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Life is hard.
Jeremy knew that. He accepted it.
That didn't make it any easier for him to deal with, though. Especially when the people around him just never shut up about the one thing Jeremy couldn't handle talking about.
Sex.
Sure, he had absolutely no problem watching it, thinking about it, and whatever, but he had no idea how people could... talk about it so easily to other people. It's just such a personal topic! It made him feel like he was somehow getting intimate with someone without even touching them.
As class was assembling for the day, many of his classmates were chatting left and right, but his ears could only pick out one conversation.
"Yooo- Jake, my man!" He heard Rich shout across the room. "How was break? Heard from Chloe that you ended up at a sick party out of town." He waggled his brows. "Anything to share?"
Coming back from breaks was always the worst, everyone was itching for scandalous news to spread around and today was no exception.
"Well," Jake laughed. "I hit it off with this one chick from England." Rich whistled. "Yeah- And I guess you could say things just went from there."
Rich groaned as he leaned back in his seat. "Aw, come on man! You can't leave a guy hangin' like this!"
Jeremy stared at Jake like his life depended on it. Normally, the other was pretty good about keeping details to himself. He wasn't some pinnacle of privacy, but he's a respectful guy. Jeremy just hoped he'd keep it-
"Guess I could share a little bit." Jake grinned. "Not like she'll ever come here, anyways."
... up.
Goddammit.
As Jake began to recount his evening, Jeremy felt his face start to heat up. He tried to block them out, listen to someone- anyone- else, but it's always harder to do something when you're actually trying, isn't it? After the other going on for at least three more minutes, Jeremy wanted to call bullshit on Jake's "just a little bit." This was quite a lottle bit!
He shut his eyes and buried his face in his arms when, suddenly, the conversation stopped. Jeremy was about to thank his lucky stars, but when he looked up he was greeted with something worse.
Rich and Jake were both staring at him.
If Jeremy's face hadn't been red enough, he definitely felt another wave of heat washing over him and flooding into his cheeks. A heavy silence fell over the three of them before the other two busted out laughing. Jeremy didn't know what they found so funny.
"D-Dude were you listening in?" Rich asked through his laughter. Jeremy's silent fear seemed to be all the other needed as an answer. "Fuck, man, I heard the rumors, but god damn you really can't handle this shit!"
Oh, great. There are rumors.
Unsure of what to say, Jeremy simply huffed and went back to burying his face in his arms. Class was going to start soon anyways and it was the last period of the day. If he just ignored them, it'd probably blow over.
~~~~~~~
After class, Jeremy practically bolted, not waiting around for any chance of further humiliation. He was quick on his feet to the front of the school and hopped right into Michael's car. He guessed that was a perk of your friend having early release; he was always there to pick him up right away.
"Sup, dude!" Michael greeted him, enthusiastically, as he started up the engine. "Ready for me to kick your ass in Mario Kart?" It was only just then that he looked over and noticed the fading color in Jeremy's cheeks. "Woah- Did something happen today?" He asked, looking him over in confusion a moment before starting to drive.
Jeremy sighed and sunk deep into his seat. "Yeah, you could say that."
"What was it?"
"People were... talking..."
"Ohhhh..."
"Yeah... They caught me listening in, too, so that fucking sucked." He crossed his arms and turned his head to look out the window.
About a minute of silence passed before the other piped up. "Ahh, don't worry about it, man!" Michael supportively patted his shoulder. "I'm sure they won't even remember what happened."
"But, there are rumors, Michael!" Jeremy sat up and looked to him exasperatedly before immediately slinking down again. "At this rate, I'm never gonna get laid."
More minutes passed as Michael tried thinking of something to say. He wanted to think of something comforting, reassuring, and maybe even profound, but his brain gave him jack shit.
So, Michael sighed as he parked in his house's driveway and just let loose the first thing that came to mind. "Jere, I'm sure there's tons of people drooling after your dick, you just haven't talked to them yet." He said as he unbuckled and hopped out.
Jeremy turned his head to protest as he also got out of the car, but he also couldn't help a laugh that bubbled out of him. "Yeah, right." He rolled his eyes.
Michael began to laugh, too, suddenly glad with his decision. "No, no, I'm serious. I've heard it in the hallway. 'Oh, wow, have you seen Jeremy? What a stud muffin!'"
Jeremy's cheeks colored a deeper shade as he began laughing even harder. "You're such a liar!" He playfully shoved the other as they walked to the door together, opening it and walking in.
They made their way over to the couch and both plopped down. "I swear on my life, bro." Michael was still chuckling, but he tried to put on a serious face. "There's this one girl who I have heard talk about you from day one. I don't know who she is, but I hear her all the time before class starts, like-" He clasped his hands together and put on a high pitched voice. "'Jeremy is sooo cute! I wish he'd notice me! He is just tooooo cool, y'know? Teeheehee! I want him so bad!'"
By this point, Jeremy was a giggling mess. A snort even made it's way from him and he rushed to cover his face, face flushing brightly as he continued to snort-laugh into his hands. He was really a sight to behold.
And behold it, Michael did.
In the midst of his admiration, he murmured, "But, I already called dibs."
The laughing slowly came to a stop as Jeremy looked up at him and it was now Michael's turn to blush like an idiot.
"Wh-What?" He squeaked and turned away, pulling his hood over his face.
The laughing resumed on Jeremy's end and after a moment, he commented, "Great, now we're both blushing messes."
Michael slowly glanced back over at him. "You're... not weirded out or anything?"
Jeremy shrugged, but his face was getting red again. It's a matter of pure miracle that this boy hasn't combusted yet. "N-No. I'm... kinda happy you said it? I think?" With that, he offered a nervous sort of smile and awkwardly scratched at the back of his neck.
Michael gradually smiled in return, turning his body to better face the other. "Happy, huh?"
Jeremy nodded. "Y-Yeah. Happy. I think."
"It makes you happy that I, Michael Mell, have declared absolute sovereignty," He leaned over so that his face was inches from Jeremy's. "over your dick."
Okay, now he was combusting.
"MICHAEL!" He groaned and covered his face once more, leaning so far back that he now laid against the armrest of the couch. "First off, you called dibs, you don't have sovereignty, you absolute nerd!"
Michael could barely hold back his laughter. He was absolutely snapshotting this moment in his memory forever.
"But, secondly..." Jeremy reached up and grabbed the front of Michael's hoodie, pulling his face down near his again. "For right now, as long as your parents won't be home anytime soon..."
Michael could feel his heart beating in his throat.
And elsewhere.
He was pulled down even further so that Jeremy could whisper in his ear.
"F-Feel free to take what's yours..."
Michael didn't know what was getting to him more: how adorable it was that Jeremy was actually trying to be sexy despite his obvious nerves or how hot it sounded anyways. Not that it actually mattered.
As Jeremy put his head back down, Michael smirked and placed his lips over the other's, gladly preparing to do just that.