WILL POV-

---- 1:22 PM ----

The small boy took a deep breath after his conversation with Mike; his heart raced but this time in a good way. The gentle forehead kiss was something the brunette had never gotten before, a statement to the ravenette's soft side; a contrast to the tough exterior that was obviously a front put up due to his criminal lifestyle.

As he left the kitchen, he could feel a mix of emotions swirling within him; he had a boyfriend; a real boy who wanted him. He couldn't help but squeal at the thought; he could have thrown up from the notion.

El looked up as Will re-entered the room; her eyes attentive and curious. He looked around the room seeing no sign of Mike, but before he could even step over the floor creaked, causing El to rush over to him, enveloping him into a warm hug, her concern gleamed in her eyes as she asked. "Will are you okay?" she began, "Mike told me everything! He said you're not engaged anymore but you are dating... is that what you want?"

The small boy smiled, appreciating the concern, taking a moment to collect his thoughts before responding. He knew he needed to be honest, not just to El but to himself.

"El, I appreciate your support and concern," he began, a warm and gentle smile playing on his lips, "I am dating Mike because I want to, not out of fear. I actually do want to try and make this work."

"Are you really sure?" she questioned a little shocked, grabbing both the brunette's shoulders, urging to explain his feelings.

The small boy nodded, expressing genuine interest in dating the ravenette, "I promise," he replied, "I have feelings for him, so I thought, why not?" he joked, repeating the words Mike had said to him after the proposal. He was still in mild shock, but now he could laugh over the dumb series of events. Will looked both ways, a concerned expression on his face, "Do you know where Mike is?"

"The new couple want to be joined at the hip." she sighed dramatically, throwing her hands into the air playfully, "He said he was going upstairs to look for some clothes. I think he wanted to change into something comfortable." she shrugged.

With a nod of gratitude, Will excused himself, "I think I'll go check on him." he said, leaving El in the living room alone. He climbed the stairs; his steps delicate, careful not to make a sound on the wooden floor as he ascended. Approaching the guest bedroom where he assumed Mike was, he raised his hand knocking on the door.

The brunette's concern for the ravenette's wellbeing went further as he knocked again gently, but with no immediate response, he decided to enter. This seemed oddly familiar, hopefully he doesn't walk into what he did yesterday... maintaining flashbacks of the event.

However inside, the sight made his heart melt; he found the ravenette sprawled out on the bed, laying down with his legs hanging off the edge. He looked like a corpse as his eyes struggled to stay awake; his hair dishevelled. It was clear he was exhausted, but then again it made sense considering he has been driving nonstop for two days.

The room bathed in a soft, natural light, making Mike look even more peaceful in this state. A smirk crept onto the brunette's face, if he had a phone, he wished to record the moment as he quietly stepped over to the bed. Mike stirred slightly, his eyes adjusting to the light with his half-closed eyes, "Will?" he whispered, still half asleep.

"Yeah, it's me," the small boy replied, his affection evident at the sight of his boyfriend in this vulnerable state.

"What are you doing here?" the tall boy questioned, his lack of sleep shining through.

Will sat next to him placing a hand on his head, petting the ravenette's curly hair, "I came to check on you, sleepy head," he teased, "What are you doing like this?"

Mike yawned, swallowing the drool bellowing in his mouth, "I was looking for clothes, and then I just... got a little tired," he confessed, his words slurred from drowsiness.

Will couldn't help but grin at the burrowing ravenette. Deciding to lend a hand, he gently reached down, taking off Mike's beat-up pair of sneakers; untying the shoelaces to help them slip off; first the right then the left.

Chuckling softly, the brunette grabbed one of Mike's arms placing the other behind his back to help him sit, manoeuvring his body and legs to lay comfortingly on the bed. "You can really sleep anywhere, huh?"

The tall boy sheepishly grinned, feeling Will's hands manoeuvring him around; going along with it. He smiled with a sigh, "Yeah, I guess."

Now laying correctly with his head on the pillow, Mike moaned from exhaustion. The small boy travelled to the feet of the bed, "Let's get you under these covers," he suggested, dragging the duvet all the way over the tall boy, covering every inch of his body; only his head poking through.

Like a child, Mike shuffled, finding his comfortable spot as he nestled under the blankets nervously asking, "Can you, um... close the curtains please?"

"Oh! Sure." Will said, walking over to the window; the bright sun beaming back at him. He gently pulled the curtains closed, blocking out the light rays and dimming the room to create a cozy attitude.

Mike's eyes drooped again, barely managing to stay conscious, "Thanks, bunny," he muttered the endearing nickname.

As the brunette walked back from the curtains, he stood by the bedside, brushing away a few strands of hair from Mike's forehead, "No problem. You get some rest; I'll check on you in a bit."

With that, the brunette quietly left the room, already able to hear the soft snoring from the ravenette resting peacefully. He headed back downstairs, feeling a warmth in his chest.

Will tiptoed down the halls, with his boyfriend asleep upstairs, his days of driving catching up with him. Will decided to leave his boyfriend to his peaceful slumber and join El in the living room.

As he entered the room, the doe-eyed girl raised her head from her phone raising an eyebrow, "How is he?"

"Out! Like a log!" Will joked, trying not to laugh loudly,

El chuckled softly, "Poor Mike; he's funny when he's sleep deprived. He gets delirious!"

The small boy nodded, settling onto the couch beside the girl, already bored, "What 'ya doing?" he questioned in a singing tone.

She held her phone up, "Just making a Pinterest board!" she enthusiastically chimed.

"So that's why is so nicely decorated in here!" he exclaimed,

---- 2:03 PM ----

The conversation flowed effortlessly between them both with juice cartons; a movie playing mindlessly in the background from the Tv yet neither paid any mind to it as they swapped stories, sharing secrets and even Will divulging the tales from Hawkins; the place he was taken from. From his father to the senior citizens that litter the streets; no one was spared by their scrutiny.

"Honestly, being proposed to, is such a good story to tell," El leaned in, with a chuckle, "So you know Lucas, right?" she questioned.

The small boy nodded, furrowing his brows before asking his own question, "Wait you know Lucas?" not knowing to what extent the doe-eyed girl knew about the ravenette's secret criminal life.

"I know all of Mike's criminal friends," she sighed, "I talk to them sometimes, they're fun!"

"Oh okay..." the brunette paused for a second realising he derailed the conversation, "Oh anyway, what did Lucas do?"

"Wanna know how he asked Max out?" The doe-eyed girl asked seeing the small boy nod, "He tried to impress Max by competing with her but... he let her choose the sport."

"Okay... I feel like this isn't gonna end well!" he stretched his words, bringing his carton of apple juice to his lips, sucking on the straw.

"No, actually it's really cute; they had a skateboarding competition," El said, unable to hide her amusement, "He told her that if he won, she had to go on a date with him."

Will raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued, "And what did Max say?"

The doe-eyed girl leaned closer as if sharing a secret despite being the only two in the room. "Max agreed obviously, but she had one condition. She said if she won, she'd get something from Lucas, but she wouldn't say what it was."

The brunette couldn't help but chuckle, knowing this already sounded like a recipe for disaster. "So, who won then?"

"Max did! She absolutely crushed him in the competition; though it makes sense because she has been skating since she's been in diapers." El's eyes sparkled with mischief.

The small boy laughed but placed a small pout on his lips, "Poor Lucas..." he paused for a second, "Oh but what did Max want from him then?"

"Drumroll please..." El smiled, tapping her hands against her thighs to create a drumming effect, wanting suspense to hang in the air before stopping, "She wanted to date him!"

"Wait so they wanted the same thing?" the small boy added while laughing.

"Yep!" El nodded, joining in the laughter, "Turns out she had a crush on him all along, it was quite a cute story. They've been together ever since."

"Woah how long have they been together?" Will asked.

El pondered the questioned for a second almost as if she was going back in time to remember, "I met them for the first time when I was 19 which was four years ago, and they were together then." she pondered

"Woah! That's a lot of time together!" he said.

"Yeah, they first dated on-and-off, but eventually they just clicked and haven't broken up since." El shrugged.

"Oh nice..." The small boy nodded, but then a question popped into his head, "Wait so Mike has been a criminal for 4 years?"

"5 years." she corrected with a sigh, "Ever since he started college, he made friends and then started doing crime during his free time." she paused for a second before rambling, "I tried telling him to stop and that if he was doing this for money then I could give it to him but... he never listens."

"Oh shit! I'm sorry about that." He frowned in return,

"Eh! Don't worry about it, I've made my peace and make him report to me every so often." the doe-eyed girl slapped her thigh.

Will giggled for a moment, thinking of Mike; a criminal being scared of sweet El in Nevada. His thoughts derailed as he changed the subject, "By the way, I've been meaning to ask, like what's your job? Like how do you have such a nice house at such a young age."

The doe-eyed girl took a sip of her juice, "I'm actually a model." she said nonchalantly.

The small boy nearly choked on his own spit, "A- a what?"

"A model!" the girl repeated. "I've been modelling for a while now; it's actually quite fun."

The brunette felt thoroughly surprised, never would he have guessed. Unable to form any sentences, he spoke in disbelief, "H-how?"

"My roommate in college- Jennifer, did photography and asked if I could be her model for some of her pictures, and yeah. Soon after she posted them, the photos went viral, and I was getting offers left and right." El leaned back, a soft chuckle playing on her lips as she remaniced.

"Holy shit! That's- that's actually really impressive," the small boy exclaimed.

"Thanks Will, but honestly I take more pride in my business," She appreciatively thanked, humbly bragging but not realising it.

"You also have a business?" Will's jaw practically dropped.

"Yep! I like to keep things interesting... plus I love all things make-up related." she laughed,

The small boy couldn't help but feel admiration and awe for her. She was not only a girl who came from a tough background, but she persevered and became a successful model and business owner.

But then, El turned the conversation into a different direction, "You know Will, you could be a model too if you wanted to,"

Will's cheeks blushed at the compliment, dismissing the notion entirely, "Oh, stop it, you're just saying that."

But the doe-eyed girl was serious, "No, I mean it. You have amazing cheekbones, green eyes, a nice smile and a good body." she listed, "In fact, Jennifer could take some pictures of you; help you become comfortable with the camera. You could go far in the modelling world; trust me!"

The brunette couldn't help but smile at the idea; he never considered modelling before, and his father would kill him if he heard his son was 'playing dress-up' for the camera. He still didn't know if he had what it took but decided in that moment it wasn't for him, "No, no thanks; as nice as that sounds, I've always wanted to be a graphic designer,"

"Ohhh!" she said intrigued by the notion, "I can introduce you to some graphic designers, you know? I meet a lot of different people in my line of work. If you want, I could get you to meet the graphic designer for my business; she's A-MAZING!" emphasizing the last word.

Will's eyes lit up with excitement, "Wait? What? Really?" he questioned, genuinely interested in the prospect as he shuffled in his seat.

"Yeah of course, we're friends!" the doe-eyed girl nudged his side, taking a sip of her orange juice.

"Friends?" the small boy mumbled under his breath, his heart skipping from the notion. He had never been great at making friends for multiple reasons, one of which being his controlling father. Having someone refer to him as a friend was an exciting and heart-warming feeling. He tried to contain his enthusiasm, not wanting to seem too eager.

He took a sip of his apple juice as he smiled; his first true friend. 

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2350 Words

Stay Safe <3