GAME OVER: a Be More Chill fic

Level 16

Jeremy couldn't wipe the dopey smile off his face as he swept through the front door of his house. He called a quick hello to his father in the living room, kicked off his boots, and scurried upstairs.

He'd just left Michael's in a hurry; Mr. Mell had gotten home, drunk and loud, and Michael had ushered Jeremy out the door.

"I'll be fine," he assured Jeremy. "You know it happens all the time."

Of course he was worried, but even Michael's dad couldn't spoil Jeremy's mood. He was still in awe of what had just happened, and not entirely sure it wasn't a dream.

Jeremy practically danced into his bedroom. He shrugged off his coat, imagining little birds carrying it away, humming to himself that one song from Sleeping Beauty. He couldn't recall the name of it.

"Once Upon A Dream," the Squip offered.

"Yeah, that's the one!" He did a little twirl and swooned back onto his bed like he imagined a Disney princess would. "Squip... I think I'm in love."

"I told you not to address me directly like that. We agreed that it's weird." He sat next to Jeremy on the bed. "But yes, judging by your current levels of oxytocin, I'd say you're very fond of Michael."

"Very very," Jeremy sang. "He's my Prince Charming, Squip."

The Squip let that one slide. He was positively beaming. "It's a good thing this all went according to plan."

Wait. Jeremy's head tilted. "What? No it didn't, we had to change course twice."

"Well, actually..." He stood and faced Jeremy, arms clasped behind his back, standing easy. "The failure of the first plan, and the second, was part of a grander plan of my own design."

"Wait -- " Jeremy sat up abruptly. "Are you serious? All of this was planned?"

"Correct. I came up with a borderline cruel course of action at first, one that you would never be able to follow -- ignoring Michael and the like. I expected you to break very quickly with that." He crossed the room, half pacing and half marching. "Then, I prompted you to 'realize' that you truly wanted to forget Michael. You never really wanted this, but I made you believe you did with simple psychology."

"I can't believe this -- "

"I'm not finished." The Squip stopped pacing and relaxed a bit as he found patience. "I knew you would optic nerve block him again, and I knew when Brooke would mention his name. The attempts I made to stop you from seeking out Michael once the illusion was broken were false attempts. I knew that Michael would be angry -- or, rather, I knew he would feign anger in the interest of hiding his true emotions."

"He was never really mad?" Jeremy questioned, his voice small.

The Squip chuckled. "No, he wasn't. He was feeling the same way you were -- unrequited love. It was by my design that you binge-drank and self-harmed that night, too, Jeremy."

"Alcohol messes you up, though. That was all me," he pointed out.

"You honestly think I couldn't have stopped you?" The Squip laughed again, less calm and more manic. "I could have forced you to pick up the bottle and smash it before a drop passed your lips. I could have forced you to throw the knife out the window. I chose not to, because sacrifices had to be made in favor of the grand scheme. If you hadn't been injured, Michael never would have been concerned and come up to you at school in the morning, and you never would have talked at lunch or at his house, and you never would have kissed."

Jeremy's heart was pounding in his ears now. Fear filled him at the idea of the Squip having total control of his actions.

"I could take over, but I won't." he assured Jeremy. He sat down beside him again. "We've discussed this. Anyway, to sum up, I've had everything under control the whole time. And it worked out, didn't it?"