Chapter Text
A new neighbour was moving into Kokomo today.
Isabelle had said so over the morning announcements. All anyone knew about him was that his name was Raymond.
Marshal wasn’t one to actively seek out newcomers, so he just ignored the aforementioned announcement. He figured he’d run into this Raymond guy eventually. That’s how he’d always met the newbies, anyway.
Marshal ran his paw through his bangs before opening the door and stepping outside. It was a beautiful day out today. The sky was clear, the temperature was warm, and it was the perfect weather to maybe catch a bug. Or sit on one of the benches. He hasn’t decided what he’ll do yet.
He took out his net to at least look like he was doing something, and began with his daily routine of aimlessly wandering around the island.
After roaming around for a bit, having caught no bugs in the process, he’d eventually found his way to the plaza. He should’ve been aware of where he was when he heard the radio next to the bulletin board playing ‘Bubblegum K.K.,’ but by the time he realized, the island representative noticed him.
“Marshal!” Allyson called out, waving her arms in the air to grab his attention. His scowl deepened. “Marshal, come over here!”
She always did this. She always forced her ‘Cute’ neighbours next to the radio until they sang whatever song was on it. And there was always her phone camera pointed at them. It was humiliating. Though, if he didn’t oblige, he’d be pushed around too. Seemed as if he’d be a victim of this once again, along with Judy and Sherb.
Marshal begrudgingly went to stand next to Sherb. The closer he got, the clearer it was to hear the pain in their voices. He sighed and began singing along with them. Luckily, he’d joined right when the song looped to the beginning, so he wasn’t lost. “When the bubblegum pops, I want you to smile.”
Allyson began clapping at them. Marshal resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Clapping wouldn’t make him enjoy this. “And remember every good time, we had when skies were grey.”
In the distance, Marshal could see a cat. He initially chalked it up to them being Lolly, but he could see their ears were black rather than grey. He wanted to go say hello, but if he stopped singing, he’d be pushed back into place. “Oh bubblegum dear, why are you crying?”
Actually, he saw Lolly with the stranger. Could that possibly be Raymond with her? And... were they coming closer? If he was one of Allyson’s ‘Dreamies’ as she’d put it, he should stay away from the plaza. “I’ll never let them take, my bubblegum away.”
They were, indeed, approaching the plaza. That poor soul, Marshal thought to himself. He’s gonna be forced to sing with us too.
At the sound of Lolly and the other cat’s footsteps, Allyson turned around with a smile on her face. “Hi, Raymond!” she shouted, raising her arms up as she did when Marshal showed up. The three singing animals stopped simultaneously, glad that her attention was diverted. “My oh my,” Judy muttered, her head now in her paws. “This song used to be so nice.”
“Yeah,” Sherb agreed, letting out a breath. “We oughta get out of here before she makes us sing again.”
When Marshal didn’t respond, the two looked at him confused. Usually this was the part where he’d agree with them. “Marshal?” Judy questioned, moving from her position to look at the squirrel. “Hello? Marshal?” She waved her paw in his face to try and grab his attention.
Marshal was completely stunned. Not only that, he was blushing. He never did that. Judy, as well as Sherb, matched his gaze, only to see a tall cat in their view. “Come say hi to everyone!” Allyson said to Raymond, while completely ignoring Lolly. So that was Raymond.
If he were to be completely honest, Raymond was the most handsome cat Marshal had ever seen. He had grey fur with a tuft of blond hair on his head, glasses, and two different coloured eyes. He wore a waistcoat with a shirt and tie underneath as well. “Hello,” he greeted the three, holding his paw out for a handshake. Judy, being the closest, took it first. “I’m Raymond.”
They all took turns greeting him and introducing themselves, but when it came to be Marshal’s turn, he froze. It was... odd for him to feel like this. Well, whatever this even was. After a moment of Raymond’s paw extended in front of Marshal, his eyebrows furrowed. “Are you okay?”
Marshal blinked a couple times and snapped out of his trance. “I’m sorry,” he stuttered out, quickly taking Raymond’s paw into his own. “Not sure what happened there.” He awkwardly chuckled before saying, “I’m Marshal.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” Raymond responded, shaking his paw. After that, he stepped back and put his paws behind his back. “You should sing with them!” Allyson suggested, while Judy, Sherb, and Marshal all glared at her. Raymond simply raised an eyebrow at the girl. “It would be so cute!”
“That’s quite alright,” Raymond declined, moving closer to Lolly. “I’d like to meet everyone else first.”
“Yeah!” Lolly finally piped up. “Yeah, he’s still gotta meet Merengue! And Beau! And, um...” Her sentence trailed off, but she quickly added, “We should go do that! Right now!” Lolly tugged on the taller cat’s shirt sleeve. “Come on, Raymond, let’s go!”
“Oh, alright, then.” Lolly guided Raymond away from the plaza and, presumably, away from Allyson. Sherb waved goodbye, though neither of the cats could see the gesture, while the rest of them watched him walk away.
As he went off, Marshal felt his heart start beating. Raymond made him feel something he hadn’t felt before. Why was he so... star-struck when he saw him? This was all very confusing.
While he was stuck in his thoughts, everyone else seemed to scatter about, leaving him alone. Marshal shook his head and began walking again. He didn’t know why, but he hoped to run into Raymond again.