\n For those who left such positive feedback on the first chapter, thanks so much! It really does mean a lot to know that people appreciate your hard work.

\n At the moment, Kaarsten and I have just gotten a lot of pre-planning for the story out of the way. So we now have a general sense of what we're doing and where the story is going to go from this point. Hope you guys don't mind bearing with intros for a little while longer. Though there's a scene in here that I'm sure a lot of you are going to appreciate. Also, this chapter is HOLY CRAP long. It's about triple the size of our first chapter, but that's mostly because we didn't want to split up the first day of school into different parts. So enjoy the long read and PLEASE COMMENT!

\n Well, awesome disclaimer time. Didn't really put it in the last chapter considering there wasn't anything to warn anyone about. But why should I have to in the first place? The tags clearly point towards the fact that this story will contain intimate scenes between two furries of the same gender. So if it's not your thing, then no one is forcing you to read. There are plenty of straight furry stories on this site, so I doubt you'd be running out of ways to spend your time anyway. I'll stop ranting now to let those of you still here get to actually read the story. Hope you enjoy it! And do Kaarsten and me a favor by commenting, please! (Yes, I said to comment two times now. Thanks for noticing. SO PLEASE COMMENT!!!)

\n *****

\n The atrium of Millburry High witnessed a surge of students that it hadn't seen for three weeks that January morning as the warning bell sounded, the chatter and reminiscing that was so commonplace a few moments ago now mollified as friends parted to their respective lockers and classes. Among the crowd of students was a tigress, a slim female dressed in a white, long-sleeved blouse with contrasting black jeans, the attire showing off the curves of her feline form quite nicely. Contrary to the flow of students exiting the large room through the various halls which opened at its sides, the female tiger was weaving through the crowd, uttering a quick but pleasant "Sorry" as her shoulders came in contact with those of other students. Noticing that the stream of students thinned considerably as she approached the main office, the tigress took a moment to stop and tie the laces of her purple and white converse, carefully tucking the shoelaces into her shoes as to prevent them from unraveling later on in the day. Male students of various species within the crowd took notice of this, a few responding to the provocative position with lewd wolf whistles. The tigress only smirked as she finished tucking in the last lace, raising her hand in fluid motion with her body and flipping the bird to the lustful onlookers as she continued on her way.

\n ***

\n The husky grabbed a hold of Matt's arm as the main office came into view, not wanting to lose the otter within the crowded atrium when their destination was in sight. The two shouldered their way through the congested student body as the flow of incoming students dwindled, Brandon releasing the otter's arm as he led him to a wooden door marked with a plaque with the words 'Main Office' neatly carved into it.

\n "Alright, there you go. I better be heading off now," Brandon said as he glanced at his watch, noting that he only had about two minutes before the tardy bell rang. "I'll probably be seeing you later sometime today, Matt." The husky gave him a quick smile before nodding and turning to head in the opposite direction. He glanced over his shoulder and uttered a rushed "Talk to you later" before dashing down the now almost empty atrium and turning out of sight into a connecting hallway.

\n "Yeah, talk to you later..." the otter weakly replied when Brandon was long out of hearing range, Matt stunned by the sheer size of the school. The atrium of Millburry High was the largest room he had ever seen inside any school building, even trumping past-visited auditoriums in terms of size. Matt shook his head rapidly as a bell sounded within the now empty expanse, snapping him out of his thoughts. The clear ringing bounced off the walls and echoed within the foreboding room, the ominous air only encouraging him to quickly turn and open the wooden door, hurriedly stepping into the office.

\n Looking ahead, Matt saw a receptionist, an elderly ewe, situated behind a very well-maintained desk. The sheep's nameplate read 'Mrs. Martha Williams', her longer than usual fur maintained in a tight bun with horn-rimmed glasses situated firmly on her nose. At the moment a tigress was was speaking with the ewe, the feline playing with one of her own pointed ears as she cheerfully gave a detailed account of her activities over the break to the receptionist. The elderly female gave occasional nods throughout the tigress's recollection, and, from what Matt could tell, seemed to be genuinely listening to every sentence with a rapt attention uncharacteristic for her age.

\n The tigress paused her monologue for a moment to shoot a glance over her shoulder at the sound of the closing office door. Paying little attention to the otter who had entered, the feline continued her story as if undisturbed, finishing the account about three minutes after the otter had walked in.

\n "Oh Beth," the ewe replied with a firm voice, strong even in age. "It sounds like you had a grand time on your trip with your family. Reminds this sheep of all the traveling she used to do when she was younger." The ewe gave a sigh as memories flowed through her mind, feelings of youth and adventure momentarily filling her senses. She rolled her chair back and opened a drawer with practiced ease, hands skillfully running through files before halting over one and taking it out. "Give Dr. Davenport my regards, will you dear? And tell him that his attendance roster on the server should be up and running by this afternoon."

\n The receptionist looked over the tigress's shoulder to acknowledge the otter that had walked in a few minutes prior. The ewe handed the file to Beth while glancing at a manila envelope to her side, a look of realization crossing her features. "Beth dear, would you mind holding up for just a second? If I'm not mistaken, the gentleman behind you should be your new classmate." At this the tigress turned to give a curious look at Matt, the feline's dark brown eyes gliding over the otter's features as if to sum him up. Suddenly nervous, Matt turned his head away from Beth's penetrating gaze, staring intently at a poster to his side that detailed county policy regarding tardies and student absences. He did however notice that tip of the tigress's left ear was pierced, two silver loops glinting in his peripheral vision.

\n The receptionist in the meantime had been shuffling through the contents of the manila folder, her attention returning to the two students in the office as she found the document she was searching for.

\n "Mr. Matthew Anderson, correct?" Matt snapped his attention to the ewe, Beth having now moved her gaze to the papers in her hands.

\n "Yes ma'am, that's me. I'm here to pick up my schedule."

\n "Yes, I have it right here," said the sheep as she scanned over the slip of paper in her hand intently. "Quite some trouble you gave us, young man. This school system doesn't usually offer Calculus as a junior class. Still not much we could do, what with you having already completed a semester of it back in California and all." She let out a sigh as she rubbed her temple, closing her eyes in concentration. "The administration is content that the rest of your schedule worked out nicely, though they're still uneasy about throwing a younger new student in a class full of seniors." The receptionist fixed her face with Matt's, her expression emanating a solemn air. "Don't do anything to make them regret it." With that she held out the schedule, her snow white hand wrinkled but steady.

\n The otter stood there, nodding a bit after a moment. Her seriousness unnerved him at first, and with a quick gulp, he managed to say a semi-timid, "I won't let you down, ma'am," as he took the schedule from the sheep.

\n Almost immediately the solemnity faded from the receptionist's features, a kind smile taking its place, light dancing in eyes that had been as hard as steel only seconds ago. "I have a feeling you won't, Mr. Anderson," she said, and the otter exhaled silently, the sudden awkwardness gone. Her gaze shifted to Beth, the feline's attention still focused on the attendance rosters as she flipped through the pages. "Beth."

\n Immediately she rose her eyes to meet the ewe's. "Yes, Mrs. Williams?"

\n The receptionist nodded her head towards Matt, smiling. "I was right when I said that this otter was your new classmate. You two share your first two periods and lunch during fourth period together. You also both have gym class last period. Would you be so kind as to be sure another one doesn't get lost in a hallway for a week?"

\n Matt's eyes widened when his mind registered the receptionist's words, his mouth gaping as he stuttered to ask whether the school was really that big. The ewe chuckled at his reaction, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose as her eyes glinted mischievously.

\n "I'm only pulling your leg, Mr. Anderson. That student was only lost for three days." The ewe flashed a wink at Matt as he smiled nervously. "Now, I don't want to keep you two from class any longer than you need to be."

\n Matt heard Beth scoff at this, turning to find the tigress leaning against the door with her arms crossed. She rolled her eyes at him with a grin, beckoning Matt over with a jerk of her head. "Come on. I wouldn't want you to miss out on enjoying Dr. Davenport on your first day." Pulling her back away from the door and opening it in one fluid motion, Beth agilely slipped out, shouting a quick "Bye, Mrs. Williams!" to the ewe as Matt quickly exited the room and joined her in the atrium, shutting the door behind him.

\n The elderly receptionist shook her head in amusement, thinking of the situations the otter could get himself in with Beth calling the shots. "I just hope that boy is ready for her," the female sheep chuckled. "For his sake."

\n ***

\n The date was January eighth. It had been one month. Todd nervously stood in front of his locker before opening it, the white rabbit taking a hesitant look over his shoulder as the five minute warning bell sounded, shattering the silence of the still empty hallway behind him. 'I don't have much time,' he thought as he quickly pulled out the books he needed for the next few periods, praying that he didn't run into his locker neighbors the morning back. 'Too late,' Todd grimaced as boisterous laughter filled the hallway, signaling the arrival of a group of juniors and seniors, all decked in the varsity football team's letterman jackets. Among the loudest of the group was Jason Marsh, usually just called Marsh, a senior year lion who had held the prestigious position of school starting quarterback the past two years.

\n Todd slowed down in taking out and organizing his materials for the day, knowing that there was no point in rushing now that the football jocks had him in their sight. He tensed as the laughter and loud voices drew nearer and nearer, shutting his eyes as he felt the players surround him, each fur opening his locker. Todd cursed his luck for having started school last semester two days late, his flight from his cousin's house in Boston having been delayed due to inclement weather. The rabbit had missed out on locker assignments, the school placing him in the first available spare that came up in the computer system - a locker situated smack dab in the middle of Marsh's posse. It didn't help much that Todd was also an underclassman, a sophomore dwarfed by the bulk of the upperclassmen athletes.

\n "Well if it isn't our favorite little bunny boy! I missed seeing your fluffy little tail every morning," leered the the massive six and a half foot lion, turning so that one shoulder leaned against the side of his locker as he grinned at Todd menacingly, a dangerously playful light dancing in his eyes.

\n Todd smiled nervously at the hulking lion, trying with all his might to steady himself so that those around him wouldn't notice his body beginning to shake. "Hey there, Marsh. I missed seeing you, too. Umm, I gotta get going." The bunny grabbed his bookbag from the ground and closed the locker behind him, turning as to bolt to his class as fast as possible. He was barely able to take a step before he felt a paw clamp around his shoulder, effortlessly pulling back his barely five and a half foot frame so that his back was now pressing flat against a locker.

\n "Where do you think you're going, runt? The way I see it, we gotta lot of catching up to do before school starts." The lion was now looming over Todd, one massive paw pressed firmly to the locker over his now trapped prey's head. Todd tried not to think about the intimacy of the position he was in, but the thought that the lion's crotch was only a foot away from the rabbit kept flashing in his head.

\n 'No, not here! You can't think about those things with all these guys around you. They'd slaughter you if... SHIT!' The rabbit's heart doubled in pace as he felt his sheath begin to stir, the tip of his member beginning to slip out and press against the front of his jeans. Taking a deep breath to try and get a hold of himself, it took Todd all that he had to suppress a whimper as his nostrils were filled with the domineering lion's scent, a powerful musk that exerted the feline's dominance. A dominance now exerted over a trembling rabbit doing the best he could to cover his crotch as all the eyes of the football players turned to watch.

\n "You better leave the poor thing alone now, Marsh. Don't want to make a mess in front of our lockers, do you?" The lion rolled his eyes as he turned to face the speaker of the voice, a bear and offensive line player who went by the name of Sal. The quarterback gave a grunt as he backed up from the still shaking rabbit, crossing his arms as he turned his head to once again glare at Todd before flashing him menacing smile.

\n "Yeah, I guess we wouldn't want that, would we?" The lion took a glance at his watch, noting that they had barely over a minute left before the tardy bell would ring. "We'll pick up where we left this off later, runt," Marsh promised as he slung his bookbag over his shoulder and walked away, a few of the football players in tow while the rest headed in the opposite direction, each heading off to his respective class.

\n Panting against the locker for a few seconds after the jocks had dispersed, Todd let slip a relieved sigh for his safety for the time being, calming himself down. He grabbed his bookbag from where he had dropped it on the floor and sprinted in the direction of his next class.

\n 'At least he didn't shove me into a locker this morning,' the rabbit thought grimly as he walked into his first period English class, the bell ringing mere seconds after he had walked through the door. Todd noticed that the close call didn't really matter in the end, the teacher nowhere in sight as the students sat around in groups and chatted amongst themselves. The rabbit's eyes lightened up as he caught sight of a red fox, the male vulpine waving him over to an empty seat beside him in the last row. Todd felt himself blush as he sat next to the fox, the red easily visible through the rabbit's short white fur.

\n "Hey there," the bunny muttered as he looked around him to see that the rest of the students around the room were too busy engaged in their own conversations to be paying attention to the pair. Sure that no one was watching, the rabbit shifted his hand so that it came to rest on top of the fox's, the lupine moving his so that their fingers intertwined. "I missed you, Dale," Todd whispered, looking into the eyes of the fox.

\n "I missed you, too. A week is way too long without seeing you." The slightly taller vulpine's mind raced back to the events of last Monday, how the two had spent the day together at the movies. It had been their first official date, Dale remembering happily how he had mustered the courage to plant a kiss on the rabbit's cheek at the end of it. 'The perfect way to start the new year,' he thought before he realized something.

\n "Hey. What was with the close call?" he asked as he gave a slight nod towards the doorway.

\n The fox watched as Todd's ears dropped, the bunny breaking eye contact with him before he answered. "Marsh..."

\n "That asshole!" Dale shouted loudly as he released his hold with the rabbit, curling both his fists in anger. At this members of the class stopped their conversations and turned their heads to stare at the fox, who blushed and folded his ears in embarrassment in response, lowering his voice as he moved his chair closer to Todd's. "What'd he do to you this time? Don't tell me you got shoved into a locker again."

\n Todd shook his head in reply, keeping his voice down. "No. He just... Intimidated me, is all. It wasn't really a big deal." The rabbit though guiltily about how he had been aroused by the muscular lion, keeping that detail from the fox. 'I shouldn't be thinking of that jerk like that. Not only would I get creamed if he were to notice, but I owe it to Dale.' The rabbit looked into the concerned eyes of his boyfriend, shooting him a warm grin when he saw the worry evident in his features. It didn't seem to calm the fox much, his brow furrowed in concern.

\n "You know, you should talk with the office in seeing about getting a new locker assignment or something. I would share mine with you if Dan and I weren't already sharing." Dale sighed in exasperation as he looked down, feeling useless that he couldn't really do anything to help out the rabbit. "Do you know if anyone else would be willing to share with you?"

\n Todd shook his head in reply, happy that the conversation had shifted from Marsh. The thought of the lion alone was enough to unnerve him. "Anyone I know who would be willing to share with me is already sharing with someone else. When I got my locker assignment after I started school late last semester, the receptionist told me that all the underclassmen lockers were taken. That's why I'm stuck in the middle of those muscleheads."

\n Dale placed his hand on top of his head and began to course his fur through his fingers, a habit of his whenever he was thinking. "Wait. Why don't you just carry around the books you need with you?"

\n "It's too inconvenient. There's only so much my bookbag can hold. Not to mention when I tried that in October, Marsh and his crew hunted me down after not seeing me for a few days. That was when they shoved me into a locker."

\n "They shouldn't be allowed to get away with doing that to you!" Dale's words were coming out as a hissed whisper, his eyes narrowed in rage. "You know what? I'm gonna start coming with you in the mornings. I'd at least be able to give that ass a piece of my mind."

\n Todd immediately shook his head in reply, giving Dale a serious look. "No you won't. At least I can take the crap they throw at me and be okay. No offense, but you have a pretty big mouth when it comes to these things. And I wouldn't be surprised if Marsh doesn't think twice about seriously hurting you if you get him riled up." Seeing the anger still evident within the vulpine's features, Todd's look shifted to one of pleading. "Please don't get involved, Dale. I... I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

\n Dale only shook his head and stared straight ahead, his arms now crossed as he gave the whiteboard in front of him a steely glare. "I'm not afraid of them," he muttered under his breath to no one in particular. After holding that position for a minute or two, the fox, glancing at Todd and seeing his worried look, sighed. "Alright. I won't do anything, if that's what you want." Seeing the bunny relax, the fox gave a small chuckle and leaned down so that his hand was resting on top of Todd's. "You know what day it is though, don't you?"

\n Todd suddenly broke out in a wide grin, nodding his head happily as he wrapped his hand around Dale's. "Yeah. It's been a month."

\n The teacher, a young, wiry raccoon by the name of Jeff Mercer, walked in at that point, quickly giving an out of breath apology to the class as he turned off the lights and switched on the overhead projector. Todd released his hand from Dale's, reaching under the table to take his notebook out.

\n 'It's been a month,' thought the rabbit as he flipped carefully to the first unused page, watching Dale out of the corner of his eye. 'I can't believe I've actually had a boyfriend for an entire month.'

\n ***

\n "Alright, everyone quiet down, class has started. Mark, close that door," said the rather stern-looking old crow that sat at the desk in the front of the classroom. She looked over the class, shuffling some papers around as a stocky badger, Mark, went to the door, just about to close it when footsteps were heard approaching. Mark stepped back as the rushing students stepped through the doorway, revealing a pair of panting, winded furs as the tardy bell signaled the start of a new semester. "Jack, Keith... Hmm, barely on time, as always. Get inside before I change my mind and mark you tardy."

\n The pair nodded and walked in, eventually drifting over to their seats and collapsing into them. After some quick shuffling and rearranging, the wolf managed to pull his papers out, biting his tongue a bit as he tried to figure out what was what. Over the sound of the rest of the class's shuffling he could hear their avian teacher saying, "Everyone take out the work assigned over the break. I want y'all to continue working on section 8.7, so do these problems." The crow looked through the book for a moment and adjusted her glasses before getting up and going to the whiteboard.

\n "Page... 341... Problems six... through fifty, even only," The wolf muttered as he scribbled the assignment at the top of the page. The wolf skimmed over the problems, chewing on his eraser a bit before shrugging.

\n "Typical Miles work, eh?" He heard Kieth's voice say from behind him. The wolf nodded, throwing a glance over his shoulder at the tiger, who was rolling his eyes and shaking his head sarcastically. True. Miles didn't have a very... Hands-on approach to her work. She was known for sitting around reading or talking while her students did book work. A woefully inefficient way to teach, but that was the way things were in her class.

\n It wasn't long before the only sound that was heard was that of scribbling pencils that quiet Monday morning, the silence occasionally broken by the flipping of pages as students searched the textbook to figure out how to solve problems. Miles occasionally glanced up from organizing her desk to be sure that the students were on task and, satisfied, stood up with a packet of papers.

\n "Students, I need to go and make copies for some of my later classes. Continue what you are doing and don't goof off." She stared in Jack and Keith's direction as she uttered the last phrase, the two shrinking in their seats at her piercing stare. "There will be a quiz over this material sometime this week, so be sure that you know it." With that she walked out of the room, the class breaking out into conversation as her footsteps faded off in the distance.

\n "You two sure cut it close. Ha, and on the first day as well," said a crocodile named James sitting in front of Jack, turning in his chair so that he was facing the wolf.

\n "You can thank Keith for that one. Something about suddenly needing to see Vince before class started," replied Jack, shooting a look at Keith. "Not like we found him or anything."

\n Keith shrugged in response, a bored look on his face. "I wanted to return the headphones he let me borrow a few months back. My parents got me some new ones for Christmas, so I didn't see the point of keeping his any longer."

\n "You're telling me that we almost got detention because of a pair of headphones? And you're the one who was nagging me not to be late this morning!" Jack shot out with an indignant expression.

\n "We didn't get detention, did we? So quit your griping, Squirt."

\n Jack's ears folded in embarrassment at Keith using the old nickname in public, his blushing visible through his short fur as those listening to the conversation snickered, James being one of them. Shooting the tiger behind him a dirty look as the embarrassment melted away to leave anger in its place, Jack turned around to continue working on the assignment until the bell rang, not really in the mood to talk to anyone anymore.

\n ***

\n Matt grabbed the edge of the doorframe with one paw and pulled himself out of the room, dramatically clutching and rubbing his head with the other paw as he stumbled out. Was he wrong if he ever once thought that the teachers at his old school were boring. Dr. Davenport, an old male mole with the thickest glasses Matt had ever seen, also had the most monotone voice the otter had ever heard. The United States History class had seemed more like an endurance trial to see which students could stay up the longest, a majority of the class knocked out twenty minutes into the lecture. Matt had somehow remained awake the entire period, though at the cost of a throbbing head. Feeling a hand patting him gently at his back, he turned to see Beth grinning widely at him.

\n "Congratulations! I didn't think you'd actually be able to stay awake through the entire thing." Beth had been one of the few other students who had managed to keep her eyes open throughout the whole lecture. In fact, as far as Matt could tell, the tigress had been diligently taking notes and paying attention the entire time, her ears never once wavering from Dr. Davenport.

\n About to ask her how she had been able to keep focus for that long, Matt suddenly felt his arm being grabbed and himself being pulled in the opposite direction he had originally been walking. "Sort of silly of you to be going the wrong way to get to class, huh?" Beth gave a happy chuckle as she turned to see Matt blush in response, letting go of his arm as she led the way.

\n "I... umm... I just --"

\n "It's cool. That's why you have me here, to be sure you don't end up wandering around the school for three days."

\n "Did that really happen?"

\n Beth shrugged her shoulders in response, the two now walking side by side. "Apparently it happened the first year, when the school opened up about a decade ago. Then again, I heard that kid was a total stoner." The tigress took a sharp turn to the right, Matt having to do a complete double-take to realize that she had gone down a less crowded hall that laid on the side of the school, the large windows lining the left of the hall looking onto the student parking lot. Searching carefully Matt was able to pick out the dark blue Celica that he had ridden to school in that morning, the thought of Brandon coming to mind.

\n "Oi, Matt! Anyone in there?" The otter suddenly snapped his head to find Beth with an amused expression across her face, the tigress's hands suddenly freezing in midair from waving her hands frantically to try and catch his attention. "Please tell me you're not a stoner too, bud."

\n "Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about someone. Hey Beth, you wouldn't know a husky by the name of Brandon, would you?"

\n "Know him?" The tigress gave a sly smile as she turned her back and leaned against a door, smirking. "Oh, maybe..." With a twist of her paw and a small push, the door opened, Beth walking in coolly as a slightly confused Matt followed her in.

\n "What do you mean by--"

\n The otter suddenly cut himself off as he noticed a husky in a turtleneck grinning at him like mad from the back of the class, Beth giving a sly smile as she walked over and took her seat beside him.

\n ***

\n Dale sniffed at the air as he walked into the lunchroom. All of it was a nutritional disaster; he could tell by the smells drifting out of the kitchens. He'd long ago chosen to bring his own food, and he'd never regretted the decision. As he passed by the various lunch tables, the sound of the sophomore year engulfed him. Hundreds of voices streamed out at once, all of them fighting to be heard above the others. Their words were meaningless to the fox, however, as he went forward, past all of the tables and all of his classmates, reaching a table in the far less populated rear portion of the cafeteria. Who he saw waiting for him there made his heart leap - Todd, his boyfriend.

\n Dale had had a hard time admitting it to himself. How was he supposed to reconcile that with his dad's plans for him? He was supposed to grow up, go to college, get a good job, find the right girl, marry her, and live with her the rest of his life. Maybe even have kids. And yet, he had found as he went along that he wasn't feeling it. It wasn't truly him; it wasn't what he felt he wanted for his life. Sure, he wanted to go to college and all, but his dad made it seem like the entire point of his life was to get married and start a family.

\n Sometime during middle school, he noticed that he wasn't into girls. It was a rather rude awakening. While all of his friends were dying to get into some girl's pants and relieve their virile sexualities, he found himself entirely uninterested. It didn't help that he had his dad at home 'coaching' him. There had been so many questions, so much self-doubt. He'd assumed it was just something that would eventually click. A switch in his brain that simply hadn't been flipped. It was just a matter of time, he thought.

\n Then the problems began during gym class.

\n Every day during gym, he'd have to go into the locker room and change into his gym clothes. A regular occurrence for teenagers, of course, but he began to find his eyes straying as he entered the room. The fox had never noticed, for example, just how much ass was on display. Or meat, for that matter. The realization was one his brain insisted on keeping on his mind, and he soon found himself hooked on one of his classmates. Joseph Clearwater was his name. The stallion was a football player, and the fox had caught himself ogling the other male from his locker across Joseph's. That had been a hard one to write off as curiosity, and by the end of the year, he was willing to consider the possibility that he was into guys.

\n But this was something different. As he sat down across the table from the rabbit, putting his paper bag lunch aside, it just felt surreal. Suburban Georgia felt like the last place in the world to find someone else who was gay, and even less likely someone else who was perfect for him.

\n "Hey there, cutie," he said, smiling as he opened up his lunch, taking out the food. "How's my favorite rabbit doing?"

\n Todd smiled, putting aside his milk and shrugging. "Oh, I don't know. I guess I'm doing fine. Better now that you're here, though." He said. The fox smiled as he unwrapped his lunch, taking a bite as he looked at the other male, a calm, happy look in his eyes.

\n "Oh, right. So, um, try and finish your lunch early. I've got something I want to show - Well, no, not show, I guess... I have a surprise," the fox said, to which the rabbit gave him a quirked eyebrow.

\n "Alright, then, I guess..." Todd replied. The two continued eating, offhandedly talking about their day so far, what was on their minds and such. As the fox explained what he'd done the previous period, he found himself anticipating his planned surprise. He'd been debating about It, whether or not he could do it, where to do it. But he'd planned it out. He wanted to make sure it was perfect.

\n "So, what exactly did you have in mind with this surprise?" Todd asked as he picked his tray up, tossing it into the trash can behind him. Dale rolled his eyes at him, sticking his tongue out.

\n "It wouldn't be much of a surprise if I told you that. Here, come on. We've gotta get outside." Dale said, scanning his surroundings while he took the rabbit's hand, tugging him along. The lunchroom was still packed, and it was supposed to stay that way. No one was allowed to leave it during their lunch period. The administration said that it was due to delinquency, but the vulpine had no problem ignoring that rule. He wasn't about to go around spray-painting walls or breaking windows. No, he had something more tender in mind.

\n It only took a few minutes as he waited for Mr. Mercer, who was on lunch duty at the moment, to get distracted by one of the students. As he discussed something with one of them, the two furs quietly pushed past the door behind the teacher, walking down the hall.

\n "Where are we going?" Todd asked in a hushed voice. The fox only looked over at him in response, putting a hand over his lips. 'Be quiet, we'll get caught,' he mouthed, winding his ways through the hall. As they passed by various teachers' classrooms, they could hear discussions and lectures, all of them droning away. It wasn't even halfway through the period yet, so they had time to spare. Eventually, after passing many hallways, they began getting closer to the other side of the school, fewer and fewer teachers in the area as they approached the band, orchestra, and art rooms.

\n It didn't take too long to arrive at the exit, the fox quietly opening the door to reveal the pavement path leading out to the gym and field. The rabbit gave him a questioning look, and he smiled back. "Come on, this way. We're almost there," Dale said, and he gently pulled the rabbit along. Their pace was no longer rushed, now much more relaxed as they got closer to their destination. "We've been going out for a little while now, you know, and, well, I felt like it would be a nice to show you just how much you mean to me. I thought about getting you a gift or something, like roses, y'know? But then I thought, no, that's too common. Besides, I got you a rose when I.. Well, asked you to be my boyfriend," the fox said. Todd smiled and nodded, remembering the time. As if he would ever forget.

\n "But then it hit me. I knew exactly what to give you as a surprise," Dale said, walking up to the bleachers out on the field. The cool wind rippled past them on the open expanse of grass, and Todd wrapped his arms around himself, looking around. The cool winter day had warmed up a little by the afternoon sun, and he looked at Dale, confused.

\n "I don't get it. You took me out to the bleachers? Is there supposed to be someone or something here, Dale? I don't see anything," he said. The fox chuckled and shook his head.

\n "No, come on. I'll show you," He said, taking the rabbit's hand. They went around to the side of the bleachers, exposing the area beneath the wooden seats to their view. There was a variety of trash piled down here, thrown away during one of many football games and left there to be forgotten. The fox, now extremely excited, pulled him until they were in the very middle, the winter air a bit calmer here, where the wind didn't blow as hard. It was dimmer here, the sunlight streaming in from above, casting bright lines of light on the dirt floor beneath them.

\n Dale took both of Todd's hands into his own, smiling warmly. He could see the other in the dim light, feel his warmth among the cold air of the winter morning. This had been his surprise, what he'd been planning for. A single stripe of light descended on the rabbit's face, illuminating his eyes.

\n "Happy one month, love," the fox said, and with that, he leaned in, closing his eyes and touching lips with the rabbit's, kissing him.

\n It was like everything he'd ever dreamed of. The intimacy was perfect, the feeling of having the other lock lips with him. Todd, surprised at first, quickly melted into the kiss, returning it as the other male's hand crept behind his head and caressed it, holding it as they tied tongues, Dale's other hand pressing softly against his chest. The entire world stopped for them, at least for that one moment of bliss when they kissed.

\n Dale's eyes lidded open, looking directly into Todd's as he only further probed into the other's mouth, pressing his hand gently against the back of the other's head as he tilted forward, lightly sucking on the rabbit's tongue. He could feel his boyfriend shiver in response and so he kept it up, loving the sight of Todd's blissful face. It seemed to only encourage them further, and he nipped and sucked on the other's lip, feeling Todd begin to return the same. It was a moment of tenderness and exploration, and as quickly as it started, the fox found himself breaking the kiss, their lips parting after what had felt like forever. It was silent for a time between them. The only thing that pierced the silence was the eerie howling of the wind sailing through the bleachers.

\n Todd was the first to react, leaning forward and wrapping his arms around Dale. His grip was tight, loving, as the fox returned the embrace, leaning his head over on the rabbit's.

\n "I love you, Dale," said that beautiful, loving voice. Those four words meant the world to the fox at that moment, and he played them in his head over and over for a few seconds, feeling a sensation of joy greater than any other he'd ever felt. This was love. It felt so surreal, and yet... He felt it there, right in his heart. That absolute, unadulterated elation that he felt when he looked at Todd. He didn't know what to say about it.

\n Well, there was only one thing he could say.

\n Sighing, he hugged the rabbit close to him, kissing his cheek. "I love you, too, Todd. I love you, too."

\n ***

\n Being the only one to finish the math assignment before the bell rang left the wolf in a pleasant mood, something he had accomplished mostly because he was the only who had actually been working before Miles came back into the room five minutes before the class itself ended. Happy that he didn't have to deal with math homework that night, Jack shot Keith a grin before heading off to his next class.

\n The wolf's next two periods went by in a blur, partly because he had Dr. Davenport during third. Waking up to the sound of the bell, he picked himself up to head off to probably the best part of the day - lunch. Jack shouldered his way through the crowd of juniors moving en masse towards the cafeteria. The way scheduling worked out at Millburry High was unusual compared to most of the high schools in the area. Each grade level had its own defined period to eat, freshmen occupying the cafeteria during second period, sophomores third, juniors fourth, and seniors fifth. The system worked out so that juniors and seniors got the best lunch times, upperclassmen enjoying a lunch that was closest to noon. But even if you had to deal with an early lunch freshman and sophomore year, the system was popular among the students. This way they were always guaranteed at least one period together with their friends every year, and a whole period for lunch left plenty of time to actually eat and socialize.

\n After grabbing two quesadillas from the international line, Jack made a beeline to a table next to a large window, Keith already there eating his lunch. So far the wolf had never seen the tiger ever eat a meal from the school cafeteria, some excuse about the government recycling biological waste through the common masses or something. Keith glanced up as Jack took a seat next to him, his brow raised in a questioning look.

\n "I thought Mondays were football days?"

\n "Nah, it's the first day back. I thought it'd be nice to hang with the old crew for today." Ever since Jack had joined the football team at the beginning of the year, he found himself having to make compromises in keeping commitments with his teammates and keeping those with his friends. It was expected that all the football players eat together, something that Jack found he couldn't do without feeling the guilt of abandoning his friends. In the end he had worked it out so that he spent more or less equal time with both groups during lunch, Mondays usually having him eat lunch with the other juniors on the football team. It wasn't long before Jack and Keith lost themselves in discussion about a new Xbox game coming out, both barely acknowledging the two mice who sat in front of them with grunted "Heys."

\n "Well nice to see you two as well," replied Jenna, a barely five foot tall black mouse. She turned to face her friend, an equally short white mouse. "Can you believe these two, Micah? Don't bother talking to us the entire break, and then they don't even stop their conversation to look at us. The nerve of some people."

\n Micah looked up from the sketchpad he was idly doodling in, smiling in response to Jenna's over-exaggerated pout. "They're looking at us now," he replied coolly, focusing his attention back to the sketchpad. "It's nice to see you two again," said the white mouse, keeping his eyes on his drawing.

\n "Same to you, Micah," said a now grinning Jack, turning to face Jenna. "You look hot today, Jen."

\n The black mouse's scowl was replaced almost immediately with a smirk, not faltering for a second. "Oh, this thing," she said, pointing to the intricately patterned blue and white sweater that hugged and showed off her features nicely. "Something my parents got me for Christmas. I don't know, Jack. You look pretty sexy yourself."

\n "I try my best, girl," he said, replying with his own smirk. Having met Jenna during English class freshman year, the wolf had a tradition of greeting the black mouse with blatant come ons, Jenna responding with her own. Of course the two were nothing more than just friends these days, though they dated towards the end of freshman year. The pair ended up deciding that they shared a bond more like brother and sister, the relationship dying off after a few weeks. They kept their promise of staying good friends, even if that friendship included a constant stream of flirts.

\n "Sorry to interrupt you two lovebirds," said Keith with a look of mock disgust on his face, "but on the topic of birds, has anyone seen Vince?"

\n "Right here," replied a falcon as he sat next to Keith, headphones dangling around his neck as he adjusted his wings. The avian stood at an impressive six foot two when standing, making him the tallest one at the table. He was sporting a green sweater with slits in the back for his large wings, the flashy bird's outfit complimented with dark purple jeans. Vince was greeted by all except Keith as he took a bite of the smoked salmon that he had bought, the falcon suddenly grimacing. "This stuff is shit. Seriously, how can they possibly screw up something as simple as fish?"

\n "Exactly the reason why I refuse to shovel down their crap," responded Keith, the tiger eying the salmon disdainfully. "I can smell that thing from here. And why the hell are you still eating it?" Keith's brow furrowed as he watched the falcon continue eating, the avian chuckling in reply.

\n "Because a dude's gotta eat, bro. Anyhow, any particular reason you were looking for me?"

\n "That's right! Here," Keith said as he dug through his backpack, pulling out a pair of bright orange headphones that were worn with use, clearly having seen better days. "My parents got me some new ones, so I don't need these anymore. Thanks for letting me borrow them by the way."

\n Jack watched as the two started talking about the different music they had listened to over the break, trading suggestions and comments with one another. If anyone in the school knew music, it was Vince. The falcon was a musical prodigy in his own right, being the first chair tenor saxophonist since freshman year in the school band. Not only that, but he was also a drummer and guitarist in his own group, the fairly new band already playing gigs at local places in town. Jack remembered how he had to guiltily turned down invites on two occasions last semester to see Vince play, both those dates having landed on football game nights. Jack could recall the looks of anger and disappointment that Keith had given him when he declined the falcon's offer each time, the wolf promising the avian in the end that he would go to his next show once the football season was over.

\n His mind on football, Jack idly thought back to the team's performance that season, the school having ranked fifth in the state in the end. The wolf had played as backup linebacker, seeing a considerable amount of action over the course of the semester. With Tray the starting linebacker graduating at the end of this year, Jack knew he was all but guaranteed the starting position during senior year. Jack's thoughts were interrupted as James took a seat next to him, the crocodile grinning as he gave a quick punch to Jack's shoulder in greeting.

\n "Hiya there, Squirt. Wasn't expecting you to eat with us today."

\n Jack shot the croc an angry glare as he grinned madly. "James, don't call me that," growled Jack, still glaring at the crocodile.

\n "But Jack! That's so cute!" giggled Jenna as Jack shifted his glare to her. "I remember when you used to be such a shorty during freshman year. Man, good times. We were almost the same height back then!"

\n Jack visibly cringed at the memory, hiding his face in his palms as he tried not to think too much about the days before he hit his growth spurts. Something about being a late bloomer according to his dad. "Can we just drop it guys? Please."

\n "Yeah, leave him alone," said Keith in a commanding tone, Jack turning in surprise to see a serious expression on his friend's face. The tiger turned to meet Jack's gaze before giving a sly smile. "After all. I'm the only one who's allowed to call him that. Got that, Jimmy?" said the tiger as he redirected his eyes to James.

\n The crocodile shifted uncomfortably under Keith's glare, pulling at the collar of his shirt nervously as he looked to see Jack with a similar expression. "Sure guys," he said with a forced chuckle. "You know I was just joshing with you, right Jack?"

\n At this the wolf relaxed his body, surprised that his muscles were actually tensed. 'I guess that nickname bothers me more than I thought. Well, whenever anyone except Keith call me it.' Jack turned to mouth a quick 'Thank you' to the tiger before turning back to James.

\n "Yeah I know, James. It's just that it really riles me up. And you don't want me to be riled up, do you?"

\n James frantically shook his head in response, trying not to imagine what the hulking wolf was capable of if he were angry. Jack was easily taller than the croc, not to mention the lupine's impressive build beat his average-sized physique hands down.

\n "Good," the wolf said, patting his friend's back hearteningly. "Glad we got that out of the way." It wasn't long before the mood took a shift to a more cheerful one, the table of friends happily sharing with one another the events of their break.

\n ***

\n Matt bit his lip as he heard the bell ring, wrapping up the last problem from his textbook before slipping the piece of paper inside his binder. It took only a few moments for him to pack the rest of his stuff and merge into the crowd flooding the door. It was only when he emerged into the hallway that he realized he had no idea where he was supposed to go from there. He looked both ways, lost.

\n "Haha, I knew I'd find you here," said a voice from behind him, and he found Beth, the tigress from earlier, grinning at him. "Come on, you've got lunch this period. You can sit with me." She said, and with a quick tug of the otter's hand she led him off, walking down the hallway toward the cafeteria. The sounds of students gradually returned as they approached the cafeteria, the occasional senior walking past them on their way to their respective classes. Most of them seemed to ignore him and the tigress, too busy trying to make sure they weren't late to class. A five-minute transfer period was hardly enough to cross the school without being slowed down by chatting.

\n "Oh, hey there, Beth. This must be that new kid you told me about." said a voice from behind them. The otter turned to see a rather nice-looking fox, her books in her arms as she headed for her next class. She walked at a brisk pace alongside them, looking him up and down. "Interesting. Nice to meet you, Matt. I'm Molly. Beth told me about your eventful morning with George," she said with a small smile. The otter blushed a bit, looking over at the tigress.

\n "Hey, don't look at me. Anyway, I caught him looking lost outside of Calculus. We're on our way to lunch now." Beth said, looking over at Molly. "I wanna see about introducing him to everyone else, just to make him feel a bit more comfortable and all."

\n "Um, I'm still here, you know?" the otter said, waving a bit for effect. It felt a bit weird how they were talking about him without talking to him.

\n "Yeah, yeah, silly, we know. I'd love to talk to you, but," the vixen started, checking her watch, "it seems I have to scoot. I have a minute left to get to Ms. Marshall's class, and I've already been late enough times thanks to Tray. I gotta run, guys. Talk to you later, Beth and, um..."

\n "Matt."

\n "Yeah, later Matt!" she called as she ran down the hall, leaving just Beth and him as they arrived at the entrance of the cafeteria. It seemed that practically everyone else had already arrived, the tables filled with other juniors busily eating and chattering, generating a rather drone-like buzz of voices that filled the air. Beth pulled him down the aisle of tables, leading him toward the lunch lines. "Alright, this is where you buy your food. What do you feel like getting, kid?" She said, standing beside the otter as he looked at the names of the lines and what they offered.

\n "I think I'll just have a ham sub," said the otter, to which the tigress nodded.

\n "Alright, that works. Come on," she said as she walked him over to one of the lines. There was already a throng of furs waiting, but, after a quick scan, Beth went over to the middle of the line, hopping over the divider and motioning for the otter to do the same. He hopped over to see Beth talking to a squirrel. "Matt, meet Page. She's practically the coolest kid ever to walk the face of the earth, but don't tell her. She gets a bit uppity about it, you know?"

\n The squirrel smiled at the tigress, laughing a bit. "Yeah, yeah, you're awesome too, Beth. In any case, it's nice to meet you, Matt. I've heard some pretty nice things about you from Beth," the squirrel said, appraising him.

\n "Hasn't everybody?" Matt said, smiling, before saying, "Nice to meet you, too, Page. I heard some people mention your name in English class. Pretty good student, aren't you?" He couldn't really think of much more to say; Matt seemed to be meeting quite a few people today.

\n "Oh, I guess you could say that. I even heard from Miles last week about you, talking about how she was getting a junior in her Calculus class. You really threw her off, you know. No one knows what math class you're going to take after that," said the squirrel. Page always avoided talking about rankings, considering it a bit faux pas to talk in a way that she considered 'bragging.' By then she was at the front of the line, the squirrel quickly punching in her student number and heading off to the lunch tables with a wave.

\n "She's a smart girl, you know. I'm sure you'll like her." Beth said with a smile as she paid for her lunch. When the otter came up to the register, he became acutely aware of the fact that he had no idea what his student number was. He stood, dumbfounded for a moment, before the tigress once again came to his rescue.

\n "Oh, don't worry about it. Charge his lunch to my account, please?" she said, addressing the last statement to the lunch lady. The ferret nodded, pulling Beth's account back up and charging the otter's lunch to it. He nodded hurriedly, following after the tigress.

\n "Thanks..."

\n "Don't sweat it. Just try to remember your number tomorrow, alright? And make sure you bring money to load up, too," she said as they walked over to a lunch table off to the side of the cafeteria, close to where the kitchens were. He sat down and saw that the table was already occupied by Page, Brandon, and a badger.

\n "Heya, there, Matt. I hear you've already met Page, resident whiz kid," Brandon said with a grin, patting the squirrel's shoulder. Page blushed a bit, smiling, while the badger looked up from the magazine he'd been intently reading.

\n "Oh hey. Sup, man. The name's Mark." He said, adjusting the pair of glasses sitting on his nose. The magazine in front of him appeared to be a video game magazine, the page opened to what appeared to be a list of reviews.

\n "Nice to meet you, Mark. I'm Matt," the otter replied. The badger nodded, smiling a bit at the newcomer before gradually turning back to his magazine, intently reading through it. The otter sat next to Beth. Across from him was Brandon, who was sitting between Page and Mark.

\n "So, where are you from, Matt?" Page said as she began preparing her salad, adding a bit of dressing to the pile of greens.

\n "California. My dad's business relocated him here. I don't know. Doesn't seem as bad as I imagined it to be so far," he said as he took his sub out, taking a bite.

\n "California, huh? Must've been a bit of a shock, moving here," Mark said, looking up at Matt. "I went there once, during Christmas. My uncle lives in San Diego. Winter's a lot warmer there."

\n Matt nodded in response. "Yeah. It was still warm enough to go for one last surf with a few of my friends the day before my flight left. It was pretty nice."

\n "Whoah, you surf?" Page said, eyes widening.

\n "Yup. Not sure if I can around here, though. The water seems more turbulent than what I'm used to. Not to mention there aren't all that many waves," the otter said. He'd looked into it and planned on trying over the summer. Matt still had his board, so it was worth a shot. It was still a while before that, though, and he'd have to find something else to occupy his time.

\n "Oh, so guys, listen to this. You all know George, right? That douche bus driver?" The husky suddenly piped up, leaving the otter blushing as he retold the story of that morning to the others. As shy as he felt, Matt felt he could get used to life here. After all, he seemed to have already acquired a group of friends. That was a good start. 'I have to thank that receptionist sometime,' he thought as he began to dig into his sub, smiling as the others chuckled at his morning experience.

\n ***

\n Jack closed his eyes and took a large breath before releasing it, smiling coyly in response to the annoyed look on Keith's face.

\n "I swear, how the hell can anyone like the smell of a school gym?" asked the tiger as the two made their way across the large wooden floor to reach the locker rooms at the other end.

\n "How can anyone not?" shot back Jack as he trotted in front of Keith before doing a quick spin in place so that he was facing the tiger, his signature grin showing off his impressive canines. Jack started to pace backwards, keeping a defined space between himself and Keith as the tiger responded to his antics with a roll of his eyes. "I mean how can you just not love it? That warm smell of wood and plastic to end your day with?"

\n "Someone should seriously make a law against being so perky on a Monday. What are you, like ten?"

\n "Maybe," chuckled Jack in reply as his back came flush with the locker room door, the door giving away under the wolf's weight to open inward. Since Jack and Keith's English class was located in the wing adjacent to the school gym, the two were greeted to the sight of a nearly empty locker room, aside for a jaguar who Jack didn't recognize. 'Probably a senior who transferred into the class this semester,' the wolf thought as he and Keith separated to go to their respective assigned lockers. Jack's ears caught sound of the locker room door opening, the loud yelling and laughing of other males filling his ears as they entered, everyone pumped to get the last class of the day over with.

\n "Hey there, Spots," said Jack as a snow leopard in an identical football jacket pulled up to the locker beside him. The equally sized male turned to face the wolf with a grin, greeting Jack with a pat on the back.

\n "Good to see you there, bro. I'm taking it you had a decent break?" The leopard began to strip his clothes as he talked to Jack, soon being down to only his undershirt and jeans.

\n "Ehh, I guess it was alright. Didn't do much though. Slept a lot," the wolf said with a chuckle, both he and the leopard down to only their boxers. "How was yours, Alex?"

\n At this the leopard grinned, coolly taking off his boxers before he reached into his gym bag and pulled out a jockstrap. "Folks and I went up to Colorado for some skiing. Family tradition and all that. Not to mention there's always some serious ass up there."

\n "Get any, Burch? Or was it just a constant cockblock?" asked Tray, a hulking orca who was getting dressed on the opposite side of the snow leopard. He gave a a snide laugh when the the cat muttered a quiet "No" in response.

\n "Too bad. Wish I could say I felt your pain or some kind of deep shit like that. But then again, I guess I really can't." With a blatant wink the orca slammed his locker and headed for the door, roughly shoving a few furs out of his way.

\n Jack turned to face Alex as Tray's large figure disappeared behind the wooden door, the wolf at this point fully dressed out. The snow leopard was just standing there, shirt in hand as he stared at the ground angrily. "What a prick. Where does he get off, saying things like that?" hissed the cat bitterly as he slammed his fist against the locker.

\n Jack nodded in agreement, placing a hand gently on Alex's shoulder. He could feel the leopard tense in reaction at the sudden contact, relaxing only a few seconds later. "Yeah, he is a prick. Just don't let him get to you, alright? The day's almost over, so no point in ruining it now because of a stupid comment from one asshole." Alex turned to look at Jack, the wolf giving him a grin and a quick rub on the shoulder. "Come on, cheer up already!"

\n Alex shook his head in response, staring straight down at the ground between his sneakers. "It's just that..." He sighs, looking at Jack. "You know what, forget it. You're right. I shouldn't let an ass ruin my day."

\n "Like hell I'm right!" said Jack with a laugh, giving his friend a quick pat on the back before taking off his paw. Jack thought for a second he saw a look of disappointment flash across the leopard's features, the wolf shrugging it off as something he had imagined under the dim locker room lighting.

\n "Hey, Jack?" Alex said as he slipped into his gym shirt, turning to face the wolf.

\n "Yeah?"

\n "Thanks."

\n At this the wolf broke out in a wide grin, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "It's no problem, Alex. I mean, what are friends for? Now come on! We're the only ones left in here, and you know how Coach gets if he thinks players are trying to get out of gym class." With that the wolf trotted out the door, waving to the snow leopard to hurry up.

\n "Yeah... what are friends for," Alex said to himself before heading out, the door shutting to an empty locker room behind him.

\n ***

\n "What'd the hell did you just call me?"

\n "What, do those muscles get in the way of your ears or something? I called you a prick for shoving me, asshole. And I guess I just called you an asshole as well, prick," Matt coolly replied, smirking when he saw Tray's enraged reaction. The two were just a few feet in front of the entrance to the boy's locker room, Matt on the ground with a hulking orca looming over him.

\n "I don't know who the fuck you think you are, but no one talks to Tray Olson like that. No one, otter boy!"

\n "The name's Matt. And does Tray Olson usually refer to himself in the third person? If so, someone should tell him that his name isn't all that intimidating. Reminds me of a little girl from Full House, actually."

\n Matt felt himself gasp as he was quickly pulled up by the collar of his shirt, the wind being knocked out of him as his back roughly came in contact with the gym wall. A crowd of students had already begun to form and continued to grow as more guys exited the locker room, chanting the expected, "Fight, fight, fight" at the sight of the orca and otter. Matt quickly looked to the crowd as a flash of orange caught his eye, thinking it was Beth. A few seconds of closer examination revealed the tiger to be male, though the two definitely shared some characteristics. 'Maybe it's a tiger thing,' Matt thought as his mind ran on overdrive, thoughts rapidly flashing through his head as adrenaline coursed through his veins.

\n Tray leaned in closer to Matt, his head just above the otter's shoulder as he easily held up the smaller fur. "Hear that," Tray whispered in the otter's ear with an eerily calm voice. A voice that scared Matt shitless more than any enraged yelling ever could. "They want a show. Matt, right? You ready to show them what color otter blood is?"

\n As Tray pulled himself back so that Matt's eyes were level with his, the otter felt his gaze harden. Sure he was going to have his ass handed to him ten times over, but that was no reason to give this prick the satisfaction of knowing that he had gotten to him. That's just what he wanted, and Matt would rather die than give it to him. "You know," the otter said, his voice as unwavering as his gaze. "I'm pretty sure it's red."

\n The look of shock that crossed Tray's features was noticed by those in the crowd, the sheer disbelief that the otter was still talking back to the massive jock shared by more than one fur at that moment, Tray included. The orca grunted, his face now reflecting annoyance at Matt's persistence. "A smartass to the end," he grunted as he pulled back his arm, forming a fist.

\n Only to feel it be grabbed at the other end. "That's enough, Mr. Olson."

\n "What the fuck do you think--" The orca cutoff mid-sentence as he turned to come face to face with a burly ram, the other wearing a glare that could have sliced through diamond at that moment.

\n "I think I'm saving that football scholarship of yours, Mr. Olson. It won't serve you much good if you get kicked out of school this last semester and don't graduate, will it now? Consider yourself lucky that Coach Gale isn't here today. He'd do far worse than make you run fifteen laps at the start of class for a week."

\n There was silence as the other students watched in anticipation for Tray's reaction, a dumbfounded expression on his face as he tried to process what the ram had just said. It took about five seconds for the orca to realize the implication of the teacher's statement, his eyes widening in disbelief as his hand went limp, releasing Matt to the ground.

\n "Coach Bishop, fifteen laps an entire week? My legs will fall off!"

\n "I sure know Coach Gale would have said at least thirty each day, and that's if he were in a good mood. You know how serious he is about the reputation of the football team. And the last thing he needs right now is one of his senior players attacking another student. Now Tray," the ram said, giving the orca a stern look, "I would get to it. You have some running to do. Clearwater, Donahue. I want you two to accompany him and keep track of his laps until I get out there. And you, otter," the ram said turning to face Matt, "Come with me." With this he turned to the rest of the crowd, addressing the students as a whole. "For all of you who feel like this semester isn't one you have to take seriously, seniors especially, let this be a warning. This class will not be kind to slips in behavior, you got that?" Most of the students quickly nodded, indicating they understood the ram clearly as the coach's booming voice echoed against the gym walls. "Good. Now Keith," the coach said as he tossed a ring of keys to the tiger that Matt had confused with Beth earlier, "open up the equipment room for me. Students, feel free to do and play whatever you want, considering it's the first week back and all. Just don't make me regret it."

\n The crowd parted to let the coach pass, Matt hesitating for a second before he began following the ram. He was led to the other side of the large, open room, through a door adjacent to the entrance of the gym. Finding himself in a cramped office, the coach closed the door behind him as Matt walked in, curtly telling the otter to sit in a small, wooden chair in front of the desk. Matt did as he was told, shifting uncomfortably in the chair as the coach took his seat behind the desk, tense silence passing between the two as they sat there, staring at one another.

\n And then the ram began to laugh.

\n "Boy, I don't think I've ever met an otter, any kid for that matter, as ballsy as you. What you did was talk back to certain death right there. Don't take me wrong," the ram said, his look turning more serious as he stared at a bewildered Matt. "It was stupid as hell for you to egg on someone with a hot temper like Tray. And now you're going to have to watch your back, kid. Not only are you going to have him on your case for the rest of the year, but some of the players on the football team sure aren't going to take kindly to someone who talks to one of their teammates like that. You should be fine here, considering I'm usually good at keeping an eye on things. But you won't have me around everywhere."

\n "It's alright, Coach. I'm good at keeping an eye out for myself," Matt said, putting on a look that felt far more confident than he felt.

\n "Thought you'd say something like that. And that brings me to my next point. I haven't seen you around before, so I take it you're that new kid who just moved down here?"

\n "Yeah, that's me, Coach. My name's Matt Anderson."

\n "Well good. You can call me Coach Bishop. Matt, you sure do know how to make an entrance, that's for sure." The ram nodded his head towards a steel cabinet. "School policy is to dress out for gym class. I got some spare clothes that should be your size in there, so you can borrow a pair for today. Just start bringing your own from now on." The coach got up from his seat and walked towards the door. "It's fine for you to dress out in here, just be sure to shut the door on your way out. I'll see you in a few, kid." With this the ram exited the room, the door closing behind him.

\n Matt let out a sigh as he thanked his lucky star that he had gotten out of everything that just happened virtually unscathed. At least for the time being. Putting his backpack down in the corner of the room and finding a pair of gym clothes that were his size, the otter was quick to strip and change. Taking one more look around the cluttered office before exiting the room and closing the door behind him, Matt was struck with a massive wave of noise that the office door had done an excellent job at blocking out.

\n The gym floor was crowded with male furs playing basketball, the shirts and furs teams easily discernible from one another. Beth had quickly explained to Matt at the end of lunch how the gym classes worked at the school, boys and girls each having their own individual gym. Matt had seen the gym the girls were currently in on his way, the separate building being just across the hall. The thought of Beth reminded Matt of that tiger he had seen in the crowd, the similarities between the two unnerving him. 'They had the same eyes,' thought Matt as he searched around the room for the tiger, surprised when he saw no sign of the orange feline. It occurred to the otter that the number of students in the gym was nowhere near the amount he had seen before, Matt then noticing an open door leading outside on the other end of the gym building, just a few feet off from the locker room. 'Just a few feet from the wall I was up against.' The thought slipped into his mind as he made his way to the door, shaking it quickly from his head as he stepped outside into the cool winter day.

\n The sun had warmed up the day considerably since the morning, though Matt was still thankful that he had chosen a pair of sweatpants from the cabinet. Directly behind the gym was the track, a massive dirt lane with white markers sketched into it at equal intervals. The otter was surprised at the size of it, the track larger than the one at his old school. Some students were spending their time walking it and talking with their friends, a few others actually running it. There were two games being played on the grass enclosed within the track from what he could see, a football one and a soccer one. Matt quickly turned away when he spotted an orca off to the distance on the track, avoiding the chance for eye contact. Not wanting to risk running into Tray, Matt turned to go back inside, though he stopped to look back at the sound of a shrill whistle.

\n Matt watched as Tray stopped, hunching over as he caught his breath. Coach Bishop walked over from his spot on the bleachers and talked with the orca for a bit, though Matt could see that the teacher did most of the talking, Tray only nodding or shaking his head in response since he was so out of breath. Suddenly the coach left the orca's side, Tray slowly walking off the track and heading in the direction of the gym. Heading straight for Matt.

\n Panicking, Matt took a sharp right and jogged onto the track, glancing over his shoulder to see if Tray had noticed him. If the orca had, he didn't do anything about it, Tray's path unwavering as he trekked a beeline to the gym door. Matt let out a sigh of relief as the orca passed through the gym door and out of sight.

\n "Close call, huh?"

\n Matt nearly jumped out of his skin as he whipped his head to see a jaguar walking beside him, the jaguar's chest heaving as he rested his arms on top of his head. The jaguar chuckled at Matt's reaction, turning his head slightly as he gave the otter a grin. "Sorry, I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that. The name's Devlin by the way, but everyone just calls me Dev. It's a pleasure to meet the infamous otter everyone's talking about." At this Dev stuck out his hand, his grin unwavering. "Matt, right?"

\n "Yeah..." Matt said, taking Dev's paw in his own as he accepted the handshake. When he let go the jaguar started walking again, Matt following at his side. "People are talking about me?"

\n "Are people talking about you? Of course they are! You stood up to one of the biggest, meanest guys on the football team, and you're still alive! Hell, and a new kid at that." The jaguar pointed to the enclosure of grass, Matt noticing for the first time that some of the players on the teams were girls, though closer examination around the area showed that most of the girls were either watching one of the games from the bleachers or idly walking around the track. "Coach Gilbert from the girl's gym is doing the same thing today as Coach Bishop. All the girls out here have already heard about it. And I know for a fact that some of those girls are talkers. The whole school's gonna know who you are by tomorrow, mate."

\n "Yeah well, so much for any plan of staying under the radar, I guess," Matt muttered, his shoulders slumping.

\n At this the jaguar gave him a hearty pat on the back, laughing. "Oh cheer up. Nobody really likes that guy anyway. He's in my year, so I can tell you for certain what a total prick he is. If anything, you've just started off on almost everyone's good side."

\n Matt's ears lifted up at Dev's last statement. "Really?" the otter asked, trying not to seem too excited about what the jaguar had just said.

\n "Absolutely. Though you might have problems with some of the football team. I think that's a given. Whatever, as long as you stick with me, mate, I'll be sure that none of those guys bother you." Matt turned to Dev, surprised at what he had just said. The jaguar was calmly staring ahead, his arms still propped behind his head as if he had just told Matt how the weather was. He turned to find Matt staring at him, the jaguar breaking out in a grin. "It's no big deal really. I'd be damned before I let someone who actually stood up for himself be taken down. And you're a junior, aren't you?"

\n Matt nodded his head in response. "How'd you know?"

\n "Lucky guess. Don't know, I guess you just don't give off that 'Who gives a fuck anymore' feeling," Dev said with a chuckle. "The fact that you're not a senior might also brew some nasty feelings. That whole respect upperclassmen deal. I personally don't care, especially if an underclassman can run. Like you can." With this Dev sprinted forward and turned so that he was facing the otter, backtracking so that the two were now face to face. "I was riding that bus that ditched you this morning. Tried to get George to stop, but he was hellbent on not picking you up for some reason, mate."

\n "Wait, you were riding the bus? I thought you were a senior. Wouldn't you rather drive to school?"

\n "I normally do. But I ran into a bit of bad luck over the break, my ride's motor giving out and all. It should be ready today, but I can't pick it up from the shop until the afternoon. Kind of happy I couldn't. I mean, how many days do you get to see an otter who can actually run for a change? And boy, could you ever, mate."

\n "Thanks," Matt said, grinning sheepishly at the comment. "I guess I'm a little different from the rest of my family. My sister and almost all of my cousins decided to join the swim team during high school. It's just," Matt said, kicking at the track under him, "I love the feeling of coming down on hard ground with each step, you know? It feels like you're actually going somewhere."

\n The leopard in front of him grinned, nodding his head. "I know just what you mean. That and I can't stand being in water. Sort of a cat thing," Dev said with a laugh. "Hey, if you're not busy next Monday, I'd love to take you to practice. We normally have practices for track every Monday and Wednesday, but Coach decided to give us the week back off. The team could always use a fast runner like you. Even if you're an otter," Dev said with a wink.

\n "Sounds like an insult," Matt replied with a smirk. "Otter or not, I bet I can take you, cat."

\n "You're on," Dev said, matching Matt's smirk. "I'd take you on now, but let's wait until Monday when there aren't other people in the middle of the track. Oh, curious. Where'd you move from anyway?"

\n "Cal--"

\n Matt cutoff mid-sentence with a yelp as he felt himself be tackled, a much larger body pinning him to the ground.

\n ***

\n Jack and Alex exited the locker room just in time to see the crowd of furs beginning to break up, the students talking excitedly amongst themselves. Jack saw Sal standing against the wall away from the crowd with a stoic look on his face, the Kodiak bear turning to the two in greeting as they walked in his direction.

\n "What just happened here? A fight?" Jack asked Sal, the wolf's ears turning to catch bits of conversation as he reached where the bear was standing. Alex stood beside Jack, the three football players standing in a makeshift triangle position.

\n "Hardly," responded Sal. "Coach Bishop got to Tray before anything could actually happen."

\n "Wait, Tray just got into a fight? With who?" This time it was Alex asking, his ears perking up at the mention of the orca's name, the snow leopard scanning the surroundings in search of the linebacker.

\n "Like I said, there really wasn't a fight. Tray just pushed this otter up against the wall. The kid was bad mouthing him or something, from what I hear."

\n "Was it Damon?" asked Keith, the wolf now searching the crowd for signs of the otter.

\n "Damon's not here today from the looks of it. No, this was some different otter. Word's going around that he's a new kid. Probably true, if he was dumb enough to talk back to a hothead like Tray."

\n "Where is Tray?" Alex finally asked, coming to the conclusion that the orca was no longer in the gym.

\n "Bishop has him doing laps for the rest of this week as punishment, which is pretty light considering that Coach would have probably slaughtered him for endangering the rep of the team. Lucky for Tray he's not here today. Bishop actually sent Clearwater and Donahue to go watch him," replied Sal as he nodded his head in the general direction of the track.

\n "Hey, Jack! Heads up!" The wolf turned just in time to see Keith throw a football his way, catching the ball easily as years of reflexes kicked in. The tiger leaned down to pick up a soccer ball from the ground, smirking at Jack as he walked up to him. "Coach gave us a free day to do whatever. I'll see you on the field." With that Keith headed out the door, a crowd of furs following him out.

\n A grinning wolf stared at the football for a second before glancing up at his teammates, the two returning the wolf's grin. "I'll race you there, Spots," Jack called out before turning on his heel and bolting out the door, a surprised snow leopard calling out "Cheater" repeatedly as he followed the wolf, close on his tail. Sal rolled his eyes before following the two out, the rest of the football team, as with a few other furs, behind him.

\n The football game was quick to start, seven players on a team. Even if each team was four players short, the game was as intense as any other in Jack's eyes. Though the coaches only allowed touch football during gym class, the wolf played his hardest to best the opposition. He and Alex had been designated as the team leaders, each picking players from the small crowd of furs assembled. 'Just because he's a friend doesn't mean I'm gonna go easy on him,' the wolf thought as he called the first play, hiking the ball as he was rushed by the defensive line. The game drew on, furs on the bleachers keeping score as some of the girls from the other gym formed an impromptu cheerleading team. Jack pumped his legs as he raced across the grass, seeing from a distance that the pass attempted by a fur was going to overshoot his teammate. As expected the ball flew past the outstretched fingertips of the receiving fur, Jack stretching his arms out to his side as he intercepted the ball mid-stride. The wolf didn't notice that he had hit the track at that point. He only turned his head in time to see a flash of brown and hear a sharp yelp before colliding with another fur, sending both sprawling onto the track.

\n Jack let out a groan as he found himself lying on top of the other fur, gently pushing himself up onto his arms so that he could get a look at who he had just run into. He was surprised to see that the fur under him was an otter, his mind racing to the first name that he could think of.

\n "Oh God, Damon, I'm so sorry. I should have been looking where I was going. I--" Jack cut himself off as the fur below him slowly opened his eyes, the wolf fixing his gaze with the otter's. This... this was definitely not Damon Greer. Damon Greer did not have light green eyes. This was someone else. Someone who Jack couldn't break his gaze with. The two just laid there, staring into one another's eyes as Alex and the rest of the football players ran up, the other furs met with the site of the two males staring at one another in such an intimate position.

\n The jaguar that Jack had seen in the locker room earlier was the first to break the silence. "Are you going to kiss him or get off of him, wolf?"

\n For half a second Jack considered the question before instantly snapping out of his daze, shaking his head furiously to ward away the thought as he pushed himself up, getting off the otter. "Sorry about that," he said as he stretched out his hand to help the otter up, the other fur ignoring it as he pushed himself off the ground.

\n "Whatever. It's fine," he muttered, his head turned with a slight blush on his face as he tried not to look at Jack. The way the wolf had looked at him, that look that was in his eyes - Matt didn't know how to describe it. Whatever it was, the feelings that it ensued within the otter weren't ones he was used to or ones he was comfortable with dealing with at the moment. Matt focused his train of thought, trying to get rid of the image of the wolf's deep, hazel eyes out of his mind. The otter found that he couldn't.

\n By now, knowing that Jack was alright, the rest of the football team had returned to their game, all aside for Alex. The leopard was staring curiously at the otter, his eyes lighting up as realization struck. "You're that new kid who stood up to Tray, aren't you?" the snow leopard asked.

\n At this Matt turned to face him, trying to avoid eye contact with the wolf who stood at the leopard's side. "Yeah, I guess that's me. The name's Matt," he replied, suddenly stiffening as a thought occurred to him, realizing what the two furs were just playing. "You two wouldn't be football players by any chance, would you?"

\n "Actually, we are. I'm Alex, and the guy who just tackled you here is Jack." Seeing the sudden look of nervousness that came across Matt, Alex was quick to realize what the otter was thinking. "Oh no, don't worry! We're not here to hurt you or anything. Hell," the snow leopard said, breaking out into a smile, "I want to actually thank you. It's about time somebody told that prick off."

\n "Told you," the jaguar said to Matt before turning to face Jack and Alex, the jaguar standing beside the otter at this point. "The name's Dev, by the way. Pleasure to meet some decent football jocks for a change."

\n "The pleasure is all ours to be decent," Alex replied with a chuckle.

\n "You're not hurt, are you?" Jack suddenly asked, the wolf who had remained silent up to this point catching Matt's eyes once again as the otter turned his head to the sound of his voice.

\n "I'm fine," he responded, confused as to why he couldn't break away from the wolf's gaze. It was as if the other fur had grabbed him with merely his eyes, refusing to let go no matter how much Matt struggled and fought. Luckily the wolf broke the hold with a nod of his head, turning to Alex.

\n "We should probably get back to our teams. Seems like they've started playing without us."

\n "Yeah, we should," the snow leopard said. He redirected his gaze so that his icy grey eyes were once again on Dev and Matt, flashing them a quick grin. "It was nice meeting you two. Don't be strangers," he said, giving them a quick wave as he turned and ran down the field and back to the game.

\n Jack did the same a second after, though he found his gaze lingering on Matt a second longer than it should have.

\n ***

\n "Hey there Matt, wait up!" The otter turned his head to the sound of someone calling his name, grinning when he saw Brandon running up towards him. Matt had just asked Mrs. Williams for his bus information, the otter walking towards the bus lane to catch a ride home. The husky came to a halt just as he reached the otter, hands on his knees as he bent over panting. After taking a few seconds to catch his breath, Brandon straightened up and gave Matt a smile, jerking his head in the direction of the parking lot. "I was thinking you didn't want to ruin your day by having to ride home with George. I'm fine with giving you a lift, you know."

\n "Really? I mean, you gave me a ride to school this morning. I didn't want to be a burden by asking."

\n "You're no trouble at all!" the husky said, shaking his head furiously. "If your bus stop is close to your house, then you're actually on my way home."

\n "It's right in front of my house, I guess."

\n "Then what's the harm in riding with me anyway? Besides, I could use the good company."

\n 'He thinks I'm good company?' Matt thought as he gave the husky a nod and a smile to accept his offer, the two walking to the side of the school to reach the parking lot. On the way home Matt recounted his first day to the husky, though he left out the part where he almost got into a fight with Tray. 'Then again,' thought Matt, 'if what Dev said was true, then it's only a matter of time before Brandon hears about it.' The otter thought about Beth, wondering what she would think when she heard the news. If she had already, she hadn't shown it, the tigress having met up with Matt outside the boy's gym to be sure that everything had gone smoothly during class. Matt's train of thought was interrupted as Brandon's car came to a stop, the otter looking over the husky and through the driver's window to see that he had parked right in front of his house. After grabbing his backpack from the back of the car and thanking Brandon for the ride, the husky yelled to Matt over the sound of his engine firing that he would be there in the morning to pick up the otter, the canine driving off before Matt even had a chance to protest. Smiling as he shook his head, Matt ran inside and said a quick "Hi" to his mom before heading upstairs in the quite house, his brother still at middle school and his dad still at work.

\n After showering, the otter got started on the homework he was assigned for the day, though it wasn't a lot. Finishing a few hours before dinner, he laid down on his bed and thought about all that had happened to him in the past few weeks, bouncing a rubber ball off his ceiling at a steady rhythm. Matt thought about how he had left all his friends and family behind on the other side of the country to move to the city of Millburry, a suburb that didn't even register a blip on any map. He thought about his first day at a new school, about his classes, the friends he had made, and enemies at that, even if it was only one. And it was around this time when the otter thought of the wolf that had crashed into him. Hazel eyes suddenly filled his vision, Matt cursing at himself for even thinking about Jack. Jack. That was his name. That was the name of the wolf with the hazel eyes.

\n Matt shook his head frantically to snap out of his thoughts as he heard his mom calling him down for dinner, the otter turning in surprise to find that he had been laying on his bed for the past two and a half hours. Dinner at the Anderson house was more eventful that night than usual, their parents wanting to hear all about Matt and Tommy's first day. Like himself, Tommy didn't say much, though he did mention there was another river otter in his class, a girl named Leah. When his dad asked him if she was pretty, Tommy muttered an "I guess," his blush receiving chuckles from his parents as the two exchanged knowing glances. After washing the dishes and sitting through a quick family prayer, Matt found himself in his room again. Deciding to kill some time by going online and seeing if any of his friends from his old school were on, he was disappointed to see that anyone he wanted to talk to was either idle or not logged on. Spending some time looking through the emails that colleges had sent him, Matt paid particular attention to those in Georgia for a change, subscribing to the mailing list of well-known universities in the area that had yet to send him anything.

\n Giving a sigh and deciding there wasn't much more he could do, the otter decided to call it a night, shutting off his computer and turning off the light at his desk. After Matt crawled under the bedcovers and stared into the darkness that shrouded his room, he felt his mind rerunning through the events of his day, coming to a stop on one memory in particular. That of hazel eyes staring into his own.

\n At the same time, unknown to the frustrated otter, a similar thing was happening to someone else. Only this someone was a wolf. Jack was sitting in a chair in his pajama pants and in a white under t-shirt, staring blankly at an empty wall across his room. One thought was blocking out all others from his mind. The thought of light green eyes.