"Hey, I heard there's a gaming club at school. Got started by some kid named Cole or something like that. Wanna go?"
I shift uncomfortably on the beanbag and adjust my leg, which is pressed against Michael's.
"I don't know, Michael...The whole school probably still hates me."
"They don't hate you. Nobody's attacked you in the hallways or anything."
"That's true...okay, let's do it."
Michael cheers as the game finishes loading, and soon we're yelling at the controls which don't work right and about how the game mechanics are stupid and, well, you get the picture.
There's a rainbow sign on the door of the room where the gaming club is supposed to be. I check the room number against the one on the sticky note that I got from Jenna.
They're the same.
My eyes flick back up to the sign, which says "GAY-ming club" in big black letters.
Michael gently elbows me.
"Earth to Jeremy. We're supposed to walk through the door, and it doesn't open on its own."
"Oh! Sorry."
I turn the handle and push open the door to Mr. Lee's classroom.
A girl and two guys immediately turn towards me and Michael. Too many people are looking at me. Michael notices me freezing up and quickly starts to introduce us.
"Hi, I'm Michael Mell and this is Jeremy Heere. We were thinking of trying the gaming club out?"
The girl in a comfy-looking blue sweater gets up from her place at one of the school computers and walks over, headset around her neck.
"I'm Veronica Sawyer. That's our founder, Connor Murphy, and his boyfriend, Evan Hansen."
She points first at herself, then at the boy in a black hoodie and then the boy with the cast on his arm. Perfect! A topic of conversation!
"So, uh, how'd you break your arm?"
"Fell out of a tree." Connor and Evan both giggle and Connor links his arm through Evan's uninjured one.
Veronica rolls her eyes at them and turns back to us.
"Well, kids, welcome to the gay shitshow. You don't have to be gay to join in, but you do need to be willing to put up with our two co-captains. They're disgustingly adorable."
I nod, and Veronica rolls her eyes again.
"Don't tell me you two..."
I shake my head fast, and feel Michael kind of receding into himself beside me. He's putting walls up. I wonder why.
Maybe I said no too fast? Maybe he wants a relationship with me?
But no, that's just stupid. Michael wouldn't want to be with me, even if he wasn't straight.
Veronica fakes a sigh of relief.
"Thank Jesus way above us. I don't think I could have handled being the FIFTH wheel."
Michael's eyebrows scrunch towards the center of his forehead.
"Jesus way?"
Connor laughs.
"You're fucked now, Ronnie! Tell them!"
Veronica flips Connor off without even looking back.
"Jesus way. Like, G-E-E-S-U-S. Gerard Way, my religion and the sexiest singer on the face of the earth."
Evan shouts, "Brendon Urie's hotter!"
Veronica, Michael, and Connor all yell at him together.
"Bullshit!"
I'm confused.
"I'm confused."
Michael shakes his head, laughing.
"I'll show you later."