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26 days.
That's how many days it had been since the incident. That's how many days it had been since Jeremy started ignoring Skip, since he had started ignoring Michael. That's how many days it had been since he got new friends, since he became popular.
They hated it.
Jeremy wasn't the same nerdy kid they had met in the nurses office. He wasn't the same kid that wore a NASA T-shirt and listened to them talk about rovers as they waited for new clothes.
But, did that even matter anymore?
They would like to think it didn't, as they sat in their dark bedroom, the only light being the desk lamp illuminating the table in front of them. But they had to admit, it did still matter. It still mattered to both them and Michael.
Michael had texted them earlier, saying he was going to sneak into Jake Dillinger’s Halloween party to talk to Jeremy about how dangerous his ‘SQUIP’ was, whatever that meant. They would like to join him but they didn't want to hurt Jeremy again, they didn't want to make a fool of themself.
So they sat in their desk chair, in their dark room, staring at the one part of their desk that was lit up. They couldn't help but wish to be back home, watching shitty horror movies with their friends like they did every Halloween. But that couldn't happen. They were alone. No friends.
What a pitiful sight.
They sighed, reaching across their desk to grab a book. They just needed to get their mind off of Jeremy. But of course, nothing went well for them. They caught a glimpse of the healing scratches on their wrist.
They pulled their arm back, into the light, to look at them better. One time, they had told themself. One time, just to see if it made them feel any better. But once turned into twice, into 3 times. Would they let it turn to a fourth?
At this point, they would do anything to stop thinking about Jeremy, to stop thinking about their stupid mistake, to just forget about their problems. They opened one of their desk drawers and pulled out a small razor before standing up and heading to the bathroom.
They entered the bathroom and closed the door behind them. Their mom was asleep and their dad was still at work, doing overtime, so this was the perfect time. They felt a slight twinge of guilt but they were sure they deserved this. An eye for and eye, they hurt Jeremy so they deserved to be hurt.
Next thing they knew, they were back at their desk, staring at the bandaid covering what they did. There weren't many cuts, but they did go deeper. It's what they deserved, they were sure.
They laid their head down on the table, not knowing what to do now. It was 11 PM, almost midnight. Michael should have talked to Jeremy at this point, but they hadn't got an update text.
They sighed and turned off their desk light, not having enough energy to move to their bed to sleep.
1 AM.
They woke up to a notification from Michael. They rubbed their tired eyes and sat up, reading the text he sent.
Michael> I left the party like an hour ago
Michael> he didn't listen
Michael> also I think Jake's house is on fire?
Michael> I'm at a gas station down the street and there's a ton of smoke and I think I see fire
He sent a picture, a plume of smoke coming from an almost glowing house.
Skip> what a thing to wake up to
Skip> guess I chose a good night to me a pussy
Skip> be*
Michael> I don't need your sarcasm
Michael> people could be hurt!
Skip> I was just trying to lighten the mood
Michael> Jeremy could be hurt
Skip> jeez, my night's already terrible man
Michael> oh so your night has been terrible?
Skip> okay I don't care
Skip> we've both had a bad night, okay?
Michael> how has yours been bad? You've been home all night!
Skip> I'm not telling you
Michael> so you're lying?
Skip> what?
Skip> no
Skip> I just don't want to tell you about personal fucking stuff
Michael> whatever
Michael> can we talk more on Monday?
Skip> no promises.
And with that text they set their phone down. They really didn't want to talk to Michael more, without Jeremy they either stood awkwardly or fought, and they didn't think their mental health could take any more of that.
They stretched and stood up, making their way to their bed to actually sleep. They curled up under their blankets, hoping on Monday no one noticed their wrists.