"I thought we had something special Al!" Kao sobbed into Alfred's shoulder.
The man didn't know how to respond, "Kao I-I..."
"Kao, please understand that Alfred just doesn't love you," Mystery tried to explain in as soothing a tone as he could manage.
"You don't know that! Now shut up! ...please," Kao continued to cry, his small frame shaking with despair.
Alfred looked over to Mystery, who had a deep frown on his face. The dog hated when people hurt Mystery's feelings. He stood up, struggling slightly because his back still ached. He put his hands on his hips, upset.
"That's enough Kao! Don't you understand that I don't love you!?"
Kao stared at him in disbelief. "Alfred... but why h-him? He screwed up your life! He hurt you!"
Alfred looked back at Mystery, whose shoulders were now hunched over in shame. He seemed completely miserable.
The dog turned to Kao, who shot him a hopeful look.
Alfred sighed, "Because he is special to me. Yes, he did sort of screw up my life... but he's changed. He's proved it to me. I've started to feel different... he makes me feel a way that I don't think anyone else ever could. That's why I love him. Can't you just accept that?"
Mystery smiled weakly, but Kao's tears just welled up again. It was hard for him to understand.
"But he... he..."
Mystery walked up to Kao and kneeled down to his height. He gently put a hand to the other's face, smiling softly. Kao blushed slightly, but his tears continued to flow.
"It's okay to cry, I understand this is hard for you..."
Kao suddenly hugged Mystery, weeping into his chest. Mystery awkwardly patted his back as Alfred stared at them with a jealous look.
"Kao, I'm sure you'll find someone, but please understand that you can't force someone to love you," Mystery explained.
Kao sniffled and wiped his face, "I-I know."
The two let go of each other, a small smile appearing on Kao's face.
"There's that cute grin!" Mystery beamed, causing Kao to giggle.
"Ahem!" Alfred cleared his throat from the other side of the room.
The other two looked at him curiously.
"Aw, is my puppy jealous?~" Mystery teased.
Alfred blushed as Kao gave a light-hearted laugh.
"No! I was just reminding you guys that I'm... still here..." Alfred mumbled.
Kao raised an eyebrow, "Haha, sure."
The dog rolled his eyes.
"I was..." He started but stopped talking when Mystery got up and made his way towards him.
"Don't lie to me, Alfred. I know when you're lying~"
"... Alright... maybe just a little," the man admitted quietly.
"Aha! Gotcha!" Mystery grinned triumphantly.
Kao laughed a bit more.
"Hey Kao, since you're here, want to get some lunch? You never know, you might meet someone else while we're out," Mystery suggested.
Kao thought for a moment, remembering how Rex looked when Mystery had told him that he had someone else. Rex had cried a lot because of it. Kao wondered if he still felt the same way, or if he had moved on already.
"Is that a yes or a no?"
"Yes! I would love to have lunch with you guys," Kao smiled.
Alfred nodded, "Great I just need to..."
He tried to walk forward but his legs gave out beneath him. Luckily Mystery was there to grab him before he hit the floor.
"Thanks. I was just saying that I need to get ready first before we leave."
"You're welcome," Mystery replied.
Kao frowned, "Are you okay Alfred?"
"Yeah, Mystery and I just, uh, had a hard night..."
Kao gave a confused look, clearly not understanding what that meant.
"Haha! Don't worry about it Kao, we were just... exercising and Alfred pulled a muscle. That's all!" Mystery supplied nervously.
"Since when do you exercise? I've seen Alfred exercise way more than I've seen you..." Kao eyed him suspiciously.
"Um, I convinced him to start being more active!" Alfred insisted.
The two smiled awkwardly at Kao. The other just shrugged.
Mystery turned to help Alfred back to his room.
"We'll be back, we just need to get ready."
Kao nodded and sat down on the couch, patiently waiting for them to return.
Mystery offered to help Alfred get ready since he was having trouble putting his pants on. Mystery then went to his own bedroom and put on some of the new clothes that he had bought at the mall. Before he left his room, he made sure to say goodbye to Mago.
"Bye Mago! I love you!" He kissed the doll's forehead before setting him back down on the bed.
Once they were done, they met back up with Kao and the three of them left for the car. Mystery got into the driver's seat and they set off down the road.
"So where do you guys want to go?" The doctor asked.
Alfred shrugged, "I don't know, where do you want to go, Kao?"
Kao answered from the backseat, "Um... McDonald's? I honestly don't know but I heard they serve breakfast until 11 am and I didn't eat breakfast, so..."
Mystery glanced at the time. 10:33 am.
"Alright then, McDonald's it is!"
He stepped on the gas, driving over the speed limit in order to make it in time.
Suddenly, they heard police sirens trailing after them.
"Mystery, stop!" Alfred cried, starting to panic.
Mystery slammed on the brakes too quickly, sending the car off-course.
They all screamed as they crashed into a tree. Mystery's face hit the steering wheel, his nose bleeding profusely from the impact. Alfred's forehead was cut by glass from the windshield, blood trickling down the side of his face. Kao was uninjured since he was in the backseat; none of the broken glass had reached him.
"Ugh," Mystery groaned, his vision blurring.
Alfred was holding his head.
Kao remained silent while his heartbeat fast. He couldn't believe what had just happened. The police stopped behind them and one of the officers got out, running over to the crashed car.
"Are you guys okay?!" She asked, surveying the wreckage.
"Haha, yeah... we're fiiinee..." Mystery slurred before his eyes rolled back and he slumped over, passed out.
"Mystery, look what... you... got us... in t-..." Alfred mumbled before falling unconscious as well.
Kao was still shocked, staring at the officer with a scared expression. She pointed at him.
"You there! Can you come out here, kid?"
Kao frowned a little in annoyance that the officer had thought he was a child. He unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car.
"Are you alright kiddo? Did they kidnap you?" She asked him, trying to grab his hand. Kao pulled away angrily.
"I am not a kid! I'm an adult!" He showed her his driver's license which displayed the year he was born.
"Also no! They did not kidnap me! They're my friends!"
The officer frowned, "Hm... okay, tell me why your 'friend' was driving over the speed limit and didn't stop when he heard the sirens?"
Kao looked at the ground, "Well, it's 10:33 am and McDonald's breakfast closes at 11, so we were in a hurry. I guess he just panicked when he heard them."
The officer was quiet, looking at the dog and the cat, who was still bleeding in the front seat. She grabbed her ticket book and wrote up a penalty for speeding. She then gave the receipt to Kao and called an ambulance.
"Alright, you guys are not in trouble but you still need to pay the ticket for driving over the speed limit."
Kao nodded, "Fair enough."
The ambulance arrived shortly after. Mystery opened one of his eyes slightly, struggling to see. He could barely make out Alfred's unconscious body in the seat next to him. He tried to clear his vision more, but his head was aching horribly.
"Heh... sorry Al," he whispered before passing out once again.
End of Chapter 11
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