Michael Harrison

Michael, a character in the High School Story series, is a student at Oliver M. Berry High School. He is also one of your love interests. He is first seen in Book 1, Chapter 1.

Appearance
Michael has gray eyes, light brown hair, and fair skin. He wears a green bomber jacket over a black skull T-shirt in Books 1 and 2 and a dark gray pocket T-shirt in Book 3.

Personality
He has a rebel/slacker personality. He does not fit exactly into the "rebel" stereotype because he seems to care a lot about the school. He also does not fit exactly into the "slacker" stereotype as he mentions he once had a job.

Although he can seem tough and uncaring on the exterior, it is obvious through his dialogue that he has a soft side. He secretly cares a lot about the school even though he does not enjoy it. He's quite serious and mature.

Michael is often seen as the "bad boy heartbreaker". However, he's not really a bad boy, because his reasons for being "bad" are not for the sake of it - it's for emotional escape. He's not a heartbreaker either, as Book 2, Chapter 4 reveals that his biggest fear is disappointing others.

He has exhibited his intelligence through his skill with technology and his confidence in driving a motorbike.

In relationships, Michael is quoted by Koh and Morgan to have "serious walls up", suggesting he is emotionally unavailable due to previous pain and trauma. Michael has a hard time relating to other people; he says in Book 2 Chapter 6, friends like Koh and Wes do not completely understand him while insisting that your character is an exception.

He has said that he wants to be the kind of guy that means what he says, in reference to telling your character he loves them.

History
He went to Statton and Hearst before Berry. After being picked on at Statton by football players he left for Hearst. However, at Hearst, he was again targeted by football players and was kicked out after hacking the school's system. He finally transferred to Berry but was still displeased with the school at the beginning of Book 1, because Berry had stopped following its original motto. He had a childhood best friend named Giselle and was his first kiss in junior high, but they decided to remain friends instead.

Your Character
You can choose to romance Michael if you wish. You first meet in Book 1, Chapter 1 when you're in his seat in the class. At this moment you can choose to either be rude to him or flirt with him. In Chapter 2, you can hang out with Michael by the pool and play two truths and a lie with him. Later you may go to the diner with him in which you will come across Kara and Max. You can hang out with him during lunch and ride on his skateboard, a situation in which you will fall and he will catch you. After Ollie the Tiger is vandalized you can choose to hear his backstory. When the team invades Hearst to steal the spirit stick you get trapped in a closet with him (if you had chosen to romance him the most) and you can choose to sit on the balcony with him. Later that night he might (if you had chosen to romance him the most) ask you to homecoming. At homecoming, you kiss each other and you can choose to drive up a hill and make out in the car. In Book 2, Chapter 1, it is said that the two of you (if you romanced him in Book 1) had been seeing each other for a while and you can choose to go to a coffee shop and hang out. In Book 3, Chapter 8 Michael gives you a Clover Keychain for good luck if you are dating him.

Your romantic relationship with Michael is built upon a deeper understanding of him. You are the only person in his life who can look beneath the surface and uncover the "man underneath". He greatly appreciates your positive attitude that he wishes he himself could have. When you convince him to join the football team by building upon his values, he finds this ingenious and opens up to you. Physical chemistry is also important, in Book 1, Chapter 2 Michael is starstruck by your appearance in the pool scene and compliments you again when you put on your uniform. In Book 1, Chapter 15, your relationship is referenced to be like Lady and the Tramp from Disney—so much so that both of you pay homage to the famous spaghetti scene in Lady and the Tramp, in which two dogs from different sides of the tracks nuzzle over a plate of noodles. You can become official with him in Book 2, Chapter 15.

Caleb
Michael seems to dislike Caleb at first, labelling him as a "golden boy". He later warms up to him when he joins the football team as a QB. Caleb tries to encourage Michael to take up basketball in Book 2, Chapter 1.

Maria
Michael and Maria are opposites. Maria does not like Michael's slacker personality, getting annoyed with him from time to time. In Book 2, Chapter 1, they work together during the morning announcements and when things go wrong Maria immediately blames Michael, which leads to an argument. They seem to really dislike each other.

In Book 2, Chapter 6, Michael and his friends take Maria under their wing while she is having a rough time, they make amends and hug in the sports hall. In Chapter 7 Maria invites him and his friends to her birthday party.

Brian
Michael was friends with Brian when he first transferred to the school, but Brian ditched him when he became the quarterback of the football team, thus leading to an argument that ended their friendship. Michael says they have a 'mutual understanding' with each other—as in neither bother each other as long as Michael assists Brian with tech issues.

Koh, Morgan, Wes
Koh, Morgan and Wes are Michael's friends, as they're all rebel and slackers. It is implied that Michael could have had romantic feelings for Morgan in Book 1, Chapter 2 because MC catches Michael looking at her longingly during a pool party, although it is a little unclear whether or not he was really looking at her or thinking about something else. Koh and Morgan care a lot about Michael and try to warn MC about the emotional "walls" he has built up around himself in Book 1, Chapter 6. In Book 2, Chapter 6 Michael tells MC that although Koh, Morgan, and Wes are his friends they do not completely understand him the way MC does.

Giselle
Giselle was Michael's childhood best friend. Their relationship turned romantic in junior high as Michael developed feelings for her. She is the first kiss that he mentions in Book 1, Chapter 2. However, they decided to just stay friends after the kiss. Eventually, Giselle moved down South because her father found a new job, and they grew apart. In Book 2, Chapter 6, Michael and MC (through a premium choice) make a video for Giselle to tell her about Michael's new life. Michael explains that she was the first person who ever completely understood him, and MC is the second.

Trivia

 * Michael is shown on the cover of High School Story, Book 2 and High School Story, Book 3.
 * He rides a motorcycle but also has a car.
 * He is talented at video production.
 * Berry is the third school that he has attended.
 * If you play two truths and a lie with Michael during Brian's party in Book 1, it's hinted that he played hockey and chipped a tooth while playing.
 * If you don't choose to bring him to the homecoming dance, he will ask Morgan but fail.
 * Michael's first kiss was with his childhood best friend, Giselle, but they remained friends after that.
 * You have the chance to play as Michael in Book 1, Chapter 9 and Book 2, Chapter 10.
 * On Monday, February 26, a second sneak peek for the book was released and revealed a new look for Michael in Book 3.
 * In a premium scene of Book 3, Chapter 8, it is revealed that he always keeps a distance from anything clown-related.
 * Michael's promposal in Book 3, Chapter 11 pays homage to the iconic 1989 teen classic Say Anything... starring John Cusack.
 * He shares the same forename as Michael Kim, a character from the Veil of Secrets book.
 * His dream in Chapter 11, Book 2 about ceiling spiders and "killing it with fire." might be referencing the chapter at It Lives In The Woods where Andy can kill the Spiders sent by the monster by fire if you unlock the diamond choice.
 * If asked what each person's Hogwarts Houses are in Book 2, Michael will claim that he is a Slytherin. Myra, however, disagrees, seeing him as more of a Gryffindor.