Heere Be Dragons - A Be More Chill Fanfiction

One - The Yard Sale

     Michael loved summer. No school, no homework, nothing to stop him from playing video games 24/7. Nothing except Jeremy. Not that Jeremy didn't also like playing video games. They'd do it together. It was that Jeremy also liked to actually do stuff sometimes.
Meaning they were out at 9am on a Saturday looking at people's trash.
Yard sales weren't that bad, Michael figured. He might find some cool old game that someone didn't want anymore. That would be rad. It didn't happen, though. Like ever. So here he was looking at tables of an old woman's knick-knacks with his dork of a friend. Eh, whatever. Jeremy was having fun. Michael would much rather look at him than at the old plates and teacups.
     No. Stop it, Michael. He's dating Christine. You're here with your friend and it's hot and bright and you were up until 4am and oh, this is so boring. And Jeremy's hair is shining a bit in the sun. And have his eyelashes always been that long and pretty? And... Stop. No. Look at the table. See if maybe there's anything cool in this mess of dishes and doilies.
A rock caught Michael's eye. At least it looked like a rock. It was some old, oblong geode the size of a grapefruit buried behind a stack of snow globes. Hints of coppery crystals peeked out of the polished stone. He picked it up. It was smooth as a pool ball and warmed as if it'd been sitting in the sun all afternoon.
     "Yo, Jeremy. Look at this." Michael held the orb up to eye level. Jeremy glanced over, his eyes widening.
     "Dude, where'd you find that?" His voice shook a bit as he took a step back. Michael raised his eyebrows.
     "Right there? What's wrong?"
     "What? Oh, nothing."
     "Right... Excuse me, miss?" Michael turned to the woman who owned the house. "How much for this?"
     "Michael!"
     "What?" He cast another glance at Jeremy, who was eyeing the rock like he expected it to explode.
     "What did you need, young man?"
     "How much for this?" He held it up again.
     "Oh, that? I'll take five dollars for it." Jeremy sputtered for a moment behind Michael.
     "Deal!" Michael handed over a bill and slipped the rock into his sweatshirt pocket. They headed back to Jeremy's house, the taller boy keeping his obvious arguments to himself.

     "Dude, what if it's a dragon egg or something?" Jeremy flinched at Michael's words. "We could hatch it and have our own pet dragon!"
     "It's a rock, Michael."
     "You seem awfully upset about it if you really think it's just a rock."
     "You blew five bucks on it!"
     "You spent four-hundred on that chill pill and it nearly took over the school." Jeremy flinched again, color rising in his cheeks. "Besides, if it is just a cool rock, I'll remind you that you're the biggest hoarder I know."
     "Am not." Michael put the rock on Jeremy's dresser and walked over to the bed. Kneeling down, he pulled out a large shoebox. It was filled with all sorts of random trinkets: shiny hair clips found abandoned at school, an old watch, bits of sea-glass, collectible coins, bottle caps, keys that didn't fit any locks, scraps of paper from notes they'd passed in class, ticket stubs, and more. "Okay, fine," Jeremy sighed. "But a dragon egg? Really? I thought you weren't into fantasy stuff."
     "I know a dragon egg when I see one, Jer." Jeremy's phone buzzed.
     "Shit. It's Christine. I was supposed to meet her ten minutes ago. You can hang out here, if you want. I gotta go."
     "Sure dude, have fun."
     The room felt darker after Jeremy left.