We Bare Bears: The Truth Or Never Again Chapter 12 Secrets Through The Phone

It was a pain for Grizz and the others to head back to the cave after leaving this morning. Granted, it took them less time by taking shortcuts along the way, but it wasn’t as easy to navigate. It’s only one thirty in the afternoon, by the time they started the journey back to their cave, they were halfway into their camping schedule, where Ranger Tabes had saved the best activities for last.

“We’re here.” Grizz said, opening the front door to allow everyone inside. They follow him from behind so they can see where Panda’s room is. As they walked up to Panda’s door, Grizz opened it and allowed Lucy and Kale inside. Chloe and Clifford waited outside of the room as they waited for the inevitable to happen.

Lucy and Kale looked through Panda’s bedroom for the first time. Lucy can only imagine how things we’re like when she finally learned about him. “I can tell his room feels way more personal.” Lucy said while looking at the many stuffed animals placed on the bed.

“Not to mention he’s a huge fan of anime.” Kale looked through his collection of Adventure Ocelot books.

When Grizz saw his brother’s phone by his laptop, he also realized that there’s a lot more on his laptop than his phone. He may be regretting it for exposing his personal information but at the same time, he really had no other choice.

“Lucy, here’s his phone.” He responded by giving it to her after turning it on.

“I promised I’d take it easy and keep a level head.” She replied while looking through the apps.

As for Kale, he took his time to look through Panda’s bedroom. From the way his bedroom is set up, even if it's inside the cave and not in a normal room, he would have understood how he felt if he didn’t know that much about him.

“Kale, just because I allowed you in my brother’s room, doesn’t mean you can look through his property.” Grizz walked up to him, which he immediately turned his attention to.

“Do you understand that he’s the only brother we have the least knowledge of?” Kale asked. “When I tried to help him, he didn’t feel so open to trying to work out the situation.”

“Is it because he’s having a hard time letting out the truth?” Chloe called from outside the room.

“Yes.”

When Lucy went through Panda’s messages and friends from the apps, she's mostly surprised by the way he acted with his obsession towards her. With one of the selfies of her and Panda together, he included hearts and cupids all over the photo along with her name and Panda being displayed at the bottom. Something she nor Kale did when they took a selfie.

Then she came up with an idea since it will make her understand what Panda is really feeling. She took out her own phone from her pocket and texted Panda through her messages. When she finished texting, she sent it and saw the notification on Panda’s phone. Panda forgot to change it after he got over her during the whole Limo incident.

Meanwhile, Clifford decided to sit on the couch in the living room. He understands how she would react upon looking at the evidence he saw from how his sister took the revelation back there.

When Lucy saw her own name from Panda’s notification, she wasn’t as shocked as before, but in more disbelief than before. “Kale, take a look at this.” As she gives the phone to her boyfriend, she leaves Panda’s bedroom only to see her brother sitting by herself. Kale can only think Panda’s crush was like his crush, but never planned ahead of time in a relationship. He had no words to describe how much of a teddy bear Panda was compared to his brothers.

“Grizz.” He called while handing the phone to him. “I need a break right now.” When he headed outside of the room, Grizz looked at his brother’s phone and saw ‘Future Mrs. Panda’. That alone can see how his brother’s depression could affect him so much on the inside. Not only that, he also remembered how much he wants to impress any girl he’s interested in.

Back in the living room, Lucy, Kale, and Clifford are all sitting together while dealing from what they saw. They weren't even disappointed from looking at it for the first time, even Clifford thought about it when he hung out with Panda today.

“This whole thing is just unbelievable.” Kale said.

“I would’ve been terrified if I learnt about this earlier, but now, this is just…not even close to awkward.” Lucy added.

“Then I was ahead of you when I found out.” Clifford responded.

Both Ice Bear and Chloe walk inside the living room while trying to take it easy. “How are you gonna handle this with Panda?” Chloe asked.

“I don’t know!?” Lucy reacted, while trying to calm down. “I just don’t know how he’s gonna feel when I talk to him.”

“Lucy, even if he’s broken right now, I’m sure he would still listen to you and probably take it well.”

“Even right after she lashed out on him?” Kale guessed sarcastically. “If he’s not in San Francisco, then you know how personal this is when he can find a place to enjoy himself.”

Chloe learned from how Panda reacted when he shouted his truth out in the open. If she ever does something like that, it’ll probably drag herself down much deeper while dealing with the consequences. “From whatever he’s feeling right now, he never truly got over it.”

“Ice Bear agrees.” Ice Bear added.

“Wait!” Grizz called while taking the laptop with him. “This is really important!”

“Is this about Panda’s obsession with my sister?” Clifford replied.

“Yes, but I’m sure Lucy isn’t the only girl she’s into.”

“Wait, you mean he’s been crushing on other girls?” Lucy takes notice while Grizz begins setting up the laptop to display on the TV.

“Yes, I’ve been with him a lot when we come across girls.” When he turned on the TV, he connected the cord from the laptop with the screen being shown to his friends. He went to one of the dating websites where his brother had been going to.

“So you mean to tell us that Panda didn’t make a single choice in regards to which girl he wanted to be with, including my sister?” Clifford looked at the TV where Panda was messaging one of the girls.

“Hey, I’m too young to understand dating.” Chloe replied. “But if I was Panda, I would make up my mind on what person I want to date.”

Lucy and Kale always wondered what Panda had in mind ever since they found out about his secret, but this was far from what they expected. “I’m sure no one would go on a date online while they’re...in love with someone they met in person. Did he even meet any of the girls in person from that website?” Kale asked.

“I don’t think so?” Grizz answered. “If they did come over, Panda wouldn’t even know how to handle it on his own.”

“Well that’s still a relief, otherwise he would’ve been cheating.” Lucy signed. “But let me tell you, he’s not doing any favors for himself.”

Grizz looked at the tv screen while looking at Panda’s messages. He allowed his brothers to share his email and password since he trusted them the most. But at the same time, they don’t know what it feels like to hang out with a girl they fell in love with the most.

“You might be right.” Grizz responded while he turned off the tv while closing the laptop. “My brother just can’t make up his mind.”

“Hey, some boys felt that way when they’re into more girls then one.” Kale commented.

“You do realize it would cause some serious fights if the girls see each other all because of that one boy right?” Clifford added.

“Yeah...maybe there’s something Panda doesn’t know much about girls, or women in general.”

“That’s not true.” Grizz replied, sitting down on the ground. “Panda may never spend a whole day with a girl, but I’m sure he can work it out.”

“Grizz!” Lucy shouted. “Have you forgotten what he said after he ran away? I doubt out of all of the girls he wanted to be with, he never knew them more than me.”

“I’m sorry, I’m trying to be positive for him.”

“Being positive isn’t gonna help him personally.”

“Yeah, if you're in a relationship with a pretty girl, do you think Panda would do the same thing to you?”

Grizz didn’t think he would consider needing positivity when he’s in a romantic relationship. If his brother would offer to help him on his date, he might make moves and impressions that would turn him away from the girl.

“Maybe it might take me and Panda down.” Grizz said, lowering his head.

“Ice Bear can’t agree on every woman being open minded.” Ice Bear said, also lowering his head.

With another moment of silence in the living room, everyone is still clueless of what they’re going to do to help Panda. Not only do they need to find him in the forest, but they also need to head back to camp. Especially for how much Ranger Tabes is setting up the final activities.

Lucy would apologize for lashing out at Panda but she knew it wasn’t enough. The sad thing is, she doesn’t know where to start after his outburst. With little to know about him, it’s hard to work out from her relationship with him. She stands out while heading her way to Panda’s bedroom again.

“Lucy?” Kale standing up.

“I need to handle this on my own.” Lucy responded while stepping in Panda’s room again. The others looked at each other, while confused from Lucy’s motivaction.

“Do you think she’s gonna talk sense into Panda?” Chloe wondered.

“My sister may be nice for being open minded, but something like this...I’ll doubt if Panda would handle the truth.” Clifford answered.

Back in Panda’s bedroom, Lucy took a look at it a second time. At first she expected less from what Panda enjoys, but remembering very little info from him, it made a lot sense now. She picked up a body pillow of Miki-Chan that was under the plushies on the mattress. She remembered her closest friends who had a body pillow with a character on it, who they also hugged during their bedtime.

Same goes to his posters and book novels where it’s mainly about anime and romance. Then she saw the picture that’s by the lamp. The same picture she gave him when they were dance partners. It was the only time she and Panda did something together. Also the fact he played his song for her, even if she didn’t like exactly what he meant by the gesture.

“Lucy.” Grizz walking up to her with Kale from behind. “What are you doing?”

As Lucy turned around to her friends, she looked at the phone again while feeling sad for Panda. “I just need to know Panda a lot more.”

“Looking through his private stuff isn’t exactly gonna help.” Kale added.

“Trust me, you're into anime like him but...I can’t even keep up with it. And I barely watch romance movies.”

“Do you think he's gonna take it well when you talk to him?”

“I doubt it.” She then sat on Panda’s mattress. “I’m pretty sure he would head back to the cave so it’s better off if you talk to Ranger Tabes about the bad news.”

As Ice Bear and the others also walked inside of the bedroom, they’re clueless for what they can do right now. “We can’t just stop right here, Panda would stay in here for a long time.” Chloe said.

“You know Panda can’t be with girls, because he’s a bear right?” Kale stated. “It’s not gonna change anything regardless.”

Upon hearing Kale’s opinion, Grizz can only get the only opinion from Panda’s former crush. “Lucy.” He said that to her. “Do you think Panda is worthy to have a girlfriend?”

After listening to the question, Lucy can’t decide on saying yes or no. Even with a simple question she knows Panda deserves more respect. She knows he’s still a nice guy, no matter what. She looked straight into Grizz’s eyes, while trying to be completely honest.

“I really can’t answer that.” She responded.

“What do you mean by that?” Grizz replied.

“Panda may have been into girls a little too much, but he still has feelings. Maybe if I show him what I really feel of him by showing all of his hobbies, maybe something might get to me, if he’s really honest.”

Her friends look at each other about Lucy’s plan. They would pick a different alternative but at the same time, they don’t if Panda would take it easily.

---

Outside of the cave, Lucy is carrying a backpack on her back with a bag, all filled with Panda’s hobbies. “You sure you don’t want me to come with you?” Kale wondered. “This kind of involves me since I’m your boyfriend.”

“You tried to help him and all it did was give him more anxiety.” Lucy replied.

“I was trying to help.”

Lucy then placed her hand on Kale’s shoulder. “I know, you did what you could.”

“So you want us to head back to the group while you find Panda?” Clifford asked.

“We can save more time if you can do what activities Ranger Tabes has set up right now. For me, I really need to set things straight with Panda, so I can take him back to camp.”

“Is that why you're bringing so many of his things with you?” Chloe pointed at the bag and backpack, to which Lucy nodded.

“I promise if Panda decides to head back to the cave, I’ll take him back, and then come back to you guys. Trust me, I know what I’m doing.” Without wasting any time at all, Lucy made a head start as she left the group. Even with the weight she’s carrying, it’s never gonna stop her from trying to help Panda.

As she heads into the woods, Grizz and the group take her word for it. “Well I’m sure Ranger Tabes could be relieved if Panda does come back.” Grizz trying to be positive.

“All we can do is rely on Lucy. In the meantime, let’s get back to the trip.” Kale looking at the sun. “It’s getting close to two o’clock.”

“Hey wait!” Just before the whole group leaves, they immediately turn their attention to the call. “I’m so sorry for being so late!” As she walked up to the group, Grizz almost forgot about the whole website thing he’s doing for his brother.

“Wait, are you the same user that Grizz texted?” Chloe blinked.

“Yes, do you know where the camp trip is?”

This gave Grizz high hopes for Panda now that the girl of his dreams finally arrives. All he can hope is that Lucy can handle the rest. “Yes, and trust me.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “We saved the best activities for last.”

“I like where this is going.” Kale smiled.

“Ice Bear can’t wait for brother to come back for adventure.” Ice Bear said, also smiling.