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P.O.V. - Roger

The bathroom door slid shut with a loud clack as I sat up in Nick's bed. Way to go hormones! What was I thinking?! I wasn't thinking, that's problem. I jumped from the bed and stuffed a hand down the front of my pants to make some adjustments. Damn, I hope that new underwear comes tomorrow, these Mink briefs are killing me! Standing on the rug where Nick had fallen I caught an unmistakable scent. Oh, so THAT'S what happened! I should never have done that, the poor guy must be so embarrassed. He's gonna need a change of clothes but all his stuff is out here. I'll play dumb and give him a chance to clean up. I grabbed my tablet and quickly typed a message, knocking on the bathroom door before hitting enter to make it play. "Hey Nick, Colton's not ready yet so I'm going to go to the kitchen and heat up a burrito, want anything?" The sounds of rustling clothes and running water paused and he answered. "Uh no, I'm fine! Err wait! Can you heat up a French bread pizza?" I swiped a reply. "Sure, I'll be back in 15 minutes or so depending on the line at the microwave." "Ok, thanks!" he said nervously.

I made a point to shut the door loudly on my way out so he'd know it was clear but lingered in the hallway as my physical excitement had yet to die down to undetectable levels. I heard a door opening at the end of the hallway and quickly sat with my back against the wall, the tablet on my bent knees. Kriana, the dorm Rep. whom I had met briefly a few days ago, walked up wearing a pink pajama T-shirt so long it almost touched the floor due to her short Otter legs. N_othing to see here! Move along!_ "Hey Roger, what are you doing?" Can't a guy have a hard-on in peace around here?! Just play it cool, it doesn't show in this position... I hope! I switched back to the Text to Speech app and said "I was on my way to the kitchen when I remembered something I needed to check on. What's up?" The River Otter didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary and responded. "I'm headed down to the rec. room to watch The Bachelorette with Theresa and a couple other friends. It aired the other night but we recorded it. We've been diligently avoiding spoilers ever since and it hasn't been easy!" She narrowed her eyes momentarily as if she suddenly suspected I might blurt out the secret of The Bachelorette universe but I put her fears to ease by typing "I've never seen a single episode but it looks like a fun show. Tell Theresa I said hi." She shifted her weight and the slight pause in her response time made me wonder what she was really thinking when she asked "There'll be extra room if you wanna come?"I know she's just being nice but can't she leave me and my boner in peace already! Actually it's almost back down to normalnow but still... I typed "Thanks but I've already made plans with someone." "Ok" she said "stop by if your plans change and I'll let Theresa know you said hello." I added "Ok, have fun." and she finally turned to go, her slippers slapping against her paw pads as she went.

I waited for her to make it down the stairs before getting up. Huh, seems kinda early in the day for pajamas, must be a girl thing. __Phew, that could have been really embarrassing. I wonder how Nick is fairing? It's so hard to keep my hands off him with that soft fur and those cute bent ears and I'd sure like to wrap my muzzle around... oh great, there I go again! I really should do something about my sex drive. I guess I'll have to take matters into my own hands, so to speak! Heh, I haven't tended to any of that kind of stuff since I got here. It feels so... ridiculous though! I haven't done that in years! I totally forgot what it was like to have a sex drive, I barely even slept last night. Look what it made me do with Nick! I suppose I can take care of that in the shower tomorrow, that's probably when everyone else does it. What I am gonna use for lube? I sure don't want to use shampoo! I'll rummage around under the sink, maybe one of the other guys stashed a bottlein the corner. It seems so silly to be doing that but I need to do something, as it is I get excited just catching Nick's scent and when I get close to him it's all I can do to keep from pulling at his clothes.

My train of thought continued as I walked to the kitchen and heated our food. I've been moving way too fast with him, I can tell he's pretty new to the game. I'm surprised he's not still playing with action figures! Ok, that's an exaggeration but I'll have to work harder at ignoring my sex drive and try to give him some space. Next time we're alone I'll pretend that there's people watching, I always get paranoid when there's people around. I made sure to kill a solid 15 minutes before heading up and knocked at the door.

There wasn't an answer but I could hear a fur-dryer running and guessed he was still in the bathroom so I let myself in. I set down the food and checked Nick's computer. Sure enough, Colton was asking where we were. I typed into the chatbox "Hey Colton, It's Roger. Sorry for the delay, how'd the raid go?" A minute passed and the bathroom fell silent as Nick's dryer stopped running and Colton responded. "I joined a random group and it ended up being team n00b! They ran around like frightened toddlers with flamethrowers, it wasn't pretty." Not being familiar with the game I said "Were you on a server with 'friendly-fire' enabled?" I couldn't resist my early supper any longer and started into one of the Bean N' Cheez burritos while Colton and I chatted idly about the game. I was through my entire first burrito when the bathroom door slid open.

The humid air that issued forth carried a scent of expensive shampoo that was oddly familiar but I couldn't quite place it. I noticed Nick had on all new clothes as I switched back to the Bear Chair and tried to break the tension that was obvious in his lowered ears. I swiped at my tablet to say "That smells good is it Eternity?" He took his chair and I passed over the plate with two pieces of french bread pepperoni pizza on it as he replied. "No, it's Agua Di Gio. I got a gift set of it for Christmas. I figured since you were gonna be out for a few minutes I'd take my shower now. I need to get up early tomorrow so I wanted to get it out of the way. I HATE getting up early." I was sure he had a wonderful story about why he was getting up early already planned but I felt guilty enough as it was and didn't press for it. Instead I just said via the tablet "That's a good idea, it feels nice to go to bed all clean sometimes. I was just talking with Colton, sounds like his raid failed. Apparently heavily armed, terrified toddlers make for poor teammates." Nick replied, still self-conscious. "Uh yeah, random teams can be the worst. Thanks for getting the pizza by the way." Best to keep the conversation light, still if I stay too far off he'll be weirded out by that too. David's chair left me with substantial room so I pulled a paw up to sit on which tilted me towards Nick. He was sitting bolt upright this time though and I wasn't able to lean against him. _Maybe a little role reversal will do the trick, getting him to help me might draw his attention._I tapped at the screen and said "Sorry for taking off, I go to bed so early I like to eat sooner than most people do and I was starving. So this game looks pretty cool, can you guys play a round while I watch over your shoulder?" "Sure" he said "Let me talk with Colton for a sec and get set up."

I let the conversation revolve around the game and it's mechanics and it wasn't long before the round started. It was easy enough to follow and I was able to let my mind wander while we talked. Teaching me the game does seem to be relaxing him a little, I guess that's a start. I can't expect everything to be back to normal just like that. Hey, I know a good subject. I typed at my device and said "I had my first talent training class today but talk about a let down. I spent the whole hour getting a lecture from Dr. Tamner about safety protocols. Tomorrow really has me worried though. She said they'll be hooking me up to a bunch of machines and asking me to do things but wouldn't really give me any details. Something about it being important to have data from a set a of base results prior to any training. Can you tell me what to expect?" Nick split his attention between the game and me and the effort finally seemed to take his mind off earlier events as he offered advice. "It's nothing to worry about, I mean it's kinda weird being hooked up to all that stuff but when they did it to me I just imagined I was an actor in one of those medical shows and then it wasn't so bad." An imagine of a shirtless Nick lying in bed with a few wires taped here and there flitted across my mind. I'd love to get his shirt off, the way his white fur underneath blends with those shades of brown and I'll bet it's soft too... wait, stop that! I replied with the synthetic voice to say "Hmm, that sounds like the work of a certain counselor. Was Ms. Thurlington there?" Nick swivelled his ears towards me but kept his eyes on the screen while we talked. "Now that you mention it, yeah. She was the one that gave me the idea about being an actor. It really did help though. Hey uh, I'm not sure how much I should tell you, they make a big deal about tainting the results from the initial readings." I rolled my eyes and tapped a reply. "Oh come on, I just hate going into things blind and it sounds like there'll be all sorts of people paying very close attention to me. Remember how I asked you to close your eyes so I could do it last time? I get SUPER weirded out doing it in front of people. It's like being able to sing like an opera star in the shower but not being able to squeak out a note on stage. I tried to tell Dr. Tamner that but she just blew it off."

I noticed the top of my muzzle was flickering gently and darted a look at Nick. He was absorbed in the game and didn't seem to notice.Damn, these light patterns are definitely getting worse. Just last week it took fairly strong emotions to make stuff like this happen, now I start putting on a show at even modest levels. And what the hell happened when I was thinking about Thad? Holy crap! That's right! I didn't reset the dead-man switch! It's over, or rather it's started. Holy sh#t, it's really happening and I'm alive to see it! The asset transfers will have started by now but the information dump won't happen for 12 hours. He'll be so busy trying to guard his horde he won't see the investigation coming until it's too late. If only I still had my old talent, I could be right there to watch that sack of sh#t burn! He'll only lose half his wealth so he'll still be able to afford a serious legal battle but after that video comes out no reputable council will want their name on his defense team. God damn it's really happ...

"Roger, hey it's gonna be ok." Nick had turned from the screen to face me and I was so lost in thought I hadn't noticed. Rather than type I leaned across the arm of the chair until my muzzle was almost touching his ear and whispered. "I'm sorry, I kinda go off in my own world sometimes, especially when I'm tired. I didn't mean to pull you from the raid, how's it going?" Nick looked concerned and took his right hand from the computer mouse to rest it on top of mine. "Colton will be fine, he's godly in this game and the team is pretty good. The round is almost over anyway. Really, try not to think about the test. It's not the sort of thing that's graded or anything. Look, I'm not supposed to tell you so keep it secret." I nodded and leaned in close as his voice dropped. "Since we both connect emotionally it'll probably be similar. Theyhad meconcentrate on different feelings and sometimes they madea loud sound to startle meand stuff like that. After that they had me try to read what each of them..." He fell quiet and looked worried just as the word "Victory!" blazed across his monitor.

Our heads were still close so I could whisper. "Hey I think you guys won." He looked back to the screen. "Oh yeah, gimme just a minute to chat with him. I'll tell him we gotta go." I nodded and asked "Ok, I feel bad not playing more with him though. Can you tell him I think the game looks cool and I want to try a turn at the controls some night soon?" Nick's tail wagged gently and his eyes softened. "Sure,it'll just be a sec and then we can talk before David gets back."Nick turned his attention to the computer while I got to work on my second burrito. I watched as they typed their goodbyes and still felt guilty for not spending more time with Colton. He seems like a nice guy, I'll have to keep an eye out for him. There must be someone here at the school he could hit it off with.

Nick leaned back in his chair and turned his head to face me. "Colton said to say goodnight and he's looking forward to gaming with you. We'll probably see him at lunch tomorrow, I mean, if you want to sit with us." I wiped my muzzle with a napkin and leaned close to whisper. "I wanted to sit there today but it looked full when I got there. I couldn't tell for sure but I would have had to walk by Melina's section to check and I didn't want to cause another problem. Guess I did anyway though." Nick tipped his head and asked "We didn't really have front row seats for the show, what happened?" I took a breath to sort my thoughts and replied. "There weren't many seating options by the time I got there so I sat with Brandon, the horned lion. He was in a rotten mood and it didn't take long for me to figure out who was the cause of it. After that, well you know me, I had to do SOMETHING. I gave Dylan an apology, in a round about vaguely threatening sort of way, and he got so mad he punched the table. At least, he meant to hit the table but his soda was in the way. Contrary to rumors he was the one who splashed everyone, not me. He didn't do it on purpose though."

Nick leaned so our shoulders could touch again. "Roger I know your heart's in the right place but someday you're gonna get hurt or expelled. You don't have to solve the world's problems. The next time something like that comes up go to the admin office and tell Mrs. Patterson. The staff here is pretty good, the main problem is that people don't want to step forward so they don't know the real extent of the situation." I inhaled deeply through my nose and enjoyed the undertone of his scent beneath the Agua Di Gio still lingering in the air. "I know what you're saying. It's just... I know how it feels to be in Brandon's place, or Bea's, or Josh's. I get why they don't come forward, they're afraid no real change will come of it and everything will only get worse. Depending on others has never much worked for me in the past but... ok, for you I'll give it a go." I put my hand on his forearm and rubbed my cheek ruff against his. "If I got expelled I'd lose you and I don't even want to think about that. Don't expect me to go 180 on the first day but I'll try to hold back, I'll even do the cabin trick if I have to ok?"

Nick tipped his head and I felt his tongue softly brush the side of my muzzle as he said "Thanks Roger, I don't want to lose you either." I rubbed my nose against the side of his and he closed his eyes momentarily before snuggling back and saying "I've been waiting for what feels like the right time to talk about something and I don't want to put it off any more. Do you remember Sunday morning after you kissed me and sorta, well, affected me?" I lowered my ears with a pang of guilt and nodded. "When I said I was feeling what the birds felt and the people in the dorms felt... that's because empathy is my talent. I have to focus to notice what people are feeling but if the emotions are strong or if they're really close I sense them without trying, in fact I can't tune it out." I could tell Nick was really worried, his lowered muzzle and upturned eyes said as much as his flattened ears so I shifted in the chair to put my left arm around his shoulders and whispered. "At the time I thought it was a side effect from the zap I gave you. I was worried that somehow I had transferred some of the effects from the cabin trick but what you're saying makes a lot more sense. What's it like in a crowd, or even a classroom for that matter?" Nick settled into my arm but still seemed cautious as he spoke. "As long as I don't focus I don't feel anything unless it's strong so my classes are generally fine. People are usually just bored or focused on the lecture. Sometimes it can be difficult during tests, especially finals, because it gets hard to tune out the people around me if they're really nervous. My teachers know that though so if it gets bad they let me take the test in the morning before classes start or some just send me to the library and I take it there. Bigger crowds are fine as long as it's everyday stuff like the mall. I can run into trouble at a crowded movie theatre during certain scenes where everyone gets upset or excited so I tend to only go to those late in the run when the theatre is almost empty. Day to day it's not really much trouble and it can be really helpful too... like the afternoon we met."

I tipped my head and cocked my ears towards him questioningly as he spoke. "Since I was just meeting you and all... well I kinda peeked at how you were feeling. I don't always think about it, sometimes I do it reflexively, like sniffing the air. I'm sorry, I know that people consider their feelings really private and personal." I squeezed Nick with my arm and nuzzled his cheek ruff as I whispered. "If there's one person I don't have to hide my feelings from, it's you."

He wagged his tail and his head came to rest on my shoulder but I could tell there was still more on his mind. I whispered "I'm not an empath but it seems like there's something else. Am I right?" Nick's tail stopped wagging and he seemed to draw in on himself as he spoke in soft tones. "Earlier when we were in bed... I was... really liking it... and I could tell you were too. In fact, I couldn't tune out how much you were liking it and on top of what I was already feeling myself... it just... all of a sudden it was overwhelming." I pulled him tightly to me and whispered. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be moving so fast. I can be so impulsive and when I'm alone with you... you know how I feel." I smiled warmly and continued. "We can take things at any speed you want and when the time comes for it... well... I know a couple tricks and I think we could have a lot of fun practicing." Nick finally unwound and his tail started moving again as he nuzzled up under the nape of my neck.

After a moment of quiet reflection for both of us, Nick spoke. "Roger... I think David will be back soon and we haven't even started your first dancing lesson. I think we could go over the basics of slow dancing though." My tail softly waved at the thought. "Ok, but take it easy on me. I've never danced in my life. The Rhythm & Soul police may find probable cause to bust in here and haul me off." Nick leaned forward to use the computer as he spoke encouragingly. "Ah come on, you can be graceful when you want to be, I've seen it. Here, let me find a good starter song."

Nick concentrated on the screen, flipping through a list of songs until he landed on one he liked. "Here we go, You and Me by Lifehouse, a little dated but it's got a nice, easy beat. Let's move the chairs." We both got up and rolled the chairs over near the bathroom door before returning to the now empty space between the desks. I stood awkwardly near Nick while he cued up the song at a low volume and then turned to face me. His tail was wagging but my fur was starting to subtly flicker with a hint of anxiety. "Ok" he said "You're taller by a good 15 centimeters so it would be better if you lead." I bent to put my muzzle close enough to his ear to whisper. "How can I lead? I don't know what to do." He smiled and replied. "Oh it's hardly leading really. It's not like we'll be doing anything formal. I'll show you at first and then once you get the hang of it you can take over.

Now take my right hand with your left one and put your other hand under my left arm." Hesitantly I took a step forward and grasped his hand in mine while pulling him in with the other. He dipped his muzzle shyly as he raised his left hand to my shoulder and I was suddenly very aware how close he was. My initial anxiety gave way to a wave of excitement and arousal as he said "Woah, not that I mind but there needs to be some space between us or we can't move. Shift your right hand out so it's more towards the side... and step back a little... ok, about there. Now, lift your right paw and slide it over until it touches your left one and then slide it back, like this." Nick raised his paw and slid it gracefully across the floor to touch the other and then slid it back. "Just slide and touch, first one way and then the other." I tried to follow his example but it didn't feel as smooth as his looked. "Don't dip, try to keep your hips even with the floor for now and uhm, you're about to break my hand, if you could ease that death-grip..." I startled and reflexively let go with both hands before smiling sheepishly and mouthing 'Sorry.' T_his is harder than I thought! I figured we'd just hold each other and sorta sway with the beat._ Nick perked his ears with a patient smile and responded. "It's ok, just try to relax and feel the music. You've got REALLY strong hands. The way you grip and pull... it's like you're going to throw me to the floor. Try to keep a light touch and gently push as you move."

From the curve of Nick's tail to the hints in his voice I could tell he was trying hard not to be shy. I'm sure he's picking up on how I'm feeling, I wish I could turn it down to make it easier for him. I nodded and we got back into position. This time I felt a bit more confident and made an effort to remind myself that I wasn't practicing Aikido. Easy does it, just out for a nice little dance... not gonna pin him to the floor... step, slide... step, slide... Keep the hips level... "You're picking it up fast! Let's try" *Knock* *Knock* "Hey, uh guys?" We heard David's voice through the door. Begrudgingly I let go and started to turn away as Nick stepped over to the computer to turn off the music. On a whim, I spun back and grabbed his shoulders as I planted a quick kiss on the end of his muzzle and whispered "Thanks." His initial surprise gave way to a demur smile as I gave him a last hug and opened the door.

"Sorry guys, I know I'm back kinda early." said the rather frazzled looking Bear. "Matt and Josh got into an argument about the best Star Craft II strategy and then I beat 'em both and things were kinda uncomfortable after that. Heh." I retrieved my tablet and used it to reply. "Sorry to hear that. Are they writing up the divorce papers as we speak?" David chuckled softly and said "No, they do that all the time. Each of them considers themselves an expert on every game out there,they can even beat me at some of them. They're always fighting over the best way to play a level or handle a quest or what not. For some reason it was just getting on my nerves more than usual tonight so I decided I needed to come back here and decompress. I know you guys were planning on having a little more time but I really need some quiet solitude." Nick tipped his head with a concerned look. "It's ok David, it's your room too. I'll go see what's happening in the rec. room. Roger, you wanna come?"

I scratched the back of my head for a moment and then replied with the synthetic voice. "I think Kriana and Theresa and maybe a couple others might be in there watching The Bachelorette." Nick's face lit up. "Really? Oh that's right, they recorded it from the other night. I usually watch it with them but our schedules didn't line up last time. Come on, I love that show! There's tons of cute guys. Not that I notice, or that you would. I mean..." I cringed at the thought but Nick's enthusiasm was more than I could say 'no' to. I shoo'ed him out the door mid-sentence and waved goodnight to David before pulling it shut behind us.

I bent to whisper in his ear while we stood in the empty hallway. "Hey uh, have you told David about... us... yet? It's ok, I just haven't told Jim yet and..." I sighed heavily. "I guess it'll be all over the school soon enough after what happened with Ashley and all." I grew suddenly self-conscious as I remembered the pause in Kriana's voice when we talked. Oh god, does she already know? Was that what the invitation was about? Eh, now I'm being paranoid. So what if she does know? Ugh, sitting in a room with a bunch of giggling girls... someone shoot me! But for Nick... ok I'll do it. After all I've put him through today I owe him more than this. Nick's voice sounded worried as he said "Roger it's ok, I know you've already had a long day what with starting classes and going to G.L.A. and..." I stopped him with a soft smile and leaned in to whisper. "It'll be nice to put my paws up and zone out in front of a TV for a bit. What I'm feeling now will pass a few minutes after we sit down together." I hope! I can't believe I'm doing this! "Let's go. I'll be fine, really." Nick hesitated for a moment and then his original enthusiasm returned as he said "You know, we usually watch in our pajamas." His tail wagged but even that wasn't enough this time. I replied "Have you seen what I'm forced to call pajamas? That is NOTgonna happen." Nick pulled at my arm and we started down the hall while he spoke. "Ahw, what if I got you some Ninja Puppy Underoos? Or Batman! Come on, you've already got the voice!" I laughed softly and playfully messed up the fur on his head as we rounded the stairs.