"Welcome, welcome! Please! Feel free -- Annette!"
"Good morning, Tom."
I smile at the flustered raccoon. He pats down the straying tufts of fur that he had forgotten to groom that morning. I watch in satisfaction as he smiles nervously and I slip my purse under my arm, my stilettos clicking as I walk up to the animal, stopping about a foot from him and I see the fur around his cheeks lighten as if the skin underneath was simply glowing.
He gulps before trying to maintain his professional attitude.
"Yes... YES! Yes, what can I do for you?" He asks quickly, his blue eyes darting around his shop as if trying to find an excuse to get me away from him.
I slip a lock of light brown hair behind my heavily pierced ear, flicking my eyes from the delightfully panicked raccoon to a few other delicacies the shop had for me this day. I take his arm in my hand and gently pull him along with me, reveling in the muscled feeling under silkily smooth fur. Hey, when you're a human in a world of only animals... well... you take what you get.
"Oh... nothing, really. I was just looking for a new axe. I'm afraid the one you sold to me yesterday... broke." I whipped my head to the side so I could look back at him with glistening, sad eyes. He gulped before nodding, scurrying over to a table full of tools.
I follow eagerly, not wanting to be too far from this majestic animal for long. He stops in front of a glistening axe that looks much sturdier than the one I had purchased the day before. "This one just got in today--"
"Like all your merchandise." I say with a small bow of my head.
He smiles and nods, continuing.
"Yes. It just got in today. Made all the way in the Acorn town." He runs his fingers over the smooth metal, his black nails making a terrible, soft scraping noise.
"How much for it?" I ask, taking my purse from my arm and clicking it open.
"Hm? Oh... it sells for 400 bells." He answers with a nod.
"400? Goodness, Tom, you're getting a little cheep!" I say amusedly as I hand the raccoon the correct amount of coins. He smiles in appreciation and takes the money, stuffing it in his pockets and gently picking up the tool and gesturing me to follow as he heads to the cash register.
As I follow I look about curiously, inspecting the furniture that I remember is always on the back wall. I see a small, metal desk with three drawers and a good amount of stains from previous work.
"Snow would like that..." I whisper to myself. I remember my roommates birthday is in a few days and I bite my lip, wondering if I should get the piece of furniture.
"I can give you a discount."
I give a small, startled jump as I spin around to lock eyes with two glittering blue ones.
"But why?" I ask, starting to regain the speech that had oh so conveniently left me temporarily.
Tom blushed a little and rolled his shoulders, looking away.
"I... you... we-- it's Snow's birthday soon, isn't it? And Bob just moved so... you know..." He bit his lip, not noticing that the sharp canine that had captured the flesh had pierced it and he quickly hiked up his apron, scurrying back to the cash register.
"It can be a gift from the two of us and you won't even need to pay." He smiled a little and I smiled back, nodding.
"That would be nice. It would help the girl with her studies ever so much."
Snow Hudgens had been the second oldest member of the household. I being the first. The girl 'worked' as she called it, at the Museum, collecting fossils, bugs and fish for the exhibits. She was a scientist so she needed lots of space and time when she worked and with her younger sister, Hope, my teenaged cousin, Davey and our nineteen year old roommate, Honey, that was hard to get. Especially with such a small house.
She had also been dating Bob. An adorable little tabby cat that lived a few houses down from our own. He had recently informed us that he was moving from our small town of Star. Snow was absolutely heartbroken.
That helps to prove that dating was weird and a terrible thing to go through. ...Yes, I may enjoy flirting a little with the local males but that doesn't mean I'm going to start dating. Not even... never mind. On with the story.
Tom quickly wrapped up the tool and stuck it delicately in a small plastic bag, handing it over to me.
"I'll deliver that desk to your house on her birthday, yes?" He asks, smiling shyly as I nodded in agreement. "Are you coming to the party?" I ask in return, desperately trying to keep the conversation moving.
I don't want to leave. Not yet, at least.
"Oh, no. Unfortunately you scheduled it during the day. The shop's open, remember?" He asks, looking disappointed. I nod solemnly, looking away. "Well... see you, Tom." I say quietly and lean over the counter, lightly pecking the animal on his soft cheek.
I smile a little as I feel his face burn and I turn to leave.
"I... can leave the shop closed for an hour."
I spin around, simply beaming. "It's on the twenty seventh. I'll see you there." I say excitedly.
The raccoon just nods as I spin around and leave.
--
"And he didn't even stop you?"
I sigh and shake my head, stabbing at the cake that's now splattered over my plate.
Kiki looks confused for a moment.
"Did he do anything else? Blush? Stumble on his words?"
I shrug helplessly and actually put some cake into my mouth. Kiki reaches over the table, patting my hand lightly with her black-nailed fingers. Just like Tom.
"Well if he did then he totally digs you, kitty cat! You shouldn't go around assuming a guy doesn't like you! Mew! Look at you, kitty cat! You could have any guy... well... not Wart but who would want him anyway..." She snorts a strange mix of a human laugh and a cat's yowl and continues. "Anyway... what I'm trying to say is that you're probably one of the most beautiful girls in the town AND your single! I hear that parakeet... or what is he? ... Shit... macaw? Hawk! That's it! That hawk, Pierce. Goodness! He simply RAVES about that night you bumped into him at the town hall 'Parade of the Stars'. Mew! He just starts going ON and ON about how your eyes sparkled and your voice simply dripped love and lust. If you don't go out with that guy soon... I think he might explode, kitty cat!" Kiki let out her weird yowl/laugh again and this time I laugh along.
Kiki was one of the few I could trust with my one huge secret. Yes, I admitted it. I admitted it so long ago. The other two that I often reveal my deepest, darkest secrets to are that dame, Pecan. She is probably the second most beautiful girl in the town and definitely the most romantic. The other is Snow. My best friend and sister I never wanted but got anyway. She liked to approach everything 'scientifically'. Telling me that my hormones tell me to seek a mate and when I met Tom (who probably most resembled my first male friend) ... it was instant.
"Well... I'll see him at Snow's party..." I say quietly, swirling the brown tea-mixture in it's cup.
"Pierce?" Kiki asks, confused.
I sigh, glaring up at her.
"No, idiot! Tom!" I say jokingly. Kiki shook her head as if to wake herself from a dream. "Oh! ...HEY!" She jumps from her chair, knocking it backwards. I glance up from my cup, unmoved. "What?" I ask nonchalantly.
"You can ask him out!"
My eyes widened at the idea and all too pleasant images flashed through my mind. But I shook them from my head. "What?! Are you kidding? He'd think I'm a whore or something." I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair in desperation.
I glance over at the cat as she gives me one of her 'looks'.
"A whore? Cumon, Annette! People ask each other out all the time! It's nothing new! Just... go up and say; "Hey, Tom! Look... I've taken a fancy in you ever since I moved here. Wanna go out?" Or something along the lines of that." She says as if if was the most easiest thing thing in the world. I sigh and shake my head. "I'll know what to do." I say, standing up and smiling at the cat thankfully. "Thanks for tea and... talking. I feel way better." I give the other woman a quick hug before taking up my purse and slipping it over my shoulder. "I'll see you at the party."
--
"You look fine."
"But he'll be so skeptical! I can feel it! I wonder if we can touch up on the eye make-up--"
"You look FINE, Annette, now stop worrying!"
Pecan pushes me out of the door in aggitation, ignoring my pleas to let go and allow me to lock myself in my room.
I guess I really do look wonderful. My hair combed, brushed and groomed to perfection. It's put up in a purposefully messy pony-tail and slung over my bare shoulder. My dress even more beautiful. It's black, like my eyes. Sparkling. Strapless and hugging my form perfectly. It reaches down to my knees which are occupied with a pair of light black pantyhose. My shoes are nothing special, a pair of high-heels that wrap around my foot as if they were going to snake up my calf and into a boot but stay down low at my ankle.
A pair of sparkling silver earrings hang from my earlobes, glittering in the small amount of light in the room. A necklace, one I had found in Mabel's shop once, hangs around my neck perfectly.
The guests hadn't arrived yet. Snow isn't even here. But the room is perfect.
Pecan had agreed to help me rearrange living room especially for the occasion. There're only two lights and both are hanging from the ceiling, giving off as little light as we could make them. Three or four couches scattered around the walls with an occasional table with a couple of chairs on either side lied between them. The surrounding wall was pasted with one of our old 'Night Sky' wallpapers and the usual plush carpet lay on the floor.
It's a perfect party atmosphere, especially since we moved the time to around nine thirty instead of the previous five o' clock due to Snow's work.
I feel sweat beads form on my forehead and I quickly wipe them away. I know he's not going to care what I wear or how I look... or even how good of a party I can throw. It's only eight forty but I'm already fretting, wondering how he'll like it all. If he'll be able to come at all. I feel a gentle hand on my shoulder and for a split, fleeting moment I thought it was him. I spin around to face Pecan, already in her dress and looking absolutely gorgeous. She smiles a little at me, nodding at the door.
I glance at it, my heart skipping a beat when I see who it is.
"But the party! It doesn't start for another forty minutes!" I hiss to Pecan. She stands on her tip-toes to whisper back.
"He said something about a desk."
Oh. The desk.
I straighten my dress, not noticing when it rides a little lower than I wanted it to, and walk over to the raccoon. He has his back to me, seemingly talking to someone I later recognize as Pierce. When he finally comes within an arms reach I tap him lightly on the shoulder, putting on my most dazzling smile that I reserved solely for him. When he turns around, clad in a button-up dress shirt that is undone at the very top, allowing a small tuft of fur to escape. A pair of black casual pants seem to have been hastily pulled on.
When he turns around I see him freeze as his eyes wonder freely and I can't help but allow my smile to soften a little. He's always been so reserved and considerate. It's amusing to see him so pleasantly shocked by the beauty of a woman.
"An-Annette? Is that you?" He breaths, looking well past taken aback. I giggle lightly and nod. "Yeah... so... you have the desk?" I ask and he nods slowly before he seems to come out of his daze and he nods again only more enthusiastically.
"Oh! Yeah! The desk! Of coarse!" He turns around, his bushy, black-tipped tail brushing my legs and I shiver. This was going to be one, agonizingly long night.
--
So I finally have some drinks in me and one in my hand. I'm lounging carelessly on our classic sofa as I watched everyone chatting and hanging out and basically having a good time. No one's without another to talk to... except me.
I can see him, his perfect smile and glittering blue eyes. Happily talking about a new shipment of fishing poles to that Wart Jr. lad. I bet he's forgotten about me. I bet he doesn't know I'm here, I'm watching in agony as he mentally slips further and further away from me.
I can't hold my alcohol. Thought you might want to know.
All of a sudden, weight was pushing the cushions of the sofa down a little, causing my intoxicated body to sway towards the weight. I feel skin, which surprised me at first, until I reminded myself that whatever it's probably human... or frog.
I felt a pair of slightly wet, uncomfortably bumpy lips slam themselves into mine. In the state I'm in... I don't give a damn who it was. I kept myself there, waiting for the next move, when I hear someone gasp. I flick my black eyes to a pair of brilliantly blue ones and I sober instantly. I don't even want to know who it is that had so brutally attacked me. I just push him away and jump up from the couch, rushing after the one person I actually loved who was running far too fast for my liking.
"Tom!" I cry desperately, the heels of my feet aching. He pauses, glaring over his shoulder, before opening the door... and leaving.
"No..." I close my eyes, hanging my head, before feeling my shoes being slipped from my feet and two pairs of arms pulling me up from my sitting position I seemed to have collapsed in.
"I admit, going off and kissing Swift wasn't exactly the best way to start a relationship off with another but you still have a chance, kitty cat!" I glance over at Kiki, her eyelashes curled perfectly with mascara and her fur brushed to silk. A black collared shirt wrapped around her figure tightly, a red tie resting between her bosoms. A pair of equally black pants that stopped just above her knee were also worn. Pecan stands at my other side, clinging to my arm desperately as if she can't keep me up.
"Go get 'em... tiger." She mutters as she and Kiki let go and push me towards the door.
I rush out, my tights instantly dirtying. I know exactly where Tom lives but I still need to reorient myself. I notice that I dropped my cup back at the house but I don't care as I rush off towards the store.
I see him, not even inside. He's curled up right next to the door, his knees to his chest and his head in his arms. He's crying, I can see that, but he's also wet. Which I don't get. Then I notice that it's raining and that I, too, am soaking wet.
"... Tom?" I whisper, walking hesitantly up to him until I'm about a foot from him. He glances up, his perfect blue eyes rimmed with red and tears lied down his soft fur.
He's glaring, not even bothering to think that I've come all the way down here for him. To talk to him.
"Tom... I'm sorry you had to see that. I had a few drinks and I didn't know what I was doing..." I whisper but the glare remains.
"You expect me to just... forgive you?" He's up now, having gained his position so fast I didn't even notice he was up until he spoke again.
"I loved you. I know you knew it. You tortured me, flirted, caressed, kissed. Every move you made sent me into agony! And now tonight." He spat at my feet. "Tonight! You invite me over just so you can break my heart and leave me for dead! I don't give a DAMN whether you've had one drink or one hundred. I don't deserve this... and you don't deserve me." He spun on the spot and had retreated into the store before I could even respond.
I remembered he never locked his shop for he trusted everyone.
Well... now not EVERYONE.
I push my way through the door, catching the raccoon by the wrist and spinning him around. When he sees my face his hopeful look turns to one of anger and he opens his mouth to speak. Instead I pull him roughly towards me, pressing my lips to his own, almost nonexistant ones.
At first, I know, he's speechless. Whatever words that had found themselves on his tongue died there the minute I pushed my lips to his. He could only stand there before pushing me away though, I noticed with delight, not roughly.
"Annette..." He starts, looking uncertain. Then he looks me over and takes a deep breath. "Why did you kiss him?"
I opened my mouth to speak before biting my lip and letting go of him. "I didn't kiss him." I whispered. He shakes his head, looking away. "I saw--"
"You saw wrong. He kissed me and I was too drunk to care. Tom... I love you too. I dreaded every minute spent with you yet I couldn't have enough. Whenever I saw you I couldn't stand to be so near but I wasn't ever close enough." I feel him slowly, tentatively, snaking his arms around my waist and pulling me closer and I smile. "Will you accept a heartbroken artist?" I see him smile and pull me into a tight yet gentle embrace.
"Of coarse I will."