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I walked through the rest of the morning with a new spring in my step, smiling at anyone who cared to glance my way. My tail was wagging to the point that it threatened to throw me off balance. People noticed, but I didn't care, I was ecstatic. The realization that I was gay had opened up a world of new possibilities. I didn't care that no one seemed to share in my happiness, Hell, I didn't even notice. There was evidence that I was presenting though, signals I was sending out that I didn't see through my aura of joy.

I was running laps with the rest of the guys in Phys. Ed, where we were all working up a nice sweat. I couldn't help but notice the gleaming fur on my classmates, and thinking that the indoor lighting the school provided didn't do justice to the beautiful boys. Garreth was there too, but we didn't speak. We finished out workout and went into the locker room, glancing at our gym lockers, not really thinking anything while we entered our combinations and grabbed a set of clean clothes to change into. We slipped off our shorts and walked into the showers. This time though, I glanced at my classmates with something a little more devious than competitive curiosity on my mind. Some of the guys noticed, and sidled away from me. I didn't realize at the time, of course, that I was the one making them uncomfortable.

Jake, an otter from the swim team, waved at me, practically jumping to be seen over the crowd of burly wolves and huskies. The sight of him jumping up and down, his fur so slick and smooth, sent shivers down my spine. I winked at him before I could stop myself, receiving only a confused expression and a tilted head in return. I didn't see that part though; all I saw was every boy exactly how they always should be, naked. Garreth hadn't said a word to me this entire morning, and I felt a little put out by it. I mean, I had just told him I was gay, my biggest secret. We had just confided in each other the most private moments of our lives. Shouldn't he be making a little effort to follow it up? Some idle chitchat, even?

I tried to find Gare in the clouds of steam, but something was clouding my mind, and I couldn't think straight. It was like a veil was being drawn over my eyes, through which I saw only the boys I wanted, the way I wanted to see them. It was enchanting, and the more of that veil I experienced the hungrier I was for more. Nevertheless, I continued my pursuit of Garreth, until I found him toweling off on one of the benches. He seemed to be avoiding my gaze. I called his name, but no response. Finally, I padded over to him, thinking I was going to let him have a piece of my mind for not trying to make an effort to talk to me after the bus. But by the time I got to his bench, he was dressed and walking away. I could easily have imagined it, but his eyes were brimming with tears. But no, it must have just been water. After all, he did just get out of the showers.

As the other boys cleared out of the locker room, my mind seemed to clear. I still had no idea what had caused the veil in the first place. I hoped no one else noticed. I slid my jeans on and pulled a dark blue, skin-tight T-shirt over my head, still pondering. I was troubled by Garreth's reaction, almost angered by it. Was he that determined to avoid me? It's not as if we didn't have anything in common. This morning, we'd been best friends. What had happened since then? I shook my head in frustration, and walked out of the locker room, my mood somewhat dampened.

The entire remainder of the day, I tried to find Garreth. I thought I had seen him once or twice in the sea of students, but he had always managed to disappear before I got to him. He didn't show up for Biology that afternoon, which was odd, because he had most definitely been at school that morning. I went through that entire afternoon confused. My anger had abated, but I still couldn't see what Gare was seeing, the hidden fact that kept steering him away from me. It troubled me even to the final bell, when students were excused to go home. And that's exactly what most students did, was go home. But not Gare, and not I. Every day after school would end, we would always meet up in an abandoned history classroom and just hang out for a couple of hours. It was really more charity on Gare's part.

I didn't live in the most ideal conditions. My bedroom was more of a storage unit, just large enough to fit a bed, a dresser, and a mirror. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling in such copious amounts it almost looked intentional, like it was some sick decoration. The house itself was a wreck on the outside, lime-green bits of paint peeling from the wood. I'm sure it was a beautiful color at one point, but these days it's anything but. The one good thing that could be said about the house is that it was sturdy. It kept the cold out, and the warm in, but that's all it was. Just a dwelling. It wasn't a haven, or a place of solace. It wasn't home.

There were no parents to warm the place up at all, not really. My father walked out on us when I was just a cub, leaving my mother to take care of 2 sons on her own. She used alcohol as a means of coping. She never got violent, but she just ceased to care. She became a robot, driven and controlled by the bottle. One day my brother had had enough, or so I was told. I was too young to remember anything, even his name. According to relatives that came to visit (rarely), he walked out on the family when I was just a pup, still nursing. The details refuse to stick in my mind long enough for me to process anything more than numb recognition that this life was the one I'd been dealt, and I was just going to have to struggle through it.

Gare took a few hours out of each day to just be with me, to save me the trouble of going back to my shed of a house, and taking care of my drunk of a mother. His life was much more glamorous than mine, yet he took that time to keep me company while I sat there and complained. He lived in a magnificent house, with two loving, if stuck-up, parents, and could always count on a meal each night. Must be nice.

I decided that even if Gare didn't come today and insisted on avoiding me, I may as well go to the empty classroom and sit. I'd rather do nothing here than at home. I trudged through the empty corridors, glancing through a window as I passed it. Students were climbing into buses, or sidling into cars, being taken home. I shifted my gaze back to the ground in front of me, as a wave of emotion swept through me. Tears leapt unbidden to my eyes, threatening to spill over, but I held them back. The school hallway is not the place to have an episode.

Before long, I turned into the abandoned history classroom. No one was sitting at the desks, and history books gathered dust on the shelves. The desks were in rows, and if not for the film of dust over everything, you would think the room was still in use. I gave a shaky sigh and took a few slow, heavy steps into the classroom, when the door shut behind me. I heard it lock. Someone was in the room with me, or someone had locked it from the outside. If someone was inside, they hadn't spoken a word yet. I stood still as a statue, too surprised to say anything. As far as I knew, I was the only one apart from Garreth that even knew about this place. I turned very slowly on my heels, scanning the room for whoever might be in there. I turned to face the door, and I must have looked a fool for what I saw there.

Garreth stood there, straight and tall. His tail hung low, not between his legs, but limp and lifeless. He had one hand still on the lock, and seemed to be leaning against the doorframe for support. His brilliant green eyes seemed to shine all the brighter, for they were filled with unshed tears. We stood there with our eyes locked, muzzles locked shut with unexplained emotion. I yearned to say something, to ask what was wrong, but part of me held myself back. I still didn't feel like making amends for how Gare had treated me during the day. Though as the silence grew more pronounced, I found it difficult not to say something. Just as I was finding my voice, though, something unexpected happened.

Garreth's face contorted in fury and hurt. He lunged at me, while I was still too stunned to duck out of the way. I hit the ground hard, my shoulder still hurt from my slip that morning. Before I could do as much as lift a claw in my defense, he put his paw to my throat, holding me in my place.

I glared at him the entire time.

My vision went spotty from the impact, but as it returned, the snarl of anger on my features melted. In Gare's eyes, where before had been only anger, was now replaced by a wounded look, like a puppy that had been kicked while he was vulnerable. He repositioned himself on top of me so that he was straddling my belly, making sure his paw was still over my throat.

"Why?" He asked me. His voice broke, overcome with emotion. "Why would you do those things?" I looked at him, dumbfounded. What was he talking about?

"Huh?" Was all I could manage.

"This morning, I told you my biggest secret. I trusted you to keep that entire half of my life hidden from everyone else, and in return, you told me the same thing." I still couldn't see where he was going with this, but I kept my mouth shut for the time being. "I thought things would be better from now on. I thought I'd have someone who knew exactly what I was going through, and would be there for me. But as soon as you told me, you walked off the bus like you were embarrassed, ashamed. But how could you be? You were practically flaunting it the rest of the day!"

"What?" There goes another one of my intelligent responses. "I thought you were avoiding me! I'm the one who's supposed to be angry... right?" He looked at me like I was a cub again, and would never get it.

"You've been wagging your tail all day, holding it straight up, even in the showers. Speaking of the showers, I saw you wink at that otter, and people noticed you walking around, checking them out. You looked like a drunken idiot, and the musk you were sending out was strong, really strong. I couldn't even bear to be around you! This wasn't supposed to happen...." He shut his eyes to try to stem the flow of tears dripping out of his eyes, but it was no use. They traveled to the tip of his muzzle and dripped off his nose, making little wet spots on my shirt. One thing that can be said about Gare... he knows how to make you feel bad.

I felt like an idiot. I'd been going around the school, sending out a cloud of musk that you would have to be an idiot not to smell. I'd been thinking that Garreth and I could just stay exactly the way we were, and the only thing that would change is we have one more little secret to keep for each other. I hadn't even taken into account Gare's feelings. I looked back on all the signs from before, how his tail wagged whenever I came near, how he always seemed to blush when I complimented him. All the signs were there, I was just too dumb to read them.

"Gare..." I tried to comfort him. His only response was to take his paw off of my throat and continue to drip tears onto me. I slid back just a bit underneath him, so that he was straddling my thighs instead of my belly, and I sat up. I tried to see past his tears, but they were too thick. I tried to touch his arm to shake him out of his sadness, but he was too numb. It was all my fault. That was the only thought going through my head, is that I caused this. There was no reason for Garreth's sadness other than the fact that I screwed up. And it killed me to see him like this, so hurt, so wounded.

Even in those sad circumstances though, I couldn't help but smile to myself in awe at how beautiful Gare looked just then. In spite of the tear streaks in his fur, and the gentle rocking in his shoulders that were his suppressed sobs, he was beautiful. The sun shows through the windows behind him, illuminating the wisps of fur and giving him an angel-like, glowing appearance. His burnt orange fur reminded me of the glowing coals of a campfire at its end, so warm and inviting.

He chose this moment to open his eyes, wiping the tears from them to make sure he wasn't mistaken in seeing my smile. I'm sure the first thought running through his mind was something along the lines of "Why is he smiling while I cry?" But all he said was, "W-what? Why are you happy?" His voice shook as he tried to control his sobs, and I thought that was just about the cutest thing in the world.

"Oh, no reason, cutie." I slid my legs out from under him as I said this, and then crossed them so that I was sitting comfortably in front of him. His arm stopped halfway from his eyes as he was about to wipe a tear away.

"What... what did you just say?"He blinked twice in disbelief.

"I said, 'no reason, cutie.'" I reached forward and took his paw in mine. It was wet from wiping away his tears, but it was so warm any apprehension I had about what I was doing melted away instantly. I squeezed his paw gently. He squeezed back. Any smile I had was gone at this point. I had to let him know that I was serious.

"What are you doing?" He said suspiciously. He seemed to be looking me over with a new eye, studying me. I took his other paw so that I was holding both of his in both of mine and leaned back, pulling him down with me, so he was laying on top of me. I put his paws, pad down, on my chest, guiding him through the steps. He followed my movements without a complaint, only a questioning look.

"Miles..." He breathed out the syllable like it was precious. I clasped one of my paws with his, interlocking our fingers, and let go of his other paw. I moved my free paw to his back, where I held him tight against me, feeling compelled to memorize every contour of the gorgeous husky. I gasped gratefully as he brushed my face with his free paw, sending more shivers down my spine and to regions beyond.

"Shush, husky..." My voice gave way to emotion on the last syllable as I tried to convey all I felt through that simple sentence. No amount of words would suffice. It was then that I realized how closely our muzzles were, how we were very nearly touching noses. I only had to lean in a few inches before it happened.

The kiss was not the explosive, passionate kind that you see in all the overly dramatic movies. It wasn't the insanely lustful kind that you see in all the yiffy movies, either. It was the slow, loving kiss that could never be conveyed through two paid actors. No one could ever act out the beautiful moment we were experiencing right then. It was the kind of kiss that says "I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere." It was the kind of kiss that left you wanting another, and another, and another. After what seemed like only a few blissful seconds, I tore my muzzle away from Garreth's, and we opened our eyes. I gazed into his, twin pools of green radiance, tearing up again. With a different kind of tear, though. A tear of happiness. And in his watery eyes, I could see my own, slightly distorted, with the same tears of joy threatening to spill over. In his eyes, I forgot about my disgusting shack of a home, forgot the mother who had surrendered to alcohol, and the father who had abandoned his family. In his eyes, I felt at home for the first time in my life. And for the first time in my life, I was the first to say it.

"I love you." It was barely a whisper, but Gare heard it. His eyes shined all the brighter as I said those heartfelt words. His voice shook with emotion as he replied.

"I love you too, puppy." And we sat there for what seemed like forever. When the time came to finally go, it was almost too much to bear. The one thing that offered me comfort was what he said as he walked out the door.

"See you tomorrow, puppy."