The graveyard on Harmony Hill in the town of Salem's Lot held its usual peaceful atmosphere. Just like it had always done throughout the years, even before Mike was old enough to begin taking care of it.

He had taken over the profession as the town's cemetery caretaker from his father, who had died two years earlier from a stroke. Mike's father had always told him that to some people, working in a cemetery might sound unappealing and strange, perhaps even morbid, but that it really was an important job. If no one looked after the graves, dug them and filled them after funerals and mowed the grass, who else would do it? It was simply a job that needed to be done if the townspeople didn't want their loved ones to rest in some sort of forest full of weeds, high grass and bugs.

Mike was pleased with his job and his life. He had never been good at social interacting so this profession suited him more than anything else. He supposed he was some sort of outcast, but really, he didn't mind. None of his living relatives lived close by and even though everyone basically knew each other in this little town, he never "hung out" with anyone on a daily basis.

Well, that wasn't entirely truthful... Lately, a man he had known throughout the majority of his life, Ned Tebetts, had begun to hang around Mike's usual whereabouts, which was pretty much just the graveyard and at his house. When he had tried to ask Ned why he showed interest in him all of a sudden, the other had just snorted and walked away, mumbling to himself in his usual uptight way.

From the rumors he had heard, Ned was having trouble with dr. Norton's daughter, Susan, whom he had been dating for years now. From what he could tell, those two had always had a strained relationship and frankly, Susan didn't seem to enjoy being in Ned's irrational company anymore. Especially not since that writer had come into town. Ben Mears, his name was.

Actually, the whole town's atmosphere had been turned upside down ever since the "strangers" came here. There were Ben Mears and Mr. Straker, the old fellow who was gonna open an antique-shop in town. Also, Straker apparently had a partner, or accomplice, a Mr. Barlow, who never seemed to show up, strangely enough. For some reason the latter two had bought the old Marsden House directly upon arriving here. Supposed it was just as well, since no one else in town even wanted to set their foot inside that house, let alone buy it! Straker and Barlow probably hadn't heard the rumors surrounding it but, what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

Mike sauntered in between the graves, pulling up straws of troublesome weed on his way, his dog Faithful following close to his steps. He liked being there, in the graveyard, being surrounded by nothing but peace and his own thoughts. Well, the peace usually ended whenever someone approached the gates and Faithful shot away like an oiled arrow, barking all the time in that angry way he always did. And the one who broke the peace this time was no other than Ned Tebetts. Again.

He took his time while heading over to the gates so that he could see what the man wanted this time around. From what he could make out of the other's face, Ned looked troubled and pissed off. Well, more troubled and pissed off than he usually was. Faithful kept standing at the gate, barking at Ned, who seemed to take no notice of the disturbance. That was unusual...

"Hey, Ned. What's up?", he said as he reached the gate, leaning casually against the iron-fence.

"Heh, the usual. Susan's meeting that damn writer-guy again! Why won't she realize that she can't just leave me whenever she feels like it?", Ned said, the suppressed anger very apparent in his voice.

"You shouldn't ask me for advice when it comes to love."

"Yeah, I- guess not...", the other mumbled and Mike was pretty sure that he was once again going to start walking away, putting an end to this daily visit. Instead Ned stood his ground, looking down at his clenching fists.

All of a sudden, Mike realized that he wanted to know why Ned had come here so often lately. Why he had really come here. Because the fact that he only wanted to discuss how pissed he was at Susan and Ben Mears didn't seem like such a legitimate explanation anymore.

"Ned?"

"What?", he answered without looking up.

"Why are you hanging out here every day all of a sudden? You never used to talk to me this much before..."

Ned's head shot up at Mike's words. Clearly, he had not expected him to say that.

Ned's expression changed, as if someone had wiped the angry one off and replaced it with one of fear. The man's hands started to tremble slightly and for a while, Mike was afraid he was going to faint.

Ned swallowed hard and looked Mike straight in the eye, an action that Mike wasn't sure how to feel about. Instead of trying to say something, he waited for Ned to do it. The other swallowed again, taking a deep breath.

"Y- you see – Oh fuck, this is stupid – I don't really have anyone else to confide in, y'know? It's like, you're the only one who actually listens to what I'm saying and- well, I've kind of begun to..."

Ned's voiced trailed off and he looked away. He was probably thinking of fleeing the scene, but Mike wasn't having any of it. He wanted to know the rest of what he had to say.

Mike grabbed ahold of the other man's arm and gave it a gentle squeeze, something which apparently had Ned look even more startled as he turned to face him again, a slight blush on his face. What was going on here?

"Ned, continue. I wanna hear it.", Mike said to him, trying his best to give the younger man a reassuring smile.

Another deep breath. "I've kind of- sort of- begun to... like being around you. You know, more than I usually was. I don't know why. I don't know anything anymore... I don't know if I actually still like Susan. I don't know why I'm suddenly feelin' all warm when you're around and- Oh fuck it! I gotta go!"

Ned tore his arm free from Mike's loosening grip, ran away to his parked van and took off in a heartbeat, leaving Mike feeling confused about so much more than just the three strangers arriving to town at the same time.

Was Ned really... interested in him? Interested in a romantic way? He didn't know, Ned wasn't exactly easy to read when it came to feelings that wasn't anger-related.

The dog kept on barking at something probably only dogs could see, but Mike wanted some peace so that he could think about all this.

"Faithful, be quiet."

He usually had to repeat the same words several times to make the dog shut its mouth but for some reason, Faithful immediately quieted down, a whimper eliciting from his throat.

Mike heard footsteps on the gravel and turned to look around, only to see one of the "strangers", Mr. Straker, walking by in his usual, jovial manner.

The man gave Mike a strange look and smiled at him, which sent shivers up Mike's spine for some reason.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Ryerson.", he said to him, in that chilling, british accent.

"G- good afternoon, Mr. Straker.", Mike answered and gave the old man an awkward nod.

Before continuing his slow walking-pace up the road, Straker gave Mike another glance. A sort of... "knowing" glance, whatever that meant. Had he heard him and Ned talk? Was that the reason of the strange and quite unnerving last look?

Whatever the case, Mike needed to be alone to think things through and so, he half ran into the wooded area of the graveyard and watched from behind a tree as Straker assumed his walk into town.

The darkness had begun to seize the town and a thick fog was creeping in from out of the fields. It really helped making the scenery creepy, and Mike admitted to himself that it unsettled him where he was currently walking into town on the otherwise deserted gravel road. Faithful had run off to somewhere in front of him, probably spotting a hare to chase or something.

His thoughts ran away with him as he walked there. He knew it was ridiculous to worry about such a thing at his age but as the situation was now, he sort of couldn't help it.

Everything had changed so suddenly; three new (and pretty odd) people coming to their town, Ned possibly having a thing for him and one of the Glick-boys disappearing to top that off.

It had been a few days ever since little Ralph Glick had gone missing and everyone in the town was now under some sort of suspicion to have abducted, or worse, murdered the boy. Especially those strangers... Ben Mears seemed fairly harmless but something about Straker and Barlow just didn't seem right.

What if the boy had been murdered? What if the killer roamed the streets at this exact moment; looking for the next potential victim who was in a convenient position on the empty road leading into the town, all alone and being an easy target?

Mike hurried his steps as he felt his heart begin to speed up simultaneously as the rising paranoia. If he kept getting himself worked up for little notions, he'd probably soon take the same way into the grave like his father had. Was it possible to die out of fear? Perhaps... It sure felt like it right now anyway.

Faithful was now completely out of sight and searching for the black dog through the darkness and fog combined wasn't an easy task. It seemed like no matter how many times Mike called or how loud he did so, Faithful just seemed to have disappeared. Oh, fuck. He did not need this. Especially not now.

Well, it couldn't be helped. He couldn't just leave the dog out here, could he? He continued walking down the road, slower, on the edge for any sound he might hear that could lead him to Faithful. He squinted his eyes to try to see through the fog that got thicker by each minute that passed, all the while trying to keep his beating heart under control.

Mike spent a good 20 minutes looking for the dog at every angle of the road where he dared going. The chances were that Faithful could've run off into the woods, which didn't make Mike's situation any easier. Frankly, as he walked slowly back and forth, yelling the dog's name at the top of his lungs, he was beginning to panic from all this. He could either stay hellbent on finding the dog, or he could head home and go looking for him the next day. But then came the other problem; Mike didn't want to leave Faithful out on a night like this, with such strange things happening in the town lately. Even though he had no idea why Ralph Glick's kidnapper and possible murderer would bother himself by killing a dog...

There was a blaring sound behind him all of a sudden, and Mike almost jumped five feet up in the air from the sheer surprise while his heart skipped a beat. He quickly turned around, prepared to defend himself from... whatever could have made that noise, and saw the outlines of a van through the thick fog. The van's headlights were on and for a minute, he was puzzled why he hadn't noticed that if the van had been behind him all this time.

He didn't stay puzzled for so long though, as he suddenly recognized the van that stood there, engine humming gently. It was Ned's van. He must've had some late-night work to take care of, and that's probably why he was here at this time of night.

Mike walked over to the driver's side of the car and Ned rolled down the window, eyeing Mike with a wondering look on his face. He hadn't expected Mike to be out here at this time, obviously.

"What are you doin' out here?", he asked Mike, hands squeezing the steering-wheel.

"I'm looking for my dog. He ran off... Say, you haven't seen him anywhere?"

"That stupid noisy thing? If I were you, I'd say good riddance."

Mike sighed and let his head sink into his arms that he had folded on the car's hood. Every time he mentioned his dog, everyone said the same thing. That he was noisy, annoying, a fuck-up, ought to be put down and all that racket.

"Well, he's a fine dog either way. Now, have you seen him?"

Ned just shook his head and looked down into his lap, with a look on his face as if he considered something.

"If you really want to find him so much, then I guess I could help you.", he whispered and Mike had to peak his ears to be able to hear Ned's words.

To be honest, Mike was surprised by this. Ned, offering him help? And willingly? He was pretty sure that had never happened during all those years they had known each other.

"You would do that?"

"Well, yeah. Why not? I have a car. It's easier to drive than to walk."

Feeling the weight on his shoulders lift significantly, Mike went to the passenger's side, opened the door and jumped in, making himself comfortable in the tattered seat.

He could sense that Ned was watching him, and he wasn't sure if it made him uncomfortable or not.

"So", Ned said, eyes shifting nervously, "Do you have any idea where to begin?"

Mike thought about how he had dealt with Faithful running away on previous occasions. It didn't exactly happen very frequently but when it did, Mike recalled just having to wait by the graveyard, and Faithful would eventually come back. Probably being able to find his way "home".

"Let's go back to Harmony Hill.", he said, earning a frustrated sigh from Ned.

"What for? Did you lose him all the way back there?"

"Just drive. I'll explain later."

With a shrug, Ned put the car into gear and backed all the way to the graveyard, not even caring to turn the car around for comfort's sake. He somehow seemed even more impatient than he usually did, and for a brief second, Mike thought it might've got something to do with him being in Ned's presence. After all, Ned had been acting very strange lately, whenever Mike was around. God! Everything was suddenly so confusing. Mike honestly didn't know what to make of all this, so he just stayed quiet until their van finally reached its goal; the graveyard.

"Well...", Ned said and turned to Mike, expectant of an explanation on what to do next. "What happens now?"

"I suppose I'll just wait for Faithful to come back. It shouldn't be too long. Thanks for helping me out."

Mike turned to open the passenger's door and go out when he felt Ned's hand on his arm, halting his motions. He turned his head to see what it was Ned wanted and saw the other man hanging his head, as if being ashamed of something. When he finally spoke, he did so in an almost introverted manner.

"You're not gonna wait out there, are you? I mean, it's cold and- who knows, it could be hours before that dog returns. Not to mention..."

Ned trailed off and for the first moment in many years, Mike himself began to feel his impatience growing. Why couldn't Ned just say what he wanted to say to his face, like he always had? What was it that was so different between them now all of a sudden?

"Not to mention- what?", Mike said, the "what" coming out a little too sharp than he had intended.

The man on his left side didn't say anything and Mike almost considered walking out of the car anyway when the other finally spoke up, a strong blush having now taken over most of his face.

"Well, considering the disappearance of that Glick-kid, perhaps it's not such a good choice to stay out there alone...", he mumbled and Mike felt sorry for being irritated at him just mere seconds ago. Ned's behavior had been slightly awkward lately but Mike knew he was right. No one knew what could've happened to Ralph Glick and until the abductor – or murderer? - was caught, they all had to be careful while walking out at night. Plus, such a desolate place as the graveyard wasn't a very good place to be alone in case of emergency. Mike sighed.

"Fine. I'll wait in the car. But it feels like I'm taking up your time since you don't even care about Faithful like I do."

"But I- I care about you..."

Mike almost missed it, but as the words sank into his brain, he was aware of a strange feeling in his chest. It was somewhat pleasant, actually. However, Ned seemed to immediately regret what he had just said, seeing as he buried his face in his hands and kept repeating how he "shouldn't have said that" like a desperate mantra.

Confused, Mike reached out and placed his hand on Ned's shoulder, squeezing it gently.

"Why are you so embarrassed? I care about you too. We've known each other for really long... It's only natural."

Ned looked up at him with a look of desperation. He was almost trembling.

"You don't understand, do you? What I feel... it's not natural. Just... forget what I just said, ok?"

Mike had officially had enough of this. He grabbed Ned's other shoulder and turned the other, startled man to face him.

"Whatever's causing you to act like this, I want you to tell me about it."

"No", Ned replied, shaking his head, "You'll just think I'm weird. You'll avoid me, I just know it!"

"Try me."

Both the men became quiet, Mike waiting for Ned's response while Ned was still trying to avoid the subject. When said man looked up again, his mouth hung open, as if he was about to finally say something but didn't know how to put it. Instead, he reached his hands towards Mike face, grabbed the sides of his head and brought their faces together before Mike had a chance to grasp what happened. He felt the heavy pressure of Ned's mouth on his own and for a while, he felt completely blank inside. Gradually, the blankness disappeared and was replaced by something else. He couldn't put words on what exactly this new feeling was called, but it felt... good. So, Ned was romantically interested in him after all? Now he knew why the other had been acting so strange, and knowing that made Mike feel at ease again. Both his mind and body relaxed and he let himself get drawn into the kiss, that slowly went from just awkward to more heated. He felt Ned open his mouth and the other's tongue begin to prod at his lips, wanting to gain entrance. Mike compelled and opened his mouth, letting his counterpart's eager tongue inside.

It all happened so damn quickly; they had been sitting there and all of a sudden, he had made that decision to just go ahead and show Mike his feelings, rather than tell him about them. Ned was very aware of that once he made the decision to kiss the other man, there was no turning back. Either Mike would like it, or push him away. But Ned had always been someone to take risks, for better or worse. Luckily, this particular risk had turned out for the better and as he kept on kissing Mike, his hands began to roam over the other man's body. He had never thought about it before, but Mike's body felt pretty toned, considering that he was about ten years older than Ned himself. He wanted to be closer to the man that was now lying beneath him. Ned wanted to be as close to him as possible.

He broke off the kiss and immediately started to pull off Mike's flannel shirt, while the other was trying to catch his breath from the passionate kiss they had shared seconds before. The shirt was discarded to the back-seat as soon as Ned had unbuttoned it. Before continuing, he stopped for a second to admire what was before him.

Mike was still lying there, breathing heavily and with clouded eyes. Ned suddenly became aware of the erection inside of his own pants, wanting nothing more than to be let out in the open. He thought of the eventual consequences, found that he might as well try it, and with that, he pulled down his zipper. The sound filled up the small space of the van, and Ned noticed that Mike bit his lip for some reason. He wasn't sure, but he sure as hell hoped that Mike biting his lip had something to do with Ned himself. Fearing he might get lost in thoughts, Ned pulled out his erection and let it be exposed to the cold chill of the car. He gasped a little and looked down at Mike, to see if there was still no change in his welcoming behavior.
Nope. No change whatsoever. If anything, Mike seemed to welcome him even more; silently begging him to take the next step. Taking that step would surely mean that they could never go back again. Never go back to being "just friends"... But to be perfectly honest, Ned didn't want to go back to being just friends with Mike. Hell, he had been desiring the older man for way too long now for him to just let this opportunity slip out of his hands. Heck, this whole situation was almost too fucking good to be true!

Without dwelling on it any further, Ned leaned down to Mike, whispering in his ear:

"Are you... sure you wanna do this now? 'Cause I know I am..."

Mike seemed to be at a loss of words, which was understandable, and just bucked up his hips against Ned's in reply to that question. Fair enough.

With that, Ned brought his hips even closer to Mike's. He was still nervous – this was his first time with a man, after all – but he had made up his mind completely now; he was going to fuck Mike. No question about it.

Without warning, Ned thrusted in, and his jaw immediately dropped open from the hot tightness suddenly surrounding him. He heard Mike gasp sharply and turned his head to check if he was okay. Mike lay there underneath him, panting either from pleasure or pain (or both?) and Ned felt his heart ache a bit. He leaned down and started kissing the other man's neck as he continued his thrusting as slow as he could; his intention was not to hurt Mike, after all, but rather the absolute opposite. He felt Mike's arms wrap themselves around him while he heard the other starting to moan softly. This hopefully meant that the pain from the intrusion was subsiding. Good...

After a while, Mike began pressing his body closer to Ned's – wanting more friction – and Ned was more than happy to oblige. His thrusts became faster with each minute that passed and oh, did he feel good. He couldn't believe he had been waiting for so long to tell Mike the truth about his feelings. Ned was kind of disappointed in himself for that but at least, he was "suffering" the consequences now... And by "suffering", he meant "enjoying himself immensely". He held Mike closer, increasing the pace of his steady thrusts and was just about to kiss the other man when he heard something that he wouldn't mistake for anything else than a dog's barking.

Oh great... Mike's fucking dog had come back, and they weren't even finished!

Just as he had suspected, Mike sat up, making sure he hadn't misheard anything.

"N-Ned...? Was that-"

"Yes", Ned sighed heavily, "It's that goddamned dog of yours..."

"I'm... really sorry, Ned. But I gotta go. He might run off again if I don't."

Sighing again, not even trying to hide his disappointment, Ned slowly pulled out of Mike, earning a small whimper from the other. While Mike pulled up his pants, Ned passed him his shirt that had been laying peacefully in the backseat up until now.

When Mike was fully clothed again, he opened the car's door, turning back to Ned one last time.

"I'm... I'm really sorry, Ned. I liked it, but... I have to take care of Faithful."

"It's ok. I understand..."

Mike took his hand and squeezed it gently.

"Hey... There'll be other times, you know?"

Ned nodded, feeling somewhat reassured but nevertheless, still disappointed. And a little bit stupid, too.

"Yeah, sure... See you tomorrow, I suppose."

"You got it."

And with that, Mike jumped out of the car and as Ned observed him from the window, he could see that the other was walking with a slight limp as he reunited with his stupid dog. Ned couldn't help but grin to himself. Next time, he'd make that limp much worse...

Until then, he would just have to resort to another can of Vaseline.