Chapter 1

"Now in order to reach this answer, you need to use the exact same method I just showed you. Let me quickly go through it again so you don't complain that I haven't shown it clearly."

Carrie buried her head in one of her hands. She couldn't wait for this lesson to be over so she could go to lunch break. Math was not her favourite subject. She found it incredibly tedious. She had no plans on being an accountant or doing anything to do with numbers for that matter.

Carrie looked around the class room to see if anything caught her eye. She saw Tobias, who was on his phone, more than likely updating his status. She turned her gaze over to Banana Joe, who was quietly laughing to himself. Carrie would like to have hoped that it was to something that someone else had told him earlier today. Knowing him though, it was probably to something he had thought of himself. Her eyes then moved to the front of the room where Darwin was sitting down quietly, listening to the teacher. It was amazing how well behaved he was when he didn't have Gumball's influence around him.

The thought of the blue furred cat brought Carrie's eyes to the empty desk next to Darwin. Today was Friday and Gumball hadn't been in school all week. A couple of weeks ago, Penny announced that she was moving away. Carrie and a couple of the other girls asked Gumball how he felt about it because of how they are in a relationship. He told them that everything was fine and they were going to try long distance.

However, this had been the first week of school without Penny and Gumball hadn't shown up. On Wednesday Carrie asked Darwin why Gumball wasn't in school. She originally thought that he might be having a hard time with her gone but after seeing how defensive Darwin got when she asked, she knew that there was obviously more to it. Carrie was eventually able to get it out of him, provided she promised not to tell anyone. It turned out that Penny had broken up with Gumball the day before she moved and he was depressed. The only ones in the School that knew was her, Darwin and obviously Penny's cousin Leslie. She was genuinely surprised by the news. Normally romances in school don't last, especially if they are long distance but she really thought those two would last.

Her train of thought was cut off by the sound of the bell. Carrie quickly got out of her desk and floated to the Cafeteria. She was so happy to be out of there. If she was going to be tortured, then she'd rather it be done her way. Like staring at a tray of food that she won't be able to eat.

After waiting in a long line to do just that, she started looking for a table to sit at. After a while she notice Darwin sitting in the far corner on his own. Deciding that he looked like he could use some company, she made her way over to him.

"Hi Darwin," Carrie said as she set her tray down next to him.

Darwin looked up and gave Carrie a smile. "Hey Carrie, did you enjoy maths?"

"God no," Carrie said, as she flipped her hair up with a movement of her head. "Maths is such a boring subject. I really struggle to find any use I will have for it when I leave school."

Darwin laughed as he began eating. Carrie started to notice that Darwin didn't look particularly happy. Carrie figured that he was probably worried about Gumball, which did make sense. Normally when something got Gumball down, he would spring back pretty quickly. However, Darwin and Carrie knew that this wasn't an ordinary situation.

"So how is Gumball dealing with the brake up?" Carrie decided to ask.

Darwin made a shushing noise and looked around the cafeteria. He then looked back at Carrie and whispered, "Keep it down. He doesn't want anyone to know, remember?"

Carrie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm sorry." she whispered back. "Seriously though, how is he?"

Darwin looked down, obviously thinking before he talked. "He is not too good." Darwin eventually said. "He is lying down on his bed all day, barely eating the meals mum leaves outside our door. Worst of all he is listening to depressing boy band songs about break up."

Carrie was not surprised to hear he was still depressed. Though the boy band thing came as a bit of a shock. "So, no improvement then?"

"No, I am starting to worry that this funk will last a lot longer then I originally thought." Darwin said sadly.

Carrie started to get as concerned as Darwin. She may not have been as close to Gumball as he was but they were still friends. Gumball had allowed her to use his body a couple of years ago when she was craving food for a while before she had admittedly taken it too far. Even afterwards though, he was very forgiving. He and Darwin were also the ones that she had invited with her to go partying with the ghost at Halloween. She definitely felt closer to them than the other boys at the school. She really wished that she could do something to make him feel less depressed.

Carrie then thought of something. "How about I go with you to your house after school to see if I can do anything to cheer him up?" she asked.

"You can't talk to him about the break up." Darwin said in a panic. "If you do, then he will know that I told you and I don't want to be the one he gets upset at."

"Come on Darwin," Carrie said, giving Darwin a look for his response. "He obviously isn't getting better. Maybe seeing one of his other friends will help."

Darwin looked at her before saying, "You really think you can help him?"

"I don't know but I won't be able to if I don't try." Carrie said.

Darwin nodded. So it was decided. She would be going over to Darwin's to try and cheer up Gumball. Hopefully she could say something that will at least make him feel better or at least take his mind off it for a little while.

When Carrie and Darwin made it to his house after school, their parents were relieved to see that one of his friends from school had come to check up on Gumball. Carrie wasn't really sure what to say to them when they gave her a look of hope.

When they were outside Gumball and Darwin's room, Darwin looked over at Carrie and asked "You ready?" Carrie nodded and Darwin opened the door.

The sound of awful teenage singing hit Carrie's ears. There was no lights on in the room and the blinds were down. The smell that came out of the room was so bad that even the dead wouldn't like it. Carrie would know. It was clear that Gumball hadn't left this room very much since the breakup. She could just barely make him out as he laid on the bottom bunk of his bed in his underwear, his body stretched out. This was even worse then she had pictured it in her head.

"Close the door." Gumball groaned out.

"Hey buddy." Darwin said quietly. "How are you feeling today? You feeling be-"

"Darwin!" Gumball said, cutting him off. "Close the door. You're letting all the warm air out." Gumball looked up to see Carrie floating right next to Darwin. "WHAT THE WHAT?!" he yelled as he attempted to cover himself up with his duvet. "What the heck is Carrie doing here and why didn't you warn me a girl was about to come into our room?"

Carrie smiled at how Gumball was acting. She stopped when she remembered what she came here to do. She floated over to the stereo to turn it off before going over to Gumball's bed.

"Hey Gumball," Carrie said, as Gumball pulled his duvet further up his body. "How are you doing?"

"Fine! I am…. Well." Gumball said, losing his words. Gumball then faked a cough. "I am just a little sick, as I am sure Darwin has told you. I will be fine."

"Gumball, I know you're not sick." Carrie said, looking at him with a serious expression on her face.

"What do you mean? I am defin-" Gumball paused when he noticed something. Carrie looked over to see what he was looking at. She saw that he was staring at Darwin who had a guilty look on his face as he avoided eye contact with Gumball.

"Oh man, you told her didn't you?" Gumball said in frustration. "I didn't want anybody else to know. How many people in the school know now? I bet the whole place is talking about It."

"He just told me Gumball." Carrie reassured him, as he saw Darwin looking even guiltier. "I thought it was weird that you weren't in school, so I forced it out of him a couple of days ago. He made me promise not to tell anyone. I just wanted to know if you were ok."

Gumball snorted as he turned towards the wall. "Well as you can see, I am great. Now you can leave."

Carrie didn't get upset with the way he was talking to her. It wasn't surprising that Gumball had such a bad attitude. She suspected that if she was ever in a relationship with someone as long as Gumball and Penny were, she would be upset about the relationship ending, even if the person was moving away.

"Gumball," Carrie said gently, not wanting him to get more upset. "I know you're upset about the break up. I mean it make sense but I am sure talking about it with someone, rather than thinking about it, practically naked in your room, would be bet-"

"No offense Carrie but I don't want to talk about it. Even if I did, I don't think talking about it with an emo would do me any good." Gumball said as he turned around to face her.

Annoyed, Carrie flew into Gumball's mouth and took possession of his right arm. She slapped him in the face before flying out of him.

"Ow! What the heck did you do that for?" he asked, sitting up. He rubbed his sore cheek with the hand that just hit it.

"First, I'm not an emo. I am punk rock." Carrie said, looking right at Gumball. "Secondly, don't get angry at me. I'm just trying to help."

Gumball looked like he was about to yell something at Carrie but he stopped himself and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry." he said quietly. "I just don't really want to talk about it."

Carrie was surprised that Gumball didn't just yell at her. The look in his eyes told her that he really was at the point where he just didn't want to put any effort into anything. He just wanted to lay there and think about Penny. Carrie knew though that talking about it would be better than thinking about it.

Carrie floated in front of Gumball so she could look at him in the eye. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" she asked. "I won't force it out of you Gumball but I think talking about it with someone would help you get your thoughts clear or at least make you feel better."

Gumball looked at Carrie in the eye for a long moment, not saying anything. Carrie hoped that she had at least gotten it into his head that he should talk to someone about. Even if he says that he will talk about it but not with her, that would be good enough.

Gumball then ran one of his hands over his head and gave a big sigh. "I just…" he began, before pausing. "I don't know why she felt the need to break up. Even if she was moving away, Penny and I had been together for two years. We have had some bumps in the road but I thought that we would always be together."

Carrie nodded, understanding what he was saying. Everyone knew that they had had some missteps in their relationship, mostly because of the misadventures that Gumball got them into. Carrie was certain though that, that wasn't the reason that Penny broke up with him or she would have done it a long time ago. She was sure that it was because she was moving away.

"You didn't suspect something like this would happen?" Carrie said delicately.

"No!... I mean…." Gumball said before he paused. He lifted up his knees and rested his chin on them. "I mean, of course I knew there was a possibility but I thought that if it was going to happen, it would happen a lot later down the road then this."

"What did she say to you when she broke up with you?" Carrie asked. She knew that it was a bit of a personal question but she thought that if she asked, she might be able to find out something.

Gumball buried his face in his knees. "She said that she would 'always love me'," he said that last part bitterly, "But she feels that long distance relationships don't usually work out and it would be better to break up now instead of taking the risk of it effecting our relationship in the long run. . I don't understand. Couldn't we have given it a try? Didn't she realise that I was most happy with her."

Carrie could understand where both Gumball and Penny were coming from. She could see how Gumball wanted to stay in a relationship with Penny no matter what. She could also see how Penny might feel that trying long distance would screw up their relationship in the long run. Even if Carrie did say that though, she had no way of knowing if that would make him feel better. She had to be careful with how she said it.

"Oh god," Gumball suddenly said as he looked up at Carrie with wide eyes. "You don't think she thought being in a relationship with me would be a burden, do you?"

"No way," Darwin said, finally joining in on the conversation. "Dude, I don't know what was going through her mind but I am certain she didn't do it because she felt you would drag her down. She loved you and I am sure she still loves you. I think she was just thinking about you."

Carrie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I think she honestly thought what she was doing was best for you."

Gumball looked up at Carrie and Darwin before he buried his head in his knees again. Carrie sighed. She clearly wasn't getting anywhere talking to him like this. What she thought he really needed was to get out of this house and take his mind off it.

"Gumball, why don't we all go and hang out?" she said, figuring that there was no harm in asking. Gumball looked up at her confused. "Just the three of us. I think it would be better than sitting in this room and thinking about this. You might as well do something to help take your mind off it." Carrie looked over at Darwin and asked, "You agree don't you?"

Darwin nodded his head in agreement. "I agree with Carrie dude. We know and you know that sitting here isn't going to make you feel better about this. Let's all just go out and have a good time."

Gumball looked like he was thinking about it before he said, "No thanks. I am glad that you two talked to me today but I would rather stay here. I will get better."

Carrie wasn't going to take no for an answer though. "You know I can make you go, right?"

Gumball's eyes widened. "You wouldn't?" he said.

Carrie smirked before she flew into Gumball's mouth like she did earlier and took possession of his whole body. Carrie turned Gumball's head towards Darwin and asked "You ready to go?"

Darwin nodded his head with a slightly uncomfortable look on his face. He obviously didn't feel good about the way Carrie was getting Gumball to go out but he knew that it had to be done.

"Great, let me just get him dressed and we can go out." Carrie said through Gumball's mouth. She knew that she was making the right decision to get him to go out, even if he wouldn't like how she was doing it. She also had a good idea of what to do that would cheer Gumball up.

Author Note: It was hard to write that part about Penny breaking up with Gumball for that reason because it reminds me of when my girlfriend back in High School did it to me.

I hope you enjoyed it.