Spotlights

MICHAEL MAKES AN ENTRANCE!!!

(TIME SKIP LIKE A WEEK LATER: IT'S PROM NIGHT- er... day? Um... IT'S THE DAYTIME CURRENTLY AND THE PROM WILL HAPPEN LATER) 

(IM SORRY, I'M VERY BAD AT THIS-) 

Evan stood in front of his door. In less than 12 hours, he would be at his senior prom, and despite him having a week to prepare,  he was still in no way ready. 

After several deep breaths to try and calm his nerves, Evan pulled his key out of his pocket and stuck it in the lock. Heidi would be working late once again, because no matter how many times they tried to repair their relationship, no matter how many times they exchanged 'I love you's', nothing would change. And Evan had learned to except that, because she was trying her best. But sometimes your best just isn't good enough. 

No one was supposed to be home, and Evan fully expected to spend the next several hours having an exstesential crisis before dragging himself out of bed to get ready. So it was a shock to see a familiar face lying on his couch, headphones on and DS in hand. 

"H-hey, Michael." 

The boy in the red hoodie leaned his head over the side of the couch so he was looking at everything upside down and grinned. 

"Hey, Ev!" 

"What are y-you doing here?" 

"Jeremy and Mr.Heere came over to hang with your mom before she left for work, they went home but she asked me to stick around and make sure you got home in one piece." he said, lowering his headphones before giving Evan a once over with his eyes, "Looks like you're still intact. Physically anyway." 

Evan smiled weakly, taking a spot on the couch next to Michael. The boy adjusted his glasses and shoved his DS in his bag, marked with the faded letters of the word 'riends'. 

"Everything okay, dude?" Michael asked, crossing his legs in front of him. 

"Yeah, I'm just nervous." 

"Evan, you're always nervous." Michael jokingly poked him, causing Evan to smile. 

Michael had become sort of a big brother to him, he'd almost always ditched what he was doing if Evan needed to talk, unless he was with Jeremy, and had done no shortage of teasing.      

"Yeah, but I actually have a reason this time." Evan chuckled dryly, leaning back on the sofa. 

"And that is...?" 

"Prom." 

"Oh." Michael said, visibly relaxing. "Well that's not terrible, when is it?" 

"Tonight." Evan said, bracing his head between his hands.

"Oh shit." 

"Michael, you've got to help me." Evan said, turning to face the boy in red. "I have exactly 5 hours to get myself together and make myself look decent before Connor gets here. And I really need you to help me." 

His face was pleading, but Michael simply smiled. 

"Connor?" 

"Yes. Connor. I have a date, shocking I know. Now can you please help me?" 

"I don't know, Ev... what's in it for me?" 

"I'll get you a week's supply of slushies and sushi." Evan said, face deadpan. 

"Deal. Let's go." Michael grinned, grabbing onto Evan's arm and pulling him upstairs.  He was practically thrown on the bed as the short haired brunette started digging through his closet. 

"Ev, please tell me you got a tux..." Michael sighed when all his clothes were littered across the floor. 

"N-no." Evan mumbled, his gaze falling onto the bed. 

Michael sighed again, leaning against the wall, "Alright, well we don't have time to get you one, clearly, so we'll have to work with what we've got." 

Michael's goofy grin returned, and Evan matched it with one of his own. The boy's happiness was infectious, another reason Evan enjoyed hanging around him. 

"Let's to work!" 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  

It took four hours of relentless searching, several trips to Walmart, and several snack breaks until Evan was ready. He rolled his eyes as he emerged from the closet and Michael let out an obnoxious whistle and started clapping.  

"Really though, you look good, Ev." he said, standing from the bed. 

"Thanks." 

Evan glanced at himself in the mirror, and even he was taken aback by his own appearance. They had decided to go simple on the outfit, a tight fitting, dark blue button up and jeans. 

They'd done and redone his hair more times than Evan could count. There'd been a moment when they'd broken down and Michael tried to curl it, which only resulted in the boy getting a slight burn. Eventually Michael just opted to brush it and see what happens. 

Evan, somehow, managed to pull off the simplicity of it all. 

So, he was ready, but there was still an hour to kill before Connor showed up. 

"Hey, Michael." Evan asked, tugging his sleeves over his hands, an old habit he'd yet to shake. (I actually do this all the time, it's the reason I don't really wear t shirts without a jacket or hoodie of some sorts. It's just so uncomfortable to not have my hands covered idk why lmao. Alright sorry, you can go back to reading now-) 

"Mhm?" Michael looked up from his phone, meeting Evan's eyes in the mirror. 

"Wanna play Mario Kart?" 

The grin that appeared on Michael's face sent Evan into a burst of laughter. He could see why Jeremy had claimed this boy for a best friend, "Oh I'm so gonna kick your ass!"