Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jeremy woke up to a dark room, no light coming in through the windows. He reached over to his nightstand, waving his hand around trying to find his phone. He turned it on to check the time and hissed as the light hit his eyes. Squinting, he turned down the brightness and looked at the time. 4 in the morning. What time did he go to sleep the last night?

Oh, right. After that guy dropped him off at home he went straight to bed. It wasn’t like he had anything else he couldn’t do. Jeremy’s only friend was Michael and Michael was busy at the-

Oh no. Jeremy sat up straight in bed, checking his phone for notifications. Three missed calls and seventeen unread texts from Michael. Jeremy quickly clicked on Michael’s contact and called him.

Wait, what was he doing? It was three in the morning, Michael wasn’t going to pick up the phone. As Jeremy moved his fingers to end the call before it rang out, the ringing stopped.

“Hello?” Michael greeted, his voice dripping with tiredness.

“Michael!” Jeremy hadn’t expected him to pick up. “What are you doing awake?”

“You’re the one who called me, genius. What’s wrong?”

“The mall. Yesterday, I-” he stopped. Jeremy hadn’t really planned how he was going to explain what happened. What was he supposed to say?

“Oh yeah, dude, what was that all about? I leave for five minutes and when I come back you’re gone! I called and texted but you wouldn’t answer dude, what the hell?” Michael definitely sounded more awake now.

“I- uh, well. Christine was there with-”

“You ditched me for Christine? Not cool, man. At least tell me when you’re leaving!”

“No! No, Christine was there with Jake, from school, and I tried to talk to her and I was, I was going to tell her. Like. About, whatever, I was going to talk to her, but Jake was staring at me all mad and stuff andtherewerepeopletherewhogotoourschoolandI-”

“Woah, Jere, calm down, it’s okay. You’re at home, you’re fine. You are at home, right? You’re not calling me to tell me you’re still locked in the mall, are you?”

“Wha- no!” Jeremy let out a small laugh at Michael’s question, taking a deep breath and slowing his speech. “I had a panic attack. In the middle of the mall. Christine saw and she freaked out and Jake was laughing at me and Jenna Rolan was recording it on her phone and it’ll be all over the internet by tomorrow. Oh god. But. Yeah. So I went home. Sorry.”

“Dude, you walked home? But the malls like, an hour away from your house on foot!”

“No, I got a ride,” Jeremy couldn’t see Michael, obviously, but he could practically feel how his best friend was blinking in confusion at that.

“From who?”

“I don’t know his name, this guy who-”

“JEREMIAH HEERE DID YOU HITCHHIKE?!” Michael yelled through the phone, and wow, there go Jeremy’s eardrums. He didn’t need those anyways.

“...kinda? But don’t freak out, not really, I just-” Michael cut him off once more by freaking out. Which was exactly what Jeremy had just told him not to do. Thanks Michael.

“HAVE YOU NEVER HEARD OF STRANGER DANGER?! YOU DON’T HITCHHIKE A RIDE HOME FROM THE MALL, JEREMY!”

“Michael it’s fine! He was nice, he got everyone to leave me alone when I was freaking out.”

“You still shouldn’t go anywhere some strange man you don’t know! What if he’d kidnapped you?”

“Dude, he was a kid our age. I actually only went with him at first because I thought he was you.” Michael was silent for a moment before he spoke up again, his voice much quieter than the screaming he had been doing before.

“He looked like me?”

“No, he looked nothing like you. It’s just that when he first came over and got everybody to leave, he sat down next to me and he started talking to me, asking me to nod my head if I could hear him and if it was okay for him to touch me and stuff. Not that his voice sounds like you either, I was just really out of it. And then he was rubbing circles into my back and stuff, like you do sometimes,” after thinking for a moment, Jeremy added, “Also his car reeked of weed.” That got Michael to laugh.

“What, you smell weed and immediately think it’s me? I’m flattered.”

“No! I mean, kinda. You’re the only person I know who smokes weed!” Michael snorted.

“Dude, I am not the only person you know who smokes weed. I’m just the only person you know who doesn’t try to hide the fact that I do.”

“Oh,” Jeremey didn’t really know what to say to that. “You know what, I don’t wanna know. Don’t tell me.”

“So, if this mystery man is our age, does he go to our school?” Michael asked, changing the subject abruptly. Jeremy thought about it. Did he?

“I dunno, do you have everyone at our school memorized?” He asked jokingly, though he did wonder the same thing.

“What does he look like, describe him to me.” Jeremy squinted in the dark as he tried to remember details from the previous day.

“He has… long hair. It’s brown, and kinda wavy but not like, super wavy. He’s pale. He’s really pale, actually, like paler than me. And tall. Not that tall, he’s shorter than Jake, he’s like your height I think. He’s taller than me. Do you know anyone like that?”

“Jere, I know at least ten pale kids with long dark hair who are taller than you. What kind of stuff does he wear? What’s his face like?”

“Um… he was wearing a jacket? Like, a thin black hoodie jacket thing, and a black t-shirt underneath. With black skinny jeans. And I don’t really know how to describe his face, like… blue eyes?”

“That… might be this kid who sits in front of me in math? I don’t remember his name. I knew it like five minutes ago but now that I’m trying to remember it I don’t know it. I don’t think he smokes, but I could totally be wrong. Do you want me to talk to him, make sure he’s cool?”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t want to bother him.” Both of them were silent for a moment, neither knowing what to say.

“Hey, it’s like 4:30, and if we go back to sleep now we’re still gotta get up in like an hour or so. Do you just wanna go hang at 7/11?” Jeremy smiled. Michael always had something for them to do when he was bored.

“Sure, it’s not like I’m falling back asleep anytime soon anyways.”

“I’ll be there in 10, wait outside for me.” Sure enough, ten minutes later Michael pulled into Jeremy’s driveway. “Get in loser, we’re getting slushies!” Maybe that joke would be funnier if Michael didn’t use it every time he picked Jeremy up.

The drive didn’t take long, as there weren’t many other cars out on the streets. It wasn’t even 5 in the morning yet, so most people were still asleep.

“You okay?” Michael asked as Jeremy buckled into the passenger seat.

“I’m fine,” he said plainly, deliberately not looking at Michael’s face. His friends concerned gaze felt like it was burning a hole in the side of his head.

“Jeremy, I know you better than that,” Michael leaned over, setting his hand over Jeremy’s, which was resting on his thigh. “I’m right here when you need me buddy.” The two sat in silence for a minute while Jeremy gathered his thoughts. Michael removed his hand and pulled out of the driveway.

“Thanks Michael. I know, I just… It’s been a while since I’ve had a moment like that in public. And even when I did, you were always there with me,” Jeremy took a deep breath before continuing. “You weren’t there.” Michael reached over to grab Jeremy’s hand with his own. “Dude, watch the road!” Jeremy exclaimed.

“I am, I’m watching it! It’s like four in the morning, nobody else is on the road,” Michael turned his head forwards again, looking out the windshield and steering with his left hand, but still clutching Jeremy’s in his right. “It’s not going to happen again, okay? I’m gonna be there, always. You get that, right? Today was- or yesterday I guess, was a fluke. An exception. Never again, you hear me? I’m with you buddy.” Jeremy moved to hold Michael’s hand in both of his own, smiling down at it in his grip. Michael always knew what to say.

“It’s not your fault. I was just trying to say, I freaked out. You’re always there, so I just thought this guy was you, right? And I- you know I trust you, more than anyone. So I just trusted him, because I thought he was you.” Jeremy intertwined his fingers with Michael’s, still staring down at where their three hands sat in his lap.

“You’ve gotta be more careful Jere,” Michael breathed out, barely loud enough to hear. “Not everyone deserves your trust.” He squeezed Jeremy’s hand for a second before relaxing his grip.

“No, I get that. I don’t really trust a lot of people who aren’t you. Maybe like, my dad, but… I dunno where I was going with this.” Jeremy looked to his left at Michael, only to find Michael staring right back at him. “Michael! Watch the road, you’re gonna get in a reck!” Michael’s lips twitched upward.

“I parked like three minutes ago. We’re here.” Michael used his free hand to gesture at the windows, which showed that they were indeed parked in the 7/11 parking lot.

“Oh. Right.” Jeremy hesitated before letting go of Michael’s hand. The two separated as they exited the car on their respective sides. The parking lot was mostly empty except for two cars. 7/11 at four in the morning is a good place to go to be alone. The door dinged as the two made their way inside.

“Hey Michael, hey Jeremy,” the tired cashier waved at them, leaning on her elbows on the countertop. She looked half dead. Four AM isn’t a fun time to be at work.

“Hey Bri,” Michael greeted. The two of them were pretty much the closest thing you can get to regulars at 7/11, and most of the younger employees knew them by name at this point. “Enjoying the place to yourself?”

“I was, actually. I was having a nice nap on my counter here before I woke up to the door ringing twenty minutes ago. And then it ringing again when you came in.”

“Didn't it ring when the last person left?” Jeremy asked, making his way over to slushies. Michael was looking through the candy isle. Bri blinked, stuck in thought for a minute before responding.

“Huh, I dunno,” he answered, then raised her voice. “HEY KID, YOU STILL IN HERE?” Jeremy winced as her shout chord in the small room.

“Yeah, I’m just chilling,” replied a vaguely familiar voice.

“JUST DON’T STEAL ANYTHING, ALRIGHT?” Geez, tired Bri does not know how to control her volume apparently.

“Sure thing,” the voice answered from somewhere in the isles, and Bri went back to resting her face on the countertop. Jeremy heard Michael start talking then, though it wasn’t to him.

“Oh, there you are. Hello, what brings you to 7/11 at four in the morning?”

“It’s like five.”

“Besides the point. Tell me your story, mysterious stranger.” Jeremy glanced down each isle, trying to find Michael and the familiar voice. He’d heard it somewhere before, but he can’t really place it.

“None of your business.” The voice had just sounded bored before, but now it sounded cold. Michael had clearly struck a difficult topic. Jeremy looked down the last isle and saw Michael talking to a guy sitting on the floor, leaning against the shelves stocked with candy bars. As he walked closer, he realized where he knew that voice from.

“Oh. Hi again,” Jeremy said, blinking at the boy sitting on the floor by his feet. He hadn’t really expected to run into him again anytime soon. The boy looked up from his package of gummy bears he was eating at the sound of Jeremy’s voice.

“Um. Yeah. Hey,” the two stared at each other for a second, Michael glancing between the two in confusion. “How are- are you doing okay?”

“Yeah. I mean, I’m fine now. Better,” Jeremy stumbled over his words. Why did taking to people have to be so hard?

“You know him?” Michael asked, confusion written all over his face. Jeremy shook himself out of the trance he was in, looking back to his best friend.

“Uh, yeah. This is the guy from the mall yesterday. Who I told you about.” Michael looked at the boy on the floor, then to Jeremy, and back to the boy in the floor.

“This isn’t the guy from my math class.” Before Jeremy could respond, the nameless boy spoke up.

“No, I think I’d remember someone as… persistent as you.” He stood up then, stretching. “Well, not that this wasn’t fun, but goodbye. Nice to see again, um…” he trailed off, looking back over at Jeremy. Oh, of course, they still didn’t know each other’s names.

“I’m Jeremy,” he told him, holding out his hand to shake. The other boy took it, and they shook hands awkwardly, neither really knowing what to do.

“Connor,” he said simply. Connor picked up him half eaten bag of gummy bears and receipt off the floor and strode over to the door. He hesitated with his hand on the door, and said over his shoulder, “See you around sometime.”

“Yeah,” Jeremy responded dumbly, still standing in the candy isle with a surprisingly quiet Michael. Connor nodded and opened the door, the bell above it dinging to signal his exit. Bri jerked awake again at the sound of it.

“Hi, how may I help you?!” She exclaimed, thankfully not as loud as her yelling earlier. She calmed down enough to realize it was just Michael and Jeremy in the store, and went right back to sleep. Michael looked over at Jeremy.

“I have never seen that kid before in my life,” he stated plainly. “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even live here.” Jeremy shrugged.

“Well, he said he’d see us around, so maybe he’s new. You don’t know everyone Michael.” Jeremy clapped his hands together once and took a step out of the isle. “So, slushies. What flavor do you want?”