The Mark Callaway Story Chapter 2
The Mark Callaway Story Chapter 2 -- Collision Course...
This day marked the end of their junior year. Just a short while ago they'd heard the final bell of their 11th grade school year. They walked out of their classes and down the halls slower than they had in the past, saying goodbye to all of their semi-friends, and all their acquaintances -- especially those a grade above them. They even stopped by to bid farewell to a few faculty members they'd grown fond of over time.
And then, just like they had, for nearly three full years, they met up with one another out in front of the school: black glove fox, and star of the school's swim team, Adrian "Dri" White, canine proof that low income needn't mean criminal, Nick "Boomer" Rice, a certain someone's panther wet-dream, Daniel Adams, and, of course, our raccoon protagonist, Mark Callaway.
Today though, unlike all those others, they didn't talk for long. Danny left quickly to get home; Nick's parents showed up very soon after that and he left; and then, since the others were gone too, Adrian and Mark piled into Adrian's car and were on their way right afterwards.
For the past few days, Mark's parents had been gone on a vacation, and Mark made plans to stay with Adrian, until early the next week, when they would get back. Of course, what Mark's parents didn't know...was that Adrian's were also gone, for quite a while longer.
The first short drive, the one to Adrian's house, was quiet, except for the extremely loud radio, and bass. Once home, Adrian and Mark gathered up their things, piled back into the car, and then immediately left again.
It had been over two years since he finally came out to his parents, with his big brother's support, and, today, Mark Callaway planned to let, at the very least, one more person in on his secret. And he was in a car with that very person, speeding down the freeway to their best friend's house.
Tonight, Danny and his sister, Melissa, were having a house party. The occasion? They were about to move to another house, albeit still in the same town, and the school year had just come to an end. So their parents figured that a bit of a party was in order. Danny and his sister had invited most of the Junior and Senior classes to the party...and they were popular enough to expect very few hold outs.
~
"Dude! Don't fuck with me!" Adrian turned to look across the cab at Mark, and his eyes grown huge as he tried to take in what he'd been told.
"Dri!" Mark squirmed a bit in his seat, "K-keep your eyes on the road! You don't have a license, remember? We can't risk getting pulled over."
Adrian shook his head and turned back to watch the road, "Seriously, though. You've gotta' be joking, right?"
Mark wanted to tell him 'yes,' but he'd come too far to chicken out, now. "No Dri...I'm really gay." Mark looked down and turned away from the fox across the cab, "Please tell me I wasn't wrong to tell you..."
"No!" Adrian shook his head again, "No-no. No...it's...it's ok. I'm just...surprised as hell, is all! Does your family know?"
"Yeah, I told them my summer after our freshman year..."
"Why haven't you or Danny already told me about this before now? It's not like you two to keep things like this from me." The fox raised an eyebrow, mulling over a feeling he didn't expect, "It actually...kind of makes me feel bad. Like you two don't trust me."
Mark looked back at the fox, "What do you mean 'or Danny'...uh...us two? He doesn't know..."
"He doesn't?" Adrian's eyes darted the car's cab for a moment, before stumbling an explanation, "I uh...I figured you would have told him by now. You and him are so close. You tell each other everything. I just didn't expect to be...wait, am I the first?"
"Outside of my family?"
"Yeah."
"Yeah."
Adrian smiled, "That...that's awesome. Kind of like an honor or something." He looked at Mark and the 'coon smiled back lightly, "But, seriously. Why me and not Danny?"
"I just can't tell him." Mark looked back out the window and watched as the stripes passed by on the road.
The fox scritched at his head fur, "Why not?"
"I just can't. It's just not that easy..." Mark took a deep breath, "Not with him..."
Adrian thought for a moment, his head tilting and a smile growing on his muzzle, finally letting out a soft chuckle before continuing, "Look...don't take this to be me, like, joining your team or anything but...THAT'S ADORABLE!" The fox nearly yipped like a kit, "You like Danny! That's great."
"...it really isn't." Mark looked at the floorboard, happy with Adrian's reaction, but still feeling almost ashamed.
"How long?"
Mark looked up, "Hmm?"
"How long have you been...uhm...pining for him, I guess?"
"Since...like the day I met him." Mark shrugged.
"Cute." Adrian opened his mouth twice, but closed it again both times without speaking. Then on the third, he finally managed, "So. What about me?"
"You?"
"Uh...yeah." Adrian was uncomfortable with the question, but just couldn't keep himself from asking, "Like...I mean...I know the kind of thoughts that cross a guy's mind before sleep. Do I ever...am I like..." Finally he just said it, "Ever think about havin' sex with me?"
Mark just shrunk into his seat, and didn't answer.
"You do!" Adrian laughed loud enough to rock himself in his seat, "Sorry...sorry. No good answer there, I guess. 'No' would have just made me feel ugly."
Mark smiled just a little, but then, suddenly, he realized something. He sat back up quickly, and turned in his seat to face Adrian, "Dri! Man, listen!! You can't tell Danny, or Boomer, or anyone! Whatever you do: don't say anything! Please? Promise me. Please!"
"Hey-hey! Whoa! Calm down. I can keep a secret. I'm keepin' plenty already," Adrian's eyebrow rose again as he realized, right at that moment exactly how many. "I'm a damned confessional."
Mark relaxed back into his seat, "Thank you."
With that, the fox slowed his car and turned into Danny's circular driveway, "But look, take my advice, ok? Tell Danny: and soon. It's not right to hide something like this from him..." Adrian sighed, "Especially not him, and especially if you like him..."
Mark barely managed a murmur, "L-love..."
Adrian had to take a breath at that, but moved right along, "...especially if you love him."
Mark sighed, "I know...I'm just so afraid of how he'll react."
"Even if I assured you everything would be ok?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I do anyway. And I think that tonight's as good a night as any. But we can talk about all of this later, right?" Adrian, already parked near the garage with the others, turned off his car. "This is a party! You need to have fun, ok?"
"Yeah!" Mark smiled back at the fox, though he was less sure of himself than he sounded.
Adrian started to open his door, and then stopped, before looking back at the coon, "Fuck. One last thing."
"Yeah?" Paw on his own door, the coon looked back.
Adrian smiled, "We're cool, Mark. You're still one of my best friends, and this didn't change anything. Not even you sleeping in my room when you're over or anything. Hope that helps."
Mark's smile grew more genuine, "More than I can say. Thanks."
Mark and Adrian opened their doors and slid out of the car. Both brushed back their head fur with their fingers, and swung their bushy tails in front to run their fingers through them as well. They adjusted their clothes, looked each other up and down, and after a few quick nods of approval, to made their to the house.
"Hey..." Just in front of the door to Danny's house, they find Nick in the middle of doing his best to get his clothes straightened out. His family wasn't the most blessed when it came to money, and even his best clothes looked like paw-me-downs up next to the expensive ensembles of the richer students. "Damned clothes, I swear to god-" He grabbed onto the collar of his shirt in a short burst of rage, but a raccoon paw caught his arm, to stop him from pulling and tearing the shirt apart.
"Boomer..." Adrian lightly took hold of the dog's other arm, as he and Mark pulled their friend's paws away from destroying his shirt. "You look fine."
Mark wanted to add, 'No matter what you wear.' But it sounded to gay in his head to let it pass his lips, and he just frowned, wondering now about how to go about telling Nick, too...not just Danny.
"Yeah...temper..." Nick shook a bit and then sparked a smile. He turned to greet Mark, though and noticed the look on the 'coon's face, "Hey Marky...what's up? Dri? Somethin' wrong?"
"No. Don't worry about it," Adrian patted Mark on the back, "He'll be fine after he talks to Danny. Right Marky?" He raised an eyebrow and looks Mark in the eye.
"Danny always has a knack for pulling our 'coon out of funk, doesn't he?"
"Mmph." Mark's only response is a bit of a grunt pushed past his two friends and to the front door, trying to escape their eyes before they could catch any hint of his growing blush. He couldn't figure out how to feel...worried about Danny, embarrassed by the attention, or nervous of outing himself too soon. His cheeks had gone with embarrassed.
He knocked on the door, just one knock, and the door swung open, knocking the raccoon into the wall, as a mass of laughing seniors piled out. Adrian and Nick moved aside then joined their friend at the door, as the seniors continued off into the yard, ignoring the three juniors.
"Assholes." Nick glared off at the front yard.
"No." Mark stuffed his paws in his pockets, and his eyelids drooped as he padded through the door. "Not their fault. Didn't know I was there."
Adrian shook his head as he and Nick followed the small raccoon into the house's entry way, and through it, to the living room and connected den. The room was already littered with furs of all species and sizes: Foxes, Canines, every one of the school's few Raccoons, Cats, a few Otters and Bears, even a couple of Lizards and a Dolphin. Adrian, Mark, and Danny just stood, looking at the writhing mass of fur, and wondered if they were here late.
They scanned the room for familiar faces and scents, and they recognized most of them...for better or worse.
"Well..." Mark took a deep breath, and looked at Adrian with an exaggerated smile, "Time to put on a happy, face, yeah?"
"Mark!!" Pushing his way through the crowd came the friendliest of faces. A swatch of black amidst the many other colors filling the room, shirtless and recently wet, Danny, the only panther in the room, nearly ran up to Mark and threw his arms around the little raccoon. "What took you so long Mark? Did Dri take the long way so he could drive more?" Danny laughed a little as he let go of his friend.
"Hey Danny..." Mark's smile softened and grew genuine, as he almost cooed his hello. The tone of his voice caught his ear, though, and he winced, looking away. "Hey." He repeated, almost completely monotone, and walked on past Danny into the middle of the room, looking for a way through the crowd.
"The hell?" Danny muttered under his breath as he turns to Adrian and Nick, "Dri? Boomer? Somethin' wrong with Mark? Did I do somethin'?"
"Hey!" Adrian looked nervous, "Look over there at that...uh..." the fox stammered and grabbed onto Nick's arm, "Window! Look-at-that! Is that stained glass?? In a house!? C'mon Boomer!"
"Wh-what? What are you doing? Where are we going? What's wrong with you?" Nick's voice faded into the murmur of the room as Adrian pulled him off through the crowd.
"Hmm..." Danny ignored the fox's antics and turns to looks at Mark, concern in his eyes, "I hope nothing bad happened." He took a few quick strides and forced a smile back on his face as he threw an arm back around Mark's shoulders, "C'mon man, I've got a seat saved for you!" Not waiting for a response, he pushed on through the furs, with Mark in tow, and made his way into the emptier, but not completely deserted, kitchen.
Mark sat down in one of the only two chairs at the bar, and as the couple of people at the fridge left with their drinks, he realized that he and Danny were the only two people left in the room. "Why are we in here? The party's out there...don't you want to go visit with everyone?"
"Nah, I'm fine." Danny sat down on the other side of the bar from Mark, "Better company here." Mark and Danny grew quiet as both seemed to be replaying that particular line in their head, and after a moment, Danny cleared his throat, "Uhmm...Mark? There isn't anything bothering you is there? I haven't done something wrong have I?" Almost as if a scorned child, Danny's eyelids dropped and he looked across at his friend.
"No Danny, I'm ok."
"You don't seem it. You've looked upset all day, and it's been even worse since you got here. Is there something bothering you? Or...or are you just upset with me?" Danny leaned a little closer to the bar and Mark looked up at him. The panther's eyes stared back at him, sad and guilty, despite the fact that he's done nothing to be guilty for.
"Oh God no!" Mark almost yelped as he reached across the table and put his paw on the panther's fore-arm, "You...you haven't done anything!" Realizing where his paw was at and how frantic he must have sounded, Mark stopped himself and jerked his arm back, "I...just...just don't worry about it ok?"
"Yeah." Danny looked around, searching for something to say in the middle of the silence, and then smirk, "Have you and Adrian been having fun...y'know...all alone?" Danny raises both his eyebrows and smiled from ear to ear.
Mark laughed at the cat, "Well I have! But Dri's been upset that he never get's to be on top!"
Danny laughed and shook his head, "Don't tell Dri we said that."
"He wouldn't mind." Mark loosened up finally, forgetting his problems for a moment, "So how many of the people here are your guests?"
"More than half, right now? I think. It won't be that way later, though. A lot of Melissa's guests probably won't be here until late: jobs and all."
"Makes sense," Mark pushed against the bar, stretching, "What d'you think you made on your finals?"
"I passed." Danny stood up, "Can't be sure of much else..." and grabbed a drink out of the fridge, "You want anything?"
"Yeah. Pepsi?"
"Sure thing." Danny reached into the fridge again, "What about you? How do you think you did?"
"The less said: the better!" Mark took his drink and opened it, "But I doubt that it put me in danger of failing any classes..."
"Well that's cool."
~
Danny and Mark continued talking for a while, interrupted every once in a while by one of the other party guests coming into the room to talk to Danny or grab a drink. But with every one, them, Danny just answered their questions and subtly shooed them away, to either the living room, or out to the pool. The conversation continued on through two more drinks each, a rousing rendition of jokes they'd heard on the Colbear Report, but couldn't quite repeat correctly, and a visit from Adrian and Nick, before the two finally ran out things to talk about.
Mark sighs through his laughter, "I love Colbear. Still miss him on the Daily Show, though."
Danny stood up and stretched, "Yeah, but at least they still have Samantha Bee."
"And the British guy's good too." Mark stood as well.
"Never can remember his name."
"Me either..." Mark thought for a moment, but couldn't come up with it. Now he'd have to do a Google search and find out. He looked out the window and noticed that no one was in the pool, "This has been fun! But you know I only came here for the pool."
Danny smiled and shrugs, "It's the only reason I make friends."
Mark laughed, turning and walking out of the kitchen. He headed through the living room, the garage, and out to Adrian's car. There, he picked up his small bag from the back seat and returned inside to the nearest bathroom: the one with the hand written "changing room" sign. He went inside, relieved himself after his two sodas, changed into his swimming trunks, stuffed all of his other clothes into his bag, and tossed it onto the pile of bags and clothes in the corner.
As he walked the few short steps back over to the door he stopped to look at himself in the mirror. He straightened himself up and stuck out his chest. He was still not all that fit, but he'd started growing into himself since his freshman year: his chest even stuck out farther than his stomach now. Of course a lot of that was just because his fur was thicker there. He looked over his off-white chest and stomach fur, twisted and mussed up from a day of being stuck under his shirt. He ran his fingers through it, to straighten it out, and then repeated the process on his face, his gray head fur, and swung his gray and black ringed tail up in front of himself to do the same to it as well. He knew it wasn't the situation, but he felt like he was getting ready for a date. All the preening was just to make sure he looked good for Danny.
Satisfied with his appearance in nothing but his over-glorified-boxer-short swimming trunks, he flipped off the light and opened the door. No sooner had he stepped out and turned to leave, though, than he ran right into Danny.
"Whoa!" After stumbling a bit, Danny spun, and threw his arm around his friend's shoulder, "Look at you!" He put his paw on the raccoon's chest, "This fur or muscle?"
Mark's eyes grew wider, and he felt himself tensing up, freezing as he felt the Panther's paw on his chest. And his imagination was getting the best of him: it felt like Danny was rubbing his chest fur. "F-fur..."
"No...it's definitely more than that."
Danny was lying; Mark knew it was all fur. But the Panther's paw didn't move. He continued to rub his paw lightly into the raccoon's chest fur, and Mark did his damndest to hold back a murr. He forced an embarrassed smile on his face as, finally, Danny moved his paw.
"So..." Danny, completely oblivious to how he was torturing the 'coon, left his other arm around his shoulder and pulled him along to follow. "So, are we headed to the pool now or what?"
"We?" Mark mumbled under his breath, "Don't you have other people to visit with...?" He resisted the urge to lean into the Panther as they walked, "You've been hanging out with me for so long, already."
"Nonsense!"
Mark smiled and blushed, "If you say so."
"And I do." Danny let go of his friend before they got to the pool, and slowed a bit, letting Mark get ahead of him. As Mark reached the pool, Danny called from behind him, "Mark?"
"What?" Mark turned around just long enough to see a flash of black, before getting a forearm to the chest, as Danny tackled him and they fell into the deep end of the pool. The water flooded up into his mouth and nose as he closed his eyes, feeling Danny's strong arms around him as they plunged into the deepest part of the pool.
It was only for a moment -- the rapid plunge -- but it felt so much longer for Mark. He melted, with his Panther wrapped around him, as the moment stretched out, and he took in everything he could of the sensation.
His feet touched the bottom of the pool, flat against its drain: its single lowest point. Danny unwrapped him, but they were still tangled, their arms and legs moving in the water, and brushing against one another. Mark was caressed by the Panther's legs and arms for the slightest of moments: his sides, his stomach and chest, and even his inner thighs. It was only a moment, again, but it was long enough to send shivers through his body and set his fur on end, before the Panther kicked his way back to the surface.
Mark took a second to follow, in a haze from all that, making him forget, shortly, that he needed air. He kicked, shooting up, and breaking through the water's surface, his mouth open and gasping for the air he hadn't had to warning to take in to before the plunge.
Having regained his breath, and wiped the water from his eyes, he opened them to find himself looking right into Danny's. The Panther's head was barely above the water, and a soft smile was appearing and disappearing behind the waves. Why was he staring like that? What was up with Danny today? Mark shook his head before he let his hopes get the best of him.
Danny rose a bit, his shoulders breaking the surface, "You ok?"
"Hmm?" Mark barely heard him over what he was thinking.
"Didn't drown you did I?"
"No." Mark shook his head and smiled, "it was fine." He swam back a foot or two. He was always worried about how gay he might look to other people, and he and Danny were almost nose to nose.
"So," Danny pushed away too, "What now?"
"Sometimes when I'm in a pool..." Mark waved his arm through the water, splashing off in front of him, "I like to swim."
"Sarcasm noted."
"Next time, though, maybe a bit of warning before you tackle me into the pool, ok?" Mark turned around in the water to look at his friend. "So much water up my nose..."
"Sorry. I should have thought about what I was doing, I forgot that you haven't been in that good of a mood today." Danny took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he leaned all the way back, to float on top of the water.
Mark, as if he hadn't already been looking at his shirtless friend ever since he got to the party, looked across Danny's body again. His muscles were much more visible than before since his fur was soaked down to his skin now, but that wasn't quite what Mark's looking at. His eyes, totally under his own control, even though he'd say otherwise, shifted to the right and stopped right on Danny's quite sizable bulge. With his trunks wet and with gravity pulling them down, Danny might as well have been wearing nothing. Although not erect, the bulge in his trunks was still as big as the raccoon had imaged. The package was perfect, and Mark felt his own slowly starting to tingle and swell.
"SHIT!!" Mark said, almost screaming.
"Whoa!" Danny sat up quickly, bringing his body back vertical in the water, and jerked his head toward Mark, "What? What happened?
"Uhm..." Mark's eyes darted as he backed up in the water, "DI-" he coughed, "Diving!"
"What?"
"Diving Contest! We should have a diving contest!" Mark swims to the edge and hoists himself out of the pool facing away from Danny and the rest of the house. He looked down to make sure that his growing erection hadn't become too visible through his shorts. "Go to sleep...go to sleep damn you..."
"Diving contest?" Danny got out of the pool too, "Won't we need a-" He happened to glance at the house, and saw Nick walking across the back porch. "HEY!! BOOMER!! COME HERE!!"
Nick, stopped in mid stride in front of the sliding glass door, and turns to them, "What?" he called back, loudly enough to be heard, "Whadda'ya' want?"
"I said come here!" Danny shook a bit of the water off of himself as Nick trotted over to him, staying way clear of the pool's edge. "Don't worry dude, I'm not gonna' throw you in; I know how much you hate water. I just called you over for you to help me and Mark with something."
"Ok, then...what's that?" Nick moved a step closer to the pool, trusting Danny at least that much.
Mark, finally satisfied with the look of the front of his trunks, turned and walked over to them, "We're gonna' have a diving contest, and we need a judge." He looked at the panther, "Right Danny? That's what you called him over for..."
"Yeah..." Dan puts a wet arm around Mark, still intent on comforting his depressed friend, "So Booms," He turned back to Nick, "You wanna help us?"
"Sure, but what exactly am I judging?"
"What the hell ever you want! Distance, style, splash size, form...uh...breast size...? I don't care. Just pick a favorite."
"Sure thing!" With that, Nick took his place alongside the pool and Danny and Mark lined up by the diving board. One by one, Danny and Mark took their turns running across the low set board and diving off into the pool. Soon, Adrian showed up by the pool to watch as well. With each jump, Danny seemed to try a little less than before, and it was quickly obvious that he was letting Mark win.
"You go on few more times, Danny," Mark stopped and sets down by Adrian and Nick, "I'ma' rest a second." As Danny continued to dive, Mark shook his head, almost in disgust, "I wish he'd quit that."
"What's that Marky?" Adrian spoke up, still watching Danny.
"He's letting me win." Mark shakes his head again, "He feels sorry for me, because I'm in a bad mood. He...he almost feels guilty, like he's done something wrong! And he's going out of his way to cheer me up, when he's got an entire party full of people he could be spending time with, instead of wasting it with me."
"He doesn't see it as a waste." Nick betrayed his judging responsibilities to look at Mark.
"Yeah," Adrian patted Mark on the shoulder, "he loves you to death. He's just trying to be a good friend."
"Really, man..." Nick chimed back in, "I'm not sure what's bothering you, but if anyone'll be there for you, it's him. He always is. Talk to him about it."
"That's what I told him." Adrian nodded.
"I can't, OK? I..." Mark stood up, "I just can't..." and walked back to the diving board.
"Dri?" Nick lowered his voice as he watched the raccoon walk away, "Don't you think it's about time you-"
"No."
Danny and Mark continued their diving contest in much the same way as before, and soon the pool started to fill up with other guests of the party. The line by the diving board grew longer and longer as more and more people joined the contest. Soon, like Mark wanted, Danny forgot all about trying to let the raccoon win, and found himself pulling out all the stops to win, despite Nick's ever changing whims and rules. But as he rose up from the water, after one of his better dives, and looked around the pool, he noticed that Mark had left.
He got out of the pool, shook off a bit and walked over to Adrian, who was still sitting at the picnic table. "Did you see what happened to Mark?"
"He's..." Adrian rubbed his neck, "He's around front." The fox stood up before Danny could leave, though, "Wait. I need to...I..."
"What is it?"
"I..." The fox just sighed, "I can't. Just...just find a way to talk to Mark, ok? He needs you right now." Adrian turned back toward the house, away from his panther friend and the diving contest.
Danny watched the fox walk into the house, and then started his own slow trudge around to his front yard. There, he found Mark setting on Melissa's wooden swing. Not saying anything, at first, the panther just sat down beside his little raccoon friend. Mark wouldn't look at him.
Danny put his paw on Mark's arm, "Sorry..."
"S-sorry?"
"I got...too caught up in the diving thing. Left you feeling ignored. And today of all days, when you're so-"
"No, Danny." Mark cut him off. He wanted to pull his arm away from Danny's paw, but instead, set his own paw on the panther's, "You didn't do anything wrong. I asked you to enjoy the party."
"Hard to do when..." He squeezed Mark's arm, "my best friend can't."
Mark just smiled softly.
"Still don't wanna's tell me what's bothering you?"
"I just...I can't. Please don't make me. I can't talk to you about it, Danny," Mark's eyes started to tear up but he held it back. "I wish I could...but I just can't! I know that you're always there for me, but it...you just can't hel..." Mark's last words got cut off with a sob as he struggled to hold back more tears.
Danny wrapped his arms around his littler friend, and quietly whispers into his black ears, "It'll be ok man. I'll leave you alone about it. Just don't cry, kid. Don't cry." He then lifted the raccoon's head, and looked him in the eye, his muzzle stretching in a smile. "Come on, Marky, lets head on inside and get you a little something to eat."
Mark nodded, wiping his tears away, and he and Danny, Danny's arm still around the little coon's shoulders, walked on into the house and into the kitchen to find Adrian, already woofing down a very large sandwich.
~
Not much was said between them, as it was very obvious that Mark had been crying, from the stains on his fur under his eyes. The short sandwich meal was very quiet, until after a long while, when Mark got up and excused himself to the bathroom.
"Dri?" Once Mark was out of the room, Danny spoke up, "You know what's bothering him, don't you? I don't understand why he's holding out on me. He can usually tell me anything." He sighed, "Or at least I thought he could."
"Always the protector."
"Hmm?"
"Just...observing. You've been like...his protector since he got here." Adrian stood up from the table, "I remember, when he first moved here, how determined you were to make him feel welcomed."
Danny shrugged, "He was new and getting-"
"Picked on...I know."
The panther leaned on the bar with a sigh, "I just wish he would talk to me."
"Maybe that's just the problem." Adrian walked to the panther's side, "maybe it's you, specifically, that he doesn't want to talk to."
"What? You DO know something about this."
"Hey, I'm just saying that that might be the reason he's holding out." Adrian lowered his voice as Mark came back in the room, "I'll talk to him and find out, you head out to the pool and entertain your other guests."
"What are you two talkin' about?" Mark stopped by Adrian.
"You." The fox threw his arm over Mark's shoulder as Danny headed out through the sliding glass door, "C'mon Marky. We need to talk."
Almost draging the more and more distraught Mark, Adrian lead his friend to the front porch, and they set down on its edge. Then, after a short silence...
"This isn't right and you know it, Mark!" Adrian looked almost angry, but more annoyed at his friend, "You've had more than enough chances to tell him already today, and you haven't taken any of them! Can't you see what this is doing to him! He's worried to death about you, and he has been too good of a friend for you to be putting him through this."
"You don't understand Dri! I can't just up and tell him! How am I supposed to just bring it up out of no where."
"You did with me."
"I'm not in love with you!" Mark buried his fingers in his hair. "And I didn't say you had to tell him you're in love with him."
"Then what's the point in even trying? None of this is gonna' be off my mind until I get it ALL off my mind."
"Mark. Quit." Adrian tugged on Mark's arm, forcing him to take his paws out of his hair and look at the fox. "That's not true and you know it. You're just making up excuses now."
"No it-"
"Really? So let's say you tell him, and he's there for you just like always. You let him know," Adrian lowered his voice out of respect, "that you're gay, and then he's still your friend, tells you everything will be fine, and nothing's changed...JUST like I did. You expect me to believe that wouldn't make you feel better."
"I..."
"DRI!" Before either fur could say anything else, a voice called out from the corner of the house, "ADRIAN!" And Nick ran up to them. "Dude! There's some guy back there that's betting he can beat anyone in a race in the pool."
"Who?" Adrian stood up.
"Some fox."
"Does...does he know I'm here?"
"Maybe?"
"Is he even on the team?"
"Am I an encyclopedia?" Nick shrugged, "Look, there are actually bets on whether he can beat you or not!"
"There are?" Adrian looked almost giddy, but then remembered Mark, "Oh...damn. I can't. You'll have to let them know I'm busy, sorry." He started to set down, but Mark stopped him.
"No...just go. Have fun." Mark dried his eyes, from what tears he wasn't able to hold back, "I've done ok this long; I should do ok by myself a bit more."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah I'm sure. Go win Boomer some money."
"That's assuming he didn't bet against me!" Adrian and Nick turned to walk away, and the fox looked back, "Don't forget what I said, ok?"
Mark watched the two walk to the end of the house and around the corner, and almost on cue, once they left his sight, he started to cry again. Tears streamed down his face, and his breath came out in hiccups and sobs, and most attempts to speak were nothing more than whimpers or whines.
"Why? Why is this so hard for me?" He finally managed to speak, talking to himself as he curled up against to the wall. "Why can't I just shut up and enjoy the damned party!?"
He didn't know he was being listened to.
He felt, gently, a paw drop down on his shoulder, and turned to see Danny standing over him, looking out at the yard while he rubbed the raccoon's shoulder.
"You know, Marky, there's nothing wrong with being upset." Danny sat down beside his friend, "It's a lot better than ignoring your problems, y'know. That only makes them get worse." He put his arm around Mark and hugged him softly, "But it would probably help if you tried to talk to someone about it..."
"Not...just not yet, Danny," Mark lays his head on his friend's still bare chest without asking "Can I...can't we just sit here for a bit?"
"Sure man," Danny, uncomfortable, but not too worried about how it may look, held Mark a bit closer to him as the small raccoon cried into his chest fur. "Whatever you want."
~
A good bit later, while most were inside eating, or watching a movie on the house's big screen, Danny and Mark had found their way back out to the pool, and were swimming about a bit, by themselves.
"You sure you're feeling better kid?" Danny leaned back against the edge of the pool while Mark floated out in front of him.
"Yeah, like I said, I just...guess I needed to cry a bit, y'know: get it out of my system."
"That's good. You're still not ready to tell me what's up, though?"
Mark wanted to say he could now, but just kept quiet.
"That's cool, man don't worry about it. No pressure." Danny stretched and popped his neck, "Hey, about earlier: I'm sorry, again."
"Sorry? For what? You haven't done anything."
"Yeah, actually I have...kind of." Danny nervously ran his paws through his head fur, "I noticed how skittish you seemed earlier, almost like you didn't belong here, when the pool filled up."
"I just don't know most of these people."
"But still...I'm not even friends with a lot of them, and I am friends with you. I should have stuck with you, instead of letting you think you didn't belong here. It wasn't right. I remember how that feels. I...I just want you to know: I know you said it was ok, earlier, but I won't let that happen again."
Mark smiled awkwardly, not really sure what to think about that, and suddenly there was a large splash in the pool next to the two.
"What the shit?" Mark swam backward with a few quick strokes, and watched as a red tuft of fur rose up from the water, and Adrian's soaked head, smiling from black ear to black ear, followed it.
"Hey! Didn't scare you, too bad, did I?" Adrian smiled wider, as Nick sat down beside the pool near Danny.
"A little shocked." Danny smirked and splashed at Adrian, "Not really scared though."
"Good!" Adrian rose up more out of the water just before Mark and Danny splashed him again.
Before any semblance of a conversation could be sparked up between the four of them though, a flood of voices and laughter washed out into the back yard. The noise was followed closely by a rather large group of furs, probably having just finished the movie, and hurriedly taking off their shirts to get into the pool.
Danny quickly swam over to Mark and grabbed him by the wrist, without a moment of hesitation, "Come on Mark, let's head inside. I'm sure you don't want to be out here with all these people." He pulled Mark up by his paw, without letting him protest, and they climbed out of the pool. "Adrian, Booms, you two have fun out here. We'll be back a little bit later, when things get a bit less crowed."
The two pushed their way through the mass of furs around the pool and those few still coming out the door, and made their way into the kitchen.
"Where are we going?" Mark stops while Danny grabbed a couple of Pepsis.
"Up stairs." Danny pawed Mark one of the drinks and then turned to leave the room, followed quickly by his smaller friend. They jogged up the carpeted stairs in the living room, and up to the hallway between Danny's, Melissa's, and his parents' rooms. Then, after a few quick steps down the hall, Danny threw open the door to his parent's room and they walked on in.
"Are you sure it's ok for me to be in here?" Mark stood just inside the door, afraid to walk any farther in, while Danny pulled back a large curtain on the other side of the bed.
"Of course it is! You're my..." Danny paused as he opened the sliding glass door out to the balcony, "You're like family. And besides, we're not gonna' be in here anyway: we'll be on the terrace." The panther steps out onto the Balcony and stepped aside to let Mark follow.
"Wow..." Mark's eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open.
"I know," Danny and Mark walked to the railing of the balcony, and set their drinks on the small table beside them, as they watched the sun dip down behind the distant horizon. "It's nice, isn't it? Not looking forward to losing the balcony when we move."
Mark leans against the balcony's railing admiring the sunset, "Yeah..." but at the same time, admiring Danny, as usual.
Mark couldn't believe where he was. He'd thought about this -- fantasized about it -- for so long: their first sunset together. He sighed a bit and subtly took a step closer to Danny. Of course, this wasn't at all how he pictured the moment like. Mark closed his eyes and pictured, in his mind, the same scene he has for the past almost two years. He and Danny are alone, together, in love, there's a cool breeze. He could almost feel it, as he leaned to his right. And in his mind, Danny's arms, his strong arms, are around the little 'coon. Mark felt an arm drape across his shoulders, and he let out the softest murr. The scene filled his mind and his every sense, he saw it and he felt it. There they are on that same nameless, empty beach.
Mark opened his eyes back up to find himself back in the real world, but still leaning against Danny's chest, with the panther's strong arms holding him: one over his shoulders around the back of his neck, and the other around his chest. The sun had already gone down completely, it was night time now, and the party was still going on down below in the pool, as if nothing's changed. How long had he spaced out?
"Oh," Danny almost yelped, "You're awake." He let go of the raccoon, let him stand up, and started to blush, even though Mark couldn't see it through that black fur, "I uhm...I hope that didn't bother you, or anything: waking up holding onto me. But you fell asleep on me, and I couldn't bear to wake you...especially after the day you've had."
"No...thanks." Mark couldn't keep from smiling, "That was...heh...sweet." He didn't even flinch when he said it this time; normally he'd've been so worried how that would sound. "How long was I out?"
"For a good little while. Long enough for the sun to set, and for Adrian to come up here and check on us." Danny set down on one of the chairs on the balcony.
"Adrian...was here?" Mark nervously sets down too, "He uhm...he didn't say anything he shouldn't have did he?"
"No..." Danny smirked, "like what?"
"Good. Don't worry about it."
"So..." Danny pops his neck and leaned in across the small table between them, "Now that you've had your little nap, you feel any better?"
"A lot."
~
Much later in the night -- nearing twelve o' clock -- only a small few of Danny and Melisa's many guests were still at the party, but Mark, Adrian, and Nick were among the few. Just about all of the others were on their way out: either getting in their cars or waiting out front for their rides home. Danny, though, could be none the wiser, as he was in the back, lounging in the cold pool water beside Mark, instead of seeing his other guests off. Nick, needing a different ride home than the one that brought him here, was already in the back seat of Adrian's car, waiting for Adrian to pry Mark away from Danny.
Danny, leaning back in the water, saw Adrian walking to the pool, and knew he was getting ready to head home. The panther bounded out of the pool without saying a word, leaving Mark behind. Though confused at the way Danny bounded away, Mark realized, himself, that it was about time to go, and he climbed up out of the pool too, picking up a nearby towel.
"Hey Mark!" Adrian called to his friend as he and Danny walk over to the pool, "You know how cramped the back of my car is, right?"
"Uhm..." Mark looked between the two, "Yeah?"
"Well, you wouldn't want Boomer to have to ride back there all the way to his house would you?"
"What are you talking about?" Mark dried his ears and head fur.
"Why don't you stay the night here at Danny's, tonight? It's been forever since you stayed over here, and besides, their moving, so this is your last chance!"
"I don't know man," Mark gave Adrian a bit of a 'go to hell' look before draping the towel over his shoulders, not hiding the growl in his voice very well, "My parents think I'm with you."
"They also thought my parents were home." Adrian patted Danny on the back, "So it's settled, right? Awesome! You two have fun."
Mark tried to open his mouth to protest, but Adrian was already leaving, and Danny's landed on his shoulders.
"Come on, it's been forever!" Danny lead the reluctant raccoon back toward the house, "It'll be fun!"
Mark and Danny headed to the 'changing room,' took turns getting dried off and back into their normal clothes, and then head on upstairs to Danny's room. His room was dark, as usual, save for the blue glow of his TV, with the DVD player on, and that weird red light he kept off in the corner.
The two sat down at Danny's computer, and logged online. They surf through a few porn sites, but neither of them seemed too enthused by them. They talked for a while to some of Danny's friends on Skype and some forums: mostly people he'd met through online games. Then, like they always did when online, they headed to the very first lesbian chat room they could find, and pretend to be girls, until they pissed someone off. And that, of course, was the point -- the trolling, not any cheap pornographic thrill from any dirty talk. Not the most high brow entertainment, but who did they have to impress?
Eventually though, even pissing people off online lost its thrill -- around 3am -- and they decided it was probably best to just head off to bed.
"Here it is, as if you didn't remember." Danny lead Mark back down the hall from his room, to the house's oddly cold, well furnished guest bedroom, and opened the door for him, "Have a good night's sleep, ok Mark? And maybe we can finally talk about what's bothering you in the morning."
"Maybe." Mark closed the door behind him as Danny trudged back down the hall to his room.
The raccoon turned and leaned against the door. Why couldn't he just tell him? Why did he have to be such a coward? Mark pulled on his hair till it hurt and then slowly got off the door and moved farther into the room.
He hadn't put his shoes on when he changed; he had only carried them to Danny's room and that's probably where they were at now. Maybe he could go back and get his shoes. He could finally talk to him while he was in there! But just at the thought, he felt a sudden nervous churning in the pit of his stomach. So, instead, he took a few steps closer to the bed and pulled off his shirt.
Mark dropped his shirt beside the bed and slowly sat down, before and starting to take his socks off. He only got the first one off though, before laying back in the bed and pulling the blanket up over himself.
"It's been a long ass day..."
~
It seemed like only a few seconds passed before Mark was already awake again, but really, there was no way for him to know just how long it had actually been. He rolled over out of bed, and stretched. He opened his eyes up completely, but it didn't get much brighter; it still wasn't morning. He thought about just going back to sleep, but he was thirsty.
Before he even realized that he was up and walking, he was already down stairs and in the kitchen. Without opening his eyes anymore than he needed to, Mark reached up and opened the cabinet to get a glass, and then turned to face the sink. A quick turn of the wrist, the clink of the glass hitting the faucet, and a completely soaked paw later, he had his glass of water.
He turned the glass up, and mostly downed it, save for what inevitably spilt out on his face and chest. A bit annoyed, he tries a few more times, but it was always the same: wet paw, wet face, wet chest. What's worse: his throat was still scratchy, so he just gave up, and sat the glass aside.
He was starting to leave, but he stopped when he felt a pair of paws drop lightly onto his hips.
"Y'know love?" He heard Danny's voice softly in his ear, "You probably shouldn't be wandering around my house in just these cute little tighty-whiteys." Mark looked down and saw that he was only in his underwear.
"Funny, I didn't think I took my pants off..." Mark cooed back to Danny as he as he sank backward into the panther's arms.
"Well, you did...and I mean, what if my sister or parents caught you running around, half naked?"
"Really now?" Mark craned his neck to look back at Danny, "And what exactly would they do?"
"Nowhere near as much as they'd do if they caught me," Danny let Mark go, and the little raccoon turned to see Danny, in the dim moonlight, bare to the world.
Before Mark could say anything, Danny pounced forward and kissed him, pinning him against the fridge, and Mark dropped his glass on the floor. Funny, he thought he'd set it down. It shattered loudly, especially for the dead of night, but neither of them broke the kiss or even stopped to wonder if they'd been heard. They just lied there, against the fridge, content and safe in each other's arms.
Danny pulled back, "Let's take this somewhere more comfortable..." He grabbed onto the waist-band of Mark's underwear and led him into the living room and the couch. He stopped and pushed smaller fur back, and Mark tumbled onto the cushions. Danny, without saying a word, lied down on top of his friend and buried his tongue into the raccoon's muzzle.
"This," Danny pulled away from his friend, "this is all for you." The panther slid down Mark's rather slender frame, "I..." Danny's voice almost sounded like a sob, "I only wish I could show you just how much I love you...but..."
"Danny, are you crying?" Mark looked down to see if his friend was crying, but as he looked down, instead, he saw his dick disappear into the cat's mouth, and he completely forgot he was worried. Though, he did wonder when Danny managed to get the briefs out of the way.
Mark leaned back again and reveled in his lover's touch. He felt the roughness of his tongue, and the ever so slight suction, just like the first time he ever felt it, except so much better. "It feels just like I remember, but...but just to know that you're the one-" Mark was cut off when he heard a door close. He sat up quickly, but didn't see anything or anyone in the living room with them. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what, love?" Danny pushed Mark back onto the couch, slid back up his body, and kissed him again. "I didn't hear anything."
"You're right...no need to worry." Mark wrapped his arms around Danny and kissed him, "Not so long as I'm here in your arms. Here...nothing could be wrong."
They kissed again, deeply this time, like lovers. In the heat, their paws roamed freely across one another's bodies. After a few long moments, without warning, they rolled over and off of the couch, falling to the floor, but neither one broke the kiss.
Slowly, Mark felt something brushing against both of his sides, and looked up to see Danny repositioning himself until he was sitting on the raccoon, with Mark's cock resting just below the cat's twitching tail.
"D...Danny?" Mark looked into his Panther's eyes.
"Just do it, Mark. You know you want to. Just do it." Danny kissed him again, and Mark didn't need more persuasion than that.
He pushed up, with a quick thrust, into his panther. He felt little-to-no resistance, as he began pushing in and out of Danny, kissing his friend once or twice for each thrust.
The entire thing seemed to just whizz by, into a blur of pleasure and passion: heat and sex. Before Mark even had a chance to think about what was really happening, it was over, and he and Danny were lying next to one another on the floor, in each other's arms. They lied in silence, listening only to each other's breaths for the longest time, until Danny finally sat up.
"Come on kid," Danny stood and pulled Mark with him, by the paw, "Lets head on back to my room. I'll bet my bed's a lot more comfortable than the floor."
Without an argument or even a thought of one, Mark followed Danny, nude, and paw-in-paw, up those same carpeted stairs and into Danny's completely pitch-black room. With another kiss, the two fell backwards onto Danny's bed and squirmed their way under the blankets.
"I love you Mark..."
"I love you too, more than you'll ever know Danny." No sooner had the words leave his mouth before Mark was asleep in his friend's...his lover's...his panther's arms.
~
Earlier in the night, much earlier, when Mark first visited the 'changing room,' Danny had stood all by himself on the back porch, staring at the rippling pool water, when Adrian walked up from behind him.
"So, Danny," Adrian patted him on the back, "You look a bit lost in thought. You decide to tell him yet?"
"I've already been over this with you, Adrian." Danny moved away from Adrian's paw and continued to stare out at the water, "I can't do that. The kid looks up to me; I'm his best friend. He confides just about everything in me." Danny shook his head and looked down at his bare footpaws, "No, if I were to tell him about this, he might not feel comfortable talking to me about things anymore. He'd be uncomfortable around me and...and then who would he have to turn to? I'm sorry, but I...I'll get to it in time: just not yet, ok?"
"Ok..." Adrian patted him on the back again as Danny turned and walked off toward the changing room to meet up with Mark.
"Y'know Dri," Nick walked up beside Adrian, shaking his head. "I don't wanna' sound gay, myself, or anything," he scritched at the back of his neck, "But, they're really kinda' cute aren't they?"
"Yeah, they really are." Adrian smiled, "Makes you forget about all our problems doesn't it?"
"No." Nick laughed and sat down in one of the lawn chairs on the porch, "But I do have a question: Why don't you just tell them about each other, instead of letting them suffer like this? It seems kinda' cruel to put them through all this worry."
"Well, it's not my place." Adrian sat down with him, and stared out at the water like Danny had, "I wish I didn't have to watch them suffer like this...but this is something they need to work out on their own. M-Maybe with just a little bit of a push from me."
"Maybe."
"And besides. I promised them both I'd keep my mouth shut."
"Didn't stop you from telling me."
Adrian laughed a bit, at that, just before Mark and Danny came walking back from the bathroom. The fox and canine watched as Mark looked trapped somewhere between euphoria and nervous tension in the panther's arm, and they just did everything they could, not to laugh.
~
Much later in the night, around half past 4 am, Danny, who hadn't been able to get any sleep, thinking about Mark, quietly got up out of bed, left of his room, and slowly stumbled his way down the hall.
Once at the end, he slowly opened up the door to the guest bedroom. He walked inside, making sure not to step too loud, and slowly got down onto his knees by the bed, his face only inches from Mark's. Before he could even open his mouth, he started to shake. His voice came out in sputters at first and then lulled into a sob, as tears began to well up and trickle down out of his eyes.
"I..." He lowered is voice to almost a whisper, as he leaned in and kissed Mark on the cheek, "I love you so much." The panther raises his voice again, secretly hoping that Mark would hear him, and that he just might wake up or respond...but he was far too scared to shake him and make sure he did. "I only wish I could show you just how much I love you...but..." He stopped and quietly cried to himself before standing back up.
With his eyes still filled with tears, and his cheeks virtually soaked, Danny turned and slowly, but without looking back at his friend for fear of crying even more, walked to the door, and opened it.
Then, thinking only of getting out of the room as quickly as possible, more so than whether or not he woke his friend, Danny shut the door behind him, louder than he should have, and made his way on back down the hall to his room.
~
With a yawn and a stretch, Mark opened his tired eyes, but barely, as it was too bright in the room to open them all the way, and turned to his left.
"Hey love, It's time we get-" Mark leans down to shake Danny awake but founds only an empty bed to his left, "Uh? He must have already gotten up..." Mark opened his eyes completely, and looks around, finally realizing exactly where he was at. This wasn't Danny's normally dark room, but in the bright but still oddly cold guest bedroom. He pulled back the blanket, as if just to make sure, and finds himself he's still in the jeans and one sock that he fell asleep wearing just last night. "Damn-it. Another dream..." Mark huffed a bit and got up out of the bed, "Always a dream."
Mark adjusted his pants and his sock, and wrenched the second one on, then slipped on his shirt and turned to head on out of the bedroom. He walks down the hall to Danny's room, finding the door wide open, and his shoes still setting in the middle of the floor. He walked in and slipped them on, not bothering to tie them, and made his was back out of the room and down the stairs, to the living room and the kitchen.
He stopped to see Danny, bending over into the fridge looking for food. The raccoon looked beside his friend, to see if he could see any small shards of broken glass on the floor. Nothing.
Mark sighed and spoke aloud, "Ah well, didn't hurt to check I guess."
"HUH!? Whah?" Danny jumped up from behind the refrigerator door with a bottle of orange juice and a carton of eggs in his paws. "Oh...it's you. You scared me."
"Sorry."
"It's OK, don't worry over it." Danny closed the door and sat the eggs on the table, "You want me to fix you something too?"
"Nah, I'm good."
"You sure? I'm a great cook, and I've got plenty of eggs!" Danny held up the eggs and juice again, with a big, toothy grin.
"No," Try as he might, Mark couldn't stop being disappointed about the dream, "I'm not really that hungry right now."
"Ok." Danny continued fixing his breakfast, as the two talked to each other about the party, about their junior year, and about their upcoming senior year. Danny's parents, he said, had left a while before he and Mark even woke up, and took Melisa with them. Danny, after cooking his late breakfast, sat down across the table from Mark to eat, and the two continued to talk: about Adrian's swimming contest that he won, losing Nick quite a bit of money from his bet, about all the lesbians that they'd upset off the night before, and more about their upcoming Senior year...but neither of them turned the conversation to the tension in the air. Both wanted so badly to hold the other's hand while they ate, to lean over for a good morning kiss...or just to tell the other about all those things they wanted. But neither could get up the nerve.
Soon Danny was done eating, and he stood up from the table, "So, it's been fun, but it's already two! I think it's time I get you back over to Adrian's place."
"Yeah, you're probably right." Mark stood up too, and went about gathering his things from Danny's room. He returned to the kitchen, and follows Danny, keys in hand, out of the kitchen, to the panther's car in front of the house. The walk was completely silent through the house and the front yard, but, then just before they made it to the old pinto, Danny stopped
Danny stopped, turning around quickly, and almost butting heads with Mark.
"I can't do this anymore." Danny put his paws awkwardly on Mark's shoulders, "I can't take it. I can't deal with it. I just can't."
Mark just stared back at the panther, trying not to let his hopes get the best of him.
"I tried not to do this," Danny continued, "I told myself you were having a bad day, and this would only complicate it more, but...but before you leave, there's something I need to tell you"
"Wha-" Mark choked on his words, coughing for a moment, "What is it?"
"I think I know what's been bothering you, lately..." Danny licked his lips nervously, and started to shake, "And especially, last night." He started to lean, "I hope I'm right. God, I hope I've been reading you right...but I just can't wait any longer to find out..."
Mark's lips barely parted and his breaths deepened, "Are...we about to kiss?"
Danny answered by pulling Mark against him, eyes closed, and bringing their lips together hard. He cradled the back of the raccoon's head and leaned forward, holding him tight in his arms.
Mark felt Danny's head tilt more and his lips open, and the raccoon opened his as well, as Danny's rough tongue plunged past their lips and into his mouth. Mark couldn't begin to think about what was happening; he just wrapped his arms as tight as he could around the panther, his tongue flicking out and meeting Danny's in the kiss.
Mark leaned himself back forward, standing back up straight, and moved his paws on the back of Danny's head to hold them together a little longer, before Danny broke the kiss and pulled away.
"I...uhm..." Mark tried to catch his breath, and to regain the tiniest bit of composure, as he stared into his panther's...HIS panther's eyes, "I wanted...I wanted to tell you all night. I...I..." His tongue flicked at the roof of his mouth, but he was shaking so hard, it was a fight just to sound out the 'L.'
Danny smiled, "Do you? Really."
Mark nodded as fast as his neck could allow.
"Me too, Marky. Me too..."
~~
There we go! The Mark Callaway Story continues!
I wrote this chapter a few months after the first, but I had just turned 18, so it was a little rough. I spent yesterday going through it and editing it, and fixing all kinds of typos and stuff. Also toned down the emo-ness of my main character. Mark was a lot sadder in the original. ^_^
Just like last time, I aplogize if there are ANY tense problems in this final product. The entire original was in present tense...so I might have missed something here or there while converting it to past tense.
Bit of background info: this was inspired by a party I attended in high school. Long story short, I was Mark, but made the mistake of not staying the night.
Anyway, thanks for reading! (And don't expect the next update to come quite as quickly as this one did.)
I welcome any feedback! Comment or PM me here, or email me at [email protected] I'll also be getting myself a twitter and a facebook dedicated to Borealis soon.
See you for chapter 3! ^_^