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In Our Dreams

Chapter 14: We're All A Little Quirky

Summary:

For when you have friends who are all a bit strange...

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

We're All A Little Quirky


"But no-one came here to live an ordinary life. Despite what our somnambulistic, mythless society tells us — a place stuffed to the gilders with unawake, unthinking folk ruled by shoulds, oughts and have-tos; people who have no deepened understanding of themselves; individuals too afraid to acknowledge, let alone live their dreams — you came here to weave your unique essence and vision into the world, thus rendering it magnificent, both for yourself and others."

― Thea Euryphaessa, Running Into Myself


A sliver of golden sunlight cascaded down onto the granite table where Judy instinctively moved her paw for warmth. Though her gaze was cast forward through the protective shielding of eye-wear, she couldn't have been paying any less attention to the lesson, so she drummed her fingers as she thought.

*tap tap tap tap*

Come on, Judy... figure this out. There's always a way to solve a problem. You've got to make this world a better place.

"All right, class. You know your assignments and have your lab partners. Each of you has ten minutes to complete the project and record your results." The voice of her teacher, an okapi that went by the name of William Nye, rang out from behind his desk.

*tap tap tap*

I know Jack already said no, but June's fine with it... then again there's Jasmine and Jada... mom and dad. Well, Jemeny, too... but he's just... Jemeny. Ugh, Jamie too.

The simple rhythm helped her straighten out a few things and hopefully find some solution amidst the chaos that was her inner turmoil. Though... her amethyst eyes still trailed across the room to the row of adjacent desks; red fur absorbed her field of view while she stared deep in thought.

There, Nick sat with his lab partner for the remainder of the quarter, a tired looking possum that had beforehand been in a group of three. The fox idly swished his fluffy red tail, nodding along with the instructions and talking with the marsupial about how to handle their task.

And though Sharla was the only other mammal that paid any attention to the fox - she was seated at the table in front of Judy, glancing at him from over her shoulder, cautiously keeping herself a few precious inches away like he was infested with the plague - Judy was glad that the rest of the class had moved on from the whole 'there's a new fox in town' vibe that they had earlier in the week.

Still, she took a deep, wistful breath. With the daunting task ahead of her, having him as her lab partner would've been ideal so she could get a bit more insight to him outside of lunch and her other classes. Even further, she was thankful that this was a class that she and Jack didn't share. Although... with her lab partner, it wasn't an exact reprieve.

"Burner's started. Let's get this project going, should be easy enough."

Somewhat startled as a paw reeled back from the aforementioned burner before them, Judy huffed. If it wasn't for the only bunny who was required to be her partner due to fire safety issues, then she wouldn't have been able to have this class with Nick to begin with.

Well... having chemistry with Jack could be worse, she surmised. Though he was constantly near her, he had opted to take a different class as to not have to worry about her constant mishaps around fire. Then again... he is in his drivers-ed class, so it's fair game.

Taking her eyes away for a second to start the experiment, but never straying her thoughts, the doe complied. The assignment was simple: mix a few compounds and record results like most other times. She had read over what they'd be making today and began to file out the chemicals to her left. Drawing lines with her carrot pen over a new section to start comparisons, she idled her thoughts once more.

Compared to getting Nick to be around my family, mixing compounds are easy. And she didn't doubt it. With all the elements that could pour into a beacon to change into something else, rabbits and foxes just didn't get along. Her mind wandered back to the days that Gideon was still their classmate and furthermore - even before the whole garden incident - the very day that he attacked her and Jack.

Sure it hurt, she still had her scars and Jack had it worse from the mauling, but that was years ago. Over time she got a better understanding and tried her best to see the good in everyone. However, that didn't mean that everyone in her family did. There was her aunt Barbara - often called Babs by her mother - who was zealous about how preds didn't belong in 'Bunnyburrow' as it was even in the name. She still had to get along with the folk there, but foxes were a no go, period. And just as fixated on the fact that foxes were fiends, was Pop-Pop. He loved his family, but often told stories of the olden days and about how foxes got their red fur.

Grasping the little vial of the first element and uncapping it, Judy mulled over possibilities.

How do I tell them that Nick's a fox  and have him over for dinner without causing a riot? Mom and dad might be alright as they're often around Ms. Sunny and Deputy Eliot. But Aunt Barbara would flip! Pop-Pop would think he's the devil.

Though her actual 'due date' was a few weeks away leading up to the summer, it was still unnerving. Just on Tuesday, when she had come back in from talking with Nick, she had to stop Eliot from saying that he was a fox as Bonnie had been thrilled to hear of such a mammal enjoying their time in the burrows. Not that she minded, but with Nick's family soon to arrive in the next few weeks, she had been thinking of various ways to get Nick around her folks to lessen the surprise, but every idea just ended up bad. She didn't know how Nick would react, or what he'd do around them, and that possibility gnawed at her.

What do I really know about Nick? I mean, he's trying to fit in, and he's nice but I only hung around him outside of school once. He prefers vegetarian dishes from the lunches we've had, and his family's out in Zootopia still, but that's about all I really know about him.

"Magnesium."

Thoughts a blur, she never turned her eyes away from the fox. Judy reached over to the chemicals laid out for their experiment without much care as she tried to piece together Nick and all that she really knew about him.

There has to be some way to get to know him better and show everyone that he's not the fox they think he isBut how do I get to that step without anyone knowing? Well... anyone else, the whole school knows by now and-

Hinging on the fact that the students already knew about Nick being a fox and generally accepted in their midst, Judy didn't see what she was choosing to pour into the beacon. Instead of magnesium, she accidentally chose potassium. Eyes fixed on Nick, she absentmindedly poured the compound into the beacon.

The immediate consequence of her actions was a gasp from her lab partner before a quick plume of fire erupted from the glass container. "JUDY!" he chirped in panic, her classmates turning their eyes towards the explosion. Then, the doe did what her instincts told her to do: get everything under control and keep the fire away.

She acted faster than the bunny next to her and tried to get the burning beacon out of harm's way, hopefully into the sink on the right. However, as fate would have it, the moment her paw touched the beacon, everything went straight downhill.

It started with her accidentally pushing the beacon over, right towards the terrified sheep. Then, if that weren't enough, the flames fanning from the falling experiment caught the plushest part of Sharla's wool: all the deeply curled and well cared for wool adorning the crown of her head. Next thing she knew, the whole classroom fell into a state of disarray as her friend began running in a panic, attempting to swat at her wool turned tinder.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!" was the only constant sound other than mammals backing away and glass shattering. Puffy pompadour now a perilous pyre, the sheep swiped at her wool racing around the room.

Judy had to back away, horrified as the event unfolded. Her eyes went from the pillar of fire to Nick who stared back, mouth agape and tail twitching.

"Stop drop and roll!" her partner called out, already on the move to the fire extinguisher nearest them, but apparently Sharla didn't get the message as she ran faster. Their teacher started running towards her with a blanket to smother the flame, and by the time he got to her, Judy's partner had started trying to extinguish the flame. He was a second too late as an alarm sounding with the hiss of the sprinkler system cutting on, caused a few shrieks of terror, cold water soaked them all.

All burners out and the classroom in a downpour caused by one bunny, many eyes fell on the now nervously grinning Judy Hopps. Some scornful, others in good cheer. Only Nick, out of all of them, seemed genuinely concerned and surprised all at the same time.

Then, there was Sharla. She huffed as she tried to get her bearings straight while being reassured by her teacher that the fire was out. The sheep stared blankly at the bunny, raising what was left of her brow in dismay.

Just as the classroom phone began ringing her lab partner sighed. The bunny gave her a stern look, tapping the side of the extinguisher languidly. "This is why you can't have another partner..."

Their teacher shook his head, and Judy, though grinning and slinking back out of fear, gave her apology, "Sorry, Sharla."


The resounding click of his temporary locker held a lot more weight than he had first thought. Sturdy, painted in an almost sickening vibrant green, and definitely more solid than the flimsy sheet metal he could call a gym locker back in Zootopia, Nick was certainly impressed.

As gym was his last class for the day, he was both dreading and ready, well, eager to get out and stretch, if only for a while. He hadn't been able to do so on Tuesday as the locker room had been closed for maintenance. He didn't know what exactly went on, but it must've been bad enough for them to end up flat out canceling the class.

Though from the completely obvious patch job in the wall near the entrance, he could say that something very large made tried to make their way through. And recalling what he heard from Judy's radio, and Maria being mentioned, he shuddered. I don't think I want to know...

He forced the thought out of his head and mentally readied himself for gym. Being cooped up in his house at the end of the day was all he had left to look forward to aside from dinner tonight and hopefully calling Judy, just to pass the time. So getting some exercise, he figured, would do him some good in the long run.

Not that it'll keep Skye from trying to wrestle dinner out of my paws, he mused, knowing full well that the vixen, despite her smaller stature, was a formidable foe when it came to defending her food. If she wanted whatever was in the fridge, then she would undoubtedly get it.

Brushing off the thoughts as he donned his newly garnered gym clothes, the fox took a step back and swished his tail. Again, unlike what he had been used to before, the simple gym shorts and shirt fit. They looked far cleaner than what he was used to: greyish, tattered, hand me down rags with long-faded logos. He often equated them to thin ribbons and once said that he was better off wearing a bag of cotton balls.

Here, even without the use of the wide, body mirror, he could clearly see that the gym attire was almost as pristine as the day they were made. Very little fraying, colours unfaded, and the perfect size. He did find it a bit odd that it was half button up, but he didn't mind it.

A smile crept to his muzzle just before a heavy force on his back made him lurch forward. The cackle of his canine friend and grey paws caught him off-guard.

"I think it suits you, buddy," came Luproc's jest. The wolf himself wore matching attire, though slightly larger for his size. He, much like the other students in the packed locker room were already dressed and just idly chatting with others about this and that.

While there were more bunnies than just about any other species, the diversity of the students, as well as their casual demeanor, was surprising. Still, he was thankful for the company of friends in such an unfamiliar place.

Just as the wolf had started to speak to him, the tap of hooves on the bench caught his attention. Just beside him, Shoring had finished getting himself dressed as well. Nick noticed how, with horns and the puffy pompadour, it took him a bit longer as he was carefully trying to fit his shirt on. It wasn't something he had thought about before, but now he could see why the buttons were a necessity.

Smoothing out his clothes, the sheep spoke, "You know, Lou. I think you're trying a little too hard to get his vote for you."

With a smug grin and accusing wave of his hoof, the ram gestured to the rest of the locker room. "How many of these poor mammals have you bribed, again?"

Nick felt the wolf's paw grip his shoulder as he stood, mouth aghast. He moved around from the fox and got in the sheep's face, several students turned their way.

Luproc leaned down, meeting Shorin's grin with a toothy flash of his own. "I did not bribe anyone, Rin."

Not backing away, the sheep held up his hooves and began counting. "Let's see, there's the Leveret's, the Hopps', the Swinton's , the Khale's... yours truly. Oh and all the mmh-" Before he could get another word out, two paws clamped his muzzle shut.

Smiling, the canid informed him, "I bribed nobody, Rin." Nervously grinning at the growing crowd and wagging his tail, he hoped to silence the rumor before it was too late.

Unfortunately, his cousin had other plans. Using the strength that his species was known for, he pushed himself forward, slowly sliding the canid back as his horns were used as leverage instead. "As I was saying, Lou-" continued the ram, marching his query back; more intrigued mammals gained in number and fascination. Nick couldn't help but watch as the two continued their 'debate', he worried that this would turn into a fight. The last thing he needed was for a predator/prey fight to break out like many did before in Zootopia. It always ended up with the predator at fault.

It seemed for a moment that the ungulate was winning, gaining ground as he continued to call out names. That was up until the canid stopped completely, stepping to the side and hoisting the suddenly bleating sheep into the air. The ruckus of hoops, hollers, and rattling lockers echoed all about the room.

Though Nick was a bit confused, the chants of his peers made him feel a bit more at ease. Just ahead, he could see the sheep held high, triumphantly raised overhead by the wolf as if some kind of trophy as they both laughed.

The sound of a whistle blowing turned every head in the locker room. And as if entranced by it, every student began to file out. Nick waited for them to brush past him as he didn't know where he was going exactly. When all but a few were left along with his friends, he followed closely.

Within the first few steps, the wriggling sheep protested. "Alright, you made your point. Put me down!"

There was a moment of false compliance as the wolf instead tilted his head and, smiled like he was half crazed before he tried to firemammal carry the bleating ram. It didn't last long as the sheep nudged the side of his head with his horns just enough for him to finally relent and set him down.

What Nick had thought was a squabble turned out to just be them roughhousing, he supposed. Still, his mouth opened before his mind could grasp the idea. "Uh... what was that?"

Never stopping their walk down the long hall to the others, Shorin answered, "It's a wolf thing,"

Almost tripping at the hilarity, Nick caught himself. He remembered full well the 'cousin's' introducing themselves. "But you're not exactly-"

"Raised! By! Wolves!" the sheep interrupted hastily, flippantly waving a hoof to brush off the statement. "It's a social thing."

With the casual nod from the actual wolf among them, Nick further assessed the situation. "So, you never fight back?" he prodded, seeing how much larger the canid was to his caprine counterpart and how unfair the fight would be.

There was both a sharp bark of laughter and a chuckling bleat before him. "Pfft, you kiddin' me?" the wolf turned and questioned, walking backward and pointing at himself. "I'm on the wrestling team, of course I do."

"Track here." the sheep chimed in.

Nick nodded, still confused. He'd never heard of a smaller ungulate willingly taking track. Usually, they were larger predators as it was seen as 'that prey chasing drive' that they had. Well, and a certain sloth friend he had.

Seeing the bewildered look on his face, Luproc shrugged and continued. "Besides, anytime we do get into a 'fight', the odds are in his favor."

"'Cause you go easy on him?" The second Nick asked this, both mammals stopped, eyeing him incredulously before laughing even harder. If he wasn't already red, then he would have been a tomato at the way they both found his statement hilarious. And despite them being the only two left around him, he felt even more left out of the loop.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Luproc told him, "'Cause he hits like a freight train! Have you ever had a sheep charge you?"

It was Nick's turn to quizzically stare back. He tilted his head and folded his arms in a way that screamed sarcasm without saying a word.

The wolf cringed. "Right, sorry. My bad. I forgot about Jesse and Woolter," Lu apologized. It was no secret, not even to Nick, about what transpired. He had been informed that the pair of rams that had attacked him received reprimands and ramifications for their actions, seen them, even. They had been on 'active suspension'. A sort of restraining order, or so he had been told. Still at school, but taking other classes and lunch away from him until further notice. So when they trotted by him after his first class with three students in the same uniform that Judy wore days prior, he knew it was more like a prison sentence.

Never one to linger in silence, Lu shook his head and clarified what he meant. "We never 'try' to hurt one another - we're family and all - but we did send each other to the emergency room a couple times."

Cringing himself, Nick glanced between the two. "That bad?"

Nodding and seeing the exit just beyond them, Luproc waved them forward; he became animated in his story. "When he first started growin' his horns, he clipped me with them when we were wrestling. And another time when we were fixing a barn... well, he's got a thicker skull than I do."

Backing his words, he playfully ruffled the wool on his cousin's head.

Laughing and swatting him away, the sheep refused to be the only one at fault. "Well, I didn't knock over a support beam to the high rise. Also! You're forgetting that time you stretched out your claws a bit too much."

"That was waaaaaayyyy long ago, bud. Besides, you got me back for that one. Battle scars and all." Lu shot back, tapping his own shoulder as an indication of some bygone wound.

"I meant the other time," Rin recalled, "The one where our troop was sharing ghost stories and you had that spider crawl on your arm with me sitting next to you."

Turning his head ever slowly to the fox and mouthing 'didn't happen', Lu coughed into his paw, looking a bit guilt-stricken. "But anyway... Rin and I do this kinda thing all the time. He helps me in wrestling practice and I help him with track."

While it was weird, Nick tried to grasp the concept to the best of his ability.

Three days of knowing them, and he still couldn't quite figure out their dynamic: natural enemies treating each other like the best of friends. He paused before opening his big muzzle. Isn't Judy like that? he told himself, knowing it to be true from her demeanor. She was the first mammal he met here and seemed generally likable; ignoring the stereotypes of her species and overlooking his, even.

This thought shed new light on his new friends. Though, with a chuckle, he asked. "So does that mean Rin chases you around?"

With the twitch of his ear and stupified look of his own and the already doubled over state of his cousin's laughter, the wolf bellowed a deep laugh of his own. For a second time, the trio didn't stop, tears streaming out of the sheep's eyes at the sheer irony of it all.

Holding onto a wall and taking a few deep breaths in between words, Lou set the record straight, "He can outrun me. So that's out of the question."

Blinking and switching his focus, Nick tried to imagine what that would look like: a grey timber wolf, the practical icon of the canine species, running as fast as he could - to no avail - from a much smaller, faster sheep. If the idea alone didn't almost send him into another fit of laughter, then he didn't know what would.

Calming himself and rubbing his forehead with his hoof, Rin replied, "It's more so for balance. Taking sharp corners at high speeds isn't easy for sheep." He demonstrated by swiveling his hind hooves against the floor, almost slipping in the manner Jesse and Woolter did days ago. "That's one reason of why I keep my wool short: it gets caught on everything," he added, "The other is... well, because of Judy."

Taken back to thoughts of the doe, what happened in chemistry was still shocking. Seeing Judy start a fire wasn't something that he had imagined. It was only now that he could believe the signs he saw on the walls of the science hall and how they changed that 'days without a fire started by Judy' to 0 again.

Begining to worry as he hadn't seen her since their class, he pondered what became of her and the formerly firey ewe. I can tell Sharla doesn't like being around me from the way she glanced at me during class, but at least Rin and Lou are good. And that bunny, her lab partner... he's the same one that I saw with her before she showed me around in the garden. Is he her boyfriend?

"I'm not surprised, though." Luproc huffed, startling the fox out of his train of thought.

Taken aback by this, Nick asked, "It's happened before?"

There was a pause where the trio stood still. Lu and Rin glanced at one another and then towards Nick in disbelief. It was finally the sheep that answered timidly, "If you value your fur, then keep your distance from her when she's around anything flammable. Trust me on that one."

He then pushed the door open that lead to the track outside, a flood of light forced the fox to squint as he was assaulted by even more vibrant green than his city-dwelling eyes had been used to.

Reverting to the old faithful method of shielding his sight with his paw just as he did before in the garden, he was greeted with the welcome atmosphere far greater than he had hoped.

Students were already beginning their activities. Some had taken to the outer track while others were out on the grassy field. Again, he noticed the diversity of predator and prey mixing together in their routines. A pack of wolves and drift of pigs had taken to some of the medicine balls on the far side of the football field as a herd of gazelle and a streak of tigers raced past them.

While they had their fun a cheetah sped past, giving them all thumbs up while jogging backwards. He slowed his pace and cheered on a deer that had been on the track in their wheelchair. In a more open part of the field was a white tigress, leaning left and right, quickly and exuberantly calling out stretches to all the mammals she instructed who tried to keep up with her pace. Just beside her was what Nick could describe as a very buff, very focused kangaroo in typical coach wear. They nodded and blew a whistle around their neck, getting the tigress and the rest of the class to stop for a moment before switching up their new exercise.

Beyond them, Nick's focus landed on the row of stadium side bleachers where only a few students sat. Some of them had been there, idly watching from their place while others busied themselves on their phones and other devices. Among them, he could only recognize Dawn who seemed to scowl at him.

He was interrupted from the sheep's gaze by the whistle of the wolf. "Don't mind them, Nick. Dawn, I mean, really," he said with an impassive tone, almost listless as he strolled by towards the field. Nick hurried along, still glancing at the ewe out of the side of his eye. "Most folks are here to exercise, but some can't, so they use this time as a second study hall."

Luproc pointed out, thumbing mainly towards an elephant seated towards the far end of the bleachers and waving others on cheerfully. "I can't say what's up with her, it's not my place. But then you have others like Dawn that have an exemption from having to partake of the arduous task that's atrophy prevention."

There was a hum next to them as Shorin chimed in, "I think Dawn's just allergic to interacting with her fellow students with sharper teeth than your average prey mammal is all." Shaking his head and sighing, he smiled widely. "At least she's out here in the sunlight with everyone for our anti-vampirism class."

Taking this all into account, Nick nodded. It was something he was used to in his old school: mammals that looked down on him but had their own issues they needed to work on. Moving on from this by trying to find his place to exercise, he was stopped by the chuckling wolf.

"Speaking of average prey," Lou began, leaning towards his cousin with a nudge and pointing to the kangaroo. "Looks like coach P's still tryin' to get your girlfriend to show a little more restraint in her lead."

Scanning the crowd, Nick couldn't see any other sheep that would fit this description, but Shorin scoffed and pointed to a cougar coach near to them. "And it looks like it's just the basics today with coach Mewreno for your girlfriend and assistant vice president."

Shushing the ram and nearly giving himself whiplash from how quickly he had turned to the sow starting her routine, the wolf responded, "She's not my girlfriend..."

With a bleat of a laugh and smile towards Nick, he whispered, "Yet."

Snorting in half frustration, half embarrassment, Lou turned his attention to the fox. "Anywho, I can't see Judy anywhere."

Confirming what he had already seen, Nick felt his shoulders slump. "Yeah, me neither."

Subconsciously, he had been looking for her. Not seeing her was troubling and though he was near friends, he felt a little out of place without her there. She was his closest friend, after all.

Shorin pivoted, looking up and down in the other direction. "Or Jack. Must've had a bad time in drivers ed."

Again, Nick had noticed this. The bunny who stared at him constantly hadn't been seen since lunch. He was getting the same suspicion that the rabbit didn't like him at all. Though that wasn't saying much, it did give him a bit of insight into Judy's family assuming he was her brother.

I guess some are just cautious around a fox. he told himself, half joking. But he stopped himself. Well, Juniper's okay. Friendly, even... but I can't understand a word she says half the time. And it was true, the black furred bunny spoke in a way that left his articulation with much to be desired. So I guess it's 50/50 on her family- no wait... Jasmine and Jada.

He felt a shiver crawl up his spine even from the memory. Jada, at lunch, almost seemed like she was fighting Judy for his attention. And Jasmine? Nick didn't know what it was about that bunny, but he felt himself wanting to crawl away.

Ah well, he noted, at least I've got the rest of the day to-

"Heya, Nicky!" a shrill voice chimed from close by, one that Nick knew all too well.

Feeling his tail furrow and his hackles raise, he slowly turned around to see none other than Jasmine practically within arms reach. Her green eyes matching her gym apparel wasn't something that Nick hoped he would see any time soon. And before he could even answer her hello, she closed the distance.

"I didn't know you were in the same gym class as us!" she said, her tone awfully chipper with an undertone that Nick would say leaned on mature.

Taking a breath, he tried to shake off the dreadful feeling in his gut. "I... wait we?"

Sure enough, just trailing behind the bunny, was the other Hopps sister, Jada. Now faced with two pairs of green eyes staring him down, Nick had nothing left to say. He hoped at least Juniper was around to talk to if only to ask where Judy had gone.

Just before they could get any closer, however, he did feel himself being dragged backward. Startled, he turned to see both a paw and a hoof on his shoulder.

"Alright, Nick," said the wolf, his steps as hurried as the sheep's "Let's get our exercise in for the day,"

Grateful for someone quite literally dragging him away, the fox complied. He hoped to see Judy soon, the day just wasn't the same without that peppy rabbit.


Nick felt refreshed.

The afternoon sun was starting to lose its intensity and he could feel a warm breeze as he strolled down the steps of the school's entrance. It was the end of yet another fine day at school and the exercise invigorated him.

He stretched, yawning a little. "That run was great! And I didn't think that a school would do gym classes like that."

"Absolutely," came the cheerful howl of the canid beside him, "We always manage to have a great time. Not too fast or too slow."

There was an equally chipper chuckle to his right as well from the sheep. "You can still tell who missed leg day."

The trio had met up just after their last class, Chloe telling Nick where to meet her for his ride back home as Deputy Eliot was apparently banned from using a vehicle from the sheriff's department until that weekend. Not that he minded, the slower pace of the thylacine and less panic-inducing conversation was nice.

When he got to the bottom of the landing to where the pillars stood, he saw her waiting for him. It was ironically where Eliot had nearly crashed into an otter on his first day, but she waved to him with a smile none the less.

She called him out from among the others, "Good afternoon, Nicholas. Are you ready to go home?"

He waved back. "Sure thing I-"

Just out of the corner of his eye, Nick saw something that made him freeze. It was bunny he had been looking for all day, Judy. She was standing behind one of the pillars, seemingly talking to someone. With the white wooled sheep close by and reading something, he guessed who it was in an instant.

"Uh... can you give me a second?" he asked, excusing himself when Chloe quietly nodded.

He took a moment to quietly pad around to catch what was going on while keeping out of sight. When he did get to a vantage point with their backs turned to him, he merely watched.

Nick hadn't seen Sharla since the whole fire but was surprised to see minimal damage. The wool adorning her head had been shaved down significantly, and she wore a fitting straw hat to cover the damage. While virtually no lasting damage was seen, he couldn't help but feel that the emotional scarring from the sudden burn was worse.

Standing just a bit away while inching closer, he could hear their conversation.

"Sorry about that, Sharla." Judy apologized, shuffling her bag in her paws nervously.

The sheep, however, remained silent. She hadn't been at lunch again, likely due to Nick. And after the mishap in their chemistry class, Judy couldn't blame her for not wanting to talk. Having your wool singed by your friend wouldn't exactly put you in a good mood.

Having her arms folded and still staring out, Sharla continued to give her friend the cold shoulder for her hot head.

Letting her shoulders fall and wrenching her eyes shut, Judy risked a solution. "Can I make it up to you?"

Finally, after a deep breath, Sharla looked at her. Her eyes livid and stance in disbelief. "This is the third time, Judy," she shouted, pointing an accusatory hoof. "THIRD TIME! How could you possibly make this up?"

"I know, and I'm sorry." Searching for any words or ways to move on, the doe resigned herself to what she knew about her friend. "How does ice cream sound?"

Her voice hopeful and grin terribly guilty, the ewe held her mouth agape.

"You think you can fix this," she began, astonished, "with just ice cream?"

Feeling her chest tighten and remembering everything the sheep liked, Judy added. "Oh, and pie."

For a moment, Judy thought her friend would just flat out walk away, but soon, Sharla smiled. "Deal!" she said, holding out her hoof. The doe shook it without question.

She was thankful for that. Even if one or the other did make a mistake, their friendship was strong enough to survive a few fires. They were quick to forgive and move on.

That taken care of, the flock of sheep bid their goodbyes to the doe, trotting their way to a car that beeped them on.

Can't believe that happened again, Judy told herself, waving goodbye to her friends. She still had to wait for her bus and it wouldn't be there for a little while longer. As she had some time left, she tried to mull over everything that she could do.

Making up to Sharla which was the biggest thing she was worried about. Then she had to get Jack from the security office for his bad driving again. Lastly, she had to work out her issue of bringing Nick to her house for dinner soon. She thought back to how she needed to know more about him and tried to work her way from there when she was in Principal Dreemurr's office.

Lost in this, she didn't notice the fox in question until he lightly coughed behind her.

Turning and nearly dropping her books, she greeted him. "Oh, hey Nick. Hey guys."

"Heya, Carrots," he replied, glad to hear from her since the whole thing, but noticed how she was also staring past him to the sudden group of friends that snuck up on him. Shorin and Luproc were there, of course, but now with Delilah smiling beside them, it was both the beginning of a joke and a good time all at once.

Having Nick there now, however, was what Judy was waiting for. It was the opportune time to get to know him. But she figured that she only had a little time before her family's bus came by. Frustrated with the constraint, she thought things over.

How do I get to know him better, ask him everything I need to, and have the time to do all of this without my parents knowing anything about it?

She was mentally kicking herself until a lightbulb suddenly went off. Her ears perked up. "Hey, um... what are your plans tomorrow. After class, I mean?"

Truthfully, Nick hadn't thought of what he'd do after school other than try to watch funny videos and familiarize himself with his surroundings. So he did as only he could and shrugged.

That's when, much to his curiosity, Judy's beaming smile grew brighter.

"Well... I was thinking-"

"Dangerous past-time, Judy." the wolf belted out, only to be nudged by the pig.

"Oh hush, Lu."

Narrowing her eyes at the canine backing down, Judy continued her questions. "We should all hang out tomorrow. Y'know, after school? I don't have a shift until the weekend."

The group behind Nick started to mull over this, Lu speaking out first. "Well, I don't have a shift tomorrow. The manager gave me the day off 'cause I worked the one on Saturday."

"Well, my sisters and I don't have scouts or work tomorrow. So count me in." Delilah added.

"And I'm available as well. Dad doesn't get his shipments in until Sunday." Shorin informed, nodding with the others.

Soon all eyes fell on Nick. As it was his turn to either make up an excuse to stay at home and be bored or go with the crowd, he chose the high road of theatrics.

"Am I available on the day of tomorrow?" He pulled out his phone, keeping the device off while mock tapping on his calendar. "Yes, yes I am."

Sharing a laugh with his friends, he heard one of them, he couldn't tell which, say for him to 'save the date'.

It was about this time that Judy Hopps, being Judy Hopps, interrupted the fox's life in yet another unimaginable way. Playing off the others, she said something that made Nick blink.

"Then it's a date."

With that, the beaming bunny bounced away; leaving the flustered fox frozen. He couldn't find his voice among their cheerful banter and his tail refused to move.

And just beyond them stood one stunned thylacine. Chloe had her paw over her mouth from what she overheard, she couldn't believe it. For once, she was glad that her husband wasn't around. Okay... he was definitely right about them. she mentally noted, already seeing how this could affect the wolf's antics.


Sometimes things can be a bit jumbled in our dreams. But good friends help sort the mess.

Notes:

And also, HUGE thanks to the following for allowing me to use their characters as cameos:

Koraru-san for Eliot and Chloe
JadeHopps for Jada

This chapter took me longer to write than I had imagined. The main reason is this. I've got a running gag with Judy that she always manages to set things ablaze. It partially came from my sister and mishaps with the microwave... ask away if you must. But when I started, I had the following plot: Judy, chemistry, Sharla, fire, Nick?

There's a couple of name easter eggs in here that are easy to spot. ^_^

Also! I gotta say this now. I changed the title of this chapter several times due to cut dialogue from Luproc and his interaction with Shorin. Nothing terrible, but best suited for later chapters as these two goofballs have a weird family history.

If you're wondering about Jack in this chapter... he crashed a car. 'Nuf said. XD

Seriously, don't attempt to get in the car with him, he's dangerous.

More I.O.D. to come alongside Skyebound!

 

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Till Next Time
-DLW