Monster ♦︎ Cricky AU [✔️]

15: The Next Chapter Is Where Things Start To Get Interesting, I Promise

About a week after that party, Ricky got a phone call from Ryan. He awoke from his slumber as he heard it go off, groggily lifting his head off the pillow. As quickly as he could, Ricky freed one of his arms, and reached out to grab his phone.

"Hello?" Ricky answered quietly.

"Hey Rick," Ryan responded.

"What do you want?" Ricky groaned, rolling his eyes. "It's only... Eleven AM."

"Did I seriously just wake you up?" Ryan laughed.

"Yeah," Ricky grumbled. "Hang on a second."

Ricky put his phone back on his bedside table, carefully wriggling his way out of Chris' arms. The taller boy squirmed a bit as he did so, but was quick to simply roll over and drift back off to sleep. Ricky then grabbed his phone once again, and made his way out of the room, as quietly as he could manage.

"Alright man, what do you want now?" Ricky questioned.

"Well, basically, Ange and I have plans to go out on a date, and-" Ryan began.

"Woah, woah, wait," Ricky interrupted him. "Did you just say you're going out on a date with Angelo?" He asked with a smirk.

"That's exactly what I just said," Ryan exhaled. "Anyway-"

"How did that even happen?" Ricky inquired,interrupting his friend once again.

"You know that party we all went to last week?" Ryan responded.

"Yeah?" Ricky replied. "Oh my God, no, did you guys, like, fuck or something?"

"Jesus Christ, no," Ryan sighed. "We just fucking cuddled, calm down. Anyway, we were wondering if maybe you wanted to tag along with your little boyfriend there, call it a double date or whatever."

"What boyfriend?" Ricky asked. "I don't have a- Wait, are you talking about Chris?"

"Yeah, who else would I be referring to?" Ryan responded with a chuckle.

"Chris isn't my boyfriend, Ryan," Ricky exhaled. "He's just my friend, okay?"

"Yeah, right, sure," Ryan said with a laugh. "Just friends who hold hands literally every time they're together, and sleep in the same bed and cuddle every night. Definitely just platonic pals. Totally."

"Oh, shut up," Ricky whined, his cheeks beginning to turn a light shade of pink. "We're just close, that's all."

"Whatever," Ryan replied. "Look, just come with us, alright. Angelo said he would feel a little more comfortable with some other friends there, anyway. Show up for him."

"Alright, fine," Ricky agreed. "When is this little date, anyway?"

"Sunday night," Ryan replied.

"Alright, got it," Ricky nodded. "Just send me the location and the time on Sunday. We'll see you two there."

As Ricky stepped back into his bedroom, Chris began to stir in the bed again, this time actually waking up. He sat up in the bed, smiling as Ricky came closer to him.

"Good morning," Ricky said to him with a smile, sitting back down on the bed.

"G-Good morning," Chris replied, his smile seeming to grow wider just with the smaller boy closer to him.

"So, uh, Ryan and Angelo wanted to include us in some of their plans," Ricky told him. "Basically, they're going on a date together, and they want us to come with them. To, like, support Angelo, I guess. To make him a bit more at ease."

"O-Okay," Chris nodded.

"I, uh, I don't have much more information about the whole thing," Ricky continued. "But, when Ryan tells me more, you'll be the next person to know. Considering, you know, you're coming with me."

"Um... Wh-What's a d-date?" Chris questioned. "Ca-Can't remember..."

Ricky frowned. Another thing Chris wasn't able to remember. "Well, I don't really know how to explain it... I guess, usually, a date is this thing where two people spend time together, in, like, a romantic way."

Chris simply nodded again, waiting a few moments before speaking again. "So, w-would this be a d-date for us, too?" he questioned.

"Well, do you want it to be a date for us?" Ricky asked him.

Chris shyly nodded, a small smile still evident on his face. If he still had actual blood running through his veins, he would surely be blushing a bit as well.

"Okay, then that makes it a date for us, too," Ricky smiled.

So maybe Ryan would end up being right after all. Maybe they weren't just friends. Maybe they were starting to become something more.

-------------------------------------------

Once Chris had gotten out of bed, and both he and Ricky had gotten some normal clothes on, Ricky's mother decided to send the two of them out to get some grocery shopping done. Of course, Ricky complained about this, asking why his parents couldn't just do it, but his mother told him she and his father had other plans.

Ricky wasn't entirely sure what she meant by that, but he wasn't so sure he wanted to know either.

So, without any further arguing, Ricky grabbed the grocery list from the kitchen table, and lead Chris out the door with him. He helped the taller boy into the car, as usual, then began to drive to the local supermarket, muttering to himself occasionally that this shouldn't be his responsibility, which caused Chris to chuckle a bit.

Of course, Ricky realized on the way there that he left the hoodie he let Chris have back at home, and he really didn't feel like turning back to get it. Chris didn't seem to have a problem with having his bolts showing, especially after being complimented on them at the party, but Ricky knew there was a pretty big difference between everybody Mike was friends with and the general public. Regardless, as long as Chris felt okay without his hoodie covering his neck, Ricky decided it would be fine. Besides, it's not like anyone would make a scene over something as little as that in the middle of a grocery store. And, if anyone gave Chris any shit, Ricky would be right by his side to defend him.

It was expected that Chris would get some degrading looks from some shoppers, and he definitely did. Although, he definitely wasn't the person in there with the worst appearance. It was a grocery store, after all.

Luckily, Chris didn't seem hurt at all by the way certain people looked at him. He must've been getting accustomed to it, Ricky guessed. Although that was a bit sad to think, it was probably for the best. As long as Chris wasn't getting upset, it wasn't really a problem. It could've been much worse.