Two week Trial part 8

The drive towards the Burrows was an uncomfortable one. It didn't matter how much Nick enjoyed being squished up against his favorite bunny; his tail certainly didn't like being sat on. He was constantly shifting in the cramped back seat, and his knees were constantly hitting the front seat where Jessica sat. His sister was silently fuming about her seat getting a jolt, but Nick's knees against her seat were not the worst of it. She was more peeved by Gideon ignoring her. She expected that her date would take the time to talk to her while he drove, but instead he chatted nonstop with Judy.

Hearing the two of them chatter so easily with each other while she just sat there looking pretty was making her a tad annoyed. Judy could never bother her because she was too nice and friendly, but she wished that the bunny would at least take a breath so that Jessica could pop into the conversation for a little bit. When she tried to, they always changed the subject and she would have to keep up with them again. It didn't help that most of their conversation was about them living and sharing memories of Bunny Burrow. After two hours of this she gave up. Nick was no help because he was busy trying to find a comfortable position. Jessica mentally sighed and decided to stare out the window at the large corn and wheat fields they drove past.

"Wow, I can't believe the pie shop is already popular." Judy smiled as Gideon kept his eyes on the long and winding road.

"Sure is!" Gideon replied with a pop of confidence. "A food critic just came in a few days ago and said he was going to write about it in the newspaper."

"That's great for you!"

Gideon drummed his fingers on the wheel. "It would be great advertising and before I know it, I might be expanding my business even more."

Nick motioned a finger to his mouth and silently gagged at how Judy and Gideon acted like schoolchildren. He couldn't care less about Gideon's sudden popularity. He only cared about the pies, and Gideon had none in the truck. Judy leaned her head between Gideon and Jessica, resting her chin on the cushion. Judy noticed how Jessica was not contributing to the conversation. Her eyes widened in concern. She suddenly felt guilty for taking up too much of the conversation; she had been known to ramble from time to time and was guilty of doing that to Nick whenever she talked about cases. He never complained about it though, and a part of her thought that he never said anything because he actually liked to listen. With a tight lip, she felt that it was time to take a step back and let Gideon and Jessica speak.

"Jessica..." She asked gently, seeing the blonde's ears twitch. "Are you excited to be going to a carnival?" Gideon's ears perked up slightly, though he continued to stare at the road ahead. Jessica, on the other paw, was leaning tiredly against the window. She stared blankly at the empty fields they passed before responding.

"Oh yes!" She exclaimed, with her teeth clenched in sarcasm. "I never went to a little town carnival before, especially somewhere like a farming community where there is mud and dirt, not to mention the mosquitos and flies..." She slumped back against the window and crossed her arms. Nick and Judy exchanged glances of concern until Gideon chuckled, making Jessica arch a brow from his sudden laughter.

"Great! This would be a great experience for you then. You are going to love it, Miss Jessie." He said.

Jessica's grin was strained. "Great...Can't wait."

It wasn't long before they made it to the Bunny Burrows. The group was near the center of the town, where the Carnival was held in the middle of a large field . Behind the Carnival was a large corn maze for families and couples to go through.
Jessica fiddled with her shirt, wondering if she might have overdressed. She was the only fox that wasn't dressed in overalls or 'simple' clothing. She thought they were only for work, but it seemed like the choice of fashion in the Burrows. She rubbed her wrist unconsciously.
She was too exposed. She immediately brought out her compact for a quick dab of makeup. She wiped the small pad over her cheeks, unaware that Gideon was watching her from behind. With a deep breath and a light swing of his arms, he stepped forward.

"Uh! Y-you look really nice today, Miss Jessie." He said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. She swiveled her head around, quickly clicking the compact shut and hiding it in her purse.

She smirked at him and shifted her hips towards him. "Do I now? Hope I wasn't too distracting when you were driving." She said with a slight purr.

He patted the side of his leg when he chuckled nervously. "Believe me, it was difficult." He mumbled. Jessica's ears perked up from his words and made her turn away, hiding a smile. She was glad that he had noticed her.
Gideon, thinking she saw him as a creep, covered his face in embarrassment and rushed towards Judy, who was struggling to pry Nicks' tail from in between the seat cushions.

"How on earth did you get it in there?" She asked, while pulling at the fuzzy tail.

"Ow!" Nick yelped. "I thought it was a good idea at the time!"

Judy placed her paws on her waist. "We might need to cut it off."

Nick whirled. "Don't joke about that!"

Judy covered her mouth in surprise. "Nick, no! I-I meant the seat cushion! Don't worry, I won't leave until I can get you out."

Her ears went up when she felt quick taps on her shoulder, making her turn away from Nick and towards Gideon. She saw the uncertainty in his eyes, causing her to look at him in concern.

"Gideon, what's wrong?"

"Excuse me Miss Judy, but can I have a moment of your time to talk about something...urgent." He said in a slight whisper.

"Of course Gideon, anything you want." Judy said, already taking her leave from the desperate fox, who reached out to her in a panic.

"W-wait! Carrots! W-what about helping me huh?!....Whiskers!...What about your mate!?" He slammed his forehead down on the seat cushions in defeat when she moved with Gideon to talk behind the truck. Jessica hummed sweetly when she strolled right beside her brother, who was banging his head on the cushion with one paw tugging at his tail.

"Problems, Pibby?" She asked. Nick immediately glared at her for using his hated nickname.

"Just get me out of here, will ya?"

Judy pulled Gideon behind the truck to talk in private. Inside the truck, she could hear Nick's cries caused by Jessica trying to pull him out. "Okay, what is it? Something bothering you?" she asked gently, crossing her arms. Gideon twiddled with his fingers before he gave his frustrated reply.

"Judy...I've never dated before. This is actually the first time I'm spending time with a vixen and it seems that I may be coming off as ill-mannered." He exclaimed with a breath.

Judy's ears fell at her friend's words. "Oh Gideon no, you're just being yourself. You're just nervous."

He grimaced slightly. "Yes, but when I was complimenting Miss Jessie, I think I might have said something regrettable by calling her 'distracting', and she isn't distracting as in I don't like looking at her, I do, but when I said it I, I meant to say- Ah!" He cried out when he ran his paws down his face, which stretched his cheeks like an elastic band. "Now I am becoming tongue-tied!"

Judy smiled gently and put a friendly paw on his arm. The simple touch made him calm down immediately. He looked straight into her eyes. "Gideon, you were just being nice."

But her words alone only made him more nervous. He rubbed his paws together as if he was rolling a ball in between them. "I-I'm just not used to a vixen like Miss Jessie, she's a city-gal and I'm a pie maker from the Burrows, I don't know nothin' about the city life. I'm starting to think that perhaps she might not like me."

"Gideon. Jessica is a nice girl, and I'm sure she'll have a great time the more the two of you spend time together. Just look at Nick and me." She said as she leaned over to where Nick was.

His claws were dug into the seat while his sister had one foot on the car frame and one on the ground. Both of her paws were wrapped firmly around his tail.

"Ow! You're going to pull off my tail!" He yelled out.

"Stop being such! A! Baby!" She pulled at his tail again. Gideon arched his brow when he turned back to Judy, who lightly blushed.

"Hehe...you know what I mean." She said, scratching her cheek. Her ears sprang up when she suddenly got an idea. "Oh! How about I give you some tips?"

Gideon's ears fell. "Tips?" He asked, tilting his head.

Jessica sighed heavily when she saw her brother lean against the truck's frame, rubbing his sore backside and nursing his pride. He had his phone out and was silent, but she knew he was with her for another reason. She crossed her arms and scoffed.

"What?" she said, glancing towards Nick. That made him look up from his phone with a slight frown. Jessica looked at her claws when she noticed Gideon and Judy were not with them. "Don't tell me they are talking about me."

"What's there to talk about? Not everything is about you." He remarked, making her place her paws on her hips and shoot him a glare.

"Whatever." She didn't believe him of course. He was acting more nonchalant than usual.

Nick's eyes slowly went down to his phone, casting one last look towards the back of the truck. "You're wearing a lot of the makeup." He mentioned with a tight lip. Jessica's ears shot up at his whispery tone and her tail twitched at his words. Her paw gripped the compact in her purse. "I don't know why you hide it so much, it's nothing to be-!"

She gave him a growl, making Nick's ears lower upon hearing the primal growl deep inside her chest. "It's my life!" She hissed. "I don't need to hear it from you."

A thin line appeared on his lips when she turned her head from her brother, ignoring him.
It was true that she had her own life to take care of and he couldn't always be there for her. No matter how much he tried to mend the broken bond between them, she always pushed him away.
And he was guilty of doing the same thing. Nothing would convince her of her problem except if it came out of her own mouth.

Judy and Gideon came around the corner, making the two siblings put up a front. Judy immediately grabbed Nick's paw and began pulling him towards the entrance of the carnival.

"Let's go in! We have to ride every single ride before the end of the day!" She said, her voice filled with childlike excitement.

Nick chuckled softly at the little bunny. "Does that include bathroom breaks?" Judy snorted and tilted her head towards Gideon who was trailing behind Jessica like a lost baby duck. Jessica, kept glancing behind her, wondering with a grimace of what Gideon was doing. Finding the two distracted, she pulled Nick down and whispered swiftly in his ear, that both surprised him and left him flabbergasted.

"Let's leave them."

He arched a brow and stared at her in shock. He was usually the one to recommend ditching and hearing it out of Judy's mouth. Felt almost alien.

"Look, I'm really into the idea....but why?" He asked.

"I really want Gideon and Jessica to be alone, I think we are just third wheeling them." Judy stated honestly. "I would like to spend time with them, but I think we might distract them."

"Well, I am pretty distracting." He grinned. Judy giggled softly, making him lean his muzzle down to her. "And so are you." He pointed out, his voice like butter. She blushed lightly and grabbed his paw. Their fingers intertwined with each other in a tight embrace as Judy lead the way.

"We'll stay with them for an hour and then after, it would be just you and me." She said with a giggle. Nick hummed in agreement. "Plus, I got Gideon some dating tips! Hopefully they would work for him."

Gideon could already feel his armpits drenched with sweat. He pulled at his collar as he stood beside Jessica, unsure of what to say to her. How do you keep conversation with someone on a date? Judy didn't gave him any tips on that. He shifted his sight on Judy and Nick, watching the two hold paws and laugh with each other. Obviously enjoying eachother's company. He wished he could experience that one day. He moved his eyes towards Jessica, who had not uncrossed her arms since they got here. He could tell she was bored out of her mind. He needed to find something to start the day with. Something to make her happy.

"Hey Nick look!" Judy exclaimed suddenly, she pointed to a large booth from a path full of carnival games. "They have stuffed animals for prizes, let's play that!" She said, hopping right in front of a simple toss and throw game. At the wooden booth was an old rabbit, who wore a straw hat and overalls. Surprisedly to Nick, it wasn't some distant uncle of Judy's family. The booth had a collection of all types of stuffed animals, from bunnies to foxes, to large elephants and hippos. The game was simple, toss a baseball to a tower of milk bottles, knock them all down and win a toy. Only five dollars every three balls you use.
Taking the challenge, Judy put down her money.

"Three balls please." She said with a large smile and turned to Gideon, holding up a softball. "Why don't you try and win something, Gideon?" She asked slyly. Giving him the hint. The pudgy fox nodded and took a step forward.

"I suppose I can try, but...I'm not much of a thrower." He said looking at the ball with uncertainty. He looked back at Jessica who had her eyes on the massive amount of prizes on the wall. "Uh...what animal would you like Miss Jesse?"

She tapped her chin in thought. "How about a little fox? To remind me of you." She said with a click and wink. Fluttering her eyelashes at him flirtatiously. Gideon only chuckled nervously before picking up the ball with his sweaty palms. Judy cocked her paw back, ball in palm and like a professional pitcher, threw the ball straight at the tower. A loud crash sounded as the bottles shattered and pieces fell to the hay covered ground.

"Yes!" Judy cheered. "I did it! I would like a bunny plushie please." She said picking out a little grey bunny plush but not just any plush. It was one with cute black bead eyes and wearing a blue shirt and shorts. She clutched the prize with wide eyes by how big the head was. Giving it a cute look.

"Another one for the collection, Carrots?" Chuckled Nick as he tilted his head towards the toy. Judy shook her head gently.

"No, it's for you." She said softly and placed the toy in his paws. Nick stared at the plush and gave her a sheepish grin.

"Normally it's the guy that gives the girl the prize, Carrots." He said, making her shrug her shoulders.

"I know, but...it's something to keep as a memento, from me. So I want you to have it. Think of it as a little Judy, to keep you company." She gave out a little laugh when Nick's ears went down. A blush forming. He ran his thumb over its small ears.

"Now all she needs it's a carrot pen."

Gideon bit his lower lip at the two and turned to the menacing tower of clear bottles. It seemed to have gotten farther away from where it was before in his mind. With a flick of his wrist he tossed the ball, and missed by a mile. Hitting a tower beside it. Jessica frowned when Gideon apologized and decided to try again. He flicked his wrist again and hit the tarp behind the objects. Another miss. This time he was getting more and more nervous. Jessica sighed silently and crossed her arms. She shouldn't expect much of him. Even if he does look cute when he becomes flustered. Gideon picked up the last ball but he already lost all of his confidence. He already embarrassed himself enough. He felt a warm paw on his arm, almost like a small pat. Judy tapped on his arm and whispered.

"It's all in the throw, just be calm. It's really just a game." She explained gently. Gideon nodded and took a breath. Just a game, he repeated to himself. Jessica was busy looking at her nails to care to see another failure. Until she heard glass shattered. When she put up her head, she was presented with a fox plushie.

"T-there you are, Miss Jesse." Gideon stammered. "I hope you like it."

Jessica gingerly cradled the fox toy. It was a red fox dressed in overalls and had a small plastic straw hat on its head. It's large black bead eyes staring up at her. She thought the quaint, cheap little thing was actually kind of...cute.

"Thank you." She smiled and placed the toy in her bag. Gideon smiled sheepishly when she saw her happy grin. A great start in the date. He just hopes he could keep her smiling.