Chapter 5- Friday
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Hey everybody. I was excited to finally finish this chapter, and I hope you enjoy it. Happy Friday! (:
Chapter Five-
Thank God it's Friday. The familiar phrase comes to my mind when I look in the mirror and get ready. I throw on a blue and black t-shirt and slip on a pair of jeans before brushing my fur. I step out of the bathroom and James the fox grabs a towel and heads toward the bathroom. Dean the ferret is brushing his fur and Jarred slips on a dark purple shirt, but not before I catch a good glimpse of his body. I know I shouldn't stare, I know. Thanks. He smiles at me and I smile back after telling him "good morning." Thankfully all the ice was broken between us last night, and not just with the wolf who's constantly invading my mind, but also between us and our roommates. As promised, I will tell you how it went down.
You already know how the conversation first started, with a simple "hello." After we greeted each other casually, Jarred asked how the concert went. "It was pretty good," I said, "They were a lot better than Show Choir back home. Mrs. Talob was pretty happy." "What? Show Choir isn't that bad. If it was, it's because you're in it." he said, snickering with that dumb grin. "Wow, okay I see how it is." I kidded. The four of us started casually talking about choir, asking questions about each other. We ended up actually gossiping like a bunch of girls about some scandalous members of our choirs. James told us about a girl who had, um, "gotten around" a lot at their school, and she liked to cause drama there, especially in their choir class. Dean had a few choice words to say about her while we all laughed. Jarred and I told similar stories, and I jokingly lamented to them the "horrors I faced in Catholic School." Uniforms. Nuns. The whole package. We went on, talking about a whole bunch of teenaged jokes and nonsense.
Our conversation went back to choir. "So, are you guys like the best singers at your school?" Dean asked. "Well, I wouldn't say that I am really," I told them, "If anything Jarred would fall in that category, he has more notoriety and he's always getting the solos." Jarred chuckles a little before putting in his two cents. "No, Morgan. I'd say that you're a little better than me. You get a lot more solos than I do, plus you're definitely one of Talob's favorites. Not to mention the fact I'm kinda jealous of your voice. You can do a lot of cool songs, where I'm stuck here singing all this high-pitched nonsense." At this point, we were both looking at each other, and I was checking his eyes for any sign of him lying. He looked honest. This guy has been my musical rival for like 2 years, and he's telling me he's jealous? No way. "I don't think so Jarred, you're really good. Besides, the girls like it when you hit those high notes." He laughed a little before responding. "Then I'd say we're about equal. Don't lie Morgan, the girls have their eyes on you from time to time too," he jokes. Not that I really pay attention.. After realizing that we've been somewhat ignoring our new friends, I turned to face them and they were giving each other suspicious looks. Shit, they can tell I like him. I need to dial it down, I thought to myself. I was worried that one of them was going to start asking questions, so I told them it was getting late and we should go to bed.
That leads us to today. Jarred and I decided to go to breakfast together after asking Dean if the two of them wanted to come with. They wanted more time to get ready, so we head out. Jarred holds the door for me, and while I pass him, he ruffles the fur on top of my head. I blush, and my curly tail wags behind me as we walk down the hall. He's being friendly, that's all. He's being friendly, and you're looking way too much into it. I know he's just being friendly, but look at me. I don't want to say the "L" word here, but I'm definitely falling in like with him. How many other people have you "fallen in like" with? Why is he any different? Just because you're on a field trip with him? No, dammit, this feels different. Besides, he's one of the nicest guys that I've felt this way about before. I'm sure that he won't completely hate me if I told him. Besides, I'm not asking him out, I'm just confessing how I feel. What if he does get mad about it? Or he feels awkward with you? It doesn't matter, he deserves to know the truth. You're sure about this? Am I?
We're already at the little coffee shop we went to yesterday and we're waiting in line. Jarred notices me staring off into space with my ears pinned down, arguing with myself again. If only he knew it was about him. Well, he doesn't, so hush. "Hey, are you okay?" he asks me, with a worried tone on his voice. I look into the wolf's deep, blue eyes and put on a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired is all," I lie. "I hear you. Hopefully some caffeine will help." he tells me. Once we grab our breakfast, we make our way to the auditorium. As we head up the steps, we turn around and face the plaza. We hear music playing from these big speakers in the square. Apparently they play the radio out in the plaza on Fridays. We slightly bob our heads to a song as we enter the building. We head up the stairs, and even though we can't hear the music anymore, Jarred continues to playfully sing the song and bob his head as he licks coffee from his muzzle. I just sarcastically roll my eyes with a little grin as we enter the Gold Room. He sits next to me for the time being, and soon Sam and Isabel enter the room. We sit and talk for a while until everyone else filters in. When Jarred gets up, he pats me on my back and goes to sit with the tenors. My tail wags a little and I let out a small, involuntary whine as I watch him walk away. The otter next to me heard it, and he's giving me a weird look. Oh well. I take one last sip from my coffee cup before Grandma takes her spot on the platform.
"Buenas dias!" the old jaguar says. "Buenos dias." we all reply in unison. "I bring good news," she says with a smile. "Thanks to your dedication and hard work, we have gone very far with our music. This being said, I would like to congratulate you with a free afternoon. After lunch today, there will be no more rehearsal until before the concert tomorrow." The room breaks out with applause and cheers. Students shout things like "You're the best, Grandma!" After she quiets us all down, she speaks again. "We have also chosen the individuals who will be in the small group in 'Nino Dios.' The list will be posted this evening." Once she finishes, we go right to work, and we mean business. We go through each song almost perfectly without stopping. From 'Ave Verum' to 'Hallelujah Amen,' we sound amazing. The only reason we go back to some songs after we go through them all the first time is to change a few things with rhythm and articulation.
-Later-
It's been a few hours, and we're just about done. Jarred texts me, and the movie plan is back on. "We'll go @ about 3:30." Awesome. "Thank you choir, I am very proud of all of you. Remember that we will have morning rehearsal tomorrow morning as well as a dress rehearsal later that afternoon," Grandma tells us before excusing us for the rest of the day. A whole day to just relax, have fun, and hang out with my friends, not to mention my crush. You're still going to tell him? Yep, and I'm going to use this potentially last day of being his friend to make him happy at least. I'm set on my idea, and not even my brain can convince me otherwise. I stay in my seat, texting my mom momentarily. (She'll be coming out to see the concert tomorrow.) Out of the corner of my eye stands a grey and purple form, and I look away from my phone to see Jarred standing there. "You coming?" he asks with a smile across his muzzle. "Yeah, let's go." We collect Sam and Isabel. Both of them are wearing casual clothes too, Sam in a black and red jacket and a raggedy pair of jeans and Isabel in a pink tank top with jean shorts. When we step out of the auditorium, Jarred and I put on a pair of shades. God, just everything about today seems right. "Dang, you guys. I see you." Isabel says,and she winks at the two of us. We laugh as we start down the steps and across the street.
My phone rings. "Hello?" "Hi Morgan, what's your guys' plan for this afternoon?" Mrs. Talob asks. "Uh, we plan on going to a movie at 3, but other than that, we're kinda making it up as we go." I inform her. "Alright, I have a few conferences to attend, but I trust you gentlemen will stay safe?" she asks, half worried, half threatening. "Of course Mrs. Talob. We'll let you know if anything changes." "Okay then, I'll see you guys later." "Alright. Bye." After that little conversation, we check out the music-filled plaza and we can't help but sway along to the beat. None of us hungry right now, so we just decide to roam the expensive shops, and Isabel takes a bunch of cheesy pictures of our group as we go along. After looking at all the shops and coming to a unanimous conclusion that there's no way we're going to afford anything here, we go back to the square and sit at a table. Jarred sits next to me and puts his arm around my shoulder and asks the group what we want to do next before the movie. I lean a bit into his arm and just listen to the music while they make the decisions.
"We've got an hour left to kill, I say we walk down the block a ways to see what we can do before the movie." Sam suggests. "Okay then," Jarred says. He gets up and pats me on the shoulder, "Let's go." I whine just a little before standing up, not wanting to leave the comfortable position I was in. They didn't notice though, I'm safe. Isabel jumps on Sam's back. "Alright cat, tally ho!" she says, pointing her finger forward while he gives her a piggyback ride. It's only February, but the way the sun's giving off just a bit of heat and the fun atmosphere in the air, I keep getting feelings of summer. I'm in a super good mood today. Maybe it's the field trip, the free day, or the fact that it's Friday, but I can't help but feel that the tall, fluffy wolf walking next to me is a big part of it. It's crazy how things work that way. I mean, I knew him for almost 3 years as a rival, some guy that was getting in my way and a person who's so arrogant and full of himself that I just didn't really want anything to do with him. Now, just a little week spending time with him, I've seen that he's a really sweet and funny guy to be around. I already have feelings for him. He's got all my attention on him, even if he doesn't know it yet. The more he jokes with me as we tread down these sidewalks, the more I grow to like him. Yeah, Morgan, he's great and all, but he is your friend now. If you go through with this you risk losing that. I have to try, I really do. This is driving me insane, and I've got anxiety building up in my stomach just thinking about it, but it's the right thing. It has to be.
As time moves along, we give up our random wanderings and start back to the plaza to get to the theatre. Once inside, we double-check the showtime and buy our tickets. Feeling generous, I ask the group "Who wants popcorn? I'm buying." "Sure," Jarred says. "I can hardly sit through a movie without popcorn." I buy a couple of buckets and we go down the hall looking for the correct theatre. When we sit down in the far back row, from left to right goes Isabel, me, Jarred, and Sam. Jarred and Sam are talking to each other about other movies they want to see, but I'm just watching the previews. Isabel is texting with her brightness as low as it can go. She puts her phone down and nudges me. "You like him, don't you?" she whispers. I almost cough up a wad of popcorn, surprised at her question. "Wah?" I say, still trying to get the popcorn to pass. "Jarred. I can see the way you look at him. You like him, huh? It's okay, I won't judge you." I'm not sure what to do here. Lie? Tell the truth? Fake a seizure? I make a quick decision. "Uh..Yeah. I do." I whisper nervously. "Awwww," she whispers a bit too loud, drawing the attention from the other two. She gestures for them to ignore it. "I've got some good news for you, puppy. He likes you too."
Wait, what? No he doesn't, what? "What? What do you mean? How can you tell? Are you sure?" I whisper back, almost interrogating her. "Yes, I'm sure. Calm yourself." I have my ears pinned down in anxiety, but my tail wags slightly with anticipation. "I've seen the way you look at him, but he looks at you the same way. He's really into you." I thought about what my head had been telling me this whole time. "He's just being friendly. It's nothing like that," I say, slumping in my seat, a little sad about it. ¨No Morgan," she tells me. "I thought that at first too, but look at the way he is with Sam." I look at the two of them, and they're laughing at some kind of inside joke. "You see that? That's being friends," she tells me. "When he talks to you, he gets super happy and his face lights up, I mean, he does that all the time because that's just how he is, but when it's with you it's something different." My ears perk up a bit, and my tail wags a little faster, not to mention the butterflies fluttering about in my belly. "Whenever he talks about you, we get annoyed because he just won't stop." She says playfully. Maybe confessing to him won't be as hard as I thought. "Are you sure?" I ask her, trying to hide the udder joy in my voice. ¨I'm positive. That wolf is head over paws for you." I sit there quietly for a moment, looking at the big screen in thought. Isabel gives me a hug and interrupts my head. "Don't go too crazy about it," she says, with her head on my shoulder. "I won't." I watch the movie with a huge grin creeping across my muzzle from time to time. God I hope she's right.
-After the Movie-
We walk out of the theatre reminiscing our favorite parts of the movie. When we get to the bottom of the stairs one of my favorite songs, 'Young Volcanoes' by Fall Out Boy begins to play on the speakers in the plaza. Just before the words begin, Jarred runs up near one of the speakers and throws everything he's holding down, throws his shades in the pile, and starts to sing out loud.
When Rome's in ruins
We are the lions
Free of the Coliseums
We laugh a bit at his foolishness and he continues to sing.
In poison places,
We are anti-venom
We're the beginning of the end.
He notices that I know the song too, and he waves me over to join him. He lets me sing solo.
But tonight,
The foxes hunt the hounds
It's all over now
Before it has begun
We've already won.
Jarred playfully joins me in the chorus, and soon random furs begin to crowd around us watching our foolish display.
We are Wild
We are like Young Volcanoes
We are Wild
Americana Exotica
Do you want to feel a little beautiful, baby?
We continue to sing, dancing around like a bunch of goofy teenagers. This little spectacle has almost become a performance, and Sam and Isabel join the two of us and dance a bit. I take in a breath and sing out the next verse.
Come on make it easy
Say I never mattered
Run it up the flagpole.
I nod toward Jarred to sing the next line. He shoots a grin my way and starts,
We will teach you
How to make boys next door out of assholes.
We all laugh, and some bystanders do as well. Together we sing the hook again.
Tonight,
The foxes hunt the hounds
It's all over now
Before it has begun
We've already won
The four of us dance while Jarred and I blast out the chorus with our best voices.
We are Wild
We are like Young Volcanoes
We are Wild
Americana Exotica
Do you wanna feel a little beautiful, baby?
A small instrumental section begins, and I take a big breath to do a solo for the next line. I can feel the goosebumps form on my arms as I sing it and I can almost see my voice in front of me when the notes come out.
We are Wild!
We are like Young Volcanoes.
Jarred joins in again, and we end the song with a big crescendo.
We are Wild
Americana Exotica
Do you wanna feel a little beautiful, baby?
We all dance a bit until the beat stops. The small crowd gathered around us either laughs or claps a little. We jokingly bow toward our small audience. Before I can bow all the way, something grabs me and pulls me aside. In a flash, here I stand muzzle to muzzle with someone kissing me. It's Jarred. I stand there with my eyes open for a second before I let them close and enjoy the kiss for a moment. I feel electricity all over me and my heart is beating out of control. He pulls me in closer before trying to explore my mouth. I quickly come to my senses and pull away. I look at what's left of the crowd, and I see Sam and Isabel's jaws about to drop on the ground. The kiss lasted about a second or two, but it felt like a lifetime.I'm so confused, I need to get out of here. With mixed emotions, I speed walk the out of the situation toward the hotel. I don't look back when Jarred says ¨Morgan--¨
What the Hell just happened? I think to myself when I finally get to the room. I slump myself on the bed. I don't know how to feel. Happy? Angry? In love? Disturbed? Confused is definitely on the list. I'm happy because it was him, of course. Isabel was right, he must have something for me, or else he wouldn't have done it. I'm also a bit angry. What made him think he can just do that in front of a ton of people, without warning, without my say. He just assumed that I would be okay with it? You were more than just "okay" with it. It's the principle! I don't know what to do. What is there to do? Who do I talk to about this? Jarred? No, I'm way not ready for that.
Jarred busts through the door. Fuck my life. I turn away from his look and my ears get pinned down. "Morgan, please, talk to me," he pleads with me. I perk my ears up a little to let him know that I'm listening, but I don't speak. "Morgan, I'm sorry. Please don't hate me. I just--" I raise my paw to cut him off and face him. He looks really upset, and I feel the butterflies that were in my stomach quickly turn to guilt. "Look, Jarred. It was just a lot to take in. If you're worried that I'm going to hate you, don't. I don't hate you, in fact--" "What?" He asks me, seeming to be worried about my answer. "I really like you, and I was going to tell you tomorrow. I wasn't sure how you felt about me, so I wanted to wait. But still, Jarred, there was a better way of doing that." I end the sentence with a bit of a growl. He puts his ears down, and his eyes look pained. "I know," he says quietly. "I'm sorry." "It's okay," I tell him. "You really like me?" he asks a bit nervously, but I can see his tail wag a little. I let out a little giggle and smile after seeing that. "Yes, I do. Maybe it's a bit crazy, but I do. I lowkey hated you for a long time, but now that I know how you really are, I've grown to like you a lot." I say kindly but honestly. He smiles, and his ears slowly perk back up. ¨Not to mention that you're pretty easy on the eyes," I say with a little flirtatious grin. He laughs and says, "Same here. But I'm nothing compared to you. You're adorable with that red fur and your icy blue eyes. Plus you're a lot more fun than me. I never really looked at guys that way before, but you're definitely something else."
I smile like a mad dog at his comment. "Jarred, hush. Look at you. Everyone likes you. You're funny, popular, and have a much nicer personality." He sits next to me on the bed. "If that's true, then you're the only one that I have interest in." He gives me that big, dumb wolf grin of his. I can't stop smiling when I look into his eyes. "D'aww, that was so cheesy that I can smell it." I say sarcastically and snicker. "Hey," he says, pretending to be hurt, "I'm serious." "Well, thank you." I say nicely. He pulls me in for a hug and I hug back, burying my muzzle into his shoulder. He scratches behind my ears, and I'm enjoying every bit of this. "Morgan?" he says. "Yes, Jarred?" "Do you want to be my--" he hesitates. "It's up to you. I don't want to pressure you into anything." I tell him cautiously. "Then," he says, "Do you want to be my boyfriend?" My heart is racing out of control and euphoria spreads throughout my being. "I would be honored." I say, as I sit up from his embrace and smile at him. He leans in for another kiss, but this time I let it happen. His muzzle meets mine, and I feel fireworks. He lays me on my back, and I hold him as we continue to kiss. When it ends, I whine a little. "I'm sorry, puppy. We should head back to at least check on the others." "Okay wolfy," I say with a smile. We walk out of the hotel room, hand in hand. Finally everything in my crazy world seems perfect. This all happened so fast, but I couldn't be happier.