Chapter 7

~Judy~

Looking in the mirror, Judy twirled around. She didn't have very many fancy clothes, and her dress style was maybe a little bit 'hick' as people would call it. The dress she was wearing tonight was, as usual, very simple. A yellow sundress with little blue cornflowers, as well as a long-sleeved cardigan in blue. Her nails looked nice from her appointment (she'd decided on red), and she didn't regret skipping work at all. It had landed her a date with a super hot, single, scientist with a cute kid. What more could she ask for?

Judy glanced at the clock and groaned. It was 5:12, eighteen minutes before Harrison was supposed to pick her up, and she still had to do her makeup. Sitting down at the desk, she started applying a light amount of makeup. She hadn't gotten very far when suddenly, her door burst open. Quick as lightning, Judy ripped open her desk drawer and pulled out a gun, swiveling around in her chair and pointing it at the perpetrator.

Standing there was a familiar fox, wearing a pair of sunglasses and raising his hands.

"Nick!" Judy ran to him, hugging him round the middle. "Where in the heck have you been?"

He pushed Judy away from him forcibly and closed the door, locking it, not saying anything.

Judy was taken aback by his distant behavior. "Nick? What's wrong?"

"You can't leave." Nick turned back to her, taking off his sunglasses to show worried eyes. "Judy, you don't understand, but you just can't leave right now."

Laughing, Judy crossed her arms. "What is that supposed to mean, Nick? You're acting really weird."

Pacing back and forth, Nick again didn't answer. "No, I'm acting fine."

"Are you still sick?" Judy walked up to him and felt his forehead, but he just swatted it away. "Hey! What's wrong with you?"

Nick grabbed her hands and leaned close to her, his eyes full of worry. "Please listen to me. I can't tell you why, but don't leave the house. Something could happen to you, Judy."

Ripping her hands out of his grip, Judy backed away. "I'm sorry, but that can't happen today." She went back to her desk to finish her makeup and put the gun down. "I have a date."

"A date?!" Nick asked, shocked, but for a different reason. His heart throbbed with jealousy.

Turning angrily, Judy furrowing her eyebrows. "Yes, a date. I have a life, you know."

"Well, why didn't you tell me?" Nick asked, still shocked.

Exasperated, Judy yelled, "Because you weren't answering your phone, Nick! Do you have any idea how worried I was?" She closed her eyes and softened her expression. "Plus, I don't know why you have to get mixed up in my personal life like this. You should be happy for me!"

Nick gulped. "I… I am happy for you. I really am." The feeling in his chest wouldn't go away.

"Good. So, as you can see, I can't just stay in my room and not go out." Judy finished her last layer of lipstick, turning to Nick, this time more concerned. "Are you drunk?"

"What? No! I haven't drunk anything since last night." He crossed his arms and then realized his mistake.

"Oh, thank you for telling me. I thought we'd talked about this yesterday." Judy threw her hands in the air and stood up, going to grab her purse.

Nick opened his mouth to say something, but words wouldn't come out.

"My date is going to be here soon. You should probably go." She glared at him.

Nick bit his lip. "At least take the gun."

"Fine." Judy stormed to the desk and shoved her gun into her purse. "Happy?"

Nodding, Nick started for the door, his heart and brain a complete mess. But before he could reach it, the doorbell rang.

Judy rushed to the door and opened it, revealing Harrison, who was casually standing with his hands in his pockets. "Hey, Judy. You ready to -" He stopped when he saw Nick. "Um, hello. Who is this?"

"Sorry, he was just leaving." Judy glared at Nick. He nodded and sulked out of the door and down the hall.

Harrison returned to his normal smile. "Shall we go, then?" He extended his elbow for her to take in a very gentlemanly way.

Nodding, Judy locked her arm in his. "Of course." She smiled, but in reality she wasn't thinking about the date at all.

What's wrong, with Nick?