PPX: Zuma's First Month
Episode fourteen: An Intervention With Positive Intention
During dinner on Zuma's eighteenth day of living in Adventure Bay, Ryder was telling the others about what he and Richie had planned. "So we've decided that it was best to hold an intervention for him here at the Lookout. Maybe that way, he'd be able to open up about what happened with Nicky."
Zuma swallowed the bite of meatloaf he was chewing on before asking Ryder a question. "What's an intewvention?"
"An intervention is where a group of friends come together, and act as sort of a confidence booster for another friend." Ryder explained, helping Zuma get up to speed about what they would be doing.
Zuma took another bite of his meatloaf before asking Chase something as he looked over to him. "Did you get anything like that Chase?"
"I mean... kind of." Chase admitted, still not being fully ready to talk about his problems. "It was back when I was five, like, right before Skye joined the team. So it felt more like Ryder and Richie comforting me during the years I was learning to make bonds with others." Chase finished off his mashed potatoes and decided to focus on the topic at hand. "Hopefully this will help Rocky in the same way they helped me."
"I'm sure it will." Skye assured Chase, only to then realize she didn't have a full grasp on what an intervention did. She got worried about one aspect and looked to Ryder for confirmation. "Is Nicky gonna be there?"
"Definitely not. The culprit coming would defeat the purpose of the intervention." Ryder assured Skye, knowing that Nicky would ruin the whole thing. Skye was relieved to hear that, knowing Rocky would be more scared to talk about it in front of him.
Zuma felt good about what was going to happen, feeling that it would be good for Rocky. "Maybe... I can finally help Wocky after this. I've been wanting to know what happened so I could."
Chase put a paw on Zuma's shoulder, knowing how much he wanted to help Rocky during this time. "That goes for all of us Zuma." Chase's compassionate smile made Zuma smile as well. It was clear how much this group of friends cared about each other.
At Mayor Goodway's house, Rocky was lying down in bed while looking at the texts in his phone. Even as the day was about to end, Nicky was still barraging his phone with texts. They weren't very nice texts either. They were full of gaslighting and hurtful messages like 'You know you'll come back to me eventually!' or 'Is ignoring me your latest 'stimming' project!?', among other things. Every text was another hurtful jab at Rocky in one of those two ways. It was clear to Rocky that Nicky was hellbent on convincing him to get back together with him.
Richie entered the room and noticed Rocky on his phone with a look of emotional pain in his eyes. He closed the door and went over to Rocky, who was so focused on the texts that he didn't notice him sitting down on the bed. "Let me guess. Nicky's going all out again."
"Yep." Rocky answered, barely managing to talk about this with how emotionally wrecked he was. "I only kept his number because I hoped we could still be friends. And I know Zuma does too. But is that really a good reason to keep this up?"
Richie felt that now was the best time to tell Rocky what he and Ryder had planned for him. Subtly, of course, so he wouldn't know right away. "Ya know, Ryder and I planned this group activity for all of us to do together at the Lookout. Do you think you'd be up for joining us?"
Rocky liked the sound of that and closed the texts when Richie brought it up. He then put his phone away and gave a weak, but noticeable smile. "That would be amazing."
"I knew you'd think so." Richie replied, letting Rocky know that he couldn't bring up the specifics. "The exact thing we're doing is a surprise though. So don't ask me on the way there."
"Got it." Richie rubbed Rocky's head, which made him smile a little more before the two lied down together. Richie was glad Rocky was on board for this group activity. He just hoped it would work.
The next day, which was day nineteen of Zuma's life in Adventure Bay, Rocky and Richie entered the Lookout together for that 'group activity' that the latter mentioned. When Rocky saw everyone in the living room with concerned looks however, he instantly caught on. He knew what this was about and started worrying about where this was going. "Oh crap; this is an intervention, isn't it."
"Yeah. It is." Richie confirmed, and then he knelt down to Rocky in the hopes that he would still be on board with this. "We all know how hard it is for you to think about this, let alone talk about it. And we also know you're much better at communicating intense thoughts like this in a group, so Ryder and I set this up to help you feel better about that."
Rocky got a good look at everyone and saw that they really did care about him. Ryder was sitting in one of the chairs with his hands cupped, with the other chair being occupied by Chase and Skye, who were equally concerned for him. Then he saw Zuma, who was sitting on the left end of the couch. He was also concerned for him, which Rocky already knew, but this made it much more obvious. Seeing how much his friends cared about him, he decided to go through with this, bracing himself for what was about to come up. "Okay. Let's do this."
Rocky went over to the couch and sat down next to Zuma, with Richie sitting down next to Rocky, and Zuma smiled to Rocky with support. Ryder started off the conversation, feeling he would be the best to do so. "I think it'd be best if I spoke first." Rocky looked at Ryder along with everyone else as he spoke up about how he felt regarding the situation. "I know this must be hard for you Rocky, but take it from me. The worst thing you can do to yourself involving this pain, is bottle it up for too long."
Rocky looked to Chase and was about to speak up before the German Shepherd did for him. "I go to Ryder whenever my own PTSD starts acting up. But that's not important right now. This is about you Rocky."
Rocky nodded in understanding, and then felt it was appropriate to ask Ryder what to do now. "So... what next?"
"Well to my knowledge, interventions start with everyone stating their thoughts on the situation. I think that'd be the best place to start." Ryder informed Rocky, and then he looked to Chase, feeling he would be the best to start off. "You can go first Chase."
"Thank you Ryder sir." Chase then looked to Rocky, showing how worried about him he was on the day he mentioned to Zuma. "I started having my suspicions about a month after you and Nicky started dating. What really tipped me... was what happened a week before Zuma came to Adventure Bay." Rocky remembered that day, and Chase hoped he wasn't hurting him as he brought this part up. "It's clear that Nicky's been hurting you Rocky. Believe it or not, I'm not hurt by the fact that you didn't wanna talk about it. I can totally understand this kind of feeling."
Rocky looked concerned for Chase as well, who kept the subject on his friend. "Like I said. This is about you. About how much we care." Chase then looked to Skye, feeling she would be the best to go next, so Zuma could be saved for last. "I think I've said my piece. You can go next Skye."
"Okay." Skye replied, looking to Rocky as she expressed how concerned she was for him. "At first, I thought you looking down about your relationship with Nicky was just you overthinking how you were doing as a boyfriend. That's why I started giving you advice on how to work on that." Rocky did appreciate Skye's effort to help, but Skye saw now that her efforts were doing anything but that. "Eventually, I realized how wrong I was. I'm sorry I didn't realize how hurt you were sooner."
Rocky could see just how much everyone wanted to help him, and Richie then assured them that he didn't need to take a turn. "Rocky's talked to me plenty about it already." He then looked to Zuma to see if he wanted to get anything off his chest. "You can take your turn Zuma."
Zuma looked to Rocky, and his concern and fear for him was clear. All Zuma could think about was how hurt Rocky was by Nicky. "I wasn't here when you were with Nicky. So I didn't know how sewious it was. I just... thought you felt you'd be better off as fwiends than lovews." Rocky already figured that part out. Zuma's pure intentions were clear to him. "But after I leawned more about this, and the fact that you came to the Lookout with a black eye at one point... I stawted seeing what actually happened."
Rocky was about to speak up, only for Zuma to keep talking and express his own remorse in the situation. "I stawted thinking that I was one of the canines huwting you. I thought that by convincing you and the othews to keep hanging out with Nicky, I was just making life hawder for you." Rocky felt awful for Zuma when he told him about those thoughts. The last thing he wanted was for him to blame himself. "I don't want you to tell me whether it's my fault or not. At least not yet. I just want to know what Nicky did to you when you two were dating."
"I guess I don't have much of a choice now." Rocky responded somberly, despite knowing everyone was just trying to help him. He started from the beginning of his relationship with Nicky. And thankfully, Richie was right about it being easier for him to talk about when he was in a group. "It started on Valentine's Day of this year. Nicky and I had already known each other for a couple days by that point, and Nicky asked me to be his boyfriend before the night was over. I'd never been in a relationship before, so I said yes. And that might've been the biggest mistake of my life so far."
The other pups let Rocky continue talking, and he looked back on the first moment Nicky started showing his abusive side. "About a week after we started dating... I was on the beach with him and Richie, and he discovered my fear of swimming."
Rocky then had a flashback to this day, and it played the same way it did when he sang his duet with Zuma. This time, we heard what Nicky said after he splashed Rocky while reading his book. "Well you're not gonna get over your fear just by sitting here!" Despite how clearly scared Rocky was, Nicky pointed out to the water and made it clear how embarrassed this made him. "How am I supposed to have a romantic swim if my boyfriend won't get his wimpy butt into the water!?"
Rocky was clearly hurt by these words, and Richie stepped in, since he was the only other one around. "Stand down Nicky. If he doesn't wanna go in, then he doesn't have to."
Nicky saw Richie's stern look and backed off, showing that he was very afraid of the human/demon hybrid. "Hey, come on Richie; I was just kidding! I know Rocky struggles at telling jokes sometimes, but surely he can tell what over the top humor is!" Richie raised an eyebrow with Rocky going back to his book to avoid crying over Nicky's words.
The flashback ended with Zuma being furious with Nicky, even more angry than everyone else was at that moment. "I can't believe he would tweat your fear like that! Did he even know you almost dwowned once before you came to Adventuwe Bay?"
"I told him about it right before he splashed me." Rocky confirmed, and then he said something else about the memory that enraged Zuma even more. "Later that day, when Richie wasn't looking, he... slapped me. It wasn't very hard, but I still felt it. And when I looked at him, he told me to... grow some balls."
Zuma couldn't believe what was coming out of Rocky's mouth. Nicky knew why Rocky was scared of swimming, and he still chastised him for it. It just made his blood boil! "What the heck is his pwoblem!?" Zuma's outburst shocked everyone in the room, but Zuma kept going as he hopped off of the couch and started pacing back and forth. "He knew why you hated swimming, and then he accuses you of having no balls as if you somehow lost the ones you were bown with! How can someone live with themselves after doing something like that!?"
"Calm down Zuma!" Ryder chimed in, making sure not to be too loud, or too harsh. He knew why Zuma was doing this, but he also knew they had to focus on Rocky. Zuma calmed down after Ryder spoke up, giving him time to speak. "You have every right to be angry about this. We all are. But we should avoid letting it out too much in Rocky's time of need."
Zuma got that and lowered his head before sitting back down next to Rocky. Rocky understood his outburst, but Zuma still felt bad for it. "Sowwy. I just... I can't believe he did that."
"I know. It's shocking." Rocky then continued talking, feeling that this would be a good time to talk about the second memory he had on his mind. "Most of what he did was in private, so no one else could really have the best idea." This one was a little harder for him to talk about, since it involved his passion. "You know how a lot of the time when I'm inventing something, I'm so in the zone that I don't make eye contact that much?"
"Yeah, I did notice that." Zuma admitted, knowing that Rocky wasn't doing it to be mean. "I never thought you were being wude if that's what you're wowwied about."
"That's good. It's hard for me to tell sometimes." Rocky admitted, and then he talked about what this second memory was about. "You said Chase brought up the fact that I came to the Lookout with a black eye one time?" Zuma nodded his head yes, and Rocky then talked about what day that was. "That was back in late March. After plenty of moments where he hurt me as well. I was inventing in mine and Richie's room, and Nicky was in there with me. We were alone, because Richie was on patrol with Ryder, and Diane had mayor duties to attend to."
Rocky had another flashback, this one involving him working on an invention while alone in his room with Nicky. Nicky was getting impatient and walked up to Rocky to urge him to hurry up. "You've been at this for three minutes now Rocky! I wanna do something fun!"
"I've almost reached a point when I can take a break." Rocky assured Nicky, who got even more annoyed by the lack of eye contact Rocky was making with him. "I just have to connect this wire so it remains stable..." Rocky connected the wire, only for Nicky to punch him in the eye his patch spot was on. This caused him to fall out of the chair, "Ow!" and then he felt his eye as he complained to Nicky about it. "Nicky; what the heck!?"
Nicky forced Rocky to stand up by grabbing his pelt, looking him in the eyes as he reminded him of one of the 'rules' he set for him. "I've told you before Rocky! Look at me when I'm talking to you!"
"I-I-I'm sorry Nicky; you know I can't help it!" Rocky reminded Nicky in fear, but before Rocky could speak more, Nicky stopped him.
"Well LEARN to help it!" Nicky shouted, and then he threw Rocky onto the bed and took out a pair of shades from the drawer. "Put these on. We're going to see your friends." Nicky threw the shades at Rocky, who caught them and fearfully put them on. "If any of them ask, you got that from hitting the desk. Got it?" Rocky whimpered while nodding his head yes, and Nicky grabbed him and walked off with him. "Good!"
The flashback ended, and Zuma started to see just how awful Nicky really was. It made him feel awful for convincing Rocky to let him stay in their friend group. Chase then spoke up, remembering that day like it was yesterday. "I remember when your shades fell off that day." Chase flashed back to that moment of Chase and Skye showing immense concern and Rocky lying while smiling nervously. "That was the excuse you made for Nicky." Skye put ice on Rocky's eye right before Chase finished what he had to say. "I should've figured that out sooner."
Rocky got why Chase thought that, since being a cop, he had detective skills. Still; he knew he wasn't to blame for this. "You couldn't have known Chase. Nicky's poker face is spot on when he tries."
Zuma then became curious about why Rocky avoided eye contact whenever he started inventing, and why that would set Nicky off. "Why can't you help focusing so hawd on your inventions? (Rocky looks at Zuma) If you don't mind me asking."
"Well..." Rocky started, not sure how to explain this, since it's obvious that his answer was something Zuma doesn't know about yet. "I don't know if you've already figured it out, which I doubt is the case, since you just asked me about it." Zuma was listening closely, letting Rocky tell him what he had to say. "But soon after I arrived in Adventure Bay, we all discovered that I have Autism."
Zuma's eyebrow raise and confused bark made it clear to Rocky that he was right. Thankfully, he didn't mind explaining it to Zuma. "It's a developmental disorder that makes my brain work, kind of differently from yours. It makes me more sensitive to things that others would be more okay with, like too many loud noises at once and as you already know, my distaste for getting wet." Zuma definitely found this information to be helpful. "Those with Autisim also tend to stim over their primary interests. For me, inventing is one of the biggest, if not THE biggest."
"Then why was it such a big deal for Nicky?" Zuma asked, feeling that Nicky would've known this by now. "Was he weally that much of an attention hog?"
"Yep. He was. And the way he behaved at my last birthday party confirmed it." Rocky answered guiltily, showing that he felt responsible for why this next one took place. "Chase and Skye had already been trying to convince me to break up with Nicky for at least two weeks before then. I couldn't though. And he made his true colors clear on that day when I was stressing over punch getting spilled on me." Rocky then realized he should clarify why that was the case. "Liquids that stain or get stuck in my fur trigger me a lot more than water does because it sticks."
The next flashback began, and a shellshocked Rocky was begging Richie to finish drying him off as quickly as possible during an Autistic meltdown. "I can feel it all over my fur Richie! Please hurry!"
"I'm doing the best I can Rocky." Richie assured Rocky, knowing how scary this must be for him. "I've never cleaned punch off of someone before."
Nicky scoffed as he walked over to Rocky with a new cup of punch. "It's just punch Rocky. It's not like you got sprayed with canine blood or anything."
Richie tried to keep Rocky okay after his feelings were hurt again. As Nicky drank from his punch, Chase put a paw on Nicky's shoulder as he and Skye arrived at the scene. "Maybe instead of comparing this to something more scary, you should apologize to your boyfriend for spilling punch on him!"
Ryder arrived next, reminding Nicky of Rocky's trauma. "You know he almost died from drowning once Nicky. This isn't the way to get him over that either."
"Well it's better than what any of you are doing!" Nicky chimed in, trying to make himself look like the good guy, which caught the attention of the other party guests. "And as Chase mentioned, he's MY boyfriend! I can treat him however I like, and I'm sick of him freaking out over water all the time!"
Skye then stepped in, finding Nicky's behavior to be utterly disgusting. "That's not what Chase was getting at Nicky! Rocky deserves respect just like the rest of us!"
Nicky splashed punch into Skye's face and shoved her to the ground, shocking everyone else as with Nicky then taunting the Cockapoo. "You gonna throw a tantrum now too?"
"It's NOT a tantrum!" Rocky snapped, leaving Nicky to throw his glass at Rocky. He thankfully ducked just in time, but he was still shocked that it happened.
Skye got back up after recovering from the shove, and Chase grabbed Nicky's chest and clenched his teeth as he got ready to fight back. "Give me ONE good reason not to throw you out the window!"
Rocky held his paw up, ceasing Chase's anger, and walked up to Nicky. He looked him dead in the eyes and made his request very clear. "Leave this party, and don't talk to me, for the rest of the night."
Nicky looked at Chase and then back at Rocky, making another case of a frequent accusation he made. "Oh, I get it! Now that Chase is standing up for you, your wimpy butt decided to grow some balls?"
"CHASE AND I WERE NEVER IN LOVE!" Rocky snapped, and Chase then started pulling Nicky out of the Lookout as he tried to break free. Skye went over to Rocky and put a paw on his shoulder, comforting him during this time. Rocky then checked to make sure she was okay too. "Are you okay Skye?"
"I'm fine. I should be asking you that question." Skye answered, knowing how hard this must be for Rocky. "At least... now that I finally saw it in person." Rocky put a paw on Skye's shoulder for comfort as well. He knew this wasn't her fault, or anyone else's fault. Only Nicky's.
The flashback ended, and Zuma was distraught, leaving Rocky to explain the rest of what went down with his relationship with Nicky. "I broke up with him three days later, right before we met you Zuma. He was sitting outside of the apartment complex he lives in, and he tried to guilt trip me for what happened." Rocky then expressed anger at Nicky, showing this to be his breaking point. "I told him we were done. I was tired of being his doormat and-" Rocky then saw something that surprised him. Instead of him... Zuma was the one crying. "Zuma. What's wrong?"
Zuma, now having full context of what Rocky went through with Nicky, had tears streaming down his cheeks as he answered Rocky's question. "I'm so sowwy!"
Zuma kept crying as everyone was left surprised by what he just said. What could Zuma be apologizing for? It's not like HE did what Nicky did. "Sorry for what? You've been an amazing friend since we met."
"No I haven't." Zuma objected, sniffling as he spoke about what was eating him up inside. "I convinced you guys to keep Nicky awound because I thought that's what you wanted. But all I've done is make your life a living nightmawe, just like I was wowwied about fwom the stawt!"
Rocky saw just how badly this was hurting Zuma and didn't want him to blame himself for any of this. It actually caused him to tear up a little thinking about all that's been happening lately. "You didn't know about any of that stuff Zuma. At the time, it probably looked to you like Nicky was an ex-boyfriend with anger issues." Rocky started wiping Zuma's tears as he reminded him of how much light he's brought into his life. "You've made me smile every day since you arrived. From your music, to your energy, to your smile... to even hearing your name."
Zuma moved Rocky's paws, hoping he meant what he was saying there. "Do you... do you weally mean that?" Rocky nodded his head yes, showing Zuma that he was serious about this. Zuma didn't get it though. He thought Rocky would hate him. "Why?" Rocky's smile faded as Zuma looked at him, genuinely questioning why he was being so kind to him. "I pwactically towtured you! You have every wight to be mad at me." Zuma put his paws on Rocky's shoulders as he asked his question again. "Why awen't you?"
Rocky looked at Zuma with sincere compassion as he assured him that he would never be mad at him for something like this. "This wasn't your fault Zuma. None of it was." Zuma let Rocky speak as he told him how seriously messed up this got. "You had no idea about any of this stuff when you and I first met. I should've told you beforehand that what happened with me and Nicky wasn't a one time thing." Zuma was surprised by that, but for a different reason than expected. "I should've been honest with all of you. You're my friends. That's what you're here for."
Zuma hugged Rocky, surprising him, but letting him know that he wasn't to blame for this either. "It's not your fault eithew." Zuma's crying made it obvious how much Rocky meant to him. "It's not your fault that you were scawed; it's not your fault Nicky huwt you; and it's not your fault you couldn't talk about it. None of that will ever be your fault."
Rocky's eyes told him that he was finally hearing what he needed to hear: Confirmation that he wasn't to blame. "You don't desewve any of the blame for this. The only thing you need wight now, is help." What Zuma said next told Rocky that he and Zuma would be bonded for life. "And I won't stop at anything to give it to you, even if I die."
Zuma's words of compassion and a genuine desire to help led to Rocky finally doing something he's needed to do for weeks now: Cry. At first, this worried Zuma. But Rocky then hugged him back and smiled as he made it clear that he needed to hear that. "Thank you." Rocky and Zuma continued to embrace with Chase starting to get emotional from how intense this was getting. When Skye noticed, Chase flinched and wiped his tears to try and hide it. It didn't work however, and she hugged him as well to help him. Ryder also rubbed his head for comfort.
Richie rubbed Rocky's head, assuring him that he would never be alone. "What Zuma says goes for me as well Rocky. If you ever need time to talk about what happened with Nicky, just let me know, and I'll be right there."
Rocky nodded his head in response, ecstatic that he had such amazing friends in his life. "Okay. Thank you Richie." Rocky continued to embrace Zuma for a bit as he looked at everyone else in the room.
This experience has been eye opening for Rocky. It was the reminder he needed that he deserved better than Nicky. He knew he could find someone who loved him as much as he loved them. The loyalty, kindness, and honesty all of them showed made it clear how much they mattered to him. Then he looked back at Zuma while still hugging him. He saw just how much Zuma wanted to help him, despite only knowing him for less than three weeks. He'd given him so much more care in that time than Nicky ever did to him in the near three months they dated for.
Rocky pulled Zuma away, looking at everyone once again as he thanked them all for this intervention. "Thanks you guys. All of you." Everyone else smiled and joined Rocky and Zuma for a group hug. Rocky was at first startled by how quickly it came up, but he instantly changed to being happy and feeling the warmth of his friends. And at this moment, that was what he needed more than anything else in the world.
After another day of fun, Rocky and Zuma were saying goodbye to one another before Richie took the former back home with him. Zuma was glad to see that Rocky was feeling better, but wanted to make absolute sure he was okay. "You're okay, wight? You awen't still huwting from what Nicky did?"
Rocky waited for a bit, and while he still needed time to recover, he knew he'd get there. "I'll get there one day. Not that this didn't help of course; recovery just takes time."
Zuma understood that, and thankfully, he already had an idea on how he could help with that. "Maybe you can bwing more of your inventions to the Lookout, and maybe even stawt inventing here too!" Rocky didn't expect that offer, especially with how fast Zuma made it. "You love showing ME your inventions. Why not bwing your love for science and engineewing into our fwiends lives too?"
Rocky loved the sound of that, and Ryder was quick to encourage the idea. "That's a great idea Zuma! Actually, I've been thinking of adding a training room to the Lookout for a while." Ryder looked at Rocky with a confident smile. "Is that something you'd be up for helping me with Rocky?"
Rocky looked up at Richie, who nodded his head yes while smiling. The thought of bringing his interests into the other pups lives sounded astounding to him. "I'd love it! When do I start!?"
"Well first, I have to make the blueprints." Ryder informed Rocky, and as he filled him in some more, Richie gave a thumbs up to Zuma, who smiled and gave one back with a wink. "Once they're in order, I'll call you so we can get started."
"Sounds phenomenal. I'll be there!" Rocky assured Ryder, who was incredibly happy to hear that. Not just because he'd finally get to add in a training room, but because Rocky was also willing to demonstrate his passions outside of Mayor Goodway's house. Rocky then looked at Zuma and gave him a smile. "See you tomorrow then Zuma?"
"Same time as always." Zuma assured Rocky, being ready to see him and Ryder working on the training room when the blueprints were figured out. He was also happy to see that Rocky was willing to express his love for inventing outside of his own home. He knew that must've been a hard decision to make with how Nicky's treated him over it before.
Later that night, Rocky was lying down in Richie's bed as he looked over the dozens of texts Nicky barraged him with that day. This time, he wasn't looking at them with any form of sadness or contempt. Now, he was looking at them in pure rage as he typed up the harshest text he'd ever thought of. It read as followed.
"I'm not doing this anymore Nicky. The way you treated me when we were dating damaged my mental state significantly. And the way you've been treating Zuma since you started hanging out with us as 'friends', if we could even classify as friends to you, made me even more sick to my stomach. You can try to guilt trip me, or insult me, or do anything you think will make me come back to you. It's not gonna happen. The way you've been treating me and my friends is proof that you aren't willing to move on. And I can't help you if you don't want it.
Maybe someday, I can forgive you, and we can be genuine friends. But until you move on from me romantically, and get help, I can't trust you around me, or any of my friends. I can't do this anymore Nicky. I need to move on, and so do you. My friends have supported me much more than you have. And I'm not gonna let you drag me down anymore.
Sincerely, Rocky Goodway."
Rocky sent the text and felt a huge weight being lifted off of his shoulders as he then blocked Nicky's number. He had a hopeful smile, and felt even better about what the future held for him. Despite what he was dealing with for the past three months now regarding Nicky, he felt he was in a better place now, with friends who truly cared about him.
Meanwhile, in Nicky's apartment, he'd received Rocky's text and found himself unable to reply to what he said. He was furious as he read through the text. It was shown in a low-key manner at first with him nodding in response, only for him to then put his phone away and throw a lamp across the room. After he did, he looked out the window and over at the Lookout, since it was in his view. His anger was unlike anything he'd ever felt before, and he made it clear who it was aimed at. Not as Rocky, but at a certain friend he made during his time here. "Zuma."
Nicky opened up his bed table drawer took out his notebook, opening it up to a page that showed the ways he wanted to take out Zuma. He had plenty of methods from choking him to death to drowning him in Adventure Bay Beach, but he didn't think any of these would work anymore. No. He needed something that would truly make Rocky suffer. And he started drawing it out on his earliest empty page. He made sure to iron out any details that he knew needed working on.
When Nicky was finished with what he was drawing, he got a good look at it and smiled in response. It was clear that he was happy with this plan judging by how he started talking after he finished observing it. "Just you wait until I get my paws on you Zuma." The plan was revealed to show Zuma tied up to a chair with someone ready to kill him. "You'll find out first palm what happens when someone steals Rocky from me." Feeling proud of this scheme, Nicky went to sleep to get some energy as the screen faded to black, ending the episode off.
