched his face,

"Well, that's my type!" Mike replied, a tad sarcastic, "No matter what answer I give you'd say that."

"So have you ever been in a relationship?" The brown-haired boy asked inquisitive,

"Have you?" Mike deflected immediately,

"Nope, I've never even had a crush before," the brunette answered quickly, eager to get his answer, "Now your turn,"

Mike glanced at him, surprised at how quickly Will folded. With a sigh, he replied, "Fine... yeah, I've been in one, it lasted a year, and it was in sophomore year." Saying the answers to the questions he knew Will was going to throw at him,

The brunette stared, his eyes narrowing, "Did you like them? I mean, really like them?"

Mike looked away, feeling uncomfortable, "I guess at the time I did like her," he thought back; he was a horrible boyfriend, he really tried to like her, but he was always closed off, wanting to do everything solo, he couldn't open his heart up like she did.

The brown-haired boy tilted his head, there was a moment of silence before he hesitantly asked, "It was a girl? Do you like boys or girls more?"

"Does it matter?" Mike deflected, he'd never thought about that question before, and he didn't want to answer it right this moment.

Will blinked looking down processing that, "It matters to me," he muttered, not audible, deciding not to ask any more questions for now, no matter how much he wanted to ask.

"Now if that's all, I'm gonna try to get some sleep over here." Mike joked light-hearted, a smile on his lips as he closed his eyes once more, resting his head back; it was clear he wanted to end the conversation for now.

The brunette nodded quietly, waiting a while before he was sure Mike was asleep beside him. He took his phone out of his pocket, his fingers hovering over his screen as he reached for the note's app, discreetly starting to type, glancing at the raven-haired boy one last time.

He created a new note, jotting down Mike's ideal type; 'Cute', 'Diligent', 'Kind', 'Nice Smile'. And with that, he assessed himself; comparing and contrasting.

Cute?

He looked down at his frame; he was 5'8, taller than some, but shorter than Mike himself. He never thought of himself as particularly cute, of course, his mother would tell him all the time, but a mother's love can be blinding. He wasn't athletic or outgoing, all he did was art; was that 'cute'? His clothes were simple, mostly hand-me-downs from his brother, consisting of flannels and khakis; it wasn't impressive in the slightest... but he was proud of what he wore today.

He wasn't cute in the way he imagined Mike meant it; sure, he said it earlier, but in that same sentence he called kittens and puppies cute. Mike was cute with his messy hair, piercings and sharp eyes, always looking effortlessly good. But Will? He didn't possess that quality.

Diligent?

This one was easier to assess. Will was dedicated when it came to his art, spending hours, if not days perfecting his canvas; it was hard to be lazy. He also tried hard in school, he had a scholarship in art, but he tried his best to be good all over the board; he knew Mike noticed, he would make comments occasionally. But was that the type of diligence Mike was searching for?

With a sigh, he gave himself a hesitant point,

Kind?

He paused. Will wanted to be kind, and he tried to be... at least to Mike. He usually didn't care how he expressed himself to others, it wasn't as if anyone was kind when it came to him; only Mike was. Mike was one of the only people who showed him kindness... if that's the type of kindness Mike wanted in a partner, Will wasn't sure he could give all of that. Mike occasionally called him a 'brat', but still... maybe he was getting less bratty?

In any case, it was an area he could improve in.

Nice Smile?

Will glanced at his reflection in the window next to his seat, catching a faint glimpse of himself staring back in the dim lights. He hesitated, testing something... he tried smiling.

His lips tugged upwards, but it felt awkward and forced. His smile was crooked, the expression not quite following him as his facial muscles trembled, struggling to keep its position. The more he stared, the less genuine it felt; no matter what he did- more teeth, less teeth, a wide grin, a small sliver- it looked strained.

He let his smile fall, feeling like his reflection was mocking him. He felt stupid staring at himself like this, trying to see what Mike might see in him... he sighed.

What was he doing?

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2823 Words

Stay Safe <3