***Hey, so i guess it gets more popular as the day goes by lol, I just have a request for the more frequent viewers; if you enjoy the story so far, or any of the chapters, please favorite and review. It keeps me motivated to write, along with how i can use criticism to construct my next chapter or so. But here's another chapter with some heart in it, i hope all of you viewers enjoy.***
CHAPTER 4:
Miles woke up to small noises in the kitchen. Only wearing his pants, the comforter didn't even cover him, he was warm enough like the night before, and slept with a little smile. He sat up yawning and stretching, and Judy walked into the living room, carrying blueberry pancakes and a glass of orange juice.
"Good morning." She said with a smile.
He rubbed his eyes, speaking in a drowsy manner.
"Morning."
Opening his eyes to seeing the breakfast in front of him, he looked at Judy, with her hands over her lap, smiling in courtesy.
"I brought you breakfast. Blueberry pancakes, straight from Bunny boroughs."
Miles smiled, and slowly reached for the fork, nodding.
"Thank you."
He began to eat, and Judy went back to the kitchen, cleaning up the dishes she made dirty again, but she had a question for him.
"Miles?"
He tried to finish a mouthful of pancake.
"Hmm?"
"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with Nick and i… We can all get to know each other a whole lot better. Plus, we can all go out to eat."
Miles swallowed.
"Well, i really would love to, but i don't have any money until my first paycheck…"
She scoffed at how he was trying to be as conservative as possible for others.
"Don't worry about it, i'll have it taken care of."
Miles then drinked the full glass in one sitting.
"But i'll feel really bad if i don't pay back, and i really don't want to feel that guilt."
He stood up, stretched a second time, and looked out the window. Judy came back in, drying her hands with a rag, and stood there speechless. His figure shined within the 7:00 sunlight, the fur within his abdomen had a crisp glow while his upper chest stretched as well as he did. Miles noticed and turned away, having his back toward her as he apologized.
"Sorry! Here, i better put a shirt on."
She looked away, dividing her field of view with her palm, blushing a bright red. The bag he had on his back the night before lied by the couch, and he reached in, grabbing a stick of deodorant and a blue shirt. After getting a shirt in and freshening up, he looked at Judy, and asked.
"Better?"
She started to nod while her blush died down.
"Yeah."
There was a really awkward silence.
"Well," Judy cut in. "We should get going, get a good look around town, maybe i can show you the different recreational spots."
They left the house, and chose to walk down a long road toward Nicks van.
Nick still lived in the cramped spot on the corner with Finnick, in the Dodge Z1 van they shared since the beginning of their friendship. Even though Nick stopped cheating the system and selling popsicles, he still made the same rough amount of income as an officer of Zootopia. Finnick actually tried getting a job as a clerk at the suburban clothing store, but they turned him down for his shady looks, so he went back to selling popsicles.
"His van should be here somewhere…" Judy said.
They walked into the suburban section where the van usually resided, and saw tire tracks leading into an abandoned alley. Miles pointed down the tracks, and Judy went toward the direction.
It was a dark, wet, and steamy alley; something you'd expect from an urban, concrete jungle. They followed the tracks for about ten feet, then fifteen, twenty, all the way until two pathways were shown; an exit to the next street, or a dead end with a van parked in it. Judy immediately started walking toward the van, but Miles stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
"Something's not right…" he spoke.
Judy nodded and let Miles lead, but he had a slight sneak stance as he walked. He slowed his pace when he got closer to the van, and once he was an arm's length away, he looked back at Judy, curious about the situation. He reached for the door, and slowly knocked three times. Knock, knock, knock.
The door to the back of the van was thrown open, and Finnick was standing inside the van, holding a pistol pointed at Miles. But instinct kicked in, and Miles immediately grabbed ahold of the pistol and swung him down to the ground, twisting the loaded gun from his hands, then pointing it at him. Judy was standing back in amazement by how quick he was, then realizing it was just Finnick, she gave a sigh of irritation.
"Dammit Finnick! You scared the hell out of us!"
He looked at Judy as he put his hands up to shield his face.
"Fuck, Jude i was only tryna' protect that cripple in the van before this brotha' here clotheslined me!"
"Brother?! You pointed a .45 in my face the moment i knocked, why the hell would you call me a brother?!" Miles then looked at Judy.
"And you know this prick?!"
"He's Nicks only 'family', in a way…"
Miles tightened his grip on the gun, then loosened, stood up, and unloaded the clip, and the one in the chamber, before handing it back to Finnick.
"Safety's on, dipshit." Miles growled. "Nick, you in there?!" He called into the back of the van.
"Yeah!" Nick said as he strained himself to get up. He sat behind a small dresser, with a 17-inch flat screen opposite to him. Grabbing onto his crutches, and holding one knee up in a cast, he came to the back with a sly grin, and and asked,
"What do you guys need?"
Judy stepped in.
"I was wondering if you wanted to move that hang out plan to today. Plus we could take Miles with us and show him around." She smiled at the idea, but Nicks grin slowly faded.
Instead of trying to find a way to guilt trip Miles into being a better fox, he just chose to upset Judy and make her feel awful, all because of the fear he had of miles being the new priority.
"Nah, i'm not feeling too well, my knee is all screwed up, and, i really don't feel like dealing with competition today." He grinned again out of cockyness, but Judy began to get flustered with what Nick said. Miles heard the remark too, but instead of taking action, he tried walking back and away, staying out of the conflict.
"What are you talking about?" Judy asked.
"I'm saying, i don't want to see him anymore around us, Judy. I hate the fact that you already had your mind set on him since yesterday, and you barely even know him!"
Miles felt a blow to the gut.
"Well i'm just trying to make him feel welcome! I mean, look at him! He was really quiet and lonely, and after finally convincing him overnight that me and you cared, he actually opened up!"
Nick had a look of repulsiveness.
"Wait, he stayed the night at your place?! What, did you sleep with him to help him open up?!"
Another blow. This time closer to the heart.
"How dare you, Nick!" Judy tried to hold back tears for the way he was treating her. "He was attacked for god's sake, and he doesn't even have a place to stay, of course i gave him shelter and a place to sleep!"
"Oh, bullshit, he probably made up a fake story just to gain sympathy during the car ride yesterday!"
"Well then why would he deny having a brand new tail if he said he didn't want to attract that!"
Tears flowed, and anger burned.
"Because he probably fucking tries to hide his emotions by 'being the bigger man'! Who knows, maybe he is worse than me, and i'm not the bad guy anymore!"
"Well at least he wouldn't live with his partner in crime in a van on the side of a building for free electricity!"
Finnick chimed in. "Aw, you say that like it's a bad thing!"
Nick and Judy both answered.
"Shut up, Finnick!"
There was a total silence, then judy said one last thing.
"You know Wilde," she wiped a tear away. "You're a selfish piece of shit for trying to take the friendship out of it!"
"Well maybe i want to keep it away from filthy fucking raccoons like him!"
"ENOUGH!" Miles roared.
His howl of sadness and anger echoed and bounced between the two buildings, scaring birds away in the distance.
"You have absolutely no fucking right to talk about my personality like that Nick! I haven't done a thing to you, and you treat me like some beggar on the streets trying to harm you and everybody you know!"
His fists were clenched in fury, and his voice got darker and more gruff the angrier he got.
"The only difference between you and me is that we came from different families, and who knows, maybe that's why we defend the ones we love the way we do, but at least you got that chance!"
He was in a power stance of sorts, and actually felt his tail flare to the point to where it began to hurt. It turns out, he got so furious, that blood flowed straight to his tail as a defense mechanism, and caused the sealed wound to break. He felt small droplets of blood leak, but he didn't care. He stood straight back up, then looked at Judy, who was now more scared than angry and teary-eyed. Miles then slowly turned around, and walked away.
"Miles!" Judy called, then she looked at nick with an irritated face.
"I hope your happy Nicholas." She wiped more tears, then ran after him, with Nick holding his arm out now in regret.
Miles walked around the corner, and continued keeping a steady pace, with a small trail of red dots following him. Judy tried to hold his shoulder, but he shrugged it away, only walking faster.
"Miles please!" Judy cried. "I'm really sorry about Nick, please don't think i see you the same way!"
"It doesn't matter. I'll just stay closed. It made more sense to not get involved in the first place. Less emotion, you know?" He spoke in a solemn tone.
Judy then slowed down, and held her hands to her face, trying to hold the tears back, but it was no use. She started to lightly sob, letting out droplets, then she began to actually cry, feeling that pain hit her like an oncoming train. Miles stopped by nature, but didn't look back. He just stood there, closed his eyes, and then turned around, seeing judy now collapse onto her knees, bawling her eyes out, living her nightmare of losing her only friends. Miles then kneeled down in front of her, but had the same empty look on his face. She had her eyes closed by her hands, trying to stop the tears from flowing, and miles even tried to help wipe them away. The weird thing was, Miles never even knew how to comfort another person, let alone a girl. His entire time in solitude as a older teen had ruined his chances of learning the social skills he lacked, but here he was, helping a girl he really trusted, try to feel better. She finally eased her sobbing, and her breathing pattern slowed down, finally calming to a few sniffles and one or two tears here and here.
"Judy…" Miles placed his large fox hand on her soft, platinum silver cheek, and looked deep into her amethyst eyes, shining like they were before, seeing the vision of himself he had. He uttered the same thing she did the night before to help him open up.
"It's okay."
She gave a small smile, then a large grin, and fell into him, giving him a very large hug. Miles felt that warmth once again, that happiness; the sensation of paradise. She continued to cry into his arms, and Miles hugged her tight, caressing the back of her head, her ears, and slowly rocking her. Miles didn't care if they were in public either, this was the least he could do to pay back Judy for all the things she's done to help her, so he slowly eased her back, and spoke softly.
"Get home, i have to go to the station."
She sniffled. "Why?"
"Just, give me a few." He stood her up and slowly turned away, walking down the road as Judy had stopped tearing up.
The 9:00 sunset kicked in again, but this time, a dry, orange glow pasted itself along the buildings across town. Miles grabbed ahold of his rifle and the briefcase he left at his locker in the department, and went back to Judy's house, thinking of a plan. When he arrived, no lights inside were on, and he had begun to believe she wasn't home yet. He knocked before calling her name.
"Judy?" he asked. "Its me, Miles, i've got a couple things i want to show you."
He slowly opened the door, walking in with the briefcase in one hand, and his rifle bag slung over one shoulder. Quietly stepping in and closing the door, he realised she was on the couch with the comforter he used the night before. She looked up then smiled.
"Heyyy Miles…" She slurred.
He stopped moving in fear of what she was doing.
"You alright…?" He asked, worried.
She sat up, and stopped hugging the blanket. She was wearing a pink flannel and blue jeans now, so she had probably changed earlier.
"Yeah… A little, out of it, but… I'm still standing." She stood up slowly, but quickly began to lose balance. Miles quickly set his stuff down and tried catching her, helping her take a seat. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her cheeks were slightly rosy. Miles then realised what had been going on.
"You're drunk."
"You're hot." She giggled.
Miles shook his head and picked her up from the couch, slowly walking from the living room, to upstairs where the restroom was. He didn't really know her house that well, he just guessed his way around.
Judy rubbed her face all over miles shoulder and chest.
"Mmm, you smell so nice… All i could do was snuggle with the blanket you used the night before while trying to forget him."
"Nick." Miles thought. "I know, Judy." He lowered his eyes as she had felt so empty and hopeless, along with turning to alcohol to help her forget. Finding the restroom at the end of the hallway, he pushed the door open with his foot, and walked in, slowly laying her on the ground. She tried to hold on, but was too drowsy to do so.
"I'm cold…" She shivered. Miles didn't care at the moment though, he was more worried on what was about to happen.
"I know, i'm just getting you prepared for-"
She retched into the toilet bowl, arching her back as she did so. Miles winced at the sight, and turned around, walking down stairs. Judy's cries for him echoed through the toilet bowl as she slurred.
"Miles, i'm sorry…" She retched again, and started to sob as the pain kicked in again. He came back upstairs, with two bottles of water in one hand and the comforter in the other. Placing the bottles on the sink next to her, he took the comforter to her room, and rolled it up into a shape of a different being of sorts. He then walked back to the bathroom as Judy began to spew a third time. Miles did her a favor and flushed, rubbing her back as well. She was crying from the pain, and her decision to drink too, so miles opened a bottle of water and handed it to her.
"Drink this. You'll feel better in the morning if you do."
She slowly grabbed ahold of the bottle and drank from it as much as she can, all the way until there was no more water left. She put the bottle down, then rested her head on her arms, sniffling.
"Come on, let's get you to bed." Miles spoke.
She nodded, and tried to get up, but Miles just chose to carry her so she didn't fall over again. When he carried her through the door, he turned on the lamp in the corner of the room, and gently lied her down on the bed, shivering as he let go. Using the comforter, he tucked her in, as tears slowly dried from her face. Miles then sat in a chair across from a bed, and hung his head. About twenty minutes had passed, and Judy snored softly. Miles began to speak to her without afraid of being heard.
"I wanted to turn your day around by taking you to go see something special…" He closed his eyes. "But it was my fault for even showing up in the first place. Nick didn't approve of me, you and i became friends way too quick, and i ended up losing my tail. All within 48 hours…"
The timing amazed him as he thought, so he chuckled at the idea.
"Question is, was it faster for you to gain a friend, or lose one...?"
He slowly stood up, walking toward the door, but before he could close the door, Judy came to for a moment.
"M- Miles…" She was extremely drowsy as she spoke the words. "Please don't leave…"
He sighed, then came back into the room, sitting down on the bed, looking into the night sky through her window. She rolled over onto her side toward Miles, and curled around him as she fell back asleep.
(AUTHOR'S NOTES)
***If this chapter worried you, don't, it wasn't sparked by any real-world emotional problems i'm having, i just know a couple of ways it can happen. As a quick explanation, Nick and Judy aren't deemed "together as a couple", but that is a chapter for another day. But thank you for reading once again, and i absolutely HATE to sound like an attention needy prick, but leave a review and favorite it if you enjoy it and want to see more.***