500 followers! This story now has 500 followers! O...M... GOODNESS! I didn't even think this story would get half that much. Thank you all! Okay, that's enough of my joyful screaming. Chapter 36. Didn't think I would take this story so far. This is gonna be, by far, one of the most important chapters to read. If you guys remember the last chapter, it was mentioned that Nick's Birthday was coming up. But the young fox says he doesn't want a big birthday party. Not unless all of his friends will be there. There will be quite a few moments. From adorable stuff with Nick and Judy to some shocking details. But wait, there's more. Be sure to really read the end of this chapter. I can not stress on how important the ending is. Seriously! From the last words. With that said, let's start the chapter.
It was Wednesday in Zootopia. It was also a very special day. Today was Nick's 10th birthday. The little fox was now in the double digits. But Nick felt that it was no big deal. Even with the birthday pancakes his mom made for him this morning and all the b-day shoutouts he was getting from his friends and other classmates. Guess Nick was serious when he said he didn't think his birthday was a big deal to him. Nick was currently in class, taking notes and waiting for the bell to ring.
"Remember children, they will be a spelling test tomorrow and an English test on Friday." Ms. Rollah, Nick's teacher, said to her class.
"Two tests in one week? Just great..." Nick thought not too happy about that.
At that moment, the school bell rang.
"Class dismissed." Ms. Rollah said. She then looked at Nick. "Oh... and Nick, Happy Birthday."
"Happy Birthday, Nick!" Nick's classmates shouted out happily.
"Thank you, everyone." Nick said with a smile.
With that said, the students all packed up their books and supplies and made their way out of class. As Nick left the classroom, Darson wanted to catch up with him.
"Wait up, Birthday Boy!" Darson shouted out to Nick.
"Huh?" Nick said as he turned around to see Darson. "Oh hey, Dars."
Nick and Darson then started walking side by side.
"So Mr. 10, how are you feeling today?" Darson asked with a smile.
"I'm good. The same as usual." Nick replied.
"The same? Bud, it's your birthday and you're 10 now. You should be living it up." Darson stated.
"Like I told the others, my birthday's not really a big deal for me." Nick said.
"What about a birthday party? You are having a birthday party, right?" Darson asked. He then started to look concern. "Hold on. Am I not invited?" Darson then started to look worried. "Why am I'm not invited? I thought we were friends now."
"We are." Nick said trying to calm Darson down. "It's not that I'm having a party. it's just that I don't want a party."
"Why not?" Darson asked. "Oh wait. Is it because your girlfriend..."
"Grrrrr..." Nick growled knowing he was referring to Judy.
"... WITH a space in the middle..." Darson added so Nick would get angry. "... Judy can't come because it's not the weekend?"
"That's not the reason. Well, not the only reason. I really would want to have ALL my friends there. Bunnyburrow friends including." Nick stated. "Besides, I don't really need a big party."
"Need and want are two different things, Nick Wilde." Darson said to the fox.
"Look man, I have a lot of good things to happen in my life. I have a bunch of friends, pop's business is blooming, and kids in school don't see my as shady anymore. I can manage not having some big party." Nick said to Darson.
"Are you sure?" Darson asked.
"Positive." Nick said while nodded.
"Well, alright." Darson said. "Guess I'll see you, tomorrow." Darson then patted Nick on the back.
"Yeah." Nick said with a smile.
Darson then ran off to head home. Nick decided to do the same. He usually would meet up with the others before heading off home. But here's the thing. Benji, Mervin, Audran, Ronnie, and Falisha were nowhere to be found. Nick would usually meet up with them in the hallway or at the front of the school. Nick was currently at the front of the school and none of his friends were to be found.
"Huh. That's weird. Where are the others?" Nick asked himself. Nick then hears the honking of a car horn. He looks at the direction where he could hear the honking and see that it's from his family's car. His mother was in the car waving at him. "Mom?"
"Sweetie, over here." Frankie said waving at Nick.
Nick walked over to the car.
"I thought it would be appropriate to pick the birthday boy up." Frankie said with a smile. "Get in, honey."
"Alright." Nick said as he opens up the passenger's seat door and steps in the car. "So, heading back home?"
"Not quite." Frankie said to her son. "I actually have a few errands I need to take care of. Your father was busy too, so I thought I you should come too."
"Help with my mom with errands... on my birthday? Shouldn't I be aloud a pass for stuff like that?" Nick asked looking like he'd rather do something else.
"Come now, be a good boy and help your mommy." Frankie said to Nick.
"Fine..." Nick said as he put his seatbelt on. "I just hope this won't be too long."
"No promises." Frankie said with a smirk.
Frankie then started the car and began driving. Traffic was pretty busy in Zootopia. It felt that traffic wasn't moving at all. Nick was bored just walking for the cars to move forward.
"Mom, what kind of errands do we have to do?" Nick asked.
"You know the Community Center across town?" Frankie asked Nick. "We're just helping out with this little event. It's always nice to help the community, right?"
"I guess." Nick replied. "What exactly are we doing?"
"Ohhhh... you'll find out when we get there." Frankie said.
Confused as he was, Nick just went with it. After a few minutes, Nick and Frankie made it to the Downtown Zootopia Community Center. A big one-story building with white brick walls. The Community Center was the place that people who lived downtown would use for social meeting, activities, or special events.
"Here we are." Frankie said as she got out of the car. "Now let's go inside."
"Okay." Nick said to his mom.
The two then go inside and start walking down the hallway after signing in at the front desk. The building was oddly quiet and it didn't seem like anyone else was really here. This made Nick start to feel weird and suspicious. Then, Nick and Frankie stopped at a big two-way door.
"Okay. We're here." Frankie said to Nick. "Go on and open the door."
"Me first?" Nick asked raising an eyebrow.
"Yes. The event we're doing is through the door." Frankie said.
"The event, huh?" Nick thought. Nick was a smart kid. It didn't take long for him to put two and two together. Him and his friends not meeting up, his mom picked him up, driving to a heavy traffic area, and not the Community Center. It was pretty obvious at this point. "My family and friends are trying to throw me a birthday party." Nick sighed at the thought. "I already told them. I don't want a big party. Not without all my friends. Not without Judy." Even with that thought in mind, Nick still decided to open the door. "Let's just get this over with."
Nick then opened the door, expecting to see a small party. Except... it was the total opposite. The big room was filled with hundreds of mammals and shouted out "SURPRIIIIIIISE!"
"WAAAAAAAHHHH!" Nick shouted out surprised. He even fell down right on his tush.
A small giggle was heard and a little bunny walked to the grounded fox. It was none other than Judy.
"Looks like you were pretty surprised." Judy said before giggling some more.
"Ju... Judy?" Nick uttered in total shock. "Is that really you?"
"Uhh... last time I checked, yeah." Judy said answering his question.
"Wha... what's going on here?" Nick asked still in a bit of shock.
"You're really not on the ball today, are you?" Judy said with a smile. "This right here is your birthday party."
"Happy Birthday, Nick!" Everyone else happily shouted out. Flash had a party blower in his mouth and blew it.
It was pretty obvious that everyone was here because it was Nick's birthday. There was even a big banner behind everyone said in big bold letters 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NICK!'.
"Wha... what? How... how...?" Nick studdered still in awe of everything. "I said I didn't want a big party."
"Nuh uh uh! You said that you didn't want a big party if all of your friends were here. Well Nick, ALL your friends ARE here." Judy said. "Your Zootopia friends..." Benji, Finnick, and the others all waved at Nick. Even Darson and the five former scouts were here. "... their families..." Some of the parents and siblings of the Zootopia kids also waved at Nick. "... Gideon and the gang from Bunnyburrow..." Gideon and all the burrow kids also waved at Nick. "... and, for the first time ever, ALL the Hopps kids are here."
"All of them?!" Nick asked surprised.
"All of us." Judy asked.
"Greg, Eric, Cole, Conner, Lily, Auggie, Cammy, and Wendy?" Nick asked.
"Right here, Nick." Greg said while happily waving at Nick with Eric, the twins, Lily, August, Cammy, and Wendy by him."
"Xand, Gwen, Ellie, Mikey, Paul, and even Eddy?" Nick asked.
"Over here, Nicky." Xand said as he waved at Nick with his the others.
"Yo." Edgar said in his usual 'don't care' matter.
"What about Gerald, Herman, Eugene, Patty, Amanda, Ivory..." Nick asked still saying more names of the Hopps kids. Then Judy closed his muzzle to keep Nick quiet.
"Nick! I said it once and I'll say it again. ALL the Hopps kids are here. All of us." Judy said firmly to her friend before letting go of his muzzle.
"Just checking." Nick said with a smirk. "But how are you all here? I thought you wouldn't be here because of school."
"Funny you should mention that." Judy said.
"School got canceled for the week." Gideon said.
"Apparently, there was a bit of a flea infestation in the school." Bobby stated. "Also, something about them being 'flesh-eating'."
The second flesh-eating was mentioned, everyone who lived in Zootopia stepped back from the Bunnyburrowers.
"Okay, none of us have fleas. We checked twice before we got here." Kyle said firmly.
"So with that, we all decided to plan your birthday." Judy said. "It took a LOT to get us all here, but because of that, it made it all so easy to set this party up for you."
"We got everything from music to games to party favors to snacks." Benji said happily.
"All this for me?" Nick asked still in awe of it all.
"Of course." John said as he walks to his son with something behind him. "Nick, I've always wanted to give you the things that you deserve. Thanks to Judy and your friends here, we were able to give you the birthday party you deserve."
"I don't know what say." Nick said.
"It's your birthday. I think you will come up with something." Judy said.
John then gave his son a paper crown. Nick's birthday hat. Nick looked at the crown and then at all the people that came to wish him a happy 10th birthday. After all of that, Nick felt overwhelmed with happiness. He then got back up and took the crown and put it on his head. After cleaning his throat, Nick finally said something.
"Ahem. My dearest and loyal subjects..." Nick said in a kingly voice. "As it is my day of birth, I, your king, Nicholas Piberius Wilde, decree one thing." Nick then went back to talking normal. "We make this the best party ever!"
"Woooooo!" Everyone shouted out joyfully.
So with Nick's words, the best birthday party Nick will ever have began. Everyone put on their party hats and had some fun. On their instruments, Xand, Mikey, and Paul played some upbeat rock music for everyone.
Fully excited about his party, Nick looked around to see everything his party had to offer. A super long table with chips, punches, pretzels, and many boxes of pizza. On another side were games like Hooveser (basically Twister), giant Junga, and a limbo stick, in which some of the Hopps kids were already involved with. But what really caught Nick's eye was the mountain of presents. Hundreds of gifts in wrapping and ribbons.
"WOAH! Is that a present mountain?!" Nick asked still in awe of it.
"Yep!" Judy said to her happy fox friend.
"Hate to break it to you and your sibs, Carrots, but I'm pretty sure I have you all beat on birthday presents." Nick stated with a sly grin.
"I'm pretty sure you have ANYONE beat on birthday presents." Judy stated.
"Honestly, I don't know if I could open all of them today." Nick said. He then rubbed his paws together looking eager. "But I'm totally gonna try."
"Later." Judy said as she pulls Nick away from his presents. "The party has just started."
"Awwww!" Nick said pouting.
"Yo, Wilde!" Shouted out someone who walked over to him. It was Darson.
"Yooooou..." Nick said while waving his finger at Darson. "You know about this party and you said what you said to throw me off."
"Guilty." Darson said shrugging and smirking.
"I'll leave you two to talk." Judy said with a smile as she goes off.
"Darson, you are a sneaky one." Nick said with a grin on his face.
"Like you're one to talk, pal." Darson said. "For the record, I didn't find out until yesterday. Besides, I couldn't spoil the surprise."
"Fine. Since it's my birthday and I'm such a forgiving fox... and king..." Nick said taking the 'king' thing pretty serious. "... I'll let it slide."
"Thank you, your majesty." Darson said while bowing.
"Alright. Alright. Enjoy the party." Nick said shooing Darson away.
Darson then left to enjoy the party. As Nick looked at everyone who was talking, playing, or dancing, someone called out to Nick. It was Mervin.
"Nick, over here." Mervin said calling Nick over. The happy boy hyena was also with his brothers, Miles, Murray, Mac, Mali, and Merlin. Mervin was also holding his baby sister, Melody.
Nick walks over to the Howlino kids.
"Well if it isn't my favorite hyenas? The 7Ms." Nick said to the siblings.
"Ha! Funny, cause people actually do call us that." Mali stated with a smile.
"It's great to see ya again, Nick." Miles said to the fox.
"You guys too." Nick said with a smile. He then looked at Melody in Mervin's arm. "Hello, little Melody." Nick then lightly tickled Melody. She responded by giggling. He then looked back at the brothers. "Thank you all for coming to my party."
"No problem." Mac said before taking a bite out of a pizza slice. "The food's great here."
"You don't know how hard it was to keep this whole party a secret from you." Mervin said to Nick.
"Were you close to spilling the beans?" Nick asked.
"Not me. Ben." Mervin stated.
"Ben. Of course." Nick said knowing how Benji usually is. "I thought Benji was a bit giddier than his usual self during the week. Well it's a good thing he didn't spill the beans."
"Yeah. You should have seen your face." Mervin said smiling.
"You were all like 'WAAAAAAAHHHH!'..." Merlin said imitating Nick when he screamed. "... and then you fell down right on the ground."
"Priceless." Murray said.
The Howlino boys then all started to do some hearty laughter.
"Ah ha... funny." Nick said not sounding amused. "Glad that you people find me falling on my tushie humorous."
"Hey now. Don't take it too serious." Mervin said as he gives Melody to Merlin to hold. He then walked to Nick and patted him on the back. "It's your birthday after all. Laugh a little."
"You're right. It's my birthday and I'm the birthday boy." Nick said happily. "Wait. Scratch that. Birthday King."
"Haha! Whatever you say, 'Birthday King'." Mervin said with a smirk.
Nick had gotten along with Mervin and his family quite well. They all actually started seeing the little fox as part of their family.
"You know Nick, Mervin considers you to be like another brother to him." Miles stated. "So in a way, you're like a brother to all of us, too."
"Oh." Nick said sounding surprised. "I wasn't expecting you to say that. You know I always wanted big brothers."
"Well then, consider us as your honorary big bros." Murray said happily.
"Okay." Nick said with a smile.
As Nick said that, Miles, Mac, and Murray all had sinister grins on their faces.
"Heh heh! And do you know what we do to our little brothers?" Miles said in a devious matter.
"Guys, no!" Mervin said looking scared for Nick.
"Come on, go easy on him." Mali said also looking scared for Nick.
"What? What's going on?" Nick asked looking both confused and worried.
As the three older Howlino brothers circled around Nick, the little fox was confused why. Mervin and his two other brothers were already familiar with this. Miles, Mac, and Murray balled up their right fists, placed them around Nick's head, and then twist them into a continuous matter. This was known as the...
"NOOGIE STORM!" The three hyenas went as they noogied poor Nick.
"AHHH! AHHH! AHHH!" Nick shouted out in pain.
"Yep! Saw that coming." Mervin said as he shook his head.
"Bros, uncool to do that to the poor guy." Merlin said feeling bad for Nick.
After a few torturing seconds, the boys stopped nooging Nick. Nick's crown hat was now a little lump-sided. Nick also had to rub the sides of his head to ease the pain of the 'noogie storm' he just had to deal with.
"Ugggghhhh..." Nick went as he continues to rubbed the sides of his head. "Mervin... is this what you have to go through all the time?"
"Pretty much." Mervin replied.
"Haha! We were just having fun with ya, birthday boy. No hard feelings." Miles said joyfully.
"Yeah, sure..." Nick said sounding like he didn't mean it as he straightens up his crown.
"Alright, let's get some more grub." Mac said feely peckish.
"Let's." Murray said feeling he could go for more food too. "See ya, Birthday Boy."
Miles, Mac, and Murray all left and headed for the snack table. Leaving Nick with Mervin, Mali, Merlin, and Melody.
"I'm surprised you two didn't join in on that." Nick said to Mali, and Merlin.
"There's a three-year gap between us and the other guys. So we're closer to Mervin's age than them." Merlin stated.
"We know all too well about the dreaded noogie storm and wouldn't wish that upon anyone." Mali stated.
"You want to know what the weird part is?" Nick asked younger Howlinos.
"What?" Mervin asked.
"I kinda liked it." Nick said with a small smile.
After a few seconds of silence, Mali responded by saying "Mervin was right. You're a weird fox."
"Weird." Little Melody said.
"Better weird than average." Nick said proudly.
Nick was proud of the person he was. He may be different compared to most foxes, but what's wrong with being different? If others thought he was weird, he was okay with it. Besides, he already knew that all his friends and their families weren't exactly normal either.
Meanwhile, elsewhere at the party, Judy was talking to Sharla and Falisha as they were enjoying some party punch. As they went on about how great the party was, someone called out to Judy.
"Ohhhhh Judith?!"
Judy's ears went up as she turned around to see who was calling her. It was Frankie and it looked like John was with her. The two were waving at Judy and asking her to come over so they could speak with her.
"I think Mr. and Mrs. Wilde want to talk to you." Falisha said.
"I wonder what for?" Judy asked sounding curious.
"Maybe they want to give you permission to marry Nick when you get older." Sharla said all giddy.
"You know you really need to stop thinking about this whole 'Nick-and-I romance' business." Judy said firmly. She then started walking over to where John and Frankie were. As she did, she thought this. "Besides, Mrs. Wilde already kinda gave me permission..."
Judy now was with John and Frankie.
"So, it looks like we own a certain little bunny once again for our son's happiness." John said with a big smile.
"Judy, we can thank you enough for helping us throw this party for him." Frankie said thanking Judy.
"Come now, Mr. and Mrs. Wilde. This was a group effort." Judy said not wanting to take all of the credit. "I was just more than happy to help. Nick is my best friend, after all. I just really wanted him to have a party like this. Even if it's the only time."
"Hopefully, it won't be the last time." Frankie said sounding hopeful for the future.
"Judy, sweetheart, no words can express how happy we are that you are friends with our boy." John said as he leans down to Judy. "So just know, there will always be a spot for you in our family."
"Thank you, Mr. Wilde." Judy said with a smile.
John and Frankie feel that they own Judy a lot ever since she became friends with Nick. It's was like Nick's life was always filled with joy and it's because of that, they feel joy as well.
"Alright. That's all we wanted to say." Frankie said to Judy. "Go on and enjoy the party, sweetie."
"Okay." Judy said nodding.
As Judy was able to head back to where Sharla and Falisha were, Frankie said one thing to the little bunny.
"Oh... and Judy?" Frankie said getting Judy's attention one more time.
"Yes?" Judy said looking back at Frankie.
"Remember our promise." Frankie said with a sly smirk.
Judy's ears drooped down and she started to blush madly. Frankie was referring to the promise of taking care of Nick when they get older.
"Mrs. Wilde!" Judy shouted out in embarrassment.
"Also, remember what I told about falling for the 'Wilde Charm'." John said also with a sly smirk on his face.
"Mr. Wilde!" Judy shouted out still in embarrassment. Not wanting to make any more outbursts and attract attention, Judy quickly walked away from the two foxes.
"I like that little bunny a lot." Frankie said to John. "Our son sure knows how to pick them."
" Of course he does." John said to Frankie. He then held his wife close to him. "Where do you think he gets from?"
"Hmm. You and that 'Wilde Charm' of yours." Frankie said smiling at her husband.
"It worked on you, didn't it?" John asked with a smirk.
As John and Frankie were in their Married Couple World, Judy went back to Sharla and Falisha. Judy was still pretty red-faced.
"So, did you get permission?" Sharla asked Judy, still referring to the whole marriage thing.
"That's not what we talked about!" Judy said firmly.
"Then why is your face so red?" Falisha asked.
"SHUT UP!" Judy shouted out all flustered.
Judy did not want to tell them what her and Nick's parents talked about. But with an outburst like that, it wasn't that hard.
During the next hour, the party went on and on. The kids were enjoying everything and the parents were too. One thing Nick, Judy, and a few of the other kids were doing was playing giant darts. Believe it not, Finnick was the one racking up the points. He boasted almost as much as Nick does.
Some of the dads, Nick's dad, Judy's dad, Mervin's dad, and Finnick's dad, wanted to test their limberness. So they decided to do some limbo. Finnick's old man pretty much just had to walk under the stick because of his... small height. Mr. Howlino... pretty much threw his back out from bending too low. Then the same thing happened to Stu. You think for someone who works on the farm so much would be more flexible. Most of the kids just laughed at the sight. It was mainly the fact that their parents were getting old.
After some more games and dancing, everyone gathers around because it was time for Nick to open some of the presents he got. Nick was overly excited about all the presents he had.
"So much presents! I don't know which one to open for first." Nick said jumping up and down. He then looked at all of the boxes, big and small. "Should I pick that one? Or that one?"
"Open mine first, City Boy." Gideon said holding a tiny box with blue present and red ribbon. He then handed it to Nick.
"Uhhhh... kinda small." Nick said looking disappointed.
"Just open it. I know you'll like it." Gideon said with a confident smile.
"Alright..." Nick said as he opens the tiny box.
The other kids were curious on what Gideon got Nick.
"Wonder what he got him?" Judy asked Finnick.
"Probably nothing special." Finnick said not sounding impressed.
"*gasp* OH MY GOD!" Nick shouted out happily. He then pulled out a tiny dessert treat wrapped in plastic. "A BLUEBERRY TART!"
That was Gideon's gift to Nick. A simple blueberry tart that he made for him. But knowing Nick's love for blueberries, he was more than happy with this gift.
"A... blueberry tart?" Finnick said surprised.
"Of course. He knows Nick loves blueberries, so he gave him something WITH blueberries." Judy stated with her paw on her face.
Nick didn't waste time eating the tart. To him, it was one of the best bites of food he has ever had in his life.
"Mmmmmmm. Gid, you outdid yourself." Nick said after enjoying the tart.
"You should also see something else in the box." Gideon said to Nick.
Nick looked into the box and sees a little card inside. He takes the card out and sees ingredients and instructions.
"Is... is this... the recipe?" Nick asked trembling a bit.
"So you and your ma can make it anytime y'all wanted to." Gideon said with a smile.
Nick then started to get emotional. "Bring it in, man." Nick said with open arms.
Nick and Gideon then hugged it out. As they did, the others kids felt a little jealous that Nick liked Gideon's gift so much.
"Did... the rest of us got beat by Gideon's fruit tart?" Mervin asked everyone else.
"I think we were better off just giving him blueberries, eh?" Audran stated.
Finnick then rushed in and gave Nick his present. It was another small box, but bigger than Gideon's was.
"Alright. Alright. You get it. Ya like Gid's blueberry tart." Finnick said as he pushes Gideon back. "But now open your best fox friend's present."
"What did you get me?" Nick asked Finnick as he looks at the present.
"You know that super cool yo-yo you wanted at that toy store?" Finnick asked.
"Yeah?" Nick replied.
"The one that lights up and makes the cool sounds?" Finnick asked.
"Yeah?!" Nick replied sounding excited.
"They... sold out of those." Finnick said feeling bad that up talked as if he got the yo-yo for Nick. "So, all I could get you was a regular yo-yo."
"Oh." Nick said sounding a mix between mad and disappointed. But as he takes out the blue plastic yo-yo, it didn't look all that bad. "Well... technically, a yo-yo's still a yo-yo." Nick then started to play with the yo-yo a bit. The yo-yo went up and down. So it goes to say that the yo-yo was a proper one. "And it's yos just fine. Thanks, Finn."
"Kinda hyped it up too much, did ya Finnick?" Mervin said with a smirk.
"Grrrrrrr..." Finnick growled.
"Open your hyena bro's gift next, Nick." Mervin said giving Nick a book-shaped present.
"Feels like a book." Nick said as he holds the present.
"It is a book. Now unwrap it." Mervin said sounding eager for Nick.
"Alright." Nick said unwrapping the gift. Like Mervin said, it was a book. A book that Nick seems more than happy to receive. "NO WAY!"
"What? What is it?" Judy asked curiously what book Mervin got Nick.
Nick lifted up the book and showed the title of it two everyone. "1001 MORE Animal Puns!" Nick said happily.
Most of the kids flinched after hearing the title.
"There's... another book?" Judy and Finnick said not too happy about that. Nick had already had the first 1001 Animals Puns book.
"My brothers and I had to look at 4 different stores to find that. We found it at an old thrift shop in the Rainforest District." Mervin stated. "Best part, I didn't read any of the jokes. So the puns are totally fresh for me."
"Wow! Thanks, Mervin!" Nick said happily.
"Yeah... Thanks, Mervin..." Judy, Finnick, Ronnie, Audran, and Falisha said not sounding too happy to hear more of Nick's jokes in the near future.
Nick was already opening up the book, ready to read it. "First pun..." Nick said as he was about to read the first page. But before he could, Ronnie closed the book right away.
"Nope!" Ronnie said as he takes the book away from Nick.
"HEY!" Nick shouted out at Mervin looking mad.
"No time for puns. Time for opening more presents." Ronnie stated. He then gave Nick a small white gift box. "Here's mine."
"Hmpt!" Nick went puffing out his cheeks. He was still pretty mad at Ronnie.
"Come on. Just open mine. It has sentimental value." Ronnie said sincerely.
"Well... alright." Nick said as he gets over Ronnie's book closing stunt and as he takes his present.
Nick opened up the box and found a fishing lure inside. But not just any lure. It was the same silver fox lure that he used during the fishing trip they had.
"The silver fox!" Nick said surprised to see it.
"Yeah. The same one we used to bag the Leviathan of the Lake." Ronnie stated. "Papa Bear and I thought you should keep it."
"Man, feels like a long time since we bag that big guy." Nick said recalling the day of the fishing trip. "My arms feel tired just remember that."
"Mine too. Even with the bear strength." Ronnie said stretching out his right arm a bit.
"This is a great gift, Ron." Nick said happily. "I'll be sure to take good care of it."
"You better. They're bigger fish out there in the world that we need to catch." Ronnie said eagerly.
"Maybe... that should wait til we're older." Nick said awkwardly.
Falisha then walked over with her present for Nick.
"This one is from me." Falisha said giving the present to Nick. "I thought you should have these."
Nick didn't know what Falisha got him, but he was more than happy to open up the gift to see the present. Inside the box was a police cap and toy badge.
"Oh ho ho! A police cap! And a badge!" Nick said as he took them out the box.
"Since you want to work for the ZPD one day, as a fellow future crime solver, I thought I should give you these." Falisha said happily.
Nick took off his paper crown and put on the police cap. It was a perfect fit.
"How do I look?" Nick asked his friends.
"Like a real law-abiding citizen." Judy said with a smile.
"It fits! I was worried that it might have picked one too small for that big head of yours." Falisha said with a sly grin.
"My heads not that big." Nick said looking peeved.
"It's the only thing bigger than your ego." Falisha stated still smirk.
"Are you finished? Cause if not..." Nick said sounding serious. He then held the badge in front of Falisha's point of view. "... I could have you locked up for those insults."
"Taking it a bit serious, Nicky." Falisha said.
"Fine." Nick said shrugging. "Guess that is abusing the power of the badge." Nick then took off the police cap and put back on his paper crown. "But as your king, I won't allow any more insults about my the size of my head... or ego."
"As you wish, my king." Falisha said as she curtsied. Then she thought "They just HAD to give him a crown, did they?".
"Okay. Who's present I should open next?" Nick asked as he rubbed his paws together.
"My present doesn't need unwrapping. So I give you it." Audran said. He then rushed to the mountain of presents. He gets out a wooden toy train with a blue ribbon on it. "Here it is."
"Oooh! A toy train." Nick said as Audran gives him the train. "You know, I always loved trains."
"Why a wooden train? Could you get a real cool toy train?" Finnick asked.
"This IS a real cool toy train. It may look simple, but there's value in this little train." Audran stated. "Before my family moved here, we lived in the same town as my grandpa. Heusese to run a small toy shop where she would sell toys like this. This was one of the very trains he made."
"This was made by your grandpa?" Nick asked sounding surprised.
"Uh huh. One of his many." Audran stated.
"He was actually able to make this with hooves?" Nick asked raising an eyebrow.
"Hey. Your dad is able to tailor suits from the smallest mouse to the largest elephant. Even with hooves, with the right tools, anyone could do this." Audran said boldly. "So don't doubt my grandpa's work, eh?"
"Fair enough." Nick said agreeing with Audran's words. Nick then held the train up a bit as he looks at the craftmenship. "It is nicely done. Thanks!"
"You're welcome, Nick." Audran said with a smile.
"Okay. Who's present is next?" Nick asked.
As he did, Flash slowly picked out his gift from the pile of presents. He then walked to Nick... very... very... slowly. So slowly in fact, Ronnie and Audran picked Flash up from the ground, quickly moved him, and dropped him near Nick.
"Here... you... go,... Nick." Flash said handing Nick his gift.
"Thank you, Flash Flash 100-yard dash." Nick said as he takes his gift. "Wonder what you got me?"
Nick then humorously slowly and careful unwrapped the gift. As he was he was sloth. It wasn't really humorous to everyone else.
"You're pushing it, Slick Nick." Judy said getting a bit mad.
"Alright. Alright." Nick said as he unwraps the present normally. He unwraps it and sees what the gift was. It was a snazzy red model car with black stripes in the hood. It looked like an 2000 mustang. "Wooooooaaaahhh! A red model car?! Awesome!"
"Also... look... in... the... box." Flash said.
"The box?" Nick asked looking interesting. "What's in the..." Then Nick took out what looked like a pass of some kind. "A PASS TO GO GO-KARTING?!"
"WHAT?!" Most of the kids shouted out.
"Do... you... like... it?" Flash asked.
"ABSOLUTELY 100%!" Nick shouted out happily. "Thanks, Flash! Go-karting! I can barely wait."
As slow as Flash was, liking speed is in his name and it shows with the gifts he gave Nick. It also seems that he was in the lead for best present. It also made some of the boys wish they had passes for go-karting.
"Say Flashy, my birthday's coming up in a couple of weeks. So if you want to..." Mervin said wanting to have a chance to go go-karting as well.
"Merv, don't even try." Finnick said to Mervin. But then he tried doing the exact same thing. "Flash, buddy, would it be much trouble to if I could get one of those..."
"You boys can't even be subtle, can ya?" Judy said to the boys.
"Don't blow this for us." Finnick and Mervin said while gritting their teeth.
"Next present." Nick said wanting to move on to the next gift.
"Ooh! Mine! Mine!" Benji said eagerly as he gives Nick a present with a spotted pattern on it.
"No no! You should open my next." Bobby said eagerly holding a black wrapped present.
"No. Open ours, Nick." Cole and Conner said as they held a red and blue-striped present.
"Abre mi regalo, Nick." Gazelle said with a red present.
Nearly everyone who's gift Nick has opened yet wanted Nick to open theirs next. Nick felt very overwhelmed.
"One at a time, everyone. I promise I'll get to all of your gifts..." Nick said before looking back at all of his gifts. He still had quite a lot of presents to open. Pretty much in the hundreds actually. That's what happens when all the Hopps kids have presents for Nick. "... eventually."
As the time went by, Nick opened up more and more of his birthday presents. He got presents from actions figures, to comic books, regular books, toy cars, video games, an jar of blueberry jam, handmade gifts, all that kind of stuff. He even got a new bike from his parents. Nick was happy with each and every gift he had.
After a while, Nick did a... decent dent to the mountain of presents. Eventually, he had to stop opening presents because he didn't want drain the rest of his birthday's party time.
"Thanks for all the gifts, everyone. But uhhh... I think I'll have to open the rest when I get home. Don't want to waste anymore time with the party here." Nick said.
"Hang on." Chuck said as he walks up to Nick with Phillip, Darwin, Wilfred, and Ed. "There's just ONE more present that you just have to open."
"We had to pull some strings to get this for you." Wilfred said.
Chuck then handed Nick a dark green envelop.
"An... regular envelop?" Nick said not impressed.
"Look at the sender, Nick. We promise it won't disappoint you." Phillip said with a smile.
"Okay..." Nick said as he looked at the front of the envelop to see who the sender was. When he did, his eye widen. "It says... it's from the Main Branch of the Ranger Scouts."
This got everyone's attention.
"The Main Branch of the Ranger Scouts?!" Nick's friends all said surprised.
"W... why would the main branch send me a letter?" Nick said still a bit stunned.
"Read it, Nick." Ed said.
"Be sure to read it outloud." Darwin said.
Nick quickly opened up the enveloped and started to read the letter outloud. It writes:
Dear Nicholas Wilde,
We have heard quite a few things about you. According to the letters some of your friends sent, you are a unique young man. They have also said that you have dealt with your share of hardships. Some of the reasons being the case because you're a fox. Yet even with that, you found your own way overcome those hardships. We at the Main Branch are quite impressed by you. But what suprised us most is not the fact you are still young or the fact that you are a fox. What really suprised us was using your strong passion and determination to form your own pack called the Zoo-Burrow Scouts. A pack where two different towns, boy or girl, prey or predator, can join no matter who they are on the outside. Cause we of the Ranger Scouts value who people are on the inside and not the outside. And from what we've read, you are defientely good both inside and outside. You're an excellent leader, have helped your community, and you not only let others see the good in you, but help them see the good in themselves. So, with all of this, it is with great honor that we give this inside this letter.
Nick stopped reading for a moment to go back to dig back into his envelop. He then pull at as small patch. It was oval-shaped and had a fleur-de-lis symbol in the center. Nick then went back to reading the letter.
The Junior Ranger Scouts patch of Pride and Valor. Few are lucky to even recieve this pact at your age. So please wear in on your uniform with Pride and Valor. Keep doing what you are doing and keep up the excellent world. We'll be in touch real soon. Cause as of now, the Zoo-Burrow Scouts Pack 1 are officially part of the Junior Ranger Scouts.
Sincerely,
The President of the Ranger Scouts, Sanford B. Ursidae.
That was the end of the letter. All of Nick's scout friends, except Chuck and the others, were beyond belief with what Nick read to them. But they all shouted out "O... M... GOODNESS!" They all then gathered around Nick.
"Our baby has actually been honored by the head of the Ranger Scout?!" Frankie asked still stunned by it.
"Another great day to be a parent." John said joyfully.
"Is this real? Is this really real?" Cole asked.
"It's very real." Chuck said with a smile.
"He's right." Conner said looking at the letter Nick was still holding. "The Ranger Scouts official seal is on it AND the president's signature."
"Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh!" Benji went overly excited. "So, we're officially part of the Junior Ranger Scouts now, right?"
"AND Nick's been given one of their greatest honor." Mervin said happily.
"Nick, can you believe this?" Judy asked smiling happily. "How do you feel about this?"
Nick didn't respond. In fact, he didn't do anything. He just froze looking at the letter. His tale did wagged a bit.
"Nick?" Judy asked started to looking concern for her friend. "Niiiiiick?" He still was frozen.
"He's not responding." Finnick stated.
"Oh no. Did we broke Nick?" Chuck said looking worried.
"No. This exact thing happen when he got to try our mom's blueberry pie for the first time." Judy stated recalling that this isn't the first time Nick froze like this.
"Come on, Nicky. Say something." Ronnie said.
After 5 or so seconds, Nick finally spoke.
"This is real." Nick said still in shock and awe.
"Yeah it is, Nick." Phillip said.
"This is real and it's signed by the president of the Ranger Scouts." Nick said still in shock and awe.
"Yeah. We told you th..." Wilfred said.
"This is real and it's signed by the president of the Ranger Scouts and I'm holding it in my paws." Nick said once again, still in shock and awe.
"Uhhhh... Nick?" Ed said sounding concern for Nick. "You okay, dude?"
"I have so many emotions right now. So... many... emotions..." Nick said with his left eye twitching.
"Are they good emotions?" Chuck asked.
"Good? No. They're not good." Nick said. He then started to have a really big smile on his face. "They're AWESOME!" Nick then started jump up and down. "I mean, The Patch of Valor and Pride?! I wish I knew how to do a backflip. I just do some cartwheels. Everyone, make way."
Nick put his paper crown down and started to do a few cartwheels around the room while shouted out "THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!" really loudly. Clearly, the little fox was overjoyed as everyone could tell.
"Nick's happy. Nick's very happy." Judy said with a smile.
"I think that's City's Boy best reaction yet." Gideon said happy for Nick.
"*sigh* Looks like you five gave Nick the best gift." Finnick said with arms crossed.
"Not like a yo-yo wasn't easy to beat." Mervin said with a smirk.
"The good one sold out." Finnick said firmly.
Nick then came back to reality and walked back to the others.
"Chuck, Phil, Ed, Darwin, Wilfred, thank you!" Nick said to the five boys. "This... this is unbelieve. I can't believe you were actually able to get this for me."
"We owned you, Nick. It was the least we could do." Chuck said.
"All the same, thanks. I mean it." Nick said with a smile.
Things really were different between Nick and the former scouts now. It was like they really were friends with them now. To get something like this was their way of asking for forgiveness after muzzling Nick. Nick already forgiven them, but this added up to that.
Moments later, the party continued. Xand, Mikey, and Paul performed a cover an instrumental cover of Green Hay's (like Green Day) When I Come Around. Nick was drinking some punch with Darson.
"Darson, when I was opening present, you didn't offer me opening up your present." Nick said to the coyote.
"Cause I didn't get you one." Darson said as he sips his drink.
"What?" Nick said not sounding happy.
"Dude, I already gave you your gift. The dreamcatcher." Darson said. "I did say think of it as a early birthday present. The fact that your birthday was so close was only coincidental."
"Mm hmm." Nick went looking suspicious. "Fine. I guess you get a pass."
As Nick and Darson drank more of their punch, Chuck, Phillip, Wilfred, Darwin, and Ed came by. The five had looks like they wanted to get something out of their chest.
"Hey, you two." Wilfred said.
"Oh. Hey guys." Nick said with a smile.
"Darson, can you leave us to talk with Nick?" Chuck asked.
"Sure." Darson said nodding.
Darson then walks off to leave the six of them to talk.
"Guys, I still can't thank you enough for the letter." Nick said to them still happy about it.
"Glad you still like it... but..." Chuck said as he started to sound a bit sad. "... there's something else we wanted to give you."
Chuck then handed Nick another envelop. It was a white one this time.
"Another envelop? What is an medal of honor in this one?" Nick asked joking around a bit.
"This one's... a bit more of a serious thing." Phillip said sounding serious.
With the tone Phillip used, it must be serious. With a concern look on his face, Nick put down his drink and took the envelop and look at the front of it to see who the sender was.
"It's from the Zootopia Court of Law." Nick said.
The Zootopia Court of Law? Why did the boys gave him a letter from the Zootopia Court of Law? Why do they even have a letter from the Zootopia Court of Law? Nick quickly opened the envelop and started reading the letter. As he finished reading the letter, looked at the five boys with a stunned look on his face. Nick then grabbed Chuck's arm.
"Can we talk somewhere else?" Nick asked them as he leads them out of the party room.
The six boys then headed to the hallway outside of the room to talk. Most likely, what Nick read in the letter.
"Is this a joke?" Nick asked as he takes of his crown. "Please tell me this is a joke." Nick sounded pretty serious to the five boys.
"It's no joke, Nick. It's real." Chuck told him.
"Am I even reading this right?" Nick asked still sounding serious.
"Read it outloud. We'll tell you if it's right or not." Phillip said.
Nick did that. He read the letter outloud. It reads:
Nicholas P. Wilde
Since you are one of the victims, we are writing this letter to inform you that Charles Woodson, Phillip Zecker, Darwin Deerling, Wilfred Maus, and Edward Beestli have pleaded guilty of accounts of assault, discrimination, and muzzling young predators. It is because of these actions, the five will be sentence to 3 months in the Zootopia Juvenile Detention Center at May 31 of this year. These accounts our very serious and it's very irregular for children to commit such a high level crime. However, they cannot go unpunished. This decision has been finalized. We at the Zootopia Court of Law are sorry that you had to deal with something like this. But we hope that letter gives you some well-needed justice.
That was the end of the letter and with Nick with one thing to ask.
"You've turned yourselves in?!" Nick shouted out.
"*sigh* Yeah..." Chuck admitted.
This was some really shocking news for Nick to read. Chuck, Phillip, Darwin, Wilfred, and Ed had turned themselves in and are being sent to the Zootopia Juvenile Detention Center soon.
"W... W... Why? Why did you do this to yourselves?" Nick asked still shocked by the news.
"To make up for everything we done." Wilfred told Nick.
"By doing this?!" Nick asked while holding the letter.
"Nick, we muzzled predators and used the Junior Ranger Scouts as a front to do it. We didn't even care what the kids we muzzled thought." Chuck stated. He then started rubbing his right arm.
"You already know that these acts are serious crimes. We can't just go off unpunished anymore. We just can't." Ed stated.
"So that's why you were acting so weird the other day. How come I'm just finding out about this now?! Do the others know?" Nick asked.
"Only Ben, Mervin, Ronnie, and Aurdan. Oh... and Darson too when we talked to him about it." Phillip said.
"And they didn't tell me?!" Nick shouted out not too happy.
"Your birthday was near. We didn't want to ruin your mode." Chuck said.
"Well, way to ruin it ON my birthday." Nick said looking mad. He then had he paw on his face. "Okay, what about a court case? Would have my family I at least been called to that?"
"The court case was set on Saturday and finished on Sunday. It was pretty much close-and shut." Darwin stated.
"We told the the judge everything. The who, what, where, when, and why. Where we got the muzzle, who we used them on, the methods, even some of the time and dates." Wilfred said.
"Mervin, Ronnie, and Ben were called to the case but we pleaded them to not call you." Chuck said.
"But why?" Nick asked.
"Nick, we've known you for a long while now. Even after what we did, if you were in the court, you would just try to make thing easier on our side." Chuck said.
"And why wouldn't you want that?" Nick asked.
"Because we don't deserve the easy way." Chuck said firmly. "Besides, we were lucky to get things easy enough."
"We were lucky to only get 3 months. If things were different or we were older, we could have gotten 3 to 5 years." Phillip said. "But the judge felt pitty for us."
"Even if he did say 'Out of all the cases I've done, this, by far, has got to be the most despicable thing I have ever heard children commit.'" Chuck added.
"Even so, it could have been worst." Ed said.
"COULD have been worst? Do you have ANY idea what you did to yourselves?!" Nick asked sounding serious.
"We're aware." Chuck said.
"No. I don't think you are." Nick said firmly. "It's ONLY gonna get worst for you all. Do you know what will happen to you once you go to juvie and what I told you before. Maybe I'll remind you. You will have a criminal record. Everything gonna be even harder for you after that. You may not be able to go to our school anymore or any school for that matter. Everyone will judge you even more now. It will be hard for you to get a job growing up. Everything that you will try to do will be closer to impossible to achieve. Do you really want that?"
"I guess... we'll have to deal with that." Wilfred simply said.
For some reason, Nick really felt affected by this. The fox was cringing his fist tightly.
"Grrrrr! Do you really I want this for you?" Nick asked firmly "Do you remember when I erased the recording from Judy's carrot pen and said it was because you were dirty enough? It wasn't just because of that. It's because I don't want to live with the guilt. Even with the pain and torment I've dealt with, I wouldn't wish that on anyone else. No matter what they did to me."
"We know, Nick. That's just the kind of person you are." Chuck stated.
"There's gotta be something I can do." Nick said frantically as he looks at the letter for a loophole.
"Nick, it's already been finalized." Phillip said.
Nick gritted his teeth, throw the letter down to the ground and shouted out "I'M NOT GOTTA LET YOU GUYS RUIN YOUR LIVES!". The shouted echoed through the hallway.
Nick must be really taking this serious to shout that out.
"Nick,... we already ruined our lives." Chuck said with a sad look on his face.
Nick's eye widen as he heard Chuck said that.
"We've ruined our lives the moment the thought muzzling predator kids was a good thing." Chuck said. "We can't just keep living everyday like nothing happened. Nothing's gone away for us. Other kids still don't trust us, grownups are still giving us ugly stares, and... I can't keep having the anxiety attacks."
"About that, how long have you been having those?" Nick asked.
"The first one was a few days after what you said to us, the third was when Mervin said what he said to us. That time with Darson... that would be the 7th." Chuck added.
"7 times?!" Nick said shocked about that. He had no idea that Chuck has had a total of 7 anxiety attacks. It was surprising enough to know he had more than 1.
"The guilt literally hurts me too much and won't go away." Chuck stated.
"The same can be said for us." Ed said.
"But... if we atone for what we've done, some of that guilt, even only a little bit of it, could finally go away." Phillip said with a light smile.
"We already know that this won't be easy, but like you told the rest of us, the best things aren't easy." Darwin said.
"We know that our choice has upset you Nick, but this is our choice." Wilfred said. "We just want you to understand why we have do this."
"You do understand, don't ya Nick?" Chuck asked.
Nick cringed both of his fists tightly and his body shook quite a bit. Nick didn't want Chuck and the others to actually go to juvie. But... deep down, he knew that the five of them were doing the right thing. He couldn't be against that. Nick then picked up the letter again.
"The letter says that you're going in May 31. That's the day after school is over." Nick said.
"Some Summer Camp, huh?" Chuck said trying to make a joke.
"We were suppose to be planning a beach trip this summer. Everyone of us would go to the beach, enjoy the sand, sea, and sun, and have fun. It was gonna be the best day ever." Nick said to them.
"Guess you are all gonna have fun without us." Chuck said shrugging.
"*sigh* I'm not okay with this." Nick said honestly. "But... I understand why you are doing all this. So, I can't be angry about that."
"We knew that would would understand, Nick." Chuck said as he walked closer to Nick. "We made a lot of mistakes Nick. But the biggest mistake..." Chuck then put his right paw on Nick's left shoulder. "... was not letting you join our pack from the very beginning."
Chuck and the other boys really do regret muzzling Nick and not letting him join their pack the first time. As Chuck let go of Nick's shoulder, Nick said one more thing to them.
"You're not them." Nick said.
"What?" The 5 boy said looking confused.
"You're not the same guys who muzzled me that day. As far as I know, I still hated those guys and they don't exist anymore." Nick stated. "They wouldn't turned themselves in. But you guys, you're different." Nick then started to smile. "You're... my friends."
For Nick to say those words, it made Chuck, Phillip, Darwin, Wilfred, and Ed feel an warm and happy feeling in their chests.
"Nick, it means a lot to us do hear you say that." Chuck said with a smile. "Thank you."
"No problem." Nick said starting to get in a better mode.
"Alright. As fun as your party is, I think the five of us should get going." Chuck said.
"You're leaving already?" Nick asked looking a bit surprised.
"Yeah. We alreadly killed the party mode enough." Phillip stated.
"Come on. At least stay for cake." Nick insisted.
"Maybe next time." Darwin said.
As much as the 5 felt that they should go, Nick's not the type of person to take no for an answer. So... he played the 'mom' card.
"You know... if you leave before cake, it will make my mom very upset." Nick said with a sly grin. He then leaned toward Chuck's face. "You don't want to upset her, do you?"
After their last talk with her, the 5 boys still had a huge, huge, HUGE fear of Nick's mom, Francine. The last thing they would EVER want to do is make her upset.
"Guys, let's stay for cake." Chuck said frantically.
"I was already craving cake anyway." Phillip said also a bit frantic.
"Yum yum." Darwin said trying not to sounded worried.
"Cake is good." Ed said frantically.
"Please tell your mom we've been good." Wilfred said looking worried.
"Heh. I thought you would change your mind." Nick said with his usual sly grin.
"You always have to get your way, don'tcha Nick?" Chuck asked giving Nick a look.
"Pretty much." Nick said slyly.
The boys then all did some hearty laughter. It was a good sign that they were truly friend now. Not fake friends, but true friends. The six then decided to go back to the party. Everyone was still having a good time. But as the six came back into the room, a few boys were waiting for them. It was Benji, Mervin, Aurdan, Ronnie, and Darson.
"Guys..." Nick said surprised, but not that surprised to see them.
"We'll leave you guys to talk." Chuck said.
Chuck and the others left to get back to the party while Nick talked to the boys.
"I'm guessing that you had quite the talk with those guy." Benji said to Nick knowing what they talked about.
"I can't believe that they're going to Juvie by the end of the school year." Nick said still in a bit of disbelief. "You know you could have told me."
"Sorry, Nick." Ronnie said feeling bad for not telling us. "But they told us not to. With your birthday and all."
"How do you feel, buddy?" Mervin asked.
"Honestly, I have mixed feelings." Nick said starting to feel down again.
Darson walked up to Nick.
"Nick, they'redoing the right thing." Darson said. "They're doing this to right their wrongs and it's the only way they can do that. You may feel sad, but you should also feel proud. They changed because you helped them change."
"Well yeah... but..." Nick said still sounding sad.
But then, out of nowhere, Judy hopped on Nick's back and to force the fox to smile.
"No fox should be sad on his birthday." Judy said as her fingers to stretch Nick's mouth out to force him.
"Hey! Carrots, quit it." Nick muttered while Judy still had her fingers on his mouth.
Judy then let go of Nick's mouth and got off of his back.
"You were sad and I wanted you to feel better." Judy said to Nick.
Nick decided to tell Judy the truth.
"Judy, Chuck, Phillip, and the others are going to juvie." Nick said said to her.
"I know. The others told me." Judy said to Nick as she started to look sad. "But they're doing what they need to do. They'll come out better people after that. You should feel proud."
"So I've been told." Nick said with his arms crossed.
"We feel bad for them too, but this is their choice." Audran said. "We just need to hope they're be okay after it's all over."
"I guess." Nick said still looking sad.
"Come on, Nick. Be happy." Judy said wanting Nick to cheer up. "Remember, it's your birthday. Give us that famous 'Nick Wilde' smile."
As sad as Nick was, Judy was right. It was he birthday and he should be happy. He then started to have his usual smile on his face.
"There it is." Judy said happily.
"Well like you said, no fox should be sad on his birthday." Nick said to Judy with a smile.
"By the way, where's your crown?" Judy asked noticing that it wasn't on Nick's head.
"OH! CRUD!" Nick shouted out at he touched the top of his head remembering that he took it off when he was talking to the boys. "Your king will be right back."
Nick then went back to get his crown as Judy and the boys laughed a bit.
A few minutes later, it was almost time for everyone to have cake. Mr. Big's polar bear bodyguards had to go it first. As everyone gather around the big and long table, Nick's friends, Judy, a few of her siblings, Gideon, Finnick, Benji, Mervin, Flash, Kyle, Bobby, Sharla, Gareth, Ronnie, Audran, Falisha, and a few others joined around Nick.
"Before we get to the cake, we have a little birthday ditty we like to sing to the birthday boy here." Judy said.
"A ditty for our son?" John asked.
"Awww! How sweet." Frankie said liking the idea of Nick's friends singing.
"This wasn't my idea." Finnick said firmly.
"Nick, go easy on us. We literally only had like 5 minutes to practice." Mervin stated.
"Alright, straighten up." Greg said to everyone.
Everyone grouped up like they were in a chorus line. Greg blow on a little whistle and the kids started to clap together in a jolly rhymtic matter. The group then started to sing.
Ohhhhhhhhhhh...
Happy Birthday Nicky,
Today's your special day.
For all the time we've know you,
We got many things to say.
You're loyal, bold, and honest...
You're helpful, brave, and true...
Everybody in this world,
Should have a friend like you.
Out of all the foxes in the world,
Nicky is the best.
He helps us out through thick-n-thin,
And does it without rest.
A smart and awesome leader,
To our great little pack.
Whatever thing will happen
You know we got your back.
The group then stopped clapping. They also started singing slower.
Ohhhhhhhhhhh...
When it comes to Nick, we have many things to tell...
The greatest pal in world, so great we have to yell...
Oh Nick, we all just you to know that we all think you're swellllllll...
The group then started and clapping again and singing fast again.
Soooooo... Happy Birthday Nicky... and many more as well.
Happy Birthday Nicky... and many more as well.
Happy Birthday Nickyyyyyyy...
And many more as well. HEY!.
After the end of the song everyone else clapped. They thought that the little song was cute.
"Wow." Nick responded. "That song was... really something."
With that answer, some of the kids thought Nick didn't like the song.
"I told you we should have added the rap verse." Eric stated. "Okay, from the top."
"No no! That's fine." Nick said waving his paws. "I love the song. Thanks, you guys."
"You're welcome, Nick." Judy said with a big smile.
Since the song was over, it was finally time for cake. Mr. Big's bodyguards brought over a massive sized white buttercream-frosted sheet cake. Massive was actually the understand for the cake. The cake was at least 20ft wide. The cake reads 'Happy 10th Birthday, Nicholas' in blue icing. The kids were all dumbfounded by the site of the cake.
"Woooooooooaaahhhh!" The kids went in awe.
"This has got to be the biggest cake I have ever seen in my life." Nick stated. "Mom, Pop, how did you get a cake this big?"
"A little something from Mr. Big." John said to Nick.
"We told him it was your birthday and even if he couldn't be here, he was more than happy to pay for a cake big enough for everyone here." Frankie stated happily.
"Awesome!" Nick said happily. He then looked up at Mr. Big's bodyguards. "Tell Mr. Big I say 'Thank you.'."
The polar bears didn't say anything. They just simply nodded while still looking serious. They still scared most of the kids. Like Judy's brothers and sisters... and Finnick.
"These guys must always be like this." Finnick thought.
One of the polar bears then put candles of a 1 and a 0 on the cake side where Nick was. He then lit the candles.
"Okay Nicky, time to make a wish and blow out the candle." John said.
"Aww yeah. I've been waiting to do this." Nick said as he rubbed his paws together. He then stood up to the candles and was about to blow the candles out. But then he stopped for a moment. He had to make a wish. Except for one problem...
"Uhhh... Nick, you're suppose to make a wish and blow out the candles. That how it works." Judy said to Nick.
"I know. I know. It's just that... for the first time ever, I don't really don't know what to wish for." Nick said honestly. "I already have everything I've ever wanted. So how do I know what to wish for."
Nick had a point. He really did have everything he ever wanted and more. A bunch of friends, his family being sucessful, a bunch of gifts. What more could he ask for?
"Well Nick, you better think of something." Finnick said to Nick.
Nick pondered for a bit on what he wanted to wish for. He looked around the room at all his family and friends to try and get an idea. He then stop and looked at Judy. It seems like everything good think to happen to him was because of her. So after that, he knew just what to wish for and blow out the candles. Everyone clapped after that.
"Alright." John said happily. "Time to cut the cake." John then got out a really long knife out to cut the cake with. Like a knife that was closer to a sword when a fox holds it.
"Woah! Johnny, that might be a bit dangerous for you to hold alone." Frankie stated as she holds her husband's arm. "Perhaps we should cut it together."
John and Frankie then held the knife together and started to cut a corner piece of the cake.
"Hmm. Cutting cake like this reminds me of our wedding day." John said feeling nostalgic.
"Me too, sweetheart." Frankie said also feeling nostalgic.
"Eeeeeeew!" All the kids went feeling grossed out.
"Mom! Pop! Not in front of all my friends." Nick said feeling embarassed.
Afterwords, everyone had their cake and ate it too. Along with some blueberry ice cream to go with it. Nick was enjoying his cake and ice cream while stand beside Finnick.
"Blueberry Carrot Cake. Who would have guess this would be so good?" Finnick said as he has another forkful.
"Right? Glad we all can get such a big slice of it." Nick said liking the cake too.
"So... I bet you are feeling like you are on sitting on top of the world." Finnick said to Nick with a smirk.
"Do I feeling like the happiest fox in the world? Yes, yes I do." Nick said with a big grin. "I honestly wasn't expect such a great party."
"You got Bunny Girl to thank for all of this." Finnick said. "She pretty much planned this whole thing since Sunday."
"Hmmm. Sunday, huh?" Nick said with a look on his face that said 'Is that so?'. "Finn, how would Judy plan everything since Sunday if she never knew about her school being closed for a week until Monday?"
Before Finn could have another bite of cake, he frozed from Nick's question.
"Oh... uhhh..." Finnick said trying to come up with something.
"Don't even bother." Nick said to Finnick. "You know how clever I am. I'll be sure to have a little talk with the not-so-cleaver bunny later."
"Kinda figured you would." Finnick said not surprised.
As good as friends Nick and Finnick were, Finnick wanted too know how something ever since he first met Nick.
"Nick, I got to know. What is the deal with you and Bunny Girl?" Finnick asked.
"This again? I told you and the others a hundred times. Judy and I are just friends." Nick stated.
"But is that how you want things to always be?" Finnick asked. "Come on, I saw how you stared at her before you made your wish."
"..." Nick was silent but started to blush a bit.
"Come on. Talk to me, man." Finnick said.
"I told you. There's nothing to talk about." Nick said firmly.
"Alright then. Then you just listen to what I have to say and tell me if it's really nothing." Finnick said boldly. Finnick pointed at Judy with his fork. "Look at Judy. If I could describe her, she's someone filled with joy and light. It like anyone who's near her gets filled with happiness in their life. You just happen to be one of them. She kept you away from a dark path and thank for that."
Finnick was right. Just being friends with Judy has made Nick's life better and kept him from making bad choices.
"It's good that she filled with light... but... she's also very frail. She doesn't truly know how cruel the world can truly be. She may think the world is all cherry soda and lollipops, but we both know that's not the case. If she goes out in the world thinking, this city will eat her alive." Finnick then pointed at Nick. "Then there's you, Nick. You've lived in the city your whole life. You understand the good and the bad in this world. You were in the darkness for a while, so when Judy took you out of it, you made it a your personal goal to protect her. That's why you are always there to save her when she needs it."
Nick still didn't say anything, but he was understand what Finnick was talking about.
"Face it Nick, Judy is your light and you are her dark. She needs you... and you know her. You need each other." Finnick stated. "You know what I'm saying is true. So, can you honestly say that you don't have feeling for Judy?"
Nick couldn't hold it in anymore. Not after everything Finnick just said. Nick can feel the so many feelings in his chest. It was too much to keep to himself. He had to tell someone else about this. So, why not Finnick?
"Guess... there's no point in hiding it." Nick said. "*sigh* Alright. I like Judy, okay?"
"Ha! I knew it." Finnick said with a cocky smile.
"Actually... 'like' is a bit of an understatement." Nick said as he taps his fork on his cake. "I feel... that it so much more than that. I... I..." Nick started to shiver a bit. It seems like the next words he was about to say was hard for him. But then he said the words. "... I think I'm in love with her."
He said the words. THE words. He actually told someone that he was in love with Judy. After Finnick heard Nick said that, he nearly chokes while eating his cake.
"*koff* *koff*" Finnick coughed after Nick's reveal. Finnick's choking was starting to get a few of the party guests attention. Nick had to do something to take the attention away from them.
"Silly Finnick! You're supposed to chew before you shallow." Nick said aloud trying to sound like it supposes to be a joke.
Finnick started to regain his composure. "Yeah... silly me." Finnick said aloud.
Since Finnick seem fine, everyone else when back to doing what they were doing. While Finnick pulled Nick a bit further from everyone else.
"Are you serious?" Finnick asked stunned from what Nick said. "Are you sure that you lo... lo... lo..." Finnick couldn't even bring himself to utter the word, love. "... that you 'L' Judy?"
"I'm pretty sure." Nick honestly said. "I mean, what do you call it when you think about someone all the time? What do you call it when you feel that warm and bubbly when the person is near you all the time? What do you call it when 1 or 2 days isn't enough days of seeing them?"
What Nick said, is what some people call love.
"When you say all that, I guess there is no doubt that you 'L' Bunny Girl." Finnick said.
"So... what do I do?" Nick asked needing some advice.
"You're asking the wrong girl." Finnick said not know what to say. "All I know is this. Some point, you should tell her how you feel. You just need to know when."
"*sigh* I guess sooner or later I will have to say something to Carrots." Nick said. "Well, in a few weeks, there's a dance at school. Maybe if I can get Carrots to join me, I'll tell her then."
"Can you really do it?" Finnick asked.
"I'm a trier. I have to try." Nick said.
"Well good luck to you, Slick." Finnick said.
Nick and Finnick went back to eating their cake and ice cream.
"See? Does it feel good to finally talk to someone about this?" Finnick asked.
"Actually, I talked to Gideon about something similar to this." Nick said as he had a bit of his ice cream.
"What?" Finnick said not liking that fact. "You talked to Gid about this before talking to me?"
"Finn, I knew Gid before I knew you. Get over it." Nick said firmly to Finnick.
"Hmpt! Never!" Finnick said as he chomps away at he cake. Guess Finnick can be the jealous type sometimes.
After some time, it was finally time to end Nick's party. Everyone began making their way home. They order shuttle buses to help take the residents of Bunnyburrow back home. People have already started getting on the bus after saying goodbye to Nick, hugging him, bumping fists with him, and patted him on the back. Judy was with Nick in the hallway. Judy had something behind the back.
"Sooooo... was this the Best Birthday Ever?" Judy asked.
"Better." Nick said happily. "Thank you for throwing it for me, Carrots?"
"It was no problem." Judy said as she twisted her right foot. "I was only lucky that school was canceled."
"Yeah... about that..." Nick said before leaning down at Judy and giving her a sly grin. "How dumb do you think I am?"
"Wh... what?" Judy said trying to sound confused.
"Come on. School being canceled the week on my birthday. Flesh-Eating Fleas? Really?" Nick said raising an eyebrow. "That would be more believable if I didn't watch a classic horror movie call 'Flesh-Eating Fleas Invade Our School.'.
"I knew I should have let someone else come up with the excuse." Judy said looking mad at herself.
"So... you got everyone from Bunnyburrow to skip school for me." Nick said.
"It... wasn't that hard." Judy said blushing a bit. "First off, it's really only for today. But I did start the planning since Sunday. I talked to your parents about my plans for the party. They and everyone else from here were more than happy to help. As for school, we were all able to get permission, luckily..."
"So, all this planning... for me?" Nick asked.
"I'd do anything for you, Nick." Judy said with a smile.
Of course, Nick blushed hearing Judy say that. Another sign that Nick really did like Judy a lot.
"Oh. That's right. I haven't given you your gift, haven't I?" Judy asked. "Here." She then gave her gift to Nick. It looked like a green photo album. The title had cartoon stickers of a fox and a rabbit on it. They looked a bit like Nick and Judy.
"What's this?" Nick asked.
"It's a photo album." Judy said. "Open it up."
Nick did so and saw the album had many photos of him with Judy. From the first time that Judy visited Zootopia, to the times that they formed the Zoo-Burrow Scouts, all the visits in Bunnyburrow, the time they checked out the Alina's Mansion, the fishing trip, nearly every good time they had since they met.
"This... has almost everything." Nick said.
"Yeah. Took forever to get all those pictures together. You can thank Cammy for most of those." Judy stated. "There also plenty of empty pages so you can add more pictures."
Nick flipped around the album and notice that Judy right. Even with all the photos already in it, there was enough room for a few hundred or so.
"I know it's not as awesome as video games, go-kart passes, a bike, or a letter from the head of The Ranger Scouts, but..."
"Carrots, stop." Nick said halting Judy's words and closing the album. "Stop thinking I won't love your gifts when I really do love them. Cause I do. I do love it." Nick said with smile. "... and I love..." Was Nick already about to tell Judy that he loved her? "... the awesome party you help throw." Guess not.
"You're welcome, Nick." Judy said with a big smile.
"Alright. Doesn't the Birthday Boy deserves a birthday hug?" Nick asked opening his arms.
"Ooookay. But only cause it's your birthday." Judy said.
Judy then went over to Nick and put her arms around Nick. Nick did the same for Judy while still holding on to the photo album. As the two hugged, it went on for quite a while.
"Carrots, we are gonna have to let go sooner or later." Nick said to her.
"I should be telling you that." Judy said with a smirk.
"Pretty sure you're the big hugger here." Nick said smirking as well.
"You were the one who wanted a hug." Judy stated.
"Alright. I'm gonna let go now. You do the same." Nick said.
The two then finally let go of each other.
"Alright. I got to get going or else the buses will leave me." Judy stated.
"Alright. Goodbye, Judy." Nick said with a smile.
Judy turned around as she was able to leave. To Nick, it felt like she was moving in slow motion. Something stirred inside Nick. Something he needed to say to her.
"Judy, wait!" Nick shouted out, halting the bunny.
"Huh? What is it?" Judy asked.
"This is it, Nick. Don't blow it." Nick thought. He then mustered what courage he had left. "Judy, there's... a dance coming up at my school soon."
"A dance?" Judy said while tilting her head.
"Yes. A dance." Nick said nodding. "On that day, I want you... I want you to..." Nick started looking bashful. "... go to the dance... with me."
Judy's ears drooped down and she started to blush a bit.
"Nick, pardon for saying this, but... the way you ask me that... it sounds like... it sounds like you are asking me to be your date." Judy stated.
What Nick and Judy didn't know was that behind them, from a hearing distance, was Benji and Finnick who just happen to hear the words '... asking me to be your date'. After hearing that, they both froze.
"If you want to think of it that way... yes. Yes, I am." Nick said standing strong.
Knowing Benji would scream after Nick said yes, Finnick immediately climbed up the cheetah and covered his mouth so that Nick and Judy wouldn't notice them.
"So Judy, want to be my date to the dance?" Nick asked sincerely.
Right now, it felt like a thousand things were going throw Judy's mind. How should she answer Nick? What should she say to Nick? After looking at Nick's smile, one word came to mind.
"Yes."
Well, that just happened. It feels that Judy and Nick's feelings are now at their admitted he likes Judy to someone and plans to say his feelings to Judy soon. So... will he be able to do it? Will the two kits find a way to be together? Only one way to find out. On the next chapter... when 'While We're Young' is to be concluded.