six months 》junick

Chapter 10: Guilt

Nick's eyelids felt heavy when he opened his eyes the following morning, and he just wanted to fall back asleep but, as he was still due to do that six months community service at the ZPD, he was basically forcing himself up.

As soon as he sat up however, memories from the night before came flooding back to him in a big tidal wave, bringing along a massive headache with it. He remembered the argument off by heart, the way his blood boiled with every time Judy yelled at him, the anger he felt when she referred to him as "just another fox" and when he walked out, and even the worry he felt when he realised she would be going to The Preds' hideout on her own - but when he realised, it was too late to turn back. He'd even tried calling her pretty much all night, but it kept going to voicemail.

Nick shook his head to rid his mind of the memories and got up out of bed, heading to the shower before stripping and stepping inside. The cold beads of water dropped on his body like hail, hard and cold. His boiler has been broken for quite some time, and he didn't have enough money to pay for repairs, so he settled for cold showers every morning. He was normally used to it, but today it was bothering him.

Every drop of water that hit him bit into his skin, making him hiss in pain slightly, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional pain he was feeling inside. Every harsh bead felt like Judy's words to his heart, and he wanted to forget about them, but he couldn't. What made it worse was that he was actually in love with her.

After hours of denying and denying the fact that he was in love with a bunny - his natural enemy - Nick had finally come to terms with his feelings, prompting himself by saying that nobody could help who they fell in love with. It was true. After all, Nick was completely unaware of the feelings Judy had towards him, and now they had been emotionally separated by some stupid argument.

Nick sighed to himself as he stepped out of the shower, turning it off on his way out before drying and slipping into his casual attire. He couldn't deny that Judy made him happy; she made everyone happy. But, she made him feel especially good. She was sweet to him like nobody had ever been before, and now that she was gone he felt himself slowly slipping into a downwards spiral.

After contemplating whether or not he should call in sick, Nick left his apartment, locking the door behind him before sliding the keys into his back pocket. He decided to apologise to Judy later in the day when things were less awkward between the two - seeing as she would most likely ignore Nick throughout roll call - and tell her why he didn't want her to go to The Preds' hideout: because he was in love with her.

Arriving at the ZPD, Nick noticed how everything was exactly the same as it would be on any other day, except for the fact that Judy wasn't at the front desk, starting a conversation with Clawhauser like she normally would.

'She probably left her place earlier to avoid bumping into me,' Nick thought to himself as he walked up to the front desk sheepishly, his paws in his khaki pockets.

"Hey Clawhauser," he greeted, picking up the pen from next to him and scribbling his name down in the space provided. Whilst he was writing it however, he noticed Judy's name wasn't above his, or anywhere on the sheet for that matter.

"Morning Nick!" Clawhauser chirped, snapping the fox out of his daze.

Confused as to why Judy hadn't signed in yet (she was always there before Nick), he decided to ask Clawhauser about it.

"Hey, uh, have you seen Judy this morning? She's not picking up her phone," he asked, resting his arm on the desk.

Clawhauser looked down at his paws in regret before looking back up at Nick, almost as if he was dreading what he was about to say.

"Nick, haven't you heard?" The cheetah answered with his own question, and Nick's eyes widened a little.

"Heard...what?" He asked, almost dreading the answer he was about to receive.

"Nick...Judy was kidnapped last night by The Preds. We sent out a search party last night and early this morning to look for her, but we found nothing..." He replied, shaking his head.

Nick felt his stomach drop. Judy...was kidnapped? And he had no idea?! It then daunted on Nick that, if Judy was still alive, she would be at the hideout, which Nick knew its whereabouts. He had to find her. If Judy got hurt, Nick would never forgive himself.

"Ben, has she been confirmed dead yet?" He suddenly asked, slapping his paw on the desk in realisation, causing the cheetah to jump.

"It hasn't been confirmed yet, no," he answered, still in shock from Nick's sudden outburst.

'Great, she isn't dead,' Nick thought to himself as he took off in a sprint towards the door.

"Thanks Ben! Love ya! I owe ya!" He called out to Clawhauser, who waved goodbye at the fox sheepishly.

Nick ran faster than he had ever ran before, his legs overtaking one another in a fast sprint. His heart was pounding and his chest was burning; burning with guilt and regret. But if it meant finding Judy, he would chase the sun to the ends of the earth to get to her...

~*~

I'm so excited to post the next few chapters!