Run with me
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Rachel is thrown out of her bed by a sudden noise.
The apartment was in complete silence. In the early minutes after the sunrise, the liminal space between the cacophony of the waking world and the sublime quietude of the earthly dreamers clashed in a perfect mixture of sounds and thoughts.
The perfect balance of my home was shattered by a piercing scream.
"GOOD MORNING BLACK!!"
The shrill scream nearly sends me flying to the ceiling, and I feel every fur on my head standing up. In an instinctive reaction, I hurled a plate at the head of the creature who had just kicked open my apartment door.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" I shouted, ready to attack the intruder again.
"WAIT! WAIT!" The creature cowers in the doorway, shielding its head with its paws. "Damn, you cut my ear. Are you crazy?"
I take a deep breath, trying to keep my heart from leaping out of my mouth. What kind of stupid burglar breaks into someone's house screaming and then cowers like a coward at the first sign of resistance?
Not wanting to take any chances, I grab the lamp from my bedside table and march toward the pathetic figure groaning at the door.
Wait, I know that whimper.
Now that I'm fully awake, I can see the "intruder" is none other than Gabe, wearing some kind of striped pajamas and fluffy black slippers. He's still clutching his right ear, tears welling in the corners of his eyes and a fast heartbeat.
"Red?" I say, still unable to believe it's really Gabe curled up in my doorway.
"For the gods, Black," he says, slowly standing up, still holding his ear, "you almost split my head open."
Without thinking, I pull the wolf inside and sit him down on my bed. I rush to the bathroom for the first-aid kit, and within minutes, the wound is cleaned and bandaged.
Good job, as my dad would say.
"Thanks, Black," Gabe says, running a paw over the bandage, "though I'm not sure if I should thank you for fixing something you caused."
"Red, my dear," the words leave my mouth calmly, until the anger bubbling in my blood finally erupts. "YOU BREAK INTO MY APARTMENT AT THE CRACK OF DAWN, SCREAMING, AND YOU DON'T EXPECT TO GET HIT?" Exasperated, I sit beside him, feeling a twinge of guilt. "Consider yourself lucky... I could've done way worse than a little cut."
The wolf covers his ears again with his paws, almost crying. But then I notice something odd, something suspicious.
What's this grin you're desperately trying to hide, wolf?
Laughing to myself, I ruffle Gabe's fur. "Looks like someone had a great night."
"Hey, cut it out," he says, trying to push me away, "and yeah, it was wonderful. So amazing I couldn't sleep, and I waited until now to wake you up and tell you everything."
How adorable. He stayed up all night just to tell me. At 6am. On a Sunday.
"Couldn't you have waited a little longer, Red?" I try to hold back my anger. After all, poor Gabe has no one else to talk to. But waking me up at dawn on a Sunday is just too cruel.
"Like I said, I couldn't sleep," he defends himself, guilt creeping into his voice, "and you want to know, don't you?"
Oh, I do. I wanna know everything, down to the smallest detail.
"Fine," I say, getting up and heading to the closet, "if you want to tell me something, you'll have to run with me." I grab all my gear and quickly change in the closet, feeling Gabe's shy gaze on me. It's not the first time I've been naked in front of him, but it's always funny to see the wolf flustered.
"Seriously, Black?"
"Dead serious." I lace up my running shoes and check myself in the mirror. "All set." I turn to the wolf, still sitting on my bed. "Are you going to run in pajamas, Red?"
With slumped shoulders and an exaggerated sigh, Gabe leaves my apartment and heads upstairs. He has gear similar to mine—we bought it together at the start of summer. He swore he'd run with me every day, but after the first session, he never showed up again.
Five minutes later, an exhausted wolf appears at my door in running shorts, a shirt, yellow sneakers, and a fitness watch. His fur was still a little messy, but I'm sure most of the time he took was spent brushing his coat.
"Ready," he says, a mix of irritation and exhaustion in his voice, "you can torture me now. Just go easy on me, please."
Smirking, I step out, leading him toward the university's track. "We'll walk for now, but once we hit the track, I want to see those little paws moving."
We walk in silence through the campus streets. The chilly morning wind makes my fur stand on end, but the exercise will soon chase away the discomfort.
"I thought you had something to tell me," I say, matching the wolf's pace. "Start from the beginning."
Still annoyed by the sudden workout, he begins recounting his movie date. But within minutes, he's relaxed, detailing everything. His voice is bright and happy—something I don't remember ever hearing from him before.
I hope this doesn't spiral out of control.
"And then his friend showed up," Gabe says, out of breath. "We kissed one last time, and he left."
We stop for the fifth time since we started running. Gabe leans against a pillar, bent over, clutching his side, panting with his tongue hanging out.
"I'm proud of you," I say, slapping his back. "Did you invite him to your place?"
"I did, Black," he replies, only lifting his eyes to meet mine, "I don't know what I'd have done if he said yes, but I asked."
"And he didn't come?" I can't hide my shock, but I doubt Gabe notices.
"No. He had other things to do. I bought myself more time, but I was so worked up I couldn't sleep."
Something's not right.
We keep running for another thirty minutes before the wolf starts coughing violently, forcing us to stop. We decide to grab breakfast at the dining hall—a new place that opened the other day, and word is they have wonderful donuts.
We walk in partial silence. Even though the wolf told me the whole story, something's still missing. His expression and posture, once full of energy and joy, are now hesitant, lost. Terrified.
We sit at one of the many tables, already holding our box of sweets. Gabe remains downcast, even as he stuffs his face with a chocolate donut.
"Red, what's going on?"
The wolf nearly chokes, coughing for several seconds. When he recovers and his yellow eyes meet mine, they're filled with tears.
"Black, what am I going to do?" His voice is thick with fear and desperation. "When my mom finds out, she'll rip my head off. And don't even get me started on my dad and Mike."
I get up and sit beside the wolf, who can't stop crying and sobbing. It breaks my heart to see my friend like this. "Are you going to tell them?"
"I don't have to," he says, burying his face in my shoulder, "there were at least five of her students at the movies yesterday. And Professor Glenda was right next to me when I kissed Eddy. If she doesn't know yet, she will soon."
"Your mom's really smart, Red," I say, stroking his head, trying to calm him. "She'll understand, won't she?"
I already know the answer: no. As smart as the wolf's mom is, her homophobia and prejudice run deeper. I doubt she'd accept having a gay son. And that wasn't even the worst part.
"Doubt it, Black. You should hear the things she says about her gay students." Gabe buries his face deeper into my shoulder, hugging me tightly. "It's going to be horrible."
We stay like that for a long time until the wolf finally calms down. When the sobbing stops, I release him and flash the biggest smile I can muster. "It'll be okay, Red. I'm here for you."
"Thanks, Black. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."
A sharp pain hits my heart—light but deep. I hope you'll forgive me, Red.
"Honestly," I say, looking seriously at the wolf, "what worries me isn't even your mom. It's your crazy shit brother. You think he'll do something?"
Gabe gives a timid smile, looking down. "I'm not scared of Mike. He'll probably come here and beat the hell out of me, but nothing too bad."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'NOTHING TOO BAD,' DAMN IT!" I'll never understand this wolf's mindset. "YOU'RE SAYING HE'S GONNA HURT YOU, AND THAT'S FINE?"
"Black, the worst he can do is hurt me physically," he says with eerie calm, "that's nothing compared to what my mom can do to my head. And before you ask, my dad barely talks to me except for the occasional homophobic joke he texts me." Gabe sighs, defeated. "The worst that can happen is we never speak to each other ever again."
The Alder family is one of the craziest I've ever met. No wonder Gabe has so many issues and trauma—more than any young person should ever have.
"Red, listen to me," I cup the wolf's face, forcing him to look at me, "if your mom already knows, there's nothing left to hide. When do you go back to Evergreen?"
"In about fifteen days," he says, eyes locked on mine.
"Good. Enjoy these two weeks, then. Be happy. It's not like you can go back in the closet, right?" I stand and take his paws. "We've got a lot to plan, and you have to tell me how the leopard kisses."
Gabe wipes his tears on his shirt and gives a genuine smile. He takes my paw, and we start walking back home.
"He kisses really well."
"Details, Red. I want all the details."