𝐬𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲 | 𝐦. 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐨𝐧

four.

michael walked on his own and the sounds of the whispers returned to him again. he heard someone call out his name and he huffed quietly to himself, doing his best to ignore it. that only worked for so long before the voice was walking alongside him. michael looked over and was met with a familiar face. none other than ricky. he seemed to be his replacement in his old friend group. dennis, jeremy, and joshua were quick to replace him. and they all started tormenting michael. they were the ones that had started the rumors. despite the fact that they were there and even helped him ‘kill’ evan, everyone believed them. he just wished they would leave him alone.

“i see you found yourself a new victim,” ricky said with the same snarky tone he always spoke to michael with. michael looked back forward and did his best to ignore him. he heard dennis, jeremy and joshua snicker behind him. they traveled in a pack like animals or something. they all followed after ricky. like sheep. michael couldn’t believe he ever acted like this. on top of that, he used to be the ring leader. god, this was ridiculous. “how do you plan on killing this one?”

“fuck off, ricky,” he muttered under his breath, his brows furrowing together as he grew frustrated. he couldn’t stand this moron and his three henchmen. 

“feeling a little feisty now are we, afton?” he said and chuckled softly. “better watch your mouth, don’t you remember where that got you last time? talk to me like that again and i’ll put you in your place. don’t forget you’re still a murderer.”

michael fell quiet, knowing ricky was right. unfortunately, michael was known as nothing more than a murderer and if he talked out of turn it never got him anywhere pleasant. he mumbled a quiet ‘whatever’ under his breath and sighed heavily to himself. ricky pushed michael into the lockers before running off with the guys. michael let out a groan as his arm met the lockers, losing his balance and falling flat on his ass. he cursed to himself and looked down at the ground, running his hands through his hair. he sat there in defeat, grateful that most people had already divided into their classrooms by this point. he felt eyes on him as a few people walked by, rushing to their classes so they weren’t too late. he felt a familiar tightness in his throat. he blinked back tears and let out a shaky breath. as he pushed the air out of his lungs it felt like needles prickling at his throat. michael slowly stood up as the bell rang and made his way to his class. he was late but he didn’t really care much. he wasn’t participating in class anyways. he never did.

after your separate classes, you and michael made your way to your shared history class. your class was closer so you got there before he did. when he walked in, you gave him a smile that lit up the whole room. he quickly looked away from you and went to his seat. he was gloomier than he usually was. you sighed and frowned, sulking to yourself. it seemed like every time you took a teeny step with michael you would take two more steps back. 

it’s only been a week, you thought to yourself. you needed to stop being so impatient. you had plenty more time to work things out with him and break down the walls he put up around himself. there were still a few months left of the school year. that would be more than enough time to get closer to him. you couldn’t give up so easy even if it was a little frustrating for you. you just needed to try and put yourself in michael’s shoes.

“you’re gloomier than usual,” you teased, your tone light-hearted. you walked up to michael’s desk after class ended and watched him collect his things so the two of you could leave. your comment earned a sigh from michael as he stood and put his bag over his shoulder. “don’t give me that. i was only teasing,” you assured him. he didn’t say anything as he walked past you and made his way toward the door. you followed after him and kept close even though he ignored you. you looked around as the two of you walked together, meeting the stares of everyone around you. you felt a bit uneasy as you reached forward to michael, putting your hand on his backpack to ensure that he didn’t get too far from you. 

one specific group caught your eye, four boys standing together and snickering as they looked at michael. you recognized three of them as michael's old friends. “you know them, don't you?” you inquired, looking up at michael and jerking your head to the group of boys. he glanced over at the boys you motioned to, his expression hardened before he quickly looked away. he nodded as he reached the doors and pushed them open. he let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair.

“they were my friends,” he mumbled as the two of you walked further away from the school.

“they didn’t seem very friendly,” you said, looking over your shoulder at the school building before looking back up at michael.

“they aren’t. they’re far from it but i wasn’t friendly either. that’s why we were friends,” he said, being a bit vague. his statement didn't make much sense but you knew what he meant. he was known for being a bully and so were all his friends. that's what he was referring to. 

“what an interesting friend dynamic,” you mumbled to yourself, tilting your head at an angle. “why did you stop being friends?” you asked, trying to gather information about michael while you could. the opportunity had presented itself and you didn't want to miss out. 

michael was quiet for a moment before letting out a sigh. “i don’t want to talk about it, y/n. it’s not your business anyways,” he mumbled coldly, glancing over at you just briefly. 

“sorry for asking,” you mumbled before looking away from him and fidgeting with the sleeves of your jacket. “anyways did you still want to go to the arcade?” you changed the subject as you looked back up at him and gave him your gorgeous smile. 

he thought about it. he would feel bad turning you down now since he had already said yes but he always didn’t want to kill the mood. he just nodded, not wanting to disappoint. he would get over it. he needed to go out. you gave a satisfactory reaction, your smile broadening as michael looked at you. when he saw your smile he knew it would be worth it and it would help him forget about the school day. 

you walked in silence again before parting ways outside of michael’s house. you waved goodbye before walking further down the street to your own house. the second you got home you started your homework so you could leave and go see michael as soon as possible. as you worked on some unfinished worksheets, michael impatiently waited for you. he kept his eyes glued to the clock, counting each minute that passed. he was getting antsy. he could not wait to get out of the house. he couldn't wait to see you.