{"sf1_id":153119,"sf2_id":"GnD7Yg6m","title":"All's Fair - Part 3","author":"Xi-entaj","words":1799,"posted_at":"2010-06-12T05:15:00.000Z","tags":["Gay","Husky","Lion","Love","No-Yiff","Wolf","unhappy"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/153119-all-s-fair-part-3","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/GnD7Yg6m","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/2b/9f/2b9fb7bc-11ab-4ff7-99bd-973372bbcc71","description":"#3 of All's Fair","content":"The story's main character is bi, so don't read if you don't want to.\u0026nbsp; As ever, your thoughts and criticism are welcome so that I can get better.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThanks for reading!\n\n- Xi\n\n**All's Fair - Part 3**\n\nFridays should be banned.\u0026nbsp; Everyone thinks they're allowed to be a little wild on Fridays, because the weekend is coming - as if they need a reason, and couldn't be otherwise.\u0026nbsp; Composition was fantastic, because no one dared release that exuberance.\u0026nbsp; I gave the professor a tentative smile as we left, then quickly ducked my head and left before I saw his reaction.\u0026nbsp;\n\nNo such luck in mathematics; the old wolf in charge seemed nearly as restless as the students.\u0026nbsp; I put my head in my paws while I waited for her to call some semblance of order, running my fingers through the fur and lightly grabbing my ears.\u0026nbsp; Then someone gave me a hard poke in the back.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI whirled in my seat fast enough to grab the offending claw before it could retreat, twisting cruelly before I saw that it belonged to that wolf again.\u0026nbsp; I hadn't noticed that he was in this class too; briefly I wondered if I was ahead or if he was behind.\u0026nbsp; Then something else occurred to me and I grinned at him, panting, and released his finger; turned back to the front, ignoring his transition from mocking to puzzled.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI could barely contain myself until lunch.\u0026nbsp; I know I got a few odd looks as I ran out of the classroom and through the halls after the bell, but mostly I was just glad it had finally rung; I'd have left much sooner had I not known that no one would be in the cafeteria until after.\u0026nbsp;\n\nIt's hardly difficult to tell where the three main gangs in the school sit, though I couldn't tell you how I told.\u0026nbsp; But they're quite plain, with neutral territory filled by the unaffiliated students.\u0026nbsp; The lion sat with one of them, and I slid my tray next to his before anyone took the spot.\u0026nbsp; I pressed as close to him as I could - I'm a lefty, so as long as I stayed on his left the contact wouldn't keep either of us from eating.\u0026nbsp; That damn uniform was in the way, but the touch of his bare arm-fur on my face and the muscles beneath the cloth of his shirt made me wish I could purr.\u0026nbsp;\n\nPure shock kept my lion and everyone else at the table from doing anything for a full five seconds, and I grinned happily against his shirt.\u0026nbsp; The difficulty of hitting someone pressed that close to you bought me a little while longer before he shoved me away and grabbed my throat.\u0026nbsp; The muscles on his arms tensed beautifully as he lifted me a few inches off the bench, and his claws punched little spots of crimson into my neck.\u0026nbsp; \"What the fuck do you think you're doing, asshole?\" he snarled loudly, tightening his grip.\u0026nbsp; But a hyena across the table made a shushing gesture, glancing pointedly at the security guards stationed by a wall nearby.\u0026nbsp; My lion set me down, his topaz eyes reading like a death warrant.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI caught his paw before he pulled it away, holding it against my collarbone.\u0026nbsp; \"I kind of like you,\" I explained, smiling at him.\u0026nbsp; Several furs at the table snickered while he stared dumbfounded.\u0026nbsp; I slid back against him and nuzzled under his jaw, licking his fur gently.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI'd have kissed him again too, but he pushed me away again.\u0026nbsp; For a moment he stared at me, mouth working furiously while his claws flexed on my arms.\u0026nbsp; Then he put on a smile that looked truly painful.\u0026nbsp; \"Let's go outside,\" he said through gritted teeth.\u0026nbsp; A bunch of furs laughed, making him snarl again, but I stood up obediently and waited for him.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"All right,\" I replied.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI'm not stupid; I knew that he hardly wanted the privacy to express his affections.\u0026nbsp; But that was fine.\u0026nbsp; I slipped my paw into his while we walked out of the cafeteria; he jerked it away, but I kept at it until he let me.\u0026nbsp; Grimly he led me straight for the back of the building.\u0026nbsp; Once we were well back into the shadows behind the dumpster from Monday,, he slammed me against the wall, dragging me up the brick by my neck while I shut my eyes and smiled at him, tilting my head back as my paws left the gravel.\u0026nbsp; \"Now I swear I'm gonna -\" he snarled, but was interrupted by a voice from the daylight.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Hey, guys.\"\u0026nbsp; We both jerked our heads towards the noise - he much more effectively than I until he dropped me.\u0026nbsp; It was the wolf.\u0026nbsp; Again.\u0026nbsp; \"What's up?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"What're _you_ doing here?\" my lion and I both asked - he growling, me shouting hoarsely.\u0026nbsp;\n\nBoth of the others turned to stare at me.\u0026nbsp; \"I'm saving your tail, mutt,\" the wolf said at last.\u0026nbsp;\n\nMy lion had turned his attention back to our opponent.\u0026nbsp; \"If you know what's good for you you'll clear the fuck out of here,\" he snarled.\u0026nbsp; The wolf snorted his scorn, planted his feet, and pulled his shoulders back as if in invitation.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe silence stretched out for a while as I wondered if this was what had happened on Wednesday as well, then the lion gave a strangled roar of furious annoyance and stalked back to the cafeteria, passing several feet to the wolf's side.\u0026nbsp; I tried to follow, but as I passed the wolf he grabbed my arm.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI didn't bother warning him; I just spun and kicked at his kidney.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe ground slammed into me before I quite knew I was airborne.\u0026nbsp; Thankfully my body was a little ahead of me, and I caught myself partly on my arms instead of my face.\u0026nbsp; Note the partly - the gravel still scraped the underside of my jaw and bashed my chest, so that my rib screamed.\u0026nbsp; I yelped loudly, then clamped my jaws together and lay there winded for a bit.\u0026nbsp; When I finally rolled over and sat up, I found him squatting a few feet away and ranting.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"...death whish?!\u0026nbsp; I knew you were an idiot, but good God, mutt, you must honestly want him to kill you!\"\u0026nbsp; He stopped, glaring at me and panting while I placed a paw over my rib, making sure it was still in place and waiting for the pain to stop.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Leave me alone,\" I muttered.\u0026nbsp; \"I knew what I was doing.\"\u0026nbsp; I looked up and glared right back at him.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHe gawked.\u0026nbsp; \"You've got to be kidding.\u0026nbsp; I dunno what you take me for, but I am _not_ about to let you get yourself killed after the work I've put into you already.\u0026nbsp; You keep away from that guy, hear me?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Get the fuck out of my business!\" I half-shouted at him, getting to my feet and staggering back to the front of the building.\u0026nbsp; Behind me he muttered something unitelligible, which sounded distinctly uncomplimentary.\u0026nbsp;\n\nEventually I found my lion again, talking with the hyena and a couple oxen.\u0026nbsp; I walked up and leaned against his side, inhaling his musky scent.\u0026nbsp; For one second he looked ready for murder while the hyena gawked at me and the oxen laughed, but then the wolf joined the group.\u0026nbsp; \"Damn it, what part of 'go away' is so hard for you?\"\u0026nbsp; I demanded.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe bell rang before he could answer, and the group started breaking up.\u0026nbsp; \"Looks like I get the pleasure of your company until you can get rid of this moron,\" the wolf said sarcastically to my lion.\u0026nbsp; The latter looked skyward and growled in sheer frustration.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI decided to ignore the wolf.\u0026nbsp; \"I have a free period right now, if you want to do something...\" I offered, looking up at my lion.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Go to hell, fag,\" he answered roughly, shoving me away and walking to one of the buildings.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI was dejected for a minute, but then I perked up.\u0026nbsp; \"Hey - what's your name?\" I shouted after his retreating back.\u0026nbsp; He flipped me off.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"His name is Ivan,\" the wolf said behind me.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"I didn't ask _you_,\" I growled.\u0026nbsp;\n\n- : -\n\nTwo weeks later we'd settled into a pattern of sorts.\u0026nbsp; Ivan's friends had mostly gotten used to having me at lunch, because they couldn't very well get ri of me.\u0026nbsp; My handlers at the correction center worried about me because I kept coming home with bruises.\u0026nbsp; I didn't get any more broken bones, though, because Jake - that's the wolf's name - was making a point of hanging around me.\u0026nbsp; A couple of my bruises were from him when I tried to make him buzz off.\u0026nbsp; The gang was used to him, too, as an enemy they could occasionally laugh with, occasionally hate.\u0026nbsp; I don't know what kept them from taking him down during the latter.\u0026nbsp; His girlfriend Amy hated me.\u0026nbsp; Ivan's girlfriend Jessica liked me, at least as long as Ivan didn't.\u0026nbsp;\n\nTodd caught me on my way out the door after composition.\u0026nbsp; \"Hey, Nick,\" he grinned.\u0026nbsp; I tossed my head and grinned back.\u0026nbsp; \"You want to come out for a movie with Becky and me after school?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Sure,\" I answered, nodding.\u0026nbsp;\n\nTodd saw my seating companion leaving the classroom and touched her arm.\u0026nbsp; \"How 'bout you, Claire?\u0026nbsp; We're going to see a movie after school; d'you want to come?\"\n\n\"No, thanks,\" she answered, looking at me.\u0026nbsp; I laughed and leaned back on the air playfully.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"You sure?\u0026nbsp; We'd love to have you,\" Todd wheedled, mock-glaring at me and giving me a shove so that I staggered back a step.\u0026nbsp;\n\nClaire looked uncertain, then shrugged and nodded slowly.\u0026nbsp; \"Sure... okay, I guess.\"\u0026nbsp; She smiled and walked away for her next class.\u0026nbsp;\n\nTodd shook his finger and looked at me sternly.\u0026nbsp; \"You - behave, young man!\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nI grinned at him, forcing a return grin, and danced back through the milling crowd.\u0026nbsp; \"See you!\" I called as I trotted around the bend.\u0026nbsp; Once around it, I suddenly wanted to be on the roof.\u0026nbsp; I hadn't been able to climb lately while my rib healed.\u0026nbsp; It was getting better, but I wasn't quite there yet.\u0026nbsp; The center was overjoyed.\u0026nbsp; Whirling, I slammed my fist into a locker, ignoring the crash, and collapesed against it, resting my forehed against the cool metal.\u0026nbsp; After a minute I pulled myself together and walked towards the mathematics classroom - and on past it.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\\*\\*\\*\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nThing are finally getting going.\u0026nbsp; Does anyone have suggestions for how to speed things up?\u0026nbsp; I try to cut, but I can't tell what's necessary to the story and what's just me having fun :).\u0026nbsp; Thanks again for reading.\u0026nbsp;\n\n  \n  \n\n","series":{"name":"All\\'s Fair","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/152922-all-s-fair-part-2.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/153311-all-s-fair-part-4.json"}}