His Choice
Daniel stared at the phone. Lone Wolf? He called his home?! The bunny remained silent as he just stared at the phone, when he heard a small voice from the receiver. He brought it back to his ear, forgiving for that. "Sorry, was just confused. Did you say Lone Wolf?" The voice replied "Yes, yes I did. I was just getting worried about you. You were seeming very flustered on Friday when those girls poked fun at you" the bunny hears a groan on the line "They can really be a bunch of bitches." The bunny just listened in stunned silence, nodding, unaware that the wolf couldn't see him. "Daniel" "What? Uh, yeah, yeah.. They can be horrible..." He was still quite shocked by all of this, his paw clenching by his hip as he remembered their cruel words, jeers, and so on. "Well, I was just calling to see how you were. You probably don't know me that well, but I know you.." Daniel looked at the phone, debating on whether to hang up for that, for the wolf being such a creeper. "Ah, no, wait! Not stalking you, course not stalking you." The wolf apologized, stumbling for his words. "What I meant to say was that I see how you were hurt, and I've been through it. I just wanted to lend a paw to help you out a bit." The bunny nodded again, but winced as he remembered the wolf couldn't see him still. "Oh, thanks, Lone Wolf." Daniel smiled softly, raising a paw to let it run over his long ears. At least someone in school was like him, pending this being real. He really hoped it was real. "Say, Daniel, there's a couple people that meet from school and the surrounding area, like a sort of support group. If you want, you can come for a visit. You know, to talk about it a bit." Daniel pondered the notion, nibbling his lip softly. It would be embarrassing to him to accept this about himself. I mean...him, gay? He didn't seem like the guys with the lisps or such. But, then again, neither was Lone Wolf. He was just a normal guy, doing guy stuff while, in the long run, liking guys as well. Just all those sorts of things came into play in the bunny's mind. On whether he could accept himself or not, whether he could handle being known as gay, and if he was ready for the consequences of it. But you be hurt for being who you are? Unfortunately, yes. The bunny grimaced to himself, giving a small sigh as he inadvertently thought about his European History class, when the British Royal Government had put to death one of the royal family because he was homosexual, and in the most radical way as possible. They had put hot coals in his rump until he died of infection. He shook his head, not wanting to think about that. That didn't happen now, did it? His silence didn't go unnoticed as the wolf spoke up. "Um, well, you don't need to make a decision right now about it. The offer still stands.." the wolf's tone had implied that he was a bit down by the bunny's lack of response. Daniel spoke up, knocked from his reverie. "Yeah, I'll send you a note about my choice. And..thanks, Lone Wolf.." The wolf must have smiled as his tone lightened up. "Not a problem, Daniel. If I can help another person like me feel a bit better and make it a bit easier, then I will. Talk to you later." The bunny said his good bye and set the receiver down just as the garage door began to hum. His mom must be home. Daniel opened the door to the garage, seeing the car pull up and his mom give a wave to him, and then holding up a bag of Wendy's. Daniel gave a small smile, although a bit forlorn. This meant that she had to go quickly, and couldn't stay long. Daniel went back inside and sat at the kitchen table, his paws crossing in front of him at his placemat. Daniel's parents had split up when he was very young, in the summer of 3rd grade to 4th grade. It just didn't seem to work out between them. So, his father was away now in another town not too far off. Dad had gotten remarried to a nice chocolate lab and had a son now, Daniel's half brother Tommy. While it wasn't the same as having your father live at home, their family, thankfully, was on good terms. Alli, Fred and Daniel went to their house every other weekend, and dad came to them on Wednesdays to visit. Although, with his dad and his wife's jobs, they sometimes had to cancel. And what with his mom's job, she too had long hours. So, for the most part, with Fred and Alli about, Daniel was left alone most of the time at home. It could be lonely at times, since Daniel was not as outgoing as his sister and didn't have a job like his brother. But, alas, the internet was a marvelous thing. He could chat, laugh, cry, and all other things in between via that broadband wonder. All except that key part: actually having the person there. Daniel sighed a bit as his mother walked in. She set the bag of fast food on the table, giving off that distinct aroma of French fries. Daniel's mom was a white rabbit with a couple spots of black over her face and her ears. "Hey sweetie, what've you been up to?" Daniel shrugged, opening the bag to pull out his fries, handing the other to his mom. He looked inside and smiled. His mom hadn't forgotten. He pulled out the salad in it's plastic container. The bunny loved salad, perhaps cliché for rabbits. And even more cliché was his love of carrots. But, hey, what can you do? It was who he was. At least it wasn't something you could get killed over. His mom had opted for a burger, more declaring her need for speed. "I've been just milling around, some work on my homework. How's your day going?" Daniel said, opening his plastic bowl of greens. He loved this part. His mom would have some of the most outrageous stories from school about her kids. About fights, and skirmishes, and other moments. His mom knew about this, and she gave a small smile "I wish there was more to tell, but the weekend is the weekend. Maybe when the week starts there'll be more. But, don't worry, I'll keep my eye out for anything interesting. Who knows? The football team might tip over a bus." Daniel almost choked on his first forkful of salad as he laughed, picturing some of the muscle bound jocks tipping over one of the large yellow buses. He smiled as he looked at his mom, in her work suit. She really was an amazing person. Having been taking care of them as a single parent for three rambunctious kids can be a hassle. But, even though she said she loved them all equally, Daniel had a notion she was more favorable towards him. He was the relatively quiet one and willing to talk about things then about doing things. Fred was all about 'going out' leaving everyone else alone. And Alli was the little party girl, almost drooling at the rumor of a thing going down at a friend's house. It was like she could sniff them out. Daniel was about to speak when he saw his mom check her watch and sigh. "I'm sorry, but I have to take lunch on the road. There's a meeting soon, and I have to get there soon or I'll be late." Daniel gave a small frown, but nodded "Ok, mom" she leaned over and gave a kiss to his forehead and made it out to her car. Daniel took his bowl of salad to the den as the garage door began to open, just more heralding his mother's departure. He flicked on the TV, checking through his favorite channels. History, Discovery, Comedy Central, USA, TNT, FOX... nothing was on except reruns. The TV was out just as fast as it was on as Daniel sighed, sitting down on the couch. He really was alone. It was sad, really, with people thinking he was ok alone, but just wishing to be with people. Lone Wolf's offer came into thought, and he got up, moving to the computer. He opened his email and began typing a reply to Lone Wolf. The cursor blinked on the screen, like a counter to what time he had to reply. Just a silent timer. Daniel looked at it, his pawtips poised over the keyboard when he finally said aloud "Fine, I'll do it!". It was more to himself then to anyone in particular as he typed out his brief message: 'I want to go, when and where?' He hit the Send button and watched as the email confirmed his sending of the message. He looked at the screen, having that feeling of semi-giddiness at what he just did, but at the same time a feeling of doubt. Giddy for finally sending the message, and wanting to go, but anxious about going.
Another part of the series, thanks for reading