Good day! :D Welcome to Chapter 4!

Eeek! This chapter came out a lot quicker than I expected. Then again, I typed this up in one day so it's not as long as the rest of the chapters and it's probably not as glorious as the last chapters. Forgive me.

Warning: Language

Lammy was awoken to the sound of something vibrating. Still groggy, she picked up her head to see where the noise was coming from and remembered her phone was on the nightstand. She slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes, still swollen from crying last night and her head pounding.

After Mr. Pickles left, she cried in her pillow, she let all the tears she was holding back since the night of the fire out in one go. By the time she finally slept from exhaustion it was already 2:29am. Lammy looked at the alarm clock by her bed "7:12am". She groaned and buried her face in her hands.

The woman was exhausted to say the least, but she can't let this day pass by. She decided that if this was her last three weeks of happiness and excitement, then she's going to make the most of it and act like nothing has changed. 'Pretend that Mr. Pickles never came back, that he never said anything to you. Pretend that everything is going to be alright…' she told herself. That was a lie, a hideous lie to cover up the truth that everything was not okay. That she was not okay.

The thought almost made her start crying again, but she held the tears back. 'No, you can't start the day like this. You have to stay positive. Enjoy this while you can.' She calmed herself and once again picked up her head. She reached for the pale purple phone and brought it to herself to read the screen.

It was a text from Petunia that read, "Hey, did you see an unknown man last night?"

'Could she have seen him?' "What does he look like?" Lammy texted back and sent it quickly.

A minute later, Petunia replied, "He wears a black tuxedo along with a top hat and always carries a cane around. I got a text from Giggles saying he passed by her house and was heading down your street. I was just wondering since nobody ever sees him during the day and nobody even knows who he is. Sorry to scare you."

She sighed in relief. 'I'm not the only one who knows he's here…' she smiled, knowing she can tell Petunia everything she knows and possibly put him in jail. There was still hope for her future.

"Can we talk?" Lammy replied.

"Sure, I'm at the café getting some coffee, but I already have a friend over. Is that okay?"

Lammy felt uneasy about that. Would Petunia's friend understand, or would they judge her and think of her as a creep? Before she could say no, she got another text from Petunia.

"He's already about to leave if you wanted to talk in private. "She read.

'Well, why not?' she shrugged and replied, "I'm on my way."

Finally finding the café, Lammy walked in to the small shop and was greeted by the scent of fresh grounded coffee along with the cozy atmosphere the place was giving off. She looked around to find Petunia and a man seated in a booth in the corner next to a window. She took a deep breath to control her nerves, and made her way over.

Petunia looked up to see her friend approach the table. "Good morning!" she greeted cheerfully. "Good morning." Lammy returned while seating next to her.

Petunia pointed to the man sitting across from her. "This is my friend Flippy. He came back for the war two years ago and moved in right after. We've known each other since first grade, right Flippy?" Flippy just nodded his head and took a sip of his coffee.

Flippy was a fairly tall man with light green hair, emerald green eyes and wore a green veteran's uniform with a beret on top of his head. 'Definitely in the war…' she declared to herself.

"Sorry, he's not much of a talker." Petunia explained. "He used to be quite the talker back befor-" Petunia quickly put a hand over her mouth to stop herself from speaking and looked at Flippy with a worried expression. Flippy returned the look, tensing up as if she was about to spill a big secret he didn't want anyone to hear. "Um… Back before… Back before he entered the war, I mean." She finished. Flippy relaxed a bit and leaned back in his seat. "Yeah… before the war…" He said, still looking a bit shaken up.

'Well, it's obvious they're hiding something…' she glanced at them both, back and forth.

Flippy noticed Lammy's accusing glance and sighed. "I have a severe case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and I've been known to flip out when something reminds me of the war." "But it's gotten less severe and it's been happening less frequently!" Petunia defended. Flippy smiled at her for a moment before looking back at his coffee cup with a frown. "But when it does happen…" He paused for a moment, and looked back at Lammy. "I kill people…"

Lammy's eyes widened. Did she hear him correctly? "I'm sorry, what?" she asked. "I kill people when I flip." He said as he looked down at his coffee cup again. "So it'd be a good idea to stay away from me…" he stated as he took another sip. "Don't say that Flippy." Petunia interrupted. "Yes he does kill, but when he flips, it's not him. It's like…" Petunia paused to think about it. "It's like he becomes someone else, a split personality one might say." Lammy looked at her, dumbfounded. "You'd have to see it in order to believe it…" Petunia sipped her coffee awkwardly.

An awkward silence overcame the three for a while.

"So!" Petunia spoke, breaking the long silence. "Splendid told me another person is going to be moving into town!" She leaned in closer to the man with a sly smile. "I heard the newcomer is a girl too. Eh? Eh?" her smile widening as she nudged Flippy from across the table. Flippy rolled his eyes and pushed Petunia back to her seat, making Petunia laugh.

Petunia looked back at Lammy with a smile across her face. "But this is unheard of! Someone moving in right after someone else! I guess the town is getting more popular." She stated proudly, making Lammy giggle at her enthusiasm. Oh! Lammy! I forgot to tell you about the tradition!" she exclaimed. The purple haired woman tilted her head slightly. "What tradition?" Petunia's eyes gleamed with excitement. "It's called the welcoming tradition! When someone new moves in, the most recent person who has moved into Happy Tree Town has to greet the newcomer and has the pleasure of showing them around! We weren't able to do the tradition with you because the most recent person who moved in was Flippy and he died the day before you made it into town."

"Who killed him?" Lammy questioned. "Fucking Lumpy…" Flippy muttered as he leaned back in the seat. "I don't know how he killed me, but all I know is he caused me to flip and when that happens, I can't remember anything after." He explained in a harsh tone while turning away, clearly angry at this Lumpy person.

"Anyways…" Petunia interrupted again. "Since you don't know your way around town yet, I'll accompany you!" she stated as she smiled at Lammy. "That sounds great. When is she coming?" The woman smiled back at her enthusiastic friend. "Splendid said she should be coming around… Maybe tomorrow?" she shook her head slightly looking dissatisfied. "Splendid really isn't reliable when it comes to this kind of information…" she shrugged.

"How does Splendid get this information anyway?" Lammy had so many other questions, but this was the one she decided to ask. "He stalks them." Flippy said casually, making Lammy flinch. "H- He does?!" she squeaked. "No he doesn't. Flippy is just being mean." She answered, shooting Flippy a cold glare. The man just shrugged and took another sip of his coffee. "He has friends who work at different train stations. When a ticket is bought to go to Happy Tree Town, Splendid is the first person to hear about it. But, that's only if the person bought the ticket where one of his friends works, other than that, we have no idea if anyone new is moving into town." Petunia shrugged.

Lammy was about to ask another question before she heard a gasp come from Flippy. "Shit, I'm late!" he yelled as he scooted out of the booth and started running for the front door. "Bye Petunia! Thanks for coffee! Bye whatever-your-name-is!" Lammy realized she never introduced herself and yelled back. "My name is Lammy!" but he was already out the door. Lammy shrunk back in her seat and laid her head down on the table in defeat. "Making friends is hard isn't it?" she said gloomily. "It's not your fault, he works as a librarian and his boss is really strict about him coming in late." She comforted Lammy while patting her back.

Lammy perked up once again once she remembered why she came here in the first place. "Oh! I needed to tell you about the man!" she exclaimed. Petunia's eyes widened. "You know about him? How much do you know?" "Uh…" 'That's right… Petunia doesn't know that I was in a mental hospital or that Mr. Pickles used to be a pickle…' The woman shrank back in the seat, second guessing if this was a good idea after all. 'If I tell her all of this, she'll think I'm crazy, probably tell me to get help and to never speak to her again! No! I don't want that!' Lammy shook her head and looked away. "No, I don't know that much. All I know is that I saw him… That's it." She lied, shuffling her hands uncomfortably in her lap.

Petunia's expression changed, she looked at her friend worriedly. "You're lying. You wouldn't have asked to talk and walk all the way from your house to this café if it wasn't important." Petunia retorted. "No! It's nothing! I know nothing!" she countered, turning away from her. "Lammy… Don't make me do this. Just tell me what you know!" Petunia urged. Lammy looked her friend in the eye and saw the intensity burning in her eyes. It hurt to lie to Petunia, the only person in a very long time, who thought of her as a friend and sees her as a human being. It hurt even more knowing that she's only pushing her to tell her because she's worried and wants to protect her.

'No… No one can protect me. No one can save me now…' she reminded herself.

"Lammy." Petunia called out to her, putting her hands on her shoulders.

Lammy looked up and her lavender eyes met light blue eyes, dim blue eyes full of concern. "Please tell me. He's clearly done something to you, and I can help you." The woman shook her head. "How do you think you can protect me?" Petunia removed her hands from her shoulders and moved to grab something out of her purse and held it up to show her.

Lammy's eyes widened as the item shone in all its glory in front of her face.

"It's my job to protect the peace." She smiled as she lowered her police badge. "My partner and I can definitely protect you."

Yay! Fina- OH MY GOSH IS THAT A SCORPION?!

Please be sure to leave a review. It always helps and is very much appreciated!

Thank you so much for reading! Have a nice day!