The Newcomer
An Amazing World of Gumball Story
By NeoNimbus
Chapter 45-The Betrayal
The bell rang for the last time at Elmore Junior High, as every student made their way to the main entrance, heading for home until tomorrow. Among the students were Brian, Mike and the Watterson siblings, discussing with one another about what had occurred in school today.
"Today's lesson wasn't as complicated as I thought." Mike commented.
"No kidding." said Darwin. "Miss Simian surely knows a thing or two about chemistry."
"Darwin, she's over three hundred years old, of course she's going to know chemistry rather well." Gumball stated the obvious to his brother.
"At least you guys understood the subject rather well for a change." said Anais.
"At least it's better than being inundated with pop quizzes almost every day." Brian stated, before the purple fox check the time on his cell phone. "Oh, look at the time; I need to get going. I'll see you guys later."
With that, Brian turned away from the school, much to Mike's curiosity.
"Hold on there, Brian…" the maroon badger began, prompting the purple fox to stop in his tracks and turn around. "Who are you meeting?"
'Oh, that's right, Mike doesn't know about her yet.' Brian thought, before he took a deep breath and offered an answer to the maroon badger.
"Sorry, I'm actually heading to Elmore Academy to meet up with Rhonda."
The moment the purple fox said those words, Mike stood still with a look of shock on his face, stunned to hear Brian's answer. Fortunately, it appeared that no one noticed his reactions, before the maroon badger shook himself back to reality.
"Oh…look at the time. I need to get back home to, um, help my mom bake some cookies. Yeah, that's right." Mike suddenly said, before he went back to his house on his own, to the confusion of his friends.
"What was that just now?" asked Gumball.
"I don't know Gumball, but I wouldn't mind trying Mrs. Badgero's cookies." Darwin replied.
"Still, it was weird that Mike went off just like that." Anais noted.
"We'll just talk to Mike tomorrow about it." said Brian. "Anyway, I have to get going, so I'll see you guys tomorrow."
While Brian went to the academy, a short distance away, Mike continued to walk his way home rather nervously, still stunned to hear the purple fox's answer moments ago.
'Oh no…' Mike worriedly thought. 'Brian will probably try to introduce me to Rhonda and that's the last thing I want to happen. It will only lead to disaster!'
Several minutes have passed since Brian left school, but despite the long path, the trip was certainly worth it for the purple fox, as he spotted Rhonda waiting right near the gates of Elmore Academy, just like every other day.
"Hey Rhonda." Brian greeted the mouse. "How's your day going?"
"It's going pretty good so far, Brian." Rhonda replied. "Anyway, are you up for a game of basketball?"
"Sure, I don't mind." Brian happily responded, as he and his crush walked their way towards their destination. "Oh yeah, that reminds me, I made a new friend just a few weeks ago."
"That's great! I'm happy for you." said Rhonda. "Can you tell me who it is?"
"His name is Michael Badgero." Brian answered the mouse question, causing Rhonda to stop and look at the purple fox with a look of shock on her face.
"I'm sorry, but could you repeat that answer?"
"Like I said, his name is Michael Badgero." Brian replied once more, before giving Rhonda a suspicious look. "Are you alright, Rhonda? Was it something I said?"
"Oh…I'm sorry Brian." the mouse apologized to her friend. "I wasn't paying any attention, that's all."
Brian continued to look at Rhonda, somewhat unconvinced by the mouse's answer. However, the purple fox decided not to question her at the moment and put his suspicions aside.
"Alright then, if you say so." said Brian, before he and Rhonda continued onward to the park.
For the last several minutes, Brian and Rhonda were playing another game of basketball, just like they always had been for the past few months. However, today turned out to be quite different for Brian, as Rhonda was unable to concentrate and play the way she usually does, which allowed the purple fox to score more points than usual. With each passing minute, Rhonda seemed more distant; something that Brian noticed right away, much to his concern.
"Rhonda, are you alright?" Brian asked the mouse, as he approached her, snapping Rhonda back to reality.
"Sorry if I'm acting off today. I just got a lot things going on in my mind. In fact, I should get back home and do my homework. I'll see you later."
Before Brian knew what happened next, Rhonda immediately left the basketball court, walking towards her house, leaving the purple fox completely dumbfounded by the mouse's actions.
'That was really weird.' Brian thought to himself.
While the purple fox tried to figure out Rhonda's strange behavior, the mouse meanwhile continued to walk towards home as calmly as she could.
'I hoped that I wouldn't have to deal with HIM again.' Rhonda thought to herself, before she felt a few tears coming from her eyes, prompting her to force them back down.
The next day, Brian told his friends of what had happened between him and Rhonda at the park. As soon as he was done finishing his explanation, the Watterson siblings looked at him, understandably surprised by what they have just heard right now.
"I have to admit, that was really strange for Rhonda to behave like that." Gumball commented.
"Tell me about it." said Brian. "She really wasn't herself at all."
"Perhaps its best if we talk to Rhonda ourselves and hope she'll give us an explanation." Darwin suggested.
"That does sound like a good idea, Darwin…" Anais began. "But let's do that after school."
"Alright." Brian agreed, before he noticed one person missing among the group. "Say, where's Mike at?"
"We were hoping you would know where he is." said Gumball.
"He didn't show up at the bus stop this morning." Darwin informed the purple fox.
"That is strange, considering that he always looked forward to gym class." Anais commented.
"That's right…" Brian began. "Friday is always Mike's favorite day because it's dodge ball day and he's very good." Brian then thought about it. 'In fact, he can be quite the maniac when he takes down by 7-8 guys by himself. He even got the nickname "Clutch" for his efforts.'
Brian and the Watterson siblings continued to ponder, trying to figure out where the maroon badger was, until a few minutes later, an idea came to the purple fox's mind.
"Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?"
In response, Gumball, Darwin and Anais nodded in agreement, confirming Brian's suspicion, prompting the purple fox to take a deep breath, realizing that they had the same answer as he does.
"I never thought he would be heading off to Elmore Academy."
"But if he really is going there, then we need to make sure he's alright." said Darwin.
"Darwin's got a point Brian…" Anais began. "We really should check up on him before he does something reckless."
"Then what are we standing around here for? We should go to Elmore Academy right now!" Gumball declared.
"Hold it right there!" a certain ape spoke out, causing Brian and the Watterson brothers to yelp, while Anais quickly hid in the closest locker.
"You boys aren't going anywhere! Get your butts to class right now before I inform Principal Brown of your attempt to skip school!"
Grudgingly, the trio did as they were told and went to their teacher's classroom, while Anais quietly tiptoed away from Miss Simian before exiting Elmore Junior High.
Having a genius IQ proved to be quite helpful for Anais, as the child prodigy quickly made her way to Elmore Academy, opening the school gate by shooting electricity from her finger, before hiding from one bush after another, until she spotted Mike's tail near an open window, as the maroon badger made his way inside the academy.
'What are you up to?' Anais thought in suspicion, before she made her way inside the building.
Meanwhile, Mike quietly walked around the hallway, hoping to avoid making a ruckus in the academy, before hiding inside the janitor's closet, trying to catch his breath.
"Alright Mike, you can do this. Just stay calm and get this over with."
"Am I interrupting anything?" asked a certain child prodigy, prompting the maroon badger to yelp as he saw Anais right behind him. Somehow, the pink rabbit was able to make her way inside the janitor's closet with ease.
"What are you doing here?!"
"I should be asking you the same question." the child prodigy responded.
"I, um, just wanted to see what this place looks like. Yeah, that's it." Mike sheepishly explained.
Anais, however, remained unconvinced by the maroon badger's excuse, prompting Mike to take a deep breath and offer an explanation to the child prodigy.
"Alright, I do know about Elmore Academy. The reason I came here is so I can make things right with Rhonda. I just hope that she's still not mad at me for what happened a few months ago."
The moment Mike made that last statement, Anais was quite shocked to hear that from the maroon badger. The child prodigy would never suspect Rhonda, Brian's secret crush, would be capable of holding such a grudge.
"Why would someone like Rhonda be mad at you? What exactly did you do to get her upset?"
Just as Mike was about to explain everything to the child prodigy, the door to the janitor's closet suddenly opened and much to the duo's dismay, a certain broccoli was looking right at them.
"Hey guys, we got ourselves some uninvited guests!" Joey called out to his friends.
"You may want to run. I'll buy you some time!" Mike informed the child prodigy.
Despite some hesitation on her part, Anais reluctantly complied and made a run for it, while Mike grabbed a broom to arm himself, just as Lloyd and Ray showed up to back up Joey.
"Eat dust bunnies!" Mike shouted, before the maroon badger dashed right at the goons, knocking all three down in the process.
Undaunted by this, Joey, Lloyd and Ray quickly got up and lunged right towards the maroon badger. In response, Mike blocked each of the goons' barrages of punches with the broom, holding them back as best he can, giving him enough time to think of a strategy to take them down.
'It's now or never!' the maroon badger thought, as he performed a quick sweep with the broom, knocking the goons down on their back, just as every student and teacher were starting to gather around them.
'Looks like it's time for me to skedaddle!'
With that, Mike immediately ran through the crowd, who was both shocked and stunned by what had occurred, with Rhonda being among them.
Mike and Anais quickly ran back to Elmore Junior High as fast as they could, as the duo quietly snuck back inside, with the child prodigy heading right towards her own class, while the maroon badger made it right inside Miss Simian's class, unintentionally interrupting her lesson and surprising the cantankerous teacher.
"Care to explain why you're late this morning, Mr. Badgero?" Miss Simian asked, demanding an answer from Mike.
"Oh, about that…" Mike began, rubbing his head sheepishly. "My alarm clock didn't go off today... sorry."
Miss Simian was somewhat irked by the maroon badger's answer, but decided not to ask any further questions, wanting to continue her lesson in her class.
"Alright Mike, I'll let this one slide, provided that you'll be on your best behavior."
Nodding his head in agreement, Mike made his way towards his desk, while Gumball, Darwin and Brian looked at the maroon badger, curious and suspicious of their friend.
"Guys, do you think we should ask Mike where he's been?" Gumball whispered to his friends.
"I don't think it's the right time or place to talk about it, Gumball." Darwin replied.
"Besides, he looks rather anxious." Brian noted. "Let's just talk to him this afternoon in the cafeteria. The last thing we want to do is get him into any more trouble."
The Watterson brothers nodded their heads in agreement with the purple fox, before all three focused their attention on their teacher's lesson.
The afternoon had finally arrived at school and as usual, everyone, including Brian, Mike and the Watterson siblings, were at their usual spot in the cafeteria. While the maroon badger was busy eating his food, Gumball, Darwin, Anais and Brian looked at each other, deciding that it was the right time to get some answers out of their friend.
"Alright Mike…" Brian began. "Tell us why you went to Elmore Academy."
Mike stopped eating and turned his attention to his friends, giving them a dumbfounded look.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Mike nonchalantly said, hoping Anais didn't tell them.
"C'mon Mike, you know full well that you didn't oversleep this morning." Gumball stated.
"Besides, we noticed that you were rather anxious when you arrived in Miss Simian's class." Darwin pointed out.
"All we're saying is that we just want you to be honest, that's all." Brian insisted, causing Mike to hesitate for a moment. Mike didn't offer a good response as all he did was stare at the windows that he suddenly found really interesting.
Mike's response, however, only ended up irking the four in the process, especially Anais, who approached the maroon badger with a serious look on her face.
"If I recall, you were about to tell me about why you were at Elmore Academy, just before one of Ivan's friends showed up." Anais said, announcing her presence to him.
The moment the child prodigy brought this up, Mike realized that he could no longer make any more excuses and with that in mind, the maroon badger reached under his shirt and showed the necklace in front of his friends.
"Why are you showing us your necklace?" asked Brian.
"Remember when you guys asked me about this the other day?"
"Yeah, you said it was a gift and it was from someone we wouldn't know." Brian replied, recalling the incident that took place in the library.
"I wasn't lying. I just wasn't well informed. Truth is this was given to me by Rhonda herself." Mike admitted, much to the surprise of Brian and the Watterson siblings. "This actually has another piece and Rhonda still has it, or least I think she still does."
"What do you mean by that?" asked Gumball, causing Mike to gloomily look down on the ground.
"Rhonda still hasn't forgiven me for revealing her secret, even though I had nothing to do with it."
"What secret?" Darwin asked with curiosity.
"A few months ago before my transfer to Elmore Junior High, Rhonda told me that she's tried out a few dresses and kind of likes them. She also didn't want anyone to find out and insisted that I never tell anyone. Unfortunately, the very next day, her secret was out all over Elmore Academy and it took immediate effect on Rhonda. No one knew she sometimes wore dresses for fun and she was continually questioned about it."
"So, how bad did she take it?" Brian cautiously asked the maroon badger.
"What do you think? Almost immediately, I found myself facing her wrath and she accused me of telling everyone. I told her that I didn't do it, but she didn't believe me. Then she slapped me and said that our friendship was over."
Mike began to feel tears when he brought this up but forced them down, as the four looked on, saddened to hear this from their friend.
"I'm so sorry to hear that." Anais said to the maroon badger.
"It gets worse." Mike spoke once more. "It was also on that day that Ivan, whom I thought was a friend, decided to sever his friendship with me and sent me to the hospital."
Brian and the Watterson siblings were shocked to hear that last part from the maroon badger. It was bad enough to be accused of something he didn't do, but to get beaten up and sent to the hospital from someone Mike thought was a friend was downright horrifying.
"If you're interested, I could show you the scars on my-"
"Thanks but no thanks; we don't want to lose our lunch." Gumball frantically said, cutting off the maroon badger. "Anyway, that still doesn't explain why you went to the academy to begin with."
"…I only returned to the Academy just so I could return the necklace to her without having to face her again," Mike started to explain. "When I made it to the school building, I saw Ivan hitting on Rhonda as usual."
"Did she-" was all Brian could say, before the maroon badger suddenly answered his question.
"Don't be silly, Brian. Rhonda continued to turn Ivan down as usual. I'm just amazed that Neanderthal doesn't give up that easily. Anyway, I wanted to return the necklace to Rhonda, hoping things wouldn't be awkward, until a certain pink rabbit showed up and ruined my plan."
Mike narrowed his eyes towards Anais, who could only nervously laugh in response, as she rubbed her head sheepishly.
"That makes sense then." Brian commented. "Anyway, back to the subject, if you didn't tell anyone in Elmore Academy about Rhonda's secret, then who did?"
"I honestly don't know." Mike admitted. "And even if I did, the main problem is I don't have any physical proof to back up my claim as I was the only one that could have known."
"If what you say is true, then how are you going to get the answer out of them? No offense, but they're not going to walk up to you and say that they did it in front of everyone." Brian pointed out. Mike thought it over for a second.
"I don't know, but when I do, I'll make sure that I have the last word." Mike replied.
"Maybe I can help you out." said Anais, much to the maroon badger's surprise. "I just wanted to make it up to you for interrupting your plans. At the very least, hear me out on it."
"…Alright, what do you have in mind?" Mike questioned the child prodigy.
"Everyone gather around and I'll tell you what I have in mind."
The boys nodded their heads in agreement and complied with Anais, as all five huddled up and the child prodigy began to explain everything to them.
After school was done for the day, Brian led the Watterson siblings to Rhonda's house, hoping that the mouse would be at home. At the very least, they hoped to be able to hear her side of the story.
'Let's hope that Rhonda is a reasonable person.' Brian thought, before he pushed the doorbell, while he and his friends waited patiently for the yellow mouse. After a few seconds, the front door opened, as Rhonda found herself facing her friends.
"Oh…what brings you guys over here?" asked a pleasantly surprised Rhonda.
"Mike told us everything about what happened a few months ago." Brian replied.
"We were just curious to see what your take was on it." Gumball stated.
"At the very least, just tell us the honest truth." Darwin insisted.
"We just wanted to hear it from both sides, that's all." Anais explained.
Rhonda was annoyed by this, upset that the maroon badger dared to tell them about that incident. At the same time, the four were just curious and really wanted to know what happened, so the mouse decided that she might as well tell the whole story.
"Alright you guys. Come inside and I'll explain everything." Rhonda said to her friends, as she allowed the four to come in to the living room before the mouse began to tell them about the incident.
"As you guys already know, I began to develop an interest in some dresses a few months ago and told only Mike about it, since I've known him for three years…"
Five minutes later…
"…And ever since then, I wanted nothing to do with that backstabber!"
Once Rhonda was done telling her story, Brian and the Watterson siblings could only look at the mouse in shock. Her story was quite similar to Mike's, how her secret was somehow exposed for all of Elmore Academy to learn and how she slapped Mike and ended her friendship with him as a result. Just seeing the look of anger on her face was something the four weren't used to seeing at all.
'Whoa! She really holds such a grudge towards Mike!' Brian thought, before the purple fox cleared his throat and started to speak out.
"Rhonda, did you at least give Mike a chance to tell his side of the story?" asked the purple fox. "The least you can do is allow him to give an explanation. You shouldn't have jumped to conclusions to begin with. Would you do it now if he was here?"
Rhonda, though shocked by Brian's criticism, pondered for a moment, thinking what her friend just told her. Eventually, the mouse turned to the purple fox, ready to give Brian her answer.
"Yeah, I would give him a chance."
"That's all I need to hear." said Brian, before the purple fox made his way to the front door and opened it. "Alright Mike, you can come in."
On cue, the maroon badger came out of the bushes, dusting off the leftover leaves from his body, before Mike came inside the Paxton residence, as Rhonda looked on.
'Mike always has the tendency to be bizarre whenever he wants to be.' Rhonda thought, before she and Mike looked at one another, each feeling discomfort with the other's presence.
"So…how's your day going, Rhonda?" Mike awkwardly asked.
"It's good, I guess." the mouse replied, before she gave the maroon badger a serious look. "So let's hear it." Rhonda crossed her arms, arching an eyebrow, waiting for Mike to give her an explanation. The maroon badger, however, pulled something from under his shirt and much to the mouse's surprise; he showed her a familiar item right in front of her.
"Is that the necklace I gave you back in Elmore Elementary?" Rhonda asked Mike. "Why do you still have it?"
"The necklace is all I have from our friendship Rhonda, and I refuse to throw it away." Mike explained. "At one point, I was more than a friend to you. Something like that can't be taken away from a slap on the face."
Rhonda continued listening to Mike's story, slowly calming down, though not enough to quell her anger. Even so, the mouse decided to hear the maroon badger out.
"Alright Mike, you made your point, but just answer the question: if you didn't tell everyone in Elmore Academy my secret, then who did?"
"Honestly, I don't know." Mike admitted. "But I suspect that some gossiper just happened to pass by and must have heard your secret and…"
The maroon badger trailed off when he noticed Rhonda giving him a vicious glare, sending chills right down Mike's spine, before Brian and the Watterson siblings immediately confronted the enraged mouse.
"Rhonda, you need to be calm about this." Brian attempted to calm the mouse down. "I thought you would allow Mike to let him explain his side of the story."
"Brian's right, Rhonda…" Anais began. "You can't behave in that sort of manner."
"At the very least, can you calm down for us?" asked Gumball, with Darwin nodding his head in agreement.
Rhonda took a deep breath and sighed, while the four felt relieved that the mouse was able to calm down, if only for a moment.
"Dude, for someone who can be sweet, Rhonda can be very scary." Darwin whispered to Gumball.
"Remind me not to get on her bad side." Gumball whispered back.
"Guys…" Mike began, prompting the five to turn their attention to the maroon badger. "I appreciate the effort, but this is going nowhere."
Mike then turned around and was about to leave the house when Brian stopped him in his tracks, putting his paw on his shoulder.
"Mike, Rhonda needs to know the truth, no matter what." Brian insisted, before turning his attention to the mouse. "And you need to stop jumping to conclusions."
"I don't believe this…" Rhonda began, slightly shocked from what she was witnessing. "You're just going to trust Mike by his words alone?"
"If I recall, you did the same thing for me at one point." Brian reminded the mouse.
Rhonda thought for a moment, recalling the chipmunk incident that took place a while ago. It was then that she had an epiphany.
'I'm such a hypocrite.' Rhonda thought, realizing that she never gave Mike a chance when he said he wasn't responsible for spilling her secret.
"Mike, can you tell me…" Rhonda trailed off, as she, along with Brian and the Watterson siblings, noticed that Mike was no longer with them, having somehow left without making a single sound.
"Does he always do that?" Brian asked Rhonda.
"Yeah, he likes to disappear and then reappear. We should probably go look for him."
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement and soon, the five left the Paxton residence and began their search for the maroon badger.
Several minutes have passed as the five searched for Mike all over Elmore, thinking of the possible places that the maroon badger might have gone to. Eventually, after a while, they made their way to the playground, the only place they haven't searched yet.
"Do you think Mike could be here?" asked Darwin
"I don't know Darwin, but we should check it out just in case." Rhonda replied. "Besides, it's one of the few places that Mike and I used to go."
The four agreed with the mouse and searched the area for the maroon badger; all the while Rhonda remained standing on the spot and started to reminisce about her past friendship with Mike.
Three years ago…
Nine year old Rhonda was wandering around the playground and having a good time, whether it was playing on the monkey bars or going down the slide. Just then, the precocious, little mouse noticed a little boy being surrounded by a group of bullies. He was a young badger with maroon fur, wearing a simple green shirt and brown shorts, as he stared down at the brutes with a glare.
"Hey!" Rhonda shouted, as she made her way to the maroon badger's aid. "Leave him alone!"
The bullies, as well as the maroon badger, stopped what they were doing and saw a mouse with yellow fur and short, boyish brown hair, wearing a white shirt, blue overalls and red sneakers.
"What do you want, twerp?" one of the bullies demanded. "We're busy right now, so get out of our sight!"
"I don't think so!" Rhonda rebuffed, giving the bullies a glare. "I'm not leaving until you guys leave!"
"…Fine, but only because we won't hurt a girl." the lead bully stated, before him and his pals left, allowing Rhonda to approach the maroon badger.
"Are you alright?"
"You know, I could have handled them myself."
"I didn't want to see you hurt." Rhonda insisted. "Besides, someone so cute doesn't deserve a beating."
The maroon badger blushed in response, somewhat embarrassed by the mouse's statement. At the same time, he couldn't help but be amazed that someone like her can be cute and brave at the same time.
"My name is Rhonda Paxton." the mouse introduced herself. "What's your name?"
"…Michael. Michael Badgero." Mike greeted Rhonda, giving her a smile as well.
"So Mike, did you get the gift I wanted?" asked an eager Rhonda, waiting patiently outside a shop.
"Yeah, but I had to use all of my lunch allowance to get it." Mike replied, holding the gift box on his side.
"Sorry about that." said Rhonda, as she rubbed her head sheepishly. "To make it up, I brought you a gift as well."
Rhonda then showed the maroon badger a similar gift box, as the mouse handed it to Mike. Without any further hesitation, the maroon badger opened it and picked up a necklace inside the box.
"I know it's not much, but it's the only one I could afford." Rhonda admitted.
"It's alright, Rhonda. I actually like it." said Mike. "Thank you so much."
Rhonda couldn't help but smile, glad that the maroon badger enjoyed his gift.
"I can't believe you Mike!" Rhonda shouted, approaching the startled maroon badger in the hallway of Elmore Academy. "I told you not to tell anyone! How could you?!"
"Rhonda, I swear, I had nothing to do with it!" Mike attempted to explain.
Rhonda, however, was unconvinced by the maroon badger's claim, promptly slapping him on the face, leaving an imprint in the process.
"I trusted you and you went behind my back! I don't want to hear any more of your excuses! Our friendship is over!"
With that, the mouse turned and left, leaving a shocked and devastated Mike in the hallway.
Present…
The moment Rhonda recalled her recent memory of her interactions with Mike; the mouse felt tears streaming from her eyes, shocked for the way she treated the maroon badger.
"Rhonda, are you alright?" asked Brian, earning him the mouse's attention. "Look, it's alright, I know that what you did wasn't on purpose and I'm sure Mike feels the same way."
"I know what you're doing and I don't deserve it, Brian." Rhonda stated, wiping a few tears from her face. "Mike was my friend and I threw him away like he was nothing. I never even gave him a chance to tell his side of the story."
"Rhonda, everyone deserves a second chance and you're no exception. Just let Mike know that you're sorry and you want to start over with him."
Rhonda couldn't help but smile, glad that Brian was right with her when she needed it.
"Guys, I think I found something!" Gumball called out, prompting everyone to head in the blue feline's direction, as the four gathered around a bar that was right next to a slide, noticing the necklace hanging on it.
"Mike always loved to play on it." Rhonda noted, as the mouse made her way to the bar and tried to get the necklace off.
"But that still doesn't explain where Mike is." Anais pointed out.
"Plus, why would he leave his necklace here?" asked Darwin.
"Yeah, that is pretty strange." Brian muttered.
"Hey, what are you boneheads doing here?" a certain red bear shouted, prompting the five to turn around and see Ivan and his gang from a distance. Their presence was enough to cause Rhonda to lose her balance and almost fall to the floor, but not before Brian managed to catch her.
"Are you alright Rhonda?" asked a concerned Brian.
"I'm fine, thanks to you." the mouse replied, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
Ivan couldn't believe what he just witnessed: Rhonda, the girl of his dreams, was in the arms of Brian, the purple fox he deeply despised. The look of shock was soon replaced by sheer anger and soon, he and his gang approached the five.
"Guys, we got to do something!" Gumball informed his friends.
"Don't worry Gumball, I got this!" Darwin exclaimed, grabbing some sand with his flippers and throwing it right in Ivan's face.
"Aah!" Ivan groaned. "You'll pay for that, Blubber Boy!"
In blind fury, the red bear missed his target by a long shot, as his fist ended up hitting Joey in the face. In the midst of the confusion, the five immediately ran off before either Ivan or his gang could compose themselves.
Brian, Rhonda and the Watterson siblings ran with all of their might, turning from one corner to another, with Ivan and his gang right behind them. In an effort to lose the four brutes, the five made a quick turn down an alleyway, a decision that proved to be regrettable, as they found themselves facing a dead end.
"Great, this keeps getting better." Brian commented.
"Well, well, looks like you and your friends got nowhere else to run." Ivan spoke with amusement, causing the five to yelp.
"Just you wait until Mike shows up." Brian taunted, prompting the red bear to laugh his head off.
"You seriously think he's going to show up and save you guys again?"
"Yeah, he's probably too ashamed after what happened to him." Ray spoke, much to Rhonda's curiosity.
"I beg your pardon?"
"If you must know, I was the one who found out your secret." Ray explained. "When Ivan found out about it, he told me to spread the word all over Elmore Academy and have Mike take the fall, all in an effort to keep you and Mike apart."
Rhonda, along with Brian and the Watterson siblings were shocked by Ray's admission, as the bat continued on with his explanation.
"Once I was done spreading the rumor, Ivan decided to give Mike a beating of a lifetime, wanting that badger to know that he lost everything and there was nothing he could do about it."
"Thank you for giving me what I need."
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up to see Mike on the railings, as he looked down on the red bear and his gang with a smirk. It didn't take too long for them to realize what had occurred.
"Did you just-" was all Joey could say, before the maroon badger cut him off.
"Let me show you!" said Mike, revealing a recorder in his paw. "Sorry I had to leave but I needed this. And I also need this..." Mike played the message over again to Ivan and his gang. "You know you all can get juvie for what you did to me, right?"
Ivan and his friends continued to look on, surprised that the maroon badger had once again made a fool out of them. Realizing the disadvantage they were in, there was only one way to get out of it.
"Come on you guys, let's get out of here." Ivan grudgingly informed his friends, before all four left the alleyway, while Mike jumped to the ground to meet up with his friends.
"Thanks for saving us back there." said Gumball.
"Yeah, that was a close one." Darwin noted.
"It looks like we owe you big time." Anais commented.
"But there's still one thing we wanted to know: where were you and why do you have a recorder on you?" asked Brian.
"Oh, that's simple…" Mike began. "I put a note behind one of Ivan's friends when I was at the academy, hoping for them to show up at the park in the afternoon, around the same time you guys showed up. I was hoping for one of them to accidentally reveal what really happened but I didn't see any of them at the park. Once I followed the direction of your screams, the rest is history." Everyone looked at Mike in disbelief as he was twelve steps ahead of anyone.
"That makes sense now." said Rhonda. "Look Mike, I'm really sorry for not believing you in the first place. Can you ever forgive me?"
"I don't know Rhonda, what's in it for me?" Mike asked, leaving Rhonda quite nervous by this. Then, a smirk formed on the maroon badger's face. "I'm just kidding Rhonda. Apology accepted."
The mouse, along with her friends, could only smile in response, glad that everything turned out alright in the end.
The rest of the day went on without any further incidents and before long, the six decided to have a good time at the park playing on the playground. While Gumball, Darwin and Anais were playing on the monkey bars, Brian and Rhonda sat on the swings together, while Mike lay down on his favorite slide.
"Hang on a second, Brian…" Rhonda began. "I want to have a quick chat with Mike."
Brian nodded his head in agreement, as the mouse made her way to the maroon badger, sitting on the ground right next to him, pulling an item from her pocket and showing it to him. It was the necklace Mike left on the slide.
"Mike, I just wanted to let you know that I didn't throw it away after what happened. I know it won't change what happened, but I want you to at least have it back."
Mike looked at the necklace and pondered for a moment, while Rhonda looked on with uncertainty. Eventually, the maroon badger pulled out two new necklaces and handed it back to the mouse and for a moment, the two necklaces formed a shape of a heart. One half was yellow, the other purple.
"I think it's best if you keep both of them." Mike explained. "Besides, it's more fitting on you."
"What do you mean by that?" asked a confused Rhonda.
"You'll know the answer soon enough." Mike replied, before he got up and made his way to Brian. "If there was ever a time to ask her, now would be the opportune moment."
With that, Mike walked away, while Brian pondered for a moment, before he realized what the maroon badger meant by that statement.
'Alright, here goes nothing.' Brian thought, before the purple fox took a deep breath, got off the swing and made his way to Rhonda.
"So Rhonda…" Brian began, as he felt his whole body shaking. "I-if you're i-interested, do y-you want to go o-out s-sometime?"
Rhonda looked at her friend, a bit weirded out by his stuttering, until she understood exactly what was going on, as she look down at the pendant on her hand before focusing her attention on the purple fox.
"Sure Brian, I'd be happy to." Rhonda replied, much to Brian's joy, while the mouse couldn't help but smile and think of the one person who made this possible.
'Mike, you may be the most unpredictable sane boy I have ever met.'
Next time on The Newcomer
Chapter 46-The Closet
Brian ends up accidentally getting locked in the janitor's closet with Ocho. Now, as he tries to find a way out, he has to avoid provoking the volatile-tempered spider.
Tidbits
-Wow, this is the longest chapter I have ever made! Hope it stays that way!
-Normally, I would do at least 4 chapters before I feature Rhonda, but I felt that I've already established the relationship between her and Brian. So I finally decided that it's time for them to become a couple.
-I also wanted to thank Sal for his help, as well as his suggestion for it.
Thanks to everyone who read The Betrayal and I'll be seeing ya next chapter!