Michael sort of hated school. He'd rather be at home, playing Apocalypse of the Damned, and getting high. All with Jeremy, of course. But no, he had to go learn things he'd never use in life. Like, how to find the diameter of a circle, or how funner and ain't aren't actual words. Michael didn't really appreciate the people there, either. They always talked about you behind your back, and spread rumors. People starred at you as you walked down the hall, which made anxiety flare up very easily. Which was what was happening to Michael at that very second.

Michael wished he hadn't worn the jeans, or the jacket. People were starring at him, and whispering. He could hear snippets of the conversations, too. Most of them were about where this new kid came from and why haven't we seen him around here before. It kind of hurt to know that no one knew who he actually was.

"Michael Mell?" Well, most everyone. Michael looked up from the floor to see the one and only Richard Goranski. He froze in his spot, like a deer in headlights. Rich walked over to him and made an approving noise. "You got one too, huh? Nice, bro!" Michael nodded, not really able to get whole words out. He hadn't even been sure that Rich had known his name. He thought everyone just knew him as either that stoner kid or the gay kid with the two moms. Not that either of those nicknames were wrong, of course. Michael could see his SQUIP out of the corner of his eye, watching closely.

"Yeah, uh, I, um... yeah, dude," Michael forced out. He mentally cringed at the awkwardness of it all. Rich didn't seem fazed though, which amazed Michael. He looked like he was about to say something else, but then the bell rang. Michael mentally cursed at himself, mad that he hadn't been able to find and talk to Jeremy yet.

"Oh, uh, I gotta get to class. But hey! You should come over sometime. You like videogames, right? Maybe Jeremy can come too!" Michael didn't even have time to say anything before the shorter boy winked at him and walked away. He stared stupidly after Rich, still in shock that had happened. Did just possessing a SQUIP make him that cool?

'Your going to be late, Michael.'

'THE Rich Goranski just talked to me. He freaking winked at me.'

'Kiddo, you're going to be late for class.'

'I know, but still. What's next? Is Jake going to ask me to join some athletic team or something?'

'Unlikely.'

Michael chuckled and headed to his first class. Maybe being popular won't be so bad. If he could get Rich to talk to him, then surely he could get Jeremy. Right?

Turns out getting Jeremy to talk to him would be a little harder than Michael thought it would. Michael hadn't even gotten to see his former best friend the entire day, and it made Michael kid of pissed off. He had grabbed the attention of Chloe Valentine(who had flirted the Hell out of him before he told her that he was gay), Jenna Rolan(who wanted to know the scoop on who he was and where he came from), Brooke Lohst(who just asked for directions), and Jake Dillinger(who asked why he wasn't on the football team). He didn't have the heart to tell the sporty guy it was because he actual hated sports. But if he could get almost all of the most popular people in school to talk to him, why couldn't he get Jeremy?

'It is because he is completely obsessed with that Christine girl,' his SQUIP provided. 'He believes that he is in love with her.'

'Thanks, Captain Obvious. Any other useful information that I was already aware of.'

'Just go outside. Jeremy should be out there. I'll tell you what to say, so do not worry.'

Michael wanted to make a smartassy comment at the SQUIP, but wasn't really feeling the energy, so decided he'd store it for later. He threw his backpack over his shoulder and walked out of the front doors of the school. Honestly, his first day hadn't been a complete disaster, and he was going to see Jeremy right now with the help of his maybe not so useless tic tac. He spotted Jeremy next to a silver Tahoe, trying to unlock the beaten up car. Michael guessed that since Jeremy didn't have him to lug his skinny ass everywhere, Jeremy had to drive his dad's Tahoe to school everyday. He almost laughed at the thought, remembering how much his Player 2 hated that car. Before he even had time to think, he yelled out the first thing to come to his mind.

"That thing must be super popular with the ladies!" Michael almost slapped himself, and he could see the murderous look his SQUIP was giving him. Jeremy whipped around, surprised. Well, apparently that Optic whatever Blocking thing wasn't still in use. Lucky Michael. He could almost see Jeremy pause to listen to his SQUIP tell him what to do. For a second, Michael wondered who's Jeremy's looked like.

"Uh, hey Michael." Said boy could almost hear the strain in his old friends voice. Michael was suddenly thrown back into that bathroom, hearing the words loser again and again. He shook his head, clearing that thought from his brain. He had to make this work. He couldn't get mad at Jeremy, and Jeremy couldn't get mad at him. No matter how much he had hurt Michael. "What do you need?"

"Look, I just want to apologize for how I acted in the bathroom," Michael said, forcing himself to sound sorry. He listened as his SQUIP told him what to say, and repeated the words carefully. He had to admit, it was really weird taking orders from Jeremy about what to say to the real Jeremy. "I was out of line and should have approached you in a better environment."

"You're sorry? I'm the one who called you a... you know..." Jeremy couldn't even say the word, which made Michael feel a little better. "And look, I'm sorry for getting so mad at you and not listening. I-" Michael could see Jeremy cut himself off, and was sure the other boys SQUIP didn't want him to say whatever he was about to say.

"No, it's okay. I just didn't get it then, I guess. I was pretty drunk too, you know." Michael chuckled and smiled at Jeremy, hoping the other boy wouldn't brush him off.

"Wait, you didn't get it then? Get what?" He could almost hear the concern in Jeremy's voice, but he ignored it and continued to follow what his SQUIP was telling him to do.

"SQUIPs. I get it know, I think. They-"

"Wait, Michael. how do you get it now?"

"Oh, I, uh..."

"Michael... did you get a SQUIP?"

Yeah, I'm leaving it at a cliffhanger. That's what y'all get when I decide I want to write and finish the next chapter in less then a day. The next chapter should be out soon, though. And just so you know, it has some huge Boyf Riends in it, hopefully. Also, some more of Michael's moms! If you want to understand their personalities, they are basically Patton and Logan from Sanders Sides. That's who I'm basing them off of, anyways. I didn't go over this chapter and fix stuff because I'm sort of lazy, so if there are any mistakes, please let me know. And I love reading all of your guys comments and hearing all of your thoughts on this! It helps me know what you guys are enjoying about this book! If you have any questions I'll be sure to answer them.

Steampunk Wilson- Michael actually owns three binders, because his mom's are so freaking amazing and want to help. They can't afford top surgery, though(which will be brought up later), so they just bought him more binders. And yes, Jeremy knows that Michael is trans. He actually helped Michael pick out his week binder.