Athazagoraphobia (Squip x Jeremy)

17. Four-Player Game

Jeremy walked into the coffee shop without any clear idea of what he was going to do. He'd wanted to go back home but the prospect of facing his father shut that idea down. He couldn't talk to him after what he'd just seen. Mr. Heere had so many reasons to be disappointed in him, and being gay just added another one to the list. He wasn't even a Cool gay, like the ones that rocked being gay and everyone respected for it. He was just... Nerdy, stupid, idiotic... In love with a being that was incapable of loving him back.

Still, he couldn't help but wish Squip was there, holding him in his strong arms, telling him it would be okay. But he was alone, and he would remain alone. Squip couldn't help him now. He had been forgotten by both his lover, his best friend, and now his father.

He took a deep breath, staring at the menu. "Can I have a small mocha with cream and sugar?" he asked quietly, pulling out a handful of change from his pocket.

The barista smiled and nodded, handing him a receipt in exchange for cash. They had all forgotten him, too busy arguing over their stupid fucking feud. He just wanted to be happy. He wanted to have his best friend, he wanted to have his boyfriend, and he wanted to have a father who could pull his shit together for his son. "Excuse me," the barista said, pushing a strand of red hair out of their eyes, holding out Jeremy's coffee in the other, "your order."

He smiled at them, wondering why they looked so oddly familiar. Shaking his head, he took the coffee and turned around, giving one last glance at the red-head before sitting down by a window, sipping the steaming drink.

Maybe he should just run away forever, then he wouldn't have to be so terrified of being forgotten because he'd truly be invisible. He'd truly be nothing more than a distant memory.

-_-_-_-_-_-

Squip fiddled with his seatbelt, staring at his black converse. Jeremy wore converse. Jeremy would know how to comfort him. Jeremy would have known that Michael and Rich were decent human beings and he shouldn't be so angry at them. Or rather, Jeremy had told him, he'd just been too narcissistic to listen.

He hadn't even seen what had been staring him smack in the face. He hadn't seen that Jeremy needed him, and Michael, and someone to care for him, someone to... to love him.

Squip sat straight up, making Rich, who was driving, jump. He glared at him before returning his gaze to the road, "Dude, don't startle me like that!"

"Sorry," Squip stared at his hands, heart aching in his chest.

There were no other words to describe it besides ache. His chest felt hollow, as if his heart had suddenly been pulled out of his chest, leaving a hole inside him that only Jeremy could fill. He'd realized it then. He loved Jeremy, he loved Jeremy Heere. "I love him," he whispered to no one in particular.

"What?" Michael said from his spot in the backseat.

"I love him, I love Jeremy."

Michael rolled his eyes, "Yeah well, I love him too," a pause then, "I guess we both had a pretty shit way of showing it didn't we?"

"Yeah, yeah I guess so."

Where was he? Squip closed his eyes, trying to triangulate his position. "Come on," he gritted his teeth, sending signals to every satellite and every phone and every Squip he could find.

Bing.

Another Squip, a hostless one like him if he read his data correctly, had seen someone matching Jeremy's description in a coffee shop. "Cafe Diem," Squip said to Rich who nodded, "my Squip had already gathered that."

"Oh..."

"Mikey?" Rich asked pleasantly, glancing at the backseat for a moment.

"Yeah?" Michael said, looking up from his phone.

"Get me some Mt. Dew Red sometime soon."

He smirked, "I can get you any soda you want! Crystal Pepsi, which reminds me of Crystal Meth, not that I've ever had crystal meth but if I had-"

"Shut up," Squip grumbled, earning two sets of glares from both boys.

It didn't take long for them to reach the cafe. Squip hopped out of the car before Rich had even come to a complete halt, but he didn't care at the time. He needed his boyfriend.

He ran into the cafe, seeing Jeremy almost instantly. "Jeremy!" he sighed in relief, running over to his table and dropping to his knees.

"Oh Jeremy!" he grabbed the boy's hands and kissed them, "I'm so sorry! I should have explained us to your dad, and he's fine with it by the way. I should have been nice to Michael because, because he's your best friend and I shouldn't have been jealous because you'd never leave me for him."

As if on cue, Michael ran into the store, falling to his knees beside Squip, head in his hands. "I'm sorry bro! I shouldn't have been jealous! He's your man and I shouldn't have been so scared of you ditching me!"

Squip broke down into a sob, "I'm sorry too Michael! I know you wouldn't try and steal him from me!"

"You thought I'd steal him from you?" Michael stopped his groveling and turned to Squip who nodded.

"Yeah..."

"I thought you were gonna steal him from me!"

"Really?" Squip began crying again and brought Michael into a hug.

Jeremy watched in both confusion and shock, "What the hell?"

The two finally released each other, Squip standing and pulling Jeremy's hands to his chest. "I love you Jeremy. I'm so sorry it took me so long to realize it!"

Jeremy's mouth fell open and he stumbled to say something. "You, you, you... L-l-l-l-o-Mrph!"

Squip shut him up with a kiss, grabbing the sides of his face. A few people in the cafe cheered. Jeremy closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around the taller man's neck, not wanting to pull away. "I love you too," he finally said, "and you Michael, you're still my player one."

Rich had come in, throwing an arm around his boyfriend with a grin. "How about we all go play Mario Kart, it's a four player game."

Jeremy laughed, looking at Squip, "On one condition."

"Anything."

"You have to cheat for me so I can win."

---

That's the end guys! Let me know what you think and make sure to check out my new instagram Lifedeep02. 

I'm thinking of writing a boyfs sometime in the future, but I have another Project I'm working on. I'll post about that soon so make sure you look for the announcement. 

Don't forget to check out my other Jeresquip stories as well as my other fan fictions and oc stories. 

I was going to make this story a little longer, but I wanted to finish it up before school started. I may add an epilogue later but maybe not, lol. 

Love you guys! BYEEEEE