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Keeping Secrets

Cameron had a small smile on his lips as he enjoyed Justin's company on the way back from the nurse's office. He didn't expect to see him -or anyone for that matter- since he decided to go by himself, but it was nice all the same.

Normally he would have had Damien to accompany him. Not just for the sake of having someone to talk to, but for protection as well. For a long time, he kept this one aspect about himself from prying eyes, save for two people in his life and he was going to let things stay that way.

"Hey, you alright?" Justin inquired with the beginnings of a frown, breaking the cheetah from his train of thought. "We're here already. You have your note?"

"Yeah." He dug out the small slip of paper and held it up for a moment before putting his arm down to the side. Getting a satisfied nod, he watched the panda place a paw upon the door, ready to turn it when suddenly, he cleared his throat and averted his gaze.

"Huh?" Justin perked his ears, whipping his head around with a raised brow. "Did you say something?"

A hard blush began to settle on Cameron's cheeks as he struggled to find the right words to apologize. He wasn't very good at it. "Yeah, I did. Umm..." he stuttered, trying not to make things awkward but failing miserably.

Although confused by this, Justin patiently waited to hear what the cheetah had to say, all the while smiling a genuine smile. "Take your time."

'Damn it all...the mutt makes this look so easy!' He thought, screaming internally as he continued to struggle. Why was everyone else better at this, but not him? Finally having enough of stalling, he huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Look, I didn't mean to...you know...ugh, I didn't mean any of it, okay?"

"What? What are you..." The panda narrowed his eyes, the gears in his mind turning for a moment before realizing what was being said. "Oh! It's okay, I forgive you." He moved away from the door to give him a hug.

In that moment, Cameron's body froze and his muscles tensed, not at all used to physical affection like this. He fought his instincts on pushing away like he used to. Instead he simply stood there, embracing the warmth, though not exactly sure what to do. His cheeks were warm before, but now they were really hot. "Uhh...yeah..."

He didn't understand why or how, but Justin felt...different, and in a good way. He was never annoyed by him or felt the need to get him off his back. From the moment the three of them met, he wasn't sure how to feel about him, but after being around him for a little while, he just grew on him.

Letting go and still smiling, Justin went back to the door and opened it, letting them both inside. "We're back," he announced and handed his note to Mr. Klowksi, then sat down in his seat.

Following suit, the cheetah noticed how everyone had their things packed in their bags and there were no papers on anyone's desks, telling him that the quiz was over. Lunch was about to arrive, something he always looked forward to every day. Sitting down, he frowned slightly at the worried look that was plastered on Damien's face. "What?"

"How did it go? Was everything okay?" He inquired, making the cheetah sigh softly.

"If things didn't go well, I wouldn't be here, now would I? Don't ask stupid questions." Cameron said with a roll of his eyes, then slowly smiled at the flat panned expression that was received.

"Well I'm glad you're okay and made it back safe and sound." Damien said, smiling his usual goofy smile like he always did.

"You're worrying too much, but thanks. The halls were empty and I had Justin with me so if anything were to happen, there would have been a witness." He explained, happy that this calmed the husky down.

Not saying anything more on the subject, Damien had a knowing look in his eyes, something the cheetah easily noticed and shook his head. The husky smiled after giving a small nod and stretched his arms high above his head. "Ah, that feels good...so what took you two so long?"

Justin sheepishly scratched the back of his head, chuckling. "Sorry about that. The nurse seemed to recognize me and talked up a storm." He sighed softly, looking somewhat disappointed. "Of course, I don't even remember anything about her since I was a cub."

Damien slowly reached out and gently placed a paw on the panda's shoulder, making him look up in shock. "Hey, don't look so down about it. You two got to see each other again, so this time you'll make even more memories."

Hearing this made Justin's smile grow wider and seem to give off more warmth. "Thanks, Damien. You're right, I shouldn't be feeling bad and instead cherish the ones I will make."

The two of them stayed like that, gazing into each other's eyes, happy and in the moment. Cameron was about to destroy the mood just to get some giggles, but the bell beat him to it. "Finally! Come on you two, quit making out with your eyes and move your feet."

Both boys became flustered and quickly grabbed their things before heading out into the hall. As the cheetah joined them, they set off towards the cafeteria.

Having reached their destination in less than five minutes, the trio got in line, picked their food and sat down at the usual spot where everyone was. Naturally conversation picked up again.

"So what's the deal between you and Kota anyway, Xun?" Jake asked in between bites of his sandwich. "It seems to me that you two have quite the history."

Cameron's ears perked at the mention of the grizzly who gave him a pass to the nurse's office earlier. He had no idea what to feel about him, other than being cautious since he did appear to bully a lot of people who even so much as looked at him wrong.

This intrigued him, as did everyone else with all of their eyes trained on the panda. How did the two of them meet and why the hatred towards one another? Surely there had to be a reason, if there was one.

"Well..." Xun began with a shrug, "I don't really know." He laughed at the jack slawed expressions everyone had. "I'm serious! He never really told me why he came after me so much, and it wasn't like I was going to politely ask. Or get an answer for that matter."

"Such a letdown..." Damien muttered and crossed his arms over his chest, pouting like a child who got coal for christmas instead of toys. "I was hoping for a good backstory."

"I'll have to agree with mutt brain here." Cameron sighed with a small shake of the head. He was sort of excited. "So if that's the case, when did all of this start?"

"Hmm, since elementary." The panda answered with another shrug. "One day he just decides to pick on me and, knowing myself, I fought back. He didn't like that very much and kept at it since."

Rowen cupped his chin, contemplating something, then opened his mouth to speak. "I believe there is a reason why you two are at each other's throats a lot."

Xun raised a brow. "What makes you say that?"

"Well think about it," the lion continued and motioned a paw towards Cameron, "you were really upset when he was near our friend here."

"But that's how he always is." Gwen piped up with a smile after nursing her drink. "Protecting people is just in his blood."

"Ah, I understand now...that's precisely the point why the two clashed." Jake said, nodding in full agreement to what was stated.

"I can't argue with you there." Xun chuckled, looking bashful as he scratched his cheek, then suddenly held up a paw and a finger. "I just remembered what I did that pissed Kota off years ago! He was picking on Rowen and I stepped in and kicked his ass."

In that instant, there was a symphony of "awwww's" around the table -save for Cameron-, making Rowen blush hard under his fur in embarrassment. "Oh, cut it out." He grumbled under his breath.

Justin laughed, getting a venomous glare for it. "I'm sorry, but that's really adorable. It just shows you two were made for each other."

Damien nodded and gazed at the young panda, his blue eyes dancing in joy and tail wagging fast. "That'll be us too?" His tone indicated he was being hopeful, and after receiving a nod, the wagging picked up speed.

'Hopeless romantic.' Cameron shook his head and simply listened in on as the conversation carried. He wasn't all that interested today, which was fine with him. As he began to finish the last of his lunch, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Kota was chatting with a Gorilla and a Kangaroo. 'Huh, so he does have friends. Nice.'

With that thought in mind, the bell had rung and everyone said their goodbyes, heading to their next class.

~ ~ ~

Jake moved with the flow of students, his mind wandering and body going on autopilot. He honestly didn't want to go to class, mainly because the teacher he has is such a major bitch. It was like she hated smart people and would do anything to fail them. "I wish I had a different teacher..." he muttered with a heavy sigh and hung his head low.

Being like this, he failed to notice someone coming up from behind until the feeling of two fingers sliding up his neck brought him to whirl around in the blink of an eye. "Haha! Sorry, Jacob. Wanted to cheer you up."

In front of Jake was a bull terrier who stood well over six foot and had an athletic body, though appearing lean thanks to the uniform they all had to wear. His facial features were easy on the eyes and his smile could light up the room. Friendly by nature, but can pack quite a punch if anyone were to get him riled up.

"Hey, Marcus." The shepherd greeted as he began to relax from the mini scare and continued walking the halls with him close by. "And don't call me that! I told you, it sounds too formal. I don't like it."

"Fine, Jaaaake." He drawled, letting out a giggle from the glare he was getting. "So, what you got planned for Ms. Tightwad this time? The usual?"

"If you mean me being a smart ass just to royally piss her off and threaten me with suspension, then the answer is a maybe." The canine replied, smiling as he heard his friend chuckle. "But no, I might actually be a good boy and do my best to keep away from her wrath."

Marcus snorted and rolled his eyes, more than likely believing that would never happen as long as he lived. "Good luck with that. She never liked you since day one."

Jake shrugged. "I can always try. And even then, I never really cared what she thought of me." He let out a soft sigh, then looked up at the other canine, looking slightly annoyed. "Honestly though, I don't know how you get away with it. I mean, you do more outrageous things and she bats an eye!"

The bull terrier gave an apologetic smile. "I don't know. Maybe she has a thing for young studs that have a charming smile?"

"Yeah, she sure does." He replied in a flat tone and picked up speed, ignoring the booming laughter that echoed through the halls. "Come on, hurry up or she'll tear off my head!"

With that, the terrier grew serious and the two of them made it on time to their class and sat in their seats. It was English, a subject that Jake loved almost more than history. Well, he would have enjoyed it if it weren't for Ms. Thatcher trying to ruin his mood at any given moment.

She was a female otter in her early forties, always looking grumpy like she hadn't had a decent life while growing up. Although in her case, it could have been a series of unfortunate events. Her age definitely showed due to obvious wrinkles, but no one dared to say that to her face or else they would get punished.

Jake never understood why she went after him on the first day of school and more than likely he'll never get an answer. This was one of the many reasons he didn't like her and what made it worse is that he wasn't the only target. Their were several others under her radar. "God, I hope this class goes quick..." he grumbled silently to himself, hoping the otter didn't catch what he said.

Lucky for him, that didn't happen as the bell rang, its sound blaring just loud enough to almost make it seem he was simply mouthing silently to himself. As the noise died down, Ms. Thatcher gazed around the classroom and then nodded before clearing her throat. "Alright, as you all know, there is a quiz today." She stated and closed her eyes as the classroom quickly became filled with moans and groans.

The Australian shepherd grinned, for he studied and remembered everything that was taught days before this even came up. He was definitely going to ace this. His smile faltered however as he noticed Marcus hanging his head. "Did you not study?"

"I kind of forgot about it to be honest." Marcus replied with a heavy sigh and slowly slumped onto his desk. "I want to die..."

"You know, I would feel sympathy, but you've had a whole week to prepare." Jake remarked, ignoring the glare that was sent his way.

"That is enough!" Ms. Thatcher shouted, the classroom becoming silent once more. With a satisfied nod, she picked up a handful of papers from her desk before coming around to pass them out. "This is mostly multiple choice. There are some fill in the blank questions for input, and if I catch any of you cheating, you will fail. Any questions?"

No one raised paws, only waiting for this to be over with. After a few seconds had pass did she move from row to row, giving out all the papers she had in hand before coming back to her desk and sitting down.

Without any hesitation, Jake already began flipping through pages and jotting down his answers. Normally he would have held back on finishing things like this so fast because it would have made other students jealous, but right now he didn't care. As he finished the last question and put his pencil down, a sudden image flashed into his mind's eye.

It was too blurry to make out, but he swore he saw what appeared to be bloodied claws and fangs. Before he could even try to see if there was any other distinction to what it was, the image quickly vanished and the voices started.

"It's coming...be on your guard." A strong, masculine voice had said in hushed tones.

"This creature seems familiar." Another spoke, this one sounding feminine and intelligent.

"What is that?" A high, squeaky voice chirped, adding into the mix.

Remaining calm so as not to draw attention to himself, Jake slowly closed his eyes and deeply breathed in and out, ignoring the growing cacophony. This went on for awhile until finally, the voices died down and all was silent.

He let out a soft sigh before opening his eyes, his brows furrowed in concentration. Something was coming, and moving fast. Whatever it was that he took a momentary glimpse of, it looked very dangerous.

"Hey, are you alright? Everything okay?" Marcus whispered, having noticed how disgruntled the shepherd looked.

Being broken from his train of thought, Jake glanced over to the bull terrier and nodded. "I'm fine. I just have a bad feeling right now."

Marcus tilted his head in confusion. "Well, what's up?"

"I don't know. Probably just bad nerves or something. You should finish your quiz though." He gave a curt nod at the unfinished work, prompting his friend to continue.

"Fiiine..." The bull terrier grumbled and went back to his work without further argument.

Jake smiled softly before his brows furrowed again and his gaze traveled over to a clock in the room, hoping for time to go by faster. There were many questions that were burning in his mind, but the one that stuck out was the probability of the bracelet being involved. Would this creature go after Xun or someone else? 'Whoever it will target, I hope I won't be too late.'

~ ~ ~

Damien slumped in his seat, a groan escaping him as he waited for class to end. It was math; a subject he never liked and always struggled with. Sure, he could do simple addition and subtraction, even multiplication, but when it came to things like algebra is when he'll fall flat. What was even worse to him is that Justin wasn't even in this period.

"You do this every time." Cameron said with a shake of his head, the snark never letting up for anything. "You're not going to die just because you're not near him."

"But I need to be close to Justin!" The husky whined, causing his friend to scoff and roll his eyes. He knew this was getting annoying but what could he do? The panda made his heart soar whenever he saw him or heard his laughter. Being around him filled him with much happiness.

"Gods you're such a lovesick mutt." Cameron remarked, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm going to feel so sorry for him when you two do end up dating."

Damien stuck out his tongue like a child for that comment, then sat up in his seat to cross his arms over his chest. "You're so mean..."

"Only when you either do stupid things or say something stupid, like now." The cheetah replied, a small smile coming on from a venomous glare he was getting. "Not my fault that you do this on a daily basis."

Still glowering, he decided not to retort and instead look up at the clock. It was almost time for last period to begin and he could see his potential lover. Most importantly, it signified for today to end as he couldn't stand anymore quizzes. He could honestly feel his brain melting from each one he took and it was all painful.

What made it worse was that each time, Cameron had given him the "I told you so" spiel, telling him it would have gone great if he had studied. But he wasn't the type to do that, it was more video games and practicing his magic.

Suddenly his musings were interrupted by the sound of the bell. With a stretch of his stiff muscles and wag of his tail, Damien grabbed his items and headed out into the hall, but not before saying farewell to Mr. Rockwell, who was a snow leopard in his mid thirties.

"All that's left now is our elective." Cameron said once he joined the husky in the halls.

"Yup! Although I still find it weird how all three of us have the same thing." Damien chuckled, remembering how the three of them had culinary arts and with him being the only one terrible at cooking.

"It happens. I just hope you don't--" Whatever else the cheetah was going to say, came up short as one of his ears flicked at the sound of a message coming through.

Confused, Damien reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone. Indeed, someone had messaged him while he was still in school. As he checked and read through the contents, his mood began to rapidly drop. Soon, his ears lay flat upon his skull and his tail drooped.

Sensing the quick change of atmosphere, Cameron slowly and gently placed a paw on his shoulder, his brows furrowed in concern. "When are they coming home?"

"Tomorrow..." He replied, his eyes cast down to the ground after putting his phone back in his pocket.

"I see...I know I've told you before, but--"

"No! Where would I even go if that happened?"

"With me and my family."

"Not happening, I told you that already."

Heaving a heavy sigh, the cheetah looked Damien straight in the eye, his expression serious. "And keeping this up is any better? You and me both know how much those two abuse you. This needs to stop."

There was no reply. Damien knew he was right, and as much as he wanted to do something about it, he just couldn't. The two people that were mentioned are his parents, Shane and Beth Rose. They never treated him right the moment he could walk and talk, and more than likely never will.

It was never a happy moment when he was around them, always either getting hit by his father or getting yelled at by his mother. They wanted a son that was perfect, not an abomination like himself. Many times he was called that throughout the years growing up, and it still hurts on the inside. One of the many reasons why he is the way he is now.

One day in middle school, Cameron had him confess to what was going on, but only to him as he had noticed the husky always wearing long sleeved shirts. Quite a few times did his friend try to get child protection services involved, but he begged for him not do to it. And it was because his parents drilled it into his head that he'll be put in a filthy foster home and would never be adopted. As of now, Cameron is the only one who knows of this and was keeping it secret from anyone else.

"I'll be fine, okay? They won't kill me." Damien giggled mirthlessly and looked up to see the cheetah not laughing with him.

"Of course they won't, they're not stupid. But this can't be hidden forever. Eventually, the truth will come out." Cameron huffed and started to walk after grabbing his arm and pulling. "But let's not dwell on that or we'll be late. Plus, he's coming. Right now."

Hearing that, Damien's eyes widened and quickly shifted his mood back to normal just before Justin came up to them, all smiles and giggles. "Hey, what's up? Ready for me to burn some more stuff?"

The panda face-pawed and shook his head, but never losing his smile. "We keep telling you to read the instructions. Baking cookies shouldn't even be that hard to do, yet somehow you make that possible."

Cameron scoffed and rolled his eyes. "And among other things. Really though, we should get to class so move your feet you two!" He ordered and walked, not even waiting for them as usual.

Both boys looked at each other, then shrugged before following him into class. Chatter amongst them was lively as always, something that was appreciated every time. It didn't take long for them to arrive and sit down in their assigned seats.

The teacher, Mr. Dorin, was a kind Marten in their early thirties who really loved to teach students on how to cook. It was his specialty and he enjoyed going through the steps to make sure everyone loved it. Once the room filled up and the bell rang, he started on his lesson.

"How the hells do some people find this easy or comforting?" Damien growled as he stirred a bowl filled with cake batter, making a complete mess of himself and the work table.

"Look, I'll help you." Justin set his own bowl down and came over to stand beside the husky and grasped the spoon, his paws clasping over the other. "You shouldn't go too fast or else you'll do exactly what you did, which is make a mess."

Anything else that was being explained was lost to him the moment they made physical contact like this. His heartbeat began to pump faster, paws slowly getting sweaty and his tail wagged at hyper speed. All the while simply nodding at whatever he heard that was pure nonsense to his ears.

Cameron placed a paw on his hip, shaking his head. "You shouldn't have done that. Now he can't focus."

Justin shrugged in reply, not at all seeming to care. "I know, which is why I'm going to do this again when he does come back to reality."

"You're too nice." He remarked while stirring his own batter before pouring it onto the pan.

"Yeah, but someone has to look out for others, ya know?" The panda replied, giggling when he saw how flustered Damien was getting. "I hope you can handle the rest by yourself."

"Huh? Wha?" He stammered, then furiously shook his head. "No, I need your tutoring! I'm horrible at this!"

"I'm sorry, but I really need to use the restroom. I'll be back." Justin placed a finger on a nearby book and tapped on it three times.

Damien huffed, the beginnings of a pout coming on. "Fine, but you better hurry back or I'll burn this whole class down."

With that said, the panda went over to Mr. Dorin and got a hall pass before leaving the room. The lesson commenced, however somewhat slowly for Damien to catch up. Surprisingly enough, he was doing well this time around.

"I'm shocked," Cameron said as he watched Damien's progress with a raised brow. "Usually you would give up or have something burnt."

"I know, right? I see why people like doing this! But I won't really do much once I finish this class after this year is over with." He said, idly scratching his cheek and avoiding the flat stare from his friend.

"You're a disgrace, remember that." Cameron huffed, then furrowed his brow as he looked up at a clock on the wall. "It's been awhile since he's been in there though. Way over thirty minutes."

"Duty calls?" Damien shrugged before growing serious, cupping his chin in thought. "You're right however. Something feels off, and I'm not sure what. I'll go--"

The cheetah shook his head. "Both of us will."

There was no use in protesting, so with a nod, the two of them requested to use the bathroom. After receiving their passes, they quickly set off to their destination. Down the halls they went, their steps going at full haste.

Just as they reached one that was nearby, Damien opened the door without hesitation and went inside, calling out to him but there was no answer.

"Probably went to a different one?" Cameron suggested.

"I doubt it since this one is near our class and even then, it's the last period. Not a lot of students are out and about." Damien took out his phone after exiting and sent a text, then waited. Five minutes passed, then fifteen and still no response. "Something is definitely wrong here..."

"You don't think he got...kidnapped, do you?" The cheetah asked, bringing out one of the husky's worst case scenario.

"Don't say that!" He snapped, his body beginning to shake and rage swelling inside of him. "He has to be here somewhere. But if that is the case, I swear I'm going to make whoever took him pay a thousandfold."

Cameron didn't comment on that, though his eyes did show that he was angry as well. Suddenly he held up a paw before opening it up, showing the school's pin. "I investigated a little and picked it up when you left. This was left here on purpose."

Damien stared at the item in shock, then shook his head. "We need to tell Xun!"

~ ~ ~

"No"

"Yes"

"Not happening, James."

"Aww come on, Yin-Yang! It's just one drawing. Besides, it counts as a grade and you don't wanna fail, do you?" James grinned, his arrogance and cocky attitude so apparent it could make anyone sick.

Xun's left eye twitched slightly. He could never have predicted this to happen, not in a million years. He had gotten paired up with the cougar for a portrait assignment. Basically draw the person that was sitting in front of you to the best of your ability. At first he was excited to show off his improvement, then all of that shattered when Mr. Stone announced the pairings.

If things went his way, he would have chosen a different partner, anyone, even Kota if the gods were willing. Yet here he had to be, stuck to deal with the most annoying nuisance on earth. And what was said was true, for this was graded which made things worse.

"If this weren't graded, I would draw the most ugliest representation of you." Xun growled low enough so the teacher wouldn't hear him.

"And I would still love it. Why? Because you were thinking of this sexy devil right here." James replied, chuckling at the seething rage that was coming forth.

"Can we please just get this over with?" He said through clenched teeth, a pencil in one of his paws looking ready to crack at any moment. A sigh of relief came after getting a nod of confirmation. Hoping that the other would behave long enough, he lifted up the pencil, straightened his sketchpad and got to work.

Several minutes went by, the two of them looking up occasionally so as not to miss any significant detail. There were times where one had to stay completely still, but things went smoothly. Well, it would probably would have gone better if not for everyone staring at them like they were celebrities.

After for what felt like eternity, it was finally over, both furs laying their items on their laps. The crowd waited in anticipation, something Xun really didn't like but couldn't do anything about so he grinned and bared it.

James was practically bouncing in his seat, excited to see what the panda drew. "Come on, show yours first! Let's all see how good you are at capturing my image."

Xun stared flatly at the cougar for a moment before grabbing his sketchpad and holding it up for all eyes to see. It wasn't really anything special, just the cougar's face, but as expected, there were cheers and encouragement, along with some jealous glares. "There, happy now?"

"Perfect..." The cougar whispered, wiping away a non-existent tear and then held up his own item, shocking everyone, including Xun.

Being displayed was his face, but there were roses about on each corner and he had him smiling, something he wasn't even doing while this went on. The glares he had before intensified, almost pinning him down on the spot.

"Wonderful pieces, the both of you!" Mr. Stone said, clapping a few times as he got out of his seat to appear between the two. "I'll gladly put these on a display case if you wish for me to."

"Of course! I want everyone to see just how much I appreciate my friend here." James happily offered up his sketchpad and winked at the panda.

"I'll politely decline, sorry." Xun gave an apologetic smile toward the middle aged rhino, hoping that his decision didn't dampen his spirits.

"Are you sure? This is such a well drawn portrait." His voice sounded sad, but he let out a soft sigh and gave a curt nod. "If you really don't want to, that's fine with me, but I hate to see such potential not be shared to the eyes of the public."

Xun shook his head, he was not going to let anyone see this. "I'm sure, Mr. Stone. It's just I'd rather keep this so I...can...look back on this and see how much I've improved in the future." He smiled, hoping it was a good enough cover so as not for anyone to assume anything outrageous.

Thankfully it worked, for the students appeared dejected and swiftly went back to their seats, all of them grumbling under their breath. Sadly it had no effect on James, as he just smiled like nothing happened.

Mr. Stone nodded in understanding. "That is perfectly fine, Xun. Sometimes I forget that a beginning artist needs this in their hearts and minds. So I thank you. As for your grades, I'm giving you both an A plus."

Sweet!" James shouted, raising both paws in the air and standing up, then quickly sitting down.

"Thank you, I was happy to participate." Xun replied, giving a half bow and then packing up his things as it was almost time for school to end. "So glad I'll be able to be away from him finally..."

Just as he finished doing so, the final bell rang and everyone rushed out into the halls to go outside. However, the cougar wasn't one of the many as he stayed nearby.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to do anything to you...yet." James giggled, almost purring in delight.

"You...do know that sounds like a threat, right?" He said, raising a brow and gauging his body to see what he would do as they made their way to the courtyard. "So what do you want?"

"To go out with me." The cougar replied, his expression serious.

In Xun's mind, a record needle scratched. "I'm sorry, what? You saw what happened earlier. You heard what Rowen said! Why are you trying so hard to push it?"

James rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "Because I like you a lot, duh. And just because this kitten says he's yours doesn't mean I'll simply go away. I'm not giving up."

A groan of frustration left the panda as he face-pawed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He tried being nice, tried being mean and both options didn't work. What will it take to get this guy off his back, he had no idea. But just as he was about to lay him out, his phone vibrates. Curious to see who was calling, he took out his phone and saw it was his father. 'That's odd...he rarely does that. Wonder what he wants.'

"Go ahead and answer. I can wait." James said when Xun glanced over to him with a knowing look.

Without any hesitation, Xun answered. "Hello?"

"Xun! I'm glad you answered! There's something I've been wanting to talk to you about...something important." David said, his tone sounding very serious, almost sad even.

"Umm, sure, what's up? Are you okay?" He asked, his brows furrowing in worry and concern. Wanting some privacy, he turned his back on James and walked a few steps.

"I'm perfectly fine, son. Look, it's...about you...about us..." A heavy sigh could be heard over the phone.

"What do you mean?" Xun was starting to get worried. Did he do something wrong? Was their mother alright? A million questions were starting to enter his mind, but he waited patiently to hear what David had to say.

"You--"

"Xun!" Damien shouted, grabbing the panda's attention and the rest of the group as they came by. "Justin's been kidnapped!"