\n I grabbed my phone and dialed Jake's number. It rang and my mind was racing. This is just... shit!

\n "Hey Brent."

\n "Jake, are you home yet?" I asked quickly.

\n "Almost."

\n "Get your ass to a computer now, and call me back." I hung up before he could question what I was saying. I skimmed the article.

\n Today at Grove Pine Elementary School a shocking scene occurred as a pair of high school teens, both furs, attacked a pair of fifth grade boys. "They just came up on us and started attacking" said fifth grader Tanner Wilson. "We had no idea what was happening. Then one of them pulled a knife." The other victim, ten-year-old Oliver Kounalis said. "We tried to leave, but they pulled us back in. We didn't know what to do." The character in question was not known, but it was clear that they loiter there a lot.

\n
\n "Oh yeah, I see 'em all the time. They wait around for another one of their brood to come out of the school. I don't feel that my kids are safe here anymore." Said Peter Fitzpatrick, a parent.

\n This is one of many increasing attacks on our children in schools by furs. Which begs the question, are our children safe from furs? Th-

\n My IM window popped up.

\n
\n Wolfspawn382: What's up?

\n Braaaaaaains: Check this out.

\n I linked him to the article and waited a few minutes.

\n Wolfspawn382: Dude...
\n Braaaaaaains: I know! What the hell is this?Wolfspawn382: An incredibly biased news source. Only the crazies listen to this garbage.Braaaaaaains: Yeah but...

\n Wolfspawn382: Who gave you this?

\n Braaaaaaains: Chase.

\n Wolfspawn382: Hahahaha. Not surprised man.
\n Braaaaaaains: Still... I'm scared. This is going to look bad for everyone. Wolfspawn382: Don't sweat it. Look, this story isn't going to be on the papers on anything.

\n I swear, when he said that he jinxed it. The next morning I go through my normal routine before heading upstairs. My dad was sipping coffee and waiting for me at the kitchen table. He was holding the newspaper.

\n "Brent." He handed me a mug of coffee.

\n "Dad." I sipped it enjoying its warmth.

\n "What is this?" He slammed the paper on the table. I looked and it was the same article.

\n "Dad, it's not what it looks like."

\n "It looks like you assaulted him."

\n "He was pulling a gun on Jake!"

\n "Why was Jake in the fight?"

\n "Those two kids pulled a knife on this defenseless wolf who was half their size!" I blurted out.

\n "Brent..."

\n "Look... I'm sorry, but you know how Jake feels about Hate crimes... It was going to become one."

\n "You should have stayed out of it..."

\n "If we did, there'd be a dead body!" I was livid right then. Dad could be so stubborn sometimes. He simply sighed and went back to his coffee. I took a gulp of mine, and grabbed some cereal. I chewed it quietly as we sat across the table from each other. He coughed and I looked up. He looked into my eyes, and I saw the pain there. It was how he'd apologize. He was so proud, he never could say it upfront. I stood to leave.

\n "See ya tonight Dad." I said on my way out the door. I got in my car and drove around a little aimlessly, I didn't have to be school for a little while. I was just lost in thought. I eventually made it to Jake's house. I pulled out my phone and called him.

\n "Jake, I'm outside, you want a ride?" I drummed my hands on the steering wheel.

\n "Yeah, give me a minute." He said. I killed the engine and waited. I felt a little numb inside. Jake stepped outside in black jeans and black shirt to an old movie called Avatar. Jake had a thing for the movie, but I could never really get into it. He actually looked really good in black. He had a light complexion and black hair, with blue eyes. It really fit him. He opened the door and nodded to me.

\n "Hey." I mumbled. He just nodded. I could tell something was wrong. "You alright?"

\n "Yeah." He said, voice quivering.

\n "Don't lie to me man."

\n "Just..." He turned and I saw that his eye was black, and sealed shut.

\n "Fuck. Dude..."

\n "I know..."

\n "Your dad?" He nodded. Jake had been abused a lot by his dad, which was why he liked to be at my house so much. But... it hadn't happened in years. His dad had gotten off the beer. Which meant... "Shit, he's drinking, isn't he?" He nodded. I put my arm around him. He leaned into me, and cried. This was so weird for him to do this. He was always the strong one. I held him as he cried, the car still in his driveway. He sniffed and finally composed himself.

\n "Sorry about that man." He said, a little embarrassed. He exhaled, and punched me in the arms. "Don't you dare tell anyone about that, or I'll kick your ass." He said with a laugh. Same ol' Jake. As we drove to school, there was a silence except for the occasional wolf whistle aimed at girls waiting for the bus or whatever. I hated when he did that, even though I cracked up at it. It just didn't sit right with me, his level of womanizing.

\n We pulled into the school, and got out. I walked in, and everyone was looking at me, whispering. Jake patted me on the shoulder. We walked toward class. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Roberts was there waiting for us, reading the paper with his feet up on his desk. I walked past and ignored him the whole time.

\n  

\n Jake and I burst out of the school when the bell rung, and were so anxious to get out of there. We had big plans for the weekend. Mostly: doing nothing, and pretending that school didn't exist. I also had to work. I pulled into my spot and parked. I sighed a little. I loved working, but really hated going in some days. I dunno, I mean, it was still a job, and I liked it... but hated it too. It's hard to describe.

\n I clocked in and changed. On the way from the kitchen to the front, Erica stopped me. "Brent, can I talk to you for a second?" She said. I nodded. She led me out back. "What happened yesterday?"

\n "Nothing Erica. Nothing."

\n "It looks like you assaulted a kid."

\n "He pulled a knife on a wolf half his size."

\n "Oh... Well then." She pulled out a small fold of bills and handed me a ten. "Good job." I took it from her, a little puzzled. "How's your face?" She asked.

\n "It's good. Just, a little sore. Healing nicely." I knocked it lightly. "Ow. That was stupid of me." Erica laughed. I went back in, and cleaned up the tables slightly, going about the usual chores of working. I heard the door open, and went to the podium.

\n "Hi, welcome to Michaelangelo's how many?" I looked up to see Chase looking right at me. He grinned.

\n "Hey buddy. There's four of us. Be a champ will ya?" I growled quietly, and clenched my fists. My spine went rigid.

\n "Sure." I led him and his hockey buddies to a booth. They were being rowdy, and irritating, but I was used to worse. I got them their pizza, and was partially listening to their conversation. Who boned who, who was a fag, who was doing what. It was always the same superficial stuff. And every time I went by, Chase looked right at me, and stared. I wasn't really a fan of being stared at, so I felt just a tiny bit infuriated. But I remained composed, and calm, and perky, just like Erica told me to be.

\n But every man has a breaking point. As I was giving them their bill, Chase looked right at me, and asked me how my brother was.

\n I barred my teeth. "You ask that again, and I will kill you. I won't even hesitate." He just smiled and laughed, handing me the money. I went to the back and didn't come out, until I was sure they'd left. Chase is a douchebag.The next morning, I woke up to a text from Jake.

\n Jake: You up for a movie today?

\n
\n Me: Sure thing.

\n We made plans to see a movie at 11:15 so we could get the cheaper tickets. I went upstairs and saw Sophie was marching around in this new outfit mom got for her, because she had a playdate today. She looked really pretty in the skirt mom picked out for her. I dunno what it was, but it just brought out the cuteness level she normally had, and multiplied it exponentially. She saw me and turned around excitedly.

\n She had a big goofy grin on her face, and her tail was swaying. She really did love me, and look up to me. I always thought that was cute. Just the level of naive adoration. She ran up to me and grabbed me by the waist squeezing hard.

\n "Hey Soph'."

\n "Morning."

\n "Who's house are you going over to?"

\n "Andy's."

\n "You like him don't you?" I said, teasing her. She blushed deeply and walked away. I laughed, and turned for the kitchen. I saw mom in the kitchen, dressed in a blouse skirt combination that worked really well on her. She always looked best in black.

\n "Hey sweety."

\n "Hey mom." I grabbed a box of donuts that Dad got. I scarfed down a glazed and a chocolate icing one. Mom stared incredulously.

\n "... Son... do you even chew your food?" My mouth was full, so I shrugged.

\n "Sometimes." I spat out a tiny piece of one and let it fall to the floor.

\n "You'll be cleaning that up I suppose."

\n "I gotta get to the movies soon." I pushed my glasses up my face a little.

\n "What movie are you and Jake seeing?"

\n "The new Michael Cera flick." I know that a lot of his earlier movies were the same characters, but he really came into his own. He was actually pretty well respected.

\n "Alright. Have fun." She smiled and I smiled back.

\n I walked into the theatre with Jake. Jake was all but panting as he saw a girl of about twenty with as he put it "a bodacious ass." I laughed at him.

\n "You're so ridiculous you know that?"

\n "What, I can't help but admire such a fine-" He stopped as the girl in front of us glared back at us. I sheepishly looked away, cheeks so completely flushed. Jake of course had to say something stupid. "piece of artwork as that banner." He pointed to a poster explaining the parental rating. I sighed.

\n "You can't even lie properly can you?" I asked him when the girl looked away.

\n "Not really." We walked up to the counter which was when I saw another girl I'd been digging on for a while. Her name was Stephanie. She was a year younger than me, but was still really cute, and nice. Plus she was a sexy horse, but she was dating a panther in my class by the name of Ambrose. He was kinda a nobody, but she had a thing for the silent, sensitive type. More power to her... I guess. She looked up at me.

\n "Hey Brent."

\n "Hey Steph, how are you doing today?"

\n "I'm working, so..."

\n "Yeah... I hear that." I had a big smile on my face.

\n "So what can I get for you?"

\n "Two for the Micheal Cera one."

\n "Alright that'll be ten dollars." I reached for my wallet, but Jake beat me to it with a ten of his own. I was just a little surprised at this because, well... Jake didn't have a job. He didn't have that much money. I shot him a look, but he just ignored me, choosing to instead look at Stephanie's chest. I elbowed him.

\n "Dude, really?" I said in hushed tones. He just shrugged and took the tickets, thanking her.

\n "I dunno man. It's just what I do."

\n "But why?"

\n "Isn't that what everyone else does?"

\n "Not as much as you!" I was pretty steamed. Mostly because it was Stephanie who I helped in Geometry last year.

\n "Maybe I'm ahead of the curve."

\n "... Right..." We sat down in the theatre and waited for the commercials to get through. We talked for a while, about school, girls, jobs.

\n "I applied for another job."

\n "Where?"

\n "This little teashop right down the road. And a book store."

\n "'S cool man. Good luck."

\n "Yeah thanks."

\n
\n The movie let out and Jake was in a really good mood. Seeing movies does that to him, He goes into this state of elation that is hard to take him out of.

\n "I do love a good movie." He said with contentment.

\n "Oh trust me. I know."

\n "You up for anything else?"

\n "I'm kinda hungry. You?"

\n "Starving man." He said, getting into the passenger side of my car. We drove a few blocks to this one place we always go to, good food, and free drinks for students, which is nice. We got our food
\n and sat down, eating.

\n "Man, this first week has completely killed me. I just feel so wiped."

\n "I know how you feel. I'm just tired all the time." I took a massive bite of my burger and washed it down with a swig of pop. We sat and talked for a while before I had to go in for work that night.

\n The week past slowly at a pace that drove me crazy. It was so boring that I thought I was going to die. But all the while, I had this nagging fear in my head. A little piece of myself that was scared stiff by the thought of the party. Just the mere thought of going drove me crazy. And the fantasies in my head were.... well... I'm a teenager. What do you think?

\n All sorts of thoughts played out in my head. Thoughts of her in a skimpy negligee, opening the door and immediately grabbing me for a kiss. She would proceed to lead me to the couch where she would take off my shirt and press herself to me.

\n Another, I came in and grabbed her and she melted in my arms, as I kissed her. Her knees went weak, and I had to take her up to her room where she told me with absolute timidity to take her. So of course I did.

\n Another, I just went to the party and her dad had a knife and stabbed me. ... I didn't like that one. But whatever did actually happen, I was just excited for it. And nervous as hell.

\n
Here's another update, not much action, but some character and plot development. Teasing you. But it'll get better. ;D