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The painstakingly long trip across the western desert had taken a toll on Mike. He found himself bored to death, waiting for something, anything, to happen that would shake things up. So far it had just been a cycle of stops at gas stations for fuel, everyone getting lost, arguing, then getting back on track before someone points out that the road they were on looked nothing like the one they were supposed to turn onto and the whole thing starts over again. Not to mention, the van was extremely uncomfortable with smells of pizza lingering and Will and Mike didn't even have real seats, which he was certain was illegal.
When Jonathan made the executive decision to park at an abandoned lot to get whatever sleep they could, Mike felt relieved that he could finaly relax without the car sickness in the back of his throat. The sky had been dark for a few hours, which had made navigating especially difficult and stopping was no doubt the best option.
Mike didn't feel particularly tired, unlike Argyle and Jonathan who passed out within minutes, their snores echoing around the van. Still, Mike lied down in the back and tried to fall asleep.
He must have fallen asleep at least a little bit; when he looked up, Will wasn't in the van.
Mike slid the side door open and stumbled out, gazing around to see where Will had gone. Mike noticed him sitting on the roof of the van, his knees tucked under his chin, which was angled toward the starry sky.
Mike climbed up to join him, careful to step on the side as lightly as possible, as to not wake Jonathan and Argyle. Will glanced at him while he was pulling himself up, but then focused ahead. Mike crossed his legs and let them rest against his arms while he stared where Will was looking.
"What're you doing up here?" Mike was the first to say anything, after he let a calm silence hang between them.
"I wasn't really tired, and I wanted some fresh air."
"Can't say I blame you." A second pause followed, both of them breathing in the cool night air. Mike peeked over at Will, who's chestnut hair was ruffled by the casual night breeze and Will's peaceful expression made Mike want to smile, and a tiny grin fell on his face for a moment, before Mike let it drop as he stared forward again.
Despite his attempts to not, Mike found himself gazing at Will yet again, simply admiring him, and he watched the way the stars reflected against his hazel eyes as Will looked back up at the sky. His face was barely illuminated by the stars and moon, a faint glow against his cheeks which began to stretch into a smile.
"Look at all the stars you can see up here." Mike, having barely processed that Will spoke, tilted his head away to look at the sky, and millions of glowing stars littered it. Mike hadn't ever gone stargazing, and he generally hated camping, complaining about the bugs the whole time, and so he never got to really see stars like this.
"Wow," escaped his lips and he took in the massive view that was resting above their heads. Mike heard a small laugh come from Will, and he broke his gaze at the sky to look at him, and was met by Will's bright eyes coupled with an even brighter grin.
Will immediately turned away, clearing his throat and looking down while Mike couldn't help but continue admiring him. Everything about Will was perfect, and a swarm of bubbles rose around in him just thinking about Will. Not only did he have a pretty facade, everything he did was so soft and gentle which was very different from Mike's home, where people (especially him and Nancy) were always loud and trying to talk over each other, even getting into arguments over who was supposed to talk next. But with Will, he never talked over him, rather listening to all of Mike's words come spilling out as he watched and nodded along. Mike would always make an attempt to return the favor; letting Will let his often hidden away feelings come out to Mike, and he always let himself take pride in being the one Will wants to talk to, he wants to talk only to Mike about whatever it was.
Mike wanted to tell Will how he felt about him. At this point, Mike knew his feelings for Will had become less and less platonic, but he couldn't tell anyone that. He knew his parents would disapprove, seeing as how they would react to anyone being called queer ect. and he hoped Nancy would be okay, but he didn't know for sure and that scared him. The only person, even above the rest of his friends, that he knew would be okay with his feelings was the one person he couldn't tell.
Everytime he looked at or thought of Will, he felt so happy for a brief moment before remembering what it meant.
Will turned back to look at Mike as a tear slipped down his cheek. Mike tried to turn away and keep it out of Will's view, but his friend noticed anyway.
"Hey, what's wrong?" The way Will's voice soothed him made more tears threaten to burst out. In response, Mike just shook his head, unsure of what lie to tell to cover it all up. "Mike," Will rested his hand against Mike's, who felt like he might burst from the contact. "You can tell me anything, okay?"
Mike sniffled and rubbed his face with the hand that wasn't against Will's and took in a deep breath. "I don't like El. Not the way I should. I like-" Mike's throat began to close up, and a second tear fell down. "I like someone else. But I'm not supposed to, it's not right."
After a brief pause, Mike turned to Will, who was staring at him with wide eyes.
Before he knew it, Will's lips touched his.
It happened so fast, Mike didn't believe it happened at first. He stared at Will, lips parted, and tried to process what just happened. Will began to look sick, and he closed his eyes and shook his head. "Mike I don't-"
He interrupted him with a kiss.
Will looked at him in shock for a split second before grabbing his head and kissing him back. Mike wrapped his arm around Will's back to bring him closer, and they adjusted their legs from a criss-cross to kneeling. Mike pressed his eyes closed, wanting to only be aware of Will as they moved their lips in tune with the others, opening and closing their mouths against the others.
Mike's other arm found it's way to Will's head and dipped the tips of his fingers into his hair. Will was cradling his face, his thumbs against the edge of his cheeks and pressing his lips closer with his other fingers against the back of his head.
For a moment, Mike was finally able to forget about would or could hate him for this and was finally able to focus only on Will; how could he focus on anything else in this kind of a moment? All of his fears of their friendship compromised over his crush were thrown out the window as Will kissed him.
As the energy died down and Mike's lips separated from Will's, he didn't want to let him go and gripped onto his back. Will slid his arms to hold Mike, and more tears spilled out, wetting Will's shoulder. He didn't seem to mind, and began to run his fingers through his long hair, which helped Mike calm down.
When the hug finally separated so the two could climb back down into the van as the sky began to lighten, Mike noticed his shirt slightly damp as well.
He pressed once more against Will's lips, and he could feel him smile and Mike mimicked it before hopping back into the van.