College Bound: Chapter 3 - Keeping Secrets
#3 of College Bound
Here's more story! omg I really need to stop writing so quickly or else I'm just gonna hit a wall and I'm gonna be in Writer's Block, but I can't help it! I get these ideas in my head and I have to write them down! And before I know it, I have another chapter ready for you guys to read. (I might be going slightly insane, but don't worry).
I feel like this one was more evenly distributed between Nate's and Tyler's own personal thoughts. And I'm trying to give the extra characters a little more depth while also keeping good story pacing. I hope I'm doing alright. Random bonus: Wanna know a secret? I've been listening to the whole soundtrack of Kirby Air Ride on repeat while I write this story. I honestly have no idea why, but it's been getting my creative juices flowing.
Warning: This story may contain romantic and/or sexual interaction between two males, and also a bit of cursing. If this is something that bothers you, feel free to leave the page at this time.
Nate trudged down the cobbled path of the area known as the 'Memorial Mall'. It was an open field with a path on both sides that stretched for about 200 yards that connected the back of the Student Union to the Arena. There was nothing but grass and a few scattered saplings in the field. The pathways had a few benches and trashcans along the trail. A few buildings could be seen far to the left and right sides. At first glance, the area seemed boring. But when it's Game Day, the area is the prime Tailgating spot. Hundreds of tents and thousands of furs were around, drinking beer and playing loud music. On any other day, the Memorial Mall was a quiet area where a few furs walked to just relax. No one really knew why the place was given the name that it was, but it didn't really matter.
It was about 5:30 PM now and the sun was starting to go down. Thankfully the temperature was getting lower as well, which was good since Nate was sweating. The poor fox was so lost in thought right now and the heat wasn't helping. He sat on one of the benches and leaned back, looking skyward with a sigh.
"What is going on? Is something wrong with me? Here I am, getting all obsessed with some timber wolf - another male! I don't understand why. I'm straight. Sure, I've never been in a relationship before, or kissed a girl, but I've always found them attractive. I've never thought about another guy before. But Tyler's so... different. The way he looks at me, the way he smiles, his body, his voice, his eyes, his hair, his fur... It's like I just want to hug him and have him hold me. I want him to pin me against the wall and- Wait! What, no! No! Bad! No, I'm straight. And even if I was gay, there's no chance in hell that Tyler would be interested in me anyway..."
He looked downwards and put his paws on his head. The poor fox could really use a friend right about now, but at the same time he was glad the he was alone and able to breathe. He was glad that Cory hadn't followed him. The bear had really been annoying him recently with the joking. What did he mean by "spill it" earlier anyway? Nate wasn't hiding anything. He was stressed about school and having to make new friends. This was only the first day with these guys and it was pretty overbearing.
Nate decided to stand up and continue walking. A long walk always made him feel better anyway.
-
Tyler, Andy, Lauren, and Stephanie all walked into the bookstore. It was completely packed with other furs getting their books and supplies at the last minute. It was almost as bad as a mob of late Christmas shoppers gathered around the single open register. The line even had a set up queue with ropes, full of furs holding lots of different books. Surprisingly, there were only three out of four cashiers at the desk. It was pretty chaotic.
"If we get books now, we'll be stuck in that line for hours!" Lauren exclaimed, putting her paws to her hips and sighing angrily.
"Well I told you to get your books early. You should've expected this to happen," said Stephanie.
"I did get them early. I only need one more, and when I came it wasn't in stock yet."
"That's kinda weird. You'd think they wouldn't start selling without everything ready," Tyler said with a chuckle.
The four of them went to the right side of the store, Andy and Lauren looking for their textbooks. Stephanie and Tyler followed around.
"So what's it like being the big football star?" the zebra asked.
Tyler looked at her and smiled. "Well I'm not letting it get to my head if that's what you're implying."
"Well, I'm glad it's not, but I'm surprised. I mean a freshman quarterback from out of state? Do you know how long it's been since that happened? You've been featured in National News. You have more awards than most players get their entire college career, and I'm sure there's more to come. You're pretty much the talk of the university. Surely that's gotta make you proud."
Tyler chuckled. "Well, ma'am, the key word there is proud. I am proud, but I'm not arrogant. Why should I think myself better than everyone else just because I'm practically a superstar?"
The zebra just blinked at him. Was he serious? The wolf was a big-shot. A good player, a known celebrity, and sexy as hell to top it off. He could literally have the school do whatever he wanted; anything to keep the star player satisfied. Yet here he was, being kind and genuine.
"Wow..." Stephanie thought aloud, clearly at a loss for words.
"Fuck! I can't find either of these books, dude!" Andy suddenly shouted. He looked at his list again. "It says 'BIO 1014: Biology Basics' but it goes from BIO 1010 straight to BIO 1113 on this shelf."
Lauren crossed her arms and raised a brow, staring at the falcon. "That's because it's at the bottom of the shelf, dumbass. The books are placed numerically from top to bottom."
Andy looked down and there was the book. "Oh... I knew that."
Tyler and Stephanie couldn't help but laugh.
"If you're this bad now, how much worse are you when you're high?" Tyler snickered.
"Fuck you, dude," the falcon said as he punched the wolf's shoulder.
After they found everything, they stood in line. Unfortunately, the line hadn't gotten any shorter. Lauren pulled her phone out and started texting away as they waited.
Andy was the first to speak. "So what do you think about Nate, Tyler? He seems a little off, doesn't he?"
"He's just worried about school, that's all. Though I'm not entirely sure why. He has his goals set straight and he likes what he does. I mean we all saw him with that camera of his," Tyler responded.
"Oh, Nate? Yeah, he's crushing you," said Lauren all of the sudden.
"Eh, what?" Tyler asked, completely thrown off by the comment.
"C'mon, dude. It's completely obvious. He's got it bad for you, wolfie. Trust me, I was sitting across from him. He was looking at you pretty much the whole time. His little purple eyes never blinked as he stared at your tan fur, your gorgeous face, your rockin' body... He is all sorts of into you and I'd bet money that he doesn't even know it."
"Wait, what? I thought Nate was straight," said Andy, slightly confused.
"That's what he told me," Tyler said with a shrug. "And even if he's not, it doesn't bother me. He's a cool guy."
"Well don't give him the wrong idea, Tyler. Us foxes are really sensitive. If you're not interested, you need to let him know before he gets completely obsessed with you," Lauren stated.
The whole group was quiet for a while after that, moving ever so slightly every few minutes or so. Even though the line really wasn't that long, it took a few minutes for each customer to sign off everything to check out.
"I'm gonna go get a smoothie from the Smoothie King. Does anyone else want one?" asked Tyler.
"Oh, yeah! Get me a blackberry one, dude. Love a good blackberry smoothie," shouted Andy as he passed him $5 bill.
"I'd like a Tropical Breeze, if you don't mind," said Stephanie as she handed him a few ones.
"I'm good, thanks," Lauren said. "When you get back I think we'll be ready to go."
"Alright, be right back," Tyler said before he turned with a simple wave.
-
Tyler walked into the Smoothie King. The whole place smelled of freshly cut fruit. There were only about two or three tables to sit at and a small unisex bathroom around the corner. The majority of seating was right outside on the balcony that overlooked the plaza just between the Union and the Breezeway. The wolf stood back from the counter and up at the large menu. There was pretty much any combination of fruit you could ask for, and even the option to do a custom order.
"Can I help you, sir?" asked one of the cashiers, a male wolf like himself.
"I'm still looking, but thank you," Tyler replied with a smile.
"No problem. Just let me know."
The entrance door rung and Tyler turned his head to see Cory coming in - alone. The bear shook his head, looking down.
"Hey, you okay?" Tyler asked as the bear approached.
"I'm fine. It's Nate that's got me worried," the bear sighed.
"Wasn't he with you?"
"Well, yes, but he ran off without me. Something's going on with him and he won't tell me what it is. It's so weird. We've never kept secrets from each other."
Tyler tilted his head. "You think he's keeping a secret from you?"
Cory laughed. "Think? Tyler, I know he's keeping something from me. I also know exactly what it is, too. I just wish he'd realize it himself."
"What're you talking about?" Tyler asked, clearly confused.
The bear just gave a sly grin. "I think I'll just let you figure it out. Oh by the way," Cory handed over a bag; Nate's camera bag. "The poor little guy got so distracted he forgot his camera at Wackadoo's. Make sure it gets back to him."
Tyler nodded and put the camera bag onto his shoulder. He still wasn't sure what Cory meant by his words, but he obviously wasn't about to tell him.
"What'll you have, sir?" the cashier spoke again.
"A mango and peach smoothie, please," Cory replied.
"And for you?" the wolf said as he looked to Tyler.
"Uh, a blackberry smoothie and a Tropical Breeze for my friends, and I think I'll have a Banana Slam. Is it possible to add some strawberries too? If that's not too much trouble."
"No problem, Mr. Selend. I won't even charge you extra," the employee stated before going to the back and preparing the blender.
Cory chuckled. "Banana and strawberry smoothie. Funny, that's Nate's favorite."
"Is it?" Tyler grinned.
Cory nodded and smiled before turning away for a second to laugh. He spoke quietly, thinking aloud on accident. "Man, you and Nate would look so good together..."
"What was that?" Tyler asked, ears perking,
Cory looked back at him. "Hmm? Oh nothing, just thinking out loud. Sorry."
The bear paid for his smoothie and headed for the door. "See you later, bud. And when you see Nate again, give him a hug and tell him I'm sorry, okay?"
"Uh... okay," Tyler replied. He watched as the brown bear left and then smirked. For some reason he liked the idea of hugging the fox. Nate was pretty much adorable in every sense of the word.
"Huh... Is it weird to be thinking like this? I guess I never really took the time to think about what I liked sexually; always had too much to worry about with football. Nate really is cute though, there's no doubt about that. Heh, UCF's star freshman quarterback ends up being gay. I'll never hear the end of it."
"You're smoothies are ready, sir," came the voice of the cashier that knocked Tyler out of his thoughts.
"Oh, thanks," Tyler replied as he paid for the three smoothies. He grabbed them and left to head back to his friends.
-
Nate groaned. He passed by the Music building and the small art exhibit. Directly ahead was a parking garage and to the left was the Rehearsal Hall where a class was just getting out. The pathway he was on led to the Reflection Pond, a semi-circular pool of water with a giant jet fountain in the center. Every few hours there was an overture of music and the different jets played along in a show. Behind the pond was the five story Library that was infamous for hookups in the bathrooms and the top floor isles instead of being known for an endless assortment of research books for pretty much any topic on the planet. But that's college.
Nate sat down in the grass near the Reflection Pond, staring out at the center fountain and the shining lights. It was almost 7:30 now, and the sun had gone down completely. The pathways were lightly lit with small lamps and electric torches. There were many less furs walking or riding along now, and the white fox was alone in the grass. He lay down and looked up at the cloudy sky. It looked like it could rain at any moment.
"I can't believe this. I'm so confused about everything and I have no idea what to do. It's like all of the sudden I have no idea what I want in life. Have I been living a lie this whole time? What in the world is going on with me?"
He slowly sat up, deciding that taking some pictures would get everything off his mind. He had a special night-vision lens for such the occasion. The fox reached down to open up his camera bag- it wasn't there.
"What?!" he shouted as he instantly stood up and looked around him. "Where is it?! Where's my camera?" How did he not realize he didn't have it this whole time? He quickly ran back to the Student Union, thinking he could've left it in the restaurant. He didn't remember grabbing it. As he turned the corner, he suddenly felt a severe pain against his right cheek. He yelped in pain as he tumbled over onto the hard brick ground. Nate had collided with a bull riding on his skateboard. He heard the other male grunt as he also fell to the floor.
"Ow! Watch where the fuck you're going!" the bull shouted as he slowly stood onto his hooves and dusted himself off.
Nate sat up and scooted himself back very slowly to get some distance between him and the angry bull. "I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to."
"Whatever, just get the hell out of here," the bull shouted as he shook his head and hopped on his skateboard again and rode off.
Nate scrambled to his feet and took off again, temporarily ignoring the pain in his cheek and arm. Soon, the Student Union came into vision and he darted inside to Wackadoo's. He looked around and spotted Frankie, the waitress from earlier.
"E-Excuse me," Nate said through breathless pants. "Have you... found anything... missing recently?"
The lizard woman turned and gave a quick smile to the arctic fox. "Hey, you were with that group with Mr. Selend, right? What're you looking for?"
"M-My camera bag. I think I left it at the table," Nate said, still trying to catch his breath.
"I'm sorry, honey. I didn't find anything at the table after your group left. And we just did a clean sweep of the restaurant and there's no lost and found. But I'll let the staff know and we'll keep our eyes open, okay?"
Nate frowned, his ears drooping. "I... Thanks."
"Good luck, honey. I'm sure you'll find it. UCF isn't known for thieves and crimes. If someone found it, it'll be turned in," the lizard said with a reassuring smile.
Nate slowly walked outside and took the back exit of the Union, deciding to retrace his steps. But he only got as far as the Memorial Mall before he broke down, collapsing to the ground in tears. His prized posession - the whole reason he even came to college in the first place - gone. Months upon months of saving up his own money ruined. He messed up, and he'd have to learn to deal with his mistake whether he wanted to or not. He decided to head back to the dorm. It was late anyway. As he started to slowly walk down the path, he felt drops of water fall onto his muzzle and whiskers. It was starting to rain.
-
Tyler and Andy approached the door of room 4125, Tyler using his key to open it for the both of them. Inside was Gina and Will sitting on the couch in the living room, playing Super Smash Bros Brawl on a projector screen that displayed on the wall.
"Ah! Fuck you!" Gina shouted as she smacked Will's arm.
"Yeah right. In your dreams," he shouted back.
"You always fucking kill me! There's two computer players and you always go after me."
"It's survival of the fittest, Gina. You know this."
"How did you guys set this up?" Tyler said as he and Andy walked up next to them to watch.
"Oh it was easy. I plugged in the Wii's display cords into the inputs on the projector and the rest of it's all plugged into the TV and outlets on the wall. The sound is coming from the speakers in the TV, but we get an awesome widescreen view of the game."
"And Will goes dorking it up again," Andy said with a laugh.
The bear rolled his eyes. "You say that and yet it's so simple to do. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the white and yellow plugs go into the white and yellow slots."
"Don't need to get anal about it, dude. I was kidding. I want in on next game, by the way."
"Will! Stop killing me!" Gina shouted again, causing the other three to laugh.
"We could throw parties with something like this. Watch sports, play games, get drunk off our asses..." said Andy as he sat on the arm of the couch next to Gina.
"Aw yeah! Can we, Tyler?" Will asked as he turned to look at the wolf.
Tyler laughed. "Sounds like fun, though I think we can settle on soda and energy drinks, hmm?"
"Nah man, I got hookups," Andy said with pride as he tucked his wings behind him and crossed one of his legs in front of the other.
"Well so long as no one gets us all in big trouble, then I see no problem."
"And we can invite over all the girls!" Will said with a big goofy grin on his face.
"You guys are such dorks. If you want to experience a college party, you actually have to go out and find one. You can't just host one in a small dorm like this," Gina said, seemingly no longer interested in the game.
"Well fine, miss know-it-all," said Andy as he looked at Gina. "What do you suggest then?"
The cougar laughed and crossed her arms, not even looking back at the falcon. "If you guys really want to go to a party, wait until after one of the football games. The rowdy fanboys always gather up after a victory and throw a big celebration. And I bet if we all show up as Tyler's entourage, we'll get in easy for sure."
Tyler stayed quiet for the time being, feeling a little uncomfortable by the conversation.
"Do you think we could, Tyler?" asked Will, a gleam noticable in the bear's eyes.
"I guess... Though if I'm gonna be honest, I don't know anything about parties, especially college ones. I'd be lost and not sure what to do," the wolf replied quietly, scratching the back of his ear.
"Don't worry about that. I'm sure your teammates will show you the ropes," Gina said. "Ha! I got you!" she then shouted as she got a big hit on Will's avatar, causing his character to fly off and die in a large, colorful explosion.
"Hey, not fair!"
"It's survival of the fittest, Will. You know this," she said with a big smirk on her face.
The four of them laughed, but then suddenly the door opened again. Tyler, Andy, and Gina all turned to see Nate slowly walking into the dorm, clothes damp. The fox let out a sigh and closed the door.
"It's uh... raining..." Nate said quietly, not even looking at any of the others.
"Bummer. You okay?" Andy asked.
Nate simply nodded before heading down the hallway towards his room. Tyler followed right behind him.
"Hey Nate, I-"
"Tyler, I..." Nate interrupted. "I'm sorry, I really don't want to talk right now... I just want to take a shower and then go to bed."
"But I have your camera bag."
Nate's ears perked and he quickly turned at Tyler's comment. "Y-You what?" And there it was. The wolf was holding up the bag in his open paw. The fox practically snatched the thing from Tyler and zipped it open. Everything was accounted for; his camera, the lenses, and all the other small pieces of equipment. Nate slowly looked back at Tyler, noticing the smile on his face. Without even thinking, the fox lunged forward and wrapped his arms around the timber wolf in a tight hug. "Thank you... Thank you so much..." Nate said, practically on the verge of tears.
Tyler hesitated for a second, but soon found himself returning the hug, instinctively resting his chin on top of the fox's head for that brief and tender moment. "You're welcome..."
Nate opened his eyes and backed away, suddenly feeling very awkward and timid. His face was flush red. "Sorry..." He tried to wipe away the tears forming in his eyes to save himself from further embarrassment.
Tyler smiled. "It's okay. Cory asked me to give you a hug anyway. He said that he was sorry about earlier. I think you should thank him, though. He was the one that went back and grabbed your camera from the restaurant." The fox nodded, not saying anything else. Tyler narrowed his eyes a bit and then reached forward, gently touching Nate's right cheek just under the wound he got from earlier. "What's this? Are you alright?"
Nate stood, his body trembling lightly from the wolf's touch. "I-I uh, accidentally ran into some guy that was skateboarding as I was running around looking for my camera... I think he must have hit me on the cheek on accident. And when I fell I might've scraped my arm too." He lifted up his left arm, showing a long pinkish mark along his outer arm. There was also a small amount of dried blood.
Tyler looked and gave a small nod. "But you're okay, right? Some scrapes can be serious. Make sure you clean it so it doesn't get infected."
Nate's blush only became deeper as the two kept talking. "I'm fine, thank you, though..." He couldn't keep making eye contact with the wolf. "Listen, I'm gonna go into my room and do some work on the pictures I took today. If you need anything, just knock. I'll probably be asleep in a few hours though. It's been a long day."
Tyler smiled and nodded again. "Alright. We'll be out here. Just shout if you need something."
Nate nodded and turned away, pushing his door closed.
Tyler smiled in the hallway and headed back to the living room. "I think Lauren was right..." he said quietly to himself.
-
Nate spent the next two hours or so on Photoshop, doing some quick touching up and editing on some of the photos he took today and some other pictures that were saved on his computer. It was a good distraction from the current events. But even so, Tyler came up in his mind every time his camera bag came into vision. If it weren't for the wolf, his camera would still probably be lost somewhere. Nate smiled a little, feeling happy that Tyler was, at the very least, looking out for him.
His thoughts immediately scattered once he heard a knocking at the door of his bedroom. "Hey, it's Tyler. Can I come in?"
It was at this moment that Nate realized that he wasn't wearing a shirt. He only had a pair of green and black plaid pajama pants. "Uh, just a second!" He quickly threw on a random blank white v-neck. "Come in."
The door opened and Tyler came inside. And of course, the wolf just happened to be wearing nothing but a pair of loose red gym shorts. The first thing Nate noticed was the timber wolf's very muscled chest, sporting a four pack at the very least. His upper arms were probably thicker than the widest part of Nate's legs. It was expected that the wolf took care of himself - being the football star that he was - but Nate never could've imagined that he'd look so... perfect. His face reddened, and he crossed his legs as he felt a tingle in his groin.
"I just came to check on you before I went to bed. Cory tells me that you had a pretty rough day," Tyler said with a genuine smile.
"Thanks... I-I'm fine. I feel a lot better now that everything's been moved in and I have my camera back."
"I'm glad. It's weird seeing someone more stressed out than I am. First game is in a week and I've gotta make a good first impression if I wanna keep the school on my side." He laughed.
Nate frowned a bit. He almost felt bad for the wolf in a way after putting himself in his shoes for that brief moment in his mind. "I'm sure you'll be fine. After all, they made you quarterback for a reason."
Tyler snickered. "True, I guess." He stepped further into the room and looked at the fox's computer. "So is this what you work on? They look really good."
Nate smiled. "Thanks. They're not the best photos ever, but they are pretty good. A little touch up here and there and they're pretty much art."
Tyler pointed a finger to the screen on the slides menu to a picture just at the bottom. "What's that?"
Nate clicked and the photo opened. "Oh, this is my uncle's wedding with his husband. They got married at Disney earlier this year and he asked me to photograph their wedding."
"Aww, that's sweet. Wow, man. You could put that on a resume. I bet you'd get gigs all the time."
"Maybe, though my real passion is sports photography."
"Ah, that's right. I remember now." Tyler looked at the pictures again for a second before an idea popped in his mind. "Hey, you could come to the evening football practice tomorrow if you want. Not a lot of people know that our practices are actually open to the public, but we go into the stadium and go through runs and stuff. You could take lots of pictures, I bet."
Nate couldn't help but smile a bit. "That sounds great, but... you sure I wouldn't be intruding?"
"If you run into trouble, I'll vouch for you. Don't worry so much. You're in college. Let loose and have fun doing what you want."
Nate laughed again, but then there were a few moments of silence. And then Nate had noticed that he and Tyler's faces were literally just inches apart. The two of them were quiet as they looked straight into each other's eyes; like a scene out of a cheesy romance movie. The fox couldn't speak as those warm hazel eyes stared into his purple ones. With one slow and fluid motion, the wolf closed the distance and pressed his lips lightly against Nate's, the two sharing their first kisses with each other. The fox was screaming on the inside, but he couldn't back away. In fact, he pressed his lips back and sealed the kiss, gently lapping his tongue against Tyler's mouth. His eyes closed as bliss washed over his whole body; it was so wrong, yet it felt so right. So perfect. He brought a paw up and placed it behind Tyler's neck, pulling the wolf in even closer. The wolf gave a gentle and loving growl as he accepted, parting Nate's muzzle with his own and engaging in some tongue play. The little fox gave a gentle moan, his body trembling. He couldn't believe this was happening.
"Nate? Nate!" he suddenly heard Tyler's voice shouting in an echo. Nate quickly opened his eyes. It was all just an illusion. "Nate, you okay? You spaced out for a second there."
"Huh? W-What?" He looked around in his room, incredibly confused. His face was bright red.
Tyler laughed, ruffling the fox's head hair. "I think you need to rest, buddy. Will, Andy, and I are all gonna go to the WalMart near campus early tomorrow to see if there's any last minute things we need in the dorm. You're free to come with us. You can bring Cory too if that'll make you more comfortable."
"I..." The little fox was still dazed from his daydream. Did that really only happen in his mind? "Uh, sure. I'll go. Sounds like fun." He tried to keep his mind off it, gently brushing the hair out of his eyes.
Tyler smiled. "Alright. Well, goodnight. Big days coming up soon." The wolf turned and left the room, but not before giving the fox one last smirk before he closed the door.
"Goodnight..." Nate took off his shirt and closed his laptop. He turned off the light and plopped into his bed. It was gonna be a long night.
I bet you all are so mad at me... Playing tricks and making Nate's thoughts become a false reality like that. But it was cute, right? Also, Mr. Skateboard Bull might appear in a later chapter. Haven't decided yet. And if it wasn't obvious, I am actually making (attempting to at least) the campus look and feel like the University of Central Florida. A few things are sort of made up, but you get the basic gist of everything. I think this was also my longest chapter so far, though out of 3 that's not entirely a big stretch. But I'm surprised this one went as long as it did.
I hope you guys liked it!