Chapter XI: One Eventful Night

Travis goes on his first date with Rose while Fawna meets a sweet but awkward young man named Rick.

                Travis stood on Fawna's doorstep the next night, looking extremely antsy and nervous. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt underneath a white dress shirt with the top three buttons undone to reveal the collar of his t-shirt. He had a pair of rather nice jeans on with clean blue and white sneakers. His hair was combed a lot more carefully than usual.

                "Well? How do I look?" he asked her. Fawna laughed and nodded.

                "Dashing, Travis. Shouldn't you get going?" she asked him, looking down at her watch. Travis nodded and flattened the collar of his dress shirt.

                "Yeah, I just wanted to make sure I didn't have toilet paper hanging from my butt or something, so I came here first," he told her, which got Fawna laughing again.

                "Well, you don't have toilet paper hanging from your butt, but your shoe, now that's a different story," she said teasingly, with her arms crossed. Travis rolled his eyes and kicked her playfully in the shins.

                "You're hilarious," he told her sarcastically, before heading off towards the waterfall for his picnic with Rose. Sighing from sudden boredom, Fawna decided to wander around Serenity Falls that evening with Mutt. Grabbing an old rope from the shed, Fawna fastened it to her puppy's bandana to act as a leash.

                "Come on boy, let's go for a walk," she told him, leading the scruffy dog off the property. Barking excitedly and wagging his tail, Mutt happily padded alongside Fawna down the dusty street. The sun was beginning to fade in the distance and there were no lights on the main street of Serenity Falls, so Fawna had to be careful not to trip over any debris or uneven footing along the path. Suddenly, Mutt stood stock still and began barking and growling menacingly. Fawna immediately became frightened. "W-what is it Mutt?" she said tentatively. Her dog continued to growl into the darkness ahead. Trying to peer into the pitch black, Fawna could just make out a figure coming towards her. Fawna's eyes widened and she clapped a hand to her mouth in terror! A mugger!

                "CLUCK CLUCK!!!" a very loud, squawky sound rang out and suddenly, the figure was bounding towards her, chasing what looked to be a very feathery monster!

                "AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!" Fawna screamed for her life as both figures collided with her, knocking her and Mutt to the ground. Fawna's eyes snapped shut and she sat there, very still hoping that the mugger would just take what he wanted quickly and not hurt her, but a voice made her open her eyes.

                "Oh I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there in the dark. My chicken must have run right into you," Fawna looked up to see a rather awkward-looking guy with glasses and a visor standing over her. He bent down to help Fawna to her feet and Fawna stared numbly at him.

                "I- I thought you were a mugger..." she mumbled, going red from embarrassment. The man laughed and shook his head.

                "Mugger? There's no muggers way out here in Serenity Falls. You must be that city-slicker who took over the farm. You're the talk of the town, Fawna is it?" he asked as Fawna numbly nodded again. "I'm Rick, by the way. I run the Poultry Farm in Mineral Town with my mom and little sister. She was the one who left the gate open and the chicken escaped," he explained, rolling his eyes in exasperation. Suddenly, he looked around and frowned. "Hey, where did Alice go?" he asked, obviously referring to the chicken. Fawna looked around as well and sighed.

"Mutt's gone, too! He must have chased Alice." she told Rick. Rick shook his head and grabbed Fawna's wrist to pull her along.

                "Come on, we have to find them, before your dog eats my chicken!" he exclaimed. Nodding and running after Rick, they began to search all over Serenity Falls. Dawn arrived and there was still no sign of Alice or Mutt. They arrived back at Fawna's farm, quite upset. Fawna was crying and Rick was sniffling a little.

                "P-poor Mutt," she sobbed. "I was m-mean to him and I w-wouldn't let him sleep o-on my bed and now he's g-gone and I m-miss him!" she wailed helplessly. Rick shook his head.

                "My mom is going to be so angry with me for losing Alice... she came from the egg my dad gave her before he left," he sighed sadly. The two saddened pet owners trudged into the house to mourn their loss together when a very happy sight met their eyes.

                Mutt and Alice were sleeping side-by-side on the little cushion beside Fawna's coffee table. It seemed as if Mutt hadn't eaten Alice after all. He had made a new friend! Fawna squealed in delight and scooped her puppy up in a big hug. "Mutt! I'm so glad you're safe! I promise I'll never be mean to you again!" she told him, as Mutt barked happily and accepted an ear scratch from his mistress. Rick was stroking Alice lovingly.

                "Mom will be so happy to see you back home," he told her. Standing up, he extended a hand to Fawna and she shook it. "Bye. I'll see you around Fawna," he told her kindly and Fawna smiled. "Hey Travis," he said as he walked out the door. Travis had just shown up.

                "Morning, Rick," he said with a wave. Walking into the house, Travis wore a look of minor confusion. "I didn't know you knew Rick," he said mildly. Fawna shook her head.

                "I didn't until last night," she replied, and she told Travis the entire story of what had happened and how she had lost Mutt and Rick and her had searched all night long. When she was finished, Travis was gaping.

                "Well, it seems you had an eventful night," he chuckled. Fawna nodded, but remembered something and snapped her fingers.

                "Speaking of that... how did your date with Rose go?" she asked him. Travis chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck.

                "It was... nice," he told her evasively, doing a terrible job of hiding a broad grin. Fawna laughed and sat down on the bed.

                "So?" she asked with her arms crossed. Travis looked puzzled.

                "So what?" he asked. Fawna sighed and shook her head. Travis really was dumb when it came to stuff like this.

                "Did you kiss her?" she asked, as if that had been the most obvious question in the world and Travis must be rattled in the head for not cluing in. He rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall.

                "Geez, what is it with girls and wanting to know these kinds of details?" he sighed, but then he smiled slyly. "For the record, yes," he told her. Fawna clapped her hands excitedly, but then remembered how tired she was from not seeping the previous night and yawned. Travis laughed and shook his head.

                "Go to bed, I'll take care of your farm for you today. Otherwise, you'll probably collapse in the middle of your field and squish all of your tomatoes," he joked.

                Fawna thanked him and quickly took the opportunity to reclaim some well-needed rest. As she slept, faint images of Rick floated through her mind, puzzling her.