Chapter 10 - A new friend

The next day…



Tails: Blain!!

Tails knocked on the door… But there was no response…



Tails: Blain…?

He peeked through the bedroom window and noticed Blain in bed. As soon as he taps on the window, Blain looked up with a pissed off look and yanked down the curtains. Tails kept on tapping and eventually, Blain opened the door…



Blain: What?!!
Tails: Geez, what’s you’re problem?
Blain: Went out last night…
Tails: Oh! Did you have a good time?!
Blain: Define it…
Tails: Oh… What happened?
Blain: Never mind… What are you doing here anyways?
Tails: I came by to do some maintenance on your arm.
Blain: Ooh… Yeah come on in…

Blain looked in the mirror and he saw his right cheek was glowing red. Every time he poked it, it stings a little. So he got out an ice pack and held it against his cheek…



Tails: What happened to you?
Blain: … Nicole…
Tails: And she punched you?
Blain: … Yup…
Tails: Do I even wanna know…?
Blain: … No…
Tails: Then I won’t ask…
Blain: Thanks…
Tails: But… I’m still wondering…
Blain: What?
Tails: What did you do this time?
Blain: ……
Tails: I didn’t say anything.
Blain: I can’t remember anything… Why the hell did she punched me anyway…

Tails: Maybe you need to interact more with the feminine side, understanding it, so that you can have a good, meaningful conversation.

Blain: Says someone who doesn’t have much life experience.
Tails: Ah, but that’s where you go wrong my friend. I had a girl, unlike you.
Blain: Yeah, for about two days…
Tails: Three… And that’s more then you can say! Taking a shower once in a while would help too you know…

Blain: …
Tails: *laughs*

“coffee…”



…



“I need a coffee…”



That was my first thought when I woke up. I glared at the clock like it was taunting me. The clock however, said it was 13:24 am… So I got up from bed, made a pot of coffee and took a shower in the mean time.



After 4 cups of coffee I was wide awake again. Come to think of it, I was a little bored and it’s Saturday… What do most people do on a Saturday while it’s a nice warm day? Well, seeing as autumn was coming soon, I had to get myself some cloths for the winter and stuff. And come to think of it, everyone else needed that as well… So I got out and went searching for the others.



Everyone wanted to come along. Not because I came with the idea, but because of common sense. It’s not very clever to freeze your tits off in the winter. There was just one person that I haven’t asked…



Nicole: Blain…?

I knocked on the door but there was no response… I check the doorknob, but the door wasn’t locked… So I slowly opened the door but I didn’t hear anything…



Nicole: Blain…?! Where are you?!

Then I heard sounds from the living room. It sounded like something was falling on the ground and I could hear some mumblings… Was that Tails…?



As I peeked around the corner, I scared the shoot out of myself. Blain’s left arm was cut open and Tails was doing something with it… There was even a little bit of blood…



Nicole: Whoa!!! What the hell!! Holy shoot, what the-

Then Tails and Blain looked up…


Tails: Hey Nicole!
Blain: Ow!!!
Tails: Oh, sorry.
Blain: Look where you’re going with that screwdriver!!
Nicole: Blain, you alright?
Blain: … Yeah…
Nicole: Why’s your arm cut open!?
Blain: Monthly maintenance.
Nicole: Doesn’t that hurt?!
Blain: Sometimes… *glares at Tails*
Tails: Don’t worry, the skin is synthetically engineered. It won’t leave scars after it’s burned by a laser.

Nicole: …
Blain: You done?
Tails: Almost.
Blain: Pssh… fracking hell…
Nicole: So how’s your head…?
Blain: Painful… What the hell have we been doing last night…?
Nicole: We? Speak for yourself rodent, you’re the one who ordered 9 glasses of strong liquor.

He rolled his eyes and supported his head with his right arm and pouts. Then Tails took off his glove, got out a pencil and poked his fingers with the sharp tip…



Blain: Ow!!
Tails: You’re all set. Move your fingers.

Then Blain tried to move his fingers… His thumb acted funny though. It went berserk like a squirrel on steroids. After Tails made some adjustments, it acted normal when Blain moved his thumb… Where’s the fun in having a normally functioning thumb…?



Tails: Done.
Blain: Great… Thanks Tails…
Tails: No problem.
Blain: … What are you doing here anyway?
Nicole: Well eh… Everyone is going to town, so… You wanna tag along?
Blain: Do I need to?
Nicole: Well if you need clothes for the winter…
Blain: … I still got a headache…
Nicole: Take a very hot shower. That should cure your hangover.
Blain: … Right…

As Blain took a shower…



Nicole: Tails, do you where Cody is?
Tails: He’s with Rouge and Shadow.
Nicole: Oh? What’s he doing there?
Tails: I don’t know. He said they took him to town.
Nicole: They left already?
Tails: Yeah… You going too?
Nicole: Yup. I need some clothes.
Tails: Aah…

And after a while, Blain came out of the shower. His head was one big fluff ball… At that same point, I drank something. That really didn’t go too well… It got spit out again and I choked while I died laughing… He quickly flattened his quills by stroking it and pulling it down. His spikes came back, but it still had that fluffiness…



Nicole: You feeling better now?
Blain: … Kinda.
Nicole: Right! Let’s go! You coming along Tails?
Tails: Yup!
Blain: But-

I didn’t ask for Blain’s opinion. I just dragged him along. He had to, because he had to get cloths too. Running around naked is out of fashion.



Once we got in town, we met up with the others. Shadow and Rouge went their own way, as well as Amy, Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. So we decided to look around to see some clothes shops... All sorts of brands were on display… At some point, we entered some shop. It wasn’t really busy and we looked around in the shop. Blain looked around as well but he wasn’t that impressed by all the brands on display…



Nicole: See something you like?
Blain: … Not really.
Nicole: Here, try this on.

I threw some jeans at him which was way to long for him. As soon as he unfolds it, he stared at me, wondering if I was sane.


Blain: It’s way too long!
Nicole: That’s supposed to be. It’s called baggy.

So he puts it on… …Did he ever wore pants…? Seriously, he pulls it up to his waste…



Nicole: You gotta lower your back pockets to your @$$.
Blain: Like this?
Nicole: Yeah, now fold the bottom.
Blain: Alright…
Nicole: Ok, looks good. Keep that one.

I found a few other jeans about the same size. I got a dark grey one and a dark blue one with a white “worn off” texture on it. After looking around, Blain noticed something. He shows me pants with urban camo textures. After he puts it on, its all tight around the waste and his @$$… So I got out a bigger one for him. He puts it on and it’s baggy…



Nicole: Looking good. It suits you.
Blain: Ya think?
Nicole: Yup. Here, take this.

I got him a black tank top, a hoodie, 2 t-shirts as well as 2 casual t-shirts, and 3 sweaters in different colors and prints. Looks good on him. I also got him some new gloves. Fingerless gloves, with a small open rectangle on the outside. A pair of nylon sunglasses for in the summer, a pair of dark grey strap-on sneakers, a pair of grey/blue high-tops, and a pair of black and blue low-tops. Now it was my turn to shop around…



Six hours later, we returned home. We didn’t see anyone else on the way back home… In total, together, we’ve spent about 600 dinar… Blain carried all the stuff we bought and I only held one bag because he couldn’t carry more.



Then, as evening fell and Cody arrived to say he’s gonna stay over with Tails, Blain and I chilled out on the porch at my place after his stuff was taken to his house. It actually scared me how clean and tidy his closets were… Maybe a little too clean…



Anyway, we were kicking back on the porch at my place. Leaning back on a chair our feet up against the railing with a nice hot cup of coffee. Well, I did anyway. As it turned dark, I lit up a candle that was on a small table next to me. It was one of those aroma candles that give a nice smell after it was lighted…



Blain: You often think about the future Nicole?
Nicole: Nope… I’ll just live every day like it’s my last and not worry about the next, because the next day has its own worries.

Blain: Yeah but, don’t you think about how you’ll end up in ten years, or even twenty years, or maybe even in thirty years?

Nicole: Of course I do.
Blain: Really?
Nicole: Yeah. I know I’ll be old. I might have a kid. Maybe even two… I might even be married even though I can’t really imagine that…

Blain: But what if those things are never to be realized?
Nicole: How would you know?
Blain: Well…
Nicole: How do you know that it’s not gonna be realized?
Blain: …
Nicole: Exactly… Maybe it doesn’t go the way I planned. Maybe there are lots of things that are not gonna be realized in 30 years. Hell, maybe I’m dead in thirty years. But I know that at least one thing will be realized.

Blain: Which is…?
Nicole: I don’t know. That’s the point. Maybe I’m way different in thirty years. I bet you never thought you would end up like this with me on a porch talking about the future. I guess that indicates how much you changed over the years.

Then he looked at me and smiled. I guess he knew I was right…



Blain: Yeah… I never imagined that…
Nicole: Hehe…
Blain: Where’d you come with that?
Nicole: With what?
Blain: With what you just said.
Nicole: Life experience… You know… I’ve been through a lot…
Blain: You wanna talk about it…?

frack… That wasn’t supposed to happen…



Nicole: No…
Blain: I don’t get it Nicole… I mean, you always tell me to talk about everything and shoot, while you don’t say a word of where you from. I don’t know shoot about you.

Nicole: I also tell you to put things in the past.
Blain: But that doesn’t mean you can’t talk about it anymore.
Nicole: … Just drop it Blain.
Blain: You know…
Nicole: What?
Blain: You don’t have to tell me anything… Just… Bear in mind that you’ll be the one with the problem… Not somebody else… It’s just that…

Nicole: Hmm?
Blain: Well… You did a lot for me and I just wanna return the favor… I can’t stand it that people do things for me without doing something back…

Nicole: Truth be told Blain…
Blain: What?
Nicole: Everything I did for you was also for me.
Blain: Whadda ya mean?
Nicole: Well… I just wanted someone close you know… I don’t like being alone… I’m not used to that… And… I guess you were the perfect “victim”.

Blain: Victim?
Nicole: Yeah… I guess wanted to keep the lifestyle I was used back in Buthainah… But over the months, I realized that it’s not gonna work out. So… I guess I changed as well…

Blain: What does it have to with me?
Nicole: You never did any of that… Shopping, going to bars and all that… And… I guess I just wanted to show you that… I mean, look at you… You changed a lot during those months…

Blain: So did you…
Nicole: Yeah… Sometimes I wonder if I ever get back to Buthainah my friends would still recognize me. Then again… I guess they never would…

Then I closed my eyes and sighed, and took a sip from my coffee. I realized it was already cold, so I threw it out in the bushes and got myself a new one… As soon as I got back, I took some sips of it. I stirred and stirred and the whirlpool that was caused by the stirring caught my attention… I kept staring at it for a while until it stopped. Then I took another sip and sighed again…



Blain: You ever think of going back to Buthainah…?
Nicole: Sometimes…
Blain: Oh…
Nicole: Why?
Blain: Well, since we’re being honest here…
Nicole: Go on.
Blain: Well… I like you… I can’t really imagine what I should do without you…
Nicole: What about the others?
Blain: I don’t know… It’s not the same.

Not long after that, we could hear tiny rain drops hitting the rooftops and not long after that, it pours, like the clouds bursts open or something…



Blain: … Are you really thinking of going back?
Nicole: I have no idea Blain… There’s nothing for me back there…

Then it stayed quiet for a while… The rain got louder and you could the rain hitting the rooftops and the trees, which had some hypnotic effect on me. Blain didn’t say anything after that. I guess he was also hypnotized by the sounds…



Then at some point, I heard a soft “mrow” that got me out of my hypnotic state… I looked at Blain and he looked back…



Nicole: Was that you…?
Blain: What?
Nicole: It sounded like a meow or something…
Blain: No, that wasn’t me…

Then we heard it again.



Blain: I heard it too.
Nicole: Where’d it come from?

We looked around while we stayed in our seats but couldn’t find anything. Then at some point, we heard a “mrow” from under the porch. Blain kneeled down to see what was under it.



Blain: It’s a kitten!
Nicole: Oh?

Then Blain pulled it out and showed it to me once he got back on the porch. It was a soaked grey ball of fur with a few black stripes… I went inside and got out a towel to dry the poor thing. Blain dried it off and held it on the palm of his hand… I took a closer look to see if it belonged to anyone.



Nicole: I don’t see a collar or something…
Blain: No…
Nicole: Is it male, female?
Blain: How can you tell?
Nicole: …
Blain: What?
Nicole: Give him to me.

So I carefully picked him up and it meows again. It stared at me with those big blue eyes…



Nicole: Sorry pal, I gotta do this.

So I looked underneath it. It was a male.



Nicole: It’s a male.
Blain: …
Nicole: *ahem* Anyway, I don’t think someone is gonna get after him. You want him?

Blain: No, I hate cats…
Nicole: … Hate cats? How the hell can you hate a fluffy furball like this…?

True… His little head kept turning around to look and he meows every once in a while.



Nicole: I think I’ll keep him then.
Blain: You do?
Nicole: Well I can’t just dump him with the trash…
Blain: You got a name for him?
Nicole: … Mace.
Blain: Naah… How about… Giovanni?
Nicole: No… Peaches?
Blain: … He’s not a fag…
Nicole: I hope so… Hehehe…
Blain: How about Diesel?
Nicole: …


Diesel it is then… Blain takes him back and the kitten was so small, it fits in Blain’s hand palm. He caresses him with his other hand and scratch behind his ear… The little critter closed his eyes…



Blain: You should get him inside. I think its way to cold for him right now.
Nicole: Yeah…

So we went inside the house and sat on the couch. I got out a towel from a closet and wrapped Diesel up while his little head sticks out. I caress him on his tiny head and at some point, you could hear him purr quietly…



Blain: He likes you…
Nicole: Yeah… I guess I like him as well… I got a weakness for fluffy things.
Blain: Hehe…

Nicole: How can anyone dump a kitten just like that…?
Blain: I don’t know…
Nicole: I mean… Look at him…
Blain: Hmm-mm… What do cats eat by the way?
Nicole: … Catfood.
Blain: … Figures…

Then I took the little critter on my lap and cuddled it… Blain looked at me and had a weak smile on his face… I looked at him as well but I could see there was something bothering him. But he kept on smiling none the less.



Blain: I wish I would be cuddled like that…

And before I could say anything, he smiled again and went out of the house…



I took Diesel with me when I went to bed. I placed him on my mattress as I lied down, and scratch him under his chin. He keeps nudging his head against my hand, and I held him in my hand close to my face. He fell asleep in no time, as I carefully placed him on my pillow next to me. I looked outside and saw the rain pouring down the windows… For some reason, it made me think about what Blain said. Did he liked me, or did he “liked me” like me? And if he did liked me the way I thought he would, what would I do?



I took another look at Diesel and he was asleep… At least I know I’m not alone anymore…

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