I had just gotten out the door when the school bus started leaving me behind.

“Aw, shit!”

I yelled, hopelessly watching it drive away on its journey to hell. I had no idea what to do. There was no way I could just walk to school and make it on time. No way at all. No one was around to drive me. I sat on the front steps to my door and thought for a moment. Then it hit me. I ran across the street to my neighbor's house and knocked on the door. After a few minutes, Rick opened the door. His eyes widened in shock when he saw it was me. A small smile made its way to my lips and I couldn’t help but blush.

“H-hey, Rick! I missed the bus… Do you think you could give me a lift?”

I said. 'God, this was so embarrassing,' I thought to myself. He sighed loudly, annoyed by my presence.

“Sure, just -‘eugh’- just let me get the ship started.”

He disappeared for a moment, shutting the door behind him. The garage door opened and I stepped inside. He opened the ship door for me and I slid into Morty’s seat.

‘He must already be at school,’ I thought to myself.

The trip would be a quick one, considering he was using the ship.

“H-how’d you miss the ‘eugh’ bus?”

He asked me. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, knowing that the story of my morning was a long one.

“I was late.”

I said vaguely. We drove in silence for the rest of the trip, which I was quite thankful for. He pulled up at the curb, right in front of my school, not really caring who saw his unusual vehicle.

“Hey, be g-good, okay?”

He told me. I nodded and smiled. A small smile appeared on his face. His smiles were extremely rare.

“Okay.”

I answered. As I stepped out of the ship, my best friend ((let’s just say his name is Michael)) hugged me tightly. I squirmed around uncomfortably in his arms. I pulled away quickly to turn around and face Rick.

“Bye, Rick!”

I called. He was frowning and digging his nails so hard into his seat that his knuckles were turning white. A weird look was on his face.

“Bye.”

He said simply and quickly left the curb. I was confused on why he would act like that, but brushed it off.

“Who was that?”

Michael asked me. I sighed.

“My neighbor… Um, it’s a long story.”

I laughed and we walked into school together.

-Time skip because school is boring-

At lunch, I sat at my normal table by myself, waiting for my best friend to show up. It only took about five minutes until he joined me.

“Hey, can you help me find my homework today? I lost it somewhere in my room…”

I asked Michael. He nodded and spoke through a mouthful of cafeteria food.

“Yup. I have nothing planned.”

I smiled to myself, glad to have someone to help me.

“Cool, so just get off at my stop, okay?”

He nodded again and we finished our lunch.

-Another time skip-

We got off of the bus together at my house and quickly went to my room. It was pretty trashed. I sighed.

“Well, here’s where we’ll start.”

I nodded towards the biggest pile of them all. He chuckled and started helping me dig through my piles of stuff. My gaze went towards the window for a moment and I looked at all of the neighbors' houses. I stared at Rick’s house for a moment and watched as the curtains quickly closed. I shook my head.

“Hm… That’s weird.”

I mumbled. Michael perked his head up and made a “hm?” noise.

“Oh, uh, nothing…”

I quickly said and got back to looking for my homework. After about 15 minutes of searching, Michael finally found in underneath some pizza boxes.

“Is this it?”

He asked, holding some paper above his head. A grin covered my face.

“Yes! Thanks, Michael!”

I ran up and hugged him, then took the crumpled paper and slipped it into my backpack for the next day of school.

“Anything else you need help with?”

Michael teased. I punched his shoulder playfully.

“No, you can go home now.”

I led him back downstairs and opened the door for him. Rick was already standing there. He still had that weird look on his face like he did that morning. Michael got really nervous all of a sudden and left in a hurry.

“Bye, Michael!”

I called after him. He didn’t say anything back. I turned my gaze to Rick, a small blush warming my cheeks. I stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind me.

“Hey, Rick! What’s up?”

He didn’t seem very amused.

“Who was that ‘eugh’ kid?”

He grumbled.

“M-my friend…”

“Why w- ‘eugh’ - was he here?”

“He helped me find my homework…”

I lowered my head, feeling very guilty because of the way he was talking to me.

“Is that all?”

“Y-yes…”

I finally looked at him. I suddenly understood why he was acting like this. He was being over protective.

“R-Rick, why are you so mad at me?”

He sighed and shook his head. He put a hand on my shoulder, making me shudder.

“I’m not mad… I’m just ‘eugh’ jealous, okay?”

“Jealous?”

“Yes, jealous! You - ‘eugh’ - you’re hanging out with another guy!”

I blushed a little bit and scratched my neck awkwardly.

“Why would you be jealous of me hanging out with another dude?”

“Because, g-god damn it, I love you.”

He quickly leaned in to kiss me, pushing me up against the door and pinning my wrists down. My eyes widened in shock. Rick liked me? Of all people, he liked me? I closed my eyes and savored the moment. He stopped pinning my wrists and put his arms around me, pressing me close to his body. Before it could go any deeper, he pulled away. My lungs were burning for air. I panted and leaned my head against his shoulder. He didn’t say a word.

“D-do you really love me?”

“’eugh’ Yeah…”

“I love you too, Rick.”