Hello, readers! Your cries have not gone unanswered! Your pleas did not fall on deaf ears!

Behold the moment you have all been waiting for! The suspense, the agony and the oh so delicious anticipation is beginning to draw to a close!

Can you all support my *Insert Generic Online Fundraiser*?

Just kidding, I have none. And even if I did, I'd feel absolutely guilty getting anything from it.
Now, as for the real news, you'll see it within this chapter, so I hope you all enjoy!

Thank you for reading!
-RollieMcFly27

The following morning was accompanied by what seemed to be a raincloud over Goofy's head.

One could argue that he would probably be in a great mood considering the same dream he had two days in a row, but that's the thing with good dreams... they usually make reality more depressing and disappointing than they actually are.
It was fine the first night he had it, but somehow, the second time seemed even worse, it was like he could actually feel her, see her and even hear her as they flew across the night sky together in each other's embrace.

But it was all over... all that was left was him in a bed much too large for just one person.

After staring at the ceiling for what seemed like hours, Goofy got up out of bed to do the usual morning routine. He knew Max must've already left for school, but it didn't stop him from checking his room anyway.
Armed with a toothbrush in his mouth, Goofy opened the door to see a messy room and an unmade bed, typical of growing teenagers to be careless with their messes.
But Goofy wasn't thinking about the messes, he was instead staring at the emptiness of the room...

It was almost hard to believe that the day in which Max would leave was getting close with each day and that thought terrified Goofy.

He walked back to the bathroom to rinse his mouth and throw some water on his face. As he did so, he looked at himself in the mirror and just had to ask... what was wrong with him these days? He was hardly ever bummed out like this.
The reflection in the mirror stared back and Goofy noticed he was looking as bad as he felt with bags under his eyes, his bits of hair on his head were crooked and he could see a few spots of hair beginning to form a shadow on his muzzle.

He had definitely seen better days, there was no doubt about that.
Goofy decided what he needed was to shower and have breakfast, maybe he just needed a little boost, and he would be okay.

It felt like it was simply another day, another dollar as Goofy couldn't remember the last time he arrived to work and wasn't excited for what the events of the day would bring, he was always looking forward to every day. It certainly didn't help that the house felt so empty without Max or anyone else in it, not even trying to whistle a tune as he prepared buttered toast with jam and eggs, not that he felt it would do anything to lighten the day and how he felt.

He felt groggy as he set up the camera and backdrops, he sighed as he realized he really wasn't in the mood for this today and it shocked him somehow.

What had happened to him?

Goofy tried to figure it out as he turned on the lights in the studio and even fixed that one annoying flickering fixture like it was second nature to him. He really needed to get those lights looked at, but he also needed to get out of this spunk he was in...

But, most of all, he needed to check his appointment book and see who was coming in today.

Goofy had made a good call with stopping by the food court before opening the studio, the nice old lady in the café was happy to whip him up a cup of joe and even asked him if he was alright. He had played it off then, saying that he would probably get over it... and for the sake of his job, he hoped he would.
He looked over names in the appointment book as he took sips from his coffee, it seemed there were 3 appointments today, a couple of families and who knew how many walk-ins since he would usually get calls from people asking if they needed appointments, which they didn't, but if they wanted priority, they would have to book an appointment, that's how the rules went.

"Well, a busy day means your life has meaning," he recounted Grandma Goof's quote over a hundred times in the jobs he worked right before he started them, it was tradition at this point and he feared that if he missed saying it even once, he would jinx it.

Still not feeling at his best, Goofy took another sip of his coffee and decided to just get on with it as he couldn't just wait around for himself to feel better before starting. He had a job to do today.

He checked the clock and after noticing it was almost 8:00, went off to pull up the storefront shutters that covered the entrance to the studio and put out some cardboard signs to let everyone know it was open. He yawned and slowly blinked his tired eyes as he walked past the counter and into the darkened lobby, usually saving the lobby lights for last before proceeding to his place behind the counter to wait the customers that the day would bring.

It was a simple job, what wasn't there to love about it, he thought.

But, as he opened the shutters like he always had, it never occurred to the man that there was someone standing in front of him in plain sight as he routinely made sure the shutter locks where in place, the dust and dirt was swept off to the side and the first few signs were placed up.
The person watched him with some interest as they waited for Goofy to notice they were right behind him.

When it seemed like he wasn't going to make the first move, they decided they would.

"Good mooornin', mister! Is this here the Bronston Law Office?" The chirp, southern drawled voice perked Goofy's ears, he jumped and spilled last of his hot coffee all over himself.
"YEEOWWCH!" He howled and began to shake his shirt, hoping to keep any hot liquid from touching his skin.
"Oh, my goodness! I'm so sorry! Here, let me help you!" Came the southern drawl again as the person came forward with a handkerchief and only then, did Goofy get a good look at them.

And, boy, was that what the doctor ordered.

The person standing in front of him was a female cow, literally speaking an actual female cow, who was sporting a sky-blue button up shirt with a royal blue satin skirt. She also wore heels and a bow that matched her attire which made her ruby red lipstick lips stand out all the more, but what Goofy noticed the most was her charming eyes and striking muzzle. At that moment, it seemed like time began to slow down, the world seemed to disappear around them until it was just him and her, standing in a pink-like world with a soft angelic choir praising the heavens above of a match made by theirs truly.

By, golly, she was the most beautiful person he had ever laid eyes on.

"...ello? I said, are you okay?" Her voice faded in and brought Goofy back to reality.
"Huh, what?" He replied, shaking his head to ward off the fantasy land long enough to talk.

"Your shirt, it's ruined. I'm so sorry-here, let me give you some change to buy a new one!" The beautiful cow's voice seemed to dance around Goofy's head, bringing him back into a trance, but he fought to keep from melting to the floor.
"N-N-No! It's okay! I've gotta few spares, it's okay! A-hyuck!" Goofy stuttered as he pointed to the back and smiled nervously.

"Are ya sure? It wouldn't be any trouble," the woman genuinely looked sad, but it didn't seem to make her any less beautiful to the Goof scratching his head.

"Yeah! I'm sure! Just a lovely face- I mean, lovely day, miss!" Goofy could feel blood rush to his cheeks and was forced to look away.
Since when was this a thing for him? He couldn't even recall the last time he had been so flustered.

No, that one birthday party for Max did not count, he decided.

"Well, I'm terribly sorry. I... I must've gotten the wrong place," the lady said sullenly as she looked behind Goofy and realized that she was standing in front of what was most definitely a photo studio and as far from a law office as you could see.
"W-Well, ya see... Um, I think th-that would be the place over-over there!" Goofy blush only seemed to grow as he tripped on his words, but he pointed over to the shop on the other side of the walkway where his studio was, where there was someone beginning to open it up for the day too.

"Oh, my goodness! Thank you so much! Again, I'm really sorry," she replied, thanking him before running across the walkway and speaking with the man dressed just as professionally as her.
Goofy couldn't hear what they were saying, but he sighed happily and contented as he watched the cow woman walk into the offices and out of sight. He didn't even seem to mind as he went into the back storage room to change into a new shirt, realizing the only one he had left was an orange floral shirt left over from the beginning of summer and it definitely didn't seem to fit in with the current season.
But all Goofy could think about was how beautiful that cow woman was, the way her eyes fluttered and how soothing and warm her voice sounded.

He let out another happy sigh, his previously bad day was suddenly turned into a good one.

The morning had come and gone without incident, Goofy took care of one of the clients and the other was rescheduled for after lunch.

Throughout the entire morning, he kept thinking of the beautiful angel he saw this morning, it was like he couldn't get her out of his mind or keep her voice out of his ears, it was like she descended down from heaven.

He was still having those thoughts as he picked up some boxes that were supposed to go to the garbage bins outside. They weren't heavy, but they were stacked high to the point where Goofy had to keep his balance and walk sideways just to see where he was going.

With a single foot, he put the sheeting back over the entrance to the studio and swapped the sign showing that he would be back in an hour, his movements like that of a person who had been doing it for years.

Satisfied with the result, Goofy went off with a small whistle and a spring in his step, seemingly in a very cheerful mood.

His heart soared and he felt like singing as he danced with the unstable tower of boxes leaning back and forth, threatening to fall.
Mall shoppers were frightened by the spectacle and made a point to move out of the way, which Goofy hadn't noticed for even a second as he danced happily within fantasy land where angels sang of love, and nothing ever seemed to go wrong.

He was nearing the entrance to outside where the dumpsters were but happened to pass by the food court. He was nearly halfway there when he noticed the angel was standing not too far from where he was, she was ordering something from one of the many food establishments that the mall had to offer. But gawrsh darn, she looked so strikingly beautiful, he thought to himself as he could now get a good look at her without being afraid of her making him into a sputtering motor of a mess. The angels singing had returned, but they strangely got even louder and louder until it became shouting and the next thing Goofy knew, he was flying through the air with a bunch of boxes splitting up and taking each direction.

When he came to, he realized where the yelling was coming from.

A short little beaver dressed in a janitor's uniform was yelling at him for walking across the wet floor and now making a huge mess, since all of the boxes he had scattered across the floor along with any trash or packing peanuts they had within them.

"HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, YOU TWIP!" Yelled the man who was the one that had mopped the floor just now. His voice snapped Goofy out of his trance, making him turn his head to get a huge dose of yelling point blank at his face.
"NOW LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE! I'M GONNA HAVE TO MOP ALL OVER AGAIN! AGAIN, I SAY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING! I DON'T BUST MYSELF 8 HOURS A DAY FOR THIS!" While the beaver had a lot of fur surrounding his face, Goofy could tell he was red-faced.

Goofy was dazed by the ferocity of the yelling but shook his head and began to apologize.
"Gawrsh, Mr. Janitor, sir. I'm awful sorry 'bout this, I'll clean up."

"WELL, YA BETTER! OR I MIGHT JUST MAKE YOU DO THE MOPPING!" The little man definitely had a heavy set of pipes for a person of his stature, it was enough to make a normal person shrivel at the level of volume he was using.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Another voice came to his rescue, this one sounded much nicer than the one that was at Goofy's face.
Both Goofy and the janitor turned their attention to where it came from and Goofy began to blush as his heart raced and the collar of his shirt flapped. The beautiful angel was making her way over, looking like she meant business.

"Hey! Keep out of this, girlie! This is between me and him!" The janitor turned to face her and looked ready to fight despite the woman being three times his size.

"Well, now that isn't possible, ain't it? I saw what happened and it was clearly an accident," her brow was furrowed as she placed her fists on her hips and leaned forward as if to demonstrate her taller size. Goofy began to gaze at her dreamily, hearts just floating out of his head. She was even more beautiful up close, he thought, her eyelashes fluttered whenever she blinked.

"Accidents, schmaccidents, that don't matter! What matters is that he wasn't WATCHING where HE was going and now look it! HE MADE A MESS HERE AND I JUST CLEANED UP!" The angry beaver man threw his mop aside in a rage and stood in a way as if daring the woman to try and fight him, which worried some people that were unfortunate enough to be witnesses. Some even went to go call security.

"It wasn't entirely his fault there, mister! He probably wouldn't have fallen if he had seen the wet floor sign!" The cow shot back and crossed her arms, she wasn't backing down, not one bit.

At hearing this, the janitor began to sputter and grow even more red-faced.
"WH-WH-WHAT DO YOU MEAN "IF HE HAD SEEN THE WET FLOOR SIGN?! ARE YOU STUPID?! I PUT ONE RIGHT OVER THERE! RIGHT WHERE ANYONE WITH HALF A BRAIN CAN SEE IT!" He pointed in a direction behind her with red flaring pupils in his eyes.

Goofy winced at not only the volume, but the harshness and tone of voice. He felt sorry for the woman for having her stand up for him, especially since this was his problem and not hers. As he tried to unsuccessfully get up, he looked over at her and partially expected her to cry. Why wouldn't anyone after being yelled at in such a way?

But, instead, he saw her smirk and simply replied with a much calmer voice.

"Then, where is it? I didn't see one."

"WHAT ARE YOU, BLIND?! IT'S RIGHT OVER...!"

The beaver shot his face over to where a sign was supposed to be but saw that there wasn't one. The woman stayed standing still with her arms crossed, now that she had the upper hand in this.

The janitor walked over to the spot, sputtering.
"B... But! I PUT ONE RIGHT... WHO TOOK IT?!" He practically screamed to the people in the mostly empty food court, the remaining ones began to retreat away, not wanting to be a part of this fiasco.

"Well, mister? Where is it?" The woman spoke, this time with a hint of smugness in her voice.

She had him beat, nothing could save him now.

The janitor grumbled and grinded his teeth.
"Stupid... stupid kids, stealin' my signs... don't they got anything better to do...? If I had... why I ought to.."

"My point is, if he is seriously hurt, he could sue you, you know."

That final line brought forth silence quite unlike the now empty food court. Any anger the janitor had just faded away as he realized she was right, he was already scrubbing the bottom of the barrel with this job and didn't need to dig any deeper, he had to keep himself together for his family's sake.

Swallowing his huge pride, he walked right over to where Goofy was and tried to help him up carefully as to not make him slip again. The woman walked over to help him up too.

"I'm-I'm really... really sorry, son... tell me, are ya hurt?" He seemed to almost be pleading with Goofy in a softer voice, which confused the man and left him unsure how to respond until his brain kicked back in.
"Y-Yes-I mean-NO! I'm... I'm okay, mister janitor, really! Just a little lousy bump. A-hyuck!" Goofy laughed it off out of nervousness for both the situation and especially since the pretty gal had both of her hands on either side of his torso as if she was afraid, he would fall.

"Okay, I'm sorry for yelling. I'm just really... well... never mind that. Just stay away from here for now, I'll be back to help you with the boxes if you want, I'm going to go get another sign..." The janitor now looked pitiful and anxious as he moved both Goofy and the cow woman away from the area and picked up his mop before heading over to where it seemed security officers were arriving to investigate the disturbance.

Neither Goofy or the woman said a word as they watched the beaver explain the situation and they all walked off, probably to get another sign.

The woman broke the silence by letting out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, which only made Goofy's heart jump when he realized she was still here. He turned around and saw her beginning to pick up the boxes.
"W-Wait! Hold on a second, you don't hafta, miss, this is my mess." Goofy felt guilty, she had already helped him out of a jam and now she was picking up his mess without him even asking her to.

"I know I don't have to, but I want to. It's the least I can do," she smiled and looked at him in a way that made Goofy melt. Good gravy, the power she had over him was unreal.
Goofy didn't reply right away, opting to pick up the boxes too as a way to distract himself from his flushing cheeks.
They continued to pick up the boxes in silence until Goofy spoke.
"Um... that was an awfully brave thing fer you to do, miss."

"Well... he had no right to be yelling at you over that, accident or not."

"I guess not."
The conversation ended there as they continued to pick up the mess, each working with their backs to each other right up until they both reached for the last box at the same time and a loud bump could be heard.

"Douff!"
"Ow!"

They ended up bumping heads together. After clearing some pain, their eyes both met at the same time and the woman couldn't help but laugh at the situation as she rubbed her forehead, which made Goofy relax a little and laugh along too.

"Sorry 'bout that, miss, lemme jus-"

"No, no, I got-"

"Goww!"
"Moooof!"

Their eyes met once more as even more laughing and apologies ensued, but it definitely helped to break the ice a little and ease the tension in the air between two strangers. The woman let Goofy grab the last box and they both walked to the entrance together. Upon arriving, Goofy opened the door for the cow woman in a gentlemanly fashion, which she accepted with a giggle.

"So, um... gawrsh, miss, I didn't catch yer name." Goofy spoke in genuine curiosity as they each walked to the dumpster.

"Oh! My goodness, I thought I had introduced myself! My name's Clarabelle. How about yours?"

"The name's Goofy! A-hyuck! Your name's awfully pretty, Miss Clarabelle."

"Aww, thank you! Yours too! Er, I mean, not pretty! I mean it's strange- I mean. It's... interesting!" Clarabelle sputtered and flushed as they arrived, she decided to just focus on throwing the boxes in. Goofy laughed and followed suit with his own boxes.
He wasn't sure why, but now he felt a lot more comfortable with Clarabelle, maybe it was because he now knew her name?

They both walked back in an awkward silence, neither were saying something to the other or even looking in each other's general direction.
If they did, they both ended up meeting each other's eyes again, which only made them more flushed.

Goofy opened the door again like a gentleman and Clarabelle accepted it again, but more sheepishly this time. It wasn't until they were close to the food court when she stopped and turned to face him.
"So, I guess that's that. Are you sure you're, okay?" She said simply, not sure what else to say.

"A-hyuck, I guess so," Goofy chuckled in reply.

"Well, I guess I'll see you around?"

"Yup, I guess we will."

Both nervously chuckled at their interaction, but Clarabelle made the first move and began walking away.

"H-Hey! It was nice meeting you, Clarabelle!" Goofy called out, raising an arm. He wasn't quite sure why he needed to say that, perhaps it was the fact that he felt like their parting wasn't quite on friendly terms.

Regardless, Clarabelle stopped and turned to look at him.
"Oh, yes, it was great to meet ya, Goofy!" She called back, putting on her best smile and waved.

"I don't suppose we can meet up again sometime!"

"Maybe we can! I'll see you later!"

Goofy sighed and his wave diminished to a simple hand in the air.

He felt so incredibly wonderful, his heart was glowing abundantly, and his mind was drawing a complete blank. Goofy couldn't remember the last time he felt this way, like his heart was going to pop right out of his chest.
"Clarabelle..." he whispered to himself, the sound of her name made him feel warm and fuzzy.

He stifled a laugh and began going to the food court to eat the lunch he had packed.

Clarabelle, on the other hand, speed-walked past her work and into a random hallway, hoping Goofy didn't see her... or worse, followed her.

She couldn't believe herself; she just couldn't believe what just happened.
Everything was great up until the point she started helping him pick up the boxes, she found herself messing up and fumbling over her own words. What was worse was that the guy was actually *cute* in a way that she liked.

"Come on, old gal, pull yourself together. Imagine you getting this upset over a man," she argued with herself. She was Clarabelle Cow, once a popular gossip queen and had a lot of guys at her beck and call. She didn't go weak at the knees when a cute someone walked by, she was the one that would make three guys plead for her to date them at the same time.

At least, that was before him.

Clarabelle winced, she refused to think about that particular guy, he was history.
She took a deep breath and decided she would forget about it, maybe he didn't like her in any way, and he was just appreciative of what she did.

Yeah, that was it, she thought, they were just being friendly and nothing more.
For a girl like Clarabelle, it was easier to believe the negatives before jumping to the positives, it made the world a whole lot more tolerable... and far less disappointing.

She got up and went back to work, deciding to skip lunch, not just because she didn't want to risk going back and running into him again.

It was mostly because the butterflies in her stomach weren't leaving her alone.

When Goofy got back home, it was like he was reborn.

He whistled and cheered, turned on the radio to a station of his favorite kind of disco music. He felt great, like he was right back to his old self again, cheerful and a positive force to be reckoned with. He felt like he could take on the world!

But the most he could do was take on the house chores, which were beginning to pile up.
He danced along to the radio as he ran the vacuum cleaner in the living room, the duster in the hallway, folding clothes in the laundry room and finally while he was washing the dishes left over from that morning.

Goofy stopped in the middle of cleaning to check the clock. Max would be home soon, and he would probably be hungry for some dinner.
"Well, I'd better hop to it! A-hyuck!" He hooted as he practically waltzed into the pantry, grabbed an armful of supplies and began preparing a load of the BeefSteak Helper that was Max's favorite.
He brought the radio into the kitchen a while later and put on a floral apron, his mood at an all-time high, it was like nothing could bring him down.

Max came home a little while later and upon entering the house, he was greeted with loud music, which was something that hadn't happened in a while.
Following the sound with confusion, Max peeked into the kitchen and saw his dad dancing while cooking something on the stove.

Ah, that'd explain it, he thought to himself.
It was more believable than funky burglars breakdancing and entering their house, but one never knew.

Max decided to step back before his dad made him join in. And with the outdated music and bad dancing, he felt like that was enough for him for today, even though he just got home.

But right as he was going up the stairs, he smelled the BeefSteak Helper.
The wonderful aroma made his mouth water and his stomach growl. He definitely hadn't expected his dad to cook him his favorite today, which was usually reserved for when he was sad, or he did something worth celebrating.
Max knew for a fact that he felt fine and that he didn't remember doing anything worthy of a celebration recently... so why was his dad cooking his favorite?

After thinking about it for a while, Max simply shrugged and decided he would come down to the kitchen to eat later.

As hungry as he was, no amount of food was going to make him come down there until the music and dancing had finished.

His stomach growled again, and Max groaned.

Just had to hold it in there a while longer.

Thank you for reading, I hope to see you all again soon!

If you'd like, let me know what you think of the story by leaving a review. I'm going to be honest, the only piece of Goof Troop media I ever watched was "The Extremely Goofy Movie", so I'm mostly going into this blind with whatever study I could gather.
Clarabelle's character was definitely a tough one to crack as the big mouse treats her as mostly a meaningless side character and they never gave her much of a personality beyond being a huge gossiper. There is the clubhouse series, but it's a little difficult to determine just how canon that series is to the characters' personalities.

Regardless, here I am. Thank you for being here!

Until next chapter!
-RollieMcFly27