Citrus B. Fox
Citrus B. Fox (a.k.a. The Resistance's Resident Scrap Mechanic)
It was a wonderful Friday morning on West Side Island, and most citizens were on their way to work or school. West City was bustling. The tall office buildings are steadily being filled with occupants and the small houses with fathers and mothers saying goodbye to their children going to school. Everyone was awake and ready for yet another amazing day on their beautiful island. Everyone except Apricot and Citrus, of course.
It was 9:00 AM, and neither of them had awoken yet. Their house was calm, with just the noises of city life outside disturbing the peace. Inside one of the bedrooms lay a young female fox, named Citrus. As she slept peacefully, her pajama-clad chest rose and fell. Just then, her alarm went off. It rang for a while until finally Citrus heaved herself out of bed and turned it off. She stretched her orange furry arms and yawned a bit. Her sharp teeth glistened in the sunlight. Rubbing her eyes, she looked out of her window.
The city was already wide awake, and it was rush hour. Walking over to the window, she stopped in front of the mirror. She was pretty short but fit. Thin arms, sizeable chest area, curvaceous hips, and thin legs. All covered in soft light-orange fur. But this morning, her fur was a complete mess and she had bags under her eyes.
"Ugh, I look terrible! What happened?" she asked herself while inspecting the rest of her body.
Her best friend and roommate Apricot was in the bedroom across from hers, but he was still asleep. Since Apricot and Citrus had moved away from their parents, they had no choice but to buy a house together. They've been living in this new house for a year now and had some scientific equipment installed in the basement. Citrus twitched her ear trying to make out any noises from her friend's room, but unfortunately, all she heard was soft snoring.
"Aw man, he's still asleep. I guess I'll make us some breakfast. What a wonderful day it'll be!"
Citrus jumped out of her bed and crept out of her bedroom. The hallway was quiet. Citrus looked at the framed images of her various adventures hanging on the wall and smiled, remembering those fun times. She headed into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Her tail wagged a little bit as she looked at all the scrumptious food.
"Mmm. I wonder what to eat this morning…"
Citrus stuck her whole head into the refrigerator, in search of a decent meal. After a while, though, she had gathered some food and began to eat. By this time, she had gotten worried about Apricot. He hadn't gotten up yet, and today he had a very important meeting to attend.
"Why isn't he getting up? I don't want to upset him, but I gotta wake him up. Hehe, maybe a kiss might do the trick!"
Citrus stood up and walked down the hallway to Apricot's room. The door was open a little bit, so she peeked inside. She was normally not allowed in his room, so this was a rare opportunity.
"Hey, Ap. Wake up. You're late for your meeting."
She crept closer to his sleeping body. Moving her face closer to his, she prepared to take her chance.
"This'll definitely wake him up."
She climbed on top of the sleeping fox and lowered herself. As she was right about to plant her kiss, Apricot woke with a start. His beautiful orange eyes blinked several times as he collected his bearings. He also had orange fur, albeit darker than Citrus.
"Huh, what? I'm up!"
His eyes met with Citrus' eyes and they locked.
"Well, this is awkward."
Apricot said. He smiled and blushed. "Wait, what're you doing in here?"
"Ah, nothin'. I was just trying to wake you up. You're late for your meeting!"
Apricot looked at his clock. It read 9:30 AM. Apricot's eyes widened as he got out of bed. Quickly, he began taking off his pajamas. Then he stopped midway.
"Wait a minute. Citrus, I'm gonna need you to get out."
He pointed her out the door, and she walked out slowly. She closed the door and went back into the dining room.
"Meh, I'll get another chance later. But for now, I'm gonna have me some breakfast!"
The lively female fox opened a cupboard in the kitchen and extracted a box of cereal from inside it. She poured some into a bowl with milk and dug in. The dining room was silent, and beams of sunlight streamed in from through the curtains. Citrus was bored. She grabbed the TV remote from the couch and turned it on.
"There's nothing good on today... I guess I'll just settle for the news."
She stared at the TV screen, barely even paying attention to the show that was playing. All she could think of was what events the day ahead would bring. The news droned on and on about the record-setting rainstorms in the south and the unusual droughts in the west. It was all very boring.
Citrus laid back and sighed, hoping that her day would be at least marginally more interesting than the last few. Hopefully...
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Citrus Blossomi Fox is a 28-year-old female fox. She is of average height for a person of her age and weight, and she is really athletic, too! She has a sturdy body and thin limbs. She can do complex acrobatic poses and is very flexible. Citrus' body is reasonably curvaceous, which sometimes brings unsolicited attention, such as wolf-whistling, but it doesn't bother her much.
Body Features
Citrus has medium-length red-orange hair that reaches down to the base of her neck. This hair is soft and straight, and it often hangs down in front of her eyes. She has long legs and large feet, and a fluffy, white-tipped tail. She has two large pointed ears which are almost always perked up.
Facial Features
Citrus has a long muzzle that extends from the rest of her face at a length of just over two inches. Her muzzle is covered in white fur, and her black, oval-shaped nose is set on the tip of her muzzle. Right above her muzzle is her gorgeous azure blue eyes. Her eyes shine in direct sunlight in a way that just seems so unnaturally bright, yet calming.
Identifying Characteristics
An identifying feature that Citrus is known for is her sharp teeth. They are usually not visible, but when she smiles, two sharp canines, one on each side of the mouth, are visible and prominent. It is unknown why her teeth are so pointy, but it has never been a problem in life, so why fix what ain't broke? Another feature that Citrus is identified by is her flowing red-orange hair, which is quite a sight for sore eyes.
Physical quirks
A physical quirk of Citrus is that she gets all jittery when forced to sit down or is otherwise restrained from movement for too long a time.
Special abilities
Citrus Fox is very talented with machines, and can build almost anything with the right parts! She is knowledgeable in weapons construction and knows a thing or two about most forms of transportation. Citrus is also very athletic, being able to move her body in some really impressive ways. She can also fly a plane pretty well.
Apparel & Accessories
Citrus can usually be found wearing dark blue overalls with a red short sleeve button-down shirt underneath. On her hands, she wears thin grey leather welder gloves with black fingertips. Around her waist, Citrus wears a brown tool belt. On her feet, she wears shin-high engineering boots, complete with her initials carved on the back of the heel.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
[ltr]Citrus Blossomi Fox was born to two loving parents on the 17th of February, 2093. Her father was a mechanic, and her mother worked part-time at the ISAJPL as a Payloads Specialist. From a young age, Citrus was interested in how things worked. She often took apart her toys as a young child, trying to see what made them tick. Citrus' parents treated their only daughter as best as they could, and she grew up to become a respectful and affable person because of it.[/ltr]
During her early school years, Citrus was very popular amongst the children of her grade. She was eccentric and known for her complex and impressive acrobatic skills. Even people who weren't members of the school knew of her skills, whether it be from word of mouth gossiping or social media posts. Citrus handled this popularity well and was modest about it. For a time, she was pretty much a celebrity in her school. As an effect of all this, most of the boys were also competing for her attention. Most of the time she paid no attention to it, but a few lucky ones managed to attract her eye.
During her high school years, Citrus stepped up her game in her academics. She soon rose to A-student territory and stayed there for the rest of her high school career. During the tenth grade, she met her current best friend Apricot Fox. They had a few good laughs over the fact that both of their names was a play on the name of the orange fruit. Quickly, the two bonded with each other and they became inseparable, much to the jealousy of all the other boys. They became quite irritated that the new kid had managed to get Citrus' full attention, and they actually plotted to steal her away from him. Fortunately, the plan never took off and soon was abandoned. Citrus and Apricot moved out of their own homes at the ages of 16 and 18, respectively, and brought a house together with money they'd been saving for years. For six years, they lived there, Citrus educating herself in the art of mechanics and construction, and Apricot getting a job at a supermarket.
When Citrus was 20 years old, Apricot was sent for military service for one year. That year without Apricot was miserable. His absence, combined with her now voluptuous physique attracted all sorts of people from the opposite sex, and the harassment was a bit much. She locked herself in her house for four months straight, only going out to buy groceries twice a month. During this time, she seemed to grow up five years. She became more emotional, physically weak, and sensitive to light. After Apricot finally returned, unhurt, mind you, she was elated. Almost instantly, she returned to her former glory. Soon after his return, however, he went off to college for four years.
This time, the effects of his absence were way less noticeable, since he attended community college and came back home every evening. During these four years, Citrus and Apricot grew closer to each other, so much so that they were almost like brother and sister. A month after Apricot's college graduation, he was inducted into the Mobian Resistance; an elite group of warriors that are dedicated to preserving the peace on Mobius-2. By this time, Citrus had completed her mechanics education and was now a professional. Not long after Apricot's joining of the Resistance, she was asked to join as well. It has been years since their induction, and they have loyally served alongside many others for the entire time.
Gender Identity
She identifies as female and will always be female.
Sexuality
Citrus Fox is straight. She has an attraction to Apricot Fox but is too shy to ever tell him about it.
Education
During Citrus' younger years, she was educated in a public school near the center of West City. This school was considered to be one of the best in the city and gained much traction in the news for having high scores in the yearly inspections. From 1st grade to 4th grade, Citrus attended this school. For 5th grade, she transferred to another school nearby. This is the school she stayed in for the remainder of elementary and high school. After high school, Citrus attended college online. The actual campus was much too far away to go to, so she settled for online classes four days a week. This is where she earned a degree in automotive technology.
Employment
For most of her childhood and teenhood, Citrus was employed by her father, helping him out in the workshop with menial tasks, and later handling finances and customer dealings. In her adulthood, Citrus was unemployed for several years until joining the Resistance.
Accomplishments & Achievements
During Citrus's high school years, she had really improved academically, and by the time graduation came about, she had achieved the role of salutatorian, much to the pride of Apricot. Right after graduation, she and Apricot went to a restaurant and later a movie to celebrate the occasion. Another big achievement of Citrus' is earning a bachelor's degree in automotive technology. It had always been a dream of hers to be able to work with cars and other vehicles for a living, and now she can finally do it. Her father and mother were very proud of her.
Failures & Embarrassments
Just like anybody, Citrus Fox has had a fair share of failure and embarrassment in her life. One very memorable moment happened when she was just 7 years old. By this time, her father had begun to allow her to work with him in the shop. She was still very inexperienced and was prone to accidents. No matter how hard her father tried to prevent it, she always managed to knock something over or unscrew a nut, and everything went bad. This was one such moment.
A customer of her fathers', who also happened to be a good friend of his, came over to have his car inspected. It was an expensive vehicle and painted in a stunning shade of red. The car was having some engine trouble and the owner didn't know what it was all about. Citrus' father left her alone for two minutes to discuss something with the customer, and in that time, she had managed to crawl underneath the car with a wrench and untighten a nut. Now at first glance, this may seem relatively insignificant.
But in fact, this was one of the worst things that 7-year-old Citrus could have done. A few minutes after the customer had left, an angry call came back. He told her father that a piece of his car had fallen off while he was doing 80 MPH on the freeway. The only person who could've done this was, you guessed it, Citrus. For committing this act, she was grounded for three weeks. That taught her the lesson to never mess with something that isn't yours.
Mental Trauma
Citrus has a reasonable amount of mental trauma to go along with her usually bubbly personality.
When she was just at the tender age of nine, her parents had to be put in the ICU after a bad accident with an experimental car. Citrus' father had invited her mother to a test drive of a new car that he and his team had been working on for five years. At first, her mother was skeptical of this new car's safety, but after lots of convincing, she donned the driver's suit and entered the car with her husband.
The first minute or two of the car's journey was actually pretty smooth. It accelerated to a speed of close to 100 miles per hour within ten seconds. The jet engine at its backside roared loudly and spat a bright blue and yellow flame. All was well, until it wasn't. All at once, the jet engine had a flameout, and control was lost. The steering wheel jerked to the side, which injured Citrus's father's hands.
The car flipped over a total of 15 times, twisting and crunching along the way. The launch team was sure that the drivers were dead. No way they survived. But, in fact, they miraculously survived by the skin of their teeth. When push came to shove, Citrus's parents were both severely injured and they were helivacced to the nearest hospital. The young Citrus, who at the time was being babysat by her aunt, was rushed to the hospital where her parents were, and she saw firsthand the damage done to them.
They both had many bone breakages and her father's skull was fractured in two places. The doctors were unsure of the Fox parents' survival, but they tried their hardest to keep them alive. In the end, their recovery took a full year to complete, and during that whole time, Citrus tried her best to stay upbeat, despite her parents' condition. Nowadays, it barely ever bothers her, but when it does, she gets quite sad.
Intellectual Characteristics
In terms of intellect, Citrus isn't too low on the totem pole. She might not look it, but she takes her education pretty seriously. She has a bachelor's in automotive technology and she had pretty good grades all throughout her life. She is dedicated to whatever she puts her mind to and breathes life into otherwise stale or boring projects.
Morality & Philosophy
Citrus does the best that a good person can do. She helps the homeless, donates to stray animal shelters, and participates in park and beach cleanups occasionally. She believes that there must be some regulation in combination with freedom if the best is to be brought to the world. She sees the world, and the universe by extension, as a place where law and chaos are merely tools to use in bringing life, happiness, and prosperity to all deserving creatures.
Taboos
Citrus, unlike many other people, is open to speaking about most anything, regardless of her knowledge on the topic. She may get uncomfortable, but that doesn't really matter much, now does it?
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Citrus is motivated to continue doing what she does because there's always more work to be done on the world safety front. Her life, along with many millions of others, has been affected by the wars and conflicts that have transpired on Mobius-2. All she wants is to not have to wake up every morning with the idea in the back of her mind that she might fall victim to yet another attack.
Savvies & Ineptitudes
Citrus is a skilled and accomplished engineer, with many cool machines under her belt, metaphorically of course. She can build virtually anything, provided she has the proper tools and parts to do it! Citrus also likes to sing, but she doesn't have too good of a singing voice! She never reveals this hidden hobby in public for fear of humiliation. Her favorite song is one dedicated to Sonic the Hedgehog, called "His World" by the rock band Crush 40.
On the other hand, Citrus is not good at drawing, which is quite a hindrance for a person who designs and builds machines. She has taken some art lessons, but she has slacked off on them lately. She is also bad with money, often overspending on some trivial items and regretting it later. That's why Apricot is in charge of handling the rent every month!
Likes & Dislikes
Citrus likes going outside and appreciating nature. She loves going to the beach with her friends, and she likes to tinker with machines. No matter the circumstance, no matter the chance of failure, Citrus will always be down in the workshop messing with her various apparatuses.
She dislikes being taken advantage of. Citrus has many useful skills in her arsenal, and she's always willing to help someone in need. However, that generosity stops when it's clear someone is using her. She doesn't like this, and will tell the person about it. Depending on who it is and the severity of the incident, her reaction ranges from slightly annoyed to explosive anger.
Virtues & Personality perks
Citrus's core virtues include honesty, trustworthiness, and perseverance. A personality perk of hers is that she is charismatic, and she lights up the atmosphere of any room she enters! Despite her cheerful and bubbly attitude, she can get very serious when the situation calls for it.
Vices & Personality flaws
A flaw of Citrus's is that her cheerful attitude may lead her to trust some obviously untrustworthy people. Her naivete is quite a serious flaw, and she is prone to giving bad people extra chances, despite the clearly bad decisions being made.
Personality Quirks
A tick that Citrus has is that her memory is notoriously weird. She can remember things from five years ago, but not remember what she had for dinner the day before. It's not a mental problem (probably), it's just how she is.
Hygiene
Citrus's hygiene is pretty good. Being a female, she knows how important it is to keep her...parts...clean. Whenever she cleanses herself she always hogs the bathroom for an hour!
Social
Contacts & Relations
As a member of the Resistance, Citrus knows some people in pretty high places. For one, she is a good friend of Silver the Hedgehog, the time traveler from the future. She and he met each other while on a routine patrol in the South Central Sea. The ship they were on was en route to port in Mobitania. Citrus was a bridge scout and Silver was the captain. They met in the cafeteria during Silver's break. She was enthusiastic to meet him, and he shared the same energy. They've been good friends since then.
Family Ties
Citrus's family is quite large, with her mother, father, aunt, uncle, five cousins, grandfather, grandmother, and great-grandfather. They all live on West Side Island, but several miles are between each other. Once a year, usually in the summer, Citrus's aunt hosts a large get-together for the whole family to attend.
Religious Views
Citrus doesn't follow a religion really, but she sometimes accompanies Apricot to the Master Emerald Shrine on Angel Island for his prayer sessions.
Social Aptitude
Citrus is a charismatic, affable, and honest person who enjoys talking to other people very much. She may come off as desperate to some people, but that's just how she is. Very friendly and talkative. She has a blog that she updates almost every day and it has a few hundred followers.
Mannerisms
Citrus walks briskly with a short bounce with each step. She has a long stride length and her tail sways from side to side as she walks. Citrus is an active person, taking long jogs every morning, but she does sometimes have lazy days where she stays on her computer all day long.
Hobbies & Pets
Citrus doesn't own any pets, as per the decision of she and Apricot. Her parents own two dogs named Snowball and Foxtrot, respectively.
She likes singing in her personal time, even though she isn't really good at it. She also likes to take bike rides around the city.
Speech
Citrus speaks fluent Mobian English, and her voice is high pitched and soft. She has a wide vocabulary but refrains from using overcomplicated words often. Citrus can also imitate certain accents like British and French.
Wealth & Financial state
As is the same with her best friend and housemate Apricot, Citrus isn't wealthy at all. With her job as a mechanic, she makes just enough to pull through with the rent every month, but she can always use some extra financial assistance. The Resistance pays her a handsome sum every two weeks, but that money more often than not is used for projects and buying stuff for the house.
Citrus is a sweet, kindhearted engineer and a beginner Chaos energy user. She loves building and tinkering with machines, and she has her very own airplane! Despite her appearance, Citrus is a good fighter and can deal hefty damage on her own.
Character Location
Alignment
Neutral Good
Honorary & Occupational Titles
- Salutatorian Citrus
- Second Mate Citrus
- Automotive Technology Bachelor's holder Citrus
- Senior Resistance Patroller
Age
28 years old
Date of Birth
17th of February, 2093
Birthplace
South Marblestone Hospital, West Side Island
Children
Current Residence
7503 West Orange Street, West City
Gender
Female
Eyes
azure
Hair
red-orange
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
hidden under fur
Height
5 ft, 10 in.
Weight
123 lbs.
Quotes & Catchphrases
Citrus just loves mid-battle banter and she always tries to come up with new one-liners each time she goes out and fights alongside the others. Some examples include:!
Whoops! You should really watch your left!
Didn't think a girl like me could beat someone like you, didja?
Wow, that was so cool!
I'll show you my power!
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
My Best Friend Tries to Kill Me, Then Backpedals
20th of January, 2121
As the sun poked out from behind a group of clouds in the early morning sky, South City finally began to stir. It was 7 AM, and most people would be starting to head for work right about now. Cars in driveways started up, husbands kissed their wives and children before going to work, kids were boarding the school bus to head to school. The entire city was wide awake. Well, except for Citrus, of course.
The twenty-eight year old female red fox was still fast asleep in her bed. Her chest rose and fell with each snore and all was silent in her house. Immediately, the peace and quiet were interrupted by an ear-piercing shriek, originating from an alarm clock beside the fox's bed. It rang for a minute before a fuzzy orange hand groped it haphazardly and it clanged to the floor, silenced. The hand returned to the safety of the large blanket and its owner sighed deeply.
"Another day, another car to fix. Let's get to it," she said.
She sat up and rubbed her eyes hard. Her vision disappeared for a second before coming right back. She stretched her long thin arms into the air and yawned, mouth open wide. Her sharp teeth glistened in the early morning sunlight. Citrus stood up and walked to her bedroom door and yanked it open. There was a smell of food in the air, barely noticeable by her small black nose.
"Apricot, is that you cooking? You've never done that before..."
Apricot was her best friend forever and current housemate. He was two years older than her and they met in 10th grade. From the very start, it was clear that they had a relationship like no other. It wasn't completely romantic, but it wasn't platonic either. It was suspended in a perpetual state of 'friends with benefits.'
"Yeah, it's me. Good morning, sleepyhead!" said the cheerful male fox.
As the tired and groggy Citrus walked into the kitchen, she held her arms out.
He wrapped his arms around her entire body in a warm and comfortable hug.
"Mm, that feels good..." Citrus mumbled.
Apricot looked at her with a quizzical expression on his face.
"Uh, I mean, what's for breakfast?"
Smooth.
Apricot put his hands on his hips and gestured to the stove.
"Why don'tcha take a look for yourself? There's bacon, pancakes, and eggs. I also went out and bought some orange juice early this morning. All this is for you! After all, I know how much you appreciate good food!" he said.
He smiled widely, showing all of his teeth.
"You woke up early in the morning just for me?" she asked him.
Citrus's eyes seemed to light up.
"Well, of course I did. As your best friend, I did it to show my gratitude. Take it as a 'you owe me one'. Now, go back to your bed and I'll bring this all to you," Apricot said.
It was almost as if time had stopped completely for Citrus. Here she was, being offered breakfast in bed by her very best friend, and to make it even better, he had prepared her favorite meals! It was like a dream come true.
"Citrus, are you okay?" asked Apricot.
She had completely frozen and resorted to bumbling seemingly nonsense under her breath.
"I'll take that as a...no? Here, come with me," he said as he grabbed her shoulders and gently pushed her back down the hallway and into her bedroom.
It was a rare opportunity for Apricot since he was seldom allowed into her bedroom. He gently lifted her off her feet and placed her into the bed.
"Ok then. Just stay here and I'll be right back," he said.
Apricot exited her room, leaving her there with her thoughts.
All of a sudden, she snapped out of it.
She had been surprised by Apricot's sudden demonstration of his affection for her, and it caught her off guard.
"What a gentleman he is. Still, it is pretty weird that he suddenly started doing things like this..." she thought.
Her contemplation was interrupted by her bedroom door opening. Apricot walked in with a wooden tray of mouth-watering food stacked sky-high upon it. It looked like a king's feast!
"Oh wow, look at all this! It's all mine?" she asked him.
He nodded cheerfully.
"Aw, thank you, Ap! You're such a good friend."
She threw her arms around him and took a bite. It was, needless to say, a heavenly meal.
Apricot grabbed the TV remote from her nightstand and turned the TV on. A movie was playing. But, he paid no attention to it. All he could think of was all the things his best friend had done for him ever since they met. Now was the time he paid her back.
The fox pondered for a moment, then he asked the question.
"Hey, why don't we go somewhere today? Just you and me?"
Citrus gulped down the remaining food in her mouth.
"Well, I have to finish working on the car today. The customer's gonna be real mad if it's not done by 9:00 tonight. Sorry," she said.
Apricot had known that she'd decline all along. He sighed and continued to watch the television.
"You know what? I think it can wait. I'll just have to tell the customer that there was a delay in a part delivery. Let's go somewhere today. Somewhere fun!"
Apricot's face lit up and his tail swished from side to side.
"Really? That's great!"
His plan was working just as intended.
"Well, what'd you have in mind? I'm sure your sneaky self didn't just spring a question without having a backup plan," Citrus said.
He smiled smugly.
"You know me all too well. I hereby decree that laser tag or bowling shall be our activities for today," Apricot jokingly said while pretending to be a judge.
"Sounds like a plan! I vote for...laser tag," Citrus said.
Apricot nodded.
"Good choice. I was thinking the same thing. Besides, you don't wanna get destroyed in the alley by yours truly. My dad and I used to go bowling every other Sunday. I kill at that sport," he bragged.
Citrus rolled her eyes and shoved another helping of scrambled eggs into her mouth.
Apricot shifted himself off her bed and walked to her door.
Before he left, though, he said something.
"Oh, and by the way, there's a little something special at the bottom of that glass of orange juice. Don't swallow it!"
At that, he exited her room and closed the door behind him.
Citrus quickly grabbed the glass of orange juice and chugged it in no time flat, making sure to watch out for any foreign objects within the delectable liquid. Finally, she came to the bottom of the glass. Splayed out on the floor of the cup, and soaked in orange juice, sat a long silver necklace with a large silver heart attached to it.
She grabbed it with her nails and carefully extracted it. On the back of the silver heart were three letters.
"C. B. F."
Her initials.
Apricot had gone out and presumably, spent hundreds of Rings on this gorgeous necklace for her.
Citrus's heartbeat sped up seemingly a thousand times and her head felt lighter than air. She cleaned off the necklace and placed it around her neck. The metal traced a line of cold around her collarbone.
"Oh my Chaos, this is beautiful! He actually spent all that money on me..."
She jumped out of her bed, making sure to not spill any food onto it. She went into the living room of their shared apartment and saw Apricot on the couch with his phone. He turned his head and looked at her. At once, his eyes widened and the tips of his ears became warm.
“Whoa, that looks great on you. I knew it’d be a perfect fit!” he said.
Citrus blushed and giggled.
Apricot heaved himself off the couch and approached Citrus. She looked into his sparkling orange eyes.
“What are you doi-”
She was interrupted by a hand brushing the stray hairs from in front of her eyes, and stroking her cheek.
“I know we’ve been friends for a really long time. Over ten years at this point. And I also know that we’ve had our ups and downs over the years, albeit rarely. I just want to say that I’ve finally realized that all this time, the friendship we have has grown to heights I never dreamed could be possible. The point is…”
Apricot grabbed both of her hands.
“...I really care about you, I might even go as far as to say that I love you, Citrus. Yes, this is sudden, but it’s been plaguing me for weeks, and I had to tell you sometime. I hope you can understand…”, he concluded.
Citrus was shocked at what she was hearing. Apricot was never one to confess his affection for another person, no matter how much he wanted to. This must’ve really meant something to him.
“Aw, Apricot. I care about you a lot, too. You’re so kind and generous and sweet, and I just love being around you. I totally understand the feeling you have, believe me, I’ve experienced it. With that said, I don’t want any relationship we may enter with each other to ruin our friendship. What we have is special. You don’t want that to be ruined, do you?”
He shook his head.
“So, if this feeling ever resurfaces from now, all you need to do is remember that I am your best friend and I will support you with anything you set your mind to. There’s no need for a romantic relationship when you have everything you might need or want right here.”
She extended her arms for a hug, which Apricot graciously accepted. The embrace lasted for a full minute before it was broken. Both of them had expressed their true feelings to each other for the first time in years, and it felt surprisingly good.
Apricot grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He walked to the front door.
"Where are you going? I hope what I said didn't make you angry or anything," Citrus told him.
He waved a hand at her.
"No, of course not. You said you wanted to do laser tag, right? Well, let's go!"
Citrus smiled widely and followed him out the door.
The two of them walked down the busy downtown streets, looking at all the tall buildings and sculpted statues that laid about.
"How far away is the arena? I don't want to waste my energy walking before we can even get started!" Citrus said.
Apricot pointed down the block. It was about 500 feet away.
"It's just over there. I hear that it's one of the best in town. Did you know that Sonic is a frequent visitor to this place? Heck, maybe we'll see him!"
With his long legs and large feet, Apricot walked with a quick step. One of his steps is two of Citrus's. She had to jog to keep up with him. Today, however, he walked slowly, with his head hung low, his tail abnormally saggy, and his shoulders slouching.
Apparently, Citrus's response to his emotional spillage was less than optimal for him.
Citrus took notice of this and thought about how to cheer him up.
"Aw, man. I didn't mean to rip his heart in half like that. Maybe I could try something that shows him I still like him, as a friend of course," she thought.
Suddenly, she made a decision. Reaching her hand down to her waist, where Apricot's hand hung sadly, she grabbed it and held it firmly.
"Huh? What's this all about?" he asked her.
"I just felt kinda guilty about shooting you down earlier, so I just want you to know that we're cool. Nothing's changed between us!"
Apricot smiled weakly and continued to walk down the sidewalk, his other hand buried in his sweater pocket.
Finally the two of them came across their destination. "Red Eye's Laser Tag Arena" it was called. They entered the building and were greeted with a modern marble and glass desk. It had LED lights lining its underside which repeatedly flashed the colors of the rainbow. Sitting at the desk was a bored-looking clerk. He was a wolf and had grey and black hair that fell across his eyes.
"Good afternoon and welcome to Red Eye's Laser Tag Arena. What can I do for you?" he asked.
"Hi. Two tickets for a one-hour intermediate session. We'll join any team you put us in," said Citrus.
The clerk typed that information into his computer and read out the price.
"That'll be forty Rings please," the clerk said.
He held out his hand impatiently.
Apricot dug into his backpack and retrieved two small square-shaped boxes called Ring Monitors. Each one was grey with a computer projection of a spinning ring on its front.
"Thank you very much and have a fun time."
Apricot and Citrus walked through the doors next to the clerk's desk and entered a room filled with people. They were all queued up in order of difficulty rating. Citrus had asked for an intermediate difficulty. That queue was luckily the shortest.
Standing on that line were several people, some seemed to be athletes, as evidenced by their brightly colored clothes and bulging muscles.
"Oh boy, we're gonna have some good competition today! Let's hope one of those ripped guys are on our team," Citrus said.
She looked at Apricot, whose mouth was turned down into a frown. He looked all around the room, scanning with darting eyes.
"Mhm, yeah, let's hope one of them is on our team..." he said, sounding distracted.
"Alright, people! Everyone lined up for Intermediate class, please enter the arena!" said an announcer from somewhere above.
The queue moved quickly and everyone filed into the arena in an orderly fashion. A woman at the front of the line turned to face everyone else. She was probably the game master.
"Ok, we're gonna be splitting everyone into teams. There's gonna be three teams. When I tap you on the shoulder and say either A, B, or C, you move off to the side. That will be your group. Let's get started."
She moved down the line, tapping people's shoulders and calling out letters as she went. Finally, it was Citrus's turn.
"You're gonna be an A..." said the lady as she tapped Citrus's shoulder.
"Are you two together? Would you like to be part of the same team?" the woman asked.
Citrus looked at Apricot, who still had a general air of sadness and regret around him.
"Why, yes we ar-"
"No, no we're not," interrupted Apricot.
Citrus looked at him, horrified.
"What do you mean, we're not together? Yes, we are!" she said in a firm voice.
"I'm aware of that. I just want a change of pace. Let's see how being on your opposing team feels for once. I might even have a hint of regret when I eliminate you," he said with a cocky sneer.
Citrus couldn't tell if he was joking or not, but she didn't like where this was going.
"Okay, then. I'm in group A and you're group B."
She and he split off, both walking in different directions. Group B consisted of all the athletes they saw earlier. They greeted Apricot with a high five and a slap on the back.
"Glad to be on your team. Let's show the other guys what we're truly made of," he said.
Citrus, on the other hand, watched her supposed best friend from the other side of the room, confused as all heck and fuming at his little stunt. Her team was comprised mostly of teenagers. She was the oldest person there.
"Oh, Apricot... What are you doing? I thought we were friends," she said to herself while she watched him participate in the athlete team's motivational cheer.
"Alright! In a moment, I will open the doors to the arena and the game can begin! Remember these rules: no fighting, no pointing the laser beams at other people's eyes, and most important of all, no cheating! If you're hit, your gun will deactivate for thirty seconds and a score will be tallied against you. The first team to 20 points wins the game! Ready, go!"
The doors mechanically swung open and all the teams rushed through their dedicated door. There were laser guns hung on a rack next to each door, so everyone grabbed one. Citrus was stuck with a tiny pistol.
"What? A pistol? I bet I won't ever score any hits with this thing! Ah, whatever! Viva la group A!" she said as she ran into the arena.
Immediately, there was chaos. People were falling left and right, getting hit on their chests, shoulders, and sides. Nobody was coordinated and it was every man for themselves.
A few of her teammates ran past, barely visible laser beams trailing after them. They were hit in the back and fell to the ground.
Realizing that her chances of winning were slim, Citrus ran full-throttle through the crowd and clutched the trigger of the gun. She aimed and fired recklessly hoping for any shots to land. Surprisingly, about half of her randomly thrown laser beams hit a target, scoring her team 4 points.
"Alright! Let's do this thing! Random laser shots, go!" she said as she once again bolted through the crowd, shooting random things until something hit.
She screeched to a halt behind a large pillar to catch her breath. She poked her head to the side but immediately retracted it because a volley of laser beams strafed by. She squinted to try and see the shooter in the dark.
Then, her face fell as she saw a familiar blue sweater coming towards her.
It was Apricot, and he was thirsty for blood. Metaphorically, of course.
"Come on out, Citrus. It won't hurt one bit. My team and I just need a few more points to win, and who better to get them from than my very best friend?" he said.
His voice was filled with hatred and malice, but more than anything, sadness.
Citrus ducked and rolled to another pillar just as her previous hiding spot was blown. He was hot on her trail.
She dipped and dodged under stray laser blasts and over fallen comrades in an attempt to evade her crazed friend.
She looked behind her, thinking that she had escaped when she slammed into something soft. She hit the ground with a thump and looked up. An expression of pure horror crossed her face as she realized that she had played right into Apricot's hands.
"Heya, friend. It's been a while. How about I take those points from you and nobody gets hurt?" he asked.
Citrus was terrified. She tried to fight back by kicking and punching, but none of it seemed to faze him. He grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and lifted her off the floor. He pinned her against the wall in the far back of the arena, where none of her teammates could find her.
"Wh-what are you doing? Let me down! You wouldn't hurt me!" she said.
He smirked and rolled his eyes.
"Oh really? Would you like to test that theory?" he asked as he bent closer and closer to her face.
She could feel his shaky breath on her face. His snout was mere centimeters from hers.
She thought it was all over. She thought that her friend had resorted to murder to get what he wanted.
"It's over for you now. I've won," Apricot said, maliciously.
She closed her eyes and waited for the end.
But it never happened.
Instead, she felt a vibration on her chest as her laser tag vest lit up with a red color.
"Welp, I'll take those points from you and be on my way. I'm a great actor aren't I?" he asked her.
Citrus slumped to the floor, face in hands. She shook subtly, her heart racing at a million miles per hour.
"That was good. You got me. Wooo!" she said.
He extended his hand and helped her to her feet.
"Man, I actually felt like I was in a movie. Sorry if I scared you. But I doubt I could scare someone as hardcore as you. Anyways, let's continue. Good luck to ya!" Apricot said as he ran off, blasting opponents on his way.
Citrus leaned against the wall and laughed.
"Heh, good ole Apricot. Tricking people with that weird sense of humor of his. What a guy," Citrus remarked.
She dashed from her spot, dodging the opponent's blasts as she went.
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