The Pair That Came To Be

Have you ever wondered how Surly and Buddy met and became best friends? This one shot story explains how Buddy and Surly came to be and how they ended up who they are now. And it takes place long before the start of the movie

It had been a long day and both Surly and Buddy were ready to fall asleep the moment they got back home to Liberty Park. Surly was a purple squirrel who's plans for nut theists had led him to become an outcast and Buddy, a little blue rat who doesn't say a word, was his only friend.

Surly didn't show it but he was happy to be with Buddy (being the only friend he could ever turn to) and the rat felt the same thing for him... after all they had a special moment in their lives that led them to becoming partners in crime and best friends...

It all began once upon a time when Buddy was born in the farm stable along with nine baby brothers and sister to his parents one snowy February day. Buddy was the runt of the litter, not very muscular like his brothers, not very bright like his sisters, he never even spoke a word like the other rats could. In spite being healthy and kind hearted, a trait not very common with rats, he was picked on a lot and spent his time alone with no one to hang out with since no rat liked him.

Buddy, on one cold night, couldn't sleep because he was hungry. He didn't like the garbage and slop the other rats eat. He had always been that way and that was why he was skinny... and very hungry. He tried to ignore it but the rumblings wouldn't stop no matter what he tried. He sighed as he sat up and looked around the piles of sleeping rats. He was starving and he knew that no one, not even his parents, would ever care.

Then something hit his nose and he sniffed. He took a great big sniff and his mouth drool, whatever it was it sure smelled delectable! He got to find out what it was. After carefully navigating his way across the piles of sleeping rats so he wouldn't wake them up, Buddy scurried out of the stables and towards the farm house's porch where the farmer's daughter, a cute little ten year old red head named Apple sat with several bags of nuts as she looked up at the stars.

Buddy was so transfixed on the nuts he didn't even care he was in plain sight when he touched the nut bag until he looked up... and was stunned to see that Apple was staring back at him. Her light brown eyes locked on his green eyes the moment he realized his mistake. Frozen with fear Buddy stumbled backwards and he curled into a ball as he trembled in fear.

However the little child gently stroked his furry little head and said "There there little fella, it's okay... i'm not gonna hurt you."

Buddy slowly rose his head and the little girl scooped him up and continue to pet him, making the little rat smile and he thumped his leg on her palm, making her giggle before Buddy's stomach growled loudly again and he held it to quiet it down.

"Aww, hungry little fella?" Apple asked

Buddy's stomach did all the talking as he tried to quiet it down... but he nodded in defeat.

"How's about some nuts?" Apple asked as she gave him one of the nuts in the bag, which was a pistachio nut and gave it to Buddy.

Buddy sniffed it, broke it open and ate it... he felt as if he had entered heaven as he dove into the bag and ate as much nuts as he could shove. By the time he was done he was half asleep with a round stomach full of nuts and he licked his lips in satisfaction. The little girl's heart melted for Buddy and she took him into the house and made a little bed for him so he could sleep with her in her sock drawer.

Buddy had never felt so loved or so full in all his life and since then he had come to live with her for a good few months in her life... then moving day came and Apple had to move to the city of Oakton when she fell ill. Buddy, not wanting to lose the only one who loved him, followed her and ended up staying with her as her secret pet in the house.

While keeping sweet little Apple company in the lonely little house, Buddy ate some nuts she gave him but while it helped satisfy his stomach... it didn't satisfy his heart and his worry for the little girl. While he was sitting on her dresser near the open window he was munching on nuts, rather slowly and sadly, when a purple squirrel came up a tree and looked at the full bag of nuts the rat had.

He jumped through it and climbed up the furniture before he stood before Buddy and said "Okay bub, i don't mean to intrude but how about you hand over the nuts and nobody gets... hurt?"

To his surprise the rat just handed over the nut in his paws and the squirrel said "Well... that was easy... what's the catch rat? Did you spike it with something?"

Then he heard a cough and finally noticed the sick little girl and said "Is that... oh, I get it, your a pet. Must be nice to get food from a kid instead of looking around for it."

Buddy just sniffles and hung his head. The squirrel felt a little bad but shook off the feeling and said "So uh... mind if I take the rest of the nuts." Buddy gestured to the bag as if to say 'Help yourself' and the squirrel made off with all the nuts without even bothering to look back for more then a minute.

A few days later the squirrel, known as Surly, was reclining on a long tree branch when he happened to look down and see Buddy sitting on a rock and holding a piece of paper in his paws as fat tears fell from his eyes. Curious, Surly scurried over towards the rat and said "Hey there pal, what are you doing here?"

Buddy sniffles and showed Surly what he was holding, a card from a funeral... Apple's funeral.

"Say, don't humans get one of these when someone kicks the... oh... ouch."

Buddy just kept shedding tears and hugged the paper as he repeatedly kissed the picture of Apple and Surly felt a little sorry for the rat. He placed a paw on his shoulder and said "Ah well... that's life... Maybe you can find somebody else to wait on you again."

That made Buddy cry harder and right now the squirrel was regretting what he had said and said "or... Maybe you could stay here in the park with me..."

Buddy suddenly tackled him in a super tight hug and Surly wheeze "Okay, okay! I get it your happy! Now let go of me before I pop like a balloon!" But Buddy kept hugging and Surly groaned "Boy, you really gotta learn personal space!"

Buddy sighed as the memory of how Surly accepted him in the park himself when they finally reach the hole in the tree they were living in. Surly didn't like having Buddy for a roomate as first but ever time had grown to accept him as one and made him his partner in his heists. Once they got in Surly fell down on his side of the hole without even so much as a good night and passed out.

Buddy smiled and fell asleep as well, but not before he glanced at the paper of Apple's funeal card and blew a kiss at Apple for a good night and fell asleep, feeling that soon Surly was going to change the way things were forever.

And he had no idea how right he was about his feeling.

The End