Stress Relief (Grizz x Nom Nom)

Chapter 15

Nom Nom stretched and yawned on the couch, once again alone in the cave. The bears had gone out to get their weekly supplies, leaving the koala by himself. Just life before, Nom Nom was more than happy to stay behind. He was very used to the cave of the bears, admiring how simple yet comfortable everything was. Something about the structure, the furniture, and even the smells in the cave all made the koala think about why the cave seemed so much compared to his bigger and more amazingly decorated mansion.

Nom Nom stood up from the couch and walked around the place to get a better idea of the question that lingered in his mind.

I mean....My stuff back home is much better. Much more expensive....My bedroom closet is bigger than their living room. But....Ugh. Why do I like this place more...? It was a question that the more he strolled from room to room and the more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became.

He stepped into the kitchen and the image of Ice Bear cooking breakfast entered his mind. He, Panda and Grizz waiting on the kitchen chairs eagerly waiting for what he was making. The koala had to admit that everything the polar bear was sublime, leagues better than anything his chefs back home could have made. It boggled the small mammal's mind. Everything in the house seemed to more or less pair so well together. Things in the cave were always happening, Something new was always happening. Nom Nom thought about how things were back home. Not much happened there too often and things always stayed the same. Such it had a lot of stuff, but it wasn't...lively....at all.

Nom Nom sighed to himself and plopped back down on the couch. With nothing else to do at the moment, Nom Nom continued to flip from channel to channel. After a while he stumbled upon another news report, that was about him again. Nom Nom groaned to himself in frustration.

"Don't they have anything better to report?", the koala huffed to himself, yet he continued to watch out of curiosity.

"It seems that fans of Nom Nom have now changed their tune. Many are giving up on the internet celebrity; claims that he has abandoned his fans. As we can see from this chart our former favorite internet marsupial's rating are on a constant plummet. Not only has are there feelings of abandonment, but also a echoing roar cry of anger from the fans as well", the reporter spoke.

Nom Nom didn't realize it at first, but he was leaning forward on the couch, focusing on the story presented to him.

"Here is a rather passionate fan that we want to give a few words, just in case Nom Nom may be out there listening", the reporter leaned her mic towards a large man with a t-shirt of the koala's face.

"We are so hurt that our idol, Nom Nom would just up and leave us like this! Us! The one's who gave him everything! We built him up from nothing and got him to where he is today! But I guess he never appreciated us or what we did for him!", the man grunted into the mic. The reporter slid the mic back to herself and continued.

"The raw passion and fury that these former fans are displaying shows without a shadow of a doubt that Nom Nom might just be over for good. But it doesn't just end there folks. Oh no. There is a much darker....sinister....and even dangerous side to this story as well. Some of the fans have taken more drastic measures. Social media posts containing disappointment, anger and some even threats aimed a Nom Nom's many social media accounts. While anger is understandable, we encourage others out there to report any threats you may see as any and all of them should be taken seriously."

"With all of this going on all over Nom Nom all we can ask is how long until this all boils over and takes a turn for the worst? Wherever Nom Nom may be we hope that he is safe and considering a return to stardom..."

Nom Nom grabbed the remote and turned off the tv. He noticed his breathing was shallow and his heart was pounding in his chest. The koala stumbled off the couch and stood on his feet. Taking deep breaths and placing a paw on his chest, the small mammal attempted to calm himself down.

Nom Nom slowly took a few steps to steady himself and deeply inhaled, followed by an exhale that was a bit steadier.

It was clear to the marsupial that TV was a bad idea right about now. Instead, he entered Grizz's room and sought after his laptop that sat on his bed. Figuring he could watch some of that "anime" stuff panda was talking about, Nom Nom flipped it open and turned it on. Grizz had given him the pin key to get past the lock screen. Nom Nom felt a flutter in his chest as he mind went to Grizz. The grizzly did so much for the him, much more than he would have done if Grizz were in his situation. It made Nom Nom want to do something nice for Grizz. Something extra special. Something only Nom Nom could do. But that was impossible without leaving the cave. And after seeing that report he saw this cave not only as a charming place, but a safe haven. Somewhere where he was safe and surrounded by those who he could tell cared about him. What he thought could maybe the real Nom Nom. The Nom Nom that likes eating toffee for breakfast and who likes watching bad movies. The Nom Nom who caught feelings for a big dumb....wonderful grizzly bear.

After entering the pin key and waiting for the laptop to load Nom Nom was met with Grizz's desktop. It was an image of Grizz hugging Ice Bear and Panda close to his sides. From the background it looked like the image was taken at some kind of festival or maybe amusement park. He saw the stoic expression on Ice Bear's face, but getting to know the polar bear he could tell that Ice Bear was enjoying himself that day. Panda on the other hand wore a forced smile on his face, Nom Nom see could see one of those from a mile away. It was a smile he had made himself countless of times. Most likely he was trying to find the perfect facial expression to have, but couldn't... And it the center was Grizz that wide carefree smile. Nom Nom couldn't help but smile as well.

He drew his attention to the actual placement of the icons on the desktop screen, looking for the browser. Scanning around the desktop, something in particular caught his eye. It was a folder. There was nothing in particular about the folder except for the fact the it was titled "NOM NOM." Something about it made the koala feel...off. He was tempted to click on it and another part of him thought it was best to just go to the browser and just forget about it. He was about to just move past it until he caved and double clicked on the folder.

The folder opened to reveal many things at once. Nom Nom scanned the screen up and down, left to right. The contents were various images. All of them seemed to be screenshots and other saved images. He noticed that many images had small words on them. He clicked on one of them, the image enlarged to reveal that it was an image of tour dates from one of his old shows. It was from a while ago, but Nom Nom did remember it well enough. Cycling through other images he saw many things about himself; more dates, screenshots of his posts and even an image of a Nom Nom t-shirt the koala assumed Grizz once thought of buying. But it was something about that t-shirt that struck him. It was the sane kind that crazy man on TV was wearing earlier.

A pit started to form in Nom Nom's stomach. His mind began to think about that news report again. How angry those people were and the supposed threats made to him.... His mind began to flash with the distant nightmare he had. All alone with no one. But now his mind added even more possibilities. If was seen out there by one of those crazy people...there was no telling what would happen to him. Would they chase him down, hurt him, kidnap him or maybe even worse? Nom Nom felt his breather pick up and his chest grow tight once again. He opened his eyes only to be met with the image of the shirt, his past posts and old tour debts and it all just came rushing at him. It all felt like too much.....