"So I'll be leaving early for today, breakfast is on the table," Jack told Maria as he prepared for the long drive to work. "I'll also leave some movies for you to watch, so you can get some sense of my world."

"What exactly did you and Beth talk about?"

"Kinda told her a lot about me, after she explained what happened between you two."

Maria was taken aback. "And she told you her side, then?"

Jack didn't answer that question. Instead, he just gave a soft smile.

"Right, I'll just tell you my story another day. Don't feel like going through memory lane."

"It's alright, you don't have to worry about me picking sides either. I'm sure whatever reason you had, it was a good one."

Maria only nodded. She inspected the box cover of the movie she received. Jack had picked it specifically as he believed that she'd enjoy it. The two wished each other a good day before parting.

The drive was uneventful, of course, but Jack did have a run-in with Cas who nearly snuck into his car. It took the power of both wolf siblings to keep the little pup away. Ever since Cas discovered that Jack was employed in Happy Town, she had tried to sneak her way into Jack's car every morning. The only eventful thing to happen before he hit the road.

Sometimes he wondered where her parents were as they seemed nonexistent. Not exactly since he did meet them once after he got back from Beth's place. They were certainly polite and had heard about Cas' little adventure with him. They even thanked Jack for humoring their kid.

Back to the main story.

When Jack got to work, he met up with Beth and saw that she wasn't in uniform.

"Yeah," Beth gave him a smug grin. "Guess who has a day off? Us!"

"But why?"

"Jeez, don't be a workaholic. I wanted us to watch those movies without a problem. So I pulled some favors, and the boss gave us the green light."

"I mean, what about the tips? I still want to get some cash on hand."

Beth jabbed him in the arm. "I need to unwind today after what happened. So just bear with me, I got us a nice room in the back of the warehouse and even some snacks."

Jack was led around the building to the back entrance where Beth then opened a nearby door. He found himself in a storage room filled with cardboard cutouts of various mascots as well as statues. Honestly, this place was creepier than the back of the warehouse where all the old musty costumes were left to rot.

It was so empty, and the statues felt as if they were watching him. Judging him. One even reminded Jack of Cooper.

"Jackie!"

Jack screamed that day, enough to put the haunted house attraction in Happy Town to shame.

"Hey man, don't be like that!" Cooper chuckled at Jack's reaction.

Even Beth laughed at him.

"What's Coop doing here?" Jack asked the fox.

"Well, I told him about our little movie plan, and also the little secret you have. Is that wrong?"

Jack glanced at Cooper for a second. "I was gonna tell him one day, guess he might as well find out."

"Thanks, man! You can trust me with this secret."

"You really don't have an issue, Coop? You know, me being an alien? Heck, you don't even seem surprised."

"Nah, man, you were a weird one when we first met. All this explains everything about you, dude. Like, the skin condition thing. Even the shape of your face doesn't look like an ape."

"Well, let's just get this thing going then! I brought us some of my favorites, and let me tell you, these are the coolest movies back in my world."

"Better be right, and not those dorky ones."

"Beth, you have no place to complain," Jack told her. It was true, they were his movies, and he simply believed that his friends would enjoy them as well.

"Fine, but if I find it lame then you'll get a quick punch in the gut."

"Don't threaten me with a good time, I may have lived a boring life, but I can definitely beat you down."

Jack started the movie. Cooper and Beth had gotten a projector that was hooked to a DVD player.

Since he was the one who was recommending the films, of course Jack kept an eye on his friends for their reaction. Cooper was really into it, which didn't surprise Jack. As for Beth, it looked like she had a slightly different sense of humor than them. Still, that didn't stop her from enjoying the movie with the boys.

But Jack knew she'd like some of the action films he brought today. More importantly, Beth started to believe his little story. Which was the reason they were watching these films.

As the three were halfway through the first movie, a series of knocks was heard. Before Cooper could even move, Jack had offered to check.

When he opened the door Jack met Lucy behind it.

"Oh, hey Lucy!" He immediately obscured Lucy's vision so that she couldn't see what they were watching.

"Jack, I heard that you and Beth took a day off. So, I was wondering if you'd like to hang out?"

"Oh, I don't know… we were actually- Well, the thing is, we-"

Jack didn't want to tell her the truth about him, he barely knew Lucy. The last thing he wanted was more attention on himself before he found a way home. So it was best to steer Lucy away for now. He still needed to ask Cooper a few questions about Lucy as well.

"You should just go with her!" Beth told him. "You know, to learn the names of some people here?"

Jack looked at Beth with betrayal. She was throwing him under the bus. No doubt about it.

He wanted to say no to Lucy, but now that he was being pushed toward her, Jack couldn't even form the word in his head.

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

He excused himself just so he could go with Beth, and also to ask why she was using him to get rid of Lucy. But he made sure to close the door after so she wouldn't get a peek inside.

"Don't be such a baby. Listen, I'm still stressed out from yesterday, alright? Not enough booze is gonna make me forget my troubles that easily. And I really don't want to see that monkey right now."

"What do you have against Lucy? She's a weird one, yeah, but it is kinda strange that you have it out for her."

Beth looked at him with an arched brow. She gave a sigh before pinching the bridge of her snout. "What's not to hate? She's little Miss Perfect, and it really irritates me how she flaunts that to everyone. Just- just get her out of my fur, alright?"

"Fine, but you owe me this one. I really don't want to find out anything creepy about her."

"Way to judge a book by its cover."

Such a hypocrite of a comment. But Jack did not point it out. He gave Cooper a short goodbye before he went back to the door. Jack even hoped that they would enjoy the collection he brought while he accompanied Lucy.

Despite being a member of this large amusement park, Jack still received attention wherever he went even if he was out of costume. So the best way to avoid that was to simply wear a hat. Not many people bothered him after he bought one from the gift shop.

Now he followed Lucy around without a care. All that mattered now was to enjoy his time even though he wanted to watch some movies instead. Sadly, he cared too much about Beth to just say no to her.

He cared too much? Strange, he only knew Beth for a few days. Yet he wanted what was best for her.

Sometimes he confused himself. He was building too much in this world just so he could knock everything down. It bothered him greatly, the smiling people did as well. Everyone here was so happy. Families and friends alike. Jack was afraid that the people who knew him in this world would frown once he was gone. Would they miss him? Would he miss them as well? Only time could tell.

His train of thought was derailed when Lucy stopped at a fancy-looking building. Jack was caught by surprise when he saw it. The words "Town Hall" were placed on it. Which explained why this building was designed nicely. But despite that, the architecture was cartoonish. Made sense if you asked him. Though, what caught his eye was the digital clock. You'd think they'd use an analog, but this decision was most likely made with the children in mind.

It was halfway through the morning.

Then something else caught his attention. At the entrance of the town hall stood a mascot. Since he had started his job in Happy Town, Jack had seen all kinds of mascots and learned about them throughout his time here. Some were like him, performers and actors who just wanted to get through the day. Others were like Beth, all cartoonish and lively.

The mascot in front of him was the latter kind. Only this time, it was a human.

Curly blond hair, a large round head, a cartoonish expression with a big toothy smile, and dressed formally. He would've guessed that this was the mayor, but the sash that said "MAYOR" in all capital letters told him.

"Oh, right!" Lucy said when he asked about the mascot. "That's Mayor Missy, she, as you've already known, is the mayor of Happy Town! This is the first time you've seen her, I should've shown you around more."

"She's the face of this place?"

"Yes, she is! Ever since she debuted a long time ago on television, Mayor Missy has been a prominent character in the media, and the animation industry!"

Jack didn't realize that this amusement park was made with a theme in mind. "So wait, this place is actually based on some cartoon?"

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"Correct! But we aren't here for a lecture about the history of this beautiful place. Come on, there's more to show you."

Lucy gave Jack a little tour around the place. In truth, Jack had barely been around the amusement park, so wherever Lucy took them was uncharted territory. There were a lot more mascots than Jack had thought. And he noticed how many of them were humans.

It was to be expected, honestly, humans seem to be some kind of fantasy. Just like talking bipedal animals. So of course it would be a popular idea to show to children.

"Hey guys!" Lucy greeted a group of assorted people. "This is the new guy I told you all about!"

This particular group was only a few. Quite diverse as well with a duo of hens being the majority. The rest were all different from the others having a dog, sheep, hyena, and a salamander who was as red as crimson.

They eyed Jack with a strange glint in their eyes as if he had a second head on his shoulders.

Just from their first impressions, the man felt a little suspicious about this group. But might as well call it ludicrous as it was unnecessary to be so. They were simply just curious about him, that's all. Still, it was an uneasy feeling as if he was being preyed upon by hungry beasts. Everyone looked at Jack as he was simply mysterious in origins, but when this group looked at him, it was different. Was it excitement in their eyes?

"Wow," The sheep wore a look of astonishment. As if she couldn't comprehend Jack's being. "When Lucy said you were quite the looker I didn't think that you're this good-looking!"

"The fluffy butt that's eyeballing you is Ellen," Lucy introduced. "The iconic canine here is Warren and that's Soot." The Hound gave Jack a short nod while the salamander waved hello.

"I'm Sam and I'm Belle!" Both hens spoke in disturbing unison. "We're so happy to meet you!"

"And I'm Harold," The hyena extended a hand out which Jack shook. "Glad to make acquaintance with you, Jack."

"Yeah, it's nice to meet some of Lucy's friends. Gotta say, quite the energy in her."

Harold laughed at his comment. "That's Lucy alright! Always a bottle of sunshine"

"So you got any plans, Jack?" Warren asked. "We wanted to check out this nice new little restaurant in Whispering Woods. It's a place just a few hours drive south."

"Hey, I'm currently living there! Though, I have no idea what restaurant you're talking about. Haven't really checked out the town."

"Oh, then where are you from?" Ellen asked.

"I'm from out of town," Jack answered vaguely.

"A mysterious lone rider who showed up in town!" The sheep swooned dramatically. "How exciting, for such a dangerous man to be in our presence!"

"Can't say I'm dangerous, but I can't say I'm harmless either."

Harold brought out a toothy grin. "We got a tough guy here! Better watch out boys, or else he'd get ya!"

"Anyway!" Lucy jumped into the conversation. "We should all get a move on before lunch, that way we can show Jack around town!"

"Smart idea," Warren said. "Let's get to my car then. Just pitch in some cash for gas."

Before Jack could even believe it, the group was already outside the park and in Warren's car. It was a little cramped despite being a minivan with seven seats. Harold was in the passenger seat while Jack, Lucy, and Ellen were at the back. The rest of course were in the middle.

And soon enough, they were already on the road.

"You know," Warren began. "Lucy invited us for lunch so we'd all meet, but… You're friends with Beth, right? Sorry, but we all don't really see eye to eye with the fox. None of us wanted to show up and deal with her."

Ellen sent a frown to Jack. "What exactly is the reason for such a decent man as you to be around such a violent woman?"

"Aside from being partners, she's a nice person when you get to know her. A little rough sometimes, but Beth means well." He said.

"Right, you two are mascots and entertainers." Soot added.

"I know that Beth got a bad reputation, she's still my friend."

Harold scoffed. "A bad rep'? Dude, I'm just surprised that she still has a job after all the stuff she did."

"They're in character, but there's a limit." The hens commented.

"How many people did she attack last week? Definitely four," Soot recounted.

"Well, to be fair, she had only assaulted one guy this week," Lucy mentioned.

"Actually, is she really free to just attack people?" Jack inquired.

"Felicia Fox, despite being a simple farmer, was a fox of justice. When trouble comes to Happy Town and Mayor Missy was in a twist, Felicia Fox will always swoop in to save the day!" Ellen told Jack. "Beth just wanted to use that as an excuse to assault others. Staying in character she said."

Jack didn't continue the subject, but it did change when they talked about the place they were going to. A small restaurant opened in uptown Whispering Woods and the gang wanted to check it out. Warren was quite the foodie so he was sure to scout out any new joint for a good meal.

It wasn't much in appearance, though it had more of a seaside theme. The restaurant's front was built with a wall of bamboo with plants hanging from the colorful canopy roof. It looked out of place among the modern architecture.

The whole place was packed with a large line outside, but luckily Warren had thought ahead and pulled some strings, so none of them had to suffer under the sun.

The interior decoration was not what Jack expected in all honesty. The floor itself was the first thing he noticed as it was just uneven gravel. He thought he'd sink if he pressed hard enough. The tables had nothing to brag about, and the stools they were seated on wobbled.

A painting was displayed over his head, one that depicted the peaceful ocean and a strange flying whale. It wasn't the only one, several more absurd paintings littered the walls with the same theme as this restaurant.

"So, what do you guys do in Happy Town?" Jack asked.

"Oh, I don't work there," Warren said. "Though my daughter does, I just drop her off and hang out with the others."

"I! Am the director of Wendy's Theatre! I speak, I dance, and I write!" Ellen said, impassioned. It seemed that the little lamb was one for the spotlight as if it was an addiction that she couldn't escape from.

"Logistics," Soot answered. "I deliver stuff in the theme park. Best part of the job is when I get to drive the forklift around."

The hyena was next. "I'm a performer, specifically, I'm Gordon Cook, the goose who cooks."

"Wait, you get to be a goose character? I assumed that people stick to their races."

They stared at Jack.

"I mean, Beth is Felicia Fox."

"Oh, that!" Lucy chuckled into her hand. "Well, Beth just didn't like the characters that Miss Smith presented her with. She hated how they looked, but was reasonable with Felicia Fox. Sadly, she didn't want to do any of the large roles that came with the name. So Beth instead became a balloon vendor."

"Oh, I see," Jack hummed after he learned something new about his partner.

"We help the mascots and the performers prepare." The hens said.

"We're makeup artists," Sam said without her sister. Which caught Jack off guard.

"Anyway!" Harold smiled. "Are we ready to order?"

The menu of this restaurant was mostly seafood, with some pork and chicken of course, that never leaves a menu in any fine eatery. But that's something that disturbed Jack just a little. He glanced over to Ellen, the herbivore of this group. Unlike him, she seemed to be alright with the fact that everyone was ordering meat. But perhaps that's simply because she was raised in this world while Jack simply showed up.

So all in all, it seemed that Ellen had no issues, especially with her friends.

"What are you getting, Jack?" Lucy leaned over to him with the menu in her hands and was open for Jack to peruse. "Ever had Fish Florentine before? No? Well, how about you try it!"

It wasn't long before their orders were taken by the waiter. Though it looked like they'd take a while since the whole place was packed, and the staff were all in full gear. So they had enough time to chat some more while they waited.

"So," Jack's attention went to Lucy. "I am curious about where you come from, if you don't mind me asking, that is."

"Not at all," He said. "Well, I'm from the city down south, but I'm heading home to Mirfield."

"Mirfield? That's a pretty long way… How long exactly were you on the road before Whispering Woods?"

"Few days," Jack answered.

"Wait, how come you stopped in this town?" Harold inquired.

"Well, I'm broke." His answer was short, but his story? "Life in the city was going sour, and money started to run dry. Didn't have many options other than going back home to an old family friend who I haven't seen for a long time now. So I packed up all I had and grabbed all my money from the bank and went on the road. Should've done the math honestly, and maybe I would've been back at Mirfield right now."

A story with some partial truth in it.

"But… if I did, then I wouldn't have met Lucy and Beth."

"Oh, how sweet!" Ellen cooed. "A wayward man lost in the sea of fate! God guided you in your journey, yet the destination you had in mind deceived you! For it is here where you will do magnificent amazing things!"

"Ever so dramatic," Warren chuckled.

"Yeah, Lucy is great! I mean, what would the park be without her?" Said Soot.

"Beth on the other hand? Really dude, how can you tolerate that fox?"

Jack wanted to glare at Harold but knew that he had every right to be antagonistic with Beth. Her reputation wasn't that favorable.

"Yeah, she's kind of a handful." He agreed with Harold. "But, Beth is someone I trust despite knowing her only for a short while."

They didn't argue, it wasn't their choice to decide who he could be friends with. And he noticed the strange way Lucy stared at him with furrowed brows. That was also when he realized how close they were, that their shoulders could bump together. And it seemed that Lucy did as well as she quickly looked away, cheeks flushed.

It wasn't long before their order arrived.

"Thank you for waiting!" A familiar voice said as they brought them their meals.

"Maria?"

"Jack?" It was surprising that Jack was the first one to notice the black cat seeing as he was easily the most memorable person in town. Being different from the rest.

But before he could even greet her, Maria stopped him.

"Can't talk, gotta work." With that, she was gone. Made sense, the whole place just opened and was packed already. So the staff was on full throttle.

He watched her go into the kitchen and out soon after.

"Friend of yours?" Lucy asked with a very strange look in her eyes. It felt a little malicious.

"Yeah," He said. "I met her just before I got to town. I'm also living in a spare room at her place."

"Is that so?" She hummed.

"Hey, speaking of! Do you guys live outside of Whispering Woods or something?"

"Well, Warren, the twins, and I live in the city just north of Happy Town." Lucy said. "The rest is from here, good old Whispering Woods."

"Whispering Woods," Jack parroted. "Hey, what's the history of that name, anyway? Sounds very mystical."

Harold laughed, which was so in character, being a hyena and all. "No place is without any fun bits! This town has its skeletons, but what really inspired the name is the forest just south of here!"

"The forest?" The same forest he came out of? The one where Beth lived?

"Not this again," Warren huffed.

"Bro, you can't deny it! That forest is cursed!" Harold smiled.

Soot nodded. "They said that the forest started as a small one, but when the first people arrived, trees started to pop up and grew everywhere. The camp the settlers placed were all consumed by bark and roots and rendered everyone without shelter."

Ellen continued. "And as this dangerous and mysterious forest ran rampant, all that fled said they heard voices from within the center of it all. Some even told of figures who stood by the edge of the greenery, and these silhouettes all glared at the invaders with deep malice." She shivered in her seat. "Oh, it gives me goosebumps thinking about it!"

"Sounds absurd, right?" Harold said.

"It does, especially with Beth living there."

They all stared at Jack as if he grew another head.

"What's up?"

"Wait, Beth, right? The gal who could somehow pummel a man twice as big as her?"

"Harold, just tell me what's up so I can understand."

"Jack," Ellen spoke. "You are trying to explain to us that Bethany lives in the forest? We thought she was in the same residence as Cooper."

"When she has work, yeah."

"No wonder she's weird," Warren thought.

Jack didn't let that get past him. "She's not weird, Beth just has a lot of issues that need dealing with. If you guys try and get to know her better, maybe none of you would be scared of her."

"The fact that you believe I am frightened of that barbaric dolt insults me!" Ellen scoffed.

Everyone was clearly afraid, especially Harold. The guy was bigger than Jack, but he looked like he wanted to talk about something else.

"Well, then why didn't you guys join us for lunch the last time? I mean, Beth is a handful at times, but Lucy wanted to introduce me to you guys early. If you aren't scared of Beth, then why didn't you act like plastic for once and show up?"

"Jack," Lucy's hand clenched tightly around his shoulder. "You gotta understand, and I mean you're right about them being afraid of her. But you need to understand that Beth is just one bad day away from blowing up the whole park."

Harold let out a forced laugh trying to change the mood. But it only made things awkward between them.

"Fine." Ellen bared her teeth. "We're afraid of that menace. Poor Harold has the right to be, especially after attacking him unprovoked. She's more an animal than those feral woodland beasts in the forest."

"Let's not go there. We should just eat, the food is probably cold now." Harold stopped everyone then and there. Eyes glued on the table.

Whatever Beth did was definitely bad.

The mood shifted for the worse. Everyone went silent even after they started digging into their food. Jack thought it would help him with the bad aura around them, but one small bite told him something about this restaurant. It was all looks and no skill. The fish Florentine was bland, even with the minced bell pepper and cream cheese. It lacked the pop he expected. Not even the fish was notable.

He looked away and glanced over at everyone. They also looked deeply disappointed. So much for an interesting trip. But in the end, they continued to eat.

"Man, this is disappointing," Warren noted.

"You're telling me," Soot took another bite as if it would be different. "This just tastes like spices and nothing else. Or worse, it probably isn't seasoned enough."

"Sorry guys, I should've scouted out this place before taking you all here. And looking around, it just isn't us who's having a bad experience."

Jack tried not to, but once Warren pointed it out, he couldn't help but see it for himself. Everyone in the building did not look satisfied, and it seemed that Jack and Lucy's friends weren't just unlucky. Simply that this restaurant wasn't good enough.

Even then, Jack couldn't waste the food given to him as he was raised better. At least it was still edible.

"No need to apologize," The twins said. "As long as we are enjoying ourselves, this trip is worth it."

"You know what? Sure, why not." Jack smiled as stabbed at his food with a fork. "Hey, aren't we, by default, actors? Come on Harold, we can just pretend the food is the best in the world."

Harold snickered with a wide grin. "Pretend? My guy, I have no idea what you mean."

The table joined in on their shenanigans. Despite being bland like a rock, the group managed to see past it and enjoyed their lunch. So much so that Jack started to believe their little lies.

It wasn't long before the plates were empty, and everyone was content and ready to go. Warren and the rest went out first while Lucy decided to talk with the manager, as for Jack, he had just returned from the trip to the comfort room. Just in time to see Lucy finish chatting with the manager.

"-That's right, I hope we come to an understanding." He heard her say. And that was the end of the conversation as the manager walked away. "Hey Jack, are you done? The others are waiting for us."

The ride back to Happy Town was uneventful, they simply talked about interests and Jack's history. They were surprised about his PhD. And he was too when he learned that Lucy had a PhD in engineering. He knew she was smart, but never did he think that the assistant manager finished college. She was a real brainiac in his eyes.

When Jack finally found his way back to Beth and Cooper, he found them both practically glued to the screen. He couldn't help but notice as some tears were shed by Beth. As for Cooper, he simply sniffed a little as he watched the hero of the movie perish in the cold just so his beloved could survive longer.

He waited in silence just so he wouldn't disturb them. And once the credits rolled in, Beth wiped the tears away as she slumped deeper into her seat.

"He dies?" She asked in disbelief as if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes.

"Man, why does Jackie have that bummer of a movie?"

"Glad you guys are enjoying yourselves."

"Jack!?" The two exclaimed.

"When the heck did you get back, Jack!?"

"Ha, nice one, Beth." Cooper chuckled.

"Well, lunch with Lucy was just a straightforward trip. Went to point B then back. Though I gotta say, that restaurant we went to had the most boring food I ever ate. It was so bland, you wouldn't believe it."

"Yeesh, tell me what that place is later." Beth stood up and pushed Jack into the couch. "We gotta finish this movie marathon first, right after I ask you some questions!"

Her hands gripped his shoulders and held him in place. He remembered something about Harold. The hyena was a victim of Beth in one of her violent outbursts. With that in mind, he looked closely at her arms and finally realized something. She was deceivingly strong.

Beth and Jack were almost the same height, with Beth being short by a few inches. And he wasn't exactly fit, only average.

As if he had no control, Jack reached up and touched her arm.

She wasn't scrawny. Underneath that layer of fur was the body of an athlete.

"Why are you touching me?"

"You work out?"

She noticed that hint of fear in his voice, so Beth answered with a devilish smile.

That's when he knew that getting into her bad side was a death sentence.