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Chapter 9: The Days Pass So Quickly

MONDAY MORNING: PETER SPILLS THE BEANS

“You have a girlfriend? When did that happen?" Michael was curious, Peter never interacted with anyone outside of school and baseball nowadays. Apparently his parents got hyper protective or something like that, they kept the poor boy far away from anyone he could really befriend. So hearing that he had managed to get a girlfriend in a single weekend was shocking to say the least.

Peter let a smug smile out, it felt good to brag to his friends about his relationship with Alopex. Of course, he kept a lot of details vague, and changed a bit of info. “Yep, I've got a girlfriend, met her last friday, it was love at first sight!" The moment those words left his mouth, an eraser flew straight to the back of his head. “Ouch!"

Pete turned around to see another student listening to his conversation, Jefferson. Jeff always made fun of Peter for not showing up to anything he was invited to, calling him a coward. “Sorry, dropped my eraser! I'm surprised a girl was actually willing to look at your face Pete! Maybe if you ask your parents really nicely they'll let you take her out of your basement."

Peter grabbed the eraser, squeezing it angrily, he didn't want to start a fight and get in trouble. “You're just jealous that I got a girlfriend before you did!"

“Yeah, sure thing. I'm sure we're both excited to meet her, aren't we Mike?" Michael looked like he wanted nothing to do with this fight, he knew that trouble could wind up blowing onto him. So Mike simply shaked his head and waved his hands while stepping back.

“I'll have you know, my girlfriend knows Martial arts and could totally kick your ass!" The eraser flew right into Jeff's eye, thankfully Pete only lightfully tossed it. But everyone around them could see the two were inching towards a fight.

“Dumbass! That actually hurt. You're gon-' Before Jeff could finish the bell rang, the break was over, time to head back to class. “Forget it, you're not worth it" Jefferson grabbed his eraser from the floor and stormed off cursing.

Peter and Mike walked away after the incident “Pete, you have to stop freaking out like that, Jeff barely said anything and you were almost jumping him"

“Sorry Mike, it's just that… I'm kind of on edge about Alopex, I'm worried my parents won't accept her as my girlfriend" Pete felt defeated, he had no clue why he almost blew up over some snarky comments. Yet he would have to storm on, there was still a whole week to go through before the big day.

Michael raised an eyebrow at that name, sounded like she was either fake or her parents were big fans of Latin, but he was still willing to trust his friend “That's a really weird name, is she foreign?"

“Uhhh… Yes, she's from Alaska" Peter answered. The young Manners had replaced being a Ninja Assassin with a generic “black belt at martial arts", but he probably should've made Al's name less suspicious.

Mike forgot any suspicions he had with the name due to the absurdity of Peter's statement “Dude, Alaska is a state, not a different country, and I'm pretty sure that name is in Latin"

“Look, geography was never my strong suit, we'll talk more tomorrow ok?"

Peter was about to rush into his classroom when Michael interrupted him one final time. “Sure, and don't worry about your parents, these things always tend to work out. My grandpa tried to shoot my dad when he found him sleeping with my mom, but he stopped being so aggressive towards him about nine months later."

“Oh, huh, well, it's nice to hear your grandpa didn't end up shooting your dad" Pete got what Mike was trying to say. However, there are some things best kept to yourself, even if you do want to use them to motivate someone.

“Yeah, well he had terrible aim!" Michael laughed as he left Peter to go into his class, leaving his friend surprised at his bizarre story. Still, Mike couldn't shake the fact he had read the name Alopex somewhere before.

-

MONDAY NIGHT: BACKROOM TALK

“So… How was your day?" Alopex accompanied Peter while he checked the stock at the back of the gas station. This was one of the few times during the week where they would be able to interact alone. Pete kept busy while at school, but he wasn't able to convince his dad to let him stay in the storage area, so he'd have to leave Al soon, to go back to the counter.

Peter grabbed some of the items he promised to restock, while noticing that Alopex was wearing another old dress from his sister. “Nothing much, same old boring stuff like always. Still… I did tell a friend about you"

Al's heart skipped a beat, was Pete spreading their relationship to the whole world? I mean, they were still starting off, y'know, knowing each other and all those things, and he was going around bragging about it? “Please tell me you didn't brag about kissing me to your whole class"

Peter kept placing the items he needed on a bag "Relax Al, I told 2 people, and one of them didn't even believe me" Alopex yoinked a single strand of hair from his head, almost making him drop his bag. “What the heck was that?"

“What we have is private! I stayed because I liked you and you managed to convince me I could finally find peace here. But if you keep spreading things around… Well.. maybe they could find me" Al actually looked worried, Peter probably should've told her he knew how important this secret was in the first place.

“I get you Al, and I'm sorry. If it makes it better I made sure to not tell them about all the ninja and mutant stuff. From now on, no more bragging from me!" Alopex seemed very relieved to know Peter wasn't being stupid, maybe she should finally relax. The fox lowered her head a bit, which Pete took as an opportunity to sneak a quick kiss on her nose. It felt weird and warm, but it made them both laugh a bit. It was good to actually feel like a teenager, small moments like these were sorely lacking in her previous life. “I've still got about a minute or two before my dad busts back here thinking I ran away, so what about your day, what was it like?"

-

TUESDAY AFTERNOON: ALOPEX'S (next) DAY

It felt good to not have a schedule to wake up on, Al spent her late night together with Pete, they never did anything with each other besides kiss for a bit and talk. Although they were finally able to play video games again, after Peter had convinced his father to let the punishment for the broken window be a bit more laxed. Eventually during the night, the mutant would have to head back to Jack's house to sleep, not wanting to risk getting discovered. Her slumber was filled with strange dreams, some disturbing others pleasant, but all related to her previous life. It felt like she would never truly get rid of the shadow of her past, but could at least feel safe where she was.

“So, do you plan on staying on the couch all day?" Jacob watched the Fox Girl laze around, there was a bag of half eaten potato chips on the floor and she just stared at an old black and white movie on public access television. It was a very different sight than the cold warrior that had confronted him when they first met.

“Uh? Oh crap!" Alopex rushed out of the couch, the “ex-ninja" had to get out and exercise, while she had escaped from her old clan. There was a need to maintain her shape and skills to ensure she'd be able to fight back in case trouble came knocking. “Sorry, I lost track of time! Can't spend the rest of my life on the couch" Before Jacob could even say anything, the mutant was gone, guess she found a way to occupy herself. Yet, he felt like he could do more, she deserved a better future than staying hidden here for the rest of her life.

Al climbed past the fence in the Manner's property, it would be nice to train alone again, she had spent most of her previous day in these woods. Being in touch with nature made her feel good. She was no longer an animal, sure, but these cold woods were reminders of simpler times. She thought about the new life ahead of her, how she could finally strike a balance between her past and present. As the arctic fox reminded herself of her old routines, she could finally train to protect her family if needed, and not to hurt others, like her old family demanded.

It was a liberating experience, well, except for one thing, that voice, on the back of her head, something whispering. Today it felt a lot louder, yesterday she merely thought it was the wind. Inspecting most of the surrounding area left her empty handed, save for a few critters… Maybe it was some squirrel noises. But as the whispers got louder the fox girl could swear she heard her name being called, Alopex tried distracting herself by training harder, she leaped from tree to tree, hitting off branches while leaving marks everywhere, Al didn't have the gear she had during her days with the foot clan, but she knew how to hone her skills the old fashioned way.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted another fox. It glowed with ghostly light and Al could swear she even had multiple tails, but the moment she turned to see her the fox was gone. The mutant dropped onto the ground, confused, she scanned her surroundings, finding nothing of interest. Until an intense headache filled her skull, like something climbed very deeply onto her head, she tried desperately to get rid of it, but it was like a parasite burrowing deep into her mind. The whispers became deafening cries and then… silence, that wasn't some insane possession she just experienced, it was a taunt, somebody had been in her head for a while now, maybe for years at this point, and that person was making her presence known.

This could complicate things.

-

TUESDAY NIGHT: POSSESSION OBSESSION

“So yeah, I guess you can say I come from Fairbanks, but it's not like I know much about the town" Peter was once again collecting things for the front store, allowing some time in private with Alopex, lucky for them, Jacob was taking care of the store, so he allowed his nephew a bit of extra time with Al. He was trying to get to know some other facts about her to use with his parents when the time came to introduce her. “I wish my last time there had gone better, but i'm glad to have a place to call home now"

Pete noticed something was off about her, she seemed a bit more distracted than in their previous conversations. “Everything alright Al?"

“Someone is taunting me, I think they're trying some kind of possession… Might be foot, not sure." Peter didn't even know how to react, someone was trying to possess her? How could that even work? “I'm not sure if they haven't been in my head for a while, could be Kitsune"

“Possession?!" The boy was going to try and understand this, help his friend in any way he could. “You said that Kitsune witch worked with your old clan, right? Maybe she's trying to contact you for something" The mutant looked away when he said this. She still didn't want it to be true, what if the Foot found out Alopex was here? They could hurt, maybe even kill Peter's family for it.

“The Shredder would've sent someone to kill me if he knew I was alive" She said that with such certainty, like it was a fact. But Peter had another hypothesis.

Pete stood up and held the Mutant's hands “How can you be so sure?" Alopex looked confused “You said that witch was taunting you, that doesn't strike me as being as aggressive as what the Foot Clan did to your home. Maybe, it's not the Foot that wants you, but Kitsune herself".

“I… I guess you could be right, if Shredder really wanted me dead he wou-" Before Alopex could even finish, Peter went in for a hug, it felt as if being together like this melted all her troubles away. The voice that constantly nagged at the back of her head got quieter and quieter and replaced by an assurance that everything would be fine, even if for just a brief moment, the thought that maybe, she would finally have a night with no bad dreams.

“You two done back there!?" They broke from the hug as Jacob yelled out in the front of the store, it looked like they'd have to wait for the end of Pete's shift to spend some time together again.

“I'll try to figure out what Kitsune is doing, I know some techniques that might help" The two smiled at each other as the boy grabbed all his items and began to leave, but before he could close the door Al told him one last thing “Thank you for the help, with these types of foes, it's best to fight them together" And with that, their smiles gleamed brighter than ever.

-

WEDNESDAY MORNING: FURTHER QUESTIONING

“You going to keep avoiding my questions Pete? I just asked which region of Alaska she came from." Michael was getting impatient. Yesterday Peter came up with a bunch of excuses not to talk about the girlfriend he had bragged so much about, but now it was getting on his nerves. “Did she dump you or something?"

“She didn't dump me! Al got mad at me for bragging about her ok?" Pete was annoyed, Michael was stressing him out, only mounting on the worries Alopex had already placed on him during the previous day.

Before Mike could even reply, Jefferson threw a pen at him, it didn't hurt him at all, but still made him close his fist in anger. “Well, looks like it's trouble in paradise Pete!" Peter rolled his eyes at his mocking commentary, Jeff was acting more obnoxious than usual. “Did your parents tell you to stop calling your body pillow a girlfriend?"

Mike just grabbed Peter's arm by surprise, rushing them both away. “Let's leave, I need to talk to you now" Jeff chuckled to himself as the two left the scene.

“Oh I get it, you dumped your girlfriend to be with him. Good luck, love birds!" Jefferson laughed loudly as he went off, and Peter didn't really understand why Mike was so desperate to leave, he was almost hurting his arm at this point.

Eventually the two reached an emptier corner of the school, they had only a few minutes left before needing to return to class. “Ok, so check this out, I wanted to make sure Jeff wouldn't see it" Mike grabbed a book from his backpack, he read the title out loud: “The Guide to Everything Alaska!" For once, Pete felt Michael's curiosity would actually be beneficial for him, so they grabbed the book and started flipping pages, eventually they reached a page on the town of Fairbanks.

“There! I remember Al mentioned that she came from that city when we talked yesterday!" The two looked at some basic info, just some fun facts about the city, nothing major, eventually they began flipping through the pages until they reached a small blurb about the arctic fox. It had a picture of a small fox playing with some larger ones. Peter couldn't stop looking, he hadn't given much thought about it, he imagined how much strength it would take to endure being ripped from this type of existence and thrust into the human world. He wishes he could do something to help, but maybe just being there for her was what she needed.

Peter began reading the blurb about Arctic Foxes, one of the minor facts was that they used to be known by the scientific name Alopex lagopus, before that got altered. This set up an idea in Peter's head “Hey, check it out, my girlfriend!" He said it with a smirk, pointing at the text. Michael stared at it for a few seconds, not understanding what Pete meant. “Got ya buddy! Can't believe you fell for it!" He began faking a laugh as best he could, trying to get his friend to believe this was some prank.

“What?" His friend was confused, clearly his strategy did not work. “Oh… I get it, you're trying to trick me. Good one Pete, if you just want to leave the subject alone you don't need to pretend." He sighed. “You're bad at this, if she wanted the whole relationship to be kept a secret then you should've actually kept it a secret"

Now he had no clue what to say, his friend figured out his frankly stupid tactic of pretending everything was a joke, would he just keep pushing him until he admitted something? “Look Peter, remember when I told you I asked Jenny out on a date? And then I never talked about it after? Well, I've actually been going out with her a lot, my dad said it's just natural, you don't need to brag to anyone, let things play out how they should" Peter felt like an idiot, yet at least he had one more person to rely on this crazed fox mutant journey of his. “And here, have this, you can return it by monday, have fun with your girlfriend!" Mike handed him the book and they parted ways.

-

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: THE GUIDE TO EVERYTHING ALASKA

Peter was feeling better, he had a good day at school and he got to leave work early to be with Alopex the whole night. She was already waiting for him in his room, so he turned on his TV at max volume to give them some privacy. “Check it out Al! I got this book about Alaska. It even has the town you came from"

The fox opened up the book alongside her would-be partner, the two flipped straight to the page that mentioned her hometown “I didn't expect you to be this interested in Fairbanks. Like I said, I don't really know much about the town, my childhood was spent in forests and a lab, so I wasn't exactly visiting the community centers." Alopex flipped through the Guide to everything Alaska, so many sights that felt like they spoke to a deeper primal part of her. Yet, they made her feel an even deeper melancholy, she had been denied this life and made to accept her new one. "Peter, this is nice, but… this" The mutant pointed at a picture of a normal arctic fox in one of the pages "It's not who I am anymore, and honestly, I think I'm happy in leaving my past behind. Let's start thinking about the now"

“Oh! Sure, I thought you'd like it, but I get what you mean" Pete looked a bit disappointed, he really thought this would help her out, yet the mutant simply rejected it. Then he saw it, some sadness behind her eyes, she tried hard to move on, to say it wasn't a part of her anymore, yet she couldn't truly get rid of that part of herself. He softly took the book from her hands and placed it on the side of his bed. The two stared at each other, not knowing what to say next. “I'm sorry…"

Alopex immediately gave Peter a hug, holding on to him tight, he could feel the warmth and softness of her fur brush against his skin. It was like holding a soft plushie. “You shouldn't be sorry about trying to help someone" She pulled her head back and gave him a kiss, having quickly recomposed herself “Now… how are we going to spend our night?"

The boy started thinking, they've watched too much TV and played too many video games at this point. It was time to train! He rushed off the bed into his closet, hopefully he still had what he wanted. The fox was shocked when he pulled a box of rubber ninja toys, who knew he used to actually like ninjas so much. “These were some fun toys I had as a kid, before my dad went overprotective on me. Can you show me how they actually work?"

“This is nice Petey, but we don't really train with plastic weapons…" The mutant chuckled a bit, it was cute that he was so excited for Al to teach him, but he should've probably realized that these were nothing like the real thing.

“Come on Al, help me out! We can find a real weapon later, maybe I can use a staff, a real one should be easy to get" Peter picked up a collapsible plastic staff from the box, Alopex looked inside, it had plastic ninja stars, plastic katanas, a plastic knife, it even had a plastic sai. All that was missing was some nunchucks and they'd have the whole set… “Alopex are you alright?"

“Huh?" She had been staring at the box, remembering her past again, how she used to train to fight against the Hamato clan… The turtles… She questioned if training someone was a good idea, but then, a spark ignited her desire to show her companion how to fight, it was a dangerous world out there, and she'd do everything in her power to help those she cared about. “I'll train you, in case anything ever happens, I don't want you to be defenseless. We'll need to get real weapons too, but for now, I guess this will do" The Ninja realized her Partner was still completely unprepared for any kind of battle against her foes, whether they be Foot or Hamato. If she was going to find the peace she needed, then she'd have to be sure her new family could defend themselves. “Wanna learn how to throw some shuriken?"

-

THURSDAY AFTERNOON: AGATHA AND ALOPEX

“So… Tell me more, what's it like to be a mutant?" Agatha left school early today, which meant she had plenty of time to get to know her new friend. Alopex wasn't really excited about the barrage of questions, but she had to get acquainted with her, especially if she wanted another voice backing her up when Sunday came around.

“Well, it's not quite like being a human, but it's not quite like being an animal either, I guess you can call it a complicated state of being…" The mutant hoped that she might bore her inquisitive friend, but it only seemed like she got more excited at her answer.

“Amazing! You're truly one of a kind!" Well, that plan clearly didn't work, in fact Agatha seemed more excited than ever.

“I guess, I'm the only Arctic fox mutant out there, but there were some turtles, a cat, a rat, the Rhino and the Warthog, a bunch of psychos, those two." Al gave up on her attempts and thought maybe she could get her inquisitor so excited that she would implode.

“Oh man, other mutants! Tell me what you know about them!" She scribbled on her notepad crazed theories about how these mutants would function and how they would look. “Wait! Can a human become a mutant, or is it only other animals?"

“Yeah, it could happen to a human, but you don't want that happening to you, no telling what you'd end up as, could be a cat, hyena, elephant or an eagle, hell, you could even become a slug!" Agatha weighed the possibilities, good thing she didn't have access to mutagen, or else she would've tried it anyway, consequences be damned.

“I mean, being an eagle sounds cool! I could fly everywhere, and see really far!" Al furrowed her brow at that comment, no concern over the consequences, true child-like wonder. Guess this kid isn't as mature as she first seemed. “I'd take my chances!" She spoke proudly, the mutant had to admit, hanging out with this kid was a nice way to pass the time.

-

THURSDAY NIGHT: A QUICK SLEEPOVER

“Sleepover?" Alopex was a bit nervous with the idea, they had gotten lucky so far and didn't need an extra obstacle getting thrown into the mix. Sleeping in Peter's room again could lead to them getting found out.

“Don't worry! I'll have an alarm set a bit early so I can wake us up and we can clean everything. It'll be as if you were never even here! The old Black and White channel is playing The Beast from 20.000 Fathoms too…" The boy gave his argument with confidence, sure, it was risky, but teenagers were known for being imprudent.

“What's the difference between me sleeping at your Uncle's house and here? It's not like we can stay up that much later than normal" Al wasn't quite sure why he even wanted this, considering they would end up doing what they always do anyway.

Peter grabbed her hands and looked her in the eyes “I want you to be the last thing I see when I go to sleep and the first thing I see when I wake up" He smiled, and the mutant didn't even have words to reply. Good thing she didn't know that line was stolen from some random TV Show.

“Ok, I understand… Let's be careful though" Alopex was still a bit blown away, but turned around to set up a spot for her to sleep in anyway. Then Pete immediately grabbed her tail and started petting it. “What do you think you're doing?"

“Sorry! It looked fluffy and I…" Peter let go of her tail and started to panic thinking she'd be mad at him, instead, she simply laughed.

“Don't make me regret this Mister Manners!" The fox said, trying to hold back her laugh. “We're just having a sleepoverl, so no funny business" They both laughed at the absurdity of the situation, it felt like a nice moment, hopefully it wouldn't be the last.

-

FRIDAY MORNING: IT'S THAT ANNOYING GUY AGAIN!

“So, we're not talking about it anymore right?" Mike was eating alongside Peter, they had some small talk, but it was mostly focused on mundane subjects. “I say Jenny last night, we had ice cream toge-" Before he could finish the sentence, Jefferson burst into the scene.

“Sup los-" Yet, almost as if ready for whatever his wannabe bully had prepared to say, Michael let out a reply.

“The girlfriend is fake" Pete looked at his friend with shock at how quick the response was. Realizing he could play along he feigned an expression of embarrassment.

The uninvited guest at their lunch table was surprised at how forward he was at admitting that. There had to be some sort of trick or punchline to this “She's what?"

“I mean, you know Alopex is an old name for the arctic fox right? Pete stole it from a book and made the whole thing up" Michael scoffed as his pal continued to fake shame at the supposed discovery.

Jeff saw another good opportunity to make fun of his “school rival" and took it without another thought “HAHAHA! What a dumbass, you should ask your dad if he lets you marry your sister! Not like any other girl would be willing to put up with you" He kept laughing louder and louder, to the point where other tables began to notice.

His supposed victim wasn't going to take such a reveal without trying to get a comeback in “I guess you're probably speaking from experience, considering your parents are related" His enemy stopped laughing, this was getting personal.

You could see it from behind their eyes, a fury and urge to start a fight over nothing. “Oh yeah? Wanna say that again?" Jeff was ready to leap and go straight for a sucker punch. Pete was going to attempt to use Al's moves, he would probably fail, but it wouldn't be from a lack of trying.

RIght as they were about to go in and start the fight a voice of reason echoed mockingly from the third wheel in this supposed brawl. “Are you two gonna stop or start making out?"

“You know what…" Peter reconsidered after Mike's comment, Alopex wouldn't want him to try and imitate her like this. “You're right, have a nice weekend Jeff" They both sat up and went for the exit, leaving the failed bully on his own

“I did your mom!" He yelled out, trying to get the last word after the fight went nowhere. But at this point, the two were gone and Jeff was left alone while people on other tables giggled at him “...chumps"

As the two friends were about to part ways again, Peter decided to have a final chat with Mike about Alopex. “This is it Dude, on Sunday I'm going to introduce them to her, they might not accept it at first, but I hope my uncle and sister can help me out in convincing them"

“Good luck Pete" He smiled at his friend, sure that things would work out “Hopefully we can go on a double date one day"

“Thanks Mike, maybe someday…" Peter stared longingly into the distance, hoping things really did work out well. Then he noticed Mike was chuckling, “What is it?"

“I mean, you think your dad is going to be mad Jeff… Y'know, did your mom?" Pete rolled his eyes at his friend's comment. But soon his contagious chuckles led to him laughing along"

And through the laughter he let out another punchline. “Shut up… chump"

-

FRIDAY NIGHT: CHOKING ON YOUR WORDS

“No… please, make it stop… Get out of my head…" Peter woke up in a panic, Alopex was mumbling next to him, and it looked like she was having some sort of panic attack. Their first “Sleepover" had gone pretty well, so they thought nothing could go wrong with trying again, clearly they were mistaken.

“Al? Are you alr-" He barely had any time to react, she jumped at him with ferocious speed, landing him right back into bed with her clawed hand choking him. Pete was lucky the mutant didn't snap his neck or cut his jugular right there, he knows she could've if she really wanted to. “Al- Alop- pl- ease…"

Suddenly, hearing his voice again, it woke Alopex from her rage. She wanted to kill whatever was in front of her, but she didn't know why. “Peter? No! What… What was I doing?" She let go of the human, but felt sick at herself, some rage took control of her, and she couldn't even understand it. “Oh no, I didn't mean to…"

The boy placed his hand on her shoulder to confort Al in her time of need. “Alopex, it's alright, you had a nightmare, it happens"

“It's not supposed to! I could've killed you. I should be able to control myself..." Tears dripped down her eyes, she really believed this was the end for her attempt at finding peace. That she was nothing but a monster made to hurt others. “I'm not made to be loved, Peter… They made me to kill"

“Then they didn't succeed at that, because the person I see won't ever kill again. I could tell when we first met, you threw away what they tried to push you into becoming. You're stronger than them, and you're loved" Peter knew this was a do or die moment, he had to make Alopex know things would be alright, let her know that she could have the things she longed for.

“Do you really think so?"

“Yes, now come on, sit with me"

“I love you"

“I love you too"

The two stayed together in silence for quite a while, they held each other's hand, sitting on the edge of Peter's bed, with Alopex laying on his shoulder. Maybe, this is what they both needed, and as the sun began to rise, they realized that they were in this for the long run.