Hey guys, thanks for all the great reviews!!! I'm glad to hear that other
people like the idea of Howdy+Hannah too, cuz I haven't seen any other
stories with that couple in them. Oh yeah - to Haily-Comet - I will try to
work some Bijou/Panda into this, k? I promise! None this chapter, but
perhaps later. If I can't figure out a way to get that couple in here a lot
then maybe I'll write a whole separate Bijou+Panda fic, just 4 u! Cuz
you're an awesome person!
Also, I would have updated this a lot sooner, but I live in VA and we got hit pretty darn hard by hurricane Isabel, and our power was off for six days (actually, we still haven't gotten power back but we borrowed my grandparents' generator cuz they got their power back yesterday). Yeah, we had like this huge tree fall down in our yard, and it smashed our fence and went into our neighbor's yard - but it wasn't so bad since a lot of people had trees fall ON their houses - so we were lucky - but there's like three places in my neighborhood where trees fell on power lines. That's why we don't have power back yet. On the bright side, we've gotten a whole week off of school! Yay! Sorry - I probably just bored people to death - which means less people to read my story. Oh well. On with the fic.
~
"Hoo boy, that was awesome!" Hannah said happily after she and Howdy got off the roller coaster. "That's my favorite ride! Let's go again!"
"Um, actually..." Howdy said quietly.
"What is it?" Hannah said. "Howdy, you've been acting strange all day. I don't get it."
"Well, can I talk to you in private?" Howdy asked nervously.
Hannah gave him a funny look, but then nodded in agreement. Howdy lead her into the shade of a big tree on the edge of the park and took both her paws in his.
"There's something I've really been wanting to tell you," Howdy said once he made sure they were alone. "But I couldn't quite decide on how to tell you."
Hannah tilted her head just slightly. "What?"
"Well, I...uh...See, I just... Well I..."
Hannah waited patiently for a moment while Howdy struggled with his words.
"Hannah I love you," he said hurriedly, finally finding the courage to do so.
Hannah's surprise showed clearly in her eyes but not so much in her voice. "Howdy..." she said slowly.
"Yeah?"
"I love you too."
Howdy was taken aback. He wasn't quite sure how to respond. He hadn't expected this but now that he realized what Hannah was saying, he felt completely happy and relieved.
"You...you do?" he said.
Hannah nodded.
"Since when?"
"Since I saw you this morning."
Howdy was genuinely surprised. This was all too sudden. But he felt a wave of emotion fall over him, and without quite realizing what he was doing he began to lean in to Hannah, his lips moving closer to hers. She began to lean into him as well, but suddenly, when their mouths had almost met, she stopped and turned away.
Howdy hadn't been expecting this, and he kept leaning and fell flat on his face in the dust.
"Oh! I'm so sorry," Hannah said, and helped him up.
"What was that about?" Howdy said. "I thought you said you loved me."
"I do, but..."
"But what?"
"We can't do this. Not yet. It's too soon. It would break his heart."
"Who? What are you talking about?"
"Dexter."
Howdy was shocked. Then he remembered the last time Hannah had paid them a visit, when she had fallen in love with Dexter and asked Howdy to find out if he had any feelings for her. Of course he didn't, but Howdy had told her he did just to make her happy. Now it was coming back to haunt him. Hannah still thought Dexter was in love with her.
Howdy fumbled for an excuse. Anything that would make it better without having to tell Hannah that he had lied.
"Hannah, I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure he's gotten over it by now."
"I wouldn't be so sure," Hannah said. "Maybe he still dreams about me. Maybe he thinks I'll fall in love with him all over again. Especially now that I'm here."
"But Hannah, he has a girlfriend now anyway."
"What?" Hannah gasped. "Who?"
"Pashmina," Howdy said. Maybe now Hannah would understand.
"Oh, poor Dexter," Hannah said softly. "He's so lovesick over me that he found himself another girl to make up for me while I'm away from him."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Howdy demanded.
"It's obvious he still loves me," Hannah said.
Howdy sighed. Apparently there was no way out of this one but the truth.
"Look, Hannah, I have a confession," Howdy said.
"What?" Hannah looked up at him.
"Well, you see... Dex, he, well he..."
"Oh my god, he died in a tragic mini golf accident?!?!" Hannah gasped.
"No!" Howdy said. "What gave you that idea? He's perfectly alive and well. In fact he's sitting right over there."
Hannah turned her head and looked to where Howdy was pointing. Dexter and Pashmina were sitting together in the shade, sharing a cotton candy. "Oh. Oh yeah," Hannah said. "Then what is it?"
"Well, he..."
"Oh my god! His arm got cut off in a tragic mini golf accident and now he has a robotic claw for an arm?!?!" Hannah gasped again.
"What in the world?" Howdy said. "Does that look like a robotic claw to you?"
Hannah squinted her eyes across the park. "Dunno. It's hard to tell from here."
Howdy smacked himself in the head. "Hannah, you saw him up close earlier, remember?"
"Oh. Oh yeah." Hannah said.
Howdy sighed. "The truth is, Hannah...Dexter never actually really truly had a crush on you."
"What?!" Hannah gasped. "What do you mean? You told me he was in love with me! You mean he lied about his love for me?"
"Um...no," Howdy shook his head. "I did."
Hannah didn't say anything, but her eyes welled up with tears.
"Hannah, I did it because I knew it would make you happy!" Howdy said. "Not to be mean or rude or selfish or anything like that! Only because I wanted you to be happy!"
The tears spilled down her cheeks. "I-I can't believe you," Hannah stuttered. "Out of everyone I know I thought I could trust you the most! But you've proved me wrong!" Hannah began sobbing. "What, you thought I was that weak? That I wouldn't be able to handle the truth?" she said between sobs.
"That's not it at all!" Howdy said. He tried to calm her by holding her paws in his, but she tore herself away and slapped him across the face. Howdy put one paw to his face, feeling it turn red and warm, as he watched Hannah run off, leaving him standing alone with his guilt.
~
Dexter saw Hannah running towards him with tears streaming down her face, and immediately stood up. As she rushed by him he grabbed her arm and said "What's wrong?" but she wrenched herself away and continued running past him.
"What's going on?" Pashmina said, also standing up beside Dexter.
"I haven't the slightest idea," Dexter said. He turned and saw Howdy standing alone on the other side of the park, leaning his forehead against a tree.
"Excuse me for a moment," Dexter said to Pashmina, then walked over to Howdy.
"What happened?" he asked concernedly.
"None of your business," Howdy said, turning away.
"Come on, tell me," Dexter said pleadingly.
Howdy remained facing the other way but sighed and said quietly, "She's mad at me. Really mad."
"What? Why?" Dexter asked.
"I don't know why you even care," Howdy said, "But if you hafta know, it's because I told her that I lied about you having a crush on her."
"Oh." Dexter looked towards the sky for a minute, then back at Howdy. "Well maybe you just need to talk to her about why you lied. You shouldn't really be blamed for it, since you only did what you thought was right."
"I tried explaining it to her!" Howdy shouted. "She won't listen!"
"Well, then you could -"
"Look, just leave me alone, okay?" Howdy said angrily. Dexter didn't protest. He walked back towards Pashmina with one glance over his shoulder at Howdy's lonely figure, his face in his paws.
~
No! Poor Howdy! Sorry.okay, more reviews please.u can flame if you want.and there will be more D+P later, I kno there hasn't been much yet but it gets mushier later!!! Hahaha!!! Alright. I'm gonna calm down now.
Also, I would have updated this a lot sooner, but I live in VA and we got hit pretty darn hard by hurricane Isabel, and our power was off for six days (actually, we still haven't gotten power back but we borrowed my grandparents' generator cuz they got their power back yesterday). Yeah, we had like this huge tree fall down in our yard, and it smashed our fence and went into our neighbor's yard - but it wasn't so bad since a lot of people had trees fall ON their houses - so we were lucky - but there's like three places in my neighborhood where trees fell on power lines. That's why we don't have power back yet. On the bright side, we've gotten a whole week off of school! Yay! Sorry - I probably just bored people to death - which means less people to read my story. Oh well. On with the fic.
~
"Hoo boy, that was awesome!" Hannah said happily after she and Howdy got off the roller coaster. "That's my favorite ride! Let's go again!"
"Um, actually..." Howdy said quietly.
"What is it?" Hannah said. "Howdy, you've been acting strange all day. I don't get it."
"Well, can I talk to you in private?" Howdy asked nervously.
Hannah gave him a funny look, but then nodded in agreement. Howdy lead her into the shade of a big tree on the edge of the park and took both her paws in his.
"There's something I've really been wanting to tell you," Howdy said once he made sure they were alone. "But I couldn't quite decide on how to tell you."
Hannah tilted her head just slightly. "What?"
"Well, I...uh...See, I just... Well I..."
Hannah waited patiently for a moment while Howdy struggled with his words.
"Hannah I love you," he said hurriedly, finally finding the courage to do so.
Hannah's surprise showed clearly in her eyes but not so much in her voice. "Howdy..." she said slowly.
"Yeah?"
"I love you too."
Howdy was taken aback. He wasn't quite sure how to respond. He hadn't expected this but now that he realized what Hannah was saying, he felt completely happy and relieved.
"You...you do?" he said.
Hannah nodded.
"Since when?"
"Since I saw you this morning."
Howdy was genuinely surprised. This was all too sudden. But he felt a wave of emotion fall over him, and without quite realizing what he was doing he began to lean in to Hannah, his lips moving closer to hers. She began to lean into him as well, but suddenly, when their mouths had almost met, she stopped and turned away.
Howdy hadn't been expecting this, and he kept leaning and fell flat on his face in the dust.
"Oh! I'm so sorry," Hannah said, and helped him up.
"What was that about?" Howdy said. "I thought you said you loved me."
"I do, but..."
"But what?"
"We can't do this. Not yet. It's too soon. It would break his heart."
"Who? What are you talking about?"
"Dexter."
Howdy was shocked. Then he remembered the last time Hannah had paid them a visit, when she had fallen in love with Dexter and asked Howdy to find out if he had any feelings for her. Of course he didn't, but Howdy had told her he did just to make her happy. Now it was coming back to haunt him. Hannah still thought Dexter was in love with her.
Howdy fumbled for an excuse. Anything that would make it better without having to tell Hannah that he had lied.
"Hannah, I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure he's gotten over it by now."
"I wouldn't be so sure," Hannah said. "Maybe he still dreams about me. Maybe he thinks I'll fall in love with him all over again. Especially now that I'm here."
"But Hannah, he has a girlfriend now anyway."
"What?" Hannah gasped. "Who?"
"Pashmina," Howdy said. Maybe now Hannah would understand.
"Oh, poor Dexter," Hannah said softly. "He's so lovesick over me that he found himself another girl to make up for me while I'm away from him."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Howdy demanded.
"It's obvious he still loves me," Hannah said.
Howdy sighed. Apparently there was no way out of this one but the truth.
"Look, Hannah, I have a confession," Howdy said.
"What?" Hannah looked up at him.
"Well, you see... Dex, he, well he..."
"Oh my god, he died in a tragic mini golf accident?!?!" Hannah gasped.
"No!" Howdy said. "What gave you that idea? He's perfectly alive and well. In fact he's sitting right over there."
Hannah turned her head and looked to where Howdy was pointing. Dexter and Pashmina were sitting together in the shade, sharing a cotton candy. "Oh. Oh yeah," Hannah said. "Then what is it?"
"Well, he..."
"Oh my god! His arm got cut off in a tragic mini golf accident and now he has a robotic claw for an arm?!?!" Hannah gasped again.
"What in the world?" Howdy said. "Does that look like a robotic claw to you?"
Hannah squinted her eyes across the park. "Dunno. It's hard to tell from here."
Howdy smacked himself in the head. "Hannah, you saw him up close earlier, remember?"
"Oh. Oh yeah." Hannah said.
Howdy sighed. "The truth is, Hannah...Dexter never actually really truly had a crush on you."
"What?!" Hannah gasped. "What do you mean? You told me he was in love with me! You mean he lied about his love for me?"
"Um...no," Howdy shook his head. "I did."
Hannah didn't say anything, but her eyes welled up with tears.
"Hannah, I did it because I knew it would make you happy!" Howdy said. "Not to be mean or rude or selfish or anything like that! Only because I wanted you to be happy!"
The tears spilled down her cheeks. "I-I can't believe you," Hannah stuttered. "Out of everyone I know I thought I could trust you the most! But you've proved me wrong!" Hannah began sobbing. "What, you thought I was that weak? That I wouldn't be able to handle the truth?" she said between sobs.
"That's not it at all!" Howdy said. He tried to calm her by holding her paws in his, but she tore herself away and slapped him across the face. Howdy put one paw to his face, feeling it turn red and warm, as he watched Hannah run off, leaving him standing alone with his guilt.
~
Dexter saw Hannah running towards him with tears streaming down her face, and immediately stood up. As she rushed by him he grabbed her arm and said "What's wrong?" but she wrenched herself away and continued running past him.
"What's going on?" Pashmina said, also standing up beside Dexter.
"I haven't the slightest idea," Dexter said. He turned and saw Howdy standing alone on the other side of the park, leaning his forehead against a tree.
"Excuse me for a moment," Dexter said to Pashmina, then walked over to Howdy.
"What happened?" he asked concernedly.
"None of your business," Howdy said, turning away.
"Come on, tell me," Dexter said pleadingly.
Howdy remained facing the other way but sighed and said quietly, "She's mad at me. Really mad."
"What? Why?" Dexter asked.
"I don't know why you even care," Howdy said, "But if you hafta know, it's because I told her that I lied about you having a crush on her."
"Oh." Dexter looked towards the sky for a minute, then back at Howdy. "Well maybe you just need to talk to her about why you lied. You shouldn't really be blamed for it, since you only did what you thought was right."
"I tried explaining it to her!" Howdy shouted. "She won't listen!"
"Well, then you could -"
"Look, just leave me alone, okay?" Howdy said angrily. Dexter didn't protest. He walked back towards Pashmina with one glance over his shoulder at Howdy's lonely figure, his face in his paws.
~
No! Poor Howdy! Sorry.okay, more reviews please.u can flame if you want.and there will be more D+P later, I kno there hasn't been much yet but it gets mushier later!!! Hahaha!!! Alright. I'm gonna calm down now.