FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

A PAUSE in time seemed to consume the Earth in its entirety, a pause in which Derek was wishing he would wake up in any second, longing for the emerald eye gazing up at him to be nothing more than a reflection of light, and yearning for the quiet voice to be a heat-induced hallucination. Time was wrenched back with Derek's paw, as if removing the evidence from a crime scene as Jeff yawned loudly and slowly sat up. Jeff did not scramble for a blanket or coverage like Derek expected, but simply rubbed the back of his head as he looked up to the petrified Derek. Both faces were void of emotion, covered by a veil of confusion on both sides. Jeff was first to speak, slowly and quietly, completely dissimilar from his usual tone,

"Derek... are you serious...?"

Dumbfounded, Derek drifted backwards with a single step, his mouth moving with words that seemed to spill out,

"J-Jeff, I-I didn't m-mean..."

Jeff stood, and Derek took a few more steps backwards as Jeff moved forwards the same distance. Jeff gently bent over to pick up the shed blanket and draped it over his shoulders, holding it around his chest with slack crossed arms as he said,

"Derek?"

Hearing his name made Derek perk upwards, and without a word, embarrassment and clouded thoughts clutching at his throat, slid past Jeff making for the door, heavy tears welling in the corner of his eyes. He flung the door open and crossed the hallway, pounding against the door to his own dorm. Not thinking of what the note had said Derek slammed his clenched fists against the door willing to break it should no one answer. Jeff appeared in the hallway, wearing nothing more than the blanket around his shoulders.

"Derek... no one's going to- " Jeff said sullenly, his voice slightly louder.

Responding only by pounding the door louder, the dark hallway filled with light as the closed opened in a fury, a fully-dressed Thatcher glaring around the hall before looking down and discovering Derek. Thatcher looked to the shirtless Derek (Still surprised someone had actually answered), and across to the hardly covered Jeff. Derek pushed passed Thatcher and strode into the dorm, stopping before another rabbit with fur identical to his own. The only difference between them being that the other rabbit was quiet female, with heavily glossed lips and a busty torso. Derek wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and dodged passed her, walking directly to his room and slamming the door behind him.

Back in the hallway Thatcher looked inquisitively to Jeff saying,

"What's up?"

Jeff shrugged and turned, walking back into the dorm closing the door behind him. Not knowing what was going on and not being informed, Thatcher closed the door just as angrily as he had opened it, turned back to the rabbit standing behind him with a sly smile as he wrapped an arm around her slim waist saying suavely,

"I had a great dream about you last night."

Derek remained only a few feet from his door, holding his head in both hands. He looked up, the room before him looking so familiar and yet so foreign at the same time. He fell instantly to the bed, covering himself in the thick black comforter. Now safely confined within the walls of his bed, Derek's tears fell but no noise was made, and it seemed he would never know a normal night.

But the morning came as it always did, the same gray sky once again covering the entire sky. Derek looked up from the sheets, his reflection staring blankly back at him. He rose and stumbled out of the bed, grabbing the towel off the back of his computer chair and walked to the door, opening the door as Thatcher slumped inwards, fully dressed in a running outfit, as if he was about to knock. Surprised, Derek's glance met Thatcher's,

"What?" He said coldly, a slight shaking in his voice.

"Chill out." Said Thatcher,

"The kid across the way left this stuff."

And pulling from around him a bag of clothing, he offered towards Derek. Derek took it and set on the ground next to him silently. He moved passed Thatcher, walking down the hall as Thatcher said in a conversational tone,

"Going to hit the shower?"

Derek stopped, and looked over his shoulder to the black stallion still standing in front of his door. Derek turned to face Thatcher, and saying with a lightened tone,

"Yeah. Uh, Thatcher..."

He looked to the back still visible on the floor and then back up to the horse,

"Thank you."

The stallion smiled gladly, and said with cheer,

"Your welcome, bunny!"

Derek disregarded the last word, and simply smiled as he entered the bathroom. It was odd seeing Thatcher so different from the one Derek knew, but admittedly he had not exactly taken the initiative to meet or get to know anyone but Jeff. And now even that was in jeopardy, the thought causing Derek's stomach to lurch. He dropped the borrowed sweats to the ground, stepping out of them as he placed the towel on the countertop. He flicked on the hot water and returned to the countertop resting both elbows on the cold marble and his head in his hands, leaning over to stare at his expressionless face.

"Molester." He muttered to himself, the guilt of the night prior gripping him.

A warm mist began to fill the room, his reflection quickly hiding from him underneath a layer of steam. Derek sighed and turned to step into the shower, when the door swung open and Thatcher stepped in. Derek yelped and stepped back, looking for something to cover himself with, but with the towel on the counter next to Thatcher, he had no choice but to stand fully exposed to the stallion.

"W-what?" Derek said.

"Rabbit! I just heard there's gonna be a huge party in the Senjur floor tomorrow night, you should totally hit it up!' Replied Thatcher with a smile.

"You couldn't tell me that a bit later?" Derek asked as he stepped into the shower, shutting the glass door behind him.

He could here Thatcher step into the bathroom, his voice echoing in the small room,

"Well, I'm gonna be working out with the pals today, and'll probably wind up somewhere else for the night, so I just wanted to make sure you'd know."

There was a silence, Derek focusing more on the shampoo in his paw than the speaking stallion,

"Bunny... " said Thatcher almost teasingly,

"Don't you want to know where the Senjur floor is?"

The silence from Derek remained, broken by his intellectual defeat,

"I guess so. Yeah." He said, trying not to appear as interested as he really was.

"Senjur!" Thatcher said brightly,

"The dorm next to ours has the seventh floor reserved for Seniors and Juniors only, and they'll open up every room and just throw a huge party, it'll be pretty sick. Alright, I've gotta get going- enjoy the dorm for yourself tonight bunny."

And with the sound of the bathroom door closing, Thatcher was gone. Derek laughed quietly, wondering who in the world that stallion had become. It was comforting to think if Jeff never spoke to him again, he would at least hopefully have Thatcher. Derek took an extra long shower that morning, knowing it was the only thing he had planned left him with abundance of time. He finished showering, drying his fur, and brushing his teeth before he finally left the bathroom, picking up his bag of clothing as he entered. He sat the bag on the bed, heading towards his drawers to pick out clothing for the day. He slipped on a pair of plain white boxers, and as he stepped into a pair of gray jeans heard the muffled alarm tone of his phone from amongst the clothing confined to the small bag on the bed. He pulled up his jeans and walked over to the bag, digging through the moist clothing until he found the slim phone, luckily untouched by the wet clothing. The screen flashed '2 Missed Calls'. Viewing the numbers, he saw that the missed calls belonged to a number he did not recognize. He clicked 'Call', and put the phone up to his ear. It rang once, and a loud voice answered,

"Hello?"

"Um, hello? I have a missed call from this number..." Derek said cagily.

"Oh is this Derek?" Said the unfamiliar voice with a hint of sudden interest.

"Yeah it is, who is this?" Derek grew slightly annoyed, feeling more and more like he was falling into a prank than returning a phone call. There was a laugh from the other side followed by a mocking voice,

"You really do seem like the type to give out his personal phone number to a tryout page. It's Robert, from the locker room?"

The voice alone told Derek he was not speaking to the silent german shepard he had run into, but rather the smaller counterpart.

"Oh... yeah, right. Um, what's up?" Derek said, no idea how to continue the conversation.

"Not much, I'm really great. But I was wondering, you signed up for swim right? Wanna come practicing with me and a few friends? Tryouts are tomorrow you know." Said Robert, his voice almost daunting.

"Uh, I would, but I haven't had a chance to pick up a swim suite yet..." Derek said searching for a reason to decline.

"Woah Derek. If you think your gonna find one in the student store you'll be sorry. But the hour-long ride to town would be a really fun way to kill the day before tryouts."

"Well... what else am I supposed to do? It seems like I'm stuck with the bus ride doesn't it?" Said asked. The thought of tryouts had left his mind, and now his heart beat with nervousness trying to piece together a plan of action.

"How about I let you borrow one of mine, and you can keep it 'till you get yourself one. We're about the same size right? Then you'll get to practice with us and won't have to worry about getting one for a tryout. Save money where you can yeah?"

"Excuse me?" Asked Derek, slightly angered,

"And just what are you implying by I'd be saving money?"

"Woah woah, relax alright? Just come over now and I'll get you all set, and we'll head off to the pool to meet up with the rest." Robert said trying to take back his words.

"Alright." Derek said, agreeing more for something to get him out of the dorm rather than spend the day with Robert.

"Great!" Exclaimed Robert.

Derek got the dorm and room as he finished dressing by throwing on a pale blue tee, and once he had hung up the phone was out the bedroom door. It turned out that Robert resided in the dorm next door, on the seventh floor. "Senjur" Derek murmured to himself. He exited his dorm, noticing that it was substantially less crowded compared to the last two days. It seemed as if the majority had moved in, and was now fully surrounded by his new peers. The two dorms were separated by a petite park and plaza; it did not take long before Derek found himself climbing the skyward staircase to the seventh floor.

He stepped onto the floor, and was taken aback at the fact it looked much more like the floor of a hotel than that of a dorm. He proceeded down the line of doors, each adorn with a brass knocker engraved with a room number until he reached the door at the very end of the hallway. He knocked, awaiting a response. Only a few seconds later the door was opened, revealing the scarlet and crème colored fox dressed in tight blue jeans and a stretched tee, revealing the fox's muscular form. A pair of crimson sunglasses rested just below his eyes, and just above his devious smile.

"Derek!" He said stepping aside and gesturing Derek in. Derek obliged, walking in wordless, and was soon speechless. Not only did the hallway look like that of a hotel, but the room did also.

"This is your dorm?" Derek said in amazement,

"It looks just like a penthouse suite!"

The door opened to a large sitting room with three couches and a large television, even large curtained windows looking over the campus, everything cleaned spotlessly.

"Yeah, it's pretty awesome." Robert said in a voice obvious Derek was not the first one to be surprised. He walked past the gawking Derek and down a hallway saying over his shoulder,

"Over here. Let's get you the stuff."

"Alright..." Said Derek as he followed, his eyes darting to each painting on the wall and expensive-looking light fixtures. Looking back the hall before him Derek noticed there were two doors across from one another, and turning around there was no hallway leading to another room like his dorm was. He entered the opened door, and found Robert digging through the top drawer of a tall dresser. The room had polished hardwood floors, a simple desk, a closet, and at the bottom of the stripped bed a wood chest. Next to the bed was a short nightstand, with one draw and an alarm clock resting utop flashing '12:00'.

"Haven't had the time to unpack?" Derek asked looking around the barren room.

"Not really, all my boxes are in the closet. But its not like I need to worry about that crap now right?"

"Yeah sure." Derek said, oblivious of Robert's logic.

"Okay, it looks like I got two that might fit you..." Robert turned and walked towards Derek holding a deep violet speedo next to a cherry-red one. Derek stared down at the cloth (Or lack there of), and looked back up to Robert with a hesitant glance.

"Don't tell me your shy." Robert said obviously annoyed,

"Those people bug the hell out of me."

Derek shifted, and took both of the swimsuits from Robert saying,

"Where's the bathroom?"

"It's the door to the left of where you walked in." Robert said with a smile.

Derek walked back through the penthouse dorm, and located the just as pristine bathroom. He stripped down, and decided to try on the bright red first. Pulling it up, Derek noticed there was no trace of a drawstring, and it fit too loosely around his waist. It would stay up, but as soon as he shifted it would slip down, and would surely not sustain swimming in a pool. He slipped the swimsuit off and looked to the violet one, which happened to be much smaller compared to the red one. Upon pulling it up, he realized it was much tighter than the one before it, and it easily accentuated his rounded butt, not to mention his bulge, the haunting thought of the slightest erection being advertised to everyone around. He exited the bathroom, feeling as if he was wearing nothing at all as he returned to the room asking inquiringly,

"Is this all right?"

Robert was already dressed in an equally tight jet-black speedo, pulling up the pair of pants he had just been wearing. He looked up, and stared over the rabbit holding back a laugh,

"A bit snug 'eh? You'll get used to it, and learn to love it when you're actually swimming."

Robert zipped and buttoned his jeans, and grabbing a sports bag on the ground said in a lively voice,

"Okay, the guys are already down at the pool, so just dress over the swimsuit and it'll save time in the locker room."

They both exited the room, Derek to the bathroom and Robert waiting by the front door, his phone out, sending a text message with a smirk Back in the luxurious bathroom Derek pulled his jeans and slipped on his shirt; looking to the pair of plain boxers, he shrugged and stuffed them in his back pocket. Once back into the grand living area, Robert smiled and exited saying,

"Close the door behind ya."

Derek did so cautiously, as if the door was made of precious glass and hurried to catch up to Robert saying in an attempt to strike up conversation,

"So, are you a junior or senior?"

"Junior." Robert said uninterestedly, now staring at the screen of his phone once again. After three flights he slipped the phone into his pocket and placed a firm grasp on Derek's shoulder as they walked down the stairs. Robert's voice was oddly interested, as if digging for information,

"So, Derek, have you done any professional swimming before?"

"A little, yeah." Derek lied hastily, thinking of the few pool parties he had been to, and even a trip to the ocean once.

"Well, hopefully it'll all come back to you pretty quick. But you won't need to know anything fancy, or get awesome times, the coaches are just trying to see what kinda swimmer you are."

"Okay... and what do you mean by that?" Derek asked.

"Well, they're looking for if you spend all your energy in the first few laps, or conserve it, if you have some potential or if your just a fool in the water... nothing really big though."

"I think I get it." Derek said brightly as the two exited the doors onto the grounds, Roberts grasp released and left an impression in the blue shirt, which Derek casually smoothed out as they made their way down the grassy hill to the sport facility below. They walked wordlessly, Robert mumbling a tune from a song Derek did not recognize. They entered, and took the path to the swimmer's locker room. It was empty once again, and Robert sighed as he took a quick right and headed all the way to the corner of the chilly room. He stopped at a locker against the wall, and after dropping the sport bag to the floor and skillfully flipping through the numbers on the padlock it flung open, and Robert began to undress saying,

"Yeah, they're defiantly out there already. Just toss your stuff in here."

"Alright..." Derek said as he too began to shed his clothing. Robert was now bent over the large bag, and pulled out two swimmers caps and two sets of goggles. He set one of each on top of the locker next to Derek, just as he placed his folded clothing on top of Roberts. With a few snaps of latex Robert had already pulled his cap on, and the goggles dangled around his neck. He looked over Derek saying with polite impatience,

"Hurry up, hurry up!"

Derek shut the locker and grabbed the gear sitting atop the locker saying shakily,

"Okay, I'm good."

He followed Robert out, his body shivering from the cold of the locker room against his bare fur as he fumbled to put his defiant ears behind the constraints of the swimmers cap. They exited a single door, and a rush of cold air welcomed the both of them. Robert shivered excitedly and yelled at the top of his lungs,

"Now THAT'S invigorating 'eh guys?"

Derek, who had just successfully tucked away his ears walked out and shuddered against the cold, quickly grabbing his elbows in a desperate attempt for warmth. But not wanting to look like the small quivering rabbit he was, Derek dropped his arms to the side and forced his body not to shiver. He heard a loud commotion of other voices, Roberts included, as two figures pulled themselves out from the pool and ran up to great them.

A tall brunette otter wearing a green speedo wrapped two muscular arms around Robert and picked him up effortlessly off his paws, spinning him in a few circles before setting him down, both laughing the whole time. Once on his feet Robert swayed as he retrieved his balance, but did not miss the high five from a medium-sized zebra adorn in a skin-tight, bright yellow speedo. They all laughed, and after the commotion of greetings had calmed they all turned to Derek. Robert spoke up saying gleefully,

"Guys, Derek. Derek, guys."

Derek smiled weakly, waving a paw feebly to say hello. The zebra stepped forward, Derek making immediate eye contact away from the as his paw was grabbed into a strong handshake and shook vigorously.

"The name's Cody, Derek! Good to see you trying out."

Cody's voice was cheerful like Roberts, but lacked the faint underlying sarcasm and rudeness. The tall otter came around from Cody and grabbed Derek into a hug, lifting him off of the ground saying in a deep voice,

"Hah! Your even smaller than Robert!" The otter looked over to the fox, who was shooting a spiteful glare as if to say 'don't you dare',

"...And I didn't even think it was possible to be that small." Muttered the otter.

"I KNEW you'd say that, ass!" Robert yelled laughing, slamming his fist into the otter's shoulder. The otter seemed unphased, laughing along as he dropped Derek to the ground saying casually,

"The name's Zack, varsity swimmer, best in the school, the town, the nation, the continent, the world and probably the unive- "

But Cody jumping onto his back and clamping his mouth shut with both paws cut his spiel short. Zack's muffled laugh could be heard as he moved backwards just to the edge of the pool, teetering against the edge with Cody's feet with nothing to rest on but the surface of the water. Zack moved his arms upwards, his hands grabbing onto the arms of the squirming Cody.

"He's gone." Robert said looking to Derek.

And with the ease of opening a window, Zack removed Cody's arms in an instant, and the twisting zebra fell helplessly into the water. The chuckling Otter approached Derek and Robert with a smile, and clapping his paws together said jubilantly,

"Alright, now lets get this practice really going shall we?"

Robert nodded enthusiastically and dashed off towards the water, and jumping over the floating Cody and landing with a large splash into the crystal clear pool. The towering otter turned to Derek and placed a hand around his shoulder giving a tight squeeze as he said kindly,

"Being so quiet won't get you far."

The statement seemed a bit rude to Derek, but the kind demeanor of the otter forced him to shrug it off and allow the otter to push him forward to the pools edge. Zack stepped into the pool with grace, hardly making a splash as he entered and pushed off the wall to join Cody and Robert. Like a small child Derek dipped his paw into the water, the feeling of ice ripping through his arm and down his spine. The water was absolutely freezing, and here were three guys seemingly oblivious the temperature. Derek took a deep breath, and holding it in his lungs kneeled to the edge and sunk one leg into the water, following painfully with the other. He exhaled, and let go of the wall as he wadded towards the group, which was laughing once again at something Derek did not catch. He moved slowly on the tips of his toes, his entire lower body shivering from the icy water as the three all turned to him at the same time with wide smiles.

"Derek, your not supposed to show you're cold or..." Spoke the laughing Cody, but before he could finish Robert has taken the liberty to slipping underwater, and grabbing Derek by his ankles and yanking him forward.

Derek instantly lost his balance in the unfamiliar terrain and fell backwards, the bitter cold water enveloping every inch of exposed fur. He surfaced to laughing, and shock his head as he looked to Robert, returning the faint smile to show it was all in fun.

"Alright Derek." Said Zack enthusiastically,

"Do a few laps back and forth so we can see what you got."

Cody and Robert swam back to the edge and pulled themselves onto the cement ledge where they sat as if eagerly awaiting, Robert was even kicking his feet back and forth in the water. Zack stood next to the edge still in the pool, in front of Robert and Cody as he yelled briskly,

"And go!"

Slightly confused, Derek obediently dove into the water and began to swim to the best of his ability to the end of the pool. He was using no professional style or technique, but seemed to be swift in the water as he swam to the end, and turned to kick off the side and begin another lap.

"Well..." Said Robert, well aware Derek would be unable to hear any conversation,

"At least he looks great in that swimsuit."

Cody turned to watch the rabbit swim through the water, gaze falling to the rabbit's rear end.

"Isn't that... yours from forever ago?" Asked Cody.

"Only four years." Robert replied quickly,

"And it's still in good shape, its just I can hardly squeeze into it anymore so I figured it'd work on him." Roberts voice was conversational, and as he looked away from the swimming Derek he noticed Cody and Zack were both staring him dead on with raised eyebrows of suspicion.

"I bet you just wanted a better look at him didn't you?" Said Cody slyly,

"...And your getting of on this whole training session." added Zack, returning his watch back to Derek, who was on his third lap and yelled,

"Three more Derek! Common!"

"Haha, you two have me figured out too well." Said Robert admittedly,

"But hey, he does show some promise in the water."

"You really need to control this you pervert." Cody said, leaning over and grabbing the bulge in Robert's speedo, squeezing playfully.

Robert knocked his hand away saying hastily,

"Hey, save it." His answer was short and sharp, but Cody seemed to pick up on something as he released his grip and clapped loudly with a smile as Derek swam by once again.

After a few more laps by Derek, Zack yelled over in a booming voice,

"Hey Derek, that's enough!"

Derek stopped instantly; forever grateful he did not have to swim another. Breathing hard, he swam over to the sitting three as Robert and Cody entered the pool. Zach had a smile on his face and as Derek emptied the accumulated water in his pair of borrowed goggles he said encouragingly,

"Not bad Derek. You were kinda slow at first, but you've some good stamina if you were able to maintain that pace the whole time. Just need to work up the speed and keep it there, and you'll be good to go. Not to mention you'll need to learn some better technique, your strokes were all over the place."

He laughed after the mouthful, and Derek nodded taking every word in. His heart was beating against his chest as he took deep breaths, looking over to Robert with eyes curious of his reaction. Robert was smirking, and with a restful tone said.

"Good job Derek, I think you might actually have a slim chance!"

"Says the guy scared for his own spot on the team." Cody said under his breath. Derek caught wind of this, and looked to Cody curiously.

"Shut up." Robert said sternly, pushing Cody forcefully against the side of the pool. It was a borderline playful and intimidating shove, but before any further emotion could be read Robert ducked under water and shoved off the wall, beginning a few laps on his own.

"Robert might not be on the team? He doesn't seem that bad..." Derek said to Cody and Zack as he watched the fox glide effortlessly across the water at an outstanding speed.

"Not at all." Cody said quickly,

"He's a great swimmer, best we've go- " Zack had glanced over through the corner of his eye, and Cody cleared his throat before continuing,

"Second best we've got. But he's always getting in trouble with the coaches and whatnot, so they don't think too kindly of him."

Perplexed, Derek's head tilted slightly as he asked,

"Well, not being buddies with the coach doesn't mean he can be kicked off the team does it? I wouldn't think personality differences would matter that much."

"Well, it's not exactly that either..." Cody said, almost hesitant to go on.

"Then why don't the coaches like him?" Derek asked, thoroughly confused.

Cody adverted eye contact, simply coughing. Zack looked to Cody, as if wondering why he would not go on. The otter turned to Derek and said scornfully,

"Because as a team we've an image to uphold. And that arrogant, rude fox thinks its fine for him to party all night long, get drunk off his legs, do any drug that happens to fall into his paws..."

"Hey!" interrupted Cody, finding his voice,

"He's over most of that. This summer was a real turn around for him."

Zack's look of unbelief refused to phase simply muttering,

"Yeah, whatever." As he dove into the water to join Roberts in his laps.

Derek, who was still trying to ease his deep breaths and pumping heat said to Cody,

"Well, you all seem to get along decently enough..."

Cody laughed, and took a few steps further into the pool as he said,

"We tried the whole fighting thing. It was just too much trouble."

And with that he dove into the pool, pushing off the ledge to join the other two in their own session. Derek watched, catching his breath as he thought off what a mess the team must be just under the scores and times. Derek dove in once again, this time trying his best to imitate the sweeping fox.

The small practice went on for another hour and thirty minutes, little conversation happening between anyone. Noticing Robert climb out of the pool, Derek decided to as well. He had only then noticed he was the last one in the pool, and as his wet paws grasped the metal bars to pull himself out he noticed Zack was already fully dressed standing above a lounging Cody, who was laying on his stomach using his arms as a pillow. Derek and Robert simultaneously walked over from opposite sides of the L shaped pool, stopping as they all stood around Cody.

"Lazy." Said Robert with a laugh, as he lifted his leg and set his foot down on Cody's back.

"Hey." Mumbled Cody with a yawn as Zack said laughing,

"He worked harder than you today. Give 'em a break."

Robert then noticed Zack was fully dressed, and removing his foot from Cody's back said with a smile,

"You got changed quick. Got somewhere to be?"

"Yeah I do, plus I don't want to get stuck in the rain I know is about to start." Said Zack looking up into the air and lifting a paw as if to check for raindrops.

"That you know?" repeated Robert mockingly. Cody nodded slowly saying,

"I can always feel it before hand. I'm tellin' ya, there's gonna be a big storm."

Just then, Cody's head whipped up as his hand flew to his lower back and pressed against a spot just above his tight swimsuit.

"I think I just felt a raindrop." Cody said, looking to Robert.

"Oh, shutu- " Robert went to respond, but was interrupted by a loud cracking of thunder off in the distance.

Startled, Derek flinched as Robert looked up to the sky saying with disbelief,

"You've gotta be kidding me..."

And like magic, large heavy raindrops began to fall from the dark gray sky, each one as cold as ice. Cody scuttled from his sleeping position and bolted alongside Zack for the locker room, Derek hastily following the two as Robert walked laughing to himself the entire way. They all walked into the locker room, the three swimmers laughing at the irony. Derek stepped in laughing halfheartedly, and while the roof prevented rain from getting physically getting in the locker room, the bitter cold still infiltrated perfectly. The freezing tiles sent pangs of cold through Derek's legs- it almost hurt to stand on them. He stood, shifting his weight from one leg to another as Zack grabbed an umbrella laying against the wall saying still laughing,

"And this is where I leave, suckers."

With a wave he made his exit, the three remaining all waving a brief goodbye.

Cody moved down the nearest row of lockers, Robert followed as Cody stopped at a locker and began to go through the combination of numbers.

"So it wasn't so bad 'eh Derek?" Said Robert.

"No... I guess not. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it'd be." Said Derek as he rounded the corner.

"Feeling a bit more confident about the tryouts then?" Said Cody as he slipped out of his tight yellow speedo, his full zebra form coming into clear form no longer hidden behind the miniscule piece of fabric.

A thick equine shaft met Derek's eyesight, but to avoid any inner conflict he quickly and casually brought a hand up to his eyes, and began to rub as his head moved upwards. He opened his eyes blinking,

"Chlorine. Starting to hurt. But yeah, I think I'll go well." He said offhandedly.

"Cool." Replied Cody with a smile as he tossed the damp piece of fabric into a small duffel bag before shutting the locker door, not bothering to lock it again.

"See you in the showers." He said as he passed by Robert and Derek, Robert returning the statement with two quick nods and a slap on the shoulder.

"I'm so choosing a locker not so far away this year." Robert said with a sigh as he began to walk back to the locker near the locker room's entrance. Robert opened the locker with three fluid flicks of the wrist, and began to pull out Derek's clothing items and setting them on the locker top behind him.

Now nude, Robert looked over to Derek who was unfolding his pants and said slightly confused,

"You gonna shower man?"

"Ah... no... I..." Derek stammered, quickly thinking of any excuse to keep him from the embarrassing concept of communal showering,

"I-I'm meeting someone, I'd better get going."

"Oh... alight." Robert said with underlying suspicion.

Not even bothering to remove the swimsuit, Derek pulled on his gray jeans and fitting pale blue shirt, and said gratefully as he made for the exit,

"Uh, T-thanks a lot Robert."

"Not a problem." He replied quickly,

"And don't forget to get a lot of sleep, and best not to eat a few hours before the tryouts."

"Yeah, thanks..." Said Derek as he pushed out of the double doors, making his way out into the lobby.

Standing looking out the two glass doors, Derek sighed as he gazed out to the pouring rain. He would be soaked instantly, and it did not help his clothing was already damp from his damp fur. A sudden unfurling of an umbrella caused Derek to look behind him, his heart sinking as his eyes fell to a calm Jeff, dressed in a gray sweatshirt and matching sweats.

"Need an umbrella?" Jeff said coldly, much unlike himself.

"Would you mind?" Derek said quietly.

Jeff pushed open one of the two doors and opened the large umbrella, which could easily cover two or three people. Jeff beckoned Derek, and following obediently Derek entered into the downpour, under the protective shield above.

The two walked wordlessly, until halfway up the slopping hill Jeff said emotionlessly,

"Let's go... to my dorm."

Derek looked to his friend, who was staring off into the distance where the dorm rested atop the hill. The skies continued to cry, as if reflecting Derek's inner feelings towards loosing his first friend at the University. He had no idea what he would say Derek simply nodded in agreement, saying nothing that would begin a conversation most suited to indoors, agonizing what would become a very awkward moment.