FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Josh sighed heavily and got out of bed with a loud yawn. Taking a glance at the clock, he noted that it was seven-thirty.

"Better get ready for school," he told himself. Donning his uniform he looked in the mirror, checking to see if he looked tidy. For a human he was a pretty fine specimen, six foot tall with brown hair, deep green eyes and a well-toned body. He was a little muscular, due to the many hours he spent each week training at his local Karate dojo. Satisfied with his appearance, he grabbed his bag and proceeded to the kitchen to grab some cereal before he left.

"How are you, sweetie," his mother Janett asked as she was putting the washing in the machine.

"Pretty good, so long as you don't call me that," Josh replied with a playful smile. Janett walked over and gave him a hug, looking at him.

"You're a big boy now, year eleven, so I suppose you're right. All grown up, what am I going to do when you leave home?"

Josh laughed a little, replying, "I'm sure you'll manage." His mum nodded, knowing the day would come when he would have to leave home. He walked over to the cupboard and grabbed some oats, pouring himself a bowl and adding milk. He sat down at the table, digging into the food eagerly. His mind wandered to his friends at school; it made him smile. His school had the biggest mix of people anyone had ever seen. Of the thousand-odd people who attended Kalm Secondary Private School, there were many different cultures.

There were people like him, the humans, a large group within the school. They made up about 30 percent of the population there. Then there were the furs like his friend Baroque, who was a greyhound, or Sarah, who was a rabbit. They were about 40 percent of the total people at Kalm. Then there were the scalies. Some people avoided them because of their looks, but Josh thought it was nonsense. He knew one by the name of Dan'ir who was one of the most intelligent people he had ever met. They filled about 20 percent. Then there was a small group, the avians. They were rather rare, but still had about 70 or 80 who went to the school. They tended to hang out together but were cool with anyone else joining in with them. People seemed to just immediately like the avians, they had endearing personalities.

When he had finished he put the bowl in the sink and ran so he could catch the bus. He managed to get a seat next to his friend Baroque.

"Hey man, what's up?" Josh asked, giving the greyhound a friendly slug on the shoulder.

"Not much, man. Got a bit of homework due in today, nothin' too serious though," the canine replied with a shrug. Josh looked up at the front of the bus and saw a patch of yellow fur from between the headrests.

"Who's the new fur?" he asked curiously.

"Dunno," came Baroque's reply. Josh looked for a few more seconds before returning to looking out the window. He supposed he would see the newcomer at school somewhere.

The bus pulled up and Josh hopped off, shaking his head. Just another day in paradise; more homework than he could shake a stick at would be thrust upon him. Baroque patted him on the pack before leaving him for his locker. Josh looked for the yellow-coloured he had seen on the bus but it had obviously dissapeared into the building.

"Oh well," he muttered with a shrug. He liked meeting new people: he was quite a sociable human. He entered the main gate and proceeded to his locker, throwing his bag inside it unceremoniously. He took out his laptop and books and proceeded to walk to his homeroom. The bell rang loudly and he picked up his pace slightly, not wanting to be late.

Josh dropped into a chair, booting up his notebook quickly. When it had loaded he opened up his timetable, taking a peek at his day.

"Let's see..." he said under his breath. Physics, I.T, English and Maths; not a bad day all round. At least he had good teachers for three of those subjects. He stared at his Physics book for a minute, preparing himself for the class ahead. Physics was his hardest subject, but me usually managed alright.

The bell for first period came rather quickly, making Josh snap his textbook shut and put his laptop away. Walking over to his classroom, he looked to see if the newbie was anywhere, but he couldn't spot it. He gave up, deciding to let it be and opened the door to his class. He was the third person in, choosing to sit at the very left of the classroom. It was a habit he had to sit in the same spot for every lesson. Another ten students filed in behind him at random intervals, taking their seats around the room. His teacher walked in last, sitting behind her desk at the front, ready to dish out her latest load of work to the already-tired class.

"Good morning," Mrs Bayon said in an overly cheerful voice for nine in the morning, "I would-"

She was interrupted as a knock on the door broke her sentence and a yellow fur walked in. Josh immediately knew it was the newbie and took at good look. 'It' was actually a she, a young tigress by the look of her. Josh noted that she wasn't yellow, but more of a light orange with brown stripes. She turned and met his eyes, an odd twinge running through Josh's body as he stared at her. Some of the other furs, including one tiger at the back, nodded in approval. Josh had no other words for it, even though she was a fur: she was good looking, no doubt. She looked about the room for a second before walking over to sit next to Josh in the empty seat beside him. His breath caught as she pulled up a chair, looking a little awkward.

"Hi, I'm Raya, nice to meet you," she said the Josh meekly. He immediately noted that she was a little shy, which surprised him.

"I'm Josh, the pleasure is mine," he replied, before realising what he had said. She smiled, seeming not to notice as he blushed. Why did she have this effect of him? He was human, she was a fur. He shouldn't be attracted to her, should he?

"I'm new here, and I got a little lost finding my way to the room. This school is much bigger than my old one." She smiled again, trying to make small talk. Josh couldn't have been happier that she wanted to talk with him.

"Why did you change?" he asked, genuinely interested.

"Well," she replied, "my dad got a job here in Kalm, so our family had to move house. It was sad to leave all my friends behind but I'm sure I'll make some new ones." Josh noted that she was looking at him when she said that, and he hoped it meant she wanted to be friend with him.

"If you like, I could show you around the school?" he offered, "until you feel comfortable with the place." Raya nodded.

"I'd like that," she said. A loud noise interrupted their conversation; realising that the teacher had noticed the chatting they got to work.

At the end of class, Josh walked to his locker after saying goodbye to Raya. As he made his way over he thought over a few things. Raya was very nice, seemed friendly enough and was smart, he had figured that much. But why did he feel so drawn to her? He was pretty sure it wasn't normal for humans to be attracted to another species, so why was he? It wasn't like he had a chance, anyway. Barus, the tiger in his class, had made it pretty clear he wanted to claim her as his own by his actions during Physics. Josh shook his head, trying to free himself from those thoughts. He was sure she wouldn't be interested in him that way, anyway.

He reached his locker, only to see Raya standing next to it.

"How did you get here so fast?" he said in surprise. The tigress smiled mischievously.

"My locker is just around the corner," she replied as if it was obvious, "and I saw you this morning getting your books." Josh found it a bit surprising, having looked for her at the time. Still, it was possible he had missed her during his search. He entered his combination and dumped his books inside, grabbing a bar of chocolate. He closed the door and re-locked it, before turning and offering her half of the bar.

"Really?" she said happily, "Thankyou." She took the piece and bit into it, smiling in her usual way. It made Josh very happy when she smiled, he didn't know why.

When she had swallowed it all she said, "shall we?" Josh stared at her blankly for a second before remembering that he had offered to help her around.

"Want to go anywhere in particular?" he asked. Raya thought about it for a moment, then shook her head.

"Not really, I thought we could just hang out, since you're my first friend here." She smiled at him and he thought about that for a second. She considered him a friend, that was great! Together they exited the corridor and made their way over to the canteen.

Josh quickly found that conversation between them came easily, as though they had know each other for years.

The conversation was light, mostly involving their histories with school, family and hobbies. Josh attempted to make a bold turn in the conversation ten minutes later.

"So," he asked, a little nervously, "are you, you know, involved with anyone?" She looked at him curiously, and shook her head.

"No, I never really liked most of my peers at my old school. Plus, I never really found tigers that interesting, they just seem to be all about showing off and fighting to be the top cat." She looked at the ground and Josh wondered if that was a hint, but he let it slide.

The bell went and both of them had to go to their next classes.

"What do you have next?" Josh asked, hoping they would be in the same class.

Raya tweaked a whisker, replying, "I think, um, English, Media and Maths." Josh smiled, at least they had two classes together. She waved as she departed, and Josh felt a little disappointed their conversation couldn't have gone on longer.

I.T came and went, he was top of the class. Computers just seemed to speak Josh's language, and everyone knew it. Magic fingers when it came to a keyboard and mouse. English was harder, having to hand in an essay on politics. It wasn't the best bit of text he'd ever done, but it would suffice.

The bell for lunch came rather quickly and Josh realised he was really wanting to talk to Raya again. He walked to his locker and sure enough, the tigress was waiting for him.

"Are you following me?" Josh asked with a smile.

"Well, sort of," she replied sheepishly, "you're the only person here I know, and a few of the others are... a bit off-putting." Josh understood, he had heard from Baroque during English that Barus had tried to chat her up during her English class, and she had firmly turned him down.

"If you don't like it I could leave," she said but Josh shook his head furiously.

"No, actually, I don't mind it. I like you a lot, Raya," he added before silencing himself. His mouth would get him in trouble one day.

"You know what's funny," she said quietly, "many people say that to me, but for some reason I believe you." She looked into the distance and sighed. Josh wished he could know what she was thinking.

"Let's go," she said. She turned and Josh saw her tail. It was rather exotic, he thought offhandedly, before he followed her into the yard.

At the end of the day Josh met up with Baroque, who slapped him on the back heartily.

"Hey man, how's the tigress going?" he asked with a grin.

"She really nice, actually," he replied. Baroque wolf-whistled and Josh cuffed him across the head.

"Got the hots for her, do ya?" the greyhound continued.

"No, of course not," Josh replied, but his red face gave him away.

Looking at Josh intently, he said, "you don't have to lie to me. It's fine, I don't mind if you do. In fact, good luck to ya!" Josh looked at his friend and nodded. He could always count on Baroque to come through for him.

"Thanks," Josh added, "but don't tell anyone, alright." Baroque patted him on the back.

"Don't worry, you know me," he said, and Josh knew the canine wouldn't talk to anyone about it. Trust was a great thing.

The bus pulled up and they got on, continuing to chat about their day.

When he got home, his mum hadn't yet arrived, so he went to his room upstairs. Dropping his bag in the corner he flopped onto his queen-size bed, sighing softly.

"Wow," he said to nobody in particular. He had found a new friend, this made him quite happy. He looked at the ceiling, wondering if she would hang out with him the next day.

"Nah, she must have made another friend by now, I can't just hog her to myself," he told himself. Josh dragged himself upright, glancing at the clock. He had a little bit of work to do, so he rummaged through his bag and pulled out his books.

No matter what he did that night, he couldn't get Raya out of his head.

The next day, he met her again, before school. She was waiting by his locker, as usual, which made him happy.

"Hi Josh," she said cheerfully.

"Morning," he said in reply. She may have been a morning person, but he definitely wasn't.

"Not to be rude or anything, but don't you have any other friends?" he said, hoping she wouldn't take it the wrong way. She didn't.

"Well, I could, but I like you. You're just more friendly and honest than some of the other people here." She smiled and Josh had to look away because his face had turned red again. He had never met someone as friendly as her. In fact, he hadn't met anyone quite like her at all. She offered her paw out and Josh took it, noting her extremely soft pads and retracted claws. He hadn't ever touched her fur before; she was so soft and beautiful.

As they walked outside they didn't see the foul look Barus threw Josh as he lurked behind a corner.

They continued to walk out and around the grounds, talking the time away before school started.

"So," Raya asked, "do you live with anyone?"

"Only my mother," Josh said, before lowering his head, "my father died when I was young. Car accident, got hit by some drunks on the wrong side of the road."

Raya gasped softly, "I'm so sorry, that's horrible. Do you have any siblings?"

"No," Josh said. Raya smiled.

"I'm an only child too," she laughed. Josh grinned in return, sitting down on a chair next to the school front garden. She sat opposite him, looking at him with an expression he couldn't read. Felines were so hard to read, they could look angry when they were happy and vice versa very easily.

"Do you have anyone special?" she asked and Josh looked at her, not expecting to have the question come back at him from her.

"No, never really thought much of it," he said. Raya looked at him for a while, reading his expression

She said carefully, "do you think you could ever, you know, like a tig--"

She was cut off roughly as Barus walked over, his two tiger mates in trail.

"Look what we have here," he snarled. Josh clenched his fist, he had always hated Barus. He was just an oversized bully that picked on anything that moved.

"Go away," Josh told him angrily.

"Oh, now I'm scared," Barus snickered and his cronies chuckled as well. Raya snarled and the tiger turned his attention to her.

"Hey, bitch, how 'bout you get with a man that actually has a set," he said rudely. Josh stood up and Barus laughed at his angry expression.

"Hey boys," he said to his mates, "here comes the Karate kid. Better watch out, he might beat us up. Oh, wait, he's not allowed to, remember. Only in 'self defence', remember." He laughed in his annoying way and grabbed Josh, shoving him roughly into the bushes.

"See, he's got nothing," the tiger said before turning and blowing Raya a kiss. As the trio left, Raya looked at them disgustedly before holding out her hand for Josh.

"Thanks," he said as he brushed himself off. Raya looked concerned but Josh shook his head.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. They're just trying to be tough, but they'll get their own one day." He cracked his knuckles and Raya looked at him oddly.

"Why didn't you fight them?" she asked.

"Because, it would bring me down to their level. That's what they want me to do, and I won't give them the satisfaction." He didn't look convinced as he said it, though.

"Could you beat them?" she asked and Josh looked at her.

"Easily," he said and for some reason, Raya knew he wasn't saying it just to show off. Everything about the human made her feel safe. The bell rang and the pair left for their classes, slightly troubled by the events that had transpired.

English was as boring as ever, and recess thankfully came after a long period. Josh went out to his locker, only to find Raya wasn't present. He waited a few minutes before becoming curious. Maybe she had found someone else after all. He grabbed a bite to eat and went outside, taking a look around. It didn't take long for him to see the colourful mass of fur that was Raya talking to a teacher. He walked over, wanting to know what the teacher wanted with her. When he got closer, Josh realised that she was actually arguing with Mr Rosenburg.

"I swear, I was with my friend the whole time this morning," she said, close to tears at that point. Josh walked over, glaring at Rosenburg, whom he didn't like. Rosenburg was a harsh teacher that offered no mercy when it came to homework or behaviour.

"What's the problem?" Josh asked and Raya pointed at him.

"There he is, he'll tell you, I was with him all morning." Josh nodded, she had been, but still not understanding what was going on. Mr Rosenburg stared at the pair critically, as if deciding whether it was worth pursuing whatever issue he had with the tigress.

"Very well," he said reluctantly before returning to the staffroom.

"What was that all about?" Josh inquired, rubbing his neck. Raya wiped her eyes and sat down on the bench next to them.

"He had received an anonymous tip-off that I was the one that had written graffiti on the gym wall this morning." Josh gasped, he knew exactly who had done the vandalism.

"It was Barus, I saw him. He mustn't have dropped what happened earlier today." Josh shook his head, it was a low trick to pull, even by Barus' standards.

Raya twiddled her claws, adding, "Why did Mr what's-his-name just believe him like that, anyway?" Josh knew the answer to that one.

"Because he's a teacher that just loves handing out detentions. It's in his blood, I think." He grinned and Raya couldn't help but smile.

At lunch, Josh became more curious as to her family. She had asked him a lot of questions, but she hadn't really revealed much about herself.

"So Raya," he asked when they met up at his locker, "what's your parents like?"

"Well," she began, "My mother is a surgeon, very well paid but she works overnight sometimes. She's quite nice, I think you'd like her. My dad is a paramedic, loves his job quite a lot. He likes to feel as though he's making a difference, and I'm proud of him. They actually met through their jobs. It's quite a story." Josh now understood why she went to Kalm, she wasn't exactly poor. Josh's mother had inherited her money from her parents, and since she had didn't have to work hard to pay her bills she spent her time working at the local charity shop. This made Raya smile, she loved people who helped others.

"Do you play any sports?" he asked and she shook her head.

"I'd like to," she told him, "but I don't have the physical strength most players do. I prefer to play music, it makes me relax." Josh nodded, he was a guitarist himself in his spare time.

"Maybe we should play together some time?" he said.

"I'd like that," she replied, flicking her tail absent-mindedly. Josh blushed, she was so sexy when she did that. Feeling brave, Josh tried a new approach.

"Well, how about tomorrow, after school. My mum will be out, and I'll have the house to myself. You could come round and we could spend some time together." Josh knew he was being a bit risky, it wasn't a very subtle advance. Raya smiled and nodded.

"I'll go home with you then, tomorrow," she confirmed. Josh grinned, pleased with himself.

"Anyway, what do you like to do?" she asked him in return.

"Well, aside from playing guitar," Josh informed her, "I do Karate."

"Ah, now I understand what Barus was saying earlier, about you only being able to fight in self defence." She smiled apologetically and Josh grinned.

"So," she continued, "you really meant it when you said you could beat him?"

"Yeah, one of these days he will push me too far," Josh said, a shadow crossing his face. Raya knew he meant it.

When lunch was over Raya departed to her locker. She didn't understand why she felt so drawn to Josh, all she knew was that when she was with him it was... right. She shook her head, but could never quite get Josh out of it.

When the buses pulled up, Baroque met up with him as per norm.

"Sup?" Josh greeted.

"Not much, but I heard rumours going around 'bout you and the cat." Baroque grinned at Josh's expression. His greyhound friend was very hooked up, he always seemed to know everything that was going on.

"Bah, let them talk," Josh said dismissively but deep down he was worried. What would people think if they drew the wrong conclusion about him and Raya. It was a taboo of sorts to be with a member of a different species. It just didn't happen. Baroque didn't press further, he knew what was going on and didn't have a problem with it.

"Got much on tonight?" Josh asked, looking at his phone to see the time.

"Actually, I've got a bit of a footy match going on tonight, wanna come? It's just a friendly game, there will only be like ten people."

"I'd love to," Josh replied, "it's been a while since I've played." He chuckled and Baroque grinned, remembering the last time Josh had played footy with him. Josh had a hard time getting the ball so he'd clotheslined one of the players. He got the ball, but got a penalty.

"Just make sure you keep your arms to yourself this time," Baroque said, unable to keep a straight face at the memory. They both laughed.

When they got off the bus Josh sent a message to his mother telling her that he was playing sport with his friend. A couple of people from school followed them and he realised they were the people who were playing as well. The local football oval was only a few hundred meters away, and they reached it in no time. Baroque produced a footy from his schoolbag, taking off his jumper as well. Josh removed his hoodie, it would get hot while they were playing.

"Everyone ready, 'cause I'm picking teams now," Baroque called out. Everyone replied with a general affirmative, so Baroque pointed to Josh first.

"Your with me, furless," the greyhound said, using his favourite friendly nickname for Josh. Josh slugged him on the arm as he went over to his team. After a few more selection the five on five game began. For a friendly match it was rather rough. Josh was tackled repeatedly and gave some of his own back in turn many times.

Near the end of the match the scores were near even. Josh managed to take possession and made a run for goal. He immediately found himself faced with his worst possible fear in a footy match, a dragon. Damn, was the first word that went through his mind. Dragons were big, tough and had scales like rock. Tackling one would be like hugging a bus. While it was moving. At you. At 60 kilometres an hour. With no brakes. He charged ahead, throwing caution to the wind. Just as he looked like he was about to run into the seven and a half feet tall scaly, he did the one thing nobody expected. He dived straight through the middle of his legs, sliding across the dirt before rolling out of it and kicking the ball. It soared true, straight through the middle post.

"Holy shit," Josh heard Baroque yell as they all stood there, wishing they had their cameras on.

The match ended after that, everyone having a last few minutes of chat before heading home. Baroque and Josh were the last to leave, stowing the ball and exchanging a firm handshake.

"See you tomorrow, mate," he said with a smile before heading off. Josh nodded and started walking back to his own house. When he got home, Janett was there, vacuuming the carpet swiftly.

"Hi mum," Josh called out to her. She didn't hear over the vacuum so he yelled it instead. She switched it off and greeted him in return.

"How was your day?" she asked.

"Pretty good, just had a game of footy with Baroque," he replied, looking at the dirt on his clothes. His mother noticed, she was a bit of a clean freak.

"Make sure you have a shower," she told him as he jogged up to his room. Shutting the door he chucked his bag in the usual spot. Getting into new set of clothes he walked over to his guitar. He picked it up and played a few test notes to see whether it was in tune for the next day. It was, as always. He was a little anxious, actually. He had feelings for Raya, he knew that, but he needed to control himself better. She was a good friend and he didn't want to lose that.

Later that night, when he had gotten to bed, he thought about her for a while. His mind wandered as he drifted off, and he pictured her furry body pressed against him, her amazing tail curling around his leg, her...

The next morning, he woke up feeling refreshed. He was happy, getting to school in record time. He even beat Raya, and had to wait for her near his locker for five minutes.

"Good morning," he said, in a good mood for such an early time.

"You seem rather cheerful today," the tigress noted, although this pleased her. Josh nodded, and their day together began.

When the last bell for school rang Josh found Raya waiting patiently outside his locker, guitar strapped to her back.

"Tell me again how you get here so fast?" he said in amazement.

"When there's a will, there's a-"

"-very fast tigress?" Josh finished, and she laughed. It was music to his ears.

"Well, we'd better get going if you want to catch the bus," he informed her. She nodded, and they made their way to the bus bays. As Josh had said, his bus was almost ready to leave. They jumped on and the doors closed behind them.

"Close," Raya noted.

"Yeah," Josh replied before paying the driver and taking a seat. Raya slipped in next to him, putting her bag and guitar case between her feet. Baroque two seats in front, he turned and gave the heads up Josh, who nodded.

"How was your day?" Raya asked Josh, looking at him intently.

"Fine, I had a fair bit of stuff on, though. I was meant to be going to Karate tonight, but I took the day off so we could hang out." He smiled but she shook her head.

"Oh, I'm sorry, if I'm stopping you from..."

"It's fine, don't worry," Josh cut in, "I can miss a class or two every now and then." She nodded and smiled at him, glad he found her worth spending time with. She leant back in the chair and breathed in deeply, smelling the warm air in the bus.

"Smells a bit in here," she said, wrinkling her nose. Josh chuckled.

"That's what you get when you take the same bus as half of the athletics team," he replied. It did smell quite bad, but he was used to it.

Fifteen minutes later the bus pulled up at his stop and they both hopped off, bags slung across their backs. They walked to his house, taking about two minutes to get there. Josh pulled out his key and opened the door. Raya gasped, his house was very nice inside, and extremely clean.

"You have a nice home," she told him and he nodded his head in agreement. Beckoning to his room she followed him up the stairs.

Ten minutes later, when they had settled in, Raya went over to her guitar case and pulled out a Lamix Geo, her favourite electric guitar. Josh was surprised, he had thought she would be more of an acoustic player.

"Nice," he said when she handed him the instrument. He noted after about ten seconds she had modified it for a sound more suited to metal. This surprised him more, she didn't seem like the rocker type.

"You play metal?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, I don't look the type, do I? I've been told that before. Music is the one area where I'm not my usual calm, gentle self. It's sort of a release for me." Raya held out her paw and took the guitar back.

"Don't your claws kinda, I dunno, get in the way?" he inquired curiously.

She flexed her claws, replying, "they actually help in a way. I can do some cool stuff with them, it produces a good sound." Josh nodded and went to his cupboard. Raya tried to see around him, but he blocked her view.

"Come on, show me!" she said in a playful voice. Turning around Josh produced his Rayden X-Series G, easily worth three times what her Laimx was. She gasped, recognising the model instantly.

"You have to let me see that," she begged and he gladly handed it to her. She strummed a few notes experimentally and grinned like a six-year old in a candy store.

"Amazing," she said before passing it back to him. He pulled the strap over his head and grabbed his pick, offering one to her but she shook her head. He was about to ask why but she flicked out her impressive claws, making him shake his head in wonder.

"I hope that's scratch-proof," he muttered but she heard him.

"It is," Raya told him, before they began to work on their own song. It took a while, both of them starting off slowly but together they managed to put together something decent in an hour. After a while they were both exhausted, so they decided to call it quits for a while. They both put their instruments away and lay down on his bed.

"Do you play often?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied, "in fact, I'm doing a little demo for school tomorrow as part of my music course."

"Really?" Josh said curiously and she nodded.

"We still have hours left," she said with a sigh.

"We could watch a movie, if you'd like?" Josh said, pointing to his large T.V in the corner. Raya sat up and dashed over to his DVD collection.

"I'll take that as a yes," Josh chuckled and she grinned.

"What do you feel like watching?" he asked, joining her at his movie collection.

She looked at him, saying, "I watch a bit of everything, but I could go for a scary movie now."

"You sure?" Josh asked, "some of mine are pretty heavy stuff." Raya nodded, wanting to watch one for a different reason. She finally found one and handed it to him. Opening his player he popped the disk in and closed it again. A few seconds later the show began, and they both lay back on the large bed, propped up on pillows. The movie started of slow, one of those serious suspense-building shockers that made them jump suddenly every few minutes or so.

"This is great," Raya said, still a bit shaken from the last jump she'd just taken.

"You look scared," Josh teased, and she pushed him playfully.

"No way," she said but he knew she was, just a little. They got about two-thirds of the way to the end, and it looked like the main protagonist was going to be in some serious trouble. Josh almost jumped when he felt her hand grip try to wrap around his. He opened his fingers and hers slid between his own, clasping firmly. Josh sighed, she was so amazing to touch. He squeezed her hand comfortingly and she smiled, looking into his eyes.

Suddenly, a loud noise from the T.V made both of them jump, and they laughed at each others faces. Raya lay back against the pillow and Josh did the same, watching the rest of the movie in silence.

Her paw never left his hand.

Later that evening Raya left, and Josh fell asleep quickly. His dreams were of Raya and of her soft fur, her laugh, her music; everything about her made him happy.

He awoke the next morning feeling rather happy, again. He wondered if it was something to do with Raya, she just seemed to give him the motivation and energy he never had to get to school. He hopped out of bed, noticing a small bit of the tigress' hair had been left on his bed. It wasn't much, but it was a very noticeable orange on his black sheets. He brushed down his bed, hoping his mother wouldn't notice. Once he had finished tidying up he went downstairs to have breakfast.

"Good morning," his mother said as he entered the room.

"Morning," he said in a cheerful voice, and Janett frowned.

Studying his face, she noted in a scrutinising way, "you're in a good mood for this hour." Josh sat down at the table, looking away from her slightly.

"Yeah, I've been having a good week," he replied truthfully. She looked at him for a moment, but decided against pressing him for details. She was good like that, never really interfering with his personal life. Janett knew he was a good boy, anyway, so he wouldn't be into the drugs like some of the other boys at Kalm. He scoffed his breakfast and grabbed his things, heading out so he could catch the early bus. He wanted to see his new friend as soon as possible. He hung out with Baroque in the morning for a change, because Raya had to go practise for her performance at lunch.

"How's it going, man," the greyhound asked, yawning widely.

"Great, I had Raya come round last night," Josh replied. Baroques floppy ears perked up and he pounced on the opportunity immediately.

"What happened?" he asked eagerly and Josh looked at him, sighing.

"Nothing like that," he said, "we just played some guitar and watched a movie." Baroque looked down, he had hoped for something a little more, well, more. They went down to the gym and grabbed a football, kicking it for about ten minutes until the bell rang.

"See ya later," Baroque said with a quick handshake. Josh shook his hand and nodded, making his way back to his locker.

Lunch came, and Raya heard her name called. She nervously picked up her Lamix and took the guitar out onto the stage. She was ready, no doubt, but she always got severe stage fright. She took up her position on centre stage, looking out at the small crowd of forty as she plugged into the amplifier. She turned it on and heard her guitar spring to life, making her at least a little less shaky knowing her equipment was sound.

She placed her hands around her guitar and waited for her cue. She took another look around the audience and was extremely surprised to see Josh sitting in the back row, having slipped in unnoticed.

She smiled and he gave a little wave, just as the light went onto her. She was ready now, no longer nervous now that Josh was there for support. She started off beautifully, each note rolling across the small theather as her paw danced across the neck of her Lamix. Josh lay back, enjoying it thoroughly as she played her piece. It wasn't metal, but it was extremely beautiful. When the final note faded out Josh was the first to clap. Raya grinned at him and bowed before leaving to a decent applause from the little crowd.

Josh left and went around the back entrance, behind the stage where Raya ran over to him and hugged him tightly. He was a little surprised at first but returned the gesture, patting her back. They were alone, so he wouldn't be seen by anyone.

"You came and watched!" Raya said happily, releasing him after an awkward pause.

"It was beautiful," Josh said and she beamed widely. She put her guitar back into its case and zipped it up tightly.

Looking at him, she added, "I'm glad you liked it." Slinging her guitar over her back she walked back to her locker, Josh following along. He had no idea the immense gratitude she felt towards him for showing up. The bell went and Josh had to get to a test, so he left her to go to his locker. She looked at him as he went, wondering if she would ever get the courage to ask him.

She would, one day.