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The bell rings loudly, the last class of the day finally over. Will sighs and packs up his books slowly, his muscles aching and his head beginning to throb.
Swinging his backpack over his shoulder earns him an ache in his back, a frown permanently making its mark on his face as he feels worse by the second. He just has to drop off some things at his locker and be on his way to meet Mike for movie night at his house.
His feet drag across the scuffed up floor, the bright lights on the ceiling making his headache worse. He picks up his pace as he nears the end of the hall, ready to throw his shit into his locker and leave, but as he gets just a few feet away, his shoulder is roughly pushed and he's heading straight for the lockers, his head smacking slightly into one of the latches.
Will yelps at the pain in his head, his shoulder throbbing now as well. Rough hands grab his shirt collar and push him into the lockers, his back pressing into them painfully. One of the basketball jocks now face him, a sneer etched onto his face as he leans close.
"Thought you could get away, huh? I told you I'd find you if you fucked me over on that essay." He spits with anger written on his face.
Will winces as a lock digs into his shoulder blade, "I told you that I wasn't going to write it for you. You should've done it yourself."
The jock, Sean, the name embroidered neatly on his jacket, seethes and pulls on Will's shirt before shoving him back into the lockers with a harder force than before. "You piece of shit! I swear, when I'm done-"
Sean is forcefully shoved aside, his balance wavering due to his unsuspecting stance, and trips over his own foot before tumbling to the floor with a grunt. He looks up with shock and his eyes squint into a glare when he sees the new person standing there.
Mike stares right back with furrowed brows, lips pulled into a thin line as he eyes the bully. "Yeah, right, you're not doing shit. You need to leave." He crosses his arms and stands in front of Will.
Will breathes a quiet sigh of relief and reaches a hand out to subtly tug at Mike's jacket. The reaction is immediate; Mike turns his head quickly, eyes meeting Will's and his whole face softens into a sweet smile. "You okay, Will?"
Sean stands up quickly, brushing himself off as Will shrugs his shoulders in response to Mike with a quiet confirmation, "Yeah, I'll be fine."
"What, is he your boyfriend or something? Has your little knight in shining armor come to rescue the princess?" Sean makes an attempt to step closer again, trying to crowd the both of them now. Mike steps in quickly, putting himself between Will and Sean, grateful for his height just for this moment.
"Back off, man. You're on the basketball team, right? I heard from a friend of a friend that someone got caught with, let's say, illegal substances while in school. Now, I'm just saying," Mike brings his hand up in a mock defense pose. "But I don't think this person's daddy is gonna like that too much."
Sean backs up, just slightly, his head turning as he eyes Mike up and down warily. "You-you don't know anything, that wasn't me, I don't know what you're talking about." He tries to make a pass at Will, but is one step behind. Mike kicks his foot out and pulls Will out of the way immediately after, watching at Sean trips over Mike's foot and falls face first into the lockers.
"Maybe I should bring up the fact that you're screwing that new cheerleader, does your girlfriend know her?" Will bites his lip in an attempt to quiet his shocked laughter.
A trail of blood slowly seeps from Sean's nose as he stands up, he wipes his face hastily and glares as he debates what to do.
Mike motions behind Sean, a look of surprise on his face. "Oh, she's coming this way! Better put on your big boy pants."
Sean swiftly turns around, shoulders tensing as he looks around, only to find no one approaching them. He turns back around, steam practically blowing out of his ears, and attempts, once again, to step in and get his hands on either of the boys. Mike takes a couple steps back, holding his hands behind himself to keep Will back, and lifts his leg before shoving his foot directly in-between Sean's legs with a sharp kick. He collapses to his knees with a harsh gasp, his hands shooting down to cradle himself.
"Come on, Will." Mike grabs Will's hand quickly and races them down the hall until the reach the exit of the school, rushing out and mounting their bike's in record time.
Will doesn't even care that he didn't make it to his locker.
-
When they finally make it to Mike's house, they waste no time in hoarding an armful of snacks and racing downstairs to settle down for movie night.
Mike puts in the first tape out of their selection for the night while Will gets comfortable on the couch with a blanket thrown over his lap. His jacket gets thrown on the chair by the couch and his shoes get kicked off and tossed beside the table. Mike walks up to him after setting up the movie, ready when they are, and leans over him with a soft smile, his hand resting on the back of the couch behind Will. "You doing okay? You've been kind of quiet, I'm worried."
Will nods his head, giving a gentle smile back. "I'm good, my head just hurts a little. I think I'm just stressed out with all of the homework I have to do." Mike nods his head in acknowledgement and shuffles a little closer.
"Let me get you something for your head, and then we'll ignore all of our homework for the rest of the day and just watch movies and relax, okay?" Mike leans down and presses a gentle kiss to Will's cheek and then a peck to his lips before standing up straight with a goofy grin, "I'll be right back."
Luckily, there's a med kit in the bathroom down here, so Mike is quick to dig through it and grab some pain meds before rushing back out to sit beside Will. He grabs a water bottle from the table and hands it to Will along with the medicine. "Here, take this and we'll wait a few minutes before we start the movie."
Mike pulls Will into his side, arms wrapping around Will's shoulders so he can cuddle into his warm neck. Will grins and hugs back just as tightly, pushing his weight into Mike until they both fall onto the couch in a tangled mess of limbs.
The basement fills with their soft laughter as they settle deep into the cushions.
"Those jocks really need to learn when to stop," Mike pipes up after a few minutes of silence. He brings a hand up to carefully run his fingers through Will's hair on the back of his head, remembering when he saw the bully shove him into the lockers. "I hate seeing them treat you like shit."
Will sighs softly, leaning up on his elbows so he can look Mike in the eyes. His head hurts just a little bit now, a faint throb lingers. "Yeah, I hate to say that I'm used to it, but..." He trails off, knowing that Mike understands.
Mike rolls his eyes, a frown etched onto his face. "I hate that. We shouldn't have to be used to it, Will. We're almost eighteen and we're still being bullied for what? It's total bullshit." Mike huffs and replaces his gentle grip on Will's hair with his fingers softly running along the side of Will's face, tracing his cheekbone before sliding down to his lips. "You don't deserve that." He whispers, his eyes flickering across Will's face.
"You don't deserve it either, Mike. They're just douchebags who have nothing better to do with their time." Will responds, taking Mike's hand in his and pressing a kiss to the inside of his wrist. Mike purses his lips and, with a subconscious scrunch of his eyebrows, leans in once again to press their lips together.
It's a sweet kiss; firm but slow, full of emotions they're too shy to speak out loud. Will's hands slide behind Mike's neck and one of Mike's move to Will's waist while the other holds the side of his face.
A sudden clattering from upstairs causes them to pull away from each other with a small jolt. They wait a moment to assess the noise, and then begin giggling quietly with their faces pressed so close that their noses bump softly.
Will tilts his head for one more lingering kiss and then slots his body between Mike's and the couch, resting his head on Mike's shoulder. "Maybe we should turn on that movie now?"
Mike chuckles and wraps his arms and legs around Will's body, squeezing him like an octopus and pressing a multitude of kisses across his face. Will yelps and laughs loudly in surprise, "Mike!"
"Okay, okay," Mike moves away with a wide grin, he squishes Will's cheeks in his hands and presses an obnoxious kiss to his lips before finally pulling away to start the movie. "This movie is amazing, I think you'll love it." Will watches with a fond look in his eyes as Mike begins ranting about the movie before the opening credits even play. He snuggles closer, focus fully on the tv now, his body warm and buzzing as Mike softly runs his fingers through Will's hair.
It's times like these; quiet and intimate, just the two of them, that Will cherishes the most. All of the bad parts of his day just melt away as he envelopes himself in these moments between him and Mike.
"I love you." He murmurs, cheeks red and heart beating just a bit harder. Mike shivers subtly, stopping mid-sentence to turn his head towards Will. His cheeks burn bright, Will smiles as he watches it slowly creep along his face and down his neck, and he bites his lip gently to try to suppress a large grin.
Mike thumps their heads together softly, eyes closing along with a deep inhale. "I love you."
"Thank you for being there for me. My heart." Will's hand strokes Mike's cheek softly, the movie already acting like background noise. Mike's breath hitches, eyes flickering between Will's.
"You're worth protecting." Mike responds quietly, voice thick with emotion. The movie plays in the background, and yet all of their attention is on each other in this intimate moment.