Later that day all three of them watched movies into the night, but didn’t watch any that would scare Fluttershy. They ate popcorn, drank soda and had a few good laughs, but sadly it would need to end soon so all of them could get a good night’s sleep. “Hey guys,” Zach said groggily, “It’s getting pretty late. I think I’m going to head home and meet up with you two tomorrow.”
“Alright, well we should get some rest to. I think Fluttershy is already asleep,” Jim says as they both look over to the little comfy chair where Fluttershy is fast asleep while cuddling Milo, “You better not go into one of your ‘cute attacks’ again.”
“But, she’s so-”
“No. just head home and stop acting like a kid.”
“Alright fine, just remember though that if you need anything then just call me and I’ll come over.”
“I’ll try to remember that. Have a safe trip home.”
“See you later.” Zach said before finally leaving.
‘Well, now that that’s over with I should get some sleep,’ Jim thought tiredly, ‘but should I leave Fluttershy to sleep on the couch? No, I should probably let her sleep on my bed. I would feel bad if I didn’t let her.’
Jim then walked to Fluttershy and gently lifted her and Milo up and carried them to his bed. ‘Man, she’s kind of heavy for something so cute.’ She started to toss around a bit and reached out. “What do you want? You have Milo and a cozy blanket,” Jim quietly pondered to himself, “Do you need something else?”
Suddenly Fluttershy’s hoof grabbed Jims arm and pulled him, with an amazing amount of strength, down onto the bed. “Whoa, you’re strong.” Jim said with some astonishment. He tried to get out of her death grip as she snuggled him, but couldn’t budge. “I’m not getting out of this, am I?” Jim questioned, which seemed to get Fluttershy to give a little subconscious shake of her head, “Well, at least it’s comfy,” Jim said as he pulled the blanket over himself, “Goodnight Fluttershy.”
The next morning Jim woke up and found that he was still in Fluttershy’s death grip. “Hey, Fluttershy, are you up yet?”
“Huh?” Fluttershy mumbles as she slowly awakens, but as she notices who she has in her grip she lets go and starts scrambling backwards, “I’m so sorry, I- I just-”
“Hey, hey, it’s alright, you’re ok,” Jim says to try to calm her down, “You were asleep, and didn’t know what you were doing.” That seemed to calm her down somewhat. Jim gets out of bed and stretches his arms and legs, while Fluttershy slowly crawls out of the covers. She then does a little hop to get off of the bed.
“Are you sure that what I did was ok?”
“Fluttershy, you snuggled me. I’m pretty certain that it would be fine with nearly anyone,” Jim replied with a small smile, “So then, I think I should take a shower. If you want you can take one first while I make some breakfast.”
“Oh, well alright, but can you show me how to use it?” She said with some blush.
“Of course, follow me.” Jim said as they walked out of Jim’s bedroom and into his bathroom. When they got in there Jim pointed out a knob, “Turn this right to make it hotter and left to make it colder. Just turn it right to start the shower and get it to the right temperature for you. There are a few different shampoos and conditioners that you can use. I don’t know how you would normally shower yourself so the rest is up to you.”
“Wow, thank you.” Fluttershy said to him with a quickly growing blush.
“You’re welcome. Here, I’ll get you a towel.” Jim walked away and returned with a large towel for Fluttershy. He then left and proceeded to make breakfast for the both of them. ‘Let’s see, should we have some more pancakes, or maybe just some salad? I’ll just make some fruit salad and hope for the best.’ As he gathered what he needed he heard the shower running and wondered if Fluttershy was doing ok. ‘I’m sure she’s fine. Besides, I don’t want to walk in on her showering.’
Soon Jim made fruit salad with some orange juice as Fluttershy came out of the bathroom with the towel Jim gave her wrapped around her head. “Hey there, so did you enjoy your shower?”
“Yes, it was great. What did you make for breakfast?” Fluttershy said curiously.
“I made some fruit salad with orange juice. What do you think?”
“That sounds wonderful.” She said with a smile as she sat down.
“Alright, well after we eat I need to take a shower too,” Jim said as they started their breakfast, "I wonder if Zach found anything yet?"
"I hope he did, but it's unlikely." Fluttershy said sadly.
"Hey, don't worry. I promise that we'll get you home." Jim said reassuringly. They ate the rest of the salad in silence and when they were finished Jim brought the dishes to the sink and left them to soak. He then gathered some fresh cloths and stepped into the bathroom to shower. After taking a nice long soak in the shower and changing, Jim stepped out of his bathroom to see Fluttershy doing the dishes.
"Fluttershy? What are you doing?" Jim asked.
"I'm doing the dishes for you, because you've helped me so much already." Fluttershy said with a small smile.
"Oh, Fluttershy, you don't need to do that. I'm happy to help without you needing to repay me." Jim reassures her.
"Ok, if you're sure, at least let me finish these last few plates." She says as she continues washing the dishes.
"Alright, well I'm going to be right back. I'm going to get Zach and come back here. Can you watch Milo while I'm gone?"
"Of course, but try to hurry, because I don't want to be all alone for too long."
"Don't worry, Milo can keep you company and Zach's house is only a few houses down the road, so I'll be back quick." Jim reassures her as he puts on his shoes.
He then makes sure he has everything and walks out the door. He starts walking to Zach's house because he doesn't have a car to drive there yet. After a few minutes he reached his destination and knocked on the door. To his surprise Zach was already standing at the door and opened it right after Jim knocked.
"Oh, hey dude what's up? I was just about to go to your house." Zach said.
"Actually, I came to get you. I was hoping we could try to do some research back at my house." Jim replied.
"Oh sweet, then let's go." Zach then started literally marching off towards Jims house.
They walked back towards Jim's house but got a strange look or two from other people on the sidewalk. Jim was a bit confused until he noticed that Zach was still marching. He just gave a little chuckle and decided not to say anything about it. As they arrived back at Jim's home, they walked inside to see that Fluttershy was nowhere to be found.
"Fluttershy? Are you here?" Jim questioned.
"Jim, is that you?" Fluttershy replied while hiding in the hallway closet again, "I heard some noises and I didn't know if it was you or not."
"That is some good thinking," Zach said, "Alright, I got some mythology books, and books on alternate dimensional theories. I could start on them while you guys just hang out somewhere."
"What, why would we just let you do all the work?" Jim asked.
"Well you two could use some time to just relax. I'm sure everything will be fine as long as you don't go somewhere public," Zach said while grabbing his books, "Maybe you could have a picnic at the park."
"That sounds like it could be fun." Fluttershy said with a smile.
"Well if it's ok with the two of you then let's do it." Jim replied.
They then grabbed some apples, made sandwiches, got water bottles and grabbed a backpack to carry it all in. Jim grabbed a picnic blanket for them to lie down on, and after double-checking everything, Jim and Zach checked the area outside to make sure no one was there. Once they were satisfied with their observation, Jim called Fluttershy out and Zach went back inside. They all said their goodbyes and Jim and Fluttershy started their journey to the park. 'Maybe something crazy won't happen today.' Jim thought to himself. Then as they arrived at the park Jim noticed a bit of smoke and upon further inspection found that a patch of trees was on fire. 'And there's the crazy thing of the day.'