Chapter 4/A New Beginning
Stampy awoke the next morning ready to take on the day. He figured, if his friends were up to the task of trying to figure out how to make him better, he should put in some effort as well. He showered and put on his Stampy style boots. Then, he grabbed a few carrots from the fridge. He didn't feel quite ready for another cake yet.
On his way outside, Stampy went into his storage room and took loads of flowers from a chest. He wanted to make everyone else feel just as loved as he had felt the night before when he had overheard their conversation. Most of the flowers were red, but he chose yellow for Sqaishey. After all, yellow was the duck's favorite color, and she'd been there for Stampy since long before the day his horrible depression rolled in. He found that he really liked his feathered friend.
When he left his house, the first person he saw was Netty, who was on her way to check on him.
"Hi, Stamps," she greeted him kindly and hugged him tightly. She must have noticed his fur was still slightly damp, because she backed away with eyes the size of moons. "Stampy, you're showered! And you look so bright-eyed!" She seemed to be so overwhelmed with joy that she was ready to burst.
"I...I guess today is just a good day." He looked down, blushing from embarrassment at his sister's excitement for him. Then he remembered the flowers. Taking two roses from the backpack he'd put them in, with the petals poking out so they weren't damaged, he turned back to Netty. "I want to make everyone else feel happy today, since you guys have put so much effort into me since the beginning of all of this." He handed her the flowers.
"Oh, Stampy. I'm your sister. You say the word and I'm at your front door, ready to sacrifice anything I can to protect your happiness from being damaged...or, try to. Some things are just unpreventable." Stampy could see the sympathy in her eyes and, this time, he initiated the hug.
"Thank you," he mumbled.
"So, where are you off to?"
"Well, I wanted to go visit Amy and Rosie, then Sqaishey. I have flowers for all of them."
"What about the guys?"
"I don't think they'd appreciate flowers much." Stampy chuckled at his own joke. Netty smiled as well. Stampy realized he hadn't laughed in what felt like ages. It suddenly felt like a massive effort. "I want to go see Squid and apologize for the way I acted towards him yesterday."
"I heard about that," Netty said. "Squid seemed pretty bummed out, but he wasn't angry."
"Did he tell you?"
"He came to find me and said you weren't feeling very well and I should probably check on you." Stampy knew she was probably lying, since he had overheard everything the night before, but he didn't want her to know that, so he didn't say anything. The two walked to his friends' village together, just talking about whatever came into their minds. Netty even earned another smile from him.
Stampy knocked on Sqaishey's door. He had been with Netty, Amy and Rosie all morning, talking and laughing. He could see their eyes light up whenever he smiled. He could feel happiness in being with his friends for the first time in a while. Now he wanted to spend the afternoon with Sqaishey and reveal how he felt about her. Then he wanted to see Squid before he went home and went to bed.
"Come in!" He heard her call through the door. He took a deep breath and entered. The smell of freshly baked pumpkin pie hit his nose immediately.
"Hi, Sqaishey," he said, voice shaking from nerves.
"Stamps!" She turned around with a hot pumpkin pie, fresh from the furnace, and dropped it on the floor, but she didn't seem to care. She ran over to him and threw her wings around him, in what Stampy believed to be the tightest hug he'd ever recieved.
He coughed. "Sqaishey, can you let go please? I can't breathe!"
"Sorry." She let him go. "I couldn't help it. I got too excited. What are you doing here?"
"I'll explain after I help you clean up." The duo picked up the pumpkin pie off the floor and threw it away. They didn't want to eat it after it had been dropped. Then they sat down at the table in the corner of the room.
"So, whatcha here for, Cat?" Sqaishey asked playfully.
"I have something for you." Stampy pulled off his backpack and pulled the dandelions out of it. He didn't know why he chose twelve, it just seemed like an appropriate number at the time.
"Aw, thank you Stamps!"
"That's not all. I...I have something to tell you." He felt his ears flatten and his face go red, and he was sure Sqaishey could see the red through his fur. He handed her the flowers, which she set down in a chest for the moment before sitting down to listen. "Sqaishey," he began, immediately forgetting what he'd gone over in his head. "Um...you have been my friend for a while...no, that's not it...erm...your feathers are really pretty and...uh...could you excuse me?" Stampy got up and walked outside. I can't do this, he thought. She must think I'm an idiot. Breathe, Stampy, breathe!
"Stampy," Sqaishey followed him outside. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah, I'm just...I'm nervous, okay?"
"Nervous about what?"
"I...we have been friends for so long, Sqaishey, and I got to thinking. You've been there for me through everything and you're...well...special to me. I..." he trailed off.
"Stampy, I know what you're trying to say," Sqaishey giggled. Then, her eyes became more serious and she turned away. "I like you too, Stamps. I just...I don't know. You got so caught up in being depressed about Lee, it's like you don't even want anybody around anymore."
"But, I do want you guys around, really. I know I've been hard to deal with, I'm just trying to cope. I woke up feeling alright this morning, Sqaishey. I feel better than I have in what feels like a century. Sure, I held Lee closer to my heart than most, but I'm not going to let it consume me anymore."
Sqaishey was silent for a moment, then looked back to Stampy. "Promise?"
"I promise." He looked down and took a deep breath, then looked back to his little duckie friend and said, "I need to move forward."
After a long afternoon with Sqaishey, Stampy ventured over to Squid's house. He wasn't sure he was ready to face Squid, but he wanted to apologize for the way he had acted out. Squid was sitting outside when Stampy arrived, and he looked surprised by the cat's arrival.
"Hey, Stamps!"
"Hi, Squid! What are you doing out here?"
"It's a beautiful night. I figured I'd get some fresh air."
"Fair enough." Stampy hesitated. "May I sit down?"
"Be my guest." Squid patted the ground next to him. Stampy sat down.
"I...I wanted to apologize."
"For what?"
"For acting the way I did yesterday. There was no need for it. I've felt so horribly guilty all day and I just really want you to forgive me. But I understand if you don't want to." Stampy couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with his companion.
"Of course I forgive you," Squid said, as if it was silly to think he was still angry. "I get it, Stampy. Stress took over while you were grieving. It happens. I'm not mad, I promise."
"Thank you, Squid."
"You know, what happened two months ago was not your fault."
"Two months ago? Has it really been that long?"
"It has." Squid looked up at the darkening sky. "I saw Netty this afternoon, on her way to feed the dogs, like she has been everyday. She says you smiled today...your first smile since then. She was so happy, she cried. She thought she would never see it again."
"Did she really say that?" Stampy asked.
"We all thought it to be honest. She was the first to voice her fear." Squid must have realized Stampy was starting to feel bad, because he quickly changed the subject. "So, what mischief did you get yourself into today?"
"I...I got myself a girlfriend."
Squid laughed, but Stampy did not. "Wait, you're serious?" Stampy nodded. "Well, who's the lucky lady?"
"Sqaishey," Stampy admitted. "I told her she has pretty feathers."
"Yeah, she does. They're so shiny. She must eat lots of fish to keep them so glossy and sleek," Squid joked. Stampy chuckled and elbowed him, then yawned.
"I think it's time I go home and go to bed. I've been more than productive today. I deserve a break." he said playfully.
"I'm sure you do," Squid agreed as Stampy stood up. "Sweet dreams, Stamps."
As Stampy walked across the lawn to his front door and through his house to his bedroom, he thought about his day. For the first time in two months, he felt like the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders. He laid down in his bed and shut his eyes. His words rang through his head once more before he drifted into a deep sleep: I need to move forward.
A/N: I know I should've updated long ago, but I didn't and I'm sorry. However, I was on Wattpad today. I decided to move this story and the last one to there because I can update faster. Only these two stories will be on both sites. My username is the TheStampyShipper, like on here, just without spaces. There will be some stories uploaded there and others uploaded here. I will update you whenever I add a story there, and probably do more ships than just Stampy, I mean, obviously. I'll probably do more of my own, less fanfiction-y stories there. I also kinda wanna do a SSundee story...okay, now I'm rambling. I'm done, I promise.