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The tears that had been brimming since he had stomped over the threshold of Jacob's house finally spilt over, hot against his cheeks in the chilly night air. He refused to let himself believe he was turned down by crush, instead chose horridly let down by what he assumed to be a good friend. Any reaction would have been better than the one Jacob had- and he would have much preferred a swift punch to the stomach than being told to reconsider his feelings. He sounded exactly how his father had sounded over a year ago, the two voices resonating in Thomas's head as he reached the main road. There was no way he would be able to get a ride home, but considering the walk home was essentially a straight line Thomas decided simply to take his chances.

He did so quickly, his steps fueled with lingering anger that slowly subsided into sorrow as he finally reached his doorstep half an hour later. He rested his paw on the doorknob; quickly wiping his eyes with his other paw before pushing open the heavy wooden door into his dark home. Thomas's mother and father had already gone to bed, which brought relief considering he did not have to explain why he walked home or why he looked as if he had been crying. Thomas quickly and quietly ascended the flight of stairs and entered his bedroom, shutting the door so that only the small click was heard, which assured him it was closed.

Thomas's room looked much unlike the rest of the house- for his room was the only one to be completely unpacked. With the few days in the house prior to the soccer tryouts, he had more than enough time to unpack and arrange his new room to his liking; which after a few days of arduous work he had accomplished. The relatively large room had polished wooden floors and pale tan walls. The two windows were covered in flowing white drapes, and his bed was comprised of completely white fabrics. On the far side was his desk, on top of which sat a desktop computer humming softly in sleep mode. The flat screen of the monitor accompanied with the tower being stored in a shelf below made for a wide desk area, which only had a few books and pens resting on it.

He did not even bother to turn the light on as he kicked off his shoes and slumped into bed, his pitch-black fur against the white linens outlining him perfectly as he buried his head into the pillow, quickly fading off to sleep.

Morning had, unlike every previous day that summer, come very soon after. The sound of his mother knocking on the door as she called to him was what stirred him from his sleep.

"Thomas darling, you've about ten minutes to get ready."

Thomas bolted upright, looking to the alarm clock on the floor with it's power cord wrapped around it- untouched since it's unpacking. The feline yelled at himself as he jumped out of bed and darted around his room, compiling a backpack filled with paper, binders, and pens as he also pulled a new tank top on along with a pair of jeans. He thought of the clothes he had bought for the first day of school sat with tags still attached to them in his drawers as he bolted down the staircase to meet his mother and father standing by the front door.

Thomas's mother, a tall and slender feline with soft emerald eyes and sleek black fur stood tapping her foot impatiently next to his father, an even taller feline with broad shoulders and a lean frame.

"All we spent on the new school clothes and you're not wearing them? And did you even shower?"

She gave a few of her digits a lick and pressed down a tuft of hair on Thomas's head, to which he responded by immediately stepping backwards and messing up his head fur with both paws saying,

"My gosh- knock it off, and I don't even have the time so let's just go."

He managed to get past his mother and father and out the door, but not before the wary look his mother had sent his father caught hold, and a strong paw grabbed Thomas by the shoulder and forcefully turned him about.

"Don't you speak to your mother that way." He said sternly, it was the only voice Thomas knew of his father.

"Sorry." Thomas said shortly, backing out of his father's strong grip and the door.

The drive to school was everything he had imagined it to be- both parents in the front seat talking nonstop about work. Clients, meetings, office upkeep, and even constitutional amendments all flew through the conversation, until they had reached the parking lot of the school where the conversation had suddenly fixated to Thomas. His parents were talking to him, but he did not listen; instead, he was focuses on how little cars there were in the parking lot. Back home kids were accustomed to parking on nearby streets and parking structures, but here, only a few cars scattered around the excessive amount of space reserved for faculty- he noticed especially the white sedan he knew belonged to Jacob's mother.

"And are you alright with that Tommy?" His mother said, snapping him out of his daze.

"Yeah, sure whatever. Just let me out here please." While he had no idea what his mother had said, he knew he did not want to be dropped off at the very end of the parking lot closest to the school, and requested he be let out a good distance from the end. He got out and shut the door making sure not to slam it, and wandered into the thickening crowd of people.

He came upon the building he recognized from the photo in Jacob's room- the large letters of "Administration" in dark paint. He entered the building and into a swarm of bodies all attempting to reach a front counter. On the far side was a long line with "Schedule changes" posted above their heads along with an arrow pointing to a single door. Thomas looked back to the front counter, where he was surprised to see a sharply dressed bobcat waving him down. Thomas pushed his way past the mass of fur and backpacks until he reached the counter.

"You're from the soccer tryouts right? Williams?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah, call me Tom." Thomas said, recognizing the bobcat as one of the veteran players.

The bobcat extended a paw to shake, which Thomas unenthusiastically shook.

"The name's Andrew." He said with a smile,

"Need your schedule I bet?"

Thomas nodded, and Andrew disappeared into the busy administrators behind him. He reappeared two minutes later, from what looked to be a room filled with files, with a small sheet of paper in his hands.

"Lucky one you are." He said handing it over,

"Looks perfect, you shouldn't need a schedule change."

"Well that's a relief." Thomas said looking to the growing line in front of him, and they both shared a small laugh.

"Need some help finding your first class?" Andrew offered, leaning onto the counter with both elbows.

"Yeah, but are you sure you can leave?" Thomas replied, still looking around the busy room.

"I'm an office aid, helping students is like, part of the job or some crap like that. No worries man, let's go now so you're not late."

The stout bobcat made his way to the opening in the counter and met Thomas by the door, the two exited and eventually found themselves in what Andrew called the "main hallway", for it ran directly down the campus from the front office to the locker rooms in the very back.

"Speaking of, didn't you make the team?" Andrew asked with a perplexing look across his face.

"Yeah, I spent the last week and a half with Jacob learning the plays n' stuff. I think I got most of the old stuff down, but who knows about the new book..." Thomas laughed a little, but when he noticed Andrew did not laugh as well he uncomfortably asked,

"Why... what's up?"

"Well, do you know when practice is?" Andrew's eyes still fixed onto him as if he were supposed to be figuring something out.

"Right after school... " Thomas followed along, oblivious.

"And what do you plan on wearing? Your jeans?" Andrew said quickly.

It was then what Andrew had been trying to ask became painfully apparent: his sports bag was lying on Jacob's floor. Several things raced through his mind in a split second- first was of his parents, already a miles away. Second was Jacob, knowing he had to be somewhere on campus possibly with a set of keys to his mother's car, and finally, above all else, what was going to happen to him if he showed up completely lacking equipment.

"No!" Thomas yelled frustrated, stopping in the hallway,

"All my stuff is at Jacob's still! There's no way I'll be able to get to his place... there's no way I can get to my place... unless..." His mind was pacing quickly through ideas,

"Coach wouldn't mind me being like half an hour late to grab my gear and get back...?" His voice had an inkling of hope, but the bobcat simply shook his head.

"No good. I wouldn't be surprised if he switched you out for Randy's brother on the spot." He laughed a little to himself before muttering,

"And knowing the kid, I bet he'll just happen to right behind Randy..."

Thomas could not help but feel the bobcat was blowing over the severity of his current situation, but soon discovered why.

"Dude, relax." Andrew said, a hand falling on Thomas's shoulder.

Thomas's mind paused just momentarily, his eyes meeting Andrew's smirk.

"Meet me in front of the locker rooms at lunch- that's after third period; and I'll hook you up with everything you'll need."

Thomas heaved a sigh of relief,

"Andrew... thanks a lot, seriously, I owe you one."

Andrew's smile never faded from his face as he directed Thomas down a smaller hallway saying,

"No problem, no problem. Your class is at the end of this hall here, good luck, and see you at lunch."

His disappeared into a crowd of people, but Thomas was focused on heading down to the final room in the hallway. The door was already wide open, and Thomas quickly took a seat near the back of the room.

The three classes prior to lunch went by slowly, and Thomas had yet to see another teammate in any of his classes. They had been assigned their first book in English, given a monologue assignment in Drama, but luckily third period Digital Photography was free from any assignments for two weeks while students bought and learned to use cameras. The teacher had finished speaking right when the bell rang and Thomas, who sat closest to the door, hurried out and into the main hallway towards the locker rooms.

He arrived early, but Andrew appeared only a few minutes later with the same smile he had left with.

"Awesome. Let's get you set up." He said without stopped, heading around to the entrance of the male locker room. Thomas followed, noting how much larger the room was than at his last school. Thomas figured it was because this one locker room had to accommodate every team along with a visitor side, unlike his last school, where there were multiple locker rooms across the campus divided by sport. The tiles and lockers seemed to be the same dull gray color until they reached the glassy white tiles of the showers. Andrew stopped at a locker row just before the entrance to the showers and rapidly flipped through the numbers, and once the locker opened after an extra jerk or two of the door Andrew began to rummage through the crammed locker. He tossed a small sports bag into Thomas's arms, along with a pair of shorts, kneepads, shin guards, but stopping before handing him a pair of running shoes.

"I think these are too big..." Andrew said, tossing a shoe down to the ground next to Thomas's foot. Sure enough, it was at least a full size larger. He picked it up and tossed it back into the locker.

"Don't worry about shoes, coach won't expect everyone to have a good pair until our first game... looks like your set for today."

Andrew slammed the locker shut as Thomas began to shove the loaned clothing into the sports bag, slinging it over his shoulder after quickly zipping it.

"Thanks again Andrew, I'd be so screwed if I hadn't met you." Thomas said as the two of them exited the locker room, Andrew simply laughed.

"No problem. I gotta go see Patrick about something, I'd let you come but it's kinda personal."

Thomas looked slightly confused, for Andrew spoke as if he knew who Patrick was. Andrew quickly picked up on this and said speedily,

"Patrick is on the team by the way. He's a good guy." Thomas noticed Andrew had a smile unlike that he had yet to see across the bobcat's face, but what it meant was beyond him.

"Oh, alright." Thomas said looking to his cell phone; there were still twenty minutes of lunch left.

Andrew left without another word, and Thomas had wished he had asked where the cafeteria was. After some wandering Thomas found the circular building, and purchased a pear along with bottle of juice. He ate them alone, the weariness of the rushed morning setting in. Even though he had slept fairly well, he still felt exhausted. Thomas left the pear core and empty bottle at the table, and lugged his backpack and sports bag over his shoulders and set off towards his fourth period math class.

With ten minutes before the bell rang, Thomas headed down a corridor with not a single soul about. He turned again where the last few classes were circled around a small memorial plaque and tree and saw Andrew standing closely to a tall gray and while donkey dressed just as casually as Thomas was. But unlike Thomas, the donkey's muscled arms and chest was apparent through the thin tank top. Thomas noticed Andrew's paws were clenched into fists, his eyes darkened with anger. The donkey was refusing to make eye contact, which allowed him (and thus Andrew) to notice Thomas.

Andrew quickly relaxed, and looked slightly relieved.

"Thomas!" he said loudly, gesturing for Thomas to join the two.

Thomas walked up nervously, but why he was nervous he had no idea.

"Thomas, this is Patrick, Patrick, Thomas." Said Andrew.

Thomas shook paws with Patrick, who had an incredibly firm handshake.

"Do you guys have this class?" Thomas asked, looking to the door behind them.

"I don't." Said Andrew,

"But Pat does. I caught him before he could sneak in there."

Thomas looked up to Patrick asking,

"Why were you here so early?"

Thomas's eyes met Patrick's deep gray ones,

"The teacher will help you with the homework from the night before if you come in before class." Patrick's voice was very quiet, and had one other person been talking at the same time Thomas wondered if he would be able to hear Patrick.

"But... it's the first day of school..." Thomas said.

"Well!" Broke in Andrew,

"Patrick here's as bright as a brick when it comes to math and he got nailed with summer assignments and ended up taking the same class over again!"

Patrick smiled, looking as he was forcing it, and Andrew continued in his boisterous voice, as if he were speaking for the lack of volume in Patrick's voice,

"I'll let you guys get to class. See you at practice."

Patrick looked as if he were about to say something and decided against it, and after watching Andrew bounce off entered the classroom.

Patrick took a seat near the front, and Thomas took a seat next to him. They sat in silence for a few seconds, and once the bell rang it did not take long for students to begin filtering in from the outside. Thomas noticed Dane, the towering stallion, walked in and took a seat on the other side of the room. Math class went without a word out of Patrick, and when the bell rang Thomas felt obligated to say goodbye before heading out of the room and to his next class, history.

Seeing as it was on the opposite side of the campus, Thomas was one of the last to arrive in the class, and was greeted with two cheers and yells. Looking to the side of the room, he noticed two boys sporting the school's soccer jerseys, waving him down to take a seat. Lucas, a thin raccoon about his height, and Ryan, a slightly more muscled hare version of Lucas had him laughing within minutes, their personalities very different, but sharing a warm friendliness that Patrick lacked.

The class was hard to get though with the constant jokes and snide remarks made by Lucas and Ryan, every other sentence out of the teachers mouth was matched with a witty retort, the two going back and fourth like it was a game. After class had ended, and Lucas and Ryan being pulled aside, they all high-fived as they split ways and Thomas made his way to his final class, Physics.

Barren and cold, the Physics classroom was not unlike a prison cell. The windows were void of any curtains or blinds, allowing the afternoon sun to flood the entire room. But the students (none of which Thomas recognized) did not feel the heat, instead, the freezing of a thermostat set at the lowest possible temperature. As the bell rang and Thomas entered the afternoon sun, it felt as if his fur was slowly defrosting as the sun melted the tiny icicles he imagined all over his body. It was now time to be on his way down to what he had been looking forward to the most and least; his first practice with the new team.

As he approached the field, he noticed a line of students in the field, all holding their sports bags before them. At the front of the line was Jacob; and all the other members of the team he had met were also there. Other athletics students were heading into the locker room, but like his teammates, Thomas squeezed into the line next to Andrew.

"What's going on Andrew?" Thomas asked looking down the line of players. A few were missing.

"Equipment check." Andrew said absentmindedly.

"And none of the other students have to do it?" Thomas asked again.

"No, just the soccer team." Andrew was unusually calm, and the lack of smile made Thomas believe there was something to be worried about.

A whistle alerted the team to face the beginning of the line, where the brawny bovine coach stood, looking exactly as he had on the day of tryouts- face stone cold as ever. Without a word he began, rummaging through Jacob's bag. After a few second he handed it back, and proceeded down the line, checking every bag along the way. It was only when the coach reached Thomas had the repetitious examination differed; for after handing Thomas the bag back he made a quick mark on his clipboard.

"Elloy." He said coldly, Andrew nearly jumped.

"The bag has your name on it."

"Uh, t-that's because T-thomas here..." Andrew began to stutter, but the coach waved a large paw, signaling him to stop talking.

"Don't care." He said simply, moving on to the next bag,

"It's a nice change seeing you on the helpful side."

Andrew sighed, obviously relieved. Once the last bag had been checked, the coach dismissed them all to finally get changed.

Once in the locker room, the team was met with a swarm of bodies cramped very close together in the now small locker room. It had looked so large hours ago, but with the addition of every student athlete it was as if the walls had shrunk. Thomas followed closely behind Andrew all the way back to his locker, and after squeezing past a few more furs was able to change in to the borrowed uniform.

"So damn lucky..." Andrew muttered, pulling a jersey over his head.

"Yeah..." Responded Thomas as he kept his vision fixed to the floor as he changed,

"Thanks again man, I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't hooked me up."

The two finished changing at the same time, and with a simple smile and nod both boys walked out together to the field.

It was there they met with the rest of the team, and Thomas had his first good look at each of his teammates. He recognized a few from around school and even discovered he shared second period with one of the other players. But the downtime did not last long, for as soon as the towering coach emerged from the locker room the first practice of the year began.

Practice was, to say the very least, exhausting. Only after an hour of warming up with basic cardio exercises were they able to start playing, divided into two groups against a single goalie. Thomas thought the set up sounded slightly unfair to the goalie, but turning to see a massive sun bear walking towards the goal quickly assured him it would be quite fair. And it was here the true coach revealed himself- blowing the whistle and bellowing orders left and right at any little thing. It was made painfully clear there was only one thing in his mind: perfection.

The team practiced longer than any other team, and to Thomas it only added to the pain as he watched furs being dismissed and disappearing into the locker room, only to see them later fully dressed and headed home. But finally the dismissal whistle was blown, and because the coach had been lecturing so much throughout the practice he had nothing much to say, waving them on to go straight to the locker room. The weary team entered in a mass of fur, sweat, and dirt (even preventing a few of those exiting from leaving), and dispersed once inside. Thomas met Andrew at his locker, who was to Thomas's surprise already stripped of all clothing, holding out a towel for Thomas to take.

"Forgot; you'll need to bring one of these too." He said casually, handing it to Thomas and slinging his own around his shoulder.

Thomas could not help but be swept up in Andrew's fully exposed form, even though they were roughly the same height Andrew was much more muscular; his chest and arms defined gorgeously though his dark golden fur. He snapped back into reality with a pat on the shoulder from Andrew, who passing by Thomas gave him the perfect view of his well-rounded rump. Thomas gulped nervously as he felt a too-familiar sensation below, and quickly forced his thoughts elsewhere as he undressed and headed for the showers.

He was surprised to see individual stalls as he entered the steamy tiled room, a luxury he was unaccustomed to at his last school. Without having to wait in a line, Thomas made his way down the wet tiles to a stall near the end of the row. There were still a few furs showering, and as he caught a glimpse of Andrew scrubbing shampoo into his fur wished he had some of his own. The shower stall was divided into two simple sections; a small door opened into a very tiny bench against two plastic walls, which offered minimal privacy. While from afar they would work well enough, it would be very simple to get a full look at any showering neighbor. But luckily, he would not have to worry about such an event as he entered his stall.

He dropped the towel on the small bench and immediately turned the single knob all the way to the left, where in bright red text read 105 Degrees. Warm water immediately jutted from the nozzle and soaked Thomas; his muscles seemed to instantly relax to the hot water. As the water temperature began to rise he turned the handle slowly to the right until the ideal temperature had been achieved. Unavoidable thoughts of Andrew naked began to swirl in his head, and to his dismay looked down to see his full erection protruding from his sheath. Taking a few deep breaths Thomas closed his eyes and focused his attention to the water above him, cleansing his fur of grime and body of fatigue.

After a good deal of time had passed he realized his erection was no more than a pink tip showing through his black fur, and quickly turned off the water and wrapped his towel around him as he exited the showers. He was shocked to see Andrew still waiting.

"Your stuff is still in my locker, I couldn't close it until you got it." He said with a laugh.

Thomas felt terrible for not realizing Andrew would have to wait for him, but did not regret for a second waiting until his excitement had vanished. He grabbed his clothing and began to change, feeling as if Andrew had been watching him as he quickly pulled on his own clothes.

"So, you need a ride home?" Andrew asked as Thomas donned his backpack and the two began to exit the locker room.

"Uh, yeah if you don't mind that'd be really cool." Thomas said, feeling his gratitude for running into Andrew that morning expanding even larger.

The two walked wordlessly around the locker room and passed the area they had met at lunch, and just as suddenly as he had kissed Jacob hours ago, Andrew had cornered him against the wall of the locker room, and was kissing at the corner of his mouth. Thomas could feel the force of Andrew's body pressing against him, preventing him from moving at all, but as Thomas relaxed, opening his maw just wide enough to allow Andrew's rough tongue access.

Thomas did not know why he refused to struggle, it was only part being physically unable to, but also out of spite of his parents and Jacob, and part a renewed longing for the strong grip of another male on his body. His arms lay motionless at his side as he and Andrew continued kissing, the feeling of the strong feline's paw under his jaw especially enthralling. Yet just as soon as it had happened, again, it was interrupted as Andrew was jerked backwards with an extreme amount of force.

Jacob, holding Andrew tightly by the collar of his shirt, appeared from nowhere and without hesitation landed a punch across Andrew's face. The towering doberman released his grip on Andrew with a shove and the bobcat stumbled aside as he tried to get his bearings on what had just happened- but Jacob was quicker, and grabbing Thomas by the upper-arm yanked him from the wall and began walking towards the parking lot. Andrew, now fully aware of what had happened, stood unmoving watching the two.

"You know that isn't fair." Andrew yelled, his voice heated and intimidating.

"You shouldn't let your guard down like that." Responded Jacob, not bothering to turn his head, instead he only pulled Thomas harder as if trying to escape Andrew's voice, but Thomas heard it clearly through the hall,

"You know what I mean, Jake."

But Jacob acted as if he hadn't heard it, and as Thomas and him approached the white sedan Jacob finally released Thomas, who quickly turned to return to Andrew.

"If you don't want your stuff thrown into the fireplace tonight..." Jacob said threateningly,

"You'd better get in the car."

Thomas froze, and although he seriously doubted Jacob would do such a thing he resentfully got into the car.

It did not take long for the yelling to flare up, the silence lasted only a few minutes before Thomas could not contain himself.

"What the hell is your problem?" He yelled, there was so much going on in his mind it was the only sentence to successfully transform from thought to words.

Jacob did not respond, only pressed his paw down harder on the accelerator, which to Thomas, was an open invitation for more yelling; which he accepted graciously as his questions because accusations, and his accusations slurred with profanities as the trip went by.

Infuriated as they pulled into the driveway, Thomas did not even wait for the car to come to a complete stop before jerking open the door and striding the brick pathway towards the front door, where he paused, realizing he would rather not angrily burst into a house that was not his. Jacob followed unhurriedly, opening the door and stepping aside as Thomas pressed onwards, up the staircase and down the hallway to Jacob's bedroom. It was only a minor annoyance as he noticed his things, over the weeks of summer had been scattered around the room, for it did not take him long to compile the articles of clothing and equipment and stuff it into the quickly filling sports bag. Once the last pair of shorts had been shoved in, and the zipper strenuously pulled shut quivering over its contents, Thomas slung the bag over his shoulder and proceeded toward the door- but a familiar large frame blocked the entrance.

"Get out of my way, you ass." He said indignantly to Jacob, attempting to push past him, but his feeble frame was unable to do so when that of Jacob's moved to meet his.

"Would you calm down? Jacob said pleadingly.

"Calm down? I really don't think that's possible at the moment." Thomas protested,

"I'm pissed, and I know you're looking out for me or whatever, but what the hell was that? A relationship just going to be too much to balance with school and practice?"

"A relationship?" Jacob cried with laughter,

"You don't have the slightest idea of who you were even making out with back there. I'd be surprised if you even knew his name."

"Andrew." Thomas said shortly.

"And his last?" Jacob inquired, shifting his weight against the frame of the door to further prevent Thomas's exit.

Thomas froze. He had heard it once just hours ago at practice, but for the life of him could not recall exactly what it was. But he could not let Jacob win without even taking a shot.

"Elroy." Thomas said, speaking as if he had never questioned himself.

"It's Elloy." Jacob responded almost instantly, knowing the victory of the little game belonged to him as soon as it started,

"So why don't you sit down and let me explain myself."

Defeated, Thomas dropped the cramped sports bag from his shoulder and turned about, taking a few strides over the bed and sitting impatiently. He intended not to stay no matter what Jacob had to say, but an explanation was something unexpected and surprising, staying to hear, reasoned Thomas, would be a decent excuse to yell at his so called friend a little longer and fully vent everything he was feeling. He sat without a word, not even making eye contact as Jacob began to speak.

"I know you're pissed, I'd be too if I came to a new town, found a nice guy, started kissin' and whatnot when all of a sudden got yanked away from it. But trust me. You don't want anything to do with Andrew. He's nothing but trouble."

"Trouble?" Thomas repeated,

"You're insane! I don't think you can imagine how much he helped me out today. If it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't be on the team right now."

The feline took a short breath, his mind wracked for a single instance where the slightest display of rudeness or 'trouble' had been shown, and could not think of a single one.

"He got my schedule, showed me to my class, let me borrow his gear, and even offered me a ride home-" Thomas listed before being interrupted by Jacob,

"And then starting making out with you, his half of his equivalent to being paid back."

"What?" Thomas spat bewilderedly,

"He was just- I was just- "

"He was just using you, I bet he hasn't gotten off in weeks and saw the vulnerable new student as a change " Jacob continued, crossing his arms.

Thomas stood up in frustration,

"How would you even know something like that? You're just full of it!"

Jacob laughed and slowly stood, placing both of his hands on Thomas's shoulders. Thomas noticed how large the doberman's paws were, for he could only see the very edge of his own shoulder underneath the firm grip.

"You know I'm not doing this because I'm a bad person. We spent most of the summer together, I'm really just trying to be a friend and... warn you..."

Jacob's voice was warm and soothing, and Thomas could not help taking in a stifling breath before he relaxed. Jacob felt the feline's tightened muscles relax, and felt it safe to speak again,

"Look, I don't care if you talk with him or anything, just don't let him get... too close. He doesn't have the best reputation as a friend. That's all I'm trying to say. Are we cool now?"

He offered a smile, to which Thomas only responded by dropping the stuffed sports bag onto the ground and flopping backwards onto the grand bed with a weak sigh. He fixed his eyes onto one spot on the ceiling, his heart and mind a swirl of emotion.

"Okay." Thomas said finally, Jacob's relief was apparent.

"It's just... you punched him in the face... for a kiss... you don't think that was over the top at all?" Thomas asked, sitting up from the bed and looking to Jacob, who just chuckled as he responded,

"He's a tough guy, I'm sure he'll get over it."

Thomas noticed Jacob failed to answer if he thought it was over the top or not, but had come to the conclusion it was better in the end to trust the word of a friend. He had no reason to doubt Jacob's word, for he had never lied to him in the past, and began to wonder how he was going to maintain a friendship that was 'safe' according to Jacob, and not blowing Andrew off completely. After all, in the little time they were together, he had no reason to doubt that Andrew was the trouble making type, which only brought him back to trusting Jacob's word in a twisting hoop of logic which Jacob's voice brought an end to,

"Do you want to stay for dinner? I'm sure it's no problem with mom." He offered politely.

"No, I should get home so my parents can sign all my syllabuses and stuff before they go to bed." Thomas responded, picking up his stuffed sports bag again and heaving it over his shoulder.

"Alright, I'll give you a ride then." Said Jacob as he grabbed a set of keys off of his desk, and he followed the feline outside.

The car ride to Thomas's house had reverted to the trips during summer, the two bantering back and fourth about songs and advertisements on the radio the entire length of the short trip. Once they had arrived Thomas's paw met Jacob's much larger one in a shake before the feline pulled out his backpack and sports bag. He made sure to wave goodbye as Jacob pulled out of the driveway, and Thomas entered his house with a sigh.

His mother was at the kitchen table to greet him, and they exchanged a poor excuse for a conversation, which mostly revolved around the papers she signed for each of his classes. Dinner was already prepared, and Thomas followed his mother to the dining room table where his father was sitting, a medium-sized spread of food across the table. Ravished, Thomas ate a good portion before dragging himself up to his room, shutting the door behind him.

The first thing he did was plug in and set his alarm clock, it was such a priority that only after everything was set for morning did he set down his bags. It did not take him long to clear out his sports bag and fill it with clean gear, and he set the readied bag along with his backpack next to his door. With everything ready for the morning Thomas stripped down to his boxers, and tossed his jeans and tank top into the hamper before crawling exhaustively into bed.

The next morning came swiftly and easily, for this time, when he heard his mother knocking on the door he was already dressed in a new pair of jeans and handsome button-down shirt. He grabbed both of his readied bags and opened the door just as his mother was about to speak.

"Ready this morning I see." She said calmly, instinctively fixing the collar on his shirt.

"Yeah." He said with a feeble inkling of happiness, feeling today would be a much better day than yesterday,

"Are you ready to go?" He asked.

"Actually, someone is here to pick you up..." She informed him.

With a quick confused glance Thomas quickly stepped down the staircase, expecting to see Jacob with a set of keys in his hands. To his surprise, Andrew Elloy was standing in his entryway.

"Hey!" Chirped the sharply dressed bobcat,

"Ready to go?"

His charming smile was too much, and Thomas found himself in a position where he just could not muster up the reasoning to say no.

"Y-yeah, sure." He said, stepping out of the house and shutting the door behind him.