Chapter 8: Guns and Beers
The doe has just unlocked her bike and pushed it out of the bike park when she hears a male voice calling her. "Hey, Judy."
She recognises Donnie as she turns around. Exhaling slowly, she tries not to blush. He already asked her out once, and she kind of feel sorry about blewing him off.
"Yes, Donnie ?"
"I was wondering… Uhm, are you doing something this week end ? 'Cause I got those tickets for the new Ghostmuskers movie on Saturday afternoon, and I thought we could go together."
She opens her mouth like a fish out of water. Of course, he'd have offered to do something this exact week-end. "I really wish I could say yes, but I already have something planned. Sorry."
"Oh… Erh… What is it ?"
The doe hesitates for a couple of seconds. It's not really his business, but she doesn't want him to think she's deliberately avoiding him. "I'm going to Gideon's birthday. Maybe another time ?"
"Yeah. Maybe. See you later." He says a bit abruptly before turning away and leaving.
She sees him cross path with Sharla, who gives him a quick glance, before approaching her. "What did he want ?"
"Oh, he asked me out." Answers the bunny. "Wanted to go see a movie on saturday, but I already had something."
"He looked really ticked off. I don't know what you told him, but I'm not sure he liked it."
Judy lift her brows in surprise. "I just told him that I wished I could say yes and that I something else planned. I even told him that we could do it another time. I did kind of blew him off once, though, so he might be a bit pissed about that. It wasn't my fault though, I had to be somewhere."
"Hey, you don't need to justify yourself to me. If you're not interested, you're not interested."
"I'm not uninterested… It just always falls at the wrong time."
Sharla shrugs. Boys are complicated, in her opinion. "Anyway, what do you have planned on Saturday ?
"Gideon invited me for his birthday. Do you want me to ask him if you can come ?"
"Erh… Pass."
"He's really not the same. I'm sure you two could get along."
The ewe shakes her head. "I have no problem with you two being friends, but I'm not interested in being friend with him. If he came to me and apologized for the years of bullying, I might consider it."
Judy can't really blame the sheep for her views on Gideon. Maybe she could bring the fox to acknowledge what he did and apologize to the sheep.
He told her at three at the reservoir. Did he forget ? Did he get stuck at home ? Did he have an accident ? The bunny checks her phone, and realises she's simply five minutes early.
With her usual agility, she climbs up the shack and sits there to have her eyes on the road, her bag next to her.
She knows Gideon and Travis spent time there, but doesn't really know what they were usually up to. Aside from smoking of course.
She hears the bike before she sees it. It appears up the small road, carrying a pudgy fox wearing a checkered shirt and overalls, a backpack and a BB gun strapped to his shoulder. The bandage on his face is a bit smaller than the last time she saw him.
"Hey, Judy ! Sorry to make ya wait."
"Oh, I wasn't here long." She jumps down from the roof and lands next to him, before opening her bag and producing a rather large parcel. "Happy birthday."
"Oh… Ya- Ya shouldn't have." He blushes, accepting the gift. "Can I… ?"
"It's why I'm giving it to you. I had to fold it so it'd fit in my bag but it shouldn't be damaged."
With a sort of an apprehensive smile, the tod rips the paper to reveal a backpack. He looks a bit intrigued, his gaze going back to her.
"I thought… Since yours looks really old, you could use a new one. Plus, that brand makes really good stuff. I have my aunt's and it's still going strong." She explains, showing hers. It's a bit different, but mainly because hers is brown while she chose a blue one for him.
The tod inspects it and pulls on the straps, before checking the brand. "It's… A beastpak. Shit, Judy, those are expensive !"
"Not that much. Plus I had some allowance saved up, and it'll last. It's a good investment." She smiles.
The fox's expression waver. "Thanks, I never had something… New." He finishes in a mutter. She's about to give him a hug, when another bike his heard. As she had guessed, Travis appears, with his own backpack and BB gun, as well as a cigarette between his lips.
"Hey Gid, I'm- Ah, she's here too."
"Yup." The tod confirms.
"Shit, dude, I really thought you were having me on." The mustelid grins. "The more the merrier. And Happy Birthday." From his bag, he produces a beer bottle, and tosses it to the fox who catches it. As a reflex, the tod takes out a plastic lighter and pops the cap, before his gaze falls on the bunny's disapproving expression.
"You're drinking ?" She reacts, her tone almost scolding. "Where did you even get these from ?" The doe asks the weasel.
"My fridge." He answers in an even tone, taking a couple more out. "Want one ?"
"I- No ! I'm fourteen ! And you're both sixteen, you can't drink !"
With a shrug, the mustelid opens one of the two beers with his own lighter and takes a sip. "Gid will be seventeen tomorrow. and, I don't see anyone here to stop me."
Judy squints her eyes at him and turns her gaze to Gideon, who bows his head.
"Come on, dude, you aren't going to let her tell you what you can or can't do !" Reacts the weasel.
"Underage drinking is illegal." The doe states.
Travis glares at her. "Fuck, in five minutes you're going to tell us we can't shoot our BB guns because it's dangerous."
The bunny gives him a shrug. "As long as you respect standard security protocol, I don't have a problem with that."
With a roll of his eyes, the weasel takes a second sip. "Listen bunny. Gideon and me haven't hung out for a while. I get that you're friends with him now or whatever, but that doesn't give ya the right to just step in and rule everything. So if you're not happy, get ben-"
"Travis !" Reacts Gideon before his friend can finish his sentence. "Don't talk to her like 'dat !"
"Dude, she started it !" He protests, waving in her direction.
The bunny takes on an outraged expression. "I didn't 'start it' ! I just pointed out that you shouldn't drink while underage !"
The tod gives the bottle in his paw a look, then turns his gaze to both his friends, trying to find his words. When he fails to, he turns around and starts walking away toward the water reservoir.
They see him sit on the bank and puts an arm around his knees, while he uses his free paw to take a sip out of his beer. From where he is, he can see the small patch of violet flower, but somehow, they make him feel a bit more morose than usual.
"Shit, look at watchu did." Groans Travis, while the bunny gives him another glare.
"What I did ?"
"Yeah, what if he likes to drink a cold one once in a while ? How's that any of your business ?"
"He shouldn't !"
The mustelid gives her a weird grin. "Shit, if you don't want him to drink, ya gonna have to be wid' him more often. D'ya give him shit when he smokes too ? And ya yhink it's the first time we did that ? Or that I'm the only one he does that with ? He's workin' at the steel mill, ya can be sure he shares one with his colleague after work and he darn well deserves it. I know my dad likes to open one wid' me after a long day."
"And you mom doesn't say anything ?"
"She takes one with us too." He snorts. "You gotta chill your tail, bunny. Yeah, we drink beers, yeah, we sometimes smoke. What difference does that make to ya ? Think the world would spin better if we didn't ? Or that our lives would be better. They wouldn't. It's not drinking one beer once in a while that makes a difference."
"So it's just once in a while ? You're going to tell me you never got drunk ?"
Travis snorts. "Of course we did. Not on beer though. And he slept at mine too. His father would've killed him if he had seen how piss-drunk we were."
The bunny keeps glaring at him and the weasel rolls his eyes. "It's his fucking birthday, can't you just give him a pass ? You can get back into being a pain in the tail tomorrow if you really need to."
With a sigh, Judy closes her eyes. "Alright. But only because it's his birthday." She says, pointing a stern digit at Travis.
"Outsandin'. Take a fucking beer and go tell him you're not mad at him." He grins, uncapping another bottle.
She gives him a look, and takes the bottle from his paw, before giving a glance at the label. Five degrees. That it clearly isn't that high. And it's his birthday, it's not as if this was going to turn him back into the prick he was in middle-school.
"If anything happens, it's on you." She states, before taking a swig. "Urgh, that's awful." She mutters, as she follows him, the two mammals sitting on both side of their friend.
"Sorry for being uptight." She says as the tod eyes her. "I guess it's not one beer that'll change anything."
"Thanks." He answers.
- 1 -
They've put up some water bottles in front of a small hill, and filled them with sand and dirt. Gideon and Travis are aiming at them, waiting for Judy to give the signal.
"Aaaaand… Go !"
They both shoot, before reloading and doing so again two times, the fox finishing only a second before the mustelid.
"I won !"
"Yeah, but did you hit it everytime ?" The mustelid asks with sly grin.
"He did." Judy confirms.
"Darn. Ya ever shot a BB gun before ?"
The bunny shakes her head. "My brothers used to have them, but my parents put a ban on them when they decided to play a more realistic version of cop and robbers."
"Ha. Ya bunnies are more hardcore than I thought !" Travis grins, before reloading his gun. "Here, try it out. If ya still gonna be a cop, ya should know how to shoot."
The bunny nods and takes the gun, aiming and shooting, missing her target by a foot.
Travis snorts. "Guess ya can't be good at everything."
"Come, Jude, let me show you. And don't listen to the asshat, I had to teach him how to aim too."
Judy reloads and takes aim. The tod corrects her posture. "Ya need to be perpendicular to yer target. Like 'dis. Okay, elbows out- Not that much. Okay. Well, ya should be good, just align the sight wid' the target and shoot whenever yer ready."
The bunny does so and shoot. This time she touches the side of the bottle.
"Hey, not too bad. Don't squeeze the trigger like that, though. Ya fumbled yer accuracy."
She reloads and shoots again. This time, her shot goes too far left.
"I think it shoots a bit to the left."
"No, it doesn't." Answers the mustelid.
"Can I try it ?" The fox asks to his friends, who nods in response. "Okay, let's see."
The gun is a bit too small for him, but it's doesn't seem to matter. He takes aim and shoot, putting it dead center. "Nah, it shoots straight."
Judy frowns, before taking the gun he's handing to her.
"Can I check yer posture again ?"
She nods and starts to aim, noticing his paws approaching her from behind. "Okay, so, elbows out, perpendicular..." One of his paws rests on her right elbow while the other roams to her left shoulder. "You need to relax those. Ya don't need strength fer this. Whenever yer ready." He leaves his paw on her shoulder And somehow, it helps her relax. She shoots, hitting the bottle way off center.
"Aw darn. I'm a moron." He reacts. "Ya need to let yerself be surprised. Don't try to anticipate the shot. And I forgot to tell ya to lock yer breath before shootin'. Go on, try again."
The bunny feels a bit frustrated. The fox is being patient, though. She's starting to understand why he'd have been a bit flippant when she started teaching him. Taking her aim for the fourth time, she shoots, and hits her target. It's not in the middle, but it's way better than her three previous attempt.
"Boom, marksbunny." He grins. "Now let's try to shoot from further away."