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When Jeremy found he couldn't sleep, he’d sit up in bed and turn the fairy lights on, watching them gently dance across Michael’s sleeping figure.
Maybe it was a little creepy, he realized. Watching his best friend sleep beside him. Just watching him.
But he couldn’t resist admiring his face. The way his eyelashes rested so gently on his face, the way his nose crinkled sometimes as he breathed. The way he subconsciously tapped his foot as his lips curled into a smile as he dreamt.
Michael and that red hoodie of his. Jeremy could hardly remember the last time he’d washed it. It never smelled bad, though, because it always smelt like Michael.
Michael.
His name was perfect.
When he’d chosen his name, Jeremy had fallen in love with it. With his name, his chosen name. Michael Ulysses Mell. It all just fit so well together. He was in love with his best friend’s name.
Jeremy carefully crossed his legs, making sure he didn’t poke Michael with his bony knee. He gently rested his arm on Michael’s shoulder, then slid it to his hair, sighing softly as his fingers curled into the soft, dark locks of the hair that belonged to his best friend.
His hair was always so soft. Michael had a trick to make it soft, light, and fluffy like that. He never told anyone his secrets, not even Jeremy.
Jeremy was okay with that, though, because he knew Michael would share things with him eventually. It was more of a tease, keeping knowledge from him, than a trust issue. Michael trusted his whole life to Jeremy, and Jeremy his whole life to him.
That’s just what best friends do.
Jeremy found himself quietly awwing as Michael leaned into his touch with a sleepy noise, his foot tapping the bed gently. He wished Michael was this happy at school.
But even after everything, things had just.. Not been well. Michael had been failing classes since he started hanging out with the “SQUIP Squad” as someone had named it. Popular kids, you know? Never have time for school work.
Michael had wanted to be popular, and now he was regretting it. He didn’t want popularity, he just wanted to be known. He wanted someone to look at him and know his name.
Jeremy had been doing his best to help him study, but even with that, his grades were going down rapidly.
So lately, Jeremy hadn’t been coming over as much. Somehow, that had helped. He didn’t see it as a negative thing though. He knew he was a distraction to him.
He often found Michael just staring at him, watching him. Kind of like what Jeremy was doing right now to a sleeping Michael.
Jeremy yawned and moved back to lay down in bed, careful not to hog the sheets. He turned off the fairy lights and turned his back to Michael, closing his eyes.