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Mack stares at the woman across from him. Her light brown—maybe blonde—hair, blue eyes, perfect teeth as she smiles. She's beautiful, insanely so.
"Look, Willow. I really like you. I've liked you for a long time. I want everything with you. I want to bring you coffee at work in the mornings, I want you to sleep in my bed. I want to tell you I love you every night. I want to bring you flowers. I want to go on dates, to fancy restaurants. Or just to the cafe down the street, because it doesn't matter, as long as I'm with—"
"Okay, okay. Mack? Shut the fuck up." Will cuts him off almost harshly. His blue eyes are squinted, like he's glaring at Mack. Maybe he is. Mack has never been the best at deciphering facial expressions.
The lady, maybe her name was Laila? Mack didn't remember. It didn't matter, anyway. She gave Will a disgusted look, before getting up from the booth. "You're an asshole," she says, jabbing at Will, before turning back to Mack. Her face softens as she says, "I hope it goes good with your girl."
Will rolls his eyes as she walks away, back behind the counter to take a customer at the bar. He sits back down across from Mack, lips wrapping around the straw of his chocolate milkshake.
"She would hate that," Will says, definitely. "She" would, Mack knows. If it was a she. But Will doesn't know that.
Mack just shrugs, taking a drink of his water. "You don't know her," he says, even though it's a lie.
Will leans forward, elbows on the table. His face is close, he's almost halfway across the booth. If Mack leaned forward, his own face would—
He didn't want to think about it. Will flashes a toothy smile, eyebrows raised mischievously. "You should bring her to trivia."
Mack blushes, partly from Will so close, partly from the idea itself. He obviously couldn't say yes. But if he said no, Will would ask questions. And if Will asked questions, Mack would get flustered, and let something slip.
He shrugs again, taking another sip of water. Will groans, head falling back, exposing his neck. His perfect neck. Mack watches as his Adam's apple bob.
He's saved as his phone buzzes, finally dragging his eyes away. It's a reminder that he needs to go grocery shopping. He gives Will an apologetic look, scooting out of the booth.
Will rolls his eyes again. "It's fine dude, just go."
-
Mack gets home exhausted, carrying his groceries in. He sets them down on his kitchen island with a thump, before pulling his hoodie off and making his way to his bedroom.
Today was tiring, he thought. From the overstimulating grocery store, to the shit that happened with Will at the diner... He was exhausted.
He lets himself fall into his bed, just nearly missing the headboard. As soon as Mack lets himself relax, his phone buzzes.
God, today just couldn't go right, could it? He ignores it until it stops.
A minute later, blasting full volume, Pony by Ginuwine starts playing. Mack lets out a groan, pulling the phone from the pocket of his shorts.
It's Will. Of course it's Will. Will is the only person with that ringtone; everyone else is just the default.
He picks up.
"Hey dude, I forgot to ask before you left, mind was all weird, I guess..." Will laughs, a beautiful laugh. Maybe the most beautiful sound in the world.
No, not the most beautiful sound in the world. That was when Will said Mack's name.
"Anyways, what time are you getting here? Ekky said he wanted to "pregame" before trivia, and I'm like, "that's not that that means dude," but he still insisted we should get there early and drink."
Mack is silent for a few moments, before clearing his throat. "Uhh, I don't think I'm coming tonight, man."
"Bro, you can't skip trivia night! We always do trivia night. I love trivia night! I wake up every Wednesday, rock hard, thinking about trivia!" Mack sputters, face turning red at the thought.
Will goes silent for a second, before letting out a sigh. "I think I'm going to quit, Mack. Gonna put in my two weeks."
Before Mack can say anything, Will cries out a loud "Fuck!"
"Dude, dude, are you okay?" Mack says, panicked.
Will lets out a tired laugh, and Mack thinks he just fell back on a chair, from the sound of it. "Just dropped my chain down the sink. Fuck. Well, I gotta go. See ya tonight. And bring your girl!"
Will hangs up, leaving Mack in silence, alone in his big empty house.
-
The least he could do is get Will a new necklace. Maybe it wouldn't be the same, but still.
He had never been to the store he picked before. It had advertised jewelry, but he didn't know it was... witchy. But he couldn't just walk out. That'd be mean, and Macklin wasn't a mean person.
The lady greeted him, but Mack could tell she was on the phone, so he didn't bother her. Instead, he walked towards the back of the store, browsing.
Nothing caught his eye. It was tarot decks, spell books, voodoo dolls. The necklaces, advertised as "Healing Crystals" were just, well, rocks on a string.
He was about to give up, just leave, when he saw it. "One Wish Willow," the box said. Funny. Mack grabbed two. It could be fun, even if it didn't work.
The lady at the counter rung him up quickly, not at all bothered by the fact he didn't talk, even now that she was off the phone. He left the store quickly, climbing into his car and throwing the bag on his backseat.
-
Everyone was already there when Mack got to the bar. They already had a table, nearly full, so he squeezed into the only spot left.
It wasn't beside Will, like he would have wanted, but across from him.
Will mouths something at him, something he can't understand. He shakes his head, causing Will to repeat it, a little more enunciated. "Why didn't you bring her?"
"I'm not bringing her to trivia!" Mack mouths back. Will is about to respond, when Ekky knocks into his shoulder.
"The fuck are you guys doing?" he says, leading to an eye roll from Will. "Weird little whisper thing. We need some drinks. I say Will goes and gets them!" Of course, Ekky had a one track, alcohol focused mind.
Will obliges, standing to go to the bar. Mack follows, slipping out of his seat to trail behind. He orders seven shots, leaning against the bar.
"You want anything?" the bartender asks. It takes Mack a minute to realize he's being spoken to.
"Just a Piña colada, please."
Will snorts, knocking his shoulder into Mack's own. Mack stares, a confused expression on his face. Will lets out a laugh, shaking his head. "Wow. Cute. It's cool that you're in touch with your feminine side."
Mack was about to throw back a retort, ask how it's feminine, it's just a drink. But before he could, the announcer got on the mic.
Trivia started, and Will gave him a smile before grabbing the tray and heading back to the table, leaving Mack to wait for his drink.
-
"So, trivia, who's in?"
Sam's voice echoed out through the empty parking lot, his hand thrown across Misa's shoulder. He was drunk, clearly.
Ekky chimed in agreement, already leaning against his car. Cat and Toff had already left, turned in right when trivia had ended, leaving Misa their designated driver.
"Not me. I'm tired as fuck after today," Will said, taking his hat off to run his fingers through his curls, before putting it back on the other way around.
Sam shoved him, hard but playfully, stumbling until Misa caught onto him. "Cmon dude, you gotta watch me Slim Shady the whole joint! Mis and Ekky don't appreciate it like you do."
"Slim Shady the whole joint," Will mocked, already pulling out his phone. "I'm Ubering home, you can do whatever you want."
"I can drive you." It comes out fumbled. Mack didn't mean to say anything, it just... slipped.
Will gives him a smile, hand clapping his shoulder. "Thank you, Mack."
-
The car ride to Will's house is generally quiet. What Will said earlier hangs over them like a storm cloud, leaving Mack drenched in sadness.
He can't think about that. He turns the radio up, letting some soft pop song play from whatever CD he had in. "I have something for you," Mack says, hands gripping the steering wheel hard.
"That's fucking scary man. Making me nervous."
Mack says nothing at the weird reaction.
There's more silence, before Mack finally pulls up to Will's house, parking on the side of the road. Will hesitates, before pulling his seatbelt off, and opening the door and shutting it behind him.
"Will, wait!" Mack says, rolling the passenger side window down and leaning over the center console.
Will freezes, before sticking his head back in the window.
"I, I just—" Mack cuts himself off, looking back at the steering wheel. "Sorry, lost my train of thought."
Will smiles, leaving again, finally walking into his house.
Five minutes go by before Mack moves. He reaches into the backseat, grabbing the bag from the store earlier. "One Wish Willow. You only get one wish," the box read.
He ripped the cardboard, startling at the melody the box lets out. Mack holds the stick in his hand.
"I wish William Charles Patrick Smith would love me more than anyone in the fucking world."
He breaks it. Nothing happens.
There's a knock on his window.
Will's standing there, illuminated by the streetlights as he opens the door to Mack's car, flopping in like he owned the place. "I forgot how quiet my place is. Can we go to yours?"
-
Will let them into Mack's apartment. He walked in, immediately falling down onto Mack's couch.
Mack looked over at his desk, and quickly grabbed the bottle of lotion there, hiding it.
"Okay, dude, you gotta get up so I can make the couch," Mack says, trying to add an air of humor, but he's not sure it works.
Will tilts his head, staring up through his eyelashes. "Or, we could share your bed."
Mack splutters, but Will is already up and making his way towards Mack's bed, stripping down to his boxers. It was fucking weird, but exactly what he wanted at the same time.
He follows in suit, stripping down, leaving him in his own boxers (and his shirt.)
As soon as he sat down, Will moved closer, chin resting on Mack's shoulder. "Can I kiss you? Please?" Will said softly, teeth raking over his bottom lip.
Mack pulls away, leaping up from the bed. "I'm so sorry, this isn't really you! You were like, possessed or something, because I made this dumb wish, and I wanted you to love me but I didn't think it would actually work, and—"
He's cut off by Will pulling him back down, hands gripping his hips. "A One Wish Willow?"
Mack nods, lip jutting out in a pout. He can feel his eyes tearing up, and he, somehow, manages to keep them on Will.
Will just laughs. "Those don't work if the thing you wish for is already there, dumbass. I didn't ask to kiss you because of the wish. It was because I wanted to."
"Why now, then? If it was already true?" Mack says quietly, hands folded in his lap.
Will gives a small smile, cupping Mack's flushed cheeks. "The Willow stuff. I had to tell you before you told her how you felt, even if I didn't think it would work."
Mack smiles slightly, leaning his forehead against Will's. "There was no Willow. It was always you."