Plan A
Have you ever considered what would happen if you chose a different path, or how much difference a tiny decision can really make, or have you ever been lying awake in bed, regretting everything you've done up until that point?
If you haven't, lucky you. I, however, have felt all of the above, and boy does my life suck.
I should probably introduce myself. Hi, my name's Paul Frilot. I have no idea what people call me because I'm basically the least social person at my school, and that's saying something.
I am what most call a furry. I can switch from anthropomorphic skunk to human and vice versa at will. I keep that kind of crap to myself, and I don't bother being friends with anyone considering I don't trust anyone anymore. The only problem is I have an increasing feeling of loneliness, and I'm losing sleep over it, regret that is.
Thing is, I have a plan to change that, but there's a slim chance something could go horribly wrong.
Still, the plan is to find someone who is also a furry, catch them while they're alone, and try and be friendly to see if I can score a friend. Now, let's get to the actual story, shall we?
I woke up early that morning, excited for what feels like the first time in forever. It was 6:00 A.M. on the dot, and that's a new record for my waking up on my own. I can only imagine the surprised look on my father's face when he walked into my room to see that I was already awake and heard the shower running.
About an hour later, in the courtyard at my school, I'm sitting in my usual place, alone, on some random bench and no one is even glancing in my direction.
Allow me to explain how I can tell if someone is a furry or not. You see, it's an extremely minor ability that I have, and I can see through disguises. It's not easy to use because I have to concentrate quite a bit. For example, if someone was a tiger furry, I would see a clear silhouette of their tail and tiger head, as well as a barely noticeable outline of their fur, surrounding their human form.
Anyway, I slowly scanned the courtyard for anyone who's a furry with my golden eyes, constantly flipping my black hair out of my eyes. I eventually found a rather attractive girl that had a silhouette around her. I used my ability to completely unveil her disguise and saw a beautiful cheetah in her place, her golden blonde hair cascading over her shoulders like a golden curtain. Her captivating, piercing red eyes are focused on something she's drawing in a sketchbook on her lap.
Alright. If you're going to do this, now is the time. I mentally gave myself a pep talk. She's a furry too, there's nothing to fear. Just go introduce yourself. What could possibly go wrong? I forced myself to walk over to her before my mind began to go over worst-case scenarios.
"Hey." I said rather sheepishly. She looked up from her drawing.
"Hey." She replied with a smile.
"Mind if I sit down?" I asked.
"No, not at all." She answered. I sat down next to her. I couldn't help but rabidly tap my foot out of nervousness.
"So what's your name?" I asked.
"Lola." She replied. "What's yours?"
"Paul." I said. "What's that you're drawing?" She showed me the sketch, which depicted an anthro cheetah alone in a dark room with a sad expression. The detail was amazing, but I knew why she really drew it. "You feeling depressed or something?" I asked.
"A little. I'm actually really glad you came to talk to me." She said.
"Well, maybe we should hang out some time or something." I suggested, finally smiling out of happiness.
"Sure, sounds fun." She replied with an even wider smile. She gave me her number and then the bell rang.
~~~
The day was uneventful. The only time I ran into her was in the hallway on my way to art class. I noticed we don't have any classes together, and I couldn't find her at lunch, so we never got the chance to talk.
I got home, and I was bummed out as usual. I tried to avoid my family, but they insisted on my helping them to find my sister's toy, which she probably threw across the room to lose it, anyway.
I scanned the room with my x-ray vision, and located the doll in record time. "Check in that plant pot over there." I suggested. They pulled it out with shock on their faces, mainly because they don't know that I can use x-ray vision, and the most they know about my furry tendencies is that I'm the metaphorical kind, not the kind that is frowned upon and even attacked for existing.
At dinner, my family drilled me about my personal life as usual, and my older brother wouldn't stop asking if I had a girlfriend. It took all I had to not shoot lasers out of my eyes right then and there.
In case you haven't noticed, most of my abilities are vision-related. I have x-ray vision, I can see through disguises, I can shoot lasers, etc. I even have thermal sight at my disposal. The only abilities I'm aware of that isn't sight-related is my hypersonic voice and remarkable hearing. My hearing is so good, I can listen to up to five things at the same time and understand them all like they were being spoken separately.
"Mom, may I please be excused?" I asked with an annoyed edge in my voice.
"You haven't even touched your hamburger, hon." She said. "I thought hamburgers were your favorite."
"I've lost my liking for meat." I stated plainly. "Can I leave or not?"
"I guess..." She replied. I got up from the table, and as I was about leave, my sister asked if she could have my burger, and I said yes without looking at her.
I got to my room, which has various furry artwork that I drew on the walls, and decided to text Lola.
-Hey, it's Paul.- I sent. I sat around thinking of something to do. I could play the XBOX 360, I could draw something, I could sit back and read a book. Just then, I got a text.
-Hey, how's it goin?- It said. It was Lola.
-It's going better now.- I replied. I decided to play a little Black Ops II.
-Well that's nice.- She sent back.
-You want to do something tomorrow? It is the last day of school tomorrow, after all.- I asked. She replied almost literally the next second.
-Sure, sounds fun.- We made plans to hang out all day after school tomorrow.
I decided to drop my disguise, considering no one in my family is bold enough to come in my room without my okay. I turned on the XBOX and played for a good hour while texting Lola. I had my mind set for a great day tomorrow, and was about to go to bed without my disguise because I always wake up a minute or two before the rest of my family so I can put my disguise back up. However, my dad decided to do something I made it very clear to not do. He barged into my room without asking, and he saw me in all my skunk furriness. Needless to say, I'm screwed...