Crazy trouble with love part 6
Tina and Gumball
Series: Amazing World of Gumball
xxxxxxxxxxxx
Gumball was walking down the street in Elmore, and for once was alone since Darwin had to stay late after school. Meaning he had some time to his thoughts while he could head on home at his own pace. 'Let's see, I could go the normal way and get home and get started on my homework...or I could take the long way I've never been on before and do homework later…long way it is!' He thought as he walked down the street.
He whistled while he happened to be going near the junkyard and slowed down while feeling a little cautious. "Wait, what if Tina's there? I don't wanna get beaten up before I get home, I just got fixed up last week." He said before he began to hear a sound coming from there that sounded a bit like crying. 'Oh no, did a kid get lost in there?'
He pondered on just turning around and going, but at the same time he knew that would require him changing directions and he was too tired to do that.
"Eh, I got nothing better to do." He said as he walked into the junkyard and began to look around. Everything was dark and the same, although the crying was coming from behind a huge pile. "Hello? Is anyone there? You probably don't want to be here, the owners don't like trespassers."
Slowly the crying simmered down followed by sniffling. "Gumball?"
'Why do I feel like I've heard that voice before?' "Yeah, it's me, you can come out from behind the pile if you want."
That's when he felt the ground shake a little as his pupils shrank while seeing a large figure walk out sniffling. 'How did I not see that coming?!'
Standing before him with tears on her face was Tina, the T-rex, the biggest bully in Elmore. She tried to wipe the tears away with her hands, but they just flailed and couldn't reach so she used her tail instead. "What are you doing around here?"
"Well...I was walking by when I heard crying and thought someone had stumbled in and got lost here." He said nervously. "I mean, this place IS pretty big, am I right? Heh heh...heh." he chuckled while inwardly petrified.
"Yeah..it is...and I'm going to miss it when I'm gone." She said sadly.
"Wait, say what?" He blinked confused.
"My dad said that the warehouse we live in is getting too small, so we're leaving our home...but I don't want to go."
"So...you're gonna be leaving Elmore altogether?"
"Yes...but I don't want to leave! I like it here, and I don't want to live somewhere else! It's not fair!" She cried out in a loud roar while stamping on the ground while her tail lashed out and knocked a pile over with Gumball bouncing from the rumble and having to avoid the minor objects.
"Whoa! Ow!" He shouted as he barely avoided a crushed car. "Please calm down!"
"No, how can I calm down when my life is ruined?" she sniffled while the tears fell down and nearly soaked the small cat. "I was hatched in this place, I grew up here, I learned how to crush cars with my body here. I'm not ready to move on."
"Well, I'm sorry, but there's not much you can do, I wish I could help though." He said as he clung to a car in an attempt not to get washed away by her tears. He saw her fall to her front and sniffle while seeing the sadness in her eyes while her tears formed a puddle under her head. "But I mean come on, maybe the place you two move to is bigger and has doors at the school that are just your size."
"But I like this place...I don't want to move." She whimpered as she teared up. "I wouldn't move even if we were going to a mansion, I like the junkyard."
He climbed on the car's roof and sighed. "But look all around here. It's all dirty, a walking hazard, plus it's filled with people's old junk. Wouldn't you rather have somewhere way cleaner and organized?"
"No, I like the junk, I don't have to worry about destroying anything this way, everything is already wrecked." She sniffed as she slammed her tail into another pile.
He braced himself and saw her look close to crying out again. "Wait wait wait! Uh….why….don't I….you know, try and cheer you up?" He asked going with the first thing that came to mind.
"R-Really? You would do that for me?" She asked as she began to stop crying. "But, why?"
'Because I don't want to drown in your tears.' He thought before saying. "Because, you look like you could use some cheering up."
She wiped the tears away with her tail and stood up while he got off the car away from the puddle. "Well….I wouldn't be against it."
"Cool, so what do you want to do first?" He asked nervously. 'What have I gotten myself into?'
"Well, a trip to the mall would be nice, I wanna see if they have any sales going on." She said as she got up. "Come on, let's go before it closes."
"Ok, sure." He said as he followed her out of the junkyard.
(Mall)
"Soo...where exactly are we going in here, is there a store that has clothes...in your size?"
"Why would I need clothes?" She raised an eyebrow. "I've never worn them before."
'I never pointed it out cause it would be awkward.' He thought coughing while looking away. "So….what are you shopping for then?" He asked as they walked through the mall.
"There." She pointed to a store ahead which seemed to be the one that sold all kinds of fabric.
"Fabrics? But I thought you didn't wear clothes?" He asked in confusion.
"I don't." She replied as they moved inside while she crouched down and looked around. "But that doesn't mean I don't use this stuff."
"Really? What do you use it for, making a nest?" He joked. He saw her narrow her eye making him shut up immediately. "I mean, take your time for whatever it is."
"That's what I thought you said." She growled as she kept looking. 'Huh, this one looks good.'
'What could she possibly use them for?' He wondered while glancing around. 'I mean, is it meant for a carpet? Some curtains? A giant bath towel?' He thought as the images past through his mind. 'I have to know!'
"Gumball, grab this one for me." She said as she pointed at a large roll of red fabric almost bigger than the blue cat.
"Uh, you mean like grab a piece or two?" He asked curiously. "Or like one big piece?"
"No, the whole roll, and be prepared, I might ask you to grab some more."
"Wait, say what? But that thing is bigger than my whole body."
"Did I stutter? You said you would cheer me up, now grab it Gumball." She grumbled.
He jumped and ran over before grunting as he tried to lift the roll up with difficulty. "Damn it, what is this stuff made of?" He groaned.
She looked around before seeing a small pink woman behind the counter. "Excuse me, do you have any aquamarine rolls?"
"Um...actually I think we do, but it's a really large roll, are you sure you want it?" Asked the cashier who looked like she was made of yarn.
"Yes, the bigger the better."
"Ok, I'll go get it for you quick." She said as she went around and went through a door in the back. After a few minutes she came out pulling a cart that had a giant roll of the fabric she wanted on it, it was half as tall as Tina and as thick as Richard.
Gumball's eyes widened. 'Please tell me she's carrying that.'
"Great, my friend here will take it and he'll be paying as well, how much is it?" She asked with a grin as Gumball paled.
"Well we're having quite the sale going, 90% off fabric that costs over two-hundred dollars. So I'd say about twenty dollars."
"Great, we'll take it...I wonder if I should get another if a sale is going on?" She said as Gumball sighed in relief. "Nah, this'll do for now. Now pay for it and pick it up Gumball."
He gulped and had to set the red roll down before fishing his money out and payed the lady. "Uh, does the cart come with it?"
"Nope." She chuckled as he paled. "Good luck kid."
He groaned while moving over and grunted while having even a tougher time trying to pick the roll up. "Come on, you can do it…" He groaned as he struggled to lift it up off the cart.
Tina tapped her foot on the floor before rolling her eyes and used her tail to lift it up slightly. "I'm only helping a little."
"Ugh...thanks…" He groaned before seeing the red roll on the floor. 'Oh crap baskets.'
(Later)
'My arms are gonna fall off.' He thought while carrying the red and aquamarine roll with Tina helping lift the second one up a little while they walked. "S-So...are we going to go drop this off at your place?" He groaned. 'Please tell me I don't have to carry this all day!'
"No, I'm not done looking around."
"Ugh...what else are you possibly looking for?" He groaned.
"A choker." She replied while looking around before spotting a rather gothic looking store. "There, we should find one in there." She said as she started to lead him towards the shop.
'A choker? I thought she didn't wear clothes?' He thought while trying to keep up or her tail would slip and the rolls would crush him. Somehow they managed to enter the shop and she helped him put down the rolls as she began to look around for chokers.
"Yo, can….I like help?" Drawled a bored voice from the counter.
"Yes, I'm looking for some chokers, do you have any in here?" Tina asked as she turned to the cashier who appeared to be an overweight pale teenager who had a large number of piercings.
"Everywhere." He sighed while gesturing to the shop that had numerous dark or gothic accessories which made it seem like it didn't belong to the rest of the mall. "I don't know...I just work here...whatever…"
"Wow, a wet paper bag would have been more help." Sweatdropped Gumball. He saw Tina look at a wall of chokers with some even having gemstones. 'Is this place meant to be dark or some weird fashion taste?' He thought as he looked at the chokers. "Um, Tina? I don't think they have one in your size."
"Hold your horses." She growled while looking high and low. "I know they do, I read in a magazine they've got ones that can fit any size."
"Um, ok, whatever you say…" He said as he looked around. 'It's probably just some random stuff they'll put in any mag-'
"Ha, I found it!" She said as her tail picked up a giant choker from under a table.
"Nevermind." He muttered while seeing her toss it up before catching it around her neck where it seemed to fit right on with no problem. 'Huh, it kind of looks good on her.' He thought as she admired it in a nearby mirror.
"Wow, it looks great, Gumball, pay the cashier."
"It's forty bucks…"
The cat sighed before getting the cash out and put it on the counter.
"Thanks...now uh, could you leave?" The cashier groaned.
(Later)
Gumball sighed while having to crawl wit the rolls on his back and feeling like his limbs would break off. "So...are we...heading back yet?" He groaned.
"Nope, we're not done yet."
"Oh lord." He muttered while feeling his limbs give out as the weight of the rolls crushed him. He was flattened by them like a cartoon character as Tina kept walking.
"We still have to go to the last store to see if they have some scale cleaner...Gumball?" She said as she looked back to just see the rolls lying on the floor. "Did he ditch me?!" She growled which made several shoppers move away quickly while she blew steam from her nostrils. "That bastard, he ran away the second it got hard, now I have to carry these back home!" She roared as she picked them up with her tail, not seeing Gumball stuck to the blue roll.
"Air….sweet air... " He wheezed while taking a deep breath as his head inflated back to normal size as he took more air to get the rest of him back to normal. "For a second I thought I was gonna be stuck like that!" He gasped as Tina kept marching towards the exit of the mall.
"When I see that cat I'm gonna end him." She growled while he blinked. "He offered all this, but ditching me like that? I'm not leaving until I get payback!"
"Uh….Tina?"
"What? Gumball, where are you?!" She roared angrily.
"Uh, right here."
"Huh?" She said as she looked around to see him on the roll. "What are you doing there, I thought you abandoned me here!"
"No not really, I was just flattened." He chuckled nervously while her eyes narrowed. "Oh come on don't get mad at me! It's not my fault I'm physically challenged."
"Hmmm, well...I will forgive you this time...but if you actually do run away I will hunt you down and make you regret it."
He gulped and tugged on his collar. "T-Trust me, not happening." 'I wanna live thank you very much.'
"Good….I think we're done shopping for today, let's head home." She turned and stamped out before hearing her stomach give a low growl that they both heard.
"Ummm...do you want to get some food first?" He asked nervously as she blushed a bit.
"...ok." She said as she turned and began to make her way towards the food court. "Also, thanks for agreeing to buy lunch."
"No prob." He sighed. 'Not like I had much of a choice.'
Soon they were in the food court and she was in line for a place called 'Big dino sized meat meals!'.
"I will take the stegosaurus meal please." She said as she licked her lips.
"Um, I'll take some water." Spoke Gumball while unsure about some of the meals.
"Ok, you got it." Said the worker who looked like a caveman. "It will be ready in a second."
The two walked over to a table with Tina sitting down and the chair holding her. She set the fabric down next to them as Gumball took the seat across from her. "So...did you just order an entire stegosaurus?"
"More like three fourths of it, they don't include the head and toss in a side of pterodactyl fries."
"Wow...that sounds...expensive...am I going to get a regular glass of water or a ten gallon bucket?"
"Not unless you wanted a large."
"...Wow." He said before the worker came over with a giant plate of meat in one hand and Gumball's water in the other.
"One stegosaurus meal and a glass of water, enjoy."
"Thanks." She said before she began to tear into her meal as the worker gave Gumball the check.
He looked at it and was surprised to see it was actually rather cheaper compared to what he expected. "Wow...this isn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be." He said as he pulled out his wallet.
"What did you expect?" Asked Tina chewing on the cooked meat.
"I dunno, a big bill for basically most of a dinosaur?"
"This place is pretty cheap, they don't have high prices for big portion sizes cause for some reason they don't get a bunch of customers like other places, can't imagine why, this stuff never gets old."
"Yeah...I wonder…" He said as he looked at her tear into the food. 'I think I lost my appetite for a glass of water!'
"Mmm, you sure you don't want something to eat? This stuff is better than cafeteria food."
"I'm good." He groaned as he looked away. He heard her keep eating while around them the only sound was the people shopping and walking around, making it a little silent at the table. "So….when do you have to leave?" He asked, trying to start a conversation.
She swallowed the meat and looked down with a sad sigh. "Tonight, my dad made it clear that it has to be tonight."
"Wow...so I guess this is the last night in elmore, huh?" He asked as he looked down. 'Wow, that means less people getting bullied….that sounds great, but for some reason, it also sounds weird.'
"Yeah… though I really appreciate you doing this for me Gumball….this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me." She admitted. "Well, besides the time Jamie tried making me happy by stuffing a bunch of nerds in one locker."
"Yeah...glad to hear Tina…" He said as he saw that she was done with her meal. 'Wow, that was fast!'
She sighed while feeling full as she stood up. "Alright, we can head out."
"Cool...do I have to carry the fabric again?" He asked nervously. 'I really don't wanna get squashed again.'
"Nah, I'll carry them since you did plenty already."
"Thanks, I don't think I would have made it." He groaned as they began to leave the mall.
"But I wanna go to the park, just someplace quiet and calm."
"Oh well...ok, sure, why not." He said with a shrug. 'Wow, that's...different from what I imagined. I thought she was gonna suggest going to some monster truck rally.'
(Later)
Tina and Gumball walked through the park as he looked at her. 'Wow, this is pretty nice…'
She took in a deep breath and let out a relaxed sigh. "I needed this, like you wouldn't believe."
"Really? Um...do you mind if I ask why?" He asked curiously. 'Oh wait..the move, how did I forget that?'
"This place just sometimes calms me down." She sat down while he took a bench beside her. "With all the stress from school and the grief I get, it's hard to really find time to stay cool and calm."
"Well...I'm glad I could help." He said as he relaxed and leaned back. "It's going to be weird not to see you at school tomorrow."
She laid her head on the ground and sgihed. "I'm gonna miss Jamie, she was the first real friend I ever had when I came here."
"Yeah, and...I'm gonna miss you too." He chuckled as he looked at her. "But...you'll make new friends, right?"
She scoffed and looked away. "You kidding? When I first got here everyone was scared I was gonna gobble them all up. They wouldn't even look at me when I walked by or went silent if I went into a room. It felt like I was some kind of freak."
"Well, we know you're not, you're Tina. Heck, if I can figure it out, the people at your new school can figure it out."
"Oh please," She rolled her eyes. "Even the teachers thought I was some delinquent, and I was just in my first year there. Then one day I heard one of the kids make fun of me and lost it. I made it clear who was on top and made them run away like little girls." She snarled. "That's when I met Jamie, she actually thought what I did was cool and didn't mind what I was. Ever since then, we made it clear that we ruled the school."
"Well...maybe don't try that route at the next school...maybe try being nice?" He said with a sweatdrop. He saw her raise an eyebrow and let out a huff. "Or just keep doing what you're doing."
"Yeah, I think I'll do that…." She said before they were silent.
'Man, this is getting awkward, should I say something?' He thought while seeing her choker. "You know, that thing really does look good on you."
"Huh? Oh...really, thanks...I like it too." She said with a smile as she looked down at it. "Be honest, does it make my neck look a little...fat?"
"Nope, not at all." He said with a shrug. "Why would it?"
"Well, sometimes I kinda wish I could be more...girly." She admitted looking away.
"And that's why you wanted it?"
"Yep...this is the first piece of clothing I've been able to wear...they usually don't make clothes for dinosaurs."
"Well if it helps, it brings out your eyes."
"Really? Thanks…" She said with a small blush.
"Plus if you tried adding some light blush and faux eyelashes, I think it'd really stick out." He idly remarked before seeing her look at him surprised. "Oh, let's just say you learn to hear this stuff when your mom tries to look good for a dinner date with your dad."
"Huh, thanks Gumball...this is the first time anyone's ever said that to me before…" She replied feeling flattered. "Maybe I should try that when I leave, although I'm gonna need a lot of it."
"Yeah...Though I think it's getting late, should we head home?" He asked as he looked at the setting sun.
"Yeah, I better if I'm gonna get my stuff together."
"Yeah...so I guess this is goodbye…"
"Do you think you could walk me home?"
"Sure, no problem." He said as they got up. They walked out of the park and back to the junkyard while he heard her sniffling a little. "Hey...you're still sad about moving, huh? Is there anyway I can cheer you up quick?"
"Well, there is one thing." She replied before shaking her head. "But it sounds weird, you'd never wanna try it."
"I've done a lot of weird stuff, what could be so weird even I wouldn't even want to do it?" He asked in confusion.
"Well, when I was little, I always liked it when someone would hug my nose and rub it, I know it sounds goofy, but that usually calmed me down in an instant."
"Well, if you want me to I'll do it." He said with a shrug.
"Really? You're not gonna snicker or laugh?"
"Nope." 'Because if I did she would kill me.' He thought as she began to lower her head towards him. He moved over and tried hugging her snout and slowly rubbed the side. "Like this?"
"Yeah, like that." She said as she softly growled happily. Her tail swayed a little while letting out a relaxed grumble which he took as a good sign.
'Huh, she must really like this.' He thought as he kept rubbing her snout. 'How long does she want me to do this?'
She layed down while feeling her tension slip away before they felt the ground rumble and she blinked. "That sounds like my dad."
"Really? Then...I guess this is goodbye…" He said as he let go of her snout.
"Before you go, at least let me give you one last thing."
"Really? Ok." He said, not knowing what she was going to give him. When he saw her stick her tongue out and give a huge lick that soaked his fur and head he went wide eyed while her dad appeared at the exact same time.
"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!"
"Crap, it's my dad." Tina said as Gumball paled.
He stamped over and growled at Gumball who turned pale. "What were you and my daughter just doing?"
"I-I was just showing her a good day since she's moving away tomorrow and we won't see each other again, and I rubbed her snout then she licked me?" He said nervously.
"I just did it to say thanks." She spoke up quickly. "I mean, he did show me a good time, I figured it only made sense if we're leaving town."
He blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what made you think we were moving out of town?"
"You said we were leaving to move to a new warehouse." She said as se looked at her father in confusion.
"Oh! I think I see what went wrong. We are moving, but to the other side of the junkyard." he replied, surprising them. "The owner said the land on the other side was open and since we've done a good job keeping thieves away, he wanted to give it to us since this part is so much more smaller and cramped."
"Wait….so we aren't leaving Elmore? And...I'm going to see Gumball again?" She asked as her tail began to wag.
"Of course you can still go to Elmore, quite frankly the idea of leaving this town feels too much. Do you know how other towns treat dinosaurs? It's cruel and inhumane." He remarked while she let out a loud roar before nuzzling Gumball, making him snarl and stamp over to the cat. "You sure seem close to my daughter, care to tell me why?"
"W-Well um… we kind of hang out at school and I tried to make today a good day for her because I thought she would be leaving town?" He said nervously. "Please don't kill me."
"Oh, I won't kill you." He replied while Gumball sighed before noticing the choker on Tina's neck. "Did you two go to a clothing store?"
"Yeah, Gumball paid for this new choker and said it looked good on me."
He narrowed his eyes at the cat who gulped and tugged at his collar. "That sounds like a date to me."
"Uh...oh would you look at the time I better get going bye!" He waved before he ran off while Tina's dad let out a roar and started chasing him.
"GET BACK HERE! I'LL SHOW YOU FOR TRYING ANYTHING ON MY DAUGHTER!"
"Dad! Stop chasing him!" Tina shouted as she began to run after her father and Gumball.
(Next day)
"Ugh...I never thought school would look so good." Groaned Gumball as he and Darwin walked down the hall while letting out a yawn.
"What happened yesterday, you got home looking like you went through a trash compactor." Darwin asked as the ground started to shake.
"Well I got chased by Tina's dad for a long time." He spoke while yawning and not noticing Tina coming towards them with Darwin going wide eyed and running off. "Hey, where you going?"
"Gumball!" He heard Tina roar, making him pale.
He slowly turned around to the dinosaur and gulped while relieving the image of her dad's open jaw. "Uh...h-hey Tina."
"Hi Gumball, I'm so sorry about my dad." She said as she stopped barely an inch from him. "I never got to really thank you for yesterday."
"Uh, it's fine, you kinda already did with the, you know." he replied while trying to keep from running off. "So...how's the other side of the junkyard?"
"It's a lot bigger, and apparently it's filled with all the new stuff that gets destroyed around here, usually by your family."
"Wow, guess that means you guys really upgraded." He tried joking.
"Yeah, I guess we did...though dad was really mad you got away, he kept complaining all night how I was too young to have a boyfriend."
"Yeah, he made that REAL clear." 'I thought I was gonna lose my tail for sure!'
"Yeah….though I kind of disagree with him…" She said as she began to blush a bit.
"On what?"
"That...I'm too young to have a boyfriend…" She remarked while looking away. "I'm old enough for one, if I wanted one."
"Well...yeah, sure, if you think you're old enough then sure, you can have a boyfriend." He said with a shrug. 'I wonder why she's telling me this?'
"Great, see you later." She spoke rubbing her snout against him before heading off to class with her tail wagging.
"Yeah, see you later." He said before walking away. 'I wonder why she rubbed her snout against me?'
'Maybe I'll ask him out on another day.'