\n I groggily rubbed my eyes and looked around at the blurred room around me. Putting my glasses on, clarity was adopted and I saw my room. It was the morning of finals, a month after the events of the riot. The town was adapting to the changes that the furs had demanded on the night when so much had been made apparent. They were very basic things, but it was a step in the right direction, which was cause for hope.

\n I stood on aching legs and shivered in the cold morning air. It had snowed the night before and I had to drive the Bucket, my replacement 30 year-old car with no heat, to school. The insurance company had been nice enough to cover my losses. I still had phantom pains from the arm and ankle, but nothing too severe. I had been lucky to survive with my life that night. I grabbed clothes and went into the shower, letting the warm water wash away the morning's cold kiss.

\n When I went upstairs, dressed and warm, I was greeted by Sophie who jumped into my arms squealing.

"It's the last day of school!" She giggled.

\n "I know! It's so great!" I replied.

\n Sophie jumped down and grabbed a Tupperware container that held the delicious donuts I helped her make the night before. Which, by the way, wasn't easy to do. Donuts are simply not easy to make. Sophie giggled at me as we ate.

\n "What?" I asked her.

\n "Nothing, I just think you have something in your whiskers." She pointed to a spot that had a very large speck of food on it. I pulled at it and ate it quietly. Sophie made a face at me and called me nasty. Saying that I was disgusting.

\n "Hey, I'm not gonna let this food go to waste." I smiled.

\n Sophie rolled her eyes and cleaned the table up as I grabbed our coats.

Walking briskly, we went to the car and I turned the engine over. It stuttered to life and struggled to stay there.

\n "Piece of shit." I called it.

\n Sophie looked at me with a sad look in her eye.

\n "Sorry, Just hate this car. I miss the Doomsday." I apologized.

"I do too. It was warm." She shivered. I drove off and went to pick up Haley. Haley smiled and ran to the car, getting in the back. She was much better. The bullet had missed her major arteries and spine. It nicked the appendix, but not much else. She had lost a lot of blood though, and was still prone to some minor Post-Traumatic Stress. She leaned in to kiss me and our tails wagged, as our faces pressed together and shared warmth.

\n "Um, I'm still here!" Sophie complained.

\n "Hey, I'm just happy to see her." I replied.

\n "I can see that." Sophie said.

\n I looked at her and knew what she meant. I did have a slight erection that was probably visible through the pants. Sophie wouldn't have known about any of that had she done what I told her to, and not snoop on me.

\n "You're never gonna let me forget it are you?" I asked.

"Nope," she grinned.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes, but left for her school so she would stop embarrassing me.

\n  

\n *****

\n
I held the door open for Haley to walk inside.

\n "Thanks," she said, taking my hand. "Not just the door, but for everything. I never got a chance to thank you properly for saving my life."

\n I hit several bystanders with my tail's wagging, but I was just a little preoccupied with the images planted in my head.

\n "So... When then?"

\n "Oh... Tomorrow... House to ourselves." She smiled.

\n "Fun." I kissed her softly. Rubbing her face, I was finally used to the feel of fur-on-fur as opposed to fur-on-skin.

\n "Let's go see the vacationers." Haley told me, leading me to my locker.

\n At my locker, stood Logan and Jake. Well, maybe stood isn't the right word. They were more pressed against it kissing each other and holding the other close. I coughed to alert them of our presence.

\n "Hey." I said to the two. "You excited for Friday?" That Friday, the two were leaving for the vacation Logan had planned in secret for the two of them. An extravagant Christmas gift.

\n "You have no idea." Jake smiled, canines gleaming.

\n "Just one thing, please don't tell me in graphic detail when you come back." I warned. Jake merely laughed and pressed himself more towards Logan who was tightly holding his waist. We continued talking, enjoying the company of the group that had formed. I was disappointed when the bell rang signaling the start of the first final. Jake and I hurried to Econ, waving goodbye to Haley and Logan.

\n *****

\n The Econ test wasn't that bad, I was fairly confident that I had nailed it to be precise. Jake and I left the room and I realized that I would never have to come back to this room again. I'd never have to be haunted by the ghosts in the room. The ghosts that had caused so much pain.

\n Finals continued, and I just kept going. When the bell rang signaling the end of the semester, I went to Haley's locker where I took her hand and walked out of the school with her. I could openly be with the girl I loved, what was better than that?

\n  

\n *****

\n
"So tell me a bit more about your vacation plans."

Jake and I sat in my room, able to really hang out for the first time in a while. We were playing a new video game and just enjoying ourselves.

"Over Christmas break, we're going on a cruise to the Bahamas and going to share a room and everything." His tail wagged.

"You lucky son-of-a-bitch."

"Isn't it the greatest?" he laughed. "So he wasn't cheating on me, or hiding. Well, he was hiding that... But that's a good kind of hiding."

"I'm surprised your parents are letting you go." I said.

"It took a lot of convincing, but because it's a cruise ship and not, like, middle of Mexico, they were a little more accepting of the idea."

"What am I gonna do without you?" I felt a little left out. I didn't mean to, but I just did. Like I should have been invited. It bugged me for some reason. The thought that my best friend would be leaving me behind so he could have all that fun without me.

"Hey, you'll have Haley, don't forget that." Jake pointed out.

I nodded at that and pulled out my sniper, taking pot shots at hidden enemies who would show their faces so I could blow them off. I pressed the trigger right as one stuck its head out. "Hahaha! Did you see that?"

"I got my own problems right now!" Jake cried, I peeked at his screen to see a large group of attackers his way.

"Lemme help you with that." I looked up and threw a grenade in the general direction he was in. Looking at his screen, I saw the grenade hit an enemy on the head as it exploded. Jake and I both laughed loudly at the sight. "That was epic." I bragged.

"Yeah yeah yeah." Jake laughed and got back to the business of murdering aliens. "Hey, you hear what happened to Arnold?"

"What?" I shot Jake's character twice in the foot to move him out of my way so I could drive.

"Well, word on the street is that he's been given life in prison for inciting violence and attacking you. But that's not the best part. The best part is that something came up during the trial. Apparently he had an affair with a skunkette a while ago."

"Are you shitting me?"

"Nah, I'm serious he- Damnit, Brent, you just wanted to drive so you could do that, didn't you?" I had driven the car into some explosive barrels and killed us both in-game. So he had a right to be pissed.

"But yeah, he's a total hypocrite. I don't think anyone will believe his shit anymore." Jake turned to look at me.

"Good riddance." I heard the doorbell ring so I ran up to answer. Outside stood Logan and Haley, both looked a little tired from the past few weeks. I opened the door for Logan and he went downstairs to my room. I grabbed Haley in a tight hug and kissed her.

"Hey gorgeous."

"Hey..." She seemed distracted and a little distant.

"You alright?" I took her hand and she pulled away, only slightly.

"Yeah... I just. Brent we need to talk." A knot twisted in my stomach and I felt my throat go dry. We went out on the porch and she sat on the bench, I went next to her and wrapped my arms around her, holding her close. "Brent... Something's come up."

"What?"

"Well... How do I begin?" She brushed a fly off her shoulder. "I- I think we should see other people."

I felt the knot in my stomach tighten and I unwrapped myself from Haley. "What?"

"I just... I'm going through a lot lately and... I-"

"Like what? Like the change? The riot? Haley... I-" I couldn't finish my sentence. I couldn't finish my thought I was just hurt and nauseated.

"Brent, don't take this personally... I just want to take a break to try and figure things out. I'm having a lot of problems right now... And..."

"Why? Why would you do this to me? After all I've done for you? I risked my life to save you! Twice! And you do this to me?" I was livid and screaming. Haley got up and yelled at me.

"Dammit, Brent, this isn't about that! I was trying to let you off easy! You won't even let me finish!" She sat back down and started crying. I went next to her and held her tight.

"Sh... I'm sorry. Damn, Hale', I really am. I wasn't... I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to-" I comforted.

"I know Brent. I know. I just... I'm leaving soon."

"What? What do you mean?"

"My... Mom wants a fresh start. She's tired of the hateful glances and the phone calls. She's so tired of hearing all the shit the town is saying about her. And I don't blame her..." She toyed with a claw absentmindedly. "We just need a fresh start right now."

Even though it hurt so much, I understood. And I knew that I had to let her go. She needed a better chance. Or as much of one that she could get. I stayed out on the porch with Haley for a while as we talked and tried to figure out if we could still talk. But I knew that it wouldn't happen. For a few months, we'd talk, but it would die. The fire, the friendship . Everything.

I walked inside and downstairs, fighting to stay together. It didn't work out great. I broke down and cried for a while. Jake and Logan came over and talked to me. I heard Logan mention something about a Fur Rally that was getting planned. I don't remember all of it. I was figuring out how I'd continue without Haley.

Sophie came down after a while and gave me a big bar of chocolate.

"What's this for?" I asked.

"Chocolate fixes every pain!" She said, as if it were common knowledge. I laughed at her innocence. She was my sister and I loved her. Her outlook was always so bright.

So Jake, Logan, Sophie and I stayed up late that night, playing video games, eating pizza, and just enjoying ourselves. Logan and Jake fell asleep first, then Sophie, and I was left awake in the early morning. And I waited for the dawn.

This is it. This the end of the story as far as plot goes. I'll go back and do revisions when I have the time for it. Thank you to everyone who has read and rated and reviewed. It really makes a world of difference to me, to hear feedback. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you're content with the ending. And, of course, thank you so much to my wonderful editor ErythWolf for all his hard work.