Awww, a Puppy! (Be More Chill, Werewolf AU, Boyf Riends Oneshots)

The Addiction

In their high school years, Jeremy's relationship with his mother became increasingly terrible. As easy as it would be to blame all of it on her, they all knew, deep down, that they couldn't. Of course it had been her who had started down the dangerous path, but addictions hit hard. As it turns out, she wasn't strong enough to fight back against the blows. Her life had become warped and muddled. After a certain point, even her husband and son, whom she loved dearly, seemed obsolete to her.

It wasn't entirely her fault that she was the way she was.

Neither Jeremy nor his father could bring themselves to hate her. She had been so wonderful not a year ago. She had been kind, caring, and loving. She would encourage her husband to reach for promotions and would smile fondly every time that she saw Jeremy and Michael together. She seemed to have a super power deep within that allowed her to see their love for one another and the electricity that sparked between them even before the two of them could feel or acknowledge it fully.

But then the drugs and addictions came into play and everything went from normal and fine to constantly awful and worrisome.

Jeremy avoided his home as much as possible to stay away from her. Whether she was on the drugs or not, she was horrible. Either the drugs would alter her personality, or her rage would spike when she wasn't on them and she would become hell-bent on finding something- anything- to cure the pain and fury that burned from deep within and boiled over.

Mr. Heere liked to pretend that his wife hadn't changed and that it was his own fault. It was easier that way. It was simpler to swallow, quicker to process, easier to believe. It was safer to think that he was the problem so that he could avoid it. It made him happier- or, rather, less depressed- to think of his wife as a beautiful, magnificent, perfect Goddess and think of himself as a mess that had thrown a wrench into their marriage. Mr. Heere wished that he was the one completely at fault. At least that way, maybe he could fix things.

Jeremy, on the other hand, was at a loss. He was constantly up and down. His uncertainty as to who to blame fueled his anxiety almost as much as his mother's actions themselves. He blamed his mother for taking the drugs in the first place, his father for not stopping her, and himself for not being a better son. 

Michael was usually a calm and level-headed person. The recent circumstances, however, were really throwing things out of whack, though. He loved the Heeres, but he loved Jeremy the most. Jeremy had been his friend for years and he adored him with every aspect of his being. Jeremy was his best friend and knowing what was going on was heart-wrenching.

Michael was already a bit of an overprotective friend, but things became worse once things with Jeremy's mother went downhill.

Jeremy was getting less sleep and was constantly on edge. He flinched a lot and Michael would, occasionally, notice bruises appear on his pale skin. The first few times, he brushed it off. He believed that either he was imagining them or Jeremy was hurting himself doing stupid things, as per the usual (he had an awful tendency to trip on his own shoe laces).

However, Michael would later come to find out that Jeremy was being abused by his mother, both verbally (which explained the constant pain in Jeremy's eyes) and physically (which explained the bruises and marks).

Michael picked up on Jeremy's hints more and more as the problems became worse and worse.

Jeremy's eyes were usually the picture of a beautiful, cloudless sky. Recently, however, they were darker. They were the stormy sea overflowing with negativity and self-loathing. The choppy seas lapped at the edges of his pupils. The harsh winds battered at his irises. The pain of the stormy sea was obvious in Jeremy's expressive eyes. They always looked as though they were either holding back tears or brimming with exhaustion, and if was often both of these things.