THE BROWN-HAIRED BOY rushed past the swarm of students,his eyes wandering around the crowd with his pupils brimming with fear. He took a deep sigh,hoping to keep his distance from the person who despises him ever since they were young,Rich Goranski.

Even though they became friends,Rich still treats Jeremy like human trash for his 'Reputation' but he became less hostile towards the boy now,since he,Michael and himself were secretly hanging out when no one was looking.

Although he was quite confused about why the boy was hesitant to be himself,even if he was free from his SQUIP. He respected his choice and agreed on pretending like nothing changed.

When he spotted the red-streaked haired boy across the hallway,he acted fast as he swiftly sprinted pass many people; which caused him to earn some suspicious looks. He saw an open door near him and hid behind it while holding his breath,hopefully waiting for the boy to pass by.

As soon as he passed Jeremy,The boy revealed himself from his hiding spot. He sighed in relief,shocked that his plan had worked.

Strangely,right after the trouble that had happened,he felt eyes watching him. He felt an odd feeling that deep down he knows whose familiar eyes are those. He shrugged off the thought as he quickly strode to the other side of the hall,he then rolled his eyes as he remembered that he got bottom locker once again.

"And then Madeline was all like-"The obnoxious voice of the school's familiar gossip girl,Jenna Rolan,rang in Jeremy's ears as he passed through the hall.

He turned the other way as he paid no more attention to the girls' daily discussion. The brown-haired boy pulled out a key from the pockets of his jeans as he silently slid it into the lock of his locker;he pushed the door open as he grabbed his books. When he was closing his locker,he noticed that it was underneath his best friend's locker,he felt his lips curl into a smile as he remembered Michael.

"So have you heard of that new girl?"Jenna asked Chloe,who nodded with her eyes still glued on the phone she was holding. What a talent.

"Probably just another loser."The blonde girl simply replied,rolling her eyes.

Loser,How many times have Jeremy heard that word,mostly as an insult by the bullies at school. He cringed as he recalled the time he called his very own father and best friend that hurtful word,he didn't even realize how much it damaged their feelings,even worse,he lost the trust of his best friend. He admits,it was an act of selfishness and carelessness.

It was then Jeremy realized he was eavesdropping on their little conversation. He quickly shrugged off the thought as he stood up,quickly shoving the books inside his bag. After he was done,he turned his heel and walked to his first class of the day,sweet sweet Drama Class.

Even better,the class was held by the least favorite teacher in the whole school; Mr.Reyes.The dramatic instructor was always satirized by the whole class,ignored even.Jeremy chose to stay out of the conflict,he was always zoning out of the window while gazing at the trees,other than staring secretly at his lover,Christine.

He approached his seat at the back of the room as he dropped his bag on the floor next to him.

Mr.Reyes slammed the door as he stepped inside the classroom, surprisingly,nobody was startled by the sudden outburst of the instructor. He sat in his chair as he eyed the different students,hatred in his eyes.No one can blame him though,having this kind of job is like throwing your dreams away and shattering it into smithereens.

"Lohst" He announced,grabbing a lengthy paper sheet under his desk.

"Here" The blonde replied, uninterested in listening.

And of course, his all-time favorite ever since Fifth Grade has started,Class Attendance.

"Rolan" The teacher continued.

"Hereee."She boringly answered before going back to talking to Chloe.

"Goranski"Jeremy muttered under his breath as he heard the familiar last name.

"Here."The boy with a red streak on his hair responded as he smiled lightly at Jeremy,making sure no one but the both of them saw them.

Many surnames were called and some answered while some decided not to answer,intentionally making the professor irritated. It wasn't long before it was Jeremy's turn.

"Heere"

"Present."Jeremy mumbled,lowering his head down his desk.

"Jeremy Heere?"The professor announced a bit louder.

"Present" He exclaimed, embarrassment laced on his tone.

He earned a few snickers and muffled laughter,the professor tried to stifle a laugh,making the laughter grow. He slowly shrunk down his seat as he looked down,his eyes not meeting anyone's gaze. The laughter soon subsided when the teacher proceeded to call different surnames.

"Mell" Jeremy shot his head up,hearing the familiar name of his friend.

Unfortunately,the room fell silent after the raven-haired boy's last name was announced.It made Jeremy frown,letting his head fall onto his hands again. It's their first day of Senior Year; what could be the reason for his absence? Maybe he woke up late? Couldn't blame him though.

"Well, "Mr.Reyes took a brief pause as he wrote something on the paper he was holding."Dillinger?"

Jeremy stared at a blank space,thoughts running through his head: Why was Michael absent? Did something happen to him? Those thoughts were messing with his head every time he turns his gaze at the empty seat in front,where Michael sits. The brown-haired boy was zoning out yet again,paying no attention to what the professor is lecturing.

"Mr.Heere!"He snapped back to reality,seeing an angered Mr.Reyes in front of him."It seems like your not paying attention?"

Jeremy noticed Jake snickering with a few boys behind Mr.Reyes,but Rich soon nudged him;making him stop and the others continue. The other students just stared and waited for the boy to answer.

"I-"

"Sorry I was late.",A familiar husky voice muttered.

It was none other than the loveable raven-haired boy,Michael Mell. Jeremy recognized his scent of weed and cherry from afar,as he stared at the boy's chocolate brown eyes. Every conversation ceased as he scampered towards his seat,every eye- including Jeremy's fixed on him.

"Ah, Mr. Mell"Mr.Reyes turned his back from Jeremy as he turned to face the raven-haired male,a grim expression on his face.

"You're quite early..."The teacher paused as he approached him,his steps becoming fainter as he went closer.

"For the next class" He finished, coldness and harshness dripping from the tone of his voice.

The students started laughing at the teacher's statement,while Jeremy didn't take his eyes off Michael; clearly still in a state of shock. The raven-haired boy sighed as he looked down at his desk,disregarding both the laughter and the professor.

"Or I guess it's 8:30 at the planet you're coming from."He taunted him one last time before going back in front and discussing again.

Michael just stared at the board,obviously not paying any attention. Jeremy glanced over to his direction,seeing a bored Player One tapping his pen on the desk quietly,his eyes shut closed and his headphones completely covering his ears. He quickly looked away,turning his gaze anywhere but Michael;not wanting to be caught staring.

"Class dismissed. Hot Pocket Break!"The professor soon announced,gesturing the students to leave.

Lunchtime: the smell of the students' loud chattering mixed with fresh gossips and the low-quality food's unpleasant smell,what a wonderful sight. The students gathered into a line,impatiently waiting for the food. Jeremy stood nervously,shifting his weight from one foot to the other,his hands buried deep in his pocket.

When it was his turn,he just stared at his shoes with his fingers playing with a piece of fabric on his blue cardigan. He walked out off the line as soon as it was done; holding his lunch tray tightly on his shaking hands.

He noticed an empty table in the far corner of the whole Cafeteria,also known as the 'Loser's Domain' who was dubbed by the 'cool' seniors. He made his way towards the table like he was used sitting there ever since Fifth Grade,which is not false.

The scent of cherry was getting stronger as he proceeded to walk towards the table,until he felt a tap on his shoulder,followed by a warm greeting."Jeremy!"

"Hey, Michael!"He reached out for their signature handshake,which the shorter boy happily accepted.

"Hey,about what happened earlier. Forget about what Mr.Reyes said,he's probably just in a really bad mood today."Jeremy comforted,sitting beside Michael,who was nibbling on a half-eaten apple;given by Jeremy himself.

"I was like just an hour late."The shorter male pouted,his friend giving him a knowing look."Yeah,it was kinda my fault I guess"

"Why were you late anyway?"Jeremy asked,taking a bite of his food.

Michael fixed his posture,alerted by his friend's question."I just...woke up late"

Before Jeremy could ask any further the raven stood up and adjusted his shoelaces,pulling up the weed socks he was always wearing, that Jeremy himself gave him for the holidays when they were young. The brunet couldn't help but laugh at the thought, Michael shot him a confused look.

"What's so funny,Jer?"

Jeremy shook his head."Dad's coming home late tonight again,can I go to your house? Since I got nothing else to do" the brunet explained,changing the subject completely.

Player One's eyes lit up with excitement as a grin appeared on his face."Yeah, sure!"

Not so long after,the bell rang,the obnoxious ringing echoed across the whole Cafeteria,like the irritating sound of a dentist drill. Shortly after the ringing,the students started to pour out to the door,others complaining and some still had food stuffed on their faces.

Jeremy waved goodbye to his friend before walking off. He could've sworn he heard Michael say something under his breath,but he chose to shrug it off; thinking that it was probably his head messing with him.

✓Edited
1593 Words