Seventeen:

The next day started out normal enough.

I moved past the rushing students, skipping through the crowded hallways to my upcoming Algebra class.

I reached the classroom just in time for the first period bell to ring.

I made my way inside, a few people turning their heads in my direction so as to check whether my presence was worth acknowledging or not. Making their decision, they turned back to their chit chats after merely a couple of seconds.

I dumped my stuff onto the desk and plopped down on my usual seat by the window. I rolled my pencil absent-mindedly across the flat surface of the desk, waiting for the teacher to arrive.

"Good morning," Mr. Geller announced, making his entrance with a tone that emitted more excitement than usual. That either meant a surprise test paper, or a more likely new boring lesson.

"Today we're starting a new lesson," he announced matter-of-factly, pressing his glasses up on his nose with the tip of his finger. Well that was wildly unexpected. "Please open your books to page seventy four, and there you can find -"

His words bounced off of my ears. From that point on, his mouth moved uncontrollably, but no word cared to sound into my ears.

The only thing I heard was the faint noise of my phone buzzing into my jacket pocket.

I unzipped the pocket and fished my phone out, glancing at Mr. Geller as I did so. He was too caught up into his own sentences to notice me.

I propped my hands on my thighs and placed my phone between my fingers.

I opened my notifications bar. An unread text popped up.

Michael: you're in class now?

I typed back an answer.

Me: no, I bribed the teacher into letting me go home.

His reply came faster than I expected.

Michael: you seem to be speaking sarcasm fluently. Tell me, how do you say fuck you?

Me: haha :p
So, why are you texting me?

I raised my gaze back at the teacher, just in case. His back was turned on the board as he filled it with different equations.

Buzz. Buzz.

I dropped my eyes back to my phone.

Michael: same reason for why I texted you yesterday. Except that now you remembered to reply :p

I blinked. I completely forgot about Michael's text the other day. He'd asked me if I was feeling okay after the accident, and I never responded.

Sure, I was still a little bit mad at him (and even madder at Marie Elizabeth - no reason for that) but even so, I was not one to ignore people's texts.

Me: sorry, I forgot.

His reply ceased to be coming.

I flicked my phone off and placed it on my desk. I took my pencil and copied Mr. Gelller's equations from the board as he talked about some theories which made no sense to me.

Paying attention to classes had recently become my worst enemy.

Buzz. Buzz.

My phone's screen lit up with a new text.

Michael: come outside when your class ends. I'll be by the gate.

I frowned as my fingers flew over the keyboard.

Me: why?

Michael: come on, Bree. Stop asking for reasons and pay attention in class. Didn't your teacher tell you texting is not allowed?

I rolled my eyes at his response, but a small smile still managed to creep up on my face.

I also could imagine Michael smiling at his own text on the other side of the screen.

Me: Didn't your teacher take your phone yet?

Michael: you're not that lucky, Bree.

Me: of course I'm not. I'm talking to you now, aren't I?

Michael: Touché.

"Okay class, we'll continue tomorrow with the rest of the lesson," the teacher said in a rather loud tone, jolting me awake from my texting frenzy.

I abandoned my phone on my desk and quickly copied everything from the board.

The bell rang, just in time for me to put my pencil down and start gathering my stuff. The students began leaving their seats, marching out of the class in robotic synchronisation.

I was the last one to exit. I rushed through the school's corridors, worrying the short break between periods wasn't going to be enough for me to meet with Michael and make it in time for the next class.

If I was going to get detention because of him, he'd better have a good excuse for it.

He's totally worth it, though, my inner voice said.

I mentally punched myself. Snap out of it, Bree!

I ignored my annoying thoughts and raced across the hallways, spotting the tall frame of the exit door a few feet away.

Three minutes later I was outside, my back propped onto the metal gate of the school as I impatiently waited for Michael to show up.

Luckily, his figure was approaching fast from the opposite direction, his brown hair tousled from the gentle wind.

"Hi, Bree," he greeted, recollecting his breath as he stopped next to me. "Sorry it took me so long - "

He stopped midsenteced, his eyes growing wide as his gaze landed on my face. For a second I was confused, but then I realised. The cut. He was looking at my cut.

I'd done my best this morning - trying to cover it with the concealer - but the cut was too deep. The doctor had given me a set of bandages to wear if the wounds were to aggravate, but I wasn't going to wear one on my forehead. I looked like a mummy with it.

He opened his mouth to speak, but I stopped him. "Weren't you in school already?" I demanded, seeing as he'd come from the opposite direction.

"Um, well, not exactly. I just woke up twenty minutes ago," he stated.

"What?"

"Yeah, I was kind of tired so I overslept?" His words sounded more of a question than an answer, but I decided not to ask for further info. "Anyway, I just wanted to talk to you."

"There's nothing to talk about," I said, crossing my arms in a rather dramatic gesture, attempting to sound funny but probably failing as always.

"Yes, Bree. I didn't even get to talk to you in the park, since you basically ditched me there, and you then you had that car crash which scared the heck out of me and I just -"

I raised an eyebrow. "Whoa, hold on. I ditched you? Really?"

"See, your words and tone of voice clearly indicate that you're mad, but what I don't get is why."

I pursed my lips, a lump forming in my throat. "Well, I'm not gonna explain it to you if you don't get it. After years of spending 'quality' time with the opposite sex," I air quoted the word quality, "You still don't get our behaviour, then I won't - "

"It's about Marie Elizabeth, isn't it?" Michael's tone of voice was neutral, but for some reason, his words sounded robotic. Almost rehearsed.

I remained still in my spot by the gate, my cheeks reddening ever so slightly. "Maybe?"

His eyes locked within mine, a glint of amusement peering into them. "I can't believe it. You're jealous, aren't you?"

"What?" I laughed. "Me? Ha-ha, no way, mate."

"Yes, you are."

"Nope."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Fine. Whatever you say, Princess."

"Excuse me, but I carried you when you were drunk that night, so I should call you Princess."

He chuckled. "If you expect me to call you Prince, just so you know people might get the wrong impression."

I let out a small laugh. "Whatever." I took my phone from my pocket and checked the time. "Shoot. I'm already late... Gotta go."

I turned around in my heels, but his hand grabbed my shoulder before I got to move a toe. "Wait."

I turned so as to face him again, arching an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Uh, well," his scratched the back of his head, "There is this party tonight, and I was wondering if you'd like to get out of your house for once and maybe come with me?"

He passed me a smile, followed by a subtle wink. I noticed he was trying to pull his best irresistible look, but to me he was still the same Michael.

"What? You're asking me to come to a party with you?"

He simply shrugged. "Yeah."

I frowned, processing his words. "Are you on pot or something?" I asked in a rather serious tone.

He laughed a loud laugh, and I couldn't help but join in with a chuckle. "No, I'm not, Bree. Just answer my question. Do you want to come or not?"

I pursed my lips and dropped my gaze to my feet. As much as I wanted to refuse his incredible offer, I knew I'd have to win the battle between heart and brain first.

Come on, Bree, you can't say no to him! He's inviting you to go to a party with him, for Heaven's sake! How amazing is that?

But I don't like parties. They're loud, they're overwhelming, they're awfully crowded. Plus I've been to a party a few days ago. I'm sure Mom won't even let me go, especially since it's in the middle of the week.

But despite all that, I just about knew what my final decision would be.

"Fine," I sighed, "But you need to promise me something first."

"What?"

"You're not drinking your ass off again, yeah?"

"Aw, man," Michael frowned, pouting like a small kid. "Alright, alright. I guess I owe you this much for helping me get home safely that night."

"We're finally agreeing on something," I said, my lips curving into a toothy smile.

He returned the smile. "So I'll see you at about seven? I'll pick you up. I mean, because it's one my friend's house party and you don't know where he stays..."

"Yeah, seems fair," I nodded, "So... Thanks for the invite."

"No problem," his lips tugged into a smile, and for the first time as I looked at him, I felt like we were finally on the same page somehow.

My cheeks tinged pink. "Alrighty then. I'll see you later. I'm so late to my class."

"Yeah, I should probably go too, if I don't want to risk getting another detention. See ya, Princess."

He smirked, and I only smiled in return. I turned around in my heels and quickly retook my walk to my current class.

I was so late already and I would probably get detention for this anyway.

But maybe - just maybe - Michael was worth it after all.

_______

Yay they're finally starting to get along :D

Another party is coming up, the second one in this book haha. But this one is going to be totally different ;)

Vote if you enjoyed reading this, and y'all Michree shippers out there, your wishes may just come true :3

Thank you so much for your support guys, and don't forget to leave down your thoughts in the comments!

Btw my Tap story got featured! I was SOO excited about this, I literally woke up two days ago with 200,000 taps! I'm so happy about this and I just wanted to share it with you 😁 The link is in my profile :)

Alright see ya to the next update!

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