Chapter 2
The alarm on my phone went off and I woke up from my slumber. I pressed the screen and rubbed my eyes and stretched my arms. As I did this, the memory from last night's events came back to me. But I also thought that it was all a dream. I pulled off the covers and silently stepped over to my living room. I peeked over at the direction of the couch. To my shock, Loona was still sleeping on the couch.
'Nope, it wasn't a dream.'
I ultimately decided to continue my morning routine, but do it as quietly as possible. In less than two seconds, I stepped back into my bedroom. I collected my day clothes, which consisted of a navy blue shirt, underwear and white cargo shorts. I went inside the bathroom, took a shower and changed. I dried and combed my long hair and shaved my face, except for my mustache. When all was said and done, I put the dirty clothes in the hamper and I went to the kitchen to cook breakfast.
Loona was still asleep, so I got everything out as quietly as I could. The meal I had planned was scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. I scrambled the eggs and poured them in the hot pan. The next order of business was to fry the bacon, so that's what I did. After a few minutes, the bacon sizzled and released a mouth-watering fragrance. I removed both foods from their respective pans and onto a couple of plates. I placed the plates on opposite ends of the table and I opened the fridge for the orange juice.
As I poured the juice into my glass, I saw Loona stretch her arms and yawn. She looked in my direction with a tired face. I looked at her with a similar expression and kept quiet for a moment. Loona then rose up from the couch and walked over to the table. She looked at the plate of food I had made for her.
"I made bacon and eggs this morning. I hope they're cooked to your liking," I said.
The hellhound didn't respond and pulled out her chair. I scooped up some scrambled eggs and chewed them in my mouth. Loona gobbled her food as if she were in an eating contest. I wasn't even halfway done and her plate looked almost empty. She picked both pieces of bacon and stuffed them inside her mouth. Last but not least, Loona grabbed her orange juice and chugged it down. After she placed her glass on the table, I looked down at my plate. There was a good chunk of eggs and I hadn't even touched the bacon.
"Was my cooking okay? Or were you just really hungry?" Loona didn't look like she wanted to answer, but did anyway.
"The eggs could've used more salt," she responded. I gave a puzzled look because the salt shaker was right in front of her.
"You could've grabbed the salt shaker," I said. Loona loudly grunted.
"I don't really want to talk to you right now." She still had a sour attitude with me.
I decided not to press any further, only shrugged and moved on. Loona went back to the couch and played with her phone. I finished my breakfast, collected all of the tableware and placed them in the sink. Once I rinsed them off, I walked in the direction of my office.
"If you need me, I'll be in my office." Just as I took another step, Loona groaned.
"The WIFI here sucks ass. I have to wait five minutes for my video to buffer." I backtracked and turned in her direction.
"That's the apartment WIFI, it's a little slow," I explained.
"If the internet is this fucking slow, then what am I supposed to do all day?"
I shrugged. "There's books, TV, playing cards…" I looked under the TV and saw the Nintendo Switch. "I also have video games if that tickles your interest."
Loona saw the console and immediately pulled it out and turned it on. Thirty seconds later, it booted up to the home screen and then Super Smash Bros. I walked off to my office and left Loona to her video games. Once the door was closed, I sat in my chair and turned on the typewriter. I slid a piece of paper inside and turned the knob in the position I wanted it. The next part was coming up with a scene in my head and describing it the best I can. My fingers started typing in a rhythm that matched my thinking speed. I typed a few sentences and…
"Yeah! Bowser, kick Luigi's ass!"
My train of thought got completely derailed after Loona's yell. It took me a few seconds to remember my thoughts, and then I went back to typing. Fortunately, there were only a couple of other times Loona yelled at the game. I didn't pay any attention to them, only focusing on my book. A couple of hours passed by and I had already completed four and a half pages.
I decided to rest my mind by watching meme compilations on YouTube. I took out my phone and clicked on a video from one of my go-to YouTube channels. The video didn't make me laugh, until I saw a clip of a guy falling and hitting the ground with a funny sound effect. It completely caught me off guard and I died of laughter. Not a moment later, Loona started to yell again.
"What the fuck?! That's so fucking unfair!" *Bang!* *Smash!*
The sounds that came afterward made my stomach drop. I swiftly opened my office door and ran to the living room. What I saw was what used to be my Switch. It was now a pile of the outer shell and circuit board, scattered around my living room. My mind was going through all five stages of grief at the same time.
'Keep it together, keep it together, keep it together.'
I slowly turned my head away from the debris field and right towards the hellhound. My right eyelid started to twitch and my arms did the same. Then my head started to feel hot from anger. I balled my fist, gripping until my knuckles were white.
"What the hell did you do?" I asked, trying to not lose my temper.
Loona shrugged. "I lost my shit, because the game was rigged."
"You mean to tell me that you destroyed MY Switch, because your game was rigged?" Loona nodded her head. "Do you know how much that cost me? Three hundred dollars, not including the games and accessories!"
"Eh, it's just a stupid game console, you'll live," she said unapologetically.
That comment, the name calling and the broken switch, finally made me snap. All of that pent up anger flowed to my head, making me feel like my head would explode. Then it happened…
"Oh? Just a stupid game console? How would you like it if I took your phone and flushed it down the toilet? I bet that would make you ecstatic, considering you didn't give a flying fuck about breaking my stuff. Not to mention your name calling and sour attitude the whole time you've been here. I'm trying to make your stay here much more enjoyable, but all you've been is a big sourpuss!"
Loona's eyes filled with rage. She lowered her body in a pouncing position, showing her fangs and sharp claws. The hellhound was like a predator about to kill its prey. This time, I wasn't scared of the threat in front of me.
'Come on, get it over with,' I thought as I accepted my fate.
Only, Loona didn't do what I expected. The hellhound closed her mouth and lowered her claws. Inside was a plethora of questions, the biggest being why Loona didn't maul me. The hellhound straightened her posture and sat back down on the couch. I let out a deep breath due to escaping imminent death. The room was so quiet, a pin drop could be heard. Loona looked at the floor, while I blankly stared into the abyss. A thousand emotions swept through me like a hurricane. I was thinking on what to do next, until I made the decision to let the heat of the moment die down. I pointed my eyes at Loona one last time, before entering my bedroom.
I lay down on my bed, trying to ignore everything that's happened. My mind kept making scenarios on how the altercation could've been avoided. Each scenario made me feel worse and worse every time. I always jump the gun when these kinds of interactions break out. One thing I absolutely despise about myself is losing my temper. Even though I had every right to be angry at Loona, it doesn't excuse my reaction one bit. At the moment, I feel really guilty, but apologizing is something I'm not good at. However, it's the right thing to do.
Before I knew it, I was back on my feet. A rush of anxiety pumped through my bloodstream as I put my back against the hallway wall. When I peeked over, Loona wasn't anywhere in sight.
'Oh no, I messed up again,' I thought.
On instinct, I grabbed my keys, shoes and light jacket. I rapidly fiddled with the doorknob and jogged down the apartment hallway and down the stairs.
In my head, thirty minutes have passed trying to look for Loona. The town I lived in wasn't very big, so it wasn't going to be like finding a needle in a haystack. It was mostly small shops, a gas station and a pizza parlor. But unlike most towns, ours had a college with some really bad students. Last year, there was a fight going on between two fraternities, however they acted more like gangs. It got so bad, the state police had to get involved. So yeah, the biggest concern I have is a bad college kid taking advantage of her. As I was about to pass an alley, a loud yell came from it.
"Get your hands off me, you son of a bitch!" The voice sounded like Loona's.
"Oh I'm not letting go, sweetheart. You're going to do as I say and like it!" a male voice said.
Upon hearing the commotion, I peeked around the corner and saw what was going on. There was a college kid who was twice the size of me, really buff and wore a red and white jacket. The other person was a human female that had the exact same clothes as Loona. The college kid gripped both of her arms while she flailed them around. I scanned around the alley for a weapon of some kind. Luckily, there was a lead pipe sitting against the wall. I picked it up and stood in front of the alley, looking like a cowboy about to take part in a showdown.
"Hey you, get your damn hands off her!" I yelled.
The college kid stopped what he was doing and looked in my direction. At first, he didn't have any expression, then laughed his ass off. Loona had a look of anger and surprise, but didn't say a word.
"Ha Ha Ha! You think that a small guy like you can take me down? My grandma can beat you up and she's dead!" I scrunched my eyebrows and gripped the pipe more.
"First off, that's very disrespectful to your grandma. Second, I'm only 5' 2" so I'm not that short. And three, yes I can take you down very easily."
The college kid grinned and let go of Loona. He then stretched out both arms and did a "bring it on" motion with his hands.
"Do it, pussy!" he yelled.
I held the pipe high above my head and ran towards him. The kid didn't even flinch and stood there in his pose. Loona turned her back and covered her face. Once I got close enough, I calculated the path of the pipe to my target. Then I quickly swung it like a golf club before he got a hold of it. The pipe went straight to every man's weak spot: the testicles. As soon as it made contact, his eyes widened to where they looked like they would pop out. Then he clutched his crotch and curled on the ground in pain.
"Never underestimate a smart person," I said.
Loona uncovered her face and saw the sight in front of her. Then she moved over to me and looked me in the eye. I turned them to the bridge of her nose, since eye contact makes me uncomfortable. Loona looked very different in her human form. In fact, you wouldn't even know she was a hellhound. Her hair was similar with it being shaved on the right side. The color of her iris was red instead of the sclera. The only thing that stayed the same was her height.
"Are you alright?" I asked sincerely. Loona brushed herself off and put a hand on her hip.
"I'm fine. But I have one question, why did you come back for me since I was a big sourpuss?"
I scratched the back of my head and tried to come up with an answer. A traffic jam of words tried to leave my mouth.
"Loona… I… I came to say I'm sorry for losing my temper earlier.'' The hellhound raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "I know I had every right to be upset, but I feel really bad because of how I reacted. You don't have to forgive me, but I'll forgive you for breaking my console and name calling."
The hellhound raised both eyebrows and moved her eyes left and right. Then her expression changed to a more guilty look. I could tell Loona was deep in thought for her response. She took a deep breath and responded.
"Listen, I'm not used to this, but I'm sorry for acting like a jerk earlier. I was still angry at you for summoning me without warning and I took it too far. But I realize that all you've shown me is kindness, even if I wasn't. Hell, you even let me stay in your home and beat up a guy twice your size, and that takes balls."
I snickered. "Yeah, more than that dude at the moment."
I pointed my thumb towards the kid on the ground. Loona had a hand over her mouth and closed her eyes. I could hear the giggles trying to exit, but she wouldn't allow it. She was like that for a few moments, then returned to her tough girl persona.
'Hey, I got her to giggle!'
"So, what now?" she said.
"Do you still want to come back to my place? I won't blame you if you don't want to."
"I'll stay at your place. Besides, your efforts at being a good host should be rewarded." she ruffled my hair and began walking back to the apartment. "Hey, there's still two and a half days left. Let's start over for the sake of it."
I warmed up to Loona's change of heart. Even though she's been a complete asshole to me, I welcomed the new her.
"You're right, let's go back with a positive attitude and enjoy whatever we can." The two of us left the alley and strolled on the concrete sidewalk, back to the apartment.
-Author's notes-
I bet you're wondering why Evan was so apologetic to Loona. Trust me, it will all make sense as the story progresses. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed chapter two. Don't be afraid to say your thoughts and have a good day.