A New Krush - Chapter 16

Kris paced back and forth in her dorm room- as much as she could, that is. Clothes were thrown across every surface around her, pondering the age old question- what do you wear to a protest? A dress, her typical go-to, wasn't exactly protest appropriate, at least in the way Kris imagined.

People all over the place, moving around, possibly elbow-to-elbow, maybe sitting? Definitely not the scene for a short dress. Skirts, another typical pick, was in the same vein. That moved the discussion to shorts or pants. Typically, Kris avoided anything that fit tight around the waist..for obvious reasons, at the same time, however, she didn't exactly want to wear baggy baggy gym clothes around Gwen.

A long sigh escaped her, and she settled for one of her older sundresses, muttering to herself "It's all I've got."

Eventually, she made her way outside, the heavy heat hitting her like a brick wall in comparison to the cool interior of her dorm building.

A faint choking sound escaped her lips with a soft "Eck" and she felt the need to pant. She reached into her pocket, pulling out the folded flier and read it to herself "Admin building 1." The bold print stood out on the relatively bland paper, but it did its job.

The campus was well-kept, something Kris had always admired about her university. The walkways were a nice light-colored cobblestone, not drawing too much heat, and blending in with the surroundings, rather than taking away from them. Along the path were rows of flowers, covering up the imperfections in the edging of the stone. In the 'center', right before the quad, was a small vegetable garden, maintained by the eco club. It brought a smile to Kris' face every time she passed it, reminding her of the gardens she used to grow herself.

It was quieter than what she had expected with it being a school day. Typically, you would hear the bustle of students rushing around to get to their next class or getting something to eat. But that wasn't the case today. If Kris didn't know better, she'd think everyone was on break.

It wasn't much further before Kris had reached the Admin building, just on the other side of the quad where she'd met Gwen the other day. Furthering her surprise, there were only a few people gathered in the yard. I could've worn a different dress.

At the very least, Kris was grateful at how easy it was to spot the brown-patterned canine. Her fur seemed to shimmer in hues of caramel in the day's sunlight. It almost made the heat worth it. Almost.

She made her way closer, contemplating the best greeting-

Hi...no that's not enough. Oh! Hey!.. That makes you sound surprised...you knew she'd be here. She invited you, dummy. How's it goin-

"Hey. I met you in the quad the other day." Gwen spoke quickly, eliminating the need for Kris' internal banter. "I'm surprised you came."

The dingo's brow furrowed, "Why do you say that?"

Gwen looked around with a defeated look and motioned to the empty space, "I don't exactly have the numbers to make any real difference."

Both girls spotted two newcomers walking up, sparking a bit of hope as to the outcome of today.

"FUCK THE POLICE" a green-haired shiba inu shouted, throwing a fist in the air as she looked around.

Her friend, a tall jackal, walked beside her and jabbed her side "That is not what this is. Shut up."

"Oh." the first one continued, this time with more disgust, "I want to riot!!"

Any drop of hope that Gwen had, drained from her eyes and she shook her head in defeat. Kris' heart ached for the once confident and passionate dog.

Kris turned away, if only for a moment, typing quickly on her screen.

"Look-," Gwen's voice came out, stopping for a moment as she scraped her head for a name, "I'm sorry, I don't think I ever caught your name."

A blush rushed over Kris' face as she held out a hand, "I'm Kris."

Gwen quickly met her grasp with a strong squeeze, "Gwen, it's nice to meet you." As the two of them dropped their hands, Gwen continued, "So, Kris, I'm really happy to see you."

Kris listened closely, and uncontrollable wag began to stir in her tail. Hearing those words meant more than anything to her.

"But, you don't have to stay...this was clearly a bad idea."

The wag stopped as quickly as it had started. With a wave of courage, Kris reached out, grabbing Gwen's arm as she turned away, "Maybe more people will show."

"I don't think so, I'm just going to pack it in. Maybe I'll try again some other time."

"Wait with me a little while longer...please?" Kris' voice was quiet, but heard, not much escaped the painted dog's ears.

"O-okay." This time, the blush flooded Gwen's face.

Kris couldn't help but smile as her heart pounded in her chest. She couldn't believe what she had done. Something about Gwen, brought out a strength in her, a way to not sit passively by, and Kris wanted to keep that. Even with Loomy, Kris found herself quiet, and a passive participant to most things. She had fun, but was never actively choosing the fun.

Her head was spinning with her own thoughts, slowing down enough for Kris to realize they'd been standing there in silence. She scrambled, trying to find something to fill the void, "S-"

"JUST FUCK ALREADY!" echoed across the yard as a proud, wide-eyed, shiba inu stood there with a mischievous grin.

Once again, her friend tried to correct her, but the damage had already been done. The darkest shade of red plastered itself to Kris' face and sent her mind whirling. Even Gwen seemed to have frozen, neither of them sure how to process. With each second the silence grew heavier.

"Yo! Kris!"

Saved by the bell Kris thought as she turned to see three classmates of hers walk up behind them.

"Keri, Ray, Seb! How are you?"

"We're here for the protest, where should we be?"

Gwen's eyes lit up, her stun fading away and the fire within her was relit, "Oh, yes, the signs are over there with materials to make more if we need. We're going to surround the doors to the building." More people began to walk up, the commotion attracting more and more people. Kris may have called on a few favors, but her text wouldn't have brought all that were joining.

"They're trying to cut programming for immigrants, transfers, and exchange students while they increase the funding for the sport's teams' new lockers. That's not right!" Gwen kept on, speaking to the masses about the injustices of the "world" on campus.

Kris stepped away, grabbing her own sign and taking her place among the crowd. Not too far away, though. There was more than one reason she was here, of course.

The crowd seemed to move as one, all chanting for change in a way Kris had never seen. She'd been to quite a few concerts- and there's nothing more beautiful than a cohesive stadium singing to a passionate melody, but this took it to the next level. Everyone found their place, everyone was welcome, and everyone was making a difference.

"FUCK YEAH! THIS IS MORE LIKE IT!!"

Kris didn't even have to look to know who was talking, but, this time, she almost agreed with her.

"LET'S GET ARRESTED."

Maybe not.

"It's a peaceful protest J-" The two faded from earshot, so Kris didn't have the pleasure of learning the wild-one's name, but she had a feeling it wouldn't be the last time she'd see her.

The day moved on, and so did a lot of the crowd, but they did what they were there for. At one point, one of the admin's assistants came out to "promise" to take the concerns under advisement. Whatever that meant. That was a win, though, for the most part. Even Gwen seemed satisfied.

Kris lingered, hoping to catch another interaction with the organizer and ask for her number. If she could work up the courage. She took her time looking around, both motivated and unmotivated by the prospect of talking to her crush.

"Kris!" Her voice rang from behind, catching Kris in an awkward, bent over position as she picked up some trash. "Great minds think alike, huh?" Gwen smiled, holding up a trash bag of her own collection.

"Yeah, I guess so." Kris said, a smile lighting up her face.

"I wanted to say thank you."

"For what?" Kris had a good guess, but she played coy in case she was wrong.

"For getting your friends here. You're not so sneaky."

"Oh, you're we-"

Kris was cut off by a tighter hug, and she leaned into it, admiring the soft fur against her. All the while, she begged to herself that the "equipment" would go unnoticed.

"Today meant so much to me." Gwen spoke softly, making eye contact as she pulled away.

"I'd do it again if it meant more hugs from you." The words spilled from Kris' mouth before she even realized what she was saying. "I mean..." she tried to backpedal, but words failed her.

All Gwen did was smile, wide and bright, and she held out her hand with a small paper in it.

Kris grabbed the item and slowly unraveled the neatly folded paper. The 10 digits were splayed across the page in THE WORST handwriting Kris had ever seen. "Is that a 4 or a 6?" She looked up, but found that she was alone. Well, it looks like I'll be texting Gwen or a random stranger at some point.