Chapter XV: An Irritatingly Helpful Friend

Travis takes matters into his own hands and sets up Fawna on a date with Rick, much to Fawna's fury.

                "Bonny! Bonny, come here girl!" Fawna called to her chicken from over the stone fence. Bonny just gave her a haughty stare and shuffled away to the other side of the chicken pen. Annoyed, Fawna pouted and stuck out her hip, crossing her arms underneath her chest. "Fine then! Be that way, see if I care!" she snapped, trudging away to tend to Mutt snd Martini.

                "Heh, having trouble with her still?" Travis said, walking onto the farm. Fauna rolled her eyes and sighed, shaking her head in dismay.

                "Like you wouldn't believe," she replied, grabbing Martini's brush. "Rick said she was a sweetheart when he sold her to me, but she's given me nothing but attitude since the day she came here. I think she hates me," the beautiful young woman frowned, eyeing the naughty chicken with reproachful eyes. Travis laughed.

                "Don't be ridiculous, Fawna. Chickens don't hate people for no reason. You just have to know how to handle them, that's all. Watch me," he offered. Fawna shrugged. She may as well try to learn something or else she'd never get Bonny to lay good quality eggs. Travis expertly hopped over the stone fence and kneeled down, beckoning the animal towards him with gentle eyes.

                "Hey there, Beautiful," he cooed. "Come here..." he coaxed softly. With a flattered cluck, Bonny pecked her way right over to Travis as he picked her up and stroked her for a moment before setting her down gently again. Bonny ruffled her feathers and clucked happily before going to hunt for any grain Fawna had spread on the ground of the pen. When Travis turned around, he saw Fawna staring at him in disbelief.

                "How do you do that?" she demanded incredulously. "It's like you can speak their language," she admired him with a bit of jealousy. He was so good with animals and farming. Why couldn't she be like that? Travis laughed and put an arm around his best friend's shoulder.

                "You'll be able to speak their language too with a bit of practise. What have I told you a hundred million times since you first moved here?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

                "Never give up," she replied automatically, laughing despite herself. "It helps that I've got a friend who knows what he's doing at least," she sighed. Travis chuckled and cleared his throat.

                "Uh, yeah... about that..." he began and Fawna's baby blue eyes narrowed suspiciously. She knew that look all too well. It nearly always meant that he had done something she didn't like. He gave her a sheepish grin before continuing. "As your best friend, I feel that I know what I'm doing when it comes to you being happy. Since you were the one who helped move things along with Rose and I, I thought I would return the favour," he said, shrinking away from her slightly in case she decided to hit him. Fawna cocked her head to one side in irritation.

                "I don't think I like where this is going," she muttered angrily and Travis shrugged.

                "I didn't think you would," he replied. "Trust me; you'll thank me later though. I told Rick that you wanted to go out with him for a drink or two tonight and he was very happy to accept the invitation," he smirked, wincing as Fawna really did smack him this time.

                "TRAVIS!" she shrieked. "Why would you do that?" she demanded hotly. How could he just throw her into something like that without even asking her first? At least she had known that Travis wanted to be with Rose! Well... she did sort of like Rick... but things were more complicated with her than it was for Travis... Greg...

                "Because you're my friend and it isn't healthy for you to spend the rest of your life sad and alone, still in love with a loser who treated you like a piece of meat!" he retorted, crossing his arms defensively. "It'll be good for you to spend some time with a guy who can appreciate you for more than just your looks," he told her matter-of-factly. Fawna just glared and stormed away.

                "Well, sorry! I didn't realize you were my psychiatrist now!" she yelled over her shoulder, stomping into her house and slamming the door shut.

                Back outside in the field, Travis sighed and rubbed his temples. She'll forgive me... Rick's a nice guy... she'll thank me afterwards... I hope... he thought to himself with a frown.