Zootopia - Blurring Lines

Chapter Two - Nick

A/N: Thanks to all the people who read the first chapter! Yep, it's been a while - I'm a fairly slow writer - but hopefully you find this chapter as good as, or better than, the one that came before it. It's been pretty obvious where this story was going as soon as I uploaded the cover art, but this is the chapter where the plot actually starts to happen. Enjoy!

I stirred, my fur rustling against the warm couch.

'Nick, wake up. Your alarm went off! Something you wanted to watch on TV.' Judy's urgent whisper startled me awake. I groped blindly for the remote, my paw brushing past open papers on the coffee table.

Over the past few days, my apartment had been turned into an outpost of our office. Littered with old case files, newspaper clippings and photos, the place had become the centre of our efforts to trace the activities of the so-called movement whose goal it was to re-segregate Zootopian society.

However, our research had hit, and continued to hit, dead end after infuriating dead end. The fur around my ears was permanently mussed up, a reminder of all the times I'd run my claws through it in frustration. Every day was worse than the one before. In the office or out, the constant tension was present, the fear of more attacks hanging over like a darkening thundercloud.

My roaming paw finally hitting the chunky plastic device, I snatched it off the table and pressed the 'unmute' button.

'-and that's all for the weather. Back to the main newsroom for some upcoming events.' It was an elderly female armadillo speaking. I pulled out my phone and checked the time. 9:56PM. I sat fidgeting, not listening to the drivel of boring community-festival information, waiting for the report I knew was coming. The one that I'd been thinking about all day, wondering if things could possibly get worse...

'Hey, what's wrong? You look like you've been sentenced to death!' I flicked my ear at her and pulled my face into something resembling a grin.

'Ha ha, Carrots, I'm fine. I never did anything that bad. After all, I... what was it? 'Never had the guts to be anything more than a popsicle hustler', didn't I? Anyway, you should probably get some sleep. Eighteen hours is a long time to go without it.' I stopped, cursing the nervous undertone my voice betrayed.

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously and came closer. 'Is there something you aren't telling me?' Her scrutinising gaze locked onto my paw, still clenching the remote. Realising it was trembling, I quickly shoved the device back on the table and laid the paw on my lap, trying to still it.

'Nooooo...' My voice petered out as I quailed under the look she was giving me. 'Yes,' I finally mumbled at my shirt, knowing that the over-enthusiastic bunny would find out anyway. I let out a shaky breath and patted the cushion beside me. She hopped over the back of the couch and landed with a soft flump on the cushion, still looking curiously between me and the flatscreen on the wall.

'Something on the news?' she asked, looking carefully at me for a reaction.

I barked out a short laugh that sounded forced even to my own ears. 'Detective Hopps looks at the channel!'

Judy rolled her eyes. 'Well, it'd have to be something pretty recent, otherwise you could have just checked the ZNN app. But, you set your phone buzzer this morning. I saw you. So, whatever it was, it was planned, right? That narrows it down to someone you know being on, or some kind of meeting, or vote.' I grimaced involuntarily at the last item on the list. That was Judy, always the deductive thinker. She seemed to pick up on my reaction. Her left ear swivelled to face the TV.