Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Michael cradled his arm. He messed up, and his father punished him. He didn’t like being burnt, it hurt so much worse than being hit. If his mother was here, she would hold him close. She would kiss his head and tell him that everything would be okay.

Only she never came back. She left. She left him alone with his dad, and he hates her for it.

“Michael,” His father’s voice always sounded like it could cut him in half with just a few words. “Eat your breakfast.”

He doesn’t hesitate to obey. It makes him feel weak, but he does it. He stops eating long enough to see his father ruffle his little brother’s hair, and he sends Mari a hateful glare. He knows that it’s not the kid’s fault, but blaming him just feels easier. Pointing fingers at everyone else is the only way he can cope. Cope with the fact that his own dad despises him. A part of him knows that it’s…

No, not a part of him. He fully knows that it’s the worst way to deal with it, but he doesn’t try to stop it. It’s easier not to.

William takes a sip of his coffee, turning a page in the newspaper. “You all will be staying with Henry tonight.”

“Awww, but daddy!” Elizabeth whined. “You promised to play with me.”

He watches his father smile warmly at his sister. He can feel the hatred and jealousy boiling up inside of him. He clenches his teeth, willing himself to look away. He can feel the way his burnt arm throbbed from the way he clenched his fist. He forces himself to relax.

“Aww Lizzie,” his father says, resting a hand on her shoulder. “Daddy’s sorry sweetie~” William cooes. Michael easily notices the way he clenches his hand just a bit tighter on her shoulder. “I promise we will tomorrow! Today is Mari’s big day. Can you be a good girl and make sure he enjoys it?.” He can see the pout her sister continues to give, but one stern look from their father makes her change her tune.

“Okay Daddy! I’ll make sure he has the best time!”

His father lets his sister go with a pat to her head before getting back to his coffee. Mari sinks further down in his seat. “Marion,” William begins again, disinterest apparent in his voice. “Eat.”

Marion begins to shovel food in his mouth. Michael knows why he does, but the immediate shoulder pat to his brother from his father clouds his judgement. It always does.

Michael eats what he can until he feels too nauseous to keep eating. He cleans up like he’s supposed to, and he makes sure his brother and sister are ready for school like he’s supposed to. He makes sure to shove his brother a bit before walking out of the room. He makes sure to throw Lizzie’s bag at her when their father isn’t looking. When he gets in the front passenger seat, only then does he go lax. His arm throbs, but he bears it. He stays quiet like he’s supposed to, Lizzie talks everyone’s ears off like she always does, and Mari is as quiet as he always is.

They drop Lizzie and Mari off at the same Elementary school, and that’s when the silence feels the most deafening. His father doesn’t acknowledge him. He acts like he’s dropping garbage off at the dump. He waits for Michael to get out impatiently, and when he does he speeds off before Mike can even close the door properly, let alone get his footing. Michael grits his teeth, but trudges into the school.

This is his life. Everything is boring, mundane, annoying, stupid—he fucking hates it.

He hates it, hates it, hates it! He’s always getting in trouble for not being perfect. He’s always getting in trouble for the things that his brother and sister do. He gets thrown like a stupid rag doll by his father, but he’s too much of a fucking coward to do anything.

Not like he could.

Who would believe a troublemaker? They wouldn’t. Everyone acts like he’s a problem. Someone could blame him for vandalism, and everyone would believe it.

“Yo Mike!” Gabriel pushes him a bit.

“Hey Gabe.” Mike sighs, gripping the straps of his bag, holding in a hiss of pain. Gabe throws an arm around Michael’s neck.

“What’s up your ass?” The boy asks.

“Same old bullshit.”

Gabriel scoffs, letting Mike go. “You need to man up and say something, dude.” Gabe shoves his hands into his pockets as they walk into the school. “Surely your old man will listen to his kid yelling at him.”

Michael rolls his eyes. “Then you don’t know my stupid dad.” Michael grits his teeth and sighs. “I’m so tired of getting in trouble. It’s so stupid, like-“ Michael huffs. “I could do what I’m told and he’d still find any reason to yell at me!” Michael clenches his hands into fists. “He thinks that my stupid brother and sister are so perfect!”

“What’s so perfect about them? Elizabeth whines until she gets her way.” Gabe comments as they arrive at their lockers. Conveniently right next to each other.

“Yeah, and Mari just sobs. He’s a fucking brat!” Michael seethes.

“They both are.” Gabriel confirms, opening his locker. He pulls out his books, placing them in his locker. Michael does the same, being careful to avoid bumping his Foxy mask. Once he shoved his bag into his locker, he wrapped the only non injured arm around Gabe’s neck.

“I’m staying with my Uncle Henry tonight.” Gabriel smirks, looking at him.

“We only need fifty more tickets for that gun.” Gabe responds, earning a smirk from Michael.

“I’ll take extra tokens from the brats, that gun is as good as ours tonight.”

The two of them have been saving up for it for four months now. While all it does is shoot foam bullets, both Mike and Gabe want it. Clair and Issac, their other two friends, think it’s useless. They opted out, but the two boys didn’t need them. When Gabe and Mike wanted something, they worked together to get it. They are a team! Partners in crime.

“I’ll tell them to meet us there tonight.” Gabe remarked, grabbing his English book.

“I thought that they didn’t want in?” Mike asked.

“They don’t.” Gabe confirmed, sighing. “But if we tell them that we’re getting it tonight, they’ll at least pitch in money for extra pizza.”

Mike shrugged, grabbing his math book. “Fine.” He agreed, closing his locker. “But when I win the tickets tonight, call me ’Mike The Great.’”

“You’ll be the one bowing down to me when I get those tickets.”

Michael smirked, shoving Gabriel a bit. The boy shoved him back, and they giggled before going their separate ways. While school can be boring as all hell, Gabriel always made it fun. Sure his other friends are great too, don’t get him wrong, but Gabriel made it the best and vice versa. Gabe gets him in ways that no one else ever will, and that he will always hold on to.

Nothing could ever tear them apart.

Michael bordly gets his notebook and pencil out like he’s told to, but instead of taking notes, he writes down the cool things that he and Gabriel can do with the dart gun. All of the games they can play, what colors they can paint it, the list goes on. He doesn’t hesitate to add pictures, he’s pretty good at drawing. Gabe always thinks that his drawings are cool. That’s more than enough of a reason to add the pictures. Gabriel’s words of affirmation are all that he needs.

And just like usual, he can’t stop himself from doodling pictures of Gabriel near the back of the notebook. He really likes him, but god forbid he opens his mouth and says that. It’s not really something that you just outright say, let alone to someone who is the same gender as you.

No, Michael is perfectly content keeping his mouth shut. He can dream about them being together all that he wants, but it would never be a reality. He’s definitely tried lightly hinting it, but either Gabriel is just that stupid, or is choosing to not acknowledge it for the sake of their friendship. If that’s the case, he will more than willingly back off. If it’s just because Gabe is stupid, well, he may as well still do the same thing. It’s a fleeting crush, after all. He’s sure that it’ll disappear soon. He can at least secretly indulge until it finally fades. His friendship with the boy is more important than stupid butterflies anyway.

He sighs, leaning his face against his cheek. He stares at the page of dumb doodles of his friend, adding a flower to his hair on one picture for good measure. He likes how Gabriel fluffs up like a cat when he’s angry, and he certainly likes the way he looks when he’s forced to put his glasses on. Mike finds himself drawing glasses on one of the many doodles. He lets out a content sigh, before turning to a new page and starting another doodle.

This is normally how his school days go. Sometimes he and Gabriel skip class, sometimes they cause a ruckus that drives their teachers insane, and other times they pick on other kids who are more often than not, simply innocent bystanders. Granted, it’s more light jabs than what they do to his brother and sister.

It’s just their thing, and he thrives in it.

The moment school ended, Mike practically ran out of class and to his locker. He and Gabe talked about their plans excitedly, and Mike couldn’t wait. They would be at the pizzeria for a short while since it was his brother’s birthday. Henry was helping monitor Mari’s birthday since his father wouldn’t be able to stay. Not to mention he had work at their other restaurant that was opening, it was their reason for staying at Henry’s place in the first place. He preferred it, it’s nicer with Henry.

Michael fist bumped Gabe before they parted ways. Mike is grateful that Henry allowed him to invite a few of his friends. Issac and Clair didn’t really want to go, but with Gabe promising that they were going to get the dart gun that night, well…they decided to at least stay for a bit. The party was the perfect time to get tickets! When they ran out, they could just steal off of other kids in the pizzeria. It’s not like they’d be able to do anything about it.

He runs out the building and practically jumps into Henry’s car. He shoves his bag down by his feet and scrunches up when Henry ruffles his hair. “Hey sport!”

Michael gently pushes at the man’s hand. “Hi Uncle Henry.” He says, fixing his hair. He fastens his seatbelt, eager to get to the pizzeria.

“Ready to party Mari?” Henry asks his brother who doesn’t say anything. Mike looks back at him, giving him a face.

“I guess..” Mari finally speaks up, shrugging.

“That’s it?” Mike snaps, relishing in the way the boy seizes up.

“Now Michael,” Henry starts, causing the boy to turn around. “Everyone can get nervous on their big day. The point is to have fun, right?” He asks, eyeing Mike.

Said male shrinks in his seat, crossing his arms gently so as to not bother his burn. “Yes.” He mutters out.

“That’s right!” Henry says enthusiastically, ruffling Mike’s hair again much to his dismay. “Now let’s all help Mari have fun!” Henry looks at the boy through the rear view mirror. “Think you can do this Mari?”

Mari nods, wringing his hands together. Lizzie immediately pats Mari on the head. “I promised Daddy to help him out!” She announced proudly.

“Mind if I help you?” Charlie pipes up, smiling softly.

“Of course! Think of all the fun we will have.” Lizzie excitedly bounced in her seat. They didn’t have to ask about Charlie’s twin brother Sammy. If Charlie was included, so was he. He wasn’t much of a talker anyway.

Michael rolls his eyes at all of them. Honestly, he just wants to get there so he can hang out with Gabe more. Issac and Clair are a bonus, but not as much as Gabe is. Plus he only wants them there for extra pepperoni pizza. He’s a growing boy, and he’s gotta eat. Not to mention a bunch of Mari’s classmates will be there. Mike has seen the way some of them act, they are gross. He’d rather eat off of his brother and sister’s plates. While they can be gross, they at least know how to clean up before touching their food.

As if on cue, his stomach growls. He decides to hide it by leaning against the window, watching everything zip by. Soon enough they arrive and Mike quickly digs his Foxy mask out of his bag and hops out of the car, not bothering to wait on everyone else. He knows that Gabe and the others aren’t there yet, but he wanted to be as far away from his family as possible. He puts the mask on his head, already making his way to the arcade.

Thump!

Mike stumbles a bit, rubbing his head and looking up at the figure who he ran into. He freezes in place at the sight of his father. Guess it was too good to be true that he had already left for the other location.

“S-Sorry Sir.” He quickly apologizes, cradling his hands to his chest.

He watches his father brush his hands across his vest much like he was brushing away dirt. “Of course you are.” He says, not bothering to look at Mike. Mike doesn’t move. It’s not because he doesn’t want to, he just doesn’t know if he’s aloud to. His father looks back down at him giving a sigh. Mike watches him dig into his vest pocket. He hears a few ’clinks’ of what sounds like change. “Here,” William says, holding his hand out to Mike. Michael quickly opens his hand towards his father, accepting whatever it is the man was giving him. “They were littered everywhere, just do something with them.”

Mike looks down at the small handful of tokens. He lights up a bit at the sight of them, pulling them close. “Thank you, sir.” He says, only to be brushed off with a wave of his father’s hand. He watches the man walk away. Of course, he’s heading right towards Henry. Mike watches the way his father gets a bit too handsy with Henry. He makes a face before forcing himself to move. He makes his way to the arcade and decides to play a few games to work on getting more tickets before the others arrive. He left Gabe in charge of keeping all of their tickets, and he’s excited to show off how many they’ve collected.

He feels fired up. He was starting to lose his edge when he ran into his dad, but the thought of Gabe struck a match in him. He pulls off his jacket and quickly ties it around his waist. He knows that the bandages on his forearm are unsightly, but he needed all of the movement he could get. He smoothed his gray tank top, staring competitively at the machine in front of him. He cracks his knuckles and slips a coin in, beginning his battle.

He manages to collect around 60 tickets by the time the others arrive. He claps Gabe’s hand, presenting his prize.

“Only 100 more to go!” Gabriel exclaims happily, adjusting his Bonnie mask.

“I admit, I’m impressed.” Clair says, crossing her arms.

“Yeah, didn’t they start like last month?” Issac asked as he looked upon the mountain of tickets that they had.

“You bet we did!” Gabe exclaimed proudly. “We’ve been working our asses off.”

“For a gun that shoots darts? What’s so impressive about it?” Clair asks as she peeks at the small mountain.

“Like everything!” Mike quickly jumps in. “We can shoot all of the darts at annoying brats that get in our way.” He raises his arm triumphantly.

Clair faked fear. “Michael!” She gasped out. “Shooting children? I thought you were better than that!” She pressed her hand to her forehead. “Oh, I feel faint!”

Issac took his cue, catching her as she fell back. “Oh the horror!” He joined in.

Mike rolled his eyes. “Like you two wouldn't do it.”

Clair laughed and slapped him on the arm. “Oh you bet I would!” She said enthusiastically.

“What easier way to get them off a machine than to annoy them.” Issac commented.

“Hey Mike,” Gabriel spoke up as he rounded the tickets back up. “You okay?” He asks, glancing at Mike’s forearm. Mike shoved his arm away from view. He figured Gabe would ask about it. Clair and Issac never did. It was sort of their dynamic: Gabe worries about Mike and vice versa, Clair worries about Issac and vice versa. It showed who was the most close with who, but it’s what they all knew. Gabe was the one who brought them all together to begin with. There was one thing they all had in common, it was bullying. That’s when they all really got together.

“I’m fine.” Mike quickly responded, trying to untie his jacket from around his waist. Gabriel grabbed his hands, brown eyes worriedly looking up into his own blue. Mike could feel the light blush creep up on his cheeks.

“You don’t have to cover it.” He gently says, releasing Mike’s hands. “If you need to talk, I’m here.”

Mike wishes he could slap him, but he also wishes he could kiss his cheek. He refrains from both. “I know.”

“That was an intense moment, boys.” Clair says as she rests her Chica mask on her head.

Gabe rolls his eyes. “Gross, Clair.” He comments. Mike would never admit to the hurt he felt at the comment. “Anyway, when’s Mari’s party starting?” He asks to change the subject.

Mike looked up at the Fredbear clock above the arcade. “Should be anytime now. Want me to go ahead and ask Uncle Henry for the tokens?”

“Please.” Gabe asked as he slipped his jacket off and tied it around his waist as well. “I wanna get this going before this place closes.”

“Me too.” Mike agreed. He pushed off of the machine that he was leaning against and dug into his pocket and handed Gabriel the last few tokens that he had. “Found a few.” He commented as he left to retrieve the tokens.

It wasn’t hard to get ahold of his cup of tokens. Henry may have young kids, but he’s always seemed to understand a bit more on how teenagers work compared to other parents. He lets Mike have them without resistance, and Mike thanks him. He ignores the loud kids running around him, easily making his way back to his friends.

And thus his and Gabe’s adventure for the remaining 100 tickets began. By the time Mari had to blow out the candles on his cake, they already had 50. Mike stayed long enough to finish singing ‘Happy Birthday’ (by force) and practically ran off to finish what they had started.

It was only after bullying a few kids for their tokens that Mike noticed his brother crying. Clair and Issac hi-fived, masks pulled over their faces. Gabe had his own mask on and was tuning into Mike. “What’s he crying for?” Gabe asks, lifting up his mask.

Michael’s initial response was to comfort, but it was easily smeared away by Gabriel. Mike huffs angrily. “Who knows! He’s always ballin’ about something. It’s annoying.”

Clair leans up on him. “Wow, your brother is a crybaby.” She laughs, Issac easily joining in with his own laugh.

“I can’t imagine living with that all the time.” Issac comments.

Gabe looks at Mike, smirking. “Wanna give him something to really cry about?”

And Michael would use the excuse that he got caught up in the moment. Whatever Gabriel said, Mike was always all ears to listen. It could be a dumb idea, and he’d still do it. Gabe had Mike wrapped around his finger, and he didn’t even know it.

“Why is that even a question?” Mike smirked, adjusting his Foxy mask. Gabe and the other two easily copied Mike’s motions, all of them gathering around Mari.

This is the moment that Mike felt himself having Derealisation. He knew that he was playing through the motions of bullying his brother, but it didn’t feel real this time. He knows that he shoved his brother around a bit, all four of them scaring him, and more. He knows that they picked him up and walked him over to Fredbear, and he knows that it was his idea. He felt himself finally coming back when they shoved his brother’s head into Fredbear’s mouth. He felt himself laugh at the pathetic cries of his brother. He could feel the way Gabe was leaning into him, laughing against him. It felt right, and he loved the soft puffs of Gabe’s breath against his neck.

Until he didn’t feel it anymore.

The loud crunch that reverberated off of his ear drums was the only thing he could comprehend. Everything else around him went deathly quiet. He could feel the way the blood trickled down his cheek. It was still warm, just like his brother was mere seconds ago. In his hands.

Sobbing and fighting in his grasp.

“Fuck this! I’m outta here!”

Clair and Issac didn’t stay.

“Mike, c’mon!” Gabriel shook him. “Dude let’s go!” He didn’t budge.

Soon enough he was left alone.

”Mi…el!”

His brother wasn’t moving. He was dangling there like a flimsy toy stuck under something.

”Mich…!”

Red stained Fredbear’s mouth. It’s all he can see. Red. So much red.

He can hear the way Mari screamed at him. Begged him to stop, yet he didn’t. He didn’t stop. Why didn’t he stop?

”Michael!”

He can hear his ears ringing— He looks up to see Henry. He can see a look of concern and anxiety written in his features. He doesn’t understand why he’s here, but he is.

He’s still here.

There’s so much blood-

He feels like he’s hyperventilating! He can’t breath, he can’t see-

He blacks out.

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Chapter Text

Michael’s fingers lightly touched the swollen bruise on his lip. He let out a hiss, yanking his hand back. He sighed, resting his hands on the counter of the sink. He took a good look at himself in the big mirror that rested above the sink. He could feel hate filling up inside of him just by simply looking at his reflection. He wanted so badly to punch the mirror. Break it like he breaks everything else—but then the school would have a fit. Instead, he slams his fist on the counter, before resting his face in both of his hands, elbows resting on the counter. He takes in a breath, holding it, before letting it out shakily.

He can’t cry. Not again.

He knows he’ll get in trouble for skipping English class again, but he couldn’t bear to go. Clair and Issac have the same class, and the way they look at him is enough to deter his want to go. The two of them weren’t afraid to whisper about him. They would do it just loud enough for him to hear. They know that before, he would have snapped at them for such behavior. Now?

Now he won’t do a single fucking thing.

Clair and Issac pretend that they weren’t present at the party. People would ask, they would deny it. Even if anyone asked if they were friends they would deny it.

He doesn’t blame them.

After what happened…

Mike doesn’t want to remember what happened. He woke up in a panic at the hospital. He was frantic, the doctors tried to calm him down, but it was his father’s hand on his shoulder that made him go quiet. He hadn’t even noticed that he was there.

He forced himself to calm down. He didn’t want to risk making anything worse, not with the cold look on his father’s face.

When the police had come in to ask about everything that happened, well…

Mike was absolutely petrified.

“It was all me, I did it!” He had managed to cry out. Yelling about how it was all his fault. Yelling and crying that no one else was there but him, and that it was all him and his decisions alone, though the camera at the pizzeria would beg to differ.

“I made them do it!”

One of the officers had locked their jaw at the statement. The other wrote down the information, tapping at the paper for a moment. She turned to her partner, scratching her head. “That correlates.”

And that’s how Mike figured out that he was in this all on his own. He didn’t want to admit to the feeling of betrayal.

“Then let’s question Mr. Emily again.” Her partner tried, and they both agreed.

“Anything else I can assist you with, officers?” William asked, arms behind his back, hands gripping together harshly.

“It’s alright Mr. Afton. Your statement was all that we needed.” The female officer said with a small smile.

The two officers left, and Michael slowly lifted his eyes up towards his father. If looks could kill, William’s eyes would have struck him down.

“Is…I-Is Mari alright?” He hoarsely asked. “C-Can I see him?”

William looked him up and down in the hospital bed. It was the look of anger that made him back off and shrink under the gaze.

”He’s dead”

Michael had felt a piece of him leave that night. He was so sure that he would get arrested, that he would have to clean up his own mess—which he fully agreed with. He did this, he deserved to have his life thrown away for his mistake. He was left on house arrest for an entire month until suddenly, he wasn’t.

Henry had come to see him, giving him a big hug. Like a hug could fix everything he was feeling. Like it could fix the fact that he murdered his brother.

“It’s going to be okay, Mike.” Henry whispered gently into his ear. “You don’t have to worry about it, everything is fine.”

Maybe it was meant to bring Michael peace, but it did the opposite. It brought him agony. He wasn’t going to jail, he wasn’t paying for his crimes.

The pizzeria was. Henry and his father were paying. He got off scot free, able to live a normal life. Well, as normal as one could after all of that. His father made sure to congratulate him with a beating across his back. He knows that he deserved every agonizing moment.

Michael quickly turns on the tap water. He cups his hands under the fountain and splashes his face a few times. He could feel his heart pounding, ready to leap out of his chest. His breath is rapid and all he can hear is the water. He stares up at his face, water dripping from it. The dull, tired blue eyes stare back at him.

He shakes with anger, and has to hold himself back from the thought of punching the glass again. He decides to skip the rest of his classes that day. He stays and hides outside where him and Gabriel often do when slipping. Gabe hasn’t been back there since it all happened. Around the second month, they ended up crossing paths briefly out there, but the teen turned on his heel and left. Since then, Mike hasn’t seen him. Besides from the awkward encounter during a class they share, they don’t talk to each other.

It’s going on almost 4 months, and everyone will still talk like what he did is the biggest hot topic. Teachers would get mad and force the students to quiet down, but realistically they too were talking about it behind closed doors. A few of his teachers would ask other students to pass something to him. They didn’t want to be near him, and he didn’t really blame them.

Everything is different, and he knows that every eye that he feels is on him is looking at him with disdain.

Michael hides his face in his knees, closing his eyes. He tries to stay calm. He tries to relax. Luckily for him, he manages to. School ends in the blink of an eye this time. Different from the mundane dragging and blurring together. He trudges his way outside, not even bothering to grab his homework or his bag. He drags himself to Henry’s car and slowly climbs in. He feels a hand on his shoulder, but no amount of comfort from Henry would make him feel better. He should be grateful that the man is the one picking them up, but he just feels guilt. Getting into the car feels like a chore these days.

“Hey Mike!” Henry says cheerily. Michael remains quiet, but Henry fully expected it. “How was school? Get into any fights?”

“…”

“I bet you won if you did.” And the waggle of Henry’s brows was enough to make a small smile appear on his lips.

“Daddy!” Charlie scolds, bapping Henry’s head gently. “That’s not okay to say!”

Henry chuckles. “Sorry!” He says, smile big on his face. He then ruffles Mike’s hair. “Hey, if you ever need to talk, I’m all ears.” The man says, pushing some hair away from one of his ears. “Literally! Look how big these things are.”

Mike’s lips quirk again, and he hates himself for it. Henry seems to leave it at that, because the car ride is quiet, save for Charlie and Lizzie talking in the back.

Him and Lizzie didn’t talk after what happened. The only thing she ever said afterwards was call him a ’Bloody bully!’ which was a harsh comment in its own. He didn’t fight her on it, however. Simply let her yell it and blow a raspberry at him and stomp her foot, proceeding to never speak to him ever again. He knows that she has whispered mean things about him to Charlie, because the girl would look at him before scolding Elizabeth on whatever she said. Sammy didn’t say anything. He would look at Mike briefly before hiding away behind Charlie. That was enough of a response on its own.

Charlie is the only one who ever said anything to him besides Henry. She would try to invite him to things, do something to make him smile, and even give him candy. Despite how often he declined, she would sometimes still do it, little body full of determination. Mike is sure that she’s simply copying her father. If her dad is acting the same, why shouldn’t she?

There’s more to it, but this is what he believes.

Michael stares at everyone living their lives as they drive by. The kids playing, parents talking, and even some family moving into a house. Everyone is so much happier without him there to bother and destroy it.

By the time they park the youngest three bounce out and rush inside. Henry puts a hand on Michael’s shoulder to keep him there. “Hey kid, listen for a moment.” Henry starts, gently rubbing Mike’s shoulder reassuringly. It feels so much more comforting than the touches his dad gives him. “I’m not going to make you talk about what happened, alright?” The man continues. “I just want you to be aware that we do need to eventually. It’s not healthy to keep it in like this.”

Mike looks up at him defeatedly. He can see the look of worry that crosses the man’s face.

“Mike, it’s not your fault.” That’s a lie. “I have no regrets sticking up for you. You matter more to me than the pizzeria, and I will always stick by that.” Henry ruffles his hair. “I’m here for you sport. Talk to me when you feel ready.”

Michael doesn’t say anything. He can’t find the words, so instead he pushes Henry away, jumping out of the car and running inside.

He’s not ready. He’s never going to accept what happened was an accident. What happened was his fault. He deserves to feel horrible.

He deserves to feel horrible.

Yet, someone who will act like he’s the most interesting thing in the world will be there to tell him that he doesn’t.

Jeremy Fitzgerald is a perky 15 year old with short blond hair and striking green eyes. Jeremy grabs the last of his boxes from the moving van, plopping them down in his new room with a small huff. He leans back, wiping the back of his hand across his forehead, letting out a big ’Whew!. He then puts his hands on his hips, looking around and admiring the handiwork of all of the boxes that he brought in all by himself.

With a sniff and a fix of his glasses, Jeremy immediately tears into one of the boxes, already determined to unpack despite being exhausted. He had helped his parents move in their stuff, along with everything else. He opted to move his stuff in last, not that it bothered him. With the sun starting to set and sweep the town in reds, yellows, and oranges, he’s ready to begin his new life here in Hurricane.

“Jeremy!” He heard his mother call from the kitchen. “Pizza’s here.”

As if on cue Jeremy’s stomach growled loudly. The blond licked his lips before dashing into the kitchen. The dining table was already placed along with the chairs, and on top of it sat the amazing pizza that welcomed him. “Thanks mom!” He quickly said, sitting down and grabbing a slice. “Mmmm~” he hummed.

“Slow down there sport!” His father laughed as he sat a can of soda beside him.

“Imposhibble!” Jeremy spoke with a mouth full of food. His mom gave him a look, handing him a paper plate. He quickly took it, already loading it with more pizza. He swallowed before tilting his head at his mother. “Sorry.” He apologized as he opened his can of soda.

“Well aren’t you determined.” His father spoke up as he grabbed a slice. “Ready for a doozy?”

“I’m all…ears!” Jeremy pushed his eyes forward at the statement, causing his parents to chuckle.

“Well Mr. Ears, a little birdie told me that you can start school next week.” Jeremy’s face fell a bit. “Or,” he perked back up. “You can start tomorrow-“

“Yes!”

“Jeremy, voice.” His mother scolded.

“Sorry.” He apologized again. “I would love to start tomorrow.”

“I knew you would. The principal asked me if you could handle it, well I told him I wasn’t worried. “

“Sweeeeeet~.” Jeremy cooed excitedly, trying desperately to keep his voice down. He chugged his can of soda without shame.

“Well if that’s the case, hurry and eat.” His mother commented. “Your father and I will worry about cleaning up. You head to bed Jere.”

“Yes Mam!” Jeremy easily responded, shoveling more food in his mouth.

“If you complain about being tired, it’ll be your fault.”

“Yes Mam!”

“And make sure you take your medicine tonight, I don’t want you to be all worried tomorrow.”

“Yes Mam!”

“Atta boy.” His mom ruffled his hair.

Jeremy finished eating as quickly as he could. He quickly ran back to his room to pick out clothes for the next day, and downed his meds with the remainder of his soda. He made sure that his contacts and solution were out and ready as well. He didn’t want anything to hold him back.

Jeremy Fitzgerald is on a mission.