I DO NOT OWN ANY OF ZOOTOPIA CHARACTERS; I MADE THIS WORK ONLY TO ENTERTAIN AND NOT TO PROFIT.
HI EVERYONE! I'm back with the third chapter of Someone to lean on, I know it took me a bit long to upload it, but I've been a little busy lately, but don't worry, I'm not gonna leave this series undone, and I'll try to bring the next chapter as soon as possible.
By the way, don't ask me why I wrote "Nexflix" rather than "Netflix" in the beginning, it was that way in the original, and I don't know if it's some kind of pun or something else (if it is, I didn't get it), so I left it untouched.
I have nothing else to say, just enjoy this chapter, because it costed me a great effort to translate it.
Link to the cover image: art/Zootopia-El-regalo-600466540
Link to the original work: s/11850299/1/Someone-to-lean-on
SOMEONE TO LEAN ON
WRITTEN BY: Nefertari Queen
TRANSLATED BY: JuanLMejiaG
COVER IMAGE BY: Angelus19
CHAPTER 3: Forty-eight hours
—Saturday—
When Judy woke up that morning, she snuggled beneath the sheets, in an attempt to sleep a bit longer, she didn't want to go through that day. Unfortunately, despite she had lived in the city for three years, she spent twenty five years at her parents' farm where rabbits raised up on time with the sun in order to start with the agricultural activities, so no mattered how hard she tried, she couldn't keep sleeping.
Judy sat up, grabbed some pillows and snugged them against the headboard, leaned on the soft cushion, picked up the remote control and turned on the television before the bed; that morning, she didn't want to do nothing. She opened the app Nerflix and looked for a movie that might be interesting, as she mentally prepared to spend the whole day on bed.
During the last week, she felt as if Nick was distancing himself from her, she noticed it in details that seemed so insignificant that made her feel dumb and emotional for caring about them, however, she couldn't help but do it, and that feeling pierced her heart. Nick no longer sent messages to her, he turned down her invitation to hang out, and he didn't prepare her favorite coffee in the mornings. Judy just didn't understand neither why Nick was getting away from her, nor why she felt so bad about it.
She always took for granted that Nick and she were close friends, and she liked it, she had a lot of fun with her fox partner, but she never thought that she could be dependent upon him. She had missed him before, whenever she spent a couple of days with her parents or when he went to visit his sister, but that time was different, or at least, she liked to think it was.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringtone of her cell phone, someone was calling, her ears raised with enthusiasm since she thought it might be Nick, she picked up the cell phone and her ears slightly lowered because the photo on the screen wasn't the one of Nick but the one of her parents; Judy tapped the green button as she tried to hide her disappointment.
—"Hello Judy-dudy! How's my little girl?"—It was only her father, who seemed to be cheerful.
—"Hello dad, I'm fine, where's mom?"
—"She's cooking the dinner"
—"Great, give her my greetings, please"
—"Sure darling, so then, everything well in the city?"
—"Yes, everything perfect"—Judy replied as she internally said—"Well, not so perfect"
—"Good to hear. I called to say that Gideon Gray, do yo remember him?"
—"Of course, daddy"—She rolled her eyes, how could she ever forget that fox?
—"Well, he's getting married, and we're invited to the wedding, it's the next weekend, do you think you could come?"
—"The next weekend?"
—"Yes, Saturday to be more specific"
Judy appraised his proposal, she used to hang out with Nick on Saturday, but since they were distanced lately (thinking of it gave her a twinge of pain), she surely could leave the city without worrying.
—"I think I could go dad, I haven't visited you in a long time, and I would like to meet the poor women Gideon's marrying"—She chucked of her own joke and her father smiled at her response.
—"We'll clean your room right now! Your siblings will be thrilled when I tell them you're coming!"
—"Thanks dad, well, I'll call you later"
—"Great dear, have a nice day, we love you!"
—"I love you too, dad"
She ended the call and meditated about what her father had just told her, Gideon Grey's getting married? The truth was that all her friends were married or at least engaged, they all were old enough to settle down and raise their own families; Judy's mother has said her that she was eagerly waiting for grandsons. She never thought so much about her future as wife or mother, her only plan was to become a police officer, and she never aspired anything but the world of justice.
But maybe it was time to change that mentality. Her last date had been three months earlier, with an elegant and polite rabbit whose name was Brand Reyson, he was a good guy, but he had no much in common with Judy, and she was too busy to dedicate more time than its due to a relationship she wasn't completely interested in, so they broke up.
Would it happen to be what was going up with Nick? He was seven years older than her, it would be natural for him to be looking for his own family. Nick spent too much time with her, he probably wanted to have dates, meet a pretty vixen that was good for him; just thinking of it caused Judy to feel wounded and rejected, and the worst part was that she couldn't explain why.
Nick was her best friend, things between them would change a lot if he did get girlfriend; things between were already changing though, could it be that the naughty of Nicholas P. Wilde had already got a girlfriend she hadn't met yet? Impossible! Judy wrinkled her nose in utter fury; if Nick had a girlfriend, he would have already told her ¡she was her best friend! She was sure that he would keep her updated about his love affairs...wouldn't he?
Judy slumped onto the pillows, resigning to the fact that Nick was very unwilling to talk about his personal life. It took her one year to find out he had a sister, and another one to find out his family's story. He was a distrustful fox whose life was hard, and it meant a lot to Judy that he opened his heart to her, though slowly, healing the wounds from his past bit by bit. However, would he tell her if he had a girlfriend? One voice within her answered yes, but another one answered no. A situation like that was beyond her compression.
—"Stupid distrustful foxes"—She thought as she started watching the movie she chose, though not paying attention to it. Perhaps she could ask Nick about the affair, and discuss about love issues; as far as she knew, her fox friend had never had girlfriends, though he was a significantly handsome specimen among his counterparts with his reddish silky fur, his penetrating green eyes and his whimsical smirk…
—"What am I thinking?"—Judy rebuked herself for her thoughts and strived to pay attention to the movie she had been watching; she had already thought plenty of Nick.
In another apartment not far away, Nick Wilde was preparing a light breakfast to himself, getting ready to take a stroll along the city. Actually, he had nothing to do, he simply did rather to hang out and clear his mind than staying at home and letting his thoughts bring him down. He missed Judy, he couldn't deny it, but he thought that it was better to distance himself from her.
—"What if it is not?"—Those five words pierced his head both by day and night—"What if I'm screwing up again? What if I'm making things worse rather than better? What if Judy distances herself even more and we stop being friends, What kind of "wall" should I build between us so we can still being friends without exposing my feelings?"
He powered on the television in an attempt to avoid the torment of his thoughts, but the news channel was broadcasting nothing nice.
—"New evidences indicate that Tigerwild youngster might be a drug addicted. This new information leads to the possibility that Michael Tigerwild could have killed his twin sister and her lover in a psychosis attack caused by the ingestion of hallucinogenic substances rather than for homophobia, though the murderer has not confirmed this hypothesis.
In other news, debates about the marital reform have become more intense; this morning the activist Mary Topperwerth led a pacific march accompanied by many interspecies couples who demanded to be recognized by both law and society. Conservative groups reacted violently, attacking the reform sympathizers, police officer were required to ward off…"
Nick saw on the screen how some of his coworkers contained the mob of aggressive animals who were attacking the members of the march. Horrified, he powered off the television and rushed out the apartment, ready to take a long walk. The image of those interspecies couples being attacked by those conservatives was for him as a reminder of why he had to hide his love; Judy shouldn't be exposed to that kind of animals, he had to protect her from those heated debates.
He recalled a similar situation, three years ago, when the city was menaced by Bellwether's actions, which caused predators to start going savage, he remembered how many preys raised against them. He was a predator, so he felt offended and attacked about it. Now, with all the reform stuff, he felt offended and attacked once again, though he kept it hidden in order not to conceal his feelings. He felt as if that city rejected him more and more every day, and that made him wonder why he never threw it all away and left, just like his sister did.
Between his sorrow and confusion, one new feeling arose: anger. He was irate since he didn't know what to do to solve his delicate emotional situation. Perhaps, that was how conservatives felt, so confused and rejected that they just wanted to take it out on someone, even if the given someone had no blame.
Unfortunately, as soon as he stepped out the building, many reporters were outside waiting for him—"Do you never rest?"—He thought as they surrounded him and started pestering him, however, unlike that morning affair, this time there were not anyone to protect him from the swarm of microphones and cameras.
¡Officer! ¡officer! ¡officer! ¡officer! ¡officer!
—"Stop!"—He internally shouted—"What the heck do you want from me!?"
—"What's your opinion about the marital reform?"—Questions flew all around, but for some stupid reason Nick would never understand, he only answered that one.
—"I disagree with the conservatives, but I really understand them"—That was all he said, not knowing if he said it to himself or to the media; he just wanted to be left alone, so he didn't grasp the impact of those words of his.
¡Officer!¡officer!
He just ignored them and returned to his walk; he walked further and further until he lost sight of the microphones, and it was left just him and his thoughts.
At noon, Judy was in the kitchen of her apartment preparing a salad to herself, the radio on so she heard something in order to shun her thoughts. She put the vegetables in a bowl and took a big jar full of carrot juice out of the fridge; she was about to go back to her bedroom when the radio presenter said:
—"In the last news, this morning, the officer Nicholas P. Wilde, a respected member of the ZPD and captor of the murderer Michael Tigerwild, in association with the officer Judy Hoops, declared that he is a sympathizer of the conservative groups that reject the marital reform..."
—"Nick?...No"
She rushed to the bedroom, powered on the television and switched until she reached the news channel; they were broadcasting the recordings in which Nick was seen, answering to the harassing reporters.
—"I disagree with the conservatives, but I really understand them"
I disagree with them, but I understand them? Really? What was he trying to say with that? Judy noticed that Nick seemed stressed, even sad, maybe he had a problem with his sister, or he didn't sleep well since there were bags under his eyes. Perhaps he didn't mean to say that he was a sympathizer of the conservative groups; however, media had already done its magic.
Despite she knew him very well, those words caused her to doubt a bit, did Nick really mean that he was against the reform? She recalled what he told her some days earlier, about how conservatives were stupid bitter people who had never felt love; but then she recalled how Nick downplayed his own words, acting as if they were uttered randomly and without a genuine meaning.
She sat down heavily on her bed, forgetting her meal, forgetting everything, she lingered there for minutes that seemed to be hours; she was just sitting, staring at anything in the room, with many questions whirling in her head, but only one of them was really important to her:
—"Do I actually know Nick Wilde?"
—Sunday—
Nick powered off his cellphone and kept both the radio and the television off the whole day. The last day, after spending all the afternoon walking along and going from a train station to another, he arrived at his home, and he was welcomed by the broadcasting of all the sensationalist reports stating he was a sympathizer of the Conservative party, only then he realized his great mistake, and wanted to strangle himself when he did.
He stayed away from any communication media, he didn't want to see what kind of defamation they would surely be broadcasting that day; he locked himself in his apartment, and as he searched something to pass the time, he found his old collection of books placed onto a wooden shelf, all covered with dust. When he was young, he used to read a lot, but bit by bit he abandoned that good habit in order to improve in his conning skills until the books were left in a corner, far away from him.
With nostalgie, he recalled all those adventures that inspired him in his childhood. He always prefer classics over best-sellers because he thought classics were better at conveying the emotions to the readers. He remembered that, when he was young, he got to considered to abandon his illegal businesses and find a decent job, but nothing never motivated him to do it, at least, until Judy broke into his life.
Nick turned his head and gazed at his cell phone, wondering if Judy missed him as much as he missed her. At least he would see her the next day at the station, but since she probably had heard the news about him, Nick didn't know what he would have to face. Judy was a firm sympathizer of the marital reform, so she would surely be angry at him for saying such a things to the media, moreover because he had become a bit aloof with her before he did.
When Nick was a child, despite his family was not wealthy, he never lacked anything. His childhood was pleasant (ignoring the incident with the scouts) until he turned twelve, then life led him to roads he never expected to walk. At that time, he thought it was the worst thing he could ever get through, but all the current events were proving he was wrong, his feeling toward Judy Hoops were so strange yet so fulfilling, that he didn't know how to react but hiding them.
He kept reading, the whole noon, thinking of none nor nothing, enjoying of a moment of peace after such a wearing week. Memories of his childhood, his youth and his adulthood flowed between paragraphs and tear drops, causing him to reevaluate his life. It certainly was not like he expected it to be, but he couldn't complain, in spite of all the difficulties, he was happy and perhaps, life was trying to tell him something by all the current events: it was telling him to accept his happiness and leave his complexes behind, this time, permanently.
Judy gripped the invitation to Gideon's wedding, her parents sent it as soon as she acceded to go. It was addressed to her personally and it included an extra invitation if she wanted to take a companion with her. The names of Gudeon Grey and his fiancee, Amelia Wallace, were written on it with painstaking calligraphy, Judy barely remembered Amelia as a pretty vixen from the school.
The thought of going to Bunny Burrows and forget Zootopia for a couple of days suddenly turned jolly tempting. She bought the train passport and a wedding gift, as well as an elegant dress to wear, since her wardrobe barely contained her uniform and some jeans and blouses. Exploiting her stay at the supermarket, she bought some ornaments to the party and watched a movie at the cinema.
It was amazing how one single day alone, one single day walking along the streets of the city could be so relaxing; she hadn't taken lonely strolls in a long time, since Nick was always there to accompany her. She strived not to think of him, and since monday was approaching and therefore, they would meet at the job, she thought that she should start acting like he did, not caring so much about things.
That noon of shopping, walking and indulging reminded her that she was young and single in a large city full of many animals to meet and places to visit. Although she was a cop, Zootopia was still hiding some secrets, and it was her task to find them out. She had been too dramatic around her relationship with Nick lately, but she no longer would be; this time, she would be the funny one, ready to give life a chance to amaze her.
With that positive attitude she went to bed and slept with a wide smile displaying on her face. She wasn't sure if life was actually listening to her and, abiding to her pleadings, it was getting ready to amaze her, perhaps, more than she expected it to do.
—Monday—
Nick was late that morning, as usual, he entered the meeting room expecting Bogo to scold him, however, for his amazement, he simply ignored him and kept assigning the day tasks. Nick sat down beside Judy, who didn't even turned to look at him and just stayed there, waiting Bogo to assign them their mission.
—"Wilde, if you're late once again, you'll get suspended for a whole week, understood?"—Nick just nodded, Bogo's glare indicated him that it wasn't time to joke—"You and Hoops, patrol the Sahara Square, two thefts has been reported there, go on!"
—"Well, at least it's November so it won't be so hot, eh Carrots?"—Nick said, attempting to sound funny.
Judy ignored him and walked out of the room, Nick got startled and wondered what the heck had just happened.
—"Good luck"—Bogo mocked at him as he got out, the fox gulped and walked to the parking zone, Judy was already getting on the cruiser.
—"Won't you wait for me?"—He inquired as he jumped on.
—"If it takes you ten minutes to come, no"—She answered in an aloof way, she turned the key and powered on the vehicle.
—"How was your weekend?"—He started with a simple question so he could calculate his friend's degree of anger.
—"Funny"—The way she uttered the words was so cold that Judy herself didn't believe what she said; she spinned the steer wheel and drove to the avenue leading to Sahara Square.
—"Mine wasn't, to be honest, it was stressing"—Nick admitted, he thought that a little of honesty might lighten the atmosphere.
—"I saw you on the TV"
Nick already knew it, but of all the ways Judy could have reacted, he never thought she would take it so...personal.
—"I didn't mean what media's broadcasting, Judy"—He said; Judy was the only animal in the world he would ever give explanations.
—"Spare me your speech, Nicholas, I'm done"
Did his ears get it right?
—"Judy, actually..."
The little bunny raised her ears, he never called her by her name, unless he was really serious, but this time she wasn't going to let him play around her, never again.
—"Nick, whatever you think about the reform is none of my business. You have a right to have your own opinion"
—"But..."—Nick tried to said.
—"No buts, Nicholas, like you told me, it was just your opinion"
It was then when Nick understood that no matter how much Judy tried to hide it, his actions seriously damaged her. He wanted to say something else, but he had no words. Facts speak by themselves, and Judy always appreciated actions more than phrases. He was left no choice but grit the teeth and face the plight he caused.
The rest of the day was calm, without any sort of trouble. The two of them headed off to their homes without saying goodbye. Judy was playing along with Nick: they were distancing themselves from each other, and the wall he built with his words was growing every day, getting more unbridgeable and less penetrable. They both wondered if, one day, they would be able to take that wall down, but, at what cost?
TO BE CONTINUED
