High School Days Ch 28 Scene: Waiting

Scene #1 for February, 2017

Universe: High School Days

Tags: Wolf, Tiger, Dalmatian, Leopard

1,343 words

High School Days Ch 28 Scene: Waiting

(With this post, I'm caught up on the scene posts, and this marks the start of another series of high School Days scenes that will be coming soon, all illustrated by cooner again this time. Longer stories will be posted soon to catch us up on them.)

***

Nick leaned against the large, and fairly odd looking, glass wall near the front doors of the school.

The wall was made of little squares of warped glass, and separated the head principal’s offices from the large, open cafeteria.

To his left, a huge crowd of students was pouring by Nick and out the front door like a river, people of every species going by in a riot of fur and noise as everyone talked, excited to be heading home. To his right, another stream of people approached from the gymnasium wing, the jocks of the school passing by the big wolf as the various sports programs ended and they headed home for the day. When they reach where Nick was standing, they either went left, heading out the front door towards the student parking lot, or turned right, heading towards the back of the school where the busses waited.

But just here, right at the corner where Nick stood, there was a little space around the wolf. The big, black furred jock was trying not to lurk or act out of the ordinary, but his fellow students flowed around him, either by instinct or intention.

Because while not everybody had heard the rumors about Kyle punching Nick that morning, and news about the fight in the locker rooms hadn’t gotten out yet, everybody could see how fucking pissed off the huge black wolf was. Nobody, not even the passing teachers, wanted to get too close to the big black wolf as he waited, arms crossed, seething as he waited and tried to contain his emotions.

Behind him, in the principal’s office, Nick could hear a lot yelling. Somebody big and loud was doing some serious chewing out, and Nick wondered if it was Principal Sanders giving Tyler a piece of his mind, or if the bear had escaped being sent to the office.

Nick didn’t really care if Tyler got into trouble for hitting him, that wasn’t why he was here. No, Nick was waiting here because this was where, if you were leaving the gym, you would either turn and head for the busses or go out into the parking lot where the students who drove parked.

And despite how mad he was at Kyle, Nick was still going to drive the tiger home. Hell, he desperately wanted to drive his best friend home, because then maybe Nick would be able to get the tiger to explain what the hell was going on. Why Kyle had punched him? Why was he refusing to meet Nick’s eyes? The wolf had almost said something to the tiger in the locker room, he’d been so mad the tiger was ignoring him, but then Tyler… Nick’s paws tightened, and he very nearly hit the wall behind him. The black wolf only just stopped himself, because pounding on the principal’s office wall probably wasn’t a good idea right now, but Nick was so mad that it was hard to think.

The thought of the stupid idiot bear shouting those things, the way he talked about Nathan being queer… Nick wanted to do more then punch the idiot bully. He wanted to throw him down and beat on Tyler until all the anger, frustration, and fear the big wolf felt was gone. The black wolf’s hackles rose and a low growl rolled out of him, startling a small group of freshman deer who were walking by, who scattered suddenly at the low predatory sound.

Everything, absolutely everything, was wrong. He’d barely been holding in his anger all day, and now things were even worse. He’d defended Nathan and Tony, gotten into a fight, and basically howled to the whole school he was queer. And then, just to make sure he couldn’t pretend to himself it was just anger over Kyle punching him, Nick had seen Nathan spying on him in the shower, seen the husky’s huge boner, and well…

Nick’s black fur prevented anyone who might have looked at him from seeing the wolf’s cheeks redden. The big wolf grumbled, adjusting himself so it wasn’t too obvious that along with being mad enough o growl constantly, he was now also horny.

The wolf’s dark thoughts were finally interrupted when Kyle reached him. The big tiger was moving in a clump of other athletes and stopped when he saw Nick. The wolf perked up, and didn’t even have to force himself to smile at his best friend. Several of the other jocks stopped to watch, Chris, Rob, and a few others, but Nick didn’t pay any attention to the leopard or horse.

Nick’s eyes met the tiger’s and he gestured towards the parking lot, half turning, hoping the tiger would follow him. Everything would be alright if Nick could take Kyle home, if they could just talk without other people listening, he was sure, he…

Kyle looked away from him, ears splaying backwards in shame. The tiger’s tail twitched, thrashing like an angry snake, and he looked away, like he was going to head towards the busses. He didn’t turn his back on the wolf, but Kyle wouldn’t look at Nick except sideways. The wolf felt his ears droop, and he stood there, knowing that if he went after Kyle, the tiger would get pissed, or…

An otter passed between them, his eyes darting between the two biggest jocks at Hadenview High, eyes narrowed as he looked at Nick with a sneer then looked away.

Nick’s face flushed when he saw the look on the other boy’s face, and for once embarrassment flooded the big wolf. He and Kyle had been the top of the school’s pecking order for so long that Nick hadn’t been actually teased about anything in years, but Kyle standing there, pointedly ignoring him after a whole day of whispered rumors… it made the wolf’s ears burn with shame.

So he looked away from Kyle and pointedly walked past him, ignoring whatever the tiger might say or do next. Instead, the wolf stalked towards someone else, zeroing in on another jock that had been leaving the gym just behind Kyle and the others. Ears up, back straight and tail held high, Nick strode right up to Kevin as if it had been the Dalmatian he had been waiting for all along, not Kyle.

***

Kevin looked up, saw the big black wall of muscle bearing down on him, and flinched when Nick boomed, “Hey, you doing anything tonight?” The wolf practically barked at the Dalmatian he spoke so fast and so forcefully.

“I… ugh, I don’t... I mean not really?” Kevin stammered, expecting to be punched in the stomach at any moment.

“Good, I need to study for that stupid history final in three weeks.” The wolf was trying to be calm, to be nice, but Kevin could hear the tightness in his voice, the suppressed anger he was concealing.

Kevin’s mouth worked for a moment, and he felt the eyes of the crowd around them on him, which brought a blush to the Dalmatian’s white furred cheeks. “Well… um, yah I guess I could help, bu-”

“Good, come on.”

Kevin yelped quietly as the wolf’s arm reached out, pulling him around and guiding him towards the parking lot out front. The Dalmatian flinched at the wolf’s touch, but Nick’s strong arm around his shoulders didn’t force him. It just guided him along firmly, as if Nick didn’t expect for a second Kevin would resist. And since the big wolf was so sure Kevin would come with him, the Dalmatian did.

But Kevin did see the dark look Nick shot back over his shoulder towards the other athletes, and the shocked look on Kyle’s face as Nick led him away. Nick and Kyle’s eyes met for a moment, and the Dalmatian felt the paw on his shoulder tighten, leading him away even more firmly. There was absolutely no mistaking the look of shock on Kyle’s face. What Kevin didn’t see was the look on Chris’s face.

The leopard’s mouth had dropped open in surprise.