Chapter 2:
The Date
A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed this story! That means a lot! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
Early the next morning when he arrived at the ZPD, Nick went straight to Judy's office. To his surprise, she wasn't there. "That's strange," he said. "She usually arrives pretty early." Nick went over the circulation desk, where Benjamin Clawhauser was listening to his I-Pod.
"Hey, Ben! How's it going?"
Clawhauser took his headphones off to talk to Nick. "Great! I'm listening to the new Gazelle album! It just came out yesterday!"
"That's cool! How is it?"
"Wonderful! Everything she does is wonderful!" Clawhauser said, smiling brightly.
"I got to check it out some time. By the way, have you seen Judy around? She's not in her office."
"Oh! She's up in Chief Bogo's office. He had to talk to her about something important. You're welcome to go in; I'll let him now you're coming."
"Thanks, Ben," Nick said.
Nick went upstairs to Chief Bogo's office. As he entered, he saw that Judy and Bogo were in the middle of a conversation, which stopped as soon as they saw him.
"Officer Wilde, glad you could join us," Bogo said.
"Hi Nick!" Judy said, happily.
"Hi Judy," Nick said, smiling. "Good morning, Chief Bogo."
He took a seat beside Judy, and listened as the two informed him of what they were talking about before he arrived.
"As I was explaining to Officer Hopps, we've been investigating a series of break-ins throughout the Garmen district, and…
Suddenly a voice came over the intercom. "Sir we got a call about a disturbance in the lower east side. A large wolf has been seen terrorizing animals, and has caused one animal to injure himself. A cat was so scared that he ran right into a telephone pole. Suspect is wearing a black leather jacket, torn up jeans, and a nose ring."
"Thank you, Clawhauser, I'll send someone now," Chief Bogo said.
He then turned to Nick and Judy. "Well, this can wait for later. Right now I think we should deal with the problem at hand. Do you two want to take this call?"
"Of course," Nick and Judy said, simultaneously.
"Very good. Best of luck to you both," Chief Bogo said.
When Nick and Judy arrived on the Lower East Side of Zootopia, they saw the wolf that was reportedly terrorizing other animals. Judy called out to him as soon as she saw him. "Excuse me, sir! ZPD, we have a few questions for you."
The wolf calmly walked over to Nick, and Judy. He definitely looked like the frightening type. He wore a black leather jacket with torn up jeans, and a nose ring. "Sure thing, officers," he said, gruffly. "Ask away."
"We got a call about a disturbance in this neighborhood. A wolf has been seen terrorizing other animals, growling at them, and such. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" Judy asked.
"Not a thing. I just got here. I'm going to my friend's house."
"I see. And I take it your friend lives nearby?" Nick asked.
The wolf pointed to his right. "Just down that street."
"What's your name, sir?" Nick asked.
"Billy Nolan," the wolf said.
"Interesting. Billy, we have reason to believe that you have been the one walking through the neighborhood and scaring animals," Judy said, sternly. "A number of witnesses have described seeing a wolf dressed exactly like you in the area."
"I promise you officers, it wasn't me. I just got here!" Billy said, playing innocent.
"Well, I suppose you won't mind coming down to the station with us, and taking a polygraph test," Nick said.
The wolf's eyes widened. "Is that really necessary? I just told you that it wasn't me," Billy said, clearly irradiated.
"Then I'm sure you have nothing to worry about," Judy. "Come with us."
"No. I'm not going," Billy growled.
"Come with us, Mr. Nolan," Judy said.
"No!" Billy cried.
"Mr. Nolan, we're going to ask you one more time. Cooperate with us or we will arrest you."
"You're not taking me anywhere!" Billy cried. "Don't make me hurt you! Because I will!"
Threatening a police officer; now Billy was in real trouble.
Billy turned on his heels, and started to run, but Nick was one step ahead of him. He whipped out his tranquilizer gun, and fired one dart into Billy's back. The wolf let out a small howl, and then collapsed on the ground.
"Well, I was hoping it wouldn't have to come to this, but we did warn him," Judy said. "I'm going to need some help getting him in the car."
"Sure thing. You better put handcuffs on him, just in case he wakes up. Some of these large animals take more than one dart to put them down," Nick suggested.
"Good idea," Judy said, handcuffing the wolf's paws. With Nick's help, the two of them placed Billy's unconscious body in the backseat of the car, and returned to the police station.
As they were driving, Nick thought about his dream last night, and the possibility of asking Judy out on a date. Would she say yes? They were good friends after all, so why wouldn't she? Still, Nick felt like he was pushing things. He was a fox, and she was a rabbit. The two of them dating sounded ridiculous. But as his mother always told him, you'll never know until you try.
Nick took a deep breath, and let out a long sigh. "Judy, are you doing anything this evening?" he asked.
"No. I was just going to go home, and relax. Why?" Judy asked.
"I was wondering…I mean...if you didn't have any plans…would you like to go out with me for dinner tonight?" Nick asked. He was very nervous; and shocked that he actually managed to ask Judy out.
"I'd love too, Nick. What time?" Judy asked, happily.
"Um…6:30? And maybe afterwards we could catch a movie or something," Nick suggested.
"That sounds wonderful!" Judy exclaimed.
"Great….so I guess I'll pick you up at your place at 6:30?" Nick said.
"Sounds like a plan," Judy said. "Looking forward to it."
"Awesome! So am I," Nick said, unable to help crack a smile.
When they arrived at the police station, Billy was starting to wake up. Once he was fully conscious, several eye witnesses were called down to the station to identity him. All of them identified him as the wolf that had been terrorizing the neighborhood. Street surveillance cameras also showed Billy in the process of howling at a group of kids walking down the street. Billy was charged with disturbing the peace, and resisting arrest. He would be held in jail until his court date. Another job well done," Nick said to Judy. "Definitely. We're the perfect team," Judy said.
Nick smiled. "Yes we are."
Later that evening, Nick put on a suit and tie. He planned on taking Judy to a fancy restaurant, and he wanted to look his best.
As he drove to Judy's apartment, he swung by the florist to pick her a bouquet of flowers. He hadn't dated many women before, but he knew that ladies usually loved men doing something like this. When he arrived at Judy's apartment, he took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.
The door swung open, and there Judy stood wearing a red dress. She looked amazing.
"Hello, Nick! Ready to go?" she asked.
"Yes. You….you…look beautiful," Nick said. He was beyond nervous.
"Aw! Thank you, Nick. You look pretty handsome, yourself."
"These are for you," Nick said, handing Judy the bouquet of flowers.
Judy's eyes widened. "Nick! They're beautiful!" she said. "I'll go put them in a vase of water before we go."
Judy went back inside, and took a vase that her mother had sent her out, filled it with water, and placed the flowers inside.
"I love petunias!" Thank you, Nick,"
Nick smiled. "You're welcome, Judy. Are you ready to go?"
"Yep. Let's go."
When they got outside, Nick remembered that it was courteous for a guy to open the car door for a lady; so he did just that for Judy.
"Thank you, Nick. Such a gentleman."
Nick had decided to take Judy to a fancy restaurant called "Binos." As he drove down the street, Judy could see how nervous Nick was. His fur was standing up, and he was sweating profusely. She calmly placed a paw on his shoulder. "Nick, don't be nervous. It's just me," she said, smiling. Nick relaxed; she was right. There was nothing to worry about. He and Judy were just friends, that's all. Just two friends going out to dinner together.
When they arrived at the restaurant, Nick and Judy looked over their menus excitedly.
"I'm so hungry," Judy said. "What are you getting?"
"I'm not sure yet," Nick answered. "There's a lot of good food here."
"Have you been here before?" Judy asked.
"A couple times," he said.
Their waiter, a panda, walked over to their table with a notepad and a pencil. "Are you two ready to order?" he asked.
"Yes," Judy said, putting her menu down. "I'll have a sweet tea to drink, and large order of lemon-glazed carrots, please."
"Alright. And for you, sir?" the waiter asked Nick.
"You know what, I'll have the same thing," Nick said, smiling at Judy.
"Two orders of sweet tea and lemon-glazed carrots, coming up," the waiter said. After he left, Nick and Judy talked about their day. "What were you and Bogo talking about before I arrived this morning?" Nick asked.
"We were discussing a series of burglaries that have happened recently," Judy answered. "All have happened at night, and the thief breaks in using the chimney on each house."
"That's pretty crafty," Nick said. "I should use the chimney next time I rob a house."
Judy eyed him questioningly.
"Just joking," Nick said, laughing.
"That's good. Your criminal days are way behind you," Judy said.
"Yeah, and I'd never return to them either. I'm happier doing what I do now than I was scamming people."
"You're a good guy, Nick."
"I try," Nick said, giving a sly smirk.
A few minutes later the waiter returned with their order of lemon-glazed carrots. Judy finished her dish in no time; while Nick took his time eating. He'd had carrots before, but never steamed, lemon-glazed carrots. It was quite a change, albeit a nice one. After dinner, Nick and Judy got back into the car, and drove off. "Would you like to see a movie?" Nick asked.
"Sure! Can we go see "The Lion and the Antelope" I've heard some really good things about it."
"Sure," Nick replied. He knew that "The Lion and the Antelope" was a chick flick, and he honestly much rather see something else, but he could make an exception for night, especially for Judy. When they arrived at the theatre, Nick was prepared to buy Judy her ticket, but the young rabbit quickly refused.
"You paid for dinner, let me get this one," she said.
"Are you sure? I don't mind buying your ticket," Nick asked, surprised.
"I'm sure. This one is all on me," Judy said, handing the bobcat her money at the ticket booth.
She actually bought my ticket, Nick thought to himself. That sure was nice.
In addition to the ticket, Judy also volunteered to buy popcorn and drinks. "I figure we could get a large popcorn to share, and each have our own drinks," she said.
"Sounds good," Nick said. My word this girl is generous.
Even though Nick wasn't looking forward to the movie in particular, he was glad that he was seeing it with Judy. Just as he expected, "The Lion and the Antelope" was a love story; one that clearly touched Judy. It was about a lion and an antelope who fall in love with each other, but can't be together because their parents don't approve of them dating another species. Nick could relate to the plot of the movie very well as he watched the lion in the film yearn for his love, he looked over at Judy, and sighed. They could never be together. He couldn't imagine Judy's parents approving of them dating. It just was too unrealistic. "I know the feeling, lion," he said to himself.
"What did you say," Judy asked.
"I said the lion sure is feeling bad," Nick lied.
"Yeah. Hopefully he'll get together with the antelope in the end. And that's just what happened. The parents of the lion and the parents of the antelope learned how much their children loved each other, and allowed them to get married. Judy smiled as the two characters kissed on screen. "That's so romantic," she said.
"Yeah. It is," Nick agreed.
After the film, Nick was preparing to bring Judy home, when she suggested they do something else. "Let's go to Zootopia Central Park," she said. "It's a lovely evening."
Nick thought about it for a minute. So far the evening had gone well. In fact, it resembled his dream in every way possible. To say that he was enjoying his date with Judy was an understatement. He honestly didn't want it to end just yet.
"That sounds great," Nick said.
Zootopia Central Park wasn't far from the movie theatre. Nick and Judy traveled their on foot. When they entered the park, they crossed over a bridge that went over a pond. Eventually Judy led Nick up to a hill that overlooked the entire park. She laid down on her back, and Nick joined her. For the next few minutes, they lay there watching the stars together.
"I used to do this with my family all the time when I was little," Judy said. "We'd always try to find stars that are shaped like things. Look at that one!" she said pointing to her right. "That one looks like a heart!" Nick looked at the cluster of stars, and true enough, it did resemble a heart.
He looked around the sky for a while; trying to find any more in the sky. Eventually, he spotted something. "Hey, Carrots, there's one that looks like a big Z," he said.
"Haha. Z for Zootopia," Judy said, laughing.
"Yeah, what a coincidence," Nick said, laughing a long with her.
Gosh this evening was great. Everything about it had gone so well. Nick looked at Judy who was still gazing at the stars. Just like his dream, her violet eyes sparkled against the sky. She looked beautiful. Suddenly, Judy sat up, and brushed the grass off her dress. "Well, this was nice, but it's getting late. I should be getting back."
Nick was snapped out of her trance, and stood up himself. "Ok. I'll drop you off at your apartment."
True to his word, Nick dropped Judy off at her apartment, and even walked her to her door.
"I had a wonderful time tonight, Nick," she said.
"Great. So did I," Nick said, his heart was beating like crazy.
"We should do it again some time," Judy suggested.
"Yeah, we should."
There was a pause between the two. Nick stared into Judy's eyes, falling deeper and deeper into a trance. Before he knew it, he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. Judy pulled back, startled.
"Nick!" she cried.
Nick had returned to reality, and when he did was very embarrassed. "I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me," he said. But before Judy could respond, Nick took off running, and drove as fast as he could back to his apartment. "Stupid, stupid, stupid, fox," he said to himself. They had a nice evening together, and he had to ruin it by kissing her. What was he thinking? They weren't even dating!
Arriving back at his own apartment, Nick locked the door behind him, and collapsed on his bed. There was no doubting it now. He liked Judy more than as a friend. But as always, he managed to screw things up.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! And thanks again to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or followed this story! I greatly appreciate it.