Chapter Text
Michael was sitting outside the school, eagerly awaiting the arrival of his best friend, Jeremy. The last few months of summer had been empty without him, due to Jeremy and his dad having to go out of state to comfort some grieving relatives. During that time, Jeremy had been so busy that they hadn't been able to talk much. He couldn't wait to see him again. He had his headphones on, blasting music as he looked around for the familiar blue cardigan.
"Michael!" A voice snapped him out of his dazed hunt and he quickly spun around to be greeted by his best friend standing near the entrance. He jumped up from his seat and ran to Jeremy. To Jeremy's surprise, Michael actually jumped up in his arms.
"Gah!" Jeremy almost toppled over but steadied himself and his newfound weight. He looked around nervously as people began to whisper. He felt their stares burn in his head. Michael has always been a touchy-feely kind of guy, that's just how he was. However he just didnt expect this much from him.
"I've missed you Jeremy!" Michael squeezes Jeremy tighter. "It's been a whole month! How was California?" Jeremy's attention was brought back to Michael and his worries melted away with Michaels bright smile. He gave him a big squeeze back, then gently set him down, much to Michaels protest.
"It was good, kinda lonely though..." he looked sheepishly at Michael as he rubbed his arm. "It was also really boring. It sucks that we didn't get to talk that much."
"But you're here now! And that's all that matters, let's go ahead and get inside." Michael flashes him another smile, as he walked closely to his buddy.
There was something different about Michael that he couldn't quite place, it wasn't a bad change. But he just noticed that he looked different. He looked... really good.
"Jeremy? You alright buddy?" Michael waved a hand in front of his face. This caused Jeremy to jump. He must have been staring at Michael.
"Yeah, yeah, it's just you look different." Jeremy smiled, "you look really good." It wasn't unusual when the other gave a compliment like that, but for some reason it felt different for Michael.
"O-oh, thanks." His cheeks grew pink and his hand reached for the back of his neck. "You look really good too." Jeremy didn't seem to take it the same way Michael had as he just smiled.
"Thanks man." The bell rang, signifying them to start heading to their first class of the new year.