Hey, guys! It's May! Gosh we haven't updated in a while, so sorry about that :') we've been writing our AU, and that's taken quite a while. But I was writing this on the side! (And Becca's writing a oneshot as well ;) I won't spoil anything tho eheh) so heere it is! Enjoy some middle school chilldren! (Some references to my other middle school story, but they're all pretty subtle and unimportant haha) -May <3

Jeremy had been too late. Michael was already going in and out of consciousness.

The bully who was responsible now smirked at Jeremy, holding Michael up by the collar of his shirt.

"Let go of him!" Jeremy managed, his voice wavering.

"Oh? Playing the hero?" Chad sneered. "I'll let your boyfriend go if you do something for me."

"Wh-What do you want?" Jeremy asked, trying to still his voice as his gaze narrowed in anger. He was used to being called gay by now, but the way Chad had said "boyfriend" made him feel sick.

"If I don't bully him, you will."

Jeremy froze, feeling his stomach drop. These were not the words he was expecting.

"I- what do you-?" Jeremy stuttered.

"I want you to humiliate him." Chad seemed to enjoy Jeremy's expression of horror. "Of course, if you choose not to, I can continue with our little... physical game." His free hand curled into a fist in a threatening manner.

Jeremy knew the boy wouldn't hesitate to put Michael in a mortal state of danger, and this terrified him. But hurting Michael in any way... His head swam in pain and confusion.

Chad began lifting his fist slowly, the already unconscious boy in his grip paling quickly. Just as he was about to deliver another blow, Jeremy yelled, "STOP! S-Stop, please." Jeremy choked back a sob, the decision he was about to make crushing his heart heavily.

"So? You've decided?" Chad asked expectantly.

"P-Promise me..." Jeremy let out, his voice almost a whisper. "Promise me you'll never hurt him ever again."

Chad let go of Michael, letting him crumple on the ground. Jeremy winced, tears slipping down his cheeks, wanting to comfort the unmoving boy.

"Tomorrow, you ignore him. If he approaches, you diss him, loudly." Chad's smile grew, seeing the effect his plan had taken on Jeremy. He gave one last small kick to the body beneath him and walked past Jeremy, smirking at the anger and fear implanted in his eyes.

When he had gone, Jeremy picked up Michael with some difficulty, hoisting him onto his back. He trudged to the house he had been visiting for as long as he could remember. Dread settled in his stomach as he rang the doorbell.

Mrs. Mell answered the door, looking at him and then at the boy behind him, immediately sensing something was wrong. She ushered him inside quickly, seeing Jeremy's shaken expression.

Jeremy placed Michael down on the couch carefully, taking a seat on the chair near it.

Mrs. Mell placed a cup of water down on the table next to Jeremy, and he accepted it gratefully, trying to calm his shaking hands.

"Jeremy...? What happened?" she breathed. She had already brought an ice pack and was holding it to Michael's wounds.

Jeremy's lips quivered, unsure if he should tell her the whole truth. "A-After school..."

_______________

Mrs. Mell hugged Jeremy as he got to the door. "Thank you, Jeremy," she said sincerely. "You had better be getting home now, it's almost time for dinner." She smiled warmly, a smile that told Jeremy it wasn't his fault. He felt his stomach twist even more at this.

Jeremy nodded, turning to exit the door. Once outside, he let the tears he had been holding in release themselves, and he sobbed into his sleeves until he reached the front door to his house.

He went to his room immediately upon closing the door, his anxiety leaving him exhausted and worried. Lying down on his bed, he stared up at the various posters Michael had helped him put up. He felt the sick feeling return as he turned to his side, hugging a pillow tightly. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

Jeremy woke up, a slight pain in his head. As soon as he stood up, however, the memories from the previous day flooded his mind, causing him to fall back on his bed with a yelp.

He held his stomach as he walked to school, hoping he would get there before Michael. Part of him hoped he could get through the day without seeing him, but he knew that was next to impossible.

He vaguely registered someone calling his name behind him, but he walked to his first class, his thoughts drowning the noise. It was only until the period before lunch that he realized he had completely blanked throughout his first class, the only period he shared with Michael in the morning.

He groaned. It was one thing if he was doing it on purpose to keep Michael safe; instead, however, he had done it on his own without even thinking about it. All he wanted to do was rush to Michael and apologize, but he knew that would put Michael in further danger, and he trembled at the thought.

The bell rang, and Jeremy rushed out the door, not wishing to run into Michael; not when he'd gotten this far. He was nearly to the cafeteria when he heard a voice behind him.

"Jeremy!" The voice sounded desperate and... scared. "D-Did something happen...?"

Jeremy turned, and his heart threatened to shatter. One of Michael's arms was tucked into a sling, and he had dark bruises around his right cheek and up his neck. The look Jeremy saw on his face was one of worry, as if something had happened to him instead.

But Jeremy was shaking as he remembered what Chad had told him. He looked a little ways behind Michael and felt tears brimming in his eyes. Chad was looking.

"G-Go away," Jeremy's voice trembled. "L-Lose-" he choked back a sob, not daring to finish the word that was stuck to his tongue as he turned and dashed down the hallway, finally allowing himself to cry.

Michael stood frozen, staring at the place Jeremy had just stood.

What was he about to say...? he thought, his mind swimming as he felt his head spin. He frowned in confusion. Jeremy's eyes had held such fear and sorrow behind them.

Before he could think on this any longer, he felt himself being lifted by the back of his hoodie, wincing in pain. Memories of the previous day flooded back to him until fear crept into him slowly.

"You're pretty tense, gay boy," Chad's voice began. Michael could almost hear the sneer in it. "Looks like your boyfriend ran off, huh?"

Michael struggled in frustration. Just as he thought Chad was going to take a swing at him, a loud voice shouted across the hallway. "CHAD! PUT THAT KID DOWN!"

Chad clicked his tongue in annoyance, dropping Michael abruptly, inducing a yelp from the hoodie-clad boy.

Michael looked up at the person who had called out. None other than Jake Dillinger stormed down the hallway.

Chad ran in the opposite direction, causing Jake to exclaim loudly in exasperation.

"Fucking sixth graders," he groaned, coming to a halt above where Michael had fallen. He held out his hand, an apologetic smile on his face. "That's my cousin, I'm really sorry about him."

Michael accepted his hand gratefully, allowing himself to be pulled up gently by the arm that wasn't in a sling. "You're... related to him?"

"Well, not directly," Jake confessed, his smile growing slightly sad. "My aunt and uncle adopted him. He got a bit messed up when they told him. I guess I shouldn't be too harsh on the guy, but bullying people isn't justified just because you're sorting out some issues...." He laughed nervously. "Sorry, bit of a rant there."

"No, it's okay, um... thanks," Michael responded. "You kinda... saved me from some serious medical bills."

Jake laughed again, genuine this time. "Sure thing, believe it or not, your mom was the one who asked me to help." He winked. "I gotta go catch that little nerd, I'll catch you later I guess? See ya!"

Jake took off running the way Chad had gone, leaving Michael with more questions than ever. But his thoughts were once again interrupted by another shout down the hall.

"Michael!" He turned, surprised to see who was there.

"Mom?" he asked. Everything about this day had been confusing.

She rushed over to him, wrapping him in a hug. She kissed him on the head before saying, "Jeremy brought you home yesterday. He told me everything, so I checked the directory and found Jake's name in the boy's relatives list. I can't stand by while my baby's getting hurt. Are you alright? Anything new to worry about?"

Michael laughed softly. "I'm alright mom... but I don't know if Jeremy is."

His mom smiled sadly. "Come on, he's been sitting with me in the principal's office." Michael's eyes widened, and he accepted his mother's hand as she began to walk down the hall.

When they turned into the office, Michael saw Jeremy sitting in one of the chairs. His head was down, but Michael could hear slight sniffles coming from under his curly head of hair. He sat next to Jeremy, lightly brushing his fingers against the other boy's.

"Michael," the principal acknowledged, nodding at Michael kindly. "I understand there have been some problems between you and another student?"

He nodded briefly in agreement before the principal continued. "I'm afraid if it weren't for your mother, this might have continued for longer, and I apologize for that."

Michael listened to as much as he could, but his thoughts lingered on the boy next to him. Before he knew it, his mother was thanking the principal and helping Michael up along with Jeremy.

"Let's get you boys home, not much use in staying at school after all this," she said quietly, fully aware of how tired they both were.

Jeremy stayed mostly quiet the whole ride. Michael requested some songs, but he knew he had to talk to his friend when they got home.

He pulled Jeremy into his room, giving him a box of tissues after sitting him down on the bed.

After Jeremy had blown his nose, and his sniffles had reduced considerably, words rushed out of his mouth. "Michael I-I'm so sorry for earlier today, I didn't want you getting hurt, Michael, I was so scared." Fresh tears slipped down his cheeks, and Michael rushed over to him, wrapping him in a hug and rubbing soothing circles on his back.

"Hey, Jere, it's okay. I'm fine, I promise," he assured.

"B-But the things I said to you-" Jeremy began, but Michael stopped him.

"Jeremy, my mom told me you carried me home yesterday. If that doesn't prove you care, I don't know what will. A-And even if you almost said those things... you're still my best friend, that can't change."

"I'm so sorry," Jeremy repeated, hugging Michael back.

"I forgive you," Michael promised. "Wanna stay over tonight?"

Michael felt Jeremy nod against his shoulder, and he giggled. "Okay, I'll get you a change of clothes, and then I'll set up the video games. Sound good?" He pulled away to see Jeremy's eyes, tear stained, but a grateful and happy light in them now.

"Mhm," Jeremy responded, smiling gently, causing Michael's heart to flutter. Jeremy laughed a little, a wisp of sadness crossing his face. "I'm not even the one that was bullied, and yet I'm the one being comforted."

"Mmm, true," Michael agreed. "But this can be a remedy for us both." He winked at Jeremy, causing the other boy to giggle. His heart melted.

Someday he would tell Jeremy Heere how he felt, but for now, he was content with just this. The little things.

WHOA THAT WAS ALMOST 2000 WORDS. ANGSTY, HAPPY-ENDING CHAPTER SORRY Y'ALL! It's been quite a bit of fun to write, even when I was sad to make my chilldren sad. I survived. Y'all survived! Yay! We all More Than Survived! Bad jokes! ;D

Anyways. That's my take on my middle school boys. YEAH JAKE HAS A COUSIN TOTALLY DIDNT MAKE THAT UP *coughs violently* artistic liberties forgive me. Hope you enjoyed! They're uh. Still in seventh grade. I didn't mention that. Oops. Oh well.

In other news, WE GOT MORE FAN ART! Y'ALL ARE SO GREAT WE LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH :') PREPARE FOR A LOT YIKES WE GOTTA CATCH UP!

The first batch comes from @periwinkle_moonlight ! (Thank you Elle, ahh it won't tag you but we love them all!! <3)

The second comes from heckingeko ! (Thanks, Kat!)

(Yes we're even posting the meme ones.)

And last, but certainly not least! @TheShyTheaterKid (it won't tag you either grr thanks tho, Sadie!)

That was a lot! Ahhh! Thanks guys so much, we really do appreciate you all a ton! <3

Stay amazing, kiddos! We'll try to update as much as possible! School's a beast D:<

Bye!! <3 -May