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The sweet scent of blueberries and hot syrup filled the kitchen on Monday morning. Zack stood by the stove piling pancakes onto a plate, speckled with fresh berries from the farmers market. He went to the dining table and deposited two pancakes onto his brother's plate.

"Thanks!" Tristan chirped with a smile, beginning to apply butter and syrup to his meal.

"Glad you like 'em," Zack grinned back. Even if the house did feel empty without their parents present, Tristan still seemed happy.

Both jackals looked toward the stairs as the sound of thunderous stomps echoed throughout the house. Seth Bailey appeared, freshly groomed and his backpack on a shoulder. He rushed to the cabinet, took out a cereal box, and began stuffing handfuls of food into his muzzle.

"Whoa, hey slow down," said an alarmed Zack. "At least give it a chance to fight back!"

"Gotta go," Seth mumbled. He gulped down a few mouthfuls and went to the sink, dipping his head down to drink straight from the tap.

"You in a hurry to get somewhere?"

"Yeah."

"The bus doesn't leave for another half hour."

"I know."

He exchanged a confused glance with Tristan. "Then where are you going?" Zack pressed, watching him from across the kitchen. He crossed his arms. "I won't get mad. Just tell me."

"...I just gotta go." The younger jackal finished drinking and bolted out of the kitchen.

"Seth!"

_ _ The exclamation jolted both younger siblings to attention, Seth's head reappearing in the doorway. He looked annoyed and seemed ready to retort until Zack reached into the fridge and tossed a bottle his way. Seth caught the protein shake and stared at it dumbfounded. "But these are yours..."

Zack shrugged with a reassuring smile. "I'll buy more."

Seth returned the grin and continued on his way. "Thanks!" The front door opened and shut and just like that, he was gone.

Zack leaned casually on the fridge and stared at the door thoughtfully. "I think that's the fastest I've seen 'im move in the morning." Or ever.

_ _ "I think he has a girlfriend."

What?! Zack turned back to Tristan, who was still eating his breakfast nonchalantly. "What makes you think that?"

Tristan explained. "I heard him talking to someone on the phone yesterday. It sounded like someone he really cared about."

"How come you didn't tell me?"

Tristan shrugged as he carefully poured more syrup on his pancakes. "I didn't think it was important. Is it?"

"Maybe." Zack turned his gaze back toward the door, the gears in his head beginning to turn. What kind of person might Seth want to keep secret, even from his own family? "Maybe..."

...........................

The halls were filled with curious whispers when Zack arrived at school that morning. He felt the eyes of students watching him as he passed. The jackal tried to ignore them as always, but this was far more attention than he was used to. Why was everyone staring at him? Had he done something?

"He's dating that wolf!"

"How did someone even get that close to him?"

"I'd date him myself if he wasn't so scary looking."

"Wait, Zack's gay?"

Zack couldn't help but grin at that last comment. So that's what it was. This was about his date with Charlie last Saturday. Word travels quickly it seemed. The jackal continued walking with an extra strut in his step. He was proud to be with Charlie, and he wanted the entire school to know it.

He soon reached his locker, where he quickly deposited most of his things and took out his books for first period. As he shut his locker, he spotted Junior staring at him from a few lockers away. Zack gave him a smug smirk that he knew would push the fox's buttons. It worked; Junior scoffed, shut his locker was a little more force than necessary, and stalked off.

Satisfied, Zack went to go look for Charlie.

I know he's around here somewhere...

_ _ Sure enough, after enduring another round of inquisitive points and whispers, Zack found him. But the wolf wasn't alone. He was talking to a familiar cat who seemed to be annoying him. Withholding a growl, Zack approached them.

"Pretty much everyone knows you and he are a thing," the cat was saying. "Rumor has it that you know went out for ice cream on Saturday and he kissed your cheek."

"How'd you know that?!" Charlie said in an exasperated tone.

"I'm friends with that raccoon who works there," the cat said matter-of-factly. "Look, I'm not trying to harass you. Just wanted to see if it was true. If it is -"

Zack stepped in. "If it is, then what?"

The cat _eep_ed and hid behind Charlie. "Call him off," he whispered to the wolf. "I don't wanna die."

Charlie ignored Zack's snort and moved out of the way. "He's not going to work you. Right, Zack?"

Zack rolled his eyes. "Right. Mind getting lost, cat? I wanna speak with him alone."

The cat's eyes widened. "Ah, a lover's quarrel. I better -" He stopped when Zack cracked his neck threateningly. "Bye! See you in gym!" He rushed away in the opposite direction.

Charlie watched him go and sighed. "Did you have to scare him?"

Zack shrugged. "My neck was stiff. Besides, I wanted to spend some time with ya before class starts." He touched the wolf's chin, tilting his head up to look him in the eye. His other paw came around to hug the wolf close to him. "Had a lotta fun Saturday."

Charlie smiled back. "Me, too."

"Do I get a good morning kiss?"

The wolf blushed and looked down. "But we're in public."

"Just one?"

Charlie pulled away looking embarrassed. "I don't know. I'd rather not let people know that I'm...gay."

Zack deflated a little, but understood. Alex was like this, too. "It's alright. We'll take it slow." Let's not mention the fact that we only just met a month ago...

_ _ "Okay. I'm sorry."

"Hey, no worries." The bell rang and Zack straightened. "Gotta get to class. But I'll see you in gym!"

"Okay, later!"

..............................

Zack sat on the bleachers looking grumpy. When Coach Salt had announced that they would be playing dodgeball today at gym, he had been excited. Zack loved dodgeball. But then the coach had called him out for hitting a tiger too hard after a dodgeball hit Charlie with enough force to hurt him. So now he was out. Whatever. That tiger had deserved it.

Zack was currently waiting for the rest of the class to funnel out to the locker room so that he could speak to the coach alone. The bell would ring soon, but he had plenty of time. Once he was alone, he hopped off his seat and went to the coach's office. When he walked through the door and found Coach Salt in the middle of a phone call, he waited patiently.

"Yes dear, I'm fine. If I want help, I'll ask for it...No...Of course not, dear, I said I was sorry about that! Listen, you can't be calling right now; I'm at work. Wait, aren't you at work?" Coach Salt looked up and saw Zack standing there. "Oh, you're on break. Right. Look, I've got a student wanting to talk to me, so I have to go...Okay, see you tonight...Love you, too. Bye."

Zack stepped forward as the coach hung up the phone. "Angry wife?"

"Something like that," said the coach, scratching the back of his head. "So what did you need, Zack?"

"How come you took me out of the game?" Zack inquired.

"You were acting out of line and almost hurt somebody," Coach Salt answered simply.

"But it was just one time!"

"That's all it takes. Like I said, you could have hurt somebody," said the coach. "Hopefully you learned your lesson."

Zack _hmph_ed at that. Coach Salt leaned back in his chair, losing his stern expression for a softer one. "So how was your weekend?"

"Good."

"That's good to hear. Been eating healthy?"

Zack frowned. "You have to ask me that? Of all people?"

Coach Salt chuckled. "I have to ask all my students; I can't pick favorites."

Zack sighed. "Well, just so you know, yes. I mean, I did have ice cream with a friend earlier..."

"Nothing wrong with that. A treat every now and then doesn't hurt. In any case, I'm glad to know you've got a b - friend to spend time with." The coach looked up at the clock. "You should go get changed. The bell's going to ring any minute now."

"Okay." Zack left the office and went to the locker room. When he got there, he saw that cat from earlier bothering his wolf again. The jackal growled and stalked forward.

"Could use a cool badass like Zack to boost my rep, you know?" The cat said. "I - eep!" The cat was cut off as he was grabbed by the angry jackal. He stammered nervously at Zack's menacing glare. "Hi...Zack..."

Zack ignored him. "Any reason you keep harassing my friend?" He snapped.

"I wasn't trying to harass him!" The cat protested. Of course, you weren't... "I just invited him and you to have lunch with me and my friends, you know?"

"No," Zack deadpanned.

"Hey, what if I want to?"

Zack turned to Charlie, who was standing awkwardly by his locker. "Do you want to?"

"Maybe," Charlie said. "Could be fun..."

"Right, just find us in the lunchroom," said the cat, walking away. Cocky fucker...

_ _ Zack turned to Charlie again. "Do you really want to have lunch with him?"

Don't say yes. Don't say yes. Don't say yes...

..............................

He said yes.

Zack found himself sitting down at the lunch table with the cat - Jamie, Charlie said his name was - a jaguar, and a chubby lion who seemed to engrossed in his food to notice their arrival. Charlie himself smiled pleasantly as he sat down, but Zack just started eating immediately. He wanted nothing to do with these people.

"Hey, glad you guys could make it," Jamie said way too excitedly. His eyes seemed to linger a little too long on Zack when he spoke. "These are by friends Brandon and Lonny." He gestured toward the jaguar and the lion respectively.

"Hi, I'm Chance." Charlie greeted. "And this is -"

"We know who he is," Brandon cut in. "Everyone knows who Zack Bailey is."

Well I'm charmed. "Why'd you invite us?" Zack asked impatiently.

Charlie nudged him in the side. "Zack, please. Be nice."

Zack rolled his eyes and continued eating while Jamie looked nervous again. "I just figured it'd be pretty cool to hang out with you guys, you know," the cat continued. "I mean, you are the talk of the town. Well, school, but that's beside the point." He looked at Zack again. "And everyone knows what a badass cool guy Zack is!"

I'm flattered. "Get to the point, cat!" Zack snapped, prompting another nudge from the wolf.

"Thanks for the invitation," said Charlie with a sidelong glance at the jackal.

"Are you gonna eat that?" The lion was pointing toward Charlie's orange.

"You can have it. I'm not really hungry," said the wolf, handing it over. "So...do anything interesting this weekend?"

"Not really," replied Jamie. "Been trying to write my column for the school newspaper. Which reminds me..." He pulled out a pen and notepad. "Mind giving a few words?"

"About?"

"Your opinions on Briarwood," said Jamie. "You're the newest student here. I figured it'd be a good story for the newspaper."

"Hey, if you're going to give an interview, I ought to get a pic." Brandon pulled out his phone. "You mind?"

Zack immediately piped up. "Yes."

"No."

The jackal glanced confusedly at Charlie. They had both spoken at the same moment.

The jaguar looked equally confused. "Okay...Should I take a photo or not?"

"No." "Yes."

Jamie spoke up. "How about we get the interview first and then take a pic? I mean you'll still get your picture."

How about never?

_ _ "So, mind if I just ask a few questions?" Jamie asked, pen at the ready. "Won't take long."

"Sure."

"Okay. How does Briarwood compare to your last school?" Jamie began. But then he kept going. "What was your last school? What things do you like? What do you dislike? Who's your favorite teacher? What's your favorite subject? And are you looking forward to -"

"Stop!" Zack interrupted in annoyance. Slow the fuck down! "Just wait a minute." He rested his paw atop Charlie's and looked at him kindly. He saw Jamie's eyes flicker down to their paw momentarily before returning to Charlie.

"Um...just...one question at a time please," Charlie requested uncertainly.

"Sure. So, what're your opinions on Briarwood compared to your old school?" Jamie said slowly. "And what was your old school called?"

...Better. Zack relaxed and tuned them out for the time being. He really didn't like this cat, especially not after their first talk a while ago. He just wanted to eat his food and be left the hell alone. Or eat with Charlie. That was what he had been looking forward to in the first place...

"...I have to say starting to enjoy gym a bit more," Charlie was saying. "And biology, even if it stinks in the classroom."

Jamie smirked. "I see. Is that because you have your hunky bodyguard to watch out for you?"

Wait, what the fuck?! Charlie seemed to think the same thing, coughing and sputtering over his milk. Zack hurriedly patted his back, giving the cat a flabbergasted look.

Jamie immediately tried to cover his mistake. "Um...you okay, Chance?"

"I'll be fine," Charlie choked out. He wiped his mouth and tried again. "I'm actually enjoying gym because I'm starting to get better at it. I used to suck at gym, but now I'm doing better."

Jamie looked at the jackal again. "Isn't that because you're training him, Zack?"

Zack dug into his food without a response. I'm not talking to you.

_ _ "Does he hate me?" He heard the cat whisper.

"I don't know. I think he's just upset."

"I'm not upset," Zack grumbled, sitting up in his seat.

"Well, Zack, do you have anything you'd like to say for the school paper?" Jamie asked still in that annoyingly cheerful tone.

Yeah. Fuck off. "Not really."

Charlie sighed. "Can you give us a minute?" He stood and grabbed Zack's wrist, leading him outside the cafeteria. When the wolf turned to face him, his expression was a mix of annoyance and concern. "Why're you acting like this?"

"Like what?"

Charlie gave him a knowing look. "You're being kind of rude to Jamie."

"Not really. I'm acting like I always do," said Zack. It was true. This was the way he was used to acting around everyone but Charlie. "If you hadn't noticed, I prefer to eat lunch alone. Or just with you," he added with a smirk.

"Well, why not with some new friends?"

Zack had to roll his eyes at that. He didn't make new friends; it just didn't happen. Not on his own accord, anyway.

"Zack, come one, please," Charlie urged him. "At least try?"

Zack saw Charlie's hopeful expression and looked away. Whether he liked to admit it or not, Charlie did the puppy eyes well. "Alright, fine. I'll give it a shot. But you owe me a kiss for this."

The wolf's eyes widened at the proposition. "Can it wait until we're alone?"

"We're alone now."

Charlie gave a worried glance around and placed a quick kiss on Zack's lips. To his disappointment, the wolf pulled away quickly and began walking back to the lunchroom, but not before Zack brought him in for another one.

After the small peck, Charlie gazed into his eyes. "Promise you'll at least be nice?"

Not likely. Zack masked his irritation with one of his trademark smirks that he knew Charlie loved. "Sure."

.................................

Zack stood by his locker loading his backpack for the day. He had been assigned an annoying amount of homework today, so it looked like he wouldn't have time to paint today. Add that dumb cat on top of all that and Zack felt all the readier to go home. Nothing a good workout wouldn't fix. He finished loading his bag and closed the locker -

And speak of the devil, there he was.

"Hi, Zack..."

"What do you want?" Zack growled.

Jamie held up his paws defensively. "I'm not trying to bother you, I promise! I just wanted to know if...maybe you 've changed your mind about joining the soccer team?"

"For the last time, no!" Zack snapped, pushing past him. He felt the cat grab his wrist and he spun around with a bone chilling glare. "Why won't you leave me alone?!"

Jamie's eyes widened in fear. "I just want...to make new friends...Chance said -"

"Well, from what I've seen, you've already got your fair share of friends. So why don't you - hey, wait a minute!" Zack paused as a realization occurred to him. "This was never about Charlie. It's about me!"

Jamie only gulped as the jackal loomed over him.

"All this talk about whether the 'rumors were true,' the invite to lunch, this bullshit about _soccer..._you're just trying to get closer to me, aren't you?"

Jamie shook his head. "N-no..."

"You think being around me more will make me like you, is that it?" The jackal advanced on the cat, forcing him to back away.

"N-no, of course not..."

"And now that Zack Bailey's gone soft, you're taking your chance, huh?"

"No, Zack, that's not -"

"And you're using this school newspaper bullshit to try and talk to me. Well, it's not gonna fucking work!"

He now had the cat cornered between the wall and the lockers. Jamie cowered in fear and yelped when the jackal grabbed him by the collar and got in his face.

"The rumors are true," Zack growled menacingly. "Charlie is my boyfriend, which means I'm taken. I may care for someone, but that doesn't mean I've gone fucking soft. So why don't take your friends and your stupid notepad, and Fuck. Off."

_ _ The jackal released him, and Jamie hurriedly ran off teary eyed. Zack glanced around to see the entire hallway had stopped to watch the encounter.

"The fuck are you all looking at?!"

_ _ Everyone jolted into action, most of them leaving the hallway to escape the wrath of Zack Bailey. The jackal grumbled and headed for the exit.