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Chapter 28: Confluence

Roger panicked. There it was, in plain sight, but he faced away from the wolf. He knew there was no chance that the wolf could have seen it before, but there was still a chance that he could catch a glimpse of it now. He grabbed his underwear quickly, but attempted to nonchalantly dress himself. The embarrassment was not as strong as the fear he felt, the anxiety attack that he was beginning to succumb to.

When he was sure it was covered, let out a sigh. He then realized that the wolf had been watching him the entire time, and that his actions might have seemed suspicious. He turned to the side, whichever one he thought might conceal his shame more, and gave an awkward laugh. He then apologized and continued dressing himself.

Finally, when he had his clothes fully on, he was relieved. He sat down on the bed, his eyes closed, and forgot about the world. The crisis had been averted for the time being, at least he assumed.

He heard swishing sounds and figured Hunter had been wagging his tail slowly. He opened his eyes and looked over to see the wolf merely looking forward, not anything in particular, but smiling.

Roger laughed briefly, and then said, "Well, that's that."

The wolf agreed, so the fox continued, "So you see now, you're fine, if nothing else, compared to me. You shouldn't worry about it, and don't worry when people make fun of you, they just uh... they don't know what they're talking about, okay?"

Hunter's smile faded for a second, but returned almost immediately. He turned to look at the fox and agreed, although it seemed to be forced. Roger assumed it had not worked as well as he had thought.

It was a moment of silence before they began to talk again. It was a slow start, but they began to discuss the different classes they had, with much prompting by the fox. It turned out that the wolf was doing poorly in several of his classes, but well enough to get by. It was suggested that he received help for that, as well, from the fox. It was agreed upon.

They would hold it off for another day, though. Roger was tired and knew if he tried to help the wolf with his homework at the moment, he would only get frustrated, and he did not want to repeat past events. They continued talking, and finally they began to officially get to know each other. They spoke of the past, to start.

"Well, I've always lived here," the fox said. "At least around the area. Grew up and had a few friends throughout school... I mean, they're still friends, but we don't really hang out or anything. Just online, really.

"Just kind of breezed through school since the beginning. I don't know why, but it comes easy to me, so I guess I started to not like others. My friends weren't any faster than I was, but at least more so than others, so I just kind of avoided everyone that wasn't my friend, and uh..." he trailed off, looking at the wolf. "Sorry for that, by the way, back when we first... yeah."

The wolf shrugged and wagged his tail. "It's alright, we're friends now."

Roger nodded. "Yeah, but that doesn't justify it.... Anyway, I digress. I just live with my parents, as you've seen... well, I guess you didn't really see them, since they were away. They work a lot... and I guess because of that I get a lot of freedom. Lucky me, I guess, but I don't really do much...."

There was a pause, but it was not so bad. It was not because it was awkward, but just because the fox had nothing left to tell the wolf about his past. As the pattern persisted, however, it was the wolf's turn to talk, and he seemed like he was thinking about it.

After a minute, the wolf spoke, "I moved here a few years ago, so... I guess I didn't really make friends. I didn't have any back home, either, but I've got my mom, and my brothers, though one moved away. Dad, well... well, he just up and left one day. He didn't say why.

"He used to play with me all the time, and he would teach me to do things, like ride a bike and draw and paint and play ball, and it was fun, but... I wish he hadn't left." Hunter sounded sad, but judging by his tone, it was not something new to him. He seemed to have accustomed himself to the feeling, at least, or perhaps it was just a topic he came to terms with.

He continued, "He was already gone before we moved. We couldn't afford to live up there anymore, so now we're here. I still kind of miss the other place, we had much bigger of a yard... and house...." There was sorrow in his voice, but it did not quaver.

Roger asked, "Do you regret moving here?"

Without any hesitation, Hunter responded, "No! No, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

The fox quirked his head. "But you just said you miss home, so why not? I mean, this place isn't the greatest."

Hunter shook his head. "I mean, yeah, I do miss it, but if we didn't move... then I wouldn't have met you, and I wouldn't have any friends."

Roger's mind went blank for a moment. He was unsure as to how to take what the wolf said, but he did not believe there to be any ulterior meaning. He seemed genuine in his expression, and slowly the fox was beginning to accept that the wolf really did like him as a friend. All evidence had been suggesting as such, but he was skeptical.

Perhaps he hoped that the wolf did not like him, turned out to be worse, perhaps someone just so asinine and abrasive that he would have no reason to like him. Maybe he would have been the very kind of guy that he assumed at the start, and then he could go on without having to stress out about his own feelings, but that did not seem to be happening. Everything seemed to be the opposite.

The wolf continued speaking, "I know I'm not smart or fun or funny or anything, and I know I'm just trouble for you, but... I really appreciate you being nice to me, and hope we can keep being friends. I mean, when I first met you, I thought you were going to hate me, and I don't know, maybe you do, but you're so nice, so you can just be being nice and stuff. I'm sorry if you do, though."

The fox shook his head. "I don't hate you. You're... well, you're different than what I thought you'd be. I thought you were just some dumb jock-"

"I am," the wolf said.

"...right, but at least you're not a dick about it," the fox continued. "You're a good guy, you're very kind, and uh... yeah. You just need some confidence, and then you can make some better friends, I'm sure. Maybe even a girlfriend."

The wolf shook his head. "Other ones, hm. You're my best friend, though."

"I'm your only friend," the fox pointed out.

Hunter smiled. "But also the best one, and you'll keep being my best friend."

Roger prodded him in the side, saying, "I'm also the worst one. There are none worse than I."

Shaking his head vigorously, the wolf responded, "No, no, no, you're the best one. I haven't been so happy in such a long time, I mean...."

He had trailed off, realized what he had said, and then, flustered, added, "I mean, you know, I just uh... it was fun... right?"

Roger laughed, attempting to alleviate the embarrassment the wolf must have felt, though in his head, he dwelled on what the wolf had said.

He felt a bit warm.