A/N: Hi guys, once again I have fallen off the face of the earth, but now I have returned with a interest in musicals and another fandom. I love the BMC soundtrack, but I'm new to the fandom and haven't actually seen the show (thirty minute bootlegs don't count), so this is probably pretty OOC. Sorry. Anyway, this is supposed to just be an angsty little story that takes place after 'Voices in My Head' and assumes that the SQUIP is still functional, but damaged at the end of the musical. Enjoy!
/Jeremy~...\
The teen woke in a cold sweat, eyes scanning the room frantically to see where the voice came from.
/You can't get rid of me that easily...I'm still inside your brain\
He saw the dark figure of a man, eyes glowing a faint blue, on the other side of the room.
I'm going to improve your life, Jeremy, even if I have to take over the whole school to do it.
Jeremy couldn't breathe. The room felt suddenly smaller, the walls folding in on him. No breathing technique could help now. He's back he's back he's back he's back he's back he's back- Vaguely, he felt his body fold into the fetal position, eyes wide, his breath coming in shorter and shorter gasps. The man- no, hologram, no, supercomputer - stepped forward reluctantly.
/Hyperventilation imminent. Syncing breathing rate to heart rate now.\
A force, weak but insistent, pressed on his lungs, forcing his breath to become slow and deep. He stayed in the same position, breathing deeply, eyes closed, until his mind began to wander.
/Aren't you going to thank me for helping out with that little panic attack?\
The SQUIP stood next to his bed, arms crossed, an eyebrow raised questioningly. Jeremy glared at him. "Thanks for fixing what you caused, asshole." The computer rolled his eyes. /I guess that's as good as I'm getting from you, hm?\ Jeremy ignored him, grabbing his phone from his nightstand a little more aggressively than necessary and starting to scroll through instagram.
After a few minutes of this, the SQUIP scowled. /You can't ignore me forever! I know you're uneasy, if the sweating and increased heart rate didn't tell me, your thought process would.\ The teen continued scrolling, giving no indication he heard the supercomputer. /The mountain dew red did weaken me, but I will be fully functional within a few days. You can't get rid of me, so you might as well is something important I have to tell you, and it is imperative you listen.\
Jeremy shrugged, deciding against his better judgement to argue with the SQUIP. "I don't have to do anything. My body, my life, my choices." He glanced up at the computer calculatingly. "You aren't at full power right now. I wonder how much more mountain dew red it would take to shut you off for good..." /I don't see why you bought me if you were just going to use me for a few months to get popular and then ignore me for the rest of your life. I was designed to be durable, to run for years even in less than ideal body conditions. It would take a sizable amount of Mountain Dew Red to shut me down more permanently, and even then, you'd never be completely sure I wasn't watching you, waiting for an opportune time to return. Just accept it, Jeremy. I will always be part of you.\
Jeremy rolled his eyes at the monologuing and frowned at something on his phone. The SQUIP narrowed his eyes.
/If I have to take control of your body to make you listen to me, then so be it. Your choice, of course.\
The teen stiffened, looking fearfully at the SQUIP as he ran a hand through his hair, visibly distressed. "Y-you can't do that anymore, you're still weak. And I still have that bottle of mountain dew red Michael gave me. Just leave me alone, all right? I didn't ask for this, I just wanted to be cool."
The SQUIP snorted, leaning against the wall. /You're even more pathetic than I previously thought. Most teens buy a SQUIP because they expect some kind of high from it, and becoming a bit more popular is an added bonus, but you...without my help, you wouldn't have anything right now. How lucky that everything turned out for the best, isn't it?\
Jeremy frowned. "What's that supposed to mean? It's not luck, it's people bonding over a shared traumatic experience. Happens all the time. And I would have been just fine without you, I had Michael."
/If you were content to just hang out with Michael and be a loser, you wouldn't have bought me. And does it? Everyone's desires were synced with yours, Jeremy. You now have friends, a girlfriend, social status. I even helped improve your relationships with your father and Michael. I did all of that, and now you want to throw me out like trash and keep me from doing my job. I'm disappointed in you, Jeremy.\
"Tough luck, tic tac, cause I've had my fill of listening to your crap," said the teen, turning back to his phone. The SQUIP groaned in frustration. /I'm saying all this because there is something important I have to tell you.\ "Oh, sure there is. Let me guess, you'd also be responsible for world peace if you could figure out how to SQUIP world leaders?"/No, I-\
The phone rang. Jeremy picked up, ignoring the SQUIP's glare from being cut off.
"Hello? ...Michael, what is it, you sound concerned...
...dude, I don't care HOW big the news is, I'm not going over to your house right now. It can wait.
...ok ok fine, just tell me. What horrible thing did the people who make SQUIPs do now? Create a hivemind?
...uh, what? That's got to be some kind of sick joke! No way is this actually happening...
...ok, talk to you about it more tomorrow, bye."
Jeremy tapped the button to end the call, staring into space as if in a trance with a horrified expression. The SQUIP cleared his throat. /Let me guess, something horrific that I was trying to warn you about happened?\
"No, there's no way you could've known that the people who make SQUIPs are trying to track down all the kids who've bought one so they can use them for drug testing...and take the SQUIPs back."