[b][center]Chapter 3[/center][/b]


Technobear was still making all kinds of leaps and bounds around the shack while Foo just yawned and stood up from the couch. After a quick stretch the imp reached down to grab his pants and put them back on. 

“You two get cleaned up and I’ll get Kratz and Rooter here,” Foo chuckled as he stumbled past all the junk on the shack floor and left out the door. 

“Yeah! Yeah, we’re gonna tear the roof off of this place!” Technobear whooped, pumping his fist into the air. “Hey, Dade. Dude, help me clean this place up a bit.” 

The rabbit agreed and helped the bear clean up the area as best as they could. The random junk littering the floor was picked up and tossed out while the many cushions and blankets were placed neatly on the old couch. 

“Thanks, bro. I think we got everything handled now. I know you really don’t wanna go home, but maybe you should at least tell your mom that you’re gonna be gone. We all know she’s gonna raise hell if you don’t come back,” Techno suggested. Dade sighed and looked at the door. 

“Yeah, you’re right. She would definitely freak out. But I’m coming back as soon as I can. Uh, see you in a bit,” Dade awkwardly said. But Technobear just simply waved his paw and attempted to make the place just a bit neater. Dade couldn’t help but feel glad the shack wasn’t always in the condition he first saw it in. 

The sky above was a light orange, letting Dade know that the quicker he got back home, the better. As he walked back home, the rabbit kept his eyes on the sky above. The setting sun that followed him through the trees bathed the forest in it’s soft glow. 

“I’ve been pretty happy lately,” Dade thought aloud. “I wonder why. Is it because of ‘that’? No, it might be more…I don’t really have to pretend with them. It feels really good and it’s fun, too. They’re pretty nice but they aren’t Harvey,” when the bird’s name was said Dade stopped in his tracks. Snapping out of his own thoughts, Dade came to realize that he was halfway home. 

Harvey? Is this why I’m doing all of this? For him? For the both of us? But…there is no us. It’s just me and him, as friends. I used to only have fun whenever Harvey’s around. But I had fun back there and he wasn’t around at all.

Dade’s pondering was cut short by a beaming of sunlight hitting him in the eye. He hissed and closed it and that somehow brought his main objective back in focus. All that was on his mind now was hurrying home and coming back as quickly as he could. He broke into a light jog and reached the residential area of the forest in no time, dashing past Claire and Princess’ houses. His own home was in sight, just a few more strides away.

“Hey, Dade!” the rabbit came to a full halt, facing the bluebird that called his name. On the porch of his house stood Harvey, waving over at him.

“Uh, hey Harvey! S-sorry, but I can’t talk right now. I gotta go home really quick,” Dade called back to Harvey. 

“Okay! See ya later, then!” Harvey said, waving again. 

Dade nodded and went back to his jogging. All the while he felt pretty proud of himself for explaining himself rather than letting himself get dragged into a longer conservation he didn’t have the time for. As tempted as he was to turn around and keep talking to Harvey, the rabbit resisted the urge and focused on convincing his mother to let him out for the night with someone who wasn’t Harvey.

Standing outside his home, Dade gave a deep breath. This was it. Feeling a surge of confidence, he gripped the doorknob and opened the door. 
“Hey, Mom! I’m home!” Dade called out from the doorway, hoping that she would hear his voice over the dozens and dozens of others. 

“Oh, there you are, Dade. I was starting to worry about you. When I knocked on your door and you didn’t answer I just assumed you took off early. I don’t mind it much, but please, at least leave me a note or something,” Tabitha suggested, weaving her way around her other children. 

“Yeah, well that last time I left a note Poppi ate it,” Dade explained. 

“Now how do you know Poppi did it? Much less that she ate it?” Tabitha asked with a skeptical look on her face. 

“Well, she told me that she did it. And Poppi only ate half of it, I have the other half still! When I asked her why she told me it was because blue ink tasted the best,” Dade sighed, feeling drained just thinking about it. 

“Well…You must be hungry. You can go ahead and fix whatever's left in there,” Tabitha offered. 

“Thanks, Mom. Oh, yeah! There’s another thing!” Dade said, twiddling his digits. “After I eat, I’m gonna head back out.”

“Hmm, what are you talking about, dear? You just came back,” Tabitha said with a gentle laugh. 

“See…” Dade felt himself starting to sweat but he continued anyway, “I was planning to spend the night out…with the guys.”

“Oh? And who exactly are ‘the guys’?” Tabitha asked, turning around and making her way to the kitchen. Dade followed after her, determined to see this through. 

“Oh, you know. Technobear, Rooter, Kratz and…Foo,” Dade answered slowly. As the names left his mouth Tabitha let out a sigh, turned around to the counter and proceeded to cut the carrots she had left there. “But Dade, sweetie. I thought we decided a long time ago that those boys were nothing but trouble. Yes, nothing but a bunch of bad influences.”

“Yeah, I know..But..”

“But I know that you’re not a child anymore. So… You can go. But, sweetie. Be a little careful. I know you’re old enough to make your own decisions, but I don’t want to see you getting hurt from taking on more than you can handle,” Tabitha said, turning to look his son in the eyes. 

“Th-thanks, Mom. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” Dade assured with a small smile. 

“Yeah, thanks Mom. I’ll be back soon,” Dade chuckled, as he eased past the back door. There was no reason he had to go back on an empty stomach. He quickly made his way to the backyard, hoping that his siblings hadn’t cleared his favorite berry bush. As if someone had answered his prayers personally, his favorite raspberry bush was left practically untouched. 

The rabbit was soon stuffing his face with as many berries as he could into his mouth. Pink juice leaked from his muzzle and down his chin but he hardly cared about that. The only thing that concerned Dade at the moment was filling up and getting back to the shack as fast as possible. He took a final bite and clutched at a branch, ripping the berries off of it before he took off via the back gate. 

Once again jogging through the forest, Dade wondered if the others were already at the shack. Maybe convincing his mother would have been better if he lied and told her he was going to Harvey’s for the night. That idea was quickly shot down, knowing that she would have called or even popped by at any sign of suspension. So for the moment, Dade basked in the fact that she just let him make his own decision. And even if she was lying to him, there was no way she could find the shack anyway. It was perfect. The night was going to go perfect, Dade just knew it. He was actually amped to get there and met up with the others. 

“Well, I guess that’s a first,” Dade thought aloud, pushing his way through the foliage and branches that tugged at his fur. His breathing was deep and there was an excited thumping in his chest. In his head he imagined himself in a dramatic struggle between him and the plant life, a daring rabbit fighting through, determined to reunite with his comrades. 

In reality he was a rounder than average rabbit sweating and wheezing his way through the forest. About three-fourths of the way Dade slowed his pace to a speed walk, taking a moment to catch his breath. Through the trees, the sun was nearly set, some bright stars above were already making their presence known. 

Hmm, this forest is really pretty at all times of day, the rabbit realized, looking around the area. 

“Hey, there he is. Told ya he was coming back,” Dade’s ears sprung up, hearing the voice of Technobear nearby. Before he realized it, he had already pushed through the dense foliage. The hidden shack was in sight along with Technobear and Kratz, standing outside. 

“Yo! I thought for a sec that you weren’t coming back,” Techno admitted while Kratz leaned against the side of the shack, smoking a cigarette. 

“Whoa, Kratz. I never knew you smoked,” Dade pointed out awkwardly, stepping closer to the skunk. His nose twitched, picking the mixed scent of the smoke and something slightly sweet. 

“Yeah…Kinda started recently. I figured you would have a problem with it so I never brought it up,” Kratz sighed, averting his gaze and shaking the ash from the end. 

“No…I don’t mind. I’m actually…I’m glad that you’re here, Kratz. You’re one of my few friends,” Dade admitted.

A small smile spread across the skunk’s muzzle upon hearing those words. He held his paw out, and Dade eyed it before extending his own. Once the shake was over Kratz tossed his cigarette down, stomping it out. 

“Aww, isn’t that just precious,” Technobear smiled, wrapping his arms around both Dade and Kratz, pulling them in close with a literal bear hug. Kratz had a look of annoyance while Dade was just trying to breathe, his face pressed against Techno’s bare fuzzy chest. Upon feeling a paw frantically tap his shoulder Technobear released them both. Dade gave an exaggerated gasp of air and smiled a bit. 

“I thought…I saw a light,” Dade wheezed, clenching his fist in the air dramatically. 

“Oh come on, man. I let you go,” Techno chuckled, placing his paws upon his hips. 

“Yeah, but your fur smells like…When’s the last time you showered?” Dade teased, poking the air in the arm. 

“Hey, Rooter likes it. Every night he gets his daily fill of Techno-musk!” A deep growl came from the bear, his arms flexing up and down. Dade had no idea how to respond to what he was told or how the bear’s display. 

“Hey! What’s all the ruckus out here, lads?” Rooter asked, stepping out of the shack. He was met with Technobear growling and flexing at a confused Dade while Kratz just shook his head. 

“Dade. Since you're here that means you somehow got your mom off your back,” Kratz inferred, looking at the rabbit for confirmation. 

“Yeah, by some miracle. She gave me a sort of lecture and blessing wrapped in one. All that matters is I’m here now,” Dade explained in an unamused tone. 

“My bad. Look, we all know that Tabitha can be…” Kratz paused, thinking of his next words carefully. 

“Your mom is crazy,” Rooter finished. “Sorry, bro. No offense.”

“She’s not crazy,” Dade stomped. “She’s insane!”

All the other guys were caught off guard by the rabbit’s agreement but soon enough they were all joining in on the laugh. 

“Yeah… She can be really overbearing. Everything is dangerous and ‘a bad influence’. I never get to try anything new and I never got to go anywhere that wasn’t Harvey’s,” Dade explained to the other guys. 

“Well…Look at it this way. As long as you’re here, you can be whoever you wanna be. It’s obvious what’s going on; you never got to be yourself. Not even once. That’s why we’re throwing you an all night rager!” Technobear whopped. 

”Heh. It’s alright, Dade. We all have our troubles,” Rooter said calmly, resting his hand on Dade’s shoulder. “You know, when my Dad lost his job he started drinkin’ real heavy. Him and my Ma started having a lot of arguments. Pretty soon she couldn’t take it anymore and they split up.”

Dade simply nodded, having heard about the divorce from his mother. She was all too eager to express how right she was that the relationship wouldn’t survive long. Even then Dade was annoyed at his mom for reveling in a marriage reduced to shambles. Just to fuel her own ego. 

“Thanks, Rooter. I appreciate it. Some days I wake up and don’t even know who I am,” Dade admitted somberly. 

“Well, you got a whole night to figure that out,” Technobear grinned, heading back in the shack with Rooter following close behind. “You did bring the pizza, right?” he asked the trailing porcine. 

Kratz let out a drawn out yawn and stood from the shack. “I guess we should head in now.”

Foo popped his head out of the shack and grinned. “That was some heavy stuff you just let out, Dade. You’re making real progress!” Dade couldn’t tell if Foo meant it genuinely or not and he didn’t have much time with Kratz ushering him within the shack. 

“Welcome back a second time!” Technobear greeted. As if it were some sort of surprise party. The rest of the guys shot him an odd look. Even Rooter furrowed his eyebrow up at the bear. 

Dade couldn’t help but laugh, looking up and around the shack. The shack was now littered with cushions and blankets than before. There was a small TV against the wall with a DVD player connected. 

“Nice, right? I couldn’t find the portable one, so I just took the old one from the basement. Dad won’t miss it,” Rooter explained, seeing the rabbit’s shifting gaze. 

“And I brought a fuck-ton of snacks. You’re welcome,” Foo bragged, kicking bags of assorted chips around.

“Show off,” Kratz snorted from behind Dade. 

“And what have you brought?” Rooter asked, pointing to Kratz. 

“You know exactly what I brought,” Kratz sneered, making Dade look around in confusion, wanting to know what it was. “Hehe, don’t worry. You’ll find out later.”

Dade just nodded and sat down on the couch. “So what do we do first?” he asked the rest of the guys. 

“Whatever the hell we want!” Technobear answered, causing Foo and Rooter to jump in shock. 

Dade just sat on the couch, thinking of what he wanted to do. Nothing came to his mind… “Well, I can’t really think of anything. I’ve always just done the things I always do.”

“Well, whenever Harvey suggests something that’s what we do. Or anytime we have an event that comes up every year, then that’s what we do. It’s been that way for years. I guess I haven’t tried anything new. I mean the only reason I’m here now is because…Well, I don’t know why…” Dade frowned. 

“Hmm. This is worse than I thought. Poor jumper doesn’t even have any will of his own. He really needs our help bad,” Rooter sighed, tapping his foot against the ground. 

“Well…” Technobear looked away. Things seemed to be going well with him and Dade. “He had a mind of his own earlier. I mean he did come here all on his own.”

Rooter simply nodded and stomped his foot. “Alright, I’ll be right back. We’re going to have some real run.” He made his way out of the shack and outside. 

“Well, I guess that leaves us to entertain ourselves. Anyone else up for a movie?” Foo asked, already stepping towards the TV. 

“Yeah, I’m game,” Kratz shrugged, sitting down on the couch. 

Within a few minutes, a movie was playing on the TV. It was some cheesy action movie. It was a basic plot of a jacked, muscle-bound guy blowing stuff up and having high speed chases just to save some large-chested damsel in distress. 

“She isn’t even that cute…” Kratz groaned, clearly bored as the damsel called for help while being dangled over a shark tank. 

“Her heels are nice at least,” Dade agreed. The movie itself didn’t stick with the rabbit at all. He and Harvey would usually watch light-hearted comedies and cheesy romance movies. All the explosions and dramatic music only turned him off from the movie even more. 

Technobear noticed the dragging mood of the other’s and wondered where Rooter was. They were a good thirty minutes into the movie and he was still nowhere to be seen. While everyone else was distracted he snuck out of the door and looked for the boar.