Changes - Part 2.7
Changes
Part 2.7
by Dego
Author's Note: This is a series about a fox. Please begin with this section and worry about earlier or later sections in the future. You should be able to pick up the story from right here, as the characters are very relatable. If you want to read more, just follow the links or search Part 1 from my profile. I welcome your view.
The story is split into 10 sections and numbered 2.0, 2.1, 2.2... and so on. Generally, I will post a new section every other day. Please enjoy.
*****
Charlie couldn't even think straight. In less than a week he had managed to garner a new love interest, lose his virginity, question what he had previously thought to be concrete-solid, namely his sexual orientation, make an enemy of an unforgiving otter, make a friend, lose that friend, and make that friend back all while on the bus, get into a fight with his love interest and subsequently break up, then fall head over heels for some dumb raccoon he had met yesterday. "What the hell is wrong with me!? Does this happen to other furs?" But Charlie had to put all that aside to deal with the task at hand: finding -. Plainly put, it was impossible. All the little things, all the formulas and equations and numbers and letters that have to go into finding - were just too much for the poor little fox's brain, and he was simply unable to put coherent thought into the problem. Usually he was pretty good at math, but today it just wasn't happening and Charlie stealthily abandoned the problem at his desk to twiddle his pencil. He just hoped he wasn't called on for a demonstration or some such nonsense. He wrote down what his teacher said, but to him it was just words on a page that, at the moment, meant nothing. He would bother with that later. Right now he needed to focus his energy on sorting out what the hell was going on, but that proved impossible too. So the fox resorted to twiddling his pencil and absentmindedly writing down notes about algebra. How exciting.
Since yesterday's biology class was a preparation on safety procedures and equipment handling, today was lab day, and everyone had to find a partner; exactly what the foxboy did not want to be doing at the moment. He took up a position at a lab station and waited for a partner, figuring that was better than actively seeking one. When nearly every station was filled, a snow-white arctic fox joined Charlie at his station.
"Hi, I'm Ollie." Ollie said as he cheerily extended his paw.
"Hey. Charlie." The fox said drearily. He limply shook the extended paw.
"Are you ok? You seem really down."
"Yeah, I am. It's a really long story."
"Well we've got a long class."
"Let's not bother with it today, ok?" Charlie angrily retorted.
"Whoa, ok, no problem."
"What's the first step...?"
Charlie and Ollie worked together to complete the lab project, which was examining a petal of a flower through a microscope and determining whether the flower was monocot or dicot as well as the species of flower. The lab partners communicated only as much as was necessary to finish the assignment and Ollie tactfully didn't comment on Charlie's moodiness or attitude. As soon as they were done, Charlie turned in his papers to the teacher's desk and sat down at his own desk, leaving the cleanup for the other fox. Ollie was really nice about it though, never bothering Charlie for his help and cleaning up on his own. "What a nice friend." Charlie thought as he watched Ollie diligently wiping off the microscope slides and putting the microscope away. He looked down at his notebook. "Wish Jack could be that way."
School was now over and Charlie was free to go sulk as he pleased. He went upstairs to his locker and got what he needed, but as he turned away after shutting the locker door he saw Jack busy with his own things at locker 217. Charlie looked across the hall with disdain at what he now considered to be his ex-boyfriend. He didn't see any reason to talk to him; Charlie turned down the hall leading to the staircase leading to the exit without saying a word.
Who Charlie did want to talk to was Aiden. Usually the buses would wait for about 10 minutes following the final bell, and Charlie decided to use that time to wait for Aiden. The raccoon said that his mom him up from school, so that should mean he would be waiting in the carpool area adjacent to the bus pick up lane. Charlie walked over to a nearby bench where he could wait for Aiden to come by. He realized he'd been subconsciously fantasizing about him all day since Aiden saved him from Ethan, mostly by replaying the fight scene and editing the ending to be a sudden passionate lovemaking session right in the hall. It was a ridiculous fantasy, but since Charlie was single he couldn't get it off his mind. He looked up to the blue sky of the afternoon and saw nothing but Aiden, or at least that's what he wanted to believe. Charlie was, of course, envisioning Aiden but he couldn't manage to keep thoughts of Jack from cluttering his mind. The fox wasn't completely turned on to Aiden--he couldn't shake the painful breakup of his last boyfriend. But it was time to move on. Charlie knew now that Jack was shallow and apparently obsessed with sex, so he had no interest in getting back together with him. Charlie refocused on the group of furs waiting on the curb for their ride, and not moments later saw Aiden enter that group. Charlie checked his bus and saw that its door was still open and the buses were still waiting, so he picked up his pack and walked over to talk to Aiden.
"Hey! Aiden!" he called, causing Aiden to turn around.
"Oh, hey Charlie. How's it going?"
"Fine. Hey, what are you doing later?"
"Me? Uhh, I'm going home to do some homework and watch TV and, oh yeah, I have a soccer game this evening."
"Oh. Well, do you, maybe, wanna come over?"
"Come over? Um, sorry, I can't. I'm busy."
"O-oh. Yeah, ok, no problem. I guess... I guess we'll talk later?"
"Yeah... sure?" Aiden looked quizzically at Charlie.
"Ok. Bye!" Charlie quickly broke off conversation and headed for his bus. He realized he had made it really awkward, and he just wanted to get away from it.
Charlie boarded the bus and sat down next to the reliable Lucas, always in his same seat.
"Hey Lucas."
"Hey Charlie. How did it go with Jack?"
"Oh boy do I have a story to tell you. We broke up."
"Really?"
"Yeah. The stupid asshole wouldn't apologize to me for being such a jerk. I realized he's just a shallow dog and I broke up with him."
"Why wouldn't he apologize?"
"Don't ask me! I guess some furs can't handle relationships."
"That's pretty intense. What're you gonna do now?"
"Well... I met this raccoon."
"Huh?"
"Yeah, I was walking down the halls and I made a wrong turn because I wasn't paying attention, so I accidentally ran right into Ethan, this otter that apparently has some huge problem with gays."
"I know, I heard about that."
Charlie sighed, wondering if anyone hadn't heard by now. "Anyway, I tried to walk away but Ethan sicked his goons on me and they started beating the crap out of me."
Lucas put a paw to his muzzle in astonishment. "How did you get away?"
"The raccoon! Aiden's his name. He jumps in and uses all these ninja skills" Charlie imitated Aiden's rapid paw movements for Lucas "and downs all of Ethan's friends. Ethan ran away, but Aiden twisted his friends' arms until they promised not to mess with me anymore, then let them up and they ran away. It was amazing! And he did it totally of his own will. We barely knew each other and he saves me like it was no problem."
"That's really impressive, but what does he have to do with Jack?"
"I... think I'm in love." Charlie placed a paw over his heart and sunk down in the seat.
"You can't be serious."
Charlie quickly straightened and stared at Lucas. "What!?"
"You heard me. You can't be serious."
"Why not?"
"Charlie," Lucas chuckled at the absurdity of it "you broke up with Jack like, what, an hour ago?"
"Well, now, yeah."
"Wait, so you hadn't even officially broke up with him when Aiden saves you?"
"Er... no."
"Oh. My. God! You're the shallow one! How could you do that to Jack?"
"What do you mean? He was being a jerk and refused to apologize, so screw him!"
"No, Charlie, that's not how it works. Did you even give Jack a chance?"
"Actually yes! I gave him one last chance to apologize to me in the hall."
"You gave him a chance to apologize?"
"Yeah."
"Did you apologize?"
"No, of course not! He's the one who should be apologizing!"
Lucas sighed. "Charlie, even I know a relationship is a two-way street. It's full of compromises. You're not perfect, and you owe Jack an apology too."
"How do you figure?"
"Because from what you told me you confused him by kissing twice. How was he supposed to take that? You need to apologize for confusing him, just as he needs to apologize for storming out on you."
"I shouldn't have to apologize! He's the one that got all angry!"
"And you caused it!"
"I DID NOT!"
"Charlie, look at yourself! You're being immature and shallow; exactly what you're mad at Jack about."
"I don't owe him anything."
"So you're gonna get with some raccoon you barely know? That's the definition of shallow! You're on the rebound!"
"Re-rebound? What's that?"
"You haven't heard of 'rebound?' It's when, right after you end a relationship, you start up a new one with someone else. It almost always ends badly."
"Well this one isn't! I'm in love with Aiden!" Charlie realized the implications of his statement. Did he really, or was he just saying that?
"Right, sure Charlie."
Charlie turned away and folded his arms. "What the hell does Lucas know about relationships? He's never had one." Charlie thought. "I know I'm in love with Aiden. Screw Jack. It's his fault for not making an apology; I gave him a fair chance."
Charlie sulked all the way home.
While he sat at his desk, pondering over the events that had occurred, Charlie stared at his couch. It was on that very couch that his first relationship ever developed, where he had his first kiss, and where he had a fight with that same someone he was convinced he really did love. What was a fox to do? Jack was, for all intents and purposes, out of Charlie's life now. But was Aiden really a good choice to replace him? Charlie remembered his emphasizing the fact that he was straight on the bus, but then again Charlie thought the same thing before he met Jack. Maybe it was time to just forget about males altogether and move on to what nature intended: male-female relationships. But Aiden was just so... *RIIIIIIING*
Charlie's home phone had started to ring. Usually he ignored it, let his parents answer, but Charlie really wanted some kind of respite from all these thoughts. He picked up the phone, said "hello," and heard none other than Zeke on the other end of the line.
Charlie had left Zeke behind after he moved and had completely forgotten about him before now. He sat up quickly. "Zeke!"
"Yeah, hey, it's me buddy! How's it going?"
"Uh, great!" Charlie lied.
"Yeah? How's your school?"
"Oh it's fine. I mean, high school can really be kind of a drag sometimes."
"How do you mean?"
"Just... I dunno... relationships and stuff."
"Really!? Did you find a girlfriend?"
"Not exactly..."
"Well tell me what happened! It's been forever since I talked to you."
"Yeeeaahhh..." Charlie twisted the cord of the telephone in his finger. "Listen, can we talk about something else?"
"Uhh, I guess so." Zeke sounded confused, which lead to an awkward silence. "What, uh, do you want to talk about?"
"I-I don't know. How's your school?"
"Fine. Brian and I are still hanging out. We kind of miss you."
"Sorry about that. Wasn't my idea to move."
"I know."
Another silence.
"So why don't you want to talk about relationships?" Zeke asked.
"It's just... gotten really complicated for me. When you start high school you start having to deal with all kinds of random stuff. Like, on the first day or something a tiger on the bus tried to kiss me. A guy."
"Eww, gay! What did you do?"
"I shoved him back. And please don't use the word 'gay' like that."
"Why, are you gay?"
Charlie's heart skipped a beat. He didn't know how to answer.
"Charlie? Are you there?" When Zeke heard Charlie's breathing on the other end, confirming his presence, he said "Oh my god. OH MY GOD! Charlie's gay!!!" Zeke started a riot of pacing around his room and repeating his conclusion over and over in surprise.
"Zeke! ZEKE! Shut UP! I'm not gay!"
Zeke calmed down. "Oh? Not gay, huh? Then why the awkward pause?"
"It's, I, ah..."
"You're gay."
"No I'm not! Would you just fucking listen? I'm not gay!"
"Ok. What are you?"
Another pause of Charlie being unable to answer reignited Zeke's immature rant around his room, so Charlie slammed the phone down to make him shut up. He buried his face in his paws and considered Zeke's question. "Seriously, what am I?" Charlie wondered.
The phone rang again and Charlie snatched it up. "What, Zeke?" he said.
"It's no big deal." Zeke replied. "I don't care if you're gay."
"I'M NOT GAY!"
"Charlie, you have to come out of the closet sometime. Get used to it."
"I'm. not. gay."
"Then what are you?"
"I dunno!" Charlie immediately belted out.
"Bi?"
"I don't know."
"Why don't you know?"
"BECAUSE I JUST DON'T."
"Ok, it sounds to me like high school has really changed you, so I'm just gonna hang up now. Good luck with whatever you are."
"No, Zeke!" The sound in Charlie's ear was replaced with a dial tone, and he gently set the phone down on its stand. "I really need to figure out what I am." he thought. Too bad Zeke was too immature to help.
The foxboy pushed away all the thoughts flooding his mind to accomplish his homework, and soon it was time for bed. Charlie got in and pulled up the covers, turned off the light, and laid on his back looking up at the ceiling and wondered about what Aiden was doing. In fact, the thought kind of turned him on and Charlie noticed his little tip advancing past his shaft. He slid his hand into his boxers and fiddled around, considering engaging in that wonderful, ever-present avenue of sexual gratification. But tonight something just didn't feel right. Charlie really didn't feel like it, even after imagining Aiden's naked, wet body beckoning to him from the steamy shower. His tip retreated into his sheath and thoughts of Aiden left Charlie's mind. It confused him, so he rolled over and pulled his arms up close. He kept wondering why Aiden, as cute as he was, wasn't arousing him. The thought bothered him for quite a while until sleep overcame the fox.
The next morning Charlie woke up, cleaned up, packed up, ate up, and left. He got on the bus, next to Lucas, and started up a chat about daily affairs:
"Good morning."
"Morning. So did you figure out what you want to do about Jack? Or Aiden?"
"Yeah. Jack is an immature asshole and Aiden is a kind, caring, raccoon that I want to know more about."
Lucas chuckled. "So you're gonna date him?"
"Obviously."
"Good luck with that Charlie." Lucas patted Charlie on the leg, which he recoiled from. "What, you're still weird about that? I thought you knew better."
"I don't love you, Lucas."
"Geez, it was just a pat, get over it."
"Hey, speaking of which, how's it going with your family?"
"Oh, ummm, better, I guess."
"Better?"
"My dad finally calmed down a little and stopped getting really mad whenever I walk in the room. I kept seeing that he really wanted to say something to me 'cuz he grimaced every time I saw him, but he would just turn away and look at the TV or pull the paper over his face. Now he's less of an asshole. I think he's coming to terms with it."
"What about your mom?"
"She's pretty much the same. She just kind of... talks to me in short sentences."
"Aww. Well I hope they come to accept you."
"I do too..."
Charlie turned away to fiddle with his backpack. Lucas scratched his ear in thought, then said "Charlie?"
"Mmhmm?"
Lucas laid a paw on Charlie's leg. "Thanks for listening." He said sincerely.
Charlie straightened up to stare at the paw resting on his leg. "Uhhmm... Yeah." Charlie continued to stare at the paw until finally he brushed it off and turned away from Lucas. The rest of the ride was, expectedly, quiet in row 4.
Charlie arrived at Northledge and went upstairs to his locker. Unfortunately, Jack was doing the same thing and Charlie caught eyes with him. Jack motioned for Charlie to wait there so they could talk, but the foxboy wanted nothing less. He quickly extracted his textbooks from his locker and hurried away. Charlie just really really didn't want to talk to his ex right now, especially if there was even the slightest chance that Aiden was nearby. Or Ethan.
Charlie took a slightly different route to theater so Jack wouldn't be able to intercept him or anything, but the fox had to pause for a moment at the door. "Exactly how will Ethan react to Aiden beating the crap out of his friends?" Charlie thought. He decided it probably didn't matter anyway because Aiden would protect him; he walked in the door with a smile.
He was met by the unexpected: Ethan stood up and extended his arms, almost like he was inviting a hug, and called out "Charlieeeee!" as he smiled widely. "Ok, this is eerie." Charlie thought.
"Um, hi, Ethan?"
"Hey, come sit, come sit." Ethan pulled out Charlie's chair where he used to sit. The fox turned to look at his new table and saw the male wolf and hare in complete awe (the female wolf was absent). "What could Ethan possibly want?" Charlie thought. He gave a disconcerted look to the otter, who happily beckoned for him to sit at his table. Nervously, Charlie took his seat and looked at Ethan.
"I heard you broke up with Jack." Ethan said.
"Uh, yeah, I did. But why does that matter?"
"Well I happen to know that Aiden, that raccoon who beat the crap out of my friends, is straight."
"You're not mad about that?" Charlie asked, referring to the beat down of yesterday.
"Nah, those two probably deserved it if they can't beat one raccoon."
"How do you know Aiden? Why does it matter he's straight?"
"Aiden and I used to take jujutsu together, but I dropped out when I was a little kid. We talk occasionally and I know he's straight."
"So... why does that matter?" Charlie asked, trying to tread lightly.
"Because I can only assume that since you broke up with Jack and you're hanging out with cool furs like Aiden that you've seen the light! Straightened up."
"Uhm... yeah."
"You have, haven't you?"
"Oh, of course! Yeah, I just started talking to Aiden and I realized Jack was a jerk so I broke up with him. So... yep! Absolutely straight now."
"Well, great! Then you can hang with us." Ethan indicated his table of friends and Charlie nodded and waved at them nervously as they waved back.
Charlie turned back to Ethan. "So, seriously it doesn't matter that he beat the crap out of your friends?"
"Well I'm sure they're pissed, but I don't give a crap. Actually I'm sorry for trying to beat you up; I didn't know you had gone straight."
"Yep." Charlie mentally retreated to a kind of shocked 'what just happened' state until the beginning of class, which he kind of absentmindedly muddled through at Ethan's table.
Next was English, in which Jack was simply unavoidable. He would've had to face him sometime though, so Charlie headed off to class. When he reached the top of the stairs he noticed Jack, waiting right outside the door where there was no way Charlie could sneak past. He sighed and walked up to the akita. Before he could open his mouth Jack shouted "Charlie!" and ran up to him. He grasped the foxboy by the shoulders and said deliberately:
"I lost sleep last night thinking about you. I was so mad at myself for what I said and I realized I was being a total jerk and you don't deserve that because you really are dealing with a lot right now, and I really don't want to lose you so I'm sorry for what I said. I was wrong." Jack paused to see Charlie's reaction, which was astonishment at the moment, so he continued: "I know right now you probably don't want to talk to me and need some time to think this over, so I'm gonna give you space. No rush. Whenever you want to talk, just let me know any time."
Jack patted Charlie on the shoulders to let him know he was being honest and smiled genuinely. Charlie, while still in a bit of shock, asked "Exactly how long were you up preparing that speech?"
Jack chuckled. "Nearly all night. I love you Charlie."
The foxboy really didn't know what to say, so Jack gave him a little tug and urged, "C'mon, let's get to class."
Charlie decided to take up his usual spot on Jack's left, but he was really taken aback by the honest apology. He was expecting it would take days for Jack to come around, not less than 24 hours. Of course he was happy the akita apologized, but that didn't make that glorious raccoon just disappear; Charlie still had feelings for Aiden. He was happy Jack had given him space, because that's what he desperately needed right now: time to think.
The fox vaguely paid attention to the lecture on paragraph structuring and thesis formation, but what dominated his mind was the scene where Aiden rushed in and saved his hide; the proverbial white knight. He tried to think about Jack, but those thoughts kept getting pushed out of his mind as the scene replayed over and over, each time Aiden getting faster, stronger, and hotter. Charlie began to imagine what it would have been like if Aiden had no shirt. He sighed dreamily as he twiddled his pencil, causing Jack to glance at him more than once. How was a fox supposed to deal with this situation?
It was lunchtime, but Charlie wasn't ready to sit at Jack's table. He sat at the table he had been at yesterday, eating once again in uncomfortable silence. He looked at Jack's table and saw him munching away, respecting Charlie's need for space just as he said he would. The fox smiled weakly at Jack's honest resolve, but wondered if he was really ready to change. And even if he was, Charlie wasn't sure if he was ready to take him back. But then again, that's what the space was for.
During passing period between lunch and Charlie's Spanish class, Charlie decided to wait out in the main hall for a while in case Aiden passed. He made sure Jack left the cafeteria, then went to go lean by the wall mostly out of the way of foot traffic. It wasn't long before Charlie caught sight of Aiden, headed into the cafeteria for his lunch period. He rushed across the hall to grab Aiden by the shoulder, wheeling him around to face the foxboy.
"Hi Aiden!" Charlie said cheerily.
"Uh, hi Charlie."
"I never got a chance to thank you properly." Before Aiden could react, Charlie raised up on his toes and kissed Aiden on the lips, right in the middle of the hall.