{"sf1_id":94507,"sf2_id":"ZmMEDZkm","title":"Fanning The Flame","author":"Wolfwind","words":2240,"posted_at":"2009-07-14T04:11:00.000Z","tags":["Digimon","Flamedramon","Highschool","M/M","No-Yiff","Plot Development","Story Series"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/94507-fanning-the-flame","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/ZmMEDZkm","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/6f/c1/6fc10aaa-3664-4d93-bd11-d40e30146cdc","description":"","content":"The first thing I did upon waking was groan. Just by getting up I was agreeing to   \n  \n  \n  \nsuffer through another day of school. I sighed and got up anyway. _At least it's Friday_ I   \n  \n  \n  \nthought.   \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; I pushed myself off the camo comforter and dragged my lazy blue tail to the   \n  \n  \n  \nshower. After quietly soaking in the stream of hot water I got out and dried myself in   \n  \n  \n  \nfront of the bathroom mirror. I let the mirror de-fog a bit until I could inspect myself.   \n  \n  \n  \nEvery morning I examined my face to make sure some unfortunate acne had sprung up   \n  \n  \n  \nduring the night, but I took in other aspects too. I was glad I didn't have to worry about   \n  \n  \n  \nhair like most of my lupine, feline, or otherwise furry schoolmates did. I heard feathers   \n  \n  \n  \nwere a pain in the ass. But my moon white, hairless skin shone in excellent contrast with   \n  \n  \n  \nthe blue that covered most of my body. I never really told anyone, but I was secretly   \n  \n  \n  \nproud of the shade of deep blue that most Flamedramon weren't lucky enough to be born   \n  \n  \n  \nwith. Once in a while I would see a Flamey with an attractive red or serious black, but no   \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n  \none in the whole school had matched my tint of royal blue. I sighed; except for one very   \n  \n  \n  \nparticular classmate.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; After I was satisfied that I wouldn't have to undergo high school with acne, I   \n  \n  \n  \npicked some clothes out and got dressed. Thinking of my crush, I tried to pick out what   \n  \n  \n  \nwould appeal the best, so I chose some dark jeans, white shirt and blue jacket. I reached   \n  \n  \n  \nfor the deodorant to put in my backpack, and then remembered the swim season was over.   \n  \n  \n  \nI knew I wouldn't miss the after-school training sessions that had taken place every day,   \n  \n  \n  \nbut I was grateful it got me in shape and gave me some muscle to work with.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; After shoving a few textbooks in my backpack I strolled downstairs and snagged   \n  \n  \n  \na bowl of cheerios. I was lucky enough to be an only child and my parents left for work a   \n  \n  \n  \nfew hours before I had to get up, so it was nice to have a quiet house.   \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; I finished breakfast then headed for the bus.  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; When I got to school, I instantly sought out my best friend Chris. I saw his furry   \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n  \nhair over the crowd of the cafeteria. When I was finally able to get to him through the   \n  \n  \n  \ncrowd, I saw he was texting. Not much surprise there. Even being skinny, his Byakko   \n  \n  \n  \ngood looks kept him constantly busy texting one girl or another.   \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; He raised his head when he saw me.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; \"Hey Nate, what's up?\"  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; \"Not much,\" I replied.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; \"Kewl,\" he nodded then asked, \"What's today's schedule again?\"  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; I sifted through what I could remember of the finals week schedules they had   \n  \n  \n  \nposted. \"Um it's periods 2, 3, 4, 5,\" then winced as I remembered I would have to face   \n  \n  \n  \n_him_ the first period of the day.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; My reaction didn't go without notice.   \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; \"Still haven't talked to him huh?\" Chris asked with a smirk. He was the only one   \n  \n  \n  \nwho knew about my crush. _He's really the only one I can trust with this secret_, I thought   \n  \n  \n  \nwith dry humor to myself. I was really surprised that such a womanizer didn't have a   \n  \n  \n  \nproblem when he found out his best friend was bi.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; \"Nah,\" I said lowering my head, embarrassed. \"We really haven't talked since the   \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n  \nlibrary.\" I sighed again. \"I don't know why I do this to myself. It's such an insane   \n  \n  \n  \nlongshot. I should just move on already.\"   \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; Chris laughed (not exactly a reaction I was expecting) and shoved his cell in his   \n  \n  \n  \npocket. \"Why don't you ask him if he wants to go to the movies with us tonight?\"  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; I snorted as the bell rung. \"Yeah, that wouldn't be obvious,\" I said as we started   \n  \n  \n  \nheading to class.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; \"What?! Nah! Just be like 'Yo, Brandon, do ya wanna chill with me and some   \n  \n  \n  \nhomies at the theater tonight?'\"  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; I laughed. \"Only you talk like that, dude. And we seriously haven't talked enough   \n  \n  \n  \nfor it not to be awkward.\"  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; He shook his head, his pale blue and black mane flying \"Awww dude, _you are   \n  \n  \n  \nsuch a pansy._   \n  \n  \n   Maybe you should give up. I've been counting and at least 5 girls have   \n  \n  \n  \nchecked us out since we started for class,\" he sniffed and casually flicked up the collar of   \n  \n  \n  \nhis button down shirt, \"of course, probably three of them were for me, but hey that means   \n  \n  \n  \nabout two were checking you out. _You got options man_.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; I laughed again, this time at myself. \"I know...It's just that it's only Brandon I   \n  \n  \n  \nwant.\"  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; Chris shook his head in mock despair. \"Your choice bro. See ya at lunch,\" he said   \n  \n  \n  \nand turned down the hallway to the left.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; I continued along the crowded halls until I reached my classroom door on the   \n  \n  \n  \nright. I opened it and immediately looked towards Brandon's spot near the front of the   \n  \n  \n  \nclass. It was empty. I frowned slightly to myself in the doorway, and then I heard   \n  \n  \n  \nfootsteps behind me and held the door open for the person...  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; ...and found myself looking into the deep eyes of the most amazing Windragon in   \n  \n  \n  \nthe whole school. Brandon was a little short for being a Windragon, but I was pretty tall   \n  \n  \n  \nfor a Flamedramon, so he was looking me right in the eyes as I felt heat rush to my face.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; He grinned his small, magnificent grin.   \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; \"Thanks,\" he said and held the door so I could get into the classroom and unblock   \n  \n  \n  \nthe doorway.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; I glanced down; I could never concentrate if I looked straight into his sky blue   \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n  \neyes, and somehow managed to breathe, \"No prob,\" and kept any quivering out of my   \n  \n  \n  \nvoice.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; As he walked past I was finally able to take more of him in than just his face. But   \n  \n  \n  \nnow I got to respect his other features like his perfectly groomed, white wings, his shock   \n  \n  \n  \nof blond hair and the streak of blue that colored the strip down his back, starting from an   \n  \n  \n  \narrow on his face all the way to the tip of his tail. Having compared it many times, I knew   \n  \n  \n  \nthat we were almost the exact shade of deep blue on white. He was slender, but also had   \n  \n  \n  \nthe definition of lean muscle.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; Then I realized that I was still standing at the door. Glad that we were the first   \n  \n  \n  \nthere and no one had noticed my session of staring, I quickly walked over to my seat. Just   \n  \n  \n  \nas I sat down, careful to put my tail through the hole in the base of the seat of the chairs, I   \n  \n  \n  \npanicked. _How long had he been behind me?_ I wondered fervently. _Did he hear me and   \n  \n  \n  \nChris talking?_   \n  \n  \n   I risked a peek over at him just as he seemed to look at me. I quickly   \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n  \nlowered my head again.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; Before I could panic some more, other classmates started filing in, along with our   \n  \n  \n  \nTaomon language teacher. As she started the lecture on symbolism, I started pondering if   \n  \n  \n  \nmaybe I had talked to him enough for it to be ok for me to invite him. I quickly reviewed   \n  \n  \n  \nour encounters. The very first had been in the computer room the class had borrowed for   \n  \n  \n  \nthe week of researching an essay. He had sat to my left and, back then I had been   \n  \n  \n  \ncompletely straight. But all it took was that one day next to each other for me to notice   \n  \n  \n  \nhim. For a couple of days I wondered why I was feeling so weird around him. I had never   \n  \n  \n  \nhad a reaction for a guy like that before. Confusion turned into denial, then, finally, I   \n  \n  \n  \naccepted that I had actually fallen for a guy. From that day, there hasn't been one that's   \n  \n  \n  \ngone by without me daydreaming of him.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; But, in my defense, _he's really hot_.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; After that we had talked in the library when our class went down there to choose a   \n  \n  \n  \nbook to do a report on. It wasn't much of a conversation, just recommending each other   \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n  \nbooks that we though might not be entirely boring. Then again in the career center, he   \n  \n  \n  \nasked me what I was thinking about for a career.   \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; Looking back on it now, it had always been Brandon that had initiated every   \n  \n  \n  \nconversation. And he was such a shy, quiet guy (that was another thing that made him so   \n  \n  \n  \nirresistible; I was pretty much the same). He didn't talk much to other classmates, I   \n  \n  \n  \nstarted to notice as the months went on. Maybe he did have an interest in me.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; I looked at the calendar with depression as Taomon continued to give example   \n  \n  \n  \nabout some green light in the book The Great Gatsby. I noticed that we only had a few   \n  \n  \n  \nweeks left of school. And I hadn't really talked to Brandon once. Like, really talked.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; _Maybe I will invite him to the movies_, I thought as I pulled out a notebook to start   \n  \n  \n  \nsome notes. _At least I will have tried something_. Now I was convinced that I would ask   \n  \n  \n  \nhim.   \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; I switched between staring at the clock and stealing glimpses of the guy I had so   \n  \n  \n  \nmysteriously fallen for. I was both dreading and anticipating when the class ended, which   \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n  \nwas when I planned to make my move.Â\u0026nbsp;   \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; I jumped slightly when the bell actually did ring. Slowly I rose from my chair and   \n  \n  \n  \nshouldered my already-packed bag. As I walked over to his desk I felt blood start to rise   \n  \n  \n  \nto my face again. He was still packing when I spoke.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; \"Hey Brandon,\" I started and he looked up with those damn beautiful eyes. _Shit_  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;I lowered my gaze and continued in a forced strong voice \"Um, me and some   \n  \n  \n  \nfriends were gonna go see Hangover tonight at about 7:30. Did ya want to come with?\"   \n  \n  \n  \n_Shit shit shit, why can't I look him in the eyes!_ I screamed silently at myself.   \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; I heard his quiet voice reply, \"Uh where?\" Damn it, he even had to _smell_ sexy. As   \n  \n  \n  \nif he needed it.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; \"The Longston Place theater,\" I answered and forced myself to look at him as we   \n  \n  \n  \nwalked to the door.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; He nodded. \"I'll have to see if I can go, but maybe,\" he finished.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; \"Ok,\" I said, but inside I was crestfallen. 'Maybe' wasn't a very encouraging   \n  \n  \n  \nresponse. \"Well I'll see you there if you can make it.\" I said before the crowd separated   \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n  \nus as we turned to go to our respective next periods.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; I groaned as soon as he was clear. _That was horrible_ I thought miserably.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;   \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; \"He could still show,\" Chris said as he paid for the popcorn. He and I were at the   \n  \n  \n  \nconcessions stand at the theater lobby.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; I grimaced. \"Nah dude, you should have seen it. There's no way he's coming.\"  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; \"Why not?\" he questioned.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; I sighed as he handed me my tub of popcorn. \"It was terrible. I couldn't look him   \n  \n  \n  \nin the eyes, I was muttering... It was too obvious. There's no way he doesn't think I'm a   \n  \n  \n  \nfruit.\" I shook my head, trying to clear it of that embarrassing memory.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; Chris chuckled as we strolled over to stand by the front door. Some of his friends   \n  \n  \n  \nwere supposed to meet us here. \"Maybe you'll just have to live with the fact that he   \n  \n  \n  \ndoesn't like you like that.\"  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; I shook my head again. \"No, that I would totally understand. Really it would be   \n  \n  \n  \nkewl just to be friends with him.\" I knew Chris was still new to the whole concept of me   \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n  \nliking guys, so I held back the part where I would be incredibly happy just to have   \n  \n  \n  \nBrandon in my life at all.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; Although I was certain he wouldn't come, for the next 5 min while we waited for   \n  \n  \n  \nthe other friends, I scanned the parking lot for that blast of white feathers and shock of   \n  \n  \n  \nblond hair. But to no avail. Pretty soon we saw the group of anthros getting out of a truck   \n  \n  \n  \nand Chris raised his hand in greeting. Then he turned to me as he saw my face fall. He   \n  \n  \n  \npunched me in the arm playfully.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; \"Don't worry about it bro. He probably just got tied up.\"  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; I painted a smile on my face, for his benefit. \"Yeah.\" No need for me to ruin his   \n  \n  \n  \nnight because of my hopeless obsession.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; Chris met his friends at the door and walked to the concessions stand while I   \n  \n  \n  \nleaned against the pillar by the door. I watched them mess around for a bit before I   \n  \n  \n  \nlooked at the clock above the ticket booth. 7:22. _The previews will start soon_, I thought   \n  \n  \n  \nabsentmindedly.  \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; Then I felt a hand on my shoulder. I wondered if one of Chris' friends had shown   \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n  \nup a little late as I turned around.   \n  \n  \n  \nÂ\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp;Â\u0026nbsp; Then my heart stopped as I looked straight into sky blue eyes for the second time   \n  \n  \n  \ntoday.  \n  \n\n"}