"Jere, we're gonna be late!"

"Micah, I literally can't do anything about that while you're driving!" Jeremy laughed as Michael made an unintelligible noise in distress before speeding up a bit more. He felt his heart race, whether it be from the speed of the car, the thought of meeting more of Michael's friends, or the common nerves that usually accompanied being around Michael.

Michael hastily pulled into a parking spot in front of Pinkberry before jumping out and urging Jeremy to quickly do the same. In his rush, he grabbed Jeremy's hand to pull him inside, pushing open the door to feel the burst of cold air as he searched the small shop for Chloe and Brooke. He grinned as he spotted them, squeezing Jeremy's hand while making his way towards the two. 

"Hey, guys!" He greeted, hoping he wasn't too red with his sprint into the building. He looked to his side to see Jeremy's face was flushed as well. Probably from the running, Michael thought

"Hello, Michael! And Jeremy, yes?" Jeremy nodded his head at Brooke, and she broke into a winsome smile. "Aw! You guys are so cute! This is almost like a double date!"

Chloe glanced up from her frozen yogurt, "Wait, this isn't a double date?"

Michael realized he was still holding Jeremy's hand when Jeremy shook it out of his grasp, stuttering an excuse to Chloe. He found himself frowning as the warmth left his hand, yet he couldn't quite place why.

"Ah- n-no! W-we're not dating! He just pulled me because we were running late!"

"Y-yeah!" Michael seemed to feel a sinking feeling in his chest, but he pushed it aside and presented his friends a smile. "We were already late, and he was taking forever!" He added with a laugh. "We're gonna get our froyo be right back!" He sounded out, throwing an arm over Jeremy's shoulders as they walked to the counter. Jeremy breathed a sigh of relief once they were out of earshot.

"I can't believe they thought we were dating!" He muttered, looking over the menu above them.

"Well, we were holding hands. And I kinda have my arm around you right now." As he mentioned it, it seemed as though Jeremy had just realized it. His face reddened, but he didn't move to push Michael off. He smiled as he felt his own face heat up, turning back to the menu. He ignored his beating heart once more. He didn't know why these weird feelings were surfacing, but he was sure he could focus on deciphering them another time.

After a slight disagreement the register, Michael managed to pay for the yogurt, and they went back to sit with Chloe and Brooke. Chloe had her arm around Brooke's waist as she had finished her frozen yogurt. Brooke was still working on hers when Michael and Jeremy sat across from them.

"Okay," Chloe started, "Brooke explained to me that this is, in fact, not a double date. Although, Michael I have to say. I honestly did think he was your boyfriend, what with how you talk about him." She finished with a chuckle.

"Chloe, be nice!" Brooke giggled, attempting to salvage what was left of her melting frozen yogurt.

"Yeah, Chloe!" Michael laughed with Brooke, "Listen to your girlfriend! Besides, you're here to meet Jeremy, not talk about how you think we're dating!" He tapped his fingers against his leg rapidly, changing the conversation as well as he could manage. Do I really talk about him as if we're dating?

"Alright, Michael," Chloe stated with a smirk. "Anyway, Jeremy. I'm Chloe." She reached her hand across the table to offer it to Jeremy who nervously dropped his plastic spoon to shake it.

"And I'm Brooke," Brooke stated, finally finishing her yogurt and shaking Jeremy's hand after Chloe.

"I-I'm Jeremy. Oh, but you already know that, don't you? Ah, I'm s-sorry I'm really b-bad at this!" Jeremy rushed to say. Michael frowned as Brooke giggled softly.

"Don't worry about it! How about this. What do you like to do?" She offered

"O-oh, I usually just play video games. But that isn't very interesting."

"No, no! Please, do talk about whatever shity games you play," Chloe added.

Brooke shot her a look before turning back to Jeremy, "Ignore her, we'd love to hear about the games you play."

"Uh, o-okay?" Jeremy questioned silently before cautiously beginning to talk about the video games he was playing at the time. Brooke listened intently, chipping in when she had heard something about a game. Michael watched as they talked, as Jeremy's confidence steadily increased. Eventually, he asked Brooke what she liked to do, and the two fell into a seemingly comfortable conversation about hobbies. Michael set his elbow on the table, resting his head in his hand. He had finished his frozen yogurt and once again found himself content just listening to Jeremy talk.

His eyes found Jeremy's hand resting on his leg. It brought up his recent memories of that odd feeling when Jeremy had pulled his hand from Michael's grasp. He closed his eyes, remembering the weird burning in his chest. It reminded him of the times when he'd learn about a new game- one he probably couldn't afford- or when he realized they had run out of snacks at home. It reminded him of... longing?

Did it remind him of longing?

He opened his eyes, focusing once more on Jeremy's idle hand. The more he nursed the thought, the more it seemed to somehow make sense.

The only thing he couldn't place was why he was longing to hold his hand.

Do I- do I like Jeremy?

He allowed the idea to float in his head before shifting his eyes to Jeremy's animated face. The sight caused a small smile to tug at his lips and a giddy feeling to rise to his throat.

Holy shit I like Jeremy.

He took a shaky breath and fumbled to unlock his phone, opening Chloe's contact.

To Pansexual Bitch: Chloe fuck I think I like Jeremy

From Pansexual Bitch: groundbreaking.

From Pansexual Bitch: props to you.

___

THIS TOOK TOO LONG TO WRITE UGH

anyway, this is m u c h better than the last chapter :'))

there's one more after this (may's writing the ending thank god) and then we're going to start working on our new au!

how exciting :)))

(also what, no ofc i didn't take texts from my best friend to use for chloe. that's absurd.)

-becca