I Know We've All Analyzed And Waxed Tragic-gay About The Byler Rain FightTM To Death, But I've Never

I know we've all analyzed and waxed tragic-gay about the Byler Rain FightTM to death, but I've never heard anyone acknowledge how devastating it is that Will is still honest to Mike even after his (internalized) homophobic "it's not my fault you don't like girls!" comment.

Like I saw this post about how Will's honesty sets him apart from the other kids in Season 3, but it still absolutely floors me how, in the face of Mike's anger and hurtful words, Will doesn't deny being gay, even though it would be completely understandable for him to automatically protest or get defensive (like a certain cringefail boykisser we know...). Because even then, while experiencing the shock and complete betrayal of Mike's words, Will couldn't lie to Mike. Like that's so sad, actually just end me rn ;-;

Instead, it's his pure, overwhelming love for Mike and his desire to see Mike happy that ultimately pushes him to lie to Mike for the first time, not his betrayal.

This is why I don't buy that Mike knew he was lying during the van confession scene. Mike has always trusted Will implicitly, even more so in that moment because his assumption that Will had been concealing things from him since moving to California (and if he's hiding things from him then who knows what else he's been doing, surely he must be lying to Mike now too!) was dispelled by the painting reveal. If anything, this act of love only affirms that trust even more.

I'm so ready for the "What painting?" moment in S5. I need it magically teleported to my screen right now please!