@velvrose asked: “why do you have that look on your face?” also for tj and michael heyyyy // more random dialogue prompts
"LOOK? WHAT LOOK?" The way Michael abruptly snaps into reality upon T.J.'s question is difficult to miss, already doing him NO favors in the 'pretending absolutely nothing is wrong' department. As if he was doing well there at all— his arms have stayed crossed over his chest too long for someone who SHOULD be the most loud and brash of them all, and it would only take one glance downward for T.J. to notice the incessant tapping of his foot. Fuck, Michael, get a god damn grip already— he has been here for days, at least, he thinks... he has been BACK long enough to see his siblings again, to see T.J. again. Michael Afton has seen the preservation of souls, vengeful possessions, every way in which withering bodies can defy death... and yet he is here, witnessing the world go against every notion about each passing event he's ever had.
Michael Afton is back in 1983.
He checked the date once, twice, TWENTY times over, met with the same answer each time— the indescribable shock had gripped him for the first couple days in ways he can hardly describe. Rushing to the mirror brought skin and bone and heart and lungs catch every quick breath the longer Michael stared back at his unharmed, teenage body. He doesn't... feel very different, he doesn't think. Maybe he is fifteen, just with years worth of memories... ones of the future shoved into his head. But fuck, he remembers it well. Michael has been frozen in time for years now, his life cut short only in young adulthood yet still trudging onwards. Still, his chest constricts with panic atop years-long guilt as he scrambles to figure out what the hell to do.
Awkward clear of his throat, and Michael glances at T.J., though he lets his gaze linger to the side instead of looking his friend directly in the eyes ( even just the thought brings that overwhelming ache of when Michael first saw him again rushing back ). "I was just— distracted, thinkin' about something, I dunno... whatever-" Dismissive wave of his hand, and he shakes his head, leaning back on his heels. "Let's just go back to... what- uh, what are we doing again?"