Work Text:
It was 2:15 in the afternoon and Rich was waiting. He fiddled with his own phone, glancing every so often at the phone that was sitting on his dresser. He hadn’t looked through Michael’s phone; he wasn’t that kind of person. But he was a little curious, he had to admit, how different their lives would seem from just phone pictures and texts.
Rich heard a thump and froze. He listened closely, hearing his dad get up and start swearing at nothing in particular as if that would do anything. Rich fiddled with his phone even more, due to anxious energy, and he kept waiting.
Wait.
He quickly unlocked his phone and sent a few messages to the group chat. Mell definitely couldn’t come if his dad was awake. Rich had honestly expected his dad to be out cold until around three thirty.
He sighed slightly when Jeremy told him that they’d already gone home. Everyone would just have to hope for the best, he supposed.
In the meantime…
“Richie!”
Rich stood and made his way to the living room. “Afternoon, dad,” he said evenly as he could.
His father scowled. “Afternoon? What did I tell you about waking me up on time?”
“I was at work,” Rich replied, knowing fully that even if he had tried waking his father up it would not have helped one bit.
His dad studied him for a bit, and Rich did his best not to fidget. “How much you make today?”
Rich shuffled, hands in his pockets as he wondered if he should pull out the dollar bills he got from tips. That’s usually what his dad meant. Quick money that you could have on hand daily, but gone as soon as his dad remembered where the nearest liquor store was.
The doorbell rang and Rich remembered that Michael was supposed to get his phone back. He’d left it in his room, but his dad was blocking the door to his room so he quickly said, “I’ll get the door,” and went to answer it before his dad could say another word.
Michael was waiting on the doorstep. He looked worried for a moment when looking at Rich, and Rich realized that he must have had stress and fear written all over his features. He quickly tried to school his expression.
“Whatever you do, don’t disagree with my dad if he tries to talk to you,” Rich said quietly, and Michael still looked worried but he nodded. “I accidentally left your phone in my room. Come on.” He turned and started towards his room, which thankfully wasn’t blocked by his dad anymore. His dad was in the kitchen, searching the fridge for something, so he tried to do this quickly so that his dad wouldn’t really have a chance to do anything.
“Did you get yourself a girlfriend, Richie?” Rich’s dad called from the kitchen. He was studying Michael with an intense look, and Michael himself looked like a deer caught in headlights.
“No,” Rich said. “Just a friend.”
“Hm. This one’s not good for you anyway,” his dad continued. Rich could spot Michael’s hands curling into fists. “The hair. Must be one of those special ones.” He gestured to Michael’s short hair.
The boys didn’t really say anything. Michael seemed to understand how volatile the situation might be. Rich tried to continue their trek to his room.
“But what did we say about guests, Richie?” his dad continued.
“No guests without explicit permission,” Rich replied, then glanced towards Michael. “This isn’t really a guest, though. Just someone coming by to pick something up.”
“Don’t start tryin’ to disagree with me, boy.”
Rich hesitated, feeling very small, and said quietly, “I’m not disagreeing.”
“So why did you invite a guest over without my permission?”
“I didn’t – I didn’t invite over a guest,” Rich said, though he tried not to make it sound like he was arguing with or disrespecting his dad. “This is just someone who forgot a phone in class, coming by to retrieve it because I decided to make sure it didn’t get lost.”
Rich didn’t realize he had raised his voice and was taking steps forward until he felt a sharp sting on his cheek and heard a smack. His eyes watered and he took a step back. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Michael wearing a shocked expression and also taking a step back.
“Don’t disrespect me, Richie,” Rich’s dad said.
Rich’s gaze fell to the ground. “Yes sir,” he said quietly.
“Now go get the girl’s phone and send her on her way.”
Rich bit his lip and went to grab Michael’s phone, making sure to be quick so that Michael wouldn’t have to be left alone with his dad. He came back and gave the phone to Michael. “Here,” he mumbled.
Michael put his phone in his sweater pocket, and silently followed Rich to the door. Rich’s dad had gone back to rummaging the fridge. Michael looked conflicted and like he wasn’t sure if he should say something.
“Are you – going to be okay?” Michael asked hesitantly when they heard a door open and close as Rich’s dad presumably left the room.
“Yeah… yeah,” Rich said, rubbing his cheek. The sting was fading, as well as the redness. “Doesn’t usually happen that often.” Michael looked like he was about to say something, but Rich cut him off with a “Don’t tell the others.”
“But—”
“Don’t.” Rich looked up to meet Michael’s gaze.
Michael bit his lip. “Okay,” he finally said.
“See you on Monday,” Rich mumbled after a few more moments of silence, and Michael nodded, and Rich closed the door.