Can't You See Me?

The drive to Mikey's house was slow. It dragged on and I just wanted to be there already. He lived on the other side of town, which honestly wasn't far because of how small the town was. Lily and Cherry basically pushed me out of the door whenever I was on the phone with him, stating, "date him, so we can get good grades!" I laughed at how much they were like me.

I pulled up to his home and realized it was the one he grew up living in. I looked across the street at the house I lived in as I was growing up. I wonder if my parents still lived there. Probably. I took a deep breath before unbuckling my seat belt and getting out of my car. I walked up to the door and quickly knocked before I backed out.

I wonder if his wife was home. Or girlfriend. Or boyfriend. I was panicking and I needed to calm myself down. I was taking a couple of deep breaths as the door opened and to reveal the chillest Mikey Way I had ever seen. He had baggie sweatpants on and an oversized t-shirt. It was like he didn't care how he looked in front of me! I was sort of offended because I dressed decently nice for him.

"What?" He asked. "You're staring." I chuckled nervously.

"Sorry, man. I'm just not used to you being so relaxed," I admitted. He nodded and stepped aside to let me in. I walk inside, taking the familiar scent in. I'd missed it all these years. I missed him all these years.

"So what did you want to talk about?" He asked as he took a seat at the kitchen table, gesturing me to do the same. I slide into the seat and suddenly felt small. He was in his teacher mode, and I felt like I was about to be lectured.

"Um," I cleared my throat, "I think I should explain some things to you." He nodded.

"I know I left without saying anything. I know I messed up our friendship. I really missed you though." He scoffed, avoiding eye contact without me.

"It took you fifteen years to come back. You obviously didn't miss me too much," he said. I felt my heart clench. He was really hurt, but what else could I expect? We were best friends.

"I did miss you, Mikey. I thought about you so much." He said nothing.

"Look, I just had to get away and I know-" He banged his fist on the table, causing me to jump.

"You had to get away?! I was worried sick, Frank! How the fuck was I supposed to know if you were okay?!" He yelled. I sunk back deeper into my chair, shocked. The only time Mikey had yelled at me was back when we were seniors, but it wasn't as bad as this. My eyes started tearing up. We were silent for a while, the only sound being made was my sniffling. Mikey sighed.

"Where did you?" He asked.

"I went to New York," I mumbled. We were silent again for a while before I decided to ask the question I'd been dying to know the answer to since I saw him again.

"Are you married?" I asked. He shook his head.

"No. I've never married and I don't have children," he said as he avoided contact with me. I felt bad for wanting to jump for joy.

"You never found the right person?"

"No, I did. But he left fifteen years ago," he answered. He was more straightforward than I remembered.

"I'm sorry," was all I could think to say. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Shit happens, Frank. There's no use in being angry or sorry for anything. It's not going to take us back in time to when we were 18, so just stop saying you're sorry." Mikey was really hurt and it was my fault.

"I want to be friends again. Make up for lost time," I said. We made eye contact, and held it.

"I don't know, Frank. I don't know if I can do that. We both said things and I understand that it was a long time ago, but I really loved you. And if you can't see how much, look around you. Listen to that silence." I did as he said. The silence was suffocating.

"I was so caught up with pushing you to the back of my mind that I didn't bother to go out and meet other people. I live alone in this big, empty house only filled with memories of us growing up together. I have no children, no spouse and it's my fault because I couldn't let go of you. You have two children. You moved on. It's time for me to do the same," he said. I clutched the bottom on my jacket tight enough to turn my knuckles white. His eyes, too, filled with tears. I'd never seen Mikey cry and I wish I never had to. More than that, I wish it weren't my fault. But it was and I couldn't take anything back.

"So what does this mean?" I asked him.

"I'll see you in fifteen years this time."

"I never moved on!" I yelled before I could stop myself. He looked up at me in shock.

"Yes, I have kids, but that doesn't mean I forgot you, Mikey. I met a girl in college and we dated for a while. She got pregnant and so we got married. After six years, we divorced because she was cheating on me with one of our good friends. I've been single since then, trying to get the courage to come back and try to find you!" I yelled. He said nothing.

"I love you, Mikey. I've loved you since fucking day one!"

"Stop it, Frank!"

"No, I'm not backing away this time. I'm not running away."

"It's too late for all of that!" He said, sighing into his hand.

"No, it's not. Look around you, Mikey, and listen. You hear that silence? We could finally be a family! There's nothing holding us back anymore," I said. I needed him to go with me on this. All these years we missed because of me... I couldn't allow us to miss anymore, and I'll do whatever it takes.

"You think you can just come back after so long, confess your love for me, and expect me to just go for it?" He asked. He had a point. I knew it wasn't going to be easy.

"No, but I'm willing to do anything. I'm not leaving you this time. What do I need to do?" I asked.

"Go home, Frank. You're obviously not thinking straight," He said.

"I'm thinking perfectly fine," I said as I approached him. He tensed but didn't back away. Good sign. I hugged him as tightly as I could and I wanted to cry. Finally. Finally, I could hug him.

"Frank... Th-this isn't a good idea," he whispered as his arms came to wrap around me. "You hurt me. I don't want to be afraid of you leaving me again. I don't want to be paranoid in any relationship," he confessed. I pulled away slightly, still having my arms wrapped around him.

"We'll take it slow. We don't have to jump right into the relationship. Let me gain your trust back and we'll go from there," I explained.

"One more chance," was all he said before I hugged him tightly once more. We spent a few more hours talking and catching up. At the end of the night, before, I sent him a text.

'Good night,' it read. I smiled when he answered a few minutes later saying the same thing. I can do this. I was determined.

Notes

I wrote this all just now.
I'm super tired, jsyk, but my writer's block has been killing me.
For anyone who reads Kill All Your Friends, I mentioned sending me requests to help me with my one shots and writer's block. I'm still doing that. It can be about anything. I also need help on my smut ;D

But totally help me out, guys! I wanna be a better writer for you all :*

-OAIF <3