At the foot of my bed....

.... was a nightstand, and underneath that nightstand was a cardboard box. The exact same box from my dream in the basement.

My eyes couldn't make out was written on the side but just I could try to read it, the door swings open. In walks Rick, gripping a mug of coffee. I was in complete awe to see him here.

"Oh... you're awake." He sips his coffee. "How're you feelin'?"

My eyes darted back to the nightstand, but there was nothing underneath but dust. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I held all of my attention on Rick.

I shook my head at him in disbelief, stifling a chuckle. "You're not who I would've expected to see as soon as I woke up."

"And thank God you did," Rick says, sounding disinterested, as he sat down in the seat to the left of me. "I was planning on leaving this morning anyway, I haven't showered in a week."

I-I've been out for a week?

"I... wait, wh-what the hell happened to me? Why are you here? Are my parents here, too?" I ask Rick as he helps me sit up properly in bed.

"A) I don't know what the hell happened to you nor do I care, B) Beth is forcing me to look after you because somehow this is all my fault for leaving out my dangerous concoctions out in the open, C) Fuck no, they left a few hours ago to get to work." Rick tipped his flask into his mug as he explained himself.

I furrowed my eyebrows, folding my arms over my chest. "What was in that bottle, Rick?"

He mirrored me. "What was going through your head, Gwen? You really thought you get away with suicide? Enclosed in a garage steps away from a dining room full of loved ones?"

"You wouldn't understand, Rick. You just wouldn't." I sarcastically chuckled.

"Guess again, sweetheart. Someone very close to me tried to take the coward's way out... and they succeeded. You're not special, Gwen, get over it." He belched, putting his mug down beside him.

"You really think I did this to myself to get attention?" I jolted upwards to sit myself up better but only hurt myself in the process. "How big of an asshole are you?"

"Ginormous. Not like I cared what you thought of me." My eyesight started to blur as the stinging tears began to fall, I had to face away from Rick to hide my lament. "I'm not sticking around any longer, now that you're awake. Your parents'll be here to give you company." And with that, Rick got up and just left.

Fucking jerk.

***********

"--a-and I don't want you ever talking to Rick again, ever!" wailed my mother. "Do you understand me, Gwendolyn?"

With my hysterical mother in the passenger seat and my father driving the car, shoulders stuck up his ears as he clearly looked stressed out, I sat with my head against the window staring out at the street as we sped down the highway.

I didn't really want to interact with either of my parents right now. To know that I've failed in my escape and my parents know this too is pure hell. Now, they'll have their eyes on me 24/7, making it much easier for me to actually do it.

Why the fuck did I have to do it in Rick's garage? Out of all of the places I could've done it...

When we got home, I went up to my room, not a word was shared between any of us. They of course wanted to sit me down to ask me 'what was going through my head?' but I simply told them that I had a headache and needed some rest.

They told me to come downstairs whenever I was ready to talk to them about all of this.

There's no way I'm going back down there to discuss 'this matter'.

Mom and Dad are totally on my ass now. So much so that they've even put a baby monitor in my room and every three seconds they make sure I'm still there.

Through my bedroom window, I stare out at the Smith home longingly.

I needed to put Rick in his place, and I sure as hell wasn't gonna do it just sitting all cooked up in here.

There is no way I'm letting him get away with putting me down like that, thinking I would actually drink a foreign drink that nearly killed me for attention.

Never really cared much for Mom and Dad's rules so there really was no debate on whether or not I should disobey.

One foot after the other, I slipped out through my bedroom window. Literally. Luckily, I had grabbed onto the tree just by our yard and climbed the rest of the way down.

With the muted monitor in hand, I ran across the street and up the driveway. The repetitive beating of my fists echoed on the tin of the garage door until it pulled open to reveal Rick in his usual get-up.

He muttered a profanity under his breath before asking me what I wanted.

"If you actually think that I'm gonna stand being neighbours with a total douchebucket, you are out of your fucking mind." I sassily chuckled, putting my fisted hands on my hips.

"Oh God, here we go again," Rick groaned, rolling his eyes. "Fuck yeah we're going again! You think I'm gonna let you get away weigh accusing me of actually wanting attention!?"

I pushed my way through to the inside of the garage, causing Rick to step back as I entered. "I've been loathing myself for the last three years, Rick. Ever since I moved in across the street. You have no idea what I've been through, therefore you have zero right to label me off as some cheap teenage attention-seeking whore!"

Rick furrowed his eyebrow at me. "Look at you, pathetic. You're yelling at an old man? You-y*belch*you really are a respectful little girl, aren't you?"

"Why waste any respect on pathetic old men who succumb to shamefully moving into their child's home!?" At this point, I really couldn't care less in who walked in on us screaming.

Rick was clearly taken by surprise. "Shameful?" He scoffed. "Listen, sweetheart, whatever it is that you claim that you 'went through' clearly cannot translate to a suicide attempt. There are people more unfortunate than you are who have dealt with decades of despair and you're here bitching and moaning about feeling somewhat depressed over the course of three years? Please... if this isn't a cry for attention, I don't know what is."

Outraged and sorrowful, the lump in my throats holds me back from defending myself any longer. In an act of pure rage, I snatch Rick by his lab coat and shove him back into the shelf behind him.

Rick stumbles backwards, knocking down a few things and one huge box filled with scientific parts and gears, spilling all over the floor. In a panic, Rick dropped to his knees almost immediately and in a scramble tried to recollect every last piece from that box.

As the cardboard box lay on its side, in black permanent marker read 'Time Travel Stuff'.

This intrigued me. "The hell's all this?"

"Nothing you should be trying to kill yourself with," Rick snapped at me, folding the box covers closed and shoving it back in its place on the shelf where it will no doubt regain its layer of dust once again. "Sh-sh*belch*ouldn't you be locked up in your room and 500 feet away from me? Do your parents, as well as I, a huge favour and fuck off, will ya?"

Ignoring him, I further interrogated him on what he exactly he was trying to hide from me.

"It's just something I tried experimenting with back in high school, Gwen. Time travel is a complicated mess that's beyond me. Besides, this isn't really any of your busine--"

"Hold it," I interrupted. "I've seen this before. In a dream and when I was in the hospital..." I trailed off, my eyes glued to the box as I fell into a deep daydream.

"Th-there's something about that box, Rick, that's so.... familiar to me." Reaching out to reopen it, Rick grabbed me by the wrist before I swiftly pulled out of his grip.

"Do you know anyone by the name of Mickey?"

"Last name?"

"I... I-I don't know if he has one."

Rick rolled his eyes. "Where'd you say you met this guy?"

"I didn't.... I-uh-I sorta kinda maybe met him a couple of times in a dream... B-but, I know for a fact he's real! There's no way I could be having reoccurring dreams of a complete stranger or someone I simply made up!"

Rick just shook his head as he lead me out of the garage, a hand pressed firmly on my back. "You know you've already wasted enough of my time even showing up here, right? Where the fu*belch*ck are your parents?"

Spinning around on my heel to face Rick, I pushed his old grey hand away.

"Look..." I separated us at arm's length. "You're a genius, right? Make me something that'll let me see into my head. Not literally, of course, but... I just need to know who he is exactly." Nearly whispering that last bit, my eyes dart up at Rick who looks completely apathetic of me. He looked more concerned for me to just leave him alone already.

"Sure thing, kid."

"Really?" A grin sprouts from my face as I begin to feel myself beam with excitement.

"I want to be paid, upfront with cash," I eagerly nodded. "A-and if I'm gonna be doing this for you, you're go*belch*nna have to promise me tha-that you'll stay as far away from my grandkids as humanly possible."

"Wh...?" I thought long and hard about it and the very first instinct was to agree immediately. I hadn't put Summer or Morty into full consideration. I loved Morty and I loved Summer now. I had almost wished I was more open with them when I first moved in next door three years ago.

Throwing out everything we had together would be in sacrifice in finding the truth about Mickey.

And to be very honest with you....

It's worth it. It's more than worth it.

Something about choosing Mickey over my friends is wrong, I know deep down inside.

But I don't wanna have to make that same mistake again. I need Mickey more than ever right now.

"... deal."