I wanted to thank FatelessHorizon, along with dfitz8248, for suggesting this chapter!
The Newcomer
An Amazing World of Gumball Story
By NeoNimbus
Chapter 73-The Question
It was just another day at Elmore Academy, as Rhonda was gathering her stuff from her locker, hoping that she has enough material for the next class. But as soon as she got what she needed, she closed the locker door and turned around to see Ivan standing right in front of her, much to her displeasure.
"Please leave me alone, Ivan."
"Not until you agree to hang out with me." Ivan dreamily replied.
"Ivan, may I remind you that I have a boyfriend now." the mouse explained to the red bear, causing him to change his demeanor. "And you know fully well that my answer is going to be no."
"What does that fox got that I don't have?!" Ivan demanded, irked by Rhonda's response.
"Where do you want me to start?" Rhonda asked.
"The beginning." the red bear sarcastically replied, prompting the mouse to sigh before offering him her explanation.
"Brian's kind, loyal, brave, thoughtful, and honest and will do anything to help a friend out, no matter what. What exactly have you done lately to make improvements for yourself?"
"Uh..." Ivan thought hard but nothing came from the ten brain cells he tried to rub together.
"That's what I thought." said Rhonda. "Look, I need to get to class. I suggest you do the same thing as well."
With that, the mouse continued to walk down the hallway, leaving Ivan on his own, as he looked down on the floor with sadness, rejected by the mouse he has a crush on.
Late in the afternoon, the school bell in Elmore Junior High rang, signaling the end of another day, as every student left the building, including Brian, Mike and the Watterson brothers, as the four began to make their way down the neighborhood, with Gumball and Darwin determined to get back home as quickly as they can.
"Guys, you have to check out this new game we bought." Gumball informed his friends.
"I heard that it's the best one out there in the world!" Darwin exclaimed in excitement.
"It better be from this decade this time." Mike said, remembering the poor excuse of a game they had last time.
"I just hope it's actually fun." Brian commented. "Seriously, I think too many people are overhyping these days."
As the four are continuing with their conversation, they failed to notice a certain red bear making his way towards them.
"Hello there, boneheads. How's your day?" Ivan mockingly asked, prompting Brian and his friends to stop dead in their tracks and see the red bear in front of them, much to their displeasure.
"Hey it's the one-bear running gag." Mike said nonchalantly, as Brian and the Watterson brothers couldn't help but snicker, much to Ivan's annoyance.
"Can it, knuckleheads! I'm in no mood for your jokes!"
"Ivan, why are you here?" Brian asked the red bear.
"I want you to answer a few questions of my own..." Ivan began. "How did someone like you manage to win Rhonda's heart? In fact, what was it? More importantly, what does she see in you?"
"...Where do we start?" Mike finally asked.
"Seriously?!" the red bear asked in annoyance.
"Yes!" The four said in unison.
"How about for starters, why do you like Rhonda?" Gumball was the first to ask.
"Not to mention that you're always such a jerk towards us for no reason." Darwin added.
"Unless you answer our questions, we won't answer your questions." Brian commented.
"Ditto on that." Mike agreed.
For a while, Ivan looked at them, clearly irritated by their questions. But at the same time, he decided to restrain himself for once, not wanting to waste his time and energy on them.
"Alright, I'll answer your questions, but only if you goons would drop by my house tomorrow."
"HUDDLE!" Gumball shouted, before the four got in a huddle to discuss what to do next.
"Do you think we should accept Ivan's offer?" Darwin asked his friends with uncertainty.
"No, we don't." Gumball said sternly.
"For once, I agree with Gumball. For all we know this could just be a trap." Mike reasoned.
"If it's really a trap, the least we can do is keep our guards up." Brian suggested. "Besides, I think he'll keep pestering us until we give into his demands."
"Can't I just hit him with a shovel?" Mike asked.
"Mike, the last thing I want is to get in trouble with his mom. I don't think she'll approve of you hitting him with a shovel." Brian replied, prompting the maroon badger to gesture to his face.
"Does this look like I care?"
Brian didn't answer right away, as he took a deep breath before turning his attention to the maroon badger.
"Look, if it'll make you feel better, you can bring something with you, but use it only for an emergency."
"I'll be sure to bring my finest shovel." Mike said simply with a smirk of victory.
"Well, at least we have something to protect ourselves." Darwin agreed.
"But the question still stands: should we help him?" Gumball asked. "In fact, why should we?"
"I know that Ivan is a jerk..." Brian began. "But to be honest, I only hate his attitude and actions. Not once have I ever hated him as a person. Besides, he did help us deal with the clones a few months back."
"That was different." Mike pointed out. "It was YOUR face on those clones. That's how I persuaded him to help in the first place."
"Alright, I get what you're saying Mike." said the purple fox, being somewhat irked by the maroon badger's comment. "But still, I am curious why he likes Rhonda and behaves the way he does."
Mike hesitantly nodded to show he was on board with his friend. Likewise, Gumball and Darwin nodded their heads as well, as they were also on board with Brian, before all four turned around to face Ivan.
"Alright Ivan, you got yourself a deal." the purple fox informed the nervous red bear. "But we're only giving you one chance to prove you kept your word."
"Fine, I only need one." Ivan said after sighing. "Just come by my house at Uppermore tomorrow afternoon."
With that, the red bear turned and walked off, leaving Brian, Mike and the Watterson brothers on the sidewalk.
"Why is Ivan like this?" Gumball asked.
"Why do I have a feeling we're not gonna like the answer?" Darwin asked.
"Because knowledge is scary." Mike stated.
"You're not helping." Brian scolded the maroon badger.
Saturday finally arrived, as the boys made their way to Uppermore, just as they had promised Ivan. With some guidance from Mike, the four walked towards Ivan's home, before they stopped dead in their tracks and stared at the two-story tall house, which was quite grand, much to the amazement of the Watterson brothers.
"Whoa! This place is big!" Darwin exclaimed.
"You weren't kidding about this place." Gumball admitted.
"Compared to the rest of them, it's about medium sized." Mike commented.
"But I don't get it..." the blue feline began."Ivan has everything he wants, so why is he still acting like he has nothing?"
"Maybe he has a hole he's just trying to fill." Brian reasoned.
"Whatever it is, it's best if we hear it from Ivan himself." Darwin said to his friends.
The four walked up to the door and rang the doorbell; a few seconds later, the door opened, revealing an older, feminine red bear with long, blonde hair. She wore a pearl necklace around her neck, as well as a blue blouse, brown pants and sandals. But what surprised the boys is that she had a youthful appearance; fortunately for them, she didn't seem to notice their look of astonishment on their faces, as she started to talk.
"Oh, hi there." the older, red bear greeted them with a friendly tone. "Are you four here to visit my son?"
"Yes, Ma'am." Brian said respectfully.
"It's good that Ivan gets some visitors once in a while." said the older, red bear, before she turned her attention to Mike with curiosity. "May I ask why you're carrying a shovel?"
"Contingencies." Mike said simply.
"Alright then." the older, red bear said, a bit weirded out by the maroon badger's answer. "Anyway, I don't think I have introduced myself to you boys. My name is Dana Thompson and welcome to the Thompson household."
"I'm Brian. This is Gumball, Darwin and Mike." the moment the purple fox brought up the latter's name brought a smile on the older, red bear's face.
"Mike, it's so good to see your face again. I was wondering why you looked so familiar." Dana spoke with excitement.
"Nice to see you too, Mrs. Thompson." Mike said with a smile.
"Well come right in. I'm curious to see what you've been up to."
Dana then stepped aside, allowing the four to make their way inside the mansion.
"So where's Ivan?" Gumball asked.
"Don't worry about that, I'm coming." a certain, red bear spoke out, as Ivan made his way downstairs, dressed in his casual attire.
"What's with the shovel?" Ivan asked as he looked at Mike.
"Precautions." Mike said with a straight face.
"Right." Ivan remarked, somewhat suspicious by his claims. "Anyway, I'll answer your questions, just like I promised, but I'll answer them in my bedroom."
"Very well." Brian agreed.
"Make sure you kids play safe." Dana said to the boys.
With that, Ivan lead them upstairs, as they pass a few rooms along the way, until they reach the end of the hallway, where the red bear opened the door in front of him and allowed them entry, before closing the door behind him.
"Well, make yourself comfortable." Ivan awkwardly suggested, as he rubbed his head sheepishly.
Brian took a seat in a swivel chair while Mike jumped into a beanbag.
Gumball and Darwin both decided to sit on the bed, while Ivan leaned on the wall.
"Now that we're all here, you're probably wondering why I like Rhonda and how I ended up being this way." Ivan spoke to the four.
The four were silent, awaiting the answer, as Ivan took a deep breath and talked once more.
"It all began three years ago at Elmore Elementary..."
Three years ago...
At Elmore Elementary school, Ivan, then a nine year old small red bear, wearing a green shirt and blue shorts, was happily playing in the schoolyard with his robot toy that he got for a present. It was the latest Super-Bot action figure that he wanted to have since he saw it on TV and he couldn't have been happier when he opened up his present. As he was pretending to be Super-Bot, bashing the imaginary foes along the way, three large shadows loomed over the child, prompting Ivan to stop what he was doing and turn around and see them in full view, much to his discomfort.
"Hey there runt, wha' cha playing?" the tall, large brute rudely asked the young red bear.
"Um, I'm playing with my robot toy." Ivan nervously answered the lead bully.
"You hear that buds? This little baby is playing with his dolly." before Ivan knew what happened next, all three were laughing hard at their own jokes.
"Stop it! It's not a dolly!" Ivan shouted in frustration.
"Hey look! This dolly playing pipsqueak wants to fight with us." the short, lanky bully commented.
As much as Ivan wanted to fight back, the red bear's consciousness got the better of him, prompting him to stand down, knowing full well he can't take them all down.
"Say, I think we need to teach this runt some manners." the chubby bully suggested to his leader.
"That's exactly wha' I thought." the lead bully agreed, before he cracked his knuckles, as he menacingly stared at Ivan. "How do you like some knuckle sandwiches?"
"Stop! Pick on someone your own size!" a voice shouted, prompting them to turn around and see a little yellow mouse with short, boyish brown hair, wearing a white shirt, blue overalls and red sneakers, along with a young maroon badger, wearing a green shirt and brown shorts. It didn't take the three long to realize who they were.
"Not you two again! Why don't you two mind your own business?" the short, lanky bully complained.
"Because we know we'll win!" Mike said valiantly.
"...C'mon, you two. Let's go somewhere else." the lead bully grudgingly informed his cohorts, before all three left the scene.
"You okay?" Rhonda asked as Mike watched the bullies leave.
"I-I'm fine, thanks to you two." Ivan nervously replied, all the while struck by the beauty of the mouse in front of him. She seemed to have a glow around her as he felt blood rush to his face.
"Don't mention it." said the young mouse. "I'm glad Mike and I showed up in time."
Ivan couldn't help but smile, grateful that the mouse, along with her badger friend, showed up when he needed it.
"Wait! Mike was there?!" Gumball asked, confused to hear this from Ivan.
"And you were small and scrawny back then?" Darwin added, just as confused as his brother.
"I'll have to admit, I didn't expect you to be like that back then." Brian commented.
"Mike, why didn't you say how you first met Ivan?" Gumball asked.
"It wasn't important." Mike simply responded.
"But still, I'm amazed that you knew Ivan that long." said Darwin.
"Yeah, but my story doesn't end there." Ivan spoke up.
"Wait! There's more?" Gumball asked the red bear.
"Of course there is. Only this part I know a bit about already." Mike lazily said, as he laid back farther into the bean bag chair.
"Anyway, as I was saying..." Ivan resumed where he left off.
A whole year had passed since Ivan was befriended by Rhonda and Mike; ever since then, the three were the best of friends, enjoying each other's company whenever they had the chance and today was no exception, as the young, red bear made his way to the school cafeteria and to the usual spot that his friends were currently occupying.
"So guys, do you have plans for the weekend?" Ivan asked both Rhonda and Mike.
"My dad's planning his annual camping trip this weekend." Mike spoke as he tried stabbing some corn with his fork.
"Nice." said the red bear, before he turned his attention to Rhonda. "How about you, Rhonda?"
"My dad and I are going to see a movie together." the mouse replied.
"What about you, Ivan?" Mike asked.
"I haven't decided yet." the red bear admitted. "But hopefully, my dad and I could go fishing together."
"That sounds like fun!" Rhonda admitted.
The mouse's comment made Ivan a bit bashful, but happy to hear this from Rhonda herself. As far as he was concerned, today was just going to be as great as any of the other days.
After the school bell rang for the last time, Ivan made his way back home, but not before saying his goodbyes to his friends, as the young, red bear happily walked down the neighborhood of Uppermore with an upbeat attitude. The weekend was almost around the corner and soon, he and his dad will have a good time together, just the two of them all by themselves.
'I can hardly wait!'
But his thoughts were soon interrupted, as he felt a quick breeze, before he noticed a green sports car passing by. Although it was a blur, Ivan squinted his eyes hard enough to see an older, red bear in the driver's seat, leaving him both wide-eyed and confused as to who it is.
"Dad?" Ivan asked, but the car continued to speed off, until the vehicle disappeared out of his sight, prompting the young, red bear to quickly run back home as fast as he could. By the time he made his way back to the mansion, the frightened, young red bear opened the door and saw his mom on the couch, covering her face in the pillow, as she sobbed like mad.
"Mom, what's going on? Where's dad going?"
Dana, however, didn't answer her son's question and continued to cry. Though she didn't respond, Ivan saw something that scared him: on the coffee table were divorce papers. The moment he saw them changed everything for the young, red bear.
"No." was all Ivan could say, as his eyes soon started to swell with tears.
Gumball, Darwin and Brian couldn't believe what they were hearing. Ivan Thompson, one of the few tormentors they have ever encountered in their lives, had such a tough life. As if being bullied himself wasn't enough, the fact that his own father divorced his wife on the spot was quite shocking. As the trio was too speechless to say anything, Mike decided to break the silence, wanting to clarify a few things to his friends.
"After that, Ivan became very withdrawn from me and Rhonda. He was no longer happy and upbeat. Every day when he came to Elmore Elementary, he always has a sad look on his face, except when he saw Rhonda."
"Wow, I have to admit, that is something I didn't expect to hear today." Brian finally spoke, still reeling from the shock.
"There's more." Ivan spoke again.
"Again?" asked Darwin.
"Unfortunately Darwin, we're only halfway into the story." the maroon badger responded.
"Makes sense to me." said Gumball.
"Wait." Brian said after thinking. "Mike, if you know what's coming, why didn't you just tell us?"Â
"Remember when I said knowledge is scary?" Mike looked back at Brian. "This is truly something you should hear from the man himself."
"Sad but true." Ivan agreed. "It began a week after my dad divorced my mom..."
Ever since he discovered that his dad wants nothing to do with him or his mother, the once cheerful behavior Ivan had evaporated into nothingness, as the young, red bear walked towards Elmore Elementary without any joy or enthusiasm, his head hung in shame.
"Yo Ivan!" Ivan turned to see it was Mike. "Wait up, bro!"
"Oh...hi Mike." Ivan gloomily greeted the maroon badger, prompting the maroon badger to look at his friend's demeanor on his face; he could tell something wasn't right.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
Mike was sure how to proceed, but if it was hurting his friend that much, he decided there was truly nothing he could do. But just then, the three bullies showed up right in front of them, as the lead bully spoke first.
"Hey runt, is it true that your dad left you and your mom for someone else?"
"If that's the case, your life really sucks!" the short, lanky bully coldly commented.
"Then again, someone like you doesn't deserve a dad to begin with." the chubby bully mockingly spoke, before the three laughed at Ivan's misfortune.
A stunned Ivan looked at Mike, who wore a face of surprise to hear what happened, before quickly shrugging it off.
"Let's take care of this first."
"Agreed." Ivan stated, before he and his friend proceeded to take down the bullies, pummeling all of them down to the ground. After leaving a trail of bloody noses and broken faces, Ivan and Mike continued walking to their school.
"That felt good for a change." Ivan said to his friend.
"Yeah it did."
"That was my first mistake. I got Ivan to like violence." Mike said shamefully.
"Mike, you couldn't have known that would have happened." Brian attempted to assure the badger it wasn't his fault.
"Brian's right." Gumball agreed. "Don't be so hard on yourself."
"Yeah, but there was a million other things I could have done." Mike responded. "Yet I took the bluntest route: beat up the bullies."
"I'm going to assume that things got much worse from there." Darwin guessed.
"Very." Mike said as he rested his head on his paws.
"Looking back at it, what I did was indeed wrong." said Ivan, as he looked at the floor with shame. "Especially after I gained my growth spurt..."
Another year would have passed and by now, Ivan has gotten much taller than he used to be, towering over most of his fellow peers; adding to the new change was his wardrobe, now consisting of a black shirt and brown pants, along with a much more confident and prideful demeanor in him, as he began to make his way towards the elementary school building as usual.
"Around that time is where it really hit the fan; Ivan became progressively more obsessed with trying to impress Rhonda. He and I also started to drift apart, mainly because at the time, Rhonda seemed more interested in me more than anyone else." Mike spoke about the latter part of their friendship.
Ivan spotted Rhonda near her locker, whom, by now, had grown her hair out a little and wore a pink and white shirt, khaki shorts and blue sneakers, as the red bear made his way to the mouse.
"Hey Rhonda!" Ivan happily greeted.
"Hi Ivan, how are-WHOA!" Rhonda gasped in surprise the moment she saw her friend in front of her. "You're so tall now!"
"Yeah! I had a growth spurt during the summer!" Ivan said with a smile.
"Hard to believe you were small a few years back." Rhonda noted.
"And now he's the size of a truck!" Mike exclaimed, as he appeared from behind Ivan while patting him on the back.
"Hey Mike, it's good to see you!" the red bear happily said to his friend. "How was your summer?"
"Went to Mars, conquered an alien race, and then went fishing on Neptune." Mike lied with a smile on his face. "How about yours?"
"Just hanging out with my mom, traveled to a few places." Ivan replied.
"And grew into Mega Ivan in the process!" Mike added, as he got on his knees to magnify the hugeness of his friend that was literally twice his height.
"Yeah, it took a while for me to get used to my new height." Ivan admitted, as he rubbed his head sheepishly.
"Well at least the bullies will leave you alone now." Rhonda pointed out, as she believed the worst was finally over.
"That's right." Ivan suddenly said with a smirk. "I think I should pay them a visit."
The moment the red bear smirked and went in the opposite direction, however, left both Mike and Rhonda uncomfortable, as they looked at each other with uncertainty, until it dawned on them of their friend's intentions.
"Oh no." Mike whispered.
"Let's make sure that Ivan doesn't do anything he'll regret." Rhonda whispered back.
"Right!" Mike agreed, as he and Rhonda ran after Ivan.
It was just a typical day at the schoolyard, as the three bullies were just sitting at the table, discussing with each other on how their summer was and the plans they had for this school year. But just then, a large shadow loomed over them, much to their confusion.
"What do you wa-oh my lord..." The lead bully uttered, as he took a good look at Ivan.
"Who's the runt now?" Ivan sarcastically asked, before he quickly punched the lead bully's cohorts out of his way, before picking him up by the collar.
"Ivan, stop!" Mike shouted, as he and Rhonda caught up with him.
"Mike, you're just in time to see me give this jerk a lesson!"
"Ivan, let him go!" the maroon badger pleaded with the red bear.
"Why should I?!" Ivan demanded. "After what these weaklings have done!"
"Ivan, you have every right to be angry at them, but beating them up isn't the answer." Rhonda attempted to reason with her friend.
Rhonda's words seemed to get through to him, as Ivan stopped himself from punching the bully, instead throwing him to the ground.
"Get out of my sight before I change my mind." the red bear warned the lead bully.
Without any hesitation, the lead bully obliged and left the schoolyard as fast as he could, with his cohorts right behind him.
"Rhonda and I were both afraid of what would come next." Mike said again. "A few weeks later, Ivan slowly began targeting any kid he felt was bullying others for no reason and began to terrorize them in return, to the point that most of our classmates wouldn't dare approach him."
"I thought I was doing the right thing by stopping others from bullying." Ivan reasoned.
"But in the end, it came back to bite you." Mike said.
The moment the maroon badger said those words to him, the red bear slowly began to comprehend about what he was trying to say.
"Wow, I never thought of it that way. I'm starting to see why Rhonda wouldn't like me compared to Brian."
"In your quest to fix something, you only made all the problems come to you." Mike explained. "And that only made it even worse on yourself."
"And you're right, I have been making things worse for myself." Ivan admitted to the maroon badger. "I never realized how selfish I have become."
"And that's why Rhonda wants nothing to do with you." Gumball stated.
"Not to mention that you have become the one thing you hated the most: a bully." Darwin pointed out.
"But the nail that seals the coffin came the very next year." Mike said.
"You mean..." Brian began, before the badger cut him off.
"That's right, Brian. It was the day that Ivan broke his friendship with me."
Ivan, for his part, could only cringe, not proud of what he had done to the person he once considered a friend.
Eight months have passed and by now, Mike, along with most of his peers, have entered Elmore Academy, one of the most prestigious schools around town, in order to begin their new school year. The maroon badger wasn't pleased he had to wear a school uniform for the next two years, but it was mandatory as part of the academy's policy and as such, he decided to at least obey it for now.
'These uniforms are quite restricting.' the maroon badger thought, as he walked down the hallway, minding his own business.
But just then, he noticed a few students passing by him, whispering to one another, much to his curiosity. Soon, he saw more students whispering to one another, as if something big had happened. He tried his best to hear their whispers but couldn't make anything out.
'What's going on?' Mike thought, before a student, an alligator, approached him and began to speak.
"Hey, have you heard of the rumors going around the academy?"
"Rumors? What rumors?" Mike didn't know what the alligator student was talking about.
"Rhonda wears dresses for fun." The student said. Mike gulped when he heard that.
"Where did you hear that from?" Mike asked the student.
"From these posters!" The student held up a poster with the rumor plastered all over it.
Mike grabbed the poster and looked at it with serious intent. He couldn't believe what he's looking at. He wished this whole farce was someone's twisted joke.
"Michael!" Mike heard a shout that sent a chill up his spine. He knew who was coming.
"I can't believe you, Mike!" Rhonda shouted, as she made her way through the hallway and approached the maroon badger. "I told you not to tell anyone! How could you?!"
"Rhonda, I swear, I had nothing to do with this!" Mike attempted to explain to the enraged mouse.
Rhonda, however, wasn't convinced by the badger's claim, before she slapped him, 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 shock and devastated Mike in the hallway. Unbeknownst to him, Ivan managed to hear everything, leaving the red bear fuming with rage. It was time that he would have to take matters into his own paws.
Heartbroken that Rhonda wanted nothing to do with him anymore, Mike continued to walk down the hallway, as most of his peers avoided making contact with him, before the maroon badger sulked his way towards an empty part of Elmore Academy.
'Because I was 'blamed' for spreading the rumor, everyone began to distance themselves away from me, like I was some sort of plague to them.' Mike explained to his friends. 'As I went to think over what just occurred, Ivan showed up with a new gang of friends.'
"Hey stripes, down in the dumps?" the maroon badger looked up and saw Ivan standing right in front of him, before he noticed a broccoli, mole and bat right next to him. Their presence left Mike rather confused and shocked by this.
"Ivan, what's going on? Who are these clowns with you?"
"These 'clowns' are my new friends: Joey, Lloyd and Ray." Ivan replied, leaving the maroon badger shocked and hurt to hear this. "These three understand me more than you. In fact, let me give you a demonstration."
The red bear then snapped his finger and before Mike knew what happened next, the trio soon leaped towards the stunned badger, ready to pummel him to within an inch of his life.
"I was knocked out for at least a few hours before I regain consciousness at the local hospital..." Mike was near the end of the story. "But because of what Ivan did, I became very distrustful and distanced myself from everyone else, vowing to be alone for the rest of my life, until I met you guys and gave me a chance to trust others once again."
As soon as the maroon badger was done with his story, there was nothing but silence around the bedroom, as no one said a single thing to one another. Eventually, Ivan finally decided to talk to everyone who had listened to the story, with a look of guilt and regret on his face, starting with Mike.
"I'm sorry for causing you so much misery, Mike. I never realized the extent of my actions until today. I really am my own worst enemy." the red bear then turned his attention to Brian and the Watterson brothers. "I'm also sorry for being such a problem to you guys as well. I was nothing more than a complete jerk over the littlest thing. I'm not so sure if I can do anything right."
"Maybe you can." Brian spoke up, garnering a curious look from Ivan.
"How?"
"Well, you can make a fresh start starting right now." before the red bear knew what happened next, the purple fox made his way towards him and extended his arm. "I know we got off to a rocky start, but to be honest, I never once hated you as a person. My friends and I are more than willing to befriend you and make amends, if you're interested in it."
Ivan continued to look at Brian, who was still sticking his paw out, before he turned and saw both Mike and the Watterson brothers, who seemed to agree with the purple fox. Even though he made things difficult for them, they were more than willing to forget about the past and move on. The fact that the one person he liked the least was offering his friendship was something he thought only happens in fiction.
Taking a deep breath, Ivan raised his arm and firmly shook Brian's paw, having made his decision.
"Alright Brian, I accept your friendship. Again, I'm sorry I was a total jerk to you and everyone else."
"That's all I wanted to hear." said Brian, as he, along with his friends, couldn't help but smile, glad to bury the hatchet between them once and for all.
A few days later...
As usual, Rhonda made her way to her locker, as she needed to gather some materials needed for her class. But before she could reach her destination, she spotted Ivan heading right towards her; this time, however, she noticed a look of uncertainty on his face, much to her surprise, as the red bear approached her.
"Hi Rhonda." Ivan greeted the stunned mouse.
"Hi...Ivan." Rhonda awkwardly greeted back. "Did something happen to you? You seem…different."
Ivan didn't respond right away, as he began to rub his neck sheepishly, before he took a deep breath and finally gave the mouse an answer.
"Let me just say that I've had a lot time to think and after a while, I realize that I was taking everything for granted. I know it's hard to believe, but I realize that I ended up becoming what I hated: a self-centered, egotistical jerk. I know I can't undo what I have done in the past, but all I'm asking is if we can be friends again. That is, if you want to."
Rhonda was quite speechless to hear this from Ivan, the one person she never thought would make any change. Although she had her suspicions on what prompted the red bear to turn over a new leaf, she decided to put her own thoughts aside. As far as she was concerned, she was touched to see that the Ivan she once knew was finally back, something she thought would only happen in a dream.
"Of course, Ivan. I'm happy to accept your friendship."
The moment the mouse said those words, Ivan couldn't help but smile. For the first time in his life, he finally was able to find something that can make him happy.
Next time on The Newcomer
Chapter 74-The Parents
When Alison makes a surprise visit to Elmore, she wants to take Mike with her so that she can properly introduce him to her parents, much to his discomfort. But things become much more complicated when Mike agrees to introduce himself to Carrie's parents.
Tidbits
-It's been a long while, but this chapter finally showed another side of Ivan Thompson. In fact, I actually wanted to do this, but didn't have the time to do so until now.
-Once again, I want to thank FatelessHorizon and dfitz8248 for coming up with this chapter idea!
-For the voice of Dana Thompson, I imagine Vanessa Marshall for the role.
-I also wanted to thank Sal for his help on this chapter.
That said, I hope everyone enjoyed reading The Question and I'll be seeing ya next chapter!