Nick drove Judy to his house. Judy couldn't believe she was in a fox's neighborhood. If her parents found out about this...

Judy heard the stories about fox neighborhoods, but she never imagined this. Every house was like a shack, and everything looked old and beat up. There were lots of trees and broken windows.

"This is where you live?" Judy asked.

"Yeah, it may not be the best place to live, but hey, at least I have a roof over my head," Nick said, getting out of his car. He lead Judy to his house, opened the door, and said "Hey, mom, I'm home," when they were inside.

"Hi, Nick. Who's your friend?" his mom asked when she spotted Judy.

"Oh, we're working on a school project together," Nick lied. He took Judy's hand and went straight for his bedroom.

"Oh, Nicholas! Now don't you forget to take out the garbage!" said Nick's mom.

"Uhhg. Okay, mom. Hold on a second, Carrots. Duty calls," said Nick.

Nick took the trash bag from his mom and quickly hurled it out the window as soon as her back was turned. He then turned back to Judy, who stood back in surprise.

"Why work hard when you can work smart, right?" said Nick, shrugging.

Nick's mother turned back around as he started to walk Judy to his bedroom.

"Nicky! Aren't you forgetting something?"

Nick and Judy turned back around to face Nick's mom. In her arms, a raggedy stuffed bunny rabbit.

"I washed Rabbito!"

Nick quickly grabbed the stuffy and hurled it out of the kitchen window.

"Nicky! That's your favorite stuffy! Why the hell would you throw it out the window?!"

Nick took Judy by the hand and started for the door.

"See you later, mom! School stuff, very important!"

"Nicky!" His mom shouted following after. By the time she reached the door Nick and Judy were out of sight. Nick's mom crossed her arms, then noticed that the trash bag had exploded in the front yard and garbage was strewn about everywhere.

"Nicky! Goddammit, when your father gets home-!"

Elsewhere, in a nearby alley, Nick and Judy were heading in the opposite direction. Finally, Judy broke the silence.

"... Rabbito, huh?"

Nick turned on a dime and placed a finger over her lips.

"Not another word," he whispered.

Judy smacked his hand away.

"Struck a nerve, did I, 'Nicky?'"

Nick suddenly picked Judy up like a rag doll and leapt into the shadows behind a pile of discarded boxes.

"Quiet!" Nick hissed.

A few feet away, a large bull marched past, huffing and grumbling. Nick held Judy close. A bit too close. Judy felt self conscious, suddenly aware of her body pressed against the strange fox's. She looked up at him, his ears twitching as he made sure the bull had passed them by and that the coast was clear.

"Ex-boyfriend?" joked Judy.

"Close. That's Amanda's ex boyfriend, Marcus. My guess is they'll be back together now that I'm with you."

Judy felt her heart flutter, but only for a moment. Mostly Nick's overconfidence was infuriating.

"With me? I'm not with any body, Nick, least of all you."

"For now," he shrugged. Judy scowled but followed after him anyway as he made his way out of the alley.

"Stay frosty, Carrots. The bull isn't friendly. If we run into him for real, there could be trouble."

"Trouble seems to be everywhere you go, Nick."

"The same could be said about you, Carrot Cake. So, where do you live, anyway?"

"Me? Why?"

"Cause that's where we're headed. The bull is clearly scoping out my place, and my mom isn't gonna give us space to figure things out. So, tell me, where's your rabbit...nest?"

"You mean bunny burrow?"

"Yeah, sure. Burrow. Lead the way."