# All's Fair - Part 6

Author: Xi-entaj
Tags: Gay, Hate, Husky, Love, No-Yiff, Wolf

#6 of All's Fair

The story's main character is bi, so don't read if you don't want to. As ever, your thoughts and criticism are welcome so that I can get better.&nbsp; Is it believable?&nbsp; Did something in my writing style bug you?&nbsp; Should I have more/less of anything?&nbsp; Did you like the characters?&nbsp; The plot?&nbsp; Did it raise any questions?&nbsp;

Thanks for reading!

- Xi

**All's Fair - Part 6**

I got out of the hospital a few days later - a Saturday, incidentally.&nbsp; Ivan, obviously, did not visit me.&nbsp; Jake didn't either, thank God; he sent Amy again, but maybe he was worried that I'd run off again if he showed up in person.&nbsp; He shouldn't have been; I couldn't run if my life depended on it.&nbsp; I sincerely hoped it wouldn't for the near future.&nbsp;

I spent most of the first full week in November catching up in my classes and learning how to walk on one crutch - I couldn't use two because of my broken arm.&nbsp; It wasn't the most fun I'd ever had, but I pushed through to the weekend.&nbsp; That was it, though.&nbsp;

Sunday found me collapsed on the spindly wooden chair in my cell, trying not to scream.&nbsp; The problem with broken bones is that they never really stop hurting until they've healed, and even in casts you're always jostling them when you move.&nbsp; For once the doctors were pleased I didn't want their drugs since they were worried about me getting addicted after a month of continual use.&nbsp;

There was a soft knock on the door, making me squeeze my eyes shut and take a deep breath in an attempt to get myself together.&nbsp; "What is it?" I called after a moment.&nbsp;

The door opened to admit a middle-aged racoon who always smelled like apples.&nbsp; I liked her more than most of the furs at the center because she didn't pretend to be cheerful, just businesslike.&nbsp; I don't remember her name.&nbsp;

"Hello, Nick," she said, standing by the door - she even shut it behind her - until I realized she wouldn't sit on my bed without permission.&nbsp; I like her.&nbsp; Standing, I indicated the chair with one paw and fumbled to turn it around to face the bed.&nbsp; She stepped forward to help, but I moved between her and the chair, trying to make it look accidental.&nbsp; When I finally got it around, I sat on the bed and looked at her expectantly.&nbsp;

She sat very straight in the chair.&nbsp; "I'll get straight to it, Nick.&nbsp; We have a program where we foster some of our older kids out to different families around the town for a semester.&nbsp; It's a very good way to let you get a feel for being outside the center, to prepare a little for when you leave."&nbsp; She smiled faintly.&nbsp; "It also lets you get out on your own for a while."&nbsp; And vice versa.&nbsp; "You'd be leaving at the start of winter break, for the rest of the semester."&nbsp;

She stopped, perhaps waiting for me to say something.&nbsp; I didn't bother.&nbsp; Part of me wondered if it was an effort to keep my face expressionless, or if I even could do otherwise.&nbsp;

After a short pause, she ran her claws through the thick black fur on her head and went on.&nbsp; "I can understand your feelings -" can you, indeed? "- but it's been quite successful with our other kids, and most of them really enjoyed it.&nbsp; But you don't have to if you don't want to.&nbsp; It's up to you - we can notify the volunteer family with no difficulty at all."&nbsp; She waited, but I still didn't say anything.&nbsp; "Well, I'll let you think about it.&nbsp; We don't need to know for another week or so."&nbsp;

Just as she was about to close the door, I looked up.&nbsp; "Who's the family?"&nbsp;

She consulted her notepad.&nbsp; "It's the Alteras.&nbsp; They live in the north part of town.&nbsp; They have one child in high school and a couple lower down, but I don't know who they are."&nbsp; She left quietly.&nbsp;

I flopped onto the bed once the racoon had left, and suddenly it was all I could do not to laugh derisively.&nbsp; Or scream.&nbsp; I bit my tongue until my eyes watered.&nbsp;

"Well, what did you expect?"&nbsp; I asked the empty air, my voice dripping scorn.&nbsp; "Is he supposed to drop everything to come panting at your feet?"&nbsp; I snorted.&nbsp; "Do you think the center would let him if he did?&nbsp; He's not from a 'socially acceptable family'."&nbsp; I swung out of bed and started to head out, but stopped with my paw on the door.&nbsp; Then I turned and started to kick the chair, but stopped that too.&nbsp; Instead I sat gently down in it, stretching my bound leg in front of me.&nbsp;

Ivan's last name was Lovan.&nbsp;

I didn't know any Alteras.&nbsp; Ecept the one, I don't usually bother with last names.&nbsp; Idly I wondered if they'd specifically asked for me; the racoon had said it like perhaps they had, but I couldn't think of anyone that stupid.&nbsp; Suddenly I snorted in amusement.&nbsp; Maybe it was Jake.&nbsp; He'd do it out of sheer perversity or whatever misplaced overbearing nobility complex he had.&nbsp; Thank God he didn't like me any better than I liked him.&nbsp; Besides, Amy would kill him.&nbsp;

I tried to tell myself I should go find someone and say yes.&nbsp; At least it'd probably be easier to get out; the family probably wouldn't pick me up every afternoon from school, probably wouldn't mind me leaving for a while, the whole bit.&nbsp; Then again, they must have been warned about me.&nbsp; But still.&nbsp;

I didn't say anything.&nbsp; Eventually I went to bed.&nbsp;

Monday lunch found me in the composition classroom with bruises all over me for fighting with a cougar outside the door before class.&nbsp; He'd been bugging me for a while, and he tried to get on my case for acting fey.&nbsp; Anyway, it is even more difficult than it sounds to scrub desks with a broken arm and leg.&nbsp; The Royal Marine sat behind his desk at the front to make sure I kept at it.&nbsp; It was a new position for him, since he usually walked back and forth in front of the blackboard or around the edges of the room.&nbsp;

About fifteen minutes in he sighed and set down the papers he was reading.&nbsp; "You were doing very well, you know," he said quietly in his smooth baritone.&nbsp; "I don't know about ouside of my class, but here you were doing well."&nbsp; I stared at him, but blushed and looked away when he looked straight back.&nbsp; I couldn't place his expression.&nbsp; It wasn't sympathetic, or happy, or disappointed, but it reminded me of those a little.&nbsp; "You're one of my best students academically.&nbsp; You miss a lot of assignments when you're in the hospital, but your work is good."&nbsp; He shrugged.&nbsp; "Just so you know.&nbsp; You'd best get moving on those desks."&nbsp;

I was glad for the rest of the scrubbing; it gave me time to think.&nbsp; I didn't dare look at the Royal Marined except out of the corner of my eyes, but he seemed to be engrossed again in whatever he was reading.&nbsp; I didn't say anything, either, but I silently called myself all kinds of names for the warm little glow of pride in the back of my throat.&nbsp;

When I got out I'd missed Ivan and Jake in the cafeteria, so I skipped lunch and went hunting.&nbsp; I couldn't find them, though, until, a little frantic, I saw Ivan and his gang coming back from off campus with the remains of a bucket of french fries about a minute before the bell.&nbsp; I tried to get over to him, but on crutches I couldn't pull it off fast enough, and I had to go to history.&nbsp; I still didn't know where Jake was.&nbsp;

A couple days later I remembered to tell the furs at the center that I wanted to do their program.&nbsp; Predictably enough, in retrospect - if that's not a contradiction in terms - they all acted very pleased and immediately doubled their hounding to make me study for my end-of-term examinations.&nbsp; After all, they said, it was important to keep my grades up so as to make a good impression.&nbsp; They never actually came out and said that if I did otherwise they wouldn't let me go; I don't know if they would have or not.&nbsp; I studied.&nbsp; It ate into my time for rule breaking so that my handlers began to think maybe I was doing okay.&nbsp; They let me hang out with Todd and Becky and occasionally Claire - nominally because I shared classes with them.&nbsp; Jake came by once too, and I had to sit through an hour of him helping me with trigonometric identities.&nbsp; The worst part was that I understood them better afterwards.&nbsp; He seemed uncomfortable through it too, as though he kept biting back what he wanted to say, so I can hope he didn't enjoy himself.&nbsp;

The examinations themselves were hardly difficult.&nbsp; The only way to make them hard is to fear them.&nbsp; As I handed my paper to the Royal Marine I looked at him, wanting to ask what he'd be teaching next semester, but afraid of all the indifferent furs in the class behind me.&nbsp; I couldn't even wish him a happy holiday; I just swallowed and hurried out.&nbsp; Thirty hours later, the semester was over for me.&nbsp;

I wandered aimlessly through the empty halls.&nbsp; The examinations were staggered thoughout the week, so fewer than half the students were there and most of those were still in the classrooms.&nbsp; It left the campus feeling hollow, and my crutch made a heavy, echoing clunk every time it hit the old tile.&nbsp; Most of the lockers at this point stood open, emptied for the winter.&nbsp; I stopped by mine.&nbsp; It was open as well; all I had were some pencils in my pocket.&nbsp; The rest of my academic life had been taken back by the center or burned unceremoniously in a trash bin I'd found halfway across town.&nbsp; I took the pencils out and set them gently at the bottom of the aluminum cavity and shut it.&nbsp; Maybe someone would find them there when they had forgotten theirs.&nbsp;

I looked fondly at the dumpster around back where I'd first gotten onto the roof and nearly gotten choked by Ivan.&nbsp; I set my crutch on it, then made a one-legged jump and a one-armed catch to get on top of it.&nbsp; The impact made my broken bones throb, but not badly anymore.&nbsp; I'd be able to take the casts off in a week and two days, just a week before Christmas.&nbsp; I repeated the process to get to the roof and sat clumsily on the parapet while I watched the hours pass by.&nbsp;

I didn't realize the voice calling "Mr. Donovan!" was for me until it reverted to "Nick!"&nbsp; Looking around, I spotted an older white tiger looking for me.&nbsp; It must have been later than I thought; I'd been too busy feeling the cold wind in my fur.&nbsp; But I dutifully barked an acknowledgement and dropped my crutch to the ground, then followed it.&nbsp; I botched the landing and wound up lying on the gravel pretending to be a clerk while various body parts registered their complaints.&nbsp; By the time I'd fumbled up to my feet the tiger had rushed over.&nbsp;

"There you are, Nick!&nbsp; Come on, we have to get you cleaned up.&nbsp; Your foster family is coming to pick you up in half an hour, don't you remember?&nbsp; You're supposed to be packing!"&nbsp;

I actually didn't remember, but I dutifully followed the tiger back to the van, which took us back to the juvenile correction center.&nbsp; Someone had taken the liberty of packing my clothes and near-nonexistant personal posessions already.&nbsp; I made a mental note to set down some rules about private property with whatever fools were taking me in, and another of awe that it should even be necessary.&nbsp; Someone else quickly got me to brush out the dirt and bits of gravel from my fur and change my shirt.&nbsp; Mostly I just went passively along; everyone was making a ridiculous amount of fuss, as though by worrying they could lengthen my sojourn elsewhere.&nbsp;

In ten minutes I was waiting in the correction center's lobby with one suitcase behind me.&nbsp; At least it was a nice shade of navy blue, since I couldn't get them to go for red to match the died fur on my limbs and chest.&nbsp;

I could tell by the sounds from the office when the Alteras arrived, and despite myself I perked my ears up in curiosity.&nbsp; A moment later a well-dressed couple stepped into view looking at me as curiously as I did them.&nbsp; The male was a tall brown wolf, and his wife was a deer nearly as tall with very striking red-black fur.&nbsp; They were both in business suits.&nbsp; They smiled tentatively at me, and I gave them a shy grin of my own.&nbsp;

Then Jake walked in behind them.&nbsp;

I could actually feel all expression dripping off my face like so much oil.&nbsp; Without a word I turned around and hobbled as fast as I could back to my stripped cell.&nbsp; I heard voices behind me, but ignored them.&nbsp;

Unfortunately, when you pull a stunt like that someone always has to follow you.&nbsp; I'd barely shut the door behind me when it opened again to frame Jake's silhouette.&nbsp; With one quick glance he took in the tiny room, empty bed frame, clean desk, window, husky.&nbsp; I smiled, my face cold.&nbsp;

"Welcome to my lair," I said formally, almost hiding the bitter venom behind my voice.&nbsp; Jake couldn't seem to think of anything to say, so I filled the silence for him.&nbsp; "Do let me give you a tour.&nbsp; No hanging skulls or anything, in case you were wondering.&nbsp; Nope, just an eight-by-ten space to live.&nbsp; The bed, here, the desk, right here.&nbsp; There's a bathroom and a closet behind that door.&nbsp; They're all empty, now, of course, since some idiots wanted to foster me.&nbsp; Funny.&nbsp; I'd never thought you were stupid, just noble."&nbsp;

He finally found his voice.&nbsp; "Thanks ever so," he said sarcastically.&nbsp; "Had I known you lived in such splendor, I'd have never talked my parents into offering you a room at our place, where you can come and go whenever you want."&nbsp; He cocked his head to one side and continued much more quietly.&nbsp; "Am I to believe you don't want that?&nbsp; I don't like you, mutt, and you don't like me, but I thought it might be good for you."&nbsp;

He had me there.&nbsp; I ducked my head.&nbsp; "I'm not going to apologize to you," I said, trying to keep my tone from making me a liar.&nbsp;

Jake shrugged.&nbsp; "I should have given you some warning.&nbsp; But my parents and your - guardians? - are probably getting worried."&nbsp;

I gave a hollow laugh at his choice of noun.&nbsp; "Well, we can't have that."&nbsp; I followed him back out of the room.&nbsp;

Jake's parents were waiting outside with my handlers, looking very confused.&nbsp; I took a deep breath and walked up to them, holding out my paw to shake.&nbsp; It was my left, but with the other at the end of a cast I couldn't help that.&nbsp; "I'm very sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Altera," I said.&nbsp; I knew my voice was clipped, but at least it was polite.&nbsp; "I didn't know Jake was your son.&nbsp; It's nice to meet you."&nbsp;

They seemed gratified by the attempt, and each took my paw firmly.&nbsp; "It's no trouble at all, Mr. Donovan," Mrs. Altera said, and her husband echoed her.&nbsp; "It's nice to meet you too."&nbsp; I nodded mutely.&nbsp;

They had to sign some more paperwork before we left - I laughed quietly to myself as I considered the small mountain they'd no doubt already completed.&nbsp; Then they led me to a nice minivan in the parking lot.&nbsp; I sat very straight in the back - Mrs. Altera moved her chair forward to make room for my leg.&nbsp; After a few minutes I tried for speech again.&nbsp; "It's very kind of you both to do this," I said stiltedly.&nbsp;

"It's our pleasure, Mr. Donovan," Mr. Altera answered from behind the wheel.&nbsp; "Jake told us you and he are friends from school."&nbsp; He sounded a little uncertain about that now.&nbsp;

"You might say we know each other, at least," I said dryly, looking sideways at Jake.&nbsp; Was he _blushing_?&nbsp; I'd never actually seen him blush; maybe he didn't lie often.&nbsp; "But it's just Nick, please."&nbsp;

"All right, Nick."&nbsp; He hesitated, then added "You can call us Mum and Dad, if you want."&nbsp;

I froze.&nbsp; "Um, I'd actually prefer to call you by name, if that's all right," I said carefully.&nbsp;

"Oh.&nbsp; That's fine - my name is Dan, and this is my wife Halo."&nbsp;

"Nice to meet you again, Dan and Halo," I said politely.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

\*\*\*

&nbsp;

I think I liked this part.&nbsp; It could definitely be made better, but still.&nbsp; I hope you did too; let me know.&nbsp;

Source: https://sofurry.com/s/3egDNzwm
Part of the series All\'s Fair
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