mikey had always been a bit of a loose canon.

you knew that when you met him in high school. you were the same year as him and richie, and in the first week of school, he had beat up tommy jacobs for calling you fat.

the friendship was built from there.

the three of you did everything together, getting into all sort of chaos. your mom hated it — her precious daughter getting involved with two ‘thugs’, as she labelled them. but you couldn’t stay away. the late night car rides, the weed, the parties — it was all fun. but your mom and dad were rich snobs who thought their daughter could do better. you were from different parts of town.

but for mikey, the drugs were more than a once in a while thing.

you only seemed to notice it was a problem in junior year. you had mentioned it to him, but he brushed you off. you had tried to get through to him, but it never truly worked.

the years that ensued were full of highs and lows. you and mikey were on and off — always coming together but always inevitably crashing and burning. he was off the rails and you couldn’t rein him in any longer. he was a drug addict and he was pulling you down with him. it was toxic, yes, and it was definitely unhealthy, but it was also love. you had a love and intimacy carved so deep into your bones that it could never go away. and you loved him, and he loved you, so despite any other partners or anything that happened in your lives? you always came back to each other.

always.

which is why you’re here. you and mikey hadn’t been together since thanksgiving, not since you had a big argument, made out and then made him leave. but he had called a few days ago, begged you to come to the berzatto christmas, not to leave him alone to deal with his uncles, or his ma. and you could think of worse places to be, such as your families christmas — dealing with those snobs was the last thing you could handle. plus, you liked mikey’s little siblings, natalie and carmy — they were nice. and of course, richie.

you fit in with the berzatto family.

but you and mikey were always destined to crash and burn.

so you came. you walked up the stairs to the house. your eyes fell on mikey, who was smoking a cigarette outside. you have a nice dress on, and a denim jacket over it. “hi.” you greet him.

“hey.” he says gruffly.

and you both know by the end of the night, it will be as if the last month of silence never happened.