/Author's Note: Gonna keep this brief, since there's a longer author's note at the bottom discussing some of this chapter's details, but I really have to thank you guys for the awesome reviews. They really make writing this story worth it, and I love hearing back from readers! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as the last! End Author's Note/
Chapter 52: Come On Barbie, Let's Go Party
"I love cows," Lloyd remarked through a mouthful of food.
"You mean, when they're charred and broiled and condensed into patties and then stuffed in your mouth?"
"Well of course! What else could I mean, Joe?"
"You guys are gross. And kind of morbid," said Eve, finding herself increasingly glad to have settled on a small bag of fries. The seven runaways had grabbed some light meals to go from Callaway Café, courtesy of Carl's parents, and were leisurely strolling down Azure Street. The back of their necks burned from either the afternoon sun overhead, or the shame of skipping - though it was probably the former. None of the individuals present were particularly conscious of school rules, anyway. Discussion ranged from Theodore's sudden reappearance to the more familiar Nami-bashing, with the conversation occasionally indulging in some of the more gossip-y topics, such as whatever was going on between Ann and Louis (which the group agreed was, if nothing, inappropriate and plain weird) and the likes of Katie an Dan (which had Joe taking bigger and bigger bites of his hamburger before finally choking and having to be rescued by Ray's impressive Heimlich maneuver).
As the steady stroll down Azure Street continued, the dynamic began to shift slightly. Eve had relinquished her hold on Ray and had fallen back to talk to Gwen, who had been anything but talkative the entire time, Carl and Sacchun had been reduced to puppy-like affection, walking hand-in-hand and making incoherently cute noises at one another, and Joe, Lloyd, and Ray lead the group as they swerved through groups of shoppers and civilians, heading nowhere in particular.
Lloyd walked with his hands placed behind his head, on occasion allowing himself to drift from the conversation he was engaged in to strain his ears and hear the one going on behind him; Gwen and Eve had taken up the rear and the only thing he could distinguish were whispers and the odd scoff. Gwen was certainly talking again, but Lloyd's ears burned at the faint sound of her voice; if only he could hear what they were saying.
"Dude, are we actually headed anywhere? These mosquitoes are eating me alive," Ray swatted one of the flying menaces against his arm.
"I like mosquitoes, actually…" Lloyd murmured absently, his mind still several paces behind his body, back with Gwen and Eve.
"…Okay then."
Joe glanced further down the street. "Y'know, we're awfully close to the Vet's, why don't we—"
"PUPPIES!" Sacchun flew from Carl's grip and darted past the boys in the direction of the veterinarian's.
"Yeah… that."
The troupe entered Barley's clinic, expecting to see the elderly man, but were instead greeted again by his pint-sized assistant.
"Oh, it's you guys!" she said, running around from behind the desk that was too tall for her anyway, "Mr. Joe and the Bi—"
"Hahaha Oh May! You know my name's pronounced Sa-cchun, you cute little runt!" Through gritted teeth, Sacchun smiled and patted May on the head.
"At least she remembers you guys," Lloyd smirked, "How're the puppies, May?"
The flush of colour creeping into the youngster's face suggested that she definitely remembered Lloyd. Sacchun withdrew her hand from the suddenly blushing youth, and raised an eyebrow in Lloyd's direction.
This went unnoticed by May. "Who're those Barbies?"
Unsure of who she was talking about at first, the guys glanced over their shoulders to see if someone had entered behind them. The only people standing there, however, were the two blonde belles they had walked in with – and suddenly realization dawned.
"Barbie, huh?" Ray barely suppressed a snicker.
"…Don't even think about letting that become a thing," warned Eve, sending a glower in her boyfriend's direction before turning to the braided child, "Hi there, sugar pie! I'm Eve, and this is Gwen!"
"Oh… Hi." May sounded almost disappointed that the Barbies had names.
"May? May, do we have customers?" Barley's voice asked from behind the curtained doorway, "I'm a little busy right now!"
"Gramps iss wrist-deep in kitty litter," explained May.
"Don't tell them that! Now who is it?"
"It's the puppy people!"
Barley emerged after a few moments from behind the curtain, his tiny spectacles in hand as he wiped his brow and placed them back over his eyes. "Good, good! Come see your puppies, they've been just dandy."
Unperturbed by the fact that there were four more youths than there were last time, Barley lead them to the room in back that served as a nursery. In fitting with his sunny personality, the room was brightly lit and painted a myriad of colours (one couldn't help but suspect May's involvement), with various barnyard animals imposed on the walls. On one of the counters against the wall was a cage filled to the brim with all the necessities and luxuries a dog – or several puppies – would need: food, water, shredded paper, chew toys, a plush bed, and a blanket with familiar-looking cows embroidered into its fleece exterior.
"Wow, sir, you didn't have to go through this much trouble… Especially since we just kind of rushed in here and dumped our dogs on you," Lloyd said apologetically, "This is all great!"
"Ah, I do it for the animals, sonny, all for the animals." Barley smiled and beckoned them over to the cage, which they huddled around.
As was to be expected, there was a collective 'Awwww' from everyone present.
Though barely three days old, the puppies were a sight to behold – the four of them resembled the floppy eared beagle that Ringo was moreso than the pointy-eared Momo, but they differed slightly in hue. None of them had yet opened their eyes – not that they could see their faces anyway, as they were all currently buried in their mother's tummy.
"It's not wise to pick the puppies up, but…" Barley stretched his arm into the cage and prodded Momo, who woke from her stupor and looked suddenly chipper at the sight of Sacchun's familiar face. She tried to get up and stopped mid-way, as if remembering, Oh right, I have four leeching freeloaders clamped to my nipples, best not to disturb them.
"Aw, Momo! You're a mommy!" Sacchun crooned, "And I'm a granny! Kinda!"
Eve smiled warmly down at them, "Enjoy it, girl. Soon they'll up and leave and will barely write."
"Sacchun, they're precious!" Carl gasped.
Ray seemed generally unimpressed, "They look like hairless gerbils. They do get cuter, right?"
"Of course!" said Sacchun indignantly, "At least, if they take after their Granny in any way…"
"We should've brought Ringo! Poor guy hasn't even seen the results of his hard work!" said Joe.
"What hard work?" Sacchun shot at him, "He just had to knock her up, he didn't just squeeze four newborns out of his –"
"Hey guys! What are we all looking at?"
Cliff appeared behind them and peered over (the significantly shorter) Carl. "Oh man! Look at them!" The gang turned to the new arrival. Eve's eyes wandered; Ray's throat was cleared loudly.
"Well hello there, I'm Eve –"
"And I'm Ray, her boyfriend. Pleased to meet you."
"Same to you guys," Cliff grinned good-naturedly.
"Cliff!" Sacchun greeted, "How's the falcon?"
The rugged brunette held up an empty bird cage. "He can't quite fly yet, but I'm thinking of taking him home. Y'know, as a pet."
"Oh, cool!" exclaimed Joe, "Who needs a dog, I want a bitchin' falcon!"
"A what?" came May's voice from the other side of the room. Barley shot Joe a look.
"A… A Kitchen falcon! A falcon for my… my kitchen."
"Smooth," murmured Lloyd.
"Anyway, I was just visiting Azure Street to meet up with someone, and figured I'd drop in and check on the little guy," explained Cliff, "I… I kinda got attached."
"Totally understandable, man." Joe gave him a thumbs-up.
Eve and Ray went over to occupy May while the rest of the group crowded around the newborns. Gwen, despite her reluctance to be around Lloyd, couldn't help herself in front of a fresh litter of puppies – her love for animals outweighed many things, including her desire to avoid melodrama. Once Eve had shuffled out of the cluster around the counter, Lloyd found himself right beside Gwen and had to fix his gaze on the critters in front of him, heart beating faster all the while.
Eve had gone back to fanning herself with the pocket folder she was still holding when May addressed her. "Hey, Barbie?"
"Er… Yes, May?"
"Who's that Barbie?" The child pointed directly at Eve – or rather, what she was holding.
"Um…?" The blonde looked down and scanned herself, before realizing that May was talking about the very pocket folder in her hands, "Oh!"
She held her folder still, allowing May to get a good look of the face of another blonde 'Barbie' on the front. The lady, obviously a singer of some sort, stood against a pink backdrop with a microphone in her hand and long honey blonde hair and straight-cut bangs framing her face. Her burnt sienna eyes looked surprisingly thoughtful, almost betraying the pop princess appearance the rest of the image worked to maintain.
"Lanna Royce!" she exclaimed in a wounded voice. "What hope does your generation have if you don't know the pop sensation that is Lanna? What have your parents taught you?"
Just as they had the first time her parents had been mentioned, May's eyes were suddenly swimming in tears. "M-Mommy's gone f-far away and Grandpa said she m-might not come back…"
"Eek! I'm sorry, honey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it!" Eve hurriedly comforted the younger girl.
"Psh, 'pop sensation'", Ray scoffed and rolled his eyes, "The less the young'uns know about her, the better off they'll be."
"Riiiight," Eve crossed her arms over her chest, "You weren't saying that when you had bought me tickets to her open-air concert this Friday. Correction: bought us tickets."
"I-I just happened to know someone who was selling them, you know how it is…"
Eve gave Ray a quick but tender peck on the lips, "I do; You love me, Mr. Ray."
"W-Well… I… Such a big word to t-throw around…" If there was anything that could dispel Ray's cool and calm façade, it was the mere mentioning of the word 'love'. In the end, however, Eve preferred him this way.
"Hey May, Ray's in love with me!" she teased.
"Do you hafta say that in front of the little girl?" demanded a reddening Ray, to which Eve could only respond with a wink and a giggle.
"Now then, Mr. Lloyd, Mr. Joe, Miss Sacchun," Barley addressed the trio, "I'll be happy to look after the little ones for the time being, and eventually help you find homes for them, but as a veterinarian, I must suggest that you spay Momo and possibly bring the father in for neutering."
"Oh, er…"
Sacchun looked down at Momo sadly and Joe rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"That's gonna be a bit pricy, isn't it…" he muttered, and Barley's eyebrows furrowed. He had always been more of an animal aficionado than a businessman, always willing to take in any animals even at his own expense. Still, the operations would be for the best, especially if the two dogs were living in such close proximity.
"We're sorry about all this, Mr. Barley," Sacchun gave him a slight bow.
"It's alright, it's alright!" he replied, with the air of a caring grandfather, "I'm going to go finish up some work; I'll let you three think it over." He left the room with his hands behind his back.
"Jeez…" Sacchun let out a sigh, "To think he could be that easy going! Imagine how he'd act if May ever came home knocked up or something!"
Before she had even finished the sentence, the teens had already predicted what would follow:
"If I came home what?"
"Nothing!" they called over in unison.
"I don't know about this, Joe and I barely have enough money for luxuries aside from food, and we all know we pretty much live off ramen and whatever the school supplies us for lunch," Lloyd crossed his arms and leaned against the counter, "Aren't there alternatives?"
"Maybe there's such thing as doggy… protection?" offered Joe - even Gwen raised her eyebrows at that.
Lloyd wrung his hands, "I don't know, does it need to be even that complicated? Can't we just… keep them apart?"
Despite avoiding looking into his eyes all day, Gwen finally found her head snapping up, her face level with his for once – and it did not looking particularly impressed.
"I dunno, Lloyd…" Joe scratched the back of his head again.
"Ringo could be, like, converted to an indoor dog couldn't he? Or Momo, for that matter?"
Without realizing it, the blonde's hands had been balled into fists.
"I mean, they might not like it, but they'd adjust, wouldn't they? I'm just saying it'd beat having to waste money on a – "
Lloyd would have finished that sentence if the room around him hadn't chosen that moment to start spinning violently. Why was it spinning? He began to suspect it had something to do with the throbbing pain he suddenly found himself with.
The colourful room slowly coming back into focus (the cows on the walls had looked like they had been racing around in circles), Lloyd found himself on the ground with a hand to his cheek which felt as if it was burning. One of his eyes was squint shut, and the other open enough to make out the watery form of the source of his pain – a blonde girl standing above him with her fist outstretched. Joe, Sacchun, Carl and Cliff all looked taken aback from what he could see, and could only imagine the faces of Eve, Ray and May. None of them had been fast enough to stop Gwen from, as it appeared, punching Lloyd in the face.
"You idiot! Having your animal fixed isn't a luxury, it's a freakin' necessity! Do you not realize how many problems cities like ours run into with all the strays running around? And more importantly, can you not foresee the fates of those strays? It's – It's the most irresponsible thing a pet owner can do! If you're not willing to take proper care of those animals then give them to someone who will!"
Lloyd stared at his attacker, her face distraught, her chest rising unevenly with her breaths, her very hair raised like that of a cat about to pounce.
And all that went through Lloyd's head at that moment was, 'Gwen punched me! …And now she's talking to me!'
A similar thought seemed to go through Gwen's head, her magenta eyes widening as she straightened up suddenly and put a hand to her mouth, "OhmyGoddessI'msosorry."
"Um…"
"I just punched you."
"Y-You did.
"I … I just punched you. Oh Goddess. What the hell is wrong with me?"
"I – "
"I just get so riled up when it comes to animals! Shit, this is like when I nearly gave Bob that concussion for stepping on a hamster… Ahh, Lloyd! I'm so, so sorry, that was completely out of line, I just – I can't help it, I tend to get … passionate about my, well, my passions, and – I'm – I cannot even believe what an ass I just made of myself," Gwen flung her head back in embarrassment, "That was so, so not cool. Ugh."
Eve had folded her arms over her chest and was watching Gwen calmly with the faintest of smiles on her face. For the two not having spoken properly in months, this sudden dramatic interlude was just what they needed – especially with Gwen baring her more vulnerable side.
Gwen helped Lloyd off the ground, and, any bad blood between the two momentarily forgotten, brushed the side of his cheek with her hand, right where it had struck it moments before, "Crap. I'm sorry."
"You kinda had a moment there, didn't you?" Lloyd managed a smile which was reciprocated, though rather weakly. "Some good came of it, though…"
"Oh really?"
"We're kinda talking again, aren't we?"
Gwen's face hardened, then softened again a moment later, a smile emerging. "We kinda are. Weird, isn't it?"
Realizing she had allowed it to linger a moment to long, Gwen withdrew her hand and glanced around the room. Everyone seemed determined to act as if that little outburst hadn't quite happened; Joe looked more than happy to do so, finding Gwen even scarier than ever, and Cliff, who had been in the middle of texting someone, seemed genuinely disturbed.
Sacchun put an arm around Lloyd's shoulder, "You gotta stop gettin' beat up, buddy. I coulda swore that Gwen was about to finish the job Dan started!"
Against his will, Lloyd found himself laughing. Sacchun had an unnatural knack for making that happen.
At that moment, Barley walked back in and took her aside to discuss the costs of spaying Momo, among other things. They decided that it was likely for the best, but they'd have to secure some form of income before being able to do so. Lloyd agreed a little too enthusiastically, with a side glance at Gwen, who turned her attention out the window and fiddled with her ponytail as a means of distracting herself. Barley settled things with the teens and continued to be as generous as he had been previously – agreeing to watch over the puppies for as long as was needed, and to try and give them a 'student discount' on the respective operations – he was a man who, as he had said, did everything he did for the animals. He went on to explain that it was for these reasons he had decided to independently own a small business, and the teens could not have been more thankful.
After conferring with Barley, Joe, Carl and Sacchun headed back to continue looming over the newborns, Sacchun agreeing to give Momo a thorough brushing on Barley's behalf as he took to Cliff and began discussing the wild falcon's condition. Gwen had been distracted by a cage of orange tabby cats, and was biting her lip in an act of deep consideration (probably, Lloyd guessed, a sudden urge to adopt them all). He looked her over once when he was sure she wasn't looking back – subconsciously, Lloyd put a hand to his cheek again. As hurt as Gwen seemed to think he should be, he wasn't at all – something had certainly changed, but what It was, he couldn't quite put a finger on. Something about Gwen's passion had stirred something in him, but it certainly hadn't been anger or resentment. That, he was sure of.
Lloyd looked over at Ray, Eve and May on the other side of the room: Eve was discussing something with May in a very animated manner (or, it may be more accurate to say she was discussing something at May, who was far more interested in the colourful aquarium against the wall than at the Barbie who could barely take a breath between her words).
Catching Lloyd's inquisitive glance, Ray let out a slight yawn and informed him that May had 'gotten Eve started on some bubblegum pop princess idol'.
"Bubblegum Pop Princess Idol?" asked Lloyd as casually as he could.
"Lanna Royce."
"Oh, her… Yeah…" feeling uncomfortable all of a sudden, Lloyd thought about retracing his steps to the other side of the room, when he heard Eve speak.
"Oh May, you'd love her! I heard she's performing 'You Turn My Heart to (Yam) Pudding', one of her best-selling singles, certified gold!"
It had already started before he even had a chance to stop himself.
"Actually… It was certified platinum as of three weeks ago, when the limited edition covers were reprinted and shipped out to stores for a second wave. They managed to sell 25,823 copies in the first week alone, which just brought her over the 250,000 mark, thus earning her her first platinum CD release that wasn't an album."
Ray, Eve, May, and the others around the counter indulged in a moment of awkward silence – Ray looking particularly affronted, and the beginnings of a smile played on the edges of Eve's mouth.
"Lloyd! How did you know that?" she asked gleefully.
Suddenly feeling very uncomfortable, the only thing the teenage boy could attempt to do was pass it off as casual knowledge, "Oh, y'know, I just heard it on the radio, o-or on the internet, or, um … internet-radio? Yeah?"
"You're a fanboy!"
"Not really, that's a bit extreme…"
"You're totally a fanboy!"
"Okay, okay! So what if I'm a little bit of one? We all have our guilty pleasures! Hell, Joe still streams past seasons of Mineral Town's Top Model when no one's around!" Lloyd argued defiantly.
"Thanks, dude. Thanks." Joe responded dryly.
Eve disregarded this, "I'm sure this means you'll be at the concert this Friday?"
"Ugh, I wish— I mean, uh, no, I won't be. If I had that kind of money at my disposal I wouldn't have been punched out a minute ago," he smiled grimly.
Gwen suddenly found herself very interested in the tiling beneath her feet.
Ray looked up hopefully. "Dude, you can have my ti—Ow!"
"You're so funny, Ray," Eve jabbed him in the sides, "Hysterical."
"You like that Barbie too?" May asked, suddenly reconsidering Lanna Royce, "Hmm…"
"Not that much, May, I mean, I just kinda got into her, and she's- well, you can't deny she has talent and – and that voice! Back me up, guys!" Lloyd turned pleadingly to Joe and Sacchun.
"I like her!" Sacchun admitted readily, "I mean, I thought that one song she wrote about fish to be … a little weird, and 'I'll Love you But not that Damn Bird' was … unique. But she's pretty high up there for a popstar."
"Yeah, no." Joe said simply, refusing to indulge in any fanboy-ing over Lanna Royce.
Sacchun tilted her head and gave Lloyd a sad smile, "Lloydie, if I had known you were such a big ol' fanboy, we coulda found a way to get tickets!"
"Uh, talk about being at the right place at the right time!" Cliff said suddenly, looking up from his phone. Everyone turned to him. "I had some connections from work that managed to get me three tickets to the show, and – no offense, Lloyd – I have no interest in going. Wanna take them off my hands?"
"He'd love to!" Joe answered for him in a voice of mock enthusiasm, "We all know Lloyd loves his bubblegum pop!"
"Hey, her lyrics have poignant motifs and— Wait, actually, yes, I would love to. Are you sure that's okay?"
"Oh, totally, dude. In fact, you'd be doing me a favour, see, my co—"
Sacchun bounded over to Lloyd, pulling him into a headlock, "Ooh, Lloydy! Who're you gonna take with you? Me 'n Joe, right?"
Joe raised his hand in protest, "No thanks, just… no thanks."
Cliff spoke again, "Well, you can definitely take someone, it's just that my cous—"
"Take Gwen!" Eve suggested, her face breaking into a brand of smile reserved only for those who loved to meddle.
"I'd actually be pretty down for that." Gwen shrugged, "But I – I'd understand If you weren't, I mean, I did just… attack you. Eheheh."
"Uh, Maybe, If you're really cool with –"
"As I was saying," Cliff took a few steps forward, cellphone still in hand, "One of those tickets is actually reserved for my cousin – she's also a fan. But she's around your age and goes to your school anyway, so I thought it might be cool if you guys could take her. She just texted, actually, she's on her way now. Consider it a favor to me."
"That sounds… fair." Lloyd said, but found himself biting his bottom lip in uncertainty. Who from Flowerbud High was related to Cliff? It wasn't like he was familiar with the entire grade, but even with this being the case, there was something about this that inspired a vague sense of unease, and couldn't Lloyd shake the feeling that something wicked this way came.
Now, Lloyd wasn't prescient in any way, but everyone knew that when you had these feelings, it was for some kind of reason.
"Sure, why not?"
The door chime over Barley's entrance rang faintly as the door opened and closed, and Cliff started towards the curtained doorway.
"Great! That's great, guys, seriously, thank you! Here, I'll introduce you to her,"
Then there were footsteps, slowly getting louder as Cliff's mysterious cousin made her way to the end of the hallway.
The curtains covering the doorway flew open to unveil a familiar face to all.
"Oh."
"Eh? … Oh! Oh, hey guys!"
"… Hi Karen!"
/Post-Chapter Note: Just a few things I wanted to mention: Lanna Royce is indeed the same Lanna from Island of Happiness/Sunshine Islands. She will be making a brief cameo in the chapters to come, much like Romana did so long ago. As for Gwen punching Lloyd – it might have seemed a bit out of the blue, but, if you've played Hero of Leaf Valley (which is beyond awesome and I definitely recommend it), you'll see that it's pretty in-character for her. Let me put it this way – I doubt I'll be leaving my chicken out in the rain again after that event. Also, Lloyd isn't being masochistic, in case anyone's mind was heading in that direction XD
Anyway, there are your two chapters for the year, enjoy! :D
… No, no, I'm just kidding. Now that I've got the momentum again, I'm definitely going to try and get another one out. Thanks again for all the reviews, they're always appreciated and work exceedingly well
at giving me the drive to continue this story. End Post-Chapter Note/
