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Humbly Presenting

A Story

Walk With Me, Not So Close

Disclaimer: I own any and all parts of this story, including plotline, characters, and their backstories. They are copyright to me, and any use or copying of the elements described would not only be very rude without my permission, but also slightly illegal.

Author's Note: Surprise! We're going to try third-person past tense this time around. Also introducing something else new.

Chapter Four, Pfft, Screw Gravity, I Do Whatever The Hell I Want

Allen

It had been about a month since the fallout with Reidan. Allen had not talked with him much in class other than to ask to borrow a pencil or something else to that effect, and Reidan seemed to like that a bit. It was killing Allen, though, and as he walked into the first class of the day, he let out a weary sigh. Reidan was already there, sinuous tail curling behind him slowly as if his mind was always restless, although he was staring straight ahead with an unwavering gaze. Allen was suddenly struck by how cute the little cat was, quickly banishing those thoughts lest they tent his pants in public. Albeit they were tented already when not even aroused, but still. He stared ahead as the bell rang and settled down for class.

Mr. Taylor sauntered into the classroom, although he was walking rather funny, and stood before the class. He motioned to someone else in the back of the room to get up and stand at the front of the class, and a lean, lanky hyena whom Allen did not recognize rose and stepped forward. He was built, not quite like the panther himself, but he could definitely detect the subtleties of build beneath his clothing. He was around 6'7" excluding his little round ears, and he had a thick, luscious mane that looked so very inviting to twine ones paws in. He wore thinly framed glasses, and he had two silver stud earrings in his left ear. He was by no means a 'gangster', but the thick sweatshirt he wore with faux fur on the inside sure made him almost seem like it. If he were a human, he would have been Caucasian though. He had bedroom eyes, ones that seemed eternally at ease. At least, when they weren't staring off at something thousands of miles away like they were at that time. Allen also noticed that, instead of having a short tail like most hyenas, this particular hyena had a long flowing tail with fluffy fur standing all over it, much like a wolf's yet not quite like it at the same time.

Allen was struck by how emotionless he seemed. He stared straight forward, his eyes a coppery bronze that outshined Allen's, and his gaze did not waver.

"Alrighty, how about telling us a little bit about yourself? Start with your name."

The hyena continued to stare straight ahead as he spoke. His voice was deep, musically so, as if he were able to sing quite well and had done very many hours of vocal practicing. He also carried the faintest hint of a German accent... a German hyena? Who'd have thunk it. "My name is Grasimol. Pronounced 'Grah-sih-mole'," he paused, scanning the classroom with his hawk-like gaze, sweeping from right to left. His eyes settled on Reidan sitting to Allen's right, and they stayed there. Allen sensed tension in the air for a moment, "but you may call me Gras.." a slight smile graced his features, and his eyes narrowed with them, and it seemed that for just that instant, he was talking only to Reidan.

Glancing over, Allen saw Reidan blushing like a schoolgirl, his tail fluffed up and coiled tightly around his waist, lest it twitch and flutter about like some frightened animal.

"Any hobbies? Favorite things?" Mr. Taylor prompted.

His smile deepened a little, becoming softer and extremely charming. "I... I love cats, and I never take no for an answer. I don't give up once I've set my mind to something... And I really, really love cats." That whole time his gaze was still trained on Reidan who, despite having a calm and cool look on his face, was fiddling with his hands under his desk out of what Allen thought to be nervousness.

Reidan's ear suddenly twitched, and his concentration was broken. Gras noticed it, too, and his eyes got a gleam to them as he smirked openly, much to Reidan's discomfort.

"Well there's very many cats in this class, so lucky for you. Now please sit down so I can get on with the lesson. I want you all to make Gras feel very comfortable here, okay class?" The class gave a half-assed response, because it seemed that only half of them were awake. First period is full of sleepyheads.

Gras went to sit down to Allen's left in the single empty seat in the classroom. The girl who had been sitting there dropped out, unfortunately, and that allowed a chink in the armor to let the Hyena in.

Allen looked over at the hyena, only to find his gaze piercing right through him to stare intently at the (comparatively) little Siamese sitting to Allen's right.

Not one to be deterred, Allen extended a large paw towards the hyena in a friendly gesture of 'hello'.

"Hey man, how are you doing?" He said, with a cheerful undertone that only one such as Reidan could detect was fake. "My name's Allen."

Not missing a beat, the hyena shook hands and nodded, saying something that sounded like he was quoting a foreign TV show, "Naisu bohdee."

Allen laughed confusedly, "What's that from?"

Gras smiled a little, splaying his ears to the side and tilting his head a little. "It's from a Japanese cartoon, or 'anime', called 'Fairy Tail'. In it, the main character is a girl named 'Looshee', or the Japanese equivalent of 'Lucy', and she is a wizard in a guild called Fairy Tail. She uses spirit magic, and can summon spirits to aid her. One of them is a pervy bull, the spirit of Taurus from the Zodiac, that is obsessed with her 'Naisu bohdee'." He chuckled, a high pitched hyena thing that seemed astonishingly like a wind chime. If Allen thought he had charisma, this guy had an absolutely magnetic personality and outstripped him of everything. "It was me complimenting how appetizing you look, kitty," he gave a perfectly timed and flawless wink, not the twitchy kind Allen often found himself practising in front of the bathroom mirror every now and then, to try and nail it down perfectly.

Despite himself, Allen found himself blushing! Him! Of all people, floored by a simple stranger who he didn't even know existed more than five minutes ag -- his shock was stopped when he thought of Reidan. Damn, I'm such a sucker for this kind of stuff... He thought. he didn't let his face show it though.

"Now, who is that delicious-looking piece of catboy sitting to your right? The little Siamese? He's cute." He leaned backwards to get a better look, sizing up the stocky cat whom Allen thought of already as 'his'.

"Hey cutie?. What's your name?"

Reidan stammered, something exceedingly not like him. "I-It's, my n-name is Reidan." He had shrunk into the corner of his chair and the wall, trying to be as small as possible. Allen looked back just in time to see Gras lick his lips and give another small chirruping hyena laugh, although very quietly.

"Well Reirei-- Is it alright if I call you Reirei?-- why don't you, me, and Mr. Tall, Dark, and Hunky get together sometime and have a threesome?"

Allen looked back again to see a shudder run the spectacular road of starting at 'Reirei's' shoulders, traveling down his spine, and up his entire tail to leave the little black tip of it shaking violently.

"I, uh. I don't think that's..."

"Ohoho... a shy one are we? Still a virgin? Well, I'll be gentle, so long as mister muscles here promises to ravage mine..." He smirked again.

"N-No! That's not what I meant!" Reidan was blushing fiercely. "I--"

"Quiet back there!" Mr. Taylor yelled, and all three of the Feliformia branch of the Carnivora order looked over. "You can plan your sex lives after my lecture! Until then, keep the testosterone capped unless you plan on inviting me to join you!" The ram's smile was jovial, and it was obvious he was joking, and Allen suddenly imagined what the people in the neighboring classrooms must be thinking if they had heard what Mr. Taylor had just said. It nearly made him laugh, and he desperately tried to contain it.

"If you think you're going to lose it, Allen, I can send all three of you to detention to relieve yourselves of that 'dreadful_high school tension'!" His sarcasm seared Allen enough to be quiet, although he did imagine that doing that kind of thing _would allow Reidan to open up more. But that would be forcing it, and the gentle panther definitely did _not_want that.

Reidan

What. The. Fuck!?

Once again, the Siamese's body was getting the absolute better of him, and boy, was he absolutely hating it. He not only popped a boner in class, but he was actually considering the hyena's offer. Was his brain starting to revolt against him, too? Then what was he thinking with!? His penis??

Reidan slapped himself mentally, trying to get a hold on himself. He really ought to change all his classes, or better yet, just drop out of the school entirely. Too many gorgeous people to try and tempt him with their bodies and their hearts and their cocks. He groaned and put his head on his desk after Mr. Taylor was done shouting at the triad of them, and he wondered just what the hell was with this schoolyear so far? It seemed that there were more people fawning over him than there were... well... ever! What was the deal!?

He went into his special place and tuned out the rest of the classroom around him, thinking about random stuff to not only distract him from the charismatic hyena and hunky panther in his peripheral vision, but also to try and get rid of the boner that was nearly busting his balls as it tried to escape his pants. He made a promise that he would no longer wear skinny jeans for Junior year, although he silently lamented losing his favorite wardrobe piece. The lack of comfort was too severe!

After around fifteen minutes his persistent boner finally went back down, and he lifted his head from his desk. At last, he tuned in to what Mr. Taylor was saying, and started to take notes. half the class period was gone, having been wasted with trying to ditch the bone and conversing with lusty boys. His whole Junior years was starting to look bleak, if this was what it would all be like!

The rest of class went by with a blur, and Reidan tried to dart out the door first, being naturally the closest one to it, however the hyena was faster. He literally _lunged_out of his seat and grabbed the poor Siamese by his waist, holding him intimately close in such a way that the cat's head rested right in the crook of his neck.

"Now now, don't you go running out on me Reirei... You might miss out on something you really like!" He gave a chirruping hyena laugh.

Reidan's mind was stunned. How on earth had the hyena moved faster than he did?? It was uncanny! Reidan ran everywhere on purpose when there was room, building up his speed and agility simply because he enjoyed having it, and yet this guy just comes along and stops him in his tracks.

As his mind was trying to recover, the hyena grinned, seemingly amused by the Siamese's lack of motor control. "You are fast though, my my..."

Allen was not to be forgotten though, and stood up, towering over the already very tall hyena and putting a large hand on his shoulder.

"You should let him go. He's very skittish, and he has a bodyguard."

The hyena turned around, holding Reidan closely. "Oh? And would that be you? Don't tell me, he's already raising his tail for you, Panther Lily? Ugh, that's no fun!" Allen wrote that off as another reference to that 'Fairy Tail' show.

Reidan finally managed to pipe up, but it seemed that he was still too scared to move. "N-No, it's not like that... H-He just wants to keep me safe."

That statement struck Allen through like an arrow. Just keep Reidan safe? That was the least of what Allen wanted to do!

"Ah, I see! So, let's go. We're ditching." The hyena picked up the cat deftly, holding him and walking out the door, carrying both his own and Reidan's backpack on his back.

Reidan still could not move, he found himself powerless to struggle against the hyena's grip. All systems were blaring their warning claxons, and there was nothing the Siamese cat could seemingly do but sit there amidst the cacophony, even as the hyena started walking with him in his strong arms. Like a deer in headlights, Reidan remained stunned and malleable to another person's will.

"I think I know your problem, kitty. You need to get laid! Don't worry, I'll be gentle, and soon it will be a regular thing! You'll be taking it like a champ soon enough!" The hyena laughed loudly, walking out the door, and a few furs turned their heads to look.

"But I'm not g-gay!" Reidan stammered out, quietly.

"Not yet you're not. Trust me boy, you've got a fine piece of ass, and it's the ass of a gay man! No straight man could have an ass like that!" And for emphasis he gave it a slap.

Apparently that was all it took for Reidan's body to get moving and get on with it, and he snapped out of his stunned state, immediately letting out a loud yowl and delivering a terrifying accurate strike to the hyena's face. Reidan's claws were sheathed, however, and all it did was make the hyena drop him, sputtering out a curse.

"F-fuck!" He shouted as he dropped Reidan to the ground -- he landed on his feet of course -- and said Siamese cat ducked behind the hyena. Using a skilled rolling of his palm on the hyena's shoulder, he deftly spun the larger male around and rolled his backpack off of the hyena's back. Once more in that single, fluid motion, he put it on and bolted the opposite way, using the dizziness incurred by rolling the hyena to disorient his pursuer and make a clean getaway. Even Allen wasn't exactly sure where the cat went, it all happened so fast. Not that it would really matter to him anyways, he knew where the cat was headed, and he also knew where he lived, so he could go visit him at his own leisure.

Gras

"What the fuck happened!?" Gras stammered, shaking his head to clear out the dizziness. He gasped suddenly and looked around. "Where did he go??"

"My best bet would be away from you." A voice sounded behind him and he turned to see that large panther staring at him, his arms crossed.

"But why? I wasn't going to hurt him." The hyena's brain was somewhat confused.

"Could have fooled me. Definitely fooled him." He nodded and took a step forward.

"But I even said that I would be gentle.." Gras' ears drooped and he sighed.

"Well Reidan is a skittish one, I told you that. You're too direct, you need to try and woo him first."

"Woo him?" Gras looked up, cocking his head to the side.

"Yeah, woo him. Like, ya know. Make him feel good, give him presents, just be there for him and stuff. It would take time." The panther, Allen, nodded and sighed a little. "Unfortunately it seems you scared him off with how forward you were being."

"Why didn't he just play along?"

"Hell if I know. He seems to think that being loved is something bad. Or at least, that bad things come with it."

Gras thought for a moment. He had been like that, once. The memories came back, bitter and resentful, but he banished them with a flick of his mental dick, knowing that they would never really hold power over him ever again. Not if he had fun and stayed true to his own happiness.

Most people would think of Grasimol as simply skin-deep, but that was what he wanted them to think. He didn't really want that to change, either, seeing as how skin-deep people accept other skin-deep people, and the world was infested with them.

He stayed silent for a moment. "I see..." was all he said before he dusted himself off and walked towards what Allen thought to be his next class. However, right when the hyena seemed dead on his path, h turned around and walked back to the panther.

"Give me your phone number." He demanded.

"What? Why?" Allen got a tad defensive.

"You like Reidan, don't you?" One of Gras' eyebrows cocked questioningly at him.

"Well, yes, why?"

"Well aren't you curious to see if he_likes _you?"

"Naturally! Get to the point."

"Well..." Gras resettled his glasses with a slight smirk. "I have a plan on getting him to admit it."

"I said get to the point." Allen was getting a tad miffed.

"Well, we make him jealous. I'll be lovey dovey with you, you'll be lovey dovey with me, and when he sees it or catches wind of it, he will be mad and want to be with you again, even if he doesn't admit that he wants to do it now. And if in fact he doesn't? We score ourselves a sexy boyfriend and a way to relieve our pent up lusts..." He grinned and gripped his crotch, flicking his abnormally long hyena tail, and raising his eyebrows suggestively to the panther.

This put Allen into a deep period of thought. It did indeed seem like one of the more logical ways to get Reidan to confess, if in fact he did have those feelings locked up inside him and was simply in denial. He remembered the time they spent in the pool. Yes, that had felt real. Very real. They hadn't done anything other than swim, but the feelings Reidan harbored for Allen were definitely there... he just had remarkably strong self-control over them.

"... Fine." Allen pulled out his phone, and Gras mentally cheered. With any luck, the crafty hyena thought, I'll get this adorable hunk to fall for me instead of that cat! And then, I could have both of them at my knees, with Reidan's obvious attachment to the panther, and the panther having an attachment to me. It will be wonderous... Gras pulled out his own phone, handed it to Allen, and watched as Allen put in his contact info. Upon receiving it back, he opened up his messaging system and sent Allen a text. When the bulky panther received it, he put the number he got it from into his phone, and that was that.

"So when do we start?" He asked, crossing his large, black-furred arms and gazing intently at the hyena.

"Right now." The hyena grinned and went up onto his tip toes to give the panther a kiss.

And Allen let him, even going so far as to kiss him back.

In Allen's mind, all his thoughts were that he was doing this for Reidan... For Reidan to come to terms with himself, and find out who he truly loves. That, and 'If things don't end up working out with Reidan after all, at least I will have a mate who will love me and admit to it, even though this will all just be a sham. I'm tired of waiting for Reidan, even though it's only been a month... to me it's felt like so much more, because I don't have him with me.

The hyena broke the kiss and bounced on the balls of his paws, smiling softly. "There. Now all we have to do is keep this up for a bit, make sure he notices, and then come running back to you. What is it you call this? 'Friends with benefits'?" The hyena tilted his head to the side again. Allen nodded. "Ah, I am looking forward to the 'benefits' part then, stud. If we want him to think this is for real, then we have to make it seem real, which means..." The hyena sidled up to him, pressing their groins together as best as he could and grinding just a bit, "... that we will have to fuck. A _lot._Got that?"

Allen just nodded. As long as it was all for Reidan in the end, he didn't care.

"Good. Now then, I'll see you after school today, big boy. Gonna put the little big you to work." Gras gave a quick fluttering of his eyelids, and Allen had to admit that it was kind of cute, before he went off on towards his next class. Kind of cute.

Reidan

Well great. Now he might be facing assault claims by the people who had watched. The school was fucked up like that, even if someone harms someone else in the act of self-defense, it is considered 'fighting' and both parties are punished. But what he had done wasn't in reaction to being hit, it was in reaction to being hugged and slapped a little right on his ass. He was in trouble, he reckoned, regardless of what excuses he might be able to think of.

The Siamese rested his head on the desk in front of him and groaned again. The first month, and it's already hell.

The bell rang, and yet Allen still wasn't at his side, like he had always been for the past thirty four days of school session in this class. Instead, he came in late, and sat down without even a longing glance at the Siamese cat. That struck him as very, very odd. Normally Allen was giving him the puppy dog eyes every time he walked into class... but not this time? Something was wrong. Reidan's thoughts were scurrying; had he done something to upset Allen? But wait, why should he care? Why did he care?

It's not my place to be concerned if I piss someone off.. he thought to himself. I have obligations to no one, and no one should have obligations to me. But why do I feel like a little part of my heart is rebelling? Allen is a friend. Just a friend, and nothing more._He regained control of his expression and looked forward towards the front of the class, sighing inwardly at himself. _Why am I so confused..?

The next two periods went the same way, with Allen neither looking nor talking to Reidan, and it only served to confuse the Siamese cat even further. What had brought on this lack of attention? What had happened? Was it something about the hyena?

Allen

Lunch time came, and with it, a hyena ambush outside of Allen's classroom. He had taken a different way out of the classroom this time, after having told Gras which classroom he was in, and which way he would be coming out of it during the class period via. text.

"Hey stud." Gras laughed softly, having come up behind the panther and wrapped his arms around the feline's muscular yet still seemingly lithe-looking waist. Gras smiled softly, even though he knew Allen couldn't see it, and palmed Allen's goods, directing them towards a space near the back of the schoolyard where no one really ever went. He gave them a soft squeeze and felt them stir underneath his touch. "Miss me?"

Allen grunted and let himself be led to wherever the hyena wanted to go. "I'm doing this for Reidan. it was bad enough that I had to ignore him this whole time in order for the plan to start working. He's been fretting all morning long with what I can only assume is panic over my sudden lack of interest in him."

"Ah, so he does like you~. Now that we know this, we have to make sure to draw those feelings out of him, and I know just the thing.." Gras squeezed the panther's sizeable goods again.

"Does fucking really play that big of a part in it?" Allen asked, stifling a purr at the feeling of a hand on his crotch.

"Not really, no. But listen to me." Gras stopped, taking his hands off of the panther's junk and walking around to face the feline. "When was the last time you got your rocks off...?" He pointed a finger at the now obscenely tented pants that Allen was wearing, almost with an accusing tone.

Allen flushed, looking away. "Nngh... almost four months ago..." He hated to admit it, but he didn't even paw that often. He hadn't bothered to relieve himself in such a long time, he just never felt like doing it anymore.

"Yeah, and that's a problem. Look at how uptight you are!" As if to punctuate his remark, the hyena gave the panther's toned ass a surprise slap, which made the panther yelp a little and stand up straighter. "You need to get yourself loosened up! Or at least, loosen up someone else!" He then slapped his own to make a point, his tail coiling behind him as if doing this kind of thing to people were great fun to him. "Nice ass by the way. But you don't really seem all too happy, if you ask me. Do you really think Reidan is going to fall for someone who is as stoic and stonelike as you seem to be?"

"Nn... Thanks... And I guess I see your point. So the point of us fucking is to make me happier, basically. For Reidan."

"Yes, for Reidan." The hyena nodded. "Now come on, we're wasting time. Lunch doesn't last forever at this school, does it?" He tugged on the panther's paw and continued walking.

"Actually it lasts for an hour, maybe an hour and five minutes, last time I checked," Allen said, following diligently.

"Oh, perfect!"

They walked out into the field, where there was a narrow copse of trees nearby, with a dense forest behind it. The hyena sure knew his way around campus, for a new student.

"How do you know where we're going?" Allen asked, slightly puzzled.

"I took a scope of the grounds since you and I split up after first period. I figured this would be the best place to fuck without actually having to leave campus." He said matter-of-factly.

"So... you broke the rules in order to find a place where we can break the rules without breaking the rules..?" Allen was referring to ditching class to find a place to fuck without violating the closed campus policy. Their school was one that actually had a 'No Fornication on Campus' rule. However, the penalties for breaking that were much less severe than a violation of the Closed Campus policy, where the first offense garners oneself a 'Saturday School', and the first violation of the No Fornication rule results as a slap on the wrist.

That seemed to throw Gras for a loop. "I.. Uh.. sh-shut up. I didn't think it through, alright?" He sounded like he was blushing.

"Haha, it sounds more like you overthought it so much you didn't see what was in front of you," Allen teased. They had arrived at the copse of trees, and the hyena led them a little further, almost at the school's boundaries, before stopping and turning towards Allen beneath a giant conifer, the kind whose trunks are larger than most king and queen sized beds.

"Whatever. Now, strip." He seemed a little flustered that he had blundered so obviously. It was kind of cute, Allen thought. Kind of.

"Yes, sir." Allen mockingly teased the hyena, and it worked to make Grasimol blush even more.

"Cut that out, and just strip. I need a cock in me, bad... you have no idea how horny you make people. It's infuriating."

"Alright, alright already." Allen chuckled to himself, planting his backpack on the ground behind a tree and taking off his shirt. Grasimol couldn't help but marvel at the panther's sculpted torso, seemingly carved out of the blackest marble and shaped into perfection. It made his groin ache with need, and his rear wink beneath his clothing.

"Like what you see, hyena boy?" Allen smirked, catching the hyena gazing at him hungrily, and struck a pose, flexing his muscles until he was reminded of Reidan's absolutely adorable reaction to it. he stopped, mentally reprimanding himself. He was letting himself get too into it, he was doing this for Reidan, not Grasimol. he had to control himself. He kept flexing, changing his pose every now and then, but not as passionately as he had been before.

"Mmm, even a blind man would like what you are, stud," Gras said as he, too, ditched his backpack and took off his shirt. He placed his discarded article of clothing on top of his backpack, so it wouldn't get dirty, and showed off for the panther in front of him.

Allen's groin surged when he saw the body of the hyena in front of him. Not as beautiful as Reidan's, but still gorgeous. He had a defined build, and Allen noted that the hyena obviously did weights, as each muscle was proportioned just right like someone who did a well thought out training regimen. Like himself. It was hot, and Allen wasn't going to deny it. He quickly took off his pants, as well as the Speedo he always wore in place of underwear hastily, so neither of them would get ripped.

"My, my, is that a Speedo? Kinky!" The hyena jibed, although he was quickly silenced once it had come off, revealing the midnight blue hued cat's infinitely onyx-colored cock. It was as black as black could be, and it was absolutely enormous. The hyena thought that he himself was packing well with his own equipment, but his well-endowed girth shrunk in comparison to Allen's mighty meat. It looked so fitting on the panther, a powerful endowment for a male with such a strikingly 'alpha' body type. He was made to dominate, that much was certain to the hyena as he gazed at the other male's cock, as mystified and in awe of it as the monkies who stared at the black obelisk in that one movie. And then it just continued to grow. It went up to the panther's navel, then the first set of abs, then the second, then the third, and then the fourth, and finally stopped growing when the tip reached the base of the panther's chiseled pecs. Allen then let himself relax and his cock swung downwards, pulled down by its own weight till it stuck out in front of him and swung like a pendulum as he walked forwards.

Gras gulped. "H-how big _are_you??" He fumbled with his belt, and upon taking too long, was met with a cock in the face as Allen went over to help the hyena out of his pants. Allen wasn't bending over, he was just standing up straight.

Gras' pants hit the ground a moment later as Allen responded.

"Big."

Reidan

The day went by with no further incidents, and alongside that, no further hints being dropped by Allen. Reidan went home feeling oddly dissatisfied with himself, feeling that somehow, he had failed his friend in a very large way. Allen was acting... happier after lunch hour. He was still ignoring Reidan, so it was as if he now took joy in making the Siamese cat miserable and confused.

In any case, Reidan went home with a heavy heart and downcast eyes, full of confusion regarding all the feelings he was having. He didn't know why, but somehow the slight nuances of Allen always looking out for him had made the days worth doing. And now that those nuances were gone, what Reidan had categorized as a feeling of 'loneliness' and 'normalcy' had actually been that of 'contentment'. Having not felt such a thing in quite a long time, it's understandable that he would mislabel it, especially with how volatile his feelings could be at times. But, as was said earlier, with the absence of those nice little nuances, Reidan was feeling alone as he had always remembered it. Bitter and empty.

He walked home and kicked at the dirt alongside the road, stirring up little dust clouds as he went. Surely, this day must just be an off one... Allen really wouldn't start to ignore me, would he? Why do I care so much? It really should not be bothering me this much, but it is... Ugh... What on earth is wrong with me?

He broke out of his rumination just as a baby bird fell from its nest above his head and landed at his feet. Reidan froze from reflex, his foot having stopped mere inches from the tiny creature, prepared to kick at a clod of dirt and send it skittering into the road. He gasped and kneeled down to the poor thing, looking up at the nest it fell from.

It stayed as still as death itself, and Reidan had to fight himself to not cry. It had to be one of the worst days he'd ever had since Elementary school. First, he was molested by the new student, then Allen stopped talking or even looking at him, and now this. A little baby bird falling dead at his fe--

The little bird suddenly stirred and gave a weary chirrup. It opened its eyes and looked about, and Reidan put his hands to his mouth, gasping once more. It got up shakily and tried to hobble forward, only to fall over with a tiny chirp of pain.

"H-hey now, d-don't do that! You're hurt.." Reidan started to talk to the little thing, and before he knew what he was doing, he cupped his hands and scooped the little avian fellow up carefully. It panicked a little, but when Reidan closed his hands and made it dark inside, the little fellow quieted down.

Reidan looked around. His house wasn't far from here, and he knew of a cage in the garage he could use to give the little one a home. He started arguing with himself in his head, though...

Are you really going to take this bird home_? You can barely care for yourself, how on earth do you expect to care for a bird!_

Well, I can't just leave it here, it will surely die...

It will probably die in your hands as well, a much longer, more painful death than simply giving up and becoming food for the crows.

But it's helpless..

So are you. You don't even know what you truly want. If you did you wouldn't feel like your emotions are getting struck by the agitator in a washing machine right now.

_ Regardless, I'm the only one who_ can help it.

Reidan stood up and started walking home, the little bird clutched gently to his chest as he warred against himself within his thoughts.

Seriously! You're seriously going to take the puny thing home!?

I have to. I'm the only one who can.

That doesn't justify anything. That's like saying the only reason Allen was hanging around you was because you were the bird!

...

The two voices in his head quickly merged into one. His own.

Wait...

He stopped walking.

... Am I the bird?

He opened his cupped palms and took the little bird from his chest, gazing at it intently.

Yes, I am the bird...

He sat down cross-legged, his back against a tree, holding the little bird in his hands in front of him, and started to cry.

He spoke out loud.

"I... I've been the bird all along, and I never... I never realized it. Allen's been the one who has been trying to pick me up and help me heal, trying to give me a home and love me, but I kept fighting it..." He watched the little bird's breathing, felt the fluttering of its heartbeat in its tiny chest. It was like a flame. Delicate, full of energy. The blazing of itself being both that which gives it life, and that which could end itself. The flame could gutter out ad die if it burned too fast, but it could also simply die slowly and without sound if it burned too slow.

"I get it now. I know what is wrong. But how do I fix it..?" He said. His opal eyes spilled their water down his face, and for the first time in a long, long time, Reidan truly cried.

As if roused by his sobs, the bird woke up and hopped to its feet, seemingly fine after its blunder from the treetops. Reidan startled, looking down in his palms as the tiny winged creature stretched, hopped off his hands, gave a farewell chirruping call, and flew away. He watched it fly on, and saw it fly not back to its own nest, but somewhere new.

"I... I see. I've been teetering on the edge of my nest all this time, believing myself to be wounded. But I can't stay like that anymore! I have to jump. Even if that little bird fell, it wasn't long before it stood back up and was able to fly. All it needed was a little help..." Reidan wiped the tears from his face and gathered himself up. He stood, watching as the bird became a speck in the distance and then nothing.

Reidan felt himself on the precipice of change. He felt as if he were standing on a razor's edge, with a howling gale about him and threatening to throw him off into the abyss beneath. He'd been standing his ground for so long. He was scared. His heart was hammering, and his adrenaline surged. He thought back to all the things that had made him who he was...

Elementary school, when it all began. Reidan has transferred to a different school for second grade, because he had tested well and was placed into a program for talented students, and his family was moving to a different house. He couldn't go back and attend his old school. He was alone.

It had started with Victoria, the chihuahua. It had all started with her, instigating a hate crime against him that involved almost every single kid in his class. They all despised him.

He remembered crying almost every day, begging his father not to make him go to school because the other kids hated him. They taunted him, made fun of him, ruined his projects behind the teacher's back and laughed as the teacher scolded him for doing such a thing to his own project. How could he be so clumsy? Why is he so careless? Was he even paying attention to what he was doing? What's the matter?

No one believed him when he had tried to say who had really done it. His grades slipped, he became lazy, not completing his homework about as often as he completed it. His test scores remained phenomenal, but his effort had lapsed. He became the loner. The outcast. The kid whose opinion was shouted down even when it was a good idea. The kid who tried speaking up when his opinion was used by another, and heavily praised for its ingenuity. The kid no one wanted to play with. The kid nobody liked. 'That Guy'.

It lasted for five years. The kids in that class all stayed together because of the advanced program, and Reidan couldn't drop out. He would just be put back in because of his test scores, and there was no way he was going to bomb his tests just to be kicked out. No. He was being kicked while he was down, but he kept trying to get back up.

In sixth grade, the final year of the torment, Victoria made a large mistake. She blundered so terribly and crossed so many lines that Reidan has threatened her life while holding some fishing line. He had put the fishing line near his own neck, and said to her, "If you don't stop, this is going to be you."

He was in court two months later because the girl had filed for a restraining order against him. The judge wasn't stupid, she knew that Victoria had to have been doing something to make this child, a student who scores A's on all his tests, snap. And that's when it all came out. Victoria confessed to instigating other people to make fun of him, as well as coordinating the whole hate crime. She was the one who told other people to mess with his things, she was the one who got him kicked out of camping field trips because it was always the opinions of 20 or 30 other people with the same story against his one story of truth. She was the reason he was always in trouble. She said it in front of her grandmother, who believed her to be the sweetest angel. She said it in front of her teachers, who knew her to be a pain but had trusted in her anyways. She had said it to Reidan's father, who had disbelieved all the stories Reidan had told him. She told them. All of them.

Reidan had gotten out of there with no restraining order. He had won the case. The hate crime suddenly stopped. Everything was normal.

But he wouldn't forgive them. Not yet. Not that easily.

Middle school came, and with it, the anonymity of many, many people. Yes, word still got through the grapevine, telling of what he did, but he was still able to make a few friends... And in eighth grade, he had made one of the best friends of all.

Her name was Sarah Learry. She was a vixen. She had striking green eyes and the rosiest of pelts. He had fallen in love with her, and she with him. She had a sketchy past, much like Reidan himself, but they didn't mind. They stayed together for months, until, inexplicably, she had to move away to a distant town.

"I can't help it," she had said. "I'm living with my aunt and uncle right now because my mom was abusive, and CPS stuck me with them. But the problem is that the court that handled the custody case can't transfer their services to this area, and so I have to go back to my home town and live under foster care..."

"But what about me? What about us? Sarah.. You're the first person who has ever bothered to care for me as I am. I don't have to act around you.. What's going to happen to us..?" Reidan had asked, misty-eyed and resentful.

"We can still send letters! We can try to see each other every once in a while if you come to where I'll be." She had put her paw on Reidan's shoulder, trying to calm him down. They were at her house, one day before she had to leave. It had been coming for a while, but it had always seemed so far off. Now, Reidan's world was being turned upside-down, and he was completely unprepared.

"I'll miss you so much..." Reidan had said. Sarah leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. The first kiss either of them had ever given each other. Reidan's eyes opened, and he looked up.

"I'll miss you too... I'll try and write to you as often as I can, okay?"

"You better..." Reidan gave a small sniff and leaned in close, pressing his lips against her cheek gently.

He could see it now, too. Her eyes were tearing up as well. "We still have tomorrow," she said.

"But we only have one class..."

"So? You can still come and we can say goodbye one last time..."

"I don't ever want to say a final goodbye to you. I miss you already and you're not even gone.."

"I know, me too."

The next day after school, they met at the end of the hallway that was closest to the school's field. Without saying a word, the two embraced, and held it for a count of ten. When they let go, Reidan had her hand in his, and as she stepped back, he held his hand forward, trying to prolong the contact as long as possible.

"Goodbye, Reidan... I love you." She had said. He believed her with all his heart.

"And I love you too, Sarah..." And he meant it with his entire being.

She turned around and walked out into the field, and Reidan could feel his heartstrings being plucked with every step she took, until at last she had crossed the field and exited the school grounds.

Reidan decided later that it was best that she didn't look back.

Only a few months later, after middle school was over, and the letters stopped arriving, did Reidan figure out the truth. She wasn't moved forcibly by something completely unrelated to her. It was most probable that she was sent away. She had always done risky things, she had told him, and he figured out she must have done some more of them, and gotten herself kicked out of her aunt and uncle's house.

She hadn't told him the truth.

She had betrayed him.

And it broke his heart.

~~~~~

After that High School had started. Reidan went about as if he were a hollow shell, because that was all he felt that he was. he went through two years like this, and now with Allen having come around, Reidan was finally starting to feel like he was some semblance of 'alive' again. But he hadn't been 'alive' for so long, he was terrified of it. It was absolutely horrifying. He had gone so far into his shell, erected so many walls around himself, that he lost touch with the real world and what it meant to be present and aware.

Reidan was still staring off into space, looking at the place that the bird had been half an hour ago when he had started to reminisce. He came out of it feeling... empowered. He was himself, he realized. He was in charge himself. His happiness was his own responsibility, and he had been neglecting it for oh so long.

He stared at the late September sky and inhaled one deep breath, and exhaled the same thing. In. Out. In. Out. He was alive. He was present, and he knew what he had to do. He had to change everything about himself. He wasn't happy. He wasn't making anyone else happy. He had to change.

Looking back, he figured that he truly was like the bird. It had been stunned when it fell out of its nest, and after a while it seemed to realize that it wasn't really hurt, and it flew off as a result.

Reidan walked the rest of the way home. His parents were gone for the day, and he was alone. He went into his room, laid down on his bed, and closed his eyes.

He went through all the bad things again, all of the bad things he could remember, and slowly, one by one, dismissed them. He forgave the people who did the terrible things to him, and he let everything go, little by little.

He stayed like that four hours, taking his time to make sure that he put as much feeling into it as he could. He had to let go of everything as sincerely as he could.

And it was working.

Slowly, Reidan felt a small weight seemingly lift off of his chest. He felt like he could breathe easier. He forgave more and more foul deeds, and the feeling intensified the farther he went.

He took down the walls, with their buttresses and parapets. He sealed off the dark corners of his mind where all his doubts and worries lived. He came out of his shell, and he found out who he really was.

Somewhere along the line he came across the dilemma of whether or not he loved Allen. It was clear that Allen had loved him, had been perfectly willing to love him, too. Even when Reidan was a foul person. And, upon looking deep inside himself, Reidan found that, yes. He did love Allen. He loved the way that one side of Allen's mouth would quirk up just a little bit higher than the other side when he smiled. He loved the way Allen's voice carried his sentiments and emotions, even to the most undeserving. He loved how Allen was compassionate and understanding.

He loved Allen.

And that marked the end of Reidan's revelation. He opened his eyes, having accepted the truth me loved another man, having forgiven the accounts of all who had wronged him, and having forgotten the sadness and aching of his world just a few hours previous. He had to change more than that, though. He knew that he had to change the way he acted, and he promised to himself, and Allen, that he would become someone that people would be proud to call their 'friend.'

"Yes... it's a whole new day out there, Reidan," he said to himself softly. "And you're a whole new you. Take the day. Seize it. Make it your own. I'm responsible for my own happiness, and I intend to make myself happy."

And then he felt a twinge of something, a little something special. Something he hadn't felt in almost ten years.

Pride. He was proud of himself for managing to do this.

He was so proud, in fact, that he dug his phone out of his pocket, and texted Allen.

"Hey, I have some good news for you."

He had intended to say it right then and there, and confess his love, but then he shook his head. What kind of confession was a confession over text? It was a bad one, he decided. He would tell Allen tomorrow, and everything would get better.

Yes. Everything would get better.

Allen

Allen grunted, thrusting deeper and deeper into the squirming hyena beneath him, relishing in the feeling of his cock being wrapped up in the hyena's silky smooth embrace. They had fucked on campus during lunch, and again in fifth period, meeting up in the bathroom and doing it in a stall with Gras against the wall. And now they were going at it like animals again. Allen was at Gras' home, and they were on the hyena's bed. Allen was a few inches away from balls deep inside of Gras, and Gras was moaning loudly in sheer pleasure at being filled so completely by Allen's enormous tool.

"Oh my... o-oh! Yeah, right there, Allen, baby! Uunf! Harder!" Gras moaned out in ecstacy, watching as his stomach bulged from the monolithic task of housing such a monstrous cock. It turned out that Allen was indeed 'big.' The hunky panther's massive cock topped out at an absolutely huge nineteen inches long and a seemingly impossible four inches thick. It had taken a lot of warming up, but the hyena had managed to get almost the whole thing lodged up inside him. A human would have broken by then, but furries are what science calls 'free of most forms of physics when engaging in sexual pleasures.' It fit, although Allen was met with much resistance, and he still couldn't quite hilt all the way, but every thrust was pushing him just a little bit deeper into the hyena's depths.

Allen grunted and moaned, leaning over the hyena and fucking him ruthlessly, jackhammering his massive cock into the hyena at such fast speeds that, even with the panther's exceedingly gratuitous amounts of precum, the clinginess of the hyena's walls coupled with the tightness of him made Allen's cock feel like it was almost on fire. The friction was so great that it made him almost cry in painful pleasure as he bit down onto the hyena's neck and hammered at his abused prostate.

It was too much for Gras, and he orgasmed on himself for the sixth time since they started this round of sex, taking true after his hyena heritage of many orgasms per session. he arched his head back and moaned loudly, his balls pumping out a fair amount of cum from his own sizeable cock. Gras' cock was an envious eleven inches long and a mouthwatering two and a half inches thick, so he was not small by any regards, however his member was completely dwarfed by Allen's pistoning punisher.

Allen soon lost himself as well, and, as he painted the hyena's walls white, he failed to hear his phone give off a small beep from inside his pants pocket, letting him know that he had received a new text message from a particularly skittish Siamese cat. I would remain unread, unfortunately, for quite some time as the pair of lovers without love tried to recover. Instead, Reidan was left, staring blankly at his screen awaiting Allen's reply, of which nothing came.

Reidan

Reidan sadly put his phone away, promising himself that he would not feel too sad about it. Allen was probably just busy doing work or something. And then Reidan remembered, he had completely forgotten about his homework! It was already almost seven in the evening and he had yet to take a shower, do his homework, eat breakfast, or do any of his personal obligations!

He scurried off his bed and went off to do those things, busying himself with his work before finally going to bed at a reasonable hour that night.