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Chapter 8

A New Face

"Hey, V, we're here!" Burn states as he turns off the car, now parked in the driveway of a light blue painted house with windows that glistened in the afternoon sun.

"What time is it?" Vergennes asks, yawning as he arches his back and raises his arms over his head.

"Four o'clock. Now come on silly, let's go meet Nesh." Burn laughs as he opens the door and steps out of the red Toyota hatch-back vehicle, into the hot midday sun.

"Alright, alright! I'm excited." V says, laughing as he steps out of the car and slams the door closed and follows behind Burn, looking up and taking in the view of the new sight.

The shingles of the light blue painted house's roof were perfectly straight. The windows seemed to sparkle clean, and the walkway was clear of any sort of debris. A small garden on either side of the path to the front door was littered with strawberry plants. Blueberries that were ripe for the picking hung from other fruit baring shrubberies and littered the ground, unusable. The humid weather seemed to be helping these magnificent plants more than anything else in the area, as other furs, drenched in sweat, went about their own daily outdoor activities around the neighborhood. Vergennes, close behind Burn, laughed softly as a dragonfly buzzed past the red-wolf, startling him slightly and causing him to flinch as he pressed his finger to the doorbell.

"Watch it you." Burn laughs, looking at the otter over his shoulder, his tail flicking behind him. "Nesh is home alone right now, so there's no need to worry about making impressions with parents right now."

"Oh, wow. Okay." Vergennes replies, standing behind Burn as he peers over the red-wolfs shoulder. "You told him we were coming, right?"

"Yeah. He knows we would be here around this time." Burn replies as the front door opens.

A tall jet-black wolf, probably around six feet two, stood in the doorway as it swung inward. His tall frame was covered in a pair of khaki shorts and a striped purple and blue polo that accentuated his violet eyes and his purple tattoo on his shoulder, which was barely visible underneath the light blue collared shirt. Despite the tall frame, the dark wolf was thin, his arms, legs and torso were slim, not quite filling out the shirt and shorts on his body. The dark wolf's ears perked and a broad smile formed on his muzzle as Burn waved an excited hello.

"Hey, Nesh!" Burn stated, looking up at the tall wolf, his tail flicking back and forth excitedly.

"Glad you could make it, Burn." Nesh answers in a soft and low voice, rubbing an arm awkwardly as he catches sight of the otter standing behind the red-wolf.

"Oh, Nesh! This is Vergennes." Burn steps to the side so that the otter can shake hands with his new acquaintance.

"Names Nesh. It's nice to meet you. Burn's told me so much over the phone about'chya." The dark wolf smiles softly, his violet eyes holding the otter's hazel ones while his soft low voice rings out.

"You can call me, V. He's done the same for you. Talked so much about you that is." Vergennes states awkwardly as he shakes hands with the dark-wolf, the otter's smaller paw being concealed by the large paw of the taller canine's.

"Well come on in, don't want the house getting too hot. My parents aren't home, but I doubt they'd like me leaving doors and windows open on days like this." Nesh says as he steps to the side of the door frame and ushers Burn and Vergennes in.

Burn leads the way as Vergennes walks through the doorframe, his tail hanging close behind him as he looks around the entrance way. Stepping onto a small mat of brown carpet, just big enough for the three of them to stand on, the otter looks up a flight of stairs which lead straight from the entrance area to what seemed to be the living room. The sound of a T.V could be heard from the upstairs room, and the smell of something frying radiated from the unseen kitchen,

"It smells good, what're you making, Nesh?" Vergennes asks, turning from the stairs to the Dark-Wolf.

"Well, I guessed that you guys haven't had anything to eat since breakfast, right? Must be hungry. So I went ahead and started making waffles." The canine states as he starts walking up the set of stairs, his fingers lightly tracing the pawrail and his tail slowly waving back and forth behind him.

"Sounds delicious! I'm starving." Burn laughs as he follows close behind Nesh upstairs, beckoning Vergennes upwards with a look over his shoulder.

Nesh laughs as Vergennes starts walking up the plush brown carpet, making his way to the kitchen, hidden behind a light grey wall and a small arch-way door connecting the two rooms.

"So, Nesh. What's your major?" Vergennes asks, taking a chair and sitting at the table by a window, bathing the room in fading afternoon sunlight.

"I haven't decided. I'm just focusing on my General Credits for a while." The dark wolf states airily as he takes the last waffle from the friar and sets it on a plate of five others and walks over to the dining table.

"V is going into Athletic Training." Burn says, smiling broadly and licking his lips as he sits at the table as well, joining Vergennes and Nesh as the dark-wolf hands the otter and red-wolf a plate with a waffle.

"Um...well. That's...not true anymore." Vergennes says softly, his ears falling back as he looks down at his waffle.

Nesh and Burn both look at the otter, each in the middle of bringing a forkful of waffle to their muzzle, frozen still.

"Yeah...I didn't get in. I needed an eighty-three percent. I got an eighty." Vergennes shrugs and starts cutting into his waffle with his knife and fork, his ears still back and not looking at the two wolves.

"V." Burn sets down his fork with the bit of waffle on it. "Why didn't you tell me?" The red wolf places a paw on the otters and squeezes softly.

Nesh stares between the two, his eyes going from the slim otter to the bigger muscled red-wolf.

"I didn't want you to worry. I haven't told anyone. Shard...Clarence...Lance..." Vergennes stares down at his paw, covered by Burn's.

"Oh, V. You know I care for you. You should've told me. You're my best friend." Burn states as he stares at the otter.

Vergennes looks up into Burn's ruby eyes.

"I care for you, my friend. I'll always be here to support you." Burn says, squeezing the otter's paw again.

Vergennes tears up slightly and looks down, closing his eyes and shaking his head, staying silent.

Looking to Nesh, who is watching the red-wolf and the otter intently, not saying anything but thinking, Burn gets up and walks around the table and wraps Vergennes in a tight hug from behind.

"It'll all work out, bud. Don't worry." Burn states, his chin on the crown of Vergennes' head.

Taking the otter's paw in his larger one, Nesh raises it and kisses the knuckles of the smaller otter's.

"V. Hunny. Can you look at me?" Nesh asks, fixing the otter with a stare from his violet eyes.

Wiping his eyes with the back of his paw, Vergennes takes a shuddering deep breath and looks up into the warm and smiling face of the dark-wolf.

"V. I know we just met, but I already care for you like a best-friend. Burn has talked so much about you to me, and I feel like I've known you for a long time already. There's no need to be upset. This is just a challenge that I know you'll be able to overcome. It's a way to see if you truly want to go into Athletic Training. Okay?" Nesh squeezes the otter's small paw, and kiss Vergennes on the cheek softly.

"Now. No more tears, you hear me?" Burn laughs softly as he nips the otter's ear, causing Vergennes to wince and blush softly as he nods.

"Nesh. Thank you...I'm sorry for...this first impression." Vergennes says as Burn lets him go and walks back to his chair.

Nesh bursts out laughing.

"Sorry!? Whatever for? It shows you care and you don't hide your emotions! I like you even more." The dark wolf laughs as he takes a bite from his waffle. "Now, eat the waffles before they get cold."

Smiling softly, Vergennes lifts his fork to his maw, and takes a bite of his sweet and fluffy waffle.

Just another challenge that I can overcome. Just like tennis. To see if I truly want to be an Athletic Trainer.

Vergennes thinks to himself as he enjoys the company of his two friends, who are eating their waffles with a feral ferocity, and chatting the night away as the sun slowly sets and the moon brings night to a new dawn.

Rubbing his belly after eating the huge waffles, Vergennes groans as he sits back in his chair and closes his eyes.

"Nesh, those were so good." The otter states as he opens his eyes a sliver to look at the dark-wolf with a broad smile.

Chuckling, Nesh stands, his belly a little bigger now as he takes all the plates and waddles to the sink and begins washing them.

"I'm glad you liked them!" He states as he turns off the water.

"So, Nesh. You ready for school?" Burn asks, smiling and leaning on the back two legs of the wooden chair as Nesh hops up and sits on the kitchen counter.

"Yeah. Two more weeks. Can you believe it!" He laughs, kicking his legs.

"I'm excited." Burn says, looking at Vergennes whose eyes were fully closed as the moon casts an earie glow out behind the windows.

"Well. Looks like we should be heading back." Burn chuckles as he walks over to Vergennes and shakes the otter's shoulders, forcing the smaller male to wake up.

"You guys can stay the night if you want. It's already eight o'clock." Nesh states, laughing as he hops down off the counter.

"You sure? I can't believe we talked that long." Burn asks as he helps V up with a paw, both now standing side by side, looking at the dark-wolf.

"Yeah. Why don't we watch a movie and you can go to bed whenever? We have a guest room...but you would have to share..." Nesh states, blushing softly as he walks over to Vergennes and takes the otter's paw in his own and leads the smaller male to the living room.

"You sure we're not a bother, Nesh? What about your parents?" Vergennes asks as he sits next too Nesh on a large and plush tan couch, the T.V. in front of them playing at a soft volume.

"Yeah, parents are gone until tomorrow night, so you can stay until then." The tall and lanky wolf states as he pats the spot next to him with a paw for Burn, so that he sits in between the red-wolf and the otter.

Sitting down, the red wolf crosses his legs.

"How many credits are you looking at taking this year, Nesh?" He asks as he looks from the dark-wolf to the television.

"Thirteen. You?" Nesh asks as he stares blankly at the movie as a man and woman lay in bed, the white covers over their bodies, obviously both naked as the screen slowly fades to black as the next day appears.

"Same. How about you, V?" Burn asks, leaning forward to look at the otter around Nesh.

"I'm probably taking fifteen this year. I've been emailing my counselor, and it looks like I'm gonna focus on my General Credits this year as well." Vergennes says, leaning back on the couch, his head on Nesh's shoulder, eyes closed.

"Fifteen! You sure you want to do that? Don't over work yourself!" Burn states as he stares at the sleepy otter.

"I'll be fine. I took seventeen last year." Vergennes states as he looks at the two wolves, opening his eyes and blushing, realizing they were both staring at him, worried. "I promise! I'll be fine!"

"Okay. I just worry about you." Burn states as he sits back in the couch.

"I'm gonna head to bed." Vergennes yawns as he stands, arching his back and tail. "Where did you say the guest room was, Nesh?" The otter asks as he looks to the two wolves.

"It's the first door on your right." Nesh says, smiling and pointing down the hall from the living room. "Are you okay with sharing a room, you two?" Nesh asks, looking between Vergennes and Burn.

"Um. Up to you, V." Burn says, his face a little redder compared to his fur now as he shrugs.

"I'm okay with it. You're my best friend after all." Vergennes laughs as he sways his tail, walking down the hall and to the closed door on his first right. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. Thank you, Nesh. For everything today." The otter states as he waves to the two wolves, and closes the door.

Leaning on the door, his back pressed to the wood, Vergennes takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.

"I can do this. I can do this. Just another hurdle." He repeats to himself, over and over again as he pushes off the door and walks over to the large guest bed, throwing the grey and plush covers off the mattress.

Crawling in, fully clothed still, the otter pulls the blankets up to his chin and lays on his side, looking out the window as the crescent moon shines through the glass frame. Stars sparkling up high above.

Star light, star bright, the first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, the first wish I wish tonight.

The otter sings under his breath as he stares up at a single, bright star.

"I wish I can achieve my dreams." Vergennes states softly, barely above a whisper as he closes his eyes, warm and comfy as he falls fast asleep under the roof of his new friend's house.

End of Chapter 8.

Thank You for Reading!

-Vergennes