Hello there once again! Thank you all for being here, I hope you all enjoy this second chapter of my first book. I'm loving writing it and being part of this wonderful community. Feel free to leave me your thoughts down below, I very much appreciate it!

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Thumbnail image by [John Bevan]

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Chapter 02

(LUCAS)

I sat in the hallway alone for a while. My muzzle was already slightly damp by tears when a hand fell on my shoulders.

“What is going on?" a soft voice said. “Are you alright?"

I looked up and saw the short capybara beginning to crouch in front of me. Her inner eyebrows slightly arched, lips down in a sad smile, concerned eyes focused on me.

“I messed it up, Isah. I messed it up," I said while drying my eyes.

Now crouched in front of me, she rested her paw on my knees. “What happened?"

I stayed quiet for a while, trying to figure out how to explain to her what I did. She didn't seem to mind, she just waited patiently for me to form my words. “I don't know how to explain it Isah, this day just keeps getting better and better." I looked down to my knees, sighting. “I was lost in thoughts again, and Lucas caught me staring at him, improperly."

She raised an eyebrow quizzically. “Improperly? What do you mean by that?"

“I…" I diverted my gaze looking around. The hallway was deserted, I couldn't smell or hear anyone else but ourselves. “I was... staring at his rear when he caught me, and I don't know what he is going to think," I mumbled softly.

When I looked back at her, she was half-smiling. “Ohh Lucas. He is your friend, he was as worried about you as I am." She rubbed my knees, and then looked around. “he is probably still looking for you."

“is he?"

She looked back at me. “Uh-huh. He was concerned, asked me if I knew what was going on."

“He mentioned what I did?"

“About staring? Nop. He just told me that you vanished as soon as the bell rang."

I looked up at the clock in the hallway wall, the morning break was almost over already. I started to stand up as Isah did the same, and we stayed there for a moment. I rubbed the back of my ear and said, “what if others have seen?"

She shrugged, and then said, “I bet no one has noticed it, and even if someone did, there is nothing wrong with it." She patted me on the shoulder and headed to the exit.

We walked together to the school's inner courtyard, where the morning sun quickly met us with its warmth. To all sides, the courtyard was creaming with high school students from all grades, the air full of chattering and smells.

I noticed Luiz walking around near the opposite side of the courtyard, his ears were flicking around as was his eyes, clearly looking for something. Alice was close behind, her tail slashing in visible annoyance, as she tried to speak with Luiz.

I hurried to the senior's building, dragging Isah with me, to her protest. “Come. I am not quite ready to speak with him yet." I said, and she mumbled something in response, but kept with me as I went into the building.

There were already a few students in the classroom as we walked to my desk. When we got there, I sat down and Isah said, “hey, you can't avoid him forever, you know?"

“Yeah. I just don't know what I'm going to say to him yet."

Isah was giving me that compassionate look of hers, “Just tell him how you feel Lucas. He might even feel the same."

I looked at her. “Do you think so?"

“Uh-huh. The way he looks at you and how he perks up whenever you are around, I wouldn't be surprised."

“But what if you are mistaken?"

“Well.... he is a nice guy. I bet that he would be cool with it," as she finished saying that, the bell rangs, and then she patted me on the back as she said, “hey, you still up for the library stuff, right?"

“Yeah. I think so. By the way, Luiz might join us."

“Cool! You could tell him about your feelings there." She smiled and said, “Don't worry, I will give you guys some privacy." She gave me a wink and then went to her desk.

I looked at her with my ear warm and splayed as he walked away, then I turned back to my backpack, got my apple and ate it quickly. By the time I finished it the room was already filled with students.

I heard Alice's voice coming from the hallway, she was saying something like “I don't know why you bother" as Luiz got to the doorway. He looked at me from the doorway with concerned eyes, then turned to Alice as she was getting in, and said something I couldn't quite hear. They splitted up after that, him coming in my direction as Alice went to her desk.

He reached me and sat down on his desk. “I looked everywhere for you Lucas, are you okay?" I could see the worry in his eyes, he looked unsure for some reason.

“I had a lot in my mind, I'm sorry." I looked down and scratched my ears as his warm paw landed on my shoulder. My pulse quickened as the warmth of his touch seemed to be spreading through me. My tail got frisky as I wondered what others might think, so I diverted my gaze to look around. No one but Alice seemed to be looking in our direction, so I turned back to Luiz.

“What is bothering you?" he said as he started to rub my shoulder. His gorgeous green eyes were sympathetically focused on me, his touch so comforting and relaxing. At this moment I noticed Mr. Borges, a grumpy peccary, closing the door and getting ready to begin his lesson.

“I… I don't know how to explain it." I straightened in my chair, getting away from Luiz's touch in the process, and his ear went immediately down.

“Okay." He said softly. He looked briefly downwards and then turned to pay attention to Mr. Borges. His ears were flat against his head, his shoulders a bit hunched and his tail curled tightly around the chair leg.

“hey, don't be..."

“Lucas! Might I bother you for a bit of silence?" Mr. Borges snapped.

“I'm sorry. Sir," I said as I turned to face him.

Mr. Borges was our Chemistry and English teacher, and he was one of those kinds that will accept nothing sort of absolute silence during his lessons. I tried to whisper once to twice to Luiz, but every time I started, Mr. Borges turned his glaring eyes in search of the student that dared to disturb his lesson.

I kept looking at Luiz, his saddened bearing sending pangs to my heart. He was looking at the chalkboard, but his eyes had that faraway look of someone that isn't paying attention.

An idea crossed my mind, and I cursed myself for not having thought about it earlier. I scribbled a note in the corner of my notebook, telling him not to worry about it, and that I would explain to him later. I tore the note down, folded it, and then threw it at his desk.

He noticed the little note and looked at me for a moment, and then opened it. His tails slowly unwound from the chair leg. He gave me a quick nod, looking a little more relaxed already, and I couldn't help but smile a bit.

The rest of the lesson went as usual from there. Mr. Borges explained the usefulness of a few compounds, showed us a few chemical equations that generate it, or in which it was used, and so on.

By the time the last bell rang, I was tired of hearing Mr. Borges's monologue, as most of the class. Everyone started to pack their backpacks and vacated the classroom to have lunch.

Luiz came by me while I was packing, his tail wrapped around his legs, and his ears were partly down. “So… are we cool?"

“What?" I rubbed my arm while looking around. “What do you mean?"

“Well… I don't know. You kinda got uncomfortable when I touched you." He looked downward. “Sorry Lucas, I didn't mean anything by it."

“Ohh, it wasn't that. It was just that the lesson was about to begin, and you know how Mr. Borges is."

“Oh…"

“Hey Luiz, are you coming?" Alice yelled from across the room.

Luiz nodded to her and then turned back to me. “I promised Alice to have lunch at her place a few days ago." He looked at me with an apologetic smile. “I'm sorry," he said softly.

“It's ok." I looked at Alice, who was waiting impatiently at the doorway, and then back to Luiz “You're still gonna join us at the library, right?"

“Sure thing!" his smile brightened as he said it, and then he patted me on the back and went to the exit.

***

Nothing much happened at the school lunch. I sat with Isah and her friend Meg, a chubby porcupine, and we talked about classes and local news. The lunch was delicious as always, with an assortment of local dishes for both herbivores and carnivores. After it, we headed to the library, and Meg went for the bus stop to catch the early afternoon ride.

The school library was a simple room with a few tables at its center, and half a dozen desks by the left wall with some old computer on it. At the opposite end of the entrance, there was a balcony that separates this room from the storage, where there were a bunch of cabinets packed with books.

Behind the right corner of the balcony sat an old palomino horse, Mrs. Garcias. She looked at us through her thick glasses and gestures to close the door as we got inside. The library was one of the few rooms with AC, so the refreshingly cool air of it was a nice break from the warmth of the early afternoon.

There were but a few other students in the library, either reading and taking notes, or typing in computers. We settled at one of the computer desks, and we were quickly lost in our assignments. We discussed a bit about what my essay should be about, since Isah already started hers, and I ended up choosing to write about Amazon's rich biodiversity.

Half an hour later I started to wonder when Luiz would join us, and it wasn't until about another half hour that he showed up. His ears were partially down, and his tail was limply following him as he walked inside. He approached our table without looking directly at us, and it wasn't until he was but a few meters away that I said, “what happened? is everything alright?"

Isah, who didn't seem to have noticed Luiz's approach, now looked up and saw his saddened stance. Her ears and lips went down, like mine.

“Hum… It's nothing. I rather not talk about it." Luiz said softly.

“Okay," I said while I got partly up and pulled a chair for him. He sat down with his shoulder hunched and I couldn't help but rest my paws on it. “Hey, let's get started with our assignment, shall we?"

He looked me in the eyes for a moment, and then nodded half-smiling, visible trying to dispel his concerns. We spent about an hour writing notes and discussing ideas when Isah excused herself, saying she was going to visit her friend in town, and that she would see us on monday.

By the time it was already 16:00, Luiz turned to me, but kept his gaze partially away. “You know, I was thinking about going uphill today. It has been quite a while since last time."

“That would be wonderful!" I said, tail wagging. He looked me in the eyes and smiled broadly.

We waved Mrs. Garcia goodbye as we left the library. Outside the air was warm, but slowly cooling as the evening approached. We headed to the school exit and then turned in the direction of the hill, Luiz by my side.

“So, what happened?" Luiz said.

“Eh… It has been a long day and all." I kicked a little pebble on the dirt path that goes uphill. “My father tried to shoot a panther early this morning."

His ears went down a bit. “Oh… was it hurt?" he asked softly.

“No. I pushed his rifle aside, and it ran away." I looked at him with concerned eyes. “But my father was quite pissed, and now I'm worried about what might happen if the cattles start dying."

“That sucks." He looked at me with a sad smile. “Maybe you can try to contact one of those preservation things." He scratched his muzzle. “They might help somehow."

I looked him in the eyes, and smiled. “You know, this might be a good idea."

“What about the morning break thing?"

“Oh, that… I don't know how to explain it, this morning event kind of reminded me of you." I diverted my gaze, not quite sure if I should tell him how I felt. What if he didn't feel the same way, I wondered. So I decided to change the subject, “What about you? What happened at today's lunch?"

His ear went flat, whiskers down. “Alice was angry that I couldn't stay after lunch." He looked at me and half-smiled. “That I would rather be with you than with her."

I felt a warmth in my chest, my worries falling behind me, and my tail started to wag pretty hard. Luiz smiled brightly at me, and I knew that he felt the same way.

“Hey Lucas, why don't you stay the night? You could use my computer to finish your essay and all."

“Sure! That would be great!" Then I looked down remembering the morning affair. “But I don't know if my dad will let me, after this morning thing and all." I kicked another pebble in the path.

“Doesn't hurt to try, does it? Here, give him a call."

He handed me his phone, so I got it and called my dad. The phone rang for a while and then he picked up, “Hello?"

“It's me, dad, I… huh… can I stay the night at Luiz place? I have this assignment due next week, and I could use his computer."

He sighted and I could hear him scratching his cheek ruff. It wasn't after a long moment that he said, “I don't know…"

“Pleaseee! I'm sorry about this morning dad!" I waited a moment, he didn't answer, so I went on “I didn't know what I was doing, it will not happen again."

He sighed loudly, and after a moment said, “Okay…"

“Thank you!" Hearing this, Luiz turned his bright eyes at me, smiling widely.

“But," my father said, “You will clean the stables this weekend."

“Sure, no problem." I would agree to anything at that moment.

“Okay. I'm going to drop some clothes for you when I get to town this evening, take care."

“Okay, see you, dad." I looked at Luiz, my tail wagging, and he beckoned me to follow him.

I followed him up, trying not to stare at his rear, failing miserably. It Didn't matter if it was wrong to feel that way, his butt was gorgeous, taught with those wonderful muscles, his tail slowly swaying behind him, I just couldn't keep my eyes out of him.

He looked back sometimes, and I diverted my gaze as quickly as I could, but I was not sure if he noticed, he didn't seem to, though. As the hill got steeper, he flexed his muscles more, and oh god, the air seemed to be starting to get a bit stuffy.

By the time we were getting close to the summit, I was afraid that he would notice my rather content groin, so I forcefully diverted my gaze to the landscape around us.

Down to high school direction laid the mass of small buildings and houses of São Felix. Surrounding the city's north side was the large Fresco River, sparkling in the late afternoon sun.

Birds sang happily around us, flying from, and to, the small patches of forest on the hills. The smell of grass filled my nostrils, and the sun was halfway down from its zenith.

As we hit the top, Luiz sat by the same boulder as last time, and I quickly joined him. He turned to me, looking me straight in the eyes.

“So... you were thinking of me because of the panther?" He smiled quizzically at me. “And what does that have to do with you staring at my butt?" He tilted his muzzle.

My ears got flushed and splayed, and I couldn't look him straight in the eyes. “I... huh…"

He touched my knees with his warm big paws and said, “hey, it's okay." I looked at him, he was smiling sympathetically at me. “I stare at you sometimes too." He started rubbing my knees and upper thigh.

My pulse quickened. “You do?" I said as I looked at his emerald eyes.

“Uh-huh." He leaned closer, his nose a few centimeters from mine, his eyes slightly closed. My nostrils were washed by his virile scent, and I might not have stayed presentable for much longer.

I pulled away, tail tucked behind me. “T-This is wrong, we shouldn't." I looked down and started rubbing my arm.

“Wrong?" he looked at me with his ear partly down.

“You know. Two males. It's not right," I said softly.

He pulled his paws away, and he had that same saddened look from this morning. “Sorry… I…" He looked at the horizon, avoiding my gaze. “I thought you felt the same way."

He started to get up, and I couldn't help but reach for his arm. “Wait, it's not like that." He looked at me, visible hurt. His tail was curled around himself, his whiskers were downed. “I feel the same. But we shouldn't Luiz. It's wrong."

“Why?" He said softly.

He seemed to be close to tears now, and it pained me to see him that way, so I pulled him closer in a hug. He settled down easily against me and hugged me tightly back.

His tail curled around me, and mine quickly did the same to him. My head rested against his ample chest, and he started to nuzzle my ears. My nostrils were filled again with his wonderful scent, and I was starting to get a bit tingly.

His warm body was so good against mine, the vibration in his chest as he purred was so comforting. I didn't want that moment to end, but I knew it had to, we weren't supposed to be this way.

I pulled away, looking him in the eyes. “I… huh… we can't…" He stared at me, and then held my cheeks, caressing them. He leaned closer and touched his lips to mine, and I couldn't think about anything else.