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Chapter 3: Boys ain't everything

Another week had passed since Eiko's little incident in the locker room. The soccer team had been practicing three times since then and each time had both Kayla and Erica done what they could to allow for Eiko to change as safely as she could. So far none of the other girls in the team had a clue, although some were a bit suspecting. She was doing well in classes as she felt more at home with herself, and for once she had a social life in school which definitely perked up her days. She and Kayla had grown to be inseparable in a matter of weeks, and they even spent most of their free weekend time together practicing soccer and having sleep-overs.

The whistle sounded throughout the field as the ball touched the net and appropriate jubilations followed. Kayla threw herself around Eiko, who had been the one to score, and hug her tightly just before the other girls in their team followed suit. Even though it was just a practice match within the team, they were celebrating as if it was the victory of a lifetime. Perhaps that sounds odd, but there was a reason; Eiko hadn't just scored once or twice that game, but she kept outmaneuvering most of the girls that had been on the team before, moving with the ball as if she'd been playing for years, which she hadn't. Before they had a chance to get into positions to start again, the coach blew the whistle another time, announcing their practice time was up for the day. Eiko stumbled over to the side of the field, overwhelmed by all the attention and absolutely ecstatic from her performance, before just slumping down on the grass to breath and look up at the sky. ''I still can't believe that's you on the field,'' Kayla said and sat down next to Eiko. ''I mean, for someone falling over several times a day while standing you have amazing control of that ball.'' Eiko giggled and smiled, her eyes locked on a cloud passing by above. ''I can't explain it, just is that way. Well, uh, I've had more experience handling balls than the rest of the team,'' she said, and just shut up awkwardly for a second, before they both burst out into laughter. They laughed for a good solid minute before Kayla gently nudged Eiko's side and tried to subtly gesture in the direction of the spectator area. One of the cuter boys in class was sitting there watching, accompanied by his usual entourage. It was pretty obvious he was staring in Eiko and Kayla's direction, which made Eiko blush when she saw it. ''T-totally looking at you, Kayla,'' she said with an embarrassed stutter. ''It's those feline curves of yours.'' ''SHUUUT UUUP!'' Kayla shouted with a blush, making Eiko burst into laughter once again. They just sat there for a while, glancing in the direction of the boys who weren't showing any signs of leaving. ''...so... you think he is looking at me?'' ''Probably. You are the cuter one, for sure. Besides, I've seen him look in your direction all week,'' Eiko told her and grinned, knowing that wasn't entirely true. Kayla lacked a lot of confidence when it came to boys, and since Eiko was too shy to ever act on on a boy's interest she figured Kayla might as well bask in the attention instead. She thought it was absolutely adorable how the normally loud and energetic Kayla could get so quiet and bashful at the mention of boys. ''Cuter...? Wait, no. Eiko, you're really cute. Like, one of the cutest girls in school,'' Kayla said and was about to go into a whole speech just as she stopped abruptly and just stared in the direction of the boys. Wondering what happened, Eiko looked over and froze as well; the group of boys were coming in their direction. ''Oh man oh man oh man oh man,'' the feline was repeating to herself. ''Calm down...'' Eiko told her and sighed, trying to mask the fact she was terrified herself. She had no clue how to talk to boys as a girl, not that she really had a clue in general anyway. They both just ended up standing there like two idiots as the boys came closer by the second. The taller boy, the one the other boys usually hung around, waved in their direction. Kayla threw her arm into the air and waved back, while Eiko gave a very tentative, small wave in return. Their reactions to the approaching group varied differently, even though they were both nervous. It was obvious that Kayla was super excited, while Eiko rather they didn't come closer. ''Yo girl!'' the head honcho called. ''Nice moves out there.'' He walked up to them both, but more or less ignored the fact that Kayla was there before stopping inches away from Eiko. Considering how much taller he was, Eiko was totally out of her element and felt intimidated by his height alone. ''I've seen you around the halls, totally dig your style. I'm Miles.'' For a moment Eiko just stood there, not sure whether or not she should even respond. Not only was she approached by a popular boy, but he commended her on her skills as an athlete and apparently liked her, so there was absolutely nothing she was familiar with in the situation. She glanced over at Kayla, hoping for some help, but Kayla was completely busy staring at one of the other boys, who was definitely looking back at her. Their expressions were very different though, one being infatuation and the other annoyance, and it pissed Eiko off giving her enough distraction from her own emotional state to finally act. ''I'm Eiko, this is Kayla,'' she told him and nudged her head towards her friend. ''I'm not that good, really. Only started playing last week, so I'm a completely newbie.'' ''Hey, that's cool. I'm on the football team, quarterback,'' he said, expecting her to know the significance of that, which she didn't. All she knew was that quarterbacks had this strange habit of becoming popular with the girls. ''We're playing on Friday, then having a party after. You should totally come watch and hang out!'' Eiko looked at him with a suspicious squint and thought for a second. ''Alcohol?'' ''Totally, brah! Don't worry though, my dad is paying so no need to bring your own.'' ''Nah, I'm good. I'll pass! I might catch your game though.'' Miles looked absolutely surprised. He hadn't expected her to turn down the party, no girl ever did, and he wasn't sure if he should be impressed with her integrity or be offended that she is a dork. For another minute or so he just stood there, thinking, before shrugging and turning to leave. ''See you at the game!'' Then he and his friends headed back towards the school. Kayla threw herself at Eiko almost immediately the second the others were out of earsight and began shaking her. ''Eiiiko, we've got to go to that party!'' ''Why? I don't want to go see them get drunk and stupid... Actually, I don't want to go to a crowded party at all.'' ''But come on! I've never been invited to a party before and I won't be allowed in there without you!'' ''I'm sure that's not t-'' ''It IS true! You're the popular girl, not me!'' Eiko just stared at her and looked absolutely baffled, then she started laughing. ''Me, popular? Did you hit your head or something?'' ''You may not see it yourself, but a lot of kid are looking at you as you walk by, and just as many are scared of even approaching you. You are popular because you are gorgeous and an absolute hermit.'' Again the puppy stared at her feline friend, wanting to laugh but the seriousness she saw in her friends eyes kept her from doing so. She thought for a minute as she watched boys move further and further away. Kayla was getting anxiously bouncy and annoying, so she finally caved with a loud sigh. ''Fine. FINE! We'll go. But I am not staying for long.'' She didn't give Kayla a chance to respond as she whistled as loud as she could to get the attention of the guys. ''OY! We'll come to the party too, both of us!'' she yelled, then almost immediately got a ''cool'' back. The guys kept walking and Kayla was giddy. ''There. Will you stop? You are making me all... giddy, too,'' she said and turned towards the locker rooms. ''Let's go. I am sure the other girls are done by now.''

The rest of the week was kind of annoying to Eiko. She tried to deny her excitement for the party; she'd always wanted to be included and now she was. However, she felt that she was being included for the wrong reasons and she wasn't sure how Kayla would fair with a crowd that found ''non-attractive'' people so undesirable. Nonetheless, Kayla did nothing but talk about the upcoming party and about what to wear and it was hard for Eiko to not get caught up in her excitement too. Things had changed at school for Eiko though, after finding out she was popular. She started look for people staring at her in the halls, trying to spot anyone that might think of her as popular and she found them. Actually, she found a lot and it made her uncomfortable. Suddenly she was in a spotlight she hadn't expected and that made her more of a recluse than before. Leaving the classroom as late as possible, taking longer routes and spending recess in the bathroom were all things she did just to avoid the staring eyes of her peers. She was just hoping that she could make that go away somehow, or at least have people at least talk to her instead of stare at her like some zoo animal. Then Friday came about...

The game went pretty smoothly. The school team won by huge margins and Miles was crowned the MVP by more or less everyone on the stands, and especially the cheerleaders. Eiko had personally never been very invested in football, but even she had enjoyed the game both from a personal standpoint and from a school spirit standpoint. She and Kayla had been sitting pretty far up in the audience, which made it painfully clear to her that others were openly avoiding her and either say by themselves or this other girl she didn't know, but had already pegged to be the school's diva. She didn't need her canine hearing to know that the hyena girl was trash talking her from down there to the flock of girls that had gathered around her. Apparently Eiko really was a threat to the school hierarchy and she couldn't help but to feel proud, even though she hated it. Being popular had been her dream for so long after all. It didn't make anything better when Miles, after the game ended, walked by the other girl who was clearly fawning over him and went straight for Eiko. ''Hey,'' he said and sat down on the side of Eiko opposite Kayla. ''How'd you like the game? Bitchin', huh?'' He was brimming with confidence and pride and Eiko couldn't help but agree that the game had been pretty sweet, especially when it came to Miles' performance. ''Totally bitchin','' she agreed, feeling awkward using such a term, before bumping knuckles with the guy. ''They weren't even close to catching you.'' ''Hah, I know right? Can't touch this bad boy!'' he said and chuckled, then nudged his head at her. ''What about you then, I bet no one can catch you on the field either. Just have to see in your game next week.'' Eiko raised an eyebrow, wondering where he'd heard about their game, but before she had a chance to ask him Kayla was going complete fangirl on her other side and she quickly understood who'd have snitched. As Kayla started praising Miles on his performance as well, he almost blatantly ignored her and began talking over her, specifically directed at Eiko. ''So, you comin' to the party later? My house, seven o'clock.'' As she nodded he grinned and stood up, did one of his 'cool' gestures and walked down the stands and hooked up with the other girl who was clearly having a jealous fit and starting interrogating him on why he had been talking to Eiko, which he seemed to just ignore. Once he and the flock of tick birds were out of sight she turned to Kayla. ''Hey, don't let him bother you,'' she said, still thinking about how Miles had completely blown Kayla off. However, the pudgy and energetic feline seemed none the wiser. ''Feel bad about what?'' she asked, still totally in awe about the fact the popular guy had been sitting two seats away from her. Eiko just sighed and shook her head. ''Nevermind, nevermind,'' she said and stood up to stretch. ''Well, we should get home and get ready. There is a party in two and a half hours and I need to shower and change clothes. You going home or coming with me?'' she asked and glanced down at the backpack Kayla had brought, suspecting the contents were several sets of clothes and some make-up. ''Coming with you... I need your input. I am so nervous about what I wear!'' she squealed excitedly, which just made Eiko smile at her and nod. ''Sure thing. God knows I need your input as well. I don't have much of anything, even less party wear.''

Even though they went straight home to Eiko they lost about half an hour, and in between their separate showers they were growing very short on time. With just twenty or so minutes to spare before they had to leave, Kayla was standing in front of the mirror with two dresses that she alternated holding up against her front. Eiko had already gotten dressed in a pretty light button-up shirt, one of her favorite pleat skirts and a pair of kneesocks, and was already in the process of applying some make-up to her eyes and her lips.

Kayla was huffing loudly, clearly trying to gain Eiko's attention. Eiko in turn was very specifically ignoring said huffs in order to focus on her own business. ''Eikoooo, loooook! Which one should I wear? The blue or the pink one?'' ''Uh, the black one,'' Eiko responded, still completely focused on her face in the mirror. ''You know, the one with a wide neckline and short sleeves. It complements your glasses and your hair.'' Kayla looked absolutely confused, as black hadn't even been an option in her mind. She let go of the dresses she was holding and 'tried' on the black one, tilted her head and hummed loudly for a moment. She tried it on properly, not even the slightest bit embarrassed about having been standing in her underwear around Eiko, who in turn had changed in the bathroom. Even though she changed around Kayla at school, she still chose privacy when possible. ''I'm telling you, just go with the black. We don't have much time anyway, and you'll look absolutely gorgeous.'' Eiko sounded stressed in her voice. ''Fine, fine,'' Kayla agreed as she pulled her head through the loop of the dress and evened it out over her body before looking into the mirror again. She posed and twirled a bit, then nodded. ''Yeah, this'll do.'' Eiko finally finished up her make-up, having given the front of her muzzle a little bit of a glow and her eyes more volume, then put on a cute little necklace of a pink butterfly which was her favorite one. She took her chance at the big mirror while Kayla was fumbling with her make up, and posed a bit as well. With a nervous sigh she nodded. ''This is as good as it'll get. I hope it's good enough,'' she said anxiously, looking at the time. ''Hey, we've got to leave!'' ''Okay, take a freakin' chill pill there, stressbug. I need to do my lashes and you need to look at yourself again and see just how perfect you look. Stop worrying, it'll be fine!'' Eiko sighed loudly and frustrated. ''Daaaaaaad! Can you give us a ride? I don't think we'll be done in tiiiime!'' The sudden yell startled Kayla, making her paint a white dot in her fur black instead. She groaned and went about removing it and redoing it. ''Daaa-'' she started yelling again when her door opened. ''Eiko, I've told you to not yell. Come find us if you need us. And sure, I can give you a ride. How long is this party going to be anyway? There is no alcohol right?'' ''Nooo, no alcohol. Don't worry. I don't know how long we'll be there.'' ''Call me if you need me, I'll come right away,'' he told her and smiled. ''Thanks daaaad... I love you.'' She hugged him tight and then shooed him away again, saying they were not entirely ready yet.

They managed to finish up in time knowing that they had a ride, and they both looked cute and gorgeous when they set off from the house. By the time they arrived they could tell they were actually a bit late, since the house was already crowded and a lot of kids were already hanging outside, holding bottles of beer. Eiko was hoping that her dad wouldn't notice, which he obviously did. After a minor argument in the car, she was finally allowed to leave so both she and Kayla got out of the car and headed into the backyard where most of the noise seemed to come from.

They could hear whistles and catcalling the second they stepped into the area, and both of them blushed. Even though they both knew it was probably meant for Eiko, Kayla still felt shy and bashful, and Eiko almost just froze on the spot. It didn't even take thirty seconds before Eiko had spotted Miles and he had spotted her. ''Yo, Eiko!'' he called over everyone and jogged up to her, beer in hand. ''Glad you could make it! Want a beer?'' ''Hey!'' she greeted him, trying to sound more enthusiastic than she felt. Despite the circumstances and her insecurities, she was absolutely, over the top overjoyed about the fact there was a guy all over her. ''Uh, got something less strong? Any brown pop at all?'' she asked him with the best smile she could muster. ''Sure thing, let me show ya,'' he said and wrapped his free arm over her shoulders and began leading her into the house. Meanwhile she looked over her shoulder at her friend, not sure whether to tell her to come along or to leave her. She'd been the one insisting on going after all, so she figured she'd be fine. Or at least she hoped. Besides, Kayla was gesturing for Eiko to go with a smile on her face. They went inside, where there were surprisingly few people. Most of the people were pairings of guys and girls, all standing or sitting in their own little places that offered even the slightest bit of privacy. Miles was leading her away from them though, and towards what she assumed was the kitchen. Lo and behold, the kitchen it was. He stopped by the fridge, opened it and pulled out a bottle that he popped the cap off and handed to her. ''Feel free to help yourself,'' he said and pointed at the fridge. ''There is plenty to drink.'' ''Thanks,'' she said and took a big sip of her coke. ''So, uh, you transferred to our school this year, right?'' ''Yep.'' ''Played at all on your old school's soccer team?'' ''Nah. Started this year, but I love it though!'' ''I believe ya, you're amazing out there with a ball at your feet. Never seen any of the girls play that well before.'' He got a bit closer and kind of walked around her so that she had to turn with him, almost forcing her back up against the wall. So far he didn't touch her or do anything forcibly, but it was clear he knew how to corner a girl and talk to them. Eiko was no exception as she fell for it. ''Oh, well, thanks! I'm looking forward to some games, but I don't think I'm that good,'' she said and laughed nervously, but felt pretty light hearted as he was smiling the entire time. As she was looking at him while they talked she slowly came to realize that he was actually really good looking. Before she'd never looked at him long enough to properly notice, but he was well built for a sixteen year old and he certainly fulfilled the qualifications of a jock. Miles, on the other hand, was looking at Eiko much in the same way. She wasn't toned, yet, but she had a slender body, perky breasts and a wonderfully framed face even for the standards of a biologically born girl. His eyes kept wandering to those lips of hers, glowing wondrously in the kitchen light thanks to her lip-gloss, and all he could think about was kissing them. He just had to press the right buttons and he'd get what he wanted. He knew which buttons too, as he'd pressed them so many times he couldn't count with all the other girls he'd fooled around with. In a way he thought Eiko was different though, and he couldn't figure out why. ''We'll just have to see when you're finally playing the other schools.'' He took a step closer, making her back up against the cupboard behind her, while never breaking eye contact with her. Eiko was getting flustered and was blushing quite a bit. The situation was so new and strange to her that she had no clue how to react. ''Y-you're right! We just have to wait and see. F-for now, uh, I think I should go see how Kayla is doing.'' ''Oh, that's a shame. I thought we were having a good time,'' he said and smiled brightly at her, while carefully and gently placed a few of his fingers against her cheek. They moved just slightly back and forth over her fur. Eiko swallowed nervously. ''Well, uh, yes. We are having a good time. I just, uhm, I just think I sho-''

He interrupted her by placing his index finger on her lips and then leaned in to kiss her. She didn't protest and ended up locking lips with him. His hand gently cupped the side of her face as they kissed, and she could feel herself melt into his touch. Before he had a chance to do anything, Eiko panicked. She realized what had happened and it was just too much for her, even though she had greatly enjoyed the kiss. ''Oookay, uhm...'' she began fidgeting, trying to find a way out. ''Great kiss that, but, uh, I gotta go check up on Kayla.'' Without giving him much chance to stop her, she just dodge out of his presence and went on a search for her best friend. She needed to brag about the kiss and ask what the hell to do, but she was also worried that her friend might not be having as good a time as she was. Soon she found her friend standing alone in the sidelines. Kayla was super sweet, but she was terrified of the crowd and hadn't really talked to anyone yet. Eiko ran up to her and pulled her aside properly before filling her in on what had happened. Then Kayla hung around Eiko for the remainder of the evening. They were actually having a good time until Kayla said she was getting tired and wanted to leave. ''You sure? I can call dad now if you'd like,'' Eiko said and looked at her friend. ''Yeaaah, it's not as exciting as I was hoping it'd be. If you want to stay we can stay though!'' Eiko thought for a minute and looked around. She was starting to feel pretty drained, and she kept catching Miles trying to separate her and Kayla, which she was both eager to do and not so eager to do. ''Alright, let's leave. Let me just go tell Miles, 'kay?'' Kayla smiled and tagged along as they went about finding Miles who, as suspected, wasn't far away from them. ''We're leaving. Thanks for inviting us, it was fun!'' ''Whaaaat? You're leaving?'' Miles asked disappointedly. ''Yeah, sorry. I am getting tired and Kayla want's to leave, so we're leaving. I'll see you on monday though.'' Miles sighed and shrugged, before giving her a hug followed by a very unexpected, public kiss. Eiko blushed and Miles let her go. Kayla was just staring with her mouth open, while the rest of the 'audience' seemed to pretty much play it off as a common occurrence. The girl from earlier that day, the hyena, wasn't looking too happy though. ''I thought you are your cow friend over there was leaving, so leave! No need to force yourself on Miles like that.'' ''Excuse me?'' said Eiko, not sure what to be the most angry about. ''I said, you should just take your fat cow friend, leave, and not bother Miles!'' ''Bother? He is the one kissing me. And who are you calling a fat cow? Take it back!'' ''Bitch please, as if. She doesn't belong here, and neither does your slutty ass. Just go!'' Eiko was getting visibly angry and turned around to look at Kayla, who seemed to almost be in denial about the whole situation. ''Take. It. Back. NOW!'' ''Why should I? Look at her. It's not as if I was lying. And that black dress ain't helping either. Jeez, think about others before you dress will ya?'' Eiko heard Kayla tear up behind her. She saw red as she looked at the Hyena girl, and balled her fist. As she was throwing a punch at the hyena, who looked terrified, Miles interfered and stopped Eiko. ''Not cool! Don't punch her!'' ''She is being a complete dick to my friend!'' ''At least she's not hitting her,'' he said and took a firm grip of Eiko's wrist. Eiko didn't even respond. She just gave him a swift kick in between his legs and pulled her arm free as he keeled over. ''Don't bother talking to me again. I want nothing to do with you or your group of morons,'' she yelled and turned around in one swift motion before grabbing onto the crying Kayla's hand and stomped out past the house and onto the street. ''FUCK!'' she cursed out loudly once they were away from the house. She let go of Kayla's hand and reached into her purse to fish out her phone, quickly dialing up her dad's number. It took her less than a minute to get her dad rushing their way. Meanwhile she put her hand on Kayla's back and began leading her up the street away from the house, eventually meeting up with the car.

The evening ended in disaster. Kayla was crying really hard and Eiko was sitting next to her in the backseat of the car rubbing her back and hugging her as tightly as she could. They both spent the night at Eiko's house, and spent most of the following morning trying to not mention the horrible party or the fact that they'd be in loads of trouble come monday morning at school. They'd have to make due though, they'd just have to make due.

-That's it for chapter three. Longer than the other ones, but I tried to shorten it a bit. The next chapter will be about the following week after the party, so stay tuned!-