"Are you sure about this?" Jeremy asked nervously as he climbed on top of Michael's shoulders.

"Positive!" Michael exclaimed, clamping his hands around Jeremy's thighs. "If we can get the hooks up there, my Bob Marley wall flag will actually fit over the window!"

Jeremy placed his hands on Michael's head, nervously playing with his hair. "Let's just get this over with..." Jeremy mumbled.

Michael gave a thumbs up before beginning to kneel down.

"What are you doing!?" Jeremy exclaimed, grabbing a tuft of Michael's hair.

"Ow!" Michael yelled, nearly toppling over. "I'm getting the flag! Chill, dude!"

Jeremy loosened his grip on Michael's hair, but still kept his fingers tangled in it. He held his breath as Michael continued to carefully lower himself, with his arms out like he was an airplane, in order to grab the flag from a box on the floor.

They planned this through well.

"Got it!" Michael declared, bringing an arm up with the loose fabric in his hand.

Jeremy grabbed it before reaching down to hold onto Michael's red jacket as his friend slowly began to rise. The hooks that stuck to the wall were already set in Michael's pocket, ready to be planted against the wall.

"Maybe we should have waited for Rich to come back and help."

"You're lighter and taller than Rich!" Michael argued, "We've got this, man. Player one and player two can do this."

"A player three could spot us." Jeremy laxed his grip on Michael's jacket once he was fully upright.

Michael ignored Jeremy. Instead of responding, he carefully made his way towards the wall where they were going to hook the flag to the wall.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Jeremy asked as Michael used his foot to move a nightstand away from the window in order to get closer to it.

"I've got you, Jer." Michael assured him, "You won't fall."

Jeremy nodded as Michael brought a handful of hooks for the wall up to his level. Jeremy scooped them into his own hand as Michael crept closer to the wall. He bit his lip until Michael stopped moving, giving him the okay to start placing the hooks on the wall. Jeremy leaned forward, sticking one of the hooks to the wall without issue. He nodded to himself before looking down at the wall flag. There were two silver lined holes for the hook, he just had to find it. He stretched the fabric in his hands, letting the part he wasn't examining fall into Michael's face.

"Thanks, Jer."

"Don't mention it." Jeremy teased. He finally found the hole and careful leaned forward to get it placed on the hook.

One down.

"So, how are things with Christine?" Michael asked, though he his tone didn't make him sound very interested.

"Pretty good." Jeremy replied as Michael carefully sidestepped to the area where they needed to place the second hook. "She should be making it to her school any time now. Should I call her?"

"Definitely!" Michael stopped his movement, "Show her you care."

"She knows." Jeremy rolled his eyes.

You hope.

Jeremy shook the thought out of his mind. Where did that come from? Of course she did. He had made it clear right before they each caught the buses to their different schools.

"Hey, Jer, I get that you might be enjoying the extra height, but can you get the hook up there?" Michael laughed, bringing Jeremy out of his thoughts.

"Right, sorry."

"No prob."

Jeremy easily placed the second hook. The flag, however, was still dangling from the other side of the window. If he reached carefully enough, however, he could reach it.

"Don't move, Michael." Jeremy instructed, extending his arm first before leaning his upper body.

"Me moving might actually be beneficial to this situation." Michael said, reaching up to hold Jeremy's thigh rather than his ankles like he had been since passing up the hooks.

Jeremy continued to lean, however. He was determined to get it himself.

Further.

Jeremy followed the instruction.

Further.

His fingers brushed the edge of the material. He almost had it...

"OW!" Jeremy cried out as, what felt like, an electric jolt shot through him. He began to fall, but Michael quickly sidestepped in order to keep him up.

Unfortunately, that just sent Michael into a sidestep that he couldn't pull out of.

"Going down!"

Both boys fell onto the bed that Michael had claimed. Jeremy bumped against the wall, ending up flying into Michael, who was sent to the ground.

Jeremy popped up, letting out a softer 'ow' this time and peering over the bed. "Michael?"

The other boy had vanished. Jeremy brought his head up, looking around the room in confusion. His friend had just been right there...

He was completely taken off guard when Michael shot out from under the bed and grabbed his wrists.

Jeremy screamed loudly as his friend pulled him down to the floor. Once he realized what had happened, and Michael's contagious laughter found its way to his ears, Jeremy began to laugh too. For what felt like ages after, the two boys rested on the ground, Jeremy laying on top of Michael, laughing over the events that had just transpired.

Jeremy was the first to eventually stop laughing. He looked down at Michael's still laughing face. Michael didn't look like he had a care in the world when he laughed; his eyes closed his smile was wide, and he just looked so darn...

Jeremy felt a heat rise in his cheeks. Before Michael could open his eyes to see the color in Jeremy's cheeks, Jeremy let his face drop onto Michael's chest.

Michael's laughter cut off abruptly. If Jeremy had been looking, he would have seen Michael's eyes widen for an instant with the ghost of tinted color in his cheeks. He quickly recovered, however, letting out a chuckle and tapping Jeremy's head. "You okay?"

"Fine." Jeremy pushed himself up with a grin. He hoped that, if there was still color in his face, Michael would attribute it to the laughter and fall. He hated how easy it was to tell when he was nervous. Why did his body have to constantly betray him?

"Glad to hear." Michael pushed himself into a sitting up position. He glanced at the wall before turning back to Jeremy. "Should we finish hanging the flag?"

Jeremy grinned. "Ready, player one?"

Michael grinned wider. "Ready, player two."

---

Evan had little to unpack. He had brought some books, some clothes, what little cash was left over from the school's entrance fees, and a small houseplant that Zoey Murphy had given him before he left town.

Evan's mind drifted to Zoey as he carefully set the plant on his dresser. Things had never been the same after the truth of his lie came out... Which, it shouldn't have! What he did was terrible, but it had made them so happy to know that Connor had a friend... It felt so nice to pretend to have a friend with no strings attached...

"Last box!" Evan's roommate, Rich, declared as he kicked the dorm's door shut with his foot. He dropped it onto his bed before diving next to it, bouncing a few times on the mattress springs before it settled. "Looking at all my boxes compared to your two bags makes me feel like I over packed." He joked, grinning at Evan.

Evan nodded with a nervous shrug.

Rich cocked his head at Evan. "You're really quiet, hu?" He asked, this time with a softer tone.

Evan looked down before giving a single nod.

There was a pause. "You know, I was like that my freshman year." Rich said, pushing himself upright and leaning against the wall his bed rested against. "I was a loser... I was hopeless."

Evan looked up. The expression on Rich's face was dismal, and his eyes were far away. It was almost like he was reliving the story in his head as he said it.

"Then, summer between then and sophomore year, I got into something... I thought it would help. Got me out of that hell hole house until school started, at least." There was a gleam in his eye, "Then, when school actually started, I rose to the top within a week. I was one of the coolest..." The gleam disappeared, "and one of the biggest dicks. Around Halloween, I... I got into some real trouble. I hurt myself, and one of my best friends, bad..." Rich sighed. Before Evan could ask any questions, Rich grabbed the bottom of his turtleneck and began to lift it over his torso and his head.

Evan caught a glimpse of abs before a tyedyed blue shirt fell back over it. As the turtleneck pulled away from his arms and pulled over his head, deep red and purple splotches were visible all over Rich. Evan's eyes grew wide as the sweater was tossed on the bedding beside Rich.

"I set a fire, and I burned down a house." Rich admitted, now looking down at the sweater. "It was all because of that... That damn thing I thought was helping me." He flinched, shutting his eyes tightly. There was a brief pause where Rich just took a moment to breathe. Eventually, he spoke again, "I had to get rid of it... Eventually, one of the guys I had been such a dick to, and who I'd turned onto the same thing, helped. He even actually became my friend." A smile found it's way to Rich's face.

Evan's eyes were still wide. "I-I had no idea. Not that you originally wanted me to but-but I get why, not really because I haven't been through something like that, but-"

"It's cool." Rich laughed, cutting off Evan's rambles. "I didn't really want the stares yet. I even used makeup to cover up the burns on my face."

"How... How bad was the fire?"

Rich's smile faltered. "Bad." He replied simply.

"Th-the thing you used..." Evan wanted to keep himself from saying it. He should stay quiet; pass by without making a ripple. "Was it like... Drugs?"

Rich's expression was unreadable for a moment. Then, rather unexpected to Evan, he laughed. "It was from Japan." Rich responded, "But it was kind of like drugs. Thankfully, the thing doesn't exist anymore."

Evan nodded then bit the inside of his lip. Rich had shared so much... Should he share his own story? What was pretending a dead kid was your friend, and dating his sister through lies, compared to Japan drugs and burning down a house?.. What if they could actually... Bond over these things? Maybe be friends?

"My reason for emerging from my shell is a bit unconventional, I know." Rich laughed again, "But it also proves that there are easier ways to go about it." He grinned, "I can help you eventually find one, if you want."

Evan smiled. He pushed away his own confession for the time being. Rich was being so nice to him, maybe it would be better to get to know him more before springing on his own story.

"Th-thanks. I'd like that."