“Please give it back. Just leave me alone, I... I didn’t do anything.” Rigby’s anxious and shaky voice came from the other side of the bushes. Alfred felt a fiery rage bubble in his stomach when he heard Rigby pleading with whoever was messing with him. Alfred ran as fast as he could around the bushes as he watched Rigby jumping for his bag that Parick was holding over his head, before Alfred could do anything Patrick knocked Rigby over and he slammed into the ground face-first as Patrick cackled and held Rigby’s bag over his head. 

“Patrick! What the hell are you doing!?” Alfred shouted in rage as he ran too Rigby to make sure he was ok. Patrick immediately dropped Rigby’s bag when he saw Alfred. 

“Are you alright?” Alfred asked as he helped Rigby up from the ground, Rigby just nodded then hid behind him as Alfred turned to face Patrick. 

“Jesus, Al you scared me. I thought you were a teacher or something. Me and Rigby here were just messing around.” Patrick said calmly as he relaxed. Patrick acted cool and collected but as soon as he was scared or caught off guard, his act disappeared like a shadow in the dark. Alfred on the other hand could stay calm in almost any situation, yet for some reason, he was enraged right now. He couldn’t believe Patrick was picking on Rigby at all. Usually, he would let Patrick try and explain himself but this time he didn’t wanna hear it, he wanted to rip Parick apart. What was wrong with him? 

“Let’s go, Rigby,” Alfred said as he grabbed Rigby’s bag off the ground and glared at Patrick. 

“See you tomorrow Al,” Patrick said as they left. 

“I’m sorry about him, he can’t tell the difference between what's a joke and what's bullying.” Alfred sighed, apologizing for Patrick's actions as they began to walk down the sidewalk. 

“It… it’s fine, I’m kinda used to it by now…” Rigby said as he stared at the sidewalk.

 “I’ll make sure he leaves you alone from now on, nobody should have to be used to stuff like that,” Alfred said, trying to comfort Rigby. He was going to make sure Patrick knew not to mess with Rigby ever again. 

“Thanks” Rigby mumbled as they passed by the old church. They walked for a little bit just talking about whatever came to mind, and Rigby had a lot to talk about. He still didn't understand why being with Rigby felt different than being with his other friends. It could be that Rigby was the complete opposite of his friends Rigby was nice, quiet, and awkward. After about ten minutes they finally made it to his house, Alfred's house was nothing special, it was one story and it only had four bedrooms, and the basics for a house, It looked like basically any other suburban home. Alfred walked inside as Rigby hesitated for a moment in the doorway, Alfred quickly gave him a reassuring smile as he followed him inside. It was obvious Rigby hadn’t been invited into people's houses often. 

“We can head to my room and work on the project there.” Alfred said, leading Rigby through the hallways of his house and into his room. 

“Go ahead and sit down.” Alfred said closing the door as Rigby stood awkwardly for a moment then sat down at his desk chair. Rigby looked worried for some reason, what did he have to be worried about? 

“So which project do you wanna do?” Alfred asked as Rigby just stared at his hands. He must still be shaken from what happened, but he seemed fine on the walk here. 

“I was thinking that we could work on the diorama together and then we can separate the work for the slide show if you want….” Alfred said, beginning to ramble as Rigby interrupted him. 

“Why did you stand up for me?” Rigby asked him as Alfred gave him a confused look.

 “Why wouldn't I? Were friends and nobody deserves to be treated that way.” Alfred said as Rigby looked at the floor as he fiddled with his hands. 

“It's…. it’s just... That we’ve only known each other for a few hours and you've known your other friends longer than me. I… I just assumed that you would side with them then forget about me like everyone else.” Rigby said as a tear rolled down his cheek. 

“Hey listen to me,” Alfred said as he put his finger under Rigby's chin and tilted his face up so their eyes met. 

“I might have known them longer, but one I would never side with people like that, and second in the short time we’ve known each other I can already tell you are a way better person than they are. You’re an amazing person Rigby and you should never be forgotten.” Alfred said as Rigby's face turned bright red and his eyes shimmered. 

“Uhh now let's get back to the project,” Alfred said as he took his finger away from Rigby’s chin and quickly moved away. What was wrong with him, why did he do that? He felt a little guilty as he watched the light in Rigby’s eyes fade a little. 

“Alright, we can work on the diorama together then work on the slide show separately, but we’ll need to get together a few more times to compare our information. What dates work well for you?” Rigby said as he began pulling supplies out of his bag. 

“Are you asking me on a date, Mr. O’Connor?” Alfred asked as Rigby’s face turned a deep red. 

“No!... I… just… but… well...uh..” Rigby stuttered as he tried to explain himself and form words in general. 

“It's alright Rigby it was just a joke. But we can meet up every Wednesday and Friday. However, I expect to see you every Sunday at four pm at the park no exceptions if we're gonna be friends we need to start hanging out.” Alfred said as Rigby calmed down. Alfred smiled at him, he couldn’t understand why Rigby had no friends, especially with how fun it was to tease him.