Work Text:
You’re my Favorite Color
February 2nd, 2019
The bathroom window was slightly open, letting in a small breeze. Michael shivered slightly, I mean this was what he got for showing up in shorts.
This honestly wasn't how he imagined spending his 16th birthday. At a party, alone and depressed, in a bathtub with soda cans covering him. He sniffled slightly. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Jeremy obviously didn't care, so this party was a waste of a birthday.
He was about to leave the bathtub when the door swung open. Michael had let out a small gasp but covered his mouth quickly in hopes the person didn't hear him. He leaned back again to make himself seem smaller and less noticeable. Michaels eyes fluttered close and he held in a breath.
He could hear light footsteps slowly increase in sound before noticing someone slid down and was leaning against the bathtub. He let his eyes flutter open and saw familiar curly hair.
Michaels expression changed into indifference. He reached over and grabbed Jeremy's shoulder, causing him to scream three times and scoot away rapidly before Michael pulled back the curtain.
" Sup. " Michael stated, his eyes boring into Jeremy's.
Jeremys face melted into confusion looking at his friend.
" Michael? I didn't know you were invited to this party. "
" I wasn't. That's why I'm wearing this " clever " disguise. " Michael stated, showing off how little effort he put into the costume before removing the coke cans and stepping out of the bathtub.
" You're speechless. Squip got your tongue? " Michael asked sarcastically before helping Jeremy stand.
" No it-it's off. " Michael snapped his fingers.
" That would explain why you're talking to me. "
Michael took a small breath, encouraging himself to go on.
" I was thinking about this moment. What I was gonna say you to you. " His voice raised moderately.
" I had this, " He took a small breath, his eyes watering again, but this time he didn't bother to stop it from happening. " Really pissed off monologue, An epic journey through 12 years of friendship!-" Jeremy smiled at Michaels dorkiness, even when confronting him. Jeremy's eyes started to water too.
" What? " Michael asked, his emotions leaking through to his voice.
" No it's just..It's just really great to see you again, man. " Jeremy held onto his elbow, looking away for only a moment, still wearing the same sad smile. Especially as he saw Michael taken aback.
Michael narrowed his eyes a bit, his tone much more calm hearing Jeremy say that.
" Well it won't be, when you hear what I found out. "
" Found out? About? " Michael gestured to his head.
" How? There's nothing on the internet-"
" Which is weird right!? " Michaels tone once again got louder, as he once again was desperate to talk to Jeremy.
" I mean what's not on the internet? So I started asking around and finally, this guy I played Warcraft with told me his brother went from a straight D student to a freshman at Harvard. "
" You know where he is now? "
" Really happy and successful? " Jeremy questioned in an innocent tone.
" He's in a mental hospital. "
Jeremy's eyes widened, his whole body now feeling more tense.
" Totally lost it. "
" Alright, I don't see what that has to do with my-" He spoke regaining his composure.
Michaels eyebrows furrowed and his fingers curled up as he interrupted Jeremy.
" Think, man! We're talking an insanely powerful supercomputer! You think it's primary function is to get you laid? "
" Who made them? How did they end up in a highschool? " His nose scrunched up. " In New Jersey!? " He added before getting up and walking towards the sink.
" Of all possible applications for such a mind blowing advanced technology, you ever wonder what it's doing inside you? " Doubt crept onto Jeremy's face before it swiftly faded.
" Pfft, and I thought Chloe was jealous. "
" I'm honestly asking! "
" Oh really? "
" Yeah. "
Jeremy's face twisted into a glare.
" It's-I think, you're just pissed that I have one and you don't. "
" Come on. " Michael resisted the temptation to roll his eyes.
Jeremy took a step towards Michael, his fists curling up and his eyebrows furrowing.
" And maybe I got lucky! Is that so weird!? I mean with my history, I would say that the universe owed me more. " The volume in his voice decreased to an extent.
" And look, I don't know about your friends brothers-whatever, " Jeremy mocked somewhat, " Man, if you're telling me that the Squip made him go crazy- "
" The Squip didn't make him go crazy! " Michael abruptly announced, striving towards Jeremy again.
" He went crazy trying to get it out! "
The boys were silent, for just a second, just a moment, both panting slightly due to the argument.
" Well..then I've got nothing to worry about-why would I want that? "
Michael sucked in a breath before blocking the door. Both the boys seemed drained, defeated in a way.
" Come on man. Move it. "
" Or you'll what? "
Jeremy's voice went lower, somewhat threatening.
" Get out of my way, " Michael dug his nails into his hands, he just had to keep Jeremy from leaving, then he'd see reason eventually. He could do this. For Jeremy.
" ..Loser. " Jeremy shoved Michael lightly before opening and shutting the door. Michael pressed his lips together in an attempt to keep himself from crying. The tears, however, were overwhelming him too much. He turned around and turned the lock before sliding down on the door.
*~*~*~*
Jeremy was now outside, pacing back and forth. Colors. He could see colors. His soulmate was here! At the party! And he might never know who it was because everyone was stumbling and bumping into each other.
He looked down at his hands and outfit again. He looked at himself in his phone camera only a million times. He also had looked through all his photos of Michael and him.
Michael looked a lot different than Jeremy expected. A lot more attractive than expected. Jeremy had always loved Michaels little floof in his hair and his hoodie and all the patches but, now that he could see color, it just all became so much more vibrant and lively.
Michael, boy had Jeremy fucked up with him. He wanted to go back right now and just hug him, say he's sorry and that they can go back to just getting high and playing video games.
But he knew he couldn't. The squip was still with him, and this was the only way to be popular. What if he never found his soulmate? Or he his soulmate hated him? He needed the squip to help him through it. He shook his head. Jeremy needed to stop overthinking everything otherwise his brain might explode.
He headed inside to get himself a drink, immediately smelling the rank odor of liquor and sweat of plenty of teens all in a condensed space. His head started throbbing slightly.
" Jeremy. You need to leave. "
" What!? Why? "
" I'll explain later, we need to leave now though. "
" Okay! Okay! I'm goin-"
The glass shattered, flames exploded from every door and most the windows. Jeremy had made it outside by now, leaving him mostly unharmed except for a few glass shards he couldn't avoid.
" Did you know about this!? "
" Well.. "
Jeremy looked at the house, already falling apart. He reached for his phone to call the fire department before he realized there were already many people calling them.
His anxiety picked up. Michael. Michael was in that bathroom in a burning and collapsing house. He tried running back but was shocked by his squip.
" Jeremy! What do you think you're doing? I said you need to get out of here. Worry about everyone else later. If you die, I die. " Jeremy scrunched up his nose.
He grabbed a random beer, and chugged it, silently hoping he wouldn't get sick. He already felt buzzed. Jeremy ran towards the entrance and found no one trying to stop him.
He looked around frantically, trying to find a way to the bathroom without burning himself.
" Michael! Michael! "
Jeremy kept calling out, each time more frantic until he finally reached the bathroom door. His hand twisted the knob but it was locked. He silently cursed to himself before closing his eyes and ramming his side into the door multiple times, which hurt like hell by the way, before it finally slamming open.
He stumbled in as the door flew open, his eyes scanning for Michael, as soon as he saw him in the bathtub he picked up the boy, which usually would be quite the hard task but due to adrenaline wasn't a problem right now.
He looked back to the door way with a passed out Michael in his arms, which honestly could of been due to smoke inhalation or him crying so much he needed to sleep.
The doorway had been covered in flames and it slowly started to seep into the bathroom. Suddenly, Jeremy felt a slight breeze and his head whipped around to the window. Of course! Why hadn't he thought of that before?
The window was small and extremely hard to get both of them through, though if it were only Jeremy his lanky figure wouldn't of had any problem whatsoever.
He landed on the cold grass and stumbled again due to the impact. He brought Michael around to the front of the house where they waited for the ambulances and fire trucks to arrive.
*~*~*~*
Michaels eyes fluttered open slightly, and he clutched his head and groaned. What the hell happened? He reached for his glasses and recognized he was in his room. How'd he get here? Last he had heard he was at..the party.
He reached for his phone which had been right next to his glasses and scrolled social media for a brief moment, reading all about the fire. He had fell asleep at the party, which was when he had assumed the fire started. The only question was who got him out?
Jeremy might of came back for him, or it could of been a firefighter, or just some random kid. His heart hoped it was Jeremy though. He got up and looked for his hoodie, before screaming waaaaaay too loud.
He ran down stairs to tell his mothers.
" Ma! Mom! You'll never believe what happened yesterday! "
He tripped down the stairs slightly in his excitement, but he quickly caught his balance.
They were both on the couch, sipping their coffees and looked at him in surprise. Michael looked over and saw Jeremy as well.
" O-oh, " He mumbled, not really knowing what to say. His face then melted into the best glare he could manage.
" What are you doing here? "
" Jeremy carried you out of the fire and home, Mikey. " His Ma answered for Jeremy.
" He wanted to wait here until he made sure you're okay. " His mom finished, and Jeremy quickly stood up.
" Which I did! Glad to see you're okay. " Jeremy bit his lip and looked down. " I'll be going now. I'm sure my dad is plenty worried.. "
" Let me walk you home. " Michael blurted out, to both Jeremy's and his own surprise.
" Sure. Thank you. " Michael only nodded.
They both said their goodbyes before heading out the door. They shoved their hands in their own pockets and refused to look up. Michael was the first of the two to break the silence.
" So..you came back for me. "
" Y-yeah..I couldn't leave you in there."
" Jeremy..I'm still really pissed off at you but..thank you. "
" Of course bud. "
They walked again in awkward silence. Jeremy cleared his throat and tried to speak but, he couldn't get anything out for the longest time.
" What..were you going to tell your mothers? "
Michael stopped walking. It took Jeremy a second to notice so he had to retrace his steps to get back to Michael. Michael looked at him, his expression unreadable, Jeremys face flushed and his stomach lurched. He shouldn't of asked. He just said he was still mad he shouldn't of gotten in his business.
" ...Colors. " Michael responded casually, before starting to walk again.
" Colors? What do you mean colors? " Jeremy asked, oblivious as always.
" I mean I can see colors Jeremy. My soulmate, whoever they are, touched me yesterday. "
And they walked in silence again. Jeremy kept his head down, debating if he should tell him or not. His mind was racing a mile a minute with so many different possibilities on how he could tell him, and what could happen.
Michael glanced over at Jeremy too many times, especially since he was supposed to be angry at him. The boy looked so anxious though, it pained him not to say anything.
" ..I can see color too. " Jeremy finally whispered. Michaels eyes lit up. He-I mean he had always hoped but he never thought that it would be possible.
" ..What a coincidence huh? " Michael joked, not really knowing how to bring it up that they might be soulmates. Jeremy stopped walking.
" I think you're my soulmate Micha. "
Michael melted at every single word in that sentence, especially the nickname as Jeremy used that before the squip.
" Is..Is that a good thing or-? " Michael questioned, not wanting to get his hopes up too much in the case the smaller boy was upset at this fact. Jeremy's head whipped up.
" Michael! Of-Of course I am. I kinda thought we might be but I didn't, I didn't know.. "
More awkward silence. They were almost to Jeremy's house now. That of course, was before Michael dragged Jeremy into the park nearby, currently deserted due to it being extremely early in the morning.
Jeremy didn't protest. His heart thumped in his chest excitedly and he couldn't help but bear a smile. Michael soon brought them to a very long slide, of which most of was closed off.
He interlaced his fingers with Jeremy's and slowly slid into the slide, making his way towards the middle with Jeremy. He looked over at Jeremy and made his signature grin, to which Jeremy responds with a shy smile.
Their eyes flutter close and they both lean in, Michaels glasses bumping into Jeremy, but at this point neither of them minded nor payed attention to. All either of them could focus on was that their lips were on each other's.
Jeremys lips were mostly smooth, except for a couple spots where you could feel when he had bitten too hard or recently bit. They weren't chapped whatsoever, and kinda tasted of strawberries. That's the perks of chapstick, Michael guessed.
Now Michaels lips..Were dry. They were chapped and dry. Probably due to the fact he never wears any chapstick and smokes weed on a daily basis.
The kiss none the less, was enchanting to say the very least. It was comforting yet demanding. Sweet yet not very innocent. Especially as Michael slid his tongue into Jeremy's mouth.
After a couple more breathless minutes, they break apart. Jeremy leans in to go back to it but Michael pushes his finger to Jeremy's lips.
" I'm still really pissed Jere. "
Jeremy pouted.
" I can't make it up with cuddles, kisses, and video games? "
Michael bit his lip, debating, then shook his head.
" You'll have to try harder. "
" Oh believe me, Micha, I will. "