Rich and George: The Power Couple

Rich's POV: Back To School

In my art class, the teacher assigned new seats, and put me next to George. His arm was in a sling, and I couldn't help but feel guilty. "He didn't break your arm, did he?" I asked.

"What do you think?" He rolled his eyes. "This is all your fault, you know."

"I know." I tried not to show him how bad I felt. I was sure that I'd start crying if I did.

"Aren't you gonna say something about it?" he demanded, probably hoping for at least an apology.

"No." He blinked in surprise. "If I do, you'll argue with me about it."

"Typical."

"See? You're doing it right now." He sighed. "I know you don't like me, but if we have to sit together, at least pretend to."

"Not if you keep acting like a prick."

"Blame Henry for that stuff." He shook his head. "I don't know what to tell you, then. Hate me if you want, but I tried my best."

"If you trying your best gave me a broken arm, I'd like to see what happens when you don't try." He laughed. "Maybe I'll get stabbed in the heart, or get thrown off a building or something."

"Don't say that."

"Why not? You're not gonna do anything about it."

"God, Williams, you make things so hard for me sometimes." I rubbed my eyes in annoyance, and it only made me angrier knowing that I didn't have a shot with him.

"I make things hard for you?" I instantly regretted what I said. "Yeah, right. You're not the one who broke his jaw in sixth grade, got a concussion in seventh, and got a scar on his wrist in eighth grade that's still there to this day." Yep, that happened. I won't elaborate, all I'll say is that Henry went berserk. "Not to mention this." He pointed to the sling.

"I get it, dude. I'm a terrible person, you don't have to remind me."

"Great." I continued working on my art project, not bothering to look at him again. I felt a little bad for fighting with him, and all I wanted was for him to take me seriously. Still, his piercing brown eyes made it tempting to keep talking to him. But I couldn't.

I didn't need to get hurt by him again.

I came home that day to find Dad and Pop at the kitchen table staring at their laptops and looking extremely confused. They saw me walk in and closed their computers as fast as they could. "Hey, Richie!" Dad grinned. "How was school?"

"Pretty bad, as usual," I shrugged. "George broke his arm."

"Kiddo, that Henry is bad news," Pop exclaimed. "I know you're afraid of what'll happen to you, but you should really do something."

"I can't, Pop. You know what would happen if Henry found out I was defending the gay kid."

"I hate to break it to you, Rich, but you're also they gay kid in this situation," Dad quipped. "But I know what you mean. I say you just keep your distance when Henry acts up, that way you're not involved."

"That's a terrible idea," Pop refuted. "He's just being a bystander that way."

"Look, I apologized to George, and he didn't take it well. I'm still sitting by myself at lunch, what difference does it make?" I walked to the cabinet to grab some chips. "Anyway, what were you guys doing before I walked in?"

Dad looked at Pop, who simply gave him a nod. "Your brother has been spending a lot of money at college, and since he doesn't have a job, we have to give him ours."

"Wait, but didn't you already spend a lot of money on his college?"

"This is why you need to get a scholarship, Rich." Pop patted me on the back. "Which I doubt will be a problem for you."

"Well, it will be if I don't know what the hell I want to do with my life." Dad laughed.

"You have plenty of time to figure that out, kiddo. For now, all you need to figure out is what you want for dinner."

"Surprise me," I smirked, knowing that Dad would laugh. I didn't like how my parents changed the subject, though. Like I was too young to have to worry about Josh.

"Okay, Richie, why don't you start your homework while we finish this up?"

"Sure." And then the conversation ended. It was just me and my algebra.