Judy's stomped up the sidewalk leading to the house. It had taken her two metro rides, since she'd taken the first one in the wrong direction. A waste of time, that's what it was. The whole school day had been a waste of time. Judy did want to be positive. She wanted to believe that her day couldn't get any worse, but to think that would be naive at that point. It could always get worse. So maybe she forgot to mention that she'd stay after school for an extra ten minutes. That didn't mean it was okay for that jerky, good-for-nothing, scraggly thing called Nick to leave her behind. The whole way back Judy revelled in ways to get him back so he would know just how she felt. Oh, she'd get him and she'd make him sorry he ever messed with her. Judy smiled for the first time in hours from the thought of it.

At the house, she almost rang the doorbell before remembering she had a key. She had to get over this feeling like a guest or an outsider. That's just what Nick wanted and Judy refused to give him the satisfaction. In her room, though, she felt the smallest sense of belonging. Once there, she set her bag down and fell back onto her bed, letting out a long breath. Thoughts swarmed Judy's mind. The school, her peers, adoption, the city, and Nick. Words from the past few days echoed annoyingly inside her head so she got up and paced around the room. Maybe she should go down the hall to give Nick a piece of her mind. No, bad idea. She had to play this smart.

"Ugh this is so stupid," she said to the empty room. Nick was nothing compared to what the school was doing. Not just the classes but the Bunnies like Amber. They wanted her to sit down and shut up about it. Be a good little Bunny who hopped happily along past any problem. She would never be like them.

Judy went up to the mirror in the corner of her room and studied her reflection. Maybe she could change her look to be treated normally. She imagined the grey Fox Nick had been talking to earlier in the day. The Vixen had worn a black shirt that stopped right below the ribcage. The fur atop her head had been kept longer and was brushed forward, stopping right above her long eyelashes. Her face had been stoic, mouth in a straight line and eyes uncaring. No one would have called her cute or put her in remedial classes because of her species. Judy fixed her gaze on her reflection and rubbed the fur on her head forward like the Fox from school. She turned and tilted her head to see the result. It looked pretty bad so she smoothed it all back again, chuckling at how ridiculous it looked on her. She pulled at the shoulders of her shirt and fluttered her lashes at the mirror. Judy tried not to laugh at her reflection. She wasn't bad looking but the effect wasn't very attractive. For a moment Judy forgot about everything and focused on looking less cute and more edgy. She tried other poses and some of them actually looked pretty good.

Judy went over to her door and locked it to avoid being caught playing in the mirror. Once she returned to her reflection, she he lifted her shirt up to the lengths that some other girls wore their shirts and was glad to see that puberty had helped fill out her hips, creating a curvy shape. It wasn't that Judy wanted to change herself, but knowing that she could, if she wanted to, did give her something to be proud of. Judy preferred comfortable clothes over the clothes that looked like they were squeezing the life out her peers. Her capris actually were a bit tight on her, now that she thought about it. She didn't expect Sylvia and Eric to know her exact clothing size but, after wearing them all day, Judy decided it was time to change into leggings.

"Stop! Stop!" a voice cried from her closet.

Judy screamed and fell onto the floor in her effort to jump away. While on the floor she hurried to pull her pants back up and saw Nick standing in front of the open closet door. "What the hell are you doing?" she whisper yelled. Judy rarely cursed but the situation more than justified it.

Nick put his paws up. "This is not what it looks like."

"What does it look like then?!" Suddenly she remembered what she'd been doing in the mirror and her face burned in embarrassment.

"Y-you stole my- you took the pants from the library. I was gonna wash them and they were gone! Then you came in and I wasn't just going to let you keep them for whatever plan you had, I mean-"

"But why were you spying on me?!" Nick was babbling and Judy spoke when he took a moment to breathe.

"Shhh. I wasn't!" Nick waved his arms frantically, trying to quiet her down.

"What do you call that then?" Judy stood up, throwing her arms at the closet he'd just exited.

"I thought you'd leave the room or something!" Their heads whipped towards the sound of knocking at the door.

"Judy? Are you okay? I thought I heard you yelling," Sylvia's voice asked.

"Uh, I'm fine!" Judy replied, trying to keep the shrillness out of her voice. The doorknob twisted but caught on the lock. Nick rushed back in the closet and slid the door closed. Judy shook her head and opened her room door a crack, forcing a smile.

"Why did you lock your door?" Sylvia asked, peeking through.

"I- I was just changing clothes," Judy stammered.

"Oh. Well have you seen Nicky? I can't find him anywhere."

"Um, I don't think he's home yet."

Sylvia frowned. "But his backpack is downstairs."

Judy had no idea what to say next. "It...is?"

Sylvia tapped her chin. "Ah, I think he dropped his stuff here and went out again. He does that sometimes. I'll just call him."

Judy made a quick sound of agreement and shut the door.

"She gone?" the voice in the closet asked.

"Yes," Judy huffed, "Now get out." This was enough stress to last a week.

Nick stepped into the room, cautiously this time. "Can't. I'm not in the house remember?"

Judy rolled her eyes. This had to end. "Fine, I'll go."

"Good, you can cause a distraction."

"What? I'm not doing anything for you." She couldn't believe Nick would ask her for anything after the way he'd been treating her.

"Well the other option is having to explain this." Nick crossed his arms as if he'd already won the argument.

"I don't understand enough to explain it anyway!" Her voice was becoming panicked again. It was his fault they were in this mess. His fault she had to leave school by herself and his fault she would never feel at home in this place. And, on top of that, he'd been watching her like some Peeping Tomcat.

Nick bent down to Judy's level and shushed her again. Judy was seeing red. Nick had no right to ask any favors. "Alright calm down, Fluff."

"Calm down!? You snuck in here and spied on me like-"

"No, uh-uh. You're not gonna twist this so I look like the bad guy. This is your fault for taking my shit."

Judy felt her chest heaving as her anger boiled over. He had some nerve trying to blame her. Nick kept talking, "I already told you I thought you'd just leave. That little show you put on was cringey at most so don't-" He didn't get to finish speaking before Judy's paw connected to his face, hard. She didn't even have time to think and she wasn't sure whether to stand her ground or apologize. He deserved it anyway for what he was putting her through.

Nick stood straight up and held his cheek, staring incredulously at her with glowing green eyes. "Did you just slap me?"

In that moment, Judy was sure Nick would strike back and she backed away slowly. Nick moved forward, keeping in pace with storming eyes locked on Judy's every movement.

Nick spoke gruffly. "Don't touch me like that again."

Judy snapped out of her fearful stupor, realizing her back was against the wall. "Another threat?" Judy asked, pushing past Nick to get to the door. "Out," she ordered. "I don't care if you get caught." If she let him stay a second longer she was afraid she'd kill him.

Nick stayed in his place. "Pants first. Then I'll leave."

For a moment Judy hesitated, wondering if it was even worth it to keep them hidden. Then she had another idea. Judy opened her door wide and yelled, "Sylvia!"

Judy turned back to Nick as the sounds of Sylvia's footsteps neared the stairs. She'd won this round and they both knew it.

"Judy? What's wrong?" Sylvia responded from downstairs. Judy: 1; Nick: 0.

Nick nodded absently and Judy swore she saw a hint of a smile. Not a nice, happy sort of smile. It was the kind that promised something, the kind that accepted a challenge. Nick stepped out of the room and moments later, Sylvia stepped into the hallway.

"What happened?" Sylvia asked once she saw Judy standing in the doorway.

Judy shook her head. "I saw a bug."

"A bug."

"Yeah," Judy breathed. The idea of lying made her stomach sour but if she told the truth it would only create more drama.

Sylvia sighed after a few seconds of silence, "Alright. Well the social worker told us that loud outbursts or acts of rebellion come from the fear of being taken back to… well, you know. Just- you don't have to test us, Judy. We want you here with us, okay?" She reached out, pulling Judy into a warm hug. The red fur of her arms tickled Judy's nose but Judy still breathed deeply. Even though Sylvia reached the wrong conclusion, Judy took comfort in what she said and most of the anger left Judy, leaving only the disappointment from the day.

Sylvia released her. "Oh no. What's got you so upset? You look like you're about to cry."

Judy blinked rapidly and she prayed that Nick hadn't overheard what she'd said. Suddenly, a flash of Nick's red fur passed behind Sylvia and down the stairs as silent as a mouse. So much for that wish.

The jerk still used her as a distraction even though Judy had refused to help. "I just want to be alone for now," Judy mumbled. Judy: 1; Nick: 1.

After Sylvia left, Judy changed her pants but kept her eyes on the closet. Finally comfortable, she laid on her bed and tried to quiet her mind as the sky grew dark.

A sound came from the closet and Judy ran to it, flinging the door open. Nick flew at her and she ducked. Then, with a battle roar she punched, kicked, and pushed him until he scurried away. The sound of cheers filled the room and Ms. Bellwether handed Judy her new class schedule. She threw her fists up in triumph.

Judy awoke to blackness. She sat up and turned on the lamp next to her bed. How late was it? The alarm clock on her bedside read 9:51 PM, meaning she'd been asleep for almost five hours. Judy sat up and stretched before heading downstairs to eat something.

"Did you have a nice nap?" Eric asked from the sofa in the living room. The stocky red Fox was the only one there so everyone else must have been in their own rooms.

"Yeah, it was nice," Judy yawned.

"Nicky told us you weren't feeling well so we let you sleep. Leftovers are in the fridge if you'd like some." Eric turned back to some history program playing on the TV.

Excluding her from dinner was Nick's payback, Judy snorted. He'd have to do better than that to score any points there. In fact, he'd done her a favor since she wouldn't have to see his stupid, smug face while she ate. Judy strolled to the fridge and made a plate of the same food from the day before. Before sitting at the table, Eric called Judy over to watch the show.

"This one's about ancient mysteries and if aliens are the ones who took us out of the Feral Age."

"You don't really believe that, do you?" Judy asked, plopping down on the couch with her plate.

"No, but it's fun to watch."

Judy listened to the narrator speak as images of old paintings and sculptures flashed across the screen:

"...While the mythical metropolis has never been found, only half a century ago, tomb-robbers searching along the Dolland River stumbled upon a gravesite dating back 1,500 years to a pre-Tillandsian civilization known as the Tolima. Among the funerary objects found there were hundreds of small two- to three-inch gold figurines. Many of those looked like insects and fish, a symbol of Carnivore mammals shifting towards a non-predatory diet. And out of those hundreds that they found, they also found about a dozen that are eerily reminiscent of modern-day fighter jets…"

When the show switched to commercials, Eric spoke. "How was school today?"

Judy hesitated for a moment. "It was alright."

She waited for a probing question like one she'd expect from Sylvia but none came. She sort of liked that Eric didn't always talk about feelings or even talk much at all. She didn't really want to tell him about her class schedule anyway. If she was going to break from Bunny-norms she'd have to do some things for herself.

They watched the show until the end credits, not saying much besides small talk during advertisements for perfumes and movies. After the show, Eric yawned, pulling at the neck tie on his pin-striped button up. "Well I'm off to bed. I hope I didn't bore you with my 'crazy conspiracy shows' as Nick likes to call them."

Judy shook her head. "No I really liked it."

Eric stood and walked over to the light switch next to the front door. "Well there's a 12-hour marathon going on right now if you want to keep watching. Want the lights off?"

"Um, sure." Getting lost in all the clues and silly conclusions was just what Judy needed to get her mind off of things.

Eric flicked the switch, leaving only the dim kitchen and the TV as the only sources of light. Dramatic music played as the opening title sequence showed up. Judy wasn't sure how long she sat there, chewing on greens and carrots, but at least four or five episodes had passed and she was starting to wonder if the show was actually onto something. Judy startled as the lock on the front door made clicking sounds. Someone was coming in and Judy felt her fur stand on end. The door creaked open and Nick's telltale red fur shifted as he turned to quietly shut the door. He was sneaking into the house and Judy wondered if she should say something or ignore him.

Nick turned back around and jumped back a step at seeing Judy. "Holy sh- What are you doing awake?" He whispered.

Judy felt her face grow hot and rolled her eyes, pushing the unreasonable embarrassment away. She had just stopped thinking about the incident in her room and now Nick was there reminding her again. "Well I'd be asleep but for some reason I'm not tired at all. Any guesses why?" She referred to the dinner she was conveniently left out of.

Nick headed towards the stairs. "Probably because it was nice pretending you were gone."

Judy squeezed her eyes shut. After everything he'd done Nick should have been on his knees begging for her forgiveness. Somehow Judy would show him that she wasn't worth messing with. She'd have to get even in her own way.