Hi there!

I hope you`re ready for another chapter! A cute one..! :D

Once again, thank you all soooo much for every review, follower and/or favorite! You guys are the best! I still can`t believe I`m actually writing this story, and it`s even harder to believe that somebody`s reading and (hopefully) enjoying it! Yay! I`ll try my very best to continue to please:)

So, as for today`s chapter… Oh my God, where to start? I hope you`re in the mood for something cute, cuz this is what I consider my sweetest chapter yet. My story is still in an early fase, and because of that, there`s no romance, relationship, kiss or even cuddling anywhere in sight; but there is some sort of awkward cuteness in this chapter! We need that now! Yay! :D And just as I said, chapter 8 has pancakes, a bath and an angry lizard who doesn`t seem to know his own good;)

I think that`s all I have to say before the actual chapter… Here it is:

Chapter 8: A day to forget

Sulley had enjoyed a wonderful night of sleep; the best he`d had in weeks. As he woke up in the morning, he felt restored and satisfied without even knowing why. Or maybe he just chose not to realize it; the thought of Randall was still on his mind, and although Sulley found it quite weird, the fact that he had got the lizard to talk yesterday made him feel truly good.

He really wanted to apologise to Randall and get rid of this cloud of guilt he had felt hanging over his head for the past few days; and now that he had seen the current state his former co-worker was in, Sulley felt that the best way to make it all up to him was by helping – whether the other part wanted it or not.

Sulley`s new day, a cold Friday that held promises of snow in the air, started with a cup of coffee and some breakfast with Mike, who couldn`t help but notice his best friend`s state of mind;

"Looks like you`re in a good mood today..?"

"Yeah..! I`ve slept well".

"Good to hear; you`ve seemed kinda tired lately. You`re too stressed out about work, and for the last couple of days you`ve had that whole Randall-thing as well… I almost started to worry about you, Sul".

Sulley lowered his gaze and stared at his plate; he hadn`t told Mike that he had been over at Randall`s apartment yesterday afternoon, or that he had managed to have a nearly normal conversation with the monster living there. Mike had specifically told him not to go over there, but Sulley had ignored him; it made him feel uncomfortable, but at the same time, the memories of his "talk" with Randall almost made him smile… Why? This whole thing was so awkward! Randall had never occupied his mind before..!

"Sul, you`re not listening..! I`m right here!" Mike waved in an attempt to win Sulley`s attention, and the blue monster finally lifted his gaze;

"Huh? I`m sorry, I don`t think I`m fully awake yet..! What did you say, Mike?"

"I said I have no plans after work today! How `bout you? Wanna catch a movie or something?"

"I don`t know…"

That was true. Sulley didn`t know; he didn`t know if he was going to visit Randall again that same afternoon or not. But there was still no way he was telling Mike, it would just upset him; Besides, Sulley was sick of Mike saying he was obsessed with Randall. Instead, he came up with a lie;

"I have to run a couple of errands after work; there`s a couple of things I need to pick up for my office… Staples and stuff…"

Mike looked disappointed, but Sulley cheered him up with a promise;

"But it shouldn`t take that long. If you want to, I can meet you at the movie theatre for an evening show?"

Sulley smiled to himself; this was perfect. If he did choose to visit Randall today, he could still meet Mike before the evening was over, and then everybody would be happy. Well, except for Randall maybe, who didn`t seem to enjoy having company; although he clearly needed it.

"Great!" Mike was happy with Sulley`s suggestion; "That`s a deal! You`ve got yourself a date, big guy!"

"Great, Mike! And we`ll pick up a pizza on our way home, huh?"

"Sure! And for today, Sul; please allow me to fix us dessert..!"

Sulley nodded his head as he chuckled; Mike hadn`t been happy about the yoghurt-dessert-disaster a couple of days ago…

The two best friends walked to work half an hour later; the sky was in a pale shade of greyish pink, and the sun barely shone through the thin layer of clouds. Mike talked about his dinner with Celia last night, and Sulley listened now and then; he always got detailed abstracts of all of Mike`s dates, and they were all quite similar.

As they approached the factory, Mike finally decided it was Sulley`s turn to talk;

"So what did you do after work last night?"

Sulley stopped walking; he had been so busy worrying about Randall that he hadn`t come up with a cover-story for yesterday.

"Ummm…" He started thinking as fast as he could, but couldn`t come up with something good to tell Mike. Luckily, someone came to his rescue;

"Ulley!"

The cheerful cry caused both Sulley and Mike to turn their heads. Two monsters were approaching them; a blue grown up and an orange child. The orange one let go of the blue one`s hand and started running towards them as he waved with all four of his hands, and Sulley let out a relieved sigh at the sight of them;

"Hi, Rex! And Sophie, hi! On your way to work?" He greeted his new friends warmly and presented Rex with a hug.

"And dayscare", Sophie answered, taking Rex`s hand in hers; "Right, Rex?"

"Who`s that?" Rex pointed in Mike`s direction while looking at Sulley.

"Mike Wazowski, nice meeting ya, kid"; Mike didn`t wait for Sulley to answer and chose to introduce himself, reaching out a hand towards Rex. However, his gesture wasn`t noticed;

"Mike Wazowski..!" Rex repeated with a growing grin on his face, not showing any sign of accepting Mike`s hand; "Mike Wazowski! Mike Wazowski!"

"Rex, please -" Sophie sighed and looked at her son. "Calm down! And come along, we`re going to be late for dayscare! Nice meeting you, Mike..!" She waved briefly at her new acquaintance.

Rex waved as well as he went alongside his mother, but not to Mike; Sulley was his hero, and therefore the only one who deserved his attention.

Just before the little family entered the door, Sophie turned around as if she had forgotten to say something;

"Oh, Sulley! I just remembered -"

"She wants her key back"; Sulley thought to himself. And as he thought it, a surprising feeling of sadness came over him.

"I just wanted to ask you -" Sophie continued, "if you would like to come over for dinner some time? I want to properly thank you for supporting me and coming with me to Randall`s apartment!"

Sulley let out another sigh; she didn`t have the key in mind. He could still visit Randall that same afternoon. If he wanted to… He wasn`t sure yet…

"Sure"; He forced himself back to the present and answered her. "That would be great! What time?"

"I`m quite busy next week, so it has to be by the end of it; How`s Friday?"

"Next Friday sounds good". Sulley smiled at her, and so did Rex. The little monster was happy Sulley was coming over and thankful towards his mother for inviting him;

"Then I`m gonna show Ulley ma woom!"

Sophie and Rex turned around again and entered the factory. Sulley was about to do the same, but Mike held him back;

"Way to go, Sul! She`s really something!"

"Yeah, she`s great; I`ve really come to like her".

"And she`s totally into you, too!" Mike smiled at his best friend, showing him how happy this made him.

"What?"

Sulley had a hard time cathing up on Mike`s last utterance; Sophie was into him? How could Mike tell?

"She just invited you on a date, Sul..!"

"It`s not a date! Just a friendly dinner, that`s all; Rex will be there, he`s eager to show me his room!"

"I think she`s more eager to show you her room..!"

Mike`s smile caused Sulley to blush underneath his fur. Luckily Mike couldn`t notice that, he just went on; "This is great, Sulley; come on, when was the last time you had a date? Two years ago?"

"Something like that".

"Well, then it`s about time! And that girl sounded nice; I`ll even look away from the fact that she`s Randall`s sister! I`m happy for you, big guy!"

As they finally entered the factory, Sulley tried his best to recall the last few days and all of his encounters with Sophie; were there any signs he had been missing? He had been so busy thinking about Randall that he hardly had noticed anything else – was Sophie really into him? Or more importantly; was he into her?

Randall was placed on his couch, flat out, with the covers from his bed draped comfortably around him. He had gotten up at around ten, and then he had walked into the living room and finished a cup of tea while watching a little TV. Life was dull.

By now, it was getting late in the afternoon, and if the curtains hadn`t been closed, Randall would have seen that snow have started to fall gently from the dark sky.

He felt tired. Perhaps he should call it an early night and just go to bed…

The idea was tempting, but before he reached to rise from the sofa a sudden knock from the hall caught his attention. Then there was the sound of the door being unlocked and opened. Randall sighed; he camouflaged, but didn`t bother climbing onto the ceiling this time; he already knew who it was…

"I thought you said you`d leave me alone?"

The tone in Randall`s voice was sharp as he spoke to Sullivan when the blue monster entered his living room for the fifth time in three days. Randall re-appeared and glared at his guest.

"If you got food, that is"; Sulley replied.

"I got food".

"Well, I`ll need to check that".

Randall could hardly believe it; Sullivan was here to see if he had bought food? Who did he think he was? Who did he think he was?

"What the hell? I`m not a baby, Sullivan..!"

"I know; but I`m worried about your health, and won`t feel at peace before I know you`re eating something else than dry Kreature Krisp".

Without another word, Sulley went over to the kitchen to see if Randall was telling the truth. The lizard followed him; he didn`t like the idea of Sullivan being alone in one of his rooms, and thought it was best to keep an eye on him.

Sulley opened the fridge; nothing. He opened a couple of cabinets; nothing. He opened a third one; more nothing. Randall lowered his head as Sullivan slowly turned around to look at him.

"Randall, you must be starving..!"

Sulley stared at the creature in the kitchen door, face filled with worry and compassion, and Randall looked away before he answered him;

"Am not; I just don`t feel like eating, that`s all - I`m too tired."

"You have to eat, Randall, you`ll get sick! You promised me you`d buy food today!"

"You promised me you`d leave me alone…"

"Well, you broke your promise! We`re lucky I broke mine, too!"

Randall only stared at the floor with a frown on his face; he couldn`t come up with a good answer to that one.

Without a further warning, Sulley pushed Randall aside and left the kitchen. The blue one went back into the living room, and the lizard followed him. To his surprise, Randall saw that Sullivan was on his way towards the front door; was he going to leave?

"Where are you going?" Randall hated himself for asking, but he was too curious to keep himself from doing so; his worst fear now was that Sullivan would get him a doctor. Or shrink.

"You`ll see. Get back on that couch and stay there, I`ll be right back".

"You`re not in charge of me…" Randall crossed his arms and glared in the others` direction.

Sulley took a couple of steps towards him, lifted him up without even trying and carried him over to the couch; Randall had been wrong. A doctor or even shrink would have been preferred over this.

"You`re acting like a three-year-old..! Stay here; you`re not well. I`ll be right back, and meanwhile, you`re going to relax. Okay?"

Randall didn`t know what to say. Or do. What had just happened? Being carried to his couch by Sullivan had to be the most painful and humiliating happening of his entire life.

Wrong again. Just as he thought that things couldn`t possibly get any worse, they did; Sullivan tucked him in. The blue, hairy monster carefully placed the bed-covers over the purple one, who made faces in disgust;

"For crying out loud -"

"Stay here".

"Just get the fuck out!"

Randall`s tough words lost a bit of their effect when they came from a monster who was carefully tucked in on the sofa, but Sulley did as he was told; although not because he was told so.

Randall was woken up by a gentle touch on his shoulder and a soft voice;

"Randall".

The lizard opened his eyes as far as he could without his glasses, and looked into Sullivan`s face; Great…

"You`ve been sleeping for a good hour now. How are you feeling?"

"None of your business… How long were you gone for?"

"About half an hour".

"What did you do?"

"I bought you something to eat".

"Do you think I can`t afford food..?" Humiliation came over him again; did Sullivan believe the reason why he hadn`t bought food yesterday was because he couldn`t afford it?

"I know you can afford food, but that`s not helping us when you don`t have the sense to buy food..!"

Randall sat up; this whole situation was awkward. The fact that Sullivan was here for the third day in a row was odd enough, and the carrying, tucking in, gently awakening and buying food topped it. Besides –

Randall smelled something as well. Something that clearly wasn`t food; it was some sweet scent that came from… the bathroom?

"What`s that smell?" Randall`s eyes expressed insecurity as they met with Sullivan`s.

"Foam."

"Foam..?"

"I poured you a bath".

"No, you didn`t."

"Did too; it will help you relax".

"I`m not taking a bath."

"Yes you are."

"Not with you here."

"Here`s the deal, Randall; you can either go into the bathroom and step into the tub by yourself, or I`ll carry you in there; your choice".

Randall got up without another word and half-walked/half-ran over to the bathroom. He closed the door behind him, but couldn`t lock it; he lived alone, and had never needed a key to his bathroom-door before. He regretted that now.

"I`ll prepare dinner while you`re in there!"

Sullivan`s voice penetrated the walls, and Randall growled. Then he looked at the bath. He didn`t want to get in, but figured it would probably be best not to risk it; he didn`t doubt for a second that Sullivan would come in there and lift him in if he didn`t enter by himself. That would have been unbearable.

He stepped into the warm water with another growl. This was so humiliating.

"I`m in..!"

Randall shouted towards the door, just to make sure that Sullivan wouldn`t have a reason to poke his head in to check. That would have been the icing on the cake right now.

"Randall..!"

For the second time in an hour, Randall was woken up by Sullivan`s voice and a tap on his shoulder. He`d fallen asleep again, in the bathtub this time. He opened his eyes, only to see Sullivan kneel beside him with a towel, and the sight caused him to quickly shut them again. This wasn`t even the icing on the cake; it was the sprinkles on top of the chocolate sauce on top of the cherry on top of the icing on the cake. For the third time that day, his life had reached a new low-point.

"Tell me this is just a bad dream…" Randall grimaced, still with his eyes tightly shut.

"Dinner`s ready! You fell asleep again, you`ve been in here for 45 minutes!" Sullivan placed the towel on the floor, got up and started walking towards the door. Before he left the bathroom he turned around and smiled at Randall; "I told you it would help you relax!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Randall mumbled as he reached for the towel and slowly got up from the tub; "I hate you…"

After around ten minutes, the lizard had managed to drag himself into the kitchen, where he was met by the smell of something sweet;

"Pancakes?" He looked at the plate on table and noticed a heap of thick, slightly burned pancakes; clearly, Sullivan wasn`t among Monstropolis` finest chefs...

"At least an attempt..! Do you like pancakes?"

"Yeah – Or… It`s okay I guess".

Sulley smiled as Randall sat down across the table from him. Randall took hold of his fork, but then he suddenly noticed that the table was only set for one;

"You`re not having anything?"

"I made these for you; Besides, I`m going to eat dinner with Mike later in the evening".

"I`ll feel uncomfortable if you`re just gonna sit there and watch me!"

"But I`m not hungry at the moment, and like I said, I`ve made these for -"

"Eat a bloody pancake!"

Randall`s snap caused Sulley to get up and get a plate for himself as well; he sat back down, helped himself with a pancake and started to cut it. Randall did the same. Not a word passed between the two while they ate, but Sulley lifted his head to look at Randall every once in a while; he actually seemed to enjoy the meal. Sulley figured it had to be because he hadn`t been eating for a while; it most certainly wasn`t because of the burnt pancakes…

When they were done eating, Sulley did the dishes; Randall had offered to help (or actually he had told Sulley to leave, so that he could deal with it himself), but Sulley had commanded him back on the couch to rest. So while the blue monster had cleaned the dishes, the purple one had yelled at him constantly from the living room for putting things back in their wrong places – until he had fallen asleep again.

"Randall..! Are you awake?"

Sulley gently patted Randall`s shoulder to wake him up for the third time; "I`ll have to go home now..! Do you want me to help you off to bed?"

"Don`t even think about it; I`m awake!" Randall rubbed his eyes as he sat up on the couch; the fact that Sullivan was going home was the best thing he had heard all day.

"Look Randall, I`m going to spend the weekend with Mike, so I won`t be able to check in on you for a couple of days..!" Sulley had worry written all over his face; "You`ll have a couple of days to yourself!"

"Great..!"

"I`ve bought you some microwave-dinners, they`re in your fridge. Promise me you`ll eat them, okay?"

"Why can`t you just leave?"

"Randall! Do you promise me you`ll eat the microwave-dinners?" Sulley raised his voice.

"Fine… If you promise you`ll leave me alone this time".

"I will, I`ve already told you -" Sulley looked at the other, but lowered his gaze as he thought to himself; "At least until Monday…"

A moment of silence followed. None of the monsters felt the urge to say anything.

Just as Randall thought it was the time to break the silence and tell Sulley to get out, the blue monster beat him to it;

"Are you going to be alright here?"

"Yes".

"Are you sure?"

"Yes".

"Absolutely sure?"

"I wish you hadn`t spoken to my sister".

"Oh, so you did hear that. Look, Randall, I`m really sorry; about everything. I didn`t know you`ve had a rough past, and –"

"I don`t want to talk about it. Get out".

"Is there anything else I can bring you..?"

"Some privacy."

"Fine… I`ll leave; but if there`s something, anything, don`t hesitate to call me".

"Yeah, right".

Randall got up from the couch and walked Sulley to the door. The blue monster still had a worried look on his face as he stepped out into the hallway, and turned around to face the other one last time;

"Bye Randall..! And like I said, don`t hesitate to call me if there`s something -"

The door slammed, and Sulley finished his sentence alone.

And that`s it..!

Now? What do you think?

As usual, I can`t wait for your feedback and opinions, and I hope you all remember to leave a review:) Tell me what your thoughts were on this one, it`s very helpful for me when I`m working on the upcoming chapters;)

I`m currently working on the next one, and I have actually planned most of the chapters as far as number 14. Not in detail of course, but I know somewhat the plot for each one; Randall has a lot ahead, of him we`re not even halfway through it yet..!

I`m quite busy this week, so I don`t think I`ll get the next chapter out until Saturday… Possibly Sunday. Okay? I hope you will all be back to check it out, and that I haven`t scared you off with this one!

So, I`ll see you around (hopefully), and meanwhile I`ll work my butt off with chapter 9!

Take care!