Oxnard paced his cage nervously. He'd not slept too well, the excitement of Pepper's visit both exciting him and making him nervous.
"Oh, are they running late? They were supposed to be here two minutes ago. What if they get stuck in traffic? Or get lost? Or decide not to come? Maybe they…" There was the sound of a car horn outside. Oxnard relaxed. "Or maybe they're here." He sighed with relief. Kana came down the stairs and opened the front door.
"Dylan!" She said, hugging him. "It's great to see you again! It was nice of you to offer to help at the Dance this weekend.
"Don't mention it." he replied. "I was going to be in town anyway, and it sounds like it might be fun." Kana laughed.
"And you bought Pepper, too!" She added, smiling at the small hamster on Dylan's shoulder. "Hi!" She turned back to Dylan. "You can put Pepper's cage over next to Oxnard's. Come on, Mum and Dad are taking us out for lunch with Laura's family." Dylan walked over and sat the cage down in the corner of the room.
"Now you be good." he said to Pepper, as Kana's parents came downstairs. After greeting the pair, the four of them left the house.
"See you later, Oxnard!" Called out Kana as she closed the front door. Pepper nudged open the door of her cage, and Oxnard did the same.
"Finally!" She said. "I thought they'd never leave!" She ran over to Oxnard and hugged him.
"Oh, I've missed you!" He cried.
"Me too, Oxi." She held him a little longer, then smiled at him. "So, what's the plan for today then?" She asked. "Are we going down to the clubhouse?" Oxnard's smile faded, and she looked at him. "What's wrong?" She asked, worried.
"It's kind of a long story…" He began. "Look, I'll tell you in a minute. I need to ask you something first."
"Okay, Oxi, what it is?" Pepper asked. Oxnard began to blush slightly.
"Well, there's this Ball on Sunday…"
"Yeah, I know. Dylan's helping. It's why we're here, silly." she replied.
"No, another one. There's a Ham-Ball in town, and, well… I was kinda wondering…" His voice began to trail off, but Pepper smiled at him.
"Of course I'll go with you, Oxi!" She cried in delight. "I'm surprised you were so worried about asking." She added, smiling.
"Yeah, well, Hamtaro and Bijou were kind of joking about it yesterday…" Pepper looked over at him, noting the tone of his voice.
"Hmm, this is all to do with your complicated story, isn't it? Did they get together or something?" She asked. He nodded "Wow, that's great." She looked at Oxnard. "There more to this, isn't there?"
"Oh, a lot more." He sat down. "Mind if I grab some seeds first?" He asked. "This could take a while to explain…"
……
"Bye, Hamtaro!" Called out Laura as she closed the door.
"Finally!" Thought Hamtaro. "I thought they'd never leave! I have to get round and see Bijou!" Jumping up, he opened his cage door and slid down the pipe, arriving on Brandy's head just in time to see Laura's family car drive off down the road behind Kana's. He briefly considered going over to see Oxnard, but thought against it. "He'll definitely want some time alone with Pepper," he said to himself. "And anyway, I need to see Bijou…"
After a short dash through the streets, Hamtaro arrived at Bijou's house. Looking up the tree to Bijou's window, he was reminded of when he was stood here, in the rain, preparing to do what he'd thought was the hardest thing ever.
"It's hard to believe that was only a few days ago." He sighed. "So much has happened, and now I need to sort it all out today. Tomorrow is the dance." He looked up at Bijou's window, and his face set into a look of determination. "I can't give up now." He said, and climbed up the tree. Bijou's window was slightly open. He could hear the sound of piano music drifting from the ground floor of the house. He poked his head round the window frame, to see Pashmina, Penelope, and Sandy sat with Bijou. He coughed.
"Er, hi." He said awkwardly. "Could I have a word with you, Bijou?" He asked, looking at the group. "Privately?" He added. Sandy and Pashmina looked at her.
"Oui, it is ok, girls." She said. Hamtaro jumped down into the room and walked towards Bijou's cage.
"We'll wait outside, Bijou." Said Pashmina. As the pair walked past Hamtaro, Sandy mouthed 'Good Luck' at him, which made him feel a little better. He walked over and sat down opposite Bijou in her cage.
"Hi." He said again.
"Bonjour." Replied Bijou. There was a short silence, and then Hamtaro burst.
"Oh, Bijou, I'm sorry for upsetting you yesterday. I don't know what came over me! Look, please, if there's any way I can make this up to you…" He paused. "I'd do anything for you, Bijou." He added. She stood up.
"Hamtaro," she said, turning away from him. "If you do mean that, there is something you can do." She turned round to face him. "Apologise to Boss. Make peace with him. Not only for me, but for the others too. This feud is pulling the Ham Hams apart. I don't want to lose all my friends, Hamtaro. And I don't want to lose you." She sat down again, close to tears. Hamtaro looked at her, and smiled.
"I'll do it Bijou. I miss Boss myself, and I miss the clubhouse. I'll go see him and sort it out, once and for all." He stood up, and went to leave. "I promise I won't screw up again." He said, and headed back to the window.
"Hamtaro!" Bijou called after him. "Thank you." He smiled at her, then leapt up onto the window sill. Sandy gave him a thumbs up as he climbed down the tree in Bijou's garden, and headed towards the clubhouse.
……
"Wow," Said Pepper, "Sounds like a crazy few days. Do you think Bijou will be alright?" she asked.
"I don't know." Replied Oxnard. Hamtaro was going to go see her as soon as possible, so I guess that means he'll have gone round by now." Pepper stood up.
"Come on then, let's go and see what's happening. It's no good being cooped up in here." She smiled at him. "Race ya!" she giggled as she dashed off.
"Hey, no fair!" Called Oxnard as he ran after her, smiling. "Things might be bad," He thought, "But at least she's here." He raced off after her along the pavement, the two of them headed towards Bijou's house.