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Chapter 21

P.O.V - Roger 8:30 pm

BEEP BEEP BEEP - BEEP BEEP BEEP

I flailed my hand blindly at the edge of my pillow until it hit the tablet case. Ugh! Turn off! Stupid beeping! After I swiped and tapped the alarm into submission I sat up and hung my paws over the edge of the bed. The room was dark except for what little light snuck in through the closed blinds over our window and there was no sign of my glowing roommate. It's tempting to just sleep through till morning but knowing my luck I'd wake up at 3:30 am and end up tired all day. I jumped down and flipped on the light to find the gift box from Penny-Mart neatly placed at the foot of my bed. I can't believe I didn't wake up when they came in. I usually don't get THIS tired from skipping one night's sleep, but it wasn't exactly a normal night. Erf, probably explains the headache too. It'll probably go down after I eat, let's hope the kitchen is empty. Having slept in my clothes it was a simple matter of slipping my bare paws into my shoes before heading downstairs.

The kitchen proved to be deserted at first but my solace was short-lived as I heard Kriana's voice echoing down the hall from the rec. room. "Oh, and could you bring some pickled herring too? Thanks!" Moments later, Thersea came quietly through the door obviously dressed for another pajama party. Keenly aware of the fact that she had seen the photo of me naked, and excited, I quickly smiled and proceeded to bury my head in the refrigerator to avoid further eye contact. "Hi Roger" she said in her usual, mild tone. The refrigerator's cold interior provided a momentary haven but I could see the jar of herring sitting ominously on the shelf in front of me. "Uh, hey Theresa. I heard Kriana, are you looking for this?" My hand jutted out from behind the door to offer her the jar but I kept my head inside, out of view. She took it from my hand and replied. "Oh, yeah... thanks. I uhm, need to get to the soda too." With a sigh of resignation I managed to see how ridiculous I was acting and stepped back so she could get by and help herself. "Sorry" I said "I can't decide what to have for a late supper. Go ahead." Hmm, I think Nick was right. She IS pretty quiet. She probably won't say anything about seeing that photo unless I bring it up. No way am I going to do that!

She pulled out a bottle of root beer and I retreated even further as I knew she'd need glasses from the cupboard next to me. I opened it and asked "How many cups do you need, I'll get 'em." She set down the jar of vile, preserved fish and fought with the tightly capped bottle. "Four... unless you want to join us. We're about to watch 'The 100.'" It was clear she was fighting a losing battle with the cap and I hurried to set out the cups before taking the bottle from her. "Here, let me try that." As I wrenched off the recalcitrant cap I came to the conclusion that I had to make up for last night's debacle but at the same time I feared another disaster. I've gotta learn to say 'no'. I can already see a little flickering off the top of my muzzle and I'm not even in the room yet! Theresa must have noticed my hesitation and interrupted my line of thinking to say "Nick's there. I think he could use your company. He's been kinda quiet lately."

I set down the freshly opened bottle and thought to myself. S_he played the Nick card! No sense fighting it now._ "Sure" I heard myself say "Thanks for the invite." I'm such an idiot! I might as well stride into the room, kick the TV and pee on the floor all while reciting Pi to the 100 __th_ decimal place! Save everyone the suspense of waiting until I make a scene!_ I cleared my throat and said "Can I help you carry the snacks in first?" She looked up from the pile of chips, crackers and cookies she had accumulated while we talked and said "That'd be nice. Thanks." I produced a tray from under the sink and arranged the drinks and munchies before following the Coon-cat, as I liked to think of her, into the rec. room.

Theresa, in her ever quiet demeanor, failed to mention inviting me and I hovered behind the couch momentarily before circling around towards a low table near Kriana. The Otter looked up as I set down the tray beside her. Before she could say anything I smiled and said "Pay no mind to the flickering Wolf, I need to head back to the kitchen to make supper. Theresa just looked a little over loaded so I thought I'd help out." I spun around and tried to step away but Kriana's voice caught me. "'The 100' is about to begin. Hurry back, we'll pause it if it starts." I hesitated, looking back over my shoulder at the same group that filled the room last night. Nick's lithe frame was dwarfed by the recliner and I couldn't tell if his expression was one of concern that I was up, or hope that I'd join in. I looked into his kind eyes, and to the empty space beside him, and caved. "Uh, ok. But don't pause it on my account." Nick twitched his white tipped tail and I decided I had made the right call. After hurriedly constructing a turkey sandwich, and happily noting I didn't need a blender this time, I returned to the room and settled quietly into the chair beside Nick.

Amanda looked about as happy to see me as the previous night. Her 'nose in the air' glance as I sat down made it clear she'd rather I be elsewhere. However, Kriana, Theresa, Casey and Nick seemed genuinely glad to have me join. I kept my tone low and ears down as I said "Sorry, as soon as the flickering stops you won't even know I'm here." Kriana responded from the recliner on the opposite side of the sofa "Oh don't be so self-conscious. Have you seen this show before?" Nick's scent gently reminded me of his presence at my side and while it instinctively provided a calming effect it also reminded me of my shenanigans from the previous evening.

I replied "Uh, no. But I'll figure it out. I don't want to hold up the party." Casey's softly glowing facial markings made her easy to pick out in the dimly lit room when she commented "It'll only take a sec. Basically there was a nuclear war and everyone blew each other up and the only survivors were people on a space station orbiting the planet." Amanda interjected "Actually, some people on the surface survived." Casey's fluffy, striped tail flipped with mild irritation at the correction but she otherwise hid it well. "Right, I was getting to that. Anyway..."

The girls kept talking and I found that as long as I bobbed my head and generally looked interested I didn't really need to say anything. While doing my best to feign enthusiasm for the show I surrendered to my hunger and picked up my sandwich. Ok, doing good! Nick just gave me a reassuring smile, I haven't shown anyone a naked picture of myself and the flickering is going down. Off to a solid start! I was ravenous and had the sandwich gone in the short time it took everyone to wrap up their outline of the program.

"Cool" I said "thanks for bringing me up to speed." "No problem" said Casey "If something confusing comes up don't be afraid to ask. It's a complicated show to start from the middle." I nodded "Ok, I will." And with that Kriana hit the Play button. By the middle of the opening scene the girls were already blurting out comments and bantering back and forth in a casual manner that helped me to feel more at ease. There we go. See? Nothing to it! I took off my shoes and set them beside the chair after which Nick and I pushed the recliner back and put our paws up. I slid down and Nick snuggled up to my shoulder before putting his nose by my ear to whisper. "Shouldn't you be in bed? I mean, I'm really glad you're here but I think you need more than a nap." I nuzzled his cheek ruff and responded quietly. "I figured I shouldn't try to sleep straight through. I'd probably wake up in the middle of the morning and be all out of whack. I'll go to bed around 10. Hey, do I get a gold star yet? I haven't nibbled your ear once and the flickering is almost gone." He squeezed my hand and surprised me by saying "I know, nice work. Keep it up and maybe I'll nibble yours." The thought of it actually happening, with everyone watching, got me to flashing brighter and Nick was quick to catch on. "Kidding! Just kidding. Let's just watch the show... and speak up from time to time. It makes it more fun." I nodded and tried to calm back down.

Unfortunately, I kept noticing Casey and Theresa sneaking glances at us and I couldn't unwind. I caught Theresa's ears perking when I nuzzled Nick and Casey's tail tended to dance excitedly whenever we whispered into each other's ear. Hmm, they certainly don't seem upset about us. If anything they almost seem... intrigued. During a loud scene I whispered to Nick "Have you noticed Casey and Theresa? Why do they keep looking over here?" Nick kept his eyes on the screen but muttered out of the side of his muzzle. "It's fine, trust me. Just try to focus on the story. See the Cougar? She thought her father was killed by the Chancellor because her friend, who was the Chancellor's son, didn't keep a secret she shared with him. Later though, she came to realize it was her mother that betrayed him!" I snickered and replied quietly. "This IS complicated; I should've brought my tablet so I could make some sort of chart." The comment elicited a playful elbow in the ribs from Nick and, while I jokingly winced, I also kept an eye on the girls.

There, Theresa did it again! That gleam in her eye and that hint of a mischievous smile... and Casey is doing the same! Oh god, Theresa must have told Casey about the picture and now they're undressing me with their eyes! Wait, that's stupid, girls don't think that way... do they? Still, they look almost... excited, and I don't think it's about the show. Nick is hiding something, I can tell!

I waited patiently for another chance to pester Nick and, during a heated discussion between Amanda and Kriana, tipped my head to whisper "There's something about those girls you're not telling me. Spill it or I'm gonna slowly work my hand over to your crotch." Nick shot me a glare and I gave him my infamous, innocent puppy face in return. His gaze narrowed but his ire went unheeded as I locked my fingers and flipped my hands to face the palms outward and stretched my arms. He muttered "Roger..." just as I cracked my knuckles and casually let my right hand fall on top of his left jeans pocket. Sure enough, Casey's tail danced and Theresa's ears shot straight up. They were practically salivating when Nick pushed my hand back and whispered "Stop that! Fine, they're both huge Yaoi fans alright? But don't let on that I told you or they'll kill me!" I squinted and tilted my head questioningly. "Yowie, what's that?" Nick let out an exasperated breath and I could tell my antics were starting to wear on his nerves. "It's... something I'll explain later. I wanna watch the show. Look, you trust me, right?" I splayed my ears and nodded. "Then believe me when I tell you that they're not thinking anything bad about you, or us."

I felt like a rightfully scolded child as I mouthed "Ok" and turned to rest partially on my side. The new position reduced my view of the couch, and its inhabitants, while also providing me with a more comfortable line of sight to the TV. Nick squeezed my hand and said "It's a good show if you give it a chance." I offered a closed mouth smile and, for the first time, actually tried to take an interest in the story. He's right, if I keep my attention on the show I won't be so worried about what everyone might be thinking. Luckily, the current scene included a male Coyote who seemed to need little excuse to parade around without a shirt. The eye candy helped to pull me into the story despite finding myself lost in the myriad currents of the complicated plot lines.

Without realizing it, I calmed to the point of feeling sleepy and drifted near the edge of consciousness as the show reached a commercial break. Kriana, who usually fast-forwarded the advertisements, was embroiled in another conversation with Amanda and failed in her duties as keeper of the remote. After a commercial, a teaser came on for the nightly news broadcast that would air after the show. The anchorman, a Red Fox in a black suit jacket and hunter green tie, announced "Disturbing and shocking new video has surfaced that appears to show CEO Thad Beaumont intentionally and repeatedly running over an as yet unidentified young male Wolf. See the unedited footage at eleven."

The Fox's words danced at the periphery of my thoughts and my emotions ran dark with loathing as I drifted fitfully to sleep. My dreams played out in stunted cut scenes as I was transported back to the night of my nephew's murder. The initial strike that shattered the bones in his forelegs, the crushed hip as he was thrown to the curb, the greasy blood stain under his cracked skull... the haunting images seemed just as fresh and real as they did the first time I saw them years ago. But this time Thad wasn't able to drive off and leave him for dead. This time I could stop him.