"hey nerd" "hey doofus" -rodrick x reader

Chapter Thirteen: Comfort

⚠️Before you read this chapter, I would like to leave a trigger warning for descriptions of domestic violence and substance abuse. If you feel as though these topics are sensitive to you, skip to the last author's note where I will recap what happened in this chapter. By the way, I would like for everyone reading this chapter to read it with an open-mind as there are many, such as myself, who went through or are going through these same situations that will be written about in this chapter. If you or anyone you know is having these similar experiences, please reach out to someone. That's all. ⚠️

When Rodrick drove Y/N, Ben, Barry and Lexi to the thrift shop, they were all confused.
"Aren't we supposed to be looking for costumes?" Lexi asked.
"Yeah, that's why we're here," Rodrick countered.
"This is a thrift shop, dingus. Take us to Party City or something," Lexi said.
"You live under a rock, don't you?" said Rodrick. "This is where the heat is at."
Y/N giggled at his joke which made him smile. Her laugh was so adorable.
"Let's go," said Ben.
Rodrick hopped out of his van and opened the back door for Ben, Lexi and Barry. They all filed out of the van and they walked to the front of the store where Y/N was waiting.
"There better be good costumes in here," said Lexi.
"There will be," Rodrick said as he pushed open the doors. Everyone followed him in. He went straight for the women's section. When he led his friends to the pyjamas they all looked at him funny.
"I don't mean to ruin your fun, Rodrick, but I thought we were looking for costumes," said Y/N.
Rodrick pulled a unicorn onesie off the clothes rack and smiled. "These are our costumes."
Lexi laughed harshly. "You're kidding."
Ben and Barry extended their arms. "Give me the biggest size," Barry said.
"Thank you, gentlemen, for being so compliant," said Rodrick as he handed his friends two onesies in the largest size. "Now go try those on."
He turned to Lexi and Y/N. "What is your size?" he asked Y/N in a posh accent.
She smiled at him. "I'm size ...."
(You can replace those dots with your clothing size or you can make it a bit bigger since they are pyjamas)
He handed her one of the onesies in her size. "Go try that on."
She smiled at him and made her way over to the changing room.
"And for you?" Rodrick asked, posh accent gone.
Lexi snatched a onesie from the rack that was in her size and scurried off to the changing room. He grabbed one in his own size and went to the changing room to change into it.
After a few minutes, everyone was ready. To Rodrick's happiness, Lexi looked absolutely miserable in her fuzzy, brightly coloured unicorn onesie. And Y/N looked absolutely adorable.
"Is this what we're wearing?" Barry asked.
"Hell yeah," said Rodrick.
"Okay, good because I already paid for it," he replied. Rodrick, Ben and Y/N laughed. Lexi did not.
"We better hurry if we want to stop by some houses," said Y/N. "My curfew is in a few hours."
"Goody two-shoes," Ben teased.
"Piss off," Rodrick said. "Come on then. Let's pay for our stuff and leave."
When they paid for their onesies, they all hopped into Rodrick's van and drove to the North Side. They grabbed every bit of candy from the bowls left outside which Y/N didn't think was right in case some kid wanted candy. They all ignored her.
Ben and Barry TP'd some houses which caused them to laugh hysterically.
"Those poor people who have to wake up and see the mess their house is in," said Y/N as they drove around.
"That's what Halloween is all about, Y/N," Ben said.
"Yeah, people are expecting these kinda things," Lexi agreed.
"I know," Y/N sighed.
"Hey, at least they never egged the houses," Rodrick said, trying his best to comfort her. "Now that would've been a nightmare. Don't worry about it, Y/N."
"Awww," Ben, Barry and Lexi cooed in sync. "How cute!"
"Fuck off," Rodrick said, cheeks red. "Or else I'm kicking you all out."
"Then they'll be all alone," Barry whispered.
"You know what that means," Lexi muttered.
From the back of the van, Ben imitated kissing noises and moaning. "Oh, Rodrick, don't stop."
"Oh, Y/N, I need you so bad," Barry said in his best impression of Rodrick.
Rodrick took a sharp turn over a curb, causing everyone in the back to shriek. From the corner of his eye, he saw Y/N smile at him.
After a few minutes of driving around, Ben started to complain. "Rodrick, it's Halloween night, let's go stop and get some beer or something."
"Yeah, or weed. I have a stash in my bag we can all share," said Lexi.
Rodrick's eyes shifted to Y/N who looked disinterested in the conversation that was being held in the back of the vehicle. "How about I drop you guys off some where and take Y/N home?" he suggested.
"My parents aren't home, drop us off there," said Barry.
Thankfully, they were on the way to Barry's house already. When Rodrick parked outside his house, he hopped out his van and opened the back door. All his friends jumped out, wearing their matching unicorn onesies. They ran towards Barry's house, begging Lexi to take out her stash.
He got back into his seat and was about to start driving but Y/N's demeanour stopped him.
"You okay?" he asked.
She turned to face him and nodded weakly.
"Sorry about them," he said. "By the way, could you try to keep it from my mom that I totally would've had some of that weed."
Y/N nodded and stared out her window.
He began driving down the street. "Hey, I had fun tonight," he said.
"I did too," Y/N replied, her voice quiet. "You were amazing, Rodrick."
"Thank you, Y/N," he smiled.
His smile fell after a while. Y/N's usual cheery attitude had vanished, he could sense it.
"Is everything okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm just tired," she replied.
"You sure?" he asked.
"Yes," she said.
"Sorry for being pushy, Y/N, I just want to make sure you're okay," he told her.
"I know," she replied. "Thank you but everything's fine."
"Hey, we still have a few minutes before your curfew... wanna come over to my house for a bit?" he asked.
"Sure," Y/N replied half heartedly.
They drove to Rodrick's house and parked outside. As they made their way to the front door, water splashed onto them from above.
"What the hell?" Rodrick exclaimed.
"Language!"
Him and Y/N looked up to see Rodrick's dad with his head out of one of the windows from the top floor, a bucket in his hand. "Sorry, Y/N."
"It's okay, Mr. Heffley," Y/N said.
"Oh, god, you're soaked," Rodrick said, looking at Y/N's wet onesie.
"Yeah, it's extremely uncomfortable," said Y/N.
"Come on, let's get you inside." He placed his hand on her shoulder and escorted her inside and into his room.
She stood in the middle of the room, her pyjamas dripping.
"You still have the clothes you had on before, right?" Rodrick asked.
"Yep, they're in my bag," Y/N said, gesturing to the one over her chest which had a few water droplets on it.
"Okay, I'll get dressed in the bathroom. You can get dressed in here," he said as he took some clothes from his drawer and left.
Y/N stripped out of the onesie and put on her dry clothes she had on before. She sat on Rodrick's bed and gazed vacantly at the floor.
She thought of the familiar smell of marijuana. That smell was so apparent throughout her upbringing because every day, the man she was supposed to call her father would use it. Not only that but beer too. He drank almost three six packs a day and smoked the retched plant every day. If that wasn't bad enough, the intoxication made him do terrible things to her mother. Things in which she had witnessed lots of times. Such as the time he threw a glass cup at her mother's head because she scolded him for drinking too much around her. And the time he ripped Y/N's drawings off the wall because he needed to take his anger out on something. And the time she watched him push her mother against the wall so hard she had a terrible bruise on the back of her head. Because of these things, Y/N's mother never drank or smoked. And for those same reasons, Y/N vowed not to do the same thing.
Before she could do anything about it, Y/N felt tears stream down her face. She pleaded with herself to stop but this was one of those times where when you started to cry, you just couldn't stop.
"Y/N?"
She looked up and saw Rodrick standing by the attic stair case, the look on his face held grave concern. "What's wrong?" he asked gently.
"I'm sorry," she cried, voice strained and shaky.
"No, don't apologize." He slowly made his way over to her and gently seated himself beside her.
"I'm sorry," she repeated, shoving her face into her hands. Her sobs became louder. "I'm sorry," she said again, this time her voice was that of a scared child. The voice of her inner self which was desperately crying out for help.
"Hey, it's okay," Rodrick soothed. He placed his arm around her shoulder and traced his fingers along her skin. "It's okay, Y/N."
She leaned into him, burying her face into his chest, her tears staining his shirt.
Rodrick slowly stroked her hair and whispered calming things into her ear. "Shhh you're okay." He wrapped one arm around her and rubbed his hand along her back.
She pulled away for a moment and sniffled. Rodrick reached out to cup her face. She relaxed as his fingers brushed her cheeks. He wiped away her tears and said, in a serious voice, "What's wrong?"
She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.
"You don't have to tell me," he said. "Just... let me know what I can do for you."
"Just... stay," she whispered. He nodded and put his arm over her shoulder. She leaned her head against him and started to calm down.
"My dad used to drink a lot," Y/N said suddenly. "And he would get angry. Really angry."
Rodrick looked down at her, her head still against his shoulder. His heart ached for her.
"Did he ever hurt you?" he asked.
She shook her head. "He rarely spoke to me. Let alone lay a hand on me... I don't know what would be worse," said Y/N. "My dad not wanting anything to do with me or him hitting me... He did hurt my mom though... a lot..."
A few seconds passed and Y/N hadn't said anything. Rodrick took this as his sign to speak. "I'm so sorry that happened, Y/N. You and your mom did not deserve that. At all. And I'm sorry for not being the best at comforting," he said. "I'm not good with words."
Y/N pulled away from him and stared into his eyes. "It's okay. You listening to me is enough," she said. "I think this is the first time I've spoken to someone about these things. I mean, I would talk to my mom but I don't want her to relive those terrible moments." She shook her head. "I shouldn't be doing this. You just won a contest. I'm sorry. I should be congratulating you." She hid her face in her hands.
"No, don't say that," Rodrick said. "You telling me this matters more than that contest."
Y/N took her hands away from her face and gave Rodrick an unconvinced look. "You're a terrible liar."
Without thinking, Rodrick took ahold of Y/N's hands. "Y/N, I am serious. You mean so much to me and it hurts so much that you had to go through these sorts of things. And the way you're making yourself feel less is just— it's sad, you know?" His palms grew sweaty and he immediately felt guilty. Was what he said good enough? Would Y/N feel a bit better? No, of course she wouldn't. Her experiences were so grave and upsetting that whatever came off his tongue would never be enough because nothing could heal Y/N's wounds.
Suddenly, Y/N lunged at him, throwing her arms around him. She buried her face into his neck and said, "Thank you, Rodrick."
He hugged her back. "Anything for you," he whispered.
She pulled back slowly, causing their faces to be inches apart. Their noses were almost touching. Rodrick tried to ignore this. He was here to comfort her as a friend because that's what she needed right now.
But for a split second, he watched Y/N's eyes fall to his lips. He felt himself blush. I'm here as her friend. I'm here as her friend. I'm here as her friend. I'm here as her friend. I'm—
"I suppose I should go home now," said Y/N. "Before my mom starts to worry."
And with that, Y/N slid off his bed. Rodrick stood up too and stepped closer to Y/N. He hesitantly reached out to cup her face. She stayed still and let him wipe away her tears. Then, she took his hand and led him downstairs. They snuck past Rodrick's parents who were both passed out on the couch and went out the door. When they got to the van, Rodrick turned on his music at a low volume.
"Wanna hang out tomorrow?" Rodrick asked as they drove down the street.
"I'd love to," Y/N said.
Rodrick smiled to himself.
"So what are you and the band planning on doing with the prize money?" Y/N asked.
Rodrick shrugged. "We might use it for new equipment."
"That's a good idea," Y/N said. "Are you going to do any more contests?"
"Probably. Whenever they host them," Rodrick replied.
"Are you going to write more songs like the one you played tonight?" Y/N asked.
"Most likely. If the band likes them anyway. They were unsure of this one at first until I wrote it," Rodrick said.
"That reminds me. You were supposed to tell me the story behind it," said Y/N.
"Oh... right." Rodrick's cheeks were burning. "It's about a girl."
"I know that," Y/N giggled. "Who's it about?"
"Well, she goes to our school," Rodrick replied. "I— I don't really wanna give away too much."
From the corner of his eye he saw Y/N nod. "I understand.... do you think some day you and her will ever... happen?"
He glanced at her. "I... I hope so."
He returned his eyes to the road to see he was outside Y/N's house. He parked in her drive way and turned to face her. "See you tomorrow, Y/N."
"See you tomorrow, Rodrick," Y/N said, reaching for the door handle.
"Oh, before you go," he started. She looked over at him. "I want to thank you. For showing up tonight and for sharing that piece of your past with me. I know that took a lot of bravery and I want to thank you for trusting me."
She smiled. "I always trust you."
"Thanks, Y/N," he replied. "I trust you, too."
They stared at each other for a few minutes, their eyes not leaving the other person. She looked so perfect. No. She was perfect. Not just the way she looked but the way she acted and treated him. And not just him but everyone. She was so kind to everyone and didn't treat him like some teenage dirtbag. His smile grew as he gazed at her longingly.
Suddenly, Y/N reached out and tousled his hair. "Goodnight, doofus," she said, opening his van door.
She hopped out of the van and Rodrick watched her go inside her house.
"Goodnight, nerd," he whispered.

Author's note: if you skipped the chapter due to the trigger warning, here is a quick recap: Y/N, Rodrick, Barry, Ben and Lexi all went to a thrift shop and bought matching unicorn onesies. Then they drove around the North Side, Barry and Ben threw toilet paper at some houses. And while they were in the van, everyone was making fun of Rodrick and Y/N and pretty much suggesting how obvious their feelings are for each other. Then the friend group requested getting some beer or smoking joints but Rodrick says no and drops them off at Barry's so they can get wasted. After that, Rodrick realizes Y/N is really quiet. He asks her if she's okay but she lies to him and says she is. He drives her to his place and as they are about to go inside, Rodrick's dad pours water on them thinking they were some teenagers up to no good. And so Rodrick takes Y/N up to his room and lets her get dressed in dry clothes while he gets changed in the bathroom. When he comes back into his room, Y/N is crying. He comforts her and lets her confide in him. He finds out that Y/N's dad, before he walked out on her and her mom, used to abuse substances and get violent. And that's why she got quiet after their friends mentioned getting wasted. Anyway, that's pretty much everything that happened in this chapter. I am so sorry if you've ever gone through these similar things. Let me tell you this, you are not alone. Me and others have experienced this as well. That does not make your past insignificant or less important. Your experiences are still unique even if others have went through similar things. I'm just letting you know that you are not going through this alone. I apologize if you have gone through something more serious or "less" serious things. I put less in quotations because your experiences and anyone else's are not less, they mean the same. They are important. You are important. Please, if you or anyone else is struggling, talk to someone. I know it's not as simple as it being said but the best thing you can do is reach out. Thank you and good night/day. I appreciate you<3