Chapter 2: The Race
As Nick walked out into the yard he could feel the hot rays of the sun warming the ground all too much. There wasn't a patch of cloud in the sky, it was a clear blue sky promising that this kind of weather would continue until the end of the day, so the fox expected the temperature to stay high until the evening or night. The only natural defence against this tropical warm atmosphere was just a light, cold, refreshing breeze that, fluttering against Nick's shirt, produced a pleasant breeze across the man's body.
Before Nick crossed the street to enter the Finnick property, the man looked curiously at the house that was for sale. To his surprise the "For Sale" sign was not there!
"And yet someone has bought this house...fascinating" thought Nick with fascination. On the one hand he was curious as to who could have bought such a house. It was big, nice, the neighbourhood was quite interesting, quiet, one of the better listings of houses for sale that current in the area. On the other hand, he recalled his morning thought about the other neighbour. If his thoughts are confirmed, he will have to change his residence.
After a brief thought, Nick moved on, crossing the street he saw Jasmine, Finnick's neighbour, who was one of the first people to report excessive noise emanating from Finnick's house during the night races. She stopped Nick a foot away from the entrance to the Finnick property.
'Are you going to Finnick's again to watch those dastardly races of yours? Asked the girl with irritation.
"Me? No, I'm going to meet him...just like that" tried to disavow Nick laughing nervously, but Jasmine's sharp gaze wandered to Nick's bag, which the fox goes to Finnick's with when they watch the races.
"Okay, I know you go to watch the races. You go with that goodness to him every time you do" replied the girl pointing to the bag.
"We'll be quiet, we won't be heard" replied Nick piteously. Jasmine laughed quietly then walked away from Nick busying herself with other things than paying attention to Nick.
After a brief conversation with the woman, Nick stood at the white door of Finnick's house. He used the doorbell to get her attention. After that brief exchange of words, Nick felt a little rattled, but he didn't want to ruin his mood; the only thing that mattered that afternoon was the race. Moments later, the door was opened by a medium-sized fox, who laughed quietly already at the entrance, which slightly embarrassed Nick, who confusedly entered his friend's house.
"Has Jasmine managed to point out our meetings to you yet?" Finnick asked, to which Nick growled quietly nodding with a movement of his head. He felt even more embarrassed, he was sure that most of the neighbours already knew what was going on at Finnick's house in Suzanne's absence.
"Well, it seems that everyone in the neighbourhood knows what we do on Sunday at noon" replied Nick ironically. He made his way to the lounge where snacks, drinks and other types of food that could be consumed during the race were already prepared. All this was on a glass table that was between the couch and the TV hanging on the wall so that he could see everything clearly. The couch was used by two gentlemen who were able to sit comfortably on it and watch their favourite sport with grace.
"You didn't need to bring so much food, you already did that a week ago" remarked Finnick seeing the contents of Nick's bag.
"Come on, you know I want to repay your hospitality somehow" replied Nick. He stretched out comfortably on the couch and then took the remote into his paws to turn up the sound, the intro was already starting.
"You know turning it up isn't the best option? Remember what happened once during a night race" Finnick pointed out as he sat down next to Nick.
"Don't talk nonsense, by the way nothing else matters but that Chris wins"
"Adam" corrected Finnick.
"Oh, shut up and watch" laughed Nick. He opened a bottle of wine, then poured some alcohol into a glass for himself and Finnick.
"With two laps to go, the two main contenders for the world championship have been fighting fiercely since the start of the competition, nothing changes! We're on lap 69, just about to start the penultimate lap of this exciting race!"
The voice of the commentators commenting on this race was as tense at the moment as those of Nick and Finnick, who had to watch the spectacle standing up for the entire last 5 laps because they could not stand the tension of the emotions. The fight to the end had both men elbowing each other, shouting their idol's name louder and louder, forgetting what had happened once they had shouted so loudly causing noise in the area. These emotions, however, allowed them to forget their previous worries and watch the competition with full concentration, it was something beautiful. However, everything had to come to an abrupt end when Finnick heard the sound of a car door closing, it was Suzanne. He quickly calmed down and poked Nick with his elbow to keep him quiet.
"Suzanne's back! Hurry, you have to leave somehow!" Communicated Finnick quickly while looking around for a possible escape route for his mate. He himself looked around for an emergency exit, but there was no way out other than the door. The situation was even more tense at the moment, not only was the end of the race exciting, but Suzanne might get even more excited when she saw Nick in their flat!
"Hurry, get out the window and get that bag" Finnick communicated, pointing to the window, which was a few inches from the TV. Nick nodded with a motion of his head, then grabbed his already empty bag. He opened the window quickly and jumped out of it, hiding underneath it, but lifted his head all the way up to the sill so he could hear the voice of the commentators, who were loud and clear from the backyard. Despite the risk, he did not want to miss the official verdict of the race. Finnick, meanwhile, was trying to quickly hide the "evidence of the crime". Before Suzanne had time to unpack the groceries, the fox had managed to put the goblets in the dishwasher, the bottle of wine in the liquor cabinet, and the rest of the snack papers thrown for Nick outside the window to make everything look reasonably clean and tidy. Or at least so that the woman wouldn't expect Nick to have been here.
"Honey, I'm back!" A girl called out from the hallway.
"Hi honey," replied Finnick as he quickly settled himself on the couch trying to be interested in watching the race. Although he was doing so, out of the corner of his eye he was looking for any details that might give away that Nick was here. The woman after putting the groceries away in the kitchen went to the living room where she saw her boyfriend watching the race, she sighed heavily but nonetheless sat down next to him putting her head on his shoulder watching, or at least trying to watch along with him.
"I hope Nick wasn't there, you remember our deal" the girl said quietly, Finnick nodded with a motion of his head laughing quietly.
"I remember, Nick is sitting in his house watching"
"And that's fine. I like him, but when you watch those races together you go crazy too much" Suzanne countered.
"We're going too crazy. You're the one who's too stiff," Nick said quietly. From his position he could overhear both the voices on the TV and the couple sitting in front of him. Finnick wasn't really listening to her words though, he was concentrating on what was happening on the screen, and it was happening a lot.
"The last lap of the race, Chris Bolt is in the lead but turn 5, at this turn you can attack and Adam does it! Adam divebombs Chris and it's him who comes out in the lead! Four corners to go, but it looks like Adam is going to win it! Turn 6, it's going to be hard to attack here, Chris tries, he knows it could be his last chance, but he's already too far away! Adam takes it easy into the next few corners, Chris can already see he's resigned and it's finally Adam Speed who wins the Brazilian GP! What a phenomenal race! What a phenomenal finish!"
"Shit!" Nick's growl sounded from under the window, which drew the attention of Suzanne, who, not really listening to the loud words of the commentator, heard a familiar male voice.
"What was that? Was that Nick?" Suzanne asked, rising abruptly from the couch.
"Nick, you fool!" Thought Finnick in his head. It was too late for any reaction. Suzanne looked out of the window and although she didn't initially manage to see Nick's posture, his reddish lush tail gave away his location.
"Good morning Nick. Why are you hiding out here?" Suzanne asked ironically. Nick rose from his knees and with a blank face met the girl's stern gaze. Nick's face alone indicated many feelings such as; Astonishment, embarrassment, confusion. He glanced at his friend, who was standing behind his girlfriend, who was all fuming, and showed by gesticulating with his hands that he should remain calm, although he himself looked as if he was about to faint. Suzanne herself was staring at Nick with flames in her eyes, which added to Nick's anxiety.
"I meant to say that you have nice flowers " replied Nick jokingly trying to reassure Suzanne, but her stern gaze became even more stern.
"Whose idea was that?" The girl asked.
"Mine. But we were quiet, no one complained," replied Nick. The girl shifted her gaze to Finnick, who obediently nodded with a motion of his head. The girl exchanged glances with Nick and Finnick for a few moments not knowing what to say. The men themselves also did not speak so as not to risk upsetting her. After a moment she sighed heavily letting go of her combative and fiery gaze.
"Alright, so be it. But go now please Nick, meet me tomorrow on the town or something" Suzanne replied more calmly.
"Okay, see you later, I'll call Finnick" replied Nick, then said goodbye to his friend through the window.
In connection with yesterday's 6th anniversary of Zootopia, I wish you all a pleasant reading of FanFiction;)