Disclaimer: I do not own Sam & Cat.
Dice walked slowly, his feet dragged across the hallways of the building that he was supposed to call home. He held his head low. Anyone walking by would have clearly seen the look of defeat that the young boy portrayed so vividly. But no one would have ever guessed what he had been defeated by.
Actually, a better term would have be cheated.
He let out a loud sigh as the thought entered his mind. For all the years he had been doing this business, Dice rarely ever had competition. Even if he did, they would always die out as fast as they came, cracking under the pressure of secrets or not meeting a customer's demand.
But never, and he meant never did competition present itself as hard as it did right now. Dice hated it. What was worst was he didn't even know who this person was, or why they wanted to kick him out of the business so bad. Again he sighed into the emptiness of the hallway, feet coming to a stop at a closed door. Dice reached his hand up to knock, but after a moment of hesitation, let his hand fall soundlessly to his side. He needed more time to think. But that was not to happen.
The door sprung open, and Dice was so taken by surprise that he had to suppress a shriek when he saw Cat's smiling face.
"Dice!" she greeted happily, pulling his arm in. He was greeted by a chorus of voices mingled with the loud bark of Fritzt and the squealing of the two hamsters in their cages.
"Ah, Dice!" Goomer greeted, standing up to his full height.
"So, how was the sale?"
"Don't even ask me about that" Dice answered, lingering harshness in his reply. Sam cast the boy a angry glare, but that slowly faded away when Cat spoke up.
"What happened?"
Dice groaned in reply, sending a hand to shield his eyes from those of his friends.
"C'mon Dice, you've never had a bad sale."
Sam's words only made Dice's insides ache all the more and once again Dice emitted a groan.
Silence fell upon the room, besides the soft muffled words from the TV. Dice lifted his hand in the midst of the silence, eyes blinking as he took in the room around him. He took in a gulp of reassuring air, and placed a hand on the armrest.
"So, where are the pets?" His eyes flickered hesitantly over to Cat, who met eyes with him for only a second or so before bolting away to retrieve Friztz. Dice's eyes returned to the floor, staring at the carpet. It was only when his eyes had just glazed over, head going to his thoughts that he felt the strong gaze of someone upon him. Dice looked up, seeing Goomer staring at him with knowing eyes. Dice stared back, determined not to fall to pieces in front of him right then and there.
Cat returned, followed closely behind with a happy and energetic dog. She made her way over to the hamster cage and once she had that in her grip, came over to Dice, standing up. Quietly he took hold of the handle of the cage given to him and let the handle of the leash be slipped onto his wrist. Dice mumbled a quiet 'thank you' before turning away from his friends. He could have sworn that he heard a small 'goodbye' bid to him, but the slam of the door must have drowned it out within his ears.
Dice sighed into the emptiness of the hallway, and then took a step forward.
From down the hall, a pair of sneakers hit the pavement in their rushed journey, racing down the just silent hallway.
"This way Friztz" Dice told the dog, whose barking and excitement couldn't be contained. The sneakers from down the hallway only made their way closer to the boy and dog faster.
"C'mon"
Ruff! Ruff!
Friztz barked happily, as the person tried to speed pass.
"Oh..um..Friztz..I'm sorry" Dice stuttered apologetically, tugging on Friztz's leash. The person struggled to pass, but Friztz continued barking, happily almost.
Then a kick.
A whimper.
"Hey!" Dice shouted.
But the person had run off.
Quickly Dice came to his knees, looking over Friztz. The dog shook it's head out of his grasp, after whimpering a little. Dice sighed, and threw a look down the hallway once more just to see.
It was empty.
-x-
Bell paced back and forth, mind racing with thoughts. She tried her hand at the door, but knew it to be useless. She fixed her sweater, pulling it closer to her. Bell breathed into the hallway playing with her fingers. She composed herself, as she heard distant footsteps become near.
"Dice?"
Her faked surprise seemed to have slipped for a moment, when she laid eyes upon Friztz.
"Bell!"
It seemed that he didn't notice.
They met at the middle of the hall, Dice explaining everything and Bell nodding and understanding.
"It's fine, Dice" she reassured, and bent down, reaching a hand over to Friztz. The dog back away, legs just noticeable of shaking. Her widened eyes looked up to Dice for an explanation.
A painful reminder of a haste made decision.
"Someone kicked him. Startled the poor boy"
For a moment Bell closed her eyes, taking in a shaking breath.
"I've got to go" Bell said with a rush and stood up. She took the hamster cage handed to her and softly slipped on Friztz's leash handle to her wrist.
"Thanks Dice" she thanked quickly before rushing away.
He stood looking after her.
Why the same sneakers?
And that has been another chapter of Rolling Dice.
Wow, would look at that I finally updated.
I'm really sorry for the delay.
All in all, don't forget to review after you have read and thank you so much for being patient.
Until next time, PBL. :)