Michel & Josette
Chapter 20: Shadow Phantoms
Michel screamed like a girl as his eyes shot open. He could see Bartholomew's face right in his. She was just staring at him, silently with her tail swishing back and forth as if in a dance.
"B-Bartholomew…?" Michel gasped out in relief.
Bartholomew did not reply.
Michel sat up, grabbing the feline and staring at her. "What in the world? Don't scare me like that!" he whined.
Bartholomew still did not answer.
Michel slid out of his bed and sat the cat down, stepping away from her and stretching his limbs out, yawning.
"Wow, I slept good last night!" he announced. Then, he moved his eyes to his room window, grinning widely. "And it is such a lovely, dandy day outside! I can't wait to see what it has in store for me!"
Bartholomew still said nothing.
Michel shrugged and got ready for the day. When he finished, he immediately left his apartment, ready to run into Josette again.
He whistled and shoved his hands into his pockets, greeting strangers cheerfully and flashing them kind smiles.
Yes, Michel was very jolly today.
Suddenly, out of the complete and dry blue, Michel ran into THE Phantom R and his pet dog that looked like Fondue!
Michel, shocked, stopped walking and all of his happiness washed away, dispersing into a dark nothingness.
"Phantom R?!" Michel exclaimed.
Phantom R stopped walking, turning to look at Michel and sighing in annoyance. The dog beside him only growled at Michel threateningly, which Michel detested.
And that's not Fondue, huh? Michel sarcastically said in his head as he approached the two.
"Who are you?" Phantom R asked, immediately playing dumb.
Michel folded his arms over his chest, peering at the rhythm thief intently, watching his dog from the corner of his eye. "What? You don't remember me?" Michel questioned him, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't recall you being in my memories, no." Phantom R responded quickly, shrugging all casual and whatnot.
"Woeuf!" the dog agreed.
Michel looked insulted.
"How can you not remember someone like me?!" Michel exclaimed, remembering that Phantom R kneed him in the gut mercilessly. "You attacked me!"
"Actually, it was self-defense."
"So you do remember me!"
"I never said that." Phantom R gave him a smirk, striking a casual pose, one hand in his pocket.
Michel pursed his lips, frowning deeply.
"So, what's your dog's name?" Michel demanded to know, pointing a finger at the white dog that looked so much like Fondue, Raphael's dog.
Phantom R lazily moved his eyes down to his dog (Fondue). Then, he looked back up at Michel.
"Cheese."
Michel looked confused. "Come again?"
"Cheese," Phantom R repeated in a dead tone of voice, looking like he just wanted to carry on with what he had been doing before Michel stumbled upon him.
"Hurn…?" the dog, 'Cheese', looked at his owner in perplexity.
"That's a…very odd name for a dog!" Michel announced with a very thoughtful look on his face. "But so is Fondue…"
"Yeah, well, life is full of surprises," Phantom R spoke. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I and my pet will be on our way."
Michel was about to wave them goodbye, but then frowned. "No! Wait! I'm turning you in to the constabulary! Plus, I want to get back at you for kneeing me in the stomach! That hurt!"
"Self-defense." Phantom R reminded him.
"You lying fool!" Michel accused, balling his hands into tight fists.
Phantom R sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Woeuf!" 'Cheese' barked threateningly, growling at Michel.
Michel took an uneasy step back.
"So, are you going to let us go?" Phantom R questioned him. "You've wasted a lot of my time. You do realize that I will never be able to get that time back, right?"
"You're not going anywhere!" Michel declared loudly, jumping towards Phantom R like a wild animal.
Phantom R raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, two Phantom R look-a-likes with black hair jumped out from some trees, bounding towards Michel like two giant elephants on a rampage.
Michel yelled out as they rammed into him, knocking him off of his feet. To his despair, he found himself on the dirty ground, in horrible pain.
The two shadow Phantom R's tipped their hats at him before disappearing back behind the trees.
"Well, let's jet, Fondue…I mean, Cheese!" Phantom R told his doggy companion before sprinting off. Fondue…er…Cheese quickly followed him.
Michel groaned and sat up, dazedly looking ahead.
"What in the world just happened?!" he wailed.
Suddenly, he could see Josette standing before him, hands on her hips and her head shaking from side to side in a disappointed manner.
"Wow, Marty," she began. "I didn't know you attacked defenseless, poor people."
"What?!" Michel looked horrified. "No!"
Josette only rolled her eyes and walked off.
Tears shot out of Michel's eyes.