Chapter 2: The Night Over

Ted looked over at Carl and cleared his throat. There was no response, just Carl watching the road with a slight blush on his cheeks. Ted cleared his throat again, this time louder. 
“huh? Oh, sorry how was your night?”
“Meh. It was ok. I met Nara today.”
Carl gasps loud, almost driving off the road as the right tires ran over the sidewalk. Ted gasped out in fear before Carl straightened up and regained control of the car. Ted’s heart was pounding hard and his eyes were widened as wide as a crater. 
“THE FUCK CARL!” He said in frustration. 
“You met Nara?! The same from our school a few years back? Why didn’t you say so sooner?!”
“Glad I didn’t! It was crowded back there and you may have hit someone!”
“Oh hush you~. Now tell me. The same Nara that you had a crush on, And still do?”
“What?” Ted said with a blush. He knew Carl was teasing but did not expect that he would know that he liked Nara.
“That is why you never came on to me isn’t it?” Carl said before looking to the right over at Ted and winking. “Too bad, I’m sure we would have made a great couple.”
Carl alway teased at Ted this way. Almost every chance he could get. Ted sat there blushing a bit. He would admit that he did have feelings for Carl before. And the way Carl teased at him did not make it any better. Ted looked out the window with a blush before chuckling. 
“Couldn’t handle me even if you tried Carl” Ted said before realizing what he just said and pressing the button to roll the window down, hoping the roaring into the car would distract Carl’s sensitive ears from what he just said. 
Carl blushed a little before slowing down some to keep that noise down. “Oh? So what is it I couldn’t handle again?”
	Ted kept quiet when he was asked that question. He did not know why he said that. To a point, he wanted to tease back at Carl. But that was maybe a bad idea since Carl was extremely clever and really good at playing on words. Ted yipped when he felt Carl’s tail rubbing at his crotch, flicking over him there. It was also a bad idea to tease at Carl since he was so direct with things he does. 
“Hey! I was joking ok…”
“That is what I thought. For a second I thought I would have to pull over and show you up and personal~.”
“Flirt as usual I see,” Ted said with a blush
“You know you love it. Now before we get home. Let’s hear about Nara. How is he?”
“He is doing ok. He is supposed to be moving in the neighborhood soon this week. Seeing that it is Friday. He may come either Saturday or Sunday. The reason that I had to leave so soon is because I said that I would help him move tomorrow. And that reminds me…Umm, could you give me a lift tomorrow?”
	Carl twitched his nose with a smile while nodding a few times as he listened to Ted speak. Carl flicked his tail as well, making his tail lift up and rub over Ted’s chin. Carl giggled before looking over at Ted
“I would love to give you a lift there, but I have plans with someone as well for tomorrow.”
“Yea I thought so. Guess I’m taking the bus. But while you're bugging me. What about that guy you were getting touchy with?”
“Well…You don’t have to worry about that. It just a friendly talk.” Carl said with a wink over at Ted. 
“Yea right.”
	Carl pulled up in front of Ted’s house and stopped the car. He put the car in park and smiled over at Ted. When Ted saw that smile he returned a smile back. Carl giggled with a paw over his mouth before tapping Ted on the shoulder. 
“You know…You did tell your parents you would be out for a while studying with me right?”
“Yes, I told them that. Why do you ask?”
“Tomorrow isn’t a school day. But I know your parents may be picky about you going out. And seeing it is out of town I know they will surely refuse. So I was thinking you spend the night at my place?”
	Ted thought for a few seconds. He knew that he did not have to tell his parents where he was going. He could lie like he did tonight. So why was Carl offering this suggestion right now? Ted was tired and he knew he had to get up even earlier to catch a bus. Sleeping in with Carl would indeed help his situation. Then he could wake up and head out without running into deep conversations with parents that could make him late for the bus. 
“If you did come over. There may be a chance. And I will say again. Maybe a chance that I could drop you off early in the morning before I leave out. You can get rest on the way and I can enjoy those early morning talk shows.”
	Ted thought even harder when he was told that. It would be a perfect offer to take. Though, deep in his mind he still wondered what Carl was up to. Did he want to talk about something? Or did he want to just hang out more? Either way, Ted smiled and nodded in agreement. 
“Sure Carl. I would love to.”
	Carl chuckled and drove off once again. It did not take them long at all to reach Carl’s place since he lived only 4 blocks away. Carl pulled up into the driveway and into the garage. It had been a while since Ted been to Carl’s house. His place was just as fancy as before. Though Ted knew Carl had his own car, but he did not see Carl’s parent’s vehicles anywhere.
Carl was the first to get out and then Ted followed. As Ted closed the car door, Carl was unlocking the door to his house. Carl walked in, a few seconds later Ted followed. The outside appeared to be the same, but the inside was amazing! Ted could tell someone has been doing some redecorating in the last few months. He looked around in amazed at how well the place looked. Carl was heading up the stairway and Ted followed behind him. The wood of the stairs was polished and shining bright enough that Ted could see himself reflecting off them. And the scent of it was so soothing. 
Carl walked into his room and Ted followed in as well, closing the door behind him. His room still looked the same, but there was a new carpet placed down. It was so thick and soft that Ted sunk down into it. Ted kicked his shoes off and let out a deep sigh of relief as he felt that fuzzy carpet against his footpaws. 
Ted took a seat on the bed and watched as Carl placed his books down and took out some books of his own. It was an old journal that he had been working in the past few weeks. Ted remembered Carl telling him about it a few days ago. Apparently, that journal he always kept by him was very important to him. It meant the world every time he wrote in it. Carl took a seat on the bed as well beside Ted with the journal in his paws, along with a pen. He opened it and started to scribble some notes and words down into it. Ted tried to peek over to see what he was writing but could not get a great picture of what the words were. 
Carl looked over at Ted with a smile on his face before looking back down at his journal. He placed the pen in his mouth and gave a slight sigh while he flipped through the pages. After about five pages, he finally placed the pen between the pages and laid the journal down to the left of him. He would then let out another sigh before looking up at Ted. Ted tilted his head to the side, wondering what was bothering Carl. He was afraid to ask what was wrong at first which caused a brief moment of awkward silence as they stared into each other’s eyes. 
“What’s wrong Carl?” Ted asked when he got the courage. 
“Well. Remember that guy you saw me kissing today?”
“Yea. That guy that walked off when I called out to you. Who was that guy?”
“He is a feline that I knew for a while. His name is Jonny.”
“A feline?!” Ted said surprised to see that Carl, a mouse, was with a feline. “I would never have seen a shy mousy like yourself to be brave around cats,” Ted said, hoping to bring a smile on Carl’s face.
“Yea…” Carl said while looking to the left. 
“Are you ok? Did something happen?” Ted asked in a worried tone. 
“No. Not really. You see I have been dating that guy for quite some time. But after a while. He seems to be really distant and well…Not willing to do things with me anymore unless it is about sex or something he wants.”
“Oh god, Carl. I’m so sorry. You don’t deserve that in your life and you know that. A guy like that is only going to keep using you for his own pleasures.”
“Yes, I know,” Carl said as the sadness in his voice started to deteriorate. “He even told me to my face last time we had an argument. But I just did not believe what he had said. That was until tonight. He was dancing with someone else and even took them backstage.”
“Backstage?” 
“Backstage is where many of the guys go off to, to have a bit of fun you know? It is like private rooms to just relax. It has extra couches and sofas if you need in case the front is too crowded, but lots of people use it for sex rooms. The manager knows of this, but does not do anything because it would be bad for business.”
	Ted let out a deep growl as Carl explained himself. Ted hated the fact that his best friend was getting played by some feline. He did not know why felines target Carl so much. Ted began to ponder many thoughts in his head. Carl was an amazing guy, why does shit like this happen to him?! That thought stuck with him the most. Ted reached over and wrapped an arm around Carl
“Listen it’s going to be ok. I’m here for you, but you need to break connections with this guy alright? Trust me on this one ok?”
“And what the hell would that do?! He goes to school with us remember? He is going to find me and kick my ass again!” Carl screamed out with tears rolling down his face. 
	Carl started to cry substantially. He moved his paws up and placed them over his eyes, covering up his face as he cried. Ted’s heart started to pound in both anger and sadness. He did not know all this was happening. He did not know that Carl was in an abusive relationship, nor did he know that Carl had a boyfriend. One thing that he did know is that he had to put an end to this.
“Listen Carl. I’m here for you. And I am going to help you. I’m not going to let that ass hole put his damn hands on you again. Understand?!” Ted said as he started to tear up as well.
“Thank you so much hun,” Carl said before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his smartphone and dialing up Jonny’s number. The number rang a few times before he heard someone on the other end. 
“…Hello?” Jonny said with a yawn. 
“Hey, Jon. It’s Carl!” 
	Ted could tell that Carl started to get a bit nervous. He could not hear what they were saying like this, so before Jonny could say anything else back to Carl. Ted reached over and clicked the screen to turn the speaker on. Carl looked over at Ted and nodded before continuing to talk.
“Listen we need to talk.”
“About what? Can’t you see it’s late?” 
Carl took a deep breath with his eyes closed before reopening them and saying, “Look! I’m tired of you treating me this way! I’m a person just like you are. We are equals! And I deserve way more than that shit you keep giving me!”
“…Let me get this straight rat…. You called me to bitch about how I treat you… When you’re the fucking slut that keeps meeting up with me?”
“Look I don’t know who the fuck you are, but you’re not going to talk to Carl that way you fucking cunt!” Ted said with a deep growl that would have clearly be heard through that phone.
“I guess you’re the one fucking that mouse’s ass now aren’t you? Just know he likes to be bitten around the throat.” Jonny said with a laugh before hanging up. 
	Carl breathed deeply before placing the phone to the side. Before Carl could say or do anything. Ted pulled Carl up into his arms, holding him close. Carl closed his eyes as he rests in Ted’s warming embrace, letting out a deep sigh of relief. Carl rested his head against Ted’s chest, letting a low murr as he felt so safe in Ted’s arms. 
“Thank you so much, Ted. What you did back there means so much. There was no way I could have done that alone.”
Ted bared a smile, even though he was angry as hell. “Of course Carl. You’re my friend. To me, it does not matter if you are a mouse. You’re my best friend. And I will always love and care for you.”
	The two stayed cuddled up like that for a while. Minutes passed as they embraced each other. Those minutes soon turned into thirty minutes. The time seemed to fly so fast to them. Soon it was 11:00 pm. Carl looked at the time and then placed a paw on Ted’s cheek.
“It is about time that we head to bed,” Carl said.
“Wait there is something I wanted to ask. Is this whole place is yours?”
“That’s right,” Carl said with a smile and chuckle. 
“Well. That is amazing Carl. I’m glad to hear you are moving up there. Though there is still the issue on where I will sleep. I am getting pretty tired.”
“Hmm. That is something I wanted to talk with you on as well. I really don’t want to sleep alone tonight. Would you mind sleeping in here with me?”
	Ted thought to himself for a bit as Carl got up and started to write down a few things into his journal before putting it away. Ted knew that Carl must still be hurting and could fully understand that he would not want to be alone in a dark room after what just happened. Ted smiled as he got up as well and looked over the bed. It seemed large enough for two and was very comfortable.
“Why not Carl. I will take the left side.” Ted said as he walked to the opposite side of the bed. 
“Sounds great! I’m so glad you said yes.” Carl said with a giggle.
“Oh and before we go to sleep. Tomorrow, if you want to do anything I can always call Nara and cancel. I still have to call and see if it is still on tomorrow and get the directions, so I can easily cancel.” Ted told Carl before he was cut off.
“No no! You can go. I don’t want to ruin your fun because of my problems. And besides. I will be ok, trust me.”
“Sorry, but that won’t do,” Ted said as he laid down on the bed. “You’re my friend. And you deserve to be happy. So tomorrow morning. We are going to do something ok?”
“Are you sure hun? You don’t have to you know?”
“I am sure Carl. It will be fun!”
“Alright then,” Carl said before turning the lights off and literally jumping into bed which causes Ted to bounce a bit on the bed from the impact before he was snuggled tightly by Carl.
“Night Carl,” Ted said in a soft voice.
“Nightie Ted.”
	The night grew silent as the two rested together. Ted was still awake for a while after Carl went to bed around 11:49 pm. Ted kept thinking about how was Carl taking it. He knew that Carl can try to be tough at times, but like he saw today, he knew that Carl can also be very sensitive. Ted looked over at Carl, watching as the cute mouse slept alone side him. Ted looked over his frame as he laid on top of the covers. It was way too hot to be under the covers, so they just stayed on top. Ted giggled as he saw how cute Carl looked, his black hair dangled over his face while he slept with his mouth open. Ted then looked up at the ceiling and started to think what they would do all day tomorrow before he slowly started to drift asleep.