The Life and Times of Radki

Hoodie Talk (Part 2)

You guys asked, so here it is! Part 2 of "Hoodie Talk!" And yes, there will be dialogue in this one. (I forgot to put any in the last part XD) WELP, let's see what happens when Nikki finds out that her best friend has been keeping her hoodie!

"Hey, Radar, have you seen my hoodie around?" Nikki asked Radar as he entered the Order Hall that morning. Radar instantly went red.

"Shoot! How did she notice so fast?" he thought in a panic. Swallowing his nervousness, he calmly replied to her. "Sorry, Nikki, haven't seen it. Why?"

"Um, because it's MINE? Why else? I've been wearing that old thing almost as soon as I was BORN,"

"Uh, wow. That long?"

"Yeah, that long! It's super-important to me. I know, weird, but I me and that hoodie have a HISTORY,"

Radar felt sweat prickle on his face. He had no idea that gray piece of cloth meant so much to Nikki. Now what was he going to do? If he kept it, he'd be keeping an important piece away from her. But if he gave it back, she'd know he'd been hoarding it like a creep!

"Hey, are you okay?" Nikki asked him. Radar snapped out of his worried trance for a moment, drawn back by her voice. 

"Um...yeah!" he said. "Perfectly fine! Nothing worrying me. If I see your hoodie, I'll give you a shout, okay?"

"Great! Thanks!"

"Heh, you know me. They outta call me 'HOODIEni!'"

Nikki gave him an unimpressed look. "Riiiiiight. Anyways, I got a bunch of building petitions from Bob and his friends we need to look over. Meet you at your house later?"

Two immediate answers flashed through Radar's mind for a moment. One said "Sorry, need to clean up there." Another said "Well, maybe some other time, got some personal stuff to take care of." But Radar said neither.

"Sure, you can visit me later and we can work it out together,"

"WHAT THE HELL?! NO SHE CAN'T! I mean, she can, but NOT NOW! NOT WHEN I--"

"Great! See you then!"

With a dashing smile, Nikki exited the Order Hall, leaving Radar in a panic. What was he going to do now?!

***

If you had been a resident in Beacon Town, and had been walking the streets, chances are you would've seen a green streak fly past you, racing for a destination unbeknownst to you. That streak was Radar, rocketing for his house. He wasn't very athletic, but he knew he had a head-start: he knew the shortcuts and detours to his house, plus, Nikki was in no rush to get there first. He was sure he could make it, dive into his room, and hide the hoodie before she noticed anything.

At last, he reached his house. Breathing hard, he stopped and slumped over, hands on his knees, to catch his breath. He looked up--and saw Nikki standing on the front porch step. His heart stopped thudding against his ribs. He was SURE he was done for now.

"Oh, there you are, Radar," Nikki said, in a tone of voice that didn't sound like someone who had discovered a secret their best friend had been hiding from them. "I got lost, so Lukas offered me a ride on his horse to your place. Glad he's hanging around Beacon Town more often."

Radar wiped both the sweat of exhaustion and panic off his forehead. *Phew!* She hadn't found out yet. There was still time. 

"Hey, are you okay?" Nikki asked him. "You look kinda worn out."

"Oh? Uh, yeah, I'm fine," Radar assured her. "Just a little runny from the dash here, is all. Wanted to get this paperwork stuff over and done with quickly. You know how consistent that stuff is? YEESH!"

"And here I thought you loved your job," Nikki teased, stepping aside to let Radar unlock the door.

"I mean, of course I do, but it doesn't mean it's SPOTLESS," he retorted playfully. He let her in and shut the door behind them, and for a moment, he felt relaxed. But he didn't forget why he rushed to get here.

"Head up to the bedroom," he said. "I'll meet you there soon. Gotta find something down here real quick."

"'Kay,"

Once Nikki was upstairs, Radar quickly went over to the mudroom closet, where he kept all his jackets and shoes. The hoodie wasn't there. Starting to worry a bit, Radar convinced himself that he wouldn't be so stupid to place the hoodie where it could be found by anyone. He checked the entirety of the downstairs floor, but no luck.

"Well..." he told himself. "If I can't find it, then surely she won't. Nothing to worry about, right?"

Shaking off his doubt, Radar went upstairs to meet Nikki. When he entered his bedroom, he noticed that her facial expression looked a little...off.

"Nikki? You alright?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm alright," she said in an unusually blank tone. "But I wanted to ask you something real fast: do you go shopping at the Crystal Light Mall? In the clothing department? 'Cuz that's where I usually go."

"Huh?" Radar was confused for a moment. "Um...no?"

"Oh-ho! That's interesting. Because you and I seem to have a similar taste in clothes!" she snapped, yanking her hand out from behind her, which held her gray hoodie.

Radar's pupils dilated in fear. She found out. He was doomed for SURE. 

"Care to explain why you had this, Radar?" she growled. 

"...I...uh...you...forgot it here, and I..."

"And you what? Spit it out!" 

"I was just keeping it for you,"

Nikki's eyebrow rose in the slightest. "And?"

"You were already gone, so I just kept it,"

"So why did you say you didn't know where it was?"

"I...I just...I was..."

"*Sigh* Never mind. Just...thanks for returning it," 

Nikki's face dropped into a sad, emotionless form, and she picked up her hoodie and half the paperwork and got up to leave. 

"Wait, you're leaving? Why?" Radar asked. "Oh, man, did I ruin our friendship already?!"

"I just...I need some time to myself..." she replied. 

"Wait! Nikki! I--"

The door shut, cutting Radar off, leaving him both confused and sad at the same time. What just happened? She had been angry a second ago. Moreover, what made her sad about it? Radar fell with his back on the door, slowly sliding down on the floor, pinching his nose, perplexed. Why had he decided to keep that hoodie?

BECAUSE YOU LOVE HER, DAMNIT! WHY ELSE?! Anyways, I'm sure this'll eventually be explained, right? There's going to be a Part 3, right? RIGHT?!