A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I have an announcement! As of now, this fic is officially decided to be a four-chapter story. I know I said two or three before, but now I've finished writing it, and it is four chapters. Just thought I'd let you guys know.
AeroShamu: Yeah, this is Hamtaro! What other shows have Stan and Sandy and Hamtaro and Dexter and Howdy and Maxwell? *sighs* Sorry...heh... got a bit carried away. Hope you keep reading though.
devilman2288: Um...that's great and all, but I just wanna know if you like the story or not. Also, one year and 7-8 months ago, Hamtaro wasn't even in America. It came out here in June 2002.
Light Sneasel: Yeah, Stan's acting a little paranoid and out-of-shape. The ham-hams aren't really mean like they were in his dream.
Katy-Chan: Heh, glad ya like it. ^_^ For some reason, when I was reading your "Twirling, Whirling" fic, this idea somehow just kinda...popped up.
Haily-Comet: Yeah, I'm sure we're all feeling pretty bad for Stan right about now. The only bit of romance in here is a tiny bit of H+B. Pashmina IS kinda concerned for Stan, but just as a friend, not as a lover. So relax, it's not an S+P.
infamous: Heh... Hot joint, huh? Never heard that one before. lol. Glad you like it.
PeachyKeen: Wow, heh, sorry I made ya cry. lol.
Aight, folks, here's chapter 2!
Chapter 2: Don't hurt me!!
"Ookwee!" Penelope said.
"Oh, sorry, Penelope, I can't play right now." Pashmina said.
Penelope frowned and sighed. Pashmina couldn't play with her? That was unusual. She walked away from Pashmina and towards Sandy and Maxwell. They were reading a book together, as they usually did.
"Ookwee! Ookwee!" Penelope squealed happily.
"Oh, hello Penelope." Maxwell said.
"Ookwee!"
"Hey, girl! I'm, like, totally sorry, Penelope, but this isn't really the kind of book for little hams like you to read. Maybe when you're a bit older, okay?" Sandy said.
"Ookwee..." Penelope sighed.
"Sorry, Penelope! Like, I'll catch you later, okay?" Sandy called out.
Penelope continued walking. She looked around until Bijou, who was blushing beside Hamtaro, caught her eye.
"Ookwee!"
"Oh, goodness! Hello, Penelope, how are you?" Bijou said.
"Hamha, Penelope!" Hamtaro said.
Bijou bent over to Penelope and whispered in her ear, "Penelope, I am sorry, but I never get to spend much time alone with Hamtaro anymore, so this is very important to me. Can I play with you later?"
Penelope sweatdropped. "Ookwee..."
"Merci beacoup, Penelope! I knew you would understand." Bijou said as she looked at Hamtaro and blushed.
"Heke?"
Penelope stood alone in the middle of the clubhouse. None of the girls wanted to play, and everyone else looked busy. Pashmina and Cappy were helping Panda build a chair. Sandy and Maxwell were reading. Bijou and Hamtaro were, well, "bonding". Boss was keeping a close eye on them. Oxnard was chowing down next to Snoozer, Jingle hadn't been there all day, Dexter and Howdy were arguing again, and Stan--
Aha! Stan wasn't doing anything! She decided to go over to him.
Stan was sitting there, trembling and sweating. He couldn't stop thinking about that terrible dream.
"What if," he thought, "any moment, Boss came up to me and... or Howdy? Or Dexter? Or even...Maxwell?" his bones chattered as he shook even harder. Then, suddenly and unexpectedly, Stan heard a shrill, blood-curdling sound (or at least it was to him)...
"Ookwee! Ookwee!" Penelope cried, jumping up and down.
"Aahh!" Stan cried. He started breathing like mad.
"Ookwee?" Penelope said, tilting her head.
"Heh! S-sorry, Penelope!" he said, falsely grinning, with his paw on the back of his neck. Now he was sweating more than before. Penelope even saw a couple drops fall from his whiskers onto the clubhouse floor. Then Stan stood up, shaking even harder.
"He-hey, look Penelope, I gotta--" Stan stopped himself. He saw the sad look on Penelope's face. She looked almost like she was ready to cry.
"What am I doing?" Stan thought, "I can't let this stupid dream control my entire life... Look at her. She's practically a baby, and I've let this awful dream conquer me and make me fear even her."
"That's it! I've got to get control over myself again! I'm gonna go talk to Sandy about this right now, and NOBODY, not even Penelope, is gonna stop me!" he said. He stood straight up and took one step forward, then froze when he saw who was sitting next to Sandy.
"Eh... Okay. Maybe I'll just pay her a visit in her cage tonight! Heh, like when Maxwell's not around..." he said, plopping right back down in his spot.
"Ookwee?" Penelope said.
Soon enough, Stan had another visitor.
"Yikes!! Err, I mean, uh, Pashmina! Heh, how...nice to see you!"
"Hi Stan. I was wondering, are you okay? Because you've been a bit jumpy for the last few days and--"
Pashmina's words faded. Stan was sweating more and more now. He tried to stifle his heavy breathing, but it felt as if it came naturally. He could feel the fear pulsing through his veins as his heart pumped it through faster and faster. Every beat seemed to echo the sound he had heard whenever Boss, Maxwell, Dexter, or Howdy had pummeled him in his dream.
"Uh...Stan? Hello?" Pashmina said, waving a paw in Stan's face.
"Ahh!" Stan said. He swallowed hard and ran over to the door of the clubhouse. Not a single head in the room went without turning in Stan's direction.
"I'm sorry, ham-hams, but I really need to go home now! I won't bother you anymore, so bye!" he said. Pain crept upon each of the hams' ears when they heard Stan slam the door as loud as he could.
"Ookwee?" Penelope said.
"Oh dear, what happened?" Bijou said.
"I don't know, but it sure didn't sound good!" Hamtaro said.
"Stan must be in trouble!" Boss said.
"What're we gonna do?" Howdy said.
"Ham-hams, stay put! I'll go after him!" Pashmina yelled.
"No, Pashy, like, wait!" Sandy said, lightly tugging Pashmina's shoulder.
"I knew something was wrong. Stan's been acting, like, totally whack all this week! I think I should be the one who talks to him, okay?" Sandy said.
"Okay, Sandy... If you're sure." Pashmina said.
"Sandy, I think all of us ham-hams wanna help Stan! Shouldn't this be something we all do?" Hamtaro asked.
"Look, Hamtaro, I know how we're all totally worried about Stan's outburst. But he's, like, my brother, and I really think it's something that he needs to talk to me about." Sandy said.
"But I wanna help!" Hamtaro cried.
"Oh, Hamtaro..." Bijou said.
"Hamtaro, when it comes to problems like this, the fact is that family just plain knows best." Boss said.
"I don't understand, though!" Hamtaro said.
"Just trust Sandy, alright? That's about all else I can say." Boss continued.
Hamtaro sighed. He wanted so much to help Stan, but accepted that letting Sandy do it was the best choice.
AeroShamu: Yeah, this is Hamtaro! What other shows have Stan and Sandy and Hamtaro and Dexter and Howdy and Maxwell? *sighs* Sorry...heh... got a bit carried away. Hope you keep reading though.
devilman2288: Um...that's great and all, but I just wanna know if you like the story or not. Also, one year and 7-8 months ago, Hamtaro wasn't even in America. It came out here in June 2002.
Light Sneasel: Yeah, Stan's acting a little paranoid and out-of-shape. The ham-hams aren't really mean like they were in his dream.
Katy-Chan: Heh, glad ya like it. ^_^ For some reason, when I was reading your "Twirling, Whirling" fic, this idea somehow just kinda...popped up.
Haily-Comet: Yeah, I'm sure we're all feeling pretty bad for Stan right about now. The only bit of romance in here is a tiny bit of H+B. Pashmina IS kinda concerned for Stan, but just as a friend, not as a lover. So relax, it's not an S+P.
infamous: Heh... Hot joint, huh? Never heard that one before. lol. Glad you like it.
PeachyKeen: Wow, heh, sorry I made ya cry. lol.
Aight, folks, here's chapter 2!
Chapter 2: Don't hurt me!!
"Ookwee!" Penelope said.
"Oh, sorry, Penelope, I can't play right now." Pashmina said.
Penelope frowned and sighed. Pashmina couldn't play with her? That was unusual. She walked away from Pashmina and towards Sandy and Maxwell. They were reading a book together, as they usually did.
"Ookwee! Ookwee!" Penelope squealed happily.
"Oh, hello Penelope." Maxwell said.
"Ookwee!"
"Hey, girl! I'm, like, totally sorry, Penelope, but this isn't really the kind of book for little hams like you to read. Maybe when you're a bit older, okay?" Sandy said.
"Ookwee..." Penelope sighed.
"Sorry, Penelope! Like, I'll catch you later, okay?" Sandy called out.
Penelope continued walking. She looked around until Bijou, who was blushing beside Hamtaro, caught her eye.
"Ookwee!"
"Oh, goodness! Hello, Penelope, how are you?" Bijou said.
"Hamha, Penelope!" Hamtaro said.
Bijou bent over to Penelope and whispered in her ear, "Penelope, I am sorry, but I never get to spend much time alone with Hamtaro anymore, so this is very important to me. Can I play with you later?"
Penelope sweatdropped. "Ookwee..."
"Merci beacoup, Penelope! I knew you would understand." Bijou said as she looked at Hamtaro and blushed.
"Heke?"
Penelope stood alone in the middle of the clubhouse. None of the girls wanted to play, and everyone else looked busy. Pashmina and Cappy were helping Panda build a chair. Sandy and Maxwell were reading. Bijou and Hamtaro were, well, "bonding". Boss was keeping a close eye on them. Oxnard was chowing down next to Snoozer, Jingle hadn't been there all day, Dexter and Howdy were arguing again, and Stan--
Aha! Stan wasn't doing anything! She decided to go over to him.
Stan was sitting there, trembling and sweating. He couldn't stop thinking about that terrible dream.
"What if," he thought, "any moment, Boss came up to me and... or Howdy? Or Dexter? Or even...Maxwell?" his bones chattered as he shook even harder. Then, suddenly and unexpectedly, Stan heard a shrill, blood-curdling sound (or at least it was to him)...
"Ookwee! Ookwee!" Penelope cried, jumping up and down.
"Aahh!" Stan cried. He started breathing like mad.
"Ookwee?" Penelope said, tilting her head.
"Heh! S-sorry, Penelope!" he said, falsely grinning, with his paw on the back of his neck. Now he was sweating more than before. Penelope even saw a couple drops fall from his whiskers onto the clubhouse floor. Then Stan stood up, shaking even harder.
"He-hey, look Penelope, I gotta--" Stan stopped himself. He saw the sad look on Penelope's face. She looked almost like she was ready to cry.
"What am I doing?" Stan thought, "I can't let this stupid dream control my entire life... Look at her. She's practically a baby, and I've let this awful dream conquer me and make me fear even her."
"That's it! I've got to get control over myself again! I'm gonna go talk to Sandy about this right now, and NOBODY, not even Penelope, is gonna stop me!" he said. He stood straight up and took one step forward, then froze when he saw who was sitting next to Sandy.
"Eh... Okay. Maybe I'll just pay her a visit in her cage tonight! Heh, like when Maxwell's not around..." he said, plopping right back down in his spot.
"Ookwee?" Penelope said.
Soon enough, Stan had another visitor.
"Yikes!! Err, I mean, uh, Pashmina! Heh, how...nice to see you!"
"Hi Stan. I was wondering, are you okay? Because you've been a bit jumpy for the last few days and--"
Pashmina's words faded. Stan was sweating more and more now. He tried to stifle his heavy breathing, but it felt as if it came naturally. He could feel the fear pulsing through his veins as his heart pumped it through faster and faster. Every beat seemed to echo the sound he had heard whenever Boss, Maxwell, Dexter, or Howdy had pummeled him in his dream.
"Uh...Stan? Hello?" Pashmina said, waving a paw in Stan's face.
"Ahh!" Stan said. He swallowed hard and ran over to the door of the clubhouse. Not a single head in the room went without turning in Stan's direction.
"I'm sorry, ham-hams, but I really need to go home now! I won't bother you anymore, so bye!" he said. Pain crept upon each of the hams' ears when they heard Stan slam the door as loud as he could.
"Ookwee?" Penelope said.
"Oh dear, what happened?" Bijou said.
"I don't know, but it sure didn't sound good!" Hamtaro said.
"Stan must be in trouble!" Boss said.
"What're we gonna do?" Howdy said.
"Ham-hams, stay put! I'll go after him!" Pashmina yelled.
"No, Pashy, like, wait!" Sandy said, lightly tugging Pashmina's shoulder.
"I knew something was wrong. Stan's been acting, like, totally whack all this week! I think I should be the one who talks to him, okay?" Sandy said.
"Okay, Sandy... If you're sure." Pashmina said.
"Sandy, I think all of us ham-hams wanna help Stan! Shouldn't this be something we all do?" Hamtaro asked.
"Look, Hamtaro, I know how we're all totally worried about Stan's outburst. But he's, like, my brother, and I really think it's something that he needs to talk to me about." Sandy said.
"But I wanna help!" Hamtaro cried.
"Oh, Hamtaro..." Bijou said.
"Hamtaro, when it comes to problems like this, the fact is that family just plain knows best." Boss said.
"I don't understand, though!" Hamtaro said.
"Just trust Sandy, alright? That's about all else I can say." Boss continued.
Hamtaro sighed. He wanted so much to help Stan, but accepted that letting Sandy do it was the best choice.