And now the annoying warning message:
This story deals with sex between males, in graphic detail. If you're not over 18, this is illegal for you to even look at, so stop right now. If homosexual content is not your cup of tea, you can leave the tea party. The characters and story are copyright Teiran’s player 2003, do not redistribute without permission. Otherwise, enjoy!
-Teiran
www.FurNation.com/teiran
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High School Days Chapter 3:
A New Home
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David sat in the dark room on a cot barely wide enough to hold his frame. The kangaroo sat with his chin on his knees, his arms were wrapped around his legs. He’d spent the whole day like that, curled in a ball in the walk in closet that had been made into a room for him. A room he’d lived in for the past two months. It was in an apartment somewhere, David wasn’t really sure where. All he knew was the locks were too strong for him to break. His shoulder throbbed from his attempts, the pain steady, comforting. At least it was better then when they’d been traveling.
David stretched his legs out tenderly, working the muscles very slowly so they didn’t cramp. He looked at the tip of his tail, no longer swollen and broken, but healed at an awkward angle. He’d stopped pleading with his father and mother weeks before. His father was so angry he barely kept himself from lashing out whenever he saw David, and his mother was too scared of his father to do anything to stop it. He knew that they were in another state, but he wasn’t sure where. His father was taking his time finding just the right boarding school to "cure" him.
David shivered slightly at the thought of what is father must have in store for him. His father was so angry, so enraged that he was gay, that he’d had sex with Todd. David hadn’t even though of it as sex, not until later. What he’d done with Todd, it was more then that. He’d connected to the fox, and David knew there was nothing wrong with it. It had felt too good, too right be wrong. It even sounded stupid when he thought about it like that, but it was true.
David shifted himself on the cot, rolling onto his side. He tried to imagine that the wall behind him was Todd’s body, and that the blanket he wrapped around his shoulders was the fox’s arms. David knew that he loved Todd. David knew that more then he knew anything else. He didn’t want somebody to change that, especially not his father. His father should have been happy that he was in love with Todd. Todd’s parents had been.
David felt another swell of tears begin to rise up as he thought of what Todd might be doing with his family. The Hayes family that had welcomed him into their home with open arms. They had made him feel so welcome, all because Todd loved him. He’d been able to get to the phone once, and had called them in the dead of the night. Todd had been so happy to hear his voice the fox had cried, and hearing the Todd’s voice again had given David hope. The call had earned him a really sound beating, but it had been worth it.
After that his father had hit upon the idea of military school. Now all David could do was wait and hope the school wasn’t that bad...
***
Mr. Hayes walked into his living room and stood quietly, watching his son sit beside the window on the floor. Todd’s bright red fur was the only color left in the room; standing out against a sea of white and gray. All of the furniture was gone, the TV and entertainment center, the table by the door, even the couch Todd had taken to sleeping on during cold and stormy nights. Only the divots in the carpet remained to mark the passing of the Hayes family.
Mr. Hayes walked up next to his son, whispering softly, "Todd honey? Are you okay?"
Todd looked away from the window, the fur on cheeks wet from tears. "I… I guess so…" he said quietly, turning back to watch the movers.
Michael Hayes stood behind his son, staring outside with him. Outside, his wife coordinated the movers, making sure they packed everything just how she wanted them to. They were loading the last of the furniture and boxes into the moving van.
Todd’s voice barely rose above a whisper, "They’ll be done soon, won’t they Dad?" His words echoed off of the bare walls, magnified by the emptiness of the house.
Mr. Hayes nodded softly, "Yes Todd, I came in to see if you’re ready to go."
Todd nodded softly, fresh tears staring to flow down his cheeks as his father hugged him from behind.
"I’m so sorry about this Todd…" Mr. Hayes whispered, his paw brushing the head fur from his son’s eyes, "I wish there were something I could do, but my job… we have to move, we don’t have any choice."
Todd closed his eyes, trying not to cry. "I know Dad, I know. You tried… I know you tried hard. It’s just… It’s only been six months… what if he comes back…"
Mr. Hayes held his son comfortingly. "The realtor will make sure that if…" The older fox’s voice paused for a moment before he said, "When David comes looking for us that he’ll be able to find us. At least… at least we’re moving during the summer, you’ll have the chance to meet people before school starts." Todd could hear the hollow ring in his father’s voice, and Mr. Hayes knew the words were no comfort to his son. "Hopefully you’ll make lots of new friends…"
Todd nodded slightly, "I guess so… I only wish David could be there…"
Mr. Hayes patted his son’s head softly as he looked outside again. His mate Rebecca stood on the lawn watching him, waiting for him by the moving van with a sad, quiet resolve in her eyes. "Come on son, its time to go."
***
A year and a half later…
***
Todd walked through the nearly empty cafeteria towards one of the larger tables in the back. The fox set his lunch down, got a soda from the machines, and sat at the lunch table he’d come to think of as his own. Todd looked across the wide surface, empty chairs staring back at him. It had been over a year since he’d come to his new high school, and two years since David had disappeared. Todd shook his head to clear the thoughts of his missing friend from his mind. He’d made enough friends to fill the table twice over; there was no reason to dwell on something he couldn’t change. Especially at times like this, when the cafeteria was empty of the noise and bustle it usually held. Thinking about David now would do nothing but depress him.
As Todd ate, the empty cafeteria began to fill with people, the noise growing as the school filtered in for the first lunch period. Todd watched the school pass him by as he ate, all kinds of furs walking by his table and nodding in acknowledgement to him, some even waving and calling to him by name. Todd was still surprised sometimes how many people knew him. He’d only been at his new high school for a year, but everybody seemed to know who he was.
Todd watched two of his friends come bounding towards the table. Jeff and James Johnson were a pair of short fox twins in matching blue t-shirts and shorts. Their lunch trays were piled high with food and seemed to dwarf the little foxes carrying them. They both grinned at Todd, tails flicking back and forth in unison as they sat down, "Hey big fox, what’s shaking?" James said with a grin as he opened his milk.
"Why do you guys keep calling me that?" Todd said, returning the grin.
Jeff flicked his tail back and forth in sync with his brothers as he took a big bite of the school’s chicken fried steak. "Cause you’re a big fox! Well, at least-" "-compared to us you are." James finished his brother’s sentence between bites.
Todd had to shake his head in amazement as he watched the twins eat. They ate three times as much as he did each and it never showed. Jeff and James were little, even for foxes. He couldn’t believe they were seventeen, they only came up to his shoulder and Todd was pretty short. Their red fur made them seem even smaller because it was short and sleek, unlike Todd’s own fur that fluffed out at every opportunity. The only thing large about the twins was their appetite and their eyes. "Yeah well, what are you two so happy about?" Todd said, "Aren’t you in Physics today?"
Jeff grinned as he bit into his sandwich, his tail waving back and forth with his brother’s like a flag. "Mr. Renner is out sick today so we got Coach Townson as a sub, he’s so much cooler then Renner."
Todd chuckled, "Yeah, Coach Townson’s pretty cool. Just be glad you didn’t get Coach Stevens subbing for you like I did last time."
"And what’s wrong with Coach Stevens?" Keith said with a grin as he set his tray down at the table. Todd looked up at Keith as he stood beside the table. Keith was a wolf with brown gray fur, and he was wearing his football letter jacket on over a white t-shirt and jeans. He smiled at all three foxes, even though the twins were glaring up at him, their tails bushed out almost as big as Todd’s was normally.
"What’s wrong with him?" James said with a half growl, the most the twins ever managed, "He’s a total jerk! He’s mean to everybody-"
"-and he’s always yelling" Jeff finished.
Keith laughed as he sat down and opened his drink. "Yeah well, he just doesn’t like you guys because you don’t play any sports."
"Yeah well not all of us want to be jerks and play football." Alan Harris said with a rather deep growl considering it came from a rat. Alan flopped into his chair with a sigh, his dark black bangs falling across his face. The brown furred rat brushed the much darker hair out of his eyes, the earrings in his large ear jangling slightly as he muttered under his breathe.
The rat was quite a sight sitting next to Keith. While Keith was tall and broad shouldered and had the look of a classic football jock, Alan was short and skinny and dressed entirely in black. The only jewelry Keith wore was his senior class ring, while Alan had six earrings in one ear and a silver necklace. The rat had even dyed his normally brown head fur dark black to make the look complete.
Todd thought Alan pulled the brooding punk rocker look off rather well. He played guitar, wrote songs and even wanted to start a band, but at the moment Todd thought he looked more likely to smash a guitar then play it. The rat’s long tail whipped back and forth in anger, and he opened his milk with such force he tore the carton, spilling milk everywhere.
The Johnson brothers yelped and jumped back from the table as Keith shook the milk from his paws. "Whoa! Calm down Alan." Todd said as he grabbed some napkins and began to help the furious rodent clean up his spill. "What’s wrong Alan?" the fox asked as he and Alan finished cleaning up the milk.
The rat grumbled as Keith muttered, "Come on man, calm down, Leon didn’t mean to do it," as he helped clean the milk up as well.
"No way!" Alan hissed; his ears pressed flat against his head in embarrassment as his tail whipped back and forth. "That jackass knew exactly what he was doing."
Jeff handed Alan a spare carton of milk and asked, "What happened? And where’s the lunch you brought? You had it in English didn’t you?"
Alan practically hissed in anger as he carefully opened the fox’s milk. "Leon Davis happened to my lunch, that’s what. He nearly knocked me over in the hall, spilled my books everywhere and then stepped on my lunch. On purpose." He added with a glare at Keith. The wolf’s ears flattened a little, the fur on his neck rising a bit as he locked eyes with the rat’s accusing stare.
Todd watched as Alan and Keith stared at each other, practically growling across the table. The past year had really changed the two of them. When Todd had meet Keith and Alan, they had been best friends. They were so close it reminded Todd of how he and David used to act around each other. But when the football season started, Keith signed up for the team, something Alan really hadn’t wanted him to do. Now they found reasons to argue all the time.
Keith kept his eyes on Alan's as he muttered, "I’m sure Leon didn’t do it on purpose, he’s a big guy." Todd realized how hurt and angry the wolf’s voice sounded, like he felt Alan was accusing the wolf of pushing him. Alan seethed for a moment before looking away from Keith and back at his plate.
"He bumps into people in the hall all the time, he can’t help it." The wolf said, picking up a roll and trying to act as if nothing had happened. Alan looked like he was about to say something when the twins looked at Todd, four bright green eyes silently pleading for him to make Keith and Alan stop arguing.
Todd took a bite of his brownie before saying, "Yeah well I still don’t know why you stick up for him Keith. He really is a jerk sometimes, and he doesn’t even hang out with you." Keith’s ears twitched backwards and he ducked his head a bit. "Yeah well, gotta stick up for the team right?" He said, shifting his football jacket across his shoulders, as if the jacket was suddenly uncomfortable. "Right Kev?" Keith said with a smile as Kevin Hutchings sat down at the table.
The slim dalmatian blinked in confusion as he opened his soda. "Huh? What are you guys talking about?" Todd waved hello to Kevin, and the dalmatian smiled back as everyone else went on with the conversation.
"Only the biggest jerk in the school." Jeff muttered as he started in on his second plate of fried chicken. "Yeah, and the dumbest." James added as he grabbed a roll from the pile on his brother’s tray.
"I don’t see why everybody defends the football team anyway," Alan said as he cut up his food. "They’re all just idiots who think being big and tough means they can be cruel."
Todd watched as Keith’s ear flattened again, and he shifted his shoulders uncomfortably, "Yeah whatever Alan," Keith said as he took a bite of his food, "but I’m right about this aren’t I Kev? You’re on the soccer team, we gotta defend our teammates."
Todd watched the poor dalmatian squirm as the whole table turned and waited for his answer. Kevin didn’t really like being the center of attention. "Yeah I guess, I mean, it kind of depends on what they did right?" the dalmatian offered weakly.
"On what who did?" Chris Tucker said with a grin as he sat down between Kevin and Keith.
The leopard’s broader frame made the whole table scoot away from him to give him enough room. Chris was as tall as Keith was, but unlike the wolf he’d always been into sports. That meant that while Keith was just developing the look of a bulky jock, Chris had already obtained it. Chris’s arms flexed with muscles as he cut his food, and the leopard watched Alan as the rat said, "We’re talking about you jocks, and how everybody thinks you’re better then normal people."
Chris’s face broke into a big grin. The leopard’s fur glimmered as he waved a paw defensively at the rat. "Oh no you don’t, Kev and I aren’t jocks; we’re just on the soccer team. He’s the one you want." Chris nudged Keith in the chest with his elbow and grinned, and Keith laughed because for once the ribbing was good-natured.
"Oh yeah sure, you guys aren’t jocks…" Jeff said with a grin, and then James said, "But the coaches and teachers still treat you better then the rest of us, ‘specially now that the soccer team’s winning games."
Chris laughed and draped an arm over Kevin’s shoulder, rubbing his knuckles across the dalmatian’s forehead, "Yeah well that’s got nothing to do with me, that’s all Kevin’s doing. He’s such a good goalie nobody’s scored on us in four games."
Kevin’s cheeks turned bright red and he struggled a bit against the leopard’s arms, but it was useless. The whole table chuckled as Kevin’s face turned slightly pink, his short white fur doing nothing to hide his embarrassment. "Oh come on, I’m not the reason we’re winning." The dalmatian muttered, pushing Chris’s arm away.
Chris chuckled at his friend as he began to eat. "Oh yeah you are. I kept telling Coach Stevens to move you up to the varsity team. You just wait, you’ll be a bigger jock then Leon is in a month."
The whole table laughed at the leopard’s comment and the resulting blush from Kevin and the conversation was dropped. Chris tended to have that effect on an argument, his personality just made people smile and not worry about whatever was wrong.
Todd watched his friends as they began to talk among themselves, each breaking into little conversations with each other. Jeff and James talked to Alan about the new Beck CD they got, while Chris and Keith started talking about the movie that Keith had seen over the weekend.
Todd watched the dalmatian as he listened intently to his friends. Kevin’s eyes switched from one conversation to the other, and a slight smile appeared on his muzzle, even though he didn’t join in any of the discussions.
Kevin seemed so upset these days, like he was hiding something from everyone. Chris and the others hadn’t noticed. Todd took a drink of his milk and wondered just what was bothering the dalmatian, but he didn’t want to pry into Kevin’s personal life. After all, he hardly told his friends everything. He’d never told any of them about David…
Todd sighed and pushed away the thoughts of the kangaroo, listening as Chris told Keith how great a goalie Kevin had been in the last soccer game. Todd smiled softly. Kevin never told his own soccer stories. Kevin didn’t say much of anything unless somebody asked him something, but Todd knew he was more then happy just being with so many people who would call him their friend. Kevin had once confided in Todd that he always felt alone, even in a crowd.
That feeling was something Todd remembered all to well. When he’d first moved a year ago, he’d felt more alone in those first weeks then in his whole life.
That was until he’d met Chris. The leopard had just sat down and struck up a conversation with him one day during that first summer. Todd had been sitting by himself in a pizza parlor, and after an hour they’d become fast friends. Todd had no idea how lucky he was to have Chris just come up and talk to him like that, because soon after that Chris introduced him to Kevin, then Keith and Alan, and the twins had latched onto him soon after school started as fellow foxes.
Todd smiled as Chris turned to Kevin and dragged him into a conversation. The leopard was the dalmatian’s closest friend, and the only one who ever really drew him out of his shell. Kevin began to laugh and talk with the others, and Todd played with his fork for a while, just watching his friends. He was happy like this, even if David was gone. He missed just talking with the kangaroo about stuff. Nothing important, just being with him…
"Todd!" Jeff hissed and poked him in the side, breaking the brooding fox out of his memories. "Make them stop." James whispered, jerking his slim muzzle at Keith and Alan.
The wolf and rat were glaring at each other again and arguing about something. Todd didn’t understand why they weren’t getting along anymore. When he’d first met them they’d been as inseparable as the twins. They’d been so happy around each other it was painful to watch but now they didn’t get along at all. Keith had football and then Alan had started his own band, and now they never saw eye to eye anymore. To be fair it was mostly Alan’s fault, the rat had been more confrontation, more angry about everything. Well, Todd thought with a grin, more then the punk rocker rat was normally.
"What are you two arguing about now?" Todd said, starting to listen to their conversation again.
Keith grinned at the rat, who sighed in defeat. "See? He wasn’t listening Alan."
Todd felt Alan’s tail whip back and forth, smacking into his chair leg hard as the wolf gloated. "Oh right, like it matters …" the rat muttered.
Todd laughed as everyone looked at him and grinned. "What? What is it?"
Kevin smiled slightly and the twins giggled as everyone looked at him. Todd felt his ears flatten and his face burn in a blush, his long tail wrapping around one of his legs as he stared at his friends in confusion. "Were you guys arguing about me?"
Chris grinned, "Yeah they were," the leopard said, his eyes sparkling, "Keith said you couldn’t hear anything we said whenever you phase out like that and Alan said you could."
Todd blushed, blinking in surprise that his friends had noticed him drifting off. Had he really been that lost in thought?
The moment was shattered by a high-pitched male voice called out, "Heeeey Kev-in…"
The whole table turned towards Kevin as a thin rabbit with white fur leaned over the dalmatian’s shoulder. Kevin cringed as the rabbit put his arms around the dog’s shoulder. The rabbit’s necklace, a set of rainbow colored rings, dangled down in front of Kevin’s chest. "What do you want Blake?" The dalmatian asked quietly as he tried to lean away from the rabbit’s muzzle.
The thin rabbit grinned, "I just wanted to say thanks for the weekend Spots, it was lots of fun…" before planting a kiss on Kevin’s cheek, "Let’s do it again some time…" The rabbit smirked as he walked away, his hips swishing as he went.
Every eye at the table followed the rabbit as he walked away to another table, which he promptly leaned over and began talking to a mountain lion Todd vaguely remembered was named Brian. The big mountain lion was on the wrestling team, and he and his wrestling buddies didn’t look too happy to have Blake talking to them. Considering what the rabbit was wearing, Todd wasn’t surprised.
Blake’s tight shorts screamed "Yiff me", and his tank top had even less material then his shorts did. Blake had cut his shorts off so short Todd could easily see the curve of the rabbit’s butt and his underwear as he bounced on the balls of his big feet, his white cotton tail bouncing up and down. Todd turned back to the table, trying not to blush. The fox couldn’t believe a guy would wear something like that to school.
"Whoa Kev… You were hanging out with Blake?" Chris laughed as Kevin tried to hide behind himself. The leopard slugged Kevin in the shoulder, "You said you were studying all weekend."
The dalmatian blushed deeply, his ears pressing against his head, "I was, he’s my science partner…"
The leopard laughed, "Oh yeah, with him around I bet you were studying real hard!" Chris slapped Kevin on the back, making the dalmatian bury his face in his paws.
Alan and Keith laughed slightly, but Todd felt bad for Kevin. The dalmatian’s white fur was turning bright pink he was blushing so hard. "Awww come on man, I’m just teasing yeah." Chris said, playfully nudging Kevin in the ribs as the bell for class began to ring.
Kevin practically bolted from the table, still blushing furiously as Chris chuckled at the dalmatian’s retreat. Alan shook his head and gave the leopard a glare. "You really shouldn’t make fun of him like that."
Chris just grinned as he stood up. "Oh come on, I was just ribbing him a little and he knows it. Besides, it’s not like Kevin’s really gay. What does he care if Blake comes on to him?" The leopard waved goodbye as he headed of to class, and Todd turned to Jeff and James, "So Blake’s actually gay?"
The fox twins nodded, and James said, "Yeah he is. The necklace is a dead give away. Haven’t-" "-you met him before?" Jeff finished as James rushed to finish his food.
Todd shook his head no, "This is the first time I’ve seen him." Alan chuckled slightly as he gathered up his trash. "Well he’s the biggest queen in school. I hope nobody saw him kiss Kevin like that or somebody will start a really nasty rumor." Jeff and James nodded in agreement as they got up and left with the rat, leaving Todd and Keith alone at the table.
For a moment the wolf just sat there, looking at Todd and the fox smiled back at him. The fox looked his friend over, amazed at how much he had changed since they met. His grey fur no longer looked drab and colorless, now it highlights of white fur running through it, making it look like brush strokes across his body. Keith had grown his head fur out, combing it to backwards almost like a mane while a few renegade bangs hung over his eyes. But the changes in Keith’s fur only served to accent the changes in his body.
Keith had grown taller over the past year, half a foot taller in fact, and being on the football team had added bulk to his once lanky frame. Now he had broad shoulders and thick arms, and his chest had definition you could see through his t-shirt. The wolf’s muzzle looked different too, broader somehow, but his boyish grin and smiling blue eyes were the same.
Keith a real hunk now, Todd thought. Keith’s paws fidgeted nervously with the edges of his jacket, and his ears swiveled backwards in embarrassment, and Todd realized he was staring at the wolf.
The fox’s long tail swished back and forth as he looked away from Keith "Ummm, don’t you have class you should be getting back too?"
Keith nodded, gathering up both his tray and Todd’s. "Yeah I do, but ummm I wanted to know if you’d like to hang out tonight, maybe catch a movie?"
Todd smiled slightly, "Sure that sounds like fun. I’ll meet you after practice then? Give you a ride home?"
Keith nodded as he stood up, "That’d be great, I don’t have my truck today, its still getting fixed." Todd laughed a little. "You know that things a hunk of junk right?" Keith grinned, "Yeah well it moves. Most of the time anyway." The wolf stood there for a second, fingering the edges of his football jacket. He had so many things he wanted to ask the fox, but he just couldn’t. The way the fox smiled at him just made the questions impossible to ask. So Keith just smiled and waved goodbye to Todd as he headed for class.