Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This day started out like any other normal day, with Jeremy getting up and going to school.

Today was different though, the reason being that today was the last day of finals before school let out for winter break.

“Jeremy, this is going to be an amazing break! We can play video games and hang out at each other’s houses!” Another boy says to Jeremy, bouncing with every step towards the school.

This boy was Michael, Jeremy’s best friend of about 10 years.

Jeremy laughs. “Michael, we do that all the time, what’s different now?” “What’s different?” Michael repeats, scoffing. “This is the first time since we started our freshman year that we can do it everyday!” He flashes a wide grin at Jeremy.

“Yeah, yeah” Jeremy rolls his eyes, fidgeting with his blue cardigan sleeves. “Remember, we still have to get through these last two finals, stupid”

Michael lets out an exaggerated gasp, making Jeremy laugh again. “That was so uncalled for, I am insulted! How dare you?” He finishes off his sentence as they approach the doors to school.

“Ha ha, get over it, Micah” Jeremy groans after a moment. “We have to take more finals” He drags out the last word. “Yeah, uh, I know” Michael says. “It sucks but I’m sure you’ll do great, man” He smiles at his friend.

“Thanks, Michael,” Jeremy smiles right back at him. “I better get to my class though” he sighs. “Yeah, me too.. good luck!” The other boy gives him another smile as he walks away to his classroom. Jeremy dejectedly walks over to his class after Michael walks out of view.

(After the final)

Jeremy finally gets to his locker and leans against it, then his face lights up.

“Michael! Hey!” He waves over to his best friend. “Hey, Jere!” He grins and makes his way over. “Damn it, I wish I had your hoodie, it’s so cold” Jeremy exaggerates his actions, folding his arms tightly.

Michael chuckles at his actions and shakes his head. “Sorry, but this is all mine, Miah, you bought it for me!” “Whatever.. how do you think you did on your final?” Jeremy asks him.

“I think I did fine, it was only English after all.” Michael replies, energetic. “What about you?”

“..I did okay” Jeremy replies offhandedly. Michael laughs. “Okay, I’ll let that go then”

*RING*

“Oh! Jeremy, see you later! Good luck on your last final” He smiles to Jeremy behind his shoulder. “Thanks..” Jeremy replies belatedly, stepping on his way to his Science class begrudgingly.

(End of the day!)

Jeremy steps out of his classroom, just to almost be trampled by a horde of students on their way out of school.

He carefully makes his way through the crowds as best as he can, going to where he knows Michael will be.

“Jere!” Michael meets him halfway, grinning again. “Hey Mike! You coming over tomorrow..?” Jeremy asks awkwardly.

They may have been best friends for 10 years, but he still finds it kind of hard to talk to him. He really needs help with that.

“Yeah, for sure! Sorry it couldn’t be today, the moms want me home tonight” Michael apologizes. “No, it’s fine man, I’ll get by” Jeremy replied.

I mean, it wasn’t a lie, but life could be better at home since his mom left. His dad doesn’t really take care of him that much now. “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow, Miah!” Michael smiles and goes on his way to go home.

Jeremy leans against the wall, sighing. He didn’t really want to go home. He wanted Michael there with him. “Hey.” A voice sounds behind Jeremy, making him jump.

He turns around, scared. “Uh.. hi?” He replies, quietly. He vaguely recognizes the boy. He is taller than him, has short brown hair.. he eventually recognizes him as Shane Hansen.

“I’m gonna get right to the point, yeah? You’re obviously a loser, and I have something to offer you.” The taller man says. Jeremy doesn’t say anything, and Shane sighs, annoyed.

He shows him his fist and opens it to reveal something like a.. pill. “Uh?! Is that drugs?” Jeremy blurts out, making Shane smirk.

“Nope, it’s actually better, I would say. It’s called a squip, and it’s from a company in Japan that specializes in nanotechnology” Shane tells him. “This will singlehandedly help you become more popular.”

Jeremy furrows his eyebrows, doubtful. “But.. how though?” Shane thinks for a minute. “Okay, how about this, I give you the pill for free and you can see for yourself. It’s usually 400 but you look like you need it, kid.”

“Oh, uh- thanks?” Jeremy stammers and takes the pill from his hand. Shane holds out a bottle of Mountain Dew to Jeremy. “You need this too” The boy in the cardigan takes the bottle from Shane hesitantly.

“You’re gonna watch me take it..?” Jeremy asks. “Just to see your reaction” The taller guy nods. Jeremy hums nervously and opens the bottle of soda. He takes a drink, puts the squip in his mouth, and swallows it.

“Now wait a minute” Shane stops him from saying anything. “Ok, what are you trying to-“ Jeremy stops suddenly and doubles over.

“Ah! Ow! What the hell?!” Shane just smirks. Searing pain spreads across Jeremy’s head as he goes onto the ground. He hears a voice speak inside of his head.

Accessing neural memory

Accessing muscle memory

Access procedure completed

Jeremy begins to see something appear before him, glitching into his vision.

Jeremy Heere

Welcome to your Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor

Your SQUIP

All of a sudden, the form in front of him is.. “Keanu Reeves?” Jeremy groans out in pain. “So it’s showing! That’s great” Shane finally speaks.

“W-what does the squip do exactly?” Jeremy asks. “Oh, for me it helped with homework, chores, and especially getting a girlfriend and becoming popular.” Shane replies. “For you, it will do whatever you set the objective to. It could be anything you want.”

The Keanu Reeves look-a-like stood before Jeremy, smirking. “Yes, Jeremy, I will help you with whatever you request. I suggest you choose some of the same as Shane Hansen here.” It says, voice ringing inside Jeremy’s ears.

“Excuse me for a moment. Up, up, down, down, left, right, A” Jeremy jumps and so does Shane. “I just synced up with his squip, this will help you in the future.”

“You’re welcome, kid.” Shane says as he walks over to his car and gets inside. “What would you like your objective to be” Jeremy barely has any time to look back at the squip before it asks him this question, using a monotone voice.

“Uh- become popular? And get a girlfriend? Basically just S-Shane’s objectives” He stutters. The squip hums. “Very well, I will set that now. Also, we will have to work on that stutter, Jeremiah.”

“Oh, uh, o-okAY-“ His voice raises an octave as a shock courses through his body. “What was that?!” “I shocked you, it will stop slouching and it will also teach you not to stutter” the squip replies coolly.

Jeremy just nods. “Alright, I’ll trust you, I guess” “That’s a good boy” The squip teases him, making Jeremy cross his arms, annoyed.

“We will start working on improving your social status by buying you some new, cool clothes.” “What’s wrong with- uh, okay I guess..” He decides to appeal to the squip, after all it is helping him improve his life.

“Also, you will have to start speaking to me in your mind.” The squip tells him. “Like X-Men!” The young boy replies in his head.

The squip doesn’t reply to that. “You will not go home right now, I will direct you to the mall to shop for your new clothing.” “Got it” Jeremy nods, yet not questioning how he will get there. “Welcome to the start of your new life, Jeremy Heere”

Chapter Text

The next day, while Jeremy is being led by his new squip, Michael is at home alone laying on his bed.

“Damn it, Jeremy” He says to himself. He has sent multiple texts to his best friend asking where he is, since they were supposed to be at his house today.

But, after a couple hours, he gave up asking and stayed alone in his room. “Maybe he’s just busy or something” Michael says, sitting up. “That’s fine. I can wait.”

So he does. All throughout winter break, he waits for Jeremy to text back or call him.

But he never does.

It’s like he’s ignoring him- but Michael won’t believe that, after all they’ve been best friends for practically their whole lives! Surely this can be resolved by talking to one another, right?

By the time school starts again, Michael is left confused and upset as to why Jeremy completely ignored him the entire break. “Jeremy better have a good excuse for this..” Michael says to himself in the mirror.

“Are you almost done in there, it’s time to go!” His mom calls from downstairs. Michael sighs. “Yeah, I’m ready!” He shouts back to her, coming downstairs in his red hoodie and jeans.

“I hope you can fix things with Jeremy, Michael” His other mom says, smiling patiently.

“..I don’t even know if something’s wrong” He replies.

“I know” She says back. “Good luck”

......

Michael walks up to the entrance of the school, without his best friend, unlike it usually was before.

As soon as he walks in, he already feels the anxiety kick inside of him. He groans internally, trying to push it down.

As he attempts to make his way through the crowds of people, he sees a familiar face. “Jeremy-“ He starts to call him but he notices that all the cool kids are around him.

He keeps looking at him, trying to get his attention, but to no avail. He sighs, and then Jeremy looks in his direction.

But it didn’t feel right.

It was like he looked right through him, like he couldn’t see him at all.

Before he can even try to confront him about it, he abruptly walks away, his new popular friends following him.

“What the hell?” Michael says to nobody, frustrated. He sends one other text to him before finally walking to his first class.

“Go ahead and hang out with your new friends. That’s fine”

Jeremy couldn’t help it if he couldn’t see his best friend. After all, his squip was actively blocking him out of his sight.

It said that it would help him achieve his goal, and that it wouldn’t be forever.

Jeremy believed the Squup because it was helping him, so he assumed that Michael would be fine as long as he could see him soon, but after the entire winter break, he still hadn’t gotten to see him at all.

“Hey, uh, I still can’t see Michael..” Jeremy says to the Squip later at night.

“Yes, Jeremy, we’ll need him to be out for longer” It replies.

“But- why? He’s my best friend” the Squip doesn’t reply, and Jeremy decides to leave the topic alone.

In order to fulfill this boy’s goal, he had to get Michael out of the picture.

He was at the bottom of the social ladder.

If Jeremy couldn’t forget about him on his own, then he had to make him.

So after school that day, when he was sleeping, the squip blocked Michael out of Jeremy’s memory, so as far as Jeremy was concerned, they never knew each other.

And Michael was just some loser who had no friends.

As Jeremy doesn’t have any recollection of his and Michael’s friendship, he could feel free to turn off optic nerve blocking.

It won’t matter at this point.

He’ll just see Michael as somebody to look down upon.

......

The next day, Michael spotted Jeremy again at his locker.

He stared at him for a silent moment, then Jeremy turns around as if he could feel his eyes on his back.

“Why are you looking at me?” Jeremy asks. Michael’s heart stops. “What?” He says, confused.

Jeremy stares back at him in confusion.

“Jeremy, you could not have forgotten about me just over winter break” Michael jokes, his voice weak.

Jeremy stays silent, staring at him like he’s speaking an unspeakable language.

He doesn’t give Michael any response, but instead turns back around to lock up his locker.

Michael starts to shake. What the hell is happening?

The school bell fills Michael’s head, overwhelming him, and he makes a break for the bathroom.

His breath becomes heavy and uneven as he shuts the bathroom stall door.

He sits down on the tile floor and buries his face into his hands and knees as he tries to calm himself down.

Jeremy forgot him. So quickly.

Is he so unimportant that Jeremy just forgot about him?

Even after a friendship that’s lasted a decade?

Michael doesn’t notice the tardy bell, and he instead stays in the same spot on the bathroom floor.

Willing himself to disappear from all eyes.

— 

On the opposite hand, Jeremy is out there in class, chatting with his new friends, already forgetting about the run-in with Michael, the SQUIP by his side.

Chapter Text

After going through 7 miserable classes in school, Michael finally gets to leave. 

When he walks out of the school doors, his moms are already waiting for him. 

He doesn’t say anything when he gets inside the car, not even when his mothers ask him how school went. They can tell he’s upset, so they don’t push him too hard. 

When they get to their home after what seems like hours, Michael finally gets to be all by himself in his room. 

And that’s where he wants to stay for the rest of his life.

......

An alarm goes off distantly somewhere in Michael’s head. He sits up groggily. Oh. It’s just his phone alarm. 

He turns it off and gets out of bed, much to his dismay. He changes his pants, but leaves his shirt, which is just gray with Pac-Man on it. 

After his moms force him to eat something for breakfast—“Michael, just a little, please”—Michael gets his backpack on and sits through the entire 7 minute car ride, saying very little. 

Only a few words and noises. 

He really doesn’t want to go to school and have to see his best friend perfectly happy. 

Without him. 

It sounds selfish, and maybe it is, but they’ve known each other pretty much their entire lives, so of course he’s upset. 

Once they arrive to the school, he says a quick goodbye to his moms—“Bye, love you.”—and walks towards the doors. 

Every step he takes gives him more anxiety, building up in his chest. He begrudgingly opens the doors and immediately he wants to go back home. 

He wishes he were anywhere but here. 

He tries his best to keep his eyes on the ground and he makes his way towards his locker. Michael sighs as he successfully opens his locker without seeing his (ex?)best friend anywhere near him. 

He pointedly ignores the items that Jeremy left in Michael’s possession, that will now reside in his locker for an indefinite period of time. 

Michael really didn’t need that on his conscience right now. 

He shuts his locker with a click, and wow, his luck sure didn’t last very long. Jeremy Heere stands right behind him, with his cooler, popular friends. 

He turns around, though it’s against his better judgement. Jeremy immediately meets his stare, and oh god, he should’ve trusted his intuition because Jeremy just looks at him with disdain. 

Michael shuts his eyes and turns on his heel towards his classroom, attempting to distract himself from the swirling hurt that’s inside of him. 

Why did his life have to turn around so quickly? 

Why did it have to change so drastically?

......

Michael really hates his life right now. Jeremy has gotten so much worse as the day went on. 

Since when did Jeremy feel this comfortable talking to other people? 

He was only ever able to talk to Michael since they met in Kindergarten, 10 years ago. 

Doesn’t matter now. Michael sits alone at his and Jeremy’s old lunch table where they used to sit together alone before winter break. 

He looks down at his lunch and cringes. Michael pushes it aside and instead rests his cheek in his hand and traces the pattern of the lunch table, peeking through the cracks. 

Currently, he has his clunky white headphones on his ears, drowning out everybody around him. 

As he bathes in the soothing lyrics of Bob Marley, he feels a hesitant tap on his shoulder. 

He jumps, squeaking as he pulls his headphones off. 

He falsely hopes that it’s Jeremy, but he knows it’s not. He’ll always know it won’t be Jeremy. 

He turns around hesitantly to see a kind of familiar face. Where has he seen this kid before? Dirty blonde hair, freckles.. 

While Michael is reading him, the boy clears his throat, snapping Michael out of his thoughts.

“Do.. do I know you?” Michael asks, then he corrects himself. “Shit, uh, I didn’t mean that in a rude way, it’s just-“ 

“It’s fine, really. I understand” The boy says, a lisp clear in his words. “I just.. noticed you were alone, and I thought I’d keep you company” 

Michael’s face flushes lightly. “Really?” The boy nods. “Why?” 

The mystery kid’s eyes shoot down to the ground. “Well, because.. I don’t really have friends either..” Suddenly he looks embarrassed. “Um- unless you do have friends- I’m sorry!” 

Michael frowns. “I don’t.. anymore. You can sit with me if you’d like, though!” Michael offers. “Really?” The other boy asks, surprised. 

“Of course. Uh, what’s your name? Sorry I didn’t ask earlier.” Michael asks. “Oh! It’s, uh, Richard Goranski. Or Rich, whatever you want..” The boy, Rich, replies. 

Michael lights up. “I’m Michael!” He smiles. 

“I know.” Rich says, and then he looks mortified. “Um! I mean, it’s just, you’re in my science class, so-“ 

“Wait, what? I’m so sorry, I didn’t know that you were in there with me!” Michael cuts in. Rich gives him a small grin, finally sitting next to Michael. “That’s okay. You know me now” He replies. Michael smiles back. 

“Not to be, um, intrusive.. but what happened to the person who used to sit here?” Rich asks. “It’s just that I’ve seen another kid here too, so..” 

Michael eyes lower to his feet. “Oh, um.. he’s busy with other people now.” Michael responds, dejected. Rich frowns. “I’m sorry if this is too soon, but, maybe we could be friends?” He suggests, nervous. 

Michael lifts his eyes up to the boy next to him. “You want to be my friend?” He asks hesitantly. 

“Yeah! If you want..” Rich answers. “Are you kidding? I’d love to!” Michael says. Rich blushes and grins, and Michael grins brightly back. 

Like for the first time in months, he feels like he’s flying. 

Like he’s actually wanted by somebody.

Chapter Text

While Michael was forming a friendship with Rich at lunch, Jeremy was left to the SQUIP’s devices. Being told how to do everything by the digital man.

“I can’t believe I’m not a loser anymore!” Jeremy says to his SQUIP.

“Of course you’re not. With my help, you’ll become the envy of everyone around you.” The SQUIP smirks.

Jeremy’s face lights up. “Sweet!” He thinks.

The SQUIP rolls its eyes in disdain due to his host’s actions. “I know you’re excited, Jeremy. Now that you’ve made it in with your popular peers, your goal now is to gain the attraction of one of the women!” It tells Jeremy.

“Huh? Really? Who would it be?” Jeremy asks in awe.

“Well, the most suitable at this point in time would be Brooke. I know you have a slight interest in Christine Canigula, but we can work on that on a later date. Is that okay?” The SQUIP says.

Jeremy nods excitedly. He can’t believe he’ll actually be dating Brooke Lohst! Everything’s going perfectly for him, in his eyes. Sadly for Michael, it’s without him.

......

Meanwhile, Michael and Rich both have the next period after lunch together. Science.

“Hey, you wanna walk with me?” Michael asks his newfound friend. Rich gasps. “Uh, Yeah! Sounds great” He grins, a slight gap in his front teeth.

Michael smiles back warmly and starts walking with Rich to their classroom, and if he saw Jeremy flirting with Brooke, he didn’t react.

Before they know it, they’re in front of the door to Science Class. Rich shuffles over to open the door and he keeps it open for Michael, to which he grins gratefully at Rich for.

“Thanks!” He says. Rich silently nods, and takes his respective seat in the front of the class. Michael’s seat, sadly, is in the middle, which means that the two boys won’t be able to get to know each other during class.

No one ever pays attention anyway. Why couldn’t they just talk?

Michael notices Rich staring back at him and he waves, smiling. Rich’s face flushes and he waves back, whipping back towards the front of the room.

Michael amusedly smiles and places his face in his hands. Yeah, he could definitely see them becoming close.

The teacher walks in at that point and begins to drawl along about today’s lesson, and that’s Michael’s cue to space out for the remainder of his boring lecture about atoms or whatever it is this week.

......

After class, Michael and Rich had to part ways, but Michael still acted as if they’d known each other for years.

He smiled with familiarity and waved back to Rich sheepishly. If you asked Michael, he’d say that he feels like he’s floating. Like he’s actually worth something.

He hasn’t felt like this since before winter break. Maybe he’ll actually be fine without Jeremy’s company.

After all, it did seem like Jeremy didn’t need him anymore.

Oh yeah, and Michael gave Rich his number so they could keep contact after school. I mean, they’re friends, so he wanted to be polite.

After 2 more fleeting periods, Michael gets to go home.

He climbs into his mothers’ car and he actually gives off positive vibes for the first time in months. “You seem happy.” One of his moms points out.

Michael smiles. “I am happy!” He replies, and his phone goes off.

He pulls it out to see a text from Rich. He already put his name into his contacts when they exchanged numbers.

“Uhhh hi!” Rich texted.

Michael snickers fondly. A thought goes through his mind. Rich is kind of cute. That’s in the back of his mind as he texts back, though.

“Hello!! That was pretty awkward if I do say so myself” He texts back, grinning widely. He sees his other mom looking at him.

“What are you smiling at?” She asks him curiously. Michael becomes sheepish suddenly. “My phone?” He jokes. Both of his moms smile simultaneously.

”Well. You can count on me to be awkward haha” Rich texts back after a few minutes.

The family arrives home after a minute or two, and his mom asks him a question. “Hey, what’s got you so happy all of a sudden, Micah?” She asks him, happy that he’s better.

He bounces his leg up and down, a nervous tic, and he smiles sheepishly. “I made a new friend today..” He says, biting his lip.

“Aww! That’s great! I’d love to meet them sometime!” His other mom squeals. “I want you to meet him too!” Michael replies. His mothers smile fondly, happy for their son.

Later that night, Michael is laying in bed while looking through his phone. He makes the mistake of looking through photos.

He sees old pictures pop up, of him and Jeremy having fun. Laughing together.

Michael feels his eyes well up embarrassingly, and he wipes his eyes furiously with his hoodie sleeve.

He takes a few deep breaths, closing out the photos app, and opening up the messaging app.

He clicks on Rich’s contact and runs his thumb across the screen lightly, looking at the four texts they sent between each other a few hours prior.

He sighs and types out a message quickly.

“Hey. Can we talk more?”

Rich never texted back so quickly before.

”I would love to”

Chapter Text

Throughout the 6 months left of school, Rich and Michael only became closer, almost as if they had known each other forever.

By the time they’d gotten to finals, Michael had his mind almost completely off of Jeremy.

Anytime he thought about the times they’d shared together, he quickly got in contact with Rich to keep himself distracted.

He knew he’d get upset.

Rich knows.

And if Rich liked listening to Michael’s voice all the time, then he kept that to himself.

He really didn’t need to screw up his new friendship with something like that.

As for Jeremy, he’s doing perfect without Michael in his life. Within those same 6 months, the SQUIP had helped him succeed in winning over Brooke. After about a month and a half of courting her, Jeremy was instructed to ask her to be his girlfriend. “Why did you bring me out here, Jeremy?”

“Well, I’ve been meaning to ask you, would you like to go out with me?”

“Oh, Jeremy! Of course!”

Through that action, he became the envy of more than half of the men in the school.

The men that wished they were him.

That quickly boosted his social status and his self-esteem.

With his precious memories of Michael blocked from his mind, he was free to rise up without anybody holding him back.

The SQUIP made sure of that a while ago.

His goal was to bring Jeremy success and he will do anything to get it with no remorse.

During Summer break, Rich and Michael were free to hang out together at anytime.

Whenever Rich’s dad finally passed out, he would sneak out to Michael’s home so he wouldn’t be as lonely.

Michael was happy to have him, and so were his moms. They were glad that their son found somebody else that made him happy.

And, it was awkward for Rich to admit, but he had been developing feelings for his friend steadily since they’d become friends.

How could he not?

He’s so sweet and caring, and Rich just doesn’t understand how Jeremy could ditch him like he did.

In the time before they approach their sophomore year, they try and make the most of it.

Rich doesn’t mind going to 7/11 all the time, especially since Michael so generously offers to buy him a slushie every time.

One more reason why Michael is the best human in the world, according to Rich.

...

Michael slurps on his slushie as he watches Rich hang off of the monkey bars in the park.

It may be the children’s area, but they don’t care. They just enjoy each other’s company all the time, anywhere.

Rich loses his grip, however, and yelps before hitting the ground. Michael giggles over his straw, and Rich playfully glares at his friend.

“Thanks for helping me, Michael.” He says, his lisp coming out strongly. A telltale sign that he’s flustered.

Michael scoffs, making his way over to his friend and helping him up off the ground. “Sorry it was so hilarious, Rich.” He grins playfully, gripping his cherry slushie.

“You asshole..” Rich mumbles, taking a sip from his own slushie that he’d placed near the bars.

“Well, you wanna go back to my house? We could play Mario Kart.” Michael suggests.

“That’d be great.” Rich says, fluffing his hair up. “Sweet, let’s go then!” Michael grins brightly, grabbing Rich’s hand to lead him away.

Rich’s face flushes, to his embarrassment.

Their friendship is so.. strong, that they can’t imagine anything coming between them.

...

The rest of the months leading up to their sophomore year were a blur, honestly.

It felt as though they were having so much fun that they couldn’t even notice that time was passing so quickly.

Soon enough, there was only a day left until the first day of their 11th year.

“Rich, oh my god, I can’t believe we’re going to be sophomores.” Michael gasps dramatically.

Rich grins. “I know, right? It’s crazy! It feels like just yesterday that we became friends in freshman year, huh?” He says, laughter bubbling out of his throat.

“Yeah,” His friend replies, soft. “And look how far we’ve come!” He laughs, tugging at his red hoodie sleeves.

“You ready to be an almost-upperclassman?” Rich asks, teasing. “Hell yeah, man! I was born ready!” Michael says, expressively moving his arms.

Rich watches on in amusement. Michael is so expressive all the time.

“You’re sleeping over, right?” Michael asks tentatively. “For sure, man.” Rich smiles softly.

He would never pass up a chance to sleep over at Michael’s house, unless something really serious came about.

Maybe if his house catches fire or something.

Michael runs his fingers through his tousled dark hair. “Cool! You ready to play some games for hours?” Michael asks, sitting in his beanbag chair and grinning.

“There’s literally nothing else I’d rather do, Michael.” Rich says truthfully, falling into his beanbag chair as well.

Michael flashes a bright smile at his friend, getting the system ready.

The next day, their alarm rings loud in the room.

Michael and Rich both groggily sit up at the same time, then make eye contact with each other, one from the floor and the other from the bed.

Michael grins, laughter ripping out of his chest. “Y’know what day it is!” Michael says, unusually excited for the first day of school.

Usually kids wouldn’t be happy for the first day, but hey, Michael is like other kids.

He can’t wait to see if he has classes with his best friend. That’s kind of sappy, but that’s just how he is.

“Yep,” rich replies, smiling weakly. Michael scoffs. “C’mon, Rich, get up, we have to get ready!” Michael gets out of his bed, pulling Rich up and towards his clothing.

Of course, since he’s over at his house almost all the time, they have a place for his clothing.

“All right, Michael.” Rich rolls his eyes fondly as he digs for his clothes.

...

“Bye, moms! Love you!” He says, grinning at both of his mothers after they’d dropped them off.

Rich waves at them. “Bye! Thanks for driving us!” He says gratefully, though his lisp becomes strong as he gets nervous.

“Be careful, you two! Have a great day!” One of his moms smiles sweetly, waving back to them.

As Michael shuts the door, he takes note of Rich’s tendencies. “You okay, Rich?” He asks gently, so as to not break him.

“Hm? Oh yeah, I’m fine, just some first day of school jitters?” He says, biting his lip.

Michael places his hand on his friend’s shoulder, consoling him. “It’s fine, Rich. We have the same first period, right? Let’s just go and we’ll be fine”

Rich nods in response, smiling fondly.

If they walk into the school and see Jeremy Heere laughing with his popular friends, then they just keep walking.

Chapter Text

”Jeremy.”

The boy in question jumps. “Yeah? What is it?”

”I’ve run an analysis on the likelihood of your popularity actually lasting the rest of your high school career.”

“Is that good..?”

“I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised!”

“Alright.. tell me then, I guess.”

“Okay. You now precisely have... an 84 percent chance that you’ll remain popular for the next three years.”

“Oh! That’s great!” Jeremy says, grinning excitedly.

“Yes, it is. Now tone down your excitement. We’ve still got work to do, and it’ll most likely last throughout the next 3 years. It’s a process, Jeremy.”

Jeremy visibly wilts, sighing. “Oh. Yeah, I understand.”

“Good! Now, we should be getting you ready for your date with Brooke Lohst.”

“Yeah, about that.. I still really like Christine Canigula, so, when is that going to happen?” Jeremy questions, eager.

“In due time, Jeremy. For now, we’ve still got work to do with Brooke. Remember, it will raise your popularity level, even after being together for nearly a year.”

“Right.” Jeremy says firmly, taking the SQUIP’s words to heart.

The SQUIP, in turn, smirks at his loyalty.

“Glad to know you’re still trusting, Jeremy.”

“Today wasn’t that bad a day, actually,” Michael says to Rich, hand resting on his headphones.

“Okay, you’re right, I just have a phobia of first-days.” Rich jokes, exiting the school building with Michael in tow next to him.

Michael chuckles. “I’ll say. At least we’ll be together for most of the day, right?” He says, sheepish.

“Right! I don’t think I’d be half as comfortable if we-“ Rich gets cut off as he knocks into somebody in front of him.

“Rich, are you okay?” Michael asks, instinctual worry kicking in.

“Hey, watch it, loser!” A voice hisses, belonging to one Jake Dillinger.

The most popular boy in school, along with, well.. Jeremy.

“Uh.. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-“ Rich stumbles over his words, wincing.

Speaking of Jeremy Heere, he chuckles teasingly. “Calm down, man. Why doesn’t your boyfriend protect you? Or are you both weak?” He says, grinning wickedly as he gets ordered by the SQUIP.

“Back off, asshole! You have no right to come at Michael! Not after what you did-“

“Wow, the shortstack is going to stand up to us? Cute,” Chloe snarks from behind Jake. “We better get going, but that was an amusing display!”

Everyone else laughs as they walk away from the two boys.

“Rich, you didn’t have to do that.” Michael says, setting a hand on Rich’s arm.

“Yes, I did! Who does Jeremy think he is?” Rich says, upset.

Michael sighs. “It’s really fine, Rich. I’m pretty used to it by now, but thanks anyway.” He says, smiling amusedly.

“You shouldn’t have had to get used to it.” Rich points out, his lisp expressing his irritation.

“Let’s just leave, all right?” Michael says after a beat of heavy silence.

“...Okay.” 

The rest of that year wasn’t that much better for the two boys.

They were the subject of endless teasing from their popular peers, which definitely wasn’t their idea of a good school year.

It didn’t bother Rich much when they would tease him, but once it hit Michael, he was prepared to fight somebody. 

“What did you just say about him? No, come here, and say that to my face-“

“I appreciate that you care, but you really have to stop, Rich.”

That being said, Michael was happy that he had met Rich last year.

Without him, he’d be by himself.

Considering he’s barely all right with a friend at his side, he probably wouldn’t do so well without him.

That aside, their sophomore year really did fly by quickly. Soon enough, they’d reached their winter finals.

“Can you believe our sophomore year is already halfway over?” Michael asks, sipping at his cherry slushie.

“No, I can’t,” Rich replies, pulling his knees to his chest as he sits next to Michael on the other boy’s basement floor. “I also can’t believe that you’re drinking that in the middle of winter.”

Michael sticks his tongue out at his friend teasingly. “Someone’s gotta give 7-eleven business, right?” He says, grinning.

“I guess, but still, it’s fuckin’ freezing, dude.” Rich says, turning to face Michael amusedly.

“Doesn’t bother me.” Michael says simply, idly drinking the slushie.

“Whatever, man,” Rich snorts. “I feel like I’m about to pass out, though. You wanna turn a movie on or somethin’?”

Michael hums around the straw, considering his offer.

“Yeah, sure.” 

”So,” Michael drawls excitedly. “How d’you think you did on the finals, Rich?” “Uh, I’m not sure.. I think I got C’s on most of them, honestly.” He says. “You’ve always been better than me at everything, so.”

Michael laughs. “That’s funny, Rich. You’re great at everything you do,” He says. “Hey! Can you see it, us being juniors?” He lights up, bouncing on his heels, stopping him in his tracks.

Rich slows his walking to a stop, pushing hair away from his forehead. “Honestly? Not really, it’s weird. It seems like yesterday we were just freshmen.” He says, thoughtful.

“Just meeting each other?” Michael says, smiling as he fidgets with his hoodie sleeve. “Exactly. What can I say? That was the best day of my life,” Rich says nonchalantly, shrugging as he places his hands into his pockets.

“Aww, it was for me too,” Michael says teasingly, but still genuine.

“Yeah, yeah,” Rich says, fond laughter bubbling in his throat. “You want to get a slushie to celebrate our freedom?”

Michael hums. “Didn’t you say that it was too cold for slushies, like, a week ago?” He asks, lips upturned into a smile.

Rich shrugs. “I thought you’d like the idea.” He says, cocking his head to the side.

“You know me too well, Goranski.” Michael teases, grinning. 

Turns out the rest of their sophomore year was going to go by just as fast as the first half did.

It was all a blur of teasing from their peers and the standard teenage anxiety that comes along with high school.

“I can’t believe we’re gonna be juniors in a couple months!” Michael gasps, falling backward into his bed.

“Careful, don’t hurt yourself, Mell,” Rich says lightly before responding to his friend. “And, yeah, me either, it’s so strange.” He says.

”It’s probably gonna be the same as the years before it though, teasing everywhere.” He groans.

“Hey, no way, Rich! Even if that happens-“

“It will.” Rich says, muffled by his arm across his face.

“-we can still make the most of it, right? It’ll be a killer year, I can feel it.” Michael grins, leaning over the bed to look at his friend.

“...Okay, I give in. You’re too good of a friend, Michael,” Rich says, sitting up. “I don’t deserve you, like, ever.”

“Hey, don’t be like that, you’re just as great as me,” Michael huffs. “After all, who else would throw hands for me at any given moment?” He says lightly, attempting to lift the other boy’s spirits.

That makes Rich smile gently in response.

Maybe junior year won’t be so bad after all.

Chapter Text

“Uh-huh...” Michael hums, slinging his backpack on.

He’s holding his phone in the other, speaking to Rich, who’s been rambling to him about his first day anxiety.

“It’ll be fine, right? As long as we stay together, this year’s gonna be great!” Rich makes a sound of affirmation over the phone receiver.

Michael hums back. “I’ll see you there, yeah?” He confirms, taking the keys to his PT Cruiser.

“Yeah,” Rich replies, sighing. “See you.”

With that, he hangs up, leaving Michael to fidget with the car keys in his hand.

Over the summer, the two boys both got their driver’s license so they wouldn’t have to be driven around by Michael’s moms.

“Have a good day at school, Micha!” His mom grins, encouraging. “Thank you,” He replies, smiling back. “Bye mom, bye mama, love you!” He calls back as he exits their house.

He bounds over to his car and slides into the driver’s seat easily. “First day of Junior year,” Michael says to himself, as if he has to remind himself, like it’s so unbelievable that he actually made it.

“Rich!” Michael calls, grinning as he bounces over to his best friend. “Ah, Michael, Thank god,” Rich sighs, chuckling nervously.

“Is it really that hard to survive with me, Rich?” Michael asks, teasingly smiling. “Man, shut up, you know it’s my first day anxiety,” Rich huffs, hiding a smile.

“Hey, look on the bright side, we have a few classes together!” Michael excitedly bounces back and forth on his heels.

“Of course I’m relieved about that, I don’t think I could actually survive without you, man.” Rich replies, biting his lip.

Michael grins brightly in response, making Rich’s heart flutter lightly.

Okay, so maybe that crush of his got stronger. But can you blame him?

“We have first period together, yeah?” Rich asks, to break the silence. “Huh? I think so,” Michael says, trying to remember clearly as he pulls his schedule out.

Rich follows suit, holding his next to Michael’s.

“Yeah, we do.” Michael says after checking their schedules together.

“Great,” Rich says, relieved. “Might as well make our way over there, huh? We’ll prob’ly get attacked by those popular assholes if we stay here any longer.”

Michael snorts. “Yeah, whatever you say, Rich.” He replies, falling into step with his friend, who already set off towards their classroom.

“Jeremy.” The SQUIP materializes behind said boy, folding his hands behind his back. “Why are you hesitant?” It asks, narrowing its digital eyes at his host.

“Um.. I don’t know.” Jeremy says, stuck staring after the two boys walking past him.

“Those two have been subject to your ridicule many times, what’s the problem now?” The SQUIP asks, annoyance hidden in his tone.

“Yeah, but.. something’s holding me back and I don’t know what it is,” Jeremy replies, desperate for the SQUIP to advise him.

The SQUIP sighs, running its hands through its glitchy, digital hair. “What have we said about this? You cannot just listen to me, you have to obey.” It says.

“You’ve heard that many times, I don’t understand why you don’t get it.”

“I know. I’ll try harder, I swear.” Jeremy replies, wincing at the SQUIP’s harsh tone.

“Good.” The SQUIP returns to a calm and gentle tone, hands still clasped behind his glitching body. “Now, if you begin to make your way toward your classroom, Room 704, you will find Brooke there waiting for you.”

“Alright.”

Rich puts his hands in his pockets, an idle habit of his. “Man, this sucks. You said this year was gonna be better,” He drawls, taking his seat at their usual lunch table.

“It is! Rich, it’s only the first day, it’ll get better, I know it.” Michael says, gesturing optimistically. Rich can’t help but smile at his best friend’s enthusiasm.

It’s part of the reason why he admires him in the first place. “Okay. I trust you, Michael,” He replies after a moment of appreciating his friend’s ardor.

Michael smiles brightly in response, satisfied as he whirls in his seat towards the table. “I would hope so,” He says, snickering fondly. “‘Cause I trust you.”

Rich chuckles in response, smiling back at Michael affectionately.

Michael is the one to break the silence. “Anyways, can you believe that Ms. Rayburn was gonna give us homework on the first day, I mean, what the hell-“

Rich just lets him ramble, as he’s gotten used to it by now.

But if he actually enjoys listening to him speak, then he keeps it to himself.

Brooke nestles herself into Jeremy’s side, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Have you heard about what happened with Stephanie recently?” Jenna Rolan says wickedly, making everybody else at the table lean in to hear.

Brooke’s lips part as she listens to Jenna’s gossip, while Jeremy zones out as he stares at his peers at the other tables.

He zeroes in on two specific students: Rich Goranski and Michael Mell. He cocks his head to the side—to the best of his ability, since Brooke is still nestled into his collar—as he watches them interact for the second time that day.

“Jeremy. Pay attention, you shouldn’t be taking up time watching two unimportant people when you have one very important girl at your side.” The SQUIP says, appearing on his left side, sitting at the lunch table with him.

“Right, sorry.” Jeremy straightens out his back and curls his arm around Brooke’s waist, pulling her closer.

The SQUIP just links his hands together and holds them under his chin, watching Jeremy’s moves intently.

The look in it’s glitching eyes shows it’s disappointment, which says enough to Jeremy.

He subtly winces, resting his head onto Brooke’s as he quietly listens to Jenna, who is still rambling about something that happened with Stephanie and Mark over the summer.

(“She totally gave it up to him on the first day of summer! I told you she’s a slut!”)

As the SQUIP watches how its host acts, it glances over at the two boys sitting alone a few tables away.

It studies how they interact with each other, as Jeremy was doing a few minutes ago, noting how Rich’s behavior changes when Michael simply makes eye contact or smiles his way.

It smirks before telling Jeremy, “Perhaps you had good instincts to study these two.”

It glances back towards Jeremy, who turned slightly to focus on the SQUIP’s words. The boy shoots it a questioning look, confused.

“What do you say we help a lost cause find his way?“

Chapter Text

Rich leans his cheek on his open palm, eyes focused on his phone screen.

Is this year actually ever

gonna get better?

Yeah man. I said you could trust me and

I mean it

Yeah I know. Sorry, Michael

Let me say now that I trust you with my life

Aww Rich

Shut up.

“You’d better be gettin’ to school, Rich!” A voice calls from downstairs.

Rich rolls his eyes and he stalks down the hall and stairs. “Yeah, yeah. I’m going, dad.” Rich mumbles, slinging his backpack onto his shoulders.

“I’m going..” He repeats to himself, slamming the door behind him.

As he climbs into his car and starts it, his phone lights up on the passenger seat.

He glances over at it for a moment before grabbing it quickly and looking at the notification.

—

-Messages-

Michael Mell

See you at school, Rich! Can’t wait!

—

A grin forms on Rich’s face as he continues to focus on the last two words, simple but sweet.

“Can’t wait!”

Rich strides down the hall towards his locker, his hands fidgeting in his pockets.

“Jenna said that Madeline told Jake, ‘I’ll only have sex with you if you beat me at pool’..” Somebody—sounds like Chloe—says around the corner.

Rich huffs and turns the corner anyway, the rest of the conversation coming into earshot.

“...She lost deliberately.” Chloe Valentine finishes, looking to her friends.

Brooke has her arm linked into Jeremy’s as her lips part. “That’s awesome!” She squeaks, grinning.

Rich hums and walks past them to get to his own locker. He sees Jeremy’s gaze fall on him as he slips past them, and he rolls his eyes.

Rich opens his locker up in favor of paying mind to Jeremy Heere’s staring.

Before he can even think of doing anything else with his locker, a hand slams down on the ones next to him.

He jumps, turning his head to find the source. Jeremy Heere stands there, narrowing his eyes.

“Don’t turn around,” He says, pushing Rich against the various lockers in front of him. “Hey!” Rich protests. Then, Jeremy lets go after a couple moments.

“There.”

Rich furrows his brows, confused. “What’d you-“

“Don’t worry ‘bout it.” Jeremy dismisses, whipping back around to meet with his girlfriend.

“Fuckin’.. asshole.” Rich mutters to himself, closing up his locker.

He grips his backpack straps, making his way across the halls to his first class.

What a great start to a day.

The day got a bit better after the first two periods, after he got to see Michael in two of them.

Michael waves as Rich takes his seat. “Hi!” He mouths, smiling. Rich grins back, waving at the boy a few seats away. “Hey!”

After that, Rich had felt better and nearly forgotten about the whole incident with Jeremy. 

But again, he had to go to another class, this one without Michael Mell. “It’ll get better, Rich..” He mumbles to himself, repeating Michael’s words.

“X=12, Y=2, No solution..” The SQUIP gives Jeremy the answers to his classwork, the boy easily copying them down onto his paper. “Jeremy.” 

“Yeah?” Jeremy says in his mind, spinning the pencil in his hand, to which the SQUIP frowns.

“At lunch, you will come across a sign-up sheet for the school play. It is imperative you write your name on it.” 

“What?” Jeremy says, furrowing his brows. “Why?”

The SQUIP exhales sharply from its spot next to its host. “Because it’ll help you get closer to Christine Canigula. Don’t you remember? Your main target female?”

“Yeah, of course,” Jeremy corrects himself, staring down at his paper.

“All right. Now, let’s finish this page, shall we?”

“Yep. Sounds good.” Jeremy replies, glancing at the SQUIP for a fleet moment.

“God, finally,” Rich says to himself, hidden by the loud ringing of the school bell.

Students clamor about in the halls, most trying to push their way into the cafeteria for lunch.

Rich waits for the crowds to calm down, as he has for the past couple of years at this school. After only a handful of students are pouring into the cafeteria, Rich makes his move, sliding through the door easily.

He grips his lunch tray right after he gets past the crowds trying to get their own food and trudges his way to his and Michael’s solitary lunch table.

“Rich!” A familiar voice calls from behind his back. He turns to see Michael bounding over to him happily.

“Michael, there you are,” Rich says, grinning. Michael nods in response, his headphones over his ears. “You listenin’ to something?”

Michael just grins, eyes shining. “Uh-huh! It’s Marley,” He replies, slightly dragging the last word out, bouncing back and forth on his heels.

Rich chuckles, admiring Michael’s radiating energy. “Typical. You look like you’re having fun, though.” He says, running fingers through his hair. “So-“

“Hold on, the song’s almost over, okay?” Michael says, cutting him off. Rich smiles fondly and waits a moment as he watches Michael dance to himself.

“Okay!” Michael says, putting his headphones around his neck. “Uh, how was class?”

“It was... class.” Rich says simply. “So, it was okay?” Michael asks, sipping his slushie. Rich nods, and Michael does too.

“I get it. You okay? You look out of it.”

Rich blinks. “Oh.” He bites his lip. He may have been a little dazed for a moment while watching his best friend dance around.

“I’m fine,” He says in favor of admitting his condition. After a moment of silence, Rich remembers that Jeremy did something with his backpack earlier.

“Wait a second,” He mutters, taking his backpack off and looking at it. “The fuck?” He says, reading the simple ‘word’ written on it.

BOYF

Michael hums in question and leans over to read it.

He then pulls his backpack off his own shoulders and puts it next to Rich’s. Rich leans forward with Michael to read the completed word.

BOYF  RIENDS

“Jesus.” Rich mutters, face flushing subtly. Michael snorts in contrary. “I mean, my mothers would love this, don’t you think?”

Rich blinks out of space and smiles. “Yeah, probably,” He says distantly. “I hate this school so much.”

“Hey, relax, okay? It doesn’t matter what Jeremy did,” Michael says quietly. “Let’s jus’ have lunch, yeah?”

Rich glances over at Michael sadly. He can tell Michael has something on his mind, but he decides not to ask.

He simply follows Michael in sitting down at their table.

Michael kicks his legs back and forth, his feet skidding cleanly across the tile of the cafeteria floor. “You okay?” Rich’s voice cuts through his thoughts, making his head whip around to look at him.

“Yeah, I’m fine!” He replies, idly spinning his slushie straw. “Just.. thinking.”

Rich nods, soft. “Right. Hey, if you need to talk, you know I’m here, right?”

“Yeah. Thank you,” Michael replies, smiling softly at Rich, making the other boy’s heart jump in the best way.

Voices interrupt their interaction, and they both turn to look.

The popular group is standing around a sheet of paper on the wall. “Oh, that’s a sign up for the play, isn’t it,” Michael says, pushing his glasses up idly.

“I think so. I thought signing up for the play made you,” Rich rolls his eyes before continuing. “Gay.”

Michael lets out a small laugh. “That’s what they say, right?” They both share a laugh, back to their small safe space together, even if just for a moment.

“You think you’d sign up?” Michael asks jokingly. “Hell no, my acting sucks.” He says, grinning. “That’s true,” Michael snorts.

At that, the bell rings, sounding throughout the cafeteria. Michael spins around in his seat and stands up, slinging his backpack onto his back.

“See you after school?” Michael asks, sipping his slushie. “Of course.” Rich replies, getting up onto his feet.

Michael grins brightly before walking off into the other direction.

“See you after school.” Rich mumbles belatedly, biting his lip before walking out of the cafeteria.

After three more agonizing hours of school, it finally lets out and Rich is finally free once again.

“Hey, I’m gonna go to the bathroom real quick, ‘kay?” He asks Michael after they meet up after school.

“Okay,” Michael replies, patient as Rich pushes the door open to the men’s restroom.

He stops in front of the sink, taking his backpack off and setting it inside the sink.

He frowns at the word teasing him. “BOYF”. It just reminds him of his crush on his best friend.

Will Michael try and wash his backpack off?

Rich huffs at that thought, turning the faucet on and rubbing at the marker with soap and water.

The sound of a door opening and closing echoes through the bathroom, and Rich tenses as a voice calls, “Hey, what are you doing?” Jeremy.

“I’m, uh-“

“Are you washing it off?” Jeremy asks, crossing his arms. “Yeah, I am.” Rich replies, side-eyeing the boy next to him.

“Why? I thought I was doing you a favor,” Jeremy says offhandedly.

“What?” Rich stops scrubbing at his backpack.

“I thought you liked him.” The other boy replies, leaning his hand on the edge of the sink.

Rich whips his head towards Jeremy, face flushed. “What the hell are you talking about, I don’t-“

Jeremy chuckles, putting his hands on his knees and bending down to Rich’s height. “Whatever you say, short-stack. I can see right through you.”

Rich drops his backpack into the sink, hissing at the way Jeremy is standing.

“And you wanna know how?”

“Not really,” Rich deadpans. “You’re just an asshole.” He shrugs his shoulders, about to turn around towards his backpack again when Jeremy catches his shoulder.

“Hey, listen,” He says, eyes burning into Rich. “I wasn’t always an.. asshole like this.”

“I know. Michael’s told me about that.” Rich challenges, eyes glaring right back into Jeremy.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Jeremy says, blankly staring at the other boy. “I’ve never been close enough with him for him to know that, he’s just your loser boyfriend.”

“No he’s not!” Rich says, indignant. “And don’t talk about him like that!”

Jeremy smirks. “As I was saying, I had a little help becoming who I am now.” Rich scoffs.

“Why would I care? I don’t need-“

Suddenly, Jeremy tenses up, eyes widening. Then, his right shoulder jerks up, as if he was shocked, and he gasps.

“Uh- maybe I should go-“

Jeremy hisses, “No, don’t, it’s fine!” Rich stops in his tracks, already starting to walk away.

“Listen, I have something that can help you be with your friend.” Rich whirls around, glaring at the boy in front of him.

“I..” He stops, at a loss for words. “What are you talking about?”

Jeremy smirks, proud he got he attention back. “I was just like you, waiting for somebody to help me out with my problems, until I was introduced to this wonderful piece of technology,” Jeremy says, an unusual stammer showing up as he speaks.

“A SQUIP.”

Rich frowns, confused. “Um.. a what? A script?” He asks. “You got a script for your life?”

Jeremy snorts. “No. It’s pronounced SQUIP.” He says, amused. “And it’s a special, advanced supercomputer that’s inside of a pill. Convenient, right?”

“Is that even possible?” Rich says, crossing his arms. “Obviously, because I have one.” Jeremy says, scoffing.

“But, how am I supposed to know that?” Rich asks, smirking.

Jeremy chooses to ignore his snarky comment and keeps going. “Look, I’m sorry for treating you like shit for the past couple years. My SQUIP told me it was necessary to achieve my goal,” He explains, running his hand through his hair.

“But now it’s telling me to help you.”

Rich stays silent, processing the information.

“But if you’re not interested, then that’s fine too. It’ll cost you if you are, though.” Jeremy continues, shrugging casually.

“..How much?” Rich asks, skeptical. “Six hundred dollars. Trust me, it’s worth it.” Jeremy answers, anticipating Rich’s reaction already.

Rich winces. “Um.. I’ll think about it?” Rich says, not really being truthful.

This thing—the SQUIP—was responsible for Jeremy tossing Michael aside. What if the same thing happened to him and Michael?

“Great.” Jeremy grins wickedly. “The hookup is at the Payless in Menlo Park Mall if you’re interested.”

He pushes the door open, walking out without turning back.

Rich is left to stand alone for a moment before he snaps back into reality, swinging his backpack onto his shoulders and making his way out of the restroom to meet with Michael.

He deserves to know what happened, after all.

Chapter Text

“All right, what happened, Rich?” Michael says, hanging over the side of his bed.

“What?” Rich turns his head to look at his best friend.

Michael shoots the other boy an unimpressed look before flipping himself over and kicking his legs back and forth from the edge of the bed.

“I can tell something’s wrong. Tell me.” He demands, firm but gentle. Rich hums, sitting on a rug laid out on the basement floor. “I ran into Jeremy in the bathroom before we left,” He admits.

“And?” Michael pries. “He told me about this thing called a..” Rich pauses, racking his mind to remember the name.

It was weird, something like.. a script.

“Oh, a SQUIP! Yeah.”

Michael frowns, tilting his head to the side. “A.. what?”

“Yeah, I don’t know man.. he said that it helps you become a ‘better person’.” Rich says.

“A better person?” Michael says, watching as his legs skid across his floor. “Is that what made him so different?”

Rich bites his lip. “Yeah. I’m sure it is.” He replies.

“He told me I should get one.” He says after a couple moments of quiet.

“Huh?” Michael says, his head shooting up. “Yeah, he told me it could help..” He stops himself. “Achieve a goal of mine.”

There was no way he would tell him what Jeremy actually said it would help with. That’s one thing he’ll keep to himself.

A beat of heavy silence hangs over them before Michael breaks the silence. “You should get one.” He says quietly.

“What?” Rich says, surprised. “Yeah. I mean, it’s clear this isn’t a scam,” Michael says. “No offense to Jeremy, but there’s no way he could’ve gotten this far without some help.”

“You really think I should get one?” Rich mutters. “Wait, fuck dude, he said it was six hundred dollars!”

Michael winces. “Really? Do you have that, Rich?” He asks.

Rich thinks for a moment before speaking, “Yeah. You know, I’ve been saving money from.. all those letters from my mom for birthdays,” Rich says, awkward. “So, yeah, I’ve got enough, I think. It’s at my house, though.”

Michael nods firmly. “Okay. Let’s go, then.” He says, getting up onto his feet. “Woah, what? Are you serious?” Rich asks, furrowing his brows. “Michael, what if it splits us apart, too?”

Michael’s eyes soften for a moment as he stops in front of Rich. “Hey. You might as well test it out, right? I’m sure you have some control over what it does.” He says.

Rich sighs. “All right. After we get the money, we have to go to Menlo Park Mall. That’s where the hookup is.”

“Okay, got it.” Michael replies, sticking a hand out to help Rich up. “We’re a team, right? We can do this thing together.”

Rich smiles gratefully, grabbing his hand to help himself up. “Yeah. Of course.”

“You really think this thing’s legit?” Rich asks Michael, voice low.

“I’m like.. 80% sure.” The other boy replies, sheepish. Rich sighs. “I guess that’s enough,” He says, with Michael in tow as they step into the Payless.

Rich leans against the store counter, the stockboy behind it glaring at him and Michael. “Hey, um, so..” Rich stops for a moment, thinking. “You heard about SQUIPs?”

Michael winces at the bluntness of his words, but the worker hums in response, as if he’s sizing them up. “Follow me,” He says, lowering his voice as he gestures to a door with his head.

Rich and Michael share a brief look before stepping behind the counter and following the man into the stockroom.

“Okay, let’s see the money, kid.” The stockboy says, holding his hand out. “All right.” Rich says, hurriedly grabbing the money from his back pocket.

“Is that four hundred?”

Rich blinks for a moment. “Oh, um, yeah. Of course!” He says, taking two hundred of it into his other hand and placing the four hundred into the man’s waiting palm.

The stockboy hums at the money before stepping away. Rich whips his head around to look at Michael. “Give me the extra,” Michael whispers.

Rich hands the two hundred over to Michael just as the worker comes back with a shoebox. “Um.. shoes?” Rich says, confused.

The stockboy chuckles. “How naive.” He shakes his head before pulling something out of the box. Michael and Rich both lean in to observe the item.

“This,” The stockboy says, showing off the pill in his hand. “Is the SQUIP. Very advanced nanotechnology.”

“Uh-huh,” Rich says. “Now, can I have it?” The stockboy chuckles once again, smirking. “You definitely need this thing, boy.” He says. “Here.” He places the SQUIP gingerly in Rich’s hand.

“Now, let me make this clear, this is technically illegal, so I have to say that I’m not responsible for anything wrong that happens when you take it.”

“Okay.” Rich affirms.

“To activate it, drink it with Mountain Dew. And, to deactivate it, drink-“ The stockboy suddenly whips his head around, barking, “We’re sold out!”

“Um.. I’m here for shoes?” A voice says, confused. Jenna Rolan. “Oh. My bad,” The stockboy apologizes. “Get out of here,” he hisses to the two boys.

Before Rich can get a reply in, the man is already walking away with Jenna.

“Well, I guess we should get some Mountain Dew?” Michael says, sheepish.

Rich observes the pill in his hand, biting his lip. “This is insane, you realize that?” Rich says to Michael. “I mean, this cost four hundred dollars!”

Michael rests his cheek in his hand, sliding the Mountain Dew they bought over to Rich with the other. “Don’t forget about the Mountain Dew. That makes it four-oh-one.” He says lightly.

Rich smiles despite his nerves. “Yeah. Thanks,” he says. “Well.. I guess I should take it, huh?”

Michael’s expression turns serious and he nods. “Yeah. It’s now or never, man.”

Rich sucks in a deep breath. “Okay. Here goes.” He puts the pill in his mouth and takes a swig of the Mountain Dew.

After he swallows, he blinks a few times. “...Is anything happening? How does it taste?” Michael asks.

“Tastes like..” Rich groans. “A tic-tac. A wintergreen fucking tic-tac!”

He slams his head down onto the food court table, reprimanding himself for believing that something like that would be real.

Yeah, it could have explained a lot, but now?

It’s just bullshit.

“Really?” Michael says, quiet. “Um, why don’t you try to say something cool?” He suggests, leaning forward with shining eyes.

Rich smiles sincerely at his friend as he lifts his head back up. “I think I just spent the money I’ve been collecting for 6 years on a fucking mint.” He says, in spite of himself.

Michael looks at the ground. “Yeah, that wasn’t cool,” He demurs, resting his hand on his cheek again.

“God, just throw me in the trash.” Rich says, rubbing at his eyes with the heels of his hands.

“Aw, don’t be like that, Rich.” Michael replies, resting a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“I wasted all that fuckin’ money on a stupid tic-tac.” Rich mumbles, placing his fist on the table.

“Hey, it’s okay, Rich. Don’t beat yourself up over it,” Michael says, supportive. “And, um, I hate to do this right now, but I have to do something really quick.”

Rich’s head shoots back up and he stares at Michael. “What?” He asks.

“I have some Crystal Pepsi to pick up from Spencer’s!” Michael grins, bouncing up and down. Rich sighs and smiles. “Of course you do,” He says.

“Is it okay if I get it? Or should I do it later?” Michael asks, patient.

Rich considers the options for a moment.

He could keep Michael with him for a while, but that’s kind of selfish isn’t it?

“No, it’s -“ A sharp pain suddenly shoots through Rich’s brain.

He clutches his head, wincing. “Ugh! What the fuck?”

“Rich? Are you okay?” Michael says, alarmed. He reaches over to gently touch his shoulder, concern written on his face.

Target Male Identified

“What?” Rich says, body twitching as he groans in pain. More shocks shoot through his body, up his spine and into his brain.

Calibration in process. Please excuse some mild discomfort.

“Mild, my ass!” Rich exclaims.

Jenna Rolan, who was sitting at a table near them, rushes up to the two boys and begins to record the event.

“Woah, what the fuck?” A voice says, slightly amused.

Michael turns around to see Jake Dillinger and Christine Canigula watching along with him.

“What’s wrong, Rich?” Michael turns back around, frantic.

Calibration complete. Access procedure initiated.

Rich gasps. “Michael, wait,” He says, sitting up to meet Michael’s gaze. “I’m fine, really.”

“No, you’re not, Rich. What-“

Rich doesn’t hear the rest of his statement, as a loud ringing sounds through his ears. 

Discomfort level may increase.

He screams loudly as he falls back down onto the floor, twitching wildly.

“Rich!” Michael exclaims, beyond concerned.

Accessing neural memory.

Accessing muscle memory.

Access procedure complete.

Rich winces as he sits up slowly, a voice speaking as if it was right next to him.

Rich Goranski.

His head whips around for the source of his name and he sees a glitchy figure forming in front of him.

Welcome to your Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor.

Your SQUIP.

“Oh!” Rich gasps. “Uh, you look like Lara Croft.” He points out, shocked that this thing actually works.

Holy shit! The SQUIP is actually real!

My default mode. You may also choose from the following forms: Keanu Reeves, Audrey Hepburn, Evil Kermit...

“Oh, um, I’ll stick with Lara, I guess.” He replies, snorting as the SQUIP suggested Evil Kermit. “Is everyone else able to see you, too?”

Obviously not. I exist only in your mind. All they see is you having a conversation with yourself. So refrain from speaking out loud.

Rich winces, shutting his mouth.

Think at me. Like you’re telepathic.

“Cool.” Rich thinks at the SQUIP. “Did it work?”

Yes.

“Sweet!” Rich says to the SQUIP.

“Rich? Who are you talking to?” A concerned calls from behind them.

Rich and The SQUIP both turn simultaneously to see Michael, worry written on his face.

“Michael! Oh god, I’m sorry,” Rich says, getting up. “I’m fine, for real this time.” He continues, off Michael’s look of doubt.

“Are you sure?” Michael asks, tentatively stepping closer.

Approach him carefully. Stare softly into his eyes.

Rich follows the instructions slowly but surely, until he’s standing in front of Michael, making eye contact. “Of course,” He says.

“What the hell happened then?” Michael asks, slightly flustered by the sudden change in Rich’s demeanor.

“What do I tell him?” Rich asks.

Stay calm. I think that it would be wise not to tell him I’m here at the moment.

For now, just say you might have had some sort of weird reaction to the pill.

“Okay,” Rich sighs as he speaks out loud again. “Uh, I don’t know, maybe some sort of reaction to the pill? Or something?”

Michael frowns. “Man, you really think so? Then, I’m sorry for saying you should get it.”

Rich shoots the SQUIP a side-eyed alarmed look, and it gives a gesture showing that it’ll be okay.

“Michael, it’s not your fault, really. How ‘bout we just go get your Crystal Pepsi?” Rich suggests, grinning.

“Hm. You’re really gonna pull that on me?” Michael jokes, voice light. “Okay, but we’ve still gotta talk about this later, though, yeah?”

Rich bites his lip. “If you want to, Michael.” He says softly, smiling as he cocks his head to the side.

Michael purses his lips, confused. “You’re acting weird, dude.” He says, resting a hand on his headphones as they set off towards the Spencer’s.

“Maybe it’s the tic-tac fucking with me?” Rich says, sheepish.

The SQUIP follows next to Rich, watching their interaction closely.

We’ve got some work to do. This may prove to be difficult for me, Rich, but I won’t turn down a challenge.

Rich flinches subtly, his feet in perfect step with Michael’s. “A challenge?” He says.

Yes. But don’t worry, Rich. With my help, you’ll become more desirable. In order to achieve that level, you will have to be more chill.

Especially in front of your crush here.

The SQUIP gestures over to Michael, as it raises an eyebrow.

“Woah.. really?” Rich says to the SQUIP in wonder. “You’ll actually help me be with Michael?”

Relax. You’re practically bouncing off the walls right now. Yes, I can. And will. It is your main objective, after all.

Try to tone down that excitement a little. As I said a few moments ago,

The SQUIP looks down upon Rich, cocking its head to the side. Its glitching ponytail swings around its shoulder as it stares down at its host.

You need to be more chill.

Chapter Text

Stop fidgeting.

Rich immediately stills, waiting for Michael to finish attaining the Crystal Pepsi he paid for.

He watches as he leans over the counter, attentively watching the guy behind it gingerly set the six-pack down in front of him.

“Thank you!” Michael beams, turning and making his way towards the waiting boy. “And thanks for waiting, Rich.”

Offer to help carry the Crystal Pepsi.

“Can I carry that for you?” Rich asks, holding his arms out.

“Oh!” Michael starts. “Uh, you don’t have to, I can carry it.”

Rich bites his lip. “But I want to help you.” He says, the words tumbling out.

His arms are still stretched out towards Michael, unrelenting.

Michael hums, considering the situation for a moment. “Okay,” He agrees. Rich beams, grinning as he takes the soda into his arms. “Be careful, though.”

“I will!” Rich says, feigning offense. “You think I would drop it?” He teasingly loosens his grip on the case, making Michael huff playfully.

“Let’s just go to your house, yeah?” Michael suggests. “I still feel bad for encouraging you to take that pill,”

Reassure him.

Rich clutches the case of vintage soda to his chest, considering what to say. “I told you, it’s not your fault, Michael,” He settles. “Besides, I feel better already!” 

Michael narrows his eyes, as if he’s studying the other boy closely. “If you say so,” He shrugs, uncertain. “Just.. tell me if it gets worse, alright?”

Rich smiles, his heart jumping at Michael’s warmth. “Don’t worry, I’ll tell you.” He says, the two boys finally stepping away from Spencer’s.

Rich nervously toys with the Crystal Pepsi in his arms, catching the SQUIP’s attention.

Suddenly, he feels a slight jolt in his spine, causing him to skip a step.

“Um, what was that?” He asks the SQUIP, simultaneously brushing off Michael’s concerned look.

“I’m fine,” He says offhandedly. “Just tripped over a loose tile.”

Relax, it was simply some spinal stimulation. You began to present poor posture. It makes you seem less attractive.

“Oh.” Rich thinks quietly. “Alright.”

“I’m still not convinced, man,” Michael shoots Rich a look of concern. “Good thing I’m driving, I don’t think you’re stable.”

If Rich weren’t holding the case of soda, he’d be running his fingers through his hair. A nervous fidget of his. Maybe that’s a reason why The SQUIP had him hold it?

Correct.

Normally, running your fingers through your hair is a tactic to seem more approachable, but in this case it is indeed a fidget. Which is not considered attractive.

Another reason why I had you hold it is because it makes you seem more apt to be kind and caring towards Michael.

“Well, I figured that much.” Rich says. A small shock jolts him. “Fuck-“

Please refrain from talking back.

“Sorry,” He apologizes, wincing.

At that point, he realizes they made it to Michael’s car and he climbs in carefully, The SQUIP glitching through the doors to sit in the backseat.

“You ready to go?” Michael asks, tilting his head to the side.

“Yeah, of course.” Rich grins. “Maybe we can play somethin’ once we get to my house.” He continues, directed by the SQUIP behind him.w

This seems to relax to other boy, as he leans back in his seat and grins back.

“Hell yeah,” He snorts. “Then I can beat your ass in Mario Kart!”

Rich gasps. “No! I think it’ll be me beating yours!” He says. Michael chuckles, starting the car. “We’ll see, Rich.”

“All right, hand it over.”

Rich furrows his brows in confusion. “Huh?”

Michael sets his hands on the case of Crystal Pepsi. “This. Can I carry it?” He asks gently.

“Um,” Rich starts. “Yeah, yeah. Of course.” He chuckles lightly, moving to place the soda safely into Michael’s arms.

Their fingers lightly brush as the Pepsi is transferred over, making Rich’s heart jump, to his embarrassment.

No. Don’t be embarrassed. This is a good step towards your goal.

The SQUIP’s ponytail glitches through its transparent body as it folds its arms behind its back.

“If you say so.” He thinks to The SQUIP. He then smiles sheepishly at Michael. “Um, let’s go inside now, yeah?” He asks.

Michael settles the soda in his arms and smiles back. “Good idea.”

He replies, shuffling over to his door with Rich in tow. Rich opens the door for the other boy, stepping in behind him.

Huh. Good move.

“I thought it would be.”

Is your front door always unlocked?

Rich winces to himself, staying silent in response.

The SQUIP hums as it follows the two boys across the halls to Rich’s room.

They stay silent as they pass Rich’s dad, asleep in the living room.

Rich carefully shuts his bedroom door and presses himself against it.

“So.. Mario Kart?” He suggests, eyes trained on Michael sheepishly.

Michael taps on his case of Crystal Pepsi idly, eyes meeting Rich’s. “Of course,” He replies, smiling.

He puts the soda gently on the ground and sits next to it. “Good, yeah,” Rich tumbles out. “I’ll, um, I’ll put it in.”

A jolt in his spine.

He’s barely able to hide it, covering it up by reaching to grab the game and put it in the console. “You okay?” Michael asks from behind the other boy, concerned.

“Yeah, just a little off center!” He lets out a laugh as he grabs two controllers. “You ready to play?”

Michael eyes him skeptically for a moment.

Keep convincing him.

“Really, I’m fine, I swear.” Rich says. “I just feel like an idiot for believing that bullshit about the pill.”

Michael frowns. “Me too. I guess I just wanted any explanation as to why he..” He stops. Rich mentally hits himself, hating to see Michael so upset. Because of him.

Rich, calm down. We’ll be able to explain this to him in due time. He’ll be all right, trust me.

The SQUIP has this sort of soothing female voice, which is a bit of a contrast to the somewhat intimidating form of Lara Croft.

“Michael..” Rich fiddles with the controllers in his hands. “You know what’ll make you feel better?”

Michael stares up at him, eyes curious and inviting.

Rich grins. “Playing Mario Kart!” Michael blinks, then laughs gently.

“Probably,” He admits, taking the controller being offered by his friend.

“Thank you, Rich.” The said boy is still grinning as he sits down next to Michael.

As he starts up the game, Michael subtly moves closer to him.

The SQUIP appears next to Rich, smirking.

You’re making excellent progress, Rich.

And at this moment, Rich truly believes that his life is finally coming together.

Chapter Text

Rich blinks groggily as he wakes up, sitting up in his bed. “Mm.. mornin’” he says, as an aside to the.. “SQUIP?” He calls, looking around his room.

No sign of it anywhere. “Uh.. hello? SQUIP?” He calls louder, dragging out the words. “Rich! Quit talking so loud up there!” Rich’s dad shouts from downstairs.

Rich groans. “Ugh. Am I crazy?” He asks the empty space.

Hello, Rich.

The SQUIP appears next to his bed, eyes locked on its host. “Oh! You do exist,” Rich breathes. “Great. So I didn’t go crazy!”

Yes, it would seem so. Now, we have much work to do today! We already made some good progress yesterday, but there’s still more steps we need to take to achieve your target male.

“Oh. Okay, sounds... about right” Rich replies, shifting. “So, what would those steps entail?”

The SQUIP raises an arched eyebrow, looking Rich up and down.

Well, let’s just say you’ll be getting an upgrade, yes?

Rich purses his lips, staying silent.

Okay, Rich. Get up, we have a big day ahead of us!

“Okay, okay.” Rich mutters. Then, a shock in his spine. “Shit-“

Again, I would appreciate if you didn’t talk back.

“Right, I’m sorry.” Rich says, climbing out of bed to actually get ready for school.

oOo

Rich bounds into the school, with confidence he didn’t know he had. “I can’t believe it.. I feel so cool right now.” He says to the SQUIP.

Chill, actually.

“Is there a difference?”

I think so.

“Alright.. I guess if you say so.”

I do.

As Rich is discussing with the SQUIP, he nearly bumps straight into somebody. “Woah!” He squeaks, backing up.

“Oh, short-ass, it’s you! So.. have you made your decision yet?” It’s Jeremy, holding intense eye contact already. Rich opens his mouth to reply, but the SQUIP cuts in.

Ah, ah. I’ve got it. Up, up, down, down, left, right, A.

Rich and Jeremy simultaneously jolt and let out a pained noise as a flicker of another glitchy figure appears behind them both.

“You got one.” Jeremy says, more of a statement than a question. Then his face breaks into a grin. “First of all, this is awesome, man! I mean, I probably could have used the money, but..”

He shakes his head as if to dismiss the thought. “Never mind. Anyways! Maybe you should come over to my house, play some games?” Rich stands silently in surprise as Jeremy carries on.

“Y’know, what’s cool with a SQUIP is that you don’t even need a controller!” Rich forces a laugh. “Yeah, sounds great!” He says, giving a quick high-five to Jeremy before they split up again.

“Holy shit, what was that?”

To put it simply, I synced with Jeremy’s SQUIP. Now his desires will be compatible with yours.

“Okay. So that’ll make him act nice towards me now?”

Yes. Very much so.

“Huh.” Rich mutters. “I probably should be more excited right now. I mean, one of the most popular guys in school is friends with me now.”

You should be. But something is.. troubling you?

“Yes, it is! I mean, this same cool guy completely threw Michael out of his life like he was just nothing.” Rich says, heated.

Hm. Yes, I can see where you’re coming from. But no matter.

The SQUIP waves its hand in a dismissive gesture, putting on a smile.

Speaking of Michael, why don’t we pay him a visit during lunch? I’m sure he would appreciate it very much.

Rich lights up, immediately forgetting about the other conversation. “That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.” He says, a subtle dismissal of Jeremy’s offer.

The SQUIP chuckles, gesturing forward.

Well, let’s go get started then, shall we?

oOo

Four classes later, Rich happily strides down the halls to his locker to put up his books. He huffs as he locks up the door. “Thank god.. School is half over.” He mutters.

Isn’t work much easier with my help, Rich?

The SQUIP materializes next to him, ponytail swinging. It folds its hands in front of its body, patient.

“Yes. A lot easier.” Rich admits, idly banging the locker. “Thanks.”

You’re quite welcome. Part of being a SQUIP means I help you with your issues.

Rich turns the corner and walks outside to the courtyard. He scans the area, seeing the football field, the tables with people chatting, and.. Michael.

“Oh, finally, I’ve been looking forward to this all day.” He says, lighting up. He makes his way towards the other boy, but then someone is calling his name.

Rich snaps his head over to see Jeremy and Brooke standing before him. He stands there, considering whether it’s worth it to talk to them in favor of Michael.

It’s too late, however, as they approach him instead. “Hey,” Jeremy says, flashing his perfect grin. “I was looking for you!” Rich subtly tries to look back for Michael.

Okay, relax. You’ll be able to talk to him after a short conversation with Jeremy. And Brooke.

Rich hesitates, then sighs. “Oh. You were?” He inquires, uninterested. God damnit, he just wanted to talk to Michael. Granted, he’d already seen him in class. But they couldn’t talk.

“Since we’re friends now, I wanted you to be friends with my girlfriend too.” Jeremy replies. Rich switches his gaze to Brooke. “Oh, huh. Hey, Brooke.” He says, politely waving.

Tell her she looks great. It’ll boost you further.

“Boost me.. where?”

Boost your social standing.

“But I don’t care about-“ A shock. “-tha-at! ..Fine.”

“Uh, you look great,” He says obediently. “Oh, thank you!” Brooke beams. “Jeremy told me that you’re really nice..” Rich smiles weakly, chuckling awkwardly. “Um, thanks.”

Brooke nods, smiling. “You’re welcome! I can tell we’ll be good friends!” She gushes, radiant. It was hard not to smile at her sunshiny attitude, honestly. So Rich smiles. “Yeah, for sure.” He says, SQUIP-directed.

“Well!” Jeremy claps his hands together. “I’d love to stay and talk more, but we have somewhere to be.” His eyes quickly flash to the side, and he tilts his head subtly. “You probably do too.” He hints.

Rich’s eyes wander to where he looked, and he meets Michael’s stare. “Yeah! I do actually!” He says, distracted. “So, um.. bye!” He laughs a bit. “Um, nice meeting you, Brooke!” She smiles at him before he turns around, bouncing towards Michael.

“Hey!” Michael blinks for a moment. “Oh, hey, Rich.” He says. Rich’s grin falters. “You okay?” He says.

“Hm? Oh, yeah, of course!” Michael replies, sheepish. “Uh, what were you doing? Just right now?” Rich hesitates for a moment. “What do I say?”

Jeremy was trying to interest you in hanging out with them.

“Uh.. well, Jeremy was trying to get me to hang out with them,” Michael furrows his brows, confused. “But! I said no, because I wanted to be with you instead.” Rich says, in an attempt to relax the other boy.

“Oh.” Michael mutters. “So, was that whole.. thing in the bathroom a different attempt to do that?”

“Uh.. probably?” Rich says, shrugging. “But hey, don’t worry, I’m not leaving you, okay?” He says. “I’m not. Uh, worried, that is.” Michael replies. Rich looks at him, unconvinced. “Stop that.” Michael mutters.

“Okay, I’ll stop.” Rich surrenders. “Let’s just.. sit down, okay?” Michael silently shuffles over to a table and takes a seat, Rich following. After several awkward minutes of the two boys sitting in silence, the SQUIP appears back next to Rich.

Something wrong?

“Yeah, he seems upset. And I don’t know how to make him feel better.”

Okay. Gently touch his arm.

Rich squirms for a moment before following the instructions. Michael’s eyes drift to Rich, confused. “Uh. Rich?” He says. “I can tell something’s wrong,” Rich says carefully. “You know you can tell me, right?”

Michael pulls on the drawstring on his hoodie. “Of course I do. I just,” He makes a sort of ‘mm’ sound. “I don’t know.” He turns towards Rich, a sheepish smile on his face. “Anyways! Do you wanna come over to my place after school?”

Rich frowns. “I mean.. yeah. But you still have to tell me what’s wrong.” Michael groans, then smiles slightly. “I know.” He drawls, rocking back and forth. Rich chuckles, lightly smiling back. Before he can say anything else, the bell interrupts their interaction.

Perfect! Hug him before he leaves.

Rich does exactly that, and Michael grins as he waves away at his friend. “See you after school, Rich!” He calls, his tone back to its normal energy. Rich smiles, satisfied in himself, and the SQUIP does the same.

We’re making great progress, Rich. Both with the target male and with Jeremy.

“Right. But.. why am I trying to get closer to Jeremy again?” Rich asks. “My goal is to.. y’know, go out with Michael.”

Yes, I am aware. But what’s the harm in having another.. side goal? I promise you this won’t harm your main objective.

Rich doesn’t reply, and keeps walking to his class.

I promise. Don’t you trust me?

“..Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

Good. Allow me to go over options for your visit with Michael while you’re studying. If you need my help, just ask, okay?

“Yeah.” Rich waves it off as it disappears. He sighs. “Right..” He says to himself, dejectedly entering his classroom.

oOo

Rich sits himself down on the floor, his knees up to his chest. “You gonna sit down..?” He asks Michael, concerned. Michael laughs from where he was standing.

“Oh, yeah, of course.” He replies, scoffing playfully as he carefully sits next to the other boy on his basement floor. “You wanna tell me what’s wrong?” Rich asks, voice gentle.

Michael purses his lips, looking at his feet. “You’re not gonna stop asking until I tell you, are you?” He asks. Rich shakes his head, and Michael sighs.

“Okay. It’s just..” He pauses for a beat. “That whole thing with Jeremy and the whole ‘miracle pill’ deal really seemed like a plausible explanation for what happened.” Rich frowns, but stays silent.

“Hnhh..” Michael groans, biting his lip. “I know you said it didn't work, but you’ve been acting different. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, because I really wanted that pill to be the reason everything happened.”

A few seconds of silence pass by before Rich speaks up. “There’s more, right?” He asks. “Yeah..” Michael replies, sighing as he rests his head on his knees.

“Rich, it’s not that I don’t.. like how you’ve changed. I’m happy that you’re finding yourself, or however you want to explain it, but..” He stops. “I am worried you’re gonna leave me behind. That’s just.. I can’t help it. It happened before, so what’s to say it won’t happen again?”

“Michael, trust me, It’s not going to happen.” Rich says, frowning.

You’re doing great. Put your hand on his.

Rich follows its instructions, cautiously placing his hand on Michael’s with care. Michael looks down at their hands, but stays silent. “Hey,” Rich says lightly. “You’re my favorite person.”

Michael’s lips quirk up into a smile. “I am?” He turns his head up to look at Rich. “Yeah.” Rich replies, smiling back. “I’m your favowite person?” He grins, bright.

Rich grins along with him, proud that he got Michael in a better mood. “My most favowite person ever!” He teases back, staring into Michael’s eyes brightly. Michael’s grin turns into a gentle smile as he stares back at him.

“Thanks, Rich,” He says, pushing his glasses up. “Michael, really, it’s fine.” Rich replies, hushed. “I’m just.. glad that you told me.” Michael smiles, looking down at his feet. “I am too. I feel better, I think.” He laughs lightly.

Great progress!

“Now can we play Apocalypse?” Michael suggests, pulling at his hoodie sleeve. “Hell yeah,” Rich pulls his knees from his chest and grins. “Maybe we’ll finally beat level 9?”

“Haha. We both know it’s your fault we keep losing, Rich.” Michael sticks out his tongue playfully. “I take offense to that.” Rich teases, grin sustaining.

“Does it look like I care?” Michael grabs his controller, pretending to throw it at Rich. They both share a laugh, staying in their own personal bubble of comfort and familiarity as the SQUIP watches them closely from next to its host.

Rich casts a sideways glance at it as the game starts up on the TV. A subtle look of can you leave us alone for a little while?

..I’ll leave you two to it.