Chapter 17: The truth.'

Freckle heard sobbing and followed it. It led to Ivy, who was crying in an empty, dark side room. The only light was the moon, which the window had a perfect view of.

Freckle silently approached her, and then sat down on the bed next to her. She quieted down a little bit.

"Hey. What's wrong?" He asked, softly.

She sniffed and uncovered her face.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?! I almost killed Rocky and Lackadaisy as well, that's what's wrong!" She yelled.

"What?! You did nothing! It was Rocky's own decision to do something stupid!" Freckle said.

"I yelled at him for one minute straight telling him that if he kept failing, he would lose his own job! How does that take no part in what he was doing?! He just wanted to prove his worth!" Ivy shot back.

Silence. More crying. Freckle pulled her closer to him. "Hey. Everyone makes mistakes. And that's ok. Heck, Rocky makes the most mistakes out of everybody, but he isn't that bothered by it, huh?" He chuckled, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

But he fell silent because he didn't actually know how Rocky felt about his mistakes. "I think it's because of Maniac. That insane joker might've done some good for Rocky after all." He narrowed his eyes. "I hope that mirror burns in the fire."

"But…do you think I can still fix the problems between us?" Ivy sniffed, getting a little hopeful. Freckle smiled at his friend's kindness.

"I don't think you need to, but if that's what you want, then I believe you can."

Ivy smiled back, the last of her tears making her eyes sparkle. "Thanks." She said softly.

"For what?" Freckle asked, confused. "For always believing and caring about me, silly! And being my friend other than Rocky. You might not know it, but you mean a lot to me, Freckle McMarry."

Freckle's cheeks flushed with pride. He blushed. The two spent most of the night together looking up at the night sky, leaning on each other, enjoying the other's company.***

Rocky waited in bed. Or at least tried to. It was taking Freckle a long time to come back, and just laying down, too hurt to get up was not one way Rocky wanted to celebrate getting Maniac back.

Of course he could sleep, but he had already passed out for two entire weeks and didn't feel like he needed more of it.

"He probably got too distracted by his snuggle-bunny." He thought, and smiled, laughing inside.

Rocky sunk deeper in the bed. Then suddenly, he remembered something. Something important.

"Mordecai's diary-letter!"

He wondered if Mizzi already knew how the black-and-white cat felt.

"When I get the chance, I'll tell Miss M about it." He determidly thought.

At that moment there was a knock at the door. Rocky looked up to see Ivy.

"Hi. I came here to say sorry." She said.

"Sorry? For what?"

"Don't you remember?! I was the one who drove you to think you needed to go to the Marigold's place! I shouldn't have said it so harsh. You mean a lot to me, Rocky. And I almost lost you."

Rocky was silent for a moment. "It was not your falt, Ivy. I can't let you say that. While it was upseting, somebody had to tell me! Otherwise, I wouldn't have known why Mizzi was so upset. Plus, I do need to be more careful. I've learned how presous life is. I won't always take it for granted next time. But I also learned that deep down, I can be more if I want to be. That I actally could get it right. So really, I should say…thank you, Ivy."

He gave her the sincerest of smiles. Ivy smiled back, and gave him a hug. A softer one. "Thank you for being my friend, Rocky." She wispered in his ear.

Rocky beemed. She really did think of him sometimes.

Then he relized everyone else was here. Once Ivy moved out of the way, Mizzi was already reaching for a hug while crying tears of relief. Wick took off his hat, and exhalled a big amount of air. Zib wiped away a single tear. Even Vector gave Rocky a small smile.

"Forget all I said, Rocky! You are staying here with us, you got that?!"

"Ok, ok. I got it." Rocky chuckled. Then he whispered, "Hey, do you know about Mordecai? I found out he-"

"Yes, Rocky. Yes I do. I heard from him. I kinda feel bad about the house, though. We'll have to figure out how to get him back. Freckle told us everything."

"Um, actually-"

"And I'm sorry about what happened. Try not to get yourself into so much trouble next time, honey."

Rocky grinned. "Can't promise it, but I'll try."

After all, he was Rocky. And he definitely was not like Maniac, but he still needed some kind of chaos in his life! And that chaos was named Rocky, and Lackadaisy. And it would always be that way.