Hey everyone! This here is my new story. For those of you that don't know, it is a remake of an old story I had posted called "K-I-S-S-I-N-G." I hadn't updated it in years, but I still wanted to use the basic premise, so I made it into this! Please enjoy chapter one of More To Love.

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"Mike," Chester called for his friend's attention as he was leaving the bathroom. Mike was at his house for the fourth night in a row now. Talinda had just recently split with Chester and Anna was out on a month long business trip. Mike, being the great friend he was, stayed with Chester every night so he wouldn't get lonely.

He knew how his day to day life went now. Chester woke up and got himself a bowl of cereal with fruit every morning. Then he would watch tv and movies for hours and hours with a tub of ice cream in one hand and a spoon in the other. Most of the things he watched were romances which ended in tragedy. Since Mike stayed with him, things got a bit more exciting, but Chester took a hard blow from the split and he didn't want to do much but cry.

Mike would soothe him, calm him down, and talk to him when he started crying and asking questions about why Talinda didn't think he was good enough. Mike would find things to say to keep him happy, but he only managed to get him out of his house twice. At night, Chester took a long shower, Mike wrote lyrics and sampled some music, and the emcee would watch Chester go to sleep. When he was asleep, Mike would leave his room and sleep on the living room couch.

Chester's life wasn't getting much better, but Mike wasn't about to stop anytime soon. He wanted the happy and hyper-active Chester back, he liked that Chester better. So here they were, it was almost midnight and the singer was getting ready for bed.

"Mike," Chester said again, he didn't get Mike's attention from the first call.

"I'm listening to you, Chester. Keep talking," Mike said from his spot in a desk chair, not taking his eyes off of a lyric sheet.

"Okay... Would you date me?" Chester asked him.

"Of course, I would. You're one of the most amazing people I know," Mike answered very honestly, while still not losing his focus on the work in front of him.

"Even when I look like this?" Chester asked with traces of doubt in his voice.

Now Mike looked up from his papers. Chester stood in front him and Mike looked over at him. His brown hair was still damp from his recent shower, he had on the messy look, but it suited him. He had a slight blush on his cheeks from Mike's compliment and an unsure smile. His shoulders were hunched, but not too much. His muscly, tattooed arms lay flat at his side. His skin looked beautiful, specifically his chest and his shining tattoos. Further down, past his boxers, were his thin, yet shapely legs. While things were going well with Talinda, Chester may have been deemed a bit of a fitness buff. He hadn't been to a gym for half a month now. Chester hated this because previously he had been very confident in his body and the weight he put on from working out, but now since he was intaking massive amounts of ice cream and comfort food, he was convinced that his hard efforts were disappearing. Truthfully, he had only been slacking off for two weeks at most, so his bad eating and exercise habits weren't impacting his body. Not yet at least.

Looking at Chester, seeing all his impressive tattoos and gazing at his toned body, you would have never thought he could be so fragile as Mike had seen him lately. The singer had never felt this insecure about himself in years… or decades.

"Turn around," Mike told his friend. Chester did as told and Mike got a look at his back. Of course, his eyes went straight to large Linkin Park tattoo on his lower back. Mike always admired that one, he thought it was the sexiest part of older man's body.

Mike didn't have a "thing" for Chester, and the pair never truly had a romantic past. However, Mike would be lying if he didn't find him sexy. The singer had a great body. Everyone who ever got to see this much of it would know as much.

"Chester, you look great. You look more than great even. Girls, and even guys, I'm sure, drool over you everyday. You have no reason to not be confident or to be insecure. And don't you dare call yourself ugly," Mike told his friend, as he stood up. Chester's hands started sweating a bit as he saw Mike moving towards him.

"You're just saying that because you're my friend... If we didn't know each other, would you still?"

"Yes, Chester. Without a second thought." Mike told him with a smile. He didn't want to make the singer feel worse, so he told him what he wanted to hear. Of course, it wasn't totally a lie.

"Are you sure? I mean..." Chester was saying as he started pacing. He couldn't believe Mike, no matter how much he tried. If he was attractive, or dateable, or worth anything, then surely Talinda wouldn't have left him. Surely he wouldn't be crying over her everyday. Surely he wouldn't be feeling like this in the first place.

"Chester, I would date you in a heartbeat." Mike walked over to him, and gave him a gentle peck on the lips. A barely-there kiss. A simple, friendly gesture.

Chester, however, felt it full force. His head got lighter, his heart fluttered, and he let a small, quiet "oh." He lifted two fingers to his lips to check if what just happened wasn't part of his imagination.

Mike walked away from him, around to the other part of his desk, and picked up his book. He plopped down on the small couch Chester had in his room and started reading.

"I'm sleepy," Chester said, the kiss from Mike having lost effect by now so he was actually able to think. He laid down under Mike's arm and closed his eyes. "Can you read to me?"

"This is a Dean Koontz book."

"What makes you think I know who that is?" Chester smiled and chuckled.

"Well, he writes very detailed murder."

"I don't care."

"Okay, but I'm sleeping in your room in case you get nightmares," Mike teased him.

"You're welcome in my room any day, Mike."

Mike smiled one more time and started reading to his friend.

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The sound of Mike's cell phone ringing woke him up, he was disoriented for awhile, but then he remembered he fell asleep in Chester's room. Chester was still sleeping with a peaceful smile and his arm had found it's way around Mike's waist. He reached for the phone with the arm Chester wasn't sleeping on. "Brad Delson" flashed on the screen. Mike looked at the digital clock and realized it was morning. The blinds were shut and letting no light in, so he couldn't tell the time very well.

"Hi, Delson," Mike groaned, he wanted to get up to stretch, but he didn't want to wake Chester from his slumber.

"Hey, Mike! Listen, me and Phoenix were thinking about having breakfast this morning. I assume you're at Chester's, so bring him too," Brad told him.

"Okay," Mike yawned one more time. "Where are you going?"

"Café 76, you know where that is, right?"

"I do. When do we have to be there, 'cause right now Chester's sleeping," Mike explained. He stared down at his snoozing friend with a soft smile. For reasons Mike couldn't explain, all he thought about in that moment was how cute Chester looked, lying next to him there on that couch.

"Oh, that's totally okay. How about we meet up in 30 minutes?" Brad questioned, snapping Mike from his thoughts.

"Yeah, that sounds good. See you then."

"Alright, bye."

Mike hung up the phone and put it back on the table. Chester was only in his red, plaid boxers, but Mike fell asleep fully clothed. The younger man's back hurt from having slept sitting up and so did the rest of him. "Chester," Mike called, shaking the sleeping singer. "Chester, wake-up," he said once again.

Chester stirred in his sleep and finally opened his eyes. He realized he wasn't sleeping alone on his bed, but with Mike on the couch. As Chester snuggled further into him, he wondered if Mike was always this warm. "Mike, what time is it?" Chester asked.

"It's morning, Chester. Can you get off me?" Mike asked thoughtlessly. Chester's smile was immediately wiped off his face and replaced with a frown as he figured that Mike must hate sleeping next to him and that he was stupid for forgetting to get into bed last night. Mike noticed that his friend had grown and corrected himself. "I need to stretch and open the blinds."

Chester nodded and got up. He wrapped his arms tighter around himself and watched his friend move around inside the room. Sunlight poured over the bedroom as Mike pulled the blinds open. Mike stretched and cracked his back. He then noticed Chester looking sad again. "I didn't mean it that way," he apologized. He walked up to Chester and pried his arms off of himself so he would have room to pull the smaller singer into an embrace.

Chester liked Mike hugging him. They always fit so good together and Mike gave the best hugs. "I know," Chester said quietly. He held back the urge to kiss Mike's neck.

"So, Phoenix and Brad invited us to lunch," Mike explained. "You want to go?"

"Sure," Chester answered with a smile because he knew it would please Mike to see him be happy about getting out of his house.

"Great. Then go get ready, sexy," Mike winked teasingly at him.

And once again, Chester blushed, his heart beat went faster, and he felt good. He also felt like a little girl that got called cute by the cutest boy in Kindergarten.

---

The little bell above Café 76's entrance dinged as Mike Shinoda walked inside. He held the door open for Chester and allowed him to walk in front of him. Chester mouthed his thank you, too shy to really say it. Mike scanned the small restaurant and saw his band mates by a window on the near side of the place. "They're over here," Mike said, nudging Chester in their direction and leading them both to Phoenix and Brad. "Hi, guys," Mike greeted his friends with a smile, sliding into the booth first and Chester went second. The guitarist and the bassist greeted them both, but Chester didn't return their hello. "Did you guys order the food yet?" Mike asked to clear the awkwardness that the silent singer had created around the table.

"Nope, just our drinks," Phoenix answered for the two of them. The rapped nodded, picking up a menu and going through it to see what he would like for breakfast. Chester just sat still, looking at his lap where he was twiddling his thumbs together.

"So, have you guys gotten any more music written down for our next album?" Brad leaned forward in his seat across from Mike and tried to get a conversation going. The Japanese man mumbled something about how things were going great and Chester stilled hadn't any comments.

"Well, how has your week been? We haven't seen you two in a while. It's a shame," Phoenix stated with a smile to suggest that Chester should come around more. Mike and Brad knew the ginger's grin was fake, but Chester didn't and his thoughts were all that mattered. Although, yet again, the singer had nothing to say on the matter and no answer to give to the previous question.

"It's been good, Dave," Mike said, squeezing Chester's knee from under the table. "It's been good," Mike echoed quietly, choosing to ignore the invitation that Phoenix had put forth because he knew it wasn't for him. It was for their recently dumped friend, Chester.

"Good," Brad nodded his head quietly. The waitress came over before an awkward silence settled in.

"Okay, here is your orange juice," she said, handing a tall glass of orange juice to Brad. "And your mocha espresso," she said as she placed the hot mug in front of the bass player. "Are you all ready to order?" she asked politely. They all said yes and she got Brad and Phoenix's first. "What would you like to drink and to order?" she asked, looking over at Mike's side of the table.

"Can I have a regular cup of coffee, a turkey and swiss breakfast sandwich, and a small bowl of fruit?" Mike asked kindly.

"Of course. And what would you like?" she asked looking down at Chester.

Chester looked up at her from his seat, he looked like a mixture of shy, confused, and scared. He opened his mouth, but didn't say anything.

"Just a glass of water and a stack of chocolate chip pancakes for him," Mike said after slipping his arm around his waist and clutching his hip. Chester scooted just slightly closer to his friend, taking great comfort in the fact that Mike handled the situation for him.

"Okay. It'll be out in a while," she said while jotting everything down and walking away.

"Excuse me," Chester said ever quietly. He stood from his seat and went for the bathroom. All eyes set on him and when he disappeared behind the door, the three Linkin Parkers focused on each other again.

"How is Chester, Mike?" Brad asked, his face filled with worry.

"Yeah, is he okay?" Phoenix asked, his eyes holding concern.

"He's not okay guys... He hasn't gotten any better. He cries a lot and he's starting to get really insecure. I thought I could make him happier, but I failed," Mike said, stress dripping from his tone as he ran his heavy hand down his face.

"You didn't fail, Mike. He's just taking this split really hard," Phoenix tried to encourage him not to give up on seeing to it that Chester start feeling better.

"Yeah, he has reason to feel the way he does. He really did love Talinda so much," Brad said.

"I know, but... It's killing me to see him like this! He's so shy, he barely talks. Before he - well, he couldn't keep his mouth shut for more than two minutes. But I loved that about him. You know, I think last night was the first time since the split when he smiled. All he does is cry... I don't like seeing him cry," Mike whined sadly, rubbing his forehead.

"We know, Mike. We love him and this is affecting us all, but things are going to get better," Brad said calmly and supportively. "You just have to pull through it with him."

"I am, but sometimes it's just... I feel like I'm not good enough. Whenever Talinda or Sam were away from home, or after Sam left and before he met Tal, we would hang out a lot. And those women wouldn't matter. We were best friends. Now, I don't make him happy anymore."

"I'm sure you will, Mike. You just have to try harder." Brad told him. "You're a good friend, Mike. We're all going to stand by him, but he's closest to you."

"Exactly. If anyone can switch him around back to normal," Phoenix was saying just as Chester got back from the restroom. "It's you," Phoenix whispered to him.

"Are you okay?" Mike whispered in his ear, placing his hand on Chester's lower back once he was sitting next to him again.

Chester just sucked in his bottom lip and nodded his head slowly. Mike fought the urge to tell him that he knew that wasn't the case and hug him. But now was not the time to talk about personal matters.

The waitress came over with four plates of food, a coffee, and a glass of water. Phoenix and Brad both dug into their breakfast, Mike fixed his coffee with cream and sugar, but Chester only took a sip of water and pushed his plate of food away.

"Chester, you love chocolate chip pancakes. I ordered them for you 'cause I know they're your favorite," Mike stated softly, scooting closer to him and putting an arm around his shoulders.

"I'm not hungry," Chester mumbled his response.

"Ches, the last time you ate was lunch yesterday. You didn't even eat dinner with me," Mike complained, furrowing his eyebrows at his stubborn friend.

"I'm fine, Mike," Chester whispered, blushing again from hearing how worried Mike was and how much he cared about him. But he still didn't like that Mike tried forcing him to eat rather than just listening to him the first time.

Mike backed away, he didn't want to cause a scene, so he just started eating his sandwich.

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Once they were back at Chester's house, the two friends started having a discussion which had now escalated into a bitter argument. "You aren't fine, Chester. I know you!" Mike insisted.

"I told you, I'm okay! You just don't listen!" Chester yelled, getting up from his bed and flailing his arms.

"No, you're not okay! Chester, what's wrong? Hm? I understand that you're going through a breakup, but I'm your best friend. Just let me help you, please! Tell me what I need to do to make you happy!" Mike pleaded with him, taking his hands in his own to stop the singer's wild arm movements.

"Nothing's wrong! You don't need to fix anything, Mike!" Chester continued, angry with Mike for not believing him. God, Chester hated when people didn't believe him or thought he was a liar. Getting this treatment from his so-called best friend, he found, was incredibly unfair and frustrating. He yanked his arms away from Mike's grasp and turned his back to him.

"Chester, you've nearly fallen to pieces! Can you even count how many times you've cried this past week?" Mike berated him, running around so he could look at Chester's face even though he was trying to hide

"I'm okay! Goddammit!" Chester cried, raising his hands to his face and angrily wiping away his tears.

"Stop it, Chester," Mike ordered. He took his wrists and pulled his arms down to his sides, not wanting to let him turn away or ignore him again. "You are not okay. I know you better than that. For years and years, you've been happy. Even when you didn't have a woman in your life, I was there, the band was there, and that was still enough. You aren't happy anymore and I want to know why. Don't tell me you're okay because I know it's bullshit."

"Why do you even care about me, Mike?" Chester asked, tears still running down his face. He didn't fight Mike for the use of his hands because he thought that he really didn't mind for Mike to see him cry. It wouldn't be the first time or even the hundredth. He didn't want to tell Mike the real reason for his unhappiness, so he just answered with a question. He just got a confused look so he kept talking. "What did I do to deserve someone like you? You and I are closer than I've ever been with Sam or Talinda. I'm useless! That's why they left me. I don't know why you haven't yet. I'm not worth your time, Mike. I'm not worth anything at all…" Chester sobbed loudly as his shoulders shook. The singer was pulled into Mike's embrace and he welcomed it.

"Don't fucking say that," Mike threatened, giving his friend a firm squeeze in between each word. "If you think I would ever leave you, then you have no idea how much you truly mean to me. I'm not going to ditch you just because you're going through bad times or you're feeling insecure. I fucking love you way more than I could ever do that to you. Do you understand me, Chester?" he asked forcefully, pulling away from his friend so he could look him in the eyes as the singer nodded in answer to his question. Again, the smaller man was thrust back into an embrace.

"I don't deser-er-erve you," Chester exclaimed, his body trembling and his voice unstable as he kept crying against Mike's chest.

"Chester, the world doesn't deserve you," Mike said honestly, rubbing a hand through his friend's hair, squeezing him tighter, kissing his temple, and doing anything he thought might work to make Chester feel better.

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Thank you to all who have read. I hope you liked it and come back to read chapter two! This will be a Bennoda romance story with a little bit of a twist. Haha, what does that mean, you ask? Well, you'll just have to wait and see. Please leave a review and a rating on your way out. I hope you're having a nice week and I'll see ya later. :)