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Michael was the ‘Rage Quit’ guy, right? Whenever you think of him, you’d basically be thinking of the color red.
I should’ve expected this when we started dating. I mean, I have a horrible self-esteem and Michael likes to say whatever he wants, whenever he wants. That was obviously going to be a problem eventually, but I was too head-over-heels to even think that far ahead.
Michael had been recording a Rage Quit when I walked into the office. I knew better than to bother him while he was recording, but I had left my phone in the room and thought it would be fine as long as I didn’t say anything.
As soon as the door had closed behind me- a bit louder than I had wanted it to- Michael’s head had whipped around. I quickly glanced over his shoulder and watched as his spaceship crashed directly into an asteroid, killing him instantly.
Obviously hearing what had happened in his headphones, he turned back around to look at the screen and screamed, “Fuck!” He slammed his controller hard back onto the table, and ripped his headphones off of his head. “What the fuck are you doing [Y/N]?!? You fucking killed me!”
Even though it was obvious he was seething from it, I couldn’t help but awkwardly chuckle and shrug a little before replying, “Sorry Michael.”
“You think this is fucking funny?!?” He yelled, slamming his hands down onto the desk and standing up, immediately wiping the smile from my face. I had never seen him this mad; especially not at me. “It took me forever to get there and I was just about to end the fucking video! Now I have to do it all over again!”
“I- I’m really sorry Michael… I didn’t mean to distract you…” I stutter back, stunned and a bit tongue-tied at how quickly this encounter escalated.
“Fuck you [Y/N]! God fucking dammit!” Michael screeches, pacing about the room and pulling on his hair. I really wanted to try to calm him down, but I couldn’t do anything past standing there with my mouth agape. “You always ruin everything!” I gasp in a breath as he just glares at me with nothing but hatred in his eyes.
Where the fuck did this come from?
Does he really feel that way?
“M- Mich-“ I try to stutter out another apology, but he cuts me off. “Don’t even fucking try you cunt.”
Tears brew in my eyes and even though I want nothing more than to not be here right now, my legs just won’t work. This all feels like some sort of nightmare.
“All you’re good for is ruining shit, you know that right?” He says, walking towards me slowly and pointing a finger in my face. “You’re so useless.”
“St- Stop it Michael…” I say in an almost whisper, trying to find any sort of remorse in his eyes.
There’s nothing but pure rage.
“Fuck you!” He shouts, pushing me away from him lightly, “Goddammit [Y/N]!”
That little push must’ve rebooted my legs or something because before I could even think, I was sprinting down the halls, tears streaming down my face, towards the bathroom.
I slammed the door shut when I got there and slunk down to the floor in the corner immediately.
Why did that just happen?
I didn’t do anything wrong… Right?
Have I been doing something wrong?
Oh god…
I can’t stop my raging thoughts and my breathing becomes ragged. I latch my hands around my knees and close my eyes tightly.
Have I not been a good enough girlfriend?
What did I do wrong?
I can distantly hear the sound of a door opening, but I ignore it to handle more pressing matters.
What if we-
“[Y/N]!” I hear someone gasp and my eyes shoot open instantly.
Lindsay.
“Oh my god [Y/N]!” She says in a hushed tone as she closes the door behind her again quickly and kneels down next to me.
I instantly reach out to her and she locks me into a firm hug. “Oh god [Y/N]… What happened?...” She asks tentatively.
“Mic- Michael-“, I tried to explain through sobs, but to no avail. She only clutched onto me harder and started to pet the back of my head gently while whispering reassurances in my ear.
It took a while, but I finally calmed down enough to the point where I could be understood.
“Michael- He- He said such terrible things… Y- You don’t think he meant them, r- right Linds?” I stuttered out quickly, even though I knew she wouldn’t have any sort of logical answer.
There was a short pause before she pushed me slightly away from her to take a look at me. I could see a growing rage start to build up in her eyes.
Why does everyone get so angry around me?
“[Y/N].” She says firmly, immediately stopping the soft whimpers that had been escaping my lips. “You’ve done nothing wrong, okay? I’m going to go have a little chat with Michael, and this’ll all be cleared up.”
Before I could even move to stop her, she had stood up and gone out the door, locking it behind her.
Oh god, what’s she going to do?
~ ~ ~
Any bystander that saw Lindsay stomp through the halls could tell that she had a mission, so they would immediately part and give her a clear path.
As she started to close in on the Achievement Hunter office, she could hear Michael’s iconic screaming getting louder and louder. While that would usually scare people away from the office, it now only fueled her desire to go in there and give him a piece of her mind.
As soon as she had reached the door, she threw it open, almost sending it completely off its hinges.
Of course, at the noise, Michael immediately turned around.
Before he even got a word in, Lindsay slammed the door shut behind her, face already red with rage, and let her words fly.
“Michael motherfucking Jones! Do you have any idea how much of a fucking asshole you are?”
Michael’s face went from full-of-rage to stunned-into-silence within an instant as Lindsay walked towards his desk, getting up in his face and yanking his headphones off his head. Whenever Lindsay was mad, you knew you had better listen to what she had to say.
“You just fucking reduced your girlfriend to tears! She’s bawling her eyes out in the bathroom all because of you! Don’t you care at all?!?” Lindsay screeched. “I know you get into these moods sometimes, but fucking-A man! Go fucking apologize before she has a fucking panic attack!”
Michael just sat there with his mouth opening and closing every so often, trying to find the words to defend himself, but staying silent instead.
Had he really been that horrible?
Lindsay could practically see the loading bar on Michael’s face as he processed the information and thought about everything.
The fight flashes before his eyes, quickly replaying the memory, and now, looking back on it with a more rational mindset, he saw that he had fucked up.
Big time.
He sprung from his chair instantly, bolting past the still red-faced Lindsay and sprinting through the halls.
~ ~ ~
I could hear Lindsay shouting at Michael, even from this far away. I couldn’t make out what she was saying, no matter how hard I tried, but I didn’t really have to.
I had calmed down a bit since Lindsay had left and I was trying to look at the situation rationally.
I walked in on Michael while he was recording.
It’s my fault.
He exploded and said a bunch of hateful things.
Which he probably meant.
A drunk man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts, right?
He was just drunk with anger instead.
A loud rasping at the door pulled me from my thoughts, and I jumped towards it, expecting to see Lindsay back.
When I pulled open the door, Michael was there instead.
I immediately flinched backwards away from the doorframe, sucking in a breath, and my tears restarted their soundless decent.
God, this was actually happening, wasn’t it?
Michael’s going to break up with me.
He steps into the bathroom with an unreadable face and I try to stand with my chin up. If this is going to happen, I want to keep at least some of my dignity.
Before I can even react, he throws his arms around me and squeezes me tight, trapping me in his embrace.
He props his head up on my shoulder and whispers, “I’m so sorry [Y/N]…”
I’m still stiff as a board, unsure of where this is going.
“Oh god, please don’t hate me [Y/N]… I didn’t mean any of it! I was just so angry!”
I wiggle out of his grasp and step back a foot away from him.
I can see that he’s crying now, too.
“Mi- Michael. You can’t tell me with a straight face that you didn’t mean any of that.” I say, trying to keep my wobbling knees from giving out underneath me.
“[Y/N]…” He whispers, stepping closer to me again and cupping my face with both his hands. “You are the most beautiful, funny, and amazing woman I’ve ever met. I- I…” He trails off for a moment before he continues. “I love you more than life itself, [Y/N]… I’m so sorry for what I did, and I really didn’t mean anything I said.” He says lowly, making sure to keep eye contact with me the whole time.
Ok.
What the actual fuck is going on here?
He’s trying to apologize, right?
I want so badly to forgive him, but I-
My thoughts are interrupted by his lips being pressed tentatively against mine.
This is where I make my choice. I think to myself. This is his way of asking if I forgive him.
I’m just unable to function at this point really; today has just been an emotional rollercoaster. So I just stand there, not kissing back, but not flinching away, and soon enough, Michael ends his silent plea for forgiveness.
He pulls his lips from mine, but he keeps his hands in their original position and his forehead rests on mine.
One, desperate sob escapes his lips, and tears continue to stream down his face.
My mind clears its anxious thoughts immediately, and all I can think of is Michael and how much I want him to stop crying.
“I don’t want to lose you [Y/N]…”
My hands fly up to his face, automatically putting themselves in the places they fit so well, and I reconnect our lips.
Because no matter how often Michael’s red side may rear its ugly head, I know he has so many more colors to him, and that through it all, my feelings for him will never die.
And his feelings for me won’t ever either.