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Third Step:

Three's Company

Jaron's face held the widest grin he'd ever seen on the devil. "I can't believe I just witnessed that."

"I can't believe I just did that." The panda's ears burned, and now that he'd calmed down a bit he wanted to hide under the table. He still wanted to deck Rick, though; yeah, the bear could use a good smack.

Chaz's grin matched Jaron's as he pulled off his jacket; lucky for him his undershirt and pants were still clean. "I'd say I can, but I'd be lying. It was worth coming tonight just for that!" He looked around the courtyard, and peered inside. "Where's Raz? He's got to hear this!"

Rube looked around too, but saw neither hide nor hair of -- well -- hare. "He left for the restroom awhile ago. Could you call his cell phone? Make sure he's okay?"

Chaz shook his head. "No. I don't have mine on me. Sorry."

"Did he drink whatever you added to the punch?"

"No. And you should know; you've kissed him enough tonight." He sounded a bit huffy.

Rube felt a sly smile crawl across his features. "Well, we might just have to even things out then, hmm? Let's get to making-out...after I make sure he's okay."

And that satisfied Chaz, if his leering grin was anything to go by.

He clapped Jaron on the shoulder. "Stay here with Chaz, okay? Keep Rick away from him. I'm going to find Raz."

The devil nodded. "Alright, Rube. Go get your boyfriend." He glanced at the rabbit idling next to him and frowned. "Your other boyfriend."

"Thanks."

Rubric checked the men's room in the ballroom suite first; there was a queue, and it took a few minutes and some diplomacy on his part to cut in line, but he managed. He glanced under the stalls and couldn't see anything resembling Raz. The buck's continued absence after Rick's assault had him worried. Janelle had something to do with that, he was sure, and he wouldn't put it past her to go after both twins.

He left through the double-doors and headed down the hallway, back toward the hotel entrance; he'd seen another publicly-accessible restroom on the way in, and decided to check that one next.

He spotted Janelle's raccoon friend (the word 'conspirator' popped into his head and wouldn't leave) swaying her way toward him from down the hallway, and her smile as she took him in raised his hackles. Her gaze ran over his body, paying special attention to his groin and the obvious muscles that strained his slightly-too-small suit; he imagined some guys might find it alluring, but it just made him feel unclean. Her voice oozed between her lips: smooth, sleek, and seductive. "Hey there, Handsome. Janelle's looking for you. Why don't you drop the pity-act for those tramps and give her a chance? It'll be worth your while; I guarantee it. She told me she'd totally go down on you tonight if you go back to her."

His tail fluffed up and his ears flattened themselves as he glowered. Pity-act? Tramps? "I don't know what Janelle said to you, but I wasn't lying when I told her I'm gay. I don't want sex with her; that's what gay means.

"And don't think I don't know she sent Rick after Chaz. You tell her to leave the twins alone; they haven't done anything to her. Hurting them out of spite won't get her any closer to dating me. All it does is piss me off."

Her ears twitched. In annoyance, he thought. "If you won't do it for her, do it for yourself. I overheard one of them just a few minutes ago talking to someone, telling them to meet him somewhere, and I don't think the 'action' he mentioned was a game of hockey. They're playing you, Stud. Drop them before they do to you what they did to me and half the rest of the school."

"They...what?"

She shook her head. "You're not the only one they've sweet-talked into their bed. They're rabbits; what can you expect?" She turned with a tail-flick and left.

He staggered down the hall the rest of the way in a daze. His stomach had fallen into his feet and churned nauseatingly. Raz...cheating on him? Was he screwing some guy in a bathroom stall, right this minute? He pictured it in his head; the horny young buck sucking the dick of a nameless, faceless shadow. He felt a twinge of anger at the betrayal, but crushed it with a vengeance. He had to get Raz's side of the story first. There had to be an explanation for it; maybe it was blackmail, or...or...

...or maybe...maybe it was a misunderstanding. The twins wouldn't cheat on him. Right? They were friends. Best friends. And the twins had never hurt him before.

No, he didn't believe it. He didn't.

So why was his stomach all twisted up like this?

Rube made it to the door with 'MEN' engraved into the red-stained wood and took a deep breath. Now came the moment of truth. He wouldn't chicken out; not on something this important. He pushed at the door, but it was stuck. It gave a bit, as though something heavy sat on the other side, but otherwise wouldn't budge.

He noticed Raz's cell on the ground next to his foot. It had more features than he'd ever seen on a phone, and was slim and sleek and covered in stickers, so he knew whose it was. Uh oh. He flipped it shut and pocketed it, then plastered an ear to the edge of the door so he could hear the echoes of male voices inside.

One voice, not Raz: "C'mon, man! Do it."

A second, lower-pitched, and also not Raz: "Beat him like you mean it."

A third, tenor, and straining hard: "Get off me! I never agreed to bondage, and this hurts!" Raz!

Dammit. So it was true. Rube's ears collapsed and his tail drooped, the iron bands strapped around his chest constricting his ability to breathe. Why did I ask him out? I heard the rumors. I should've known this would happen! Did he really think he was any different from anyone else in school?

A gravelly growl, different from the others: "Stupid faggot. You think yer real funny, don'tcha. Won't save ya from gettin' yer ass whupped fer spreadin' lies about me, though."

Rubric's ears perked. Wait, what?

"C'mon, man. Just let me go and we can talk about it, okay?"

"My girl dumped me 'cuz of you! We're gonna make sure you don't lie any more. Can't do shit with yer jaw wired shut."

Raz's voice filled with scorn. "Wake up, dumbass. Why would I want anyone to think I fucked you? I'd never be that desperate."

"Oh, you cocky little cocksucker. We're gonna beat the queer right outta you." And a chorus of male voices grunted approval.

He'd heard enough. Whether or not Raz intended to cheat on him, he was in trouble, and Rubric couldn't let him get hurt. The alcohol boiled in his stomach, or maybe it was his anger. Now that he'd let it out it wanted to stay out, and for once he welcomed it. He shoved against the door hard as he could, and it moved...about four inches. Someone inside yelled, "Hey! Someone's tryin' to get in!" He stepped back, lined himself up, and shoulder-rammed the door. He hit it so hard the wood splintered, the hinges gave way, and the metal cabinet wedged behind it toppled.

Five of the school's better-known jocks stood in a circle around Raz, one of which held the rabbit's arms wrenched behind his back so he couldn't move. None were armed.

His boyfriend's face froze in shock, which melted first into relief, and then into worry. Clearly he wanted out of the situation, but didn't want Rube involved.

Rubric felt his ears drop and his fur stand on end, and he bared his fangs. He had to protect Raz. He couldn't talk his way out, and he obviously wouldn't abandon the rabbit. That left one option, so he readied himself to unleash hell.

Rubric tore off the top half of the broken door and held it up with menace. "I'll beat the shit out of you before you can beat the queer out of him. Let him go. Now." The burning in his stomach sizzled, stronger than before.

The gang glanced at him, then at Anthony, the gravel-voiced razorback standing before Raz. Their leader balanced their chances against a man who outweighed the biggest of them by at least seventy pounds, and all of it pure muscle. He must not have liked the odds, because he shook his head. "Let 'im go."

The badger holding Raz gaped at the boar, incredulous. "But what about your rep, Tony? Are you gonna put up with that?"

Tony hiked a thumb at Rubric with a snarl. "D'you think we could take 'im, Frank? Really? He'd tear us apart. Let the fairy go. I'll find another girl. That 'coon was one kinky bitch anyway."

'Coon?

Once released, Raz rubbed at his shoulders, obviously in pain. He walked up to Tony, his eyes narrowed. "Just a minute. Was this girl the one who told you about the rumor?"

Tony glared at him. "Yeah. What the hell do you care?"

"Was her name Dahlia Tolver?"

"Yeah."

"And I bet she told you that after you got here tonight, right?"

The glare deepened. "Yeah. What're you gettin' at?"

"She's using you. She spread that rumor and dumped you so you'd beat the hell out of me and my brother on prom night. Not only is she a kinky bitch, she's vindictive and crazy, too."

The boar studied Raz's eyes for a moment. "Why should I believe that, you dirty fag?" he asked, but not like he meant it.

Raz shrugged. "Frankly, I don't care if you believe me or not. But she sicced you on one of her exes like a rabid dog and tried to ruin your reputation in the process. I'd be pissed if I were you, but whatever. I'm leaving." The rabbit stomped away, and to his credit he didn't bother looking at the men who nearly beat him to a pulp.

Rubric moved aside to let him pass. "You okay, Raz?" he asked, his concern for the rabbit outweighing everything else on his mind.

Raz nodded. "I am now. Let's get out of here."

Rubric glared at the gang shifting their feet in the middle of the floor, then threw the broken door to the ground and prowled after him. He itched to throttle those bastards, but he shoved his hands in his pockets instead.

Rubric rounded the corner about fifty feet down the hallway and bumped into Raz, stopped dead in the middle of the aisle. They stood face-to-face with that slim female raccoon, who lounged against the wall in a manner he could only describe as slutty.

He'd never heard a rabbit growl, but Raz managed it. "What the hell do you want, Dahlia?"

Dahlia. A series of puzzle-pieces in his head clicked into place, and his stomach twisted as a potential realization dawned. Rubric wouldn't normally hit a girl, but he strongly considered the possibility now...for all of a second. He reconsidered and after a moment pulled his hands from his pockets and crossed his arms with a glower.

"Aww, Raz." She looked him over, obviously disappointed. "Tony didn't play with you like I asked him to?"

The buck's glare should've set her fur on fire. "Go to hell, Dahlia."

She trailed a hand down her neck and fondled a breast. "Oh Raz, baby, is that any way to talk to one of your lovers? You know I still want you."

"You sure have a horrible way of showing it. After all those nasty rumors, after everything you've done to us, do you really expect Chaz and me to come crawling back to you? You make me sick; you make us sick."

"Honey, you know I don't give up until I get what I want."

"What you want is to slit the throat of a feral dog and watch while we fuck it to death. We're not into that kind of shit, you psycho!"

"But it'd be so much fun." Her eyes lit up at the thought.

Oh god. She was actually excited. Rubric's already tender stomach knotted. Raz was right: this bitch was sick.

She kicked away from the wall and swayed up to Raz, running a finger up his white jacket. "Baby, you know the rumors won't stop 'til you come back to me. I'll keep them going until you do. I know how lonely you must be, since everyone hates you. I can make it all go away; just say the word."

The comprehension Rubric felt dawning a moment ago bloomed into a sudden burst of shame. She'd played him like a fiddle, and he'd believed her.

Raz's fists clenched at his side, and Rubric could hear his teeth grinding. "I've got some words for you, Dahlia: Fuck Off."

She glared. "I hope you both enjoyed your time with the queer here, because he won't want to be your boy-toy for much longer. And no girl will touch you ever again, I'll make sure of it."

Raz's fur fluffed out, and his spine stiffened. He backed into Rube, who wrapped him in his arms. "We don't need a girl, and we don't want you. We love Rubric, and he's way too good a person to believe your lies."

L-Love? His stomach burned again, the shame filling him all the way up to the lump in his throat. He felt awful for doubting them; he knew the twins well enough to discount the rumor-mill for the lie-machine it was, and yet he'd still believed, somewhere inside, that they actually did those things. Never again; he'd be damned if he'd listen to rumors he knew weren't true, and if there was any doubt at all he'd speak up instead of chickening out and staying silent.

But he couldn't say any of that. Not here, not now. Instead, he looked this mental-case in the eye and confirmed the statement with a nod. "I don't care how much hate you spew, you lying dirt-bag. They've been my best friends for too long and I love them too much to abandon them over something as worthless as you."

She merely arched an eyebrow. "Oh really? You know, Tony's not the only man around here I have wrapped around my fingers. I have several pets willing to send someone to the hospital...with the right persuasion. And I don't care how many of them I have to ruin to get what's mine. You should have given up when I gave you a chance. Nobody tells me no, and if I have to lie to destroy you too, then whatever."

An evil grin stole onto Rubric's face, and he reached into his pocket before pushing Raz gently aside. "Thank you, Dahlia. That's just what I wanted to hear."

She squawked as he grabbed her around the waist and threw her over his shoulder. "C'mon, Raz. This ends now." He stalked his way back to the ballroom with the rabbit at his heels, and hauled her struggling carcass into the middle of the room and the center of attention. The crowd edged away, leaving an empty space around them under that damned disco ball.

He saw Jaron and Chaz more-or-less where he left them, though Chaz had somehow managed to wrap himself around the devil, who seemed stuck in a permanent eye-roll but wasn't objecting. He liked the sight, but now wasn't the time for daydreams. He waved them over. "Jaron, go tell the DJ to turn off the music please. I need to say something."

The devil (and everyone else) looked at him like a crazy man, but true to form Jaron nodded. "Okay, Rube. Whatever the hell this is, I've got your back." Which was one more reason he loved the man; he trusted Rubric whatever happened.

Unlike me, he thought bitterly. Well, it was high-time to rectify that mistake, and he would start here, nomatter how uncomfortable he might be.

Chaz sidled up to his brother. "What's going on? What's she doing here?" he asked, his voice thick with disgust and loathing.

"I dunno, bro. But Spazz has something he wants to share with the rest of the class, and I have this sneaking suspicion that Dahlia's not going to like it much."

A moment later the music cut off and several spotlights pierced the gloom to shine down on Rube and the twins. "Nice touch," he muttered before unceremoniously dropping the 'coon to the wooden floor. One of her heels shattered, and the fall must've knocked the wind from her, because the screams and threats cut off with a thud.

He took a deep breath and eased it out slowly, then spoke loud enough so the whole room could hear. "This piece of garbage lied to you, to all of us, and she used us to hurt the last people in the world to deserve it." He pulled the twins in close and held them there, standing tall. He didn't feel nervous or embarrassed in front of the crowd; the disgrace at having doubted them seared away everything else. "She used lies and gossip to humiliate them, to ruin their reputations, so she could force them to do what she wanted.

"In fact, tonight she spread a particularly ugly rumor so her boyfriend and a group of his buddies would beat the hell out of them because they wouldn't cave. Thankfully, I got there soon enough to stop it. This time. But Raz and Chaz refused to give in to her bullying, or to anyone else's, no matter how much it hurt them.

"They're not the dirty little whores her stories made them out to be. In fact, they're two of the nicest guys I've ever met.

"Not everyone believed the lies," he said as he caught sight of his devil friend, who watched the scene from the sidelines with his all-too-familiar downcast expression, "and for those that didn't, thank you. You should be proud. But the rest of us should take a close look at ourselves and realize how much damage we can do by our words and actions, and we should be ashamed of ourselves."

Dahlia pushed herself to her knees, the vindictive expression on her muzzle positively vicious. "And what kind of proof do you have for any of that? They've fucked everything they could get their paws on for the last four years! Everyone knows it!"

A wave of whispers moved through the crowd, and a female voice near the back of the crowd shouted, "I heard they raped a girl in junior year, and did the same thing to the men's soccer players!"

He turned in that direction and glowered. "Whatever, Janelle. Pull your head out of your ass. Just because you're jealous of my boyfriends doesn't mean you can pull shit like this too. I'm gay and I have no interest in you. At all. You had a snowflake's chance in hell from the beginning; get over it."

Her strangled sobs didn't have the chance to fade before the slamming doors cut them off.

"As for proof? Nobody's needed any to believe your lies Dahlia, but that didn't seem to stop anyone. But for once there is proof." He dug into his pocket and withdrew Raz's cell phone, fiddled with it a moment, then pressed 'Dial'. "And it's right here."

Message-One, Recorded-On-Friday, March-First, Nine-Thirty-Six-Pee-Em:

"Aww, Raz. Tony didn't play with you like I asked him to?" The recording was a bit tinny, but it rang out loud and clear. He ran through the entire conversation between Raz and Dahlia, and he noticed ears folding in embarrassment throughout the crowd and eyes dropping to the floor. Most of them were the people he'd seen staring in disgust throughout the evening. "...and if I have to lie to destroy you too, then whatever."

End-Recording.

He flipped the phone shut. "This is the kind of crap they've had to put up with all through school. Everyone hates them because of this...this filth and her lies. And yet they face it down every day and still manage to smile."

He kissed each of them on the top of the head. "I'm so proud to call you my friends...and my boyfriends."

He looked up again and swept his gaze over the crowd. "So the next time you feel like passing on a nasty little rumor about someone, remember this. After all, you could be next."

The bitch on the floor had, by this point, shriveled in on herself; gone were her scheming, her self-satisfied smirks, and her superior attitude, replaced with the humiliation of having the whole school know exactly what she was. A number of students from the crowd spat on her, which only rubbed the disgrace in harder. He and the twins had her beat and she knew it.

Rubric crouched next to her and spoke low enough that most of the crowd couldn't hear. "We told Anthony what you did, you know. His buddies were still pretty pissed-off when we left. You should go before they catch you alone."

She shot him a look full of loathing and opened her mouth to say something spiteful, so he cut it off from the start by clamping her muzzle shut. "Oh, and I wouldn't think too hard about revenge, either; slander and conspiracy-to-commit-assault carry fines and prison-time, and I'm making copies of our little conversation as insurance."

The twins stood to either side of him, and each of them rested a hand on his shoulders. "So leave us alone."

"Or we'll tell."