Boyf riends: A New Chapter

Chapter Twenty Eight

~Rich's POV~

I groaned as Michael went backstage, he wouldn't listen to me. I had to think of another way to help Michael. I watched him talk with Jeremy, his acting was great, but I kept thinking that if his Squip was taken, it wouldn't be that way. I sighed and walked over to Mr. Reyes, who was running the show at the moment.

"Mr. Reyes, is there an intermission?" I asked in a hushed tone.

"No, it's all in one shot" He replied, still keeping an eye on the production. I nodded and walked away, would I have to wait until after the show to tell Jeremy?

-

Apparently, I did. The play had just ended and we were all doing our group bow, I looked over at Michael. He looked sad, like he didn't want to be here and I already knew the reason. As we walked off the stage, I grabbed Jeremy and pulled him towards me.

"What the hell dude?" He asked with confusion.

"It's about Michael" I said quickly, making his eyes widen and his expression change to worry. I walked over to an empty bench backstage and sat down, Jeremy following my actions. "He got a Squip"

"What?!" He said in a raised tone, making a couple of heads turn. I smiled at them and turned back to Jeremy.

"You heard me, he's at least had it for a week now"

"A WEEK?!?!" He said even louder then before, making everyone give us weird looks. I'm glad Michael wasn't here or he would know what I was talking about.

"Yes, be quiet!" I shushed him and he nodded in response. "He was talking to himself on multiple occasions and he's a completely different person now, how couldn't you have noticed?" He looked down, looking a bit guilty. I huffed and stood up, going to get the bottle of Mountain Dew Red from my bag. "You have to give this to him as soon as possible. He won't listen to me."

He nodded and took it, staring at it like his life depended on it. "Thanks Rich" He smiled and dashed off, leaving me to hope that it would work.

~Jeremy's POV~

Holy fuck

I had to get to Michael as soon as possible, I couldn't believe he had gotten another Squip! I looked all throughout backstage, but he wasn't there. I asked some of my friends where he was, i even asked Mr. Reyes, none of them knew. I walked to the stage, hoping that I might find Michael there. Surprisingly, I did but he was... performing?

"What are you, like, an acorn?" He said with a scoff, facing nothing. I'm assuming he didn't notice me, not until I tapped him on the shoulder. "Michael?"

He jumped a bit, turning around to face me. "Jeremy! Wh-"

"What were you doing just now?" I interrupted him. He paused for a moment, like he was waiting for something

"I was just remembering the play, I really enjoyed it and I wanted to try acting again!" I was completely confused, that seemed odd. I just shook my head and held up the drink.

"Michael, I need you to drink this" He backed up a bit, still smiling though.

"I'd rather not" He said with a chuckle. He was about to run away, but I grabbed him by the arm, making him stay.

"Michael, I know" I said in a concerned tone. For a split second, I saw him show a look of worry but right after, it went back to his fake face of confusion.

"What are you talking about?" This was when I knew, he wouldn't cooperate with me. He wouldn't give it up, his Squip had been with him for too long and was most likely controlling his actions and his words.

"I'm sorry in advance" I whispered. He opened his mouth to say something, giving me the perfect chance to pour the Mountain Dew Red in his mouth. He tried to push me away and close his mouth, but I wouldn't let him, I held his mouth open and kept him near me, pourjng a bunch of the red drink. He wasn't swallowing for quite a while but when he finally did, I moved my hand away as he dropped to the ground.

~Michael's POV~

I felt pain, and lots of it.

Not only it my mind, in my leg as well. I held my head, I felt like I was going insane. I shrieked and screamed as I saw my Squip starting to glitch out. He was shaking and calling out my name, his body slowly disappearing. I can't even describe how it felt, it was just pain for what felt like hours and hours. I suddenly collapsed, not feeling the unbearable pain anymore.

The only pain I felt was in my left leg, but other then that, I could barely move. I felt extremely weak compared to before, until Jeremy came and picked me up off the ground bridal style. I hadn't even noticed that everybody else had gathered on the stage, all of them looking at me in concern. "We need to get him to the hospital" Jeremy said, making me shake my head.

"No." I said in a raspy voice, making Jeremy look at me with even more concern. "Don't take me back there, please. I'll get more nightmares" We looked at each other in silence for a while, trying to convince him not to take me with just the look on my face until he sighed.

"Alright, but we're going home so I can help you there" I nodded, it seemed fair enough. I was trying to get out of Jeremy's grip, but he held me tighter. "I'm carrying you there, no buts" He said, walking off the stage slowly, leaving the others behind.

We headed out of the theatre and out of the school, feeling a light breeze of wind. "What were you doing?" Jeremy asked, staring up at the trees. "Before, when I found you"

"I was..." I sighed, remembering why I had been acting again. "My Squip was controlling my actions in the theatre and I wanted to see if I remembered my lines and if I was a good actor without my Squip" I said, looking down at the ground. I waited for a response, but he said nothing, he just continued walking until we reached our-his house.

He opened the door and went in, taking off my shoes. He headed upstairs, still holding me though. He went to his room and set me down gently on the beanbag. He sat down on the other beanbag, as I took a deep breath.

"Why'd you do it? Again?!" He said, a tad bit of anger in his tone but mostly filled with concern. I looked down, trying to hold back tears.

"I wanted a happy family, I wanted my mom, I wanted my dad, I wanted you to l-love me, I wanted to be hap-"

"Hold on, did you say you want me to love you?" I nodded slowly, fearing that he would tell me he didn't. "Michael, I have and always will like you. Why would you think that?"

"I thought that when y-you would kiss Christine, that spark w-would form again, so I had to make s-sure" I said, feeling my eyes watering even more.

He moved closer to me placing his hand on my cheek to make me look at him "Michael, I've told you to billions and millions of times, I love you dearly. Nothing can change that, alright?"

"But I'm a mess! I'm such a mistake without my Squip" I felt the tears flow down my face as he moved to sit beside me on the beanbag.

"Michael, you're not. You are amazing, wonderful, kind, hilarious and more. You are not a mistake though. I don't love the reformed, changed Michael that was possessed by a computer in his brain, I love this Michael, the one who puts others before himself, the one who makes hilarious jokes, the one whose obsessed with musicals. I love you just the way your are."

"B-but my family-"

"Sometimes, you can't fix the bad things in life. I'm sorry that you family isn't together and your parents aren't the best, but you'll always have me. When we're old enough, we will be family. I'll marry you and then you'll always have a family member who loves you. But just remember, you are not alone" I started to smile, choking on my tears and pulling Jermey in for a tight hug.

I sobbed into his shoulder, not knowing that I was soaking his shirt. I had come to realize that I didn't need to change myself, he loved me for who I am. Now that my Squip was gone, I'll be okay. I can be myself and although my parents aren't together, at least my mother visits me every week.

Everything will be okay, I know it will