Summary: The days not over yet and the rumor mills have begun to turn.

 Fang's phone buzzed in her pocket, finally breaking the comforting silence. She de-tangled herself from our embrace, wiping her nose on my shirt in the process. Gross. Her face turned into a grimace as she checked her phone.

 

“What is it?” 

 

“Trish..”  She ran a hand through her silver hair.

 

“Is… that bad?” I honestly didn't know where they stood with each other but judging by her reaction something was wrong.

 

“I don't know… she never responded to me after the prom. Then she avoided me this morning.” Her face scrunched up. “I don't even know if I want to talk to her! She's been my friend for so long..”

 

“She's always telling me what to do!” Fang shouted. “I don't want to have anyone telling me what to do anymore!”

 

“You won't Fang.” I placed my hands on her shoulders.

 

“She's always on me about dating you as well” She let out a sigh. “...How do I even face them? After what I almost did..” 

 

“Easy.” I give her my most confident grin. “One step at a time, what's she want?”

 

Fang looks down at her phone, her face slowly going red as she reads. Slumping over, hands over her face, she lets out a high pitched groan.

 

“What?”

 

“...I think everyone got the wrong impression..” 

 

“About?” I honestly couldn't think of what would give her this weird reaction.

 

“Our whole.. Episode in the hallway.” I saw her eyes peeking from behind her fingers.

 

“Oh.. well it can't be that bad.” Her red face said otherwise.

 

“Well… You on your knee.. Talking about spending your life with me..” Oh…oh..OOHHH!

 

“Wait… so they thought..”

 

“That you proposed..” Fang was avoiding eye contact now, wringing her hands in front of her.

 

“We.. We can fix this. Easy.” 

 

“But.. I mean how? Without letting everyone know I was about to..” She cut herself off as her eyes began to water. 

 

“Well how about this. It was my first time and I became overly clingy the next morning and blurted out some random cringy stuff?” I hoped the bit of humor would hold her tears at bay, I think we both have cried enough for one day.

 

“God you're a dweeb.” She chuckled, mission accomplished. “Besides we can't do that, Naser would kill you.”

 

“He's tried before and I handled him just fine.” Though the knot on the back of my head would say otherwise.

 

“We have to do something.” Wait a second. I had an idea!

 

“Do we really have to do anything?” Fang looked at me in confusion.

 

“I mean.. Yes?” She was adorable while baffled.

 

“All I'm saying is that sometimes weddings take forever to come around. If by some miracle you're sick of me come the next few years all you have to do is dump me!” Fang eyes were growing wider with each word that left my mouth. “Nothing changes until the wedding! It would be as if nothing happened!”

 

“But.. you would be my Fiancé..”

 

“Just a fancy term for a boyfriend!” 

 

“I..” She looked down, pain evident on her face. “I can’t shackle you to someone like me..” 

 

“Fang I meant every single word I said to you.” I dropped to a knee again and grasped both her hands in front of me. “You improve every aspect of my life just by being in it.”

 

Tears once again trailed down her cheeks, well mission failed. Fang’s face was beet red and her wings flared out behind her. But there was something different in her eyes as she stared at me with her mouth open.

 

“Fang, will you maybe marry me sometime in the future!” I screamed it from the rooftop, not caring who heard from below. I only had eyes for the ptero in front of me.

 

Fang was frozen like a deer in the headlights. “I…” Her grip on my hands tightened to the point I was a little worried she would pierce them with her claws.

 

Her face shifted through emotions before scrunching up in a tear filled giggle. “How can I say no to that..” 

 

I once again found myself in a death grip as she squeezed the life out of me.

 

“So is that a yes then?”

 

She scoffed. “Yes Anon I might marry you one day.. You stupid dweeb.”

 

“Fang you've made me the happiest man on a rooftop.” We once again locked lips in the awkward dance that was human-dino kissing.

 

“Lucy…” She mumbled against my lips.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Call me Lucy..” 

 

“Are you sure?”

 

She hesitated for a second. “Only you though… for now.” She swept her hair out of her face. “I.. think it's time for a change. I don't know if I want to be Fang anymore…”

 

“If that's what you want..”

 

“Also only if we're alone!” She shouted. “...It's… going to be a process.”

 

“Alright then.. Lucy.. ” Her red face returned. “But don't think you have to change yourself. I love Fang as well, you know. I don't know where I would be without my punk rock star.”

 

“Relax, I'm not about to start skipping and picking flowers, nerd.” Lucy smirked at me. “I just.. Think I need to make a few adjustments.”

 

“I mean… I.. almost hurt people Anon.. and for what? Laughing at me?” Her smirk was gone already. “Saying I have nothing to fix… is just a lie. I need to work on doing what I want to do. I.. want to be happy.”

 

“And you won't be doing it alone. You'll have me right there with you to help you through it!”

 

Her phone buzzed again.

 

“Well what is it this time?” She scowled down at it.

 

“Reed… he's saying that I need to talk with Trish.” She scoffed. “ You know as if I haven't been trying too!”

 

“How about we stow that for another day.”

 

“Ya.. you're right. I need to just chill for the rest of the day. But I do need to sit her down and find out what her issue with you is.”

 

“Like I said, a problem for another day.” I glanced at the revolver on the ground. “Besides we have bigger issues, I'm fairly certain you stole that from your dad right?”

 

Lucy’s eyes go wide. “Fuck me. That's right! How am I going to possibly face him again after what I almost did.”

 

I gently picked the gun up and with a bit of fiddling managed to unload it, dropping it all into her bag.

 

“How long until your dad realizes it's gone?” 

 

“It's for home defense… so unless something actually happens I should be able to sneak it back.” She was already shaking at the thought.

 

“Nah you're not going anywhere near home until you feel better.” I scratched my chin in thought. “How much do you trust Naser?”

 

“Anon.. I.. I don't want him involved in any of this. Raptor Jesus I almost Killed his girlfriend!” 

 

“I'll handle everything.” I assured her. “Naser has been on your side since the beginning. Look I won't pretend I understand what happened between you two. But I do know that he cares for you.” 

 

Naser always was a bro. “Lucy, you said you wanted to change things right? Trust your brother. There's not a lot coming between you guys. Throw him an olive branch, show him that you still care for him like I know you do.”

 

Lucy looked conflicted. I could tell that she cared for her brother, something obviously happened between them that altered their dynamic.

 

“He told me that he loved you. You're his family. Sure some of his plans backfired… but even you know that he was only trying to help.”

 

“I don't know…” She mumbled as her head shook back and forth. “I can't face him right now.. You'll handle everything.. Right?” 

 

“You won't have to talk to him until you're ready. I promise. How much do you want him to know?”

 

“Everything…” 

 

“Are you sure?” This is a huge step of trust.

 

Lucy let out a drawn out sigh. “Ya I'm sure. I'm already making you take care of all my issues, I'm not about to make you lie to him. Especially since he's going to be an accomplice in it.”

 

“You alright?” Judging by her flat stare, that was a dumb question.

 

“Im… tired Anon.” She deflated at those words. Slouching over as the tensions from today finally took their toll on her.

 

“Well tell you what. How about we head back to my apartment, order a pizza, and stream crappy movies on my phone?”

 

That got a smirk out of her.

 

“Does anyone even deliver to Skin Row?” 

 

“Correction, grab a frozen from the store, then stream crappy movies on my phone.”

 

“That sounds wonderful, Anon.” Lucy pulled me into another hug, though this one mercifully less spine crushing. “Thank you.. For everything.” She booped her snoot on my cheek in a dino kiss.

 

We waited until the middle of a class period to avoid the crowd. On the way down the stairs Fang called for a taxi after my noodle legs almost sent me down a flight or two. And probably to no one's surprise it was the same, slimy driver from prom that came skidding to a stop.

 

“Aye lovebirds, where ya heading? Hopefully it's somewhere with a bathtub hahaa!” The yellow raptor(?) laughed at us.

 

“Convenience store then my apartment.”

 

“Arnt ya supposed to be in class right now?” He quirked an eyebrow.

 

“Skipping today.”

 

“Ha. Fair enough. So any preference on store?” 

 

“Closest on the way.”

 

With a nod he peeled out down the street. The entire ride back Fang had her nose in her phone. 

 

“Whats up?”

 

“Nothing.. Just trying to get Trish to talk with me. I think my text scared her.” She stared at her phone as if she could will a message from Trish to appear. 

 

“The uh… lyrics?” She nodded “Who all did you send that to by the way?”

 

“Just you, Trish, and Reed.” She shoved her phone back in her pocket. “But she hasn't messaged me back after your proposal thing..”

 

“Eh she's always had it out for me. Maybe she's just shooken up from the whole prom fiasco too. Give her some time and I'm sure she'll be back to bad talking me in no time.” 

 

I was pretty neutral on Trish. I used to hate her, but I've had a while to reflect on how she and I acted towards each other. How would I feel if one of my best friends for years suddenly stopped talking to me? If my friends started to ignore me in favor of some random loser. Sure she was a prick, but so was I. I was always looking for her to extend a truce even when I wasn't willing to make the effort myself.

 

 Well.. maybe it was time to make that effort the next time we meet.

 

I take the time to check my own phone. Well Naser definitely wants to talk to me.

 

‘Naser: You better explain yourself.’

‘Naser: Anon dont ignore me’

‘Naser: Please’

‘Naser: I WILL GIVE YOUR ADDRESS TO FATHER!’

 

Oh shit. Did he know my address? Maybe Fang had told him? I know I wasnt about to take the risk.

 

‘Anon: Lots of stuff happened. Fang is ok. Will call you soon. Need favor.’

 

‘Naser: You better’

 

“Hey Naser doesn't know my address does he?”

 

“I.. don't think so? He knows you're from Skin Row though, why?”

 

“Your brother might want to kill me.” I showed her my phone.

 

She snorted, “Well you did propose in front of him.” 

 

“Then he should treat me better, I might be family!”

 

After a quick pitstop for some cheap frozen pizzas we were finally in the bad part of town. I was a little surprised that a) he knew where I lived. b) he still chose to drop me off here. When I went to pull my wallet out the raptor just held up a hand.

 

“It's on the house today. Mazel tov on the wedding.” He sped off before I could thank him. I decided he wasn't that bad of a guy.

 

A few minutes later I found myself sitting on my bed with a pizza in the oven. Fang had called dibs on the first shower, and judging by all the dried blood she needed it.  I gave her one of my many extra shirts and pants. 

 

Pulling my phone out I took a deep breath and hit the call button. Naser should be out of class by now. It rang only once before he picked up.

 

“You better have a good reason for what I saw today Anon.” At least he sounded calm

 

“Naser, listen to me. It's serious.” I put as much conviction into my voice as I could.

 

“...” Silence came through the phone, I guess he's listening then. 

 

“Make sure your dad can't hear what I'm about to tell you.”

 

There was a ruffle on the phone.

 

“We're good. This sounds serious.” 

 

“It is, I need a favor from you.” I heard a sigh from the line.

 

“Listen, Fang took something that I need you to return..”

 

“Oook what did s-They take.” 

 

“I can't tell you.” An exacerbated groan sounded from his end.

 

“Not yet, I'll tell you everything tomorrow. I'll meet you before class.” I assured him.

 

“Naser I need you to promise me that once you see what she took you will return it without getting caught.”

 

“Anon… this sounds really bad man..” I could tell how worried he suddenly was through the phone.

 

“Fang needs you right now man. Listen.. I asked her and she trusts you with this knowledge, alright. She's having a rough time after prom and I think she needs her brother by her side. So promise me Naser.”

 

“I.. promise… Just please Anon. Is she alright?”

 

I hesitated on my answer.

 

“I'll make sure she is. Now I gotta go, I'll see you tomorrow.”

 

“Hey wait what about that whole scene i-” I hung up before he finished shouting. I'll deal with that later.

 

I hear the bathroom door close. Lucy stood with a towel on her head, dressed in my spare clothes. She made them look much better than I did.

 

“Naser..” She didn't have to ask.

 

“He’ll help us. No questions asked until I meet him tomorrow. Told ya you had nothing to worry about.” 

 

Lucy sits down next to me and lays her head on my shoulder, snuggling into me. Or trying to before jerking back with a gag, wrapping a hand around her snoot.

 

“Raptor Jesus you stink! How did I not notice till now?” She fanned her face with a hand in an exaggerated state.

 

“What do you expect? I didn't get to wash last night and then ran a marathon.”

 

I was quickly shooed to the bathroom. Fang may have used all the hot water but even room temp felt amazing at that time. 

 

I… I was really back wasn't I? How I didn't have a clue. Is the secret to time travel insurmountable depression? Was I wearing ruby slippers?

 

Well one thing was for sure. I had a promise to Raptor Jesus I needed to keep this Sunday.

 

I stayed until the final drops of warm water, leaving me a little chilled. But oh so refreshed.

 

Fang was on my bed, pizza cut up and ready in front of her. She had helped herself to my meager medical supplies judging by the white that spotted her arms.

 

She smiled at me but I could tell it was forced. One step at a time, Anon.

 

I set my phone up so we could see the tiny screen while laying down and after a few adjustments we ended up with me as the little spoon. Dang wings.

 

Neither of us really paid attention to the movies or the food. Lucy had rest her head on my shoulder and wrapped her arms around my waist. We were there for each other and that was what mattered.

 

“Anon…” She whispered in my ear.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Did you really have a dream?” Her voice shakes as she hugs me tighter. “Please.. I'll believe whatever you say.. I.. I just want the truth.”

 

I mulled the question around in my head. I.. honestly didn't know. It was too long to be a dream right? Too real. But… Time travel? If everything had not fallen into place I would think I was just insane.

 

A miracle then.

 

“I honestly don't know. It… was like I lived through that day.” I rest a hand on one of hers at my stomach.

 

“You hurt a lot of people… and yourself. I even went to your funeral.” Her hand flipped over to squeeze mine.

 

“I fell asleep at your grave and woke up back in my room… I knew something was wrong when my alarm was unplugged so I booked it to school.”

 

Lucy didn't say anything for a while. Her snout brushed against my cheek as tried to snuggle even closer. I'm glad my back was towards her as I tried to stealthily wipe my eyes on the pillow.

 

“...So are you a psychic now?” 

 

“Huh?” 

 

“Well you like, saw the future right?” Holy shit I might be psychic.

 

Lucy chuckled weakly behind me. I must have mumbled that out,

 

“Maybe Stella is on to something with those cards of hers.” and judging by the last reading she gave me I was inclined to agree.

 

“You wouldn't happen to remember the lotto numbers for Friday huh?” 

 

“Sorry Sweet tooth but we're gonna be poor for a little while longer.”

 

I'm not sure how long we laid there watching whatever the auto play put on next. I couldn't focus over the warm body behind me. It seems time can still slip away from me.

 

Fang was here… I don’t know what I did to get a second chance. I sure as hell didn't deserve one. But I wasn't about to waste it, I owed it to Fang.

 

My body finally relaxes for what must be the first time since the incident. The movie blurred into a mass of shapes as my eyes droop farther and farther.

 

“Anon.. You awake?” I hear Lucy whisper into my ear.

 

“...hmmm..”

 

“Thank you… for being there today. I..” She hesitates. “I.. don't know what I was thinking. I love you…”

 

“Love you too.” I don't know if she said anything after that, I was busy drifting off.

 

But I could feel her there. Next to me. And for the first time in recent memory, I wasn't scared to go to sleep. 

[POST-NOTES]
Chapter 3. Who would have thought I would make it here
And with the closing of that chapter, I have now posted my first ever fanfiction. Never did I think I would enjoy sitting down and writing something before, yet here we are. If you made it this far, I appreciate it.
"Until next time chiiildreen! This is Three Dog. OOOOUUUUTTT!"