Something - Quinn Fabray

Chapter 29

"What did you have planned today?" Shelby asked Ryan after breakfast. It was a couple of days after James' visit, and the two were getting their routines back into order.

"Nothing really. The garage is closed because Mr. Hummel and Kurt went on a vacation." Ryan shrugged. "Quinn's getting home this afternoon, we might get together later. I was just going to stay home for the morning, I guess."

"I need to go out, we're out of food." Privately Shelby thought she'd have to find a job soon otherwise her kid was going to eat his way through her savings. "You can come if you like."

Ryan readily agreed, and a little while later the two of them were at the mall. "Come on, I think you could stand to add a few more pieces to your wardrobe," Shelby decided, much to Ryan's alarm.

"What? Wait, I thought we were going grocery shopping!"

"Yes, later," Shelby answered innocently. "Don't think I haven't noticed you've been recycling the clothes I bought you last month over and over again."

"That's because you've been throwing my other stuff out!" Ryan accused.

"You don't know that." Yes, it was true, Shelby had been slowly getting rid of Ryan's older stuff. Seriously, no one was going to take him seriously in those old clothes. They were fine for maybe a twelve-year-old, but no further.

"Where else would they be going, then?"

"You can't prove anything." Shelby started steering the boy to one of the clothes stores. "Now quit whining."

An hour later Ryan was seriously starting to question what had possessed him to agree to this trip with his mom. "See if I ever come with you voluntarily again," he grumbled, as they struggled along with a bunch of shopping bags. Of course, he was carrying most of them.

Shelby shot him a glare, not appreciating the attitude. "Less on the dramatics, please. Besides, you spent half the time texting Quinn, anyway," she added a bit acerbically.

"It's better than shopping," Ryan answered almost rudely, causing Shelby to roll her eyes.

The two of them went out into the parking lot to load everything into the car, and then returned to the mall. "Can we go to the music store?" Ryan asked. There was a new CD out that he wanted to get.

Shelby checked her watch. Their shopping trip had taken a little longer than expected. "I have to go pick something up. You go to the music store, then wait for me in front of the supermarket," she instructed him. Ryan agreed, and they split up.

Soon Ryan was on his way to the grocery section of the mall when he spotted two unfortunately familiar figures.

"Hey there, Gayberry." McKinley's favorite football jocks Karofsky and Azimio were also in the mall. Great, thought Ryan, cursing his luck.

"Karofsky, Azimio," he nodded at the two enormous boys, even as he tensely looked around for exit strategies. Good, there was a security guard nearby; they wouldn't be stupid enough to do anything in front of a security guard, right?

"You been hanging out with Miss Hummel huh?" Azimio asked mockingly. "You two got a lot in common, don'cha?"

"Where's your dad - sorry, dads," Karofsky sneered. "They ditch you out here by yourself?"

Ryan's shoulders stiffened and his jaw clenched as the large bully hit a little too close to home. "We're not at school, you don't have Tanaka and Figgins to turn a blind eye to your behavior. If you don't want to get into trouble with the authorities, I suggest you leave me alone."

"Ohh, kid thinks he can mess with us, just because we're not in school," jeered Karofsky. "Don't need backup to tell you you're a loser."

"But lucky for you, we got places to be," added Azimio. "We gonna have a extra-large cup of ice for you when classes start up!" He fist-bumped his partner-in-crime and the two swaggered off.