It's a... Party?
All thanks to the wonderfully amazing Fubar!!!
Booming bass thumped through the abode. Glowing lights and flashing brights lit up the room. Beer bottles clinked, laughter rebounded, and the "unce" of the music coursed through each and every sweaty moving body on the dance floor.
"God, why does this stuff always give me a headache..." A lizard in the back corner complained as he rubbed his head.
"Whaaaaat?" The black cat beside him asked.
"I SAID I'M GETTING A HEADACHE."
"Then let's go outside or something!"
"No, no, it's alright, Xzeph. You wanted to go to this party in the first place, right?"
Xzepher's ears drooped a little. "Well, yeah, but not if you're not enjoying it, Fubar..."
He chuckled. "Xzeph, I'm fine, really. Just need to get used to my brain being bassed into mush."
The feline couldn't help but giggle at that. "Then let's go outside for a bit! We can take a break."
"But-"
"No buts!" He exclaimed, jumping right on the lizard and sending him fumbling. He put his paws on his shoulders while wrapping his legs around his stomach. "Off! Go! Mush!" Xzeph commanded enthusiastically.
Despite the surprise piggyback ride, Fubar couldn't help but laugh at his friend's antics. "Alright, alright! Jeez, when did I turn into a carriage..."
A moment later the two came out to the front porch, the crisp autumn air giving the nighttime air a cool but comforting chill. Xzeph finally clambered off of the lizard, giggling. "Thanks for the ride, Mr. Carriage!"
"Watch it. I could've dumped you in the pool in the back instead," He retorted, eyeing him mischievously. The threat only made the cat giggle more, however, patting the lizard's snout. "We both know you wouldn't do that to me. You're too nice!"
He rolled his eyes, sighing but still having a smile on his lips. "Alright, I wouldn't do that. Would be funny, though." He chuckled as he received a punch in the arm from the cat as he mewled at him. "No it wouldn't!"
"Yes it wooouuuuuuuld..."
"Hey, knock it off!" Xzeph complained, giving the lizard an evil eye.
"Alright, alright, I'm just-"
"And who the fuck are you?" A gruff voice suddenly interrupted. The two whipped their heads over to see a large white bull terrier wearing a biker's jacket, the leather stretched and doing little to hide the muscled arms and chest. He was staring at Fubar with an aggressive look, his ears pulled back and his lips curled in a snarl.
The lizard leaned back with a worried look as the terrier lumbered up to him, but Xzeph intercepted him. "Ripper? What the hell are you doing here?"
"Seeing you. Who the hell is he?"
"Wait, how did you know I was here? You didn't call me..." Xzeph replied with confusion, ignoring the question.
"Xzeph, is this a friend of yours or something?" Fubar interjected, watching the terrier warily.
"And what's it to you, huh? None of your fuckin business."
"Take it easy, alright? I'm just-"
"Getting into shit that's none of your business?"
He shouldered past the feline, towering over the lizard and letting a growl escape his lips. "I'm gonna ask again: Who the fuck are you?"
"I'm just his friend! God, what's your problem?"
"You're my problem, you smartass little-"
"RIPPER!" The terrier whipped his head over to see Xzepher tugging at his arm, giving him an angry glare with his tail whipping about behind him. He pulled Ripper away from the front porch and left the bewildered Fubar, stepping back and crossing his arms.
"What's gotten into you! He's just my friend."
"So why the hell didn't I know about him?"
"Because I didn't tell you? Why does it matter?"
"So you just make friends with any kind of asshole?"
Xzepher replied with an angry mewl. "He's not an asshole! He's a good friend that I wanted to bring to the party okay? What's the matter with that?"
"What, so I'm not good enough to invite, but this guy is?" He thumbed behind him as he said it, his expression still tense.
"Ripper, I never said that!" He stamped his foot. "And you STILL didn't tell me how you knew I was here!"
"I just heard you were coming to this party, alright?"
"From who?"
"It doesn't fucking matter! I'm here now, and you're hanging out with some loser for some reason."
"He's not-!" Xzepher growled, his ears flattening to his head. "What does it matter to you! You're being such a jerk!"
"I'm being the jerk? For looking out for you? Gee, I guess I can't be a goddamn friend for you then."
"You-! You're not....you...UGH!" He threw his arms up, turning on his heels and walking briskly.
"Hey, where're you going?"
"Away!"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean? It's the middle of the night!"
"I don't care!"
"Xzeph, for fuck's sakes, will you-"
"NO!"
Ripper swore under his breath, starting after him until he felt a claw on his shoulder. He whipped his head back to see Fubar looking at him. "What was that about, where's he going?"
He turned back to the lizard, giving him a cold glare. "How the hell should I know? He stormed off cause you had to go and fuck things up! Way to go you dipshit!"
The lizard recoiled at the insult, sighing and putting a claw on his forehead. "Well where's Xzeph going?"
At that, Ripper looked back to where Xzepher was, only to find no sign of the black cat. He cursed again, turning back and giving the lizard a smoldering glare. "I don't fucking know! And now I don't know where he is because of you!"
"You're the one who chased him off!"
"I don't have time for this shit." He turned and started jogging over to his motorcycle, fumbling with his cell phone in his paw.
"W-wait, I'm coming al-"
"No, you're not." He looked back at Fubar with another glare. "Unless you want me to break your goddamn neck."
Without waiting for a response, he clambered onto the bike and gunned the engine, leaving Fubar both frustrated and confused.
* * *
The howl of the wind and the clack of his claws on the pavement were the only sounds to accompany Xzeph as he walked down the darkened street, the grimy sidewalk lights above the only source of light. The black cat didn't know where he was going, but he was far too lost in his own thoughts to notice or care.
Every single time...why is he like this every time I'm around him? The question constantly ringed around in his brain. He had come to expect the bull terrier's aggressive personality, but it always got much worse whenever it came to Xzeph trying to be around anyone else but him.
I mean, is he jealous or something? Does he think I can't care for myself? More questions to bounce around, though he probably already knew the answers. He definitely considered Ripper a friend, and he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt that he didn't bother inviting him to the party.
But then, this is exactly why he hadn't invited him: he overreacted and got protective. It was almost like the big terrier thought that Xzeph needed to babysat. He couldn't help but scoff at that.
"What an idiot. All he thinks is that I'm some sort of helpless kitt-HEY!"
The black cat yelped as a paw suddenly grabbed him by the collar and roughly pulled him into a dark alleyway. He could hardly see anything, but the sour smell of alcohol reeking right in front of his nose told him enough. The paw that had grabbed him was now cupping his chin.
"Hey there, kitty-cat. What's a little pussy like you doing out here by your lonesome?"
A throaty chuckle came from his right. There was more than one of them, and it didn't take much for Xzeph to know that these guys didn't have anything pleasant in store for him.
"Oh go fuck yourself perv!" He yelled back, delivering a swift kick to where he guessed the mugger was in front of him. Fortunately, it paid off as he found purchase right in between the thug's legs. He heard a whimper as his grip slackened on Xzeph, giving him the chance to throw the crook off of him. It only took a second for his cohort to be on the black cat though, slamming him against the wall and pushing him to the ground. He straddled his stomach, and as Xzeph tried to recover from the assault a cold, sharp metal started pressing against his neck. He looked up and could see the glaring eyes of a hyena baring down on him.
"You motherfucker! Me and my friend here were going to take it easy on you, be gentle, right? Well fuck that! You just fucked up something fierce, you little shit." He pressed the knife deeper against his windpipe. "Maybe I oughta start with this little number, eh? Heheh. Ever gotten buttfucked with a kn-"
"GET. THE FUCK. OFF OF HIM."
The hyena jumped and snapped his head up to see a very big, extremely angry terrier aiming a gun right at his head. His ears fell flat to his head as he dropped his knife and raised his hands, a meager whimper escaping from his lips as he slowly stepped off of Xzeph. Picking himself up off the ground, he gave the hyena an angry glare and a complimentary kick to the gonads, making the thug yelp and kneel on the ground, clutching at his crotch the same way that his friend was back in the alley.
"Ripper! How'd you know I was here?"
"Don't worry about it, just go get on my bike" The terrier growled back at him, his eyes still trained on the whimpering thugs. "I'll be with you in a minute."
"What? Why? I got these assholes."
"Xzeph, I don't need you fucking arguing with me-"
"Deal with it! I'm getting tired of you trying to coddle me like I'm some baby!"
"For fuck's sake, will you-!" He started, but after a minute he closed his eyes and sighed. He looked back at the defiant cat. "Can you please go over to my bike? I just need you to trust me on this."
Xzeph stood there, blankly staring with an unamused look on his face. He looked between the terrier's eyes; something was different about them. They weren't as...angry as they normally were. They looked anxious, maybe even a little worried. After a thought, he sighed. "Fine...I'll go sit by the bike." He turned and started trotting across the street. "You should totally break their arms though!" He said back to him.
Ripper chuckled a little, but then put his angry glare back on as he turned back to the muggers, who were both trying to shakily get up on their feet. The one with the knife started limping away, but Ripper let out another angry snarl. "Don't you fucking move unless you want your brain on the goddamn ground."
The hyena froze, but not from Ripper's threat so much as the myriad of red dots that started playing across his face and shirt, each one a professional sniper hiding up on the nearby rooftops taking aim at the hapless target and his partner.
Ripper's earpiece buzzed with static. "Ready when you are sir."
"Hold fire. I got these assholes."
"Roger that."
He walked over to them and slammed the butt of his gun in one of the hyena's temples, knocking him out cold. He grabbed a fistful of the other's shirt and slammed him into the wall, pressing the barrel of his gun against the mugger's forehead. The hyena's eyes widened in fear, his lips trembling.
"I"m going to make this very, VERY clear for you, you spineless little dick. If I ever see you or your friend's mugs ever again, I'll make sure to have some friends of mine find your fucking houses and have them put a cleaver to your goddamn nutsacks. I'll make sure they are extremely thorough skinning you alive before having them put a fucking bullet in you empty heads. Do I make myself clear?"
The mugger shook his head up and down furiously, and with that Ripper released him, sending him to the ground with a smack upside the head with his gun. He spit on the unconscious hyena before stomping on his face. He lit a cigarette and took a long hit before sighing heavily and tossing it on one of the muggers, then turning away back to where Xzeph was waiting for him. He put a paw up to his earpiece. "Call it a night. Xzeph's safe now."
* * *
He found the cat leaning up against a telephone pole, his tail twitching slightly in annoyance.
"I was fine, you know."
The terrier scoffed. "With that asshole pressing a knife to your neck? Yeah, you looked real fine."
Xzeph's fur bristled, and he took a step forward for an angry retort, but before he could, Ripper grabbed his shoulder and held a hand up.
"Wait wait wait. Just...wait a minute, alright?" He was ready to claw the dog's paw off, but one look at the terrier's eyes made the black cat falter a bit. He reluctantly clamped his jaw shut, shrugging off the grip on his shoulder and crossing his arms.
Ripper took a breath, scratching his neck. "Xzeph...Look, I, I know I breathe down your neck a bit, alright? I know you say you can handle this shit and party with whoever and all that, but..." He trailed off, looking for the right words.
"I just...I'm worried for you, alright? You're fucking tough, I'm not denying that. But it doesn't mean I can't think of a thousand ways things can go real bad for you. I mean, jesus, a guy came at you with a knife! Who the hell knows what could've happened?"
It was Xzeph's turn to scoff. "I would've killed him."
The terrier snorted in a half-laugh, but the cat's dead-serious expression made him raise an eyebrow. "Um, sure...Anyways."
He put his paws back on Xzeph's shoulders, but there was definitely a softer touch this time. "I'm just saying that I care for you Xzeph..." He realized what he had just said and blushed ever so slightly. "I mean, as a friend, you know?" He added a little nervously.
The black cat just studied him for a minute, his green eyes searching in Ripper's. It was weird, Ripper never apologized, or was this calm about anything... He's really fucking serious about this. Sighing, Xzepher smiled up at him, suddenly wrapping his arms around the pit bull's waist and hugging him tightly. "Okaaaay, I got it already. Thanks for the help." He nuzzled at the terrier's chest and purred, making Ripper blush a bit, though he forced himself to keep a stoic expression.
"But next time, you let ME handle the asshole muggers! I wanted to rip those guys' arms off..."
Ripper couldn't help but chuckle a bit at that. "Only if you give me a turn at 'em."
The cat gave a toothy grin up at him. "If there's any left."
As they climbed on to the terrier's bike, Xzeph thought for a moment then piped up again, jabbing Ripper in the ribs. "Oh! And no threatening my friends anymore, alright?"
"What? The fuck makes you think I was gonna threaten that scaleface?"
Xzeph gave him one look, making him grumble. "Fine, fine, whatever, I leave the lizard alone."
After a little private chat, anyway... He thought smugly, revving his engine and driving off with Xzeph in tow.