Max and Dee - Chapter 1: The Stalking
Hey, this is my new chapter to a story I'm working on for a certain someone haha. I hope y'all like it.
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On the cold December day, Devin rode the city transit just like every other fur out there who refused to drive a vehicle themselves. Despite the varying reasons, Devin's was simple. He was scared. End of story.
Not to mention, this polar bear was a bit of a socialite. He worked better in places with people around and often talked to his fellow community members. It was also here that he got his drive to write stories, think about possible plots and even day dream about things. You could say that this simple cargo ship was his muse, in a way.
But anyways, this story isn't revolving around his splendid times on the bus. Instead, we'll witness the crossing of two paths that will inevitably become the greatest relationship this bear has had.
"Fuck!" a lion shouted from behind. Devin turned his head slowly to see the faint stain of a coffee spill trail down the front of the lion's business attire.
"Is everything alright, sir?" asked the driver of the transit as he tried to keep his focus on the street ahead of him.
"Bloody pot holes and your driving just cost me a day of work," the lion said, pressing his finger against the yellow strip on the walls, making the sign pop on shining 'Stop Requested' to everyone in view.
"That sucks. I'm sorry," the driver replied. His eyes never left the road in front of him. He was doing his job excellently and had no right to be sorry. It was the lion's own lack of grace that caused his spilling.
"Better be..." the lion hissed, grumbling to himself. Devin bit his lip as he took another look at the lion that looked to be getting redder and redder with rage. He must have been thinking about the rest of the day.
"Maybe you should invest in a thermos and not just a paper cup with a lid." Devin said as he faced the lion.
"And maybe you should mind your own business," the lion replied, glaring at Devin with eyes like daggers.
"It was just a simple suggestion to avoid further accidents of your self. You don't have to be so rude about it." Devin said turning back around to work on his laptop. The bus slowed to a stop with a low hum, lowering down onto the curb. The lion got off and managed to swat Devin's shoulder with a bit more force than a normal nudge would have done. When the doors closed, Devin shook his head with a small smile.
"You better watch out. I don't think kitty was declawed," said someone from behind. Devin turned around to see a wolf sitting across from where the lion was, a small smile on his face. Devin kept his smile before talking.
"Well, I was only trying to inform him of an easier way to not be a klutz."
"Even so, he looked like he was ready to maul you." Devin laughed a little, shaking his head.
"Even if he did, I could totally take him."
"Really?"
"Probably not, but you know, public scenes are pretty intense, especially when there's a camera near the door." Devin replied, pointing towards the small camera overlooking the rest of the bus. The other wolf laughed a bit before shaking his head.
"You ride this bus too much."
"I do not. I ride this bus just enough." The two sat there laughing a bit as the wolf smiled a bit, holding his hand out.
"The names Max." He said, the other hand pressing the yellow stripe.
"I'm Devin. You can call me Dee, though." Devin said as he felt the bus slow down. It finally dawned upon him that Max was getting off the bus. Instinctively, he shut his laptop, putting it in hibernation as he grabbed his things.
"Oh. Well it was nice meeting you Dee." Max said with a more broad smile than the one he was snickering with earlier. Devin couldn't help but smile a bit more too, not remembering about the gap in his teeth from his birth defect.
"I'm getting off here also, actually. I have to umm..." He said, looking out the window at the plaza they were in. When he caught his eye on a store he wouldn't mind hanging out at for a bit, he returned his gaze to Max, who had a raised eyebrow and a smirk.
"I'm going to Focaccia. I love their bread and everything. So good." Devin said with a wry smile, hoping Max wouldn't see through his lie.
"Oh really now? I work there." Max said with a laugh, shaking his head. "I guess you have the whole writer look down anyways."
"The writer look?" Devin asked, not sure of what Max was referring to.
"Ya'know, the shaggy hair, glasses, tight clothing and usually matching sense; Not trying to look to exquisite but trying to diverge from the normal look of everyone." Devin laughed at this, not realizing how right he was. It wasn't entirely true though. Devin tried to have his own look most of the time.
"Wow, Dr. Fill. I didn't know I was talking to someone who could read into others so easily," Devin said with a smile and a shake of the head. Max just shrugged.
"It comes naturally to me. I just know people." He said as the bus slowed down again with that hum. As the bus lowered, the polar bear and the wolf stepped off the bus and began their walk towards Focaccia.
"So how long have you been working there?" Devin asked, looking to Max as he stuck his hands in his pockets.
"I've been there a little under three years. It's not the greatest, but it helps I guess. Money is money." Max said as he looked at the ground, then up to Devin.
"Where do you work?"
"Oh... I don't work anywhere. I haven't been hired at any of the places I've applied to."
"Well that sucks. Keep trying though. You'll get a job eventually."
"Yeah, hopefully," Devin said with a frown as he rolled his eyes. Besides school, jobs were the only other sore subjects for Devin to talk about.
"So what are you going to get at Focaccia?" Max asked with a little hint of something sinister. Devin bit his lip and thought about his answer.
"Well, possibly something along the lines of a sandwich, but I'm not sure. Don't want to go too crazy in there with my order." He replied, sticking his tongue out at the wolf.
"Have you ever really gone in there before?" Max asked, smirking a bit. Devin smiled back with a quick shake of the head.
"First time for everything, I guess."
"So you just admitted that you're stalking me?" Max said, raising an eyebrow.
"I wouldn't call it stalking, but more of a friendly occurrence that I happen to be going to the same place that you work at. I mean, I didn't even know you worked there, so this just happens to be a twist of events." Devin said, returning Max's eyebrow raise with a wink, causing a small chuckle from the wolf.
"You're weird." Max said with a smile.
"I've been called worse." Devin said with his head held high, as if he was proud of the title. Max chuckled again as they stepped up onto the concrete walk way and then pushed passed the doors into the warm bakery restaurant. The smell of food overwhelmed Devin's senses, making his stomach growl. He hadn't realized that it had been a while since he ate. As Devin regained his senses, he noticed that Max had gone behind the counter and past the doors, most likely to get ready for his shift. Devin smiled and looked at the menu as he tapped his fingers on the back of his laptop.
"Do you know what you want, sir?" asked the girl near the register. Devin bit his lip and shook his head.
"Not entirely. I want something around the lines of a sandwich." Devin said as he read the menu over and over, not sure what to get.
"Well I'm pretty sure you're in the right place. All we have is soup, salad and sandwiches."
"Oh, how fortuitist." Devin said as he took his eyes off the menu and placed them on the server. She was smiling, which meant his humor was working.
"Well just holler when you're ready," she said as she moved onto the next customer in line. Devin stood there, looking over all the articles of food as he bit his lip. In all honesty, he could have just ordered everything and been completely satisfied, he just didn't know how much money he had. After rereading the menu for a second time he figured that it would just be best to put his stuff down, look through his wallet and then decide.
He turned from the counter and looked to the vast café of people sitting around doing different things. It looked pretty relaxing. Spotting a table over by the right corner, Devin set off through the valley of chairs. Managing only to bump into two people, he applauded himself. Usually he would have taken out the whole room with a single stumble. He used to tell himself that he put the D in Dominoes.
After placing his backpack and laptop down, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, which happened to be a deck of cards held together with a hair band. As he slipped out his money, he smiled.
"Thirty five dollars... Lunch and dinner?" he mumbled to himself, then figured he would be moving to fast to ask Max out to dinner. Maybe the next day would be better. Grabbing the ten from the bundle, he went back up to the counter and smiled.
"Made up your mind, have you?" said the same girl. He saw Max talking with another customer and smiled a bit, looking back to the girl. She was the only girl bunny he had ever seen with hair shorter than his, however she made it look good.
"Why yes, I have," he said with a smile as he pointed up to the menu. "I'll have a bowl of French Onion soup and a bag of chips, please."
"That it?" she asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, I think so." He replied as he watched her write things down.
"Alright, it'll be done in five minutes, about." She said as she handed him a buzzer. With the buzzer in hand, he headed back to his spot and opened his laptop, starting up a game he was just starting to play. It involved some fantasy like action along with some massively multiplayer online action. It sounded intense, which is why Devin got it. As he started his game up, he felt the vibration from the buzzer. Picking it up, he got up from his chair and headed to the counter. There he saw Max with his food, making him laugh a little.
"Hello again." Max said with a small laugh and smile. He pressed a few keys on the register and the price popped up.
"Alright, it'll be eight fifty six." He said, holding out his hand. Devin smiled and took hold of it, shaking it a bit.
"Cool, I'll see you then." Devin said with a wink as he put the ten on the counter, taking his food from Max who was laughing a bit more, shaking his head.
"Don't you want the change?" Max asked as Devin walked away. The polar bear shook his head as he managed to get back to his table without bumping anyone.
As time went on, Devin finished his soup and played his game while Max worked behind the counter, serving people their orders and helping around the café. The sky grew darker as the light came and went. The clock turned to nine o'clock when everyone started to pack up and close down for the night. Devin leaned against the window as he waited for Max. When the man in waiting stepped out, Devin bore a smile that was brighter than the one when he first learned of cake.
"You're still here?" Max asked, raising an eyebrow as Devin nodded.
"You said at eight fifty six. You're a little late, but I can deal."
"You're cutting pretty close to becoming a stalker..."
"It's not stalking if I talk to you."
"How's that work?"
"Well you see, stalkers usually hold back and keep in the shadows, trying not to show that they're following you and creeping on you through your windows. Me, on the other hand, I wouldn't do that. In fact, I'm coming up to you face to face and saying that I would love to hang out with you more, and if I happen to say I'll be looking through your window tonight, you have the right to shut the blinds." Devin said in a quick breath. Max laughed and shook his head a bit.
"You don't even know where I live."
"Exactly my point on how I'm not a stalker, but someone who wants to get to know you."
"Well, Devin, you're crazy." Max said as he started walking off towards the city bus stop. Devin followed along.
"I could be, but that doesn't mean yes or no to hanging out with me more."
"Well see." Max said with a chuckle. He checked his watch as he waited for the bus. Devin smiled and pulled out his phone, looking at it in sadness.
"Oh no!" He cried out. Max looked over at him and to the phone.
"What?"
"Something's wrong with my phone!"
"What's the problem? It looks fine."
"Well, your phone numbers not in it." Devin said sticking his tongue out. Max let out a loud laugh as again he shook his head.
"You know what? You're too much, ya'know that?"
"I've been told here and there." Devin said, handing over his phone to Max. He smiled as he tapped in his number, handing the phone back to Devin.
"There, you non-stalker."
"Hey, if I was a stalker, I wouldn't be able to make you laugh or smile like this."
"You're just ridiculous."
"But not a stalker." Devin said with a smile as Max shook his head. The bus started coming towards them as the two looked at each other. It was then that Devin felt it. He could see it. He had managed to hook his stubby little polar bear claws into Max's armor.
"Well, Devin, I'll see you later." Max said as the bus stopped in front of them. He stepped on and paid his toll.
"So that's a yes? You'll see me again?" Devin asked a bit enthusiastically. Max laughed and nodded.
"Well I did give you my number." He said before walking into the bus and taking a seat. The driver looked to Devin and cocked his head.
"You getting on?" He asked. Devin shook his head with a proud smile.
"I've stalked him enough today."