Chpater 16 : The Break Up

"Are you ready ?"

Gideon looks at the text he just received from Judy. He doesn't feel ready, but they've planned it for today. Of course, they could just push it for a bit, but it's not as if it would change much. Aside from the rumours getting worse of course.

"Yup." He shoots back, before sliding the phone in his pocket.

Leaning against the grey concrete wall, he scans the courtyard, easily finding Judy walking toward him among the crowd. He feels more and more gazes on them as she approaches, and he's pretty sure half the students are staring at them as she stands in front of him.

"We need to talk." The bunny states.

So many bunny ears are twitching, it's almost comical. They have their peers' complete attention.

"Well, talk."

"Not here." She says, grabbing his forearm and pulling him behind her, making sure there are still mammals looking at them. As they round the building, she can hear the ones that are trying to discreetly follow them, to be able to hear their discussion. She purposefully chooses a place next to the emergency stairs. From there, they know they won't be easy to look at, but at least rather easy to listen in on.

"Listen… I don't think this is a good idea." The doe begins when they've stopped moving.

"What ?"

"Us. This. I mean… It was fine, not saying you aren't a great kisser or anything…" She improvises, which makes Gideon blush heavily. "But you're slipping."

"Slippin' ?"

"You're too distracted when I tutor you."

They've kind of rehearsed that discussion, and Gideon is struggling to recall what he's supposed to say next. "I… This ain't about that, ain't it ?"

The doe remains mute, he still has a line to say.

"I'm sorry I said that, but it ain't my fault no bunny's ever been a cop." He adds, crossing his arms, trying not to sound too harsh. It reminds him too much of the taunting he used against her before highschool.

"Well, I'll be the first. But I can't date someone who doesn't believe in me." She doesn't feel okay with this, she realises. It feels too real.

"So yer breakin' up with me, is that it ?"

"Yeah. I'm breaking up with you." There's a lump on the doe's throat.

Gideon feels out of breath. Something is crawling under his fur, a strange feeling of discomfort. "Well, good riddance, then."

"Oh, you're not going to be rid of me yet." She scoffs. "Mrs Catmull asked me to tutor you, and I'm not going to give up on that."

"Oh is that it ?"

"Yeah that's it."

"We'll see about that." He spits, before moving away. He feels sick, bewildered. Angry. It was all fake, but the bunny is a good actress. As he rounds the corner, he can see a bunch of bunny frozen, their ears up. "The fuck ya lookin' at, grazers ?" He snarls, making them scamper away. Well, at least that felt good, didn't it ? But it's not enough and he knows it. If someone, anyone comes to talk to him, he can guarantee it'll end up in a fight he can't afford. Keeping his head low, he directs himself toward his next class. At least the hallway should be empty.

"So, you broke up with him ?"

Judy looks up from her textbook to see the warpainted airhead. "Yes, Sarah, I did."

"Why ?"

"That's doesn't concern you." Judy simply answers, turning a page.

"Is it because it was too big ?"

"What are you talking about ?"

The other doe grins "His knot."

"His… Not ! I mean…" The bunny sputters. "I didn't even see it ! We didn't have sex." She hisses, hoping that the ears that are turned toward them aren't really focused on their discussion.

"Oh… He didn't want to ? Because all boys want to-"

"Sarah, I'm not even fifteen ! That's not legal !"

"Never stopped a buck before." She shrugs.

"Well, maybe foxes have more principles than bucks do. And for your information, we broke up because of a divergence of opinion." Judy shoots back before slamming her book on her desk, punctuating the discussion. She's not necessarily happy with the discussion that just ended, but Sarah loves to gossip. If she thinks they broke up, then the whole school will now it in no time.

Soon enough she can here whispers "So it was true.", "He's right, though, bunnies can't get into the ZPD.", "A bunny and fox… Gross… Glad it's over."

- 1 -

As Judy parks her bike, following the flock of her brothers, sisters, cousins and other siblings, she feels a gaze upon her. Both of her parents are standing on the porch, shooting her stern glares that never meant anything good. Rolling her eyes, she takes her time to get to the door to minimize the eavesdropping on the discussion that is sure to ensue.

"Judith Laverne Hopps, we don't appreciate being lied to !" Begins her mother. Stu, for his part, is standing behind her and looks really close to fainting.

"Is this about Gideon ?" Judy asks, amazed that the rumours went that fast.

"Of course it is !" Reacts her mother. "I can't believe you would- We're your parents, you should trust us with that kind of things ! What if had tried to-"

The young doe lifts her paw. Whatever her mother was going to end this sentence with, she's pretty sure it's better for everyone if the words remain unsaid.

"Can we take it somewhere more private ?" Asks the bunny. "I have an explanation, but I'd rather it stays between us."

In the Hopp's household, there aren't a whole lot of places where private discussion can be held. The fields are one. Not only there's nothing here to carry the sound, but they let the bunnies see far enough to keep anyone from hiding.

It takes them about ten minutes to get near an oak tree that marks the limit between a carrot field and a corn one. Judy's mother sits on one of its protruding roots while her father remain standing. "Judy, you know we want what's best for you." begins her mother. "And… Well, I'm glad it's over, but I wish you hadn't lied to us about Gideon."

"I didn't lie to you."

"You told us you weren't dating him !" Reacts her father. "And today, we learn that you broke with him ! What did he do ? Did he insult you ? Did he hurt you ? I swear, I'll neuter him if he tried to-"

"No ! Dad, no ! We weren't dating !"

"Oh, we're way past that lie, young lady !" Scolds her mother. "If you think you can pull the wool-"

"The whole school was talking about it !" Judy shouts. "We tried to deny that we were together but no one believed us ! And don't get me started on the comment they made on us behind our backs ! We should just have let them talk ? We staged that break up ! So that they'd just stop talking about it ! And you know what ? I don't care if you don't believe me. You can just ground me, then you'll have a good reason to wonder why I don't talk to you about that kind of stuff !"

"Judy-" Starts her mother.

"No, that's it ! I had to stage a break up with one of my friends where we had to say horrible things to each other to make it plausible, because we knew the other students were eavesdropping ! What I'm wondering is why do you care so much who I'm dating ! Half of my sisters have already had more than a couple of boyfriend, most of which know the colour of their panties, and you just hear one rumour about me and that put your ears into knots !"

"Young lady, don't you take that tone with us !" Shouts her father.

"Or what ? You'll try to make my life more miserable than you usually do ?" She asks defiantly, the lump in her throat's growing.

Bonnie sees her husband's eyes narrow. That a telltale sign of the beginning of a real shouting match. The elder doe realises that her and her husband where once again too quick to judge a situation they didn't know much about. Putting a paw to Stu's arm, she steps between him and her daughter. "Let's all calm down and take a deep breath. Judy, as your father said, you can't take that tone with us. But we believe you're telling us the truth about all this too."

"You do ?" Asks Judy in a high pitched voice.

"We do ?" Asks Stu with surprise on his face.

"Honey, when's the last time Judy lied to us about something important ?"

The buck has to dig into his memory for a bit. "Never." He answers shamefully. "Jude, I'm sorry. You're always getting yourself into strange stuff like your police idea or that tutoring thing you have going on."

"I'm not not the only one that does tutoring." She counters.

"Yeah, but…"

"It's going fine dad. Gideon's really changed ! I mean, he's a bit short fused, but aside from that, he's really trying ! His marks are going up."

"I heard he fought and had to go to the principal." Says her mother.

"Yes, but do you know why ?"

"Were you involved ?" Asks her father. "Why didn't you tell us ?"

"Because it was nothing and you would have worried." Judy answers matter of factly.

"What happened ?"

"Well… There was this buck, Donnie, that was kind of trying to ask me out, but it was never the right moment. Then he got a bit aggressive, and when Gideon tried to take my defense, he insulted me… Kind of implied that I was… Erh… Having sex with Gideon for money."

Stu bristles. "He what !? Oh, I'm going to break that little vermin's snout !"

"Gideon already did that for you."

Her father seems to deflate. "He… He did ?"

"He didn't send him to the hospital, but he gave him a couple of good punches." Confirms the young doe. "He almost got expelled for it too."

Conflicting emotions travel through Stu's face. He's still not comfortable with the idea of his daughter hanging around a fox, especially one with Gideon's reputation. On the other paw, that fox did come to her defense. "So there was nothing between you two ?" He finally asks.

"No. We're just friends." She says, her tone bordering on dejected.

The tension between the young doe and her parents has defused by now. The three of them feel a bit self conscious, standing awkwardly face to face.

"We're sorry we jumped to conclusion." Finally utters her mother. "We were simply worried about you."

"I know… And I'm sorry I shouted at you. It just that… It hurts that you don't trust me."

Her parent's ears drop. "Oh, honey." Reacts her mother, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around her daughter's shoulder. "We didn't mean to make you feel like that. To be honest, when I was young, I'm pretty sure I did a lot more mistake than you. You'r always following the rules, so when something unusual happens around you, it seems worse than it really is. I… I'm not saying it's your fault. It's ours for overdramatizing. Especially your dad's." She adds in a whisper that pulls a giggle out of Judy.

"Hey, I heard that !" Reacts Stu in a laugh. "But, I'm sorry too. Forgive your overbearing old father ?" He asks, joining in on the hug.

"Are your parents really your parents if they aren't overbearing ?" Judy asks, which earns her a side tickle from Bonnie.

"We'll try to give you more space, okay ? But if there's something like that on your mind, like other rumours that weigh you down, you know you can talk to use about it. We'd feel better if we knew what was going on in your life."