A/N: Hey, folks. Here is chapter four of You've Got My Attention. Thanks a lot for still sticking around and seeing where this little idea is going :D
So, since the last chapter finally got the confession out in the open, I decided that now it's time for things to settle down a bit, hence why this chapter's called "The Cooldown". However, this ain't gonna be all fun and games from now on; as you may have noticed, I changed the original summary, and yes, more stuff's gonna happen in it. But I won't tell you guys what happens, though *evil laugh*
Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure this show wouldn't be on Disney Junior if I did own it.
You've Got My Attention
Part 4: The Cooldown
"Hey, Sheriff, how long are we gonna be in jail?" Jacques asked.
"Well, considerin' what you fellas did to my deputy, I'd say you two are gonna be in here for a week at least," Callie said.
Heinz groaned. "Well, ain't that jus' perfect."
"You probably shouldn't have been followin' your boss," Toby added. Setting aside his Sagebrush Sam comic, he turned to the sheriff. "Do we really have to listen to them for the rest of the week?"
"Unfortunately," Callie said. Truth be told, she wasn't looking forward to having these two around, either. "Hopefully, if they learn their lesson, they'll be let out early for good behavior."
"I sure hope so." A beat. "So...did you talk to Peck?" Toby asked. The calico hadn't told him anything once she'd gotten back from the saloon, saying that it would have to wait.
"Yeah, I did," Callie replied coolly. "He's in good spirits, though I shouldn't have expected less."
Toby nodded, eyeing the sheriff carefully. "Did he tell ya about what was really goin' on?" he asked. "Did he tell ya why he went after Timothy?"
Callie sighed and put the papers down. Her green eyes were clouded with numerous emotions, with concern being first and foremost. "He did. An' to be honest, I'm quite surprised," she said.
"So does this mean you two will be goin' a-courtin' now?" Toby asked brightly.
"No! I'm not goin' courtin' with anybody 'til I figure out what to do about this!" Callie shouted suddenly. Upon seeing Toby's shocked face, she sighed. "Sorry 'bout that, Toby. I-I didn't mean to go off on ya like that. It's jus'...first I had Timothy to deal with, an' now Peck's comin' in sayin' that he likes me."
"Loves," Toby corrected. "Peck loves you, Sheriff Callie. He has been ever since I came to town."
"I know. I jus' learned that a little while ago," she remarked. "I haven't given him an answer yet, mostly because things are so darn confusin' right now."
"Ah, I see," Toby mused.
"Plus...I don't wanna hurt his feelin's," she added, a sympathetic look on her face. "He'd blurted it out, then he finally started to tell me how he felt. He told me that he'd been waitin' for a long time to tell me, an' I mean...I felt right touched an' flattered by it, but I'm mostly overwhelmed. That's why I couldn't give him an answer."
"Oh..." Silence filled the air for a moment as Toby thought on this. Then he asked, "So...when are ya gonna give 'im an answer?"
"Like I said, I don't know, Toby. An' right now, I need some time to think about it," Callie replied. "I'd really appreciate it if folks didn't bother me about it right now."
"I got it, Sheriff," Toby said. "You can count on me to tell folks to leave it alone...'specially Priscilla an' Abigail. Knowin' Abigail, she'd probably have a story in the paper by next week."
Callie chuckled at the mention of the town's editor-in-chief. "Try the very next day, Toby," she said.
"Right. Still, I won't say a word to nobody about it since ya asked me not to," Toby said.
Callie smiled. "Thanks, Toby."
The door to Doc Quackers' office opened for the tenth time that day. The green feathered mallard sighed as he got up from his desk. "And here comes another well-wisher," he muttered. He then turned and put on a pleasant smile when he saw who it was. "Ah, Tio, Uncle Bun! What a delightful surprise!"
"Hola, Doc," Tio said. "Uncle Bun and I have come with gifts for Peck." He held up a basket with peppers. "I brought some of my tres colores peppers for him."
"Not to mention my high-quality fruits!" Uncle Bun piped in, holding up a crate.
Doc Quackers blanched. "Why, he couldn't possibly eat all that! Do you want him in here for another week?" he demanded.
"He doesn't have to eat them all at once, Doc," Tio said. He chuckled. "Peck is many things, but he's not greedy."
"Hey! I heard that!"
All three of them turned around to see Peck sitting in bed, with a frown on his face. "An' you guys are lucky I'm in bed, on account of I might jus' arrest ya for insultin' the deputy!" he said.
Everyone laughed, and even though he tried to hide it, a smile came on Peck's face. It felt good to laugh again, especially in light of what had happened earlier.
"So, how are things goin', Peck?" Uncle Bun asked.
"Other than feelin' like I'm gonna drown in all these gift cards, I feel great! Better than great, even! I don't see why I can't get outta here today," Peck reported, sending a hopeful look to Doc Quackers.
Doc's face was stern. "Absolutely not!"
Peck sighed. "Well, there went another attempt."
"I expected people to send you gift cards, but so many in only a few hours," Tio marveled, looking at the stacks of cards that sat near Peck's bed.
"Yeah. I haven't read all of 'em yet, an' I probably won't finish readin' 'em 'til I get outta here," the woodpecker replied. "But I did read yours, Tio." He smiled. "That was right nice of ya to say that."
"Oh, don't mention it, Peck," Tio replied. "Besides, I meant that partly as advice for you."
"Advice for me?" Peck repeated.
"For your relationship with the sheriff, of course," the tortoise replied with a small, knowing smile. Upon seeing Uncle Bun's look of utter surprise, he nodded sagely. "Yes, I know about it, too."
"Why, Tio, I never expected ya to know all about that! You usually frown upon such gossip!" Doc Quackers said.
"It is hard to ignore when you two talk about it all the time," Tio said, sending a pointed look in Uncle Bun's direction.
Uncle Bun chuckled nervously. "I-Is that so?" he replied.
Peck sighed deeply. Just as quickly, his happy mood was gone in a flash. "Well, about that whole relationship thing...there ain't one between me an' Sheriff Callie."
Tio's eyes widened. "You mean...she rejected you?"
"Well...not exactly. I told her how I really felt an' all, but she said she was overwhelmed," Peck said. "An' she told me that she wasn't able ta give me an answer right then an' there."
"Hmm...well, did you expect her to just drop everything an' run over to you?" Tio asked.
"No, of course not!" Peck cried. Upon seeing everyone's incredulous expressions, he sighed. "Okay...well, I admit, I was kinda expectin' an answer, not for her ta leap into my arms an' give me kisses all over my face." The image that sentence conjured up made him blush. "N-Not that I can see her doin' that."
"I can't see her doing that," Uncle Bun agreed.
"Thing is...I guess I should've figured she wasn't ready right then an' there. She's got this Timothy fella to worry about, who's not only one of the nastiest people around, but who won't stop goin' after the sheriff," he said. "An' on top of that, she finds out that one of her friends loves her."
"But said friend is anxious for a reply," Tio summarized.
Peck nodded. "You read me like a book, Tio."
"Peck, I know you want a reply, but you can't rush her into deciding," Tio said. "She has to decide now if she likes you the same way you like her, or if you're simply just a friend to her. Rushing her to choose, or forcing her to, would make you no better than Timothy."
"I see...so in other words, the best option for me right now is to back off?"
Tio nodded. "I think that would be best. Give her time. An' who knows, she might come to like you back," he said.
"B-But how are we supposed ta work together when I get back? It's gonna be right awkward between us now," Peck replied.
All three of them looked at each other and then at Peck. "Well, since you two are a sheriff and deputy team, it's kind of inevitable that you'll end up working together. But for now, I recommend holding off talking about it until you know for certain that she's comfortable to do it," Tio said.
"Y-You really think so?"
All three of them nodded. Peck gave them a wide smile. "Thanks for the advice, Tio," he said. "Although...reckon it'll be a little hard to keep all this to myself."
"You managed to keep your feelings to yourself this whole time," Uncle Bun noted. "I think you can manage it a little while longer."
"You're right," Peck replied. "Well, here's to hopin' things don't get any crazier when I finally get outta here."
Twelve weeks later...
"Alright, now lift that banner jus' a little bit higher...a little more...no, a little lower...now, just a smidge over to the-"
"Toby, we don't have all day!"
Toby chuckled nervously at all the glares that were being sent his way. "Uh, a little higher an' then we'll be fine," he said.
Doc Quackers sighed. "I don't know why you couldn't have said that in the first place!" he grumbled.
"Hey! I want to make sure this is perfect for my best buddy!" Toby protested. He looked up at the large banner that hung over the sheriff's office, and smiled. It read in big red letters 'Welcome Back, Deputy Peck!', and was decorated with miniature caricatures of the townspeople, as well as confetti. "Boy, won't Peck be happy to see this!"
"He sure will, Toby," Callie replied, walking up to him to take a look at the banner herself. "And you all did an amazin' job with the banner as well."
"Thanks, Sheriff!" Uncle Bun said, and similar responses came from the others.
"So, who's gonna be the one to bring Peck here?" Tio asked.
"I'll do it, Tio," Callie offered. "I'd ask Toby to do it, but he's gonna be busy helpin' Ella prepare the snacks for the party. Make sure you guys take your places before Peck gets here, alright?"
"Right!" Toby called.
As Callie hurried off to Doc's office, Baxter Badger walked over to Toby. "Will she be alright? Walkin' back with Peck, I mean," he said.
"Aw, the sheriff's never had trouble escortin' people before," Toby said cheerfully. "I'm sure this won't be any different." He then sauntered off proudly, making his way over to the refreshments table.
Baxter Badger sighed. "That wasn't quite what I meant..."
Peck examined himself in the mirror, wagging his new tail feathers experimentally. He grinned as he took a look at himself. "Thank goodness my feathers grow back fast, or else I would've had to wear jackets an' jeans for the rest of the month!" he said. He took a look at his wing and his smile waned upon seeing the patches of bare skin. "Still, there are a couple o' feathers that need to start movin' things along..."
Twelve weeks in Doc Quackers' office had been enough to convince Peck to never pull a dangerous stunt again. Aside from not being able to move in order to allow his injuries to heal, he was easily bored, and his friends hadn't been able to come by and see him every day. Timothy had been moved to another room in order to prevent the two of them from getting into another fight. About the only thing he found interesting to do was to count the amount of feathers that were growing back, and even that got boring after a while. Thankfully, due to them being plucked out instead of being clipped, they grew back right away. And Timothy had left the office two weeks before him, so he had no worries about being bothered.
He looked at the three large bags of gifts that he'd received from everyone in town. He'd received so many gift cards and candies that Doc Quackers had put them in a separate room. He had asked-or rather, demanded-that Peck get rid of the gift cards one day when they almost fell on top of his head. Peck refused, since many of the gift cards he'd gotten were homemade and he didn't want to throw out their well-meaning gifts. Toby in particular had sent him about five, one even made out of trail mix, and that had been his favorite.
Sheriff Callie had sent him a few gift cards as well, but hers weren't as girly or as ornate as Priscilla's. They were simple, sweet and to the point, and contained some really nice messages for him as well. Those gift cards weren't in the bag-rather, they were in his vest pocket, tucked away where nobody could see them. She'd also come by to visit him as often as possible, too, though not nearly as often as Toby. It hadn't taken Peck long to notice that Callie had become rather guarded towards him as of late. Little hints had been here and there-shorter conversations, averted eyes, and the occasional dread that she tried to hide whenever he said he had to ask her something.
Maybe tellin' her about my feelin's wasn't a good idea after all, he thought. I figured things were gonna be awkward afterwards, but not to the point where things are like this.
The doors to the doctor's office opened, and the person he'd just been thinking about poked her head in the door. For once, her smile reached her eyes as she looked inside. "Howdy, Peck!" she said, stepping inside. "Wow, you look great!"
A small blush came on Peck's face. "G-Gee, thanks, Sheriff," he answered. "To be honest, I'm happy to have most of my feathers back myself. So, how're things goin' back in Nice 'n Friendly Corners?"
"Oh, things are goin' great, Peck. In fact, I came here to bring you to town. We've got a special surprise for ya," Callie said.
Peck brightened. "A surprise? I love surprises!" he said. "I'll get my bags of gift cards an' then we'll be on our way."
She looked over at the bags in question and her eyes widened. "Sweet Sassafras, Peck! How many gift cards did ya get?" he said.
"I've got four piles of 'em. Priscilla gave me twenty," Peck said. He grunted as he hefted one of the bags on his shoulder. "An' everyone else gave me stuff like chocolates an' sour worms an' stuff."
Callie laughed as she took the other bag. "You're gonna have a lot of sortin' out to do when we get back to the office."
"That I will, Sheriff. But I'm right good at organizin' things, on account of I've got a keen eye for detail," he replied.
The two walked out of Doc's office, heading towards the sheriff's office. Peck adjusted the bag on his back and looked at Callie. "You sure you've got that, Sheriff?"
"I'm sure, Peck."
The pair traveled in silence for a while, and it wasn't a comfortable one either. Peck sighed as he looked over at the sheriff, who seemed to find the ground more interesting. He cleared his throat. "Hey, uh...Sheriff Callie?"
Her head snapped up to look at him. "What is it, Peck?"
"Listen...I was thinkin' about this earlier today, 'bout how things are right awkward between us," he began, "an'-"
"What? Aw, come on, Peck. There's nothin' awkward between us," she interrupted quickly. "I mean, we've always been friends, haven't we?"
"Yeah, we have. An' I reckon we'll always be, Sheriff," Peck said. "But what I was tryin' to say is that you don't have to feel uncomfortable around me. I mean...I won't bring up the subject around ya every single time or anythin'. I'd like for us to be the same as always."
"I'd like to be the same as always, too, Peck," Callie said. She offered a small smile. "I wouldn't want ya turnin' the same shade as your feathers every time you talk to me."
Peck chuckled at that. "Neither do I," he said. He sighed. "Thanks, Sheriff."
"Thanks?"
"For sayin' what I was afraid to say for weeks now," he said. "My beak was all twisted an' I didn't know what to say or do."
Callie offered him a sincere smile. "That's alright, Peck. An' you're welcome."
They were soon at the office. Nearly all of the residents of Nice 'n Friendly Corners were outside on the porch of the Sheriff's office, wearing party hats and holding noisemakers. "Welcome back, Deputy Peck!" they all said.
Peck beamed. "Aw, shucks, guys...you didn't have to do all this!" he mentioned as everyone cheered and blew their noisemakers.
"Of course we had to, Deputy Peck!" Priscilla pointed out. "It'd be right rude if we didn't!"
"Especially since you were stuck in a hospital bed for so long," Farmer Stinky drawled. "Figured you'd like somethin' else for a change."
"You were right about that, Farmer Stinky," Callie said. "Peck was tellin' me about how bored he was."
"I'll be back down after I finish putting these in my room," Peck said, holding up one of his bags. "After that, it's time for the festivities!" He turned to Sheriff Callie. "After you, Sheriff Callie."
"Why, thank you, Deputy," Callie said, walking in front of her deputy and leading the way inside.
As soon as they entered the room, Farmer Stinky turned to Priscilla. "Did he tell her yet?" he asked.
"Maybe he did, or maybe he didn't!" his cousin replied. "She didn't say a word about it to anybody."
"An' neither has Toby, come to think of it," Uncle Bun said.
"Everyone, let's just wait until she's ready to talk about it," Tio said. "This is a party welcoming Peck back, not a show to expose his love life."
"Did I hear someone mention my name?" Peck asked, stepping onto to the porch.
"Ah, we were just saying how great is for you to be back!" Dirty Dan lied quickly, and everyone nodded.
"Hmm...okay, then," Peck said. "Now then, let's go n' have ourselves a party!"
Hundreds of miles away from Nice 'n Friendly Corners
"So, that's it? You're just going to walk away from that two-bit town and let that woodpecker have his way?" Heinz asked.
Timothy didn't say anything, instead choosing to sip quietly from his cup of tea. The scenery whipped past them in a blur, and once or twice the train they were on hit a stray rock, causing the dining car they were in to jolt a bit. Setting his cup down, he said, "Of course it ain't it, you numbskull. The problem is that I let my emotions get the best of me back there," he said. "That's what allowed Callie an' that woodpecker to get away. I just have to be more prepared next time."
Whitetail munched on a piece of toast lathered with strawberry jam. "Next time, eh?"
"When I set foot in Nice 'n Friendly Corners again, I'm gonna get what rightfully belongs to me," Timothy said. He smirked as he took another sip of his tea. "And I believe that I know just how to do it, too."
Later that night...
"Ahh..." Peck allowed himself to flop facefirst into the pillow, only to shout in pain as his body collided with the hard mattress. He groaned as he sat up. "Reckon I'm gonna have to get used to this again after spending so long in the hospital beds."
The party had been great, filled with food, drinking and dancing until the moon had reached high into the sky. Peck had figured that he'd be partying until the sun came up, but six hours of being up on his feet had proved to be enough for one day. Callie and Toby had ushered him into bed, saying they'd come up to bed later after putting away the decorations.
He looked around his room, relieved to see that it was still the same as it had been before he'd left. It felt good to be in his room again, though; he certainly didn't miss the stale smells in Doc's office.
He got up and walked over to his bag of letters. "Well, reckon I can separate some of these before I go to sleep," he noted, pulling open the strings. Twenty letters poured from inside and spilled on the floor. He sighed, leaning the bag against his bed and reaching down to pick up the letters. "Guess I'll go through these first."
He gathered them into his arms, only for another to fall out from under him. "Cornflabbit!" He picked the letter, grumbling. "Why am I so darn clum-"
All of the letters fell to the floor the moment he saw the name on the envelope. His yellow eyes were wide with disbelief as he stared at the name. "Holy jalapeƱos...it can't be!"
There was a knock on the door before he could open the letter. He quickly put the letter behind his back. "Sheriff, is that you?"
"Oh, I didn't know you were still awake, Peck!" the calico responded. "You don't mind if I come in, do you?"
Peck quickly shoved the letter in his nightstand drawer. "O-Of course not, Sheriff!" he said, clearing his throat and reminding himself to remain calm.
The door opened, and Callie walked in, wiping the sweat from her brow. "Whoo, that took a lot of work. Thankfully, the rest of the townsfolk were ready to help out," she said.
"Sorry I couldn't help you out, Sheriff Callie. It's jus' that I was exhausted from all the dancin' an' all," he said.
"Aw, don't sweat it, Peck," she said. "It's your first day back. You don't need to overdo it." She looked at the bag of letters resting against the bed and then at the small pile of letters on the floor. "An' it seems you already started workin' on sorting out those letters an' get-well cards."
"Better now than never, you always say," Peck said, picking up the pile on the floor. "There are so many of these, some of 'em are literally fallin' outta the bag."
"Sounds like you could use some help," Callie said. "Here, let me help ya sort some of these cards."
"Thanks, Sheriff," Peck replied.
The two sat together on the bed, and started to pull out the cards to start separating them. "So, how'd you like these to be separated, Peck?"
"Hmm...probably in two stacks-one for friends an' one for family. Reckon they might've heard about what happened to me, too," he said.
They soon started taking out the cards, but Peck's mind wandered back to that letter he'd seen earlier. A face from years past filled his mind-a pretty bird who had captured and then later left it in pieces years ago. He hadn't heard from her in two years, and he'd assumed that she'd refused to talk to him again after what'd happened for him to leave town.
But now...
"Peck? Are ya alright?" Callie's concerned voice snapped him out of the past. He turned towards Callie, whose green eyes were narrowed.
He offered a small smile. "Heh, sorry, Sheriff. Reckon I went off into my own world for a minute there," he said. "But I'm alright, really."
He then started to sort the cards again, and after a few seconds, Callie turned back to sort them as well, although not without a few worried glances in Peck's direction. Peck, for his part, tried to remain as calm as possible.
I'll have to take a look at that letter later, he thought to himself. An' I'll have to think about what to answer to her, too. The last thing I want is for more trouble to follow me around again...
Hundreds of miles away from Nice n' Friendly Corners...
The sound of someone knocking on the door sent Esmeralda out of her bed, her eyes wide with fear. Nobody was supposed to be around that late at night, epsecially where she lived. She got up and quickly crossed the floor towards the door, carefully grabbing a pan that was resting on the stove. "Who's there?" she asked, not quite keeping the quiver out of her voice.
A snicker answered her. "Relax, Emmy. It's me," someone said.
Her eyes widened and then narrowed. "Oh, you!" She opened the door, glaring hard at Timothy's dark silhouette. "What are you doin' here?"
"I'm here to see you, my pretty little songbird," he said, reaching for her.
She moved away from him. "Don't touch me. I know how you are, Timothy," she countered.
"Aw, there's no need to be like that. After all, you are pretty...for a swallow, that is."
Esmeralda rolled her eyes. "Whatever. What are you here for this time?" she asked. "You need somewhere to hide? Go somewhere else."
"Not this time," Timothy said. "I have a job for you to do, and it involves someone close to you."
"Quit talkin' in riddles an' spit it out, Tim," Esmeralda snapped.
"Temper, temper," Timothy chided. The darkness concealed his malicious grin. "You happen to know Deputy Peck well, don't you?"
"Know him? Are you serious?" she asked. "Of course I do. I mean, I grew up in the same town as he did." She shifted her eyes away from him. "An'...maybe had a tiny crush on 'im."
"An' what about now?"
"Oh, that's over an' done with," Esmeralda said offhandedly. "We haven't spoken in two years."
"You know he got into a fight with someone and ended up bein' in the hospital, right?"
Esmeralda stared at him, eyes wide. "What? Where is he? Is he alright?" she asked.
"Still alive in Nice 'n Friendly Corners...unfortunately," Timothy hissed, his voice dropping at that word. "He picked the wrong cat to shoot his beak off to."
Her eyes narrowed. "You did something to Peck, didn't you?" she demanded.
"Well...he was meddlin' in my business," he replied.
She smacked him on the chest. "How could ya do such a thing, Tim? With your record, you're gonna stay in jail for a long time!"
"Sheriff Callie never found my record," Timothy assured her. "So, I only ended up in jail for two weeks for my trouble."
"Sheriff Callie?" Esmeralda stared at Timothy as though he was insane. "You can't be serious."
"I'm serious, songbird," he said. "I didn't get what I wanted back in Nice 'n Friendly Corners, but I will this time. An' you're gonna help me get it."
"What is it this time? An 'important treasure'?" she inquired, using air quotes.
"That's none of your business," he snarled. "The thing is, because of what I did in that town, I can't show my face around there. I need you to go in an' get everythin' ready. Become one of 'em. An' disarm those townsfolk while I get everythin' set up." He chuckled. "Those fools won't know what hit 'em when I get to them."
Esmeralda sighed. "I have to do this again..."
"Come on, Emmy. I know you won't turn down the handsome pay I'm willin' to give you," he said. "You could use it, in light of-"
"You bring that up, an' these," Esmeralda snarled, motioning to her feet, "will meet your face."
Timothy chuckled. "Must've been somethin' wrong with Deputy Peck if he left you," he said, turning away. "How long will it take ya to get to Nice 'n Friendly Corners?"
"About four days," she said.
"I'll have your instructions ready by tomorrow. As for now, we're gonna head on back into town before anyone gets suspicious." Timothy tipped his hat to her. "Good night, songbird."
Esmeralda rolled her eyes. "Shut up," she snarled, and slammed the door in his face. Another low chuckle came from behind the door, and then his footsteps receded.
Esmeralda sighed, and rested her head against the door, the weight of her conversation with Timothy playing over and over in her mind. "What am I getting myself into?" she muttered.
Peck stared at the yellow envelope with Esmeralda's name on it, his eyes set into a sad frown. It was long past midnight, and both Callie and Toby were sound asleep. But he couldn't sleep. Not with this letter first and foremost on his mind.
Memories filled his mind. Good ones at first. His first meeting with Esmeralda had been an ugly one-he'd been practicing a new dance move, and he'd accidentally pecked her in the face, sending her to the doctor's office. She'd disliked him at first, but over time, the two slowly started spending time with each other. She in particular liked to aggravate him with her quick and dry wit, and he seemed to annoy her with his clumsiness. And as they got older, he realized that he'd become attracted to the violet-green swallow, and she had felt the same for him.
But then that was when the bad times came in his mind. He remembered the day he'd walked in on her and another popular male. He remembered how territorial he'd been. He remembered how he'd tried to bring her back, but he'd discovered that she'd fallen thoroughly in love with the other woodpecker. He remembered how heartbroken he'd been, to the point where he packed his bags and left his hometown. She hadn't sent him any messages asking for an explanation, and he hadn't sent her anything telling her why he'd left. Two years after leaving Nice 'n Friendly Corners, he still hadn't heard anything from her.
He wondered why she'd written to him now of all times. Perhaps she had heard of what had happened to him? Or was she feeling guilty and asking for an apology?
He sighed and set aside the letter. "I'll save that for tomorrow," he muttered, turning over and burying himself in the covers.
End of Part 4
It took me a long time to figure out what was gonna happen in this chapter, since I didn't want to fill this up with needless filler. My plan was to save Esmeralda and Timothy for next chapter, but I decided not to keep everyone in the dark about what's going on. This plan, as well as the mystery behind Peck and Esmeralda's relationship and the relationship between Esmeralda and Timothy is going to be explained in the following chapters.
I know this chapter didn't really focus on Callie's side of the story, but her side will covered in the next chapter. Once again, Peck kinda took over this chapter, and I'm pretty sure he's going to in the next chapter. But I promise, Callie will get more focus.
Constructive criticism would be very helpful on this story!
God bless, iheartgod175
