KING RAT.

Penny held her hand to her head, grimacing at the slight pain in her temple. She sat up, concern etched on her face. “I’m okay,” she sighed, feeling a little embarrassed. “I’m sorry,” she placed her hands on his neck, her fingers playing with the shorts ends of his hair. “Are you fine?”

His hands rested on her sides, from where they then slowly moved to her hips. Rick let out a laugh, more out of genuine happiness now rather than anything else. He then licked the blood off his lower lip. “Everyone’s gonna yell at me if I bleed over the fuckin’ bed again.” 

Every time he looked at her with that stupid grin she thought her heart might explode, causing a matching smile to appear on her lips. His hand felt right in her’s and then his lips were on her’s again. Penny cupped his cheek, her other hand resting on his chest, as she kissed him. After a moment like that, Penny fell back onto the bed, pulling Rick down with her. She felt like her head was clearing up slightly, her fuzzy brain being overrun with happiness. 

Rick fell on top of her, his legs collapsing underneath him, his body struggling to find the balance as his head bumped into hers with enough force to open a small cut on his lip. He clumsily sat up on the bed, his fingers brushing against his lip. He looked down at his hand, seeing drops of blood, but he couldn’t quite tell how that happened. His face hurt, but not enough to majority ruin anything. He let out an unsure laugh, before his eyes rested on her. “You okay?” 

This wasn’t driven by lust, not like it was when she was with Thad, it was something else. Penny wanted to savour it all. She reached up and intertwined her fingers with his, pulling them away from her face. She pulled away from his lips, regretting the action she placed another soft kiss on his lips before pulling away. She looked up at his face with a kind of look of awe and bewilderment and breathlessness. She hadn’t let go of his hands, she gently began to pull him towards the bed. 

Every time he got a chance to properly look at her face, this stupid grin appeared on his. He felt light, like there was nothing in that moment that could possibly bother him. It was a period of joy. Intense, excited joy, and Rick felt like she definitely had something to do with it. He let her take his hand and followed her to the bed. There, he stopped in his tracks for a moment, kinda just wanting to take these few seconds to look at her once more. Then, he took a few steps forward, closing the gap between them by reconnecting their lips. 

Her eyes stayed closed as she moved her hands from around his neck and down to his chest. She clung to him. Penny’s head was already filled with colours but when his lips met her’s it felt like everything slowed down and sped up at the same time. Penny stood on her tiptoes, bringing her lips back to his. Nothing had felt so right or familiar than kissing him. 

Rick was enjoying this new idea of reality. Usually he didn’t really get the chance to have moments like those. Usually he was drunk out of his mind and doing some stupid shit with some strange girls at parties. He had a few times done something like this with Noella. Well, not exactly like that. It was usually just them talking about things and holding each other when things were bad. This was slightly different. But it had the fully positive vibes Rick appreciated so much. With certain sort of affection he kissed her back, first softly, but then a bit harder. However, all the time he made sure to be gentle with her, cause that’s what he believed she deserved. 

Heat spread across her face from where his lips touched. Everything about this was so surreal, it was like being high but more than that. She hadn’t felt this relaxed in so long and yet her heart was almost beating out of her chest. She turned her head, trying to look at him but they were too close. She rested her nose alongside his, her fingers played with the ends of his hair, and she tried not let her knees give way underneath her. 

In the heat of the moment Rick moved his arms up and cupped her face in his hands, his nose still touching hers. His thumb gently caressed her cheek, as his lips slowly moved to hers, leaving a gentle and short kiss, which in that moment felt like the thing to do, making him a part of him pleasurably tingly. 

She hadn’t known how much she’d needed this. To be held like this by him. Penny wrapped her arms around his neck as his wrapped around her. It felt like there wasn’t a part of him that she wasn’t touching. She knew that they could have been standing there for hours like this and it still wouldn’t feel long enough. 

His arms were firmly wrapped around her body for a while, his eyes closed and mind full of surreal images. When he opened his eyes the reality didn’t seem any less strange. Rick had tried pretty heavy stuff, but nothing was compared to the colorful idea of the universe that whatever he had consumed created. He buried his face in her hair, breathing in the scent of her girly shampoo, even that seeming comforting. They had been standing there like that for an amount of time Rick couldn’t figure, but it felt right. Rick then moved his head a bit, his lips lightly brushing against her cheek, where he planted a small kiss. 

Why did it hurt so much? The ache in her chest was almost unbearable. It was like her heart was doing she didn’t understand. She didn’t want it to stop. Her eyes shut, as they breathed in the same air. Both of her hands were on his chest and she moved her face even closer. Her lips hovered above his, even with her eyes close she could tell exactly how close she was away from kissing him. She lost nerve. Pulling away from him, she ducked her head and rested it on his chest under his chin.

His reactions were pretty slow, but still faster than he would’ve had expected. It seemed like common sense to keep her close. It mattered, and that, alone, felt some kinda way. He opened his eyes when he could feel her pull away. But then she was touching him again, and that was the cue for Rick to wrap his arms around her upper body and hold her closer. 

Penny felt a warmth build up inside her chest that ached like nothing she had felt before. She flattened her hand against his cheek as their fingers intertwined. She couldn’t look away from his face as the nonexistence colours seemed to block out everything but him. Penny had no idea what was happening or why but she didn’t want to question it. She dropped her free hand to rest on his collarbone. The colours disappeared as Penny moved her face closer to his, and then she noticed they were in his eyes. “Your eyes…” she mumbled airly, her lips barely parting. 

He felt drawn to her in this weird way that didn’t make any sense to him. Or what? Rick felt like everything was simple right now, but at the same time hard to understand. It was kinda just the thing you needed to feel to know that there are things in the world that you don’t have to know. And for a while that was pretty good. She was closer now, and she was speaking, but that part he couldn’t make much of. His hand moved to her hair, pushing a lock behind her ear as he leaned closer, his forehead resting against hers. And it felt nice like that. 

Penny’s vision was blurred with colourful lights that seemed to dance around the room, she felt the same lines that crawled over skin pull her forwards. She walked up to Rick and shook her head, feeling almost childlike looking up at his face. She reached up with both her hands. The very tips of her fingers danced against his cheeks, causing her to grin. 

Rick stood still for a moment. He opened his mouth slightly as if to speak, but then at the same time he didn’t really feel like he knew what to say. Or how to speak, to begin with. It was all a quite strange situation and even the idea of it seemed surreal. But as if on impulse Rick smiled gently at the feeling of her fingers against his skin. He watched her like that for a moment, the smile on his face growing as his hand reached for hers and he sorta just laced their fingers together. 

“I did,” Penny said, still not feeling like herself. She ran her hands through her hair, suddenly feeling like the room was too cold. She looked down at herself, noticing her shirt wasn’t there anymore. Penny didn’t remember taking it off. “When did I…” She mumbled, forgetting her question halfway through asking it. “The bathroom’s next door.”

Rick furrowed his brows at the beginning of her question, preparing himself to not comprehend already. His eyes lazily rested on her face, focusing mostly on the fact that her lips were moving. And when he thought about it in the moment, her voice sounded relaxing. Familiar. And suddenly he didn’t think about vomiting anymore. He didn’t really think much, he just observed. “Sorry.” he muttered then out of sudden, rubbing his eyes, before shaking his head slightly and looking at her again. And the idea of her didn’t seem any less fascinating, but Rick didn’t know how to put it into words. 

The knocks hit her ears slowly, breaking her trance. In the moment she faced him she complete forgot about what had just happened. “Do what?” She said, her voice not sounding like her own. 

"I don’t know.” Rick decided quite quickly. “I think I want to vomit.” he then told her, matter-of-factly, not making it sound like it was an issue, just an idea he was pitching, because, for some reason, he couldn’t get himself to feel more alert. 

Penny emptied her already empty stomach, not really sure why she was vomiting after so little alcohol. Especially since she’d gotten better at drinking over the past year. She got from the bathroom floor, washed her mouth out with tap water, and made her way back towards the stairs. As she did the open door to what used to be her parents’ room caught her eye. Steadily, she made her way towards it, her head beginning to feel fuzzy as well as everything around her. She stood in front of her mother’s full length mirror and stared at herself for what felt like hours, but was only really seconds. In a moment of illusion, Penny thought she saw something move under her t-shirt. She pulled the thing over the top of her head and was pulled in by the sight of dancing lines that crawled over her body in the reflection of the mirror. 

Rick had gone upstairs because at some point he felt like he could really use a good vomit. He wasn’t 100% sure if that was the case, but at this point he was so ready to sit down on the bathroom floor and lean his head against the safety toilet. He stumbled up the stairs, walking through the corridor, past all the closed doors, aiming to find the bathroom. What he did see at one point was a slightly open door to a room. It would make sense if that were the bathroom, right? It apparently didn’t, because once he stepped closer he thought he could see a bed in there. A bit curious, yet hazy and slow, he entered the room, the sight of the girl surprising him quite a bit to the point he had a hard time processing the information. So he kinda just stood in the doorway like a loser, before his hand awkwardly knocked on the wooden frame. “I did not mean to do that.” he then spoke up almost instantly, though quite slowly. 

It was safe to say that Pete had spent the last two hours pacing the cabin like a worried mother. He shouldn’t have been surprised that it would be Rick’s car that didn’t show up, that didn’t mean he didn’t go into full panic mode. He’d finally calmed down enough to relax on the couch for five minutes while Frank cooked in the kitchen, ordering the others around like he was a head chef at some michelin star restaurant. They were only have chilli dogs and grilled cheese. “They’re here!” Heidi called from a window seat finally. Pete jumped to his feet and practically ran to do the door, swinging it open with Heidi following behind. Penny and Wallis had gotten out of the car, both looked tired and annoyed. Penny began to help unpack, while Wallis ran inside the open door to the cabin, muttering something about needing to piss. “What the fuck happened?!” Pete yelled, directed at Rick. 

Rick wasn’t even turned towards the cabin when he heard Pete’s voice. Yet, he spun around instantly, the words escaping his mouth as he did. “Fucking nothing!” he shouted back, as if on instinct. Then, he corrected himself. “We got a flat, okay?” as in, flat tire. Thaddeus just let out a sigh, not wanting to think about this. That’s when Maggie appeared in the doorway. “Did you bring the grill?” she greeted, not showing much remorse for the tired. “Yeah.” Rick was quick to assure, before turning to get the grill, only to realize that the grill, was in fact, not there. “No fucking way.” he mumbled, not amused. 

Pete guffawed. “Of course. We’ll make it work,” Pete said, although he didn’t sound too confident about that. Penny felt like she’d suddenly been slapped in the face with the arrival of Maggie, although she hadn’t expected anything less from the girl. “Penny’s riding with us,” Buzz answered, cheerily. Which only made Penny want to curl up and die. “No, it’s okay,” she shook her head at Buzz, not wanting to make a scene. Buzz looked confused, before processing the situation. “If you’re sure… I’m going to see if Heidi and Alex are finished,” Buzz stated before heading in the direction of the store.“Can I ride with you guys?” Penny asked Iris hesitantly. Pete stepped back alongside Iris, answering Penny’s question before she had the chance. “We’ve only got room for one person with all the stuff in the back…” Pete then mumbled something incoherent that sounded a lot like Frank was riding with them. “Rick, Noella, you’ve got room for Pen, right?” He looked to Rick and then back to Noella, hopefully. Penny more so. 

Maggie scoffed at Buzz’s words, raising her brows as if to clarify that wasn’t going to happen. But Penny seemed well aware of the fact, as well, and Maggie couldn’t help but smirk when the blonde spoke. It made her feel a bit better. You know, the whole thing with her being in charge. It made her feel more worthy after all that had happened with Thaddeus. Iris was about to step in and offer Penny the spot, but Pete beat her to it. Iris muttered something under her breath, which sounded more like she was hissing at Pete for being inconvenient. “Fuck yeah. We’ve got plenty!” Rick announced, a certain excitement for the trip growing within him. He noticed Heidi, Alex and Buzz walk out of the store, and he felt ready to go. But no one else seemed to be on that page. “What are we waiting for?” he finally spoke up the wonders of his past few minutes. 

Pete waved goodbye and stood in the doorway until he saw the car disappear. Frank stood awkwardly in the hallway, unsure one when was the best time to say anything. “I’ve got to go,” he finally sighed, shaking his head. He didn’t say goodbye, just placed a hand on Pete’s shoulder before disappearing through the door. Buzz showed up behind Alex, leaning against the wall. “I’ll grab your things,” she smiled softly to Penny before, turning around to gather whatever things of Penny’s should could find in the house. Penny untangled herself from Thad, still staying close in case her legs collapsed from under her. “Can I call you later?” she asked him, barely above a whisper. 

Thaddeus nodded his head, trying his best to offer her some sort of reassuring smile. Alex helped the girl up, and was now sorta supporting her, so she wouldn’t collapse. He looked to Thad as he was beginning to lead Penny towards the car. “Do you want a ride?” he offered. Thad looked at him, then at Buzz, then Penny, and then around, before nodding again. “Um, sure.” Rick didn’t really say anything to them as they left. He kinda just stood there, silent, not looking at anyone until the door was closed and there was no one else but him and Pete. Rick then turned to look at the boy. 

Pete stared at Ellis like he had just told them the world was coming to an end. He looked to Noella, his hand grabbing her’s like it was the natural thing in the world. “W-what do you mean-” Pete gulped, his voice shaking, “A body? Who’s?” He didn’t know why he asked because he didn’t want to know the answer. 

Noella tightened her grip on Pete’s hand as the panic rose. “That’s what we’re currently investigating.” Ellis told them, in a tone so serious that Noella realized this was really happening. “They don’t know who–– ?” Noella began. “I’m not getting into details with you here. All I can tell you for now is that it was–– violent.” Ellis finished, not quite sure how to put such a scene into words. “Get dressed, I’m driving you home.” he then demanded. Noella didn’t even have the chance to turn around before someone called out her brother’s name. She turned her head only to see Penny and Rick walking down the stairs. Rick greeted them with a hungover, morning-after smile, but didn’t receive a smiliar thing in return. Everyone seemed worried. Rick, in confusion, looked to Penny, before turning back to his friends and Ellis. “What’s going on?” 

Penny looked away, quick enough that she didn’t see anything she wasn’t supposed to. That didn’t stop her face from turning a deep shade of crimson, she searched Pete’s drawer a little longer, being particularly careful with her own cover, until she found what she was looking for. “Um, shorts?” She offered, throwing them in her direction before he could answer. She stood up, her back turned to him, as she tried to put her t-shirt on without a similar accident. She got the fabric over her head. The shirt really was too big for, fitting her more like a short dress than a t-shirt. When she was sure everything that needed to be covered was covered she let the bed’s blanket fall down around her. Penny straightened up, turning back around to face Rick. “So, since you’re the guy who actually remembers last night… Any idea how we ended up naked in Pete’s bed?” She asked curiously, as she walked over and perched herself on the end of the bed. 

He accepted the shorts, using the opportunity when she was looking away to throw off the towel and put them on. Then, now sorta dressed, he turned to the girl, furrowing his brows at her question. “Oh! So, you were pretty wasted, and I guess Thad wasn’t around, so we somehow ended up making out in the living room, before going up here and well...” he gave her a look, before his eyes wandered towards the messy bed. He watched her face for a moment, before bursting out laughing. “No, I’m fuckin’ with you. I’ve got no fucking clue. I guess it must’ve been Noella.”