Rigby was lying on the couch, watching random television. He was waiting for Mordecai to come back.
The door opened moments later, and Mordecai stepped in.
"Mordecai!" Rigby shouted. "How'd it go?"
"I don't want to talk about it," Mordecai murmured.
"What? Did you ruin the night? Did you spill food on her or something?" Rigby laughed.
"I told her everything, alright?" Mordecai yelled, turning his face to Rigby, revealing teary eyes. "She told me she didn't feel the same way."
"Oh, man," Rigby whispered. He was sad for Mordecai, really he was, but he couldn't help but feel a little happy. There was no way he would be left out. "Are
you okay?"
"No, no, I'm not okay! If you don't mind, I'd rather just go to bed."
"Okay."
Mordecai stormed upstairs, opened the door to the bedroom, and slammed it.
He fell against his bed, sobs pressing against his chest agonizingly
"Why am I such an idiot?" He asked himself. "I should've stayed away!"
Mordecai had no will to do anything the next day, even though he knew he had a mountainload of work to do. All he did was lie in his bed, staring at the ceiling. His hands were folded over his chest, which was beating slower than the day yesterday.
"Mordecai!" A voice yelled, opening the door. Pops, Benson, and Rigby stood in the doorway. "Get down there and get to work!" Benson shouted, pointing downstairs.
"Hahahaahahah! Yes, come, come!" Pops cheered.
"I'm not in the mood," he hissed.
"What? 'Not in the mood?'" Benson repeated with anger. "Mordecai, I am not joking here. You get downstairs now, or you're fired!"
"Then, fire me!" Mordecai shouted. He let out a crazed laugh. "I don't care anymore!"
"What is wrong with you?"
"He told Margaret how he felt, and needless to say, he was rejected." Rigby explained.
"Oh, how unfortunate," Pops commented. "Benson, I say we leave Mordecai be. He's heartbroken."
"Work does not stop just because someone is heartbroken," Benson said.
"Oh, Benson, need I remind you of Veronica?" Pops asked; Benson went red, not with anger, but with embarrassment.
"Please, please, leave me alone," Mordecai pled. "I'll use my sick days. I don't care."
"What if you really get sick?" Rigby asked, climbing onto the foot of the bed.
"Then, I'll work. This feels much worse than a cold or a flu."
Benson sighed and left the room.
Pops approached Mordecai's bed.
"Don't worry, Mordecai," Pops said.
"Mm…" Mordecai mumbled.
Pops patted him on the head and followed Benson down the stairs.
Rigby stayed on Mordecai's bed, staring at his friend with worry.
"Mordecai," Rigby finally said, breaking the silence that was forming between the two. "It'll be okay. I'm going to the coffee shop."
Rigby jumped off the bed.
"Don't!" Mordecai cried. "Come on, Rigby, don't."
But Rigby wasn't listening; he was already out the door.
Rigby had to be stealthy in order to get out of the park without Benson noticing. He hid behind trees, the golf carts, and benches.
Once he was near the exit, he bolted through the gate.
"Hehe," he laughed.
Rigby took a deep breath as he opened the door to the coffee shop. There was jingle as it opened.
Margaret looked up at the sound, about to greet the customer, but she stopped when she was it was Rigby.
"Hi, Rigby," Eileen said, walking up to him. "You want some coffee?"
"Not now," he replied. "I need to talk to Margaret. When's her break?"
"She has a break in about ten minutes. But, I'm on my break now if you want to talk to me," Eileen added quickly when Rigby let out his famous "Ahh!"
"Ah… I guess so."
Eileen and Rigby sat down at a free table.
"If you're on your break, why'd you offer to give me coffee?" Rigby asked.
"Well… because…" She blushed. "Nothing. Hehe. So, what did you want to talk to Margaret about?"
"Did she tell you about last night?"
"Oh, yeah," Eileen said, her face dropping. "What a shame, huh?"
"Yeah."
"How's Mordecai doing?"
"He's a total wreck. He won't get out of bed!"
"Poor guy," Eileen whispered. "I seriously thought Margaret felt the same way about him."
"Why did you think that?"
"Well, she's dating around, you know? I thought she did that because she was unsure of Mordecai's feelings."
"How can anyone be unsure?" Rigby questioned. "It's way too obvious!"
"Well, yeah, but she was surprised when he told her last night."
"Yeah, that's true."
Eileen let out a small sigh. "Well, I do hope things work out. I think they make an amazing couple, don't you?"
"…I do," Rigby admitted. "But, I'm scared. Scared of losing my bro. I'm afraid he won't have time form me."
"Don't be afraid about things like that," Eileen told him. "Mordecai will always be your bro, and he'll make time for you. But, if you ever do feel left out, I'll be here." She smiled.
Despite his fear of being pushed away and his revulsion of Eileen, he smiled back.
"Margaret's break is starting. Margaret, over here!" The mole waved at her friend to join them.
Margaret seemed very distressed as she walked over to their table. She sat down, fearing what they were going to say.
"Hi, Rigby," Margaret said, her voice soft and distant, much like Mordecai's.
"Hey," he responded flatly.
"Eileen, don't you have to work?"
"I still have five more minutes."
"So…" Margaret said, staring at Rigby. "What's up?"
"I don't know; why don't you tell me?" Rigby asked, crossing his arms. He was angry with her, for what she did to his best friend. Even though he wanted the attention, he couldn't help but feel bitter.
"I know why you're here, Rigby."
"Good. I'm glad you know."
"But…"
"I don't understand you, Margaret," he began. "How many boyfriends have you been through in the last year?"
"I don't know… Two or three?"
"How about the last two years?"
"About six," she admitted, blushing and looking down at the table in embarrassment.
"And who broke up with who?" Rigby inquired.
"Um…Rigby…" Eileen was about to say that he was supposed to use 'whom' instead of 'who,' but she thought it wasn't the time, so she said no more.
"They… broke up with me, mostly. I broke up with a couple."
"Were they jerks?"
"Yeah, most of them."
"Then, why do you keep doing this?" Rigby finally shouted, causing everyone in the shop to turn their heads to him. "If these guys break up with you and are jerks, you don't need them! Mordecai's different than those guys, you know that?"
"How is he anyway?"
"He's just peachy!" The sarcasm was not hard to notice.
"Listen, I am sorry for what I did, but…" Margaret trailed off, tears filling her eyes. "I see Mordecai as a really close friend. Not anything more."
"Fine. I'm leaving then." Rigby jumped off the chair. "See you later, Eileen."
Eileen waved at him, muttering a soft "bye."
Margaret buried her face in her hands.
Rigby took his sweet time walking back to the park. He would become interested in the littlest of things, like a blade of grass that was being blown by the wind or a small rock on the sidewalk.
So many things were going through his mind.
He felt guilty for being somewhat pleased when Margaret rejecting Mordecai. Mordecai was his best friend, and he was in pain.
Eileen was becoming more and more cute to him, but he shoved that thought aside.
There was still work to be done at the park. Once he got back, he would be yelled at by Benson.
But, right now, that was the least of his worries.
He didn't want to go back; he didn't want to see Mordecai lying in bed, broken.
"This sucks," he muttered to himself.
However, he had to go back eventually and he didn't have any money or anything to do.
Once he got inside the park's grounds, he met with Benson.
"Where have you been?" He yelled, his gumballs turning red.
"Coffee shop," Rigby responded immediately, which surprised him.
"Why aren't you doing your work? That house isn't going to vacuum itself!" He pointed to the house.
"I just wanted to talk to Margaret. I'll get the work done. Excuse me."
Rigby didn't allow Benson another word.
He walked right past him and into the house.
"Hey, get back here!" Benson yelled.
"Rigby, is that you?" Mordecai called from upstairs when he heard the door shut. "You didn't go to the coffee shop, did you?"
"I sure did!" Rigby yelled back as he climbed up the stairs and into the bedroom.
"What? I told you not to!"
"I had to, alright? Margaret's pissing me off."
"Don't blame her," Mordecai said. "It's mostly my fault. If I had been a little more forward with my feelings, she might've returned them, but no, I had to be a freaking weakling! I'm not angry with her; I'm angry with myself."
"I blame her for being so damn oblivious."
"Don't be like that," Mordecai snapped. "I still love her, alright?"
Rigby groaned. "I get that she's pretty and all, but I don't really get what you see in her other than that!"
"Are you kidding me?" The blue jay asked in disbelief. "She's not only the most beautiful girl in the world, she's kind, she's cheerful, and she's a hard worker."
"If she was so kind, she wouldn't be breaking your heart," Rigby muttered loud enough for Mordecai to hear. This caused a pillow to be thrown against his head. "Hey!"
"Shut up, Rigby!"
Rigby threw the pillow back to Mordecai, who immediately laid his head upon it.
"I'm going to start the vacuum."
"You're not slacking off?" Mordecai asked, eyes widened.
"Nah. Slacking's no fun unless you're doing it too. I don't consider lying in bed depressed slacking off." Rigby walked downstairs, grabbing the vacuum from the closet. He started it, thinking of his friend upstairs.