A/N: So I guess some people like this story for some odd reason and now I have over 1k reads? In about a week and a half? I am so glad that I can entertain you guys in some way and I guess it's not much but it really means a lot. Thank you! Have a chapter, free of charge ;)

Michael couldn't have been happier when he read that message. In that exact moment, his skin cleared, his crops were thriving (not that he had any crops), and he was so genuinely excited.

Michael set a deadline for himself. Unless Jeremy said or did anything first, Michael would ask Jeremy out in some way, whether it be some grand gesture or straight forward, within the week.

He responded to Jeremy with a pretty vague message which said, "oh, cool." After he sent this, he spoke to himself sarcastically. "Nice one, doofus, what a work of art, really wooed him didn't you?" Michael only thought of this to mask his slowly growing anxiety attack, wondering if Jeremy was joking. He took some steady breaths and shook off his pesky anxious thoughts. "Holy crap, this is really happening!" Michael started jumping up and down like a child.

Any other person might find the scene playing out a bit strange, with Michael's smile stretching from ear to ear, talking to himself, and jumping around his basement alone. He read the text from Jeremy over and over again, his giddiness never fading in the slightest.

-

Jeremy was having a pretty different afternoon. He was incredibly stressed out after sending that text. He didn't hear back from the person for a solid ten minutes, which didn't seem like much, but the anonymous person usually responded right away. When they replied, he was slightly disappointed. Maybe he read too much into it, but to Jeremy the sender almost seemed kind of upset in those two words they texted. Jeremy took a deep breath. "There's still a chance it's him, don't worry," He whispered to himself.

Jeremy only now realized how heavily his heart was pounding. He could practically hear his heartbeat echoing around the room. Jeremy rolled his eyes at himself and took a long walk around the neighborhood. It's what he needed most at the time.

Later that night, Jeremy gave up and dialed Michael's number. He knew he would talk to Michael eventually that day, which was almost over. Before he thought about it too much, Jeremy pressed call.

Jeremy couldn't help but notice how happy Michael sounded when he picked up the phone. It was super adorable, and it sent a little bit of hope through Jeremy. The poor, oblivious boy kept ranting about the last text the secret admirer sent, when Michael cut him off.

"It's okay Jeremy, I'm sure it will turn out fine in the end, trust me." Michael spoke softly, which never ceased to reassure Jeremy, no matter the situation.

The two had a lengthy conversation when Michael had to go. "I have a bunch of errands to run tomorrow, so I'll see you Monday, Jer."

Jeremy almost said, "I love you" at the end of the call, but he refrained. Michael's calm voice echoed through Jeremy's head, lulling him to sleep.

-

Michael couldn't take it any longer. The 'errands' he mentioned to Jeremy was for supplies when Michael would ask him out. It was bound to happen, so he decided to do it sooner than later. He started brainstorming his plan, which had to be absolutely perfect, and Michael had the perfect time to do it.

Unless something inevitably happened on that day, Michael planned for the romantic gesture to be after school on Tuesday, which was an early dismissal day for whatever reason. He wrote down a list, and then went to sleep, a million things rushing through his head.

Michael spent the next day in various stores, which was pretty unnecessary considering he only bought things in three stores: The flower shop, CVS, and Build-a-Bear, which wasn't on his list. As he walked past the latter store, he noticed a display on the window for plush Pokémon, including a Charmander, which was always Jeremy's favorite for some reason when the two played the card game at recess. Michael got a few weird looks in the store, but he shook it off. This was going to be perfect.

-

At school on Monday, Jeremy couldn't help but notice Michael was daydreaming a lot more than usual. He seemed kind of distant, but also even closer at the same time somehow.

Jeremy broke the silence between them at lunch. "So, wanna hang out after school tomorrow? Since it is a half day and all."

Michael hesitated for a long moment, trying to find an excuse before he said, "I totally would, but my cousin is in town and I haven't seen him in a while. "Which cousin?" At that moment, the bell rang. Michael walked ahead of Jeremy, although they were headed to the same class. They entered the class, Jeremy sitting down next to Michael.

"Michael, are you okay? You've been acting a little bit strange today..." Michael looked Jeremy in the eyes, admittedly making Jeremy's heart melt on the spot. "Don't worry, I just didn't get much sleep last night, I'm just super tired, I promise."

This wasn't a complete lie, Michael was working on some details for Tuesday. He was thankful he didn't choose a later date, the stress would end very soon.

Jeremy was over analyzing every little thing Michael did. He was searching between each and every line for clues hinting towards Michael being his admirer. Nothing. Jeremy was starting to become quite doubtful, already trying to figure out anyone else who it could be. Absolutely nothing came to his brain. Jeremy realized he had been looking at Michael for a while, however Michael was pretending not to notice.

The two didn't talk much during the remainder of the day, which felt strange to both of them. They both had a million things on their mind, but nothing to say. One of the most prominent thoughts stuck with Michael until that night.

"Love is exhausting."

-

Michael didn't want to get out of bed the next morning. He was fine with it before, but now he was panicking. "What if he doesn't actually like me, what if he assumed it was me and said it to please me, What if-" Michael had a few sips of water and made some toast to keep his mind off of things. He was secretly glad he was stressing out though, considering the fact that all of his stress would be drained before later.

Michael knew he probably wouldn't have anything to worry about considering the circumstances, so his brain created some pretty pointless arguments.

At first, Michael couldn't ignore them. However, he pushed them to the back of his head and got ready for school.

"This is going to be a long day," Michael said to himself as he almost reached the school. He chuckled to himself at the irony of his comment, considering the school day was shortened. He decided to leave the stuff at his house and come back after school to ensure Jeremy was home.

"Speak of the devil," Michael muttered loud enough for Jeremy to hear as he approached Michael.

Michael accepted Jeremy's hug, not wanting to let go and hanging on for a bit longer than he should have. "Michael, chill. You're being too obvious, at this rate it won't be a surprise," the boy thought.

The first bell of the day rang, and even though they had no classes together that day, the two walked together.

None of the teachers really gave out any assignments that day, considering classes were almost halved in length. Except for Michael's math teacher who happened to give a pop quiz. Great.

Michael almost ran out of his last class when the bell rang, bumping into Jeremy. After that the two walked to their lockers, stopping at Jeremy's when Michael was finished. "You sure you can't hang out today?" Michael shook his head at the boy. "Ugh, you're impossible. Oh well, tell your cousin I said hi." Jeremy shut his locker and walked out the doors of the school.

Michael went out a different exit and promptly hopped into his car. He started his engine, butterflies filling his stomach. He drove home and collected the things he'd need. He had to convince himself to back out, which was a pretty difficult task, but Michael managed.

He drove to Jeremy's house and parked a street down. He grabbed the bag with roses, food, and movies in one hand and tucked the Charmander into the other. He walked up the driveway to Jeremy's house and lifted his shaky hand to knock on the door, when a better idea struck him.

Michael gently set the bag down and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He went onto the texting app he downloaded and texted Jeremy anonymously for the last time.

?: Come outside.

Michael picked up the bag again, took a deep breath when he heard the doorknob rattle. As soon as Jeremy saw Michael, his jaw dropped.

Michael spoke timidly, biting his lip. 

"Surprise?"

Jeremy rushed forward and pressed his lips against Michael's.

A/N: The moment you've all been waiting for, over 1,500 words later.