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Chapter 14: The Challenge and Closure

That night, Sol the leopard could not sleep, so he unlocked his phone for anything happening outside or around the campus on social media. Unfortunately, nothing was interesting going on to keep himself distracted from that stupid secret admirer of his.

Apparently, some raccoon guy named Robin Rains sent that letter in his locker after the first soccer match of the semester and expressed interest after watching him play. The letter was full of compliments and praise which Sol took it very kindly from his kind words. If this were how fans would act if he were a famous athlete but with billions of letters filled with love and admiration, that would be very enriching.

But what was even more interesting was that Robin added his phone number to the letter. He had not called him, but he had thought about it a few times. Say hi and he would hi back, simple as that.

But then there was the question of who was this guy, what was he up to, and how he knew he was gay? Sol knew that he was the most openly gay man alive on this campus and he was explicitly known for it every time he visited the local gay bar outside the campus. Students from the university had seen him, met him, talked to him, and had their share of intimacy with the leopard, either dominative or submissive.

Word-of-mouth was also a factor; Robin had heard of him from his fellow students and thought he was very appealing in his tastes.

So, who was Robin Rains? Sol decided to look it up on his phone and kill time before falling asleep. He first searched his Facebook profile, and there he was, a young handsome raccoon-boy with shimmering brown eyes, and because he was not friends on Facebook, he was limited on what he could see on his posts. Nothing very relevant for Sol's needs, he wanted to see more than meets the eye.

He left the Facebook app and tried Instagram, but with the same results. He tried now a more daring angle, he clicked on the Grindr app and typed his name on the search bar. What were the odds that he would be there and looking for a - Ah! Look what we have here? Sol thought.

The same picture from the two apps, that Robin did not seem to be very low-profile in public. But wait a moment....

If he had an account, why didn't he send him a text message or something in the app in the first place? Sol checked his profile, but he remembered that he turned the app off for the semester. So, that explained why Robin sent him a letter than texting him? Robin could not reach him, so he took the matters of his own hands.

He focused back on Robin's profile and read the description below.

"Out of the closet since 14, and I'm lusting for guys everywhere!" Sol roared a burst of laughter at this sentence. "I met great people and had fun with them and knowing about the LGBTQ+ community and all!" Sol snickered, it was very corny in his opinion, but hey, he was a free-ass raccoon, man. "I like guys who are passive and then dominant with me or vice versa. I'm into role-playing, but not too kinky like BDSM, thank you very much!" Sol laughed.

The part of "lusting for guys" and that he "met and had fun with them" clearly stated he had his share with men before. So, he was just pursuing Sol like usual with other guys before. He had to admit, he was very forward on his goals like he did. Maybe he wouldn't be so bad. Meeting someone who was also very promiscuous and enjoyed meeting people and have fun for a nightstand like him was like meeting a doppelganger, except that he was a raccoon.

So, Robin Rains, Sol thought, I cannot wait to meet you in person. But first, I'm gonna give you a big freshman welcome.

The weekend had passed, Monday of mid-October had risen, and Broderick knew it.

Keanu and Hunter arrived on the campus this morning and saw the young reindeer-man walking by with a soured look on his face and ignored the wolves who greeted him. It had been a rough weekend for the reindeer that should have been a time to relax and be prepared for midterms this week. But this was not the case.

"Is he alright?" Keanu asked Hunter.

Hunter shrugged, "I think he played video games yesterday. He must have lost last night."

"Shouldn't he be over it? I stopped crying after I saw Jack crying over a game of dancing chairs in elementary."

Hunter laughed, "I think this was too personal for Broderick."

Later at lunch, Broderick joined the others, as usual, so he could tell the hell he went through last night. After buying his launch tray on the table and sat with the others, he told his story.

"I was playing Sky Riders online for the weekly tournament," he spoke. "The winner would get a discount half the price for games and win some free DLC expansion packs," he looked at Xavier as his witness from last night. "You were playing in the tournament, right?"

"Yeah, but I lost in seventh place, and my microphone wasn't working," said Xavier. "I'm getting a new one if you want to chat. After that, I went straight to bed."

He turned at the others who were listening, holding their snickering grins, "I was this close beating him to first place!" he gestured his index and thumb fingers for no less than half-inch. "That Ice Master is a fucking troll!"

Keanu stopped before receiving his forkful of pasta alfredo sauce with pieces of grilled chicken, eyes wide open like his mouth and his pointy ears twitched on alert. He stood there quietly and found himself in an awkward situation. Hunter was right about Broderick playing video games yesterday but never thought he was involved in it.

Hunter saw it and chuckled, he thought that was cute how he reacted but for a serious reason.

"Keanu?" Hunter asked.

Broderick curiously looked at the arctic wolf's sudden reaction. It struck him like lightning. He promptly sat up in a swift and pointed a finger at him and glared. "YOU'RE ICE MASTER?!"

Keanu shrieked a high-pitched yelp as a scared pup by his accuser. Hunter stood up in alert for whatever Broderick was about to do to him. Keanu raised his trembling hands in defense. "N-N-NO-NO-NO!!! I AM NOT!!!"

"You beat me by beginners' luck, Ice Master, and I dare you for a rematch!" Broderick challenged.

Hunter tried to cope with him. "Whoa, take it easy, Broderick! It's just a game. Sit down."

Broderick sat down tensely. "So, you know who is Ice Master?" he asked.

"Y-yes, he is-s my cousin, his name's Jack," Keanu explained. "He is Ice Master and I'm Arctic Prince when playing Sky Riders Online." The wolf calmed down and continued, "So, you're Antler Shock, right?"

"Yeah, so you play, huh? Hey, why not Jack Frost?"

"Jack said it was too cheesy and stupid," Keanu said honestly.

"Uh-huh, so, well, tell your cousin I want a rematch."

"Huh?"

"You heard me, this weekend, me and Xerxes--"

"Pass," Xerxes interruptedly and disinterestedly said after dreading his shouts and rage quits while online. The game tended to play in teams with two people each.

"Okay, then Sergio and I will kick your ass!"

"Sorry, man, I'm busy this week; I have video editing and YouTuber stuff."

"Xavier?"

"Tengo una cena familiar este fin de semana," Xavier excused. He had a family dinner that upcoming weekend.

"Sol?" his voice was losing hope. "It's only this weekend!"

"I might, but I'll let you know. I have..." he looked at his phone, "...so many things to do."

"Milagros, do you play?"

"Sergio has the game and I barely have played it."

"Hunter?" he looked at the last candidate with hope in his eyes.

"I would, but..." he leaned back on the chair with hands behind his head and lazily looked around the ceiling before winking at Keanu. "I want to play with Keanu as my teammate and beat you this weekend's tournament."

Keanu smiled; he liked the idea.

"Are you kidding? He has Jack as his teammate."

"My cousin Crystal also plays," Keanu said. "You know her as Viking Glacier."

"What?!" he baffled with his jaw dropped. "No way! I'm now against two teams!"

"Either that or is forfeit for you, Broderick," Xavier retorted. "I thought your pride was more important than backing out against your foes."

"Do you have to burn me alive with that roast!?"

"Valió la pena." It was worth it.

"Then it's settled, Broderick," said Hunter. "Me and Keanu against you and your... unconfirmed partner against Jack and Crystal."

"Oh, it's on!" said Broderick committedly. But he still needed a partner, though.

In the afternoon, Xavier and Milagros hung out at Winters' Sun Café, sitting in a far corner of the booth, away from the rest, and eating some light refreshments before going back to campus.

The green parrot had shown a calm and satisfied attitude all day which Milagros noticed him shortly in the morning. Since she liked to be informed at simple things without being an obsessed gossip girl and ask first if the subject wasn't too personal. Her twin brother Sergio told her about the weekend and what Xavier had been up to, but Xavier didn't tell him everything yet, and as far as Sergio was aware, it turned out nicely in the end.

So, Milagros invited Xavier to the cafeteria and, so far, the parrot looked different as if he were in a good mood without showing it behind that fixed beak of his. The tiniest facials in the corners of his beak told the subtlest of what he was feeling right now which was something that Milagros noticed on avian beast-men.

The conversation was normal and very lively, and Xavier was calmed as usual with the upgrade that he was indeed in a good mood.

Milagros thought that this was a very good time to bring it up.

"So, how was your talk with this Julio character, Xavier?" Said Milagros the coyote.

Xavier's mood almost dropped but he knew where this was going, "Oh, that?" he said and put his drink on the table, "Let me just say that we had a 'closure'."

"Closure?"

"Milagros, this wasn't your business the moment when Xerxes told me that some hawk-dude wanted to have a word with me."

"So, what was it all about?"

Xavier crossed his arms and looked down from her, his mood had fallen at reliving this, "I yelled and told off a girl, it was his sister."

Milagros' ears perked up, almost frowning him to scold, "Seriously, Xavier, what gives you to be that cruel?"

"It was high school, Milagros, and I was in a lot of stress like most angsty teenagers. Especially how everything turned out in my home country."

"Just get to the point, Xavier, and tell me everything that I don't know."

"Hah, alright. When I started my sixth grade in elementary school, mind you, schools in Puerto Rico are a little different from here, there was this hawk-girl that always picked on me every chance she's got. Her name is Angelique Rincon, she's the young sister of Julio. She was picking on me and kept messing around me through middle school and high school, I tried to ignore her, but she was always getting in my way to make my life hell."

"Are you sure she had a huge crush on you? Was she trying to get your attention?"

Xavier rubbed his "bridge" over the top of his beak that met his brown eyes and gave her a serious tone. "Milagros... please, this was bullying, I don't find that very romantic... nor cute at all...," Milagros was about to speak but Xavier cut in, "That smiley smirk of hers was so mean... she really meant it, she called me names, shoving me aside, knocking off my lunch tray, and telling me that I'm worthless and that I didn't have any friends or a girlfriend because of me existing. She nearly ruined my adolescence."

"Alright, alright! I was just...making sure you didn't have a wrong impression on her."

"Of all the things I've listed, why are you still skeptical? I am not acting a victim here, Milagros, I am a victim of her mierda."

"Alright!" she got the message. "But why she was bullying you in the first place?"

"Umm, when I found out, I realized that it could have been anyone she could have bullied because apparently, she thought that the cause of her parents' divorce was because a Puerto Rican parrot was pursuing her father and taking her away from her mother. Quite a scandal. It must have scarred her until we met in school, letting it out of her system on me because it reminded her of the marriage breaker."

"That's horrible! She never told you that?"

"Why would she? A bully never tells their secrets, it was a very personal matter of hers and I never thought about it because I cared less about her from the begging, all I could think about was trying to avoid her at all cost in school hours."

"Did she did anything physical on you?"

"Yeah, she did, one time she dunked me toilet water when I went to the restroom, not minding the fact that she entered a boy's restroom, I have never felt so vulnerable, and the verbal abuse was even worse. Imagine every day of the week coming to school and get reminded that I don't matter. It made me feel helpless, useless, and unconfident which I lost the courage to play soccer since then. She even made other people keep a distance away from me, including my first crush, because she told everyone that I was infected with the Bird Flu because I was shedding off some bits of feathers.

"And my point still stands, she doesn't have a crush on me."

"Was the divorce really that bad?"

"Yeah, she still believed that parrot was smooching her dad, which turned out it wasn't the case all along - and hear me out, I'm getting to the climax, so get ready. When I was nearing graduation in high school, a lot of shit was happening in Puerto Rico on the brink of decolonization. My father, a lawyer, was associated with one corrupted politician that's facing twenty years in prison for fucking up the economy, he vainly and eventually lost the case among many other sons of bitches involved in that audited debt...

"Dad was... well, afraid of being judged by the public for trying to defend a crook, he knew that guy was screwed but it was his job to lawyer a client, right?

"So, the next thing I knew, Dad was severely insecure and very afraid of going out in public and could not look at the mirror. He talked with Mom and decided to move far away from home for real. Let me tell you that I was really saddened that we were leaving home like many other Puerto Ricans that claimed that they will come back one day.

"I thought for a moment that we were moving to Orlando like many others, but Dad thought differently--"

"Uh, where is this getting to?"

"Trust me, it's getting better. So, Dad announced to my siblings that we were moving to California and told me to take college there instead. I was originally accepted into the Bayamon University of Puerto Rico. Remember?"

She nodded.

"Meanwhile, I never spoke a word of my move to anyone that I know in school, only families and friends I know. I continued with my remaining studies in high school like normal and soon move to California by June, that is until Angelique came around and found out, much to my dismay."

"How did she find out?"

"She's the daughter of the school's principal's secretary which sometimes she comes by to see her mother. She said she overheard the conversation between my mother and my old home-teacher. Whatever happened there, it must have taken her aback that she won't have anyone to mess with... or that's what I thought back then.

"One day, around May, before she found out I was leaving, she talked with her mother about the woman involved in the affair, because she was old enough to understand and she wanted to know who was that woman who took her father away, but here's the plot twist, her mother told her she was an old friend of her dad's and she is married and that means that her father is still single and that it had nothing to do with the divorce."

"Oh-no..." Milagros said.

"Uh-huh, and because of that and realizing what she had done to me after all these years, she was ashamed for the first time in her life. She tried to heal the wounds by claiming that it was all because she had a crush on me."

"Why?"

"She thought she could make it less personal by claiming something that she never felt before, and it was love and she used it in the wrong places as a scapegoat.

"So... she ran up to find me as I was leaving school, it was the final week of the semester in May, so she had to say something or never.

"My mom was waiting by the car and Angelique stopped me half-way and wanted to talk to me in private. Her first attempt failed, I shook her off and did not say anything to her, and remember, I hated her. My mom sort of knew of my situation with her as I tried to ignore her as best I can from her own advice, but she was getting even more clingy to me the next day. She begged to talk with me, I kept on ignoring her than ever before, and this kept on until Friday; the last day of school."

"Did you finally talk to her?" she hopefully said, even if the event already happened.

"Yes, if that's what she wanted.

"So, I talked to her before I left at noon because I had already finished the afternoon classes. I only finished my final exams that morning, and she waited for me outside of class, so I had to bear whatever she wanted to say to me.

"She told me about how she found out that I'm moving away to California and that she's been reconsidering her actions she has done to me in the past and then, to my horror, and you can guess where this is going, she confessed that she had a huge crush on me after all this time since middle school.

"So, now what? I thought she was joking and playing with me the whole week. All I could think about and remember her in the past was all the nasty things she did to me. She explained to me how and why she told everyone that I had the Bird Flu so she could have me all to herself when I was having a crush on Bianca back then. Reliving the past really boiled me up to erupt and telling me about how she kept me away from Bianca really crossed the line, so I told her off on everything that she did to me, and I cruelly told her that I don't like her back and that I hated her in anger. For the first time, I saw her shrinking away every word I said...

"I-I nearly fainted that day, I glared at her with tears in my eyes and fared her well goodbye forever before I left school. That was the last time I ever saw her.

"I was so furious and... and I never looked back to where I left her."

"Y-you didn't hit her, did you?"

"No! I'm glad I didn't - just yelled at her."

"But still, you cruelly hurt her feelings."

"Feelings?"

"Right-right, she lied to you to make up for all the damages. If she told you the truth about the divorce, would you have forgiven her?"

"Honestly, I would still be mad at her and accuse her of discrimination against me. She made a mistake for picking on me in the first place..." Xavier's voice started to break, "I became a monster, Milagros."

The Milagros' ears flicked at the last sentence, "Huh, I see what you mean, bullying can turn a weak person into a... well... what you said. She had underestimated you."

"So, uh, after confronting her, she was devastated, I really broke her, and she told her older brother about it, everything."

"How come you didn't get in trouble?"

"It was the last day and my dad was waiting for me out in front of the school. I left immediately. I thought I was in deep trouble, but nothing came about it and we left for California, eventually.

"Oh, and the monster part, I learned it the hard way right after I came back home." Xavier looked down at the table. "When I looked myself at the mirror, I scolded myself for what I did. I couldn't sleep well in the first week after school ended. It just that I was taught to respect women and because Angelique's a girl, I was afraid to retort her or confront her back every time she spoke. All I did was take it all in from her which you know how that affected me, and when Xerxes told me about Julio, I knew I must make this up for the better."

"So, how did you meet Julio?"

"I never have, but I have seen him, and I knew she had a brother from the many times she boasted about it on how awesome of a basketball player he was..."

"But he's playing football with Xerxes."

"You know American football is not even a thing in Puerto Rico, and this is the first time a Puerto Rican play one in my perspective. I don't know why he changed a different sport over basketball. So, Angelique must have told Julio what happened that day and I was already gone to el carajo by then."

"And they are now in California."

"Yeah, I'm surprised, too. They moved recently before this semester started as I have a year before. I realized I must face the consequences, better come to it than leaving it alone or running away from the past. Back then, she was owing me an apology, which I rejected, and now I owe her an apology.

"So, after the first game, Julio came to my dorm and wanted to talk, he even brought his sister in the flesh, I immediately told Sergio to leave us alone for a while so..." he shrugged, "we talked."

"How was it then?"

"It was the longest five minutes of silence I ever had in my life and I have to break it. It was now or never. We started in small talks and she introduced his older brother to me and everything. I started with accepting her old apology from one-and-a-half years ago and told me the truth about the divorce while I apologized for hurting her verbally back then, she accepted it."

Xavier quietly burst into tears, he sniffed and wiped his green-feathered forearm. "I cried, I hugged her, and left the past behind us for good. She's a very nice girl after all when you get to know her better."

"Aw, that's so sweet, Xavier," she said.

"I also told this to my parents after our meeting." Xavier sighed and rest his lower beak under his fist, "Hah, I need a vacation."

"Hey, come here," she smiled, standing up for a hug.

Xavier did not hesitate as he sat up from his seat and wrapped his arms around her.

It had been a while since he had a hug like this, and very warm, too, with fur brushing against his feathered cheeks.

"Hey, Xavier, if you want to ask my sister out, you know I'm cool with it," said Sergio behind Xavier with a smirk.

Xavier boggled his eyes open as he saw the male counterpart of Milagros and let go of her, with flaming red cheeks under his green plumage, the same color as the red-feathered crest above his beak.

Also accompanying Sergio was Natasha the cat. The two sat down with them, Natasha with Milagros, and Sergio with Xavier.

"Guys, guess what?" started Natasha. "Sol asked me to be part of a prank on a student."

"Isn't that Sergio's thing?" Xavier said.

"Yeah, I know, but when I asked if I should bring cameras and stuff, he told me not to," Sergio explained. "He said there is going to be nudity involved and that YouTube wouldn't allow such content, and he isn't planning to use cameras anyway. However, I did help him plan out the prank."

"Nudity?" Xavier perked. "Is there going to be sex involved?"

"Pretty much," Sergio confirmed.

"Can I ask who the victim is?" Xavier asked suspiciously.

"Relax, Xavier, it's not you. He didn't tell me who it is, but I think it's that secret admirer of his."

"He is going to prank that freshman?" Milagros said. "I have warned him about playing his feelings."

"I actually know him, Milagros," said Natasha. "He's a freshman in my theatre class every Friday; Robin Rains. He is a good guy. I'm seeing him a couple of times now. And starting this week, I'm hinting to him that I have a boyfriend."

"And who's the boyfriend?"

"I think Sol is playing the boyfriend part, but I really wish you guys could have given me the proper information before we can start the prank," she looked sternly at Sergio.

"Hey, don't look at me," said Sergio. "I only gave him a rough idea, and he is the one polishing it up for you to understand. He'll text you when he has it ready."

"Okay, got it."

"I hope you guys know what you're all doing," Milagros said.

"Hey, at least there are no cameras involved," Sergio remarked. "Sol said this is exclusive."

"And when do you expect this prank is going to happen?"

"At Sol's dorm room, maybe next week," Sergio answered. "And Natasha, as she said, she is going to hint to Robin that she has a boyfriend without mentioning his name," Sergio smirked. "This is going to be the best prank we have ever pulled."

Milagros and Xavier exchanged glances and shrugged.