So this was wrong. Everyone could see that it was wrong. But words couldn't describe how wrong it felt to Morty. Jessica was kissing him. He'd wanted this for years, but suddenly it didn't feel right. She pulled away as the music stopped. "Morty? What's wrong?" She asked, cupping his cheek. He shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know, I just..." he gently pushed her hand away. "I have to go." He said, turning towards the doors. He left the gym, stepping out into the cool night air. He pulled out his phone and dialed Rick's number. After a few rings, Rick answered. "Hey, how's your dance goin?" He asked, a joking tone in his voice. "Can you come pick me up?" Morty asked quietly. Rick was quiet for a minute. "I'm on my way," He said seriously. Morty locked his phone and put it back in his pocket. A moment later, Rick flew into the parking lot. Morty climbed into his 'car' and closed the hatch. Once they were airborne, he sighed, putting his head in his hands. "Everything okay?" Rick asked. Morty shook his head. "I don't know," He said honestly. "What happened?" Rick asked. Morty was quiet for a moment. "Jessica kissed me." Rick let out a low whistle. Morty swatted his arm. "Shut up, jeez," He said with a half-smile. Rick smiled. "Anyways... it didn't feel right. I don't know how to explain it but... it felt so wrong, and I could tell that everyone else was thinking the same thing," Morty said. Rick landed in the driveway. "So... why are you so freaked out about it?" He asked. Morty looked at him. "I'm 18, Rick. I'm supposed to have everything planned out, I'm supposed to know exactly what I'm gonna do with my life, who I'm gonna marry, where I'm gonna live, how many kids I'm gonna have," He sighed, leaning back against the seat. "I've been chasing after Jessica for years now and something like this.... it just makes me feel like I failed." Rick leaned over and put a reassuring hand on Morty's shoulder. "Look, kid. Just because you're an adult now doesn't mean you need to have your whole life planned out. If you keep thinking like that, you'll turn into Jerry. He started crying yesterday because somebody moved his saltines to the top shelf of the cabinet and he couldn't find them," Rick said. Morty looked at him. "You moved them, didn't you?" He asked with a knowing smile. Rick smirked. "You should have seen the look on his face, it was priceless." Morty smiled and got out, stepping into the garage. Rick followed suit, walking over to his workbench and sitting down. "So... what are you working on?" Morty asked, looking over his shoulder. "An elemental conversion ray," Rick said. "What does it do?" Morty asked, unconsciously leaning closer. "If you stop breathing down my neck and pull up a chair, I'll tell you," Rick said.
Morty pulled a chair up next to him and eagerly listened to Rick's explanation, asking the occasional question. Once Rick was finished talking, they sat in comfortable silence. Morty started to doze off, completely exhausted from his long day at school. His head flopped to the side, landing on Rick's shoulder. Rick didn't bother waking him at first. Morty was tired and he evidently needed to rest, besides there were still a few tweaks to work on. It wasn't until Morty started drooling that Rick decided to try and wake him. "Morty. Stop drooling on me, go sleep in your bed," He said, shaking him gently. After a few more failed attempts to wake him, Rick sighed and stood up, carefully picking up Morty. He tapped his shoe twice on a small panel on the floor and the wall opened up. A bed folded outwards and snapped into a locked position. Rick laid Morty down in the bed and covered him up with the blanket before going back to his workbench. He turned off the lamp and put his head down, slowly drifting off to sleep.
