Gumball stretched and opened his eyes. Was it Thursday? No, he shook his head. It was Saturday. Was it? That's right, it was. The king day of the week. The day where worries go away and it's all about the self.
Or so he thought.
Gumball got up and showered, making sure to put his face under the faucet directly to ensure a secure wake up.
He eventually got out and dried himself off, dressing himself in his usual attire. He slipped out of the house, undetected by his family.
Actually, did he consider them his family? Gumball pondered that as he walked around. Him and his family had all drifted over the years, himself feeling especially ostracized.
Oh well, it was a nice day.
It was late October, Halloween just a few days away. Sadly it was during the school week, a Tuesday no less. What kind of person throws a bomb ass Halloween party on a Tuesday?
He shrugged and sat on a bench. He watched the denizens of Elmore walk by. Larry switching uniforms for his various jobs, Tobias and Joe walking to the local pizza joint, all seemed normal.
Yet, he felt alone.
Granted, Gumball was used to feeling alone. The pain of his breakup was a devastating toll on the cat. He placed himself in a social exile, thinking that school work and personal recreation would distract him. In fact in had for the most part.
But right now, he felt alone. And he didn't like this alone. His mind wandered as to why he felt alone. Was it because he was missing Darwin? No, Darwin joined the jocks after becoming a basketball star and track star in high school. Was it his absence of a loved one?
He mentally slapped himself, showing a scowl in person. He didn't need that. Gumball Watterson did not need love. Nor did he want it.
He mentally cursed and got up and started walking again. It helped rid his head of silly thoughts like that.
He sat again on a different bench, taking in the beautiful scenery. He smiled to himself, enjoying the nice autumn smells and cool air.
"You know, it isn't healthy to smile as much as you have been lately."
He broke his smile and looked at the source of the voice. Of course.
"You know, some of us are starting to enjoy life." His retort earned a snicker, only from himself though.
Carrie rolled her eyes and moved next to him. "What're you up to Gumball?"
He just shrugged as they walked together. "Just walking and thinking, trying to enjoy how nice today is."
Carrie nodded and smiled slightly. She was glad to see him doing better after the biggest breakup in high school. Everyone knew about it, mostly because of how public it was, then it became gossip. She brutally dumped him on her last day of school freshman year. They had been together two years, and she didn't even cry or show emotion. It was robotic in how she did it. Her heart ached for Gumball after that. He didn't talk sophomore year at all. Not a single word. He ostracized himself from everyone, he felt alone and vulnerable and she did not like that.
She sighed internally. Poor Gumball. They were both juniors now, and he at least opened up to her.
"You know Carrie, there's a new record store in town I wanted to go to, did you wanna come with?"
She looked up at him. He smiled, and it seemed sincere. His eyes were very inviting. She nodded with a big smile. "Totally! Hopefully there's some new records of Acidic Quartet!"
He smiled. Huh, who knew she liked them too.
Eventually, they found themselves at Guy's Records. 'Strange name' Gumball thought, for the store that is.
They walked in, and boxes and boxes of records were in front of them. Carrie zoomed to the punk section, while Gumball waltzed himself around, looking through all the genres. Except country, he couldn't stand it.
Carrie shrieked when she found Acidic Quartets newest album. She hugged it with a big smile. Gumball smiled internally at her, thinking how cute she looked.
A record scratched somewhere. 'Did I just think Carrie is cute?' He felt his face heat up and he turned away, looking in the Classical music section. He flipped through, recognizing a few big names like Schoenberg and Liszt but nothing jumped at him.
He meandered back to the punk section, looking through and getting excited over the albums of his favorite bands. Alas, they were all out of his price range. "50 bucks for a record? Online I go," he muttered to himself as he turned towards Carrie.
She smiled giddily as she walked up to him. "Find anything?"
He sighed and stuffed his paws in his pockets. "Yeah but too expensive. I'll just go to a thrift store or online."
She pouted. "Well come on! I have a record player at home, we can listen to the album I bought together!" She said as she grabbed his paw and drug him out of there.
He chuckled inwardly. Maybe it was a good thing he and Carrie are friends.
The two began the trek back to Carrie's house. It was a smooth walk, very placid and the weather was definitely friendly to them today. The duo walked, but a bit closer than friends. Unbeknownst to them, sparks were starting to fly between them.
"Man I'm hungry, you hungry?"
Carrie nodded slightly. "Yeah, I could eat."
Gumball smirked slightly, "Lucky for us, were near Giuseppe's Parlor and Diner, let's get some Italian."
Carrie smiled and nodded. "Totally!"
Gumball led Carrie inside, holding the door for her which she made a mental note of. The host took them to a table that overlooked the canal. Small lights were strewn around the restaurant, with the overhead lights turned low. It was quite romantic in all actuality. The two didn't notice that as they were deep in conversation and lost in each other's eyes.
Gumball has ordered the garlic chicken Parmesan, while Carrie went with a gnocchi soup. It was very nice, both dishes were rich and creamy. Definitely worth the moderate price.
"Want to try mine?" Gumball offered.
Carrie smiled, and held a spoon out with soup. "Try mine."
The two fed each other, and soon finished their meal. Gumball paid for it all and left a nice tip. He looked at the clock as they were leaving, it read 9:30.
"Yikes, sorry if that took up too much of your time." Gumball said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.
Carrie smiled and blushed, "It was very nice Gumball. Thank you for a good night." She gave him a gentle hug, which he returned. 'Odd, this feels...right. Or something. I don't know. I don't like this feeling.' Gumball kept his thoughts to himself, but he was smiling wide.
"You mind if I walk you home, madame?" Gumball said in a goofy voice and bowed. Carrie giggled and held her arm out, "My lord that would be most appreciated." The two laughed and he took her arm, walking her back to her home. They remained quiet this time, just enjoying each other's presence as the day was drawing to an end.
Eventually, they reached her house. Carrie turned to face him with a smile. "Gumball, I appreciate it tonight. I won't forget it." She gently rose up and gave him a kiss on the cheek, waved, and went inside.
Gumball froze up when she did that, only her door closing snapped him back. He liked that. He liked that a lot. That was awesome!
He silently cheered to himself as he walked back to his house. Carrie watched him, peeking through a curtain. She smiled wide and blushed deep, they were making progress.
That night, Gumball tossed in his sleep.
'What do you mean you moved on? Gumball I thought we were gonna last forever!' Penny whined. She had come back from California, and Gumball has finally moved on. He was with Carrie. Very happy with Carrie, and it was after senior year graduation.
'Penny, you ruthlessly ripped my heart out. How could you think I'd take you back?' Gumball retorted and took a small, protective step in front of Carrie.
Penny grew mad, and got in his face. 'You asshole. You don't think I was hurting after I dumped you? You don't think I missed you? You're fucked if you think I was fine and dandy.'
The dream played on, and Gumball tossed and turned all night. It was a day he hoped never happened. He never wanted to see her again.
It was 10:43, Sunday, October 29th. Gumball did not feel well whatsoever. His dream had branded itself in his head. Of course this was a dream he wouldn't forget.
He groaned and rolled over, looking out the window. Rain started to pitter against the window pane. He sighed and pulled the covers over his head. "I wish I could skip today," he muttered to himself.
He managed to get up and shower, at 3:15 in the afternoon. He took a long hot shower to rid himself of last nights demons. Or at least he tried to. Slowly but surely Penny was vacating his mind.
He got dressed in just a plain white tee shirt and grey sweatpants today. It was a bum day for sure.
He flopped himself onto his bed and pulled a book out from underneath. The title was 'The Jungle', a book about the history of the Amazon. He just opened the book when his mom called to him.
"Gumball! Someone's here to see you!"
He sighed and grumbled to himself, tossing his book to the side and trudging downstairs. His tired and lazy look earned a small glare from his mother but no one noticed.
When he looked up, he cracked a half smile. Carrie stood at his door with a big smile.
"Hey," Gumball said, 'Weird, I feel funny..' his thoughts started to race.
"Well Carrie come on in! We don't want you standing out there forever, now do we?" Nicole said as she ushered Carrie in, the last bit with a bit of force in it.
Gumball nodded. "Yeah! Sorry for my look, i wasn't feel up to anything today." Carrie smiled slightly, "It isn't a big deal, you still look fine."
The two smiled at each other, and Gumball noticed that his mom left the room. He thanked her in his head. "So what did you want to do today?"
Carrie shrugged, "I'm not sure. I think tonight is open mic at Brutus' Brew House. Did you wanna go there?" (AN: this brew house is a coffee house in this story).
Gumball shrugged, "Sure! Let me go change. You can come upstairs too if you wanna." He motioned for her to follow as he headed up to his room. She blushed slightly and floated up after him.
The duo entered Gumball's room, and he began to change his clothes. When he took his shirt off, Carrie turned away, blushing.
"Give a warning dude!" She teased, although she would rather look at him.
"Ha ha, very funny," he said as he threw his shirt at her. She batted it to the floor, and looked at his back as he rummaged for his usual clothes in his closet. 'He's so dreamy, his shoulders are muscular! Whatever happened to the scrawny ruht from middle school?'
Carrie was lost in thought, until Gumball snapped his finger. "Hey skippy, I'm ready. You all there?" Carrie shook her head and smiled. "Yeah! Let's go!" She grabbed his hand and nearly drug him down the stairs and out of the house. Gumball smiled, and felt his face heat up. 'Oh no, I'm getting a crush on Carrie.'
The two soon arrived at Brutus' Brew House. It was small, but quaint. A brick structure, and very welcoming.
Gumball opened the door and smirked, "For the lady." Carrie rolled her eyes and walked in. The two entered and found a place to sit, a small table with two chairs. The hostess went up the mic and began explaining the event for the night, open mic, and it soon went underway. Many faces came and went, some singing, some just performing instruments, others reciting poetry.
At the end, volunteers were taken. Gumball was staring at Carrie, unbeknownst how enamored he was feeling. He raised his hand and smirked, "Yeah, I'll give it a try."
The hostess smiled and welcomed him to the stage while everyone clapped. Carrie smiled and looked at him.
"This one, is dedicated to a very special lady. She knows who she is," he winked at Carrie as she blushed deeply. He continued, "This is called 'Girl from the North Country' by Bob Dylan."
He soon pulled up the music and began singing. His voice smoothly sounded original to the music, as if he wrote it himself. Gumball had his eyes closed, and only opened them to look at Carrie. He poured emotion and passion into his words, and by the time he was done, the whole coffee shop was clapping and whistling. Nothing, however, could peel Gumball's eyes away from Carrie, and Carrie's eyes from Gumball.
Afterwards, the two were walking outside. Blushes were deep on their faces as the two silently trekked to Carrie's house. Carrie was walking very close to Gumball, which was noticed by him. Eventually, they made it to her house. She sighed and faced him.
"Tonight was fun. I felt alive."
Gumball smiled at her, "Me too, it's been a long time since I've had this much fun."
The two just stared into each other's eyes. Sparks were soaring around the two, and hormones were going rabid. Carrie smiled and began to walk inside. "Goodnight Gumball."
"Hey Carrie?" He said. "What's up?"
Gumball pulled her to him and kissed her deeply and with passion, passion that was trapped in for years. She returned it with as much passion. She let her weight lean into him as he wrapped his arms around her and they continued their kissing. Gumball could feel himself getting more worked up, as did Carrie. After a full two minutes, they pulled apart. They stared intently into their eyes.
"Goodnight Carrie."
"Goodnight Gumball."
She smirked and kissed his cheek. She swayed her hips as she walked up to her door. Her hips and ass had definitely caught his eye. She smirked at him before sliding into her house.
Gumball sighed and smiled. "Damn, that was AWESOME!" He cheered, he felt great! He was whooping all along his way home and was on cloud nine.
Carrie too felt the same way. The boy she longed for basically confessed his feelings for her, in song and by being physical no less! She felt her heart flutter as she laid in bed.
Yes, for both of them, the day had been one of their best.
AN: Yes finally, sparks soar! I know it's soon and only the second chapter, but damn I just wanted them to finally do it. And I did keep my word, this is out before the end of the year! Hurray! Hopefully next chapter is before my spring break? It most likely will be, but who knows. Anywho, read and review as always! Let me know what y'all think. I'm really liking this story and how it's turned out so far. I'll see y'all around