All's Fair - Part 3
#3 of All's Fair
The story's main character is bi, so don't read if you don't want to. As ever, your thoughts and criticism are welcome so that I can get better.
Thanks for reading!
- Xi
All's Fair - Part 3
Fridays should be banned. Everyone thinks they're allowed to be a little wild on Fridays, because the weekend is coming - as if they need a reason, and couldn't be otherwise. Composition was fantastic, because no one dared release that exuberance. I gave the professor a tentative smile as we left, then quickly ducked my head and left before I saw his reaction.
No such luck in mathematics; the old wolf in charge seemed nearly as restless as the students. I put my head in my paws while I waited for her to call some semblance of order, running my fingers through the fur and lightly grabbing my ears. Then someone gave me a hard poke in the back.
I whirled in my seat fast enough to grab the offending claw before it could retreat, twisting cruelly before I saw that it belonged to that wolf again. I hadn't noticed that he was in this class too; briefly I wondered if I was ahead or if he was behind. Then something else occurred to me and I grinned at him, panting, and released his finger; turned back to the front, ignoring his transition from mocking to puzzled.
I could barely contain myself until lunch. I know I got a few odd looks as I ran out of the classroom and through the halls after the bell, but mostly I was just glad it had finally rung; I'd have left much sooner had I not known that no one would be in the cafeteria until after.
It's hardly difficult to tell where the three main gangs in the school sit, though I couldn't tell you how I told. But they're quite plain, with neutral territory filled by the unaffiliated students. The lion sat with one of them, and I slid my tray next to his before anyone took the spot. I pressed as close to him as I could - I'm a lefty, so as long as I stayed on his left the contact wouldn't keep either of us from eating. That damn uniform was in the way, but the touch of his bare arm-fur on my face and the muscles beneath the cloth of his shirt made me wish I could purr.
Pure shock kept my lion and everyone else at the table from doing anything for a full five seconds, and I grinned happily against his shirt. The difficulty of hitting someone pressed that close to you bought me a little while longer before he shoved me away and grabbed my throat. The muscles on his arms tensed beautifully as he lifted me a few inches off the bench, and his claws punched little spots of crimson into my neck. "What the fuck do you think you're doing, asshole?" he snarled loudly, tightening his grip. But a hyena across the table made a shushing gesture, glancing pointedly at the security guards stationed by a wall nearby. My lion set me down, his topaz eyes reading like a death warrant.
I caught his paw before he pulled it away, holding it against my collarbone. "I kind of like you," I explained, smiling at him. Several furs at the table snickered while he stared dumbfounded. I slid back against him and nuzzled under his jaw, licking his fur gently.
I'd have kissed him again too, but he pushed me away again. For a moment he stared at me, mouth working furiously while his claws flexed on my arms. Then he put on a smile that looked truly painful. "Let's go outside," he said through gritted teeth. A bunch of furs laughed, making him snarl again, but I stood up obediently and waited for him.
"All right," I replied.
I'm not stupid; I knew that he hardly wanted the privacy to express his affections. But that was fine. I slipped my paw into his while we walked out of the cafeteria; he jerked it away, but I kept at it until he let me. Grimly he led me straight for the back of the building. Once we were well back into the shadows behind the dumpster from Monday,, he slammed me against the wall, dragging me up the brick by my neck while I shut my eyes and smiled at him, tilting my head back as my paws left the gravel. "Now I swear I'm gonna -" he snarled, but was interrupted by a voice from the daylight.
"Hey, guys." We both jerked our heads towards the noise - he much more effectively than I until he dropped me. It was the wolf. Again. "What's up?"
"What're you doing here?" my lion and I both asked - he growling, me shouting hoarsely.
Both of the others turned to stare at me. "I'm saving your tail, mutt," the wolf said at last.
My lion had turned his attention back to our opponent. "If you know what's good for you you'll clear the fuck out of here," he snarled. The wolf snorted his scorn, planted his feet, and pulled his shoulders back as if in invitation.
The silence stretched out for a while as I wondered if this was what had happened on Wednesday as well, then the lion gave a strangled roar of furious annoyance and stalked back to the cafeteria, passing several feet to the wolf's side. I tried to follow, but as I passed the wolf he grabbed my arm.
I didn't bother warning him; I just spun and kicked at his kidney.
The ground slammed into me before I quite knew I was airborne. Thankfully my body was a little ahead of me, and I caught myself partly on my arms instead of my face. Note the partly - the gravel still scraped the underside of my jaw and bashed my chest, so that my rib screamed. I yelped loudly, then clamped my jaws together and lay there winded for a bit. When I finally rolled over and sat up, I found him squatting a few feet away and ranting.
"...death whish?! I knew you were an idiot, but good God, mutt, you must honestly want him to kill you!" He stopped, glaring at me and panting while I placed a paw over my rib, making sure it was still in place and waiting for the pain to stop.
"Leave me alone," I muttered. "I knew what I was doing." I looked up and glared right back at him.
He gawked. "You've got to be kidding. I dunno what you take me for, but I am not about to let you get yourself killed after the work I've put into you already. You keep away from that guy, hear me?"
"Get the fuck out of my business!" I half-shouted at him, getting to my feet and staggering back to the front of the building. Behind me he muttered something unitelligible, which sounded distinctly uncomplimentary.
Eventually I found my lion again, talking with the hyena and a couple oxen. I walked up and leaned against his side, inhaling his musky scent. For one second he looked ready for murder while the hyena gawked at me and the oxen laughed, but then the wolf joined the group. "Damn it, what part of 'go away' is so hard for you?" I demanded.
The bell rang before he could answer, and the group started breaking up. "Looks like I get the pleasure of your company until you can get rid of this moron," the wolf said sarcastically to my lion. The latter looked skyward and growled in sheer frustration.
I decided to ignore the wolf. "I have a free period right now, if you want to do something..." I offered, looking up at my lion.
"Go to hell, fag," he answered roughly, shoving me away and walking to one of the buildings.
I was dejected for a minute, but then I perked up. "Hey - what's your name?" I shouted after his retreating back. He flipped me off.
"His name is Ivan," the wolf said behind me.
"I didn't ask you," I growled.
- : -
Two weeks later we'd settled into a pattern of sorts. Ivan's friends had mostly gotten used to having me at lunch, because they couldn't very well get ri of me. My handlers at the correction center worried about me because I kept coming home with bruises. I didn't get any more broken bones, though, because Jake - that's the wolf's name - was making a point of hanging around me. A couple of my bruises were from him when I tried to make him buzz off. The gang was used to him, too, as an enemy they could occasionally laugh with, occasionally hate. I don't know what kept them from taking him down during the latter. His girlfriend Amy hated me. Ivan's girlfriend Jessica liked me, at least as long as Ivan didn't.
Todd caught me on my way out the door after composition. "Hey, Nick," he grinned. I tossed my head and grinned back. "You want to come out for a movie with Becky and me after school?"
"Sure," I answered, nodding.
Todd saw my seating companion leaving the classroom and touched her arm. "How 'bout you, Claire? We're going to see a movie after school; d'you want to come?"
"No, thanks," she answered, looking at me. I laughed and leaned back on the air playfully.
"You sure? We'd love to have you," Todd wheedled, mock-glaring at me and giving me a shove so that I staggered back a step.
Claire looked uncertain, then shrugged and nodded slowly. "Sure... okay, I guess." She smiled and walked away for her next class.
Todd shook his finger and looked at me sternly. "You - behave, young man!"
I grinned at him, forcing a return grin, and danced back through the milling crowd. "See you!" I called as I trotted around the bend. Once around it, I suddenly wanted to be on the roof. I hadn't been able to climb lately while my rib healed. It was getting better, but I wasn't quite there yet. The center was overjoyed. Whirling, I slammed my fist into a locker, ignoring the crash, and collapesed against it, resting my forehed against the cool metal. After a minute I pulled myself together and walked towards the mathematics classroom - and on past it.
***
Thing are finally getting going. Does anyone have suggestions for how to speed things up? I try to cut, but I can't tell what's necessary to the story and what's just me having fun :). Thanks again for reading.