13. Cats aren't meant to ride bikes.
"A-Alfred, I don't think this is safe!" Matthew whined as he straddled the bike Alfred was balancing up for him. His tail had stilled from it's usual constant swaying whenever they went to his favorite park, and his ears were pressed down against his head and he stood on the very tips of his toes. Well, usually he was ecstatic to come to this park. It was huge, with a pond smack in the middle filled with ducks that would waddle towards him whenever he brought food.
The only thing different this time was he didn't trust the metal contraption he was hovering over. Not even enough to actually sit on it, let alone sit on it and take his feet off the ground.
Alfred laughed, "Come on, I already told you I wouldn't let go! This is just for practice." Alfred promised, letting one of the handlebars go to gently coax Matthew's behind down against the seat. After a few tugs to his shirt, Matthew reluctantly sat down.
"You... You promise right? You won't let go, will you!? Because I'll kill you!" Matthew babbled as his eyes darted from Alfred's eyes to the handlebars back and forth.
Alfred nodded reassuringly, gently petting down Matthew's back. "Of course Mattie, I wouldn't let go." He lied, the hand petting Matthew's back now sporting crossed fingers. It was just a little white lie! All parents did this, right? That's how all kids learn how to ride a bike!
Your guardian tells you they won't let go of you, and right when you feel comfortable, they let go and pretend to still be holding on. And then the second they reveal they had let go already, you become a master biker!
The fact the he fell into spider filled bushes when his father did the same thing to him was purely a 1 in a million thing that wouldn't happen to Matthew, there weren't even any bushes here!
Matthew took in a deep breath, "Alright... I'll do it." Matthew said, nodding to himself.
Alfred laughed nervously, something Matthew completely missed as wiggled on the hard seat trying to find a comfortably spot. Alfred's hands tightened around the handle bar and he left his hand at Matthew's back.
"Now just lift your feet up, and put them on the pedals." Alfred instructed.
Matthew nodded, and yelped when the bike wobbled under him when he lost his footing. "ALFRED, NO!" He cried, shutting his eyes and preparing for death.
But when nothing happened, he cracked his eyes open. Alfred had his lips pursed as he held in laughter, but he was still holding onto Matthew and the bike.
Matthew let out a sigh of relief, "Ok stop laughing, I got it." Matthew pouted, resting his hands on the handlebars.
Alfred nodded, "Great job," Alfred praised, scratching Matthew's back encouragingly. "So now all you have to do it... Pedal" Alfred said, taking a step forward and slowly bringing the bike forward. He ignored Matthew's pleads for going slower, he needed to help Matthew get over the fear, not coddle him!
After a few steps he noticed Matthew had gone quiet aside from the occasional yelp whenever they passed a crack, and he finally started to move his own legs instead of letting Alfred work alone.
"See Matthew, it isn't too scary, right?" Alfred smiled, finally looking up from the pedals to check Matthew. His face was regaining some of its color again, and he was now focusing on the path ahead instead of the handle bars.
"Y-yeah... But you still can't let go!" Matthew warned quickly, his tail shooting up straight at the thought.
Alfred laughed and nodded, "Just keep going Matthew, pick up the pace a little." He encouraged, no longer pushing and just allowing Matthew to do ride forward.
After a few minutes of they slowly moving forward together, Alfred found himself doing nothing but keeping his hands raised and walking beside him. Matthew seemed to no longer have any issues with balance, and his riding was now going smoothly.
"You're going to be a pro soon!" Alfred chirped, slowly moving his hands down hoping Matthew wouldn't notice.
But the glare Matthew show him the second his hands moved halted him. Too soon.
"Matthew, my arms are getting tired-"
"DONT YOU DARE LET GO!" Matthew warned, turning away from the path to stare at Alfred in alarm. Luckily Alfred's hands were still on him and the bike since Matthew lost temporary balance again.
"No, no, I won't let go!" Alfred assured, "I'm just going to hold onto the bar of the seat," he explained. "I'll have a better grip of it there, and my arms won't get tired." He tried to reason.
Matthew narrowed his eyes suspiciously, thinking it over before he nodded. "Ok, but I'll keep making sure you're still holding on! This isn't about to turn into some lifetime movie scene." He assured.
Alfred snorted and nodded. He trailed the hand he had on Matthew's back down and grabbed onto the seat bar, holding onto it loosely before releasing the handle bar. He noticed the stutter Matthew gave in his pedaling, "I've got it Matthew, don't worry, just make sure you keep pedaling." He assured.
Matthew huffed, but nodded again before looking back at the path and continuing his steady pedaling. He was going a little faster than before since he had full control of the handles, and was making Alfred jog awkwardly beside him to keep up.
True to his word, ever few moments he would look back to make sure Alfred's hand was still on the bike. Every time he looked back, sure enough, Alfred's hand was under the seat.
What he hadn't noticed was that Alfred wasn't even gripping onto it anymore. His hand stayed hovering beside it the entire time, and Matthew was riding alone at this point.
"How do you like it so far?" Alfred asked, noticing Matthew's steadily increasing speed and the smile now growing on his face as he leant forward on the bike.
"It's fun!" He chirped, finally beginning to enjoy the cool wind against his face and the closest feeling he could get to flying. Matthew was growing even more excited when they neared the pond, already spotting his favorite goose from a distance sitting below the shade of a large tree. Archimedes, Mr. Medes for short, was a large Canadian goose with a broken wing. He stood out since since his right wing stood straight out, and compared to the other geese, he was as docile as could be.
"Alfred, let's go see Mr. Medes?" He asked excitedly, pedaling faster and expecting Alfred to follow along.
He waited for a few more moments for an answer, but got none. "Alfred?" He asked, slowing down and turning back, terrified to see empty space where Alfred was supposed to be.
It was then he noticed Alfred waving from yards away, "SEE MATTHEW? YOU DID IT!" He cheered, clapping for him.
"ALFRED!" He shrilled, suddenly feeling the world shake under him as he lost all balance.
"MATTIE, DON'T-"
But it was too late. Matthew had completely direction and forgot to turn at the pond, resulting in the bike slamming onto the large rocks bordering the pond and force stopping it with Matthew flinging forward. He splashed belly first into the murky water, ducks panicking around him and speeding away while a few goose stayed and honked angrily at the intruder.
"MATTHEW, NO!" Alfred cried as he sprinted down the path Matthew went down on and belly flopping onto the water following Matthew.
The second he got in, Matthew's sopping wet head popped out. His hair plastered over his eyes and ears drooping down over his head.
"Matthew! Oh god, are you ok, are you hurt?" Alfred rapidly questioned, reaching forward to pat his hands all over Matthew's head as if making sure he was actually there.
Matthew shook his head, splattering water on Alfred again as he shook it off of himself and cleared the hair sticking onto his face.
"You're so dead." Matthew growled, only giving Alfred a few seconds of warning before he pounced on Alfred claws-first, pushing him back down under the murky water.
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Notes: I know this sounds straight out from a stereotypical movie scene but this really happened to my grandmother like 5 years ago. She flew right into the pond while biking and some random guy who was fishing ran in after her (it was like 5 feet deep where she dove in, but she's like 4 foot something.) and pulled her out.