Domain- First Segment
Matt was huddled in a corner, his knees pulled up to his chest and nothing but the dim light of his room covering him. It was cold, far too cold for a summer evening, and he was sweating rivers. The syringe on the desk nearby, glowed angelically as he glared at the harsh light from his fan light. He rocked forward once, and then back, his fur hitting the wall behind him with a damp thud. Matt craned his head to the side, his arms feeling up his perspiration glazed legs. This wasn't what they told him would happen. Matt could hear the sound of the bass from the party upstairs, even bits-and-pieces of the lyrics to the songs. This was his first time trying heroin, and it had taking some convincing before he decided to let his friend stick a needle in his arm. The drug was supposed to help him relax, and forget about how shitty his week was. But he didn't think it would do so by making him feel even worse, and have to strip down to nothing just to feel like he wasn't going to melt away into a puddle of gore.
There was a knock at Matt's bedroom door, and he was sitting so close that he felt the vibrations crawl through his back. A voice called in after the thick wooden thuds, "Matt?"
The corner felt like it had molded around the grey wolf's body, and gently whispered into his ear soothing words, urging him to ignore the call of his friend at the door and to simply sit, and stare blankly at the fan as the light flickered on and off. "Go away," Matt answered, barely audible over the buzzing in his own ears.
"Hey bro, it's Jason, are you in there?"
Jason...Matt thought, the image of a tall snow-white wolf with blue eyes crossed through his mind. The two wolves had been friends since the first term of the year, which would make them three month long friends. Matt couldn't understand why Jason would come looking for him. Don't come in...
The doorknob jiggled. "Matt? Raye told me he gave you something. I haven't seen you at your own party. Are you ok?"
The grey wolf mouthed the word, "no" but said nothing. He suddenly wanted to sink into the corner of his room, and disappear forever. The place where the needle had penetrated his skin was still burning, his body was clammy and he looked like he had just stepped out of the shower. The strong smell of his sweat permeated the air.
"I'm coming in," Jason continued, easing the door open with tender care. The hinges squeaked as the light from the hall flooded the dim lit room. Matt closed his eyes, and held his legs closer to his body, determined to not let Jason catch him in his naked state. The white wolf took a step through the door, and in Matt's eyes it was like a scene from a horror film. Jason's boot tapped the grey rug, and he stepped into the room, scanning about for the man inside, ignorant to the fact the door hid him. He put his body fully in his wrinkled khaki's and tight shirt imposing on what little privacy Matt felt he had left in the world.
Jason sighed, and Matt held his breath. The white wolf turned the switch for the light higher, the room brightened. The first thing Jason noticed was the syringe, then it was Matt rocking back and forth in the corner nearby. "Shit!" he shouted, rushing over to Matt and purposely collapsing to his knees. Matt began breathing hard, his body sweating even more profusely. The grey wolf could feel his body slowly beginning to give way. It was a more familiar feeling now, the kind he was promised. Jason began shouting for an ambulance, and people in the hall began to peak their heads in to check what the problem was. Matt's head rolled from shoulder to shoulder as he sluggishly slowed his rocking. Jason grabbed Matt and shook him, but got no response. Matt smiled, and the world turned black.
--
Two Years Later
--
The soft music was playing slowly into Jason's drooped ears. Summer had just started, and he was alone again. This would mark the second year he would sit in his room listening to rock and searching the internet for some form of contact. School had sucked again, and he thought that this was what he would be condemned to till college. The same old bullshit because no one wants to be friends with the dead druggie's friend. Why? Because the police still thought he was the one who had given Matt the poison.
"I wouldn't," he said under his breath, changing the song to something louder, anything that could cloud his head to the point where he wouldn't try and convince himself that the entire problem was his fault. Everyone had told him that he had killed his friend, no one actually bothered to ask. The dragons at the police station interrogated him ruthlessly, and even Jason's parents had harassed him. Even after the jury of the murder case said Jason was innocent, the time had tainted his reputation around the state. Everyone knew about him, and no one was willing to befriend a murderer.
"I'm not afraid to walk this world alone," he repeated after the song, wishing the words weren't just regurgitated nonsense. "It's alright cause there is beauty in the breakdown..."
--
"Hold on," the otter said sheepishly, raising the volume on his phone while one of the tall wolf furniture movers raced past him with a piece of a wooden table. "Don't tell me you are just going to be leaving me here alone. First you make me move and now I won't even know anyone and will have the house to myself?" The otter spun around, checking out the home his parents had given him to stay in while his junior and senior year would go by. It would also, hopefully, turn into his college home as well. He jumped up and raised a paw to the air, praying that his voice sounded sincere. If all went well he would even be able to have his own summer start off and welcome to the town party.
His mother's voice replied, sounding apologetic, "I'm really sorry sweetie, it's just that your father has business and things to attend to and we didn't want to have to drag you around the world. We just want you to be happy--" there was the sound of an intercom and someone's voice naming a flight--"I'm sorry, that's my flight. Now, Matthew, if you need absolutely anything call me and your father and I will find something to try and help you. School, friends, anything!" Matt's parent's view on anything was this: if you throw enough money at it, sooner or later it would go away. The teenage otter smiled, turning down a long hall and going to the room he had previously designated his room. The bed was already set up, and the movers were finishing up the last bits and pieces. There was a king sized bed as a center piece, and every wall was covered with fresh, new, lightly used books. Matt loved to read. He would be perfectly happy with just a desk and a library, but he couldn't be the nerd, not at school. So, he went around and played his part while going home and thoroughly enjoying a good read.
"But mom! School won't start for months and I don't know anyone!" Now he was just sounding like a spoiled rich kid who missed their parents.
"I'm really sorry, but your father needs me to go with him. We will make sure to be back before you graduate. Bye!" The phone clicked dead.
The otter closed his cell phone and checked out his room, quiet happy with the set up and all the space he had to practice. Hell yeah! Matt thought, spinning on heel and beginning to do a bit of dancing. The otter liked to break-dance, it was his way of expressing himself, and right then he felt like toprocking. The little dance quickly led to some footwork and after a quick set he was performing a bit of swipes for his own amusement and practice.
Matt failed to notice the dragon in the doorway who was watching him with a smile, "I used to do that," the dragon informed while Matt was in mid swipe, his legs in the air gaining momentum. The voice startled the otter, and he forgot to switch paws in the spin, and fell straight to the floor. The dragon laughed. "Yeah, that used to happen to me a lot too. I recommend you use your tail for more balance."
The otter looked over at the stranger in the doorway with a hard glare. The only reason I messed up was because of you. Matt waved a paw at the scaley, "I only fell because you scared me," he replied curtly. "What do you want?"
"So would I have scared you if this wasn't your home and I was a possible opponent?"
Matt stood up, using his paws as brushes to straighten out the ruffled hairs, and wipe the tiny droplets of sweat from his brow. "No, cause I've never met a dragon who knew how to break."
"Ditto, but otter."
"What do you want, dragon?" he said angrily, throwing his hands up into the air.
The dragon chuckled, "So, your parents didn't tell you who I am? Pity, but expected." The large beast bowed, "Well, let me introduce myself--" the dragon extending a clawed hand--"My name is Adrianne, and I have been hired to play as something between a baby sitter and care taker for you and this home while your parents are away."
Matt's jaw dropped, and his muzzle drooped a bit. Adrianne barely looked old enough to be out of high school even though his scales were thick and large across his entire body, he looked more like a mature teenager then anything else. The kind of guy you'd find walking around buying cigarettes for all his underage friends, not being hired as a baby sitter for a seventeen year old. Especially not for a two year period. "Was that a joke?"
The dragon smiled, flashing a nice set of long, sharp fangs. "No. Call your mother if you don't believe me." A mover found his way over to the room and tapped the scaley on the shoulder.
"Adrianne Windrow?"
Adrianne turned towards the wolf, "Yeah, that's me."
"Good, I wouldn't want to get you confused with another black and green dragon. Anyway, we are done here and just need your signature," the wolf pulled out a clipboard and pen while pointing at lines on the contract, "Here... here... and initial here please." Adrianna did so, patted the wolf on the shoulder, and the laborer walked away silently.
Matt stood in shock, taking a few steps back so that he could sit on the edge of his bed and examine his new parental figure. "So, are you going to make my life a living hell? You should know by now that I don't like authority or rules. My parents have always left me alone, and because of that we have always gotten along. Are you going to try to do otherwise?"
The scaley smiled again, and winked at the otter while walking into the room to survey it, "Umm, I just needed a summer job and place to stay, and when your parents contacted me with this possible deal... I decided to take it in hopes that you weren't some rich brat. You seem chill, and since I am your 'care taker' I intend on making sure that you are kept happy. That means," Adrianne put a hand on his chest. "If you let me have my fun, I'll let you have yours."
The otter cocked his head to the side, and put his paws on his lap feeling unsure about the situation, "It sounds like mutual blackmail."
Adrianna shrugged, his broad shoulders ruffling with the motion, "Meh, I don't see why you can't trust me. Does it look like I am some uptight German-Shepard nanny?"
Matt recognized the reference, a few scenes from a recent overly-dramatic movie about two young renegade avians flashed through his head. He held back a smile, "Not really." The otter looked at his shelves of books, trying to pick out the bindings of his favorites.
"Then were golden! How about we have a party?"
The otter got up, and walked over to a shelf so that he could pick out a book he had brought to his new home but never had enough time to finish reading. It was Battle Royale, by Koushun Takami, a Japanese writer who's work was translated to English after the novel became a best seller and movie.
"Hello, earth to Matthew Djinn, I need a simple yes or no."
Matthew looked over, he would have said yes in a moment if he knew people, but he felt uncomfortable since he knew that it would be strangers, possibly in college, all walking through his front door and leaving drunk. "But I don't have any friends here, and I don't want to invite old people."
The dragon suddenly looked extremely offended, "Are you calling me old?! I'm only 19, and still in high school. Damn!" Adrianne looked himself up and down, "What?!" he shouted immensely confused.
Oh. Shit. Matt scratched one of his ears, and dropped the book onto his bed nervously. "Oh, sorry, I just can never tell how old dragons are, and I assumed that since my parents hired you, um," He looked at the floor, and sat down, "I thought, you were like twenty-eight or something."
"That didn't sound racist," Adrianne replied sarcastically, "Oh well, anyway. If we throw this thing you can get to know everyone in the area. Otherwise, it's going to be very hard for you to make new friends, especially since school ended not too long ago. Plus it will be fun."
He's right, Matt told himself, thinking about his old school and how all their parties had drugs and alcohol. Matt had just moved, there wouldn't be anything for the visitors to chew on and enjoy. "One question."
The dragon nodded, "Yeah?"
"Can you get drinks, and any drugs?"
Adrianne's eyes suddenly lit up, "I was hoping you'd ask that!" The dragon bounded over to the bed with a quick flap of his wings and flick of his tail. He put a clawed hand on the otter's shoulder and whispered his words, "What's your favorite beverage and what kind of drugs are you looking for? I can get anything, especially since your parents will be paying the bills."
"Vodka, and LSD. Acid pops or paper if they sell it around here. Go for sugar. And buy some weed for our guests."
"The drinks will cost about one hundred dollars if you want some for everyone. The acid is cheap, around five dollars per slip, the pops are bound to be more expensive, and as for the weed, we can get it for the price of ten dollars a gram. And yes, that might be cheap, but it's quality shit. I'd recommend we get around twenty-five G's just for the sake of reselling to some of our guests and smoking."
Matt shook his head, "I don't smoke."
Adrianna looked over at him surprised, "But you do LSD?"
"LSD isn't bad for you, and it helps me stay inspired so I keep dancing."
"I'm surprised you can DUI."
"What?" the otter questioned, Driving under the influence. Then it struck him, Dancing UI. "Oh. Well, I can't really. It's more like, helps me imagine new moves."
The dragon clapped two clawed hands together with a melancholy ring, "Well then! We won't want to ruin your hopes and aspirations for becoming a famous dancer! I will make sure that we get--" he winked slyly--"Your fix." And with that, the dragon stood up, pulled a cell phone out of his pocket, and walked out of the room leaving Matt alone with his book.
You assumed a lot, Matt thought, opening Battle Royale, and finding his page, it read "16 Students Remain" at the bottom.
--
Everything was going as planned that night. At least until a few drakes arrived, they were all Adrianne's friends, and they brought some pretty hardcore liquor. However, Matt was reluctant to touch it, he didn't want everyone assuming he was some drunk who just wanted to party and throw money around. No, he wanted to make friends, meet some quality people who he'd actually enjoy wasting his summer with. The problem was, most of Adrianne's friends were just their to smoke and get drunk. Fancy that.
A rather ugly vixen found her way over to Matt, she reeked of cheap perfume and alcohol in a rather mind-numbing way. Matt wrinkled his nose and tried to ignore her, but she took his blatant disinterest as an invitation. She leaned over onto the otter and put her hands around him, feeling up his fur that resembled the same color as wet sand. Matt just sat impassively next to one of Adrianne's friends, his name was either Justin or Jase and he was a small, thin dragon. Matt was ignoring her and wishing the fur to just leave him alone.
Matt quickly became annoyed, "Don't touch me," he growled, catching the attention of Jase, (or was it Justin?) and the vixen. She kept rubbing the otters chest, feeling the muscles and stopping to rub his nipples. Matt grabbed the female's hands, turned around, and met the fox face to face. With a rather threatening glare he said, "I'm serious. Go grope someone else, I'm not interested." He threw her hands into the air and returned to the rather dull conversation with the skinny dragon.
"Common baby," the vixen cooed, her breath smelling like vodka and winterfresh gum. "I know you probably want to do it, so just get it done with me."
The otter rolled his eyes, and crossed his paws protectively over his chest while curling his tail around his own waist. He never felt comfortable around women, and had never been attracted to them either. Before he moved, he had seriously considered the fact that he might be bi-sexual, maybe even gay.
Jase / Justin decided to bring up a topic, "I'm surprised," he started, motioning outward with his arms at the elegantly decorated room. "Most otters have waterways throughout their entire house. You not found of swimming or something?"
That was, as a matter of fact, something that Matt's parents had failed to notice, and had bought the house after a five minute tour and two hours of contracts and phone calls. This manor, or mansion, used to be owned by water rats. The only pools were located in the back yard, three Olympic sized ones, the deepest reaching seventeen feet. "Well, when my parents bought the house from water rats. They usually don't like all the liquid in their homes so they keep the pools out back."
"Ahh," Jase / Justin replied, curling a claw and beckoning the ugly fox girl to come to him. The dragon wasn't drunk, hadn't smoked anything at all, and yet he was still going to have his way with the vixen.
The fox walked over, and Jase / Justin stood up, put an arm around her waist, winked at Matt, and left the room. The otter felt disgusted. He feigned a gag, and uncoiled his arms and tail. The clock on the wall said it was near nine-thirty p.m., and Matt felt like he needed to go for a walk. He had the clothes on for the summer weather, a white, short sleeved, collar shirt and a pair of very light jeans. Nothing fancy, he didn't want to stick out, but at the same time he wanted to look good. Matt got up, walked out the same way the dragon and vixen had left, and then moved towards one of the back doors. No one seemed to notice him leaving.
The weather outside was cooler then expected, but it felt nice. The soft breeze rustled through Matt's short fur giving him a rather tranquil sensation and set the mood very nicely with the full moon that shone strongly onto the water of the large pools. He sighed, and began down the steps that led from the house to the largest, or the primary, pool. Matt stopped at the water, rolled his jeans to his knees, took off his socks and shoes, and lazily put his feet in the water. "Ahh," he moaned, feeling the cool sensation he was all too familiar and intimate with. Even though Matt was a dancer, swimming was in his blood and was also a passion. But it'd be rude to go for a swim with guests in his house.
Something caught the otter's eye, a shape moving in his backyard. Matt took his feet out of the water, left his shoes where they were, and began to walk out into his large lawn. He wasn't sure whether what he was seeing was a trick of the wind, or maybe just his imagination, but it was something. "Hello?" he called out gently, squinting his eyes in hopes of getting a better look at the stranger. "Who's out there?"
No one answered, but the shape, which was now appearing to be more and more fur-like by the moment, stopped walking and turned towards the otter. Matt felt uncomfortable, even with the bright moonlight he could tell who he, or she, but was almost certain that they could see how the light reflected off his white shirt.
Matt took a few steps forward, and sized up the stranger. He was probably around six feet tall, that meant that the they were about four inches taller then the otter. They also had broad shoulders, and that made Matt assume that it was a man. "Um, sir?" He kept walking towards the figure even though paranoia was beginning to settle in.
The stranger answered, "Oh, hi. Sorry, I was just thinking and didn't see you there." It was a low tenor sounding voice, and quiet male, but friendly. The figure walked closer to the otter and became visible, the shadows no longer playing games with Matt. The owner of the voice, was a white wolf, and Matt actually felt like slapping himself for not being able to tell earlier. He was wearing a black shirt and ragged black jeans with holes, his tail waving back and forth with the breeze. Then there was his eyes, two strangely large ocean blue eyes that rested nicely behind the wolf's muzzle like sapphires. "I was just going for a walk," he informed, "I didn't mean to walk on your property."
"Oh," Matt replied, catching himself staring at the handsome wolf. He decided it would be best to examine the grass instead, "It's ok, I was just going for a walk myself."
The wolf smiled, took a few steps forward, and raised a paw to the otter, "My name's Jason."
"Matt," the otter replied, taking the paw and shaking it. The wolf however, seemed relatively disinterested in the pawshake suddenly though.
"Matt..." Jason repeated, rolling the word off his tongue like a sweet treat.
The otter looked at him curiously, and thought he saw, if just for a moment, a twinge of pain behind those beautiful two eyes. "You have nice eyes," Matt suddenly blurted out, and regretted saying it nearly instantly. Oh crap, what if he is a homophob! He though, cursing himself for being so stupid as to let his body work faster then his mind.
Jason tilted his head to the side, his hand still in the otters. He let go sluggishly, and it seemed like an eternity before he actually replied, "Thank you, I like yours too. Very mysterious. I've never seen an otter with pitch black eyes."
It sounded like a compliment, and Matt took it as one. Although he had just met the wolf, he felt like they had a connection, or maybe it was the fact his gaydar had gone off as soon as the wolf said his name. The otter blushed, carefully putting his ears down so that they wouldn't flush. "They aren't black, just really dark brown."
"Really?" the wolf said with a grin sounding more interested then he probably really was. "I can't tell, it's too dark. But that's what I like about these late night walks. They help me clear my thoughts." Jason sighed, sounding half depressed and half relieved too say those words.
Matt caught onto the undertone of the words, "Something wrong?" he questioned, peering curiously at Jason, whom seemed to fidget slightly under the otter's stare.
Jason forced a chuckle, "No, not really." The white wolf quickly changed topics, "I have never seen who lives at this house, I always thought it would be some rich rat or mouse family."
"Actually, I'm new to the neighborhood. You live nearby?"
"Um," the wolf turned around and pointed one of his paws towards a small amount of forestation about half a mile away. "Over there. You can't see it, but my house is in there."
"Cool." Matt took a nervous glance at Jason, catching his eyes for a second. The wolf seemed kind, and it was pretty obvious that the otter was hitting on him. "Do you, by chance and I'm not like trying to force you or anything but I'm just curious," he rambled a bit before realizing what he was doing, "Do you want to come over?" The way he worded it made it sound so elementary.
Jason smiled, and looked down at the otter with a warm smile across his muzzle. His tail was wagging enough to give away what he would answer. "Why not," the wolf announced, and the two of them turned towards the otter's home and began to walk towards the pools.
"Are your parents home by chance?" Jason asked, trying to make the question sound as ordinary as possible. He rubbed shoulders with Matt quickly, but it was enough for the otter to feel the hard muscle underneath the wolf's fur.
"Nah, I was having a party but the guests got annoying, so I decided I'd take a walk and before I could even get started I spotted you." Matt laughed anxiously. Don't blow this, he told himself. You can be making a new friend right here and now. But god, he is so hott!
"Party?"
"Yeah, a party. My care taker, Adrianne, wanted to invite some friends over for a welcoming party. Problem is that most of them just wanted to come to drink and smoke. I'd join them, but my stomach has been pretty weak recently."
Jason stopped in his tracks, and took a long examination of the otter. Matt didn't look like a smoker, didn't sound like one, and didn't have the scent of alcohol or smoke on him. The wolf sniffed carefully, making sure he was right. "Why would you want to do that? Just so that you can fit in?" Jason made it an accusation, but also tried to sound as sarcastic as possible. Subtle insults was the wolf's specialty.
Matt turned away from the white wolf and moved around the pool, Jason clipping at his heels eager for an answer. "No," he said, picking up the socks from the cool ground and slipping them over his webbed feet, "It's just that, I'm kind of addicted to cigarettes and some stuff. Have you ever tried LSD?"
The question was so out-of-the-blue it startled Jason, and the wolf physically looked taken back. "Uh, no." It was more a cementation of his own willpower then anything. It's not everyday that you find a handsome otter out on a walk who is willing to invite you over... and offer you drugs.
"Any drugs?"
Jason turned the question in his mind, and dissected it from every angle. If I say yes, Matt's going to think I'm some druggie. This might just be a test. But on the other paw, he might really be asking for an honest answer. The wolf chose to be honest. "No, never had the urge to. It doesn't strike me as something fun to do."
The otter sighed while pulling on his other shoe, "Yeah, I wish I made that decision a long time ago."
"What do you mean?"
"Drugs suck, but I like them cause in my mind I need them. I've tried quitting and all that. The nicotine gums, the stupid patch, nothing really works. So I just go with it. Helps clear my mind sometimes too, just like your walks."
Just like my walks? Jason thought, and for a moment it wasn't Matt the otter sitting down tying his shoe laces, but Jason's best friend Matt, sitting their with a broad grin as he explained his addiction. It seemed like history was repeating itself, but this time it didn't want to start from the beginning. No, it wanted Jason to try and help Matt, but the problem was already halfway through.
The otter began to walk up the steps towards his home, "So, what school do you go to?"
"Windriver," Jason replied blandly.
"Doesn't sound like you're very fond of it."
"No kidding."
"Something wrong with the place?"
The white wolf didn't feel like explaining the whole story. He went for the excuse escape, "No, I just don't like the teachers very much." That should work, he told himself.
"Oh, are the students chill?"
"Yeah," Jason replied mechanically, trying to make himself believe it. These were the same damn questions that his Matt had asked when he had moved to the area two years ago.
"Awesome. A few of the kids who are staying are from their, maybe you will see somebody you know."
Jason froze up. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. He looked through the window ahead of the otter and immediately spotted the last person he'd ever want to see. The pushed the otter to the side of the door, and up against the wall, but kept the smaller fur at arms distance so it didn't seem sexual or intimate. "Is that Raye? The dragon, he has black and dark green scales, what's his name?" He prayed to god that the otter would tell him something that would calm his fears. After Matt had died, a dragon by the name of Raye Djinn had went around school spreading the rumor that had infected the student body and was so contagious that Jason was soon left alone. One dragon, his rival in everything, had found a way to gain the upper hand.
Matt wasn't expecting the sudden lurch, and neither the interrogation. He found himself tongue tied for a moment before he could reply, "Adrianne."
"Shit. Adrianne who?"
"Adrianne Djinn, he's my care taker while my parents are gone on a business trip. They won't be back till next year. Why? Do you know him?" The otter felt scared, at how the wolf had suddenly turned from a calm, handsome wolf into being physical and a bit violent. Mood swings?
Jason let go of the otter, and tensed considerably, "You don't get it. Ask Raye about me. My full name is Jason Bhorch--"
Matt cut him off, "I don't care what Adrianne thinks about you. I just met you and am not about to go running off to hear rumors about a guy who I think is sweet and kind. I'm not like everyone else, I make my own opinion of people and go from their. If someone says someone is an asshole, he might turn out to be one. But there is always that chance that they aren't."
The white wolf didn't know how to explain the situation to an otter who had just moved to the town. Matt hadn't heard about the overdose, or the fact that Jason was taken to court for first degree murder charges. No, none of it. How do you explain to someone you just met that your entire school thinks that you killed your best friends? Jason grinded his teeth, and looked around, the light shining through the windows of the mansion looked like beacons calling into the night. "Listen, Matt. I want to tell you something about me before anyone else does."
The otter peered curiously up at the wolf and nodded his head slowly unsure of what to expect.
"Last year, well it's still this year, but anyway. My friend, his name was Matt as well, a gray wolf that I met my freshmen year. How do I say this... we dated."
Matt's eyes lit up, and he blushed profusely. With dire care he tucked his tail behind himself and put his ears down in hopes the wolf wouldn't notice that his hopes just increased. The story, luckily, took Jason's entire concentration to tell.
"It wasn't till this year that I noticed that he had a drug problem, heroin. He got it from Raye, or Adrianne, whatever you want to call him. That guy's failed junior year twice and still manages to somehow not get arrested. He sells drugs. Then, I am praying to god you aren't homophobic cause if you are, then this entire thing is useless and I might as well disappear again." Jason turned around and began walking down the steps leading towards the pools. The fluorescent lights from inside made the wolf's fur glow, and his tail seem entrancing.
"Wait!" Matt shouted, and rushed after Jason, catching him halfway down the steps and stopping the wolf by grabbing his shoulder. The white wolf turned around sadly, and cast a depressed glance at the otter before looking away. His blue eyes looked so innocent, so delicate, so pained. "Please, just tell me. I'm..." he had never openly admitted to anyone his sexuality, but he thought that it was only fair that since the wolf had that he would too, "I'm gay."
Jason sighed, thinking, that explains a lot. "Do you really want to hear this? You do realize that everyone is going to tell you a different story."
"I want to hear it from you."
"But why do you care? You just met me. If you become epilated with me you will destroy your reputation and be an outcast," Jason warned.
"I don't understand why though!" Matt shouted. "What could you have possibly done that would make so many people hate you and also force me, a complete stranger to the entire issue, to never want to see you?"
"What if they told you I killed someone."
Matt took a shocked step back, and his eyes opened wide. He perked his ears and stopped moving his tail. "You're lying."
"At least you believe that. Everyone thinks I gave my boyfriend laced heroin that had some sort of pesticide in it. I didn't. I swear to you on my ancestor's graves that I wouldn't. I loved him and would never hurt him."
"Wait. Where did that conclusion come from?"
"I found him."
"His body?" Matt sounded horrified and sympathetic.
"No. He was dying though. It was at his house. There was a party, and we had just had a fight, so I went looking for him. I found him in his room sweating pools and I told the people nearest to me to call 911. Raye was the one who told me that he was in his room, and also the one who ended up running in and taking pictures on his phone of me cradling Matt and the drugs nearby. It was a fucking set-up. Those pictures sent me to court, and pretty soon everyone in the entire damn town was convinced I'd killed my so called best friend. The jury, however, decided otherwise when they realized that still photo pictures weren't enough to convict me of the murder. My paw prints weren't even on the damn syringe. I didn't do it!"
Matt stared up into the wolf's eyes. He saw all those memories flash by within a moment, and watched as the tears welled up as his story went along. Just as he finished, he yipped and a tiny saline droplet rolled down the side of his muzzle. "I believe you," the otter said whole-heartedly, extending his arms outward. He gave the wolf a hug, and then Jason broke down into a full blown cry.
"He was my best friend!" he said between sobs, "Why did they have to take him away from me?"
Matt didn't know what to say. He felt selfish for doing drugs himself, but it wasn't like he had anything to do with the wolf's problems. "I'm sorry, really I am," the otter whispered into one of Jason's soft ears. "I believe you, I know you couldn't have done it." And he actually thought that he did. The story, it seemed to real, too raw and uncut. It was just that the small otter didn't know what to do. He could listen, but listening doesn't heal emotional scars. Matt held Jason, and let the wolf cry. He wanted the handsome white wolf to feel better, and not imprisoned in his own life. Matt wished that he wouldn't have had to see his best friend die. He actually wanted a lot of things for Jason but knew that none of them were really what the wolf needed. What the white wolf needed most, was love. Pure, sincere, unfaltering love.
It was nearly fifteen minutes before Jason pulled himself together and managed to stand and walk down a few more of the steps silently. Matt followed in suit, not wishing to leave the wolf alone. "Jason..."
The wolf didn't turn around. He walked over towards the water and looked down at the rippling surface.
"Jason... I don't know if you believe me. But I care about you even if I don't know you very well. I can't stand on the side lines and watch someone suffer, that just isn't me. I want you to know that I am there for you."
Jason didn't answer. The wolf wanted to believe the otter, but found Matt's words seemingly hollow. "I need to go back home," he said, his eyes welling once again with tears, the memories of the grey wolf Matt fluttering through his head. He began to walk away.
"Wait! Jason!" The wolf didn't stop. "I want you to promise me that you will come around here tomorrow."
The white wolf stood still, listening to the otter's words and not wanting them to register. What could he possibly want me around for? he thought, looking up at the moon and then at the long walk he'd have to take home. I'm a bleeding heart...
"Jason. Promise me!" Matt was almost begging now.
A tear streaked down Jason's muzzle and found it's way between his lips. The water tasted salty. "I promise." Without another word he started at a full-on sprint away from the otter's home.
Matt watched, his chest pounding and his heart telling him that the wolf needed him. He wanted to chase after the wolf, follow him home and make him think everything was better. "You don't deserve this," he whispered, tracking Jason as he bounded down the road towards the direction he said his home was. "You just need someone to be there for you." Matt walked back to the steps leading from the pools to his house and sat down on the lowest one. He rest his head against the stone, and replayed every word Jason had said. 'I didn't do it!'... but everyone is telling you that you did.
The thought that Adrianne was the killer barely skimmed his mind.
--
Tap. Jason's head hit the bedpost gently. His room was desolate, and the wolf was left home alone again, his parent's left without notice leaving only a short note and a wad of bills. Jason was glad they were gone, he wanted to be alone.
The thermostat next to his closet read that the temperature was below fifty degrees. His parent's never put it lower then seventy-two. Jason shivered, stripping off his clothes and moving to hold himself in the corner by the door, his white fur was standing on-end. He embraced the cold, imagining what it must have been like for Matt.
"Were you cold?" he asked space, pulling his knees closer to his body with frozen paws. "You were shaking, sweating, breathing so hard." A shudder ran down Jason's spine, and he groaned painfully, beginning to slowly sweat tiny, cold drops. "Did you know you were dying?" He was no longer in control.
--
Jason was frozen in place when he awoke. His body ached, and his fur felt brittle and dry. Each breath was coming in short, hoarse gasps.
Jason stood, shivering, frozen to the bone. "It's so cold." The words left his muzzle in bursts of smoke and mist. He looked around his den, searching for something to wear, the outfit he had worn yesterday was lying scattered at the foot of his bed. Jason rushed over, grabbing his shirt, pants, and boxers, and managing to dress within seconds. The chilly apparel made the wolf cringe. It didn't help that his balls felt like they were being frozen off.
"Fuck!" he shouted, grabbing his crotch in one hand while he dragged himself over to the thermostat. "Fifty-three?!" the wolf screeched, slamming on the up arrow to raise the temperature. The purr of the heater answered his desperation. Warm air came through the vent at Jason's feet, and he eagerly sat down to succumb as much of the warmth as he could.
"Matt..." the word just raced off his tongue like he meant to say it. Jason never wants to think of his dead mate, who would? The memory of the previous night came rushing: the late night walk, the otter with the same name, Adrianne, running away, Matt's request for him to come back... "Matt..." He didn't want to call the otter by that name. He would have preferred anything.
Jason rocked his head back, hitting it against the wall in dull, faintly audible thuds. "Yesterday wasn't real." It was the phrase he used to try to stabilize his emotions since his parent's refused to let him become dependent on modern medicine.
"Matt never existed. The grey wolf was never real."
Never real, always never real; if all pain could be something only based in our imagination, dreams wouldn't be something we'd look forward too. Jason shrugged his broad shoulders, and wiped his nose with the back of his paw. His hand was still gripped tightly around his package.
"So much for being very fertile," he joked with himself, getting his mind off thought of his actions, the cold, and trying to know how it felt to die. "I guess I shouldn't have accidentally pushed the temperature down that low. I like it cold, but not that cold." Jason has always hated winter, but if you tell yourself something enough, and believe in it, even if it is a known lie, sooner or later it will become something real.
The white wolf groaned, and pulled his shirt off. He had been sweating again, but this time because of the heat. Jason sniffed the air a few times, but stayed close to the vent heater. "I need a shower," he declared, seeing that most of his fur matted and stuck together with dried filth. "Ew." But at least his wolfhood didn't feel like it was being smashed anymore.
"Hmm..." Jason pulled off the pants and walked across the room to his alarm clock. It was on the floor, the screen against the ground. He picked up the device, and checked the time; twelve thirteen.
"Shower. Then I'll go over and speak with him." 'Him' was Matt the otter. "Maybe he wants to order some food with me? He's a nice guy." Any names were all refused from his conscious thought. He didn't want to think of Matt, but he didn't know what to call 'Him'. Maybe the otter had a nickname?
~
The water ran cool and refreshing, and before long Jason was satisfied that he had washed the grime from his body. He smelled like vanilla from the new soap his mother had bought him, but it didn't really bother him. With a tower wrapped around his waist, and a faux smile across his muzzle, he stepped out of the bathroom, and into the now tepid room.
"What time is it..." His alarm clock read twelve forty-five. "Damn. That was a long shower." Jason opened up his closet, and pulled out a pretty petty outfit. No shirt, just a pair of cargo pants and a zip-up jacket that clung tight to his figure.
"Presentable?" he asked the mirror, trying to decide whether or not he really cared, but caring about his looks helped him just find a topic to think about. Thinking was bad, but not thinking could potentially be worse. Jason just wanted to get out of his house.
--
Notice: 12 hours till update. Got kicked out again.. .Give me a break.