Oliver Rush

~

“Shit, kid, I wasn’t trying to make you feel like it was all up to you. I just wanted you to contribute using the means and wealth you already have access to,” Arthur said, shaking his head as he ran a hand over his hair. “Nowhere did I say you had to take care of this on your own. It’s not all up to you.”

~

“Isn’t it though? Like you said, I’m the ones with the means and the access, right? And what I was offering wasn’t enough. Even that’s not enough” he gestured to the ring. “So when they money shows up, Dodge, I don’t need you asking questions because the how isn’t important. “ 

~

“Yeah, no, we’re not doing that,” Arthur said, reaching forward to pull Oliver’s plate back toward him to keep the kid’s attention. “We’re in this together. You’re not going off and doing anything on your own. You’re not on your own. That’s the whole point. This is a family matter and we’re going to take care of it, as a family.”

~

“Right. Right. Family matter.” he bit his lip, “cause that’s why you weren’t just acting like I’m the only way out of this. So, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to get us out of this. Get Fagin out of this”

“Would you be mad if I didn’t go back to school in the fall?” Jenny asked hesitantly, keeping her eyes on Oliver’s hand where she was painting his nails black. She’d given him puppy eyes when she’d asked, so of course he said yes. They were sitting cross-legged on the floor, and Jenny was doing her best to give him a manicure using all the steps she’d found on a youtube tutorial, water and cuticle work and everything. She was on the painting step now.

(( @a-clever-cat​ ))

~

“That just gives me less of a reason to show up than I already do” he shrugged a little, not thinking much of her decision to not go back “What are you going to do though? Hire one of those fancy teachers to come here?” 

~

Arthur gave Oliver a look. “How exactly are you going to come up with 280k on your own?” he asked, wondering if the kid was going to steal from the Foxworth’s after all. He didn’t touch on the ‘Jenny is a good person’ thing, wondering if that was a dig to himself for not being a good person. He knew he probably wasn’t one, but he also wasn’t the worst so he didn’t lose much sleep over it.

~

“That’s not something you need to concern yourself with” Oliver shook his head. pulling the plate of food back in his direction, though still not going back to eating anything on it. “Just know it’ll get done and I will make all our problems disappear, Dodge” 

~

Arthur felt a pang of guilt, even as he reached forward to pick up the ring and chain. “She’ll forgive you for it,” he assured Oliver softly, pocketing the jewelry and telling himself it was for the greater good. He shook his head. “It’s 300k, which is a lot more than any of us can do in one job, unless we rob the bank or something.” He paused, giving Oliver a look. “We’re not robbing the bank. Too risky in a town this small. I’ve got about 10k already, and I know Tito’s looking at ways to get more. Everyone’s chipping in where they can.” He patted his pocket. “This will help, kid. Thanks.” A check from Rich Daddy Foxworth would’ve been more ideal, but Arthur would take what he could get.

~

She’ll forgive you for it. Arthur’s words were an attempt to be reassuring, and in a way Oliver knew they were true, even if they shouldn’t be. Jenny shouldn’t forgive him for it. Not really. Especially not if she knew the truth about what happened to it. “That’s because Jenny is a good person” 

He bit his lip at the look the older male gave him when he’d mentioned robbing a bank and then quickly followed it up  saying that wasn’t something they were going to do. 300K was a lot of money. Probably somewhere close to something between 280 and 290k with the stated contributions. “Yeah, whatever. Like I said, I’ll get the money.” 

~

Arthur sighed when Oliver snapped, running a hand over his hair again. He watched, as Oliver pushed his plate over, knowing he was poking the bear, but he was desperate. “I just don’t understand why you can’t just ask her,” he said irritably. “We’re fucking drowning over here, kid. A single check from Daddy Foxworth, and we could be out of this mess. Or at least closer to the surface. You’re sitting on a cash cow and you’re just … wasting it.” He shook his head. “I know you love her, Oliver, but I think you should consider who your real family is.” He’d never done this. He’d never asked Oliver to choose between Jenny and Fagin’s gang. He’d never had the heart. But it was like he could feel Sykes’ hands closing around his neck, especially after the close call with Zarina and the pixie dust … first Fagin’s, then the festival, what was next? They had to get out from under Sykes’ thumb, didn’t Oliver realize that?

“We could lose this place at any minute, kid,” he said softly, eyes on the table. “No offense, but I think we can risk hurting Jenny’s feelings to keep our home.”

~

Oliver clenched his jaw a little as Arthur spoke. He was right, they were his family, something he’d wanted for so long and was constantly afraid was going to be taken away from him, and here Arthur was using the word like a weapon pressed against his head. He didn’t say anything for a moment, letting what seemed an eternity but was probably no less than 3 minutes of silence fall between them after Arthur had finished. 

“Here. Just take it” his voice was low, barely audible as he dropped the ring onto the table, the chain falling down on top of it. “I’ll just tell Jenny it fell down a drain or something. As for the rest of the money, I’ll get it. How much do we owe again?”

~

“Dude, she’s already involved,” Arthur said, rolling his eyes. “Don’t you think she’d want to do something to help us when she already knows what it’s like to have Sykes fuck you over? She loves you so … take advantage of that. This is something she can do to actually help you, instead of giving you rings and making you feel bad about not being in love with her.”

~

“I said no, Dodge” Oliver snapped, before looking back down at his plate and pushing at some of the food still on it. “You can have the rest, I’m not hungry anymore” he pushed it over to Arthur’s side of the table. A sudden loss of appetite always a sure sign that the younger male was not in a good mood. 

~

“Fine. Don’t steal the shit. Ask her for it. You know she’ll give you whatever you want,” Arthur said, not understanding how Oliver could be friends with such a rich person and not take advantage of that. At least, not take more advantage than he already did, having access to the kitchen and giant bathtubs.

~

“and just how am I supposed to ask for it? ‘oh Jenny hey do you have like a lot of thousands of dollars I could have so Fagin can pay Sykes off?’ Not exactly sure that’s something that’ll work, Dodge” he shook his head, knowing that despite what Arthur believed, Jenny was not an actual viable option. “I’m not getting Jenny involved in this”

“Whoa, nice kid,” Arthur said, looking over the stuff Oliver set in front of him quickly before sweeping them off the table and into his own pockets, glancing around briefly to make sure nobody saw that. “This is good. I mean, it’s a start. We’ve still got a long way to go.” He ran a hand over his head. “Look … I won’t take your ring, okay? I learned my lesson last time, but you gotta admit … she probably has way more than she needs, right? So what’s the harm in pinching a little here and there while you’re at the house? She won’t suspect you, and even if she does, she won’t turn you in. It’s probably the safest place you can steal stuff.”

“yeah, cause that’s exactly what Jenny needs, her best friend stealing from her” he let out a sigh “y’know, since it’s not like she was kidnapped and missing for several days or got drugged against her will at the festival or anything like that.” he reached for a fry, biting it in half “besides, even if Jenny wouldn’t turn me in, the both of us know that her aunt is just waiting for the day she can get rid of me with a legitimate reason”

Arthur glanced toward his hand, the faint scars there reminding him of the last time he’d taken something from Oliver. He released the ring and sat back, shaking his head. “Doesn’t look like something someone who’s ‘just a friend’ would give as birthday gift,” he said pointedly, wondering what the update was on that whole thing.

“Yeah, well we are just friends” he moved his hand to tuck the ring back under his shirt, deciding to leave out any talk of Jenny wanting to marry him. His hand dipped under the table before landing back on it and sliding something towards Arthur. “These have to be worth at least a few hundred, maybe a few thousand” Under his hand were two diamond earrings, a silver ring with an emerald stone in the middle, and money clip that appeared to be made out of pure gold. “oh and these” he reached back into his pocket, tossing three wallets onto the table next to the jewelry. “I might have already taken some liberties at the atm with one of the cards. The guy actually had his pin number written down on the back of one of the photos in the wallet.” he laughed a little 

Arthur couldn’t help but notice the chain that slipped from beneath Oliver’s shirt, as he leaned forward to grab the ketchup for his fries. He reached forward on instinct, grabbing it and inspecting the ring that dangled from said chain. “When did you get this?” he asked, eyeing it suspiciously, wondering why Oliver was keeping anything this nice when they had a debt to pay off. He knew he told Oliver not to worry about it, but he was starting to stress over the amount he needed to come up with, it feeling like an impossible task at the moment.

(( @a-clever-cat​ ))

Oliver didn’t even look up from his food as he felt Arthur reach to inspect the ring. “Don’t even think about it” he said pretty sure he could guess what was going through the older male’s head. “It was a birthday gift. If it was anything else you know I would have given it to you already or gotten the money from it myself”

Tito always heard bits and pieces -no one ever told him anything for fuck’s sake- but bits and pieces was enough. “Better,” he repeated. “Better is good.” His hand tightened around the knife as he cut slices of cheese. The thought of something, or someone, hurting a teenager… “You let me know, Ollie, if you need someone taken care of…” A joke from anyone else, but Tito’s words were sincere.

“Georgette is just…” there were too many adjectives to choose from, “protective. But hey, as soon as I get myself into her good graces,” he sent a conspiratorial wink in Oliver’s direction, “I promise to put in a good word for ya.” It was maybe the only thing about the woman he didn’t appreciate. Oliver was good people, loyal. The kid would protect Jenny with every ounce of his crafty know-how.

“A knuckle sandwich,” he quipped, sliding the bread and the bacon onto the flat top, spatula in one hand.

“I know” Oliver smirked, though he did know. He knew that just like the rest of Fagin’s gang, Tito had his back. Only Oliver wasn’t about to get them caught up in this. Not when he wasn’t even sure he’d be alive, himself, at the end of it all. 

“I think you could put in a million good words and it wouldn’t be enough to make that woman like me” The boy was fairly certain that he could die saving Jenny from a burning building and her aunt would talk about him being a poor influence on Jenny at his own funeral. Not that Oliver had ever envisioned himself having a funeral.

He laughed a little at Tito’s quip, watching him as he transferred the food to the flat top. “So has Dodge talked to you?” he asked, wondering if Arthur had gotten around to telling the others about the current Sykes situation.

when Oliver was still living at the orphanage he would often wind up in fights, one of which sent another boy to the hospital. He’s never told anyone about this, not even Arthur or Jenny

Oliver has a locket that he stole out of the desk of the person who ran the orphanage when he was there. He stole it the day he ran away.

Oliver’s thoughts sometimes scare him. He doesn’t think they make him a bad person, though if he had to admit it he doesn’t think he’s a good person either. He’s just honestly scared sometimes of them becoming too overwhelming for him and what that could lead to. 

“I’ve seen that one…wait no both of em actually hang around that record guy,” he clarified as he thought over the redheads he saw in town regularly. “Only one i know by name is Zarina, she’s like a TA or something at the university,” he said trying to hide the bitterness in his voice. Glancing at the younger man he scoffed, “Who do you think, cops are trying every lead they got. Haven’t been in the game in over a year and still harassing me.” 

Zarina. That wasn’t a common name, so there was probably only one Zarina in all of Andromeda. Maybe even the surrounding cities too, but that wasn’t relevant. What was even better was Nick giving him more than just a name. “So what’d she do to you?” he asked curiously, taking note of the bitterness that he could sense slipping out just a little. “You could be dead and if you have a reputation they’d still harass you”