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Treading

Chapter 5 - Prom date

--Fen--

"There's no telling what they'll do," I say quickly, messing with the food on my plate at the dinner table. My mother and father sit across from me, seeming equally uncertain about the situation.

"If we don't register then they're going to come after us anyway. We don't really have much of a choice, Fen," My dad says gently, frowning visibly at his own suggestion before he continues. "And you're almost done with school, you're just about to go to college. We can't just go back to living without cloakers, that kind of life isn't what you want, trust me."

My mom seems to agree but I remain stubborn. "College won't do me any good if they find out. They've gotta have a reason for this, they probably wanna capture us all and do something; you know how the norms have treated us in the past."

"We don't need a reminder," My dad grumbles.

"Listen, Fen, we just want what's best. We can always take our cloakers off and go into hiding, so why not try this registration thing? It's probably nothing good, you're right, but it doesn't remove our options. If we remove our cloakers and flee now, then we'll never be able to come back. You won't see your friends anymore, and life outside is hard without a cloaker. We're thousands of miles away from the nearest underground city, and none of the smaller communities nearby are exactly friendly to those of us with cloakers even if we assume they would be safe from the norms. Our hands are tied."

"Fine..." I sigh a little, keeping my eyes on my plate and stuffing another piece of chicken into my muzzle; the lemon flavoring is wonderful, but the mood keeps me from enjoying it.

"We're nervous too, son," My dad says, rubbing a paw over his right ear. "We can only take it a day at a time, though. Let your mom and I worry about what's going on... You just enjoy your last week of school, alright?"

I stare at him for a while and, eventually, give a slight nod. "Yea, alright."

We don't say much for the rest of the evening; this had all come pretty hard and fast. There were very few details, but it's obvious that the norms want to know who and where we are. My parents may be right about the fact that we can always go into hiding, but I couldn't help but imagine them busting our door down in the night and simply taking us away when we least expect it. The thought itself makes me quiver a little.

Saturday, Sian and I decide to take a walk downtown nearby the coffee shop Naki and I met at last weekend. I needed the time away from home and Sian has always been good at calming my nerves.

"Same thing my parents said," he chuckles a little, peering at me with a twist of his head. "I bet mine talked to yours."

"That sounds like something they'd do," I sigh.

"Well, let's just make the best of it. We're not in hot water yet, right? And, anyway, if something goes wrong, we always have your boyfriend to protect us." He gives me a nudge and I shoot him a glare.

"Naki doesn't even know; we have no way of telling how he'd react," I mumble, frowning as I realize the way Sy worded my relationship with Naki. "And he's not my boyfriend," I smirk, flicking at one of the raccoon's ears playfully and causing him to yip gently, ducking his head down.

"Hey, comeon. That hurts a bit." He mumbles.

While he's rubbing his ear and muttering, I notice my phone vibrating and reach into my pocket to pull it out. The name on the caller ID makes me double-take just to make sure I'm seeing it right.

"It's Naki," I say, looking to Sian who visibly struggles to keep himself from grinning.

"Answer it!"

"Why? Why would he be.."

"Just answer it," Sian presses.

I hit accept and put the phone to my ear. "Hello?"

"Fen? Uh... hey." He hesitates for a moment before continuing. "Can we... meet up today? Maybe the same place as last weekend? I just wanna talk, that's all..."

Now it's my turn to hesitate. "...Why?" I ask, feeling a bit like a heel. Of course I want to meet up with him but, at the same time, I can't help but remember how our previous meeting went.

"It's okay if not..." I hear him say, before shaking my head to myself.

"No no, let's meet up... when?"

"In an hour? Same place as last week?" He asks.

"Alright, see you then."

"Great! ...thanks," he says, and I smile a bit before hanging up.

"So?" Sian asks, peering at me.

"He's going to meet me at the coffee shop again." I say, suddenly uncertain of how to feel. I'm happy he still wants to hang out... honestly, thrilled. At the same time, I can feel the old worries creeping up, not to mention the conversation we'd had last week.

"What could he want?" Sian ponders, before smiling and peering at me. "Maybe you turned him."

"I wish," I chuckle to myself. "Probably just wants to apologize or something... I'd be happy for one, that's for certain."

"Can I come, then? Or you want me to get lost for a bit while you talk to your otter?"

"We're -not-..." I sigh a little and rub my head. "Jerk... you can come, I don't see why not. You haven't met him yet so it'll be a chance to introduce you two."

"Excellent..." The 'coon grins and I move my hand as if I'm going to flick his ear again, causing him to flinch. I laugh gently, lowering my paw again.

"No funny business, Sy."

"Then why are you letting me come?"

I smile. "Good point."

We check out a few other stores in the meantime, spending most of it at a local gaming shop that sells for decent prices. While there, we spot a poster for a movie that's, apparently, coming out next year, involving cloakers. I can only imagine what that'll be like. The cover of the poster has a grinning female mouse grasping a ring resting on the finger of a lion whom seems rather nervous despite being just a bit taller than her. One guess as to why that might be.

"We have to go see that!" Sian exclaims as we're walking out.

"It's going to be a train wreck and you know it," I grumble.

"Exactly! It'll be like True Lives!"

"Yea yea, lets get to the coffee shop," I chuckle, swishing my tail as I think about it. "You know, it might actually be kind of like that episode from last week."

"I could hope for nothing better," he replies.

We get there after Naki, apparently, as the otter is already sitting and sipping on something. I wave at him and he smiles, peering up at me and Sian.

"Hey! Uh..." He looks at Sian and seems a little unnerved for a moment.

"This is Sian. He's pretty much my best friend. Sian, this is Naki."

Sian reaches out and grasps Naki's paw after the otter stands. "Hey, I've heard a lot about ya."

"You have? I hope nothing terrible." He smiles a little and takes his seat again while Sian and I sit across from him.

"Congrats on your event. Sorry I didn't get a chance to say it after the matches were over."

"Thanks, and don't worry about it. I was... honestly surprised you decided to come." He looks down at his coffee for a moment, seeming to think about what he wants to say next.

"...Look, if this is about last week, I understa--" I start only to be interrupted.

"It's not..." He hesitates for a moment, "fair. Not fair that I did that to you. You were being nice and we had good times together and I just threw it all away because of what others might think... And that's not fair," he says, messing with his cup some more and keeping his gaze down.

"No, it wasn't," I admit, feeling a bit more comfortable now... 'at least he felt bad about it,' I think to myself. "But I understand; the pressure can be overwhelming, I know."

"Yea," he says gently, shifting his gaze to peer at me. "So you're not mad?"

"I was a little... Okay, I was pretty upset last weekend after you told me. I've been slowly getting over it... This really helps, too. I'm glad you decided to apologize..."

"Well, that's not all I wanted to say." He shifts back wards and sits up straight, taking a deep breath. "I don't really know how to put it... so I'm gonna try to just... y'know..."

He takes a moment before adjusting his gaze to lock onto mine, leaving me to stare into his black irises and, at the same time, feel just a little uncomfortable.

"I don't really know if I'm straight, Fen," he says gently, looking down again as if he suspects this is something horrible. I just stare for a moment, trying to make certain I've heard the right thing before a huge grin appears over my muzzle.

I reach out and grasp his paw, tugging it towards me a little and holding his larger fingers tightly. I can feel him resist a bit at first, but then he lets it happen. I give as comforting a smile as I can manage if only to try and hide my own anxious excitement. "It's alright to be confused, y'know," I say, squeezing at his hand a little; I can hardly believe this is happening. "It's not a bad thing, lots of people aren't certain of what they want. Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I wasn't confused until I..." He smiles a little and draws his hand away from mine, settling both of them in his lap. "Until I met you, Fen... As sappy as it sounds, I'd never considered it until the second or third time I met you at the pools."

"You haven't always felt this way?" I tilt my head a little.

"No, you're different from anyone I've met, though. I don't know why, but I've just felt like I wanted to be around you ever since we met at the pools. Just to be there. That's all." He rubs at an ear a little, blushing visibly beneath his fur. "A-anyway, yea, I guess I just wanted to come clean. You deserve to know after what I put you through. I'm really sorry, Fen."

"It's alright, don't worry. I'm really happy to know... I--" I'm not really certain of what to say next. I want to ask him out, I want to seal the deal right now and just dive right into a relationship but the micro thing just nags at me every time I'm about to say it.

"I think it's great you decided to embrace it," Sian says, while I fumble with my words. "It's a lot easier once you decide you're going to live with it instead of fighting. No one is locking you into some specific sort of sexuality, everybody should be free to express themselves."

"Yea, what he said." I peer at Sian, happy he's here to keep me from doing something drastic.

"Thanks guys," Naki chuckles. "Just glad to get it off my chest. How's your weekend so far? Ready for prom?"

"We know what we're gonna do, yea," I answer, trying to avoid the question I want to ask. "Just two or three songs and then we join everyone else while another band comes up to play, so we'll have a good amount of time to enjoy the fun on both sides."

"Ian'll be dancing with Sam I bet, but we don't have dates yet. Guess it's you and me going together eh, Fen?" Sian asks.

I only peer at him. "You remember what happened last time, at homecoming."

"Yea, you can't dance," Sy respnds, to which I roll my eyes.

"It was your foot I tripped on; you were supposed to step backwards, not forwards," I grumble.

"I'm not the one who fell," he sings while I shoot a playful glare.

"We're not dancing."

"Awww, don't be that way."

"How long have you two known one another?" Naki asks, ending our quibbling.

"Hmm... since preschool. My family and his moved to this area at the same time. Our parents were friends so we were kept together from a really young age," I say, thinking back to my oldest memories with Sian. I'd known him for so long.

"They used to say we were one anothers' shadow 'cause it was hard to find us not together in elementary and middle school. It's not quite -that- bad, but we do have a tendency to stick together," Sian says.

"That's really awesome," Naki states, leaning in with interest. "Sounds kinda like Motley and I."

Naki looks down at his coffee again, "So you don't have a date?" He shifts his gaze to peer at me.

My heart stops and I bite my tongue a bit. Of course I want to take him to prom, but will he think we're dating if I do? I don't want to hurt him, I don't want to lead him on... I give Sian a look and he avoids my gaze. Great.

"No, I don't," I say with a hint of uncertainty.

"Oh..." Naki, apparently, catches it but decides to push forward anyway. "Well, could we... go together? I'm fine if you have to play for a while, I can mingle while your band plays and then we can dance afterwards or something."

"That'd be... uh, great," I say, looking down at my fingers.

"Can I get you two anything?" A female squirrel peers down at us while holding a pad of paper.

"Oh, yea... just a medium coffee." I look at Sian next to me whom shakes his head.

"Alright, just a couple minutes!" She walks off as quietly as she arrived.

"Why the hesitance? If you don't want to go with me, it's okay." Naki says, looking a lot like I imagine I looked last week in this very same shop.

I shake my head. "It's not that, I do want to go but-- look, Naki... I'm just curious. Did Motley say anything about me? Anything weird?"

"Weird? Er, like what?"

"Like... I dunno, just anything weird."

Sian kicks me gently beneath the table and I get the message. "Nevermind, it's nothing. He was talking to us and he just..."

"Oh! The Brad thing? Don't worry about him. Brad is a pushover, he won't do anything."

"No, that's not-- er.." I begin before trying to push the topic away, "Y-yea, actually, he did mention Brad," I say, trying to cover up my real fear.

"Don't worry about him." Naki shrugs. "He won't bother us. Anyway, so will you go with me?" He asks, staring at me hopefully. I can't say no to that, so I give a soft nod and a cheerful, if weary smile.

"Yea, let's go together. I'd love that."

"Great!" He grins widely, seeming to perk up. "I'll pick you up then?"

"Well, we have to be there early--"

"That's alright, I'll pick you both up and we can get there early. Sound good?"

I smile a little. It's funny how he's the one pushing -me- whereas last week he wanted to distance himself. "Yea, alright. We have to be there by seven." I grab a pen from my pocket and jot my address down on a napkin. "Here's my place, I'll lead you Sian's after you find me."

He takes the napkin and grins. "Alright... I'll... I'll see you then. I gotta go home to... help my parents out with dinner but I'll make sure I come before seven on Monday." He says as if he's rehearsing the time and date. He stands up and holds a paw out. "Nice meeting you, Sian."

Sian takes Naki's paw and smiles. "You too, see you Monday."

He looks to me and I grin, standing to open my arms. We hug, firmly, and I enjoy the warmth and otterish musk coming from his body. "See you Monday," I say, gently, before we let go and he turns to leave.

"Later!"

As he walks out, I sit back down into the chair and take a deep sigh.

"Think I made a mistake?" I ask.

"We'll find out, won't we?" Sian pats me on the shoulder in an attempt to console. "Not like we can hide it for much longer anyway, right? Perhaps it doesn't really matter who figures it out, now." He says gently.

--Naki--

'I have to go help my parents with dinner' I groan as the words echo in my head; what an excuse to use just because I don't know what else to say. I was just so happy that things went the way I wanted them to go and... I really wasn't sure where else to take the conversation. I panicked. Either way, Fen and I are going to prom together and I couldn't be happier about the way things had turned out after last week. I walk briskly back to my car, wearing a grin between my whiskers as wide as my face as far as I could tell.

Once inside of the car, I take a deep breath and enjoy the musty scent of the old leather covering the seats while allowing my pounding heart to calm down. Just this morning I'd wondered if I should ask him, worried he might think less of me after all I'd put him through. I called him on a whim and it led to this. For once, Motley's advice was good.

As I begin to slip the key into the ignition I replay the scene in my head excitedly, which causes me to recall the tense moments before he accepted. What did Motley say that bothered him so? It didn't seem like the Brad thing was it, at least not by his reaction. I grab my phone out of my pocket and pull Motley's contact information up. Soon enough, I hear his deep voice answer.

"What's up?"

"Hey, Motts, is Naki."

"Hey, man, how's it goin'?"

"Well, actually! Uh... Fen's going to prom with me..." I blush, still not used to being open about this.

"Really? Congrats, man. I knew you'd get'em sometime. Which one of you is gonna be the queen?" I can feel the grin on his face.

"Shutup" I groan, smirking to myself. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you something... Did you talk to Fen about anything else during the championships? Other than Brad?"

The line goes quiet for a moment before he speaks up again. "Why?"

"Well, I was talking to him earlier and he seemed... bothered by something you may or may not have told me. I mentioned Brad, but it didn't seem like that was what was bothering him. Did anything else happen?"

"Not really," he answers, nonchalantly, as Motley is wont to.

"That doesn't mean no." I respond.

"It's nothing, really. I was teasing him about rumors and one must've bugged him a bit is all."

"Motley, comeon. You're doing what I did at dinner. If it's so unimportant then just tell me."

"Right." He grumbles a bit to himself. "Alright, I'll tell ya, but let's do it in person. Just you and me, dinner or something. I wanna talk about something else anyway."

"Uh... Well, alright, sure. The usual place in a couple hours, then?"

"Yep."

"Cool, seeya"

I hang up and can't help but wonder what's so important that it warrants us meeting to talk about it. Instead of linger, I crank the car up and drive, deciding to retire my mind to being soothed by the good news. I have a prom date now... of course, I can't tell my parents about him, but it's alright. I'll figure that part out later.

The place we always go out to eat; the same place I came out or, rather, was forced out of the closet by Samson and Motley, is rather quiet today despite it being Saturday. We take a seat near the back and order our drinks before Motley leans back and crosses his arms. "Alright, since you -gotta- know..."

"Yea...?" I ask, arcing a brow.

"I don't know for certain, it was just the way he reacted. I have no proof, okay? So don't take what I'm about to say to be fact... alright?"

"Er... sure," I say, keeping my eyes locked on his. "What is it?"

"Well, Fen might be a micro."

I don't have a response immediately. Actually, I don't believe him. Feels too much like one of Motley's usual humor, tugging your tail just to see how far you'll let him go. "I'm not falling for that," I chuckle. "What is it, really?"

"That's it, I'm... bein' serious," he says, eyes remaining settled on mine. I wait for a moment, hoping he'd realize he's not going to get a laugh at my expense tonight. Not for this, at least. When he doesn't let up, I sigh.

"Okay, so why do you think that?"

"Well, I was just playing around with him a bit. Wanted to see what this guy is like for myself since ya like him so much. After I told him about Brad, which I only really did to get him to talk ta me, I told him a fib; nothing big, a white lie. See, I noticed he had a ring on his finger and I remember hearing about those rings the micros use to grow to our height. I was feelin'... playful, I guess, so I made up that there's some rumor going around about him using one of those things."

"So you were picking on him?" I grumble.

"It was all playful, alright? I figured he'd brush it off but... look, he didn't," Motley says, staring at me again. "If he weren't a micro, wouldn't he have just let it go? Why would he even bring it up to you? I mean, really, even if it became a rumor and it turns out someone decides to confront him... they'd take his ring off and nothing would happen. The -only- reason to fret about this is if it's true."

I weigh his words for a moment, surprised at what I'm hearing... and the fact that his argument isn't entirely unbelievable. Fen could just be overreacting for some strange reason... But there's an equal chance he's really hiding something. After all, I do recall him wearing a ring on his tailbase-- hidden away, out of sight... Why would you wear jewelry where no one could see it? Unless you're hiding it.

"...Okay, maybe I could believe that," I say, a little overwhelmed if in disbelief. What if he is a micro? Does it really matter at all?

"It's just a thought, man. I got no proof, I don't plan on tryin' to get proof. If it is true, he's probably--"

"Afraid that I'll find out sometime," I finish his sentence. It definitely makes some sense. If I found out, and I happened to get the ring off of him, he could be in danger. Well, if I were the type that'd actually abuse a micro, "And if we're in a relationship, then it's -more- than likely it'd have to come out sometime. Geez, Motley..." I chuckle.

"What?"

"I can't believe your games may've actually worked for once."

"Hey! I've gotten plenty of people to talk to me with my 'games'," he grumbles, "So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know... If this is wrong and I approach him about it then I'll just come off as a jerk. If you're right, though, then I could let him know that it's alright... err.." I look at him. "Don't you agree? Even if he's a micro..."

"I told you, I don't care man. I got your back no matter what. It'd be kinda weird, though, don't you think?"

"Well..." I shake my head a bit, "let's not think about that for now."

"Agreed." He grins.

"I don't know, maybe I'm just swinging in the dark here but it'd make sense. If I were a micro I'd be just as afraid of someone figuring that out, especially someone I like..." I frown for a moment, wondering what I should do before trying to put it out of my mind for now. "I'll figure something out. So what did you want to talk about other than that...?"

"Well, I got my acceptance letter from the University of Phalance. That means I'll be at the same school as you." He grins a bit and shoves a piece of paper-- his acceptance letter, across the table for me to see. I know how much he was hoping he'd get accepted. Motley isn't the best student, or, at least, he'd had his rougher periods during the first two or three years of highschool.

"That's great news, Mott! Congrats."

"Thanks. The thing I wanted ta ask is if you wanted to room with me. I don't know if Fen is going to the same school too, but even if he is we could get one of the four-room dorms or something..."

"Heh, well, yea, I'd love to room with you. Let's do it. Fen is going to Phalance as well, but... yea, we haven't gotten that far yet. After prom or over the summer we'll have to talk about it or something."

"Yea, we will." He grins, "it'll be a blast. I'm excited. What d'you think it'll be like?"

"Not highschool, that's for damn certain." We both laugh a bit.

I return home after our talk, full and in good spirits. Mom and dad are resting in the living room and I give a wave as I walk in. "I'm back."

"What kept you out?" She asks, peering at me over her glasses while she relaxes on the couch.

"Uh..." I walk into the living room, "was just out with a new friend of mine, his name is Fen. After that, I went and got some food with Motley."

"Again? Well... Alright, just keep an eye on how much money you have. You're supposed to be saving up so you can attend Phalance. We'll need all we can save."

"Right, sorry Mom."

"No no, it's alright. I'm glad you had a good time."

"Have a date for prom yet?" My dad pipes up. He's settled next to my mom in his armchair, which the couch sits next to.

"Well... no, not really."

"Ahh it's alright. You'll still have fun. Too bad your championships were so late. Bet you'd have no trouble finding more than a few girls that'd want to go with you after that. Otters like a nice, strong swimmer like you."

"Yea yea, alright dad" I groan, inching my way back towards the stairway which lies in a hallway parallel to the entrance of the house.

"Heheh, make sure you get to bed on time to go to church tomorrow," he remarks as I leave.

"Yes, dad." I turn to go upstairs.

"And make sure you put your good suit out," my mom adds.

"Yes, mom!" I shout as I move towards the stairs, running up to my room. Reggie and Nathan are already there; Reggie is working on something-- probably homework, at his table and Nathan is on the computer playing 'Pre-emptive Strike.'

"Hey, guys," I say, as I climb the bunked beds into mine, settling on the mattress.

"Hey, Naki!" Reggie squeaks while staring at his homework. Nathan is, apparently, too focused to have heard me. I just chuckle and lie back on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. I wonder what's going to happen at prom. Everything had fallen into place for me; the championship, Fen... now I just have to hold it all together. I wonder if I should ask Fen if he's a micro... I wonder how he'd react to it. A sense of sorrow falls over me when I realize how fearful he must be now. After all, that registration-thing dad mentioned earlier would affect him. Not only that, but what happens -after- they finish registering micros? I put it out of my mind for now, I don't even know that Fen is a micro for certain. I can't help but wonder what things will be like if he really is.