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Michael sat in silence as a continuous humming noise envelops the empty hallway, he wasn’t really aware or bothered of the sound on the first hour but after a few more all by himself it’s starting to slowly get on his nerve, every once and a while two or three people would walked passed him, whispering to each other, sometimes looking at him in pity, smiling as if to say ‘I understand what you’re going through’ even though they don’t even know half of it and then he'd be alone again, Jeremy's dad had been with him on the first one hour but had to go home early, he told Michael to go home and rest as well but he just smiled and said he'll stay for a few more minutes and then he'll go, it's been two hours now. He'd been in the same spot and tapping his foot occasionally, restless and antsy, waiting for any update on Jeremy's case, he knows Jeremy's fine and is just resting, the nurse earlier said so, but he can't help but worry anyways, Especially since he's not allowed to enter the room yet. Michael slightly shivered from the cold air that hit his nape after he raised his head, looking up at the clock that is pinned to the farther right wall, 8:42 pm, his stomach grumble from hunger, being aware of the time, his body finally sent him a signal that he should start eating but he stay seated, thinking Jeremy might wake up soon and he worries that if he did Jeremy would feel alone and abandoned, 'just like what you felt when he ignored you ' he shake the voice off, this is not about him, 'nothing is' it insisted, Michael groaned, okay I'll eat, Jesus fucking christ... he rose from the bench that he was sitting on and went for the nearest vending machine he saw earlier, a quick snack wont hurt. He jumped off the bench he was sitting on and went to the vending machine he’s pretty sure he saw earlier, it wasn’t that far so he’s not too worried about rushing back to his spot. Michael pressed the code for the chosen snack and beverage that is not enough to satisfy his hunger for today especially since it's been hours since he last eaten but it's enough for now to keep his stomach from growling, When he heard a quiet thump inside the vending machine he quickly grab his food and walk back to the bench he was sitting on earlier. He can hear his mother nagging him into eating healthier food at back of his mind as he munch on his snickers, finishing it all up only into two bites and gulping it all down with pepsi, he burps as he finished the carbonated drink, a sudden rush of memory hit Michael when the zesty aftertaste of the pepsi settles in his mouth.
—
The sound of Mario's theme song increasing when the player is running out of time always freaks out Jeremy. So naturally when Jeremy’s playing as Michael watches while having a snack break, Of course, Michael, his best friend, makes sure to stress him out even more.
“Dude you’re running out of time”
“I know”
“You gotta go faster”
“I’m trying!”
“Come on Jeremy! You’re almost there”
“S-Stop you’re freaking me out!”
“Almost there!”
“Micah Shut up!”
“Anndddddd times up!” Michael cackles as Mario dies on the screen almost spilling his drink and Jeremy groans, melting into the bean bag glaring at Michael as he continues to laugh at him.
“You gotta stop doing that!” Jeremy huffs, throwing the nearest object at Michaels direction (in this case a dirty shirt lying on the floor) as Michael barely dodges it, still snickering at his easily riled up friend.
“Aww but you look all cute when you’re all stressed out and panicking, all red and puffy” he teased and Jeremy sputters, cheeks slightly reddening once again.
“S-shut up dude!” Jeremy stands up, Michael hearts skipped a beat and for a moment Michael thought he crossed the line and Jeremy’s upset with him but Jeremy just advanced towards him and sat beside him snatching his beloved pepsi.
“Hey! Don’t finish it” He complained as he snatched his drink back when Jeremys was done taking his sip.
“I swear you have a weird thing with pepsi” Jeremy said, rolling his eyes leaning into Michaels bean bag, almost to Michael himself, he can almost feel Jeremy’s heat, and he can if he only lean a bit more closer. He watched as Jeremy went for his chips instead, munching it and he caught himself staring at Jeremy's mouth while he licked a bit of crumbs off his lips. Michael scoffed at Jeremy’s earlier comment, steering away from whatever that was all about.
“And that is why you don’t deserve this pepsi Miah, you don’t appreciate this Beverage that I’m pretty sure God himself bestowed upon us mortals” He gulp down the pepsi finishing it in one chug, Jeremy laughed softly, smiling at him fondly, and Michael blames the refreshment he consumed by feeling the warmth that surrounds his chest even though the drink was cold when he drank it.
___
Second day in the hospital wasn’t that bad, taking a bath (His mothers had to force him to because they can’t force him to go home instead) in an unfamiliar place is uncomfortable, sure, but it could be worse. Michael was finally allowed to enter Jeremy’s room, The nurse told him he only had to eat a proper meal first then he’d be good to go (He’s 100% sure that it’s his mothers doing), hence why he almost died choking on his food, as his mom gave him an unimpressed look giving him water and telling him if he don’t slow down she’ll tell his other mother, who is currently not with them due to her being needed in her work. Michael nodded his head, and started eating slowly. After finishing his meal, he calmly told his mom that he would be heading to Jeremy’s room. His mom eyed him suspiciously but let him go nonetheless, so he walked coolly and when he was sure that he was out of sight he started booking it. In front of the room Jeremy was put into, Michael was panting, the run wasn’t even that long and he was already winded, he probably should’ve just walked instead of running like a madman. When he was finally breathing like a normal person, Michael reached for the door knob but retracted his hand when he felt the coldness of the metallic handle, he stopped to think for a moment, he doesn’t really know why he’s hesitating, No, actually he does, He fears that if he sees Jeremy, his cold blue eyes would be piercing into him with so much disgust and hatred once again, logically he knows that it won’t be, They already eliminated the Squipped and they already made up, Kinda, but still irrational fear towers over him, looming in his back like a shadow, trying to surround him and engulf every optimistic reasoning he has.He took a deep breath, if he continues to overthink this he might end up actually turning back, so he grabbed the handle, quickly turning it and entered the room.
Walking in was such a whiplash, first he heard Jeremy’s voice talking to someone, okay so he’s actually awake now, and honestly he wasn’t really expecting it even though the nurse earlier told him Jeremy’s already awake, second is that the person he was talking to was Rich, Michael was aware Jeremy is sharing a room with someone but he wasn’t informed that it was Rich, who Michael just overheard as he entered, just came out of being Bi, which congratulations to him and all that, but really? Of course the guy who tormented him for being gay in the cafeteria and school hallway is closeted, its such a fucking cliche that it almost made Michael laugh, and finally Rich showing interest in him and even asking Jeremy if they’re in a relationship, (Which made Michael stomach whoop but he’s ignoring that for now) so he step in before he overhear anymore confession that he really doesn’t wanna hear. “Oh heyy” Michael said cringing at how quiet his voice is “Hi Rich” He said a bit louder as he waddled to Jeremy’s side of the bed awkwardly, he glanced at Rich but looked away quickly as the other boy smiled deviously at him. He instead focused his eyes at Jeremy, forgetting why he was nervous to enter the room in the first place because of the sudden revelation he just witnessed earlier. He looked at Jeremy and what he saw wasn’t the cold eyes that shunned him at the Halloween party in Jake's bathroom, of course not. It was the eye of the boy he became best friends with back in the playground when they were only four.
—
It was Michael first day in kindergarten, it was a nice warm day and everyone was playing outside in recess, he was running around with some of the other kids when he noticed one of his classmate sitting alone in the picnic table, playing on what seems like a castle with different types of colorful blocks, Michael impressed on what he saw, runs towards the kid, he wanted to introduced himself so he could play with the castle and its colorful blocks too.
“Hello!” Michael said a little loudly, startling the kid, making him lose his balance and ending up stumbling all the blocks he’s using to build the castle, The kid looked at Michael, blue eyes teary, trying so hard not to cry but after a few seconds he hiccuped, sniffling and end up crying anyways, and Michael confused, scared and don’t know what to do followed up soon after.
He doesn’t remember much after, but he does remember the teacher asking Michael to apologize to Jeremy, So he did, Michael says he was sorry, and hugged Jeremy, and Jeremy, little Jeremy nodded into his hug burying his face into Michael's Shoulder.
After that they were inseparable, Michael always hugging Jeremy when he saw him, and holding onto his tiny hand as much as he could. It wasn’t a great first impression, but it was theirs.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Jeremy was stuck in the hospital for another day, the doctor needed to monitor him more for a few more hours to make sure that he was in top condition before finally releasing him. Therefore Michael’s also stuck in the hospital with him, Jeremy insisted that he can go home if he wanted to, but Michael saw how Jeremy pulled on his hospital gown repeatedly, tugging into Michaels hoodie as well every chance he got, a nervous tic Jeremy does when he’s lying, which made Michael's heart ache with familiarity. So what other choice does Michael have? Of course he’s gonna stay with Jeremy. Even if it means also staying with Rich Goranski too, who’s not so subtly flirting with Michael every chance he gets. Michael reasoned he was just bored and had no one else to talk to, and Jeremy, the bastard that he is, looked at him teasingly for every interaction he had with Rich.
Michael was already exhausted dealing with Rich the whole day, he was charming at best but it’s still awkward mainly because the dude has been his bully for a long time now and now he’s suddenly flirting with him, he had to get use to it at some point, but now he’s just relieved that the dude is already asleep, but of course he still have to deal with Jeremy snickering at him, teasing him relentlessly even after Rich already fast asleep for an hour now. Michael just groaned and flick Jeremy’s forehead.
“Come on dude, knock it off” Jeremy just laughed at his flustered face.
“I never thought I’d see you all flustered again, good to see that even calm and collected Michael can also be unnerved like the rest of us earthlings”
“Fuck off” Michael groaned again because what else can he do at this point.
Jeremy was finally silent but still smiling mischievously as he reached out and clutched into Michael's jacket sleeves, toying with it, a peaceful silence encompassed them for a handful of minutes when he heard Jeremy mumbling something as he continued to play with the hem of Michaels jacket.
“What?” Michael asked, when he finally realized that Jeremy was saying something to him, Jeremy sighed and sat up straight, leaning into Michael's space, glancing at Rich's sleeping figure for a moment.
“Would you give him a chance though?”
“Uhhh what?” Michael asked dumbly.
“Look, I know Rich wasn’t the best person to deal with, but it’s not his fault” Jeremy paused. “Actually it might be a bit of his fault, but you can’t blame it all on him” Michael grabbed Jeremys hand that's been tugging his sleeves a bit roughly now. He held onto it reassuringly, stroking small circles into Jeremy palms in which he knows helps Jeremy calm a little.
“Miah where is this all coming from?” Jeremy looked down sheepishly.
“I talked to Rich earlier when you went to grab us food… and he asked me to be his wingman… to you…” Michael blinks.
“Jeremiah Heere, did you just sold me off?” Michael said faux betrayed.
“W-wait what? N-no, I mean- Oh fuck off Micheal” Michael burst out laughing as Jeremy pushed his face away giggling along with him.
“His a great guy Micah, I think you’ll like him” Jeremy said when they finally calmed down from laughing. Michael sighed, straightening up, looking at Jeremy's eyes affectionately.
“I’m not really looking for a relationship right now Miah, I mean I just got my bestfriend back. What more could I ask?” Jeremy’s eyes widened as well as Michael, he was surprised with his own honesty, but he wasn’t gonna take it back though, it was the truth and it’ll be more embarrassing if he backs down, so he continues to stare into Jeremy’s eyes, challenging him into disagreeing with him.
Jeremy laughed softly and then looked at Michael with so much fondness that it physically hurt Michael to keep looking right back at him.
“Why are you looking at me like that you nerd” Michael asked softly, a bit nervous, heart palpitating wildly.
“It’s just so good to talk to you again like this man” Michael heart stopped, they’ve been in this situation before, and Michael doesn’t like how the previous one ended, but this time he knew that this one will end on good terms, so Michael beamed at Jeremy.
“Right back at ya dude”
—
Michael, unlike Jeremy, wasn't really interested in romance, he would much rather stay in his basement to either play all night or get stoned with Jeremy, however that doesn't mean he wasn’t immune to teenagers' pesky emotional needs. Just like any other teenager he had experience being infatuated towards someone.
He was gonna keep that secret to his grave but of course Jeremy noticed it immediately and as a result of this Jeremy teased him about it persistently, poking him in the face whenever he saw Michael staring at the guy, elbowing Michael when he noticed the guy walking into the same room they were in or just cooing whenever Michael briefly mentioned him. It was annoying and Michael would smack him, but it's Jeremy, he might be an idiot at times but he's Michaels idiot and as annoying as he is, he can't help but be endeared in Jeremys teasing.
It was a rainy afternoon when it all came to an end, Jeremy was on his phone, scrolling to whatever mind numbing social media he’s at while Michael in bed reading a comic book. It was unusual and rare for them to be this calm when they’re hanging out, most of the time the room is filled with unintelligible curses and video games music blasted to the speakers, but it wasn’t unwelcomed. He could hear the raindrops outside hit his window when Jeremy quiet gasp broke the peaceful atmosphere of the room, he peeked at Jeremy’s direction, he saw how his eyes widen while still staring at his phone, light delicately reflecting on Jeremy’s already pale skin, he eventually looked at Michaels direction in remorse.
“Whatchu found there buddy?” Michael asked tensed because of the way Jeremy’s looking at him. Jeremy, hesitating for only a second, stood up and sat of Michaels bed.
“Promise not to freak out?” That only freaked out Michael more but he didn’t voice it and just nodded, Jeremy showed his phone to Michael and in it was the guy Michael was crushing on, kissing a girl in her cheeks with the caption that reads ‘cute date’. Processing what he just saw Michael looked at Jeremy’s worried face.
“...and?” Jeremy looked at him dumbfounded. Michael sighed as he brushed his hair, he realized he doesn’t really care, it was just a crush, he’ll get over it, and frankly he’s on his way there, and seeing Jeremy’s bewildered face, it dawned on Michael that Jeremy was just projecting.
When Jeremy likes something, he pours all his heart into it. He easily gets attached to things and people, he cares so much that it's easy for him to empathize with the people he cares about, and right now he's hurting for Michael.
“Dude I’m okay it was just a crush, I'll get over it soon” Michael said, reading the comic book once again and resting his head on the bed frame. He glances at Jeremy, and his face turns from dejected to confused.
“But how? I mean if I were you I w-would, I would cry my heart out, or something” He said as he jumped to Michaels side head resting on one of Michaels pillows, Michael Just chuckled and patted his shoulder.
“I know buddy” funny how it's Michael soothing Jeremy when it's supposed to be the other way around.
“Like are you sure you’re okay?” Jeremy said, looking at him, and Michael stopped just to think about it, mainly for Jeremy's sake, to show him that it doesn’t really bother him as much.
“Yah, no need to worry about lil old me, an indirect rejection wont keep this bad boy down” he said patting his chest, “and besides I still got you” he shrugged and went back to reading, in his peripheral vision he saw Jeremy smiled to himself, going back to scrolling on his phone and leaning a bit more closer to him, he felt another rush of warm feeling pools inside his stomach as he felt Jeremy's arm bumped into his.
—
Micheal bops his head along with the music, Tapping his finger into the wheel, as he drives, Jeremy at the passenger sit, who has been pointedly quiet throughout the whole ride, He noticed that Jeremy’s feet bouncing becomes more rapid as they got closer to the school, it's their first time back to school after Jeremy was released from the hospital 3 days ago, so it was rational that he was nervous on returning, but seeing the guy sweat profusely, looking like he might pass out soon, Micheal had to intervene.
He stopped the car near the curb so he could properly talk to Jeremy without inconveniencing anyone, when he was properly parked he turned to Jeremy who was looking at him questioningly.
“Okay what wrong, I was hoping you’d tell me but I don't think that's happening, so spill it” Michael faced Jeremy, arms crossed.
He didn’t know it would be possible but Jeremy tensed up even more, looking at everything except Michael.
“It doesn’t matter, I’ll live, don't worry Micah” Jeremy winced on how even his voice betrayed him by cracking midway.
“Jeremy come on man” he said with an obvious undertone of him saying ‘
Really Jeremy we literally just talked about this
’ and Jeremy's shoulder slacked as he sighed.
“I-” Hesitating, Jeremy looked up at Michael and he looked at him reassuringly, patiently waiting for him to speak. “It’s stupid”
“When did that ever stop you?” Michael can’t help himself and Jeremy shoves him a bit but he’s finally smiling.
“It’s Christine…” Oh. ‘
of course it is’
Michael thought bitterly and he didn’t know where that sudden aggression came from “It’s just that, what if she hates me now”
“After all that had happened?”
“Especially After all that had happened” Jeremy’s looking at him again with eyes begging Michael for something, probably for reassurance, so Michael did what he do best, he held Jeremy’s shoulder, firm but not to tight that it hurt, just enough to ground him, held eye contact with him momentarily, before he finally spoke.
“How could anyone hate you” Jeremy scoffed at him “No really, Jeremy you’re so much more than that stupid squipped, Christine won’t hate you for the things you can’t control, and now you have a chance to show her who you truly are, and believe me she would prefer you more than your squipped self, talking on my own experience” Jeremy grimaced at his last comment. “Too soon? Okay, but seriously, you don’t have anything to be afraid of, she’s not the kind of person to do that” he wasn’t really sure about that, but he saw enough of Christine to know that she’s not the kind of person to be spiteful “And besides, you have me, I got your back no matter what happens” Michael said shaking Jeremy.
“Thanks man”
“Anytime” and Michael means that, no matter what happens.
Jeremy’s fear was proven to be wrong, as they stepped on school property, he saw the way Christine's feature with an obvious relief painted on her face when she spotted them, Michael knows for a fact that she doesn’t hate Jeremy, and he let Jeremy knows this but looking at him smugly with a
see I told you saw
face.
Christine smiled, running towards them and immediately bombarding Jeremy with questions about how he was feeling, how long he had been out in the hospital, and other formalities. Michael followed them from behind, feeling misplaced, as soon as they got all the formalities away, they started chatting about theater and stuff that Michaels was not familiar with. Michael awkwardly follows them as they chat, Christine helping Jeremy catch up on things missed out and Michael sees how Jeremy slowly relaxes when he realizes that Christine is not gonna yell at him or tell him that she hates him.
As Jeremy relaxes into the conversation with Christine, Michael suddenly feels cold all by himself as he watches the two laugh together. A hint of what seems like a needle pricked to his heart when he saw Jeremy smiling fondly at Christine.
—
Michael was with Jeremy for almost every significant thing that ever happened to him, like their first day in middle school, when Jeremy got in trouble for stealing liquor from his dad's cabinet, ranking 1 in pacman on their local arcade, having his first ever tattoo, being there in his worst injury (Jeremy would argue that he’s partly the cause of it), and so on, needless to say, they’ve been through thick and thin.
So naturally that also means witnessing Jeremy falling for the lovable theater nerd, Christine Canigula.
The hallway was almost empty when Michael and Jeremy was heading to the school auditorium, there was a school play happening; Romeo and Juliet, and they are already running late because Michael wanted to eat at 7/11 first, food isn’t allowed inside and Michael doesn’t want to watch the show with an empty stomach, he wasn’t even interested in attending if it weren’t for Jeremy who insisted of him tagging along, between the two of them, Jeremy loves the theater. And Michael, every year encourages him to join the club, but Jeremy was too petrified to be in any more of their bully’s radar, they saw first hand how ruthless they can be, calling people offensive slurs, shoving them in their locker and just making everyone, whose status lower than them miserable, that includes the Theater Club, especially the guy members, suggesting that its gay if you’re in on one.
The play was already starting when they arrived, they hurriedly went to their assigned seats, bickering silently, mainly Jeremy who blames Michael for their late arrival, Michael retaliate by pointing out Jeremy’s slow eating habit, and they traded insults back and forth before somebody eventually hushed them, although they still continued to elbow each other from time to time.
The play was boring and frankly it wasn’t Michaels cup of tea, he would just drop a comment to entertain himself that would either make Jeremy laugh or earn a jab from him. Michael whispered to Jeremy, about how he saw one of the background characters bump his way into one of the props and it almost knocked one of the main actors, and nobody would notice this if they’re actually paying to the main story (Which Michael wasn’t). But Jeremy didn’t give any indicators that he heard him, not a nudge, snicker or offended noise when he doesn’t have anything witty to say, he looked at Jeremy and his face was tinted pink, mouth parted and eyes dilated, laser focus on the stage, no, on someone on the stage, The actor of Juliet, Christine Canigula.
Michael's heart clenched.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Everything was back to normal, except it wasn't.
If you told Micheal before that he was going to be sitting with the popular kids table at lunch, laughing at Jake Dillingers poor russian accent, exchanging pleasantries with Chloe Valentine, Gossiping with Jenna Rolan, dodging Rich Goranskis flirty tendency, and chatting with Brooke Lohst about the latest Marvel comic books, Michael would asked you what kind of weed your smoking and where he can buy it for himself.
And so here’s Michael anyways, sitting in the popular kids table, breaking bread with them, already one month into this weird friendship they created, he learned not to question anything after the squip incident.
“I just read earlier that our skin is incapable of feeling wetness, apparently we're only aware of something wet because of its temperature,” Rich said out of nowhere, causing everyone's conversation to halt. Staring at him, after a moment of silence everyone was talking in tandem.
“THAT MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL”
“HOLYSHIT IT ALL MAKE SENSE NOW”
“THATS WHY ITS HARD TO TELL IF MY CLOTHES STILL WET WHEN I'M IRONING IT”
“MY WHOLE LIFES A LIE”
“SINCE WHEN DID YOU START READING?”
“NO THINK ABOUT IT, THAT ACTUALLY EXPLAINS A LOT”
“HATE CRIMES AGAINST HUMANS IF YOU ASK ME”
And that's just a peek of Michael's new daily lunch routine, he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. He watched as the whole table argues further on either if it's fair or not that humans can’t feel water at all, butting in every once in awhile, he was laughing at Brookes comment when his attention was caught of Christine and Jeremy, Christine whispering into Jeremy’s ear, chuckling together, sharing meaningful look before laughing once again, that quickly dampened his mood. He had no time to evaluate what he was feeling when he felt someone's arm wrapped around his shoulder, it was Rich, who somehow managed to squeeze between him and Brooke.
“Michael, Babe” Michael, occupied in Rich presence, didn’t notice Jeremy bewildered, Look towards them “you’re on my side right?” Michael getting used to Rich flirting didn’t even bat an eye glancing at Rich before replying.
“‘Course” Michael not really meaning it said half heartedly as he bites into his sandwich.
“Hah! I knew you would come around” Rich said Smiling widely at him.
“Michael you just agreed on and Rich saying he can’t feel water because he’s so hot that water just evaporates when it touched him” Jena said giving him an amused look
“Wait- now hold on-”
—
Michael was watching the clock tick slowly, it's only a matter of few minutes before the class ends but it seems like the time is mocking Micheal because he swears that every time the hand moves it felt like hours have passed instead of seconds, his legs are already jumping from anticipation when he heard the sweet sound of bell rang around the whole campus, he swiftly gathered his stuff, running to the class door, it’s friday, and every friday him and Jeremy would play a new shitty game they found until they get bored of it and just end up playing the actual games they like, it’s a routine they have for as long as they could remember.
He was maneuvering his way through the crowd, when he recognized Jeremy’s figure among the crowd, he quickly ran towards him, punching him lightly in the shoulders.
“Hey man ready for our weekly gaming review? I saw this new game and you’re gonna like this, a two player game that- hey what wrong?” Michael cut himself off when he saw Jeremy's wincing.
“Uhhh about that, I kinda promised Christine I’d work on our new roles together, she was looking at me with this pleading look and I couldn’t say no, at that moment I forgot about our weekly gaming routine-” ouch “and my mind went blank, so I said yes, but when she left, I remember our friday thing- and oh God, she’s gonna hate me for this, but don’t worry I’ll tell her right now and-” Michael held both of Jeremy’s shoulder, forcing him to face Michael.
“Dude relax, it’s all good, we can hangout some other time”
“I- are you sure?” Jeremy said hesitating but he also looked hopeful so Michael mustered the best smile he could give Jeremy right now, even though deep down he was disappointed, Jeremy never once missed their weekly gaming session (besides the days he was squipped, but that doesn't count).
“Of course man,” Michael said, patting him on the back, because he felt like his hands on Jeremy would tighten more, begging him to stay with him instead, if he doesn’t let go.
“You’re the best”
“Don’t forget it” Jeremy laughed before turning around. Running to the exit, probably to look for Christine, and Michael stands on the same spot, not moving, looking at the place where he last saw Jeremy's figure disappear.
“Well that was hard to watch” He doesn't know how long he would’ve stayed in that spot, if his trance wasn’t interrupted.
“Oh hey Rich” Michael said. a surprised but quiet chuckle suddenly escaping his lips, remembering his first words to Rich when he first saw him in the room he shared with Jeremy. Rich looked like he wanted to say something but stopped. He stared at Michael for a long time and Michael waited for him to spill whatever he wanted to say, but the silence continued as they stared into one another, Micheal awkwardly shifting his feet, trying to make an exit.
“I’m gonna g-”
“Can we play video games at your house?”
“What-”
“Jeremy’s not coming today right? I have no plans today, do you wanna hang?” Rich said sheepishly. Michael stopped to think about it, he wasn’t really busy, already finished all his homework last night just so he could waste his weekend freely and Rich is kinda his friend at this point, why would his weekend be ruined just because Jeremy canceled last minute.
“Do you need a ride? Or should we just meet in front of my house?”
“Nah I’ll just ride with you” Rich smiles at him brightly.
To his surprise Rich is really good at video games, better than Jeremy, which isn’t really saying much, but he never met anyone who can actually keep up with him let alone beat him three times in a row, he told Rich as much and he let out a loud surprise laugh.
They were arguing loudly, playfully shoving each other as they played mario kart when he heard a knock on the door and followed by the sound of it opening, behind it was his mother peeking through.
“Hey honey, ask Jeremy if he wants to stay and eat dinn- wait you’re not Jeremy” Michael gave his mom a pointed look and his mom looked right back at him with the same confused look, an awkward silence surrounded them and Rich stood up.
“Uhhh no ma’am I’m Rich Goranski, Michaels… friend, and I would love to stay for dinner if that offer stands for me too” Michael raised his eyebrows, he never saw Rich this polite.
“Of course! I’ll call you guys when it's ready” Michael mom said smiling at Rich sweetly,
too sweetly
. Before closing the door he gave Michael a meaningful smile. Another awkward silence surrounded them when the door slammed.
“Sorry about that, my moms not used to me hanging out with anyone else other than Jeremy,” Michael said awkwardly, scratching his nape.
“So you’re saying I’m the first guy you brought back home”
“No Jeremy is”
“Let me have this for once” Rich said groaning and Michael laughed finally breaking the tension and soon after Rich was laughing along with him.
After dinner Michael insisted on driving Rich home but he just smiled and told him, he’s meeting up with Jake anyways, so Michael waved at him goodbye in front of the porch as he watched Rich disappear from the distance.
—
Being the first one in their table was unusual, especially for Micheal, because he literally came from 7/11 to buy his own food, which is atleast a five minute drive back to back, but he shrugged it off and unwrapped his food from the baggie, soon after he saw Chloe and Jena walking to his direction, greeting him and continues to talk among themselves, the next group that arrive are Jeremy, Christine and Brooke. They sat down, greeting everyone at the table. Brooke Immediately gushed about the latest chapter she read to Michael, and Michael who was so rapt on the conversation he was having with Brooke, didn’t pay Rich any attention when he arrived at the table, and of course Rich took that personally.
“Micheal I can’t believe you’re ignoring after the amazing night we just had” the sound of Jeremy choking was the only sound that can be heard as their table suddenly got quiet, eyes suddenly on Michael, and then everything was in chaos.
“RICHARD GORANSKI”
“MICHAEL MELL YOU GOT SOME EXPLAINING TO DO”
“I CAN'T WAIT TO TELL EVERYONE”
“CONGRATULATIONS YOU TWO”
“Alright what are we talking about” Jake said rubbing his hands together as he sat down, arriving late, but already down to business as he saw everyones going insane.
“Michael sleeping with Rich!”
“I did not do such a thing!” Michael said defensively “We were just playing video games! That's all, Tell them Rich, tell them” Michael said hysterically, almost grabbing Rich by the neck.
“As fun as your imagination is, Mikey here is right, we’re not sleeping together… yet” Rich said smugly and everyone calmed down, some even booing. Michael coming down from the sudden adrenaline, body slacked into Brooke, who chuckled and patted his head in comfort, his eyes were closed when he felt someone tapping him, he opened one of his eyes and saw Jeremy leaning towards him, Michael immediately sat up straight.
“You invited Rich to play video games at your place? What the hell Micah that's our thing” Jeremy whispered, not really wanting to make a scene. And usually Michael would apologize to Jeremy, comforting him, and would do anything to keep that frown out of Jeremy’s face but not that time. He didn't know what came over him, and he whispered back.
“You weren’t there were you” and Jeremy looked at him shocked, hurt and Michael almost wanted to take it back, but Jeremy looked at him once again with the same icy blue glare, and he was immediately on the defensive. So he sat straighter, not slipping any emotions that would make him vulnerable and glared back at Jeremy.
“So uhhh guess who’s mvp on last week's game” Jake, noticing the weird tension between Michael and Jeremy spoke out grabbing everyone's attention, it also broke the glaring contest he and Jeremy were having, which Micheal, deep inside, was thankful for.
Everyone was congratulating Jake and when Jeremy mumbled something and he stood up, leaving the table, Michael ignored the way everyone was looking at him.
—
The first big fight Jeremy and Micheal ever had was when they were 13, Micheal finished the game level without Jeremy, Michael tried to explain that he didn’t mean to finished it alone, he was just strategizing on how they’ll defeat the game, he just didn’t realize how easier the game would be without Jeremy there second guessing everything, and that made Jeremy angrier, calling Michael names until Micheal to started getting angry too, they traded hurtful insults that they personally know would hurt each other, and so Jeremy left Michaels room, slamming the door shut loudly, eyes puffy.
Their fight only lasted for 2 days, until Michael gave in, knocking at Jeremy's house to apologize and Jeremy was there, waiting for him from the day they started fighting, knocking Michael off balance as he tackled him into a hug. And when Michael felt Jeremy tremble in his arm Micheal promised to himself that he would never hurt Jeremy like that again.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The third day of their fight, Jeremy went to Michael's house at the dead of the night to apologize, his eyes were red, hair wild from the breeze of the cold night, but sweating from nervousness in spite of that. Without missing a beat, Michael ushered him inside offering him a hot chocolate, to warm up.
He stared at Jeremy as the boy drank his hot chocolate, the light of the moon reflecting his face softly from the kitchens window, Michael thought it was a good look on him, shivering lightly as he held the blanket that Micheal gave to him earlier closer, that wounded Michael more than it should have.
“I’m sorry too” Jeremy looked up at him in surprised, “That was a shitty thing for me to say, You’re allowed to cancel any plans we have even if it's last minute” Jeremy made a disagreeing noise but Micheal Just hushed him “No seriously, I was being childish, we’re growing old, some changes is bound to happen and that's okay, at the end of the day you’re still my best friend, and that’s the only thing I plan not gonna change for a long time” Micheal held Jeremys shoulder before deciding to pull him into a hug, and Jeremy instantly melting into him, and he slowly hugged him back, tightening the embrace, not one of them letting go for a long time.
Micheal mom found them snuggling on the couch, limbs wrapped around each other, snoring lightly, fast asleep.
—
Rich was hanging out in his room again, they got closer after their first gaming session, and Micheal realize how selfless and thoughtful he actually is, always bringing Micheal slushie from 7/11 when coming over, always one call away when he needed him (Micheal still can’t believe how Rich was already at his doorstep five minutes later when he texted him of how bored he was), and even letting Micheal rant at the most stupidest things.
If someone had asked Michael who his close friend is beside Jeremy he would almost tell them it's Rich, emphasize on the word almost, because despite all that, Rich was still a wildcard, like he was before the squip accident, he still make bad decision and taking everything as a dare, always unpredictable, And Micheal is not ready to admit yet that he has a soft spot for his previous bully.
They were playing Mortal Kombat and Rich was losing, Hard. Never had a single win ever since they started playing earlier, they were in the middle of taunting each other, throwing jabs just for the sake of being annoying, hoping the other one gets distracted, and then the door opened causing Michael to lose his concentration, Rich saw that opportunity and took it, finishing Michaels character in one blow.
“LETS GOOOOOOO, HAH! IN YOUR FACE MELL” Rich said, jumping up from the bean bag, doing an elaborate dance move that Michael assumed is his victory dance, Michael rolled his eyes, he looked at his door, still wide open, revealing Jeremy, staring at them.
“Oh hey dude, what's up?” Michael said casually, walking towards Jeremy to greet him properly.
‘“A-ah sorry, I didn’t know you have company over I’m just gon-”
“Dude, you’re always welcome in here, and it's just Rich, give me the word and I’ll kick him out”
“Wow I feel so loved right now” Rich said sarcastically. Michael just laughed
“No seriously dude, just join us, maybe Rich will finally win without cheating”
“Hey! I won fair and square, not my fault you got distracted”
“Did you just imply that Rich is better than me!?” Jeremy and Rich said at the same time. Michael grinning, gave Jeremy his controller.
“Only one way to find out”
To no one's surprise (except Jeremy himself), Rich is the better player between him and Jeremy. He put up a good fight, being only 4 wins below Rich, always asking for a rematch until Michael finally concluded it when the gap was so far ahead but Jeremy asked for one final game, all for nothing, and Rich, overconfident, accepted it. They shook hands as they took their place.
The first round Rich immediately won, he cheered loudly as Jeremy screamed in outrage, bursting into another debate before the second round begins, Second round took them a bit longer, Jeremy was playing it safe this time, just on defense as he waits for a opening and striking Rich hard when he saw just a small vulnerability on Rich's character, and once he did he keeps throwing the same move until Rich was down, and then the final round, when the match started, Jeremy already fumbling made Rich cocky, causing Jeremy to keep up again, and Michael can’t help when his eyes fixated on Jeremy.
Michael observe as Jeremys eyes focused on the game, gaze intense eyebrows a bit furrowed, he look so beautiful, his features enhance as the light from the monitor emits to his face, he can see his freckles a pop out as his cheeks redden from frustration, unbeknown to him, Rich was studying Michael as well, eyes sad from realization and that was the cause of his downfall, as ironic as it is, He lost to Jeremy who’s the reason why he won earlier when he and Michael was playing by themselves.
Jeremy made a whooping noise as he stand up, celebrating and dragging Michael along with him, who laughs smiling brightly at him, as they celebrate, Rich behind them watched as the two beamed at each other, he especially paid attention to the way Micheal was smiling, it's the kind of smile that would make Rich sputter and blush brightly from any other day, making him sleepless at night, but right now he feel like it would just haunt and mock him for a good while.
When the two decided to go home, Michael insisted on driving them both home and was not taking no for an answer, Jeremy agreed instantly, calling shotgun as he ran to Michaels PT cruiser, Micheal watched him from behind, adoringly, it was almost painful for Rich when he cleared his throat and talked.
“You like him huh?” Startled from Rich out of nowhere talking, Michaels let out a nervous laugh.
“‘Course, his my best friend and all that” Michael replied an obvious
duh
in his tone. Rich face turned into frown, confused, and then it hit him.
Oh God he doesn’t even know.
Rich thought hysterically, he wanted to cry, or punch Jeremy.
Obviously he didn’t do either of those, but he did look at Michael in bewilderment.
“Buddy that's not what I meant” Michael looked even more puzzled.
“Then what else- Oh.
Oh.
God no! He’s just a friend, I’ve known him since we were four. Wait, does everyone think I like him?” Michael choked “Does Jeremy think I like him?” Michael's face went red, eyes looking at everything and nothing, he looked like a cornered wild animal, and was in his fight or flight.
“Hey, Hey it's okay, I was just asking, and no I don't think Jeremy knows” Rich consoled him, grabbing him by his wrist “Don’t worry I won’t tell him”
“But I- I don’t-”
“Hey I said breathe, don't strain yourself, take your time to process what happened today and don’t take my word for it, actually try evaluating on how you feel alright?” Rich said, smiling kindly at him, and Michael nodded, his breathing gradually improving. When he was calm enough, he drove them both home.
That night Micheal didn’t get any sleep, he lay awake in his bed tossing and turning, Rich's earlier comment repeating in his head over and over again, he forced his eyes shut, cringing on how his response actually made him looked guilty,
we’re did that comment even came from?
he grumbled, sitting up,
what part of the interaction earlier made Rich think I’m crushing on Jeremy of all people.
He ruminates on his earlier actions, when Jeremy arrived at his room interrupting their game, contemplating all of the emotion he felt, and nothing seems to be out of the ordinary, he always felt that way for Jeremy. For as long as he could remember he always wants to wrap his around Jeremy whenever he arrives, always feels the warmth around his chest whenever he's near, unconsciously alert on Jeremy’s needs, and sure Michael doesn’t feel this to his other friends but that doesn’t mean anything. He was just closer to Jeremy that's all.
He tried to think about Rich, he loves hanging out with him but unlike Jeremy he doesn’t really think much of him when he's not around, he also doesn’t have the urge to embrace him every time
but thats just because Rich is much more touchy than he is
, Michael tried to reason with himself, but he also doesn’t really feel the exhilarating feeling whenever Rich was paying attention to him compared to Jeremy-
And oh.
Oh.
Micheal felt stupid, How can he not have realized this? He’s been friends with Jeremy for so long that it should’ve been obvious when he suddenly started catching feelings for his best friend, but then it occurred to him,
He has had this feeling for Jeremy for so long now he didn’t even realize what it truly meant.
Michael is truly fucked.
—
“You remind me so much of the moon you know”
“Huh? Why?”
‘I’m always looking for you at the end of the day’
‘You made the dark more bearable’
‘It would be so gloomy without you’
Is what he wanted to say, but he just smiled and said;
“‘Cause you’re so pale,” Michael teased, gulping down the emotion he refused to acknowledge.