PPX: Zuma's First Month
Episode two: Snack Reaction leads to Adaption
It was the second day of Zuma living in Adventure Bay, and he was currently eyeing the candy at the gas station in awe how much the variety there was. It'd been a while by that point since he'd been to a gas station, so he was unaware of how much there was to eat until now. He just couldn't decide. It all looked so good and it made him start drooling. Rocky was nearby, and was heard laughing as he commented on the situation. "You sure you wanna try paying for your snack in drool?"
Zuma gave a confused bark and then saw the drool drip he let onto the ground, laughing a bit as he grabbed a chocolate bar as he replied. "Definitely not." Zuma and Rocky walked over to the cash register and put their snacks up with Rocky getting some kind of peanut butter flavored cookies, along with a pineapple soda for Zuma, and a strawberry lemonade. "I've nevew had peanuts befowe. I wonder what they taste like in chocolate."
"You'll love them." Rocky assured Zuma, and then he put up some cash for the food as he spoke up about them. "They have this crunchy texture to them that just oozes natural tree flavor into your mouth. And when you get the honey roasted kind, the best, thing, ever!" Rocky accepted his change and put it away as he thanked the clerk. "Thank you!"
Rocky and Zuma left the store and went over to Richie, who was getting gas in his car as Zuma questioned how that worked. "How can Wichie and Wyder dwive anyway? They're only ten and thiwteen."
"Ryder's a super genius and learned how to drive at a young age." Rocky explained, and then he went into some more detail on how that made sense. "Then when he finally found a car he was small enough to drive, he taught Richie the basics, and now they can both ride cars that are small enough for them to see out the front window."
"Haha. That's pwetty cool." Zuma responded, and then he opened up his candy bar and started eating it while Richie finished getting gas into his truck. Zuma had to admit that he found the taste of the peanuts to be kind of weird. Not from distaste, but from something else. "This candy baw tastes kinda funny."
Rocky set his and Zuma's drinks down on the coaster as he then brought up a reason why. "Maybe you just have to get used to eating chocolate with peanuts in it. You were out of normal life for years, so it could likely be that you're not used to it." Zuma felt that made sense, and hoped it was the case. He really wanted to like normal snack food.
About an hour later, Rocky and Zuma were watching Tv together with Zuma having drunken most of his pineapple soda. "That soda is the bomb Wocky. I'm gonna twy the other flavows too, but I think pineapple is gonna be the winner out of all of them."
"Everyone has their favorites." Rocky replied, and then as he took a sip of his lemonade, he brought up an interesting fact about himself. "I don't usually drink soda that often, but when I do, I make sure it's a can so I don't rot my teeth too much."
Zuma took note of that, and then he started to feel a little itchy on his right arm and started scratching. He also started to feel an itch in his throat, which he asked Rocky about to make sure he wasn't having bad taste to anything he ate today. "Hey Wocky; does soda make your thwoat itchy?"
"Not usually. Why?" Rocky looked at Zuma and saw the hives that were making his right paw itchy. He started to panic and became immensely concerned for Zuma as he hopped off the couch. "We gotta hurry Zuma! I think this might be a case of Anaphylaxis!"
Zuma hopped off the couch and ran off with Rocky as the latter grabbed his arm and ran as fast as he could. "I don't know what that is, but so long as I don't go mute aftew whatevew we're doing." Zuma wasn't sure what the big deal about the hives and itchy throat was, but Rocky had a good idea what it was. He knew he needed confirmation on what caused it however, so he could prepare for future events involving it.
Rocky and Zuma were currently at the Adventure Bay Animal Hospital as Zuma sat on a hospital bed with Rocky sitting anxiously in a chair as he filled Zuma in. "I called Ryder and told him what happened. He needed Chase and Skye to get someone down from a dangling building, but they should be here soon."
"Let's just hope they know what that was all about." Zuma still wasn't sure what was going on, feeling that this was more serious than he ever could have expected. "Ya think I could be getting a new vewsion of the flu or something?" Rocky shrugged in response with Katie then coming into the room with Zuma greeting her without trying to bring up 'you know what'. "Hi thewe. I'm Zuma."
Katie happily shook Zuma's paw, making Zuma glad that his speech impediment didn't throw her off. "Nice to meet you Zuma! I'm Katie. Ryder told me about you yesterday to schedule a checkup." Zuma felt more comfortable knowing that, since he was working with someone who knew some stuff about him. Katie then took her clipboard and told Zuma about wht she found "Let's get down to business. After hearing about your symptoms from Rocky, I did a blood test, and we discovered that you have a peanut allergy."
Rocky gained a guilty expression as Zuma questioned what that meant. "A peanut allewgy? Is that what was making my thwoat all wonky eawlier?"
"Sure was." Katie responded, and then she started explaining to Zuma why those things happened. "You see Zuma, when someone has an allergy to something, say peanuts, like you, or something else like shellfish, their immune systems react to it more harshly than those without it. The itchy throat and hives you were experiencing earlier were mild compared to other reactions you could get, and among those are nausea, pale skin, and the worst case scenario, death."
Zuma was glad he didn't get any of the symptoms Katie just mentioned with Rocky feeling guilty since he bought Zuma the candy bar that caused his reaction to happen. "I'm sorry Zuma. I should've never let you have that candy bar. I could've gotten you killed!"
Zuma snickered a bit, as he found Rocky's reaction to be a bit much. After all, he couldn't have known about an allergy that even HE didn't know about. "We only met yestweday Wocky. How were you supposed to know peanuts would give me a wash and make me considew dwinking tea?"
Katie then pointed something else out to help Rocky feel better. "And not that I don't WANT people to face these symptoms, but if Zuma hadn't eaten that candy bar, he probably could've discovered his allergy under much worse conditions."
Rocky did feel a little better about that, but he still felt bad. The last thing he wanted to do to Zuma was hurt him. "I guess. I just wish we could've figured it out during that checkup you mentioned. And who knows what could cause a reaction now that we know about the allergy."
"Welax Wocky." Rocky looked at Zuma, who jumped down from his hospital bed and over to Rocky as he spoke up about the situation. Rocky himself was surprised by how nonchalant Zuma was being about all this. "I was able to avoid peanuts up until now. How hawd could it be to pull that off now that I know I'll have to?"
"It's not that simple Zuma." Rocky informed Zuma, not wanting him to be too careless about this situation. "There are a lot of good foods that could have peanuts in them."
"He's right." Katie chimed in, bringing up all kinds of foods that could have peanuts in them. "A lot of common foods have some kind of peanut substance in them. Foods like cereal, sweets, and chocolate as we've established, all have a chance at containing peanuts in them." Zuma's eyes widened upon hearing that. Was this allergy really limiting his eating options. "It's best you handle this carefully and choose what you eat with caution." Zuma started to dislike his allergy upon hearing that. Two days in Adventure Bay and he'd already found something that could suck for him."
Richie was in the waiting room when Rocky and Zuma came back in, leaving him to show concern for Zuma's safety as he looked at them and spoke up. "Is Zuma gonna be okay?"
"He should be fine." Katie answered, and then he saw Zuma's frustrated look and started to feel bad for him. He knew this was hard on him. "I think it's best if I let HIM tell you what happened. He's taking it pretty hard right now."
Zuma was about to respond to that, "You would be too if-"
Only for Chase, Skye, and Ryder to arrive with Ryder being relieved to see that Zuma was okay. "Thank God you're okay!"
The three ran over to Zuma with Ryder rubbing his head happily as Chase explained why they were late. "Sorry we couldn't get here sooner Zuma. That guy we were saving did NOT wanna jump onto the landing pad."
"It's cool." Zuma replied, and then he sighed as he told the others what happened. "Appawently I have a peanut allewgy. Something else to get in my way."
The others started to feel bad for Zuma upon hearing that with Skye being quick to assure him that he wasn't to blame here. "You can't help if you're allergic to something. Chase is allergic to at least three things."
"Two of them are pretty specific though." Chase admitted, and then he told Zuma about them to help make him feel better. "When Ryder first took me to see Katie, we discovered I'm allergic to cats when Katie's cat Cali came into the room, since I couldn't stop sneezing when she was near me. I'm also allergic to certain kinds of flowers and feathers, which can cause the same reaction."
Zuma didn't see that as very helpful. That kind of stuff was a lot easier to avoid. "At least you can still eat the stuff you wanna eat. Unless you wanna eat a cat I guess, but only a psycho would do that."
Ryder saw that Zuma was starting to beat himself up and was quick to let him know that doing so wasn't necessary. "This won't bring any kind of burden to us Zuma. You don't have to worry about anything like that."
Rocky was quick to assure Zuma that they wouldn't think of him any less after learning about his allergy. "Don't you worry Zuma. We're gonna do what we can to make sure you can eat the same food as us, and still have as much fun as we're having." That did help however, being comforted by Rocky. Zuma didn't know why; it just always made him happy. Hopefully he could stay positive about this allergy of his. If what everyone was telling him now was true, then he wouldn't have to worry about his allergy being a burden to any of his newly developed bonds.
Back at the lookout, Zuma was currently going down the lookout slide and was having a blast. Rocky was waiting for him at the bottom and as Zuma went down, he was laughing and holding his front paws on his hind paws. He raised them up and cheered as he went down halfway before putting them back on his hind legs and continued sliding down while laughing. He then went flying into Rocky, who was ready to catch him and managed to do so successfully. However, they did roll for a bit together and ended up lying right next to each other after rolling down the hill.
The two of them blushed a bit before smiling and laughing at how crazy of a ride that was. As the two of them walked back up the hill, Ryder came out of the garage with his ATV as Chase got into his truck with Skye joining him. Ryder then went over to Rocky and Zuma to see if they wanted to join them. "Hey Rocky. Hey Zuma. We're about to head to the grocery store for our weekly shopping. If you want, you can come with us and see if there's anything that catches your eyes."
Zuma and Rocky looked at each other with Zuma asking what a grocery store was all about. "Is that the place with all that food they give you so they can make a pwofit off of what evewyone needs to live?"
Rocky snickered a bit at Zuma's obviously cynical joke and couldn't exactly deny that in a morbid sense. "Something like that. Don't worry though; the stuff in Adventure Bay is all full price." Zuma thought for a moment and shrugged before hopping on the back of Ryder's ATV. Rocky joined them, and Zuma smiled as Ryder drove off, glad he would be sitting next to Rocky for this trip.
As the group was in the grocery store, Zuma was in the cart with Ryder pushing as Chase joined him with Zuma wanting to speed up. "Cmon Wyder; go fastew! I wanna see how fast this bad boy can go!"
Ryder laughed a bit with Chase smiling at the sight of Zuma enjoying himself with the teenage human speaking up. "It can go pretty fast Zuma. We're not here to have a race though. We gotta focus on getting our food for the week."
"But you'we so wich you bwing Bwuce Wayne. Why not just buy evewything?" Zuma asked in an obvious Batman reference, and he then saw something that looked good and grabbed it with intrigue. "Ooh; this looks good." Zuma saw that the label was for a brand of chili, and after reading the label, Ryder gently took it out of Zuma's paws and put it back, causing Zuma to whine about it. "Wyder, it's just chili."
"The label said it was made with peanut oil." Ryder explained as he then showed Zuma what he saw. "We gotta make sure to check the labels on everything we buy from now on."
Zuma groaned in annoyance and lamented on how he disliked his allergy. "See? This is what I was wowwied about. Now that I'M in your lives you pwobably have to change what you eat so I don't feel left out or die or whatevew."
"We don't mind Zuma; really." Chase assured Zuma, hopping up to the top of the cart and helping Zuma out as he made a suggestion. "Maybe we could head over to the ice cream isle. I know for a fact that there are some ice cream brands that don't have peanuts in them."
Zuma didn't see anything wrong with that, and when he looked at Ryder, he didn't see a problem with it either. "Just promise to be on your best behavior."
"I'll be good when I want!" Zuma exclaimed playfully as he hopped out of the cart, and then he ran over to the frozen foods isle with Chase shrugging to Ryder as he chased after him. Ryder knew Chase could handle it, and he went back to looking for the right foods to buy for everyone. He founds some spaghetti noodles near the chili Zuma wanted that he felt would be good for dinner tonight.
Zuma was on the ice cream isle as he and Chase were looking at everything, leaving Zuma unable to decide. He did think this one kind looked appealing, and when he showed it to Chase, he had an idea in mind. "Maybe I could take the peanuts off of the top pawt and eat the ice cweam pawt instead."
Chase got a look at the ice cream and knew that it wouldn't work for Zuma, explaining why as he put it back. "Even if that did work, I think peanuts are part of the flavor that makes it stick. (Zuma scoffs and crosses his arms) Plus, it would be a pretty boring process and your ice cream could end up melted by then." Chase found an ice cream brand that could work for Zuma, holding chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla, with four of each kind. "You still like chocolate, right? And I should also get your preference when it comes to strawberries and vanilla."
Zuma got a look at the box Chase showed him and figured that it would do. It did look like good ice cream after all. "At least I can actually eat it."
Chase nodded and walked off with Zuma as the two of them found Skye and Rocky on the next isle over as Rocky spoke up about a certain pizza kind. "I just think supreme makes the most sense, because it holds the best of both worlds, and doesn't leave too much unhealthy stuff on there to break the balance."
"It's not about health Rocky; it's about taste." Skye insisted, pointing out the appeal of the three meat pizza as she pointed to it. "And if I know Chase, he's gonna love the three meat one."
Chase then looked to Zuma, feeling that this would help ease his mood about his allergy. "You like pizza, right?"
"Who doesn't?" Zuma asked, having a feeling that he knew what Chase was gonna have him do.
Ryder was putting the groceries away with all of the pups in the kitchen as he commented on the choice Zuma made. "I can't say I didn't expect you to pick getting BOTH pizzas Zuma. I'm just glad I have enough money to buy all of the stuff we usually buy."
"So am I. And picking both was the only one that made sense to me." Zuma explained what he meant as he showed his love for pizza clearly. "Pizza is a perfect food no mattew what you put on it. No matter what you have as toppings, you put youw mouth into it, and youw taste buds implode upon impact."
Zuma then started imagining himself eating pizza and making Rocky laugh as Chase pointed something out. "See Zuma? There's nothing to be ashamed of with your allergy. And I should know since I have at least three of them."
Zuma then pointed something out to Chase that would help give him insight as to why he disliked his peanut allergy. "You'we not wong, but at least you won't die fwom smelling stuff so long as you get out of there. One taste of peanuts and I didn't have (Pulls out an epi-pen) this bad boy on me, I'd be stwight to the ER."
Chase then brought up something else that he felt would be of some good use for Zuma to know. "Even so, you do NOT wanna be around me when surrounded by cats. Trust me." Zuma started to think about Chase being surrounded by cats and constantly sneezing before he snickered a bit. He couldn't lie; Chase was right about that after he gave it a little thought.
Rocky was in the living room as Zuma came over to him with a question in mind about a food he found in the pantry. "Hey Wocky. I just found this containew of cashews in the pantwy." Zuma sat down next to Rocky, being unsure if it was safe for them to be there. "Cowwect me if I'm wong, but awen't cashews a kind of nut?"
"Well, technically yes." Rocky answered, and then he assured Zuma that it was okay to eat them. "You should be okay though. Cashews don't have the same substances as peanuts, so as long as you're only allergic to peanuts, and not nuts in general, you should be okay." Zuma decided to take Rocky's word for it and opened up the container. He took out a few cashews and put them into his mouth, and Rocky became curious as to what he thought about them. "So?"
Zuma took a liking to the taste of cashews and swallowed them with a smile on his face. "Good stuff." Zuma reached for some more cashews as he talked about how bad the food at one of his previous homes was. "Way bettew than the food in that gang I was in anyway. We always had to sneak into town to steal some takeout because of how bad evewyone who was allowed to touch the stove was at cooking."
Rocky closed the lid so Zuma didn't spoil his appetite, and the mention of restaurants brought something to his mind. "Oh, that reminds me. The Paw Patrol usually have Chinese food on Friday nights, and a lot of Chinese food is made with peanut oil, so we'll have to be cautious when they order stuff like eggrolls and fried rice."
Zuma sighed as he then lamented on his worries coming to life again. "Just gweat. Next you'll tell me I can't even eat pizza because they'll stuff peanut oil into that!"
Rocky laughed a bit at the idea of peanut oil in pizza, but was still quick to assure Zuma that he was okay. "There are some ways around this Zuma. I looked into it, and some places use alternatives to peanut oil for those with allergies. Mr. Porter, the owner of the local Porter's Place, could be one of those places."
Zuma did have his spirits lifted form that as he then joked about one of Chase's allergies. "I'm cool with that, so long as Chase doesn't have to eat cat." Rocky burst out laughing at Zuma's dark joke, making Zuma smile. He was glad to make Rocky burst out laughing, even if his joke was technically tasteless.
The Paw Patrol were at Porter's Place with Zuma seeming a little nervous about the food there with Chase being quick to comfort him. "No need to worry Zuma. Mr. Porter got the request to use the special pans and stuff, so you should be able to eat the Chinese food without any problems."
"I hope so." Zuma said, being conflicted on whether or not he would be able to handle the Chinese food. "He seemed nice enough when we owdered the food, so that's a plus. I dunno; maybe if Wocky was here with us I'd be more confident about it? He seems to always know what to say."
Chase smirked as he made his reply to that, despite having a little theory about it since Rocky and Zuma were so close. "And I don't?"
Zuma giggled a bit upon hearing that with Ryder signaling everyone that their food was coming. Mr. Porter came on over and set the food down with Ryder speaking up for all of them. "Thanks Mr. Porter. Should be delicious as always."
"I certainly hope so, like I usually do." Mr. Porter replied happily, and then he looked to Zuma, assuring him he would be okay. "And I made sure to use the special pans so you could eat as well Zuma. Feel free to dig in as much as you like."
Zuma nodded in response to that while smiling as he then gazed upon the food. It was all there; chicken chow mein, fried rice, eggrolls, orange chicken, beef sticks, and it all looked amazing. He almost started drooling again, but this time Chase reacted quickly and put a napkin over his mouth as he then picked out his food for him. He made sure Zuma had a portion of everything before setting his plate down in front of him. "You're gonna love this food. Trust me."
Zuma knew he could trust Chase, and he started digging in with the chicken chow mein. His mouth started watering upon tasting this new experience and he smiled widely as he then scarfed everything down while Chase got his food, surprising everyone as Skye giggled before commenting on it. "Better watch out Chase. Zuma just might top your eating record."
"As if I was trying to make one." Chase responded confidently, not really caring if anyone could eat more than him. "I definitely could set one though; if I wanted to." Zuma continued to scarf down his food with the other three laughing at the sight of it. It was clear that the benefit of special pans was a benefit to the Chocolate Labrador.
Zuma and the others were heading home with Zuma riding in the back of Chase's car as his stomach growled from all the food he ate. Since Chase was in the driver's seat, he wasn't sure if he would be okay with him farting in his car, but he didn't have much time to think about holding it in...
PFFFFFT
...a three second fart escaped from Zuma's bowels and made him flinch upon release, and the green, orange chicken scented cloud, was noticed by Chase. Zuma instantly blushed as he pictured Chase's reaction to farting in his car, but Chase wasn't bothered at all. He instead, decided to remind Zuma who he was riding with by lifting his leg and smirking as...
PHHHHHHHHHHT
...he hit Zuma with a five second fart, one that reeked of moldy vegetables and chicken, and surrounded a coughing and gagging Zuma with a green fart cloud. Despite that, Zuma couldn't help but laugh a few seconds after wafting the fart cloud away. He realized as soon as Chase farted that he was not only gassy himself, but he also loved farting and didn't mind others farting around him. And Chase started laughing with him a few seconds after that. He could tell that despite a couple moments from today, that it was a passing day in the eyes of Zuma.
Zuma and the others soon arrived home with Chase and Zuma hopping out of Chase's car as Chase rolled the windows up after clearing the air out. As the group went inside, Zuma couldn't help but gush over how amazing the food was. "Dudes, sewiously; I nevew thought Chinese food would ever taste that good."
"That's Mr. Porter's cooking for ya." Skye chimed in gleefully, and then she made a suggestion that she felt Zuma would be in favor for. "And maybe I can even look into getting some of those special pans he used so I can make that food at home too! I've always wanted to learn how to cook Chinese food."
Zuma liked the sound of that with Ryder speaking up about how Zuma's peanut allergy had little affect on their night. "See Zuma? Your allergy wasn't a setback at all tonight." Zuma was glad to hear that with Ryder assuring him of one more thing as the Chocolate Labrador smiled. "And we'll make absolute sure that you don't see it as a burden."
Zuma then remembered a question he had in mind and held out his Epi-pen that wondering how many times he could use it if he had to. "That weminds me. How many times can I use this with just one pen if I have to?"
"I asked Katie, and she said the kind you have can be used for about five to six doses per pen. It's pretty efficient." Ryder explained, leaving Zuma impressed as he pointed out one more thing with a sly grin. "Just don't go testing it now."
Zuma chuckled a bit while making absolutely sure not to, leaving Chase to assure Zuma of one more thing. "You'll adjust to this in no time Zuma. Peanuts to you, are what cat fur is to me. At first, it does seem like a setback. But once you adjust to it and learn to work around it, you become perfectly comfortable living with it." Zuma smiled in response to that and hi fived Chase, who was more than happy to accept. Little did the group know that a certain Doberman managed to hide himself under a box near the lookout, and he was revealed to be recording the conversation before he left.
The next day, Rocky and Zuma were at the beach with Rocky looking at the water anxiously, which Zuma quickly took notice to. He hoped he wouldn't say this the wrong way by asking about it. "You're not allewgic to watew, are you?"
"Thankfully, no. And it would be terrible if I was, since sixty percent of my body is water." Rocky revealed, leaving Zuma to nod in response as Rocky then explained why he was so anxious about water. "I almost drowned the day I left home. If this mysterious human didn't save me before vanishing, I probably would've died."
"Mystewious?" Zuma asked, and then he clarified what the question was about. "And I know what the word means."
"Got it." Rocky then explained what he meant by 'mysterious'. "I mean they patched me up and made sure I was still breathing, but I didn't get a look at their face. All I got was this note they left next to me." Rocky reached under his hat and pulled out a note, and when Zuma read it, it said 'Pay It Forward'. "I never did figure out what they meant by that. I hope it wasn't save someone from drowning, because I'm not a very good swimmer myself. And I don't wanna learn how anytime soon."
Rocky put the note back under his hat with Zuma smiling as he made Rocky an offer. "Maybe I could teach you sometime. My pawents did live on a beach after all. And if there's thwee things I leawned fwom them the yeaw they got taken fwom me in tewms of hobbies, it's dancing, music, and swimming."
Rocky liked the sound of that. He got the sense that Zuma would be a good swimming teacher. He hoped his smile didn't make that too obvious. "I'd like that. I mean, not because it's from you specifically; just that, it'd be best from someone I know. (Zuma laughs a bit) I don't know if I could ever take official swimming lessons."
While Rocky and Zuma were talking, Nicky, still having bruises on his face from when Zuma beat him up two days ago, was spying on them nearby and looked back at an ice cream truck that was behind him. He scoffed, knowing that if he intervened, it'd be too obvious that it was him. 'No, too easy. (Walks off) I'll exploit his allergy in a more ambiguous way later on."
Rocky and Zuma were heading up to the sidewalk as the two of them caught sight of the ice cream truck. The two nodded and instantly went over to it and looked at all of the options, and Zuma was ecstatic when he saw the sundae. It was huge, and he knew he wanted it. He then saw the peanuts and felt that he couldn't pick that option. "Dawn it, it's got peanuts on it. Guess that one's out."
Rocky was quick to point out that this wasn't the case. "Peanuts are just the preferred option. We can ask for any topping we want on this stuff."
Zuma was relieved to hear that with Rocky directing him to the toppings option, indicating that he would let Zuma decide. When Zuma got a good look at it, he found the coconut option to look rather appealing. He only hoped Rocky would like it too, assuming they were sharing. "Coconut sounds pwetty good. (Looks at Rocky with a cheeky grin) Befowe I thought that was just what they used to give moms their bweast feeding milk."
Rocky snickered at the joke and took his wallet out, getting the money needed as he made his order. "We'd like the Ice Cream Deluxe Sundae please. And we'd also like to substitute peanuts for coconut."
After receiving the money, the ice cream vendor instantly got to work on making the sundae. "Coming right up!" Rocky then took notice to Zuma smiling at the sight of the ice cream sundae as he looked at the picture on the truck. He couldn't help but laugh as he saw Zuma start to drool a little again. He had a feeling that until Zuma got used to good food, this was gonna be a running theme with him. Hey; as long as he didn't get it on his fur, he didn't mind.
Rocky and Zuma were chowing down on the sundae with Zuma loving the ice cream, and the coconut topping. He noticed that Rocky was liking it too, and was already aware that Rocky was a more proper eater than he was. Considering he was adopted by the likes of Richie and Mayor Goodway, he found it pretty easy to believe that. A question then entered his mind, one that he hoped Rocky wouldn't mind him asking. "So... do you mind if I ask about Nicky?"
Rocky didn't expect that, but he quickly saw Zuma's concerned look and felt it wouldn't hurt to let him know. After all, the incident where Zuma met Nicky was pretty intense. "I'm guessing it's about why we broke up." Zuma nodded his head yes, and then Rocky got to explaining. "I was thinking about doing it for a while. Nicky's pretty violent and doesn't usually think a lot, and I started to notice that about a month before we broke up." Zuma listened closely, and Rocky finished his statement with a sigh. "We broke up the day before I met you."
Zuma wasn't sure what to say to that. He'd never had a friend who's been broken up with before. He knew he had to be there for Rocky though, so he decided to wing it. "If he was willing to beat you up like I did two days ago, then I'd say you made the wight call."
Rocky was glad to hear that and nodded as he responded. "Definitely. And who knows what he would've done to you if you didn't know how to fight like that. I only refused to fight because I knew it would've made Chase's chances of convincing the authorities that he started the confrontation harder. Yeah he would've noticed instantly, but he still would've needed proof to justify it if we both got violent."
Zuma then went to ask another question, hoping he didn't make things harder for Rocky. Rocky, however, knew what it was gonna be, and beat him to the punch. "Thank you, by the way. For getting him off of me."
Zuma was surprised by the thank you, since it was in regards to beating someone up. After a few seconds, he smiled, knowing that Rocky was being genuine. "No pwoblem." Rocky and Zuma couldn't help smiling at each other. Despite the struggles Zuma had on the day they met, the two of them were still growing closer each and every day. The two friends then went back to happily eating their ice cream together as the screen faded to black, ending the episode off.
