( As no one seems to know what Fish's house looks like or his family for that matter, I got creative. xD; )

Chapter 5

Walking back to his home, Fish inhaled some fresh lake water lost in his own world. Tonight was the most wonderful night he ever had, and it would probably be the best night he ever would have. Undoing the latch on the gate in front of his house, humming a little tune, he was still thinking about what had just happened..

Silently shutting the gate, Fish walked over to a ladder which led into a giant tank filled with water, with a house that looked like a sand castle resting on the bottom of it. He lept into the water, ignoring the ladder that led down to the tanks floor as normal. He slowly decended down onto the sandy bottom, and for the second time today, removed his helmet. Carefully putting it outside the door, he crept into the house.

Peeking into the kitchen, he saw his mother and father having a quiet conversation with their backs to him. Fish quickly swam past them, and went to his room. Breathing normaly now, he laid down on his bed and smiled to himself. 'They'll never know..' He thought to himself. Just as he was about to doze off, the phone rang. He ignored it and put the pillow over his head, nearly blocking the sound out completely.

However, that blasted phone kept ringing. Fish grabbed the small seashell shaped pillow from on the matress and chucked it at the phone at the phone. It hit the phone square on the answering machine button, and the phone stopped ringing. However, there was a beep and a rustling noise. Then Runt's voice came over the speaker.

"Uh.. hello..? Fish? Um... I just wondering if you're feeling better since this morning when.. you know.." Fish lifted the pillow, and stared at the phone as if it were going to explode. Runt continued, " I'm sorry if I said anything to you to tork you off.. I didn't really mean it.." There was a muffled sniffling from Runt and wild wispering that sounded like it came from Chicken Little. Then there was a gasp, and a sound as if the phone was dropped. Then Abbey's voice came over the machine. "If you want, come on over to my place. Runt wants to show us how well he learned Kung Fu Fighting. He said he would even dance, and I'm sure we all need a laugh today." Then there was one last final click and a beep.

Fish looked at his waterproof radio that lazily floated above his nightstand. It read 'Five Thirty'. 'Its not too late to go out..' Fish thought. Silently, he got to the floor, and crept over to the driftwood door. He had to stay quiet and sneak out of the the house like he was over at Abbey's the whole time, because it would be a field day to explain to his parents he was serving detention.

He opened his door and peeked out. The coast was clear, so he carefully walked out, shutting the door behind him. He snuck past the kitchen, not noticing his parents were no longer in there. His fin barely touched the front door's knob when..

"Fishy!" Fish froze, and slowly turned his gaze apon the horror that was his little sister. She was laying on the floor, coloring pictures of who knows what, wearing her new pink outfit. She looked really cute, if it wasn't for the fact she began screaming, "FISHY GO OUT! FISHY GO OUT! FISHY GO OUT!" It was no use, as her cries would obviously bring his parents in.

Sure enough, within a few seconds, a large goldfish swam into the room and picked up the screaming child. "Whats wrong, Guppy?" Sniffing, Guppy pointed at her big brother about to leave. Fish was frozen on the spot, seeing some anger in his mother's eyes. Fast, but gently, Mom put the little girl on the floor. Guppy giggled and grined at her sibling. "You're gunna get so bused!" She teased, before squealing and running out of the room, laughing like a hyena.

Paddling over to couch, Fish knew what was coming. His sister got it all the time, and now it was his turn... unless..

"Fish out of Water." His mother started. She then began to rant..

"I WAS SO WORRIED! YOU NEVER CAME HOME FROM SCHOOL! SO I TALKED TO YOUR DAD, AND HE'S NOW OUTSIDE WATCHING FOR YOU, AND YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO SNEAK BACK IN AND ATTEMPT TO SNEAK BACK OUT WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING? REALLY! WHAT HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU!"

Fish opened his mouth to say something...

"NO! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT! YOU GO RIGHT BACK TO YOUR ROOM RIGHT NOW, MISTER! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR A BLUB OUT OF YOU!" She then stopped, and inhaled some water turning back to her normal golden-yellow color.

Fish opened his mouth once more, "Mom... I stayed after school to help the teachers and then I went over to Chicken Little's for a bit to help him with his algebra and then I came back home and started looking for you. I didn't find you so I thought you might be outside, and so I went to look for you then Guppy started screaming, and you came in and started yelling. So, I was wondering if I could go to Abbeys?" Of corse, he said this all real fast and in one breath of oxygen.

It took a while for his mother to figure out what he just said. It was silent till, "Oh. Is that what you were doing afterschool for so long?" Fish nodded. "Oh.. Well.. sure you can go out! I'm sorry I exploded on you, honey.." She smiled, and turned to go out of the room when Guppy started to cry nearby. Fish quickly opened the door and bolted out, but not before he heard his sister wail, "HE WAS SUPPOSTA GET IN TWOUBLE!"

After making sure his diving bell was securely fastened onto him properly, Fish climbed the ladder out of the tank and shivered. 'I wish it was as warm as it is out here as it is in there..' He thought. He grabbed a rope and slid down the long, flax string instead of climbing down the ladder. He hated climbing down ladders, as he though they took too long, but I'm sure you'd have noticed that by now. He hit the ground, and took off to Abbeys. Rounding the corner, he spotted his dad waving wildly at him from inside the tank. Not wanting to go back, Fish just waved and kept on running.

A couple of blocks later, Fish slowed down to a walk. It wasn't that he was tired, it was just because he started to daydream again. This time, the thoughts drifted from his first kiss he just recieved a few hours ago to the point where him and Aorta got married. He had a mental image of his children, which were part fish and part canine. 'They'd be Folfs..' he thought absent-mindly. It was then he realized, he had walked two blocks past Abbey's. He ran back to where CL, Runt, and Abbey were laughing on the porch stoop.

"Did you forget where I lived?" Abbey asked, giggling. Fish imitated Abbey in a watery voice with his face twisting into goofy positions with an eyebrow up and the other down. There was silence, till the gang cracked up. Fish sighed. Things were going to go fine tonight. After watching Runt do Kung Fu Fighting, Crocodile Rock, and other oldies, Fish smiled happily. It was good to have friends who forgave. At about nine o'clock, they had to leave. Fish walked home with Runt and CL, getting into shoving wars along the way. Of course, Runt won that. They stopped at Chicken Little's house. He said his goodbyes and ran in. So only Fish and Runt was left. They slowly began walking down the street.

"So... no hard feelings about this morning..?" Asked the paranoid piglet. Fish grinned and shook his head. He then playfully punched Runt in the gut. Runt giggled, and mutterred something about "That tickled."

After arriving home, Fish stretched out on his bed and smiled. He couldn't wait for tomarrow... He would see Chicken Little again.. and Runt.. and Abbey... and Aorta.. Her name seemed to echo through his mind, and quietly lulled him to sleep.