"Wake up, (F/N)." Somebody was shaking me, "Five more minutes, I promise..." I tried to ignore them, but they were persistent. "C'mon, the family's downstairs waiting for you, so let's go, sleepyhead." I opened my eyes, seeing Rick standing in front of me, his clothes disheveled but on.
       "Give me my clothes, please?" He looked around my room, "I don't know where they are." I sighed and sat up, "Then pick some out?" He looked happy to dress me, pulling out a ridiculously short pair of shorts, a crop top, and some underclothes. "Really?" I laughed, catching the clothes as he threw them at me. I got dressed and brushed my hair, slipping my feet into a pair of sandals and making my way downstairs, trailing behind Rick.

       "G-Got urp her!" Rick pulled me into the living room where everybody else was waiting. "What are y'all doing over here?" Everybody turned to face me while Rick swung an arm around me. Beth and Jerry stood up and walked over to me, "We're gonna go on vacation for a while and we were wondering if Summer and Morty could stay over here with you. We trust you more than him." Jerry jabbed his thumb in Rick's direction while he scoffed. "I'm a way better role model than you, Jerry. I'm cooler, too." Rick pulled his arm away and drank from his flask while Beth sighed.
       "Anyway, (F/N), would that be alright? They can bring some stuff over, but I'll also leave a key with you in case they need something." I looked around the room. Summer and Morty looked like they actually wanted to stay with me, while Beth and Jerry looked absolutely desperate. "Sure!" Beth let out a deep breath and grabbed Jerry, "Alright. Thank you so much, (F/N). It means the world to us."

       I watched as they ran across the street, hopped into their already packed car, and sped off.

       "Mom gave me the key. Here, (F/N)." Summer dropped the key into my hand. "Can we have a party here?"

       All of a sudden, I had three pairs of eyes staring at me, pleading me to say yes. I threw my hands in the air, "Yeaaa, why nooot." With a smile, I watched as Summer ran off and started texting people. Rick pulled out a strange looking device that I could only assume was used for contacting his friends, and Morty followed Summer, asking to borrow her phone. I sat on the couch, placing the key in my pocket and waiting for them to finish their calls.

       Eventually, we had all gathered in the same room again. Summer announced she had basically invited half the school to gain some footing with the cool kids, Morty invited one girl, and Rick invited a few friends from other planets and dimensions.

       "So," Rick plopped down on the couch, throwing an arm over my shoulders, "ready to party?" He nuzzled into my neck, chuckling. "Sure." I laughed, pushing him away lightly. Summer and Morty kept their attention of the tv, neither one of them turning around. "So, do you two have anything to grab before this starts?"

       Both shook their heads no and Summer stood. "I told everybody to be here in, like, an hour. I totally forgot to ask you about it." I pushed myself off the couch, "That's fine, Summer. I'll get everything set up right now. If you want, you can tell them to bring bathing suits if they're up for swimming." Summer clapped her hands together, giggling and bouncing up and down. "I totally forgot about that! I have to run home to grab my bikini now!" I handed the key to her and watched as she ran out the door.

       "(Y/N)?" I turned to face Morty, still sitting on the floor. "Whaddup, Morty?" He turned around, facing his entire body towards me. "Can you h-help me later? W-With Jessica?" Nodding, I gave him a reassuring smile. "Can do, bud." He smiled before standing. "I don't th-think I'll b- I'll be swimming, th-though."

       "Same here. I don't feel like it today." I heard Rick groan behind me and turned to see him pouting at me. "The one thing I was hoping for." I waved my hand dismissively, "Sorry, gonna have to deal with it." Smiling, I made my way into the kitchen and started pulling down everything I believed should be served at a party and setting it on the counters.

       It took roughly an hour, but I had eventually gotten everything ready just in time for the doorbell to ring. A few kids flooded in, following Summer. Some were already in bathing suits and made their way to the backyard. It was nearly noon, so it was still fairly warm out. Somebody had brought speakers with them and music soon filled the house. Everybody was dancing around, finding the friends that had made it. Rick ran off to greet his own friends, bringing them over and introducing them to me occasionally. One of them, Bird Person, stood out more than the others. He was with some girl named Tammy, who kept watching me like I was Jesus, back from the dead. She saw me with Rick and almost looked like she thought she knew what I was doing. A mischievous grin played on her lips when she came to talk to me.

       "So, you and Rick, huh?" She stared into my eyes. "Yea, I guess. How'd you end up with Bird Person?" She took a drink from a cup she'd been carrying, "Just following orders, like you." She winked before running off again, dancing with Summer and their friends.

       "Taking orders...?" I ran off to the kitchen, grabbing some snacks and walking back out, only to find Morty slumped down in a corner. "Yo, Morty, what's up?"

        Looking up at me, he almost dropped his cup. "So-sorry, (Y/N). You scared me a little. I, uh... Je-Jessica kind of ran off with another dude."

       "Oh, sorry 'bout that lil dude. I guess maybe she's not the one, though. Have you thought about other girls, maybe? Or are you stuck on her?" Morty shook his head. "I-I just like Jessica." I thought he was about to start crying, "Don't worry! She'll come around sometime. You just gotta be yourself." I pulled him into a hug.

       "Bullshit." Rick was now standing directly behind me, drunk off his ass. "If that was true, I'd have gotten so many babes in my life up til now." I scowled at Rick. Since I was kinda crouched down near Morty, I put my weight on my hands, leaned back, and gave Rick a swift kick in the balls. With a groan, he went down, and I fist bumped Morty. "W-w-what the fuck?!" Rick just sat in a puddle in the floor, holding his injured sidekick.

       "Hmph." I turned back to Morty, "Just show her how sweet you can be. Take her places she wants to go to. Listen to what she says. Got it Morty?" He nodded and I stood, finding Rick listening intently and watching me move.

        "I swear to God, you deserved that you asshat." I held out my hand, which he took, and went to help him up, but he wound up pulling me to the floor, stopping me just before my face connected with the carpet. "Careful dipshit, you might just fall for me." He stood and laughed at me before he walked away.

       I sat in the corner with Morty, pissed, while he watched. "So, which one's Jessica?" He pointed to a girl that looked pretty outgoing. She was surrounded by guys and laughing with each one of them. "Tell you what, kid, I'll go talk to her."

       "Wa-wait! Don't d-do that! She might think I'm we-weird." I chuckled and pulled him to me, planting a small kiss on the top of his head. "We won't know until we try, right, bro?" He chuckled and I received another fist bump. "Thanks, (Y/N)."

       I made my way over to Jessica and turned to Morty, giving him a thumbs up and watching Rick plop down next to him. "Hi, are you Jessica?" The girl turned around to look at me and stared in confusion. "Yea, why?"

       "Well, I was just wondering if I could talk to you for a minute?" She set her drink down and followed me to the couch. "Listen, do you know Morty? Morty Smith?" She nodded, looking like she was about to get up and walk away. "Wait, please listen to me." She sighed and stayed.

       "So, I know Morty has his quirks, and I know we've never met before so you're probably wondering if I'm even worth listening to, but hear me out. This kid, I swear. When I told him I was having a party, you were the first to pop into his mind. He said you were the only person he wanted to invite. And when I sat with him over there," I pointed to the corner where Rick and Morty were watching from, "and I asked him if he would take any other girl, he didn't hesitate. He just said you. And if you can't see what I'm getting at, I'm sorry. But would you go talk to him at least? For a little while, without your crazy looking group of friends over there? Morty is the best little man, I'm telling you. You just gotta give him time." I stood up, "Can you at least do that for a little bit?"

       She looked down at her hands for a moment, "Yes. I think so." I smiled, "Okay. Will you sit with him here, or do you want to go talk to him in his little nook?" She laughed and I could see why Morty would like her, "I can talk to him over here, on the couch."

       "Great!" I waved Morty over and he jumped up, beaming. As soon as he made it and sat on the couch, I wandered over to Rick. I folded my arms and stuck my tongue out, "Told you so." He didn't say anything, just handed me a cup when I sat down. I took a sip, the bitter contents stinging my throat for a second before I took another big gulp, watching Morty turn red as Jessica laughed with him. "Aren't they cute?"

       "Just adorable," Rick rolled his eyes. "Dude, what is your major malfunction?" He shrugged, "Science. Love is just a chemical. All it is, is science." This wasn't the same Rick from earlier. There was no way...

       I furrowed my eyebrows, "It might just be a chemical, but it's not something I'm going to take lightly. Very few of us find somebody we want to spend the rest of our life with. And when we do find that, the 'chemical' that you mentioned is the most wonderful thing you could imagine." He shrugged, a drunken smile on his face, "Would you even know? I thought you 'never had time to date' before, or whatever?" He chuckled, deep in his throat, before going to take a drink. I felt hot, angry tears threaten to spill over. Standing up, I slapped him across the face and made my way upstairs for a while, surprised to find no teenagers in my room at all.

       I shut the door behind me and just listened to the music coming from downstairs as I sat on the edge of my bed. "It's not just science. What the fuck is his problem?"

       I felt the tears spill down my face, remembering what he said. I know he was just being an ass. And that made it hurt more. I thought moving here would help that.

       "Maybe I shouldn't have moved."