cash in. (au story)

chapter 11; complicated.

richie fidgeted with the cash register, pressing the button that opens it and slamming it shut again. he sighed, wandering around the back of the counter as he waited for someone to pay.

the end of the shift for the day was coming to a close as 12:00 am neared, relieving richie that he finally got a break.

his phone buzzed, and richie glanced at it, but before he got the chance to check it, a man set some things down for richie to scan. he sighed and did so.

"how's your day, sir?" the man asked, starting conversation. richie looked at him weirdly, slowly scanning the items. he looked back down and continued at a normal pace.

"it was fine.. yours..?" richie asked uncomfortably. the man gave him pedophile vibes.

"excellent, in fact. so, your name is richie, correct?"

"yeah. what about it."

"hm. nothing. you have a cute name."

"don't call my name 'cute', sicko."

"oh, that's no way to treat a customer." the main moved richie's hair out of his face, which made him swallow hard. "how old are you, little boy?"

"okay, what the fuck do you want, dude? i'm not giving you that information!" richie exclaimed, stopping what he was doing. the man put his hand on richie's, who internally freaked out.

"calm down, boy. nothing to fear, i won't bite."

"don't touch me, fucking freak." richie shoved the bag at the man. "get out now."

"hm. i'll see you later, sweetcheeks."

richie shivered, standing dormant and frozen at the counter.

"what the fuck.." kevin mumbled, making richie jump. "did i hear that correctly?"

"i don't wanna work here anymore," richie sighed, tangling his fingers in his hair. kevin sighed.

"do you know him?"

"no! he's a fucking predator! what the hell?!" richie exclaimed, sitting down for a second.

"i hate the people of derry. sorry about that guy, dude, that's just gross."

"yeah. it is." richie sighed and stood.

"shift should be over soon," kevin pointed out.

"good," richie mumbled. he hopped on the counter as the last person left, grabbing his phone and checking it. kevin walked over to the front door to switch the 'open' sign to 'closed'.

richie's face dropped at the messages he saw on his phone, eyes crowding with fear and tears.

wentworth >>> richard

wentworth: okay, i'm sorry. come home. now.
wentworth: you can't just live outside of your house, so i give you a week to come home. we want you back.

"what?" kevin asked, reading richie's expression, who slammed his phone down and looked at kevin.

"nothing!" he said suspiciously, faking a smile. kevin narrowed his eyes.

"uh-huh. shift's over. i also need you to stay wednesday."

"got it, bye, kev," richie rushed, jumping off of the counter and rushing outside. kevin watched him suspiciously, sighing and cleaning up a bit before leaving as well.

mikey >>> richiee

mikey: hey, rich! if you're done with work, do you want to hang out outside for a bit?

richiee: ofcc, just finished work

mikey: alright, cya at the barrens?

richiee: got it, cyaaa

richie clicked off his phone, hopped on his bike, and biked off to the barrens, aware of his surroundings the entire time.

he was the first one there, patiently waiting on a rock as he threw smaller ones into the running water.

"hey," mike said from behind, leaves crunching beneath his shoes. richie smiled at him.

"wow, mikey breaking the curfew to hang out with me?" richie teased as mike sat on a rock next to richie's.

"nah, no curfews in the summer! that's some bullshit," mike chuckled. richie smiled.

"what's up with you?" asked richie. mike glanced at him.

"hm?"

"you sound upset."

"oh, i only had an argument with my grandfather, nothing big. everyone fights."

"oh, sorry to hear about that, fights suck," said richie. mike chuckled.

"it's alright."

"wanna talk about it?"

"i mean, maybe?"

richie smiled and chucked another rock. "go for it! it'll help to get it off of your chest."

"well, he just kinda started to get frustrated because of the farm work at our house. there's a bunch of animals there, and we kind of just have to take care of them and fatten them up and eventually kill them for meat and stuff. but, i feel physically ill whenever i have to do that kind of shit."

"yeah."

"and he's putting all this pressure on me to be a farmer and kill our animals, but for some reason, it feels like im killing someone close to me whenever i try to. it's weird, i know. but i hate it. and he just lost his shit on me and screamed at me, so i just ran out of there after five minutes before it got too bad."

"shit, mike, i'm sorry that happened. he sounds like a total asshole."

"yeah, he is. hate to admit it, but he is."

"i get that, older folks just really don't understand the concept of kids nowadays. they just want us to be an exact replica of them. and they forget the fact that we are our own people. it sucks, it does, but sometimes, we have no choice but to work our way around it until we just don't have to live with them anymore. i'm sorry for what's going on, you deserve better."

"thanks, rich. you're right, just gotta push through."

"just like i push through your mom."

"i don't have a mom."

"fuck off- what?! then.. your dad!"

"don't have that either."

"your grandma?!"

"nada."

"fuck, mike, i'm so sorry for your losses! that's awful!"

"it's okay, thank you. they died when i was young. in a fire."

"a fire?"

"yeah. i had to watch. it sucked."

"holy shit, are you okay?!" richie exclaimed, leaning over and hugging him.

"i'm alright now. just kinda traumatized."

"yeah, i bet. that's horrible, i'm sorry for what happened."

"it's fine, everything's all good now."

richie pulled out of the hug and patted mike's shoulder. "okay, well, if you're every feeling down about it or just want to talk, i'm here for you, okay?"

"thanks, rich. that means a lot."

"of course, mikey."