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“We're almost there, Zoe!” Murphy yelled out as he pointed towards the entrance of the New Lennium City Skate Park. Murphy and his older dog friend Zoe were cruising down the sidewalk on their skateboard and roller skates, respectively. It was a warm, sunny day, perfect for some extreme activities. “I've got some new tricks in my arsenal that I'm just dying to show off!” Murphy said with lots of determination.
“I don't know, squirt. Just because you're able to pull off cool stunts in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, doesn't mean you can perform them in real life.” Zoe exuded her calm, but sometimes scathing and teasing attitude. She didn't necessarily mean to be harsh to Murphy, but having known him since he was just a little kid, she knew he was usually all talk and no bite.
Murphy turned on his board to face her, looking a bit miffed at her comment. “Oh come on, Zoe, can't you at least have a little bit of faith in me? You gotta believe me on this, I've actually been practicing the tricks!” The two entered the skate park, where there were multiple other kids and teenagers present, whether they were skating around or just chilling and hanging out with friends. A hip-hop beat was heard as one of the teens had brought their boombox with them.
Zoe crossed her arms with an unamused and doubtful look on her face. “Oh, I believe alright…”
Murphy pumped his fist at that. “Haha! See?” His moment of triumph was quickly dashed however, as Zoe continued.
“I believe that you'll probably bail on the trick like usual and I'll have to tend to whatever injury you get. Honestly, with how often I have to treat you, I'd ought to be a doctor when I get older. I already have lots of experience.” She added with a quick chuckle, clearly having a kick at Murphy's expense.
The young cat grumbled under his breath, clearly being annoyed by her lack of faith in him. “Just you watch, Zoe! I can do any trick as long as I put my heart into it. And all those injuries have only reinforced my bones to the point of being like steel. My body is super strong and tough!” Murphy flexed his arm, which didn't exactly prove his point. Zoe pursed her lips in a questioning manner.
“I'm not sure if that proves you're tough, I think it just proves that you're really reckless and ignorant. You know, you always talk a big game about how cool and edgy you are, when you and I both know that you're a pretty sweet and nice kid underneath that facade.” She smirked as she said this.
Murphy looked at her with slight offense and a bit of nervousness at being called out like this. How dare she even try to imply that? “What are you talking about? I'm the coolest, most raddest guy I know! The very definition of a rebel! I know you have to feed your own ego, but being a distant second to me is still fine, no offense.” He waved his hand, trying to exude cool confidence.
Raising an eyebrow, Zoe decided to push it further. “Really? Well, I had a talk with Mitzi the other day and let me just say, she had some pretty interesting things to say about you that challenge your ‘cool guy’ persona.” Zoe emphasized ‘cool guy’ with air quotes and a smug smile.
Murphy tensed up a bit at her words with a sweatdrop, but continued to refute her claims. “Well, Mitzi talks sweet about everyone, no matter what. She even seems to think that Vivian is a part of our friend group, so really, her words don't really hold a lot of weight.” He turned and crossed his arms, hoping he had the last word in this little debate.
Zoe then decided it was time to drop the ultimate bombshell on him. “She told me about the night you let her sleep in your bed with you.” Zoe couldn't help but laugh a little in her mind when she saw Murphy's fur stand up on edge and he quickly turned to look at her, eyes wide with a blush on his face.
‘Oh… oh no… she's not really gonna…’ Murphy practically felt his heart drop to his stomach with what she was implying. Murphy really, really hoped that Zoe was just bluffing, but the look on her face told him otherwise.
Zoe nodded her head. “Oh yeah, she told me how she had a really bad nightmare where she had to watch you get taken away from her and how you comforted her when she felt sad and scared. You even let her sleep in your bed next to you and she told me how she's never felt more safe in her life!” The more Zoe went on with the details of that fateful night, the more Murphy felt his soul leave his body. He has never felt more embarrassed in his life, not even the time his mother called him out on the news for forgetting a Mother's Day gift was as bad as this!
“Ugh… I can't believe she told you all that…” Murphy groaned out as he covered his face with his hands. What he wouldn't give for the Earth to just swallow him whole right now to end his torment. He uncovered his face and looked over to Zoe, sighing. “Alright, fine. Look, Mitzi… She's my best friend in the whole wide world. I've known her for pretty much my whole life. I care deeply about her, so whenever I see her down or sad, I… get this strange feeling in my chest. Like, an overwhelming urge that I have to cheer her up, to see her smile again like she always does…”
Zoe's eyes widened slightly and her smile dropped. This was a side of Murphy that she pretty much never saw, at least with her own eyes. She knew that he and Mitzi were about as close as peanut butter and jelly, but she didn't realize just how much Murphy really cared for her. It made her rethink their friendship a bit. What she thought was just a really close bond between two friends may actually be a lot deeper.
“Ah, I must sound like a total dork right now…” Murphy muttered, looking down at the ground while rubbing the back of his head, a faint blush still present on his face. “I don't know what came over me, sorry. Forget you heard anything.” This broke Zoe out of her concentration and with a proud smile, she wrapped her arm around his shoulder.
“Hey, don't sweat it kid! You know, it's actually quite admirable that you care so much for her and are willing to go out of your way to make her happy. You may think that doing death-defying stunts or awesome parkour is what will make you cool, but to me, always being there for a friend in need is just about the coolest thing a person can do. And that makes you A-OK in my book!” She gave him an appreciative thumbs-up, patting his back.
Her words really surprised Murphy and he looked up towards her. “...You really think so?” He asked.
“I know so, why do you think I'm always looking after you two?” She replied with a wink.
Murphy took a moment to really think about the situation. Regardless of their banter between each other (of which there was a lot), Zoe was someone that Murphy always looked up to and someone that he always strived to be like. Hearing her compliment him on being a good friend made him feel good inside. Maybe showing a little bit of emotion and empathy wasn't such a bad thing after all.
“Hehe… Thanks Zoe. Uh, if you don’t mind, would you try to keep this between the two of us? I still have a reputation to keep after all.”
Zoe rolled her eyes. Of course Murphy poured his heart out about his friend and he’s still focused on making sure he looks cool at all times. ‘Not like you even have much of a reputation to keep, but whatever.’ She thought in her head. “If you say so. Though, it probably isn’t me you should be worried about. I’d be more worried about Mitzi spreading it around herself.”
“Ugh, you’re right. I wouldn’t be surprised if she did.” Murphy groaned out at the thought. “I especially don’t hope she tells that creepy [bunny] girl…” Even just bringing her up brought shivers down his spine. What a strange little girl she was.
“You know, you could always spin it in your favor.” Zoe teasingly ruffled up Murphy’s hair. “Technically, you can say that you got a girl in bed with you! I’d bet that would win you some major popularity points in school, eh?” Zoe giggles as she sees Murphy’s reaction to her suggestive comment, his face absolutely pink with embarrassment.
“WHA- OH, SHUT IT, ZOE!” He looked away from her, the teen girl still laughing with her wiping a tear away from her eye. Leave it to her to be supportive one moment and teasing the other. He shouldn’t be surprised, however. They were practically siblings at this point and that’s just how they acted.
After calming down and catching her breath, she looked at Murphy with a look of cool confidence. “Well, come on big guy, you gonna show me those awesome tricks or what?” Her words and tone reignited something in Murphy and he turned back towards her, matching her own look with a smile. He was determined to finally show her up once and for all.
“Heh! Finally you believe in me! Prepare to have your socks blown off!” He ran over towards the top of a ramp with his skateboard under his arm, Zoe watching on. While preparing himself, he thought about her validating words once more. Maybe he shouldn’t be so embarrassed about what he did if Zoe thought it was cool. And he would be lying if he said he didn’t think about that night and how good it felt to have Mitzi by his side…