Jeremy was rushing down the stairs, clutching the strap of his backpack tightly in his hand as the rest of it dangled on his back. The lanky male was about to leave when a voice came out of the living room.

"Son?"

The brunette turned his head, chest heaving slightly (he ran down the stairs, it was a workout) as he did so. Jeremy's hand slowly unraveled from the doorknob and his body turned towards his father. He gulped, Adam's Apple bobbing slightly and fingers dancing around the strap of his backpack softly.

"Yeah?" Jeremy's voice decided to crack the second he opened his mouth.

"Come here."

Jeremy hesitantly made his way over to the older male who shared similar features. He sat down next to his father on the couch, his backpack slipping onto the ground with a small Thud!. He looked at Paul Heere with a glistening gaze, lips pursing and eyes scanning over his father's features.

"You've been different lately. You've been avoiding me more lately and more caught up in your own head. What's been going on?"

"It's not a big deal, Dad," Jeremy shuffled uncomfortably.

"But it is." Paul Heere responded, "Just tell me what's going on."

"What if I don't want to?" Jeremy's voice had more of a bite in it than he meant for it to have.

The father blinked as he looked over his son's cold features. Jeremy's brows were furrowed and his lips were formed in the shape of a frown, an indescribable look in his eyes. Paul shuffled a few inches away from his son and looked away.

"I'm just trying to help you out, son."

"I don't need your help." Jeremy replied, "Why would I need your help? The help of someone whose only gotten someone one time in his life and can't keep a girl if he had to. Someone who can't muster up the dignity to put on pants and wear anything other than robes all day. Someone who can't even get a job that requires him to leave the house. I would be at rock bottom if I ever need you for advice." Jeremy stood up hastily and grabbed his backpack, turned around and stormed out the door.

The door slammed behind him, causing the father's body to jump. Paul's eyes glistened softly as he tilted his head down and rubbed his temples. He sighed, back descending.

"Damn it. . ." The father murmured under his breath.

****

"He's so annoying!" Jeremy exclaimed, starting his car with anger in his voice. He was on the phone with Christine, "He doesn't do a lot, but the second he's feeling okay he decides to have a father-son talk like he's here to save the day! I can't stand it."

"Jeremy, don't you think you're overreacting?" Christine asked meekly into the phone, "From the context of the story, it sounds like he was trying to help. Maybe you shouldn't push him away so quickly."

"But he never simply 'tries to help'. He always wants something in return. . . Like my phone charger or something."

Christine laughed, "Is that seriously what you're worried about when it comes to him?"

"Yeah! Because it's never a genuine him wanting to help me type of thing. Never." Jeremy started driving.

Christine sighed, "It sounds like he's trying to change, but you keep pushing him away! We've had this phone call three times this week."

"Because he keeps trying to initiate this!"

"Probably because he wants to help you!" Christine exclaimed into the phone, "Let him in! Just a little."

"I don't know if you know what you're talking about," Jeremy said, "You don't know what I'm going through."

The female sighed in exasperation, "You underestimate me, Jeremy. I just think you're still upset because of your thing with Michael earlier this week."

"How do you know?"

"Because sometimes I know you better than you know yourself. You need to take a moment to think, and reevaluate some things inside your head, okay?. . . I gotta go, Jeremy. I'll talk to you later." Christine sighed softly and ended the call.

". . .Christine? Christine?" Jeremy asked, voice getting slightly louder with each mention of her name.

After a couple of waiting seconds, he sighed and brought his phone away from his ear. He looked down at the screen and saw that it was just on his lock screen. Jeremy rolled his eyes and softly tossed it into the passenger's seat. He looked up and saw that the light had just turned green. The car behind Jeremy was honking, causing his body to flinch before his foot hit the gas pedal and he sped off.

****

Chloe shrieked, pacing around her room with Brooke and Jenna sitting on the bed. Her brown hair was frazzled and her eyes were squeezed shut. Her hands were flailing as Chloe's heel (notice that I said heel, she only has one on) clanked on the ground.

"My life is ruined!" She proclaimed, stopping in front of the girls on her bed, "If Jake finds out that Dustin and I and some other guys. . . Maybe have something going on, then what? Jake's going to leave me forever and my life will be, like, ruined! I can't have that," Chloe ran her fingers down her cheeks, causing her eyes to droop.

"Maybe you should drop the other guys if you like Jake," Brooke said, twirling a strand of the pink wig Jenna had forced her to put on her head around her finger

"This is really tweet-worthy--"

"Jenna! Not the time!" Chloe exclaimed loudly, cutting her friend off.

The African-American girl flinched, "Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood."

"I'm currently trying to explain my life tragedies and you're talking about tweeting. That is so gross of you, Jenna."

"That's not cash money," Brooke added.

"Was that really necessary, Brooke?" Chloe asked as she tilted her head

". . . I guess not." The bald girl's voice was meek

"Then don't say it at all!" Chloe exclaimed, "Anyways, back to what I was saying--"

Brooke's phone started to ring, cutting Chloe off. It was Jeremy trying to call Brooke (which didn't make Chloe too happy). Chloe's eyes widened her facial expression dropping. Her body tensed and her hands clenched.

"If you pick that up, then you are not cash money."

"But I want to pick up. It's Jeremy."

"Oh, the man-hoe who left you for a kid that no one knows?"

"He didn't leave me for that--"

"Did he? Did he, Brooke?"

"No?"

"He did! He left you, and that's why I'm the only one who will truly be here for you."

"And me too," Jenna added.

"Did I ask you to speak?" Chloe's head whipped over to Jenna

"No?"

"Then don't open your mouth!"

While Chloe was distracted with Jenna, Brooke had picked up Jeremy's call. "Hey, Jeremy. How are yo--"

The phone flew out of Brooke's hand and darted across the room. Brooke gasped dramatically, "Chloe! That's worse than you crashing my mother's car, that's cracking my mother's phone!" She quickly got up, the wig falling off of her head as she made her way towards the phone as fast as her little legs would take her.

Chloe crossed her arms, "I was in the middle of my midlife crisis and you're on the phone with some dork!"

"He isn't a dork! He's a geek."

"What's the difference?"

"Wait! Can I tweet that?" Jenna asked.

"Shut up, Jenna!" The two girls exclaimed oddly in unison.

Brooke shuffled over to the phone on the floor, bending over to grab it when Jeremy's voice made it over the small iPhone speakers.

"Is everything okay over there?" Jeremy asked.

"Hang up, hang up!" Chloe whisper-yelled.

Brooke let out a panicked yelp and hit the red 'End' button. Her eyes were wide and she slowly put the cracked phone in her back pocket.

". . . Lets pretend that never happened." Brooke said after rising to her full (short) height

"Agreed," Jenna nodded

"Yes," Chloe responded.

Jeremy shook his head and blinked, eyes wide. He glanced at his phone, then back at the road. He continued that for a couple of seconds before letting out a small sigh and focusing back at the world ahead of him.

****

"Rich, do you think I overreacted with Jeremy? After thinking about it for a few days, I think I could have overreacted." Michael asked, looking over at his brother

"At the Bistro?" Rich questioned for clarification purposes

"Yeah, at the Bistro."

The two of them were in Michael's car in one of those park-in-drive-thru's at Sonic. Michael was bouncing his knee as he kept his hand in the wheel, anxiously gripping onto the fake grey leather of the steering wheel cover.

"I think you did a bit." Rich responded, "Does he know why though? I mean, he's been over to Mom's before."

"Yeah, but never to Dad's."

"Then he's probably confused as hell."

"You shoulda heard him, Rich. He was condescending and making fun of our family."

"People make fun of things they don't understand." Rich turned his head over to the male in the oversized red hoodie beside him, "Try explaining things to Jeremy, and maybe he'll understand. I wouldn't put it past him though to just have it go over his head."

Michael rolled his eyes, "You're right. What if it does and I'm left with nothing?"

"You'll be fine. As long as you have the personal satisfaction that you did everything you could do to explain your side of the story to him, you should be at peace with it. It's Jeremy's choice whether he takes it the wrong or right way." Rich explained

"Why do you always have to be somewhat right?"

"Somewhat? I'm always 100% right. . . 100% of the time." Rich clicked his tongue and winked at Michael, earning a laugh out of the tanner male. Rich laughed as well, and they continued with their day.

****

Jeremy pulled into a Kroger's parking lot, looking at the large grocery store before perusing the lot for open spots. Once he found one, he pulled in and glanced down at his phone. His phone buzzed and a text from a number that made his stomach turn popped up.

~Don't stop.. believin'!~

Jeremy's heart started thudding.

Thump Thump! Thump Thump! Thump Thump!

~Hold on to the feelin'~

The brunette reached his hand down into the passenger's seat to grab the phone. The thudding of his heart in his ears got faster and louder.

~Streetlight people~

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

~the screaming goat meme~

Jeremy's hand clasped the inanimate object and pulled it closer to his chest. He looked down at it, a small double chin forming as his head faced downward. He tapped the on button again to make his phone light up, his scariest prediction becoming reality.

Player One aka dumbass: (1:33pm) hey can we talk?? i need to explain some stuff to you

Jeremy gulped and pushed his hair out of his eyes, looking up at the world around him before turning his attention back down to his phone. He opened up the phone, the iMessage app popping up (not without some inevitable lag though).

Player Two aka the cooler dumbass: (1:34pm) Yeah, sure.. You're not going to leave me in a restaurant again, are you?

Player One aka dumbass: (1:34pm) no, i won't why would i??

Player Two aka the cooler dumbass: (1:34pm) It's happened before. How can I trust you won't do it again?

Player One aka dumbass: (1:35pm) okay touche my friend, but i promise i won't

Jeremy sighed. He sucked the inside of his teeth for a moment while formulating his next response in his mind.

Player Two aka the cooler dumbass: (1:35pm) I'm up for it. When?

Player One aka dumbass: (1:36pm) Tonight at 8? Arcade?

Player Two aka the cooler dumbass: (1:36pm) I'll see you there.

****

a/n: thank you to Madddie_Hatter and Locally_Gay for editing this!! make sure to give their stories some love bc they're awesome :) i hope you guys have enjoyed the chapter!!
-car

Boneless Caesar salad alli gtfo