We Bare Bears: The Truth Or Never Again Chapter 6 Fear & Romance

After the group came back together with fresh water, apples and grapes, Lucy and Tabes worked together by making them into sandwiches. The Poppy Rangers took their lunch break with Clifford and Chloe joining in after helping. Panda is eating his sandwich with his brothers while taking the view in the open field. Much bigger than the open area they went to earlier.

As for Lucy, Kale, and Tabes, they’re not hungry enough to eat the sandwiches they made. Instead, Ranger Tabes decided to show her guests the open field where most of the animals come together in peace and quiet.

“Trust me Lucy, this is the perfect place to meet many animals in their natural habitat.” Ranger Tabes smiled.

Lucy and Kale looked at the field itself. A lot of open space, long tall grass for hibernating critters, and for packs of deer to run and frolic together. “I've got to say, I’ve gone to other wide open spaces and they don’t look nearly as peaceful as this.”

“You're just saying that because you’ve been traveling to so many places haven’t you?” Lucy said snarkily, smirking at her boyfriend.

“Hey, I enjoy traveling from place to place.”

This caused Ranger Tabes to laugh with her guests. “You two really know each other more than I thought.” She smiled. “I’ve only met you today and I’m beginning to enjoy hanging out with you both.”

Panda and the others look at Ranger Tabes guiding Lucy and Kale at the open field. Panda still remembered that he agreed with Kale to do the next activity with him. Although it’s unknown if there’s anything to do if Lucy offers to be his partner later on.

“Ranger Tabes said that rock climbing is our next activity right?” Panda turned his attention to his brothers.

“Yes.” Grizz said, feeling uncomfortable with the idea.

“Ice Bear is a better climber than his brothers.” Ice Bear commented.

“So true. Gym exercise didn’t work out for me.”

“I’m not gonna make friends with Kale while climbing.” Just when Panda finished his sandwich, he stood up while taking another deep breath. His mind is struggling to keep it cool with Lucy’s boyfriend while thinking of doing a different activity with Lucy later. He noticed that Ranger Tabes along with Lucy and Kale had come back after she showed them the field.

“Alright Poppy Rangers, get your gear ready, we’re gonna be rock climbing in five minutes!” Ranger Tabes cheer. With most of the rangers close to finishing their lunch, they got up and lined up in front of Ranger Tabes to be on time.

Kale walked up to Panda with a straight face which didn’t phase the bear whatsoever. “I know you and your brothers aren’t very experienced in rock climbing.” He placed his hands on his hips.

“I know.” Panda replied while looking at Lucy talking to Tabes. “So what do you want to do?”

“How about you come with me, alone. If you don’t want to talk to Lucy now, I can help you.”

Just when Ranger Tabes is about to take the Poppy Rangers, Lucy is in charge to take not only her brother, but also Chloe while cleaning up the picnic she set up. Then she saw Panda for the first time during the trip. She has not once talked to him nor spent some time with him since she arrived. And from the way her boyfriend is talking to him, her curiosity starts to grow.

“Lucy.” Chloe spoke while Lucy looked at the child. “Do you have any plans you can do with Panda?”

Lucy didn’t respond once she fully processed the question. She didn’t even thank him since it was all his idea to go on a trip with Kale, even though Kale came to him for the idea.

“I would but by the looks of it, he doesn’t feel like he wants to be my partner again.” Lucy spoked.

“Again?” Chloe blinked.

“He was my sister’s dance partner a while ago.” Clifford answered.

“That’s besides the point.” Lucy looking at her brother. “I checked through Dana’s schedule and I might think he might be interested in swimming at Lake Anzo.”

With the rangers following Tabes for rock climbing, Lucy walks past them and heads straight up to Kale just before he takes Panda with him. Panda felt his heart pounding, knowing from the way Lucy is looking at him, his time is running out. Lucy even noticed he was starting to hyperventilate.

“Is there anything going on Panda?” Lucy said, raising an eyebrow in concern.

“Nothing at all.” Panda responded.

“He’s just not in a talkative mood.” Kale responded, filling in for Panda.

“Are you sure because it seems like he’s breathing more heavily than before.” Panda started to pant again, which took Lucy by surprise. “He did it again.”

“Lucy!” Grizz stepping in front of his brother. “How about me and Ice Bear help you clean up?”

“Please, this isn’t the time.” Kale added.

His girlfriend sighed, disappointed for not receiving an straight answer from the way Panda is feeling at the moment. “Okay.”

As the bears followed Lucy, Kale looked at Panda from behind. “Follow me.”

---

Kale and Panda took a long walk as they’re farther away from the group. They only have twenty minutes until they get back to hiking.

“Kale, I appreciate you trying to help me, but is it really necessary to get away from the group?” Panda asked.

“Privacy is important if you're ready to tell the truth to Lucy.” Kale replied. “In case you haven’t noticed, I sometimes need privacy for myself in order to face the inevitable.”

“You take things like this differently when you're serious.”

“Then this is the first time you’ll see me this serious, especially when stress gets the better of you. But I’m not the one stressed here, you are.”

They both saw a small area similar to the spot where they ate lunch. When they arrived, Kale sat on the grass cross-legged while Panda became confused. “So...we’re just gonna sit here?”

“Trust me, when I was a child, my father taught me to do this to calm myself down and get my thoughts together.” Kale responded. “Please sit down.” As Panda sat in front of Kale, he looked him straight in the eyes, with no distractions around to grab his focus. “Close your eyes and picture yourself telling the truth to Lucy.”

This made Panda feel off with this idea. At first he wanted to understand Kale as a friend, but this is nothing like he expected. “How’s that gonna help me? How am I gonna know how Lucy’s gonna feel after the truth comes out?”

“You saw the way Lucy’s feeling when she saw you stressing out.” Kale placed his hand on Panda’s shoulder. “I rarely see her in a bad mood, but in order to avoid it, your communication needs to be calm and coherent.”

So many times before, Panda always acted awkward in front of Lucy no matter the situation. The only time he acted normal in front of her is when he apologized when he left the limo due to his depression and stress getting the better of him. However he never had a normal interaction with her afterwards.

“Kale, I’m not trying to disagree with you, but from what I’ve learned, she feels happy when you're with her.” He replied. “And unlike you, it’s not easy to properly and effectively communicate with her.”

“I’m aware of that, and I can see you're not the best at it but trust me, this is the only option you have. Now please close your eyes.” As Kale positioned himself, Panda took his word as he closed his eyes. “Imagine yourself and Lucy all alone in an open field, no distractions, no interference, just the wind in the air as you tell her the truth.”

As Panda processed everything Kale told him, he looked deep into his subconscious mind, appearing in the field with clouds sailing in the sky, and the wind in his fur. In the distance, he saw Lucy sitting all alone on a hill looking at the clouds. He took his time, making his way to the hill, while trying to keep himself calm.

“Now don’t feel negative or fully positive, just balance it, the way it should be.” Kale spoked to his mind.

“Lucy.” Panda called which caused her to turn around. With all this being in his imagination, in his efforts, he continues to see Lucy as herself and not what he fears.

“Yes Panda?” She responded in a normal tone.

“There’s something I need to tell you.” He sat by Lucy while taking a deep breath. “Remember the day when we met where you used an allergy pen on me?”

“Yes I do.” She spoke softly.

“Don’t tell her the truth right away, tell her about your true feelings.”

“Well, ever since that day has passed, I’ve been feeling...more liking to you.”

In his mind, his imagination continues to make things complicated. Lucy felt confused. “I don’t understand what you mean?” She responded.

“It’s not that as a friend…I mean...as...a…” He tried to say the final word at the end of his sentence but then he saw Lucy raising an eyebrow, suspicious in just a millisecond.

“What do you really mean by that?”

It caused Panda to panic, just when he’s about to tell the truth. He tried to take Kale’s word, but his imagination made things worse, with the clouds getting darker.

“What I mean is that I’m not like my brothers who see you as a friend..friend. For the first time in forever...I always feel aroused when I’m around you.”

This causes Lucy to move away from the bear. “What’s that supposed to mean!?” She reacted.

“No! no! no!” Panda reacted as he stood up. “I’m not trying to disturb you!”

“Disturb?! Panda! Are you hitting on me!?”

Then the dark clouds caused a lightning bolt to strike the ground, while rain bucketed down in the process. Panda can’t even make a proper response to Lucy from the way she’s reacting and it only got worse by the second.

“I didn’t save you just so you can hit on me, I saved you because you could've DIED!”

Then another lightning bolt zapped in front of Panda, causing him to fall back in fear that he’s no longer in peace in his surroundings. When the smoke from the shock disappeared, he witnessed Lucy still standing, not even phased from the sudden lighting bolt. Instead she’s still upset from what she learned about a truth that hasn’t even come out yet.

“Lucy!” Panda getting up on his feet. “You didn’t even allow me to-”

“No, I know what you mean, you disrespected me!” She then ran away from the bear, leaving Panda in complete shame.

“Wait!” Panda shouted while trying to stop her. Unfortunately, he can’t catch up due to how fast she’s running, the clouds continue to get darker and darker. “I know it’s wrong but that doesn’t mean I’m a awful person!”

“JUST GET OUT OF MY LIFE!”

The bolts of lightning, rapidly zap the ground around the bear. He stopped himself while he’s trapped. He can’t even think of clearing his mind, with everything he fears coming to life with no turning back. With the water pouring down, Panda noticed that the water was reaching up to his feet. In just a matter of seconds, it continues to rise close to his head, not even close to stopping.

“Ahhh!!” He reacted as he floated in the rising waters.

“Panda! Panda!!”

Back in reality, Kale tries to wake up the bear while he’s freaking out.

“No No NO!” Panda reacted while he’s beginning to tear up.

“Panda!!!” Panda finally opened his eyes while looking at Kale in concern. “You were convulsing while freaking out.”

“I was?” Panda noticed that he wasn’t sitting like Kale wanted from him, he was laying on the ground, moving his arms the entire time. Then Kale placed his hand on his chest which surprised the bear after the nightmare he had.

“Your heart is pounding faster than I thought it could. I’ve never seen anyone feel this way.”

“I’m sorry...I thought I could handle it.” As Kale backed away, Panda went back to his sitting position. He’s too disappointed from what he just went through in his head. “I didn’t want to give up.”

“What did you see?”

“Lucy found out...I was hitting on her but...she didn’t mention anything about you.” He signed.

Kale would never see the day where his technique failed to help someone after learning it from his father. And with the idea of him not being part of Panda’s imagination gives him an understanding who Panda really is, unlike his brothers.

“Lucy really didn’t tell me everything about you.” Just when Panda tries to defend himself, Kale places his hand on his mouth. “I’m not against you, you're not what you say you are.”

As Kale moved his hand out of the way, Panda lost his interest in continuing this trip. He wanted to help the same person he once felt heartbroken, when he saw the moment he saw him on social media as Lucy’s boyfriend. Even with the day close to halfway over, he doesn’t feel he’s welcome in the group he’s traveling.

“If you're really on my side, how are we going to resolve this?” Panda asked, while wiping his tears.

“I’ll talk to Lucy by myself when this whole day is over. Granted it will take days for her to speak with you in person, but if it makes you feel prepared, you would rather do that than any other way.”

With the first option being out of the question, he had no other choice and knew he can’t do it to someone who has the least knowledge of him. “You’re right.” Panda getting on his feet. “Although I don’t feel like I want to be on this trip anymore.”

As he walks away, Kale also gets back on his feet. “Hey, you can’t just leave and head home, your brothers still want you here.”

Panda stopped himself while trying to rethink his decision. “I know, but it’s not gonna make me think about how Lucy would feel about me. My feelings are too embarrassing for me to reveal.” Without even looking back at him, he continued to head back to the group where they were almost done with the rock climbing. Kale on the other hand wanted to not only help Panda, but also be a friend like his brothers.

“How am I gonna tell Lucy about this?” Kale said to himself.