Hello, everyone. I know, I know... I haven't on this site in a long time (whether it's reading, reviewing, or writing). Any excuse I could give would be just that- an excuse. And I really don't like making excuses for myself. So all I can say is that I am sorry. I hope that all of you who have read this story will be able to forgive me and keep reading.
I'm actually a little excited. In this chapter I get to introduce and give you all a brief glimpse of my favorite OC.
Well without further ado, here's the third chapter. Enjoy :)
Disclaimer: If I owned Hamtaro, Dexter and Howdy would fight with giant rubber mallets.
This is how it feels to be Hamtaro, right now:
You have just woken up. As your groggy and tired eyes adjust to the bright morning light streaming in from the bedroom window, you can make out a familiar face in front of your cage.
It is your owner, Laura, giving you a fond and friendly smile. She looks like she has news she can barely contain. She softly asks, "Goodmorning, Hamtaro. Do you know what day it is today?"
And your mind begins to race as you try to recall the significance of this date. Was something important supposed to happen? Or maybe it's just Friday…
Apparently, your confusion is written plain upon your features, because Laura's smile broadens and she says, "It's August sixth, silly."
You still don't get it.
"It's your birthday, Hamtaro."
Now you feel stupid.
Of course it's your birthday! How could you forget? Well, ok, you didn't remember last year either, but still. Then you remember that if it's your birthday, that means it's Cappy's birthday too, and that just makes it all the better.
Laura opens your cage and you hop out into the warm palm of her hand. She walks over to her bookcase and pulls down the shopping bag from last night. Reaching in, she produces a smaller bag, which seems to be filled with sunflower seeds coated in a strange, sticky substance.
"It's hamster candy," she explains, and she gives you a piece. "Normal candy would make you sick, but yesterday Kana and I found this at the candy store. The owner said that it wouldn't hurt hamsters. They even gave one to their hamster and he ate it right in front of us." (AN: Thanks go to Awesomewriter123 for letting me borrow his idea of hamster candy)
You take an experimental bite. It's delicious! So, you finish it and lick the sweet and sticky remains from your paws while Laura gives you another smile and wishes you a happy birthday.
Next, she pulls down a large, square photo album. You remember it from your last birthday. She flips to the picture of a young kindergartner holding a small babyham in her hand; the first time Laura and you met. Upon the opposite page is another picture of baby you snuggled up against a white-furred, sky-blue eyed girlham. You know this hamster.
She is your mommy, Yuki.
Even upon the paper, her fur looks so soft and warm. Her eyes are filled with unmatched kindness. You regret that you never, truly, knew her, and at the same time you are suddenly aware of how little you know about your mother. You were given to Laura by her kindergarten teacher, and you cannot recall much before then.
Abruptly, it also occurs to you that last night you had another dream. But this time is different. This time, you can remember something from it.
Yuki was there. Your mom was in your dream. What could this mean?
Laura's mom calls from downstairs. "Coming, Mom!" she responds.
Your owner gives you a bittersweet smile. "Sorry I can't stay and celebrate with you more, but mom's taking me back-to-school shopping. They always start the sales so early…"
And so she lowers you back down before your cage door. After you jump inside, she gives you another piece of hamster candy and another smile, which you return generously.
"Goodbye, Hamtaro! Happy birthday!"
Another warm summer day awaited Hamtaro as he slid out from the drainpipe. Brandy, as usual, remained asleep and seemed not to notice the hamster, despite his greeting. But the dog's lack of acknowledgement had little effect on the Ham-Ham. In fact, Hamtaro's greeting was less genuine than days previous.
Hamtaro was distracted. He kept thinking about these dreams that continued to float around in his head every night. Why was his mom in them?
The cream and orange hamster began wondering where his mommy was. Tsurara, the white-furred ham who stayed with Laura's old kindergarten teacher, had told him that Ayuko had always said that his mother was some place far away. But where was this far away place exactly? Hamtaro felt an emptiness creep into his chest.
The amber-eyed ham continued pondering as he made his way to the clubhouse to visit his friends, and it wasn't long until he found himself at the entrance to the park, where he nearly failed to notice an excited looking white-furred hamgirl waiting for him.
"Bonjour, Hamtaro!" Bijou exclaimed. "And 'appy birthday!" The French hamgirl was very grateful that the other hams had agreed to let her be the one to meet Hamtaro at the park entrance. Boss, for some reason, had seemed oddly against it, but he had relented, and Bijou was more than delighted to be the first of them to wish the amber-eyed boyham a happy birthday. And yet, at her voice, Hamtaro seemed to have snapped out of a prison of thoughts and troubled wonderings. Something, Bijou could tell, was off.
"Huh? Oh, hamha Bijou. Thanks." The cream and orange hamster sounded less than enthused.
"Hamtaro," Bijou inquired, worried. "Iz zomething wrong?"
The boyham gave her a small smile while rubbing the back of his head with a gentle paw. "Uh, nope. Not at all! Don't worry, Bijou. It's nothing."
However, Bijou had observed that same smile on more than one occasion and knew exactly what it was: an evasive tactic. Something was wrong, she was sure, and Hamtaro was trying to pass it off as nothing so as not to spoil her good mood. He had always valued other's happiness above his own. It was one of the reasons Bijou was so drawn to the amber-eyed hamster, but it could prove troublesome and annoying sometimes. And, deeper still, it hurt the white-furred hamgirl knowing that after all this time, Hamtaro still had difficulty admitting when something was really bothering him.
Bijou's voice became subtly softer and laced with care. "Hamtaro, we 'ave known each other for a long time, non? I can tell when you are upset." She dared to take a couple steps closer, standing by his side. "What iz wrong?"
Hamtaro turned his amber eyes to look into Bijou's teal ones, seeing in them true concern. He felt his heart warm, but didn't understand why.
"Alright, Bij, you win." The cream and orange ham sighed. "These last couple nights, I've been having some weird dreams..."
"Aw man... I'm never gonna find somethin' ta eat around here," the hamster remarked to himself as he lazily strolled through the grass.
Maybe I've wandered a little too far this time, he thought. Somehow, he had ended up in one of those massive human cities and had spent the whole night trying to sleep in this park. Park? the hamster mused. This is some good land here! A little bushy, but these humans don't know what they got. Still, he didn't like entertaining the idea of staying in this city for much longer, park or not. For one thing, there were too many people, which meant too many opportunities to get stepped on. Not to mention cars. And then there were cats...
He didn't like cats.
Orange ones, grey ones, the bastards with the multicolored fur... he'd seen enough of'm to last a lifetime.
His stomach gurgled loudly, and the hamster ran a paw through his messy, unkept black hair while sighing. If I don't find somethin' ta eat, I'm gonna starve! the blue-eyed hamster thought over-dramatically. Then... wait? Were those voices he heard? And they were hamster voices too! Was it bad that he was only excited because they might have food? Eh, whatever.
The hamster ran towards the sound, deciding to chalk up his fatigue to his hunger and not his increasing age. He soon found himself in a bush, the two hamsters voices coming from just the other side. But the blue-eyed hamster stopped. One of them (from the sound of the voice, a girlham) had used a name. A name that, the blue-eyed ham had to admit, he had not heard in a very long time.
The hamster listened intently, seeing if he could make out that seven letter name again. Then, he heard the girlham ask the other, "How long 'ave you been 'aving these dreams, Hamtaro?"
There it was.
Well well well, he considered while rubbing his chin, go figure. Didn't think I'd ever hear THAT name again.
He decided to inch closer; just enough so he could see them. Sure enough, it was both a girlham and a boyham. The former had white fur and wore two cerulean ribbons in her hair. She had an accent, and was, he had to admit, a little too young for his tastes. But the boyham...
A mixture of cream and orange fur? Those telltale amber eyes? There was no mistaking it. But still, it could all just be a fluke. If only there was some way to be sure...
"So you think your muzzer was in the dreams also?" the girlham asked the boyham.
The amber-eyed ham nodded. "Yeah, my mommy, Yuki, was in the one I had last night, so-"
Yuki? Did that kid just say his mom was Yuki? Whaddya know, it is him! That's defiantly Hamtaro. The blue-eyed hamster nearly laughed out loud. He could barely believe it.
Hamtaro's gaze shot to the bushes nearby. "Did you hear that?" he asked the white-furred girlham curiously.
"'ear what?" Bijou responded puzzled. But Hamtaro was sure he had heard something behind the sheet of green leafs. There was a short silence, and then-
"Alright, kid, alright. Ya caught me," remarked another hamster while nonchalantly stepping out from the natural cover. "Ya know, ya really have some keen senses there."
As Hamtaro and Bijou looked into the ham's face, which was accented by his blue eyes, they couldn't help noticing how unkept and scruffy he looked. The ends of his whiskers were bent in static angles, while the black fur on top of his head and around his ears seemed to grow out in uneven patches, resembling a messy haircut. His belly and face were covered in a cream colored fur and the hamster seemed to conduct himself with an easygoing attitude, the lines and contours of his face showing off a casualness that also seemed to boast a playful quality. Hamtaro asked, "Who are you?"
The blue-eyed ham shrugged while displaying a relaxed smile. "Sorry, but I'm not really one fer handing out my name ta strangers."
Hamtaro tilted his head. "Heke? What were you doing in the bushes? You weren't spying on us, were you?"
The other hamster seemed suddenly, and over-dramatically, taken aback. "What?! Me? Spying? Aw no, ya've got the wrong guy. Haha..."
"Well then what were you doing?" pressed Bijou.
Rubbing the back of his messy hair furiously, the ham turned his blue gaze up to the trees. "Oh, you know. Just out fara stroll. Takin' in the nature and all that." Then, he displayed a playful grin. "Come on, don't tell me ya've never stopped ta take a look at all these fine trees. Surely, you have. Right, Hamtaro?"
The cream and orange ham's amber eyes widened. "Wait, but... how'd you know my name...?"
The blue-eyed ham gave another grin. "Well waddya know. You catch on quick, too. Then again, suppose I should've expected as much from you."
Hamtaro and Bijou just continued to become more and more confused. Who was this guy?
"Well," he suddenly spoke, as if on cue, "I'd better be off then. Nice ta see ya, Hamtaro." He looked at Bijou. "And I'm afraid I didn't catch your name."
"Bijou," she replied, slightly thrown off guard.
"Right. So Hamtaro and Bijou." The blue-eyed scruffy hamster turned and began to walk away. "Well, I'll be seeing ya."
Hamtaro and Bijou seemed to hang in a trance for a second, taken aback by their strange and confusing encounter, before the cream and orange ham realized something. "Hey!" he called out after the hamster. "You know our names now, so we aren't strangers anymore. So what's your name?"
The blue-eyed hamster stopped. He seemed to consider something for a moment, then he turned around and gave them both a kind, almost uncharacteristic look. "My name's Collie," he answered, the tiniest hint of professionalism in his voice. And then, Collie gave the pair one last smile. "See ya around, kid." He turned and strolled away.
Bijou was glad that Hamtaro had agreed to come to the clubhouse with her. It was true she was worried about him, but she hoped that Cappy and his surprise birthday party would be enough to take his mind off of the dreams of his mother. At least temporarily. The French ham was almost glad that they had encountered that weird hamster; he had seemed to distract Hamtaro from his anxiety.
As the clubhouse came into view, the pair smiled as they saw an energetic Cappy hopping up and down by the tunnel entrance, exclaiming a loud and friendly "Hamha!" while Panda stood off to the side, displaying a kind smile.
"Hamha, Cappy!" Hamtaro returned as they approached nearer. "And happy birthday!"
"You too, Hamtaro!" Cappy seemed to enjoy sharing a birthday with one of his friends. "I'm glad you guys came," he continued. "Panda says that Boss made a new rule, just for today. Everybody's gotta enter the clubhouse in groups of four."
"Groups of four?" Bijou inquired, looking at Panda, who gave the French girlham a subtle look and shrugged as if to say, What else was I suppose to tell him?
The carpenter ham inwardly sighed. He was getting too good at making up excuses thanks to this whole surprise party thing. But it was important that both Hamtaro and Cappy were surprised at the same time. "That's right," he confirmed. "Boss told me yesterday that he was only going to let people into the clubhouse if they came in groups of four."
"That's weird," commented Hamtaro, "why would he do that?"
"Beats me," replied the carpenter ham, slightly grateful he had fooled his cream and orange friend.
"Well, we do make four, non?" Bijou inquired. "Does zat mean we may go inside?"
"Sure does!" exclaimed Cappy, while laughing. "We were starting to get worried that we'd have to sit out here all day!"
The four friends entered the tunnels laughing, Panda and Bijou in the lead, Hamtaro and Cappy behind. The cream and orange hamster had not really noticed until now that it had been a few days since he had last been to the clubhouse. He displayed a natural smile. Hamtaro was looking forward to seeing all his friends again.
As the door to the clubhouse came into view, both Hamtaro and Cappy couldn't help but notice that Bijou and Panda were acting odd. They seemed... nervous? Their steps became more robotic and Panda's paw seemed to tremble just slightly when he reached for the doorknob. But before either of the boyhams could ask about it, the door was opened, and the pair were met by a fantastic and earsplitting, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
"Wow!" Cappy and Hamtaro exclaimed in unison. The entire clubhouse had been decorated head-to-toe with colorful streamers and paper. On one side there was a table with all manor of hamster food, while in another was a ham-sized turntable. Dominating the scene was a massive banner, which read "Happy Birthday Hamtaro & Cappy!"
And in front of it all were their friends. All their fellow Ham-Hams stood around the clubhouse, happy smiles lighting up their features. Both the amber-eyed and cap wearing hamster were surprised to see that Elder Ham, Auntie Viv, and even Pepper were attending the celebration, their continuances just as bright as the others.
"For your birthdays," explained a high spirited Bijou, "we have decided to 'ave a birthday dance!"
"We even got Elder Ham and Auntie Viv to come," Boss proudly commented.
"And Pepper too!" added Oxnard.
"Like, come on guys!" picked up Sandy. "We spent a lot of time setting this all up, so let's get started!"
Stan hopped up behind the turntables, remarking, "Let's start the party!"
"Ookee!"
Hamtaro and Cappy exchanged smiles, then ran into the clubhouse to join their friends as the dance party commenced.
The party had gone on now for a number of hours, all the hamsters enjoying themselves greatly. Some stayed on the dance floor, showing off moves learned only days previously, until Elder Ham and Auntie Viv stormed onto the scene, determined to "Show all these young whipper snappers up!" which both were accomplishing very thoroughly, to the surprise and amusement of all.
In another corner, Oxnard and Pepper were preparing to engage in a fierce eating contest. Cappy held up his signature green swimmers cap, and counted, "Three... two... one... GO!" Oxnard began devouring his pile of sunflower seeds, confident of a victory, until he looked over a few moments later to see that Pepper was actually beating him. He let our a cry of dismay and, if possible, began eating faster, Pepper giving him a competitive smile while picking up speed herself.
Pashmina was looking for Penelope. She hadn't seen her little blanket wearing friend for most of the party. It wasn't long before she spotted her, sitting besides a smiling Panda and a pile of building blocks. "Hey, Penelope!" Pashmina called as she moseyed over.
"Ookyo!" The little girlham gave her scarf-loving friend a delighted smile, which Pashmina returned.
"What are you two doing over here all by yourselves?" she inquired, more to Panda than Penelope.
The black and white boyham responded, "We're building a hamster house out of building blocks." He indicated the pile next to him which, Pashmina now realized, was slowing taking shape into what appeared to be a miniature, building block mansion. Penelope began jumping up and down beside it, displaying her determined desire to make it the best hamster house ever.
"Wow guys! That's awesome! Mind if I-" But before Pashmina could finish, Dexter and Howdy scooted up on either side of her.
"My dear Pashmina," Dexter began. "It would be my honor if-"
"Come on Pashmina," cut in Howdy, "let's dance!"
"Why, Howdy, would the beautiful Pashmina ever desire to dance with the likes of you?"
"Me? And what's so special about yourself, eh?"
"At least I'm sophisticated!"
"And dull!"
"Why you-"
"Boys!" shouted the object of their debate, clearly annoyed. "I'd be happy to dance with both of you, but I need to look after Penelope."
"Well actually..." started a shy Panda. All eyes turned on him. "I can watch after her for you, Pashmina... you know, if you wanted to dance. I don't mind." The carpenter ham looked at Penelope and asked, "As long as she doesn't mind either."
"Ookee!" replied the blanket wearing girlham, picking up another block with a smile.
Pashmina blinked. No one had ever really volunteered to look after Penelope for her before. Quite frankly, it was somewhat surprising. "Well, okay..." she stated. "Thanks Panda. I really-"
Before she could finish, Dexter and Howdy had pulled the girlham away. Strangely, she found she suddenly didn't feel like dancing with them...
"It's okay, Oxy," said a worried Hamtaro. "Just let yourself rest for a bit."
"T-Thanks Hamtaro," belched Oxnard, who had received an incredible stomach ache from force feeding himself. Pepper looked on with concern as well.
"Hamtaro's right," Pepper added, "just sit down for a while, big guy. You'll be fit in no time."
Cappy laughed. "Man, I'd have a stomach ache too. It must suck being beaten by your girlham in an eating contest."
Pepper blushed. "Cappy, who won isn't important right now!"
Hamtaro smiled. Confident his friend was in good hands, he turned his attention to the other Ham-Hams. Out on the dance floor, Sandy and Maxwell versed off with Elder Ham and Auntie Viv to see who the better dancers were, while Stan on the turntables added difficulty to the contest by speeding up and slowing down the music. Bijou cheered the contestants on, while a blushing Boss tried to stir up conversation with the French girlham. Dexter and Howdy were both attempting to dance with Pashmina while simultaneously fighting each other. Snoozer was snoring through the festivities, as always. Over by the stairs, Panda and Penelope seemed to be constructing a kind of building out of blocks.
Intrigued by the two hams' activity, Hamtaro approached.
"Hamha you two!" he greeted. "What are you up to?"
Panda gave the cream and orange ham a kind smile. "We're building a hamster house," he informed while displaying the blueprints he had found in his family's attic.
"Ookyo!" Penelope chimed in.
"Wow! That's really cool guys!" Hamtaro enthusiastically replied.
"Ookee?" the blanket wearing girlham inquired of Hamtaro.
Panda looked at her. "Huh? I suppose you're right, Penelope. We could use another set of paws working on this." He turned his gaze back to Hamtaro. "Hey, you wanna help us work on it?"
Hamtaro's amber eyes widened. "Really? That'd be awesome!" He eagerly sat down. "Just tell me what to do."
Sandy wiped a paw across her forehead and let out a deep breath. That had been quite the dance contest! The tiger-striped hamgirl glanced at the clock and noted that it was nearly time for all of them to head home. If Operation Sunflower was going to happen, it had to happen now.
Sandy subtly signaled to Pashmina and, after making sure she picked up on it, gave a similar signal to Stan, who also received the message wide and clear.
The scarf-wearing girlham promptly excused herself from Dexter and Howdy, while Stan stood up behind his turntable. "Alright all you Ham-Hams out there!" he announced. All eyes turned to the dance's DJ. "It's getting pretty close to the end here, but we have time for one last dance. We're gonna sloooooow things down, so grab your partner and get ready for a slow dance!"
Sandy quickly ran over and hit the light switch (AN: did they have electricity in the clubhouse? Ah, whatever. It's my story! ANYWAYS!). As the lights dimmed, all the hamsters became aware of a number of lanterns, usually reserved for the tunnels, placed around the walls of the clubhouse. Their soft orange glows created a warm and romantic lighting. Satisfied, the tiger-striped girlham ran over to Maxwell and pulled him onto the dance floor. Elder Ham and Auntie Viv followed, along with Pepper and a fully recovered Oxnard.
Boss' ears perked. A slow dance? he thought. This is it! Now's the perfect time to tell Bijou exactly how I feel!
The field hamster turned to the French girlham. "Hey, B-Bijou?" he stammered, doing his best to keep his voice.
"Yes, Boss?"
"I... w-well ya see... I was just... well, w-wondering if... you know... maybe we could, uh..."
Bijou turned to look at him. "Boss?" she asked, concerned. "Are you alright?"
But before the field hamster could respond, Pashmina was by Bijou's side. Without wasting a second, the scarf-wearing girlham blurted out a quick, "SorryBossbutIneedtotalktoBijouthanks!" Before Boss could form a word in response, she had grabbed Bijou's paw and took off at a fast pace, pulling the other girlham behind. All Boss could do was stand there, alone and dumbfounded. What just happened?
Pashmina stopped just a few feet away, Bijou looking throughly rattled by the stunt. The scarf loving ham's ear picked up the opening notes to the slow dance song Sandy had picked out. Perfect.
"Pashmina!" exclaimed a confounded Bijou. "What iz all this about?"
"Sorry, Bij," her friend apologized, "but this is THE perfect opportunity for you to ask Hamtaro to dance!"
The French ham's cheeks instantly lit up with red. "Dance?" she responded nervously. She looked over at Hamtaro. "B-but he looks like he's 'aving fun playing with Panda and Penelope. I do not know if-"
"Nonsense!" Pashmina cut in. Still seeing her friend looking hesitant, the girlham gave her friend a wink and responded, "Alright, Bij. How about this?" The French ham turned her attention from the cream and orange boyham back to her friend. Pashmina continued. "I'll ask one of the guys to dance if you ask Hamtaro to dance."
"Huh? But Pash-"
But the French ham's friend was already walking over towards the three hamsters and their building block hamster house. On her way, Dexter and Howdy slid into Pashmina's path, each clearly desiring to share the last dance with her. But before they could get a word off, the girlham simple remarked, while adjusting her scarf, "Excuse me, boys," and left them in her wake, leaving the pair mouths agape. Walking up to her younger friend, Pashmina gave Penelope a sweet smile while asking, "Penelope, would you mind me borrowing Panda for a little bit?"
The young girlham winked from beneath her yellow blanket, giving her friend a grin. Without hesitation, Pashmina walked over to a curious Panda. She gave the boyham a charming smile.
"Come on, Panda. Let's dance."
And with that she pulled the carpenter ham up by his paws and began walking him towards the dance floor. The white cheeks of the boyham suddenly turned pink as he tried not to think about how clumsy a dancer he was. As the pair passed Bijou, Pashmina gave her a quick look while mouthing, "You're turn."
Steeling her courage and not wanting to look the fool, the French girlham approached Hamtaro. However, when she got there, she suddenly felt abashed. "Penelope," she said while turning towards the young girlham, "may I talk to Hamtaro for a bit?"
"Ookyo," Penelope responded, the lines of her mouth forming a mischievous, yet encouraging, smile.
"Zank you," Bijou shyly remarked before turning towards the amber-eyed boyham. "Hamtaro?"
"Sure thing," he said with an affectionate smile. He stood and followed her a few paces away. "What is it, Bijou?"
"Hamtaro, I was wondering if you would..." But honestly, the French girlham found herself having trouble going on. What if he does not want to dance? What if he does not want to dance with ME? For reasons she couldn't explain, her head was suddenly swimming with doubt. She could do it. She knew she could. But she just couldn't get the words out.
Meanwhile, Hamtaro was having thoughts of his own. The boyham couldn't help noticing that he hadn't really gotten to talk or be around Bijou since the party began. She was always very nice to him, especially today when the girlham has listened to his dream crisis. Then, his ears twitched as he heard the soft music playing in the background.
"Hey, Bijou?" the boyham inquired.
The girlham seemed to have snapped out of a trance. "Yes, Hamtaro?"
"Do you wanna dance?"
Bijou's cheeks warmed and flushed, even as she attempted to hide it. "Yes, Hamtaro. I would love to dance with you." She could barely contain the unrivaled joy in her voice.
The pair walked out to the dance floor just as the the words to the song began.
Wise
Men
Say...
Their paws touched and grasped as they reached an open spot on the dance floor, turning to each other as they had both been taught not days previous.
Only fools
Rush
In...
Their eyes met, amber looking into teal, teal looking into amber, as they began turning and swaying to the soothing and resonating melody.
But I
Can't
Help
Falling in love
With
You.
A calm and prominent silence entangled the two as they smiled warmly at each other, letting the gentle notes guide them.
Shall I stay?
Would it be a sin?
If I can't help
Falling in love with you.
As they turned, Bijou saw Pashmina dancing with Panda.
"Sorry... I'm really not that good at this," the carpenter ham commented.
"You're doing good. You don't have to apologize," Pashmina reassured with a smile, failing to mention that she actually found it cute.
Like a river flows
Surely to the sea
Darling, so it goes
Somethings are meant to be.
Sandy and Maxwell, clearly the best dancers on the floor, seemed to be enjoying themselves as they flowed and turned. Sandy caught Bijou's eye and gave her a wink, to which the French girlham responded with a shy smile.
So take my hand
Take my whole life too
For I can't help
Falling in love with you.
Bijou allowed herself to relax. Everything seemed so... at peace. The French girlham slowly brought her head in to rest upon Hamtaro's shoulder as she let out a small sigh. The boyham's cheeks warmed and he felt a strange feeling inside him he didn't understand. Still, something seemed right about this. And so, Hamtaro leaned his head in to rest against Bijou's.
Somethings are meant to be...
Take my hand
Take my whole life too
For I can't help
Falling in love with you.
For I can't help
Falling in love with you.
As the song slowly ended, and the dancers gradually came to a stop, nobody noticed that an enraged and thoroughly upset field hamster had stormed out of the clubhouse partway through the song.
Hamtaro turned onto his street, nearly home. He really did have some great friends for putting on such a great party for Cappy and him. The cream and orange ham knew, truly knew, that he was immeasurably lucky to know, and be, a Ham-Ham.
It was with those happy thoughts that Hamtaro stepped onto his house's front lawn. Brandy, like every morning, day, and night, seemed to be napping, half of his brown body laying lazily out of his doghouse. The light in Laura's room was off. Good, the hamster thought, I beat Laura home. Wouldn't want her worrying about me.
Suddenly, the bushes to his left rustled. Hamtaro quickly turned, remembering a similar thing happening earlier that same day. Was it that same hamster from before, or something else? But as the figured stepped out from between the leaves, the amber-eyed ham was surprised to see it was...
"Boss?" Hamtaro naively questioned, seeing the large field hamster appear before him. "What are you doing here?"
A broad mixture of feelings seemed to be displaying themselves upon his friend's face. Anger, sadness, confusion... they all merged into an odd, heavyhearted look that made Hamtaro feel both nervous and guilt-ridden. The field hamster's eyes seemed, even in the fading light of the sunset, to be red and swollen, leaving Hamtaro to wonder if he had been crying. "Boss?" the amber-eyed ham tried again. "How long have you been here?"
"Y-You..." Boss unexpectedly stated in a hoarse voice. "I thought... I thought we were friends, Hamtaro..."
The accusation stung the cream and orange boyham like a needle. "We are friends! What are you talking about, Boss?"
"Bijou!" the field hamster cried out instantly in answer. "You were slow dancing with her! How could you?! I told you... from the beginning I told you about how I felt about her!" The enraged hamster vented, letting his angry words fly like flames. "That last dance was suppose to be ours! And you just..."
Boss hung his head for a second, his continence going gloomy. Then, suddenly, "And you just stole it from us!" With that, the large field hamster lunged at the amber-eyed ham, to tackle him, hit him, to do anything to hurt him back.
But, strangely, something deep down within Hamtaro saw it coming. Maybe it was just a hunch. Maybe it was some inlaid instinct. Whatever it was, Hamtaro had seen it coming, and even as Boss' feet pushed off from the ground, the cream and orange ham was already ducking to the side.
Boss missed, losing his footing and falling to the ground. Hamtaro, unaware of how agilely he had dodged the assault, ran towards the field hamster, wanting to help him up, while declaring, "Boss, listen! Let me just-"
"Get away from me!" the field hamster cried, taking a swing at Hamtaro from the ground.
The amber-eyed ham stopped where he was. Boss had been one of the first friends he had met here. At times, he had even seemed like an older brother to him. His words hit with the force of punches. Hamtaro's eyes stung.
Appearing out of his mind with grief, Boss stood and threw a punch at the cream and orange boyham. But, much like before, Hamtaro somehow predicted it and weaved to the side, leaving Boss' fisted paw to collide with air. The cream and orange ham opened his mouth to plead with his friend again, but before any words could leave his lips, a loud and dominating bark resounded. Startled, both hamsters turned to to see Brandy, awake and on his feet. The dog was growling and taking slow steps towards Boss.
The field hamster stumbled backward away from the canine. After a quick moment, he regained his balance. "Hamtaro..." Boss started, turning his head to the side. "From this moment on we're no longer friends. I don't want you coming anywhere near the clubhouse. You're not a Ham-Ham anymore." And with that, the large field hamster turned and sprinted away.
Hamtaro, amber-eyes wide, simply stared blankly after him, feeling as if the sun had just gone out.
I have had this chapter visualized for a very very long time. Honestly, the item that seemed to hold me up the most was what song to use for the slow dance. But, ultimately, I'm glad I decided on Can't Help Falling in Love (I prefer Andrea Bocelli's version, but Elvis' is very good too). Hope nobody minds if this chapter was considerably longer than those previous. Anyway, as always, thanks for reading!
Oh, and let me know what you guys thought of your brief look at Collie (for I shamelessly love my OCs) :P
Next Chapter: Our hero tries to find a way to redeem himself in Boss' eyes as the other Ham-Hams try to convince the field hamster to change his mind. But when Hamtaro has the perfect idea for atonement, will it be enough? Or will all go horribly wrong?