SquipSquad
Jeremy's POV
Post SQUIP
"RELEASE ME, YOU COWARD!" I yell as Michael picks me up and slings me over his shoulder. I kick and flail in an attempt to get him to put me down. He carries me up the stairs and into my room. He then drops me onto my bed, immediately climbing on top of me and pinning me down.
"Apologize and I'll stop the torture now." His words are threatening but his tone is nothing but playful. I beat him in a video game we were playing, a game that he apparently had an undefeated winning streak in. He wants me to apologize for beating him and admit I cheated.
"I will apologize for nothing!" I stick my tongue out at him. Michael glares at me and adjusts his arms so that one hand is holding down both of my wrists. His other hand threateningly drops to my waist.
"I'm giving you one last chance to come clean about your crimes," he says with an extremely serious tone. I just stare at him, refusing to say anything. "Well, you asked for it." Before I could process what he said, Michael starts tickling my side. I try my best to hold back my laughter, ultimately letting a few giggles slip. When Michael doesn't get the reaction he's looking for, his actions intensify. His hand somehow makes its way under my shirt causing me to squirm under his touch. I can no longer contain my laughter.
"HAHAHA stop!!" I scream. I try to wiggle my way out of his grasp, but it's proving to be more difficult than I thought. "Mi-Micha please! I can-can't breathe," I say through my laughter.
"Apologize for your actions and I will stop."
"Al-alright! I'm s-sorry!" As promised, Michael immediately stops tickling me. He lets go of my wrists and rolls off of me. I turn onto my side and prop my head up with my arm. "You're so annoying," I state as I catch my breath. Michael smiles and winks at me.
"I love you," he says before puckering his lips. I sigh as I lean down and kiss him.
"I love you, too, I guess." I sit up, pulling him up with me. I wrap his arm around my shoulders and rest my head against his shoulder.
"You alright, babe?" Michael runs his hand up and down my arm in a comforting manor. I hum out a yes in response. "Something tells me I should give you part of your gift right now."
"You don't have to. I'm fine."
"Too late. I'm already getting it," he says as he reaches into his back pocket. He takes out a small box and hands it to me. "I'm telling you now that this is not a proposal." I take the box from him and open it. It's a plain black ring. "Look at the engraving on the inside."
"Player Two," I read. I lift my head off of his shoulder and look at him, a huge smile taking over my face. "I love it." Michael takes the box from me and puts it to the side. He then takes the ring out of my hand.
"Which hand do you want it on?" He asks.
"Hm..." I take a moment to think about it and decide on my right hand. I hold out my hand and Michael slips the ring onto my middle finger. "It's perfect."
"I'm actually so glad that you chose this hand because-" he holds up his left hand- "our rings will line up when we hold hands." I look at his hand and notice the black band wrapped around his finger.
"Does it say-" I don't even have to finished my sentence before Michael starts nodding.
"Player One," he confirms. I let out a light laugh and pull him into a hug. He hugs me back tightly before pulling away. "Oh that reminds me, I'm staying over tonight and there's nothing you can do about it."
"But your moms-"
"My moms already know, and they're okay with it, as long as we still go to school tomorrow."
"Alright, fine, you can stay." I stand up from the bed. "Just come help me set up." I walk out of my room before he can respond, but I hear him follow behind me. When we get downstairs, we wordlessly part ways. Michael goes to the living room to clean up the video game set up and I go to the dining room to relight the menorah.
"If you still want them to think that this is the last night, I suggest you light tonight's candle too," Michael says. I nod my head although he can't see me. I light every candle except for tomorrow's and walk into the living room.
"Is everything okay?" I ask I as I notice Michael's perturbed face. He's looking down at his phone. Upon further inspection, I see that it's a text.
"Yeah no yeah. It's just-" he hands me his phone- "Rich texted and asked me for your address. I told him but then I asked why because doesn't Jake usually drive him here? And he said he's gonna walk here, but he forgot the exact address and he didn't want to end up at a random house."
"He's going to freeze out there. You should go pick him up." I hand him his phone back. He puts it in his pocket and nods at me.
"I was thinking the same thing. I'll be back in a bit." He kisses my cheek quickly before turning and walking out. I hear the front door open and close. Not even two minutes later, the doorbell rings. I walk over to the door and open it.
"Hey," I say as I step to the side to let Chloe, Brooke, and Jenna inside.
"I brought more alcohol," Chloe announces as she drops her coat on my arm. "I don't know if I can handle another sober night of this." Chloe welcomes herself into the living room, leaving Brooke, Jenna, and I to glance awkwardly at each other.
"Anyway," Jenna says to break up the silence. "Was that Michael's car I saw leaving when we pulled up?"
"Uh, yeah probably."
"Is everything okay with you two?" Brooke asks.
"Yeah, everything's great." I feel a genuine smile start to grow on my face. "He'll be back soon. It's a long story." Jenna seems satisfied with my answer as she heads into the living room while Brooke just stares at me with a saddened face.
"It's about Rich and Jake, isn't it." Her voice is low, like she's trying to make sure the other girls can't hear her. I nod my head in response, causing Brooke to sigh. "Chris was telling me about them. How one minute they're fine and happy and the next minute they're ignoring each other and acting all weird and awkward."
"They're adjusting to dating their best friend. It's different than regular dating," I shrug. "I mean, don't you remember this happening when Michael and I started dating?"
"Oh my god, that's right. Do you think they'll get over it? The whole awkward stage?"
"Michael and I did," I say as I show her my new ring. She goes to say something, but I quickly stop her. "No, it's not an engagement ring, and, no I don't plan on showing it to everyone, so please keep it on the down-low."
"Your secret is safe with me." Brooke pretends to zip her lips before walking into the living room. Just as I turn to follow, the doorbell rings. I turn back and open the door. It's Christine and Jake.
"Hello. Your regularly scheduled coat hanger had to step out for a moment, so you're stuck with me for the night." Christine and Jake laugh at me as they walk in. I take their coats and walk to the closet to hang up everyones' coats. I then join everyone in the living room and sit next to Brooke.
"So, Jeremy," Jake says as I sit down. "Where's Michael? He's usually here before any of us."
"He had to step out for a minute, but he'll be back soon. It is his day after all."
"Cool. Fun. Exciting. I'm ready to drink now. Who's with me?" Chloe takes a bottle out of her bag and holds out. Jake, Jenna, and I give half hearted shrugs.
"Does someone know where the shot glasses are so I don't have to get up?" I ask. Christine nods and gets up to go get them. When she comes back, she hands a glass to Chloe, Jenna, Jake, and myself. I guess she knew Brooke wouldn't want one.
~small timeskip~
I stopped after about three shots, like the lightweight that I am, while everyone else kept going. Chloe insisted that we play music so I let her connect to a Bluetooth speaker I had lying around. As of now, the girls are off in their own world listening to some song by Doja Cat and singing very off-key. Well, except for Christine, obviously. I look over at Jake and frown. He's looking into his shot glass like he wishes it could drown his sorrows. I get up from my spot on the floor and sit next to him on the couch.
"Hey, man. What's up?" I ask. He looks at me and sighs, shaking his head. I place my hand on his back and rub it reassuringly, y'know, in a bro way.
"It was my fault this time," he mutters.
"What do you mean?"
"He was so ready to become official, but I told him I didn't want to put a label on it so fast. Like, I explained why, but I just couldn't get my words right, and I think he took it as me not wanting to be in a relationship with him."
"But you do want to be in a relationship with him, right?"
"I want to go on a few dates with him and see how that goes. I'm- I don't- I'm scared of rushing into a relationship and having things go bad. I rushed into all of my past relationships, and all of them have ended. Chloe is the only one of my ex's that I'm still cool with. I don't want to lose Rich. I'd rather be friends with him for the rest of my life, dying over not being in a relationship with him than not having him in my life at all." Jake pauses for a moment, staring down the floor. "If only I said that yesterday. Where were those words when I fucking needed them?"
From the corner of me eye I can see Michael's car pull up in front of the house.
"Well I believe he's here now, if you wanna talk to him." Jake follows my gaze, which leads to Michael and Rich getting out of Michael's car. He looks back at me and nods. "Then you might want to get to the front door before Michael barges in."
"Good idea. Thanks, bro." He hands me his, surprisingly, full shot glass and leaves the room. Seconds later, I hear the faint sound of the front door opening. Luckily, the music covers most of the sound.
When Michael walks into the living room, Chloe doesn't hesitate to hand him the bottle she brought.
"You got a lot of catching up to do, headphones," Chloe slurs over the music. Michael takes the bottle from her and walks over to me. He sits down and points to the glass in my hand.
"What number is that?" He asks.
"Oh, this is Jake's. I only had three, and that was a while ago." He takes the glass from me and downs it with no problem. "You know you don't have to catch up, right?"
"I know. The shot was just there, not being used. I'm not gonna have any more, but I'll keep the bottle over here to make them think I am."
"Ah. Smart." I rest my head on his shoulder. "So what happened with Rich?"
"Well, he was still at his house when I got there, thankfully. I told him to get in the car and I drove us to an abandoned parking lot. He thought I was going to kill him and I said I would if he didn't tell me what was going on. I'm sure Jake told you his side of it, so I won't bore you with the details. Anyway, there was quite a bit of crying from him, and quite a bit of stern talking from me. And now we're here."
"I hope you didn't yell at him too much. He may be an idiot, but he's still sensitive."
"Hey, homos!" Chloe shouts. "What song should we play next?"
"WAP," Michael shouts back. The girls laugh and immediately play the song.
"You better do the dance at the end. Especially because you requested the song." Michael looks at me with a face that says 'you think I won't?' He leans into my ear and starts whispering the lyrics. I try my best to hold back my laughter as I push him away. "I'm so glad you're staying the night."
"Less talk-y more dance-y." At some point, Christine and Brooke came over to us to bring us over to their make-shift dance floor. Michael and I get up and join the girls.
After a while, I excuse myself and go to check on Rich and Jake. When I walk towards the front door, I catch them making out. I guess their conversation went well.
"If you two are done sucking face, we'd love to have you join us." Rich flips me off and I take it as a sign to step away. I walk back into the living room where I find the girls doing some weird circle dance around Michael. What kind of cult shit is this!?
"Get in here, Heere," Michael says as he waves me over.
"Uh, I don't know if my religion would allow me to join a satanic ritual during Hanukkah, so I'll pass on that." I walk to the couch and sit down on it. I pull my feet up and sit crisscross as I watch the scene in front of me. I'm sure my face is dripping with fondness.
Just a year ago, Michael and I were re-building our friendship and building friendships with the rest of the group. Now, it's like we have all known each other forever. I love it.
The dancing starts to settle down when Rich and Jake enter the room.
"Is it present time?" Christine asks excitedly.
"You bet it is!" Michael responds with matching excitement. While Michael goes off to wherever he hid my present, everyone settles down around the room.
"Imagine Michael jutht walkth out in the maid outfit and that wath hith gift for Jeremy." Rich and a few of the others laugh at his joke, unaware that Michael was already walking back in.
"Wouldn't you like to see that, Goranski."
"You know I would." Rich winks, causing Michael to flick his forehead as he passes. "Ow!" While Rich pouts, everyone else in the room laughs and that surprisingly includes Jake.
"Alright, alright. There's no fighting during Hanukkah." When I get everyone to settle down, Michael places two rectangular boxes, much like the kind Christine gave me yesterday, on my lap. "Based on yesterday's events, I'm scared to open these."
"Nah, it's nothing like that. I just forgot what's in which box, so I don't know what you'll be opening first."
"So it's a surprise for everyone. Cool." I start to tear at the wrapping paper and open the first box. I pull out a blue crewneck that has an 'ugly Christmas sweater' design on it with the words player two printed on it. "Does anyone want to bet on what's in the other box?"
"Hey!" Michael exclaims with an offended tone. "You don't know what's in there!"
"It's most likely a red sweater with player one on it."
"Normally I would neither confirm nor deny a statement like that, but I'm denying it now."
"Can you two stop flirting and get on with it?" Chloe begs from across the room. I laugh as I start to take the wrapping paper off the second box.
"Like I would ever flirt with him," Michael chuckles.
"Ugh, I know right. Disgusting." I take the top off the box and reveal, get this, a red sweater. "You fucking liar! It's a red sweater!"
"That's not a sweater. Try taking it out of the box." I roll my eyes abs take the sweater out of the box and unfold it. "See, it's a hoodie. Pretty different from a sweater."
"Alright, whatever. Let's just go light the menorah." I put the boxes to the side and stand up. Everyone else gets up and immediately walks into the dining room. Lucky for me, Jenna happened to be behind everyone, so I could pull her back. "I need a favor."
"What's up?"
"This is technically Michael and I's first Hanukkah. Well, our first one as a couple, and I wanted to ask if you could document it? Whether it be a video or pictures, I just want to remember this."
"Of course, Jeremy. Consider it done."
"Thank you so much." I give her a quick hug before we join everyone. I squeeze my way through the small group and stand next to Michael. "Ready?"
"Mmm one sec." He wraps his arm around my shoulders and I bring mine around his waist. "Okay, now I'm ready." Michael clicks the lighter on and lights the 'last' candle. But I don't actually see him light it. I'm too focused on the extreme concentration oozing from his face. His eyebrows are slightly furrowed and his tongue is just barely sticking out if his mouth. It's adorable!
"Woohoo. Congratulations," Chloe says stalely. "Let's get back to drinking." Rich let's out a cheer and they run back into the living room. Michael starts to step away to join them, but I pull him back.
"Hey," I cup his jaw lightly.
"Hi?"
"You know I love the sweaters, right?"
"Oh yeah, I know." He smiles at me. "Even if you didn't, I'm making you wear it tomorrow when we decorate the tree."
"That's fair." I pull him down for a quick kiss. After we pull away, we walk back to the living room only to find everyone laughing at Christine and Brooke. Upon further inspection, I see that they have put on the sweaters and were imitating Michael and I.
"Look at me I'm Michael and I like to smoke weed and play video games!" Christine drops her voice to sound as close to Michael as possible.
"Oh oh look at me! I'm Jeremy and I like to watch anime and gawk at the sexy cat-ladies!" Everyone bursts out laughing at this whereas I just cover my face in embarrassment.
"Okay, you've lost sweater privileges. Hand it over." Brooke pouts at me as she takes the sweater off. "You too, Miss Chris."
The rest of the night includes drinking, singing, dancing, and, of course, people continuing to poke fun at me over Brooke's comment. A couple hours pass before everyone decides it's time to leave. Michael and I follow everyone to the front door and say our goodbyes. As soon as I close the door, I turn around and smile at Michael.
"We're finally done playing host," I say with a content sigh.
"That was literal torture and, I beg you, never make me do that again." I laugh as I grab his hand and drag him around the house to clean stuff up.
"Hey, don't pretend you didn't get stuff out of this." Michael looks at me with a confused glance. "Quite a few of the gifts this week were just as much for you as they were for me. Some were even more for you than me."
"Elaborate on that."
"Exhibit A: Rich's gift." Michael immediately blushes, by tries to play it off by blowing out the candles. "I won't count Chloe's because that was really for everyone, although we do have a couple left over. Jenna's gift could have been for either of us. I think Christine's gift can explain itself. Finally, you bought yourself a ring and a hoodie."
By the time I finish listing everything, we finish cleaning the rooms.
"Okay, fine. I guess playing host wasn't so bad. But I'm not doing it next year."
"At least you admitted it. That's all that matters." I quickly peck his lips before I start to pull him to the stairs. "C'mon. I believe you owe me a dance."
And that's a wrap on Hanukkah. Well at least Hanukkah with the friend group. Something tells me that Michael has something up his sleeve for tomorrow, I just can't think of what...
(3502 words)
{A/N: only one more night to go. What could happen? Who knows!}