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The next morning, Arden awoke from a night of dreamless sleep. He was still no closer to making his decision and the deadline for the response was approaching very quickly.

His only solution was to square things off with Mark.

As they walked to school, Arden couldn't even begin to formulate just how he was going to approach the subject. Not only that, but he wanted to talk things over in private, not while walking to school.

"Mark, can we meet tonight?" He finally spoke up. "I need to talk to you."

"Why not just talk now?" The wolf smiled, but those twitchy ears gave him away once more.

"I just wanted to do it in private."

"Oh, okay then." The façade faded and Mark's worry showed clearly through his features. "Just text me when you're done with practice."

"Okay." He wanted to tell Mark not to worry; but at this point, he wasn't sure if he'd be lying. "Thanks."

They reached school, and the routine continued undisturbed.

By the time they were walking out of Eggurd's class, Arden had almost forgotten about his meeting with the wolf.

It was only after swim practice that he was reminded by a text Mark had sent him a few nights back.

He sighed and texted back. 'All done with practice, come on over.' In the few seconds it took his phone to send the text, Arden's finger hovered over the 'cancel' button. He could stop this. Stop this and forget. He didn't even need that scholarship; but then he remembered how much more was at stake. It was a chance to put all of his secrets behind him. A chance to truly be himself.

The little envelope on-screen closed and faded. Arden sighed. "Too late now."

Mark showed up twenty minutes later. "So, what's up?" he followed the otter to his room.

"Remember that scholarship essay I wrote?" Arden didn't want to dive right into things, but he couldn't think of anything else to do. Every minute of stalling was another chance to back out.

"Yeah." Mark didn't look any less confused. "Did they make a mistake or something?"

"No, no mistakes." He couldn't hold back any longer "I have to read it in front of the entire school."

"Have to?" There was a tinge of sarcasm in the wolf's voice, but it was buried beneath so much fear and surprise that Arden hardly noticed.

"Yeah, otherwise I forfeit the fifty grand." He was hoping for some sort of sign from the wolf, but Mark kept quiet. "I don't know what to do. I want to read it, but I don't want to put you in an uncomfortable situation."

"Arden," Mark put his arm around the otter. "I'm flattered that you would be so considerate, but this is your future; do what you think is right. If anything happens to me, I'll figure it out."

"Are you sure?" He wanted to do it, why was he so reluctant now? Would he have felt better if Mark had flatly forbidden him?

"Yeah." Mark smiled. "What kind of boyfriend would I be to hold you back? I know I'm not super big on this 'coming out' thing, but that doesn't mean I'm not trying."

Arden felt nothing short of overwhelmed at that point; he felt the tears building. All this time, he was expecting Mark to try and stop him or threaten to end their relationship, but the wolf didn't mind. Not even a bit.

"Okay. I'll do it, then." He put his paws on Mark's shoulders and looked into the wolf's deep blue eyes. It was just like their first encounter. He remembered why he fell in love with Mark in the first place.

"And I'll be there to watch." They kissed and, as always, everything was alright.

Maybe this is the way things were meant to be. Arden had always pictured his relationship like something in the movies - lots of kissing, hugging and displays of affection, where the characters always ended up together wherever they went. He realized, just as his lips parted from Mark's, that this just wasn't life. In life, a relationship was about making the best of the time you have together, and being secure enough to realize that spending time apart will not weaken your connection. School made things tough for them, but they would make it.

The next day, Arden announced his decision to Fresto.

"I'm glad you're going through with this," the fox said with an audible sense of relief in his voice as he patted Arden on the back. "It would have been a real shame if you'd backed out."

"So, when do I have to do it?" Arden was hoping that he would have at least a few weeks to steel himself for the event.

Fresto pulled the rubber band off his dusty planner and flipped through it. "We're doing an awareness assembly Monday. I had you penciled in as the opener."

"Monday?" Arden's legs felt like they were about to give out, just like when he first kissed Mark. But in place of the warmth and the tingling present that day, there was nothing but cold fear

"Yeah. I'm sorry it's so soon, but just think about it..." Fresto winked. "You'll get it out of the way and not have to worry about it later."

"I... I guess." In his head, Arden couldn't disagree more with the fox's statement even if he tried.

"Good. Just stay after class on Monday and we'll walk down to the auditorium together. You'll do fine!" he added, seeing the panicked look Arden was attempting to hide. "It may seem like you're going to an execution, but trust me, we live in a very different time now. Most people don't care about your sexual orientation."

"I know." Arden sighed. "But I'm still scared of what this will do to me and Mark."

"Does he love you?" Fresto had a faraway look in his eyes when he asked the question.

"Yes." He was sure of it now.

Fresto, still in a daze, nodded. "Then you'll make it."

"That's not what I'm afraid of." Arden took a seat in one of the desks, ignoring the late-bell. "I'm afraid that me coming out will draw our relationship further into the shadows. We already have to keep the PDA to a minimum. Once I'm officially gay... well... I don't even know what will happen." He blinked away a tear. "I just feel like he might distance himself from me in public just to not be seen with 'the queer.'"

Fresto was fully back in the real world by that point. "Did you talk to Mark about it?"

"Yeah. He said everything would be alright."

"Then trust him." Fresto put a paw on Arden's shoulder "That's the basis of any real relationship - trust. If Mark tells you it will be okay, trust him."

"Okay." He remembered the dream again -- the realization that he couldn't control many aspects of his life. This time, he wasn't scared; he embraced it. This is just another aspect of his life he could not control, but if Mark told him it would be alright... it would be.

"Hey, you're gonna be okay!" Fresto called after him as he was leaving.

"Yeah." Arden smiled for the first time that day. "I am gonna be okay."

The rest of the day passed rather uneventfully. Some of the classes dragged by, others flew. For the first time since he found out about his impending fate, Arden's mind was at ease. Every time he doubted Mark's love, the wolf showed him just how wrong he was. There would be no doubts this time.

After practice, he and Sam went out for pizza.

"I'm gonna do it," Arden said when they sat down in their usual booth.

"Do... oh, oh! That's awesome!" Sam reached over and patted his paw. "You're gonna be okay. You'll still have your friends and maybe even some new ones; people tend to respect bravery."

"I hope so." Arden smiled. This time, it wasn't a forced smile.

"Well, no matter what, you'll have at least one friend." Sam smiled back.

"Thanks, Sam. That really means a lot to me." It's moments like this that made him happy to have stuck by his best friend. He loved Mark more than he could imagine, but Sam filled a different void in his life. He needed both of them by his side.

Sam shrugged. "That's what I'm here for."

They ate their anchovy pizza and headed over to Sam's house.

"Guess who just got Inception on Bluray?" Sam tore open a package he found on the porch and showed off his newest purchase.

"Movie night?" Arden still had some homework to do, but that's what Sunday night was for.

"Great minds do think alike!" Sam unlocked the door and they went inside.

Arden considered asking if he could invite Mark, but decided against it. For a moment, he put himself into Sam's shoes. He realized then how awkward that would feel for the poor otter; he would be curled up with his wolf on the couch, and Sam would sit awkwardly off to the side. He knew that Sam wouldn't say anything, but that didn't make things any less graceless for him.

They popped in the movie and settled down on the couch. There was an unspoken rule between the two friends that no talking was allowed if the movie was new, but since both boys had seen it before, they talked and laughed through the whole thing.

"You know, it's only better the fifth time you see it," Sam said when the credits rolled.

"I still can't believe we saw it four times that one week." Arden chuckled.

"Worth every penny, though, huh?" Sam put the disc back into the box and powered off the TV. They shared another warm embrace and Arden bade his friend goodbye.

He went home, cloaked in a warm, happy aura. It wasn't the same sensation he got from being with Mark, but he didn't like it any less.

Feeling like all his problems were solved, he fell asleep, looking forward to Mark's visit on Saturday.

With a pleasant night of sleep behind him, he woke up, got ready and sat on the couch expecting the doorbell to ring at any moment; what he heard, instead, was a car horn. Intrigued, Arden opened the door and looked outside.

Mark was sticking his head out of the window of a brand new SUV.

"Wanna go for a ride?" He smiled, clearly enjoying the surprised look Arden gave him.

"When did you learn to drive?" After talking to Sam about driving school, Arden signed up and was almost halfway done; it didn't even occur to him to consider that Mark had done the same.

"Just got my license last week." Mark killed the engine and hopped out of the car to hug his boyfriend. "I was gonna tell you, but I decided to wait until I got a set of wheels."

"That's awesome!" Arden kissed the wolf on the nose. "So, where are we going?"

"How about Coaster Island?"

"That's like four hours away." Arden wasn't against it, he just wasn't sure why Mark wanted to go there in particular.

"Three hours and forty-five minutes." Mark pulled his cellphone out. "I just looked it up on the GPS. See, I wanted to try something, and Coaster Island seems like the perfect place to do it."

"What do you have in mind?" This time, Arden didn't even try to guess; whatever the wolf had planned, he would have to wait to find out.

"You'll see." Mark held the passenger door open. "Get in."

Arden climbed in and adjusted the seat to his shorter stature.

Mark got in on the driver's side and after checking his mirrors twice, started the car.

It felt very weird to see him driving. As far as Arden was concerned, they were both kids; driving was the first step into adulthood, and Mark had now passed it. He pulled out of the driveway slowly, taking as much time as he could to make sure that nobody was coming in behind them.

As they drove down the street, Mark seemed to relax somewhat; his ears topped twitching and he even had Arden put on some music, not daring to take a single paw off the wheel himself.

With their favorite tunes providing accompaniment, the drive was remarkably short; Arden didn't even have time to get bored and start staring out the window.

They encountered a bit of traffic at the entrance to the theme park. Coaster Island was, as its name suggested, an island; in order to get there, they had to cross a long bridge that lead straight into the parking lot. The problem was that every car had to stop at a booth to pay for parking. The park offered an online ticketing option, but nobody seemed to know about it, or they just didn't care.

It was almost an hour later that they pulled into an empty parking space.

The sun was shining and it promised to be a very beautiful day.

As they got out of the car and headed towards the entrance, Mark did something completely unexpected - he took Arden's paw and gave the otter a kiss.

"Wow, what an amazing surprise!" Arden could do nothing to keep a broad grin off his muzzle.

"I thought a lot about what you said. I don't want you to think that I'm ashamed of you or want to hide. I love you." There was no discomfort in his voice or grip, it felt so natural that Arden believed every word. He wanted, badly, to respond, but found that familiar lump in his throat again and made due with a smile.

He hated himself for ever doubting Mark. Sure, the wolf was under pressure to act straight, but that didn't mean he wanted to be that way. Here, where nobody knew them, they were free to be themselves; Arden wished he could live here forever. He abandoned those thoughts at the gate and decided to just make the best of what time he had.

Fresto was right; hardly anyone gave them a second glance as they walked through the crowd holding paws; they really were in a different time. Arden could tell that Mark was thinking the same thing. Maybe, once he'd tested the waters, he would be more likely to do the same at school. After all, people weren't that different in their home town; the likelihood was that they would react in the exact same way.

They rode roller coasters, ate cotton candy, and Mark even tried to climb the Tower of Fear; he didn't make it to the top, but he still got a prize - a small stuffed shark.

"I've still got your fox at my place." He gave Arden the shark along with another kiss.

"Why don't we stop by on the way home so I can pick him up?"

"Well..." Mark smiled, "I was actually hoping you'd want to spend the night. My dad's away on a business trip, so we'll have the whole place to ourselves."

"Oh, I guess." Arden wanted to act nonchalant, but he realized then that he was grinning like an idiot, which completely gave away his true feelings.

"Hey, faggots, get a room!" Someone shouted from the crowd.

Mark's paws began to shake. Just then, another shout came to answer the first. "Hey, asshole, shut the hell up!" It was followed by several similar comments. Arden squeezed Mark's paw tighter and smiled.

The wolf's paw stopped trembling, and he smiled back.

They stayed in the park until the sun set. The crowds slowly thinned out as the boys sat on one of the benches, eating hot dogs.

"We should go." Mark threw out the rest of his soda and got off the bench. "I'm not allowed to drive after midnight until I turn eighteen."

"Let's boogie." Arden hopped off the bench and expertly tossed the cup he was drinking from into the trash.

Both boys were too tired to talk, so the ride home was silent. They made it to Mark's house just before curfew.

The wolf barely shut the front door before Arden pulled him into a long, passionate kiss.

"Thank you," he spoke, kissing the wolf again and again. "For everything."

"You don't know how good it makes me feel to see you this happy." Mark picked him up and headed off to his room.

Their clothes soon made their way to the floor and Arden ended up naked in Mark's strong arms.

"So, what do you wanna do?" Mark asked.

By way of answer, Arden reached into the bedside table drawer and pulled out a small bottle of lube.

He smothered some of the slick gel under his tail and turned over to face Mark. "Are you okay with this?" He slid his greasy paw up and down Mark's shuddering member.

"Absolutely!" the wolf panted, his tail wagging with a speed that Arden had never seen before.

The otter straddled Mark and sat down slowly on the wolf's maleness.

He and Mark had discussed anal sex, but he never found himself quite ready for it. This one day changed everything. The closeness he felt to Mark over the past many hours made him feel happier than he had in a long time; what he was doing now seemed like a natural extension of his love.

And what an extension! Arden moaned softly as the last of Mark's wolfhood slid into him, stopping just short of the knot. The mild stretching sensation only served to heighten his arousal. He rocked his hips up and down in rhythm with the wolf, feeling every nerve inside him screaming with pleasure.

Mark's paw made it over to Arden's member and began stroking it - slowly at first, but then getting faster and faster. Judging by the speed of his boyfriend's paw, Arden guessed that the wolf was pretty close to finishing. He sped up his own motions as well. With every thrust, Mark's member touched a spot deep inside him that sent sparks of pleasure up the otter's spine. All Arden could do was hold on.

Mark wrapped his arms around arden and held the otter close. "Ar, I can't- I can't hold it anymore."

With a soft pop, his knot slid all the way inside. Again, Arden expected pain, but pleasure was all he felt. They climaxed within seconds of each other, moaning in one voice and holding onto each other in throes of passion. In those few brief moments, everything was perfect. Everything was just right.

Exhausted, Arden lay on Mark's chest and put his arms around his wolf.

Mark put his arms around him and they fell asleep; bound both physically and emotionally, stronger than ever.

Arden woke up, still in the wolf's arms. The happiness from the previous day hadn't worn off one bit. If anything, waking up and realizing that Saturday wasn't all a dream, made him even happier.

He spent the entire day rehearsing his essay and a small introduction speech.

Mark stayed with him the entire time; the wolf didn't talk much, but his presence gave Arden a great deal of support.

Monday flew by. As the assembly drew closer and closer, Arden began to feel more and more nervous. It took all the warmth of that weekend to keep him composed. He thanked Mark mentally for giving him the strength to not back down.

"You ready?" Fresto tapped him on the back, startling him.

He'd fallen into such a deep daydream that he hardly realized that History had ended and he was the only one left in the classroom besides the teacher. "Yeah." His stomach felt just short of bursting open with butterflies as he grabbed his essay and followed Fresto to the auditorium.

When they got there, he habitually headed over to the seating area.

"We get the VIP entrance." Fresto chuckled and motioned towards the stage-door.

"Congratulations." Mr. Foreman, the principal, met them at the entrance. Arden's paw was completely lost in the Kodiak Bear's massive grip. "This school needs more brave kids like you."

"Thanks!" Arden shook the bear's paw, wishing Mark was there shaking his paw instead.

Mrs. Feeley, the assistant principal poked her snout out from behind the curtain. "You're on in about fifteen minutes, sweetheart."

Arden sat down in a chair next to Fresto and waited. He heard, vaguely, the principal going up and speaking about tolerance, then the assistant principal...

"Arden, it's time." Fresto was patting his shoulder.

His paws told him to run, his muzzle told him to just say no and walk away...

He ignored them and made his way towards the stage.

The dream from all those nights ago came back; he was in front of a huge audience, exposing his most vulnerable side.

Slowly, he reached his paw and parted the heavy red curtains.

"Arden Halinen!" The principal stepped to the side.

Arden's stomach churned, and vomiting felt like distinct possibility, but the otter still made his way forward.

He placed his essay on the podium and glanced momentarily out into the audience. He didn't see Mark or Sam, but he knew they were there.

"Hi," he began...