The rain was vicious. Water droplets fell down in sheets and rows, coating anything in their path in a thick slob of liquid. Abel had to be careful in his run, both to avoid slipping, and not to hurt Julia, who he was carrying like a wedding bride.

She was still wearing her red dress from earlier in the day, so Abel held her legs and back awkwardly, avoiding any perverted interpretations. She didn’t seem to mind, only focusing on that they get away from Derevan.

And that’s exactly what they were doing.

Twisting around a large corner, Abel’s feet slid along the wet pathway into an inconspicuous alleyway. He dashed into it, still carrying Julia. They stood in the shadows. The only thing moving in the world being the rain droplets falling off from the fire escape stairs.

Eventually, Abel’s paws grew tired. “Ay, I’m gonna… put you down.” He said, looking at Julia eye-to-eye. She nodded slowly, as he lowered her down to the ground. She stood to his side, awkwardly shuffling her feet on the gravel flooring.

“God, we’re wet.” He grumbled, shaking his body to get some of the water off. Julia frowned as he did so, her dress not as compliant in an easy way to get the water off.

Abel took notice of her situation, and made an awkward attempt to take off his leather jacket, as an additional layer for Julia to take cover with from the rain and wind.

Why are you even wearing that skimpy ass shit in this weather?

With his jacket off, Abel made a motion toward Julia, keeping it wide open in a “let me take your jacket for you” position. She watched him, and without a word, put the jacket around her like a fire blanket.

He had a thin gray sweater underneath, which worked enough as an insulator without the extra help of the jacket. Now that they were away from Derevan, Abel had to come up with a new plan.

“We can’t go back to my apartment.” He said out loud, Julia listening to his left. “Derevan clearly knows where I live.”

Julia nodded.

“How does he even know that?”

Julia shrugged.

Abel examined their surroundings. While he wasn’t in the best mood, he didn’t want to take that out on Julia. They were in an alleyway, sure, but where?

He looked back to Julia, pulling his jacket around her even tighter. She stopped holding onto her eye a while back in the run, but it still had some red markings. Whether blood or not, Abel couldn’t tell.

“Does it hurt?” He asked, looking for any form of help he could make. Julia’s frown turned into a weak smile, reading between “no” and “I’m not sure”. Abel took it as a sign of being okay.

Abel began walking down the alleyway, reaching its exit.

“Stay here. I’m gonna look for a second.”

He looked to the left and right, and realized something.

We’re right by Barnaby’s apartment block!

Abel looked back at Julia, who was watching him. He whispered in a hushed tone, saying, “Come here.”

She obeyed the command, cautiously approaching the tiger. Unsure on what his intentions were, she held onto the jacket she had wrapped around her in a tighter grip.

We could wait for Barnaby to get back.

“Julia… let’s get inside.”

She gave him a skeptical look, but watched as he exited the alleyway cautiously, and walked up a set of stairs into an old apartment building. Not wanting to stay out in the rain, she followed shortly behind, and shut the doors on her way in.

Abel watched her shut the door, leaning his back just a few feet away. “We can camp at Barnaby’s.” He said, standing up straight. Julia’s eyes squinted, uncertain of the situation.

“Times like this make me wish they’d let me have one of their extra keys.” He continued, walking down the hallway to an old elevator. Julia quickly followed him, not wanting to be left behind.

A quiet elevator trip later, they were on another floor. Abel got out first, holding the door open with an extended arm. “The door closes real quick, hop out.”

Julia ran out, not risking a second more than Abel warned her. He took his arm out from its placement, and the elevator quickly shut like an executioner’s blade.

“Hell if that cut me off.” Abel chuckled to himself, before breaking back into silence after Julia gave him a silent stare.

Abel led Julia to a doorway by the elevator. “We’ll wait here. Out from the rain, and Derevan.” He put a paw to the door, as if ready to knock on it. “If I had a key…” He mumbled, pushing into the door, causing it to burst open. “WOAH!”

He fell right in, nearly stumbling onto the ground. Julia watched as Abel rolled into the apartment without a warning, spotting Abel knocked over on the floor. “Fuck me.” He groaned.

He stood up, catching a glance of Barnaby and Kevin knocked out on the couch, a few dinner bowls scattered around the floor surrounding the couch, and one spilling out its contents over the sleeping duo. Barnaby looked to be a makeshift blanket for Kevin, covering his upper-body with their own.

“What-”

Abel stopped talking, not wanting to ruin this moment. Julia looked over at Kevin, being smothered by the golden retriever, and laughed inaudibly.

They were in a tight embrace.

Abel gave Julia a dopey smile, and she returned the favor with a knowing look. For a moment, the sense of urgency and dread died out, giving the room a moment of relaxed ease.

Abel took Julia into Barnaby’s kitchen, and began searching between the cabinets for any medical supplies. All he could find were numerous kitchen utensils, which was to be expected.

“Can’t find a thing for ya.” He said to Julia, still watching the sleeping duo on the couch. She frowned a bit.

Abel inspected her eye, while not directly telling her, he did try to see what the problem was for as best as he could understand. It looked to be minor bleeding, but whether it came from the eye itself, or a gash close, were two very different problems.

“Do you want a tissue?” He asked, breathing in the dull scene. Julia looked over to him, and nodded slowly, as if each movement with her head was intensifying the pain.

Okay.

Abel tiptoed around the couch, reaching the bathroom. He pushed the door open, doing it slowly so as not to make it creak. He slipped in with the opening he made, and was greeted to numerous tissues in varying red opacities over the sink.

Some were washed out into scraps, others were still lying and waiting dry. Abel’s nose wrinkled, looking over at the toilet, a few untouched toilet rolls sat on the shut seat.

Who stacked these? He thought. Probably Kevin.

Not wanting to destroy the pyramid structure, Abel picked off the top roll, and shut the door. He tiptoed around the couch again, sneaking a glance at the still sleeping duo, and gave Julia the quest item.

She began unrolling the thin piece of paper, wrapping it around her eye as best as she could. One could say she looked like she was covering herself from a zombie bite on the head, making her left eye look mummified from all the toilet paper.

“Yeah, I’m waking them up.” Abel said.

Abel approached the sleeping couple on the couch, looking to end their happy dreams like a heartbroken widow. He got up behind the couch, and pushed Barnaby’s lower half over, landing onto the couch, crushing Kevin deeper into the cushions.

“AGH!” Kevin wheezed out, as Barnaby squashed all the air out of him. They fell down like a hard rock, only waking up to the distressed noise Kevin made.

Barnaby shot a look at him, then got off the couch. They looked around for a moment, spotting Abel staring at the two.

“Where the fuck did you come from?!” Barnaby shouted.

“Your door wasn’t locked.” Abel answered.

“Wh-” Barnaby stopped talking, and ran up to their door. It was shut, and unlocked. “How?” They asked, going through their locking ritual yet again. “It was locked.”

“Don’t ask me, you never gave me a key.” Abel said.

Kevin watched Abel and Barnaby have their back-and-forth regarding the locking of the door, and wanted to chime in with a comment, but before he could, Barnaby spoke up.

Barnaby approached Abel face-to-face, nearly reaching his own face in their standoff. “Nah. Nope. No. What are you doing here?” Abel slowly pushed Barnaby back a few feet, not enjoying the space they closed in.

“So, Derevan blew out one of my windows.” He began, to which Barnaby instantly cut him off. “You too?”

Kevin stammered. “What do you mean, ‘you too’!?”

Abel and Barnaby both turn their attention to Kevin, silently looking at one another like a triple staring contest. Barnaby shook a paw dismissively, and started their spiel.

“Fucker blew off my AC. Took a photo of it… uh… yesterday?” Barnaby looked at the box TV, a time of 1 AM displaying. “Yesterday.” They continued with more confidence.

“It’s already Sunday?” Abel asked, looking over to the same time display that Barnaby read. Barnaby groaned, letting out a tired sigh. “Shut your shit and keep going.” They said.

“Christ, why are you being so aggressive this early?”

“JUST EXPLAIN!” Barnaby groaned, flopping back to the couch, nearly crushing Kevin’s legs, which he moved out of the way just in time.

Abel shook his head, holding a blank expression. He looked into the kitchen, Julia still sitting on a counter with half her head in toilet paper. “So…” He began. “Julia’s also here.”

Kevin and Barnaby shared a mutual wide-eyed expression, like two kids being promised candy after behaving well.

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Barnaby held a paw to their temples, rubbing aggressively. “ANOTHER ONE?” They finally spoke, nearly shouting.

“Fuck! Dude, seriously, what’s up with you?”

Barnaby stood up, approached, and slapped Abel.

“I… Okay.” Abel said, looking over to Kevin. “Can you deal with your sister in the kitchen? I gotta talk to this one here.”

“This one.” Barnaby repeated in a condescending tone whilst shaking their head. Abel scoffed, and yanked Barnaby into their bedroom, leaving Kevin in the living room by himself.

The apartment was silent.

“...Julia?” Kevin slowly called out, uncertain on if she’d answer to him. Surprisingly enough, she popped out of the kitchen, looking at Kevin, as he did the same to her.

Kevin sighed, and stood up from the couch. “We… haven’t talked in a while.” He said, approaching her. “What did… Derevan…” He paused, examining the toilet paper around her head. Most of it was loose, but some was tighter around the eye.

“...do?” He finished his sentence, putting a paw to her darker eye. “I don’t remember your fur being like this.” He remarked.

Julia held her paws together over her chest, staring at Kevin with the uncovered eye. She began motioning her paws, performing sign language.

“Same old, same old.”

Kevin examined the movements closely, making sure he read them properly. “Did he hurt you? Or- well… more?”

Julia nodded shamefully.

While Kevin and Julia began their reunion, Abel and Barnaby were in the closet, having a back-and-forth argument.

“Bee, it’s either you calm down, or I’m out.” Abel said, waving off to the closet doorway far down the hallway. Barnaby folded their arms, moving their mouth as if mimicking his words in silence while shaking their head.

Barnaby had no comment.

Abel gave it a minute, before he said anything else.

“How… was the party?” He asked, trying to calm the situation down. “You must’ve had a better night than what I dealt with, for sure.”

“We didn’t go.” They scoffed, finishing their sentence with an idle kick at the ground. Abel shook his head in confusion.

“What? Why?”

“Kevin pissed me off.” They said with gritted teeth.

“What could he have done to you?”

“It’s not- UGH. Abe. It’s you.”

Abel narrowed his eyes in confusion. “What?”

Barnaby took in a hard breath of air, and blew it out as if whistling. Maybe blowing out a birthday cake’s candles. They didn’t say anything, leaving Abel in an awkward stalemate on whether he should or shouldn’t ask something else.

Barnaby slowly slid their back on the wall to the floor, sitting with their legs out in a pointed direction, back straight.

“Why do you put up with me?” They finally spoke up.

“Bee.”

“Why?”

“I wanna know what’s making you ask that.” Abel sat down to Barnaby’s left, not once breaking eye-contact with Barnaby, who was staring into the ground.

“I… uh…” Barnaby’s voice trailed off. Abel kept shuffling between expressions as they continued their silence. “...got drunk.” They finished, disappointment covered in tone.

Abel put a paw over his head. "God."

“Yeah.” Barnaby said, sneaking a glance at Abel, who was just as upset as them. “And… it… made me… think.”

Abel didn’t comment.

“Kevin was there. He helped, I… think.”

Barnaby paused for a moment, faintly sniffling.

“I’m… not okay.”

Abel snorted a bit. “When have you ever been?”

“Now’s not the time for jokes, you ass.” Barnaby dejected. “I just wanted… to… fuck up with you and Kevin, keep myself on top. And now you’ve got Julia in line, and I just can’t keep up.”

“What do you mean by… all that?”

“I don’t know anymore. I… was jealous. You walk in with him and it felt like a challenge to me. I just wanted to end it.”

Barnaby took in another breath.

“Instead, I’m being a baby. And I… I don’t know what I’m for anymore. You’ve got your life in sort, I don’t know what the hell Kevin’s about, but I’ve got nothing.”

“Dude-”

“I’m not done.” Barnaby interrupted. “I’m just… some washed up loser running a shitty ‘bar’, keeping a big face at anyone that tries shooting me down.”

Barnaby locked eyes with Abel.

“I treat you like shit, man. More than the people that do that to me sometimes. I’m… happy you kept me around, but I can’t keep this going if I’m just making us both hate me more.”

“Listen.” Abel said, putting a paw on Barnaby’s shoulder.

“I said it before. You’re fine.”

“I’m really not-”

“-Listen, Bee.”

Barnaby stopped talking.

“It’s… good that you’re opening up on this, because I wanted to… uh… talk about something that happened at the bar. It might suck for a bit… but I’m going somewhere, alright?”

“Okay.”

“So, I met Stacy and Jake. Jake’s a friend of Kevin, and… they were looking for… you?”

“Oh, for fuck sake…”

“Listen.”

“Am.”

“Jake got drunk fast, but Stacy was being… weird as hell. She kept going on about how you’re an ass and whatever. Then she started something about knowing your social life?”

Barnaby shook their head more and more with each word.

“That interaction did remind me a bit on us as kids. Y’know how we met. You, sitting in the back of the room, while I was new in class and needing a partner for that dumb project?”

“And we made… the bowl.” Barnaby finished his sentence. Abel nodded, and continued a new speech.

“I never really understood the other kids. It was like the second we grouped together, I got some disease everyone wanted to stay away from.”

Abel sighed for a moment, Barnaby watching as he did.

“But… you looked lonely. I mean, you looked like you got along with everyone, but I think they were just humoring you.”

“Were… you?” Barnaby asked.

“You’re cool, dude.”

“And…?”

“Okay, don’t fish for compliments, man. I’m still not over my whole thing.” Abel said with a smirk. “You were cool back then, and you’re all good now. That’s all I can really say on my side.”

Barnaby put a paw on their head, and looked Abel in his eyes. “What else do you remember?”

Abel thought for a moment, claw on his chin.

“There was a lizard that you pushed down a set of stairs. Wasn’t pretty when my mom had to get involved with me being a witness.” He said, laughing a bit at the end.

Barnaby sighed. “He was being an ass.”

“What’d he do?”

Barnaby almost blurted out the answer, but held back, they turned to look the other way, avoiding eye-contact.

“Uh… bless you?” Abel said, thinking Barnaby sneezed. They didn’t seem to react to his blessing, still not talking. Abel thought for a moment, and wanted to try and see an outcome. “Hey, how about you? What do you remember?”

Barnaby looked back at him. “What I remember…”

They looked up at the ceiling of the closet, looking like they were seeing their direct thought bubbles, checking to see which one was worthy of discussion.

“Mostly us, hanging out.” They said, looking back to Abel. “Like that time I fought Kale, you remember that?”

Abel gave Barnaby a skeptical look, but quickly turned it into a wide-eyed reaction, recalling the memory of Barnaby getting into a fistfight with a white rabbit. The raw image of Barnaby giving the rabbit an uppercut, and sending a bloody tooth right out and hitting Abel in the eye remained clear to his mind.

“Why were you two even fighting anyway?”

Barnaby scoffed. “Something about me, that’s for sure.”

Abel put a paw on Barnaby’s shoulder. “Dude.”

“What?”

“I wasn’t dumb as a kid. Or, well, not THAT dumb, I could tell something was up with you.” He said, in a more stern tone. Like a mother looking to console a child who did something wrong, but right in an ethical way.

“I mean, Stacy kind of reminded me, you really were… kinda lonely.” He finished off, tone weakening to more of empathy.

Barnaby didn’t say anything. They simply frowned at his comments, and looked down at the flooring again. Abel’s grasp remained firm on their shoulder, moving a bit as if messaging them.

“I’m really prying here by asking this many personal things, but… y’know, I’d like answers too. I’m not ditching you or anything, I just feel like this is a minefield right now.”

Without a passing second for Abel’s words to sink in, Barnaby fired back a question. “Why Julia?”

“...What?”

“First Kevin, now… freak show couple’s girl?”

“Dude- Wha- Okay. Explain to me what you’re saying here.”

Barnaby sighed heavily. “Since when were you friends with Julia?” They asked, snapping their focus to Abel’s face. Abel’s eyelids drooped in confusion. “I wouldn’t say friends-”

“-You’re DATING?!” Barnaby shouted as they interrupted.

“NO!” Abel screamed in horror.

Barnaby let out a sigh of relief. “Oh. Thank hell.”

“Derevan’s… did something to her. I’m not sure, and she’s not talking. Or, well, I don’t think she can. I don’t know. Derevan made it sound weird. Poor thing got blown up by a firework at least twice.”

“Yeah, she’s mute.” Barnaby said, in a monotone expression, far different to their average flamboyant jeery tone.

“So, I just snagged her and ran off. Couldn’t stay at my apartment since that weirdo was trying to break my window, and probably kill me in my sleep.”

With that, Abel continued to explain everything that happened that night, allowing Barnaby to get a clearer picture of his side of the story, prevent misunderstandings, and…

“Now… can we get back to you?” Abel asked, applying pressure for Barnaby to break regarding an older topic.

“Yeah.” Barnaby said effortlessly.

“Yeah?” Abel imitated.

“Yeah.” They said again, with more frustration.

“Well… uh… growing up was weird. I don’t think we ever talked about my family.” They began, looking over to Abel for a response. He shook his head.

“My… dad wasn’t around.” They admitted, darting their eyes away from Abel’s. “And my mom was… uh… She wasn’t really a parent. Just dumped me on whatever keeps me away from her.”

Abel nodded along, holding a stoic face.

“Worst of both worlds. Left for milk dad, smoke and drink to forget mom, I guess.” They took in a breath. “And… uh…”

Barnaby’s voice trailed off, as they looked to the closet door.

“Did you ever question why I have so many locks?”

Abel contemplated an answer. “...No? I thought it was standard for every apartment here.”

“One night… I was asleep in the closet in the RV, and… my mom carried me out, and left me in the savannah. Woke up to nothing, she drove right on off.”

Barnaby sniffled in some air through their nose. “Didn’t have any locks in there.” They said, gesturing to the closet door.

“And… you know. Kids. I just wanted attention. Sure as hell wasn’t getting it from my folks. So… school was… a choice. But no one liked me.”

They took in another breath of air.

“You ever put up like someone you’re not?” They asked.

Well, no, but I can’t just bluntly say that.

“A few times.” He said.

“I… tried to be more like the cool kids. But that made people hate me more. But… they were actually interacting with me, even if it wasn’t the good kind. Which was…good enough.”

“...For me.” They finished.

Abel tried to speak. “So-”

But Barnaby continued on with a new string.

“-And then… one day… you’re there. Imagine my dumbass looking up at you like a weirdo when you asked me to be your partner, wide-eyed like when I’d find a pizza in the trash.”

“For the bowl?” Abel asked.

“Uh… yeah. The bowl.” They reaffirmed.

“I really didn’t get why you sticked around. I was excited on one paw, you probably noticed me taping my tail to my back to keep that from showing, but I wanted to push you away.”

“Sure haven’t done that properly then.” Abel joked.

“...You could’ve had a social life. But you kept coming back to me, and I didn’t know how to feel about that. I mean- throwing out all that for some douche that treats you like trash?”

Abel took each word to mind, like a sponge absorbing water to its maximum level. “Like I said, you looked lonely. And even if no one else wanted to be around me since we hung out, I still thought you were cool.”

Barnaby laughed a bit, the kind of laughter that sounded like a light giggle. “What was cool about me?”

“You always smelled like cigarettes. I don’t know why, but it smelled right to me, kinda like when you inhale gas?”

“...Yeah. I kinda like the smoke smell too. You get it in your fur when you live with a practical smoking machine.”

“I still kinda smell it. But… it’s more like…” Abel took in a comical breath from his nose near Barnaby’s face. “Faintly smokey. I’m used to it, though.”

“And… I don’t know. It always felt like you had something deeper. I never wanted to assume, but I did have a suspicion on some kind of problem with emotional… bonding, I guess?”

“Got me a mind reader here.” Barnaby laughed.

“Hey. I’m just happy you’re opening up on this. I know it’s… a lot. And… well, you went through some shit, that’s for sure.”

Barnaby’s laughter hushed to a stop. “I… are we… still friends?” They asked, playful tone turned weary.

“Always have been. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Nice. Uh… thanks.” Barnaby looked back to the closet door. “For the talk, I mean. I don’t think I’ve ever really done this.”

Barnaby took in some air. “...But- thank you. Abe.”

Abel smiled. “I’m surprised you didn’t cry.”

“That’s the beer’s job.” Barnaby quipped.

“Yeah… no.” Abel put his paw on Barnaby’s shoulder again.

“Cry, Bee. I’m here for you.”