FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Her eyes shot open to soft light hitting her face and permeating her room. Julie turned from it and faced the wall, grabbing her phone and disabling her alarm before it went off.

As expected, she didn’t feel much better than last night, meaning today would be a chore.

She drank the rest of the water in her bottle to care for her dry mouth, left it on the nightstand with her empty muffin bag, and begrudgingly got up to go about her usual routine. She set her sheets and blanket over her pillow and draped it over the sides of her bed, then did her hair and took a pill against her will. She put on a plaid skirt, sweatpants, and a cream jacket with vibrant shiny mini butterfree patterned from the torso and lining up the right sleeve.

Julie went downstairs afterward with her backpack over her shoulders, grabbing a new bottle and tucking it in the slot. She saw her mother in the kitchen with Lilly sitting beside her.

They looked alike. Julie hadn't taken anything from her father besides hair color. Her mother's was blonde and straight. Her father wasn't around anymore as he and her mother had separated while Julie was young. He used to keep in touch intermittently, which started stopping when she turned seventeen and truly stopped after eighteen.

It hurt more than anything; she remembered crying in her mother's arms for weeks after he hadn't so much as texted her like he usually did.

He currently lived in Kanto with his new family since he'd remarried and had another child with that woman, so Julie had a half-sister she may never meet. Her name was Hailey; that was the extent of Julie's knowledge. She didn't even know how old she was.

Several months after those events, Julie fell into the heaviest depressive state she'd been in since fifteen, where the trauma had caught up with her initially. She'd lacked the motivation to do anything, rarely had an appetite, and was grief-stricken and exhausted around the clock. The happiness she used to feel faded and rarely returned. It had been in brief spurs when it did.

Her mother had wanted her to go to therapy as recommended by the doctor, but Julie begged her not to set that up. She'd still be going today.

“Morning, Julie. I made you something light before I go. Have to head in early. How was school yesterday?”

“Thank you, and it went well,” Julie said while giving her mom a slight grin, hoping she wouldn’t see any gloom on her face. She usually noticed Julie's moods, everything from apparent to more subtle alterations, which was the very reason she was on antis, but her mother happened to be in a rush.

“I hope today will be even better, sweetie. Love you.” With that and a tight hug, her mother left shortly for work.

Julie hoped so too. She ate what her mother had made for her, told Lilly to stay inside today, and headed out the door while taking a minute to connect her earphone and put on a song. This time, she was leaving earlier than usual and had just over an hour before her first class started. Julie would ride slower and enjoy the music in her ear, humming its rhythm.

Even still, she was back to her recent thoughts: social flaws, Midnight, school, her bleak life, and now her father. He and her mother had divorced due to dysfunction in their marriage. Julie couldn't recall how the case went; she faintly remembered one of them accusing the other of having an affair. That part was kind of blurry.

That could be how far gone their marriage had been. Her mother had won custody in the end, narrowly, if Julie could remember, but she didn't know why or how long the case had dragged on for. What she could remember was how toxic it got some nights.

Julie didn't want to bring any of it up and ask her mother. It was also the reason they didn't have their old sedan. Her father had taken it with him since it was in his name, so the driveway and garage sat vacant.

Shortly after they'd separated was when her mother had spiraled into an inconsolable depressive state that Julie helped her through the best she could, cooking for them, burning dishes here and there, and cleaning around the house. Her mother had almost lost her job during that time. After all of it, however, she still wore her ring.

Julie put it on the list of several reasons why she didn't want a relationship. She had no idea what to look for or expect, and it could all fall apart after so much had been put into the commitment.

She just didn't think someone fitting for her would waltz into her life, but who would be fitting?

"Ugh, please stay on that sidewalk, and keep your boards on it too, for the love of Lugia." Julie pressed her brakes and eyed a small group of pre-teens ahead skateboarding a little too close to the street and pictured one of them slipping off their boards, sending it flying and decking her wheel, but she passed with no trouble.

Maybe she needed an extroverted partner to help her in certain situations like Alyssa did, or perhaps another introvert would best match her energy. Julie would have to put herself out there, experiment, and risk herself, because they could leave too.

---

Julie strolled through the busy morning hall, dropping her backpack by her locker and unlocking it accordingly. She looked around for Midnight, who wasn't in sight. She had no clue when the faculty let him roam the school, but she usually saw him after her first class. It would have brightened her morning, so hopefully, she was right.

Julie had difficulty paying attention in class and hadn't talked much to her classmates. She daydreamed and didn't take many notes, which she didn't like when it came to her favorite class. Maybe the fact that she had no one in life besides Alyssa and her mother was really beginning to hit her.

Julie had never made a real effort to get to know or ask anyone out during all the years she'd spent here, but she didn't find appeal in doing so at the same time, and now she sort of had something. A pokémon would never break her heart. There was only genuine love present, Lilly excluded, but it was why she liked Midnight so much— maybe a little too much.

Julie picked up her pen and looked at the projector displaying slides of locations in Sinnoh while the teacher lectured. It was stunning, from Hearthome City and its popular Super Contest Hall to Floaroma and its flowerscaped land that was once a barren mountain bloomed by Shaymin if one asked its residents. They were supposed to watch interviews with several locals today that went into more detail about the myth.

Lake Acuity, Verity, and Valor intrigued her too. They were home to three legendary pokémon who held the myth of the creation of willpower, knowledge, and emotion. The trio was fenced off and under watch by pokémon rangers 24/7 so no one attempted wandering in and catching or harming them, but rangers hosted pricey tours of each lake every Monday and Saturday for guests willing to learn.

She often further researched regions at home that were discussed in class even when it wasn't required for an essay during her leisure time. It usually resulted in her wanting to tour plenty as so many captured her. Julie spent so much time doing it that she often dreamed at night about exploring various regions. If there was one thing she could see herself doing in the future, it was being a historian and traveling the world. She'd be the happiest woman on the planet.

After the class let out, Julie wasted no time exiting the classroom with an anticipant grin, flipping her half-full bottle in her hand, but Midnight still wasn’t by her locker. "Maybe later..."

She had to use the restroom before science class started, which was in ten minutes, so she paced toward the second hall.

However, as Julie turned the corner and passed a row of lockers, she saw Midnight slip out of the room that the culinary class was held in twice a week turn while licking his lips, the door shutting behind him. She squeezed her bottle until it crackled. “Mmh!” She'd prevented herself from uttering a word since other classes were still in session, so her noise came out as a quiet hum.

Muffled lectures were in session behind closed doors and the faint hum of instruments played behind a soundproof one.

Only a few students and a group of boisterous tall jocks grabbing bags from their lockers that held jerseys and shorts were around. Julie had taken PE in ninth and eleventh. The school required two years of it, so she was done.

Some students were on their phones while leaning against lockers. Others talked to their high school love, and whatnot before they too walked off to their next class.

She met Midnight by the pink door of the girls' restroom halfway down the hall with a heart-tailed female pikachu sign outlined on it to signify the gender assigned. Beside it was the blue boys' door with a male pikachu on it.

Julie kneeled in front of him, setting her bottle on the floor. “Hi." She looked around to make sure the halls were clear before briefly embracing his neck and kissing his head, which his rings reacted to. This was such odd behavior. Why was she like this? She was close to feeling jealousy when she saw others touching him, but that was a part of him being here and always had been, so Julie had to cut that out.

Midnight responded by licking her chin, then wriggling his way out of her hold while brushing his cheek against her legs and thighs.

He likely wanted more attention, but Julie hadn’t seen Midnight act this way before. She giggled, reaching to scratch behind his ears. “Yes?”

Midnight gave her a different kind of gaze as she pulled away. He fixed his eyes on her face, his bushy tail swaying from side to side.

“What is it?...” Julie scanned him and wore a puzzled expression from his unwavering stare.

"Umb."

“I’ve– got to get to my next class. I'll see you later.” She leaned down to give him another kiss on the forehead, but this time, Midnight leaned up and moved his face so his mouth connected with Julie's.

A surprised murmur escaped her mouth, her eyes dilated, and her cheeks flushed. Julie took Midnight's cheeks with her palms and held their kiss that shot straight to her core with a mesmeric frisson, half-shutting her slightly rolled eyes while pressed to his warm muzzle, nuzzling subtly against his fur.

Midnight eyed her face, his ears erect, his tail stiff, and his rings glowing a brighter, more vibrant yellow than usual.

After pulling away, she looked up and down the halls again while wiping her mouth with her wrist. She exhaled while gazing down at the umbreon she had shared a kiss with— her first one at that. Thank goodness no one saw it.

Julie was beyond late for class at this point, though. She didn’t mind since it was due to a kiss but still had to get to it. “S-Sorry, Midnight. I’ll see you again after my classes, okay? Promise.” Julie's cheeks were still pink; she’d take care of it while in the restroom.

Her hand slipped from his cheek to grab her bottle. She then stood and entered the girl's room, glancing back at Midnight.

---

Midnight was all Julie could think about during her science class, often falling into reverie with blurred eyes. The way he tilted his head and gave her that soft, passionate kiss and how his mouth felt pressed to her lips. She leaned back in her chair and squeezed her thigh as a rush of tingly heat settled between them.

He was an umbreon, though— a pokémon. It couldn't go any further. As she'd told herself, getting caught having sex at school was not worth it. Julie would also get in trouble if she were to take Midnight from school for hours and it was found out.

Great, now she was searching for options so she could screw the school pokémon. Julie got hotter by the minute, almost enough to warrant a panty change when she got home–

“Julie!”

She flinched and looked up from her desk. The teacher glared at her from the whiteboard. He was a bald older man, always dour.

“Uhm… uh, y-yes?" Julie choked out. Every one of her classmates eyed her. It sucked sitting near the front of the class sometimes, but it was the only seat she could get today after being so late.

The unwritten rule of unassigned assigned seating among students existed. They typically didn't randomize seats every class and found their favorite one for the year, but the back of the class was a popular choice, especially in this one.

“Are you paying attention? You can daydream at lunch."

"S-Sorry, sir." Well, that quelled her demented thoughts. She sat up and pulled her hand from under the desk, swallowing.

He folded his arms and stared at her. "Why don't you answer the question I asked the class?"

"Yes, sir. Could you... please repeat it?" Julie raised her hand and held one of her jacket's drawstrings between her fingers.

"Of course," he said with a subtle, smug grin. "Approximately how many years ago was the first wild pokémon captured using a functioning pokéball?"

Julie twirled her drawstring. This must be review. She remembered that question from her last test. "Um, one hundred fifty years ago, sir."

He peered. "Right, and which pokémon was it? Who was the professor responsible for catching said pokémon?"

He said one question, but Julie could do this. She had to redeem herself. If she were Alyssa, she would likely have called him out. "It..."

Julie had to think back last week to when she'd read this in the textbook before, which was all too difficult while the spotlight was on her. "It was a trapinch caught on Hoenn's Route one hundred and eleven by Professor..." She winced to recall further. "Professor Jared Lanyard. He, uh... spent twenty years building and perfecting the device and caught the wild trapinch to prove th-that it was capable of taming wild pokémon in an instant."

Lanyard had also developed an illusionary world that all pokémon experienced while inside a ball. Their base conscience was left suspended in a featureless, perpetual limbo until release, but they lived the idea of a flawless reality manufactured by their mind.

Lanyard covered all options. If their trainer passed or abandoned them— say they decided to bury the occupied pokéball in dirt, for instance— the pokémon wouldn't experience the effects of starvation and dehydration. They would live their dream without fault, and everything would go black when it was time. Lanyard and scientists had run countless tests on pokémon to ensure it worked as intended and were as humane as possible.

Pokéballs were now in the hands of Silph, who worked closely with scientists to mass manufacture balls and create new types.

Julie had read a lot about Lanyard, including a number of failed or abandoned projects of his, from pokéballs that could cryogenically freeze their contents to preserve pokémon for hundreds of years to pokéballs that could be used to capture people, which he'd halted after considering the hands it could fall into.

Another was a device that could, in theory, allow people to shapeshift into pokémon. For that, he'd extracted DNA and other aspects from ditto. He was a scientific genius with a loony side that went above and beyond in creativity.

He grumbled. "That would be correct." His demeanor calmed. "I want you paying attention next time."

Julie lowered her hand after the lecture continued and glanced to her left at Alyssa a few desks down and back, who had been in the middle of blowing an awkward pink bubble. Julie leaned over and started writing notes.

"And if I have to tell you to stop chewing gum in my class one more time, Alyssa, I'll ensure you get two days of detention," the teacher said.

"Got it." She took it out of her mouth and stuck it under the table.

Julie hadn't looked up from her paper, meanwhile. There wasn't much for her to write, considering she hadn't been paying attention, but it looked better than sitting in shame. She never got scolded, either, so that made it worse.

"Miss straight A's falling off? Probably gonna sob all night 'cause she got yelled at," a guy a couple of desks away said, inciting others in the vicinity to snicker or conceal grins.

Julie kept her eyes down and continued to scribble on her paper with rosy cheeks.

Alyssa rolled up the wrapper from the gum she was chewing, plucking it at the blonde boy responsible for the comment.

"What th–" he held the back of his head after it bounced off and looked back to see Alyssa staring at him with furrowed brows and an unrelenting gaze.

"Why don't you shut the fuck up, or I'll send you home sobbing all night," she almost whispered with a sharp edge, peering. "Why don't you pick on someone like me instead of the quiet ones all the time, Kyle?"

He blew air from his nose to conceal a laugh. "Not scared of the neg IQ emo wannabe sticking up for the hopeless weirdo. Actually, you're both fucking weird."

"Yeah?" She smirked. "Behind the school after the last bell, then." Alyssa glanced up at the teacher, who kept looking over at the commotion.

Kyle's smile faded slightly, and he turned back to the lecture while rolling his eyes and shaking his head. The others turned away too, while a few students in the vicinity shot furtive glances at her.

Julie still hadn't looked up but grinned to herself.

No more than several minutes later, a loud flat beep played from the speakers on the ceiling for several seconds, meaning class was dismissed. Julie watched her classmates begin to pack up, a couple staying and rushing to write down the remaining notes from the board while the teacher shouted about an upcoming quiz.

Julie grabbed her books and was one of the first to exit after being embarrassed in front of everyone. It was her fault, but still.

She passed language arts, which was the room opposite to her science class, and paced down the second hall, turning at the window and bench two boys sat at while talking.

“Julie, hey!” Alyssa approached from behind, but Julie didn’t stop until she got all the way to her locker. “Julie, what’s up? It looked like you were in a trance.” She placed a hand on her shoulder.

Julie turned and glanced over her outfit. It was a black shirt, a matching skirt, and boots. “Just nervous about a few things is all, like... like what I’ll do after graduation if I don't get accepted into Castelia... and... thank you for doing what you did back there. You didn't have to, but please don't follow through. I'm okay."

“Kyle? Psh. He's got his tail between his legs anyway. I just wanted to get the mob off of you and call his bluff, but I don't want him to call mine, so I'm gonna be there for at least five minutes."

Alyssa leaned against a locker. "Also, wanna go out like Friday night or something?”

“Text me what you have in mind after school, and I'll be there after school with you to make sure you don't fight Kyle. Three physical offenses and you're out for good at this school, Ali. Come on..." She turned to her locker.

“It'll be fine. Chill out. The villain arc is long gone. I'm just not letting these idiots gang up on my best friend. See you then.”

She took a deep sigh once she was in the clear. “What are you doing, Julie?...” she whispered with her eyes shut.

---

Julie had been able to pay attention during her following classes for the most part. She tried clearing her mind during them and focusing on the lectures, which worked enough to avoid another scolding, but she couldn't stop herself from getting giddy over Midnight and hiding grins.

School was over for the day, and Julie was glad she'd made it through as well as she did. She exited her business class with her book, binder, and pencil pack. The class was far north down the second floor's hall by another set of stairs. They led to the first-floor cafeteria and second set of restrooms, which were both in the third hall, a sharp left after the second one.

Julie went south down the hall from her class toward the stairs leading to the main hall since her locker was there. She squeezed past people and stepped over backpacks that they'd set down to access their lockers.

Julie only used the other stairs when she had to use the restroom at the end of the day and absolutely couldn't hold it, which had been the case yesterday.

She approached the hall's halfway point, where the stairs were, and saw students exiting through an open door ahead. That was the school's library, where one could check out books or movies, study at tables or use the computers. It was also where afterschool tutor programs were held. Julie had only borrowed a few books throughout her time here, which had been in 9th and 10th grade before she grew turned off by everything about Ecruteak.

Julie turned and went down the stairs with other students, freezing in her tracks after reaching the bottom.

Midnight was sitting by her locker while the halls were packed, which he usually didn't do. Julie couldn’t have him doing that. It would look abnormal to anyone who paid attention even sometimes.

Julie kept walking and held her arm at her side, beckoning him to follow with her hand as she passed.

He trotted after her as she went in the opposite direction toward the school's front doors. Midnight saw her take a sharp right before the front doors down a more obscure hallway. It held the boy's and girl's locker room, the school's custodian closet, and a dead-ended emergency exit door.

She stopped at a door and looked down the hall before opening it, and then waited for Midnight to enter. After he did, she let it close behind them. They were in the girl’s gym locker room.

If a student or any faculty saw her in here, she'd have to come up with a good excuse since she didn't have gym this year, and even if she did, why would Midnight be in here with her?

Anyway, no one came in here after school unless they, too, came to grab something from their locker, so Julie had to be quick.

She went to a group of lockers with a low table in the center at the back of the room and sat on her knees by it, facing Midnight and setting her things on the surface. “Listen, I don’t think you should sit by my locker anymore. I don’t want people catching on to anything if we're going to see each other more, okay?” She spoke softly so it didn't seem like a scolding. It was far from one.

He nodded.

“Also, what was that… kiss?” Julie grinned.

"Mb." Midnight placed his paw on her thigh and looked up at her with that same unwavering gaze, though softening it this time.

“What're you asking for?” His paw moved up, now on her upper thigh. “D-Do you want… me?”

"Reh..." His ears perked after her reply. Midnight pressed his paw into her thigh without breaking eye contact.

“I-I’m so glad you feel the same way. I know it’s weird— this kind of relationship.” She glanced at his paw and could shiver from the warmth its pads transferred. “How about tomorrow? I-In here.”

On Wednesdays and Thursdays, the locker room was closed and locked. The gym coach took the day off, but there was a rear entrance since the lock had recently been broken. Of course, it would be fixed over the weekend, but that gave them time beforehand.

Midnight swayed his tail and raised his ears to a fully erect state while his rings reaffirmed his evident excitement.

“Meet me by the front door of this room during lunch, okay?” Julie placed her hand on the back of his neck.

Midnight pulled his paw away and nodded again, wearing a subtle grin.

“I'll see you then.” Julie kissed him on the cheek before grabbing her books and leaving the locker room with him trailing far behind. Luckily, no one saw them exit.

After meeting with Alyssa out front and going around to the back of the school in the open grassy field with a couple of students from science lingering for all of five minutes to Kyle being nowhere in sight, they both went home.

Judging by Alyssa's triumphant chuckling after the fact, it had made her day. In reality, Kyle probably hadn't seen it as worth fighting over, and everyone knew Alyssa would actually fight, but he still didn't show. Had to love her.

Besides what Kyle had said about her today, Julie felt much happier than she'd been in so long and wondered if her lack of a romantic or sexual partner was a real issue. This was as if her crush had asked her out, and that essentially was what'd happened. It was just... very straightforward.

And her crush? It was an umbreon and about to become her first relationship if it counted.