I woke up about 05:00 in the morning the next day. I was tired, felt guilty, and horrible. Shiver was laying next to me, she was cuddling me very tightly. She must've felt bad for the night before, even though I was to blame. I didn't want to leave her grasp, but I knew I had to get up. I wriggled out of her strong grip and got out of bed. I put on my glasses and headed into the bathroom. I just looked at myself in the mirror for a minute. I was fully naked, and my fur was frizzy. I brushed it down a little, just so it didn't look like I was at a rave or something. Afterwards, I put on some clothes, just a bra, shirt, and pants, nothing crazy. I decided to head outside for a nice walk to just clear my mind from everything that had happened. I started thinking of my mom, who was living somewhere in Idaho. I've wanted to visit her for a while, but I never did because of my past. As I was walking, I ran into Butter, which was a very funny coincidence. "Hey Del!" He said to me. "Heya Butter, what are you doing in this neighborhood?" I asked. "I live around here. I'm assuming you do too?" He asked. "Yup, I've lived here since year 9." I said. "Oh nice, I've only been here about a month or two." He said. "Oh really? I've never seen you around before!" I said. "Anyway, how have you been?" "I've been good, I have the day off today so I'm enjoying the nice outdoors. What about you?" He said. "I'm okay, I feel pretty bad for something that happened last night though…" I said, a bit sad thinking about it. "What happened? If you don't mind me asking." He said. "Well, I didn't expect that we'd be researching as long as we did, and I only told my girlfriend I'd be gone for a bit." I said, sighing. "Aw, I'm sure she isn't mad," He said. "You might just have to talk to her about it, one to one. I'm sure she'll understand." "She uses they for other people, sorry for being that person but I had to say that." I said. "Oh! Okay! Well restating what I said before…" He started. "Aw, I'm sure they aren't mad, you might just have to talk to them about it, one to one. I'm sure they'll understand." "Yeah, I'm sure she will." I said. "Thanks Butter." I said before hugging him. He seemed taken aback by this, but he hugged me back. "You know.. You're so nice to me… Nobody has even been like this toward me before.." He said, tearing up. "Really? But how..? You're so nice.." I said. "Everyone just sees me as a pharmacy clerk.. Nobody ever asks how I'm doing.. Nobody stops to check if I'm okay.. They just see me as a normal pharmacy clerk. People will spit in my face because I didn't give them pills they wanted when we didn't even have them.. It's just so much.." He said, crying now. "Hey hey.. It's okay.. I'm always here for you.." I said still hugging him. "Thank you so much… You're the best… You know what.. Feel free to call me Kara.. It sounds less dumb than Butter anyway.." He stuttered. "Butter isn't a dumb name.. It's unique.. And I'll call you whatever you prefer me to.." I said. "Thanks so so much.. You're making me feel so happy… And call me Kara…" He said, crying on my shoulder. "I want you to feel like you matter Kara.. You're no different from anyone else just because you're a pharmacy clerk…" I said. "I can't thank you enough… You're my best friend… And my only friend…" He stuttered. "Well that's a title I'm glad to have.." I said…
9 hours later..
It was now about 14:00. Me and Shiver had talked things out, and she wasn't mad at all. I was in the backyard, building my treehouse I've wanted for ages. That's when Shiver called me from the back porch. "Oh honeyyy! You have a visitor!" She called. "Huh? Let them out here!" I said. " She obliged, opening the back door. It was none other than Kara. When I saw him, I ran over and hugged him. "Kara!" I said. "Delphox!" He said. I could see Shiver getting happy over us, now knowing how close we were. "How are you? Have you felt better since this morning?" I asked. "Yeah, I feel way better with you comforting me all day and in the morning." He said. "What about you?" "I'm good, just working on this treehouse I've been wanting to build." I said. "Ooh! Ooh! Can I help?" He asked excitedly. "Of course!" I said happily. "Yayyyy!" He cheered. After, we started building the treehouse, with two people the work went way faster. About 2 hours later, it was done. Me, Kara, and Shiver signed the ladder leading up there, just to show that we put in the effort. Afterwards, me and Kara went up there and started to mess around, we colored in coloring books on the desk inside and made paper airplanes and such, just like we were kids again. We were genuinely in there for so long that Shiver had to call us down to eat, like we were actually kids. "Kara! Delphox! It's dinner time!" She called. "Okay!" I said. "Coming!" Kara said. We both came down from the treehouse and headed inside, where Shiver had cooked us spaghetti. We both started digging in, with Shiver actually being shocked at us. "How the heck do you guys eat so fast?" She said in awe. "Who knows, maybe it's genetics." Kara said. "Well alright, you pokemon are way different from us cephalopods genetically anyway.." She said, "So Delphox, are you ready for the battle royale tomorrow?" "HUH!? IT'S TOMORROW?" I said, being shocked. "Yeah! They even explained more rules." She said. "Enlighten me." I asked. "Sure, it's a solo tournament, but people can team up into groups of at most four. Most weapons that are in Fortnite are used, but it's zero build. Anyone can revive their teammates, but if they are eliminated fully they drop a card you can use to reboot them! You have to get it within 30 seconds though. People can watch the entire tournament from any perspective too!" She explained. "Hm, well alright. I'm ready!" I said. "I'll be rooting for you guys!" Kara said. "Thanks Kara.. I hope me and Shiver win.. Maybe we'll find two others too.." I stuttered. After we ate, Kara decided to stay the night, sleeping in my spare room. I had a little trouble sleeping though, just thinking about the day that was to come…
Monday
I woke up early, and got dressed. I put on my coat and a sports bra, as well as some shorts. Shiver was up early too, as she needed to prepare. She wore her usual blue shaw, with her white sarashi wrap and tights. Kara had work, so he had to leave early. But he said that he would be back to watch us. As we drove to the academy, I saw the bus they were taking us in. It was a blue bus with a balloon on it. It said "Battle Bus" where the words school bus would usually be. Me and Shiver got in, before sighing. We all got these wristbands that showed us a map of the island and safe areas, as well as the remaining player count and our eliminations. As I looked at the map though, I got a cold sweat for the first time ever. It was the island I saw in my dreams.