Beautiful To Me (Boyf Riends AU)

Epilogue: Christine

(Christine's PoV)

They were holding hands when they walked in on Monday.

The sight of seeing the two people I loved loving each other was both heartbreaking and heartwarming.

They were cute together. I could see that.

They were very obviously very fit for each other in every way. Michael was sensitive and impulsive and anxious, but he was also kind, funny, and even sarcastic if he wanted to be. Jeremy got a bit anxious too, but he was much more confident, and stubborn, and lighthearted. The taller boy was empathetic and quick to forgive, but he would do anything to protect those he loved.

It was sweet, the way they looked after one another.

They were happy... which made me happy.

But the way Michael reaches for Jeremy's hand unconsciously when he gets nervous, and the way Jeremy presses soft kisses to Michael's forehead when they think no one is looking just... hurts.

It hurt so much.

I love you, Mikey. Even if my love changes from romantic to platonic, it'll never go away. Even if you scorn me. Even if you never love me back.

The thought echoed around in my head for a while, and I felt tears come to my eyes.

I should apologize one more time, just to see if they'll forgive me.

I walked up to the pair during lunch. Jeremy was playing with the white patch of Michael's hair again, and Michael's eyes were closed as he leaned up against his boyfriend.

Forcing a smile on my face, I sat down on the stiff bench next to the two boys.

Michael's eyes snapped open and his gaze immediately flicked to me, but he didn't look angry. Just wary and tired, with a pinch of surprise. Jeremy acknowledged me with a murmur, not removing his fingers from Michael's hair.

"Hey, guys," I said, my fake enthusiasm extremely unconvincing. I winced at the fakeness of my words and looked away.

"Hey, Chris," Michael said softly. Jeremy waved slightly, smiling a bit when he saw me.

Why would he do that?

"Um," I said, my attention being drawn away by Jeremy's hands. "Uh, I wanted to apologize."

"Again?" Michael's question wasn't surprising, but he didn't look like he was going to blow up at me.

I nodded. "And I was just wondering," I continued on breathlessly, "if maybe you guys could forgive me or—"

"Christine." Jeremy stopped my rant with a hand on my shoulder. A small smile formed on his face. "I've already forgiven you."

My heart swelled. "Thank you, Jeremy, if I could—"

"It's Michael you need to say sorry to," he said, gesturing to the shorter boy. Michael blinked at me, and closed his eyes, waiting for my words.

He doesn't even want to look at me.

"I'm s-so sorry," I said, tears coming into my eyes. I shook my head, wiping my face.

"For what?" he murmured, no sarcasm or rudeness in his voice. His eyes didn't open, but he let out a quiet hum as Jeremy gently pulled on his hair.

"F-for everything," I said, pushing back the tears that were tryingso desperately  to escape. "I was so mean to you. And I just— I wanted—" A sob came out unbidden, despite my efforts to hide it. "I just—" 

I wasn't able to get anything intelligible over the sobs forcing their way out of my body. "I'm s-so s-s-sorry. S-so—"

I felt warm arms wrap around my body, pulling me into a warm embrace. I cried into their shoulder, squeezing my eyes shut tight. "Sorry." The arms held me tighter, and the warmness passed from their body into mine. The tears stopped and I wiped my eyes, looking up.

The person hugging me was Michael.

I blinked in disbelief. He pulled away slowly, a small grin on his face. "It still isn't okay," he started, "because I don't forgive you for what you did. But we can start to maybe fix this friendship?" He gestured between the two of us.

I nodded, a smile appearing on my face as well. "Thank you."

He nodded, but something caught his eye and he stared at something behind me. "Look," he whispered, poking me and tugging on Jeremy's arm.

A few lunch tables away, two boys sat next to each other. One of them was blond and was wearing a blue polo, and the other had shoulder-length chocolate hair. They were clearly holding hands, and happiness seemed to radiate from them.

"What?" Jeremy said, glancing at Michael. "It's only—"

"Shh," Michael interrupted, shaking his head. "Watch."

We watched as a short boy with brown hair and glasses walked up to the couple. The pair turned to the newcomer, who in turn began to speak animatedly with them. He continued for a few moments, then suddenly he just... stopped. Froze. He started to shake, burying his face in his hands. 

They stood like that for a few moments, with the couple frozen and the third boy shivering next to them.

The tallest boy, which was the one with long brown hair, stood up and embraced the shortest boy, who seemingly had started crying.

The blonde stood up hesitantly with the tall boy and joined the hug, albeit a bit cautiously.

They stood like that for a while. 

After they separated the boy with glasses faltered, and it was clear that his face was bright red. The original couple kissed slowly, then motioned the third to sit down between them. He obliged, and after a second, the tallest boy placed a kiss on the shortest boy's cheek. This caused the him to blush darker, adjusting his glasses nervously. The blonde crossed his arms, saying something to the long haired boy, then also placed a kiss on the shortest boy's cheek.

The shortest boy grinned and returned the kisses, then said something indignantly, causing the tallest boy to shake his head and bend over, clutching his stomach, and the blonde to cover his face in apparent embarrassment.

We watched as they laughed together, and when I glanced at Michael, he had a warm smile on his face.

"He did it," Michael whispered wonderingly, drumming his fingers quietly on the table. "Jared did it."

Look! I included Sincerely three! YAY!

Word count: 1006