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Hello! Sorry about the late updates everyone..... Internet went out for the whole week and I couldn't upload this chapter for a while.

Please enjoy!

Chapter 18: Awkward friendship after coming out

When Will opened his eyes, he found Jake kissing him gently, holding the back of the tiger's head. Completely lost as to what was going on, Will dumbly sat, allowing the wolf entrance into his mouth. The kiss was only about a minute long, but to Will, it felt as if at least five more minutes passed.

"So Jake, when you said that you wanted to talk to me, were you.....?" Will trailed off. Considering the fact that the wolf just kissed him, it was obvious that the wolf liked Will.

Jake stared at Will anxiously for a moment, coughed, and then stared at the ground. Will kept on staring at the wolf, as they fell silent. Finally, Jake coughed again, and spoke up.

"Will, I really, really like you. And when I say that, I don't mean like as in liking as a friend. No, I think it's better to say that I love you. I've sort of loved you ever since we first met, but I didn't say anything then because it was too awkward. But as we began to know each other better, I began to really love you, more than anyone else. I know this is really surprising, but..." Jake trailed off, and looked up at Will. The younger tiger looked bewildered, shocked, and nervous.

Will crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and began to think. He wasn't sure about how he felt about Jake. It was true that he felt more comfortable around the wolf; but was that love? Did Will ever think of Jake as someone more than a friend? Who was Jake to Will himself? Several minutes passed before Will opened his mouth. Jake, who had been staring at the ground the whole time, looked up.

"Jake..... This was really surprising, but I'm glad that you told me this. The thing is....... I don't think I can really accept this." Jake winced.

"The thing is, you're my best friend here. I'm really grateful for all those times you spent with me and helped me. Sometimes I feel as if you're more than a friend. But that feeling isn't really love. At least, not romantically. You feel more like an older brother that I can rely on, like Arthur. I don't want to hurt your feelings by pretending to be in love in you; that won't be fair to the two of us. And I don't want to endanger our friendship. So I'm sorry, but I can't accept your feelings." after Will finished, Jake looked down again. The two of them were completely silent, except for a light sniff from Jake. Jake then looked up at Will. He was smiling weakly, but his eyes were still sad-looking.

"You know, I actually figured that's what you'd say to me. I guess I would say the same if I was in your position." Jake abruptly stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" the wolf then turned and went away. Will stood up, on the verge of grabbing the wolf, but he hesitated. Will wasn't sure about whether he could do anything for Jake. While he was working this out, the wolf was gone. When Will noticed this, he then took steps back to his dorm, worried and slightly upset.

When he came back, only Todd was awake, still focused on his work. Will didn't want to bother him, so he quietly closed the door. However, as Will quietly came in, Todd suddenly turned around and stared at Will.

"So, what did Jake say?" Todd asked, his voice was more serious than normal. Will gulped. Did he know that Jake came out to Will?

_ _ Will decided to not talk about it, as the secret was Jake's to tell.

"He didn't say much. He just called me over to..... to help me with my homework!" the white tiger blurted out. He then immediately felt stupid. He didn't even have any homework left, and even if he did, there was no need for Will to ask Jake late at night, even going over to where the wolf studied. Todd stared at Will incredulously for a second before he began to laugh. "You're a really bad liar, Will. Did anyone ever tell you that?"

Will gave a tight smile. "No, no one ever did." when Will thought back, he suddenly found something strange. He never told Todd about how Jake called him, and when Will got the phone call, he was near the library. How did the fox know about Jake calling him?

"Wait, how do you Jake called me?" Will asked the fox, who leaned back with a grin.

"Well, I've known that Jake loved you for a while, so it was partly a guess." Will then frowned. " Partly a guess?" the white tiger gave the fox a hard look. Todd looked surprised for a moment.

"Well aren't you bright?" Todd lazily replied, giving Will an amused look. When Will gave him a look, Todd launched into an explanation. "My specialty is mind magic, so I deal with minds a lot. I can't exactly read minds unless I try really hard, but I can sort of sense people's emotions. When you came in, you were really surprised, upset, and worried. I also knew that Jake was trying to come out to you, so I figured that it was about that."

Will gave the fox a slightly surprised look. Will never would've thought that the fox had abilities like that, or figure out the problem that easily. "Yeah, it's about Jake. He just tried to ask me out..... and I ditched him." Will then looked at Todd. "Did I do the wrong thing? Maybe I should take it all back....." the white tiger was then suddenly enveloped by a hug from the fox.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Will. It's natural to be surprised by your friend suddenly coming out and admitting that they loved you all this time. It's also natural to feel slightly guilty when you tell him that you don't share his feelings and will not go out with him. You don't have to force yourself so that he can be happy. In the end, a relationship like that won't last long. This was the best outcome." the fox softly spoke into the tiger's ears.

"You sound as if you've been through the same thing." Will spoke, and instantly regretted it. As Will spoke those words, the gleam in the fox's eyes suddenly faded, leaving a sad look behind.

"Yeah, I've had an experience like that. A guy once came out to me. He was a real close friend of mine, sort of like you and Jake now. So when he told me that he loved me, I told him that I'll go out with him. But I couldn't put my heart into it, and we began to fight, and broke up. We never really spoke much after that. When I look back at it, I think I should've said no."

Will felt sorry for Todd. Mostly for what the fox went through, and partially because he brought back the painful subject. "I'm sorry about that. I... I guess I was really thoughtless there." Will mumbled, leaning on the fox's chest.

"Hey, it's okay. You didn't really know." Todd replied, his voice light but slightly shaky. After a moment, Will slowly leaned away from the fox. "But was the hug necessary?" Will asked Todd, giving a weak smile.

"Hey, you looked like you were about to cry. I thought that the hug might help. Also to be clear, the hug doesn't mean that I like you, or something like that. So no misunderstanding, okay?" the fox grinned, and then suddenly sobered. "So, you don't have anything against Jake about him being gay, right?"

Will shook his head. "No way. It's just that the way he suddenly said that surprised me, that's all. I still think of him as my best friend."

Todd gave a mocking gasp. "What about me, then?" he asked.

"You're a good friend. A little more than just a friend, but not quiet at Jake's level yet." Will replied rather seriously, not realizing that Todd was joking.

Todd stared at Will again, and burst into laughter. "Will, I was joking!"

As Will laughed along with the fox, Will suddenly felt rather tired. It wasn't surprising, as it was getting slightly late. Also considering that he was out all day, it was no wonder that he felt tired right now.

"Todd, I... I feel sleepy. I'll see you... tomorrow...." Will spoke, his words punctured by loud yawns. The fox gave the tiger an understanding look, and also yawned. "Man, look at the time. Come on, let's go to bed."

After a quick shower and a change of clothes, the two lied down on their beds.

"Night, Todd." Will sleepily spoke.

"Night..." Todd spoke. The fox instantly fell asleep, snoring loudly. Will turned over, and also fell asleep.

The day after

Will slowly opened his eyes, and found Jake standing over him, looking down at him. Will stared at the wolf blearily for several seconds before the situation became clear to him.

"Morning, Jake." the white tiger mumbled, and turned so that he was facing the wolf.

"I honestly didn't expect a reaction like that." Jake spoke as he sat back down. Will gave him a curious look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, considering yesterday, I thought.... well, I thought you might freak out. You know, push me away, bang our heads together, and all that stuff in romantic comedies."

"Let me guess. You've wanted the second one to come true because then you might get a kiss?" Will asked playfully.

"Sort of." Jake shot back, smiling. Then the smile slowly faded from his face. "So about yesterday.... I'm sorry, Will. I guess it was really surprising, huh?"

"Well, I won't deny that I was surprised, but I'm okay now. How about we just keep on being friends?" Will spoke lightly.

"Well, I have no problems with that. I mean, I thought that you might be disgusted about it. Some werebeasts I knew didn't like it, you know."

"Well, I'm pretty open-minded." as Jake opened his mouth, Will cut him off. "But that doesn't mean that I'll go out with you. At least, not now."

"Makes sense." Jake nodded. "By the way, I've meant to ask you this yesterday, but what are you going to do when summer vacation starts?"

Will was caught off his guard by the question. The few months he spent here felt like years, and he never really thought about vacations.

"I don't know. I'll have to talk about this with my brother, but I think I might go back to his house and learn from him during vacation. Maybe hang out with my human friends too."

"Well....." Jake fidgeted, staring down at his clawtips. "I was going to ask you this yesterday, like I said, but... do you want to come to my family mansion for the summer?"

Will stared at Jake. He remembered that Jake's family was filthy rich, but he never really gave it a thought. Jake never really showed off his wealth, and acted like everyone else when it came to money. Because of this, it was hard for Will to keep the fact in mind.

"Umm..... not trying to sound offensive, but won't your family hate me? I heard that they're not very.... polite to those from small families." Will spoke back.

"Yeah, that's true. But I don't want you to come over to my place. The mansion I had in mind isn't where I used to live with my parents. It's another one overseas. They probably won't come, and we won't disturbed except by a few of my relatives. But fortunately, the relatives in that part of the world are pretty nice, sort of my uncle." Jake replied, slightly lost in thought. Will then realized again how large the financial differences between them was.

"Well, like I said, I have to talk it over with Arthur. I'd like to, though." Will spoke. He saw Jake clench his fists, and heard a small "Yes!" escape the wolf's lips.

Will gave the wolf an amused look, and Jake blushed, quickly trying to act normal but failing. The wolf was blushing so hard, Will could've sworn that he saw the blush despite the black fur. With werebeasts, knowing when other werebeasts blushed was more about intuition.

"You know, you were really obvious right then." looking at the rather crestfallen wolf, Will had to laugh. "I'll ask my brother later."

"Ask him if he wants to come along with us! I'm also asking Jonas, Todd, and another friend of mine." Jake told Will as the white tiger headed to the showers, a routine in his life.

Will spent the rest of the day practicing and meditating. His control over metal was becoming better, to the point where he can summon chunks of sharp steel within seconds of imagining it, in thin air. He recalled Dan saying that it was difficult to summon metal in thin air, as it meant that it was being made in an element that wasn't compatible with metal.

Will was coming out of the showers in the gym when he collided with a large someone. He was rubbing his nose when he heard a familiar voice. "Are you okay?"

Will looked up and found a somewhat familiar husky staring down at him. The white tiger was certain that he knew the husky, but couldn't figure out where he saw him at. The husky also had the same look. The two stared at each other for a while until the husky clapped his paws. "Will, right?" When Will still looked confused, the husky went on. "Remember Karlson? The guy you sparred with a few months back?"

Will couldn't remember the tiger for a while, until he suddenly remembered the sparring session a few months ago. They were partnered together.

"Oh yeah..... Sorry. I was busy and sort of forgot." Will apologized to Karlson, or Karl, the husky's preferred name.

"Hey, no problem. I couldn't remember your name for a while there, too. To be honest, I probably wouldn't have recognized you if it wasn't for the fact you're white. That stands out a lot, you know." Karl was about to speak father when a cough sounded behind him. When he looked back, several werebeasts were standing behind the husky, scowling at him. A few other werebeasts were also behind Will, too.

"Let's continue this somewhere else, okay? Wait for me at the front of the gym. I'll join you when I'm done." the husky spoke, and Will nodded. The two hurriedly made room for the werebeasts standing behind them.

Will paced the road outside the gym, sipping a drink he bought from a nearby bending machine. He only needed to wait a few more minutes before the husky ran out of the building. "Sorry. I had.... issues. Want to eat lunch together?"

"Sure. But where?" Will asked. Karl then pointed at the restaurant behind them. It was a simple diner, not too fancy.

"That place has the best steaks. I'll treat you to one!" Karl shouted as he went in. Will briefly toyed with the idea of paying for his own meal, but shrugged and went in. After all, the husky was offering, and it wouldn't be polite to decline.

The two sat down, and Karl placed their orders. As they waited, Will took a look around. Just like the outside of the shop, it was mostly plain, excluding a pot of plants whose leaves kept on changing color.

"So how have you been doing? I've heard a lot about your adventures." Karl spoke as he absentmindedly turned his cup around.

"Well, like I said, busy. They weren't what I'd call adventures though. More like... well, I don't know what to compare to, but it's not really an adventure." the husky snorted. "Well, you still had one heck of a time. I heard that you've been kidnapped by a mad professor, fought a Bound One, and made a contract with a god. Sure, you didn't go looking for one, but I'd count all those things as adventures." taking a brief sip, the husky asked Will, "So, are all those stories true?"

"Well, yeah. But I'd rather go without adventures; they're not really fun when you're in grave danger." Will spoke. At that point, their order came out. "Well, we have plenty of time. Why don't you tell me your story?" Karl suggested as he picked up his fork and knife. Will followed suit, opening his mouth.

"And that's how that happened." Will spoke as he cleaned his lips. Karl looked impressed. "Wow. So the stories were true after all, huh?"

"I'm actually surprised that the rumor about my contract spread so fast. I thought that they would try to keep it a secret."

Karl chortled. "Well, that's what happens when you show off your power in front of everyone. Sure, the elders and teachers probably told eyewitnesses to keep quiet, but you know werebeasts. I bet they were like 'Don't tell this to anyone else, but the white tiger over there had a contract with a god!' or something like that."

Will sighed. "And I thought I could keep that secret. I mean, that was pretty much my secret weapon, and it's not really a secret now, is it?"

The two kept on chatting until their phone rang simultaneously. Will checked his phone and saw a text message from Arthur. Karl checked his phone, had a small talk with whoever was on the other end, and turned his phone off. "Well, it was fun talking to you, but I gotta go. I have a remedial class." the husky was about to open the restaurant doors when he suddenly turned around and came back. "Can I have your phone for a minute?" Will handed his phone to the husky, who entered a phone number. The husky held the two phones out, and made a call with Will's phone, which made Karl's phone ring.

"My number. Call me later, okay?" he returned the phone, and ran out of the door. Will stared at the door for a few seconds before he stood up and also went out. His brother was here for him.

Arthur tapped his foot impatiently, staring at his watch. True, it was only about ten minutes since he made the call, but he couldn't help but to feel impatient. Suddenly, the dark lion whipped his head around and stared at the other side, and broke into a smile. Coming from the other side was a white tiger, Arthur's adopted brother.

"What took you so long?" Arthur asked Will as the tiger came closer, pretending to be serious.

"I had lunch with a classmate." Will briefly explained as he placed his hands on his laps, panting. Arthur went to the nearest bending machine, grabbed a soda, and tossed it to Will, who began to gulp it down.

"Well, that marks off item one from my 'to-do list'." Arthur spoke as Will finished the soda. "Do you want to do anything?"

Will cocked his head, thinking. "To be honest? I can't think of anything."

Arthur sighed, ruffling his mane. "Well, if that's the case, how about we go to the mall? You could use some new clothes."

"I guess....." Will trailed off. Arthur opened the car doors, and the two brothers stepped in. Arthur started the car, and the two were off to the nearest mall.

"Arthur, do you have any plans for the summer?" Will asked as the lion drove.

"Well, not really. I'll be training you a bit for the summer, and I thought that we could go on a trip. But other than that, no. My boss was pretty nice and gave me a pretty long time off. Technically, I won the right from a company lottery, but he rigged it up for me." Arthur grinned at Will, who gave a fake gasp of horror. "You monster!" Will shouted, trying not to laugh but failing. Arthur stared at his younger brother for a while, and began to laugh too.

"But seriously, why did you ask me that?" Arthur asked as they went up the stairs. The banter following the conversation stopped all serious talk until they came to the mall.

"Well, you know Jake, right?" Will spoke as he took a brief look at the stores.

"Yeah. He's your roommate, right?" Arthur asked as he entered a clothes shop, Will following him in. "Here, try this." Arthur gave Will a shirt from the rack.

"Well, he invited me, you, and my roommates for a trip to his mansion." Will loudly spoke as he entered the changing room.

"Seriously? I thought that his parents hated pretty much everyone not from their family." Arthur spoke, surprised.

"Well, it's not really their family mansion, the one everyone live in. He said that it's another one overseas, and we won't be disturbed by his parents or any other members of his family except a few of his relatives, and they're apparently really nice, like your boss."

"Well, if you put it that way......" Arthur had no reason to refuse. An overseas trip paid for by a friend? It was sweet deal, to say the least. "I guess we can go. When are we going, anyway?"

Will stepped out and looked at his reflection in the mirror. "Apparently the next week, when everything's done. He told me to tell you that if you're going to come, then bring your luggage and car next Wednesday, 6 a.m."

Arthur briefly went over his schedule. "Well, I think I can be there at that time. So tell Jake 'thank you', and also tell him that I'll be there."

"Okay." Will absently spoke as he turned around. "How's this one?"

The week after

Beep! Beep! Beep!

An alarm clock rang, and was silenced by a white paw. Will and his friends slowly woke up from their sleep, with varying level of sleepiness. Jake seemed to be the most active, followed by Will, Todd, and Jonas, who immediately fell asleep again and had to be shaken awake. After a brief shower and a meal, they began to head to the entrance of the academy, where Arthur and a friend of Jake was supposed to be waiting.

"So who's this friend of yours, anyway?" Jonas asked as he yawned, nearly tripping on a rock. Jake managed to stop the human before he went on.

"Well, I think some of you know him. He told me that he saw Will before." this startled the white tiger. "He does?" Will asked. At that point, he had a faint idea about who the 'friend' might be.

"Yeah. He's right over there, and..... Who's that?" Jake exclaimed, shading his eyes so that he can see better. Will muttered a quick spell, and saw a dark lioness standing right next to a husky and a lion.

"Sara, Karl, and Arthur?"Will spoke as he dissipated the spell.

"You know that girl?" Jake turned around and asked the white tiger.

"Yeah. She's the first werebeast I met, and she saved my life. She's Arthur's distant cousin. I think she lives here, because she was the one who helped me with the Bound One."

By that point, the two groups were close enough to see each other clearly. "Oh Jake? Sorry that I didn't ask you this before, but can Sara tag along? If there's a problem, we'll pay for it." Arthur apologetically spoke. Jake stared at Sara for a moment, and answered back. "Well, there's no need for you to pay. But the next time, please try to tell me in advance."

While Arthur and Jake was talking, Karl approached Will. "Hey, bet you didn't expect to see me, huh?" the husky grinned.

"Yeah. I didn't know that you were friends with Jake." Will spoke. Karl grinned and pointed a finger at Jake. "Hey, even before he fell in love with you, he was slightly approachable if you handle him well. We've known each other for a while, before you came here."

After this, everyone introduced themselves, and began to put in their luggage in Arthur's car trunks. Initially, Will was worried as the car looked too small, but Arthur assured Will that it was fine as the car was enlarged in the inside by using a Sphere.

"All right, everyone settled in?" Arthur asked as everyone climbed in. "remember to turn into your human forms, okay? There aren't any wards to keep you disguised now!"

After a quick check, the car was off, with six werebeasts and a human in it.