The 'Rashes' (Sheriff Labrador fanfic)

Chapter 5: There's More!?

Time flies quickly, he guessed.

Sheriff Labrador wasn't even paying attention to what was going on for the rest of that day, but by then he was already walking his way home after a long day. As he walked, he seemed to feel very... blank, as if a switch inside of him turned off suddenly. He felt... ill, like he could puke at any second. He didn't know why. Maybe it was because of the rash. But.. it was just a rash. How could it do big things like put him in immense pain everywhere in his body or look so bad that Antel switched from being evil to giving good advice? There was something fishy going on, and the sheriff didn't like it.

By the time he got home, a bolt of zinging pain rushed up his arm as he turned the doorknob. Well, at least he was already used to the pain by then. Nonetheless it still hurt a bit. He pushed open the door and took in the aura of his clean, peaceful house. It felt glad to be home, but at the same time.. annoying. How odd.. Sheriff Labrador took a deep yet tense breath, stepping in, closing the door and taking off his shoes. He hung his hat on the hanger on the wall and quietly walked up the stairs. Looking around in case a theif broke in, he went to his room and pulled off his jumper, along with his blazer which he removed at the same time. He fell onto his bed and sighed contentedly.

"Ah~ I feel so much better now.." he muttered calmly, laying a hand on his chest. His mellowness quickly changed to confusion as he noticed his upper body was heating up randomly and fast. Quickly, he sat up and dashed towards his table mirror to see if there was something on him that was making him feel like this.

Five ugly red marks, spread across his torso.

Sheriff Labrador turned around to see four more of the same rashes slapped onto his back like stickers. He buried his face in his hands and shook his head in frustration. After a few minutes of staying still, he looked up and continued to stand stiff once more, silently praying to himself. Thinking fast, he grabbed an ointment from his desktop and rubbed its contents onto his skin. He shivered slightly, feeling the coldness of the cream as he spread it on the rashes. It made him itch a bit, but it was quite normal for him whenever he put on a lotion of some sort. But this itchiness was different. It was the same one from earlier, when he arrived late at work. He felt his eyes twitching again, and he collapsed onto his bed again. He knew those marks had to be the cause of this pain, because if not he wouldn't be able to think straight anymore.

But suddenly, he felt nothing.

Entirely nothing.

His head was still throbbing with anxiety, but his emotions seemed to stop working on the spot. He blinked a few times, trying to get over the blankness of his mind, but he just couldn't bear it. It seemed that the rash was effecting his mental health along with his physical health. He hurt inside-out, literally. Out of nowhere, he started to feel again. He started to feel.. angry. Stressed. Endangered. Why? He had the urge to.. do something.. evil. Reckless.

'Come on, shut up, shut up..' he thought, trying to steady himself. Without thinking, he grabbed a nearby chair and threw it out of his bedroom window. His eye flickered as the sound of glass shattered and shards flew over his bed. He seemed quite satisfied with that then. Until he heard a scream from below. Hurriedly rushing to look out the window (and stepping on some glass shards in the process) he saw the outline of his neighbour, Miss Rabbit, standing right next to the chair, which had broken apart from the impact of the fall. Sheriff Labrador quickly went downstairs and dashed outside, ensuring she was alright.

"Miss Rabbit! Are you okay?" he asked worriedly, trying to calm her. The surprised woman looked at the chair, then at his upstairs window.

"Did you just.. throw that chair out of the window..?" her voice trembled as she continued to stare. The sheriff flushed red with embarrassment.

"I am so sorry about that, ma'am."

"I- It's- It's quite alright sir. I- I'm not hurt."

Then it was Miss Rabbit's turn to blush hard.

"Sir.. you're not wearing a shirt," she muttered quietly. Sheriff Labrador reddened even harder. He forgot he had taken off his shirt when he had gotten home. He was exposing his abs- NO I MEAN rashes. He quickly turned his body away, but he just shown more of his brutal marks. The lady was quite pale.

"I.. I hope you told the doctor about those.."

And she shakily went on her way.

With an embarrassed sigh, Sheriff Labrador bent down and picked up the remains of the chair, and went back into his house. He bolted his door with two locks, and sat on the stairs for a while. How embarrassing! He threw a chair out the window, frightened an innocent civilian, went out shirtless and revealed his rashes! He buried his face in his hands, right when the telephone rang. He stared at it tiredly, watching as it buzzed helplessly in its case. It stopped ringing for a moment, seemingly showing that the caller gave up, then the phone started ringing again. Not having a choice, he stood up and answered the call.

"Hello..?" he answered, sounding as if he had run away from a serial killer.

"Sir, this is Papillon," the voice on the other end replied. "I was just making sure.. you're alright."

"I.." the sheriff paused, thinking about what he had just done. He was not sure whether to open up or bottle it down. "I'm fine."

"That's what they all say. Plus, you don't sound fine at all."

"Papillon, really, I'm fine. Please, do me a favour and give me some space."

Papillon, who was sitting on her bed at the time she was calling, thought about his words. She knew he was desperate to be let alone at the moment, but she couldn't help but be scared for his well-being. Sheriff Labrador probably sensed this, and made his tone a little bit softer.

"Papi-san, I know that you're worried, but it's fine. I'm here at home, answering the phone, not yelling or acting all stressed out. There's no need for any drama."

The police girl became a bit pink at his tone, but replied with a yes and hung up.

Sheriff Labrador stared at the phone as it was hung up. He rubbed his eyes, dropping the telephone and letting it hang from its cable. He shook his head and slowly limped upstairs.

Meanwhile with Papillon, she stared at her phone blankly before putting it under her pillow and lying down. She cared especially for her boss that night. Not just her boss, but her best friend, her supporter, and most importantly, the love of her life. Her mind lingered on all the memories they had through the past two years. She stared at the ceiling, her eyes picturing them together. She didn't want to lose him. Especially this year. Reaching out to turn off her night light, she rested her eyes and soundlessly drifted off into a dream.