Another uneventful week has passed and everything has been incredibly mundane as ever.

I can't spend time with Summer or Morty at school anymore, only to make things easier on me so when the time actually comes, I won't be weeping over it.

Mom and Dad are still very strict about me staying away from Rick (and the fact that they saw me make that deal with him doesn't help my situation at all).

They still go over to their home for dinner and whatnot, but I'm forbidden to even step into the house. They make dinner for me before leaving to go over to the Smiths.

Today, I decided, is the last day I'm gonna wait for Rick.

He's a pretty intelligent fellow, he should've had it done the day after I had asked.

Collecting the money I had saved up for college, heavy in my piggy bank (considering I wanted to go into biophysics at Harvard), I ignore the plate of mac and cheese waiting for me at the dining table and head out the front door.

Only to return, after remembering to feed Pancakes, then leave again.

I avoid the windows, at the cost of getting caught approaching the house by my parents, and head for the driveway. There, I see a purple futuristic-looking helmet sitting on the counter, Rick was nowhere to be seen.

As I'm examining it, the door slams shut.

"Be sure not to drink anything in here."

I roll my eyes, setting Rick's invention down. "Is it done?"

"It's been done since you last left." Rick smirked, crossing his arms while leaning back on the door to the foyer. I groan in annoyance, running a hand through my hair before calming down.

"You didn't maybe wanna call to tell me it's done?!" Rick shrugged, claiming he wanted to wait until I had all of his money. "I honestly would've waited a whole month if it meant I'd get every last penny that is owed to me."

"You never really named your price." I set down the pastel blue piggy back down beside the helmet looking thing.

Rick chuckled, motioning me to hand it over. He weighed it in his hands before asking for all of it, Rick guessed there was about $100k in there. He guessed right.

"I've given you what you want, Rick. Now hold up your end of the bargain. Tell me how this thing works..."

Rick set aside his money, walking up to me to strap the 'helmet' onto my noggin. He demanded that I gave him my phone before opening the camera and putting it in selfie mode.

"This," he pointed at the screen a bit above my forehead. "This will transmit whatever is in your tiny little head. The dials next to it will help me tune into either the cerebellum, the parietal, frontal, or temporal lobe. In your case, I'm gonna need to look into your temporal lobe... you said this Mickey character kept showing up in your dreams? ... as well as my box full of junk?" I nodded.

Out of the blue, Rick turns the machine on with the effortless flick of a switch before handing me back my phone. The helmet hums to life as it vibrates on my head, sending a tingle down my spine, tickling me right down to the core.

"Shut up and stop moving," Rick grumbles as he tries to keep my head straight, I paid him no attention. I couldn't help but laugh, the tickle was so powerful I couldn't even respond to Rick's grunt in annoyance.

Eventually, the helmet stops vibrating.

I guess Rick turned it off. Not even a minute on. "So what'd you see?" I ask as I unbuckle the helmet and carefully set it back down onto the counter. When I look up at Rick, I nearly turn pale as I see his eyes wide and dazed, the look of pure shock plastered onto his face.

"R-Rick...? You alright?"

Without warning, he left the garage for a brief second only to return with a sledgehammer in hand. Wait... what the fuck?! "Hey, hold on a min--!"

Rick tosses the contraption onto the floor carelessly and tells me to 'step the fuck back and to cover my eyes' before smashing the helmet to pieces. All throughout, I pleaded to Rick to stop but he just wouldn't listen.

When there was nothing left to break, Rick stepped back, out of breath as he dropped the hammer and fell to his knees.

"Why the fuck did you do that!? What did you see, Rick?"

Rick ignored me, "Take the money and go." His head still hung low as he stared down at what he created and destroyed.

".... I-is this a joke?" I hesitated. "Rick, you're scaring me..."

"You've been through too much. You've seen too much. That kid Mickey is an illusion. If you see him again in your dreams, do not approach him." Rick muttered in an eerie monotone voice, his eyes never once looking up into my eyes.

I didn't even want to ask him why, I just took my money back and ran back home as fast as I possibly could. I was officially beyond spoiled at this point and I was much too terrified to even think about what Rick had said for too long.

I ran upstairs and locked myself in my room, hugging my piggy bank close to my chest, fearing the worst every time I would feel like dosing off.