Changes - Part 2.3
Changes
Part 2.3
by Dego
Author's Note: This is a very long story about a fox. If you're not interested in sitting in for the long run, don't read it and don't give me a bad vote. The story is split into 10 sections and numbered 2.0, 2.1, 2.2... and so on. Part 1 may be read from my profile or searched. Generally, I will post a new section each day, but specifics about this can be read in my journal. Please enjoy.
*****
"What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" He shouted in their faces.
"Damn!" Jack shouted back. "The fuck's your problem asshole!?"
Charlie could see Ethan stifle an impulse to just punch the akita in the face as he balled his fist and tensed his arms.
"Fucking faggots!" The otter continued. "You don't belong in this school!"
"Like hell!" Charlie saw Jack's fist raise over his head and Ethan get into a defensive position.
"Whoa, whoa!" Charlie took a risk and stepped between the two, holding out his arms to separate their distance. "Just cool it." He said.
"Fag, don't touch me!" Ethan yelled out as he slapped Charlie's arm away.
"Hey!" Jack yelled, angry at Ethan's mistreatment, then tried to shove past Charlie to get a punch in.
Luckily, at that moment, a teacher heard the fight and came out of one of the nearby classrooms and shouted threats in the air, causing Charlie, Jack, and Ethan plus all the nearby furs who had stopped to view the fight to scatter. Charlie lost track of his boyfriend while he ran to hide. He found a nice hiding spot in a low-traffic area, and after a few minutes of waiting and fortunately evading capture, he returned to the hallway where his locker was and everything was back to normal. He didn't encounter Ethan or Jack or an angry teacher as he went to his locker. Once he reached locker 203, he kept a low-profile and quickly removed everything he needed for the day, leaving as soon as he could.
As Charlie walked down the hall to his first class, he was suddenly overcome with a sense of dread. His first class was theater, a class he shared with Ethan and even sat at his table. Charlie entertained the thought of not showing up to class at all, but suspected that doing so would cause a school-wide search for a missing student, a call to his parents, a degradation to his masculinity caused by not facing his problems, or some horrible and embarrassing combination of all three. Charlie decided the best choice would be to show up for class and deal with his problems. He wished Jack, who was so much more confident and secure with himself and willing to defend what he stood for, was in class with him. But since he wasn't, Charlie stopped in front of the door to theater to take a deep breath and mentally prepare himself for whatever would come. After a deep exhale, Charlie confidently strode into class.
He was met by the intense gaze of the entire classroom. Everything went silent as he entered, and Charlie figured the news must have already been spread. The teacher hadn't arrived yet (she was usually late), and Charlie felt a spike of adrenaline sensing his danger. He steadily looked up and caught the gaze of the obviously hostile Ethan. His usual spot at the otter's table was vacant, but Charlie knew it wasn't really an option, so he broke eye contact and quickly scanned the classroom for an empty seat. The table near the door had an empty seat, so Charlie went there along with the silent stares of everyone. He felt mortified as he stopped at the seat and set his notebook down, each little sound sounding like an explosion to the dead-quiet classroom. Charlie pulled out his chair and sat down, but as soon as his butt hit the seat Ethan swiftly rose from his own seat about 10 feet away. In response, a male and female wolf and an auburn hare rose from Charlie's table. Ethan strode dangerously forward toward the seated Charlie, pushing past the upraised paws of his friends meant to stop him from doing something violent. The two wolves and hare went to Charlie's side, taking defensive positions. Ethan stopped a few feet away and said "I just want to talk." The rest of the class was viewing the spectacle in anticipation: not an eye was off of Charlie or Ethan and not a mouth spoke a word.
The hare who had come to Charlie's aid firmly said "Fine, but don't you lay a finger on him."
Ethan stepped forward to be a few feet from Charlie. "Do you think it's ok to be gay?" He asked menacingly.
The class seemed to lean forward waiting for Charlie's answer. "Well... yeah."
Ethan stepped forward and backhanded Charlie across the face. The class went into an uproar from the violence and everyone at both Charlie and Ethan's table rose in response. The wolves and hare at Charlie's side stepped forward and grabbed Ethan's arms, shoving him backward as he shouted profanity. Charlie held his face in his paws as the class erupted into shouting, shoving, and confusion. He felt some bruising and a cut caused by Ethan's nail. Once Charlie's aides had shoved Ethan back far enough, his friends reached out and accepted him, pulling him back and forcibly placing him back in his seat. Not that they approved of gays, just that they didn't think Ethan was handling it properly.
Just then the canine teacher ran into the room in a huff and shouted "What's all the commotion!?" Ethan immediately calmed down and his friends let him go, and Charlie turned away from the teacher to hide his face. Everyone quickly took a seat and explained the situation down, calling it a game. Fortunately the teacher didn't probe any further, preventing any further publicity.
Charlie managed the class by never directly facing the teacher and often hiding his face. He diligently took notes about the history of theater while surreptitiously nursing his wounds. The male wolf at his table who had helped Charlie tried to offer some assistance, but Charlie politely turned him down. When class was over, Charlie quickly grabbed his things and rushed out of the classroom, holding his head and keeping his eyes glued to the floor. As he left he thought he heard the male and female wolf keep Ethan from engaging in pursuit, which Charlie was deeply grateful for. Thank God that's over; he rushed off to his next class.
Charlie stopped by the bathroom during passing period and was able to clean up his cut and examine his developing bruise. Ethan had backhanded him really hard, and Charlie worried about a black eye. He thought he could be ok as long as he didn't look at anyone dead-on for too long. The bruise wasn't too bad-just there. He headed to English class when he was done in the bathroom hoping to high heaven that Jack would have a solution.
He found the akita sitting reliably in his usual seat, who immediately motioned to Charlie to come here. An intense conversation was immediately struck up as Charlie sat to Jack's left:
"So about Etha... WHOA! What happened to your face?"
Charlie sighed. "You know I have theater class with that fucking otter."
"Yeah..."
"Well I walked in, sat down, then he came over and asked 'D'you think it's ok to be gay?' I was like, 'Um, yeah' so he backhanded me across the face. Really hard." Charlie reached up to cover his bruise.
"Dang, seriously? I swear I'm gonna kill that bastard!"
"Well what're we going to do? We can't just brutally murder him."
"Are you ok? Are you hurt?" Jack asked conscientiously.
"Yeah. Look." Charlie lowered his paw to disclose his face.
"Ooh. That looks painful. But you don't have a black eye."
"Really? I guess I'm not going to get one then. That's good. But Ethan?"
"Oh right. I'd been thinking about it all morning and I'm sure you have too, but I just can't think of anything at the moment."
Charlie let out a sigh and didn't attempt to hide his disappointment.
"I-I'm sure we'll think of something, we just need more time. But I think it's best from now on if I walk with you in the halls. I am not letting this happen to you again."
"But, Jack, Ethan has friends..."
Charlie was cut off by the arrival of his English teacher, who was eager to get class started. She started passing handouts down the rows and the pair were forced to stop their conversation. They glanced at each other once during class and Charlie was able to motion the silent message to talk more during lunch, to which Jack nodded.