FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The elevator doors opened to reveal the sixteenth floor corridor of the Orca, a not-too-shabby apartment complex in Queens, New York. Jana Starr, an all-gray wolf, stepped out of the elevator, along with her best friend, a yellow rabbit named Haley McBride, and into the hallway, the elevator closing behind them. After years of staying with her mom, step-dad, and step-brother while attending college, she had finally graduated and was able to get her own place. Never again would she have to live under somebody else's roof, following rules (not all of them sensible) that had severe and unfair punishments if broken. Sure, it was just an apartment she was moving into, but it had a lot of significance to her.

She and Haley padded down the blue-carpeted hallway in search of room 1614, both paws on both furs loaded with Jana's luggage. They were both going as fast as they could, eager to see Jana's new room.

Haley already had her own apartment in th building, just down the hall in room 1602, but she had already been living there for a while. Haley was two years older than Jana, and had started her life earlier than the younger fur. But the two had been friends since grade school, and made vows to live as close to each other as possible (without living with each other, in case of possible boyfriends) when they were done with school altogether. And as luck would have it, as close as possible was just right down the hall.

"Here it is," Jana said, stopping in front of a large, blue, wooden door with the number "1614" on a plate just below a peephole. She set her suitcases down on the floor and began rummagin through her purse, searching for her room keycard.

Haley set down the luggage she was holding as well and began to rub her paws. "Thank God!" She exclaimed. Though her physique didn't show it, Haley was very lazy, and though she was a college graduate as well, she wasn't the brightest rabbit in the hole. But what she lacked in physicality and intellect, she made up for with being a loyal friend. She popped her knuckles. "What exactly did you put in these briefcases?"

Jana turned to her, then looked down at the luggage. "Well, this one," she pointed to the one Haley had carried in her left paw, "has all of my books in it."

"Books?" Haley asked. "You mean like, 'Furry Fashion Monthly', or 'Posh Puppy Magazine'?"

Jana looked up at the rabbit. "No, I mean like actual books. You know, the kind with a spine?"

Haley wore a confused expression. She knew Jana loved to read and had a strong passion for literature, just never knew the extent of it. But a briefcase-full seemed like a bit too far to her. However, she didn't press the matter. "Okay, what about the other one?"

Jana looked down at the other briefcase. "I think that one has all of my cosmetics in it."

"Now THAT makes sense." Haley said. "I remember when I first moved in here, I had to ask them if I could get a room with a bigger bathroom. Turns out, all the bathrooms in this building are all the same size, so what I did was, I stole one of those big trashcans that the housekeepers use whenever they clean rooms."

Jana gaped at what her friend said. "You stole a trashcan from a housekeeper here?"

Haley seemed offended. "Hey, give me a break. It's not like I'm the only fur in the world who steals, you know. Oh, in fact, when I stole the trashcan, it had an iPod, a PSP, and a blu-ray player hidden at the bottom."

"Let me guess: you didn't bother to find out whose they were?"

"Oh, no way! Because then the police would've got involved and I probably would've lost my trashcan!"

Jana rolled her eyes at her friend and turned her attention back to the door of her new home. She inserted the key card, and a click sounded, indicating that the door was unlocked. After replacing the card in her purse, she turned the knob and opened the door, padding into the dark room on the other side. After feeling along the wall, she finally found a light switch and flipped it. The lights came on and filled the room. Jana gasped at how beautiful it was. The first thing she noticed was the wooden floor. There was a small kitchen to the left and a decent-sized living area straight ahead.

Jana grabbed her luggage and brought it in the room with her. Haley picked up what she was carrying as well and followed Jana into the living area, where they both set the luggage down. There was a small loveseat and two recliners around a small, wooden coffee table and a flat-screen atop a small bureau against the wall opposite the door. The living area wasn't carpeted, but instead had a large rug placed over the floor, probably to protect the wood from the furniture.

"De ja v u," Haley said, crossing her arms.

"Why?" Jana asked. "Something in here look familiar?"

Haley nodded. "Yeah! Except for the terrace, my room has the same design." She pointed to a large window. On the other side of it was a terrace.

Jana shrugged her shoulders. "I guess that means that I got the room with the view." She sat down on the loveseat, placing her paws behind her head and her feet paws on the coffee table.

"Oh, yeah?" Haley said. "Well, I got a blu-ray player."

Jana laughed at her friend's serious tone.

It was then that three light knocks were heard. "Knock, knock," a voice said from the doorway.

Jana and Haley both turned in the direction of the voice, and saw a kangaroo standing there with a tray of green jell-o, a friendly smile across his muzzle.

"Oh, hey Adam," Haley said to the roo. "Come on in and meet your new neighbor."

The kangaroo named Adam padded into the living area where the two girls were. When he reached Jana, he set the jell-o on the coffee table and extended his paw.

Jana stood up and shook his paw. "Hi."

"Hi," he said.

"Jana," Haley said, "this is Adam Brady. He lives just across the hall from you. Adam, this is Jana Starr, the girl I told you about." She then leaned in to whisper in Jana's ear. "Make sure you wash your paws with REALLY hot water."

Adam heard this, and became defensive. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's THAT supposed to mean? Huh? Or, you know what? Don't answer that. She just moved her," he pointed to Jana. "I don't want you scarin' her by telling her stuff that isn't true."

"Don't worry about that," Haley said. "If anything I say scares her, it'll be because it IS true. She knows me, I don't lie."

Jana could immediately tell that Haley and Adam weren't too fond of each other as they'd let on.

"Yeah you do," Adam said. "You lie to me all the time!"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

"Okay, how about the time you first told me about her?" He pointed to Jana. "You said she was fat!"

Jana turned to Haley and gasped. "Haley!"

Haley ignored her. "That doesn't count, because I haven't seen her in two years. The last time I saw her, she WAS fat, so it was true at the time!"

"Fine," Jana said, more to herself, though she meant for Haley to hear it. "Just pretend like I'm not here."

"And let's not ignore how inconsiderate YOU'RE being right now," Haley said to Adam. "Even if she was still fat, why would you bring jell-o? That would be the last thing she'd need."

"Well, I brought jell-o because I wanted her to like me," Adam said in his defense. "Fat chicks love jell-o." He then turned to Jana. "Not that you ARE fat. Actually, you look dynamite."

"Thanks, Adam," Jana said.

"Oh, that's just great!" Haley exclaimed. "You haven't even known her a full five minutes, and already you've stolen my best friend from me!"

"Oh, relax, Haley," Jana said reassuringly. "Nobody could replace you."

Haley sniffled, and wiped her eye, though she wasn't crying. "Well, I guess that's true. I AM one of a kind. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to use your restroom." She spun on her feet paws and padded into what Jana guessed was the restroom. After all, Haley's room had the same design, so she wasn't surprised that the rabbit already knew where to go.

When Haley was gone, Adam spoke. "So, how long have you two known each other?"

"Oh, we've been friends our whole lives," Jana answered him. "And, for as long as I can remember, she's always been a jealous rabbit. Always worried I might replace her with somebody else. You know, now that I think about it, she is really paranoid. But I guess that's what makes her so special."

Adam nodded. "Well, that's a very interesting way to look at a friendship that's...kinda sad, really." He said it jokingly.

Jana giggled a little. She wasn't at all surprised to hear something like that. All her life, other furs had always wondered how two totally different furs would ever be able to stay friends. And they WERE different in every way. Jana was a bookworm, and Haley was a party animal; Jana was an early bird, Haley was a night owl; Jana was a carnivore, Haley was a vegetarian. But despite their differences, Jana and Haley stuck it out.

It was then that Haley padded out of the bathroom, smilingly smugly. She regrouped with Jana and Adam.

"That was quick," Jana said. "What'd you do in there?"

Haley looked at her friend. "My bathroom's bigger," she said, then padded for the door. Before she could leave, though, Jana spoke up.

"Wait, I thought you said that every bathroom in the Orca was the same size."

Haley turned back to her friend, frowning a little now. "You just can't stand anybody enjoying themselves, can you?" She turned and left before Jana could answer.

Jana rolled her eyes again at her friend's statement.

* * *

Chris Dawson and Joey Sawyer sat in Chris' living room in his apartment, both of them thinking about Joey's current situation. Chris, an otter, was Adam's roommate, and Joey, a ferret, was their best friend. Joey was having issues with his wife, Hannah. She had kicked him out and he had nowhere to go, so he asked Chris and Adam for a favor; to move in with them, at least until he could get his own place. Joey had spent the entire day looking for a hotel or an apartment, but didn't have any luck at all.

The room was quiet, and Chris could feel that Joey was angry that he had to mooch off his friends. Though it didn't bother either of his friends at all, Joey still felt that he was a burden to them.

"Okay," Chris said, breaking the silence, "so today wasn't your lucky day. But, there's always tomorrow! And hey, if you never find a place, you're welcome to stay here."

"Cool," Joey said skeptically. "I'd rather sleep on a squeaky sofa bed than on a real bed any day." He rubbed his neck. He had only stayed there one night, so far, and had to sleep on the sofa bed.

"I'm sorry if you didn't sleep well," Chris said. "If you want, you can sleep with me."

Joey's eyes widened. "Look, Chris, I know you're gay and everything, and I'm sure you're a very attractive guy, but I don't think I'm cut out for THAT kind of relationship with you."

"Oh, shut up!" Chris exclaimed. "You know what I meant. Besides, you're not really my type, anyway. I only like MEN."

Joey rolled his eyes, then pressed harder on his neck. "Jeez, that bed hurts! It's like sleeping on a bunch of little hills! And every time I move to make myself more comfortable, the thing starts squeaking like a rat in a cheese factory! I mean, what am I gonna do if I DO end up staying here, bring a girl back to help me cope with my issues, and you guys storm in here because you thought I was having a seizure in my sleep?" Not that he would ever have a girl over anyway. He IS married, after all.

Chris giggled, placing his paw over his muzzle.

A moment later, Adam walked in the room. "Hey, guys."

"Hey, Adam," Chris said.

"Hey," Joey said.

Adam walked into the living area and sat next to Joey on the couch. "Any luck today?"

"None whatsoever." Joey complained.

"That's alright," Adam said. "You're welcome to stay here regardless of how much we don't want you to." He said it jokingly.

Joey turned to Chris. "You see? I told you I'm a burden!"

Chris looked at Adam. "Would you not say stuff like that? You know how defensive he gets."

"I know, right?" Adam said to Chris. "I swear, he should've been a woman." He was talking about Joey. "The guy's got more estrogen flowing through his veins than YOU do." He pointed to Chris.

Chris giggled again.

Joey scoffed. "Can we please stop talking about how hormonally imbalanced I am?" He covered his face with his paws, and remained like that for a while. Then, suddenly, he got an idea, but he wasn 't too thrilled about it. He looked up at his friends and sighed. "I guess I could stay with my parents for a little while..."

Adam clapped his paws loudly. "Now, there's an idea!"

"You could do that," Chris agreed.

"Alright, then," Joey said. "I'm moving back in with my parents..." He stood and made for the exit.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Adam said, turning to Joey. "You're leavin' already?"

Joey looked back at Adam. "Yeah. I already told my parents about mine and Hannah's situation, and they said I could stay with them until we get it straightened out if I needed to. Most of my stuff is still in my car, so I'll just come by here tomorrow to get anything else of mine. I'll see you guys."

Adam and Chris said their goodbyes to Joey, and the ferret left. When Joey was gone, there was a moment of silence. Adam broke it. "Wow," he said. "I'm surprised his parents are actually gonna let him come back!"

"Why?" Chris asked.

"Well, do you remember at Joey's wedding, how excited he was to get married, and how excited we were for him?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, while he and Hannah were sayin' their vows, his mom and dad were outside in the parking lot, each drinking a celebratory bottle of champagne, dancin' to ‘Play That Furry Music, White Boy'."

Chris' eyes widened. "Wow...wait, how do you know what they were doing?"

Adam let out a small laugh. "Who do you think was the DJ?

Chris rolled his eyes, though he did think the situation was comical.

"Oh, hey!" Adam said suddenly. "Dude, did you see the new girl who just moved in? She's pretty hot, I think you might like her!"

"Heh, maybe not," Chris said.

"What?" Joey asked. "Why not?" When Chris gave him the evil eye, he suddenly remembered. "Oh, yeah, right. That homo thing...well, do you at least wanna meet her? She's right across the hall."

Chris shrugged his shoulders, then stood up. "Yeah, I guess."

"Ha, ha!" Adam said. "Alright, let's go!" With that, the two friends padded out into the hall and knocked on Jana's door.

After a moment, Haley answered, and when she first saw Adam, she grimaced. "Eww..."

"Hello, honey-bunny," Adam said, ignoring her comment. "May we come in? There's someone out here I'd like Jana to meet." He gestured toward Chris, who waved.

Before answering, Haley turned around and shouted to wherever Jana was. "Hey, Jana? Should I call Immigration? There's a roo out here, with an accent. He's trying to smuggle a white otter into your apartment." He didn't really have an accent, Haley just liked to make stereotypical jokes about him, saying things like, "If you're a roo, you're from Australia." If anything, Adam was just a little Italian, but otherwise, American.

"Move!" Adam said, pushing Haley out of the way and entering the wolf's apartment. Chris followed him. The two padded into the living area, Haley right behind them.

"Jana?" Adam called. "Where are you?"

Within minutes, Jana padded into the living area to answer Adam's call. "What's up?" She looked at Chris. "Oh, hi!"

"Hello," Chris said back, extending a paw. "Chris Dawson. I live across the hall with Adam."

Jana took his paw. "Jana. Jana Starr. Nice to meet you." She noticed that his pawshake wasn't as masculine as she'd expected from an otter of Chris' somewhat muscular frame. Then she figured that since the otter lived with another male, it was safe to say that Chris and Adam might've been lovers. Not that she was prejudiced. After all, her step-brother was gay. She just didn't think Adam was, too. Of course, she wasn't entirely sure about the roo's preferences. It was just a guess.

"So," Jana said, trying to start a conversation, "you guys live here a while?" She sat down on the loveseat and crossed her legs.

"Three years," Adam said, speaking for himself. "Chris, here, moved in about three months ago." He wrapped an arm around his friend s shoulder. "We had another roommate, but he blew us off to go stay with his parents."

Jana was about to ask another question, but before she could, somebody knocked at the door She looked around at the door, then looked at Haley. "Would you get it, please?"

Haley nodded, then padded over to the door. When she reached it, she turned the knob and pulled it open. On the other side stood a red-orange fox, holding a briefcase in one brown-furred paw. Haley recognized him immediately as Jana's step-brother. "Oh, my gosh! Hey, James!" She pulled the fox into a hug, happy to see him for the first time in two years.

"Hey, Haley," James said, returning the hug.

Jana's ears perked up at the sound of her step-brother's voice. Immediately, she stood up and ran over to the door. "James?"

James looked behind Haley at his step-sister. "Hey, Jana!" He said excitedly, stepping past the rabbit and pulling the wolf into a hug.

Jana didn't return it. In all honestly, she was kind of nervous, mostly because of the briefcase her step-brother was holding. Its size suggested that it held a lot of his possessions. "What are you doing here?" She asked him with false enthusiasm.

"Oh, I thought I'd just drop by for a little bit. I actually wanted to talk to you about something."

"How did you find out where I lived?" Jana asked, with REAL enthusiasm this time. She'd made sure not to tell any of her family where she was going.

James pointed at Haley. "Haley told me. She called me when she found out you two were gonna be living in the same apartment complex together."

Jana turned to the rabbit. The look seemed to fool James, but Haley knew that Jana was extremely angry with her.

"Okay," Haley said, throwing her arms up in the air, attempting to stretch. She stretched as hard as she could, then stopped. "Well, nothing's popping. Anyway, I'm tired. I'm just gonna hop on down the bunny trail to my room and take a little nap. I'll see you tomorrow, Jana."

"Doubt it," Jana growled at her friend as she left.

Jana closed the door to her apartment, then turned around to her step-brother, who seemed oblivious to her discomfort with his presence.

***

"Okay," Jana said to Chris and Adam from her room, "Anything that's worth stealing hasn't been unpacked yet, so don't bother looking around." She closed her bedroom door, and turned around to face James, who was sitting on her bed. "What is it you need to talk about?" She asked, nervously anticipating his answer.

"Well," James said, twiddling his thumbs, "I recently got a place of my own..."

"Really?" Jana asked, surprised. Last she d known, James was still living with their parents. "That's great!"

"I know, right?" James said, standing up. "It's really beautiful. Two-story, huge backyard with a pool..."

"Sounds nice," Jana said, happy for her brother.

"Yeah, but it has its downfalls, too. The floor squeaks, my neighbors are a-holes..."

"Oh, sorry to hear it."

"...and it burned down last night, so now I need to stay with you." James said the last part in a rush, making sure to avoid eye contact with his step-sister.

"WHAT?!" She shouted, then lowered her voice, "No! You can t stay here! I'm finally on my own!" She approached James and grabbed him by his shirt collar. "I am NOT gonna let you ruin my new life!"

James reached up and grabbed Jana's paws with his own and pulled them off of his shirt. He brushed out the wrinkles they left behind. "Relax. It's not permanent."

"Then why can't you just stay with Mom and William?" William was Jana's step-dad, and James' biological dad. She never got used to calling him anything but "William."

"Because," James began, "I just left there. Do you know how pathetic and irresponsible I'd look asking to move back in right after I just moved out?"

Jana shrugged. "No more so than usual," she said skeptically.

"Oh, come on, Jana," James said, ignoring her sarcasm. "Let me stay here. Please?"

Jana didn't answer right away. Instead, she actually took some time to think about it. Maybe it would be okay if he stayed for a little while. She let out a loud sigh "...fine."

James yipped loudly and pulled her into another hug. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I really appreciate this." He let go and looked her in the eye. "I promise, you won't even know I'm here!"

***

"JAMES!" Jana shouted. She stood in the living area, which was covered in her step-brother's clothes. "Oh, God," She said as she waited for her step-brother to appear. "I thought ALL the gays were a clean civilization..." She began picking up random articles of clothing, then stopped when she realized she was holding a leather thong. With a noise of disgust, she dropped all that she was holding and made her way into the kitchen to wash her paws.

Suddenly, James came in from his room. "Yes, mistress?" he said with a mock-Lurch tone.

"Why are your clothes scattered everywhere?" She gestured her wet paws all around the room.

James looked around at the mess that was, admittedly, his, then said, "What's the problem? I figured housekeeping could take care of it."

"That's not the point!" Jana said as she dried her paws with a paper towel. "You've only been here a day, and my entire apartment's a mess!" She pressed her paws to his face. "I touched your lingerie with my bare pads! I don't even know if that thing was clean!" She then pointed to the thong that she picked up and dropped on the floor.

James looked over at it, then back at Jana. "Oh, would you relax, please? It's not mine." He walked over to pick it up.

Jana gaped at what she just heard. If it wasn't James', and it certainly wasn't her own..."Then, whose is it?" She asked, hesitantly.

James stretched the thong out in his paws, then placed it in his pocket. "Hmm...I don't remember his name, but, he was either a panther or a black cat."

Jana approached her brother, a disgusted look across her face. "A guy gives you his thong, and you don't remember his name?"

James shrugged. "I'm sure he told me his name, but if he's like every other prostitute in the world, it wasn't his real one."

Jana's eyes widened, then closed as she tried to fathom what she just heard. After a moment, she turned around and padded for the door, grabbing her jacket off the rack next to the door.

"Wait, where are you going?" James asked.

Jana turned back to James and said, "Well, first, I'm gonna go get tested for every STD in the book, and then I'm gonna go boil my paws in scalding hot water until I'm sure that they're rid of every microscopic organism that got on my body from touching your stupid PANTHER PANTIES!" She shouted the last part, then opened her door and left, slamming the door behind her.

***

Joey was wearing his pajamas, lying on his old bed, in his old room, in his old house, that he lived in with his VERY old parents. So far, things were going...okay for him. In fact, they treated him just as they had when he was a kid. His mom made him breakfast, sometimes in bed, washed his clothes, bought him his favorite snacks...she even got him a Kit's Meal on her way home from Bingo once in a while, which he thought was a little weird, but didn't mind because it allowed him to start collecting the little toys again.

His dad treated him the same as well. He would make Joey go out and play catch with him, he'd give Joey a beer when his mom wasn't looking, but weirdest of all, he had "the talk" with Joey three times (in one day), and every time, Joey would have to remind his dad that he was thirty years old now. Of course, his dad would reply with a roundhouse to the face: "That doesn't mean you've had sex yet!"

It was a good life, his old life...but only when he was younger. Now that he was older, his old life...honestly, it was eating him alive! Pancakes every morning, non-stop, his clothes smelled just like his mom's, his arms were sore from playing with his dad all the time, and he even had "the talk" memorized!

"...I gotta get outta here!" he moaned. He jumped out of his bed, grabbed his jacket, and made for the door. He left his room, padded down the hallway, stopped, then turned around again. He went back into his room and approached his bookshelf. On it was his collection of toys he got from the Kit's Meals. "I need my toys..." he said, gathering them all in both arms. He then left his room for real this time.

As he passed through the living room, his mother asked him, "Where are you going, Joey?"

"Oh, crap," Joey thought. It was then that he realized he didn't know where he was going. He couldn't go back to Hannah yet, and he didn't want to go back to living with Adam and Chris...Where else was there? He needed to think, and he certainly couldn't do that here. "I'm just gonna go to a bar."

"This early in the morning?"

"Yes, Mother. I need to think, and I get my best ideas when I'm hammered." He kicked his ferret slippers of, revealing his feet paws, and exited the house.

When he opened his car door, he heard his mother calling him. He turned around and saw her poking her head out the front door. "Hey," she called, "if you need a way to get back home, call either me or your father! Ever since 9-11, I don't trust cabbies!" She went back inside, but then came out again. "Or that clerk at the Seven Eleven up the street!"

Joey rolled his eyes at his biased mother's stereotype. She'd always been prejudiced as long as he could remember, and despite his efforts, he wasn't able to change the way she saw foreigners...or homosexuals.

Joey got in his car, revved it up, and started for the nearest bar.

***

Haley sat next to Jana at the bar of Haley's favorite place to drink, The Cub Pub, and watched as her friend downed multiple shots of tequila (all of them doubles). After Jana finished up another one, Haley began counting the empty shot glasses laid out before them. Thirteen. "Well," Haley said, downing the rest of her dirty martini, "at least you're not a lightweight. Thirteen doubles? That's almost twenty-five shots!" Yeah, Haley wasn't very good with numbers when she was drinking. "Some furs I bring in here, they start hitting on me after, like, two drinks, using all these disgusting lines." She laughed a little, but then became serious. "For some reason, though, they always want ME inside THEM. It's strange..."

Jana pressed her paws to her face. "Haley, what am I gonna do?" She said through her paws. "I was so excited and happy to get away from my family, and now I'm..." she began to sob. "...I'm not so happy anymore!" She wrapped her arms around Haley and hugged her tightly, crying.

Haley seemed a little weirded out. She gave Jana a quick pat on the back, then said, "Okay, look. Can you at least wait until I'm drunk enough to want to hug you back?"

Jana released her friend, then wiped her eyes. "Ugh...life sucks."

"Eh, that's just the tequila talkin'." Haley said. "Here, have a martini." She ordered up another dirty martini and gave it to Jana.

It was then that a ferret in pajamas sat on the other side of Jana. He seemed anxious and eager for a drink. "Excuse me," the ferret said to the bartender, "Kamikazes, keep'em comin'." Within moments, the bartender had the ferret's drink ready. It was then that Haley realized she'd seen him somewhere before.

"Excuse me," Haley said, reaching across Jana to tap the ferret's shoulder. "Aren't you Adam Brady's friend? Let's see, umm...Jared? No, Jerry...Jacob?"

"Joey," The ferret said.

Haley didn't hear him. "Oh, wait! I got it. It's Joey! Ha! I knew it would come to me."

Joey shook his head, then downed his drink, anticipating another one. "Yeah, I'm Adam's friend." Joey signaled for another drink.

"So what brings you here?" Haley asked Joey.

"My parents," Joey said, lifting another kamikaze to his muzzle. "You?"

Haley pointed to Jana and said, "Her brother."

Jana turned to Haley. "STEP-brother," she corrected, her speech a little slurred.

"Whatever," Haley said.

"Oh, oh!" Jana busted out. "Haley! Let him stay with you!"

"No!" Haley protested.

"Why not?" Jana asked.

"Because," Haley said. "I'm already with a different guy every night. The last thing I want is your step-brother's company. It's bad enough my pet cat likes to sit on top of the bookshelf in my bedroom and watch. Do you know how awkward that is?"

"Oh, please!" Jana exclaimed. "Like you've never had anyone watch before!"

Joey choked on his second drink, some of it exiting his nose. He pressed a paw to his face, coughing a little.

Jana continued. "You've had anonymous sex so many times that every man in New York knows your name!" Her speech was getting more slurred by the second. "And those who don't know your name know you as Margery..." Before Jana could say anymore, she fell backward out of her seat.

"Okay, here's the flaw with your little argument, drunkie: if the sex is anonymous, then they shouldn't know my name at all!" Haley said, looking down at her friend. She then began speaking to Joey. "So what's wrong with your parents? If you don't mind my asking."

Joey finished his third kamikaze before speaking. "Everything! I mean, it was nice when I was younger, but now..."

Haley nodded and patted him on the shoulder. "I understand. The extra company's kinda awkward, huh?"

"Just a little, yeah..." Joey said. "So uh," He looked down at the wolf on the floor, "what's the deal with her step-brother? Is he like, the black sheep in the family?"

"No, he's a fox," Haley answered, missing the analogy. She looked down at her friend, then back at Joey. "Eh, you know. Sibling rivalry. They both get on each other's nerves. You see, she just got her own place, and now he has to stay with her for awhile because his house burned down or something."

"Oh," Joey said, downing his fourth drink.

It was then that they both heard a panicked cry from the ground. They both looked down and saw Jana spinning around on her knee. At first, it looked like she was chasing her tail...until she spoke. "Haley," she cried, "help! Help! It's gonna get me!"

That's when Haley realized Jana wasn't chasing her tail, her tail was chasing her.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Joey asked, pointing to the wolf.

"Oh, yeah. This is nothing compared to how drunk she used to get. One time, when she was sixteen, the police arrested her because she was walking home, pants-less."

"Well, that's not so bad," Joey said. "A lot of drunks do that."

"Yeah, I know," Haley said. "But the odd thing was, she was trying to walk home from her own house."

"Oh," Joey said, looking back down at the wolf.

They both continued to watch Jana spin around in circles on the ground, running away from her own tail.

***

James had just gotten back to his (but only temporarily) and Jana's apartment after carrying all of his dirty laundry to the chute, when he heard a quick knock on the door. He padded over to the door and opened it. On the other side stood Haley and a strange ferret, and in between them, a semi-conscious Jana, her arms wrapped around both of the other furs shoulders. James rolled his eyes, as this wasn't the first time Jana was brought home, drunk off her ass. He pointed to a door in the back of the room, and said, "Her bedroom's that way."

Haley and the ferret began to pull Jana across the apartment, but stopped when the wolf began to speak.

"Whoa, whoa..." Jana said, looking around the room as best she could. "What happened in here? Everything's all...squeaky--"

"Clean, yes, I know." James finished for her. "And it wasn't easy, either. I tried to get a maid to do it, but apparently, her trashcan was stolen, and she said she couldn t work without it! At first, I didn't wanna do it, but I knew how guilty I'd feel about being such a useless step-brother, so...I wanted to help make it easier for you to start your new life."

Jana stared at her step-brother in disbelief, mostly because she couldn't believe he cleaned this whole place by himself, but partly because she couldn't believe that James thought that SHE thought he was useless. She then turned to glare at Haley, the trashcan-culprit. "You have a new iPod, PSP, and blu-ray player. Why can't you return the trashcan now?"

Haley blushed a little. "Well, because...I don't have anywhere else to put my makeup and stuff..."

Jana shook her head, then looked up at her step-brother. "James...you're not useless. In fact, you've always been there when I needed you. I guess it's only fair that I return the favor. Just stay here as long as you need to...I don't care how long it takes. You're a good brother. And I love you."

James was smiling widely, fanning his eyes as if he were about to cry. "Oh, come here!" He dashed over to Jana and wrapped both his arms around her. "I love you, too! Thank you so much!"

Jana returned the hug, then gave her brother a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Aww," James said.

Then, the moment was ruined. "Your rent's due the first."

James' face dropped, and he broke the hug. "Could you not have waited until tomorrow to tell me that? We were hugging! We never do that!"

"I had to tell you now because tomorrow IS the first. A hundred a week, and no less." She looked at the angry expression on her brother's muzzle. "Love you," she said.

James rolled his eyes. "Love you, too."

"I know you do." she said, then she yawned. "I'm gonna go to bed now...Haley, Jody--

"Joey," The ferret corrected.

"Whatever," Jana said as she raised her arms and prepared to fall backwards. "Just carry me to my room." She fell, and the two other furs caught her and began carrying--or dragging, whatever you would call it--to her room. "James," she said as she was carried (dragged), "you make one loud noise, I'll KILL you...tomorrow." She passed out right there in Haley and Joey's arms. Haley and Joey waddled off to the room James had pointed to.

"Don't throw your back out, Joey," Haley said to the ferret.

Then, Jana woke up. "I'M NOT FAT ANYMORE!"

James chuckled at his sister's outburst as Haley and Joey carried her to her room.

***

Chris and Adam each lay in their individual twin beds, asleep for the night. But soon, they both woke up when they heard a loud, constant, squeaking noise. Adam reached over and turned on the lamp next to his bed. "What time is it?" He asked Chris with a groggy tone.

Chris rubbed his eyes, then looked at his alarm clock. "1:40."

"What's that noise?" Adam said, sitting up.

"I don't know," Chris said, sitting up as well. "It's coming from the living room."

They both stood up and padded slowly to their bedroom door. Adam reached it first, and opened it, flipping the light switch on the other side. When the overhead light came on, Chris and Adam saw the source of the noise. It was Joey, asleep, tossing and turning on the sofa bed.

"I thought he left..." Adam whispered to Chris.

"Maybe he still had his key?" Chris guessed.

There was a moment of silence (aside from the squeaking) Then, "What do you think he's dreamin' about?" Adam asked.

Chris shrugged. "Must be a nightmare if he's jumping around like that...Actually, it kinda looks like he's seizing."

Adam's eyes widened. "Should I call an ambulence?"

Before Chris could answer, Joey let out a loud, quick snore.

"No," Chris said. "He's probably just having a bad dream."

"Should we wake him?"

They both pondered the idea for a moment, then said in unison, "Nah..." and went back in their room, closing the door behind them, and quickly falling asleep as soon as they were back in their beds.

************************************************************************************************************************

So I hope you guys liked my first chapter in my first series. There's more to come, too. All kinds of funny adventures await Jana, James, Haley, Joey, Adam, and Chris! So keep reading!

In the next chapter of Starr Struck :

Haley decides to sleep over at Jana and James apartment. But when James learns he has a peephole in the back of his closet, he sees more than he wants to of the rabbit. Is James going to be scarred for life? Find out in Starr Struck, Chapter 2: "The One with the Hole In the Wall".