{"sf1_id":1684784,"sf2_id":"rn9xGPqm","title":" The Leaves of Fall Act 3: Something That Matters (Part 10)","author":"Oliver_Hart","words":1902,"posted_at":"2021-02-13T17:43:06.000Z","tags":["Adventure","Alternate Reality","Anon","Boy","Brother","Bunny","Classroom","Couple","Emo","Fight","Girl","Green text","Greentext","HMOFA","Halloween","Heterosexual","High School","Hmofa/","Human","Kissing","Plot Development","Rabbit","Siblings","Slow burn","Young Romance","anthro/human"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1684784-the-leaves-of-fall-act-3-something-that-matters-part-10","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/rn9xGPqm","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/20/61/20613692-840e-4651-9f2e-e06fef2a62f2","description":"You've never really 'fit in' with the heavily divided Ranchview High School crowd. Jock, Goth, Prep, Cheerleader, Nerd... you were never any of these. But as Halloween approaches, strange things start happening, and a dark ritual begins with the finding of a curious red book. It's a race against time for you and your friends to stop a group of students from ushering in an age of darkness, and to also figure out just what the hell is wrong with that rabbit.  \n~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  \n  \nAbout this version: originally, The Leaves of Fall was split into two pastebins to compensate for the length of the story. Given that pastebin has chosen to censor this story for ambiguous reasons, it will forever be stored here and on AO3. This new version contains spelling, grammar and content fixes. Please understand that the content is all the same as the earlier versions minus some sentences being changed and fixed up. I cannot stress this enough: no new content has been added. It's my hope that this is a cleaner, easier-to-read version of the story.  \n  \nCover: [https://imgur.com/a/vZS4Q](https://imgur.com/a/vZS4Q)  \nSam (drawn by Akella of /hmofa/) [https://imgur.com/a/nk3t1wT](https://imgur.com/a/nk3t1wT)  \nFan art collection: [https://imgur.com/a/SCCSIQv](https://imgur.com/a/SCCSIQv)  \nAccompanying playlist (WIP): [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9aXlzDRA49QKxgYsOV2JuDd410\\_nI-0J](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9aXlzDRA49QKxgYsOV2JuDd410_nI-0J)  \nAlternative link: [https://www.sofurry.com/view/1479078](https://www.sofurry.com/view/1479078)  \nTotal word count: 147,552 words","content":"\\\u003eParties\n\n\\\u003eWhy is it that parties are a staple of entertainment for high school (and college) students alike? What is so alluring about 50-70 hormonal teenagers stuffed into a house, drowning in noise and drink?\n\n\\\u003eBecause they're fun, damnit. And you need to experience this. And Sam does too\n\n\\\u003eIt'll be good for you\u0026nbsp;\n\n\\\u003eAnd that's what you tell yourself as you pull up to Bradyon Smith's house, which is in one of the ritziest neighborhoods you've ever seen\n\n\\\u003eCars that cost more than your mortgage choke the gutters for three solid blocks, making your rust bucket stick out like a festering wound on a super model's porcelain skin\n\n\\\u003eYou cut the engine and stare into the dash, trying to find the courage to move\u0026nbsp;\n\n\\\u003eYou lost it somewhere between your gas tank's 'E' and red needle inching dangerously close to the pits\n\n\\\u003eMike pops the door and spouts a sharp and immediate whistle\n\n\\\u003eJenna and Sam instinctively look over at him, expectant\n\n\\\u003eDespite your anxiety, you can't help but grin a little\n\n\\\u003eThey're so cute\n\n\\\u003e\"These houses make me sick,\" Alex groans as he unfurls his wiry body and stands tall in the cold night air\n\n\\\u003e\"Everything you see here?\" He gestures towards the rows of gated homes, their windows polished and shining with domestication, their exterior paint as fresh as their lawns are green. “All the fruits of oppression. This is what you get when you atomize, sodomize, and demoralize the gentle laborer.\" He spits onto the pristine sidewalks for effect\n\n“Don't you live in a neighborhood like this?\" You offer, stepping out of your rustbucket\n\n\\\u003eYou know he's got a three-car garage, a house twice the size of yours, and a modest trust fund\n\n\\\u003eHe just dresses poorly and bikes everywhere for loosely understood ideological convictions\n\n\\\u003eAlex tips his fedora at you like you were the body pillow he finally convinced his mom to pay for\n\n\\\u003e“I've only infiltrated their ranks. How does a virus kill its host?\" He pauses, eyes flashing between your collective faces\n\n\\\u003eImpatient, he turns to Sam\n\n\\\u003e\"Sam? How does a virus kill someone?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"F-From the inside…?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Precisely!\" Alex explodes. “As they say in the Art of War, 'know thy enemy.'\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\\\u003eHe seems to have gotten to know his enemy's deep pockets well enough\n\n\\\u003eYou clear your throat\n\n“Save it for the revolution, comrade. We s-still have a party to go to.\"\n\n\\\u003eYour voice stumbles a bit, betraying your nerves, as if the tension now spreading across your body could manifest itself in clipped syllables\n\n\\\u003eYou feel a delicate, fuzzy hand sneak its way into yours\n\n\\\u003eWhen you look down, Sam is starting deadhead, but you can still see the blush pressed into her downy fur\n\n\\\u003eHer hand starts trembling, and a reasonable guess would tell you she's far more nervous about this than you are\n\n\\\u003eHer experiences with alcohol and drunk people until this point have not been… positive\n\n\\\u003eYou give her hand a reassuring squeeze, as if to say 'I'm here for you'\n\n\\\u003eBut what you want to say is 'We don't have to go. I'm not sure I want to anymore.'\n\n\\\u003eThe chance you had to back out goes pacing off down the street when Mike and Jenna, walking awfully close to one another, start making their way towards Braydon's house\n\n\\\u003eAlex jogs off after them, one hand plastered to the top of his skull to keep his fedora in place\n\n\\\u003eHe throws a quick glance over his shoulder —\u0026nbsp; back at you — before siding up with Mike\n\n\\\u003e… Shit\n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAFt9bMoKhs\u0026list=PL9aXlzDRA49QKxgYsOV2JuDd410\\_nI-0J\u0026index=11\u0026t=0s\n\n\\\u003eDressed in your priest vestments and standing off next to the keg itself, you feel your face burning, and not just from the alcohol\n\n\\\u003eThis beer tastes like social anxiety\n\n\\\u003eTeenagers — entirely human in composition — mix and mingle with such grace their sheer normalcy practically tips the last swallow of beer in your mouth when you see a girl in a skimpy 'nerd' outfit jam her tongue down Braydon's throat\n\n\\\u003eYou look down at Sam, who hasn't taken a single sip of her beer\n\n\\\u003eShe stares down at her feet, awkward and alone\u0026nbsp;\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey,\" you nudge her. \"You gonna drink any of that?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Y-Y-Yeah,\" she says\n\n\"Alright. But don't let this color your opinion of beer — or parties. Both are shit.\"\n\n\\\u003eYou debate detaching from the wall and wandering back into the crowd\n\n\\\u003eIs there a redemption arc in your future?\n\n\\\u003e…Evidently, there is one in Alex's future\n\n\\\u003eHe sticks above the crowd like a well-dressed beanpole\n\n\\\u003eHis hands fly and curve and cut through the air while a rapt (and drunk) audience looks on\n\n\\\u003eThey hold their collective breaths while Alex clears his throat\n\n\\\u003eHe looks like a proud hawk standing atop as his kill\n\n\\\u003e\"All I'm trying to say is that we're complacent in the slow rape of the environment. I'm just as guilty as you are, people.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\\\u003eHe crushes a red plastic cup in his iron(curtain) grip, spewing shards of plastic and cheap beer about the crowd\n\n\\\u003eAnd yet, nobody revolts against him\n\n\\\u003eIn fact, someone hands him their own beer like a feeble adherent in the presence of the enlightened cult leader\n\n\\\u003eHe takes a mighty gulp and hands it back\n\n\\\u003e\"Thank you, comrade. These hands-\" he holds up his sodden mittens to the crowd for effect. “These are the hands that will tie noose around my bosses's neck. But not yet. Not until all of you are free from your own bondage. You there!\"\n\n\\\u003eHe throws an accusatory finger towards someone in the crowd\n\n\\\u003e\"You there, dressed like a hotdog! Where do you work?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"At a coffee shop,\" the hotdog replies\n\n\\\u003e\"Bah, your stimulant juice only fuels the proletariat. I promise, comrade, we will dismantle your prison brick by miserable brick.\"\n\n\\\u003eSomeone shouts back at Alex, but the pounding music obscures both the retort and Alex's reply\n\n\\\u003eYou can tell by the smug look on Alex's face it's about to get heated\u0026nbsp;\n\n\\\u003eThis was a bad idea\n\n\\\u003e\"D-D-Does Alex h-h-hate his job?\" Sam asks\n\n“Yes. And as a bonus, he hates everyone else's job for them.\"\n\n\\\u003e\"I-I only w-w-work so I c-can come home late. I don-don't think I li-like my job very much. St-Stella is-\"\n\n“Insane?\"\n\n\\\u003eSam nods, sloshing beer. She takes a weak sip and makes a sour face in response\n\n\\\u003eYou swap your empty cup for her half-full one\n\n“Like I said, parties and beer — they're both shit. Well, most beer isn't so bad. I take back what I said earlier. But the stuff they're serving here? It tastes like piss.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\\\u003eSam giggles\n\n\\\u003e\"H-How do-do you kn-know what t-t-t-that ta-tastes like?\"\n\n“When did you get so cheeky?\" You say, and you genuinely are trying to be lighthearted this time around\n\n\\\u003eSam's response comes almost automatically\n\n\\\u003e\"S-Sorry I d-didn't mean t-t-that.\"\n\n\\\u003eChrist\n\n\\\u003eYou're far too inebriated to explain the nuances of your prior statement\n\n\\\u003eThere's so much there, your addled mind muses\n\n\\\u003eYou are SUCH a BRILLIANT communicator, especially when you're drinking\n\n\\\u003eYou tug at the collar of your robes, degassing some hot air trapped in the folds\n\n\\\u003eThe sheer amount of bodies in this lavish house turns the marble-white walls into a kiln\n\n\\\u003eYou're roasting in your costume, and you're sure Sam, with the shag of her fur and thick hoodie, is melting even more than you are\n\n\\\u003ePlus anxiety often turns up the heat in a person\n\n“Fuck this,\" you say, peeling off the wall. “It's hotter than Auschwitz's kitchen in here.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\\\u003eSam sighs deeply, all the tension draining from her face\n\n\\\u003e\"Y-Y-Yeah it is,\" she says\n\n“Can't even believe it's October. All the normie-\"\n\n\\\u003eYou catch yourself before you complete the phrase\n\n\\\u003eChrist, you're starting to sound like Vanessa\n\n\\\u003eYou cough\n\n“I mean, all the people crammed in this room are making it hot as shit. C'mon, let's go somewhere else.\"\n\n\\\u003eYou take take another swallow of beer, your head spinning already from the drink\n\n\\\u003eThis lavish house, with its top-of-the-line electronics and marble white walls is starting to make you sick\n\n“Folllowww meeeee,\" you say in a sing-song voice, pushing through a throng of people dressed offensively like cats\n\n\\\u003eThey give Sam uneasy stares as she follows in your wake\n\n\\\u003eBy this point the stares don't bother you\n\n\\\u003eYou'll flaunt Sam all you want, and everyone who thinks you shouldn't be seen with her can suck your entire dick\n\n\\\u003eWherever Mike and Jenna went is none of your concern\n\n\\\u003eYou're ascending the stairs to try and carve out a little bit of space between yourself and everyone else\n\n\\\u003eSam labors behind you\n\n\\\u003eYou can see the sweat glistening on her furry brow, and you pause halfway up the spiraling staircase\n\n\\\u003eIf you didn't know better, this house could be used to shoot porn in\n\n\\\u003eIt just has that vibe, you know?\n\n\\\u003eMaybe you've seen it somewhere\n\n\\\u003eSam joins you at your side, and instead of carrying on further, you grasp for her hands\n\n\\\u003eShe's tiny, but she reaches up to meet your efforts\n\n\\\u003eYou don't even care who sees anymore\n\n\\\u003eYou just want to help her, see her grow and change\n\n\\\u003eAnd it feels good to have her tiny, delicate frame up against you, and you're starting to get an idea of as to why\n\n\\\u003eAt the top of the stairs you finally get what you came for. A bit of silence\n\n\\\u003eThe thrumming bass from the music downstairs is like a distant memory, echoing off cave walls and dissipating into senseless noise\n\n\\\u003eYou take a look around, sucking in hot air\n\n\\\u003eGod you're still out of shape, and Sam is no better\n\n\\\u003eShe rolls her sleeves up to her elbows and throws her hood back\n\n“I feel you on that one, sister.\" You roll the sleeves on your priest robes as best as you can\n\n\\\u003eShe looks uncomfortable being called 'sister'\n\n\\\u003eYou squint hard in the half-light that cloaks the upstairs portion of the house\n\n\\\u003eIt's just an endless sea of doors, presumably leading to bedrooms or bathrooms\n\n\\\u003eWait\n\n\\\u003eDon't people come up here to hook up during parties?\n\n\\\u003eOh god\n\n\\\u003eYou almost consider going back downstairs, when, at the end of the hall, you see an open door\n\n\\\u003eOkay\n\n\\\u003eGood\n\n\\\u003eThis is good\n\n\\\u003eThe door sways and wavers a bit, as if pulled by some kind of invisible force\n\n\\\u003eTo you, that means there's an open window\n\n\\\u003eAnd more importantly: a breeze\n\n\\\u003eYou and Sam labor down the hallway, struggling under the weight of your costumes and the clothes you're wearing beneath them\n\n\\\u003eChrist\n\n\\\u003eJust getting to the room is like running a full marathon\n\n\\\u003eWhen you stumble through the door and into the moonlit darkness of the bedroom, the cold air that kisses your sweaty face makes it all worth it\n\n\\\u003eYou raise your head off the floor as Sam stands in the entryway, the moonlight outlining her baggy figure in an other-worldly glow\n\n\\\u003eTwo wispy white curtains flank a wide-open window\n\n\\\u003eThey stir like captured ghosts as another gust cuts into the room\n\n\\\u003eThe room is bone-white and clean, with a single king-size bed in the center and a nightstand to the right of it\n\n\\\u003eMust be a guest room\n\n\\\u003eWait\n\n\\\u003eYou look back towards the window\n\n\\\u003eIt leads outside (duh) but it doesn't terminate into a sheer drop\n\n\\\u003eInstead, the roof extends far outwards beneath the frame\n\n\\\u003eWhich means you can…\n\n“Hey, come with me. I want to try something.\"","series":{"name":"The Leaves of Fall","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1682478-the-leaves-of-fall-act-3-something-that-matters-part-9.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1686470-the-leaves-of-fall-act-3-something-that-matters-part-11.json"}}