Disclaimer: Wolf Emperor does not own any copyrighted material included in this Fan Fiction.
A/N: I forgot to mention in the last chapter that I'm changing this story to 'suspense.'
Buster and Calamity were making their way down Main Street in silence. Calamity seemed to have shed the feelings of anxiety and nervousness that surrounded her at school. But now that they were walking down a crowded street, those feelings of seemed to be replaced with ones of alertness, vigilance, and a tranquil sense.
Buster had sensed her change in demeanor but that did anything but help ease his tensions. He was just as pledged by confusion now as he was back in the school, and quite possibility, the most confused he ever has been in his entire life (including when he was taking his mid-term tests).
He glanced at her, then at the birds in the sky, then at the ground, and then at her, again, but only for a moment. He stared at the books in his hand. The title of the top book read, "All About Science and Technology."
That was an area Buster knew he wasn't knowledgeable in…nor interested.
He wasn't sure why he had insisted on walking with her, but whatever the reason was, it wouldn't change the fact that he was here now and he felt he should start a conversation.
"So…" Buster began, "you're a girl?"
He mentally kicked himself for the words that left his mouth.
Calamity's eyes widened in surprise and she stuttered a bit, "I-I thought we went over that already."
"W-well, yeah," now Buster was the one stuttering, "I-I meant…you don't look like a girl."
This time, Buster gave himself three mental kicks and a slap across the mouth.
"Oh…" Calamity wasn't sure how to respond to that, "Well…I am the youngest in our class."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
As she had spoke, a red blur suddenly zipped him front of them, blowing old coffee cups and other debris up into the air in its path.
The blur screeched to a halt to reveal Little Beeper, the red roadrunner who was the fastest student in the whole university.
"Hey, Cal-," he stopped short when he realized she wasn't alone.
The roadrunner's eyes darted between the rabbit and the coyote in a wild frenzy.
"Hello, Beeper," Calamity calmly addressed him.
"Hey," Buster greeted out of force of habit.
Beeper's face went from a confused expression to one of terror.
"It's okay," said Calamity in a comforting way, "he knows."
"Oh…" Beeper replied almost numbly.
He began staring at Buster as if he was trying to figure him out. Buster practically broke out in a cold sweat at the sudden inspection. He had always identified the roadrunner as a care free spirit and had no idea he even possessed such an insensitive and serious mood.
Calamity sensed the tension in the air as clearly as if it were the air surrounding them, but she didn't seem to be surprised by Beeper's sudden change in demeanor.
"Umm…" she tried to break the tension, "I can get home by myself, now. Thank you, Buster for helping me."
"O-Okay," Buster replied.
He was only half focusing on Calamity because Beeper had started sending him clear 'Get Lost' vibes.
"Here are your books," he tried to hand the coyote her books but the roadrunner smacked them out of his hand.
"I'll take them," he said hurriedly.
"I thought you guys were enemies?" Buster questioned.
The duos' constant chase scenes had given Buster the idea that the two hated each other.
"We're more like rivals," answered Calamity, "but we are still friends."
"Okay. I guess I'll see you both later," Buster said before he turn and walked away from them.
He wanted to get out of there before Beeper had a chance to stare at him anymore.
"What was the about?" Beeper nearly shouted once Buster had left and they started walking toward their apartments.
In addition be being rivals and best friends, Calamity and Little Beeper also shared a sister and brother type of relationship and Beeper was a very overprotective brother.
"It's complicated," Calamity sighed, "I'll tell you about it later."
"So…other people know you're a girl?"
"No, it's only Buster."
"Same thing."
"No, 'people' would indicate plural persons were involved."
"Don't joke around," Beeper scowled, "This is serious. Professor Wile E. isn't going to be happy when he hears about this…neither will Roadrunner for that matter."
"I know," she sighed, "but our peers had to find out eventually."
"Yeah," Beeper sighed bitterly, "I guess we couldn't keep our secret forever."
Calamity could only nod in agreement.
"We're here," she said when she realized they were at the apartments.
Both Little Beeper and Calamity lived in the same apartment complex. Calamity lived on the top half of the two-story building while Beeper lived in a room right underneath her.
Some toons that went to the university lived with their parents in Acme Acres (like Babs and Hampton), others lived there during the school year and then would visit their families during school breaks and summer vacation (like Little Beeper and Plucky), and some stayed there all year round (like Calamity, Buster, and Fifi).
"Do you want to hang out tonight?" Beeper asked kindly.
"No," Calamity answered quickly, "I'm going to stay home tonight."
The stress of the day was beginning to take its toll on her and Little Beeper could tell.
"Okay," Beeper sighed, "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Good night, Beeper."
"Yeah, you too."