Complicated || Be More Chill

Three

"Dude! You will not believe what just happened in the bathroom!" Jeremy said as soon as they found each other.

"I'm not even going to joke about how you said that," I said, already coming up with a few obscene comments.

"I don't need those in my life, Mikey."

"Since when was Mikey a thing?"

He ignored my question and instead took a glance into my locker while grimacing at its contents.

"Jeez, you should really clean that," he said pointed to the bottom of the locker. It was filled with crumpled paper and various unknown stains.

"Like yours is any better Jer?" I cooed while poking his shoulder, knowing his locker was in worse condition.

He gave me a shrug in response as I closed my locker.

"Oh, yeah, what we're you going to tell me you did in the bathroom?" I said with a laugh.

"Ha, ha, very funny. I didn't do anything in there. Or anyone," he added before I could reply with anything.

"Okay, so what is it?" I questioned, growing more and more curious the longer he stalled.

He waited before getting in my car to start explaining this thing called a SQUIP. It's a pill that tells you what to do to 'be more chill' and I'm​ having trouble believing it.

"-And all I have to do is give him 600 dollars!"

I raised my eyebrows as soon as he finished.
I pulled​ my car into the driveway as I processed​ this finishing piece of information.

"So what you're basically saying, is that you, Jeremiah Heere, would give 600 dollars, to someone who's tormented you since like, forever?"

He opened his mouth to speak, then closes it once the realization sinks in. "Oh... I'm totally being ripped off."

I snapped​ a finger gun at him and clicked​ my tongue, "Bingo."

I unlocked​ the front door and he follows me up the stairs to my room.

"Apocalypse of the Damned?" I asked​, holding up our controllers.

He nodded in agreement​, taking one from my hand.

We make it halfway through the level before both our characters are dead.

"Fuck! I hate this level!" Jeremy tossed his controller in front of him and crossed his arms. He had a frown plastered on his face but I gotta admit, he looked cute.

Our characters' death was my fault since I couldn't stop thinking about what he had told me about the SQUIP.

"Okay, okay, I'm going back to the SQUIP thing. If Rich isn't​ actually screwing you over and is telling the truth about all of this, why don't we just go check it out for ourselves?"

Jeremy turned to face me, "Really?"

I nodded, "Yeah. And bring your money."

-

"You sure this is it?" I said, pulling into​ a parking space in front of the nearby Payless.

"Yeah, this is it," Jeremy said while looking out the window.

"C'mon, let's go," I said. We unbuckle our seatbelts and walk into the store.

We headed​ for a cashier who was scrolling through his phone with a bored look on his face.

Jeremy coughed to get his attention.

He took one glance at us and said, "You here for a SQUIP?"

"H-how did you know?" Jeremy said with shock.

"Take one look at you, kid," he said with a laugh. "Anyways, it'll be 400."

"400?" He said, surprised. It was less than what Rich had told Jeremy.

"Is there a problem with that?" The cashier said, finally looking at Jeremy instead of his phone.

"Uh, n-no, if you insist," he stuttered while giving the cashier the money.

"Okay, I'll be right back," he said before walking into an unmarked door behind the counter.

"You're really going to do this?" I asked with uncertainty.

He nodded but his figeting fingers said otherwise.

Before I could tell him my doubts, the cashier returned from the room with something in his closed hand and a bottle of Mountain Dew.

"One thing about the SQUIP is that you must take it with Mountain Dew. I don't know why, but you have to," he said seriously.

"Okay, wait. Michael, you should take it," he said, turning to me. "You need it more than I do."

"Jeremy, no. I-I couldn't," I said to him.

"Just do it, Michael. Please? For me?" Jeremy pleaded.

"Alright, fine," I said, taking the pill from the cashier.

"Oh, wait, you were saying something important," I said to the cashier.

"Ah, yes. All sales final," he said with an almost evil smile.

"Here goes nothing... Well, everything," I corrected.

I placed the pill in my mouth and swallowed it along with a swig of Mountain Dew.

"How was it?" Jeremy asked.

"Minty," I replied.

"You feeling anything?" He asked hopefully.

I shake my head, "I think you just blew your bar mitzvah money on a wintergreen tic tac."

Jeremy frowned, unamused.

"You sure you aren't getting anything? You should try and say something cool!"

I laughed, "I don't think it works like that, Jer."

"Try tomorrow?" He suggested.

"Yeah, okay. Anyways, let's just go home. Your dad's probably wondering where you are."

Jeremy looked at me with a blank face.

"You forget that it's my dad," he said.

"Right, I'm sorry," I apologized.

"Nah, it's cool," he said, getting into my car.

"You wanna just stay over?" I asked, still feeling bad about bringing up his dad.

"Yeah sure, maybe we can beat Level Nine," Jeremy said cheerfully.

I laughed. "Yeah, maybe," I said, knowing we definitely wouldn't.

a/n: Here's a longer chapter (finally)