#it would be incredibly hard to be a rural gay teen during the 80s

[stellariumcircus]

hey look it's my new angsty mike-centric byler fic chapter

"There’s nothing wrong with you, Mike,” Will said softly.

    “There is!” Mike shouted, echoing through the empty street, pressing up against the dark windows of the houses.

    “Why?” Will asked, feeling as if a few IQ points had been knocked out of his ears.

    “Because, Will! Haven’t you heard? People like me, they get the shit beaten out of them and no one does anything.” Mike threw up his hands, kicked a coke bottle along the pavement. It rolled, clattered into the curve. “And they die, in hospitals where doctors are too afraid to even touch us. Eddie told me. He told me how fucked up it is, why would I want to be that?”

    Will stopped right there, in the middle of the street. Mike took a few steps forward, and he imagined being left there. “People like you?”

    Mike stopped, turning to him. He was framed by the moonrise behind him, an off center crescent hung over his messy head. The cool light was captured in the curls of his hair, pooled across his dark eyes. “Yeah, Will,” Mike said, voice cracking. His hands were at his sides, palms awkwardly forward, like Christ preparing to be crucified. “People like me.”

    “I don’t get it,” Will announced, but that wasn’t quite the truth. He got what the words meant for himself, but not for Mike.

    “Of course you don't,” Mike snarled, all teeth and fire. It was a guilty relief to see him like this, not the dull thing he’d been all year.

read the rest on a03 | mike is dealing with the aftermath of eddie's death + his influence on him, coming to terms with his sexuality, etc. will have a happy ending!