All Along [Michael Mell x Reader (x Jake Dillinger)]

Chapter One

She had known him since seventh grade. He was adorably short, probably around 5'3 while all of the other guys had grown over the summer to about 5'7 at least. He still had some childhood fat around his cheeks and his stomach, his warm colored face dotted with acne and blemishes. He had red and black braces that caused him a small lisp, but it was oddly fitting. His glasses were thin rimmed and circular making him look nerdier than he already was, and to top it off he hadn't seemed to discover hair gel just yet so it was messily brushed down. The only thing he liked to wear was his gray zip up and black sweatpants, and he never seemed to fit in with the crowd.

He was the closest friend she had.

Over the years his acne gradually started to clear up and his pubescent voice diminished. He discovered hair gel and his little bowl cut was gone. The red hoodie he had obtained was constantly clinging to his shoulders, but now he wore stonewashed jeans and white shoes that somehow stayed clean throughout the two years he had them. After he found out that he had a small thing for Bob Marley, he wore his headphones around his neck all the time.

Freshman year, he was still as awkward as could be. He still stayed inside on the weekends, most likely beating one of his games for the tenth time.

Sophomore year he was exactly the same. The only difference maybe was his discovery of weed, but other than that there wasn't any drastic change.

Then came junior year. Teenagers started to care less and less about school because at this point it was simply a total drag. Michael spent his free time either playing video games or getting high in his basement.

Senior year couldn't come fast enough on account of everything that had happened to Jeremy the year prior. Regardless, Michael Mell stayed the same.

He was the same old Michael that she had known since seventh grade.

So why the hell was he so much more attractive?

It wasn't like he had changed all that much from freshman year. He had lost his baby fat and acne a long time ago, his height now towered over everyone else, and his thin glasses were replaced with some trendy Ray Bans, but this is how it had been for at least a year or two.

When he greeted her on the first day of school her jaw almost dropped to her feet. He hugged her in greeting and she had to force herself to hug him back as her body was frozen from shock. He smelled like a mixture of his natural, almost floral like scent and his Old Spice shampoo. She could tell that even on the first day back to school he had treated himself with a cherry slushie. The red stain on his tongue made it obvious. Well, that and the artificial smell of cherry flavoring.

"(Name)! Damn, where have you been? Did you get taller? Did your butt get bigger or is it just me? I've missed you!" Truthfully, she wasn't worried that he'd miss her too much since he had Jeremy, but she sure did miss him. In the friendly way of course. Never would she imagine coming back to school and wanting to faint when he hugged her (and for her sanity, she chose to ignore the comment about her butt).

"I—I uh... Well, uh... H-Had to um..." she mumbled. Michael laughed—God, she never realized how cute it was—and patted her on the shoulder. "You okay? Did ya get enough sleep last night, or were you like me? Stayed up playing Wind Waker all night because you forgot that today was the first day back?"