Chapter Text
Charlie was a regular pizza boy, driving through the suburbs to go home after an uneventful and greasy day at work. He had one hand on the steering wheel while the other combed through his short and tousled brown mullet, fingers traveling all the way down the back his neck before stopping with a tired sigh.
“Fuck my stupid chungus life, man…” He grumbled under his breath, blue orbs glancing out his window to see a booth on the side of the empty road. At least it wasn’t another cornfield…
But something else caught his eye. Something that made him stop the car completely as he slammed down on the breaks.
There was a man hunched over the table, blood splattered all over like he was trying to be a spooky Halloween decoration. And yeah, Charlie probably would’ve assumed he was if it weren’t for the current month being August.
“Oh, shit…!” Charlie hissed through his teeth, instinctively reaching out to grab the door handle to step out and investigate. But then he stopped, contemplating his options. What if this was all a big trick? A planned out robbery maybe??
….Then again, that blood did look pretty fucking real.
Okay, maybe this guy was actually hurt.
“Fuck… fuck… fuck…” Charlie unbuckled his seatbelt and swung open the car door, its rusty hinges cursing at him as he stepped out and padded over to the booth that looked like a full on crime scene. “Y-Yo? Hey uh, you good.. man?” He spoke with caution, tugging down his work shirt to hide his gut. The least he could do was look presentable in front of a stranger.
The first thing Charlie noticed was the man’s attire; pastel-colored bow tie, pastel-colored suit, and pastel-colored hair. Not exactly the most normal fashion statement… But that was the least of Charlie’s concerns right now.
The man had no right eye and no left hand, his clothes looked like they were set ablaze at one point and there were irritated burn marks littering his pale skin to prove as much, multiple tiny holes in his face like he’d been poked relentlessly with a needle, and a severely broken nose.
“Holy fuck, dude!” Charlie exclaimed, eyes widened in complete horror as he found himself unable to move, too stunned by what he’s currently witnessing.
The man lifted his head up ever-so slightly, his dark eye locking with Charlie’s blue-eyed gaze. Despite the gruesome state he was in, he still managed to wheeze out some words. “Pl-Please… help… me…”
“Oh god, he’s British..” Was Charlie’s first thought, his second one being “How the hell am I supposed to help him?!”
“Uhh… fuck… uhmm, can you walk??” He asked him, hesitantly taking a small step forward as he began to help the man out of his chair.
Surprisingly, the man managed to stand up with a grunt, his legs wobbling and almost giving out as he used Charlie as support, placing most of his weight on him.
And Charlie was definitely not expecting someone this… light to be so difficult to hold up, especially since he himself was a big guy. He had a good fifty pounds on this little dude at minimum.
“A-Alright, little dude, i’m gonna take you to a hospital, okay?” Charlie stated, nodding rapidly as he opened his passenger side door and helped him in, not even bothering with the seatbelt as he quickly shut the door and ran around to swiftly get back into the driver’s seat. “What the fuck happened to you, dude?!” He shut his door and reached over to switch gears, stepping on the gas. “Did you get mugged or something out here??”
The man slumped against the seat, wheezes and gasps leaving his mouth as he leaned his head back to look up at the ceiling.
When he began to speak, his words were almost incomprehensible with the amount of pain in his voice, though he was just barely able to piece together a simple response. The British accent didn’t help either though.
“Please- ah… Please…. Don’t- take me t-to the hospital…..”
Charlie shot him an incredulous glance, side eyeing him like a very judgmental dog. “Dude. I deadass don’t think you’re in any position to argue about this. You’re literally bleeding on my leather seats.” He deadpanned.
The man groaned, attempting to lift a hand up to wipe some of the blood off his face only to realize he had no left hand.
He growled and slumped back down with another pained sound, looking over to Charlie. It was almost comical seeing him look so… elegant… with his pastel suit and pompadour contrasted by his gory and wounded state.
“I can’t- ah- afford a hospital bill…” He argued weakly. “Gave all my… money away.”
“Bruh!” Charlie let out a scoff, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. “I’m no doctor, man! I-I’m just a broke ass collage student with little to no life skills!” He could already feel his pacemaker going crazy, and he was hoping that he wouldn’t have a full on heart attack while he’s trying to help this guy. “Shit- I haven’t even asked for your name!”
The man let out a wheezing laugh, though it sounded more like a gurgle with the amount of blood he was likely inhaling.
It was strange. This man was in so much pain, he could hardly move or speak properly, and yet he was so casual about it to the point where he could laugh at the situation.
In between gasps, he replied with a shaky voice. “Har-Harvey… Harvin- Harvington….”
Charlie nodded slowly, repeating the name in his head a couple times so that he doesn’t blank on it later. “My name is uh- Charlie Sanchez. It’s nice to meet you…?” He cringed at himself, using one hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead. “Sorry, mannn… i’m so fucking stressed out right now I REALLY don’t want you dying in my car.” A panicked chuckle fled his throat, sounding manic and forced as he kept his eyes on the road.
A crooked grin appeared on Harvey’s face. There were definitely a few teeth missing. He let out another pained laugh, more blood spewing out of his mouth from the action. “I-It’s… nice to meet you too, Charlie… Sanchez… aah..”
Charlie’s nose scrunched, bottom lip quivering as he tried not to think too much about the cleaning process he’ll have to go through after Harvey gets out of his car. “Who even did this to you…? This couldn’t have been just a simple robbery, man. You look like you’ve been fucking tortured!”
Harvey tried to speak, but was interrupted by another fit of coughs. He spat a lot of blood onto his pastel suit in the process, and god did that look disgusting.
“Not…. A-robbery…. A-A guy who needed to p-pay off a medical bill…”
Charlie sputtered, whipping his head around. “Seriously!? Brooo… that can’t be the only reason! Are you seriously saying that guy only tortured you for
money
and nothing else..? Just to make a quick buck??” He couldn’t believe it, he just couldn’t. How could someone see a guy like Harvey and immediately try and take advantage of his selflessness like that?!
“That dude sounds fucked in the head, my guy!”
An almost… tired expression appeared on Harvey’s face. It looked a lot more sinister thanks to the copious amounts of blood staining his face. He nodded his head slowly, letting out a ragged breath.
"M-Mhm… A-All for m-money…."
A sour look crossed Charlie’s acne scarred face, taking a left turn as they finally entered the city. It was pretty late so there wasn’t much traffic, thankfully. “Shit… okay, well… do you not have, like, health insurance or something?” He eyed the injured man wearily.
Harvey groaned, running his only good hand through his pompadour and messing up the hairstyle. He didn’t seem at all focused on his hair though, and instead gave a tired laugh. “No…. Can’t… can’t afford it….”
Charlie sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth, cursing internally.
“Okaaaayyyy…. Okay… okay… cool, cool…” He clicked his tongue a few times, followed by a lip smack. “Don’t think the Shrek bandaids are gonna solve this one…”
Another laugh from Harvey, a bit more weak this time, but still just as tired. Charlie was surprised the guy could even laugh at all with the state he was in.
“…No, p-probably not….”
Charlie tried to smile, but he just couldn’t muster one. How could he crack jokes with a dying man seated next to him? If he wasn’t experiencing an insane adrenaline rush right now he’d be having a panic attack the size of Montana. “Look, the collage i’m going to gives free health insurance to everyone enrolled. I’ll just… explain the situation and maybe they’ll let you use it.” It was a long shot, but he’ll try just about anything at this point.
Harvey opened his eye again, his dark gaze locking with Charlie's. He didn't say anything for a few seconds while he processed it all, until he eventually responded with a weak nod.
"...T-That... That could work…"
He was struggling to stay conscious now, head bobbing up and down. It was a miracle that he was even still awake.
“Epic! Cool, cool.” Charlie clapped his hands together before gripping back onto the steering wheel. “Don’t worry, man! We’re gonna get ya all spruced up! Just uhhh… stay awake for a couple more minutes.” He made another sharp turn, something within the car creaking painfully.
Guess he wasn’t going to go home and sleep after all…
So much for smelling less like pizza.