Chapter 2 - Shattered Ice
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Author's Note: I finally got this part completed after fretting over how it would look for hours! I really like the outcome and the playful nature of Jose and Jare'l, so please enjoy, comment, and rate!
Little piece of trivia, I try to base my character and the others in the story (except for Jose) on the actual people behind him, so most of the experiences and conversations you read are real. Just thought I'd let you guess know.
I apologize for any spelling or gramatical errors. I write my stories in Notepad, so it's hard to catch all the mistakes. I try and correct them, but you don't always get them, so just PM me if you see an error.
DISCLAIMER: This story have strong language and is not intended for readers under the age of fourteen.
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A vivid dream, that never quite begins and never quite ends, but throughout the entire mental screenplay, you keep expecting to wake up, knowing none of it can possibly be real. That was the only way Jare'l could think to describe the past two weeks. In just that short time, he'd gotten to know object of his affection, the big burly bear,
Jose. However, today was not a shaping out to be a continuation of the dream he'd been floating through.
It was Friday, the weekly day for Jare'l and the gang to head out on the club scene for a night full of dancing, drinking, and fun. But, for the first time since they'd started the tradition two years ago, he didn't want to go. Every time he tried to get his mind into the mood for the night ahead, his thoughts enviably came back to that bear. Finally, he picked up his MePhone and punched in the digits of Bethany's number. He heard the usual three rings and then Bethany's hyperactive voice
.
"Hello pumpkin! You getting ready for tonight?" Jare'l could almost feel his heart dip deep into the pits as he started to speak.
"Hey Bethany. It looks like I won't be able to make it tonight."
"What? We always go out on Friday? What's wrong?"
"Well...I'm just not really feeling going out today. I'm kinda tired."
"What do you mean you're tired? It's the summer and you don't have anything else to do. I'm sure all you've done it sit around the house all day." Jare'l's mind did a quick replay of the past two weeks.
"Not exactly. Look I'm just tired and don't feel like going, ok? Tell the rest I'll catch 'em later."
"Okay, fine Jare'l. But you have to make it up to me." He could feel Bethany's disappointment on the other end of the receiver.
"Okay hun. I'll talk to you later."
"Bye."
Sliding his finger across the screen to lock his phone, Jare'l rose from his bed and sat cross-legged on top the sheets. He was really upset over canceling on his friends,
but the more he sat there, the more his mind kept pushing towards the bear he desperately wanted to see. He had been visiting his aunt and uncle for the past two day and
didn't have the chance to see Jose, so he picked up his MePhone again and unlocked it. Clicking to Jose's number, he pressed Send and sat the phone on the inside of his floppy ear.
The dalmatian found it was hard to contain his excitement when he heard the deep rumbling voice answer the phone.
"Hello? Jose Hernandez speaking."
"You still haven't memorized him number yet?"
"Oh, hey there kiddo. You know I always answer my phone like that. You never know who might be calling and from what phone." Jare'l swore on everything, the bear's voice picked up ten fold when he realized it was Jare'l.
"Okay, if you say so old man." he chuckled. "I was wondering if you wanted to go out tonight." crossing two fingers together, the canine's eyelids squeezed tightly together in a small prayer.
"Well, yes, in fact I was planning to call you. I was thinking, do you like ice skating?" Jare'l's ears did their signature thwack and he could hear the rumbling chuckle on the other line.
"Let me guess, you love ice skating."
"How'd you know?" The chuckle emitted from the phone again.
"Because whenever you are curious or find something very interesting, your ears make this funny sound when they hit your head." Grabbing one of his ears with a paw, Jare'l's fur reddened a bit.
"Oh really? I never paid it any attention. Sorry about that..."
"Don't be sorry. I find it incredibly cute." The dalmatian's fur reddened deeper and his mind told him Jose must be feeling the heat from his face on the other end of the
phone. "So, I'll pick you up at eight?"
"Oh, um. Can you pick me up about fifteen minutes later? My parent's are going out tonight and I want to be sure-" The rest of his words caught in his throat and dipping
his head in shame, he pushed the phone a bit closer to his ear. "Never mind, eight is fine."
There was a slight pause, and he could hear the bear sigh.
"You don't want your parents to know that it's me picking you up."
"No, Jose...it-it's nothing like that. It's just that...look, it's not like that, okay?" he said a little too quickly, realizing it wasn't convincing in the slightest. Jose sighed again before answering.
"Okay, sure, I'll see you at eight."
"See you then."
"Bye."
He slid his finger back across the screen and spread out on his bed sheets in thought. The canine closed his eyes lightly and watched his vision swirl in mixture of colors
and darkness. A habit he'd grown in elementary school, Jare'l found that when he closed his eyes just right, instead of complete darkness, his eyes started to try and
contort the little light seeping through his eyelashes into tangible objects. This resulted into a unique acid trip experience, each one being unique, and not a same one
twice. The technique was quite relaxing, and he felt his body visible go limb and his senses become heightened. Drifting his mind around, he tried not to focus on the tone of Jose's voice toward the end of their conversation. Turning over, he slapped his face into the creamy white pillow and tried to sleep, hoping to have a clear mind when he woke up.
Twirling around again, a grin slowly spread on Jare'l's muzzle when he looked into the body length mirror. It was almost eight, and he'd finally gotten the outfit just
right. Originally, he intended to just wear some sweatpants over a pair of jeans and a loose shirt over a hoodie, but then he thought of who'd be taking him, and needless to say, plans change. Opting for only blue jeans, he'd found a vastly underused pair in the back of his closet he was now very happy he had found. The denim was mostly a
washed blue color, with slightly darker blue patches on the knees. Small, white bleach lines ran down the side of the left pants leg, starting out almost around the entire
leg and diminishing to a small white line at the bottom. On the back pockets, which were the same shade of blue as the knee patches, were graffiti designs spelling out "Do
Want." However, he liked the idea of a shirt and hoodie combo, but instead of loose fitting, both items were tight, the shirt more so than the hoodie itself. He'd thrown on his old electric blue Afurcrombie hoodie and put on his skin tight "Princes R Angels 2" baby blue shirt. Finally, he'd topped the whole thing off with some light blue
eyeliner around the edge of the spot over his right eye. His ears thwacked when he heard an engine rev outside.
"Hey mom, I'm gone!" he shouted, opening the door, trying to escape without having to hear an answer.
"Jare'l, wait!" his mom called, and the dalmatian let out an audible groan.
"Mom, come on, my friend's waiting." She walked around the corner, in a pink robe and looked him up and down. When she saw the eye liner, she tightened her robe belt
nervously.
"And who is this friend again?" Jare'l shot his mom a knowing look. He'd told his mom about his sexuality a couple months before, but the idea of him dating was still a
taboo subject between them. "You know what, you're eighteen, who am I to say who you can go out with?" she sighed, handing him forty dollars. "Have fun." Jare'l smiled weakly and walked over, wrapping his mother in a small hug before walked out the door.
"I'll be back late." he added before the door slammed shut and he turned his attention to the mini cooper in the driveway. Unable to contain himself, he ran over and pawed
at the passenger door, eager to get to the waiting fur inside. He could almost see Jose's pearly white smile through the tinted windows, and Jare'l smiled wide when his
paws finally managed to open the door and he slid inside.
"Well hello there handsome." Leaning over the middle console, Jare'l locked the bear in a passionate kiss for a response. After a two day break, the dalmatian felt as if it was the first time he'd ever felt the ursine's lips and he eagerly slithered a tongue into Jose's maw. As if exploring new territory, the pink muscle flicked around the
wet space, tasting, feeling, wanting. He ran his tongue along the bear's slightly sharp teeth, knowing the power that lay behind them. He felt a heavy paw lock lightly around the back of his head, pushing his muzzle deeper into the kiss, and Jose gave a deep moan in satisfaction. The bear's wide tongue started to play with the dalmatian's and the two pieces of meat danced in intricate movements, tracing each other's outline, twisting together, and mixing their tastes. It was a bliss Jare'l never wanted to end, but as he opened his eyes he could see his mom's form on the front porch and he quickly pulled back, to Jose's surprise. Turning to face the porch, he saw Jare'l's mother and patted the dalmatian's lap.
"It's okay, don't worry. The windows are reflective, she can't see you and me." he said reassuringly, knowing the whole time there were no such thing as reflective
windshields.
"Alright. Well, let's go ahead then." Jare'l drooped his head, clasping his paws in his lap.
Throughout the ride, the two furs chatted about what Jare'l planned to do for the rest of the summer, leading up to the time he had to leave for school. Jare'l mentioned
how he had planned to go on a cruise to Mexico, but had to put it off when he realized all the money he'd saved for his vacation would have to go to his tuition.
"Wait, you're parents look pretty well off. You live in Berwick after all. I mean, it's not Bexley, but it's not Linden either. Why would you have to pay for your own
tuition?" Jose asked, glancing over at Jare'l who in turn put his face in a paw.
"Well, my parent's started out with the greatest intentions. When I was born, they opened up a college fund that was supposed to have money put in straight from their
paychecks every month, this way all of college would be paid for. Since both of them had to put themselves through school, they found it important not to put their child
in the same position."
"So you should have your tuition, right?" At this, the dalmatian sighed.
"You would think so. Especially since from about around '96 to '02 they had very lucrative occupations. Well, it seems they weren't as committed toward my college fund as
they originally intended. In fact, in a matter of four years, they not only stopped putting money into the account, they managed to spend the entire amount." Jose let out a high pitched whistle.
"You mean to tell me they spent ten years worth of cash in just under four years?" Jare'l nodded his head yes.
"And just how much are we talking about here?"
"They took out a combined three hundred dollars a month." He watch as Jose went over the numbers in his head. After a few moments, he nearly crashed into a stop sign.
"That's over thirty six thousand dollars!" Jare'l just nodded again.
"Yes, I know. They used it to make down payments on houses my dad renovated."
The rest of the ride was quiet, and Jare'l found himself regretting bringing up the subject. Every time he told someone the story, it was quite a conversation killer. How do you talk about a different subject, when someone tells you he's had his entire education fund was spent to buy into a market that plummeted only a short while later?
They pulled up to the ice rink, and climbed out of the car, Jose taking time to stretch out his limbs. Jare'l took the time to again admire the bear's form, which he was
able to see much more clearly once in the bears t-shirt, which he'd tucked into his loose fitting jeans. Leaning down, Jose reached into the back of the cooper, grabbing a
small jacket and Jare'l suddenly realized just how cold he was going to be for the sake of "cuteness". The pair walked through the parking lot and into the rink, paying for a skate rental at the counter. Jare'l sat on a bench and started to remove his white tennis shoes. Soon, he felt Jose's large form sit next to him and start to remove his shoes.
"This is going to be fun, how'd you know I like to ice skate?" Jose did his trademark chuckle.
"I didn't. I enjoy it a lot, and I thought I'd suggest it. When I heard those cute little ears, I knew I'd picked right." A group of wolves glanced in their direction and
scooted a little farther away. Jare'l noted the hockey uniforms they all sported.
"Yea, you defiantly did. Even though I hate the cold, I just love skating in all forms. In-line, roller, and especially ice skating." He tightened his laces and stood up,
testing his balance. He looked down and realized Jose had gotten hockey skates, while Jare'l was wearing traditional skates.
"Hey, you know it's harder to skate in those." Jose looked down and then back up at the spotted fur.
"Yeah, I know, I can't wear traditional skates for two reasons. One, they don't make them in my size, and two, 290 pounds of meat and a thin piece of metal don't mix well." he remarked, standing up along with Jare'l and swinging his jacket around and onto his body.
"Well, let's see if those 290 pounds can keep up with 145!" Jare'l grinned and started an awkward jog to the rink. Jose blinked for a second and with a smile, trotted
after him.
On the rink, Jare'l was quite impressed with Jose's agility with ice skates. When they'd first got on the ice, Jare'l made a beeline around the rink, in an attempt to show
off. Jose stood on the side, quietly watching the fur zip past a couple times before making a few slow glides out onto the ice himself. The next to Jare'l came around, the
bear started off with him, in fact passing him once they rounded the first corner and then turning around to skate backwards in front of the dalmatian.
"Hey! How did you do that?" Jose just grinned and jumped back around to take the curve on the other end of the rink. "Wait up!" Jare'l picked up his feet, crunching ice beneath him in an attempt to speed up. "You've done this for awhile, haven't you?"
"Let's just say hockey and bears go together like peanut butter and bananas." Contorting his face in confusion, Jare'l went over the analogy in his head.
"Um okay, if you say so slowpoke!" He picked up the pace again, sliding past Jose and heading into the next turn. Jare'l caught the form of a shadow out of the corner of
his eye, but ignored it, instead focusing on crossing his feet to take the turn at such a high speed. This was all the more reason he gave a loud yelp in surprise when one
of his skates caught on something, sending his feet flying from out under him.
"Jare'l!" The voice seemed far away, as the dog watched the series of events play out in slow motion. Failing his arms out in front of him, me tucked his head into his
forearms, before the upper part of his body hit the ice at crushing speed, sending his legs over his head and flipping his entire body over. His back hit this time, and he
reached out a paw to try and steady himself, only to see his claws rake through the ice. Still careening at high speed, he flipped over a couple times on his side, finally
coming to a rest near the barrier of the rink, resting on his left arm.
"Jare'l! Jare'l!" He could feel Jose's hulking form over him, putting a paw on his lower back, and turning the dalmatian over with his other paw. Jare'l looked up hazily
and shook his head.
"Wha-what happened?"
"You tripped, are you okay? Is there anything broken?" The bear bore a wild expression, but one that still showed genuine concern. He lightly placed Jare'l on his back and
started to test his limbs, lifting up each leg and arm and bending them at the joints. Jare'l winced a couple times, but felt fine, if slightly bruised.
"I-I'm okay Jose, thanks. I tripped? On what?" he asked, slowly sitting up, resting a paw on the ice and rubbing his forehead with the other, trying to clear his vision.
"What your step buddy! You never know what might get in your way!" Jose turned around to find the source of the comment, while Jare'l continued shaking his head, his vision slowly returning. Finally, the room stopped spinning and Jare'l had the chance to take a look around too, his eyesight immediately setting on the group of wolves they'd seen earlier. Stuggling to get up, the lupines roared in laughter at Jare'l's attempts to raise to his feet. Once he'd found his balance, he slowly started to get up. Jose bent over to lend a hand, but the dalmatian shugged a shoulder and moved away.
"I can do it." he said, throwing a slightly irritated look toward the large fur. Jose lifted up his paws and took a step back and Jare'l could see the small flicker of hurt glide across the bear's face. When he'd finally got to his feet and was able to look straight at the wolves, he took a few steps on his ice skates, sliding over toward the small huddle. Jare'l counted eight wolves, ranging from his size to about an inch shorter than Jose and all different shapes, however it was evident, execpt for the pudgy fur in the back, they were all pretty well built.
"Which one of you tripped me?" his voice came out slightly cracked, as his head was still swimming from the fall, and didn't have the edge he'd orginally intended. Each of the wolves looked at each other, then burst into laughter again. Growing more agitated by the second, Jare'l pounded a fist againt the plexiglass surrounding the rink and the laugheter stopped at once.
"I said," he was happy his voice came out in more of a growl than the first, and clearly converyed the irritation that had grown "Which. One. Of. You. Tripped. Me?" Jare'l asked slowly, empazizing each word with a glare into the eyes of every individual wolf. From the back, the largest of the group stood up and slide up toward the dalmatian. Once he was standing in front of him, Jare'l could see how large he was. Easily about Jose's height, the fur along his arms seemed to steched to its limits around thick muscles. Glaring straight down at the dalmatain before him, the wolf smirked and his dark brown eyes flickered.
"I did. And what you gonna do about it?" a large paw came up, and Jare'l teased, expecting a suker punch. But instead, one of his fingers rested on the tip of Jare'l's nose and lightly pushed it when he completed his sentence. Thrown off guard, he took a step backwards to steady himself, the turned his attention upwards, glaring right back at the wolf.
"Look, I haven't done anything to you, and there's no need to start any kind of issues. I'll just go on about my way and we can pretend this didn't happen." As much as it pained him to say it, there was no way he could take on this wolf, and he wasn't about to try. Pushing down the last hint of anger into the pit of his stomach, he put out a paw and looked back up at the wolf, his glare eased into a slight smile. Instead of the reaction he'd been hoping for, the wolf's smirked grew into an outright frown and his body tensed up.
"I don't need to make up with no fag. I tripped you because you all make me sick!" he slapped Jare'l's paw down, making the spotted dog to take a small step backwards and his smile turned back into a straight solid line.
"And I don't need to back up with a breeder like you because you all make me sick!" he shouted back, leaning forward and teansing his shoulders. A paw rested on his shoulder, causing them to relax. He turned his head to find Jose looming over him, staring the wolf straight in the eye.
"Look, he was just being nice, There is no need for hostilites." he said, his calming voice gently breezing over Jare'l's steaming fustration. The wolf turned slightly and smirked at his friends, who proceed to chuckle loudly.
"Yeah, whatever. How about you weren't even in this, so but out chubby." he said proding Jose's stomach with a finger. Jare'l had to stiffle a laugh at his comment. While it was true the bear looked a bit pudgy, he weighed well over 350 pounds, but it wasn't fat. He could bench press well over 300 pounds, a fact Jare'l had tested when they went to the gym last week.
"Why are you causing problems? I didn't even do anything!" The wolf just glared back down at the dalmatain.
"I already told you, because you faggots make me fucking sick. I wouldn't be suprised if you were dieased or something." the wolf teased and a couple of his friends finally decided to speak.
"Yeah you homo!"
"Look at his clothes! Where do you shop, the women's section?"
The wolf brought up a paw to flich Jare'l's nose again, but before he got the chance, the dalmatian rose his own paw and slapped it out of his face.
"Don't touch me you piece of trash. I'm going back to ice skating, you're a waste of time. Come on Jose." Jare'l clasped his paw around Jose's and took a small skid to the left, trying to pull the large fur with him. After a second of hestitation, the bear followed and Jare'l's breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hey fatty! Learn to keep you bitch under control if you know what good for her!"
Jare's felt the weight behind the paw he was holding become heavier and eventually he could pull it along anymore.
"Jose, just ignore him, it's not-" before he could complete his sentence, Jose had pulled his paw out of Jare'l's grip and started to skate toward the wolf again. At first, it seemed he only had the intention of talking an the wolf crossed his arms, smirking with another insult prepped on his lips. The bear skidded to a stop in front of the wolf and those same lips that had just parted to spat another curse, became a blur of black, brown, and red under the crushing blow Jose delievered with his right fist. An audiable whimper flew from the wolf's mouth as his body flew to the side, seeming to float in mid air, before his side came crashing down onto the ice below. The ice cracked and bent under the force ad the wolf bounced a few times, his paws flying to his muzzle and clutching it for dear life, a few tears starting to mist his eyes.
"Don't you ever speak of Jare'l in that way again, or it will be more than just your muzzle that's broken." Rubbing his fist, Jose looked down at the crumpled lupine heap without a hint of remorse. Turning back to the shocked form of Jare'l he motioned with a swing of his arm.
"Come on, let's get out of here. I don't think the mangement will like us staying much longer."
Still reeling from the turn of events, Jare'l slid over to the bear and started for the entrance just as a small crowd was starting to form on the ice. An on sight nurse jogged past them when they got to the rink doors and Jose could bearly hide his enjoyment. Jare'l just looked up with a mixture of emotions. His mind ran an endless slideshow of images through his head and by the time he started paying attention, the duo had already got their skates off, apologized to the manager, and climbed into the car, headed for the highway.
Resting his head on a paw, Jare'l's gaze fell upon the cars rushing past and the dark forest rising out of tall grass fields in the distance beyond the highway. Turning his attention from driving for a second, Jose rested a paw on Jare'l's thigh.
"What's wrong, is the wolf still bothering you from the ice rink?" the bear asked, thick look of concern resting over his face. Jare'l sighed and turned to face him.
"No, Ive dealt with creeps like him my whole life. I could care less." he sighed again, and turned his attention back out the window. "It's you." The bear nearly sidded to a stop but managed to maintain control of the car.
"M-me? Did I do something wrong? If I did, I'm sorry." his paws tightened a bit around steering wheel and Jare'l could tell how badly he'd worried the bear.
"No, you did everythign right. It's just that..." with a small sign, he struggled to push out the next words. "I've been teased since I was a cub. People made fun of me for my spots, especially the once over my eye." he ran a paw throught the fur around his left eye. "THey really made fun of me when I got to be in middle school since I liked to wear tight clothes and play with the girls more. There was always somebody there, mostly Mikal, to stick up for me and chase my tormentors away. But, when I got into seventh grade I decided to fight my own battles. It didn't always end well," he rubbed his arm through his hoodie. "but I still stood up for myslef and didn't have to rely on other people. I made me feel like I could take care of myself and helped me remember that I don't need anybody else to survive, as long as I look out for myself. So, back there," he threw a thumb toward the back of the car, "when you punched that jerk...I don't know, I felt like I was inferior, like I was a nobody." a small rear eased out of his eye, and he quickly flicked it away, turning back to the window. Jose was slient, gripping the steering wheel even tighter. The wheel tilted, and Jare'l felt the car ease to the right, pulling toward the exit lane.
"Jose?" the bear just stayed quiet, his eyes cloudy and lost in another world. Jare'l just turned back to the window, watching the rolling hills and fields of Ohio fade away to the contrete and steel of cilvilization.