A/N: REGULAR SHOW IS NOT OWNED BY ME AND NEITHER ARE IT'S CHARACTERS :(
P.S. Yes I'm still alive but Eileen's torn feelings about Rigby in the last chapter was really hard to resolve but now the impossible has been done. But judging by the look of things, she isn't the only one feeling conflicted…
Captain's Log
Chapter 6:
Get Outta My…Outta My Head
Rigby POV: Five Days Later
Slowly Winter is starting to move on with Spring steadily rolling in. The snow has already started to melt and I could see the signs of new life starting to grow. And with the coming of warmer weather, more and more people are starting to spend their time outside which means…more work for us
"Hey, the trash can is over here, you blind?" I yelled at some inconsiderate jerk. It's people like those that make me hate being on litter duty; and just hate people in general. I mean really, picking up other people's sh** like this makes you feel like a prisoner doing community service
"What's bothering you?" Mordecai asked me "Still thinking about-"
"No"
"Then why are you more irritated than usual? Usually you would be filling up your bag with cool stuff you find. I'm surprised to find your bag full of trash"
"Nothing is wrong" I snapped back at him
"Dude, you aren't fooling anyone. Frustration is written all over your face"
"There is nothing written on my face! I just washed it three days ago" Some people that were nearby turned and gave me dirty looks but my eyes weren't on any of them. They turn to a certain couple on a bench; laughing and giggling and what not
I watched as the girl laughed at whatever the guy said while he was popping himself a mint; throwing his wrapper carelessly onto the ground. The wrapper seemed to fall in slow-motion as my anger started to build up and as soon as it hit the floor, I exploded
Next thing I remember I was walking angrily somewhere. I didn't know where but the dark cloud hanging over me was clouding my vision
'Rigby, you're losing it. You're letting one little kiss get between you and your sanity. It's not like you like her anyway. You don't like her. So you shouldn't care if that loser made you her first kiss. After all, he isn't really you. You altered time so technically he doesn't exist anymore thus you didn't kiss her. Simple as that'
'Yeah, keep telling yourself that' I could hear my other inner voice talk and ironic enough, it would sound like Mordecai [1]
'Uhhh, what now?'
'Nothing, it's just funny seeing you get jealous over yourself for kissing that tempting face'
'I'm not jealous!'
'Sure you aren't'
'I'm not!'
'I hear you talking'
"Why would I even be jealous of some smart***, unattractive, four-eyed freak like her! She gets on my nerves, she won't leave me alone and…UHHH, I just wish Eileen would disappear so Mordecai would stop bugging me about her!"
I didn't hear anything more from my inner voice so that gave me some time to calm down a bit. As I started to breathe slower, the redness dissipated from my eyes and my vision grew clearer. Scanning my surroundings, I happened to see that I was at a bus stop on the other side of town
'How did I get here?' I looked around to figure out where I was exactly until I was struck with a familiar voice saying
"Are you ok now that you let all of that out?" The voice chilled my spine so much that I was too afraid to turn around and face it; afraid I might find teary eyes staring back at me. However, before either of us could say anything, I saw a bus roll in front of us. As people started to board it, I heard her say "Sigh, you seem down. How about I get you some lunch to make up for it, my treat" I instantly turned around and looked her dead in her eyes in disbelief
'I had just lashed out at her and she isn't showing me any resentment or anything? What is wrong with her?'
I found myself going on the bus with her. I sat by the window still in a state of bewilderment as Eileen paid for her fare and mine. She sat down next to me; placing her green handbag on her lap while she fixed her coffee uniform a little. I didn't look at her directly but through the glass I could see the hidden sadness in her eyes as she tried to plant a fake smile on her face
'Dude, now look what you did?' I heard my inner voice say
'What I did? This is all your fault for getting me all riled up'
'Sure blame me. Especially when you clearly have this jealousy thing under control'
'I'm not jealous!' Before this self-argument could continue again, all of my thoughts were stopped when I felt my shoulder being touched. As light as her delicate fingers were, they felt like weights being dropped on my left arm
"Rigby, are you alright?" Eileen asked me. I still didn't face her. I looked at her reflection and saw the same sadness in her eyes but this time I also saw how concerned she was
'There is something complete wrong with this girl. If I got my feelings hurt or was dashed, the person would be either dead to me or would definitely be on the revenge list. Why is she worried about me? For once I wish she would worry about her own self'
I turned my head around but I didn't meet with her eyes. Instead they landed where her hand was. I picked it up by her wrist to get it off my shoulder but something caught my eye before I got the chance to drop it. I turned it over and saw that it was still a bit red. Sure it wasn't as severe as when I first saw it but still, it was red enough for me to notice
I don't know why but I found myself staring at it for a while and I saw my hand suddenly trace my fingers across her palm. As my hand continued to do this, I looked up at her face and watched her eyes slightly twitch. I don't know whether she was in pain or she was just surprised by my actions but my movements didn't cease; neither did my eyes from her face which was now turning away from me. When she did that, I only used two fingers to lightly turn her head back to my direction and I could see how red her face was getting
'Curse her tempting face. I don't know what it is but there's something about it that always pulls me in somehow'
Before things could escalate, the bus stopped suddenly and we both noticed that this was her stop (it's amazing how time flies) but she still didn't move because my hand was still holding onto hers
"Rigby, aren't you coming" I let her go then messed her hair up a little
"Nah. I have to get back to work before Benson notices" I found myself smiling that mischievous smile at her "But don't think I'll forget about my free meal you now owe me" I saw her mentally face palm herself like she had played into a trap of mine or something and said
"Hn, I bet you won't" and left the bus
Now that she was gone, I felt myself breathing easy; especially seeing that she wasn't sad anymore but I couldn't help but wonder what the heck just happen back there
#########
After spending some much needed time with the guys after work, I went to bed. I had to say, we had an awesome time minus when Muscle Man was teasing me earlier. So to put my mind at ease, I decided to read some more of Eileen's diary to finally clear some things up
Eileen Diary POV:
Dear Diary,
I have been living with Margaret for two months now and I still don't feel like I could officially settle in. Sure Margaret has made me feel completely welcome but I still feel like I'm mooching off of her. After all, even though I'm her roommate, it's technically her house that I'm squatting in...At least it was
Today, when I got home from work, it was around 9:30pm like always but what wasn't the norm was Margaret sitting on the couch waiting for me to get home. She looked very concerned as she handed me a piece of paper she said was posted on our door. It basically said that the landlady was going to sell the apartment complex and we had three months to move out
"We should start looking up places to rent" Margaret said kind of disappointed at the whole situation
"Right" I said agreeing with her. Margaret pulled up her laptop and all night we look up residences but there weren't any two room apartments available; just one room apartments
"Do you think that we should wait for a two bedroom apartment to show up? We have three months" Margaret suggested
"I don't know. It was hard just to find these and even these were the only ones within the town radius"
"But these one bedroom apartments look pretty small. The both of us definitely won't be able to function in them together"
"Then if push comes to shove, we should each find our own apartment" Even though I was disappointed at first when I suggested that, later when I had some time to think about it; having my own place...not having to be woken up when Margaret had to go to work early in the morning, not having to suddenly discover a new boyfriend in the house every other week...this is all of the sudden sounding great. Don't get me wrong, Margaret is an awesome person. She's just not an awesome person to live with sometimes...sometimes
Margaret paused to think about my suggestion then she answered "Alright, but only as a last resort"
So after our lengthy conversation, I started planning on how I was going to save up my money for this big move. I hope things turn out good for us
Dear Diary,
It was chilly as Octobers can get out here but I braced up to finally move into my own place; with help from Tuck of course. It was farther than Margaret's old apartment but it wasn't that bad. Sure it could use some work but at least the rent is low and nothing was falling apart. And sure, there were two rooms in the whole house (the living space which counted as the bedroom which was connected to a small kitchenette, and the second room being the bathroom). I guess that counts as three but it looks like two. Anyway, this is my own little quarters now
Luckily for us, there wasn't that much to load up here. It was just the couch bed [2] that took the most time; especially since we had to get it up three flights of stairs. At least, we didn't need to carry it up the stairs since Tuck made this makeshift ramp to push it up on
After we were done, I took a good look at the place…sure it didn't look like much because the walls were still white and 80% of the house was empty but it was a start. Eventually, I'll have this whole place decorated (representing myself accordingly) but now I'll have to settle for this
We both plopped down on the couch to rest a bit. Tuck took a swig of some Gatorade and gave out a deep sigh. One of those depressed sighs that put me on edge. He put his elbows on his legs and rested his head in his fists and let out another sigh
"Tuck, what's wrong?" I asked him and he reached in his coat pocket. When he pulled it out, he was holding onto a white envelope. He passed it to me without looking at me and returned his hand to his forehead
I looked at the front and it didn't have a sender. So I opened it and shifted my eyes straight to the bottom. When I figured out who it was from, I felt my heart stop…it was from my father
I reluctantly started reading it and it was filled with the basic 'Oh you're missed' and 'Come back home' but I wasn't suckering up to that
No longer feeling in the mood to read any farther, I began to put the letter away without finishing it when something caught my attention…
'My parents got a divorce?' Apparently, he is living in the house by himself now whereas for my mother; she moved out
I put the letter back in the envelope and just sat there pondering the situation. I knew I wasn't going to go back but how do I respond to this?
Soon, Tuck interjected my thought and told me "So what are you going to do, Eileen? He seems to be very worried about you"
To be honest, I really didn't know what I should do but after a while I decided I was going to write him back. This way I could clearly inform him that I wasn't coming back…that and to also get some closure out of this...somehow
As I was in the middle of writing my letter, I heard Tuck speak to me again "Just to say, be careful what you say to him because he nearly killed me as he tried to get me to tell him where you were" I start to laugh a little because just imagining that was hilarious. "Haha, laugh all you want but that guy is tough for a little dude and that's saying something considering at a first glance, he looked to be a push over, no offense"
"None taken" I said as I continued to write "And thanks for the laugh. I really needed that"
"No problem" He said smiling at his small achievement
When I was done, I put my letter in the same envelope and gave it back to Tuck. And after that, we said our goodbyes and he left
I really hope that father understands, Diary, because to be honest, I don't know how my father is going to react. However, he'll just have to accept that I now have a job, have my own place, and the fact that I'm eighteen now. I think I'm old enough to make my own decisions. Besides, even though I don't resent my father, I don't think I could return to live in a place where I wasn't loved to begin with
Dear Diary,
You wouldn't believe what happened at work today
It all started thirty minutes into my shift. I was about to put out another batch of donuts in the display counter up front when Margaret pulled me to the side
"Hey Eileen, guess what?"
"What?"
"I finally found an apartment to rent"
"That's great. So when are you moving out? Are you going to need some help?"
"Nah, I'm all settled in already"
"Nice…but how did you transported all of that stuff so fast?"
"Well, I did have a little help" She said scratching the back of her head
"Oh, you got Steven to help you out"
"No, me and Steven are old news now. I broke up with him two days ago. I actually got Mordecai and Rigby to help me. You know, those two guys that did the final act at the Open Mic, three months back" I felt my whole body freeze as my hands let go of the tray I was holding. My brain stopped functioning until I heard a loud crash which snapped me out of my frozen state. Internally, I wanted to explode on her but I didn't. I just picked up the now ruined donuts off the floor and threw them away. After that, I went to my little donut-making station and proceeded to make some more without paying Margaret any mind "What was that about? Was it something I said?"
"It's nothing" I told her "My hands just slipped is all"
"Eileen, you don't have to hide that I offended you somehow. If you have something on your mind, tell me"
"I'm fine, really" I said trying to reassure her. Besides, who cares if she got to see Mordecai and Rigby and didn't bother to invite me. There must have been a good reason
"Oh I see what's up"
"See what?"
"You like one of them, don't you? That's why you're so upset…Aww, so tell which one is it. I could probably help you hook up with Mordecai. He's a pretty nice guy and he's single"
"Wait, wait, hold it. First off, I never said I liked any of them and two, neither of them show any interest in me; especially Rigby. All he does is push me aside when I try to be nice to him"
"Oh, so it's Rigby you're after, huh?"
"After?"
"Good luck with that" Margaret said kind of skeptical
"Look, following the sequence of events that happened the past three encounters I had with him thus far, he really doesn't seem to be into me and if that's the case there isn't any reason in wasting his time"
"Come on, Eileen. 'There isn't any reason to waste his…' that's quitter talk"
"Ok then, what would you suggest?"
"Well, if I've learned anything from dating, guys are like pieces of candy. You really can't tell what kind of guy he is by just looking at the wrapper. You have to take the time to unwrap him and give him a taste…"
'What?' I started to blush as my mind began to wonder where it shouldn't
"Oh, that probably didn't come out right. Well you get what I'm trying to say, right?" Margaret said laughing at her own placement of words
"Yeah, I totally get it. Thanks for the advice, Margaret" I said still laughing a bit. And with that she left the kitchen; proud of the accomplishment she'd made. But as soon as she left, my false cheerfulness began to fade
It's amazing how Margaret could just say 'Just ask a guy out' like it's the easiest thing in the world to do; easy for her anyways. It's one thing when a guy likes a girl and he's having anxiety over asking out a girl out but that's normal. How awkward is it going to be if a girl asks a guy out? Very.
This entire situation is simply perplexing. Yes, I do admit that he strikes some feelings in me but the fact that he evidently doesn't like me back makes me want to quit this whole endeavor. After all, I don't want to waste his time or mine. I'm already troubling him by making myself known to him...
After I had some quiet time to think, I heard Margaret come back in
"Wow, a lot of people are excited over this new video game the boss installed. Especially since there are these two kids playing it now that are really good at it"
"That's nice" I said fully engulfed in the work I was doing
"Well, I think I'm going to bring out some donuts for them. Do you have some ready?"
"Yeah, they're over there" I told her, pointing to the fresh batch I made. She took some on a tray and was about to leave when she turned around and said "Listen, you don't need to worry yourself about this. If things work out, they work out. If they don't, they don't. But what I do know is that you'll never know standing here" With that, she left again; leaving me alone for a second time
As I was making more food to put in the display cases, my mind started raging in silence in the empty space around me
'I hate the fact that I'm destroying my brain over this. I told myself that I wouldn't put myself through this again and look what I'm doing now. I'm reverting back and soon I'm going to get hooked him and looking where his love lies, my heart will be broken for sure'
'Yes, I keep on telling myself this but every time I see him, my heart keeps getting weak and reality is dashed out the window. I wish I could properly reason with myself but I haven't experience an attraction like this before. It's not like one of those star struck crushes or what I call the 'untouchable lover'. It's more like a…forbidden lover. My brain tells me I shouldn't, but hormones are getting the better of me. So between his irresistible magnetism and the fact that I can't have him, is like a double whammy working against me'
'Well, you know what? It doesn't matter how attractive he is. You shouldn't like a guy based on looks. You know from experience that that's dangerous territory. Plus, with his lack of interest makes it more obvious why you should not bother with him...Alright, from this moment on, I'm going to not think about him. I'm going to mentally exterminate any fixations of him and move on. Plus, I rarely see him anyway so out of sight, out of mind…You know what, I feel better already'
After finishing the cold sandwiches I was making, I put them on a tray and proceed to walk to the display case with a now positive attitude. When I opened the door, I noticed that there were a lot of people crowded around that new game Margaret was talking about. As soon as I put the sandwiches in the case, I decided to walk over to the crowd and see what was so fascinating about it
I managed to navigate myself through the swarm of spectators and saw the two kids that looked to be the center of attention. One was a brunette with a flat top buzz cut. He had on a red t-shirt, white shoes, and jeans. The other was a blonde with short hair who had on a blue shirt, a green backpack, and also jeans and white shoes
'Wow, it's them that are getting all of this recognition and praise? They practically knocked me over causing me to hit a light post when I was walking to work today. Inconsiderate brats' Since I didn't care for the skateboarders or Broken Bones, I started to head back to the kitchen when I happened to hear them talking to someone
"Uhhh. Oh man...You guys are good" one of the boys said
"Thanks" My feet were halt when I heard that voice. Even though it wasn't the voice of the boy I was infatuated with, it was someone he tagged along with
"Oh, you guys are really good. You're close to breaking the high score"
"Woah, we are?" I knew I shouldn't have turned around but I did and sure enough, I saw him along side Mordecai; both engulfed in that 8-bit video game. And as if on cue, my body began to get hotter. So much that I could sense myself hyperventilating. Before things could get worse, I managed to move my legs and I ran back to the kitchen; despite how hard it was since the mass of people all of the sudden wanted to crowd around them more
When I got to the safety of my cooking space, I leaned up against the counter and tried to control my inhalations, but instead, the complete opposite was happening
'I can't believe this. I'd be lucky to see him once or even twice a month and out of all of the days in the month, it had to be today when I decided to stop liking him' I tried to see if there was some ice in the freezer; just to keep myself from fainting. I eventually found some and placed it on my head
'I can't do this. I can't take this anymore. Why can't I even look at him without my heart beating a million miles an hour? He's just a guy; some regular guy that you would find anywhere out in this cold, cold world. There is nothing special about him so why are you acting like this? Is it just because of that kiss that meant nothing? Was it the fact that you thought that someone would actually have feelings for you? Why do you keep filling yourself with false hopes like this? Do you really want to see what happened a few months ago happen again? Or better yet, do you want to end up like Tuck did with his failed relationship with Jessica…' I could feel my heart constrict at the thought. I leaned my back on one of the walls and slid down until I was in a sitting position. I covered my head with my arms as I tucked it in my legs
'I-I don't want to hurt again…but…I…' then out of nowhere Margaret's voice popped in my head
'...You'll never know by standing here' This time, I really took what she said into consideration and it took me some time to truly analyze things
'Just by the look of the situation, I only get that fuzzy feeling just by looking at him. It's mainly image, a fixation, an obsession really' I started to feel my depression fade into just a simple sadness as my thoughts continued to flow
'Besides how he looks, I really don't know anything about him; except for how he likes his sandwich and coffee…At the state I'm in right now, it would be dangerous for me to pursue anyone. Especially since I only like him because he looks totally amazing. If I do choose to 'hang out' with him, I need to know him more and get over how he looks if possible…'
After a long time of reasoning with my heart and brain, I decided to go along with Margaret's advice and attempt to ask him out somewhere. But of course not right now. Especially after the mental episode I've just experience so in the meantime, I need to figure out how to get out of fangirl-mode. So to take my mind off of things, I decided to get back to work and take people's orders
When I was about to open the kitchen doors, I heard a loud splat and the small circle windows were covered in the slimy yellow goop. Weird. I opened the door and saw that whole coffee shop had been covered in this mayo/mustard-like goop. After taking it all in, I did what anyone else would have done this situation…shut the door and pretend I didn't see anything
Rigby POV:
Hahaha, I remember that. I also remember their boss making us clean up all of that mess too after everyone ratted us out for damaging the place. So much for earning respect
Eileen Diary POV:
Dear Diary,
Alright, I've tried out Margaret's advice finally after I had a few weeks of planning and research. Although, upon execution, I sat there and watched as it all blow up in my face…
Since my last entry, I have been observing Rigby whenever he came on my shift, trying to pick up on the little things that I may become useful later...like his fondness of video games or the fact that he was very simplistic yet complex (hard to explain really) but one thing that stuck out the most was his relationship with Mordecai and how solid their friendship was. How they could joke around with each other and not get offended, having such a strong connection that they know just what the other was thinking, or simply being so tight with each other that it seems like they were their own 'click'. This was a bond that could be envied by most people, including myself but Mordecai obviously put his time into producing such an admirable relationship like this. Which shows that it can be done. So with that being one of my motivation (plus thinking that I had enough information to work with), I prepared to make my move the next time he showed up on my shift
It was on a surprisingly warm day towards the end of October. I was wiping the counters when I happened to hear them talking. Not making any hesitations, I went straight into the kitchen because I knew exactly what he wanted. I was so excited when I was making his sandwich because this was the day I was finally going to hang out with Rigby…if he said yes that is. All I have to do is get on his good side…which is like climbing a ninety-nine foot wall but it's a challenge I'm willing to take
When I finished triple-dipping his sandwich and making his coffee, I proceeded to walking to his table. With each step I took, a different kind of heat was starting to overwhelm me and it wasn't the heat of passion. I felt myself beginning to sweat as fear and anxiety started flowing in my head
'What if I totally screw things up? What if he doesn't like miniature golf? What if he already has something planned? What if he still doesn't like me?'
As I was growing closer to their table, I could hear that they were arguing about something…more like Mordecai teasing him about something but they stopped when they saw me coming so I took this chance of silence to make my move
I did my usual greeting but got no response so I went straight to asking him about going with me to play mini golf which also proved to be a challenge since he was getting more and more annoyed the more I talked. More tenson rose when Mordecai butted in and added
"Yeah, Rigby. You wanna go?" but the way Mordecai said it, it was more in a taunting fashion which wasn't helping at all
I looked back to Rigby and he told me "I'm waxing my car tonight, so…"
'Car, what car? The only thing I've seen them drive in was that golf cart. Was he talking about that? Maybe he felt embarrassed about it and wanted to perceive himself as cooler by calling it a 'car'. Besides, he probably sees me as a complete stranger asking him out on a date so he must feel a little uncomfortable. Perhaps I could put his mind at ease if I invite his friend along but who would I invite to make it seem less conspicuous?'
"I didn't mean it like a date or anything. It would be a group with you, me, Mordecai and Margaret" when I said that, I could clearly see that Rigby wasn't interested so I tried to find a way to back out "but it's totally cool if you're busy and all…I-I'll go get you a refill" So, I took his full cup of coffee and proceeded to walk back to the kitchen
'Idiot, you're such an idiot. As if this would have ever worked? I knew he wasn't that into me' I leaned on the kitchen sink and watched myself pour his coffee out along with all of my hopes and dreams. When I was almost done, I heard someone shout which cause me to drop the cup into the sink. Luckily it didn't break
"Hey, Eileen" It was Rigby. He didn't come into the kitchen so he continued to talk through the door "I guess I could wax my car tomorrow so maybe we could do this mini golf thing today if I move some stuff around"
I found myself squealing but I quickly covered my mouth and calmed myself before responding "Ok, would three be reasonable for you?"
"Yeah, sure" he didn't seem as enthusiastic as I was but it was an agreement so I was already completely satisfied
"Alright then, see you here at three" I stood on a stool and watched them leave and as soon as they walked out the door I went straight for the Coffee Shop's phone and called Margaret's cell phone "Margaret, you wouldn't believe what just happened?" I said it so fast that even I barely caught what I just said
"Eileen, slow down. Wow, it must be important since you're taking a break from your busy schedule to call me. So, what's up?"
"I just asked Rigby out mini-golfing and he said yes, he said yes"
"That's great Eileen. I'm so proud of you"
"Yeah, but there is only one problem…I invited you too"
"What?" Margaret said more confused than angry
"He looked nervous when I asked him to go with just the two of us so I changed it at the last minute so he take Mordecai with him. Please, Margaret. Do me a solid and come with us, please. It'll be fun"
"Uhh, and I have a date with Carlos tonight too? Oh alright, but you owe me a solid"
"Thanks, Margaret. They are going to be here at three so…"
"Alright, that gives me two hours to get ready...but wait, what about you? Don't tell me you're going to just wear your coffee uniform, are you?"
"What's wrong with that? It's comfortable and functional. But wait, on the other hand, I don't have many of these and I don't want to go to the Laundromat twice this week"
"That and you actually want to look cute for your date"
"But it's not like I have the time to ditch work and change. It'll be 3:30pm by the time I get home and come back. Even if I left now" I really didn't think this through, did I?
"Leave that to me. Just be ready for me at 2:30pm and you'll be looking so cute that you'll have Rigby drooling over you"
"Thanks Margaret, you're the best"
"I know, especially since I'm still only costing you one solid for this whole engagement. Well, I guess I'll see you soon"
"Alright, bye Margaret" I hung up with her and went to straighten out my next dilemma; trying to get my boss to let me out early
After taking care of some customers that were waiting for me to get off of the phone, I went to my boss's small office. I knocked on the door and it took him awhile to say
"Come in" He looked to be very busy like always and sounded annoyed as always when someone interrupted him and his work "State your busy, Irene" He keeps getting my name wrong
"It's Eileen, and I would like to ask…"
"Wait a second, Irene...What? Are you serious? Can't this wait for…ok, ok. I'll be there" He hung up the phone (which was a rare sight to see) and placed his forehead on his hands as he began to think about the conversation he just had with whoever it was on the other end of the phone "I can't believe this sh**, oh excuse my language" He then looked up at me with his frustrated eyes. Looking at the rest of his facial features that weren't hidden by his hands, my brain began to calculate that this was probably not the time to bother him so I tried to excuse myself from his office but he told me to sit back down "Look Irene, I have to go somewhere in an hour so can I trust you to lock shop?"
"...Yes, of course sir"
"Good…you could go back to work now" my boss said shooing me away with his hand. I left his office feeling relieved that somehow, things went well…so far
#########
When 2:00pm came around, my boss had his stuff ready to go and left the shop. Meanwhile, I kept the coffee shop running to pass the time. What, he never said how long I could keep this place running and besides, there are still people trying to eat so I didn't want to interrupt them. Even though I was telling them that we'll be closing at 2:30pm today
#########
When Margaret arrived, I had already closed up shop and was waiting for her inside
"Look who's here?" she said full of eagerness and bags in her hands
"How much did you buy?"
"The price wasn't that high. Besides, this isn't all for you. I got some stuff for myself too"
"You really didn't need to go through all of that trouble. How much was the bill, I'll make sure I repay as soon as I…"
"Eileen, I told you. I wasn't going to charge you for this so consider it as a gift. After all, what are friends for?"
"Thanks, Margaret" I said giving her a big hug
"Don't mention it, now let's get you dolled up for your date"
"It's not really a date, per say. It's more like a get together"
"Alright, Alright. Let's get you ready for your 'get together'"
We decided to dress in the ladies room and when I opened the bag that Margaret had for me, I held the fabric against me and looked in the mirror. I wonder if she actually knew my size because this looked to be tight. I eventually tried on the clothes and as I thought, the pink blouse she bought was hugging my curve too much and the jean skirt didn't even reach my knees
"Aww, you look so adorable" Margaret said when she finally had her outfit on which was more skin tight than mine. She even had some cleavage showing…who was she trying to impress (wink-wink)?
"I don't know. I look more like a doll than anything else" I really wasn't that happy with what she picked
"Eileen, for your first date, you look fine. To be honest, that was the modest thing I found at that store, unless you wanted to expose some of you assets"
"No, no. It's fine" I said frantically waving my hands
"Good, because it's time to do your makeup" Margaret sang with sheer joy
"Oh, uh? Are you sure? We're just going mini golfing"
"There is always an appropriate time for makeup, Eileen. Besides, I found one that matches your blouse perfectly"
"Alright, but not that much ok"
"Great, now hold still"
As she was doing my makeup, I asked her "I've been working here for about four months now and our boss still can't get my name right? He keeps calling me Irene, I wonder why that is?"
"Irene, huh?" Margaret said as she pondered that name "I think I know. I think it's the same reason why he keeps calling me Margie sometimes"
"Margie?"
"Yeah, well to put a long story short, this shop wasn't always owned by the boss you know now. In the first month I started working here, it was owned by his wife, Margie. But unfortunately, around a mid-November day like any normal weekday, she asked her husband to watch the coffee shop while she picked up their daughter. However when she was just about to return, she got into a terrible car accident; killing her instantly and having their daughter hospitalized. Their daughter wind up dying in the hospital later that day"
"That's so sad"
"I know and it's all because of some stupid idiot that was texting while driving"
"As sad as this was, what does that have to do with him calling me Irene?"
"Simple…That was his daughter's name" There was a long silence as I let this whole story marinate in my brain "Even though it happened three years ago, most likely, he's still grieving about it so I chose to leave it alone. Besides, I don't mind being called Margie anyway" I felt Margaret stop brushing my eyes and put the makeup back in her purse "Ok, you could put your glasses back on"
I looked in the mirror to see how she did but with my glasses on, I couldn't see it that much. Well, it's not like I wanted her to go heavy duty on my eyes anyway so…
"See, now you're complete. Ready to impress Rigby with your stunning cuteness?" Margaret said putting her hands on my shoulders as she also looked at my reflection in the mirror
"I don't know about 'stunning cuteness' but I guess I'm ready as I'll ever be"
"What do you mean, 'you don't know about your stunning cuteness'? I know stunning cuteness and you have it. You have to stop doubting about what you have because it's staring at you dead in the face" She said pointing to my cheek "I mean really, look at this lovely hair you have that I'm surprised isn't frizzy from working today. Or these cute dimples that I'm so tempted to pinch right now. And put that all together with this amazing outfit I got you; you're simply adorable"
'That's the thing. Even though I don't believe I'm pretty in most eyes, I want to be seen as beautiful one day. Not cute or looking like I'm ten. It's bad enough that my height wasn't been the most helpful with that aspect. I just hope that Rigby likes this'
"Oh look what time it is! They should be outside now" Margaret said looking at her cell phone for the time. I hurried to put my uniform in the storage room where we had small lockers to put our stuff while Margaret put her extra clothes in her locker. After that, we headed for the exit "I hope I don't mess up this shirt playing mini golf" Margaret said to herself "I really like this one"
I opened the door and as we thought, they were already waiting for us. I swiftly locked the shop door behind me and proceeded with my greeting
"Hey Rigby, you look nice" Even though he was wearing the same thing he always wore, I thought I should complaint him since it looked like he didn't have a good day today
"Oh hey Eileen" His response confirmed my suspicions. Hopefully playing a little game of mini golf will cheer him up
"Hey, I was thinking that after mini-golfing, we could go get a bite to eat then catch a movie afterwards" Mordecai suggested. Margaret and I had to problem with his last minute plans and hopped in Margaret's car. I sat in the back thinking that Rigby was going to join me but I found Mordecai sitting with me instead while Rigby sat in the front with Margaret…Maybe he feels uncomfortable sitting in the back (I have to make a mental note of that). After all, it's a challenge climbing back here. Well, no worries. At least I'll have the rest of the day to spend with him
##########
When we reached Golfantasy, we went to the cashier area to pay for our golf clubs and stuff. While we were doing that, I happened to notice that Mordecai was trying to hit on Margaret, aww
"I want to suck your blood. So red and juicy" Mordecai said to Margaret as he was pretending to be a vampire
"Stay back. I have a putter and I'm not afraid to use it" Margaret responded by holding her putter in defense
'They looked like they were having so much fun joking around with each other. Maybe this is my chance to impress Rigby somehow'
I instantly got a brain spark and climbed in one of the golf course displays with a hand fill of golf balls. Then I placed them in the sand and initiated in my mission to impress Rigby…through my knowledge of sea turtles
"Hey Rigby, look at me! I just laid my sea turtle eggs and now I'm going to swim out to sea. Although many of my hatchling won't live up to adulthood" I looked to see his reaction and just like everyone else, they all looked to be very embarrassed and weirded out by my display
'Okay, maybe displaying my smartness like this wasn't the best idea'
So after my first failed attempt to amaze Rigby, I pulled myself together, push away the awkwardness between us and we presumed to play mini golf
#########
Margaret wind up winning our little golf game while I was placed last. At least Rigby got second place. I didn't know he was so good. He was really making some difficult shot, but Margaret still prevailed by one point. It probably would have been by more if Mordecai didn't scream out of nowhere. Must be a nervous reflect
Just like Mordecai planned, we found the Taco'clock parked near us and got our lunch from there. We sat at a picnic table close by and ate our tacos. While I was eating, I noticed that Mordecai was making something out of the leftover limes we had. When he was done, he showed it to Margaret. It was a little trophy of a golfer
"Aww, I'll keep it as long as it stays fresh" Margaret said as she gladly took Mordecai's gift. As the two of them was preoccupied in their conversation, I thought this might be a good time to talk to Rigby again. My eyes scanned the table for some inspiration when I spotted the cilantro which sparked another idea. I grabbed a big handful of it and threw it at him like confetti
"Congratulations for winning second place Rigby" I said in a cheerful voice; hoping to lift up his spirits. He returned my actions with a blank stare like he was annoyed…maybe he just doesn't like cilantro. After all, he didn't put it in his burrito (another mental note). After a few seconds of my antics, he turned his attention to Mordecai
"Hey Mordecai" Rigby said "Do me a solid and eat this. See if this tastes funny"
"Fine" Mordecai said kind of irritated that Rigby interrupted him as he was talking to Margaret. He took one bite out of the burrito and immediately spit it out; landing right on Margaret's new shirt "Oh, I'm so sorry"
"It's ok. I didn't like this shirt anyway" Margaret said as she was trying to get the stain out of it. I hope the stain doesn't set in. After all, she did say that she really liked that shirt earlier
##########
When we made it to the movie theater, they wind up picking Fat Heap as our movie to watch. I really wanted to watch The Cosmic Trail IV [3] but Rigby really wanted to see this so…
As the movie progressed, I stared blankly at it; not really paying attention to it. Even if I did, it still wouldn't have made any sense so I just used this time to think. As memories started to flood my brain, I found myself cringing at most of it. We went through five hours together and we still weren't connecting in any way shape or form. And when I questioned myself on what was I doing wrong, my brain calculated that I was trying too hard. Even though I really wanted to make this work, the more I tried, the more I messed it up for myself so for the rest of this 'get together' I was going to focus less on him. Maybe then I might do something right
While I was in mid-thought, I reached into a pail of popcorn because I happened to smell it and I needed something get my mind off of things but what I didn't realize was that I reached into Rigby's popcorn. My brain wasn't made aware of it until I felt my hand being touch. My eyes just stared at him as he slowly lift it up as if he mistaken it as popcorn. Luckily, he realized my hand wasn't food before he took a bite out of it because I was so preoccupied in my daze that I probably wouldn't had pulled it away. However, I was awakened out of my daze when he abruptly gave me his popcorn and turned to Mordecai.
'Was my face really that awkward to look at when I was in daze-mode? Uhh, I wish I wouldn't get so caught up in him. Especially when I'm trying to first strike some amazement in him. And why is he talking to Mordecai more than anything else? I'm not getting jealous or anything but I'm noticing that he was been asking him to do a lot of things today…
[Fart Noise]
"Sorry, sorry everybody" Mordecai said more annoyed than embarrassed
'Hm, must had been the burrito he ate earlier'
##########
When Margaret said that we were going to drop off Mordecai and Rigby first, I didn't expect for us to go to the park. At first, I thought we were going to go through the park to go to their house but I soon found out that they lived there when we pulled up to this huge old-fashion style home. I remember a couple of times when they would mention about their job at the park but they never said anything about living there too
When they got out of the car, Mordecai invited us in so Margaret and I also got out of the car and we all walked into the house. As we walked in, I was filled with amazement as I took it all in. Man, it was big
"Wow, this is where you live?" I found myself saying as they walked us to what I could deduce was the living room where Margaret and I soon sat ourselves down on their couch
"Mordecai, can you do me a solid and get us some ice-cream sandwiches" I heard Rigby ask Mordecai "Oh, and make it a double solid by getting the good ones from the snack bar"
"I'll be right back" Mordecai told Rigby and left the house
Here is where brain spark number three came. Since it looked like we were going to be here a while, I thought we should do something fun to pass the time
"Do you have any board games?" I asked Rigby. He just looks at me and left the room. When I was sure he was far enough away, I found my hand hitting the arm of the couch angrily "Uhh, what am I doing wrong?"
"Woah, Eileen. Calm down. What's wrong?" Margaret said holding my shoulders
"I'm messing everything up. He's sure to hate me now; if he hasn't already" I said almost about to cry
"Eileen, now I'm sure he doesn't hate you. Yes, he's being totally stubborn right now but he doesn't hate you. If he did he wouldn't have said yes to hang out with you in the first place. Besides, you still have some time to make an impression on him. Maybe when he comes back with a board game, it'll get the ball rolling. Usually when you play board games, no one could stay quiet and socialization sparks"
'Maybe she was right. Even though things weren't going good now. It doesn't mean I couldn't make up for it'
"Ok, I guess you're right" I told her
"Good that's 60% of the attitude I want to hear"
As if on cue, we heard the front door open. We first see Rigby come and lean on the door post. That was weird. I thought he was getting board games but he apparently wasn't since didn't have any in his hands. He looked outside and motioned his hand like he was inviting someone in and sure enough, some guy with green skin came rolling in screaming
"Woooooo! Muscle Man is in the house!" He said while taking off his shirt revealing his gut as he twirled his shirt over his head. He was soon followed by a rather quiet pale guy in a white hoodie and white eyes. Must be contacts or something "Dude, you call this a party? There's only two chicks" The green guy said as he scanned the room "And where are the ice-cream sandwiches?"
"They'll be here" Rigby said in a mischievous (yet sexy) voice…maybe the sexiness was just seen by me because Margaret was definitely not amused at all. Especially when the green guy sat next to her. I really hope that Mordecai comes back soon with those ice-cream sandwiches because I don't know how long Margaret could tolerate this
##########
When Mordecai came back, he looked as shocked as us when we first saw Muscle Man and his friend pop in
"Yeah, hook them up" Muscle Man said when he first saw that Mordecai had the ice-cream sandwiches. He grabbed one and started scarping it down. Mordecai passed the rest of the ice-cream sandwiches to the rest of us "Hey ladies. You want some of this" Muscle Man said to us
'He was talking about his ice-cream sandwich, right? I really hope he was talking about his ice-cream sandwich'
"Mordecai, it's getting pretty late. I think I'm going to go" Margaret said and I really don't blame her but at the same time I really don't want to go. What about making that last impression on Rigby? … I know I was thinking selfishly but she already had me gassed up and determined to try my best for this last attempt. Besides, if she left, I'd have to leave too because she was my ride home
"No…I mean…the night is still young, you know" Mordecai pleaded
"Yeah Margaret. We didn't even finish our ice-cream sandwiches yet" I added
"Alright" Margaret said
"Good…Rigby can I speak with you in the kitchen?" Mordecai asked him
"Uhh, but I didn't finish my ice-cream" Rigby said but Mordecai didn't take no for an answer and dragged him in the kitchen
'Hmm, I wonder what that was about?'
##########
'Why did they have to leave?'
"Hey ladies. Watch what else I could do with my ice cream" Muscle Man said to us. Just the way he said that, I was creeped out and if I was, Margaret definitely was. As soon as I saw tongue, I turned my head
"Mordecai, I think I'm going to leave soon" Margaret yelled out to him
Then next thing I knew, I felt a small rumble
"Hey, did you guys feel that?" I asked them
"I didn't feel anything" Margaret said
"I did" I heard the pale guy say
"I didn't feel anything, dudes" Muscle Man said "It's probably just all in your head"
Then we all felt a second rumble
"You were saying" The pale guy said
"Shut your noise hole" Muscle Man said angrily
"Hey Margaret, you want to check out my record collection upstairs" Mordecai said when he came back from the kitchen. I decided to go along with this
"Yeah Margaret, you love music. I'll stay down here with Rigby" I told Margaret
"Mordecai!" I heard Rigby's voice bellow from the kitchen in a threatening tone. He pushed the kitchen open and told him "You better do it"
'Do what?'
"Ignore him" Mordecai said as Margaret lead herself up the stairs. After that, a third rumble occurred. I was growing more concerned. Were we going to have an earthquake?
Then out of nowhere the whole floor started to split and cave in on itself. I ran opposite of where the crack was splitting, hoping to found some stable ground. However when I did, the floor broke some more; splitting and tilting so I was now hanging for my life. Rigby being the only one I saw before I was put in this troublesome predicament, was on my mind to call for help for some assistance but he wasn't paying me any mind
"It's because you didn't do the solid. Do the solid!" Rigby yelled at Mordecai
"No" Mordecai said back and as a result, the floor cracked more; causing the sofa to fall into the fiery abyss. Seeing that I was hanging by the strength of my fingertips, I was now very scared for my well being
"Do it or we're going to die!" Rigby yell back at him. By this time, since the couch fell and Muscle Man and his friend was near the couch. His pale friend was now next to me hanging while Muscle Man was on the other side of the collapsing floor, also hanging
"I don't care. I'm not doing it"
'Easy for you to say when you're not the one hanging for their life. What was it that Rigby asked him that made Mordecai not want to do a solid? Aren't solids suppose to be done out of the courtesy of a friend?'
"What's going on here?" I heard someone else say. I couldn't turn my head fully but I managed to see this skinny old guy that looked like he could be the guy from Monopoly games (just with a bigger head). There was another old guy that was buff, had on a white shirt and jeans, and finally this bold middle-aged guy with a funny red hat. As I was looking at them, I happened to see out of the corner of my eye, the pale guy jump with such agile precision that I think he could have been a cat in a past life. But after being amazed by his reflects, I thought to myself
'Oh thanks for helping me…still hanging here guys'
"I told you two to not abuse the solids" The guy with the white shirt said
"It wasn't me, it was Rigby's fault" Mordecai said to the guy in the white shirt "I asked him to do me a solid and he made it worth ten solids"
"What was it?" He asked and Mordecai whispered it in his ear "Wow, that's crazy" Hearing this, Rigby managed to navigate through the falling piece of flooring and made it to the safety of the non-collapsing floor with the others
'They're still leaving me hanging here? What am I, chopped liver?
"But he has to, it's a solid" Rigby told them
"Mordecai, do us a solid and do your solid" the guy with the white shirt asked
"No way" Mordecai continued to be stubborn as the house kept on slowly crumbling on itself. Now, it was Margaret's turn to chime in
"Just do it already, Mordecai"
"But you'll never respect me again" He said to her
"Not if you're just doing a solid. That's what friends do for each. They come through for each other when they need it most. That's what friends are for, isn't it?"
"Wow. I never thought of it that way before"
"Yeah, Margaret does solids for me all of the time" I interjected just to farther prove her point
"Yeah, like today I broke a date so Eileen could out with Rigby" Margaret told him
'Why did she say that? It was a simple get together. A simple get together. She's saying it like it was a double date or something, which it was not'
"Wait? You're only here because you're doing Eileen a solid?" Mordecai sounded very heartbroken to here that breaking news. I don't blame him. I would feel that way too if I was in his shoes
"Hey um…if you don't do that solid, we're really going to die here" Rigby reminded Mordecai
"Fine, you win. I'll do it" Mordecai said finally giving in. It was about time because the stairs that Margaret was standing on had just collapse but she luckily leaped to safety
'Hey, still hanging here'
The next thing I knew, I was hearing fire truck and car noises. I turned my head at this point because it was getting too tiresome to be stretching my neck back like that. And hearing later from Margaret what she saw, I'm glad I didn't see it
#########
After he was done, the house magically turned back to normal and with that, everyone went their own separate ways. And now that I'm home and I've had some time to think about this whole 'get together'. I've learned a lot more things about Rigby. And considering the information I've gathered today with what I already knew, I've come to the conclusion that I should stop pursuing him. After the bad impression I've made with him today and the fact that he didn't make any attempt to help when I was the only one hanging for what seemed like forever (as a matter of fact neither did everyone else but that's besides the point), I think it's for the best…
But don't get me wrong. If he by some miracle comes around, I won't push him away or anything. I'm just going to stop trying is all
Rigby POV:
I decided to stop there because I heard Mordecai coming so I hid the diary in my usually spot and pretended to sleep in my trampoline
'I don't get it. If my sabotage worked perfectly in getting Eileen off my back. Why is she still pursuing me now? What happened to make her like me again?'
A/N: I think this was my longest chapter yet; over 10,000 words. Hopefully this was worth the wait and that you all enjoyed it. Let's just hope that the next chapter doesn't take that long
[1] If anyone has taken Psychology, there is a thing called an id, ego and a superego. For people who don't know what they are, the id is like the little devil on you left shoulder telling you to fulfill you selfish desires and to simply do bad things. You're Superego is the little angel on your right shoulder telling you to be overly righteous and wants you to do good things. While your ego is yourself trying to reason between the two. Since Rigby already acts like an id, I made him not have an ego (sorta) and have himself be the id while Mordecai was his superego, so to speak
[2] So you're not confused, Margaret had graciously given her couch bed to Eileen since she doesn't have a bed of her own. How nice of her
[3] The Cosmic Trail IV was me trying to think of different version of Star Trek
Still looking for reviews guys O.O