𝐬𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲 | 𝐦. 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐨𝐧

two.

when the final bell rang, michael was first out of the classroom. he walked quickly to the front doors, jerking his shoulders out of the way so as to not run into anyone. he walked out the doors and off the school grounds, letting out a breath he felt like he had been holding all day. the walk home and lunchtime were the only moments he had to himself. no bullying, pestering or yelling for a bit until he got home. the very moment he stepped through his front door he would get an earful from his dad like he always does.

and he was right of course. the second his dad noticed him stepping inside he started spewing nonsense, telling michael he took too long to come home and getting on his ass about chores. he picked michael apart, bothering him more than the bullies at school. he pointed out michael’s outfit, his posture, how dirty he looked, his messy hair, the marks on his skin. he nitpicked everything he could about him. michael just couldn’t catch a break. 

“dad, please, i have homework,” he mumbled, looking up at his dad just briefly before looking away again. he wouldn’t dare to meet his eyes. there was a moment of silence, michael holding his breath and preparing for whatever his father would say or do to him. he looked down at the ground, fidgeting with the frayed strings of his ripped jeans.

“outta my sight. i don’t wanna see you the rest of the day since your homework is oh so much more important than talking to your old man. go,” he said, glaring and daring michael to argue.

michael nodded and mumbled a quiet ‘yes sir’ under his breath before walking away. he stepped into his room, taking a seat at his desk and letting out a heavy breath. he leaned over the surface of it and laid his head down on his arms. his eyes slowly shut and he was out before he knew it. he was so exhausted.

tomorrow is another day. 

unlike most other days he was actually looking forward to tomorrow because he knew he would see you again. or at least he hoped he would. you were his first normal interaction in months. even if you had just met he was happy to have met you. lucky enough for him, you did sit with him the next day. and the rest of the week in fact. the two of you didnt talk all that much but you were more than happy to just keep him company and he was happy to have you. you made his thoughts quiet. you didn’t push to get to know him right away like other people had tried to. you took your time with him and asked questions when they seemed appropriate. you were the kind of person he needed in a time like this. 

unfortunately, you didn’t see each other over the weekend but you knew you would see each other the next week. you waited impatiently for lunch to roll around on monday, checking the clock every now and then in each of your classes. when it finally did come, you got to michael’s spot before he did. you sat down and waited, unpacking your lunch and starting to eat. you looked up, smiling as you saw michael making his way to the tree. you waved him over and he sat next to you, leaning against the tree trunk.

“did you miss me over the weekend?” you teased, chuckling quietly to yourself as you passed him the snack you had packed for him. today it was potato chips.

“no, but i did miss these snacks,” he joked, looking up at you just briefly to gauge your reaction. you shook your head a bit and rolled your eyes as you suppressed a smile. even if he didn’t show much emotion, he always managed to make you smile with his jokes.

“well technically i provide the snacks so you did miss me,” you argued, sticking your tongue out at him. he rolled his eyes before opening the chips you had handed to him just moments earlier. the two of you ate quietly just as you had the week before, your soft humming filling the silence. you hummed along to the song stuck in your head, a song michael wasn’t familiar with. 

when lunch was over michael walked you to your class. after the first day you sat with him, he walked you to your class instead of you walking him to his so you wouldn't know that he lied about what class he had. he didn't want you to think he was just trying to get rid of you that day. you parted ways once the two of you were outside your classroom, saying your goodbyes and going through the remainder of your day. 

you and michael shared the same last period but by the time the bell rang, he was long gone. he was probably first out of the school building. he was always in such a rush to leave. he was always first out of the classroom everyday so it didn't come as a shock to you. you and michael walked the same way so you thought maybe you might run into him on your way home.

as michael was walking, he heard footsteps behind him. he didn't look over his shoulder, instead just pushing the sound out of his head just like he did with everything else. he didn’t know it was you. you lived down the street from michael. not that he ever noticed. it was a small town, hurricane utah. everyone knew everyone. you could walk anywhere in under half an hour. 

you walked up behind michael and gently put your hand on his shoulder. "hey, michael," you said and smiled. 

"hey, y/n," he looked up to watch where he was walking. "i didn't know you lived this way," he said and looked over at you. you pulled your hand away from his shoulder and shrugged. 

"guess i'm just full of surprises?" you said and laughed a bit. "i live just down the street from you," you said and put your hands under the straps of your backpack. 

"since when?" he asked and looked at you with a raised brow. he wasn't quite believing you. he was half convinced you were just following him home.

"since always. i’ve lived in that house at the end of the block since before you and your family moved here. my mom came over when you first moved in and gave you a welcoming gift. i think it was lemon squares or something. she said they were homemade but they were actually store-bought," you said and laughed softly. you rubbed the back of your neck and looked away from him. "don't tell her i told you though. she thought she sold it really well." 

"i knew they were store-bought," he said with a slight change in his tone. almost sounding proud. "anyways, that was your mom? she came by a few times actually she was always nice to me and my-" he stopped rather abruptly and cleared his throat.  

"your what?" you asked, encouraging him to finish. 

"nothing," he said and turned his gaze to the sidewalk, dropping his head. 

with the way he was acting, you felt like you should start listening to the rumors about him. you weren't one to obsess over gossip or get yourself involved but you had heard michael's name circulating around the school. he was all the talk as far as you could tell. for months you couldn't go anywhere without hearing something about him. that's what brought you to talk to him in the first place. that’s why you asked him to be your partner for the history project. not because you wanted to know what everyone was talking about, but because you wanted to be there for him. you had observed him from afar for a while before approaching him. you didn’t know what he did to make everyone get on his ass but you knew how it felt to be singled out and targeted. you were quiet and perceived as weird. and apparently so was michael. why not try to make friends with him? 

he was just more stubborn than you thought. it felt like you were talking to a wall. at this given moment, it was slightly irritating. maybe that was selfish of you though. he needs time. he's been endlessly bullied for months and you don't know why. you wanna be there for him. it's the very least you can do, right? you could be patient and wait for him. 

after not long of walking together in awkward silence, you parted ways and went home without even a goodbye. this would be a lot harder than you thought. when you got home you wished you had given michael your number. you were sure he wouldn’t have called or had the time to talk but you still wanted him to have the option. he probably thought you only talked to him out of pity or just because you were bored. you just wanted to be his friend. you pondered on what he must have done to be bullied like this while you did your homework, considering every wild scenario that popped into your head. none of it made sense to you.

__________

[a/n]

the amount of foreshadowing in this chapter is actually insane LMFAOO i heart foreshadowing teehee
anyways agrhagrga i havent been writing for this story lately. i have lots of chapters waiting to be posted but its still not finished. HOPEFULLY, with my posting schedule, i wont be too stressed out when it comes to posting later on but we'll see !! the future chapters are so good u guys i promise
don't forget to vote !! ily guys mwah