I don't own Loonatics Unleashed
Enjoy!
The moment Lexi and Andrea turned a corner, Lexi felt her arm being grabbed as she turned and looked at her friend. "Did you see that?" Andrea asked as her eyes shined with glee as if she had witnessed the greatest rodeo of her generation. "Did you just see that?!"
Lexi knew real well what she was talking about. If she was to answer, she was never going to hear the end of it. "See what?" she asked her. It was better to play it off cool and collected rather than jumping up and down like a high school girl. Those days were over and she considered herself to be a mature woman, though she tried not to smile when she saw Andrea's excitement.
Andrea's smile faltered at Lexi's question. "Are you being serious?" she asked as she looked at the blonde. "Girl, did you see the way he has lookin' at you? That rabbit could charm the dew right off the honeysuckle!" she squeezed the notebooks against her chest and had a faraway dreamy look at the thought of the rabbit. "Oh, to be single again."
If Lexi was correct, Andrea was more excited about that whole introduction than she was or was it the fact that her friend could have potentially found someone to be with. Lexi didn't want to think about it that far. She barely knew the guy and here was her friend making it seem like this was their one-year anniversary of being together. "Alright, calm down," Lexi said to her. "I'm sure that after this meeting, he has completely forgotten about us."
Andrea stumbled over her words as she tried to speak. "But—But Lexi, he was—"
"He was nothing," Lexi interrupted her, "he's circled by a group of people that have more money and can afford to look pretty. I don't. I'm just a broke college student trying to get into the cheerleading team. How boring can you get then that?"
Andrea glared at her. "Hold your horses! First of all, you're as pretty as a peach. Second of all, hush your mouth. Ya'll may not but you have potential! And third of all…" she paused for a second, thinking if she should say this to her. She had known Lexi for almost five years now and after such a long time, she knew that Lexi just wanted the best for herself. "And I'm saying this as a friend to you, stop bein' so hard on yourself. You need to treat yourself with the respect that you deserve. I know that it took a lot for you to get this far but I never want to see my best friend like she was two years ago. Ya hear?"
It wasn't that Lexi was doing it intentionally. She was just stating the truth. The level of confidence that she once had, had diminished due to cause of an unfortunate event. Even though it had been two years, she had tried to change and when she thought that she had finally succeeded, she could feel herself falling back into it. This 'fake it till you make it' was not working well for her. Lexi didn't say anything to Andrea but only nodded her head. She knew that she was being immature but there was nothing else that she could say.
Andrea's features softened as she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Lexi. She had been the one present and there for Lexi those two years ago and she knew how hard it had been for her to get through it. She wrapped her arms around the blonde and hugged her tightly. "I miss him too," she said. After what seemed like a long moment, Lexi and Andrea released from their hug. "Do you want me to walk you home?"
"No," Lexi shook her head and mustered up a smile. "I'm just going for a walk before heading home. Clear my mind before practicing some cheerleading."
"Alright," Andrea nodded her head, "call if you need anything. Love you, hon." With those words, both rabbits parted ways as Andrea took her route to the right of the city.
Lexi stood at her spot for a couple of seconds and then headed a different direction. Instead of going straight, she turned to the left and walked down to the other side of town. She had always been down this part of town. It was the only place where she could be alone and with him. Keeping her eyes on the pavement, she suddenly looked up when she came upon a gated door. Seeing that it was open, she didn't hesitate and walked inside where she was met by a series of tombstones that were symmetrically set one right after the other.
She knew which one she was looking and didn't waste any time. The moment she reached it, she knelt in front of the tombstone and looked at the name that was carved on it. 'Tyler Bunny 2746 – 2770.' She couldn't believe that two years had flown so quickly and with each passing day, she felt that she had never healed after hearing about her brother's death.
She remembered where she was that day. At home, senior year of high school when they got a call from the police station. The only words that she heard, since she was studying for a test, were 'yes officer?' and her mother wailing after hearing of her son's car accident. After the funeral, she neglected everything. She neglected her schoolwork and struggled just to make it through, her hobbies, her parents, whom she was glad that they did everything to keep her close, her friends, and herself. Out of all those friends, she was glad that Andrea had been the one to stay by her side. A true friend indeed. During those two years where she struggled, she tried as much as she could to get out of it. Her brother's words 'you have potential' always came in her mind and she tried her best to at least make him as proud as she could. She knew that would see him one day, but she was going to have to wait.
Taking a deep breath, she reached inside her backpack and pulled out a little stuffed rabbit. It was one of those infant toys where it was passed down from generation to generation. She didn't know how old this toy was, aside from the fact that it had a button for an eye. She placed it right next to a burnt-out candle and watched as the toy slowly tipped to the side and rested its head against the candle. "I miss you everyday Champ," Lexi called him by his nickname as she kissed the tips of her fingers and placed them on top of the tombstone. "You'd be happy to hear that things have been going well. Doing great in school and will try out for the cheerleading team. Just wish you were here to see it."
Don't cry Lexi scolded herself as she felt the side of her eyes beginning to sting from the tears that threatened to fall. She quickly got up from the ground and giving the tombstone one last smile she turned on her heel and walked down the path.
Coming here, no matter how she felt, always gave her the feeling as if tension had been lifted off her shoulders. She felt calm and at ease. Just as she was about to head out, her eyes caught sight of a duck who was cleaning the area of two tombstones that he was visiting. She didn't know whom this duck was but she had seen him every once in a while whenever she stopped by.
Poor guy she thought as she lowered her eyes to the ground and headed on her way home.
