Jeremy was up before Michael. It was still dark, but he wasn't able to fall back asleep. So he just stared at the ceiling for a bit, trying to not let himself think but failing. He started to fidget after a long while, but he didn't want to end up waking up Michael so he moved from the bed to the bathroom.

He stared at himself in the mirror, rubbing his cheeks almost anxiously. He almost couldn't believe that he'd told Michael yesterday. Not just about his identity, but about possibly wearing a skirt. Oh, what was he thinking?

He frowned at himself, and then scowled, and then he just started making faces at himself in the mirror. He would have groaned if he wasn't being careful about waking up Michael.

He shook his head and decided to just take a shower. He went back into the room and grabbed his suitcase, dragging it back into the bathroom with himself. Jeremy opened it and took out his towel, a shirt, underwear, and socks. He set those on the counter, and then he picked up the skirt, staring at it for an unknown amount of time. It must have been a while, though, because after a bit he heard Michael stirring in the other room.

Jeremy put the skirt back into the suitcase and took out a pair of pants, closing the case. Pants were fine. Pants were safe. He set those with his other clothes before getting undressed and stepping into the shower. He focused on getting clean, not wanting to think and be anxious.

He was startled out of his task by a knock on the door. The water was cold now. He hadn't actually noticed. He swore silently and turned off the water. He quickly dried himself off, got dressed, and opened the door.

"Took you long enough," Michael said good-naturedly, and Jeremy blushed, but let him step in as he stepped out.

Jeremy busied himself with cleaning up any mess they had made in the room. They would have to check out soon. Well, not soon, but by noon. They wanted to meet up with Michael's moms before then, so really they should check out by eleven.

He looked at the clock. It was nine o'clock. He was surprised at how much time he had wasted in the shower and bathroom. He decided to distract himself with some phone games.

Twenty minutes later he heard the shower turn off. Ten minutes after that, Michael came back into the room, clean, dressed, and mostly ready for the day. He started putting his things back into his own suitcase. Jeremy stayed silent until Michael spoke a few minutes later.

"So what's this skirt look like?" It was mere curiosity, but Jeremy started to feel anxious again.

"Uh, it has a design," Jeremy replied carefully. "Sort of like a galaxy? Space and stuff." He got up off the bed and brought the suitcase into the room from the bathroom. He opened it and stared at it for a moment before pulling out the skirt. He stared at it again. "This."

Michael noticed his shaky movements. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"This isn't too weird?" Jeremy asked, his voice squeaky.

"What? No. Jeremy, it's fine," Michael replied. "And of course, you don't have to if you don't want to…"

"That's the thing," Jeremy muttered, his voice back a normal tone. "I need to do things. I have to make myself do things, or I require an outside force, or I'll never do it. Like signing up for the play?" Michael nodded, following what he was saying. "I really wanted to sign up for it, even before I saw that Christine did. But I couldn't, until she did." Jeremy rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's not too weird," Michael said again, trying to be encouraging. "And you can always change later. We're taking our suitcases with us everywhere checking out anyway. We sort of have to."

Jeremy nodded slowly, like he was thinking. "Okay," he finally said. "I'll be right back." He picked up the skirt, which he had dropped, and walked to the bathroom one more time. when he got there, he stopped and stared at himself in the mirror again, but then he shook his head. "Don't think about it," he mumbled to himself. He quickly changed into the skirt, smoothing it out.

"Right," he said to himself, holding in a breath. He folded up the pair of pants and walked back into the hotel room, bracing himself. "Okay," he said, to get Michael's attention.

Michael looked up from his cell phone. He gave him a thumbs up, and Jeremy smiled slightly in relief. He quickly distracted himself with phone games, again.

Some time later Michael got a phone call. When he hung up, he said, "That's Ma and Ina. They want us to meet them outside."

Jeremy was once again seized by anxiety. "O-okay," he stammered, standing up too quickly and nearly stumbling.

"Jeremy." Jeremy looked up. "You'll be fine. I'm sure. My moms aren't going to judge or anything, you know. And if anyone else says anything I can deal with them."

Jeremy couldn't help but smile. Michael could be protective at times. "I'll be fine," he whispered, repeating what Michael said to himself. "I'll be fine."

Michael pat his shoulder comforting before grabbing his suitcase. Jeremy grabbed his own, and they went down to the lobby. Jeremy trailed after his friend, subtly hiding behind him from the Mell mothers.

"Hey Ina, hey Ma," Michael greeted his moms. His moms took their suitcases, and Jeremy didn't miss the way Michael's Ma's gaze flickered to his skirt for a split second. Michael's Ina, however, didn't bat an eye.

"Who's ready for brunch?" Michael's Ina instead asked, looking at her son and his friend. The two teens nodded, somewhat eagerly. They hadn't eaten yet.

Jeremy was able to relax when it was clear nobody was going to say anything about his outfit. He made conversation with Michael and his mothers, occasionally fiddling with his skirt, but not nervously so. He slid into the booth seat next to Michael, feeling pretty pleased.

"I think I can do it," Jeremy said when they arrived back home. "maybe next week. But I think I can do it."

Michael smiled. "You sure can, buddy."

This was, of course, before Monday, when Jake showed them a 'funny' video featuring humor similar to that of the hecklers at the gaming event.

Jeremy deflated, and Michael shook his head at Jake. "Not cool, man." Jake looked confused.