When It's Time

Chapter Four

A/N: Okay so, heads up – Jared is my favourite character in DEH and I am genuinely sorry about this...

"Jer!" Michael called excitedly from across the cafeteria, "I bought you a slushy."

Handing his friend the fiercely perspiring cup, they went to sit at their usual table before the others arrived. In Middle School they had sat outside under a tree by the science block, Junior year they sat in the maths faculty hallway but when the seniors left they took one of those tables in the cafeteria. Now they sat with the 'SQUIP Squad' as Rich had set their group chat name to.

A boy who Jeremy recognised as being in their year swaggered over to the table. What was his name? He remembered something about him in Middle School – he won a state maths competition and got in the paper, just to say that he hated maths and his mother had forced him to enter because she had been bragging about his maths skills at the Jewish centre since he was born. Was it Jason? Jack?

The boy grinned, "Hi Jeremy, not sure if Michael has told you about me; the names Jared."

Jeremy blinked, taken aback and shook Jared's outstretched hand, "No...no, Michael hasn't told me about you."

The Jared kid seemed unperturbed, grinning again and sitting next to Michael, much closer than what Jeremy would have liked were he dating Michael, which he wasn't which meant that he had no right to dictate who got to sit next to Michael or indeed to feel jealous about it. Not that he was. Feeling jealous.

"How's it going Mike?"

"Alright. And yourself Kleinman?"

"Alright," Jared cocked his eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders a little before leaning his elbows back on the table.

Jeremy hated him already. He was vile and cocky and way too self-absorbed to ever understand Michael properly.

"So, umm, Mike I've been thinking a lot about you lately. At first I was confused like we'd only been lab partners what, like once? But then we started talking a bit and you know, you're a really sweet guy and well, I kinda like you so, ya know, do you think you would find it 'alright' to go out with me? The new Star Wars is at the cinema Saturday and I've already seen it like, twenty times but I wouldn't mind going again, if you catch my drift."

Michael bit his lip and scratched his neck the way Jeremy knew he did when he had to make a tricky decision. "Yeah, that would be alright. Actually, it would be more than alright, a lot more," he said, laughing nervously.

"Cool, well I'll text you. See you in Bio!"

"Yeah, see you then!"

Jeremy gaped at him, "Wait, so how do you know that guy?" It was more of a demand than a question.

"He's been in my Bio class all year but he wanted to talk to me after the play happened. Just like, what, half the school did, but we actually kept talking so I suppose we're friends now."

"More than friends by the look of it." Jeremy's muttering was lost in the noise of the rest of the group coming to sit down. He had been planning to come out to everyone today but it looked like this would have to be postponed considering he seemed to have an appointment with an unplanned meltdown.

~ Time Skip ~

Michael hummed softly along to 'Because' by the Beatles as he drove him and Jeremy out of the school carpark. He had been driving his friend to and from school since the SQUIP incident which suited them both because it meant Jeremy didn't have to catch the bus and Michael didn't have to talk to anyone when he arrived at school without Jeremy being there.