WILL POV-

After taking a last gulp of her juice and patting her lips dry with a soft napkin, the doe-eyed girl broke the comfortable silence, a bright grin on her face, "You wanna continue washing the car?"

Will agreed with a smile, he was used to washing his dad's car when he was at home, but he would always have to do it alone while his father would regularly berate him for missing a spot or accuse him of scratching the paint; even when the scratches obviously could not be done by a simple sponge. This was different however, right now, he had El helping him, both joking and telling dumb stories as they set off scrubbing and cleaning the car with newfound energy. The sun burned bright in the sky; casting harsh shadows onto them and the water splashing around as they worked together in harmony.

As they scrubbed, El began sharing some amusing anecdotes about Mike; all their conversations seemed to revolve around the tall boy, and Will didn't know why the doe-eyed girl kept talking about him, but considering the stories were funny and heartfelt, he liked listening to them; although sometimes it felt like she was talking about someone completely different. The brunette found himself giggling as El explained her stories, finding himself surprised how much she could lift his mood.

"He's actually a bit of a neat freak," El explained with a grin, moving to clean the side windows, "I remember this one time when he freaked because I accidently spilled popcorn in his car. He never allowed anyone to eat in his car after that,"

The small boy chuckled, repeatedly trying to remove a stubborn stain on his side of the window, "Really? I wouldn't have guessed." he said,

"Yeah," she said with a playful grin, "He went into like a panic mode, and I saw him vacuuming the car at like midnight when we returned home!"

Will smiled, still trying to remove the stubborn stain but to no avail. Stopping, he realised the times he had eaten in Mike's car, "I actually wouldn't have known that you know, I've actually eaten in his car before... twice."

El raised an eyebrow stopping her cleaning, "Really?" her lips twitched to a subtle smile, "He's pretty adamant about it!"

Will nervously chuckled, sensing that something might be wrong, "I was handcuffed, so it must just be that he was lazy and didn't want to uncuff me." he rambled,

The doe-eyed girl smile grew, unable to be seen through the tinted windows, but doesn't press the issue, deciding just to agree, "Well, I guess that's always plausible... you must be a neat eater considering he wasn't vacuuming the car last night." she chuckled the last words.

The pair continued washing the car again, taking their time; it was a hot spring's day and they aimed to have a chilled-out day; well as chilled as possible, considering the brunette was technically still a captive.

El walked around the car to the side the small boy was on, dipping the sponge into a soapy water bucket. "Hey Will," she smirked, "Do you wanna know some juicy Mike gossip?"

The Brunette furrowed his brows, "Umm sure," he mumbled, not knowing what this gossip would entail; honestly, it could be anywhere from Mike's silly childhood to all the murderous crimes he had committed, hoping it was the former.

"Well you know, how he's got this big tough guy persona going on..." she giggled looking both ways, "He's actually a big softie."

Will raised an eyebrow at that fact, honestly not sure to believe it, "Really? I can't picture it."

"Oh believe me!" El insisted, her eyes dancing, "He's got like a secret stash of old family photos and drawings from when we were younger in his room."

"Really?" the brunette smiled, "That's actually so cute!"

"I know right! He's a lot like a big child," she playfully nodded, "And sometimes when we have movie nights, he chooses sappy romance movies and is then glued to the screen." she chuckled,

"No way!" the brunette laughed, covering his mouth, unable to contain himself at the thought of the ravenette in his leather jacket and between crimes enjoying a sappy romantic film.

"And don't tell anyone..." she whispered quieter, making sure nobody could hear, "He says his favourite movie is 'The Godfather' but it's really 'The Notebook'."

Will jumped back, honestly shocked, his jaw hanging open, "Holy shit!" he exclaimed, stunned by the revelation but at the same time finding it oddly endearing, feeling as though he knew more about Mike in these past few days than he ever had about any 'friends' he had ever made at school.

El shrugged with a knowing smile, feeding all these true stories to the brunette to help Mike, "Exactly, but keep this our little secret." she winked, "He gets a little embarrassed when it comes to it."

"Thats cute." Will grinned, fondly looking down at the ground, appreciating the lighter side of the ravenette he'd never seen before. It was weirdly comforting to him that Mike was more complex than he seemed; he had thoughts and emotions which made him less threatening and scary.

El raised her eyebrows hearing what the brunette said, she would have said something about it, but got distracted when cleaning the back windshield wipers, "Where the Hell did you lot park? How does a car get this dirty?"

"We parked in Walmart overnight." Will mumbled,

"The goddamn pigeons!" The doe-eyed girl chuckled in return with a fake pout, "Damn you feathered-friends!" raising a fist into the air dramatically.

As they work their way around the car, removing any lumps of dirt, the conversation naturally spun back to Mike; like the whole world revolved around him. They shared laughter over his failed attempts at cooking and his habit of getting so lost in his own thoughts at times. The brunette found himself enjoying their light-hearted banter.

After a while, the car was finally finished being washed, and as they stood back admiring their work, the car gleamed in the sunlight, not a speck of dust to be found. Wiping his hands with a towel he turned to El.

"Thanks for suggesting this." He said, genuinely grateful, "I needed something like this to take my mind off of... everything," chuckling the last word nervously.

The doe-eyed girl smiled warmly, "No problem Will! It's been fun!"

Collecting the cleaning supplies while squatting, Will tried not to drop anything as El put the buckets away and wound up the garden hose. Mike eventually returned, stepping out the house; he never really needed to shower, he just wanted to get away for a while; brushing his teeth and washing his face. He eventually felt refreshed walking up to the brunette casting a shadow over him.

The small boy was squatting as he collected the different cleaning products, stopping when he saw a pair of shoes blocking his way, looking up, he saw Mike. Will looked surprised jumping up from his position to stand eye to eye with the tall boy.

"Hey umm... what did I miss?" The ravenette asked, staring deep into the small boy's eyes, hoping to share some banter with him. He wanted to wash the car with Will, to spend some time where it didn't seem like a kidnapping. But he quickly brushed that aside,

"Nothing much." the brunette shrugged, not showing much emotion, "Just washed the car."

"Oh..." Mike nodded, suddenly feeling awkward, "Did you have fun?" scratching the back of his neck.

"Um... Yeah." Will furrowed his brows, noticing the weird way the tall boy was acting. He didn't know why but the ravenette seemed... different.

From a few meters away, El continued winding the garden hose, momentarily stopping to watch the scene unfold before her. She facepalmed, feeling the second-hand embarrassment radiate off her body with sympathy for her best friend. She couldn't help but notice the awkward way he was talking to Will, like a child confronting his crush for the first time and it was clear he was struggling to keep this conversation going. El knew Mike had crushes before but never ones that basically rendered him in a gay panic.

With a sly smile, wanting to intervene in a light-hearted way to just give Mike that little push, she looked down at the hose in her hands, an idea popped into her head, turning the faucet with only enough power to create a controlled spray of water splashing it at the brunette. The shock on Will's face quickly turned to silly giggles as the cold water hit his body.

"El seriously?" Will exclaimed, doing nothing to stop the water from hitting his body, "I surrender! I surrender!" he chuckled, throwing his hands into the air in a playful defeat.

The doe-eyed girl grinned and after a couple of seconds, the brunette was completely drenched. She shrugged, an innocent smile on her face, "I guess I have a rebellious streak!"

Will shook his head, his hair now completely waterlogged as they stuck to his forehead, turning his head away from the ravenette to make faces at El.

Meanwhile, Mike was also staring at the brunette, but not for any reason you might think; Mike was completly focused on the small boy's now-visible chest; the water causing the white tank-top to be purely see-through, outlining his body. His cheeks flushing a shade of red that was prominent on his pale cheeks.

Mike's reaction did not go unnoticed by El, seeing his blush and his eyes glued to the brunette. It was clear the ravenette was flustered and she couldn't help feel a mix of sympathy and amusement for him.

She hoped her playful intervention would give the desired effect, and work as intended. Maybe seeing Will in a playful state would help the ravenette have courage to continue the conversation.

As the seconds passed, Mike's gaze lingered on Will, mustering the courage to take action. From the side, he swiftly grabbed a towel, approaching the small boy from behind.

Will's breath caught in his throat feeling the weight of the towel placed on his shoulders, and yet the sensation of Mike's arms over him sent a wave of warmth through his body. The unexpected embrace caused a gasp of surprise to escape his lips.

The brunette remained facing away from Mike, his heart pounding in his chest, a weird sense of comfort settling through his body. The sensation of being held, even if it was merely to ward away the cold, sent warm and fuzzy feelings coursing through him. His heart thudded, and in a weird way, he didn't want the moment to end, but eventually Mike's arms loosened their hold on him.

Finally, the ravenette spoke, his voice soft, "You should dry up. Don't want you to catch a cold."

The brunette finally turned around, facing the tall boy and clutching the towel tight around his body, a weird feeling inside him as his lips curved upwards, "Thanks." he said, his voice genuine.

There was a silent moment between them as neither said nothing, but the ravenette nervously shook his hands, "I just... didn't want you to puke in my car." he lied, trying not to expose his emotions.

"Oh... okay." Will mumbled with a small nod.

El watched the interaction from a distance; cleaning up, with her smile still present. She could see the subtle shift in Mike's demeanour and how a simple, playful act opened a door for the ravenette to expose his vulnerabilities even if it didn't last for very long, but she could see that it had an impact on the brunette too.

Suddenly, Mike grabbed Will's hand, leading him inside the house; a mix of confusion and surprise washing over the brunette. Will stumbled along, allowing himself to be guided through the house through Mike's firm grip. His heart raced worried of where Mike was taking him or what they were going to do.

Walking into the guest bedroom, Mike let go of the small boy. The door closed behind them as Will turned to face the ravenette, his towel clutched tight in one hand, uncertainty etched across his features.

"M-Mike what's going on?" Will asked, his voice mixed with curiosity and bewilderment. His eyes searching for an explanation, hoping Mike wasn't expecting anything of him in this bedroom.

Mike gaze was intense, almost unreadable; something Will couldn't decipher. "You got soaked by the hose, and I think you should take a shower, to um... warm you up." he explained quickly, his words rambling as he rushed, averting his gaze

Will furrowed his brows, "But what's the rush? And why are you so... insistent?" he inquired, scrunching his face.

The tall boy shifted uncomfortably, his cheeks tinted red, "I guess I'm just a bit... concerned." he admitted, finally meeting Will's gaze with a mix of embarrassment and uncertainty.

The small boy's heart skipped a beat at what the ravenette said, a weird warmth emanating within. Perhaps it was the intensity of Mike's concern, or the vulnerability etched into his words.

But then again, the tall boy hesitated, his expression changing. His throat clearing as he took a step back, "I mean I'm protective of my car and... I really don't want you to throw up in it." Mike added going back on his words in panic, his tone also changing to downplay his previous sentiment, repeating the same phrase he said outside.

"Oh... okay." Will responded, his voice confused as he forced a smile, "I'll go to the bathroom now."

"Yeah. I'll leave clothes out here for you... when you're done." Mike mumbled, looking down despite his weird feelings.

"Okay." the brunette nodded, his tone slightly distant as he turned toward the guestroom-bathroom, closing the door and locking it behind him. 

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2308 Words

Stay Safe <3