"What's up?" said Michael's best friend as she sat next to him in the lunch room. Not a second later, Jeremy came and sat on her other side.
"Nothing, really," Michael responded, shrugging. "Classes still suck, but that's to be expected."
She smiled at his words, then pitched the same question to Jeremy. "What about you? What's up?"
He smiled a little. "I signed up for the play," he said. "Christine is gonna be there, so I'll get to talk to her!"
"Oh, Christine," the girl said, voice a sadder tone. "Right."
It was painfully obvious to Michael, as it had been for the past few weeks, that the girl had a huge crush on Jeremy. Sadly enough for her, Jeremy was smitten over Christine, no matter how much she liked him, and, no matter how much Michael liked her, he didn't think he could ever change her mind.
"So, how were your classes?" Michael asked her, changing the subject.
She seemed happy enough to not talk about Christine anymore. "They were alright," she shrugged. "Math sucks, but Literature isn't so bad."
Michael saw Christine heading closer, and he tried his best to keep the girl's focus on him. "So...any plans after school?" he tried.
"No, but if you want to hang out, I'm free," she offered. "I heard you got a ton of food at your place. Hey, Jeremy-"
She turned to talk to him, only to see him chatting with Christine. After swallowing a lump in her throat, she turned back to Michael.
"Anyway, I'll be free after school," she continued. The smile on her face was so fake, it made Michael's stomach churn. "So, let's get stoned in your basement. It's been some time."
Michael forced a smile in return, just as the bell rang for next class, which they happened to have together. "Shall I walk you?" he said, trying to cheer her up.
Thankfully, her smile had been a true one as she took his hand. "Of course," she replied, grabbing her backpack off the ground and letting her friend lead her to their classroom.
The day seemed to drag on for both friends, especially Michael when he wasn't around her. Still, they both managed to make it to the end, which was a goal in and of itself.
~~~
When I stepped out of the doors of the school, waving my friends off while telling them I had a ride, I saw michael already at his Cruiser, headset on and shoulders bopping to the tunes. Probably more 90's stuff, but I couldn't really complain. Some of it was pretty good.
He smiled a little and got in the car when he saw me approach. By the time I'd gotten into the car, the engine was running and he had his phone connected to the car stereo, playing his music at a moderate volume.
"So, what's the deal with Jeremy?" he asked as we headed off, glancing over at me.
I could only groan in annoyance at the words, looking out the car window.
"You can't just ignore this," Michael added, taking a different turn to get to the nearest 7-11.
"Watch me," I returned, and Michael suddenly stopped the car. I hadn't realized how fast he was driving, but we were already at the store, and Michael slammed the car door on his way out. I watched him trudge into the store, running a hand through his hair and mutter something to himself.
I stopped looking, instead glancing at my phone, even though it hadn't gone off. Briefly, I considered texting Jeremy, but decided against it. I settled for letting a couple tears fall as I sniffed quietly.
The driver's side car door opened, and Michael sat in his place. I tried to hide mt face, but a hiccup and a quiet sob escaped me, and his hand grabbed my shoulder.
"Hey, it's okay," he told me, and I glanced in his direction. "Your best friend's right here, okay? You're okay."
He placed a slushee in my hands, and a small, teary smile crossed my lips. "Thanks," I managed before taking a sip of my slushee.
"No problem."
With that done, we started heading toward Michael's place. Somewhere along the way, Michael had stretched his hand my direction, eyes leaving the road for a split second so he could send a smile my way. With a little grin of my own, I took his hand in mine, and he almost seemed shocked. Still, his thumb rubbed over the back of my hand as he focused on the road stretched out in front of him.
We arrived at his house about ten minutes after that. My hand was a little cold when his released it, but it might have just been the slushee. It was pretty cold.
I left my backpack in his car, not wanting my parents to smell the weed when I got back home. I could shower and wash my clothes, but I didn't wanna take all of my stuff out of my bag to wash it, then put all the stuff back in it. Too much effort.
Anyway, I headed into Michael's house, noticing the absence of his mom's cars. I took the familiar walk down to his basement, where I was immediately hit by the scent of weed, filling my nostrils as I padded down the steps.
"Welcome home," Michael joked once we reached the bottom. "It's been a while."
"A long time," I added, sighing. "Well, there's only one thing left to do, I guess!"
Michael glanced at me unsurely. "Are you sure you want to?" he asked, tilting his head. "You know how you get when you're emotional and high."
I rolled my eyes. "No worse than you."
He cringed, faking a pained look. "That hurt."
A sigh escaped me as I flopped onto his bed. Moments later, I felt weight on the bed near me. I turned from where my face was buried in a pillow to look at Michael, who had a worried expression.
"What's got you troubled?" I asked, rolling onto my back and meeting his eyes.
"I think you need to talk," he said. "I know you like Jeremy, and I know you're upset about Christine. I think it'll help if you talk it out for a bit."
A weight settled in my chest as I looked away, not able to keep eye contact. "I don't wanna," I replied, knowing how childish I sounded, but it was only the truth. I grabbed one of Michael's pillows and wrapped my arms around it, putting it over my face to hide tears.
Michael was quick to snatch the pillow away, and he pulled me close to him and let me cry for a bit. I felt like such an idiot. An emotional wreck. It was just one boy! There was no reason I should have hurt so bad.
"Poor kid," Michael sighed, bringing me to sit close and lean my head on his shoulder, still crying. "How long have you been keeping this in?"
"Couple weeks?" I choked, and Michael's expression darkened.
After that, there was no noise aside from my soft crying against Michael's hoodie. Occasionally, he would say something to me, maybe trying to cheer me up, but I didn't pay too much attention. I choked on a bit of phlem for a moment, but fixed myself quickly.
"I'm gonna do something really stupid," Michael said after I'd calmed down a little. "Just...I don't know, slap me if it's bad, okay?"
Confused, I sniffed and nodded. Michael took a deep breath, then put his hands on my cheeks and kissed me.
It was the last thing that I expected, but I'd lie if I said it wasn't kinda nice. In fact, I had put my hands on his shoulders and pushed my lips against his when he tried to pull away. He was quick to catch on, hands suddenly on my waist and holding me to him.
"Wait," I said, pullign back abruptly, scooting backward a bit on his bed. "Wait, I don't think I can do this now."
"Not...right now?" Michael asked. "Like...maybe another time?"
I chewed my lip. "I don't want you to be someone I date because I feel bad about Jeremy," I offered. "I don't want to put you through that." I put my hands over my face. "God, have you felt that way for long? I'm so fucking stupid-"
"Whoa, calm down," Michael soothed, patting my back gently. "There's no need for so much crying, I promise."
"I'm sorry, I'm just...super emotional?" I tried, before laughing just a little bit, burying my face in Michael's chest as he continued to rub my back.
We kinda stayed like that for a bit, and it felt good. I wished it could last a lot longer than we did, but it was a school night. I, frankly, didn't give a shit, but Michael's moms did when they came downstairs to tell him that, even though they loved me, I couldn't stay over on a school night.
Michael explained my situation, however, and their eyes softened. They said they'd make an excuse once, just because they knew I needed a friend.
"Let me call my parents," I said, grabbing my phone and shakily unlocking it.
"I'll drive you home, if they won't let you stay," Michael offered. "It's too dark and late for you to walk."
I nodded, and my parents soon picked up the phone. "Mom!" I said when her familiar tone came across the reciever.
"Where are you?" she asked immediately.
"Michael's place," I said. "I wanted to know if I could stay over."
She seemed to think for a minute. "Do you have spare clothes?" she asked me.
"No," I sighed. She sighed, too.
"Wake up early and come get clothes. You can stay if you promise to do that."
"I will. Thanks, Mom. Love you."
"I love you, too. Good night."
I put my phone away, smiling at my friend. "I got the okay to stay!"
He raised his arms in victory, and I laughed.
We sat on his bed, partly watching movies, but mostly trying to cuddle, but being super awkward about it. I was happy for his warmth, though. He was super nice to be close to, especially with his super soft hoodie.
"Michael," I said in the middle of a movie neither of us were paying attention to, "do you, like wanna date me?"
It was dead silent, aside from the movie. Michael's heartbeat accelerated, and I could feel it right in my ear.
"Yeah," he replied, not looking at me. "I would give anything for a chance."
"Well, I think I'll give it a chance."
He jolted, suddenly turning to meet my eyes.
"I mean, not right now!" I added. "Just...I don't know. I'd feel awful not giving you a chance, and I trust that you'd never hurt me, but I still need some time to get over Jer. Sorry, I should have explained it more, I-"
He kissed me again, and I melted into it. His hands gripped my waist and I put mine on his cheeks.
"You talk a lot," he joked, and I nervously smiled a bit. "I know what you mean, and I just have a favor to ask you."
He pressed his forehead to mine, and I smiled as his breath mixed with mine.
"Just...let me be close with you, like this," he said. "I've been wanting to do this so long, I don't know if I could contain it much longer."
I giggled as he kissed my cheek gently. "Yeah, I think I'll be fine with that."
He immediately pressed his lips against mine again, and I couldn't help but smile.
"You're making it difficult to not want to date you," I sighed, and he grinned.
"Then I'm doing something right, I guess."