Protection ~ Expensive Headphones ~ Be More Chill Fanfic

Chapter 16

Rich woke up, his eyes parting ever so slightly to see what was in front of him. The upper part of his vision was blocked by something. It was wet. He took it off his forehead and looked at it. It was a hot towel.

"What...?"

"Oh great! You're awake." Rich jumped slightly and sat up. There was a girl standing at the doorway. She looked familiar.

"I see...you're having trouble remembering me. You came across me after you escaped a kidnapping." That's when memories flooded Rich's head.

"Oh. Oh yeah." Rich mumbled. The girl set down a bowl of what seemed to be soup.

"My name's Amy." She said, taking his hand and shaking it. She had long, beige, brown hair. Her eyes were an emerald green. She was tall and slim. She had slight freckles. She looked almost like a girl version of Jeremy.

"Rich." He said, smiling softly. She pulled up a chair beside the bed he was in.

"So, Rich. What school do you go to? You look like a high schooler."

"I go to Middle Borough High." Her expression dropped.

"Do you...live nearby there?"

"Yeah. I live pretty cloth to my thchool. Why?"

"Because...that school is like...two or three towns away. You've wandered out far man."

"W-What?"

"Yeah. It's like...an hour and a half away." She said. He looked down.

"Jethuth."

"Don't worry, though. I'll be sure to take you back...once I get you healed."

"I'm fi-FUCK!" He screeched. He realized that he was covered in bruises, cuts, scratches, scrapes, and scabs.

"You wanna tell me how you got so beat up? You're nose was bleeding, too." She said.

"I-I know...I jumped out of the back of they're car while they were driving."

"Oh. That makes sense." They sat in silence before Rich perked up.

"Wait!" She looked up to him from her phone, "I can call my boyfriend. He'th probably worried thick."

"Boyfriend?"

"Oh...I'm bithexthual." He mumbled, looking down.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not judging." She said, smiling softly. Rich looked around.

"Where'th my phone?"

"About that...I found it in your pocket. It was definitely broken." She said. He sighed.

"You can call him on my phone."

"I don't have hith number memorithed. We've only dated for about a month."

//Unknown time skips. In case you were confused about the whole "month" thing//

  "Damn. Well, I promise to get you home soon." She said. He nodded.

"Thank you tho much."

"Of course. I wouldn't just leave an unconscious teenager on the side of the road." She said, snorting. He laughed.

"True."

"Well, you need to head back to sleep. Get rest. Oh, and I might wake you on accident tending to your wounds." Rich smiled and nodded. He laid his head back on his pillow and closed his eyes.

He drifted off to sleep, dreaming of being in Michael's arms.

~~~~~~

Michael laid in his bed. He couldn't sleep. He checked the time.

'2:00 am'

He groaned, rubbing his eyes.

"God, Rich please be alive. That's all I beg." He cried softly. He heard a small knock on his window.

It was Jeremy.

Michael had called him over. Neither of them could sleep, mourning over Rich's loss. Michael walked over and opened the window. Jeremy hopped inside and sighed.

"Hey man."

"Hey." Michael replied, walking back to his bed and falling onto it. Jeremy sat beside him, looking down to Michael. He frowned.

"I'm sorry."

"No. It's not at all your fault. It's mine. You literally told me multiple times to check my phone and I kept saying it wasn't important. What the hell is wrong with me. Now, because of me, Rich is probably dead in the middle of the woods."

"He's not dead." Jeremy said, setting his hand on Michael's shoulder. Michael pushed it off.

"He is! I saw blood dragging up his window. They most likely killed him."

"You don't know that."

"I don't know if he's alive either." Michael snapped. Jeremy went quiet and looked down. Michael's expression softened.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not okay. I should be keeping hope and not yelling at you. You did nothing wrong. He's my boyfriend for god's sake. I should be keeping faith in him. Not just giving up. It's not what he would've wanted me to do."

"Would want." Jeremy corrected. "I'm sure he still wants you to stay strong."

Michael smiled softly and leaned his head on Jeremy's shoulder.

"Thanks, Jere."

"Anytime Michael." Michael sighed.

"I made a promise to him," Michael started, "I promised I would always protect him. That promise is probably broken, but I can regain it. I'm not going to stop searching for him. I don't care if it risks or costs my own damn life. I promised Rich I would keep him safe and that's what I'm going to fucking do." Michael said, sitting up. Jeremy chuckled softly.

"That was a great speech, Micha. Now get some sleep. I'm sure Rich needs a fully recharged Michael saving him." Michael smiled and laid down in his bed. Jeremy laid beside him, looking up to the ceiling.

"Goodnight, Jeremy."

"Night, Michael."

Michael's eyes slowly shut and he drifted off to sleep, dreaming of Rich in his arms.