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The front door of the Mooney household opened and closed as a blue husky positively brimming with energy waltzed through the threshold. The middle aged she-wolf looked up from her laptop when he entered the living room.

"Hello, Russ," Abigail smiled. "Had a good first day?"

"Yeah, it was great!" Russ said enthusiastically. He held up his trumpet case for her to see. "Band was really fun!"

"I'm glad to hear it," Abigail replied. "Did you want to watch some TV or something to relax?"

"No, I've got homework to do," said Russ, climbing the stairs. "Maybe later though!"

"Okay, I'll be down here if you need help."

"Thanks!"

........................

Russ had been working on his homework for a while when he heard the door slam downstairs followed by a few muffled words. Tyler was home. Glancing at the clock, it was just after five o'clock. Why was he home so late?

In hindsight, though, it wasn't that big of a deal. He usually came home late, much to the chagrin of his parents. The husky's ears perked up when he heard heavy footsteps on the stairs heading closer to his room. He caught Tyler as he crossed past his doorway.

"Hi!" Russ chirped, startling the wolf. "How was your first day?"

Tyler appeared almost offended at the question, taking a step back and grimacing. "It was fine." he mumbled.

Russ glanced outside at the empty street and then back at Tyler. "What were you doing so late after school? How did you get home?"

Tyler snorted derisively. "What are you, my mom?"

"...it was just a question."

The wolf stared at him for a moment and scoffed. "I was at football practice. Roxy drove me home."

"Roxy?"

"My girlfriend."

"Ah."

Russ had forgotten about that wolf Tyler had been talking to earlier. It appeared his suspicions were correct.

"Oh, well that's nice I guess. I never had a boyfriend to take me home before I started driving."

The wolf's eyes bulged out of their sockets as he took several more steps back, now pressed against the wall. "You're a fucking -" He stopped himself from finishing that sentence and tried again, speaking in a hushed tone. _"You're fucking gay?" _

"Uh, yeah." Russ said matter-of-factly. What had that reaction been about? "Why, what's wrong?"

Tyler gulped and shuffled on his feet. "Nothing," he grumbled before moving out of the husky's line of sight. He heard Tyler's door slam further down the hall.

What was that about? Russ was left staring at the space where Tyler had just been and wondering what had just happened. Why would his homosexuality cause such a reaction from the wolf? He had no reason to be afraid or opposed to it...did he?

Russ put it out of his mind for now. He didn't want to worry about that right now. Tyler was a very complicated wolf sometimes and he didn't feel like trying to figure him out.

Now to get this damn History homework done...

..................................

"So they stick together because they have similar interests? That's nice."

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?"

It was lunchtime the next day. Scott and Russ once again sat at their table, which was still empty except for them. Over their food, they had started a conversation about cliques.

"You'll notice a lot of general groups of students around the school," said Scott. He had decided to buy lunch that day, and was eating a burger along with Russ. "The guys in the jackets are the jocks, the emo kids are those people who like to wear black all the time..."

"And people just stay in their groups like that? They don't interact at all?" Russ asked curiously. He had seen this happen a little bit at his old school, but not quite to this extent. "Doesn't that make it hard to make new friends?"

"Sure, they interact on occasion. You got a taste of that just yesterday." The bear took a bite and swallowed. "And yeah, it does make finding new friends difficult. But that's why us nerds stick together, am I right?"

"Right on, dude." Russ grinned as they shared a fist bump.

The conversation then shifted to relationship. When prompted whether he had ever been in one, Scott shrugged.

"Not really," he said. "I mean, I was in a relationship with this one girl in like sixth grade. But it was middle school, so I don't think it really counts." He munched on a cookie while he talked. "What about you?"

In truth, Russ had never been in a serious relationship. He had been quite infatuated with Kuri Sonas the tiger, but that was in the past now. And all things considered, it probably wasn't a good idea to mention his small crush on Tyler...

Russ shook his head. "Nope. I only just got here after all. There haven't really been any guys around here that have caught my eye yet."

Scott reacted the same way that Tyler had before; he looked shocked. He leaned in and whispered just loud enough to hear him. "Dude, um, I don't have a problem with it or anything, but...whatever you do, don't tell anyone that you're gay."

"Why? What's wrong with it?" Russ said a little too loudly, drawing the attention of a few students at a neighboring table. He lowered his voice. "What's the problem? I don't get it."

"Look," the bear said, making sure no one was listening. "People around here aren't very...tolerant of gay people. People who are openly gay in the school tend to get bullied a lot."

"But _why?_It makes no sense!" Russ was truly bewildered. The concept of homophobia was completely foreign to him. "What is it they don't like about it?"

Scott took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "That's something I probably shouldn't get into right now. If you really want to know, just look it up. There are all kinds of reasons people don't like it, it's a shitstorm."

"But dude, for your own sake...and mine, I guess." Scott said seriously, his expression one of concern. "Whatever you do, please don't tell anyone. Promise?"

Of course he wouldn't tell anyone. He was already getting enough trouble from Rod without the crushing weight of homophobia on his shoulders. He'd have no problem keeping it a secret.

Except when he realized that he had already told someone. Just yesterday, in fact. Tyler knew about it, and the husky could clearly recall the look of shock and disgust on the wolf face at the revelation. But Tyler wouldn't tell anyone, would he? Surely he wasn't that contemptuous...

But then he got his answer. Looking past Scott and into the hall outside the cafeteria, he spotted two furs in red and white football jackets walking side by side. One of them was a spotted hyena chatting undiscernibly with his friend. And the other one...

...was Tyler.

Russ began to panic, his heart beating wildly in his chest as he realized the implications of the situation. Tyler played football. Tyler was part of the jock group.

There was no way Tyler hadn't told his friends by now.

A glance over at the jocks' table confirmed his suspicions. While talking with his friends, he saw Rod occasionally shift his attention over to the husky's table. Their eyes met, and the bully shot a predatory and knowing grin his way, as if he knew something that the husky didn't.

Shit.

"Russ? Are you okay?"

The husky blinked out of his panicked state to see Scott looking at him in concern. He glanced back to the hall; Tyler and his friend were gone.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

"So do you _promise_not to tell anyone? I don't want you getting hurt because of it."

Russ decided not to tell him the truth. His friend didn't need that burden on his shoulders. "Yes, I promise."

"Alright, good." Scott appeared relieved. He then changed the subject abruptly. "So on a happier note, what are you doing this weekend?"

Russ shrugged. "I don't know. It's only Tuesday after all."

"Dude. _Duuuuude."_The bear let out his trademark exclamation. "You should totally come to my house on Friday night to play videogames!"

The idea did sound enticing, but the family already had plans on that day. "Well, I'd like to, but we're supposed to go to the football game that night."

"Then ask your parents if you can come to my place instead! Come on, it'll be fun!"

Russ thought about it and nodded. "Okay, I'll see what I can do."

Scott's face brightened. "That's great! Ooh, there are so many games we can try! I just started this one game where..."

From there, the conversation shifted to videogames and they talked about that for a good while. However, Russ was still distracted by his predicament. It was likely that half the school by now knew he was gay, or at least suspected it. Based on what Scott had told him, his school life was not going to be a luxurious one from this point on. Thinking logically, he was probably exaggerating, but he was absolutely sure of one thing: he needed to have a word with Tyler.

..........................

"Move it, fruitcake!"

"Ow!"

The husky had been heading outside to the busses when Rod had trampled into him and roughly shoved him to the side. Russ ended up slamming into the wall, but not before barreling through a few other students, much to their annoyance.

"Aw, what's wrong? Can't handle it, fruitcake?" Rod jeered mockingly. "Better watch where you're going then!"

"Yeah, watch your step, nerd!" Said his Alsatian friend. "Make way for the real men!"

"And while you're at it, do something about that fur!" Rod roughly tugged a fistful of fluffy fur on the husky's arm, causing him to yelp in pain again. "Toss in a few more colors maybe?" The bully leaned in menacingly. "Then you can really show your true colors, _fag." _

He then backed away and rallied his cohorts. "Let's go, guys. I think we've made our point for now. See ya later, fruitcake!" He proceeded through the doors guffawing with his friends in tow.

And so it began. That bit of cocky behavior and outright bullying made it clear that they knew of his homosexuality. And only one person could have tipped them off. Gritting his teeth, Russ sped toward the busses waiting outside. If Tyler thought he could get away with this, he had another thing coming.

..................................

Russ was still angry when he arrived back at the house. He almost completely ignored Abigail in the kitchen before he remembered something.

"Hey, Abby?"

"Yes, Russ?"

He found her cleaning the kitchen. She had a bottle of surface cleaner beside her and was currently wiping down the counters. "A friend invited me over to his house on Friday night. Is it okay if I go there instead of the game?"

"Hmm," said Abigail, continuing wiping in circles across the counter. "It's Tyler's first game of the season. Are you sure you want to miss it?"

I never want to see him again. "It can't be that bad, can it? It's just one night. And I promise I'll go to all the other games." _Why did I just say that? _

"Oh, all right," said Abigail. "I don't want to get in the way of you making friends. We'll drop you off before the game."

"Thanks, Abby!"

Russ preoccupied himself by doing his calculus homework, which he ended up finishing way too quickly. Frustrated, the husky rested his head on his arms and just let his mind wander in the meantime. He thought about band, and about how fun it was to play the trumpet. He thought about Tyler. As his eyes drifted to his completed Solarian calendar, he noticed that his birthday was only a week and a half away...

The door slammed downstairs, and Russ straightened suddenly. He heard footsteps coming up the stairs and the husky's anger returned. He waited until Tyler was nearly in his room before he rushed the wolf, forcibly turned him around, pinned him against the wall. His bulk was slammed against the surface with a loud thump, the wolf uttering a startled "fuck!".

"You fucking told them?!" Russ shouted in his face. "You _knew_they would hate me for it! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

The wolf's expression of shock instantly transformed into one of extreme arrogance. "Yeah? What if I did?" Tyler smirked. "What are you going to do about it?"

"You - You fucking asshole!" That's a lot of fucks, said a voice in the back of his head. Maybe he's starting to rub off on me. "Just stay the fuck away from me!"

The wolf's cocky smirk only grew wider. "Or what? You'll kiss me?"

Russ paused, taken aback by the wolf's taunt. It was only then that he realized that his face was very close to Tyler's, close enough to feel their heated breaths mingle in the scant inches of space between them. He growled and pushed away from him, starting to walk the other way.

"Fuck you."

He heard Tyler chuckle darkly. "Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Russ was suddenly furious, the response having amplified his anger to a raging storm of hatred. He advanced toward the wolf again with clenched fists, ready to punch his smug face in -

"Boys? Are you okay up there?"

Russ snapped out of his rage as Tyler yelled, "We're fine!" He still looked smug as ever.

"Okay, if you're sure!"

Russ waited until Abigail had moved away from the stairs before jabbing a finger at the wolf's chest. "This isn't over." With that, he stormed back to his room. Tyler snorted and stepped into his own room, closing the door after him.

.................................

"My mom made us a snack for us while we play."

"Cool! It looks good!"

That Friday after school, Bryan and Abigail had dropped off Russ at his friend's house before going to the football game. Scott's parents were also out, so they had the house to themselves for a bit. The bear and husky sat in front of the television with a meat and cheese platter on the table.

Scott got up to search through a cabinet next to the television. "So what games do you like?"

"I don't know," Russ said uncertainly. "I used to play a...rather wide variety."

"Ok, well what kinds of games have you played before?" Scott rummaged through the cabinet, pulling out several game cases and arranging them in stacks as he went. "I've got RPGs, FPS, racing games..."

"Hang on. I like racing games!" Russ cut in. "I'm pretty good at them, too!"

"Alright, racing it is then! Just a moment..." Scott put most of the games back on the shelves in no particular order and then inserted a disk into the console. He grabbed two controllers and tossed one to Russ, who deftly caught it. "I'm gonna warn you, though, I'm pretty good at these, too."

Russ grinned and sat back against the armrest of the couch. "Game on, then."

The game powered on and Russ grinned wider when he realized that it was a space racing game. They began playing and it quickly became apparent that Scott also had some decent experience playing racers. By the end of the first racing match, they both had placed near the top of the list.

"Dang," said Scott, admiring the scoreboard. "You're right. You're actually not bad. You nearly beat me!"

"Told you," Russ said confidently. "Another?"

"Yeah, dude, let's do it!"

The husky and the bear sat forward and began playing again with renewed vigor, eyes focused intently on the television screen. They played for about half an hour before Scott sat back and whistled appreciatively.

"I don't believe it," he breathed. "You actually beat me! I've been playing this game for years. Years!"

"Well, I've also been playing these for years," Russ boasted. "Plus I've been involved with spacecraft for as long as I can remember."

Scott looked nonplussed at the comment, then relaxed and sighed heavily. "Dude you don't have to try to act all cool for me. You know that, right?"

Russ was taken aback. "What?"

"You keep saying things like you're trying to act more popular or something. You said that your fur is natural - which can't be true - and now you're going on about spaceships and shit. Don't get me wrong, you're a cool guy anyway...but you don't have to overplay it, you know?"

Russ began to feel a little glum as he remembered the reality of his situation. No matter what, he was still an alien to the furs on Earth, and no one would ever truly understand that. Still, he had managed to make a friend, and he didn't want to lose him because of his insistence.

The husky only managed a quiet "yeah" and went back to staring at the screen. Scott appeared to regret bringing up the subject and spoke up.

"Hey, dude, I'm sorry. Don't let me be such a mood killer. Let's get back to the game, yeah?"

Ross agreed and they played for a bit longer. Their snack on the table disappeared gradually until finally there was nothing left. Scott eventually noticed the empty platter and stood up once they finished their current race.

"I'm gonna go get more meat and cheese," the bear said stretching. "You want a drink?"

Russ blinked, letting his eyes adjust to the contrasting darkness of the room. The sun had gone down while they were playing, causing the room to darken until the television had begun to hurt their eyes a little. "Sure, what have you got?"

"Come on in with me. You can choose what you want from the fridge."

Russ got up and followed him to the kitchen. Once inside, Scott took some sausages and blocks of cheese from the fridge and brought them to the counter, leaving the door open for the husky. After carefully studying the contents, Russ chose a bottle of orange soda that was sitting on a shelf inside the door. Twisting the cap off with a loud hiss, he took a gulp, wincing at the burning sensation it left in the back of his throat.

As he watched the bear slice the meat and cheese, his eyes began to drift to the other objects on the counter. They eventually settled on a jar of funny looking red peppers.

He pointed at the jar. "What are those?"

The bear paused in his slicing to follow his friend's gaze. His eyes widened when he realized what he was referring to. "Oh, those are ghost peppers. My dad ordered them once to use them in a recipe." He shivered as if recalling a frightening memory. "As you can imagine, that did not end well."

"Why not?" Russ peered at the jar that was now in his paws, shifting it around and examining its contents. "They look harmless to me. Are they poisonous or something?"

Scott stared at him as if he had grown an extra head. "Dude, those are like, _super_spicy! You don't want to mess with those, dude."

Russ opened the jar and took a sniff. There was indeed a spicy undertone to the scent, but it didn't necessary smell bad. He took one out and examined it further.

"I mean, it's just a pepper, right? It can't be that spicy."

Scott shook his head. "You don't even know, man. You should've seen what happened when we ate Dad's food -" He looked over to see that Russ had taken a pepper and put it in his mouth, now chewing intently. The bear's eyes went wide again in shock, his jaw hanging open. "Dude! Are you insane?! Spit that out!"

But it was too late. Russ had already chewed the pepper in his mouth releasing its juices and crushing the seeds. Feeling an intense spicy sensation building on his tongue, he hastily swallowed it in two gulps.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!" Scott rummaged through the fridge and brought out a half empty jug of milk. He searched for a glass, then thought against it and thrust it at Russ' chest. "Take this! Drink it!"

Russ was too distracted to notice the gesture however. He was too focused on the heat that still seemed to be building in his mouth and also in his throat. He could still feel the heat inside his stomach! And it was _still_getting worse!

The husky began to pant heavily, only then noticing the jug of milk Scott kept pressing to him. He frantically grabbed it and chugged a sizable portion of it. The cool liquid brought him a momentary reprieve but the heat of the pepper only flared up again, this time even stronger than before.

"Fuck! Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!" Russ drank more of the milk, but it didn't seem to be working. His mouth and insides felt like they were on fire! His eyes landed on the water tap at the kitchen sink, and he made a beeline for it. Surely water would be the cure, right?

"No! Don't drink -"

Russ already had his muzzle wrapped around the tap, gulping down the cool water at record speed. He only lasted for a moment before he jerked away sputtering and gasping, spraying water over the counter and onto the floor. The water seemed to have only served to spread the irritating oils he had consumed, the burning feeling inside him erupting into a raging wildfire.

"Aaaahhhhh shit..." The husky bent forward with his hands on his knees, panting and doing everything he could to will the terrible sensation away, but it was no use. He felt his stomach begin to churn and dashed out of the kitchen and to the bathroom. He slammed the door shut and knelt in front of the toilet, desperate to vomit and get the horrible substance out of his system. The intense spice from the pepper had caused tears to stream from his eyes; he felt the warm trickle of liquid running from his nose and he brought a finger to it, inspecting the damage.

My nose is bleeding. Shit.

There was a loud knock at the door. "Russ? You okay in there?"

The husky's stomach suddenly heaved, and he bent further over the toilet, but nothing came out just yet. He panted miserably before shouting, "I'm fucking _dying!" _

From outside the door, Scott gave a half-hearted chuckle. "Dude, I told you not to eat it!"

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up now!" Russ snapped. The bear didn't read too much into his attitude. He'd be okay after he recovered. "Next time actually tell-" The husky's words were cut off as the sounds of vomiting filled the small space. He gasped after he was done. "Fucking hell..."

Scott decided he should probably clean up the kitchen before his parents got home. "Hey, I'll be back in a minute, alright? I'll leave the milk by the door!" When he got no response, he simply set the jug on the carpet just outside the door and went to go take care of the mess on the floor and counter.

This was going to be an interesting night.