2 - A Painful Scar
Shoving her name tag into the pocket of her jacket, Charlie sped-walked across the parking lot of the movie rental store she worked at. She had been called early morning to cover a co-worker's shift, and as much as she had wanted to stay in bed, she needed the extra hours. Her bus would be arriving in a few minutes so she was trying to hurry before she'd have to wait for forty minutes for the next one.
"You fucking whore!"
Charlie was shoved hard, thrown against a car. She growled as she quickly raised herself up and turned around only to watch as a paw swung down and clawed her cheek.
"Tramp !"
Then a pair of paws clamped around her ears and pulled them hard, throwing her head down. Charlie snarled as she saw the brown curly-haired tail of someone all-too familiar.
"Fuck off!" Charlie snapped as she grabbed Madeleine by the wrists and pulled her off, shoving them away from her. Madeleine's nostrils flared from the stink of wolf, only further fueling her temper.
"You're a fucking lowlife! You filthy mutt!" The poodle yelped as she attempted to lunge at her again but was stopped by her friends who decided that enough was enough as a crowd began to build around them.
"Mind your own fucking business," Charlie growled as she fixed her jacket. Madeleine squirmed an arm free and slapped Charlie. An arm curled around Charlie and pulled her back as she attempted to grab at Madeleine. Madeleine shook with fury in her coat as she pointed at Charlie and shouted, "She's trying to bite me! Call the police! She's rabid!"
"Oh I'll bite you," Charlie snarled as she snapped the air, pushing against the one holding her.
"If you both don't go away within the next minute I'm going to call the police on the two of you!"
It was Charlie's coworker, having slammed open one of the doors and shouted very loudly. Finally, Charlie thought as she looked at Madeleine then turned around and shook herself out of the other's grasp, making her way across the parking lot to the bus stop. She looked up at the map of routes, very well noticing that she'd have to wait those forty minutes now. A trickle of blood dripped down the side of her face from the cut on her cheek. She had to make sure Lulu was fine.
"Winter vacation, how lovely!" Her mother put her paws together and smiled intently without blinking. "It's the perfect time to think about your future although this was supposed to have been done years ago."
Lulu's ears flattened as she smiled awkwardly at her mother. "I know, but-"
"As I said before, there's always opportunities in big businesses like the medical field, law, even dentistry if you need to."
"I know, but-"
"Art isn't going to pay the bills, you know. You need something dependable, something respectable."
"I know, but-"
"But what, Lulu? What is it?"
"I've already done so many art classes, I might as well complete my..." Her mother scowled at her, knowing she was going to hear Lulu say that but wished she didn't. She sighed.
"We want you out in your career field already. No use wasting time on something that isn't worth the effort." Lulu dropped her head, gently setting her paws on her lap. Her mother took the teacup that was on the coffee table between them then held it close to her lips. "Besides school, are there any boys in the picture yet?"
Lulu blushed lightly as she thought of Charlie, smiling to herself as she remembered what happened nights ago. Her mother straightened herself as she noticed a change in Lulu.
"Oh?" She said as she sipped from her tea while keeping her eyes on her daughter. "Have a crush, do you? Who is he?"
"Well it's not... He isn't... I-"
"Now, now. Don't get flustered. Does he go to school with you?"
"Yes."
"How long have you liked him?"
"For a few years."
"Years? Why haven't we met him?" She almost choked on her tea. "Why haven't you told him anything? You know I was the one who asked your father out and look at what that brought me!"
That doesn't make me feel any better. Lulu gave a weak smile before something grabbed her shoulders causing her to jolt in her seat. "Didn't mean to scare you like that, honey."
It was her father who had sneaked behind her, leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek. "You smell a little weird? I just can't put my paw on it."
Wolf! She shouted in her head, having thought she scrubbed off and perfumed away every last little scent that remained of that night. "Oh, it's because I grabbed the wrong shirt while scrambling to get here. It was supposed to be with my laundry."
He shrugged it off before joining her mother beside her.
"Are you going to be joining us for dinner?"
"I can't. My neighbor's car... broke down and she asked me to take her to the store." I don't want to be here any longer. Lulu stood up from her seat, holding her purse in her paws. "I'm really sorry."
"No worries," her mother said, standing with her at the same time. She stepped forward to take Lulu's paws in hers, hooking her eyes to hers. "Remember what we talked about. You don't have much time left."
"I... understand."
Walking around the corner, her paws still cold ever since she had left her parent's home, she picked up a familiar scent. Seeing her seated quietly on the bench outside of the building, Lulu was surprised as to why she would suddenly show up out of the blue. Charlie's ears immediately perked up and turned towards the sound of Lulu walking from behind. She rose and hurried to Lulu without letting her come to the front door.
"How long have you been out here? If you had let me known I could have come home earlier," Lulu said a bit sadly, feeling bad at the thought of having left Charlie sitting outside of her dorm for a long time. Once Charlie came close to her, she noticed the purple spot on her cheek underneath a swollen cut that still had some bloody crust around it.
"Are you okay?" Charlie took Lulu's face into her paws and turned her left and right, inspecting her. Lulu blushed.
"I should be the one asking you that. What happened to you?"
"Just a scratch. Had a bad run in with a bi- someone because I still have wolf on my fur. I wanted to make sure you're okay." Charlie took her arms, also looking them over for any stray marks, focused on what she was doing. She got into a fight? Maybe it was a bad idea we went into the woods...
"Let me put a bandage on it at least," Lulu asked softly. Charlie looked into her eyes and nodded.
With the first-aid kit open on the table, Lulu pressed the bandage gently on Charlie's cheek. "I'm glad you're fine, Lulu. I was scared someone might've done something to you because of my stupid idea."
"It's not stupid. I had a great time. I've never done anything like that."
"I should've thought it through."
"It's okay. My parents didn't notice." Didn't notice what the smell was of though.
"I should get going. It's good nothing happened to you." Lulu held her paws together as she shyly looked down while Charlie rose from her seat. She might have lied to her parents to leave but it wasn't a complete lie. "I was about to go to the market. Do you want to come with me?"
"Yes!" Charlie's eyes lit up, her stubby tail wagging.
Charlie pushed the cart, already having filled it with Lulu's groceries, some snacks she had gotten for herself. Lulu was leading her with her list in her paws, crossing off the items with her pen. The market was full of holiday decorations, candy, and miniature trees. Charlie pointed out the electronic dancing and singing reindeer to Lulu as they moved into the produce aisle. They both smiled and laughed at their high-pitched voices.
"Are you going to get a tree for your dorm?" Charlie asked her.
"I don't know. I go to my parents for Christmas. What about you?"
"I don't do anything since my family lives in another state. I usually spend my Christmas watching movies and eating Chinese food," Charlie said as she looked over the tiny trees.
"M-Maybe we should do something for Christmas," Lulu suggested, butterflies in her stomach.
Charlie looked at her. "But what about your parents?"
"They won't mind. It won't make a difference if I'm there or not. Besides, it'd be nice to do something different."
"I'd like that." Lulu smiled warmly, eyes twinkling with delight as her heart fluttered. Charlie then announced, "Then I'm getting the tree!"
As she dropped into the shopping cart, she noticed Lulu's expression drop, her eyes looking in her direction but not at her. Then, a pair of palomino arms snaked around her waist and pulled her back against something firm.
"Am I going to get anything from Santa this year?" A rich, deep voice from above asked. Charlie didn't even have to look at him to know who it was. Her ears flattened as she set the tree down.
"I have better things to spend on," she growled. Lulu didn't know who the horse was, but a part of her didn't want to find out. He eyed her quietly as he held Charlie in his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head. She immediately moved her attention to the miniature Christmas tree.
"Aren't you going to introduce us?" He asked.
"The asshole hugging me isn't important."
"You don't have to be so mean." He nudged her head with his, noticing the bandage. "Who did you get into a fight with?"
Charlie gripped the shopping cart handle and proceeded to push it. Lulu jumped and quickly joined her at the front, holding the side of the cart as Charlie took them to the registers. He let go of her and followed them with his own cart. "I'm going to come by later to get some of my things."
"I gave your things to Malcolm," Charlie said without changing her expression. Lulu stood there silently, nervously listening to them.
He groaned. "You really did try to get rid of me."
Charlie moved to join Lulu's side, taking things out of the cart quickly onto the belt, not replying to his statement. Lulu tried to match Charlie's speed but failed, leaving Charlie to remove everything out of the cart while she struggled to go through her wallet for her money.
"At least let me come see you."
Charlie then wrapped an arm around Lulu's shoulder and turned to glare him straight into his dark eyes. "Go away, you're scaring my friend."
He dropped his shoulders and sighed, scratching the top of his mane as his ears twitched. "Fine. I'll get out of your fur. I'll see you later."
He took his shopping cart and moved back down into the other aisles.
"No you won't," Charlie shouted, letting go of Lulu before reaching into her pocket and handing the clerk her card. Lulu fidgeted and insisted that she pay but Charlie declined her,
After helping Lulu carry the things into the apartment and put them away, Charlie gave her a hug and wished her goodnight before walking away towards the nearest bus stop. She sat with her bag of snacks on her lap, waiting for the bus. She raised a paw to her cheek and softly smiled before hugging the bag close to her.