Of Stalking and Tomatoes

Chapter 9

Nyx found himself at a stalemate. Round eyes stared at him as its legs bent to position. Head close to the ground, it prepared itself for the kill. The moment its prey would let down its guard, Nyx was sure that it would pounce. He kept his eye on it as his muscle twitched in anticipation. His right foot slid slightly on the wooden floor and the creature pounced as predicted, attaching itself to Nyx's limb. He screamed.

"Oh my god! No!" Ren came running from the kitchen the moment she heard the scream, "No! Off! Bad dog! Off!"

The little fluff ball quickly bounced from Nyx's leg to Ren's open arms. It wagged its tail and barked at Nyx.

"That's enough from you." Ren cradled the puppy in her arms, "I'm putting you back in your house."

Nyx laughed as Ren struggled to get the little fluff ball under control. It clearly knew what the word 'house' meant. It was kicking and squirming away from Ren. The poor dog obviously did not want to be caged yet.

"It's fine." said Nyx, "Just let him go."

Ren looked at him and shook her head, "It's your funeral."

She placed the dog on the floor and it rocketed all over the living room, going a few laps around it, before settling on Nyx's lap. He scratched its ears. The dog seemed satisfied with that.

Nyx watched Ren walk back to the kitchen as he pet the fluff ball on his lap. He never thought that Ren lived so close. A half an hour drive from his place.

He looked around the living room. There was the door that leads to a short hallway where he left his shoes. Across it was a flight of stairs going to the second floor. A little ways before the stairs was an arched pathway leading to the kitchen. The wall dividing the kitchen and the living room had a small rectangular window, making one able to see what was going on in the kitchen. A vintage, wooden couch facing a wall mounted, flat screen television was at the center of the living room. From the ceiling hang a mini chandelier, the only source of light in the room. Glass doors on the other side, across the kitchen, going to the yard. A rectangular glass topped coffee table sat in between the couch and the television. Shelves lined up the walls to the right near the television. They were full of books, picture frames, and glass figurines. A low cabinet was directly below the television with a PS4 and PS3 on top of it, controllers on the sides of each console. He briefly wondered where the disks were.

"You shouldn't look around too much," Rodney's voice scared him, "It's rude."

Rodney's presence sent shivers down his spine. Nyx had been carefully avoiding him ever since that day backstage. He had deemed him dangerous and had decided to stay away from him but Rodney always found him. He kept talking to him, taunting him, telling him things that made him uncomfortable. Nyx didn't like him.

"Don't worry. I don't plan on bothering you," said Rodney, "Just do me a favor, and get this one off of me."

He hadn't been looking at Rodney for a while now and when he did, he found Ren's Labrador sitting on his lap. It was a hilarious sight. Nyx could barely see Rodney at all. All he saw was a large dog wagging its tail and probably hitting Rodney's face while it was at it. If it wasn't for the arms planted on the floor, Nyx wouldn't have known that someone was there.

Nyx thought about helping Rodney, weighing pros and cons of it. The pro of not helping Rodney was getting revenge from all those times he made Nyx uncomfortable. The con would be that Rodney would most likely get back on him if he doesn't help. He already scared him enough. Nyx can't imagine how terrifying Rodney can be if he's seeking revenge.

Helping it is.

Nyx waved his hand at the dog trying to get its attention. It turned to him, eventually, but didn't move from Rodney's lap. Not even an inch.