Chapter 20: Disagreements

With Stella...

Stella paced in a corner of the room. She had heard the fit that Jake had had, and she didn't much like it. Stella was somewhat glad she wasn't involved in his fit.

"Sigh...what do you do, Stella?" Stella asked herself. "Why don't you just tell him the facts, Stella? Why don't you tell him you're not gonna marry him because you don't love him, Stella? Why don't you just tell him that you like Mike, Stella?"

Stella glanced toward the window with the canvas over it. She heard the pouring rain beat against the window like shattering glass. Stella remembered what it was like outside the night that she left the Bad Hams Place, and it made her reflect on everything.

She walked toward the window and whispered, "I'm missing home...but my hope is low because I know Mike doesn't know what's going on..." Stella gulped and held back her tears. "Mike... Dear Mike, I just want you to do one thing for me...save me."

Stella came back to her senses when she heard a knock on the door. She spun around quickly toward the door, and it opened contiguously. Jake appeared in the doorway, and he signaled for her to come. Stella weakly walked over to him and followed him out the door and down the hallway.

When the two had come to the living room, Jake sat on the couch. Stella stood for a moment in the middle of the room before sitting back in a chair. Jake watched her as she began thinking again.

Stella finally made up her mind about what to do. She walked over to Jake and sat down on the floor in front of him. Stella took a deep breath and sighed. She looked up at Jake with her watery, silver eyes and whispered, "Jake."

Jake glanced down at Stella. "Yes, Stella?"

"Jake, how many days left is it?"

"Four days left."

"Well, yea..."

"What about it?"

"Well, I just wanted to tell you that...I'm not marrying you."

"...What?"

"You can't make me marry you. I won't."

"Stella, you don't understand...I asked your father-"

"MY FATHER'S DEAD! PLUS, IT'S YOU WHO DOESN'T UNDERSTAND! I DON'T LIKE YOU! I LIKE MIKE!"

"Stella, Stella, Stella..." Jake shook his head as tears streamed down Stella's face. "If you think this is a game...it's not. Besides, if it was a game, I've already won."

Stella didn't understand this Jake guy at all. She screamed at him, "NO! I WON'T MARRY YOU!"

Jake shook his head with a look of concern. "It's already planned. It's been planned for a long time."

"But you can't make me!" Stella sobbed. "I won't marry you, I won't support you, I won't bear you any children, I won't ever love you, I won't let you get away with this, and I won't get over it!!!"

Jake frowned as he watched Stella bury her face in her paws and practically bawl her eyes out. He shook his head as he reclined on the couch. "Correction: You will marry me, you will support me, you will bear children, you will love me, you will let me get away with this, and you will get over this."

"NEVER!!!" Stella screamed. "I don't love you! I don't love you! I don't love you!!! I love Mike, don't you see? He's who I admire, and I've admired him since he robbed that store! Don't you see?!"

Jake grew red in the face and barked, "Your father never liked the Bad Hams! And I don't like them either! They're nothing but trouble on the streets!"

"Do I look like I CARE what my father thinks? I don't even LIKE my father!"

Jake shook his head again. He whispered, "You know, you never expected me to come after you, did you? Well, Stella, look...I've come out of my hole to come get you, and your dear Bad Ham leader hasn't come yet. Do you suspect he'll ever come, or has he fallen in love already with someone else?"

Stella stopped her thoughts and glanced up at Jake with tears cascading down her cheeks. She shook her head and screamed, "Mike loves me and only me! He cares for all the Bad Hams, but I know he'll never like Becky as much as me! Mike understands me, and he knows I love him, and I know he loves me! He even told me so!"

Jake curled his lip and retorted, "If he loves you so much...Why the hell is he not here?"

"Mike doesn't know anything about you! I've told him my past, but I excluded you! I've never wanted him to know about you because...I've never liked you enough to mention your name!"

Jake smirked and returned, "Well, Stella, I think now it only matters what I think...and I like you a lot. Well, I love you, Stella. You hate me. Sigh, is it just me or is it getting harder and harder to breathe? I'd like to know. Everyone might think I'm a freak that likes to stay in his shell, but I'm really not. They just see me in that point of view. After I marry you, everyone will love me, including you."

Stella shook her head violently and screamed, "NOOOOO!!!" She ran out of the living room with her face in her paws, and she ran toward the entrance, where ever that was. Jake ran after her after shouting to his no name friend, and the dark brown hamster pursued her. Stella continued running, but she realized she came to a dead end when she came to an abrupt stop at the very end of a hallway. She screamed and sank to the floor miserably as Jake and the hamster walked up to her, lifted her up off the floor, and took her back to the room where she stayed. Stella wouldn't even look at Jake by the time he left her alone in the room.

Stella stayed motionless in the place where Jake had left her inside the room, which was on the bed. She didn't want to move, she didn't want to live through this nightmare. Stella just wanted to see Mike, to hear his voice, and for him to hold her close. She wanted Mike to beat the tar out of Jake with his bare paws. Stella sat up with tears still flowing down her face, screamed, "I HATE YOU!!!", and thrust her face in a pillow.