P e s k y b i r d.
That's literally all I have to say.
* * *
In the end, the week went by faster than the rate it felt like it had been going, and by the time Friday rolled around, Jimmy had already forgotten ever being upset by Scott.
They'd finally gone through scenes tbree and four by the end of drama club Friday, meaning they were almost finished with reading through Act I. Even Ms. Gold had gotten tired of the first act having gone over the same things multiple times.
Some time during the week, Mumbo had convinced Grian to join robotics club, which the latter wasn't even completely on board with. But, Grian being Grian, he did it anyway, and now Joel was waiting outside the workshop for the first meeting to finish.
It took a while before Grian and Mumbo came out.
"That was a pretty decent circuit you made," Mumbo said as he held the door open for Grian to walk out of the workshop.
Grian huffed a breathy laugh. "You think so?"
Mumbo nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty impressed." He chuckled, wrapping an arm around the smaller's shoulders. "It was pretty creative, too. I'd say you beat mine by a long shot."
The blonde's eyes sparkled while a triumphant grin spread across his lips like butter as he looked up at the blackette. "That means you owe me a smoothie, then," Grian said happily.
"That I do, birdie," Mumbo chuckled, giving Grian's shoulders a small squeeze before letting go.
"Wha-" Grian stopped walking, blinking in a confused manner as Mumbo laughed. "Bir- birdie?" Letting out a small giggle himself, Grian quirked a brow. "Where's that come from?"
Mumbo took a second to calm himself. "You're like a, uh-" He cut himself off with another laugh. "You're like a little- a pesky little parrot."
"A parrot?" Grian echoed, dumbfounded. "A pesky parrot?"
"Yeah, like the ones that repeat everything you say."
The boy in the red jumper paused for a moment before gasping. "Are you calling me annoying, Mumbo?!"
"What? No, of course not," the taller of them objected. "I think it's cute." A little dust pink fell over both of their cheeks, though Grian's face was redder than Mumbo's was.
Grian scoffed and he threw a light punch at Mumbo's shoulder, rolling his eyes and turning away. "You're an idiot," he muttered quietly. He spotted Joel standing across the hall, looking over at the two with a soft smile. "Oh, hey, Joel!"
Mumbo sighed contently, huffing a bit of a laugh as well. "I guess we part now," he said before winking. "See you Monday, birdie."
Grian's cheeks flushed again, sputtering flustered nonsense as he tried to put words together in his head. "W-well, good day to you, too!" he spat back, though there was no venom behind it. He watched from behind as Mumbo threw his head back and laughed while he walked away, and Grian absolutely loved how Mumbo's dark curls bounced around.
"How was robotics, birdie?" Joel asked jokingly, pushing himself off the wall. He nudged Grian when the latter rolled his eyes.
"It was, uh, fun," Grian said almost hesitantly. He laughed. "I built a circuit. Apparently it was pretty good, too."
Joel snorted. "Before or after you learned what a circuit is?" he joked.
Grian groaned. "You're so annoying sometimes," he said, starting toward the door leading outside. "Are Lizzie and Jimmy waiting or are you taking me ho-" The blonde froze and Joel nearly tripped over him.
"Woah, you good, bud?" Joel asked, and Grian nodded.
"Yeah," the younger said quietly. "Am I staying with you tonight?"
Joel sighed, opening the door for Grian to walk through. "I wish, man," the brunette said, "but I need to clean out your room and get a mattress in there. Next week, though." He closed the door and shoved his hands into his pocket. "Lizzie and Jimmy left a bit ago, my truck's parked out in the front."
Grian nodded. "Okay."
The ride to the Shadowlady-Solidarity house was relatively quiet, aside from when Joel pulled into a Wendy's to get Grian some dinner.
"You don't have to," Grian had said, though he in no way sounded like he didn't want Joel to get him Wendy's.
Joel smiled. "Eh, my boss give me a few extra bucks for working overtime," he said as he stopped behind a smallet car in lind for the drive-thru.
"Isn't it illegal for minors to work overtime?" Grian asked, and Joel shushed him.
"It's only illegal if anyone finds out." Joel winked and Grian couldn't help but roll his eyes. "What do you want?"
Grian leaned forward to peep at the menu over the dashboard, squinting as he considered his options. "I don't know," he said. "I don't want to get something expensive-"
"No budget," Joel said, cutting the other off. "Get whatever the hell you want, bud." He flashed another smile when Grian looked skeptical. "Trust me, it's fine."
Frowning, Grian crossed his arms and leaned back. "And what about you, huh?"
"What-"
"If I get whatever I want, will you have enough to pay for your-" Grian cut himself off as Joel smirked and pulled out a few hundreds, "-self..."
Joel laughed. "When I said an extra few bucks, I meant an extra few bucks an hour," he said. He nodded in the direction of the light-up menu. "Take your pick, birdie."
Grian scoffed. "Shouldn't you be saving that for renovations, though?"
Shrugging, Joel leaned back in his seat. "Honestly, yeah," he answered. "But Daniel helped me redo the kitchen the other day." He gasped and leaned forward over the center console, an ecstatic look on his face. "I have a refrigerator that dispenses water!"
Grian couldn't help but laugh. "How fancy."
"And the burners on my stove work now." Joel leaned back again, crossing his arms in pride. "Let's not forget the island counter and mini bar either."
"What do you need a bar for?"
"I dunno, it looks cool." Joel shrugged. "But my kitchen is actually presentable now. Next to get re-done is your bedroom."
Grian gasped. "I get my own bedroom?!" he exclaimed, his joyful eyes sparkling brighter than setting sun.
"Hell yeah," the brunette said, lightly nudging Grian's arm. "What kind of asshole do you think I am to not give you your own room?" The car behind them honked, and Joel didn't hesitate to flip them off. "Not my fault the guy in front of us is taking forever."
Not long after he'd said that, the car in front of them pulled up and Joel and Grian were finally able to order.
* * *
"Well, who fed you?" Daniel asked lightheartedly with a smile when Grian walked in the front door holding a milkshake and the leftovers of his dinner in a paper bag.
Grian laugher. "Joel got paid extra so he took me to Wendy's," he said as he toed off his running shoes. "He asked me to tell you tha-" He stepped backward and caught his foot on his ankle. "Woah-"
Fortunately for Grian, Daniel caught him before he hit the ground. Unfortunately for Grian's clothes, neither of them were able to stop the milkshake from spilling.
"Liz, can you grab some paper towels?" Daniel shouted down the hall as he took the now empty plastic cup and soaked paper bag from Grian.
Grian sighed. "Can't have anything," he grumbled as he sat down at the table. He took the paper towels that Lizzie handed him and got most of the milkshake out.
"I'll go ask Jim if he has any- Oh, speak of the devil and he'll come," Daniel chuckled as Jimmy walked slowly down the hall, a slightly dazed look on his face. "You alright, son?"
Jimmy nodded, sitting down next to Grian. His face was a bright shade of red and his eyes were wide. "Yeah," he said. "I'm ga-" he shook his head, "Great. I'm great." Again? Seriously?
Grian snickered. "Are we sure you're not both?" he joked, earning a snort from Daniel. "Something happen with Scott?" A silly little smile spread like butter across Jimmy's lips, and Grian immediately regretted asking. "Oh, god."
"He asked me-"
"Oh, to hell with Scott!" Lizzie interrupted. "How many times has that guy gotten buddy-buddy with you just to hurt you-"
"He wants to apologize, Liz," Jimmy retorted, but Lizzie didn't seem impressed.
She scoffed and tossed the cloth towel in her hand down harshly onto the counter next to the sink. "Isn't that what happened last time?" she asked. "You know, before he went caused you to have whole fucking breakdown?"
"Watch your tongue, young lady," Daniel warned before sighing. "I don't know who this Scott guy is" - he'd said Scott's name with a grimace - "but he doesn't sound like a good kid to me."
Grian snorted. "He's not," he agreed. "Excuse my language, but he's a total asshole."
Jimmy groaned. "No, he isn't! He's just-"
"Under the influence of another major dick, so he acts like that, too, to keep up his reputation?" Grian cut in, raising a brow as he glanced incredulously at Jimmy. He huffed when the boy next him stayed silent. "Exactly."
"He's under pressure," Jimmy murmured. "It's not his fault."
Sighing again, Daniel walked over to where the boys sat at the table and took a seat on the opposite side of Jimmy from Grian. "Everyone has choices to make, Jim," he said as he wrapped an arm around his son's shoulders. "Under pressure or not, Scott still has a choice on how he acts." He frowned at Jimmy's lack of response. "I'm getting the impression that you like him, and I understand where you're coming from, but you act like the people you surround yourself with. The same goes for Scott. If he's in a bad crowd, he's going to act like how they do."
Sniffling, Jimmy wiped at his eyes with the palm of his hand. "Yeah, but- but they bully Scott," he said, his voice quivering slightly. "I don't get how nobody sees that."
"What do you mean?" Daniel asked, and god was Jimmy glad he did ask.
"I ran into Scott in the hall Monday," Jimmy began, wringing his hands in his lap. "He was with his cousin, Joey. They were skipping first period to go get breakfast, and Joey was yelling at Scott because he fell when we bumped into each other." Jimmy looked up at his father. "It's not fair how everybody says he's so rude and mean when he's being bullied by his own friends."
Grian huffed and got up from his seat. "I need a change of clothes," he said simply.
"I got some for you the other night. They're in the guest bedroom," Lizzie told him before smiling a bit. "Though, I guess it's just your room now."
Grian flashed a small smile but it didn't reach his eyes. "Thanks, Lizzie." He went to leave, but stopped in the threshold between the hallway and kitchen.
Daniel looked up from Jimmy to Grian. "Do you need something?"
He was hesitant, but eventually asked, "Can... am I allowed to shower?" His voice was so small he was almost sure that nobody could hear him. "You don't have to let me if it'll be a bother-"
"Of course, you can," Daniel said. "Why would you think you can't?"
Grian looked up. "I just..." He paused and shook his head. "Mum never let me when she was around, so I just figured..."
Daniel's smile softened. "Feel free to shower whenever you'd like, Grian." He eyed the Wendy's bag on the counter. "Are you going to finish your meal later or should I put it in the fridge for tomorrow?"
"Oh, uh... can you... save it?"
Nodding and standing up, Daniel said, "Of course."
Grian nodded. "Thank you."
"It's no trouble at all."
Grian scurried down the hallway and into the guest off the left to grab some clothes before rushing up the stairwell.
Daniel's brows furrowed as he watched Grian disappear upstairs. "Why's he in such a hurry?" he asked curiously, and Lizzie sighed.
"He probably wants to get in there before you change your mind," she answered solemnly."Either that, or he wants to avoid listening to anyone talk about Scott anymore."
Daniel let out a exhausted huff. "He wasn't even allowed to shower..." He ran a hand over his face. "That poor kid." He turned to Lizzie and Jimmy. "I don't ever want to hear either of you yelling at the kid, got it? I'm not afraid to take away privileges if I catch you raising your voices at him."
Both Lizzie and Jimmy nodded.
"Good. Now, do either of you know what his favorite ice cream flavor is?"