The Most Stereotypical BMC High School In Existence

6

7 weeks later ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jake's POV
Rich had been staying at Jake's place since his dad had come home. They had yet to find the next letter, but Rich wasn't quite ready to confront his father yet. They had been dancing around their relationship, as they were stuck in a strange grey zone between friends and something more.

"Jake?" He turned towards Rich. "I know you're really buthy with danth, I mean I've barely theen you all week, but I wath gonna go to my houthe tonight and I kinda wnted thomeone to go with me..." Jake hugged him. "Of course I'll go with you. You picked a great day because guess who finally has a break?"

Rich's POV
They were parked outside his house, and all of Rich's tics were coming out. Nail biting, trembling, shudders, and constant fidgeting were the most noticable. "Hey, look at me." Jake gently placed his hands on his face and made him look him in the eyes.

"You are going to do amazing. Whatever happens, I'll be right there to help, ok? We're gonna go in, get the letter, maybe confront your dad if you're up to it, and leave. That's it. Then we'll go home, eat shitty food and watch movies and sleep. Sound good?" Rich nodded a small smile on his face. "Let'th go in."

They were at the door, and Rich took a deep, shaky breath. He took Jake's hand and pushed open the door, pulling him in. He found shattered dishes, broken pictures, and just utter chaos. They manuevered their way through the mess, tdying to find the closet with Rich's baby book.

"I know it'th either in the hallway one or the one in the laundry room. I have a hunch that it'll be in the hallway though." Rich quickly made his way there, rooting through the junk inside. "Ah! Found it!" He said tucking it under his arm and ran back to where he left Jake.

"So there seems to be light coming from where I assume his office is?" Jake asked, pointing down the hall. "Correct." Rich pulled Jake down the hallwaya and opened the door. His dad was sitting at his desk, sleeves rolled up to reveal dozens of scratches, presumably from the shattered mess he had created. He was writing notes down with his right hand and ringing a bell with his left.

"Oh there you are. I've been ringing for at least three minutes. Get me an esspresso stat." Rich sighed. "Dad, I havent been here  since you left two months ago." Mr. Goranski didnt even look up. "I would say good to have you back, but it's not."

Rich's grip on Jake's hand tightened. "Now Devin... Devin knew what I expected . You, you just couldn't do that, hm?" He glanced up for a second, then went back to his work. "Well, if you haven't been here for months I suppose you can be considered self reliant, so my work as a guardian is done. You have two hours to get packed and leave, then I expect to never see you here again or I will consider it trespassing ." He waved his hand to dismiss them, completely ignoring them.

"C'mon, let'th get my thtuff." Rich said, emotionless. "Also do try to get rid of that disgusting lisp, it's horrendous to listen to." He let go of Jake's hand and turned sharply, exiting the room. He ran to his room and started throwing his stuff into suitcases, boxes, anything that would hold it. Jake entered the room and silently started helping, packing all of his reading material into a large box.

"Rich?" Jake said timidly, standing about an arms length away from him. "Do... Do you want to talk, or a hug, or something? I want to help more than just packing." Rich looked up from what he was doing. "Im thorry, I'll talk at the houthe. We jutht need to get out ath fatht ath pothible right now." Jake nodded and went back to packing.

They packed everything in Jake's car, and Rich drove his to the apartment complex. Jake and Ty had their own covered parking spots, and there was a motorcycle in a small spot designed for it and two spots left over. "We usually use that for guests but it's yours now." Jake said, gesturing to the free spot. They parked and enlisted Ty for help, dragging them outside.