Changes

By Adam Woods

Part 3

Chris jolted awake, meeting the eyes of his mom towering over his bed. “Sweetie, you gotta get up. You slept through your alarm.” She was fully dressed for work. He ruffled the thin bed sheet as he sat up. 

“What time is it?” He rubbed his eyes, still groggy and half-asleep.

“It’s seven, sleepyhead, we gotta go.” Chris gasped and threw his sheets off of his body as he stood up in a rush, quickly realizing that he was still naked from the night before. 

He looked up at his mom, panicked, then pulled the sheets back over his waist.

“I’m, uhm, I don’t have–” 

His mom turned her head and held up her paws, laughed. “Chris! Meet me in the car, I’ll go get your sister.” She chuckled as she walked out of his room. “You know, Chris, sometimes I forget how old you are.” She closed the door behind her. Chris jumped out of bed and saw his backpack leaned against the wall. He didn’t remember coming home, but everything about last night felt right. 

Rushing to get ready, he threw on his uniform and brushed the messy bunch of fur on the back of his neck before heading out. “Bye Dad, I’ll talk to you on the way home, sorry!” Chris barked as he shut the front door and leapt into the car. 

“You must’ve really flexed that brain of yours last night, sleeping in like that,” Mom teased. He laughed nervously, but the smile was genuine. 

“Yeah, we both learned a lot.” Chris muttered under his breath.

“That’s real nice of you to help him like that,” she continued, “if you want, you should invite him over for dinner sometime.” Chris’s ears perked up and his tail shifted. 

“Would that be okay?” He spoke without hesitation.

“Of course, sweetie. We’d be happy to meet your new friend.” She smiled at Chris in the rear view mirror, and his tail began wagging up and down as they pulled up to the school. 

“I’ll see ya tonight, Chris,” she said, unlocking the doors of the SUV. Chris grabbed his bag, waved goodbye, and hopped out of the car. He caught passing looks from the other students as he approached the entry gate. Kip was in the same spot as yesterday. Chris hurried to him, unbothered by his peers, and pulled him into a close embrace.

“Hey, hey, hey, Captain Bulldog, it’s nice to see you too.” Kip giggled, accepting the aggressive hug. “So, do you remember anything from last night? Or has it not come back yet?” 

Chris unlatched from the hug. “Well, I don’t remember much after we, uh, changed, but I remember everything before.” A huge grin stretched across his muzzle, his tail batting the air intensely. Kip smiled back at Chris and took his paw into both of his own.

“I know this is all exciting, but I want to apologize again. I was up thinking more last night, and I shoulda been there for you when you started changing. I got scared, and I’m sorry for letting you down.” Kip squeezed Chris’s paws. Chris’s nose twitched, his lips curving upward into a smile, and his eyes grew watery.

“I know.” He hugged Kip again, thinking about the night before, so warm.

“So, can you remember anything after we changed?” Kip’s ears shifted back as they released each other, and Chris tilted his head.He thought about gliding through the clouds with Kip, but he mostly remembered what it felt like.

“I remember soaring over the city with you, and floating above the sea of clouds to gaze at the moon and stars,” he paused, a bit puzzled, “but I don’t remember how I got home.” Kip giggled at the hyena, his tail waving behind him just as the bell began to chime.

“I’ll tell you about it later.” Kip squeezed Chris’s paw before saying goodbye. 

Chris sat down in his physics class and picked up his pencil with a real intent to listen to Dr. De LaTransa’s lecture and take notes, since he definitely didn’t read the chapter last night. He thought about what his mom said, about inviting Kip over to their house. This weekend. He mulled over the idea. I’m gonna ask him to come over this weekend. His thin tail slapped the underside of his chair.

As time passed, Chris’s notebook filled up with mostly physics notes, but also some mindless margin doodles of a winged fox, nothing as detailed as Kamau’s artwork. Social studies came and went at a similar pace, and when the lunch bell rang, Chris was the first out of the classroom, excited and eager to spend more time with Kip in the cafeteria.

“Okay, so last night. After we went above the clouds, watched the stars, and kissed, uh, a few times,” he laughed nervously, “you kinda fell asleep when I was holding you.” 

“No way!” Chris chuckled and put his paws over his eyes, embarrassed. “You’re full of shit.” 

“Nope, I hauled your sleepy ass all the way back to your house.” Kip laughed as Chris pressed his ears to his head and put his head on the table. They both howled in laughter, bushy red tail swaying alongside Chris’s thin, tan and black tail. 

“Hey, so, this weekend,” Chris began, his heart thumping loudly in his chest, “do you wanna come over to my house for dinner?” 

“Really? Are you sure?” Kip’s muzzle dropped and his eyes widened. 

Chris felt his heartbeat in his throat, and his stomach turned inside out. 

“Yes, really. I wanna see you more, and not just for dragon stuff.” A smile crept in. Dragon stuff. Kip smiled and reached for Chris’s paw resting on the table. 

“I wanna see you more, too. I really like you, and I don’t want to be scared of that anymore.” Kip held Chris’s paw.

Chris sat at the table speechless, filled with a warmth akin to their transformation together last night, and a sinking nervousness. 

“I really like you, too.” Chris traced Kip’s paw with his, their tails curled together under the benches as they continued talking until the bell rang.

***

The rest of the day passed, and the cloud of nerves kept Chris’s mind occupied. How should I introduce him? As my new friend? My friend, Kip? My boyfriend, Kip?

As Chris walked toward the parking lot, he sent Kip a text. “I’ll send you the details about dinner later, I’m a bit nervous,” adding a clenched teeth hyena emoji.

Nose deep in his phone, Chris bumped into another student, causing them to drop their books. “Oh shit, I’m sorr–” 

“Chris?” A familiar scent pierced his nose. Lucie. His heart sank and his ears went limp. “I saw you with that fox again, you normally don’t act like that around people.” She crouched down and began picking up her books.

“Uh yeah,” he replied quickly and reached to help her, “we’re–”

“Together?” She cut him off. The fur on the top of his head stood up.

“Yeah, actually, we are together.” He spoke with a growl in his voice as he handed her the English textbook that fell from her arms. She looked at Chris with wide eyes, then looked down at the book with a genuine smile. 

“Well, that’s good.” She took the book from his paw. “I’m glad you’re putting yourself out there.” Chris adjusted his backpack straps and waited for a joke, a comment about his spots, anything, but she just stood there.

“Me, too.” He tilted his head. 

“Well, see ya around, Chris.” She smiled and walked away.

Chris lingered there for a moment. She doesn’t care? He turned his head, smelling the exhaust of his dad’s sedan crawling up to the curb. She doesn’t care. Baffled, he walked to the car and hopped into the passenger seat.“Hey kiddo, is everything okay?” Dad said as Chris shut the car door. 

“Yeah, everything’s good, actually.” He paused to collect his thoughts, then took a deep breath. “Hey Dad, can my friend Kip come over for dinner on Saturday? ” 

His dad smiled. “Of course, Mom mentioned something about that. We’d love to meet your new friend.” A wave of relief calmed the knots in his stomach, but some nerves still remained. He hadn’t been completely honest. Kip was more than a friend. 

***

Back at home after dinner, Chris was working through his homework and found his focus beginning to fade. Can I just tell everyone? Are they gonna be okay with it? He scribbled circles in his notebook. He took a deep breath, stood up, and walked over to his sister's door. Chris knocked once, twice, and rolled his eyes before opening the door himself. Thankfully, she looked up when he entered.

“Hey, sorry to bug you.” He quickly glanced across her room. There were more drawings of various species on her desk this time, each one more beautiful than the last. “I want to talk to you about something. Like, something serious.”

“Yeah, anything.” She shifted her paws away from her current drawing. “What's up?” Chris sat down on her bed and drew in a long breath. 

“I’m seeing someone.” He began to say. 

“Again? What’s her name?” Kamau responded, taking her earbuds out. 

“So, uhm, that’s the thing.” He leaned forward, getting quieter. “His name is Kip.” Kamau’s eyes opened widely, and she smiled at her brother. 

“Is he cool?” She asked intently. Chris’s tail flapped on the bed.

“Yeah, he’s really cool.” He let out a sigh of relief and thought about telling her the Lucie story, but he didn’t really care anymore. “I want to tell Mom and Dad, but I’m not sure how.” The doubt slithered in again. 

“Just say what you’re comfortable with, and I promise I won’t say anything.” She put one earbud back in, preparing to return to her drawings. “It’ll be okay.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m sure it won’t be a big deal.” He said, standing up. “Thanks Kamau.”

“I’m just happy I don’t have to hear about Lucie anymore,” Kamau joked as Chris left the room.

Chris went to bed and dreamed of his night with Kip, the beauty of the night sky and the soft, comforting embrace of the fox. He vaguely recalled dozing off above the clouds, waking up intermittently to see Kip’s handsome, smooth dragon snout and eyes checking on him. His scales were even more vibrant than his fur, and the transformation revealed more of his toned figure. He dreamed of letting loose with Kip, holding paws and kissing at school, transforming together on weekends and sharing the skies.

***

Saturday morning came fast, and Chris shuffled to the edge of his bed, grabbing his phone. “I’m excited to see you later.” He added a heart at the end of the text. 

Kip responded immediately. “Me too. I’m a little nervous, but I promise I’ll be there.” They texted back and forth as Chris adjusted his room, moving his backpack to its proper resting place alongside his dirty clothes. He walked out to greet his parents with a hug, then started on his chores for the day. Chris volunteered to clean the bathroom, knowing that Kamau wouldn’t want to, and he was thankful for her support. His phone buzzed as he got ready to jump into the shower “I’ll be there right before 4!” Kip added a fox emoji with puckered lips. Chris quickly typed back. “Can't wait!” He added a kissy emoji of his own. 

The hot shower reminded him of the tingling sensations before they transformed, their shimmering scales up against each other. Kip was even hotter as a dragon.

Chris’s parents laughed as he eagerly sat by the door, peering out of the peephole every couple of minutes. “You’re pretty giddy aren’t ya?” Dad sipped on a cola as he watched from the kitchen. 

Chris ignored his dad’s teasing as he watched the fox walk into the periphery of the peephole, quickly unlocking the door. 

“He’s here!” Chris bayed at his parents. They both trotted over to the door, bumping into each other in preparation to greet Chris’ friend. One knock on the door and Chris threw it open. As cute and handsome as ever. Kip wore a short sleeve button down shirt covered in spherical frog faces. “Kip! Come in!” Chris felt his heart rate spike. “These are my parents!”

“Mr. and Mrs. Kibet, it’s great to meet you!” Kip said with a smile, extending his paw. 

Dad reached out to shake Kip’s paw first. “It’s a pleasure! I’m glad you made it.” 

“It’s nice to meet ya, Kip! We’ve heard a lot about you.” Mom shook his hand and invited him further into the house.

They talked with Kip about his new neighborhood and changing schools while Chris sat nervously at the dinner table with him. His parents hollered for Kamau and began laying the food out for everyone. She emerged from her room and waved at Kip with a small smile. 

“That’s our daughter, Kamau, she’s a little shy.” Mom placed a bowl of stew in front of Kip. 

“Well, Chris is a bit shy too.” The fox laughed. Chris shot a playful glare at Kip, nudging him under the table. 

“Ain’t that the truth.” Dad joined everyone at the table, and they finally began to eat.

“This is really good!” Kip spoke between bites. “I havent really eaten anything like this before.” 

“It’s a family recipe!” Chris’s parents looked at each other and smiled. “So Kip, tell us how you guys met.” Dad continued, wiping his muzzle. 

Kip giggled nervously, looked at Chris, and began to speak.“We met in P.E. actually, we were running and–” 

“Kip is my boyfriend!” Chris interrupted loudly. Kip’s muzzle dropped open, and as he looked at Chris a small smile started to form across his face. Chris was panting, filled with nerves, and he reached under the table for Kip’s paw. Chris’s parents looked at each other for a brief moment, then at Chris and Kip. They both laughed.

“Well, you didn’t have to interrupt him to say that.” Mom smiled at Chris.

 “Yeah, jeez, Chris, so rude.” Kamau chuckled at her brother. She lifted more stew to her muzzle and sipped through her smile. Chris looked around at his family, and finally at Kip. The nebulous clouds of nerves dissipated only to be replaced by the heat of embarrassment. Kip, looking at him, lifted their paws above the table and put his own on top. 

“We met when I beat him in a race during P.E.!” Kip laughed. “Thankfully he’s smart enough to help me catch up in my other classes!”Kip and Chris’s tails swung from behind their chairs toward each other as they finished their last bites of stew.

As the night came to a close, Chris thought back to how he hid his relationship with Kip, how he was so paranoid about others finding out, and how he wasn’t honest with himself. Even through all of the changes, Kip made him happy. 

“We’d love to have you over again, Kip!” Chris’s mom said, preparing to say goodbye. 

“Thanks for having me! I’ll ask my parents if we can all do something together next time!” Kip responded, grinning from ear to ear. 

Chris and Kip walked paw in paw to the door. “I’m gonna walk Kip home, and I’ll be back a bit later, if that’s alright.” Chris locked eyes with Kip.

His parents looked at each other, taking each other’s paws. “More studying, right?” His dad teased, followed immediately by his mom’s paw connecting with the back of his dad’s head.

“Have a good time, sweetie. Just be back before ten.”

They said their goodbyes to Kip, and the fox waved as he left the house with Chris. 

“Boyfriend, huh?” Kip barked, grabbing Chris’s paw as they started walking down the street together, tails swaying in unison, scales glimmering under their fur.