Not our last night

Chapter 5

     That's how it went for the next bunch of nights. Jedediah and Octavius would get into a bunch of fun mischief together. They would get hurt but didn't care, drive around in the car lots of the time too. It was finally their last night and the two decided to drive around the museum one last time.
     "Jedediah, slow down! You nearly ran over one of your own townsfolk!" Octavius yelped as the remote control car swerved and crashed into the wall.
     Jedediah opened the car door and looked over at the woman he'd almost ran over. "Oh hey, that's Dahlia. Wonder what she's doin out here. Usually she stays with the others in town." The cowboy commented, going over to talk with her.
     Octavius was quick to follow, not keen on him talking alone with some woman. He got jealous easily sometimes. "Hey Dahlia! Sorry for almost hittin ya." Jed greeted.
     "Naw it's fine. I just wanted to talk to you about your little speech thing the other day." Dahlia said, hands clasped together. Octavius tilted his head in curiosity, Jed raising an eyebrow.
     "I think since you're our town leader ya really got through to nearly everyone, and I just wanted to thank you. And Octavius too of course, I mean it's so obvious now." Dahlia giggled.
     Now both men were equally confused. "What are talkin 'bout? What was so obvious?" Jedediah asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
     "Well you two obviously." Dahlia responded with a smile. The boys gave her confused looks. "Y-Y'know...you're a couple, aren't you?" Dahlia asked, smile somewhat fading.
     Both men's faces flushed red, and Octavius let out a nervous laugh while Jedediah got a bit angry. "We are NOT! We're just best pals! Nothin' more!! What in Sam Hills made you lot think we were...?!" Jedediah trailed off, very flustered and at a loss for words.
     Dahlia couldn't help but burst into laughter, clutching her sides. "Y-you aren't?!" She wheezed. She took a breath and stood straight again. "I'm so sorry, everyone just really though you were, because well, y'all act like it." Dahlia said.
     Jedediah didn't trust himself to say anything else so huffed and crossed his arms, glaring away. "What uh...what exactly do you mean we act like it?" Octavius asked hesitantly.
     "Well...just the way you two talk and bicker at times like a married couple, or whenever one of you isn't lookin the other is- oh..." Dahlia stopped herself from talking, sudden realization coming over her.
    "Y'know what? Never mind. I'm just gonna get back to the town." Dahlia said blankly, turning on her heel and leaving.
     "I wonder why she suddenly walked off like that?" Octavius said, looking curiously after her. When Jedediah didn't give some weird comment like he usually did, the Roman emperor turned to look at him.
     Jedediah had his hat pulled down to block his face and his back was turned to Octavius. "Is everything alright, my friend?" The Roman asked, walking up to stand beside him and put a gentle hand on his shoulder.
     Jedediah seemed to snap out of a weird sort of trance and let go of his hat, glancing at Octavius. "Huh? Oh. Yeah, just lookin at the busted car hood. Gigantor ain't gonna be too fond of that." Jed replied, moving away from the Roman's touch.
     Octavius frowned and studied his friend as he awkwardly pushed the plastic car from the wall and shakily checked the cracked hood. Something was very wrong, Octavius just knew it.
     "I uh...I'm gunna go get Larry. I'll see ya later Octavius." Jedediah turned and jogged away, Octavius noticing two major red flags. One; Jed had ran away without even looking at him, two; he called him Octavius instead of Oct or Octy, and Larry by his name and not Gigantor.
     "I could come too-" Octavius started but Jed had already left. The Roman sighed. Sometimes he wished he could read minds so he knew what was bothering his friend. He thought of ways he could help without knowing what was wrong.
     He got an idea and dashed off to find Sacagawea. He found her talking with Teddy on a bench while he braided her hair. The two stopped talking when they heard the small clank of Octavius's armour. "Hello Octavius." Teddy nodded to him.
     The little Roman took off his helmet to fiddle with the red brush on top. "Hello. I...I kind of need some help." Octavius said awkwardly. He hated asking for help but would do anything for Jedediah.
     "Sure...but if you don't mind me asking, where is Jedediah?" Sacagawea questioned, tilting her head and causing Teddy to accidentally let go of her braid. Now he had to redo it.
     "That is part of the problem." Octavius responded,  tapping his fingers nervously against his helmet. Sacagawea leaned down to pick him up and place him on the back part of the bench so he could talk easier.
     "Tell us, what is wrong my friend." Teddy said, placing a tie around the end of Sacagawea's long raven hair.
     Octavius hesitated for a moment. "It's Jedediah...he's not acting quite like himself lately." The Roman started.
     "What do you mean?" Teddy asked. Octavius sighed and sat down, helmet in his lap as he picked at the red brush.
     "He's just acting strange. The other day he told me about how Sacagawea convinced him to convince his town that being gay wasn't a sin, and today we were driving the remote control car around and almost hit a woman from the western town.
     We cracked the hood of the car and got out to speak to her. She thanked him for what he did and said something that made Jedediah apparently very angry." Octavius explained.
     "What did she say that could have set him off, do you know?" Sacagawea asked.
     "Yeah I think. She said one of the reasons she thought Jedediah made the speech was because she thought we were a couple, and Jed started acting quite strange after." Octavius said somewhat awkwardly, face a light pink.
     "How exactly was he acting compared to how he usually acts?" Teddy asked.
     "Well the first thing was when I asked him a question he ignored me, seemingly very lost in thought. I tried touching his shoulder but he refused to let me near him and moved away. I asked if he was alright and he claimed he was distracted by the cracked hood of the car.
     He then went to go get Larry about it but refused to let me come along, and in that sentence he wouldn't look at me, called Larry by his name instead of Gigantor, and called me by my full name instead of the almost always 'Oct' or 'Octy'." Octavius sighed.
     Teddy and Sacagawea shared a look. "Octavius...why do you think he's acting as such?" Teddy asked.
     "I think he's mad. I must have done something wrong or said something wrong. He must be very mad at me." Octavius curled his knees into his chest and placed his helmet beside him.
     "Although that would be a common misconception, I'm almost certain he is mad, just not at you." Sacagawea said.
     "Then who would he be mad at?" Octavius asked, voice cracking as he glanced up at her.
     "Himself." The woman answered. Octavius because very confused.
     "Why that's not like Jedediah at all! What would make him think so much that he became mad at himself?" Octavius wondered.
     "You, my little Roman friend. You're making his never thinking brain work overtime. And the rest is for you to figure out on your own. Now go find him and figure it out." Teddy said, placing Octavius on the stone floor.
     The Roman hesitantly nodded, then ran off to Egypt, knowing Larry was most likely there.