Rumors
It was a week since Bus recovered. Tired was walking down the street, looking for Christmas gifts for her family. A young woman with bunny ears was shopping when Tired walked by. Looking out the window, her eyes lit up as she waved and ran outside.
"Tired! Tired, wait for me!"
Tired looked up from her phone and saw her. She smiled and put her phone in her pocket.
"Hi, Anna. What's up?"
However, instead of greeting her normally, Anna took her wrist. She gestured to an inconspicuous place and almost dragged her there.
"What are you doi-"
"Shh!"
Tired, taken aback, looked at her and scoffed.
"Don't you shush me!"
"Shhhh!!!"
Anna looked around, almost paranoid. She seemed more weary than before, and she made sure the place they were at was clear before finally speaking to her.
"What are you doing out here???"
"Uhh, shopping? At least, I was shopping until you dragged me here. What kind of question even is that???"
"Well, you really shouldn't be."
"Why? Am I all the sudden not allowed to go shopping anymore? You're confusing me."
Anna hesitated for a bit before looking around again. She was surprised that Tired didn't know what was going on.
"What did you do when Bus arrived at your house?"
"What the- How did you know about that??"
"Everyone knows about it!"
"What!?"
"Shhh!!!"
Whatever Anna was trying to do, she really didn't want to get caught. Confused and annoyed, Tired sighed and answered:
"I didn't do anything. He was just sick, so I took care of him until he recovered. He left a few days later, and I never heard back from him."
"That's it?"
"Yeah. Why?"
Anna started to get more nervous.
"Tired, let me be frank with you; there are some…rumors going on about you and Bus ever since he went over to your place last week."
"What? What rumors!?"
Anna's face got red at this part, looking down while rubbing the back of her neck.
"There are some rumors out there that you…you know…did something with him…"
Tired squinted while deciphering what she was trying to say. Then, her eyes grew wider, and her jaw dropped as she realized what the "rumors" are.
"No…NO! We never did that!!!"
"That's what the rumors are! Let me tell you that the hardcore fans are not happy about it, either. Luckily, it's just a rumor, but-"
"That's even worse!! There's a rumor going on about me, and I'm the only one who didn't know about it!?"
Now, she really wished she didn't invite him in. This one like can end up turning her life upside-down, which was not what she wanted at all. She just wanted to live a happy, comfortable life with a well-paying job. Now, her life was about to be anything but comfortable. She needed to talk to Bus right now. She adjusted herself and took all her bags.
"Thanks for telling me, Anna. I've gotta go sort things out."
"No, wait!!"
Tired didn't listen. She started to run off. Anna followed her, trying to catch up and reach her.
"Tired!! Tired, wai-!"
She didn't make it far, though. She somehow managed to trip over nothing, and she started to fall…
That is, until she felt someone with their arm around her, preventing her from hitting the ground. Her eyes were shut, and she slowly started to open them, speaking with a shakiness in her voice.
"Th…Thank you…"
"Yeah, no problem. Are you alright?"
The voice- deep and soothing- sounded familiar. As she calmed down, she slowly started to recognize the person speaking to her. Her eyes widened as she looked at the man in shock.
The man- tall and muscular- was not just any other football player.
It was Mike Hawk.