I AM SOOOOOOOOO SORRY! I know I've been slacking off lately…I'm sorry. But ff.net's been down and I've been busy, add a pinch of Writer's Block and you've got the perfect excuse. SORRY! Here we go with number 5. Whee!
Disclaimer: they're back there.
Only Second Best
Chapter 5
"Dive, normally when bad guys have bombs, it's usually not a good idea to attack them head-on like that," said Wildwing. He pulled up to the Pond.
"YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN YOURSELF KILLED!" shouted Mallory.
"Yea yea yea, and then you would have rejoiced…" said Nosedive angrily, unbuckling his seatbelt. The seatbelt in back. Canard claimed the front seat both times. Dive's seat. He headed down a hallway.
"Dive…" Wildwing said.
"Just let him go," said Canard. "He needs to sulk awhile."
"I just don't understand…" Wing said, taking off the Mask. Ever since Canard came back, he wore it less and less.
"He's just mad 'cuz he did something stupid and now he's getting yelled at for it. He'll be fine," Canard said, leaving the room.
Wildwing couldn't find anything to say.
Nosedive entered his room and locked the door behind him. 'Who does he think he is?' he thought angrily. Dive wouldn't admit it, but he really wasn't happy to see Canard. Granted, Dive didn't him to go into Limbo either, but he got over it. Dive and Canard had never gotten along well. But naïve Wildwing never figured that out. 'Poor sap' Dive thought.
He plopped onto his couch. He didn't have many fond memories of Canard. 'Who could like that guy? Besides Wing…'
Dive rolled over. He thought back to the battle earlier. "Ok, so it wasn't the smartest move in the world. But it did by us time for Tanya to re-wire the detonation panel. It worked, but does anyone realize that? Nooo…let's just yell at Dive…it's more fun that way…" He knew what he was doing. It's not like he was jumping in head first without a clue.
He got up to search for food.
"…I love you…you love me…we're a happy family…"
Duke glanced over to Mallory. "Why do these kids like that dinosaur so much? I mean, the songs are too corny, and the storyline is tacky…"
"It's a kids' show. Humans don't care about that sort of thing," replied Mallory.
"Oh. Is that how it goes?"
Duke, Mallory, and Canard were sitting in front of the TV. Duke was channel surfing, which made Mallory mad. They somehow landed on Barney. Canard shook his head sadly. 'Humans…'
"Hey, has anyone seen Dive lately?" asked Wildwing.
"The kid went someplace as soon as he got back. Why?" asked Duke.
Wing shrugged. The doors fooshed open and Dive sulked in.
"Hey bro, where've ya been?" asked Wildwing.
"Why do you care?" Dive snapped, and continued on his way. Wing was hurt.
Mallory cleared her throat. "Don't worry, Wildwing. He's just in on of his moods again. It'll blow over."
Wildwing nodded.
"Boobies!" Phil shouted coming through the door. The Ducks tried to hide, but they failed. Well, almost all of them. Canard hadn't gotten used to the Run-when-Phil-enters thing, and Nosedive disappeared again.
"I just realized that I never ran my idea past you guys! That brother of yours kept distracting me. I was thinking that we could…ah…man! I forgot the deal. Stupid Nosedive…" Phil turned around and left.
"Remind me to thank that brother of yours, Wildwing," said Mallory.
A few days slithered by, and tension at the Pond was building. For some Nosedive just grew further and further away from the group. Canard was acting weird, too, but not as weird. Wildwing seemed distracted a lot, and Phil was still trying to remember his publicity stunt.
Mallory was relieved because Nosedive hadn't pulled a prank for a while. Duke was worried. It wasn't like Nosedive. He wasn't nearly as cheerful as usually. He was cold and sarcastic. He snapped at people a lot. Wildwing was worried, too.
Nosedive was sitting alone in the kitchen, staring at the wall. He didn't move when Wildwing entered.
"You shouldn't slouch like that. You'll kill your back," Wing said. Dive just shrugged. Wing walked over and sat down. "Dive…what's wrong?"
Dive shrugged again. He didn't take his eyes off the wall.
Wing sighed. "C'mon Dive, I know something's up…"
"For once…"
"What was that?"
Dive shrugged. "Nothin'." Wildwing looked at his brother. He turned and looked at the wall. Nothing amazing was there.
"Dive, will you just talk to me?" he pleaded. Nosedive took a deep breath.
"I dunno, man," he said. "It's just…it's been crazy around here, y'know? With practice, and Draggy, and Canard…yeesh Phil's been driving me up the wall…and I haven't slept well lately…" Nosedive turned to Wildwing. "It's just pressure. Nothin' to worry 'bout."
Wing was happy that Dive was finally making eye contact. "Well…"
Suddenly the doors fooshed open and Canard strode in. Dive shot him an icy glare, but Canard wasn't paying attention. "Wildwing, Tanya wants some errands run. Some place called Lectric Land…"
"Ok, I'll be right there," Wing said. He expected Canard to leave, but he didn't. 'Crap…' Wildwing stood up. "Let's go. You comin, bro?"
Dive glanced at Wing, then Canard. "Nah. You two go."
Wing raised an eyebrow. "All right…"
Canard started talking, and turned to leave. Wing had no choice but to follow him.
Nosedive watched the doors close. He slammed his palms on the table, pushed back his chair, and left the room.
TO BE CONTINUED…
