"Every day is better when I'm with you~" sang the white tiger, Rocky, cheerfully to his best friend, Xoray, as they strolled together through the Crystal Paw Theme Park.

Xoray's eyes widened in surprise at Rocky's singing. Not because he was shocked at Rocky's behavior—he knew Rocky was always optimistic—but because the melody sounded familiar.

"Catchy, isn't it?" Rocky grinned, clearly proud of his impromptu rendition.

"Is that the same song from the video game I recommended to you?" Xoray inquired.

"Yup! But with a few lyrical twists by yours truly," Rocky replied with a smile.

"Clever," Xoray chuckled, pleased that Rocky enjoyed the game he suggested. "I'm glad you had fun playing it."

"Of course! I'd enjoy anything you like, my dear pal," Rocky declared.

"Anything, huh? I'll keep that in mind," Xoray teased, playfully.

They both shared a laugh as they continued their leisurely walk around the theme park. Rocky suddenly stopped in his tracks, a look of shock on his face.

"Oh no!" he exclaimed.

Concerned, Xoray halted and turned to face Rocky. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?" he asked.

Ignoring Xoray's questions, Rocky frantically tapped his phone, mumbling, "How could this happen?"

Curious, Xoray moved closer to Rocky to see what was causing his distress. However, all he saw was the locked screen of Rocky's phone, nothing out of the ordinary.

"Is the battery dead?" Xoray offered a guess.

Rocky shot him a pointed look and tapped his phone once more, revealing the reason for his agitation.

"That's what's wrong!" Rocky exclaimed, determined to keep the lock screen from turning off.

The confusion became clearer on Xoray's face, so Rocky tapped once more, but this time to point at the thing that bothered him.

"The time! Look at the time!"

Xoray's feline eyes gazed on the phone screen once more to check on the time that was displaying on Rocky's phone, it was showing that it's already passed 6 PM.

"The day is almost over," Rocky began to complain.

Xoray himself didn't even realize that it was already this late. "I guess time flies when you have fun... or so they say," he said, trying to cheer his friend. "But today was fun, and we both enjoyed ourselves here. Especially you, since this is your first time in this theme park."

Rocky looked up at the sky for a bit before lowering his head and sighing loudly. "Yes..." He couldn't say anything else because what Xoray just said was totally true.

Rocky did have a great time today himself. He got to experience a lot of new things that he didn't do before, like riding the rides, watching fun activities, going to the arcades, and playing games. Except for one ride that Rocky hated—the roller coaster. At first, he thought it looked like a fun ride, but his mind completely changed as soon as the roller coaster moved so fast that he felt like his heart was about to jump out from his throat. It felt so embarrassing for him, being the Martial Art Master and all, yet still, he couldn't deny it—he did have a good time, because he got to do all those experiences with his best friend, Xoray, who Rocky had secretly crushed on. This was why Rocky was being upset; he didn't want the day to end just yet and wished if he had the power to freeze time right about now.

Sensing his sadness, Xoray smiled and said, "How about dinner? We can't end the day without having something to eat first."

Rocky's ears twitched, and he rose his head. A smile slowly started to form on his face. A dinner sounds great. Instead of going back home, I can still hang out with Xoray for a couple more hours at least, he thought to himself.

"I'll take that look on your face as a yes," said Xoray. "What are you in the mood for?" he then asked.

"Well..." Rocky was gently rubbing his index right finger on his headband. "Since I was the one who wanted to visit the theme park, I'll let you pick, but..." Rocky clapped his both paws together as if he was begging. "I don't mind a home-cooked meal by your paws." His both eyes were blinking repeatedly.

A home-cooked meal... that's something new to hear from him, Xoray thought as he smiled awkwardly.

"Well... ahhh... How about I treat you, then?" Xoray suggested. "Let's see— Do you like Yapanese?"

"Never had one before," Rocky honestly said.

"For real!?" Xoray was shocked.

"Is it good? The Yapanese food I mean."

"Oh, Bro, you're going to find out! I'll take you to my favorite Yapanese restaurant, but it's all the way back in the city, so we need to take the train to get there."

"I don't mind. We are going to take the train to head back home anyways. So an extra stop won't bother me. Now let's go! I'm already looking forward to trying the food now," Rocky said excitedly.

Xoray nodded with a smile. "Let us leave and head to the station." He turned around to start walking to lead the way towards the exit gate. After taking a few steps forward, Rocky jumped forward and hugged Xoray from behind.

"Thank you for spending more time with me, XP," Rocky said happily.

Xoray gave Rocky an encouraging, bright smile. "Sure thing, Rockylight."


End Of Chapter


*Xoray Pansar
*Rocky Armstrong
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