New Perspective, Chapter One: Denial
"Aiden, Wake up. You're going to miss the bus," called a voice from the opposite side of the room. Aiden opened his eyes, then recoiled in pain as he stared directly at the brightness of the dull, gray sky through the curtains that draped ever-so daintily in front of his window. Slowly, he willed himself to move, to creep his arm over his blankets and pull them from his body. Like any fifteen year old, he had difficulty functioning in the mornings. He let out a yawn, then looked at the seemingly foreign wolf in the mirror. He sat there, looking more like a man than he had a year ago. His gray fur had turned a darker shade, his face seemed to elongate and take on sharper edges than its former roundness. He stretched, and then let his tail flick behind him. Must have inherited the Blanchard genes.
"Aiden, buddy, get up. Time for school," a voice called from the opposite side of the door. His dad, no doubt. He stretched once again, then grabbed his clothes from atop his dresser. Aiden looked at his clock, and then decided to skip a shower. He had Gym first period anyway. He would just shower after that, like he did every other school day. dressed with his favorite blue jeans and a plain black t-shirt, he decided to make the short descent down the stairs. He placed his foot on the first stair, then instantly the smell of pancakes hit his nose. He began taking larger steps, skipping over stairs entirely as he ran toward the kitchen. His mother was there, standing in her robe and smoking her favorite brand of cigarettes as she prepared his breakfast. Aiden usually disliked pancakes, but it was evident now that she had concocted a mixture of orange juice and cranberries to spice things up.
"Hey mom. I'm awake. Did I miss much?" Aiden said. Usually, it was his father who cooked breakfast. His mother looked at him, bags under her eyes and a look of fatigue plastered across her face. She smiled, but Aiden could see right through that. Aiden looked toward his right, noticing his father holding his bags and briefcase as he walked toward the door. He remembered now! His father was going on a business trip, one that would take him to Cairo, Egypt. Far away from Auburn. Aiden had pleaded his father to take him, as well, but school was supposedly much more valuable. It would have been a great change from the usual, the dreary and boring Connecticut, but it wasn't the case here. He sighed, then grabbed his bag, jacket, and his laptop. He took a few bites out of his pancakes, before rolling them up and sprinkling sugar and a random canned fruit into the middle.
"Keep up your grades, do your chores, and don't forget I love you, alright? I'll bring you back a souvenir," his dad said, walking out the door. Aiden followed, then cursed silently to himself as he noticed the bus driving passed the bus stop. "You want to drive to school today?"
Aiden's face brightened exponentially. He shoved the rest of the fruit burrito into his gullet, then walked over to the car, pulling his Permit out of his wallet and placing the slip of paper under the visor when he reached it. The mirror was adjusted, and the car was thrown in reverse. To his father's disdain, Aiden pulled out at an incredible speed, then turned the car on a dime before it hit another. Aiden threw the car into drive, then started the relatively smooth ride down the freshly re-paved roads that lead to the school. Dudley High was, in short, a very large school. There were four floors, ten-thousand books in the library, well over two hundred classrooms, six-thousand students, seven classes a day, and an eighth class that alternated each day during the first or last periods of the day. Aiden thought about the ridiculously large school and started to speed up.
"Hey, hey! Ade! Slow down, will you? There's absolutely no reason to go fifteen over the speed limit," Aiden's dad yelped. Aiden eased off of the gas pedal, then proceeded to ride more smoothly across the black tar. "Ya got a little fast happy, there. Don't let that happen again, especially on your license exam," he said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Sorry, dad, I'll be more careful," Aiden lied. He knew for a fact that the second he was able to drive, he would be out on the road zipping at impossible speeds. The rest of the drive was short, filled with purrs from the well-maintained engine. Finally, Aiden could see the school, the towering mass that sat in the middle of the downtown area where it hardly stood out. He'd even beaten the bus to the school, which he'd been thankful for. Wordlessly, he hopped out of the car, and gave his father a smirk before running into the school. He stood there, watching as the car drove off from the road, knowing he wouldn't be seeing his dad for at least two weeks. He started to think about him, how he'd enrolled Aiden in Taekwondo, how he'd take the pup on fishing trips, and even how he'd usually be the one to cook the child breakfast. Aiden sighed happily, then turned to walk into the school.
"It's Aiden..." He heard someone whisper. "Yeah, you know, I heard he beat that kid up. Knocked his teeth down into his stomach..." With his ears flattened against his skull, he turned around, facing a now-frightened freshman. The freshman simply gulped, then made his leave. Aiden had been used to this by now, getting called a bully for defending himself in a fight that someone else had started. He gulped, remembering the humiliation of getting sent to the principal's office, a thousand eyes watching as he was walked down the hall and teachers were running toward the unconscious dragon. He remembered the shame as his parents entered the room, giving him a lecture with words harsh enough to make the principal cringe. He used to be a sailor. The boredom of spending a month straight in his room until he was able to go back to school, followed by a month of coming straight home to repeat the punishment. The feeling of ducking two punches, then sending a foot into the air and across the draconian face.
He shook his head repeatedly, then allowed his eyes to focus, a raccoon with horrifyingly yellow hair that clashed with his brown fur was standing there, grinning and allowing his soft eyes to radiate a sense of familiarity. Mathew Mercer. "Heya, Aiden. Sometimes I wonder what goes through that head of yours."
"Hey Matt, What's up?" Aiden said, his day brightening again. "You study for the test today?" Aiden started walking toward his locker, already knowing the answer.
The raccoon stared blankly for a moment or two, then watched Aiden pull something from the locker. A blue notebook. Wordlessly, he gave it to Matt, watching him open it up, then begin to read from it. 'He's hopeless? Aiden thought, herding his study-tranced friend to the cafeteria. He grabbed a cup of Coffee, then sat at the table furthest away from the others. As he sipped the bitter liquid, he looked over at Matt. He was only one of Aiden's friends, but definitely the closest. They'd been friends for years, even before their grade school days. If Aiden had a problem, He'd turn to Matt. He especially liked how he conducted himself in public. He was always polite, and he would often talk his ways out of conflict using a vocabulary obviously above a tenth grader. He was clearly perfect. Everything Aiden wasn't.
"Dude, what's with that stare? It's sort of creepy," Matt said, waking Aiden from his line of thoughts. "You know, if you need your notebook back, I'll just study Jake's notes during Study hall..."
Always thinking of others.
"Nah, I'm all set. I studied all week. If I hear 'intrinsic' or 'belligerent' one more time, I'll be 'livid,' I swear to Christ." Aiden said, making air quotations around each vocabulary word. Matt laughed. Aiden smiled. Suddenly, Aiden felt a pair of freezing paws grasp the back of his neck, sending chills down his spine as his shoulders scrunched together. These hands belonged to a feline friend of his, Sarah.
"Hey Sarah, what's up?" Aiden said, thumping her leg with his tail. She chuckled, then sat down next to the wolf. "So, you study for that test today?"
"I'm in Honors English, I took the test like a month ago. Get with the times." Sarah said, sticking her tongue out. "So, I got two tickets to see Motion City Soundtrack. You want to go?"
"Sure" Aiden said with a smile, completely unaware that Sarah had grasped his hand and tangled her tail with his.
Ding. Ding. Ding. Diiiiiing. Aiden opened his eyes, noticing that nobody else in his bio class had noticed him fall asleep. Or if they had, they'd been to afraid to wake him. Aiden let out a yawn, then grabbed the laptop he'd been using as a pillow. He slowly made his way out into the hallway, then over to his locker. Slowly turning the dial to access the contents, he barely registered the figures approaching him. He looked to the side, noticing three boys looking at him. None of them looked older than Freshmen
"You're Aiden, right? The kid who beat up that Senior?"
"Yeah, why?" Aiden said with a snarl. He grabbed his jacket and his laptop case.
"You think you could help us out? We need you to sign this petition for a wrestling team." the middle one said. Aiden looked over the list of students who had already signed. More than half of them were students who had been expelled multiple times for fighting. Aiden sighed, then started to walk away. The three boys looked at each other, then Aiden, then back to each other. Aiden heard them whisper something about violence and bullies, then walk toward another crowd of people. Was his own damn fault. He reached into his backpack, grabbing his scarf. Looking out the door, he could see people pulling out their umbrellas and covering themselves from the cold rain as if fell from the sky. Aiden walked into the fray, feeling the drops of water assault his body. Luckily, it was just sprinkling, rather than full-blown raining.
The young wolf walked for a bit, trying to sort out his thoughts. The bus stop was a couple of blocks away, he had time to think. Especially about Matt, how the dark fur around his eyes really--
"Aiden! There you are!" He heard. Matt grabbed his shoulder from behind. "Come on, we're walking home today!"
"Like hell we are!" Aiden said, grabbing his bus pass from his wallet. "It's almost two and a half miles to my house!" Matt continued to guide Aiden passed the bus stop.
He's also surprisingly strong.
"I need to drop some books and movies off at the library," Matt said. "Also, I don't have my bus pass, so if I'm getting to your house, I'm walking there" He continued. Aiden laughed, then started walking on his own accord. "Besides, we can talk!"
"What's there to talk about?" Aiden asked, the rain begin to pelt the duo as they walked along the newly paved sidewalk. 'I mean, I know everything about you... Your favorite color is purple, your middle name is Francis, You always use that cheap cologne, you've got white chest fur, your paws are really huge... They're also kinda soft, but strong too...'
"Dude, Aiden, what's with that stare? You've been doing that a lot recently, you okay?" Matt asked, grabbing Aiden's arm. Aiden shrugged, then continued walking. A few silent minutes later, they reached the public library. The young wolf decided to wait outside, under the safety and dryness of the awning that stood above the door. He occasionally glanced inside, noticing Matt thumbing through a book, positively glowing as he read through the words. Aiden smiled, then continued waiting for his companion. A few minutes passed, then Aiden looked inside the building, seeing Matt walking toward the exit, his bag holding a couple of weeks worth of reading material.
"So, what's the plan for the weekend, you camping out in my bedroom? Little bit of Call Of Duty, little bit of Dead Space 2, little bit of Guitar Hero?" Aiden asked, knowing the answer. "Go to that sushi restaurant a couple of streets over, I'm paying as usual?"
"Yeah, that's pretty much the plan." Matt said, cramming his books and DVD's into his bag. "I rented a copy of Silent Hill. You know, spice things up a bit."
"We never do anything else!" Aiden complained, throwing his hands behind his head as he walked along the sidewalk
"That's partially because nobody ever wants to hang out with us..." Matt explained, walking behind Aiden for support as he began to balance on the curb. Matt clammed up, noticing he'd struck a nerve. The duo walked along the city streets in silence, until they reached the suburbs. they walked silently down Parker street, and into a mundane white house with a giant 27 on the mailbox.
"All right, Mi Casa Es Su Casa, Shoes off, please." Aiden said, kicking off his boots and walking toward the kitchen. He grabbed a pudding cup and a spoon, then ran up to his room where he hastily plopped down onto his couch. Matt followed, placing his bag at the foot of the comfortable, yet worn sofa. Aiden grabbed the remote, placing the TV onto the specific imput the Xbox was plugged into, then pressed the power button with his foot. The duo each grabbed a controler, then waited for Aiden's mother to walk through the door and complain about them sitting on the couch, soaking wet.
'Green. yellow. Blue-yellow Combo. Orange. Orange.' Aiden thought as he saw the colorful gems fly across the screen. He willed his paws to move fast enough to hit the keys as they reached the bottom of the screen. If only he weren't so distracted by Matt's voice.
"When I hear your body move, When I hear your body move. Ohhhoohhhhhh, My heart, You stooooole, Every time your body moves. I'm just dying to break through... To the next room" Matt sang. Aiden sighed a breath of relief. The song wasn't usually this difficult, but Matt nailed every note perfectly. "Dude, you got an eighty-eight percent... You don't usually suck on guitar, you sure you're okay?"
In truth, Aiden was, for lack of better words, conflicted. Why was he constantly thinking about Matt? His arms, his legs, his tail, his chest, his voice, his personality, everything. He blushed and shyly told Matt that he was fine. Matt flashed a smile. Aiden practically melted. Aiden tried to think. How long had this been happening to him? Just today? The past month? Ever since that botched attempt at sex with Tiffany last weekend? Just then, a devastating thought crashed through his mind.
'Am... Am I... Am I gay?' He thought to himself. He looked at Matt through the corner of his eye. 'for Matt? No. I'm not, I just... think he looks good. Nothing gay about that, right?'
"Alright, dude, I've known you for Thirteen years now, I think I know when something's bothering my best friend." Matt said, pausing the game. "You've been spacing out a lot, you've taken up staring at me as your new hobby, and you keep folding your ears back. Dude, you know I've got your back. So. What is it."
"I'm worried about that Health project."
Matt thought for a minute, looking over Aiden's face."You're a bad liar."
"Alright... you remember that girl I dated last week?" Aiden asked. Matt nodded, then set the remote down. "Didn't work out. It's just been on my mind."
"Alright..." Matt said, making his doubt fairly obvious. Aiden flashed a reassuring smile, then picked up his game controller. Suddenly, he heard the door open behind him. His mom walked into the room, dropping a couple of bags on Aiden's bed. No doubt full of snacks, maybe a pack of pencils or something. His mom had a tendency of knowing when Matt would be over for the night. "You wanna grab something to eat?"
"Sure, I guess. There's a metric shit-ton of food in the Kitchen, and Mom'll be making dinner for a while." Aiden said, grabbing the bag on the bed. He looked inside, noticing a rather large bag of chips, a two litre of soda, and a small box if miniature doughnuts. "And then we have this stuff..." Aiden said, emptying the bag on his desk. Matt raised an inquisitive eyebrow, then continued to look at Aiden with a look of hunger. Aiden knew full well what he wanted. "And, we also have Ramen in the cupboard."
"Awesome! Sounds great!" Matt exclaimed, practically running down the stairs. Aiden fought to repress a whimper of loneliness as he sat in the room alone. He sat down on the bed, then immediately stood back up, looking down at a wet spot where his still-soaked clothes had released their held water all over the rather absorbent blanket. Aiden paused, then held a paw to his jeans. Yep. Still soaked after an hour and a half of sitting around and doing nothing. He quickly reached into his drawer, changing into a fresh outfit before his friend could make it back up the stairs. Aiden quickly threw his clothes into the hamper on the far side of the room, then placed a towel onto the couch to avoid soaking his new change of clothes.
"Hey, Aiden? Mind if I borrow a shirt and a pair of Jeans?" Matt said, returning from the kitchen with a bowl of Ramen in hand. He didn't even wait for an answer before grabbing a pair of Aiden's old Jeans and slipping out of his soaked pair. Aiden blushed and stared inconspicuously into the mirror on the far side of the room, observing his changing friend pull the Jeans over his slightly wet -and perfectly clingy- boxer-briefs. He slipped off his shirt, then grabbed a plain T-Shirt from Aiden's top drawer. Grabbing his Ramen, he sat down on the other end of the couch, then regretted it, remembering how soaked the piece of furniture was.
Aiden continued for the rest of the night, concentrating on whatever they happened to be doing at the time. He sat through Silent Hill, to focused to concentrating to be remotely scared. He partially stood up to move himself further against the couch, when suddenly he felt something pressed against his side. He looked over, noticing Matt sitting up against the arm of the couch. Aiden gulped, then looked to his right, noticing he'd been moving closer to Matt since the movie started.
"What's the matter, scared?" Matt asked, noticing Aiden's closeness.
"What? No!" Aiden blurted out.
"Don't worry, dude. The Nurses creep me out, too." Matt said, letting his hand fall to his side. Aiden resisted the urge to grab it. Instead, he focused on the movie, letting every second burn into his mind. It felt like an eternity.
The second the movie ended, the duo let out a yawn simultaneously, a decent indicator that they should go to bed. Aiden stood up, casting his shirt and jeans into the laundry basket. Standing in his boxer briefs, he noticed something. He only had one bed. One that he and Matt had been sharing for years. He looked over, noticing the raccoon shucking his clothes in a similar manner, then clambering into bed against the far wall. He sat there for a minute or two, then looked at Aiden.
"You're positive that there's NOTHING going through that head of yours?" Matt asked, pulling the blanket up to his chin in an attempt to keep warm during the night. Aiden nodded, then crawled in beside Matt.
"You can tell me, Aiden" Matt continued, sitting upright. "I'm your best friend," he said.
'Dude, I'm fine' Aiden thought, grabbing his book from his nightstand, hoping to distract him. He didn't necessarily like reading, but he put up with it to distract himself from the world around him. It wasn't long before he placed his book on the floor in frustration. He pressed his back against Matt's. feeling the short fur of the raccoon brush against his own. Almost a half hour passed before the wolf heard a rustle behind him. He turned his head, noticing Matt sitting upright, his arms pointed toward the ceiling.
"You can't sleep either?" Aiden asked, "You know, I thought you raccoons were nocturnal. Does that only apply to the ferals, or..." Matt gave a playful shove, knocking Aiden off of the bed. The wolf rubbed his arm, then pounced onto Matt, knocking the raccoon back slightly. Using his arms for leverage, Matt freed himself from the potential pin and grabbed Aiden's tail. The wolf seemed completely unaffected by this turning around and slamming Matt's shoulders down against the mattress. Aiden felt a wonderful shiver of ecstasy as his crotch ground against Matt's, and he was thankful he wasn't hard. Without a thought in his mind, he leaned in, pressing his lips to Matt's in a fit of passion. Not aware of any real way to kiss, Aiden simply held his lips there for a minute or two, then withdrew, looking Matt directly in his face. What Aiden saw was a mixture of looks that struck fear in the hearts of any young teen: Shock, Rejection, and discomfort. Matt's glance shifted toward the side, his ears pressed firmly against his skull.
"I... I-i-i'm going to sleep now..." Matt stuttered, turning in the bed to face the wall, leaving a bewildered Aiden half' sitting next to him, blushing wildly. He laid, his back slightly separated from Matt's and for the first time in his life, he feared quarreling, even losing his best friend was an inevitability. He began to cry silently, cursing his lack of judgement.
Aiden awoke to find the warm spot against his back missing. He began to panic, then remembered what'd happened between the two the previous night. He looked over, noticing Matt sitting upright, staring at Aiden.
"M... Matt?" Aiden asked, sitting beside him.
"Yeah... uh, morning..." Matt said, his arms resting on his kneecaps. The room was as still as stone, and not a sound could be heard. "Aiden, I'm not..." He said, finally breaking the silence.
"I'm not either, I just. --"
"Then why'd you kiss me?" Matt asked, interrupting Aiden's lie. Aiden looked up, noticing Matt's face: one of pure curiosity instead of rage.
"I... I don't know, I just didn't think about it and we were best friends and it felt really weird and you probably hate me now and..." Aiden yelped, his face distorted in an attempt to hold back tears.
Matt wrapped his arm around Aiden's shoulder, bringing him slightly closer. Aiden took a few deep breaths, then sighed in relief.
Aiden leaned his neck in, resting his head on his raccoon companion's shoulder. "And.... I... I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Matt said. Aiden smiled. Matt grinned. "I suppose... if you want, I could try it out and stuff..." Matt took a few deep breaths, then wrapped his arms around Aiden, dragging him to the bed.
Still surprisingly strong.
Aiden gulped slightly, then decided to ask. "What do you mean, try it out? You mean, like, turn... you know... gay? I don't think it works like that..." Aiden said, separating from Matt. "Otherwise, I'd be straight. And normal."
"I guess it doesn't. But I kind-of want to try..." Matt said, laying his head onto Aiden's chest. "Besides... I've been your best friend for damn near 13 years, even if I am straight, I still really like you." The raccoon took a deep breath, then pressed his lips against Aiden's.
Aiden sighed, then allowed his arm to flop over Matt's chest. "So, I guess thag makes you bisexual. I lucked out, huh..."
"Yeah." Matt said, cuddling against Aiden. "But it's just you. No other guys, just you."