𝐬𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲 | 𝐦. 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐨𝐧

seven.

once you were home, you undressed and got ready for bed since it was around that time. you showered, changed into pajamas and brushed your teeth before laying down and going to sleep. while you slept, michael laid wide awake in bed, replaying the events of the day before ricky came along. the endless teasing, your blinding smile, your lively laugh. he couldn’t get you out of his head. he rolled over onto his side and hid under his blankets before finally falling asleep to the thought of you.

the next morning, you woke up bright and early to get ready and make your lunch. you got dressed and did your hair, making sure it didn't look like you had just gotten out of bed. after getting dressed you went downstairs to the kitchen and made yourself a bowl of cereal for breakfast. you scarfed it down and put your bowl in the sink before starting to make your lunch. you kept michael in mind and made sure to pack enough to share with him. once you were finally ready, you were on your way out and walked to school. 

you didn’t run into michael on your walk to school but you figured he probably left a bit before or after you. either way you were bound to run into him because you had the same lunch and you shared a class together. you looked for him once you got to the school building, examining every boy with brown hair that was cut into a mullet. he wasn’t easy to spot and you didn’t end up finding him but it didn’t bother you too much. by the time lunch rolled around you still hadn’t seen him. not even in the halls. but you went to the tree where you and michael usually sat. you waited for him and after what felt like forever he finally walked up and sat down next to you. 

“i’ve been looking for you all day, you’re way too good at hiding,” you said and laughed quietly. you pulled out your lunch and gave him his share of food that you packed for him. “how have your classes been?” you asked and started eating.

“just fine, thank you,” he said bluntly as he stared at the food you had given him. he fidgeted in his place and cleared his throat. he was always rather blunt and monotone but something was off about him today. you fell quiet, waiting for him to eat but he never did.

the rest of the week was quiet and awkward between the two of you. you still sat together and you ate but michael didn’t. you still walked home with him but he didn’t talk. he was getting distant again. you weren’t sure if it was because of what happened with ricky or because of what happened with his dad after you brought him home that day. you knew if you asked he wouldn’t give you a straight answer so you didn’t bother. you tried to subtly ask but he never told you. you beat around the bush and he knew what you were trying to ask but he deliberately avoided it. he was too good at this.

on friday before you parted ways you stopped michael before he could get away from you just outside his house. you grabbed the sleeve of his oversized jacket and softly said his name. he turned to you, a look of surprise on his face. “are you okay?” he asked, politely shaking your hand off. he turned back to face you so your bodies mirrored each other. 

“yeah, i’m just fine. sorry,” you chuckled softly, realizing how awkward and sudden that was. you pulled your hand away from him and slid your backpack off your shoulders. you pulled out a pad of sticky notes and a pencil, quickly jotting down your number. “i wanted to give you this,” you said and took the sticky note off the pad before giving it to him. 

he took the small square of paper from you, reading over your number and smiling just briefly. “thanks, i’ll make sure to call and fill you in on all the gossip later,” he said, making the first joke in what felt like years even though it had only been a few short days.

“yeah whatever you say,” you said before ushering him to the path that led to his front door. “i’ll see you on monday, michael. don’t miss me too much and don’t do anything i wouldn’t do. bye bye now,” you watched him walk to his front door and step inside before walking off just as you did a few days ago. you wanted to make sure he got inside safe and wasn’t locked out or anything.

the remainder of friday and all of saturday went by pretty slow and you didn’t do much. you filled your days with writing, watching tv with your parents, hanging out in your backyard, cleaning (when you felt like it), and waiting for michael to call. michael did finally call on sunday morning, not long after you woke up. you rushed to the phone before anyone else since you had been waiting for it since the second you got home on friday. you weren’t even sure if it was michael but you were happy when you heard his voice on the other end.

“took you long enough. were you working up the courage to call or something?” you teased, twirling the cord of the phone around your finger. “i don’t bite, michael. you should know that by now,” you laughed softly, stretching out the wire of the phone as you hopped up on the counter of the kitchen.

“i didn’t want to keep you waiting too long,” he stated rather bluntly, ignoring your teasing. “i wasn’t scared, i was just waiting for a day my dad would be gone. he went to the park my little sister today. he doesn’t ever let me use the phone unless he monitors the call. i know he’ll see this on the phone bill later but he’s drunk all the time so he’ll probably just think it was himself,” he explained, fidgeting with the coil wire that connected the handheld part of the phone to the machine.

“ohh i see. have you missed me? i bet you’ve just been dying to call and talk to me,” you giggled softly, tapping your heels against the cabinet behind your feet. you were unable to just sit still and relax.

"i’m just calling because i knew you were waiting," he said and sighed quietly into the phone. “i wanted to make sure you gave me the right number too. i’m gonna get going now, okay? i’ll see you tomorrow at school, y/n.”

you were a bit disappointed with how the conversation went but mumbled a quick goodbye before he hung up on you. you pulled your phone away from your ear, staring in disbelief for a short moment before putting the phone back. the call didn’t leave your head all day. a call that barely lasted a minute was on your mind all day.

you made yourself a bowl of cereal and couldn’t help but wonder why he cut the call so short. you got dressed to walk down to the gas station as you replayed everything from the last time you saw him to figure out if there was anything you might have done to anger him. even when you were watching tv by yourself, you considered that maybe his dad came home and he had to leave. you walked upstairs to your room and asked yourself, am i bothering him?

your thoughts kept you awake but when you finally did fall asleep you tossed and turned all through the night. you woke up exhausted and frustrated with yourself for thinking so hard about the situation. it was so ridiculous. you shouldn’t be looking so deep into it and trying to create or fix a problem that wasn’t there. you hurried and got ready before walking out of your house and quickly making your way to school. you just needed to get this day over. this whole week. you already could tell this week wasn’t going to be easy and go by as smoothly as usual. michael was acting weird and you didn’t know what to do or how to fix it. 

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[a/n]

super boring chapter sorry guys :( the next chapter is pretty short (925 words) but a lot happens so hopefully that'll make up for it :) i really like the next few chapters so i hope you all will too. they're all pretty lengthy and a lot happens !! i'm so excited.