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Colton's P.O.V

August 22nd

I blink my eyes open, the bright morning light. I shake my head a little and find, to my pleasure, my headache, along with my injuries from yesterday, are gone. As I try to sit up, though, I groan. My muscles are stiff from swimming.

"So you're awake?" I look up and see Jace standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe.

I smile. "What time is it?"

Jace glances at his sport watch. "About nine."

I wince as I stand slowly, and Jace rushes over, catching me as my knees buckle. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I say, then wince again. "Okay, not really. I probably have some internal damage that I didn't know about yesterday."

Jace looks into my eyes, concerned. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" I shake my head, grinding my teeth. "Okay...at least sit down?"

I let him lead me out to the common room of our dorm and sit me on the couch. He then moves over to the kitchen and starts cooking. After a few minutes, I sniff the air. "Smells good."

Jace glances over at me. "Heh, this isn't the best I can do. You seem hungry."

I rub my stomach. "Now I am."

He laughs and flips the pan a few more times, then uses the spatula to scoop some food onto the two plates he had set out before I woke up, apparently. I sniff again. "Eggs?"

"Scrambled," Jace adds. I laugh. "What, I have to be specific!"

I can't help but snicker, and my mouth waters as he puts the plates on the table. Then I yelp in surprise as he picks me up and carries me over to the table. I grab my fork and start wolfing down (pun intended) my food.

Jace watches me, amused. "You like it?"

"Ehf, erny fuld," I respond, my mouth full of food. I swallow and try again. "Yes, very good."

Jace laughs. "Glad you like it."

I smile at him, and remember the words he said last night. Try as I might, though, I can't fit it together with any sounds. "What are you doing, Colton?" I snap back to reality to see him waving a hand in front of my face. "You were twisting your mouth wierdly."

I smile. "Sorry, I was trying to puzzle out what you said to me last night."

Jace's P.O.V

I wave a hand in front of Colton's face. "What are you doing, Colton?" I ask. He blinks, as if coming out of a trance, and his mouth freezes in the middle of making a wierd shape. "You were twisting your mouth wierdly."

Colton smiles, the crooked smile that I find myself falling in love with. "Sorry, I was trying to puzzle out what you said to me last night."

I grow cold. If he finds out... I shiver and grin at Colton. "Sorry, got a sudden chill."

"That's okay," he says, in a mock deep voice. I try to stifle a laugh, which turns out to be an impossible challenge, as Colton starts laughing.

After we recover our breath, Colton picks up his dish and heads over to the sink to wash it. I follow almost immediately, and our arms brush as we wash out dishes. I feel a hot blush spread across my cheeks, and I turn my head away slightly, to hide it.

Colton's P.O.V

I stand, grabbing my dish, and head over to the sink. Half a second later, the short Arctic Fox is standing next to me, doing his own dish. He's about seven inches shorter than me, if I had to eyeball it, the top of his head coming up to the bottom of my muzzle.

I feel our arms brush, and he tilts his head away from me a little. Despite that, I still the blush spread across his cheeks, the red a beacon against his white fur. I was thankful then for my blue fur, because it didn't show as easily.

That's when everything clicks in to place. I smile gently and lean down a little. I brush my lips against his cheek, then move them up to his ear, whispering, "So that's what you said."

Jace blushes even harder and scoots away. I laugh and head over to the couch. After a second, he follows me. I smile at him and sit down right in the middle, so there's no way for him to avoid me. He sits on the edge of the couch, squished as close to the armrest as he can get. I can still see a blush against his cheeks. "You were so straightforward yesterday, when you rescued me. Why not now?" I ask, my tone light, as I reach over and scratch just behind his ears. A purr rumbles through his chest as he melts into me, and I plant a kiss on the top of his head. I swear he could start a fire with the amount of head he's emitting from his cheeks.

I lean down and whisper in his ear, almost an inaudible breath of wind against his ear fur: "I love you too."

Jace flinches back, his eyes bright. "R-really?"

I smile at him and nuzzle into his chest fur. "You think I'd lie about that?"

He puts his fingers under my chin, lifting my muzzle so we were looking into each other's eyes. "Of course you wouldn't," he says quietly, and lowers his head so our lips meet in a soft kiss.

My eyes widen, then close, and I press into the kiss. Jace pulls away, and smiles at me. "Eager, eh?" He licks my nose.

I smile up at him. "Maybe I'm just madly in love." I pull him closer for another kiss.

There's a knock at the door while we're still kissing. "You boys in there?"

I pull back from the kiss, sighing. "No, nobody's home!" I yell back. "Whaddya think, with no school today?"

"Open the door before I kick it down!"

I grumble and pick myself up from on top of Jace--just to collapse on the floor. Jace lunges forward and manages to slide his body under mine, softening my impact. "Idiot!" I can tell he's only half playing. "Didn't this morning teach you anything?"

I roll my eyes and let him sit me back on the couch, then watch as he goes and opens the door, admitting Charlotte. She bustles over to me. "Is everything alright? What happened this morning?"

I groan. "Stop being my mother hens, guys. I can take care of myself." I hold a hand up to stop Charlotte. "But, to answer your question, I think I might have some internal damage that is worse than I thought it was."

"Are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital, Colton?" Jace asks. The affection he puts into my name is just as obvious as the concern in every other word, and so obvious it feels like I can smell it.

Charlotte eyes the two of us, turning her piercing purple eyes first on me, then on Jace. "What happened last night?"

"More like what happened this morning," I mutter.

"What was that?" Charlotte turns her eyes back to me.

I glance at Jace, who nods briefly. "I said," I say, raising my voice, "more like what happened this morning."

"What happened this morning?" Charlotte says, and it's quite easy to tell she's thinking naughty things. "Naughty stuff?"

"N-no!" I protest. "I just...We just...ah..."

"We hooked up," Jace says, grinning at the hot flush that starts to spread across my face.

Charlotte squeals. "Yeeeesssss yesyesyes I knew it! Good for you!"

I laugh, embarrassed. Then I gasp as I feel an impact in my side, just after a muffled little pew similar to a silenced...sniper...rifle... I don't feel any pain, but I groan anyways. "Okay, now I need to go to the hospital." I stress the word 'now' sarcastically. Jace and Charlotte stand frozen. "Sometime today, please!" I snap at them.

Charlotte jerks into motion, grabbing a 9mm out of her jacket--I'm not sure what pistol it is, maybe a Glock 20?--and pointing it towards the window, gesturing for us to go. "Jace, get Colton to the hospital. Go!"

Jace grabs me, picks me up. I almost don't feel the ride down the elevator. "Hey, buddy, are you okay?"

I start to nod, then think better of it and shake my head. "Are you mute now?" Jace watches me with concern. I shake my head again, not trusting myself to speak without crying. "Talk to me buddy," Jace says.

"It hurts like fucking hell," I whisper, then collapse into sobs. I put a hand over my side, and it comes away sticky. Sticky with my blood.

Finally, we're in the lobby. The woman--some sort of canine, I'm too incoherent to tell more than that--wraps something around the wound, trying to slow the bleeding.

I groan and close my eyes, salty tears still leaking out between my eyelids. I press my hand on the shot wound and arch my back, immediately regretting it.

Jace returns to my side; I hadn't even noticed him leave. "Colton, hold on a little longer. Emergency teams are on the way. Just hold on." He squeezes his eyes shut. I feel a splash of water against my cheek. He's crying.

I brush my hand lightly across his cheek, wiping away the tears. When he opens his eyes, I smile peacefully. "Don't worry about me," I whisper.

His eyes are a sea of worry. "That's what I'm supposed to do, isn't it?" And he leans down, softly pressing his lips against mine. I kiss him back, my breathing labored, and then I sink back down onto the ground, and into darkness.

Jace's P.O.V.

I lean back from Colton, and to my concern, blood is pooling underneath him on the hardwood floor.

Charlotte comes pounding down the stairs, pointing her pistol at the front doors as she makes her way over to Colton and I. "Do you have any gauze or something?" I ask, my eyes pleading.

She tosses a roll at me. "Grabbed it on my way down. Star had a sniper--silenced. There wasn't any way I was getting him. I came down here because I thought this was the most likely place he'd come to next."

I start wrapping the gauze around Colton's midsection. His breath falters, then hitches, then continues, shallower than before. "He's lost to much blood!" I call to Charlotte, starting to panic.

"Don't move him--it's too dangerous right now!" Halfway through her sentence, I hear the sirens.

Thank God, the paramedics are here. I help them to get Colton on the stretcher and strapped on, then ride in the back with them, watching their every move.

I guess I fell asleep at some point on the ride, because when I next became aware of things, I was in a chair in the hospital room. I look around the room, examining my surroundings. I feel...a wrongness in this room. I don't know what it is, but my eyes fall on the bed. I remember the events of this morning in a rush, and I rush over to the bedside, my hand on Colton's chest. I trusted the machines, sure, but I want to make sure for myself.

"He flatlined earlier this morning," a voice behind me says.

"Charlotte, thank God--" I cut myself off as I spin around. "Star," I spit out with conempt.

He starts to saunter his way over to the bed, and I whip out a 9mm Desert Eagle. "I swear, if you move any closer..."

Star held his hands up in mock surrender. "Oh, my, the brave cowboy comes to the rescue of his boyfriend." He sneers and puts a sarcastic twist on the word.

"We're not..." My voice trails off. I can't say that, because technically we became boyfriends this morning. "Get away from me. I'm sick of your blackmail, your bullshit. Get out, or I will shoot. I'm not afraid of you anymore."

Star sneers again. "Tch, you're forgetting that I protected you from the bullies of your childhood. You can't kill your guardian angel, now can you?"

Now it's my turn to sneer. "I was dancing with the devil the entire time...Great song, by the way."

Star laughs, a deep rumble that I once was in love with. "And you with the song references again... you know, I once would have said I loved that."

I flinch, and the gun trembles in my hand. Star takes a few more steps forward. "Stop!" I yell, voice cracking. "I'll do it!"

Star sneers. "I know you too well. You wouldn't hurt a fly."

"And exactly that is where you're wrong," I snarl. "I will do almost anything for him." I gesture the gun towards Colton, still on the bed. I hope he can hear me.

"No you won't," Star sneers again. "Because I sent you to only harm him."

I snicker, as if that was a joke only I got. "And that's the unforseen variable, isn't it?" I smile, looking for all the world like the devil. "I was supposed to befriend and then break him. But instead--" my voice cracks, and I try again. "--but instead, I fell in love with him."

Anger leaps up in Star's eyes like a blazing fire. A fire my words ignited. I feel a faint sense of satisfaction about breaking his calm. "And that's why you'll do anything for him. Because of a feeling that's a lie. Love is a lie--nobody will love you," he spits out. "You're a monster, a freak of nature."

He goes to take another step forward. The gun goes off with a bang, and I faintly hear a cry of pain from Star. He's on the ground, clutching his thigh. "You should've listened," I hiss. Then I put the gun away and sit in a chair next to the bed.

Nurses rush in and hurry Star off to another room. The doctor comes in a few minutes later, the janitor following to clean up the blood on the floor. The doctor studies the hard lines etched into my face, and he seems to be waiting for the janitor to leave. He exits the room, and the door bangs open again, admitting Charlotte.

The doctor jumps, his head flicking to face Charlotte. "My Lord, Charlotte, you gave me quite a scare."

She smiles tightly. The doctor turns back to me. "I'm Doctor Mitchell. I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting before?"

I hold my hand out for a shake, then withdraw it, remembering that doctors need to keep their hands clean. "Jace. Pleasure to meet you."

"No, the pleasure is all mine." Mitchell leans forward. "We heard a gunshot earlier, and then come in to see that man on the floor. What happened and who had the gun?"

I take a deep breath, knowing I was probably gonna be punished for this. "I had the gun. Star came in here and started talking to me." I take another deep breath, but before I can continue, I feel a hand on my arm. I glance down.

Colton is half sitting, propped up on his elbow. His arm is extended, hand resting on my forearm. He smiles weakly at me, then turns his gaze to the doctor. "He was only protecting me, Doc. I heard him."

My eyes fly wide in surprise. I had hoped...but I never expected...

Colton turns his eyes--his beautiful blue eyes--to me and smiles again, then closes his eyes, falling into a deeper breathing pattern. I put my hand over his and squeeze it lightly, then put it back on the bed. I turn back to Mitchell. "He started talking about how he blackmailed me and I told him to screw off, and he refused. I had the gun out from the second he came in. Then he started coming closer, despite my warnings not to. So...I was forced to act."

Charlotte recoils. "Wait, he blackmailed you?" I nod and bury my face in my hands. "Please, Jace, explain. We need to know what Star has done." Charlotte again.

I draw a shuddering breath and let it out slowly, a tear leaking out from my closed eyelids. "He made me--He told me that if I wouldn't hurt Colton for him--befriend and then hurt--he would--" my voice breaks, and I take a short, broken breath, my shoulders shaking.

I feel a light touch on my arm--Charlotte. "We don't blame you, Jace."

"He said he would kill everyone I loved." The words are as flat as a pane of glass.

The room is instantly silenced. The only noise is the whirring of machinery and the beeping of the heart monitor. Charlotte's grip tightens on my arm. "Let him come," Charlotte hisses.

(A/N Just so you guys know, none of this is planned by me beforehand, the story just writes itself. Sometimes I have ideas on where I want the story to go, and I see those as more of a sort of futuresight, as if I saw into the future and saw a little bit of what I was gonna write. So I knew not of where this chapter was gonna go, and man, what a chappy. Either way, I'll see you guys in the next one!

-EcstaticFur

P.S. thanks to my babe for letting me use his character))