The next morning, when Judy woke, she stared up at the ceiling and debated how much she wanted to deal with Nick today. After his constant pestering yesterday, she didn't have much patience left for the fox. Her reluctance didn't last long, however, as she soon forced herself out of bed. "Better to just get this over with," she muttered, rifling through her closet for something to wear. Most of her clothes were dirty, piled up in one corner of the room – she hadn't been able to get them to a laundromat yet, and all the washing machines available here were either far too large or far too small.
Settling on a pink plaid shirt and blue jeans, an outfit she rememered fondly from her parents' farm, she stepped from her room and made her way to the kitchen. Nick was nowhere in sight, unlike yesterday, leaving the rabbit to search the fridge for anything she could have as a breakfast. She settled on a simple bagel – plain, no cream cheese, as it was either out of her view or they didn't have any. With a stifled sigh, she began wandering the halls after her quick meal.
She had no real destination, though her feet did bring her in the direction of Nick's room. It was a bit odd that he hadn't gotten up yet, if he had work. Or in the very least, that the two hadn't run into one another yet. She stared at the door to the fox's room for a few moments, before knocking on it absentmindedly. When there was no response, she knocked again, until a groan of clear irritation sounded from the other side – well, at least she had found Nick.
Seconds later, the door was torn open a few inches, Nick staring at Judy through the crack. His eyes were slightly bloodshot, and he looked exhausted. "What?" he snapped. Judy leaned back, taken aback by his hostility, before setting her face to one of equal annoyance.
"Don't you have work? It's nearly nine in the morning!" She asked.
"I do have work. But I don't go there until noon," Nick sighed. He leaned back and ran a paw over his face, growling as he shook his head. "I was trying to get another few hours of sleep."
"Well you could've told me," Judy replied. "I would've left you alone then."
"Why didn't you just wait in the first place?" Nick hissed. He let out another groan as he rubbed his eyes. "Fine. Whatever, I'm awake now. I'll be out in a few minutes." Without waiting for a response, the fox shut the door in Judy's face. The rabbit stared at it, quietly trying to keep herself from losing her temper again, before gritting her teeth and walking away. She didn't pay attention to where she went, as long as it was away from that spiteful red-furred irritant.
Not long after, Judy found herself before the door of her only real 'friend' in the Big family: Fru-Fru's. The door itself was small, so small that Judy would have to re-enact her slide from the Weaselton chase to get in, and she was certain that doing so would ruin the room inside. So instead, she settled on tapping it with a single finger, sitting down in front of the door as she waited for the small shrew to answer. When Fru-Fru did open the door, she gasped in delight at seeing Judy – likely a result of the two being so busy they hadn't seen one another all month.
"Judy! Oh, I missed you!" the shrew exclaimed, face beaming in happiness. Judy let out a small laugh as the smaller mammal rushed forward and did her best to hug the rabbit, and Judy carefully did the same.
"It's good to see you too," she said.
Fru-Fru let out a small giggle, before gasping and looking down at her outfit. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I wasn't done getting ready for today! I look like a mess..."
Judy looked over the shrew's outfit: a simple green dress with slightly darker green hearts dotted around it, and an even darker green ribbon tied at the waist. "I think you look great," Judy said, offering a smile.
"Aw.. Thank you," Fru-Fru said, grinning despite the lack of conviction in her voice. "Oh, but you're not here to tell me how I look. What's going on? You don't normally just show up here, though I do like the company."
Judy let out a sigh. "Your dad has decided to have me and Nick stick together for a while, and..." She let out another, more frustrated sigh. "He's just... Such a... Such a jerk, you know?"
"Oh, sweetie, he's like that with everyone." Fru-Fru reached out and set a paw on Judy's leg reasurringly. "Especially in the beginning. But, he grows on you after a while."
"Normally I'd share your optimism," Judy admitted. "But ever since we first met, he's been nothing but-"
"A butt?" Fru-Fru suggested with a giggle. "That's who he is."
"Does he have to be like that?" Judy asked. She did manage a smile at Fru-Fru's comment, though.
"Well, if he wasn't, he wouldn't be him," Fru-Fru said. "Trust me, though, if you can tough him out long enough, you'll start to like him. Or at least, not want to strangle him. But until then, try to not hurt him? My daddy kind of likes having him around."
Judy chuckled at that. "I'll try, but no promises."
"Judy," Fru-Fru said, staring at the rabbit sternly before giggling. "I have to go get ready now, sweetie. But come see me again tomorrow, maybe we can have a girl's day out?"
"I think I need one of those," Judy laughed, giving a full smile to the shrew. "Thanks, Fru-Fru. I'll talk to you again soon."
With a quick wave, the shrew disappeared back into her room, leaving a much happier Judy to pick herself up off the floor and begin making her way back towards Nick's room. Fru-Fru had a point, Judy had to at least give Nick a chance. After all, the majority of her time spent around him was in silent hostility. She had only really spent two days with him so far – that was nothing to judge him off of. No, she needed to give him a chance. If nothing else, to try and figure out how to avoid killing him.
That would be bad.