Set in the Partners: Revisited timeline.
A shrill bell sounded the end of first period one Monday morning at Squeakendale High School.
An eastern gray squirrel came out of his classroom and flinched a little as he saw a lot of curious rodent and mustelid faces turn to look at him. Many of these mammals had never given him the time of day before.
"Whoa! There he is!" A chipmunk pointed.
"Hey, ferret kisser!" A ferret smirked.
"What's it like kissing a carnivore, Larry?" Another squirrel closed in on him. "Did her breath stink?"
Larry's upper lip curled up in apprehension and he rushed forward a little faster, ignoring all the comments.
A mink appeared in front of him.
"Larry!" The mink seemed quite enthusiastic, wielding a small tablet. "The school newspaper would like to hear your thoughts on your recent dalliance with one of the Musteladies!"
"I- I don't even know what a 'dalliance' is...!" Larry wailed, rushing forward faster.
Larry exhaled an "oof!" as he ran straight into a chinchilla. The chinchilla turned his head and sneered.
"Jeez, watch where you're going!" The chinchilla regarded Larry with clear derision.
"Gh! Sorry, Chaz," Larry winced.
"Yeah? Well 'sorry', doesn't quite cover it," Chaz cracked his knuckles. "You got some nerve struttin' through the halls like you own the place. And mackin' on one of the Musteladies? You must have a death wish." Chaz flashed his teeth and advanced on Larry, who began to cower.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Another chinchilla came in from the side and pulled Larry away from Chaz, getting in between them. "Chaz, my mammal! I know you aren't threatening my Brody." The other chinchilla had a jovial expression and a t-shirt with an obnoxious lime-green color and a popped collar.
"Oh, piss off, Chet!" Chaz shouted. "Everyone knows you're all fluff and no tough!"
"Whoa, whoa!" Chet maintained an amicable smile. He took out some sunglasses and put them on his face. "Let's not make statements we can't take back! You ever seen my videos on Ewetube? My tricks?"
"Why in Fervor's name would I do that?" Chaz spat.
"Cause if you did, you'd know I'm a master of Chilla-Fu," Chet made some rather unconvincing karate gestures with his paws. "And if I finally snap one day, you won't want to be on my bad list..."
"Okay, whatever. Get out of my face before I lose my temper," Chaz growled. "And take your stupid pecan-eating forager with you." Chaz shoved Larry in Chet's direction, and the two walked off.
"You okay, Lares?" Chet asked, his smile waning slightly.
"I'm fine," Larry said distractedly. "Hey, what you said about... snapping?"
"Haha, don't worry about it, Brody," Chet smirked, leaning his head back slightly. "That was just to scare that uptight chilla."
"Really though, Chet?" Larry looked over at the chinchilla with concern on his face. "Are you okay?"
"Bro, I told you I'm fine," Chet's voice weakened. "...I'm goin' to court next month, okay? Don't tell anyone. Could be the start of a new chapter in the Book of Chilla. ...Y'know, hopefully."
"Chet, if you need to talk, hang out, anything, you know I'm available," Larry said seriously.
"Yeah... 'preciate it, squirrel-stuff," Chet said distantly, a smile still on his face, though his eyes were unreadable through his glasses. He suddenly visibly perked up. "Oh, but tell me about last Friday...!"
"Oh come on Chet, you too?" Larry rolled his eyes. "It feels like half the school is talking about this crap..."
"It's not crap, my bro!" Chet seemed enthused. "I so wish I could have been at the dance and seen you with Kara! You can bet if I had a phone I would have been snappin' photos!"
"Chet! Jeez, it's not- it's not really a big deal...!" Larry's eyes found the ground very fascinating all of a sudden.
"C'mon, give me the scoop... just the cliff notes?" Chet pleaded, taking off his sunglasses.
"I dh- I danced with her for one song..." Larry admitted. "It took like, all of my nerve. Then I kinda... we kinda... it was just a little smooch!"
"My main mammal!" Chet flashed a huge grin and shoved Larry in a friendly manner. "That's what I'm talking about!"
Larry sighed out in exhaustion. "I wish it didn't feel like some sort of big celebrity scandal."
"Well, I mean, she is one of the Musteladies," Chet looked at his claws. "A high-ranking member, as far as I know."
"Tch, it's..." Larry rolled his eyes. "I don't even know why she's with them. She's so nice, and they're a bunch of stuck-up-"
"Ooh, hold that thought, Brody," Chet placed a finger over Larry's mouth, and the latter's eyes crossed to look at it. "Here comes Princess herself."
Larry groaned as Chet was indeed correct. A least weasel was walking toward them with a slinky saunter. She had a bit of lavender eyeshadow that gave her a dangerous, almost sensual look, and this was complimented by her fashionable clothing. A look of complete confidence was across her face, despite her size and that she lacked her usual entourage.
"Princess Weaselton!" Chet made a faux bow, but like most things Chet did, it had an air of genuineness to it.
"My loyal subjects!" Princess said in a refined voice, holding her paw up high and rotating it at the wrist, then laughed and dropped the facade. She shifted her weight on one hip and folded her arms. Larry took a defensive look around and saw a few mammals staring and gossiping.
"Hi," Larry said simply.
"Well, well!" Princess drawled out in an appraising voice. "If it isn't the squirrel who found his nuts!" Princess chuckled at her own wit and her eyes narrowed. Her mouth shrank into a skeptical purse. "You kissed Kara, one of my main girls!"
"Um, I did do that," Larry admitted. "I was kind of hoping it would blow over by now."
"Pff, over one weekend? Ha!" Princess drew closer and walked between Chet and Larry, separating them. "Let's see here..." Princess sniffed at the air a little and slunk around Larry just a bit too close for his comfort. He felt his teeth grit in his mouth quite hard and almost felt like wincing as Princess whirled around him judgmentally. She finally stopped right before him and stroked her chin, bobbing her head off to the side.
"...Uh," Larry mumbled.
"She could do worse," Princess gave an impish grin. "I've got my eye on you, Larry...!" Her voice turned into a teasing pinch as she wiggled her fingers at him, then resumed her sauntering walk away, hips swaying, not even looking back at the two.
"The heck was that about!?" Larry asked with wide eyes, feeling like his heart was going explode from his chest.
"I guess that's as close as you're gonna get to approval from the Princess, good buddy!" Chet winked.
"Jeez, I just-" Larry put his hand on his chest, "it was just one little kiss!"
"If you're this nervous now, I can't wait to see you in gym class!" Chet chuckled.
"Oh jeez, right," Larry cringed. "Kara's there."
"Kara!?" Chet shook his head, almost in pity. "Well, yeah, her too, but I meant Heather."
Larry's throat suddenly felt very dry. "Ah. Yeah. Heather."
"Ah, gym glass," Chet smiled, stretching this way and that as a group of rodents and mustelids headed to the track. "Where we get to see the girls wear those loose white shirts and tight navy shorts..."
"Don't be such a perv, Chet," Larry said distantly.
"I'm just narrating, Lares," Chet smirked. "You're the one staring at Kara's behind."
Larry flinched as he realized he was indeed doing this. The ferret in question was ahead of the two. Her fur was honey and white, a "champagne" coloration for a ferret. Her olive-green eyes were slightly squinted as she talked to her friend Heather with a pleasant tone. Heather, on the other hand, was a somewhat rough and serious looking white stoat, with her tail having a black frayed tip.
"Shh, Chet!" Larry waved his paw at Chet as the latter chuckled. "You want to get me killed? Heather's right there!"
Heather took note of her name being said and turned her head, though she couldn't make out the rest of what the two were saying. She narrowed her eyes cautiously.
"Eh! She's not as mean as she looks," Chet shrugged.
"Chet," Larry's eyelids fell. "You said she beat you up in middle school once."
"Yeah," Chet laughed louder, rubbing behind his head. "Kind of a long story." The mammals in the gym class assembled at the starting line of the track.
"All right, you assorted squeakers!" The gym teacher, a tri-color guinea pig, tweeted twice on her whistle. "Before you're done for the day all of you will give me a quarter mile!"
"Speaking of beating," Chet smirked. "I'm gonna try to get a better time than Heather today."
"Than Heather?" Larry blinked, the idea impressing him. "Good luck with that!"
"We'll both be on our way to popularity, Brody," Chet smirked. "I'll be faster than one of the Musteladies, and you'll be dating one!"
"I'm not-!" Larry started, alarmed.
"GO!" The gym teacher blew hard into her whistle.
Chet was ready to go, but Larry wasn't. The mammals started to break into a run, and before long all of them were scampering on all fours to get the most speed from their body types. Larry tried to focus on his running, but he was impressed that Chet actually seemed to be catching up to Heather. The stoat redoubled her efforts and remained in the lead. Larry also found himself distracted by staring at Kara's running. She wasn't the fastest ferret, but she still looked quite graceful with her running style, Larry thought. He shook his head and tried to focus on the task of running without staring at Kara's tail, but his blue eyes kept seeming to wander back to it.
Heather crossed the finish first, followed just a few mammals back by Chet. Kara was quite some distance behind, and Larry was just behind her. Larry panted in his exertion, feeling a little disappointed with himself. He wasn't the final mammal to cross the finish line, but he didn't feel like he had done his best, either.
"Whew...! Nice run!" Chet dusted his hands off, nearing Heather with a few gasping breaths. "Almost got you that time, Heather!"
"Tch," Heather blew out a breath. She didn't even seem that winded from the run.
"Oof," Kara panted, "that was a workout. Need some... water..." Kara headed over to a water fountain.
"Jeez, I'm pretty slow," Larry panted.
"Y'see that, Lares?" Chet panted, coming up to him and patting him on the back. "Almost beat Heather!"
"You sure she wouldn't have just 'beat' you even if you did beat her...?" Larry quipped through his gasps, his hands on his knees.
"Pff, no Lares, she's not like that," Chet chuckled. "Plus, nothing'd be as bad as-" Chet stopped speaking suddenly, his eyes zoning out for a second.
"Ah... no Chet, I'm sorry," Larry gathered up his strength to stand up and put his hand on his shoulder.
"No no dude, forget I said anything," Chet laughed nervously. With no access to his sunglasses, Larry could see that Chet's right eye twitched a few times. Larry cringed; this only happened when he was upset.
"Chet..." Larry said. "Seriously, do you need to talk?"
"Naw, dude," Chet sighed. "Next month. Next month." He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. "Yo, why don't you go talk to Kara? I mean, if you're not too embarrassed from literally chasing her tail the whole time."
"Chet...!" Larry rolled his eyes. "I... I dunno. We haven't really said anything to each other since the dance... and she hasn't even given me another look..."
"Aaackpth!" Kara flinched. The drinking fountain she went to had been over-pressurized, and without her glasses on she misjudged the spray of the water and ended up getting a good spray of ice-cold water in the face. "Agh, criminy!"
"Heh, looks like the ferret's got a drinking problem," Chet quipped, walking toward her.
"What...?" Larry followed Chet to see what she was talking about.
"Uhhh...!" Kara looked in his direction, squinting her eyes and trying to wipe her face off. She saw a squirrel-shaped blur getting closer. "Heather, is that Larry coming!?"
"You know of any other squirrels interested in you?" Heather quipped, folding her arms. "Don't worry. If he insults you for what just happened, it's at his own peril."
"Heather..." Kara groaned, but straightened up when Larry got closer.
"Gh!" Larry stumbled forward a few paces as Chet shoved him at Kara. He stopped in time to not run directly into her, and Kara flinched a little with a tiny giggle. "Uh! Hi Kara, how are you?"
"Good, good!" Kara had a bright, if nervous smile. "A little wet at the moment. -Uh! B-b-because I accidentally sprayed myself with water, haha! Nh-not because- well, y'know! Not that you aren't- y'know, well... attractive or anything, but I didn't mean to imply-"
"Kara," Heather said tersely. Larry's eyes were widening and his ears were reddening.
"I'm babbling," Kara winced. "What I meant to say was that I should probably wear some of those goggle-style glasses out here. I can't see very well without my glasses. Though, I don't know if that would be the best investment, because I don't really see myself using them too much after high school and- and I'm babbling again." She let out a long, nervous giggle.
"I just, uh..." Larry swallowed, his eyes darting defensively at Heather. The stoat was giving him a piercing, judging gaze. "I just wanted to know if mh-maybe... if you had fun last Friday..."
"Oh, I did!" Kara interjected, nodding firmly.
"Mh- maybe you might wanna go out to eat sometime?" Larry's voice was quite tentative. "With me, I mean?"
"Sure!" Kara smiled brightly. "That sounds like fun! Oh, we'll probably have to go somewhere omnivorous, won't we! Maybe I can look somewhere like that up on my phone once I get dressed in my normal clothes. Oh, my phone! I'll have to give you my phone number, too!"
"Y-yeah!" Larry grinned. "Yeah, we can do that."
Kara gave another little giggle, then followed Heather to the girl's locker room. Larry could have sworn Heather gave him a second glance as the two left.
"My main mammal!" Chet balled his fists and pumped them, then rapidly slapped Larry on the back.
"Ow," Larry said, though he didn't mean it.
"You're gettin' the ferret's digits!?" Chet looked exuberant. "You did find your nuts! 'Specially since Heather was, like, right there!" Chet burst into a long laugh.
"I figured... mh-maybe she wouldn't want to kill me if Kara was right next to her..." Larry smiled bashfully.
"Great strategy, bro," Chet grinned.
"My heart's going a mile a minute," Larry said, carefully checking the water fountain before he drank from it.
"I'm pretty sure mine would be too if I'd asked Heather out or something," Chet chuckled. "Not that I'm into her or anything, but yeah, the Musteladies network is thick and intimidating."
Larry thought about this. "Chet, what's 'dalliance' mean?"
Chet chuckled. "Fell asleep on your vocabulary, Lares?" He clicked his claws together as the two headed to the locker room. "Okay, let me lay it out for you."
Larry sighed heavily. It had been a long day, and now it was finally almost over. He stood at the vehicle loop, waiting to be picked up by his parents. He felt for his phone in his pocket, then brought it out and looked at it. Kara's number was in it now. Not a contact picture yet; Larry thought he had pushed his luck as far as it would go that day. Larry felt a smile come on as he looked at Kara's number. He felt like all the trouble he'd gone through that day had been more than worth it.
A standard-colored ferret with blue-rimmed glasses approached Larry as he was waiting.
"Ah, hey Anthony," Larry looked over at the ferret, putting his phone back in his pocket.
"What's this I hear about you and Kara?" Anthony had a bemused smile on.
"Yeah, I dunno," Larry shrugged with a bashful grin. "I guess it's kinda a thing now."
"Oh, Larry, Larry, Larry," Anthony shut his eyes and shrugged, shaking his head. "You poor squirrel."
"Uh?" Larry's eyebrow cocked.
"Listen, Larry," Anthony smiled, adjusting his glasses. "Kara is completely wrong for you. She's a perfect match for me."
"What are you talking about?" Larry asked, surprised.
"Well, first of all," Anthony took a break to sigh as if in pity, "Kara and I share three AP classes, so our intelligence is roughly equal. Secondly, as I'm sure you could notice, we are both ferrets." Anthony grinned proudly. "That means there might be a future for us, Celestials willing! We could grace the Earth with progeny of amazing intelligence."
"Uh," Larry cocked an eyebrow.
"Just face it, Larry," Anthony smirked, holding a hand out in a condescending gesture, "Kara's fascination with you will be fleeting."
Larry exhaled sharply through his nose. He was feeling a little insulted, and tired of having his actions with Kara following him all day.
"Listen, Anthony-" Larry started, his voice getting cross.
"Ah ah," Anthony held a paw up, his other hand adjusting his glasses again with his eyes closed. "You don't need to say anything. It does speak to Kara's immense beauty that it transcends even species lines." He gave a chuckle, then a sigh. "In fact, that's one of the lines of a bit of prose I'm composing for her." He chuckled again, prouder this time. "Once it's finished, I will present it to my love, and she will no doubt be moved to tears!"
Larry felt his teeth grinding in his mouth. "Why, because of how poorly it's written?"
Anthony flinched and looked genuinely offended. "Listen here, squirrel!"
"Anthony, I'm tired," Larry said. "Can you just go do your thing somewhere else?"
"The nerve!" Anthony flashed his teeth. "Do you think you can just banish me as if I were some common nerd!?" The ferret's anger seemed to build, and he moved closer to Larry. "Well, I'm not! I'm an uncommon nerd! Rare! Epic! Legendary!"
"Anthony-!" Larry grimaced as the ferret invaded his personal space.
"Silence!" Anthony shouted. "You are a common squirrel, in every sense of the word! And while you may talk down to me, I'm still a ferret, a predator!" Anthony raised his hand, showing his claws. "You should know your own place, prey!"
"Anthony, what's wrong with you!?" Larry gasped as Anthony yanked him by the shirt with his free hand.
"I'll communicate with you in the only language a dullard like you can understand," Anthony said darkly, rearing his hand back to strike. "Take th- AAAGH!"
"What language would that be?" A dark, calm voice came.
"Gghh...!" Anthony let out a strained noise.
Larry barely saw a closed set of claws restraining Anthony's hand, and then a sudden whirl of white fur put Heather between Anthony and Larry.
"Back off, insect," Heather warned in a low voice, though she kept Anthony's hand restrained. "Kara has chosen to go out with Larry, not you."
"Hh-hh-Heather!" Anthony's pupils were pinpricks.
"Do you understand?" Heather's free hand lurched out to grab Anthony's collar and drag him closer. Her eyes bored holes into the ferret. "Or is your 'massive' brain incapable of processing my 'language'...?"
"Uh, p-p-perfectly capable!" Anthony stammered.
Suddenly, a relatively immense cop cruiser pulled up to the side of the curb. Larry swallowed, turning up to look at it.
"Hey, what's going on here?" Judy asked, leaning her head out the window and narrowing her eyes at the stoat. Heather turned her head up, unafraid.
"This maggot was threatening Larry," Heather explained.
"Oh!" Judy's eyes widened in concern. The gray bunny jerked her thumb outward. "In that case, shall I do a lap around the loop while you take care of business?" Heather looked surprised, then grinned. Anthony made a not-entirely-brave whimper.
"Judy...!" Nick's voice came in scornfully. His fox head craned out to look at them. "Let the maggot go."
Heather complied unceremoniously, and Anthony quickly made himself scarce. The bunny and fox looked at the rather exhausted-looking squirrel.
"You ready to go, Larry?" Judy asked, opening the cruisers door.
"Yeah, more than," Larry nodded. He hesitated before beginning the long climb inside the large vehicle. "Uh, thanks, Heather."
With a half-nod of her head, Heather let out a terse sound, the tone of which was unclear. Larry thought he saw a very slight smirk on her face as she turned to walk away.
Larry climbed up into the seat of the cruiser, across Judy's lap, and ended up on Nick's lap. Nick folded his hands over Larry after putting his backpack in one of the cup holders.
"So... how was your day...?" Nick asked in a jokey tone.
"And don't you tell me nothing happened," Judy huffed.
"Yeah, it's been... kinda messed up," Larry grumbled. "You remember that dance I said I wanted to go to last Friday?"
"Oh! Yeah," Judy nodded.
"Well, the reason I wanted to go was because of that ferret..." Larry said.
"Oh, the ferret," Nick smirked. "Do tell."
"Her name is Kara," Larry said as the cruiser began to pull out of the vehicle loop. "She's this really sweet ferret... we ended up dancing for a song, and then we both kinda... just... y'know..." Larry gestured emphatically as if this would help express himself.
Judy's eyes and smile were getting wider and wider. "Go on...!?"
"...Kissed?" Larry winced.
Judy's squeal was quite loud. "Larry! Aaagh! That is so sweet!" Judy let out a long giggle.
"Keep your eyes on the road, dear," Nick said in a proud deadpan.
"Did- did you have her going..." Judy took a deep breath and began to sing: "I kissed a squirrel and I liked it...!"
"Mom, no!" Larry looked horrified.
"I kissed a squirrel just to try it...!" Judy continued anyway.
"Mom...!" Larry put his hands over his eyes. Nick leaned his head down to look over Larry's expression curiously.
"Y'know, honeybun," Nick mused. "I get the feeling Larry might have been teased about this a lot today, maybe lay off on the singing?"
"Sorry, sorry, got carried away," Judy chuckled. "No no, I'm proud of you! Good for you, Larry. I can't wait to meet her."
"Yeah," Larry said, frowning.
"Wha? What's wrong?" Judy matched his frown.
"I dunno..." Larry grumbled, sitting back into Nick's lap. "I was just thinking. A lot of stuff's happened today. It's made me realize some things. Stuff like: I'm not the fastest, and I'm not the smartest." Larry sighed heavily. "And I'm definitely not the strongest. I've had to have mammals like Chet, Heather, and even you guys save me today." He sighed again.
"What's... wrong with that?" Judy shrugged.
"I dunno," Larry's eyes went off to the side. "I just feel like... maybe when Kara sees how not-special I am, she might not want to have anything to do with me..."
"Oh now, don't talk like that!" Judy's high-pitched voice had a motherly reproof to it. "You are special."
"Nh..." Larry muttered. "That's just a mom thing to say."
"She's right, though," Nick grinned, tapping Larry on the head affectionately. "You're a very nice squirrel."
"Tch. 'Nice'," Larry shook his head, spitting it out like an epithet, "anyone can be nice."
"Ha!" Nick barked out a loud, scornful laugh. "True as that may be, you'll find that often mammals just don't have it in themselves to be nice."
"And you do," Judy insisted. "You're the nicest little guy I've ever met!"
"Oof, I'm right here, Judy," Nick shook his head.
"Thanks Mom," Larry barely smiled. "Thanks, Dad."
"Now," Judy changed the subject with mischievous eyes. "I don't feel like cooking, and neither does Nick. You wanna go out to Chez Cheese?"
"Ooh, yeah," Larry nodded. "All this crazy stuff today has given me an appetite."
"Excellent," Nick nodded. "Let's get rolling."
"You know..." Judy smirked. "Now that you've got yourself a girlfriend, I'll expect up-to-the-minute reports on how you're doing with her..."
"Mom..." Larry rolled his eyes. He considered what he might say next, then just decided to go for it. "Well, we are kinda trying to figure our first date out."
This time, Larry managed to cover his ears before his mother unleashed another piercing squeal.