Chapter 69
"We didn't get caught on last week, so why not?" Fox approved of the idea, much to the vixen's surprise.
"Gotta say, I like how much more adventurous you're becoming." Fox made Krystal smile with his unique compliment, there was plenty of evidence to back it up.
"I never really thought about it, but sneaking out of the house is fun. It always seemed so farfetched from movies and books, but it's so easy and so much fun!" She almost yelled because the idea excited her. Anatomy class was one of their favorites, often times they got to work together on projects in class so they had more time to talk.
"So what do you think about inviting Falco and Slippy?"
"Really? I would've thought you wanted it to just be us. You know, all romantic or whatever it is you girls like?"
"That's not even worth me rolling my eyes. And here I thought you'd be all for the idea."
"I mean I am, it's been a while since all of us went out and did something together. So I think it's a great idea." Their project for the day was to define and label different parts of the anatomy on a small worksheet they were given.
Fox grinned as his eyes narrowed on the list. "Hey look, isn't this supposed to be the P…P, how's this thing pronounced?" Krystal blushed a little and rolled her eyes.
"Ugh, you're so immature sometimes!"
"So you guys wanna sneak out again? Don't you think that's a little risky?" Slippy had a look of concern on his face when asked after school.
"I think it's a great idea, I mean her dad's being unreasonable and what he doesn't know won't hurt him." Falco was a bit more up front than the frog was. "I mean I didn't say I wouldn't come, I just thought that maybe it shouldn't be so frequent. Plus it's Friday, don't you think he might be watching out for it?" Fox scratched his chin as he and his friends walked towards the front of the school.
"Maybe, how about we just ask Krystal? Since all the punishment would fall on her, I guess it'd be best if we let her decide."
"Might as well, I'm pretty sure I know what she'll say, but let's do it." Once they reached the front of the school they waited for Krystal. "You know, this was her idea." "What do you mean?" Falco asked the question that he knew was on the edge of Slippy's mind as well.
"This whole sneaking out thing. She was the one who came up with the idea."
"She was always more fun and cooler than you." Fox's face shifted to a more annoyed look.
"Sorry I'm late boys!"
Krystal came vaulting over the fence towards their location at the front of the school. "Hey, we were just talking about you. They said they're all for the idea."
"That's great! It'll be fun for all of us to hang out again. What do you guys think we should do?" The thought that had been on everyone's mind, but no one had a solid idea for. Four teens, one of which was sneaking out of her house, likely past ten at night, just might have to think a little bit more than just going to someone's house.
"How about we go to the mall? Since we're gonna be taking off in a while, how about we get Krystal on the piloting arcade game? I mean, it's better than nothing." Slippy was right, Krystal had admitted herself that she knew nothing about piloting. This way she could at least try, she could learn something from watching the guys at the very least.
"There's a piloting game at the mall?"
"Yeah, it's been a while since we've been there. Last time we were there was when…Bill was still here." A short pause overcame the group.
"I wish he were here still." Fox was hardly above a whisper when he said it.
A few things had happened since Bill had departed for the Cornerian academy. For all they knew, Bill would never get to see Krystal with the group again. At the least it would be a long time, who knows how busy Bill is now or would be in the future? Krystal could faintly sense Fox's emotions, she never wanted to pry on his emotions but sometimes it was for his own good.
"I have an idea." She had a quick spark in her mind. Krystal pulled the guys beside each other.
"Krystal, what are you doing?"
She shook her head at Fox before walking towards the front door. "Just wait here, I'll be right back."
The guys all looked at each other with confused faces, wondering what the radiant vixen had on her mind. Shortly after entering the building, she came back out with the front office secretary in tow with her. She quickly filed in between Fox and Falco, happily putting her arm around Fox and leaning on his shoulder.
"Smile everyone!"
The secretary held up Krystal's phone and it all came into focus what was going on. Fox slid his arm around Krystal's waist and put his arm around Falco's shoulders, throwing out a rock and roll sign while he's at it. Everyone happily put their arms around their shoulders, they were a team after all. The four teens couldn't tell for sure, but it felt like the sun was shining more radiantly than ever as they smiled the most sincere smiles they ever had while the secretary snapped their picture.
"That's great! All four of you look so great!" The secretary handed Krystal her phone back and happily walked back inside.
"Here, now Bill won't be in the dark."
Shortly after Krystal said that, all three of the guys' phones went off. She sent all three of them the picture, the picture where they had never looked so happy. Fox smiled and could feel his eyes dampen a bit at the sight of it.
'We did it.' He typed in a text box as he scrolled through his contacts looking for one specific contact; Bill Grey.
'I don't know if he'll see it today, but I hope he'll get to see it soon.' Krystal sensed that her idea helped Fox's mind ease itself, she squeezed his hand a little.
"This looks great!" Falco's voice interrupted their thoughts as they looked over at him, it appeared that Krystal's idea helped all of their moods.
"So then how about we all meet up around 10 tonight?" The calm and cute voice interrupted all of their thoughts. They nodded to each other in silent agreement as they waved goodbye and headed toward their cars.
"So, see you at 10?"
"I'll be right at your window." Fox smiled as he stood up out of Krystal's car, snatching up his backpack and pecking her cheek goodbye.
"Hey kid, how was school today?" his dad greeted him as he walked in and slung his backpack on the couch.
"Pretty…great if you ask me. Look what we did after school." Fox retrieved his phone from his pocket and handed James his phone, the picture already loaded up. "Wow, you guys look so happy, and the sun sure seems bright here. What was this for?" Fox laughed at James' comment concerning the brightness of the sun.
"Just something we threw together. Something made us think about Bill…how it's been a while since he left. It made me think that he still didn't know about Krystal… and the team. So we figured we'd let him know, the best way we could." Fox's smile beamed as James handed the phone back to him.
"So what's going on with you tonight? Any plans in mind?"
"Yeah, we're all gonna go to the mall and hop on the piloting arcade game. I figure it's something for Krystal to try out, she's smart so she'll probably learn something."
"Oh so you guys got everything smoothed out with her dad?"
"Well…I don't think so. Krystal said that she wants him to understand that she's becoming a young woman and that she isn't gonna grovel to be treated as so." James crossed his arms.
"So your idea of proving that she's becoming a mature, young woman is to sneak out? Without saying anything to him or trying to talk about it?"
Fox shook his head, a look of disbelief flooding his face. "Dad, you didn't see him. He had no trace being reasonable or being open minded towards talking about it. He just doesn't get it, this is our only option." James let out a sigh, it sounded like one of disappointment. He rubbed his forehead before looking back at his son.
"Son, look. You have to be more up front about this stuff. You have to remember that she is his daughter. Yes she is your girlfriend, but before that she was, and still is, his daughter. And yeah, I won't lie as a parent, it can be perceived as you trying to take her away from him." James paused as he finished this statement, collecting his thoughts.
"Just think about it as if you're leading your team. If Falco goes off and does something stupid, which knowing him he very much will." Fox laughed mid sentence, knowing the humor in the truth. "What are you gonna do? Let him 'learn' from his mistake? Or are you gonna let him know that something worse could happen in the future? Tell him that perhaps he should re-think his actions and be better prepared in the future?"
Fox looked at his dad with confusion littering his face. "What I'm trying to say is that it's the same thing. Just... think about it. I'm not telling you what to do because you're nearly a grown man, but think about it. You haven't tried talking to her dad, so just try it sometime, okay?"
Now Fox understood, even in the small talk with his dad he felt like he had matured so much more. "Right, I'll give it a go sometime. But I still wanna take her out tonight to the mall for the piloting game."
"Your choice kiddo, just know that I've said what I want to say. Everything's on you, like it will be from here on out." Fox took his backpack back to his room and sat it down, then moving back towards the kitchen for a snack.
"So do you think any of you could even beat my old score at that game?"
Fox heard a yell from the living room. "Yeah right old man, I bet even Slippy could beat your old high score." James laughed as his son came into view, a granola bar in his hand with a bite taken out of it.
"You don't even know what my score is, do you? I don't blame you, knowing your score's nowhere near mine is something that I figured you would block out of your mind." "Yeah yeah whatever, what's your oh so prestigious score?"
James told him.
"Oh... well yeah then maybe I can't beat it."
The two foxes laughed, secondhand and firsthand experience only helped James bolster his old score at a mere arcade game that was geared towards piloting.
Later on, long after the sun had set, Fox waited outside that same window. He sat on the ground next to it as he looked up at the night sky, the stars.
'We'll be up by those stars before too much longer.'Then he turned towards the window.
'I hope.'
His thoughts were interrupted as he heard the window open. Shortly after hearing the opening, did a glistening sapphire vixen vault out of it. "Ready?"
She leaned over to close the window without even looking at him. "Yeah, let's go." Krystal grabbed his hand and they dashed off into the night.
"It's a good thing the mall stays open a little later on the weekends." Falco's arms were crossed when they arrived, but that smug and friendly grin persisted on his face.
"So where's this piloting game at anyways?" Krystal asked them all as they made their way to the corner of the mall that housed the arcade. "Here it is, in all its glory. What do you think?" The game that Fox pointed at held two small ships that you sat in, with controls that were indeed similar to realistic aircrafts.
"It looks…fun. I wanna go first!" She plopped right into the left ship without any hesitation.
"Hey wait, don't you wanna maybe watch first? So you can get an idea of how things are done?" Krystal had a Falco-like smug grin on her face. "What's wrong, Slippy Toad? Afraid of losing to a girl?" Falco unsuccessfully hid his light laugh as Slippy jumped right into the ship next to Krystal, eager to take on this challenge.
"Fine then, if that's how this game's to be played then I'll show no mercy to a newbie." Fox laughed as he approached and showed Krystal the controls. "You use these to steer. Here's how you boost, brake, these are your lasers. Oh and hit the big red button to launch a bomb. Just shoot down anything in front of you and try to avoid getting hit. Think you have everything?"
Krystal nodded as Fox stepped back and the space shootout began between Krystal and Slippy.
"Whoa!"
Krystal was flying through an asteroid field that looked rather vast. Enemy ships came flying right at her, some came from behind a small field of other meteors. She jerked the controls back and forth, trying her best to not crash or be hit by enemy fire.
"Krystal! Do a barrel roll!"
"A what?"
Her attention shifted off the screen, towards Fox. Then there was a much louder noise, followed with the two words that she was fearing.
"Game Over." Falco pointed at the screen.
"I guess that means I win!" Slippy had a proud smile on his face as he hopped out of the ship.
"Oops."
Fox and Falco both laughed. "Oops is right, you shouldn't keep your eyes off the enemy in front of you."
"So what's a barrel roll?" All of the boys laughed in response.
"I'll show you. And a few other things." Fox responded as he and Falco took their spots in the ships.
"It's too bad we don't have a chance at beating dad's score." Fox shrugged as he realized the truth while they were all walking out of the mall later that night.
"I mean, sure he's a great pilot. But a score like that… we didn't even come that close with all of our scores combined!" Slippy was right, despite his and Krystal's lackluster scores by comparison to Fox and Falco's, they wouldn't even come close.
She was almost close to Slippy's score, but Krystal's scores were still impressive considering it was her first few tries.
"Yeah, well my scores don't help that much." Her voice was almost void of confidence, trying to hide it with a laugh.
"Nah, don't you worry about it. Yeah they weren't that great, but for someone on their first try? Not too shabby, plus you made progress every time." Falco's words gave her some slight comfort, they weren't untrue. She didn't double her original score, but every round she always managed a higher score. Being reminded of this made her happy, perhaps she would become a skilled pilot after all. Perhaps she'll be a valuable asset to her future team outside of her future medical expertise.
Fox parked the car back in his driveway as they made their way towards Krystal's house. "You know…I'm really enjoying this. The whole sneaking out thing." Fox's ears drooped a little at hearing this, the words from his father echoing in his head.
"Yeah, it's pretty fun."
He shook off the words for the time being, right now she was the most important thing to be focused on. They stood outside the window as they had on previous occasions. "I'm liking this too, standing out by the window. There's just something romantic about secrecy." Fox laughed as he heard her confession.
"You watch too many movies." She ignored him as she hugged him goodbye for the night.
"Love you Fox."
"Love you Krystal."
She opened her window and vaulted inside as she left Fox alone in the night. Or morning, Fox retrieved his phone and saw that the clock struck 12:26. As he began walking off towards his house, he heard a door open.
'What in the-'
Fox's thoughts were interrupted by the single, most absolutely mortifying image that he only wanted to see in his imagination.
"Hey there kiddo."
Fox slowly turned around and saw what his worst fears had depicted. "Hey there…" He turned around to see Krystal's dad coming out of the door next to the garage.
"Nice gun, what model is it?"
"Nothing special, just a standard P13 model. Not perfect, but it does what it's made to do."
"Yeah, I've heard of that standard model. Personally I prefer a 45, but that's just me."
"Ah, so a gun boy huh?"
"I wouldn't claim that title, but I am glad to see that the safety on your gun is still on right now." Fox turned towards the older fox entirely, crossing his arms as he faced him. Krystal's dad laughed as Fox told him this, a somewhat unsettling laugh. He stepped closer, Fox refusing to take his eyes off of him.
He was certain that Krystal's dad wasn't going to use what was in his hand, but he wasn't one to take chances. Fox laughed as his company approached.
"Care to explain what's so funny?"
"Your eyes. They're just like Krystal's."
"Sorry kid, happily married. And you're a little too young for me" They shared a laugh, something that Fox didn't expect.
"I mean they're wandering. Rather than stay on their target, they wander. We went to the mall tonight, we went to the arcade and played a piloting arcade game. She'd get distracted a lot, it caused her scores to tank. Overall I thought she did great still."
"Did she? I'm glad to hear that."
What? Did he really just say that? What does that mean? Fox's ears, as well as his mind, were fluttering with curiosity. "You're certainly excited." Fox laughed, realizing how easily he let his guard down around the telepath.
"It's easy to forget isn't it?"
"Only with you and your wife. Somehow, time away from her or not, I always remember that about Krystal. She chooses not to read my mind, but I always remember that. It's one of the many things that make her special." The adult stepped closer to the teenager, only about one foot of space between them, and at least three inches in difference concerning their height.
His eyes beamed down on Fox, this time they didn't waver. They were focused right on him, not moving at all. Despite everything he had done up until now, Fox's nerves were getting to him. The adult let out a breath.
"Kid, I'm not gonna use this."
He stowed the gun away in the holster on his side as he took a step back. "Come in here." Krystal's dad beckoned him towards the door that looked like it led to the garage. Fox followed him, if a bit reluctant. Two chairs were pulled out in the garage, next to his car.
"So how'd you know?"
The adult laughed at Fox's question. "Come on, Friday night? You couldn't have been a little less predictable?" Now it was the teenager's turn to laugh.
"What's so funny?"
"We snuck out Wednesday night too." A small pause ensued.
"Touché."
To Fox's surprise, the older fox was acting much more friendly than their last encounter. "Look, Fox, you're a good kid. I won't lie about that."
"My dad was telling me about how to handle this today."
"And he told you that sneaking out wasn't the best idea?"
"I guess Krystal respects my privacy better than you do huh?" Fox was a bit annoyed at the prying.
"I didn't read your mind, I'm a dad too after all." The silent apology was issues in Fox's mind, easily being heard. "I admit, more than admit, I blew a gasket on Sunday. I'm sorry, I was being irrational and hasty."
"It's okay, you weren't wrong, sort of. It does sound like I'm trying to run away with Krystal doesn't it?"
"Yeah, a little. I know now that isn't your intention, of course. But, Fox, that's my daughter. My first child, and I just…didn't expect things to happen like this."
"Yeah? What did you expect?" He scratched his chin, slightly suppressing laughter.
"Something more cliché I suppose. She graduates high school, goes to college somewhere. Brings home a boyfriend at Christmas, then they'll get married after they both have jobs and we all live happily ever after."
"Cliché isn't bad."
"No, it's not. I just wanted the best for her, a simple enough life where me and her mother could still be a part of it."
"You know we'd come back every once in a while. And were going to give you the ship's number so you could see us any time you wanted?" The older fox looked at the younger vulpine with surprise.
"You thought about us?"
"Of course we did. You're her dad, and if I'm being honest, I was prepared to give up this whole space pilot thing if I really was going to become a problem. I didn't wanna come in between you two so much to the point that we'd be running away. That's just…not right."
The older vulpine was touched, he sensed the sincerity of the words if the words themselves weren't enough.
"Kid…I just want you to take care of her."
"What do you think I've been doing for the past two months?" He earned a light chuckle from the older fox.
"Thanks, ki- Fox. That means the world to me."
"It means the world to me too. Thanks, for everything."
I hope this turned out okay, enjoy it folks :D
