FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

~You Killed Me ~

The next morning Shane climbed into his car at a grueling six-forty-five A.M. and drove to school. He drove slowly near the home of the new neighbors so he could get a good look at their house. They had two cars in the driveway, one dark green and one red. He couldn't get the make or model for either car, but they looked like Audis, and expensive ones at that. Not to mention the house that they bought; the thing was massive. He had seen the house every day but had never paid much attention to it until now. As far as he had been concerned, it was just another house in the wealthy gated community which was only a few thousand feet from his house. From what he could see, the house had a three-car-garage (why both cars were in the driveway he did not know) and easily had eight to ten rooms that were visible just from the front. Great; they were rich, too.

He pulled into his designated parking space at ten after seven - twenty minutes before homeroom - and shut off his car. After retrieving his worn black backpack from the backseat he scanned the parking lot for some of his friends' cars; he only found two. He let out a low sigh and started his trip across the parking lot towards the school entrance.

Five minutes later, the tall wolf leaned against pillar just outside the cafeteria, his friends surrounding him. Two girls, a squirrel and a cougar, strutted past and smiled suggestively to him. "Hey Shane," the squirrel cooed to him over her shoulder as she walked away. He simply smirked and said, "Hey," back as she walked away. Girls loved to flirt with him, even though he was quite openly and quite strictly gay.

Kyle, his easily-excitable best-friend of an otter, swished his tail back and forth as he elbowed Shane lightly in the ribs. "Hey, since you're crooked can I take that squirrel?" he asked with a smirk.

The wolf sighed and lowered his head, his ears folding back against his skull as he stared at the floor. "Sure," he said with a resigned tone. "Take her."

The otter looked hurt. "What's wrong man?" he asked, his ears back like the canine's.

The wolf looked down at him from the tops of his eyes. "Nothing," he said before raising his head and looking out again as if nothing had happened. "It's fine. Just reminiscing."

"You were thinking about him, weren't you?" Kyle asked, his eyes showing the flames of anger and his fists balling up.

"Kyle..." the wolf sighed.

"You've got to forget that bitch, Shane," he told him frankly. "Those memories aren't good for you. I can see the pain in your eyes."

"Don't worry about it," Shane snapped. "I can take care of myself."

The otter looked hurt again. "Okay, man," he said with a slight tone of fear. "I'm just worried about you."

The wolf sighed again and looked to his footpaws. "Don't be, I've got it under control. Kail is long gone." There was a short period of silence before Shane pushed up from the wall and said, "I've got to get to homeroom. See you in physics." And with that the wolf strutted down the hallway towards his homeroom, paws deep in his pockets and tail between his legs.

* * *

Shane's homeroom was on the third floor in the center of the building. He sat in the back right-hand corner of the classroom by personal choice and always kept to himself. His locker was right outside the classroom and seven lockers down. This is where he was now, autonomously retrieving books that he needed for the first half of the morning and stowing those that he wouldn't. The guy two lockers to his left was there, too. He almost always was there when Shane was. It was obvious that the calico was gay, and even more obvious that he had a huge crush on the wolf. "Hey Shane!" the cat exclaimed excitedly.

"Hey Marcus," Shane answered with a forced smile. He found the short-haired junior to be incredibly pestering.

"So," the cat started. Oh, here we go Shane groaned in his head. "I was thinking, we've been locker neighbors for a few years now but we haven't really gotten a chance to get to know each other. Maybe we could go see a movie or something? I work at the theater and could get us some free tickets, my treat."

Shane smiled weakly as he slammed his locker shut. "I'll see if I can free up some time," he said while looking into the feline's eyes.

"Awesome!" Marcus exclaimed, his tail swishing back and forth across the floor. "I'll be in touch."

"Cool," the wolf replied. I'm sure you will, he thought with dread. The cat was cute, but would make for a horrible boyfriend. The two retired to their homeroom and sat through the once again dull morning news until the first bell rang. While the rest of the students leapt up to rush to their first class of the morning, the wolf simply sat and waited for the crowd to clear. When it did, he pulled his backpack on over his right shoulder only, the strap slipping easily over the sleeve of his white tank top, and made for his first class of the day: calculus.

Calculus was a pain, but today was by far the most interesting math class that Shane had ever had in his life. He sat towards the back of the room as he always did (he was always placed in the rear right-hand corner of the room because his last name is Zimmerman) and slumped into his chair, shrugging his backpack to the floor and leaning back in his seat. He stretched and yawned before slouching back forward; as he was stretching he didn't even notice an unrecognized person enter the room. The new male was a fox, about five foot six, with a glossy orange coat with white on his muzzle and down his neck. He had a black nose and large black-tipped ears-the right one was pierced twice along the rim-and the deepest eyes Shane had ever seen. They were such a dark shade of blue that they appeared fully black. The wolf blinked once to make sure he wasn't imagining him, and then once he saw that the fox hadn't vanished he figured that he was his family's new neighbor.

"Alright guys, settle down!" his calc teacher, Mister Presz, a large brown bear, said once the bell had sounded. "We've got fresh meat!" he exclaimed, summoning chuckles from the class. "Why don't you introduce yourself, son?" he said to the fox.

The small orange fox looked nervous but wore it well in the form of a smile. "Sure," he said, a backpack slung over his left shoulder and some books under his right arm. "Hey guys, my name's Kail Roebuck and I just moved back here after moving away five years ago."

Does it need to be said how hard Shane's jaw hit the floor? The wolf sat in the cheap plastic seat of his desk, mouth agape and eyes wide as he stared into what he realized now was his old best-friend. This was... terrible! Kail had moved back! So many memories began to resurface in the wolf's mind. Rejection, defeat, disappointment; it was all coming back to him. But the most surprising part had yet to come. As he sat there dumbstruck over this new development, Shane's teacher said, "Alright Mr. Roebuck, why don't you tell the class three things about you that you want people to know?"

"Sounds good," the fox said. "Well, for one, my favorite videogame is Halo Three." If Shane hadn't been so dumbstruck he would have found it ironic and slightly amusing that the fox still enjoyed the game that the two of them used to play as kids. "For two, I love art and I'm a really good illustrator. I can pretty much draw whatever you want me to," he said with a smile. "And for three, I'm gay, and if you hate me for that then that's your problem, not mine," he smirked.

Shane felt like his blood had turned to cement in his body. He couldn't move. He felt cold. His eyes couldn't blink, his mouth wouldn't close. What had the fox just said? Did his old friend, the one who punched him in the face for being a homosexual, just admit in front of a group of twenty teenage strangers that he was gay? Had that really just happened? Shane was practically in shock. His friend was gay. His old childhood crush was gay. After everything that happened, he couldn't believe it; Kail Roebuck was an openly gay fox.

"That's great, Kail" Mr. Presz said with a smile. "Well, feel free to choose your seat. We have a couple open ones here in the classroom." The wolf was able to regain his composure in time for the fox to decide inconveniently to sit directly to his left. Shane's body tensed up and he curled his arms up against his chest. He stared blankly at his desk, his mouth still slightly agape, trying to understand what had happened.

Meanwhile, Kail leaned over with a happy face and extended his paw to the wolf. "Hi, I'm Kail," he said with a cheery voice. The wolf just pulled himself closer to his own body and shut his eyes and mouth, his ears going back as he hoped and prayed that the fox would stop talking to him. He got his wish, and Kail, who looked hurt by the wolf's isolationism, shrunk back into his seat, ears flat against his head. The wolf let out a long, quiet sigh. It was going to be a horrible math class.

* * *

Kail had tried to ask what was wrong at the end of the period but Shane just ran as fast out of class as he could without looking suspicious to onlookers. The wolf rushed down the stairs to the second floor and quickly sank into his chair in his history class. Shane's next period was American History, and then after spending the entire period recovering from shock he had physics. He moved silently through the halls, constantly vigilant for the fox in case he was to be confronted, but he didn't see him. When he sat down at his desk in his physics class he hugged his arms and let out a disturbed sigh before slumping over. When he finally opened his eyes he noticed Kyle sitting in the chair next to him with his ears splayed back and a look of concern upon his face. "Shane..."

"You heard?" he asked, his voice shaky.

"Yeah I heard," he replied. "Damn... a-are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," the wolf stammered. "I'm fine."

"Shane, I just-"

"PLEASE Kyle," the wolf exclaimed loud enough for the rest of the class to hear, each student turning to inspect the source of the noise. Shane didn't care. "I don't want you getting involved," he continued at a lower volume. "I'm fine, and I can take care of myself. I don't need any help from anyone. Thank you for caring but the best thing you can do for me right now is to just not talk about it. I need to not think about this at the moment." The otter looked hurt, but complied. He turned back around so he faced forward again. His ears couldn't be more against his head, and they didn't move for the entire period.

* * *

That day became the day that Shane would consider the longest day of his life. Physics dragged on, then German, lunch, English, gym, and finally photography. His day was lived in paranoia; he constantly worried about bumping into the fox. He checked over his shoulder more times that day than he did in a regular week, unable to focus on anything in his classes through his fear. Even his lunch seemed slow and nerve-racking. Kyle, Koji, and the rest of his friends let him eat in peace, having heard the news that the wolf wished to remain left alone from Kyle.

At the end of his photography class Shane dashed up to the third floor again to get what he needed from his locker. He put his history and physics textbooks back into his locker and withdrew his English book, now keeping his English and calculus textbooks in his backpack for tonight's homework load. The wolf shut his locker still feeling stressed. All he needed to do was get to his car...

"Hey!" a voice shouted to him from down the hall. He slowly turned around, knowing who it would be by instinct alone. He pulled his backpack up to both his shoulders instead of just his right and turned to face Kail, who rapidly approached him from down the corridor, his backpack once again slung over his left shoulder. One he got close enough to argue, Kail said, "If you've got something to say about me then say it," with an angry tone.

"What do you mean?" Shane asked nonchalantly, trying desperately to keep his cool despite wanting more than anything to break down and cry right there in the hallway.

"Back in calc," he said. "I introduced myself to you, remember? What's up with the cold shoulder? I'm just trying to make friends. If you've got something to say then say it. You got a problem with gays?"

Shane crossed his arms across his chest. "What makes you think I hate gays?"

Kail's eyes narrowed aggressively. "I've seen your kind before," he said. "Tall, idiotic muscle-head. Probably works out four hours a day, and I'm guessing you're on the football team? You seem the type. Hell, I've even had a few of you come after me for being gay in my time. The lot of you are sickening!"

The crowd around them was silent. Each one knew just how wrong Kail was but wanted to see how Shane would react. If the wasn't so furious he would have found the fox's analysis of him hysterically ironic. "Oh, really?" Shane sneered back. "Well, let me tell you about YOUR kind." There were ooos and ahhs from the crowd. "You're small, yet believe you pack a big punch. You made one big mistake in your childhood and feel guilty for running away from it, especially because now that mistake is the embodiment of you. You're too hypocritical to realize that you're quick to judge people and then scolding them for being quick to judge. You've been beat up on for years now and harden yourself to the point of being like a frag grenade in someone's hand, ready to blow up and take them down at the slightest hint of prejudice against gays. You-"

Shane was promptly silenced when the fox's fist connected to his jaw, sending him back several feet to smash into a row of lockers. Several students gasped at this sudden show of violence. "I don't have to take this shit from ANYONE!" Kail screamed out at him. "ESPECIALLY pompous know-it-all assholes who think that they know everyone's history! Well let me ask you something, Mister Wise-Guy: how do you know what you're saying is true? What makes you think that you've got me all figured out, huh? Let me tell you something: you've got NOTHING on me! Who the hell are you, anyway? I wanna know your name!"

"You still don't recognize me, huh? God, you're slow." Shane snarled and wiped a thin stream of blood from his mouth. "Well, good to see you at least remember how to throw a punch. It took me months to scrub my blood out of the upstairs carpet."

Kail stood in a battle-ready position with the most confused look on his face. After a few moments, however, it all hit him, and it hit him hard. Hard like a train, actually. His backpack fell to the floor as he stood in shock. "Sh..." he stuttered. "Sha..."

"So you do remember me," Shane smirked. "Or in case you need a little more of a reminder, that name that you're trying to spit out now is Shane. Shane Zimmerman. Yes, in the fur. Remember that kid, that 'friend' of yours who you beat down in his own house all those years ago? The one you left bleeding on the floor because he came out to you, the ONE person of all who he thought he would get acceptance and approval from? That would be me."

Kail was dumbstruck to say the least. "Shane... O-Oh, my God... Shane... I'm s-sorry..."

"HA!" the wolf cried out in mock laughter. "You're SORRY? 'Sorry' is what you say to someone when you spill soda in their lap, or step on their tail accidentally. 'Sorry' isn't what you say to the guy who you abandoned. 'Sorry' isn't what you say to someone after you punch him to the floor in his own home and leave him to bleed and cry in the hallway! 'SORRY' isn't what you say to someone who you go from loving to hating just because he likes the taste of DICK!"

Shane's paws were balled into fists now as he continued to snarl and shout at the small crumbling fox before him. "You ruined five years of my life, you know that? You took my perfect, innocent life and CRUSHED IT! Does that make you feel satisfied? Let me tell you something, Kail Roebuck: I came to you that day, entrusting you with my life, and you know what you did?" he growled. "You KILLED ME!"

Kail was frozen with fear, shock, and absolute horror. "I..."

"KILLED ME! I haven't been able to make a single new friend since you left because I'm too afraid of people leaving me! I've been asked by all kinds of kids at this school, some of them who are standing around us now, about why I'm so quiet when I've got such potential to be a great friend. You know the reason? YOU'RE the reason. I've been so scared shitless about making new friends just to have the same thing happen that I haven't been able to be outgoing with ANYBODY! My life has been an isolationist hell since you left, and it's ALL YOUR FAULT! And now you DARE to come back here, to MY town, MY school, and admit to a classroom full of strangers that YOU'RE GAY!"

Kail merely blinked in surprise, taking in every word, his mouth agape and his eyes wide and glazed over. He couldn't believe what was happening. Shane snarled down at him. By now his massive jaws were only a foot from his face. "You struck me down in my moment of need," Shane whispered, "and left me there, bleeding in my carpet, to die because I was attracted to my own gender, just like you are now." He paused a moment to let it sink in. Then, with the full force of five years' bottled anger, sadness, rejection, and utter rage, roared, "HOW COULD YOU?!" with fangs bared. Then, in a much quieter, almost pleading tone, asked again, "How could you?"

Then with tears in his eyes Shane Zimmerman spun about and cut his way through the crowd on his way back to his house. Surrounded by a crowd of teenage furs, Kail Roebuck began to shake. Each person around him stared at him, some with pity, some with confusion, some with compassion, but most with anger. They knew how reclusive Shane had been, and now that they had learned the cause they weren't happy. The crowd dispersed in a cloud of gossip and Kail collapsed to his knees, warm tears streaming down his shocked face.

* * *

I haven't written anything in a while and I just wanted to put this piece out because it's been sitting in my mind for a while. Once my art skills improve I plan on making this into a full grayscale comic; more information about that will come out when I feel I'm ready to draw. Don't worry, it will be free and available on SoFurry and FurAffinity once it comes out. I'm not looking for profit, just approval xD As for this story, this chapter does not contain yiff but future chapters will.

Comments, constructive criticisms, faves, votes, cums, watches, and other such things are always greatly appreciated and GREATLY hoped for.

LINK TO CHAPTER 3: https://www.sofurry.com/view/202797

Soundtrack:

Colors of the Rainbow - Italo Brothers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFv8_fN6JE8 (furry rave video, highly suggest you watch it)

One (Your Name) - Swedish House Mafia ft. Pharrell (I thought the lyrics of this song went nicely with the theme of the story)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baYpUHCkKxs

Shane and Kail © Drayne_The_Wolf 2010: Do not reproduce characters without permission of author.