Jeremy sometimes questioned himself. He would always complain about not sleeping enough, then he would convince himself to properly sleep that night. And, of course, he was currently lying awake in bed, staring at his ceiling. He broke his stare long enough to glance at the clock on the table beside him. It practically screamed liar as he read 1:45 AM. Jeremy rubbed his eyes lazily as he sighed. He didn't mean to stay up so late... his mind was just constantly thinking about whatever was going on in his life. Usually it circled back to Michael. His dark brown eyes, the way his hair sat on his head in waves, his laugh whenever he made a dumb joke. Jeremy smiled just remembering all of the memories the two of them shared.
Yeah... 'great friends', a voice whispered tauntingly. Ever since that stupid computer pill was defeated at the play, it was determined to annoy Jeremy at the very least.
"What do you want?" Jeremy snapped, groaning into his pillow. The SQUIP appeared next to Jeremy's bed, the familiar electronic hum slightly subdued. Jeremy didn't really mind it as much since the SQUIP could only talk to him instead of control his body.
"Jeremy, you and Michael have become close ever since the play, closer than before, though it may not seem so," the SQUIP began, smiling like a little kid hiding something.
"So? Why does that matter to you? If you're going to try and convince me that I should ditch Michael again, I will chug that Mt. Dew Red in two seconds," Jeremy threatened, definitely not ready to repeat his stupid mistake.
"Quite the opposite, believe it or not. My calculations show that you and Michael, as close as you've become, still have some tensions about what happened between you two and myself," the computer explained.
"Where are you trying to go with this?" Jeremy questioned impatiently. He didn't want to put up with this longer than necessary. The flash of discomfort on the SQUIP's face didn't go unnoticed by the teen boy as the pill readied itself.
"You need to talk to Michael," the SQUIP said plaintively, quickly regaining its composure. "About what happened when I entered. About your actions under my command. About your experience. You still feel remorse for the Halloween Party, and he knows you aren't telling him the extent of what I did to you..." A brief look of guilt and confusion appeared on the SQUIP's face, but was gone as soon as it came. "It will increase your bond by 18.4% if all goes well." Jeremy stared at the translucent Keanu Reeves for a while, taking in its whole suggestion.
"Call Michael," it instructed. "He's still up. Just... talk." With that, the SQUIP disappeared into the back of Jeremy's mind. Jeremy looked back towards the ceiling as he considered the SQUIP's advice. Maybe they should talk. He closed his eyes for a moment before gathering the courage to grab his phone and tap Michael's contact. It rang twice before someone answered.
"Hello?" a voice asked. "Jeremy, what the heck are you still doing up?"
"Talking to the SQUIP," Jeremy responded. He didn't feel the need to hide what had happened.
"Wait, it's back? Hold on, I'm coming over," Michael hung up, and Jeremy sighed. Michael always jumped into action when it came to people he cared about. Another thing Jeremy could add to the list of Things He Loved About Michael Mell. Sure enough, Michael was in his bedroom five minutes later, despite living ten minutes away when driving.
"I brought Mt. Dew Red and some movies. Whaddya need, bud?" Michael asked, looking concerned but determined.
"Actually, it suggested we talk," Jeremy explained, smiling nervously. Michael looked confused, but followed Jeremy to the basement. Michael's moms were out of town and Mr. Heere was currently at work. The two were alone.
"Talk about what?" Michael inquired once they say down. The Lion King was playing in the background, but it was quiet
"What happened to us when I..." Jeremy trailed off and Michael nodded.
"I know I've apologized a million times for it already, but I'm still sorry for abandoning you. You were always by my side when I was a loser, and I shouldn't have taken that dumb pill in the first place. It was all my fault, though. I can't blame it for what I said at the party," Jeremy ranted, tears threatening to fill his eyes. He felt warm hands cup his cheeks as he looked Michael in the eye.
"Dude, I've already told you it was okay. All has been forgiven. But... I still worry. I feel like you're not telling me everything that happened while this thing was in control," Michael explained. His eyes only held concern, compassion, and seriousness. Jeremy sighed and looked at the ground.
"Well... there wasn't just mental damage..." Jeremy whispered. Michael looked lost for a moment before realization covered his features.
"I swear to god I would kill that thing if I could," he muttered to himself before looking at Jeremy. "Are there scars?" Jeremy nodded and could see tears in Michael's eyes and he wrapped Jeremy in a hug. He carried them both to the bed before laying down. He buried his face in Jeremy's neck, arms still tightly wound around the smaller teen. Jeremy hugged back, smiling as he breathed in Michael's familiar scent.
"Show me?" Michael asked after a while. He quickly followed his question with, "It's obviously fine if you don't want to... I just wanna see the damage done to my Jeremy." Jeremy felt himself blush at Michael's words, but smiled sadly as he turned around and pulled off his shirt to reveal the marks running along his spinal cord. He almost felt pangs of guilt from where the SQUIP resided in his mind, but ignored it when he felt Michael's hand running along his back. He stiffened a bit, not knowing how to react. He really didn't know what to think when he felt a pair of lips press against the middle of the scars.
"Take that, you dumb floppy disk," Michael whispered, wrapping his arms around Jeremy. The two lay down once more before falling asleep in each other's arms. The SQUIP secretly watched on, smiling to itself.
Sometimes people (or computers) try to make up for their mistakes.
-Connor
