Trash Queen

This was one of the very first things that Will had become very acutely aware of toward the beginning of their then one sided friendship: Mike seemingly loved the sound of his own voice more than anything in the whole world. He’d grown so used to him just spouting off story after story of his experiences and his own made up stories, or things he’d done with or to Max. He would talk endlessly about anything and everything that came to his mind with no filter. And that is why, when he becomes silent for a prolonged period of time, it was certainly a cause for concern. They had settled into a comfortable silence that had lasted a span of 10 whole consecutive minutes. Mike, who had insisted on carrying Will’s bag for him, said nothing as he just held onto the strap of the bag and stared straight ahead with a pensive look.

He clears his throat, “What are you thinking about?”

He drops his hand and heaves a loud sigh before turning to Will with a troubled look.

He wets his lips, “Do you think elephants have feelings?”

Will visibly struggles to not roll his eyes. He breathes in deeply, “Nevermind, forget I asked.”

He huffs and walks ahead, ignoring Mike’s throaty chuckle. “Aww come on! Don’t be like that!”

He grabs at Will’s wrist to pull him back, he pulls just a little roughly and Will falls back onto Mike. “Asshole,” He grunts.

Will tries to pull himself back with more force than necessary, because his arm slips right out of Mike’s hold and he stumbles backward. He manages to barely balance himself, but he steps on a broken root and his foot gets caught and he finds himself falling. He catches Mike’s look of surprise. “Careful!” He yelps and lurches forward to catch him, but instead he gets pulled down alongside Will.

He groans at the feeling of the damp soil seeping into the back of his shirt. “Mike, you ass!” He scolds.

Mike pulls back and watches. Will with his head throws back in a melodious laugh, his neck that is exposed is covered in a thin layer of sweat from their trek, but the way the sun shines through the clouds and onto him makes his skin look like gold, and his hair like strands of silk thread neatly laid out on the grass with care. His eyes crinkle at the corners, but his irises are a lighter hazel color today, and each fleck of gold shimmered like gems. Mike couldn’t take his eyes off of him.

Will giggling dies down, his eyebrow twitches upward carefully and he pushes at Mike’s chest. “What?” he challenges.

Mike opens his mouth, but nothing comes out.

He certainly isn't thinking when he dips down and presses his lips to Will’s parted ones. It was a soft and carefully fleeting kiss. Gone before any of them can even properly process what just happened. He flushes.

Aside from the sounds of wildlife all around them, the silence is almost consuming.

Will could feel his heart beating in his throat, silently wondering if that really happened.