cash in. (au story)

chapter 20; overlooked.

- SUNDAY -

beverly >>> mike

beverly: hey mikeee

mike: hey bev :)

beverly: do u wanna hang out td, im bored asf and i wanna get to know u more

mike: uh, sure! i'd love to. i'm not really in the best mood, just a warning bc i don't want you to put up with me if you can't

beverly: aw i'm sorry, ofc i can! let's talk! ice cream shop in ten?

mike: thanks bev :,)
mike: and sure, sounds good!

beverly: alrightyyy 🤩

beverly tapped on the table she sat at as she waited for mike. upon hearing the quiet bell ding, she peeked over a couple heads and watched mike walk through, looking anxious. she smiled and waved him over, and he weakly exchanged one.

"hey," beverly greeted, hugging mike once he was at the table.

"hey, thanks for doing this. it seriously means so much."

"it's no problem, mike. anything for my friend."

mike smiled at her and they sat down. "whatcha getting?"

"mint chocolate chip, immaculate as hell," she said. mike nodded.

"i literally saw you as a strawberry type of person."

"why, cause i'm ginger and female??" she joked.

"no, no!" mike laughed, waving his hands. beverly started laughing as well.

"i'm kidding, just givin' ya shit," she chuckled. "okay okay, let's order."

mike and beverly both got up, ordered their ice cream, got it, and sat back down.

"we should eat outside, it's a nice day," mike suggested. beverly smiled.

"amazing idea, let's go!" she said. the two left the building and fixed on a curb outside. "so what's up?"

"well, i guess i'm just kinda upset about the whole parents thing." she looked at him with confusion. "they died in a fire when i was little."

"oh, shit, i'm so sorry for your loss."

"it's alright. i miss them a lot. i also just wish i had a reason to miss them."

"elaborate?"

"they were big drug addicts. i loved them, but they were always drunk, or high, or trying to get me to take drugs. even as a baby."

"woah, that's psychotic!"

"i guess.. i still do love and miss them."

"i mean, that's understandable. they were your parents. it's almost impossible to hate someone like that, especially when you lose them. i realize this is hard. not being able to grow up with your own parents. you don't have to hate them, you miss them. you wished that you could've had them. and i'm so sorry that you didn't."

"thank you so much, bev. you're right. all the way. especially since i've been taken in by my grandpa. he's such a jerk all the time, and i just hate to admit it. god, that BITCH is such a narcissist!" mike said aggressively, shoving his spoon into his mouth.

"what does he do?"

"he's just an asshole in general. he's a terrible person. i mean yeah, i get it, you work at a barn with animals, and i guess that's 'the way you grew up' to kill animals and eat them. yeah whatever. but he literally forces me to kill the animals too, has since i was a little kid! you shouldn't be making kids do that bullshit. he tells me to 'toughen up' and 'behave like a man' and acts like i'm some mistake if i don't do anything right the first damn time. he tells me shit like 'your parents would be disappointed' or 'this isn't the kid we raised' and it just sucks hearing that! i'm trying. hard. and he doesn't see that and it just sucks!"

beverly rubbed his back. "let it out."

"he just doesn't understand what it's like to be an orphan, black kid. the shit i receive because of my skin color is ridiculous. it's almost like not a single person in derry has any common sense except for you and the others. people fucking beat the shit out of me because i'm black. officers blame me for anything they possibly could if they even see my face." beverly nodded as he spoke. "i've been given shit all my life and never had a chance to recover nor someone to talk to and it sucks, it fucking does."

"oh, come here, hun," beverly said as he heard mike's voice crack. she brought him into a hug and he started to cry.

"it's not fair though.." mike choked out, crying into beverly's shoulder, unable to hold it in any longer.

"i know, honey. i'm so sorry," she whispered, tears of her own forming in her eyes which she closed. beverly rubbed his back. "it's okay. i'm here."

beverly let mike cry into her for ten minutes without end. once he was only sniffing and wiping his eyes, mike sat up and beverly rubbed his shoulder.

"th-thanks."

"there's no need to thank me, hon. you're hurting. and that's okay. it's okay to cry. i'm here for you, as well as the rest of us. we care about you. you're such a sweet guy, with a sweet heart, and you deserve a chance to shut that down and just cry, especially because of everything you're going through."

mike sniffed and smiled at her, nodding. "i think we let our ice cream melt a little long," he pointed out with a chuckle. she also chuckled.

"well then i guess we have no choice but to make milk shakes!" she said, and mike smiled.

"sounds pretty good to me."

"so you're in?"

"oh, all the way."

"yess! let's do it!"

- MONDAY -

"damn, you look rough," kevin commented when richie entered.

"you look nice too, kev, thanks."

"not get any sleep again?"

"nope."

richie walked back behind the counter, mopey and exhausted. kevin sighed.

"wanna sleep in my office?"

"i have a job."

"whatever. you haven't sleep in three days, i'm not gonna force it upon you to work in those kind of conditions."

richie looked up at him with tired eyes. "thank you."

"yeah. i can pick up some coffee too. only one cup, though."

"okay," richie chuckled. he smiled as he walked into kevin's office, happy to finally have a big brother figure.

he melted to the floor and immediately fell asleep.