Work Text:
There had to be something Henry could do. Anything that could keep him entertained or a way to get him out of here.
The last way he wanted to spend his Saturday was at Stuck-Up Steve’s for his birthday party. Even worse, all his annoying friends were invited. There wasn’t even a planned event like a paintball fight to keep Henry distracted from his situation. Would this even be called a party?
Of course, Henry had loudly protested not to attend, but his horrible parents made him go anyway. Not even Peter had to come due to some ‘important’ event at school. Henry almost wished he was there instead. Almost.
Reaching the end of another hallway, Henry turned the corner with no actual sense of direction in mind. His only goal was to stay away from everyone. He has made a mistake once or twice of believing he could make allies with people he barely knew, only for it all to go downhill. Steve having just one friend (stupid Bossy Bill) with him had transformed Henry’s weekend into a complete nightmare. He did not wish to find out what would happen if he had to deal with more, even if he had to keep rounding this house to avoid those lunatics.
Perhaps Henry would find a secret exit. Maybe there was a hidden passageway that would lead him away from all his troubles, preferably to a secret stash of toys and money.
Instead, those hopes vanished when Henry made another turn and bumped straight into someone. He cried out as a small amount of pain spread on his forehead. He reached his hands up to the area to tenderly sooth it.
Despair crawled on his skin. Great, he had been found out. He’d surely be forced to join the others now.
Henry moved his hands away. He had mentally prepared himself to make a break for it or engage in a shouting match. Now, seeing who it was, he gazed instead.
“Ugh!” Ralph exclaimed, rubbing the side of his face. He turned his head and gave a nasty look. “Watch where you’re going, you—”
Ralph cut himself off when he realized who he was talking to. Becoming visibly less hostile and a little more interested, he dropped his hand. “Oh, Henry.” The corner of his lip twitched upward. “It’s been a while.”
Henry hadn’t considered that Ralph would be here, but now he was dumbfounded why he hadn’t. Ralph was technically in Steve’s group, after all. If Henry had thought about it earlier, maybe he might not have been kicking and screaming his whole trip here. As embarrassing as it was to admit, the other boy hadn’t left Henry’s mind from their first encounter. He was… different— a good different, mostly.
Still a pain, though.
“Everyone’s looking for you, you know,” Ralph continued.
Grimacing, Henry asked, “Why?” Whatever the reason was, it obviously wasn’t good.
Ralph only shrugged nonchalantly.
The redhead regarded him suspiciously. “What, you don’t know?” He pointed a finger. “I know you know, so tell me already.”
Ralph waved his hands in front of his face. “What, you scared?” he shot back mockingly.
“No!” Henry defended, stomping his foot. Cautious, yeah. Scared? Pssh. He wasn’t scared of anything or anyone. Unless they were injections or chickens.
“Yeah, well you should be,” Ralph said as he stopped his movements. “Steve found out about what you did at the talent show.”
That was definitely a problem. His cousin was insufferable on the daily. That tripled when he had a motive.
“Then why did you tell him?” Henry accused Ralph. He had to have said something. How else would his little trick have been found out?
Ralph leaned back at the allegation. “I didn’t tell him anything!” he claimed, almost whining. “We overheard the teacher mentioning you!”
Henry raised an eyebrow. “What teacher?”
“The one that was chasing you around the school.” Ralph relaxed his face. “Steve put two and two together.”
Right, Henry had forgotten about that guy.
However, Henry didn’t feel the least bit sheepish at pointing the blame, too busy lamenting about what Steve could now possibly be cooking up as revenge. If he got the whole group in on it as Ralph implied… Henry shuttered.
Steve’s patience with Henry had been wearing even thinner recently (if there was patience left at all). Bill also had a knack for making Henry’s life go temporarily downhill whenever he was in the picture. If Henry at least had an idea of their plans, he could be a few steps ahead. Unfortunately, the boy in front of him seemed to revel in gatekeeping that information.
Henry lightly bit his lip and nearly facepalmed. Ralph must have been sent to search for him as well. Now he knew where he was and could tell the others.
If Henry correctly recalled their conversation in the janitor’s closet, Ralph had shown his distaste for the company he surrounded himself with. There was a chance he would keep his mouth shut without Henry needing to do much. For all he knew, Ralph didn’t even care about the whole ‘revenge’ thing. It’d be easy to play off this encounter.
“Hey, Ralph,” Henry finally spoke. He motioned his hand back and forth between them. “Did you tell Steve about us?”
Ralph blinked at him. “Us?”
“That we know each other,” Henry clarified.
“Oh, yeah, that’s what you meant,” he stuttered. “No.”
“Fine, we can keep it that way,” Henry stated lightly. He walked past the taller one and placed his hands behind his head. “You never saw me then and you never saw me here.”
A couple of seconds went by before, “I’ll keep it a secret for a pound.”
“What?!” Henry spun around, gaping at the other.
Mischief twinkled in Ralph’s eyes.
“What for?” Henry whined. Did he even need a pound?
“You still owe me for getting me into trouble,” Ralph bluntly said.
Why did Henry assume he would get away with this without paying a price? Sure, he would’ve done the same, but he didn’t have to like it.
Henry dramatically groaned. “It’s not my fault you got caught backstage. You should’ve just left me alone. So, it’s really your fault.”
Ralph furrowed his brows. “Seriously? You’re sticking with that?”
“Yeah.”
The lightheartedness dissipated, replaced with irritation as he scowled at Henry’s words. “I lost my pocket money for two weeks and didn’t get to go on a trip to the fair.”
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” Henry replied, getting irritated as well. “But that’s not my problem. I didn’t tell you what to do. As a matter of fact, it seems more like I’m going to get in trouble because of you.”
“You know,” Ralph said with hints of bitterness, “I think I’m starting to get why Steve hates you so much.”
And Henry was starting to remember why he didn’t one-hundred percent like Ralph.
The peaceful route going out the window, Henry offered with a non-genuine smile, “Then how about another type of deal? You don’t tell them you saw me here, then I won’t tell Steve you knew about me sabotaging his act. He’d get mad that you didn’t say anything.” He dropped his smile. “And no way you’re getting a pound.”
“Yeah? Well—” Ralph paused and swallowed. “They wouldn’t believe you anyway, ‘cause it’s your word against mine.”
Henry thinned his lips.
“And I could tell on you. Then you’d get into big trouble, and won’t we laugh when you do.” Ralph mumbled a “so, there” right after.
It may have been the phrasing or the delivery, but the lines Ralph said sounded more rehearsed than something he actually meant. It was something Steve and Bill would say (had said), but from what Henry gathered, Ralph didn’t seem like the type. It made him wonder if Ralph had picked it up from those two.
It didn’t matter, because it made Henry mad anyway.
He gave a cold stare. “For someone who claims to not like Steve or Bill, you sure act a lot like them.”
Ralph faltered.
“If you’re going to cause me trouble, just stay away, or you’ll regret it,” Henry spat out. He headed in the same direction as he had attempted to earlier.
Henry made a mental note that his future victim count increased by one. Not a single decent person in this world!
However, he only managed to walk a few feet before Ralph called, “Wait, Henry, hold up!” His tone, rather than being instigative, sounded almost regretful.
Curiosity piqued, Henry halted his movements and turned around.
Ralph rubbed his arm and continued hesitantly, “Maybe… I won’t tell them.”
If there was one thing Henry could say about Ralph, it was that his attitude towards him never failed to surprise. Before, it was Ralph’s appreciation of Henry’s masterful prank at the show. Now, it was Ralph backtracking on his words and showing some remorse. Anyone else wouldn’t have given it a second thought. It was another bullet point to the list of things that no one else had done for Henry, leaving him scratching his head as to why Ralph was.
Seeing that Henry was giving no signs of leaving, Ralph spoke up again. “What about another deal?”
Henry breathed out through his nose. “What is it?”
“Tell me more about what you’ve done,” Ralph finished. His lips quirked. “Other stuff you pulled off on them.”
The boy was an enigma. “Why?” Henry asked, not hiding the slight suspicion in his voice.
The grin on Ralph’s face grew wider. “It’s funny.”
He approached Henry, enthusiasm radiating from his face. It was a stark contrast to his previous attitude. “C’mon, I know you’ve done other cool pranks plenty of other times. Tell me!”
Henry felt his cheeks heat up at the interest and indirect compliment. He half covered his face with his fist as if he was thinking, hoping the blush went unnoticed. Now he was remembering why he kind of liked Ralph.
It was true that Henry had plenty of material to share, and he never passed on an opportunity to brag about himself. But, his mind was currently pulling up a blank line from being preoccupied with his unfamiliar emotions.
“Like what?” Henry said, feeling dumb.
Ralph hummed and crossed his arms, tapping his fingers. “Like…” he lit up at a thought. “Oh! I remember once Bill and Steve showed up at Tim’s party in pajamas.” He snickered. “They were blaming you for it.”
Immediately, Henry knew exactly what incident he was referring to. He giggled at the memory.
“So it was you,” Ralph confirmed, staring in awe. “How?”
What was the harm in it? Besides, it wasn’t like those nasties didn’t already know about it. Plus, showing off was much better than giving up a pound.
“If you insist,” Henry said.
Ralph beamed and sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. He beckoned Henry to the space next to him.
Henry sat down in an infinitely better mood than he was when he arrived. He looked at Ralph as he was thinking of what to say first.
It was weird. Henry appeared to butt heads with Ralph just as he did with practically everyone. Yet here he was, having a casual conversation with him right after.
Just what was he supposed to make of him?