Chapter Text
Michael stood at the school gate, fiddling with the string of his hoodie like it was a lifeline. The usual chaos of students swarming past didn’t reach him—he was somewhere else, somewhere quieter. His heart thumped a beat too fast every time a bus pulled up, every time a new wave of crisply uniformed students spilled out onto the pavement.
Then, there he was. Jeremy, stepping down the bus stairs, completely unaware that Michael’s whole world had shrunk to the space between them. Michael pulled off his headphones, hanging them around his neck and pretending like he wasn’t about to choke on his own tongue as his throat closed up. He coughed, blinked and caught Jeremy's eye. Jeremy flashed him a grin and fell into step beside him on his way into the school gates.
The first few hours of the day floated by. The hallway display boards looked suspiciously fresh and the bathroom stalls were mostly free of graffiti. He seemed to fall back into the rhythm of school days easily, despite the break. The air around him felt thick like jelly, like he wasn't quite awake. The harsh flourescent lights of the second period maths room he was in seemed to slant into his eyes from every angle. There was a low hum of chatter that cloaked the room. Morning announcements crackled and clicked indecipherably throughout the transition periods. A new wave of nervous freshmen clogged the stiff hallways that buzzed with life. Everything seemed so alarmingly familiar.
Break, at least, was a relief. Brooke was updating Christine on her summer hairdye disasters and snapping group photos for her socials. Chloe and Jenna were gushing over each other's new earrings and Jake had Rich in a headlock within 10 minutes of their reunion. Michael heard snippets of their idle chatter as he watched Jeremy naturally fall into conversation with Rich.
Christine and Jeremy sat next to each other, careful not to let their legs touch. Michael wondered why ; they'd been dating for a few months now, they couldn't still be this insanely awkward. He shrugged it off.
Period 3 was a biology lesson. The whole room smelt of bleach. Their teacher had somewhat of a reputation and wasn't afraid to uphold it. He spent 30 minutes loudly and passive aggressively preaching about the lab rules and then went on to talk about the importance of science for careers ("Keeping your options open is important. You need to be thinking about this - Miss Roland please face the front, thank you - as it is crucial for the next steps in your life." he droned. "For lots of you that means higher education and for others it means entering the working world, for which you will need these skills, which links me back to my original point,") Michael had always thought that the clock in that room had been to loud. There was more distant laughter in a voice that sounded suspiciously like Jenna's, which was abruptly and brutally silenced.
Michael felt like he had fallen out of bed and into lunch break by the time it rolled around. He found his gaze drifting to Jeremy. Again. He looked uncomfortable, shifting in his seat. He kept opening and closing his mouth like he was trying to say something but wasn't sure how.
"So," Rich turned to the pair, ever unaware of awkwardness. "How's things with you two, since the rest of us are destined to be alone forever," He feigned a dramatized fainting motion, leaning against Jake's shoulder.
"Oh, knock it off," Jake said, pushing the smaller boy aside. "How many girls hit on you at my party last weekend? And how many guys?"
"That," said Rich "Is irrelevant." Jake stifled a laugh with a cough. "So. Jeremy Heere. Spill."
"Well, actually," Jeremy said, looking to Christine for support.
She took a breath. "We broke up over summer," she said, confident as always.
The chatter at their table was snuffed out. She looked to Jeremy, who nodded.
As Christine began talking again, Chloe, who was sat to Michael's left, exchanged wide eyed glances with Brooke and Jenna. Everyone was rapt, attention fixed on Christine. "Well?" blurted Jenna "Do we get details or is that it?"
Christine shrugged. "I just don't think I like him like that...... I don't think I like ANYONE like that." She paused. "It's called aromanticisim. I've been looking into it, and," she looked around, grinning nervously. "I think it might be me."
She was assertive. That was something Michael had always admired about her.
Rich made an approving noise. Everyone else was silent. Michael could feel the cogs turning in everyone's heads.
"What about Jeremy? He must be HEARTBROKEN," Rich chimed in with faux dramatized sympathy.
Jeremy sputtered. "It was a mutual agreement." He insisted. Then he smiled shyly. "I'm going to explore a bit too,"
"Oh, Jeremy Heere the chick magnet. Watch out, girls," Rich said sarcasticly
Jeremy and Christine smirked at each other like there was some kind of joke the others weren't getting. Jeremy coughed. "Not just girls,"
Michael's brain slowly filled with static. "Not just girls"? What was that supposed to mean? He dimly registered the groups reactions. Jake laughed and Rich nodded knowingly. The girls began to sneak more sideways glances. Not just girls. He could see Jeremy's face. Was he joking? It didn't seem like it. He was kind of smirking though. Michael exhaled, allowing the tightness in his chest to release. Not just girls....was there someone else Jeremy was seeing? Did he like someone? Did he like HIM? No, that was ridiculous. Surely? Michael busied himself with his food, stuffing his face with a sushi roll to avoid giving away his thoughts. He remembered every time Jeremy had leaned in a little too far, sat a little too close, laughed a little too loud, stared for a little too long....but he was experimenting. He was a teenage boy just out of a relationship. It didn't mean a thing.
"So the whole elaborate plan for you two to get together was essentially pointless," said Rich, leaning back on his chair and hooking his hands behind his neck.
Michael looked down to his lap suddenly. His knee brushed against someone else under the table. His breath hitched and he immediately drew back and tried to pretend he didn't notice.
"Not pointless," Jeremy said defensively. "I can flirt now,"
"Not so sure about that buddy," said Jake.
Jenna laughed, her gaze shifty. "So, Jake," she said, clasping her hand. "You intend on rejoining the basketball team this year?"
"Yeah, yeah," said Jake. He started talking about the teams plans for the next season. Jeremy tapped Michael. "We should probably drop our science stuff off at our lockers."
Michael gathered his bags.
Almost as if it was waiting for a moment, the bell rang, clear as glass shattering the awkward conversation. Chloe groaned. Brooke hissed. Everyone began to split off and head to lockers. The girls had theirs along the humanities corridor and round by English. Jake and Rich were together in maths. Jeremy and Michael headed to their lockers, both outside geography.
They finished the day on a double period of geography, used mainly for explaining the process of how to complete the group project on Antarctica they were being assigned. ("On the first day back? This HAS to be a joke," hissed Alexis Golf from the row in front of Michael) He let his mind wander from penguins and Antarctic pearlwort to his surroundings. The first day back at school was always the same: always surreal, always familiar, always boring. His gaze shifted, catching the familiar profile of his best friend lit by the sunlight slanting in through the window. This year, Michael thought.
This year was going to be different.